Additional menu

Nathan Creitz

I help disciples make disciples.

Blog

Bible Translations, Tools and Tech for the 21st Century: HCSB

By 22 Comments

Translating, studying, and sharing the Bible has never been easier thanks to the technology that is available to us today. There are plenty of innovations out there but in this series of posts I want to share with you some of the tools I’m using and why. Welcome to the 21st century of studying the Bible!

The first part of this series will highlight the translation I use and why I believe modern advancements in linguistics, technology, archaeology, research and collaboration make it the best English translation available.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible is the most balanced version of the Bible that exists today thanks to contemporary scholarship, technology, and archaeology.

21st Century Translation – The HCSB is a contemporary, readable, English translation that is based on the earliest manuscripts. Other popular translations are actually revisions of previous translations (such as the NKJV and the ESV).

[Read more…] about Bible Translations, Tools and Tech for the 21st Century: HCSB

Rob Bell, Harold Camping, and Deviations from the Truth

By 4 Comments

According to Harold Camping: Judgment Day is this Saturday. According to Rob Bell: Don’t worry about it because “love wins”.

Camping and Bell both leave me scratching my head wondering if these men (and others like them) are reading from the same Bible as me. Have they found a new insight no one else has found? Or did they both come down with a bad case of exegesis?

I’ve been studying 2 Timothy 2:14-26 for the past few weeks and I think there are several insights in this passage about how to handle those who “deviate from the truth”.

Diligently Study the Word

The best way to understand if a false teaching needs to be challenged (or even if it is a false teaching) is to know the truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 says,

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

I won’t be held accountable for Rob Bell or Harold Camping’s teaching but I will be held accountable for my own. Will my teaching gain man’s approval or God’s? Will I eventually be ashamed of my teaching?

Before I respond to someone to correct, instruct, or teach, have I thoroughly sought to understand them? Have I carefully considered what the Bible says about the issue? As we read and study and memorize the real thing it’s easier to spot the counterfeit and know how to appropriately respond.
[Read more…] about Rob Bell, Harold Camping, and Deviations from the Truth

How to Effectively Plan Sermons

By 4 Comments

I’m currently developing a workflow for my sermon preparation and thought I would share my plan here. I’ve always had a pretty good informal system for sermon preparation but I am wanting to become more effective and consistent. This post is kind of a ‘note to self’ but perhaps others will get something out of it. I would love to hear your ideas as well.

Step #1 Gather Relevant Information [ongoing]

Before even developing a workflow for sermon preparation, it’s important to pray and think about the needs of the congregation and spend time listening to God. Are there specific themes or deficiencies in the body that need to be addressed? Is God giving you a message that has become a “fire burning in your heart” that you can no longer hold in? (See Jeremiah 20:9)

Keep an ongoing journal or a computer file of ideas for series, titles, illustrations, insights, etc.

What topics and books of the Bible have already been preached in recent months/years? It’s good to have some sort of spreadsheet that includes sermon text, topic, main idea and any illustrations used so that you don’t keep preaching the same thing over and over. The idea is to “declare the whole plan of God” (See Acts 20:27)

Are there other resources that could be useful here like a church-wide survey or a discussion with others in leadership?
[Read more…] about How to Effectively Plan Sermons

We Put ‘Super’ in Superficial Small Groups

By Leave a Comment

Does your small group barely scratch the surface when it comes to building deep relationships and studying God’s Word together?

The following video is a hilarious example of a shallow small group. Too bad it’s often true. I love it when humor is used to expose our inconsistencies. Check it out:

http://youtu.be/NMyTMTmJU6E

If you are trying to find some training resources for small group leaders rightnowtraining.org might be a good place to start. They are the ones that produced the above video but they also have a lot of training videos that deal with specific topics related to leading small groups. Some of the most influential voices in the small group space are featured in their archives.

Have you used rightnowtraining.org for your small group leader development? Do you have other small group resources that you recommend? Feel free to link to them in the comments. While you’re at it, describe a breakthrough moment when your small group went deeper in your understanding of God and/or one another.

Pursuing Jesus’ Mission with Jesus’ Means

By 5 Comments

Every year (especially around Easter) I hear of another church doing something crazy to get people in the door of their building:

egg drop

◊ One church gave away a car.

◊ One church surprised random attenders with a shopping spree.

◊ One church dropped Easter eggs on top of people’s heads from a helicopter.

Somehow I don’t think that Easter eggs or Oprah-like bribery is exactly what Jesus had in mind when He told us to make disciples of all nations. Jesus has given the church a specific mission and He has also given us the means to pursue that mission.

In order for the local church to bring glory to God and be obedient to Jesus’ commands we must use Jesus’ means to pursue Jesus’ mission.

The Spirit of God

Jesus told His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit as a Helper. Just before He ascends into heaven, Jesus says to His followers, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Because the Spirit of God indwells us, the local church has received supernatural power, spiritual gifts, encouragement, guidance, wisdom, comfort, and strength. These are all gifts that do not come from human abilities, innovation, or training (though by God’s grace He has given us those things too). In other words, anyone can have leadership skills or marketing skills but only the church has the Spirit of God dwelling among them and empowering them to pursue the mission.
[Read more…] about Pursuing Jesus’ Mission with Jesus’ Means

The Mission of the Church

By 5 Comments

Do I really need to write about the mission of the local church? Is it even conceivable that there is confusion as to what the mission of the church ought to be?

Yet, from where I am sipping my coffee there are dozens of churches within walking distance that are not pursuing the mission to which they have been called. To make matters worse, many of the churches that are pursuing a God-given mission are doing so in ways that do not give glory to God. These churches use programs and plans to manufacture “success”.

It is important, then, to not only understand the Biblical mission of the church, but also the resources God has given us to pursue that mission.

The Mission

Probably the clearest articulation of our mission is found in Matthew 28:18-20:

Then Jesus came near and said to them, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ ~ Jesus

This isn’t the only commissioning statement made by Jesus. In the Gospel of Mark He tells us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” In the Gospel of Luke He tells us that we are “witnesses of these things.” In the Gospel of John Jesus says, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Jesus placed a lot of emphasis on mobilizing his followers to fulfill the mission.

The mission of the local church, then, is [Read more…] about The Mission of the Church