I love it when I can trace my thinking back to people I hold in the highest esteem. Given the amount of work I’ve put in over the last year on my forthcoming book, Unfashionable, you can only imagine how stoked I was a few minutes ago when one of our staff members, Lori Harding, showed me this quote from Charles Spurgeon’s sermon on Joshua 24:15, delivered on April 18, 1875:

The great guide of the world is fashion and it’s god is respectability–two phantoms at which brave men laugh! How many of you look around on society to know what to do? You watch the general current and then float upon it! You study the popular breeze and shift your sails to suit it. True men do not so! You ask, “Is it fashionable? If it is fashionable, it must be done.” Fashion is the law of multitudes, but it is nothing more than the common consent of fools.

I wish you could all hear me cheering right now!

I swear we didn’t plan this (we just met, actually), but my friend Kary Oberbrunner has written a book entitled The Fine Line (coming in January) that seems to parallel my forthcoming book, Unfashionable, in some remarkable ways (scroll down the Amazon link and see that even Amazon thinks these books belong together!).

Kary writes:

Our difference from the world, not our similarity to it sets us apart. But even though Christ followers are called to be different, we’re also called to transform the world. Here lies the tension. We can’t be so far removed from the world that we lose contact, and we can’t be so much like the world that we’re no different from it…

Geez, that sounds familiar. The subtitle of Unfashionable is “making a difference in the world by being different.” It seems like God has lit the same fire in Kary that he has in me (and many others): helping a new generation understand what it means to be “in the world, but not of it” in these challenging, but opportune days.

You can pre-order Kary’s book here. And watch a video trailer of it here (I wish I would have thought of this!).

You can also read a sample here (Kary’s a great writer!).

(Given the divide in this country, even amongst Christians, regarding the recent election of Barack Obama, I thought it might be a good idea to re-post this small section from Unfashionable on politics and cultural renewal. If you’re a Christian, whether you voted for McCain or Obama, you need to be reminded of this):

When it comes to transforming culture, many Christians think exclusively of political activism. I fully agree that Christians need to be involved in the political process; as I’ve argued, Christians are to bring the standards of God’s Word to bear on every cultural sphere, politics included.

But political activism isn’t the only thing—definitely not the main thing—God had in mind when he issued the cultural mandate to mankind. Nor is politics a particularly strategic arena for cultural renewal, as theologian Vern Poythress writes:

Bible-believing Christians have not achieved much in politics because they have not devoted themselves to the larger arena of cultural conflict. Politics mostly follows culture rather than leading it. . . . A temporary victory in the voting booth does not reverse a downward moral trend driven by cultural gatekeepers in news media, entertainment, art, and education. Politics is not a cure-all.

After decades of political activism on the part of evangelical Christians, we’re beginning to understand that the dynamics of cultural change differ radically from political mobilization. Even political insiders recognize that years of political effort on behalf of evangelical Christians have generated little cultural gain. In a recent article entitled “Religious Right, R.I.P.”, columnist Cal Thomas, himself an Evangelical Christian, wrote, “Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative Evangelical image has failed.” American culture continues its steep moral and cultural decline into hedonism and materialism. Why? As Richard John Neuhaus observes, “Christianity in America is not challenging the ‘habits of the heart’ and ‘habits of mind’ that dominate American culture.”

For a long time now I’ve been convinced that what happens in New York (finance), Hollywood (entertainment), Silicon Valley (technology), and Miami (fashion) has a far greater impact on how our culture thinks about reality than what happens in Washington, DC (politics). The political arena is the place where policies are made reflecting the values of our culture—the habits of heart and mind—that are being shaped by these other, more strategic arenas. As the Scottish politician Andrew Fletcher said, “Let me write the songs of a nation; I don’t care who writes its laws.”

In bringing my forthcoming book, Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different, to the finish line, I added this “quiz” at the very beginning. What do you think?  

YOU MAY BE TOO FASHIONABLE IF . . .

1. You can look around at church and notice that everybody is basically the same age and they look and dress pretty much like you do.
2. You can’t stand singing a worship song that was “in” five years ago—much less singing a hymn from another century.
3. You believe social justice is more important than evangelism OR evangelism is more important than social justice.
4. The church you go to is so dimly lit during worship that you can’t see the person singing next to you, much less the person singing across the room.
5. You’ve attended a “leadership” conference where you learned more about organization and props than proclamation and prayer. 
6. Your goal in spending time with non-Christians is to demonstrate that you’re really no different than they are and to prove this you curse like a sailor, drink like a fish, and smoke like a chimney.
7. You’ve concluded that everything new is better than anything old OR that everything old is better than anything new.
8. You think that the way Jesus lived is more important than what Jesus said–that his deeds were more important than his doctrine.  
9. You believe that the best way to change our culture is to elect a certain kind of politician.
10. The church you’ve chosen is defined more by its reaction to “boring” churches than by its response to a needy world. 
11. You’ve decided that everything done by the church you grew up in was way wrong and you’re now, thankfully, part of a missional “community” that does everything right.
12. The one verse you wish wasn’t in the Bible is John 14:6 where Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me.” That’s way too narrow!

Have fun!

(Below is an excerpt from my forthcoming book Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different. I’ve posted portions of this section before but I do so again today because this past Sunday I discussed in my sermon just how important it is for Christians to understand that God is on a mission to make all things new.)

For a long time now, I’ve been convinced that the way most Christians think about redemption is influenced more by ancient Greek philosophy than by the Bible. We think of ultimate redemption as being redemption from the body, not of the body; redemption from the world, not of the world; redemption from the material, not of the material.

This, however, goes against what the Bible clearly teaches about redemption.

In the Lord’s Prayer we see that God’s ultimate goal is for earth to become like heaven: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s mission is to bring heaven to earth—this planet!

There are many people who believe that God will destroy this present world—all of it—and start over, creating a new world from scratch. As I’ve talked to people who believe this, most base their conclusion on 2 Peter 3, where the apostle Peter says, “The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (verse 7); he goes on to say, “The earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (verse 10).

In wrestling with this passage, one pastor recently concluded, “There is virtually no continuity between the present and the new creation. The new creation is truly new. The old passes away; it is burned up and dissolved.” Like this pastor, many have tended to see in that last sentence (verse 10) more than what’s there, a misunderstanding fueled in part by a questionable translation. Let me explain.

In the King James Version it reads, “The earth…and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” The same “burned up” phrase (from Greek kataka setai) appears in some modern English versions rooted in the King James tradition. Douglas Moo points out that, indeed, “some Greek manuscripts have this wording (Greek kataka setai),” but that “the earliest and most reliable manuscripts” have a different Greek phrase, heureth setai, carrying the idea of being “found” or “found out.”  This is what’s represented in other English versions: “The earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (ESV); or, “The earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (NIV)—indicating not the obliteration of the earth, but rather a type of purging. Notice, too, that the earthly destruction mentioned in 2 Peter 3:6 (from the flood in Noah’s day) is cleansing in nature rather than annihilating.

Moo then looks at the bigger picture:

Scholars have debated whether the NT speaks of an annihilation of the present cosmos and the creation of a new universe, or whether it indicates the transformation of the present cosmos, including the earth. The latter seems more likely in light of: (1) the preferred reading of this passage…; (2) Rom. 8:18 25; (3) many OT prophecies about the renewal of the earth; (4) Christ’s resurrection body being in continuity with his earthly body; and (5) the fact that Christ’s resurrection body is a pattern for the resurrection bodies of Christians (1 Cor. 15:12 58). God seems always to renew, not destroy and recreate, parts of his creation that are marred by sin.

The Romans passage Moo refers to speaks explicitly about all of creation waiting for its ultimate liberation:

The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:18 21)

God doesn’t plan to utterly destroy this present world and build a brand-new world from scratch. Instead, he plans a radical renovation project of the world we live in today. The Bible never says that everything will be burned up and replaced. Rather, it says that everything will be purged with fire and restored. God won’t destroy everything that now exists, but he will destroy all the corruption, brokenness, and chaos we see in our world, purging from it everything that is impure and sinful.

Matthew 24:37 41 is another passage some use to justify an escapist theology, approaching this world with a “Why shine the brass on a sinking ship?” attitude. In this passage, Jesus likens “the coming of the Son of Man” to the time of Noah, when people “were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away.” Then Jesus gives two brief pictures of the effect of his coming: “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.”

These verses have been employed to support the idea that God will one day evacuate, or “rapture,” all the righteous people, leaving behind an evil world destined for annihilation. Therefore, the thinking goes, Christians should focus exclusively on seeking to rescue lost souls rather than waste time trying to fix things that are broken in this doomed world. This perspective is evidenced in a comment I read not long ago from a well-known Bible teacher: “Evangelism is the one reason God’s people are still on earth.”

But a closer look at the context reveals that in those pictures Jesus gave of men in the field and women at the mill, those “left behind” are the righteous rather than the unrighteous. Like the people in Noah’s day who were “swept away,” leaving behind Noah and his family to rebuild the world, so the unrighteous are “taken,” while the righteous are left behind. Why? Because this world belongs to God, and he’s in the process of gaining it all back, not giving it all up.

When it comes to this world’s future, God will follow the same pattern he engineered in Noah’s day, when he washed away everything that was perverse and wicked, but did not obliterate everything. God will not annihilate the cosmos; he’ll renew, redeem, and resurrect it. As Randy Alcorn writes, “We will be the same people made new and we will live on the same Earth made new.”

Moreover, the comparison between the flood waters in Noah’s day and the fire that Peter wrote about is significant. The wicked things that are “swept away” by water can grow back (as it did in Noah’s time). But the wicked things burned up by fire can never come back. The burning away effect of fire is permanent; the sweeping away effect of water isn’t. Fire, in this case, is better than flood. 

God promises nothing short of total cosmic renewal. Our confident anticipation of that renewal—our living hope of it—triggers and sustains our excitement and motivation for making a difference by living unfashionable lives. It links us with something so grand and glorious that it easily exposes the flimsy lie behind mere fashionability.

Over at the Breakpoint website, my friend and colleague T.M. Moore has written a provocative article re: why the church is numerically larger than at any other time in history and yet Christian influence is at an all time low. He writes:

I keep saying to myself that there has to be an explanation why so many millions of people claim to be born-again followers of Jesus Christ, attending nearly 250,000 churches—around 3,000 of those mega-churches—with a vibrant and growing Christian subculture of music, television, books and literature, education, Internet presence, and even their own Yellow Pages.

As I said, there has to be an explanation why, given all this, the morals and culture of America continue to decline away from the teaching of Scripture, the young are abandoning their Christian upbringing in growing numbers, and the public square continues devoid of any far-ranging, seriously taken Christian voice. There simply has to be an explanation for this.

And I think I have it. It harks back to a Chesterton comment back around the turn of the 20th century. It’s not that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been tried and is simply found wanting. It’s that the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Gospel of the Kingdom—has not been tried.

Read the rest of T.M.’s insightful article here.

John Piper pays a sweet tribute to my granddad on his 90th birthday. You can read it here.

As I mentioned a few days ago, today is “Daddy Bill’s” birthday. He was born on November 7, 1918 on a dairy farm in Charlotte, North Carolina. No one (especially him) would have ever imagined the remarkable ways in which he would go on to be used by God. I am so proud of him and so thankful that God has given me such a tremendous heritage—one I have neither asked for nor deserved. Today we celebrate his life and the way he has spent it. He has preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than anyone in history and I have the pirivlege of calling him “Daddy Bill.”

I asked you a few days ago (click here) to write a note of gratitude to my granddad for his birthday and then I would pass them along to him. I’m putting them all together now, but I wanted to share a few of those notes that people from all over the world wrote (it’s not too late to add a note of your own if you haven’t already–just click here).

From Doug:

First of all, years before I came to faith in Christ, it was Dr. Graham’s preaching via his televised ‘crusades’ that planted the seeds for me in terms of coming to know that I was lost and needed a Savior.

Then as the Spirit drew me to faith, it was his book, “Peace with God,” that helped me to understand how to respond to the Gospel in repentance and faith, and what it meant to follow Christ as a new believer.

Also, his own powerful preaching was an early lesson to me about the centrality and efficacy of preaching God’s Word — a lesson that has stayed with me in my own pastoral ministry.

One other thing: your grandfather’s integrity, authenticity and faithfulness (along with that of your grandmother) has always been a heartening example to me. And when there were times that non-believers would point to the failures and hypocrisies of other ‘televangelists’ in order to cast reproach on the Gospel, I could always gently remind them of Billy Graham.

And so I’m sure there are so many, many others who are like me when I say that, when it comes to your grandfather, I thank God every time I think of him.

From another Doug:

On February 14th, 1970 I went into my public school science class where a discussion of evolution ensued. The teacher told us that he was required to present evolution but if we wanted to know what he believed he would talk to us after class. When I arrived at his desk afterward he just handed me a tract entitled, “How to Find Peace with God” by Billy Graham. I put the tract in my science book and took it home. Late that night, out of curiosity I read the tract and was converted. I had never heard the Gospel before and I was both amazed at God’s love and convicted of my sin. A few years later I was called into ministry and have served as a pastor for over 25 years. Thank you Billy for sharing the Gospel through that little tract.

From Stefan:

Tullian, in many ways, your grandfather is an inspiration for me and others. His gospel messages and articles make a break through even in a small county like Bulgaria, which is often not recognized by people and hard to find on the map. I remember in 1988-89 as a young Christian, in the dark years of communism, that Christians couldn’t freely share their beliefs, have a Bible, and go to church. One Sunday night I was sitting in my room with my family and watching the most watched program in the country called “Every Sunday” aired by journalist Keviork Kevorkian. It was the only program that had 5 min. world news. That night for the very first time ever(during over 40 years of communism) a Billy Graham crusade was aired on TV for less then 10 min. It was shocking, my heart was beating hard, I was having tears of happiness–it was like breathing freely for the first time. From that time on, his gospel messages were aired every Sunday and printed in the weekly magazine. The communist government couldn’t stop it. Many Christians felt and knew that freedom from communism was near. His messages encouraged me to fearlessly share the gospel with many, and with passion, despite the many warnings that I received from the communist government.

From Greg: 

I was just a little too young to have heard your grandfather speak the last time he came to Glasgow in Scotland. But people here still know the name Billy Graham, and whenever those crusades are mentioned, it’s the most natural thing to move on and talk about the gospel: because that was Billy’s main agenda. “Billy Graham? Yeah, sure I know of him! He explained the gospel to people. Do you know what that means?”

My city is still a struggling place, filled with burdened, angry people, lost in the hollowness of sin. But there are still torches burning that have not been put out. Many of those were sparked or re-ignited by Billy Graham, and when we think of his example we remember how powerful the gospel can be when only we boldly proclaim it.

The devil wants the gospel off-camera, but thank God for people like Billy who understood that it had to stay front-and-centre. Please thank Daddy Bill for his example in keeping the main thing, the Main Thing.

Happy Birthday!

From Elizabeth: 

God became part of my life at a very young age - I was probably 8 when I accepted him into my heart during a summer Bible school class at my best friend’s house. But through the years, I began to rebel against God, making decisions that pulled me away from Him and living unhappily with my consequences. Many years later, in the last year of my doctoral program, I had hit the wall: My second marriage was falling apart, my middle daughter was following her own path of rebellion, my health was failing, my life seemed meaningless and I was filled with despair. Nothing was enough; nothing filled that emptiness in my heart. I tearfully got down on my knees and told the Lord I couldn’t do it on my own, that I had made a mess of my life, and that I needed him to be my sovereign Lord in my heart and in my life. On that day, I handed over my will and my life to our heavenly Father and began living my life in alignment with His will. I immediately drove to a Christian bookstore, as I wanted to start reading the Bible again and didn’t have one in the house. To my surprise, I was overwhelmed by all of the choices before me. I had no idea what to do. I whispered a small prayer, asking for God’s guidance on this very important first step. And as God is so good, he gave me an answer: I immediately remembered reading a book about angels that Mr. Graham had written when I was a teenager. Unfortunately, the store did not carry that book. I did buy a Bible and the book “Peace with God.” From that day forward, my life has been transformed. It has not been perfect yet God continues to help me grow in my faithfulness to Him through good times and bad. I thank the Lord for Mr. Graham and his decision to follow Christ wherever it took him. I also thank God for the example of Ruth Bell Graham’s life to those of us looking for an example of what a Christian wife and mother could be. And I continue to thank God for the next generation of Grahams that chose to walk by faith, living out their missions as they press on toward victory, encouraging, leading, and setting Godly examples for the world to witness. Thank you Billy Graham for your faithfulness. This generation has been blessed by it. Happy Birthday, Mr. Graham and may God continue to bless you!

From Mark: 

In 1972, as a new Christian, I listened to Billy’s message from EXPLO 72. He talked about taking up our cross and following Jesus and challenged us all to do so. I was seeing this on television in my home in Pittsburgh. I was so moved by the Spirit that I went up to my bedroom where I prayed and read Scripture for hours. I committed myself to follow Christ and tell others about Jesus. The next day I shared the Gospel for the first time. A month later I arrived at college and began to let others know about Christ. Within a few months I had a call to ministry. Today I am 28 years into pastoral ministry. God used Billy as a catalyst for this life and calling.

From Sean: 

I have had the privilege of meeting your grandfather several times during his visits to Jacksonville, FL. It was always amazing to be in his precence - his love for God, his faithfulness, his compassion for others, his sincerity and his humility is incredible. You truly have the sense that you are speaking to someone that has been Blessed by God - truly for God’s purposes and for God’s Glory! God’s soveriegn hand on your grandfather’s life has spoken volumes to my heart, my family (my grandfather accepted Christ watching a Billy Graham crusade) and my own faith in Christ. Thanking for sharing your grandfather with us - and Tullian I pray that God continues to Bless your life, church and ministry for His Honor and His Glory forever and forever.

God Bless! Happy Birthday - DR. Graham!

From Owen: 

I am profoundly thankful for the ministry of evangelism carried out by your grandfather through the last sixty years. No man is perfect, but Billy Graham has modeled faithfulness to the evangelistic call that so many of struggle to heed. On a personal level, his example inspires me to try to push past fear and share the gospel with unbelievers. In a very practical way, his example has spurred me on to think of myself not as a weak and wimpy believer besieged by forces of darkness that prevent a powerful witness, but as a Spirit-empowered Christian who serves Christ the King and possesses all that I could ever need to be faithful and fruitful for the Lord.

Billy Graham has evoked strong emotions from different corners of evangelicalism. One need not think that he chose rightly every time to give thanks to Almighty God for his ministry. So many of us who prize right theology do far, far less than your grandfather to image Christ to a fallen world. History will remember his gospel preaching, sinners will enter heaven because of the Lord’s work through his ministry, and one day soon, the Lord will bring him to his rest.

From Polly:

I came to know Christ as my Savior and Lord when I was 16 years old as a result of listening to Billy Graham at a crusade that was broadcast on TV. I am now 54 years old, married to a wonderful Christian man and the mother of two sons, ages 23 and 18 who both love Christ. God used your grandfather in my life in my coming to know Christ and indirectly in my two sons coming to know Christ. There are not enough words to express my gratefulness to the Lord and to Billy Graham as His Instrument. Happy Birthday Billy Graham. Next to my Dad, you are one of my heroes!

I want to thank all of you who wrote in wishing my granddad a happy birthday. I know he will be mightily encouraged when he reads your notes.

My friend Josh has an excellent post calling God’s people to pray for the new President elect, Barack Obama. He writes:

On Sunday I told my church that after the election half the country would be elated, confident that all would be right in the world because their candidate won; the other half dejected and sure that the world had ended because their candidate lost. But Christians should realize that both sides are wrong. If you voted for Obama, he isn’t worthy of your ultimate hope. And if you didn’t vote for him, don’t despair as though Jesus isn’t reigning over the world.

Those who call Jesus their Lord can be filled with a quiet peace and confidence in all seasons. Our Savior is never in the White House. Our Savior is Jesus. We must turn to him with joy and faith. And as we do let’s pray for our new President Elect that God would give him wisdom and grace to lead our nation in the days to come.

Josh’s words remind me of something Michael Cromartie (Ethics and Public Policy Center) told me one time over lunch right after George W. Bush was elected. He said, “Christians need to remember that the Kingdom of God is not flying in on Air Force One.”

Josh then goes on to highlight one of our other friends, Justin Taylor, and his practical words regarding the Biblical mandate to pray for those governmental leaders who are in power: 

No matter who you voted for–or whether you voted at all–it’s important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

• We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
• We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

There are many qualifications to add to these exhortations–for example, see this excellent post by John Piper–but it’s still important to remember that these are requirements for all Bible-believing Christians.

Thank-you Josh and Justin for your wise and helpful exhortation. Regardless of who the President of the United States is, Christians are called by God to remember that “here there is no lasting city so we seek the City that is to come.”

Here is the updated cover for my forthcoming book Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different. It comes out in April, but you can pre-order it here.