For a while now I’ve been thinking about leading a trip to Israel. As a follower of Christ there are not very many trips that appeal to me more than a trip to the Holy Land to walk in the places that Jesus walked. We’re finally looking to put a trip on the calendar. So, that’s where you come in. We’re trying to determine how many people might be able to go on the trip with us. The number we take will dictate whether or not we are able to sponsor our own trip or whether we will be placed with another group.

We are considering the idea of going sometime in the early spring of 2011. The cost will probably run somewhere between $1500-$2000 per person. I’ve placed a sample of what the itinerary might look like below. If you are interested in possibly going, please leave a comment so that we can include you in our planning and have a better idea of who might be able to go.

DAY 1 — USA • ISRAEL
Depart from the USA on our flight to Tel Aviv. Meals and overnight on board. After dinner relax and enjoy the on-board entertainment.

DAY 2 — TEL AVIV
Arrive at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and meet our guide who will welcome us to the Land of the Bible and escort us throughout our stay in Israel. Israeli guides are legendary for their knowledge and dedication. Ours will instruct us on the many sites we will visit and their relationship to the religion, history, archaeology, culture, and modern life in Israel. Visit Old Jaffa, the traditional home of Simon the Tanner, and from where Jonah sailed. Proceed to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 3 — CAESAREA • MEGIDDO • TIBERIAS
Refreshed from a good night’s sleep you’ll be ready for a full Israeli Buffet Breakfast. Today we pass newly settled towns en route to Caesarea, site of major events in the lives of Peter and Paul. It’s on to Megiddo, inspiration for James Michener’s “The Source”. Archaeological digs reveal 20 layers of civilization, including fortifications of King Solomon and the water tunnel of King Ahab. Megiddo provides a magnificent view of the fertile Jezreel Valley, prophesied site of Armageddon, at the crossroads of the ancient Via Maris. We drive up Mt. Carmel to Mukraka for a magnificent view of the region. Continue through the rolling hills of the Galilee to Nazareth, site of Mary’s Well, and Cana, site of His first miracle, before arriving at the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight in the area.

DAY 4 — SEA OF GALILEE • UPPER GALILEE
This day alone is worth the trip! We are now literally walking in the footsteps of Jesus. We will take a most memorable boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, in a replica of the ancient wooden boats used in Jesus’ day. We walk into old Capernaum with the ancient synagogue; on to the site of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes (Tabgha) and up to the site of the Sermon on the Mount, the Mount of Beatitudes. You will have an opportunity for a lunch of St. Peter’s fish (optional). In the afternoon we will journey north to Caesarea Phillipi, (Banias Spring) where Jesus decided to return to Jerusalem. Return via the Golan Heights to the area around the Sea of Galilee where we will visit the Jordan River and have the opportunity for a baptismal service. Dinner and overnight.

DAY 5 — JORDAN VALLEY • JERUSALEM
Drive along the Jordan Valley to Beit She’an to see the expansive excavations taking place at this ancient Roman city. It’s now time to “go up” to Jerusalem. We will enter the city as pilgrims did since ancient times to fulfill the words of the prophet “I was glad when they said unto me: ‘Our feet shall stand within thy Gates, O Jerusalem’.” (Psalms 122:1-2). Dinner and overnight.

DAY 6 — JERUSALEM • BETHLEHEM
Start the day with a view of the Old City from the top of the Mt. of Olives. Walk to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations and drive across the Kidron Valley. Enter the Old City through St. Stephen’s Gate (Lions’ Gate) to the Moslem Quarter, visit the beautiful Church of St. Anne and the Pool of Bethesda, Pilate’s Judgement Hall, and the Ecce Homo Arch. Walk along the Via Dolorosa, into the Christian Quarter, and see the Stations of the Cross. Drive to Mt. Zion to see the House of Caiaphas and the Upper Room of the Last Supper. We will visit Bethlehem and see Manger Square, the Church of the Nativity, and view Shepherds’ Fields and the Fields of Boaz and Ruth. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

DAY 7 — MASADA • DEAD SEA • QUMRAN
Depart to Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea, where we ascend by cable car to visit the remnants of Herod’s Palace and where from 70 to 73 A.D. the Zealots made their last stand against the Roman Legions. Visit Ein Gedi, fabled Spring of David, and proceed to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947. Time permitting, we will go for a swim, rather a “float”, in the salted waters of the Dead Sea. Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

DAY 8 — JERUSALEM
We will begin the day with a visit to the reconstructed Jewish Quarter, walk through the Cardo, the original Roman street, and see the amazing Israelite wall. See the important excavations taking place at the Western Wall and the Southern Temple Staircase. Our tour also includes the new Visitors Center, highlighted by a three-dimensional virtual reconstruction of the Second Temple. We have an opportunity to observe Jewish Bar Mitzvahs at the Western Wall (Mondays and Thursdays only). Then on to the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock, where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, and now the site of a mosque. End the afternoon at Golgotha (Gordon’s Calvary) and the Garden’s Empty Tomb. Special time is planned for worship, communion, meditation and inspiration. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

DAY 9 — ISRAEL • USA
Today we transfer to the airport. Our guide will assist us with check-in procedures. Depart on our flight to the USA. We arrive home today with wonderful memories of a visit to the Land of the Bible!

Matt Chandler
Matt couldn’t be there in person due to his cancer treatments and so he recorded a video message instead. Much shorter than his typical messages, this message was incredibly powerful despite it’s brevity.

Looking at Colossians 1:13-23 Chandler attempted, as he is prone to do, to take us immediately to the Gospel. Weaving in a variety of powerful statements Chandler helped us to understand the value of the Gospel, the immediacy of the need for the Gospel as well as the power of the Gospel to transform. In reference to what we have often taught about the Gospel, Chandler said, “What is the Gospel? In our Bible belt churches, we have consistently spoken about morality, and behaviors and we have confused people about the Gospel.”

Speaking to the topic of our righteousness and how that impedes our embrace of the Gospel he offered the following, “God is righteous, and we are not. It’s not the fact that our sinfulness is unclean that should rattle us, but rather it is the fact that our righteousness is unclean that should rattle us. We must be saved from both our sin & our righteousness. The Biblical Gospel is that we are hopelessly wicked, with nothing inside ourselves, that would allow us to transform ourselves. This runs counter to what we often value within the evangelical church today.”

At the end Chandler really dug in and addressed our fear of engaging those who are desperately apart from the Gospel. He also addressed the danger of abandoning the Gospel for the ever popular “social concern” Gospel. In one of my favorite quotes he said, “Instead of taking the Gospel to culture, we withdraw because we’re scared of “getting a little adultery on us”. However, the flip side is equally dangerous. The Social Gospel is not the Gospel. Serving people is good, sending money to Haiti is important, but it’s not the complete Gospel.”

Danny Akin

Dr. Akin has become one of the men I deeply respect within our SBC life. A man of unquestioned character, not to mention intellect, all partnered together with a great passion for the Gospel. As the President of Southeastern Seminary he is uniquely positioned to influence the world through his efforts to train men and women to faithfully advance the Gospel.

In a message that was by far the most passionate message I’ve ever heard from Dr. Akin, he dealt with the issue of Romans 12:1-2 and the implications of having the Gospel. In a message that challenged as much as any I’ve ever heard Dr. Akin offer, I particularly liked this quote. “Revelation brings responsibility. The more you know, the greater your responsibility. If you are hear and you have no intention of obedience you should not come back to worship. It will keep you from greater judgment.”

In one of the more powerful quotes from his message, Dr. Akin dealt with those who call themselves believers but who are not committed to the Gospel when he said, “To do anything less than offer your entire self to Christ is insane. Too many churches are filled with cultural Christians who are comfortable with their existence and, if I may be clear, aren’t worth spit. The culture won’t pay any attention to that at all. The culture is not against us. The culture ignores us. We’re no threat to them.”

I am extremely grateful for his passion for educating men and women to take the Gospel to the nations!

David Platt
Like so many others, David Platt is quickly becoming one the preachers who I am blessed by every time I hear him. This weekend was no exception. Dealing with the issue of risking for the Gospel, Platt walked through the early part of Acts and called the audience to radical sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. “I want to call us this morning to forsake hopes, plans, dreams, possessions and ideas of nice, comfortable, safe middle-class American Christian life. To forsake it all in radical abandonment for Jesus Christ. I want us to envision what it would look like when the church is a radically Gospel-centered community that is spending ourselves for the spread of God’s glory among the nations.”

Platt identified two issues in the early church that shaped the way they approached the world. He said they were, “Radical concern for the needs around them
Radical confidence in the One who saved them.” By walking us through a discussion about these two topics were driven home as vital components of God’s purpose.

J.D. Greear
I really enjoyed hearing J.D. Greear spend his time debunking modern arguments, that really aren’t modern at all, against Christ and His Gospel. Unofruntately I didn’t get notes because I was a bit late from his session and didn’t get a seat where I could plugin my laptop.

Clayton King

Due to the need to get to the airport I was unable to hear Clayton’s message.

All things considered it was one of the most encouraging, challenging and refreshing trips I’ve been on in quite some time, even despite the difficult schedule. Throwing in the fact that I got to stay with my friend Nathan Finn made it an even better weekend. He and his wife Leah are incredibly gracious hosts!

Click here for more information about The College at Southeastern

Stay tuned for updates about the conference as we consider the Gospel and its implications in our culture!

In 1970 cartoonist Walt Kelly penned an infamous line and attributed it to the character “Pogo” when he claimed, “We have met the enemy, and it is us.” As I look across the landscape of modern Evangelical churches I worry that the statement is unfortunately all too descriptive of our movement. Sadly when I consider my own heart, I find that thought to ring all too true of me. We talk a good game about all the influences, temptations and challenges we face in contemporary culture which keep us from walking faithfully with Jesus, but when it comes down to it the failure rests on our shoulders as we choose to ignore righteousness and instead walk away from the Savior.

Now to be fair, I know that ultimately our fight is not against ourselves but is instead a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:12) but I also know that this fight manifests itself in our bodies and in order to successfully walk with Jesus we must develop a pattern of resisting in this fight. We have to share the repentant heart of King David from Psalm 51 as he assumed personal responsibility in his admission of guilt before God.

Sadly we are often not found to be fighters in regards to personal sin. Instead we seem to share the passion of James and John as described to us in Mark 10 as they asked Jesus for the honor of sitting on either side of Him in His eternal Kingdom. When the other disciples heard about the request they were indignant, but sadly their indignation is most likely due to their own frustration over not having thought of making the request themselves rather than a faithful understanding of righteous humility.

When I look across the New Testament I see a pattern emerge in how we treat ourselves and others. God’s Word seems to point us towards a two-fold approach to life. We are called to be personally critical and corporately compassionate. What I mean by that is that we are called to treat our sin as serious before God. We are called to kill our sin in Romans 8:13. That is pretty harsh language in regards to how we treat ourselves. We are also called, however, to show grace towards those who are around us. In John 8 we see a tremendous example of Jesus extending much grace towards a woman caught in adultery. Instead of picking up the stone to kill her for her sin He instead offers to her an opportunity for restoration. This grace that Jesus extends, and which by extension we are called to extend, is never an opportunity to excuse sin, but instead should be viewed as an opportunity to love someone in their sin and to lead them from their sin and towards Christ’s likeness. In this passage, after Jesus has extended grace to her He sends her away with the call to “go and sin no more”.

As we consider most of our lives, however, we should be honest and admit that instead of critiquing self and showing grace to others most of us love to extend grace to ourselves and we then become quite adept at offering withering critique of others. We love to pick apart those around us, to ridicule them for their sin and even pity them for their obvious lack of righteousness, all the while failing to realize that our own smugness and self-righteousness screams of our own personal need for grace.

We would do well this Christmas season to remember that Christ came because we needed Him to. Our need is ultimately met in His sacrifice and resurrection. Apart from that great privilege we are hopeless. Until we consistently find ourselves weighing our own lives against God’s Word, we will never faithfully walk with Jesus; and until we find ourselves consistently showing grace to those around us who fail we will never faithfully embody the pattern of Jesus’ own life.