Down to Earth [Large Print]: The Hopes & Fears of All the Years Are Met in Thee Tonight

by Mike Slaughter, Rachel Billups

Overview

Nothing in all the vast, created universe could prepare us for God coming down as a helpless infant, or for Jesus the son of God intentionally positioning himself as a mere servant, identifying with the lowest of lows. It's enough to confound the mind, to make the heart contrite. This Advent, God's great surprise changes everything.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501823404
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Series:	Down to Earth Advent series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	776 KB

About the Author

Mike Slaughter is the Pastor Emeritus at Ginghamsburg Church. Under his leadership, Ginghamsburg Church has become known as an early innovator of small group ministry, the Church "media reformation," and cyber-ministry. Mike is the author of multiple books for church leaders, including Down to Earth, The Passionate Church, Change the World, Dare to Dream, Renegade Gospel, A Different Kind of Christmas, Spiritual Entrepreneurs, Real Followers, Momentum for Life, UnLearning Church, and Upside Living in a Downside Economy.
Rachel Billups is a visionary, leader, speaker and author. Currently she serves as Senior Pastor at Ginghamsburg Church multi-campus ministry in Tipp City/Dayton Ohio. Rachel draws on her love of people and passion to explore new venues for ministry and mission.

Rachel is an ordained Elder within the United Methodist Church and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Bible/Religion and History from Anderson University and a Master of Divinity Degree from Duke Divinity School.

Most days you can find Rachel reaching out – praying online, hosting Open Table gatherings in her home or enjoying moments with husband Jon and their four loves: Adeline, Christopher, David and Sarah. She also might be cheering for those Duke Blue Devils and The OSU Buckeyes.

Rachel is a popular speaker for national gatherings and has recently authored BE BOLD: finding your fierce as well as co-authoring Down to Earth: Hopes and Fears of all the Year Are Met in Thee Tonight and Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas – all published by Abingdon Press. You can find her on social media at: @rlbillups.

Read an Excerpt

Down to Earth

The Hopes and Fears of All the Years Are Met in Thee Tonight

---

By Mike Slaughter, Rachel Billups

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2016 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5018-2340-4

---

CHAPTER 1

Down to Earth Love

Rachel

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

(Philippians 2:1-2)

Thanksgiving at the Billups' household is an adventure. It's not unusual for us to be gathered with in-laws and out-laws, strangers and friends. With such a diverse group, conversation can get interesting. Because of a deep desire to enjoy our meal, I tend to steer the conversation away from anything that would create an argument — no political banter, zero comments about the current presidential administration, no discussion around the plight of refugees throughout the world, and we promise to refrain from talking about those not present. However, my efforts are not always successful.

Perhaps your family gatherings are not as conversationally exhausting as ours. Even at our house, though, in the midst of all the verbal gymnastics, one thing brings unity, one secret weapon of love: my mother's pie. Nobody argues about my mother's pie — it is her spiritual gift. The pie is always delicious, always baked to perfection. When the conversation gets to the point of no return, I speak these magic words, "Who wants pie?" and suddenly love fills the air. If only we lived in a world where we could negotiate all conflicts with pie.

Pies, Not Cups

I would like to believe that the church is that world. Perhaps you know some folk in your church who use food to negotiate conflicts. That could be the original purpose for the potluck dinner. But when I peer among the four walls of the church, I see the same conversational gymnastics or, worse, the disunity created by argument and debate. Unity may be a clear marker of the church we read about in the New Testament, but it appears that churches in the United States are so concerned with being right, with winning an argument, that the simplest of controversies can send us over the edge. And it would seem there is not enough pie in the world to fix it.

About a year ago my husband, Jon, the kids, and I were waiting outside a movie theater to watch Inside Out. As we waited, we did what every red-blooded American family does when waiting — we played on our smartphones. I was scrolling through Facebook when I noticed that my feed was bombarded with posts about Starbucks and its new red cup. According to some comments, the cup's new design was a slam on Christianity and how we, as followers of Jesus, celebrate Christmas.

I was confused and frustrated. I could feel the cynicism rising up inside of me. Questions began to pour out: "Is this real? What do snowflakes and reindeer even have to do with Jesus?" "Why are we arguing about something as silly as a red cup?" I wanted to set someone straight, to shout out loud, "Is Starbucks even a Christian company?" But I did not respond — and I did not need to, because plenty of folk responded for me. There were arguments for the red cup, against the red cup, and even those who criticized people on both sides.

Could it have been a flash-marketing scheme driven by Starbucks itself? Yes, but even if it was, we fell for it. Why? Because we love to be right. Followers of Jesus are capable of having some pretty heated debates with anyone and everyone who is willing to listen. I am all for a passionate conversation, but is that really what we are engaging in? Or in arguing about things such as red cups, sexual identity issues, who we voted for, and where refugees should go, are we allowing these issues to create dividing lines between us?

These divisions, these arguments, present a devilish distraction. When we think of each other as the enemy and talk at each other with hate, evil wins. At best these arguments present a distraction, and at worst they actually tear us apart. We allow our differences — theological and practical — to tear down the body of Christ.

I believe the world isn't looking for more hate that divides; it is looking for love (that delicious pie) that is approachable and accessible, love that lives right where we are, love that comes right down to earth.

In This Together

I do not know why you are interested in Christianity. You could be reading this book for all kinds of reasons. Perhaps you have grown up in the church your whole life. Perhaps you have been driven to faith in Jesus because of the guilt of bad choices. Maybe you have welcomed children into your household and believe you could use some holy help. Whatever the reason, we as followers of Jesus are in this together. We are following a Jesus who was messy when love came down to earth. Jesus spent his time with religious folk and nonreligious folk, saints and sinners. He loved people who were hard to love. Jesus sacrificed his life for the whole lump of them, for all of us. We are in this together.

At Advent, we step together into a season in the life of the church that is as terrifying and beautiful as waiting for your child to be born. Advent is a spiritual gestation — waiting, preparing, anticipating, at the same time knowing that right here, right now there is life — real life — growing inside of us. We aren't just waiting for an event; we are experiencing a spiritual awakening that has changed, can change, and will change the world forever. I am not asking any of us to pretend we understand everything there is to know about this faith we call Christianity, or to cover up the fact that people who follow Jesus do not always respond to life's challenges and other Jesus followers in civil ways. But Advent is a "down-to-earth" invitation to do a heart check and ask ourselves, "How can I discover and explore what it means to be a down-to-earth people? How can I live Jesus' down-to-earth kind of love?"

When we open the pages of the New Testament, we realize that even the first followers of Jesus argued about red cups. Okay, maybe it wasn't red cups, but early Christians did argue about whether the inside or outside of the cup needed to be clean, when to wash their hands, and whether people were made for the Sabbath or the Sabbath was made for people. They also created dividing lines among themselves. This is not a new temptation or struggle. But in Scripture, we are afforded a glimpse of Jesus' down-to-earth kind of love.

One of the most profound pictures of that love is found in Paul's letter to the Philippians. Philippians is not typically a book of the Bible that churches talk about during Advent and Christmas, but it works well here because this Scripture is all about Jesus coming down to earth. Paul was writing from prison to a group of Jesus followers in Philippi. The followers seemed to have a deep relationship with Paul. Earlier, it had been Paul who had helped this group say yes to following Jesus.

As we read through the letter, we discover that Paul was deeply concerned about how this fledging group of Jesus followers was faring. It seems that they had allowed arguments and differences to divide them, and Paul didn't want that to happen. So he wrote them a letter. Philippians 2 is a beautiful hymn prefaced by these words:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

(Philippians 2:1-4)

Paul was asking the followers at Philippi, and is asking us, a really tough question: Has following Jesus made a difference in your life? On the surface this may seem like a personal question, as though it's about my relationship with Jesus. But in fact the form of you used in the first sentence is plural, meaning "all of you." Paul was writing to the community as a whole.

Sometimes it is difficult for followers of Jesus in our individualistic culture to realize that following Jesus is not merely about Jesus and me. Faith in Jesus is not about my ambitions, my opinions, my interes ts, or even our differences, our arguments, or our desire to be right. Faith is not about just me or my relationship with you; faith is demonstrated in us! Following Jesus is about what we do together and how we treat one another — both those who are part of the body of Christ and those who are not.

Not About Us

I am part of a faith community that reminds itself that following Jesus is a team sport. It's not all about me, and it's not even about us. Christmas is not your birthday! When we use that phrase, we are referring to the trend during the holiday season for folk to spend money they do not have, sometimes buying things that recipients do not need, often for people we don't even like. In 2015, adults in the U.S planned to spend $830 on Christmas, a ninety-dollar increase from the year before. And though there were shops that closed on Thanksgiving and stores that participated in the #OPTOUT campaign against Black Friday, it's still the time of the year when we participate in a spending frenzy. Even followers of Jesus bless our desire for more stuff with the excuse, " 'Tis the season."

I like stuff as much as anyone else, but I believe we can't and won't find our value, our worth, in what we buy. We start to believe the fallacy, "If only I could have this, then I would be happy." Or worse, "If only I could get my kids or grandkids this, then they would love me."

If we don't spend ourselves into debt or allow ourselves to be lured into purchasing more than we need, we can still fall into the trap of focusing on ourselves by treating what we do for Jesus as a badge of honor. Our acts or gifts of service can become more about acquiring accolades than remembering the love-filled privilege it is to participate in God's work.

Most of us can remember moments in our journey with Jesus when we do things because they will get us something — make us more important to our church, to our family, and maybe even to God. It's a form of control, and it's really just another way of getting what we want.

As a mother and daughter, I struggle with this one. When I am hosting a holiday gathering, I want people to feel loved and welcomed in my home — but there are also times when I want just the right people to come over (the ones I really like). I want to serve the best food, and I want my guests to be impressed — with me and my home. Soon a simple gathering can become all about me. Disappointment can mount when my siblings are a no-show or if the food doesn't turn out the way I want. There is that feeling of emptiness when the event is over and I don't feel I received the accolades I was expecting. This is self-focus — when we do things for people or the church just so we can get our gold star from Jesus. It's what Jesus called self-righteousness, and it can be subtle.

Jesus had an eye for this kind of behavior. He was not afraid to call out the super-religious types who wanted all the attention. In Luke 18, Jesus told a story of two people who went to church. One was a very religious person, a church superstar in Jesus' day, and the other was a tax collector. The tax collector was not exactly a crowd favorite. Tax collectors were considered crooks, criminals, sinners, and oppressors of the people. Anyway, both people found themselves in the Temple. Jesus said,

"The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'"

(Luke 18:11-13)

Do the Pharisee's words sound familiar? How often have we said something like "Thank God I stand for Jesus and don't drink from a red cup," or "Thank God I'm not like those super-religious people who refuse to drink from red cups." During the season of Advent, Jesus is giving all of us an invitation: discover who you are in me, not in what you do.

An Invitation to Relationship

During Advent and Christmas, it's not enough for us to stop overspending or to do a selfish-motive check. Jesus' down-to-earth love is an invitation to a new way of living. Jesus seeks a relationship with us that goes beyond selfish ambition or political banter; it's a relationship of serving, of living out of love. This kind of love is a gift of the Holy Spirit — the ability to love and live as Jesus did. When we embrace a down-to-earth love we are entering into relationship with God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This triune community is not up in heaven bickering and arguing; God's community is in a cosmic dance, a celebration, in which they enjoy one another's presence.

Jesus' down-to-earth love is an invitation to a new way of living. Jesus seeks a relationship with us that goes beyond selfish ambition or political banter; it's a relationship of serving, of living out of love.

Jesus' invitation is a reminder of who we are called to be. It's a seasonal reminder that God is bigger than me, bigger than my whining and my personal problems, bigger than the world's darkness and despair.

If we could truly accept Jesus' invitation — if we were not focused on you or me — what would Advent and Christmas look like? What would it mean to be absolutely, positively, incredibly, down-and-dirty, starting-from-scratch, all about Jesus and the kind of community Jesus calls his followers to be?

What Paul shared with the Philippians and is sharing with us is more than good advice. Paul is describing what we as the body of Christ, we as a faith-filled community, need to be in order to embrace God's love come down. But how do we do that? How do we press in and live out this down-to-earth kind of love?

First we must realize that we do not have to agree to agree. In a world of incessant debate and growing political divides, sometimes the thought of agreement is almost laughable. We are experiencing one of the most contentious political climates in U.S. history. Yet no matter how much it bothers us, we can quickly be sucked into debates, where logic and reasoned rhetoric are exchanged for old-fashioned mudslinging.

When Paul asked these followers of Jesus to agree with one another, he didn't mean they should think or even believe the same things. This was not some kind of call to Christian bipartisanship or even to compromise. Paul simply was asking them to treat one another with love: "Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind" (Philippians 2:2). When we read the Bible, we discover there often were intense debates among followers of Jesus regarding food sacrificed to idols, circumcision, even whether Gentiles (non-Jews) could really follow Jesus. But even though these early followers argued, the sum total of their identity did not come from what they thought or even what they believed. Their identity as Jesus followers came from how they lived and treated one another.

One of the fathers of our faith, a Carthaginian named Tertullian, when writing about Jesus followers at the end of the second century, described how those early believers treated one another. "But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. See, they say about us, how they are ready even to die for one another." Christians were labeled, branded, because of how well they loved one another. They loved one another so much that they were willing to die for each other. So, what has happened? How has two thousand years so radically changed the way Jesus followers treat one another?

A Covenant of Commitment

One of the differences between the church today and the church of two thousand years ago was the early Christians' commitment to each other. The first Jesus followers treated their commitment to Jesus as a covenant, much like a marriage covenant.

If any earthly relationship is down to earth, it is marriage. Marriage can be, and usually is, a bit messy. When it comes to my own marriage, my husband, Jon, and I do not always agree. When two very opinionated extroverts are joined in the blessed union of marriage, you can expect fireworks — and I am not talking about the good kind. We have come to expect some disagreement. But in our covenant with God and one another, we agree to love each other despite our differing opinions. We agree that we are committed for life, we are in this for the long haul, and we are not going to let our differing opinions diminish the love we have for one another. It is not easy. This level of commitment to unity is hard work. But the work investment is well worth the love we experience in our relationship.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from Down to Earth by Mike Slaughter, Rachel Billups. Copyright © 2016 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction,
1. Down to Earth Love,
2. Down to Earth Humility,
3. Down to Earth Lifestyle,
4. Down to Earth Obedience,
Epilogue: Be Loved. Do Love.,
Notes,
Acknowledgments,