There are times we need to do uncomfortable things…things we aren’t particularly gifted at but there is something I want to call your attention to and that is this – evangelism is like a spear. There is the pointy end and the stick. We get all caught up on who is at the point but not who is pushing it.

Here is what I mean – someone is the point person (literally) – the first contact. What happens when they invite people to the gathering? They need people with other gifts to receive the new people – great teachers, comforting shepherds and so much more. This might be where you find your spot in the process.

So don’t get too worked up on how uncomfortable you get going out and talking with people. It may be that you need to receive them.

The post Introverts and Evangelism? appeared first on Revolution of Ordinaries | Matt Dabbs.

Here we go…

1 – Effective Engagement

When I say I don’t really engage in political discourse on social media what some people hear me say is we shouldn’t engage with people on politics. That’s not at all what I think. Effective engagement comes through relationship and in person. Any chance we have at making an impact will come when we look someone in the eye and both really take the time (which can take a very long time – multiple conversations) to really understand each other. Trying to do this 100 words at a time in hypertext may not be the best use of our time depending on our goals…that can accomplish a purpose but I don’t often think it actually moves the needle in the ways I care about.

2 – It is impossible to separate your politics and your faith/theology

The question is, which one takes priority for you? Or asked another way, which one do you put more faith in? Often Christians rely more on the government to solve problems we should be looking to God or God’s people to solve. That doesn’t mean the government can’t or shouldn’t be a part of the solution, just that we may wind up defaulting to the government handling things we should be handling. If you have more faith in the government, party or president than God you have an idol in your life. If you think God can’t use the other party because you are so partisan, you have an idol in your life.

3 – Patriotism vs Nationalism

It is entirely appropriate to appreciate the country you live and have some patriotism. That is not the same as nationalism.

4 – Not all people are ready to have a productive conversation.

The political conversation requires a lot of nuance, patience and listening. Social media has trained us to talk and not listen. How many times have you had a conversation online and you are addressing someone’s questions and they just keep bringing up more stuff without responding to all the work you put in with substantive replies? We get upset because we expected them to have something to offer they just don’t have. Once you realize this, you will have more grace.

5 – Opinions

All opinions can be expressed but not all opinions are equally solid, informed or realistic.

6 – Be Kind

Just because an opinion isn’t a good one (in your opinion) doesn’t give you permission to be rude, obnoxious or be a troll.

7 – Broad negative generalizations are rarely helpful and never accurate.

I saw a comment the other day that said if you vote for a certain individual you are a ped*file. Seriously? This approach is lazy at best and dishonest at worst.

8 – Respect the Person & Process

The views we hold come from a lifetime (even generations) of experience and thinking things through. The person who holds the other view has also most likely really thought about it. Because our view seems to obvious and simple to us, it can feel like anyone who thinks differently clearly hasn’t thought about it but I can assure you most people have. To talk at them like they haven’t is typically disingenuous.

9 – You can be right on the issue and wrong on your approach.

10 – If you struggle to love those you disagree with, you have a deeper issue going on that I suggest you pray and ask help from God on.

What would you add?

The post 10 Things About Talking Politics Online appeared first on Revolution of Ordinaries | Matt Dabbs.

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Jesus is God & Has Authority to Save

Jesus forgave sins even when people didn’t do the things required to have their sins forgiven. In Mark 2 Jesus forgives a man of his sins. The man didn’t do anything stated in the Torah to receive forgiveness (because God told them how to go about that). Jesus forgave because Jesus is God.

Because Jesus is God, Jesus can save whoever He wants to save however He wants to save them. He has the authority to do that as God. So it isn’t strange that Jesus decides to save this “thief” on the cross because Jesus makes that call as God.

That doesn’t mean the scriptures are unimportant or that we shouldn’t follow them.

Second, on the authority of Jesus…Jesus said this at the end of Matthew,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus taught this after the thief, after his death and after his resurrection. The way you make disciples is through baptizing and teaching. If we accept Jesus’ authority to save we need to also accept what He taught here. This actually makes baptism an obedience issue for those who say you don’t need to do it because Jesus did teach this and has/had the authority to teach this and we need to obey what He taught. If someone teaches you it is just an option, they are teaching you to be disobedient to Christ.

Grace faith and works:

A lot of people get hung up on baptism because it is an action. And that sounds like a “work” and we know we aren’t saved by works. Paul said we are said by faith not by works (Eph 2:8-9). The assumption is that doing something and works are the same thing. But they aren’t. Let me demonstrate first with a question:

Is there anything we have to do to be saved?

Asked another way – is there anything that if you don’t/won’t do you can’t/won’t be saved? For example, if you refuse to ever repent, can you be saved? I would say no. You can’t. So there is something we do but that something isn’t a work that earns anything.

The Bible teaches there are things we must do: Peters says very clearly in Acts 2:38 in response to the question of what should we “do” (2:37) that there is an answer that question… Something that we must do. Repent be baptized (2:38). He could have easily made it clear, “There is nothing you can do to be saved. God does 100% of all the actions.” There is a difference between doing an action and earning salvation.

It is really important at this point to define our terms. What does the word “works” mean (Eph 2:8-9)?

The most popular/common interpretation is “anything we can do to earn God’s favor”. This could be moral behavior, good deeds, keeping the commandments, religious things like baptism, prayer, fasting, etc. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. Agreed. We cannot do all sorts of things and conclude, “Now God must save me because I did all the things he said to do.” However there are still things that God has told us to do, while not expecting that we earn salvation by doing these things.

In just a moment, I am going to demonstrate how baptism falls outside of “Works” anyway…hang on!

Covenant, timing and revelation:

God’s people live under a covenant. The thief on the cross lived under the mosaic covenant. There was no new covenant yet. Jesus had not yet given the great commission. Peter not yet given the response to repent and be baptized acts two. There were more things to be revealed, things we now understand and are informed on that they were not. I don’t think it is the correct approach to point to somebody who is not in our position (under a different covenant with different expectations) and say that his response is our response. So we have to live into what we now know that he did not. And we were under a new covenant.

God has revealed more to us today than what was revealed when Jesus was crucified. God has done more post resurrection than had been done when the thief was made that promise. We don’t live in the position in time of the thief. We live in the position in time with a complete New Testament, the teachings of Jesus, Acts of the apostles, the letters, etc. And we live post-coming of the Holy Spirit, establishment of the church, etc. that the thief didn’t live with.

The Greek:

Now, this last point is one of the most important. In Greek there are three “voices” and a voice helps us know how the subject relates to the verb:

Active voice – the subject does the action

Middle voice – the subject acts with reference to himself (we don’t have this in English) – for example someone does something to themselves.

Passive voice – the subjection has the action done to them

A “work” would be something we do (active voice). Baptism, in the New Testament is almost always in the passive voice – something that is done to us and that is why we get the translation “be baptized” (Passive) instead of “Go baptize yourself” (active). My contention is that something cannot be your work when someone else does it to you. So the whole argument about baptism being unnecessary because you can’t earn you salvation by works falls apart anyway because baptism isn’t even something you do – it is something done to you. Go back and read Romans 6 – dead people don’ bury or raise themselves from the grave.

In Conclusion

I hope this helps you see the necessity of baptism in obedience to Christ and if you are teaching people baptism is an optional add on, then you are leading people to be disobedient to Christ to not submit to baptism. Baptism is part of what makes a disciple/follower of Jesus. Baptism clothes us with Christ. Baptism is our union with Christ’s Death, Burial and Resurrection. Baptism is Peter’s answer (along with repentance) to the question “What shall we do?” in response to the good news of the resurrected Jesus.

Please reconsider if you believe baptism is an optional add on.

The thief was saved in His time and Jesus can still save anyone he wants however he wants and he also told us what to do – and we should obey him.

PS – when the Bible says “baptism” it means “immerse” the early English translators were too political in this and didn’t want to upset the apple cart because translating this word would mean showing their practices needed to change. Watch this next on that topic:

More on the criminal on the cross

The post The Thief on the Cross, Baptism and Salvation appeared first on Revolution of Ordinaries | Matt Dabbs.

This morning, about a half dozen things didn’t go according to plan. This was almost to the point of ridiculousness…and we even had visitors present…and my soul was 100% at peace!

Why is that?

Because those I gather with are my spiritual family and we love each other deeply. No one is looking for mess ups or mistakes. There will be no complaints in my texts or emails today or this week about what happened.

What we did notice was that life was still shared, the Spirit still moved and that we grew deeper in our faith, our time in prayer was moving and even a bit tearful as we pleaded to God for various needs. It turns out that you don’t have to have the plan execute perfectly for the most important things to happen!

Does the Sunday gathering stress you? If so, why?

The post Does Sunday Stress You Out? appeared first on Revolution of Ordinaries | Matt Dabbs.

Have you ever wondered how large early congregations were? I have wondered this for some time and I would hear numbers used here and there but never looked it up.

So I looked it up and presented what I found in this video. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

The post First Century Church Size Revealed – How Many Gathered? appeared first on Revolution of Ordinaries | Matt Dabbs.

We talk about the church and more biblical expressions of church, discipleship and learning practical skills to make an impact. We are mobilizing “everyday” and “ordinary” disciples to carry out our mission together.

I encourage you to go over to the channel, skim through the videos, find one of interest and dive in on the comments. I can assure you – you will be blessed!

Here is our most popular video…over 120k views and published almost 2 years ago! This will give you a feel for what the content is like – we do keep things positive!

The post You Want to Get In On Some Amazing Conversations… appeared first on Revolution of Ordinaries | Matt Dabbs.

The point is not church.

Church is a community of people focused on Christ and working together to build each other up through using our gifts to grow in Christ-likeness.

If you focus on church, which is what we did, you don’t get Jesus. If you focus on Jesus you will always get church.

There is a pattern for the people of God and it isn’t imitation of the early church. The early church was an imitation of Jesus. To be like them doesn’t mean replicating their practices, it means embracing and embodying their person.

Examples of discrepancies

And the truth of the matter is, we never actually embraced their practices anyway. Instead, we embraced culturally influenced similarities. For instance,

• They met in homes – that is a different arrangement that produces a lot more mutuality than rows in a big room.
• Their gatherings were less formal and more participatory – this leads to more people using their gifts for the benefit of the body and maturation in Christ.
• Their gatherings were very small (under 20 in most cases) and that leads to more intimate sharing and conversation.
• They had more obvious Holy Spirit movement through prophets and tongue speakers.
• It was heavily focused on mutual edification and love (1 Cor 12-14) in a way that is largely absent today.

We didn’t even meet the goal as we defined it

These are significant because we never did what we said we were doing. Even though I think the aim was wrong, we always said we hit our mark. But I really don’t think we even hit the mark on the wrong target.

We need the right target – Jesus.

Let’s aim toward him and see where he leads us. That requires giving up control. That requires making some hard decisions and that requires giving up some of what we are all too comfortable with when we gather. But none of that will happen until you focus first on Christ and growing in Christ together.

Once you do that, the rest will fall into place.

Thoughts?

The post The Church of Christ “Pattern” – Adventures in Missing the Point appeared first on Revolution of Ordinaries | Matt Dabbs.

The new feature is called Study assistant. It allows you to have a ChatGPT like conversation that will give you referenced responses to your prompts.

Easy to Access

Study assistant is very easy to access. You simply:

1 – Go to search (desktop) and do your search (make sure it says “Smart” to the left of your search and not “Precise”. Here is a search for Baptism

2 – Look at the Synopsis – Tap/Click – More

3 – Tap/Click – Continue in Study Assistant

This opens a new panel with a *conversation* box at the bottom. This is not a search box. You type prompts in this box and the AI will continue to converse with you on the topic you searched for.

The second way to access it is through the Tools Menu – Smart Assistant

You will see that on the bottom row of your tools on desktop. I believe using this in mobile is coming in a month or so.

Example – Topic Search

Let’s say you did a search for baptism in Logos. Logos returns results with an AI summary as the first result. At the bottom of the AI Summary you click to go to Smart assistant and now you can ask more questions and get more clarity.

Prompt – Give a list of all the baptisms in the New Testament

Here is the output it gave me (at the bottom of the results is a thumbs up, thumbs down and copy button),

Here’s a comprehensive list of baptisms in the New Testament:

1. John’s Baptism of Jesus

• Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized by John. During this baptism, “heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove” and a voice from heaven proclaimed, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:13–17)

2. Baptisms at Pentecost

• After Peter’s sermon, about three thousand people were baptized. Peter instructed them to “Repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of your sins” and emphasized that “the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off”. (Acts 2:37–41)

3. Samaritan Baptisms

• Philip baptized men and women in Samaria who believed the good news, including Simon himself. (Acts 8:12–13)

4. Ethiopian Eunuch’s Baptism

• Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch after he expressed desire, with both of them going down into the water. (Acts 8:36–38)

5. Paul’s Baptisms

• Saul (Paul) was baptized after his conversion, symbolically washing away his sins. (Acts 9:18; 22:16)

6. Gentile Baptisms

• Peter baptized Gentiles after the Holy Spirit was poured out on them, recognizing that they had “received the Holy Spirit just as we have”. (Acts 10:44–48)

7. Household Baptisms

• Several households were baptized, including Lydia’s, the Philippian jailer’s, and Crispus’s entire household. (Acts 16:14–15, 30–33; 18:8)

8. Disciples in Ephesus

• Paul rebaptized disciples who had only received John’s baptism, baptizing them in Jesus’ name and seeing the Holy Spirit come upon them. (Acts 19:1–7)

9. Theological Baptisms

• Paul describes baptism as being “baptized into Christ Jesus” and “buried with him through baptism into death” to live a new life. (Rom 6:3–4)

Interestingly, Paul himself emphasized that Christ sent him “not to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor 1:13–17), suggesting baptism’s significance lies not in the act itself, but in its spiritual meaning.

Now, it did miss a few like Paul baptizing Crispus and Gaius (1 Cor 1:14) and Stephanus’s household (1 Cor 1:16) so let’s continue the conversation with a new prompt – are you missing anyone who was mentioned as baptized in the new testament including Paul’s letters?

Here is the output this prompt resulted in,

Based on the sources, here’s a comprehensive list of individuals mentioned as baptized in the New Testament, with some additional context:

Specifically Named Individuals:

• Crispus and Gaius (explicitly mentioned by Paul as those he baptized)
• The household of Stephanas[1]

Additional Context for These Individuals:

• Crispus was the leader of the Corinthian synagogue before his conversion
• Gaius was likely the host of Paul and a Corinthian house-church[2]

Broader Baptismal Groups:

• Luke’s accounts in Acts describe baptisms as spontaneous and simple, occurring in various locations such as:
  • Jerusalem (Acts 2:41)
  • Samaria (Acts 8:12)
  • Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:36–38)
  • Cornelius’s household (Acts 10:47–48)
  • Philippian converts (Acts 16:14–15, 31–33)
  • Corinth (Acts 18:8)
  • Ephesus (Acts 19:3–5)[1]

Interesting Theological Nuance:

While Paul didn’t baptize everyone, he implied that all Corinthian believers were baptized. These baptisms were public events, likely accompanied by:

• A public confession that “Jesus is Lord”
• Invoking Jesus’s name[1]

Intriguingly, while Paul spent up to two years in Corinth and made many converts, he personally baptized very few. He assumed baptism was a common Christian experience, even if he wasn’t the one performing the rite.[2]

The diversity of baptismal accounts suggests the early church’s practice was flexible and contextual, focusing on the spiritual significance of the act rather than a rigid ceremonial approach.

[1] Eckhard J. Schnabel, New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2023), 591.
[2] Gary Steven Shogren, First Corinthians: An Exegetical-Pastoral Commentary (Gary Shogren, 2012), 90.

Now it is getting better…and you can click the links to the resources referenced since I was searching my library.

Third prompt on baptism – should someone actually be baptized in water or is it all purely symbolic and not essential?
Here is the output on that one,

The question of baptism’s necessity is nuanced and involves several theological perspectives. The sacramental view considers God as the primary actor in baptism, where both the calling and bestowal are understood as actions of God’s grace[1].

While baptism is not considered essential for salvation, Pentecostal theology suggests that “refusal to follow the Lord’s example in baptism when provided with the opportunity causes doubt that the person will be an obedient, faithful Christian”[2]. Biblically, baptism symbolizes multiple profound concepts: spiritual washing, and a form of redemptive judgment drawing on Old Testament imagery like the flood and the Red Sea crossing[3]. While the sacraments are deeply symbolic, they carry an “efficacy that goes far beyond a mere visual aid,” and an exclusively symbolic interpretation risks a dualistic view of spirit and matter that is “foreign to the Bible”[4].

Theologians debate whether baptism represents grace in “symbolic parallelism” (where water and spiritual grace are parallel) or “symbolic instrumentalism” (where the Spirit actually effects grace through baptism)[4]. For the Apostle Paul, baptism symbolized an internal cleansing and incorporation into Christ, with a specific moral implication: dying to sin and continually reckoning oneself dead to sin—essentially living out an “already—not yet” state of sanctification[3]. The diversity of theological perspectives suggests baptism is far more than a mere ritual, but its precise spiritual mechanics remain a matter of ongoing theological reflection.

[1] Constance M. Cherry, The Special Service Worship Architect: Blueprints for Weddings, Funerals, Baptisms, Holy Communion, and Other Occasions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2013), 100.
[2] Robert Webber, The Sacred Actions of Christian Worship, The Complete Library of Christian Worship (Nashville, TN: Star Song Pub. Group, 1994), 6:144–145.
[3] Ben Witherington III, Troubled Waters: The Real New Testament Theology of Baptism (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007), 116–117.
[4] Robert Letham, A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Baptism (Scotland, UK: Christian Focus, 2012), 51–52.

What you see here is an attempt to be balanced and present some views without telling you a definitive answer and I appreciate that. It looks like it handles the data well. It would be nice to get a few more perspectives. So I gave it this prompt…

Prompt #4 – you mentioned pentecostal perspective. can you give a few other denominational perspectives on this question?

Here is the output it gave me,

Here’s a comprehensive overview of baptismal perspectives across different Christian traditions:

Catholic Perspective:

Baptism is the first sacrament that gives access to other sacraments, forgives sins, grants spiritual rebirth, and makes one a member of the church[1]. It accomplishes two key things: purification of sins and regeneration, making the baptized “a new creature,” an adopted child of God, and a member of Christ’s body[2].

Reformed/Protestant Perspectives:

Reformed traditions view baptism as a signification and representation of spiritual washing, where water symbolizes the cleansing of sins through Christ’s blood. The water signifies an inward spiritual process[3].

Conversionist Christians (Baptists, Pentecostals, etc.) typically:

• Place justification and regeneration at the moment of personal conversion
• Reject infant baptism
• Only baptize those who have consciously decided to repent and trust in Christ[4]

Lutheran Perspective:

Lutherans tend to locate justification and regeneration at the moment of water baptism received by faith. Sanctification grows from this baptismal justification and continues until glorification[4].

Anglican/Methodist Views:

Methodists hold a mediating position, rejecting both purely symbolic and ritualistic interpretations. They see baptism as both a sign and a seal, carrying accompanying grace for those who meet covenant conditions[5].

Theological Nuance:

Calvin emphasized distinguishing between the sign (water) and the signified spiritual reality. He warned against two extremes:

1. Separating the sign from its spiritual meaning

2. Attributing salvific power to the water itself, rather than to Christ’s blood and the Spirit’s grace[6]

What most Protestant traditions share is:

• Justification as a complete, unearned gift of God’s grace
• Sanctification as a ongoing process of spiritual growth
• Varying emphases on human decision versus God’s sovereign election[4]

[1] Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013). [See here.]
[2] Sam Storms, Studies in Roman Catholicism (Oklahoma City, OK: Sam Storms, 2006). [See here.]
[3] Nancy A. Almodovar and Craig Kellerman, The Accidental Lutheran: The Journey from Heidelberg to Wittenberg (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2019). [See here.]
[4] Roger E. Olson, The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016), 313–315.
[5] H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1940–1952), 3:170–171.
[6] John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Romans (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 206.

I Re-Ran My Test

I asked it once again for a list of baptisms in the New Testament and this time it caught the ones it missed the first time! Impressive! I believe the more this gets used the better the quality of the output will be. There is a thumbs up/thumbs down option when it gives you output as well as a copy option to make copy/paste of the output far quicker.

My Recommendation

This new feature is helpful in that it uses AI to give you helpful summaries of your content (which would take hours and hours to comb through and do the same thing) and then allows you to refine it through conversational prompts. I believe it still has room for improvement, like how it missed some baptisms above until it receive further prompting but is off on the right foot.

The key here is going to be: 1) having some baseline knowledge to inform your prompts and 2) being persistent in your followup prompts. This means, as always, don’t depend on AI to do the work for you but it can save you a lot of time and give some helpful references to specific positions that could take you a very long time to find.

Would you like a 60 day free Trial of Logos to try all of this out?

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