Presence Weekly 4/29/2024

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Washington D.C. is a complicated city. Great neighborhoods, diverse ethnic communities, world-class universities and museums, and phenomenal restaurants combine to give it an international small-town in the big-city feel. But there is also poverty, crime, and crumbling infrastructure. That’s true about a lot of great cities. 

They didn’t have magazines and blogs in the first century, but if they did, Thessalonica would have been near the top of many of the “Best Cities'' lists. Thessalonica was a flourishing city of about 100,000 people located in modern-day Greece. It was the capital of Macedonia. It was protected by Rome, and as a result of some very savvy political moves made in supporting Mark Anthony over Brutus following the assassination of Julius Caesar, Thessalonica had been granted “free-city” status, which meant they were not subject to the same taxes and direct Roman management as other cities in the empire. It was also home to a major seaport and sat upon the Via Ignatia, which was one of the major Roman roadways connecting the empire. As a result, it had a flourishing trade-based economy. It was home to many temple cults and had become a blend of the best of Roman and Greek culture. Therefore, Thessalonica had a flourishing community life. Thessalonica was the kind of city where you wanted to live. It probably would have topped lists from U.S. News and WSJ. Yet, even with all that was good, there were still things that were broken, missing, and evil. 

Thessalonica was a city in need of redemption and, as part of Christ’s mission of making all things new, that is exactly what the new church plant which Paul was writing to was intended to help foster. It was a church planted by Paul, during his second missionary journey, that would take the city’s flourishing to a whole new level. Because the church plant would introduce something the city was lacking - the gospel. The Gospel leads to real flourishing, because the gospel is the beginning of making all things new!

 However, Christianity often, in my opinion, unnecessarily disconnects the gospel from flourishing (experiencing the good life). Yet, it is the gospel which Paul presents to the Thessalonian church as the heart of real flourishing. How does this disconnect happen? 

Renewing our Identity

In making all things new, the gospel redeems our identity. This is at the heart of what we emphasize in spiritual discipleship. 

Paul, together with his fellow church planters, Silas and Timothy, reminds his audience in Thessalonica that they are “loved and chosen by God” (verse 4). Their identity has now become defined by the fact it has been rooted in the love of God. How we see and value ourselves is deeply tied to whether we feel loved and desired. And Paul’s opening words of encouragement speak to that very reality. The Thessalonians, and our identity, must be grounded on the fact that they are loved and desired by God. When Peter writes to the elect-exiles of Asia Minor, he is echoing this critical truth. 

But wait, there’s more. Paul, once a hater of the uneducated Gentiles, wants them to know that not only are they loved by God, but they are also loved by him. The gospel has given him a new identity centered on Christ, not his family, ethnicity, education, position, or citizenship. Paul makes a point to remind them that he is “thankful for them”, and “constantly mentioning them in his prayers”. 

As followers of Christ, working in Washington (or anywhere) we should take seriously the importance of reminding people that they are loved and desired. Loving our neighbor as ourselves means letting our coworkers, constituents, friends, spouses, and children know that they are loved, that we are thankful for them, and praying for them. This action is integral to their development and maintaining a healthy identity. But we can go a step further. In offering to pray for the needs of our co-workers, family members, and others who are currently outsiders to the Christian faith, we send the message that they too are loved and desired. This is important because when people are loved and desired, they flourish. Those dealing with emotional and relational brokenness often benefit first from experiencing the love of God from others and then from experiencing it personally. Unless and until our identities are rooted in the gospel, we remain unable to properly proclaim this important aspect of Christ’s making all things new. 

Further, this renewed gospel identity has even changed the essence of the people themselves. They have also become people identified by their work of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope. 

While Paul does not unpack these identity markers for us, we can rightly presume that the Thessalonians’ “work of faith” is the good works that have come from their faith, rather than implying they have been responsible for working faith in themselves. Their “labor of love” has been their efforts on behalf of the gospel and also in pursuit of their own vocations. In order to understand this concept we must understand the patronage system that existed during the first century. In the patronage system, the “clients”, who probably made up most, but not all, of the church at Thessalonica, worked for class-ranked “patrons,” whose status obligated and entitled them to purchase goods and services from their “clients.” It was a system of favors and kickbacks, much like some systems of government and “good ol’ boys’ clubs”. The result was that your economic flourishing was not tied to your actual skill, but your relationships. Who you knew and were connected to was everything. In this system there could be no labor of love; only a system of working for, getting ahead through, and receiving compensation based upon who you knew. But the gospel would change all that. 

An additional impact of the gospel upon making all things new that leads to flourishing is it has given them a steadfastness of hope in Christ. No matter how we are doing economically, we all still experience insecurity. Will what we have last? Is this enough? Is my position safe? If we are not flourishing economically, we need to know that there is hope for something better. Without the gospel, all our objects of hope become movable objects with no guarantees. Having a steadfastness that is produced by a firm hope enables us to make it through the most difficult of circumstances. It is clear that the church at Thessalonica was experiencing suffering. Perhaps it was just the suffering that comes from being mocked by others in the marketplace because of their new faith. And that is not a small thing to endure! The church was full of new Christians in a city of pagans (much like we are in Washington, D.C.), and that was probably quite lonely. Being looked down on all day can take its toll on your identity. Thankfully, the gospel had created a renewed identity in the Thessalonians. 

Renewing our Ethics

A renewed identity is not the only way the gospel impacted the flourishing of Thessalonica. The gospel was enhancing flourishing through renewing the ethics of the people - and therefore, the city!

The “gospel came to [them] not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” Through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, which came to them at Pentecost, they are being shaped into a people with one set of ethics. Paul commends the church at Thessalonica for becoming “imitators of us and of the Lord” (verse 6). It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But what happens when everyone imitates someone else’s ethics? What happens when individuals come to believe that ethics are personally constructed? What happens when people are imitating people of questionable ethics? What happens when there is no basis for evaluating ethics? Simple, you have chaos, the fracturing of a community, and perhaps even anarchy. It is hard to flourish when there is chaos, fracturing, and anarchy. 

Not only were the ethics of the people renewed as they became imitators of Christ, the ethics of the wider community were being impacted as the Thessalonians “became an example [of Christ] to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” God had placed this church exactly where it was needed: in a capitol, on a major sea-port, and a major highway. From here the life-changing impact of the gospel, which had become so obvious within Thessalonica, was resonating out to the surrounding cities and provinces and was preceding Paul’s church planting team in the cities that he visited, softening the ground for the planting of the Word.

The similarities between Thessalonica and Washington are as apparent as their helpfulness. As Christians, serving and leading in Washington, our renewed ethics create a recalibrating dissonance between what is seen as progress and what leads to true flourishing.

One way that this change was seen in Thessalonica was the way that people were responding to affliction and living on the downside of the existing power differentials. Although we are not told what afflictions they were suffering, we learn from Acts 17 that when the gospel reached Thessalonica, and many in the city responded to the gospel, “the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

 Through the work of the gospel in making all things new, Christians become the “different others” in society. But their difference is a proclamation of the good life and true flourishing. 

If only we had recent examples of people gathering outside of leaders’ homes or storming their workplaces in anger and protest… 

 Because the gospel had renewed the ethics of the people, they were now responding differently to suffering and life on the weak side of existing power differentials. What I am proposing is that how we respond to suffering can directly impact flourishing. 

What is our default response to suffering at the hands of others, social alienation, or political exile? Typically, it is the same as everyone else. We begin to plan how to inflict an equal or perhaps deeper wound. If we experience pain, then so should they. If someone assassinates our character, then we will assassinate his or her character. If my boss isn’t treating me right, then I just won’t work as hard for him. If I am a boss, and I am under pressure, then in order to increase profits I will extract every last ounce of labor from my employees for the least wage possible. These are the ethics of the world, derived from a materialistic view of the world and goal-oriented flourishing. But these are not the ethics that flow from the gospel. Through the gospel, we become people who love our neighbor as we love ourselves, even if our neighbor is culturally seen as our enemy. This aspect of the gospel making all things new leads to flourishing. This was exactly the message that God gave Israel, the Old Testament church, as they were going into exile in Babylon. In Jeremiah 29:4-7 the people of God are told: 

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” 

This is how the gospel leads to greater flourishing through renewing the ethics of the people. 

Renewing Our Worship

But the work of the gospel in making all things new that lead to flourishing is not yet complete. In addition to renewing our identity, and renewing our ethics, the gospel renews our worship. It does so by directing it properly. This was perhaps the place of most drastic reorientation for the church at Thessalonica. Paul tells us that they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (verse 9). As mentioned earlier, Thessalonica was a city of great diversity - including a diversity of worship. There was a temple on every corner. One could worship the God of wine, or love, or fertility. There was even a large emperor cult that directed worship to whoever was in power. In the Roman Empire, the Caesars were seen as their “Lord and Savior” who could keep Rome great and build it even better. This trait, of course, engendered leader worship. 

But for those who had their identity and ethics renewed through the gospel this type of worship was not only forbidden, it was unfulfilling. Now, they had an opportunity to worship the Father who loved and chose them, to worship the Son who came to die for them, and to worship the Holy Spirit who empowered them. They would do this, not as a people worshiping three separate gods, but the “living and true God” who was Three in One. Paul makes this reality of God very clear in the letter’s introduction by mentioning God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit no less than 15 times! Yet this redirection of worship would not come without costs. The fact that they no longer chose to worship the pantheon of idols meant that they had become “different others” from the rest of society. They would now be isolated and seen with suspicion. They were seen by those around them as irrelevant and extreme. The fact that they would no longer direct their worship to the emperor would eventually prove even more costly as emperors became far more self-absorbed. This improved worship would even cost some of them their lives. 

Yet, their worship was being directly properly for the first time. Even the Jews in the midst of this largely Gentile church now grasped the full nature of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for securing their ultimate rescue from the bondage of slavery and sin “his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (verse 10)! The “wrath to come” is the judgment of God on the rebellion of mankind, a rebellion that has led not just to improper worship, but also improper ethics, and a distorted identity. 

Living in America in the 21st century, it may be difficult to understand the importance of this aspect of the gospel in our flourishing. As a post-Christian, highly secularized society, we see ourselves as far too educated to worship silly idols. Who would do that? No one we know. 

However, in our secularism, we have not escaped worship. We have come to worship different idols. In Washington, D.C. we are enticed to worship positions of power and authority. Those serving and leading in Washington are at risk of misdirected worship on two fronts. First, for those leading, the urge to stoke the cult of worship is ever present and seemingly built into the system. Second, for those serving, those we serve can easily become objects of our worship. Christians are called to be people of knowledge. But education was not designed to be the source of our fulfillment. When we worship positions and power, it provides a sense of worth (which is false), but it does not love us back. How much more might our people, community, and economy flourish as a result of our worship being renewed by the gospel?

And here Paul takes us back to the heart of the gospel that leads to flourishing. We, ourselves, have not merited this rescue that comes through Christ because of something that we have done. The Father has rescued us for one reason and one reason only - because he loves us! He has set us free from the bondage and slavery of false worship. We now worship because we have become a people no longer trying to justify ourselves. We now worship because we have become a people no longer looking to earn affirmation. We now worship because we are forgiven of our sins! 

In this encouraging introduction to the Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reminds those leading and serving in Washington that when the gospel comes, it comes with the power of making all things new – and that produces true flourishing! As those working in Washington, we are called to embrace a proclamation of the gospel that leads to real flourishing through renewing our identity, our ethics, and our worship. The impact of that does not stop with us but moves forward in our communities creating real flourishing.

• Monday: Morning: Joshua 1, Acts 21:1-16, Psalm 139, 140 // Evening: Joshua 2, Acts 21:17-36, Psalm 139, 140
• Tuesday: Morning: Joshua 3, Acts 21:37-22:22, Psalm 144, 145, 146// Evening: Joshua 4:1-5:1, Acts 22:23-23:11, Psalm 144, 145, 146
• Wednesday: Morning: Joshua 5:13-6:20, Acts 23:12-35, Psalm 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 // Evening: Joshua 7, Acts 24:1-23, Psalm 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Thursday: Morning: Joshua 9:3-27, Acts 24:24-25:12, Psalm 9, 10, 11// Evening: Joshua 10:1-15, Acts 25:13-27, Psalm 9, 10, 11
• Friday: Morning: Joshua 21:43-22:8, Acts 26, Psalm 15, 16, 17// Evening: Joshua 22:9-34, Acts 27, Psalm 15, 16, 17
• Saturday: Morning: Joshua 23, Acts 28:1-15, Psalm 19, 20, 21// Evening: Joshua 24:1-28, Acts 28:16-31, Psalm 19, 20, 21
• Sunday: Morning: Numbers 24:1-19, Romans 6:1-14, Psalm 24, 25, 26 // Evening: Deuteronomy 6, Luke 10:38-11:13, Psalm 24, 25, 26

• Cabinet Agency: Bureau of Industry and Security as they advance U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives by ensuring an effective export control and treaty compliance system, and by promoting continued U.S. leadership in strategic technologies.
• Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The Center for Economic and Policy Research as they promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people’s lives.
• • A word about ideologies. The selection of these organizations is not based on mutual affinity but on the belief that prayer is the most we can ever do to participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new.
• Weekly Delegation: For the Congressional delegation of New York. 
• News Events: For those at the Defense Department as they now work to efficiently and expeditiously fulfill the 60B in allocations made for Ukraine and Israel in the recently approved defense bill. For the Commerce Department’s staff who are using their regulatory oversight to limit Russia and China’s access to GPS chips. For staff at the SEC as they work diligently to appropriately navigate the emerging economy of EFTs and cryptocurrency.
• For someone recently approved to serve in the foreign service after long contemplation. For someone retiring in two weeks after a length time of government service. For someone moving off the Hill and into corporate advocacy (lobbying). For a young couple trying to get their newborn on a “better” sleep schedule.
• • A word about anonymity: Washington is a small town. In order to protect each individual’s identity, yet facilitate prayer, details are intentionally vague. However, each represents specific people we are currently engaged with. 

• Mere Orthodoxy has an essay that quotes The Big Lebowski, which already makes it wonderful, on the important topic of anxiety, We Would Rather Be Ruined Than Changed: Anxiety as a Moral Concept.
• The Wall Street Journal has Peggy Noonan’s latest provocative assessment of our culture, “The Uglification of Everything.”
• Politico has an intriguing look at the inner workings of political campaigns and the operatives that make the engine of Washington run.
• The Center for Public Justice has an extremely applicable article, “Learning to Disagree: A Conversation” with Dr. John Inazu.
• The Gospel Coalition has a piece that should interest far more people than it currently may, “Five Principles for Reading Herman Bavinck.”

• Monday, April 29, The Brookings Institution is hosting an important seminar on “The decisive decade? Mapping key trends among adolescents and young adults in the US,” reflecting the results of a major study on youth over the past 10 years.
• Thursday, May 2, AEI will host “Lives Cut Short: A Project to Document Child Maltreatment Fatalities,” a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill devoted to documenting these tragedies and understanding the circumstances and policy failures that led to them.
• Friday, May 3, Faith & Law’s Friday Forum, in partnership with Hillsdale College, presents, “Why Law Requires Love: A Reflection on Genesis and Cicero,” with Dr. Matthew Mehan.
• This weekend, May 3-4, the M3 Rock Fest in Columbia, MD will provide an opportunity for head-bangers to bang their heads and participate in a not-so-quiet riot.
• Next Thursday, May 9, The Hudson Institute hosts Keeping the Republic: A Defense of American Constitutionalism, with Professors Dennis Hale and Marc Landy who argue that the Constitution provides for a free government because it places limits on the exercise of power. 

Weekend Getaway: The Southern Poconos, Hudson & Delaware River Valleys

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” So goes the modern take on something that God said to Adam and Eve in the Garden. The point of both is that as creatures, we need rest and relaxation - and sometimes that means getting out of town. This past weekend, my wife and I took a long weekend away in the Southern Poconos, so I could speak to a group of pastors and church leaders. We are so glad we tacked on a couple extra days! 

If you are looking to combine a hike running alongside multiple rapids surrounded by stunning scenery, then BushKill Falls (PA) is just what the doctor ordered for your restoration. For a modest fee you can choose from multiple trails, all of which deliver amazing photo ops and time for quiet reflection. There’s also a sweet shop, outfitter, and clean bathrooms. It's perfect for couples, families, and friends. 

Just down the road is Shawnee Brewery Company (PA). Nestled on the banks of the Delaware River and attached to the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, this is a must go! Comfy indoor and breathtaking outdoor seating, a first-class brewed-on-site craft beer selection, and wood-fired pizzas are just the beginning of the awesome. The chef makes the dough, the sauce, and the cheese from scratch. If that wasn’t enough, you can listen to a nice selection of vinyl when they don’t have live music. 

Art lovers will want to make time for the 500 acres that makes up the Storm King Art Center just outside Windsor, NY. There are dozens of metallic and mixed media sculptures - some just a couple feet long, others multiple stories, and others built out of or into the landscape. Guests will want to allow about two and a half hours to take in the full 4 mile loop.

Beacon, NY could and should serve as the home base for your trip. It’s a cute and vibrant town with a strong cultural scene. The main street district is lined with plenty of restaurants, coffee shops, ice cream parlors, and one of the best vinyl shops I have found.