Daniel Hill is the senior pastor of River City Community Church in Chicago, IL. He is also the author of the book 10:10: Life to the Fullest.
Today we talk with Daniel about "the abundant life," faithfulness, and experiencing the fullness of God.
1) The title of your book is 10:10 after John 10:10. Many Christians have claimed this verse "the abundant life" to mean a variety of different things. What do you think Jesus is saying here?
This oft-claimed promise of the "abundant life" comes in the middle of a conversation where Jesus portrays himself as the Good Shepherd. The invitation is both thrilling and terrifying when seen with honest eyes. Thrilling, because Jesus clearly communicates the expectation that his sheep can and should hear his voice. Terrifying, because failure to listen to him leaves us wide open to the "thief" that wants to steal, kill, and destroy the life he longs for us.
So when Jesus gives us this vision of abundant life, I believe he is primarily describing himself. It is a glorious vision of an invitation to be with him and in him. Jesus Christ is the King of the entire cosmos, but that doesn't mean he is distant or inaccessible. Instead, he paints the warmest picture possible. He is the Good Shepherd. He calls, loves, and intimately guides his sheep. In turn we too can love, know, and follow him into the life that God has laid before us. The invitation to participate in this abundant life requires very little from us (i.e. listen and follow)—the invitation is almost exclusively dependent on the character and power of Christ.
2) You say that for many American Christians, "something is missing." What is that something?
I make the claim that what's missing is faith. The question is never whether a Christian has faith—that's already a given. The question is whether we have the kind of "fullness" of faith that is so often described in the NT. In his famous prayer in Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul intercedes for believers that they would have a faith that allows them to "be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:19).
Martin Luther said that when faith is "taught correctly," we see that by faith we are cemented and attached to Christ. I love this image. We often equate faith with a certain level of intellectual knowledge or internal confidence. And while those factors may help deepen our faith, I think they unnecessarily confuse the heart of faith. When we integrate Martin Luther's metaphor of being cemented to Christ with the vision in John 10:10 we get a powerful and accessible picture. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and by faith we remained cemented and attached to Christ.
Once the vision of faith is reignited within us, we become anchored not only to the person of Christ, but to what Christ values and to what Christ says.
This is what's missing for so many Christians. We don't really live with this kind of dynamic, intimate faith connection to Jesus Christ. Once the vision of faith is reignited within us, we become anchored not only to the person of Christ, but to what Christ values and to what Christ says. What Jesus Christ does and where Jesus Christ goes now becomes the dominant narrative of our lives. When Jesus moves, we move. When Jesus heads into uncharted waters, we go with him, even if we are filled with fear. When Jesus leads us into the unknown, we go into the unknown with him. We can't not go—we are cemented to him by faith.
3) Do you think that perhaps sometimes our desire for "something more" could simply be that we've gotten bored with an ordinary life of faithfulness and are reaching for new experiences?
I wouldn't dispute the notion that our desire for "something more" could (and probably often does) stem from something other than an authentic longing for Christ. But if Martin Luther was right—that faith is the means by which we are cemented and attached to Jesus Christ—then how can faithfulness ever be an "ordinary" word? Being faithful to Christ takes on a new level of sacredness and meaning when we see it this way. It doesn't matter if I am playing with my kids, sitting in an office at work, going to class, or hanging with friends. The King of Kings also occupies whatever space I occupy. He is the Good Shepherd, and he invites me to listen for and respond to his voice … all the time!
4) You say that Jesus leads us into mission and that is "the most exciting thing in the world." For many folks, they may not see mission quite that way.
One of the reasons so few Christ followers are excited about mission is because we are hazy about what the word means. Our English word "mission" comes from the Latin root missio, which simply translates as "sent."
Every Christian is cemented to Jesus by faith, and therefore every Christian is designed to hear and respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd.
So is the person who senses a cross-cultural, international call from God on mission? Of course. They have heard the voice of God send them to join the work of Christ in a particular place and time. But are they the only ones sent? Of course not. Every Christian is cemented to Jesus by faith, and therefore every Christian is designed to hear and respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd. That might mean that Jesus "sends" us to share an encouraging word, or "sends" us to walk alongside someone searching for faith, or "sends" us to come to the aid of someone that is in distress.
In Luke 10 Jesus tells his disciples that they should "ask" the Lord of the Harvest to "send" them into mission. This should be part of how every single Christ follower prays—we should ask God to send us into mission. It doesn't matter if the particular assignment is as small as writing a note or as big as shifting our career—we can and should see the opportunity for mission as one of the most exciting dimensions of a vibrant faith connection to Jesus.
5) What is one piece of advice you'd give to pastors and church leaders?
As pastors and church leaders we have to ask a simple and honest question: Are we actually experiencing the fullness of God in our faith communities? Or does it feel more like it just a partial experience of God?
It's amazing to me how often the Bible uses 10:10-like terms of "fullness" to describe our walk with Christ (the letter of Ephesians is one of my favorite places for seeing how often Paul uses this type of language). As pastors and church leaders we have to ask a simple and honest question: Are we actually experiencing the fullness of God in our faith communities? Or does it feel more like it just a partial experience of God?
That's why I love John 10:10 so much. It created an insatiable hunger within me to discover a theological vision that pointed towards fullness of life in Christ. I have spent most of my adult life placing myself under the influence of a wide variety of Christian thinkers and practitioners, and this was always the driving question: "What does fullness in Christ actually look like?" That question has become my version of the pearl of great price. The greater my vision becomes for a whole version of Christ, the greater my intensity becomes to learn even more.
As pastors and church leaders we need to set the pace for intensity of desire. Jesus Christ has invited his people to follow him by faith, and to experience him fully. There is nothing in this world that compares with the potency of that invitation, and we should be willing to turn over heaven and earth to know him to that degree.
Daniel Darling is vice-president of communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He is the author of several books, including his latest, Activist Faith.
