Nielsen’s Nook

Why is it that we could all sit down with strangers at any coffeeshop in the US and talk about the urban legends we — for some reason — all know? Made to Stick is a book that seeks to thoughtfully examine the stickiness of the things people have said and written over the last 2,500 years, identify commonalities and provide practical paths towards stickier communication.

I am about a third of the way through the book presently and have found it tremendous as a pastor and preacher. Generally speaking, it has helped me to think about how to communicate things that matter (i.e., sermon texts, direction of bible studies, or even direction of a church) in ways that convey their weightiness with more resonance. I have downloaded the audio version and have been listening during my commute (25 minutes each way). Whether, your preaching, teaching or just trying to communicate in ways that move people, I think you’ll find equity in this book. It is well done, avoids the gimmicks of much of today’s pop-communication literature, and provides a practical path to identifying and communicating the core elements needed in any message of importance.

Goto Part I

It is no coincidence that John informs us that Philip, whom Jesus had found, was from “Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.” Bethsaida was a fishing town just down the western shore of the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum, where Peter had built his home. “It is not unlikely that as fishermen in a fishing cooperative with James and John (Mk 1:19) they took their boats back and forth between Capernaum and Bethsaida.” ¹ The connection of Andrew and the unnamed disciple (John 1:35-39) was the means that Jesus seems to have used to find Philip.

Philip in turn went and found Nathanael. When Nathanael questioned the worthiness of Philip’s claim that he had found the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament (c.f., Deuteronomy 18:15-22), Philip replies simply, “Come and see.” It is quite a claim that Philip has made; however, what we find is that even that claim is an understatement. Our expectations of what we will see when we come to Jesus continue to be shaped and challenged.

When Nathanael comes to Jesus, he thinks he is amazed. Jesus saw him under the fig tree. This evokes from Nathanael, “Son of God! … King of Israel!”. However, what we find in this passage is that Jesus, the Incarnate Word, brings an amazement that is more than the maximum. Jesus responds with his first testimony of himself recorded in John’s Gospel, “You will see greater things that these. Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:50-51).

This is an allusion to Jacob’s dream (Genesis 28:10-22), in which he saw a ladder or stairway leading to heaven. In Jacob’s dream, God stood distant at the top of the stairs, mediating his affairs on earth through angels and dreams. In John 1:51 we find that God has come down the ladder, descended the stairs himself and brought heaven with him in the person of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. As such Jesus is presenting himself as the only way by which anyone may come to God. He is the mediation also. In the incarnation then, we find that Jesus reveals himself to us as God himself and the way to God. To deny Christ’s mediatorial role is to deny God himself. To insert anything between God and humanity in addition to Jesus alone is to deny both the mediation and God who mediates.

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¹ Craig S. Keener and InterVarsity Press, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Jn 1:44.

My wife and I not knowing much about fine art, purchased a course on the paintings on display in the Louvre and have been amazed at all that can be found in a single painting. One famous painting, now infamous thanks to Dan Brown, that we learned about was the Mona Lisa. Up to this point, my education on the Mona Lisa was through Looney Tunes. I was stunned to see how much professor Richard Brettell was able to open my eyes to the painting I have seen all of my life: the angular and mysterious landscape beyond the young woman in the picture for example - or the smirk on her face.

You will notice in John 1:35-51 the phrase “come and see” is used three times (twice in v 39 and in v 46). A question that the Gospel of John elicits at this point in the narrative is, “What do we expect to see when we come?”

John has given us a tremendous prelude to his Gospel in John 1:1-18. The one who made all that is has come to dwell with us in the flesh, demonstrating himself to be the exegesis or explanation of the Father. John the Baptist is introduced in John 1:19-34, testifying as the forerunner to the Incarnate Word described in the previous section. He adds one more significant detail to our understanding of the Incarnate Word. This Incarnate Word is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is the second categorical bomb that we read in John. It explodes our minds and fills us with hope.

So when we come to our section (1:35-51) we find a transition between the public ministry of John the Baptist and that of Jesus of Nazareth. It is no small thing to see one as regarded as John the Baptist directing his disciples Andrew and an unnamed disciple to follow Jesus (v 37). It builds upon our sense of expectation and yet the question remains: what is it that we are expecting?

Jesus does not wait for Andrew and the unnamed disciple to ask, but asks them, “What are you seeking?” Jesus begins the dialog of faith. These first disciples, the church of two, come and stay (μενοω) with Jesus. Whatever they ’saw’ in him during their time together moved them to tell others that he was the Messiah or Christ. Shouldn’t we also be amazed at the way Peter ‘comes’ to and ’sees’ Jesus. The first apostle among equals, Peter, was not the first whom Jesus called. He came through his brother Andrew. As Calvin exhorts us, “none of us, however excellent, may refuse to be taught by an inferior”.¹ Second, Simon is given a new name. In the Old Testament names were given on the basis of what had happened in the past (compare Genesis 17). Here Simon is renamed Peter on the basis of all that the Incarnate Word would make the future to be.

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¹ John Calvin. Calvin’s Commentaries (electronic ed.;, electronic ed. Garland, TX: Galaxie Software, 2000), Jn 1:40.

Rarely do we get places in life in a straight line.� This is especially true for my family.� Monday, March 1, I took a new position at PCPC and ended my internship.� I am very excited about the opportunity to contribute in the Communications Ministry here at the church.

We decided to take this position for a number of positive reasons.� Many of you know that Cynthia and I have always thought the Northeast was the place where our giftedness would be best applied.� While we were content to look for pastoral calls in Dallas, it is in many ways exciting that the Northeast is back on the radar.� Second, in taking this position, we are in a place where we can weigh calls that may come and not feel compelled to take calls that may not be good fits because an internship term would soon expire.

At any rate, the Lord continues to confirm our calling.� Through July I am already booked for three of every four Sundays!� What a privilege it is to preach and what a joy to serve those churches in the PCA that have need for pulpit supply.� Please keep us in your prayers and let me know if you know of any openings or contacts in the Tri-state or New England areas.