After seeing glowing endorsements from J.I. Packer, Al Mohler, and Ed Stetzer for his new book, Holy Subversion, I decided to find out who Trevin Wax was. I began to read his blog, Kingdom People, and saw what these other men saw: a true man of God with a great ability to articulate his thoughts about theology and Christian culture. Once I saw his speech at the 2010 Band of Bloggers along side Jared Wilson and Jon McIntosh, I knew I had to have him share his thoughts with Modern March.
Brandon Smith: Tell us a little about your testimony and calling to ministry.
Trevin Wax: I first placed my trust in Christ when I was very young. I remember speaking with my mom and asking her about salvation, and then calling my pastor, excited about the news. For those of us who were saved at young ages, it is often difficult to think of a "before" and "after" with regard to our conversion. So I like to think in terms of trajectory. What would my life look like today had I not trusted in Christ at that time? That's when I'm overwhelmed by the grace of God, not only that he saved me, but that he saved me so early!
My call to ministry was progressive, beginning as a teenager involved in mission work and leading me to eventually move to Romania for five years. From the time I was 19, the question was no longer, "Should I do ministry?" but "What ministry should I do?"
B: The title of your book is Holy Subversion, what does it mean for the Christian to live “subversively?”
T: To subvert means to put something back in its proper place. As Christians, we are called to live according to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
To live subversively for Jesus means that our lives should undermine the other loyalties vying for primacy. Many times, these other loyalties are not bad in and of themselves. Money, sex, recreation, power, etc… these are all good gifts from God. But we humans have the tendency to take God’s good gifts and invest them with ultimate significance. When we begin living for money, sex, recreation, success, etc… these gifts become idols that enslave us and rob God of his glory.
To live subversively for Christ means that we as Christians will identify the prevailing idolatries of our culture and then deliberately subvert those idolatries by the way we live.
B: Your book seems to hinge around the idea that discipleship strengthens evangelism. How so?
I believe the Church is often neglected as an evangelistic strategy. When churches live subversively for Christ, showing up the idolatries of the world as the phonies they are and demonstrating that Jesus is King, we provide space for people to witness the life of the kingdom in action. We add credibility to our evangelistic activities, and our understanding of evangelism itself is strengthened as well.
Once local churches are filled with people who are seeking to subvert the Caesars of this world, perhaps the church’s mission will also be strengthened, as we become a foretaste of the future, spreading the fragrance of new creation into the world. Then, our evangelism can be strengthened as it is backed up by a community of faith seeking to live in the way of Jesus.
B: What lead you to start your blog and what do you hope to accomplish with it?
T: I've wanted to be a writer since I was six years old. When I started blogging (back in 2004, and then regularly at my current site in 2006), it was just a hobby that helped me keep up my writing skills.
The best way to allow the blog to be a help rather than a hindrance to pursuing Christ is to see it as an act of service. About a year ago, I told a friend of mine that blogging was just a personal hobby, but my real ministry was serving the people in my local congregation. He challenged me to wake up and realize that the blog was an important extension of my ministry. The blog is like writing, or speaking, or any other avenue of communication. The goal should be to serve others well in the name of Christ and bring glory to his name.
B: What do you think is the most dangerous enemy of the Gospel today?
T: Christianity without repentance. More and more, I see Christians – even evangelical Christians – watering down the biblical notion of repentance, so that one can claim the name of Christ without any life transformation. Sadly, when the gravity of our sin is missing, so is the wonder of God's grace.
B: What is the most crucial advice you could give someone who is reading the Bible or studying theology for the first time?
T: Read the Bible first. Start with the Scriptures, perhaps a good study Bible, and then begin studying theology after you've read through the Bible at least once. As you study theology, find some trustworthy guides. Start with popular level books of basic Christian doctrine. Then, as you progress in speaking the language of Christian theology, you can dive into harder and more substantive works. Just make sure you read more than one scholar, since it's helpful to hear from different perspectives so that you do not impose one theologian's view on the text of Scripture.
Trevin is the associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He is author of the book Holy Subversion (available here) and blogs at Kingdom People.
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