July 2025-Tell Me Again!
“I think my role has been and will continue to be Chief Explainer Officer or Chief Repeater Officer. I would just have to keep repeating the vision or mission. ‘Why are we here? What are we doing?’”[1]
Those were the words of David Cancel the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of software development company Drift. He was asked what he believed was his primary role within the company particularly given it’s growth from a small startup to having hundreds of employees. His insightful answer grabbed my attention. His main role within Drift is to stop the drift. Both poetic and powerful don’t you think?
I’ve come to see that a primary function of my role as a local church Pastor is engage in the ministry of reminding. I would say that one of the chief purposes of our gatherings, whether it be on Sunday or during the week, is to gloriously remind ourselves of the gospel. Declare it, sing it, savour it and hear it. Pride says we’ve heard before. Humility says we need it again. As the late Tim Keller once remarked, the gospel really is the A-Z not the ABC of the Christian life.
Because we are all prone to drift. We are all inclined to forgetfulness. We are all vulnerable to gospel leak. In fact, there was a recent study done that showed the average human attention span has now reduced from 12 seconds to 8.25. Just incase you needed a good dollop of humility with your morning porridge that means that the common goldfish can now hold its attention for longer than we can.[2]
The Christian believer is not immune to the danger of drift. Speaking from personal experience, I think we can be susceptible to it particularly over the summer months. Some of us will have moved back home during the semester break and miss our regular term time church gatherings. Others of us will go on holiday and fall out of usual rhythms. For others of us the pace of life will simply just drop. For many reasons we can easily forget who we are.
The opening verses of 1 Peter have some serious David Cancel vibes to them. Peter is writing to dispersed Christians who found themselves scattered throughout the region of what is now modern day Turkey. The fact that he specifically mentions Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (v.1) only goes to show how widespread the dispersion was. The majority of people in these provinces would have been Gentiles. Notwithstanding that, there likely would have the been some Jewish converts too. Most importantly however, Peter majors, not on where these people are from, but on what these people have become.[3]
It’s likely that they were feeling the sting of low level persecution. It’s also possible that they were feeling somewhat detached from things given that they were away from Jerusalem. However, they are elect exiles (v.1). Of all the ways he could have started his letter and referred to his readers Peter’s choice of words here is striking. Here is the ministry of reminding in full swing.
Firstly, he reminds them that they are part of a bigger story.
God chose them (v.2). Peter has taken a concept used to describe Old Testament Israel and extended the scope of it to include them. They have been grafted in to this multi-national and multi-generational people of faith. That truth is mind boggling enough. However, when did God choose them? They’ve been chosen since before the foundation of the world. They are no afterthought. They are no last minute package deal purchase. They have been in the Father’s mind and on his heart for all eternity. Feeling insignificant and detached? Think again.
Secondly, he reminds them that they have been called to a bigger purpose.
They have been sanctified, set apart by the Spirit (v.2), for an express purpose. That purpose is to be obedient to Jesus Christ. He hasn’t just saved them from their idolatry, rebellion and sin. He has chosen and sanctified them for obedience. Notice how involved all three persons of the Trinity are in project salvation. We are all trophies of His grace as we begin to exhibit the unmissable fingerprints of Christ all over our lives. Peter will spend so much of the rest of the letter developing that theme. ‘Why are we here? What are we doing? What a wonderful answer the Christian believer has.
‘Tell me the story slowly,
That I may take it in—
That wonderful redemption,
God’s remedy for sin;
Tell me the story often,
For I forget so soon,
The “early dew” of morning
Has passed away at noon.’[4]
Who are we? We are elect exiles. Let’s all be engaging in the ministry of reminding. That’s the kind of Cancel culture that we can all get on board with.
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[1] https://richardmbanfield.medium.com/the-chief-repeating-officer-c8382147cc74
[3] An Introduction to the New Testament, D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris.
[4] Tell Me the Old Old Story, Katherine Hankey.
