One thing that I enjoy in San Diego during the summer is the opportunity to preach at some of our sister churches. Last night I preached at the Canyonview Church. They were very friendly and supportive of our hoped for move to Glendale. Keith Feerer is the new preacher at Canyonview and is doing a great job.
Summer in San Diego also means VBS. This week it has been ECB's turn and it has been a great week. A great bunch of kids and a great bunch of teachers and helpers. Today there was a big inflatable jumper in the castle. The kids loved it and so did one of our deacons whose name will not be revealed.
Summer for us this year also means getting ready for a move. I just got a load of boxes and Julie is packing them already. She is so good at this moving thing. This whole transition is difficult but the prospects are so good that we could do nothing other than respond to God's call. Please pray for us.
Enjoy the summer.
Jesus Criticizes the Churches of Christ (2)
The church in Philadelphia is praised by Jesus. However the title of this post seems to attract attention so I will leave it as it is.
As a parent I have experienced a strange phenomenon. You see, I have found that I am allowed to criticize my children (only when they deserve it) but no one else is. In fact I will be very upset if you do say anything bad about my children (even if they deserve it). Parents have a sense of ownership and protectivenes and so do church members. We don’t like outsiders criticizing our church. I understand that but when the outsider is Jesus we need to drop our defenses (or defensiveness) and listen to Him. (He really isn’t an outsider, is He?)
What a church is this church (Revelation 3:7-13)? They have little strength and yet they have persevered in very difficult circumstances. They have kept the commands of Jesus and endured patiently. Jesus is lavish in his declaration of His love for them. This is a letter I want the church I am in to receive. I would read it from the pulpit every Sunday.
Being Christ’s church is a simple thing. Do what Jesus tells you to do and be patient. Yes, it is simple but it is not easy. Too often we complicate this simple life we are called to in the family of God.
Praise guide for such a life in His church!
As a parent I have experienced a strange phenomenon. You see, I have found that I am allowed to criticize my children (only when they deserve it) but no one else is. In fact I will be very upset if you do say anything bad about my children (even if they deserve it). Parents have a sense of ownership and protectivenes and so do church members. We don’t like outsiders criticizing our church. I understand that but when the outsider is Jesus we need to drop our defenses (or defensiveness) and listen to Him. (He really isn’t an outsider, is He?)
What a church is this church (Revelation 3:7-13)? They have little strength and yet they have persevered in very difficult circumstances. They have kept the commands of Jesus and endured patiently. Jesus is lavish in his declaration of His love for them. This is a letter I want the church I am in to receive. I would read it from the pulpit every Sunday.
Being Christ’s church is a simple thing. Do what Jesus tells you to do and be patient. Yes, it is simple but it is not easy. Too often we complicate this simple life we are called to in the family of God.
Praise guide for such a life in His church!
Jesus Criticizes the Churches of Christ
What if Jesus wrote your church a letter outlining the key areas of failure and key areas of success? Well, indirectly He has. In the book of Revelation we find the record of seven letters Jesus wrote to His churches. God has preserved these letters to teach 21st century churches to not fall into the same traps that the 1st century churches did.
There was a church in Sardis and Jesus had a bone to pick with them (Revelation 3:1-6). They were good at starting things but weren’t good at persevering in those works and completing them (:2). They were falling asleep on the job and Jesus shouts at them to wake up. His challenge to them is to remember what they were taught and obey it (:3). He warns them that if they don’t get their act together then He will come to them in judgment.
Not everyone in the church at Sardis was like this (:4) but many were and Jesus was not happy with them.
Are we like this? Are we all excited and involved at the beginning of something and somehow absent and distracted as the newness wears off. Yes we are and we need to repent of such a lack of perseverance. This isn’t the final judgment that Jesus warns about but it is a judgment and we need to heed the warning.
Would Jesus write this to our church?
There was a church in Sardis and Jesus had a bone to pick with them (Revelation 3:1-6). They were good at starting things but weren’t good at persevering in those works and completing them (:2). They were falling asleep on the job and Jesus shouts at them to wake up. His challenge to them is to remember what they were taught and obey it (:3). He warns them that if they don’t get their act together then He will come to them in judgment.
Not everyone in the church at Sardis was like this (:4) but many were and Jesus was not happy with them.
Are we like this? Are we all excited and involved at the beginning of something and somehow absent and distracted as the newness wears off. Yes we are and we need to repent of such a lack of perseverance. This isn’t the final judgment that Jesus warns about but it is a judgment and we need to heed the warning.
Would Jesus write this to our church?
Acappella in Tennessee
Last night was a great time. The group, Acappella, sang for us. We had them at ECB early on this year and it was great to see them again. Keith Lancaster got up with them and sang a few oldies and then Jerome Williams got up and sang with them as well. On this earth It doesn't get much better than this. We will be heading back to San Diego tomorrow. We have been away for a week and a half. We need to get back to that dry heat. Tennessee can keeps its humidity.
Middle Tennessee
Julie and I are attending a retreat near Paris, TN and it is great. Lot's of worship time and lots of fellowship. Just what we need right now in our time of transition.
Boy is it hot and humid. Living in San Diego I had forgotten what true heat was. God has blessed us with good air conditioning at our location. It is literally like walking into a sauna when you walk outside. It's like breathing a wet towel into you mouth.
Had a great weekend at Glendale. They are a great bunch of Christians with a true heart to please the Lord. Matt Jackson lead the singing on Sunday and did a great job. I preached a bit long but they need to know what they are thinking about getting themselves into :-).
Go Padres!
Boy is it hot and humid. Living in San Diego I had forgotten what true heat was. God has blessed us with good air conditioning at our location. It is literally like walking into a sauna when you walk outside. It's like breathing a wet towel into you mouth.
Had a great weekend at Glendale. They are a great bunch of Christians with a true heart to please the Lord. Matt Jackson lead the singing on Sunday and did a great job. I preached a bit long but they need to know what they are thinking about getting themselves into :-).
Go Padres!
Glendale
Julie and I are in Glendale, CA, this weekend getting to the church family there. We have known many in this church for around 27 years. Tonight we met with many of them at the Dilbeck's house. It was encouraging to hear them tell me of their dreams as well as just talk about their everyday lives. Tomorrow is a breakfast with the leaders of the church and then spending some time with the young adults in their Adopt-a-Block ministry followed by lunch. This church has such awesome potential. I pray the Lord will keep opening this door. Please be praying for us all. God is so good.
Body Church
God has called a bunch of people out of body of humanity. The ones that have faithfully responded to that call have become the called out ones, the church. The word, church, does not mean, ‘bunch of religious people”. It means, “the called out ones”.
Every group of people functions in a different way. The church functions in certain way that reflects God’s purpose for the church. It functions like a body (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13,27, Ephesians 1;22,23, 5:23 etc.). That’s the biblical description of what the church is and how it functions.
The scripture never says the church is like a body. It says that it is a body, in fact, the body. By its very nature, given to it by Christ, it has a head (Christ himself). It has a different organs, limbs and parts (members). It has a need for food (the Word). Every part of the body functions together for an overall purpose (to do God’s will). There is a dependant relationship between all the parts of the bodies. When those relationships are weakened the whole body suffers from ill health.
Every body has a blood system that carries life to all the parts of the body. In the body of Christ, the church, that blood is the blood of Jesus. It is through the blood of Jesus that we are saved. When God called us out of the world He did so on the basis of the death of Jesus. To be able to make the call, God had to choose to pay the price for the call.
Given all this, I have one question. What is the heart of the church? In every body there is a heart. In the body of Christ, what is that heart?
Every group of people functions in a different way. The church functions in certain way that reflects God’s purpose for the church. It functions like a body (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13,27, Ephesians 1;22,23, 5:23 etc.). That’s the biblical description of what the church is and how it functions.
The scripture never says the church is like a body. It says that it is a body, in fact, the body. By its very nature, given to it by Christ, it has a head (Christ himself). It has a different organs, limbs and parts (members). It has a need for food (the Word). Every part of the body functions together for an overall purpose (to do God’s will). There is a dependant relationship between all the parts of the bodies. When those relationships are weakened the whole body suffers from ill health.
Every body has a blood system that carries life to all the parts of the body. In the body of Christ, the church, that blood is the blood of Jesus. It is through the blood of Jesus that we are saved. When God called us out of the world He did so on the basis of the death of Jesus. To be able to make the call, God had to choose to pay the price for the call.
Given all this, I have one question. What is the heart of the church? In every body there is a heart. In the body of Christ, what is that heart?
Gospel Ghetto
I found this article very challenging. I don't think his use of worldwide stats was that accurate but I think the overall point is very valid.
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/default.asp?id=318&artid=10713&expand=1
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/default.asp?id=318&artid=10713&expand=1
Worship
Everybody seems to have an opinion about worship. Even me. It seems that these opinions are almost always about what the church does when it gathers together to worship, which realistically is a limited part of what God has to say about worship.
That does not mean it is unimportant. What God's family does when it gathers in His name is always important. However it wasn't so important that God gave us an account of a worship time at church in New Testament times. One would be forgiven for thinking that there must be a section of scripture somewhere that defines in detail what Christians are to do when they gather as the church to worship the Father. It's not there. I have looked.
Despite this we all still have our opinions. Why is that? I think it is because it is a shared experience and we think we have the right to speak strongly if we are expected to participate in the group experience of worship. I could be wrong and even if I am I know I am not wrong about the fact that almost everyone seems justified in putting their foot down about what is done in worship when they start to feel uncomfortable.
How do we deal with this? Does God have anything to say about how we relate to each other in our public gatherings? Yes He does and that's the subject of another post one day.
In a worship time at church there is a laundry list of things that can tick you off. The crazy hat that sister so and so is wearing. The nervous ticks of the song leader. The shrill voice of one of the sopranos. The fact that brother so and so isn't wearing a tie. The fact that brother so and so is wearing a tie. The crying child. The preacher's pretentiousness. The list is endless. Even if among all that laundry list of annoyances we come to a united theological position we are still ticked off. I believe that answer is not in agreeing on everything about public worship.
Let me suggest that the answer is in agreeing on one thing. Biblically that one thing is that we love God and we therefore worship Him. In our worship we should be focusing on the one true and living God who loves us to the extreme. My belief is that if we focus on the one we worship then we will find that all those things that we find personally annoying will suddenly not seem so important. We will develop a godly perspective. It's hard not to look at others as we worship but we must work a lot harder on looking at the one we worship and encourage the rest of the family to do the same.
There's a lot more to study about this but these are some thoughts that hit me today. Who knows why? That's rhetorical so don't tell me. Raise your voice to God. He loves you and wants to hear from you,
That does not mean it is unimportant. What God's family does when it gathers in His name is always important. However it wasn't so important that God gave us an account of a worship time at church in New Testament times. One would be forgiven for thinking that there must be a section of scripture somewhere that defines in detail what Christians are to do when they gather as the church to worship the Father. It's not there. I have looked.
Despite this we all still have our opinions. Why is that? I think it is because it is a shared experience and we think we have the right to speak strongly if we are expected to participate in the group experience of worship. I could be wrong and even if I am I know I am not wrong about the fact that almost everyone seems justified in putting their foot down about what is done in worship when they start to feel uncomfortable.
How do we deal with this? Does God have anything to say about how we relate to each other in our public gatherings? Yes He does and that's the subject of another post one day.
In a worship time at church there is a laundry list of things that can tick you off. The crazy hat that sister so and so is wearing. The nervous ticks of the song leader. The shrill voice of one of the sopranos. The fact that brother so and so isn't wearing a tie. The fact that brother so and so is wearing a tie. The crying child. The preacher's pretentiousness. The list is endless. Even if among all that laundry list of annoyances we come to a united theological position we are still ticked off. I believe that answer is not in agreeing on everything about public worship.
Let me suggest that the answer is in agreeing on one thing. Biblically that one thing is that we love God and we therefore worship Him. In our worship we should be focusing on the one true and living God who loves us to the extreme. My belief is that if we focus on the one we worship then we will find that all those things that we find personally annoying will suddenly not seem so important. We will develop a godly perspective. It's hard not to look at others as we worship but we must work a lot harder on looking at the one we worship and encourage the rest of the family to do the same.
There's a lot more to study about this but these are some thoughts that hit me today. Who knows why? That's rhetorical so don't tell me. Raise your voice to God. He loves you and wants to hear from you,
FUNNY
This really tickled me as I had 3 boys who I am sure would not have made it without ramen noodles. Their inventor died recently and he left us with this great motto. "Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Give him ramen noodles, and you don't have to teach him anything".
Moving On
Despite this lack of passion for the adventure of a move I have increasingly been hearing the leading of God's Spirit to go to work with another church. It has been a quiet voice but a persistent one. I have a great love for the church I have partnered with for the the past 5 years. We have gone through many battles together. We have stood shoulder to shoulder in this enterprise called church and God has lead us into a growth of our understanding of His will and of a understanding of this world that we are called to transform with the gospel of Jesus. God has blessed me with wonderful elders during my time in San Diego. A preacher could not ask for better.
Despite my love for this church and my deep relationships with many in this church, Julie and I have decided to leave and hope to enter a new ministry with the Glendale Church of Christ in the Los Angeles area. I keep praying that the Lord will give me wisdom and faith to do good in this time of transition.
If you would have a heart to, I would ask you to pray for us also.
God's Power
God let me preach tonight. It was the second in a series on Ephesians called Identity. Is was in and around Ephesians 1:19 one of my favorite verses. Favorite in the sense that it really speaks to me.
God has incomparably great power for us believers. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (:20). It made me think. If God is for us and God never stops working and God has this great power that he exerts on us, then why does it seem that so little is getting done. It is profane to think that God is not keeping up His end of the enterprise called the Kingdom. The only conclusion is that we are not keeping up our end. Have we become stumbling blocks like Peter in Matthew 16? Maybe, but we don't need to dwell on it. We need to dwell on the fact that God used Peter only a matter of months later to preach the gospel in a powerful way. We don't have to be stumbling blocks. We need to have faith in Jesus (Ephesians 1:15). That's the beginning and the end of the discussion. Do we have faith in Jesus? Once that decision is made, God has great power for us who believe. Praise Him.
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