Who Wants To Demonstrate?

As I look around our world today, it’s painfully obvious that we are continuing to deteriorate morally, civilly and socially. I am one of those people who believe that we as Christians need to be active in the civil affairs of our country - volunteering wherever possible in positions of leadership and local government. I also think we should exercise our freedom to vote. Far too many people complain about the leadership of our city, our state and our country, but they don't take part in our public election process.
That being said, I also believe that our churches sometimes get too caught up in political and social affairs that happen to push our religious ‘hot buttons’. I’m not advocating any kind of ‘soft pedaling’ sin or compromising the truth of God’s word. All I'm saying is that we sometimes we go on a tirade against sin that often drives away the sinners. Just about every week I get an email, a flyer or a letter asking for our church to support some boycott or participate in a demonstration against the ‘ills’ of an organization or a group of people within our society. I do have strong convictions about things, and I will voice my opinions whenever it can be used for good. But I’m not not surprised when those who are unbelievers act like unbelievers. We as Christians are called to be salt and light to the world. I doubt if a gang of angry demonstrations and boycotts will do much to reach out to those who are lost and caught up in unChristianlike behavior. The real heart of the problem is a matter of the heart. I firmly believe that our greatest advances against these ‘ills’ of the world will be made when we as the Church begin to model Christian love and share the reason for the hope that’s within our hearts. When we truly begin to live lives that are Christlike and demonstrate the character and nature of Jesus in our culture. As we share our faith, God will change the hearts of those we are able to reach. As we love those who we may have previously considered ‘unlovable’, we will make more friends than enemies along the road of life, and encourage more 'seekers' to check out our Savior. And isn't that what we should be doing anyway? Pointing others to the hope that is found in Jesus Christ? Think about it this way: We only have so much time in this life. How should we be spending that time - fighting against sinners, or loving them into the kingdom? When you look at Jesus, the crowd with which He had the most trouble was the religious crowd. He showed Himself to be a friend to those who were ostracized by the religious folks. He hung out with fishermen, prostitutes, wine-bibbers and sinners - not to condone their sin - but to show them a better way. He devoted His time on earth to sharing the Good News of grace with all who would listen. And He has called us as the Church to emulate His example.
A while back a friend of mine gave me a great book entitled Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. He very poignantly writes: “The church does not exist for itself; it exists to serve the world. It is not ultimately about the church; it’s about all the people God wants to bless through the church. When the church loses sight of this, it loses its heart. This is especially true today in the world we live in where so many people are hostile to the church, many for good reason. We reclaim the church as a blessing machine not only because that is what Jesus intended from the beginning but also because serving people is the only way their perceptions of church are ever going to change. This is why it is so toxic for the gospel when Christians picket and boycott and complain about how bad the world is. This behavior doesn’t help. It makes it worse. It isn’t the kind of voice Jesus wants his followers to have in this world. Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.”
Good words for all of us… Instead of wasting the time we have demonstrating against everything, let’s demonstrate with our lives, the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

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Growth By Design

In his book “The Purpose Driven Church”, Rick Warren writes, “I believe that you measure the health or strength of a church by its sending capacity rather than its seating capacity. The church is in the sending business. One of the questions we must ask when evaluating a church’s health is: 'How many people are being mobilized for the Great Commission?'” It is easy to get caught up in growing church crowds, building new facilities, and offering more innovative, high tech church services. Yet we must always be aware that God’s purpose for growing the church extends beyond the property lines of the campus. He calls us together by design. We each bring different talents, gifts and abilities which He combines together in a manner that reaches the needs of our community and connects with those who are searching for help and hope beyond their circumstances. And God’s plan isn’t just about performing acts of benevolence or physical assistance. That might happen, but His plan is for something much deeper and more permanent to take place. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. God certainly cares about our physical needs and the struggles we face, but He knows that this life and the troubles associated with it are temporary. We have been created for eternity. So God’s hope for our lives is not just to help us thru the problems of today, most importantly, He wants to make sure we are taken care of thru out eternity. And as a growing church fills with growing Christians, His plan is for us to mobilize into our communities, meeting needs, sharing encouragement, and discovering places we can plug into other people’s lives. As we do, He will provide opportunities for us to share our faith with unbelievers.
With that in mind, let me ask you a question: "How are you taking part in reaching out to your community and communicating the hope and help of Jesus Christ?" What can you do? There are many ways to get involved. Start with “Prayer Walking”. Walk the streets of your community asking God to show you how you can share His love in tangible ways with your friends and neighbors. Volunteer to work in a local mission. Volunteer to help at the local Christian Radio Station – WMIT 106.9. Volunteer to participate in one of the church ministries. Go on a short-term mission trip. Give above your regular tithe and offering to support the missions and benevolence work in which the church is involved. Find your purpose in God’s plan… I believe He is enlarging our tent so that His kingdom might be enlarged. Your part in His plan has eternal implications. Go plug in somewhere!

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Trust In The Lord

How much do you trust in God? Many of us say we trust Him, but when things are out of control in our lives, what is our first response? We try to get things together on our own. We put together a plan to reassume control. And often we do so before we ever talk to God. We say we want to live our lives in accordance with God’s plan, but usually we put our own plan together and then try to convince God to join us. I wonder sometimes if we really even believe God is truly all powerful and in control of our lives at all.
While in the military, I participated in numerous field training exercises (FTX). An FTX was a training event which prepared our soldiers for war. Sometimes, as my company would deploy to a specific location, I would ride in a helicopter and observe the movement. A critical part of a military convoy is making sure the vehicles stay at least 100 meters apart and are not stalled on the open road for any length of time. On one particular exercise, I watched as the convoy came to a halt. The vehicles that were carrying my soldiers bunched up on the road, and they quickly became easy targets for the enemy. I could see the frustration of the platoon leaders and platoon sergeants below. They were waving their arms, calling on the radio, trying frantically to get the soldiers off the road and disbursed. From my position in the air, I could see the reason for the traffic jam. As the lead vehicles were pulling off the main road into the exercise area, one vehicle had broken down and was blocking the entrance.
Isn’t that a lot like us? We have a tendency to get frustrated and upset when things in life stall our plans and we can’t see what’s going on. And just like my soldiers, getting angry at the situation doesn’t make things better. In fact, it makes things worse.
And while we try to take matters into our own hands and control the situation, we fail to consult with God. Yet God is above every episode in our lives and can see every situation. Friend, no matter what you may be facing, when you’re stuck in your circumstances and can’t see what lies ahead, don’t forget that God is there. He also sees your frustration and He cares. Put your full trust in Him. Ask Him to help you thru the situation you’re facing. Believe that He cares for you and only has your best interest at heart.
So many times I believe God allows us to get overwhelmed in circumstances beyond our control. Not because He is trying to punish us or be mean, He is simply trying to show us that we can trust Him. Nothing catches Him by surprise. And if we will stay focused on Him and surrendering to His purposes for our lives, He will get us to where we need to be according to the best plan – His plan. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.” Trust Him completely to take you thru the twists and turns of life and you will arrive at the location He intends for you to reach. God is in control – Don’t try to take it away from Him.

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Enlarging The Tent Site

This past week I participated in a forum to discuss the barriers to church growth. While this particular meeting was different, I can’t tell you the number of seminars, conferences and classes on the topic of church growth that leave out the most important part – God. I’m not trying to over spiritualize anything, nor am I trying to make excuses for why we haven’t grown as a church - that’s not even applicable. Our church has grown by 800% over the past 5 years! But we haven’t grown because we’ve followed someone else’s template or the latest formula in the bookstore. We’ve grown because God has continued to pour His blessings out upon our family of faith! Someone once asked me give them the secret to our growth. I had to be honest and tell them, “I don’t have a clue.” We have been driven by a mission statement that simply says that we exist to “Exalt Christ and Share His Love”. And we under gird the ministries of the church with continual, fervent prayer. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me.” On every occasion, we endeavor to put the spotlight on Christ. He is the impetus for everything we do. Every ministry, every work, every event, we always point the spotlight to the cross and present Christ as the only hope for our world. Our firm belief is that those of us that have experienced His hope have the privilege and responsibility of sharing it with others. We don’t try to draft new members to a particular denomination or doctrine of man. We simply make friends and share our testimonies with them. And within the context of that friendship, we pray that Christ will reveal His love thru our lives and our new friends will become born again believers. We pray that God will give us favor in the eyes of our neighbors and with everyone we meet so that there will be no barriers to our witness as individuals and as a church. We ask God to increase our family of faith. We ask Him to let us see the lost around us and have compassion enough to reach out to them at their point of need.
There’s nothing new about any of these things… We’re just acting like a family of faith. Do we get it right all the time? Absolutely not! We’re no where close to perfect. So I guess you could say we’re the perfect place for imperfect people. And as such, Jesus is meeting people in our midst and folks are being saved. What is our response? We’re following the instruction God gave in Isaiah 54:2-3. We’re “enlarging the site of our tent, and letting our tent curtains be stretched out; we’re not holding back; we’re lengthening our ropes and driving our pegs deep. And God is spreading us out to the right and to the left.” And it’s happening simply because we are asking God to bless us with opportunities to practice the great commission and the great commandment. It’s amazing what our Lord will do when we take time to ask. You may remember a few years ago when the book, The Prayer of Jabez came out. Some people thought it was a bunch of junk; others thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. I read the book and was challenged to begin praying like Jabez. I don’t believe Jabez’s prayer has any kind of magical power, but I was reminded of the close relationship we have with the Lord and how much He desires to bless us. And it’s with that same attitude that I pray for our church to grow. And I believe there is power when we pray in that manner - expectantly, humbly, and in faith, trusting our merciful and gracious God to answer us according to His plan and purpose for our life. There are alot of good plans for church growth out there and I'm not knocking any of them. But without the critical elements listed above - prayer, emphasizing the great commission, practicing the great commandment and receiving the grace of God - I'm not sure what good it will do to enlarge the site of the church tent.

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