Being Transformed

The Origins of Left Behind Eschatology

2011-04-05T10:33:00.004-04:00

As the so-called "end of the world" approaches, I thought I'd post this book review of the end-times theology of the Left Behind series, by David Malcolm Bennett. It is important that the church understands that the theology of the Left Behind series is not a historical position. No one knows the day or hour of Christ's return (not Harold Camping, and not the Mayans), but we do know that one day he will return. When should not be our concern, but rather our readiness for it whenever it does happen. http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/left_hehind_eschatology.html

Re-Post: A New Year’s Message to Ricky Gervais: Why Your Argument for Atheism Is Wrong

2011-01-13T12:22:00.005-05:00

While studying late one night, I took a break and flipped on the TV to Ricky Gervais' latest HBO special... where the major portion of his show was shredding a children's story of Noah, and saying God was homosexual. People are free to have their opinions, but outright mockery bothers me. Precisely because this is what the world asks of Christians: tolerance. Yet the world itself is not willing to give to Christians what it asks of Christians. It has become fashionable today to bash Christianity while defending the rights of some other religions from that same bashing. I call that hipocrisy. (And it's even more ironic that hypocrisy is the very same "sin" Christians are accused of). Here's a great repost from Lawrence Meyers who feels similarly. I may not necessarily agree 100% with the proof of God thing, but he's on the right track.

A New Year’s Message to Ricky Gervais: Why Your Argument for Atheism Is Wrong by Lawrence Meyers

I think Ricky Gervais’s television shows are hilarious, but he really should leave theology to other people. He said in a recent article, A Holiday Message From Ricky Gervais: Why I’m an Atheist:

The existence of God is not subjective. He either exists or he doesn’t. It’s not a matter of opinion. You can have your own opinions. But you can’t have your own facts.

This statement, and several other things about his article, dismayed me. However, his article was also instructive for those who want to look beyond its text. I’ll get to that in a moment.

But first, why did Mr. Gervais and the media choose to release this article right before Christmas? Nice timing. Very respectful. Why is it that Joy Behar storms off her own show because Bill O’Reilly makes a statement about Muslims and everyone cheers her, yet nobody has a problem with Mr. Gervais insulting Christians? Mind you, it doesn’t bother me that his statement bothers people. In fact, those who believe in God (regardless of religious affiliation) should welcome such a challenge. It’s the timing that is disrespectful.

Second, there’s an arrogance that oozes throughout the piece. Mr. Gervais is so insistent that he is right – a trait often exuded by those on the Left — that he subsequently relies on faulty logic and a few bad childhood experiences to bolster his case.

Third, this is just more of the same from Hollywood: the constant denigration of those who believe in God. Don’t believe me? Name ten films out of the thousands produced since 1980 that presented a positive theme about faith in God — not faith in general, or a feel-good spirituality, but the G-word. Now name ten films in which a person who believed in God was cast as a villain. Then take it to television. It’s even worse there.

This is done despite the fact that on any given Sunday morning, you will find over 100 million Christians in the same type of building — a church. The vast majority of people in this country identify themselves as Christian. Yet Hollywood does not seem interested in making more money and generating higher ratings by actually delivering content that reflects the values of the majority of this country.

There’s one more item regarding Mr. Gervais’s article that is instructive for all of us. He’s just wrong. God’s existence cannot be proven or disproved via objective means. Therefore, His existence (or lack thereof) is a strictly subjective determination.

To decide whether I was right or Mr. Gervais is right, I took our statements to a friend from college who happens to be a Christian scholar. I handed him both statements without attribution. Here is his reply:

There are very few matters that are truly “objective”. The only ones would be mathematical truths, but everything else is evidential in nature. For instance, how do we know that George Washington was the first president? This cannot be determined “objectively” because we have to depend on written documents handed down to us from many sources. There is ample good evidence that he was first president, so I believe it wholeheartedly, but it cannot be proved in a theoretical, absolute sense, only evidentially. Indeed, this is how our court system works.

We don’t have to have 100% certitude to have knowledge.

So, what is the evidence for God? What evidences for or against God do you find compelling? Some say an absolute good being cannot exist because there is evil in the world. There is archeological evidence surrounding the Old Testament and Jesus Christ, so how does one interpret all of that? We should each go through all the evidence and make a judgment. Many will not do it because they find it too threatening to their way of life, because let’s face it, if God exists, it has enormous implications for this life and the next.

We must make a judgment. In other words, God’s existence is indeed a strictly subjective determination. Argument resolved.

This is what irritated me about Mr. Gervais’s statement. We can have knowledge but not 100% certitude about something. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t test our knowledge, however, to see how certain we are about something.

A lot of people tromp around all day making illogical statements, having built a subjective reality based upon “knowledge” that has not been tested. In my experience, Conservatives, more often than not, do their best to test their knowledge with logic prior to forming an opinion. Liberals are fueled by emotion, resulting in more questionable knowledge from which they form their opinions.

Ironic, isn’t it, that they are the ones who rely more on faith in their knowledge?

Happy New Year, and remember, a closed mouth catches no flies.

Full Article: http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/lmeyers/2011/01/04/why-ricky-gervais-is-wrong/

Trading One Dramatic Resolution for 10,000 Little Ones

2011-01-04T11:35:00.002-05:00

This is very poignant. It's something I share often with people in counsel I give, but Paul Tripp expounds it in a better way than I've ever shared it. Be daily transformed!

via Desiring God Blog by Paul Tripp on 12/31/10:

I've told the story many times of talking impatiently with my wife one Sunday morning and having my nine year old son interject—

Daddy, is this the way a Christian man should be talking to his wife?

Rather sarcastically I said, What do you think?

And he replied, It doesn't make any difference what I think, what does God think?

I went to my bedroom and two thoughts immediately hit me. First, my pride reared up. I want to be a hero to my son and I was embarrassed that he had been troubled by my attitude and words. But that didn't last very long. I soon thought, "How could it be that God could love me so much that he would give a twit of care about this mundane little moment in the Tripp bathroom?"

That's love at a level of magnificence that I am unable to capture with words. This was but one moment in one room in one house of one family, on one block on one street in one neighhborhood, in one city in one state in one country on one continent, in one hemishpere on one globe in the universe. Yet God was in that moment, working to continue his moment-by-moment work of transforming the heart of this man.

Rethinking the Annual Ritual
Why am I telling you this story? Well, it's that season once again. It's the fodder for blogs, newspaper articles, TV magazine shows and way too many Twitter posts. It is the time for the annual ritual of dramatic New Year's resolutions fueled by the hope of immediate and significant personal life change.

But the reality is that few smokers actually quit because of a single moment of resolve, few obese people have become slim and healthy because of one dramatic moment of commitment, few people who were deeply in debt have changed their financial lifestyle because they resolved to do so as the old year gave way to the new, and few marriages have been changed by the means of one dramatic resolution.

Is change important? Yes, it is for all of us in some way. Is commitment essential? Of course! There is a way in which all of our lives are shaped by the commitments we make. But biblical Christianity—which has the gospel of Jesus Christ at its heart—simply doesn't rest its hope in big, dramatic moments of change.

Living in the Utterly Mundane
The fact of the matter is that the transforming work of grace is more of a mundane process than it is a series of a few dramatic events. Personal heart and life change is always a process. And where does that process take place? It takes place where you and I live everyday. And where do we live? Well, we all have the same address. Our lives don't careen from big moment to big moment. No, we all live in the utterly mundane.

Most of us won't be written up in history books. Most of us only make three or four momentous decisions in our lives, and several decades after we die, the people we leave behind will struggle to remember the event of our lives. You and I live in little moments, and if God doesn't rule our little moments and doesn't work to recreate us in the middle of them, then there is no hope for us, because that is where you and I live.

The little moments of life are profoundly important precisely because they are the little moments that we live in and that form us. This is where I think "Big Drama Christianity" gets us into trouble. It can cause us to devalue the significance of the little moments of life and the "small-change" grace that meets us there. And because we devalue the little moments where we live, we don't tend to notice the sin that gets exposed there. We fail to seek the grace that is offered to us.

The 10,000 Little Moments
You see, the character of a life is not set in two or three dramatic moments, but in 10,000 little moments. The character that was formed in those little moments is what shapes how you respond to the big moments of life.
What leads to significant personal change?
• 10,000 moments of personal insight and conviction
• 10,000 moments of humble submission
• 10,000 moments of foolishness exposed and wisdom gained
• 10,000 moments of sin confessed and sin forsaken
• 10,000 moments of courageous faith
• 10,000 choice points of obedience
• 10,000 times of forsaking the kingdom of self and running toward the kingdom of God
• 10,000 moments where we abandon worship of the creation and give ourselves to worship of the Creator.

And what makes all of this possible? Relentless, transforming, little-moment grace. You see, Jesus is Emmanuel not just because he came to earth, but because he makes you the place where he dwells. This means he is present and active in all the mundane moments of your daily life.

His Work to Rescue and Transform
And what is he doing? In these small moments he is delivering every redemptive promise he has made to you. In these unremarkable moments, he is working to rescue you from you and transform you into his likeness. By sovereign grace he places you in daily little moments that are designed to take you beyond your character, wisdom and grace so that you will seek the help and hope that can only be found in him. In a lifelong process of change, he is undoing you and rebuilding you again—exactly what each one of us needs!

Yes, you and I need to be committed to change, but not in a way that hopes for a big event of transformation, but in a way that finds joy in and is faithful to a day-by-day, step-by-step process of insight, confession, repentance and faith. And in those little moments we commit ourselves to remember the words of Paul in Romans 8:32—

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us, how will he not also with him freely give us all things.

So, we wake up each day committed to live in the small moments of our daily lives with open eyes and humbly expectant hearts.

The Gracious Rescue of Surprise (Repost)

2010-09-30T15:37:00.000-04:00

via Desiring God Blog by Paul Tripp on 9/21/10:

When you scan the biblical story you can’t help concluding that following God brings a life of surprises. Whatever plans God’s people made and however they tried to figure out God’s plans, they were constantly greeted with surprises. They faced turns in the story that they never would have anticipated. God’s plan again and again included things that would not have been included in the story if his people had been doing the planning.
One of the reasons for this is that we human beings tend to focus on outcomes. We simply want things to go well and turn out right. God surely does care about the end of all things, but he is graciously at work in the process as well.
The surprises along the way are God’s surprises. He is never caught off guard or unprepared. He calls us to follow him beyond the boundaries of our wisdom, strength and character. The waiting we have to do and the surprises that we face are meant by him to be tools of grace. They are designed to release us from our self-reliance and the hold our dreams for our lives have on us.
In those moments of surprise, it is important to remember that you may be confused, but God isn’t. In this moment when you are not sure what is going on, you haven’t been abandoned. No, the opposite is true: you are being rescued. But living this way is hard for us.
As pseudo-sovereigns, we hate waiting, disappointment, obstacles, and failure. We struggle to accept the fact that these things exist in a world that is under the wisest and most benevolent rule possible. C. S. Lewis comments that a hardy belief in the truths of Christianity actually makes your experience of pain more painful. It is bad enough to have to endure pain, but as a believer you must say that it was not an accident and that it was sent by a God who declares himself to be good!
To us, often God's order looks like disorder, and his wisdom looks like foolishness. God's lovingkindness often seems to be anything but loving, and definitely not kind. All of this has to do with one humbling thing that we all have to admit: as sinners, we want our own way. We want life to work according to our plan. We don’t want to have to face the unexpected or deal with disappointment. We want life to be smooth and predictable. And we want all of this because we are more concerned about our comfort and ease than we are about the processes of grace that are at work in us.
It is hard to rest in the rulership of the King when our hearts and minds are so preoccupied with the success of our own little kingdoms.
Life surprises us with the reality of who is king and how different his will and way are from ours. We have lived day after day, month after month and year after year in the world of our needs, our wants, and our dreams. We have nurtured the illusion that if God really does love us, he will give the things that we have determined are good to us.
We have convinced ourselves that if we obey, God will keep his part of the bargain and send “the good life” our way. We thought that if we parented well, then all of our children would turn out the way we hoped. We thought that if we worked faithfully then we would harvest the seeds of our investments in our later years. We thought that if we kept our bodies under subjection then the Lord would bless us with good health. We thought that if we followed the Lord in personal devotion and public worship and ministry, then our lives would be spiritually rich.
Remember, you are not alone, God's people have always struggled with the shock of his rule. The kingdom of darkness is being destroyed by the kingdom of light, and none of us can escape being affected by the carnage.
Deep beneath every struggle of doubt and confusion is a collision of kingdoms. The theology of God’s unshakable sovereignty is easier to verbalize than it is to live. The truth that a God of relentless grace is after the total transformation of our hearts, is easier to conceptualize than it is to rest in at street level.
Require yourself to be brutally honest in this moment. What is it that you really want out of life? What is it that you want from God’s hand? What is the true dream for which you have been working? What are the joys that captivate your eyes and control your heart? What is your, "If I only had , then I would be happy?"
How much have your dreams been personal, earthbound, physical, and here-and-now? Have you been motivated by your kingdom more than God's Kingdom? How is your present discouragement, disappointment, confusion or grief a window on what has actually captured your heart? Have you really wanted God to be your wise and loving Father who brings into your life what he considers best, or have you wanted him to be a divine waiter, the all-powerful deliverer of your dreams?
Could it be that you have prayed for grace, but that you don’t really like the grace that you have been given? Divine grace doesn’t always make your life simple or your pathway clear. God’s grace doesn’t always provide you with release or relief. God’s grace often brings you hardship, confusion, and surprises. These things are sent to you, not by a God who is messing with you because he’s more powerful than you, but from the hand of a God a glorious grace, who is exercising his power for the purpose of your transformation.
So, the next time God surprises you, don’t doubt his goodness, faithfulness, and love. No, lift your hands to the heavens and celebrate. You are being rescued. You are being loved. You are being delivered. You are being transformed. And be thankful that since nothing can separate you from his love, there are more gracious surprises to come!

The New Man

2010-06-14T14:03:00.002-04:00

This is a repost of a devotional by David Wilkerson. I am always emphasizing the main point he makes with regards to the Gospel and salvation: salvation is a work of God alone; our only contribution is to respond and receive. This is the very meaning of grace! You would be surprised how many people believe that they are going to heaven by virtue of their own efforts (I go to church, I read my Bible, I try to be the best husband/father I can be, I help little old ladies across the street...). In order to qualify for heaven, it's not something we do, rather, something must be done to us. We must become a "new man," and not by my efforts, but by the Spirit of God. Read on and enjoy...

THE NEW MAN
As followers of Christ, we are to take God at his Word and accept as true what he says we are. This means our "old man" represents a man who still seeks to please God in the flesh. Such a man hates sin, he doesn't want to offend God, and yet his conscience continually brings him under guilt. So he pledges to overcome his sin problem: "I'm going to change! I'll start today to fight my besetting sin, no matter what the cost. I want God to see how hard I am trying."

Such a man brings to the Lord much sweat and many tears. He prays and fasts to prove to God that he has a good heart. He's able to resist sin for days at a time, and so he tells himself, "If I can go for two days, then why not four, why not a week?" By the end of the month he feels good about himself, convinced he's working himself free. But then his old sin surfaces, and down he goes, deep into despair. And that starts the cycle all over again. Such a man is on a treadmill that will never end, one he can't get off.

May it never be! His man-in-flesh was crucified along with Christ, killed in the eyes of God. Indeed, Paul tells us that the old man was pronounced dead at the cross. Jesus took that old man into the grave with him, where he was left for dead and forgotten. Just as the prodigal's father ignored the "old man" in his son, the Lord says of our old man, "I won't recognize or deal with such a one. There is only one man I recognize now, one with whom I'll deal. That is my Son, Jesus, and all who are in him by faith."

The new man is the one who has given up all hope of pleasing God by any effort of the flesh [emphasis mine - DC]. He has died to the old ways of the flesh. And by faith he has come to know there is only one way to please God, one way to delight him: Christ must become all. He knows that there is but One whom the Father recognizes: Christ and all who are in him.

This new man lives by faith alone: "The just shall live by faith." He believes God's Word so completely he leans on nothing else. He has found his source of everything in Christ, who is all sufficient. And he believes what God says of him: "Your old man is dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." He may not feel it, or comprehend it fully, but he won't argue with his loving Father's Word. He accepts it on faith, believing the Lord is faithful to his Word.

Read this devotion online at: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/8387

A Challenge for You!

2010-03-28T19:06:00.002-04:00

(Re-posted from Michael Shannon's blog):

Holy week is upon us and Christians all around the world are preparing their hearts and minds to celebrate the crucifixion burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. I want to use this forum to offer a challenge to everyone who reads my blog. I want to challenge you to do several things...

1. Resolve all know conflict you have with someone in your personal life if it exists. After all this week does look forward with great focus on how God will forgive those in Christ Jesus.

2. Spend some time each night praying for a revival in your local church. Pray for your Elders and Deacons. Pray for unity, vision and focus.

3. Set aside any personal agendas you have within the faith and spend the week focusing on Christ and His work done on the cross for those who believe. In other words, preach the gospel to yourself!

4. Begin preparing yourself to come to worship on Resurrection Sunday like never before! Come to the Lords table in a way you never have before! A broken heart, a contrite spirit. Seeking the absolution offered by His body and blood!

Amen!

CenterPoint Update

2010-01-16T15:29:00.002-05:00

First, I want to report that we had our biggest Sunday with attendance last week: 68 people! Two were visitors and said they’d never heard worship like that in a church before and would definitely come back. We have started our own live worship team as of December and have gotten nothing but positive feedback. Of course, we’re still maturing as a team, but the quality improves each week.

Regarding the building, last night we attended the official vote of the Regional Planning Commission to grant us “Conditional Use” of the building we are in. To review, there was a mix-up of paperwork years ago when we first occupied the building, which was zoned only for retail use, not assembly. This meant that for years we have been using the building without the proper permit. Kent County was gracious and allowed us to continue meeting there, provided we were moving to correct the problem. But this also meant that they would not give us a building permit to complete the proposed renovations until the Conditional Use permit was settled. This is why construction on our building has been at a standstill for the last few months.

Over those months, we were told that before we got approved for Conditional Use of the building as an assembly, the entire site (not just our portion, but the owner’s entire property) had to be brought into compliance by today’s County standards. This meant a sidewalk on two sides of the property, and planting of 30 trees. Larson Engineering did some great work and made the case to the County that since we were only one client in the building, we should not be responsible for bringing the entire site into compliance.

So last night the RPC voted and accepted the waivers on the sidewalk and trees, unanimously approving our Conditional Use of the building! This means all we are responsible for is planting four trees on the property now instead of 30. This was a huge victory and we’re very excited.

All that remains is the Levy Court vote on 1/26, but we do not anticipate any problems. Once that is done, then we can finally submit our renovation plans to the County for approval. Pending no issues, we should be able to begin construction again in the weeks thereafter.

It will really be beautiful when it’s finally complete. I encourage everyone from Glasgow Church to plan a visit one Sunday morning and see the finished project.

Come AS YOU ARE - No, really! We won’t judge you

2009-11-20T13:51:00.002-05:00

God continues to drive home the message of “Come as You Are.” Perhaps he wants us to really get this point before we move on to the remainder of our Mission statement here at CenterPoint.
I Corinthians 5 gives us a startling viewpoint of sin in the life of the believer, and the unbeliever. Paul was addressing the fact that some in the Corinthian church were actually proud of sexual immorality going on inside the church. He had strong counsel for handling the situation, but he was quick to remind the church that the way we judge those inside the church is very different from how we judge those outside the church:

9I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—
10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and
swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But
now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a
drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

The problem is that we are often very quick to judge the unbeliever. Like the Pharisees, we are mortified when we hear of sinful behavior. And instead of moving to correct the real problem (their need for Jesus Christ), we address the thing that is revolting to us. Do not get me wrong. Sin absolutely grieves the heart of God, whether borne out by believers or unbelievers. But we must stop trying to get the unbeliever to “follow God’s laws” simply because that’s the way things “should be.” What God wants is for the unbeliever to become a believer. When that happens, God fills them with the Holy Spirit, who then convicts them of their sinful behavior. We must stop trying to do the Holy Spirit’s work.

An unbeliever cannot be pleasing to God, even if they change their behaviors to be more acceptable for your personal liking. And when we chastise the unbeliever for their sinful ways without sharing with them the mercy and forgiveness found only in Jesus, then we are actually driving them away. In our pride, we miss out on an opportunity to share the Gospel. You’ve heard it before: “Why are you judging me?” I’ve even heard someone say to me before, “Doesn’t the Bible say you’re not supposed to judge people?” As much as I hated to hear it then, they were partially right. I am not called to judge the unbeliever, but the believer. Paul continues in verses 12-13:

12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to
judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside.

Dear Christian, are you missing an opportunity to reach an unbeliever because you are doing what only God should be doing? Let the unbeliever feel free to “Come as they are.” They’ll learn to “Grow in grace and truth” with the Holy Spirit’s guidance soon enough.

Do Your Hands Smell Like Fish?

2009-11-09T19:38:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday at CenterPoint I was able to preach on the second half of “Come as You Are,” the first part of our Mission statement for the community: Come as you are. Grow in grace and truth. Go as Jesus says. We examined the second half of the story from Matthew 9:11-13, but this time, instead of looking at the passage from the perspective of Matthew, we looked at it from the perspective of the Pharisees:

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'"

The Pharisees were among the strictest of the Jewish sects within Judaism. They would endlessly debate about the meaning and practice of the Law. The Law was the means by which the Jewish community attained righteousness before God. And as rigid adherents to God’s Law they believed that any good Jew would be as well. This is why they were so incensed by Jesus eating with tax-collectors and sinners. One who eats with sinners defiled himself and became a sinner. No real teacher of God’s Word would eat with sinners. The teacher of God’s Word must be pure.

Jesus’ reply shows them his true calling, and his view of those who were sick. To the Pharisees, the sick were to be avoided so one did not become sick like they were. The Pharisees believed themselves already righteous by virtue of their adherence to the Law, and so separated themselves from the unrighteous. Jesus did the exact opposite. It is the unhealthy who need to be made well. And he knew that wellness only came through him. How else would they get well? The doctor, in order to help the sick, must be willing to touch the patient.

This is the illustration I used for the “fishing community” at CenterPoint: “You can’t be a fisherman without smelling like fish.” I had the opportunity to go surf-fishing during one of our Men’s events this summer at CenterPoint. We had a sunrise service on the beach, cooked breakfast and ate together…and we fished. Those of us who caught a fish (I caught my first one ever!) and handled fish, smelled like fish. But you know how we would have NOT smelled like fish? If we enjoyed a good beach service, ate and fellowshipped with one another, and never touched one. Even if we talked about fishing, made plans to do so, trained each other in fishing, and prayed for fish to jump onto our hooks…if we didn’t stick a rod in the sand or cast a line in the ocean then we wouldn’t be fishing. Our best intentions to fish would have been meaningless unless we actually did it.

The application should be clear. If all we do is come to church, enjoy some fellowship, singing, and good sermons, then we are missing out on what we are truly called to do. Rather than be like Christ, we are instead being like the Pharisees : bloviating about the Scriptures without ever really understanding their meaning. We are self-righteously enjoying the benefits of God’s Word without doing what it commands us to do: preach the Gospel to the sinner and call them to repentance through Jesus. And you can’t do that without getting your hands dirty (or smelly).

I closed with what the sinner should find once they come to our church (mercy, peace, and rest)…but for the sake of time I’ll leave you with this: O Christian of Glasgow Church (including CenterPoint and Stone’s Throw... or wherever you are), you are called to be a fisher of men.

Do your hands smell like fish?

Centerpoint - Come as You Are

2009-10-29T15:16:00.003-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to preach while Pastor Betters (the senior one) is out of the pulpit. So I had the chance to expound on the mission for Centerpoint. As you recall from last week:

Centerpoint Church exists for the purpose of recovery, transformation and restoration. It is a safe place where people are freed by the power of the Gospel, changed by the Holy Spirit as He guides in all truth, and sent to revitalize the community by the Kingdom of God.
In short our message to the world is: “Come as you are. Grow in grace and truth. Go as Jesus says.”

We zeroed in on “Come as You Are,” which corresponds to the first part of our actual Mission statement above. My sermon had one-point only, “Centerpoint will become a safe place when we love sinners as Jesus loved them.” The passage I preached from was Matthew 9:9-13, which says:

9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus loved sinners. In fact, this was the reason he came: to call sinners to repentance. What's more, Jesus actively sought sinners in order to call them to repentance. Look at Matthew, who authored this letter. He was a tax-collector. And to a first-century Jew under Roman oppression, a tax-collector was not like the IRS today. They were hated and despised because they were considered thieves and traitors. They lined the pockets of the Roman government with money from God’s people. And they collected more than was required to line their own pockets. This practice was known. In Luke 3:13 some tax-collectors were baptized and asked John what they should do now. “Collect no more than you are required to,” was his reply. Matthew was a traitor and a thief. He lived in a huge home which was able to accommodate a large banquet with his friends (v.10). It was this traitor and thief who extorted money from God’s people that Jesus called to repentance. It was this scoundrel who gave all that up (the parallel story in Luke says Matthew “left everything”) to follow Jesus, who would later write one of the four Gospel accounts we have today.

Jesus loves sinners. He didn’t avoid spending time with them. He actively sought them. But he didn’t actively seek them just to “hang out” with them. Jesus had a redemptive purpose for everything he did. He spent time with sinners in order to call them to repentance. And as Jesus loved sinners, so should we.

Who do you spend time with? The easy thing to do is spend time with Christian friends and family. It’s safe there, at least for us. But the harder thing to do is as Jesus did: actively seek out unbelievers in order to call them to repentance.

And what about new people who come to our church? Do they feel safe? Is a non-Christian welcome at our church? Welcome in our already established Christian circles (read as “cliques”)? Once Jesus asked the disciples if they would all desert him as some of the crowds did. Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Think about that. Do we really want sinners to go anywhere else just because it might make us uncomfortable? Jesus is the only One who offers hope and healing for the sinner. Where else should they go? The bottom of a bottle? The end of a needle? Into worldly counsel or immoral relationships? At both Centerpoint and Glasgow, we need to be a place where the sinner can come to find eternal life. We need to welcome the sinner with open arms… in order to call them to repentance. And as sinners once ourselves we need to remember this doesn’t often happen overnight.

Is our church a place where the sinner can truly Come as They Are?

Centerpoint Update - Our Mission Statement

2009-10-22T13:32:00.002-04:00

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated you all on what’s going on at Centerpoint. It’s been amazing. Since we’ve been back in our own building, we’ve had 17 visitors, and 7 of them were from last week alone! I had the opportunity to go out to lunch afterwards with one group, and two of them decided they wanted to take the membership class the next week. As I said, it’s been incredible. Several visitors are from the Military base so God continues to bring us people from two areas: the base, and those recovering from addictions. It seems God has defined our Mission field for us.

On 9/27 I was able to preach a sermon on the mission of Centerpoint Church specifically. Here is our mission statement:

Centerpoint Church exists for the purpose of recovery, transformation and restoration. It is a safe place where people are freed by the power of the Gospel, changed by the Holy Spirit as He guides in all truth, and sent to revitalize the community by the Kingdom of God.

In short our message to the world is: “Come as you are. Grow in grace and truth. Go as Jesus says.”

Those of you familiar with the Middletown work will recognize that ending slogan. I “borrowed” our slogan directly from Dan’s incredible vision (why reinvent the wheel, right?), however I added what I feel is a crucial component: discipleship. Discipleship is key. In order to go as Jesus says, we must be willing to pick up our cross daily and follow him. I believe this pattern also fits well with the Scriptures. Jesus first calls the disciples, then spends time with them modeling and teaching before sending them out. My plan is to develop a discipleship process based on this simple “Come, grow, go” model.

Needless to say this mission statement has our people excited. It will take some time to change the culture of the church to reflect our mission statement, but it is already taking place. In future articles, I hope to expound on each primary point in the statement and why it fits uniquely in our cultural context. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your feedback. What do you think?

Centerpoint Update - Going Home

2009-09-17T12:45:00.002-04:00

It’s been a tremendous blessing to join you all at the “Main Campus” for worship the last few weeks. But it’s even more exciting to be able to start meeting back at our own campus in Dover this week. We’ll miss seeing you in person, but there’s just something about “home,” ya know?

Our Extreme Church Makeover is not quite complete. The code issues I mentioned previously will keep us from completing the building for several months. BUT… we received some good news today that means we can start moving forward again. AND… with the construction that has already been done, the building already looks better. We have a new ceiling with recessed lighting in the sanctuary, the walls are up to define our space in our coffee-house style lobby, and new carpet is throughout. There is much finish work to be done, but we’re way ahead of where we were.

Finally, we’ve had tons of outreach ideas flying around, from the basic to the extreme. We’re anxious to start putting them into place, but we do have some planning to do first. I do have one cool story to share that required no planning. A church member and I decided to walk through the park last week and ask people about community needs, eventually inviting them to the church. We met Bill, a retired military man who fought in Korea. Bill was a Christian, but “by chance” did not currently attend church. We talked for over a half-hour, prayed for Bill, and yes, we expect to see him At Centerpoint this Sunday! When you are intentional about inviting someone it is really that easy. Try inviting someone you don’t know to church and share your experience here.

Centerpoint Update - One church, many locations

2009-08-27T14:19:00.002-04:00

It was so good to be at the main campus worshipping as one church Sunday. We had most of our congregation represented and were warmly welcomed with your applause. Thank you! We’ll be with you for at least one more week while construction continues. That being said, we have run into some major snags with the county due to the age (read as “out-of-code compliance”) of our building. Please pray for us as we try to work through these issues with the county.

And from my previous posts, now you know my plan for establishing the church. Obviously, this is just one aspect. There are spiritual and a programmatic aspects as well. I hesitate to use the word “program” because what we really want to do is simply find ways to serve the community and transform it in the name of Christ. At one meeting last week, after learning one of our members had just lost his job, I actually asked… “If we want to think big, and really transform the culture, then how can we help create jobs here?” We would not only transform the culture, we would be meeting people’s real needs and thus have an “in” to share the gospel with them and invite them to church. If you have ideas you’d like to share, please email them to me or post them here on my blog. We've only just begun!

Centerpoint Update - the Final Step

2009-08-20T15:22:00.002-04:00

Wow. I wish you all could see how good the room looks even torn apart. I can actually envision what it’s going to look like now that the wall studs are in place. Can’t wait…

In review, these were the steps of my plan (administratively speaking) for Centerpoint’s re-launch into the Community:

Renovation of existing property
Indentifying Leadership
Implementing Discipleship
Implementing Outreach

And now, Step 5: Planting another church out of our people. This may sound like a strange goal considering we have not firmly established ourselves yet. But I believe that this step is crucial if we are to be considered a “healthy” church. If we are doing what God has called us to do according to the Great Commission in Matthew 28, and the establishing our church according to Acts 2:42-47, then we should grow to a point where are reproducing disciples, and hence, able to plant another church. We should grow through multiplication. This would be the greatest sign that God has blessed us as a church. Finally, since we contain the DNA of Glasgow Church, we should emulate that part of the “hub and spokes” vision as well. Please pray for us, and I’ll keep you posted here!

Centerpoint Update

2009-08-13T13:00:00.003-04:00

Centerpoint Church (formerly known as GRPC - Southern Kent) continues to move forward. We are weeks away from completing Step 1 of our plan with beautification and renovation. Classes are in place to begin handling the education portion of Steps 2 & 3: leadership development and discipleship. This brings us to Step 4: Outreach, which has always been the end goal of Steps 1-3. Now that we have an established environment to invite people to, and we are being trained and equipped to fulfill the Great Commission, it is time to reach out to our community and let them know about Jesus Christ, the center of our lives.

For Outreach we have several strategies to accomplish this goal. Nothing beats personal invitation and relationships. Beyond that we must also devise opportunities to facilitate new relationships. This will entail the gamut from the very subtle (like a free car wash) to the very direct (visiting neighborhoods and even street evangelism). Programs of the church like children’s and youth ministry will also make us more appealing to the community. Further, we will continue to support our successful women’s and men’s bible studies. Finally, our house churches are ready to re-launch in the fall being outreach and mercy-minded as well. In many ways Southern Kent is a needy community. As the Lord provides we must meet those needs with Word and deed.

Next week, Step 5. It may surprise you…

Southern Kent Update: Discipleship and a New Name

2009-08-05T11:11:00.001-04:00

GRPC – Southern Kent has a new name: CenterPoint Church. Soon I’ll be working a website, a new logo, branding and the like. We’re still a satellite ministry of Glasgow, of course, as will be reflected in all our material, and the fact that our website will be almost an exact duplicate of Glasgow Church. But the new name begins to give us a new identity in the Southern Kent community. Jesus is the true CenterPoint and our church will be the “center” of the community as we reflect Him.
Step one of my plan for Southern K-- I mean, CenterPoint Church! -- is underway: construction begins August 17. Step two is the development of leadership and step three is closely related: Discipleship. Several members of the staff worked hard on developing our Discipleship Journey a little while ago. I plan on implementing this same thing at CenterPoint. Each member will be encouraged to take a series of classes based on Pastor Betters’ vision for what a disciple looks like according to the Scriptures: a Witness, Servant, Steward and Equipper. These classes are correspondingly called Share, Serve, Live and Lead. Each class has both a teaching component and a practical component. So we will be encouraged not to be just hearers of the Word, but doers of the word as well! As Jesus discipled, so also will I lead by example, demonstrating first what I am asking the people of CenterPoint Church to do with what they hear. This leads us to step four, which I will share next week.

Over the Hill - In More Ways Than One

2009-07-28T16:27:00.002-04:00

Today I am officially “over the hill” at the ripe old age of 40. So let the jokes and brochures for retirement communities begin!

We're also getting over the hill at Southern Kent, in the sense that our building plan is almost underway so we can begin emphasizing discipleship and outreach! Last week I finished sharing about step one of my growth plan for Southern Kent: preparation for community outreach through renovations to our existing property. Actual construction is on track for the end of August and we hope to roll out the name change at the same time.

Step two of the plan entails raising up additional leadership. This is difficult to do in a church that is averaging about 35-40 people each Sunday! One of the ways we are accomplishing this goal is by teaching doctrine heavy classes. In our current Sunday School, I’m actually using the same material we took the men through in our prior Leadership in Training (LIT) class. Understanding what we believe and why we believe it is crucial for our spiritual lives, both personally and to be able to share Jesus with others. When tragedy strikes, like it did the Van Wingerden family this week, we need to be rooted in what we believe so we can comfort others by gently guiding them into the arms of a sovereign and loving God. Pray a few people from the class grow and take root and begin their first steps towards greater leadership roles in the church! More next week…

Southern Kent Update - What's in a name?

2009-07-17T17:18:00.001-04:00

Last week in our Southern Kent update I shared about the first step in my administrative plan: beautification of our existing property which includes a building campaign to fund those changes, and a name change. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how a name change would be received, but I was pleased and surprised to discover that everyone was overwhelmingly in favor it, including Pastor Betters. The goal of a name change is to present a more “friendly face” to the community. One of the big questions we’ve been asking as we plan our ministries is this: “Does your community exist for the church, or does your church exist for the community?” We want to be the latter.

This is one reason, among others, to come up with something other than Glasgow Reformed Presbyterian Church – Southern Kent, which has no relevance to Southern Kent at all. We’ve pretty much settled on a new name but are not quite ready to reveal it. A new name will necessitate “branding”...like a new logo, affect signage, our website…everything! When the community sees our logo and hears our name, we want them to know we are church that loves Jesus and loves them as well. Our building campaign is going well. We have $30,000 in pledges and just over half of that collected. More next week…

Southern Kent Plan, Part One - Beautification of Existing Property

2009-07-09T14:44:00.001-04:00

Last week I shared about my start on the continuing journey of our Southern Kent Satellite church. And I shared that I have a 5-step plan in order to accomplish our goal of serving the community of Dover and beyond with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Part one of my plan is beautification of our existing building. Why not focus on outreach when that seems the logical way to “grow”? Because our facilities are in desperate need a of facelift so that when people do come they don’t see a fly-by-night church that could pull stakes next week and leave, but rather a church that is rooted and committed to serving the community. In other words, they will see a church they can call “home.”

To this end we have completed new landscaping around the property and are currently working on renovations of both the sanctuary and our lobby, making it more of a gathering space. I have observed people arrive seconds before the service begins and then clear out quickly when it is over because there is no place for them to congregate and fellowship. We need a place for people to assemble and experience community. The new gathering space will be a coffee house atmosphere to accomplish exactly that. Just this week the Fire Marshall has approved our plans and we are now obtaining the necessary permits. By fall I hope to be able to show you all of our completed renovations! More news will be coming as we progress…

Southern Kent Update - The Journey Begins (for me!)

2009-07-08T13:47:00.001-04:00

It has now been two months since I was officially hired as the Southern Kent Campus Pastor. My wife and I were both nervous and excited at the same time about the opportunity. Having been involved there since the beginning of this satellite work, I felt vested in seeing it succeed. So after much prayer and testing of my call, we dove in.

I will continue to update you on our journey there, a journey I hope we we’ll take together as we advance the Kingdom of God in the Dover area. Glasgow Church’s vision for missions encompasses children-at-risk through Refuge and church-planting through One Foundation, which includes satellite church-planting! I have a five-step plan specifically for Southern Kent that I will share over the next several weeks. Please pray for us in the meantime!

The World Traveller

2009-05-12T10:10:00.002-04:00

India was incredible. "Life-changing" can be an over-used term, but I did bring home some lessons I hope never to forget. One, I love America. For all it's faults, it's corruption, it's "inconveniences," it really is the greatest country in the world. Even those pesky environmental and county construction laws were appreciated as we flew out of the #1 city for pollution in the world. We were in the New York city airport parking lot and I swear it smelled like we were in the middle of a forest. And then we drove in lanes on the highway coming home. Actual lanes. If you ever start getting frustrated with our wonderful country, all you need do is visit 95% of the rest of the world. God really has "shed his grace on thee"!

Two, America is spoiled rotten. We live in such opulence and are so blessed that we are often isolated from our real needs. The Indian pastor's wife we were staying with was sharing that whenever they visit the U.S. they are in a "daze" for some time when they return... because all their needs are met. And when all our needs are met, we tend to forget about the need for our absolute dependence on God for everything, every day, and in every moment. I noted quietly that the pastor's wife was very sensitive to prayer. It seemed she would not let us depart from her presence without prayer for something. This is a state that American Christians must learn to live in. Or else we will continue to be consumed by "me" Christianity: "Jesus needs to meet my emotional needs (but I've got the rest covered, Lord)." And the odd thing is, the more dependent we are upon God, the less dependent we become on the world to fulfill our needs, and the more sensitive we become to the needs of others. Christianity is indeed full of good paradoxes!

I also learned the value of our work here in the church. We need to spend less time in the mundane details (though they also must be done!) and more time being the hands and mouth of God to others, and being the feet that bring the gospel of peace. We can indeed bring light to a dark world: food to the hungry, hope to the hopeless, truth to a world full of Satan's lies, be a father to the fatherless, and more. Doing and being those for the entire world at once is God's job when Christ returns. Until then, he can use you to impact at least one person. Who will you minister to today?

Car Conversations - Heaven

2009-04-06T14:02:00.003-04:00

I drive my son, Dario, to school during the week and my favorite times are when we have to take Daddy's car, which has no DVD player like Mommy's van. This means we get to actually talk about various topics or play games like I Spy. Good interaction time.

This morning while driving we had a good talk about heaven. I realized for the first time today that Dario doesn't really understand why Jesus died on the cross. He knows that he did, but not why. I also realized that while I'm well-equipped to talk about salvation with adults, it is much more difficult to explain it to a five-year old. After some introductory discussion we had this exchange:
Daddy: "Jesus died on the cross for your sins, buddy... do you know what sins are?"
Dario: "Badness."
Daddy: "Right, Jesus died for your badness."
Dario: "But I'm not always a bad boy."
Daddy: "Well, no, you're not... but you are totally depraved, and this requires the imputation of Christ's righteousness."

Okay, I didn't say that last part, but I wanted to. You can see how this got quickly convoluted. I suppose the good thing is that we are dialoguing about it so much lately... but I pray that I'm giving him good answers! I always feel like I'm talking over his head, no matter how much I try to bring it to his level. And when I do I feel like I'm not doing the truth of the matter justice. I guess that's why in the end we do our best, but it is truly up to the Lord working in our children's little hearts to change them and bring them to a full understanding of him. Ahhh, parenting...

Christmas 2008

2008-12-22T13:50:00.003-05:00

First of all, you have to watch this. I almost ended up here this year myself, but luckily I asked my wife if she wanted an appliance for Christmas before actually buying it. Narrow escape. Don't end up in the doghouse brothers!

Finally, this is a personal excerpt from a private blog last week. In the spirit of sharing at Christmas, I thought I'd share these stories with you all...

Dante started school this week at Cedar Lane. He said his first day was "good" and that he played blocks and toys. But when I asked him if he shared his toys with other kids, he looked at me like I had three heads and emphatically said, "No!" 'Like, are you crazy, Dad? Share my toys? If I shared them, then what would I have to play with? Share my toys... real funny, Dad. Wanna wrestle?' Dante has been getting better about this, actually. We have observed him sharing with kids at house church and such. It's really when you try to take his toys without him giving them to you that you're likely to suffer punitive damages. Scrappy little bugger.

As for Dario, he and I were talking about Christmas the other day, and he asked me, "Why doesn't Jesus get presents on his birthday?" It was a neat opportunity to explain to him the kind of presents Jesus does like: when we obey him, when we are kind to others or share things, or when we help out little boys or girls who don't have many things, like mommy's and daddy's of their own. At dinner that night when he was telling mommy all this and he said that maybe we could let the little children that don't have mommy's and daddy's stay with us so he could share his mommy and daddy. O Lord Jesus, may both my kids "get it"!

Race, Politics, and the Church

2008-12-04T17:02:00.003-05:00

"I really don't know what the big deal is regarding this topic." Spoken like a true white man. Ranks right up there with "I have lots of black friends!"

Our church hosted an open forum on the topic above this week, and I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. I didn't really know what to expect. I had heard some of the comments and small pockets of tension brewing after the election which precipitated Pastor Betters' idea to hold this, but I wasn't sure who would come, or what the big deal was at first. We're all supposed to be Christians, right, regardless of skin color or political affiliation? "Can't we all just get along?"

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the majority will never fully understand the plight of the minority: feelings, perceptions, history, even hopes. All of the previous will always be filtered through who we are, whether majority or minority people groups, and rarely is one people group able to identify with another. We can begin to intellectually grasp another people groups world-view, but rarely do we fully understand. This goes both ways, by the way. For example, as a white male I will never fully understand why a derogatory name can be so hurtful to the African American. It's just a name, right? Wrong! I know that in my head... but I don't understand the depth of pain that the weight of history behind that name causes. At the same time, the African American cannot know what it's like for a white male who wants to understand and desperately erase that history to build a bridge of equality... yet walks on egg shells for fear they will say or do the wrong thing... or worse, be rejected for trying. I distinctly remember as a teenager trying to befreind an African American teen in my school. I made the mistake of saying, "C'mon, brother, I'm just trying to be friends." To which he replied, "You're NOT my brother." We never did become friends.

One of the reasons I appreciated the forum on this subject was that it opened up dialogue so that understanding could begin to be facilitated. Just being brutally honest, I'll say it was clear last night that there was definitely some walking on eggshells by people of caucasian persuasion, and it was also clear that people of african american persuasion were reaching out to be understood. It was also clear that there was room full of godly men and women of different races who had feelings and perceptions smoothed by their common bond in Christ. There were some comments made that I had theological problems with, but overall, there was a real spirit of peace and desire for understanding on both sides. Of course, we've only just begun to scratch the surface.

I heard from some of my African American friends (yes, I really DO have them!) that they enjoyed it as well. One dear woman wrote our church office and I thought I'd post her email below. I look forward to many more forums like this. I look forward to the day when we reach the point of understanding that skin color truly won't matter, when we see each in Christ, where there no black or white, no Jew or Gentile, when Christ is all in all. In the meantime, I know we as brothers and sisters in Christ will continue to build bridges of understanding. To watch the entire forum please check back on our media page next week.

And now for an email from Puddles:

Dear Glasgoers,
My name is Chevonne E. Davis-Dorsey, known to many as "Puddles". As an African-American female, I am overjoyed about the forum. First, always seeking the kingdom of God there is nothing that the true body of Christ can not pray about, observe, repent, and grow together to further the kingdom of Christ. I am extremely happy that we can come together as brothers and sisters in Christ and explain our hurts, disappointments, and doubts about one another responsibly and maturely, like Christ would have us to do. I will not be able to make the meeting but, I do have some words to be shared and to have my brothers and sisters to know. There is no room in God for bigotry. It is evil. No, I have not always felt this way but, God has made my heart to be made of flesh and not stone. I was emotionally hurt in a friendship, thought to be a good friendship by myself. Surprisingly, my best friend called me out of my name, the "n" word because I received a better grade on a test than she. My world was torn to pieces. I had not been able to forgive that incident until I truly knew what God required of me as not just His follower but His child. Now, I know that many people have either learned this awful behavior by home life, peers, media, or the music industry but, I will have you to know that we are better than that. We are God's children. We know who we are and whose we are. It is always so much easier to play the blame game than to stand up for Christ and let Him handle our battles. I am proud to belong to a church that is not only concerned with these issues but they will address them. I will be praying for each and every household for this is not an easy task but "through God all things are possible". God said love one another as you love yourself. Just love.
Prayerfully Yours,
Chevonne E. Davis-Dorsey
"PUDDLES"

Water for a championship-thirsty soul...

2008-10-30T09:55:00.004-04:00

I digress from the serious nature of this blog to celebrate the 2008 World Series Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies! Being a Philly sports teams fan most of my life, this is a great accomplishment, and a long overdue one at that. Some interesting observations:

1. "We did it!" - I love how we fans say this, as if we were actually on the field throwing and hitting and making plays. Yeah, yeah... 12th man and all that, yadda yadda yadda. Bottom line, I certainly wasn't out there hitting a homer off a 90+ mph pitch.

2. But it WAS nice to hear so many people actually on the Phillies team give so much props to the fans... and hear Coach Manuel say that their victory was for us!

3. Loved the one Phillies player who actually crawled out from the bottom of the celebratory dog pile on the pitcher's mound... and proceeded to jump right back on top again.

4. Nice to see that Philadelphia didn't turn into a looting madhouse. It was great to see the City of Brotherly Love show it by having a big hugging love-fest out in the streets. Yeah, yeah... there was a few small incidents with fireworks and some minor fights. But this is typical of any crowd where alocohol is involved. For the most part, it was very respectable as the fans celebrated a hard-fought victory.

5. "We are the Champions" and the Rocky Theme. Do you know how powerful these songs are when you actually are the champions?

6. Did they have a portable printing press at the stadium? How did they get the newspaper published so fast and in Charlie Manuel's hands? It's taken me longer to write this blog!

7. And finally... I was envious almost to the point of sinfulness when I saw Cole Hamels receive a pre-production 2010 Chevy Camaro as his MVP award. I LOVE that car. Besides the fact that a 23-year old multi-millionaire who is the MVP of the World Series just won it, of course. But... the next morning on 610 I heard a clip of him screaming out thanks to the fans, and he thanked Jesus Christ! (So did Lidge, by the way) Yeah, Yeah... I know this doesn't make him a Christian. That's not the point. The point is that our Lord's name was remembered and heard by hundreds of thousands (Phil 1:15-18).

Now excuse me while I explode in various colors of happiness and then bask warmly in the soft glow of a Philadelphia Championship...

If the church doesn't meet my needs, then what is it good for?

2008-08-27T16:04:00.007-04:00

Read this article:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer slaying church attendance among women, study claims - Telegraph

Well, what do you think? "Gone are the days when the mother was at home during the day and had time to visit the church's coffee mornings and mother and toddler groups. With the pressures women face, churches must adapt to make themselves more accessible." Agree? Is church no longer meeting the needs of women?

And why is it the “church must adapt” to things all the time? Really? Do we have to adapt? Or do we have to stick by our values and continue to propagate the truth about God’s love through Christ? This whole "relevance to the culture" argument is starting to rub me the wrong way…

REACH Out - The Dominican Republic ’08 Missions Trip

2008-07-29T16:09:00.000-04:00

I just returned from leading our youth missions trip in the Dominican Republic with the help of Paul Palmer and Steve Wallace. This was my third trip to the D.R. but it was my favorite overall. We had a very good bunch of kids who “get it,” and one young woman even prayed to receive Christ on the bus ride home! This was a personal highlight of the trip for me. But they all worked hard there, sacrificing their time and talents for the sake of ministering to the children and impoverished, and sacrificed their bodies by assisting with various construction needs.

In the time we were there, we conducted Vacation Bible School during the morning at the Templo Bautista, a Baptist church with which we had been affiliated on our last trip. While we ministered to over 150 kids a day, another team worked on building a fence around the church. Prior to our arrival, the church had been broken into a much of their equipment was stolen. This was a critical blow to a church whose members are primarily impoverished. The fence should provide them with much needed security.

The construction team was also able to build a roof for one of the families who belonged to the Templo Bautista. Their home, which was more like a shack, consisted of four meager block walls separated by another block wall in the middle. The tin roof on one side had fallen down years ago so only one half of their home was now covered. Now the family will be able to enjoy both sections of their home; a mere 500 square feet or so. They were so thankful when the team was done they gave one of the workers one of their few possessions: an artistic portrait hanging on their wall.

Finally, in the afternoons we worked on building two new classrooms for the Jarabacoa Christian School which we constructed in 2003. We also worked on some infrastructure needs in addition to repairing and rebuilding much of the children’s playset. And each day two of our girls also spend some time working with our resident Missionary, Dan Speciale, at the clinic where they were able to experience what physical therapy was like in a third world country.

Like most missions trips, so much happened behind the scenes, during “down-time,” and in people’s hearts, that merely to mention what we accomplished seems to cheapen the entire experience. I was able to watch our kids open up and surrender on a deeper level to Jesus Christ as they saw the hand of God at work. The people of the D.R. that we ministered likewise were affected. Besides being given much needed practical aid they also clearly heard about the love of God through Jesus Christ. Many of the teens testified about how the temperament of the kids they grew close with changed over the week as they heard the bible stories every day. The Christian School we helped by building additional classrooms will be able to register even more children who will hear the Christian message along with their education.

But what affected our kids most was not how much we were able to be a blessing to the people of the D.R., but rather how the people of the D.R. were such a blessing to us. Most of the kids rotated going to the home of a Dominican family each night for dinner. Almost every one said that time was the highlight of their entire trip. They testified about the incredible hospitality of the families, and how they were made to feel like family themselves. In some cases, the family wouldn’t even eat with the visitors because it was such an honor to the Dominican family to serve them. The Dominicans are such a giving people despite their level of poverty. They’ll give you the very last item of food in their house just to treat their guests with respect, even though they might not be able to eat themselves the next day. This level of sacrifice had a profound effect on our kids. We are so privileged in this country, and yet our hospitality and spirit of giving pales in comparison.

At the close of the trip, Dan Speciale encouraged our team to take home what they learned. We don’t need to minister in the Dominican Republic in order to do missions. There are plenty of impoverished and needy people right here locally around GRPC. I would encourage our entire church to consider the same. Not everyone is able to go overseas to do a missions trip. But you can minister the gospel and show mercy to the needy person in Wilmington, or any local city, or even your own neighborhood. Go forth and be a redemptive presence!

Suicide - the Unpardonable Sin?

2008-06-12T12:41:00.002-04:00

I was recently asked if someone committed suicide, will they still go to heaven? I recognize there are those who better understand the nature of the issue, but I wanted to weigh in from a Biblical perspective. The following was my response:

This is a very sensitive topic that is important to understand. Very recently, our church has had to deal with this on a personal level as well.

If you are reading this, I don’t want to assume that you are not personally struggling with the idea of taking your own life. If you are, please be encouraged that God loves you. He loves you so much that he sent his only Son to die for you. And there are others in this life that care for you too, even if you don’t quite see it right now. But the most important thing to understand is that God’s will for your life is a good one. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Terrible things may take place around us, or even to us… but that is because we live in a sinful world. The good news is that God is redeeming it in his infinite plan. That plan includes you, whether he uses someone to support you, or uses you to support someone else who is struggling with similar circumstances. Put your trust in Jesus Christ, and open your heart to him. Allow yourself to experience God’s love! The next step is to tell someone you trust immediately about your feelings, so they can be “God’s hands” in helping you.

If you are reading this because you have lost a loved one in this way, then you can also be encouraged by the fact that if someone has truly given their life to Christ, then taking their own life will never exclude them from heaven. There are two scriptural reasons for this: eternal security, and correct understanding of the “unforgiveable sin” in Matthew 12:31 (and paralleled in Luke 12:10).

Matthew 12:31 says, "And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” It has been argued that this verse refers to suicide. It is further supported by Roman Catholic teaching which came from Thomas Aquinas. He believed confession of sin was a requirement for forgiveness of sins prior to death, thus someone taking their own life died with unconfessed and unrepentant sin. However, this view does not stand up biblical scrutiny. When examined in context, Matthew and Luke both refer to a rejection of Jesus Christ and his work as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Read the passage from Matthew 12:22-37 for the entire story and you will see what I mean. Luke 12:9 is even clearer: “But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” Suicide is not a rejection of Jesus Christ, or calling the good work of the Holy Spirit evil. It is simply succumbing to sorrow or solitude in our mind that overwhelms us in a moment of weakness.

Eternal Security is the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” Obviously, we don’t know a person’s heart like God does. We can only see the outward evidences of faith. But the Bible is clear that if someone truly gives their heart to Christ, trusting in him for eternal life, then that person is guaranteed to be with him in glory. There are several passages which support this:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. -John 5:24

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." -John 10:27 -29

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." -1 John 5:11-13

When you add to these the understanding that salvation is by grace a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and established by the eternal and unbreakable love of God (Romans 8:37-39), we see that our salvation has nothing to do with us, other than our surrender to it! We may fail, but God never does. And the bible says that he is both the author and finisher of our faith (Phil 1:5-7). Further, if our salvation depended on the things that I do, or do not do, then what need would we have of Christ’s death on the cross? That death forgave all our sins; past, present and future. And his resurrection guarantees that death has been beaten. Romans 6 says that just as we died to sin through his death on the cross, we will also live with him through his resurrection! Amen!

So be encouraged that your loved one might have succumbed to a moment of mental or emotional weakness, but that spiritually they have been, and always be, in God’s grip of grace and love. No one and nothing, not even that moment of “failure,” is able to take them out of God’s hands. I pray this gives you peace.

"No Time for Compassion"

2007-06-18T14:50:00.000-04:00

Damon's sermon from 6/17/2007

Scripture Reference: Mark 6:30-44

Click here to listen.

Fulfilling the Great Commission

2007-03-01T16:36:00.000-05:00

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. – Matthew 28:19

I suppose it’s only right that my first post should be about the Great Commission. After all, I am in charge of Evangelism (among other things) at our church, and it must be my primary gift, right? Actually, it’s not. My primary gifts are prophecy, shepherding, and mercy (note that administration is nowhere to be found). But, like all people, I do have the gift of evangelism.

It’s important to remember that every person contains all of the gifts when they possess the Holy Spirit. Some of these gifts are possessed in greater measure than others, but we contain all of the Holy Spirit we’re ever going to get at the time of conversion (or more specifically, according to the Spiritual Birthline, at the point of regeneration). We don’t get “filled” more as we mature, nor do we receive a “second filling” at the time we truly dedicate our lives to Christ. He possesses us in full, and we receive all the power of God to accomplish what He has called us to do. And if we possess the Spirit in full, we possess all that He is.

With some things, God has called us to something very specific. For example, both Chuck and Dan have been called specifically to be a pastor. In that role, God has given them certain gifts which stand out that assist them. But each still possesses all the gifts, including evangelism.

In fact, Ephesians 4:11 is clear about this principle: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers...” But note the very next verse, which continues: “to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…”

So even those God has called in a specific role (in this context, leadership) have been placed there for the equipping of God’s people. Primary to this equipping is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, His work, His person, and His purpose for the church. In fact, I would say that no matter what role God has called you to, in some way you will need to share the gospel, because this is the starting point of Jesus’ mandate of the Great Commission. “Making disciples” starts with sharing the good news that someone who doesn’t know Christ may begin their journey with Him.

So what’s the point?

I’ll blog more on this soon. But suffice it to say for now that what I feel the church needs today is a renewed passion for the lost. It has nothing to do with what we believe God has “called” us to do, or whether we feel we have the gift of evangelism. If we had any concerned at all for the lost, we would be motivated to share with them the love of Christ. A thin veil between now and an eternity in hell awaited all us of us before we heard the good news. The same fate awaits those who are not trusting in Him alone for their salvation. Do we even care… or do we just keep doing “business as usual” as a church?