FERVENT: Justice and Poverty

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love o God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18

We live in a culture that spends a great deal of time discussing the needs of the poor and downtrodden. The church is often at the center of these conversations and many people speak enthusiastically about ways that the church can impact the lives of the needy. Unfortunately, there is often a disconnect in these conversations. People have a tendency to look to charities, civic groups, churches and the government to meet the needs of hurting people, while not realizing that the call to love through action is extended to themselves as followers of Christ. In his description of the early church Luke describes a people who cared for one another’s needs. They gave of what they had to provide for those around them (Acts 4). By obeying Christ in this way they demonstrated that the Gospel was not just a man-made philosophy or a way to establish a charitable organization, but an all-encompassing way of life. They had heeded Paul’s admonition to live as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). 

We often hear the reminder to “be the church”. This is a challenge to live out what the Bible teaches; to show a lost world the love and grace that Christ offers. It’s a challenge to prefer others over yourself and to give to those in need. God established the church to function as his body in the world (Ephesians 1:18-23). Part of showing that we are the body of Christ is speaking truth in love, walking in a humble manner and giving to others in the same way that God so richly gave to us (Ephesians 4:15; Micah 6:8).  

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  Micah 6:8

FERVENT: Mercy Hill Ministries

Building or Being? If you've been around Mercy Hill for any length of time, you've heard us talk of being the Church and not building a church. This is not simply some cute catch phrase adorning our website, but rather something that helps direct us as we plan events and start new ministries. To me, BEING the church is about glorifying God in all we do, living in unity within the congregation, meeting each other's needs and building one another up in Christ, and living-out the Gospel in our homes, workplaces, and communities. And the ministries of the church is what helps facilitate the being the Church. That's it. But often times, the ministries of the church are thought of as ways to grow or build the church, and most often, this is thought of numerically. We ask questions like, "What can we do (what ministry can we add) to attract more people; to increase giving?" That's "building" the church mentality. The funny thing is Christ said that HE would build HIS church (Matthew 16:18). It's not our job- that's His job. Our job is the being. We simply do our best to create an atmosphere where we can truly be the radiant Bride of Christ that He is building. Through things like the Sunday morning service, the City on a Hill Outreach, Greeters, Hospitality, Children's Church, and Gallery Nights- we are engaging in opportunities to glorify God, build-up one another, and reach out to a lost and hurting world. BE THE CHURCH. Please join with us today as we focus our prayers on the ministries of Mercy Hill Church. Pray that God would provide all that is needed for us to effectively be His Church: His Holy Spirit, His wisdom, compassion, humility, our participation, and finances.

FERVENT: Government

Praying for our government is really never at the top of our list, is it? Scripture urges that "...supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." (I Timothy 2:1-2) In a time when we are bombarded with messages from the right, the left and everywhere in between, it's easy to get cynical, disparage or belittle the government because we don't agree with their points of view. However, regardless of where we stand, scripture lays out that we are ambassadors of Jesus. We aren't called to disobey our goverment and we must respect and subject ourselves to the law of the land (Titus 3:1-2). The other night, I was reading Bible stories to my 16 month old and we came accross the story of Daniel. I was reminded of what a great example we have in Daniel as that amabassador who intercedes no matter the opposition. In Phillipians 3:20, we find an important verse that reminds us that "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.." So regardless of the political spectrum, as we pray for our goverment, we pray as ambassadors that together, our leaders may lead us in a peaceful, godly and dignified way through Christ, Jesus.

FERVENT: CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Heb 13:17-19 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. Whenever the Bible gives an instruction it’s because the instruction is needed. The people in this church were groaning about their leaders. It says here about those men who were leading, “for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give account.” So whether or not the people appreciated them, these leaders were going to stand watch. The instruction to the people here is to bless the leaders by not grumbling and groaning. The writer asks for prayer too. Prayer for what? That he, the leader, would be restored to them again! So here we have a people who are groaning about their leader and yet the leader’s desire is to be with them. This make me think about Jesus and His desire to be with me. Look what the next verses say! Heb 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Jesus desired to be with me so He spilled His own blood as a sacrifice for everything that was and is wrong with me, my sin. My God is seeking my good which is to do His will in which I’ll be pleasing to Him. You see, these leaders were men who understood the gospel of grace that is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Just a few verses previous the writer of Hebrews wrote about how the people should consider the lives of their church leaders. Heb 13:7-9 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, The leaders at this church wanted the people to understand and know the grace of God towards them. The writer suggested the people watch the lives of their leaders to see their faith and way of life they had following Jesus. They taught the Word simply without complexity of weird doctrine; but instead taught about the grace that is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ really is the same yesterday and today and forever full of grace towards us the great Shepherd of our souls…our souls…what did that first text say, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls.” That is the heart of Jesus and so that is the heart leaders have had worked into them by Him to be His “watchman” in His church.

Fervent: A Prayer of Repentance

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8 The claim to be without sin is self deception. And the reason we are so deceived is that the truth has found no place in us. When a person is converted, the truth takes up residence in the heart. Or we could say the light of God comes into the heart. And what John says here is not that it immediately drives out all falsehood and sin. That is a battle that lasts a lifetime. What he says is that when the truth enters in, its light reveals sin! The mark of the saint is not sinlessness but sin-consciousness! The evidence of indwelling truth is the exposure of error. The dawning of God's light in the heart is the revelation of remaining darkness. In this life we never get beyond the awareness of remaining sin. Therefore one of the great signs of maturity in Christ is a deep and abiding brokenness for sin. There is much talk today about esteeming ourselves as new creatures in Christ. And so we are. But our newness consists in this: that the true light is shining in our hearts revealing the dreadfulness of our remaining sin and the abundance of God's grace. Our great joy is that our sin is forgiven in Christ. And our great grief is that so much of this very sin remains and defiles. The mark of the new creature in Christ is not a rosy self-concept. It is brokenness for remaining sin mingled with a joyful confidence in the superabounding grace of God in Christ. Jonathan Edwards writes of status in Christ like this: All gracious affections, which are a sweet odour to Christ, filling the soul of a Christian with a heavenly sweetness and fragrancy, are broken-hearted affections. A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is an humble broken-hearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires; their hope is an humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is an humble, broken-hearted joy, leaving the Christian more poor in spirit, more like a little child, and more disposed to an universal lowliness of behaviour. The greatness of this passage is that it leads us to a place of repentance and restoration: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. May we practice confession and repentance walking in the light of Christ.

Devoted to Teaching

When we use the phrase "being the church" at Mercy Hill the model for that "being" is discovered in Acts 2. It's that amazing story of the birth of the church following Pentecost and the description of the church's functioning moving forward. "They devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching...." is the first hint at where the church's head and heart was as it launched out as the front runner on mission for Christ.

As we said in the last blog the passage in Acts 2 provides insight into 5 essential functions of the church,

1. Devotion to sound doctrinal teaching. (v. 42a)

2. Deep communal fellowship (v. 42b, v. 46)

3. Generous giving and benelovance (v. 44, v. 45, v. 46b)

4. Powerful devotional experience (v.42c, v. 43, v. 47a)

5. Growth through evanglism (v. 47b)

As you can see the first essential function mentioned is a devotion to sound doctrinal teaching. That placement, the first among the five, I think gives indication that sound doctrine is the starting point for everything else the church does. That's not to say that it is the most important, I believe a healthy church is found in a healthy balance between all five, but it is to say that from sound doctrine comes the proper approach for all the others. The manner in which we fellowship, the way in which we give, understanding properly the approach to devotional experience and even the proper process of evangelism are all revealed in the sound doctrine taught through God's revelation to the apostles and handed down to us through His word. When we look through the New Testament epistles we find teaching on each of these elements. There is teaching on communal fellowship (I John 1), giving and benevolance (James 2), powerful devotional experiences (1 Corinthians 12) and evangelism (1 Corinthians 3) just to name a few.

The second truth that strikes me from this passage is "they" seems to indicate not simply leaders but also laity. In other words it wasnt simply the apostles and teachers that were devoted to the apostles teaching but the whole church. This is a particularly important point to visit in the church culture we currently find ourselves. It is common to hear church goers in American church clamoring for a church that isnt "too doctrinally deep" and far to common to hear pastors catering to this sentiment. A devotion to teaching sound doctrince is essential to produce a church that reflects, glorifies and honors God and when we as leaders and laity abandon this devotion we begin to create a church that lacks the image of God and the glory of the cross. We must be devoted to the apostles teaching and therefore striving to see that manifested in our local faith communities.

May this devotion to the apostles teaching at MHC help us produce not simply sound doctrine but also beautiful communal fellowship, a generous heart of giving, a powerful commitment to devotional disciplines and a move of the Spirit that moves hearts towards salvation and devotion to God.

BEING THE CHURCH

If you are around Mercy Hill for any period of time you're going to hear me say, "We're not interested in building a church, we're interested in being the church." That phrase to many might seem like a simple tag line or platitude but from our perspective it is not, this for me is a governing value. See, I have been around the American church enough to know that when we get fixated on "building the church", (usually this refers to more people, more money and a bigger building) we lose sight of the very purpose of church. This is why I think we need to turn our focus to "being" the church. So the big question is what does it mean to BE the church?

Fortunately for us I believe the bible provides the big answer to this big question. When we look at the inception of the church as described in Acts 2 we see a beautiful picture of the primary elements that make up a properly functioning church:

 ⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to  the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³And awe came upon every soul, and  many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all who believed were together and  had all things in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

When you look at this passage there are five essential elements that provide a pretty good test for whether we are being the church:

1. Devotion to sound doctrinal teaching. (v. 42a)

2. Deep communal fellowship (v. 42b, v. 46)

3. Generous giving and benelovance (v. 44, v. 45, v. 46b)

4. Powerful devotional experience (v.42c, v. 43, v. 47a)

5. Growth through evanglism (v. 47b)

When each of these elements are in proper balance and evidenced in the church we begin to operate powerfully as the church was meant to function. Unfortunately, we often time become focused on one or two of the elements at the detriment of the others and returning back to balance will allow us to BE the church.

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to go through these elements to give us a better understanding of how this should be playing out in the local community.

A Father's Will

A loving father's will for his children is always for their best. I think that statement is pretty easily acceptable. I know there are dads and for that matter moms out there who can become self absorbed and therefore neglect the best for their kids but by and large loving parents desire the best for their children. I know that when I think about my three boys I want nothing but good for them. It's in the truth of this statement that we can find our greatest strength to yield our will and embrace God's.

See, God is the great heavenly father. His love for His children is perfect and he only wants what will work out for our good. This is at the heart of Christ's declaration in Luke 11:

¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹²or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

God is revealing the perfect love motivation of the Father towards His children, and in this, gives us the confidence to trust His guidance and gifts in our lives. Now this doesn't mean that His will will always appear to us to be "what's best" (kinda how my kids don't always think when we make them go to bed early is for their best) but He knows so much better for us then we ever will. Since He is our good, heavenly Father we can let go of our will and and rest in His. Sometimes that means hard times and struggles but in the end we know His heart of grace towards us will produce a life of grace that brings glory to God. FB Meyer beautifully expresses this reality:

MANY PEOPLE shrink from God's will. They think that it always means pain, or sorrow, or bereavement. They always feel melancholy when you speak of doing the Will of God. Alas! how the devil has libeled God. The will of God is the will of a Father. It is the Fatherhood of God going out in action.

When we yield our will to our loving Father's we will begin to mature into our highest purpose.

The Gospel Community

The phrase "gospel community" clearly consists of two concepts; gospel and community. Now as un-profound as that observation is, realizing the impact of each concept can produce a profound change in the life of the believer, the life of the local church and the community at large. I take the time to point this out because too often we embrace one without the other and in so doing we don't sufficiently serve either.

Many of us in the church profess in strong terms the "Gospel of Christ". We rightfully believe that the focus of God's Word is the Gospel, God's plan of salvation for man revealed in Christ's life and work, and we insist that the emphasis of the church reflect this focus in God's Word. While this is an admirable commitment many times we promote the message without engaging the community that the Gospel of Christ established. Others in the church are committed to community, "doing life together", while having only a passing interest in a sound Gospel message. Too often that interest is only piqued when it intersects with our desire to emphasize relationships. And while this desire for community lived out in compassion and service is beautiful it can never replace the true source of hope and salvation that the Gospel provides. 

We cannot be sucked into the trap of choosing one over the other. Steve Timmis rightly describes the challenge that we face:

Evangelicals are called to a dual fidelity: faithfulness to the gospel word and faithfulness to the gospel community. The gospel word creates the gospel community; the gospel community displays and declares the gospel word. In the contemporary scene, people and movements tend towards polarization on this issue. It's often those who are solid on the gospel word who are flabby on gospel community. Likewise, those who elevate community tend to downplay the word.

The beauty of a gospel community is realized when both elements are equally vibrant in our lives as we participate in our local church as an expression of the universal church. It is then that the church becomes an instrument of of salvation, a beacon of truth, a tool of reconciliation and an expression of compassion into the lives of the needy and hurting.

Forgive.

"Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business. Not to forgive is to yield oneself to another's control... to be locked into a sequence of act and response, of outrage and revenge, tit for tat, escalating always. The present is endlessly overwhelmed and devoured by the past. Forgiveness frees the forgiver. It extracts the forgiver from someone else's nightmare." - Lanny Morrow

This quote captures the concept that truly struck me last week as I prepared my Sunday message. If you were there you know we talked about the uniting power of the Gospel. I stated, and firmly believe, that the most powerful instrument of reconciliation is the Gospel when it is empowered by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. And the greatest tool of reconciliation expressed in the Gospel is the power to forgive. God the Father, through Jesus Christ, provided the vehicle by which He could forgive us the sinner. He initiated it and did not require us to earn it. This example shows the path forward for us to live in forgiveness towards those around us. That's whey we are continually instructed in God's word to forgive as we have been forgiven.

But what struck me so clearly was that the ability to forgive puts in our hands the ability to live in peace. That when we refuse to forgive, unless the offending party does this or that, we empower that person who hurt us to continue to be in control over us. But when we freely and willingly release anger or bitterness towards another we take the initiative and the control of our own spiritual and emotional well being. 

Forgiveness is a powerful tool of reconciliation and personal well being embodied in the Gospel life and work of Jesus Christ given to us by the Holy Spirit. May we begin today to use that tool to both discover and reveal God's peace.

Before and After

This last Sunday I talked about the incredible before and after picture the apostle Paul painted for us in Ephesians 2. I have seen some pretty dramatic before and after shots but Ephesians 2 was probably the most impressive. Paul vividly describes the state of man before the redemptive work of Christ and then the amazing state we find ourselves after His work is applied to our hearts. I had pointed out that there were three real distinct befores that Christ turns into powerful afters: Death to life,  a lifestyle of sin to being raised up to holiness and from objects of wrath to objects of grace. While all three of these represent an amazing work of Christ the one I have been focused on in my own heart since Sunday is our being moved from spiritually dead to spiritually alive. 

The idea that our "spirit man" is dead until the Spirit of Christ inhabits us is heart shattering for me. When I read Romans 8 it blows my mind to realize the great blessing that we in Christ now enjoy:

 Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

To think that without Christ in me my spirit is dead to the beautiful Spirit of God is sobering to me. It is a tremendous point of rejoicing in my life and a significant piece of insight as we reach out to others. See, Romans makes it clear earlier in the passage that those who have not been enlightened to God's Spirit can't comprehend and obey God's truth: 

7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

And therefore we have to realize peoples lives only be changed in conjunction with a work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. It's not by sound reasoning, shame, guilt or pursuasion, it is by His Spirit.

This truth should lead us to gratefully "bath" in the Spirit of God and dilligently pray for the Spirit's working in others. The transformation of the heart of man is a Holy Spirit work, may we seek the Spirit in all we do.

The Perfect Church

The perfect church is obviously as illusive as the LochNess monster. Attempting to find in a congregation of broken people a "whole" church is quite a daunting task. There will always be conflict, there will always be hurt feelings and there will always be issues with which the church will have to deal. But the Bible does give incredible hope for a beautiful, unified church if we as a people commit to the formula.

Now Ephesians 5 does describe a "radiant church without spot or wrinkle" that Christ has washed to present to himself but this description is one of the redemptive work of Christ, not of the practical operating nature of the church here on earth. It speaks to the cleansing done by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross that has made His people pure and perfect in the eyes of the Father. And although this amazing work has established us as children of the most high God it doesn't preclude us from somes times acting here on earth like rotten, spoiled kids. So it is an antidote to this behavior that we need so that we can live as the unified body of Christ. 

Fortunately we have been given the simple prescription Peter's pastoral epistle to the church in 1 Peter 4:

⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

The antidote to the inevitable offense that we will suffer at the hands of our brothers and sisters in the church is to love others deeply and serve them faithfully. When we find ourselves offended, especially to the point of breaking fellowship, Peter brilliantly calls us to examine not the offense of others but the degree of our love and service to the offender. This is a love that is not found in us but is provided by the Holy Spirit (in fact is a Fruit of the Spirit) to those who have been regenerated by the Spirit. "Love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sin". May that be the heart of all who attend Mercy Hill. It may not make us a perfect church but it will make us a perfectly loving church which is the most we can hope and strive for this side of heaven.

Immanuel: God With Us

Immanuel is a name for Christ we hear often during the Advent season. It is taken from several prophecies found in Isaiah that we accept as a references to Jesus and then we see it explicitly applied in Matthew 1:23. The name literally means God with us and as such you can see why during Christmas this word is used. I mean what we celebrate that time of year is God, in bodily form as Jesus, came to dwell with mankind. God with us. But it has been front and center in my mind over the last couple of weeks.

It really started with the first week of this current series, Belief Project, as we discussed the Trinity. In that teaching we covered the roles of the Godhead; God the Creator, God the Redeemer and God the Comforter. How each member of the Godhead played specific roles in the redemptive plan of salvation for man. As such I began to think about the role that God the Holy Spirit plays now in the life of the believer and the Church. He abides with us.

And then last week I met with a friend of mine who is planting a church in Milwaukee. He is naming his church Immanuel Community. As I read that at the top of the page it struck me, God with us. As I thought about the Holy Spirit being fully God I was reminded that Immanuel doesn't simply represent the act of God the Son who came and dwelt with mankind 2000 years ago but it declares how God continues to dwell with us by the Holy Spirit. I know that might seem elementary but do we really live in the full understanding that God is with us. When we are sick do we realize God is with us? When we can't pay the bills do we realize God is with us? When we are struggling in our relationships do we realize God is with us? When we come together as the Church do we realize God is with us? We are not alone and God is not far off but God is with us always in all circumstances and all situations. God the healer is here. God the provider is here. God the redeemer is here. God the provider is here.

Immanuel is not just a Christmas word but in the life of a believer anointed by God the Holy Spirit is an always word. God is with us. 

Christ: According to the Flesh

The phrase "Christ, according to the flesh" has a shocking and confusing quality to it for me. At least it did as I read it in 2 Corinthians 5 as I was preparing last week's blog entry. You come to that fairly common passage that is quoted quite often in chapter 5: 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 

and we can identify with the verse and celebrate. How awesome that God, through Christ, renews us. We have read that passage, we have heard sermons preached on that passage and we rejoice in that passage. But how about the verse before it? "From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer." What does it mean to "regard Christ according to the flesh"? Have you ever taken note of that? Have you ever heard a sermon preached on that? 

As I read that it was almost like I was reading it for the first time. "What does it mean to regard Christ according to the flesh?" And then I realized the answer is in the passage I highlighted last week. 

...and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

You see, the entire passage is a description of how the transformation of the believer, the true believer in Christ, goes from someone who views others from a self serving perspective (fleshly) to one of self denial and Christ service (spiritual).  And Paul says we, prior to our transformation, viewed Christ from the perspective of what he could do for us. His use of the word Christ here draws attention to Jesus as the promised Messiah. So often we in the church forget that the word Christ is not simply Jesus' last name, as in Jesus Christ, but it is the Greek word for the Hebrew concept of Messiah. So Paul is saying we used to view the coming Messiah from a fleshly perspective and what He would do for us. How He would free us from oppressors, how He would make us prosperous, how His coming would make our lives better but because we have been transformed and renewed we no longer see Him in such a light. We don't look to our Messiah for our pleasure but we seek to be servants of His Glory.

This message, this understanding, is so essential for the American church today. We have made what being a Christian can do for us, and therefore what Christ can do for us, the central message of most of our outreach and our sermons. "Come to Jesus he will make you happy, healthy, wealthy, he will heal all your problems and make them go away!"  We have told people to give so that they can get more, we have told people to abstain from sin because God made us and knows how we can have a "better life", we have told people that being a Christian will produce "your best life now", we have taught that "righteousness is a means to financial gain" and all of this is the product of  "regarding Christ according to the flesh". I believe this is the serious threat to the American church that Francis Chan is describing when he says:

(we have) filled our churches with self-focused consumers rather than self-sacrificing servants attuned to the Holy Spirit….The light of the American church is flickering and nearly extinguished, having largely sold out to the kingdoms and values of this world….

The "new creation" that is produced by the transforming power of the Gospel reflects the values of the Cross that are stated by Jesus when he says: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. It creates lives that reject the pleasure seeking "friendship with the world" that James chapter 4 warns us against. It embraces the heavenly priorities described in 1 Peter 1:

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

This is the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that truly transforms and any other message is "no Gospel at all".

Brand New

It's incredible how this time of year our attentions are turned to newness. A new year, a new start, new hope, new expectations and for many new resolutions. There is something exciting about realizing that we are at the beginning of something new. We have such excitement about the new year even though if you think about it, what has really changed? 12:00 turned to 12:01 like any other day, Friday turned to Saturday like any other week, December turned to January like any other month but because we are told by the calendar it is a new year we have new expectations. For so many around the globe there was no change because for their calendar it's not a new year. But for us it's all new.

I think about this because I wonder how much excitement, hope, expecation and resolution we as Christ followers have with the truth of our newness in Christ promised in 2 Corinthians 5:17 :

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

The definitive declaration that the new IS here is the concept that should so grasp us and fill us with hope and expectation. You see coming to Christ, a true heartfelt acknowledgement of Him as Lord, initiates a Holy Spirit renewal of everything in us. It should change your values, change your perspective, change your heart, change your thoughts and your life. A newness that brings with it real transformation that empowers us to live by the Spirit not encumbered by the flesh. Look at the verses preceeding this famous verse:

¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.   ¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Specifically, the newness that comes by our completion in Christ is that we no longer live for ourselves, pursuing the things of the flesh, looking to self satisfaction and self gratification but we live for Him who died and was raised again. Our focus, our efforts are so Christ is lifted up and glorified.

My hope is that as you look forward to the expectation of the new year may you live in the reality of your new life, purchased by the blood of Christ and empowered by the very power of God, the Holy Spirit.  May we live that His name, His work, His Church be advanced in 2011.

Being the Church

"Being the church." This is a phrase people at Mercy Hill hear me say all the time, as in: "We're not looking to build a church, we're looking to be the church." For some this might be a difficult distinction to understand but I have enjoyed the evidence of it this week. 

We have been out in Delafield getting the new church building for Lake Country ready (which is part of the reason I haven't had a chance to "blog" lately) and I have loved seeing the church "be" the church.

I think one of the most straight forward aspects of "being" the church is the concept of "koinonia". You first see the word used in connection with the church at it's very inception when the church is described in Acts 2: ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship (koinonia)... . When the word here is blandly translated to fellowship you do not capture the true impact the word is trying to convey. The idea of koinonia is to be unified in purpose. It is the idea of having all things in common and coming together to be and achieve corporately. It is so clear to see the value to a church body when it becomes unified in purpose and values. Unfortunately, because of the individualistic nature of our culture and the way the church has very often reflected it, we rarely see this value lived out in the church. 

Remodeling our new building in Delafield has allowed me to enjoy a very tangible illustration of koinonia. Thanks guys and gals from both Bay View and Lake Country for being the church this week. If you want to experience the joy of koinonia you still have the opportunity to this week as we will be out there working Thursday through Saturday. See you there!

False Debate

Outreach or inner growth. Seekers or the Saved. Evangelize or Discipleship. There has been a debate raging for years now in the church world about the "proper" approach to the Sunday morning experience. Do we focus on Sunday mornings to reaching out to the lost or do we use Sunday morning service as a classroom of sorts to teach those who are already in faith to deepen their relationship and knowledge of God? And in that, we must acknowledge the reality that, whatever approach we take, it does not simply affect the Sunday morning experience but filters down into all areas of the church.

I acknowledge that this conversation is one that takes place mostly in the realm of church leadership, amongst pastors and church elders, and it may seem odd to address it in a forum such as this but since it's impact so deeply affects the members of the local community I wanted to challenge to you to consider the question. I think it is so important for the members of Christ's body to examine the church community with which you choose to commit your faith and gifts and this question should be central to your evaluation.

Over the last 30 years there has arisen within the American church culture a philosophy of ministry that can be generically labeled "seeker sensitive church ministry." And although there are different variations of the theme (seeker friendly, outreach driven, user friendly, etc) they have all been influenced by a philosophy that emerged out of the birthing of Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Bill Hybels, and the founding leaders of Willow Creek developed a philosophy of ministry that was focused on Sunday morning being a "user friendly" service aimed at bringing the "seeker" to a non-threatening inspirational service that will introduce them to a life of faith in Christ. The service would consist of a time of music that was not intended to be participatory, or worshipful, and a teaching that was intended to be entertaining and enlightening but not necessarily (and I want to phrase this respectfully) spiritually challenging. This service, coupled with a mid-week "believers" service where "deeper" issues of theology such as sin and repentance would be taught, became the impetus for incredible growth in this local community. In fact, Willow Creek currently has a Sunday morning attendance of over 20,000 people.

Because of Willow Creek's wild success many church leaders have taken note and have attempted to imitate this approach. As a result there are a significant number of church leaders that see the primary role of Sunday mornings, and to be honest the church itself, to be one of attraction and evangelism, and as such, see every decision through the prism of those two values. Many of these leaders view those Christians who find this approach as too elementary or simplistic as selfish and not understanding that the Church is not "about them" but about the mission to reach the lost. (I know because I spent many years, in a previous position, building a church like this and making those statements.) Predictably, there has been a reaction to this philosophy with many people within the Christian realm rejecting a focus on attraction and evangelism while calling for a greater emphasis on the discipleship of the believer. It is their belief that we need to be more worried about teaching Christians the values of Christian living and deepening the faith of God's elect. This movement is marked by a call to "just preach the word" and a return to more traditional expressions of Christian faith. They see the tools of the seeker sensitive movement (contemporary music, drama, videos, etc) as examples of "compromise" and reject anything that may be viewed as an instrument of "attraction" other than the "preaching of the Word". 

It is my belief that this debate, which is causing great dissension within the American church, is a false debate with both sides missing the true power of the Gospel. 

Both sides miss the fundamental truth of what Christ called the church to be and how He brilliantly empowered the church to fulfill that calling. While those influenced by the seeker sensitive philosophy see the primary function of the Church being the mission of evangelism with discipleship being a byproduct of the believer "being on mission," those who are calling for a return to the traditional see the primary focus as discipleship with evangelism being the incidental outgrowth of "preaching the Word.” I think both positions are partly correct but fundamentally wrong. You see the primary purpose of the church is neither evangelism nor discipleship but the glorification of God. The Church exists for the purpose of revealing fully the Gospel of Christ in both word and deed and when the church maintains that as it's primary purpose both evangelism and discipleship and many other functions become the beautiful result of the Holy Spirit's work through a Gospel centered community.  You can clearly see the folly of the debate when you simply examine the argument of the Sunday morning emphasis; evangelism v. discipleship. It is the false choice between focusing the message on evangelism or focusing the message on discipleship. The very question ignores the fact that the brilliant Holy Spirit power of the Gospel is that the SAME Gospel that saves is the Gospel that disciples. That the same Gospel that confronts is the Gospel that comforts. You see, the impact of the Gospel is not simply the words we say or even life we live but it is the empowerment by the Spirit of God to reach the heart-needs of the the hearers. The message of the Cross will call the believer to a heart of gratitude and spirit of rejoicing while the same message, by the teaching of the Spirit, calls the seeker to a place of sorrow that leads to repentance. Same Gospel but different influence because His Word is empowered to impact the hearts of man, which is why we are not charged simply with evangelism or discipleship but with lifting high the Gospel of Christ. We ultimately do not save anyone and we ultimately do not disciple anyone, the Holy Spirit does both those works through the working of the Gospel.

I do not believe we as the church should be focused on what methods will most bring about evangelism, discipleship or for that matter, anything else, but on developing methods that most reflect the mission of revealing the attributes of Christ through His local Body: attributes of truth, mercy, grace, love, salvation, forgiveness, holiness, community, charity, unity, self-sacrifice and many other beautiful elements that are revealed in the life and work of Jesus Christ. At Mercy Hill we have never sought to use methods to bring about anything other than bringing the attributes of Christ's Gospel into Christ's Body. We preach the full truth of God's word, not picking only "seeker sensitive" messages, because we believe it reflects the fullness of truth that God revealed in the life and ministry of Christ. We encourage community, which is communal unity, through small groups and even our cafe not because we think it attracts people (although it may) but because it reflects the nature of Christ revealed by His communal unity with God the Father and God the Spirit by whom He maintains His communal unity with us His church. We engage in activities within our greater community (Bay View and Lake Country) such as "Gallery Night" not because we want to increase our church rolls but because connecting with your "world" in humility, grace and love is a reflection of the life and work of Jesus Christ. All of these activities may "get people saved" and may disciple people but not because we have figured out how to reach those "goals" but because God is faithful, by His Spirit, to His Word.

I have never once prepared a message at Mercy Hill to accomplish anything other than to do my fallible best to reveal the message of the Gospel revealed in scripture. I don't set a goal of evangelism, a goal of discipleship or even a goal of getting people to give money so the needs of church would be met, but I have a goal of revealing the Gospel of Christ in the passage we are examining, fully believing that the byproduct of His gospel is the completion of His work in the Church. 

Over the last 3 years we have had 300 people make first time commitments to Christ. Over the last 3 years the number one feedback I get from people in the church is that they have learned more in the short time they have attended MH then they did in all the years they attended other churches (I don't say that to glorify us, it's just what we have been told). The same Gospel that saves is the same Gospel that disciples.

May we use whatever methods possible to fully reveal the full Gospel of Christ to a faithful church and a fallen world. Whenever we have a different goal we become a part of false debate that is creating dissention in Christ’s Body.

He WILL Meet All Your Needs

"And my God WILL meet all your needs according to His glorious riches..." is a stunning promise to Christ followers that is found in Philippians chapter four. When you really look at the breadth of that promise it really becomes quite empowering. All the needs that I have God PROMISES to meet. And yet so few Christians seem to "venture out" into life with a conviction of that assurance and many never seem to experience the joy of God's need meeting provision. Why?

I was stunned as I prepared my message for this last Sunday, Casting Shadows IV: Heaven in the Desert, to discover how the need meeting provision of God is so closely tied to us demonstrating our faith in Him. The message examined the promise keeping nature of God in light of His covenant with Abraham as illustrated in the story of Jacob's vision of a heavenly ladder. We saw how God reached down to Jacob, motivated by His great promise to prosper the descendants of Abraham, and met his need. It revealed the covenant keeping nature of God and how we can count on His promises. And it wasn't just in Philippians that this promise of provision is given. In Luke 12 Christ says if we seek His Kingdom first then He will meet our needs and 2 Corinthians 9 states: 

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. We can see repeatedly that He intends to meet our needs but as I stated it is stunning how each of those promises are tied to us demonstrating our faith by giving. The Philippians 4 passage is a statement Paul makes to the church AFTER they gave sacrificially to the work of the church, in Luke 12 verse is followed by 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

And the verse in 2 Corinthians 9 is proceed by 6 Remember this:

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 

I believe that it is these truths that the promise of God gets lost for the followers of Christ. We do not live lives that reflect our faith in God by our giving to Him and those in need and because of that we do not "activate" the promise of God in our lives. Now remember, His promise is to meet our NEEDS, not our wants, not our abundance but our NEEDS. But that is a promise that should release us to go forward confident in HIs provision to us. 

Leading From Conviction

Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about the leadership exhibited by Paul in Acts 27 in the midst of shipwrecking. Learning the character of biblical leadership is important for all of us who are Christ followers because whether we like it or not we are called to be leaders. We are called to lead others to the hope of Christ and when we fail to embrace that responsibility we will lead others away from Christ. One of the elements of Christian leadership that we explored was the strength and importance of leading from conviction. Paul led convinced of the word and hope of Christ and as a result was able to persuade and lead others. To follow up on this I wanted to share with you an excerpt from my recently completed (not published) book The True Leader: Rediscovering the World Changing Power of Principled Leadership.

True Leadership is not granted or bestowed, it is discovered by the natural outflow of your convictions. When an individual stands up on principle then a True Leaders “position” of leadership is established by the strength of his ideals. It is not dependent upon his given position or office. A True Leader finds and believes his “ordaining agency” is his governing principles.

As we look through history you find examples of many individuals who, despite lowly social position or lives of seeming insignificance, find greatness thrust upon them. Almost without exception, as with Luther, it is the result of societal circumstance intersecting with the True Leaders personal conviction. Whether you look at the ancient with David and Goliath, the medieval even Joan of Arc or the modern with Lech Welesa so many true leaders rose to the top not because of the official establishment of their authority but because they were fully committed to the beliefs they held and were willing to act on those beliefs at just the time when that conviction was needed. In fact many times True Leaders eschewed their official position only to find their stature lifted above what they otherwise would have been able to accomplish. . John Wyclife is one of those leaders, stripped of his prestigious seat at Oxford, because of his call for the reformation of the church, he moved forward undeterred to translate the bible into common language and it was from this commitment that he achieved his greatest influence.

When you realize that your leadership is directly tied to your conviction you understand that the strength of your leadership will follow the level of your commitment to your principle. It is no different than a leader whose position is tied to the strength of his military or a politician whose office is a result of his party bosses backing, the closer you are to the “ordaining agent” the stronger your position, in turn the further you move away from your “base of power” the weaker you become. It is just as true for a True Leader. When your ordaining agent and base of power are your convictions you must stay close to them at all times.

Let us be fully convinced of the life and work of Christ so we might powerfully lead others to the Cross.

Idol Chatter

Last Sunday, while looking at the First Century church, we saw again in Acts how Paul and the church were so incredibly affective at influencing the behavior of their culture. What was most interesting to me was again (remember Paul's sermon at Mars Hill) how he was able to confront the idol worship that was such a part of the culture. I had read Acts chapter 19 probably dozens, maybe hundreds of times, in my life and this was the first time I was so profoundly struck by the influence the Gospel was having on drawing people away from idol worship. I mean when the local silversmith who fashions the "personal" idols that the people buy realizes a change in his business you know that Paul's delivery of the Gospel was having an impact. But as we discussed it is inevitable that hearts turned towards God will turn from their idols.

And this truth is just as needed and powerful today as it was in the first century because idol worship is still the problem today. This is why I was personally gratified that we were able to identify this truth when I read the passage in prep for the message and why I was so pleased to discover the writings of Tim Keller on this very concept. Idol worship is still a spiritual threat to us even today and because Keller has done such a great job expanding on the truths we discussed I wanted to give you some links to some articles where he fleshes it out even more:

http://www.monergism.com/postmodernidols.html

http://www.theresurgence.com/gospel_coalition_2009_keller_notes

http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/book-review-counterfeit-gods-by-tim-keller

http://www.amazon.com/Counterfeit-Gods-Empty-Promises-Matters/dp/0525951369

Enjoy!