Pt. 3: The Mission - For the Good of the Community to the Glory of God!

Pt. 3: The Mission of the local Church!

For the good of the community, to the glory of God!

While driving to church the other week a conversation about heaven spontaneously combusted amongst my family.  I love it when this type of thing happens, because it gives me an opportunity to illustrate the depth of my theological wisdom and knowledge.  It affords me a moment whereby I might impart some little nugget of wisdom that will perhaps change my children's life and put them on a path toward godliness and greatness in this world!  Below is the conversation that ensued and the depth of wisdom that spilled out (the names have been changed to protect the innocent).

Child 1:  Dad, I wonder what heaven will be like?

Dad: (I am not so innocent): Well, the book of Revelation tells us in chapters 21 and 22 . . . (dad's moment of wisdom, insight and glory is interrupted by one smarter and wiser)

Child 2: I think there will be doughnuts there!

Dad: Well . . . (yet another moment of forthcoming wisdom gets interrupted)

Child 3: There won't be doughnuts, you dork - it's heaven we will not need to eat.

Child 2: (a quick retort prevented me from even getting out my wisdom laced, 'well.') How do you know there won't be any doughnuts?  God made them, didn't He?!?!

Child 1: I hope there are Krispy Kreme doughnuts (which, by the way, do not exist in Vero Beach), those are my favorite.

(Dad gives up at this point and decides to merely listen in)

Child 3: THERE WON'T BE DOUGHNUTS IN HEAVEN!

Child 2:  How do you know?  I bet there will be doughnuts and I bet they will be the Hot 'Krispy Kreme Glazed' doughnut.  I also bet we will sit around eating them all day as we sing, 'Amazing GLAZED!

Dad, mom and kids in unison: Eruption of laughter!

See.  What did I tell you about dad’s great wisdom?!?  In one brief conversation my family not only decided upon the type of food we will (unnecessarily) consume in Heaven, but we also changed a time tested, favorite Hymn from Amazing Grace to Amazing Glazed - all inside of 3 tenths of a mile!

Whether we eat doughnuts in heaven or not remains yet to be seen.  What we do know is this: Heaven is real and it is a grand and glorious place.  It is a place where we will worship our Lord and rule together, under His authority in the Kingdom He restores for our habitation!

A thoroughly biblical vision of heaven is compelling and crucial to any local congregation that hopes to be on mission in this world!  Our base text for this series of blogs is I Timothy 3:14 - 16.  Take a moment and read it as we seek God's face for His mission through His church!  Paul writes, "¹⁴I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, ¹⁵if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a Pillar and buttress of the truth. ¹⁶Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:  He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory."  The last two blogs dealt with all but the final three clauses, which I will consider here in relationship to what I am calling the '3-pronged mission' of the local church!

First, we are to 'proclaim' the Gospel 'among the nations.'  Secondly, we should call for 'belief' on this Gospel in our world.  Thirdly, we live to the Glory of God.  If the mission were to be a 'bumper sticker' it might read:  For the Good of the Community to the Glory of God!  Any time a local congregation proclaims the truth 'among' its community, the good of that community is sought and realized!  As this happens in our local congregations, families, communities, etc. then God is glorified in and through us!

Is your congregation (are you as a believer) engaged in this proclamation of the Gospel - unto belief - for His glory?!?  Consider the following as you answer this question.  The mission is to proclaim this gospel 'among' the nations!  Paul's intent for us is to breathe the same air that those who do not yet know Him breathe!  We proclaim truth as we live among the nations!  No, we do not emulate them.  We do not follow them.  We do not model our ministries after them.  But neither do we hate them.  We do not ‘wag our fingers’ at them and say, 'shame on you.'  We do not ostracize them.  We live among them, we love them and we proclaim unto them the Gospel!  We seek their good to God's glory!  Among whom do you live today?  Do they even know that you believe in the creator, redeemer and sustainer of humankind and all of creation?

The mission requires that we, as God's people, have a vision of the 'nations.'  This word is used variously to mean, nations, peoples, ethnic groups, etc.  However, the common and undeniable theme in each usage is that ‘nations’ represents people who are apart from God and without hope in this world!  This is the context of our mission!  This means that we must remain consistently and steadfastly outward focused as we pray for how God might use us to proclaim His Gospel among the nations; those who do not know him and are not a part of the believing community.  This could be your neighbor, the person next to you at Starbucks, you colleagues at work, your children, your best buddy from high school.

Who represents the 'nations among' you today?  Will you not pray that God will, in Christ, guided by His Spirit guide you to proclaim His goodness to His glory as you live among them?  May God grant us the grace to live out His mission in His world to His Glory!

For the Good of the Community to the Glory of God!
Biz

The Magnificence, Message and Mission of the local Church, Pt. 2!

Part 2: The Message of the local congregation!

"I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian," Christopher Hitchens.

Christopher Hitchens is a prominent atheistic thinker in our time.  He wrote a book in 2007 called God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.  The quote I began this blog with is taken from an interview in which a liberal Christian attempts to argue that not all Christians believe in the Atonement (just the stupid ones, like me).  She in fact wants to be clear that she and many others do not think the Atonement is or should hold any place in Christian teaching.  The Atonement describes the work accomplished for us in and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  It is the height of irony that an avowed atheist understands Christian teaching better than most modern Christians!  If you would like to see the transcript of this interview, follow this link:  http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/arts-and-entertainment/category/books-and-talks/articles/christopher-hitchens/

In I Timothy 3:14 - 16 Paul centers the message of the church firmly in the Atonement.   He writes, "I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a Pillar and buttress of the truth.  Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
   

He was manifested in the flesh,
   vindicated by the Spirit,
       seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
       taken up in glory.

First, Paul describes this ‘truth,’ this ‘mystery of godliness,’ as something which is great indeed.  Better yet, this ‘truth’ and ‘mystery of godliness’ is undeniably great.  It is undeniable in the sense that one day 'every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord.'

Secondly, Paul tells us what exactly he is calling great.  This great ‘truth’ and ‘mystery’ is that God, in Christ, appeared in flesh.  This is a direct reference to the earthly existence and ministry of Jesus.  While on earth Jesus makes staggering claims in regard to his own person and the work He is accomplishing.  In one scene he tells us that the time to 'repent' is at hand - for the Kingdom of God has come!  Christ is communicating that in Himself - in His very presence - the Kingdom of God has come (cf. Matthew 3).  On another occasion he says, "I am the Way the truth and the life no one comes to the father, but through me" (cf. John 14). 

The second stanza tells us that He was vindicated in spirit.  Why would Christ need to be vindicated?  When you and I need vindication it entails that we need to be 'cleared' of a charge against us for some reason or another.  In the case of Christ it is the exact opposite.  He wasn't in need of being vindicated of a charge against Him, per se.  The vindcation that was achieved by the Spirit of God in the resurrection of Christ was this:  The claims He made while on the earth were proven true in his resurrection!  In other words, His claim to bring forgiveness of sins, to ‘Atone’ for my sin, was vindicated and He was proven to be true in word and deed!!!  Christ was God incarnate.  He was a sinless substitute for sinful humankind who brought salvation through His life, death and resurrection!

Thirdly, He was seen by the angels.  In other words, there was an 'enthronement parade' in the heavnelies as Christ took His place of Sovereignty at the right hand of the father!  His earthly ministry began with an angelic proclamation and it would culminate with an angelic ceremony recognizing Christ as victor over sin and death!

May we never forget!  This is our message, Church!  Our message is for those who are (like we once were (cf. Eph. 2:1 – 3)) desperately and hopelessly lost - without hope in this world - because they are apart from Christ!  Our message is the Gospel.  Yesterday, today and tomorrow - our message is always the Gospel.  As Hitchen's himself pointed out, if we lose, we are really not in any meaningful sense the Church!
 
Grace and Peace!

Biz

Glory and Good

I recently picked up a new book.  Or, rather, I downloaded a new book onto my Kindle reader.  The book is written by Marva J. Dawn and is entitled, In the Beginning God: Creation, Culture and the Spiritual Life.  While I am only a third of the way through, I was struck by a phrase in her book that I thought worth sharing: All for the glory of God and the good of the world!  I find it intriguing that most or at least many folks who submerge themselves in the world of Genesis 1 - 3 exclaim this common theme - for God's glory and our good! 

It reminded me of a hymn/poem I recently read by John Newton (you know the 1700s Amazing Grace Newton); On Man in His Own Image Made.  The poem travels through the goodness of creation and the glory of God while exposing the fall and sin common to all.  It concludes in grand fasion by pointing to the redemption purchased in Christ and the good it provides humankind. 

While I am not familiar with its history or origin (reason for writing), it appears to me to have been birthed in his study of Genesis 1 - 3.  Enjoy the read and perhaps consider creation all over again as a story of God's Glory and Our Good!

On man, in his own image made, How much did GOD bestow? The whole creation homage paid, And owned him LORD, below!

He dwelt in Eden’s garden, stored With sweets for every sense; And there with his descending LORD He walked in confidence.

But O! by sin how quickly changed! His honor forfeited, His heart, from God and truth, estranged, His conscience filled with dread!

Now from his Maker’s voice he flees, Which was before his joy: And thinks to hide, amidst the trees, From an All–seeing eye.

Compelled to answer to his name, With stubbornness and pride He cast, on God himself, the blame, Nor once for mercy cried.

But grace, unasked, his heart subdued And all his guilt forgave; By faith, the promised seed he viewed, And felt his pow’r to save.

Thus we ourselves would justify, Though we the Law transgress; Like him, unable to deny, Unwilling to confess.

But when by faith the sinner sees A pardon bought with blood; Then he forsakes his foolish pleas, And gladly turns to God. John Newton

The Magnificence, Message and Misson of the Local Church, Pt. 1!

When you hear the term ‘church’ these days rarely is it connected with the terms magnificence, message, or mission.  For the past couple of weeks, as I have thought and prayed over Pillar Community Church, these three terms continue to cross my mind and heart.  For my next few blogs I would like to flesh these terms out and consider the biblical data relevant to each.

Let's start with a story.  The day is Sunday, November 21, 2010.  For my family it would begin and end like the many Sundays that had gone before.  I would get up far earlier than the rest of my tribe and head out to my office around 5:30 a.m.  I would then spend the next three hours in prayer and study.  I would seek the Lord's face and call out for Him to lead me toward Him as I sought to lead His church in the normal practice of weekly worship.  By the time night would fall I would be the first among my tribe to give up my resistance to my body's plea for sleep.  Yes, I would surrender to the daily rhythm of God's 8-hour Sabbath a bit early and extend it a few minutes longer, as I had done many times before. 

Though this day would begin and end like many other Sundays it would be lived out in a vastly different way!  On the one hand this day would bring with it the joy of celebrating baptism with our Westside Family!  We would gather around the pool behind our office (on an unusually cold day!) and I would descend into the pool and baptize new believers “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”  We would watch as family members videoed this blessed event and saints all around shared in joyous hugs, cries, laughter, and an occasional “WooHoo.”  Among my best memories in this life, the baptisms hold pride of place.  This one would be among my top three as I would have the blessing of baptizing our youngest child, Hayla Noel.  I had also baptized my two older sons at previous times in the safe confines of our Westside family and, to this day, each are stand out memories in my life.

A few brief hours later we would travel about 100 miles south and meet with a group of folks to cast vision, discuss, and dialogue about a new church plant.   This new church plant had been on our hearts and minds for months.   We (Melissa and I) believed the Lord was leading us to undertake this new work in the Vero area.  I stood that evening in the midst of around 30 people - some old friends and many new faces.  I did my very best to share from my heart and honestly answer every question asked that night.  I left that night very much wondering - wondering what in the world God was up to and who it would be that He would invite to join me and my family on this amazing journey.

Fast forward to present time.  This Sunday, the 13^th  at 9:00 a.m., Pillar Community Church will launch our first official service of Worship at the Majestic Theater off U.S. 1 in Vero Beach, FL.  Westside Community Church will continue to practice a string of worship services that date back to 1987.  They will gather, as they have for the last 16 years at 1937 Lakeville Road in Apopka, FL.  We will gather in two separate places, with two separate groups of people, in two separate and distinct areas.  But do not be fooled - we will gather as One Magnificent Church in worship of One Awesome God!  In fact, Pillar and Westside do not share this distinction alone.  We share it with thousands of other congregations across our state, nation, and world.  Whoever will gather in the name of Jesus the Christ and pay him homage as Lord of all creation shares this magnificent family distinction with us!

The Apostle Paul says it this way in I Timothy 3:14 - 15, "I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth."  In these two passages alone there are three distinctions that I would argue give the church her 'magnificence.'

First, Paul calls us God's household.  In other words, we are His family.  Pretty amazing that God would decide to include me in his family.  Most of us these days spend much of our time trying to determine who 'not' to include in our family (or who we would like to exclude).  God has determined to call His family, in which we have been included, his 'household.'  In other words, all believers are children of God and as such we are part of the same family, no matter where we may gather to worship His name and pay Him homage!  Ephesians 2 reminds us that we who were once strangers have not only found a 'country' in which we are citizens, but we have found a family in which we are members.  Simply magnificent!

Secondly, we are not only a 'household' or 'family' but we are a family of the 'living God.'  There is no imagery of dead wood here, but a powerful presence.  Our God is alive and active in life and creation and we, as family members, have the privilege of bearing witness to His glory in a world that is pretty much dead!  In fact, throughout the Scriptures this phrase is closely accompanied by God's presence and, in some respects, is a synonym for His presence in life of believers when we gather as His family!  We are not family members in a household of death, but of life.  This reality forms our entire identity as a people.  Our God is not a victim of a Roman Cross or a Jewish tomb.  Rather He is victor over both.  He is, indeed, victor over sin and death itself!  His is a 'living God.'  Simply magnificent!

Lastly, we are told that we are a 'Pillar and buttress' of the truth.  This 'third' magnificent characteristic is actually the chief in Paul's order here as he begins to bridge our magnificence to the message we carry.  Another way to say this is that we, the 'household of the living God' are charged with both protecting and promoting His truth in life and creation.  The message we carry is God's truth.  The truth, in Paul's writings is used as a synonym for the 'Gospel,' which is our message and will be the content of my next blog.  But let me help us understand this third characteristic of magnificence in its context.  Paul is writing a young leader, pastor and elder in a church that is contending for the truth that was handed down through the Apostles and Prophets.  He wants them, and us, to understand that the church is only the church to the degree that we protect and promote God's truth in the midst of life and creation!  It is a humbling and amazing reality to think that God has invited you and I into this enterprise of protecting and promoting the truth.  Simply magnificent!

That great day in November is very quickly becoming further and further removed from the present moment.  In my life, however, it will forever be a day when God showed me the magnificence of His church.  His church is not contained by boundaries nor is it challenged by transition or attack.  His church, the One for whom He died, is Magnificent and He invites you and I to participate in it and enjoy the tremendous benefits of family life in His good grace!

Join us this Sunday morning at 9:00 to taste of this ‘magnificence’ first hand!  If you choose not to ‘gather with Pillar,’ then please find a ‘household of the living God’ in your community and experience the magnificence of His people there!

Grace and Peace!

Biz