What Is a Wonderful Life?

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Two of my favorite Christmas time movies (or plays) are It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. You’re probably familiar with both productions … I watch them every year for entertainment and inspirational purposes.

The message of each is similar. A man’s life is evaluated by its effect on others. George Bailey (It’s a Wonderful Life) sees that his life IS worth living, though it seems to him like he’s made a royal mess of it. Ebenezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) sees the end that his calloused, hardhearted ways produce. His “bah humbug” attitude about generosity, Christmas, and all things good has got to change, or else.

As a result, both men gain a new and strong motivation to live and think differently about the true purpose and goal of life. They will never be the same again.

I love this stuff. I’m motivated by it. I want to live a life that matters, I want a wonderful life, and I want these things on God’s terms. In other words, in whatever ways God defines a wonderful life that matters, that’s the kind of life I want to live. I’m quite sure that almost every pastor feels the same way.

Certainly, our Lord Jesus lived in view of these things.

John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

John 17:4 “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.”

Paul the apostle sought the same sort of life.

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Thankfully, each and every true believer has the same opportunity to discover the essence of his/her life.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

In my own life, this passion or goal is challenged constantly … challenged by my flesh which is lazy, incorrigible, and wholly unreliable; it’s challenged by the enemy of our souls: who becomes alarmed when we start to center in on God’s purposes for us; it’s challenged by the world which wants a tame sort of pastor, one which it can control.

Today (December 11) would have been my 35th wedding anniversary, had not my first wife ended the marriage in 2006 to do her own thing. Of course I was struck down by that chain of events (I wouldn’t wish divorce upon anyone … it’s a horrible experience).

But I was also desperate … desperate to know if God’s purposes for my life had been derailed. Even though the divorce was based upon Biblical grounds, it was still a faith test for me, for I’d always thought that the whole of my life would be consumed with the ministry of God’s Word.

Please allow me to regress a bit. It all started back in 1976, when I attended the communion service of a charismatic Lutheran church in another city (no one knew me there, and I knew no one). As I knelt and received the bread and cup from two of the church elders, one of them told me he was having a vision concerning my life. He then went on to share about a tree, a tree with no foliage, bare branches, and no visible fruit. But underneath the ground, he saw a large and extensive root system developing. The interpretation was that the Lord was doing a work in my life, establishing me, rooting and grounding me in the faith (Colossians 2:7).

To this my spirit bore witness. I was at that very time in my life involved in an extensive study of the book of Romans—a book I somehow knew would be foundational for me as I grew in the Lord. I could feel happening in me what the vision was picturing.

Well, a year went by, and I decided to go back to that same service. Again, communion was served as I knelt before two elders. Once again, one of them had a vision of my life. This time, there was large tree with full branches and lots of fruit; in the branches were many birds and small animals, and under its shade were many people and larger animals. The interpretation of the vision was that the Lord was making me into a pastor, and that He would bear fruit through my life. As a result, many would find nourishment and protection under the ministry He was giving me.

My spirit once more bore witness. I had already begun pastoring a vigorous and lively home group of 40-60 people, and was sensing the Lord’s hand upon my life. So this vision was confirming to me. Freshly sensing God’s call, we boldly stepped out in faith, moved to another part of the state with $125, some furniture, clothes, and two VW bugs—to start our first church. That happened, and after 27 years of fruitful ministry, my marriage ended.

So back to the question: had God’s purposes for my life been derailed? The Lord Jesus was very gracious as He answered me. “No, they are not,” I heard Him saying to me. “Human choices cannot stop My purposes for your life.” Not only did He remind me of my original calling, He also continued to use me … and each time He did so, I felt like He was kissing me on the cheek. If I love Him, I’m to tend and feed His flock. I’m so thankful for that.

Soon after my divorce the Lord was mega-gracious to bring to me a woman (Sheri), a former missionary who not only loves and serves the Lord but who also loves me. Like me, her previous marriage ended on Biblical grounds. And like me, she believed that God’s purposes for her life could not be thwarted by human choices. As a result, we came up with the following conclusion:

When God’s Plan A for our lives didn’t work out (an ongoing, long-lasting marriage until death do us part), He didn’t create a Plan B; He just made another Plan A! 

We’re living in God’s Plan A right now. Because of God’s grace, we have the chance to live lives that are worth living, that will bring glory to the Father, and that will be abundant and wonderful.

I share these thoughts with the hope that others may be empowered by grace and God’s Spirit to move beyond their pasts, and to experience a truly God inspired wonderful life.

Calvary Chapel: D+

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I recognize that this title is a bit provactive. It is not written merely to be so. Perhaps I could have entitled it “Calvary Chapel D3,” but “D+” actually does a better job of presenting what I see as a problem.

I’ve been a part of the Calvary Chapel Movement since I was 11 years old. Almost my entire Christian experience has been within the Calvary style of ministry. I’ve served in full-time vocational ministry within Calvary Chapel for nearly 13 years in many different capacities. I’ve served as a youth pastor, assistant pastor and now senior pastor at Calvary Escondido. I’ve taught at Calvary Chapel Bible Colleges in Siegen, Germany; Murrieta, California and Costa Mesa. I assisted with Worship Generation at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa back in 2000 and 2001. I’ve been privileged to work alongside men who I consider to be giants in the faith. But my heart has been troubled over the last several years to see certain shifts within this great movement. Troubled as we, the Calvary Chapel Movement, have become detached, disengaged and defensive.

I am still in awe that I have been given the opportunity to teach at Calvary Chapel Bible College for the last 8 years. What began as a wishful desire has become a regular part of my routine. This semester I had the largest class I’ve had to date, nearly a 100 students. Most of those students are in their last semesters at the school. They are preparing to go into “the ministry.” In my interaction with them I am amazed how detached they are from the larger work of God through the [non-Calvary Chapel] church. I realize that this is likely a reality within many such institutions. Two examples of this immediately come to mind.

Early in this last semester I had made a passing comment about the work being done by Acts29 and Mark Driscoll. I was stopped by raised hand within 30 seconds, “What’s Acts29 and who is Mark Driscoll?” I asked my students, “How many of you know what Acts29 is and about Mark Driscoll?” I think 2 people, out of a hundred, raised their hands.

Just a couple of weeks ago, in talking about eschatology (I rotate between teaching Isaiah and Jeremiah at the college) I made reference to amillennial and preterist doctrine; again I was stopped, “What is that?” Again I asked, “How many of you know what these things are?” Blank stares abounded.

My point is not that everyone should know of Acts29 or Mark Driscoll, or that all Christians should have a good grasp of preterism and amillennial theology, but that we, the leadership and future leaders of the movement are a bit detached from the larger work of the church and what is happening in current ecclesiology in our own sphere. If 3rd and 4th semester Bible College students at our movement’s primary school have no clue about the opposing eschatological views within Christendom, in a movement which has, as one of it’s primary distinctives, a pre-millennial and pre-tribulational eschatology, there’s a problem.

One of the primary curricula at CCBC is listening to audio tracks of Pastor Chuck Smith’s through the bible series, recorded in the 1970’s & 1980’s. Please don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say. I love Pastor Chuck Smith and greatly appreciate his ministry. I don’t know that I’d be in the ministry today if it were not for his clear exhortation to serve and follow God given at a youth camp I attended as a sophomore in high school. Be that as it may, I do not believe this emphasis to be helpful, for several reasons.

  1. It breeds the kind of personality cult which Paul preaches against in 1 Corinthians
  2. It produces students with an incredibly limited scope of biblical understanding
  3. It produces teachers that tend to parrot what they’ve heard, rather than rightly dividing the word of truth.
  4. It creates (not at all intentionally) defensiveness toward anyone who disagrees with Pastor Chuck’s position
  5. It creates a cultural frame of reference that is about 30-40 years outdated

Given enough time I could probably come up with a dozen or more additional reasons. I realize that by writing such things I’m opening myself up to get slammed. I pray that that will not be the case. Speaking to students at the Bible College and pastors throughout our movement I find many times over that we’ve become detached from the the larger work of the church. This detachment is not at all intentional. A couple of months ago I had an opportunity to meet and interact with Ed Stetzer on the topic of Calvary Chapel, he observed very much the same detachment when told me, “Calvary Chapel has become insular.” His words were in no way antagonistic; rather he expressed them with a bit of sorrow. Unfortunately I believe his observation to be spot on. It is grieving when I meet pastors from outside Calvary who say to me, “What has happened to Calvary?” My answer to Ed Stetzer and many others who have expressed such concern has been, “We’ve begun to define ourselves by what we’re against on not by what we’re about.”

Our detachment has lead to a defensiveness toward other theological positions and a disengagement from our original mission. In seeking to clearly articulate what a Calvary Chapel is we’ve opted to tell everyone what we are not, instead of showing people who we are. “We are not Calvinists,” “we are not emergent,” “we are not seeker,” “We don’t like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, John MacArthur, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt, etc…” There was a time where defining exactly what a Calvary Chapel was wasn’t entirely easy, but those on the outside of the movement couldn’t argue against what they were witnessing. Sinners were being saved and transformed into saints who went on to plant churches, lots of them; and many of them became the largest in the nation. Yes, on some levels that is still happening, but it is much harder to be “Calvary” in 2011 than it was in 1991, or even 2001. In defining who we aren’t I believe we’ve lost sight of what we’re truly are all about.

Sure, there are things that are distinctively “Calvary Chapel,” but mostly we’ve been a non-denominational, bible believing/preaching movement that makes disciples and plants churches. The question is, can we move through this awkward grumpy old man stage and reengage on the offensive for the cause of the Kingdom, and not be distinctively detached, disengaged and defensive?

Alright give it to me… but remember I’m sleep deprived having just brought my wife and our 3rd baby home from the hospital within the last 48 hours 😉

Evangeline Grace DeBenedictis
December 6, 2011
7lbs 13oz

For Church Planter or Pastor’s Wife – By Lynn Fusco

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Hey everyone, Daniel here. So about a week ago, I walked into our bedroom and my wife, Lynn, was furiously typing on her computer. When she finally looked up, she said, “I am writing an article for the wives of church planters.” Then she proceeded to return to her furious typing. Lynn has been involved in the three churches that I have had the pleasure of seeing launched. We got married when Calvary New Brunswick was very young. She was integral to the launching of both Calvary North Bay and Calvary San Francisco. In both plants, she first started the children’s ministry and then after turning them over to capable leaders proceeded to start the women’s ministry (which she also started in New Brunswick). She did all this while we had small children. Not to mention that we got married not for her ministry prowess but to be companions in this life (which she has excelled at). It is fascinating for me to read about these things from her perspective. There’s a lot of road-tried wisdom here from my beloved bride.

Hello Ladies, if you are reading this than you are among the many that the Lord has placed warmly on my heart. Over the years I have watched my husbands joy at encouraging men with hearts to serve the Lord in church planting. I have rejoiced in my own heart at his articles knowing that any information and encouragement goes a long way. Recently, it has been coming to my spirit the brave women who stand beside their men. YOU. Some of you out of obedience to the Lords calling, some with the same heart as your husbands for the area and some because they married into an early church plant like I did. My desire is to share with you things from my personal flight over the last 8 years as a church planters wife with the heart that you will be strengthened and encouraged.

1. Plow hard, reap later

In a church plant, you generally have to start from nothing. You find a building to hold services, if you are lucky you find someone to lead worship, and you make sure you purchase your own coffee pots 🙂 Starting from nothing generally means that there is A LOT of hard work involved that may last for a couple of years, so get ready! My role has always been to get the children’s ministry up and running and then later the women’s ministry. That generally means teaching every Sunday, or doing nursery every Sunday. I remember here in California I did the nursery and kids church at the same time for a year as my son was the only child nursery-age there. I remember balancing the two simultaneously. As I taught the lesson, frequently, I would hear one of the children from kids church say, “OBADIAH!! Lynn, he’s at it again!” as Obadiah (my active two year old) joyfully dug in the large potted plant in the room we were renting.

As I look back over all those years and then again more recently with our church plant in San Francisco, I can see how the seasons change. In the beginning years you have to work really, really hard. This may mean that you are in charge of teaching Sunday school every week even when you are sick, it may mean that you are trying to find the balance of leading 2 ministries at the same time, it may mean that you “feel” like you are doing everything except preaching the message! IT WON’T ALWAYS be this way!! A season will come when God will bring nursery workers, a team of kids church teachers so you aren’t teaching every Sunday. Men and women who feel called to those very positions that you were working so hard in. You must plow through the hard ground before the seed can be sprung!

2. Show up! Show up! Show up!

One of the many exciting things about a church plant is that you NEVER know what God is going to do! You may have Sundays where its just you and your husband having church together in a big empty room. Or, you may have Sundays where the room is full. In church plants there is usually an ebb and flow in the congregation.

There will also be mornings where you just don’t want to go. Your mind, or body will say, “no one will really miss me today”. I have found from experience that on the days that you show up when you don’t feel like showing up, God generally has “something special” planned. It could be a conversation with a woman who just had a really bad week and just needed someone who cared to share God’s love on her or it could be that you bless your husband’s heart with out even knowing it because he just needed the support of knowing that his wife was in this just as much as he is.

Commit yourself to going and lean on God’s amazing GRACE when you are weary.

3. Be a Servant First

I will never forget the experience I had on our 2nd church plant here in Mill Valley. We had moved to California leaving our New Jersey church family behind. The NJ folks had adored my 2 year old son Obadiah. They had watched my tummy grow round with child and then came and celebrated his arrival. It was the usual custom after church for Obadiah to take turns asking some one in the church family to pick him up, so that he could reach the donut holes that everyone always brought. We left our NJ church as “the beloved” pastors family. I didn’t realize how much I took that for granted, nor how much I expected that to be the same in our next church-plant family. I was surprised and hurt when several of the ladies of the church did not like my son because he was so active. Many made a point to tell me how to mother and then went on to talk about his “behavior” to others. My heart was bruised. I went to the Lord and said “OUCH!! HELP!!!” (among other things in that conversation!)

The verse the Lord ministered to me was, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (phil 2:5-8)”

What He was sharing with me was to be a servant first. Our family had a beloved reputation in NJ. Here in this church plant, I was to look at any area that needed help and then I was to jump in and work at it with all my heart and not expect anyone to love me, or my sweet family because of it. I was to do it all to please God’s heart for He saw me and was well pleased. Knowing this was my greatest reward.

4. Check it at the Door

I had to learn this lesson very early in our New Jersey ministry. As a pastor’s wife your role is to be there for people to talk with, rejoice with, cry with and encourage. In order to be available to the public YOU MUST check your own emotions at the door. What this means is that any un-resolved conversation, conflict, situation that you had at home or on your way to church, you need to give it to GOD. You need to “leave it at the door” before you walk into church so that you can be available to others. I remember countless times in New Jersey where Daniel and I would get into an argument right before we left for church and I would be FUMING inside when we reached church. Often times replaying the argument or conversation in my mind. I would “smile” at those around me but inside I felt down, angry or whatever the emotion inside me was. At those times I saw I was unavailable to minister because I was too consumed with my own thoughts or feelings than to engage with others.

You must leave your own “stuff” behind and trust that GOD will give you the grace you need to be available to others and the grace to resolve the issue that you are bothered with. He cares and loves you.

God understands the weight of the role He has called you to and wants to fill you with grace to move in it. But first you must leave it with HIM.

5. Obedience first, Heart later

The year and half spent on the San Francisco church plant was a tough year. I remember a couple of months before we opened the church to the public, the Lord had given me a vision. He revealed to me kind of warfare that we were going to encounter by planting a church in San Francisco, He did this to prepare my heart. The months to follow were rugged with personal warefare. Feeling beaten up by life, and having just handed the childrens minstry coordinator postion over to a young woman in the church, I was tired and my spirit run down with the battle.

That month the Lord started to gently speak to me about starting the women’s minstry. He was gentle. A loving poke here. Another loving poke, poke there. I ignored it. “I can’t Lord” I said. “I’m struggling as it is, let alone leading another ministry, I just can’t”.

The women who had approached me with the desire to start a ladies ministry, bonded together and hosted the first women’s ministry event. The attendance and joy in the air was abundant. On my way home from the event my heart burned with this desire. I kept crying out to the Lord “if there is going to be a ladies minsitry, it has to have MEAT for the girls to chew on!!” Again I felt the “POKE!”. “ALRIGHT!!!” I said. Was it easy? NO. Did I want to always show up? NO. But I KNEW I was called. I KNEW that I was doing what God had asked me to do, and I had my husband’s support. Even though I was in a rough season personally, the Lord gave me a heart for the ladies. I loved them and when it was time to turn the ministry over, I was sad to say goodbye to their hearts.

At times God is going to ask you to do something, maybe lead a minstry, maybe support your husband in the ministry even though you don’t feel ready for it, or something else….but you will find that if you obey and do what you know He is asking, He will eventually give you His love for the service HE has called you to.

There is nothing greater in my heart than knowing I did what I knew I was called to do, even if I didn’t think I did the greatest job of accomplishing it. I obeyed my FATHER.

6. Understand the Ministry that you are called to

I remember when I began the Ladies Ministry in Mill Valley, the Lord had given me a picture in my heart of the kind of women’s minstry he wanted. For this season He wanted a time where younger women and the older women study the Word and pray together. Through this example the younger women would learn by being surrounded by the older women of the church. My heart had such peace at this picture. However, I had one lady who did not like this “type” of ladies ministry. She used to call me often and tell me her strong opinions. Being younger than her I questioned myself, some times stressed that I wasn’t doing the right thing, etc. However this is what I learned: When God has called you to lead a ministry, ask Him for his vision and upon receiving it, stick to it.

You will have MANY women come to you with “great ideas” of how you “should” lead the ministry, and “great ideas” of the kinds of events you should host, but with an open heart you always need to go back to the Lord, and ask if these support HIS vision for the ministry He has called you to.

7. Know your Personal Weakness and put your armor on

We ALL have a personal weakness(es) in our characters that if left un-checked can be harmful to the minstry. Examine your heart and know what they are!! These areas will be the first areas that Satan will go after and try to use to derail your minstry and your husband’s mininstry. Whatever your weakness is, you must find a way to put your armor on so that it’s put into check.

8. Your Children

Church planting with young children can be very challenging. Obadiah was 2 years old when we started the Mill Valley church plant, and 5 and a half with the San Fransicsco church plant. Maranatha was 2 and a half years old. I would find I would come home from the church day tired and worn out, just wanting to put on a video on and not think which can not be the case when you are a mommy. You are on til they go to bed 🙂 Give yourself and your children grace. Acknowlege often that its a season in life just like having a baby. Takes time for the baby to grow before it needs you less.

One practical solution that we found was to hire a babysitter to watch our children during the fellowship time at church. This way our children could do laps around the hall under a watchful eye, freeing me up to minister to the body uninterrupted.

9. Find a “Seasoned” Pastors Wife and ask her to mentor you

As wives we want to share everything with our husbands. We want to ask them for their opinions, their thoughts, their ideas. This isn’t a bad thing. We are their wives after all! However, the enormity and weight of responsibilty that your husband carries in a church plant is unfathomable. I believe the Lord is the only one who truly understands this enormity.

Our husbands don’t want to spend extra brain space having to come up with ideas for another ministry. He has asked you to lead this particular ministry so that he doesn’t have to think about it. This is why it is so important that we seek out another pastors wife, who has been there “before”. Someone who you can run ideas with, someone who will teach you what has worked for them, someone who will encourage you in the new rode that you are on. Ask God to lead you to this woman. Remember God WANTS to help us!

10. Find a Prayer Partner

Whether its once a week, or once a month, find another woman whom you can share your heart with. Someone who is NOT in the church body. A woman who you can be yourself with and feel the freedom to be raw with when you feel down or discouaged. This special friend needs to be someone who has a heart for the Lord and will commit to pray with you. I know that these friends are SO hard to find. Ask God to reveal the right person for you. Some times this person will be the LORD HIMSELF until the time he brings you another.

11. You are in a Spiritual Battle

Its soooo easy in the midst of plowing hard, for your mind and heart to get discouraged,and apathetic. We forget to look at the whole picture. The picture being that we are doing is work for THE KINGDOM through faith. The enemy doesn’t like KINGDOM work. He HATES it and will try to detrail you, discourage you, give you a spiirt of apathy, anything to have you stop showing up for God. Saturday afternoons and nights in our home are generally not too much fun. Its the day of the week where marital fights brew, the car breaks down, the children won’t stop aruguing or you get sick. Do you get the picture?? And if your husband teaches a mid-week, its the same the day of the midweek. WE MUST LEARN how to wear our armor properly and to put it on every day.

12. Cast your cares on God for HE cares for you!!

Most importantly, guard your private time with HIM. A dear friend of mine recently shared something with me that the Lord shared with her. God told her to “measure the worth of her day by how much time she spent with Him in prayer and in His Word”. WOW right?! We NEED GOD!! We are NOTHING without Him. HE sooo much wants to fill us, help us, love us, make us laugh and smile, give us gems to give to others. He wants us to bring and lay down our burdens at HIS feet so that He can make us whole. He wants to impart HIS wisdom and His nature to us. Give Him that chance ladies! MAKE TIME for your Savior!!

PASTOR, WHO HAVE YOU BEEN MEETING WITH!

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“Now John answered and said, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.’  But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.’”[1]

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”[2]

A hot topic in the body of Christ in North America these days is the issue of unity.  Simply, followers of Jesus are wondering about what kinds of churches and Christians they can affirm and hang out with.  Can a Calvary Chapel Christian hang out with a Reformed Christian?  Can a seeker sensitive church affirm a fundamentalist church?  Can a pastor who favors expository preaching go to lunch with the topic-driven preacher across town?  Can we develop meaningful relationships with anyone outside of our immediate denomination, movement, or dogmatic theological persuasion?  Let me share some things from a couple different meetings I’ve recently attended that have caused me to revisit the issue of unity in the body of Christ amongst pastors and congregations afresh.

A Tale of Two Meetings

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to gather at two different meetings with two different unity dynamics.  The first meeting was with four pastors including myself from different denominations, theological and educational backgrounds, and churches with different philosophies of ministry.  The second meeting was with most of the Calvary Chapel pastors of Northern Utah and their wives.

Meeting with the Calvary Chapel Camp

At the meeting with the Calvary Chapel pastors and wives there was lots of good fellowship, food, and encouragement.  It was a good chance to get to know each other better and pray for what God is doing, and just catch up.

The unity factor in this meeting was primarily founded on the Jesus of the Bible and the biblical gospel.  But there was more to our unity than Jesus and the simple gospel.  That particular group had what we could call wider doctrinal unity as well.  In addition to the essential doctrines of orthodox Christianity we shared similar perspectives on philosophy of ministry, theological issues like eschatology and soteriology, and the method of Bible teaching (expository preaching).

Points of Greatest Impact

Having unity in Jesus and His gospel was definitely the most important thing to this group.  But it is true that we also had a special connection over secondary issues like those named above.  We agree on many things that a person doesn’t need to affirm to be considered a born-again Christian with a genuine relationship with Jesus.  I enjoy having wider doctrinal unity with friends.  It’s fun to talk about and appreciate our unique role in the body of Christ locally and globally.  So, enough about that; let’s move on to the next meeting.

Meeting with the Multi-perspectival Camp

My other meeting was with some pastors from a multi-perspectival frame of mind.  In this group, instead of having wider doctrinal and methodological unity, we had what you could simply call gospel unity.  This is because, beyond the biblical gospel, we have differing perspectives and practices on a number of things.

One of the pastors is definitely the guy with the coolest church in town.  They’ve got an awesome building, awesome music, inspiring messages, lots of art and technology, and all that good stuff.  They do really well reaching the un-churched and younger generations in the Salt Lake Valley.

One of the other pastors at this meeting is a seasoned man with lots of wisdom and experience.  He is from a Dutch Reformed background, and serves in our area as a sort of pastor of pastors helping planters and their families stay healthy and network together.

Another pastor in the group has been a prominent leader regionally in the Evangelical Free Church, and is now one of a number of teaching pastors at one of the largest churches in Northern Utah.  The church at which he serves gets much love and criticism in our area because on the one hand they seem to be reaching lots of people. But on the other hand they are seen by some as a kind of Walmart style church because they’ve successfully worked through a few church mergers which resulted in one multiple campus church which used to consist of at least four independent churches.  No matter what your opinion is about the philosophy of ministry of this church, the truth is that Jesus is using them to save many people in Northern Utah.  They are being used greatly by the Lord to reach Mormons and former Mormons in our area, and I praise God for that.

Lastly, there was me!  I am the lead pastor of a Calvary Chapel affiliated church called Refuge Church in Riverdale, UT.  If you were to come to our church you’d typically find loud music, one hour expository sermons, and an atmosphere of love.  As of the time of this writing we are planning our sixty-sixth baptism in the past fourteen months which is to take place on Christmas day because Jesus has been graciously saving and changing lots of people through a less than two-year-old church-plant.  Most of the people whom Jesus has saved at Refuge are burnt out on religion because of the influence of the predominant religious institution in our state.  They are normal people, with human problems, looking for a God of grace and transformation.

Obviously, this group of pastors could come up with many things on which they have differences of perspective and practice.  Some of us prefer topical preaching while some of us prefer expository preaching.  Some of us have a more Arminian bent when it comes to salvation, and some of us are decidedly Calvinistic and Reformed.  Some of us preach for thirty minutes, and some of us preach for over an hour.  We could potentially go on for a while listing differences of perspectives, doctrinal positions, and methodology represented by each man at this meeting.

Points of Greatest Impact

In all of the differences one might be able to deduce from the men represented in this meeting, it wasn’t our differences, but the things in which we had unity that impacted me most.

Confession time: In the past I have definitely spent much of my time beating up the body of Christ with which I don’t have wider doctrinal unity.  I’ve been one of those guys content to read only books by guys I have full or at least buzz topic agreement (certain bents on the finer points of soteriology, etc.).  I have been content to mainly hang out with Christians and churches I have almost total agreement with, while criticizing any church or pastor that seemed seeker sensitive, topical, emergent, and on and on and on.

Time for more confession: I had even had some of the thoughts and emotions described above toward some of the ministries represented by the pastors who were with me in the second meeting.  About five years ago, the Holy Spirit worked me over in regard to my sectarian mentality, and I’m thankful for that.  Sometimes that residue of sectarianism still creeps up and I have to kill it, and the pride that spawns it in my heart.  This meeting helped me do that again.

I saw a number of things in this meeting that both challenged and encouraged me which spurred me on to write this post:

1. These guys showed love for our brothers in Christ that I wasn’t sure I possessed.

The entire point of this meeting from the perspective of these men was to figure out how they could bless Utah church-planters.  They didn’t care if the guy was Baptist, Calvary Chapel, Reformed, Arminian, or what, as long as they stood for the biblical Jesus and the biblical gospel.  I saw in the eyes, and heard in the voices of these guys a love for other brothers that was born simply out of the reality of being brothers in Christ with them!  I honestly didn’t know if that kind of heart was beating in my chest with the same genuineness and grace I sensed in these men, and I prayed for it silently right in the meeting as the Holy Spirit was challenging me through what I was seeing.

2. These guys showed incredible love for me which I knew I didn’t deserve.

Additionally, I was humbled by the love these guys had for me.  As I sat and listened to these guys I couldn’t help but wonder how I had ended up at a meeting with men Jesus was using so much.  And yet, it didn’t matter to them that I was younger, different in some ways, or whatever.  They believed we could work together for the good of the kingdom beyond our wider doctrinal and methodological issues, and they were glad I was there.  They even wanted to hear my ideas!

3. These guys really are on the same mission to which Jesus has called me and the church I lead.

No matter what differences the men in this meeting have, we have the more important things in common.  We worship the same Jesus, preach the same gospel, and advance the same kingdom.  Those common bonds are greater than any differences we possess, even important differences.

4. These guys really do have the same enemy that I do.

This last point was perhaps most impacting for me in regard to unity.  As each man shared about spiritual warfare in their life, it occurred to me that we were not only unified in our Savior and mission, but in our enemy.  Each man had dealt with spiritual warfare in the form of demonic dreams, depression, and sickness.  We’d dealt with all the same kinds of satanic opposition to the work Jesus had called us to complete.  As we talked about the struggles and challenges of serving Jesus in a demonically oppressed place like Utah, it suddenly became even clearer that we are certainly not fighting for different teams at the end of the day.  We go about the fight differently.  We emphasize different weapons at times.  But when it comes down to it, we’re fighting for the same kingdom, and we’re fighting against the same enemy.

Exhortation

If you struggle with sectarianism, repent and be blessed.  Whoever isn’t against you is for you.  I’d encourage you to meditate on Luke 9:49-50 and see what the Holy Spirit has to say to you.  Let’s enjoy the wider doctrinal unity we have with other believers, churches, and pastors in our unique theological and methodological camps.  But let’s also enjoy simply having gospel unity with those outside our specific camps.  Find and pray with pastors and Christians of other backgrounds.  Develop relationships of encouragement with them.  The very witness of the gospel depends upon it.  Let me leave you with a prayer of Jesus He offered to the Father on behalf of all of His people, world-wide, of all generations:

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”[3]  

 

[1] Luke 9:49-50 NKJV

[2] Psalm 133:1 NKJV

[3] John 17:20-21 NKJV

The Holiness Of Worship Leading

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Worship leaders need to realize the holiness of the activity they are involved in.  They stand before people, and sing to the Creator of the universe.  They stand before God, and sing to Him and about Him. They use their God given gifts and talents to worship God in such a way that inspires others to join in.  Leading worship must be viewed as a holy endeavor. God is holy, and our worship of God must be holy as well.

Consider the worship of God that was offered by the seraphim in Isaiah 6:1-4.  We read, “ 1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”

These mighty angelic beings cover their eyes and their feet.  It has been said that they covered their eyes, because they were not worthy to look upon God, and that they covered their feet as a sign of humility. Their worship of God was a result of their clear view of His holiness, and their actual giving of worship reflected their understanding of God’s holiness. There was humility and adoration because they had a clear understanding of the holiness of God.

As a worship leader, do you think about the holiness of God?  Are you in awe of God’s holiness?  He is completely above and apart from anything common, mundane, unclean, or immoral. Holiness means to be separate, different.  God is infinitely higher than the most holy man on Earth.

Is your view of God is that He is “a lot better than you”, or that he is infinitely better than you?  Do you experience any reverential fear of God as you ascend to the front of the church to offer Him praise?  Is there any sense of your own unholiness?  Is there a deeper desire to grow in holiness, that you might more rightly represent God, and be sensitive to His Spirit?

Do you bring ungodly attitudes and behaviors to your worship leading experience?  Do you live in sin?  Don’t you know that those sinful actions/attitudes make you less effective in being sensitive to God’s Spirit?  They also make you harder to work with.  Sinful attitudes make musicians and singers overly sensitive, lazy, indifferent, selfish, and a host of other unspoken feelings that are communicated to the church congregation through what does or doesn’t happen.  Carnal worship leaders make life more difficult for other worship leaders, and they taint the worship experience for the congregation.

A man who practices habitual sin cannot suddenly rise to a practical holiness that is evidenced by a visitation of God’s Spirit.  God can and does use such a man, but the experience is never what it could have been had that man walked closer with God.

Conversely, if you are walking by the Spirit, your worship leading will be Spirit led, and people will sense the difference.  There will be a sweetness, a holiness, and a presence of God’s Spirit that accompanies you as you worship and lead others in worship.

A godly worship leader is sensitive to the condition of the church congregation at any given gathering.  When the church gathers, the Lord knows what the people need to hear, and to experience.  The Spirit led worship leader has that “X-factor”, that unspoken but very real sensitivity to know how to lead a group of people in worship.  Certain songs may be added or dropped at the last minute.  In service changes take place as that leader senses the congregation being touched by the Lord.  Choruses and refrains are repeated for emphasis.  Times of silence are allowed, as people sit before the Lord.  Songs may be suddenly dropped.  The entire experience is organic and led by the Spirit of God, and is a moving target that cannot be anticipated or planned for, but can only be responded to when one is in the moment.

A Spirit led, godly worship leader senses all of that.  An ungodly worship leader misses all of that.  They may still be proficient at playing, singing, and arranging, but the “X-factor” of being led by God’s Spirit is totally missed by the unholy worship leader.

I have sat before godly worship leaders that have had moderate talent.  I have also sat before excellent singers and players that have lacked a discernible anointing and presence of God’s Spirit.

I always prefer to be led in worship by a man who fears God, rather than one who is an excellent player/singer, but seems to lack any reverence for God.  I want to and need to experience the holiness of God.   Don’t need to be entertained at a church service.  I want to and need to be impacted by a holy worship service.  The style is secondary, but holiness is primary.

A holy worship service may be a bit difficult to describe, but you know when you are experiencing it.

A word of exhortation to all who ascend the platform and stand before God’s people:  Worship is to be a holy endeavor.  It is best accomplished by people who fear the Lord, and who live in the awareness of God’s holiness on a daily basis.

1 Peter 1:15, 16  15but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

 

Imitation Christianity

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When I was a boy and went with my mother to the grocery store, we would almost always buy ice cream.  If mom didn’t have enough money for ice cream, she would get imitation ice cream.  In doing a little research I discovered that imitation ice cream substitutes other edible fats for milk fat.  Milk fat is more expensive than other edible fats.  Real ice cream is more costly than imitation ice cream.  This is why many settle for the imitation – it’s less costly than the real thing. 

At the Last Supper, Jesus told His ministry team,

 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.  John 13:34-35

This is the real thing!  If the church fails to love, the church fails to be the church.  We as pastors know that it is costly to love as Jesus loved.  It costs money/time/energy – physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual.  We love those we don’t like and love those who don’t like us!  Real agape love, real Jesus love costs us our lives.

Because real love is so costly, so dear, because it demands so much of us, we have created imitation versions of Christianity even as the manufacturers of ice cream developed imitation ice cream.  The imitation contains inferior, less expensive ingredients and masquerades as the real thing – and demands less of us.  Here are some imitation versions of Christianity.

We have a SENTIMENTAL version of Christianity – it contents itself w/ loving feelings.  It hears Jesus say something like…

A new commandment I give to you, that you should have feelings of love for one another as I have feelings of love for you.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples if you have feelings of love for one another.

A lot of people buy into this version.  This type of Christianity doesn’t require or expect real-time obedience, only inward emotional stirrings.  This version attracts those who desire to do all for Christ, but end up doing nothing for Christ.  This variety of Christianity states that if you are emotionally moved, that is enough to demonstrate spirituality.

We have a LEGALISTIC version of Christianity – it contents itself w/ solo performances of heroic purity.  Here is how we read this subconsciously:

A new commandment I give to you, that you should be holy as I am holy.  By this, all men will know that you’re My disciples, if you are holy.

Many think that a life of virtue and purity will convince the world that they are His disciples.  Another version: Let’s get serious about God.  Al-Qaeda is serious about God.

We have a CONSUMER version of Christianity – it contents itself w/ promises of happiness.

A new commandment I give you, that you prosper and have a great sense of overall happiness.  By this all men will know that you’re my disciples…if you prosper and have a lot of material good and never get sick.

This Christianity makes no demands because it aims to please.  God is into your happiness.  The best thing I can do to spread the gospel is to be healthy and wealthy and thus demonstrate the faithfulness of God.  I don’t have the time or energy to love you because I am all caught up figuring out different ways God can prove His love to me.

We have an PSYCHOLOGICAL version of Christianity – it seeks to prop up the sagging self worth of pitiful human beings.  Here we hear Jesus say –

A new commandment I give you, that you love yourself and feel good about yourself  and have a great self-image.  By this all men will know that you’re my disciples…if you love yourself and feel good about you.

We are told that we can’t love others unless we love ourselves and so we spend a lot of energy thinking about ourselves and how good we are.  Or this just becomes an excuse, “Since I don’t love me very much, I can’t love you very much.”  This imitation flavor of Christianity still does a brisk business.

We have an INDIVIDUALISTIC version of Christianity… it is self-focused/self-centered/self-consumed.

A new commandment I give you, if you can’t find the perfect church and people who don’t bother you, that’s OK, float from church to church.  By this all men will that you’re my disciples…if you float from church to church and never really love anybody, but intending to if you find anyone worthy of your love.

Love demands connections.  Love cannot be demonstrated by people not connected to one another.  When we float, we disconnect, and one of the greatest evangelistic persuasions is lost.

T. Austin Sparks writes:

The cause of delayed maturity is that people are merely going their own sweet way.  They are butterflies, simply flitting from one thing to another w/ no corporate life, no related life.  A butterfly is quite a pretty thing as it flits about, but there is all the difference between a butterfly and a bee.  A bee too may go from one thing to another, but it does so to very good purpose.  The bee’s life is a corporate life, the butterfly’s is not a corporate life; it is an individual life.

There are a lot of butterflies twitting about the Church of Jesus.

Finally, we have an ACADEMIC version of Christianity – it contents itself w/ doctrinal profession.  Jesus is imagined saying,

A new commandment I give you, that you believe the right stuff.  By this all men will know that you’re my disciples…if you believe the right stuff.

I think that the Sentimental and Academic flavors of imitation Christianity are the most popular.  This version says, “I may not love you, but at least I believe all the right stuff about Jesus and the Bible.”  Many eat this and say, “Yum!”

This is from the FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE 39212.

If a trade name is used on any vehicle which conveys, or any place where imitation ice cream or imitation ice milk is sold, the words “imitation ice cream” or “imitation ice milk”, shall be the same size as the largest letters used in the trade name and as conspicuously placed. In no case shall the letters in the words “imitation ice cream” or “imitation ice milk” be less than six inches high.

Can you imagine something like that on our church buildings, or over the entrance doors?

This church does not practice real Christianity, but several different imitation forms. 

What will loving one another look like?

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor…  Rom 12:10 

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pet 4:8 

Let’s be broken by our failure to love and not pained by the failures of others to love us.  Dr. Larry Crabb

Am I perfected in love?  Those of you who know me know the answer to that question.  I am not perfected in love, but I’ve tasted the real thing enough to know when an imitation is being passed off as the real thing – by myself or others.  Brothers, let’s keep the real thing before us and not settle for the imitation.

Vision

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By this time you might be beginning to recover from yesterday’s food coma.  Hopefully.  We (my family) are waiting for the arrival of our 3rd little baby.  She should be here any day; I hope we’re ready.

This time of year always brings me great joy.  I love the fall and winter; and preparing for the end of the year always brings great anticipation for what God will do in the new year.  Each year in early November our pastoral team goes away for a few days to plan and pray for the upcoming year.  As the result of a very full schedule this year we had to bump our meeting up a month to mid-October, but I’m pretty sure that everyone on our team is expecting good things in 2012, although it is supposed to be the end of the world.

After nearly 13 years in vocational ministry and almost 4 as a senior pastor, I’m more convinced than ever that one of the major roles for a lead pastor is vision seeking and vision casting.

In the early spring of 2001 I began teaching through the book of Exodus as a Jr. High pastor at Calvary Escondido.  At that time I was also working closely with Joey Buran and Worship Generation at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.  Joey was (and is) a pastor with great prophetic vision.  God used his discipleship and influence in 2000 and 2001, as well as my personal study and teaching of Exodus, to plant in my heart some important realities about vision seeking and casting.

In Exodus 25 God commands Moses to take up an offering from the Children of Israel, so that they might build a sanctuary for the Lord, which would be a tabernacle of meeting for the people and God.

And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.  According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.

– Exodus 25:8-9

With God’s command to build the tabernacle came a vision, from God, for that which was to be constructed.  As I studied and taught through this section of scripture over 10 years ago, the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart that as I sought Him, He would give me vision also.  It is incredibly important that those in leadership positions be actively seeking the Lord for direction and vision.  This should be a given for all Christians, but especially those in leadership, for where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint (Proverbs 29:18).

Vision from God primarily springs out of our devotional time with the Lord.  Moses was on the mountain-top, alone with God when he received the vision from the Lord.  This patter has held true in my life as well.  Dedicated time away to seek the Lord for vision is essential.  If we trust Him for this, He will certainly prove Himself faithful.  God’s word must always be the foundation of vision; the core values that govern what you do and how you do it, but I have found that God uses many [extra-Biblical] ways to reveal vision.

Conversations with friends, family and co-laborers; articles and books I read; videos I stumble upon online; stray thoughts I have running through my mind (especially as I’m about to fall asleep).  All of these things God has used over the years to develop and reveal vision.  There is rarely a day that goes by that I do not have a half-dozen or more inspirations for myself and my family personally and/or the church that I pastor.  Thus it’s crucial that I’m ready with a note pad – or the notes app on my iPhone (my current default) – to take down the ideas, because stray thoughts vanish quickly.

I don’t remember the exact date, but I do remember that it was a Wednesday night in the fall of 2001 that God spoke very clearly to me about casting or imparting vision to others.  I was walking to the main office at our church to get the teaching notes I’d just printed on Exodus 31; the first 11 verses of which read…

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.  And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.

“And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you:  the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle—  the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base— the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

– Exodus 31:1-11

After meditating upon the passage and prepping my message I had a conversation in my mind that went something like this, “Miles, I’m going to give you vision just like I did with Moses.  But the vision that I’m going to give to you is something that you will not be able – by yourself – to accomplish.  So I am going to gather people around you that I have gifted to accomplish the vision I’ve given you.  You will have to impart the vision to those I’ve gifted, and then the work will get done.”

A vision is just a dream until it is shared with others.  Only then can you, by God’s grace and power, step out to make it a reality. But many dreams are not [completely] clear when we initially have them.  So I have found that it is important to develop the idea, make it clear and then share and impart it to others.  Some people will probably think that your idea is crazy, foolish or “out there,” but those that God has gifted and called will lay hold of the vision and run with it.

Be seeking the Lord for vision.  Be ready for when it comes.  Be diligent to clarify and cast it to others.  For…

The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
– Habakkuk 2:3

Making Missionary Christians

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“Do you love Me?…Feed my sheep.”[1] – Jesus

“…the church exists for the edifying or the building up of the saints; to bring the saints into full maturity so that they might engage in the work of the ministry.”[2] – Chuck Smith

“Preach and teach the Word—the very life of the church depends on it! It has the power to save lives, change lives, and give life.”[3] – Brian Brodersen

When men who are called by God and empowered by the Spirit of God preach the gospel, people become new creations.  They come to spiritual life for the first time.  This is what happened on the day of Pentecost.  The Apostle Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are told that upon hearing the gospel from the lips of this imperfect but Spirit-filled man who was chosen by Jesus, over three-thousand people believed in Jesus and became born again.[4]  We may not see three-thousand people come to Jesus when we preach, or maybe we will.  What we can be sure of is that if we are called to plant churches someone is going to come to Jesus from time to time when we preach the gospel.

 

The Vision of Jesus for His Church

The truth is that Jesus doesn’t just want people to be saved; He wants people to be discipled.  I like to think of a disciple as a spiritual apprentice.  Before Jesus ascended back into heaven He told the twelve: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.”[5]

 

According to Jesus you need to do two things to become a disciple: First, you need to get baptized publically demonstrating that you have repented of your sin and trusted in His work on the cross for forgiveness and reconciliation with God.  Second, you need to begin learning to live by His commands as explained by the apostles and prophets to whom His commands were originally given.  The cool thing is that we have access to the commands of Jesus that were received by the apostles today in the pages of the Bible.  This means that people today can be born again through faith in the gospel message, and then become disciples by being baptized and beginning to learn to live by the teaching of Jesus that we find in the Bible.

 

Missionary Training Centers

Church planters need to see the local church communities that are gathered through their preaching as missionary training centers.  In fact, Jesus’ original intent for giving leaders to His church is that those leaders would teach His people, disciple His people, and train them in the Word that they might be able to serve Him effectively in their individual callings.  The Apostle Paul wrote of this in Ephesians four: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”[6]

 

Each type of Spirit-gifted man listed above has in common the fact that they are all communicators of God’s Word in one way or another.  Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers all have their own version of a Bible communicating ministry.  According to Paul, Jesus gave men with these gifts to the church specifically that through their teaching the rest of the church would be equipped to serve God in their respective callings.  This is discipleship!  Gifted Bible teachers teaching Christians to obey Jesus’ commands for their lives is the picture in Ephesians four, and it is Jesus’ plan for how His command to make disciples is to be accomplished.

 

This means that churches that are merely evangelistic are only doing half of their job at best.  Jesus style churches don’t just get people saved by giving them the gospel; they equip and disciple them through teaching them the Bible.  The other side is true as well.  If a church is only focused on deep teaching and doesn’t charge the people to take what they learn in the Bible and put it into practice on mission in their personal lives, they are merely encouraging spiritualized consumerism.

 

Getting Our Priorities Straight

If you want to be a church planter, you must have this straight.  If you don’t set up systems for discipling new converts and training Christians in the Word you will never have a missionary church that is going into the world to do the work of the ministry.  You will have a bunch of unhappy baby Christians who are so hungry because of a lack of being fed the Word that they will eat each other, and you.  If you feed them the Word you will see the love of God in your church.  You will see Christians mature in their relationship with Jesus and start living like Jesus.  You will see them begin to share the gospel in their lives.  You will see them take care of one another.  And yes, you will see those who merely want to consume and never contribute hit the road.  But the result will be that you will have a vibrant local church that really is a missionary training center that is being used by Jesus to advance His kingdom.

 

I want to leave you with a biblical picture of the first local church that was birthed by the gospel, nurtured in a community of discipleship, and used to bring many other souls into the kingdom as a result.  This can be your church if you do it God’s way.

 

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.  Then fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” [7]

 

Summary and Exhortation

That dynamic, Spirit-filled, loving, sharing, and kingdom spreading local church began as a group of newly saved Christians who, “continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine.”  Think about it.  Pray about it.  Do it.

[1] John 21:17a-c NKJV

[2] Smith, Chuck. The Philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel. Page 3.

[3] Brodersen, Brian. Essentials in Ministry. Page 10.

[4] Acts 2:41

[5] Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV

[6] Ephesians 4:11-12 NKJV

[7] Acts 2:42-47 NKJV

Dying Churches and the Church Planter

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As I look across the landscape of our country and that of Europe, I can’t help but to notice the remnant of once thriving churches that are now run down buildings or historical buildings with no life of a church. This breaks my heart.

Almost five years ago I came to Valley Center as a church planter to restart an almost dead church. Through the journey of restarting Valley Baptist Church I have come to appreciate the unique challenges, struggles, and rewards of this type of ministry. I am convinced churches today need to invest in the process of restarting dying churches for a number of reasons.

Stewardship. The average church planter in Southern California will never lead his church to purchase property because of the sheer prices. There are benefits to not owning property, but that is not for this discussion. What I don’t like about this is there are many healthy church plants that are thriving while there are many dead churches sitting on property that is paid off and not being used. It just seems like poor stewardship not to unite two of these churches to reap eternal rewards.

Legacy. Almost without a doubt (sure there are exceptions) the founders of these churches loved Jesus and wanted to impact their community through Christ. Almost without a doubt the people of these churches did not change with the culture (contextualization, not distortion of the Gospel)and ultimately failed in their effectiveness in being able to share Christ with their neighbors. There is great potential if an established dying church can humble themselves concerning preference of form concerning worship, they have an opportunity to continue their legacy. I had the joy of becoming great friends with the man who pastored VBC through the 60’s and into the 70’s. It brings me great joy to see his joy as he watches our church thrive.

How to move forward? I don’t know exactly. I think the first step is to specifically pray for this sort of opportunity. God has to lead the way for sure. Second, I believe the local church should be actively involed. We couldn’t have done what we did without the emotional, prayerful, and financial support of FBC Mira Mesa for the first three years of this journey. I am praying and currently working with a church planter and dying church going through this process. I hope that we as a church can help other churches stay alive and become defective again in carrying out the Great Commision.

The right man for the task. The man called to restart a dying church needs certain gifts to enable his success in the journey. He needs to have a balance between firmness, gentleness, sensitivity, and most of all patience. Patience is key because restarting a dying church is like turning around an aircraft carrier-it takes time, but the rewards at the end are totally worth it!

Three Essential Relationships

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I wrote this blog for Crossroads Community Church, where I will be serving come January. I thought it would be appropriate here.

At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus spoke what has come to be known as the Great Commission. Jesus began by telling his disciples that all authority was his (Matthew 28:18). He concluded by assuring them that he would be with them always (Matthew 28:20). Sandwiched between these two awesome realities lies the Great Commission. Jesus said this: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all things that I commanded you.” There’s quite a bit packed into Jesus’ statement, so let’s break it down into bite-sized pieces. There are four main verbs in this commission. Go, make disciples, baptizing and teaching. In the original Greek, one of these verbs is an imperative, meaning it’s essential, you must do it. The other three are subordinate clauses to that imperative. Can you guess which the imperative is? I’m sure you guessed correctly. The imperative is to make disciples. We make disciples by going, whether across the sea or across the street, and by baptizing and teaching. Jesus is telling us that his church is meant to be first and foremost a disciple-making body. A disciple is a learner. We are called to be disciples of Jesus and our relationships within the body of Christ should be geared so that all of us learn more and more about and from Jesus. It is with this truth in mind that we created the Paul, Barnabas and Timothy model of mentoring. Let me explain it to you.

Each of these well-known New Testament figures represents a type of a relationship that is essential in the discipleship process. And much like the Five Hour Foundation, discipleship is foundational to our growth in faith. Each of these three characters is important to nurture and mature us as followers of Jesus. That’s why you will continue to hear us encourage you to cultivate, as foundational for your life and for the Crossroads community, these types of relationships.

What do these three relationships look like?

Paul was, of course, the great apostle to the Gentiles. A former persecutor of the church, Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the Damascus Road and changed his life forever. Paul’s missionary journeys are detailed in the Book of Acts. And Paul’s letters to the churches he founded, as well to his ministry companions, take up nearly one-third of our New Testaments. Paul is a classic mentor. He poured his life into people. Paul was a spiritual father to many believers, and he once called Timothy a ‘son in the faith.’ Each one of us needs a spiritual mentor in our life, like Timothy had in Paul. We all need someone who is older, wiser, more experienced and deeper in the things of Christ. We all need to be poured into by another brother or sister. Their influence can range from scriptural studies and encouragements, to working through hard times in our marriage or with our kids. In many ways, this is what Pastor Bill’s nxtSTP ministry is about. God’s vision for that ministry is to engage the Boomers and beyond to invest in the future. That is also why your pastoral staff and leaders are here. We all need to be poured into like the apostle Paul did. So ask yourself, “Do I have a Paul in my life?”

Barnabas was a companion of Paul on his first missionary journey after Pentecost. Paul and Barnabas were peers, and sent out from the same church ministry in Acts 13. They walked through life and served God together. They were friends and without a doubt, they were mutually edified by each other. When Jesus sent out his disciples in the Gospels, he sent them out two by two. It is commonly explained that Jesus knew they needed fellowship and protection. He wanted his disciples to have fellowship because he knew that they were created for relationships. In the same way, we need to be able to share our lives with others in friendship. Jesus also wanted to his disciples to be protected, because life could be treacherous. It’s the same for us. When we are alone, we are more vulnerable in so many ways, but when we are in relationship, someone has our back. We can count on them. So Jesus sent his disciples out two by two, and this is exactly what we mean by the Barnabas model of mentoring. Not only do we need a Paul, someone who will pour into us, but we also need a Barnabas, with whom we will walk through this life of faith. A Barnabas is our spiritual peer, a friend in the faith, someone we co-labor with and someone who will be a source of fellowship and protection. They will encourage us in the faith, and we will do the same for them. We all need someone who knows us with more regularity and depth then our Paul. So ask yourself, “Do I have a Barnabas in my life?”

Timothy was, as I already explained, Paul’s son in the faith. Timothy was considerably younger than Paul. Yet Paul made a substantial investment in Timothy. Although young, God was using Timothy mightily in the pastoral ministry. Timothy was the recipient of mentoring at the hands of Paul and it paid eternal dividends. So not only do we need a Paul in our lives to pour into us, not only do we need a Barnabas to walk alongside us, we all need a Timothy as well. We all need to be pouring into someone for their benefit and growth. Take a minute and think back on the individuals that we have discipled. Whether we have been a Christian for thirty years or for thirty minutes, there is always someone who will be blessed by our spiritual investment in their lives. And not only will they be blessed, but everyone who they reach out to will also be! In the more modern vernacular, this is our spiritual ‘paying it forward.’ As we have been blessed by our “Paul’ and encouraged by our “Barnabas,” we then seek out someone we can bless as we have been blessed, our own personal Timothy’s that we can pour into as a Paul. So ask yourself, “Do I have a Timothy in my life?”

So there you have it! Now you understand our Paul, Barnabas and Timothy model of mentoring and discipling. Brothers and sisters, can you imagine if every person in our entire family of faith endeavored to have, as a starting point, these three relationships? Can you imagine how much growth would take place? Jesus wants his church to be a disciple-making body, so I encourage you to pray about your Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy relationships today. God will surely meet you as you pray about this concept, step out in faith, and seek these people out. And the impact will be amazing!