Church Planting 9 Years And Still Learning

9 years after starting a new church in NJ and we are still learning lessons. Here are some things we are finding ourselves reinvigorated by 9 years later;
 
The church as family
 
In our early years in NJ we were family. We lived within a mile of everyone on the original team. We borrowed each other's stuff. We hung out together regularly. We shared our goods and resources. We fought together like any good family does. We made peace again. We laughed, cried, wondered a lot about what the future might hold and did our best to keep Jesus front and center.
 
9 years later we are trying to do those very same things afresh with new people. It is a challenge with new people because living as family requires we build a healthy level of trust first. None of us are willing to offer ourselves whole-heartedly to a church family unless we trust the people. Trust, however, takes time especially if we have been hurt by people before. Most people would rather cocoon themselves from close relationships rather than experience the pain of broken trust again. Thankfully church in our homes has seemed to catapult us into closer connection with one another. We are finding this new context makes church as family seem easier to get to.
 
The need for a Jesus economy
 
Over the past 9 years we have come to rediscover the need for the church to live under the economy of Jesus again. The economies of capitalism, socialism and communism are insufficient for the church of Christ. The economy of Jesus says: 'those who have shall, out of the overflow of their hearts, give to those who have not.' Generosity is practiced in the church because it is the natural expression of having received such a generous gift in Jesus. When a congregation lives under the economy of Jesus we find that they have “no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34) and, I believe, the Holy Spirit responds as He did in Acts 2 by working powerfully among them. Obedience always brings blessing.

The church of Christ in our present age has not been obedient to the Jesus economy. Even though we know theologically that we ought to live this way, we still treat our stuff as if it were our own and remain obnoxiously private with what the Lord has given us. This is often the case because it is preceeded by a failure to live as church family (#1 above). Many generous people exist in the church today but we are not close enough relationally to one another to know the needs of one another. Because we do not know each other we do not trust each other, and the majority of us will find it difficult to give to people if we have not yet built trust with them. On the other hand, having close relationships with one another we would readily give our shirts for each other. I believe it. I've seen it. This past Sunday a brother in Christ secretly handed me a card. I opened it later and read, “I always said when I’m blessed others will be blessed and when I’m not feeling God’s blessing, I must look to bless those around me...” Inside the card was $250 cash!

 

We are re-learning the need for the church to live under the Jesus economy. I suggest that it is our disobedience in this regard which most hinders the work of the Lord in America today.
 

Discipleship as Spiritual Parenting

This is something I have been learning in the past 3 or 4 years. Before that time I was not old enough or wise enough to spiritually parent anyone. Discipleship at its core is spiritual parenting. Protestants harp on the Catholics because they call their priests “Father”, and I think rightly so. This conviction comes from Jesus’ command in Matthew 23:9, “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.” Jesus gave this command against those who placed others on spiritual pedestals. It was against those who liked to be seen in the marketplace with their special clothing and special titles and who took the best seats in the synagogues because they thought they were somehow more worthy than others to sit there. To these Jesus said (paraphrasing here), “don’t call them rabbi, teacher, or father for you have one Father worthy of that kind of respect." However the idea of having a spiritual father that you follow is also very Biblical.

 

Paul the Apostle said to the church at Corinth, “I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. ¹⁵ Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me” (1 Cor.4:14-16). Paul the Apostle clearly saw himself as a spiritual father to the church at Corinth. He considered them his spiritual children. However Paul was a spiritual father in affection not authority, and I think that's the necessary distinction. He would say elsewhere, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thes.2:11-12). Paul was absolutely a spiritual father to many in his affections toward them.

 

Spiritual parenting (mothering or fathering) is as simple as it sounds. It is taking responsibility for the souls of new Christians and nurturing them to spiritual adulthood. For Jesus that took 3 years with 12 men walking with them on the roads of life, teaching and modeling as He went. Spiritual parenting involves asking others to walk alongside you for a time or it can involve your choice to walk alongside others who need a spiritual parent. Many adult Christians are weak and wavering today because they never had a spiritual father or mother intentionally come alongside them and nurture them. I know we are all busy in America but if we are too busy to mandate time to raise spiritual (adult) children then we are too busy to make disciples.

 

“Do you have a pulse?” or “Do you want to follow Jesus?”

 
Our perspective on church growth in the first few years in NJ was ‘if you have a pulse, come join us!’ For a long while we thought any increase in people was a good increase in people. We thought we were progressing as long as we were seeing new faces. However if you spend enough time with people you come to discover those who truly want to follow Jesus and those who just want their spiritual fill for the week or some other easy handout. When Jesus elected 72 persons to bring the message of the kingdom of God to the surrounding region He was very selective. A pulse was not enough to get you elected. Instead Jesus rather sternly weaned out those who were divided in heart. Jesus said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” ⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Lk.9:59-62).

 

It appears to me that Jesus recruited people to accomplish His mission not by begging just any adjacent soul to join in- as if He could not accomplish His plan without them. Instead Jesus said, “I’m going. Who’s coming? If you are not in then get out”. As I have been time and time again frustrated by people of low resolve I have come to the conclusion that the best way to move forward in spreading the Gospel through the planting of new churches is to say, “I’m going, who’s coming?” There are those who are not ready to follow the Lord. Fine. We will pray that the Lord convicts their heart later on down the road before they die. But there are some who are ready now. To them we say, “I’m going. You coming?”

 

Maybe something we have experienced is helpful to you on your journey.

Are We Trusted?

Trust is a hard thing to establish with people today. The more media we consume the less we trust in mankind. What filters into our sensory organs everyday is mostly the stuff which leads us to distrust our neighbor. We grow to believe that everyone has some dark secret under their sleave which only the process of time will reveal. "He seemed like such a kind man whenever we spoke", is a familiar phrase to describe the serial killer after he is caught. How do we as Christians establish trust with our neighbors when time and time again people are finding their first impressions about their neighbors so wrong? It's an important question to consider for unless we have their trust we shall not gain their following.

Here are a couple suggestions on buildling trust in our communities that I have found effective for the church today.

1. Do everything for the glory of God

As Christians we are to do all things for the glory of God (see 1 Cor.10:31). When we do all things for the glory of God then we will do all things well and with the upmost of integrity and honesty. When we begin to do things for lesser reasons (i.e. because it feels good, in order to make money, because we have to, etc.) we will inevitably do those things with less diligence and genuineness than if we did it to glorify God.

2. Do not have alterior motives

A gentleman comes into the Foodbank every so often to "get food for my neighbor". That is the pat reason he gives for coming to the Foodbank anyway. The real reason he comes is to find opportunities to use his gift of evangelism to speak to people in line about Christ. Praise God for his desire to make Christ known! However this man is distrusted by the Foodbank workers because they know he is not being truthful as to why he is really there. They believe his story about "food for my neighbor" is a crock. It's made up but they can't prove it. Since he has not made his primary reason known but is instead using the Foodbank for other reasons, he is not trusted by the Foodbank workers. Consequently he has hampered his ability to share Christ with them. They don't trust him.

3. Genuinely love people for no other reason than that Jesus loves people

If we want to build the trust of people we cannot engage in relationships with people for any lesser reason than to love them as Jesus loves them. As we genuinely love them without conversational tricks we will build their trust and create a platform for ourselves from which to say, "I hope you know that I care about you and pray for your soul often".

Here's how trust has been built in my life recently: I have been serving at the Foodbank for about 8 months now. When I am there I am very curious about the lives of the Foodbank workers. I ask them about themselves. I continue conversations about familiy members we had from last time. I tell them "I will be in prayer about that for you", and I am. I hide nothing. I say I am there to help out and help out is exactly what I do. I work hard to make them appreciate my help. I inquire about them because I genuinely care about them. They all know I am a preacher and they respect me for it. The Lord has given me their trust now and I see cool things happening as a result;

• The head lady at the Foodbank now introduces me to people who are in need of more than just food

Last Tuesday morning she pulled me aside quietly and said, "Do you know the lady that is at the desk right now?" I did not know her. She said, "I want you to go talk to her; she needs more help than just food." I helped her to her car and learned that her daughter in law had just passed away 2 weeks ago and she now had custody of her grandchildren. Her heart was greatly burdened by this sudden change in life. We talked for a bit outside and then I gave her my information. I let her know that if nothing else I had two good ears that were always available to her. I hope she will call.

• The head lady at the Foodbank also informs me about other people she knows, not affiliated with the Foodbank, who need spiritual guidance

She recently introduced me to Joe who works for the Township. One Tuesday morning she pulled me aside, told me about Joe, told me where his office was, and told me to get out of the Foodbank and go talk to him for he was really struggling. Fearing her reprimand if I did not I went! I had a great conversation with Joe in his office and we set up to have coffee together at a Dunkin Donuts to talk more. Joe came to our SuperBowl gathering recently where he and I connected and talked a lot about faith and life.

I believe these opportunities are open to me right now because the Lord has helped me establish the trust of the Foodbank workers. If I was not trusted by them people neither would they entrust to me their burdens, their souls, their experiences or the counsel of their friends.

How can you establish the trust of those you are with regularly? Once trust is established I think you will find evangelism rather natural.

It's About Shoveling A New Cultural Pathway

Jordan, Mrs. Lucy & Keith

This past Saturday Keith, Jordan and I spent 4-5 hours shoveling the driveways of senior citizens in town who could not do it for themselves. Our senior center gives us an updated list of seniors in need every winter and we do our best to check on them after every snowstorm. We shoveled 10 driveways on Saturday and met some beautiful elderly people.

Lucy, the lady pictured above, about jumped for joy when we arrived for she was shoveling her driveway all by herself at the age of 85. She knew we were from the Brunswick Church of Christ and had heard that we would be out checking on people. We talked about the Lord together in the 20 minutes we were there and even prayed with her as we left.

But about this day of serving through shoveling let me say this: It was more than just serving. Yes we put into practice Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven”, but it was more than that too. Our day of shoveling was also about re-shoveling a path in our culture for a way of life which makes the love of neighbor primary again.

When we go out to serve as a congregation, no matter what service we do, we are not just trying to let our light shine so that others can see Christ in us, although we are trying to do that eagerly. Neither are we just trying to gain opportunities to meet people so that we can share Christ with them, but we are doing that proactively. In addition to these things we are also trying to do something else. We are trying to shovel a new pathway of life in our community which sets up the next generation for unobstructed life in Christ.

Our community has taken the pathway of life that leads to the greatest financial gain. Most of America has. This pathway, however, has come at the expense of our neighbor. For this reason we as the church of Christ must be shoveling a new pathway. In this new pathway everything must change. We must change why we do what we do. We must choose our work based on its serving potential not its earning potential. We must work not because it makes us wealth but because it is a means to love our neighbor. That was the Lord's design for work.
 

Shaun & Keith

On Saturday we continued shoveling a new pathway in our community. This new pathway charts a way of life in which Jesus is center, our neighbor is second in line, and everything else takes a back seat...and, of course, in the end the Lord provides for us through it.

Let me close this conversation with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that makes excellent sense for us today. He said,

“On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring” (Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence, Delivered 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City).

It is not enough simply to serve in Jesus name today. It is not enough simply to evangelize the world with the Gospel message and baptize people. We must do both of those things! But we must also, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be about changing the edifice of our culture such that the love of neighbor no longer takes a back-seat to making money. That’s what we were doing on Saturday with Mrs. Lucy. Did we convert her? No. Not yet. But we can be assured that it shall do no good to convert her if afterwards we shall abandon her to the cultural pathway of greed and materialism where we have no time for her needs anyway.

 

Let us cotinue shoveling the new pathway of life around Jesus in our community!

Training the Undisciplined Soul

This post comes from a teaching series we started at BCC "Training the Undisciplined Soul".

If you were 7 years old during the Middle Ages your greatest aspiration would likely have been to become a knight for a noble lord and lady. It was one of the highest positions a young boy could aspire toward. To become a knight, however, involved a long process of disciplined training. Here’s a snapshot of what it took;

“Their training is long and careful…At the age of seven his knightly education begins. Usually the boy is sent away from home to the castle of his father's lord, or some famous knight, there to be brought up and trained for knighthood. From the age of seven till he reaches the age of fourteen, the boy is called a page or "varlet," which means "little vassal." There he waits upon the lord and lady of the castle. He serves them at table, and he attends to them when they ride forth to the chase. From them he learns lessons of honor and bravery, of love and chivalry. Above all, he learns how to ride and handle a horse. When the young noble has become a well-grown lad of fourteen or fifteen, he is made a "squire." Now it is his duty to look after his lord's horses and arms. The horses must be carefully groomed every morning, and the squire must see that their shoes are all right. He must also see that his lord's arms and armor are kept bright and free from rust. When the lord goes forth to war, his squire accompanies him, riding on a big strong horse, and carrying his lord's shield and lance. When the lord goes into battle, his squire must stay near, leading a spare steed and ready to hand his master fresh weapons at any moment… After several years of this service, the squire may himself be allowed to use weapons and fight at his lord's side; and sometimes he may even be allowed to ride forth alone in search of adventures…In this manner the squire learns the business of a knight, which is fighting…In this way the squire spends his days until he reaches the age of twenty or twenty-one. He has now proved both his courage and his skill, and at last his lord says that he has "earned his spurs." So the squire is to be made a knight; and this is the occasion for great festivities." (The Story of the Middle Ages: Chapter 13, Life of the Castle)

The induction festivities for knight-hood were something else altogether, but to become a knight, as you just read, requires years and years of focused and intentional discipline. Knights undergo a prolonged period of training where the end product is not just a man who can wield a sword and ride a horse, but a man also who in his very character is honorable and self-controlled and can be trusted to give his life for others.

We also have positions of high esteem today which require years and years of discipline to attain: Professional Athlete, Doctor, CEO, Navy Seal, etc. If we were to take all of these honored positions, including the position of Knight, and chart them on a bar graph of “Discipline Required To Attain” (see below), we would find that however high the bar of discipline rises for any single one of those positions, none of them would ever chart as high as the discipline required to become like Jesus our Lord.

Jesus holds the greatest position of influence in the world. There is no higher goal which mankind can climb towards than to become like Jesus Christ. Jesus is the face of perfection. He is the image of God. He is the One in whom all things in heaven and earth hold together and by whom they all derive their names (see Colossians 1 & 2). He is the Alpha and the Omega, the A and the Z of things.

That being the case let me ask, “If Jesus Christ is the One we strive to become like in all ways except His Deity, then what process of discipline must we undergo if we expect to be like Him one day?” It ought to be the most intense discipline out there! To become like Jesus ought to require stricter training and discipline than to become a Professional Athlete because the bar of influence is set higher for us.

Now I know that it is not humanly possible to attain to the perfection of Christ and as such we require the blood of Christ Himself to make us acceptable to the Father, but that does not negate the fact that to become like Jesus Christ is still our lifely goal. And if Jesus is our life’s goal, folks, then let us all confess right now that our training in righteousness is not near as disciplined as it needs to be.

Thomas A Kempis said quite condemningly, “O if they would give that diligence to the rooting out of vice and the planting of virtue which they give unto vain questionings: there had not been so many evil doings and stumbling-blocks among the laity, nor such ill living among houses of religion” (Imitation of Christ, Book 1 Chapter 3 Paragraph 5).

I want us to be honest with ourselves that we are not yet as disciplined in our quest for Christ as we have need to be. None of us. All of us give more discipline to the care of our bodies than we do the care of our souls. All of us contemplate more the temporal things of this earth than we do the eternal riches of Christ. All of us devote more hours to the attainment of positions of earthly honor than we do the heavenly honor of Christ. And my question for us in this post it this:

“If the squire undergoes such strict discipline to become a knight why is it Christians have undergone such lazy discipline to become like Christ?”

The Scriptures tell us of the need for strict training, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷ No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Cor.9:24-27).

I don’t know about you but I am in great need of further spiritual discipline. I need training. I need to place my body in a more complete subjection to my spirit in order to run this race well. Personally, I have recognized in myself that I think about food a lot. I enjoy eating and I am rather undisciplined in when and what I eat. Because I do not gain weight and work out fairly regularly I have allowed myself to eat just about anything I feel like, whenever I feel like it. But what I am recognizing about myself is that I desire the pleasures of temporal food much more than I desire the pleasure of feasting on God’s Word. In fact I believe I have had things backwards for quite some time. I have feasted on temporal food and nibbled on God’s Word when what I should have been doing is feasting on God’s Word and nibbling on temporal food as needed.

For this reason I am seeking now for the Holy Spirit to train me in this area. I am going be denying myself the urge to eat if it is not meal time. I need to discipline my body in this way. What about you? What do you recognize about yourself? In what ways is your soul undisciplined like mine?

26 Deaths but 1 Birth this Christmas

I do not know what it is like to lose a child. I do not know what war is like. I do not know what the scars of abuse feel like. I do not know the suffering of orphans. I do not know the feelings of hopelessness found behind prison walls and I do not know the loneliness of widowhood. I have been mercifully treated by our Lord and await what responsibilities that may require. But for those of you who have experienced some of the above I do know that if our faith cannot speak to the deepest shades of darkness this side of eternity then no hope remains.

Identifying the proper object of blame is a beginning step to speaking into the darkness- but it never finishes the job. When I visit inmates at our local jail I am able to release some of their pain from my heart by pinning blame on their foolish conduct or, in the sadder situations, on an imperfect justice system. When I counsel people we often talk about the wounds of the past and we identify the causes of present pain, but that road dead ends in no time. Inmates cannot survive incarceration by identifying their problem anymore than counselees can overcome their pain by identifying the source thereof. Victorious living requires we get off the dead end road of blame and onto the Solution.

From time immemorial mankind’s problem has not been weapons or government or poor legislation or crime or mental illness or single parent homes or homosexuality or slavery. Our problem roots deeper than those tangibles and because of this, shallow glancing eyes often miss it. At the root of every “problem” is an underlying “problem”. And although accurately identifying the problem will never solve the problem, it is a necessary start. So let’s start by identifying mankind’s problem.

Place twenty-20 year olds in a school gymnasium armed with fully loaded, semi-automatic assault rifles which they have been trained to use and if no sin resides in their hearts no one dies of gun wounds that day, guaranteed. However, place a butter knife in the hand of one twenty year old who has so let the sins of anger, rage and murderous premeditation flood his weak mind and corrupt his groundless conscience and someone is going to die or be seriously wounded, guaranteed. The problem with the world is not the things we have/don’t have, do/don’t do. It’s not that shallow. The bible makes it clear that mankind’s problem is not violence, but anger, not guns but sin.

Jesus said, “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean” (Mt.23:26).

James said, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight“ (James 4:1-2).

The problem with the world, folks, is sin in our hearts and unless we can find a fool-proof solution for it no hope remains.

The good news, no GREAT NEWS, is that Christmas is here once again. The CHRISTmas holy-day brings us back to God’s solution for mankind’s problem. Mankind’s solution involves a birth and a death; a baby lying in a manger and a Savior hanging on a tree. If there was another solution the Lord would have shown it. If there was another way Jesus would have been offered it (see Matthew 26:39, 42). But as it were there was no other way and as it stands today there is no other solution to the darkest shades of evil than the lonely birth and the cruel cross. Jesus is the only Way. He is the only solution to the evil in each of our hearts and unless He washes us clean from the inside out we shall all see the capabilities of human depravity once more.

For Christmas this year I want to challenge us to revisit our need for a Savior. It’s easy to point to others and say, “He needs a savior. How could he do that?” And no doubt Adam did a grave evil and we must comfort the victims with God’s solution and God’s love. But we must not be harder on others than we first are on ourselves. Thomas a’ Kempis said it well in his book Imitation of Christ,
“Even shouldest thou see thy neighbor sin openly or grievously, yet thou oughtest not to reckon thyself better than he, for thou knowest not how long thou shalt keep thine integrity. All of us are weak and frail; hold thou no man more frail than thyself” (Kempis, 1400’s, book I, chapter II).

Folks the world needs a Savior; always has. I need one. You need one. Mother Theresa needed one and we all need the same One. If you are a lover of Jesus Christ today then may this email and this ancient hymn bring you tidings of comfort and joy today as you eagerly wait for our Savior’s return;

 “God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay; remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy.”

“Fear not”, then said the angel, “let nothing you affright, this day is born a Savior of pure Virgin bright, to free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s power and might.” O tidings of comfort and joy.”

 

Merry Christmas to you all,
In Christian love,
Shaun (minister)

Thanksgiving In NJ 2012

New Jersians are mindful this Thanksgiving of the change of lot which can come about in the blink of a storm or the rush of a wave. Many approach tomorrow’s day of thanks having significantly less tangible goods to be thankful for- particularly true of our shore neighbors. At the same time many New Jersians recognize the lack of thanks they once had for the things they no longer have. It’s sort of like not appreciating someone until they are gone, and once they are gone we wish we would have appreciated them more when they were with us. I believe people in New Jersey post-Hurricane Sandy are approaching this day of thanks from one of two perspectives; 1) They have developed a new thankfulness for the things now gone and so more completely appreciate the things which now take their stead, or the opposite 2) They recognize the futility of appreciating anything too highly which can so quickly be removed, and instead have come to value and covet more fully that which cannot be taken at all. It is this latter perspective that I would like to draw our attention towards this Thanksgiving Day 2012.

Thomas a’ Kempis in his Imitation of Christ once said, “It is vanity then to seek after, and to trust in, the riches that shall perish.  It is vanity, too, to covet honours, and to lift up ourselves on high…It is vanity to desire a long life, and to have little care for a good life.  It is vanity to take thought only for the life which now is, and not to look forward to the things which shall be hereafter.  It is vanity to love that which quickly passeth away, and not to hasten where eternal joy abideth” (Ch.4:1).

These olden words from a Christian monk illuminate for us a biblical truth long past in America- “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). We feel the pain of displacement for those in NJ who have lost much. We sympathize with those still without power. We even seek to share the burden of those who have lost their homes altogether and know not if they shall ever rebuild. Relief efforts continue for this reason. But for bringing eternal truths to light in a way no other means could we can only give thanks, for a veil has been lifted.

Luxuries and abundance always cushion our feelings of helplessness before the throne of grace. They ground us to the present. They trick us into complacency. If abundance stays around long enough we will even mistake it as God’s blessing for a righteous life. But for Jesus there was no veil. Jesus knew that the more possessions man possessed the more those possessions possessed the man. He knew the great freedom possible only when we release our holding on worldly goods and so free ourselves to fly to Him. He knew that the more a man desires to be spiritual the more bitter the present life becomes to him and the more eagerly he pursues what is to come.

“Oh foolish and faithless of heart, who lie buried so deep in worldly things, that they relish nothing save the things of the flesh!  Miserable ones! They will too sadly find out at the last, how vile and worthless was that which they loved.”

“The saints of God and all loyal friends of Christ held as nothing the things which pleased the flesh, or those which flourished in this life, but their whole hope and affection aspired to the things which are above.  Their whole desire was borne upwards to everlasting and invisible things, lest they should be drawn downwards by the love of things visible” (Kempis, Imitation of Christ).

 Oh that loss would compel us after those things which can never be lost. Oh that we would not again set all of our energies on rebuilding our little kingdoms on earth, but that we would rekindle our fervor for the kingdom of Heaven. For it may be that possessions have so possessed us in NJ that, have it our way, we might rather live here always than walk with Jesus in the kingdom of Heaven. It may be that we have grounded ourselves so firmly that we no longer know how to fly to Him. Let it not be our desire this Thanksgiving Day to return all of NJ to middle-class-ness, as if that were the goal. Rather let it be our goal to free ourselves from this world such that losses as we have lost no longer seem like loss at all, but blessings in disguise. Let it be our goal the devaluing of perishable things and the exaltation of the eternal Christ. If it be that we regain the things we lost from the storm let us glorify Jesus not by re-possessing them, but by devaluing them altogether. Let us recognize every worldly comfort not as the very substance of life but simply as a shadow of the eternal rest available to those who will deny themselves their worldly comforts and pleasures and follow Jesus.

This Thanksgiving I am eternally thankful. Granted I have not lost but 5 days of inconvenience from the storm. Others have lost their homes. But I am seeking to set in my heart ahead of time the loss of all things temporal. If it be that the Lord allows all things temporal to be taken from me before I die I commit that I shall be ready- for I had let them go before they went. Let us all be ready at the blink of an eye to give up every temporal thing. Let us settle in our hearts today the loss of all of our possessions. Let us make like we do not own them, cannot keep them and do not want them. Only then will we be truly free and ready to fly to Jesus when He returns.

As you surround your table today may you take in the comfort of food, clothing and shelter not as the actual thing but as a shadow of the true comfort, rest and eternal life that will arrive to us when Christ returns.

Getting ready for that day today,

Shaun

Getting Back Our Voice

On my way back home this morning I was listening to NJ talk radio on FM 101.5. This particular talk radio program is beneficial to listen to if you desire to get a feel for how residents of NJ perceive the world. The topic this morning was about the teacher who resigned from her job because it was discovered that she had posted anti-gay information on her facebook page. The host I believe held a fair view of the issue and was advocating for the 1^st Ammendment rights of this teacher. One caller called in and suggested that the issue was really more about an intolerance to white Christians in the Senate than anything else. I am not getting all of the details right in my recollection here but the point I want to make came in the host’s reply to this comment. The host replied,

“It seems to me that Christians don’t stand up for themselves and the voice goes in the opposite direction by default more than anything else. Christians just lie down and let the opposing voice do what they want.”

I was actually grateful to the host for his comment. I thought it was dead on in many respects. But here is what I exited my vehicle to ponder on the rest of the day; How does it happen in society that a minority voice becomes a majority voice? Conversely, how does it happen that a once majority voice becomes a minority voice? It is this question that I would like to talk about today.

There have been various times and various places in history where the Gospel of Jesus Christ had minority status. The easiest place to point to would be those first decades after Christ rose from the dead. The Gospel (good news) of Jesus was spreading fast throughout the then known world. In fact just in Paul’s lifetime the Gospel spread all the way from Jerusalem to Rome. But Christians during this time were still considered a small sect of disruptive people. They were by no means the majority voice in town.

A couple things would be necessary (maybe more) over the next 500 years to bring the teachings of Christ and His transforming Gospel to every Western mind. To begin, each Christian would need to unite together with other Christians in the strong bonds of Christian love. These united bands of people would begin as small home groups and eventually grow through small villages, towns and into the cities. As the glue of the Holy Spirit (love) bound each believer with other believers, strength was gained. Each individual Christian was strengthened by the unity of the whole church such that when persecution arose against one the many entered into prayer and fasting for him/her (see Acts 12:12ff). It is unlikely in any time period that individuals will stick their neck out for an unpopular belief if there is not some assurance that someone, some group, some family of people will be there to back them up if ever they fall. Martin Luther King Jr. would not have had the influence he had if his family and church did not back him. There is strength in numbers. Solomon said, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up… Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Eccl.4:9-12).

However it is not enough to know that there are other Christians in the area who believe what we believe. We must also have some confidence that those fellow believers will cover our backs if ever we fall. My community might be 40% Christian by statistic, but I do not thereby expect those 40% to walk with me down dangerous social roads. To walk down dangerous roads requires I know those people personally. It requires that the ligaments of love be so strong between us that I can be assured of their prayers and their defense if ever in jail as Peter was (see Acts 12).

In the same way, homosexual persons prior to the mid to late 1990’s were hesitant to stand up for what they believed in because they had not yet acquired a substantial “family” of homosexuals who would back them when lash-back came. The tables have turned now and homosexuals are loud and proud primarily because they have more backing.  As the homosexual bonds of (perverted) love increased in America in the 1980’s & 90’s, the bonds of Christian love between followers of Christ continued to weaken and even sever.

During the 1980’s and early 90’s church on TV became an alternative expression of faith. Many justified their lack of involvement in a church family by saying, “I don’t go to church but I still pray, read my Bible and watch TBN”. Furthermore, although mega-churches grew in rapid number in those years, the bonds of Christian love did not. Mega-churches blessed Christian people with encouragement, opportunities to serve and biblical education, but they did not effectively provide Christians with a band of Christian support capable of sustaining them in the face of persecution. Ironically many Christians even today gather with hundreds of other Christians on a weekly basis but would not dare count on those people to back them in social, financial or psychological breakdown. Even though the Gospel of Jesus Christ reached many people in these years, those who were won to Christ rarely risked their necks for their faith because they did not have a strong cord of Christian community to support them if they did. As a result the Christian majority voice became softer and softer as the bonds of Christian brotherhood became weaker and weaker.

A second thing necessary to bring the teachings of Christ and His transforming message to every Western mind was a complete reorientation of life by every Christian. When someone became a Christian in the 1^st Century everything changed for them. They changed the way they thought. They changed who they associated with. They changed what they talked about and what they valued. They may have changed where they lived particularly if their family rejected them for their new beliefs. They even changed why they did what they did. If before they were a Christian they worked in order to make money, now they worked in order to glorify God. If before they used to steal, now they must steal no longer but "work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need" (Eph.4:28).To follow Christ for the 1^st Century Christian required a complete reorientation of life and those who were not willing to make complete changes were encouraged not to follow Christ at all (see Luke 14:25ff).

Sadly the homosexual population has done reorientation well. When a person decides to live his life as a homosexual a complete change occurs. He changes the way he thinks about the world. He changes who he associates with. He changes what he talks about and what he values. He may change where he lives-often moving to where his lifestyle is more accepted. He changes why he does what he does. When his life gets wrapped up in the sin of homosexuality everything in his life begins to revolve around that sin. There is not an aspect of his life that is not affected by it. This is true with any sin that takes hold of us- just look at the alcoholic.

But Christians today do not reorient their entire life around Jesus when they are baptized. They baptize parts of their lives but not every part of their life. Christ does not usually get thrust into the center of every aspect of life when a person chooses Him as their Lord. Rather, He gets thrust in the center of some aspects of life. We go to church but we still center the rest of the week around making money. We go shopping but not in order to have things to give to people who are in need in our family and church. We sit at home at night and watch TV but do not open our home to our homeless neighbor. We setup direct deposit but do not use that money to deduct the debts of our Christian brothers and sisters. We go to work but not to glorify God by it. We do not think about our jobs in this way because we have secularized our jobs to the point where we think Jesus has nothing to do with them. It is terribly hard to center 40-60 hours of my week around Jesus if I think those 40-60 hours have nothing to do with Jesus.

It is my belief that Christians have lost their majority voice in America because,

1. They have been weakened by the lack of support available in the church for each individual Christian. The bonds of love have been loosened in our churches and consequently our collective strength is weakened. And,
2. We have not reoriented our entire lives around our first love- Jesus Christ.

On the other hand the homosexual population has gained such a strong voice in America because,

1. They have been strengthened by the support now available to each individual homosexual in the homosexual community, and
2. They have reoriented their entire lives around their first love- sexual sin.

If we believe Jesus is for all and all are lost without Him; if we truly believe Christ’s voice is the supreme voice; if we truly believe that we are “a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because [we] have in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth” (Rom.2:19-20), then each of us must fight hard in our churches to strengthen the bonds of genuine Christian love between ourselves and reorient every aspect of our lives around Jesus.

This may require bold steps for some of us. I am pleased to announce that one of our members recently quit her job because she was no longer willing to run after the money. She now spends all of her time helping those who need help both in the church and in the community. As she does this God is financially providing for her through the people she serves.

I envision a day when the voice of Truth again has majority in America. Until then we must work to rebuild our weakened churches. What will you do today to build life around Jesus in your church?