DeYoung on The Need for Good Churches and Pastors Everywhere

This is a great article about serving different types of churches, written by Kevin DeYoung on The Gospel Coalition. I think he gets it right - it's not about where you serve (urban, suburban, etc.) but whom you serve and why you serve them. All different kinds of ministries matter to God because all people matter to God. Enjoy!


They Need Good Pastors and Good Churches Everywhere

Did you see this article last week by Bill Steeger on why Uncool People Need Jesus Too? I don’t know Steeger but apparently he works with church planting in the Acts 29 Network (think Driscoll, Chandler, Patrick). And apparently all the proposals he sees for church planting look the same:

It’s amazing how many young pastors feel that they are distinctly called to reach the upwardly-mobile, young, culture-shaping professionals and artists. Can we just be honest? Young, upper-middle-class urban professionals have become the new “Saddleback Sam”.

Seriously, this is literally the only group I see proposals for. I have yet to assess a church planter who wants to move to a declining, smaller city and reach out to blue collar factory workers, mechanics, or construction crews. Not one with an evangelsitic strategy to go after the 50-something administrative assistant who’s been working at the same low-paying insurance firm for three decades now.

Why is that? I can’t offer a definitive answer. It could be that God is legitimately calling an entire generation of young pastors to turn their focus to a small segment of the population that happens to look very much like they do.

Ouch. Understandably this piece has caused no little stirring of the blogosphere pot (go here for a similar piece that caused almost no stir). Before we are too hard on Steeger for making urban church planters feel bad we should remember these are the people he works with. If he’s lobbing grenades it’s toward his own side. But before the rural, suburban, or blue collar folks feel smug, we should remember evangelicals are still woefully under-represented in cities.

Urban advocates like Keller are right to trumpet the strategic importance of cities (see also Keller praising The Country Parson). On the other hand, we are probably overdue for a few reminders that artsy, culturally savvy, influential young urbans are not the only unreached people group on the planet.

Before I came to East Lansing I served as an associate pastor in Orange City, Iowa. If the Bible belt has a buckle, this was the logo on the buckle. This Dutch burg (pop. 5500) named after William of Orange, has, if I remember correctly, three RCA churches, three CRC churches, a PR church, a PCA church, an EFCA church, a CMA church, a Lutheran church, a Baptist church, and no Catholic church. The church I served had close to a 1000 people at the time. You could literally do Evangelism Explosion in a weekend and reach all the unchurched. Not the place that needs a lot of strategic church planting.

And yet I’m telling you those dear people need the gospel as much as anyone. They need good pastors and good churches. They need expositional teaching like anyone else. Sure, many things are easier in a town like Orange City. It’s safe. The public schools are practically Christian schools. You don’t have to fight traffic (only two stop lights). Everyone knows everyone and helps everyone. Pastors are put on a pedestal. I was honored more than I deserved. Life revolves around the church (ok, and marching band and sports and lawn-mowing not on Sundays). You aren’t going to win martyr of the church award for living in a friendly, prosperous town like Orange City.

But little towns have big problems too. There’s no anonymity. Everyone is into everyone else’s business. (As I like to remind idealistic twentysomethings, community is a wonderful ideal until you have it.) It’s easy for Christianity to be nothing but cultural wallpaper in the Bible belt. Sins go under cover for years and sometimes generations. The gospel can devolve into family values, moralism, or Republicanism. The idolatry of sports, children, ethnic heritage (if you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much), and property up-keep are more respectable than the idols of sex, power, and liberalism.

Now I live in a town that feels like Gotham compared to Orange City and the boonies compared to Chicago or L.A. Lansing is a rustbelt town, kept afloat by state government, MSU, and GM. We are known for four things: the state capitol, the Spartans, the only GM plant in the country not to drop any of its three shifts, and being an hour and a half from everywhere in the state you want to be. They need good churches here too.

And we feel extremely blessed to be here, so please don’t think I’m a model for doing hard things. The OC was great. Lansing is great, most affordable housing in the country I’m told. Our church is mostly white collar, middle class, very educated, and full of some of the best Christians anywhere. There’s nothing heroic about ministering in the stix, the burbs, the university, the average city, or the cultural centers. We are all unworthy servants doing our duty (Luke 17:10).

And yet, no matter where you live, what you do, or how you minister, faithfulness is heroic (see Hebrews 11). Preaching the gospel week after week is heroic. Loving influential people, in word and in deed, in grace and in truth, in your hugely influential city is heroic. Loving the “least of these” and the “lost of these,” far from notoriety, family, and convenience, strikes me as especially heroic. But I can also spot heroes loving their podunk hamlet, strip mall suburb, underemployed manufacturing town, or urban ghetto.

Lord, save us from making locale the measure of Christian commitment. God gifts us, nurtures us, and calls us to different places and different kinds of ministry. All matter to God because all people matter to God.

Be willing to suffer, but don’t feel guilty for pleasure. Be strategic, but don’t think our strategies are always God’s strategies. Be willing to do anything, go anywhere, and minister to anyone. It matters more who you are than where you are. City, suburb, or country, if we are growing in godliness we will not be unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8).

*view the article on The Gospel Coalition blog.

Praying and thinking about Haiti

If you've been devastated watching the news coming out of Haiti, you're not alone. Tragedies on this level force us to grapple with the greater realities of life, death, God's sovereignty, love, and power. Al Mohler wrote a great article on how to think about Haiti with gospel eyes.

Click here to read it, via Justin Taylor and the Gospel Coalition:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/01/14/does-god-hate-haiti/

Pray for our guest speaker

Todd Spencer is going to be preaching his first sermon at our church this coming Sunday. It's great to see God raise up godly men who love His word and can teach! Please pray that God would help him in his preparations this week.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Grace Church to you! I hope you took some time off to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas - God has come near to us because we were far away from Him! It's the foundation for our faith as Christians.

The great news is that we don't have to stop celebrating Christmas, just because the 25th has passed. Our hope in Jesus is relevant every day of every year.

So Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you enjoyed the holiday and are ready for the new year!

(If you want to see the pictures from the amazing Grace Church Christmas Feast, click here)

Christmas Caroling and Invitations!

This Saturday Grace Church is going caroling and handing out invitations to our Christmas service. If you want to come join us, meet us at Desert Harbor Elementary School at 5pm!

Busy Christmas Season

It's been a long time since there has been a post coming out of Grace Church....with the holidays in full swing, it has been on the back burner. Lots is happening in us and through us as we continue to seek God's in building His church. We continue to meet out in the Rio Vista park on Saturday mornings, giving away lemonade (now hot cocoa!) and talking to people about Jesus and the church. Keep praying for us in this! We do hope its having an impact beyond what we can see.

Please also pray that God would bring other Christians to us that share our vision for the church. We are still somewhat in a gathering phase and we could definitely use other like-minded believers who want to give their lives away for the sake of the gospel and its advancement.

Also pray for our individual relationships with unbelievers in the community. We so desperately want to be a church that doesn't stay behind the four walls of the building, but lives out the gospel in everyday life. As Christmas approaches, its a great time to engage and invite people to come to church. May the Lord grant us to bear fruit!

The Woman at The Well

It's amazing to me how gently Jesus handles those who are receptive to the gospel. He's not anything like us. He's not insecure and fearful - he's perfect grace and truth. His ministry is one of love and reconciliation for those who will hear him. I taught this last Sunday on John 4 - the woman at the well. She was a scandalous, adulteress woman who had been shunned by the town for her sexual sin and shame. She makes her way out to the well in the heat of the day and finds the Savior of the world

Jesus didn't just see her as dirty, he saw her in need of cleansing. He didn't just see her as guilty, he saw her in need of an advocate. He didn't see her as trashed, but someone to be redeemed. He didn't just see her as a rebel, he saw her as a worshipper whom the Father was seeking.

I was challenged by Jesus view of this woman - do I look at people with the transforming hope of the gospel? Or with the damning stare of hell? Do I let my fears and insecurities influence my faith? Or does my faith in God shove out my fears and give me boldness to talk to those who are perishing?

The verdict is still out. The pendulum swings back and forth. I need the grace of God to convict me where I fail to see people the way Jesus sees them. I need the love of Christ to compel me into greater and greater boldness with my unbelieving friends. And I need the power of the Spirit to open their eyes - like He did the Samaritan woman - and produce the new birth inside their souls.

My prayer this week is that God will help me love others they way I've been loved by him.

Pastoral Implications of Regeneration

More thoughts about the new birth....

If people have been regenerated, then they have new desires for God that previously did not exist. They have new spiritual taste buds that now enjoy God. Even though sin deceives and tempts, the regenerated man has the glory of God at the center of his heart's joy.

If that's the case, then we should be able to assume some truths as we minister to believers.

1. If we preach Christ, people's hearts will be warmed. We don't need to moralize or convince by the strength of our voice. We simply need to present Christ in all His glory and splendor and beauty and sufficiency. As Christ is revealed, people's hearts will warm and the sin which so easily entangles will begin to melt away.

2. People want Christ to be preached. This is an implication of regeneration - now, its the glory of Christ that is satisfying for the thirsty soul. So we can preach and teach and counsel with confidence.

3. We can appeal to their own deepest desires in our exhortations. We don't have to convince the unconvincable - we have an audience of people who we know will respond to the preaching of Christ. So we can dip into the well their longings when bringing adjustment. This means saying something more like "You know in your heart this is the truth of God" vs. "If you can't see this is the truth of God, you must be blind."

4. We can trust the Holy Spirit to regenerate the unbeliever as we preach. If regeneration is necessary for faith, and if regeneration comes by the Spirit as the gospel is presented, then we don't need to convince the unconvincable. They are unable to be convinced apart from the Spirit. So we shouldn't modify the message of the cross; rather, we can trust that God will work in the lost to save and in the Christian to encourage/challenge.

Thank you Spirit for the work of regeneration.

New Birth and Faith

First of all - sorry its been so long since my last post. That is to say, if there is anyone still out there who reads this, sorry.

Ok moving forward.

I've been thinking alot lately about the new birth in John 3 and its relationship to our faith. Jesus says to Nicodemus, in essence, your religion won't get you into the kingdom of heaven. Only the new birth will produce the kind of faith that's needed. Jesus is saying that the promise of Ezekiel 36 must take place in order to get access to God. Until then, all we do is religious works that flow from hearts that treasure our own religious works.

I think one legitimate question that is raised is 'How do I know if I've been born again?' Are we supposed to look to ourselves in evaluation, discerning whether we've been reborn? Jesus would say no. His response is to look to him and believe. Anyone who looks to the Son of Man will be saved, and that is a product of the new birth. You can tell you have saving faith not by looking inward but by looking outward and treasuring Christ from the heart. Only the regenerated heart can do that.

I read a great illustration by Clement Read Vaughan. He was inquired of by a friend who was dying and doubting his salvation. This friend asked how he could maintain his faith in the face of death and here was Vaughan's response:

"What would a traveler do if he came to a chasm over which a bridge was spanned? What does he do to breed confidence in the bridge? He looks at the bridge; he gets down and examines it. He doesn't stand at the bridge-head and turns his thoughts curiously in on his own mind to see if has enough confidence in the bridge. If his examination of the bridge gives him a certain amount of confidence, and yet he wants more, how does he make his faith grow? Why, in the same way; he still continues to examine the bridge. Now my dear old man, let your faith take care of itself for awhile, and you just think of what you are allowed to trust in. Think of the Master's power, think of his love, think how he is interested in the soul that searches for him, and will not be comforted until he finds him. Think of what he has done, his work. That blood of his is mightier than all the sins of all the sinners that ever lived. Don't you think it will master yours?.....

Now, dear old friend, may God give you grace, not to lay too much stress on your faith, but to grasp the great ground of confidence, Christ, and all his work and all his personal fitness to be a sinner's refuge. Faith is only an eye to see him. I have been praying that God would quiet your pains as you advance, and enable you to see the gladness of the gospel at every step. Goodbye. God be with you as he will. Think of the Bridge!"

I have been challenged all the more to keep my eyes on the Bridge, Jesus Christ, and to let my faith be in the certainty and sufficiency of his gospel! Turn your eyes to the Bridge!

Responding to God

We often talk about application in relation to God's Word. Like James 1:22 says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." We are not designed to be the landfill of truth - a place where God's Word comes to sit and rot. We are recycling centers. We're meant to take in the truth of God and to have it move in us, through us, and out of us.

But is "doing" the Word always an action? Must we always connect our studies to a tangible "spiritual to-do list"? I find that when we talk about applying the Word, that's where my mind goes to first. How do I do this? What does it "look" like? It can almost feel exclusively horizontally driven.

I wonder if we'd be better served to think about "responding" to God's Word instead of "applying". Instead of trying to figure out what to do based on the passage, we let the passage speak about God and his claim on our lives.

Responding looks like conviction - a concreting of our beliefs in line with God's Word. Responding looks like a greater faith in the gospel. Responding looks like worship!

In some ways, these ought to be our regular responses to the Word. And the overflow of conviction and faith and worship will lead us to live more faithfully (or differently when necessary).

So may God help us to "apply" by rightly responding to his truth in all its various forms.

Grace Church is Planted

It's been a little bit busy around the halls of Grace Church. We've launched at the Rio Vista Recreation Center! We've got two Sundays under our belts, so we have it all figured out now.....not exactly. But God has been gracious to us and we've had a blast as we've worked, worshipped, and fellowshipped together in these early weeks.

One of the priorities of our church is community. We believe that God is best glorified in us as we live out the gospel in relationship with each other. As we've started public meetings, its been wonderful to know that our church is more than just an hour and a half, once a week. It's a way of life for the members of Grace Church. We stand together in a common faith and mission. We love to be with each other and serving alongside one another.

Please pray for our new church that God would be glorified, that we'll learn to live out the gospel we cherish, and that many will believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

True Obedience?

Dane Ortlund has a great section in his book "A New Inner Relish" on the topic of obedience. He writes:

"It is simplistic to see only two possibilities regarding faithfulness to God: disobedience and obedience. Rather, three options are before us: disobedience, authentic obedience, and inauthentic obedience. Disobedience refers, of course, to rejection of the imperatives of God. Inauthentic obedience is a bit more slippery. It is obedience driven by something other than the heartfelt love for God and His glory that characterizes authentic obedience.

Legalism, for example, sees obedience as a cause of fellowship with God rather than its result. Such 'obedience' is in fact disobedience, since God not only demands that we obey but that we do it for the right reasons (Deut. 28:47; Prov. 16:2, 1 Cor 4:5). So there is not only an external (the act of obedience) but an internal (the motivation) element of godly living.

We find ourselves, then, not with two kinds of obedience and one kind of disobedience. Rather, there are actually two brands of disobedience - one involving open defiance and one involving apparent obedience accompanied by impure motives - and only one true obedience."

How is your obedience to the Lord? Is it motivated by a heart of gratitude for what Christ has done? We must never separate the gospel's work from the call to obey or we will produce horizontal obedience that fails to bring glory to Christ. It looks like the real thing on the outside, but its an imitation of the real thing.

Preaching to the Kids

At Grace Church, we are going to try a hybrid approach to our Children's Ministry. We want to teach our kids the truths of God in an age-appropriate setting, but we also want the older children to benefit from all that happens in the gathered assembly. So, we are going to teach 3 weeks in CM, 1 week off.

In preparation for that (as well as making the workload a little lighter), we have had the kids in the main meeting for the last two Sundays. It's been great having them in with us! They get to experience the sermon (I know - wow!), they get to see communion take place and participate in the offering. I'm excited to see how God uses this time in the life of our church!

I got a taste of it this morning - my daughter came into my office and asked if I wanted to review the message with her (I know, crazy. She's 7). Of course, I said YES. So we sat and talked and she told me that the point she liked the most was about God's glory. I was referencing 2 Cor 4:16 - our light and momentary afflictions are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. I emphasized that because we are promised the glory of Christ forever, there is no sacrifice or initiative that is not worth making.

Taylor told me that she really loved that and that it helped her with leaving her best friend back in Gilbert. LET ME TELL YOU - that was a cool moment as a dad. To see my daughter not only learn Scripture, but to love Scripture and lean on it is an inexpressible joy.

So kids of Grace Church - I want God to instruct you as much as any adult in the church! I pray we have many great moments from the kids being in for the whole meeting.

Rio Vista - Here We Come

In just a few hours, we are going to be making our way over to the facility we've rented for our first meeting. It's hard to believe that the summer is almost over and our church plant is being placed into the soil for good. It was April of 2008 when the decision was made to start Grace Church - and in many ways, it feels like that was yesterday.

But its here. We have made it through the summer of house church and have experienced God's grace and favor on our little church. Everyone is excited to take the next step and see what God will do in us, for us, and through us.

We don't go lightly. We know there are stormy waters that lie ahead. We know that we have enemies who want to destroy the name of Christ. Please pray for us that we remain steadfast in the truth and joyful in our salvation.

Rio Vista, here we come. Official kickoff is August 30th, 4pm.

Your Best Life Now?

It's all going to end. And it wasn't supposed to be this way.

I was driving down the road a couple of days ago, doing the same routine I do everyday. I thought about how much I appreciated the benefits of life's rhythms - I don't need to start from scratch everyday to think and understand about how God wants me to live or what my days should look like. I read the Bible, I pray, work on sermons, prepare and lead meetings, counsel, spend time with friends and family, etc. Different details, same categories day in and day out. There's something comforting about knowing the course of your life, even if its not always fireworks and games.

And I began to think about how great this life on earth would be if we knew that it would last forever. There's a longing in our hearts for permanence and stability. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has put eternity into man's heart - I think this is what I experienced. I want to live forever and enjoy God forever.

So how do I reconcile this desire, which plays itself out every day in the ordinary of life, with the reality that this world is fading away and is temporary at best?

When I look at the original creation in Genesis, I find God creating His people for communion with Him and to rule over the rest of creation. Had sin not entered the world, it would have been an awesome scene. As people worked and played and rested, they would have done so in perfect communion with God. There would be no need for heaven because it WAS heaven - in the sense that heaven is the place where God is most fully present to bless. God was constantly, lovingly blessing his people as they lived "ordinary" lives.

This means that we would have indeed been living our best life now!

But sin has entered into the world through Adam and has corrupted EVERYTHING. Relationship with God was broken. Communion was lost. The earth has become cursed. Bodies have begun decaying. Death is the end result of everything apart from the vital connection and relationship to God.

And so now - apart from Christ - we live one of two ways. We either fail to recognize or accept the fallen condition of man/world and we continue to live as if it will all last forever...or we recognize the meaningless of trying to accomplish/build anything that will not last and we become fatalists.

Apart from Christ, these views are understandable. But Christ's redemption has changed everything! We look to heaven. We look to a time and place where the original creation is restored and perfected through Christ. And we let the solid promise of heaven transform the way we think and live today.

We are to live as if life will go forever because Christ has purchased for us eternal life with God. Instead of working for a shakeable kingdom made of money, possessions, power, and fame, we can build and accomplish eternal things now - investing and laboring for the kingdom of God as we store up treasures in heaven. Instead of moving toward suicidal fatalism, we can weep for the destruction of sin in this world and let it motivate us toward evangelism, forgiveness, and good works.

As long as we are alive on this earth, we must remember that sin has changed everything, but that the gospel is reversing the curse ever more as we march toward the day of glory!

BACK

We're back.

Wait a minute. I didn't tell you we were gone. Well, we left. California. Carlsbad. Sun. Beach. Fun. 75 degrees. It was fantastic.

And now - we're back.

Vacation is always a good time and many years its really hard to come back. While I wish I could bring the beach and weather with me, I really was eager to come back this year. I missed Grace Church. There are a number of people in the body who are walking through hard life situations and I was eager to get back and see them.

Being at church yesterday was such a blast! My good friend Jon Payne came up to preach and did a bang up job on Psalm 130. It really served our church and we had time of prayer and ministry afterwards. We are just one more week in our house before we move over to the Rio Vista.

Next Sunday we are having our first baptism at Grace Church! It will happen right after the meeting offsite - so lots going on as we enter into August!

More posts to come after we unpack....

Anniversary, Wedding, and the Picture of Marriage

This has been a week of thinking on the beauties of marriage.

Yesterday, Tara and I celebrated our 9th anniversary! It's amazing to recount how much God has changed us, stretched us, and matured us since 2000. Proverbs 31:10 says, "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels." I can HONESTLY say after nine years of marriage that I have struck gold with Tara! And if someone came and offered me a billion dollars (and all the pleasures that it would bring), but required me to leave Tara......I would laugh in their face as I graciously tried to explain how much they have undervalued her worth to me. No jewels, no money, no anything can replace her in my life.

(Incidentally, why me??? I'm blown away by the mercy and kindness of God. The course of my life would be radically different if not for Tara)

And then on Saturday, I have the privilege of officiating the first wedding in Grace Church - the marriage of Bonnie Gregory to Lance Sullivan. They have no idea what awaits them - good times or bad, for better or worse, they are covenanting to live their lives together for the glory of Christ. They will say "I love you", and over the years they will see how little they actually did in comparison to how much they WILL love each other with each passing year.

It will not be easy. It never is. Marriage is hard work. Marriage involves pain. It brings conflict. It is not rose-colored glasses, or non-stop sex, or dinners always on the table when you come home from work, or every dream being fulfilled. It is a crucible of sanctification, where two sinners learn to extend forbearance, and patience, and forgiveness, and love in spite of their spouse's weaknesses.

How is it possible to do this? Only from understanding the depths of Christ and his covenant-keeping love for His bride. He died to sanctify his bride and promises to never leave nor forsake us. As we experience His redemptive love for us, it transforms our hearts so that we love our spouse like this, too. This is how love is maintained. Oh how grateful I am that true love isn't contingent on my perfection, but on Christ's!

So, here's to you, Tara - may God continue to use our marriage for the demonstration of His glory. Here's to you, Lance and Bonnie - may God bless you with joy, love, children, faith, forgiveness, and forbearance. To Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to Him be glory!

Interview at Life Connection Church

We had a great time with the people of Life Connection church Sunday morning! They were so welcoming and friendly - its amazing to show up some place you've never visited and feel like you've been there a thousand times before. Pastor Aaron Dailey led the meeting and we had a blast talking about the gospel together. You can listen in by visiting the site below:

http://lifeconnectionchurch.net/blog_old/wp-content/uploads/oneprayer/oneprayerpart4.mp3

Two highlights: At the end of the time, we took communion together and Aaron led the church in taking up an offering for us. So unexpected! It was a great expression of their love and generosity!

Also, there was a man named Woody who prayed to receive Christ afterwards! He was 57 years old - and had been coming for 3 weeks. I heard somebody yell, "It's never too late!!"

Praise God!

The First Month is Behind Us

Wow!

Our first month as a church is in the rear view mirror....God has been gracious to us! Here are some of the things we've learned:

1. God is on the move - we've had lots of opportunities to share the gospel, build relationships, and invite people to church. It seems like every other person I talk to is a conversation that can be turned for the things of the Lord.

2. The church is definitely not a building - its been fun to meet in our house over the summer. Hard on our kids, who still think of it as "home" during church, but fun nonetheless....

3. Our people work hard - really hard. They are doing such a GREAT job with setup, prayer, sound, video, Children's Ministry, communion, offering, hospitality, greeting, etc. They are amazing to watch in action - God's love being poured out through them!

4. It's really hot - REALLY HOT. The Rio Vista is right around the corner!


Keep praying for us as we continue to build as a church!

Unity in the Gospel

This morning, a group of us from Grace Church are going to downtown Phoenix and participating in the morning service of Life Connection Church, led by Aaron Dailey. Aaron and I met a few months ago at a church planters lunch and we immediately connected. We both have a passion for the centrality of the gospel in the life of the church. He's a humble man and a good brother in the Lord.

He invited me to speak with him this morning on the topics of prayer, unity in the body, church planting, and the gospel. We are going to do a "conversation" together and then spend some time in prayer with our churches.

I am grateful that there are other churches out there who love Jesus and are eager to lock arms for the sake of the gospel.