community

Moved by a “Moving Church”

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minivan

One of my favorite ministries is Voice of the Martyrs. They offer a free subscription to their monthly newsletter describing the plight of the persecuted church of Jesus around the globe. You can subscribe here. I encourage you to do so. The perspective God will give your own suffering is something you will not regret. And you will know better how to remember your brothers and sisters in chains (Heb. 13:3).

This month’s issue contains a brief article entitled, A “Moving Church” in Central Asia.” It gives an account of a city in one of the most religiously restrictive nations in that part of the world where the Christian population shrank to just 70 people after many fled relentless government persecution. It then explains how believers there found a creative way to practice their faith.

One pastor who had been under intense scrutiny from authorities thought of an inventive way to provide for his congregation. They couldn’t hold meetings in a set location, and many believers were afraid to be seen attending a meeting. With assistance from VOM, Pastor “Ramil” purchased a minivan that soon became known as the Moving Church.

On Meeting day, Ramil picks up four to six believers in the van. They sing, pray, read Scriptures and listen to teaching by Ramil or one of his elders as they drive around the city. After two hours, he drops the group off and picks up another small group of Christians. He does this throughout the week so all the believers under his care receive spiritual nourishment, fellowship and encouragement.

This account of ingenuity under duress moves me on multiple levels. Among other things it inspires me to want to serve my own people with greater zeal and devotion. Pastor Ramil clearly understands what it means to shepherd well the flock entrusted to his care.

Additionally it makes me want to find some way better to help those living under freedom to give up a nonchalant attitude about meeting in community for worship and fellowship. More often than I care to admit I confront a take-it-or-leave-it mentality when it comes to church attendance. The Scripture exhorts us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb. 10:24-25). With texts like that it makes me wonder how professing believers can treat the Word and the Table as optional.

Are you reading this and must admit that you are AWOL on your covenant member commitments at your local church? Worse yet, that you don’t belong to any gospel-treasuring community of believers? May I encourage you to let the “Moving Church” of Central Asia spur you on to love and good deeds such that you get a move on toward joining/rejoining a body of believers? If not, you might as well take a knife and cut Hebrews 10:24-25 out of your Bible.

The Killing Disease Among Men

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That’s what Stu Weber in his book The Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart (Multnomah, 1997, 286 pages) calls isolation.

He writes: The tendency toward rock-ribbed, self-sufficient isolation is a killing disease among men. It’s as common as prostate cancer and every bit as destructive to life (p. 225).

Overstatement? I’m not sure. More than one man has shipwrecked on the shores of independence and loneliness. The verdict of Scripture is plain. It is not good for the man to be alone (Gen. 2:18). Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil (Ecc. 4:9). Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another (Prov. 27:17). Every man needs an armor bearer – at least one (1 Sam. 14:1ff).

Men, do you want to ward off this killing disease? There are all sorts of ways to prevent it. May I suggest than one is coming to our annual retreat on Nov. 16 & 17? Dr. Richard Parker will bring substantive, biblically-saturated messages on running the race well to the finish line. We will have opportunity to connect, deepen relationships, and initiate friendships. Scholarship funds are available if a lack of funds stands in your way.

Go to the Recharge website and register today! The price goes up this Monday, please be advised.

The Finer Art of How to Walk Into Church

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What better time to consider this concept than having opened a new building?

As we all attempt to carve out our particular spots in the auditorium, perhaps we could take a g0spel-shaped tack in determining our seats from week to week.

How so? Here’s a thought.

Pray about where you sit. This is called the “Pew Prayer’ or in our case the “Seat Prayer,” since we don’t have any pews.

The idea is not original with me. I came across it recently while reading through a great little book on ministry called The Trellis & the Vine. Copies, by the way, are available in our resource center for only $8.

I borrowed it from an article referenced in the footnotes for chapter four entitled The Ministry of the Pew.

Here is the thrust of the idea from the article:

Church is a gathering of God’s people to hear his word and respond in faith and obedience. In this gathering, we are in fellowship with each other, through the blood of Jesus, and, because of our fellowship, we seek to serve each other. We use our gifts and abilities to strengthen one another and build Christ’s Church—‘edification’ is the word often used to describe what goes on in church. All believers are involved in building the church, not just clergy or preachers. The New Testament consistently teaches that in the growth of the body of Christ each part must do its work (see Eph 4; 1 Cor 12-14). Because of this, we aren’t to see ourselves merely as part of an organization called ‘St Hubert’s Church’, but as servants of God’s people, eager to meet the needs of others even if it means sacrificing our own. . . . If at church we are working to strengthen our fellow believers, where we sit becomes important since part of our work will be talking to our neighbor in the pew, welcoming people, helping each other understand God’s word and praying with each other. The ‘Pew Prayer’ was a significant turning point in my understanding of what church is all about. It changed my reasons for going to church. The shift was made from being the ‘helpee’ to the helper, the served to the servant (emphasis added). Church is where we seek spiritual food and encouragement in order to become more godly; but church is also where we go in order to feed other people and encourage them. In God’s mercy, we become more Christ-like in the process, as like him we deny ourselves for the sake of others. But our purpose in gathering with God’s people is to strengthen them and build the body of Christ. We look for opportunities to assist the growth of the church in practical ways.

Good stuff. I commend the notion to us all.

Beginning this Sunday why not walk into church (on time, sorry, couldn’t resist) praying the pew prayer: “Lord, where would you have me sit and help me engage with the word in the power of the Spirit as led?”

WTLN Interview with Pastor Curt

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For one of their recent Church-of-the-Week programs, WTLN, 950 AM, Orlando, chose to feature, as they have done in the past, Orlando Grace. They aired a message from The Graces of Gospel-Shaped Community series called The Grace of Clothing with Humility from 1 Peter 4:19-5:7. You can listen to the audio of that message here.

Before broadcasting the message, they played a recording of an interview with me about my ministry and the ministry of our church. If you missed that program the afternoon of October 30, you can listen to the interview audio here.

My thanks to Bill Rhoden of the radio station for his kindness in making the copy available to us at OGC.

The Grace of Exhorting

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Yesterday’s message in Hebrews 3:1-14 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

As promised, here are my bullet points on the qualities of the godly exhorter and exhorted:

Seven Qualities of a Godly Exhorter

First, gripped by biblical necessity.

Prov. 27:5 – Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

Proverbs 28:23 – Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.

Second, committed to relational proximity.

Prov. 18:24 – A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Third, known for spiritual dependability.

Prov. 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Prov. 27:6 – Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Fourth, strengthened through vertical security.

Prov. 29:25 – The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Fifth, clothed with personal humility.

Prov. 11:2 – When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Gal. 6:1 – Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Sixth, aware of situational sensitivity.

Prov.15:4 – A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Prov. 20:5 – The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

Seventh, anchored in gospel reality.

Prov. 18:24 – A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

The Singular Quality of the Godly Exhorted

Committed to favorable receptivity.

Prov. 9:8-9 – Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Prov. 12:1 – Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Prov. 13:18 – Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored.

Prov. 15:5 – A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

Prov. 15:31 – The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.

Here is the video about the persecuted church that we tried to play at the beginning of the message:

The Grace of Clothing with Humility

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Today’s message from 1 Peter 4:19-5:7 is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

John Calvin said this of the proverbial expression, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble:

We are to imagine that; God has two hands; the one, which like a hammer beats down and breaks in pieces those who raise up themselves; and the other, which raises up the humble who willingly let down themselves, and is like a firm prop to sustain them. Were we really convinced of this, and had it deeply fixed in our minds, who of us would dare by pride to urge war with God? But the hope of impunity now makes us fearlessly to raise up our horn to heaven. Let, then, this declaration of Peter be as a celestial thunderbolt to make men humble.

May God strike us with humility’s celestial thunderbolt! Then we will have sheep who submit to their shepherds. Then we will have people given wholeheartedly to lowly-mindedness toward one another.

What could be lovelier before our eyes and more glorifying to our God than a report like: Oh yes, I know OGC, a more lowly-minded, humble community you will rarely find!?

Are You Sunshine or a Cloud?

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When I preached on Hebrews 10:24-25 a few weeks ago, I made reference to a definition of encouragement I read by Kevin DeYoung in September’s edition of Tabletalk.

I stumbled across the same content in a post on his blog and decided to pass it along on our blog.

To whet your appetite, I give you this sample where he defines biblical encouragement and distinguishes it from flattery:

According to my biblically informed definition, encouragement means highlighting the evidences of God’s grace in the gospel or in a gospel-centered person to the glory of God. Each part of that definition is important. Encouragement is not spotlighting a person, but underlining God’s grace. It is not about simply commending nice people to make them feel good, but about commending the work of the gospel in others to glory of God.

You can read the entire piece here.

The Grace of Welcoming

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Today’s message in the Graces of Gospel-Shaped Community series is now on the web. You can listen to the audio for Romans 14:1-15:7, The Grace of Welcoming, here.

Here is how I summarized the message:

The gospel shapes our community by constraining us to manifest the grace of welcoming – an ongoing determination to embrace others in spite of differences over morally neutral matters. The ground for this grace is two-fold: the gospel of God who has “welcomed” us in Christ and the judgment of God before which every believer ultimately stands or falls. The goal of this grace is the glory of God reflected in the harmony and unity of His church.

For the full text of the Max Lucado piece, Life Aboard the Fellow-Ship, with which I closed the message, click here.

How People Change

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We’re gearing up this fall for a church-wide growth group emphasis using the How People Change DVD Seminar Curriculum.

You can hear more about this during our congregational meeting this Sunday during the 9:30 hour.

Here’s one description of the material:

In the How People Change Seminar Paul Tripp and Tim Lane explore the truth of the gospel and apply it to life in a fallen world. Through their teaching, they clearly explain and enhance the truths from the How People Change Study Guide that help people to understand how Christ’s life, death, and resurrection can and does change the details of their lives. Through twelve, 30-minute sessions participants will be challenged to experience the deep-down change that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings and given the tools to understand the basic principles in the companion study guide.

For a taste of what’s in store, take ten minutes to view the video below.

Please pray with us for God to use this to shape our lives for change all the more by the power of the gospel.