Renewed Passion

Over the past few weeks the Lord has renewed a passion within me to know Him and to make Him known. God has been stirring in my heart. He has resurrected a desire to treasure and hide His Word in my heart that I might not sin against Him.

A few days ago, I decided I would try to memorize Romans 8. I asked my wife to join me on this journey and she joyfully agreed. Today we are attempting verse 4. Reading this passage, I was reminded of the call not to walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Today I recognize that apart from Jesus, I can not accomplish anything. I desperately need to walk according to the Spirit. I need to yield to and be guided by the Holy Spirit who is in me and the Word He inspired. Today I have been given the opportunity to die to myself, my agenda, my plans and live in Christ and follow His agenda and His plans. Only by the enabling power of God's Spirit will this be possible.

I wonder if God has been stirring your heart as well. If He has, share what the Lord has been doing and how you are responding to His work in your life. How are you motivated to treasure Him and His Word more? What steps are you taking to Walk according to the Spirit? Would you be willing to join me in committing Romans 8 to memory?

Looking forward to what the Lord has done, is doing and is going to do!

The Purpose & Mission of the Church pt 3

In recent days I have been prayerfully examining the purpose and mission of the church. This process has been centered on several key passages of Scripture directly dealing with the church.  This is the third and final blog post dealing with these matters.

In wrapping up some of the thoughts I have on the mission and purpose of the church I want to focus on Revelation 2-3 and Jesus’ words to the churches. The context of the book of Revelation is the Apostle John is on the Island of Patmos worshiping in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. While in the Spirit Jesus spoke to John and told him to write a message down for the Church.

In chapters 2 and 3 Jesus shares His message with John for 7 of His churches. In these messages I have discovered many unifying factors. The first unifying factor is Jesus knowledge of the individual church’s health. To 5 of the 7 churches He proclaims “I know your deeds” and then goes on to describe in detail some deeds which are praise worthy and others which He condemns. In the case of the other 2 churches, Jesus tells Smyrna He knows their tribulation, poverty, and the blasphemy of others; and to Pergamum He explains He knows where they dwell and that they hold fast to His Name.

The reality is Jesus also knows our deeds. Here are some questions we need to ask and dwell upon: What would Jesus find praise worthy in our church? Does Jesus intimate knowledge of us and what we do make us feel more secure or scared? I imagine in the end we all hope to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” roll off the tongue of our Lord. If this is your desire and what you long to hear, then think about the good you are doing and consider what good you will do.  Think about the ways in which you serve the Lord and how you could be a more faithful servant.  

The second unifying factor is Jesus’ instruction for the church to get back on track. To Ephesus He tells them to remember, repent, and return to what they did in the beginning. To Smyrna He explains trouble is on the horizon, but they should not fear, but rather be faithful to the end. To Pergamum and Thyatira He tells them to repent of holding to false teaching and immoral practices. To Sardis He says they need a wake-up call and to strengthen what remains. To Philadelphia He tells them to hold fast to what they have. Finally to Laodicea He boldly declares they are unknowingly wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. He calls them to be zealous and repent.

Do we need a wake-up call? Are we blind to our own sin as a church? In light of Jesus’ diagnoses of these churches how should we repent? In what ways are we guilty? We desperately need to turn to the Word of God which is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The third unifying factor is the phrase “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This message is given to all 7 of the churches. Jesus reveals that in each of the churches, regardless of its deeds, the Spirit of God is busy at work. The Spirit of God is speaking to those who will give Him their ears.

When is the last time you heard the Spirit’s voice. Most likely it was not audibly, but when was the last time you sensed the Spirit of God was directing you or calling you to step out on faith? The Spirit always speaks in alignment with the Word He inspired. He most often takes the truths found in the Scriptures and applies them to our life as we prayerfully meditate upon them.

The fourth and final unifying factor is the phrase “To him who overcomes…” In this portion of Jesus' instruction to the churches He directs their attention to the future. He shows them that there is hope for a better day. They may be wrestling with false teaching, the Devil may be attacking them, they may be caught up in immorality, but if they will heed His words there will be a glorious future for them.

Our hope for a brighter day does not rest on our ability or willingness to do more. We will never “overcome” in our strength. Romans 8:37-39 explains: “in all these things (tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword) we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We must turn to Jesus, our first love, and remember that He has overcome sin, death and the Devil on our behalf. He overcame our sin by laying down His life for us. He was bruised for our iniquities; He crushed because of our transgressions. He was bore the Father’s wrath in our place on a bloody cross. This was done as a demonstration of His love for us. He overcame death by rising from the dead three days later. Death has no power over the God who is Life. The grave had no power over the one who created the dirt and rocks that once held Him captive. He overcame the Devil as depicted in Genesis 3 by crushing his head.  Jesus has come to dwell in His people with power by His Spirit. We have overcome “because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)”

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria (and Durham) had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied (Acts 9:31).

The Purpose & Mission of the Church pt 2

In recent days I have been prayerfully examining the purpose and mission of the church. This process has been centered on several key passages of Scripture directly dealing with the church.  This is the second of at least three blog posts where I will begin to deal with these matters.

While reflecting upon 1 Corinthians 12-14 I have discovered some important truths about Christ’s church (body). Paul explains in 12:12-13 that everyone comes into the body of Christ the same way. We all enter the body through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. I believe this is true of both the universal and local church. To be a church member you must be regenerate (born again).

We learn from 12:14-19 that as a church we are one body made up of many members. The members within the body are uniquely gifted and designed to be different.  God in His infinite wisdom seems to have placed and is placing each individual member in the body to accomplish His purpose for the church. Paul says God does this as He desires. His desires are rooted in bringing supreme glory to His Name and doing good for His people. Thinking about God’s purpose should take us back to Ephesians 3:10 where we discovered the church is to display the manifold wisdom of God. We best display this by individually imaging God with our unique gifts and different designs in the community called the church.

Problems often occur when we see others within the body, who think, look, and act differently than us and we automatically conclude they are wrong or sinful. This may be true at times, but the reality is God placed them in the body according to His desires and purposes. If we read carefully we learn in 12:24-26 that God placed individuals into the body with their uniqueness so that there would be “no division in the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.” What God has done to bring unity within the body we often use to divide.

To be unified as God desires and as He designed us to be, we must be driven by love. Chapter 13 is not speaking about a husband and wife relationship, but rather the relationships within the body of Christ. For us to be unified and fulfill God’s purposes for us we must first love the Lord and one another. “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails!”

Paul encourages us in Chapter 14 when we gather together we are to do everything properly and in an orderly manner. Whatever is done in the gathering should be done for the glory of God and the edification of others. Four times in Chapter 14 we are told that as we gather we are to edify others (14:4,5,12,26). This means when we gather together, we are not coming primarily for our good, but to do good for others. Each of us are uniquely gifted by God to build up the body of Christ so that they may be able to more faithfully live their lives to bring glory to God and accomplish His mission.

To summarize we all become members through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. He uniquely gifts every member as He desires. Their uniqueness should not be a source of division, but rather something to be celebrated and a source of unity. We should love our brothers and sisters in Christ and be driven by that love. Because we have experience the love of God displayed in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus we should love one another. This kind of love for others leads us to gather regularly with the saints and seek to encourage and build them up.

To be continued…

The Purpose & Mission of the Church

In recent days I have been prayerfully examining the purpose and mission of the church. This process has been centered on several key passages of Scripture directly dealing with the church.  This is the first of at least three blog posts where I will begin to deal with these matters. 

 In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul says “… I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” There are three things that we need to understand from this passage. 

First, the church is where God dwells. Jesus dwells in us, his temple/household, through His Spirit. His people are His “household” and should not be confused with the physical structure where the church may gather. 

 Secondly, the church is the church of the living God. God is alive and well. In Christ He defeated sin, death and Satan. He is currently ruling and reigning from His throne in heaven and from the throne of our hearts. 

 Thirdly, we see that the church is “the pillar and support of the truth.” The Church must be Word-saturated, Word-centered and Word-driven in all we do. When Jesus came to the earth He was full of grace and truth. He gave the truth to the church as our foundation and guide so that we would dispense it to the world.

Another passage I have been reflecting on is Ephesians 3:10,21. Paul explains: “so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.” 21“ to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Here we again see how vital wisdom or truth is to the church. Verse 10 shows that a primary purpose of the church is to be a dispenser of wisdom/ truth. We are not called to dispense human wisdom or cleverness, but the wisdom and truth of God. This wisdom/truth is described in the preceding verses as the gospel or the “unfathomable riches of Christ.”

This truth is to be dispensed both to the lost and dying world (verse 8) and to the demonic forces who have been allowed to rule and have authority for a short time. For the demonic there is no future hope only temporary satisfaction. Those who are lost and without Christ, there is hope in Christ and in His gospel alone. We are called to proclaim both Jesus’ victory over darkness and hope for the nations.

In verse 21 we see that God is glorified in both Christ Jesus and in His church. We are to be the people who constantly live our lives to bring glory to God. Jesus is our example of how to live a life that glorifies God supremely, but not only that, He has given us His Spirit to enable us to live a God-centered and God-glorifying life.

When we try to apply these and other passages of Scripture to our church we must be cautious. As the old saying goes “the Devil is in the details.” I have found that to be my experience regardless of what church I attended or served.  The question we must ask ourselves when considering ministries, programs, activities or decisions is what would bring God maximum glory. If we ask this question first we will guard ourselves against making an idol of traditions and against the sin of selfishness. By asking this question in a sense we are saying not our will, but Yours be done; knowing that the Lord’s will is that which brings Him most glory.

The follow-up question must be how does God’s Word direct us in making this decision. If the church is the “pillar and support of the truth” then we must make decisions that are informed by clear biblical teaching. We might ask is the ministry, program or activity, we are considering, central to accomplishing the mission and purpose of the church.  The answer must be rooted and grounded in prayerful consideration of the Scriptures.

Another question we should ask ourselves is whether or not this ministry, program, or activity is the best use of our time, talents/gifts and treasures. In a nutshell if we do this are we convinced that we are being good stewards with all that the Lord has given to us. You could also ask is this the most effective and efficient way to accomplish the purpose and mission of God. We do not want to be wasteful or careless, but wise stewards who carefully consider the cost.

To be continued…

The Journey @ Parkwood Baptist Church

My journey at PBC began in a strange and unforeseen way. My family and I had left one church where I served as a youth pastor and were in transition. I didn’t necessarily want to jump right into a ministry position considering I was attending SEBTS and working a part-time job to help support the family. My love for the Lord was strong as was my desire to serve Him. We heard about PBC through a good friend of ours who had talked with the church about possibly becoming the pastor. Upon hearing about this opportunity we began attending PBC. 

The first Sunday my family attended PBC we discovered six individuals in the pews all of who were in their mid sixties and older. There was in addition to these six individual the pastor who was part-time and the pianist. Upon arrival with our two children some of the members graciously took Ethan and Taylor downstairs to share a Bible story and do a craft with them.

As we sat in the service and many after that, it was easy to realize that this church had very little to offer anyone. From my perspective the building was in disrepair, the music was lacking, the preaching wasn’t great, the Bibles in the pews were falling apart, and so many other things. Though PBC did not look hopeful by any stretch of the imagination, God did something miraculous inside of me. I remember sitting in the pew one Sunday thinking deeply about PBC when suddenly God put His finger on a particular sin in my life.

The sin I had fallen into was the sin of consumerism. You see during the transition phase my family had visited several churches in Durham. I had been looking for a church that first and foremost had good solid biblical preaching, a great music ministry, a dynamic children’s ministry, were passionate to reach the lost and so many other factors. PBC was the exact opposite of what in my consumeristic mindset was looking for. On that day God caused me to look inward and I was impressed with this thought: You have been going to churches with a “what’s in it for me” attitude, when in reality I should be approaching churches with a “what can I do to help” attitude.

After that day my mind was made up, I would no longer go to a church asking what can you offer me, but rather, considering the gifts God has given me, how can I best serve God and His people and see His mission accomplished. I then began to look at PBC through the lens of potential. These facilities might be falling apart, but what great potential; these Bibles might be falling apart, but we can get some new ones; etc.

Through some unfortunate circumstances my good friend became the pastor and then left after only three months of serving. This was due to many factors I will not go into here. When my pastor friend left, my wife and I began praying about what to do next. Upon much prayer, we both were convinced that the Lord had called us to PBC to serve and so we decided to remain.

The next several weeks were filled with uncertainty. Who will preach, what is my friend going to think of us staying, what is the Lord’s plan for PBC? A week or so after my pastor friend left the church asked me to fill the pulpit until we could find an interim pastor. At that time I was working two other jobs and was enrolled in school full-time. In spite of my busy schedule, I agreed, thinking it would only be for a week or two.

To my surprise, at the next business meeting, the church asked me to serve as the interim pastor while they formed a committee to search for a new pastor. After much time in prayer, my wife and I agreed this was the right decision. The search committee was formed and the hunt for a pastor was futile. There were not many men interested in coming to such a small church with so little to offer. Those who did apply the committee did not think they would be a good fit. The eventually asked me to submit a resume to be their pastor.

My wife and I began to pray, think deeply about this opportunity, and seek wisdom from others. In the end we concluded that we were convinced that God had called me to pastor, he had gifted me with the necessary gifts, and had put an open door in front of us. Although this came about through some very unusual circumstances, we were convinced this was what God wanted and had even planned. I was later unanimously voted in as the pastor of PBC.

My initial plan was two-fold. I was going to love the people and preach the word. I decided that loving the people was crucial. The people at PBC had gone through a lot through the years. There seemed to be very little confidence and trust in pastors. My plan was to win the people over by demonstrating a sacrificial love for them. Considering, what I perceived as a lack of solid biblical teaching in the past, I was going to immerse myself in the Scriptures and attempt, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to faithfully exposit the Word, verse by verse and word by word.

Early in my first year I studied Matthew 9 and 10. In those passages the Lord shared with His disciples that the harvest was plentiful, but the workers were few. This was something I could identify with at PBC. We had very few people who could dedicate their lives to reaching the harvest. I began to pray, as the Lord instructed, that He, the Lord of the harvest, would send workers. The Lord has answered this prayer from time to time in some amazing ways.

Other than to pray I sought to change very little in the first couple of years of leading PBC. I, to some degree, naively believed that all I had to do was faithfully preach the Word and change would naturally happen. In hindsight I realize I failed to paint a clear picture and effectively lead the church to see where God wanted the church to go, what God wanted the church to look like, how the church was going to reach our community, and what changes would be necessary to be the church God desired us to be.

After discovering this, I began to teach through 1^st and 2^nd Timothy in order to show the church what God wanted us to focus on and how we should organize ourselves to accomplish His purposes. I shared with the church that I believed the Scriptures clearly demonstrated that an Elder-led church government was how the Lord wanted His church to organize. The church eventually agreed and charged a committee to change our current Constitution and By-laws to reflect this. The church is currently in the midst of these changes and well on our way to making the necessary structural changes.

The Lord has just recently revived my desire to pray Matthew 9 and 10. I again am praying that God would both raise up from among the church and send workers from elsewhere. My desire is that God would raise up and send people whose love for Jesus is unwavering and their passion to know Him and to make Him know enables them to sacrifice everything to see His Kingdom advance.

What is the vision for PBC? Where are we headed and how are we going to get there? These questions cannot be easily answered. In reality we know that the Lord Jesus could return tomorrow and all of our plans would be pointless, but at the same time we need to recognize the Lord has given us a mission to accomplish and we need to be busy seeking to be faithful to His mission.

The mission of PBC is to make disciples of Jesus by going into the world, beginning in our community and expanding to the ends of the earth, and declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit, baptizing and gathering these disciples into the church, and teaching them to obey Jesus Christ that they will worship Him now and eternally to the glory of God the Father.

We will best accomplish this mission as we gather in small groups beginning this fall. These small groups are going to focus on intentional discipleship. As families in the church gather together they will immerse themselves in the Scriptures learning what it means to love and obey Jesus Christ. In these small groups the church will be encouraged to use their God-given gifts, talents, and treasures to both build-up the church and to reach their community and the nations.

This vision in a sense is a recovery of the mission PBC had in the beginning. PBC started out as a church plant that met in homes, shopping centers and in various places. In the beginning the members of PBC were convinced the Lord had sent them to make an impact on this community for God’s sake.

My prayer is that God would send workers, not to the end that He would grow a large church in Parkwood, but rather we would be faithful in making disciples who would GO! They would go and plant churches in Durham, in other parts of the US, and among the places where the good news that Jesus Christ has come, died and rose again has not been heard.

So, the answers to my prayers have yet to be seen. Who will join us on this journey? How many will be willing to give up their consumeristic mindset, like I was enabled to, and sacrifice to the Lord everything. Jesus is infinitely worthy of all that we could give, so why don’t you join us on this journey with the Lord?