THIS IS CHURCH: Obedient Hearts Coming Together
Highlights from Bridge Church’s study on the book of Acts
This Fall, our church has been tracking with the first Christians in the book of Acts. The book of Acts tells the story of how an average sized church of 120 changed the world through the power of God’s spirit and their obedience to Him. You can hear the series here or by subscribing to our podcast on Itunes. Here’s a few highlights from the past 8 weeks:
- A church will be Biblical, when the lives of the people in the church are Biblical & their lives line up with the practices & commands of Jesus Christ.
- THIS IS CHURCH: OBEDIENT HEARTS COMING TOGETHER BACKED BY THE POWER OF GOD.
- One of the greatest enemies of life on mission is HURRY. What possibilities might life hold if we slowed down rather than stepping on the gas? What dangers might depths of relationships born over long talks with friends save us from? What strength is missing in my life because of lack of time spent sitting quietly with God & His Word? What opportunities to witness to & serve others fly by me as I hurry to the next big thing? Ministry, growth & maturity, depth of relationships happen in the neutral ground & at the intersections of life. Not at 70 miles per hour.
- The question is not, are you being discipled? but by who or what? Are we being discipled by our screen time & social media, or by Christ & His people?
- The early church prayed 10 days & preached 5 minutes & 3,000 people came to know Christ. Today we do the opposite & get the opposite result.
- The confused, scared people in the upper room, became an unstoppable army of witnesses that spread across the world sharing the message of Christ.
- The Holy Spirit is not a tool for our satisfaction or to puff us up with how great we are or to make us feel better about ourselves. His purpose is to empower us for God’s mission.
- If you say, I’m not experiencing the Spirit’s power – What mission are you on? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone to tell others about Christ lately? Have you took a risky stand for Christ at work?
- We are saved to be sent. We’re washed to be witnesses.
- If I’m believing & looking to be obedient, walking with God. I’ll not lack for opportunity to be a witness.
- Christianity is not a lone ranger affair. To grow, to be obedient, to be on mission, you must be in relationship with others.
- The Holy Spirit will change your priority from personal comfort & safety to selflessness & sacrifice.
- Purpose leads to SELFLESSNESS! We begin to realize that my gifts, my resources, my time is NOT MINE! And it’s NOT ABOUT ME!
- when God gives you purpose, He also gives you the means to accomplish that purpose. GET THIS: It’s HIS WORK through You!
- God’s purpose & the needs of others trumps personal comfort & even safety for those who have aligned their lives with God’s purpose.
- Generosity is not something God wants FROM you, but something God wants FOR you. God doesn’t need your money, He wants your heart.
- It’s dangerous to focus on what we appear to be, instead of what we actually are.
- Preoccupation with appearances is a root that will lead to deception, depression, and possibly disaster. Our preoccupation should be on approval from God. On allowing His grace to shape in us a Godly character. On obeying Him carefully & one step at a time.
We’ll return to this series in 2017, and pick up with the life of Paul the Apostle. November will be Bridge On Mission month. We’ll look at our mission to the least, to the nations, to the next generation, and to our neighbors. In December, we’ll look fresh at the Christmas story in a series called Looking for ADVENTure. If you are in West St. Tammany and you don’t have a church you attend, gather and grow with Bridge Church, 10:30am at the Maritime Museum in Madisonville.
God doesn’t try… God ACTS
Our Church has been tracking through the book of Acts on Sunday’s this Fall in a series called This IS Church. Our small groups have been tracking through Greg Matte’s Bible Study on the book of Acts called Unstoppable Gospel. Matte also published a great book called Unstoppable Gospel: Living Out the World Changing Vision of Jesus’ First Followers. I love books that put us into the 1st century with the first believers of Jesus. My favs are probably 30 Years that Changed the World and The Rise of Christianity. I’m adding Greg Matte’s book to that list as well. Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:
- God’s purpose is for the church to be more than just an event on Sunday morning; it’s meant to be a fuse lit to unleash the explosive power of a believer’s life.
- He has made no provisions for us to follow Him while living in isolation from other believers.
- Nowhere in the book of Acts do you see the word church used to describe a building where people gather on Sunday mornings. In Acts, the church is the people of God in love with God doing the will of God.
- God doesn’t try. God doesn’t attempt. God ACTS.
- We cannot pray a prayer so big that God will not wish we had prayed for something even bigger.
- Christianity has never had a more dangerous enemy than Saul of Tarsus, or a more dedicated friend that Paul the Apostle; both are the same man.
- The book opens with a handful of terrified disciples. It closes with Paul, ambassador for Christ par excellence, telling the story of Jesus “without hindrance” in the capital of the known world. (on Acts 28:30-31)
If you’re looking for a new perspective on the book of Acts, pick up Unstoppable Gospel. And I’d highly recommend Unstoppable Gospel Bible Study for small groups.
How to Plant a Church in a MICROpolitan Area: Christ Church Opelousas
Louisiana has 9 METROpolitan areas and 9 MICROpolitan areas. The only difference, according to the Census Bureau is proximity to a large city.
“Micropolitan cities do not have the economic or political importance of large cities, but are nevertheless significant centers of population and production, drawing workers and shoppers from a wide local area.”
These are some of my favorite places in Louisiana – Natchitoches, Ruston, Bogalusa, Morgan City, DeRidder, Fort Polk, Bastrop, Jennings (actually not a favorite place b/c they knocked my team out of the High School baseball playoffs my Sr. year. Yea, I’m bitter. Lol!) And the largest of these is the Opelousas-Eunice Micropolitan Area. It’s also the least churched of these nine as well, with Morgan City close behind.
How do you plant a church in a Micropolitan area? Well, Christ Church Opelousas is doing great job at showing us the way. Stuart Amidon is the church planter and in their 30th month of existence they have over 80 in worship attendance and are looking at expanding their capacity and making other things happen to prepare for the next wave of growth. What’s the story? What lessons can we learn from Christ Church Opelousas?
1. Keep a Positive Outlook
Stuart has a very positive, hopeful attitude. Slow growth can be discouraging and frustrating at times for church planters in small towns. Managing expectations with faith and a smile is essential for leading a church at this level, because the people see how everything effects you personally. Positive attitude inspired by a close relationship with a sovereign God is a must for church planting wherever you are.
2. Reach out to the Downcast
Christ Church Opelousas meets in the chapel of a rehab center in Opelousas, so much of their core group were people at the bottom working their way up. Church Planting works best in the well cultivated soil of people that know they need Christ and other people. Christ Church has developed out of that soil, so life change along with grace and mercy are front and center.
3. Plan on a Bivocational Approach
Stuart serves a local school. Planting in small towns such as Opelousas may require a bivocational approach. Don’t resist it. Much good comes from being in the community and one of the community, in the workforce. Bivocational ministry also forces multiplication of leaders as the pastor is not there everyday to take care of all the work of the church. And the sooner multiplication takes place the faster the church plants capacity for growth can expand.
4. Get Involved in a Good Network
Christ Church Opelousas is part of a network of Christ Churches that work in small communities across Acadiana. Stuart also participates in our Multiply Louisiana network meetings as able. Research has shown the validity of church planting networks. In the Church Plant Survivability and Health Study realeased in 2007, by the North American Mission Board, a survey found that church plant survivability increased by 135% when a planter met with a group of church planting peers regularly. Another survey of 600 church planters revealed that first year attendance was over 50 percent greater in the churches planted by those participating in a peer network. (see my post on The Importance of a Church Planting Peer Network). I like to say, one of the best things that planting a church has done for me is drive away my independence. To plant in a small town you will need others!
I’m excited about Christ Church Opelousas. Pray for them as they continue to reach out to their community. Keep up with Christ Church Opelousas on Facebook.
Low Hanging Fruit in Church Planting
Low hanging fruit on our backyard Satsuma tree this year.
When I get stuck as a parent, leader, or pastor I’ve learned to ask, “Where’s the low hanging fruit?” In other words, what’s one or two simple things I can do to make a difference right now, without a lot of effort? There are usually 2-3 things that can be done, no matter how tough the project or issue.
In trying to move a church plant to break that next growth barrier, or get unstuck from where you are, learn to look for the low hanging fruit. Here’s three great questions in that regard, inspired by the Malphurs Group recent post on Maximizing Fall Church Attendance:
1) Are there any fringe attenders that we have been praying would become regular attenders?
Make some extra effort and call them and make a lunch appointment. Send them a personal hand written note letting them know you’re praying for them. And make sure they are invited to every special event or fellowship opportunity.
2) Are there any regular attenders that we have been praying would become leaders?
I’ve heard you have six weeks from a time a person ready to lead comes to your church, to the time they check out, if you don’t get them plugged in. Make the ask. Make some extra effort and find out what their spiritual gift and passions are and invite them to be on a ministry team. Or design a project or ministry to get them involved.
3) Are there any new faces checking out our church for the very first time?
Hopefully, you’ve got a process in place to follow up with first time guests. Make some extra effort with a personal phone call.
The challenge is to not put the work on them to get plugged in. Low hanging fruit can be easier because its low, but you still have to pick it. I’ll be making these three list today.
Squirrel-Like Church Planting
It’s that time of year again! The squirrels are out in force tearing up our landscaping, burying every acorn or other nut they can find to get prepped for the winter. I’ve heard that 25% of the nuts squirrels bury are harvested by other animals. Another 25% are never found and have a chance at becoming trees one day that provide homes and nuts for another generation of squirrels. So squirrels work hard in order to provide for their future and unknowingly provide for other animals and for future generations.
Love this as a metaphor for the work of church planting.
- Church planting is about planting and burying seeds.
- Our hard work, our passion, our rushing around should be to plant as many seeds as we possibly can in the hearts of people on our way to a healthy, evangelistic, self-sustaining church planted.
- Our own harvest will relate to the number of seeds we plant.
- As we go, we should know, some seeds planted will result in a harvest for other churches. Praise God!
- And some will not be harvested for years to come and may never connect the dots back to us. Praise God!
Don’t see church planting as primarily about you and your survival. It’s about the kingdom and the work of church planting may grow your church, but if not, it will provide for others and for the future. Now let’s go bury some seeds!
2016 Louisiana Church Planting Update
75% of 2016 is in the can. Here’s a report of this years Church Planting efforts among Louisiana Baptist Churches:
- We’re at 29 Church Plants for the year. Just 1 away from our annual goal of 30. We should finish the year with 34-36. Making 2016 another record year for church planting in Louisiana.
- 2 in North Louisiana, 27 in South Louisiana.
- 13 in New Orleans, 7 on the I-12, 3 in Baton Rouge, 2 in Lake Charles, 2 in Central LA, 1 in Lafayette, 1 in Houma/Thibodaux.
- 12 Anglo, 11 African-American, 3 Multi-Ethnic, 2 Hispanic, 1 Asian.
- 7 Multi-Site Developments, 6 Re-Plants
- $1,023,117 in Cooperative Funding invested in Church Planting supplements so far in 2016.
- $220,000 in Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering Grants invested in Church Plants so far in 2016.
- 1,004 New Commitments to Christ & 292 Baptisms reported by our Church Planters so far this year.
Grateful for the work God is doing through our church plants & our together giving through Cooperative Program & State & National Missions Offerings.
Check out some other things happening with Church Planting in Louisiana in our October E-Newsletter.
What Do You See?
How we see people is a good test of our heart for God and the Gospel. Do we see people as objects of His love and opportunities for us to show His love? Do we see their spiritual needs? Do we see potential or problems?
Gregg Matte in Unstoppable Gospel: Living Out the World-Changing Vision of Jesus’ First Followers, his great book on the book of Acts, gives three categories of people in our everyday lives and how we see them:
1. SCENERY. Passersby. Shoppers ahead of us in line. People in our way. People who are scenery are not really seen as souls in need of Christ.
2. MACHINERY. People that are necessary to us. Clerks, waitresses, attendants. We may see them as just nuts and bolts. The focus is on what we need from them, not who they are or what they need from us.
3. MINISTRY. No person should be just scenery or machinery. People are God’s creation whom He desires a relationship with. Every interactions should be seen as divinely appointed opportunities to minister to them and deliver the gospel to their thirsty souls.
How big are these categories in your life? How will you see the people you intersect with today?
The To Do’s of Disciple Making
Our task is to Make Disciples. How? Here’s a great list of to do’s from the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13.
1. Share the Gospel
“we preached God’s gospel to you” – Discipleship starts with evangelism. No gospel sharing will lead to no disciple making.
- Who have you shared the gospel with recently?
- Who are you praying for that needs to hear the gospel?
2. Conduct yourself with Honesty & Devotion
“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers.” – The conduct of the disciple maker sets the example for new disciples.
- Does your conduct match your conversation?
- Are new believers drawn to you?
- Are you living as an example that someone else should follow?
- What gaps do you need to close in your life right now in the area of conduct, habits, words, attitude?
3. Encourage, Comfort, Urge the Disciples On
“we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God” – Constant contact, encouragement, difficult conversations, patience, love.
- Who needs encouragement today?
- Who is in danger of slipping away that needs a phone call?
- Who is doing great that you can write a note to?
- Who are you ready to give up on? Pray for patience & the right words for that person.
4. Give Thanks to God for Any Progress
“we constantly thank God, because when you received the message about God that you heard from us, you welcomed it” – The disciple maker must recognize God as the giver of the increase. We are His instruments to plant & water the seeds.
- Look back over the last year & think about who in your life has grown the most. Thank God for them. Encourage them with what you see in their life.
- Think of those who are on their way. Imagine where they may be with the Gospel, a great example of faith, encouragement & regular contact, & a humble grateful friend in their lives.
What if you just WENT FOR IT?
- What if you didn’t hesitate?
- What if you lived with no regrets?
- What if you quit putting it off?
- What if you quit goofing off?
- What if you just WENT FOR IT?
- What if you forgot the odds and the limits and all the reason why you can’t?
- What’s the biggest obstacle between you and IT, i.e. what you know you should be doing?
- What’s keeping you from putting everything into life?
- What would IT be?
- What if you quit worrying about what might happen?
- What if you quit worrying about what others might think?
- What if you believed IT was possible?
So lets:
- Make that call.
- Fill out that application.
- Set that appointment.
- Join that group.
- Download that plan.
- Quit that addiction.
- Change the attitude.
- Turn off that TV.
- Write that email.
JUST GO FOR IT!
“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men” Colossians 3:23.
Look Beyond Numbers to Generations
How many disciples have made disciples? Great challenge from Alan Briggs in his new book Guardrails: Six Principles for a Multiplying Church.
Reproducible discipleship looks beyond numbers to count generations – it measures how many disciples have made disciples… When we aim at mere numbers, we will rarely multiply disciples, but when we aim at generations, numbers come naturally.
Love this thinking! If church is about making disciples and one thing disciples do is make other disciples, we should be able to begin measuring generations within the first few years of our church. Take a look at your church roll and see how many generations deep you can go. If not far, examine your goal for people. Are you making disciples or just attenders? This is a mistake I have made in ministry. Attendance makes pastors feel good and populates the chairs on Sunday’s. Disciple making makes the kingdom grow and populates heaven.
Guardrails is a great book to help you get back to the simplicity of discipleship. Here’s a few other great quotes:
- healthy ministry always centers around making disciples.
- Our mission is to make disciples. That’s what missional people do.
- Spiritual leadership is not about gaining followers; it’s about making disciples.
- Disciple-makers are very ordinary people who take God’s mission seriously.
- Discipleship is a beautiful and rugged journey into living like Jesus.
- Discipleship is not something to be comprehended and mastered by something to be lived out and passed on to others.
- Every follower of Jesus has the capacity to become a multiplier of the message.
- When we portray discipleship as complicated, ordinary people leave discipleship to the experts, and reproduction is killed before it starts.
- We simply cannot afford to choose building our churches over making disciples. We must follow the progression of making disciples, developing leaders, and leading churches – in that order.
Grab a copy of Guardrails. Refreshing, challenging book to fuel the mission of making disciples. See the Trailer for the book HERE. Looking forward to having Alan Briggs as one of our Equippers in 2017 & 2018 for our Multiply Louisiana Church Planting Network! More info soon.
Lane Corley 