Give Presence: Living Out the Incarnation
The story of Christmas is foundational for understanding Christianity in so many ways. God sent his very best, his own Son Jesus Christ, the God-man, on a daring rescue mission. In need of rescue was the human race including you and I. The mission included a display of love that led to the willing death of an innocent Rescuer for the sake of those he loved. In the end, the Rescuer wins the day, defeating all the bad guys, including death, sin and guilt, and Satan (Colossians 2:13-15, Hebrews 2:14-15). Here’s the real kicker: Now God desires that we repeat the process of being sent, loving, sacrificing, and rescuing through announcing/retelling this story to all (John 21:20, Acts 1:8, Philippians 2:3-5). When God wanted to save the world, he sent himself. He GAVE PRESENCE. Today, he continues to GIVE PRESENCE to the world through those he has rescued.
Here’s three lessons we learn about Incarnational Living from God’s giving to us. These have become filters for our church as we seek to live with a missionary posture toward our community.
- God gave the gift of PROXIMITY. John 1:14 in the Message Paraphrase says, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” Jesus laid aside the privileges of deity to draw near to us, walk in our shoes, and die in our place. One of the great promises of Christmas is that we do not serve a God that’s distant, that’s removed from our problems and trials. He experienced them and He overcame them (Hebrews 4:15, John 16:33). Does your current lifestyle allow you to live in proximity to the needs of others? Does your church live out its mission in proximity to the needs of the community? Jesus went so much farther than, “they know where we are if they need us.” He was always touching those he wasn’t supposed to touch and sharing life with those he wasn’t supposed to share life with. In a world filled with lonely hearts, we need to give presence and live out the gift of proximity.
- God gave the gift of RESPONSIVENESS. God gave in response to our deepest need. To respond to the needs of others requires you to forget about yourself a bit. That’s exactly what Jesus did – Philippians 2:7 says, “he made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.” Jesus didn’t have an entitlement mentality, and if anyone was ever justified in feeling entitled to privileges and perks it should have been the Son of God, but he had a SLAVERY mentality. Becoming the lowest of the low in response to my need. Does your current lifestyle and church culture allow you to be responsive to the needs of others? The priest and levite in the story of the Good Samaritan most likely had legitimate excuses for not responding to the needs of the man lying in the road with huge needs. They had busy schedules, there’s no time for this; they were in a bad part of town; they had no training in basic life support. It was the Samaritan that demonstrated to heart of God and responded to the needs, laying aside self and becoming a servant.
- God’s generosity was RADICAL. In the Christmas story we learn that God is a RADICAL GIVER. John 3:16 says it best, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” And we see in Philippians 2:8, that Jesus willing became a radical giver for you and I – “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” God held nothing back for you and I. He gave it all. What aspects of our lives can be considered radical? Is it in the area of generosity? In desire for God? In desire for others to know the truth?
God’s Big Give: Proximity, Responsiveness, Radical Generosity. The story of Christ and Christmas.
In the next few weeks at Bridge Church, we’ll be talking about how we can give presence as we live out the storyline of Christmas. Check out the messages at http://www.bridgenorthshore.com or on Itunes.
Reaching the Next Level
One of our Northshore pastors has given a great discipleship resource to us. Pete Charpentier, Pastor of Woodland Park Baptist in Hammond, recently published Reaching the Next Level. Pete is a Pastor with a heart for discipleship and multiplication. The books are designed for one to one or one to two mentoring or discipling relationships, but I’m enjoying working through it as a personal devotional as well. It could also be used in a small group setting. Check out Reaching the Next Level. Also check out Pete’s blog.
Highlights from our Upside Down Inside Out Series
Yesterday we finished up a series of messages at Bridge Church on Upside Down Kingdom Principles. Looked at Humility: The Way Up is Down, Generosity: In Giving Away We Receive, Problems: Joy in Trials, Salvation: Working Out What God Works In, and some others. Find most of the series at http://www.bridgenorthshore.com. Our recording equipment turned upside down on us and we missed two weeks. But here is a few of my favorite quotes from the series:
- The basement is the penthouse, in God’s kingdom.
- The best cure for illness is death. It kills the cancer every time.
- “I am more broken and sinful than I ever dared to believe and at the same time because of Jesus, I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared to hope.”
- God’s love for you is not based on anything that you can do or not do. It’s based completely upon the work of Christ.
- There is nothing that we can do to enact our own salvation. If there were, the cross would have not been necessary.
- Faith is like the brain. The best evidence of brain function is motor function.
- The way up is down in God’s kingdom.
- “the cross undermines our self-righteousness, and we can stand before it only with a bowed head and a broken spirit” – John Stott in The Cross of Christ.
- Pride is the only disease in the world that makes everyone sick except the person who has it.
- There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth or greatness in the kingdom of God.
- The only way out of a trial is through it, & the more trials we go through, the stronger we will be.
- What is my greatest need during this problem? Not a vacation. Not a pill. Not a counselor. Not rescue. Not revenge. IT’S WISDOM.
- When there is no other answer, perseverance is the answer.
- God’s more interested in your character, than your comfort. He wants you to be more like Christ.
Perspective on Your Problems
Talking about having joy in trials this weekend at Bridge Church. Saw this pic this week at one of my favorite blogs called Indexed. Problems and trials come in various sizes. Keep them in perspective:
Jesus in the Old Testament
“The Bible’s really not about you – it’s about him.” Darrin Patrick in his great book Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission, shares a thoughtful list by Tim Keller on Jesus in the Old Testament. Take a look:
- Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.
- Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.
- Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
- Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”
- Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.
- Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.
- Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.
- Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.
- Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.
- Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
- Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.
- Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.
- Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.
Worth Reading: How To Multiply Your Church by Ralph Moore
“The world is multiplying while the church adds (at best).” Ralph Moore in How to Multiply Your Church: The Best Way to Grow
Confession: I day dream about being caught up in a movement that would bring Great Awakening like transformation to my community, country, and world. I believe the concept of saturation church planting and evangelism is a path to take to this end. This book is now one of my favs (along with Viral Churches by Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird, The Multiplying Church by Bob Roberts, Deliberate Simplicity by Dave Browning, and Church Planting Movements by David Garrison) on this topic. Really not a whole lot of how to, but more motivation to get out there and do it. And that’s kinda the point we’re at in the history of Christianity. We’ve focused so much on how to and not enough on true reproduction that we are well behind when it comes to keeping up with evangelizing the world’s population. For instance, Moore states early in the book, “The # of protestant megachurches has mushroomed from 16 in 1960 to 1,210 by 1995. The population quadrupled since 1900, while the number of churches has grown by a mere 50%. In other words, the population grew 8x as fast as churches could multiply.” Ralph Moore speaks as a practicioner and coach. Here’s some of my favorite quotes:
- We need to overcome the peaceful isolation of our comfortable campuses. A missional church invades and permeates. The operative term is “Go,” not, “Come.”
- Reproduction abilities represent a sign of maturity in living organisms. They also represent the only way to preserve the species over time. Multiplication of the Church not only engenders greater evangelistic results but also ensures the survival of Christianity in our culture.
- I believe a stalled congregation can nearly always grow its way back to momentum by preparing for and launching a new church. The process is invigorating.
- An equipping church leads every member to live as a missionary, at home and on the road, in God’s great invasion force.
- Current church culture rewards a spectator’s environment and has proven capable of raising large crowds while the surrounding world disintegrates.
- It is hard to imagine John saying, “Repent and go to 12 weeks of confirmation before you can be baptized for your sins.” There is a healthy immediacy to the NT movers that we lack today. Ministry must be left in the hands of the Holy Spirit. While we run sanitary operations, He brings victory out of apparent disorder. While we are unwilling to take risks, He demands faith.
- Movements are dynamic and sloppy. They are alive, not static. Difficult to contain, they prefer pragmatism and innovation to institutions and traditions. They seek to inspire and empower rather than control people. Movements esteem teamwork and ordinary “heroes” above superheroes.
Good Words on Emotions in Church Planting and Ministry
Church Multiplication can seem similar to warfare. There are lots of days filled with single motive of perseverance. They are punctuated by threats to the very existence of the new congregation and rewarded with outbursts of blessing and growth. The process never actually gets to “feeling right.” If you wait until it all feels right, you probably won’t do much of anything…
From my perspective, each season has only looked victorious as we looked back on it. But it never feels quite right while we are going through the day-to-day activities of evangelism and church multiplication.
Ralph Moore in his great book How To Multiply Your Church.
In other words, “Just Do It.”
Are You A Transformational Leader?
Had the privilege of attending a Transformational Church seminar several weeks back with Bruce Raley from Lifeway. This list really has stuck with me ever since:
Check out the book Transformational Church by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer.
Church Planting on the Northshore – Update
My full report published in the Northshore Baptist Association Book of Reports for 2009-2010.
It’s been a joy and privilege to serve the Northshore Baptist Associations in 2009-2010. We’ve had a great year of plantingand harvesting. Here’s a report from several of our missions:
- Light by the Lake Filippino Mission, led by Pastor Lito Magbanua and sponsored by Northside Baptist in Slidell. Light
by the Lake has Worship Gatherings in Slidell, Kenner, Baton Rouge, Gulfport, and Mobile. They have also, recently held Worship Gatherings and conducted outreach on the property of Talisheek Baptist Church, which has been closed for almost 10 years. Contact them at 985.201.7538, lightbythelake@gmail.com, 61141 Hwy. 1091, Slidell LA 70458. - Calvary Spanish in Slidell, led by Pastor Franciso Saavedra and sponsored by Calvary Baptist in Slidell. Calvary overcame several challenges this year with Pastor Francisco’s health and issues related to their current meeting place in Slidell. Pray that God will open a door for a new location for them. Contact Pastor Francisco at 985-774-7009, 1615 Old Spanish Trail, Slidell LA 70458.
- Iglesia Cristo Redentor, led by Pastor Humberto Medina and sponsored by FBC Mandeville, celebrated their 4th Anniversary this year with 120+ in attendance. 985-626-3217, humberto@fbcmandeville.org, 1895 Hwy.190, Mandeville LA 70448.
- Cristos Para Todos, Natalbany & Grace Spanish in Folsom, led by Pastor David Prichard and sponsored by Natalbany Baptist and Grace Baptist. We are grateful for David Prichard and the incredible work he has done expanding our ministry to Hispanics on the Northshore. This year, he will be retiring and leaving behind two healthy congregations that are ready to go to the next level. Thanks Pastor David! 985-902-9947, davidpri60@charter.net, 25 Whitmar Dr., Hammond LA 70401.
- Bridge Church / West St. Tammany Mission, led by Lane Corley and sponsored by Bedico Baptist Church. Bedico sent a team of eight from its congregation to reach out to the growing communities in West St. Tammany. Bridge Church is currently meeting at the West St. Tammany YMCA, as well as leading worship gatherings at the St. Tammany Parish Jail and Oak Villa Mobile Home Park in Covington. 985.893.3922, lane@bridgenorthshore.com, PO Box 1336, Madisonville, LA 70447.
- Crossbrand Cowboy Church, led by Randy & Tammy Smith and sponsored by Crossgate Baptist Church in Robert, completed their first phase facility this year and baptized 50! Wow! They meet every Sunday afternoon and Gathering include horse back riding, rodeo, and the biggest item in their budget is Stock Feed. They are doing an incredible job reaching the population segment that wears boots and hats. More cowboy churches are needed on the Northshore in my estimation. Contact Randy and Tammy at 985-878-2699 or 985-215-8702.
- Stillwater Baptist, led by Pastor Lonnie Tucker and sponsored by Woodland Park in Hammond, renovated and moved into a new building in Hammond. They are preparing to officially constitute and become a full member in our Association. 985-340-4906, ltucker@stillwaterbaptistchurch.com, 104 Angeli Drive Hammond, Louisiana 70401.
- Jesus the Center in Slidell, led by Ramon Sams and sponsored by Calvary Baptist in Slidell, moved to a new location this year and continue to reach new people in central Slidell. Contact Pastor Ramon at 985-285-8483, rsam@bellsouth.net.
- Also, in 2010 we celebrated with two of our church plants as they constituted and moved from mission status to full membership in our Association. Congrats to Thompson Road Baptist, sponsored by Calvary in Slidell and Pastored by Randy Boyette and Crossroads Church in Hammond, sponsored by Trinity Baptist and Pastored by Asah Hudgins.
Reaching the Northshore and North America for Christ is too big a task for one church. New Church Multiplication is one of the best ways for us to work our fields to the edges. And every church can get involved. I’m looking forward to working with our new Church Multiplication Team in 2011, as we continue to glorify God by cooperating in kingdom ministries to fulfill the Great Commission.
Lane Corley 