Church in the Neighborhood
Jason Mitchell just posted about some cool stuff happening at LCBC over in PA. His thoughts on church and what it could be resonate deeply with me and speak to why we’re planting Renew Communities in Berea.
The word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. And so will we.
I am bored with the idea that church is where we all get together for an hour on Sunday’s to sing some songs, hear a message, and shake a few hands. That doesn’t interest me. It really never has. And my guess is that this is boring to most people. I think what most people want is to be a part of a movement. To be a part of a transforming work in their own lives and in their communities. People want to see addictions broken, marriages restored, kindness extended to strangers, and the poor taken care of. People are longing for the church to rise up and be what it is supposed to be in this world. And as that happens Jesus will be made famous. Because it is his work. His church. His life.
Questions about Our Church Plant
I wanted to post a link to some answers to questions about our church planting plans. Last night we made this resource available at 707 and that we’ve posted it on the 707 website. We want to offer people any and every answer about why we’re moving on to plant this church as well as information on what the future holds for 707 and CVC. If you’re interested in reading more click here to download the pdf. If you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to post them to the comments on this post.
Church Planting and the Future
Tonight I announced that at the end of August I would be leaving 707 in order to plant a church called Renew Communities in Berea, Ohio. Meri and I bought a townhouse in Berea shortly after moving to the Cleveland area. It was our hope that we would find good Gospel community and that through that community we would see the Kingdom of God expand in our neighborhood. The following couple of years were crazy and much of what we hoped for didn’t happen and we were left wondering why we had moved 25 minutes away from where we live.
Over the past few years I’ve felt God developing the vision for the kind of community we had hoped we would find in Berea and we began to imagine what it might look like to see that kind of church planted to reach out to Berea and the surrounding communities. I started talking to a few people about these ideas and getting feedback from them about how it might work and why it might not. I did lots of reading, thinking, praying, planing and learning. Meri and I have been through a pretty vigorous assessment process and what we’ve come away with is a strong conviction that this is what we’re being called to do.
This is a very exciting season for us but I just want to say that in a lot of ways it’s a bummer to leave 707. We moved to Cleveland to be a part of 707. We left good friends and a strong community to be a part of what God was up to here and over the years we have grown close to many through this ministry. I’ve had amazing opportunities and grown in significant ways because of what God has allowed me to do at 707 and CVC. One of the best parts of planting here in Northeast Ohio is that 707 and those we love won’t be far from us.
Tomorrow I’ll post a link to an FAQ that we’ve created and was made available tonight at 707. It answers specific questions about what’s happening, why as well as information about the search for a new co-teaching pastor for 707/CVC. Later this week I’ll post some information about what we hope this new church will be like as well as how you can be praying for us.
Exciting days lie ahead for all of us!
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!
Conan on Cynicism
I love Conan O’Brien. I remember the first time I saw his show I was a freshman in high school. We were staying in a cheap hotel in Oxford, OH on a choir trip. I remember watching it and debating with my friends if it was funny or not.
I will always chose Conan over Jay or Dave and honestly his final words on his last night on the tonight show is why.
“All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch. Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism, for the record it’s my least favorite quality. It doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get but if you work really hard and you’re kind amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.”
Haiti, God, You & Me :: 1
I began throwing some thoughts together about what’s happened in Haiti and the Christian debate that’s followed. What I ended up coming to was the fact that this would probably work best in a series of posts that will go up over the next few days.
There’s a lot of Christian talk going around the internet about the devastating earthquake in Haiti this week. This natural disaster has taken thousands of lives and may be pushing a nation to places that were unimaginable that may cost even more people their lives.
And yet much of the conversations that Christians are having center around who’s fault this whole thing is.
What?
Did God do this to Haiti as punishment? Did the Haitians bring this on themselves because they have yet to accept Jesus? Did God pull the trigger on this one and we’re supposed to just accept it based on His sovereign will?
While we can point to occurrences in the Old Testament where God’s judgement comes to pass through natural disasters (more on that in the next post) the passage that comes to my mind as a result of these questions is found in John 9.1-7.
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
Jesus’ response to his disciples question seems to be, “you’re asking the wrong question and looking for the wrong answer.” Would that be Jesus’ response to the ongoing “Christian discussion” happening in regards to Haiti?
If it’s about the works of God being displayed in Haiti we need to ask another question. How will that happen? As people who claim that it’s “no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me,” our hearts should be moved with the compassion of Christ. That would mean laying down our own lives for the good of those in trouble. At this point for Haiti what seems to be needed is aid and lots of it. I’ve already heard of churches that are taking up special offerings this Sunday and even a church that’s giving 10% of their offering this week to aid efforts.
Now, if you are one who believes that this quake has occurred because the nation of Haiti is not Christian (or Christian enough) then you ought to check that conviction against what you’re doing about it. If you believe that what those people really need is to repent and accept Christ then laying down your life should mean at the very least passionately supporting missionary projects in Haiti if not getting on a plane and going there yourself (and if not Haiti another nation that you believe is in this sort of danger).
I don’t know how the work of God might be displayed through this terrible disaster but as far as it goes with us this is what we should be praying for in Haiti and really any place that there is suffering.
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CVC/707 are pointing people towards the SBC Disaster Relief presence in Haiti. All donations will be used exclusively for direct disaster response expenses. For more information click here.
The Reconciliation of Christ
Reconcilers learn that Christ represents both injured parties and wrongdoers on the cross. As the divine injured party, Jesus represents all victims as he embraces the pain of the cross to open the door for our reconciliation with God. Yet at the same time, Christ represents wrongdoers because it is our sins that Christ died.
The cross of Christ calls wrongdoers to repentance and injured parties to forgiveness so that as participants in God’s redeemed community we may live lives characterized by forgiveness, repentance and reconciliation with one another that arise out of the gratitude we feel for our reconciliation with God.
Reconcilable Differences :: Virginia Todd Holeman
One Year Bible::Day 5
I was talking with my friend Greg today about how angry driving is making us these days. I had mentioned a certain behavior of other drivers that drives me crazy and I believe I called said drivers dumb.
Greg agreed with me that he too had experienced similar feelings as of late but was challenged by a Twitter post of someone that was vowing not to become a grumpy old man (bitter, unpleasant, short fuse) and that these behaviors on the road were examples of how quickly we were becoming grumpy old men.
In Matthew 5 Jesus talks about this kind of behavior very specifically…
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
The part that stood out to me here is the severe punishment for calling someone a fool. I do this every day and Jesus says that knd of thing is the kind o behavior that leads to Hell.
Not cool.
At the core of calling others names is the certain beliefthat you are better than them and behind that is the belief that you are more important than everybody.
This is something that needs to change in my life and my heart. I don’t want to become a grumpy old man and I don’t want to live in a way that’s fit for Hell.
One Year Bible::Day 4 ( &3)
You may have been wondering if I already dropped the ball on the reading but I didn’t. Instead I spent most of today thinking about Noah. It’s a crazy story on lots of levels but one level caught my eye this time.
Just before we’re introduced to Noah we find out God’s not happy with anyone. In fact it says God had some regrets about creating humanity because they were all so evil. But there was one guy who caught God’s eye named Noah.
Here’s my opinion about Noah: he was just as bad as everyone else. Scripture doesn’t say he was pure or sinless. What I think sets Noah apart are these words…
5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
while the rest of the world was going their own way and ignoring the creator this guy did whatever God asked him to do (like building a boat and collecting 2 of every animal).
Later in Genesis we see Abraham obeying/following God and it says it was “credited to him as righteousness.”. I think this is what’s happening with Noah. He’s following God and it sets him a part in a historic way.
These are the kinds of things I hope to be remembered for as well.
One Year Bible :: Day 2
I don’t know about you but I can get pretty defensive when people try to give me direction. Sometimes it’s internal and at times it becomes external. Either way it makes me a fool.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1.7
In today’s reading along with this verse from Proverbs I read about Joseph’s care of the baby Jesus from Matthew. Over and over Matthew tells us that Joseph does something or goes somewhere because of instruction he received from an angel in a dream. Imagine how foolish Joseph would seem to us as we read if he had disregarded God’s instruction to him in those dreams and yet I’m sure most of us would.
My prayer is that I would love wisdom, receive instruction in all forms and fear the Lord no matter what.
