Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

A couple of years ago, as I was reading my Bible (I can’t remember exactly what) I was struck with a thought that I wrote down on a post-it note.

We exist to give our lives away that others might know the depth of God’s love.

I still have the post-it note and it is still stuck in my Bible. When I see it, it gives me pause and makes me consider how my life lines up with that insight.

I am regularly amazed at the patience, grace and forbearance of God. It is clear that he loves us tremendously. The greatest act of love was the death of his son on the cross. That act of love opened a whole new life of forgiveness and freedom that was unknown since the Garden of Eden. But God doesn’t force himself upon us. He doesn’t demand that we receive his love. He doesn’t require that we live in his grace or that we recognize him for who he is.

Likewise, when we become followers of Jesus, God’s patience, grace and forbearance continue even when we don’t trust him fully with our lives and our possessions. God does not force us to give, but he calls us to a life of giving.

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church he concludes with the challenge to “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” What was the work of the Lord? Spreading the good news of Jesus, caring for each other, loving the poor and helpless, feeding the hungry, sharing their resources, teaching truth, exercising their spiritual gifts in community with others - to name a few.

Really, I think it is safe to say that whatever we do, done for the glory of God, is the work of the Lord.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17, NIV)

Our greatest acts of faith come in the form of giving. Giving always requires something from us or of us. Inherent in the act of giving is a level of self-sacrifice that looks to the needs of others above ourself. Unfortunately, we often see this as painful but God wants us to see it as joyful!

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV)

As Jesus grabs hold of our heart we come to see that we don’t live for ourselves, we live to give. In giving, we find blessing. In giving, others see the reality of Jesus. In us giving our lives away, others see the depth of God’s love.

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

What Does It Matter?

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV)

There are three ways you can view the church. You can view it as a gas station, a hotel or a home.

A lot of people view church as a gas station. You see, a gas station is a place you go to get something you need. You may not like that you need it and you may not like the price that you have to pay but, through what people have taught you and perhaps from personal experience, you are convinced that a car without fuel is pretty worthless. When you go to the gas station, you use your credit card at the pump, you may nod to the person next to you getting gas but you really aren’t interested in relationship. Relationship only happens when you can’t get the pump to work and you have to talk to the attendant or you buy a little caffeine and sugar hit. It is all about getting what you need as fast as you can and you don’t return unless you have to.

Other people view church as a hotel. The hotel is a place to stay for a bit to get the needed rest to get to someplace else. Hotels are mostly about value and comfort – finding the right mix of the two. The relationship is a little higher because you are talking to the desk clerk to get checked in, you might make some small talk to the other people at the continental breakfast bar but once you are rested and fed, off you go to your next place.

God views the church as a home. A home is a place where you belong. You don’t visit, you don’t pass through, it isn’t just about getting what you want or need. A home is where you give and where you get, it is where you are funny and grumpy, orderly and messy, happy and sad and your family loves you just the same because they are committed to you. A home is where you grow up in size and grow up in character. A home is a place where people love you too much to let you stay the same so they encourage, challenge, rebuke, teach and discipline you so that you can reach that wonderful potential that you may not see but they do. A home is a place you sometimes feel like running away from because it is filled with messy, smelly, occasionally obnoxious imperfect people that hurt you. But they are family so you stay and work it out.

God never intended His church to be seen as a commodity – something to be selfishly used. He intended His church to be a Spirit empowered, relationship driven, passion filled group of imperfect people striving to encourage each other to be more like Jesus.

Here is something that is absolutely true – the longer we stay away from the church, the easier it is to stay away from the church. We eventually convince ourselves that they don’t need us and we don’t need them.

But the Bible is clear – we need each other. We need to be connected in regular, committed relationship with others that goes beyond the surface. It is one of the most difficult things we do in our journey of faith in Jesus Christ – finding authentic relationship with others. It starts with engaging in regular corporate worship, teaching and celebration of the sacraments of communion and baptism. It moves to engagement in growth, learning and relationship through small group connection and matures when we serve in community with each other.

What does it matter? It is the difference between a living, growing, deep abiding faith in God versus a self-serving religious experience that puts myself as the object of worship instead of God.

It matters a lot. Keep connected.

Peace,

David

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:12-13, NIV)


" The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ."



"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many."



"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed ..." (1 Corinthians 12:12, 14, 27-28, NIV)

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

Growing Up

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5, NIV)

You probably already know that I like my electronic toys but one of the best inventions to come around is the digital camera. Talk about instant gratification! On my computer I have over 7,000 pictures that go back to 2003. Sometimes, when I am looking for a certain picture I will scroll through the thumbnail size pics and it is like watching my kids evolve right before my eyes. Being with them each day, I tend not to notice the subtle changes but when I look at them over time, I am amazed at how they are changing.

When we look at all the things that God has created and designed to grow, unless you are a fly, growth takes time. If you are a fly, your whole life is going to be experienced in 15 to 30 days, as long as you don’t meet a fly-swatter! For the rest of us, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth takes place over years and we often have a hard time seeing the changes.

When it comes to our spiritual lives, God expects us to grow up. Accepting Jesus in our life to save us and lead us is just the beginning of being the person God created us to be. To be that person, we must intentionally engage in the activities that contribute to growth.

Through the centuries of people following God, there have been developed a number of practices to facilitate spiritual growth. They are commonly referred to as Spiritual Disciplines but I like to think of them as Spiritual Habits. At the core of these habits are a few essentials that foster having a growing spiritual life. All followers of Christ are called to consistently and regularly practice, at a bare minimum, a life of worship, Bible reading, prayer, and reflection in community with others. Of course, the spiritual life is like all else, doing the minimum may maintain where you’re at but it rarely moves you beyond that!

Growth as a Christian is ultimately about one thing - we would more and more abide in Jesus so that we are transformed. When we grow we are becoming more like Jesus in the way we think, the way we talk and the way we act. So the goal of growth is not that we would just know more but that we would be more.

Author and Professor Dr. Dallas Willard says it this way:

“The aim of disciplines in the spiritual life--and, specifically, in the following of Christ--is the transformation of the total state of the soul. It is the renewal of the whole person from the inside, involving differences in thought, feeling and character that may never be manifest in outward behavior at all. This is what Paul has in mind when he speaks of putting off the "old man" and putting on the new, "renewed to resemble in knowledge the one who created us..." (Col. 3:10)” (Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation and the Restoration of the Soul)

Spiritual growth should be seen in the same light of why we bother to eat food each day. Most meals are not gourmet affairs – peanut butter and honey sandwiches aren’t very sophisticated! But as we eat healthily each day it provides fuel for our bodies so we can meet the challenges of the day. The daily feeding of our souls through practicing spiritual habits brings the growth that will make us disciples of Jesus. Jesus described that as living life to the full. As a Christian, that is what we should long for most.

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so." (Hebrews 5:12-6:3, NIV)



NEXT: The Importance of Connection

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

An Invitation To See God

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

A couple of years ago my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The three kids worked together to pull the event off. My part was the invitations. OK, OK – it wasn’t my part, it was my wife Pam’s part. (I can’t even draw a straight line!) Well, my wonderful wife had a ball putting her creative powers to work designing and hand-making the invitations to the party. They were really great and when people got them, she received lots of compliments.

When I receive an invitation, I have rarely found it to be a negative thing. We receive invitations to weddings, to birthday parties, to baby showers and a host of other activities. An invitation is an opportunity to celebrate something good. Because of this, most people are open to receiving an invitation.

Last week I wrote about CSCC’s commitment to live out BBC – Balanced Biblical Christianity. As we live out BBC through the vision of CSCC of “Growing transformed lives through experiencing the truth, presence and people of Jesus” the idea of invitation is a critical element.

Each and every day most of us have interaction with other people. Whether we interact with many or few, our mission from Jesus is the same: make disciples. (see Matthew 28:18-20) Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Corinthians –

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21, NIV)

Let me put it this way, the purpose of each of our lives is to invite others to see the glory of God. The way we do that is manifold. It depends on the person God puts in our path and the situation we find ourselves in.

Today I stopped to help a couple of ladies get their overheated car going. My parting comment was “I’ll pray for you that it all works out.” In the brief interaction I had with one of the women, it was apparent the broken down car was the least of her problems. I prayed that God would reveal His glory to this woman and her daughter. There was no time to present the Four Spiritual Laws, to invite them to CSCC, to even pray over their car. It was just one sentence that I pray sticks in her harried heart to nudge her closer to Jesus.

God puts people in our path every day that are so consumed with their problems that they can’t see God. You are there for a reason and that is to invite them to see life differently. A part of inviting others to see the glory of God is inviting them to be around people who are seeking God. Inviting people to your small group, a church activity, a worship service is all part of being an inviting person.

An invitation to see the glory of God is about as good as it gets. Don’t be ashamed or afraid. Go as far as the Holy Spirit leads you – no more, no less – as you invite others to see God’s glory. You might even see more of his glory too when you do!

With you in the journey,

David

PS – Do you have any “invitation stories?” Please tell me your story!

NEXT WEEK: How We Grow

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

Some More Thoughts on Forgiveness

Last Sunday Pam and I spoke on forgiveness. It is always a challenging one for me because it is a great opportunity for the Holy Spirit to tap me up side the head with the holy 2X4 about how far I have to go in this area.

One of the things I had insight into was actually a synthesis of the speakers from the marriage conference we hosted Saturday and the things Pam and I talked about. Dr. Henry Cloud, in a bit of a throw-away statement, mentioned that research has been done on people’s “self-talk.” Self-talk is the internal conversation we have going on in our heads. Everyone has their conversations – it only gets scary when you actually see someone who isn’t there and begin talking to them! Back on point – Cloud said that research has shown that 70% of people have negative self-talk. Seven out of ten people you meet during the day are complaining to themselves most of the day! And they probably are complaining to themselves about YOU!

When it comes to forgiveness, how we talk to ourselves makes all the difference. It is really difficult (read: IMPOSSIBLE) to forgive someone you are constantly complaining about in your mind. If we have trained our mind to constantly be negative we also will find ourselves much more easily offended. And face it – negative people are more offensive to others.

Alright – here is another synthesis. Gary Smalley was talking on Saturday about his book “Change Your Mind, Change Your Life.” I’ve read most of it and I was really challenged. The bottom line of Smalley’s book is we need to soak our minds in God’s truth by engaging in M&M – memorization and meditation.

Go back to the self-talk and forgiveness stuff. When we put God’s truth in our brain and constantly slosh it around between our ears, we change the way we think. When we change the way we think, we change the way we feel because emotions ALWAYS follow our thoughts. I have to be honest with you – I believe what I just said in the former sentence but I don’t like it. It puts too much responsibility on me. I want to be able to blame pretty much anything/anyone other than me for how I feel. I want my kids and my wife to be responsible for my happiness. Then I have someone to blame…other than myself.

So here is some counsel for you. If you struggle with being able to forgive, start memorizing some verses. Here are a couple of good ones to start:

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13, NIV)


"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9, NIV)

I’m working on these myself. My goal isn’t to just memorize them but for them to transform my thinking (see Romans 12:1-2). To that end I have been working on memorizing the 8th chapter of Romans. Anyone want to join me?

With you in the journey.
dc

Living BBC

The Church is changing. It is sort of like the Oldsmobile commercial from a few years back that said “This isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile.” It was meant to communicate that the new Oldsmobile wasn’t stodgy and conservative like the one you used to know. This new Oldsmobile is attractive, fun and modern.

When it comes to the Church (big C – in particular the American Church) we are in a major shift about how people see and experience church (little c – local gatherings of Jesus followers). In many ways it can be summed up this way: Over the last 25 years there was a huge emphasis in the church on “Come and see!” Everyone was encouraged to come to a building to be taught, entertained, sung to, sung with, etc. Willowcreek Church (Bill Hybels) and Saddleback Church (Rick Warren) were the leaders of this movement that made a huge positive shift in how we do church and experience church.

The shift that is happening now is no longer “Come and see” but rather “Go and be.” There is a growing recognition that the Church is supposed to be a gathering of people being equipped to be sent out to be the hands, feet and voice of Jesus to a needy world.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV)

A long time ago when I was in seminary studying to be a pastor, one of the great voices of Christianity of our time, Dr. John Stott, came and spoke at my school. I still remember the essence of his message. He challenged us to live out BBC. Dr. Stott, being from England, clarified that we weren’t to live out the British Broadcasting Corporation, rather we were to live out Balanced Biblical Christianity.

At Cold Springs Church, it is our intent to lead people toward BBC. We want to avoid the extremes in times of change like we find ourselves now, swinging wildly from “Come and see” to “Go and be.” I am convinced that BBC is about having both.

Let me remind you of the vision statement for CSCC: Growing transformed lives through experiencing the truth, presence and people of Jesus. We are deeply committed to long-term life change through faith in Jesus and we are convinced it happens when we experience truth (the Bible), presence (the Holy Spirit), and people (followers of Jesus).

Over the next few weeks I want to share with you how we see we can live out this Balanced Biblical Christianity so the vision of CSCC is fulfilled in us and through us. I will be sharing with you what it means to Invite, Give, Grow and Connect and how that has the potential to change your world!

Yes, we are in times of change. The Church has always been in a time of change as it has sought to live out the un-changing message and mission of Jesus Christ. But God doesn’t change, the Bible doesn’t change, the Gospel doesn’t change and Jesus NEVER changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8, ESV)

The mission of the Church and our church is to communicate this unchanging message to an ever changing world. I am committed to leading Cold Springs Church to do that the best we possibly can.

Blessings,

David


Next: What it means to be an “Inviting” person.

Trusting God In Uncertain Times

If you listen to the radio, read a newspaper or watch the news, not a day goes by that you don’t hear how bad the economy is getting. One trip to the gas station or the grocery store can make it so we feel the pain personally.
For quite awhile we have been living in very blessed economic times. That house we bought just seemed to keep increasing in value, everybody wanted us to borrow their money to live the life we always dreamed of. But no more; things have changed in the world around us – as they always do.

So, what does it mean to trust God when times are tough?

There is a little book in the Old Testament that carries a big message. Habakkuk was a prophet of God. He was someone God called to speak to his people during difficult times to help them remember that although things are difficult, God is faithful.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments." (Habakkuk 3:17-19, NIV)

The words to the song Habakkuk composed are a reminder that the greatest reality in the world is the faithfulness of God. “The Sovereign Lord is my strength…” is what Habakkuk invites us to sing about. God is over all things and he knows the details of the world economy and of my personal challenges. And he cares deeply for each of us, longing to strengthen us so we see his faithfulness and he receives glory.

Here are some things I have found are important to practice in times of challenge:
• Stay close to Jesus. Time in prayer and reading the Bible keep me grounded in what is ultimately true. Talking to Jesus reminds me that he is always with me, no matter what.
• Stay in relationship. Friendships with other followers of Jesus are a great source of support and prayer. True friends will both comfort us and challenge us to be stronger in our faith.
• Stay the course. Someone once said, “Never doubt in the dark what God has revealed in the light.” As you manage your resources, get a plan and follow the plan. For me, it has long been the 10-10-80 plan: 10% to God, 10% to me (savings), 80% to everyone else.
"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:7-8, NIV)
• Stay focused. As followers of Jesus, we live for eternal things and we invest in eternal things. The health of the US economy is not a measure of the faithfulness of God! Nor is it a determining factor whether we generously invest in the things that are most important to God: people and the expansion of his Kingdom.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33, NIV)
• Stay tuned. I hate to admit it, but most of the important and life-changing things I have learned have happened when life was the hardest. We think God abandons us in our pain but he is close to us during these times and teaching us valuable lessons. Are you listening?
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18, NIV)

Honestly, I think this is a great time to be the church. We have the most valuable, life-changing gift that anyone could ever receive. Now, more than ever, people’s eyes are being opened to the fact that the world has handed them an empty box wrapped in pretty paper. Jesus saves people and he changes their now and their forever. It is that gift Cold Springs Community Church is committed to continuously offering to as many as possible.