Sunday @ West Side

What a great Sunday we had yesterday. Yesterday kicked off our new sermon series “The Colors of Christmas,” as well as the Advent Season. Yesterday the Baker family came forward and to light the first candle, the light purple one, which for us represents the hope we have in Christ, the hope that came in His birth.

We kicked off our sermon series with a sermon that told the Christmas Story from a different perspective. In doing so I began a new Christmas tradition of repeating a sermon. It is a sermon that take us through the entire Bible to show how the Christmas story unfolds. It is a sermon that connects the dots of how the entire Bible works together to bring out the birth and death of Christ to save man.

Last night was the highlight of it all. Last night we began a new tradition at West Side with our first ever Hanging of the Greens Service. We met at the church at 5:00 to begin decorating the Church. The worship area looks wonderful thanks to all the people who came out and helped us accomplish this beautiful task. At 6:00 we met for a time of worship, communion, a short devotional, and the first ever hanging of the ornaments on the family Christmas Tree. We followed the service with a time of fellowship with cookies and Hot Chocolate. The night was a tremendous blessing.

Concerns in Christianity

I don’t want to be judgmental. I don’t even know if I can say it is right or wrong. But there is a trend I see happening that is just not sitting right with me. I think sometimes in the church we have erred on the side of caution to a fault. One area would be in the discussion of sex. For a long time in the church sex wasn’t talked about except "don’t have sex until you are married." We never highlighted the joys, benefits, and pleasures of God designed sex in a marriage. We just said to our teens and unmarried people don’t have sex, instead of saying save yourself for what God has created sex for. We haven't shared that we save ourselves to live in and cherish all of the blessing that come from sex in marriage. But that discussion isn’t my concern today.

The Bible teaches the concept that we are to “live in the world, not of the world” (1 John 2:15-17). It also teaches that we are to separate ourselves from the sinful ways of life that we left when Christ became our savior (Colossians 3:1-17). These thoughts as well as many others has in many ways formed the way our society once looked. But as society has left the church, what has become “ok” to society now looks drastically different than the church. As a Christian, called to live pure and holy lives, this difference is a good thing.

But here is where my concern lies. While the church may look different, it continues to drift further away from purity. I guess what I am saying is if society is way out on the 50 yard line then the church is on the 10 yard line. But as society continues to move further away, the church seems to be doing the same thing. If society moves into the enemies territory, say going to the opponents 40 yard line, the church is still 40 yards separated from society, but is now residing on their own 20. Does that analogy make sense? In a sense, we are still looking different from society, but we have drifted from the holiness that marks a Christian, and accepted things society accepted ten even fifteen years ago.

What brought all of this on is something I am seeing from Christian in my generation all around me. I feel in many ways we are not separating ourselves from society. I was looking for information from an author whose book I am reading. On his biography page on the website of the church where he serves, he openly stated that he enjoys a cigar from time to time. I saw recently on a friends Facebook page, his profile picture shows him smoking a pipe. I know another guy, when he was hired as the youth minister of his church, he reported back that their staff goes out to a bar once a week, drinks a few beers, just to stay grounded. Now friends, I am not saying that drinking alcohol is wrong. I am not saying smoking a pipe is wrong, but where is the line that we draw in the sand for ourselves as followers of Christ? These are simply illustrations.

I think in some ways, we don’t really want to separate ourselves from the world. I think in some ways, we want to follow Jesus, and I really mean follow, but we also want the world. We want to be committed followers, but we don’t want to look that different. Friends, this concerns me. Being a follower of Christ is a call to purity, is a call to separation, is a call to pursuing holiness. Instead of being on the 10 yard line, maybe we need to consider being on the goal line or even in the end zone. The age old saying continues to ring true … “it’s not how close to the fire can I get without getting burnt, it is how close to God I can get to truly worship him with my life through purity and holiness.”

Lesson’s From a Church Builder

I am excited, lost, and stuck all at the same time. Over the last few weeks we have had some really good things happen here at West Side. At the same time I feel like I have been dealt some pretty heavy blows. I am feeling excited, worn out, optimistic, and depressed all at the same time. I think there might be a lesson God is trying to teach me about the whole church building thing.

I like to read blogs. I read several every day. Through the course of reading them a few that I have really grown to like are the ones concerned with church planting and leading a church. I have read that church planting and church rebuilding is incredibly hard and draining work while at the same it is entirely rewarding. I cognitively understood the concept, but it never really sank in. Until now. It reminds me of going to Bible college.

When I went Bible college I heard from students, professors, and even our dorm parents that I was going to have to work really hard to stay in the Bible reading it for joy and to spend time with God daily. Initially I thought that wasn’t going to be a problem. “Man, I am at Bible college. I am going to become a spiritual giant over the next couple of years,” were the thoughts that ran through my mind. But as I started into my freshman year, it wasn’t long until those prophets words rang true. But their messages weren’t so much prophetic as they were words of wisdom honed from experience. The Bible became a text book and prayer became something we did in class and chapel on a daily basis. And I found myself caught in the middle of learning how to make the Bible not a text book and my prayers with God real and genuine, like I was speaking from the heart.

And so, I find myself in a very similar situation. I read about men who are going through the church planting or building stage and see that they are having mountain top experiences while being drug through the sludge of the sewer. I see their prophetic words of wisdom starting to ring true in my life. Why do I have to be so stubborn to learn this lesson all on my own? I don’t know! But maybe it is the only way I am going to learn, see, and experience all that God has planned for my life and ministry here in Lebanon serving with West Side.

Above image was used from the blog Find Me ... The Real Me . No copyright infringement is intended. 

Clarification of Thoughts

 

A few weeks ago on my blog I made a post talking about the lack of understanding and preaching in the church on communion. I then made a comment about communion meditations and in parenthesis I said … (and lets be honest, most communion meditations are not that good, sorry to all the guys giving them, but for the 16-17 years I have been in “Big Church”, hearing roughly 832 meditations, I have learned very little about communion … Sorry, off my soapbox now … by the way, I feel they do help set the mood, but many of them just do not teach us anything). I want to clarify what I meant by that.

Where I get frustrated with a communion meditation is when I am left scratching my head asking how that tied into communion. Friends, I am sorry to say this happens often. This is where my frustrations lie. When someone speaks and it really ties into what we are doing, when someone shares a thought and it helps lead me in my time with God, when someone speaks and it reminds me of the grace that was poured out at the cross, the meditation has been successful. I am not concerned with how well delivered a meditation is. I am not concerned with whether or not it is structured properly. I am not concerned with the details of the meditation. What I am concerned with is the content, and does the content point us toward the cross? If so, then you have been successful.

So if you are one of the men out there giving communion meditations, please remember that it is a time to point to the cross and the wonderful grace that has been poured out upon us because of it.

P.S. For the most part, the men of West Side do a great job at pointing to the cross and reminding us of what we are there for. Thank you for the many who have worked on this over the past couple of years. 

Lesson’s From a Church Builder

Here at West Side we are currently going through the process of rebuilding the foundation of our congregation. In that process we are trying to secure the foundation by deciding who our target audience is as well as what our mission statement is. We are calling that process our BluePrint.

I think this aspect is essential to growing and building the church. I have talked on here that I think there needs to be a paradigm shift in the minds of the people. But what are they shifting to. Are they shifting to being more outward focused? I hope so. Are they shifting to change their style of worship? Only if it needs to be shifted? Whatever the shift that takes place is, there needs to be a common goal that we are all shifting towards.

Right now I have in my head what needs to happen. But that doesn’t mean that is the right direction. What is in my head may not be what is best for this church. That is the beauty of this BluePrint process. It is all of the men on the church board coming together to draw up our BluePrint that we will help to shift the minds of the people towards. Whatever the paradigm shift that needs to take place here, it will be shifting towards the one common goal and mission that will come from the BluePrint meetings.

Please keep these men in your prayers as we push forward and seek God’s leadership and direction for his church here.

Sunday @ West Side

Yesterday we finished our up our sermon series “How Can I Make My Membership Matter.” This sermon series has been terrific. I think too many times we undervalue the power of the pulpit. There is great power in the preached word. This sermon series as well as our one of gifts has truly been instrumental in the heart changes we are feeling at West Side.

Yesterday’s sermon focused around the history of the Restoration Movement, and we talked about how the thoughts and ideas of the Restoration Movement are still alive and well today. As I was preaching the message I saw a look on many faces that for some of them this is the first they have heard any teaching on this. Teaching has been done, but typically only in a class setting. It is interesting to see how people respond when they hear a message on a topic that isn’t typically covered in the pulpit. Yesterday was one of those days.

Last night West Side lead services at Mason Christian Village. We had a wonderful time leading worship with the residents. I want to thank Diane McRoberts and Tim Hill for helping to lead worship. I would also like to thank Pete Wall and Greg Fischer for bringing us special music. I think this is a wonderful ministry opportunity that West Side is presented and would love to continue seeing more and more people get involved in the future.

Friends, I want to thank you for making yesterday a great day at West Side. The worship was wonderful. It was also great to see Tony Philippo with us in service, his healing is proof that God hears and listens to our prayers. Let me encourage you to take the next couple of Sunday’s to reach out and invite your friends to our services, you know Easter is less than TWO weeks away!!!!