You are called not so much to do great things, as to be a great person--and that person is Jesus Christ. The Church is the resident presence of Jesus in the world.]]>No matter how big church attendance is on Sunday, it will never penetrate the culture with Jesus. The reason is clear: The church on Sunday is experienced by the church community; it is only observed by the unbelieving community.
However, Monday through Saturday, the church operates in the experience of non-believers. It lives on their turf, moves in their society, and operates in their culture. On Monday Jesus becomes incarnate through you. And because He can be seen and touched, He can be received or rejected. True evangelism is possible.
Your Strategic Placement
Most Christians have been trained quite well to be the church on Sunday. But what does it take to be the church on Monday?The first step is to recognize your strategic placement. "Strategic placement" means this: each redeemed, Spirit-filled Christian has been strategically placed by Jesus, the Lord of the church. Where each believing man or woman lives and works is part of that strategy. Christians are people of destiny, purposely placed deep in our culture. We are God's points of penetration. Because of us Jesus is present at the very heart of society. And it is this strategic presence of Christ that opens the door for his revelation as Savior to man.
Incarnational Christianity doesn't try to get people to God. Many men and women don't want to get to God. Others are unaware there is a God to get to! The incarnation was God coming to us; in a similar way, incarnational Christianity brings Jesus to man.
That's the basis for true evangelism: in the believer the presence of Christ reaches out to others. It's also the basis for true discipleship: in the believer the presence of Christ walks alongside the new believer. Thus, the two main activities of the church-conversion and discipling-are wed, as they were meant to be. The Great Commission, after all is not simply to go into all the world and make converts; we are to go and make disciples.
Jesus said simply, "I am the way. If you have found me, you have found God." Unfortunately, the church often adds a debilitating step to the divine program. We say, "Jesus is the way to God, and the church is the way to Jesus. Come to the church and find Jesus, then Jesus will take you to God." We must never allow the church institution to be the way to God. Jesus himself is the Way. The goal of the church on Monday is to make the Way present and visible in the world.
Open for Business
Of course, it does no good to have a strategic force in place if the people don't know they are strategic, don't know they are a force, and don't know they are in place.Most Christians give mental assent to this idea of strategic placement, but they have no concept of its implications. Some think of inviting hurting people to a church program, others think of using some type of soul-winning gimmick to make a convert. Most, however, don't do anything with the idea at all. It simply floats around, untapped, in the background of their experience. They're strategically placed, but they're not "open for business."
"Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27) means you are filled with the Holy Spirit and Jesus is present wherever you go. You are capable of responding to the needs of others exactly the way Jesus would. The gifts of the Spirit are how Jesus works through you to touch people's lives.
Our time on earth is about being Jesus in our world. Jesus didn't come to our planet on vacation; He came on assignment. Likewise, you and I have not been born here and now accidentally. We don't just happen to bump into hurting people. There's divine strategy at work. You are where you are because God strategically placed you there.
I'm convinced that if more Christians were open for business, then more business would show up. Evangelism as a primary goal is often artificial and powerless. But when it's a serendipity of spirit-filled believers being Jesus in their world, it is natural and unstoppable!
Excerpted from The Monday Morning Church by Jerry Cook. Reprinted with permission from www.jerrycook.org.
From the Foursquare Missions International Prayer Force Update:
The Foursquare Church is poised to respond with relief supplies and financial resources. Many pastors in the U.S. have already contacted Foursquare Missions International looking for ways to help. We are currently assessing the needs and our available resources. As contact is made with our leaders in Haiti and additional needs are identified, we will develop a long-term plan to minister to people, bring relief to communities, and rebuild our churches.
Haiti's prime minister has speculated that casualties following the earthquake could top more than 100,000 people following the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in more than 200 years. The national palace is a crumbled ruin and tens of thousands of people are homeless. In public squares thousands of people are comforting each other and singing hymns together.
Details about the U.S. response of The Foursquare Church to the Haiti earthquake will be available through the communication venues listed below and through your District Missions Representatives. In addition, Foursquare Missions Press is offering free tracts and Bible literature in Haiti's language of Creole for all Foursquare church teams. To request tracts, contact Bob Hunt.
The nation as a whole and the churches of Haiti will need our ongoing prayer and support.
Here is how you can give immediate help:
1. Pray for protection, miraculous healings, restoration and acceleration of the kingdom for Haiti. Let's contend for a total turnaround from this quake into a shaking of a nation unto salvation.
2. Take an offering. Our long-term plan of relief will require large financial resources.
You can give online at https://give.foursquare.org/relief
You can mail a check payable to:Foursquare Missions International
PO Box 26776
Los Angeles, CA 900263. Consider planning or joining a team to aid in the rebuilding and restoration of this nation. Contact David Wheeler by email for more information.
Click here for additional resources and to watch a video message from Jonathan Hall, Director of Foursquare Missions International, regarding Foursquare relief in Haiti.
The most important thing you can do in 2010 is cultivate a devotional life that facilitates the intimate nearness of God. You won't accidentally get close to God. So, for 2010, I wanted to encourage you to embrace a focused intentionality in your devotional life. Here are some things I have been thinking through with regards to my devotional practices in 2010.
Read the rest of the Pastor JR Vassar's article (which has much more information about each bullet point) here.]]>
- Have a no exemption time and place to meet with God.
- Have a plan.
- Begin your time with prayer and confession.
- Read out loud.
- Look for Gospel patterns.
- Journal your thoughts and prayers.
- Realize that this is a community project.
- Don't give up.
At the end of January we will have a Donation Administration Day to organize, box, and shelve the donations. Items always needed: peanut butter; jelly; spaghetti; spaghetti sauce; Kraft Mac N' Cheese; rice; beans; saltine crackers; soup; bottled water. For a more complete list, visit http://graceinourcommunity.blogspot.com.
]]>Maier argues that Jesus was born in the latter half of 5 B.C. (perhaps November), and that he died on Friday, April 3, A.D. 33.
]]>Shortly after the birth of the Messiah, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem and inquired of king Herod where the real king of the Jews was to be born. The theologians of Herod's court knew the Scriptures well--in 'Bethlehem' they recited. Ironically, though they knew the Scriptures, they did not believe them! They did not even bother to travel the five or six miles to Bethlehem to see their Messiah.
But Herod believed the Scriptures! That is why he sent a corps of butchers to Bethlehem to slaughter innocent children, in hopes of destroying this rival to his throne. But he was too late. The magi had come and gone and Jesus was by now safe in Egypt.
And the magi believed the Scriptures. They had traveled several hundred miles to worship this Babe. They were guided to Bethlehem by a supernatural celestial phenomenon--and by the Scriptures. Apparently, their ancestors had been instructed by Daniel the prophet about the coming Messiah. . . When they saw the child, they fell down and worshiped him. This was God in the flesh. They could do no other.
The theologians of Herod's court did not believe the Scriptures. They were fools. Herod believed, but disobeyed. He was a madman. The simple shepherds and the majestic magi believed in this infant Savior--and it was reckoned to them as righteousness. May we follow in their train.]]>
Our job is to provide one twin-size (or larger) blanket for each of the 42 children at Esperanza para los Ninos.
You can do more if you like. Click here for a list of the other items they need.
We need the blankets and any other items you want to donate at the church building on or before December 20.
]]>Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle encourages fathers to make the most of the holidays this year.
'Tis the season for Dad to drop the holiday ball, stress out as the money is being spent for presents, and miss yet another providential opportunity to lovingly lead his family. So, this blog is intended to help dads not fall into the same old rut of holiday humdrum, sitting on the couch watching football and eating carbs, but rather intentionally plan out the upcoming holiday season. Our children grow quickly and if we miss the sacred moments God opens up for us to connect with and bless our families, everyone suffers and we set in motion generations of missed opportunity.
#1 - Dad needs a plan for the holidays to ensure his family is loved and memories are made. Dad, what's your plan?
#4 - Dad needs to not let the stress of the holidays, including money, cause him to be grumpy with Mom or the kids. Dad, how's your joy?
#15 - Dad needs to read about Jesus and pray over his kids. Dad, how's your pastoral work going with each of your kids?
Read all 16 here.
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