Category: From Pastor

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 7 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Authentic Community”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Are you a risk taker?

Some people naturally have a thrill of throwing themselves out of airplanes, hang gliding off of cliffs, or jumping into the ocean from a rocky crag.  You might say they are risk takers.  What’s the return? Perhaps the return is a huge adrenaline rush and sense of accomplishment.

Some people are financial risk takers.  They are people willing to invest in start-up companies.  They buy a dilapidated house and hope to flip it.  They invest in the market and hope to make a return.

Every risk taker evaluates the ROI – Return On Investment.

Some are willing to settle for a small ROI, others want a more significant ROI for their investment.

What about relationship risk takers?

Relationships are risky.  Every relationship has the potential to end in failure, heart ache, and deep hurt.  Ask one recently divorced.  Ask one recently laid off.  Ask one estranged from their parents.  Relationships can leave deep scars emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically.

We get hurt once, we are less likely to invest in that relationship again…and perhaps less likely to invest in relationships at all.

Like a financial investor who loses all their investment in a start up that blows up, we can become more and more risk-averse when it comes to relationships…and as a result keep our distance from them.

However, authentic community needs risk takers.  

If your relationship risk averse at the moment, perhaps it’s important to remember the “upside” of the risk which God desires us to be blessed by.

Nearly 60 times the Spirit of God gives direction to what blessings come when we enter into relationships with one another in the Church.  Here’s just a sampling…

• We have people to love and people to love us – John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
• We have people to carry our burdens when life gets difficult – Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
• We have opportunities to serve others and individuals to help us when needed – Galatians 5:13 serve one another humbly in love.
• We have people to pray for us and opportunities to pray for others – James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

With all the encouragement and promises that come when the community of the church God established functions under the love, grace and mercy of God, authentic community becomes very much a blessing to every person involved.

Relationships are risky because we all struggle with a sinful nature that gets in the way of showing each other the love God desires.  However, if we focus on the negative risk, we will avoid the people God has put around us to also bless us.  Rather, let’s choose to focus on the positive ROI God designs us to experience in his church as WE invest in building, keeping and growing authentic community around us.

Want to see an example of great ROI on investing in relationships?  Here’s the description of the early church in Acts 2:42ff.

Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. 

The Lord will bless you and through you bring blessings to others as we take the risk and invest to build authentic community in our churches!

Apply: How do you perceive the risk of relationships?  Positive or negative?  Perhaps take time to evaluate what is keeping you from investing in relationships and what things are preventing you from investing in relationships.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for taking a risk on me and bringing me into your family of believers through faith in Jesus.  Empower me by your Spirit to engage in the risk of relationships and invest fully to love, care for, and serve the people around me that I might be a positive blessing to all in the work of your church.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 7 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Authentic Community”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  

Make EVERY effort…

It’s easier to walk away.

In 25 years of ministry, I have seen people give up on people way too quickly.  People get along until they don’t.  Instead of doing the hard work to restore the relationship, they move on to another church. (What is interesting is that often this is a pattern in their church relationships.)

Developing and maintaining authentic community is work.  Sometimes sin becomes impossible to overcome, but often we take minimal action and call it good.

One situation a person asked for a conversation once with an individual with whom she was at odds.  When that request was not granted at the moment it was requested, they left.

To make every effort we have to start with a commitment to one another and to the community to make that effort.   The Apostle Paul wrote, “Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

When you join a church, a community of believers, you are not just signing up for the “perks” of membership, you are signing up for the WORK of membership.   You are stating you are willing to devote yourself to these individuals AND make every effort on your part to maintain and strengthen the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace among the group.

So what might that effort look like?

First, remember that every person, including yourself, is battling a sinful nature each and every day.  We can choose to put the burden of perfection on everyone else (except ourselves) and when a person is not perfect, especially to us, we can “crucify” them for their faults and allow separation to occur.  A much better path is to remember what unifies us is the blood of Jesus.  The work of Christ brings us together and will hold us together.  When we view people through the lens of the cross, and they do the same for us, we realize that even when our sinful natures gets the better of the situation, it can be addressed and restored under the cross of Christ.

Second, see people as people.  We are not perfect.  We are not just producers.  We are people.  We have experiences and emotions.  We have strengths and weaknesses.  We have spiritual struggles different than yours.  We have a story that affects how we perceive the world.  We have icebergs underneath our surface that even we don’t always understand.   So yes, being in a church at times can be a mess.  Take time to get to know people.  Refuse to create a story in your own mind as to why someone did something.  Have a spirit of curiosity that seeks to understand before seeking to be understood.  Take time to get to know the people of your church so you can journey with them and they with you.  Build trust.   Create a safe place for all of us to show up real and genuine, in need of Christ and growing in Christ.

Third, just don’t give up.  Relationships can be hard.  They can be messy.  You can get hurt. But in the end, like family, it takes a lot to walk away.  We give it our all.  We stay committed.  And in that devotion, we make every effort to maintain and strengthen the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

Remember, God does not ask you to do more than what he promises and empowers you to do.  Rely on him, and he will give you the strength to make EVERY effort!

Apply: If you have a rift with someone in your church, what can you do today to make an effort to restore that?  If you are not in conflict with anyone, great!  What person could you invite to coffee or lunch and get to know them better?  Schedule someone today!

Prayer: Spirit of God, we ask that you empower us with wisdom, patience, understanding and devotion to do all we can to maintain the unity and peace which you give to our church.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 7 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Authentic Community”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

Which of these descriptions best describes your church?

We’d all like to say we always remember Paul’s words to the Ephesians and cringe to think we would ever have issues like the Corinthians.

But here’s the truth.  The reason Paul had to write what he did to the Ephesians is that they too struggled with disunity in their community.  The reason Paul wrote what he did to the Corinthians was because there were visible divisions in their community.

The reason the Spirit of God preserved both is because he knew every church would struggle to overcome disunity and find genuine community as a body of believers.  That means, no matter what your church is, you will need to be reminded of these words.

We can get fixated on people: “I like Pastor Mark.  I like Pastor John.  I wish our Pastor could be like the past pastor.  I like Frank leading worship.  I always go to Larry’s small group.”  People, while a blessing to the church can be the focus of one’s participation in the church.

We can get fixated on programs: “I’m an early service person.  I’m a traditional person.  I’m contemporary.  I’m for Kid’s Church.  I promote kids being in the worship throughout the service.  I’m the ‘need coffee in worship’ people.  I’m modern instruments.  I’m for the organ. …” The list of programs and preferences that have divided a body of believers is greater than we would care to admit.

If we look to a personality or program other than Christ and his Word, we will never experience unity in the community of believers.  Yet we work hard to build unity around externals only to find the unity is superficial and falls apart when the external crumbles.  

The heart of authentic community is always…always…Christ.

We don’t worship people.  We don’t worship programs.  We worship Christ.

We can be blessed by many different people because they point us to Christ.

We can enjoy many different programs and ways of doing things as they point us to Christ.

My preference ought never get in the way of connecting to Christ.  When my preference is not preferred, I realize the important thing is our focus on “one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” etc.

There will never be a community of believers that always agrees on every aspect of external realities of people, programs, or preferences.  So the focus the Spirit of God gives us (and he should know) is that we always go to the source of unity, Christ himself.  From this perspective we view people and evaluate programs.  But from this starting point most importantly we look at our brother and sister in Christ.  Even if they have differences in style, preferences, or people, we know we can find authentic community with them because their faith is also grounded in Jesus Christ.

Christ is the heart of genuine, authentic community.

Apply: What large or small divisions are brewing/happening in your church?  What do you think would happen if that division evaluated the difference based on Ephesians 4:4-6?  How might you help get or keep your church focused on “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, etc.”?

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I get focused on externals and forget our unity is found in you and you alone.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 7 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Authentic Community”  (LISTEN HERE).

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It stinks to be alone.

It stinks to be with people.

Ok, not always.

Sometimes we need our alone time, especially if your personality is more introverted than extroverted.

We need to be with people because we don’t like being alone all the time, but being with people can be really challenging.

Oh the struggle.

I want community.  But I don’t want disunity.

Truth: I don’t like the drama and friction and challenges of relationships.  It’s hard.  It’s wearisome at times.  It’s work.

Truth: I have a tendency to want to distance myself from that relationship rather than put in the work to restore the relationship.

Are you the same?

Stuck between not wanting to be alone, but not wanting to work at relationships?

At some point in our lives, I believe we all go through this.

We want community – God designed us to desire it.

We don’t want disunity, friction, and drama of relationships.

So why is community often disunity?

One word: Sin.

Sin ruined the unity that God brought together in the Garden of Eden.  Once sin was in the world, humanity would have a desire for community but sin in their own hearts and the hearts of others would create disunity.

Just look at the response of Adam to God when God sought him out after they ate from the forbidden tree:

Genesis 3:9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”  10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

What had sin done?

Created disunity between Adam and God.  Adam was never afraid of God before.  Now he was.  Adam was never ashamed of his nakedness.  Now he was.  Adam had never experienced guilt before.  Now he had.  The result?  Adam did not want to be around God.  He hid.  The relationship was strained because of sin.

Not only was the relationship with God strained, sin also strained the relationship of Adam and Eve.  Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit.  Eve was no longer the blessing he praised when the Lord presented her to him on day 6.  Eve was now the reason that Adam was a sinner.  Eve was the reason the relationship was broken.

It was Eve.  It was Adam.  It was sin and falling for the lies of Satan that strained the once perfect relationship.

This is why relationships can be challenging today.  We sin against each other.  We get selfish.  We blame.  We have guilt over things we did or didn’t do.  We…you fill in the blank.  As a result, relationships, as much as we desire them and are blessed by them, can be challenging, chaotic and full of drama at times.

Yet God is still interested in us enjoying relationship and restoring relationships.  So he did two things:

First he sent Jesus to restore unity and community with Him.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 

And second, he formed the Church to bring community to each other.

1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.

In Christ, true community with our heavenly Father is secure.  In his Church, we are invited to make every effort to establish and maintain authentic community.  We will explore this more the rest of the week!

Apply: What relationship recently has been strained?  As you evaluate it, what sin is involved…by you, the other person…or both?  How can Christ’s grace and forgiveness be applied to unify what is disunified?

Prayer: Lord God, we praise you for the unity you have established between us and you through Jesus.  This was impossible for us to do, but in your grace you did it for you.  Let this gift of unity be used by us to create and maintain genuine community in your Church.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 7 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Authentic Community”  (LISTEN HERE).

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“Did you hear what happened?”

The host pastor greeted us as we entered the church in Winston-Salem, NC.  It was our monthly pastor study club…the second Tuesday of the month.

The radio was silent on the drive from Cary to Winston Salem and conversation with a brother pastor filled the time.

But the day quickly changed.

One plane.

A second plane.

A strike on the Pentagon

Collapse…one tower…a second tower.

There was no better way to start the tragic day with brothers in the ministry to try to make sense of what was going on, but also spend time in prayer and Scripture.

Like many we were confused and in disbelief.  However, we quickly realized the study club we had scheduled was of less importance to getting back to our congregations and providing words of comfort and promise amidst the terror and tragedy of the day.

I don’t remember what happened every moment of September 11, 2001, but like many others I was trying to understand and comprehend what was happening.

But here’s one thing I remember.

I was glad to be with others…with my family and my church family.  To have neighbors and friends.

In tragedy, we need each other.  In tragedy, communities come together.

We did.

That night we had a special worship at the hotel in which we were worshipping at the time.  I don’t remember how many showed up, and honestly I don’t remember what Scripture I shared, but here’s what I remember.

We were in community with the Lord and with each other.

We had the promises and peace of the Lord from his Word and the presence and support of brothers and sisters in Christ.

I pray a tragedy like this never happens again to our country, but what I do pray happens regularly and often is the sharing of community with the Lord and with each other.  The Lord has designed us for community, not isolation.  He has designed us uniformly as humans, but uniquely as individuals.  He desires that we come together, we carry each other’s burdens, we comfort each other, we encourage one another, we pray for one another, we just be with one another.

We need each other because God created us to be with each other.

The unity after 9/11 lasted for a while, but faded all too quickly.  I pray that as the week begins with a reminder of the events of 9/11, the desire, the effort, and the blessing of genuine community is something we find and work to build in our homes, but especially in our churches.  For the next tragedy or the next celebration, we want to be there for each other as God has put us here to be together.

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Apply: What has been your most recent experience of genuine/authentic community?  What made it a blessing to you and others.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for bringing us together under your love and grace.  Lead each of us to make every effort to build and maintain a community which brings the reality of relationship with you to bear as we build relationships with others.  AMEN.