Cause for Pause

Ed McMahon, Entertainer, Died June 23rd,
Farrah Fawcett, Hollywood Actress, Died June 25th,
Michael Jackson, “King of Pop” Singer, Died June 25th,
Billy Mays, Infomercial Pitchman, Died June 28th,
Karl Malden, Hollywood Actor, Died July 1st,
Steve McNair, Football Athlete, Died July 4th

The deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both on the same day, about 48 hours after Ed McMahon died, stunned America (and other parts of the world) for more than just a moment. Shortly there- after the death of Billy Mays, Karl Malden and Steve McNair followed. These were all societal icons that many grew up with in their younger years, or they represented some level of prominence among the mainstream. Regardless of their past lifestyle or character, the recent death of these fairly well known cultural celebrities necessitates some cause for pause.
Although we might speculate on the eternal state of these men and this woman that have gone into the earth, we cannot affirm with absolute certainty, just as those who never heard the last words of the converted criminal on the cross could know that he would be with Jesus in Paradise (cf. Luke 23:43). Assuming the most dreadful of outcomes, we would be remiss to exult in their passing as the Lord GOD Himself has “no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies” (Ezekiel 18:32a). If they went to the grave without saving faith in the one and only mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, then their judgment will lead to an everlasting separation from their Creator resulting in torment that exceeds even our worst imaginations. This is cause for pause.
For a few of these infamous people their passing came as a shocking surprise, perhaps much earlier in life than anyone might have considered, especially to themselves. One was an athlete whose fitness was formidable, but with the lightning quick sound of ignited gunpowder against a trigger-hammer his life was immediately terminated. The days of man are determined (cf. Job 14:5), and they rest in the palms of the Almighty. We “are just a vapor that appears for awhile and then vanishes away” (James 4:14b). Some may have thought they were immortal, or like most did not give much thought at all to life after death. They have now found, like we all shall, that life is eternal, and possibly even sadly to their chagrin. This is cause for pause.
There’s no question that all of these well-known people were looked up to and admired by many. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to state that some were revered, idolized, and even worshipped. Popularity, prestige, prominence, power, personality and prosperity were characterized in all of them, with some to greater degrees than others. When these gifts are elevated above the preeminence of God, the creation and even its corruption take a place of distinction where only the Creator belongs.  These are not the lifestyles Christians are called to emulate or put on a pedestal.  Rather, we’re to make it our ambition to lead a quiet life (cf. I Thessalonians 4:11), to flee from “desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (I Timothy 6:9c), and to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness” (I Timothy 6:11b).  This is cause for pause.
When people of notoriety die, the world often wakes up, grieves, sometimes ponders their own mortality and gives the deceased a place of legendary status. But everyday about 26,000 children die from causes related to their poverty. Those numbers are staggering, and most of these children go to their grave without a soul knowing of their existence except their mommy and daddy, if they’re alive. Every human life, every image-bearer of the Creator is of inestimable value regardless of their class or renowned place in human history. Yet the population at large will typically honor the former over the later everyday of the week because their publicized persona was newsworthy and their standard of living attractive. After all, what’s attractive about starvation, respiratory infection, malaria and HIV/AIDS? “God sees not as man sees” (I Samuel 16:7b), and o’ that our hearts would feel compassion for the things that Jesus feels compassion for. This is cause for pause.
God has a way of moving through human history to maximize His glory no matter what the cost. His means are often times inexplicable, especially when they involve pain, suffering and death, even among those who are unregenerate. When it comes to salvation, all enter into His presence under the same condition; that of being a sinner that will eventually suffer a terrible fate save the God of the universe dispenses His pardoning mercy and unmerited grace. Jesus said that “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. (Luke 13:5b) Maybe, just perhaps the Lord has purposed to open avenues to speak of life, death and our eternal state to others as a result of the sorrowful fatality of all these celebrities or others like them. Mankind’s hearts and minds are often softened by these blows, and more malleable than in times of idleness and order. This is cause for pause.
These pauses do have cause, for we who esteem Jesus above all else are to mourn with those who mourn (cf. Romans 12:15), “making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16), following the example and observing those who walk according to faith (cf. Philippians 3:17), feeling compassion for the distressed and downcast (cf. Matthew 9:36), and taking advantage of these divine opportunities (cf. Colossians 4:5) to give an answer for the hope that lies within us (cf. I Peter 3:15).
Take pause, and make cause.
-Tom Kruggel

Is The Church Full of Hypocrites?

Last January Dr. Ed Stetzer, Director of Lifeway Research (Lifeway does missiological research on North America), appeared on CNN to discuss the results of his most recent research (A full report of the results of his research appeared in section one of his recent book Lost and Found: The Younger* Unchurched and Churches That Reach Them). Among the findings from interviews with over one thousand people who do not attend church included 77% of unchurched people between the ages of 20- 29 and 83% of unchurched people between the ages of 30-39 who think, “Christianity, today is more about ‘organized religion’ than about loving God and loving people” (p. 58). Another result discussed with Dr. Stetzer during the CNN interview, 46% of unchurched people between the ages of 20- 29 and 44% of unchurched people between the ages of 30-39 said, “Christians get on my nerves” (p. 60). The book’s also shared that 67% of unchurched people between the ages of 20-29 and 75% of unchurched people between the ages of 30-39 think, “The church is full of hypocrites, people who criticize others for doing the same thing they do themselves.”

Responses of this nature are expected from outside of the church, yet they are indicative of a very real negative perception about Christians. The idea that Christians, a group of people whose inclusion in the family of God is based entirely on the merits and achievements of Jesus Christ are largely viewed by those outside the believing community as hypocrites must capture all of our attention. In Galatians chapter two we get a picture of what hypocrisy among Christians looks like when the Apostle Paul admonishes the Apostle Peter after he stopped sharing meals with the Gentile Christians after a group of men from Jerusalem came up to Antioch. In Galatians 2:14 the Apostle Paul vividly describes the hypocritical conduct of the Apostle Peter, Barnabas and the others who followed their example as “not in step with the truth of the gospel.” What drives this perception that Christians are hypocrites? What drives this perception is our failure to live in step with the gospel.

The gospel is far greater than we can imagine

The power of the Gospel transforms lives, relationships, and communities producing lives marked by joy, peace, freedom, and love as a people defined not by such things as race, social class, gender, theological system, personal standards or achievements, but only by receiving God’s grace through trust in the perfect obedience, substitutionary sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gospel teaches that because of Christ alone we are declared righteous, adopted, accepted, truly free, and heirs no longer to be defined by our sin, weakness, and failures and therefore no longer need to live lives marked by seeking to highlight our real or perceived strengths, gifts, achievements, or accomplishments and can cease from trying to hide the fact that none of us have our lives all together, because God, from whom we can hide nothing truly loves us and has accepted us beyond what we can imagine.

The gospel teaches us we are worse than we think

What so often destroys and devastates our families and communities within the body of Christ are our lives of pretense – pretending that we do not wrestle with a myriad of sins such as attitudes of self-righteousness, a bad temper, anxiousness, lustful glances, seeking to control everyone and everything around us, a critical spirit toward the real or perceived failures of others (all while trying to keep our own failures as far under the radar as possible), and the general belief that we are better than others. You don’t think so – observe the discrepancy between your own reaction and attitude toward the struggles of those around compared to the reaction and attitude you would like others to have toward your own struggles. Have you yourself ever been critical of someone else’s failure to respond toward you graciously?…me too.

The beauty of the gospel is that it not only delivers us from our sin, but also delivers us from our self-salvation projects, our feeble attempts to justify ourselves through performing for and pleasing others, spiritualizing self-centered desires, looking good, and being in control as if our salvation depends upon it. Even worse we seek to make the ones we love perform for us as conditions upon which they will be accepted by us, even though we know God doesn’t respond to us in this fashion. Do you pray Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Do you invite others into your life and encourage them to speak gospel truths into your life to help you turn from unbelief and trusting “pseudo-Saviors” and point you toward a life marked by repentance and faith. This kind of community is what the home fellowship group ministry exists to provide.

The Holy Spirit works in your weaknesses

Among the many glorious gifts of the gospel is the Holy Spirit Who is more than sufficient to illuminate the myriad of implications in the gospel revealed in the Bible to grant us wisdom, lead, guide, and empower this new life. The Holy Spirit is more than sufficient to change and transform our lives working in us the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Eph 1:19-20). This power does not work automatically, but only on behalf of us who live by faith. The Spirit-filled life is the life marked by repentance and faith, and He is the one who produces the obedience of faith in our lives. More than that power is made manifest in our weaknesses (2 Cor 12:9; 13:4). We embrace a life of weakness when abandon our own sense of righteousness, strength, power, achievement, and all other expressions of lordship over our own lives. Those whose faith is in reality faith in themselves and their own abilities find little spiritual power for they have traded the power of the Spirit through faith in Jesus alone for faith in their own ability to run their lives. The good news is God delights to use what is weak, insufficient, and inadequate in the eyes of the world to accomplish His glorious plans. Great freedom comes from glorying in our weaknesses, knowing that we do not have the power to affect anything, but God uses and empowers us in our weakness.

Is it either true or fair to say that the church is filled with hypocrites? That depends. If the Church is a body of people whose only avenue for boasting is the gospel of Jesus Christ, then, ‘no,’ absolutely not! On the other hand is the life we most frequently live a reflection of a people resting in and living from the achievements of Jesus Christ, or do we engage life and the live of one another as if our hope is built upon something we have or can do? Do we respond to another in the same way that Christ responds to us and respond to one another’s struggles as those who do not know the same struggles on a very real level? When that is the case, by all means, then the church is filled with hypocrites.

(*the term “unchurched” refers to a person who is both not a Christian and has either never attended a church or grew up with no church background at all, distinguishing this group of people from non-Christians who have a background of having attended church or even attend a church now and have some familiarity with the Bible and the message of Jesus Christ)

-Vince Cuomo

Softball!!

We’re hoping to organize a men’s softball team to join Pleasant Hill’s ‘E’ League. The ‘E’ League is not a church league and is about as non-competitive as you can get. So dust off your high school cleats, oil up your glove and spend Monday nights during the summer encouraging one another and engaging our culture for Christ. We hope to accomplish a few things by forming a team. First, we hope to foster fellowship between the men of Grace. Second, we hope you’ll invite your friends or relatives who don’t know Christ to be a part of the team so the team can serve as a witness for the gospel of Christ to them. Third, and perhaps most importantly, we hope to engage our community as we live out the gospel before, during and after each game.  We have until June 19 to register our team with the City, so please don’t delay. You can register by calling Scott Denny at the church office or email him at scottdenny.gbcph.org with your intention to play.

Ministry Opportunity

We’ve been offered the opportunity to minister to folks living in the Chateau senior housing community on Cleaveland Road, The Chateau III. Each Saturday morning a group of residents meet during a time called “New Life”. We’ve been offered the opportunity to visit one of those Saturdays and lead a worship and devotion time. If anyone is interested in participating in this kind of an outreach to the community, please call Scott Denny.

What’s the deal with the ropes?

Well we’re glad you asked. In an effort to be more hospitable to visitors who may show up late for the service we’ve roped off the last 3 rows on the far left and far right sections in the Worship Center. Since most of the seats available are in front once service has started this can create an awkward and uneasy moment if a visitor shows up late and has to walk toward the front of the church. We’re aware that some of you have your favorite seats in these sections and would ask that you would in the interest of others (Philippians 2:3-4) move a row or two forward to accommodate our guests.

Hospitality Room

In an effort to be more hospitable to our visitors each week, we’ve started to use the new room in the Fellowship Hall as a place where visitors can meet our pastors after each service.  Should you meet new folks on Sunday, please feel free to invite them and even escort them over to the Hospitality Room. Also, we want to do our best to make the pastors available each Sunday for our visitors so please allow them to make their way into the Fellowship Hall to greet our guests.

Missions Emphasis Month

Pastor Tony’s recent preaching series, “A City on a Hill”, has been preparing each of us to see ourselves as being part of the missionary purpose of GBC. January’s series will be focused on putting that, and us, to work in a very important and practical way – starting another church somewhere in the Bay Area. 

January 4th, Vince Cuomo will begin our series on planting a church.  

January 11th, Scott Thomas, director of “The Acts 29 Church Planting Network”, explains what it will require for GBC to do this successfully, as he talks about “The Great Commission Attitudes and Commitments that Drive Churches that Plant Churches”. One clue is that in the Bible, Acts records Paul and the Apostles planting churches, ending with chapter 28. We serve the same God that Paul did, continuing the same work of God’s kingdom, hence the name of Scott’s organization is “Acts 29…”. 

January 18th, Rod Miles, pastor-teacher of Grace Marin church in San Anselmo, will speak on “The Missionary Lifestyle in Churches that Plant New Churches”. Grace Marin is a recent church plant, so Rod can speak from very current experience about what it takes to plant a new church. 

Finally on January 25th, Dr Howard Foreman speaks on “The Sins that Hinder Churches from Planting New Churches”. Dr Foreman has planted churches in France and in Michigan, and is now planting a church in California. He brings a wealth of well-tested experience and knowledge to help point us in the right direction. 

This month kicks off GBC’s focus on church planting.  There will also be opportunities to hear from our missionaries around the world and to pray for them. Finally, this month begins to broaden GBC’s activity in short term ministries beyond the successful ministries in San Quintin. For 2009, we are working toward trips to San Quintin, Tijuana, Honduras, Cottonwood, and the Philippines. Look for details coming to you in January. 

-The Missions Ministry

What is a Missional Church?

Our central theme for this year’s Mission’s Emphasis Month will be the planting of new churches. To whet your appetite for what is to come, here is a portion of an article written by one of our guest speakers next month. Pastor Scott Thomas oversees Church Planting at Mars Hill in Seattle and is the Director of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. Pastor Scott will be with us at GBC on January 11th to kick off our annual Missions emphasis month. The following taken from Pastor Scott’s blog and can be found in its entirety at: http://acts29network.org/acts-29-blog/what-is-a-missional-church/ 

Missional is an adjective describing all of the activities of the church body as they are brought under the mission of God to proclaim the good news of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Being on mission very easily becomes one activity in church among many others vying for attention. Over time churches allow meetings, programs, traditions and other good things to cumulatively move the church from missional mode to maintenance mode. A church must continuously see itself as missionaries and all of its energies must be missionary. 

A missional church understands it has been sent into an irreligious world to proclaim the Gospel of Redemption that is made possible by the Son’s sacrifice for our sins and the Father’s love for us. Every believer is sent on this mission by God just as Jesus was sent on this mission (John 17:14-16, 18; 20:21). To respond to this calling is to be missional. To neglect it is to disregard the mission of God and to cease being the kind of church that is following Jesus. 

Definition of the Missional Church 

A missional church is a theologically- formed, Gospel-centered, Spirit-led fellowship who seeks to faithfully incarnate the purposes of Christ. The mission of the church is found in the mission of God who is calling the church to passionately participate in God’s redemptive mission in the world (Matt.28:18-20; Acts 1:8) – a world that has radically changed in North American in the last 50 years. 

Called to be Missional 

To engage today’s world with the good news requires the formation of a gospel community – the church of Jesus Christ – to be a visible representation, witness and instrument of the sovereign outreaching hand of God in our culture. Since Christianity is a minority voice in this post-Christian culture, the church must adopt an approach to ministry learned from the foreign missionaries who communicate and relate in understandable ways to the godless inhabitants in their respective cultures  (1 Cor. 9:22). The culture around us sees the church as weak and irrelevant. As Christians we have all been sent by God to go into our own city and communities as missionaries. We are to be culturally entrenched and personally involved. We must incarnate Christ’s life in our culture in order to impact this culture that is pagan in every way. John 20:21, “Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 

Characteristics of the Missional Church: 

1. A missional church primarily understands the centrality of the gospel (1 Cor. 2:2; 15:1-4; Gal. 6:14). 

Man was created in the image of God. Adam disobeyed God and his sin has affected all of mankind. Christ’s sacrificial atonement is the only way of redemption and reconciliation to God. This alone motivates us to be consumed with the mission of God. 

2. A missional church embraces the calling of God to act as a missionary into its own culture (Mt. 4:19; Acts 16:20; 17:6). Its members approach natural relationships, activities, community, and occupation or school as opportunities to influence for the gospel. 

3. A missional church acknowledges its purpose is to glorify God by taking Christ into the irreligious world (Mt. 28:18-20). It is not self-absorbed in its own life but rather absorbed in the life-giving mission of Jesus. 

4. A missional church boldly and intentionally encounters unbelievers like Christ (Luke 7:34; Acts 16:20; 17:6). Its goal is not separation but redemption without compromised values. 

5. A missional church actively seeks to be trained and equipped as a missionary through its gospel community (Eph. 4:11-16). Every member is personally equipped to engage friends and neighbors with the gospel. 

6. A missional church is deeply dependent upon the Holy Spirit as an agent for evangelizing the lost world (Acts 1:8; 4:8, 31; 13:9). Lost people are saved by the power of the Holy Spirit when and how He determines. 

7. A missional church commits to the authoritative, infallible, inerrant, inspired, all-sufficient Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-17; Acts 2:42). The authority of all missionary work is founded in the truth that God has a clear Word to communicate to the world. 

8. A missional church develops relationships with the lost for the purpose of incarnating Christ (Matt. 5:13-16). It seeks to intentionally develop meaningful relationships with the numerous acquaintances in their lives. 

9. A missional church uses sacrificial love as its means of witness (John 15:12-17; 1 John 4:19-21). Every believer is constrained to practically and sincerely demonstrate extravagant love to non-believers. 

10. A missional church helps others to find Jesus in their own way and timing, rather than forcing them to “turn or burn” (1 Cor. 9:20-23). It is the sovereign God who uses us as we humbly relate to other’s misperceptions of the gospel. 

11. A missional church is affected in every area of its life through a calling by God to be an agent for the gospel (Acts 4:13, 31-35). As the gospel redeems our lives it changes us and challenges us toward God’s mission. 

12. A missional church practices its faith in community-groups of people together (Acts 2:42-45; Phil. 1:27). It seeks to participate in true community like our triune Godhead. 

13. A missional church worships God in an authentic, personal and evangelistic way (John 4:23-24). We worship a Savior who left us here to be captured by His mission. 

-Scott Thomas