Where is Your Joy?

Luke 10:17-20

Luke ten marks one of the greatest ministry events in Jesus’ time on earth.  Jesus sends out seventy two disciples to duplicate what he had been doing for some time; healing the sick, preaching the gospel, ministering to those in great need.

By all accounts the missionary effort was a huge success. The seventy-two return overjoyed (v. 17), and say, “even the demons submit to us in your name.”  Jesus likewise characterizes their efforts as powerfully effective when he says “I say Satan fall like lightening from heaven” (v. 18).  He tells them that the power and authority they have in his name is even greater than they know (v. 19).  Perhaps, in the two thousand year history of the Church, there has never been a more effective outreach for sake of the gospel.

Yet, for all its success, the ministry of the disciples was not the most important thing to Jesus.  For Jesus cautions them with the words, “do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v. 20). 

It’s almost as if Jesus is throwing cold water on their enthusiasm.  The disciples return to say ‘Look at all we have done, look at all the good work we have accomplished, see what power flows from your name.’ And Jesus replies, ‘the greatest news is not what you have done, but what God has done.  God has given you eternal life.’

It is not to dampen enthusiasm that Jesus uses these words.  He wants to mark priorities.  Christian ministry, for all its virtues, is not the primary source of the Christian’s joy.  Ministry should flow out of joy, not precede it.  “We love, because he first loved us,” the Apostle John tells us (1 John 4:13).  So we serve God because he first served us.

It is easy to get carried away with ministry.  We care for a sick friend, we minister to a needy neighbor, we participate in the local food bank, we share the gospel with a doubting relative, sometimes with great success.  Yet our ministry in the name of Jesus, as important as it is, is not the greatest miracle.  The greatest miracle is that God would be willing and able to save sinners like ourselves.  Jesus, in effect is saying, ‘do not rejoice in what you have done for God, rejoice in what God has done for you.’

¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  ¹² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12  

Where is your greatest joy; is it in your work, your efforts, your ministry, your success?  Or is it in knowing the God who forgives sins and grants eternal life only through his Son?  If so, rejoice today that your name is written in heaven.

Timothy

I've been thinking about Paul and Timothy.  Paul considered Timothy his "true son in the faith" (I Tim 1:2).  Whether Paul had any children of his own is unclear.  But Paul had many spiritual sons and daughters and Timothy was one of the most beloved.

Timothy had a spiritual legacy from the women in his family (2 Tim. 1:5), but it's clear that Paul had a strong role in either leading Timothy to faith or to helping him become firmly rooted in Christ. 

We all need Paul's' in our life. We all need the encouragement and knowledge and challenge they can bring us.  The Christian life was never designed to be lived in isolation.  We all need Timothy's' as well, those we can be teaching, sharing and living the gospel with.

These relationships take lots of time, which is probably why we have so few of them. My guess is that Paul took the time with Timothy.

I've been thinking that what one does in life is not so important as what one leaves behind.  I recently attended a funeral of a man, who up until his death, was constantly discipling, teaching, caring for and evangelizing many men.  He was just a simple layman, but his life had impacted family members, business owners, church members, even pastors, for the sake of the gospel. His funeral was attended by hundreds of people.  Some flew in from long distances just to say thank you.   He had left behind many 'true sons in the faith'. 

I wonder what I'll leave behind?  What will you?

New Place

Sunday was a good day in the new place at Melrose.

The day before the chairs were put together, the carpet was scrubbed, the windows were washed, the nursery set up, the handicap ramp built, the sound lines run, even the ceiling light lenses were scrubbed.  The day before ended up being a last minute work day where some people (one who's name begins with 'Bob') spent up to 12 hours getting things ready. It was a picture of various members of one body working together with 'each doing its part' (Eph. 4:16).

The first Sunday was greeted with equal enthusiasm by the first worshipers.  People loved the new space, thought it was beautiful and were in a grateful mood.  Ultimately, a church is not about a place but about a people and their God. Christians don't need a nice place to worship their King, but when God provides one, it shows his grace and beauty all the more.

What Difference Would it Make really?

Last post I mused that a new home for Cornerstone would not be the solution or salvation or even the secret ingredient to move our congregation forward.  It's important to remember that God's plan for his church has never been about buildings or meeting places.  Often, these things have gotten in the way of the true mission of the church.

Never the less, there are good reasons why a church in our situation should look for a home.

1.) A place  we can call our own establishes us in the community.  It communicates that we belong, we are financially committed, we are willing to put down roots. It says our intentions are to stay and serve.

2.) A home base gives us exposure.  While visibility does not guarantee success, it does cause people to sit up and take notice, provided we are in a noticeable location.  "Where is your church" is the most common question I get regarding Cornerstone.  It is always best to think about the church as a people and not a place, but that is not how most people in our culture think.

3.) A place in the community we can call our own allows us to share those resources.  When we share our resources with other Christian organizations we become partners in the gospel message - the one thing we have to offer that no civic organization does.  When we share our resources with civic organizations we partnership with that organization's mission and show our love for the community.


4.) A place we can call our own allows us to develop unique ministries.  Initially, it even encourages them.  Already, we are thinking about events and activities we can organize around our new place during the week or weekend.

Would having our own space really make a difference?  In some small ways it already has.  There is a buzz about things on Sunday morning.  There are already plans for new ministries.  There are discussions taking place in the broader community about what might be happening with Cornerstone.  Ultimately, my hope is that this enthusiasm for new things would really be about an enthusiasm for the proclamation of the gospel.  If that happens, our new place would have a huge impact for all of eternity.

What Difference Would it Make?

Let’s assume for a minute that Cornerstone Church gets a ‘home’.  A place we can call our own.  A place we can use anytime.  A place to hang out a sign that says, ‘here we are’.  What difference would it make?

Would a home help us to grow numerically?   I have an unscientific theory that churches see a 10-20% increase in attendance after they move into a new building or complete a new building project.   Why this seems to be so is unclear.  Maybe it’s the novelty of a new place.  Maybe it’s a change of scenery that causes a congregation to get noticed.  Maybe it’s a psychology of ‘something is happening’, so people check it out.  But growth based purely on curiosity or psychology is not really New Testament Acts Chapter 2 growth.

Would a home promote evangelism? Do people come to Jesus because there is a church that hangs out a sign? Church signs are only good for people who are looking for a church to attend.  And generally speaking, most people in our culture are not looking for a church.  After all, churches are for people who have deep spiritual needs, or for people who can’t make it on their own, or for people who are sinners in need of redemption.  Few people in our culture see themselves in those terms.

Would a home help us grow closer to one another?  It’s nice to have a place we can gather together, but I’ve noticed we can meet one another and share life together in a number of different places.  Snickerdoodles, for one, is not a bad place to meet.  Someone’s home, it could be argued, is the most effective place to share life together.  Our meetings in the basement of Immanuel Lutheran Church have produced just as much fellowship and joy in one another as our meetings at the Sr. Center or anywhere else.

Would a home help us serve the community? We could certainly offer our space for the community to use, just like the public schools do and the Senior Center does, and the public library does, and the fire department does, and the legion hall does, and the town hall does, and other churches do.  It wouldn’t make us unique.

Would a home stimulate spiritual growth in our lives?  Would it draw us closer to Christ?  Would it send us deeper into His Word or propel us to depend on Him more?  It may prove a good place to have a Bible Study, but true spiritual growth begins in the heart, not in a building.

Are you getting my point?  A ‘church home’ may be a good thing, and in my next blog I want to say why, but for now, the point I want to make is that having a church home is not what causes growth, or ministry, or fellowship, or service or sanctification.  All of those things happen through the power of God’s Spirit and the labor of God’s people.

Second Saturday

Loving God, Loving Our Community.

One of the expressions of loving the community is helping meet the physical needs.  The greatest thing we can give to another is time.  So what if we devoted time (and some muscle) each month to a tangible expression of love?

Someone in our congregation needs help digging some stuff out of a storage shed and taking stuff to the dump.  What if a few of us volunteered to be 'stuff movers' one Saturday?  How hard could this be?   Moving stuff may help us demonstrate the love of Christ to neighbors and friends.  After all, Jesus deals with our stuff all the time.

Maybe someone in our church needs a new floor installed on the back porch so big Dan Brown doesn't fall through next time he walks on it.  Maybe we can become porch builders for a day in hope that someone would see that we care.  Does Jesus care about broken things?  Fixing broken lives seems to be the point of redemption.

Since we are not very good at doing what we ought, maybe we just need to declare that from this day forth, the second Saturday of every month, will be the day we declare ourselves servants of one another, carriers of stuff, fixers of broken porches, lovers of Jesus and our neighbor.

What do you think?

Family Dollar Movie Night

Last time I checked the local movie theater charged $10.00 for a ticket, $3.00 for a soda, $2.50 for raisinets and something close to $20.00 for popcorn.  A family of four needed to take out home equity loan just to see a show.

What if the old days of dollar movies returned?  And what if dollar movie night included the chance to buy pizza and popcorn at reasonable price?  And what if the movies were really cool ones?  And what if Cornerstone Church were the proud sponsors of said family entertainment?  It seems to me like it would be a good opportunity to serve the community and meet some new families along the way.