Power and Offense

History is His story.

God's story is one of a tireless work and mission to rescue the deeply broken by the unimaginable love demonstrated through Jesus Christ who died in our place for our sin in order to eternally rescue and restore us.

This is the good news (gospel) of God who is the story's sole and supreme hero. God entrusted His story to Jesus' followers with the instruction to make it known to every nation. We are never to lose it in a cluttered culture, leave it in favor of something more favorable to us, or change it to make it fit our wisdom or fit more easily into our life and the lives of others.

This story is one of both great power and great offense.

The Gospel of Great Offense

The gospel is the good news of God's redeeming work but it is not received by all as good news. When speaking to a crowd, Jesus began teaching about eternal life. John records that Jesus said to the crowd that only those who eat His flesh and drink His blood have eternal life. Jesus didn't intend that the people literally begin taking out knives and sharp objects to remove His flesh to eat and cut Him so they could drink His blood.

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ suffered and died, allowing His body to be broken and His blood to be poured out for the forgiveness of our disobedience and rebellion. Only those who trust in His suffering, death, and resurrection have the promise of eternal life. Unless we consume His sacrifice as everything we need to have life we cannot live at all.

Jesus could have said what He did a different way, but He chose His words carefully because He wanted no half-hearted, thrill-seeking followers. He got the response He expected. Many were so offended by this message of the gospel that they walked away to never follow Jesus again (John 6).

The gospel is offensive. Followers of Jesus must never forget that our good news is perceived as offensive by the world apart from the work of the Spirit in the heart. We must also live to give no offense in anything except the gospel.

The Gospel of Great Power

The same gospel that offends so many possesses great power to rescue humanity from despair and destruction and give hope and restored life. The Scriptures declare that the gospel of Christ's kingdom is the only thing that has the power to rescue God's enemies and make them His sons and daughters.

When the Spirit of God descended in power upon the followers of Jesus in Acts 2, they immediately went into the streets and the marketplace to declare the gospel to those gathered in Jerusalem. Peter and the others began to tell of how Jesus suffered and died and then rose again. Not all who heard believed. But a great number of 3,000 believed and then took the next step of following Jesus in baptism.

The gospel is the power of God to bring us home and make us His forever. Followers of Jesus cannot find or invent a greater power or better message. We must live allowing the gospel to work powerfully in our sin-sick lives, as well as in the lives of others.

Reaching People

When it comes to the church--both new churches and churches of some years--our mission has always been and remains to display and declare God's story of how our deep brokenness was met with unimaginable love in Jesus in order to eternally rescue and restore us. This message will offend those who are repulsed by its message, while it will transform those who humbly surrender and believe.

Churches who are faithful to God's story will find not all will like their message, which makes reaching people a long and difficult mission at times. Yet those same churches who communicate well in both life and word this gospel will see God's power bring change lives beginning with our own.

The gospel is a message of both great power and great offense. And this message is the story the world needs.

Refuge Church | Our Message: Available Here

Celebrating 7 Months

Refuge Church recently celebrated seven months of what God has, is, and continues to do through this new church plant that He led in starting.

Like children, a seven month old church is not as developed as a seven year old or 70 year old church.  No church is perfect, this most of us are painfully aware (though one day she will be perfect). There are things that must definitely be strengthened and issues to resolve. There are weaknesses to be addressed, issues that need resolving, and greater ways to accomplish the mission.

With that reality can come the danger of focusing so much on where the church is not yet that we fail to celebrate or we lose sight of what God has done and is doing. I am grateful for the directional leadership team choosing to host a celebration Sunday to reflect on what God has done, remember what is His mission, and recommit ourselves again to what He is and will do.

As part of the celebration I invited individuals to submit questions about Refuge Church that we would spotlight here. This week I begin with the first question.

In 2014, are there any possibilities of overseas mission trips to minister to orphans?

We are making plans for a trip of this nature, as well as other opportunities in 2014.

God's mission is to call people out of the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ in order that individuals would become worshipping followers of Him. Jesus' followers have been given the privilege of joining Him in this work of the gospel.

Our mission at Refuge Church is that we want to display and declare the good news of Christ's kingdom to individuals near and far. Therefore, we desire to be displaying and declaring the good news of Jesus Christ where we are and live everyday, as well as making intentional and strategic efforts to display and declare the gospel to those around the globe.

We are planning mission endeavors both locally, in North America and internationally.  In the local setting, we want to encourage Life Groups to continue and advance in engaging in fulfilling our mission through partnerships in our city (including pregnancy support services, foster care of Wake County, etc.). Additionally, we are seeking to host additional Refuge Outreach Fun Days and mobilize the people of Refuge in strategic invite times and everyday life.

We have North America partnership opportunities with church plants in Baltimore, MD and San Francisco, CA. We tentatively hope to have a team partnership with the Journey Church in San Francisco and the ministries they support in the summer of 2014.

A vision team will be heading to the country of Haiti at the first of 2014 in preparation to establish a trip to serve with orphans through Audio Adrenaline's Hands and Feet Project in the Spring of 2014. A tentative trip in the Fall of 2014 to India is being planned that will focus on teaching the Bible and potentially serving with at an orphanage in the state of Rajasthan.

The primary way God builds His kingdom is by His Church whom He has given the privilege and responsibility to display and declare the good news. You can be part of His mission today by using your normal routines, your workplace, and your relationships to display and declare the gospel. I also ask that you consider and pray about being part of going in 2014.

His Work, His Church

Jesus asked the all-important question, "Who do you say that I am?"  His disciples had many responses to the previous question, "Who do other people say I am?"  But when Jesus asked them personally, only one man gave an answer.

Peter said to Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."  Understanding the Old Testament, Peter declared that Jesus was the promised redeemer and He was the Son of the Living God.

On this powerful truth, Jesus promised to build His Church.  The church are "the community of people called out of the kingdom of this world to take part in and advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ" (Darrin Patrick).

As one who is on the relative new journey of seeing a new church grow by displaying and declaring the good news so that others are called out of the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of God, the words of Jesus are both comfort and power.  

The work of building the church is His work because it is His Church.  He does not build the Church for a pastor or a people.  He builds the Church for Himself, for He has always been at work to gather a people for Himself from all the people and nations of the world.

Trust must not be misplaced for the work. I dare not trust the music or programs, the preaching or facility. I must only trust that this is His work to gather a people as His Church.  This He is doing through His followers to display His power and wisdom (Ephesians 3:10).

Shadrach the Bird

I had an African Grey bird when I was in college.  His name was Shadrach and his stay with me was short-lived (that's another story). But he stayed long enough that I learned what the word repeat really means.

African Greys are  medium-sized parrots from the rain forests of West and Central Africa.  The African-Grey is regarded by many experts as one of the most intelligent birds in the world. 

Shadrach's mimicry amazed me. He would repeat the words I said over and over to him with precision of both the words and the tone of my voice.  At other times, he would seek to mimic the tone of others including my sister-in-law.

It wasn't until I had spoken the word or phrase to him numerous times that he finally picked it up.

Richard Nixon had a good quote.  No, not the "I am not a crook" quote.  He said, "You know, when I'm tired of hearing it, I know my staff has gotten it. And when my staff is tired of hearing it, I know the press corps has gotten it. And when the press corps is tired of hearing it, I know the nation has gotten it."

As we put in place foundational pieces upon which the life and ministry of Refuge Church will be built, there are foundational truths that will be repeated over and over again. That isn't an apology but a promise.  For I, like most, can easily become distracted and lose focus of not just the what, but, more importantly, the why.

One of the most important statements I will repeat is our vision/mission statement.  This statement encapsulates not only why I believe Christ led us to begin this new work, but also how we desire to do this. 

We want to be a church that displays and declares the good news of Christ's kingdom to individuals near and far.

Refuge Church is the work of God to display and declare the good news of His kingdom to those of every tribe and nation, beginning where we are, for His ultimate glory.

We desire to accomplish this vision by leading individuals to connect in a relationship with Jesus Christ, belong in community with other Christ followers, and serve the world by displaying the gospel in action and declaring the gospel in word.

This is our focus and 'why' Refuge Church began.  This is our mission and purpose in God's redemptive plan.  This will be repeated a lot, along with a number of other key principles and truths for Refuge Church. When we are tired of hearing it, then we may have only begun to accomplish it.

Stopping God's Mission

The man who left an indelible impression upon the world by advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Roman Empire wasn't on board in the beginning.  He didn't walk with Jesus.  To our knowledge, he never even met Jesus prior to Christ's death and resurrection.

You probably know the story of the man named Paul, called Saul in Acts chapters 8 and 9.  Paul--born and raised a Jew, the son of a Pharisee, descendant of the tribe of Benjamin, living in adherence to the law that few, if any, could match--did not and could not believe Jesus Christ was indeed God.

Paul was a monotheistic Jew. If Jesus is God and Jehovah is God, then there were at least two gods.  This was incompatible.  Furthermore, Paul, like many, believed the hallmark proof of Jesus' deity, the resurrection from the dead, was merely a fabrication because the followers of Christ had stolen His body. Now they were intentionally deceiving the Jewish community.  These perpetrators had to be stopped and Paul's anger burned hot enough to make him the ringleader.

The problem is that Paul was on a mission to actually stop God's mission. By seeking to extinguish the church and snuff out the lives of Christians, Paul engaged in activity that actually did the opposite of what he intended.  Intending to preserve the truth and protect God's work, he was in fact at work to silence the truth and halt God's missional work of redemption.

Herein is the great reminder: If we are not careful, we can actually be on mission to stop God's mission.

If we are not careful, our zeal and passion for God can be misdirected to the extent that we pursue what in the end will not achieve the goal, but tragically achieve the opposite.

The practical application of this abounds.  I leave the many for you to bring to the surface. This is the one that seems to be most front and center these days.

Every believer arguing for a particular method while losing sight of the message is in danger of actually pursuing a mission that will not accomplish God's mission, but rather stop it.  The message has and always will be the same.  Different methods work at different times and in different places.  What we want is for the gospel to advance because the church is advancing and that by whatever method the Lord is pleased to bless.

Flow

The Encounter Series at Refuge Church continues to look at the lives of regular, ordinary people like us coming face-to-face in a life-changing encounter with an extraordinary, all-surpassing God.  

In the latest message from Isaiah 6, we looked at how Isaiah saw God high and lifted up.  His majesty filled the temple.  His glory floods the earth. His power shakes the foundations and his character is pure and holy.  

When Isaiah encountered the majestic, glorious, all-surpassing, transcendent King, his response was appropriate.  "Woe is me!" Compared to the devil, I'm great. Compared to others, I'm good.  Compared to God, I'm ruined.

Isaiah declared the woe of seeing himself in light of who God is.  Encountering God for who He really is allows us to see ourselves for who we really are. We see His holiness and our wretchedness.  We see His transcendence and our lowliness.  

Seeing himself for who he really was led Isaiah to recognize what he deserved.  "Woe is me, for I am ruined."  I'd paraphrase it this way, "Woe, I'm going to die."  Isaiah's sin in the presence of God's holiness led to a reality check that death was deserved.  There was no reason to try to hide and definitely no reason to try to make himself appear better than he was.

What comes next is just breathtaking! God doesn't recite the list of Isaiah's sin.  God doesn't lecture him for hours about his shortcomings.  Isaiah is already fully aware of his gross disobedience and his deserved death.  Instead, God cleanses him with a coal from the sacrificial altar and declares to him: "Your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven."

The one who deserved death, received life. The one who had committed offenses had them removed.  The one who had failed to meet the standard of God's holiness was forgiven. 

This is powerful but it is the story of the gospel. Christ was sent by the Father, wrapped in human flesh to die the death I deserved. Instead, I who deserved death received life.  And not just any life, but the life of the One who died my death--abundant, eternal, joyful, full life.  My iniquity was taken away and my sin forgiven because Jesus Christ died and rose again in my place.  "This is mercy, this is grace, Jesus in my place."

Immediately God asks: "Whom shall I send and who will go for Us?"  Enter Isaiah, a redeemed man, forgiven of sin and extended life instead of death.  His hand thrusts into the air and he volunteers before he even knows what God is asking, what it will cost.  "Here am I. Send me!"  With passion and eagerness, Isaiah surrenders to go wherever God wants, to do whatever God wills, to whoever God plans because he has received so abundantly and graciously.

We were never meant to be reservoirs. We were meant to be conduits.  We who have received much should give much. We who experience the blessing of God's mercy, grace, and love should then be the means of that mercy, grace, and love flowing out into the lives of others.

When I was speaking to students once, I mentioned this very truth.  Where are the grateful people of God who remember what they used to be and how God's mercy and grace altered their lives?  Where are those who have received so freely from Christ who are so freely giving and pouring out into the lives of others?  Then I said, "Too many Christians have become reservoirs instead of conduits. I'm praying if that is us, God will bust some holes in our dam so that we spring some leaks."

My prayer for Refuge Church today and always: "Here are we. Send us!"  May we display and declare the good news of Christ's kingdom to others near and far until the day we see Jesus face to face.

Who's Your One

Forbes Magazine recently ranked the Raleigh Metro Area the fastest growing city in America.  The growth in the Raleigh-Durham and surrounding areas continues to explode. In the North Raleigh and Wake Forest area, significant growth and development have occurred in the last ten years.  The expectation for future growth remains optimistic, with the anticipated growth occurring north and east of Capital Boulevard in North Raleigh.

When Sarah and I, along with a small team, began praying through and discussing the planting of a new church, God used this realization of the population growth coupled with the great spiritual need to confirm His leading to begin Refuge Church.

The desire to begin Refuge Church was birthed from a desire to display and declare the good news of Christ's kingdom to individuals near and far in order that lives would be transformed for the glory of God.  A new church planting movement across North America and around the world is, encouragingly so, motivated by this heart.

Therefore, we must collectively and individually be constantly asking how we are displaying and declaring the gospel.  We cannot afford to lull ourselves into a place of thinking we  enough people or we are financially stable enough.  

For Refuge Church, we know that in our immediate target area there are 70,000 people who are unchurched. (Yes. Our target is the world. That's 6.9 billion.)

Who's your one?  

It is easy to see large numbers and be overwhelmed.  It isn't surprising that faceless numbers never become a passion.  But the face of a friend, neighbor, family member, hair-stylist, car mechanic, landscaper, etc. can help us to see the need not as a number, but as people who need the gospel.

Think of one.  I'm thinking too.  

You may not have to think long.  You may think of ten.

But who is your one. And let's set out to display and declare the good news (and it really is good news) to that one.  How can you serve them?  How can you love them?  How can you share with them?  Who is your one?