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.

Who God Wants

The people God wants are true worshippers.

John Piper says missions exists because worship does not. Not all people worship God who made them by His hands, in His image, for His glory and fame. So missions exists to reconcile alienated humans with God, who alone is worthy of worship.

Worship is more than words. More than music (traditional or modern). More than preaching. More than one specific time each week. And certainly more than a building. 

All of these things--music and singing, teaching and preaching, a building and specific time--aid in or can be essential parts to worship. But to define worship as preaching or to relegate worship to music and singing is a grave mistake.  

One of the most beautiful examples of worship, extravagant worship, comes in a passage in Luke 7. Here we read of no music, no singing, no preaching, no temple/church building, no worship service, no words spoken.

Jesus accepted a dinner invitation at the home of Simon the Pharisee.  While the dinner was in progress, a woman entered who had quite the scandalous reputation. This woman was likely a prostitute whose insidious acts gave her a sordid reputation. She’s lived this hard and lonely life.  She’s been used, if not abused.  True love eludes her grasp. Guilt covers her like a heavy robe. Any purpose in life is veiled from her eyes.  Her life has failed to fulfill the deepest longing of her soul. She has accumulated an astronomical sin debt that’s left her spiritually bankrupt.

Regardless of the scandalous life she has lived, God’s grace and mercy trumped it. Nothing she had done was greater than God’s power to save her and bring healing into her life. Jesus declared to her that her sins were forgiven because her faith had saved her.

She, whose debt had been cancelled, worshipped Jesus with extravagance. She didn't speak any words.  No verse of a song was sung. There was no preacher who gave a moving sermon. A formal invitation wasn't given. She worshipped from an overflowing heart of gratitude where Jesus was exalted above all others.

Jesus is looking for people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. He desires those who will exalt Him above all others, focusing on Him more than any other, giving whatever it costs to engage in love and worship to Him. 

He isn't looking for those who can sing best or loudest. His goal isn't those who raise hands or dance around. Worshipping one day for one hour doesn't hit the bull's eye of God's target for our lives. These may all be expressions of worship at times, but they do not guarantee that true worship or even extravagant worship is taking place.

God wants a people who worship in spirit and truth as a lifestyle; a people who don't rationalize away extravagant worship for fear of the cost or how others will react. He is our focus of worship and on Him alone we fix our eyes.

To read the account of this woman's extravagant act of worship, take time to read Luke 7:36-50.