Church Segmentation - Part 3

Do you go to an urban, youth centered church? What about a seeker sensitive, suburban middle class outlet? I go to an interracial, non-denominational, contemporary worship experience. I know people who attend traditional, Afrocentric, middle-class African American churches. My wife used to attend a contemporary styled, seeker-focused island worship experience. I have a lot of friends who also attend Vatican II influenced, American Catholic inner-city churches.

Why do we seek to develop a list of category descriptions when talking about our church.

I think CHRIST is enough. I go to a church where we are seeking to uplift, learn and study the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to be more like Jesus Christ, that's it. No titles, no segments, no marketing terms -- just Jesus Christ. Let's drop the titles -- it's not a cliche, but let's just focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Work While it is Day

Notice the urgency of our Lord's statement...John 9:4 - "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."

Raised a "protestant" I believe we some times under emphasize the importance of works. Of course we believe our work has no part in purchasing our salvation. This was achieved by the final, perfecting work of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 19:30, Eph 2:8-9). But now that we are saved, so much of what we do is to "work out our salvation in fear trembling" (Philippians 2:12). For we were created unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).

The Lord Jesus had an intense focus to work the works of His Father. He observed the works of His Father and then was diligent to work them out. He did ALL the Father commanded and He did ONLY What the Father commanded (John 8:38) - Nothing more, nothing less. The Son had a Father-centric Focus with respect to His work. In the same way we should have a SON-centric focus with respect to our works. We should fulfill ALL His works as they pertain to our ministry and ONLY His works. All that is not Christ is flesh and vanity; unedifying to His body.

Furthermore, the Lord was aware that we only have a limited time to work these works. For the time is soon coming when we will no longer be able to work for Him.

Work urgently.

Christ is all!

He is Selflessly Self-Centered

Jesus Christ is the only man who has ever lived that is both Self-less and Self-Centered. He was fully consumed with His purpose (not other's). He was consumed with His Father's will which was to reveal Himself to humanity. As a result He had to be focused on other's good. But HE IS good. He is the only Good humanity will ever know. So as a result, in order to be loving of humanity, He had to focus the world on Himself.

So He said things like "I am the Bread of Life...", "Abide in ME", "MY yoke is easy", "I am the Good Shepherd", "I AM".

Jesus was solely focused on His Father which resulted in instructing others to be focused on Himself. But He was also self-less. "I lay down my life for the sheep", "As the Father loved me, I also have loved you" or He "made Himself of no reputation." He was totally selfless!

He is the Selflessly Self-Centered Servant.

No Justice on Earth

My dad was a police officer. I have a high degree of respect for the profession. I believe that Christians should pray for and honor the authorities God has allowed to reign over us. But some events make it clear that humans are unable to appropriately and consistently administer justice. This week's trial of a New York bachelor who was gunned down on his wedding day was stunning. The guy was at a strip club, a misunderstanding ensued and he was shot dead by a group of undercover police officers. In fact he was shot 16 times. However, the police officers claimed that they did not know the man was unarmed and were acquitted earlier today.

We expect the government to serve in a just manner. In fact, as earthly governments go, the United States may be relatively considered as one of the more fair court systems internationally (in the 21st century that is), however when men exclude God we find it impossible to understand what effective ruling is.

We will be redeemed by a righteous judge. When our righteous judge takes the throne, he will accurately judge men. Not only by their works, but He will also judge their hearts. He will judge us according to our motive and will have full knowledge of our thoughts and actions. He will even understand our motives for doing good. By justice He will punish the wicked. By grace He will grant mercy to the undeserving. And when He rules we will be able to say there is justice on earth.

As for now, we have to deal with the despair of living in a world that loves darkness.

Christ High

I got a Christ-high last weekend. The eurphoria that comes when richly dwelling in the Word of the Lord. We are to enjoy the Lord Jesus Christ with frequency. I learned last week that I need to greatly increase my Christ intake. I was studying the scriptural passage, "The the Word of Christ dwell richly within you..." (Colossians 3:16). This is a beautiful passage.

The Word (logos) that is Christ (the Word of God, the Second person of the Trinity who became flesh) needs to dwell in us richly. This is Christ within us in plurality. We can experience HIM in a variety of ways. Through teaching, admonition, wisdom, through Songs, Hymns. However you see it, this passage is encouraging us to increase our Christ intake, our Christ reflection, our Christ thinking, our Christ reading (in the Word), our Christ obedience. It is an ongoing, rich indwelling in specific, practical ways. We do have the mind of Christ, but we must let the Lord Jesus (logos) richly (plurally) dwell in our hearts and minds on an ongoing basis.

When I think of this passage, I imagine the Lord Jesus Himself walking around in our hearts, looking for things that need to be changed, sharing who He is with me, challenging me to let my flesh die -- I think of Jesus (the Word) Himself actively sharpening me, changing me and dictating my life.

I need more times of Christ High. I want more of Him to dwell within me practically.

A Christocentric Conference

Have you ever been to a Christian Marriage Conference? What about a Men's conference? OUr church holds a women's retreat every year. Christians gather together for unique ministry causes frequently. But have you ever been to "A Christocentric Conference".

This is conference is unique in that the sole, unique, exclusive focus of the time we will spend is on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Conference will be held at:

Christ Bible Church
7877 S. Coles Ave
Chicago, IL

• Wednesday 7-9 PM
• Thursday 7-9 PM
• Friday 7-9 PM
• Saturday 9 AM- 3PM
• Sunday 8 AM and 11 PM

A variety of teachers from Chicago, Detroit, Indiana PA, and Reading PA will be teaching during the confercne including:

• James Ford Jr.
• Romell Williams Jr.,
• Timothy Metcalf
• Rick Reilly
• Troy McIntosh
• Chris Salley
• Mike Thompson
• Dwight Knight

Come out and celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ with us.

I need a Mediator...

Can you imagine having to talk to God on your own merits? Where would you start? How would you start the conversation? On what basis would you begin the discussion?

I find that as I read the scriptures, our God is totally omnipotent and holy. The combination of all power and all holiness has always been amazing to me. But he also strikes a fear in my heart. I really don't find myself very intimidated when speaking to men, I mean, they are men just like me. But God is a being of an entirely different, holy, and infinitely exalted class. How do I develop a relationship with Him?

Glory be to God we have a mediator. There is only one mediator between God and man and that is the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Our mediator is familiar with our estate (Hebrews 4:15), yet holy to engage with the God of the universe. In fact He is a man and God at the same time (Hebrews 9:15, Philippians 2:5-8). He has experienced temptation from sin, yet never yielded -- not once (Hebrews 4:15). He has shed tears and felt pain, but his troubles never forced Him to behave anything less than patient, compassionate and loving. Our mediator will not compromise His own values. Unlike the attorneys on Boston Public or Law and Order, He always knew his client was guilty, yet never had to lie to defend Him. His mediation is not through wisdom of words, crafty arguments or high priced scientific experts; but rather, He is his own mediation. He mediates through His own blood, His own perfect life. In fact, as our mediator, He wins our case, not because He proves our innocence, but He BECOMES our righteousness (Jeremiah 33:16). Innocence, while pure has not been tested -- Righteousness has already proved itself to be worthy of honor and praise. And we do give all of our praise and honor to our righteous mediator, Jesus the Christ.

I need Peace

I think one of the Satan's main tactics is to occupy us. This is not a direct, but an indirect tactic. If I am thinking about the world, I can become ensnared there in. If I am not thinking about Christ I cannot rest. I need peace. I need the opportunity to simply contemplate Jesus. I need Jesus to help me to abide in Him, even in the midst of crazy things happening around me.

Right about now, I am tired, weary, easily distracted...so I am about to get into my scriptures, think about Him, listen to some music...meditate on my savior. I need peace -- So I think it is time to go to the Prince who owns all peace.

Satan opens doors too...

Jesus Christ is the who one who sets before us, "an open door and no one can shut it" (Rev. 3:8). When Jesus opens a door, no one can shut it. But I have often heard people speak as if Satan does not "open" doors.

What I mean is that, just because you have an opportunity does not necessarily mean that God has given you the opportunity. In fact, often times opportunities are afforded us that we may reject them in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus wants to be our exclusive choice. He will often allow an opportunity that tests our dedication to Him -- but just because we have an opportunity does not mean that we should necessarily take it.

I constantly hear believers say..."The Lord gave me that job", "God gave me that husband" -- "If it was sin, why did God bring it my way..." This assumes that all life is a set of doors opened directly by the Lord Jesus. But actually, Satan tempts us and is allowed to direct us to follow choices that ultimately deny him. In fact, it does not even have to be a direct denial of our Savior, but merely something that shifts our focus away from him for a time. This is Satan's way.
He has his own schemes and we must be aware of his trickery that is aimed to ensnare us.

Read this scriptures and consider this question, "What opportunities have been afforded me that I should not have exercised"?
1 Kings 13:11-31

How do we avoid these schemes? Sound doctrine in Christ. The Wisdom of the Word, the Wisdom of God. The person of the Lord Jesus Christ as our teaching.

Ephesians 4:14

Jesus is Sufficient

The Scriptures clearly teach that The Word of God is sufficient for every good work. But do we really act believe this?

Most true believers would quickly say, "Yes", but evidence otherwise is pervasive, especially in 21st Century American church settings. Many Christian claim to be based on the scriptures, but the question is, do they utilize the scriptures exclusively. For example, when you pick up a book from Tyndale House, are you certain the writers have a Bible-based, Christocentric mindset? When you read something from Moody Press, how do you know the teaching found therein comes directly and ONLY from the scriptures? Many may simply trust the publisher, the editors, the reputation of the organization; but I am not sure we can.

I find that normally, even mainstream evangelical Christian writers, tend to mix "truths" (please note the quotes) from Business (Marketing, Sales Tactics), Psychology, Sociology, Materialstic Science (Biology, Chemistry and Geology that leaves out God) in what they have to say about the condition of man. Rather than relying on Christ alone for their "way" of defining, analyzing and solving problems, they rely on other ways of men.

We do not need other ways to live. Jesus Christ is THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. There is no other WAY, no other TRUTH, no other Life that is found outside of HIM.

He is the Word of God.
He is Sufficient.
He is what we need.
He is ALL we need.

Do not add to HIM

The Slippery Slope of Demonic Yoking

Much has been made the last few days in the secular media regarding the marriage of Beyonce and Jay-Z. I don't really care much about it "personally", but I am concerned about the unequal yoking of a believer and an unbeliever. The story of Beyonce and Jay-Z seems to mirror that of many path many young women believers choose to take in their lives...

The Path of Unequally Yoking with an Unbeliever
1. Meet an unsaved person who "treats them 'nice'"
2. Ask them..."Are you saved" - to which the unsaved person says..."Yes"
3. Develop a relationship based on relational affinity rather than Christ.
4. Find a carnal pastor to do your pre-marital counseling; and/or reject the counsel of Godly men and women in your life
5. Fall in love, thus negating your ability to look at the person through a biblical, Christ-centered lens
6. Become disenchanted with marriage, God and Christ when your marriage does not work out as planned

In the case of many young believers, unequal yoking begins in dating, moves on to engagement and continues on to marriage. Unfortuanely the heart of the believer was unequally yoked to the world long before the marriage took place.

I don't know if Beyonce is a believer in the person of Jesus Christ, but when Destiny's Child was originally signed to a major label deal, the members were a part of a growing church in Atlanta, talked alot about their commitment to purity, and spoke about regular times of devotion and bible study while on the road. Their first album had a version of "Total Praise", and their music was focused more on relationships vs. sex (although the first album already demonstrated that the slippery slope has already begun.)

Now five years and several Bootylicious shows later, it seems that Beyonce has been fully conformed into this world, forsaking the Lord Jesus Christ in this decision to marry a man who calls himself J-hovah. This is the typical path of the seed that falls in thorny ground; the Love of money, ways of the world and other vain distractions choke the fruitfullness of the Word of God in the life of the believer.

Don't believe the hype y'all -- Anti-Christ is real in the world today, don't get it twisted. Check out this article.

Church Segmentation part 2

I was discussing this topic with a friend of mine at church last night. The thing is, the scriptures do seem to segment believers in terms of need at some points. Widows and orphans are given a unique need arena. Older women are instructed to teach the younger women. Older men are instructed to pray continually. Children are instructed to listen to their parents.

But on the other hand the business of growing in discipleship seems to be happening while the saints are united together. I am concerned that we as a 21st century body often do too much work to segment and group ourselves according to our own felt needs. This becomes problematic. Why? Because although we are trying to meet unique needs...

1. Over time, people begin to think the church ought be aimed and focused on them. In other words, people begin to make decisions about spiritual matters according to fleshly interests. "This church doesn't have a strong singles ministry...", "I need to go to a church with better worship...", "Marriages are struggling, so we need to do something in Married ministry...", "we need a business development ministry for those who want to build their businesses..." "we need a youth ministry that uses contemporary music..." and the talk goes on and on.

2. We start to forget that the goal of each "segment" is to be like Christ. There is one goal. We are a body with many "members". Segmentation is a marketing term. "Members" is a biblical term. When I think of you as a "member" of a body, there is a sense of togetherness; being a part of a whole. Most importantly, as "members" we are all submitted and under the head who is Christ. We are all moving in one direction, Chirst likeness. As different members, "Christ-likeness", may take on different ministries. It is worked out in different ways. I am a teacher, you may be an exhorter, another is gifted in giving -- but we have one aim that is Christ.

Watch your church. Be sure it stays focused on the Head which is Christ, not Marketing Segments.

Jesus, the Sin Bearer

I enjoy simply pondering and discussing things about Jesus.
Not for the sake of theological debate, but to occupy and fill my mind with the wondrous works of my savior.

A few days ago I had a conversation with a close friend of mine about the nature of Christ's sin bearing. We spent about 15 minutes discussing "did the Lord become sinful or did he merely bear our sins?"...I concluded, I simply do not understand the nature of the Lord's substitution for us.

What I have concluded is that I am simply amazed by the nature of the Lord's substitutionary death. The fact that he actually bore the sins of all mankind is amazing to me. His willingness to do this for a being that is infinitely less than Himself is truly outstanding. I never get tired of thinking and meditating on this fact. The fact that he did consider equality with God something to be grasped but would actually give himself willingly for death on a cross -- a most shameful, painful, and degrading death (Philippians 2:5-8). Not only has he done this in the past, but we can boldly come to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace in the time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

All our sins and griefs to bear...

The Shekinah Location

Exodus 24:16 reads..."Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud." Moses was IN the cloud. He experienced the Shekinah Glory of the Lord first hand.

During His earthly ministry, Christ taught that The Temple was representative of His body (John 2:16). The Jew considered the Temple as the exclusive location of worship (and it was), however the temple's physical location only provided a type of the true location of worship, namely Christ himself. 2 Chronicles 7:1 reads, "and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple". Just as in Solomon's day, the Glory of the Lord filled the earthly temple in Jerusalem, the glory of the Lord has filled our Savior Jesus Christ's bodily "temple" (Matthew 17:2; John 1:14). .

The place of worship is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (John 4:23-24). He is the only true and perfect sacrifice and in turn has become the exclusive location of Worship and Glory to God. Now as members of His body, we can live IN HIM. We can enjoy worship in the Shekinah Location that is the Lord Jesus Christ!

So now then enter into His Gates with thanksgiving and into his Courts with praise! (Psalm 100:4)