I may be able to squeeze in one or two more stops between now and the end of May. The summer schedule is starting to fill up as well, so now is the time to connect if I can serve you and your church. Let me know if you’d like to talk.
February 8th, 2010 by adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock)
One of the joys of being a Christian is that we have brothers and sisters all over the world. One of the delights in being in a family of churches like Newfrontiers which has a strong set of core values and a shared story is that such ties are even stronger. Call it shared DNA, call it living in the shadow of Terry Virgo who’s example permeates the movement, or call it whatever you want, it is certainly very tangible. From the moment I arrived in town and was met by a regular member who had given up his time to drive me from the airport I knew I was among my family here at Jubilee Church St. Louis.
I have had a great few days. All the informal times spent over food, and around the Superbowl have been very enjoyable. It was also really good to worship in an environment where I totally felt like I belong. Just the name of the church helped, since I attend a church called Jubilee back in London. It also meets in a dark room with drums, keyboard and guitars blasting out worship, so that seemed familiar too! Seth urged us to be vigorous in our praise. He said that it is like watching a football game when someone has made a good play. The crowd roars with delight and celebrates the success. As he put it, “Jesus made a good play!”
It seemed like the congregation, mixed both in age and race as it was at each of the Sunday morning services did not really need that encouragement. There was a clear sense of being caught up together to truly celebrate our champion. The worship was punctuated in both services by some contributions, in the form of words of encouragement or prophecy. This tended to include some explanation of what the person felt God was laying on their heart linked to a Bible passage. In each service at least one of these was shared by a young woman. Again it was obvious, as at the other USA Newfrontiers churches i visited, just how involved in the mission these women are. Later in the week some of the women who work for the church took time out of their day together with some of the guys to watch me record video on the resurrection for their Bible training course.
The church was on the second week of their series on sex titled XXXposed. The pastor here, a considerate, intentional man called Bryan Mowrey spoke on building blocks to intimacy. It was a message from the heart and one much needed. I never tire of listening to sermons about how to be a better husband. I surely need to hear them. Of course, it made me long even more than I already do for my re-union with my ever-lovely Andrée. Bryan’s talk would also be helpful for an unmarried person. I especially liked his argument that the word “single” is very unhelpful. You do not have to be alone. You have Christ. You have Christ’s bride. He wants you to be fulfilled whatever your marriage status. A Christian man or woman can be secure and happy without a spouse. Paul even seems to hint that such unattached people are more free to serve God’s purposes.
Bryan went on to point out that there is something far worse than being unmarried and lonely: being married and lonely. Marrying someone who makes your life harder and more miserable is a big mistake that it is almost impossible to recover from. Worse still of course is realizing that you are the one making your partner’s life harder. I pray that listening to this talk might help you to consider new ways of blessing your husband or wife if you have one, and may encourage you greatly even if you don’t. You can download the audio.
It looks like I may well have to stay in St Louis for an extra day due to snow in Chicago. It is a measure of how at home I feel here, that I am almost pleased at that (despite the inconvenience to my plans that may cause!)
Leading up to this year’s Super Bowl, there was some controversy about a pro-life ad from Focus on the Family. The commercial featured Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow and his mom Pam, who talked about her decision not to have an abortion (without actually saying the word abortion). Pro-choice groups criticized CBS for accepting the ad, which was the first “political” ad the network ever approved for the big game.
So what did you think? Was the ad effective? Did it live up to the hype?
(Reminder: Quick Thought comments should be short. Maybe a few sentencesbut no more than 100 words or so.)
Jonsi, of Sigur Ros, has a new solo album on the way in April and a concert I hope to catch in Milwaukee. Listen to this audio of Jonsi interview and acoustic set from WNYC. And check out his first video, "Go Do"...
Spoon with "Written in Reverse" from their excellent new album, Transference.
Chapter Five: The Greatness of the Love of Christ is Displayed in the Manifold Riches He Has Given Us
Another consideration by which we may assure our hearts of the greatness of the love of Christ for us is this, that he has freely provided for us innumerable gospel blessings which are vast and rich beyond all measure. Even among men, we understand that love which is love indeed always seeks to give good and pleasing things to the beloved. If we say that we love our children, but when they need an egg or a piece of bread, we give them a scorpion instead, we have no true love for them at all (Luke 11:11-13). Love always seeks the good of the beloved, and the greater the proffered good, the greater the love must be which offers it. If this is the case, then how great beyond all understanding must the love of Christ be for us, for the riches he has given us in the gospel are immense, manifold, and precious beyond all understanding!
I can’t get Galatians 1:10 out of my head…Paul writes something that every leader (and every follower of Christ) should aspire to be able to say…that he is not living to please men…but rather to please Christ.
We ALL say this…and yet it is SO easy to slip back into a people pleasing mode. After all, THEIR demands seem more real that HIS commands at times.
So how do we not just preach on Galatians 1:10…but REALLY live it?
I think the key is in Galatians 2:20 where Paul ALSO writes that he is crucified with Christ, that he no longer lives BUT it is actually Christ living in him…in other words, Paul claimed to be a dead man!
Paul was living for a higher purpose than the praise of men, he was aspiring to hear the applause of heaven. He wasn’t concerned with “them,” but he was obsessed with HIM!!!
We will never accomplish the Galatians 1:10 mindset until we have also embraced Galatians 2:20 on a personal level.
Those who love preaching, who believe in the centrality of preaching, and who live by the preached word have little quibble with the authority of preaching. We believe that a certain exercise of God's rule comes along with the proclamation of His word. We are to hear and to obey, to give careful attention to "what thus saith the Lord."
But sometimes, those who love preaching most may abuse its authority most. That is, we may abuse the authority of preaching by forgetting or failing to make clear where that authority comes from.
Wayne Grudem helps us correct this omission or tendency:
Throughout the history of the church the greatest preachers have been those who have recognized that they have no authority in themselves, and have seen their task as being to explain the words of Scripture and apply them clearly to the lives of their hearers. Their preaching has drawn its power not from the proclamation of their own Christian experiences or the experiences of others, nor from their own opinions, creative ideas, or rhetorical skills, but from God's powerful words. Essentially, they stood in the pulpit, pointed to the biblical text, and said in effect to the congregation, "This is what this verse means. Do you see that meaning here as well? Then you must believe it and obey it with all your heart, for God himself, your Creator and your Lord, is saying this to you today!" Only the written words of Scripture can give this kind of authority to preaching. (Bible Doctrine, p. 40)
Gentlemen, preach the word! In season and out of season. Preach as it really is, the word of God. Call your hearers to receive it as it really is, the word of God, not the word of man. Challenge them to obey it as obeying God Himself. And let the authority of God thunder as the word of God falls like a hammer!
I’m really excited to announce two leadership openings at a church here in the Atlanta region. Mountain Lake Church in Cumming, Georgia is hiring both an executive pastor and a children’s pastor. Mountain Lake was planted by its lead pastor, Shawn Lovejoy. The church is about ten years old. It meets in a brand new facility and currently runs about 2,500 people in attendance.
If you are interested in either role, please email William Vanderbloemen, my teammate at FaithSearch Partners, with questions or to submit your resume. All correspondence is kept in strict confidence. If you want to chat with me about either role and see Mountain Lake Church, then attend the ChurchPlanters.com conference, Velocity, in two weeks.
On another note, we have been able to secure ten free tickets to the Velocity Conference. We have decided to give those away to the first ten children’s pastors who contact us. Just send William your email address and a contact phone number. He and I will announce the winners in a couple of days. See you at Velocity!
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