Posted on

The Good News in Serving

I’ve worked as a pharmacy manager for 5 years now, and my number one priority has always been service. Okay, well, safety is always our number one priority, so service is a close second. I try to keep up with medical literature, and I am hungry for any new information about healthy living I can share with my patients, but the one thing I am always checking my pulse on is service. I’ve enjoyed listening to great servants like Dan Cathy from Chic-Fil-A, or Danny Meyer from Union Square Hospitality Group, but it hasn’t been enough to sustain me in a demanding profession.

It was a very difficult industry for me at first. I am sure you’ve heard the phrase “the customer is always right,” and it’s 100% accurate. I am a proud person, and I don’t enjoy being wrong. After a few quarters of always being on the defensive, I was convinced I wasn’t going to survive in my profession very long. I had to frequently fix problems that I wasn’t responsible for, and often take the blame. It was exhausting. Before long, I was driving to work everyday preparing myself to be wrong, which became very depressing. Something was going to have to change. It turned out, it was me.

A couple of years ago my wife and I read the book of Mark together. I was taking a new job with even higher standards of service at this time (surprising, I know), so I was excited to be reminded of the life of Jesus. If you want to know what God is like, all you have to do is look at the life of Jesus. He is God! His compassion, grace, and mercy to us is inspiring and worthy of our worship. One of the most helpful passages during this transition is found in chapter 10, verses 41-45:

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

It is a familiar text, but it must become more than familiar to us; it must become a part of us. As new creations in Christ, it is of great importance to remember what our new bodies were resurrected for, what we are to do. In this passage we can clearly see that one Christlike behavior is serving. Serve to the point where our life is demanded of us. Without God, this type of service isn’t possible. I have experienced it first hand. I tried to serve, and my well was just about dry. The Spirit used this passage to remind me that service is not from duty but from a new heart.

Look at what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17: ”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Paul is literally saying that something new is here. You are not simply cleaned off and put back in the world. No, the Resurrection has made you into something you’ve never been before, something you could never be on your own. You are restored into the royal priesthood of God, worshipping Him in all things, and reflecting the praise of all creation back to Him. To put it more simply, a new heart means new desires. Our worship does not come from a place of duty, it comes from a place of love – a place of joy. So, instead of serving others because I am “supposed to,” I serve because my soul longs to. It’s a radical transformation that is only made possible by the death and resurrection of Christ.

Believers, we have entered into death, so that the flesh may die (and all of the idols with it!) so that we may be born again and raised to life with Christ. We are finally able to live as we were designed to live; as worshippers of God. Serving others is one such way that we can worship our great God.

Serving others is no longer something I am supposed to do as a believer, it is something that my new heart beats to do. It is one way that I can worship God and prepare the way for His Kingdom to come. When I am weary I am able to look to Christ who also served, though he was a king. Serving has also become part of my ministry. By serving others, I can better demonstrate my love for the gospel and love for others.

I’d like to invite you to join me by starting to incorporate service routines into your life. We have numerous opportunities to serve right here at Redemption Church, and we could use a lot of different skills. Whether it is making disciples in Redemption Kids, running the sound booth, or greeting with Hospitality, there are ample ways you can bless others. The elders, deacons, and I also pray to see such service flow outside of our church walls and into the community of Augusta. We need people with a heart and vision for the city to find opportunities that our members can serve in. Lastly, we can serve globally by funding, and praying for our global missionaries. I pray that the Spirit may lead you into this vocational change, and that you may find joy by serving others.

Posted on

Redemption Church 2018

The following is a summary of “Making the Best Use of the Time,“a sermon preached at Redemption Church on 12/31/17.

 

It’s a new year, 2018. Maybe you, like many others, have spent a little time reflecting on the prior year and setting some goals for the future. As you plan 2018, what are you deciding are the most important things to make happen this year? And why? Are you making the best use of your time?

I keep a jar of 52 marbles in my office as a visual reminder of the 52 weeks I have each year. The idea is that when you can see the time you have you tend to make better use of it. Ann Voskamp, in her book The Broken Way, does something similar with her daughter by filling a jar with seeds representing the days of any one life. She makes some observations that are helpful as we decide how we will use the time that we have. She writes:

You have only one decision every day: how will you use your time?… I’ve thought of time as something you have to wring the very most out of, drain to the last drop. Carpe Diem, people, Carpe Diem.

But what had Jesus said? ‘My time has come.’ What time? The time of His death? For Jesus, time was not something you seize as much as something you sacrifice….It’s not something to grab; it’s something to give.

How are you going to make the best use of your time? Are your goals focused around seizing or sacrifice, grabbing or giving?

In Colossians 4:2-6 says:

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Paul exhorts toward continual prayer and walking toward outsiders to make the best use of our time. In Matt Perman’s book, What’s Best Next – How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done, he makes a Biblical case that the most productive thing we can do is to do good for others. Perman says that “The guiding mindset of our lives is to be: how can I do good for others? How can I benefit my neighbor?” and that “The good of others is ‘what’s best next.’”

How are you going to make the best use of your time? Are you seeking to prayerfully walk toward outsiders for their good and the glory of God? Here is what I want us all to believe more fully this year; the most abundant life is the life given. Following the way of Jesus, doing good for others, becoming last, to the glory of God is actually the way of the truly blessed life.

At Redemption Church we are stepping into 2018 following the exhortations of Paul on how to make the best use of our time, and we want every one of you involved. Will you join us in praying continually and walking toward outsiders?

Ways for us to practice together:

Prayer 

We want to pray together continually this year. As we move through 2018 please continue to pray with us throughout each week that:

  • Doors would be opened for people to hear the gospel in downtown Augusta. Paul asks the same in Colossians 4:3. We are on Broad Street for a reason; we want to see this place saturated with the gospel. Let’s pray in that direction.
  • We would be a unified body of believers representative of the diversities of our community. We want to see the church reflect the community we live in. We want Redemption to be a place full of people who “once were not a people, but who are now God’s people” (1 Peter 2:10) because we believe that the gospel is proclaimed more fully from such a community. Would you pray with us toward a united body made up of a diverse people?
  • Church planters and missionaries with The Alliance and A29 around the globe would see doors open for the gospel. We want to be a church that plants churches. We believe it is the best and most sustainable way to send missionaries into other neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries. God hears our prayers, and who knows the hearts that would be open to the gospel elsewhere because we simply ask? Specifically, let’s pray for Paul and Lindsay Murphy and our friends at Sojourn Uganda.
  • God would provide for Redemption Church with people and finances to see the gospel advance in and from our community. We believe that the harvest is plentiful, so we are asking that God provide people who are willing to go with the gospel among us, locally, and beyond. Financially, we’re asking God to give us more in order to do more in the way of discipleship, blessing the city, and church planting.  That can look like many things from taking care of roof leaks and hiring staff to funding other ministries and organizations.

 

Walking Toward Outsiders

For Redemption Church this immediately means walking toward the people of downtown with the grace and with the seasoning of the gospel.

There are a lot exciting things happening in downtown Augusta, and we have a tremendous opportunity to steward the gifts God has given us toward blessing our city. Nothing will make Augusta a great city like the advance of the kingdom of God here. The effects of the gospel saturating this district would be exponential and beyond our wildest imaginations.

Here are a few ways we can walk intentionally toward downtown together:

  • Stay Informed. There are several avenues, from social media groups to newsletters,  that will help you keep up with what is going on downtown. Here are a few. Make and effort to pay attention to what is happening down here. People are participating in community all around us, we just have to join them where they are.
  • Participate in #LOVEdowntown. Once a month we will come up with a way to bless downtown together. We may ask you to bring a $10 bill, or come prepared to stay downtown for 30 minutes. It may be buying a $10 gift card and giving it away, or commissioning a local artist to create public art in some form, but each month we will bless downtown together. This is a real tangible, practicing, way to walk toward downtown with the flavor of the good news of Jesus.
  • Serve downtown with your Missional Community. There are a lot of ways to do this. You can pick up trash on Sunday mornings at 9am with Operation Clean City. You can plan to eat downtown together on Sundays and invite a guest to go with you. You can play pickup games of ultimate frisbee in The Common. Just prayerfully build some rhythms in downtown spaces individually and with others, enter graciously, and go with the gospel on your lips.

 

So, what might be the best use of your time in 2018? The way I see it we have 52 weeks full of opportunities to sacrifice and give the gospel away. We have 365 days to spend for the good of others and to the glory of God. And that is life giving for us.

As you’re making plans for 2018, it may seem counterintuitive, but the message of Jesus is clear

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16

The purpose of life is to do good for others to the glory of God. Let’s prayerfully walk toward outsiders seeking Jesus and His Kingdom together. Let’s wear the “new self” of Jesus together; doing good works for His glory, clothed in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, love, peace, and thanksgiving (Col. 3:12-17).

 

Posted on

Some Practice in Listening

Over the last several weeks we have published a series of blogs pushing us to lean into tension together and asking that we begin by practicing our listening skills.

About a month ago I attended the Just Gospel Conference in Atlanta with a few others from our congregation. To say the least, it would be difficult to unpack all of the insights that we gained during those few days. If I had to bring back one thing to share, I don’t think it would be any single point that was made – although the wisdom imparted was rich and plentiful. Instead, I would say that the most impactful part of the conference was the format; how it led me to listen empathetically and to be postured so that understanding could be received  over mere information. 

With that in mind, I would encourage you to carve out some time to listen to one or more of the following panel discussions from the conference. Practice listening. I’d love to hear back from you personally with thoughts and questions as you strive to listen well and allow the Holy Spirit to inform your heart with the gospel.

There are several sessions available if you’d like to check out more from the conference, but here are a few to get started with:

 

A Different Approach for Addressing Abortions – A discussion with Thabiti Anyabwile and Roland Warren.

 

The Black Church and Prophetic Witness – A panel discussion with Kevin Smith, Eric Washington, Tony Carter, and Mika Edmondson.

 

Women’s Voices on Issues of Justice – A panel discussion with Christina Edmondson, Zakiya Jackson, Jadine Johnson, Trillia Newbell, Dennae Pierre.

 

Saving Our Sons – A panel discussion with Louis Love, Eric Mason, and Bobby Manning.

 

Caring for Orphans – A panel discussion with Thabiti Anyabwile, Vermon Pierre and Dennae Pierre.

 

 

 

Posted on

Lean Into the Tension

I was at a conference a couple of years ago where the speaker, Reggie Joiner, gave out rubber bands to everybody in attendance. When he stepped on stage he instructed the audience to the throw the rubber bands at each other. There was plenty of laughter as rubber bands flopped against shoulders around the arena. He then instructed us to shoot the rubber band at the person seated next to us. Of course, he quickly took that instruction back before somebody got hurt. As Joiner moved on with his message, which was very good, this object lesson stuck with me. It illustrated well that where there is tension there is power.

Obviously, the power that is generated from places of tension can have, and has had, horrific effects on the people of the world. Wars break out because of tension. Bombs are dropped. Men and women kill each other, and children are orphaned and murdered. Eventually one side forces the other into submission, but nobody ever really wins. We all lose when tension leads to violent demonstrations of power.

It’s hard to stomach thoughts about the realities and effects of war. Unfortunately, it’s often easier than admitting that I am guilty of allowing personal tensions and frustrations with others – even my family and friends – to be unleashed in disgusting demonstrations of my own power as I put myself first above all else. I’ve hurt the people I say that I love on purpose. I have intentionally aimed to make others feel worthless compared to me. You have done it too. All that is left in the wake, when all of our power has been exerted and spent, is perpetual division, conflict, and brokenness.

Reggie Horne, in his message entitled Faith where he references the language of Fredrick Douglas, says “when we focus our faith on anything other than Jesus, we end up with a faith that leads to failure and defeat; a faith that will crush our souls and darken our minds.”

Here’s the thing, I’m not sure that we should make it our goal to just relieve tensions and lay down our rubber bands. I believe we were made for tension by being created by God to be unique and relational at the same time. You have your own gifts, talents, and skills, and we each have our own backgrounds and stories that give us different, but valuable, perspectives and insights. The idea shouldn’t be to make the tension disappear but to learn how to harness its generated power and aim it together instead of at each other. The only way that happens is if we keep our eyes on Jesus, submit ourselves to the Spirit, and strive together towards making Jesus known; that’s what we were made for.

A few months ago Chip and Joanna Gaines, from the HGTV show Fixer Upper, received some negative press because of their countercultural beliefs regarding homosexuality. They let the dust settle a bit before Chip published a blog post responding to the tension that had arisen. Here is a quote from Chip’s post that I found encouraging:

“If your position only extends love to the people who agree with you, we want to respectfully challenge that position. We propose operating with a love so real and true that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work alongside the very people that are most unlike you. Fear dissolves in close proximity. Our stereotypes and vain imaginations fall away when we labor side by side” (emphasis added).

 

He is picking up on the language that Paul uses in Philippians 1:27-28; “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,  and not frightened in anything by your opponents.”

Church, our culture desperately needs the unifying power of Jesus. If we are going to take the gospel to them then we first need to see that we were created, and have been called, to work together to make Jesus known. Paul gives us a good place to start in Philippians 2:3-4 on; “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Something big happens when we lean into each other for the sake of the gospel. Consider the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 or Paul confronting Peter in Galatians 2. There are many places where tensions rose in the New Testament church, but as they looked to Jesus and pressed in by the Spirit, the gospel advanced to the nations.

What would happen today if we humbly looked to Jesus and leaned into the tension together in our homes, in our DNA’s and missional communities, and in our church?

Over the next few weeks we will talk more about handling our tensions and conflicts, the importance of listening to the perspectives of others, and how to strategically aim our rubber bands together to proclaim the gospel loudly.

For today, may we pray and find resolve to lean in together and to be found “striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”

Posted on

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

The artistry that The Gospel According to Matthew was written with continues to amaze me. This book isn’t just some guy’s feeble attempt to record the things that he saw. No, Matthew wasn’t a hack writer. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, and by actually walking with Jesus and learning from His brilliance, Matthew put together a masterpiece that, like any truly great story, instills perspective and sparks insight; always pointing us to the true Christ.

Coming out of the Advent season and Christmas, when we celebrated the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, we now turn our eyes very purposefully toward Jerusalem, the cross, and the resurrection of Christ our King. Matthew’s Gospel leads us well in that direction. Therefore, we will be keeping pace with the story in Matthew as we are led through the seasons of Lent, the Passion of Christ, and Resurrection Sunday.  

In our current series, Revealing Christ, we are taking a closer look at Matthew 15:29 – 17:23, where Peter confessed Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of God,” and Peter, James, and John witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus.  This coming Sunday we will encounter the first of three times when Jesus foretold both His death and resurrection to His disciples, and it is to these three occasions that I’d like to look forward to for a moment.

3 Times Jesus Foretold His Death & Resurrection

We come across the first foretelling in Matthew 16:21 (ESV) where it says:

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (Matthew 16:21 ESV)

Matthew sets this passage apart by introducing it with the phrase “From that time.” You may remember the use of this phrase earlier in the book when Matthew uses it to emphasize the beginning and direction of Jesus’ ministry, citing His core message; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17 ESV). Likewise, Matthew uses the phrase here to draw our attention to the direction Jesus’ ministry is now headed.

Just before this passage Jesus asked His disciples who people were saying He was. When Jesus pushed further and asks who the disciples believed He was, Peter answered “You are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 16:16 ESV).

It was right after that confession that Jesus let the disciples in on the rest of the plan and what it really meant for Him to be the Christ.  This foretelling of His own death and resurrection served to help them see Him as Christ rightly, because to confess Him as Christ and deny Him the cross would be to have misguided expectations.

Peter, of course, rebuked Jesus saying “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matthew 16:22 ESV). It’s a stunning turn of conversation really, and I can totally relate to Peter’s reaction. I can’t help but think of the scene in Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when Susan and Lucy walk with Aslan through the woods in the night, holding his mane and falling in love with him, only to find that they were walking with him to the Stone Table. That place where they later watched from afar as the White Witch and her army tortured and killed him. Of course Peter and the disciples would be devastated by the news that Jesus delivered. Nevertheless, Jesus turned their eyes toward the cross so that they could begin to understand what it truly meant for Him to be who they said they believed He was.

There is good news beyond the death of Jesus, although it seemingly went unnoticed by Peter, and it is that Jesus would be raised from the dead. A cross that killed Jesus and was the end of the story would have rendered Jesus to not be the Christ at all. Whereas, death defeated reveals Him to be the true and better King; the suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah.

Matthew intentionally tells the rest of the story under the shadow of the cross of Christ, which of course is cast by the light of His glorious resurrection. We not only read the recorded exchange between Jesus and His disciples, but as we read the story our eyes too are turned toward the cross and resurrection. Matthew engages us in the story so that we can make the confession along with Peter, that Jesus is the Christ, as our attention turns toward the acts of Jesus that have made that a reality for us.

A second time, in Matthew 17, Jesus foretold of His own death and resurrection. Certainly, Matthew could have left this out, especially after writing the sort of blanket statement of “From this time on” in the first scene. However, Matthew goes on to tell of two more scenes when Jesus revealed these things to His disciples. These stories act to pull the audience in so that we can feel the momentum building as the story begins to roll more directly towards the cross.

In this second instance, a few of the disciples had actually just witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus and heard the voice of the Father saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (Matt. 17:5 ESV). This foretelling in its context reveals, at the least, the motivation of Jesus to live and die in total submission to His Father’s will, trusting that His purposes and mission are best. This is accented to some extent by the scene between the transfiguration and this foretelling where Jesus presses in on the disciples “little faith.”

Notice, there was no rebuttal this time, only distress, and as Matthew’s story transitions immediately to a new scene after this passage we should feel the weight of the necessary pause at the end of this passage in Matthew 17:22-23 (ESV):

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

Lastly, the drama of this ultimate of redemption stories is heightened with the third occasion of Jesus’ foretelling of His death and resurrection. It is found in Matthew 20:17-19 (ESV) and reads:

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

Jesus and His disciples have left Galilee and hit the road toward Jerusalem. So far, concerning these foretellings, there hadn’t been a real timeline put forth or much in the way of details. Jesus hadn’t told them the when or where of His death and resurrection, just that it was coming, that it was necessary, and that He was devoted to the mission. Here, Jesus let them in on the where and roughly the when. The time for these events would be near when they reached their destination, Jerusalem, to which they were already on their way.

To add fuel to the fire, Jesus also revealed other details. In part, this demonstration of His foreknowledge says mounds about His divinity, and Matthew is certainly illustrating that for his audience. However, Jesus wasn’t just showboating His God skills here, He was giving His disciples insight into the reality that was about to take place. Not only would Jesus be betrayed and killed, but it would be ugly, and there would be beating, blood, and a crucifixion.

To be honest, I don’t know how you keep your feet moving toward Jerusalem at the hearing of such shocking news. No half-hearted belief would do. You’d have to truly believe that Jesus is who He said He is, that His is the only way to true life, and that it is absolutely worth pushing through the mess to get enjoy the beauty.

Moving Forward Together

When we reach this third passage at Redemption Church, as we make our way through Matthew, we will be beginning to observe Lent together. We don’t usually do a lot in the way of observing Lent here, but as Advent is to Christmas so Lent is to the Passion of Christ and Resurrection Sunday. It is a time of preparation, and we will be encouraging us all to walk through that season with some intentionality; knowing that at the end of the road there is a bloody cross and our Saviour, who rose from the grave and is God with us.

It is my hope that as we spend a few weeks between Christmas and Lent, these few passages will help draw our gaze intently toward the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. As we see Jesus more clearly as the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, may we see that for any of that to be true He had to go the way of the cross.

As we seek Christ together we will surely hear His call for us to follow Him, to submit everything, to take up our cross and come and die. May we prepare ourselves on purpose then to answer the call for His glory and our joy as we find that there is plentiful grace and redemption for us all as we lean into the brokenness and mess that lies before us.