To God's Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
It is so good to be home. Often when I travel I have the privilege of helping other pastors and ministry leaders think through difficult circumstances and how to respond in a godly way. Not only do I miss our church family (and of course my precious physical family that I love) but I also come home thankful for you. In this place I sense a deep love for God and one another, and a deep desire to follow Him and make a difference for His glory. That is not the case everywhere, and in fact I am more and more convinced that us Christians around the world are a strange lot...Aliens and Strangers I suppose...so...I praise God for you!
What do we want to be known for in the greater Christian community and world? LOVE FOR GOD. That we are a place where we have experienced the grace of God so richly that when you enter our church you experience His presence because we are so full of God! I believe this is so at CBC, and long for it to grow ever deeper! May we so experience the love of God, and the richness of responding to His Gospel fully that we are known as a place where His presence is experienced richly!
In the last few weeks I have read and listened to Christians attacking Christians. How do we respond to this as those who want to be known for our love for God, one another, and strong stand on God's Word?
1. With Humility: It is easy to join in to people attacking people who we don't like, or attacking the people who are attacking the people we do like, and either way, my suggestion here is that we look to our own hearts and seek to respond to all people and situations in a way that displays that we are seeking to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1-2). One of my fellow speakers last week in Halifax has been under tremendous attack lately and much that is being said about him is not true, and in our conversations I realized that being defensive, or offensive really is not helpful, instead we should be Christ-like. If we start with humility what follows is much more palatable to our reputation as followers of Jesus (Philippians 2:1-6).
2. Listen and Look: Often in these situations the people speaking don't have much evidence, or are attacking based on misinformation or even guilt by association. Before believing anything you read or hear, be careful in how you hear. Much of what is being passed around in terms of the evangelical world is simply not true. So before you pass on, or repeat what you have heard, listen carefully, and much of what is going on can be simply rejected. (Acts 17:11)
3. Check with the source, or someone close to the source you trust: It is way to easy to speak in a tweetable one word kind of description way, or to write an article on the internet and so be perceived as being an expert. I remember a number of years ago someone was very upset with one of our ladies bible studies. I asked them to put together why, and they gave me what felt like 60 pages of internet garbage. Some of the concerns were worth looking in to, but before you let your emotions run wild because of what you have heard or read, check...most of what I look into is exaggerated or overblown. If you are deeply concerned check it with an elder or pastor, and as you do pray for wisdom and grace.
4. Be kind, and demand kindness of klaimers. I know that was a c, but liked the way it came off the type writer. We are to speak the TRUTH in LOVE. This means humility and grace are non-negotiables as we stand firm on God's Word and Gospel. We are to speak the truth in love, we are to be kind, we are to be Khristian (Ephesians 4:32).
5. Stand Firm: On issues that are Gospel or God related, STAND FIRM and don't bend (Galatians 1:8-10). Do so with grace, and Bible in hand, not as a club, but as a Christ pointer. If we are to be known for our love (John 13:34-35) let that be displayed in how we disagree with one another, especially in our own camp.
6. Weep: If we go through all of these five steps and the issue is still in need of rebuke, and certainly reading the letters to the churches in Revelation tells us they might, let us rebuke with tears and conviction with a hope to correct in love, not kill in hate.
I love how we are doing as a church in this area, so hear this as an affirmation, but also an ask, to be careful with all the noise around us that seems to be intensifying as evangelicals attack other evangelicals over issues that often are from misunderstandings or things we can joyfully agree to disagree on. Let us focus on God, His Word and His Gospel, and in love live our lives in a way that impacts His world for His glory!
We have finished our PRESS ON series. If you have been impacted in your walk with God, or desire to please Him take the time to share that with those around you and encourage them to keep growing and longing for more!
Sunday Is Coming:
IDOP for the persecuted church. The first Sunday in November is set aside for a day of prayer around the world for the persecuted church. We will be focusing on this ourselves in a few weeks with a sermon and time of prayer Sunday night, and this Sunday we will be joining with churches around the world by taking time to pray for and focus on the persecuted church.
It is a joy to be a part of the Church, even as we serve the church, so come ready to pray and find ways to be an encouragement to the persecuted church that needs our efforts to support them.