Connections

Hinge 2009 Recap Video

That one is going to cost you!

I was at my friend Orie Wenger's house a few weeks ago with our staff. Orie is the Pastor of Mt. Zion Fellowship in our city.  He had recently been diagnosed with pancreas cancer and we were at his house praying for a his complete healing.  While we were there, Orie showed us a teaching video of a sermon that had impacted him greatly.  The preacher was talking about the stoning of Stephen in the Bible.  It is one of the only times in scripture where Jesus stands up at the right hand of God.  The pastor painted the scene so beautifully!  He envisioned Jesus pointing his finger at satan and saying, "That one is going to cost you!" The death of Stephen cost the enemy his greatest general. Saul was standing in the crowd guarding the coats of those throwing the stones.

Saul was converted and went on to spark a Gentile revival that is still going on today.

We lost one of our great Generals in the Kingdom of God today.  Orie Wenger went home to be with the Lord shortly after 12 p.m. today. The seeds that he has sown in our city through faithful preaching, prayer for revival and faithful leadership WILL RESULT in a great harvest.

Orie, there will always remain a vacant seat at the Church of Greenville table.  As you are now banqueting with the Lamb of God, we will be kicking the enemy in the teeth here in Greenville! Thanks for plowing the field so faithfully. 

Territory Disputes

Every city has walls.  Not just the walls or the parameters that define the city's region, but also walls of division that keep it's residents from working together to accomplish a central goal.  

Just the other day I had a small, dispute with my neighbor over whether or not I scalped part of his yard while cutting my own.  I got so heated!  It was like a foot on his property....and I do not even think that I cut his "portion" of the yard.

I came into the house and was venting to my wife and mother-in-law, when my mother-in-law spoke up and commented, "Do you think that this is a test from God to see how you will resolve this territory dispute with you neighbor?" I was a bit confused by the question until God woke my spirit up to it's reality.

My heart and passion for our city is to see churches and believers learn to work together to plow the field in the same direction.  Some of the thickest walls in our city are constructed through denominationilism and the "our turf" mentality.  However, in recent years, the walls have begun to come down as the Holy Spirit has moved on the Church at Greenville in unprecedented ways to expand His Kingdom.

Sometimes the Lord will give us a small "pop quiz" to see if we are committed practically to the things that we so tirelessly pray for. 

Hence.....territory disputes with your neighbor.

Conversations about Christianity

Looking forward to having a conversation with a panel of "non-Christians, pre-Christians, however you want to say...those not following Jesus and unashamed about it" in May to discuss why they are not buying into Jesus and the claims of Christianity. 

I will tell you more about this in the coming weeks.

It is not a debate but a forum to discuss how the church could ask more of the right questions in Greenville. 78% of our city is unchurched, 165K + are unchurched and not engaged in conversation about Jesus. Much has been written and discussed in the last few years about the decline of Christianity in America.  I am looking forward to hearing why those in our city aren't interested in the conversation.

My guess as to what we might hear right now:

1.  Jesus and the church look vastly different to these folks.

2.  Hypocrisy and cultural Christianity has choked the life out of the story of the Gospel.

3.  Some were hurt by the church or a Christian.  

4.  Theodicy: The term literally means “the justification of God.” It is the attempt to reconcile God’s positive attributes with the problem of evil in the world.

The Benefits of the Cross!

I do not know of a more appropriate story on this Easter week than this one of a Jewish rabbi in our city getting healed "in the name of Jesus." 

My favorite quote from the article:

“Do you mind if we pray for you?” one said. “No, of course not.” “Praying to Jesus won't offend you?” “No, of course not.” They beehive-buzzed around me all at once. Above the din I heard one pray, “May Marc be healed, but not by the hands of man!”

Well, think what you want. By the next morning, I stopped urinating blood, and by mid-afternoon, the pain was gone. Monday, still in disbelief, I went to the hospital to make sure that what I felt was real. The doctor announced that the procedure was unnecessary and instructed me to get dressed and go home.

Hmm ... “healed, but not by the hands of man.”

Did the episode make we want to embrace Christianity? No. But it did draw me closer to the laser-penetrating faith by which this beehive of believers lives. Could it be found in Judaism? Not in its mainstream, any more, I guess, than in mainstream Christianity."

There's just something about the proclamation and the demonstration of the Gospel! 

Life Change

God has been doing some amazing things lately in the lives of people in our city. Tonight we celebrated David Walker's CD release of Closer than Angels.  We have also been capturing some Life Change testimonies of some people at CRCC. They are not uploaded to youtube yet (but will be in a few weeks), but you can check them out at Event Reels.  Click on Boxes of Love and Lorraine Cole testimony....wow! 

Adam, the man behind Event Reels is a very talented guy who can capture some wonderful videos for your church.  Also, he is very efficient in making sermon bumpers tailored for your next sermon series. Check him out !

Are we trying too hard to be cool?

Scott Williams has a great post on being "Too Cool For God!"

It is refreshing to hear Hybels and others dispel the myth that you have to "tip toe" around the Gospel, for the sake of relevance to reach people. 

"People want something bigger than themselves....they want a supernatural encounter with a Living God....they want to know how to put feet to faith."

These were all comments made by Chris Surratt (pastor of SeaCoast Greenville) as Jake and I met with him over lunch yesterday.

Great days for the church ahead...no doubt!

The Calebs of Our City

My generation is often called the Joshua/Caleb generation in Christian circles.  I think the reason for this is because we are not that old and are known to step out on some limbs for Jesus...even if they break. Retirement is not the pinnacle but rather risk, creativity and innovation.

What I'm realizing as I grow is that my generation needs previous generations. The coolest thing about Caleb to me was that when he was 85, he wanted to take his mountain.

I met with an older Caleb today.  His name is George Moore and he is a pastor at 1st Presbyterian Church in downtown Greenville.  He is 78 years old and a retired pastor from Virginia and is now an interim assistant visitation pastor.  He oversees alot of the care ministry as well as the healing prayer ministry.

This man was like sitting before a hybrid of William Wallace and Solomon.  I was taking notes in my moleskine as he talked about prayer, healing, and revival.  He talked about Holy Spirit revival verses the revival of the mind.

Our city is full of older men and women who have plowed the ground through intercession for years.  They are looking to pour into my generation.  I was so humbled as he looked at his calendar and said, "Same place, same time... next week?"  

Do you have someone from the previous generation that is pouring into you?

Insanity = doing the same thing hoping for different results

Greenville is a church planting magnet.  Why?  Not sure....other than the fact that we have a TON of churches but less people going than ever before. A problem. BUT....many feel like God has called them to mobilize missional communities in this city.

Don't get me wrong....I love church planting...our staff has joined the Renovation Center, group of the Infinity Alliance, committed to saturation church planting of incarnational, missional communities.

Some of the questions realities that I have been challenged with lately from Dwight Smith (missiologist and founder of Infinity Alliance, Renovation Center, and a ton of other things) are:

1.  The priesthood of the believer is a lost concept in the western world. (pastors and teachers have become brokers who go before God on behalf of the people.

2.  Many of our worship services have become sacramental and monastic. Our buildings and programs have become means of Grace.

3.  Many of our Churches (small C) have become demographically driven and not geographically driven (i.e. Church of Greenville, Church of Corinth, Galatia, etc..).  Focused on people like us instead of taking responsibility for those God has placed around us.

The GOOD NEWS is:  Our God is raising up missional communities around the globe. Many are now focusing on their cities, joint venturing across denominations, taking responsibility for the geographic circles that God has placed them in, and committing to planting missional churches.

Kingdom Culture for High School Students

**If you are a youth pastor in Greenville and don't have plans for your high school ministry on July 8-12...check this out!**

This Summer, the High School ministry at CrossRoads Community Church will be having a mission trip experience we will be calling Kingdom Culture. We are going to devote July 8th - July 12th to our very own city of Greenville. On July 8th - 12th, we will be serving our city in a variety of ways including; construction projects, feeding the needy, and serving in the inner city, as well as having times of intercession and worship. We will be staying in downtown Greenville at Buncombe Street United Methodist Church. The total cost will only be $75. This includes EVERYTHING!! Several churches are already participating.  If you would like, you can sign up by going clicking here.   The deadline to sign up will be June 11th, and full payment is due by June 30th. If you have any questions, please email Dustin Hughes.