These past few weeks I have been reading through the Book of Acts, and feeling humbled, convicted, encouraged and inspired by the example of the early church and the first Believers in Christ. These were men and women so passionate about Jesus and so full of faith and the Holy Spirit that they were absolutely FEARLESS! Whether in prisons or in palaces, they were thankful; whether rich or poor they were generous; whether young or old they were on fire for God.
Fast forward two thousand years to churches in America. There are definitely still Believers with this same fearless passion for Christ, but as a whole, our churches have lost sight of the primary mission. Instead of making the name of Jesus famous in a lost and dying world, we argue instead over the style and volume of worship music or the color of the carpet in the sanctuary and we consistently place our own personal preferences over the unifying mission our Savior gave to us. We choose comfort over obedience and we play it safe when God has called us to be DANGEROUS. In short, we are missing the point!
In a few weeks, I will officially begin a new ministry as Senior Pastor of Christ's Church in Fleming Island, FL. I am absolutely ecstatic about serving at such a wonderful, grace-filled church. After much prayer about the my first sermons, I believe that God is leading me to preach a sermon series called "Dangerous Church" which will focus on carrying out the Great Commission and following the bold example of Jesus and His earliest followers. God has a huge adventure in store for us, and I can't wait to get started! For all the miraculous things He has done in ages past, I believe that He has even Greater Things in store for this generation!
4 comments:
Love the book of Acts in Feb... 28 days and 28 chapters... :)
Sounds like a good idea for a series... Hope to see you before you leave... been teaching Wed. night class this past 5 weeks...
Very timely subject for me. Over the last several weeks I have heard comments made directly and indirectly to me regarding the style of worship in churches like the one I attend. At first, I got pretty annoyed with the persons making the comment, but this past week while attending a bible study at another church, a lady I knew from way back when made a similar comment and the Lord just gave me peace on this particular subject.
As I began prayer time with them I just quietly asked the Lord for me not to judge this person for her comments and for her not to judge me because I like contemporay praise music. After all, it pretty much boils down to what style of music you enjoy. Honestly, if the Lord is lifted up in our praise, then what does it matter? Although, I will admit if polka music ever enters the praise category, I might get a little upset.
We are looking forward to having you as Senior Pastor at CCFI. Everyone I've spoken to only has great things to say!! I look forward to the sermon series...I know the Lord has great things to teach us!!
Rachel and I have just finished reading the books of Acts together! Awesome stuff indeed. I hope you guys have a good podcast channel. Going to be adding you to my running routes... Love you DAVE!!! We look forward to seeing the name of Jesus made famous in your neck of the woods!!!
Post a Comment