Endurance For the Long Haul

"Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing."  James 1:2-4 HCSB

Planting a church has been a long process; some of it because of the red tape, some of it because I've been waiting for clear direction in certain spots, and some of it because all five of us have been sick at some point over the past three weeks.  Regardless of what the delays have been, these past few weeks have required more endurance than one might like, but according to the above verses, God is doing a work in me that will leave more mature than when He began.

Endurance can never be easy; you must suffer through whatever the trial is as you experience it.  For example, for me to watch Dumb and Dumber is not a trial to endure, but a pleasure to enjoy.  However, should you make me watch something like The Notebook (which I'm proud to say I've never seen), that would, indeed, be a trial to endure.  My point is that endurance and suffering seem to go hand in hand, and that God uses those things to make us what He wants us to be.

It's hard to find "great joy", as these verses put it, when you are watching your son leave on an ambulance at 3:00 AM because he can't breathe well enough on his own.  It's hard to find "great joy" when you've got countless hoops to jump through when all you want to do is bring Jesus to the people around you.  It's hard to find "great joy" when you're not sure what God might be calling you to.  Fortunately, however, if we endure, we'll see where God was at work and will understand how He was maturing us.

As our faith is tested and endurance develops, we'll find ourselves even more inclined to get out of the boat.

JU

What makes your vision of a church different than every other church?

This question was asked by "T" in a comment on the last post.  This question is an interesting one and definitely deserves an answer.  However, there are a few things about it that make it difficult for me to do so.  In any event, maybe in writing this response, I'll make some things I believe a little more clear.  Feel free to comment further if you'd like me to elaborate on anything or if you have more questions.

Anyway, the short answer to your question, T, is really simple... I have no idea.  There is nothing special about me that makes me better equipped to cast a vision for a church than the next person.  I worship the same Jesus and read the same Bible that the next guy does, so I truly have no idea what the differences will be.  Hopefully, they differences will be vast, because there are too many churches that resemble country clubs, and I have no desire to be a part of any place like that.  


Now for the more elaborate attempt to answer your question:


First, I don't really consider any vision for God's church to be my own.  God's vision for the church is His, and He reveals it to all of us that bother to look for it in the Bible.  This whole thing about planting a church began as a result of reading what God has called His church to be, and then looking around and noticing that too few churches were living as they'd been called to.  I believe that the greatest marker of Christ's church should be its love...period.  Our God is love, and we should represent that to the world around us.  As Christians we should be known by our love for Christ, our love for our Christian brothers and sisters, and our love for the world around us.  

A second problem in answering this question is the idea that all churches are the same.  Think about how many different types of churches there are.  Not only do you have more denominations than one can keep track of, you also have many variances within those denominations based on many different things.  Considering these things, comparison becomes difficult for me.  In order to accurately address that part of the question, I'd really need to know what features or functions of churches are being lumped together.

Just in case you're looking for a vision statement for what Kathleen and I think this church should be, here it is... just keep in mind that it is still in need of some major "wordsmithing":

Our vision is to be a multi-generational, multi-cultural, missionally driven community of Christ followers joining Christ in His work to rescue humanity by building a legacy of love for Christ, each other, and the world.

Hope this helps, T.

In Christ,

Jason

It's about time...

I am finally wired back into the world with an internet connection.  I know things have been pretty quiet here during the move, and may continue to be over the next several days as we re-settle into this house, but the time is coming very soon where this blog will be filled with some amazing stuff.

Even in the short time we've been here, God has proven faithful and has allowed us to cross paths with some interesting people, many of whom seem hungry for a church that wants to be about the Lord's business.  They, like us, believe that a church should be the closest thing to heaven we can experience on this side of eternity, and they seem really excited at the prospect of being about that work.

We, of course, have many things to take care of before we are ready to launch, but Kathleen and I are very excited at what God has done in these few short days, and it looks like He's going to do some amazing stuff around here in the future.  As you continue to pray for us, we will continue to keep you updated.  Thank you for your support as we get out of the boat.

Jason

Grace Gets Me Out of the Boat

"Noah, however, found favor in the sight of the Lord." Genesis 6:8


At the beginning of the flood narrative, all we learn about Noah is that he found favor, some translations say grace, in the sight of the Lord.  And that's all the Bible says about it... no explanation as to why Noah and his family were the ones God would choose to show His mercy to.  So I thought, "What was it about Noah that warranted that grace?"

After all, Noah was disgraced as a result of his drunkenness after the flood, and God knew that would happen.  Why in the world would God use a drunk and his family to repopulate Earth?  It turns out I was asking the wrong question.  The question wasn't "Why did God save Noah?"  The question was, "Why does God save any of us?"

From birth, we are evil to the core.  No one had to teach us how to be selfish, lie, cheat, or how to love ourselves above all others... we were born with that in us.  Even so, God's grace is offered to us not of our own worthiness, but of Christ's.  Giving up everything He was, He became everything He was not to make a way for me to be with Him forever.

Like Noah, there is nothing about me that deserves that kind of grace.  But the God that offers this grace is the God I serve, and the God I want to tell people about now more than ever.  This is the God that has asked my family and me to "Get Out of the Boat" and follow Him.  

Jason

Getting Out of the Boat

Recently, I was teaching a lesson on courage and posed the following question to my students, "What would you do for the Lord if you knew your attempt couldn't fail?"  After listening to their answers, I blurted out my own... "I'd plant a church!"  I didn't really give it much thought at the time.  I  simply continued with the lesson, and challenged students to live with reckless abandon in following Christ no matter the command and no matter the cost.

Later, as I thought about my answer, the Holy Spirit brought another question to mind, "Do you really believe what you're teaching your students?"  Of course I do!  Why would I be teaching it if I didn't?  The Holy Spirit asked again, "No, do you REALLY believe what you're teaching your students?"  Now, things were beginning to make sense...

For a while, we, like many of you, had been frustrated with the country club mentality that cripples so many North American churches today.  We thought God was using us to build a healthy church by teaching students a better way.  After all, some of the students we've ministered to over the years had become missionaries and pastors, and over time, churches all over the world were going to look different because of these students' influence!  For years, that had been good enough, but it seemed that things were changing.

I never thought I would see the day that God moved us out of Student Ministry.  Kathleen and I have been involved in Student Ministry in one way or another for about 12 years.  For most of our adult lives, we have eaten, slept, and breathed student ministry.  Doing anything else seems completely foreign, and is, quite frankly, frightening to think about.  Then again, that's probably a good place to be...

Time to get out of the boat,

Jason