Love Jesus...Hate Church

I was not at all surprised with the responses posted today on facebook and twitter to this question..."can a person love Jesus and despise the church?" This is a growing trend in our culture. Because of the neglect of biblical mission, along with the growing negligence and lack of purity in the "church" more and more people have become interested in Jesus, His Life, and His Teachings yet all along growing more and more distant and even hostile towards "church."

In order for us to fully tackle this issue (which cannot be done in a matter of a few lines), we must first look at what the church should be according to the scriptures. In the book of Acts, Jesus very clearly established the church with the mission he had given his disciples a in Matthew 28:19-20. The church was birthed as the hope of the world, to carry the message of Christ to the entire world. Throughout the book of Acts, we see the church meeting in homes for the purpose of breaking bread, prayer, and teaching (Acts 2:42). Furthermore we find that they added to their number daily people who were choosing to follow Christ (Acts 2:47). Those that were following Christ were also connecting with other believers, with the guidance of the Apostles. It was the New Testament Church. As the years have passed, though we don't have time to discuss church history, it is safe to say that the church has changed. Many time the message of Christ has been lost, grace has been forgotten, and truth has been neglected. However this was never the church Jesus intended. He intended a church that was pure and blameless. He desired it so much that he laid down his life for it (Ephesians 5:22-33). Jesus died for the bride of Christ "The Church." Here are a few points to ponder...
1. Jesus loves the church and so should a Christ-follower. It is important to establish the fact that not every building with a steeple and a sign is the church that Christ had in mind. In fact, I am not anti-church building or anti-steeple (ok maybe anti-steeple), but I would argue that any church that uses that as their measuring stick had missed Christ intent entirely.
2. Many have been wounded by the church establishment in America. When I read scripture it is impossible for me to gather that Christ-followers were intended to do this alone. They devoted themselves to the Apostle's Teaching (They had spiritual leadership), they fellowshipped with one another (they had other relationships within the body of Christ), and they gave of themselves (they were focused on a hurting world). With that in mind, let me encourage you to not give up on "The Church." Where there are imperfect people, there will be imperfect churches. Find a church that places a high importance on the things mentioned above.
3. It is possible to disagree with philosophies, approaches, methods, and even people within the church, but as one who loves Christ, you should love the church. Not the institution, but the body of Christ. Jesus tells Paul in Acts 9 that when persecuting the church (the people of the Way) you are persecuting Christ himself

I love the local church. I do not always agree, and have major issues with Narcissistic Pastors, Big Egos, Hyper Spirituality, Selfish Ambition, Religious Spirits (which by the way Jesus rebuked more than anything else in scripture), and the list goes on and on. I myself have been wounded by a pastor, but the thing I hold onto is that people are imperfect, but Christ is perfect. This is why I continue to do what I do. It is my prayer that Relevant Church which is scheduled to launch it the Fall of 2010 in Henry County, GA will be all that Christ intended it to be.

Thoughts???

My Family Status

For months now our family has been in limbo...We knew change was coming but were unsure exactly when. Julie and I have been in a year long process and planning to move back to south Atlanta and plant a church in Henry County. Several crazy things have happened that I will save for another time, but it has caused the transition to be handled in ways that have made it more difficult at times. Here is our current situation...I have been leading the church I have been serving for the last four months since my pastor/boss resigned. It has been a great experience and we have grown so close to so many people. During that time, Julie has been searching for a teaching position in Henry County, and several weeks ago took a position at Hampton Middle School. While we are very excited and thankful, it has caused our family to be separated. Julie and Jase are currently living in GA and I am still in MS until the end of October to complete the transition process with the church I am currently serving. We are still attempting to sell our Gulfport, MS home. I am excited yet saddened all at the same time to relocate. God has given us a passion and heart for Henry County and we will launch Relevant Church next year. I will look for a job beginning November and will be employed by someone other than a church for the first time since college. I will be sharing more of the process here as the weeks unfold, but in the meantime, will you please pray for the following things...

1. For our family in this time of separation and change. Jase is only two, so I am travelling nearly every week to be with them. Family is my first priority.
2. For our house to sell in Gulfport. Need I say more in this market, the value of the house has dropped $90,000 in the last year.
3. We have to raise $100,000 in the next few months for the church plant. This seems impossible in this economy, but we are trusting God to make it happen.

We really do covet your prayers, and look forward to seeing many of you back in GA soon.

Carl

Excellence or Mediocrity- Guest Blogger Jeremiah Fife

This past week in our staff meeting God brought to the forefront of our devotional time together the following scripture - Colossians 3:23-24. It says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
As we push forward at Gulf Coast Worship Center I believe God has called us to continually strive for excellence in all we do. Whether its serving at the church or at home or in the community. As followers of Christ the motive that drives us to excellence should be a desire to please the ONE who will give us our final reward. Everything we do should be done with a conscious awareness of his presence, a realization that he is watching.
So the question is "In the areas you serve in, is there excellence?" If so, what contributes to it? If not, I think the first question we all must ask ourselves when excellence is missing is, "Is it something within me?" We should always self-inspect first. If it isn't us and our priorities are right and we are giving our best to God, being on time, serving with the right heart and attitude, then we must ask ourselves "Has the expectations of excellence been clearly laid out or communicated?"
We must all remember that in the end we will stand before God and my hope is that we all hear him say "well done good and faithful servant!"