Ecclesiastical Expectations: Your Responses

 Last month I asked the question, What do you expect from the church? The answers I received were primarily from those I would classify as "inside" the church, so in all honesty, they are quite positive. Here are what people said:

What do you expect from the church?

A place to feel welcome and not judged. (Although biblical guidance and loving correction if I slip or am not in line with God's word). A place with opportunities for fellowship, outreach, and a place for me and kids to feel safe, not only in a secure building, but around others as well.

Love, compassion, guidance, support, communion, congregation, seek to baptize others, and lessons. I expect my church to seek me out if I am lost.  I expect the church to seek out anyone who is lost. I expect my church to be like Jesus. I love my church! 

Praise for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I’m answering this from our previous season. When we moved up here what was our prayer for a church? What did we “expect” desire from a church? So my husband and I hoped for a people. What I mean by that is a community of believers to worship together, play together and serve together. A preacher who taught from scripture and loved the body of believers that God had entrusted onto him. A church who pours out beyond the walls of the church and steps into the community.

God was faithful in leading us to KCC.

KCC has filled my expectations and then some! I found a church where I can serve God with fellow believers. I am encouraged and supported in ways I could have never imagined.

I feel that it should say, "how can I serve the Lord through my church " if I serve and give to the church, God will meet my expectations for the church, the church I was at prior to KCC, I served , participated in, and my expectations were not met, it was the wrong church for Jan,

Bible say serving others is loving God. Our church tries to do that.

To be given the opportunity to learn about the Bible. Fellowship

For the leaders to preach and teach from scripture that is THE truth. To be anchored in the fact that faith in Jesus Christ is our only way to salvation. To remind us that we are to be seperate from the world. Not avoid topics that may rub some wrong if it is the right message and to follow the 4 pillars of our mission statement while helping people journey with Jesus. I also really appreciate the 2/14 projects to serve in our community while representing KCC.

For the people, who are a part of the church, to live their faith daily, out in the world

I want to see churches expand to build schools to teach our children of every generation God's Biblical Principles for life, righteousness, personal moral responsibility, liberty, justice and social order. Government schools haven't been able to do that since the Rogue Supreme Court over-ruled the People's will, in America, which used to espouse such teaching along with the general education subjects.

It would be great, I think, if local churches worked together to create that Godly alternative to the humanist government system, possibly saving our nation from the decay already sweeping across the land.

Ecclesiastical Expectations - What do you expect from the church?

This 3-part blog post deals with ecclesiastical expectations. It is a two-way relationship between you and your church. Here are the questions we will be focusing on:

• What do you expect from the church?
• What does your church expect from you?
• What does the Bible teach in regard to these expectations?

This post will address the first question: What do you expect from the church? More specifically, What do you see is the purpose of the local church? Why do they exist? Most likely, you expect more than one thing from the church. So, we may decide the primary purpose of the local church but also look at other things you think the church should be doing. 

First, we need to define our terms for the discussion. Who are "YOU" in relation to the local church? This is difficult already because the church is so broad in regards to what it does, but for this conversation let's just look at Sunday morning worship attendance. 

• YOU could be a Christian who is a Member and attends Sunday service weekly (Church Member)
• YOU could be a Christian, but not a member of your local church, but attend weekly anyway (Attendee)
• YOU could be not a Christian but attend on a regular basis (Attendee)
• YOU could be someone who attends Sunday services occasionally (Visitor)
• YOU could be someone who attends only on holidays. (Visitor)
• YOU could be someone who just lives in the community.

Already, we can see expectations of your local church could differ drastically based on one's relationship with the local church body. For example, a father might buy his daughter a new car for her birthday, but only a card for the neighbor boy. That relationship is not the same. Same with the church. Everyone has a different relationship with the church. 

The next term to define is "church." Here are some other concepts people think of when they hear the word "church."

• The white building with the steeple on top
• The Pastor and his staff
• The Elders who lead the church
• The people who attend the church on Sunday mornings
• An online podcast / sermon / service
• The denomination worldwide (i.e. Catholic, Methodist, etc)
• Any combination of the above

Back to our question now: What do YOU expect from the CHURCH? Click on the question and give your answer. I'll share your answers in a follow-up post/article. 

Changing to the NEW

I enjoy new things, don’t you? New sweaters. New socks. New books. New family members. Every Christmas you probably receive something that is new to you. We recently passed into the new year 2023, so people are making resolutions to start something new. It could be losing weight, eating better, saving money, etc. It's exciting and promising!

Many times "New" comes with "Change." And change is what is sometimes hard to do. I don’t like to CHANGE my phone even though, the next one is NEW. Buttons have changed on it. My earphones no longer plug into it. The list goes on.

I don’t like to change my shoes even though, I have a new pair. They're not broken in yet. I have a new pair of slippers in my closet from 2 Christmas ago. Why? Because I still enjoy the pair I have and I’m still wearing them!

Here's one you might relate to: When a relative thinks you need to upgrade and gives you a NEW TV OR A NEW TABLET and now you have to change. You have to learn how to do everything all over again when the way you were doing it was just fine.

What changes have you made recently? What change have you made because you wanted to? What change have you made because you had to? What change have you made that you didn’t want to?

Change of diet? Change of where you live? Change of people living with you? Change of medication? Change of vehicle? Car? Truck?

Change takes effort. Change implies what I’m currently doing, isn’t sufficient. That it’s outdated. That it isn’t working. But I know it is. It’s been working for years! And I like it. I’m comfortable with it. CHANGE

I understand changing because a piece of technology will no longer work, but some people change for change’s sake. Like changing is a virtue or something. Embrace change, they say. Changing is good. But changing just for the sake of changing, I’m not a supporter. There should be a reason. There should be a good reason.

Probably the best reason to change something is that the old one is worn out, dirty, broken, or just outdated. Changing in this case makes sense and is many times even necessary.

Change your investment to get a better return on your money.
Change your dishes because so many of them are broken.
Change your computer because it is 8 years old and no longer supported (You know who you are).
Changes like this are good and usher in the NEW.

This is how it is with Christ. Give yourself to Christ, and He promises to make you NEW.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the NEW creation has come. The old has gone, the NEW is here.”

The New Testament is full of imagery of putting to death the old man by crucifying him and allowing Christ to make us into someone new. The most effective illustration of this transformation is seen in the act of Christian baptism (Romans 6:1-6). In baptism, we are symbolically burying the old person along with our sins, evil desires, and thoughts. But unlike the physical world, the new believer is raised out of the water tomb immediately and given new life through the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

At baptism, our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16), we are clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27), we are saved (1 Peter 3:21), and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

God wants to change you to make you NEW! If you haven't allowed Him to do that yet, what are you waiting for? It's 2023! Time for Change! Now, get back to figuring out how to use that new TV remote!

Focus on the Team - Part 3 - Distractions

This month we are wrapping up "Focus on the Team" with part 3, Distractions. We're going to be talking about distractions that occur in the Christian life. If you missed part 1 and part 2, you can read those on my blog, Writer's Block. 

Just a little recap before we just into this month's topic. Using a baseball comparison, Christians make up a team which is the church. Our coach is Jesus Christ and He is our focus. If we stay focused on the coach, taking signals from him, and listening to His voice, He will be pleased with us. We do our best to "play" or live as a team. But what happens when we take our eyes off our coach? Or if we decide we don't like our team and decide to skip a practice or just not play in the game at all? The world is full of distractions tempting us to do exactly that. Let's throw it up to the booth and look at that. 

Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 13:1-9 commonly called, "The parable of the sower." The Message reads this way: 

“What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams." 

In danger of mixing my metaphors, let's try to make sense of this parable and the distractions Christians face today. When Jesus explains the parable to his disciples he tells them that the seed is the message about the kingdom of God. For our purposes, let's just say the seed is living a Christian life. 

The farmer and the seed are constant in this parable. The grounds are the heart of the individual hearing the message. What we will focus on are the stealers, or the distractors of the seed. 

In the first case, the birds come and eat the seed that was sown. If we don't use what is given to us, there is a danger that it will be taken away. The parable of the talents illustrates this (Matthew 25:14-30). James exhorts us to not just listen to the word, but put it into practice (James 1:22). The distraction then is complacency. We fail to retain what we have. That is the knowledge of how to live a Christian life. We aren't clear on what God wants of us. We read the Bible, but don't understand it. And on top of that, we lack the desire to figure it out. We fail to seek to understand it. We are complacent. This complacency gives the enemy the opportunity to snatch what little we did know away from us. 

In the second illustration, the seed falls on the gravel, but has no roots and is withered by the sun. The distraction is the sun. The sun is a good thing giving light and warmth to our planet. But it can also be dangerous. Don't look into the sun; It will blind you. Don't get too close to the sun; it will burn you up. In this case, a good thing becomes bad. Be careful to not allow "good" things in life to eclipse the "best" thing in life. Sports, hobbies, relaxation, and the like are all good, but be careful they do not consume your life so much that you don't have time for feeding your faith and growing spiritually. 

Finally, our seed falls and sprouts among the weeds only to be choked out by them. Weeds are external distractions or temptations all around us. They are outside of us and they desire to master us. In the parable, Jesus says that the weeds are the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. Galatians 5:19-21 lists of several acts of the flesh including hatred, discord, jealousy, and fits of rage. The list goes on, but the distraction is clear: worldly temptations. 

In summary, then, seek scripture and the understanding of it. How to apply it to your life. Prioritize the good things in your life with the best things. Keep Jesus and His church at the top of your list. Your calendar and credit card should reflect that. Then keep from sinful temptations that would choke out a fruitful Christian life. 

Focus on the Team - Part 2 - Who is our "Team?"

I wrote last month about Aaron Judge and his New York Yankees. Aaron was laser-focused on his role on the team and their goal to win baseball games. (Update: The Yankees made the post-season playoffs and are currently leading their best-of-seven series against the Cleveland Guardians by 1 game to none.) 

The New York Yankees, aka Bronx Bombers, are arguably one of the most successful sports teams in the United States. They have won 40 American League pennants, and 27 World Series championships, both MLB records. What a great history. What a great team.

If you are a Christian, you are part of a team as well. Our team consists of other Christians all around the world. Our team is the church. Let's take a look at what scripture says about our "team."

Matthew 16:18 states that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. It may not appear that way today, but the church will not be defeated. Not by hell. Not by Satan. Not by anyone. 

Ephesians 1:21 says that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. In modern terms, Jesus is the coach, owner, and GM. He's called the head because often in the Bible the church is called a Body. Christian believers all play a part like a body, with Jesus serving as the head. 

Acts 20:28 tells us that Jesus bought the church with his blood. His sacrifice ushered the church into existence. This speaks to the value the church has. It is priceless. The cost of Christ dying on the cross was enormous. 

You are part of a victorious, priceless team lead by none other  than Jesus Christ himself!

What is so sad is when you hear people say, "I love Jesus, but I don't care for the church." It is akin to saying, "I am rooting for Aaron Judge, but I don't like the Yankees." The Yankees are his team. You can't cheer for one and not the other. The church is Jesus' team. You can't just love Jesus and throw His church to the curb. 

Probably the biggest problem people have is that Jesus is perfect and the church is far from it. Why? Well, the church is full of sinful people like you and me. We have not yet been perfected. That will come one day through Jesus. Until then, the church is full of imperfect people. The future of the church is bright and victorious. 

Next month let's look at the distractions we face as we strive to focus on Jesus and live as the church.

Focus on the Team - Part 1

On Monday, August 29, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit his 50th home run of the season. He leads the MLB in home runs this year as the Yankees pursue the World Series pennant.

The post-game interview went like this, "It's just another number,'' said Judge, who was intentionally walked twice Monday before going deep. "It's great, but I'm kind of upset we lost. It's a close game we could've won.''

Aaron Judge homers against Boston

"I'm not downplaying it. I just don't like talking numbers," Judge said. "We can talk about numbers and all that kind of stuff when the season's over with, we can review it, but for right now most important thing for me is getting some wins."

Aaron's focus was not on his individual accomplishment, but on winning baseball games. His focus was not on himself, but on his team. 

Undistracted vision on a goal. Individual achievement downplayed for the sake of a greater goal. 

Does the Bible talk about having focus? Who is our "team" anyway? Can a Christian be distracted by individual accomplishments? 

Those are all great questions. Let's just take the first one in this article and then focus on the next two in upcoming e-news articles. 

Where should the Christian focus? Is it on the church? Is it on a Pastor? Is it on the Bible? Probably none of those. 

The Hebrew author writes in chapter 12, "...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."

Focus your life on Jesus

Our focus should not be on a doctrine, a mission, or a program, but on a person - Jesus. Jesus holds the pass into heaven. Jesus can hook us up with the Father. Jesus is the booster shot we all need. Jesus is the best investment you will ever make. 

 Keeping our focus on Jesus...doesn't that bring to your mind another New Testament story where someone failed to keep their eyes on Jesus?

When Peter and the other apostles saw a figure walking on the water in the middle of the night, they responded as you would expect by screaming, "It's a ghost!" Jesus identified himself, and Peter, the 'leap-before-you-look-disciple', said, "Oh yeah? If it's really you, tell me to come to you on the water." 

Peter successfully walked on the water until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked around at the wind and waves. He began to sink. When his focus was lost, so was his foundation. 

Paul said it this way in Philippians 3:13,14, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Just last night, Aaron Judge hit home runs numbers 55 and 56 against their rival Boston Red Sox to lead his team to a 7-6 win in 10 innings. 

"I'm sure, deep down, he's aware of what's going on. But when your priorities are right, and around team, and around leading this team and being the guy, he keeps it simple," Yankee's Manager Aaron Boone said of Judge's focus always being team-first.

Judge's focus is on his team: May our focus be on Jesus! 

Next month: Focus on the Team - Part 2 - Who is our "team?"

Loss to Life

Tears were shed. Suppressed sobs echoed throughout the room. The minister spoke words of comfort as family members and friends sat quietly ruminating on their loved one. A faithful father or mother, loving brother or sister, exiting this life into the next. The loss is palpable and long-lasting for those left behind. No amount of condolences nor homemade meals will take away the pain. It must be endured for months, even years to come. 

Angels await in Heavenly Maternity Ward

You may have endured the loss of a loved one recently. One never feels as helpless except in the face of death. We have no control. No say as to where, where, or how. It's never expected. It catches us off guard. The hole in our lives is huge and cannot be refilled by any other.

However, for those who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ, this is only one side of the story. Because on the other side of our earthly, physical death there is a heavenly, spiritual resurrection! At the same time, we mourn and bid farewell to our loved one, the angels are rejoicing with the arrival of another faithful saint. It's like a heavenly maternity ward decorated with balloons and flowers celebrating a new family member arriving in their eternal home. 

Scripture rings true when it says: 

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:55

Our loss is heaven's gain. And what our loved one has gained, we, too, will one day have as well! 

The author of Romans writes:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, no any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all cration, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38,39 

While the pain of losing someone seems endless, it is not forever. For one day we will be reunited with them. What a day that will be. Imagine an airport concourse when your sweetheart returns from an extended time away. Embracing. Kissing. Tears of joy flowing. Add to that scene where we will have arrived (our heavenly home) and who else will be waiting for us there (Our Heavenly Father)! 

Celebrate the departure knowing full well that for the one voyaging it is beyond what they have ever seen, heard, nor even conceived (1 Corinthians 2:9). The things God has prepared for those who love Him are beyond what our human minds can even imagine!