Fresh faith for the harvest

"Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating & drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter & they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near.’ Jesus (Matthew 10:3-9)

Jerry Trousdale, author of 'Miraculous Movements' says, "Christians around the world know that becoming a follower of Jesus requires repentance of sins and a verbal affirmation of belief in God and the sacrifice of Jesus' blood for those sins. And that is where most ministries begin when engaging the lost: at the point of conversion. New believers are then encouraged to become disciples." He suggests that Jesus works in the reverse. He calls people to spend time with him, to experience God's power and obey his teaching. They come to the point where they realize that following Jesus costs them everything. "This kind of discipleship model - one that begins with discipleship and moves toward the point of conversion - is how many Muslims are becoming Christ followers." 

He concludes, 'When you turn people loose with a Bible to obey, you can't predict what they might do when they discover that God answers prayer, or how extravagant God's blessings can be on this kind of new faith.'

This Sunday - "Sent by Jesus to expand his kingdom" Matthew 10. 

On the road with Jesus

Some think that an aspiring apprentice should read the gospels to discover how the disciples attempted to follow Jesus and then ‘do it better’.  Perhaps they would teach something like, ‘Look at these poor ill-informed guys who had a problem with who was greatest;’ or ‘who didn’t have enough faith to heal this poor boy’.  Some would think, ‘but we know better.  :<   I would like to suppose however that the disciples represent the real struggle an apprentice of Christ has with his own human nature and his own personal battle for faith.  Too quickly the early church, full of real folks with real issues, got bogged down with sin and competition - begging for the apostolic epistles to be written.  The Thessalonians had lazy folks. The Corinthians had confusion and sin of every sort.  The Galatians were quickly abandoning the gospel. There is much for the apprentice to learn on a narrow way in a dangerous world. 

Luke writes, not to super disciples flashing their all-knowing eyes at a silly world, but to fellow sinners clothed in the righteousness of Christ.  If anyone sticks out as a Super Man it is the eyewitness account of Jesus himself.  He teaches the kingdom way. He commands the waves.  He saves and heals. He is revealed on ‘the Mount’ in an amazing rending of the veil and out-spilling of the glory he has shared from eternity with the Father.  His face shone & flashed like lightning. His clothes glowed unearthly white. ‘He is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of his power.’ Heb1:3 He is revealed as the beloved Son of God, Son of Man determined to bear the sins of the world to the cross, to please His Father in heaven and to return to the right hand of the Majesty on high. 

 And we keep our eyes on Jesus while identifying with the disciples because we are so much like them. Can't wait until Sunday as we continue on the path of apprenticeship with the Master Craftsman. 

Sunday tease

Surely Luke records the sending out of the 12 as a significant event in the life of the disciples.  Surely a lesson as well about how life in the kingdom is.  They were ill prepared by some standards perhaps but discipleship was all about ‘learning on the go’ as God did His work through the disciple. Take what you know and go apply it - whether it is saying ‘no’ to sin, ‘yes’ to righteousness or letting others know about Jesus.  Jesus is healing people. He is saving people. He is welcoming people into his kingdom, a realm where other learners were experimenting with the principles of trust and forgiveness and care - as he makes his way with our sins to the cross.   And he’s sending out his disciples on learning ventures, while broadening the circle. (12 in Lk9/ 70 in Lk10) They come back, debrief, RnR and head off again.  They have crazy authority and power and their trust level sky rockets as Jesus reveals his own power and deity.  They bring out a child’s lunch and Jesus multiplies it for 10,000 people! 

But surely Luke shares these stories, this slice of history setting history so that we will draw parallel conclusions as believers in Jesus Christ.  Don’t wait until you’re ready!  All it takes is obedience to what you know and the companionship of Jesus and the fellowship of the church.  God is great. Fellowship is good. But people are crazy & we are some of the craziest mistake prone, sinners around.  But praise God we are swimming in grace. It’s his presence drenched and influenced world that we live in, and move, and have our being.

Transformed from the inside out

I’ve been thinking.  Believers in Jesus Christ exist for two reasons:

1.     To worship and respond to the revealed Word of God. This as opposed to critiquing each other or church services.

 
ARC is not in competition with other churches to provide the most meaningful worship and best preaching this side of paradise.  We seek to provide a good, Christ-focused atmosphere for the body to ‘in spirit and truth’ lift our Lord high. We seek to provide solid, Biblically based preaching and teaching, so that those listening may be motivated to live lives worthy of the gospel.  We think the most effective body-life is not one that is focused on measuring and critiquing one another but is focused on a joyful life of worship and obedience, trusting God to do his work among us.

2.      To vigilantly engage the world with the reality of Christ. This as opposed to criticizing sinners.

ARC is not self-satisfied or smug about the gospel. We aren’t looking for a one time-‘4 laws’- hit and run shar-a-thon. We recognize the times. We are committed to engaging our world by sharing our lives, earning the trust and friendship of those around us by investing in their lives, being there when they need us. We are committed to entrusting them to God through prayer and being available to serve Him in their lives.  In today’s world this may be with family out of state, neighbors or workmates, or someone in your own household. You are the long (or short) arm of Christ and His church.

At Aspen Ridge you won’t find us busily building our kingdom, keeping records of attendance & measuring our success by how many came to church last Sunday.  We measure it by investing our lives in His kingdom work, planting seeds, cultivating seedlings, and trusting God patiently for fruit in His time. We measure it by the humility and service that only comes from an awareness of Jesus in our lives and a heartfelt appreciation for His shed blood giving eternal meaning to life on planet earth. 

Thinking again... on mission for Jesus, Aspen Ridge Church, Falcon, CO and beyond. Pastor Dean

Be Kingdom Great!.

‘Kingdom Great’ means merciful to the core.  God's perfections are wrapped up in his mercy. 'Be merciful as your Father is merciful', Jesus says. God was so determined to be merciful that at great cost, he sent his only Son Jesus Christ to do what we could not do.  ‘I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, amazing grace the whole day long. Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.’  Jesus teaches a kingdom festival of the heart that rejects anger, lust, unfaithfulness & careless words - a heart with little baggage, giving out mercy as though it were pennies.

 I believe that God increases our reservoir of mercy as we give it away. It is not about arriving spiritually, or waiting for God to fill our tank. Too many of us wait too long to give away an outrageously unexpected goodness indiscriminatingly, even to those don’t deserve it.  Fear or pride can keep us from action.  Jesus says that the one who acts on His words will stand strong, not those who only come to him and listen.  Action can be the catalyst that empowers the giver and releases, even one’s own soul, from bondage.

I am fascinated with Jesus’ teaching about ‘disarming your adversary by an outrageously unexpected goodness’ in Luke 6. It doesn’t have to be simply ‘turning the other cheek’ - it can be helping someone you hate, or simply doing some unexpected kindness. Make something up!!   But do act!

 See you in church tomorrow as we learn about ‘Giving it up for others as one builds an inner life like Jesus.’

 

Seminal thoughts and Lone Ducks

Ever once in a while I have a defining moment as I try to grasp what God is up to in the world, more specifically the world we live in.  Three questions rose in my mind as I studied Luke 5:1-11.  What was Jesus doing by a lake? What was he doing fishing from a boat on a lake? And, why did he catch so many fish? I mean, he IS on a mission.  He's even modeling our mission in many ways. (Why am I on the planet?)  Here are my attempts at answering these three questions:

(1) Most of Jesus' kingdom outreach doesn't happen in a building. Our lives are on display. 

(2) Most of Jesus' mission-training doesn't happen in a building. Peter was tired, sweaty, defeated and he smelled like fish.  Jesus saw a teaching moment, the kind that usually happen when you and I are at the end of our rope. Apprenticeship happens on the go, usually during inconvenient times, in a person's daily life.  Never leave ministry for a professional.

(3) Don't wait until you're ready to share the kingdom.  It's all about Jesus, not you. When Peter saw Jesus command every fish in the lake leaped into his nets, causing them to tear and making it difficult to keep two boats afloat, he said, 'Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'  He had an 'aha' moment.  The foundation of a nonjudgmental, messy, full of grace festival of the heart spilling over onto others, rests on the full awareness of my unworthiness and Christ's sufficiency.  Don't wait until you're ready. Expect God to blow your socks off and blow your hair back. God gets the most glory when you reach the end of yourself, obey him anyway, he shows up and does something you can barely comprehend, and you find yourself 'all in.'

In less than 3 weeks Aspen Ridge is invading 'Lone Duck Campground'.  What an opportunity to just be ourselves out in public. We will be the church and 'have' church in front of God and everybody. It is my prayer that what the staff and our fellow campers remember about us will be that we were the friendliest group of people they ever met who were passionate about God.  And if Stanley Steamer Kyle is out there - God is alive and doing his work. Please don't give up on him!

Luke's epic adventure

I’ve been wanting for some time to embark on an interactive adventure to know Jesus better.  Not just the Jesus who died on the cross and is coming again but the Jesus who walked on the earth. The Jesus between the bookends. The Jesus who reached out to a fallen human race full of pain, distrustful and even dead set against him and his love; the Jesus who ate with sinners and saints; the Jesus who found people of peace as diverse as Zachaeus the tax collector, Simon the zealot, Nicodemus the Pharisee, Mary possessed by 7 demons, even the unnamed thirsty, woman of the world at the well. It is time to pursue this Jesus and to imitate him today in our world, filled with the very same sorts of people.  How do we weave our way through a hurting angry world, doing the work God has called us to; forgiving & blessing with hope instead of picking up pain and bitterness of soul; offering healing prayer and interceding for every last lost soul we come across.  Are you ready to embark on an adventure of epic proportion with me - an adventure of listening and doing, a practicum in the Gospel of Luke?  You may have already missed  ‘Jesus; the prequel’ (check out sermons on our website on April 28th and May 5th.)   Live the adventure this summer with Aspen Ridge Church!

Now is the time!

Now is the time.  It’s the week believers especially remember Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Now is the time to soberly evaluate our lives.  Am I living for eternity? Am I engaged in gratitude for all God has done for me? Am I conscious of the love of God and the purchase price of my redemption? Now is the time.  This week the highest court in the land is considering a decision as huge in magnitude as Roe v Wade in 1973 - some say the biggest political threat to religious freedom in the short history of these United States of America.  Now is the time. I believe with all my heart that God is calling us to pray.  When Jesus saw the masses he felt compassion in the pit of his stomach. Then he healed and taught them. He didn’t place his hope in religious or political leaders but in God. We shouldn’t either! Here is how Matthew records it:

“Jesus was going through all the cities & villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease & every kind of sickness. Seeing the crowds, he felt compassion for them because they were distressed & dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” Matt9:35-38

Share Christ’s compassion.  Speak truth and share the hope of the gospel & of God’s kingdom. Plead with God for more kingdom workers. Jesus did not see people through the eyes of politics. He saw them as worn out by the cares of this world needing a Savior! He calls for ambassadors of hope.

Now is the time to pray:

1.         Like the tax collector:  ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ Meditate on John 6
2.      That the Supreme Court will support marriage between 1 man and 1 woman to honor  
       creation’s God and for the good of our country.
3.      That the Lord of the harvest will draw hearts: (a) to turn to Jesus. (b) to be kingdom
      workers praying, watching and sharing the message of grace.

Happy Easter!

A Big Moment

Twenty-five years and six ministries ago I told a young man in my youth group that God had His hand on his life and that I just knew that he was called to ministry. He said, ‘No, he didn’t think so’! But I saw his heart for people and his heart for God shining through his 16 year old personality.  He was always pointing kids to God and he was just plain bold about it. I think God wired his DNA that way. It was a ‘calling’ that was so obvious that even a young inexperienced youth pastor could see it.  This weekend I am participating in his ordination council and giving a charge at his ordination service on Sunday. I only have one thing to say - it’s about time!  Even though he still builds snowmen, Eric isn’t a kid anymore. He has a braided, gray goatee. Really! Eric graduated from Bible College years ago and then served as a youth pastor. A faithful husband and father of two, soon to be grandfather, foster parent and engaged leader in his church - the last 2 and a half decades have repeatedly and clearly shown God’s hand on his life. What a cool thing that his church wants to make it official & I get to participate.

It is a big moment for me and Kris - to bless and be blessed by Eric and Terri. We are looking forward to it. Eric wouldn’t have made it this far without Terri ministering at his side! (I believe we had a part in that too!) It’s also a big moment for the body of Christ. Ozark Mountain Community Church and Aspen Ridge Church have come together across two states to acknowledge how God has connected His body for His work.

It’s also a big moment (that makes a trinity of big moments!) for Ozark Mountain Community Church to recognize God at work in one of her own. God works through His organized church!  He calls us to serve together and recognize his gifting and leadership. Just like a good marriage is publicly recognized & celebrated, so a good church publicly honors her leaders!  What a privilege to be invited to participate in God’s work in the life of a church and the life of an individual God has graced me to touch.

2013 at Aspen Ridge

I’ve been preaching my vision for this year for a couple months now it seems.  I see Aspen Ridge Church as a group of people invading their world like a good virus - for Jesus Christ. Call it 'the long tail'. Call it 'the long arm'. Sunday services are for edification, worship, and encouraging one another.  I’m hope I’m not being too specific on my expectations but I’d love to see the halls, classrooms and worship center alive with interaction on Sunday mornings - discussions about seeds you've planted and conversations you've had during the week. I envision a church where we can’t wait to get to church to talk amongst ourselves of God’s faithfulness. I think 2013 is not about exciting new programs we’ve come up with or sermon series that bring people in off the streets. I think it’s about you and me being the church all week long.  Maybe this is too much to ask, but I don’t think so.  God is calling a people to himself who are committed to Him and the gospel in a shallow, self-centered, entertainment deadened generation.  He is still calling out a people for himself and He is using Aspen Ridge.  If not - no matter how big or small we are - we ought to close shop!  I refuse to look at size or money as the bottom line for success. Lets each one trust God to expand the tent poles of our lives and let God worry about expanding our church.   Meanwhile - ‘The Bible’ is the book of the month for March!  Let’s get at it!  It all starts this Sunday at church & Sunday night on the History Channel!

A modern parable

Once upon a time there was a business called ‘Blockbusters’.  It majored in renting blockbuster movies to the public - the bigger the better. One day little red boxes started popping up. Netflix followed. Many of the movies they listed weren’t well known. They had discovered a simple fact - there was more money to be made from lots of lesser known films that appealed to smaller segments of the public than from Blockbusters.  They were more efficient too in their nooks & crannies and by the US mail! Blockbusters soon went out of business.  Big hits & big names were the head but it had a very long tail of lesser stars that won the day. Imagine a dragon. The church is a lot like Blockbusters. We try to attract the public to come to us. Our big programs and great preaching is the head.  But stadiums don’t fill to hear George Beverly Shay sing and a gaggle of big name stars share their stories, and Billy Graham preach a sermon. Not any more. The world isn’t interested at best, and downright antagonistic at worst, toward the gospel nowadays or so it seems. Do we circle the wagons and hunker down for the siege? Or do we become ‘the long tail’ of evangelism where each one of us takes the gospel into our world as we listen and help people talk their way into the kingdom.  We are not ashamed of the gospel. We respect it most highly, highly enough not to present it for ridicule. We will boldly pray, serve and question our way into a person’s heart with the love that we carry into a hurting world.  A survey of 10,000 people found: 80% of new people came to church because you invited them - only 6% because they like the pastor; only 5% because they like the Bible study teacher; only 3% because of programs.  You see, we are most like Jesus when we are being the church not going to church!  You are the long arm of Aspen Ridge Church or is that ‘the long tail’?  You are God’s means to spread His love around in the nooks and crannies of life.