Well now we've done it!
Since February our leadership, staff and pulse groups representing LEFC have been on a vision quest. Meeting together to pray, dream, search the Word and watch to see where God is moving so we can join in. As a result of this heart work, a rally cry has emerged that stands on the shoulders of the rally cry of the early church ("Jesus is Lord") and expresses what we want to be about as a community:
JESUS BIGGER . . . everywhere we set our feet.
It's unusual isn't it . . . I know, I love it, because it's going to get us out of our boxes and force us to grapple with what it means, and what it means to be the church; and we're going to explore this together.
Let me give you a glimpse into the biblical vision behind this rally cry.
JESUS BIGGER
"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” (Revelations 1:5b-6)
JESUS BIGGER...in our lives
We will tear down walls to make room in our lives for Jesus who doesn’t fit in a box, who refuses to be shaped by culture and who leads a revolutionary kingdom. We will fling open our hearts to welcome a King who is bigger than our dreams, bigger than our fears and bigger than our pain. As we surrender we will be transformed by love and grace that allows us to be ourselves...uniquely sculpted masterpieces, each with a purpose which when unleashed brings a storm of God’s power and glory.
“He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30)
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”(John 10:10)
“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
JESUS BIGGER...in community
We will choose to belong to each other. We will wedge open the doors of our lives to embrace being known, to embrace being accountable, to embrace being ourselves knowing this will require both courage and sacrifice. We will see Jesus bigger in our lives as we become his church; choosing grace, compassion, intimacy and authenticity as our stories become intertwined.
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should do as I have done for you...As I have loved, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:14-15,34-35)
JESUS BIGGER...in our neighbourhoods
We will be the new messengers of a scandalous kingdom of love, mercy, grace, truth, peace and joy. We will declare this counter-cultural movement with our words, our actions, our finances, our abilities and our time; uncompromisingly committed to seeing Jesus’ kingdom become a reality in the lives we brush elbows with daily. We will not settle for shabby, token gestures but will give our lives to see Jesus become bigger everywhere we set our feet...in our neighbourhood, our school, our workplace, our country and our world.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
EVERYWHERE WE SET OUR FEET
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
I know it's crazy, but welcome to our journey!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Allo Vicah! Perhaps you could add to this so I have something to read!! I like what you have so far!!
LynneK
Hello Darren,
It is wonderful to hear you encourage your people to see Jesus bigger. He is truly Prophet, Priest and King.
As I read regarding Jesus bigger in our neighbourhoods, that you will
"be the new messengers of a scandalous kingdom of love, mercy, grace, truth, peace and joy. We will declare this counter-cultural movement with our words, our actions, our finances, our abilities and our time; uncompromisingly committed to seeing Jesus’ kingdom become a reality in the lives we brush elbows with daily. We will not settle for shabby, token gestures but will give our lives to see Jesus become bigger everywhere we set our feet...in our neighbourhood, our school, our workplace, our country and our world."
This is great, however this is the 'bright' side of Christ. I don't see anything scandalous about the fruits of the spirit. But what about the cry for repentance? When we call people to repent, this becomes more uncomfortable for them. They think themselves self-righeous, yet most people in our church don't know the ten commandments. They don't understand the holiness and justice of God.
Luke 24:46 And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem."
Acts 26:20 On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance.
This ability to repent stems from a knowledge of sin and the absolute justice of God. Therefore, we need also to show the holiness of God, the filthiness of our sins, and the ultimate penalty of death into a burning lake of fire for those who die without having repented and believed in Christ. When people are brought to a realization of their sin, and the need for a savior, then Jesus will naturally become bigger. He will become their all in all. He is not about making life better, but giving life itself.
Dean.
Hi Darren. Many years ago I attended LEFC as a child. I learned a lot from my church leaders that I have applied to my life and career, and appreciate the morals and life lessons I learned from the people there. I have since come to realize that God is imaginary. The bible has some good lessons, but is largely "errant" when it comes to evolutionary biology, origins, concept of "supernatural phenomena" etc. You make a living from and thus have a vested interest in maintaining the notion that god is not imaginary, I mean, to admit its all fantasy would kill a pastor's career right? How can you maintain objectivity given this clearly financially motivated conflict of interest?
Post a Comment