Mission Central

We’ve got to embrace our new identity as believers. Stop lying, tell the truth. Don’t be controlled by anger, deal with conflict. Don’t steal, work to be generous. Don’t be rotten mouthed, be an edifier, an encourager. Don’t grieve the Spirit, be kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

These next 2 episodes were recorded while I was preaching in Finland at my friend Shaun’s church, so please forgive the audio. The focus is on the life of believer. We must live as believers, not as unbelievers. That is not who you are anymore. Your identity is in Christ.

In this final installment looking at the role of the pastor we examine the God designed responsibility of the pastor. Growing churches call a pastor to administer and lead the church so the members are free to do ministry. Dying churches call a pastor to do the ministry while the people administer the church.

As we continue looking at the role of the pastor I advocate for a high view of the pastorate. It’s important that we understand God’s calling in general to ministry and His calling to a specific church. A church doesn’t hire a pastor. A church agrees with the pastor that God has called him to that specific church.

In this episode we begin an examination of the role of the pastor in a local church. This is a message I preached as an interim pastor at a local church about to call their new pastor. Pastors are gifts to the local church and should be valued, loved, supported and encouraged as such. Even though the world no longer values the position of pastor, this should never be the case in the local church.

Unity is more important than your pride and your agenda. Unity is more important than your tradition and your comfort. Unity is more important than your desire to avoid conflict. In summary, Unity is more important than you. So let's work together to build unity and protect the unity of the church.

There are things we can do to help preserve unity and things we can do to harm unity. Today we begin to look at a list of these actions we can take and attitudes we can have. Everyone in the church is responsible to walk in a way that builds unity in the church. Listen to the list and see how you are doing.

Talking about unity is one of the most important discussions we can have regarding the life and effectiveness of the church. At some point the unity of the church will be challenged. People will act in ways to harm unity, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose. We must adopt actions and attitudes to protect the unity of the church.

Thom Rainer of Lifeway says that one of the greatest sicknesses in our churches in America is disunity. The #1 reason pastors leave the church is that they are worn out from conflict. The church must be unified. The only way this can happen is for the church to follow God’s design and yield to His leadership.

In part 2 of how to love your church, we talk about God’s love for you and your church. You must allow God to love you, to shower you with His abundance, to be your provider and your provision. Be embraced by His love. Be overwhelmed by His love. Don’t deny God the opportunity to show Himself to you through His great love for you.

If there was only one thing you could do for your church to help it, that one thing would be to pray for your church. Paul prayed for the church and he taught others to pray for the local church. Often we pray for one another’s physical health. We should spend more time praying for their spiritual health.

Recently I spent some time on mission in Europe and while in Germany I sat down with good friends Marvin and Meagan Schaefer. They work with OM International and serve in a local church near Frankfurt. I hope you enjoy hearing their heart for the world and for the church as they share their story.

Thoroughly depressed, it’s time to make a turnaround. Paul puts together the greatest 2 word phrase in the Bible when he begins verse 4 of chapter 2 with that wonderful phrase, “but God.” Because of His great love and unending mercy He has rescued us. His reckless love comes after us to save us.

Yes, spiritual death is real and it is overwhelming. Bad news from Ephesians 2 continues. Without Christ we are dominated by Satan and on our own we run toward sin. Spiritual death is universal and we are doomed. Depressed yet? Just wait. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Ancestry.com and other companies have capitalized on the booming business of discovering your roots. I don’t know where you come from but I do know this, we all have a common heritage. We are all sinners. The church is full of sinners. In Ephesians 2 Paul gives a brutally honest assessment of all people without Christ.

Resurrection Day! Each of the gospels tell the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ with a unique goal in mind. Matthew’s point is brief, the resurrection is a story that must be told. It’s not just a personal story, it’s a world changing, life changing story that pushes us to the ends of the earth.

Easter Sunday! Christ followers know the story but an increasing percentage of the world doesn’t know the truth about the greatest day in world history. And they have no idea what these facts mean. As believers we must know this story well and we must be convinced of the meaning of the resurrection.

After Jesus died his body was taken by friends and family to be buried in the borrowed tomb of Joseph. Some of those who helped had been quiet, almost silent disciples. His death finally brought them out of the shadows to do something for their Lord.

There was an earthquake when Jesus died and Matthew records that the tombs were opened. The dead were resurrected! Resurrection is REAL! This isn’t difficult. You don’t have to be a theologian to put your trust in the resurrected Christ.

The gospel history tells us that Jesus died on a cross, but theology is left to explain that "Christ died for our sins." (1 Corinthians 15:3)