Christian Standard | September 2018

christian standard

COVER

september 2018

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letter It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Hawaii when, at 8:07 on January 13, 2018, push notifications were sent to all cell phones and mobile devices, and television and radio stations across the state activated the Emergency Alert System. The message was clear: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Some people were just stepping into the shower. Others were on a morning commute. Many were enjoying breakfast with their families. Some people knew that they had about 12 minutes till impact. Some parents removed manhole covers and ushered their children inside. Hawaii has few basements, so many people rushed to hurricane shelters, parking garages, or whatever they could find. There was really no adequate place to hide.

Some parents recognized the hopelessness of the situation

FROM THE

publisher

and chose to let their children continue sleeping. One Christian grandmother wanted to take her grandchildren to the beach; she imagined no better way to meet death and be welcomed into the arms of Jesus than holding hands with family.

has been keenly aware of the potential of a worldwide catastrophic event. In 1957, an American science advisory committee promoted fallout shelters as “the only feasible protection for millions of people.” On October 6, 1961, President Kennedy encouraged all Americans to build fallAfter 38 heart-wrenching minout shelters. Congress appropriutes, at 8:45 a.m. a second alert ated money to build community went out: bomb shelters. I can still remem“THERE IS NO MISSILE THREAT ber “duck and cover” drills at my OR DANGER TO THE STATE elementary school.

OF HAWAII. REPEAT. FALSE In 1947, the Bulletin of the ALARM.” Atomic Scientists created the It turned out an emergency management worker had pressed a wrong button during a shift change because he misunderstood something he heard.

The heart-pounding drama that morning captured what it would feel like to experience the end of the world.

Ever since the waning days of World War II, when atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D

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Doomsday Clock to illustrate the threat level of global nuclear war (“the end of the world”). When introduced, the clock showed 7 minutes to midnight. In 1949 it moved to 3 minutes till midnight when the Soviet Union tested their first nuclear device. In 1953, it clicked a minute closer to midnight after the first U.S. hydrogen bomb test. An arms reduction treaty pushed the Doomsday Clock back to 17 minutes till midnight in 1991.

The Bulletin began considering other global threats in 2007, and “unchecked climate change” was a consideration in 2015 when the clock advanced to 3 minutes till midnight. In 2017, with the Iran and North Korea situations unsettled, the clock ticked forward 30 seconds (to 2.5 minutes).

And in January, soon after the false alarm in Hawaii, the clock advanced again and now stands at 2 minutes till midnight—the “latest” it’s been since 1953.

spoke about it in Matthew 24, and John wrote about it at great length in Revelation. The best way to understand the end of the world might be to go back to the beginning of it. Read the first verse of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

This is my Father’s world. He created it, designed it, sustains it, and it is exclusively up to him to destroy it. So maybe the best way to understand the end of the world is to understand God. So, what’s my point? Besides nuclear calamity, scientists and What was he up to in creating it and what would be the benefit in science fiction writers have destroying it? outlined any number of scenarios for how the world might Now you’re at the place you end: giant asteroid, unchecked need to be when living under the artificial intelligence, melting threat of 2 minutes till midnight. polar ice caps, depleted ozone layer, solar flare, diminished rain But how do I live with this forests, killer virus. Movies have knowledge and the fear and apprehension that comes from it? been made using each of these Understand the truth of it. It’s scenarios. going to happen. You may or may These potential events can get not be alive when the world ends, under our skin and into our brains, but all of them fail to fac- but here are the questions: Are tor in the greatest truth of them you ready for it? What have you done to prepare for it? all . . . God! I remember when Y2K happened.

Faith is something the scientific All the ministers in my city met community runs away from, at the mayor’s office to pray and screaming with hands waving mobilize. People stored food and in the air. I sometimes wonder water. Y2K turned out to be a big if scientists are more afraid of nothing burger, but the end of faith than any of their doomsday the world promised in the Bible predictions. won’t be. There is only one way So what does God have to say to prepare for it. Jesus is your about it? Is there an “end of the fallout shelter! world” teaching in the Bible?

Live out your faith tempered by The answer is yes, although “end” the urgency of it. The most fredoesn’t really apply. quent command in the Bible is to Second Peter 3:10-12 relates the “fear not”; it’s often said to occur truth of the world’s end. Jesus 365 times . . . one for every day C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D

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of the year. Jesus is the absolute proof that we can put fear aside.

It’s like the “No Longer Slaves” song says: We are no longer slaves to fear . . . we are children of God. People desperately need a Savior. Christians have the solution—we’ve got to share it!

Rest in the fact that God is in control. Remember that the end of the world comes in the context of Jesus coming back for us. God has a plan for the world, and he has a plan for your life. It’s an upper-story plan that will not harm you but will set you free.

I was reminded of that just this week as my 18-month-old granddaughter called me by the name she made up for me, blew me a kiss, and told me she loved me.

This little one can be mean, selfcentered, defiant, and just plain bad . . . and I don’t like it when she’s that way. She might even get some discipline. But I’m not going to stop loving her . . . period. I don’t want her to be afraid of me, and I want her to know that I will always protect her.

How is that any different from God’s attitude for his children?

Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard Media and senior pastor of The Crossing, a multisite church located in three states across the Midwest. @_jerryharris /jerrydharris

CHRISTIAN STANDARD —

FOUNDED 1866 BY ISAAC ERRETT Devoted to the restoration of New Testament Christianity, its doctrine, its ordinances, and its fruits.

The Staff Jerry Harris, Publisher Michael C. Mack, Editor Jim Nieman, Managing Editor Shawn McMullen, Contributing Editor Megan Kempf, Designer Abby Wittler, Designer Renee Little, Operations

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®.

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Copyright ©2018 by Christian Standard Media Email: cs@christianstandardmedia.com Website: www.christianstandard.com Printed in USA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEA T U R E ANDREW J. HAIRSTON: Central to the Struggle

—

by Jim Nieman

I N E V E RY I S S UE 2-3 | L E TTE R F RO M THE P UB L ISH E R

The Art of Godly Disagreement . . .

Jerry Harris

by Jon Weatherly

6-7 | L E TTE R F RO M THE E DITO R Michael C. Mack

39

IN THE ARENA: Is Online Church Really Church?

7 | THIS MONTH ON THE WEBSITE

by Jerry harris and Barry cameron

48

The State of Racial Reconciliation in the Church David Dummitt

Reaching Out to the Hopeless and Hurting in Hollywood, Florida

52 56 60 64

10-13 | MOVE ME NT

by Jerry hairris

14-17 | ME TRIC S

Do e s Yo ur Chur c h’s Wor ship Sty le Matter?

Kent Fillinger

18-19 | E 2 : E F F E C TIV E EL D ER S 3 ‘ Play s’ fo r Elde rs in Ur ba n Chur c he s Gary L. Johnson

Next-Door Urban Ministry

by lancelot schaubert

20-21 | HO RIZO N S

How to Help Students Prepare for a Missions Trip Emily Drayne

Can You Define Deception?

22-23 | MINISTRY L IF E

by costi hinn

A Flic ke r ing Light Jacqueline J. Holness

17-19 | IMAG IN E

A Ga r de n Sto r y Mel McGowan

5 Keys (and 3 crucial attitudes) for a Successful Food Ministry

34-41 | F E ATURE ART I CL E

by troy m. borst

Andr e w J. Ha ir ston: Ce ntra l to the Strug g le Jim Nieman

Walking with Encounter Church

70-71 | IN TE RAC T

by steve carr

72 | NO N DE NO MINATION A L I S H Caleb Kaltenbach

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letter

FROM THE

editor This month we focus on the urban church. This topic may bring about disagreement among readers. Our cities, after all, often serve as the stage for highly charged emotional issues in our culture. In addition, we also tackle the contentious question of online church; is it really church? And how do we even discuss debatable issues in a sane and unifying manner? (We cover that too.)

Finally, I want you to know about a few changes we’re making to serve you better.

cities; we have tremendous opportunities there to be salt and light that far surpass the monumental inherent challenges. But our purpose, even in this movement, is not to restore the settings, environment, programs, or forms of the New Testament church, but the functions— that is, the timeless principles, the spirit, and most importantly, the Spirit of the church Jesus envisioned.

What Urban Ministry Means to You

As I read and edited the articles in this issue, I found some of my ideas, preconceptions, and assumptions challenged, and I think you will too. I expect you will disagree with at least one statement or premise in some articles. I ask that you read and respond with a humble spirit. Take the advice of Sonny Smith in David Dummitt’s interview (see page 10), to “overcome insensitivity and defensiveness. We need to pursue humility and be willing to admit when we

As several writers point out, the New Testament church was mostly an urban church; city was the context for and environment in which they did ministry. What does that mean for us today? Probably more—and, at the same time, less—than we think.

The church—that is, Christ followers individually and collectively as the body of Christ—needs to be proliferating in our

What You May Disagree With

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don’t have a clue. We need to be willing to come alongside one another to ask questions, learn, and understand different perspectives.”

Like Christ, we live best when we empty ourselves, which means surrendering our opinions, preconceptions, attitudes, and ways of thinking (Romans 12:1, 2), no matter how tightly held.

That doesn’t mean a lack of conviction. Instead, it means we are convicted by God’s Word more than our own ideas (even about God’s Word!).

Scripture often has to rebuke us and correct us (2 Timothy 3:16), even those of us who have studied it for years and teach it.

Don’t miss Jon Weatherly’s humorous, convicting, and applicable article, “The Art of Godly Disagreement . . .

Or How I Learned to Stop Arguing and Start Loving People Who Are Wrong” (page 34). This article will serve as a guide for how to debate debatable issues.

What Changes We’re Making to Serve You Better

You will notice a couple changes in this month’s issue and on our website. Our “Communion Meditation” and “Headlines” will no longer appear in our monthly print magazine or app, but new material—meditations, news, and more—will appear weekly in our newsletter and at ChristianStandard.com.

These changes will allow us to focus our energies on producing not only more timely news, but also several news-features each month that will appear only at those two venues. In addition, we will continue to post a new Communion meditation each week on our website. (Keep in mind, our site is already home to 300 such meditations.)

To stay current on news, events, information, ministry resources, and other support for church leaders, please subscribe to our newsletter at ChristianStandard.com.

We’ll continue to add daily to our website content that’s relevant to your leadership and ministry; ChristianStandard.com will be a central place for our churches to keep up-to-date with current news in our movement, find resources for leading effectively, and connect with other churches and organizations. Because . . . we are all better together as Christ’s body than any of us can be alone.

this month

ON THE WEBSITE

get exclusive content and extras only at christianstandard.com an urban mission field In “Walking with Encounter Church” (p. ##), Steve Carr takes us on a street by street visit to a section of the District of Columbia with more than 175 foreign embassies and diplomatic missions. Only on the website, see what next steps you can take in your own mission field.

feeding the hungry Troy M. Borst gives “5 Keys (and 3 Crucial Attitudes) for a Successful Food Ministry” (p. ##). On our website we provide even more information on how you, too, can develop this kind of ministry, including a list of suggested food-pantry items.

Debating Debatable Issues Jon Weatherly sagaciously and facetiously shares how he learned to stop arguing and start loving people who are wrong in “The Art of Godly Disagreement” (p. ##). Get even more practical advice from Jon on this vital topic only on our website.

including this month’s... ++ Letter from the Publisher ++ Letter from the Editor ++ MinistryLife ++ Horizons ++ e2: Effective Elders

New each day @ christianstandard.com @michaelcmack @michaelcmack @michaelcmack /AuthorMichaelCMack

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |

The Restoration Movement Archive This Week’s Bible Study Lesson This Week’s Communion Meditation ICC News Story of the Week CS Blog *new! e2: Effective Elders Blog Nondenominationalish Headline

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move ment

BY DAVID DUMMITT

The State of Racial Reconciliation in the Church // An interview with Sonny Smith, lead pastor of Detroit Church

In a February 1957 message for the National Council of Churches’ observance of Race Relations Sunday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, Racial segregation is a blatant denial of the unity which we all have in Christ. Segregation is a tragic evil that is utterly un-Christian. . . .

Every Christian is confronted with the basic responsibility of working courageously for a non-segregated society. The task of conquering segregation is an inescapable must confronting the Christian Churches.

David Dummitt is the lead pastor and planter of 2|42 Community Church in Michigan, one of the largest and fastestgrowing churches in the country. He is also on the lead team of NewThing, a catalyst for reproducing churches worldwide. /DavidDummitt

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King’s bold words speak to churches today as clearly as they did 60 years ago. Racial division and polarization is a serious problem continuing to plague churches, and it is mission critical that we intentionally combat such issues with courage and humility.

Detroit is arguably one of the most impoverished, oppressed, and racially divided cities in the United States. Once a booming metropolis, the Motor City has experienced tremendous loss over the last several decades.

From race riots and violence to becoming the largest U.S. city ever to declare bankruptcy, Detroit has been hit hard, and healing is a long road.

We serve a big God, and his church is the hope of the world. He has called all of us to live as citizens of his kingdom, and as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, he has given us the message of reconciliation—to himself, and to one another.

Sonny Smith is a friend and fellow pastor. Two years ago, Sonny launched Detroit Church in midtown. In two short years, Sonny has been a catalyst for starting hard and healing conversations tackling racial tensions head-on.

I recently sat down with Sonny for an honest conversation about the current state of racial reconciliation within the church.

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You grew up in Detroit. Your father was a pastor in Detroit. From your perspective, what is the current state of racial reconciliation in the church, or Detroit in general?

Racial tension and the need for reconciliation are big issues that need Holy Spirit power moving through God’s people to bring hope and healing. The reality is we’re all prejudiced in some way. Regardless of our individual skin color, we all have real problems to face, real challenges to overcome in our thinking and beliefs.

At Detroit Church, we’ve been going through the book of Acts. We see Peter dealing with his own prejudice in his heart. Like Peter, we have to wrestle through our own prejudice, both what we have been taught through how we were raised, but also with the reality that we are sinful people prone to prejudice because of our sin nature. Like Peter, even when we’ve heard from God on the issue of racism, we have to confront our deep-seated prejudices time and time again.

How has God called you to serve in the midst of that climate in Detroit?

God has called me to be very raw and unafraid to confront and deal with our mess—to expose it, highlight it, and make sure the gospel is central to any real reconciliation efforts. I know we don’t have it all figured out, but God has called all of us to be willing to ask the difficult questions with the goal of reconciliation in mind.

We are called to affirm the God-given dignity of every person. We didn’t give it to them. We did not create it. We simply recognize it . . . that the God that made me made them.

What are some of the things Detroit Church has done to address the need for racial reconciliation?

We opened our doors two years ago. In that short time, we have worked hard to create intentional environments to have real, raw conversations about racial issues.

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Not long ago we held a conversation series called “Black, White, and Blue” dealing with some of the traumatic police shooting situations that were happening. We unpacked hard questions like, “Is white privilege a real thing?” Talk about uncomfortable! But that’s the call—we have to be willing to get raw about the real issues if we stand any chance of being conduits of healing.

In June of this year we held a live online event called “The Prejudice Sin-drome,” where people could text in their questions to be discussed online.

It’s an ongoing conversation. Detroit Church is 40 percent black, 40 percent white, and 20 percent “other.” I’ve had white people come up to me with hard questions and concerns; I’ve had black people come up to me with hard questions and concerns. Those are the dynamics, and I can’t reject what people are saying. I have a responsibility to listen. We all do.

What are some of the biggest hangups and blind spots to Christ followers overcoming racial tensions?

Christians have to overcome insensitivity and defensiveness. We need to pursue humility and be willing to admit when we don’t have a clue. We need to be willing to come alongside one another to ask questions, learn, and understand different perspectives.

A black couple told me recently that they checked out a life group and . . . were blatantly ignored by other people in the group. I ended up speaking from the pulpit about it. People came up to me after the service in tears, realizing that maybe they haven’t done everything they could. That’s encouraging— like scales falling from eyes. But it is incredibly difficult.

If I’m really honest, many of the white Christians I know don’t have much of a struggle helping poor, uneducated black people. They don’t have an issue helping the homeless. But I have seen prejudice and C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

suspicion arise with educated black people who can communicate at high levels and have the intellectual capacity to challenge them; that’s when the walls go up.

What are your thoughts on the idea of “privilege”?

Privilege itself is neither good nor bad, but we need to learn to recognize it. There are real factors that impact a person’s or a community’s ability to get ahead. Some people say, “Pick yourself up by the bootstraps,” but the reality is that some people don’t have boots at all! We need to be aware of privileges, not to be ashamed of them, but instead to learn to model Christ by laying down our personal rights, comforts, and privileges to love and serve others.

One of my white friends helped me understand the idea of privilege in light of Philippians 2. Paul uses the word kenosis, the notion of emptying oneself for the benefit of another.

Christ held the highest privilege and comforts as the Son of God, and he emptied himself to relate to us, to be with us. If Christ left everything to become like us, humbled himself to be with us, then we as Christians ought to acknowledge the ways we are privileged and be willing to lay it all down for the sake of one another, regardless of skin color.

One of the things I like to say at Detroit Church is that we don’t have the luxury of being here without being impacted by the difficult realities of the city. Our church has been displaced seven times in two years, not because of anything we have done, but because that is a reality in the city. Rent increases beyond sustainability. Lead was found in water fountains. Our community faces these things all the time, and we have to be willing to step into that reality with our people.

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How important is it to have different races represented on a church leadership team, teaching team, or other influential positions?

Representing diversity in leadership and influential positions within a church is of first importance. The church should be reflective of the community; the pulpit should reflect the community. That’s a tangible demonstration of moving beyond talk and into action—building a family on mission together that transcends the barriers built by prejudice.

What does “winning” in this area look like? At what point will you say, “We’re good at this; we can help others with this”?

When we are making disciples across racial barriers who then go on to make more disciples across barriers . . . that’s when I’ll be able to say we are winning. When we’re able to acknowledge the implicit bias that each of us has, deal with it, and aren’t defensive about it—whether it’s race, age, class, gender, education—when we have an environment where people all across the spectrum know that they belong and don’t feel the need to hold back.

Let’s talk about the suburbs and rural areas. What do you say to people in those areas who are asking, “What am I supposed to do?” How does a suburban, predominantly white community, or a rural community, address the issue of racial reconciliation in the church?

Regardless of our geography, we all need to be asking ourselves hard questions, addressing our personal prejudices, and aligning our attitudes and actions with God’s desire for unity and real reconciliation.

We need to establish the reality of the truth that the church is the hope of the world, and that God’s first plan for discipleship is within our families—how we raise our children.

Would we let our child marry someone of another race? Support them having a grandchild that is black? We can be agents of reconciliation starting within our homes.­ C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

I am so grateful for leaders who are leading the charge for racial reconciliation within the church in Detroit—like my friend and fellow pastor Sonny Smith—and throughout the entire world. Let us emulate their leadership to have bold, humble, and honest conversations, and to love across all barriers.  - 13 -

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met rics

BY KENT FILLINGER

Does Your Church’s Worship Style Matter?

Worship music is a key part of a church’s overall worship experience, and a church’s style of worship remains a key differentiator, even as the “worship wars” of the 1980s and 1990s have subsided.

Research shows that worship or music isn’t a priority for people in choosing to attend a church or in deciding whether to remain at a church (see my article “What Are Your Church’s Push and Pull Factors? Part 2” from March). Still, music remains one of the most talked about elements of a worship service.

Kent E. Fillinger serves as president of 3:STRANDS Consulting and director of partnerships with CMF International, Indianapolis, Indiana. /3strandsconsulting www.3strandsconsulting.com

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I wanted to learn more about worship styles in our churches, so this year I added this question to our annual church survey: Which of the following worship styles best reflects the type of worship venues your church offered in 2017? (Check all that apply.) oo Traditional/Classic style oo Blended style oo Contemporary/Modern style There were seven possible answer combinations. I chose not to define or describe the worship styles, but left it to the discretion of the church staff member who completed the survey.

Megachurches and emerging megachurches were the most likely to use only one worship style, and it primarily was contemporary/ modern (73 percent and 71 percent, respectively).

Eighteen percent of emerging megachurches and 11 percent of megachurches offered both contemporary/modern and traditional/ classic worship styles. Another 11 percent of megachurches offered both blended and contemporary/modern styles.

Large and medium churches also preferred using only the contemporary/modern worship style—64 percent and 49 percent, respectively.

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A blended style was the primary choice for small and very small churches—41 percent and 45 percent, respectively. And 28 percent of medium churches used only a blended style.

A contemporary/modern approach to worship was used by 32 percent of small churches and 22 percent of very small churches, while onefourth of very small churches and 12 percent of small churches used only a traditional/classic worship style.

The charts below show the most prevalent worship styles and how they possibly affected the growth rates and baptism ratios (the number of baptisms per 100 people in average attendance) for each of the church-size categories. It should be noted, churches using only contemporary/modern worship had the highest baptism ratios for all six church-size categories. For half of the church-size categories, the fastest-growing churches offered both traditional/classic and contemporary/modern worship venues.

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I also asked a second related worship question for the first time in the 2017 church survey: During the past 2 to 3 years, has your church changed the format or style of one or more worship venues? oo Yes, changed a lot oo Yes, changed moderately oo Yes, changed a little oo No changes Over the last two to three years, 71 percent of megachurches reported “no changes” to their worship style. More than half of emerging megachurches (58 percent) and large churches (55 percent) said they had not made any changes either. Not quite half of medium, small, and very small churches (48 percent) reported “no changes” to their worship styles.

One-fourth of emerging megachurches, medium, small, and very small churches said they had changed their worship styles “a little” in the last few years. Not quite one-fifth of large churches and small churches noted they had made “moderate” changes to their worship styles during this same period. Finally, medium churches and very small churches (12 percent each) were the most likely to report making “a lot” of worship changes.

No clear patterns or trends emerged when examining the potential impact of worship changes on church growth rates and baptism ratios, but here are some of my findings: • Megachurches and emerging megachurches that made “no changes” had the fastest growth rates and the highest baptism ratios last year.

• Large churches that changed “moderately” had the best growth rates, and large churches that made “no changes” had the highest baptism ratios.

• Medium churches that changed worship styles “a lot” grew the fastest, and those that changed “a little” had the best baptism ratios.

• Small churches that changed “moderately” had the best growth rates and baptism ratios.

• Very small churches that changed worship styles “moderately” grew the fastest, and those that changed “a little” had the best baptism ratios.

Since this was the first year to explore these two worship-related questions, these stats provide a nice baseline snapshot that can be built on next year to learn more. 

Metrics Extra: Monthly Attendance: The New Norm?

This article is also at ChristianStandard.com, along with recent research on attendance patterns and what they may mean for your church.

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e2:

effective elders

BY GARY L. JOHNSON

3 ‘Plays’ for Elders in Urban Churches The very first church was in the heart of a world capital. Thousands of people were part of “First Christian Church—Jerusalem.” In every sense of the word, FCC—Jerusalem was an urban church. Members worked and lived in close quarters, on streets teeming with thousands of people who were not fellow believers in Jesus Christ. These first-century believers were strong salt and bright light to their family members, neighbors, coworkers, and friends who had rejected Jesus.

Some things never change. Many of us live in cities teeming with people who are far from God. The churches we attend are situated beside businesses, high-rises, sports arenas, concert venues, and more. These churches face all the dire sociological challenges that take up so much of the news cycle: poverty, crime, homelessness, and others. Urban churches face leadership challenges for which many of us who graduated from Bible colleges and seminaries were never prepared.

Dr. Gary Johnson serves as an elder/ senior minister at Indian Creek Christian Church (The Creek) in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is a cofounder of e2: effective elders. Gary offers resources and coaching as he works with elders to lead with greater focus and confidence.

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How then can we be strong salt and bright light to people who continually reject Jesus Christ? Elder teams must “play to win” against the opposing darkness on the playing field of an urban setting. Here are three gamewinning plays for elders in such a demanding environment.

correctness must abound more. Even within the church, believers may want to “play it safe” and not take the hope of Jesus to the streets.

When this thinking prevails, elders must courageously keep the urban church missiondriven, not member-driven.

Compassion without Compromise

Like it or not, many churches are stuck in a rut. Rather than studying and responding to the demographics of their community, a church often defaults to doing the same things in the same ways, only to reap the same—or diminishing—results.

When faced with the raw reality of inner-city life, elders must push one another and their ministry teams to lead with creativity. Doing life in dense population centers affords us opportunities to creatively reach people who are far from God. Most people do not have the “creative” gene. It is easy to fall into routine, tradition, even complacency. People within the church may have a “can’t-won’t-don’t” mentality. When congregants are of the mind-set that they cannot be creative because they do not have monetary or volunteer resources, they will not step out and pursue innovative ministries.

Just as God gave creative ability to Bezalel and Oholiab to build the tabernacle (Exodus 31:16), God can do the same in church leadership.

Elders create the ministry environment in which the ministry teams have ample permission to innovate and take Jesus to their streets.

Some things never change. In the face of growing urbanization, urban ministry is nothing new. Just as coaches want their team to take the field and win against their opponent, elders must lead their team to victory against an opponent (Ephesians 6:12).

Using these three plays, we have ever greater hope of being strong salt and bright light on the crowded streets of our cities. We cannot do this in our own strength, but only by the strength that is in us, for “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). 

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Urban churches see and deal with the raw pains of life in inner cities. Christians walk and work beside people who struggle. These myriad problems are amplified by life in close quarters. The church must deal compassionately with these people, just as Jesus did.

In John 8, Jesus did not shy away from the fact a woman was caught in adultery, but he showed compassion—and told her to leave her life of sin. He showed compassion without compromising God’s truth. He came “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Paul reminds us that kindness leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). Urban settings are fertile ground to experience firsthand that “love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). Elders, we must lead by example, as we follow Christ’s example (1 Corinthians 11:1), practicing compassion without compromise.

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Courage in the Face of Threat

Just as cities try to light up dark streets, elders in urban churches must make a great effort to be a bright light in the midst of pervasive spiritual darkness. Again, urban settings amplify the depth of this darkness, and it will challenge elders to model ever-increasing courage in the face of it.

God commanded Joshua three times to be strong and courageous in leading his people into the Promised Land (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9); even the congregation of God’s people encouraged Joshua with the same (Joshua 1:18). God, who never changes (Malachi 3:6), commands elders to lead in the same spirit of courage (2 Timothy 1:7).

Urban churches are often in settings where political correctness abounds, yet biblical C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

Creativity rather than Routine

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hori zons

BY EMILY DRAYNE

How to Help Students Prepare for a Missions Trip Many people mistakenly think an internship or short-term trip with a missions organization will require that they stand on a soapbox and talk to passersby about Jesus. That is not true.

Vocational degrees such as business, agriculture, engineering, and cosmetology are among the fastest-growing ways to get into some of the more closed-off places on earth to spread the Word of God. In 2011, during my senior year of college, advisers started to ask me what I planned to do once I left campus. I quickly realized I had no plans. Fast-forward two months, I was talking to Patricia Kim of Christ Reaching Asia Mission in the exhibit hall at the International Conference On Missions (ICOM). About 20 minutes into our conversation, she asked, “Why don’t you come and spend the summer with us in China?” My first thought was, Yeah! Why don’t I? She had no idea I had been praying an opportunity would present itself at ICOM. Since that “God moment,” I’ve discovered four fundamental elements that help equip students for a short-term mission trip or internship.

Emily Drayne lives in North Carolina and has served with the International Conference on Missions since 2011. /emilydrayne @edrayne0530 @edrayne0530 www.theicom.org

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Prayer

Prayer is the most important aspect of the journey. It’s also important to be part of the student missionary’s support system—whether it is as a parent, youth minister/leader, or friend.

Without my support system at home, I’m not sure I would have gone to China that summer.

Students who go on mission trips need the prayers of people in their support system—and praying with them is even better! In my case, after my first month in China, the “new life” feeling had worn off, and it sank in that I had two months left without my family and friends . . . and I was struggling mightily to learn the language. Prayer support and my own personal spiritual life helped me get through those times.

Planning One of the first things a student needs to do is select where they want to serve. Most people will have a few countries that have interested them over the years; start with those possibilities.

Whatever the fascination—food, history, language, or something else—find a launching point. I recommend having a few possibilities in case you start planning and the student decides the first choice isn’t a good fit.

A student will also need to serve with an organization. Your church might already support a mission; contact a representative of that group. Another option is to contact a large missions organization like ICOM to see if they can suggest a missionary serving in that country.

Reach out to someone who has the resources to connect the student missionary with the right organization.

Fund-Raising I found fund-raising one of the hardest parts of internship preparation. Most internships are unpaid, and so it falls to the intern to raise the money to pay for their time there. Asking for money can be uncomfortable, but it’s part of the process. It’s smart to have a well-written “ask letter.” Many people start by asking their family, friends, and home church for donations toward their trip. Another option for the student is to create a GoFundMe page to help spread word of the trip.

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A student missionary should work to get the church family involved in the process. Make sure your students know that their service to the kingdom is important to the church. My home church was very supportive and arranged for me to speak to a few Sunday school classes leading up to my internship. I made a presentation that showed the horse farm where I would do hippotherapy, the school where I’d teach English, and the bakery where I’d help make bread.

Providing visuals of how their money would be used went a long way in the “ask” portion of my planning. Some fund-raising ideas are less typical. A few people have organized a pancake breakfast to raise money, with hundreds of people showing up to support the trip. Why not open your church kitchen or fellowship areas to show your support!

Debriefing

After a short-term student missionary returns home, sit down with them and ask about their experience and what their life will look like going forward—that’s the final piece of this lengthy process. A student who spends a week at camp or a youth conference can come home on a spiritual high. They’re on fire for Jesus, but then they settle back into everyday life. Debriefing is crucial to any mission trip, conference, or internship to make sure the student fully processes the experience.

It comes down to just being there. Coming up with ideas for fund-raising, researching fun facts about the country a student will serve in, and encouraging them in the months leading up to their departure date—these are great gifts. The fact that your student is interested in an overseas missions experience is incredible.

There are so many opportunities for people of all backgrounds and interests. They will be forever changed by their experience and will return with a lifetime’s worth of memories. 

horizons Extra: This article is also at ChristianStandard.com, along with web-only practical next steps from Emily Drayne.

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mini stry life

BY JACQUELINE J. HOLNESS

A Flickering Light “I don’t know what to do,” she said, her voice nearly dissolving in muffled tears. The flow of cars surrounding me competed for my attention as I made my way into the confines of the city from the freedom of the expressway. A beat later, sniffles aside, she continued the phone call. “I can’t afford my children’s private school tuition anymore. I kept saying I would pay the bill, but now they won’t accept any more excuses. I’m trying to teach them at home, but I don’t know anything about homeschooling, plus I work.

They’ve been at home for almost a month.”

Jacqueline J. Holness, a member of Central Christian Church in Atlanta, is a correspondent for Courthouse News Service, an online, national news service for attorneys. To contact Jacqueline, go to afterthealtarcall.com.

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My friend Leticia, a single mother of two, had been in my circle of six girlfriends for several years, but this was the first time she had shared something deeply personal with me one-on-one. I navigated the maze of a dark and dank downtown parking deck. Fulfilling my job as a reporter, I’d planned to park my car and dash into the courthouse across the street.

But her desperate tone dictated that I listen to her instead.

As she explained the depth of her dilemma, I realized she was putting unnecessary pressure on herself to send her children to private school when the free public school in her district was a good one. I shared a bit of what I learned from a financial coach who had recently helped me, but I felt something more was required. And she even asked for it.

“Will you pray for me?” Leticia asked.

I paused. I wasn’t the only Christian in our circle, but I was the only pastor’s kid. And I had written about developing a personal relationship with God and about faith in a book and a blog. Yet I had never asked any of them about their relationship with God. In my mind, telling my girlfriends about God was akin to exposing my underbelly. Yes, I’m being “made perfect” by Jesus (Hebrews 10:14), but among my weaknesses are being a worrywart who quotes Scriptures about not worrying as well as gossip and jealousy. It’s a reason, after graduating from college and rededicating my life to Christ, I attempted to create a group of Christian girlfriends. The goal was to encourage one another to live up to our Christian ideals without judgment, but these efforts failed. My father then advised me to be a light—albeit a flickering one at times, I’m afraid—among the girlfriends I already had.

Once, when we were together at a restaurant on a Friday night, an associate of a girlfriend read her palm. I then stretched my hand toward her . . . although I knew I shouldn’t. Cutting through chatter, the woman said, “You know you shouldn’t be doing this, right?” I snatched my hand back, believing God had spoken through her.

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Now, as I spoke on a phone with Leticia, this seemed like another directive from God. And so I prayed for Leticia as if it were me and God alone. I shut my eyes and prayed aloud that God would help her pay off the thousands owed the private school and her children would be able to catch up with their studies after returning to school. But most of all, I prayed for Leticia’s peace.

The next time Leticia called, she told me my ultimate prayer had been answered.

“After you prayed, that was the best night of sleep I’ve had in months.”

And after that, Leticia began calling me regularly for advice on living as a Christian. I shared Scriptures that had helped me. Leticia, who was divorced, desired to remarry, and so I happily told her how God brought a Christian husband into my life. And now that has also happened for her.

I shared the gospel and my life and discovered perfection wasn’t needed for either.

I could relate to Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”  Submit your own 500- to 700-word essay telling of an experience through which you learned a vital ministry principle by emailing it to cs@christianstandardmedia.com with “MinistryLife” in the subject line. See more information at www.christianstandard.com/contact-us/submit-articles.

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imag ine

BY MEL MCGO WAN

a garden story Mosaic Church in Winter Garden, Florida, opened their doors in 2003, but the church’s story began taking shape centuries before.

In fact, it has the same origin we all do, the Garden of Eden, a paradise handcrafted by God for his beloved creations.

Eden began as a perfect oasis that offered humankind everything we could ever need—and then it was broken by sin. And the shattered world that emerged was rescued by Jesus and restored for eternity. The heart of Mosaic’s story is summarized in three words: rescue, identity, and mission. And this story informs and describes their purpose as they serve and spread God’s love.

Mel McGowan is cofounder and chief creative principal of PlainJoe Studios. He is a leading master planner and designer of churches in America. @visioneer /visioneer

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Uncovering the Heart of Mosaic’s Story Adding a New Chapter to the Story Mosaic opened a new chapter in its restoration story when it opened its new campus last December 10. The two-year process involved extensive planning, preparation, construction, and of course, plenty of heartfelt prayer as the church broadened its reach into the local area and the world.

“As we continue to be obsessed with the gospel and equip the saints to live on mission for the kingdom, we have seen more and more people enter the story who desire deeply to be transformed by the gospel,” says lead pastor Renaut van der Riet.

Mosaic’s three campuses lie outside Orlando, including the only church that meets within the bubble of the Walt Disney World Resort. Two years ago, Mosaic purchased an abandoned, 78,000-square-foot, big-box retail space—a space they planned to make their global base of operation. The church’s ambition was to distill and express their story using the massive space they’d acquired.

When van der Riet told me Mosaic’s dreams and ambitions, I knew there was a deeper, more important story to be told—and it was up to me and my team to help bring it to the surface.

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First, Mosaic’s team needed to uncover the core of the story they wished to tell, both within their walls and throughout the city. We participated together in an in-depth visioning workshop during which the heart of their story unfolded. The result was a unique “big idea” that reframed the project in a new light and informed the direction it needed to go.

The visioning process opened the Mosaic team’s eyes to the Eden story they wanted to tell. And through their rescue, identity, and mission focal points, Mosaic actively participates in the work God is doing in the world to spread redemption and re-creation. Their visioning process helped them define this story and decide how they wanted to represent it visually through the architecture of their new campus.

Bringing the Church’s Story to Life through Design and Architectural Elements With Eden as a focus, Mosaic’s vision for the facility began to take shape: They set out to “bring the outdoors in” by visually representing nature’s juxtaposition of chaos and order.

We set this in motion by layering surprising elements and rhythmic patterns to suggest the whimsy of nature as life breaks through.

“The design team listened to us, and then they came up with a design that reflected our DNA so well,” van der Riet says.

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Sharing God’s Restorative Love in Orlando, Disney, and Overseas

When visitors enter through the front doors, they’re immediately drawn into the Eden story through a contemporary interpretation of the iconic tree of life. From there, garden arbors and trellises overlooking seating areas provide them with plenty of opportunities for connection and relationship-building.

Through the Spatial Storytelling elements woven throughout the beautiful new worship and community space, Mosaic’s members can find encouragement to actively participate in God’s plan to restore creation to its original purpose: cultivating relationships with God and people.

The church’s idea to bring the outdoors in is forging both literal and metaphorical roots for the congregation.

“You know, I used to think that buildings really don’t matter, but over the last few years I’ve come to understand that buildings allow us a space where we can put down roots,” van der Riet says. “And those roots give us the opportunity to have a firm foundation off of which we can be sent out into the world to be world changers for God.” C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

Mosaic serves Greater Orlando and internationally in thousands of ways, big and small. Members pay bills for families who need assistance, feed the hungry, repair cars for single moms who can’t afford it, help people move, and serve alongside local organizations.

Mosaic’s Walt Disney World campus was inspired by their heart for Disney employees.

The church launched the campus at Disney to cater to Disney cast members whose work schedules made it difficult to connect with Mosaic. At the Disney campus, park and resort employees can experience God on a schedule that works for them. As a former Disney Imagineer myself, this resonated with me on a personal level and helped deepen the connection I felt with van der Riet and his leadership team as we moved forward with the Winter Garden campus plans.

On a global level, Mosaic has served in Kenya, South Africa, the nation of Georgia, Cambodia, China, Brazil, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. International ministry is funded in part by a coffee shop van der Riet launched in Winter Garden. Named after Axum, Ethiopia—Mosaic’s first overseas partner community—Axum Coffee is a causeoriented chain located down the street from the former Winter Garden campus.

Becoming a Catalyst for Change around the World Van der Riet hopes the church will become an irresistible magnet for their city to enter the story, engage with it, and ultimately express it to others. He and the Mosaic leadership team envision the new space as a “catalyst for fearless world change.”

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: n o t s r i a H .

Andrew J g e l g u r t S e h t o t l a r t n Ce Andrew J. Hairston has harnessed an inner drive his entire life. A drive to learn. A drive to serve his community and others. A drive to serve God. And an unwillingness to passively accept injustice. Instead, he has stood up and identified wrongs while working to change them.

Hairston’s efforts, and the efforts of many others in the African-American churches of Christ, have helped bring about changes that most everyone would agree are a better reflection of God’s ideal for unity within his church.

BY JIM NIEMAN C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

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A Life of Accomplishment

Hairston, 86, was born the 13th of 15 children near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His father was a tenant farmer (who died when Andrew was 6) and his mother was a “day worker” for white families.

He became the first in his family to go to college. And, before finished with schooling, he had earned almost as many degrees— when including honorary doctorates—as he has siblings.

“God always put me in a college town and I took advantage of it,” Hairston said.

Hairston has lived a life packed with accomplishments: more than 55 years as senior minister with Simpson Street Church of Christ in Atlanta (from 1961 until “retirement” August 27, 2017); several years as an attorney, and then assistant solicitor general in Fulton County, city solicitor of Atlanta, and 23 years as a judge of Atlanta City Court (several as chief judge); and decades as a student who earned degrees from Southwestern Christian College, Paul Quinn College, Brite Seminary at Texas Christian University, John Marshall Law School, Woodrow Wilson College of Law, Emory University, and the University of Nevada at Reno.

Oh, and you can throw in more than 20 years as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving on the board of trustees of Southwestern Christian College, and working for change—racial and otherwise— within Atlanta, the nation, and churches of Christ.

“I always took advantage of opportunities,” Hairston said. As a youth, he liked hearing people describe him as a “go-getter” and “someone who is always busy.” He worked multiple jobs—even driving a bus for the local school system when he turned 16.

“Mother never suggested I slow down.” Plus, the money Hairston earned helped with family finances.

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From North Carolina to Texas to Atlanta

His decision to attend college came about at the suggestion of his oldest sister, Anna, who secured a $50 scholarship for him through her Sunday school class. Hairston’s choices among church of Christ institutions were limited by his race. The first college he attended, Southwestern Christian College in Terrell, Texas, was established as an institution for African-Americans in 1948.

Later, he entered Brite Seminary shortly after TCU was integrated. He served in ministry with two churches in Texas while attending college there, met and married his wife, Jeanne, and then he heard about a vacancy at Simpson Street in Atlanta.

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Working toward social change was something that attracted him to Simpson Street—a church on the western edge of downtown Atlanta that formed shortly after traveling evangelist Marshall Keeble preached there in what was then known as the “mud hole.” It is Atlanta’s oldest African-American church of Christ.

“I wanted to get involved with civil rights,” Hairston said of his specific interest in Atlanta, which was more central to that struggle. “I got rather deeply involved.”

(Hairston made sure folks at the church were aware of his interest in civil rights before accepting the position.)

Fighting for Civil Rights He told the Christian Chronicle in 2012: “I

never did a lot of preaching on civil rights as such. I would deal with the subject, and deal with righteousness, and get my folk involved in the action. It’s kind of a Church of Christ ethos—that that’s beyond, that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to baptize and save people.”

It was a crucial time in the nation’s history, and Atlanta proved pivotal. Hairston worked with many of the civil rights movement’s leaders (Martin Luther King Jr., Fred C. Bennette Jr., and Fred Gray, among them) and served with several key organizations (such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and its Operation Breadbasket, and the Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta).

Some civil rights leaders were surprised to learn Hairston served a church of Christ.

He recounted them saying, “They don’t want much to do with us.”

Operation Breadbasket worked toward fair hiring practices among stores and companies that did business in African-American neighborhoods. Many of these businesses hired only white employees. As a local chairman, Hairston helped secure a Simpson

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Street member’s hiring as a secretary by Gulf Oil. (At that time, he said, the only AfricanAmericans working at Gulf Oil performed cleaning duties.) The woman, now retired, is still a member at Simpson Street.

He said studying Scripture and earning academic degrees gave him confidence in preaching and speaking out. “I saw them as tools to help me know what I am talking about.” In fact, when he started law school in the 1960s, a legal career wasn’t his intention.

He said he believes he has followed God’s will by taking advantage of the many opportunities that came his way. He points to Jesus Christ as someone who “wanted so much to do God’s will that he gave up his will.”

Hairston helped start the Concerned Black Clergy in response to the murders of at least 23 children in Atlanta from 1979 to 1981.

He said a unified response to these killings was something people of all faiths could agree on. “We didn’t discuss religion at all.”

The organization still meets and works to help resolve social issues affecting AfricanAmericans.

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Working for Change within the Churches of Christ

Hairston is best-known in churches of Christ, however, as a leader who highlighted the marginalization of African-American Christians and African-American churches of Christ.

In 1963 in the Christian Echo—an AfricanAmerican church of Christ publication— Hairston lamented that, on the issue of racial justice, the white press had been “for the most part . . . as silent as the grave” (quoted in Reviving the Ancient Faith by Richard T. Hughes).

In 1964, Hairston wrote: “There is with rare exception in every town a ‘White’ Church of Christ and a ‘Colored’ Church of Christ” (Christian Echo/Reviving the Ancient Faith).

In a 1968 article, the Christian Chronicle described “two separate brotherhoods” that existed.

Still, Hairston has always been ready and willing to talk about differences and work toward equality and unity with the predominantly white churches of Christ.

In a 2002 article in the Christian Chronicle, Ted Parks called Hairston “a one-man mirror of the slow, painful journey of churches of Christ from their once undeniably segregationist stance to the dawning

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awareness that the gospel they preached so long demands respect for all, regardless of race.”

“He is one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights movement,” said Dr. Jerry Taylor, assistant professor of Bible at Abilene (Texas) Christian University, who has known Hairston since Taylor was a student at Southwestern Christian College in the early 1980s.

Taylor said a predominantly white board of trustees’ decision in 1967 to close the African-American Nashville Christian Institute (started by Marshall Keeble) and give the remaining assets—almost $500,000—to nearby David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University, which has since apologized for its past racist policies) is “what drove a wedge between the black and white churches.” Fred Gray filed a lawsuit but lost.

In June 1968, Simpson Street hosted a race relations workshop to discuss the unequal situation among churches of Christ. It was attended by about 50 influential leaders, both black and white. Hairston opened the gathering by addressing the topic, “Spiritual Equality in Christ.”

At the workshop’s conclusion, most delegates signed a statement confessing “the sin of racial prejudice which has existed in Churches of Christ and church-related institutions and businesses” (according to Mission; quoted in Reviving the Ancient Faith). The statement recommended measures to promote racial healing.

Despite this, a long period of separation followed when there was very little progress toward unity in the churches of Christ.

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A Breakthrough after 31 Years

The next national conference to discuss race in the churches of Christ occurred 31 years later at Abilene Christian University.

Hairston—then serving as chairman of the board of Southwestern Christian College (located about 60 miles east of ACU)— attended that conference, as well, again as a keynote speaker. At that 1999 conference, ACU’s then-President Royce Money pledged to formally apologize for ACU’s past discrimination in admissions—ACU did not admit African-Americans to all of its programs until 1965—and Money followed through on that promise a few months later, in person, at Southwestern.

A Religion News Service story described the conference: [Keynote speaker Don] Williams, a white Abilene Christian trustee, addressed other tensions in the church’s educational community, describing relations between Southwestern Christian and Abilene Christian as a “porcupine dance.” Hairston spoke frankly about the pain of racial

discrimination in the Churches of Christ. Though he had listened devotedly to the church’s nationally broadcast “Herald of Truth” programs earlier in his career, Hairston knew his voice would not be heard on the show at that time. The speakers were white.

Whatever his skills or reputation as a preacher, he was black.

Since that time, there have been more discussions and the situation has improved, Hairston said.

“I think there is hope for us now and that we can talk about it now without embarrassment, and without the anger,” Hairston said at a 2001 Lectureship Forum discussion on “Racial Harmony” at ACU. “You need to continue talking even if you disagree. A commitment to each other is very important. . . . It’s not going to happen overnight.”

“People who have been the oppressors . . . want to forgive and forget. And yet the person who’s hurting needs to deal with it some,” Hairston continued. An oppressor may apologize, but when he stifles further dialogue and doesn’t want to deal with hurt that has been caused on a deeper level, it suggests, “I don’t care.” (He agreed with this fractured marriage analogy: The cheating spouse says, “I cheated, it’s over, let’s move on.”

It’s not that easy.)

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' Unity Amid Diversity'

Hairston recalled a former professor at Brite always spoke of “unity amid diversity.”

First Corinthians 12 indicates diversity is built into the church, he told those gathered at ACU, and to try to eliminate it through segregation is “just going against the purpose of God. . . . It’s really the question of, ‘What do you do with [diversity]?’”

“I think wherever there is a commitment to the will of God, you have unity.” And of the efforts toward racial reconciliation and integration within the church, Hairston said, “I think we’re doing a noble thing.”

When Jerry Taylor, an African-American who was a student when he met Hairston, accepted an invitation to join the faculty of ACU in 2003, he saw it as another step toward unity. In 2014, after a one-year sabbatical, he started the Racial Unity Leadership Summit, which meets a few times each year for “spiritual, contemplative” gatherings across the country. “We’re attempting to address both white privilege (or fear) and black rage,” Taylor said. “Everybody has some healing to do.”

Taylor speaks of Hairston in glowing terms, describing him as part of a generation of African-American church of Christ leaders who “felt they had to be more vocal.”

“He has remained, in my opinion, one of the most consistent, well regarded, and Christcentered leaders in the church of Christ, black or white. He has maintained his integrity,” Taylor said. “He has not only taught racial unity, he has modeled it. He comes from a good place.”

Signs of Change

Hairston said a variety of factors helped bring about the civil rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s. “We didn’t simply decide to do it on our own.” And, he said, multiple factors continue to impact matters related to race.

These “forces of culture and diversity,” he said, have helped to bring about changes in churches of Christ. “Those things will continue to be there, and continue to have an impact, and we [the church] will survive.”

Two signs representative of change are located just outside Simpson Street Church of Christ in Atlanta. A municipal history sign commemorates Hairston’s long ministry with the church and his service to Atlanta and the cause of civil rights. And then there’s the corner street sign that, since 2014, reads “Andrew J. Hairston Boulevard.” The boulevard runs north-south in that part of Atlanta.

As for what has changed in Hairston’s life since his retirement . . . not much. He continues to go to work at the church just about every day. 

Jim Nieman serves as managing editor of Christian Standard.

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the

OR HOW I LEARNED

ART

TO STOP ARGUING

OF

PEOPLE WHO ARE

AND S TA R T L O V I N G WRONG

GODLY

godly disagreement.

ART OF

THEY PRACTICE THE

THEY’RE SENSITIZED.

AREN’T WEAPONIZED;

THEIR OPINIONS

DISAGREEMENT

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BY JON WEATHERLY

I have the spiritual gift of opinions. I have opinions on everything, including things I know nothing about. I think my role in life is to help people agree with my right opinions. If you hold an opinion that’s different from mine, or even if you hold no opinion at all, get ready to be enlightened.

Some say that I think I’m always right. That’s not true! I agree in theory that scattered among my right opinions are a few wrong ones. I merely think that any particular opinion of mine is right. On those rare occasions when I realize that I was wrong, I change my opinion, and then I’m right! I like how that works.

Funny thing about spiritual gifts, though: having them and using them as God gave them to be used are two entirely different things. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading 1 Corinthians 12–14, it’s that you can blow up people and churches with the ungodly use of godly gifts. That applies to my gift of opinions.

And a funny thing about opinions: everyone has them and wants to share them. No one thinks I’m always right, but everyone thinks I’m right about THAT. Therein lies the explosive power of opinions. Any of us can weaponize an opinion, including right opinions, because our opinions are, well, what we believe.

Nevertheless, in my opinion some people seem more adept at dealing with their opinions, especially when their opinions differ from others. Their opinions aren’t weaponized; they’re sensitized. They practice the art of godly disagreement.

I’d like to learn that godly art. To do so, I suppose I should think about God more. In my opinion, thinking about God—and putting those thoughts into action—is the essence of godliness.

Of course, you’re free to disagree. But you’ll be wrong.

So here goes.

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THINGS GOD DOES T H AT I C A N ’ T D O It’s obvious God does things that frail, mortal humans can’t. That is, it’s obvious until an argument breaks out. Then suddenly the arguers are like God, knowing good from evil.

How does this blasphemous hubris get expressed? I express it when my disagreement moves to judgment about who is in God’s good graces and who is out. When I posture as a watchdog or assume the role of gatekeeper, I’m miles from Jesus’ teaching that in God’s kingdom, God does all the judging (Matthew 7:1-5). As a subject of God’s kingdom, I’m called not to divide sheep from goats. My calling is to gently help others remove their specks, drawing on my costly experience of having first removed my own logs. And I do have logs.

We log-in-the-eye folk appropriate some other God-only jobs. Sometimes I like to predict the future, as in “This [insert what one disagrees with] will someday lead to [insert a dystopian vision of the future].” Well, we humans do poorly enough knowing the past and the SE P T E M B ER 2 0 1 8

present. Our work on the future is typically valuable only for later generations to laugh at.

And, in fact, our knowledge of the past is bad enough that we mostly ought to lay off of what God does very well, which is compare the present to the past. The divine Christ was perfectly able to strike an authoritative comparison between those who refused to listen to him and those who refused to listen to God’s spokespeople in the past (Matthew 12:41, 42).

I, on the other hand, tend to idealize or demonize elements of the past through selective memory and overbroad generalization. So my saying, “This is just like what the Pharisees did!” or “These people are present-day versions of the liberals who tried to take over a hundred years ago!” or “Things were better when I was young!” should at best be taken with several bushels of salt. Or maybe I shouldn’t offer such blanket comparisons in the first place.

God also knows the motives of others, which I never will know well. It’s not that I’m ignorant of everything going on inside another person.

Over time, people have a way of revealing their true selves. But my assessment of my own motives is often wildly inaccurate, at least according to my family. So I should steer clear of pronouncements about other people’s hearts. “All you care about is [insert dishonorable thing]” proves accurate about as often as an online horoscope.

THINGS I DO T H AT G O D D O E S N ’ T D O It’s bad enough that I want to do what only God does. It’s maybe worse that, though I claim to be God’s person, I do things that God simply doesn’t do.

Specifically, God doesn’t play favorites (Acts 10:34, 35). Regardless of a person’s connection with any group or any of the ideologies around which groups form, God applies his mercy and justice with impartiality and grace. I’m counting on that, big time.

I prefer, however, to judge by association: “She quoted a controversial figure with approval.

Tsk tsk!” “He belongs to an organization with which I disagree. How awful!” I’m quite sure that these people are wrong, and their associations prove it.

I refuse to associate with people of whose associations I disapprove. After all, I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I approve of the wrong those wrong people are wrongly doing.

I will imitate Jesus, who never, ever associated with anyone who . . . uh . . .

Never mind.

But here’s what makes this hard. The truth is, I love winning arguments so much that I will do almost anything to win. God always wins, at least in the end, so to grab some of that divine winning, I will repeatedly pretend that I can do what God does. Then to augment my pleasure in winning, as if I look down from Heaven on my adversaries, I will toss on some scornful condescension: “poor, pitiable heretic!”

But I still don’t have the time or energy for graceful impartiality. I need labels to sort things out, fast and easy. Words ending in “-ist” are awesome for this task: legalist, antinomianist, racist, sexist, feminist, chauvinist, socialist, capitalist, fascist, anarchist, modernist, postmodernist, nativist, globalist, absolutist, relativist, atheist, deist, guitarist. Dictionaries list more than a thousand of these words, and as far as I can tell, you don’t even need to know what they mean to apply them to people with whom you disagree.

Generous naming of the “-ists” and their “-isms” is the elite, sophisticated way to crush people rhetorically. Let God deal with individuals. My labels will do the work in wholesale lots.

I suppose I should repent, but that feels like I’m losing. I hate losing.

At the cost of my even pretending I care the least bit about godliness, I suppose.

A

THINGS GOD DOES AND CALLS ME TO DO

If I care about godliness, I guess I should aspire to do the things that God and his Son do and that they call me to do: serve others at the cost of my own life. I seriously believe that thinking deeply and expressing those thoughts clearly constitute a way a person can serve. But I’ve got to do it as a lowly servant, not as someone who needs to win, and surely not as a passive-aggressive, obsequious, falsely “humble” charlatan who tries to win by acting like a loser. If I let it, Jesus’ cross has a keen enough edge to scrape the fraud off my outside and the pride off my inside.

“

With a measure of cruciform humility, I may recognize my limits better. Just because the other guy is wrong doesn’t mean I am right. We may both be wrong. I can feel the tempering of my enthusiasm for my point of view already.

FUNNY THING ABOUT SPIRITUAL GIFTS, THOUGH:

I should likewise do that “fruit” thing that the divine Spirit of God empowers me to do: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23). Those don’t seem of much use in my quest to attain overwhelming personal victory. But they do seem rather consistent with who God is. And every one of them is intensely relevant to the way I disagree with my sisters and brothers. When practiced, they seem to get me doing for others what I’d like others to do for me (Matthew 7:12), like assuming their goodwill.

H AV I N G T H E M

and USING THEM

I should likewise function as a member of the body of the divine Christ, and not as the head of the body. That means listening to and respecting other members of the body, even if I still conclude that they are wrong. That means not acting in a way that is the equivalent of Christ’s body punching itself repeatedly.

A S G O D G AV E T H E M TO BE USED

This also means listening to the global Christian community. If I begin to think that white, middle-class, American Christians are the only ones with a right to an opinion in the body of Christ, I’m leaving out Christians of

ARE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS. C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

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color in my part of the world, not to mention the burgeoning millions of Christians in the global South and East. They may have an understanding that can challenge mine. Or they may not even understand the argument that’s going on, which ought to make me wonder whether my being right about this dispute even matters.

If I’m listening only to my narrow circle of like-me Christians in my part of the world, I’m also leaving out a lot of the body’s members who are dead in the flesh but alive in the spirit. The historical witness of the church ought to matter to me. It should matter enough that if I find myself diverging from the historic position of the church, I will do so with fear and trepidation, punctuated with loud admissions that I may well be the one who’s wrong, not the church universal for a couple of millennia. Tradition is neither always bad nor always good, but settled conclusions are generally settled for significant reasons that I should consider.

As a follower of the Son of God empowered by the Spirit of God and so a member of Christ’s body, I will certainly attend to the written Word of God. But let me do so aware of the Bible’s own limitations. It’s likely that the Bible simply doesn’t address everything I want it to, and it’s certain that it doesn’t address things in the way I want. So “What does the Bible teach about this new, hot topic?” can be a gravely misleading question. Generally better is, “In the great arc of its story, from creation to corruption to call to covenant to Christ to church to consummation, what does the Bible teach?”

If that sounds like I’m denying the sufficiency of Scripture, I ask that you listen with patience and gentleness. The sufficiency of Scripture is that Scripture tells us all we need to live as God’s people, not that it tells us what we need to settle every dispute. We haven’t done as well as we’d like in settling every dispute with the Bible. Perhaps we’d do better in living graciously with our disagreement, as the C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

Bible seems to instruct, if we respect what the Bible doesn’t address. The Bible’s limits are a feature, not a bug. They keep us focused on the important things.

Of course, the important thing is salvation.

For a couple of hundred years we’ve tried to treat things that don’t pertain to salvation as unimportant. But let’s remember that in the Bible salvation is bigger than we often allow. It isn’t just receiving eternal blessing in the future when eternal punishment is deserved. It’s also life restored to God’s blessed wholeness in the present. So some of our opinions, especially those about what constitutes right or wrong actions, can deeply impact the whole of salvation, even though our gracious God can forgive our errors.

But disputatious arguments can also impact that blessed wholeness. With a holistic view of salvation, I’d still better be careful how I argue.

So where does that leave us? I need to be humble and self-aware. I need to develop real love for those with whom I disagree, assuming the best about them and listening sincerely to them, as I want them to do for me.

I should treat my adversaries respectfully, as individuals. I should save apocalyptic language for the actual apocalypse, and judgment for the true Judge.

If I do, maybe I will have more conversations and fewer arguments. I generally learn more from conversations than from arguments.

Maybe learning is better than winning.

One last thing: Go easy on the sarcasm. 

online Extra: This article is also at ChristianStandard.com, along with practical next steps and helpful resources from Jon Weatherly that you can use to dig deeper into this issue.

Jon Weatherly serves as professor of New Testament and vice president for academic affairs/ provost at Johnson University.

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ARENA In the arena of ideas and opinions, there needs to be a place for Christcentered and Christ honoring debate on non-essential issues. We will occasionally feature a debate like this in Christian Standard.

John Weatherly’s article gives great insight on how to disagree in a Godly way.

We apply that in our first debate over online church. Jerry Harris and Barry Cameron are great friends who differ in their opinion about how to view online church.

What do you think? Leave us a reply on our website or email us at cs@christianstandardmedia.com with your thoughts.

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- IN THE ARENA | AFFIRMATIVE -

IS REALLY CH U RC H ?

ABSOLUTELY.

BY JERRY HARRIS Pastor, author, and leadership speaker Carey Nieuwhof makes annual predictions of church cultural trends he sees gaining traction in the coming year.

In “7 Disruptive Church Trends that Will Rule 2018,” a web post at careynieuwhof.com, he underscores trends related to online church in both his first and second predictions.

He begins with “A Move Beyond Church in a Box,” which identifies culture’s expectation to have access to whatever it wants, anytime and anywhere. He points out that we live in a culture that is used to 24-hour access. He says, There’s never been a greater need in our culture for community and connection. The church isn’t going away anytime soon. So what’s the rethink here? Future churches will have a building . . . they’ll just reach far beyond it. You’ll still need

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a facility, a broadcast location, a school or theater to rent—some space in which to meet. But you’ll need to think way beyond it.

His second prediction is “The Digital Will Become Real.” A number of churches in our tribe are starting to count their online attendance. It’s not stopping us from adding physical multisite locations or planting new churches, but in increasing numbers, churches are recognizing this new online audience.

Even with all that, the church is starting to question whether their digital space “counts”—whether it’s real. Here’s Nieuwhof’s response: “In 2018 asking whether people who watch church online ‘count’ is like Sears asking if Amazon counts. It’s like New York City cabs asking if Uber counts or Lyft counts. Of course they count.”

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PROCL AIMING THE GOSPEL IN A CHANGING WORLD There’s no doubt our world has changed.

The whole world exists online today. We date by swiping left or right, we get degrees online, we have our meetings online, we do our Christmas shopping online, we Skype, blog, vlog, text, FaceTime, tweet, Instagram, Facebook, game, buy tickets, bank, pay bills, tithe, diet, book rides, make reservations, find entertainment, GoFundMe, organize, and even sin online. The average person spends 10 hours a day in some degree of online activity.

The best way to proclaim the gospel of Jesus is in any and every way possible and as much as possible. When Jesus’ message goes out, people can and will change. This may be the strongest argument for the necessity and validity of an online worship experience.

RESPONDING TO THE CONCERNS Relational Engagement. The main concern with online church lies in the uncertainties of developing relationships with those who are viewing and worshipping. It’s in relationship, after all, that new people are invited, discipleship happens, shape is discovered for service in the kingdom, and the discipline of giving is nurtured.

Physical churches provide holistic ministry for children, students, and adults, pastoral ministries for those needing counsel, weddings, funerals, and hospital visitation.

Physical locations become hubs for doing life together. How can a church fulfill ministry in such areas with a person who simply logs on? Concerns of this type need satisfactory answers and solutions.

Before we seek to answer the question of online relational engagement, let’s ask a more pointed question: Just how many people in a physical location are relationally engaged?

At the church I serve, less than half of the congregation is involved in any type of regular ministry and less than one-quarter give in a way that could reasonably be

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defined as tithing. The majority don’t engage in a small group. Regardless of that, if a person drives in and parks, takes a seat, and listens to a sermon, we count them.

Sometimes we count them twice if they serve during one service and attend a different one! Therefore, substantive engagement is really a fallacy for the vast majority of those we count.

While engagement with people in an online format is substantially lower, in general, compared with engagement of those who attend a physical location, the primary reason might be that we haven’t yet figured out the right way to engage them and hold them. That’s how it is with any pioneering in ministry . . . first, it is almost universally panned, then it is accepted only by those on the fringes, and by the time it catches on with the majority, the wave has already passed.

Restoration Movement Ideals. Is it possible to have all the elements of a Restoration Movement worship service in an online format? My answer is yes.

It has never been easier to broadcast a sermon online. Life.church has created the Church Online Platform (churchonlineplatform.com) for anyone who desires it, and it is absolutely free. It can be adapted for any church, incorporates chat rooms and prayer rooms, and tracks and provides information about viewers.

A viewer who responds by making a personal decision for Christ can be directed to the person who manages the platform in real time, and together they can make baptism arrangements. The church can provide information about how to prepare Communion and can even send prepared Communion elements to individuals or locations. Giving to the church can be handled in an online or text format.

Worship. The bigger issue is how to provide the highest-quality worship experience.

Metrics show us not only how many log on, but how long they stay on, and there is a big difference between online services where

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- IN THE ARENA | AFFIRMATIVE people stay on an average of 3 minutes versus those who stay on an average of 30 to 40 minutes.

Another issue is worship engagement. Will people in an online format join in singing?

My answer to that is also yes, but a quality worship experience must be delivered. A “house mix” may not be good for an online participant. Our church records worship in a smaller setting and couples it with live preaching. We also invest in both Apple TV and Roku channels so that online venues can view the service on larger screens or projected video.

Discipleship. One of the most difficult practices to achieve may be how we disciple people online.

I’m sure there were bumps early on with online education, especially with instructorstudent interactions. Younger generations are amazed at how difficult it is for some of us older folks to engage in relationship in an online format.

The church workers hosting an online service are constantly making decisions because of the chat and prayer rooms. While a typical churchgoer would wait for the invitation to respond, or else find someone to talk to after the service, an online participant can respond immediately. They can instantly be plugged into a live online discussion group during the week too. The participant can even sign up for online classes offered by the church.

My church—The Crossing (Quincy, Illinois)— seeks to coalesce people into a micro-site where they can worship together and maybe even eventually birth a physical location.

Children’s Ministry. What about children’s ministry? This probably is the biggest challenge of all, but only because we have such a limited view of the online format.

Nothing is keeping a church from recording their children’s services and doing a second online platform just for little ones. This means that kids can be on one device while their parents are on another. Before

T H E B ES T WAY TO P ROCL AI M TH E G OS P E L O F J ESU S I S I N ANY AN D EVE RY WAY P OSS I B L E A N D AS M U CH AS P OSS I B L E .

WH E N J ES U S ' M ESSAG E G O ES O U T, P EO P L E CAN AN D WI L L CHAN G E .

T H I S MAY B E TH E STRO N G EST ARG U M E NT FO R T H E N EC ESS I T Y A N D VA L I D I T Y O F AN O N L I N E WO RS H I P EXP E RI E N CE .

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we scoff at the idea and cite limitations in socialization, we should recognize that online learning is common in homeschooling.

Many churches use the 252 Kids curriculum

by Orange (part of the reThink Group); this curriculum can be recorded and coupled with live teaching facilitated by a children’s online leader. Since online platforms can pinpoint the viewers’ locations, groups could form from those contacts to start multisite locations or new church plants.

Pastoral Ministry. Some pastoral opportunities convert into an online format better than others. And just as a physical location can do some things that online can’t, the opposite is also true: There are things online can do that a physical location cannot. Online ministry transcends distance while physical locations are bound to a geographic location. Our online services allowed us to go into prisons, jails, youth detention facilities, group homes, and step care facilities. It’s watched by people in hospitals and by those who are vacationing.

Finances. Online ministry transcends costs as well. As an example, take your church’s budget and divide it by the average attendance. If average attendance is 200 and the budget is $200,000, the average cost is $1,000 per person per year. Let’s compare that with a church that has an online format. Last week, we had 3,300 people join online, and our annual cost for staff and technology is less than $50,000.

That projects out to about $15 per person per year, or about 1.5 percent of the cost of a physical location! Smaller locations could greatly reduce these costs if there were a heavier reliance on volunteers and simpler equipment.

COUNTING PEOPLE . . .

AND OPPORTUNITY COSTS So how should we count them? When we examine the metrics at The Crossing,

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we know we’re looking at devices, not individuals. Some devices that connect with our worship service have more than 20 people viewing, while others might have only one. We average 2.4 people per device, so we reach our online number by looking at those who log on and stay on, and multiplying it by 2.4.

People today are choosing to drive less and rely more on online capabilities. By doing this, they remain in the safety and security of their homes while enjoying more quality family time, but without neglecting worship.

Before you get out the torches and pitchforks, understand that online church opportunities show no signs of going away. On the contrary, online church will continue to grow and those who make use of it will discover even better ways of meeting very real needs of connecting people to Jesus and a church family.

I don’t think online will ever replace physical church locations, but I think church leaders should consider what the future looks like and how the church of today meets that future.

Two quotes in Nieuwhof’s article about church trends struck me. The first was, “The gap between how quickly you change and how quickly things change around you is called irrelevance.” The second was, “Too many church leaders are perfectly equipped to reach a world that no longer exists.”

My twofold hope for our churches is reflected in Scripture. First, we must be like the sons of Issachar; we must understand the times and know what to do (1 Chronicles 12:32). Second, we must do as the Lord commanded through the psalmist: “[H] e commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands” (Psalm 78:5-7). 

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- IN THE ARENA | NEGATIVE -

IS REALLY CH U RC H ?

IN A WOR D, NO.

BY BARRY CAMERON

Why is “online” church not really church?

Consider the following:

and the like. Why? Because people post only their best pictures and give their best responses. You can’t really know someone when you don’t see how that person lives, reacts, and responds; short of that, how can you call it a genuine relationship? We truly know only those people we interrelate with up close and personal.

»»The online “experience” waters down Jesus’ call to discipleship in Luke 14:25-33. In our desire to cater to the conveniences of our converts (or the whims of our watchers), are we producing fully devoted followers of Jesus or semi-engaged, occasional, or »»Online church ignores the scriptural whenever-it’s-convenient viewers? Virtual admonition of Hebrews 10:25: “not giving reality isn’t real. So how can virtual church up meeting together . . . but encouraging be real? Or virtual discipleship? one another.” Chat rooms aren’t living »»Online relationships are, at best, fabricated, rooms. They aren’t rooms at all. They and most likely fraudulent, because we don’t exist. So how can fellowship, mutual never really know the person we are ministry, service, and things of that sort interacting with via Facebook, Snapchat, exist there?

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»»How can online church fulfill all the God-given “one another” responsibilities of believers in the New Testament? For example, how do we “admonish one another?” Can we do that by text, email, tweet, or posting something on someone’s wall? Even private messaging via Facebook falls short of what Jesus said in Matthew 18: “If a brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault” (v. 15, English Standard Version). And what about confessing our sins to each other? (James 5:16). That could get messy if it’s done online. And when does online get out of line . . . and who monitors that? »»How do you minister to people online?

How do you serve them? Do you click on someone’s website, answer survey questions, watch a video? »»Online church (and online shopping, banking . . . you fill in the blank) encourages isolation and eliminates the need to interact with people. And remember, Jesus came to die for people.

And, by the way, he did that in person—he didn’t send an angel or an email. »»Not all adaptations (i.e., chasing fads, doing what culture is doing, trying to fit in) are improvements. For example, over the past two years, print book sales are rising and e-book sales are declining. »»Can we really define worship as “watching a service on a device?” How is that different from watching a movie? When we watch a movie in a theater, we know it’s not real . . . it’s “make believe.” So why would online church be any different? And doesn’t this promote and produce more spectators than servants? »»Counting people who watch an online worship service is a slippery slope. Most log-ons last for less than five minutes.

People aren’t engaging. They’re just looking for something that’s entertaining. Consider Michael Todd at Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma; he is currently the hottest viral preacher on social media. His

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messages have been viewed an estimated 37 million times on YouTube and Facebook alone. So is the church really that big?

No, and those people aren’t necessarily engaged and growing. They’re being entertained, but they’re not faithfully following, serving, and ministering. »»Online church develops Christians who are consumers rather than contributors. They search for the most popular teacher, the most awesome worship band, the coolest experience . . . you fill in the blank, and what does that do to all the preachers and churches all over the world who cannot compete with the Craig Groeschels, Andy Stanleys, Steven Furticks, and the like? »»Online churches and satellite churches have put other churches out of business, and yet we call that “church growth.” Isn’t that just fish changing fishbowls? And what will happen to all the other brickand-mortar churches when we move to online churches? »»It costs nothing, virtually (pun intended), to watch church online. A viewer doesn’t need to invest time, money, or relationships. The interaction might involve a live chat with a total stranger who says they will pray for you. Or, the host might show excitement virtually (through their keyboard) by posting an emoji that you logged on. There’s a reason Disney won’t do a “virtual reality” attraction.

It goes against their mission. Disney wants their attractions to be incredibly immersive . . . but the attraction has to feel real. Disney prefers augmented reality.

There’s probably a good lesson for the church in there somewhere. »»How does hospital visitation work with the online community? Do we “like” someone’s post on Facebook that asks for prayer?

Do we click the praying hands icon? How can that come close to a real, live person walking into your hospital room, hugging your family, encouraging everyone, and taking your hand to pray for you?

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- IN THE ARENA | NEGATIVE -

CHAT ROO M S A R E N 'T L I V I N G ROO M S .

TH E Y ARE N ' T ROO M S AT AL L .

TH EY DO N ' T EXI ST. SO H OW CAN F E L LOWS H I P, M U T UA L M I N I S TRY, S E RV I C E , A N D TH I N GS O F TH AT SO RT EXI ST TH E RE? »»How do we do online baptisms? Do we ask people to use FaceTime so we can watch them baptize themselves in their own bathtub or pool? Do they post a picture?

And how can we affirm and encourage them online? At a physical church building, dozens or hundreds or thousands of people cheer when someone comes up out of the water. Is there a more beautiful sight or sound than a public baptism cheered on by those who have also been immersed? »»Online church can create a bunch of selfserving saints—if you can call them that— who think it is all about them and their convenience. Doesn’t online church cater to the “me first” mentality that has always hindered the effectiveness of the church?

Jesus said to “deny yourself” (Luke 9:23), but online church seems to say, “It’s all about you! Whatever you want, whenever you want it!” »»Jesus spent the majority of his three years of ministry in intimate community with 12 men before releasing them to take the gospel into the whole world. Why didn’t he just tell them to go to one of the synagogues

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and check out the scrolls that talked about him? “It’s all there—just go read it and apply it.” Their lives were radically changed by being in relationship with him. Then, he told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature.

If we make that an online experience, we’re going to miss tons of people, just like people miss emails or texts we send today.

Wayne Smith used to tell the story about a young soldier and his fiancée who said goodbye at the airport before he was shipped overseas to serve his country. The young soldier reaffirmed his love for his bride-tobe and promised to write every day, which he did with unwavering dedication and consistency. But she ended up marrying the mailman. Why? Because there’s just no substitute for being there.

Call the online experience whatever you want to call it. But please don’t call it church.  Barry L. Cameron serves as senior pastor of Crossroads Christian Church in Grand Prairie, Texas.

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@barrylcameron /barrylcameron @barrylcameron

AD

REACHING OUT TO THE HOMELESS & HURTING IN

Hollywood, Florida

BY JERRY HARRIS

God pulled a neighborhood kid with a rough upbringing out of that life into a new one at Hope Church of Christ.

THE JOURNEY TO HOLLYWOOD

“Jehovah-jireh means, ‘in the mountain it shall be seen.’ You have to climb the mountain first,” says Alvin Daniels, senior minister of Hope Church of Christ in Hollywood, Florida. “It will take power, effort, and strength to get to the top. But once you’re up there, God will provide the vision for which you had to go up there in the first place. You can’t see it from the foot of the mountain.”

Daniels wasn’t raised in a church environment or a Christian home. He accepted an invitation to attend church in 1987, obeyed and received the gospel, and has never looked back.

“Ministry found me,” he says.

He’s familiar with the ministry terrain surrounding Hope Church of Christ; he was brought up in Delray Beach, not far north of Hollywood and Miami Gardens. It was a rough upbringing—“nothing to be proud of,” he says—but God pulled him out of that life and into a new one full of eternal purpose.

He scrapped plans to go to law school in favor of earning a preaching degree at International Bible College, now Heritage Christian University, in Florence, Alabama.

He was the first in his family to go to college.

He met his wife at church when she accepted Christ and he went up to pray with her.

That prayer developed into a friendship, the friendship became a courtship, and the courtship became a covenant relationship.

They now have three children, all of whom serve the Lord.

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Hope Church of Christ started out with meetings in various homes in the Miami Gardens area until September 16, 2013, when they rented the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex. The church quickly grew to between 75 and 100. That facility held the church for three months until it moved to an empty building on NW 199th Street. The little church grew and developed its ministries there until April 2017 when the church family moved to its present location in Hollywood. The journey to this 56,000-squarefoot location was extraordinary.

A conversation with a friend led Daniels to call The Solomon Foundation about finding and financing a building. Various properties were considered for more than a year, and Daniels remarked how “hands-on” the Solomon team was in working to help find the right location. Still, no site quite fit Hope’s ministry needs.

Then Daniels drove by what appeared to be an abandoned facility; he stopped to look in the windows. The property wasn’t on the market, but that didn’t stop Daniels from praying for it. Research revealed the property was in foreclosure, but even then the price was way beyond the reach of the little church.

“God reserves things for his children that nobody else can touch,” Daniels says.

Others were interested in the building, but God cleared the way for Hope to purchase it through The Solomon Foundation. Much work remained, but the location and all that space made it a perfect place to grow and make a difference.

BRIDGES OF MINISTRY

The church again came together to join hands, sing songs, and pray because of all the hard work that lay ahead, but they were grateful. Selfless servants worked to transform the space: cleaning, painting, carpeting, tiling, decorating, and organizing. As the space took shape, it became more than a sanctuary for Sunday mornings. Church - 49 -

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members were eager to serve by sharing the message of Christ and communicating grace in every possible way. Hope reaches out to the helpless, homeless, and hurting with ministries that touch people in their felt needs.

“We cannot determine what the needs of people are, but we can respond to those needs that we find in the people we meet,” Daniels says.

I toured the new facility and readily saw it was designed to reach out to the community with bridges of ministry. Some of the building was still being renovated, but much had been completed and was being put to use.

THE SECRET SAUCE

The church had paid special attention to fellowship spaces. Daniels shares that Hope’s fellowship is based on Acts 2:42-47. He believes if the church is able to pull people into an atmosphere of God’s grace reflected in thankful, grateful, and appreciative attitudes, it results in a feeling of love that is experienced only in true fellowship. It influences people to open up about the challenges they are facing as they allow the love of God to penetrate their hearts. In these environments, church members are able to get to know people and their situations better in order to deepen relationship.

Hope always serves a breakfast to begin weekend worship. A meal is an ideal time to experience the love of Christ, Daniels says. At each meal, a 10-minute devotional is shared, along with a prayer. An informal time of connecting takes place before Bible classes begin. The church sets aside time during worship for more fellowship, complete with lots of hugging and sharing.

Daniels says the church truly feels like family. He considers fellowship to be the “secret sauce” of their church . . . an opportunity to begin relationships where people truly love each other in tangible ways. Daniels says it’s not hard for people to walk away from a church, but it is hard to walk away from relationship and family.

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After spending time with Daniels, I believe we in independent Christian churches can learn from noninstrumental churches in several key areas. For instance, I couldn’t help but notice how much they raise the value of fellowship and family in their churches and how that impacts the surrounding communities. While Hope primarily is African-American, the church attracts people from several other races and cultures, including white, Asian, Caribbean, and Hispanic.

I asked Alvin Daniels about his vision of the future of his congregation. He believes his church has created something special and that it should be multiplied, so he looks to other communities where the multisite model could be employed.

“We want to perfect this approach and then multiply it over and over!” Daniels says.

He continues to believe God will provide the vision as the church grows. In the mountain it shall be seen.  - 50 -

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NEXTDOOR URBAN MINISTRY

BY LANCELOT SCHAUBERT

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“I understand that Haiti is hurting: It’s the whipping boy of the world.”

My friend winced, and I immediately knew I’d used a poor metaphor.

“It’s that,” he said, “but it’s all of these people”—he pointed to fellow Christians leaving a church— “going to Haiti on extravagant mission trips and doing nothing for the Haitian next-door.”

We were standing on a street in Manhattan while eating pastrami sandwiches and kettle chips.

He offered me the final piece of a puzzle that has slowly formed over the last few years of our bizarre ministry in New York City. It goes something like this: 1. Caribbean Americans are tired of being called African-Americans, as are other black Americans.

2. They see us as being more interested in assuaging our consciences on overseas mission trips than truly helping the poor by tearing down evil systems.

How far away is urban ministry really?

When I moved to New York City to set up a radical hospitality ministry with my bride, I never imagined how much I would learn about the pain, isolation, and loneliness of our churches back home. For instance: few people in the Restoration Movement realize how much the phrase “inner-city ministry” sounds like a dog whistle to people of color. It sounds exactly like “let’s go take care of the poor, pitiful black folk in Haiti.” And yet most of the black guys I met in New York during our first year came from Caribbean and African countries that receive this kind of pitying, dignity-erasing relief from rich white churches.

More than 800,000 Haitians live in the United States, which is nearly 10 percent of the population of Haiti itself, and they often live in our local hubs of poverty.

How did we get here? How did we get to a place where we will travel over land and sea to make a single convert who ends up being twice a son of Hell as us? How did we get to be so open to the black man overseas and so closed to the black man next-door?

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HOW WE GOT HERE In his recent book The Divide, economist Jason Hickle asserts that this situation came about largely as a result of hundreds of years of conquest and colonization, of plundering resources and dispossessing the poor. Some nations—Great Britain, France, Spain—built their empires on the backs of what eventually became third world countries.

Fast forward to the 1960s, when Lyndon B. Johnson said, “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”

This remains indicative of an overall divide-andconquer strategy of the powers that be. Many churches, including some in the Restoration Movement, bought into the lies of class division and the aspirations for middle class and actively participated in redlining and white flight and gentrification.

We still do.

WORKING FOR CHANGE My wife, Tara, and I didn’t want to keep thinking and acting like that because it’s a lie found nowhere in Scripture, one that pits weak against weak to benefit the strong. By opening our doors to those unlike us in Joplin, Missouri, Tara and I found ourselves well-prepared for radical hospitality in New York City—a ministry that has ended up teaching us more about the first-century church than anything Alexander Campbell ever said.

We now regularly serve meals at our dining room table for the homeless, poor and rich blacks, middle-class Jews, artists, high-class professionals, college students, and retired businesspeople. All of this made me curious, so I started demographic research on the towns of some of our home churches.

In my unwillingness to open my doors wide and love on neighbors from certain New York neighborhoods, I’ve accidentally exposed my former unwillingness to spend time in the “rough side” of Centralia, Illinois, while I lived in Salem. I’ve become painfully aware of my resistance to pack up my house and move into the poorer black side

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of Joplin, Missouri. I’ve also noticed many of my peers moved out to the country or to richer neighborhoods to stay away from what they considered “lower” classes.

In contrast, Jordan Rice of Renaissance Harlem is getting as many people in his church as possible to send their kids to the worst school in the neighborhood.

Gentrification and white flight is our apartheid, our modern colonizing. The problem starts the moment we refuse to participate in a specific locale, when we refuse to get involved. When we’re more worried about whether a specific kind of people we don’t like is our immediate neighbor. When we’re more concerned about whether we have bad neighbors instead of whether we’re moving into places to be good neighbors.

A BROKEN SYSTEM When we say we’ll give money to missions to fix the problem, we often exacerbate the problem because we’re assuaging our consciousness for the systemic evils we propagate.

Don’t believe me? Hickle demonstrates the egregious inequality between the global north and south and how it came about. He argues that economic aid and charity as well as our predilection toward economic development will not solve the problem.

We annually give $128 billion to poverty relief. That’s a lot of money.

But then subtract $60 billion that developing countries must pay to first world countries to use their patents on things like insulin and solar panels, $138 billion that corporations extract from poor countries for tax holidays, and $211 billion poor countries pay on debt rich countries own.

Subtract $480 billion for policies rich countries wrote to restructure the global south and the $700 billion rich countries got by avoiding export revenues poor countries could level.

Throw away the $486 billion that foreign investors take out of developing countries and territories like Puerto Rico each year through pension funds and 401(k) accounts invested in their continued oppression.

Subtract $1.75 trillion for trade misinvoicing and abusive transfer pricing, $973 billion for capital flight, and another $2.66 trillion for unequal currency exchanges that favor countries like the United States, Germany, and Japan.

Do you know where that leaves you if you’re in the third world?

About $7.9 trillion in the hole.

In other words, almost half the gross domestic product of the United States. It’s quite a con job.

And remember, that’s including the $128 billion we give every year to help the poor. Imagine if you didn’t give to these organizations.

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MODERN CHARITY IS NOT SACRIFICIAL LOVE. OR EVEN ALMS. MODERN CHARITY IS A GUILT AND REGRET TAX.

PRESERVING AN EVIL STATUS QUO Proverbs 19:4 implies that the poor lack friends not because they’re poor; they’re poor because they don’t have good systems of support in the form of friends, neighbors, and bosses. Had Christian businesspeople paid higher wages to their employees over the last 500 years—and offered health care and education more recently—it would have done far more to advance the cause of Christ’s justice in the world than simply making all the money they could and giving it to charity.

God offered this rebuke in Isaiah 58:3: “You do what you please and exploit all your workers.” Modern charity isn’t sacrificial love. Or even alms. Modern charity is a guilt and regret tax. It’s the reason Dr. Martin Luther King in Letter from a Birmingham Jail said it’s not the Ku Klux Klan but the moderate that has to change, not white supremacy but white apathy. It’s because average people prop up broken systems and an evil status quo.

And it’s why the rich young ruler went to Jesus and listed how he’d kept all of the commandments and Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give his money to the poor.

Because even though the rich young ruler kept the commands in his personal life, he’d broken them in his corporate life through the broken systems he willingly participated in, through the status quo he preserved.

He didn’t dishonor his parents, but perhaps the throne he served did.

He didn’t lie, but perhaps the lawyers on his side did.

He didn’t murder, but perhaps he benefitted from a police force that did kill innocent civilians—Roman legionaries weren’t kind to Jews, you know.

He didn’t commit adultery or steal, but perhaps the kind of covetous system he participated in forced people into sex slavery and prostitution and left them with no choice but to rob.

The systems we live with are not only broken, they’re evil.

I was at the Eastern Christian Convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a few years back staying at a hotel with some church planters. A fellow pastor

named Watson needed to head out to the store to get some dish soap. He’s a pastor. I think a doctor of theology too.

Oh right—he’s black.

I didn’t know why he wanted me to go with him.

Why he wanted me to drive. Why he wanted me to go in with him and stay close. We got back into the car with the goods and he had to stop and take some breaths.

“Watson, what gives?” I asked.

“Black guy in a rich white neighborhood in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at half past midnight. Wouldn’t end well without you.”

“You’re a doctor. A pastor. Surely it would be fine.”

He laughed. “You’re naïve, brother. If this is how I feel, imagine the poor 11-year-old in Philly with no neighbors and no resources.”

The next night he gave the keynote to a roomful of white folk at one of our movement’s Christian conferences.

PRACTICAL, BEAUTIFUL URBAN MINISTRY “Sell everything you have and give to the poor.”

It’s quite practical, really, this urban ministry that’s right next-door to you. Here are five steps each of us can take to make a difference: 1. Don’t think you need to move overseas or across the country or across the state.

2. Identify the poorest neighborhood in your city or county and make sure the people there don’t look like you.

3. Sell everything you and your family have.

4. Move into that neighborhood. Maybe into a trailer park, housing project, run-down apartment complex, or row of tumbledown shacks.

5. Help the locals reclaim their resources, educate them, and give them local control of things like water or abandoned buildings or parks or air so that it benefits the community in which they live.

That’s it. Go do that and watch how absolutely beautiful it makes your life. Don’t do it out of guilt.

Do it because it’s a gorgeous way to live this life that you don’t deserve anyway, a handsome and fair way to live out the grace of God. 

Lancelot Schaubert is a writer and producer living in New York City.

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can you define deception?

BY COSTI HINN

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The church’s greatest threat has never been from the outside, but rather, from deception within.

The Bible is clear. Satan doesn’t show up at the foot of your bed with red horns and a pitchfork claiming, “Here I am to distract and deceive you!” Neither do his false prophets. They are disguised in light; seeming to be workers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Our adversary’s deceptive strategy is to infiltrate our ranks. Like a Trojan horse entering through the city gates, darkness often hides in plain sight. Satan doesn’t fight fair and false teachers take no prisoners.

During the 1930s and ’40s, millions of Jews were murdered as part of the Holocaust. Museums like the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem have preserved the horrific evidence of how deception played a crucial role in the Nazi plans. The Germans used propaganda to make it appear they were caring for Jews, but instead they brutally slaughtered millions.

Nazi soldiers were trained to deceive Jews until their deaths. In what is among the most inhumane acts in world history, countless Jews were told that the concentration camps where they were being taken were communities of safety and rest. Some were shown pictures of a beautiful paradise only to arrive at the sterile barracks confused. At Auschwitz, Jews unknowingly worked to lay the foundation for the very buildings that would be their own “death factories.”

Like the ruthless deception and false propaganda used by the Nazis to execute their evil plan, false teachers and the kingdom of darkness use lies to attempt to bring down the church and destroy the kingdom of God. Discernment is crucial to preventing spiritual casualties.

Can you say with absolute certainty that you are not being deceived? Do you know if the church of which you are a part is a biblical church? How do you know that the ministry you follow is playing for the right team? How has your pastor’s pulpit ministry increased your prowess for studying your Bible? Are you confident in saying that you know when something is biblically true or fatally false? Many Christians are sitting in churches and following ministries that are anything but biblical—yet they aren’t aware of the signs.

To help you navigate the challenges we’re facing in the body of Christ today, here are five ways to define deception: C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

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“if a teaching diminishes Christ in order to elevate man, that’s the mark of deception.”

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1. the gospel is mishandled One of the keys to defining deception within the church is how the gospel is treated. If God is always in a good mood, sin is “too intense” for the pulpit, and the cross is a just revelation of our value, things are heading in the wrong direction.

If sermons are preached so broadly that people aren’t told Jesus is the only way they can be saved (John 14:6), there is a problem. The gospel is not inconvenient, it’s essential. A church (and its pastor) must be willing to offend people if it means pleasing God. Yes, there is good news! But, it’s only good news because there was some bad news.

The gospel is also mishandled when certain people dogmatically assert that without “signs and wonders” the gospel has no power. This faulty view is common in Word of Faith theology and flies in the face of Romans 1:16 where Paul declares, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (New American Standard Bible). The gospel is not powerful because it accompanies signs and wonders. The gospel is powerful because God authored the transformation of dead sinners into living saints.

2. my experience informs my truth There is a massive wave of experience-driven theology sweeping over the church.

If you find that your church or your favorite ministry uses “expert eyewitness” claims to propagate things that are contradictory to the Bible, the writing could be on the wall. As Christians, it’s great to have moments of awe in light of what God is doing in the church. But if those moments are built on the mystical experiences of someone like Jesus Culture’s Kim Walker-Smith claiming that Jesus appeared in a vision and behaved like Stretch Armstrong, or Bethel Redding’s (of Redding, California) Seth Dahl explaining how Jesus appeared to him in a vision to ask him (yes, Seth) for forgiveness, things have stretched into dangerous territory.

Our culture is waging war on absolute truth by using subjective experience. People can identify as whatever gender they “feel like” they are, women can kill babies because they “feel like” it’s OK, and gay marriage is OK in more churches than ever because pastors “feel like” we should just love people and not “judge.”

If our church or our pastor is building on the foundation of experience to define the truth, is that much different than the world? True Christians must be committed to trusting the Word of God as the authoritative and sufficient filter through which every experience must pass.

3. you and i are the same as Jesus One of the best ways to define deception in a church or teaching is to analyze what it does with the doctrine of Christ. When pastors with a global platform like Bill Johnson (of Bethel Redding) claim that Jesus did his miracles as just a man in right relationship to God, and not as God, that’s heresy. This is a historical heresy with a modern face. It is the springboard for today’s mystical-miracle movement which claims that if Jesus was just a man anointed by God when he was on earth, you can be just like him too!

If a teaching diminishes Christ in order to elevate man, that’s the mark of deception. Satan has always been a master of twisting Scripture to undermine God and shipwreck people’s faith. From the beginning, the serpent has been whispering, “Did God really say . . . ? You will not certainly die!” (Genesis 3:1-4).

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4. the abundant life is health, wealth, and happiness A church is off course if John 10:10 means that the “abundant life” guarantees health, wealth, and happiness on earth. The idea that you should be experiencing job promotions, perfect medical reports, and an overflow of financial provision ignores John 15:20; James 1:2; and 2 Timothy 3:12 (at the very least). If your pastor gears his messages toward “hope” that is realized through material possessions and perfect relationships on earth, he’s not a pastor . . . he’s an imposter.

Jesus didn’t promise that life on earth would be easy for those who are his true disciples. An over-realized atonement that guarantees riches and health on earth has missed the entire point of trials, suffering, sovereignty, and sanctification.

5. faith is a force you can unleash Billionaire prosperity preacher Kenneth Copeland has built an empire on the false teaching that “faith is a force.” In other words, you can make things happen if you believe. If your pastor twists passages about confession of faith in Christ (Romans 10:9) to mean that confession is also the way to secure a Bentley for your driveway—run to the nearest biblical church. When a church has a culture of “making it happen with your mouth,” it is time to move on.

This theology defines deception by teaching that God is like a magic genie—you get what you want by rubbing him right. Positive confessions are repeated in cultlike unison as crowds say, “I am promoted!” “I am healed!” or “I am blessed!” They believe faith does not lead one to merely confess their sin and turn to Christ in repentance, but that faith is a force you can use to control all outcomes.

it is a war on truth All of the deception within the church can be disheartening. People are being used and spiritually abused. But there is hope.

First, we’ve been forewarned that false teachers would “secretly introduce” destructive heresies and exploit people in their greed (2 Peter 2:1-3). We need not be surprised. We also know that even in the midst of spiritual warfare, victory has been won by Jesus Christ! Discerning Christians have no need to cower in fear if they are clad in the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-18). The believer equipped with the Word of God has everything needed to stand firm against enemy tactics. God has given us the ability to define deception and enjoy the security of walking in truth.

Take courage, Christian. Christ promised to build his church (Matthew 16:18).

Make sure you’re a part of a local body where he is actually building. 

Reprinted with the author’s permission from www.definingdeception.com/2018/04/23/can-you-define-deception.

Costi Hinn serves as executive pastor at Mission Bible Church in Tustin, California. He is the coauthor of Defining Deception. Costi is married to Christyne. In 2017, he wrote a Christianity Today article titled, “Benny Hinn Is My Uncle, but Prosperity Preaching Isn’t for Me” (christianitytoday.com).

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BY TROY M. BORST

5 keys (and 3 crucial attitudes)

for a successful food ministry

A food ministry can be an effective way for an urban church to engage the congregation, serve its neighbors, and share Christ’s love. But such a ministry isn’t without challenges.

New Beginnings Christian Church in Tampa, Florida (www.newbeginningscctampa.org), operates a successful food pantry that serves 80 to 90 people on a regular basis as a means of reaching out to South Tampa. For more than a decade, we have provided food staples for the homeless, poor, and working poor in Tampa. It is an essential part of how we love our immediate neighbors. Matthew 25:34-46 guides us in this type of ministry; Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (v. 40).

Here are five keys for a successful food ministry and three crucial attitudes that will help along the way.

five areas of importance for a successful food ministry

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

FOOD OFFERINGS: “it takes donations” Stick to the basics: offer canned goods and nonperishables only. The congregation can donate these items without any confusion. The food pantry clients will also know what to expect.

Confusion is an enemy of effectiveness.

Nonperishable food will not go bad in the ebb and flow of weekly collection and distribution.

A ministry that includes fruit, cold items, and frozen foods must contend with additional issues, as well as the increased cost of maintaining refrigerators and freezers. Provide one bag of nonperishables per person or family with each distribution.

SCHEDULING: “it takes planning” NBCC has run the pantry two different ways. First, we had it on demand: whenever the church building was open, a person could come and get a bag of food. Office staff would pack a bag on the spot, pulling from available items, and give it to the client. This can work, but it is not the most effective method.

The better manner of distributing food is once a week. This allows for everyone involved— people who plan, people who provide, and those who receive—to be ready. This method also eases stress on church staff and engages more church members to serve.

VOLUNTEERS: “it takes servants” Many people in our church family play roles in making our Tuesday food pantry distribution possible. Once every few months, the 65 people who come to our Wednesday meals double-up grocery bags for pantry use; these bags are stored away. Four volunteers stock food donations that arrive on Sundays. Two volunteers use donated funds to purchase food from a local bulk store. A group of four people comes on Monday morning and packs each double-bag with green beans, chili, crackers, ramen, beans, canned fruit, and the like. And then, on Tuesdays, four volunteers distribute the food.

Each of these jobs can be done with more people or fewer people. The 80 to 90 bags we distribute are usually gone in one hour.

FUNDING: “it takes money” In my experience, money is the hardest part of a food ministry. If not enough food is donated, it costs money to purchase food to supplement the shortfall. Donations sometimes are light, but when that happens, people are still hungry. People still arrive at our door on Tuesdays with their hands out. The homeless guy who lives behind the laundromat still expects to receive some food from the church.

This being the reality, our food ministry requires $300 to $400 a week in addition to donated food items. The cost varies week to week because donations vary.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: “it takes reaching out” Local restaurants, grocery stores, financial institutions, scouts, other churches, military bases, and veterans organizations often are willing to provide assistance to a church’s food pantry, as it’s a service that’s good for the neighborhood. Be willing to accept help . . . and don’t be shy about asking for help.

Restaurants and grocery stores can donate dented cans or unused food. Banks often have food drives; ask them to drive donations right to your church! By reaching out to other organizations and businesses in your community, you create a network of goodwill and also expand God’s influence with your neighbors. These donations decrease the overall cost of your ministry.

three key attitudes for a successful food ministry

1.

2.

3.

I T ’ S O K T O B E C H E AT E D A man comes to a church and is given one bag of food. He goes out to the church parking lot, puts on a hat, and comes back in to get another bag. A woman brings her daughter with her so they can receive two bags for their household. A person brings a toddler (not her own) to try to leverage more help from the church. The sad truth is, poor and hungry people will cheat to get food. Folks will lie, lie, lie to get money, clothing, and food. It’s called sin. It’s called survival. It’s also normal (Proverbs 6:30).

You must absolutely let this go. We are instructed to “serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people” (Ephesians 6:7). We are packing and giving out food ultimately for our Lord and not for the people.

In the end, they are cheating God (and I wouldn’t want to be them on Judgment Day). We must do as God commands no matter what others might do.

I T ’ S O K T O S AY N O Our food pantry usually operates from 9 to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays. It’s not unusual for people to come after we close at 10 a.m. People sometimes come on Wednesday and Thursday. It is absolutely permissible to tell the needy to come back when the food pantry is open. This creates boundaries within which the poor will work. People understand and respect it.

People also will tell you that your church is their only source of food, but will regularly go to three other places. You can provide a resource list of other food banks (and their hours). That way, if your church cannot help at that particular time, perhaps another organization can.

Boaz, after all, gave Ruth boundaries for gleaning in his field (see Ruth 2:8, 9). Boundaries are good and help reduce frustration.

A LW AY S S E R V E T H E H O M E L E S S Every rule has its exceptions and gray areas. One exception we have made is to try to serve the homeless whenever they come by. We have “pop-top” cans and nonperishables set aside in certain bags for people we determine to be homeless. It does not help a homeless person to give them food they need to cook (such as spaghetti). We give out “pop-top bags” any day at any time.

God frowns upon withholding food from the hungry (Job 22:7; Proverbs 25:21); he seeks to help those who are hungry (Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalm 146:7; Proverbs 10:3; Matthew 14:16; 15:32). Homeless folks or those living in their car are the least among us and should be cared for as often as we are able.

YOU CAN DO IT!

online Extra: This article is also at ChristianStandard.com, along with web-only extras, including key questions to ask before starting such a ministry, first steps and best practices, and a listing of suggested food pantry items.

If you are looking for an effective way to expand the influence of Christ in your city, and a way to engage as many people in your congregation as possible to serve others, consider starting a food ministry! 

Troy M. Borst has served with New Beginnings Christian Church, Tampa, Florida, for more than 12 years, first as associate minister and now as senior minister. He also serves as an associate instructor at Johnson University Florida and professor of communication at Missional University.

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walking with encounter church A Street-by-Street Visit to an Urban Mission Field

BY STEVE CARR

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A stretch of the famed Massachusetts Avenue in the District of Columbia is known as Embassy Row. This portion of the street is lined with more than 175 foreign embassies and diplomatic missions. Here in our country’s capital is a road representing the nations of the world coming together.

A mere two miles from Embassy Row, a community of believers is dedicated to bringing the nations together for Christ. Nestled in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Encounter Church was planted last year by Joel Pazmino and his wife, Meghan. On a recent trip through D.C., I met up with Joel to hear how the church is reaching this city for Christ.

AN URBAN JOURNEY Parking in Columbia Heights is at a premium. I snag a spot in an underground parking garage connected to a Target store (the only one in D.C.). On 14th Street, the main artery, sidewalks are packed in the hustle and bustle most people associate only with New York City. Columbia Heights, the most densely populated neighborhood in the area, could easily be mistaken for Brooklyn. Every race, language, and socioeconomic classification is represented here. Somehow in this sea of humanity, Joel and I find each other.

Joel’s personality makes you feel as if you’ve been friends for life. Born and raised in South America, he can easily slip back and forth between English and Spanish. Joel spent his youth in Guayaquil, a large city in Ecuador, so he’s comfortable in this urban setting. Wearing a knit hat with a pair of black Beats headphones around his neck, we begin our walk through the neighborhood.

I first ask why he wanted to plant a church in Columbia Heights. Joel traces it back to his childhood. His father was a pastor, and the family was part of church plants in South America and the United States; in 2006 Joel’s parents were called to plant a church in Maryland. Even with a church-planting pedigree, Joel says it wasn’t until he got involved in student ministry that he realized he was called to follow in his family’s footsteps.

After attending Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, Joel served as associate minister to a church plant in Annapolis, Maryland. Next he completed a planting residency at New Life Christian Church in Chantilly, Virginia. Then he and Meghan were finally ready to start a church.

“When my wife and I started talking about church planting, we knew very few things,” Joel admits.

“But one we were sure of: We wanted to start a church in a city.”

Why Columbia Heights? Joel explains simply that a church was needed there.

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A TRANSITIONING NEIGHBORHOOD Traffic is at a standstill, so it takes Joel and me several minutes to cross over 14th Street. It’s immediately evident that Columbia Heights is unique. While its proximity to Embassy Row and Capitol Hill naturally connects the community with D.C.’s elite, it also hosts some of the city’s poorest residents.

The neighborhood has seen a world of change over the past 200 years. In the 19th century, the area transitioned from farmland to college town (originally the site of George Washington University) to suburb. Beginning the 20th century, it was the home of the affluent and powerful—government managers, Supreme Court justices, and high-ranking officers in the military. After World War II, many African-American families relocated here. When the neighborhood was practically destroyed in the race riots of 1968, the community became the landing place for generations of Latino immigrants.

But whenever a people group moved on, a remnant remained. By the end of the last century, Columbia Heights had transformed into a fully diverse community. Of the white, Asian, black, and Latino populations, not one of them has enough to constitute a majority.

Joel and I walk past the Columbia Heights Metro Station stop. Even in the middle of the afternoon, scores of people are pouring in and out of its turnstiles. In the city, public transportation is life, so when the heavy rail transit system was finally connected to the neighborhood in 1999, it attracted a new generation of affluence.

Walking through the Civic Plaza affirms this. Over the last 10 years, real estate prices have nearly tripled. Yet there’s still space in Columbia Heights for all, whether in high-priced townhouses or lower-income housing.

PAVING THE WAY FOR GODLY COMMUNITY The neighborhood features a second major artery, 11th Street, which is where we’re headed. If 14th Street is the heart of Columbia Heights, 11th Street is its soul.

At the corner of Irving and 11th, we pass by Tubman Elementary School, named for famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Built shortly after the 1968 riots, the school serves as an oasis for the impoverished in the community, providing free dental care for its students. This neighborhood values its children.

Catty-corner to the school’s soccer field is the Wonderland Ballroom, a neighborhood hangout featuring food and dancing. The Wonderland is what sociologist Ray Oldenburg called a “third place”—a location where people from all walks of life can connect for the betterment of society. In a neighborhood like Columbia Heights, where homes and apartments are smaller, places like the Wonderland are important for forging connections.

While the sense of community is strong in Columbia Heights, there are few Bible-believing churches.

Since the gospel confronts some of the most sacred of secular beliefs concerning tolerance, churches in urban areas are viewed with a level of skepticism. It’s critical for churches to intertwine their ministry efforts with community opportunities.

For Encounter Church, this means sponsoring and supporting the local street food festival.

Additionally, Meghan serves as the neighborhood engagement coordinator for the local Main Street Program, which has opened up a number of opportunities for Encounter to cement its presence in the neighborhood and have deeper conversations.

ROADBLOCKS IN THE CITY Encounter started with a focus on reaching secondgeneration immigrants—those individuals who are Americans but maintain strong connections to their national heritage. Interestingly, while they’ve attracted some of this demographic, the church has seen a strong response from the neighborhood’s aging black population.

Even Joel admits it’s humorous that a young, South American-born minister is called to minister to older African-American women. But he’s intent on improving his skill set to meet their needs. Encounter is dedicated to ministering to anyone willing to join them.

As we turn the corner onto Monroe Street, we walk past some new construction of high-priced condominiums and Joel starts telling me the story of a lady he met in the neighborhood who had recently started attending the church. As he is describing her, Joel’s voice suddenly goes soft. I notice him glancing across the street, and then he waves.

“How are you doing, Pastor?” a woman shouts to him.

Joel responds, and the two of them engage in a pleasant conversation from opposite sides of the street. As we resume our walk, he confides, “That’s the woman I was just telling you about. It’s awesome that we saw her.”

In the city, there’s always a path for ministry.

We are forced to move around a newly repaired sidewalk, and this seems like the perfect metaphor for Encounter: There are endless obstacles facing a church that tries to establish itself in the city. One stumbling block is that those who belong to the church sometimes don’t prioritize worship attendance.

“We have a few people who consider themselves regulars that only show up once every couple of months,” Joel admits. “I get it. They have job responsibilities and family scattered around the region, but it’s a challenge to build a church on this.”

Another struggle is ministering in a neighborhood that’s ambivalent about its existence. Even though Encounter is dedicated to reaching those who feel they don’t belong, Columbia Heights isn’t very warm to Bible-teaching churches.

“How do you impact a community for Christ when the neighborhood doesn’t care that you’re there?” Joel wonders aloud.

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WALKING IN COMMUNITY We complete a big circle around Columbia Heights and arrive back on 14th Street. There is one last historical landmark that Joel wants to show me: the Tivoli Theatre, where Encounter Church meets on Sundays. The location is amazing, right on the main thoroughfare (with free parking on Sundays!).

Built in 1924 as a movie theater, and now an arts center, it’s one of the most elegant theaters in the District of Columbia. It’s in the very center of the neighborhood where any resident would feel comfortable visiting.

Joel, Meghan, and a team of believers launched Encounter Church on September 10, 2017. As Joel reflects on their one-year journey, he admits it hasn’t been easy.

“There have definitely been challenges we wouldn’t have faced if we started elsewhere. In more suburban areas, it’s generally easier to start a church. The cost of living is more affordable, finding meeting space is easier . . . but I’m convinced we made the right move; this type of ministry is incredibly important.”

This passion is contagious and has the potential to exponentially impact the kingdom. When Encounter was starting, another couple that was praying about planting a church heard about Joel and his team and decided to join them. In the spring, the couple became church-planting interns with Encounter and are preparing to plant a church in Maryland.

I’ve always had a heart for urban church planters as well as missionaries on foreign fields. They are similar in this way: Both see a great need for the gospel to be taken to challenging contexts. Where many might turn away because of endless obstacles, some are willing to risk everything to reach the nations.

That’s why we need to walk alongside people like Joel and Encounter Church—those who are dedicated to reaching difficult but influential places for Christ. 

online Extra: This article is also at ChristianStandard.com, along with practical next steps you can use in your ministry.

Steve Carr serves as vice president of ministry development for CDF Capital.

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interact IMPROVEMENTS

A NEW CRITICAL JUNCTURE IN THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT

We love the changes—improvements—to the Standard and Lookout. Thank you so much for all of your work, and your ministry.

Rick W. Keiser II via Facebook

I thought this was an excellent article that describes what is happening in the churches today [“Letter from the Publisher,” by Jerry Harris, p. 2, June 2018]. If you lose your integrity to please the masses, in the end, what have you accomplished?

Gloria Edmond via website I have been seeing this over the last 10 years or so.

My GG Grandmother was a contributing member of the Restoration Herald and I have seen our history be largely forgotten as new members have no idea what a Restoration church is.

IMPORTANCE OF REPORTING NUMBERS Excellent “Letter from the Publisher” in the May issue [by Jerry Harris, p. 2]. Sincerely appreciate your positive perspective and bold challenge. I concur that we need to get over ourselves and celebrate the Kingdom together!

Greg Comp via Facebook

REVISITING OUR POSITION

Sheri Bright Timmers via Facebook I would add the following unstated, yet implied, rules to our mottoes, our heritage, and our plea: 1. It is each individual’s responsibility to know God deeply and to understand his Word.

2. Parents, it is your responsibility to personally evangelize your children and to show them how to be disciples of Jesus.

I strongly believe these are implied by the mottoes. The “we” and “our” refer to all of us, not just a small subset. If we would add these, teach these, and live them out starting now, we might quickly turn this tide.

When was the last time you heard anyone teaching or preaching or simply discussing any of this?

The passing along of truth from one generation to the next must be done on purpose. We need to teach everyone to step up to their responsibility in this.

Mitch Norby via website

“We insist on the meaning of baptism as defined in the New Testament and surrender to its biblical definition” [originally written by Isaac Errett; quoted in “‘Our Position’ Revisited,” by Jerry Harris, p. 38, June 2018]. While I agree with this, I find it means entirely different things to so many today. We need to be clear on the relationship of baptism to salvation. Acts 2:38 is baptism (in water) for salvation (forgiveness of sins). I know many that would say, yes, this is true, but Acts 2:38 was a spiritual baptism, not water, so we need to be clear on what we mean.

Steve Lowman via website I have taught the “Restoration Plea” has been for the unity of all Christians based upon the authority of the Bible. This has created tension for more than 150 years. Do we demand biblical fidelity (as we understand it) from other Christians, or do we let go of some things that are our distinctives for the sake of unity? As the movement began to splinter after the Civil War, some chose unity over a narrow reading of the Bible; others were the reverse.

Mark S. Krause via website C H RIS TIA N STAN DA R D

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I appreciate and am encouraged by this call for a return to our core values. Nevertheless, I feel there is an underlying issue that has led to a watering down of the principles of the Restoration Movement and of faith in America as a whole. The issue is the first chapter of the first book of the Bible. After years of ineffectual responses to the “natural causes” doctrine of the scientific community, the church in America has all but abandoned the Genesis account of creation. After eight years of intensive study of origins as described by the scientific community, I am convinced that the Genesis account of creation is the most reasonable explanation for the existence of our world and our universe and that it is possible to prove that at the level of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Unless and until that is accomplished, no solid foundation exists for the authority of Scriptures, for the Restoration Movement, or for faith in America as a whole.

Dwight Webster via website I wrote “Amen!” at the end of your “Letter from the Publisher” for June. Thanks for a walk through the critical junctures of Restoration Movement history and your call to “remember and embrace the beauty of our mottoes, our heritage, and our plea.”

Having read that, I remembered an observation Ken Idleman made in his article, “The State of Our Christian Churches Today” [p. 32, May 2018]: “Today, we see more churches that doctrinally look like us. . . . At the same time, a few of our churches are abandoning these same doctrinal distinctives. So, some churches are passing each other going in opposite directions!”

As the old saying goes, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

My concern has been that some of the leaders of our churches today seem to have forgotten, or perhaps never knew, how close we have come in our history to losing the distinctives of our movement summarized by Isaac Errett in “Our Position” [see “‘Our Position’ Revisited,” by Jerry Harris, p. 38, June 2018].

Keep up the good work!

Dick Wamsley Taylorville, Illinois via email

Oakland Drive Christian Church The June issue of @christianstandardmagazine is ready for you! Grab your copy on Sunday for all those hours you’re about to log on the playground. #summerreading #restorationmovement #church

Give us your

feedback!

/ChristianStandardMagazine @ChrStandard @christianstandardmagazine Cs@ChristianStandardMedia.com

For space, length, readability, relevance, and civility, comments sent to Interact may remain unpublished or be edited. We do read them all and prayerfully take them to heart. If we publish your comment, we will try to honestly reproduce your thoughts with those considerations in mind.

Where we disagree, let’s continue to keep P.H. Welshimer’s words in mind to “disagree without being disagreeable.”

- NONDENOMINATIONALISH -

‘NO SHAKING HANDS SUNDAY’ Sparks New Ideas for Sunday Themes Headlines For Christians Who Don’t Take Themselves Too Seriously

BY CALEB KALTENBACH INDIANAPOLIS—Known for his creative and somewhat whimsical ideas, pastor Brayden Jessington of Epic Christian Church has created a trend that’s spreading like wildfire: “No Shaking Hands Sunday.”

“You know how some churches have ‘Bring a Friend Sunday’ or ‘Student Worship Sunday’?” asked Jessington. “Well, ‘No Shaking Hands Sunday’ is just like those, except you don’t touch anyone at church!”

Jessington said the idea came to him through time and experience.

“Basically, I got tired of getting sick from shaking people’s hands. A guy will sneeze on his hand or scratch his ear and then

want to shake my hand . . . as if what he just did with his hand never happened.”

Jessington said more than a dozen ministers have called to pick his brain about having a “hands-free” Sunday at their churches. And Jessington’s idea has sparked similar-themed days at other churches.

“This Sunday will be our first ever ‘Put a Paper Bag Over Your Head Sunday,’” said William Bohney, minister with Eighth Street Christian Church.

“I wanted to preach a sermon without seeing people nod off, check their text messages, or give me weird looks from their seats,” Bohney explained. “This Sunday, I finally get to live my dream.”

online Extra: Watch for a new “Nondenominationalish” story every Wednesday at ChristianStandard.com.

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Bohney described the process.

“When people walk into our narthex, our greeters will hand them a bulletin and a paper bag. They put the bag on once they sit down.”

Ed McCartney of Jamesville Church of Christ shared two ideas he sees as more attractional.

“This year we’ll have ‘Bring Your iPod and Headphones and Listen to Your Own Worship Songs Sunday.’ Then we’ll have ‘Choose Your Own Communion Flavored Juice Sunday.’ These Sundays will be real draws for people!”  Caleb Kaltenbach is just kidding.

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