Shane Ash

By now you have heard of the devastation the earthquake in Haiti has caused and the death toll that is continuing to rise.

Nazarene Compassionate Ministries is actively responding to needs in the disaster areas. If you would like to contribute to the disaster relief please visit www.ncm.org.

Please pray for the hurting and the helping…

Thanks!

This past Sunday was the second of “The Church” series. The message was simple, the church is both gathered and scattered.

Often in our western world we settle for defining (or having it defined for us) church only in the gathered context. Church is something we do, a place we go, or an organization we can join (like Sam’s Club or the local gym).

But biblically it is clear that “The Church” is not a place but a people…specifically a sent (scattered) people who gather to be equipped and strengthened ( Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 14:26). As Christ-followers we are brought into relationship with a God on a mission to redeem. To be a Christ-follower is to jump into a movement of God, joining God at work in this world, being the living  partner (bride of Christ) of God, to move our lives from me-centered to the God-and-his-purposes centered. How we respond to the mission of God (missio dei) is a direct reflection of our relationship with Jesus.

You are the Church…sent by the God-with-a-mission into the world (next Sunday’s message) “to be a narrative…”

The first week of “The Church” series was focused on trying to introduce the simple truth that “church” is people…you and I and the God within us…and the amazing story of how that Spirit of God moves in, among, around, and through each of us.

We looked at 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” In its  simplest definition Peter has defined what “the church” is for us…and given us the responsibility to tell HIS story to the world.

I am soooo ready for the first teaching series of the year (January 3rd-31st). It is a simple message but also incredibly  transformational if we let it.

This series is like your favorite recipe…a base of good theology, a portion of vision, a pinch of change, and a subtle spice of story. Makes for a great after-holiday, ready-for-the-new-year, spiritual snack. Actually, I hope it is a five course meal…each one leaving you wanting the next…

Over the last few days I have watched my almost 3-year-old little girl mature into a personality of her own. Not that she wasn’t developing over the last several months…but there is something unique about a change in environment to help speed up the growth process. She no longer has the comfort of the routines and habits in her own home environment.

Sometimes an environmental change is the best scenario for new growth. We humans tend to love the unchanging security of consistency…but more often than not, the growth spurts in our life are due to changes in our circumstance or environments. It is magnified in our faith. Our faith history is scarred with moments of change, major circumstances and environmental changes that shake our foundation and help strengthen our core.

Think about it; some of the most impacting spiritual moments in youth are at camps or special events, and I can personally point to the death of a friend several years ago and a defining conference in 2007 that shaped my calling more than anything else.

It happens again and again, people suddenly experience a difficult circumstance and come out on the other side with an unshakable faith. And as they tell their story later, they say, “I didn’t want it…but I am so grateful for the experience now because God did something in the middle of those circumstances that shaped me forever.”

C.S. Lewis writes, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”