Missions at your front door

What if the least reached region in the US was at your front door?

by Robert Krumrey

We live in a mission field. That’s true of every Christian. Every Christian is supposed to think about their neighborhood, workplace, and school, as a mission field. No matter how churched a place may be, there are people who have not yet heard the gospel and the only way that is going to happen is a gospel witness from a faithful Christian. This is especially true in New England. We reside in one of, if not the most, unchurched region in the United States. In 2019, Christianity Today wrote an article about the most unchurched places in the US based on research by the Barna Research Institute. The article stated this in paragraph 2:

“The Springfield-Holyoke area in western Massachusetts, came in at the top of the post-Christian rankings in 2019, with a majority of residents saying they had never made a commitment to Jesus (60%), hadn’t gone to church recently (65%), and hadn’t read a Bible that week (87%). A significant minority—four in ten residents—said they did not consider faith as an important part of their lives.”

You read it right. Little ole Western Mass made it in the headlines of a major Christian publication and it wasn’t for our fall foliage. The research was done in urban settings which is why Springfield made the list. I would say with confidence if this kind of research was done in our area, we would find an even lower percentage of people who believe in Jesus. If we were to add up all of the Bible believing, gospel preaching churches in the five college area, we would be hard pressed to come up with more than 2% of the population. Did i mention we live in a mission field?

This is why I moved my family 2000 miles in 1999 to start MERCYhouse. Gospel poverty in this region is great and the number of churches who preach the gospel and are on mission to reach the campuses and communities in this area is small. We live in a mission field and it is part of the calling of our church to participate in the mission to make disciples who make disciples right here in Western Mass.

This mission can so easily be forgotten. We’re busy. We’re busy with work and school and kids. Heck, we are even busy with church! Mission creep, as they call it in the business world, is a real thing. Of course, we need to do all of these other things. Jobs and kids and school are an important part of our lives and have been given to us by God. These things also determine where we will be most effective as missionaries at our doorstep.

The easiest way for us busy Christians to reach others with the gospel is to talk about Jesus to the nonChristians that we encounter in our daily activities. The barista at the cafe. Our child’s teacher. A coworker. The neighbor across the street. Many of these do not know the gospel and we have been strategically placed in their lives by God to lovingly demonstrate and proclaim the gospel to them.

The Bible describes this in Colossians:

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

— Colossians 4:5,6

Notice how Paul describes the evangelism of the ordinary Christian. No street evangelism, no bull horns, no gospel tracts. Instead, he describes wisdom. Walking daily in a wisdom that is given by God resulting in a wise engagement with “outsiders” or nonChristians. The NIV translation of the Bible says we should “make the most of every opportunity”. This is the life of the ordinary evangelist. Their eyes are wide open for opportunities, and when the opportunity presents itself, they offer a gracious, truth-filled conversation about Jesus.

You can do this! And we want to help. During the week of March 14, we are facilitating what we are calling “Mission Week”. There are no additional services to attend or workbooks to fill out. Just a brief, daily reflection and prayer time (written by our own Meghan Berry) that we hope all of our church will prayerfully read each day of the week. These meditations will take you through both biblical content that informs our evangelism and action steps related to that content to be taken in our own mission field. Please join us as we all engage afresh in the mission field that God has placed at our front door.

Serving by the Strength God Supplies: Deacon Ministry at MERCYhouse

Serving by the Strength God Supplies

In our February Summit Meeting, one of the things mentioned by the elder team was our plan for building a deacon team over the next 10 months. Our hope is that this team would further expand the ministry of service in our church. In the New Testament book of 1 Peter, we read about the importance of the ministry of service in a local fellowship:

“whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

— 1 Peter 4:11

Serving others is considered a high calling in the church of Jesus Christ.  God is so involved in this kind of ministry, that he is supplying supernatural strength in order to assist those who serve in the church.  The result of this kind of service is the meeting of important human needs and much glory for God.  Part of what this service provides is a platform for the gospel to be proclaimed so that sinners can be saved and disciples can continue to grow through the teaching and shepherding ministries of the church.  In this way, “serving” and “speaking” go hand in hand accomplishing the mission that has been entrusted to the church by God.

What is a Deacon?

The ministry of service is so important in the local church that there is an official designation given to some in the church who specialize in this kind of calling.  This official church office is that of the “deacon”.  The Greek word translated deacon in our English Bibles (διάκονος /diakonos) literally means servant and shows up 29 times in the New Testament.  These servants that hold the church office of deacon are required to meet certain qualifications (very similar to elders) and are given special designation so the church can have an example to follow (again similar to elders) and lead in facilitating ongoing ministries of service being carried out by the membership.  We see this designation in places like the opening line of the book of Philippians:

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:”

— Philippians 1:1

Paul is designating three different categories of people in the church.  “Saints” which is all the members of the church.  “Overseers” which are the elders of the church tasked with overseeing, shepherding, and teaching.  “Deacons” who are given the role of meeting the practical needs that are unique to a particular church.   MERCYhouse has had many servants throughout the years that have met a number of needs both inside and outside the church and we expect that to continue with or without special designation.  Though we’ve never set apart people as deacons in our church body, we believe that doing so is both biblical and potentially very helpful for furthering the mission of our church.

Who Can Participate in Deacon Ministry?

First, a candidate must be an official member of our church. This means you have officially joined the church by attending a MEET MERCYhouse class and joined the church membership by getting baptized here at MERCYhouse, OR by statement that you were baptized at another church of like faith and practice, OR by transfer from another Southern Baptist Church. If you have questions about membership, please see our membership page and/or reach out to our church office.

Next, a candidate must be biblically qualified to be a deacon. These qualifications are mostly related to character qualities that give evidence of spiritual maturity - see 1 Timothy 3:8-13. This is important because anyone that the church designates as a “leader” in the church immediately becomes an example that the church is encouraging others to follow. These Christlike qualities are evidence that the person being considered for a deacon role has lived a life of dependency on gospel grace that has resulted in a transformed life.

Unlike elders, who are only male, we believe the deacon role can be filled by both men and women. We believe this because of the mention of Phoebe as a Deaconess in Romans 16:1 and the vetting of women (or possibly the wives of male deacons) for deacon ministry in 1 Timothy 3:11. To see a more thorough treatment of this discussion regarding these scriptures see the “on biblical basis” section in this article from Tim Keller.

How do I pursue Deacon Ministry at MERCYhouse?

As an elder team, we want to encourage every member in our church to consider this very important ministry. We have a number of domains that are in need of attention. These include member care, benevolence ministry, community outreach, international missions, facilities management, and more. These are domains that are often being overseen and executed by staff and elders on a daily basis. The biblical model is for elders to give direction to these domains, but for deacons to be daily executing that direction. The fulfilling of these ministries of service free up staff, elders, and others to focus on their primary calling which is the ministry of the word and prayer (see Acts 6:1-7).

In order to take a first step toward deacon ministry at MH, we are inviting church members to participate in a 6 month training process. This process will include assignments of service, reading, and a monthly Saturday gathering on Zoom from 9-11:30am on the third Saturday of each month. We will discuss the possibility of changing this meeting time in our March gathering, but we found in our elder training that this is a time that almost everyone can make. Attending this training is not a guarantee that you will become a deacon. Completion if this training will be the first part of the vetting required to become a deacon at MH. This “vetting” process is also a time for you to consider what is entailed in deacon ministry to see if you are called to it. Either way the training should be a help to you in your walk with Christ and your ongoing ministry in the church. Once the training is completed, applications will be given to those who are biblically qualified and interviews will be conducted by the elder team. The final confirmation will be a vote by the membership of the church.

See below for a description of the training experience designed to entrust biblical content and foster ministry skills. This six-month training is offered to church members who are interested in growing in the ministry of service in general and/or may be interested in applying for a deacon role in our church. 

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Group Purpose: Growth! ​

No matter what happens, we hope that the people who participate in this experience will grow spiritually. This should benefit any disciple of Jesus whether they become a deacon in our church or not. We hope that each participant will grow:

• In understanding of Christian doctrine and practice of spiritual disciplines ultimately leading to a more vital relationship with Jesus.

• In understanding of roles and responsibilities of deacons and elders and how these roles complement one another.

• In the practice of skills required for deacon ministry - caring relationally for people, meeting practical needs, and verbally sharing the gospel in the context of the ministry of service.  

Reading

• Christian Beliefs:Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know  by Wayne Grudem

• Healthy Church Series: Deacons by Matt Smethurst

• Healthy Church Series: The Gospel by Ray Ortland

• Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love by Edward Welch

• Scripture Study: 1 Timothy, Titus

Assignments

Foundation for All Gospel Ministry

March 20

Introduction

Christian Beliefs: 1,2,3,4

1 Timothy 1

April 24

Christian Beliefs: 5,6

Healthy Church Series: The Gospel

1 Timothy 2

Biblical Qualifications, Roles, and Responsibilities of Elders and Deacons

May 15

Christian Beliefs: 7,8,9,10,11

Healthy Church Series / Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (intro, 1,2,3)

1 Timothy 3

June 19

Christian Beliefs: 12,13,14,15

Healthy Church Series / Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (4,5,6, Conclusion, Appendix 1,2)

1 Timothy 3, Titus 1

Serving The Needs of the Congregation and Beyond

July 17

Christian Beliefs: 16,17

Side by Side: Part 1 (We are Needy)

1 Timothy 4,5

August 21

Christian Beliefs: 18,19,20

Side by Side: Part 2 (We are Needed)

1 Timothy 6

Something new (and not new) at MERCYhouse! - Disciple Maker Tracks

Something New is Here!

by Robert Krumrey

Every church has been given the command by Jesus to make disciples (see Matthew 28:16-20) and every church has to decide the best way to do that. For the last 3 years MH has been working hard to implement a strategy for making disciples that make disciples that fits our context. We started by introducing disciple making content into our small groups. Then we invited those in small groups to lead smaller discipleship groups (DG’s) and now we are ready to roll out phase three of our strategy which continues the use of discipleship groups but adds what we are calling Disciple Maker Tracks.

What is a Disciple Maker Track?

Disciple Maker Tracks are built around a particular topic that pertains to our growth as disciples which includes our ability to make disciples of others. We never stop growing as disciples of Jesus and we never stop needing further training in how we transfer what we know about Jesus and his ways to those who are a few steps behind us in their journey. These “tracks” are broken up into three “minimesters” that are around 6 weeks in length. We’ve done this in order to accommodate both the uber busy who can only carve out enough time for one or two of the minimesters AND those who can commit to the entire 16-week track. That means that each minimester can stand on its own while the three minimesters that make up a particular track also form a cohesive whole.

For Example (Bible Study Track)

Here’s an example of what we’re talking about. The example Track below as a whole is on the book of Romans. Those who participate in the entire track will study all 16 chapters of the book of Romans and be trained in how to teach the Bible using content from the book of Romans and a book on Gospel Centered Teaching by Trevin Wax. Those who can only give time to a portion of the track can participate in 1 or 2 of any of the following Minimesters:

Minimester 1

• Topic - Justification

• Content - Romans chapters 1-5

• Sundays starting February 21 and ending March 21

Minimester 2

• Topic - Sanctification, The Church, The World

• Content - Romans chapters 6-16

• Sundays starting April 11 and ending May 16

Minimester 3

• Topic - Training to Teach

• Content - Book of Romans, Gospel Centered Teaching by Trevin Wax

• Sundays starting May 30 and ending June 27

Prerequisites for Participants

The roll out of these Disciple Maker Tracks is not replacing our previous disciple making strategy. It’s merely the next step in what we hope will further cultivate disciples who make disciples. This means that those who participate in these Disciple Maker Tracks must first complete Parts 1&2 of our Discipleship Group (DG) content from the book Discipleship Essentials . If you haven’t completed both of these Parts, you’ll need to sign up for a Discipleship Group and complete this very important content.

Why the Prerequisites?

Some may wonder why we are insisting on people doing DG’s before they can participate in Disciple Maker Tracks. We want to make sure that everyone gets “the basics” of being a disciple of Jesus. Those basics include both “the practice” and “the beliefs” of the Christian faith. Our DG content in Discipleship Essentials includes practice (Part 1) and beliefs (Part 2) and can be covered in about 9 months. Those who are new Christians find the content to be immediately helpful for their daily walk with Christ. Those who have been Christians for a longer time usually find it to be a helpful refresher both for their own walk with Jesus and in their ongoing efforts to make disciples of others. If for some reason you are wanting to enroll in both DG’s and a Disciple Maker Track, reach out to Tommy and see if that arrangement is right for you.

Register Today!

Please take a minute to take a look at the tracks that we are offering this semester and sign up today. This all gets started the week of February 21, 2021.

Got Questions?

If you have questions, please reach out to Tommy at tommy(at)mercyhouse365.org

New Year, New Bible Reading Plan?

Suggested Bible Reading Plans

by Robert Krumrey

The New Year is finally here! This is cause for celebration for many reasons, not the least of which is 2020 in the rearview mirror. It’s also an exciting time to look forward to a “New” Year, but what about this year is going to be any different than the ones before it? One of the simplest ways to radically change the next 365 days of your life is to adopt some kind of year long Bible reading plan. There are so many apps and plans to choose from that I almost didn’t write this post about them. Then I realized that part of the challenge is that there are so many options to choose from and me making a few suggestions might be a help to you. I’m a huge fan of the YOUVERSION app which offers many kinds of reading plans. Here are a few that Melanie or I have done or are doing this year.

1. Disciples Path: The Journey - This plan is a sampling of scriptures in both Old Testament and New Testament. They are relatively short so if you’ve never done a 365 day plan this is a good one to start with. If you get a few days behind, you can easily catch up.

2. 2 Year Old Testament Plan - This plan covers the entire Old Testament in 2 years. I found that this was a good pace for me to take time to really read and reflect on the entire OT.

3. M’Cheyne 1 Year Reading Plan - Melanie did this plan during 2020 and absolutely loved it. The Gospel Coalition also has short 3 minute commentary that was written by D.A. Carson for each day of reading.

4. Bible Project Biblical Storyline Plan - All things Bible Project are really well done and include their creative and helpful videos as part of the Bible readings. This reading plan is the entire Bible organized chronologically which is a huge help when trying to put all the pieces together regarding the overarching narrative of the Bible.

5. Bible Project New Testament in a Year - This is so doable and gives you the opportunity to thoroughly read and reflect on the entire New Testament in 2021. Also includes great introductory videos for each book.

6. Bible Project Old Testament in a Year - I’m planning to do this one for 2021. It’s the entire Old Testament in a year (which is a couple of chapters per day) and includes their helpful videos.

   Happy Reading for a Happy New Year!

The destructive power of a negative forecast

the paralysis of negative thinking and how advent can help

by Robert Krumrey

Life can be really hard.

Most of us would agree with this statement. There is a realism in that statement that can set expectations in such a way that it protects us from being crushed by life’s disappointments. This is partly what we’ve been learning in the book of Ecclesiastes (see sermon series here). Enjoy life to the fullest, but be aware that there are glitches in the system. Knowing this can guard us from being discouraged, even debilitated, when hard things happen. That said, these disappointing flies in the ointment (Ecc 10:1) can also eventually wear us down to the point that we don’t even want to try anymore.

One of the ways I know I’m being worn down by the “hevel” (Hebrew word translated vanity or meaningless in Ecclesiastes) of this life is when I start to negatively forecast. Solomon speaks of this problem sometimes experienced by those who have been inundated by the hevel of this life which I briefly mentioned in last Sunday’s sermon. After exhorting us to wisely persevere in “casting our bread on the waters” and “giving our portion to others”, he makes this very insightful observation about the paralysis experienced by the negative forecaster:

“He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”

— Ecclesiastes 11:4

He describes a farmer who gets up in the morning and looks at their to-do list (which says it’s time to sow seed) and then looks at what they perceive as windy weather and predicts that the sowing will be completely sabotaged. Or a farmer who is needing to harvest the crops that they have planted, and yet refuses to do so because the clouds in the sky could possibly rain out the workday. Both scenarios are a succumbing to negative forecasting and the result is not only doing nothing but having no food to eat!

This has implications for much more than farming. We are all tempted to negatively forecast. We may have never had our sowing session sabotaged by a wind storm, but we know what it’s like to be “heveled” into utter exhaustion. Students who experience set-backs in their academics. Workers who get fired from a job. Couples that can’t seem to spin out of years of arguing about the same issues. Addicts who keep relapsing. The depressed struggling to believe that any action will result in a positive outcome. Those hurt by Christians who have given up on the church.

There is a fine line between a realist who is honest about life’s challenges and a negative forecaster who is allowing negative sentiment to rule them. The way you know you are falling into the latter is when your “realism” is plunging you into paralysis. The wise person has their eyes wide open to the hevel of this life, but at the same time is moving forward in both reaping and sowing. This is not some kind of naive belief that the sun will always come out tomorrow, but instead an honest awareness of both the hevel of this life and the power of the Sovereign Good God who is working out his purposes in and through us. Solomon describes this delicate balance here:

“As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”

— Ecclesiastes 11:5,6

There is a lot we don’t know about life. Will wind sabotage seed sowing or will clouds wash out the harvest? We don’t know. But what we do know is that there is a God “who makes everything” and is “at work”. Because of this, we need not negative forecast, but instead sow seed in the morning and the evening, trusting that somehow God will bring forth a harvest. This belief in the Sovereign Good God is not some sort of pie in the sky thinking that tricks us into staying positive, but is instead an eternal and indestructible hope from heaven that empowers forward movement in our short life under the sun.

This perspective of hope-filled realism is also the perspective of Advent. Advent is not a “celebration” of something that has already arrived, but an acknowledgement of the darkness that is all around us while still looking to the dawning light that we experience at the coming of Christ. Even more, we also know that we are waiting for Christ’s second advent which will result in his making all things new. Advent is a participation in a forecast of sorts, but is the total opposite of negative forecasting. It’s a positive forecast that is beyond our comprehension. So in light of this great hope that we have in Christ, keep sowing and reaping. Even if the forecast seems filled with wind and clouds, we know that the Son will soon be here!

Advent: A really longggggg wait!

Why the Wait?

by robert Krumrey

I am not a fan of waiting. I don’t think anyone really is. COVID has made this aversion to waiting even worse. I’ve become so used to going to stores and restaurants where there are very few customers which means there is very little wait. Saturday we made our yearly pilgrimage to get the Christmas tree. This always includes a stop at Starbucks for a festive beverage. I suggested that we order on the app so we don’t have to . . . wait. We get to the store to pick up our order and find that a whole bunch of people must have had the same idea. Shocking! I stood there in a line of ten people waiting for our drinks. I hear my name and it’s for ONE of the three drinks. The barista says kindly, “Sorry sir for the wait.” What’s with all this waiting!

Now we find ourselves in a season that purposely shifts our lives into wait mode. The season is known as Advent. The word literally means “arrival” or “coming”. We are waiting on the advent or arrival of something or more precisely someone. Spoiler alert, that someone is Jesus at Christmas. Advent has been observed by the church for centuries during the four weeks that lead up to Christmas. It just started last Sunday and was acknowledged with the lighting of an Advent wreath. The wreath is made up of five candles which mark the four Sundays leading up to Christmas and Christmas Eve.

So why all of this waiting? Waiting is something that God is really into. God’s perspective on time is very different than our own. Peter says it best in his second letter:

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

— 2 Peter 3:8

God is able to faithfully work over thousands of years to accomplish his purposes among human beings. It’s partly why we have the Bible so we can know what God’s been up to over the millennia and then figure out what he is doing now and will do in the future. Advent is a time to take a really long look back into the history of God’s activity on earth and appreciate all the waiting that has taken place and let that encourage us in our own wait. So how long of a wait are we talking here?

One way to understand the wait that took place before the coming of Jesus is from the ministry of the prophets. Prophets like Isaiah and Malachi predicted that a Messiah was coming to save his people Israel and the nations of the world. Because of this, we usually read some of the promises in these writings during Advent that were written hundreds of years before Jesus. One of the most famous is from the book of Isaiah.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

— Isaiah 9:6

This promise was written down 700 years before Jesus which is absolutely amazing . . . and a really long wait. Think of what was going on in America 700 years ago. Oh wait, you can’t. I googled it and what came up was the evacuation of the Cliff Palace by the Pueblo Indians. As far as moderns are concerned, 700 years ago in North America is prehistory. That’s a really long time to wait and that is true, but if we dig a little deeper in our Bibles, we find that the wait for Christ at Christmas goes as far back as the beginning of human existence.

When you open up to the book of Luke, you find a really interesting genealogy. It’s different from Matthew’s gospel which starts with Abraham and traces Abe’s family line all the way to Jesus. That in itself is a really long wait for the coming of Jesus - about 2000 years to be exact. As impressive as that may be, Matthew’s got nothing on Luke. Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus’ family line from Adam. Here’s how it begins:

“Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ”

— Luke 3:23

and here’s how it ends:

“the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”

— Luke 3:38

You can check the whole thing out here. Part of the message of this genealogy is that not only has Israel been waiting for the Messiah to come, but so has the rest of humanity. Every human since Adam has been waiting for Jesus whether they knew it or not. And why have they been waiting? Because every human being has been born under sin (see Romans 5:12) and is in need of a Savior.

Part of the message of Christmas is that the wait of so many years has finally culminated in the birth (and later the death and resurrection) of the God man who is Christ the Lord. He comes in his first Advent to be born in a manger in order to rescue us from the tyranny of sin and will return at his second Advent to fully realize his victory by resurrecting the entire universe, including his church. So get in line and settle in for a nice patient Advent as we remember the wait for Jesus’ first Advent and embrace (with anticipation) the wait for the Advent that is to come.

Get Grace, Say Thanks, Repeat

Why should Christians be so good at giving thanks?

by Robert krumrey

It’s Thanksgiving week and as per usual we are all thinking more about the necessity of giving thanks. Everyone, Christian or not, seems to think it is a good thing to do. What Pinterest quote board would be complete without some quote about an “attitude of gratitude” or something of the like. It’s intuitive to most of us that it is our duty to give thanks and that it’s somehow good for us.

It is indeed our duty to give thanks and it is good for us but why? As Christians, we know that we give thanks because of grace. Grace is a good thing that we receive from God that we do not deserve. It’s not earned. It’s not purchased. It’s just given. When you are given something that you don’t deserve, especially when it is something that you don’t expect, you can’t help but say “thank you”. I watched this occur last week when we stopped by to welcome one of the new babies that have just been born to one of our MH families. We brought a meal and a little something for the baby, but we also brought some surprises for the older siblings. When one of the older siblings opened her surprise, she automatically burst forth with a big “thank you”! It was such a sweet moment so full of joy for her AND for us. It made me so glad to have been a part of giving her the gift, and as I think about it, I’d love to give her another gift just to share that moment of thanksgiving again.

It caused me to think about my own receiving of God’s gifts of grace and whether or not I burst forth with the same response. If I’m honest, I have to admit that I don’t. I often feel entitled to the gifts I get, and can get grumpy when I don’t see my expectations met. I give thanks out of obedience to a command or out of habit rather than an eruption of unforced gratitude for undeserved grace. As Christians we understand that all of life is grace - both common grace (the everyday graces of everyday life experienced by all humans) AND saving grace (the grace of being saved from sin and its effects experienced by Christians). As we truly reflect on all of this grace in our lives and in the lives of those around us, we can’t help but burst forth with thanksgiving.

The Apostle Paul describes this scenario as it pertained to his relationship with the church at Corinth. As you may know, this church had a boatload of problems. In spite of the many struggles they were having and that Paul was having to address, he writes this to them:

“knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”

— 2 Corinthians 4:14,15

Paul is practically giddy about the grace that has been given to him and the Corinthians. Jesus has been raised from the dead which means that all who have believed in this good news will be raised as well to dwell with Jesus and his people forever. This grace has been extended to Paul, and then to the Corinthians, and then to many others through their influence. Paul sees this as an infinite and eternal source of thanksgiving. It’s a cycle of grace to thanksgiving, then more grace, then more thanksgiving, then more grace, then . . . well, you get the picture.

As you reflect on the grace you have been given this week, both common and saving, let it elicit a spontaneous burst of thanksgiving. Then get more grace, give more thanks, and then repeat. Keep doing that for literally an eternity. Have a very grace filled Thanksgiving!

A Burst from Baptisms

A Burst from Baptisms

by Robert Krumrey

Last Sunday we rocked the baptismal pool with five baptisms! The room (and our livestream) was filled with MHers and special guests who had come to celebrate what Jesus had done in the lives of these five women. It felt like a burst of encouragement in the midst of what has sometimes felt like a very discouraging time. Here are at least 4 reasons why I found myself encouraged:

JESUS ISN’T FAZED BY COVID

Even though things are so different right now and we are engaging with fewer people than usual, Jesus is still calling people to himself and building them up as his disciples. Baptisms aren’t the only thing that indicate this, but I do think they are one of the most important indicators regarding the health of a ministry and the presence of Spirit empowered gospel centered ministry. We’ve seen six people total profess faith through baptism this semester which is honestly what we usually see in any given semester over the past 43 semesters of our existence.

JESUS DOES HIS BEST WORK IN DARK PLACES

As I read and listened to the five baptismal testimonies from Sunday, I was struck by the painful dark places that most of these women had found themselves in and that Jesus had gone into those places and shown his life transforming light. One of the testimonies included these reflections after the experience of her second sexual assault:

“If this wasn’t all enough of a blow, I became the victim of assault again at 17, and this was when I lost all trust in God’s said “goodness”. Even though I didn’t show it, I’d given up on God. I was still going to church, but I always left the same way I’d arrived, feeling empty, alone, and with a complete loss in hope that my pain would ever pass. It got to a point where I fooled everyone that I was doing great, but living that lie was starting to weigh on me, on top of every other thing life wanted to throw at me, so much so that 2 summers ago I didn’t want to live anymore.”

This wasn’t the only mention of abject hopelessness and despair from the five testimonies. Much of what was shared was gut wrenchingly honest and devastating, but this was never the end of their stories which is partly why these stories were so encouraging. That same testimony also included this description of Jesus’ work in her life:

“I hated admitting that I was broken because of my past, but what I’ve only come to realize now is how much God cherishes us, the beautiful and ugly parts. There’s nothing we can do to change that fact because the love He has for us is 100 times greater than our bruises and past. Now, in Him, I know my identity, I am His beloved child! And today I stand here to faithfully testify that He truly is my one and only Savior because with all that’s happened in the past 7 years, the last thing I thought I deserved was another chance, but He thought differently. So much so that He saved me from harming myself because He still believed I was deserving of the purpose He had always had planned for my life.”

As I read this, I was reminded anew that Christ truly is the light of the world (see Jn 8:12). Not just in an abstract/theological way (which is important) but in a way that gets into the darkest places of human existence and brings ultimate hope and healing.

JESUS USES DISCIPLES TO MAKE DISCIPLES in a disciplemaking church

Another one of the common themes in most of these testimonies, was shout outs to Vi and her chicken curry. If you haven’t met Vi, you should do so as soon as possible - her life is an amazing testimony to God’s work in a human being. Vi is on our staff team and initially came to us as a Umass student. She is originally from Vietnam but had gone to high school in Singapore and had become a Christian there. When she got here, she was a brand new Christian with much to learn and a hunger to do so. She took advantage of every opportunity she had to grow in Christ. She immediately began to share the gospel with her friends. She also served faithfully in our church and with IV campus ministry and participated in discipleship.

Fast forward seven years and you see a disciple maker who is affecting numbers of students and others for the mission of making disciples of all nations. She is not only offering delicious chicken curry to hungry college students, but is sharing the meat of God’s word in countless small group and one on one interactions. It has been a joy to have a front row seat to see this happen here at MH! Don’t miss this. God used the weekly preaching of the word, small groups, discipleship, membership, prayer . . . to create an environment where he could raise up a disciple like Vi and give her a platform for being a disciple maker herself. Be encouraged!

JESUS and his church are always ON MISSION until his return

While baptisms are always a high water mark (pun intended!) in any semester, they are part of an ongoing mission that will never stop until Christ’s return. I was encouraged yet again by a conversation I had with one of the guests who came to see their friend baptized. They had heard and seen the testimony to the power of the gospel in the lives of the five who were baptized and were wanting to know more about how that same gospel could change their lives.

It’s so easy to think that because of COVID that we are merely “treading water” as a church. Thankfully, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth of what is actually happening in the church around the world is that Jesus is building his church and will not be fazed by whatever our circumstances may throw at us. In one of my favorite foundational scriptures regarding the church, Jesus says this:

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ”

— Matthew 16:18

Jesus is building his church, COVID or no COVID. And nothing, not even hell itself, will prevail against it. Be encouraged by the proof of that reality in the baptisms of these believers who are now part of our church family. Let’s take encouragement from God’s word and his work among us and press on in the mission we’ve been given until he returns.

Grieved but not Surprised

How do we fight for justice in an age of outrage?

by Robert Krumrey

We are more aware of societal injustice than perhaps any other time in our history. All of our institutions are under intense scrutiny regarding whether are not they meet the standard of fairness for all. Of course, none of them do, and this shouldn’t surprise us. Ecclesiastes utters this very sentiment:

“ If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. ”

— Ecclesiastes 5:8

This is one of many startling statements in Ecclesiastes The writer has mentioned injustice and unrighteousness before, but here adds that one shouldn’t be surprised when they see it. Not only this, but also mentions that injustice occurs even though high officials are watched over by those who are higher still. This seems to be a reference to what one might call “systemic injustice”. That there is more than one bad apple, but instead a whole system that is maintaining injustice and unrighteousness against the poor. Why shouldn’t this surprise us?

I just read a chapter in The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby that chronicles (among many other examples) the mistreatment of black people in America who owned homes during the Great Depression. They, like many others, were missing payments on their mortgages due to the economic crash of the 1930’s. The federal government created the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation to offer low interest loans to protect people from foreclosure. These loans were supposed to be for everyone, but those managing the funds deemed certain neighborhoods too much of a risk to be bailed out. They even drew a red line around these neighborhoods on their maps which indicated that all houses inside the red line were disqualified from receiving their loans. This became known as “red lining”. It just so happened that these neighborhoods were primarily black neighborhoods. Without this much needed financial assistance, many middle class black people lost their homes and found themselves in the lower class while white home owners maintained ownership of their property and continued to build wealth for their families.

When we read this kind of thing, we can’t help but be “surprised”. How could people do this sort of thing? Even more, how could a whole system of people do this sort of thing? Ecclesiastes says it shouldn’t surprise us at all and the reason is that we live in a world that is corrupted by sin. Human society is the sum total of 7 billion sinners carving out the way things are done. Certainly some behave better than others, but “none is righteous, no not one” (see Romans 3:10). Based on that reality, it is not surprising that human history and our current day, is riddled with oppression.

So what should we do about it? The temptation is to use the doctrine of universal human sin to merely shrug our shoulders and just go about our lives. Honestly, this is what some bible believing Christians have done for a long time. This is certainly not what Ecclesiastes and the rest of the Bible is teaching us to do. You may remember these earlier verses from Ecclesiastes on this topic:

“Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.”

— Ecclesiastes 4:1

The writer “sees” the oppressions, and not only that, he “sees” the tears of the oppressed and that there is none to comfort them. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes is not blind to oppression nor is he coldly dismissing it, but is instead recognizing and grieving it. This is something that many in the evangelical church (including myself) are learning to do better. There is a tremendous amount of power in the recognition of injustice and its pain among those who have lived under its tyranny. Ignoring that it ever happened or diminishing the hurt that it caused creates obstacles to true healing, reconciliation, and a more just world.

This “grieved but not surprised” attitude is a uniquely biblical approach to the scourge of oppression. On one hand it honestly acknowledges the pain of what has happened and its seriousness. On the other hand, it doesn’t give in to a self-righteous outrage over the imperfections of our world and the humans that have made up its history. This is rampant in our current cultural conversation about injustice and it seems to be doing very little toward actually creating a more just and righteous society. What’s needed are those who are grieved but not surprised and who faithfully keep pressing on toward a just world that brings glory to God and good to the 7 billion sinners who reside there.

The Best Form of Government - A Dictatorship?

Thoughts on the upcoming election.

by Robert Krumrey

We are less than two weeks away from the presidential election and our news outlets and social media feeds are ablaze with opinions about who to vote for and why. Those of you reading this who are citizens in the US should certainly be carefully weighing these candidates and prayerfully casting a vote for one of them or at least for a write-in. While I think that a democratic republic is the best that sinful humans can come up with in terms of a governmental structure, the best form of government is a benevolent dictatorship.

Just think of it, if you could have a sovereign who calls all the shots, who is absolutely good and wise and powerful. Wouldn’t that be the best of all possible governments? There would be no need for voting or debating or adjudicating or any of the sort. We could merely look to the sovereign for all that is good and right and never doubt their words or actions. Of course we have yet to find a human being who can fulfill these kinds of expectations. Those who are given absolute power end up using it for their own twisted ends and those under their rule suffer dearly.

Yet every election season, I see people’s eyes lit up with the hope that their candidate will usher in the promised utopia described in their latest campaign ads. The promises of lower taxes, perfect programs, and ensured health & safety. Like moths to a flame we gravitate toward our candidate of choice believing that “this time” we’ll get all that we’ve been hoping for. This phenomenon is displayed on both the right and the left and always surprises me especially when these behaviors are being exemplified by Christians.

Thankfully the world IS being run by a benevolent dictator and his name is Jesus. Jesus is clear that he has ALL power and authority in the ultimate sense. I often think of this statement from Matthew 28 which sets up what we usually call the great commission:

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

— Matthew 28:18

He’s not kidding. Part of why we should believe him when he says this, is that he delivers this stunning statement from the mouth of his resurrected body - a body that a few days prior had been nailed to a cross and later left for dead in a sealed tomb. Now he’s standing before his disciples in perfect health and is letting them know what is really true. What is really true is that King Jesus is a benevolent dictator over all things. As rulers with power and authority tend to do, he gives commands. His very next statement is this one:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ”

— Matthew 28:19

King Jesus reveals to his disciples that he wants to extend his rule through the making of disciples. This is such a massive act of kindness on his part. A King with Jesus’ kind of power and authority could easily wipe out any opposition and create a peace on the earth that would last forever, but he is benevolent. He is a good King who invites all to come into his kingdom through faith in his gracious saving work on the cross. Those who put genuine faith in that saving work become his disciples meaning that they bow the knee to his good authority and serve at the pleasure of their king.

Those who are reading this are in one of two camps - those who have come under Jesus’ authority and become his disciple and those who have not. If you haven’t, I would encourage you to do so. Jesus really is an all powerful, all wise, and all good king and he has proven that in his death, burial, and resurrection. Come to him to save you from the enemies of sin and death and bow the knee to his good authority over you as well as the rest of heaven and earth. If you don’t, there will come a time when Jesus does use his power and authority to bring peace to the earth and judgment to those who have rejected his offer of grace and truth (for example see Philippians 2:1-11).

If you’ve received his gracious offer of salvation through faith, then you’ve been given your marching orders for how to obey your Sovereign - make disciples. This endeavor includes informing others about this all powerful, all good, all wise Sovereign who has used his power and authority to save sinners and transform godless rebels into citizens of the kingdom of God. So as you cast ballots and talk politics with your family, friends, and neighbors, remember that you ultimately reside in the kingdom of God. Live in the hope of that reality and invite others to do the same.

Ten Ways to Devote Yourself to a Few . . . Like Family

How do I build deep and meaningful relationships?

by Robert Krumrey

Last Sunday (10/11/20) Tommy preached a powerful sermon on the importance of building deep and meaningful relationships. From Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, he showed us that these relationships can be a source of productivity, support, comfort, and safety. I don’t think there is anyone reading this who doesn’t want those kinds of relationships. What we also heard from the sermon, was the need to sacrifice for the sake of building these kinds of relationships in the church.

So where do you start? Something that we’ve said many times through the years at MH is to “devote yourself to a few like family”. You are probably not going to be able to build deep and meaningful relationships with our entire membership of 115 people (plus all the other attendees who make up our fellowship). Knowing this, the only way to truly put Ecclesiastes 4 into practice, is to pursue a few in the way described in the passage.

HOW TO DEVOTE TO A FEW (10 ways)

1. Pray

Honestly, I don’t think building relationships is too complicated. It requires sacrifice, but it’s not that complex. One really simple way to begin pressing in to a deeper relationship with someone is to pray for them. I find that when I pray for people, I immediately begin to develop a concern for them that wasn’t there before. You start to think about their family relationships, challenges at work or school, friendships, financial or physical hardships. Your time of prayer for them enlarges your heart for what they may be going through and engages your mind regarding what God’s vision might be for their lives.

2. Reach out

Once your concern begins to grow, reach out to the person to find out how they are doing and about how you can pray for them. This reaching out doesn’t have to be all serious and spiritual, but should also include some sharing of details of what the both of you are up to and how those things are going. Even brief connections over common interests or a meme you thought was funny are a means of building up the relationship.

3. Serve

As you get to know a person more, you find out what their needs are. Once you understand those needs, seek to meet some of them. Tommy mentioned needs like stacking wood or a ride to the airport and how those needs are more than tasks to get done but opportunities to connect with your brother or sister in Christ. You are meeting a tangible need, but you are also spending time with the person and showing the person in a concrete way that you care.

4. Be inconvenienced

One of the most powerful ways that we show love to others is when we allow ourselves to be inconvenienced. I think some of us are all about relationships until they don’t fit perfectly in our schedule. If we are honest, we all know that relationships never fit inside our plans and are often going to cause us to have to change what we originally thought we were going to do with our time. This displays love to others when we drop everything in order to serve them.

5. Ask for help

This is one way of building deep and meaningful relationships that might surprise you. Asking for help from someone can actually be an intimacy building experience between two people. You are showing both your own vulnerability and your trust in the other person when you ask for help and this can go a long way in building the relationship. It’s a kind of “bearing of one another’s burdens” (see Galatians 6:2) that really starts getting at the kind of relationships that Jesus intended in the church. So instead of calling the Uber or paying for the lawn to be mowed while you are gone, ask someone to help you.

6. Pray together

Most of you reading this are comfortable praying in a small group Bible study or even from the platform in a Sunday morning service. For some reason, when it comes to praying spontaneously with our brothers and sisters in the church we rarely take the risk. I find this to be a powerful means for relationship building among Christians. I think many of us have these thoughts that we should pray for someone on the spot, but end up ignoring them because it feels uncomfortable. Next time you have that thought, just go for it and offer to pray for your friend.

7. Eat together

There really is something about eating meals together that contributes to the building up of relationships especially when the meal is shared in one another’s homes. I know it’s hard to do this right now but be creative. Cookouts in the backyard or an outdoor dining experience at a restaurant are still options.

8. Cross barriers

One of the hallmarks of relationships in the church is diversity. Because the gospel serves as a powerful center of gravity that draws all kinds of people together, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to build deep and meaningful relationships with people who are like us in faith but not like us in other ways. It tarnishes the gospel witness of a church when people remain in cliques and refuse to build genuine relationships with those in the church who are not like them. This means that singles and marrieds, young and old, black and white, Americans and Internationals, students and community members, rich and poor, should all be moving toward each other because of gospel grace. Not only is this a command, but it’s also an incredible gift to be able to have relationships across so many different divides that are bridged by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

9. Start with your family group

If you are thinking that you don’t know who to start with, use the structures that are already in place at MH. This semester we organized our members and some regular attendees into what we are calling “family groups”. These are led by our current elders and a few other key leaders and are designed to be a place for members to discuss the sermon from the previous Sunday and check in with one another for support and prayer. Those who have participated in these groups have come away with deeper relationships already. Why not take these relationships to another level? Check in with your fellow group members regarding their prayer needs or invite them to a bonfire in the backyard. The structures of the church are nothing more than an intentional means for building up your relationship with Jesus and each other. Make the most of these groups and other structures in the church. Wanting to know more about family groups? Contact our church office at contact@mercyhouse365.org.

10. Prioritize

If you’ve made it to the end of this post, you have probably been thinking that you knew all of this already and I’m not surprised. What does surprise me is that even though we know all of this, many of us refuse to prioritize this kind of friendship building within the church. We work hard at our job and make time for our family and a few friends, but we just don’t seem to be willing to move toward meaningful relationships with others in the church. Like a lot of things in the Christian life, what seems like just another thing to put on the to do list, is really a huge blessing that God is eager to give to each of us. None of us has enough good friends and nothing is going to change that unless we do something about it. Even more, this endeavor of building deep and meaningful relationships is something that brings glory to God and a lot of good to ourselves, others, and to our church family.

So take a few steps this week toward devoting yourself to a few like family!

Get Out and Vote . . . for Elders!

If you are an American citizen, we certainly want you to participate in the elections that are coming up this November. That said, there is an even more important election coming up this Sunday during our Church Summit on Sunday, October 11th at 7pm on Zoom (Mtg. LINK). This election is regarding the confirmation of three elder candidates that are being brought before the congregation for a vote (see this LINK for more details about the candidates and some brief teaching on elders). These men won’t be serving in the government of the United States. They will be serving in an outpost of the kingdom of God known as the local church. It’s beyond any municipality or nationstate. The implications are eternal in scope and the stakes are as high as the right teaching of God’s word and the salvation of human beings. The Apostle Paul gives this exhortation to the elders of the church at Ephesus:

“ Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

— Acts 20:28

The Apostle is not messing around. He looks into the eyes of these newly minted leaders and lets them know that the God who has purchased the church with the death of Jesus is setting them aside, by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the work of shepherding the flock. This is what God is doing here at MERCYhouse. Part of how a local church discerns who God is setting apart for elder ministry is through the prayerful discernment of the membership. If you’ve joined MERCYhouse by attending a MEET MERCYhouse class and officially joining by baptism, statement that you were baptized in another church of like faith and practice, or by transferring from another Southern Baptist Church, then that means YOU!

Please be in prayer this week for our elder candidates (Patrick Grafton-Cardwell, Jake Blackwood, Garrett Postema) and please vote on the electronic form that you can access by clicking the button below. You can wait until the meeting if you want, but if you can’t make the meeting, please vote absentee so that we will have a quorum of members for the meeting. If you have questions, please reach out to our church clerk (Lois Grandmaison) at contact@mercyhouse365.org. Not a member? Find out MORE!

Jesus - Compassionate & Committed

Serving in the ministry of the church during a pandemic?!?!

by Robert Krumrey

I’ve been reading the Gospel of Mark over the last few days. Reading and listening on the YouVersion App which is so helpful. I’m always amazed at the person of Jesus as I experience his character over multiple chapters in one sitting. He’s comforting someone one minute, rebuking someone the next. Stopping a storm in the morning, playing with children by mid-afternoon. This shouldn’t surprise me since he is God in human flesh showing us what it means to be fully human, free from sin, and living in complete obedience to God’s commands.

One of the things that kept coming to my attention was his perfect expression of compassion for people and commitment to his mission. This perfection is displayed in many of the stories in Mark, not the least of which is the feeding of the 5000. The set-up for the story is a tired team of disciples who had just poured out everything they had during a mission trip they had been sent on in Mark Chapter 6:7-13. This was an amazing season of ministry that included exorcisms, healings, and newfound belief in the Christ who had come to save them all.

COMPASSION FOR HIS TEAM

While all of this was very exciting, it was also taxing and Jesus could see that. When they return from their trip, we hear Jesus’ response to them in Mark 6:

“ The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”

— Mark 6:30,31

Jesus could see that his team was tired, they hadn’t eaten, and they needed some down time. He compassionately says to them to “come away” with him in order to rest up. When I saw this anew, I was so struck by Jesus’ tender mercy toward his followers. He cares so deeply for them and for their condition, including their physical condition, and he takes action to meet those very basic needs.

Many of you are feeling the exhaustion of this season. The cause of this is complicated and different for everyone. For some it’s being online for work or school. For others it’s having kids at home 24-7. For others it’s the tumultuous times we find ourselves in because of our current political climate. For many, it’s a combination of some or all of these factors. We find ourselves in survival mode and can barely do anything but limp from one day to the next.

For those of you feeling that deep emotional and physical fatigue, hear the words of Jesus to come away and rest. He cares for you and he sees your needs, even the most basic. Ask him for restoration of all types during this time. You have a Savior who sees you and cares for your every need.

COMMITMENT TO HIS MISSION

There’s more to this story that’s even more unexpected. He takes his team to a desolate place and the accommodations don’t end up so desolate. Their quiet cabin in the woods ends up being a crowd with needs of all types and Jesus responds with compassion for them as well. Again we read in Mark:

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ”

— Mark 6:34

Even though Jesus and his team were exhausted, when Jesus sees the needs of the people before him, he responds again with compassion. He teaches them realizing that they are sheep without a Shepherd. This goes on for three days without much food or water. Here Jesus not only shows his compassion for people, but his commitment to the mission. Not only is he exemplifying his own commitment, but he is calling forth from his team a commitment as well. They are patient with this little detour on their way to rest, but eventually they find themselves at the end of their rope and they approach Jesus:

“And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.””

— Mark 6:35,36

On the surface, their approach is pragmatic. They feign concern for the people and don’t mention that they themselves are tired and hungry. I’m pretty sure that not so deep down they are concerned for themselves and rightfully so. Jesus is purposely pushing them over the edge of their own strength in order to train them in the use of supernatural resources that are available inside the Kingdom of God. His response to them is classic Jesus the the disciple’s response is unfortunately just as classic:

“But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?””

— Mark 6:37

The disciples are emotionally, and spiritually empty. On top of that they are hangry! They don’t want to seem unspiritual, but they also need some food and rest. Jesus pushes them to keep pressing forward in ministry, but do so in dependence on God like they never had before. You may know the rest of the story, but what happens next is that Jesus takes a few loaves of bread and a few fish and feeds the whole crowd with 12 baskets left over. Those 12 baskets were a very personal reminder that Jesus hadn’t forgotten their needs during this whole detour. His heart of compassion was just as big for them as it was for those who were sheep without a Shepherd that day.

I needed to see this and I think many of you are in need of this encouragement as well. We believe that Jesus is more than capable of meeting the needs of our church membership during this crazy time, including sustaining them in their ongoing mission to make disciples who make disciples. We believe that the Jesus who cared for and trained his disciple making team in Mark 6 is the same Jesus who presides over the ministry of MERCYhouse.

As you receive those email invites to participate in or lead a discipleship group and to serve on a Sunday morning, we know it is tempting to hit the delete button and keep on keeping on in survival mode. We also know that we have access to supernatural resources because we reside in the Kingdom of God. I sincerely believe that when we lean into these opportunities to serve, especially out of our deficit, that God meets us with abundant resources that we would have never experienced had we not moved forward in faith. I know it feels like a few loaves and fishes to feed 1000’s but he’s done it before and he will do it again. Let’s come away with him and experience his compassion for us on a daily basis and rally to his side as he invites us on the mission of making disciples for the good of others and the glory of his namesake.

In-Person Worship Service Starts this Sunday, July 5th @10:30am!

Why are we opening in-person services?

by Robert Krumrey

I’ve been calling this upcoming Sunday the “Grand Re-Opening” in our church staff meeting which really isn’t accurate. Truth is, MH never closed, at least not as a church. I’ve been amazed to see how well everyone has adjusted to the new normal of virtual church. It’s been a really pleasant surprise to see God work through this time to connect people in new ways because of the change in format. I just got off the phone with a dad in our congregation who expressed his gratitude to me for having the opportunity to grow in an on-line small group after he and his wife put their kids down for bed on Tuesday nights. Not only that, we continue to hear from others that their friends and family are tuning in to our Sunday services on a regular basis and wanting to enter into spiritual conversations because of it. As per usual, Jesus is King and is advancing his kingdom through the gospel ministry of his church.

While all of this is really positive, we have also experienced the distance that can grow within a church family when they can’t gather together on a weekly basis for worship and fellowship. It’s hard to keep connected when people can’t see each other in the context of the weekly rhythms of church life as taught in scripture. Part of the essence of what it means to be church is to be a “gathered” body of believers. We read this in places like the book of Hebrews:

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

— Hebrews 10:24,25

Gathering is a command in Scripture and is done throughout the world by our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in spite of the danger of arrest, torture, even death. It is something so important that it’s even contained in the word that is used to describe the New Testament people of God - the greek word “ecclesia”. This word was used in the Greco-Roman world to describe legislative bodies that would gather to deliberate on various pieces of legislation. After gathering they would then scatter back to their home districts to do life alongside their constituents. This is very much the model of the American system of government. This word was then co-opted by Jesus and later the Apostles to describe God’s New Testament people. They are to be both a gathered and a scattered people. A tight-knit family that is on mission in the world. So why haven’t we been gathering?

The COVID crisis has been a tough one to navigate. On one hand you want to continue to gather and if our town government told us to stop because they were opposing the gospel we would continue to meet even under threat of persecution. While a few Christian groups tried to make this crisis out to be persecution against the church, this really wasn’t in that category. We were being asked to stop gathering because meeting would endanger both ourselves and others in our community. This seemed like a no brainer in terms of decision making. The right decision was to stop meeting to keep our members safe, keep our neighbors safe, and submit to a governmental directive that was not in opposition to the gospel.

According to governmental policy in MA, we could have started meeting a month ago, but we felt it was wiser to wait until we could see how the infection rate was impacted by Phase 1 and 2 of reopening. So far, at least for Massachusetts and for Hampshire County, things seem to be going well. The infection rate and death rate continue to decrease. Because of this and the scriptural priority given to gathering, we feel that it’s time to try a measured approach to reopening in-person services. Here are some of the things we are implementing to keep you and your neighbors safe:

1. Entry is by reservation (this helps us prepare for who is coming and have a record in case we need to do contact tracing)

2. Everyone must wear a mask except for those presenting from the front

3. We will keep 6 feet of social distancing

4. Those presenting from the front are at least 12 feet from the congregation

5. Windows will be open and fans will be circulating air

6. All pre and post service socializing will be outside

7. There will be a designated entry (front double doors) and exits (2 side doors)

8. Traffic flow will be clearly marked in the building (for example the path to the bathroom and back and one-way stairway designations)

9. Hand sanitizer will be provided

10. Building will be sanitized after the service

11. There will be no in-person kids ministry at this time

12. Coloring pages will be provided for kids who do attend with their parents (adults can color too!)

We know that for some in our congregation, even these precautions won’t be enough to make in-person gathering a viable option. We want to say that in no way do we think you are in the wrong or disobeying Jesus or anything like that. We know that especially for those who may be immunocompromised or have small children there is no amount of hand sanitizer that will make this a safe option for you. We want you to know that you are loved and missed and that we long for the day that we can all safely be together. Because of these dynamics, we will also keep our on-line services as is (9am) and continue to provide the MH kids Zoom teaching (8:30am). This means that instead of merely putting a camera in the back of the sanctuary so you can be a spectator of those that are able to gather, we are keeping the format we’ve been using so far with as interactive of an experience as we can make it including a virtual foyer after the service. We hope and pray that what we are offering in terms of Sunday services will continue to be used by God to grow each of you in Christ and continue to advance Jesus’ mission of making disciples of all nations. We’ll see you (either in-person or online) on Sunday!

Pay the Cost to Cure Racism (Part 3 of 3)

What is MH’s relationship to Black Lives Matter?

By Robert Krumrey

Part 1

Part 2

Today (6/20/20; 3-5pm) I’ll be speaking at a Christian Black Lives Matter event in the Amherst town common.  There have been a few concerned people who have reached out to me and our staff regarding whether or not we want to associate at all with the BLM movement.  We know that there are a some agenda items on the to-do list of the official BLM organization and some of the methods that BLM uses that we as a church could never get behind because of our understanding of God’s word. That said, we can wholeheartedly get behind the idea that black lives do indeed matter.  

Some may say, “Well of course they matter because all lives matter” and this is true.  What is also true is that the humans in our country, who happen to have black skin, have experienced a 400-year history of being dehumanized.  The clarion call that “black lives matter”, at least in part, is a cry for this kind of dehumanizing injustice to be recognized and remedied. I think that as a church it is worth the risk of being misunderstood (mostly by other Christians) in order to engage with this very important issue.  The following is based on what I am planning to say at the event:

WE ARE HERE TO STAND

We are here to stand with our black brothers and sisters. To grieve with you and lament over the injustice of racism that has been a part of our country since 1619 when 19 enslaved human beings were brought to the shores of Virginia which mushroomed into more than 10 million human beings experiencing the same fate. We are here to sit in the grief over the scourge of the Jim Crow era and the subsequent discrimination that continued in subtle and not so subtle ways long after the Civil Rights Era. We are here to lament the complicity of many in the white church itself in these injustices and their insistence that black Christians were not worthy to be fully accepted members of integrated churches.

While I was certainly aware of these and other “facts” about racism in our country, I didn’t enter “the feelings” as deeply as I should have . . . until I saw the George Floyd video. Many in the white community knew when they saw that video (myself included) that this man would not have been treated this way had he been a white man in an affluent neighborhood. This incident is only one incident among many in a 400-year history of racial injustice in our country and we stand here today with you acknowledging that injustice and pain.

WE ARE HERE TO CONFESS

We are here to confess our silence in the face of these injustices.  Our lack of love for our neighbors.  For not acknowledging that this 400-year history has been absolutely devastating for the black community and continues to be so in many ways.  I am a pastor of a church that is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention which formed during the Civil War mostly over the issue of slavery.  By God’s grace, our denomination has publicly confessed the sin of that history and now more than ever is working to heal the wounds of that divide.

Here are some quotes from that confession from a 1995 denominational resolution: 

“WE CONFESS
Our relationship to African-Americans has been hindered from the beginning by the role that slavery played in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention. Many of our Southern Baptist forbears defended the right to own slaves, and either participated in, supported, or acquiesced in the particularly inhumane nature of American slavery. In later years Southern Baptists failed, in many cases, to support, and in some cases opposed, legitimate initiatives to secure the civil rights of African-Americans. Racism has led to discrimination, oppression, injustice, and violence, both in the Civil War and throughout the history of our nation. Racism has divided the body of Christ and Southern Baptists in particular, and separated us from our African-American brothers and sisters. Many of our congregations have intentionally and/or unintentionally excluded African-Americans from worship, membership, and leadership . . .”

We are here to confess these kinds of sins against African Americans. 

Interestingly enough the northern version of those Baptists, during the civil war, eventually became known as The American Baptist Churches USA which is the denomination that First Baptist Church Amherst is affiliated with and we stand shoulder to shoulder today in rejecting racism in our country and in the church.

WE ARE HERE TO HOPE

There is perhaps more hope in our country than usual at this moment as it pertains to racial justice.  There is hope in the effectiveness of the use of protest to change public opinion and keep our institutions accountable. There is hope in the use of the political system to get the right people in office who will make changes to our society.  These kinds of things are very important. Martin Luther King Jr. shared this same sentiment during the Civil Rights Era in one of his sermons collected in a book called Strength to Love:

“Let us never succumb to the temptation of believing that legislation and judicial decrees play only minor roles in solving this problem. Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Fighting for a more just society is important and is absolutely something that Christians are called to do, but we must also remember that  our ultimate hope is not in protest or public opinion or politicians. Our ultimate hope is in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is why I’m so grateful for this event.

Yes BLACK LIVES MATTER but why do they matter? Christian we have the answer to that question! There are 2 really big reasons! 

1.   Because God made human beings who have black skin

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

— Genesis 1:27

God didn’t say he created white humans in his image. He created ALL humans, including those with black skin, in his image. Because God made them as his image bearers, they have inherent worth and dignity and are worthy of respect. Most of today’s protest movement has no idea that this is the case. When we Christians say BLACK LIVES MATTER we are standing on more than mere emotionalism or sense of outrage. We are standing on the unshakable truth revealed to us by our Creator.  

2.   Because Jesus died for human beings with black skin. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16

Can you think of a way that God would make a stronger statement regarding the worth of human beings, including black human beings, than sending Jesus to die in the place of them in order to save them from their sins?  This not only saves us from sin, which reconciles us to God, but also paves the way for reconciliation with one another (see Ephesians 2:11-22).  This again is something that many in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s understood that many in the current movement do not. It’s going to take a supernatural work of God, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, to reconcile the races in our country. Again, listen to the wise words of Martin Luther King:

“A vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws will bring an end to segregated public facilities that are barriers to a truly desegregated society, but it cannot bring an end to fears, prejudice, pride, irrationality, which are the barriers to a truly integrated society. These dark and demonic responses will be removed only as men are possessed by the invisible, inner law that etches on their hearts the conviction that all men are brothers and that love is mankind’s most potent weapon for personal and social transformation. True integration will be achieved by true neighbors who are willingly obedient to unenforceable obligations.”

— Martin Luther King Jr.

We know that “the invisible, inner law that etches on our hearts the conviction that all men are brothers” comes from a heart that’s been transformed by Jesus Christ.  There is HOPE in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!   

 WE ARE HERE TO STAND

 WE ARE HERE TO CONFESS

WE ARE HERE TO HOPE

Pay the Cost to Cure Racism (Part 2 or 3)

How does the church change society?

by Robert Krumrey

Part 1

“Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America.”  This Martin Luther King Jr. quote has been repeated time and time again and is absolutely true.  Though the diversity of churches in the US is better than it has been in the past it is still true that most churches are made up of one race.  This is why I mentioned in Part 1 of this series of articles and in last Sunday’s (6/7/20) sermon (watch / listen) that we at MERCYhouse have an incredible opportunity to lean in to further become a congregation that continues to look more and more like heaven (Revelation 7:9-12) - a people who have been saved by Jesus who are from every race/culture from around the globe.  This will require us to be absolutely grounded in gospel truth, believing that all of us are Saints and Siblings, who are called to consistently live out a life of sacrificial Service toward one another. This takes a tremendous amount of work even to merely get to know each other well much less learn about how to carve out a life-giving community for everyone in our church family.

While this kind of talk will get an attaboy from most of our congregation, the next part is a bit more complicated.  What cost needs to be paid by Christians, specifically Christians at MH,  to cure racism in our society?  Even in the secular world we see the unity around what we should do to solve the problem of racism breaking down.  One of the big news stories today is the call by seven out of nine Minneapolis council members to defund their police department. This, at least the way it sounds, is quite controversial and now people who were once shouting in unison at yesterday’s protest are today disagreeing about the actual steps that can and should be taken to ensure justice for all people in our society.  We know how this works itself out in the world (advocacy, debates, voting, legislation . . . ), but how does this work itself out in the church?  We can all agree that when there are racist attitudes (explicit and implicit) and racist practices in our society that we should stand against them and do our best to guarantee that those who are vulnerable to racial injustice are protected. But what does the church actually “do” to change society? 

How Does the Church Change Society?

We, the church, bring about change in society by first commending the gospel to all people so that they can be saved from sin and transformed into disciples who follow Jesus. This following of Jesus includes a call to obey Scriptural truth that pertains to life in the church and in the world. We seek to bind the consciences of our members to clear scriptural mandates and then exhort those members to follow their own consciences or convictions in areas where there are no clear mandates about the particulars.

This is not easy and I don’t want to make it out to be.  Churches in the civil rights era tried to use freedom of conscience arguments and appeals to unity as a way to turn a blind eye to segregation in society and in the church.  We rightly condemn those actions which were displayed on a wide scale in our very own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention.  That said, we do have to engage in honest discussion of the particulars while not binding people to things that are not clearly commanded in Scripture.

We as a church have not tried to bind people’s conscience to specific political action unless those issues are expressly regulated in scripture.  Jonathan Leeman in his book How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Politics in a Divided Age, uses the language of “straight line” issues versus “crooked line” issues to help clarify this.  In a lecture I attended last Spring, Leeman used the examples of universal health care and abortion to illustrate these two concepts.  It is good and right to do everything possible to make sure that Americans have health care and can live in a country that wisely facilitates this area of life so our citizens can thrive. That said, it is not possible to draw a straight line from the Bible to the policy of universal health care.  We might think it is the best of all possible options.  We might think that it is the wisest way to accomplish these stated goals, but we can’t pull out a Bible verse or two and insist that this policy decision is straight from God.  This is what Leeman calls a crooked line issue.  There is a line that can be drawn from the Bible to the issue, meaning there are biblical principles that inform a stance on health care, but there is no way to come up with a slam dunk verse from the Bible to show a straight line to one’s stance on health care. 

The issue of abortion is different.  If we believe that unborn babies are human, which the Bible seems to indicate (see Psalm 139 for starters), then the aborting of a baby is murder.  The Bible is clear that murder is wrong which makes this a straight line issue.  Because of this, we as a church, can bind people’s consciences to a particular stance on this issue.  This also means that if we are going to advocate for the ending of abortion in our country that we need to be ready to deal with all the mommies and babies that will need our assistance in the aftermath.  This too would be something that Scripture would speak to, that of taking care of the vulnerable in society (see James 1:27) though this could be carried out in many different ways according to one’s convictions. 

So what about the issue of racism?  How do the Saints/Siblings/Servants of the church participate in accomplishing societal change in this area? It depends. In straight line issues where there is a clear injustice, either occasional or systemic, we should stand together in condemning it. In crooked line issues regarding how to right the wrongs that have occurred throughout our history, we need to speak honestly to one another about our ideas but allow for freedom of conscience in one’s opinions on these matters. Things in this category are who to vote for, what government programs to support or not support, whether or not to defund the police, to name a few. The gospel gives us a foundation to lovingly interact around these issues just like any others.  We keep the good news of what Jesus has done for us central and work out the implications of that good news as it relates to racial justice in 2020.  There are several issues that have to be sorted out like this.  Not only is there racism but homelessness, sex slavery, the opioid epidemic, harmful attitudes toward women, and the list doesn’t stop there!

What this means is that the individual members of the congregation must root themselves in the gospel and then go and live out the implications of that same gospel in the world as they are called to do so.  Some will protest and post.  Others will give money to assist organizations who bring about economic change.  Still others will volunteer to tutor kids in failing schools.  As a church, we will seek to preach the gospel and bind people’s consciences to Scripture and then leave freedom for application of those truths just like we would with other less controversial topics like prayer and Bible reading.  This part of discipleship is definitely not just an individual experience. As we live our callings out in the world and live in community with each other, we influence one another with our words and actions.  Things that we weren’t that passionate about 5 years ago become something that we sacrifice for today because of the influence of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Again, this is not easy, but this is something that we hope creates an environment at MH where Christians from diverse backgrounds can gather under the banner of Jesus Christ.  As we’ve lived in community under that banner, we regularly influence each other in how we think about all kinds of things.  I myself have certainly been influenced by particular views held by our congregation members about racial justice and a whole host of other topics as well. It’s also caused me to sink my roots down even deeper in the gospel because I know it is the only thing that can hold us together as family as we work all of this out.

So what has God called you pay to cure racism?  My hope is that you wouldn’t use this blog post to take the pressure off but instead to put the pressure on. It’s too easy to signal your support through a few social media posts and go on with business as usual.  Continue to further educate yourself by making yourself more aware of what is going on in our society and what God’s word has to say about the topic. Then ask God (and your fellow church members) how to be a part of the change that is needed.

Part 3

Pay the Cost to Cure Racism (Part 1 of 3)

What can cure racism?

by robert Krumrey

Jesus is clear that true followers of his are supposed to pay a price.  Not a price that merits salvation or forgiveness or anything of the like, but a price of suffering and sacrifice in response to the free gift of grace given to us at the cross.  Last Sunday (5/31/20) I preached on this (listen / watch) and I explained that Jesus clarifies the cost of following him, encourages us to count the cost of following him and finally asks us to pay the cost once clarified and counted.

What are these costs?  They are many and could be enumerated at great length.  They could be everything from giving financially to gospel ministry to dying a martyr’s death for your witness to that gospel.  Everything is on the table as far as King Jesus is concerned, and as was stated in the sermon, the cost is worth it because of our estimation of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ as Savior and King (See Philippians 3:7-11). 

One of the costs to be paid by the Christ follower that we may not think much about is the cost of curing racism.  Jesus is on a mission to cure racism and it is part of the calling of his church to cooperate with him in doing so.  In fact, he’s curing every kind of division that’s found in the human family due to the effects of sin.  As Christians, we know that the divisions we see among human beings are not merely the result of unjust systems or corrupt governments or violent police officers.  Those problems have at their root, the problem of sin.  Sin rears its head over and over again marring image bearers and the communities in which they live. 

So what kind of cost needs to get paid to fix racism and every other kind of human division?  The biggest cost for fixing all of this has already been paid by Jesus.  Racism is one of the things he’s paying for by dying on the cross - the sin of treating a fellow human as less than based on the color of their skin for the benefit of oneself.  This is an incredible offense to God and worthy of his just wrath.  That just wrath is being poured out at the cross so that racist people can be forgiven and reconciled to him.

His cost doesn’t just stop there in terms of what it affords.  He’s also paying that cost to reconcile those who have been perpetrators and have been perpetrated against in a community known as the church.  Because of this saving grace, those who have hurt and those who have been hurt are able to acknowledge sin and extend forgiveness resulting in what’s known as reconciliation.  Paul describes this in Ephesians 2 when he is describing God’s plan to reconcile Jews and Gentiles:

“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

— Ephesians 2:15b,16

This is incredibly good news!  Those who were once hostile toward each other can put that hostility to death because of the death Jesus died for sinners.  Sinners who have hurt and sinners who have been hurt.  The work that was impossible for us to accomplish has been done.  Jesus has died and has made a way for true reconciliation to happen, but like all discipleship, the Christ follower is now invited to pay the cost of obedience to actualize this reality by faith. 

Paul knew the difficulty of paying that cost all too well.  In the book of Galatians, he tells of an experience he had with the Apostle Peter who didn’t seem all that interested in paying this cost: 

“When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.  For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.”

— Galatian 2:11,12

Evidently Peter (referred to as Cephas here) was breaking down barriers with non-Jews until his Jewish friends showed up.  Then he again erected those old dividing walls of hostility between himself and his Gentile brothers and sisters in Christ.  Paul is quick to confront him about the matter, because he knew it wasn’t consistent with what Jesus had died to accomplish – a church full of former enemies who are now a tight knit family.

This commitment to genuine fellowship with Christians who are not like ourselves (whoever that may be) is a very important part of living out the gospel.  This is one of the most powerful signs to outsiders that God is actually doing something miraculous among Christians in the church.  This requires us to pay a “cost” to enter these relationships.  All relationships require a cost, but relationships with people that are different from us cost even more.  This is a cost that we are willing to pay because Jesus paid such a high cost to reconcile us to him and to each other.  

Like all costs that are paid by the Christ follower, it may help to clarify and count those costs.  In order to move toward another who is not like us, we will need to be humble, curious, willing to learn, always listening.  We can’t assume that values and norms of our culture are held in common by the other person.  We need to be able to hear that we’ve done something offensive or hurtful and ask for forgiveness when we do.  When we’ve been hurt or offended, we need to be able to extend that same forgiveness.   I honestly think a lot of the racial tension in our country is due to the fact that people of different races don’t pursue genuine friendship, even in the church.  We post on social media that we think black lives matter, and of course they do, but then go about our days building our deepest friendships with people from our own race and culture. 

This cost will have to be paid by both sides in the relationship.  Those who are in the majority culture and those who are not.  Everyone will be having to work through awkwardness and misunderstanding.  Saying hard things and trying not to take ourselves too seriously.  This is part of the cost of following Jesus and as with all costs in the Christian life it is worth it.  Many of my most meaningful relationships in the church have been with people whose skin is a lot darker than mine.  Others whose first language is not English.  Still others whose culture is completely new to me.  Yet there is a commonality in Christ that gives us a foundation to build on that has caused these relationships to be deeper than many with those who share my own ethnicity.  Paul describes this beautiful building up of the Jews and Gentiles in the church at Ephesus on this common foundation: 

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

— Ephesians 2:19-22

Paul teaches that built on the foundation of the gospel, these very different people groups are being formed into a temple for the presence of God.  This is also part of why this is worth the cost.  We not only experience the richness of relationships with those who are not like us, but we get to experience the very presence of God as he comes near to obedient disciples who are walking in step with the Holy Spirit in this area of racial reconciliation.

By saying these things, I’m not claiming to have all this down. I need to grow in this area too. I’m also not negating the need for systemic change or raising awareness of racism in America at large.  I will speak to that in part 2 of this post.  What I am saying is that if we aren’t building true relationships in the church with one another across racial lines, we have very little hope of changing anything in the larger culture.  Church, we truly are the only ones who can genuinely bridge the “dividing wall of hostility” so lets commit to paying the cost to do so.

Part 1

Part 2

COMA: Application

This is the final installment in a four-part series diving deeper into a bible-reading tool with the acronym “COMA” standing for Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application. Our live Zoom study has now concluded, but you can view the study materials and syllabus we used here.

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COMA: Application

By Meghan Berry

For the month of May, we have been on a journey through the book of Colossians using the tool “COMA” to help us study the text. We have already walked through Context, Observation, and Meaning, which leaves us with, last but not least, Application. If you have not yet read the previous blog posts on the COMA tool, please take a quick break and read through those. What follows can only be done once the first three steps have been taken faithfully.

I make this exhortation because Application is often where most Bible-readers gravitate when it comes to engaging with Scripture. While I do believe we ought always to end here, I have observed that we often too quickly jump to Application. Now, there may be many reasons for why we do this, but I have observed and admit that in my own study, it is usually because I care too much about what the Bible has to say to me than for what it says about God; we need to remember that the Bible is primarily God’s story, not our own. And truly, I, as one created in his image, will only know rightly what the Bible has to say to me if I rightly behold God, in all his holiness, through his Word. Additionally, if we have not spent adequate time considering the text within its context, making thorough observations, and distilling the truths, our applications may be very shallow, inappropriate, or, frighteningly, contradictory to the gospel. I cannot express enough the importance of slowing down to walk through these first three steps of COMA before practicing application.

PURPOSE: OBEDIENCE

Though many of us may jump to Application too quickly, conversely, there is a danger in never arriving there either. James writes about this in chapter one of his epistle,

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James is speaking here of obedience, the true essence and full reality of Application. If we never get to Application, or we merely consider it without really putting it into action, we are not responding to the Word with obedience. We are being “hearers only.” In being an obedient doer of the Word, there is an urgency. You do not simply walk away, putting off the necessary action, and forgetting what you heard. You urgently respond with action in the moment and in every moment that follows as you persevere by grace. Sounds intense, right? But behold the promise at the end of verse 25—”[you] will be blessed in [your] doing.”

Not only are we blessed in our doing, but the church and the world around us are blessed by our obedient application. In applying the text to our lives, we embody the character of Christ and truly become his hands and feet in the world today. Remember, we are, quite literally, his body (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Ultimately, Application forces us to ask the question, “How do we then live?” In light of the Word that we have labored to read and understand in the power of the Spirit, we then consider how our lives ought to reflect the truth we find in the Word and then the ways we will put that into action. Here we have the opportunity to walk in blessed obedience, bringing glory to Christ in the church and in the world through our lives.

PAUSE, PRAY & PONDER

As we move through the COMA tool, we ought to be praying throughout. We need the Holy Spirit every step of the way as we engage with Scripture, and especially so as we approach application (John 16:13-15). So, as we move from Meaning and begin the Application step, we pause and pray, depending on God to lead us into good works rather than conjuring up our own. Ask for the Holy Spirit to speak to you personally and to inspire you to specific action. Then, in light of what you found in the Meaning of the text, consider your life:

Internally

• Do I believe this truth(s) about God, self, and/or others?

• How do my attitudes, thoughts, and feelings currently reflect this truth(s)?

• What requires a change of thought? How can I make that change?*

Externally

• How do my actions, lifestyle, relationships, and environment reflect this truth(s)?

• Where do I need a change in my behavior?*

• If I do believe this truth(s), how can I live out this truth practically today? How do I plan to live it out long-term?*

Generally

Much of this time of pondering will be repentance. In light of a holy God, we see ourselves as sinful (Romans 3:23). By grace, we turn away from sin, and turn to righteousness and holiness. Turning away from sin and turning to righteousness ought to be a part of every application pondering we do.

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

Now, here is where the rubber meets the road and some of the most difficult work of COMA begins: Actually putting our application steps into practice and repeatedly and regularly exercising obedience to the truth. There are two things I find most helpful here at this stage:

Action Plan

Especially if there is a long-term change required, it is important to make SMART goals with specific steps toward those goals. For example, maybe Colossians 4:2 challenged you to have a daily prayer time (“continue steadfastly”) which especially incorporates the requests of others (“being watchful”) and offering thanks (“with thanksgiving”). An example action plan could then be:

1. Collect requests from others and write them down in one place.

2. Spend 10 minutes in prayer before bed time each night.

3. Pray over the written requests and any that came up during the day.

4. Recount your day and offer thanks to God.

Community

God has gifted us the family of faith to grow together. Involve others in your application by sharing transparently about what you are learning from the Word and how you are incorporating the truths into your life. Ask others to pray with you for grace to live in obedience and to give accountability in your action plan going forward. Then, turn it around and ask how you can support others in their application too!

PITFALLS

Do Nothing (License)

Again, one temptation is to take in the Word, and do nothing with it. In doing this we claim, “I have faith without works.” I have already written some on this, but I want to re-emphasize with James, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-26). True, saving faith produces obedience to the Word. We as disciples cannot expect to do nothing with it.

More personally, my temptation in this department is to pick and choose what Scriptures I actively apply to my life. The Apostle Paul reminds me, however, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that,

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Did you catch that? All Scripture, every corner and each crevice (yes, even those long lists of names like in Colossians 4:7-18), is there to teach, reprove, correct, and train us in righteousness so that we will be completely ready to do every good work. That means every passage can lead us to application in some way.

Do Everything (Legalism)

On the other end of the spectrum we can get slap happy with application and attempt to do everything, all at once, all in our own strength and, dare I say, for our own glory. In doing this we claim, “I have faith in my works.” The Apostle Paul speaks directly to this in his letter to the Ephesians, saying in chapter two,

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Yes, we were created in Christ for good works. But these works are ones which God has prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them; let us ask him what those are, rather than asserting our own will and way in an attempt to please (or appease) God. Let God determine your works and bear fruit in your life (John 15:4-5).

PROMISE: LIVING IN LIBERTY

By this point, you may be feeling overwhelmed, thinking, “How am I ever going to live out all this application stuff? Will I always get trapped in the pitfalls of license and legalism?”

As disciples, we need not be overwhelmed by these questions. For, Christ’s totally and utterly obedient life, which led him to an obedient death on a cross (Philippians 2:8), has set us free from sin to live a life of righteousness unto God (Romans 6:15-23). We are now at liberty to obey God and are free to honor him through daily application of his Word in the power of the Spirit. Take hold of this by grace through faith today, and tomorrow, and for all the days God gives you, trusting the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:12-13,

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

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*Questions borrowed or adapted from Discipleship Essentials by Greg Ogden, Chapter 4: Bible Study.

Jesus, Our Judge

Jesus, Our Judge

by Austin Kopack

This past Sunday, we looked at Luke chapter 12 in which Jesus contrasts two objects of human striving: wealth and the kingdom. This contrast highlights two things: being divided in our allegiances, which leads to anxiety about the future, and living in faith in the present as we wholehearted pursue Christ. You can listen to the sermon here and watch the full service here on Facebook live. I also addressed the practical questions, "Does this mean God is always going to provide for us?” And "How do I know when to be generous and when to save for the future?”

Now, I want to briefly address another follow up question we received:

In v.14 Jesus says, "Man, who made me a judge and arbitrator over you?". Yet Jesus is God, and our rightful judge; why do you think then that this is Jesus' response?

I think Jesus’ response to this man is really more of a non-response, like when he asks “whose image” is on a denarius. First, it is true that Jesus is the final judge of all creation:

In Jesus’ own words:

• For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. (John 5:22-23)

• And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. (Acts 10:42)

And in the Apostle Paul’s words:

• I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead. (2 Tim 4:1)

I could give many other examples. However, in this passage in Luke, Jesus is redirecting this man’s priorities away from acquiring more temporary earthly goods, the kind of judge he is looking for, to the kingdom of God which actually demands far more from him than he stands to gain from this inheritance; it demands his whole life. Just like people wanted Jesus to weigh-in on paying taxes, his response is basically, “You’re missing the point!” I think many of the questions that plague the church today regarding politics and culture fall into a similar error. It's not that they are completely irrelevant. But when they take center-stage, we end up missing the main point of the Gospel. As N.T. Wright says, the kingdom of God is differently political. It does not just impact a few hot button issues or cultural debates; it changes everything. It challenges all of our ideologies and assumptions. It demands our whole lives in service of God and neighbor.

An additional comment on how to think about what it means for Jesus to be judge: Jesus’ judgment must be characterized precisely by the rest of his life and ministry as the true revelation of God. This looked like opposing religious elitism, lifting up the meek and oppressed, washing feet as a servant, and ultimately going to the cross. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). If we divorce these two, we end up projecting our views of an angry (or unmoved disinterested) judge onto Jesus. Whatever it means that Jesus is going to be the judge of the living and the dead, it cannot be disconnected or isolated from his role as the suffering servant savior, and that is very good news for all of us sinners.