I LOVE THE CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND, AND I BELIEVE WE ARE LIVING IN A DAY WHEN THE STAKES COULDN’T BE HIGHER AND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE CHRIST AND CHANGE LIVES COULDN’T BE GREATER!

I love all the churches in New England looking to make Jesus famous one life at a time.  One thing that really ticks me off (and there are only a few things:-) is when I hear someone bashing God’s Church, picking apart God’s church (not just my church, but any church that is listening to Jesus and doing exactly what He says – that’s not to say that we can’t point out sin or offer suggestions for improvement, or evaluate, how else will we get better at the mission of Jesus?); but all too often we can get caught up in criticizing the church in front of an unchurched culture – we think we are relating with the unchurched culture but we are only confirming their suspicions.  A good friend of mine recently said, “What if New England is the most unreached region in the country because the church is the most divided in this region. It’s time for churches to stop competing against one another and start completing one another.” In fact we are going to partner with a ton of New England churches at the end of the summer for something called www.UnitedLove2010.com.  You can check it out!

Here is what I believe about the New England Church (this is an email I recently wrote to my staff):

TheDC will reach New England for Christ because there are a handful of hardcore Christ-learners unwilling to let their neighbors, co-workers and friends die and go to hell. TheDC will reach thousands for Christ because there is a staff team willing to do whatever it takes to reach those far from God with the life altering gospel of Jesus Christ! TheDC will see hundreds of unchurched people every year follow Jesus in baptism because there is a team of committed Christ followers willing to GIVE AND SERVE AND INVITE LIKE THEY NEVER HAVE BEFORE. TheDC will experience life change through hundreds of life groups meeting in homes, pubs, clubs, cafes, and college campuses all around Greater Manchester because we believe that ongoing life change happens best in the context of authentic community.

We will change the spiritual landscape of this great city because we worship a Jesus WHO IS BIGGER THAN WE COULD EVER IMAGINE AND HE IS WORTHY OF OUR ABSOLUTE BEST IN EVERY SINGLE AREA AND HE IS UNWILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH!

We will feed the poor, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and give hope to the hopeless in ways that inspire unchurched people to investigate Jesus and want to follow Him. We will not be a church that simply SPEAKS THE WORD OF GOD, BUT ALSO LISTENS TO THE CULTURE AND FINDS WAYS TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND REACH THE COMMUNITY WITH THE GOSPEL.

TheDC will move into buildings 100x our current size and we will see hundreds of people invite Christ into their life for the very first time because you guys REFUSE TO DWELL ON THE FEW WHO LEAVE, BUT REMAIN RELENTLESS TOWARD THOSE WHO’VE NEVER COME!  Every available seat is an opportunity for life change, every filled seat is a heart experiencing Jesus!

We will find creative ways to communicate the message of Christ to a culture that is far from God and completely unchurched. We will see the most spectacular sinners be ruined by the cross of Christ and commit their lives to sharing Jesus with all those around them. We will take the gospel far beyond Manchester and start DC campuses all over New England so the most unchurched region of our country can become the most TRANSFORMED REGION OF OUR COUNTRY.

We will give and go to lands far away in order to plant network churches; why should we keep the gospel we have to just American soil, but why not bring Jesus to the ends of the earth. We will impact the poorest of the poor around our globe through partnering with remarkable Christ-centered organizations to be the hands and feet of Jesus through TheDC Global Initiative. We will send teams of DC members and life groups to serve cross culturally in places that have never heard the gospel or don’t have enough resources to keep their own children alive. We will stand for biblical justice and fight against gross injustices such as human trafficking and the sex trade.

We will help young men find freedom from porn, young girls remain pure until marriage, teenagers not to take their own life because their dad has walked out on them, marriages to turn to Christ so they will stop fighting each other and start FIGHTING FOR EACH OTHER.

We won’t GIVE UP, WE WON’T WALK AWAY, WE WON’T BACK DOWN AND WE WON’T BAIL ON THE JESUS WHO CALLED US, COMMISSIONED US, AND CAUSED US TO FIND LIFE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS!

We are the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST AND WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE!

Recently, my wife, Dawn and I had the privilege of traveling to Northway Church (www.northwaychurch.tv) in Albany, NY to spend some time with Lead Pastor Buddy Cremeans and his amazing staff. I am still trying to process all that I learned from this trip, but let me try and unload some here:

3. HONOR THE PASTOR & HIS STAFF:
The Bible says that a pastor his worthy of “double honor”. Now this particular piece of Scripture is referring to “financial wages”; a pastor that works hard to deliver the teachings of the Bible is worthy of “double salary”. If this is true financially then it is most definitely true in every other area.

As a pastor it may be difficult for me to elevate this kind of teaching, but if I don’t I am being disloyal to Jesus and what He has called our church to be. Some people may not like you if you work hard to create this culture of honor toward the pastor and his staff. Like the deacon Stephen in the book of Acts “leaders must be willing to be disliked by the many in order to loyal to Jesus!”

Some pastors are scared of “appearing prideful” if they talk about these things (including me), but in all reality it is PRIDE that keeps me from being true to the biblical text in this area. It is prideful not to speak of these things because I actually think that this “teaching is about me”, when it is not. Lifting up the pastor is about Jesus, who is the GREAT SHEPHERD (or the ULTIMATE PASTOR). Jesus is the Senior Pastor, and He appointed me to be His under shepherd. When we honor the pastor, we honor Jesus and His decision to appoint shepherds over His flock.

When we honor the pastor, we are honoring Jesus, the Great Shepherd (pastor comes from the Greek word “poimen”, which literally means “shepherd”).

By honoring the pastor we are positioning the church to become all that Jesus’ dreams. God always raises up a man/woman to lead the way for His church. Honor the man that God raises up!

Just like Moses had Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms during the great battle against the Amalekites (Ex.17:12) every pastor must have an exceptional “staff” to hold him up. Just like behind every great man there is an even greater woman, behind every great leader is a team of great leaders.

Just like Moses had a staff to “lean on”, the pastor’s staff is there for him to “lean on”. (www.tdjakes.com)

Honor your pastor and his staff and God will honor you! We honor God by honoring what is honorable!