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!

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!

Here is BuddyCremeans.com discussing the importance of creating a culture of honor:

Recently, I had the honor of doing the funeral ceremonies of several people that were close to me. It was difficult, however, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Why? Because I wanted to be the vocal box to bring honor to their lives. I wanted to highlight the difference that their lives had made to all of us.

I remember the smiles, the tears, and the laughter. I was amazed as I watched God use those services. And I’ll never forget what God impressed me with…

Honor Brings Healing.

Then God hit me up the side of the head with the obvious.

Why do we wait until someone is dead to honor them?

ALL of us know it’s the right thing to do at a funeral. Clearly, we want to make sure we communicate a heart of gratitude to the deceased regardless of their issues (btw, we all have them.)

Honor brings healing at the funeral services, but, News flash – the dead can’t hear us! They can’t receive honor. The truth is that funerals are more for the living than the dead. Why? Its makes us feel better. Now I understand that it’s part of the grieving process, but here is my question. Why wait? Why procrastinate?

Life is too short not to honor NOW!

Why not honor the people in your life now while they can still hear it?

While they can still receive it?

You may be surprised to experience…

Honor Brings Healing.

WHO do you need to honor NOW??? TODAY???

A spouse? A sibling? A parent? A child? A boss? An employee? A Pastor? A teacher? A Coach? A Mentor? Send an email, write a letter, send that text, send that tweet, make a video, be creative, be thoughtful, send a gift…do something!

Life is way too short and you will be glad you did.

HONOR
The number one thing I picked up from the culture of Northway Church was HONOR. WOW! They have created such an amazing culture of honor in their faith community. Let me try and break that down for you.

Brian Howe (the Campus Pastor at their Colonie location) truly modeled honor for us. The staff reserved front row seats during the worship experience for us, they brought us into their Green Room to help review the worship experience immediately afterwards; and then they took us out for dinner. That is called honoring your guests. I was overwhelmed with their hospitality! Thank you!

And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded.” (Mat 10:42 NLT)

1. HONOR GUESTS
I want to create a culture of honor like northwaychurch.tv. I want the guests at TheDC.tv to be treated with such amazing honor. I want guests at TheDC.tv to feel the love of God oozing through our faith community because we speak to them with honor, we treat them with honor, and we appreciate them as people made in the image of God. I want us to honor our guests by following up with them in genuine and caring ways. I want to shower our guests with honor when they visit our worship experience on Sundays.

We can show people how special they are in the eyes of God when we honor them appropriately. What better way to display the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross than to honor every guest who comes to TheDC.tv to experience God!

Thank you Buddy Cremeans, Brian Howe, Kevin Murrell, Chad, Kevin, and Jeremy, and the rest of the NorthwayChurch.tv staff for showing us how to honor our guests. I am praying we can emulate the spirit of Jesus in this same way.

To be continued…

The Lead Pastor, Buddy Cremeans (www.buddycremeans.com) recently spoke at our WARRIOR CONFERENCE in May. Buddy’s willingness to invest in my wife and I was just humbling. We travelled to Northway with our friends from Next Level Church in Dover, NH (www.nlc.tv) and their lead pastor, Josh Gagnon (www.joshuagagnon.com). I am still trying to process all that I learned from this trip, but let me start to unload a bit here:

HONOR
The number one thing I picked up from the culture of Northway Church was HONOR. WOW! They have created such an amazing culture of honor in their faith community. Let me try and break that down for you.

First, my wife and I were honored as their guests. Seriously, when we first arrived on the scene at Northway Church their staff gave us a guided tour and introduced us to their people like we were CELEBRITY SUPERSTARS. And it wasn’t that they had nothing else going on (it was packed with people, plus they had a special guest preacher in town Mac Richard from Austin, TX (www.macrichard.com). Every chance their staff could get they honored us by lifting us up as daring church planters in New England (which anyone who is willing to plant a church in New England is crazy for Jesus to begin with:)

Number Six: all the powers of hell WILL NOT CONQUER IT

If we are to be a part of the UNSTOPPABLE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST then we can not settle for mediocrity, the status quo, or half-hearted ministry efforts. Honestly, I know that I have made plenty of excuses in my life for WHY I JUST CAN’T GIVE 100% TO JESUS AND HIS MISSION: “I can’t afford it, I don’t have the time, I am not smart enough, others can do it without me, I don’t want to fail, I don’t want to be rejected, I don’t want to take a risk, I need to play it safe, I need more down time, I need more money, I need less stress, etc… Sometimes we simply ignore what Jesus has told us to do in His word, the Bible. Other times it is more subtle, and we just get comfortable in a pace that is not rocking the boat or causing a lot of “anxiety” and stress. God knows we like to “keep the peace”. Unfortunately, “keeping the peace” won’t win this war against evil and darkness in our world, only as we engage in the battle for people’s souls can we be a part of JESUS UNSTOPPABLE FORCE, THE LOCAL CHURCH!

We must strive for excellence in everything we do. Every missional effort must be filled with a passion to DO IT ALL FOR GOD’S GLORY – to do our absolute best with whatever resources we have been entrusted with. Whether it is leading people in worship during a weekend gathering, facilitating discussion in a small group bible study, or helping a neighbor paint his house – we should do it all with excellence (even when we don’t have great skills in that particular area). By the way – IF IT WAS EASY, EVERYONE WOULD BE DOING IT!

Let’s make this about the SUCCESS OF JESUS AND NOT OUR OWN SUCCESS!

Number Five: and all the powers of hell WILL NOT CONQUER IT

If we are to be a part of JESUS’ UNSTOPPABLE CHURCH then we must come to grips with this paradox: Ministry is both grueling and great; it is both risky and rewarding. In fact, one of my mentors (I only met him a few times in person, but I love to follow his ministry online) Ed Young Jr (www.edyoungblog.com) says that MINISTRY IS BRUTAFUL. There is a BRUTAL side to ministry, and there is a BEAUTIFUL side to ministry. Ministry is BRUTAFUL. If you are in ministry in any capacity and you are looking to be a part of the UNSTOPPABLE CHURCH OF JESUS, THEN EXPECT THE PATH TO BE BRUTAFUL. You will be beat up, you will be attacked, you will be worn out, you will get tired; but be of good cheer – greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world! What an honor to be BRUTIFIED BY JESUS, TO BE BEAT UP FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST! It is only as the church engages the brutal side of ministry that she can become the beautiful bride she is meant to be! Consider it an honor to absorb the brutal blows of ministry, knowing full well that your reward in heaven will be far greater than any pain or suffering here on earth!

What brutal side of ministry are you facing right now? Have you talked with your ministry coach or pastor about this? What beautiful side of ministry can you be thanking Jesus for right now (do that and then share it with someone else who is feeling the brutal side)?

Number Four: And all the powers of hell WILL NOT CONQUER IT
The Church of Jesus is unstoppable. I didn’t think of that or make that up, Jesus did! When the church lifts up Jesus, Jesus builds the church, and when Jesus builds the church – THE CHURCH IS UNSTOPPABLE. It kills me that so many “well-intentioned” Jesus-learners are missing out on the beauty and power of the church, the Body of Christ. I would rather be run over by Jesus than get in the way of what Jesus wants to do in this church and this world!

Many well-meaning Christ-followers are living defeated “Christian” lives because they are not running with the church. We are to follow Jesus (not the church); but we are to follow Jesus “with the church”! Come on now, Jesus shed His blood for the church, and we are whining about attending worship gatherings every Sunday, and possibly serving people in uncomfortable ways!

Number Three: I [JESUS] will build my Church
Jesus wants to build His Church more than I do. Jesus wants to build His church more than any pastor, preacher, spiritual leader, and Christ-follower that has ever walked the face of the earth. And there have been some amazingly passionate church leaders, but none of them love the church more than Jesus, none of them have sacrificed more than Jesus, and none of them have given as much for the church as Jesus.

Sometimes I get down (boo-hoo) on myself for slower growth or even “reverse growth” (that is when people leave the church:) – and I think man, “What do I HAVE TO DO for this church to grow more?” But the answer is never about what I HAVE TO DO; the answer is in what JESUS HAS ALREADY DONE. Jesus has already laid the foundation for the church, we just need to build on top of that. JESUS HAD ALREADY DIED FOR THE CHURCH; He has already shared His dream for the church (to be an unstoppable force of love and oneness); and He has already given the direction of the church (to reach the entire world with the message of salvation).

So, if Jesus wants to build the church more than we do, then a lack of growth in any church is never Jesus’ fault or Jesus desire (unless that church is so totally screwed up, Jesus may want to shut it down). So, the question we should ask is NOT, “What do I HAVE TO DO TO GROW THE CHURCH?” but rather, “WHAT HAS JESUS ALREADY DONE TO BUILD HIS CHURCH?” And am I willing to do the same, AM I WILLING TO DIE TO SELF FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHURCH? Am I ready to follow the dream Jesus has for the church (to be an unstoppable force of love)? Am I ready to embrace the direction that Jesus has already given to the church (to reach the whole world)?

Seriously, what do you have to die to in order to let the dream of Jesus come alive within you? Are you in the way of Jesus clear vision to reach this world through the local church? Are you helping to push the vision forward or are you content to simply let it pass you by while everyone else does the work? Jesus asked us to die to self in order to promote the gospel, in order to build His Church, nothing else matters!

Number two: Jesus will BUILD His Church
Jesus alone can build his church. A love reading church growth books, leadership books, and books by effective pastors; but JESUS ALONE CAN AND WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH. A good pastor friend of mine (joshuagagnon.com) said this to me, “When a church lifts up Jesus, that church must grow”. Why is this true? Because Jesus builds the church. When a church LIFTS UP JESUS, JESUS BUILDS THE CHURCH. I just love this. I feel such a rush of relief when I think about the fact that Jesus is responsible for building His church, which is surely a divine work. Jesus will prepare His bride.

This doesn’t mean that we as humans and members in the Body don’t have any responsibility. We certainly do (Eph.4:11-12). Jesus gives the church pastors in order to equip the Body to do the work of the ministry, to build up the church. It is not the pastor’s responsibility to DO all of the work, but to EQUIP the sains to do the work of the ministry. As the pastor equips the members, the members do ministry, and Jesus builds up the church! That is the formula for an effective church. We must know our role, embrace our role, and engage the work that Jesus gives to us.

When we get caught up in lifting up what is cool, hip, or rad, then we are not lifting up Jesus. Cute and cool may impress some people, but JESUS WILL CHANGE THEM! Cute and cuddly may attract some people, but only Christ can transform them!