How much do you look like Jesus?

You know as the Pastor of the Church I often have people ask me about our fellowship. In our culture we have developed a certain way of measuring church. Often times the questions are the same.

Here is what I was thinking. What if we asked “in what ways does your church look like Jesus?” What if that was the first question on our mind? Would that change the conversation? Would that impact the explanation? Would that change what we discussed? What would your answer be? In what way would you say your church looked like Jesus?

The church is called the body of Christ. He is the head. Now I’m not sure how yours works but if it is anything like mine the impulse comes from the head and moves through the body. In fact I decided in my head that I should type something about this and so here we are.

You know Paul writes in Ephesians 4:15b that the body is to “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Think about that for a minute. He doesn’t ask us to grow into a trend or a model or anything like that. Now maybe the trend or model are being Christ and looking like Him but shouldn’t that be our first question, our ultimate goal?

No, I think one simple change in our first question would send us in a totally different direction. I think it could help ground the church. I don’t think for a minute that we are the only ones trying to look like Jesus, I just think it would help focus the conversation.

What do you think?

Back to School Continued

More footage from our Back to School day.

Back to School Medical Mission

Nearly $5,000 worth of dental work done for people in need at no cost to the family.

540 backpacks given with nearly 600 children receiving school supplies.

29 children will receive glasses for school.

18 people uninsured individuals were able to receive medical treatment at our mobile medical clinic.

Thousands of clothing items going out of our C2 Clothes Closet for children and families.

The glory to God….priceless.

School Supplies

Join us on August 6, 2008 beginning at 8:00 a.m. for school supplies, eye exams, free haircuts, socks and underwear and more.

Our First Article

Did you ever dream of being a superhero? Not that you wore your underwear on the outside of your pants or anything. No, did you throw a towel around your neck and dash out the front door to save the day? Well maybe you had the good sense to do that out the back door but still, did you create a world where you made a difference for those in need? I know I did. I went so far as to give myself a name and a colored insignia. Don’t think I’m going to share that any time soon. The artwork has long since been destroyed.

No I think we all dreamed of doing something that changed a life, that pulled someone from the depths of danger and despair.

I think we are wired that way. It is because we are made in the image of God. Helping those in need is a constant theme in the Bible. God is about helping the poor, the widow and orphan. He has always asked his people to get involved, to reach out to those in need, to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

James informs us in James 2:8 that when we help those in need we fulfill the royal command to love our neighbor as our self. The story of the Good Samaritan is told to give us a picture of our neighbor. Yes, it is those who need a hero, someone to step in to save the day.

A movement is sweeping the church today that carries this heart. People who seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Who long to defend the widow and the orphan, to protect those in need. To show people the image of God, to show them Jesus because we badly want them to know our Savior.

This brings us to why I write. I want this to be a place where we celebrate this idea. Where we encourage and educate. A place that shares stories and practical tips.

Why? Because I believe that stories like Tommy’s should be told. Tommy came to our volunteer tutoring program failing in math but it was much worse. Tommy risked falling through the cracks. Instead of talking about it or complaining, we offered he and his mother an opportunity for help. We connected him with Greg, an engineer and all around super guy who volunteers with our Helping Hands tutoring program.

Greg was able to sit and work with Tommy, but more importantly he was able to get to know him. You see, much of Tommy’s problems came from what was happening at home. By the end of his time with us Tommy was scoring over a hundred on his algebra tests, but more importantly, he had found someone who cared, someone who wouldn’t let him down. In the end he saw Jesus in Greg.

What would happen if all of the church became alive to God’s call? Simply putting words into action, becoming the hands and feet of Jesus? We hope that this column will inspire you. We pray this will add fuel to the fire in the church today.

You see, God gave us the Holy Spirit and called us to love our neighbor as our self. That would seem a lot more powerful than a spider bite or iron suit wouldn’t it?

One Prayer

You know I guess I wish I had looked into this. I really didn’t even know this was happening until it was too late. I recommend that you take time to follow what is happening at lifechurch.tv and oneprayer.com.

I think the message of unity is one that we hold which is why we only use the set of ones that Greg talks about as a test of fellowship.

I would love to get your feedback about the messages and the idea and I would love your thoughts on what we could do to be a part of this movement.

Thanks.

Darin

Some Creative Ideas That Need Your Help

I need your help and this is a much smaller task.

I need some ideas of what to say in the following two videos. We are looking for a short tag to place in each one. Please share what you would say after watching these two videos. Keep in mind that the text will be up for a short period of time so they need to be concise.

The one that is chosen will receive a free short film and a book compliments of me. So start throwing out your ideas.

Video #1

Video #2

Pregnancy Resource Work

This is the Pregnancy Resource Center of Owasso DVD. Here is what I ended up with. The theme was Smiles: Beauty from Ashes based on Isaiah 61:3. The Resource center helps turn something bad into good and is overwhelmed with the need. Hopefully this can help find more support. Keep them in your prayers.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

A must see movie comes out this Friday. Go see it.

New Heights Neighborhoods

We begin a discussion on New Heights Neighborhoods at our fellowship. We will be using Mr. Rogers as a backdrop to discuss community and what we plan to do this year to foster the neighborhood. We want to learn the keys to a healthy neighborhood as well as the barriers that exist in our world today.

We are moving to small groups with our New Heights Neighborhoods ministry and it is essential that we understand what it means to be community first.

Come join us as we talk about Neighborhoods. Won’t you be my neighbor?