By Joel Atwell
Dear Church,
Last night I sat in a room with about 40 of you and listened/watched (via video) some much needed teaching about marriage. It was excellent – entertaining and so very helpful (potentially, if we apply it). I wish every married person, and everyone who wants to get married, would watch it and apply it. In fact, it sometimes makes me sad when there are such helpful resources and opportunities made available (that could really help people and marriages) and folks simply “take a pass” – stay home and watch American Idol or whatever.
Anyway, this morning the thought struck me, “What other ‘institutions’ (other than the church) exist to edify and equip people to become more loving, more giving, more servant-hearted and servant-minded – more like Jesus?”
Answer? If it’s not “the Church” it’s usually some ministry that has been birthed out of the church, is it not?
But as soon as I say that I find that that answer kind of flies in the face of all I’ve been writing concerning “the Church” over the past couple years because, as we know, the Church is not really an “institution;” it’s an “identity.” It’s not an “organization;” it’s an “organism.” It’s a living, breathing, dynamic Body made up of individual persons who have been rescued from bondage to sin and who have become the children of God – and, consequently, brothers and sisters together – whose adoption into God’s family has been purchased by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
That’s why church is not, fundamentally, “something I attend” or “something to which I belong.” It’s “who we are” and it’s “how we live.” However, part of “how we live” is expressed in giving ourselves to the practice of meeting together regularly for the purpose of edifying and equipping one another “to become more loving, more giving, more servant-hearted and servant-minded – more like Jesus.” Members of the “body of Christ” (the Church) who meet only sparingly with the gathered community of faith rip themselves off – and they rip off the other members of the Body. We need each other!
So, as we go about learning what it means to live as the Church lets not forget the model of the first century church who continually “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42) Your/my individual life and our life together needs all the encouragement and help it can get.
Thankful for the Family,
Joel
By Joel Atwell
Dear church,
Last week I wrote to you concerning your “being the church” to the Sparks family during this very difficult time of Austin’s cancer. I thought you might be interested in Ericka’s (Austin’s mom) response.
I smiled while reading your weekly "I quit going to church" email. For
one thing it is just really cool, but also I have been meaning to write
to tell you how blown away I have been by the support that we have
received. It has been truly humbling. The schools have raised money,
our neighborhood is bringing us one meal a week, Austin’s baseball team
(kids and parents) have been amazing. All of the boys are planning to
shave their heads when Austin starts losing his hair and the coaches
are teaching him to keep the books so that he can still be involved
with the team.
Then there is our church family (WOW) who are bringing meals, not just
once, but twice a week and, well, just being FAMILY. I told Austin, “It
may be hard to feel blessed right now, but we have so much support and
so many people praying” and he said, "Yeah I have noticed that." Now when the support is strong enough that a 13 year old boy notices, well that is
just COOL!
Being on the receiving end of things; I just want to say thank you … I personally will be forever changed in a positive way through this experience.
Love you much,
Ericka
So, once again, thanks for not simply “going to church,” but truly “being the church.” That’s the kind of church the world longs to see and Jesus intends for us to be.
Encouraged by your ministry,
Joel
PS – Austin is going in for his second round of chemo this weekend so keep him in your prayers.
By Joel Atwell
Dear church,
One of the most difficult questions with which we wrestle during this earthly journey is the question of human suffering. “If God is ‘all-loving’ and ‘all-powerful’ and ‘all-wise’ then why …?” Well, while I think the answer is wrapped up in the issues of human freedom and human sin, we’re going to have to save that discussion for another time. However, the good news is that because Christ is risen human suffering does not have the last word. In the cross of Christ, God fully entered into human suffering and, by his resurrection, he conquered it. And while, one day, because he is the Resurrected One, he will once and for all put suffering and death under his feet; even now, as we lean into his grace, God turns our pain inside-out and uses it to accomplish his purposes in us and in the world. He even uses it to teach the church how to be the church.
Enter Austin Sparks. Austin is a 13 year-old seventh grader who is a part of our GC family (and happens to be my great nephew). Recently Austin was diagnosed with bone cancer. Unbelievable!
Of course we’ve cried and prayed and asked “why.” And, of course we continue to plead for God’s healing touch on his life. And, of course we wouldn’t wish this on Austin (or anyone) for one minute. However, even in the midst of this horrible situation we see God’s hand at work. Let me give just one tiny example (one of many).
Kara Pope helps us coordinate delivering “crisis care” to people connected to our church family – which, among other things, often consists of having meals brought in to people’s homes during times of duress. Well, because of the extenuating circumstances of Austin’s cancer treatments, Kara decided it would be helpful to arrange meals a couple times a week for a while to help the Sparks family through this difficult journey. So, she set up an on-line calendar where people could volunteer and this past Sunday she reported to me (with great joy and pride in her church family) that, so far, people have volunteered to provide meals through the month of August!
Just so you’ll know; I share Kara’s joy and pride. Grace Community, way to “BE the church!” The only thing worse than Austin suffering with cancer is if we would not allow God to use his pain redemptively among us and teach us more and more what it means to BE the church.
Austin, we love you buddy! And we’re praying for you every day!
With a strange mixture of sadness and joy,
Joel
By Joel Atwell
Dear church,
A number of years ago Pastor Bill Hybels authored a book titled Descending into Greatness. He opened with the words,
“In the vocabulary of the world, ‘down’ is a word reserved for losers, cowards, and the bear market. It is a word to be avoided or ignored … A word, it seems, only on the unfortunate lips of the weak, the poor, or the dead.”
As you might suspect, Hybels spends the next couple hundred pages considering another side of “down” based on Philippians 2:5 and following in which the Apostle Paul writes,
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant … he humbled himself … Therefore God exalted him to the highest place …”
(Is the title Descending into Greatness making more sense yet?)
The obsession of this world might be “up,” – up the corporate ladder, up the pay scale, up the ecclesiastical ladder, a higher office, more, bigger, better, faster, newer, etc… But Jesus was not obsessed with “up.” “Up” can be ok if God puts us in such a place (not if we get ourselves there by abuse, greed or compromise), but those who are “up” should always use it to reach “down” and serve. I like what Phillip Yancey says, “The ladder of power reaches up, the ladder of grace reaches down.” (What’s So Amazing About Grace)
Actually, what brought all this to mind was Chuck and Marge Hanson. Chuck is a retired pastor who is serving part-time as our church janitor. Truth be known, I’m sure Chuck would rather be in a place financially where he and Marge didn’t have to subsidize their income by cleaning our building, but you’d never know it. They come in faithfully week after week with smiles on their faces and gentle, loving spirits to empty trash cans, mop and vacuum floors and clean toilets. Never have they communicated in word or attitude, “I’m too good for this. I used to lead congregations, not clean up after them” (although anyone who has ever led a congregation has also spent a lot of time cleaning up after them).
Then, though I’ve known church janitors who have gotten so disgruntled by “having to clean up after the people” that they wanted virtually nothing to do with the rest of ministry of the church, but not Chuck and Marge. They volunteer to visit hospitals, teach classes, welcome guests and otherwise fully invest in the life of the church. Chuck even pretends to be intently listening to my sermons on Sundays.
Chuck and Marge, you are living out what Jesus modeled. You have “descended into greatness.” You’re not simply “going to church.” You are “being the church” and we are all blessed by your ministry.
Inspired by your example,
Joel
By Joel Atwell
Dear church,
In 2 Cor. 8-9 the Apostle Paul shares some very insightful words about what he calls “the grace of giving.” He begins with these words,
“And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for this privilege of sharing in this service to the saints …” 2 Cor 8:1-4
I know our situation is not at all the same as “the Macedonian churches” of which Paul spoke. Though these difficult economic times have impacted each of us to some degree, some of us very heavily and have decimated a few of us we still, for the most part, are not giving out of “severe trial” and “extreme poverty.” However, I did want to take a minute to recognize and celebrate the fact that I have seen you “welling up in rich generosity” on several occasions in recent weeks/months.
At Christmas time we (GC) received a love offering for the family of Pastor Jay Preston (who pastors a smaller congregation with very limited resources in Paola) and you (we) generously gave them over $1,200 – not for their ministry, but for them personally. Then, a few months later, the ministry he leads (My Father’s House) hit a time of severe financial crisis and, though we were dealing with our own budget shortfall, our board decided God was leading us to give them a gift of no less than $1,000. So we presented that need to you and, again, you (we) responded with an offering of just over $1,000. I saw Jay a few weeks after that and he greeted me with a giant bear hug saying, “You guys have no idea how much you have helped and encouraged us.”
Also, somewhere in there was the tragic earthquake in Haiti. This time some of you actually did “urgently plead with us for this privilege of sharing …” so again we extended the opportunity and together we gave.
I recently received a letter of thanks from the office of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries saying,
“The earthquake in Haiti is already being ranked with such disasters as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina. The loss of life is overwhelming and little is left to help survivors rebuild. Local Nazarenes have worked tirelessly since the quake to bring comfort where they can. Gifts like yours have helped to provide food, shelter, water, and medical care… Thank you for your gift of $1,270.”
Of course those are only a few of the stories of your “rich generosity.” But I thought it would be appropriate to take a moment to say thank you. Thank you for giving.Thank you for not just “going to church,” but for “being the church.” We are perhaps never more like Christ than when we are giving sacrificially out of a heart of genuine love.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 12 Cor. 8:9
Consequently, what Paul said of the Macedonians will also be true of you,
“Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” 2 Cor. 9:13
Encouraged by God’s grace I see being expressed through you,
Joel
By Joel Atwell
“… you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood … you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God …”
Dear church,
I’ve mentioned it numerous times, but I’m going to do it again. Richard Stearns’ book The Hole in Our Gospel is a MUST READ! I’m force-feeding it to our church board at GC. We’re working our way through it 2-3 chapters at a time at each monthly board meeting during this fiscal year. Last night we discussed chs. 19-22. Can you say “challenging?”
Listen to this passage:
Let me start with this good news. You’re rich, we’re rich and the church in America is rich. And now I’m sure you are thinking that I’m wrong, that you’re not rich, and neither is your church. But bear with me, because wealth is always measured in relative terms. Brace yourselves for this good news! If your income is $25,000 per year, you’re wealthier than approximately 90% of the world’s population! If you make $50,000 per year, you’re wealthier than 99% of the world. Does this shock you? Remember, of the 6.7 billion people on earth, almost half of them live on less than two dollars a day … 93% of the world’s people don’t own a car … Our difficulty is that we see our American lifestyles as normative, when in fact they are grossly distorted compared to the rest of the world …
It’s important to put the American church into perspective. Simply stated, it is the wealthiest community of Christians in the history of Christendom. How wealthy? The total income of American church-goers is $5.2 trillion. It would take just a little over 1 percent of the income of American Christians to lift the poorest one billion people in the world out of extreme poverty. Said another way, American Christians, who make up about 5% of the Church worldwide, control about half of the global Christian wealth; a lack of money is not our problem.
So, as the wealthiest nation of Christians in the world, how do we do on tithing our income? Here’s the bad news. If we define tithing as giving 10% or more of our pretax income to the church or non-profit ministries, only about 5% of American households tithe … Listen to the words of James used to address wealthy first-century Christians who hoarded their money to spend on themselves:
“Listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days … You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. (Jms. 5:1-5)
… But this is just the first part of the equation. If we look at where the money goes after it is received by the churches, we find that just about 2% of it goes to overseas missions of any kind, whether evangelistic or to assist the poor … that amounts to about six pennies per person per day that we give through our churches to the rest of the world – six cents! (pp. 215-217)
So, why do I share all of this? Four reasons: (1) To say thank you to all of those who are, as an act of obedience, faith and worship, honoring God with the first-fruits of your finances. That’s one important expression of truly BEING the church. (2) To say thank you to all who, this past Sunday, helped GC pledge in excess of 10% of this next year’s income to be invested in the work of the Gospel in other parts of the world. That’s called BEING the church. (3) To encourage all of us who are a part of Christ’s church not to get seduced into lifestyles of tight-fisted, self-centered, self-indulgence, but to live simply and generously for the sake of Christ and his Kingdom! And, (4), to remind us – all of us who have been given so much – to live with gratitude in our hearts and on our lips for God’s lavish provision! That’s how those who are genuinely BEING the church live.
Praying for God’s empowering grace to BE the church,
Joel
By Joel Atwell
“… you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood … you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God …”
Dear church,
One of the things I’ve tried to remain committed to through the years as a “lead pastor” is on-going staff development. You know the leadership axiom – “Speed of the leader, speed of the team” – so if we, the church leadership team, quit learning and growing it’s not likely that we’ll lead the rest of the church into growth and change. Therefore, we (GC’s pastoral staff) have recently gone back and revisited a book that was really popular a few years ago titled “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (Stephen Covey). I think it’s one of the great books on personal growth and self-leadership.
The fourth chapter in Covey’s book deals with “Habit #2 – Begin With the End in Mind” in which he challenges us to think about what’s really at the “center” of our lives. His reasoning says that unless we do the hard work of determining what really matters to us and operating every day out of a “principle-center” (our vision and values) then we won’t end up where we want to go in life. (Running hard and fast does us no good if we’re running hard and fast in the wrong direction.) I agree, but with this exception. As followers of Jesus I think we’re called not to have “principles” at the center, but to have a “person” at the center – and that “person” is Christ Jesus.
Anyway, as a part of this discussion Covey spins out a number of common default “centers” out of which people commonly operate – many of which sound good and perhaps even noble on the surface, but are fraught with hidden land mines. One such center, according to Covey, is what he calls being “church-centered.” Listen to what he says,
“I believe that almost anyone who is seriously involved in any church will recognize that churchgoing is not synonymous with personal spirituality. There are some people who get so busy in church worship and projects that they become insensitive to pressing human needs that surround them, contradicting the very precepts they profess to believe deeply… (Remember the “Good Samaritan?”) I have found that attending church does not necessarily mean living the principles taught in those meetings. You can be active in a church but inactive in its gospel … In the church-centered life, image or appearance can become a person’s dominant consideration, leading to hypocrisy …”
That’s a great insight and it’s what this “I quit going to church” stuff is all about. I’m not (nor was Covey) encouraging us to “give up meeting together; as some are in the habit of doing” (Heb. 10:25). Gathering for worship and for the pooling of our collective resources in order to advance the gospel is a good and valuable thing to do. I’m simply challenging us (especially me) to be more than a church-goer. Jesus didn’t live, die and rise so that we could “attend church services.” He did what he did so that we might truly BE the church.
Living toward that reality by his grace,
Joel
