For God so Loved…

This is the time of year the staff of Grace Christian Preschool and Kindergarten meets with mixed emotions. It is the last week of preschool, and kindergarten ends next week. While some of our students are returning in the fall, many will be moving on and it will be time to say goodbye. It has been such a blessing to have gotten to know each child and witness the growth that has taken place. We know that they are ready for the next step in their educational journey, but we will miss them!

Fortunately Dallas is still a small community where we will run in to our students and their families from time to time and when we do, it’s great!  I’ll be honest, the kids don’t always remember us, and even though we may struggle remembering a child’s name at times, we never forget them and the connections made with their families.  Once a child has been part of our school we consider them one of “ours”!

I don’t know about you, but the songs I learned as a child are the songs that have stayed with me as an adult. Every year we teach our students a special song with the hope that they will always remember it. The way we sing this song appeals to multiple learning styles because it encompasses the following:

• Seeing a DVD of kids singing the song
• Hearing the song, sung
• Saying the words through song                         
• Movement …doing the motions to the song

The song is one of our favorite passages of scripture; it’s John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will never die but have eternal life.

The song continues:  He is the way, He is the truth, He is the life so put your faith in Jesus Christ and your soul will never die, you’ll have eternal life!

Our prayer for all of our students is that sometime during their life the Holy Spirit will open their hearts to understand that passage and accept the wonderful gift He brings.

Written by Liz Fast of GCP&K

Prayer Help through Acts

When you think about it, a healthy church starts with healthy Christians in the church, since the church is made up of the people and not the building.  I know that for me maintaining a devoted prayer life can be a struggle. It’s not easy. But like Guy said in his sermon two Sundays ago, it’s part of every healthy Christian’s devotional life. And I think the term “devotions” comes from Acts 2:42-47  that Guy mentioned in his sermon. We’re to devote ourselves to those things and sometimes we lose that over time. Anyway, I love what I read from family life (below) this week. It reminded of something my grandmother did when I graduated from high school. She gave me a One Year Bible and on the inside cover she had placed a little handwritten love note to her eldest grandchild. It said something along the lines of:

“I have found the following acronym has helped me grow in my relationship with my Savior. As you devote yourself to finding God’s will for your life, remember this acronym when you pray and it will bless you. I promise. Love, Grandma”

A  is for Adoration

C  is for Confession

T is for Thanksgiving

S is for Supplication

Well, it seems she was onto something because the good folks at Family Life seem to have discovered it as well. Anyway, I hope this blesses the people of Grace Community Church and any who might read this. And one last thing….Thank you Grandma Ratzlaff. You were right!

Mitch Ratzlaff – GCC Elder

The Alpha and Omega

The last four months I have been co-teaching the world religions class.  As we have been studying these religions, there is one big thing that separates us as Christians, from all the other “religions”.  Our Lord is living, and active in our lives.  All we need to do is reach out to Him.  We have a relationship.  Our Lord wants to be an active part of our lives.  We have such hope.  In Revelations 22:13, He says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  Our Lord was there at the beginning, He is here now in our present lives, and He is at the End.  Such comfort and hope.  He knew us in the beginning, he knew what we are capable of, and still wants us.  He is here in our everyday lives, seeing all of our little details.  He also said in Revelations 22: 7 and 12, “Behold, I am coming soon”.  Even knowing all about us, our thoughts, our doubts, and our inner lives, the parts we don’t let anyone else see. He still wants to be with us so much that in the last chapter in his book, He reminds us again that I am coming soon!

Written by Charisa Burbank

The Healthy Church: Personal Bible Study

I don’t know about you but I am very excited about Pastor Guy’s new sermon series, “The Healthy Church.” I know Pastor Guy’s vision and desire for GCC is that we are a local church that is healthy and thus able to accomplish great things for Jesus and His kingdom.

This last Sunday Pastor Guy talked about the teaching of sound doctrine as one of the qualities of a healthy church. Pastor Guy and the entire GCC staff are committed to obeying the command of Paul in Titus 2:1 which says, “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” The way Pastor Guy and the rest of the GCC staff do this is by preaching and teaching God’s Word, the Bible, which is the authoritative source of everything we believe and everything we do. I feel very blessed to be part of church that teaches the Bible and derives everything we believe and do from God’s inspired Word.

That being said, I feel that there is a tendency amongst many Christians to have a primarily “second-hand” knowledge and understanding of the Bible and what is actually says. Many Christians believe what they believe and know what they know about the Bible because of what they have heard from pastors, teachers, friends, or from various Christian books. Now, these are obviously good things and ways that all of us should learn and grow. But if this is the only source of our knowledge and understanding of the Bible, then I think that we are missing out on the amazing privilege we have to personally read and study the Bible.

The Bible is God’s inspired Word in which the Creator of the universe has decided to reveal himself to the world. The Bible is for everybody. Some think that reading, studying, and understanding the Bible is only possible for pastors, teachers, theologians, and scholars but this is not the case. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit, who indwells every Christian, gives us the ability to read, study, and understand God’s Word (1 Cor. 2:10-11). What a gift! God, in His grace, has not only revealed himself in the Bible but gives us His Spirit to help us understand what He has revealed. It would be foolish of us not to take advantage of this great gift, wouldn’t it?

So my encouragement to all Christians is to take advantage of this great gift and make the reading and studying of the Bible a priority in your life. In doing this you will not only develop personal convictions for why you believe what you believe but you will inevitably grow in your knowledge, love, and service of our great God.

Written by Pastor Ben

John Denver vs. Jesus

As I sit here in my seat on the plane back to Oregon (in the back not in the cockpit) I’m trying to come up with something spiritual, something thought provoking, something convicting. We have just come off of Holy Week and Easter. How can you top celebrating Christ’s death and resurrection in a short blog? So all I can think of is John Denver’s song, “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. The lyrics that are stuck in my head are, ” don’t know when I’ll be back again.”
That line is something that never came out of Jesus’ lips. All throughout scripture He spoke of His leaving. He made sure that His followers knew that he was leaving. In Mark Chapter 8, 9 and 10 He tells of his leaving. In other words, He was speaking of His death. But in all of the gospels the words, “don’t know when I’ll be back again” never present themselves. God declares that He will return. It’s is not a question, it’s not maybe. It’s He Will Return!

Throughout our lives, there are a lot of people who will leave us. Not to be depressing but it’s true. But what about outside of people? What about joy? What about peace? What about contentment, hope, love, steadfastness, kindness, humility, money? What about submission? Let me leave you with this thought. We know that Jesus will return. He told us that. You wonder where all the items I listed have gone, you wonder why you don’t have them any more, you wonder when they are going to come back? It’s time YOU RETURN to Jesus. He’s coming back for you and me. But right now, it’s about us returning to Him and finding all those qualities that God desires for us.

Written by Matt Graber

The Necessity of Unity

1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

Yeah, right!  And yet, maybe Paul knew what he was talking about.  I’ve been thinking a lot about unity in the Church and how incredibly important it is to the health of the body.  Think about our own bodies.  Here we are strolling along feeling great when all of a sudden a tooth decides to be difficult.  I don’t know about you but some of the most horrid pain I have experienced in my life has been a toothache.  It seems to bring everything to a screeching halt.  You can’t eat or sleep, you can’t focus on much of anything and all you can think about is getting to the dentist for some much anticipated and needed relief.

A toothache can start with just a little problem.  A tiny cavity that can only be seen by an x-ray.  If it is dealt with right away, the problem is solved.  But neglected and ignored it can turn into a life threatening problem.  It can lead to all kinds of misery, loss of a tooth or in extreme situations, even loss of life.

It can be the same way in the Body of Christ.  Someone is offended or doesn’t get their way.  The dissatisfaction can be shared with another person and then another until it spreads like a wildfire out of control. It can lead to hurt feelings, broken relationships and even church splits.  Often the cause of the problem can be just a little thing  that if it is not dealt with or given to God, it continues to fester until unity is destroyed.

Scriptures give us several avenues to avoid disunity.  1 Corinthians 12:12-26 tells of the necessity of all parts of the body.  Each of our gifts, talents and experiences are vital to the function of the church.  Whatever you do for Jesus in the Church is critically important in the life of the body.  When one suffers, we all suffer.

Ephesians 4:2-6 (2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.) gives a great prescription for unity in the body.

Humility: Putting others needs before our own.

Gentleness: Treating others with kindness even when  we have been wronged.

Patience: Understanding that God’s work takes time in everybody.  Sometimes what bothers us  the most  in someone else, is something that we have worked through in the past. It is often a painful reminder of where we once were.

Working at Unity: Making unity a priority.  Understanding the damage that can be done when seek only what we want and not what God wants. Making a  conscious effort to be a peacemaker.

We are facing a lot of changes ahead at Grace.  I am very optimistic about the future.  I cannot express the joy I felt when we unanimously voted to bring on Dave as our next sr. pastor.  I know my eyes were not dry.  Partly I was glad that Dave was accepted for the position but more than that, it was an amazing display of unity.  We all shared a common goal and purpose.  It was truly a rare moment of God’s love being expressed by his body  of believers.

We won’t always see eye to eye, and I guarantee that we always won’t get our way.  But I know that if we all “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  We will be richly rewarded.

If your tooth hurts, go see your dentist, if your spirit is troubled, take it to Jesus.

Written by Ken Stoller – GCC Elder

The Wonder of the Body

Have you heard of monovision? With monovision, you wear a contact lens on one eye to correct your distance vision and a contact lens on your other eye to correct your near vision.  The whole concept seemed almost unbelievable when I first heard about it.  I had also heard that it doesn’t always work for everyone.  Since I had trouble with either misplacing my reading glasses or forgetting to have them with me, when I needed to read, I was willing to give it a try.

For me, since I only need help with my near vision, I was given a contact lens in my left eye for reading and nothing in my right eye because my distance vision is fine.   My eye that sees well for distance is still blurred for reading and the eye with the contact lens sees well up close but is slightly blurred when looking at distant objects. But with both eyes open and working together the result is acceptably clear and comfortable vision at all distances!  Somehow, miraculously, my brain made the adjustment and my eyes work as a team to provide clear comfortable vision!

All this reminded me of our awesome creator! The human body is a remarkable miracle! Psalms 139:14 says, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

As miraculous as our bodies are there is another miraculous body that God created, the body of Christ! Our God who gave our human bodies everything needed to function and be healthy is the same God who has given the body of Christ everything needed to function and be healthy.  It is exciting to know that every believer is a member of the body of Christ with Jesus as the head. God has given each of us different gifts and abilities.  Some members are more visible like the pastors, greeters, worship team etc and others are maybe not as visible but all are important and are needed to work together as Christ, our head, directs us. As believers each one of us has an important role and responsibility as members of His church.

Romans 12:4-5—For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body and each member belongs to all the others.

Written by Liz Fast – Director of GCP&K

If life were a glass jar…

A couple of days ago I posted on Facebook all that I had gotten done on Presidents day.  I slept in, cleaned, cooked, exercised, finished cake balls with Heidi, walked my parents dog, read, watch my favorite show on Netflix, and read the daily bible reading (honestly did this while during commercials of another television show).  I was so proud of what I had got accomplished in that day.   

For the last month and a half the staff that meet on Wednesday mornings have been going through a book called “When the game is over it all goes back in the box” By John Ortberg.  For this weeks reading, the chapter was called “Fill each square with what matters most”.  In the chapter he had an illustration, pretend your day is a large glass jar.  All of your “have-tos” are sand; laundry, work, paying bills, picking up around the house, errands, shopping and so on…  As you do each one you fill your jar up with more sand, sand, and sand.  But there are four tennis balls that you need to put in that jar also.  Each tennis ball has a letter on it, G, P, C and J. 

G- stands for God

P- stands for People

C- stands for Calling

J- stands for Joy

To really fill each day the way as God intended our life to be we need to have each one of these tennis balls in there, plus the sand, the “have-tos”.

Back to my day I mentioned up above, I realized there was very little “G”, and very little “P”, no “C, and hardly any “J”.

What would my life look like if I put all the tennis balls in first, and than filled it up with the sand of the “have-tos”.  What of the “have-tos” could I put off (they will always be there) and work on making sure the tennis balls get put in first.    When he has used this illustration in front of a crowd of people he talked about the tennis balls, and put them in first and than he filled the jar with all the sand, and it didn’t overflow.  God made it so we have enough time to put Him, people (relationships), our calling and joy first, and still do what we need to do.

Written by Charisa Burbank – Director of Children’s Ministry

Why the Church? Part #3

In the previous post, we found out what the church exists for. It is to be a place for disciple-making disciples to gather and bring glory to God. Therefore, in light of the Biblical view of the church, what is the role of the pastor? Paul summarizes the role of pastor in Ephesians chapter 4:

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:10-13, ESV).

The first section of this passage once again establishes the authority of Jesus. He then appoints different roles or offices and then gifts certain individuals to perform these tasks. The word translated “shepherd” is the word from which we get “pastor”. One commentator states it this way,

Paul turns from itinerant to local ministry. “Pastors and teachers” are grouped together in such a way as to suggest that the two roles are regarded as complementary and often coordinated in the same person. Pastors (literally, “shepherds”) probably included presbyters and bishops; they were entrusted with the nurture, protection, and supervision of the flock. Teachers are linked with prophets in Acts 13:1 and follow them in the list contained in 1 Corinthians 12:28 (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11: Ephesians through Philemon).

Therefore, what is the role of these pastors/teachers? Paul gives a list of results that these ministry roles are to produce. I must note that these results are all in the context of these descriptors, “the saints” and “the body of Christ,” meaning the church. Pastors are to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” Saints is just another word for believers or followers of Jesus, disciples. Pastors are to equip disciples for doing ministry. What is the work of the ministry? Jesus tells us in Matthew 28, it is making disciples. Therefore, if the church is disciple-making disciples who are gathering to encounter and glorify God, pastors are there to give disciples the tools to make other disciples. Since disciples are to make other disciples by teaching them the commands of Jesus, pastors are to equip disciples by teaching them what to teach, and helping them develop the skills needed to teach what needs to be taught. To really simplify it, pastors are the top tier of disciple-makers who specialize in training disciples to be disciple-makers.

Secondly, Paul tells us that pastors are to build the body of Christ by establishing and maintaining unity. This is easier said than done. However, we see Paul, the first church planter, constantly teaching unity. In his letter to the Philippian church, Paul speaks repeatedly about unity, even calling out two women whose disunity was affecting the entire church (Philippians 4:2, ESV). In this sense, pastors are coaches who must work with individuals but also maintain and protect the unity, and therefore the effectiveness of the team. It has been said that NBA coaches must manage egos more than manage the games themselves (HoopsWorld: The Art of NBA Ego Management). This can often be similar in the church. Shepherds of the people of God must manage people and their pride (the heart of every sin) to keep unity in the church.

Finally, Paul tells us that pastors are there to help disciples to attain, “knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood [and womanhood], to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” This harkens back to Jesus’ command to teach all that He had commanded. Helping disciples have knowledge of Jesus and His teaching results in spiritual maturity and Christ-likeness. That is the end goal. Pastors are to present to God the disciples under their care as spiritually mature and Christ-like. The author of Hebrews puts it this way, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you”( Hebrews 13:17, ESV). Pastors will be required to give an account on how they did at equipping disciples for their disciple-making calling, establishing and maintaining unity of the body, and the maturity and Christ-likeness of the disciples under their care.

It is no wonder that many of the early church fathers attempted to run from their calling rather than embrace it. The irony is that today, many men run into ministry instead of running from it. I believe that this is due to the fact that we have a flawed view of pastoral ministry. Without a distinct and unshakable calling on one’s life, who would sign up for this job? It is a high calling. Paul states of overseers, a term the New Testament renders synonymous with pastor, “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1, ESV). We already noted that teachers are linked with pastors in Ephesians 4:11. James, the brother of Jesus states, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). This high calling and high standard for pastors carries over from the Old Testament. In Ezekiel 34, God indicts the leaders of Israel for their selfishness and wickedness with these words:

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them (Ezekiel 34:7-10, ESV).

It is no coincidence then that Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, ESV). This stark contrast between the wicked shepherds of Ezekiel and the Good Shepherd was not lost on the New Testament writers as they utilize the same Greek word for shepherd when describing the role of pastor. As I said in the last blog post, no pastor should relax with the understanding that Jesus is responsible for building His church. Jesus is the ultimate authority and is therefore responsible for His church. However, He delegated the earthly side of this responsibility to pastors. Therefore, it should be with fear and humility that men enter the ministry, as they will be judged by Jesus according to the standard set by Jesus for how to shepherd those for whom they have been made responsible.

Written by Pastor Dave

Why the Church? Part #2

What would you say if you knew these were your last moments to communicate? Final words are important words. We even give hardened criminals the chance to say their final words before executing them. Whenever we hear the words of Jesus, we should perk our ears up. We should pay special attention. The God-man is speaking. The one who not only created this universe with His Word but holds it together with His Word is speaking (Hebrews 1:1-3). His Word is final, powerful, and should dictate our actions. What does Jesus say with His last opportunity to speak?

Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” There are some important aspects to these last words that we cannot miss.

The True Leader of the Church:

First, Jesus calls out His authority. Jesus has not been delegated specific authority; Jesus has been given all authority. Therefore, there is no way for us to misunderstand who is in charge. It does not matter what aspect of life; Jesus is in charge. We often get off, stating something ridiculous like “at my church…” It is not your church. It is not my church. It is Jesus’ church. He has been given authority over it. That is, “all authority.”

In case there is still a question in your mind, in Matthew 16, Jesus states, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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 16:17-18, ESV). Whose church is it? Who is building it? In Ephesians 2, we are told that not only is it Jesus’ church that He is building but that it is built on Him. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22, ESV).

What these verses mean is that the one ultimately in charge of and responsible for the growth and development of the church is Jesus Christ. Paul affirms this in Ephesians 5, where he says, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Ephesians 5:23-24, ESV). Jesus is the ultimate leader of the church and is responsible for building His church. However, instead of pastors sighing with relief, or thinking that they are off the hook, we need to understand the next part of these amazing verses.

The True Mission of the Church:

This passage makes a change. What starts with the reality of who Jesus is, now changes to what we are called to do. Because Jesus has all authority, He has the right to dictate how we live. Jesus tells his followers to make disciples. While this verse is often used to promote foreign missions, it actually has more to do with the mission of the church than missions around the world. It is not a call to leave all and go to a tribe in the middle of nowhere. Rather, we are in all circumstances, in all places, to make disciples, even to the ends of the earth. While there are many things the church can be about and should be about, the main mission of the church, the gathering of followers of Christ, is to make more followers of Christ. Dr. Warren Wiersbe said of this verse, “The Greek verb translated go is actually not a command but a present participle (going). The only command in the entire Great Commission is “make disciples” (“teach all nations”). Jesus said, “While you are going, make disciples of all the nations.” No matter where we are, we should be witnesses for Jesus Christ and seek to win others to Him (Acts 11:19–21)” (The Bible exposition Commentary).

The Means to Fulfill the Mission:

Jesus then transitions from the command to the ways by which we are to fulfill that command. First, there is an implied aspect to this. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Wiersbe said, “The term “disciples” was the most popular name for the early believers.” (The Bible exposition Commentary). Therefore, the implication is that evangelism is taking place. To make a disciple means that someone who was not a disciple is now a disciple. The church, therefore, is a gathering of Jesus followers who are on mission to see others follow Jesus.

Jesus does not stop at conversion, however. Instead, He gives two more direct objectives for the church. These new Jesus-followers are to be baptized. This marks their new life. They were on one path and now, they are on a different path. This means the church is called to challenge people to not just affirm Jesus but to change and live out their belief in Jesus. Baptism is the public proclamation of the internal change that has taken place.

Finally, there is a call to teach the disciples what it means to follow Jesus. It must be noted that the baptism is into the triune name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, theological training is connected with this teaching. Otherwise, the triune name and nature of God would not make any sense. However, not just theological but practical themes are to be taught. The church is to teach disciples, “to observe all that I have commanded you.”

So, Jesus’ call on His initial disciples, those who days later are the foundation of the church, are called to make followers out of non-followers, baptize them, and teach them theology and the Christian life. These subsequent disciples then are to follow the commands of Jesus, which include His call to make disciples. Therefore, according to Jesus, the church is to be a gathering of disciple-making disciples. This is what Jesus commanded. This is how Jesus has built His church on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Himself as the cornerstone.

In one sense, this seems to dumb-down what the church is to be about. Is it not too simple? Yet, this is exactly what we see in the book of Acts when the church is described. In chapter 2, Peter stands and delivers the very first sermon. The first act of the church was not to form a worship team, missions committee, or a budget team, it was to preach! As a result, three thousand people get saved. Those who defend small churches on the basis of the book of Acts miss that the first church was an instant mega-church. The very next description pulls the curtain back on the life of the early church.

 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:41-47, ESV).

The church began as a large group of new disciples. These disciples were instantly baptized. They then devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles. We can read between the lines that this teaching was what Jesus taught as the disciples, now apostles, were taught directly by Jesus. It should be noted that when Jesus taught Scripture, specifically the Old Testament, He taught through the lens of Himself (Luke 24:27, ESV). Therefore, Christian teaching is Christo-centric teaching. The result of this teaching was a fascinating word, “favor”. The church, when functioning how the church was to function, had favor with normal people. The church will always be offensive to some, usually, those who have the most power to lose. But, to the rest of the people, this gathering of disciple-making disciples is to have favor. As a result, new disciples were made daily! Therefore, what Jesus commands in Matthew 28 is accomplished, disciples are made. The prediction Jesus made in Matthew 16 is fulfilled, He builds His church. Finally, what Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 comes true. “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” The manifest presence of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit is experienced.

The gathering together of Jesus’ followers, on mission to reproduce other followers of Jesus, creates the environment for God to show up and amaze us. This is what James McDonald, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, says is what the world is lacking today.

A real encounter with the living God changes everything. First, it magnifies the Lord, and then it puts me and my ego and my sin and my burdens all in their rightful place…Church today as a weekly experience with the manifest glory of God is the greatest lack we face. The lost are not found because God’s glory is not revealed in church. Children wander because church is pathetically predictable or shamefully entertaining but hardly ever authentically God. Marriages flounder because arrogance grows unchecked in our hearts and is not weekly cut down by the pride-withering presence of almighty God. Church was never intended to be a place where we serve God to the exclusion of meeting with Him…We cannot survive spiritually without that corporate connection in heart, soul, mind and strength with the One who made us (Vertical Church: What Every Heart Longs for What Every Church Can Be).

Disciples are to make disciples. That is the mission. These disciples are to gather together. That is the church. When disciples gather together, they form a place where the Holy Spirit can manifest Himself, revealing the glory of God, and allowing people to have the right perspective on their lives and the lives of those around them. The church is a gathering of disciple-making disciples who are encountering God.

Therefore, what is Grace Community Church here for? We are disciple-making disciples gathering together to glorify God. Or even more simply, Grace Community Church: Making Disciples, Glorifying God.

Written by Pastor Dave