How Is FCMC Doing?

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Pastor Jesse

“How is your ministry doing these days?” I get that question from time to time.

When I was nineteen, I moved to Newnan, Georgia and began working for as an engineering co-op with Georgia Power and also began helping lead the youth group at Newnan Presbyterian Church. That was thirty years ago. Over that time, whenever anyone asked how ministry was going, I only knew one way to answer: I would tell them how many people were coming to ministry events, if that number was increasing, and if it was, how fast it was increasing. As I grew in ministry, the size of the budget was also thrown into the mix. Everybody else I met in church leadership seemed to measure the health of their ministries in pretty much the same way.

Of course, there is a one glaring problem with those metrics: Jesus used a very different set. Jesus looked at the heart. He taught his disciples how to live. He modeled that life for them. He invited them to take part in what he was doing. Then he sent them out to do the same for others.   Let me restated it this way: he taught his disciples to walk closely with God (up), to love each other (in), and to meet needs in the world (out). Then he commissioned them to show others how to do the same. Jesus seemed to use each of those dimensions to measure the success of his ministry.  It had little to do with numbers and everything to do with how well they were getting it, how well they were imitating his life.

In terms of numbers, FCMC is a small ministry. About thirty-five people are involved directly in our ministries. But I am very excited that people walking closely with God, loving one another in community, and going forth to meet needs.  I’m all the more excited that I am working with some people who are eagerly learning tools for discipleship.  They want to help others do the same. When I measure things according to those up-in-out metrics, I get excited.  Groundwork is being laid for a ministry that reflects the character of Jesus and multiplies.

If you are one of our supporters, thank you.  Because of your gifts and prayers, people are walking with God, loving one another deeply, devoting themselves to service, and inviting others to do the same.

If you’d like to be one of our supporters, we’d be so honored.  You can donate to FCMC, click on the red button below.  It will take you to our secure, on-line donation site.  Thanks.

.Give On Line

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Short Post: This Is Essential for Discipleship and Mission

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Pastor Jesse

We love because he first loved us. (First John 4:19)
For I am convinced that nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39)
…If I have faith that moves mountains but don’t have love, I have nothing.
If I give all my possessions to feed the poor but do not have love… it profits me nothing. (I Corinthians 13:2b-3a 3)

Quoting Henry Blackaby:

“What is the one thing God wants from you? He wants you to love Him with all your being. Your experiencing God depends on your having this relationship of love. A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life.”

I love what I’m learning about discipleship. The life shape tools for discipleship developed by 3dm are frankly the best I’ve been around. They can be used and taught. What I’ve learned I’ve passed on to fifth graders and research professionals. These are great tools. Like tools in a wood-shop, the more you use them, the better you get at using them. I’m excited to say that we can learn and teach people to be disciples and to make disciples. But above all else, discipleship is built on the foundation of a love relationship with God. Without great love for God, discipleship is simply a task to perform. Without God’s love working through us, people can become discipleship projects.

I also love what I’m seeing in terms of mission. People are getting it. They are going forth to the places to meet needs trusting that God is going ahead of them and will work through them in that place. I have begun to see little glimpses of God’s power being released to meet needs. It is so exciting. But without great love for God and God’s love in us for others, we won’t go where God is sending us.

Question: What can you do today to remember the great love of God for you. I have three recommendations. Choose one of items below and do it – and see if your heart is lifted up and renewed.

#1 Get out a piece of paper and fill it up with things you are thankful for – then tell God thank you in prayer for each item.

#2 Tell someone you know all about how you know God loves you. Tell them everything.

#3 Do you have a time when God was with you through a difficult season, a time when God brought you through. Tell someone the story of what God did for you.

Ready… Go! I’d love to hear what it did for your heart.

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God Doing Through You What He’s Done For You

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Pastor Jesse

So what has God done for you?

Okay, if you are a follower of Jesus you know the list is pretty long.  There are all the “…ations”.  You know: salvation, justification, sanctification, and the corresponding, umm, implications.  What I’m thinking about is not separate from those things.  But more specific.

For example: a couple of months ago when I was at a *PRMI event, I made an appointment for healing prayer at the encouragement of a friend.  Just a little background: I was carrying some wounds that made it very difficult to move forward with consistent joy and strength.  I could not sustain joy and confidence in ministry.  Every setback, no matter how small, seemed huge.  And I felt so small.  Like a sneak attack on my joy, past events would come to mind and I would be stuck wrestling with bitterness and anger, struggling to forgive all over again.  Worse, I would feel isolated, like I had to carry everything on my own.  Well, some of that pain spilled out in some conversations.  One of the pastors there noticed and asked if I’d be open to healing prayer.

It was a remarkable experience.  And I am deeply grateful.  Three folks prayed with me.  During that time of prayer, Jesus showed up in those painful places.  In prayer, the team brought me before God.  I found myself trembling, tears flowing, humbled.  God spoke to me there.  He said, very simply, “I never left you.”  I didn’t know that I needed to hear that.  But I needed to hear it.  I had not been alone – and I will not be alone.  They prayed for my healing and I felt so incredibly renewed.  When I walked out of that room, I felt so good.  I didn’t even know how bad I had been feeling carrying all that stuff.

The problems didn’t disappear completely.  I had a long habit of slipping into dark thoughts.  BUT – and this is very important – in that experience of healing prayer, I  turned a corner.  Those past events have lost their power.  I don’t dwell there.  I can confidently say that I’m growing healthier.

God firmly impressed a truth in my heart over and over again since that healing experience.  It’s this: What God has done for us, God delights to do through us.  That experience of healing was for me – but not just for me.  Jesus is the Great Physician.  He heals our deep wounds.  God first works in us and then through us – often in the same way.  Knowing this, I went to work learning what I could.  Reading, mainly, but also praying.

This is really just an aspect of discipleship.  God works through someone to work in us and then God works through us in someone else.  God usually works in us through other people.  Then we become the person who can help another see the truth of scripture.  When someone teaches us to pray, we can teach another.  When someone teaches us to be a healthy member of the community, we can help others.  When God works in power through another person, we begin to discern that God can work in power through us.

I realize we can go straight to God.  God reveals himself by the power of the Holy Spirit in scripture and prayer.  We can do that alone – just between us and God.  But how much is added when another person is involved?  God worked through people to help me understand the scriptures.  And the healing experience was prayer with others.  And I learned something about prayer by praying with them.

What God does for us God delights to do through us.  And last Sunday – although I’ll leave out the details – that is exactly what happened.  I was able to pray for someone’s healing in a manner very similar to my own experience.  And Jesus showed up and brought healing.

What has God done for you? Has God worked through someone to bless you?  Bless another.   Received encouragement?  Encourage another.   Given you a family or a community.  Include another.  Has God given your resources.  Give to another.  Has God worked through someone to help you follow Jesus.  Help another follow him.

What God does for you, God delights to do through you.  Did I mention what a joy it is when that happens?  Give it a shot.  Because (as G.K. Chesterton pointed out) any thing worth doing is worth doing badly.

Last thing: when God puts a group of people together in, say, a small church or missional community, He often gathers people together who’ve walked through the same sorts of things.  Those common experiences – pains, blessings, and discoveries – are often the place where a community can begin to discern a calling into mission.

*PRMI stands for Presbyterian Renewal Ministry International.  If you want to learn about what it means to do ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit, I highly recommend PRMI.  They are biblical, theologically astute, globally Christian, practical, and encouraging.  It’s a wonderful teaching ministry.  Their methodology includes practicing as the teach, and including everyone in attendance in the practice.  Google PRMI or visit PRMI.ORG to learn more.  If you want to read about healing prayer, I recommend Let Jesus Heal Your Hidden Wounds by Brad Long and Cindy Strickler.

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With God, All Things Are Possible

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Pastor Jesse

Just a short word this morning. Jesus pointed out to his disciples once that it is hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yep. We work hard at it. We try to muster our faith, to correct our doctrine, get our community right, and our church, too. And when the results are not what we expect them to be, we can get frustrated, wonder if we’ve missed the point, give up, or just try harder again. It is hard to enter the Kingdom of God nad maybe easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle…

That line astonished the disciples. “Who can be saved?” Jesus responded to that question by saying that for us, it is impossible. We can’t enter into the Kingdom of Heaven no matter how hard we try. And that’s good, I think. Hear me out. If we can’t force our way in, we can’t enter as conquerors. Conquerors scale the walls, raise their flag, and say, “Look at us. We made it!” I don’t think God wants us to conquer our way into his Kingdom.

Rather, he wants to conquer hell and bring us in. He is the conqueror of the sin that separated us and the death that captured us. He conquers. He sets free a host of captives and welcomes us into His Kingdom. Entering into heaven is about God moving and us surrendering. After surrender, we are made citizens. We are given a new identity. Then we can begin to obey in His kingdom. And we are given authority as the children of God. Then we can begin to move in power. It is not about what we can do for God. It is about what God has done for us and is doing through us when we are surrendered to Him.

It is impossible for us, but With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) We are wise to apply this principle to every aspect of discipleship, mission, and launching missional communities. It’s always about what God does.

Blessings on the journey.

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“Repent” and the Learning Circle

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Pastor Jesse

Have you ever witnessed a reaction when you use the word “repent”?  A powerful tool in the Mike Breen’s Life Shapes is the “Learning Circle.”  I was introduced to it about a year ago and have used it and taught it many times.  Like any tool, the more I use it, the more useful I find it.  I have found some folks react to it negatively when we get to a very important word, “repent.”  I’ve found a helpful way to work through that.

circle-kairos-learning-circle

Quick summary: It’s built from Mark 1:15 where Jesus says, “The  time (kairos) has come.  The Kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news of the Gospel.”  I love that.  Key words for the learning circle are kairos (the little x), repent, and believe.

A kairos is a God moment.  When you have an encounter with God, when “the Kingdom of God is near”, you can ignore it and keep going like nothing ever happened (take the straight line), or you can “repent” and “believe”,  take the circle.  Growth as a disciple is impossible unless we pay attention to those God moments (kairos), turn (repent) and apply (believe).

The word that some people get stuck on is “repent.”  But what does it mean to repent?  In my context – the Southern U.S. – many people can still remember preachers exhorting their listeners with the phrase, “Repent, you sinners.” I went to college at Auburn in Alabama. I still remember visiting preachers on the maul telling us what sinners we were and that we needed to repent – which seemed to mean a major rejection of everything we were doing in order to adopt a weird radical religious position.  I grew up southern Presbyterian.  Some people in the south came to Presbyterian churches, I think, to avoid preachers who used the word “repent” too much.  Those preachers tended to make everyone feel bad about everything that seemed fun and lively.

But to repent simply means to turn.  The Greek word is metanoia – it means to redirect or to “reorient” our lives toward God.  And that is not rejecting what is lively and fun.  Turning toward Jesus is an invitation to a life better than another – a life of purpose, community, joy, and life.  There’s plenty of laughter, good food, deep friendship, and celebration.  Of course there’s sacrifice and even suffering  – but with and for people you love.  (Sacrifice and suffering are realities for everyone in the world.  Reorienting ourselves to Jesus redeems hardship with purpose and hope.)

I find that if I only use the word repent – in my context, anyway – people dismiss the learning circle.  So, I use the word “reorient” a lot at first and explain that some people react to the word “repent.”   As I continue to teach, I use the word repent and reorient interchangeably, explaining as often as seems necessary to make sure there’s no misunderstanding.  That approach seems to work well to get past reaction to understanding.

Last thing, laughter helps – so here is a corny joke on the word “repent.”

A local church hired a painter to paint their steeple.  The paint had gotten dark and patchy.  So he climbed up on the steeple and went to work.  But he was a little short on paint, a little lazy, and a little dishonest.  To complete the job, he kept thinning the paint with paint thinner.  Just as he finished, lightning struck him.  He was thrown down from steeple.  But he was astonished to find that he was not harmed.  But the steeple, it was dark and patchy again, exactly like it was before he went to work.  Then he heard a voice from heaven say, “Repaint!  Repaint, and thin no more.”

Blessings.

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