We are very exicted about church planting in downtown Muncie. And we want to share that excitement with everyone who wants to hear about it! God has been showing us a lot of things through His word and giving us a heart for our city, Muncie. And, if you know me at all, you know that I can stop talking about something that has me excited. So, we are gathering together to give information about what we are trusting God with for church planting in downtown Muncie. Coming to this meeting, signs no one up to join with us, but simply allows you to be better informed about what we are trusting God for and how you can be praying for us. I will share some of our vision for church planting, answer any questions (as best I can!) and then we will take time to pray for our city and what God will do as we multiply the gospel through church planting. Please join us!

Details:

Church Planting Informational Meeting

Monday February 23rd, 6:30 PM

New Life Presbyterian Church

8000 W River Road, Yorktown, IN 47396

A multi-cultural church is one of our main dreams as we seek to plant a church in downtown Muncie. I am seeking to learn as much as I can about this important topic and benefited greatly from Matt Chandler and John Piper's teaching on this issue. If you are interested in joining us in what we are dreaming for God to do in Muncie, please watch these videos.



Prayer (Part 3) - Racial Reconciliation from The Village Church on Vimeo.

Kainos 2014: A Night With Dr. Evans & Dr. Piper from Kainos Movement on Vimeo.

The Consistency of Porn: Why Pornography is the Most Consistent Expression of Our Culture's Sexual Ethic and How to Combat It

Last month I helped to put together a seminar on the perils of pornography called Porn Still Kills, But Jesus Still Saves. Pornography is a difficult issue to deal with, but for far too long it has been hidden in churches because it is too taboo to even be discussed. That has to stop. Secret sins gain their power through secrecy. It is only when things come into the light that true healing and progress can be made (1 John 1:7).

While it is difficult to address the topic of pornography, it seems easy (or at least it should be) to see it as morally bankrupt. However, the question remains, how has something so morally bankrupt become so accepted, prevalent and even celebrated in our culture? And how has the church bought into the darkness so much?

What follows is a brief outline of the address I gave at the seminar, followed by a link to the audio. I might type it all out into the form of an article but.... not today. 

How has Pornography become so accepted, prevalent, and even celebrated…

I think to understand this issue, we need to look deeper at the underlying issues at work in our culture that create the possibility for pornography to flourish. It is my opinion that pornography, though evil, is absolutely consistent with our culture's sexual ethic. It is in fact the most consistent expression of our culture’s sexual ethic.

So, with that in mind what is the sexual ethic of our culture?

I think it can be broken down into 3 main points:

1. Sex is ultimate

2. Sex is primarily about your personal pleasure.

3. Sex is just sex.

In order to combat pornography we must fundamentally challenge the sexual ethic offered in culture and moving toward a biblical sexual ethic. 

A Biblical Sexual Ethic: 

Sex is a good gift from God given to some, only within a marriage between one man and one woman, and is intended for their mutual pleasure and his glory in multiplying image bearers and displaying the gospel. 



To hear how I unpack these ideas, check this out:



And to get the rest of the seminar audio you can check this out:

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (Rev. 7: 9-10)

This is a place I often go in Scripture. Church planting isn't glamorous and church planting apprenticesing isn't either. It's a daily exercise is dependance as you dream of things that only God can do and see all of your own inadequacies. So I go here often to see the end goal, the whole point of my ministry. To stand one day in this multitude with people from every tribe, people and language and sing praise to the Lamb who was slain. A great multitude that no one could number! We want to plant a church that plants churches so that God would use us to bring in that full number that he knows exactly. 

But not just a church. We want to plant a Missional, Multicultural, Reformed Church in Downtown Muncie. 

What does that mean?

Missional: 

We want to seek the lost.  We want to bring the gospel to those who don’t know Jesus. What does that look like in Muncie? Well, it means talking to a lot of folks that think Jesus is ok, but no nothing of the bible, nothing of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus and don’t really know him. They may know about him but they don’t know him. 

Multicultural: 

We want to bring the gospel to everyone in Muncie, which means taking the gospel to every ethnicity and culture in Muncie. And we want to see the gospel heal and bring restoration to real hurts and issues that our city faces. Muncie, like all of America as we are seeing with the events in Ferguson and elsewhere still has a lot of work to do when it comes to race. And we believe that the church should be on the forefront of that conversation. Why? Because the gospel has the answers to pursuing racial reconciliation. God has reconciled us to himself and one another through the cross of Jesus Christ and "has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:14). This is glorious. God is glorified as we unite in our ethnic and cultural diversity around the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the picture we get in Revelation about the worship Jesus receives and yet, the church does not often reflect this reality.  We want to experience as much of a foretaste of that day now and so we want to be intentional to seek to reflect this reality in our church. 

Reformed: 

We want to safeguard the gospel and reflect the truth of God’s word. And I am convinced that reformed theology does this best. 

Church:

We believe that God's kingdom is advanced when God works in and through his people, that is the church. And we believe that the New Testament lays out not just an organic universal church (it does do this) but also a local, gathered, flesh and blood church body to which we belong and are accountable. So, we are not just seeking to plant an evangelistic group or a mercy ministry or a multicultural organization, but a church. A church with elders, deacons, structures, liturgy, and the organic connection of God's people knit together by His Spirit for His glory. We don't think its possible to love Jesus and not love the church, and so we will seek to do both. 

And finally in downtown Muncie: 

This is the context we believe is best suited for this to take place. And it’s important to say that because church planting isn’t done in a vacuum or in theory, but it’s about people and is done in the context of real relationships. 

This excites me and terrifies me. I know I am inadequate, but called and therefore dependent upon God to work powerfully. 

This is the beginnings of our vision and it is not set in stone, but it is what we are pursuing as we pray and trust God for direction in how to move forward in multiplying the gospel through church planting in Muncie. If you have any questions, please comment or follow up with me through email as I would love to talk further with anyone interested in learning more about what we are trusting God for in the coming years. 

I love technology. I love that I get to be connected to almost any place in the world and have almost any piece of information in my pocket. And that I can create so much for the glory of God and the good of others with technology. But… there is something I hate about technology. It’s affected by the fall and can be used to dislocate us from the present reality we live in physically each and every day. "I just had this awesome moment with my kids- let me tweet about it.” Far too often this is my response, rather than being present in the moment- in the place that God has called me.

I recently read EverPresent: How the Gospel Relocates us in the Present by Jeremy Writebol and was immensely challenged and encouraged by the book. Jeremy briefly develops a theology of place based upon God’s attribute of Omnipresence (God’s ability to be present everywhere) and then he applies that doctrine to our lives and our mission. It’s a great example of how right theology (orthodoxy) should affect right practice (orthopraxy). Our doctrine of God’s Omnipresence should affect the way we as Christians, indwelt with the Holy Spirit, are present in our communities.

Theology of Place

During the first part of the book, Jeremy talks about our longing for home as humans and how we don’t ever quite feel like we are home. We are dislocated. Ultimately this is because of our first parents' sin and rebellion against God and the fracture this caused. We stand in their line (and- lets be honest- we would have done the same thing!) and now feel that dislocation, that fracture, that feeling that this isn’t how its supposed to be.

The only answer to this is the gospel. The good news that Jesus came to our place, took on our flesh, took on our sin, and then died for us and rose again so that we might put on his righteousness, his glory, and go forever to His place.

And by His place, I mean, this place, this earth: redeemed and glorified where our King Jesus graciously and visibly reigns. Jeremy points out that one of the things that makes Christianity unique is our view of the afterlife. It’s not some ethereal other place where we all float around with wings and harps and sit on clouds and look like precious moments figurines (personally, thats not a place I want to go). But, its this place, this wonderful physical creation that we get to enjoy for all eternity. The heavenly city descends upon the earth so that Revelation 21:3 would be fulfilled and "God himself will be with them as their God.” How glorious and wonderful. Revelation 22:3 goes on to say that the affects of the curse are reversed and what began in Eden will be fulfilled and magnified in the City of God.
 

Putting our Theology of Place into Practice

Now, what does this have to do with our life here and our mission to along with Jesus “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Well, here is where we apply our doctrine of God’s omnipresence to our mission. Jeremy breaks this down into 4 places: First Places, Home; Second Places, Work; Third Places, Social Environments; and Fourth Places: the City. He challenges us to be present in these environments. To be present in the power of the Holy Spirit to be salt and light in all these places. To be present in the power of the Holy Spirit to show the fruit of the Holy Spirit to those we meet in these places, our children, our co-workers, our neighbors and friends, and the society in which we are placed sovereignly by God. And to be present with the message of the gospel affecting our lives, and on our lips. We want to boldly proclaim the gospel, but as Jeremy points out, we can’t proclaim it unless we are present in the lives of those who need it. 

Conclusion

This book was encouraging to me because it frees me from the pressure of making opportunities to share my faith. It means I can just show up, trusting God in the power of His Spirit and I will get opportunities to show love and mercy and proclaim the greatest news in all the world. It was also challenging to me, because I’m free to be present within the world in order to be salt and light with my words and actions. I must repent of my selfishness, laziness, and fear and step into the world I have been sovereignly placed in and be present for the glory of God. 
I would encourage you to check out this book and as the church let’s be present together for God’s glory and the good of world. 

You can pick up the book here:

Digital ebook - http://store.gospelcentereddiscipleship.com/collections/frontpage/products/everpresent-how-the-gospel-relocates-us-in-the-present

Paperback - http://www.amazon.com/everPresent-How-Gospel-Relocates-Present/dp/0615989020/