Category: Uncategorized

The Heart of Advent

Posted on by Leave a comment

Sunday, November 28, marks the beginning of Advent, the first season of the Christian year, which lasts four weeks leading up to Christmas. The season often ends up being a frantic time of busyness, shopping, and general running around, but it is meant to be something quite different. Christians have engaged this season as a time of preparation, fasting, and anticipation dating back to the 5th century. During these weeks, the Church corporately anticipates the celebration of Christ’s first coming and prepares for His coming again. While Advent is often treated like a countdown to Christmas, it is actually much more than that. 

We all unavoidably feel the weight of the world, the brokenness and groaning under the burden of sin. We long for resolution, justice, and peace. We mourn friends and family members who pass away. The daily news is full of the tragedies of the world. But that is not the whole story. Justice is coming. Peace is coming. Redemption is coming. Jesus is coming. For those who are in Christ, this is our unshakable hope. It is not an empty hope. In Advent we look both backwards and forwards. Back at Christ coming as testimony to the Lord’s faithfulness. Can you believe it? The Son of God took on flesh to come to us, to rescue us. And forward to Christ’s promised return. The One who came to us is faithful. He will come again!

This is the heart of Advent. It gives us hope and demands that we prepare. Since the Ascension, the Church has lived with the question, “Could this be the day?” We don’t know the day or the hour, so we’re forced to prepare each day. If today is the day, am I ready for His return? For those who are ready, Jesus’ return will be cause for joy and celebration. For all others, it will be fearful and distressing. 

So in this season, let us fast, pray, and examine our hearts that we would be filled with hope as we look to the Lord’s return. When He came into the world the first time, He gave us life, and He is coming again to restore all things. Let us look to Him. He is our hope!

Click here for suggestions from Anglican Compass on how to engage during Advent.

Real Power

Posted on by Leave a comment

God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
-2 Timothy 1:7

It’s a crazy notion. The One who has all authority and power has given us His power through the Spirit in us. Not a theoretical distant power, but a real, living, authoritative power. Crazy, but true. But we too quickly forget. We find ourselves flooded with fear and anxiety or held captive by the lies of the Enemy or trapped in persistent habits. We feeldefeated. Meanwhile, the power of the Almighty God is in us.

The reality of the Spirit in us means we do not have to be held captive. We don’t need to fear. The Spirit leads us to come to the Father, to trust Him, to invite Him to accomplish in us and through us what we cannot manage alone. It does not feel easy at times because it is an act of surrender on our parts. We have to let go of the allusion of our own power. We have to die that Christ may live in us. And the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead will give us life! (Romans 8:11). That is real power at work in us. The church of Christ, His Body, is marked by the power of the Spirit.

This is the Spirit we have seen at work. This is the Spirit that made the way for our friends to move here from Tennessee when it seemed like an impossibility 6 months ago. It is the Spirit who is bonding together communities that have beenhistorically divided in Spartanburg. It is the Spirit who encourages us through the Word and the words of other believers when we need it most. It is the real power of the Spirit that has brought greater depth, joy, and unity to our marriage than we could have ever hoped for or imagined. We see the Spirit of God at work building the Church here in Spartanburg. We are blessed to be witnesses to what He is doing. And we know He will do far more.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

Too Many Churches?

Posted on by Leave a comment

One of my biggest struggles in church planting has been the nagging thought that there are already plenty of churches. As we drive through Spartanburg we see countless churches. I question our calling as I think that with so many churches already, what could we possibly accomplish that isn’t already being done?

A couple of weeks ago Mike had an amazing opportunity to attend a gathering for local pastors called Come Closer, an initiative in Spartanburg to bring unity to the body of Christ. This is so exciting because this is what Jesus prayed for us: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn 17:20-21)

As God has laid the vision for The Gathering on our hearts over the last 10 years, this desire has become deeply rooted in us. That the Church, the body of Christ, would be united for the Kingdom of God so that the work we do is not just for our individual church body but for the Church as a whole. We were awed to find this work already in progress in Spartanburg. We had imagined it would be a pioneering work that would need to be done, but instead we can jump right in to the work in progress. Mike was able to connect with multiple pastors who welcomed us to attend worship with them and even said they would want to support our work. We had been afraid to walk into a church fearing they would think we were coming to steal their people, but as it turns out they are gladly opening their doors to encourage us. Wow. It is so amazing to see God at work in this way. I praise Him for the work He is doing to unify His Body, the Church. 

We have attended a few of different churches. Surprisingly, this has helped my understanding of our call to plant. These churches are at work for the Kingdom, growing in God’s love and desiring to spread the gospel. And they each have their own personality. It is almost like walking into someone’s family gathering. You can fully enjoy it and see their joy in it but still know it is not your family. Our church will have its own personality as well, and some people will be drawn into that dynamic and others will find that it just doesn’t fit them. And this is why we must exist as much as the church that may be right down the street from us. Different people will call each place home, and God will use each place to further His Kingdom, bringing His healing, wholeness and truth. 

So my perspective has changed. You can’t have too many churches. Each place is different and each place is called, set apart, and used by God to bring His fullness. I am excited to see who we will become, what uniqueness God will bring to our gathering. It is a privilege to watch that unfold. May we be open to who God calls us to be!

%d bloggers like this: