High Crime...Low Income...Mixed races?

Some have asked, "Why would you want to plant a new church in an area notorious for crime, well below the national average for household income, and on top of it all, an area where we would be a minority race?" Seriously, have we lost our minds? To some, like Festus, the answer will have to be "yes" (Acts 26:24-25).

There are two ways this question should be approached; the surface, and what lies beneath.

On the surface, there are obvoius implications that are driving this question. Those who have been submurged in suburbian living, nice fenced yards, two-car garages, remote controlled window blinds, nice countertops, homogenous skin-tones, and all of the other ammenities that many have come to view as "normal life," have immense difficulty with the notion that God would lead someone to forsake these "necessities." At this level, the question of "Why" we would desire to plant in urban Memphis is hard to answer because we are speaking a different language than the who is inquiring.

At a deeper level, there is something being revealed about the heart of the inquirer, right? Christ said, "But what comes out the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person" (Matthew 15:18). Is it wrong to live in the suburbs? No! Unless, of course, the suburbs are a way to fortify oneself in the pride of one's own culture! We are often duped into thinking that there are many noble reasons for operating in monocultural spheres of life. The key problem is that this wars against the gospel of Christ, Who has in His own flesh, "torn down the barrier of all diving walls" (Ephesians 2:14).

To believe in Christ, who effectively accomplished God's atoning work on the cross, defeated-death, and secured salvation by His glorious resurrection, is of paramount importance during one's lifetime! The effect of this saving faith in Christ flows out of the true believer in a stream of redemptive love towards all people.

I'd like to hear several saints from history answer the question that has been posed to me. Peter, who was crucified upside down. I wonder what he'd say about the "risk" of the inner-city? Paul, decapitated for his inner-city embracing love for Christ, I wonder what he'd say? Christ Himself, mangled, mutilated, and martyred for no just reason. I wonder how He'd answer the question?

How could it be more rational to stay in the burbs with strong evangelical churches on nearly every street corner instead of taking a risk for the gospel in the city where there are few strong evangelical churches? So, in Gospel fashion, I would like to pose a question instead of answering the question. Could it be that God has "many sheep that are not of the suburbian fold that must come to Him also?" (John 10:16). We pray that the answer is "Yes!" Please pray with us. Our faith is small, we are easily discouraged by doubters, and we tend to drift toward comfort just like everyone else. "For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything" (I John 3:20)!

Unanimous Affirmation

We praise the Lord that the elders of Bethlehem Baptist Church voted unanimously last night to affirm the vision of Grace Church! In keeping with the Biblical pattern of Acts 13:1-3, after affirming our vision, the elders rallied around me, laid hands on me, and prayed a commissioning prayer over our planting team. This moment of prayer was incredibly rich, and it was very difficult to hold back the tears. May God be pleased to answer every single prayer that was requested by these brothers...the request were by no means small!

Grace Church Presentation

Tonight, February 7, I am scheduled to present our church planting proposal for Grace Church to the elders of Bethlehem Baptist Church. These men love the Lord and love spreading a passion for His supremacy in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. We rejoice at the prospect of these men, and this church, becoming the "mother" of Grace Church! Thanks for your prayers as I present.

Physical Ailments

Please pray for my mom, Debbie Thomas, who has been admitted to the hospital with prolonged high fever. Also, my grandmother, Josephine Duncan, who is battling a chronic sickness as well. Finally, my I've managed to hurt my back again and am dealing with tremendous pain. Thank you all!

God's Purposes in Evil

Ever wondered why God sent ten horrific plauges on Egypt in order for His people, the Israelites, to be freed instead of devising another way? Check out Exodus 10:1-2 for the divine purpose statement over such catastrophic evil and have your jaw drop as you commune with this very God in prayer today!

Housing

Please join us in praying for each of the pastors to find housing in or near downtown. Thanks!

Four in Three

I can count four very specific answers to prayer regarding Grace Church that have come in the last three days. "I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy" - Psalm 116:1 (ESV)

The Bloodiest Verse in the Bible

Our faith is a bloody faith. Christ Himself sealed our salvation through His own ignominiously bloody death on the cross. Now, as His ambassadors (II Corinthians 5:20-21), we are to "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (I Corinthians 11:26).

Today, as tasteless comical caricatures of Mohammad are causing a heated dissension around the world, we as believers in Christ are reminded that Christ's scorning is the emblem of our faith! Instead of outrage, we are to "rejoice and be glad" when we are insulted, persecuted, and when others "say all manner of evil against us falsely on account of Christ" (Matthew 5:11-12). Against all logic, our joy in persecution is deeply embedded in the persecution of our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Had there been no reviling of Christ, no scorn, no wagging of the heads, no spitting upon, no mockery, no bloody dangling on a cross as a piece of meat suspended between heaven and earth, we would have no hope at all! Indeed our hope is securely rooted in the fact that our Christ was the object of ridicule!

Our bloody, throat-slit Lamb, is resurrected, ruling, and one day returning! In this interval between Christ's ascension to heaven and His return to earth, Christ has bid us to join in His redemptive purposes. But how? The gospel! The bloody gospel! Matthew 28:18-20 is not just the "Great Commission," it is the "Great Church Planting Commission." Where is church planting in the great commission? "Baptizing them...," that's where! This commission is a "local church" commission! How will we obey this "final command" of our resurrected Savior? By starting churches that preach a God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated, Spirit-empowered bloody gospel!

In America in the year 1900 there were approximately 30 churches for every 10,000 people. In 1950, there were approximately 24 churches for every 10,000 people. In 1996, there were approximately 16 churches for every 10,000 people. See the pattern? Every year about 3,500 churches "shut their doors" never to open again! On the flip-side, there are only about 1,500 churches started each year! Unfortunately we are on the retreat. More unfortunately this is diametrically opposed to Christ's teaching in Matthew 16:18, which teaches us to be on the offense with Christ in starting churches. Not neutral, not "holding our ground," but on the offense! "The gates of hell will not prevail against [the church]" (Matthew 16:18). The gates of hell tremble as we march forward with bloody-gospel proclaiming church plants.

How will we obey the Great Commission? How will we engage in an obedience that "makes disciples of all nations?" Now, in God's gracious providence, America is being infiltrated by peoples from all nations of the world. Although a clear call to "go" exists in the Scriptures, we find ourselves uniquely poised to "go" to the nations by driving around the corner from where most of us live! Many other nations are beginning to see this reality and are viewing America as one of their primary mission fields!

So, what is the bloodiest verse in the Bible? The bloodiest verse is the verse that commands us to make disciples of all nations. Why? In order to fulfill this command, and make disciples of Christ, we must introduce all nations (literally, "all the people") to our bloody Savior! "The gospel" of the capillary-bursting blood vessels of Christ, the cat-of-nine-tails shredded back of Christ, the nail-punctured hands and feet of Christ, the thorn-embedded skull of Christ, and the spear-injected side of Christ, the dead and borrowed-tomb buried Christ, and the resurrected All-Authoritative Kingly Christ, who in His death took the sins of man and exchanged them for the righteousness of God! This gospel "must be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations (literally, "all the people"), and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Without this bloody gospel, there will be no disciple making among the nations! There is one entry for disciples into the local church, and into a proper "baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20), and it is the gospel of the bloody cross of Christ!

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." I Corinthians 2:2

Hearts Ablaze

A few weekends ago I was able to speak at a youth retreat for the students of Bethlehem. The theme of our retreat was "Hearts Ablaze." Thanks to all of you who prayed for us. Because I'm "under compulsion" to preach the gospel (words of Apostle Paul), and have precious few opportunities to do so this year, I would like to share with you an outline of the three messages from this retreat. If you have an opportunity to look at the passages, and see where the outlines come from, it should prove more helpful. "Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wonderous things from Thy Law." - Ps. 119:18

1. Hearts ablaze for the God of the Word - Isaiah 66:1-2
- God is Transcendent
- God is Self-Sufficient
- This Glorious God looks to the humble and contrite
- This Glorious God looks to those who tremble at His Word

2. Hearts ablaze to Obey the God of the Word - I Timothy 6:13-16
- Our Greatest Need is a Great View of God
- Our Motives for Obedience Matter
- God is: Omnipresent; Life-Giver; Initiator of Second Coming of Christ; Happy; Sovereign; King of kings; Lord of lords;
Alone possesses Immortality; Dwells in unapproachable light; No man has seen; No man can see; Owns Eternal
Dominion, Desires and Deserves Honor; Amen!
- Christ is: The One who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate (sealing His doom for sinners!); Will appear
again!

3. Hearts ablaze to Seek the God of the Word - Matthew 7:7-12
- Carefully reading our Bible is fuel for seeking God (active and passive words matter)!
- Man is totally depraved
- The Logic of Jesus
- God gives us Himself, which is our greatest need...so give others God!

Acts 11

What is the first thing a new believer needs? According to Barnabas and the Apostle Paul, based on their ministry in Acts 11, it is a year's worth of solid theology! Having a solid biblical foundation is the cure for a thousand "felt needs."

Great to be together

The pastors of Grace Church were able to spend the past seven days together in Minneapolis. Our times of prayer, planning, conference attending, and fellowship were blessed by the Lord. Please continue to pray for us as the day is drawing nearer for Grace Church to become a reality.

Sanctified Speculation?

What if...

...GOD has been placing on the hearts of His saints for decades to pray for a new work in downtown Memphis like the one we are preparing to plant?

...GOD has been preparing the hearts of many to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ from the lips of someone connected to Grace Church, leading to their conversion experience, spiritual development, and involvement in world missions?

...GOD is "stacking the kindling" in the hearts of believers in the Mid-South who's prayers and resources will be used by God, because of the influence of His Spirit through Grace Church, to bring the gospel some of the 693 untargeted people groups in the world who's population is over 100,000 people?

...GOD has been causing the residential resurgence in downtown to serve as a parable to the city of the spiritual resurgence that is on the horizon?

...GOD is moving the hearts of those in dozens of Memphis' churches to yearn for a new day of grace in the city of Memphis, the Mid-South, the nation, the world?

...The desires to see Grace Church become a beacon of the light of the "glory of God in the face of Christ" for the downtown area of Memphis is too small of a vision?

...GOD provided more resources for Grace Church than dreamed, which enabled her to plant more churches, and initiate more catalytic gospel efforts around the globe?

...The greatest prayers that have been prayed for Grace Church were answered "exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ask or think?"

Thanks...Pray again!

Thank you for praying for the youth retreat I was able to speak at last weekend. The Lord was/is at work. Please pray again for "far seeing grace" this week as our pastoral planting team will be together in Minneapolis for seven days beginning Thursday, January 26.

1000

We are approaching mega-church status with our blog! Scroll down to the bottom of the screen to see if you are the lucky 1000th visitor. (Obviously, this is a pun. 1000 hits are recorded on many blogs in a single day, much less 5 months)! Pass on the word about SolusChristus.blogspot.com!

High School Retreat

Please pray for me and the high school students of Bethlehem's downtown campus as I speak this weekend for an annual winter retreat. May God be glorified through Jesus, to Whom belongs the glory forever and ever!

Leadership Network

I'm enjoying a Leadership Network event in TX this week. This community is comprised of church planting leaders from thirteen churches from across the country who are, uniquely poised to be catalytic leaders of church planting movements. I was able to tag along with Bethlehem Baptist Church. Oh, how I pray that the Lord will use Bethlehem, Grace Church, and many others to initiate such a movement for the glory of our great God through Jesus Christ!

Pastors Unity

Thank you for your prayers for the planting pastors of Grace Church. Bryan Smith, Nathan Sawyer, and Jordan Thomas are thankful to God for the technology that allows us to have our weekly 3-way conference calls. These conversations have been monumental to keep us on the same page while we are miles apart from one another. The opportunity to talk regularly is a wonderfully unifying blessing. Confirmation about our dream, and excitement about getting started, escalate each time we talk. Also, we are being helped by the Lord to think about the foundational aspects of Christ's church. We thank the Lord for the unifying vision He has provided, namely, Himself!

Theodicy

Theodicy is the theological term for the problem of evil. If God is all wise, all good, and all loving, how could it have NOT been sin for God to have created beings with the potential for sin? Every conservative evangelical will agree that God is sinless! The question of the origin of evil, and more, the meaning of evil, is far less agreed upon. This is an age-old question that has been debated in classrooms, pews, and coffee shops. There exists a range of responses to this question from "It is because of man's free will," to "I think it was an accident that God didn't forsee," to "It is not sin that God will that sin be."

I've never heard a more biblically sound response than that given by my pastor, John Piper, at a recent conference. Personally, I have stood for the latter of the three responses listed above for quite some time. In light of Pastor John's sermon, I am even more thoroughly convinced than ever! This sermon was given as the final message at the "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God" 2005 National Conference. You can visit the link below and scroll down to the sermon titled, "The Sovereignty of God and the Sufferings of Christ" to listen for free.

http://www.biblicalpreaching.info/sermons.php?preacher_search=2&customquery=search#

We will praise our "Throat-Slit" Lamb forever! - Revelation 5:12

Prayer Partners

We are asking the Lord to raise up at least 500 prayer partners for Grace Churce BEFORE we begin our efforts in Memphis. If the Lord is inclining your heart to "join us on your knees," then notify us and we will add you to our intercessor update list.

Every blessing

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."