Members of the Body

August 2010 Newsletter

I’d like to take a few minutes to remind each of you how extremely important you are to this church. As you contemplate your membership in Christ’s church (which I would like you to do with me for a moment), please do so from God’s point of view. When God adds members to his church, he does so one person at a time. Each piece of the body is an individual, different, very particular piece.

In other words, there is simply no replacing you in this church. If you’re gone or simply not an active, functioning part of our community, the rest of us miss out. We don’t get the unique “you” God created and gave to his church. As Christians, we belong together. Read what the apostle Paul tells us about the bond we share:

¹⁹ …. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. (Eph 2.19b, NLT)

In his book The Weight of Glory, CS Lewis writes on exactly what Paul meant by membership for the Christian. His words are worth reading here:

The very word membership is of Christian origin, but it has been taken over by the world and emptied of all meaning…almost the reverse of what St. Paul meant by members. By members he meant what we should call organs, things essentially different from, and complementary to, one another… A row of identically dressed soldiers set side by side, or a number of citizens listed as voters in a constituency are not members of anything in the Pauline sense. I am afraid that when we describe a man as “a member of the church” we usually mean nothing Pauline; we mean only that he is a unit — that he is one more specimen of some kind of things as X and Y and Z. How true membership in a body differs from inclusion in a collective may be seen in the structure of a family. The grandfather, the parents, the grown-up son, the child, the dog, and the cat are true members (in the organic sense), precisely because they are not members or units of a homogeneous class. They are not interchangeable. Each person is almost a species in himself… . If you subtract any one member, you have not simply reduced the family in number; you have inflicted an injury on its structure.

My prayer for you is that you take up residence here. Plant your roots deeply in the ground at DCC and love this place like your home—because it is! Whether you’ve been here 10 years or 10 days, look anew at this local brotherhood as your dear family. Get to know someone better. Repair a lost friendship. Serve the body in the unique way only you are able. Because in Paul’s words:

²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. ²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (1 Cor 12.25-27, NLT)

Your Brother in Christ,

-bill

You Were Made for This

July 2010 Newsletter

Purpose: a priceless piece of clarity absolutely necessary for reaching our potential and truly enjoying life. With clarity of purpose, we enjoy more liberating answers and fewer frustrating questions. Allow me to discuss a few foundational elements of our purpose here at DCC.

As you all know by now, we’ve made some exciting changes to our Sunday morning programming.  The purpose is simple: to open as many pathways as possible for people to approach Jesus Christ.  The summer will mostly be used to collect feedback and tweak the two services toward something perfect for God’s Kingdom. In the fall, we will launch a city-wide advertising effort to get the word out about what DCC has to offer.

I invite you to explore the services and simply choose one that gives you the most freedom to approach the Throne in your own personal way.  After that, settle in to serving your God and your church through DCC’s mission: “Preparing people to love God and each other.”  It’s what you were made to do.

In addition, we’re going to start a sermon series to provide biblical clarity to the reason we’re all here.  I will primarily be teaching through two of the most important portions of scripture: the Greatest Commandment (Matt 22.37-40) and the Great Commission (Matt 28.18-20).  Read through these passages carefully and prepare for a great real-life study on how these direct our lives—giving us potential and purpose.  They are truly what you were made for.

I highly recommend committing to a 40-day reading of Rick Warren’s Purpose-driven Life—even if you’ve read it in the past.  He does wonderful things with these passages.  The already-classic book will provide a great complement to the sermon series and truly enhance your summer “church experience.”

As always, I am excited about the horizon of DCC. We are laying great foundations this summer: both in preaching and in programming. I pray that you join in the effort to push our church to the forefront of God’s growing kingdom.

The Right Kind of Compromise

June 2010 Newsletter

What can Moses’ law on animal blood teach us today?

     The early church’s handling of the Old Testament prohibition against eating blood provides today’s church with a wonderful example of Christ-like compromise, Spiritual maturity, and Christian liberty. In Acts 15, the leaders prayerfully—and successfully(!)—handled a hot issue that had the potential to split the church.

     It is beautiful to see that this letter expressed the loving unity of people who had once been debating with each other and defending opposing views. The legalistic Jews willingly gave up insisting that the Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved, and the Gentiles willingly accepted a change in their eating habits. It was a loving compromise that did not in any way affect the truth of the Gospel. As every married person and parent knows, there are times in a home when compromise is wrong, but there are also times when compromise is right.

What did this decision accomplish in a practical way?

1. First, it strengthened the unity of the church and kept it from splitting into two extreme “Law” and “grace” groups. President Eisenhower called the right kind of compromise “all of the usable surface...”

2. Second, this decision made it possible for the church to present a united witness to the lost Jews (Acts 15:21). For the most part, the church was still identified with the Jewish synagogue; and it is likely that in some cities, entire synagogue congregations believed in Jesus—Jews, Gentile proselytes, and Gentile “God-fearers” together. If the Gentile believers used their freedom in Christ to eat meat containing blood, this would offend both the saved Jews and their unsaved friends whom they were trying to win to Christ. It was simply a matter of not being a stumbling block to the weak or to the lost (Rom. 14:13–21).

     We today can learn a great deal from this difficult experience of the early church. To begin with, problems and differences are opportunities for growth just as much as temptations for dissension and division. Churches need to work together and take time to listen, love, and learn. How many hurtful fights and splits could have been avoided if only some of God’s people had given the Spirit time to speak and to work?

     Christians need to learn the art of loving compromise. They need to have their priorities in order so they know when to fight for what is really important in the church. What a wonderful opportunity to exercise our freedom in Christ and demonstrate our Christian maturity!

     As we deal with our differences, we must ask, “How will our decisions affect the united witness of the church to the lost?” Jesus prayed that His people might be united so that the world would believe in Him (John 17:20–21). Unity is not uniformity, for unity is based on love and not law. There is a great need in the church for diversity in unity (Eph. 4:1–17); that is the only way the body can mature and do its work in the world.

For the Kingdom,
-bill

Note: Portions of this are adapted from W. Wiersbe’s commentary works.

What is the Church?

May 2010 Newsletter

May this old children’s hymn touch our hearts, and may we always remember the faith we held as children.

I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus, All around the world! Yes, we're the church together.

The church is not a building, The church is not a steeple;
The church is not a resting place, The church is a people!
And when the people gather, There's singing and there's praying;
There's laughing and there's crying; sometime All of it saying:

I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!

All who follow Jesus, All around the world! Yes, we're the church together.

We're many kinds of people, With many kinds of faces,
All colors and all ages, too, From all times and places.
I count if I am ninety, Or nine, or just a baby;
There's one thing I am sure about, And I don't mean maybe:

I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus, All around the world! Yes, we're the church together.

One of Many Faces for Jesus,

-bill

Jesus and Health care

April 2010 Newsletter

Below is an adaption from a couple of emails on a small discussion regarding universal health care. I’d like to post this and see what kind of discussion it’ll generate.

Two Ground Rules:

1. Write nicely; don’t be mean.

2. I’m a pastor and therefore solely concerned (at least here, in this discussion) with debating this issue on moral grounds. Stay away from other related issues (i.e.: funding, “flaws” in the system, abuse, etc.)

Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege? -and-

IF Health Care is a right, is government-managed universal health care the moral mandate?

I recently read an extremely one-sided article discussing the (perceived) church’s stance on universal health care. I’ll concede the factual side of the article in a moment and spare you all the hateful ramblings. But, I would like us to consider the ramblings because I believe they highlight an area of biblical omission for some believers. The omission: Christians who oppose universal health care solely because of what it costs are in error and simply adopt the slices of Jesus they find most convenient. I write on this topic primarily out of concern for those who adopt every stance of any political party without first considering the biblical perspective.

I agree with the Left when they charge the Right of occasionally misappropriating Jesus; however, I find it dually hypocritical when they refuse to acknowledge the areas in which they do the same thing.

Republican Christians can no more ignore the poor-loving and compassionate Jesus than can democratic Christians ignore the Bible's clear stance on other social issues (sanctity of life, homosexuality, etc.). We stray from God's intent for our lives when we check our faith at the political door as if it were designed to be one of many factors influencing our decision-making as opposed to the all-encompassing filter through which we see reality. How much it costs or what it will do to my tax rebate is of much lesser (if any at all) consequence. If it is the Right thing to do, do it. For Christians, Right is defined by God--not society or the price tag.

My problem with the mixing of faith and politics is this incessant urge by both sides to drag Jesus into the argument as if He would be marching in a picket line if He were on earth today. Sure, He has a stance: it's plain, clear, and undeniable if we simply get our nose in the Bible. But, the blanket devotion to the party line by people claiming to be followers of Christ is morally irresponsible.

The Bible would much rather someone deny a Christian affiliation than claim that Jesus would deny any welfare or health care to the needy OR that the Bible tolerates a homosexual lifestyle, abortion, etc.

I’ll give Christ the last word:

Matthew 25:34–40 (NLT)

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ ³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Let us Out!

March 2010 Newsletter

The Mesaeh house is ready for Spring!

Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds.

And he will send showers of rains so every field becomes a lush pasture.

--Zechariah 10:1 (NLT)

Like many of you, we have spent enough time “underground” and are now ready to come out and play. While we’ve enjoyed the winter, it’s time to admit cabin fever has set in. We spent the winter cuddling on the couch to watch Star Wars more times that we can count (that was probably more for William and I than Hannah and Elijah), playing board games (we learned William cheats at Hungry Hippos), and using our home for a full-scale Nerf battlefield. But, now the movies, hippos, and dart guns will have to yield to BBQs, spring cleaning, and backyard games with our church family.

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new...”

--Revelation 21:5 (NLT)

When most of us think of Spring, we have thoughts of newness: new flowers, new plants, new birds, new opportunities, etc. While we embrace and enjoy new things, the prayer of the Mesaeh house for Spring and beyond is that we stay the course.

We want to continue the work of raising our boys to be modern-day Knights: men who are chivalrous and loving, honest and uncompromising. With the help of our parents and our church family, we know God will bring this about. William seems convinced he has promising career opportunities as a crime-fighter in a black cape; perhaps we’re on the right track.

We also want to continue contributing to the work of our church. We love you, and we cherish the opportunities you give us to serve Christ. I am eager to see the new opportunities that will arise as the snow melts and the flowers start to bloom.

For the Kingdom,

-bill