No building? No problem.

Christianity,Outreach,Renaissance Church — admin on August 25, 2009 at 7:04 pm

“What has gone wrong is… that over time Christianity became something to be practiced inside a building, instead of being a pulsating, life-transforming encounter with the living God that spills over and impacts the world.”
- Chinese minister Brother Yun (in his book Living Water)

That pretty much nails it.  That’s why we are starting Renaissance Church.

I get asked all the time, “Where is your church?”
Usually I say, “Well, if you mean a building, we don’t have one yet.”

The truth is, you don’t need a building to have a church.  There’s nothing wrong with buildings.  We hope to have one someday.  But Christianity is not about going to a building to observe a service.

Christianity, in Brother Yun’s words, should be a pulsating, life-transforming encounter with the living God.

And when it becomes that, you can’t contain it in a building of any size.  Rather, it spills over and impacts the world.

That’s when the church becomes the Church – the Body of Christ, the earthly representative of our Lord Jesus.

Do you want to make a difference in the world?  Start with your own relationship with God.  Be totally filled up with Him, and then take the overflow to your community.


Mega Sports Camp is coming soon

Children,Christianity,Outreach,Renaissance Church — admin on August 4, 2009 at 7:06 pm

Renaissance Church has been sending out teams into neighborhoods, hanging fliers door-by-door.  We’re inviting children to our Mega Sports Camp outreach next week.  It’s a sports-themed VBS which we are offering free of charge.

{Email us if you want volunteer to help out.  If you want to register your child, there are fliers and sign-up forms here.}

We think the best way to build a church is by reaching out to people, helping them as much as we can, building relationships, and helping them take steps towards God.  We want to let entire neighborhoods know that Renaissance Church cares – and that we want to help in every way we can.  We do it for Jesus, we do it in the name of Jesus, and we do it in the power of Jesus.  Our prayer is that He will transform entire neighborhoods.

Jesus said, whoever welcomes a little child in His name, welcomes Him.

That thought makes the whole thing more than worthwhile.

Vigor Potty?

Christianity,Multi-ethnic,Outreach,Pastor Kurt — admin on June 24, 2009 at 6:40 pm

We got a good chuckle out of this yogurt we found for sale in Brazil.

It’s a good reminder that when you are working cross-culturally, things aren’t always as they seem. What makes perfect sense to a person from one culture, seems totally inappropriate to someone from another.
Renaissance Church is going to be truly multi-cultural. So I’ m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunities to work through issues like this.
And after we’ve come to a mutual understanding… then we can laugh!
Paul is the Bible’s greatest example of ministering cross-culturally. He teaches us to never change the message of the gospel, but to be willing to do just about anything else to help people know Jesus. The fewer cultural barriers someone has to jump over to meet the Jesus we are preaching, the easier it is for them to come to Christ.
What can you do to bridge the cultural divide between yourself and a friend or coworker?
Pray about that. When you get an answer, go do it.
One things I’m doing is learning Spanish. I learned French as a youth – and that has served me well. It has allowed me to minister effectively in France and Quebec (and hopefully someday in French-speaking Africa). But in Charlotte, the language I most need besides English is Spanish. There are many unchurched Spanish speakers near our future church location. Someone needs to reach them.
Sign me up for whatever it takes.

Happy Fathers Day

Children,Christianity,Pastor Kurt — admin on June 22, 2009 at 4:20 pm

I took Bryan and Steven fishing for the first time last weekend. It was my first time since childhood, as well.

Before I could even get the sunscreen on him, Bryan caught a fish! Steven caught 5 in about an hour. (With a little help from our friend, Pastor Tim.) I don’t think I’ve caught five fish in my entire life.
As a Dad, that is exactly what I want. I want my kids to surpass me in every area possible. I want my ceiling to be their floor.
Kids are capable of so much. We make a mistake when we leave them out of “spiritual” things. How else are they going to learn? They can learn to pray and worship. They can memorize Scripture. They can share the gospel effectively. They can be led by the Holy Spirit.
Why not?

Post-prayer pensées

Christianity,Prayer,Renaissance Church — admin on June 4, 2009 at 5:48 pm

We had a great all-night prayer meeting last weekend. Attendance was
good, but most importantly, God showed up. Man, long prayer meetings
are like torture if God isn’t there! But this one was just the
opposite. People were worshipping and praying passionately. Those of
us who stayed to the very end (4am) finished strong, thanking God for
allowing us to partner with Him to change the world.

Eat the Beetle

Christianity — admin on May 27, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Years ago a pastor friend was recounting a story of a missions trip he took to China. He found himself hiking over mountains to reach out-of-the way villages and dodging local authorities. But the most harrowing incident occurred over lunch one day when some Chinese hosts served him a regional gourmet delicacy: a beetle.
Now, my friend is not an adventurous eater. He’s a native of Pittsburgh, and in Pittsburgh, there are only four food groups: pizza, sausage, ketchup (Heinz is there), and beer. He typically abstained from the latter, leaving him a pretty limited diet. Let’s just say large insects weren’t a part of it.
“So what did you do?” I asked him.
“I ate the beetle,” he said.
Every so often we come across those situations where we know what the right thing to do is. But there’s nothing in us that actually wants to do it. (If there is, we can’t find it. Come to think of it, moments like that seem to come up more often on cross-cultural trips. I’ve eaten my share of unappetizing cuisine in other countries – heart, tongue, kidney. And that’s just in Europe! They eat a lot of strange stuff in France.)
But eat-the-beetle moments happen all the time. For me these days, the biggest one is making one of those really difficult phone calls.
What is it for you?
Forgiving so-and-so?
Following through on that special offering God asked you to give?
So what should we do when we find one of those creepy crawly things on the plate in front of us?
Eat the beetle.

Blessed are the poor…

Christianity,Outreach — admin on May 25, 2009 at 7:08 pm

Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
–Jesus  (Luke 6:20)

What do you make of this statement?  Is Jesus talking about people who don’t have much money?  The parallel passage in Matthew’s Gospel says “blessed are the poor in spirit…”.   That makes more sense.  But why did Luke just write “poor”?  I can only assume that Jesus preached it that way at least once.

In many cases, it does seem that people without much money tend to have more of the positive quality called “poverty of spirit”.  I’m generalizing here, but let’s face it - people without much money have fewer options and tend to be more aware of their need for God, more willing to to be inconvenienced…

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? James 2:5

Yes, I think that’s it.  It’s easier for the poor to have faith.
I think of the multitudes in Mozambique who are coming to radical faith under the ministry of Rolland and Heidi Baker.  Or the tens of millions of on-fire believers in the underground Chinese churches.
They had almost nothing material to begin with – and then often lose everything through the persecution that comes from following Christ.  But they gain everything – faith in our Savior that yields lives of complete devotion, a faith that witnesses miracles on a regular basis, a faith that allows them to live joyfully in the midst of difficult circumstances.
I recently heard church planting expert Ed Stetzer comment something like this: “I find it very interesting that so many of the people who are planting churches today, feel “called” to plant their church in nice upper-middle class suburban areas.” (my paraphrase from memory)
I’ve been wrestling with this issue lately, reflecting on my ministry in various settings in the U.S.  and all over the world.
Here’s what I’ve decided.  Forget about rich vs. poor.
Give me the hungry for God.
Give me the poor in spirit.
They’re the ones that respond to God.  They’re the ones that will lay down everything to follow Jesus.
It just so happens that you tend to find more people like that among the “poor”.
Jesus was right.  They are blessed.
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

Everyone deserves a chance to hear

Christianity,Multi-ethnic,Outreach — admin on May 22, 2009 at 6:14 pm

I’ve been thinking about the people in our society that haven’t had the opportunity to hear the amazing Good News of Jesus Christ.

Last Thanksgiving, we were presented with an amazing opportunity.  Seven visitors from a very closed country were visiting Charlotte on official business, and expressed a desire to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving.   When Marla and I heard that, our first thought was how difficult and stressful the holiday would become if we hosted them.  But then we thought about how, in their home country, they had zero chance of ever hearing the Gospel.  It simply is not allowed.  If they were ever going to hear, it would have to be now.  That thought was so compelling, we accepted.   Seven guests from a very different culture, plus their two chaperones.
We are very comfortable with people from other cultures, having travelled a lot.  But we were apprehensive.  We didn’t know these people and had no idea what to expect.
It turned out to be an awesome experience.  Our guests were charming, and very appreciative for the invitation.  Before we ate, I explained the Christian origins of our nation and the first Thanksgivings.  Our guests were very interested.  They even directed the discussion towards spiritual subjects during dinner.  Before dessert, I shared a clear Gospel message.
No one made a public declaration of faith.  Even if they had wanted to, it would not have been possible among their peers.  But for one evening, we had the opportunity to show sacrificial love, and share good food, gracious conversation, and the Best News in the Whole World.
They heard.  They experienced Jesus’ unconditional love from one family who loves Him.  We’ll keep praying for our new friends, and the Holy Spirit will take it from here.
Such people are all around us, even in America.  You don’t have to go overseas.
We need to care about them enough to strike up a conversation with them.  To listen.  To become their friend.  To share life with them.  To earn the right to be heard.
Because everyone deserves a chance to hear.

Inheritance from our forefathers

Christianity,Pastor Kurt — admin on May 20, 2009 at 7:32 pm

I love reading the books of great Christian men and women from many years ago.   There’s good stuff being written today, of course, too.  But I benefit from the wisdom and experience of the giants of the faith from 50, 100, even 200 years ago.   CS Lewis, Charles Finney, Andrew Murray, John G. Lake, Charles Spurgeon, Smith Wigglesworth, A.W. Tozer, just to name a few.  I’d encourage you read a broad spectrum of Christian perspectives – such as the list above.  You might be surprised how God can speak to you from someone outside your usual circle of focus.

Lately, I’ve been listening to some old cassette tapes (gasp!) by Lester Sumrall.  Wow, that man was anointed.  Such a sweet, gentlemanly spirit, but such powerful faith.  He’s got a lifetime of amazing stories.  You can enjoy some of them in this book.
What have you been reading lately?  I’d love to hear what’s been inspiring you.

What is God really like?

Christianity — admin on May 19, 2009 at 6:03 pm
What is God really like?
How do you know?
From my experience, it seems like we’re not always aware of how we form our image of God.
Have you ever noticed that a lot of people tend to see God as being very similar in character to their earthly parents, especially their father?  For instance, if their natural father was a stern taskmaster, they tend to see God the same way.  Often they are unaware of this.  Been there, done that.
Here’s a scary one:  The Bible warns us that we might have a tendency to think God is like…. the person the mirror.
These things you have done and I kept silent;
you thought I was altogether like you.
Psalm 50:21a
You do something stupid….  lightening doesn’t come down from the sky to consume you.   ”Oh!  God must be OK with this!”
There’s something in our unredeemed human nature that is just so… full of itself.  Have you ever caught yourself thinking along these lines:
“I am a very moral and reasonable and intelligent and kind person.  God must be on board with me on this one.”   I’ll cop to that one once or twice.  Fortunately, I have the Word of God (and my wife) to bring me back to reality.
A while back a friend and I were talking about God and spiritual matters.  She asked, “What do you think about (a particular sin)?”
I said, “Well, I believe the Bible is God’s Word to us.  And God says this is a sin.  He loves the person and wants them to repent and receive freedom and forgiveness in Christ.”
She said, “Well, I believe what I know of the Bible, but I don’t agree with that.  That just doesn’t seem right.”
Careful.  Left to my own devices, my unredeemed human nature will try to create a god that looks, thinks, and acts just like me.
Trust me, no one wants that!
One of the nasty side-effects of fashioning a god in our own image is that our god ends up being the same size we are.  The great and majestic God who measures the universe with the span of His hand… is reduced to a powerless imitation, a charlatan who makes big promises and big speeches.  We don’t really expect this “god” to intervene in our lives.  Our “altogether like us”  god has the same limits we do.  Faith for the miraculous is irrational.  Prayer is simply a religious exercise.  We don’t really expect it to change anything.
What a contrast to the eternal living God!  He reveals His true nature in His Word, and in a million different ways every day.
Let’s all thank God that He is God, and I’m not!
He is wonderful, perfect, beautiful, faithful, all-powerful, compassionate and gracious.
He is love.
His name is holy.
May He be forever praised.
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