Do You Hear What I Hear?

Do You Hear What I Hear?  A minor theme every Christmas in our modern era is how soon the Christmas carols will begin playing on the radio. Whether it is November 1st or 24th or December 1st or 24th makes no difference, as soon as I hear Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, the Christmas season has begun. Next year, it might begin on October 1st or July 24th.

One backfire effect, however, with starting Christmas music early is that the sooner it starts the sooner it is over. Human ears seem able to handle a maximum of four weeks of Christmas. Suffice it to say, I’ve been done (audibly) with Christmas since about November 30th, which probably makes me a Scrooge, a Grinch, or a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins! 

Yet, there are still a few surprises out there in Christmas Carol territory, like the country classic by Skip Ewing, Christmas Carol, which I had never heard before yesterday. Or the rather bland carol, So This Is Christmas, which I had often heard but never associated with the post-Beatles John Lennon and Yoko Ono. “So this is Christmas. And what have you done? Another year over. And a new one just begun.” If nurses develop something called Alarm Deafness from hearing bed alarms too often during their shifts so that their brains cease registering alarms of any kind, then maybe Christmasers can develop Carol Deafness.

But this year, all joking aside, Christmas also coincides with the culmination of our 30-week preaching series on the parables of our Lord. Sprinkled into the parables about ten times is a phrase that speaks not of Carol Deafness but of Truth Deafness. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15). This deafness to truth resides not in the ear, or even the brain, but in the spiritual heart. “For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them” (Matt. 13:15). Graciously, when someone hears the truth, there is no unhearing it. Tragically, when someone cannot (or will not) hear the truth, there is no human method to awaken that person’s spiritual heart to hear it. Opening the ear, physically and spiritually, is a characteristic that only Messiah possesses. “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt. 11:5). For those who disbelieve, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day” (Rom. 11:8).

So then, this Christmastime, do you hear what I hear? Even tucked away in trite Christmas carols that celebrate the glitter but cannot discern the gospel, do you hear what I hear? Bands that might have become famous for their irreverence sometimes sing on their Christmas singles, “Hark the herald angels sing, ‘Glory to the Newborn King.’” Jazz playing in the elevator might plunk down the melody, “This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing.” Little drummer boys lay down the beat that bring some to worship.

Opportunities (cont'd): Reinvigorate Our Prayer

Opportunities (cont’d): Reinvigorate Our Prayer.  Our current financial struggle is not an obstacle but an opportunity (11/20) to review our vision (11/27), renew our strength (12/4), and reinvigorate our prayer (12/11). 

As it is with individuals, families, corporations, and countries, being a church involves far more parts that we cannot control or could ever change than pieces which we can control and change. Even still, the few pieces over which we have limited control for minimal change are only possible because God entrusts those pieces to us and enables us to meet them faithfully. By praying, we learn first and often that God is God, and we are not. For instance, we cannot reverse global recession, predict job transferals, or divert hurricanes. We could never change where people live in Wayne County, how far they might be willing to drive to go to church, or what they prioritize for joining a church. All the while, the truck bed rusts out, the tooth needs a cavity filled, the grandbaby needs a larger car seat. We have no access to the machine room that operates life’s levers, but we know the Lord who does. So, let’s pray!

Prayer is not our last resort to try when all else fails but our first impulse of faith. By praying, we lean into our faith-relationship with God. God initiates: he speaks to us through his Word; we respond to him through our prayers. This is not circular reasoning but centripetal force; praying draws us into the center, the axis around which all our prayers spin, namely, God himself. We depend upon God to fuel even our dependence upon God! We pray not to get God’s attention; we pray because we have God’s attention through the merits of Christ. With prayer, we are transformed by God to want the same things that God wants. That is why, when we pray in Jesus’ name for the very things that God already wants to provide that we are guaranteed to receive what we ask. The abiding relationship is primary, the result of that abiding relationship is ancillary. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:7-8). Prayer changes us!

So then, how shall we pray? First, we pray by faith, believing God is exactly as he described himself to be in the Scriptures. Second, we pray in joy, understanding that God happily gives us his undivided attention when we pray. Third, we pray unto obedience. No matter the outcome, we were commanded to pray as the Bible explains prayer to be, distancing it from its various misuses. Fourth, we pray with unity. Most of the praying in Scripture is collective, such as, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). 

Those form four edges to our prayer playground, so to speak. Within that defined space we can freely move.

Opportunities (cont'd): Renew Our Strength

Opportunities (cont’d): Renew Our Strength.  “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” (1 Cor. 1:26). This is not a suggestion but a command to evaluate your calling deeply. Compare Christ’s calling of his people against the world’s selection of its VIPs.

The world selects its influencers just like Israel selected its first king. Saul was a son of wealth, handsome, young, and tall (1 Sam. 9:1-2), but he was never virtuous. The people’s selection of Saul and God’s calling of David diverge widely. While David was young and handsome (1 Sam. 16:12) like Saul was, he was neither wealthy nor tall, oddly called “ruddy,” reddish (1 Sam. 16:12; 17:42). Though imperfect, David was strong at heart. He was virtuous.

Perhaps no better showcase exists of the Lord’s calling of David versus the people’s selection of Saul than in the Valley of Elah. Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, shouted his challenge for a warrior to fight him. “Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me” (1 Sam. 17:8). The people had selected Saul precisely for that reason, “that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Sam. 8:20). Though Saul was head and shoulders taller than everyone else in Israel, he hid in his tent because Goliath was more than head and shoulders taller than him! When David arrived on the scene and showed courage to fight Goliath, Saul did a curious thing: “Saul clothed David with his armor” (1 Sam. 17:38). Maybe Saul wanted onlookers to think that he went out to fight Israel’s battles, but for sure Saul calculated that his expensive armor was David’s best defense and last hope against Goliath. But David “put them off” (vs. 38) because he had other armor about which Saul could not conceive. He was clothed in faith. Picking up five stones (vs. 40), the rest became history.

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor. 1:27-29). What is our strength, Grace Community Church? What is our strategy for growth? What is our confidence? Do we trust in a killer sound system? Will we put on a personality, like Saul’s armor, that is not our own and does not fit? Should we dream up gimmicks and gadgets to motivate others to join through shame, guilt, or fear? No, no, and no! We already have in Christ all that really matters. Our weakness is our strength because it eliminates the option of leaning on lesser saviors in time of trouble. Our vulnerability is an asset because by it we know that we have no other hope than Christ. Our nothingness is a gift of God’s grace because it best prepares to give all the glory of God when he causes us to be faithful as representatives of Jesus in this corner of Wayne County. Our strengths, therefore, are considerable, though admittedly under-the-radar. Here we know each other deeply, serve together significantly, grow in grace in highly adaptable ways, and go out unified into the local, regional, and global fields as the Lord opens doors for ministry.

Oppotunities (cont'd): Review Our Vision

Opportunities (cont’d): Review Our Vision.  An unexpected freedom rushes in when most other options run out. Like when we sold everything to go on the mission field, a surprising relief breezed through from the release of managing stuff. We were free to focus solely upon purpose and strategy. Or when a newlywed couple starts out with few possessions and zero disposable cash, a calm simplification settles upon their decision making. Should we go out to eat? Nope! Should we go on vacation? Nope! Should we repay our school loans? Yup! 

So, our savings account at church has drained, but think of this as a gift to review what matters most at church and in ministry. We have been called to give testimony to the grace of God. That costs everything, true, but it incurs no monthly payments. We have been commissioned to make disciples. That requires us to take up our cross and follow, but it does not necessitate a hefty savings account. We have been tasked with equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. That involves focus, but it does not demand a cash down payment.

Ministering without extra money puts us in good company! Jesus had no extra money while ministering on earth, yet he divided history in half. The apostles carried zero surplus during their itinerate missions, yet they were more influential than all the Caesars combined. Most of the early church was comprised of those in the lowest socio-economic station, yet they rescued the unwanted, befriended the outcasts, and preached the gospel to their executioners even with their last breaths. “The blood of Jesus, it is like the widow’s oil. / When it’s all you have, it’s all you’ll ever need” (Andrew Peterson, “All You’ll Ever Need” [2008]).

Grace Community Church started (April 2016) with the simplest vision: to be an uncomplicated church in Wayne County that is Bible-saturated, missions-oriented, military-friendly, and relationship-heavy. We have been that, by God’s grace. Continuing to be that, by God’s provision, is certainly possible with a shoe-string budget. In some sense, having a shoe-string budget best suits a simple church philosophy. There is no fat to trim from our budget; we are lean and lithe. We harbor no ill will for those in our vicinity who prefer a heavier church, so to speak, with sleek programs, complicated hierarchies, and a hologram-projected preacher (not a joke; look it up!). But for those in our area who value a no-nonsense approach to spiritual maturity with multiple onramps for “every member ministry” in Goldsboro, then Grace Community Church might be the best-kept secret in Wayne County. We believe that we occupy a niche because few (no?) other churches in Goldsboro rally to this vision for ministry.

The rub, however, is that a secret can’t grow. Grace Community Church needs less camouflage and more day-glow orange. We need sustainable growth to offer spiritual growth opportunities to more and more residents in Wayne County. Financial sustainability translates into ministry stability, or as one friend said, “We need more folks who give some AND some folks who give more.” Will you become a member, invite a friend, and support this vision?

Obstacles as Opportunities: Preamble

Obstacles as Opportunities: Preamble.  The harvest is in. The barns are full. Turkey and deer find plenty of leavings in the corn fields to pack on winter weight before the cold sets in. Before rushing too quickly into singing carols like, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” congregations sing hymns like, “Come ye thankful people come / raise the song of harvest home. / All is safely gathered in / ere the winter storms begin.” Wood stoves and fallen leaves scent the air with nostalgia, that is, except for the air around the church building. The farmers around here are flinging slurry on their fields. If you need a definition of agricultural slurry, I trust you will find the answer on your first attempt. But suffice it to say, Norman Rockwell didn’t paint any canvases about spreading manure “ere the winter storms begin.”

In a sense, manure is often viewed as an obstacle to breathing deeply this otherwise perfect November air. It stinks literally and metaphorically, as if it were somehow unfair of the farmers to ruin Autumn for the rest of us. To the farmers, however, I presume that manure smells more like an opportunity for next spring’s crop than an obstacle to enjoying this year’s delights. Manure improves the soil. In due time, everyone benefits from improved soil, farmer or friend, though it stinks for a while. 

End-of-year at Grace Community Church brings a healthy rhythm, reviewing the past year and previewing the next year. Like most churches, we check the numbers, draft a budget, assess our strengths and weaknesses, consider course corrections, recommend additions and subtractions in programing, set the theme for emphasis in teaching and preaching, and establish some metrics by which we will measure if we are successful in the new year.

As we look back at 2024 and stare ahead into 2025, the Elders see struggle, mostly financial, ahead of us. Despite keeping to a very frugal budget in 2024, we have zeroed our church savings account, bleeding $500 per week all year long. Unless the Lord intervenes in the first part of 2025 with a windfall, we will have to make some difficult decisions regarding missions giving, rent, and payroll. But our Lord is the Intervener! Therefore, our first challenge in addressing this struggle is our mindset. Will we frame our financial limitations as an obstacle or an opportunity? Viewed as an obstacle, any course correction will feel punitive, even stinky, which is unfortunate and unnecessary. Viewed as an opportunity, which it is, all course corrections carry the optimism of an optimized harvest by this time next year.

Without struggle, we tend to coast. Any coasting I’ve ever known has been downhill. But with struggle, we have opportunities to climb: to respond by faith, to review our vision and mission, to renew our strength “mounting up with wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:31), and to reinvigorate our prayers as we “grow the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).

An Overview of the Lord's Supper (Part Two)

 An Overview of the Lord’s Supper (Part Two).  Compared to the central position that the Lord’s Supper holds in regular Christian worship, surprisingly few verses outside the four gospel accounts mention its observance. Though often pressed into a Communion application, John 6 does not mention the Communion ceremony.

Jesus explained to the Jewish crowds who had just eaten the miraculous meal of the loaves and fish, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26). Instead of portraying Communion, Jesus pointed to himself. “I am the Bread of Life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger” (John 6:35). “Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40). The crowd understood what Jesus was saying about himself, he came from heaven (John 6:42), but misunderstood his imagery: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52). They confused the subject with its metaphor.

The subject of John 6 is the person of Christ, not the work of Christ, per se. The metaphor of believing was eating. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:53-54). Yet, the repeated phrase, “raise him up on the last day” (vv. 40, 54), clarifies the confusion. Belief in the Son is the point, not the eating of Communion. Ritual doesn’t impart eternal life, only belief in Jesus does.

One of the two passages outside the four gospel accounts that rightly mentions the Lord’s Supper is Acts 2:42-27. In it, the church found a summary of its four main activities: “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (vs. 42). Because it appears in a list and uses the definite article, The Breaking of Bread operates like a proper name grammatically.

Verse 42, therefore, is unlike verse 46: “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” Thus, the second mention of “breaking of bread” in this paragraph was not the Communion (vs. 42), but a general description that modified the main verb, received. In other words, The Breaking of Bread happened when they were gathered for worship service, whereas house-to-house meal sharing throughout the week characterized the early church.

The second passage is 1 Corinthians 10:14-22. The Communion illustrates Paul’s overall logic as to why the church should withstand the temptation to observe both paganism and Christianity simultaneously (i.e., syncretism). “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14). “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16). The Communion is both communal and exclusive. “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17). “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons” (1 Cor. 10:21). Partaking any ceremonial table is an act of worship. Though idolatry is impotent (vs. 19), Christ will not share his glory with demons. He is rightly jealous for his people (vs. 22).

An Overview of the Lord's Supper (Part One)

An Overview of the Lord’s Supper (Part One).  Our Lord Jesus established two, enduring ordinances for the church to observe in perpetuity: water baptism and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion (also called by some, the Eucharist). 

Water baptism happens once, usually marking the beginning of one’s Christian journey as a testimony of faith in Jesus as Savior. Communion, however, happens often with an unspecified frequency but a certain purpose: “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 1:26). The central imagery for the Lord’s Supper is the shared meal. Christ’s table is set. God’s children are all invited to gather around. Communion is a family meal. 

Significant and sober but not necessarily somber, the meal looks back—“Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19)—and looks ahead—”For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18). This meal is the rallying point for the church, its rehearsed center, and default setting.

In the Synoptics, the history-shifting ceremony was placed in its historical context (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). Jesus commandeered the Jewish Passover Feast, which was quite a feat, since it unilaterally belonged to the Lord. “You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord” (Exo. 12:14). Jesus personally fulfilled Passover and reforged it as the ceremony of his New Covenant. “For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7).

Instituted on the last night before his crucifixion, the Lord’s Supper was later infused with explanation. In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul delivered a stinging rebuke for the misuse and misunderstanding of the Communion meal. “But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse” (1 Cor. 11:17). But their errors gave occasion for a clarification of the Communion, which has ironically edified the church in every generation since the Corinthians botched the Communion.

They were using the Lord’s Supper at Corinth as a wedge to divide the church. The Lord’s Supper should unite the church, not further entrench factions within the church. To this grievous error Paul gives his sarcastic retort: “When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat” (1 Cor. 11:20). Call it something other than Communion, Corinthians, because there is neither communion with God nor community with one another. 

They were cliquish, which probably indirectly referred to a separation between Jews and Gentiles during the meal or to political parties in the church: “I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ’” (1 Cor. 1:12). But they were also selfish, cutting in line, overindulging, disallowing some to participate. “For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk” (1 Cor. 11:21).

Paul added a final application for the Corinthians with a very sharp edge. “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27). Communion is about communion! If you mess with it, you mess with God at your own peril (see, 1 Cor. 11:30).