Made and the Gospel from BCM (part 2)

"MADE" (http://made.mtv.com) chronicles the challenges and accomplishments that young people face as they attempt a life-changing transformation. To assist on their journey in accomplishing their "makeover", MTV provides a coach who doubles as a mentor.
The basic story line of Made is to take a person who is NOT something and help them become something - like a girly-girl 'princess' who becomes a motocrosser, or a geeky girl becoming a skateboard chick. With each episode the person being Made is pushed to the limit with hard work. Sometimes they are all ready to give up - but in the end, their hard work pays off and they are TRANSFORMED.
So, here was my take.
Like the Made characters, we are all deficient. We have inherited Adam's sin, we battle the sin nature, and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are in need of a makeover.
UNlike made, we are NOT transformed by our hard work! While religion may tell us that we must do more and work harder - Isaiah said that all of that good, hard work amounts to a pile of rags! It is the Gospel that 'fixes' us.
(Unpack our coming to Christ by His work in us and in His work For us here)
And while religion may then tell us, OK you have come to Christ by faith, now you must work hard to stay there, or to pay Him back - the Gospel says NOPE. God is working in you to shape you into the image of Christ. Made says work hard - the Gospel says, Behold Jesus (II Cor 3:18).
So in the end we are Made by Jesus alone.

MTV's Made and the Gospel

Thursday night I will be speaking at Mercer U's BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries). This semester (or maybe year) speakers will take the MADE theme and talk about how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
So - Do we have any Made fans? Its OK to admit it if you are! I have seen a few episodes!
How does Made and the BCM theme reflect or not reflect the Gospel? Any thoughts?
I'll share mine Thursday night and then I'll post some thoughts here. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Friday Night Mojo

Friday night was another good night at the 567! On the stage was Gertrudes Mojo. The crowd was off a little thanks to Tropical Storm Fay's wind and rain. But we were cool, comfy, and dry in the 567.
I was just talking with Tyler V who helped out with sound last night - he was telling me what a great time he had. He is also excited about and loves what is happening at the 567. One of the musicians and his wife are looking for a church home and plan on stopping in on NCCd next Sunday. Chereese Rowe met a Mercer freshman - her first visit to the 567. After a lengthy talk between her and Chereese, Chereese had a new friend, the 567 has a new fan, and NCCd will have new visitor. Tyler and I were both in agreement that the 567 provides a great place for easy conversations and amazed at how naturally those conversations turn from music to church - and hopefully at some point to Jesus.
Thanks to all our volunteers!

Gospel Parenting - Another Gospel Story

The following post is from an NCCder's blog. Brooks and his family came to New City from a baptist church in middle GA where he served as youth pastor.

We (Melissa and I) have changed, er...adapted, our way of parenting. Since being at NCCd and learning about the gospel and the difference between it and what we have been taught we decided to apply this knowledge to the way we parent Caleb. So basically it's like this...We want to raise our children to know that we love them... period. There is nothing they can do to earn our love or make us love them more or less. There may be times when we are more proud or more disappointed but our love is constant. Kinda like the gospel. We want Caleb to obey us because he loves us not in order to gain our love. Compare that to the gospel, we are obedient to Christ as an outpouring of our love for Him. Not because we are trying to do something in order for Him to love us. This works pretty good for us in most parts. When Caleb gets in trouble, we always assure him that we love him but his behavior is not acceptable. When we discipline him (because believe it or not, 19 month old boys are not perfect angels as some would believe) our love for him is the center of discipline. The hard part comes in praising him. Because we do not want him to desire to do good things, instead we want him to do good things because he loves us and knows we love him. We hope that progresses when he is older to doing good things as a result of his relationship with Christ.

You can visit Brooks' blog HERE.

You might also want to check out Greg Wood's thoughts on Gospel Parenting HERE.

Truly the Gospel transforms and it is incredible to see it - HIM at work in our midst! NCCd's mission - to see the Gospel transform everything within our reach - ourselves, our church, our city, and the world.

Poetic Peace @ the 567 - good/bad/ugly

Last night was the first of weekly Tuesday nights of 'Poetic Peace' at the 567. Poetic Peace met previously at the Jazz Plex, downtown. When in closed earlier this year, Poetic Peace found a temporary home in Warner Robins. Y.O. and I met a week or so ago to talk about bringing the open mic night back to downtown Macon - and we did. So - not having any idea what to expect - here's the good, the bad, and the ugly:
The Good - lots of good, original poetry. A packed house - standing room only. Almost every attendee was NOT white - a great opportunity to meet and interact with a lot of people that we otherwise likely would not. In our first night I heard a couple of conversations between people surprised by a church supporting the arts.
The Bad - against Y.O.'s instructions the headliner used some pretty horrible language. Y.O. and I talked about it afterword - in fact I even talked to the headliner about it as well. Y.O. apologized several times. We'll try it again next week with the understanding that the language MUST be cleaned up or the 567 is out.
The Ugly - the headliner's poetry was filled with religious discourse - most from an ugly Christian past that included a pastor's lifestyle of alcohol and womanizing, a 9 year old boy's rape by a deacon, and a complete lack of true Gospel Christianity. All of his church stories were reported as true.
So - we'll try it again next week and see what happens.

Gospel Centered Reading

Because He Loves Me
How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life
by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
Review by Leslie Wiggins

In her latest book, Because He Loves Me, Elyse Fitzpatrick asks an interesting question: In your pursuit of godliness, have you left Jesus behind? You may be wondering, how is that possible? Do you remember the biblical account of Mary and Joseph's return to Nazareth following their celebration of Passover in Jerusalem? After a day's journey, they realized that Jesus was not with them. They hurried back to the city and found him in the temple, speaking with the teachers. Fitzpatrick uses this story to illustrate what many Christians do in their relationships with Jesus. "By definition, we Christians joyously celebrate our Passover Lamb, our salvation with Jesus, but then, like his parents, we eagerly head on back to Nazareth, back to living out our beliefs without a conscious awareness or acknowledgment of his presence. Of course, we assume that he is somewhere nearby. We haven't felt his absence because we're so preoccupied with living life for him" She goes on to clarify, "What I am saying is that once we've been saved, once we've understood and accepted the message of the gospel, the person and work of the Redeemer becomes secondary to what we're focused on -- living the Christian life." Because He Loves Me is written for the Christian who thinks the gospel is just for "getting saved," who knows he is supposed to be different, but isn't seeing the transformation he expected, or who wonders about the difference Jesus is supposed to make in his daily life. Fitzpatrick teaches Christians how the gospel is central to everything.

OK - so here's my recommendation - BUY THE BOOK - then READ THE BOOK s - l - o - w - l - y, so that you can soak in all of the beautiful gospel. This is one of the best written, gospel-centered books I have ever read. This book will be highly transformational because it is so centered on the gospel.

Gospel Stories

I asked in our newsletter for NCCders to share their Gospel Story - How has the Gospel , through New City, impacted your life? No matter what our attendance numbers may be, the real test of our success is seen in the accomplishment of our mission - Gospel transformation. Here is our first Gospel Story from Lex Hamil. Lex is a PK (preacher's kid) who grew up in church. He served as a deacon in his previous church for 10 years and taught Sunday School. Here's Lex's story:

Church has been a big part of my life. My parents took me and I took my family. I found the body of Christ in the traditional church to be dysfunctional, having few characteristics of what the church should be. One Sunday a sermon about Jesus calling the disciples brought the realization that casting nets, rowing boats and cleaning fish was not where spiritual growth was going to happen. I hungered for the adventure of following Christ.

New City Church was mentioned by a friend, so I checked out the website. The band and contemporary music was why our family went to check it out. Wow, it sure was
different, meeting in a theater, coffee served, friendly people and casual dress. I was immediately comfortable. But the Bible teaching from Keith was not comforting. It was powerful Gospel preaching like I had never heard. This caused me to have to relearn the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I started to read theological books, went to a class, listened to the sermons again on line and checked out other sites in the Acts 29 network. This process was difficult, causing doubts about my understanding of salvation and my identity.

It took six months to start to see what was going on. The Gospel light had been shined on my heart and I had tried to hide by using my mind to make the Gospel fit my life. Peace came when it was revealed that my problem was me. I had to apply my life to the Gospel, change my attitude and outlook. Gods word says we should love, accept, forgive, be grateful and know He is our Creator and Father. He wants us to be a happy people, to work the garden and enjoy our day in the sun. He wants us to not be afraid and know that all we need is in the Gospel. He also tells us to wait on the lord. We don't have to keep asking Him what can I do so you will love me, if we just love and worship Him He will provide opportunity to share that Gospel light with someone else.
The Gospel teaching and loving community at New City will be a Journey in Gospel Land transforming lives and providing a taste of what Heaven is going to be.

Lex

Are You For Real?

It has been one of those weeks - CrAzY to say the least! GOOD - but cRaZy.

On the 567 front:

The 567 is becoming quite a busy place. Next
Tuesday we will host open mic poetry night for the first time - Y O and the crew will be meeting here weekly. This is a return of open night poetry to downtown Macon.

Wednesday I met with the Platinum studios folks, they want to do a Platinum Studios Night at the 567. They would bring in their recording artists, maybe do some recording and bring great diversity to our music scene.

Adam DeLong is working on the 567 Art. We have met and talked and September should hold our first actual show and I hope be the start of some really cool stuff.

On the NCCd front:
I am stretched a little thinner than thin - though it may not show ;)
I have been hoping and praying for some relief and BOOM! I think it is coming like that - BOOM! All at once - In less than a week I have talked with 3 guys who are talking about joining New City - 1 would step in and help out with worship and technoledgy stuff for Sundays - he has experience doing this in a church setting which included organizing/building and overseeing multiple bands. He could be joining us in a matter of weeks.
Another is someone we talked with last Spring and may be able to make a December transition to Macon. He is currently serving as a youth pastor and has actually been through A-29 Boot Camp.
The third would be coming from the west coast and has pastoral experience in multiple positions.
CrAzY! And yes, they all 3 know that we can't pay them! CRAZIER!
All three are builders - guys who are ready to jump in and help build - I am amazed!
So - join me in praying for these guys and their families and the decisions they are making.

Then This:

Chris Horne of the 11th Hour asked if I would join a group of folks for a picture. He was writing an article on Macon's future - and on Macon's future leaders - and he wanted me?!?! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that NCCd is less than 1 year into a church plant and we (yes WE) are already making an impact on our city! I remember someone asking the question, "If your church closed its doors, would it matter to the community?" For most of the churches I have been a part of the answer is probably NO.
But NCCd is not like most churches! And the reason I was called for the picture is because WE are already making a difference. And YES, I think that less than 1 year into our plant, there are some in our community, some who are not even church goers or Jesus followers, who would miss us and see a huge loss in our doors closing. It seems we are already offering some hope. So - while it is my face and my name mentioned (and mentioned only) - it is really US, New City Church, making a difference and leading Macon into the future -

I told you this week was crazy!

New City, the Transformers, and Jim Morrison

Last night we watched the movie Transformers (a couple brief scenes we FF thru for those who may be concerned). There is a scene in the movie (below) where Bumble bee transforms in front of Sam and Mikaela and battles one of the decepticons. Bumblebee changes back into a car and opens his door for Sam and Mikaela to get in...
Sam: We'll just get in the car.
Mik: And go where?
Sam: 50 years from now when you're looking back on your life, don't you want to see that you had the guts to get in the car?


It reminds me of the story of Jonathan and the Philistines (they were the decepticons) in I Sam 14...
1One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side." But he did not tell his father. (Everyone feared the Philistines) 2Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron (In fear). The people who were with him were about six hundred men, 3including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ...
6Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised (the bad guys). It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few."
Pause - did you catch that? MAYBE the Lord will do this thing for us - he is sure able!
All MAYBEs have a MAYBE NOT.
7And his armor-bearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul."

Here's the great plan of attack (makes me feel better about New City's plans ;)

8Then Jonathan said, "Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9If they say to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10But if they say, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us."

WHAT?!?!? That's it??? We'll just cross over and let them see us? Sweet.
And if they say WAIT - we'll wait - and die!
But - if they say come on in - we'll know God is giving us victory.

11So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines.

And when they showed themselves - they crossed the point of no return -
The future is uncertain - Jim Morrison said - and the end is always near.

50 years from now when you're looking back on your life, don't you want to see that you had the guts to get in the car. Yeah, there are a few of you out there who know I'm talking to you! what are you waiting for? What are you afraid of?

The 567 Coming Into Its Own

Bragg Jam was a BIG boost for the 567. Many artists who had not heard of the 567 or just didn't know much about the 567 now do. And the word on the street is good! Here's what's been going on this week that will have a major impact on the days to come:
Music:
Tuesday I met with Scott Baston. Scott was on the road for nearly 11 years with the band Moonshine Still. He is now working on the project Scott Baston and the News Architects. Scott loves the concept and vision of the 567 and is stepping in to help us out with spreading the word, bringing in some musicians, and helping the 567 become (in Scott's words) 'Macon's PREMIER all ages listening venue.' Scott has already brought in a great lineup for September that includes Joey and Friends from The Loose Screws, Aaron Irons of The Liabilities, Nick Malloy, a return of The Red Swill, and is waiting to hear from Oh Dorian. Check out the calendar for the 567.
Art:
Thursday I met with Adam DeLong. Adam is an artist, a recent Mercer University graduate, and is in his first year of teaching middle schoolers here in Macon. Adam has some great connections in the Macon art community and the ability to pull in some of the best art Macon offers and pull off some great showings. Plans right now are to bring in a new artist in September and begin a six week rotation of artists and shows.

Exciting times at New City and the 567. It really incredible seeing our vision for the 567 begin to come to a reality.

Bragg Jam Success and Thanks

From Lisa and the Bragg Jam Board:

It’s a Banner Year for Bragg Jam!

(Macon, Ga.) The numbers are in. Bragg Jam Festival 2008 has been declared a bona fide success on all levels, with attendance exceeding expectations at this year’s events: 268 participants in the Moonlight Miles 5K Fun Run; nearly 300 attendees at the Patrons’ & Kick-Off Party; over 1,000 people along the Riverwalk at Bragg Jam Arts & Kids; and a record-breaking 3,000 music lovers at the signature Concert
Crawl.

The Bragg Jam board of directors will present a check of $45,000 to the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail Inc. The donation, made in honor of the memory of Brax and Tate Bragg, will be dedicated to the maintenance, preservation and expansion of the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail and Waterworks Park.

Another Huge Thanks to all of our New City volunteers! Your service not only helped in providing the money to help our city with the Water Works Park and Heritage Trail, but I cannot begin to tell you the number of new opportunities for us and the gospel that your service has also provided!!!!

Spreading the Gospel Downtown...

Friday night was a great night downtown - great crowds gathered up and down the streets for First Friday. Bands played inside and out as music filled the air. I was able to take a little stroll around the block - something I am usually too busy for. I walked down Cherry Street and passed the crowd gathered at the Rookery listening to Caleb Grimes - I emerged and just a few doors down ran into a large crowd gathered and mostly standing against the wall of the buildings. In the middle of the sidewalk was the Street Evangelist preaching - from what I could tell - to the choir.

I walked on and thought as I did.

The contrast between the Street Preacher and those who likely came from his church to support him and evangelize downtown and the crowd gathered at the 567 was stark. This isn't a post to say one is right and one is not - simply a post of observations.

On my return trip someone from the crowd gathered along the wall reached out to me with a tract.

Back at the 567 a crowd had gathered to hear Megan North and Chuck Ray. Several New City folks had gathered - some working the coffee and selling cokes and water. Some working on the sound mix. Others talking with friends - old and new. In our crowd I talked with a local artist who rarely attends church, but when she does it is not a Christian church. She likes the 567 and looks forward to seeing art shows and music in our space - the conversations will continue. I also met another artist who may help us with some art shows at the 567. He seems like a great guy - doesn't go to church - has no church background - and from what I understand, wouldn't consider himself a Christian. He and I are supposed to meet sometime this week. I also met Caleb Grimes - a local musician. I introduced myself to him to talk about him playing the 567 someday - Megan had already talked to him about the 567. In a series of interesting events our conversation turned to church - Caleb is a newly wed, his dad is a Baptist preacher - he says they are coming to New City next week. I also talked with a musician who has become a friend - we talked a little about the Bible - can we really believe it is true? She wrestles with that - some things she "just doesn't like." I heard other NCCd folks having conversations about the cafe and about church.

And I wondered how many conversation that the street preacher had that night with seekers, with doubters, and with just plain unbelievers.

I love NCCd. I love the 567.

I love the opportunities for gospel transformation that seem to flow naturally from both.

Friday Off - Sort of

After not much down time in the past couple of weeks - we slammed on the brakes last night. We had family night and a family movie together last night followed by X GAMES - shweeeeeet!
Today - Friday - is supposed to be my day off -

While the fam got ready I headed here to pick up some printed stuff. Thanks Mabel!

Then it was back home to pick everyone up!

On the way to get an oil change - about 3 months overdue - I stopped to drop off 4 bags of clothes here. The clothes were given by one of our folks for one of our regular needy downtowners - but after a couple of weeks he hasn't shown - time for the clothes to go.

From there we headed to the library to drop off some books. Me and the boys waited in the car - don't the boys look thrilled!




Then it was off to Starbucks - here! The kids got frapps while they waited on the coffee. The guy ringing us up and helping us donated his free pound of coffee for the week - also schweeeeet. 4 pounds for the cost of 3! I love coffee - thanks God, good stuff you created!

Time to head downtown!
We stopped first at the 567 where we dropped off coffee and supplies and made a fresh pot of coffee for tonights Iced Coffee - a 567 treat!
This statue is on Cotton Avenue at 2nd Street.
It was erected in memory of all those who served the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Across the street from the monument is Bibb Music - a Macon icon.
Bibb Music has been in business for 45 years! Ivey wanted to pick up some picks, a capo (sp?) and look at guitars and straps.

Across 2nd Street it was time for some lunch! I am becoming a regular at Between the Bread / Michaels on Mulberry - it is technically Between the Bread at lunch and Michaels at night. I know the owners and the food is terrific!

Then we headed up to take a look at an available loft on Mulberry.
B E A U T I F U L ! The whole family was/is ready to move!
The loft takes up the entire third floor of one of the buildings - 2,800 sf. Right now it is only 2 Bedrooms but the owner would be willing to build a wall and make another bedroom - enough room for a HUGE bedroom that the boys could share. Here's a slide show:

So - we're all ready to move - HOUSE FOR SALE - NORTH MACON!