Picnic in the Park

New City Church, Picnic in the Park
Sunday, October 14th
4:00 PM
Central City Park
(near the playground)
Bring your family's picnic and drinks and bring a dessert to share with everyone else. Bring a frisbee or outdoor game, invite a friend - especially a friend/neighbor/co-worker... who doesn't have a church home - and let's enjoy a fall afternoon together before our next service.

A few needs for our kids...

It will not be long before our next service - I can't wait! We have a few more needs for the kids areas...
Wooden Puzzles
Magna Doodle or 2 or 3
Big Blocks - Duplo or Lego
Post here if you can help out or e-mail me pastorkeith@newcitydowntown.org.

Acts 29 Next Steps

We received our official letter from the Acts 29 Church Planting Network last night - we have officially moved from the "assessment" phase to the "candidate" phase. We have about five more tasks to complete.
Part of the reason I am up at 3 something in this morning is because I woke up with my mind spinning about the next steps and where we are as a church plant. I am greatly encouraged! We were told that we needed to:
1) Plug in with an A29 Coach as soon as possible - I was ready to do that months ago! Point me to the coach.
2) Successfully break away from our current church - We are working on transition issues at our current church with that end in mind and in sight!
3) Work on raising support that will provide for our family - some foundation work has already begun in this area - In fact I met with one potential partner this past week and I am meeting with others next week! I have outlined our expected needs for the next year as a church and as a pastor.
The encouraging part of this is that we were already working hard in these areas and I see them coming together in a great way. As I look ahead to the other tasks, I feel the same way.
Jesus is building His church - how great it is to watch, and to be in the midst of!

Shots by MeAgan

Some first service shots by a good friend - Meagan. Thanks MeAgan!

Community

I believe very strongly that we were created for community. We see it throughout Scripture - Adam was incomplete without Eve, families became the center of community, Israel was not simply a nation but a community - within that community there were smaller communities and tribes. They were God's PEOPLE, plural.
Salvation is not individualistic, though it involves individuals - it is much more than that. The New Testament images of the church show us that the same is true of us as individuals - or as a community. When we come to place our faith and trust in Christ we are brought into the family of God, we are formed into the temple of God, we are many parts who make up one body of Christ.
We were created for community. It is one of those longings that we all share. It is a need that exists and that God has indeed provided for in the family of believers. I was reminded of that last night when someone told me that they learned that a number of people from New City had gone to the Off Broadway deli for lunch after church. They expressed in all kindness that they wished they had known, because they would love to have joined us. It was one of those things after church that just happened - it wasn't planned - I had no idea who was going to be there. We joined some of my out of town family there. Still, the words pierced my heart - not because I had done something wrong, but because I had not done something right! I had not encouraged our people to ask a stranger to join them for lunch - to open their sphere of friends and relationships and be conscious of who was around them. It is the desire of my heart that New City Church be a community of believers - that will take intentional effort. Effort on my part to teach it, to model it, to teach it some more and some more and to model it again and again. It will take an intentional effort on everyone's part - but that is what living the gospel in community means! It means being intentional. It means opening our hearts, and our eyes, and our friendships, just like Jesus did.
So, my promise is that I will seek to lead in the area of community. My plea, join me in being a community. Invite someone you don't know to join you for lunch - or maybe someone you do know, but haven't spent much time with.

Total Church by Chester and Timmis

I am just about to finish up Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. The book is not yet available in the US but you can still get it at the link above. Great read - especially as you consider how the gospel is to be a central part of who the church is and what the church does. I thought I would share a quote from a section that contrasts the view that we often have of "spirituality" as quiet times and withdrawal from the world and materialism with a "passionate engagement" spirituality - the section is entitled Gospel and Community in Practice, Spirituality and the gospel mission:

In John 15 Jesus calls on his disciples to 'remain in me' (v. 4). But this is not a passive pursuit conducted in silence. This is active faith in our union with Christ, a faith that produces fruit in the world (v. 8). We are to remain in Christ's love (v.9). But remaining in Christ's love is synonymous with obedience to Christ's commands (v. 10). Christ does not take us out of the world, but sends us into the world to 'go and bear fruit' (15:16; 17:15-18). His command is 'to love each other as I have loved you' (vv. 12, 17). Biblical spirituality does not take place in silence; it takes place bearing a cross. It is not a spirituality of withdrawal, but a spirituality of engagement. You do not practice it on retreat in a secluded house; you practice it on the streets in the midst of broken lives.

Yes, there were times when Jesus withdrew for prayer and if you want to call that a "quiet time" OK - probably not the same as we think of as "quiet time". BUT, there is obvious truth to the paragraph above - spirituality is much more than withdrawal - it is engagement - engagement with a broken world who needs the gospel - not simply the gospel of heaven and hell, but the real gospel of redemption, of empowerment, of comfort and strength, and all that God is for us in Jesus Christ. So - if you want go and get all spiritual (and I pray you do) - get off the couch and into the world and engage with the gospel!

I have offended a brother...

The following post has offended a brother. That was never my intention. Officially, unofficially, on the record and off the record - I love Mabel White (the people are terrific - they have loved me, encouraged me, and been very good to me).

If you like roller coasters, you might like church planting! I'm not sure I have ever experienced so many ups and downs in a single day.
Here's the run down:
down - terrible night of not much sleeping, a lot of thinking about church stuff
down - tuesday is staff meeting day at mabel white
For everyone to know - I think I work with some of the most fun people around - this was no dig at the staff, they are great! I am not real big on meetings.
UP - STAFF MEETING ONLY LASTED 35 MINUTES see above
down - i spent an hour and a half talking with my pastor about how much my pay was about to be cut (that was like the biggest down hill of the biggest roller coaster in the world - i think i might have even screamed!)
The screaming was to carry out the roller coaster picture only. I admit that I was thrown for a LOOP (pun intended) when I was told by my pastor that my pay was about to be cut by 40% - it was not what I expected. The idea was that pay would be adjusted based on a sliding scale from 40% to 60% between now and December while my insurance benefits for the family would remain unchanged. The elders allowed me some time at their next meeting to talk about the decrease in pay. The adjustment was made that my salary would be adjusted as follows - 90% pay for the remainder of Sept, then 80% for Oct., 70% for Nov., and 60% for December while medical benefits for me and the family remain the same. I am thankful for that provision. Very. It has been a gift from God.

I repented the same day that my pastor and I had the conversation (had to go back to my pastor and tell him i submit to his authority and the elders authority - God will take care of me and the fam.) I repent again for offending.
I apologized to the brother who was offended and I asked for forgiveness for being offensive. I say the same now to anyone who may have felt that I was trying to hurt my church. I love Mabel White - I love my elders (who have a really tough job) - I love my pastor and pray for him and his family. I in no way meant to offend a brother or throw rocks at my church and staff.
The rest of the previous post is HERE.

the Gospel Speaks to the Death of a Baby

While we were in Raleigh for the Acts 29 Boot camp I received a dreaded call from a good friend. Kristie had recently (about a month ago) given birth to a daughter - Kendall. Kendall came at only 6months and weighed less than 2 pounds. We prayed for Kendall. Every time my phone would ring and I would see it was Chad calling, I would be momentarily gripped by fear - afraid that Kendall had taken a bad turn. That's what the Thursday night call was about. I awoke several times during the night and begged God on behalf of Chad and Kristie - I pleaded that little Kendall be strengthened and that she hold on - I prayed that she would live and grow. She didn't. Chad called Friday morning to let us know that during the night Kendall lost her fight.
I don't know why - though I ask.
Why would this family have to endure such a loss?
Why would such a hard conception, carrying, and birth be followed by this?
Why would YOU allow THIS?
Nothing.
I do not know why.
Today I will do the grave side service for 2 good friends who have lost a precious and beautiful gift. The truth is I have no idea what to say - but this...
The Gospel speaks to this day. The story of redemption includes this day - it includes Thursday night. THIS is not what we were created for. This is not what the garden originally looked like. This is the result of sin's curse, passed on from one generation to the next. I thank God that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has intervened and offers us hope - even in a day like today. I praise God that today is not the end for Kendall - or for Chad and Kristie. I praise Him, that in Christ, for all who believe today is only a sad and horrible pause in what will be forevermore. I do believe that Kendall is now enjoying fellowship with her heavenly Father - the fellowship that as believers Chad and Kristie will one day enjoy as well. I long, especially on days like today for that final day - the day when our redemption is ultimately consummated - and in it there will be no more suffering, no more pain, no more death - and we will live in the glory of our Savior. I pray for Chad and Kristie, even now, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would speak to their heart - that they would not only know the hope of their future in Christ, but that they would know - fully, completely, experientially know that Jesus Christ is their rock, he is their strength, he is their comfort, their joy, their delight. I pray that they would know that he will never leave them and never forsake them. I pray that they would have the confidence in him today to know that he loves them and cares for them - even now.
The Gospel has much to say today.

We're Back!

What a great trip. Let me share with you the rest of our sessions:
Session 4 - Daniel Montgomery - Gospel Centered Theology
Session 5 - Mark Driscoll - Qualifications for the Lead Planter Dude
Session 6 - Ed Stetzer - Understanding Missional Theology
Session 7 - Q and A with Stetzer and Driscoll

Once more everything was related to the Gospel of Jesus Christ - great stuff.

We ended yesterday with a 2 hour assessment with a couple of Acts 29 church planters. Our assessment was primarily conversation - about theology, about the Gospel (imagine that), about home life - how do I treat my wife and kids... We will hear back in the next week on whether we will be received into the Acts 29 network of churches. The Acts 29 network offers resources, coaching, great relationships, potential church partnerships, and possible funding.

One of the questions asked during Q and A with Driscoll and Stetzer - and perhaps being asked by some of you - was, Why do you focus so much on the Gospel when Hebrews tells us we should move past the basics of the death and resurrection - from milk to meat?
I knew the answer but sure enjoyed hearing it!
We believe that Gospel is both the milk AND the meat of the Christian life and the teaching of Scripture. Driscoll and Stetzer went to explain that a little.
Here's my take on that question:
Many, if not most "Christians" have come to see the Gospel (the birth, life, death, resurrection of Christ) as little more than our way to get to heaven - you know, If you died tonight, do you know where you would be tomorrow? That is certainly part of the Gospel. But the Gospel is SOOOOOOOOO much more than a ticket to heaven - this gets MEATY!
I'll use Ephesians as an example of the far-reaching, meaty implications of the Gospel:
In the first chapters Paul unpacks what the Gospel is - How we were chosen in Christ before the foundations of the world, how we are forgiven in Christ, How we are sealed in the Spirit. He then talks about the power of the Gospel - it raised Christ from the dead and (Chapter 2) raised us from the dead as well. Paul talks about the mystery of the Gospel and its power to unite Jew and Gentile, black and white into 1 body... Then in Chapter 4:1 he says, Therefore - in light of the Work of the Gospel, In light of the Power of the Gospel, in light of who you are in the Gospel - Walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel! Paul then explains how the Gospel should be reflected in our relationships - with one another, with our spouse, with our children, with our employer... Go back and read Ephesians thinking this way and see how deep, meaty, and difficult the implications of the Gospel can be. The Gospel is everything to us. The Gospel reaches, touches, and should transform EVERY area of our life.
I get it - I may not live it all the time (thank God for the Gospel that forgives me every day - over and over) - but I get it. That is the transforming Gospel that is the heart of this church plant - I pray that it truly become the heart of New City Church downtown... to see the Gospel transform everything within our reach - our selves, our church, our city, and the world.

For more on the week and a wife's perspective, check out Amy's take.

Why I Love Acts 29...

Today has been long and full! It hasn't been a day of learning a lot of new stuff, but rather a day that affirms some things I already knew and that confirms the reasons for planting New City and the direction we are headed.
A few months back I went to the Ga. Bapt Conventions church planter orientation. We talked about a lot of stuff at the orientation, but not a lot about Jesus, as I remember. With Acts 29 the focus is Jesus Christ and the Gospel - EVERYTHING flows out of that. That's why I love Acts 29! In our first session Scott Thomas, the Director of Acts 29, talked about the MISSION. The MISSION flows out of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - our mission is His mission and His mission was the Gospel. In Session 2 Chan Kilgore talked about a pastor's desperate need of the Gospel in his own life. Session 3 by Tyler Jones (of Vintage 21-the host church) was entitle Preaching Jesus. Dang Good stuff! Looking forward to tomorrow.