David Crowder Band (part 2)

Here's another video clip from last Thursday's David Crowder Band concert in Indianapolis. The concert was part of his Church Music tour. I haven't written a full post about the concert yet, and have several more videos to share from it, so I'll share some opening comments here, and expand in future updates.

First, the concert was held at East 91st Street Christian Church. Having concerts in churches is a common occurrence for Contemporary Christian Music Bands, and this isn't the first concert we've been to in a church. Although this was the first concert we attended at E91 (as the church is known by it's members), it was not the first event we attended there, as we were regular Sunday attenders there until recently. Based upon our experience there every Sunday, we were pretty optimistic about the church as a concert venue.

Boy, were we disappointed! We got there fifteen minutes before the doors opened (which was an hour before the concert began) and there were several huge lines waiting to get in, including a line for "early access" ticket holders. The concert was sold as general admission, and the early access people had the entire front of the auditorium packed before regular ticket holders were allowed entry -- including standing in the area in front of the stage and down the aisles. There was not a good seat to be had in the house.

The opening bands were Seabird from Lexington, Kentucky, and Danyew from San Diego. I'd like to say they were good bands, but there were two problems: both bands sat so low on the stage that we could not see them at all, literally; and we could not hear them well enough to understand the words. While the opening bands played, it seemed nearly everyone around us was either sitting and engaging in idle conversation or milling about, seemingly oblivious to the concert going on around them.

One hour into the concert and my wife and I were both ready to leave if things didn't improve drastically when David Crowder took the stage.

...To Be Continued.

Video below...

Direct video link.

Your comments?

Joe

Maddy's Cancer Battle

AJA Press

Book Review: Real Church by Larry Crabb

At a time when I and my family have finally settled down with a new church home, putting an end to a year and a half of church shopping, Dr. Larry Crabb digs deep into the issue of just what a real church is in his thought-provoking Real Church: Does it exist? Can I find it?

By guiding us through his own struggle with the lack of desire to even attend church -- his quest to find a real church -- Dr. Crabb exposes many of today's megachurches (though not by name) for what they really are: entertainers more than churches. In the words of Dr. Crabb, "Gatherings that mobilize resources to do good deeds do not, by doing so, become churches."

It seems today -- and I certainly experienced it in my own quest for a new church home after moving to Indianapolis -- that the churches Paul wrote to in Revelation 2:1-27 are still very much in existence in towns and cities across America today. Churches that are either lukewarm or that have lost their focus entirely. Churches that preach of prosperity and abundance, as if God promised us wealth and power just for following Him. So many of us attend church not for the reasons we should, but for our own selfish purpose. We're there to be entertained, to be made to feel good, to do our duty and stay in God's good grace, when we should be going to church to worship and celebrate our Lord.

God is a party happening. ... Church was designed by God to be the dance studio. ... A gathering becomes a church when a group of Christians together hear the music of Heaven's party and the laughter of God enjoying Himself and begin awkwardly dancing with the Trinity into the relationship and circumstances of life in order to bring Heaven's way of doing things to earth.

It can be so easy to go to church on Sunday so that we appear to be doing the right thing. To go because God wants us to go. To go because we want to go to Heaven. But can we go because we truly want to celebrate our Risen Savior? Is there even a church in your city that understands what the party is really all about?

As Dr. Crabb struggles to identify what a real church is, I find myself revisiting in my mind the many churches I have "shopped" over the past eighteen months, and comparing them to the real church that Dr. Crabb speaks about. There are real churches out there, but there are also real pretenders. In an enlightening and informative way, Dr. Crabb exposes the way of the pretenders, so that we might become part of the party.

This is a must read for every Christian (and non-Christian) who is struggling on his or her way down the path that God has set for us, wondering just what "religion" is all about, and whether the church is really doing the work of the Lord, or just trying to bring in more people and more money into the offering plate. A five-star commentary on the state of Christianity in America if ever there was one.

Your comments?

Joe

Maddy's Cancer Battle

AJA Press

Success In Our Church Shopping Endeavor?

It has been just over eighteen months since our move to Indianapolis, and we have been searching for a church where we could feel at home ever since. At times, we thought we had found just the right church, only to later question whether God was calling us to that particular church or not.

Today, we made our first visit to Heartland Church in Fishers, Indiana. Usually, when I write about our "church shopping" experiences here, I don't actually share the name of the church. That's because usually my wife and I have not felt that we were moved to attend the particular church I was writing about, and I wouldn't want to say anything that might discourage anyone from attending any specific church that is trying to do the work of the Lord.

Today, our visit to Heartland Church (@HeartlandIndy on Twitter) was a very positive experience for the entire family. When we first pulled into the parking lot for the 11AM service, the lot was virtually empty. We began wondering what kind of turn out there might be. From the moment we walked into the church and approached a man standing by an information desk, we all felt right at home. We first met Ed, who introduced himself as a full-time volunteer staff member who works with small groups. We introduced ourselves to Ed, who then introduced us to another staff-member who helped us to get our kids checked into Adventureland, where they would attend their own age-tailored church services.

My wife and I then made our way to the sanctuary, where we had our choice of nearly any seat in the house. We picked comfortable seats on the aisle in the fourth row and waited for the service to begin as people slowly made their way in (there turned out to be many more people there when the service was over than we had thought there were).

The worship band was led by Rick Stump, and they played popular contemporary Christian tunes that made my wife and I feel right at home. Best of all, they didn't seem to be performing, as we have felt that many bands at the churches we've attended were doing -- they seemed to be worshiping the Lord.

The sermon was delivered by Rick's father (I believe his name is Gary), and was delivered in such a way that anyone listening could feel a part of the discussion. He did not teach down to us, did not teach at us, did not speak over our heads. It was a very informative, very enjoyable sermon.

After the service, the most important test of all: the kids' reaction to their individual services. When I asked my son if he liked it, he said, "Did you love it?" When I said yes, he said, "Me, too."

Enough said, so far. They didn't observe Communion today, but many churches don't observe Communion more than once a month, or every other week. We'll see how that goes down when the time comes, but based on the rest of the experience, we are both more likely to be flexible with the Communion service. Most churches we've visited observe Communion by dipping the Communion bread into the cup. We have always preferred taking the bread and the cup separately. I guess we will learn in time what method Heartland Church employs. In the meantime, we'll be returning to Heartland quite regularly, I believe.

Your comments?

Joe

Maddy's Cancer Battle

AJA Press

And The Hunt Continues...

My wife and I have resumed our church shopping, after having thought we found a church home were we felt we belonged. Changes at the church with service times, communion, etc., made it just not feel like our church home any longer.

So today we headed out to another church near us in Greenfield, Indiana. As usual, I won't mention the church here, because although we didn't feel called to make it a permanent home, the church is doing the work of God, and I wouldn't want to say anything that might have a negative impact on their mission. But I do like to share our church shopping experiences here, as it helps me to sort through the experience, and I always invite readers to share their church recommendations with me.

We arrived today at a church that is a bit smaller than the Indianapolis churches we have been to so far, making it a little less stressful for our first visit. While we both prefer a larger church, some of the Indianapolis mega-churches are just too large. We entered the church for the second morning worship service and found several people standing in the vestibule chatting. We approached a desk in the middle of the vestibule that stood beneath a sign reading Guest Services, where we waited for approximately five minutes. No one was manning the desk, and none of the many parishioners standing about talking seemed to recognize us as newcomers without a clue. This, for my wife and I, is always an important first test of any church we attend -- are we made to feel welcome? There seems to be no middle ground here, as most churches either go overboard in making newcomers feel welcome or seem to miss the mark completely. After our five minute wait, a woman who had stepped up to the Guest Services Desk next to us, finally spoke up and asked if she could help us. She, of course, had been standing there for almost as long as we were -- maybe deciding whether she felt called to help us?

We explained that we were first-timers there and didn't know where to take our three and five year old kids. She pointed down a hallway and told us to take them there and sign them in. We followed her guidance and dropped our son off in a gym where several other children his age were playing. We still weren't made to feel completely welcome, and were told that our daughter (the three year old) would need to be taken back out into the vestibule and down a hallway by the offices to another children's worship area.

We walked out and headed through the vestibule, unsure of where we were going and with no one to guide us, and finally ended up at a door labeled Offices. For the first time, we were made to feel a little welcome, by a teenager who was sitting at the desk signing in children. He gave us more information in thirty seconds than anyone had given us in the entire time we had been there. After dropping off our daughter, we headed into the sanctuary and found a seat in the third row from the front.

The service was scheduled to start at 10:45 am, but at 10:48 a countdown timer displayed on one the screens showed that four minutes still remained before the service would be under way. The band came onto the stage in a state of chaos, as portable speakers were still being set up and people continued to mill around in their seats chatting. I started to get the feeling that everyone there knew everyone else -- sort of like the Baptist church my parents took me to as a youngster. It wasn't a bad feeling, though when you're new and the only one who doesn't know everyone else, it can be a little uncomfortable.

The service finally got under way with some contemporary Christian music. The band was pretty good, with five singers, a bass guitarist, an electric guitarist, an acoustic guitarist, a keyboardist, a drummer, and another drummer on bongos. Eleven people. Wow!

The music was interrupted for announcements, then resumed for another song or two before the band left the stage and one of the singers delivered a message about surrendering everything to God. I enjoyed the message, though my wife felt that the speaker relied too heavily on his notes throughout the sermon. Thus far, I wasn't turned on or off with the experience, for the most part. I didn't feel moved to make it a permanent church home, but felt that we could return there from time to time if we didn't find someplace that felt like home.

Then the sermon ended with communion. I have been very vocal here about my thoughts on communion, so I'll give only a brief recap here. I think communion is a very personal experience that a follower of Christ shares with his Savior. I believe that Biblically we are instructed to take bread and the cup and drink, and I have frequently been disappointed with the number of churches we have attended that observe the practice of dipping their bread into the communion cup, rather than actually drinking. My wife and I have agreed that we cannot feel at home if we do not feel called to participate in communion. While today's church observed what I consider to be the Biblical act of taking the bread and the cup separately, they did something that made my wife and I feel awkward -- so awkward, in fact, that we chose not to partake of communion. Upon the urging of the man who delivered the message (and I still don't know if he was a Pastor, or what), virtually the entire congregation rose from their seats and formed two lines that led to the altar. As each person made his or her way to the altar, they knelt at the altar in prayer or meditation, reflection -- whatever they chose to do -- then one of several people standing on the stage offered the plate of bread (typical communion wafers) and cups (typical grape juice) to them when they were done. After partaking of communion, each person just left the sanctuary. In the meantime, my wife and I (and a very few others throughout the sanctuary) sat in our seats. I cannot speak for how others were feeling, but I felt as if a neon sign hung over my head pointing down at me, calling me out for not partaking in communion. When my wife noticed that everyone was just leaving after partaking of communion, we arose and shuffled out of the sanctuary.

My problem with the way this church observed communion is that it did not appeal to me as a time of intimate reflection and communion with my savior. It felt as if I was being supervised through the process by church elders and, once my time of prayer at the altar had been observed and approved, I would be offered the bread and cup. It did not feel like communion to me.

After leaving the sanctuary we went to pick up my daughter first. This is the final test of a church experience for us -- whether it gets our children's stamp of approval or not. In this case, both of our children came running out of their respective classes when they saw us -- right past the caretakers who were there to ensure that the children were delivered only to the appropriate adult that dropped them off. I expected them both to say that they didn't like it, and was shocked when my daughter said she had fun and my son said he loved it. Upon further conversation over a picnic lunch in the park, my son revealed that they didn't even have a Bible story in his class. Now, I know that probably isn't the case, but my thinking is this: if they did have a Bible story and the impact of it was so minimal that my son didn't even realize it was a Bible story, then what impact could it possibly have had on my impressionable young son.

So it is agreed that we will continue our search for a new church home in the Indianapolis area. We have been here for almost eighteen months now, and we just can't seem to find the right place. I sometimes wonder if we're being too picky, or too judgmental. But I keep coming to the conclusion that just isn't the case. We aren't looking for the perfect church, just the church that we feel God is calling us to attend. So far, I haven't felt that calling but once, and later felt that maybe I had misinterpreted that calling (which is why we're out looking once again).

So I ask you, faithful readers, have you any helpful suggestions for us? If you read through our past church shopping experiences, you can get a general idea of what we're looking for. If you know of a church that you feel might be a fit for us, please let me know.

Your comments?

Joe

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SOAP: Trust In The Spirit

SOAP {Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer}:

FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE | ABOUT SOAP

SCRIPTURE
15-17"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! 18-20 "I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I'm in my Father, and you're in me, and I'm in you." John 14:15-20 [MSG]

OBSERVATION
We show our love for Christ by doing what He has told us to do.

APPLICATION
We cannot make it alone in this world. Christ knew that. He came into this world to pay the price that we are unworthy to pay, and when He returned to His Father, He knew that things would get more difficult for those who choose to follow Him. Jesus left us His Friend to help us when times become difficult. The Holy Spirit -- literally the breath of God -- is with us today, to guide us in doing what He has asked of us.

PRAYER
Father, I want to ask You to help me to be worthy of the wonderful gift You have given. But why? I'm incapable of being worthy of Your love. Incapable of being worthy of the precious gift of Salvation that I have received only by Your mercy and grace. Therefore, Lord, Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Thank You for Your gift. Help me, Lord, to share the news of Your wondrous gift with others, that they, too, might receive what they can never be worthy of.

MORE NOTES FROM TODAY'S SERMON AT E91

• Trust in the Spirit.
• 5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground — God hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs) — God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive — a living soul! Genesis 2:5-7 [MSG]
• 3 Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to — to God's kingdom." 4 "How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?" 5-6 Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation — the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life — it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch — the Spirit — and becomes a living spirit. 7-8 "So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above' — out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God." John 3:3-8 [MSG]
• The Holy Spirit is literally the Breath of God. How much do we really know about the Spirt?
• 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:25-27 [NIV]
• Ezekiel 37 [NIV] {not quoted here}
• What is at stake if we don't learn to connect and live by the Spirit? Life.
• How much of my life really needs the power of the Spirit?
• With faith there is always some degree of question. If there wasn't, it wouldn't be faith, it would be knowledge.
• We want God to be a noun, but He insists on being a verb: action, presence, Spirit.
• Fruit of the Spirit

Your comments?

Joe

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SOAP: Forgiveness

SOAP {Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer}:

ABOUT SOAP

After trying several churches in Indianapolis, and finally choosing one, then trying that church's Saturday evening service and being a little disappointed, we finally headed back to the Sunday morning service today, and I felt that the timing was not accidental. The church is in the midst of a series called 1277 Days, exploring the last 3-1/2 years of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. Today's message was on forgiveness, and I wanted to share my notes from the service.

• Our greatest need right now is forgiveness.
• Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:1-12 [NIV]
• For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 [NIV]
• Jesus didn't come as God to condemn us, but rather to release us from our debt (forgiveness).
• Jesus didn't just take away the circumstance of sin, he took away the heart of sin and gave us a new heart.
• Jesus set us free from sin so that we don't have to go back to our lives of sin.
• Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21-35 [NIV]
• We must offer forgiveness without limit, just as God has done for us through His Son.
• Release the debt. Forgive it and forget it.
• Sometimes we forget what God has forgiven us of -- the depth of His forgiveness.
• We bear the weight of not forgiving those who wrong us. Forgiving others lets us move on and free ourselves as well as those we have forgiven.
• Unforgiveness is a mountain that we cannot overcome. By forgiving others as God forgives us, we -- like Him -- can move those mountains.

I found the message to be quite moving, as we often find it difficult to actually release others who have wronged us by offering them sincere forgiveness. Is there someone you should forgive today?

Your comments? 


Joe

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Average Joe Audio Blog

Sunday, March 22, 2009 5:56 PM Posted: 22 Mar 2009 10:56 AM PDT Download - Cinch from averagejoe on Sunday, March 22, 2009 5:56 PM This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Moving Service

A great church service today. More on it later.

Lift Them Up In Prayer -- UPDATE with Link

A nice, relaxing, enjoyable second day of vacation today took a somber turn, when what was an otherwise enjoyable church service ended with the announcement that four young children lost a father in Afghanistan today.

UPDATE: From Chicago Sun Times

I haven't seen anything about it in the news online yet, so I don't know the details of what happened, but two of the members of our old church, which we attended tonight because we spent the day visiting the in-laws, lost their son-in-law today in Afghanistan. He left behind a widow and four young children.

Your prayers, please, for the family.

Your comments?

Joe

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Vacation: Day Two

My second day of this short vacation started very early, as I uploaded my debut novel to the publisher at around one o'clock in the morning. It will soon be available at Amazon.com as well as Average Joe American. In addition to paperback, the book will be available in PDF Ebook and Palm DOC format. Stay tuned for updates.

In a few moments I'll be loading the family up in the car and taking the kids to see their grandparents in Terre Haute, where we'll be attending our old church tonight.

Your comments?

Joe

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Communion

26 During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples: Take, eat. This is my body. 27 Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them: Drink this, all of you. 28 This is my blood, God's new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins. 29 "I'll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I'll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father." Matthew 26:26-29 [MSG]

When I moved my family from Terre Haute to Indianapolis thirteen months ago, we embarked on a lengthy church hunt, visiting different churches every weekend, hoping to find one where we felt welcome, at home, where we felt God was calling us to return. Week after week we found ourselves disappointed, with the sermon some weeks, with the music other weeks, even with the offerings for children's worship at times -- and each and every week, we were disappointed with Communion.

In Matthew 26, Christ instructed His disciples to remember Him through Communion (a term not used by Christ, but later used by Christians to label the practice): the breaking and eating of bread and drinking of the cup. Just as Christ instructed us to follow Him in Baptism by immersion, He instructed us in the proper way to remember Him in Communion. Christ did not tell us to practice sprinkle Baptism, and He did not tell us to practice Communion by dipping bread into the cup. We follow His instructions for Baptism to the letter. Why, then, did every church we visited insist on dipping Communion bread into the cup?

We finally found a church on the northwest corner of Indianapolis where we felt comfortable, where we felt welcome, where the kids enjoyed their worship time and we felt they spent it learning and worshipping. We finally found a church that observed Communion in the manner Christ instructed. It has been "our" church ever since.

A month ago, our church started a Saturday night service -- in an attempt to accomodate a growing congregation (5000 most weekends) and to reach out to those who don't (or can't) attend on Sundays. We attended the first Saturday evening service and loved it. We felt that God had blessed us -- everything about the service was just what we had been looking for all along.

We missed the second week due to obligations at my work, and returned on week three to find that everything had changed. The worship music -- while still played by the same band -- had become somehow countrified. Worse yet, when it came time for Communion, we were instructed to break a piece of bread off the loaf and dip into the cup. Why? We both felt very out of place during the service, and later agreed to try Saturday night one more time.

We did just that last evening, and were pleased to see that the music was much more to our liking. Don't misread me, I understand that going to church is not an entertainment event. I don't expect the worship band to cater to us. I understand that we go for worship and praise, but it's much easier to worship through song when you know the songs and enjoy the style of music.

What we weren't pleased with was Communion. As we entered the sanctuary and saw Communion implements designed for the dipping of bread, we were both disappointed. We both chose not to partake of Communion -- not out of protest or purpose.

This is my issue with it: the dipping of bread into the cup is not Biblical. No matter which book of the Gospel you read, or which translation, you won't find a passage where Christ instructed us to dip the bread into the cup.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all described Communion as drinking from the cup. Only John even mentions dipping the bread, but not in reference to Communion. John speaks of Jesus dipping a crust of bread into the cup and saying "The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I've dipped it" will be the one to betray Me. So dipping the bread was not an act of Communion, but instead Christ's way of identifying the one who would betray him.

Dipping the bread into the cup is not a Biblical way to remember Christ through Communion, just as sprinkling water is not a Biblical way to follow Christ in Baptism. Why, then, do so many Christian churches choose this method of "Communion?" To me, if it is not Biblical, then why do it? Why practice something that Christ didn't teach in lieu of following His instructions literally?

My wife and I did not -- and will not -- observe Communion through the dipping of bread. Maybe this is God's way of telling us that the Saturday evening service was not what He had planned for us. Maybe He's telling us that we should return to the Sunday morning service, or possibly continue searching for a new church home. Unfortunately, God doesn't often write His message on a wall for us to read as we drive down the street. He often leaves it to us to interpret what He is trying to tell us.

Next Sunday, we will be returning to the same church, but not on Saturday evening. The dipping of bread might be fine for the other 443 people in attendance on Saturday night, but not for us. We will return to Sunday morning, and hopefully feel the same calling we felt several months ago when we first attended a Sunday morning service at this church. Neither one of us wants to start searching for a church home again.

Don't believe that the quotes above are the same in every translation? Click them, then feel free to select a different translation at BibleGateway, and you'll see that they all tell the same tale of Communion.

Your comments?

Joe

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Peace

At church today, the topic of the sermon was Peace. We're in the advent season, and over the past four weeks, the sermon topics have been Hope, Love, Joy and (today) Peace.

During today's sermon, Pastor Derek Duncan talked about, of course, Peace. There was one passage that I felt was a major take away:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 [NIV]

In this day when we are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting terrorism and drugs, and concerned about the future plans of North Korea, Iran, and Russia, the word Peace has become quite a buzzword. Whether you call it "troop withdrawal," or "draw down," or some other term that refers to ending hostilities, the meaning is the same: Peace. Politicians often run on a platform of Peace (either obtained through withdrawal or victory). But can they truly bring us peace?

No. Absolutely not. Only one person can bring us Peace: Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Our lives will be filled with trouble, but in the arms of Christ, we find true peace. Even in the hardest of times, we have peace in Christ.

There was something that Pastor Duncan said that I had never considered before. Today, the term "god" can mean many different things to many different people. While I might refer to God as the Creator of all, another might think of their "god," whomever that might be. As Christians, as followers of God through His Son Jesus Christ, we need to shift our focus on the One and Only source of peace and salvation: Jesus Christ. There can be no confusion whom we serve when we serve the Son.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Send feedback to Joe by email, or by calling 317-644-6129.

Your comments?

Joe

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Soapy Joe 12 - Hope In Christ

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Soapy Joe
featuring
Average Joe American

Episode Twelve: Hope In Christ

Phone: (317) 644-6129
Email Feedback: joe@averagejoeamerican.us

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Prodigal Son

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

• S: Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.' "So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any. "That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.' He got right up and went home to his father. "When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.' But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time. "All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.' "The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'" Luke 15:11-32 [MSG]
  
• O: No matter how we wander or where we roam, the Father always welcomes us home with open arms.
  
• A: I was saved at the age of twelve. Just a young boy who felt the Spirit move in me during a youth retreat with the Baptist Church my family attended at the time. I had grown up going to church, and it was just a matter of time before I would accept Christ as my Savior, be Baptized, and start my walk with Christ. But as so often happens, I soon found myself headed down a path that surely Christ wasn't leading me down. I experimented in some things that no one should be messing with at that age, especially not someone so new in his faith. Minor things by today's standards, but things I would be embarrassed to have my children learn about. Things I surely don't want them experimenting in. I became very selfish, thinking always of me and my own desires, and rarely of what God wanted from me. As always, my selfish pursuits paid the rewards I was due -- embarrassment, inconvenience, struggle. Well into adulthood, I lived selfishly, pursuing my own desires, wondering why life was so unfair. Until one day, when airplanes struck down America's symbols of success, and I felt the call to return to my roots and visit a church. That was the start of my return to the fold. The Father greeted me warmly, held me, comforted me. He welcomed me home. I'm far from perfect, but have learned to put my God and my family before myself, and life has never been better.
  
• P: Thank You, Father, for welcoming me home and showing me what really matters most. Thank You for family.
  

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The Church Hunt Is Over (God Willing)

This past Sunday, the family and I continued our church hunt in Indianapolis. We've been searching for a new church closer to our new home in Indianapolis, but have been very disappointed with everything we've found so far. Quite possibly because we are allowing ourselves to draw too many comparisons with our old church in Terre Haute. So far, some of the major differences we've encountered include:

• Many of the churches in Indy seem to practice a modified form of Intinction when they take Communion. My wife and I are both very familiar with taking the bread and the cup separately, not dipping the bread into a community juice.


• We have grown very accustomed to a period of corporate worship (defined as a Worship Leader and a band leading the congregation in thirty minutes or so of whorshipping God through contemporary Christian music) after the sermon. Every church we have encountered has their longer worship period before the sermon at the beginning of the service, as if it's intended to allow ample time for stragglers to make it into their seats without missing the message. We prefer the latter period of worship because it allows for time to reflect upon the message, pray and commune with God.


• We have found that at some churches, the mere process of dropping our children off for childrens worship and making our way into the sanctuary is overwhelming. This doesn't seem to be in any way associated with the size of the congregation or the church, as I'll explain later in this article.

That seems to touch on the majority of the major differences. We have visited several churches over the past several months, and have not yet found ourselves feeling comfortable and welcome to the point that we just knew we could return. A couple of churches have been better than others and seemed like they might have to suffice, but I think we've finally broken the chain of disappointment.

This past Sunday our church hunting took us to East 91st Street Christian Church, more commonly referred to on their website as E91. The church claims to have over three thousand in attendance each week and is part of the Restoration movement. It is a non-denominational church with the sole purpose of serving and worshipping Christ.

We were at first overwhelmed with traffic in the area as we approached the church. There is ongoing construction at the site while this already large church continues to grow. Officers were posted along East 91st Street to direct traffic and ease the congestion, and it seemed adequate enough.

Having looked at the church floor plan online in advance, I tried to park as close to the childrens wing as possible, and we arrived with adequate time to get the kids registered and signed into their respective classes. We entered the church as close to the childrens wing as we could find and approached a well-marked information desk. When we explained that we were there for the first time and wanted to drop the kids off for childrens worship, the woman serving at the desk was very warm and welcoming. She gave us some information about the church, to include their fall program directory, called Lifebook. She then walked with us to the childrens wing and waited while we took our daughter to her class. The entire way to the childrens wing, she was very conversational and made us feel very welcome.

We then took our son to his class, which was when the drama began. Since we started our church hunt, our son has been very resistant to going to childrens worship at new churches. I haven't been able to figure out why this is, but it has been a challenge every week to get him to leave us to join his age group. E91 proved to be no exception. My son hid his eyes and nearly had to be carried into his classroom. For nearly fifteen minutes I, my wife, and two adults in the class spoke with my son and tried to make him feel more at ease. In the end, we agreed to let our son go to the sanctuary with us, with the understanding that if we felt called to return to the church, one of us would stay with him next week in his class.

As we entered the sanctuary, it once again was difficult to find enough seats together for the three of us. Luckily an usher proved helpful in seating us. The sanctuary is arranged so that the speaker stands on a walkway that extends into the center of the room. There are several rows of theater-style seating facing the front of the walkway. On each side of the walkway there are several more rows of theater-style seating placed perpendicular to the those at the end of the walkway, so that everyone sitting in the sanctuary is looking at the speaker. There are balconies on each side and in the back of the sanctuary, as well. There is a choir loft behind the speaker that was not in use as we chose to attend the contemporary service, not the traditional service.

The worship band was on stage playing as we seated ourselves. They had a very polished sound and the acoustics of the sanctuary were great. Midway through the second song, my son said he wanted to go back to his class. I guess he realized he would have more fun there than he would sitting with mommy and daddy listening to music that he probably thought was too loud. I quickly took him to his class and returned just in time for Communion.

After Communion (traditional Communion, which made us both happy) and the offertory, the Pastor took the stage and delivered a very thought-provoking message. I took several pages of notes while Pastor Derek Duncan delivered a message in a very fast tempo.

After the sermon, we picked up our children, where everyone remembered us and made us feel very welcome again. Though my son played games during the ride home saying he didn't want to go back to E91, he later told us he had been joking, making it unanimous: we will be returning to E91 this weekend.

As I said earlier, I don't believe that the overwhelming feeling we've had at several other churches is at all related to the size of the building or the size of the congregation. We have visited smallish churches where things were so disorganized as to make the whole experience seem stressful, and we have been to more than one very large church where things went so smoothly that one might forget that it was a large church. With over three thousand people attending on Sunday, E91 is one of those churches that has made the large seem not so large and eliminated much of the overwhelming feeling that many come to associate with larger churches.

The experience was very positive, and as my wife and I left we both said that we felt our hunt may be over. We both feel that quite possibly God is calling us to become involved in the community at E91 and to settle down in a new church home. We certainly intend to give Him the time to make the message clear to us.

Your comments?

Joe

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Concluding the Fasting

One week ago, at church, Pastor Scot Longyear challenged the congregation to a one-week fast, based upon the teaching of Jesus. His challenge was not necessarily that we fast for the entire week, if we felt we couldn't fast for such a period of time, but that we observe some sort of fasting for the week (actually eight days) from last Sunday until this Sunday evening.

That fast has now ended, and I wanted to share my experience, and my thoughts, with you here.

I chose to observe two types of fasting over the week. First, and this might seem simple, but I chose to abstain from all forms of commercially prepared and packaged soft drinks for the entire week. My wife and I drink quite a bit of Coke Zero, and I felt that this would be depriving myself of a drink that I enjoy very much. I did not allow myself any form of commercially prepared or packaged soft drinks. In fact, I drank only coffee, water, milk, and Kool-Aid. It could be argued that Kool-Aid is a commercially prepared soft drink, but based on the fact that it's just flavoring in a packet that has to be combined with sugar and water in the home, and the final product was not commercially packaged, I allowed myself Kool-Aid on two occasions during the week.

Second, I chose to fast completely from any type of food from midnight until dinner time every day (skipping breakfast, lunch, and all snacks in between). Furthermore, I did not allow myself to have dinner until after 6:00 pm, making the daily fasting period at least eighteen hours long. I began my soft drink fast first thing Sunday morning, and began the meal fast on Sunday evening.

I have tried to fast before for a full day, and have only succeeded on one occasion. It's not an easy thing to do, and takes a great deal of determination and commitment. This week's fast took the same type of commitment, as I had to discipline myself to follow some very strict rules about eating and drinking every day for a full week. Now, I know that there are some people in the world who have to follow stricter rules about eating without choice, simply because they don't have the resources that I have. That's the point: to deprive myself of something by choice, for the purpose of learning discipline and getting closer to God.

How did I get closer to God by fasting? Because I could not have done it without Him. By doing it for Him (because He says "when" you fast, not if), and relying on Him to give me the strength to get through it, I found myself calling upon Him to help me through the tough times. The toughest of which was today.

It was an interesting and valued experience. I will certainly do it again in the future, and probably place stricter rules upon myself.

This week's fast was to end with a special Communion service at church. Our old church in Terre Haute, that is. As the price of gasoline skyrocketed in the wake of Hurricane Ike, my wife and I decided to continue our church shopping here in Indianapolis rather than making the ninety minute drive back to Terre Haute. We decided to continue our fast until the time that we would have taken Communtion (approximately 7:00 pm).

I am happy to report that we may very well have found ourselves a new church home in Indianapolis. We both left there feeling that we may just be done with our search finally. More on that tomorrow, I hope.

Jesus Christ on Fasting:

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:16-18 [NIV]

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Joe

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Choices

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

• Scripture: Revelation 21; Genesis 2; Jonah 4
  
• Following are notes from the sermon during my recent visit to Common Ground Christian Church in Indianapolis.
• Do we allow the choices we make to be consistent with the Creator, or with humanity?
• Creation is moving in one direction, and humanity is moving in the opposite direction. Chaos and frustration is the result.
• We were not created to live outside of Eden.
• We can choose to live in Eden, or east of Eden. What will we choose?
• When we interact with others, do we choose to present them with Heaven or Hell? We are showing them an example of one or the other in our actions.
• Our choices: are they consistent with God, or consistent with "the pattern of me?"
• Do we put more stock in the temporary, or in the eternal?
• Ask yourself: What prevents me from moving back toward Eden? What do I believe in so strongly that it prevents me from moving toward Eden? What compels me to more toward Eden?
• What we are is the result of a series of choices that we make that have formed us into what we've become. We don't just wake up one day and say, "I think I'll....." Every decision we make is just one more decision built upon and affected by a series of past decisions.

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Joe

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Vacation: Day Five (& the Church Hunt Continues)

Vacation day five was a very relaxing day. We started the morning by continuing our church hunt, trying to find something closer to home where we feel welcome, comfortable, and moved to worship the Lord.

Prior to moving to Indianapolis, we attended Maryland Community Church in Terre Haute, where we still return on occasion for the eXchange Community Worship led by Pastor Scot Longyear. It's a ninety minute drive to go there, so we have been hoping to find something closer to home. We have visited several Indianapolis churches in the past few months, and have had a difficult time finding a place that we can call "home." In most cases, my wife and I both know right away whether the church we're in feels like home or not. More accurately, we both have known right away that the church doesn't feel like home. We haven't yet found a church that we have felt we could call home. Until, possibly, today.

Our church hunt took us this morning to Common Ground Christian Church on Illinois Street in Indianapolis. We were running a bit behind this morning, as my wife wasn't feeling well, so things were already under way when we arrived for the 11am service.

As we arrived, we were shocked to see the sanctuary so full that we were concerned there might not be two seats together for us to sit. My wife thinking she might have seen some place for us to sit, we decided to drop off the kids and join the worship service.

We had to find our own way to the children's worship area. That wasn't difficult, as there was one main hallway directly outside the sanctuary, and there were signs clearly marking what each room was. We first took our daughter to the toddler class. We were greeted there by a nice gentleman who made us feel welcome and told us how to get to the Kindergarten class to drop off my son. We were greeted there as well, and for the first time in quite some time, my son wasn't resistant to being left in the class.

When we returned to the sanctuary, we found that there indeed were not two seats together for us. Instead, we went up to the balcony and took two seats in the back row. Not normally where we would want to sit, but we were latecomers to the service.

The service today opened with five or six people on the stage reading the entire book of Jonah. We arrived to our seats just as they finished reading and the worship leader took over.

The worship was led by one man, playing an acoustic guitar, with no backup band. There were drums, keyboards, and other band equipment on the stage, but for some reason today the worship band consisted of one person on acoustic guitar. Interestingly enough, that was all that was needed, as you could actually hear all the way up into the balcony the entire congregation joining in the singing. It was quite inspirational. In fact, before the Pastor even took the stage, my wife jotted a note to me that read:

I think I like this church. We'll see after the message.

Communion took place before the Pastor took the stage, and once again we were exposed to the unusual form of Communion that I have referred to as a modified form of intinction. Though it isn't the form of Communion we've grown accustomed to, it appears to be quite commonly practiced in Indianapolis, and we are starting to get used to it.

The Pastor delivered a message from the 4th chapter of Jonah (see link above), about choices. Most notably, we were not created to live outside of Eden. Are we choosing to move toward Eden, or away from it? I won't share all of my notes here, as I'll likely post some commentary on it this week at Soapy Joe. I'll add an updated link here when it's available. We both enjoyed the sermon.

After the sermon, the worship leader returned to the stage during a time for people to make a decision for Christ. As I stated in last week's article, my wife and I prefer a longer time of corporate worship after the message to give people more time to make a decision. No church as of yet has done it this way.

One of the most notable things about the service was what appeared to be the total absence of a time to take an offering. Unless this happened at the very opening of the service before the reading from the book of Jonah, then there was no offering taken during the service.

Most importantly, I think, was the fact that both of my children said they enjoyed the children's worship, that they wanted to return again, and my son actually remembered what his teaching had been about (Esther).

I think we'll be returning again soon to Common Ground, though we will certainly plan to arrive early enough to be seated closer to the front of the sanctuary and to ensure we don't miss the beginning of the service. I'm not completely decided yet, but we may very well have found a local church that we can call home.

After church, we did a little grocery shopping and returned home, where I grilled one of the juiciest, most tender steaks I have ever eaten, as well as veggies for my wife, garlic & onion corn, and hot dogs for the kids. It was our Labor Day cookout, since we'll be spending my son's fifth birthday tomorrow at King's Island.

Today was a nice relaxing day, getting the kids to bed early so they can get plenty of rest for tomorrow. I have just three days left before returning to work, and tomorrow will likely be the busiest of them all.

Your comments?

Joe

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