What does it mean to “join” a church? Is membership important? What does church involvement look like? What are the core values at play, and where do they come from? Although I won’t attempt to answer all these questions here, I do want to highlight a couple of my favorite scriptures on church participation, and I pray these will be an encouragement for those considering a bigger role in their faith community. I also hope to provide a framework for pastors and leaders as they communicate the value of “joining in” in a deeper way… “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 PETER 2:4-5) “Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God,” is how The Message paraphrase sums up this passage, and I love the language here! These scriptures tell us that since church members are “living stones” we need everyone involved for the sanctuary to be “vibrant with life.” Vibrant church is not a spectator sport. The Bible calls the church the “body” of Christ…a living, moving, organism where every cell counts. Peter goes on to say in 2:9-10: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God…” “But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” (The Message) This is where we get the phrase “the priesthood of all believers,” and it’s a beautiful picture. Can you imagine it? Everyone getting into the action of God’s work in the world, everyone playing a vital part in the grand story of the Gospel, every church member exercising his or her priestly calling and gifting within their community of faith…this is a picture worth fighting for! If we agree that this ideal has some validity to it, then the next question is; what would that look like practically? The Bible, once again, paints a portrait to capture our vision and imagination: 1 Corinthians 14:26 …When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.” hmmm…”built up”; interesting picture…with “living stones” maybe? …and The Message says, “When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight.” This is what I like to call an every-member-functioning body, and I believe it is the calling of every church leader to give themselves fully to this vision; facilitating, encouraging, and championing the...
read moreThere has been so much interest in small group ministry during the first month of my pastoral role here at Commonwealth Chapel, that we decided to host a one-night event where group leaders and those wanting to join groups could all connect at once. It was s smashing success as almost 150 people filled our auditorium, chatted around tables, met new friends, and signed up to attend a group. We called it “Community Group Connect!”, and that is exactly what happened! My teaching that night focused on two key elements to healthy community; truth and love. Here’s my notes: Fred Buechner: “You can survive on your own; can grow strong on your own; prevail on your own; but you cannot become human on your own.” In the overall context of Commonwealth Chapel, we see two main elements that play key roles in facilitating deep, formative community; they are TRUTH and LOVE. Truth and Love… Eph. 4:14-16 (NIV) Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the TRUTH in LOVE, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in LOVE, as each part does its work. (MS) 14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole TRUTH and tell it in LOVE—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in LOVE. 1 Thes. 5:12 (NIV) Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you (TRUTH!), who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love (LOVE!) because of their work. Live in peace with each other (LOVE!). 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive (TRUTH!), encourage the disheartened (LOVE!) help the weak (LOVE!), be patient with everyone (LOVE!). 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong (TRUTH!), but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else (LOVE!). 6 Loves….3 Truths… might be a good model? Truth and love are married together, but not quite the image of two hands with interlocking fingers. Truth is more like a fist, and love is like a hand over that fist. It filters every action. We ask at every turn; “is this loving?” (MS) 13-15 Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you...
read moreMy family and I leave tonight for the biggest adventure of our lives. Hear some of the story here More to follow as the journey unfolds… Thanks for following, friends!!! Justin
read moreA friend and fellow musician, Chris Bright, has put together an outstanding educational website. He recently interviewed me for a short piece on songwriting and performance. I hope it’s helpful for many! Click on the image below to go straight to his site…and make sure to explore all the great stuff he’s got on there! Way to go,...
read moreSeveral pastors in Costa Mesa have been praying together for over 17 years! And last Sunday, one of their prayer requests was answered; hundreds gathered to worship from churches across the city for one, united expression of faith. They cancelled their Sunday morning services and showed up at the fairgrounds at 9am, ready to praise a God of unifying love and work together to bless our community in unprecedented ways. This was a game-changer! Our musicians came from 4 different churches, and I led the worship with a friend who sang in Spanish. We created a unique blend of languages as diverse neighbors worshipped together like never before… Two of our city’s pastors bilingually challenged the audience to action, and we closed the service with a time of prayer, repentance, and commitment. As people left, there were booths and information set up to find out more about ways to serve and love Costa Mesa. Several city council members attended, and one left in tears. GOD IS ON THE MOVE!!! Your contribution and prayers for this ministry allow me to step into divine appointments like this one- Thanks again for partnering with...
read moreIt really happened! Just a couple weeks ago, I walked across the platform with a masters degree in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care from Talbot Seminary. The last three years of study have been a blur, and yet the presence and provision of God have been unmistakable. I wrote a post about starting this journey in 2010. It’s hard to believe I am now closing this chapter. Thanks to everyone who has played a part in helping me achieve this goal. I am forever grateful and continuing to count on your prayers as God guides my next steps… Thanks...
read moreSome of you may not know this, but I have been writing some children’s worship songs for David C. Cook’s TRU curriculum as a side project, and I just stumbled onto this video for one of them. This simple little tune I wrote has become a major theme song for the TRU material, and I couldn’t be more stoked! Some fun facts about this recording that are kinda cool; it features Crystal Lewis on vocals and… my personal hero on the drums Mr. Kenny Aronoff! Follow along for some healthy...
read moreYes, friends – it’s finally here! My 10th album is DONE, and I am grateful beyond words to everyone who worked so hard to make it happen. You can order hard copies from this website HERE, or download the digital copy HERE. Thanks for...
read more…just received this picture from Mozambique. A portion of all the financial support we receive has gone to the Iris Children’s Center orphanage for over ten years now. A guitar we had signed and donated recently finally arrived, and this was just a fun reminder of the impact we are making –...
read moreThank you, all, for supporting and jumping with us on our album project – you helped us RAISE OUR GOAL and the album is in production now! You can continue to follow the progress here: OUR KICKSTARTER PROJECT We can’t wait for you to hear these new songs and experience the full album – finally…after five years…it’s happening!!!
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