Church – Page 5

Life After Your Short Term Mission Trip

by Jed CoppengerChristian living, Church, Evangelism, Missions, Prayer, Southern Baptist Convention, Uncategorized May 11, 2017May 11, 2017No Comments

Life after a mission trip can be difficult, especially when it was your first trip. It’s difficult to make sense of what you just saw while handling all of the responsibilities that have piled up. But with a little forethought, life after your mission trip can be a powerful, life-changing season. I’m praying that God would use these 12 insights to help you advance further, faster into the mission of Christ. In the last post, I offered up 6. Here are the remaining 6.

Remember what it’s like to meet God outside of your comfort zone – There are a lot of places mission teams go around the world. Rarely, if ever, does this list include a “comfort zone.” God’s mission pushes outside of our comfort zone. It’s important to remember that God offers his children special blessings outside of their comfort zones, not in them. This is true when you head back to “normal life.”

Remember what it felt like to be an outsider – Most mission teams feel what it is like to be an “outsider.” For many, feeling like an “outsider” is a first. We typically stay in circles where we feel like “insiders,” especially the older we get. Yet, on the mission field, we feel strange. When we go to the worship gathering or the work site, we aren’t in control, we don’t know everyone. We’re outsiders. Remembering this experience will help us do a better job following Jesus’ example and reaching the “outsiders” around us back home.

Remember what it’s like to be on guard – Mission teams know that they encounter strange situations and pressures when they decide to join Jesus on mission amongst the nations. So they put up their guard. Often times, people let their guard down when they get back to the states. Unfortunately, the Enemy often works harder to stop the kingdom momentum generated by the Spirit on these trips. Stay on guard when you’re back in “normal life.”

Remember what it’s like to be flexible – Flexibility is the name of the game on the mission field. You have to learn “to hurry and wait.” Plans change quickly and often. But most mission teams understand that God sets the agenda on the mission field, so they face their changes with expectancy, not anxiety. The same God is setting the agenda at “home.” Face your unexpected problems with expectancy, not anxiety, when you get back to “normal life.”

Remember what it’s like to be a missionary – Most mission teams are made up of people who see “missionary life” for the first time. Often times, people are both inspired by their example and encouraged by their normalcy. Missionaries aren’t the super heroes that we often make them out to be. They are regular sinners, like you and me, following Jesus in normal, grace-dependent ways. By God’s grace, you can live more like one where God’s placed you.

Remember what it’s like to be saved by grace – I’ve never met a person that followed through perfectly on their post-mission trip commitments. So many of them end up struggling from what I call, “post-mission trip guilt.” You experience this when you don’t feel like you did on the trip, don’t change like you hoped you would, or don’t _______________. Remember that you are saved by grace, not by your works. Jesus is the only one who has ever performed perfectly. So expect to be imperfect as you take new steps of faithfulness. Rest in his grace, even as you reach for more.

I hope these have been helpful. I’m sure I’ve left some off. What would you add?

Life After Your Short Term Mission Trip

by Jed CoppengerChristian living, Church, Missions, Uncategorized May 3, 2017May 11, 2017One Comment

I love “mission trip meals.” Not so much for the actual food, as much fun as that can be, but to watch the way team members respond to the “exotic” meals placed before them. These meals aren’t the kind that you’ll find at Whole Foods or any other American restaurant. They are, shall we say, “unique.” Thankfully, most people find a way to show their appreciation for the great generosity being shown to them. While it’s rare for anyone to eat everything, most of us end up eating something.

As you make your way back into “normal life,” I’d like to offer you some food for thought. I’d like to serve up a few pieces of advice that might help you transition back into American life in a way that energizes you and positions you to take greater steps forward for the kingdom. Like your “mission trip meals,” I doubt anyone will take everything I offer here. But, perhaps, you’ll find one or two pieces of advice nourishing to you as you go. Here are 12 insights I think are worth remembering when reentering the States.

Remember What It’s Like To See Past “Normal Life” – When you spend time amongst people from different cultures, you realize pretty quickly that your definition of “normal” really isn’t “normal.” You don’t have to be on the go all the time, pursue more and more, care what’s happening on the internet, or be involved in ___________, to have a life of joy, hope, love, peace, and meaning.

Remember What It’s Like To Be Thankful – Most of your days on the mission field are filled with gratitude. You’re thankful for big things and small things. Often times, you’re gratitude naturally overflows into conversations where you share your thankfulness with others. Gratitude is supposed to be one of the key marks of every Christian’s life, although it’s often missing in our normal lives. If you discover it anew on the mission field, don’t let it go when you come back.

Remember What It’s Like Not To Be “Too Busy” – The slower pace of the mission field often helps us realize the hyper speed we’re accustomed too. It’s amazing how much more of life you actually see when you slow down a bit. You won’t be able to keep “mission field pace” when you return to “normal life,” but perhaps you are better equipped to slow down in life giving ways.

Remember What It’s Like To Disconnect From The Internet – Limited internet access on the mission field is steadily becoming one of its most transformative elements. After a few days of detox, people often realize they enjoy life more when they have limited internet access. When you go back to normal life, try to maintain “limited internet access” so that your life can be more of what you hope it will be.

Remember What It’s Like To Be Present – Mission trips are typically filled with people talking with others more often and more deeply than they would otherwise. The amount of time you spend with a mission team requires you to move past the surface. Some of this level of fellowship is caused by the lack of Internet access. Indeed, when we lack internet connection, we often find personal connection. There’s, of course, more to this dynamic. At the very least, remember to be like Jesus who prioritized consistent, unhurried conversations.

Remember What It’s Like To Engage With God Daily Through Bible Reading And Prayer – Most people find themselves praying and reading the Bible more on mission trips than they did before. These habits are necessary for any relationship to grow, especially one with someone you don’t “see” everyday. Remember how meaningful these moments were to you on the mission field as you get back to “normal life.”

In Part 2, I’ll offer the remaining pieces of advice. In the meantime, would you pray with me for a team that is transitioning back into “normal life”?

The ERLC, Prestonwood, And The Mission

by Jed CoppengerChurch, Diversity, Evangelism, Southern Baptist Convention March 16, 2017No Comments

Since 1845, Southern Baptist’s have focused on “… eliciting, combining, and directing the energies of the Baptist denomination of Christians, for the propagation of the gospel….” While it’s true that our faithfulness to this cooperative mission has varied over the years, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace of God so evident in the SBC’s impact on the globe for the gospel. Faithful pastors, entity leaders, and messengers have come and gone, along quite a few controversies, yet here we are, advancing the gospel for the sake of the nations.

Yet, a quick look at the history of denominational life in America shows that past successes don’t necessarily equal future flourishing. Each generation of Christians have to face and overcome unique challenges. Or, more accurately, each mixture of generations has to figure out a way to do more together than they could apart to advance the kingdom of Christ.

More and more, I’m convinced that Southern Baptists are facing one of these unique challenges. As many know, Pastor Jack Graham has led his church to hold their CP monies because of concerns with Dr. Russell Moore, the president of the ERLC. This is a significant conflict in SBC life because Graham is a former-SBC president and leads one of the largest churches in the SBC and America.

Tense moments like these cause our hearts and minds to go in a lot of directions. I’ve found that most of my initial reactions to situations like these to be “less than helpful” to cooperative mission and “less than pleasing” to the God we all serve. Maybe I’m not alone. Hopefully, the following beliefs about our cooperative mission add something to the existing conversation that will lead to greater cooperation and greater glory for God.

I believe our cooperative mission would be hurt if Dr. Russell Moore resigned or was fired – What many thought was a small disagreement over how leaders handled one of the most unique presidential races in U.S. history, has quickly turned into a situation where “resignations” and “firings” are being talked about publicly. I think this would hurt our cooperative mission significantly. Moore has done a fantastic job of leading the ERLC in the short time he’s been in his role. Not only has he done a great job representing Southern Baptists on some of the most significant and nuanced issues our churches are facing, he’s done a great job creating more Southern Baptists. That is, since he has been in his role, many pastors and churches have partnered with the SBC for the first time—starting CP giving, increasing CP giving, increasing diversity in the SBC, and more. I believe Moore is uniquely qualified to lead the ERLC in these increasingly difficult times.

I believe our cooperative mission is helped when we affirm the autonomy of every local church in the SBC – It’s hard for many outside of the SBC to wrap their minds around the nature of our cooperation. I consistently find myself having to explain the nature of our cooperation to new members of the church I lead, to reporters, or people interested in learning more about the SBC. Most think that someone can make a decision at the SBC headquarters for all of the 50,000 SBC churches. This, of course, simply isn’t how it works. Every church is autonomous. They decide the nature of their engagement in our cooperative mission. Churches review these things all of the time. I think it’d be a mistake to attack this key, Southern Baptist commitment just because you don’t like one particular church’s reasoning.

I believe our cooperative mission is helped when we recognize that disagreements are evidence of our growing diversity – I don’t know of a church in the history of Christianity that has had complete agreement on every key decision. No pastor I’m aware of has ever had 100% of the church they lead on board with every significant decision they’ve made. If that’s true of our churches, how much more will it be true of a denomination like the SBC that is made up of 50,000 churches?! If there’s no significant disagreements in our midst, then we’ve become something different than what we see in the NT (Eph 2:11-20). Conflict isn’t always a sign of weakness, it’s often a sign of strength. I think we should be grateful to God that we are diverse enough to disagree. As our diversity grows in the coming years, we’ll have even more disagreements. By God’s grace, we’ll be better prepared to face them because of our current conflicts. Disagreements are often evidence that God’s using his glorious gospel to unite people at levels they’ve never experienced.

I believe our cooperative mission would be helped if we give a little more to the CP to advance the mission and take the pressure off of Prestonwood – The beauty of the SBC is that it’s made up of 50,000 who give around a billion dollars a year. That means churches can change their level of financial support for the CP without the whole thing falling apart. I think it also means that churches can give a little more to make up financial gaps that inevitably appear. I know the SBC is made up of churches of different sizes, most of which are smaller. But what if half of our 50,000 churches gave just 40 dollars more this year? Or, perhaps, we could find a 1000 churches that would give 1000 dollars more this year? Whatever the exact giving strategy is, I think we could easily make up the immediate financial gap in a way that keeps the mission going forward while taking the pressure off of Prestonwood as they carry out their internal review and decide how they want to handle their missions giving. What a beautiful picture of cooperation it would be if SBC churches were able to signal that the mission is too urgent to let up while allowing churches more space and less pressure to figure out how they want to cooperate in the coming days.

I’m thankful for all that Prestonwood has done to help advance our cooperative mission over the years. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish as much as we have without them. I’m hopeful that they will reengage financially in the cooperative mission of the SBC. In the meantime, let’s remember that Jesus is on his throne and our current disagreements won’t be our last. Let’s lean into the gospel for hope. Let’s pray for unity. And let’s stumble forward together in cooperative mission by God’s grace and for his glory.

4 Ways Every Christian Can Join Jesus’ Evangelistic Mission

by Jed CoppengerChristian living, Church, Evangelism, Prayer March 2, 2017March 3, 2017No Comments

I know a lot of Christians who wish they were more evangelistic. They long for the day when they’ll experience the great joy of leading someone to Christ. They hunger to be like the Apostles and the early church who saw unbelievers from all walks of life give their lives to Christ.

The desire to be evangelistic isn’t near as rare as actually being evangelistic. I don’t know a lot of Christians who share the gospel regularly. Fewer are those who have actually led someone to Christ. And every study that I’m aware of says that my experience isn’t unique. Most Christians never share the gospel with lost people.

So what’s at the heart of our evangelism problem? Why don’t we share the gospel? Most Christians know that Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10). Most know that we’re called to make disciples of all nations, a command that requires evangelism (Matt. 28-18-20). So if we don’t have a problem understanding that we should be evangelistic, what is our problem?

The reasons, no doubt, are many. Some people are probably scared of the responses they’ll get, whether that’s a fear of being made fun of, having tough questions thrown at them, or something else. Perhaps others find that they just forget to make it a priority because they’re so busy. I’ve come across a lot of Christians that simply don’t know where to start. For this last group, I’d like to offer 4 ways that every Christian can join Jesus’ mission to save the world.

Pray For The Lost Regularly – Only God is powerful enough to change our hearts. He alone is able to give life to dead hearts. That’s why evangelism starts with prayer. Ask God to save the lost people you encounter throughout your day. Ask him to show you a few lost people whose lives you should invest in. Evangelism starts with prayer because our confidence is in God not our evangelistic efforts.

Invest In The Lost Consistently – Most people need to belong in some way before they believe. They often need to get to know who you are before they’ll follow the God you worship. While it’s true that many people become Christians as a result of a gospel presentation from a stranger, most conversion stories I’m aware of include a part where a Christian has invested relationally in their lives. Together they hung out, worked out, shared meals, coached, or something else like this. Invest in the lost people in your life so that there’s a relational bridge strong enough to invite them to take a step towards Christ.

Invite The Lost Repeatedly – Christians are called by God to be an inviting people. No, that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to be “nice” when unbelievers come. It means we are called actually to invite people to come toward or to Christ. When you invite an unbeliever to a meal, a worship gathering, a group, or something like this, you’re inviting them toward Christ. You’re inviting them to take a step toward Christ that isn’t exactly the same as inviting them to Christ. When you share the gospel with someone and invite him or her to trust Christ, you’re inviting him or her to Christ. Both types of invitations are significant kingdom advancement actions. The Enemy hates both types of invitations and will try to discourage every believer that attempts them. Satan wants to take one of the greatest kingdom advancing actions, a believer inviting an unbeliever towards or to Christ, and use it to discourage you. Negative responses to your invitations don’t change the fact that God loves you and celebrates every imperfect invitation you extend in his name. Keep praying, investing, and inviting.

Connect The Lost Strategically – Christians are called to be connectors. We’re called to be a part of connecting unbelievers to the family of God, the body of Christ, and the temple for the Spirit. When unbelievers respond to your invitation, whether that’s towards or to Christ, do your best to connect them relationally. If they respond to an invitation to come towards Christ and show up at your house, worship gathering, or group, connect them with those they’ll have the most in common. If they come to Christ and surrender their lives to him, connect them to potential disciplers. Every born-again Christian needs to be parented again. Don’t just worry about how you’re connecting, help others connect to Christ, his body, and his mission too.

I’ve had the privilege of leading people toward and to Christ. Without question, these moments have been some of the most exhilarating moments of my life. Even as I write this, many of their faces are running through my mind, causing tears of joy and gratitude to run down my face. I’m praying that every believer would experience the unique joy that is available to those who follow Jesus as he “seeks and saves” the lost in their city, country, and world.

3 Reasons I’m Praying For More Ethnic Diversity At RCC

by Jed CoppengerChurch, Diversity, Prayer, Uncategorized February 28, 2017February 28, 2017No Comments

I love Franklin, TN. It’s an amazing city. Everything you could want from a city, small town, and country is just within a few minutes. There are great schools, people, and events. It’s the heart of Williamson County, which is one of the wealthiest counties in America. Since I’ve lived here most of my life, it’s filled with incredible memories too.

But it isn’t a perfect city. For instance, many people new to Franklin are surprised to hear that life in Franklin isn’t great for everyone in Franklin. There are food shortages in Franklin. Yep, that’s right. Food shortages. There’s poverty. Drug abuse. There’s homelessness in Franklin. There are deep divisions in Franklin. An “Historic Franklin” that has some “must see” plantation homes that survived the Civil War means that the mixture of pride and pain in this city isn’t new.

Thankfully, Franklin has some fantastic men and women working to make this amazing city even better. Elected officials, school administrators, business leaders, churches, and many other types of people of goodwill are leaning into the complex problems facing our city. I’m grateful that God allows me to pastor a church, Redemption City Church (RCC), that has invested a great deal of time, money, and energy in serving our city.

But I want to see more. I believe we can see more. I want to see changes in our city that far exceed our abilities. That’s why I’m asking God to help RCC serve our city in a way that adorns the gospel. Out of the many ways we are trying to do this “adorning,” I’d like to ask you to pray with us as we pursue a more ethnically diverse RCC. I’m praying that RCC will be a church marked by greater ethnic diversity than we see in our historic city. And I’m asking you to join me praying for and pursuing this for the following reasons:

I’m Praying For More Ethnic Diversity At RCC Because The NT Church Prioritized It – One of the greatest evidences of grace in the early church was the uniting of diverse and divided peoples. Nobody could get the Jews and Gentiles together in Ephesus, but the Apostle Paul insisted that the Ephesian church use the gospel to make it happen (Eph. 2:11-22). He told the church in Corinth, a church ministering in a divided city, that their ministry is fundamentally a ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). This emphasis shouldn’t come as a surprise, since, after all, Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” asks God to unite his people—a people made up from all nations (Jn. 17:21; Matt. 28:18-20). Christ’s church has always made uniting diverse peoples a priority. In light of this, the question really becomes more of a “how could we not pray and pursue greater ethnic diversity,” than “should we?” That’s why I’m praying RCC becomes more diverse ethnically.

I’m Praying For More Ethnic Diversity At RCC Because God Says The Church Will Be Ethnically Diverse In Eternity – There’s a lot that God hasn’t told us about heaven. Thankfully, He’s not completely silent. He’s revealed the most important aspects, one of which is the fact that people from all over the world will be united in Christ (Rev. 5; 21-22)! What a glorious sight that will be. I can’t wait. So, if that’s where Christians are headed and that’s how God defines “Heaven,” why not work towards it now? If Redemption City Church is going to become more of a preview of the coming Redemption City (Rev 21:1-6), we’ll need greater ethnic diversity. If this aspect of the coming of God’s kingdom is going to be a visible reality, we need to pray for it.

I’m Praying For More Ethnic Diversity At RCC Because The Power Of The Gospel Shines Brightest When It Unites Diverse People – Ancient Philippi was divided. In Acts 16, we learn that it was divided politically, socioeconomically, and ethnically. And yet, unbelievably, a church was started with people from each of these diverse groups! How did the Apostle Paul get Lydia, a slave girl, and a Roman jailer together? The gospel. The gospel was powerful enough to bring these diverse people together. And it still is. That’s why I’m praying that the diverse and divided people of our city will be united in Christ at RCC, revealing the unbelievable power of the gospel.

I want to be a part of a church that is a shining example of what the power and grace of God produces with the gospel. I’ve been in enough conversations and read enough about this to know that God alone can produce what I want to see. Join me in praying that the God of the impossible will do the impossible in our church, in our city, and in our day.