VinceMcFarland.com

This Sunday May 23 is Pentecost Sunday. This is an annual reminder of the birth of the Church. It is a great reminder of the spiritual origin of God’s earthly entity we call the Church.

The Holy Spirit generated the earthly family of God on Pentecost as recorded in the book of Acts. Wow, what a day that was! It is one of the key texts that Pentecostals base much of their theology, and rightly so.

I must admit I long for another day like that! As a pastor I get so frustrated with human directed, human empowered and human organizations. I need a move of God in MCC and the Church of Terre Haute! I long for God to rend the heavens and come down and stir us up to what we could be and should be! Only the Holy Spirit’s fire can change our fleshly motives and powers.

Since 2001 the world has been invited to the largest prayer gatherings in history. These gatherings are all over the world and in 220 nations. It is referred to as the Global Day of Prayer. It originated in South Africa. We as Americans are slowly grabbing hold of it as it creeps toward a conclusion possibly this year.

Our gathering here in Terre Haute will be at First Baptist Church on Poplar (2 pm). Thanks Bernie for hosting us! Churches from al across our city are encouraged to come and pray. For repentance and the healing touch of God from heaven. Our world needs revived! Our city needs revived! Our churches need revived! The Church of Terre Haute needs revived! The Church in America needs revived! I wonder if I didn’t get all covered, but I tried.

I believe God pays attention to his people when they gather corporately to pray and worship. I feel an intense need for this gathering in our city. I need the presence of all God’s people in a location crying out together as the body of Christ without denominational labels. Just His kids crying for His help.

Let’s be a “city on our knees” as Toby Mac sings. Sinners and Saints in a beautiful display. Why not now? Let’s start here!

“Ironically, if we speak about spiritual formation purely in individual terms, we will not be able to form individuals well. Part of what is needed for our formation is membership in and submission to and compassion for a community larger than or individual selves.” John Ortberg

* Membership is about relationships. We want them, need them and flourish in them. Being a member of the body of Christ is life and health. A needed place of care, support and encouragement. (Heb. 10; Acts 2)

* Submission is about humility. There is a God, it is not you! We live under authority for the good of God’s kingdom and not ours. (Jam. 4:7, Rom. 8:7)

* Compassion is about loving God and our neighbor. The great commandment, fulfilling the Law of God. Selfishness is overcome as we give to others. Bearing each others burdens and meeting their needs is being a follower of Jesus. (Mt. 22:37, Gal. 6:2)

“A community of people” is a core value of MCC. We are not individuals on a journey so much as we are a family on a journey. We travel together, with each other and for each other.

Are you a part of a community of followers of Jesus? These are the nuts and bolts of church membership. Far more important than a lot of people realize. We are not a club or just another non-profit helping people. We are the household of God and the door of fellowship is always open!

Here is an article in Leadership Journal that summarizes much of what I have been teaching on for the past four weeks. It is a good summary of things in his new book The Me I Want To Be.

Article: ChristianityToday.com

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;”

The last aspect of spiritual formation in “The Me I Want To Be” is the practicum. It is the action item of spiritual growth. As you can see in this familiar text on spiritual gifts, it is critical to “use them.” Having them is one thing, using them is quite another. Practice may not make us perfect, but it does help us grow more perfect!

Living in the flow of the Spirit means I use my gifts in the context of my daily life. Experiences are what we do in life. Most people spend over half their lives “at work.” Our work is our arena of experience.

“Work is not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do……the medium in which we offer ourselves to God.” Dorothy Sayers

“You come to know God by experience at His initiative as He reveals Himself to you. As you experience God, you come to know Him more intimately and personally.”

YOU COME TO KNOW GOD BY EXPERIENCE AS YOU OBEY HIM AND HE ACCOMPLISHES HIS WORK THROUGH YOU.

Some Insight into Work:

I. Discover your strengths (Marcus Buckingham, Now Discover Your Strengths)

II. Understand what you receive when you work

III. Let your work honor God (Col. 3:22)

IV. Make work a part of your calling

V. View work as a service to God

VI. Adversity “can” lead to growth.

1. Rising to a challenge reveals abilities hidden within you (and beyond you!) that would otherwise have remained dormant.

Temptation has a way out; not necessarily adversity!

2. Adversity can deepen relationships.

3. Adversity can change your priorities about what really matters.

4. Adversity points us to the Hope beyond ourselves.

Ernest Hemingway, “Sooner or later, the world breaks everyone, and those who are broken are strongest in the broken places.

MAYBEyou need to stretch and plan an experience that would stretch you in a new way.

MAYBE you need to offer up your “ordinary life” to God as a means of learning more and giving more.

SF My Experiences: SF My Experiences

I had the pleasure of attending a lectureship at Lincoln Chrisitian University this past week entitled; “Discipleship To Jesus for the 21^st Century”. Dr. Michael Wilkins from Talbot Theological Seminary was the lecturer.

He stated that the “to” was important because in English we don’t have a case system and it was emphatically important to understand that our primary learning relationship is with Jesus Christ. People are important and learning from them is important but primarily we are under the teaching relationship of Jesus first and foremost.

In a very simple post I wanted to let you know my biggest take away.

Three measures of Discipleship for a local Congregation:

John 8:31 ¶ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

He said that if he were pastoring a congregation again these three things would guide his efforts at a discipleship model. That got my attention because that is what I am currently engaged in. Sometimes academics have to get really practical

So, Word-Love-Fruit.

1) How do we intentionally get people in the Word and obeying it in their daily lives.

2) How do we create environments that encourage and give opportunity for people to be loved and to love each and every day.

3) How do we evaluate fruit from our lives, ministry and congregation?

The first two of these are a whole lot easier to work on than the third. Our Life Journaling and emphasis on bible study are ways of helping with staying in the Word. We are trying hard to make some of the more historical methods of scripture reading and application take on new life in our generation. Hard, reading in general is a challenge and reading for application is even harder!

Creating environments seven days a week to have people be loved on and to love others is hard. We are so “come to church” minded it is hard to get people caring for people in their daily environments. Whether that is work, neighborhoods, or school it just needs to be targeted for Christ like engagement.

I, we at MCC, have struggled with measuring fruit without becoming legalistic or elitist. Fruit in all the biblical contexts I am aware of is some thing that is visible and tangible. The practical nickels and noses of evangelism are quite easily used as fruit measures by most churches. Measuring things like character and giftedness are a little harder.