The Nature of ConnexionChurch | pt 4

The Church is a Flock (perhaps Jesus' favorite description of the Church)

John 10.1-30; Matthew 26.31; Matthew 25.33

John10.9-10

Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.  They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.  The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Therefore it is cared for and led by SHEPHERDS.

Several terms are used in the New Testament to refer to the same church leader:

- "Poimen" ; pastor/shepherd

- "Presbuteros"; elder

-"Episcopos"; overseer and bishop

1 Peter 5.1-2

To the elders I say . . . Be shepherds of God's flock, serving as overseers.

Acts 20.17-18, 28

Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they arrived he said to them . . . Guard yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made your overseers. Be pastors of the church of God . . ."

see also Titus 1.5-7; 1 Timothy 5.17; 1 Peter 2.25

Summary of the Nature of ConnexionChurch:

1- We are a Fellowship

2- We are a Family

3- We are a Body

4- We are a Flock

The Growth Spectrum

I must confess . . . God is reminding me what's important.  Do you ever feel like you've had a "butt-whipping" from God.  I feel like that today.  It started yesterday afternoon talking with my coach from ARC (www.relatedchurches.com).  Then it continued last night reading Acts 14, then again this morning as I was reading Acts 14 again. So here it is . . .  we must remember that with all their is to do in planting a church (starting a new job, beginning a new life-stage, getting married, where-ever it is you may be in your spiritual journey) we can't forget what we are here to do.

For us all the things we have to do include:

- secure a location

- set-up the children's ministry

- recruit a worship team

- form a 'first touch' team

- develop the sermon series

- buy equipment

- get a trailer

- etc., etc., etc.

But, what we are here to do is . . . to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ! In order to do that we have to grow in our relationship with Christ - the fruit of your growth and my growth is that we will be used by God to lead other people to grow in their relationship with Christ.  God's plan for reaching people is through you and me . . . all of us are ministers.  So how 'bout it . . . where are you in the growth spectrum?  Are you growing? Is your life affecting someone else? Is your faith stronger today than yesterday? If for whatever reason you feel that your relationship with God is weaker today than it has been, then I encourage you to stop what you are doing, take time to focus on God, ask Him for renewed strength, and make Him number 1 again!  A couple of things are certain . . . God hasn't gone anywhere and He wants a close relationship with you!

Isaiah 40.31

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength . . . 

What do you do to protect your relationship with God?  What helps you grow stronger in Christ?  Where are you in the 'Growth Spectrum'?  I would like to hear from you.

Relationships versus Rules

I'm pretty competitive when it comes to games.  I like to know what the rules are . . . and if it's a board game the rules sheet is always nearby and I often refer to it (needless to say, I like when they work to my advantage).  Rules are good, they keep order, hopefully they keep you focused, they make things run smoothly, our streets are chaotic without them.  But . . . how do rules affect our relationships.

In relationships rules are needed as well, but what happens when the rules are protected more than the relationship is valued? (I'm inserting a test to see who reads the blogs, if you are reading this - please reply to this blog with a 'yes' if I don't hear from you I assume you didn't get this far. Thanks for your help.)  I wander how Jesus felt when the rules of the Pharisees were more valued than His message of hope, life and salvation.  Sometimes it seems that we are far more concerned about policy and our rules than we are in seeing someone grow as a follower of Christ.  Perhaps it is not a matter of relationships versus rules, rather which do we value more . . . which is most important?  This week, think about the balance you have between rules and relationships. Think about what matters the most . . . which do you protect the most . . . how do you allow rules to strengthen relationships, how do you allow rules to hurt relationships?  Which do you value the most?

What is most important to you, I want to hear from you?

Churches Helping Churches

Yesterday we had the opportunity to share the vision of ConnexionChurch with Glad Tidings Church in Morehead City.  Pastor Tim Marriner (who formerly pastored The Capital Church our mother church) invited us to share what we are doing with their church.  Wow!!! What an incredible spirit of life and joy they have.  Thanks Pastor Tim and Glad Tidings for allowing us to come and for your support! You all are awesome.  If you're ever in Morehead City, NC be sure to visit them.  You can visit them on the web at www.gtcalive.com.

Let's Tweet

Leadership requires constant learning.  When we stop learning our leadership will sooner or later (mostly sooner) begin to make less of an impact.  As leaders its important the we remain constant learners.  I've always found it interesting to know how great leaders think - church leaders, business leaders, political leaders - so that it will challenge me to become a more effective leader. I found a neat webtool the other day that gives insight into this.  Take a look at www.twitter.com

Its really cool to hear how other leaders use their time, what they prioritize, how they have fun and what they do to energize.  If you decide to follow people, stay on guard.  Be careful who you follow and always ask yourself is this helping me grow as a leader and a Christ-follower.  If it doesn't then don't bother with it.  So far I've found it to be useful . . . so let's tweet.

Do you tweet?  How do you build the leadership potential in you? What leaders do you read, follow, listen to, etc?

The Nature of ConnexionChurch | pt 3

ConnexionChurch is a BODY

Many churches operate as a business, decisions are based on what is the best interest of the church as a business.  At Connexion, we strive to be a body -  not a business.  An organism -  not an organization.  Because of this, we strive to function on the basis of Spiritual Gifts.  

In an organization - maintenance becomes the focus. In an organism - ministry is the focus.  Our goal is to maximize ministry, minimize maintenance and see people function as ministers.

Romans 12.4-6 

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We each have different gifts according to the grace given to us.

- Joe Francisco

For earlier posts on this topic visit www.connexionchurch.tv

Time = People

So, I received an email recently from a sales trainer who wants to motivate me to make more sales.  Attached to the email is a chart called Time = Money.  For example, if you make $100,000 per year, then one week of your time is work $1,923.  One day of your time is worth $382.60. One hour of your time is worth $48.08, and one minute of your time is worth $.80.  In return, an hour saved each week for one year equals $2,500 saved.  This chart bring things into perspective for me as far as time management in concerned, BUT . . . think about time management this way.

Many of you will be investing a lot of your time into the launch of ConnexionChurch.  I want to share with you what your time means to us and to the Kingdom of God . . . 

If you invest one hour a week at Connexion and 8 people make a decision for Christ each week; you will have invested 52 hours over the course of the year and 416 people will have made a life-changing decision for Christ.  I am convinced that ConnexionChurch will see more than 416 people make that decision.  However, if we all consider what our time means to the Kingdom of God, we will see that one hour a week is definitely worth 8 decisions of life-change.  Even if you sacrifice as much as 8 hours each week it is well worth the time invested because every hour equals 1 soul.  Thank you for all your hard work, sacrifice and input.  ConnexionChurch could not and would not exist without your sacrifices! And for that we say THANK YOU!  You guys are awesome and I can't wait to see how God uses each of your gifts this year.  Hey continue to read the blogs Joe is posting called "The Nature of ConnexionChurch," I think his writings are going to be very insightful to the heart of our launch.

Many of you will be investing a lot of your time into this launch.  Just know what your time means to us and to the Kingdom of God!

- Bill Rose