Where is your church?

I normally have a few books going. I just finished two that dealt with some important aspects of missional Christianity. Stetzer and Rainer’s, Transformational Church, was really good. I also enjoyed a book by a Foursquare pastor named Jerry Cook titled, The Monday Morning Church: Out of the Sanctuary and Into the Streets. Each one these asked a version of the question, “Where is your church?”

Cook talked about his seminary days at Fuller. He said that Richard Halverson, a longtime Presbyterian minister in Washington D.C., would visit the campus yearly. One day a student asked him, “Dr. Halverson, where is your church?” This was his response - “Well, it’s three o’clock in Washington, D.C. The church I pastor is all over the city. It’s driving buses, serving meals in restaurants, sitting in board meetings, having discussions in the Pentagon, deliberating in congress.”
Stetzer and Rainer concluded their book with a comparison of two types of churches. The fictional missional church was named Riverview. Here how they characterized the congregation. “The ministry with Riverview is not based on the location of the church campus but the location of the church members.”
Were is your church?
It is at least partially present where you are right now. The life you live and the ministry you pursue are as important as anything that goes on in a collectively owned building somewhere in your town. We ARE the church. We’ll gather later but we’re scattered now.

Let get in on God’s mission in the world!

Hills of Copper

Sermon Preview: "Hills Of Copper" Deuteronomy 8:1-10

Copper is valuable. It has been important and pricey for thousands of years. In Deuteronomy 8 Moses paints a vivid picture of the land of promise. He includes hills of copper in the description of God's good work. He wanted the people the envision the collective future God planned for them so that they would order their lives accordingly. He was making the future present and using it to motivate.

God has prepared good things for us as well. He wants us to grow and increase in our love for him and others. He wants our lives to be more fruitful. As we live and increase there are important realities that we need to keep in mind. Between here and the hills of copper we will experience: God's discipline - the Enemy's confrontation - the Work's challenge. When we experience these "slowing" realities we need to deal with them according to wisdom and remember that there are hills of copper in our future.

Read Deuteronomy 8
Spend some time remembering the way God has led you to this point in your life.

Join us at FBC Meridian this Sunday. Have a great weekend y'all!

Preach on Mr. T

I went to see the A Team with some friends a few weeks ago. It was fun. The movie was more crass than the old tv show so I wouldn't recommend it for all ages but it did bring back some great memories. What child of the 80s doesn't remember Mr. T's line, "I pity the fool." Fools should be pitied for sure but we also need a strategy for dealing with them. If you shake a magnolia tree ten of them will fall out so we need to learn how to live wisely among them.

I will lead a bible study tonight on 1 Samuel 25. It's a great story with interesting characters. David, Nabal, and Abigail's interactions give us some great principles for living wisely among the foolish.  This is how I've distilled them:
1. Do not become a fool dealing with a fool.
2. Remember God.
3. Remember your purpose and identity.
4. Value a clean conscience.
5. Refuse personal vengeance.
Lagniappe - Pity the fool.

Read 1 Samuel 25 and see if you can identify these principles. Come to The Gathering @ FBC Meridian tonight if you can. 6:30. Have a great day y'all.

Trouble Viewing Broken Steeple Using Internet Explorer?

Many readers have reported trouble viewing Broken Steeple in Internet Explorer 8.  The problem is in IE8's "compatability view."  "Compatability view" is designed to help you view older websites with a newer web browser like IE8.  The problem arises when "compability view" is on and you are viewing a newer designed website like Borken Steeple.  Don't worry though, it can be turned off with the click of a button.  Heres how...

(Remember you can click any of the images below to view them larger!)

Steps 1-2:  Make sure you have the "Compatability View Button" turned on.  You can check this by right clicking in the blank area on the toolbar as seen in the picture below.  If the "Compatability View Button" is not checked, click it to put a check beside it. 

3.  Locate the "Compatability View Button" next to the referesh button at the top of the brower as seen in the picture below.  Click the icon. 

4.  Broken Steeple should now look like the picture below.

If you are still having trouble viewing the site, you can leave a comment to this post or let Matt know via Facebook! 




This post is brought to you by Matt's personal webmaster, Will.

Ships That Will Not Sail

Ships That Would Not Sail

I was baptized when I was eleven years old by a wonderful man named C.C. Randall. He was professor of evangelism at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and the interim pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Meridian, MS.  I found a copy of the order of worship from that day a few months ago and was taken by the title of his message. His sermon was, "Ships That Would Not Sail." The text was 2 Chronicles 20:31-37.  I have not been able to find a copy of his message but being a preacher myself have decided to write my own and steal his title. I will have the honor of baptizing a bright little girl named Madison this Sunday. I'll be preaching for her and in memory of Dr. Randall.

I invite you to come and participate in worship at FBC Meridian. If you can't be here and are in East Mississippi /West Alabama catch the 10:30 service on WTOK. You can also watch it online next week. The text is really pretty cool. It is about King Jehoshaphat. I love saying that name. He was a good guy that made a few bad decisions.  This Sunday we will see that a good man's "howevers" often lead to wasted work. I don't think many people want to waste their labor so this message is probably for you. 

To prepare:
Read 2 Chronicles 17-20:37

Have a great weekend y'all. See ya Sunday!

Mercies

I wake up early almost everyday. I had a visitor break the quiet this morning. Wes got out of his bed and came into the living room. He climbed up in my chair and we both dropped back to sleep. It was nice. It also reminded me of this quote from Jurgen Moltmann -

"With every new beginning of life the hope for the fullness of the life we call eternal acquires a new chance and a new assurance.  Every child is also a new occasion for hope for the home of life in this unredeemed world. If this were not so we could expect nothing new of beginnings. But his 'mercies are new every morning', we are told (Lam.3.23). The small and daily renewals of time point beyond themselves to the morning of the new creation of all things."

Live this day for God's sake! Amen.