We are united with Christ in His death, resurrection and new life!

"...baptizing them..."

-Matthew 28:18

Baptism has an unfortunate history in the church of being a divisive issue. Differing opinions about the nature of and process of baptism have divided the Church and churches and created disunity in the family and body of Christ. It is a shame that the preeminent symbol of our unity with Christ--in His death; His resurrection; His new life--should be so marred with a history of disunity.

This history of disunity over the subject of Baptism has created for many within the church an attitude of confusion and even fear for the topic. I have personally been approached by many individuals who have been full of questions about Baptism: "should I be baptized again?" "Is there a right or wrong way to be baptized?" "Why should I get Baptized?" "Is it necessary for salvation?"

We are enthusiastic practitioners of Christ's Baptism for many reasons, but first and foremost because Jesus, our king, has asked it of us. I think we can get lost in the intricacies of the question "why?" and forget the simple truth that Baptism is, before all things, an act of obedience. It has been for many the first act of obedience. And for some this is enough quiet many of the questions. I am baptized because it was asked of me.

Christ became a man and lived a life here on Earth. In submission to God’s will He allowed himself to be killed and placed in the grave. Three days He was in the ground and on the third day He came back to life. He walked out of the tomb and is alive now, an eternal being in heaven with God.

We practice full immersion baptism, not because we feel this is the only way, but because we feel that it is an accurate recreation of what is described in the bible. However, if there is not enough water handy you can bet that you will find us improvising.

When you are baptised this way there is a beautiful imagery that illustrates and symbolizes Christ story. As you submit to God’s call you are brought to the water, just as Christ was brought like a sheep to the slaughter in submission to God's will. You are then submerged in the waters just as Christ was lain in the grave. You are brought up out of the waters, an image of the Resurrection we celebrate today! And you go out into the rest of your life a new creation!

And there is truth to the symbols. We are united to Christ through our submission to God’s call. We are united with Christ in His death--he calls us to take up our cross daily; to die to ourselves so that we can be alive in Him. We are united with him in this Resurrection that we celebrated last Sunday. And as we live out this existence as a new creation, we have unity with Him in the new life that He won for us.

Wrapping all this up, I would like to talk for a second about what it means to be united with Christ as a resurrected being. What does it look like to live a ”new life?”

Well it means that we are moving against the currents and trends of this world. We live in a dieing world which is defined by how it becomes less and less. All the pain and suffering; the injustice; the sickness; the decay and despair--all of these thing are symptomatic of a dieing world. But in our unity with Christ we have tasted something different. We live this new life in opposition to the death we knew before. We comfort pain and suffering; confront injustice; heal the sick, and bring rejuvenation to the decay. This is who Christ has called us to be: agents of life in a dieing world.

But we live in the in-between. Yes we have been made new in our hearts, but we are still here in this world. We still experience death in us and around us--even as Christ is delivering us from it.

Death is hard to deal with, and it comes in many forms.

If you are dealing with death in any of its manifestations than Jesus wants to meet you there. And in unity and relationship with him he wants to deliver you from death, and see resurrection in your life.

This is part of our vision at the Vineyard Church BCS: To be united with Christ in His death, resurrection and new Life.

We are a Culturally Diverse Church

"...of all nations..."

-Matthew 28:18

It may be a cliché, but the nations are here. In the US, and certainly in a college town like BCS, one does not have to go far before he or she encounters those "nations" right outside there door.

This is one of those places in the bible where the English fails to fully convey the sentiment which is found in the Greek. The word ἔθνος (ethnos) which is the word that is translated as "nation," does not carry the the political insinuation which our English word "nation" has. Instead of referencing a group of people defined by political borders on a map, this word is better seen to be referencing groups united through a common ethnicity or cultural practice. It is is arguable that what Christ was asking was for the his good news message to be spread among the cultures of this world.

And suddenly the whole thing opens up!

The local church might be able to send out missionaries to the nations, and vicariously minister there. But the command to bring the gospel to the cultures can be practiced right here right now. How many cultures in Bryan/College station?

The numbers show us that there is much diversity of ethnicity and culture, especially in Bryan. A closer look shows us that this is a diversity in disunity. Though there are many cultures they are, by and large, segregated and separated to their own neighborhoods and organizations.

When God called Erin and I to college station it would have been easier for me, as a white man, to seek to create a church which operated within the norms of my own cultural experience. But God didn't say go plant a church for the white people in Bryan/College station. And we would have to turn a blind eye to the reality of these cities we have been called to if we were to create a church which was only for those people who looked and acted like us. We have been called to start a church for these cities, and the people who are here. We have been called to start a church which is as richly diverse as Bryan/College Station is--a church for our community.

In the book of Revelation we see a picture of mankind, from every tongue, tribe and nation worshiping God. This is what heaven will be, a beautiful patchwork of diversity, perfectly united in the adoration of our King. Christ taught us to pray that God's will would be done "on earth as it is in heaven." For us this means that here and now is the place to see this unity of diversity. Why wait for heaven? We want to start now.

This is part of the vision of the Vineyard Church BCS--to be a church that reflects our community--to be a Culturally Diverse Church.

We are disciples that make disciples!

"...and make disciples..."

What does it take to make a disciple?

Well without getting too long winded I would like to suggest that a good place to start is by being a disciple yourself. You cannot impart to another a thing which you do not have yourself, and those people who Christ commanded to "make disciples," were themselves disciples of Christ.

So this command in many ways not only calls us to an action, but also to a state of being--we are to be disciples, so that we can make disciples!

So the question above really begs the additional question, "what does it mean to be a disciple?"

The concept of disciple can have many connotations, the most basic of which is simply a student. Now when defined in this way we, in 2010, draw up images of what we know of students. The unruly 8th grader, or the care free college student, or any other stereo type, but most likely we do not imagine the heart of what this word disciple connoted for those at the time that Christ spoke those words.

Christ was speaking to his disciples, men and women whom he had been living with for three years. They had been through many amazing things with Him, spending nearly every moment at His side. They had eaten many meals with him; laid down beside Him on the ground to sleep on countless nights. They had sat at His feet as He taught about His fathers Kingdom, and stood with Him as He demonstrated that Kingdom in action. I am sure that they had laughed raucously together, and also cried together. They were as close as any family.

And in this context the word disciple was understood. Community. Relationship.

Christ's command to make disciples was about teaching, training, doing... but it was also about living life together. That is how He made disciples, by offering himself to man kind first in relationship.

So in order to make disciples, we need to be disciples. That means so many things, but one thing it means is to be in authentic genuine and, yes, even vulnerable relationship. It is here that disciples can form and be made.

This is part of of our vision at the Vineyard Church BCS, to be disciples that make disciples!

We are an Outwardly Focused Church

"Therefore go..."

-Matthew 28:19

Jesus did not say "wait and I will send those people to you who I wish you to minister to."

Christ sent the disciples out. They were to "go." The church has been sent out into the world and we want to reflect that sentiment in our actions.

We want to be a church that has been sent.

What does this mean?

It means that we are going to be outwardly focussed--that the target of our time, energy and affection cannot terminate on ourselves, but must be constantly seeking further into the world for those unloved people for whom Christ sent us. We want to be looking outside of our body, our family-- yes even getting up out of our homes and church buildings--for people to love.

We want to be a church that sends. We want to mirror Christ by empowering those people in our midst to go. We can do this by equipping and empowering each and every member in our church community to minister, teaching them that when Christ said "go", yes, He was talking to you too. No one escapes. We are all on the move in this world looking for those lonely hearts that Christ longs to make a home in.

These ideas have a number of practical implications for us. Just like we are a church plant that has been sent out into a new community, we will also be sending people out from us into new communities, perpetuating this cycle of the sent sending. Our ministries will have an outward focus, lavishing our attentions on the needy of our community. We will have a visual presence in the community, not with media and sign-age, but with our loving actions and real tangible presence.

This is even the reason why we do Home Groups.

By meeting in each other's homes we are sending a message that this church pours out past the walls of any one building. It is out there in the world, in your homes and in your lives. And when we do have a building, it will be located in the middle of the city, not on its outskirts. We don't want to set up shop, open our doors and say "we are here, now come to us," but instead we want to communicate that we have come here to be with you.

This is part of the vision of Vineyard Church BCS, to be an outwardly focussed church.

The Authority of Christ

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me...."

-Matthew 28:18

Here Christ shows us the foundation of everything we do. We serve Him out of love. We serve Him because He knows best. We serve Him because it is good... because his plans are better than our plans. But first and foremost, before all these things, we serve Him because He is The King, and all authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Him.

Jesus is a King, and we are citizens of His Kingdom.

This idea of Kingship is a an odd concept for us in our times. We live in a society that was born out of a rejection to the dictatorship which the rule of one represents. Culturally we are uncomfortable with any authority over our lives which might supersede our own. But that is reality--Jesus is king--and as Christians we live our lives as if that is true.

What does this mean for us?

Well it means many things, some of which I will touch on in the future. For today I would like to talk about our desire to acknowledge Christ's authority to direct our destiny.

Just moments before His arrest and execution Jesus prayed to His father , "Father, not my will, but your will be done!"

This is how we are to relate to the authority of Christ, by realizing that His will supersedes our own, and when we are faced with a choice and what we want is in contradiction to what He wants, He has the authority.

Practically this means seeking out instruction from God, listening to God's voice--in the many ways in which He speaks--and actually doing those things that He tells us to do. When we make decisions our first question is not, "what do we want?" or even "what makes sense?" Our very first question is, "what does Jesus want for us?" And once we know, we serve His pleasure faithfully, because He is King.

I think choosing a church is a great example.

Many people will ask themselves "What am I looking for in a Church? I want it to have a strong teaching pastor, and a good children's ministry. It needs a youth group and it would be nice if it were within 30 min of my house..." and the list goes on. All of these are good and practical concerns...

none of them acknowledge the Authority of Christ.

Where does He want you to go to church?

Is it going to be the perfect place for you, perfectly comfortable? Or is it just going to be the place where He can use you, or mature you? Maybe it won't be your ideal, but if its His ideal then he wins, because He is king.

This concept of Christ's authority has boundless ramification, but it is enough to say that the reason Christ began His instructions to us with an affirmation of His own authority is because it is the foundation of all we do. We move in this work because He says move, we wait when He says wait, speak when He says speak.

That is part of the vision for the Vineyard Church BCS, to be be faithful servants to the authority and kingship of Jesus Christ.