So Now Where are You Going?

Now that you know why we are going where we’re going, to introduce people to Christ so they introduce Him to to others, let me tell where we are going.

Exponential Church has five purposes.  These are what we are trying to achieve with everything we do.  In fact, since we have adopted these five purposes, they are becoming the question that motivates our actions.  How can we accomplish these purposes?

Let’s look at the first one.

To Preach.

I know, we don’t have a catchy title yet.  But we have taken our purposes as a church directly from scripture.  If the church is the body of Christ and Jesus told us what His purpose was then we can have a good idea of what we should be doing.

In Mark 1:38 Jesus said, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”  And what did Jesus preach?  The scriptures tell us in Matthew 9:35 that “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom …”  Jesus went and preached the gospel.  So will we.

We are on this road because we want to introduce people to Christ so they introduce Him to others.  To do this we need to go to the place where we tell people the good news about Jesus Christ.  That is where we’re going.  We go to preach the good news.  

We must reach people who have never received or even heard the gospel.  Why?  Because we are the body of Christ, we are Exponential Church.

Where Have You Been?

It has been far too long since our last update.  

Don’t misunderstand that as actual inactivity, we’ve been busy.

Here’s what we have been working on… We’ll start with the Exponential Church Mission Statement.  

Exponential Church will introduce people to Christ so they introduce Him to others.

Let’s break that down so you can understand what it is all about.  

Introduce.  We aim to make an introduction.  Introduction implies a new meeting.  Sometimes people truly have no real idea about who Jesus is or what He has done for them and we hold it as a high honor to have the privilege of introducing them to Him. Other times, people think they know about who Jesus is because of what they have heard from others about Him.  He becomes nothing more than a celebrity that they never really try to meet.  Jesus isn’t like that, He’s beyond personal.  So we want to introduce people to Jesus not just a reputation.  The only way to do this is if we also know Him, so we have to strive to know Him better.

People.  Because we are committed to Christ, we are committed to what He’s committed to, and that is people.  For God so loved the world, yep, all of it, and if we are going to claim following Christ’s example, then we better be seeking people so they too can know Christ and be saved.  Yep, we’re about people.

To Christ.  There is intentionality to our outreach.  Is it to reach people? Of course, but it is to reach them for Christ.  The purpose is not to help someone’s temporal situation, but to minister to their eternal one.  If ministering to the temporal need opens the door to minister to the eternal then let’s roll our sleeves up.  We will make sure that the work we do is for Christ and His goals.

So They.  These two words are vital.  Christ was about investing in others so they could continue His mission.  So that is what Exponential Church must do.  We are committed to helping those who God reaches through us to reach others by His strength.  ”So They” captures the essence of exponential.  Generational outreach provides exponential growth both inside and out for the body of Christ, the church.  

Introduce Him.  We will strive for the people that God reaches through this church to have such a rich, deep connection to Jesus that they are so in love with Him they want nothing more than to share Him.  We share that which truly matters to us and Jesus matters.  Let me introduce Him to you.

To Others.  Yep, even our people are about reaching people.  It is about people going after more people.  This burden and desire to reach others is a direct result of an intense connection to Jesus.

Matthew 28:18-20 says this:

 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This is where introducing people to Christ so they introduce Him to others comes from and it is how we will stay faithful to such a high calling.  

We are Exponential Church.  We introduce people to Christ so they introduce Him to others.

Little things Matter

Colossians 4:4-6

Bigger IS better. Or is it? The older I get and the more life experiences I encounter, I have begun to notice that God truly shows how BIG he is through the little things. 

They don’t always stand out, but you also don’t have to look hard to notice how God speaks to you on a day-to-day basis. You don’t have to speak, just listen. I find that most of the time God gives these moments to us as opportunities; opportunities to show God’s love in the simplest of ways. Maybe it’s holding a door for someone, or letting someone get over in front you on the highway, or leaving your wife little notes telling her you love her. These are opportunities that we take for granted every single day, I know I do. But that’s the great thing about God, he gives us these little opportunities to shine for him so that maybe that person will one day look back and see how BIG of an impact that tiny gesture had on them. 

I have found myself asking God to “show me yourself today, let me see you in some way”. Sometimes we need that affirmation, but in order for God to stretch us, and grow us, what we want and what we need are two completely different things… or the same thing in disguise. Here is what I mean by this. When we take advantage of the little opportunities to help someone, say a kind word, whatever it may be, with joy of Christ, that person (people) will notice the difference in you; that difference is HIM, therefore He is showing himself to not only the person you just helped but he is also showing Himself to and through you, answering your prayer. It may not have been what you wanted or expected, maybe he didn’t send a dove to come rest upon you shoulder with a fig leaf while eating lunch on the patio, but he DID answer you. Again, listen and acknowledge. 

I have a theory, well, not so much of a theory as it is just an idea I suppose. Mankind throughout time has always been limited in some capacity, except for free will, freedom of choice. For instance; Gravity, we can only jump so high. Breathing under water, we need oxygen to survive. Life itself, our days are numbered (Ps.139:16). We have limited physical ability; in turn feel that we need to put the same parameters around everything in our lives, Even God. Here’s my theory/idea; if God can show himself by splitting the Red Sea, by making the sun stand still stopping all time and space, by walking on water, by raising the dead to life, why on earth could he not blow someone’s finite mind by simply showing himself through you by holding an elevator door for someone scrambling to make their 9 o’clock meeting? We can’t put God in box, almost in a reversed fashion, thinking God is too big, he won’t care about that little chance; “there are two more elevators” (Is. 55:8-9)… Wrong! It should be our joy to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of others. It stretches us. Peter looked at the water below the boat knowing he could drown, Jesus allowed him to walk on it. Lazarus was dead and buried, Jesus said not any more, and out walked Lazarus. Water did not hold Peter back, he went to him. And though death is inevitable, only God can define the time. As you read in John 11, the story of Lazarus, Jesus tells his disciples what happened to his beloved friend who had died and that he wants to go back to “wake him from his sleep”. They try and talk him out of it, reminding him that Jews tried to stone him the last time he was there. But, it’s verse 16 that I have often looked over but now see great significance; Thomas says, “Let’s go, if he dies we die”. He could have said, “have a nice trip, hope to see you soon… if you make it out”, or just kept his mouth shut, but he didn’t. He told the rest of them, if he goes then I go. He had no idea what was coming next, that would blow his mind by the way; he just made a choice to seize the opportunity and to speak up.

Look and listen for the little chances to do something Big for God. Look for Him in everything; we can see God whenever we want in His creation.   

Not That Kind of Church

There is a prevalent idea in the church world that I have been encountering more and more.  The idea is that if you are looking for a sense of community and family then come to our church and be a part of our community and family.  Let me just be straight up, Community and Family is NOT the goal of Exponential Church.

Community is simply NOT one of our values, and I don’t see it ever being one.  If you are looking for a place where you can find family and community then there are several great churches in Port St. Lucie that you can go to and find that.  And I encourage you to do that.  Exponential Church will NOT be in competition with those and other churches.  It is great that there are churches in the PSL area that have a goal of community, and if that is what you are seeking then go there.  

Now, don’t take this the wrong way.  I am not against a sense of community, I am a HUGE fan of it and want to see it happen at Exponential.  But that will not be our goal.  At Exponential we want to see and experience and be used in an amazing move of God.  Our goal is to introduce people to Christ and see them so passionate about that relationship that they introduce Him to others.  A sense of community and family will be a natural consequence  of our pursuit of that goal.  But it is not a core value or a goal of our ministry.  We want to see God change our community, our city, and the world and we want to see Him use Exponential Church to do it.  

If you want community, go to any of the other great churches in Port St. Lucie that are out to make that happen.  

If you want to have Christ not only be a part of your life, but actually be your life…

If you want to be a part of our vision to see God move…

If you want to be a part of God’s movement…

If you want to see something bigger than yourself…

If you want to see something so big happen that it can only be explained with God…

Then welcome, we are Exponential Church.

A Healthy Body

At Exponential Church we have recently started having our initial meetings of Armor Bearers.  It has been awesome.  It is affirming because I know that I am doing the right thing in planting Exponential because I feel like I am doing what I was called to do as I cast vision into the minds and hearts of those families that have signed on to go with us.  

We have started discussing what our Core Values will be at Exponential Church.  The first one is that Exponential Church is a body.  I’d like to briefly explain this so you can understand one of the things that Exponential is all about.  And if you are in the Port St. Lucie area and are reading this, we’d love to hear back from you.

The church as a body is a simple idea that we get, primarily from the Apostle Paul.  He mentions the church as the body of Christ in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians.  If you were to ask Paul where he got this idea I believe he would tell you from Jesus.  

Paul was persecuting the church when he came to faith in Christ.  When Jesus revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus he said, “why are you persecuting ME?” (emphasis mine).  Paul had never met Jesus, how could he be persecuting Him?  He was persecuting Jesus because he was persecuting the church.  Thus many people smarter than me have made the conclusion that this is the origin of how Paul sees the church as the body of Christ.

As a body, everybody in the church has function and all are necessary for vitality and growth.  And all are gifts from God that have gifts from God to be His body.  Every body part I have exists for the rest of the parts.  The quickest and best way to disciple someone is to get them plugged into the body of Christ, the church that they may be strengthened as they discover their purpose to strengthen others.  Being a body part does not bring entitlement, special privilege, or superiority in any way.  It just means that you are a part of the body and you have a job to do.  

Healthy bodies grow, internally and externally.  Internally healthy means that the parts function better, grow stronger, become more efficient and help support the rest of the body.  Externally healthy means that they are growing bigger and stronger.  We are called to grow as a church, that means that the people who attend here are growing deeper in their faith and contributing to (not hurting) the health of the rest of the church.  Growing the church also means that more and more people are coming and joining the body, one person coming to church should become 2, and those 2 should become 4 and so on.  That is what Exponential is all about.

We will grow internally.  We will grow exponentially stronger and deeper in our faith.

We will grow externally.  We will grow exponentially in our numbers and widen the reach of Christ through our church. Because after all, we are His body and so we do His work.

The Burden

There is a story in the Bible that I have always found pretty dang cool.  It comes from 2 Samuel 23.  David and his men are holed up in a stronghold and David gets thirsty for some water from a specific well in enemy territory.  So David’s three mighty men (you can also read about them in 2 Samuel 23) go and get their leader some water.  They have to fight through enemy lines to do it.  They succeed.  Three off the hook warriors against an entire Philistine garrison and they fight their way in, get the water, then fight their way out.

What did David do with this water once he finally had it?  The same water that three of his chief warriors just risked their lives and shed blood for?  David poured it out.  What?!  David, these men just literally laid their lives down to accomplish something you had asked for and you just poured it out?  Weren’t the three warriors frustrated by this?  Weren’t they upset that they had just gone to extremes for something that wasn’t even going to be used for what they were told it would be?  Wouldn’t they be hurt that the one they so cared about wouldn’t take this gift they fought to attain for Him?  I don’t think so.

Look at what David did with the water.  He poured it out, but with a reason.  He poured it out TO THE LORD.  He would not drink it because He knew that to drink it would be to devalue the lives of his men because he would be saying that the lives of his men were worth nothing more than a drink of water.  So before God, He poured it out and prayed.  That was David’s character and his men knew it.  It was not the approval of his men that David lived for, it was for God’s and his men knew it.  David was a man after God’s own heart, even at the cost of upsetting his closest and most loyal of friends, and his men knew it.  

To be sure, David was not perfect and had lots of mistakes.  But despite his mistakes he was a Godly man.  

There is a burden that comes with leadership.  The decisions of a leader impact the lives of those he leads and that is heavy.  The only way to shoulder that burden is to lead by following the Lord.  Remember that people under your leadership should not be following you, they are to follow you as you follow the Lord.  When that type of leadership is in place then the people you lead will be so passionate for what God is doing in your leadership that they will risk their lives to get you drink of water, but they are also not burned out when you pour out that water before the Lord.  Care more about what God thinks of your actions than what those good people you lead might think.  Don’t compromise, follow God and lead your people to follow Him.  When that happens then embers for God’s exponential fires are kindled and ready to explode.