Truth

- I have been reading a book called The Truth War. This book has some good stuff in it about truth, but makes big assumptions about churches that are doing things in a new way. Some of the info about the postmodern way of thinking was enlightening. This way of thinking is typified by relativism, truth to you is different than truth to me. The one intolerance allowed is against anyone that would say this is right and you are wrong. The authors contention is churches that are seeker sensitive are following this type of thinking - anything goes just don't be critical. I disagree on this point with the author vehemently. I have been impressed with the seeker sensitive churches I have visited and how they have been straight forward on the truth. They did not compromise one bit and neither will we. A watered down gospel is not only wrong it is ineffective. A church that will not change with the times is not sticking to the truth, rather only sticking to a time frame. Being unwilling to change is not a sign of being a truth devotee, rather it is a sign of a church that has lost sight of God's will.
- I have been reading another book called Every Man's Battle. This book addresses issues discussed in previous blogs here - the issue of men, their eyes and thoughts. I highly recommend this book to all men and women. It is vital to understanding the battle men face with their thought life and roaming eyes.

Core Values

Our Core Values

We Value People

People matter to God

We believe people matter to God and therefore they matter to us. God demonstrated the high value He places on people when he gave His very best, his Son, to provide the gift of salvation. GCIC’s assignment is to get the message of this good news to the world so we can help people establish a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and equip them to become Difference Makers in the world.

(John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Luke 15:7, Luke 15:10))

We Value Application of Scripture

Teaching is for Life-Change

We believe the Bible is God’s Word to our world. Therefore, we must live and practice the life changing principles we discover. God gave us His Word in order to equip us and change us for His glory and our benefit.

(Psalm 1, James 1:22-25, Luke 6:46, Psalm 119:11)

We Value Authentic Community

Life change happens best in community groups

We believe real authenticity is best described as openness with others about our strengths and weaknesses. We will help people find their way from the large group (weekend worship) into relationally-authentic community groups.

(Acts 2:44-47, Romans 7, Colossians 4:5)

We Value Relevance

Although our methods will change, our Message will not

We believe the Bible is the most exciting book ever written, and we seek to share its’ good news in relevant environments. We will create appropriate environments for our Preschoolers, Grade school children, Middle and High school students as well as adults.

(1 Corinthians 9:22, 2 Corinthians 11:2, 1 Chronicles 12:32)

We Value Service

Every member is a minister

We believe God has equipped every Christ-Follower with gifts and passions so they can become difference makers for Jesus Christ. We will encourage everyone to use and develop their gifts and talents in service to our church, community and world.

(1 Peter 4:10, Romans 12:6-8, 1Cornithians 12:4-7, Ephesians 4:11-13)

Sin

Is sin an action? We label many actions a sin, but is that an accurate definition of sin? A definition of sin I heard recently was our attempt to be independent from God. There are so many concepts of sin out there it is important for a group to be in agreement on one concept for discussion and comprehension. My contention is sin is not an action. I will use several examples for this. First, let us go back to the first sin - when Eve reached for the forbidden fruit with the intent to eat it, but had Adam blocked her, would she have not sinned? If someone attempts a murder, but is completely unsuccessful are they free of sin? An adulterous moment is prevented by witnesses, are they innocent? The answer to these questions is NO! They are not innocent. The intent was to do, the decision was made. The action is not the sin, rather the decision or intent is the sin. The actions are only a consequence of the sin in the mind or heart. We all accept (well most) that a person that loses control of a car on an icy road and runs a pedestrian down is not guilty of murder. We accept this because we recognize intent makes a difference. This is the concept of sin I use. I agree with the statement that sin is our attempt to be independent of God - when we decide to disobey God in any manner we are saying we are independent of Him. The disobedience may be murder or it may be eating fruit, but either way the disobedience is in the decision, not the action. The action stems from the decision and the action may be thwarted despite the decision, yet this does not provide innocence.
The great question to be asked after any discourse whether it be religious, political or scientific is "So what?" This concept of sin impacts many things. A great question for men is where does admiration end and lust begin? I have heard it said that lust is the mind saying "If I could get away with it, I would do it!" This is opposed to the mind (male) saying "She is very attractive (hot). Good job God!" The sin is in the choice/decision not the action. Jesus made this clear when he talked about murder and hatred being the same and adultery and lust being equal. This was not about there being some new rules, rather it was about where sin truly lies - in the mind/heart. Jesus was speaking against the Pharisees that invented rules to avoid coming close to breaking the rules, yet sinned in their hearts continually. He was not adding rules for us, but talking about where the problem really is.
I hope this has not been too confusing. Reply to this and let me know your thoughts. Coming soon - Why the forbidden fruit? Thank you.

Purpose

I often use the illustration for finding our purpose here on earth as follows. What is the one thing, as a Christ follower, we can do on earth that we will not be able to do in Heaven? There is one primary thing – that is to evangelize, to lead the lost to God. Does that mean we should not spend time doing the heavenly things – worship, fellowship, personal growth, communion with God and leadership? No! What this indicates is the reason we are not swept into heaven upon becoming a follower is the work God has for us here. That work is sharing the Good News, obeying the great commission. A story goes “People on a plane are stuck on the runway due to weather and conversations start. When one woman discovered the man next to her was a minister she asked him why he did not take care of the weather. He responded to her that she was mistaken; it was not his department, but rather management’s. His department was sales.” Our department is sales. Not in the negative sense, but in the sense we can point them to the solution to their biggest problems. In the past we tried to “sell” by scaring people with their eternal destination. The eternal destination is important, but most people’s immediate problems are so big they cannot see past them. We must show them that God cares about where they are now and can give them the power and resources to overcome. This is not to be confused with the genie concept some apply to God – He is not our servant, but as it is often illustrated in the Word, He is our loving Father that wants what is best for us.

The bottom line for GCIC is we will follow God. If ever we find we are going against God or the Bible we will change. We seek to expand the Kingdom of Heaven with godly men and women. If the people of GCIC claim to be Christ followers, yet their life does not reflect that, then we will have failed. We are not interested in creating a group of people that claim the name, but do not practice the walk. There are some groups out there that do these things, but we are not one of them. Our desire is for any fellow Christian that feels we are off track to come to us and show us where. To stand on the sidelines and criticize without reaching out to offer correction or guidance in love is not a reflection on GCIC, but rather a reflection on that person’s intent. Help us to be the best we can be for God.

Discipling

All the great revivals of church history began with people getting away from the accepted methods of the church and finding more relevant methods to share the unchanging gospel. GCIC is not interested in rebellion; rather we are interested in obeying Jesus’ command to disciple all nations following Paul’s principle of doing whatever is necessary to accomplish it. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23) If people are worshiping false gods we will not condemn them for that, but illustrate the need that activity exposes and how the one true God can fill that need. (Acts 17:22-24) If the people in our community are interested in fast paced music that is popular in the bars we will take those types of tunes and put God’s words to them, much as many of our hymns were developed. If our community is facing great financial difficulties we will apply the Word to those issues and show them how God can help them through this time. Does God’s Word apply to our lives today? Yes! Is it relevant? Yes!

Our society is one that is far from God, but comes from a Christian heritage. This has developed a common perception that to hear from God one must go to church on Sunday morning about 11 am. That is why GCIC uses the 11 am service as an outreach to unsaved people. The service is not about us. It is about obeying Jesus in His command to His followers to disciple all nations. Are we like the group I once heard of: gathering people around for an exciting message of how they needed God and if they were to pray right then, they would be saved - after a head count the evangelizers take off to never see the converts again? Absolutely not! GCIC uses the service for multiple purposes, but for the unsaved it is for connecting them to God and to a discipling group. Discipling is more than just converting people to Christ followers; it is also developing them into leaders/ministers in God’s kingdom. We will have regular training sessions for anyone that wants to become a member, move into a position of leadership and for ongoing development. Our community groups will be led by godly men and women in non-threatening environments with a focus on applying scripture to their lives. (Jesus ministry in fields, parties and other places comfortable to those He was ministering to) Our services will be attractive to the unchurched, but have an undiluted gospel. The primary purpose of the Sunday service at GCIC is to connect the lost with God and plug them into discipleship.

The Curtain

When Jesus died on the cross the curtain in the temple was torn in half. (Mark 15:38) The holy of holies was exposed. No longer was there a priest to act as intermediary between God and man. Jesus became our intermediary and He told us we could come directly to the Father now. (Hebrews 2:17, 8:6, Ephesians 3:12) This is significant because we do not have an inner sanctum where we meet with God any longer – the auditorium that many church services are held in are treated as an inner sanctum for the saints of God to come meet with Him. This fosters a belief that the Sunday service is for the “saved” not the “unsaved”. The holy place of God is in our hearts, not in some building. (Hebrews 13:12) If unsaved people come to the “sanctuary” to meet God on Sundays then we must utilize this for sharing the good news. Our society has become one of privacy. We must earn the right to share with people. The one time we do not need to earn that right is when they show up at our Sunday service. They have come seeking something. This is the time to give them the Answer in any manner that will make sense to them. Our misguided thought that things are inherently holy often gets in the way of this. Must we have pews? Must we have music? If there is music must it be over 100 years old? (Ephesians 5:19) Are pianos the only musical instrument that is approved by God? Is King James English the only acceptable language to God? Jesus did not use it. He even used the common Greek of the day when necessary. Before the new covenant God made many instruments, places and rituals holy, but after Jesus’ death and resurrection God made people holy. (Hebrews 13:12)