Five Community Killers of Church Life.

By Michael Nieves

In the popular children's story Alice in Wonderland, the main character of the story, Alice, finds herself in many outrageous predicaments.  While it seems like she is a victim of the rules of her new and strange surroundings she is actually a willing participant and contributor to her situation by her actions.

     She follows the rabbit down the rabbit hole, she eats the delicacies left out on tables (one that makes her huge compared to her surroundings, one that  miniaturizes her)  Every time she follows, munches or moves through a door, she finds herself in yet another pinch.

     Now I'm all in favor of adventure, taking risks and jumping into the unknown.  But in the real world there are activities that God restricts for the good of His children.  Not to hinder them but to free them.  In the seemingly contradictory economy of the divine, God restricts for the sake of freedom, narrows for the sake of expanding.

    In church world, local congregations have followed the rabbit down the rabbit hole and found themselves engaged in behavior and practices that hold them back, hurt the Body and disgrace the Kingdom.  These practices are clearly sin but the slippery slope that ingrained these practices into the culture of the church was so gradual, churches find themselves imprisoned and they don't know why.

     In one instance it makes sense to share a piece of information with someone who doesn’t need to know, tell others about a confidential prayer request and mention that latest hearsay.  In another instance, it seems OK to stay connected to the group of people that understand you best, that share so much of the same ideas about the church, people, the latest message and not move out of your comfort zone and invite others in.  At work it is acceptable to earn your promotion, so why wouldn't you work your way up at church?  In the business world it’s all about growth, so why wouldn't the pastor compete with the church down the street for more members?  What we are talking about are some of the insidious practices that hold the church back. Sins that creep in behind the scenes, become part of the culture and infects the church with a nearly undetectable disease.

     Specifically I am talking about five silent killers of the life of the Spirit in local congregations.

· Political spirit

· Pride

· Clicks

· Gossip

· Lukewarmness

Churches want to grow but it is impossible to grow when they are unhealthy and infected with these illnesses. The problem is most of the time they go on unnoticed, not realizing that as Paul said, a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough (Galatians 5:8).  Any sin will certainly infect the healthy tissues of the church and slow growth, hinder it altogether and ultimately kill it. But God wants freedom. Walk with me as we uncover and expose these killers and find freedom and rest in Christ.

Political Spirit

A political spirit seeks to say the right things and meet the right people in order to position themselves for the greatest power.  In this election year, we are witnessing plenty of politics.  The disciples of Jesus were even bit by the political bug.  At one point the disciples were arguing about who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom, the mother of some of the disciples asked for a position of power for her child.  Jesus, in response to their request, said that the greatest among them must become a servant. 

     That political spirit grows out of a seed of pride.  It is pride that says, “I can do better than the other guy.”  It is pride that refuses to submit to leadership and then seeks to subvert it with a political spirit.  Didn't the Evil One himself believe that he deserved to be on the throne in heaven and found himself cast out in response to his pride?

     Jesus knew that the solution for pride and politics would be to take off everything that symbolizes your position of power and immerse yourself in the lowest of tasks for the highest of cause.  It is exactly that attitude that Jesus displayed when he washed the feet of His disciples.

Clicks

Clicks are seemingly wonderful little places. They are safe and comfortable.  When you look around at the faces of your click they are similar to yours, they see things the same way as you and they hold similar ideas and positions.  Many of our churches have the word “Community” or “Fellowship” in their name. They uphold the idea of relational connectivity.  Many churches promote “Small Groups.”   At first glance it might almost seem that clicks are the goal. These clicks serve as fertile soil for the unity killing practice of gossip.  There are two sides to gossip.  Side one is the speaking of gossip, side two is the  listening of gossip.  Both are needed to wreck   relationships, hurt hearts and crush the local church.  All too often both are readily available in our churches.

     There is a primary distinctive between clicks and biblical community.  Clicks are exclusive, while community, fellowship and small groups are all inclusive. This changes the entire dynamic. Instead of a closed circle at church following service, the circle is open.  Instead of leaning in, the group is looking outward.  Instead of talking about the personal business of others in the church, you are looking to protect and serve them.  Inclusivity says we are ALL in this together.  Exclusivity says, you are an enemy.

  

Lukewarmness

Of course all of the previous practices find their root in this one shameful deficiency lukewarmness.  When any Christ follower wanders from the central fuel of intimacy with Christ they will undoubtedly find themselves less enamored with things of God and more intrigued by things of the world.  Slowly, a political spirit makes sense; clicks, gossip, pride are comfortable and safe.  It doesn't seem so bad because the group affirms the actions.  In the increasing darkness of distance between the individual and Christ things don't look so bad. In the increasing cold of distance between the individual and Christ, the warmth of acceptance in the click seems like the best alternative.  Of course, this is a total deception and counterfeit.  Sadly, churches can find themselves in exactly this spot.  And it doesn't stop with congregants only as these habits can work their way up the leadership chain as well. The higher it goes, the worse it is.

Solution

The solution lies in the most basic response.  True repentance.  True repentance simply cannot happen without humility.  And true repentance always drives the repentant toward the Savior.  Humility counteracts pride, intimacy with Christ brings unity with others.  While I am sure no one reading this article find themselves in this particular rabbit hole, it is a continual prayer that all would find the pleasure of intimacy with Christ and thereby frustrate the work of the Evil One.  No more would the very Body of Christ find itself infected with the cancer of a Political spirit, Pride, Clicks, Gossip or Lukewarmness.  My prayer is that the People of God would be as disgusted with these practices as God Himself and flee from them as Joseph fled from Potiphar’s wife.  May the Bride of Christ be spotless as it does the work of building the Kingdom.

Michael Nieves is Lead Pastor of CenterPointe Community Church. Michael Nieves is a graduate of Lancaster Bible College (Lancaster, Pa) and attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL). He planted CenterPointe in 2002. He and his wife, Jillian and three children Miah, Caleb and Jonah are all natives of Western New York. 

5 Questions with Al Tizon

Dr. Al Tizon

Author, Teacher

Interview conducted at Northeastern Seminary by Kaitlin Harding. Some answers edited for space. 

It seems so obvious that we need to reach out. What do you see as the barriers that have kept us from being where we need to be missionally? I think, ultimately, our problem is our propensity to dichotomize. Fundamentally, it begins with the dichotomy between theory and practice. Churches can feel great about theorizing, theologizing, and we can do the practice if we have the time. It’s dichotomizing of things, and even when we get into the nature of mission, dichotomy is still the culprit. Is it evangelism or social justice? It’s both! We have to proclaim, we have to bear witness to the gospel with our mouths, and we have to bear witness to the gospel with our hands and feet. It’s not either/or. That, to me, is why we are where we are. We should be a both/and kind of people. What does missional preaching mean for those of us who aren’t going out into the field? The term missional was precisely to remind people that mission isn’t just sending missionaries off to some exotic land, even though that’s still a legitimate thing to do. There are people called to go to the far away “over there” kind of place, but the missional church, that word is new in the Christian Lexicon, and what’s new about it is that it’s reminding us that we are sent by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are sent by God to be here. The missionary church is a church that sends specialized people to exotic lands. The missional church movement said, “Wait, there’s something missing there. What about us? There’s something more to this; mission. You are missionary, your church is sent right here. You’re sent to be missional here. You mentioned that wisdom is not the same as head knowledge. Do you feel that head knowledge gets in the way of wisdom, or the mission of God? It can, because of that dichotomy of theory and practice. Head knowledge could deceive people into thinking they did something. Because we have all this knowledge, we have all our principles and ideas in a row, and we can organize it, and articulate it; wow! Great!  In that sense, yeah, it can be a hindrance to our service in the world, and our mission to the world, which is why I advocate for the word orthopraxy, which is different from orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is right thinking in order to write a doctrinal statement. Orthopraxy is right thinking for the sake of right doing. That, by the way, is a liberation theology term. So, Head knowledge isn’t the same as wisdom because of that. Wisdom, in fact, is practical knowledge. It’s knowledge for life as opposed to knowledge for a degree. You mentioned you got the idea for writing a book about missional preaching because you didn’t really find any books on your shelves that combined all of these things, but what prompted you to focus on it and start learning about it? Two loves did it for me; my love for the church, and my love for the world. You talk about being a missional church, and being a missional person. Is it difficult to be missional on a Christian college campus?

There’s certainly need on a Christian campus, but it’s true that we interact with less and less non-Christians. If we don’t do something about that, there could be a time in our lives where we don’t interact with unbelievers at all….That could mean on any given day intentionally getting to know a merchant, somebody in the store, to take the time to talk to someone you wouldn’t normally talk to. Write a letter to my congressperson about in issue, it could mean sending an email to a friend who doesn’t know about Jesus, not to talk about Jesus, just to be me. So I’m defining it broadly, but it’s a discipline for me.

Jared Anderson at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Tonight

Jared Anderson is playing tonight at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church in Williamsville as he makes a stop in Buffalo after a show last night in Batavia with Brothers McClurg. Anderson is out of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO and a member of Desperation Band. He has written a number of worship classics including Rescue and Amazed. The tour is part of Anderson's Hear Us From Heaven tour. The tour is being coined, "a campaign of worship and prayer." Eastern Hills in response to the prayer and worship focus has assembled a choir team to back up Anderson tonight from 10 churches around the region and is hoping for a big turn out for the concert at 6.

Holy Estrogen Women's Conference Starts Tonight

Holy Estrogen Women's Conference starts tonight with Bible teacher and author Carol McLeod teaching life principles from her new book, "Holy Estrogen." Find our more and register at www.justjoyministries.com

UNITE Partner Invite

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Editor's Note

God is calling our region to prayer. It’s obvious. From the initiatives underway with the much anticipated Franklin Graham Rock the Lakes Festival this coming September, to the upcoming conference with Eagles’ Wings—Sound of the Kingdom. There is also Eastern Hills Wesleyan’s move toward a Saturday night prayer service and The Chapel’s leadership in the WNY Pray initiative. In addition to the above, one that is near and dear to my own heart is Prayer Collective (I am involved on the leadership team)—an initiative aimed at long term, sustainable effort toward perpetual prayer, worship and mission.

The really encouraging thing is that in one way or another select groups are responding to the invitation and for that I am grateful. After all that is what Jesus himself said would be the dominant characteristic of his church—prayer.

There is no doubt a buzz is happening in Buffalo right now as we anticipate the coming of Rock the Lakes and the hope we have to see something shift in our region. I think the important thing to remember is events like this serve as a catalyst to get things moving in our region. They aren’t necessarily themselves the end all, but they’ll help steer us in the right direction. It’s encouraging to hear about all the churches rallying together behind this cause, more coverage of this in upcoming issues.

I am also excited to introduce you in this issue to my new friends at Church on Tap. Young, idealist believers who are introducing new ideas of how to do church. I also welcome to this issue Michael Nieves a friend of mine and pastor of Centerpointe Community Church, a growing church in Lancaster. Nieves clears the dust of some of killers of church life. Enjoy!

Kyle R. Patterson

Elmwood Drive: Trusting With All Your Heart

By Josh Maloni, Photos by Matt Brown

 The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” But most musicians are taught that, if they are to become rock gods, then they must become the God of their own lives – and use their talent for self-gain. 1 Peter 4:10 reads, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Musicians, however, are prompted to value image over substance, and motivated to do whatever it takes to make their names famous. Ezekiel 28 says Lucifer, God’s chief musician, had everything going for him; he was dressed in splendor and strolled in magnificence. He was blessed with talent and invited to share it before God, himself. That wasn’t enough for him, though. Lucifer wanted glory and honor that belong only to God. When he was cast from Heaven, he was told, “Your beauty went to your head; you corrupted wisdom by using it to get worldly fame.”
     Like Lucifer, many famous musicians have suffered a great fall at the hands of ego. But some bands, such as Buffalo’s Elmwood Drive, have learned that, to effectively serve God’s kingdom, and not falter alongside self-centered, worldly acts, they have to take a different approach. They must relinquish the one thing we, as humans, hate to give up: control. Early in the recording of “Worship Songs,” Elmwood Drive saw firsthand the merits of Proverbs 3:5-6. The band discovered the rewards of doing things God’s way, and not man’s way. When the group’s producer moved to New York City, Elmwood Drive was faced with a seemingly insurmountable financial challenge.
      “We were like, ‘Oh, we’ll just go down there,’ ” lead singer Corey Coogan said. “Needless to say, after talking to (producer Joseph Secchiaroli), and figuring out studio costs and everything, it was going to be, I believe, a little over $10,000 to be able to travel with the seven-piece band down there, and record and do pre-production and then finish the album. So we had no idea what we were going to do.
      “It was literally down to the wire. About a week before we were going to go down to New York City, we didn’t have a vehicle. We didn’t have all the funds, and we didn’t know what we were going to do for food. Two of us quit their jobs to go and record. And we just said we were going to do it.”
     Elmwood Drive decided to trust in God, and not lean on members’ own understanding. “Low and behold, God obviously came through,” Coogan said. “A person let us borrow a van and we got a trailer. The money – we still went down with about half of it, and when we were there we had a donate button on our website. And people were just consistently donating, and we were able to come up with the funds to pay for everything. “It was kind of a miracle that we were able to record everything. If it wasn’t for God’s hand moving, I don’t think we’d have been able to do it.” Elmwood Drive relinquished control, brought the situation before God, and watched as He opened up doors no man could open. “We believe that if our heart’s in the right place, than God is going to take care of everything else,” Coogan said. A seven-piece band, Elmwood Drive has God-given talent and all of the natural tools to “make it” in the music industry. Buffalo United “Rise” organizer Matt Crouch said Coogan, “has the best male worship vocal I’ve heard in a long time. He’s that good.” Fame and fortune could be attained through secular means. But with “Worship Songs,” it’s clear Elmwood Drive is not making music for material gain. “Our goal with the album is to kind of approach the music world in a different angle,” Coogan said. “Our goal is really to approach it more as a ministry rather than as a typical band. So, instead of trying to come up with a name for an album, we just called it ‘Worship Songs,’ because that’s, basically, what our band is trying to do. (We’re trying to be) a ministry that can be utilized by other ministries and other churches in the Buffalo area, and, obviously, Western New York, and, hopefully, across the world – wherever God’s hand leads us.” By putting God first, and pride last, Elmwood Drive has charted a course for true success. “As lowly as we are, He’s able to use us through this gift that He’s given us,” Coogan said. “Every time we get discouraged, we just look back at the letters that we have from some of the youth that we’ve touched and some of the people that we’ve been in contact with, and just realize that there’s obviously a bigger purpose for what our ministry is, and that God’s using us,” he added.

Joseph Garlington Speaks at Sound of the Kingdom

Joseph Garlington, Bishop of Covenant Church of Pittsburg was keynote speaker at Sound of the Kingdom, a three day conference organized by Clarence based Eagles' Wings and hosted at The Tabernacle in Orchard Park. Garlington is a sought after speaker and minister who has returned to his hometown of Buffalo on a number of occasions with a fresh word to the church in our region (Garlington grew up and went to school on Buffalo's West Side). Garlington has become known for his musical sermons as his ministry partner plays piano in the background Garlington will often break into spontaneous song which he did tonight on a number of occasions singing, "Lord whatever your doing in this season don't do it without me."

Garlington spoke out of 1 Kings 17 referring to the story of Elijah and the widow and God's provision. "Change is inevitable, growth is optional.
God has a hard time doing the same thing twice, he is just so creative."
Garlington told the story of provision in his own life. "Expect change in your circumstances, live with the sense of expectation. I am talking about the type of change that God says you were doing it this way now I am going to do it this way. Expect change. Expect to hear from God."

Garlington proceeded to talk about the importance of giving and presented Robert Stearns, Executive Director of Eagles' Wings with a check for $10,000 from Garlington's church is PA.

Garlington then shared about the "sound of heaven"a sound that is invasive, intrusive and irresistible."The kingdom of God has come. Sound changes circumstances. The kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit. Something's moving, something's changing," said Garlington to the full 1000 seat sanctuary at the Tabernacle.
The meeting continued until about 10:30 as worship and singing wrapped up the night.

Prayer tomorrow morning starts at 8:30 with the first main session at 9:30 and continues throughout the day.

THRiVE! Trivia Supporting Salvation Army of Buffalo

Answer Questions + Be Entered to Win= that simple

Diane Paddison to Keynote Red Shield Luncheon

DIANE PADDISON will be the keynote guest speaker for this year’s Red Shield Luncheon in support of The Salvation Army Buffalo this May 14 at 12:00PM.  Paddison is a wife and mother of four, an accomplished executive COO for two Fortune 500 companies, author of Work, Love, Pray, a Harvard graduate and a faithful child of God. The annual event is being held at the Millennium Hotel Presidential Ballroom and supports The Salvation Army's many initiatives to support our city. Individual tickets and corporate sponsorships are available and the event is open to all who have a heart to support an organization making a difference in over 30,000 lives. 

Last year alone The Salvation Army Buffalo provided:

• Emergency Shelter to more than 476 women, men and children
• Nutritious food for families from their three food pantries
• More than 292,000 nutritious, prepared meals for the elderly, children in their youth programs, the homeless, and first responders to local disasters served from their Emergency Disaster Canteen
• Enriching activities for 407 members of their senior center
• Job Readiness Training to transition people from public assistance to jobs to achieve economic self-sufficiency
• Counseling
• Secure, supervised visitation for children and non-custodial parents

Holy Estrogen by Carol McLeod

How do you  make your emotions the holiest part of you? Carol McLeod explains in her new book Holy Estrogen releasing April 2012 from Harrison House Publishers. The book serves as a woman's guide to enable every Christian woman to become less selfish and more like Him. Carol is also the founder and Executive Director of Just Joy Ministries based in Buffalo, NY. She explains, "I do not believe that God intended for women to live a roller coaster life ordered by the fluctuation of some hormone that you exert absolutely no control over.  God's plan has always been that you would decrease and that He would increase."

  The book shows women that they can either be controlled by their emotions or they can allow the Holy Spirit to control their emotions.  Is it really that simple?  Well … yes and no.  Yes, because the Holy Spirit really is that powerful.  No, because if it were ... there would be no need for a book like this one!  The solution is obvious – the problem is not with the Holy Spirit but with ME!

      What else is this book about?  Women.  At their finest.  And at their worst.  It is about women in all stages and phases of life who don't want to just act like Jesus but at their deepest level they want to be like Jesus. 

      If you are a woman, you most likely have felt the devastating backlash of out of control emotions.  Also, as a woman, you have certainly experienced the sweet delight and comfort of positive, Godly emotions.  And, unfortunately, as a woman you have most likely been painfully wounded by someone's anguish or distress.

      At your very worst, estrogen-induced moments, you think that what you want is to ventilate and violate.  You think that if you pout and worry and groan and wail that you will somehow feel tragically fulfilled.  You think that brooding and simmering with discontent is what you deserve to do.  You think that yelling at your kids, talking about your friends, withdrawing from your husband and being curt with your mom is your strategy for successful human living.  When what you really need is to get over yourself and all of that!  What you truly need, in the deepest part of you, is more of Him and less of you. 

     Carol explains in the book, "If sex is every man’s battle, then I believe that issues of the heart and emotions are every woman’s battle.  The astounding news is that when you tap into the wisdom of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, you are guaranteed to win whatever battle you might be facing."    

Business Men's Fellowship Officially Starting Next Month

Business Men's Fellowship, a national Christian business people networking and evangelistic organization is officially launching at Protocol Restaurant this May 15.

Here is an outline published recently about their entrance into the Buffalo Region.

“Meet the Men of BMF” Luncheon:
On Friday, October 14th the, National Board of Business Men’s Fellowship hosted an informational luncheon for Christian men from Western New York and specifically from the Buffalo Region to come and “Meet the Men of BMF” as they shared in; testimony and purpose to establish a BMF Chapter in the Buffalo Region. There were seventy-five men in attendance. The board members and staff came from across the country. Locally men came from Canada, Rochester, Hornell, Syracuse, Canandaigua, Binghamton and Buffalo. There were sixty-there men from the Buffalo Region. From this meeting thirty-five men indicated that they were interested in hearing more about the vision and mission of BMF. We wish thank the National Board and Staff for their diligence in planning and preparation, as they reached out to Western, New York.

“Cast the Vision” Luncheon:
On Friday, January 20, 2012, thirty-five men from the Buffalo Region gathered at the Holiday Airport Hotel, for the Business Men’s Fellowship, “Cast the Vision,” luncheon. Men came from different work and church backgrounds to meet at the luncheon table to discuss lifting up Jesus Christ in the Marketplace. Gary Passero and John Frattare from Rochester – BMF, shared the purpose of starting a chapter in Buffalo. After the leadership challenge was given by Gary; eight men raised their hands, hearts and voices in unity to form the Organizational Team.

Organizational Meeting:
The Organizational Team meeting was held on Friday, February 17, 2012. The chapter officers were selected. The chapter affiliation process was implemented. The Buffalo Regional Chapter officers are:
President – Sam Bodapaty, Williamsville, Vice President – Jeff Knapp, Orchard Park
Treasurer – Ryan Loos, Elma, Secretary – Kyle Patterson, Downtown Buffalo
Associate Secretary – Guy Patterson, West Seneca

At the present time the officers are meeting twice a month for prayer and planning. The inaugural luncheon for the Buffalo Regional Chapter is scheduled for; Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Brothers McClurg Launch "Backyard Worship"

Brothers McClurg, the Buffalo based band (formerly Relevant Worship and featured on UNITE's August/September cover) is excited to announce a new initiative and opportunity for those with a heart for worship to join them in "Backyard Worship." The initiative was announced last week on the band's Facebook page and is already gaining attention and response from those hungry for more of a worship experience.

"Hey all big news! We are launching a backyard worship tour today. If you are interested in having us come please contact us now. We are filling up fast and would love to come and spend an evening with you and your friends around a campfire. If you are at all interested in having us over contact us here... booking@brothersmcclurg.com under the heading "Backyard Worship". Thanks, Anthony"

Those interested in hosting the band are encouraged to contact them via email at booking@brothersmcclurg.com soon as weekends are already being booked. Brothers McClurg is also looking forward to the release of their new album this summer at Kingdom Bound, Join the Sound.

Beautiful Ad

This "advertisement" appeared in Sunday's Buffalo News. The ad was sponsored by Hobby Lobby and two other retailers supporting the cause of Christ this Easter! The family who owns Hobby Lobby has been in the news recently regarding their philanthropic support for Christian causes including their bailout of Oral Roberts University and their request for proposals from a Christian University who they could donate their large property to in New England.

AIA Photos. March 24. Hyatt Buffalo

Photos by Troy Teague