The Huddle Challenge

The Huddle Challenge Read Post

The Huddle Challenge

 "Among believers, there's no greater way to deepen one another's faith than through reading the Scriptures together". - Wayne Cordeiro

At Church at Cane Bay, we have three primary systems that make up our church: Sunday Morning Gathering, Missional Communities, and Huddles. Sunday mornings are the time for our entire church to gather together for worship, community, and being sent out by the gospel. Missional Communities are the lifeblood of our church, where 12 to 15 adults gather together around a specific mission in our community and work to see the gospel clearly displayed there. Huddles are smaller groups of two to three that meet weekly and are focused on study of scripture, accountability, and prayer. 

We've done a good job of getting people engaged in Missional Communities, and we desire to see the same passion and excitement about Huddles. We would love to see 100% of our church involved in these discipling relationships. The reason is simple: Without Huddles, what we do as a church doesn't really work. Huddles are vital to the life and ministry of our church. It provides discipleship, mentoring, accountability, and study of Scripture at a deeper level than any other system of our church. In fact, it provides the foundation of discipleship necessary for people to be sent out. 

Without huddles, people will experience burn out. It's better to give than to receive, but you still must receive in order to give. It's simple: you must be growing in your own relationship with Jesus if you are ever going to help others grow in their relationship with Jesus. We all need people to speak into our lives and encourage us, and a huddle is the best place to see that happen.

So this Sunday, we will be unveiling a new challenge to our church called The Huddle Challenge. The challenge is simply this -

1. If you are not in a huddle, join one.

2. If you are in a huddle currently, invite and have someone new join your huddle. This will help move your huddle to multiplication.

With this being a challenge, we also want to help you meet the goals of the challenge. We know it can be difficult to find someone that you can actually meet with week to week. So over the course of the next four weeks, we will be doing several things to help you get engaged with The Huddle Challenge:

1. HUDDLE EVENTS - These events exist to provide more information about huddles. There will be food, fellowship, testimonies about huddles, a time of SOAP, and some Q&A. They are on two different dates, one for men and one for women, so that spouses can keep children. We have a free gift for all who attend!

A. Men's Huddle Breakfast - Saturday, October 31 - 8:30 - 10am - Ryan's in Summerville - Attendee responsible for cost of food. CLICK HERE to register.

B. Women's Huddle Breakfast - Saturday, November 7 - 10 to 11:30am - Wassamassaw Baptist Church - Brunch is Free. CLICK HERE to register. 

2. HUDDLE LEADER TRAINING - If you are already leading a huddle, or think you might be interested in leading one, this is an opportunity to come and get more information about what it means to lead a huddle. We will work to answer any questions you have about leading a huddle. It will be Sunday, November 8, at 9am in the library at the school. CLICK HERE to register. 

3. HUDDLE EBOOK - I recently put together a brand new ebook that answers pretty much any question that you might have about Huddles. It's a great resource to help you as you start the journey of a new huddle, or just want to work to make your huddle even better. You can find that to download HERE.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ - We want to know if you've joined a huddle for the first time! Using the hashtag #huddlechallenge, people will post to the Church at Cane Bay Facebook page when they get plugged into a huddle. We will do drawings for giveaways to people who join huddles for the first time.

5. HUDDLE JOURNALS - We have brand new huddle journals available this Sunday at the resource table for only $2!

You've been challenged! 

Over the next four weeks, we are excited to see people plug into huddles for the very first time and begin to experience deeper, discipling relationships. We hope and pray that you will take this opportunity to dive deeper, in relationships and God's word.

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Six Reasons You Should Join a Missional Community

Six Reasons You Should Join a Missional Community Read Post

Six Reasons You Should Join a Missional Community

We say often that Church at Cane Bay is a church of Missional Communities. That the gospel of Jesus is the heart of our church, but Missional Communities are the lifeblood of the church.  They are the means where our church intersects our community with the gospel.

Many of you are new to us, so let me define what a Missional Community is - in short, it’s a community on mission. Pretty simple right? A longer definition is  - a community of people organized to see that every man, woman, and child within their specific mission has multiple opportunities to see, hear, and respond to the gospel of Jesus.

Ultimately, this is a group that has a defined mission in our community. Every week they get together on a given night of the week. They share dinner together each week, building a strong sense of community, then move into a period of time where they pray for and plan for their mission, making sure that the gospel is seen and heard in their lives. Then there is a period of bible study time, where they study the passage of Scripture that will be taught on the following Sunday morning, allowing people to hear from God for themselves before they apply God’s word on Sunday.

So, here are SIX reasons you should join a Missional Community -

1.  God Desires for You to Be on Mission

Ephesians 3: 7 - 13 (ESV) -  Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

It's a GRACE to us to PREACH the UNSEARCHABLE riches of CHRIST.

God doesn't just desire for you to be on mission. It's a gift to you to be on mission, telling people of the goodness of Jesus that is so great that we can never discover just how great He is.  And we do this together, as the body of Jesus (the church) meeting needs in our community with the gospel of Jesus. We best learn how to do this in community with each other. Just as our kids learn about life from the community called family, we learn about mission in another community called MC. 

2. God Desires for You to Have Community 

Hebrews 10: 24-25 (ESV) - And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

God desires YOU to be in community, but it's ultimately for a purpose that's greater than YOU. 

As we gather together, we better learn how to spur each other onto things greater than ourselves: things like love and good works. Those things exist for the goodness of others, displaying what Jesus Himself came to display. In other words, community exists so we can better show the love of Christ as the body of Christ.

3. There's a Mission that Matches Your Passion 

At Church at Cane Bay, we have a group that matches whatever you may be passionate about. From engaging with the schools in our community to being involved with single parents or foster kids, there is a place for you. For more details on our groups, head to this link - http://churchatcanebay.org/#/next-steps/missional-community

4. For Every Man, Woman, and Child

This is our Mission Statement as a church - that every man, woman, and child in a ten mile radius will have multiple opportunities to see, hear, and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 1:8 (ESV) - and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ 

Many are called to the ends of the earth. Many are called out to other places in our nation and state. But we are all called to our Jerusalem, which for us, is Cane Bay. he early disciples took that seriously, and if we are serious followers of Jesus, we realize that it’s the most important task we have. It is why the church exists - to express the glory of God to a world in need of someone great enough to glory in. We aren’t a people called to stay, but a people called to go. We aren’t a people who are focused in, but a people who are focused out. We aren’t a people who are kept, but a people who are sent.

Last year, we saw our Missional Communities provide over 14,000 gospel touches in our community. That's an incredible start, but it's not every man, woman, and child. There is so much more work to do.

5. Church Doesn't Reach Lost People

A recent UK survey shows that 70% of the population has no intention of every going to church again. That means that nothing inside of the church will ever reach them again. Better programs, better music, and better guest services. Even in the face of great tragedy, these people say they won’t go back. The UK is a good picture of where we are going culturally, so it's important to keep an eye on them.

We can’t improve the product of ‘church’ to get them there. We have to reach people apart from ‘church’. So we can’t just fix the programs to get them to return. We have to get them there the first time and that doesn’t happen inside the doors of the church. We have to get outside of the walls and we do that best together.

6. Everybody's Doing It

Here’s what I love about Church at Cane Bay. You guys get it. You understand the importance of the mission. Every year, we see a great commitment to the mission. Over the last year, we’ve seen it grow to our largest numbers. We always aim to see 100% of those in church on Sunday plugged into Missional Communities. It’s a crazy high goal. It just doesn’t happen. As we talk to other leaders and read studies, we see that around 60% is pretty astonishing. So let me tell you what happened last year. Not only did we meet that goal, but we exceeded it. We had 107% involvement in Missional Communities, meaning that we had more people involved in Missional Communities last year than we had attend Sunday morning on average. That means our Missional Communities are reaching into the harvest and engaging lost people. That means that God is doing something incredible. And we get to be a part of it.

I hope this encourages you to become a part of what God is doing in Cane Bay through Missional Communities. It's a journey to join the Spirit of God in real Kingdom work. Do you want to be a part of it? Join us by signing up for a group at mcsignup.org.

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Raised to Life

Raised to Life Read Post

Raised to Life

Raised to Life

Easter carries alot more meaning for me and my family this year with the passing of my dad a little over a week ago. I had the great honor of sharing his eulogy at his funeral. In life, death and new life, dad was always a reminder of hope and new life in Jesus. I thought I would share his eulogy today as a testimony of hope found in the resurrection of Jesus.

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When I was ten years old, Dad took me on a trip, just the two of us. Apart from my honeymoon, I’ve probably never been so excited to go on a trip in my life. We planned and packed for a couple of weeks, loaded things up in the minivan with the Southern Miss sticker on the back, and pulled our little pop up camper out of Pearl, MS headed for the Smokey mountains. That trip exemplified so much of who my dad was as we spent time singing Elvis together in the van, reading books in the hammock, playing games, and talking about Jesus as we enjoyed His creation.

That was my dad. If you knew him, then I don’t have to tell you that he was the kindest man in the world. His heart overflowed with kindness. He never met a stranger. As soon as you met him, you were instantly friends. He was so genuine. Every word that came from his mouth was sincere and honest, and always grounded in love. The sheer volume of his friendships is evidence to the quality of His character. Writing this eulogy was one of the hardest things I’ve ever written, but also one of the easiest, because there is so much good to say about dad.

His smile warmed every room that he walked in. Even in his sickness, I can’t really remember a time where the joy of Jesus didn’t pour out of him. My dad constantly modeled Jesus and set a standard that I desire to be more like. Like Paul, his life said Imitate me as Imitate Christ.

It surprises you the older you grow that you take on characteristics of your parents. I’ve been blessed to inherit my dad’s smile, his love for reading Tolkein, and listening to Elvis and Johnny Cash. I also have had the joy of inheriting my dad’s hairline. But it’s his kindness that I want to have more of. I want to be more genuine and sincere. I hope and pray that one day I’m blessed to be surrounded by as many close friends as my father and mother.

Most of all, I want to love Jesus how my dad loved Jesus. So real, so genuine, so sincere. I loved having conversations with my dad about his hope in Christ and seeing tears in the corner of his eyes. Every year as we sat down to enjoy Christmas together, my dad was intent on not just reading the Christmas story, about the birth of the Son of God who changed the world forever, but to clearly explain to us that the birth of Christ took place for the death and resurrection of Christ, which gives us new hope. He loved to share and teach the gospel of Jesus to his family. I think that’s the thing I’ll remember most about him.

Not only did he speak it, but he lived it. Dad modeled the servant leadership of Jesus in his marriage to my beautiful mom, to our family as my sisters and I struggled through adolescence and coming to faith in Christ, and in all of his relationships. There was never a question that dad was the leader in our family, but he led with so much grace, consistency, and love that he was never hard to follow. We wanted to follow dad and please and honor dad, as he taught us what it meant to follow Christ, to please and honor Him.

Dad loved mom. You heard it in his words, but you could mostly see it in how he trusted her. She worked so diligently to care for him over these past few years, but that was a reflection of the care that dad showed for her as she struggled through her own cancer. I’ve never seen such a consistent example of real, sacrificial love as what I was able to see in the relationship of my parents.

Dad was a fighter. About two and a half years ago when he was diagnosed with his aggressive cancer, he made a commitment to fight it. You could see it in his eyes and hear it in his words. He wanted to experience more of the life that God had given him. I truly believe that dad did that for us. He knew the joy he would have with his savior, but he wanted more time to express Jesus to us. We were able to spend 3 more Christmases with our dad, hearing him lovingly tell us of the Father’s love for us in Christ. We got to celebrate our parents 50th Wedding Anniversary this past December, hearing stories of God’s faithfulness from the friends that God blessed our parents with. That was such a gift from God to my mom and our family.

It’s fitting that dad passed just a little over a week before Easter, because his life, and death, and new life, are a testimony to the resurrection of Jesus. This time of year is a great reminder to us that death is not the end. New life, real life is to come. Jesus in John 11 says “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Because of the love and sacrifice of his savior, dad is alive in Christ Jesus.

Just this past Monday, as dad made the decision to attempt a surgery that could have helped him get stronger, he walked in with confidence in His savior. As he said to mom, “If I don’t make it, I’ll be in a better place.”

Martin Luther, the great reformer, once said “Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” Yesterday I stood looking out the back window of my parent’s house to the redbud tree that my dad loved to watch. With spring coming, it’s just started to bloom. But that bloom is such a clear picture of the hope and new life in Christ that dad is experiencing now. Death may try to win, but creation proves to us each year that life is made new. And Thursday morning, dad was proof that death has no victory for those who are in Christ Jesus. He has been made new.

Isaiah 40:31 -
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

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Why Mission is so Hard - #2 We Don't Contextualize

Why Mission is so Hard - #2 We Don't Contextualize Read Post

Mission, Theology

Why Mission is so Hard - #2 We Don't Contextualize

WHY MISSION IS SO HARD - #2 We Don't Contextualize

Several years ago as I was working in my front yard, I looked across my neighborhood with a broken heart. It wasn’t because I knew the struggles that my neighbors were working through. It was because I didn’t know my neighbors at all. I was living in a Christian bubble. I was working a ministry job that took up large amounts of time, and I spent all of my remaining time with my family. Those were both important things, but there was no place in my life where I was building relationships with people outside of that bubble. This wasn’t the first time that this happened to me in my life. Periodically, I look down only to discover that I have no contact with the outside world.

I don’t do this intentionally, but simply because it’s the easiest and most comfortable route. It’s the direction that our lives tend to take naturally. Anyone who has grown up inside the church is going to struggle with this to some degree. Those who come to faith in Christ later in life seem to find a more natural progression in just bringing the gospel of Jesus into the context of their lives. Most are already living life out in the harvest, so this work seems more natural. For those growing up in the church, there is an additional step of creating relationships and life out in the secular world which can be fearful to many.

So, how do we as God’s people begin to not avoid, but interact with secular culture in an effort to see the gospel of Jesus penetrate darkness? Even more important, how do we speak the gospel into culture in a way that makes it understood by the culture we live in? This is called contextualization, which for our context basically means making the gospel and the church as culturally accessible as possible without compromising on matters of belief and truth. This is one of the hardest things to do well as a believer.

On a simple level, I think there are two steps to the work of contextualization that will at least help us get started on the path of living out the gospel in the context of a lost world.

1. A FOLLOWER OF JESUS MUST STUDY

Studying the Bible - To be growing and doing anything correctly, believers must always be studying Scripture to provide the proper context in which to live their lives.

Studying the Culture - Knowing the culture of an area will help determine which areas need to be addressed and which errors need to be dealt with in order for the gospel to speak into the hearts of people. It can also help influence methods in which the gospel will be shared. The believer must become a missiologist, who studies their own culture in an attempt to reach it. This is not for entertainment primarily, but for missional observation. Here are some ideas:

WATCH TV

TV gives you the best smattering of culture that you can find anywhere. Although you must be careful, it is a clear indicator of which direction culture is heading.

GO TO STARBUCKS

Go sit in Starbucks for a few hours and you will overhear some of the most interesting discussions on culture, politics, religion, and whatnot. This can help in gaining an understanding of a more local region. 

CHECK OUT THE MAGAZINE RACK

Magazine covers are basically pictures of the idols that exist in culture. It is very easy to see what is being idolized in a culture, whether you are looking at Cosmo, People, or Popular Mechanics.

LISTEN TO YOUR NEIGHBORS

Do you want to know what people are really like? Take some time and just hangout with your neighbors, hearing their struggles and joys. 

READ CITY PAPER

 I can’t imagine a better place to read and understand the culture of a place and age group than to read the local Arts paper for a downtown area.

2. A FOLLOWER OF JESUS MUST CONTEXTUALIZE

1 Corinthians 9: 19 - 23 - For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Jesus is of course the best model of this. Paul models it here in his letter to the church in Corinth, but we are to model it as well. The work of contextualization isn’t about making the gospel relevant (because it always is), but it is about showing the relevance of the gospel to a specific culture. We must do this in our speech and in our methods. This does not mean that we water down truth, the gospel, or doctrine. It must remain a part of everything that we do, but it must be communicated in a way that is understandable and applicable. Missionaries do this overseas all the time, but it must be done in our culture as well as well if we want people to understand how the gospel of Jesus is good news to their lives.

Typically, we struggle with one of these over another. As a whole, we tend to extremes in one direction or another, often failing to understand that speaking the good news of Jesus into our culture is a both/and.

Problems to watch for -

STUDYING, BUT NOT CONTEXTUALIZING

It does the Kingdom little good if we entangle ourselves well with culture, but make no effort to use that culture to speak the gospel. You can know every hit album, every sports statistic, and hangout with lost people all the time. If you aren’t using those things to express the gospel of Jesus, then you are no different from a firefighter who goes into a burning building with people inside and chooses to just stay there. You are sent to rescue with the hope of the gospel, not to be culturally relevant.

TRYING TO CONTEXTUALIZE WITHOUT STUDYING

If we try to speak the gospel into culture, but we don’t know anything about culture, it always comes off bad. We’ve been guilty of this numerous times, using bad art, music, or movies to proclaim the gospel message. In this scenario, we can often make the gospel seem un-relevant, which can do more damage than good. The gospel is always relevant, we just have to show people that truth.

Mission is hard for us because we struggle to contextualize. We struggle to show people that the gospel of Jesus is good news for their lives, their struggles, and their families. Jesus is our hope, and the hope of all who are in darkness. Let’s believe that, live that, and speak it into the lives of our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers.

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