A Testimony to the Grace of Jesus Christ

My Testimony
My parents faithfully took our family to our local church gatherings most Sunday mornings (United Methodist Church). I spent my pre-teen and most of my teenage years thinking that Christianity was essentially a moral code that I obeyed to love God and be admitted to heaven when I died. I was pretty good at keeping the rules that people would measure to see if I was a “good Christian.” I was even admired among my peers in high school because of my good religious behavior. But, in hindsight I was just a Pharisee with no desire for the glory of God, no real grasp of the gospel.

I entered Mercer University in 1997 to study engineering. I had other desires as well as I went into college, evil desires to throw off the moral chains that had been holding me. I was ready to experience the lusts of the world. Thankfully, God had other plans for my life. Because of my love for playing the guitar, I was asked by a classmate from high school who was involved with the BSU worship team to play with their band. This put me under some good teaching once a week. With eclectic atmosphere at Mercer, I was hearing differing beliefs from Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists, and I did not know where I stood. God was very gentle to me as He changed the direction of my life. What started happening was that I had a burden to go deeper with God. I actually interested in the things of God, in studying the Bible and knowing Jesus. I started a study of Romans with a friend and began understanding the gospel. At that time I also met the wonderful lady who is now my wife. She taught me how to pray and have personal devotions (something I had never done before!). I started going to her church gatherings, Mabel White, and was shocked at the spiritual life in the corporate gatherings. That too was something I had never experienced.

My Understanding of The Gospel
Even in the four years, my understanding of the gospel has grown much. I am realizing how deep my religious “rule-keeping-for-righteousness” roots go. My pastor, Keith Watson, has committed to having the gospel of Jesus be central to every sermon, believing that the gospel is not only something we believe for justification, but that which also sustains us as believers until we are at last glorified. This weekly saturation in the gospel has helped to give me a much better understanding of the gospel.

I understand the gospel to be that God has come in the flesh as Jesus, who lived a sinless and perfectly righteous life, yet was crucified and died, but was raised to life having born the curse for the sin of man, and will give his righteousness to our account simply because of our believing and trusting in Him, and will bring us to dwell with God for eternity. This gospel is to be proclaimed to the whole world and disciples are to be made for the glory of God. I also believe that as we call people to believe in this gospel, we are to call them chiefly to the enjoyment of God for eternity.

The Gospel's Affect
The most notable change in me since my conversion to the gospel has been in my desires. Whereas before my conversion I did good things, it was not done joyfully, but rather under compulsion to be admired by my peers and to earn God’s favor. Now, however, I see God at work in me, giving me His desires and a love for His glory and renown. More broadly, the gospel is affecting every area of my being: how I am a husband and a father, an employee, a neighbor, a steward, and a citizen.

My Calling
After college, I had occasional opportunities to teach adult Sunday school classes. I really began to enjoy teaching in 2006. I credit this enjoyment to a better understanding of the supremacy of Christ in all things and understanding of expositional preaching/teaching, which I have gained mostly through John Piper’s ministry. So, through this teaching I sense God’s call to teach and preach.

As I have had opportunity to preach at the Macon Rescue Mission, God has further clarified my calling to teach and preach. Through my seminary experience, especially in a course called "Pastoral Counseling," I have had an increased desire to shepherd the flock of God, spurring us on toward treasuring the gospel of Christ.

Good Friday & a Prophecy Fulfilled - For my Jehovah's Witness (Watchtower) readers

Jehovah speaks in Zechariah 12 about bringing salvation to the house of Judah and bringing judgment upon their enemies. In 12:10 Jehovah says this: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn."

Then in John 19:37 we are told by the inspired author that this prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 is fulfilled. Here is the verse in context:

John 19:31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

So the crucifixion of Jesus, the piercing of his side rather than the breaking of His bones, fulfills what Jehovah spoke of Himself in Zechariah 12:10. The only way I see for this to be possible is if Jesus is Jehovah. This is a plain and simple look at a prophecy and its fulfillment. May God grant us all eyes to see and humbly submit to His word.

The good news is that Jesus has done what we could not do - he lived perfectly, satisfied God's wrath and hatred toward sin by his death on the cross (Galatians 3:13), and he has been raised in a glorified body. This is for our good! It brings us great joy, to have fellowship with God through the Spirit now, and enables us to enjoy God for eternity, all by trusting Jesus to be righteousness for us, gifting righteousness to us by his free gift (Romans 5:1-11). This is good news! Hallelujah!

The 567 Cafe - An Interview with Keith Watson

In an effort to give our Missional Community group a better understanding of what is going on with our church's cafe, "The 567 Cafe," I am posting the first half of a report I wrote last semester for a class. The aim of the report was to first report on an attempt at cultural engagement, and to follow that up with an analysis of the attempt. So, what follows is the report, which is based largely on an interview I conducted with Pastor Keith. Enjoy!



New City Church downtown (NCCd), of which I am a member, states that “we exist to see the gospel transform everything within our reach… ourselves, our church, our city, and the world.” In April of 2008, the 567 Café became a very public expression of this mission. Located at 567 Cherry St., Macon, Georgia, the café provides a venue for musicians and artists to present their work on Friday and Saturday nights while providing coffee and other refreshments to the patrons.

In an interview on August 1, 2009, Keith Watson, pastor of NCCd said to me the following when asked what the goal of the 567 Café is.

The ultimate goal of the 567 is the same as the mission of our church: to see the gospel transform everything within our reach. The 567 is a tool that, primarily through the relationships we develop there, the gospel can go forward. Our goal primarily is gospel-transformation in people who work, live, or play in downtown Macon.

Another benefit that has been observed by the church in having the 567 Café is that the members can form new relationships with people whom they would not contact otherwise. The setting is an easy place to have conversations that lead to discussing the church, the gospel, and Jesus. Secular artists, musicians, and patrons often ask questions about why a church would provide such a venue in the downtown area. In short, the café serves to help people live missional lives.

New City Church downtown is committed to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. NCCd also holds that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. The church is a theologically conservative evangelical church which believes in the authority, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture. A more complete list of theological beliefs can be found at the church’s website: www.newcitydowntown.org/about_new_city.

Part of the reason NCCd gathers in downtown Macon (and thus the 567 Café is in downtown Macon) is that other churches have left the area, and most of the churches who are still there are not engaging the culture with the gospel. Thus, the 567 Café seeks to be for the good of the city, and the advancement of the kingdom and the gospel.

In addition, downtown Macon has a fairly rich music history and a music scene that seems to be reviving. Keith expounded on how the 567 Café took on its current form.

As a part of the revitalization efforts of downtown, NCCd wanted to involve the visual arts and music. In talking with musicians and others who were downtown, NCCd found that the only places to listen to music were bars. There were no listening rooms. It was just loud bars filled with smoke. We could meet a need in that musicians are looking for a place to play. Macon needed its own residents to see good things happening downtown. The space just fit all of that. It fit our needs and the
needs of the city. That’s contextualizing what we do.

I asked Pastor Keith how he sees the 567 serving to establish a counter-culture rather than a sub-culture. Here is how he answered:

Our hope and goal is to celebrate good things that God has created. God created us to be creative people like he is creative. I believe that’s a part of being created in his image. So we celebrate the creativity of the people in our city. We do so in an environment that is generally clean and safe for family and where we can come with our wife and children. It’s an environment that is good for the musicians as well.

What we do at the 567 is counter-cultural in two ways. It’s counter-cultural in the secular world because we’re a place that celebrates the artists and their creativity. This is very counter-cultural because in the other venues that those artists play, it’s not about the artists or their art; [rather] it’s about them bringing money to the facility. So we’re counter-cultural there in that we truly celebrate them and the gifts that God’s
given to them.

The 567 is also counter-cultural in church culture because we’re not running from our community and our culture. We’re engaging it and celebrating what is good.

When asked to share some of the things that have shown him that God’s hand is really involved in this ministry, Keith shared the following.

Many people have been skeptical of the church being downtown and us doing this cafe thing for music. There have been a number of people who have been sitting back and watching to see whether we were real and genuine. I had a conversation at Bragg Jam last week with a female musician whose lyrics indicates that she’s got Christian background, but you can also hear in her lyrics that something has happened that really hurt her. She walked away from the church several years ago. Well she’s played at the 567 Cafe several times. We have developed a relationship through talking with her about her music and about her playing at the cafe and through serving her while she’s at the Cafe (by helping her get set up and torn down). That developed that relationship so that when we were at Bragg Jam, she and I sat down while one of the musicians was playing and had a thirty minute conversation about religion, church, and the gospel. We’re supposed to meet again for coffee just to talk more. But she was obviously very excited. She said she has not found anyone in the last several years who she felt that she could talk openly and honestly to about her hurts in the church and
religion. So there’s one.

This was I think the tenth year of the Bragg Jam music festival. This was our [the 567’s] second year as a venue and this year we were the only non-alcohol-serving venue at Bragg Jam. We had rave reviews from a lot of the people who played there and who visited there for music. After Bragg Jam, because of the 567 and because our people serve at Bragg Jam, there were some conversations as they were planning for next year’s Bragg Jam. [We talked about NCCd] providing help to them, create a couple
of more venues that were family-friendly, and even having Christian music. One of the ideas was to maybe do some gospel music to bring black and white together-maybe even to bring a couple of the church choirs together as one of the acts. So all of that, to me, is a hint of redemption that is coming through Bragg Jam, which was a pub crawl only two years ago. The only way that that conversation was taking place was because of the 567 and our people serving in the city. So that is a huge success.

City Watch [a Neighborhood Watch for a sixteen block area surrounding the 567 Café] is a result of the 567 because people saw that we were serious about our city and loved our city and wanted to be a part of revitalizing our city. That led to conversations about what we could do about security and other issues downtown. That led to City Watch, which pays a part of Patrick’s monthly income. So that was a big thing directly connected to the 567.

There have been tons of gospel conversations with unbelievers… and on and on.

New City’s efforts have been met with some skepticism from those outside the body. The common misunderstanding was that it would be a “church café” for “church people” with “church bands.” It was thought that the 567 Café would simply be against the things that go on in the city.” The Church in downtown Macon has not generally celebrated with the culture. It has been completely isolated in its own world, following more of Niebuhr’s “Christ Against Culture” model. So, the apprehension was brought about because people expected the 567 Café to be the same.

Ambition - To Preach the Gospel Where Christ is not Known

This is shaping up to be a great conference. It will be put on by Acts 29 in Louisville, KY November 10-11. It serves as one of their "boot camps" for those who want to be church planters within their network, but is also open to the public.

From the website:

Simply knowing how to plant and lead a church is not enough. Knowledge
must come hand-in-hand with God-given ambition. The Apostle Paul responded
to God’s call to make the gospel known among the Gentiles with zealous
determination. Paul, empowered by the Holy Spirit, made it his ambition to
take the gospel to those who did not have it even if it cost him
everything. He proclaimed the gospel, gathered believers into churches,
established elders, and discipled believers; and he did all this with zeal and
passion. In the hope of this type of ambition overflowing in the Church,
we would like to invite you to the Acts 29 Network Ambition Boot Camp,
November 10-11, 2009, which will focus on planting and leading churches with
God-given ambition.

Get more info on speakers, breakout sessions, cost, etc. here.

The Lord seems to have been showing me two things to seek lately: humility and joy. The call to humility has come primarily through reading C.J.Mahaney’s book Humility: True Greatness. This book is a great quick read that I highly recommend. If you prefer an audio version (as I do), he preached a two sermons at a conference around 2000 that are available at the Sovereign Grace Ministries website. These audio files were the basis for the book. In the back of the book, C.J. Mahaney gives a list of suggestions on how to fight pride and cultivate humility.

The call to seek joy came as a friend, Jonathan Rowe, noted how recent parenting struggles have been robbing me of joy. He was exactly right, and I hadn’t even noted it really. So, I picked up Piper’s book Desiring God, flipped to the back where he has an appendix titled “How then shall we fight for joy?” This also is a list of sorts, with numerous Scriptures given showing the basis for his suggestions.

So, one thing I noticed in comparing the two lists is some real overlap. Much of the guidance for cultivating humility has to do with seeing God in the Scripture, and that is also the chief means of finding joy in Christ. And it makes sense, doesn’t it, that as God humbles us, we have necessarily seen true greatness in the person and work of Christ, and in that seeing of the gospel we have great joy!

Here are a few things that stick out:
· (Mahaney) “Practice the spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible study, worship)
· (Mahaney) “Seize your commute time to memorize & meditate on Scripture”
· (Piper) “Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see God for who He is.”
· (Piper) “Meditate on the Word of God day and night.”
· (Piper) “Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself.”

And a quote found in Desiring God from George Muller of Bristol:

I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished… I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditate on it.

Finally, note that Piper’s whole book is expanding on why the following are true:
· The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever
· God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him

Contextualizing the Gospel

In his chapter titled "Contextualization: True and False," Lesslie Newbigin discusses the following:

• The need for contextualization


• Historic struggles with contextualization


• Culture is in missionaries and in the Bible


• The church re-contextualizes the gospel in new cultures


• When cultural demands are placed on newly-evangelized cultures by missionaries


• Evidence that the gospel is embraced by a newly evangelized people


• Overcontextualization (false contextualization)


• True contextualization

Here is one of my favorite portions, which is under the "True contextualization" heading as I have outlined the chapter above:

I am saying that authentic Christian thought and action begin not by attending to the aspirations of the people, not by answering the questions they are asking in their terms, not by offering solutions to the problems as the world sees them. It must begin and continue by attending to what God has done in the story of Israel and supremely in the story of Jesus Christ. It must continue by indwelling the story so that it is our story, the way we understand the real story. And then, and this is the vital point to attend with open hearts and minds to the real needs of the people in the way that Jesus attended to them, knowing that the real need is that which can only be satisfied by everything that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). As we share in the life, and worship of the Church, through fellowship, word, and sacrament, we indwell the story and from within that story we seek to be the voice and the hands of Jesus for our time and place. [Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p. 151].

He continues shortly thereafter on p.152, showing how we might fail.

I am thus again stressing the priority of the gospel as the message, embodied in an actual story of what God has in fact done, is doing, and will do. Christian theology is a form of rational discourse developed within the community which accepts the primacy of this story and seeks actively to live in the world in accordance with the story. It can fail by failing to understand and take seriously the world in which it is set so that the gospel is not heard but remains incomprehensible because the Church has sought security in its own past instead of risking its life in a deep involvement with the world. It can fail, on the other hand, by allowing the world to dictate the issues and the terms of the meeting. The result then is that the world is not challenged at its depth but rather absorbs and domesticates the gospel and uses it to sacralize its own purposes. ... True contextualization accords to the gospel its rightful primacy, its power to penetrate every culture and to speak within each culture, in its own speech and symbol, the word which is both No and Yes, both judgment and grace. And that happens when the word is not a disembodied word, but comes from a community which embodies the true story, God's story, in a style of life which communicates both the grace and the judgment. In order that it may do this, it must be both truly local and truly ecumenical. Truly local in that it embodies God's particular word of grace and judgment for that people. Truly ecumenical in being open to the witness of churches in all other places, and thus saved from absorption into the culture of that place and enabled to represent to that place the universality, the catholicity of God's purpose of grace and judgment for all humanity. [Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p. 152].

A culturally diverse community of believers serves to ensure we don't make God in our own image

I think you will agree with me that it is a real danger for us to start thinking we have the not only the truest understanding of who Jesus is, but also that our understanding is complete. Though we are justified and counted as righteous as Christ in the Father's eyes, we are fallible. So, how is our understanding of who Christ is to be protected from leading us off down the wrong path? I think God provides at least three graces to keep us (or move us back) on the right path: 1) the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Scripture; 2) people of long past cultures speak to us through their writings; and 3) people of contemporary cultures for community with us, so that we and they alike can be mutually edified in our pursuit of faithful living.

It is this third means that Lesslie Newbigin addresses as follows:

The way in which any Christian perceives God's revelation in Christ and in the whole biblical story will be shaped tby the culture through which that individual was formed. It is a simple fact that Jesus has been and is portrayed in an amazing variety of portraits from the Byzantine Pantocrator through the medieval crucifix and the Jesus of the sacred heart to the blue-eyed blond of American protestantism and the Che Guevara freedom fighter of liberation theology. For some writers it seems obvious that Jesus can be portrayed in any guise that is (as they would say) "meaningful" for them and their contemporaries. But "Jesus" is not a name to which we can attach any character we like to imagine. Jesus is the name of a man of whom we have information in the books of New Testament interpreted (as they must be) in the light of the books which were Jesus' own scriptures. The Jesus of whom the New Testament writers bear witness is not an inaccessible figure. Our varying perceptions of him - and of course they will vary because we are culturally different people - have to be checked in some way that all our claims to perceive reality have to be checked. we have to share them with others who perceive Jesus with the different lenses furnished by their different cultures. [Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, pg. 192-193].

So, a culturally diverse community of believers serves to ensure we don't make God in our own image.

How diverse is your community? Mine isn't great, but I will say that it is getting more diverse. God's mission is aimed at a VERY diverse world, and as we become more missional, our community is likely to become more diverse. Lord, help us be a part of transforming everything within our reach - ourselves, our church, our CITY, and the WORLD!