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Dear friends in Christ, Last night, we continued our EMBODY series in the sanctuary. Many of you know that we've been doing some team teaching and interactive study on Wednesday nights concerning the emerging mission, vision and strategy of our church. We've been reminding each other that our primary mission is to "make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." We have also focused on 3 words that define our strategy. Connect, Prepare & Send. As a community of faith, we are seeking to: 1. Connect people to Christ; 2. Prepare each other for a life of discipleship; and 3. Send one another into the world to share the Gospel, in word and deed. The word send in the New Testament comes from the Greek word apostolos. This word is the origin of our word, apostle. An apostle is one who is sent. A delegate. An emissary. A missionary. One who seeks to translate one culture into another. Jesus initially calls us to be disciples (learners, students). But He intends for us to become apostles. We are a sent community! One pastor said it like this: "It's not how many the church seats that matters. Its how many the church sends! We are a sending church! We are called to be missionaries! I realized recently that many of my heroes of faith are missionaries: E. Stanley Jones, William Carey, George Muller, Lesslie Newbigin, Mother Teresa and others. These persons lived in such a way that their very lives became a translation of the grace of God. I read not long ago about a group that studied missional churches. They found that missional (or sending) churches had 12 things in common. A missional church is one that: 1. proclaims the Gospel. 2. involves all of its people in learning to become disciples of Jesus Christ.believes in the efficacy of prayer.
3. seeks to discern God's specific missional vocation for the entire community. 4. believes in the primacy of Scripture. The Bible is normative in the life of the people. 5. the people behave in a Christ-like manner toward one another. 6. practices hospitality. 7. where people hold themselves accountable to one another in love. 8. practices reconciliation. 9. worship is central. 10. has a vital public witness. 11. recognizes that the church itself is an incomplete expression of the reign of God. We have not arrived. I believe these 12 things are apart of our DNA at Brentwood UMC! I want to remind you to pray at noon today. Pray for those in the world who are suffering from the Ebola virus. Pray for the protesters in China. Pray for those who are suffering persecution in the Middle East. Pray for our community. And remember to sign up for the Stop Hunger Now event on Saturday, October 25. It is a meaningful way for us to live out our faith is a missional way! Click here to sign up for the Stop Hunger Now packing event. Finally, it was good to welcome new members Jeff and Betsy Christie, Dee Christie, Joseph, Donelle, Jaydon and Jordon Chisolm, Bill and Jina Woodhouse, Brad, Anne, James Thomas, and Ashley Kamps, Sadie Flack, Cole Markham, Jackson Welty, and Emma Taylor to our Brentwood campus as well as David and Sara Ussery as new members of our Trinity Church. Welcome to our church community. I look forward to seeing you in worship this weekend as we celebrate World Communion Day. The peace of Christ be with you!
Davis