Anchor of Truth - Fall 2015

The

Anchor

of

TRUTH Fall 2015

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: What is the MISSION of the Church? . . . . . . . . . . .

A Responce to SCOTUS . . . .

Ministry Profile: Beech Grove Village . . . . . . .

Is Evangelism Really for Everybody? . . . . .

Simeon Smith: From China to Indianapolis . . . . .

The Priority of Global Missions . . . . . . . . . .

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Editor: Rob Ziegler

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What is the MISSION of the Church?

An Overview

by Steven Smith Have you considered this question recently?

What is the mission of the church? The answer to this question is essential to each person wishing to live a life that glorifies God. Paul warns Timothy, “no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” 2 Timothy 1:4 If you are a Christian today, you have been enlisted by the King of Kings to participate in the completion of a task. We must make sure that we are not getting entangled in things that distract us from the ultimate purpose for being enlisted. This is true of the individual and of the church as a whole. The mission of the church “is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit…” according to Kevin DeYoung.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the author has spent the entire book demonstrating that Jesus is the King of the Jews. He was the promised Messiah that had been spoken of for over two thousand years. He records Jesus birth, his baptism, his ministry, his miracles, his trial, execution and his resurrection. The resurrection ultimately demonstrated that Jesus was who he said he was. The entire Gospel is culminated in the last chapter of Matthew. Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The disciples needed to understand who they were working for, who was giving them their task. It was the King of Kings. All of creation, both heaven and earth, belong to him and he has a mission for His servants. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In Matthew 28:17-20 Jesus commands his followers to make disciples by going to all (ethne) people groups on the planet, preaching the gospel and baptizing them, then teaching them all that He has commanded us. We will do this work in his power, because Jesus will be with us all the way to the end. This message of the King of Kings was to go to the end of the earth.

Luke records very similar words from Jesus in his Gospel. Jesus has just been raised from the dead and makes himself known to the disciples. Luke says that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” They were still not understanding what Jesus was up to, so Jesus clearly tells them. “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:45-49. Repentance of forgiveness of sins is to be be proclaimed to all nations. The task is so daunting that Jesus tells his followers they are not to begin this mission until He empowers them with the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Acts is a recording of the obedience of the disciples to the mission that they were given by Christ. Acts 1 picks up where Luke 24 left off. Jesus says, “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The rest of Acts records the power of the Spirit working through followers of Jesus to spread the Gospel all over the known world. Men and women died for their testimony yet by God’s power they continued to speak boldly.

In conclusion, the mission of the church is not all that the church is supposed to do.

There are other commandments given in the New Testament that we are to obey in our lives. However, the mission, or the task of the church, is very specific. Take the message of the perfect, crucified and resurrected Christ to every corner of the globe. Jesus says, ‘I have other sheep who are not of this fold, I must bring them in also.” This must be done. If our lives are not specifically aimed at this target, we are wandering aimlessly and getting nowhere. Please ask yourself this very important question. “Is the mission that Jesus has given, my mission?”

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ON THE

BOOK

SHELF The theme of this issue is part of our church’s purpose, “to glorify God by engaging the world with the gospel.” Here is a book that also discusses this very important topic and can keep you thinking about it.

Far from the hand-wringing of those fearful of the increasing secularization of the American culture, Russell Moore issues a call for all evangelicals to engage the culture around them in both kindness and conviction, knowing that both of these, bound to offend and disturb some, are the distinctives that have drawn people to Christ throughout time. With chapters dedicated to showing many of the biggest issues facing Christians in the American culture in this decade, Moore hopes to cause his reader to think through both how the Bible speaks to each issue and how the Christian thus addresses the wider culture with a “Galilean accent.”

Rallying the fearful, convicting the hardhearted, and stirring the apathetic, this book attempts to show a clear picture of both culture-redefining work of Christ and the world which so desperately needs to hear Him.

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First and foremost, Jesus Christ is still Lord. God is still sovereign. History is not spinning out of control; it is still moving toward the end God has designed. No human authority has the last say on matters of morality. God does.In addition, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be destroyed. She will suffer, but she won’t die. Jesus promises that the gates of hell will not prevail against her. When world events tempt us to forget this, we should reread the book of Revelation.

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Ninth, we should pray for those who govern us at the federal, state, and local levels. We should also pray for one another all the more, so that we might continue to stand for truth and glorify God in these days.

Eighth, we should grieve anytime sin gains ground in our lives, our churches, or our society. We know that the light of Christ shines best in the dark, but we don’t love the dark. We look forward to the day when there is no more darkness and the light of Christ is all that we’ll see.

Seventh, we must respond as a congregation, and we have. On July 19, we affirmed a congregational position paper on marriage and sexuality, clarifying our church’s position on this crucial matter.

We also revised our wedding policy and facilities usage policy, so that all activities on our property must be in accordance with our congregation’s beliefs..

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Second, the church’s message hasn’t changed. While we want to lovingly speak truth in the face of lies, we must remember that the mission of the church is not to convince the world that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Our mission is to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Heterosexuality will not save our friends and neighbors. The only thing that saves is the gospel of Christ.

9 Things to Remember

by Toby Johnson Friday, June 26, 2015, was an historic day in the United States. In a 5-4 decision, our Supreme Court declared that homosexual men and women have the constitutional right to marry. It is important for Christians to think biblically in response to events such as these, and on Sunday, June 28, I listed 9 truths to remember at times like these.

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Sixth, we must live out the Bible we proclaim. In times like these, it is critical that Christians are truly living as Christians.

Marriage is not just heterosexual marriage.

It is a covenant relationship where two sinners seek to repent, walk by faith, and please the Lord in all things. It is also a covenant relationship that God intends to last for life. So, if we care about marriage as we say we do, we must live in our marriages as God instructs.

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Third, we should not be surprised when the world suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. Romans 1 says this is what sinners do in their sin. Also, we should not be surprised when those who suppress the truth hate, mock, and seek to oppress those who love and lift up the truth. Those who first hated Jesus also hate those who follow Jesus (cf. John 15:18-20).

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Fourth, we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Whether or not our neighbors share our convictions and morality, God commands us to love them. This includes our gay/lesbian neighbors. After all, our enemies are not flesh/blood. They are rulers, authorities, power, and spiritual forces of evil. Loving our neighbors is based on the love of Jesus for us. Our Savior is absolutely holy and therefore radically different from us; yet. He loves us.

Therefore, we should love others. We don’t compromise biblical truth, but we should treat gospel opponents with kindness and grace.

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Fifth, we must respectfully refuse to submit to the Supreme Court’s decision.

No legislature or state has ever defined marriage. The Creator of marriage defines it in His Word. So, when biblical morality differs from the morality put forward in the law of the land, we say with the apostles, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Ministry

PROFILE:

Beech Grove Village by Rob Ziegler

It’s a ministry that is both crucial to our Christian calling and so broadly defined that it can be hard to recognize at times, but GRBC’s work at Beech Grove Village apartment complex is a very good example of the church’s response to the Gospel call for intentional living in our community.

By “intentional” we mean ordering the events and activities of your life, even where you live and work, in a purposeful way so as to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ.

Pastors Toby, Steve and Chad were interested in the church being more involved in this kind of work and were contacted by an organization that focuses on improving social conditions in such facilities.

After looking for an ideal and willing church member to take the big step of moving into the complex first, they found Kathleen Tennant, who made the move at the end of 2013.

Here’s where the ministry can be difficult to describe for people accustomed to a fulltime, vocational ministry model.

Kathleen didn’t quit her day job with The Saturday Evening Post. She didn’t leave GRBC and start attending somewhere else. She didn’t start a big “program” per se. Instead she just began living as a New Testament Christian in the midst of the hundreds of people at Beech Grove Village.

“In the day-to-day, nitty-gritty of it all we probably had more losses than wins at the beginning of it all,” Kathleen recalls. “We moved in and put out a prayer box in the office. I got to know some of my neighbors through that. I would go over and say ‘Hey you filled out a thing saying your sister had cancer, can I come in and pray for you about that?’

That’s how I got to know a lot more people, compared to any events or anything. Even welcome visits, sometimes I hit it out of the park and sometimes I never saw the person again. I found out quickly that everyone likes prayer. It seems like any religion, any belief, people like prayer. If you offer a prayer for someone, even if they are an atheist, people know it’s a gesture of kindness. “ Some of the relationships have matured over time as people realize Kathleen is there for the long haul. Trust improves over time as residents realize she is truly investing her life at the complex, rather than just fulfilling some ministry program obligation.

While there is a ladies bible study every week, most of what goes on in the way of ministry is just from being there and living among the residents.

“A lot of it is just because I’m in the community,” she said. “I see them out during the day and for the girls and ladies who have said they believe, I’ll ask what they are reading and how it applies to their lives. One girl came to -4-

me and told me she and her grandma (who she lives with) struggle to get along. So we just did some basic discipleship and counseling about what the Bible says. I’ll ask if she’s thought of ways to bless her grandmother and how can I help her to do that.”

One key demographic to note regarding the complex: 75 percent of the 304 units have no adult men living (permanently) in them, but at least 60 percent do have women and children.”

Seeing the need for men to be more closely involved with the effort, Kathleen challenged some friends during the church’s mission trip to Guatemala. At first they declined the idea but in October of 2014, group of young men from GRBC took on the challenge from Kathleen and also Pastor Chad to make a difference, moving in to the complex. They were Joe Matkins, Kiel Pugh, Noah Colbert and Jeremy Cutshall. Jeremy has since moved out and has been replaced by Kiel’s brother Zac. So now this group of 20-something men are also striving to make a difference in the community. Additionally, a bible study taught

by Willie Jones has been drawing six to 10 men once a week, which makes it almost as wellattended as the ladies study led by Kathleen.

Photo by Aubrey Helms

The men are coming around a bit more slowly, but that is often the nature of relationshipbuilding.

“One of the guys comes over about every other day to talk for a while,” Kiel said. “Building relationships takes a lot of time.”

The bible study attendees range in age from 15 to at least 60. A lot of the study has to do with re-education for people who have had some sort of religious exposure. But others are truly starting from ground zero when it comes to the Gospel. Relationship struggles, along with financial and health struggles, are commonplace.

Chad and Kathleen have been encouraging other people from the church to get involved in helping build community.

Having some couples move in would be a big help, she noted. The future of the effort could begin to look more and more like a church plant, as the residents might be more comfortable with that than going to a more established and culturally distinct church, even if it is just down the road.

Pastor Chad was pointed as he talked about the future of the outreach at Beech Grove Village, mentioned people believing on Christ, discipleship of people directly involved in the ministry, multiplication of those involved in the ministry and a greater church-wide spiritual investment in and compassion toward the community, as well as to church members’ own communities.

“I realize that the whole church cannot be hands-on in the work at BGV all of the time, nor would that be a good idea. However, we are always looking for new ways to involve individuals in this ministry to reach a different set of residents that we have not yet engaged. For example, we’ve had some ladies from the church lead cooking and craft classes,” he said.

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specifically pray, and to think about how they should and can begin to develop such relationships with their own neighbors. My prayer for our church in relationship to BGV is that every member would adopt the mindset that God has so placed us in our contexts for the very purpose of bringing the gospel to those communities, that we would take our commission from Christ seriously to be His ambassadors for His glory. “

The whole BGV team

Is Evangelism Really for Everybody?

by Toby Johnson

Gray Road Baptist Church exists to glorify God. One of the ways we seek to glorify God is by engaging the world with the gospel.

What does this look like? Well, we engage through our missions giving. We engage on mission trips. We engage through community events like VBS and the Fall Festival.

We engage as the gospel goes out from our pulpit on Sunday mornings. We even engage as we sing songs of the gospel as a congregation. In our singing, we “declare [God’s] glory among the nations, his marvelous works among the peoples!” (Ps. 96:3).

However, there’s more to engaging the world with the gospel. More than all these wonderful, needed activities. Notice, all these are corporate activities, but sharing the gospel is not meant to be only corporate.

It’s meant to be personal...very personal.

Every week, every one of us should have engaging the world with the gospel on our minds. That’s not a typo. Every week, every one of us should have engaging the world with the gospel on our minds. It’s a pretty bold claim, isn’t it? But is it true?

Is it really true that every single Christian should feel the weight of responsibility in reaching the world? Or is this just some sort of pastoral hyperbole?

“Every week, every one of us should have engaging the world with the gospel on our minds. That’s not a typo.

Every week, every one of us should have engaging the world with the gospel on our minds.

It’s a pretty bold claim, isn’t it?”

To answer that question, we should go to our Source – the Bible. There, we’ll find our answer, and we’ll find it in a familiar place. The Great Commission. It’s a pretty familiar passage from Matthew 28. After His resurrection, and as He is ascending to heaven, Jesus says this to His eleven remaining disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you...” (Mt. 28:1920).

These men were given a message. It was a message of repentance and forgiveness (Lk. 24:47), and they were to preach it in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Through the preaching of this gospel, disciples would be made (Acts 14:21). These new disciples would confess their faith in the waters of baptism (Mt. 28:19; Acts 2:41), and they would need to be taught (Mt. 28:20).

Sounds good so far, right? We’re all on the same page. This makes sense. If I believe the gospel, I profess my faith through baptism.

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growing as a disciple. That means I learn what God says, and I do it. I’m a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. Check.

However, there’s one more piece to this puzzle. Jesus leaves no wiggle room on what must be learned and what must be obeyed.

He says every disciple must be taught “to observe all that I have commanded you...”

(Mt. 28:20). No command of Jesus should be left out. All of them must be obeyed.

So, disciples aren’t given the choice as to whether they can commit adultery or not.

Forgive others or not. Love one another or not. Commit murder or not. We must obey.

Now, ask yourself this question: where is the closest command, so I can start obeying it? It’s in this same paragraph. It’s actually back at the beginning of this sentence. Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples...” Or a more literal translation: “As you are going, therefore, make disciples...”

Wrap your mind around this. Jesus tells His disciples to make disciples. Then, those disciples are to teach the new disciples to obey everything Jesus commanded. One of those commands – the last command, the “Great” command – was this: make disciples.

In other words, the disciples were to make disciples who would make disciples. This command from Jesus, like all the others, is handed down from one generation to the next, and today, it’s been handed to us. To each of us.

So, are you a disciple of Jesus? Have you believed the gospel? Have you professed your faith in baptism? Are you seeking to grow in knowing and obeying all that Jesus commands in the Bible? Then, don’t leave this one out. Make disciples.

As you go, make disciples. As you go to work. To school. To the waiting room at the dentist. To the salon. To the ball field to watch your child play sports. To the homeschool co-op. To the gym to work out. Wherever it is we go, pray that God would use you to make disciples. Have open eyes to see opportunities, an open heart to want opportunities, and an open mouth to seize the opportunities God gives you in the course of your everyday life. The opportunities are there.

So, the answer to your question about pastoral hyperbole is no. No, it’s not an exaggeration. Every disciple should engage the world with the gospel. It should never leave our radar because disciple-making is an integral part of the disciple’s life.

Simeon Smith: From China to Indianapolis

by Rob Ziegler His name is Simeon Smith. If you attend Gray Road you probably have heard about him.

Simeon is the son of Steve and Andrea Smith and the brother of Zeke and Malachi.

The two-year old moved in July of this year from China to his new home. A number of people from GRBC helped contribute to pay the costs associated with Simeon’s adoption, but the more details you learn about the story, the more it is clear that the only hero of the tale is the one true God of the universe – the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

That fact became even clearer for Andrea not long after bringing Simeon home. She was listening to music in her bedroom, playing with her son, and a song came on that she had become fond of during the adoption process.

The lyrics to “Kings and Queens” by Audio Adrenaline go like this: “Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me Will we leave behind the innocent too brief

On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun These could be our daughters and our sons And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating I know my God won’t let them be defeated Every child has a dream to belong and be loved Boys become kings, girls will be queens Wrapped in Your majesty When we love, when we love the least of these Then they will be brave and free Shout your name in victory When we love when we love the least of these When we love the least of these.”

The Smiths began their adoption process on July 11, 2011, before Simeon was born. They recognized the biblical imperative of adoption, as well as having seen it modeled by the staff and congregation at Gray Road. Steve’s heart was touched when he met a special needs child in South Africa a few years ago.

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Andrea became more burdened to adopt a child with medical needs Simeon needed lifesaving heart surgery when he was 10-months old. He may face further surgery when he is older, but received a good report recently from doctors at Riley.

“Over these 4 years, God really softened our hearts toward orphans even more,” Andrea shared. “When we started, our hearts were not ready for a medical special needs child. But we began to see more and more the need of ‘non-healthy’ children.”

If you haven’t seen the video on Andrea’s Facebook page of the first moments she and Steve were together with their son in China, it is worth whatever technological revolution you need to undergo in order to get there.

Andrea reports that the sense of familiarity between Simeon and his new family grew more quickly than she had been told to expect.

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Simeon now gets excited when his dad comes home from work, wanting to go to him.

He is also excited in the morning, eager to be lifted from his crib and to begin the day with his mother and brothers.

All of which hit home that day as she sat playing with her son, listening to the song.

“Break our hearts once again Help us to remember when We were only children hoping for a friend Won’t you look around These are the lives that the world has

On a recent Wednesday evening Simeon seemed quite at home in the church, playing with Zeke and Malachi in the Fellowship Hall.

If not us, who will be like Jesus To the least of these If not us tell me who will be like Jesus Like Jesus To the least of these”

The model of this integration into a family provides us a clear picture of God’s adoption of each believer as His child. This has been made more real for Steve and Andrea.

“I guess having him there while listening to the song, sitting on my bed, struck a chord with me, that God has actually done this,” she said. “It is completed, He is victorious and has transformed this kid’s life.”

Andrea also mentions God’s grace to her through her husband’s helpfulness in those opening days back home, and through the rest of the GRBC family.

She adds that while adoption books would have frowned upon how quickly she and Steve started bringing him to services and other activities, she just couldn’t wait to get back to be a part of the body, including corporate worship and youth group.

The Priority of GLOBAL MISSIONS WHY DO MISSIONS? • A ll nations (“ethnos” or people groups) rebelled against God • I n the Abrahamic Covenant and elsewhere, God promises Abraham that all the families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham’s seed (Gen. 12:3, 18:18, 26:4) • Christ is the answer (Isaiah 2:1-4, John 1:613, Luke 2:29-32, Acts 10 & 11) HOW TO DO MISSIONS • A s the Church is what we see God using to reach people in the New Testament, so our missions effort should all be tied into the establishment and strengthening of local church bodies and leadership. In the last 50 years an incredibly wide range of “ministries” have emerged under the guise of missions, but the proclaiming of the Gospel and the establishment of local churches must be the focus, as indicated in Scripture • “ To the uttermost part of the earth…” – There has been some tendency in the missions community to concentrate on places that already have a lot of evangelical church

“God has most definitely ‘poured out his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.’ A mother’s love for a crying baby has its limits.

But God’s love is perfect and supernatural.”

Our Missions Emphasis took place in September. While deadlines for this issue were before the conference took place, as part of this issue’s focus on being a missional people, we wanted to give a quick overview on GRBC’s focus on global missions, both our call and our emphasis, as expressed by church leadership. This is not a comprehensive policy statement but hopefully an accurate reflection of the emphasis GRBC will be featuring as it moves forward.

presence. We believe there is a priority at this time of taking the Gospel to where it hasn’t been presented – as commanded by our Lord (Isaiah 66:18-24, Acts 1:8). This is the pattern established by Paul of getting churches established, and then moving on as others do the work of building churches up and establishing additional bodies among those people (1 Cor. 3:6-10, 1 Tim. 1:3-7, Titus 3:12) •T here are an estimated 16,350 people groups according to The Joshua Project. Defining such group is based on languages, ethnicities, cultures, geographies and other factors.

Whatever the precise number, there are A LOT (Genesis 12, Exodus 6:14-15, Joshua 7).

• N early a third of the world’s 6,000 plus languages have no Scripture translation.

More than half do not have the full Bible translated.

• C ontinue the work begun in Acts 2 – the restoration of one people group (God’s people) from the many groups. GRBC supports 17 missionary families, only a few of which are involved in reaching unreached people groups, and some others involved in discipling and training leaders of other somewhat reached groups (“reached” -8-

“The Holy Spirit has just reminded me of God’s grace toward me, (His) unconditional love. (Simeon) didn’t choose to come into our family at all, but is experiencing something we’ve chosen to do for him (through The Lord’s enabling),” she said. “There were a few hard nights when he was crying and I was trying to figure out how to put him to sleep.

The Lord has reminded me to not be selfish, that I wasn’t giving of myself for him the way He’s given himself for me.

Overview of GRBC Missions Priorities:

Greatest Priority

“Within 48 hours it really felt like a whole family.”

forgotten Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open

Type of Ministries (What) Church Planting (esp. entrepreneurial) & Closed Country Evangelism Other Evangelism & Training Pastors Support Ministries & Other

Greatest Priority

“I’ve heard some people say that at first it felt like babysitting strangers for a while, but we didn’t have that emotion,” she said. “I was shocked with how well we did with him when he got home. The same with our sons. Zeke for instance has never been a really nurturing kid with other kids, but he has been so tender and kind, wanting to hold him and that kind of thing. I see that as God’s provision.

Type of Servants (Who) Members of GRBC Family of GRBC members, former members and members of local partners.

No affiliation with GRBC

is defined as having an indigenous, evangelical church established among that people group).

May God guide and bless our efforts to serve Him through our partnering with those seeking to faithfully fulfill Christ’s great commission.