As I vacuumed the stairs in preparation for our dinner and study last Sunday evening I felt my selfishness flare up.  Just to be clear, I don’t do the stairs every week, but I had been dodging it for a couple of weeks and I was beginning to see cracker crumbs every few steps.  We feel called to plant a church, we love people, and we were excited to have everyone over; but I was honestly whipped.  As crumbs were sucked into the vacuum hose hospitality was a drain not a joy.

Both lists for the qualifications of Elders (1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) list hospitality as a qualification for leadership in the church.  Titus contrasts hospitality with greediness because much of hospitality is simply sharing our stuff.  But this is the faith issue isn’t it?  Do we really believe sharing and being hospitable will bring us joy?

I wish in my selfish moment I had remembered how the Father shared his Son (John 3:16).  I wish in my selfish moment I could say I was treasuring people over my own stuff (Matthew 6:19-21).  I wish I could report that as crumbs were being sucked up the vacuum hose that I was filled with faith that my little good work would bring me joy.

Nope, none of that hit me till the end of the evening.  At the end of our time I was filled with joy at the evening.  It was such a blessing to see new faces, spend time with good friends, apply the gospel to my little areas of unbelief, and have encouraging and challenging conversations with friends over a great meal.  At the end of our evening and the last guest left and I had a moment to reflect, I realized how much joy hospitality had brought my soul!

The early Christians were great hosts and hostesses.  The early church was built around the table of people eating together and sharing together and conversing together and simply being together.  Hospitality might mean some inconvenience, but it will also fill your soul.

Take time over the next couple of weeks and invite a friend over for dinner.  Think about the new guy in your church and have him over to get to know him better.  Put it in your family budget to have a family over for dinner every couple of weeks.  Redeemer Church will have an eternal impact in Denton as our folks find joy in hospitality.

An early driver for the vision for Redeemer Church is the redeemer himself, particularly Jesus’ incarnation.  John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

There are three movements in this short verse.  First, Jesus “became flesh.”  This means that he left what was comfortable.  He left the beautiful satisfying confines of the Trinity to come be our Redeemer.  Jesus “became flesh” and thus experientially knows the human experience.  He knows what it means to get tired and be tempted to be irritable.  Jesus has experienced betrayal.  Our Redeemer has been the object of judgmentalism and hatred.  He left what was comfortable and became the missionary-God to deliver us from sin and death.  He also took upon our human skin meaning he got inside our ways and language and look and culture…all in order to redeem us.  Jesus knows what it means to leave what is comfortable.

Second, Jesus “dwelt among us.”  He didn’t just come down a fully grown human being, spend a day telling us what to do, then paid for sin, then boogied out as fast as he could.  He lived in the mess of human existence for over 30 years?!  I am constantly hot and love the A/C, and I am taken aback that he didn’t choose 2013 to incarnate himself.  No, he chose a filthy point in history that didn’t even have A/C?!  He lived in the heat and mess and the grind of life and relationships.  Jesus knows what it means to come and remain and dwell in the mess of human existence.

Third, he “became flesh” and dwelt in such a way that everyone, even into the present, saw “his glory.”  He didn’t just hang out and have fun with his friends, but he lived with them in a way that brought glory to God.  There was intentionality to his dwelling.  There was a point to his hanging and living.  Jesus’ dwelling lifestyle pointed others to redemption.  Jesus knows what it means to reach out to neighbors and have the hard conversation with a loved one and how to throw a party to get to know people better.

Jesus is our example.  I know that no one at Redeemer Church will actually be Jesus for someone or follow his example perfectly, but I pray that we strive to be conformed to his image.  I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to mold and shape us in a way to live incarnationally.  I pray that we all figure out what it means to leave what is comfortable, and dwell, and do it all in a way that brings glory to Jesus.  I want us to be more than friends to people.  I want us to be the best type of friends to people, the type that points them to Jesus.

We want to be a church that constantly leaves what is comfortable to become missionaries, the type of missionaries that dwell by living and loving those around us, and do it all with the purpose of pointing those around us to the glories of Jesus.

I feel very uncomfortable writing an article about fatherhood because I am haunted by my mis-steps. There are moments when I am too harsh, lazy moments when I am not firm enough, and minutes when I see an opportunity to encourage their spiritual life yet don’t take advantage of the opportunity. I should confess that there have even been times when other people’s expectations of my children embarrassed me and led me to be overly harsh to my kids. The Summer has also been a season of frustrating inconsistency. However, I do make time for my children, speak loving truth into their lives, tend to tear up about once a day watching my kiddos, and genuinely try to shepherd their moldable little hearts.

Even though I grew up in Denton, I have been forced to look at Denton with missionary eyes. People move to southern Denton because they love their kids and want them in good schools. I have already had numerous dads sitting in my living room telling me they want to be better fathers and asking me for advice.

The Bible gives a couple of very clear teachings on being a dad. First, it tells dad’s not to “provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). This is on the back of telling husbands not to be “harsh” with their wives. Man, as a single guy, I used to look at those statements with such judgmental eyes. Dad’s need Colossians 3:21 because there is a great temptation to be overbearing with our children. We are bigger and can yell louder and intimidate them into submission. Intimidation might cause better behavior for a season, but will ultimately push a child away from her parents and the Lord. We need dads who are patient, firm, gentle, and loving. I’ll pray for you if you’ll pray for me in this area.

Second, Deuteronomy 6:7 teaches that we should “diligently” teach our children the important truths about God as well as to love God. I want my children to know truths about God in order to love God. I want to teach them the facts, but I also want to model a genuine Jesus-loving spirituality.

I have the conviction that dads are to shepherd their children’s hearts. I know every family has a different rhythm but at our house bedtime is when I foster my kids’ spiritual lives. The typical evening includes reading a book or two followed by daddy working on “verses” or “questions.” I also have the conviction to be realistic in my expectations for fathers. Some guys might prepare an hour lesson for their kids every evening, but that is unrealistic for the rest of us. I want to take this opportunity to plug two resources that have helped me shepherd my children.

First, are Children Desiring God’s “Fighter Verses” and “Foundation Verses.” The verses are simply a Bible memorization program. The “Foundation Verses” utilize images which are helpful for preschoolers, and they have an app for that! Mason and I simply use the “Fighter Verses” app on my iPad during our night time reading routine. The verses have been fun and challenging over the years. The tool has hidden the Word in my childrens’ hearts and helped them see how God is working around them. You can learn more about “Fighter Verses” and “Foundation Verses” at ChildrenDesiringGod.org.

Second, is Great Commission Publications’ “First Catechism.” I didn’t utilize catechisms growing up and to be honest I used to be intimidated by them. If you are new to the tool, they are simply a list of questions and answers that kids memorize about God, the Bible, and other spiritual truths. I came across the catechism when Mason was little and we made a little game out of his “questions.” Now that Kenlee is in preschool we have been working on her “questions” at a pace of 5 new questions per week. I have found that they have given my children spiritual verbiage to help them understand God and the world around them. You can learn more at GCP.org under the “Teacher & Parent” drop down and on the “Catechism Resources” link.

Redeemer Church is committed to training children in the beautiful truths of the gospel as well as equipping parents to foster the spiritual lives of their little ones. I pray that Redeemer Church is a people who diligently teach their children the truths about Jesus as we sit in our houses, walk along our ways, lie down at night, and rise up in the morning (Deuteronomy 6:7)

Does Denton need a new church? This is the natural question Kristen and I began to wrestle with last Spring. This question can feel like an indictment on existing churches in Denton, but nothing could be further from the truth. The city offers great churches. Some of my mentors led churches in town. Two of my best friends serve as pastors in Denton. If I wasn’t planting this new church I would feel very comfortable in a number of churches in Denton. However, I came to the conclusion that Denton does need a new church.

John Piper, through the “Treasuring Christ Together” statement, makes an effective case for new churches. The reality is that no church can reach everyone. The reality is that America has over 200 million unbelievers. The reality is that there are fewer churches per capita today than ever before. The reality is that even with the glorious rise of the megachurch (2,000 in attendance or more), there is no county in America that has more believers today than they did 10 years ago.

Denton is also growing, and growing rapidly. When I graduated High School in 1996 we were one unified graduating class for the entire city. Today Denton hosts three high schools. Since I was a kid, Denton has basically tripled?! In the past 10-12 years the 76210 zip code has grown from 10,000 to 40,000?!

The reality of new churches is that they are effective at reaching unbelievers. I believe this is true for a number of reasons, but at the end of the day new churches engage unbelievers easier than more established churches. If your heart is to reach the unreached, then you should have a heart for church planting.

I also love new churches because they re-engage believers to God’s mission. When we started Christ Community in Houston I felt like the deck got re-shuffled. I remember that we had a man who we loved and thought would be a great leader. Sadly, if this guy was at an established church he might have to wait years to begin serving in the church. Those fleeting years would have been wasted. We were able to engage this particular man in mission and saw him fulfill God’s calling for his life. New churches have a way of getting good men off the sidelines and into the game.

Last Spring I studied the demographics and learned that there were four mega churches within a 20 minute drive of the 76210 zip code. But I also learned that south Denton needed more hands focusing like a laser on those 40,000 people. Larger churches are effective at attracting people to events and programs, but we want to be a missional church building relationships with those in our neighborhoods. I view myself as a foot soldier going directly into the battle.

Finally, we have been blown away by the support of area pastors who see the need. Leaders like Gary Loudermilk at the Denton Baptist Association believe there is actually a need for two new churches in southern Denton. Even pastors in the area like Brian Blendon have thanked us for coming and joining in the fight to “push back the darkness.” I have also been encouraged and inspired by pastor Ross Appleton who pastors a 100 person church yet wants to send people from Christ Community to join the new church?!

Denton has grown and we simply want to join in the fight as broken people loving broken people.