Redeemer’s New Website

We’ve launched a new website!  Please click on www.redeemercommunity.com to go there.

Are We the Product of Our Past?

We often put so much emphasis on things like creativity, innovation & individuality, that we often don’t acknowledge the influence of our past.  

The good news is that we’ve inherited many rich blessing that are the direct result of God’s great revivals in our nation.  Join us the next four weeks as we study influential spiritual leaders from our history and ask questions like:

• What are the characteristics of a revival?  
• Is America on the brink of a revival today? 
• What are we called to do today?

April’s Treehouse Lesson

This month we’re asking the question, “Who can you love?”  The answer?  “I can love God!”

Our memory verse is  “I love you, Lord.” Psalm 18:1  Such a simple, yet HUGE, statement for our children to learn.  Join them each week in discussing the stories they are learning that reinforce God’s love for them.  They will explore the story of Philip and the Ethiopian, Paul Praying, Paul’s Travels and letters and Paul and the Jailer.  All month long, learning that God loves for us to learn about Him, talk to Him, tell others about Him and God wants everyone to know about his love.

We are kicking around some great ideas for our Babies, Preschoolers and young Elementary Students.  If you would like to serve these little ones in a big or small way, please contact Rebecca Marr at becca_marr@yahoo.com.  Watch for the new sign up sheets on the main table this Sunday!

Is Your Work Fun??

 If you were like most Americans, you would answer with a resounding “NO!”  Consider these facts:

• A Gallup poll found that about 77% of Americans hate their jobs.
• The Herman Group discovered that 30- 40% of employees have already “checked-out” – showing up for work every day, but focusing on where their next job will be.

 After contemplating figures such as these, we decided to ask people about their work – their struggles, questions & satisfaction level.  The results were surprising!  So much so that we decided to address the subject – head on! – over the next two months at Redeemer. Join us each Sunday morning at 10am as we seek to answer people’s most pressing questions that they have regarding their work.  Questions like: 

• How do I find a great job?
• How do I succeed?
• How do I relate to difficult people at work?
• How do I balance work & home?
• How should I view work?
• Should I incorporate God into my work?
• How do I find the time to rest?

Treehouse Lesson for March

Who does Jesus love?Jesus loves everyone!“Jesus wants to be my friend forever!”  

Your children are learning some very exciting stories this month!  Last week they learned about the woman at the well (John 4:1-26) and how Jesus loved her even though others did not.  This week, they will hear about Zaccheaus (Luke 19:1-8) and how Jesus loves people even though they do bad things.  On Palm Sunday they will listen to the story of the Entry Celebration (Matthew 21:1-16) and how everyone can praise Jesus.  And how at the Lord’s supper (Matthew 26:26-30) Jesus wants to spend time with everyone.  Finally, they will talk about how Jesus wants everyone to be with Him (John 14: 1-4).

Make it a point to talk to your preschooler about these stories after church, at the dinner table at home or driving in the car.  Make use of the parent cards that are sent home each week.  They are meant to help you remind your child what they learned that week.  Don’t overlook such a great resource to help you get your child talking about what they are learning!

“Let us love one another because love comes from God.”  1 John 4:7

Why Start More Churches?

Our church sets aside 10% of our financial gifts toward starting more churches. Why do we do this? Well, when we consider that there are a lot of people not going to heaven around us, we must realize that we need more missional and biblically-based churches… many more.  As you read the research below, we hope you’ll agree that we don’t just need one more church, but a church launching movement:

1. A recent study showed that 3 out of 5 people in Tennessee are unchurched and 82% percent of Tennesseans are presently not attending a church. (Glenmary Study)
2. “New churches best reach the unchurched. Dozens of denominational studies have confirmed that the average new church gains most of its members (60-80%) from among people outside any worshipping community, while churches over 20 years old gain most of their new member (0-20%) from people moving from other congregations. Therefore new churches are 5-10 times better at drawing new people into the Body of Christ.” (Redeemer Church Planting Center - not officially affiliated to RCC)
3. New churches are the most cost effective means for evangelism. (Bob Logan)
4. New churches best reach new residents, new generations and new people groups. New residents are disproportionately found in new congregations because newcomers do not need years of tenure before their voices are heard or before they can gain real leadership and influence in the church. New and younger generations are found in large numbers in new churches, because there is greater openness to new ministry approaches and to new leadership. Newly arrived groups of people are found in new congregations because of a contextualized approach in evangelism, worship and discipleship. (Language, cultural sensitivity, worship styles). (Redeemer Church Planting Center - not officially affiliated to RCC)
5. The American church is declining in number while the nation’s population is growing. Consider these facts:

“The majority of churches in North America, 4 out of 5 are either plateaued or declined.” (Win Arn)  

“Regarding the Bible Church Movement… these churches are popularly known primarily for their sound expository preaching of the Scriptures. Yet even this movement has plateaued and many churches have begun to experience a numerical decline.” (Aubrey Malphurs, Dallas Theological Seminary)

“There are only enough church plants to keep up with 1/8 of the U.S. population growth… Nationally, the population grew 13.2% between 1990 and 2000 but new churches were only planted at a 5% rate.” (Scott Thomas, Acts 29 Network)

To listen to an explanation on why church planting is critical for the future of the church in every community, click here.

Redeemer’s Christmas Conspiracy

I was sipping on my drink at a local coffee shop the other day, when I realized: I blew it… big!  $2 big!  I should have stopped myself & bought a simple cup of coffee.  But instead I chose to spend another $2 on myself by upgrading it to a Christmas Latte.  Basically I got $2 worth of fancy cream & sugar.

You might not think that $2 is that much, but listen to this: 53 people out of 100 in this world live on $2 per day.  On the opposite extreme, the average person that works & lives in north Johnson City makes $200 per day.  That’s 100 times the amount of what the average person on this planet makes.  One hundred times!  I think it’s safe to say that we are very rich. 

Allow me to give another example of just how rich we are: According to the World Water Council, 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water.  And as you just read that last sentence, 22 children died from water-borne diseases. It’s an enormous problem that would cost $10 billion to fix. 

With that kind of figure, you might think that the problem can’t be solved.  But did you know that financial experts have estimated that Americans just spent $20 billion shopping on Black Friday alone (the day after Thanksgiving)?  Wow!  America could have fixed the world’s clean water problem this year if it would have spent half of what it did on black Friday & re-distributed the rest. 

It’s easy to see how much we’ve blown it.  Especially when we recall that Christmas is about God’s heart for the poor.  After all, the Bible says that “our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). It was on Christmas morning that Jesus entered our soul’s poverty to save us & bless us. 

 Jesus gave us the best present He could – His very life! But each year we trade in the gift of Christ for stuff. Why?  Because the image of a baby in a manger just doesn’t seem as powerful as a 42” plasma with surround sound or as elegant as the Nutcraker. We stuff the poverty of our souls with the riches of this world instead of the riches of Christ.

So, this Christmas, we at Redeemer have asked:

- What if… we changed? 

- What if… we chose not to stuff ourselves with stuff?

- What if… like Christ, we stepped into the world by blessing others?

- What if… we passed along our riches to the poor? 

This Christmas we at Redeemer have decided do just that. We’ve decided to love the poorest in practical ways. 

How are we doing this?  Well, there’s many ways, but here are the ideas that are going around:

1. We’re spending less & giving more!  There are two ways to do this.  First, we’re trying not to blow our money on self-serving things (like Christmas Lattes).  Many people at Redeemer are shopping the deals in order to spend less than their Christmas budget.  We’re taking all of these savings & passing them along to the poor.
2. We’re creatively re-directing our gifts.  Instead of giving our family & friends a list of things that they can buy us (clothing, sports equipment, etc.), we’re asking for them to spend the same amount of money on someone who really needs it.  So, instead of asking for a $50 sweater, we’re simply asking for that $50 to go to a poor village in Rwanda without clean water. 

We would like to invite you to jump in the “Christmas Conspiracy” by giving to the international poor this Christmas.  If you would like to but do not know how, be assured that there are all kinds of reputable organizations that can help you wisely give away your resources… even the smallest amount.  

Here are a few links to start your holiday shopping:

Blood Water Mission 

Samaritans Purse 

Think about how much this could change your Christmas. Instead of making it all about the atmosphere, the shopping, the music, the décor… and especially… the stuff, you can make it all about the Savior’s entrance in our world!  For though He was rich, became poor in order to bless us. 

Why shouldn’t we do the same to others?

We’ve Joined the Acts 29 Network

From the very beginning of our church a vision was cast to make Redeemer a church planting church. That’s because we are convinced that planting new churches is a proven and effective strategy for carrying out Jesus Christ’s Great Commission. However, since we didn’t feel the need to “reinvent the wheel,” this past year we have been in search of a solid network of new churches to both strengthen our efforts at Redeemer and launch new ones both nationally and internationally.

Last month, Redeemer announced that it has joined the highly-successful Acts 29 Network. Acts 29 is an inter-denominational church planting movement that trains, funds, and sends pastors into varying cultures with the gospel to start new churches. This year alone Acts 29 will plant 25 churches in the United States and at least that number in the nations of Mexico, Colombia, India, and Canada. Acts 29 has a prayer goal of starting 1000 churches in its first ten years.

To read more about why we give 10% of all of our offering toward church planting and to see why we place such a high emphasis on starting more churches click here. To listen to an explanation on why church planting is critical for the future of the church, click here. And to visit the Acts 29 Network’s page, click here.

Treehouse Lesson for November

Is there anything God can’t do? God is big and He can do anything!

This month you preschooler will be learning that “Our Lord is great and very powerful.” Psalm 147:5. Try to say this verse with your child every day. We will be practicing it each weekend in November and learning the following truths to go along with it:

God made the universe.
God can do amazing things.
God shows us his power
God deserves our praise.

If you are interested in serving in the preschool or nursery, please contact Rebecca Marr.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars! We will be going to the Fall Branch Christmas Tree farm on December 1!

From the Inside, Out

Earlier this week I sat in a room with some friends, with pastels & paper in front of me. The instructions were simple. “draw a picture of what worship looks like to you.” I sat there for a few long minutes, staring at this gigantic piece of white paper. People around me were beginning to draw, color, and even talk. But I sat there staring at the expanse of white, silent, caught up with the notion that I am no artist. I had a vision in my head-a simple picture of a woman (stick figure ) with her arms raised up, heart exposed. Color everywhere. Resting in the hands of God. With a sideways glance at my neighbor to make sure I was not sitting beneath an umbrella of artistic critique, I hesitantly made the first mark, and then I made the second. Before long, my inhibitions dissipated and when the time was up, color covered the paper. It was juvenile at best, but it was mine. My offering. I’d never done that before and I when all was said and done, I felt, oddly, a litte bit protective of my stick figure drawing. I watched people fold their papers up, placing them in their Bible or purse.
Instead, I carefully carried mine home in one flat, unwrinkled piece.

Tonight was our first praxis worship service. It was such an amazingly beautiful night. The atmosphere was intimate & the air smelled of Starbucks coffee, candles, and incense. We kept overhead lights off. Round tables were covered in cloth and topped with candles. There was a prayer station with pillows; places to journal; couches to curl up on; canvases to paint. Jamin and Matt filled the room with beautiful musical offerings of their own. I sang. I listened. I talked with someone tonight who’s heart is broken and strangely enough, in talking with another, I realized broken parts in my heart too. Tony talked with us about Jesus; about His heart that beats for those who are told they’re not good enough: a God who calls thieves and prostitutes and drunks His friends; a Savior who didn’t just sit in temples and teach but a man who came to walk alongside people in the streets; in the bars; in their homes.

Hope.

That’s why we gather together. It’s not about religion or politics. It’s not about some heavenly reward. When you’ve been that broken person and you’ve encountered Christ, you want to extend the hand of grace to another broken soul. You want them to know who they are. Beneath the dirt and the shame, there, under a tear streaked face or another hardened heart, I see me.
Me, before I met Him. Me, before He washed me clean.

I suppose that’s why my sloppy stick figure drawing means something to me. That’s why I couldn’t roll her up and stuff her in my purse. She’s me, after I met Him. He took His hand and turned my face from the ground, towards the sky. He put color in my face and joy in my heart. He gave me a new song to sing.

In church today John talked about loving Jesus from the inside out.
I don’t have words to describe all that that means to me but it’s my prayer.
from this day forward.
It’s my prayer for praxis, for redeemer and for the body at large.
because that kind of love takes you somewhere.
into places and homes you’ve never been; with a passion to love people where they’re at.
dirty; beat up; broken.
I don’t want my public displays of worship or adoration to exceed what I do when I’m alone and on my knees.
I want to love Jesus from the inside, out.
- Megan Long