What is Church?

Years ago I would have never even thought to ask this question. Somehow the concept of church just made sense to me. I'm sure that this had a lot to do with growing up in a single church from a very early age. Now that I am a pastor I meet people who have come from a wide variety of different church backgrounds and styles. Sometimes the challege is seperating what is biblical from what is traditional.

Others have already tackled this question from a biblical perspective. I'd certainly recommend reading Clowney's Church or Dever's analysis of a healthy church.

I certainly wish the Bible was more clear on certain aspects of church government and administration, but at the same time I have discovered that the essentials really are clear. The church is made up of the body of all Christians who by virtue of their faith are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the head of the church and we are called to gather regularly with some portion of the overall body.

This afternoon I got one of those annoying chain letters in my inbox (no offense to the wonderful person who sent it to me). I think that the thing which annoyed me the most was that the story was so compelling that I read the whole thing. After the author worked her way through a beautiful illustration of faith in action she said "we're [her and her husband] not really church people". This comment had nothing to do with the story she told. Her subtext was, "to be a faithfilled person you don't really need the church".

What a shame that this family has disconnected itself from the rest of the body. It strikes me that God created community as a blessing for us. From the very beginning God there were relationships. God walked with Adam in the cool of the garden. He created Eve so that Adam would not be alone. The very nature of God Himself, the Trinity, embodies community.

What is the church? It's a God-created, God-intended, and (when done well) a God-blessed community of believers growing together in the image of Jesus Christ.

- Aaron

9 Marks Weekender

It's Thursday and I am finally starting to get to the bottom of the mountain of things that built up last week while I was away at the 9 Marks Weekender. It was worth it though. For those of you who are not familiar, 9Marks (www.9marks.org) is a ministry of Capital Hill Baptist Church in downtown DC. The name refers to 9Marks of a healthy church. It has been pointed out that there could be quite a few more marks added to the list, but these are ones that seem to be absent in many of our churches today.

On the top of their list is expository Bible preaching, biblical theology, and the Gospel. Amen.

Small Group Formation

Last night we held an informational meeting about the possibility of starting a small group ministry here at Franconia Baptist Church. The meeting was a great success and ended with a strong affirmation that people who really like to have this ministry at our church. We are looking forward to launching a number of these small groups starting in September.

The purpose for putting these small groups together is to provide a place for discipleship and growth within the context of authentic Christian relationships.

If you would like to be a part of one of these new groups, please send Kati an email (kati@franconiabaptist.org).

- Aaron

Sharing Christ on the 4th of July

Every year for the past 24 years an event called Christ on the Mall has been held on the 4th of July. This year COTM was given two blocks worth of space between the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art. On that prime realestate we hand out free water, share the Gospel, and play live music for some of the nearly 700,000 people waiting all day for the fireworks.

What an unbelievable opportunity this is. This was the first year that our church participated in the event. We brought 11 people from our church as well as a couple of my friends from Indiana. Some of us even had an opportunity to be there when people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The real work begins now in following up with all those who made professions of faith. We are working to make sure that they get connected with a quality church where they live. Please pray that all those who heard the Gospel would be called and that those who accepted would begin to grow.

- Aaron

Welcome Kati and Jessica

God continues to bless the ministries at Franconia Baptist. This time he has blessed our church with two new additions to the church staff.

Kati Love has just begun as the church's new administrative assistant. Kati and her husband, Trevor, are recent graduates of Cedarville University. In the short time that Kati has been working in the office it is apparent that her gifts and talents coupled with a passion for ministry are going to greatly bless Franconia Baptist Church.

Jessica Eaglin has joined the team as our new director of the Child Development Center. The CDC is a Christ-centered preschool program that has been serving our community for more than 20 years. Jessica is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and is currently pursuing an MA in Educational Leadership from George Washington University.

I am completely blown away by the talented and passionate people that God continues to bring to our congregation and now our staff. Maybe our church is the place that God wants to use your gifts and talents?

-Aaron

Be On Guard

My brother and I used to run around the house with anything that even closely resembled a sword yelling “On Guard!” This was the gentlemanly way of telling the other person to pay attention because the battle was about to begin. In the battle that we fight with the devil we never hear those words. Satan never warns us to be prepared before he attacks. The apostle Peter warns us to be on the alert because the devil is like a prowling lion, seeking someone to devour.

It has been very exciting to see how much God has blessed the church these last few months. At the same time this reminded me that we need to be prepared for the battle to come. I can't imagine Satan allowing this ministry to grow unopposed.

New Members, New Leaders, and New Ministries

God is doing good things at Franconia Baptist Church. I wanted to share with everyone that in the last few weeks he has brought new members, new leaders, and new ministries to our church.

To be honest it hasn't been the easiest thing for me to learn patience, to wait on God's timing. It sure is exciting to a sometimes impatient person when the timing is right and things start happening.

Not only is God brining new people to be members of the church, He is identifying biblicall-sound, spiritually-mature people who see the vision of what God can do with this strategically located church. If you go back to the earliest posts in this blog you will find that specific thing as a prayer request. Praise Him for answering prayer!

Some of the new ministries that we are thinking about are: Vacation Bible School, Small Groups, and some Outreach/Evangelism opportunities.

We need your continued prayers for Franconia Baptist Church as we ask God to finish bringing it back to life.

- Aaron