No vision + no clarity = a ministry steeped in confusion.  And where there is confusion in the pulpit, there’s chaos in the pews.

Down with fragments; up with the whole map

If you’ve heard me say this once, you’ve heard me say it a thousand times: our vision is to see the gospel transform everything: ourselves as individuals, our church, this city and the world.  And that’s not going to happen if we present a fragmented gospel.  So, the Sojourn pastors try to present the clear, whole gospel of Jesus Christ.

As you read here last week, we’re looking for three more men who can put the fragments together — who believe, live and teach the whole gospel of Jesus.  We’re praying for these future Sojourn campus pastors, and we hope you’ll all pray with us.

Pray for men who have a clear “map” of the gospel — not just fragments, but the whole awesome truth of God’s kingdom, accessible through God’s cross by God’s grace.  If this describes you, and you feel like you fit the qualifications of our job description, then we’d love to talk with you.  Learn more about these campus pastor positions here.

The Bible is big on celebrating and commemorating — everything from the “standing stones” in the Old Testament to the Lord’s Supper in the New.  God doesn’t want His people to look back with “rose colored glasses” on the good ol’ days, but He does want us to remember that He has been faithful.  He wants us to look back at what He has done, and then look forward with renewed confidence that He who began a good work in us will see it through to completion.

Clearly He has done much with Sojourn and through Sojourn.  He has led and matured us, and He has greatly increased the size of this family.  He has also given us a vision for the future, and He continues to provide the means of carrying out that vision.

• What are some of the ways He has led you during your time in this community?

• What are the ways in which you have seen God at work in this community?

Reflect on these questions and talk about them: talk about them in this blog, or in your community group, your household, and the places you hang out.  Then bring some friends and join together on the 19th.  It’s not about patting ourselves on the back, it’s about rejoicing over God’s faithfulness, protection and provision.

Details coming soon

And now, Brooke Jackson tells the story of her salvation, which led to a recent baptism at Sojourn Gathered:

Before I knew Christ, I lived to glorify myself. I praised myself for being a moral and religious person, and I sought what the world says is good.   More than anything in life, I wanted to be something prestigious and to accumulate much wealth because I believed wealth would bring me peace, satisfaction and joy.  However, I slowly began to see that no matter what I accomplished, I felt empty inside.

My freshman year of college, the Lord graciously and mercifully placed women in my life who introduced me to Jesus Christ.  The joy that these women displayed in their life and the love they had for people drew me to them, and I wanted to know what they had that I did not have.  God then showed me –  through His amazing grace — that I was a slave to my sin, and that through faith in Jesus Christ I could experience perfect freedom.  Because I sinned against a holy God, I deserved to receive His wrath.  But God, in His mercy sent His son Jesus Christ to die in my place on the cross.  Christ became a substitute for my sin and He bore the wrath of God so that I did not have to.

I turned from my old way of life, put my faith in Christ, and now I have eternal life in Jesus Christ.  I praise God for His unfailing love and grace.   He provides me with the strength I need to overcome the daily struggles in my life and to repent of my sins. I am so thankful for the new life I have in Christ.

Submit your resume and preaching samples to Pastor Brian Howard, in care of his assistant Dana Bratcher.  We want to find the best candidates available, so there is no deadline right now.  Submit your packet at your earliest convenience.

We have more special things in store in the next few weeks, including Baptism Sunday on the 12th, and our 10 Year Anniversary on the 19th.  For the Anniversary, we will throw parties at each campus, before or after each service.  Stay tuned for more on that.

This Sunday our pastor will round out our three week study of 1 Timothy, part of the What Is The Church? series.  We’ll particularly look at 1 Timothy 6:6-19.  Read this portion beforehand and continue to follow the daily devotional (if you misplace yours at any time, you can always download it from the Resource section here at sojournchurch.com).

Songs we’ll sing this week include:

• “All I Have Is Yours,” from our Before The Throne album.  Hear it in its entirety at Myspace.com/sojournrecords.
• “My Maker And My King,” from Before The Throne.  Hear it in its entirety at Myspace.com/sojournrecords
• “Refuge” from our Over The Grave album.  Hear a preview at Last.fm.

See you Sunday!

Photos by Brad Weir

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

– 1 Timothy 3:5

You see it everywhere these days: “Coexistence.”  Islam, Christianity and Judaism — side by side, living in harmony.  Throw in all the other religions and philosophies too.

What’s wrong with that?  Nothing, if we understand coexistence to mean treating each other with the respect deserving of every human being, as a person created in the image of God.  In a diverse society, we can and should have friends across the lines of religion, politics, economics, race and culture.  And within those friendships, there should be room for mutual respect even when we disagree.

But make no mistake about it: there is one Lord over all the earth.  He has come to redeem His people and He will return to execute judgment upon those who ultimately choose to resist His lordship.

You’ll often hear the lie that the God of the Old Testament, Jehovah, was a war-like, hostile God, but Jesus is like a doting grandfather.  He lets us get away with anything because He is sugar, spice and everything nice.  How do we separate the fact that God is love from the fiction that He turns a blind eye to sin and to those who decide to do things their own way?

First, we acknowledge that He IS love, and that, in His great love for fallen man, He provided the one perfect sacrifice that would satisfy His just and holy wrath.  Check it out:

Hebrews 9:15, James 1:17, Isaiah 40:8, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, 10:14, John 6:28-29

Second, acknowledge that this sacrifice was needed.  Since God is perfectly just, He can not turn a blind eye to sin.  We can all recognize this if we search ourselves — we have an innate need to see justice done.  When we watch a news story about someone who has committed violent, horrible acts against defenseless victims, we feel the need for justice.  We may disagree on what the punishment should be, but we don’t want the criminal to escape.  We don’t want the judge to let him off.

So let’s break it down:

• God recognizes that, at our very best, this human race is deserving of wrath for our sins against Him and His creation.
• God, in His great love, Has provided a perfect “scapegoat” — a sacrifice for our sins.  And it’s His own Son, the sinless Jesus Christ
• Many refuse to accept that sacrifice.

What is left, then, is judgment.  Daniel Montgomery is not the judge, thank God.  I’m full of sin and can only avoid wrath by resting in the blood of Christ.  You are not the judge either.  God is the judge.  When He finally says “enough is enough,” He will show how little tolerance He has for sin.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

– Revelation 19:11

Download this PDF to read the full job description and requirements.

A related lie is that there are many paths to God.  Some of us may take the path of the cross, while others choose the path of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, other religions or no religion at all.  The problem with following the teachings of any other religion is that only Christ backed up His claims by rising from the grave.  I like the way our friend Shai Linne put it during the evening services at the Midtown Campus — Jesus is alive:

The truth of God’s Word is that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man.  In other words, the only way we can be made right with God and accepted into His kingdom is by accepting the mediating sacrifice of Christ for our sins.  Scriptures that talk about this include:

• Job 9:32-34
• John 14:6
• Acts 4:12
• John 3:36
• 1 John 5:11-12

If you reject this claim of exclusivity, then make no mistake about the fact that you are rejecting Christ.  Many people would read these words and proudly say “That’s just what I’ve done.”  But maybe even more tragic is that many people call themselves Christians and yet reject the very teachings of Christ, by saying that there might be other ways to God.

Think about it: the One who proved His claims by rising from the grave said “I am the only way.”  And then, we say “I don’t think so, Jesus”?

Is that a good idea?  Do we have any basis for that counter-claim?

Midtown Campus

We now officially “own” St. Vincent’s, thanks to the generosity of a private donor who purchased it for us!  It’s now just a matter of time before the vision for this large, striking property becomes a reality.

We have also selected A.L. Post to be the General Contractor and are excited to add them to our team.  Construction should begin in October and we hope to be worshiping together in St. Vincent’s by August 2011.

In fact, demolition will begin in just a couple of weeks perhaps and we need to get in and remove some items that we want to salvage.  Stay tuned this week to your weekly email for details on some dates to help us with initial demo and salvaging.

East Campus

As most of you know, we currently lease the East Campus property from the Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville.  The Archdiocese will sell the property to Portland Christian School, with whom we have an agreement to continue leasing the property.  We are still working out details with Portland but are excited about moving forward with renovations there soon.

J-Town Campus

We are moving towards officially closing on the property in J-Town.  Believe it or not, we still do not technically own that property and have been working behind the scenes over the past three months to ensure everything is done properly.  Thankfully, the last steps in that acquisition will finalize this week.  We will celebrate the official launch of the J-Town Campus to the public on  Sojourn’s 10th Anniversary celebration, Sunday, September 19.

New Albany

As we’ve stated in a previous post, this summer we received a $300,000 gift for the future campus in New Albany.  The elders had also set a target this year of 15 Southern Indiana community groups by the end of 2010.  Today, there are 10 Indiana groups, and an 11th group will form in the next couple weeks.

Total Vision Campaign Contributions

Right now, we stand at $3.1 million committed towards our goal.  Go to vision.sojournchurch.com for more info or to make a pledge — you still have time to be a part of all that God is doing in the Louisville region, through Sojourn Community Church.

Prayer

1. All of the details with lawyers, banks, Portland, and the Archdiocese.

2. The search for Campus Pastors to help us lead each expression of Sojourn

3. Safety for workers with each of our projects

4. Open doors in New Albany for a future site and wisdom on the next steps

5. Proportional, Consistent, and Sacrificial giving to the mission of God’s church

6. A deep affection for the Lord that overflows in a personal and corporate burden to share Christ