What can one small church do? 

We asked the question "what's the biggest problem people in our community have at this time?"  The answer was simple.  People are all losing their homes to this vicious economic climate.  Foreclosure is at an all-time high and we have had enough!  So what can one small church do?

I count myself fortunate to have experienced many different modes of church. In my early life I was part of a fairly liberal church where, with the exception of church traditions such as the way you dress, and the type of music used, there wasn't much legalism. In this environment, anything went. There wasn't much said about the Bible's stance on moral issues. These ideas were left completely to the individual to sort out. Of course with this, was a complete lack of biblical teaching on moral issues. Then later in life, I attended a strict, legalistic church where the pastor was in charge.

I was at Willow Creek's Leadership Summit this year and WOW did God ever speak to us. In times like these it's very easy for people to become self-focused. Money's tight, people are losing their homes, jobs are tenuous or nonexistent... times are tough! So yeah, it's very easy to be self-focused. And truth be told, being self-focused isn't a bad thing...it's often necessary.

I'm gonna be a bit selfish for this blog entry. But I want to speak about a very important word in the Bible: REDEMPTION. When we think of the word REDEMPTION, we often think only in terms of being redeemed from the threat of hell and receiving eternal life, which we also often call "Salvation". However, this isn't the only redeeming activity the Lord is up to. God desires to redeem us, not only for Heaven's eternity, but for the here and now.

I've had a lot of time recently to reflect on what it means to live life to the fullest. There are 2 main reasons I think it's hard for many to live life to the fullest.

1. I think it's hard for many of us to do because we choose to accept a life of condemnation instead of the freedom Christ came to offer us.

I heard a great quote the other day while watching House M.D. I just got hip to this show a few weeks ago and fell in love with it. I think Hugh Laurie's character is a riot. Anyway, it was actually Robert Sean Leonard's character that said this, and what a great quote it is: "You can't punish the man without punishing those that love him."

Every so often you come across a song that God uses to seriously altar your perspective. Mercy by Kristene Mueller is such a song for me. Ever since discovering Kim Walker at JesusCultureMusic.org, I've kept an eye out for new music from them. Kristene's album, 'Those Who Dream', came out a couple of weeks ago when I was really needing a word from the Lord. When I got to the track Mercy, many things came into a new perspective as God spoke powerfully into my life.

Job said "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him." I have had reason as of late to really ponder those words. Don't get me wrong, I don't compare my life to Job, that would be silly. Compared to the persecution of our brothers and sisters all over the world who are literally dying for Christ, my life is of no comparison. Yet we would all agree that life often gives us great difficulty, much of it beyond our ability to handle. So when that happens what do we do?

Welcome to the new website for The Urban Church. This site is chocked full of new features designed to give us a presence on the web like never before. For a list of all the new and exciting things we're working on, read on....