In this week’s podcast, we take a listen to a recent radio story that tells the story of our recent merger with Iglesia Nueva Vida, a local Spanish-speaking congregation in our city, and now the newest part of the New Life Church family.
EPISODE 015 – BUILDING BRIDGES – SHOW NOTES
On a macro-level, New Life Church was making a prophetic pronouncement that the Church was going to show the world how to live together…
The body of Christ has the ability to show a very divided world how to live together…
The Scriptures describe the Spirit as the great unifier of the human race… the church was birthed in a diversified world… and it was the Holy Spirit who was the great unifier…
The reason we are so divided is because of a noticeable lack of the Holy Spirit in our lives…
When you welcome the Holy Spirit into your church, do not be surprised if he asks you to live alongside people who are different from you… the Holy Spirit is a bridge-builder…
When people take a step toward one another and begin to love other human beings, skin color and racial differences begin to melt away and you begin to see the humanity in each other…
If the embodiment of the gospel is an earth-to-heaven experience, we should start seeing signposts, we should start seeing heaven being fleshed out among us, so we have to figure out a way for brothers and sisters to worship together…
If we’re in the city for the sake of the city, then we need to pastor the entire city… My question for pastors is: are you concerned with every neighborhood in your city?
Find out what the poor churches in your city are doing well, and lend them your strength… we weren’t out looking for merger opportunities, but for partners…
QUESTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM
- Do you see the Holy Spirit as the great unifier? What evidence is there in your church culture of that conviction?
- How have you sensed the Spirit nudging you out of your comfort zone into relationship with others who are different from you? What steps can you take?
- What can you do to grow in your concern for the whole city, and not just your neighborhood?