Over the last 36 hours my emotions have run the gamut from disbelief, anger, heartbreak, despair, confusion, and dark sadness.  I know there are those that have an expectation for me to speak out on this horror, but it is such a temptation to speak out of my flesh instead of speaking something that is God honoring.  My job as a pastor is to speak on God’s behalf, as I look at everything that is happening through my Jesus lenses, this is what I believe to be Jesus’ approach if he were living in 2015 America:

1. First, I believe Jesus would go straight to the survivors and to the families of the deceased. He would love them, he would comfort them with supernatural comfort, He would sit with them, and He would cry with them. I have been greatly encouraged by two phrases used in the gospel of Luke to describe Jesus’ emotional state as he dealt with the death of a friend. Luke 11 says that Jesus was “deeply moved” and “greatly troubled” as he saw people that he loved deal with unspeakable grief. It is in this context that we have the verse that tells us that Jesus wept. I think that Jesus would show up in Charleston and he would again be deeply moved and greatly troubled, and full of compassion.
2. I believe that Jesus would point us to the gospel as the only message that can heal our racial divide. We are a messed up race of humans, and the gospel is the only answer. God made a way through Jesus for us to be made right, or reconciled, to Him. One of the many beauties of the gospel is that as we are made right with God, God makes us right with each other, and our unity is so much more powerful than any racial divide. Those that love Jesus MUST lead the way to racial reconciliation in our country, and part of that leadership is saying and believing that nothing can overcome the hatred of racism outside of the power of the gospel.
3. I believe that Jesus would get us excited about heaven. I think he would remind us to mourn for the families of the deceased, but remember that the actual victims are to be celebrated. There is a kingdom coming where evil is nonexistent, where justice always flows, and where racism and hatred have been permanently defeated. Yes, I think that Jesus would remind us that 9 people achieved a great victory Wednesday night, our own victory will be here in the blink of an eye.
4. I think that Jesus would denounce people of hate. I believe he would do it firmly and passionately much more than he would do it politely or with political correctness. We see Jesus seemingly lose it when he flipped over tables in the temple, we see Jesus purposefully attack and insult the religious leaders known as the Pharisees. The situations where we see Jesus get heated, he was usually attacking those that were seeking their own self gain but masking it under the appearance of religion. The whole white power, southern pride, “blacks have to go” movement has always been attached to a belief in and service of God. I think Jesus would speak loud and strong about those who have hijacked His name and attached it to the hatred that is so opposite of His message. I believe He would call people out like he did 2000 years ago for placing themselves above others and oppressing those that you have deemed yourself above. I believe Jesus would connect the dots between an insulting racist joke and these horrific murders. One may be merely verbal, but the fruit of murder comes from the same seed as the racist insult, that someone is less human than you. All racism grows from that same seed, and many racists would never even think of resorting to violence, yet they must accept that they are in same boat as the murderer. Why? There is a clear connection between thinking you are better and more human than someone and therefore justifying oppression, systems of oppression, slavery and even murder of that same someone. So, I think Jesus would come out swinging against any culture of hate that clothes their hate in any mention of God and the Bible. It is easy for us today to denounce this awful act, but individually and culturally are we willing to denounce all racism in all its forms? Are we willing to speak up and out against both the insulting comment around the office and also the system that justifies a confederate flag still flying over a state capitol?
5. I believe Jesus would call us to unite as Christians. He would not call us to unite as a human race, but Ephesians 2 teaches us that when Jesus died on the cross he killed the hostility between the races and created a new race that is founded on His name. Jesus would also remind us that true biblical unity means we carry each other burdens. Carrying each others burdens is not a cute verse in the Bible, it is an actual emotional investment into shared pain. Can I relate to the terror that comes from knowing there are some that would target to kill me solely on the basis of my skin color? No, I cannot. If you don’t have the skin color that was targeted then you cannot fully relate either. Yet, I am still urged by the gospel to hurt with those who are hurting, to actually feel their pain and pray and encourage and love them through it. This did not happen solely to the black community, it happened to the Christian community. We should all be hurting today, we should all have a heavy heart in the body of Christ. Some of our own were killed inside their place of worship because of their God created skin color, that should break our hearts for more than a news cycle! One way we show our unity is through a sensitivity to the pain that ultimately should be an owning of that pain. Part of that sensitivity should be in what we say and don’t say. For example, a friend of a friend tweeted yesterday morning that isn’t it crazy that God loves the shooter just as much as he loves each of us. Now, that is a true statement, but productive and beneficial it is not. The lack of awareness of some of my white brothers is astonishing to me. Listen, if my daughter was killed, and you came to my house as a friend to sit with me as I was stricken with grief, would you even think about reminding me that the murderer was loved by God? No you would not, I don’t need to hear that right now. In the same way, if God is true and right, then he said those people killed last night are my brothers and sisters, they are my family. Do you think that 12 hours after their murder is the appropriate time to go waxing eloquent about how much God loves the killer? It sends a message that you don’t want to send, a lack of sensitivity and awareness to the degree of pain that exists on a day like today. Did you tweet the same thing about bin Laden the day after 9/11? No you did not, one, because you knew better and two, because twitter did not exist. I just believe that Jesus would call us to a unity that goes beyond throwing up a social media prayer, I believe he would call us to act and pray and speak like we actually are what He called us to be, the family of God and the hands, feet and mouthpiece of Jesus Christ.
6. Last, I know Jesus would call this what it was, pure evil! He would not call it mental illness or one crazy young man, he would call it evil and he would call out its source as satanic. The shooter told police that part of his motive was to start a race war. Usually our enemy is more deceptive than that, but here we have an admission that the goal was not just to kill, but start a movement of hate that results in much more death. This country has never seen a power like the multiethnic church that is just beginning to rise up, do we really think the enemy is going to sit idly by and watch the church of Jesus Christ finally become the powerful diverse movement that it was designed to be? The enemy is fighting hard, specifically trying to expand the racial divide as the multiethnic church begins to gain ground in our country. So the million dollar question is what are we going to do? We are going to grieve together, we are going to speak out, we are going to listen, and we are going to partner with Jesus as he builds his beautiful multiethnic church.

What a crazy awesome season it has been these last two months at Relentless Church.  I can’t begin to share everything God is doing in our midst in one writing, but here are a few highlights:

Baptisms!  God really does pursue us relentlessly with His grace.  I cannot explain to you the emotions that come from seeing real live humans give their lives to Jesus.  We had 3 people make the decision to be baptized last Sunday, and we baptized them on Monday night.  Shout out and thank you to the Point Church for allowing us to use their building.  We have several more people that are considering baptism, can’t wait to see what God does and how He does it.  Like I preached Sunday, for 2000 years when people buy in to the gospel message, they get baptized.  Celebrating new life with Kelly Quinn, Michael Bauman, and Brayden Smith!

Challenges:  God has been so good through the insanity of the last few weeks.  Two Sundays ago we found out on Saturday night that the pipes were frozen in the movie theater and we would not be able to meet.  With 15 hours to find a place, God came through like only He can and we had a great service at the Hilton Garden Inn.  God used these circumstances to truly teach and grow our team, it was amazing.   Then, last Sunday, we had freezing rain and ice that came through right as we were setting up for church.  93 people braved the nastiness to attend Relentless and God showed up and showed out in calling people to baptism.  This week we deal with another challenge, springing forward with daylight savings time; should be a piece of cake after the last two weeks!

How to Spend Time with God:  Last Wednesday night we had week one of a three week elective centered around how to spend time with God.  Exciting to see 23 people show up to begin this elective, can’t wait to see how God uses this group.

February numbers:  Despite the challenges mentioned above, we had more people come to Relentless Church in February than any other month in our short history.  

Teams!  We got teams!  As of this writing, we now have these teams up and going with appointed leaders: RC Kids, Worship, Hospitality, Prayer, Load In/Out. 

A Relentless 1st:  For the 1st time in our history, we are bringing in a guest speaker this Sunday.  This isn’t just any guest speaker, this is a great friend of mine who used to be my youth pastor when I was a kid.  Kenny White leads a church plant called the Crossing in the Cincinnati area, and Kenny and the Crossing family have been an enormous blessing to Relentless Church.  Set your stinkin’ clocks ahead an hour and get to the theater on Sunday to hear what God is going to say to our church through Kenny!  And one more thing- bring somebody with you!

Happy New Year from Relentless Church!  I thought it would be a good time to pause and thank God for all He has done in the short history of our church.   I am going to share some numbers with you that represent lives and stories that God is touching here at Relentless.  Please don’t read this as bragging- our flaws are too numerous to count!- and we have barely scratched the surface in so many ways.  Yet God is moving, God is blessing the church that He called into existence, and lives are changing!  Here are a few numbers to chew on as we turn the calendar:

We had record attendance on December 14th with 127!  Now we don’t count our opening day number of 179 because we had at least 80 out-of-towners in that number.  So on Sunday, December 14th, we had more people from right here in the greater Raleigh area than any day in our history.  We followed that up with a great family Christmas service on December 21st which marked our last service of 2014, closing out December with our best monthly attendance average ever.  It is so encouraging to see our attendance climb higher each month because it is a reflection of our people buying in to our mission.  We have had 58 first time guests over the last 5 weeks, which is 100% a result of our people inviting and bringing people with them.  I am so fired up by our people who are willing to be bold and take a risk and invite people to church with them!   We prayed from the very beginning that every week in our church we would have new first time guests, and God has honored that 15 weeks in a row. 

We came here to reach people who weren’t plugged in to a church for whatever reason.  It blows my mind that 40-45% of our people each week were not in any church 4 months ago.   This is our heart- to reach people that are untold or unconvinced.  We have a great group of people that are excited about what God is doing at Relentless, and they are excited for the first time in a long time, or for some, the first time ever.   

Around 30 people of our 127 on the 14th were not white.  Don’t get me wrong, we like white people, but we believe it is the heart of God that the gospel would unite His people across racial lines.  We are part of a multiethnic church movement, and we are just beginning to learn what that means and how that works.  What I know is that we are not trying to build a church where people coexist, but a church where people actually unite under the gospel.  I cannot tell you what it does in my heart to see the very beginning signs of our potential for Christ-exalting diversity.  

We have an incredible group of volunteers, and there are about 30-35people who show up early every Sunday to set up signs, set up children’s theaters, and set up stage and adult worship theater.  Included in this number is our incredible team that teaches and takes care and has a blast with our two kids theaters each week.  This number has to grow in 2015, and it will, but what an amazing crew that selflessly shows up each week to do their part in fearlessly making known the gospel.  

Financially, the numbers are always a challenge with a brand new church.  We are so blessed to have 23 individuals from outside the area who choose to give every month to the cause of Relentless Church.  You guys move me every month with your consistent investment in the gospel.   Additionally, there are 4 churches that help support us financially in this critical stage of our church.  Thank you WCCC, The Crossing, Pinedale Christian Church, and Shelby Christian Church.   There will be a day in the future where our own Relentless people are able to totally fund the ministry of Relentless Church, so we track the money that comes from people right here in Wake County.  I am humbled to report that our local congregation gave 40% more in November than they did in our first month of September.   In fact, we have had at least 33 people contribute to Relentless Church locally, and they gave more in October than September, more in November than October, and it looks like the streak will continue with more money given in December than in November.   

God is moving in so many lives in our church, and I have to highlight 1 amazing decision by Matt Wagner to give his life to Jesus and be baptized!   Matt represents so many others who are investigating their faith, who are on the verge of making a decision for Jesus, who are studying up on the biblical purpose of baptism, and who are learning what it means to be saved.  Matt is so special to us because he is our first, but he definitely won’t be the last!  Looking forward to a 2015 that sees us stirring the waters of baptism on a regular basis!

We are off this Sunday and then we will come back strong on January 4th, 2015!  I am so excited to be walking into a new year, and I cannot believe God allows me to lead this church!  I am learning every day how to lead this deal, and am thankful for your patience as we learn to crawl before we walk.  We are a baby church, and are so thankful and privileged for God’s blessing in these first 15 weeks!  Rest up this weekend and plan on bringing someone with you on January 4th at 10am.  Happy New Year!   

January 18th was a day to remember at our church.  We had an energetic crowd, the Lord was moving, and I finally was able to unpack what we mean when we say that Relentless Church is part of the multiethnic church movement.

The January 18th message was going to be one that we referred back to in the future, one that we would ask new people to listen to so that they would have an idea of our identity as a church.  For reasons outside of our control, the message did not record successfully.   The 18th was such an important Sunday for us and being part of this movement is so core to who we are, I wanted to write this blog to give a brief overview of that message.  All we have from that Sunday are two incredible videos that we showed, one before the message and one after.  The videos are simply a conversation that we believe is helpful to move us in the right direction, and we have posted both videos on our website under the messages tab as well as at the bottom of this blog.  One day there will be more people in our church that did not hear that message than did, and we will preach it again.  Until then, here ya go:

First off, let me say that we are not mad at any other churches.  Some churches do not feel the conviction that we do to showcase Christ exalting diversity.  Some churches could not be multiethnic if they tried due to the particular demographics in their part of the country.  We are not here to make judgments on other churches, we are here to be the church God called us to be. 

We thought about starting the conversation with our church by inviting everyone to go see the movie Selma together.  After viewing the movie with two dear brothers, their wise counsel was to start the conversation with the gospel instead of starting it with a movie that was not necessarily trying to advance the gospel.  That being said, I would still encourage people to go see Selma, it is well done and from my vantage point the more people who see it the better dialogue we can have.  So, we decided to start the conversation with a simple message about Christ exalting diversity.   By any definition, the church in America is still very much segregated.  There are a lot of reasons and variables of why this is the case, which I will not dig into here, lets just begin by agreeing that for the most part our country attends church along racial lines.   It has been that way for years, and although we have integrated schools, local governments, sports leagues, and so on, the American church has for the most part been silent and still on the subject of integrating the church. The sad reality is that for almost all of our 240 year history as a nation, a diverse worshipping body has been the extreme exception. We are not at peace with that, and we don’t believe that our God is either.   We desire to be a multiethnic church, where the diversity of our city and area is mirrored in our people.  We have a long way to go, we know there will be some hardships and complications, and we are learning by the day.  Our vision to be a multiethnic church is not a whim, it is not a fad, and it is not a trend.  We are in the infant days of a pioneer movement of God, a movement that I believe will change our country.   The gospel centered church should lead the way in racial reconciliation, after all our God wrote the book on reconciliation.  On January 18th, I shared the two main reasons we seek to be a multiethnic church:

#1 It is the heart of God!  Looking at pictures of heaven given to us in Revelation 5 and 7, we see clearly that in heaven we will be united in worship together across tribes, languages and nations.  There will not be white churches, black churches, hispanic churches, or asian churches in heaven, instead we will all unite together in worship of our great God.   The most known prayer in the world is the Lord’s Prayer, which says that our Father’s name is holy, that we should pray for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done . . .  on earth as it is in heaven.  It is the job of the church, to bring the will of God from heaven to earth.  In other words, we ain’t waitin on heaven to unite across racial lines!  When you combine the glimpses of heaven with the picture we have of the first churches recorded in the book of Acts, you again see God’s heart is for His church to be diverse.   From the group of people he gathered in Acts 2, to the racial makeups of the early churches planted by Paul, it is clear that God desired His church to be multiethnic.

#2  It is a byproduct of the gospel!   We define the gospel as the incredible news of our rescue by the grace of God through Jesus.  When people realize the particulars of this rescue, meaning from what, for what purpose, how, when, and why, it changes everything.  The gospel is so powerful that it unites across all kinds of lines that would divide us outside of the gospel.   The best text for this is Ephesians 2, which walks us through Jesus killing the hostility that existed between Jews and Gentiles.  Paul teaches that Jesus came and made peace between races, making us all one through the blood of Christ.  It goes on to say we are members of God’s household.  What do you call members of a household?  Thats right, family!  What kind of family spends all week together but then splits up to worship on Sunday?  It was never the goal for us to be equal or to coexist, the God ordained goal is that we would be reconciled, meaning made right and brought together, first to God and then to each other.  We are so thankful and excited that God has given us something that is big enough to unite us across racial, economic and political lines.  It is all about the gospel, and we believe as people understand and allow their hearts to be shaped by the gospel, Christ exalting diversity will be the result.

Other points:

• We ended the service by asking people to start the conversation. We do not want a diverse crowd, we want diverse relationships. We meet in a movie theater, there are diverse crowds in a theater all the time, we don’t want to be one more. Instead, we want to develop diverse relationships, built on the gospel!
• We don’t use the term “colorblind,” although well intentioned it minimizes the color of skin that God designed. Since our race and ethnicity was ordained by God, we don’t want to be blind to it, we want to celebrate it. We believe it is possible to celebrate it and at the same time allow our race and culture to be secondary in importance to the gospel.
• Our country needs us like never before, we may be more equal in a legal sense than anytime in our history but the last 6 months have shown us we are far from reconciled. The goal of racial reconciliation can only be accomplished through the gospel of Jesus!
• We have way more questions than answers. We don’t have a blueprint outside of what I’ve already shared. We haven’t done anything to force the diversity that exists in our young church. We are trusting God and leaning on the experience of some other multiethnic churches that are a little further down the road and who are gracious to allow us to learn from their victories and mistakes.
• There was a multiethnic church conference held in Memphis, TN in April. Last year was the first ever such conference, it was a joy for me to attend. The hard part was I attended alone, this year we are taking a group. We have already bought tickets hoping that some of our Relentless people would want to join us. This year’s conference is about the “how” part of the multiethnic movement. You can read more about the Kainos Conference at kainos.is. If you would like to join us, we will leave April 21 and return April 24th. Please email at info@relentlesschurch.cc if you would like to know more details.
• Finally, as I write this I am getting ready to head to Winston-Salem to celebrate the life of my wife’s grandmother who we all knew as Gong Gong. She was an amazing lady who lived an amazing 90 years on this earth until her death on January 27th. During those 90 years, she saw unspeakable racism of all types and forms. She died without seeing the American church embrace it’s destiny to lead us down the road to racial reconciliation. If I were to live to be 90, or 80, or 70, or even 60, it would be my great hope and prayer that the America that I leave would be one where nothing is more normal than a multiethnic church filled with Christ exalting diversity.