The Blog

CHBC Connect for September 27, 2024

Three Purposes of CHBC:
3 Purposes of Ministry to Fulfill the Mission of the Church:

My articles in the last two newsletters have been to define the Piers and Pillars of CHBC. Sitting atop the foundations of the church, and the convictions of our local church, is the mission for which we exist. The ultimate purpose of all people, all churches, and all of creation is the glory of God. To fulfill the ultimate purpose, the church must function according to God’s design.

God has established the church in His wisdom. Ephesians 3:8-11 tells us,

“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,”

For His wisdom to be seen, the church must do what it does according to His word. Many churches choose their ministries, plan their worship service, and craft their strategies to display how creative the pastor is, how innovative the leadership team can be, or how relevant the church is to the community’s felt needs.

These techniques might draw crowds, but they do not build churches. The argument is usually made that once we have drawn a crowd then we can begin doing the real work of evangelizing those in the crowd, discipling those who decide follow Jesus, and then getting them involved in helping us do more ministry to the crowd. The problem is that we do not see that pattern in Scripture.

The people of God in the Old Testament were called out from the other nations and were to be a blessing to the nations by their single-hearted devotion to God, His laws, and His ways. Jesus came to the world, but His distinctive nature was one of holiness in the world in which He ministered. The apostles were sent out to establish churches, outposts of God’s Kingdom, among the world, not centers of entertainment to the culture.

Christian, we are not called to avoid the culture, but we are also not called to attempt the entertain the culture into thinking Jesus is cool. We are called to employ the method of God and the strategy of Jesus. We are called to be holy as He is holy, and to bless our friends, family, and community by being committed to God, His Word, His will, and His commands. We know, Biblically, that the world is best when it is influenced by godliness, not when godliness gives way to cultural norms.

God established the means of worship, disciple-making, and evangelism as the strategy of the church. The people of God gathered to worship, connected in community for making disciples, and sent into the world to share the good news of Christ, are the three purposes of ministry to fulfill the mission of God. CHBC states those purposes as existing to Equip Believers, Exalt Christ, and Extend the Gospel.

This is why we make this our mission. We are attempting to be obedient to Christ’s commands, to work within the framework of God’s wisdom, and to love our neighbor as ourselves by following God’s design for the church, rather than a method of marketing strategy. We are joining God in building a church, not drawing a crowd.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark

CHBC Connect for September 20, 2024

Three Pillars of CHBC:
3 Pillars of Conviction by Which the Church Chooses to Function:

Pillars in architecture can be used for support as well as aesthetics. Pillars in the Bible were often monuments to commemorate an event or a location as special or holy to the Lord. In Galatians 2:9, Paul wrote, “and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

He says that James, Cephas (Peter), and John had the reputation as pillars of the faith. We understand the significance of a pillar. Well at CHBC we have three pillars of conviction by which the church has chosen to operate. They are significant in that they stand atop the foundation of Christ’s Lordship, the Bible’s authority, and the Glory of God. They are also important because they undergird the mission of the church to equip believers, to exalt Christ, and to extend the gospel.

The pillars provide structural support to the ministries of the church, as well as show the beauty of God’s grace and wisdom. The three pillars are: Biblically-Modeled; Mission-Minded; Multi-Cultural. The beautiful plan of God in the design of the local church is on full display in these three broad convictions.

Humanly speaking a church could be many things. But God has given the church a form, a structure, a polity, and a purpose all written in the pages of the Scriptures. When a church follows the model of God it helps to put His wisdom on display for the world to see and be in awe of Him.

There are churches who emphasized all kinds of activities, ministries, and community agencies. But often the busy nature of running social programs prevents the church from being serious about the mission God has given the church. The prime directive for the church is to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Any activity of the church that does not support or enhance that mission is undermining the support structure of the church and making it weak.

The early church was birthed miraculously in the book of Acts when Peter preached at Pentecost, and everyone heard the gospel in their own language. The persecution of those early believers by Rome and by the religious establishment of Judaism caused those believers to begin spreading out to the surrounding cities and countries. Even in the local gatherings of churches there were people born with a Jewish nationality, Greek nationality, Roman nationality, and others. There were men and women, young and old, enslaved and free, wealthy and poor, educated and uneducated, culturally elite and working class. The church was multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-socio economic. The early church was diverse, yet unified in Christ, by the gospel, and for God. The beauty of God’s design and the strength of the church is on great display when the local body reflects the range of cultures found in the community they are trying to reach.

This is why we hold these three convictions, and why we call them pillars of our church’s vision. They show the beauty of God’s grace and wisdom, and they support the mission of what CHBC is to be doing.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark