Haiti Missions Update

Hey folks! Just wanted to give you a quick update on the Haiti Missions Team that traveled to Haiti at the beginning of April. Check out the video below and also click here for our Missions Blog that has lots of reflections from mission team members, photos and updates.

Haiti 2012 Update from Apex Baptist Church on Vimeo.

C.S. Lewis on Worship

This is a great quote from C.S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory) on worship being the preview of all the things that our hearts long for:

The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely from this point of view the promise of glory becomes highly relevant to our deepest desire. For glory means good [rapport] with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last. . . . then our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy but the truest index of our real situation. . . . At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. . . . but all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in.

Awe and Wonder

Nathan Stam
Communications/Children's Pastor

When we think about God there should be an appropriate response of awe and wonder. He is, after all, the Creator and Maker of all things. The Master Designer and Author of the Play. Read these words and let the wonders of our God resonate in your heart:

Consider how we perceive the world. What is truly extraordinary is not extrasensory perception, claims for which inevitably dissolve on investigation. What is extraordinary is rather our very ordinary moment-to-moment sensory experiences of organizing formless neural impulses into colorful sights and meaningful sounds.

Think about it. As you look at someone, particles of light energy are being absorbed by your eyes' receptor cells, converted into neural signals that activate neighboring cells, which, down the line, transmit a million electrochemical messages per moment up to your brain. There, separate parts of your brain process information about color, form, motion and depth, and then--in some still-mysterious way--combine this information to form a consciously perceived image that is instantly compared with previously stored images and recognized as, say, your grandmother. The whole process is as complex as taking a house apart, splinter by splinter, transporting it to a different location, and then, through the efforts of millions of specialized workers, putting it back together. Voila! The material brain gives rise to consciousness. That all of this happens instantly, effortlessly and continuously is better than cool; it is truly amazing and bewildering. In explaining such phenomena I empathize with Job: "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me" (Job 42:3). 

Is Faith a Consequence of Action?

Nathan Stam
Communications/Children's Pastor

Is faith a source of action? Or is it a consequence of action? Can it be both?

Check out this excerpt from David G. Meyers:

We are as likely to act ourselves into a way of thinking as to think ourselves into action. We are as likely to believe in what we have stood up for as to stand up for what we believe. Especially when we feel responsible for how we have acted, our attitudes follow our behavior. This self-persuasion enables all sorts of people--political campaigners, lovers, even terrorists--to believe more strongly in that which they have witnessed or suffered.

This realization--that inner attitude and outer behavior, like chicken and egg, generate one another--parallels a Judeo-Christian idea: inner faith and outer action likewise feed one another. Thus, faith is a source of action. Elijah is overwhelmed by the holy as he huddles in a cave. Paul is converted on the Damascus road. Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah undergo inner transformations. In each case, a new spiritual consciousness produces a new pattern of behavior.

But faith is also a consequence of action. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, faith is nurtured by obedient action. The Hebrew word for know is usually an action verb, something one does. To know love, one must not only know about love, one must act lovingly. Philosophers and theologians note how faith grows as people act on what little faith they have. . . . "The proof of Christianity really consists in 'following,'" declared Soren Kierkegaard.

So, what do you think? Does the practice of faith result in the habit of faith?

Dealing with Conflict

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Recently, I finished a wonderful book by Duane Elmer entitled "Cross Cultural Conflict: Building Relationships for Effective Ministry."

While it might seem strange that we could possibly have conflict in a church setting the truth is that we and we need to be equipped in how to handle it in a way that is Christ-honoring. Elmer lists ten general rules for dealing with conflict that are helpful in approaching any touchy situation:

1. Ask yourself whether this is worthy of attention or should be let go. (THIS IS A HUGE ONE!)
2. Make your approach one of concern for the person and for preservation of the relationship.
3. Seek understanding through inquiry before forming judgments and making accusations.
4. Separate facts from rumor, partial information feelings and interpretation.
5. Consider how much stress the relationship can bear; this will help you tell how much time and sensitivity will be required.
6. Put yourself in the other person’s place and try to appreciate his or her perspective on the matter.
7. Address behaviors rather than motivation.
8. When you detect tense emotions or defensiveness, back up and give assurances of friendship and your desire to understand.
9. Frequently acknowledge and summarize what the other person has said to assure accuracy of understanding for both parties.
10. Believe a win-win resolution is possible if both parties can remain calm, understand each other’s interests and negotiate with integrity and fairness.

The Dead Church

Charles Kingsley (1819—1875) was an English priest known for such novels as Westward Ho!, for his political essays, his poetry, and his collections of sermons.

Check out this excerpt from one of his poems called "The Dead Church."

Wild wild wind, wilt thou never cease thy sighing?
Dark dark night, wilt thou never wear away?
Cold cold church, in thy death sleep lying,
The Lent is past, thy Passion here, but not thine Easter-day.

Peace, faint heart, though the night be dark and sighing;
Rest, fair corpse, where thy Lord himself hath lain.
Weep, dear Lord, above thy bride low lying;
Thy tears shall wake her frozen limbs to life and health again

I love it! The life-giving power of Easter is here! The power of God is pounding like the surf on the beach, and nothing can hold it back. Let's wake up and live to honor Christ! "Come awake, from sleep arise! You were dead, become alive!"

Racial Reconciliation in Apex: So What? (Part 4)

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

In the last blog we discussed the concept of holy folly (going against the grain of popular culture) and some general responses to the Gospel in regards to racial reconciliation including the need to form multiracial, multiethnic congregations as well as living our loud as believers in a theater of reconciliation.

I'd like to share in this final part a few practical suggestions (not exhaustive by any means!) for how racial reconciliation could look and be lived out in our local church. This is the So What? aspect of the challenge to grow in ethnic diversity and Christ-honoring love:

• Craft a mission statement that reflects the need for racial reconciliation in our community.
• Let our music in worship services reflect a variety of ethnic expressions, sounds, and genres.
• Preach and teach on the issue of racial diversity and harmony on Martin Luther King weekend.
• Support and become actively involved in Christ-exalting urban ministries.
• Hold panel discussions with different ethnicities represented to explore in front of our fellowship the experiences people have at Apex Baptist and how we might be more welcoming.
• Hold celebrations with other ethnic churches to worship together throughout the year.
• Help fund transracial adoptions in our congregation.
• Be strategic about where we live. Be incarnational and live where needs are, not where we are the most comfortable.

Let me conclude, as Piper does, with a quote from Shelby Steele:

What both black and white Americans fear are the sacrifices and risks that true racial harmony demands. This fear is the measure of our racial chasm. And though fear always seeks a thousand justifications, none is ever good enough, and the problems we run from only remain to haunt us. It would be right to suggest courage as an antidote to fear, but the glory of the word might only intimidate us into more fear. I prefer the word effort--relentless effort, moral effort. What I like most about this word are its connotations of everydayness, earnestness, and practical sacrifice.