missio

I’m going to start a 5-part blog series on Gospel-centered families, aptly titled Shalom in the Home. Forget the rabbi. Shalom in the New Testament (usually translated as ‘peace’) is the, ahem, harmony, that comes from being submissive to Jesus, His Gospel, and His Kingdom. It is holistic in nature, and all-encompassing in reach. This means that our marriages, children, and legacies are to be harmonic as well. So what does that look like? To be honest, I’m still trying to find out. I have very little life experience. All I know is what Scripture teaches, and what the Spirit has given me in the vision for Greenville and Harmony Church. It’s all I got. It’s going to have to be enough. So starting very soon, I will try to address the following:

They won’t be all-encompassing. They won’t bring up if-then statements like “If your children don’t listen, then do this…” It won’t be a very specific series. But it will provide us with a foundation to work towards. In this post, I do want to address the “why” question: why do we at Harmony focus so hard on the family?

Because it is the foundational unit of the Kingdom of God. It is the cell of the body of Christ. For those of you who haven’t been through our partnership material, you should know that at Harmony we don’t think you can be a Christian alone. God exists in community. He calls to Himself a people. He redeems individuals, only so that they may be a part of a community. And I vaguely remember something about Him saying that it is not good for man to be alone.

This is a passion of mine, and I hope it shows. I dearly want to see marriages, families, and legacies that erupt and emerge from people loving and pursuing Jesus.

Harmony, we are a young church. We can, as Barney Fife says, nip it in the bud, for the most part. If we get it set in our minds and hearts what God would have us do with our families, we can turn this city upside down.

I’m looking forward to it.

How about you?

Comments?

You’re going to want to listen to last week’s message on the Incarnation, and what it means for us at Harmony. You can catch it here: John 1:14-18: Putting Meat on Spirit. Or subscribe to the podcast here: Harmony Church on iTunes.

Last night we talked about cultural redemption. One of the major points that Brad brought up was that in order to redeem the culture you’re in, you have to understand it. So what is the culture of Greenville? Here’s some thoughts, facts, and figures: