In his book “Making Vision Stick,” Andy Stanley wrote, “What is celebrated is duplicated.” Today, just 10 weeks after our launch service, REVO Church celebrated the lives that have been changed by Jesus as we baptized 11 people. If the duplication of life change was based solely on how hard we partied and how loud we cheered, we’re in for a crazy ride in the next few months! Here are a few thoughts from today’s baptism service.
-We had a 10-year-old girl and a 60-year-old man get baptized today. I know I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating; a revolutionary church crosses social, racial, ethnic, class, and generational lines. A group of 20-year-old white dudes that are all alike isn’t a revolutionary church … that’s called a fraternity.
-I can remember talking with some of the staff from Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, last year and asking them what is the best way to promote, advertise, and market a church. I was thinking mass mailers, trendy posters, and big feather signs at the front doors. Their response? Life change. When someone’s life gets changed, they tell everyone. When someone has an authentic encounter with Jesus, the natural reaction is to share it. Today was our largest service since the launch, even bigger than Easter last week! I talked with multiple guests today and their response was all the same: I’ve heard about how Jesus has changed lives through this church and I wanted to come see what it was all about. Want to pack out your church? Want to grow exponentially? Preach, teach, and live Jesus, and watch the stories of life change multiply.
-Over half the people that were baptized at REVO Church today came to REVO initially as the result of an invite from a friend. Someone shared with them, invested in them, and took the time to tell them about Jesus and REVO. What started as a vulnerable conversation inviting someone to church resulted in life change! You want to tell me people aren’t receptive to the Gospel? You want to tell me that a simple invite is ineffective? You want to tell me that the vast majority of young people in the world today view God as irrelevant? I’ve got 11 wet, soggy people that would beg to differ. If Jesus, the Gospel, and the Church is as important and life changing as you claim it is, why aren’t you inviting more people to be a part of it?
I’ve got many more stories and thoughts from an amazing day, but I’ll just give you a reminder to close it out.
Just in case you forgot why we do what we do…
Just in case you forgot why we started REVO…
Just in case you forgot why we love big, serve hard, live bold, grow deep, and move forward…
I’ll remind you.
It’s all about life change! REVO Church exists to spark a revolution of life change through Jesus. And when we see life change and see people moving from death to life and start an authentic relationship with God through Jesus, we celebrate.
And I’m usually not one to brag, but REVO does throw a killer party-
3 comments:
Can you unpack the term 'life change'? What is it? How does it happen? What does it look like? What is its place in 'Jesus, the Gospel, and the Church'?
Also, what does it mean to 'preach, teach and live Jesus'?
Finally, what is an 'authentic encounter with Jesus'? How does it differ from an 'inauthentic encounter'? How does one know their encounter was, in fact, 'authentic'?
Sincerely,
Searching for truth.
REVO Church's vision is to "Spark a Revolution of Life Change through Jesus." The life change we refer to is when a person acknowledges their sin & their need for a savior, repents from their sin, & starts pursuing a relationship w/ God through His son Jesus.
This can look like a lot of different things. One lady was living w/ her boyfriend, but when she responded to the message of the Gospel, she realized that what she was doing w/ her boyfriend was wrong. She explained to her hubby that she thought their physical relationship outside of marriage was not what God intended, & he moved out of her house. Her thought process & moral standard changed, & it caused her to act on what she now knew was the right thing to do.
Another example is a guy that was pursuing the acceptance & advice of everyone around him for how he should live his life. When Jesus & pursing a real relationship w/ him became his top priority, he started praying & seeking God on his life decisions. His exact quote is, "I used to ask others for advice & how I should live my life, but know that I have a personal relationship w/ Jesus, I only seek His plan for my life."
Jesus preached a message of repentance. Repentance means to turn away from, & carries the concept of doing a 180 degree turn. You are pursuing personal, selfish gains & motives in life, but need to turn around & follow Jesus, put him first in your life, & put others above yourself. Jesus was all about life change.
The Church's main goal should be to see life change. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 talks about making followers of Christ & baptizing people. Baptism is an outward sign of inward life change. The Church is not just a holy huddle. We are the means by which God has chosen to get the message of the Gospel to the world.
Preaching & teaching Jesus is kind of self-explanitory. When I preach, I want the message to point to Christ. Not self-help, not try to earn it yourself, but total dependance on the person of Christ for everything. But I also want to live that as well. I don't want to say "Jesus instructs us to forgive people that do you wrong" but be unwilling in my own life to forgive people the way Jesus did. That would be the difference between simply preaching or teaching Jesus, & actually living out what he taught.
An authentic encounter w/ Jesus is marked by results. John 15 is a great story on this. Jesus says if a man is really living for me, then you will see fruit in his life. If they are apart from me, then there will be no fruit. Fruit would be results. Again, if you claim to be a follower of Jesus & know that it involved forgiving others, then a result of an authentic encounter & relationship with Jesus is forgiving others. The same goes for love. James 1 talks about the difference between being a hearer of the Word & a Doer of the word. It's not enough just to sit down & hear the message. If your life has really been changed, you will go out and do it.
If a person has an inauthentic encounter or relationship w/ Jesus, then their life won't show any change. Let's say they heard a great sermon or a moving song & made a decision to follow Jesus because they got caught up in the emotion of the moment. When the emotion wears off, then the decision won't stick. There will be no results, no change, & no fruit in their life.
I can't judge whether anyone's relationship w/ Jesus is truly authentic. They could fake it really well & have everyone fooled into thinking their life is on the right track. The question I always ask is this: is your life any different now than it was before you had an encounter with Jesus? If it's the same, then you didn't experience real life change. The Gospel demands a response. You either reject it, or accept it. There is no in-between. However, if you can look back on your life & see how your life & worldview has changed as a result of knowing Jesus and what He was all about, then the authenticity is real.
A real encounter w/ Jesus changes everything. The 12 disciples met Jesus, quit their jobs, left everything they had & followed him. Jesus met a prostitute at a well, & after a conversation she left changed. Jesus healed many people & performed many miracles & people's lives were changed.
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