New Restoration Movement

Are we there yet?

In this edition of The New Restoration Movement, I will continue to expound upon the New Testament principles of hospitality and offer practical uses for them in today’s world.

Principle #4: Let The Children Come

“He took a child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’” Mark 9:35-37

Women commonly complaint that churches are “clicky”. This is particularly discouraging to first-time visitors. But, rather than place blame, let’s try to chart a corrective course.

A clinical study showed that even at a very young age men and women relate differently. Several young boys were placed in a room with the chairs arranged in a random fashion. The boys quickly moved the chairs side-by-side and then began to talk. Conversely, the girls arranged the chairs in a circle. Women are naturally face-to-face, making it harder to enter the circle. Many call this phenomenon “Circling the Wagons”.

Application:
1) Designate circle breakers. My wife is an expert in this area. She will walk up to a complete stranger and say, “There is someone I would like you to meet.” Then she selects a woman within a group of women with whom she feels comfortable and says, “Hey Suzie, this is Ann. She is also into scrap booking.” When the visitor and the woman become engaged in conversation, she slips away quietly. The circle has grown, and the visitor is no longer on the outside looking in. This technique is equally effective with men and youth.

Principle #5: Putting Your Talents To Work

Advancements in technology have given us many new ways to communicate with others. They have also made it possible to live totally independent from others and lead cold and indifferent lives. In The Parable of the Talents the Master said this to the servants who had used his investments wisely: “Well done, good servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” Matthew 25:21

Application:

1) Purposefully connect with visitors and new people. Nothing says, “I care” more than a friendly smile, an extended hand and a well given introduction.

2) Know what to say. Many are afraid to greet new people because they are afraid they might offend someone by mistaking a fixture of the church for a visitor. I usually start my introductions like so: “I’m sorry, I’m terrible with names.” The person usually responds by giving his or her name. Then I might say: “So how long have you been a part of this church?” This gives them the opportunity to brag about being one of the original founders or to say: “This is my first visit.” If I get a negative response like: “Well!, I’ve been here for twenty years.” I say: “I’m kind of new here and don’t know very many people yet.” The important thing to remember is that this is not just a fact-finding mission. It is about building relationships, and helping new people feel welcome and more comfortable. If they act shy, I then say: “It was really great to meet you. I look forward to talking with you again.”

3) Make it a point to look for that new person after the service ends. Offer your hand again. Give them the opportunity to be the first to speak. This is a good way to gauge their response to the Church and your offer of friendship. If they are quiet or act shy, I repeat my earlier statement: “It was really great to meet you. I look forward to talking with you again.” If they are open and friendly, I let the conversation flow naturally from there. If I feel they are ready, I might offer an invitation like: “My wife and I are going for ice cream. Why don’t you join us?”

4) Evaluate your level of servant faithfulness by asking yourself the following questions: “Do I arrive at church early enough to allow time to look for new people and be a friend?” “Or, do I arrive at last minute, and am I more concerned about reserving a seat or getting my children where they need to be?” “If I were to consider every person that God puts in my path a talent entrusted to me by God, how am I doing at managing God’s investments?” “Do I think that God is pleased with my current rate of return?”

Principle #6: Becoming all things to all men
The New Restoration Movement: Extravagant Love

The New Restoration Movement

5-23-08

Volume 1, Issue 3

A Publication by: Michael G. Russeau

11443 Boulder Dr. #109

Lowell, MI 49331

Tel: 616-897-9195 E-mail: Lrusseau@juno.com

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-22

Shake things up a little at your church. Rethink what we call “Church”. I am not suggesting that we dismantle the church for those who may never be satisfied. I am suggesting, however, that we evaluate how much of what we do is Biblically necessary.

Application:
1) Let worship be spontaneous and genuine. Be aware of individual needs within your congregation, and the local and world events that affect them. Be willing to change your plans at a moments notice. There may be time when the needs of a family or an individual are so great that it merits stopping the worship service in order to provide comfort and prayer. Let the Holy Spirit move and reshape your worship service to meet the needs of members and outsiders.

2) Add creative freedom where appropriate.

3) Encourage the development of intentional relationships between members and visitors.

Principle #7: Healing

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

Jesus promised that his children would do “greater things”. At the end of his earthly ministry he was left with just eleven faithful followers, all of which deserted him just prior to his crucifixion. We see partial fulfillment of his promise in Acts 2:41 and Acts 5:12-16 when the touch of Peter’s shadow brought healing to all on whom it fell. Once again, when three thousand were saved as Peter gave his first sermon on

the day of Pentecost. Centuries later, countless people with the help of average people like you and me, have entered the kingdom without having witnessed great signs or wonders like these. By getting involved in the lives of others, we are doing these “greater thing” and bringing healing to those who hurt.

Application:

1) Offer to pray for people. Do this when you meet someone new in your church, neighborhood, work place, or with whom you are doing business. Say something like this: “Whenever I meet someone new, I like to offer to pray for him or her. Is there something or someone I can pray about for you?” “What is their name?” “What hospital are they in?” My wife and I have done this for years. A few people have politely declined, but the rest have been truly moved by our offer.

2) Visit their loved ones promptly. When a church or individual does these things, they become the New Testament Church, that is, Christ living through us.

3) Drop the excuses. We all know what the Bible says about living together (fornication), drunkenness, or any other sin I could name. Let’s do a little less preaching and a little more practicing what we preach. Coming alongside someone who is actively involved in a sin does not amount to endorsing his or her behavior. Jesus associated with sinners in order to save them, and so should we. All this says is that I too am a sinner. I understand and I care. They know what they are doing is wrong. What they don’t know is that the kingdom is available for them just as it was for us when we were still dead in our transgressions. Ephesians 2:1
The Next Step: Pressing On
The goal of this newsletter and my personal ambition is to play some small part in revitalizing The Restoration Movement and removing the not-so-apparent, obstacles that Satan has so cleverly placed between the Church and outsiders. I plan to press on in this pursuit, in the hope that all who walks though the doors of our Churches will fell the full and warm embrace of Christian fellowship, hospitality and love.
The New Restoration Movement: Extravagant Love (PAGE 2)
age 2

In the previous edition of The New Restoration Movement entitled “Are We There Yet?”, I related a few bad experiences that we had while searching for a new home church. In this edition, I would like to contrast these bad experiences with one wonderfully inspiring experience. Then I will unpack some scriptural principles which relate to hospitality and offer practical examples of how we can applying these principles.

When Linda and I were searching for a new church home, we noticed the difference at one church even as we pulled into the parking lot. There were people standing outside this church, opening doors, greeting everyone with great big smiles, shaking hands, hugging and giving the occasional “high five”. The welcome inside was just as warm. They made us feel like honored guests. They listened intently and sympathetically to our story, our search for new friends, and to the disappointments we suffered with some of the other local churches. Shortly afterward, we were invited along with another new couple to have dinner in a member’s home. We felt like we had been plucked from an unforgiving and icy ocean. It was like having warm blankets flung around us and being given something hot to drink.

Principle #1: Entertaining Strangers

“Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain stringers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Hebrews 13:1-3 New Testament Churches and Christ followers must look for visitors and lonely people, engage them in relationship, and “snatch them from the fire” as Jude put it in Jude 23.

Application:

1) Visitors and lonely people are easier to spot than you might think. They are the wall flowers; they sit alone in the back of the church nearest the exits. Sit by them. Be casual. Offer a warm handshake and an introduction without the prompting of the minister or worship leader.

3) Listen intently, for every visitor has a story. Ask questions that help them share their story and needs. Be the person or church who fills their need.

4) Exchange phone numbers/ e-mail addresses and deliberately communicate regularly. Offer to do something

with them outside of church.

5) After church say, “We are getting something to eat after church. Would you like to join us?” Set money aside and pay if possible. When Lin and I joined South Lansing Christian Church, a very nice couple asked us out to eat on our second visit. We enjoyed their company. At the end of the meal, we realized that all we had was a checkbook with us. The couple willingly paid for our meal. That was all it took for us. We joined South the next week because it “felt like home”. Think about how you can help people feel “at home”.

6) Plan a dinner. Invite one our more visitors or members into your home. It’s a about building relationships and helping them build relationships with other Christ seekers and Christ followers. Remember how important relationships were to the New Testament Church. “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,” Acts 2:46. Jesus came to establish his Kingdom. It is all about relationships. “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people and I will be their God,…” Jeremiah 24:7

Principle #2: Giving gifts

“A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.” Proverbs 18:16, “Many will seek the favor of a generous man, And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.” Proverbs 19:6

Application:

1) Use some kind of attendance roster, guest book, or welcome desk sign-up sheet to get the names of your visitors.

2) At South Lansing Christian Church we practiced this principle by delivering a fresh baked loaf of bread to our visitors. Many of our new members would tell you that this small act of love was key in there decision to make our Church there new home.

The Restoration Movement: Are we there yet?

The New Restoration Movement

2-12-2008

Volume 1, Issue 2

A Publication by: Michael G. Russeau

11443 Boulder Dr. #109

Lowell, MI 49331

Tel: 616-897-9195 E-mail: Lrusseau@juno.com

Many of our visitors became Christians for the first time. They all had one thing in common. They were looking for authenticity as expressed in agape love, friendship and community.

3) Offer your friendship without any strings attached. Even if they never join your church, love them unconditionally. Be sincere. Friendship which is offered then withdrawn is not worthy of the Kingdom of our God.

Principle #3: Use worldly wealth to gain friends.

In Luke 16: 1-13, the parable of the dishonest manager, Jesus makes these statements: ”I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” and, “You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Use worldly possessions (Money, homes, vehicles, time, etc.) to win souls. Christ followers in the first century distinguished themselves by their selfless generosity and concern for the poor and so can we. In Matthew 5:46-47 Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” We are called to sacrifice, to live lives above that of the “Pagan’s” and love those whom we don’t even know.

Application:

1) Have a helps ministry. Some churches repair cars, do plumbing, replace roofs, etc., asking only for the cost of materials. If recipients have the means, they can make a donation to the church. In this way, Christ followers can bless Christ seekers, other Christ followers and create more opportunities for the Church to help others.

2) As a church and as Christ followers, be the first to help when someone in your church or community is in need. Don’t wait until some secular organization or, worse yet, a cult spearheads the effort and robs our God of his due glory. Jesus challenged the worldly and traditional notion of family and neighbor. When he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” he meant “as yourself”. The needs of self , family, neighbor and even enemy become uniquely equal in the heart of those who share in the spirit of Christ.

3) Constantly look for opportunities to do “random acts of kindness” for your visitors , neighbors and co-workers.

I feel that it is necessary at this point to emphasize that I am not suggesting that we turn the Church into a “social services” organization. My intent, however, is to rekindle the spirit of the Restoration Movement and to nurture Christ-taught values as exemplified by the First Century Church.

Many churches have vibrant benevolence and hospitality ministries designed to assimilate Christ seekers into the church. But if a Body of Christ followers do not share in a spiritual rebirth that results in the love of neighbor, then the sincerity of their rebirth and the completeness of the Restoration Movement remains in question. As a result, Christ seekers may then never encounter New Testament Christianity and come to share in the Spirit of God who pervades all good works done by the church. Two of the most important teachings of Christ, “love God” and “love your neighbor” are necessary both for the life of the church and the life of Christ followers. They must be the reason for everything we do for one another. Anything else falls short.

The Next Step: Extravagant Love

In the next edition of The New Restoration Movement, I plan to expound on the principles and practices of the New Testament Church. It challenged cultural norms of the time and ignited the spread of Christianity in a way that should inspire us to do no less.
The Restoration Movement: Are we there yet? Page 2

Our family was recently uprooted from our home church at which we had been members for seventeen years. During that time, we started a hospitality ministry, “Loving people into the church” was our credo. Love was expressed in many forms, the vision spread and the church grew dramatically. In fact, the church became known as one of the friendliest churches in the city.

In our search for a new church home, I was disturbed, incensed actually, at the lack of friendliness and love in some of the churches that we visited. Even after several visits, no one cared that we were there, took the time to call, to sit with us or to help us feel welcome. People just walked by casting little more than a glance or a passing “hello” in recognition of our return visits. They sped by as if to say “I’m too busy now.” I can only describe the message, they conveyed as Deafening Indifference.

If this had been an isolated incident, I would have just written it off, but it wasn’t. We have experienced this many times in the 22 years that we have been Christians. I began to think about the Restoration Movement and some of its goals: To restore the church to its original doctrinal purity and practices and to put aside man-made doctrines and to unite Christians. Somehow, I was less impressed with our achievements. I am convinced that the restoration of the church is far from complete. What part of the restoration have we left unfinished? In Acts 2: 44-47, the writer describes the early church like this:

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. ”

I think that the emphasis placed on Acts 2:38 has caused many to gloss over the rest of the passage. It is as if verses 39-47 are thought of as being of little more than historical value. I believe that the phrase: “enjoying the favor of all the people” found in this passage is incredibly important. It is the exclamation mark at the end of the chapter. It points to the significance of the behavior of the New Testament Church and the impact that it had on the people.

When Jesus was asked: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” he said “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21. Similarly, when he was asked: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” He responded: “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Mark 12:29-31.

By loving and caring for the needs their fellow man, the New Testament Church was living the life of which Jesus spoke, among a people who had known Jesus personally and heard his teachings. What better way to testify to the validity of Jesus’ ministry, the power of his resurrection and the work of God than to live the life changing message of Jesus Christ.

In future editions of the New Restoration Movement I plan to focus on practical ways that we can better resemble the new testament church, it’s love for one another and it’s impact on world.
The Restoration Movement: Are we there yet?
The Next Step: Extravagant Love

The New Restoration Movement

11-1-2007

Volume 1, Issue 1

A Publication by: Michael G. Russeau