I am reflecting with gratitude at all that has been accomplished since our first gathering March 18, 1985. The years have flown by. And the hundreds of precious souls that have been a part of our community of faith parade before me in my thoughts. I think of baby dedications and baptisms, I think of new ministry thrusts into uncharted territory, and I rejoice in it all.

A few days ago I received an email from the other side of the world thanking us for the songs of worship and praise that have gone out from our church on CD’s around the earth. As we have sought the Lord’s face in passion and intimacy, He has graciously manifested His presence in our midst. Our ministry for the Lord has grown out of our ministry to the Lord. Just a few days ago I had the privilege of hearing one of our new songs for the first time. Amazing. And this week that song is being shared in a national conference for worship leaders.

I recently received a letter from a woman who now lives in another state thanking us for the personal ministry she received while she was in attendance here for long standing hurtful issues. Our RTF team, with grace, understanding, and skill, walked her through major healing over months. The hours invested resulted in healing and deliverance for this woman. We have many who by training, anointing, and experience pray for hurting folks with great effectiveness.

I think of emails and phone calls from the young people who have gone out across the earth living passionately for Christ. How proud we are that the investment made in children’s ministry and youth fellowship have born fruit with impactful lives that have been discipled to Jesus Christ. Our support of Ben Gates and campus ministries has even resulted in the planting of a church in India. In fact more than two dozen new church plants have been initiated and resourced by Heartland through out the Midwest. Some churches have grown to become regional resource churches themselves and in turn have themselves planted churches.

Our practice of sharing the Lord’s Table on Sunday mornings has had an amazing impact on our life together. Not only is the Gospel at the center of our gatherings, but the testimonies continue to come to us where people have been encountered by the living God in this sacrament, with souls being saved, bodies being healed, and relationships being restored. I love the many who participate in our services. All the voices becoming a chorus of testimony and praise.

I think of all the workers who invest their lives for the sake of others and the sake of Jesus. Children and Youth ministries. The support teams for our gatherings. The Food Pantry team that feed hundreds of hungry people. Our partnership in the city with Associated Churches. Our so far successful fight to keep a casino and the evils of gambling at bay. Truly, we are doing together what we can’t do alone. There is a synergy when we partner together. If one can put to flight a thousand, then two can put 10 thousand to flight. Exponential increase is possible when we cooperate.

The culture we live in today has undergone tremendous changes since 1985. Change is normative. We grow or die. Yet the Gospel of Jesus Christ is still the remedy for a sin sick world. Men and women, boys and girls still need to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. The Body of Christ still is assigned to not only embrace God’s Kingdom rule, but to see His Kingdom extended and expressed through our lives, where we live, where we can make a difference. I thank God for you Heartland Church. Through good times and bad, your faith and obedience, your trust and love is have expressed the heart of our Heavenly Father. Thank you.

Blessings,

Ron Allen, lead pastor

Dear Heartland family,

With Palm Sunday just ahead, we move into Holy Week observances. Easter reminds us that our faith is grounded in the historical fact of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the tomb. Our hope in the Lord does not disappoint. Good Friday services are Friday, April 2 at noon, at Heartland.

We have had a blessed few weeks. After our appeal for extra funds to cover unanticipated expenses with replacing two furnaces, I am happy to report that your response has enabled us to have all bills paid in full to date. Thank you for your faithfulness. I want to challenge those who aren’t giving to prayerfully consider beginning to give on a regular basis to support our many ministries. Truly we can do together what we cannot do alone.

Terry Wildman’s message, Beauty for Ashes, is a powerful teaching on God’s ability to forgive, restore, and reinstate His people. Doc Loomis gave an incredible call to evangelism and church planting last Sunday evening. And I gave a prophetic invitation to HC last Sunday morning on our 25th anniversary. I said that in this emerging season we are entering that God’s blessing is already flowing at an increased level, but God has said He won’t bless us beyond a level where blessings will destroy us. Podcasts are at www.heartlandfw.org.

As spring comes upon us with new bursts of life and possibility, remember that God is full of new possibilities. In John 2 at the wedding of Cana, Jesus created vintage wine at the speed of faith. He can still do something like that for you.

Blessings, Ron Allen, lead pastor for the ministry team.

Dear partners in ministry,

I am reflecting on the great weekend with Chip Judd as we focused on, “Building Great Relationships.” The feedback has been awesome. So many, like Carolyn and I, gained real insight and strategy in dealing with growth points in our relationships. Thanks Chip. He will be back April 11 for the second Sunday of three, continuing to address this foundational area. The format will be the same as last Sunday.

We continue to have wonderful reports from the attendees of the, “Restoring the Ancient Gates,” conference that we hosted with Terry and Darlene Wildman of RainSong Ministries. We have an open door of continuing ministry opportunities with the local Miami Indian tribe.

During this Lenten season, we have been focusing on not just how to say no to hindrances in our lives for a closer walk with God, but more importantly how to have a bigger, “yes,” toward God. We continue to enjoy the manifest Presence of God in our gatherings as we worship and praise, as we teach and learn, and as we minister to one another. God is so good to answer our prayers. We are looking forward to Fire N Rain this next Sunday at 6 pm with Dave Chumchal.

We are seeing many new faces as we have had a growth spurt these last few weeks. Be sure and get acquainted with those new to our fellowship. Over 25% of our attendance is from folks who have just started coming to Heartland.

We are grateful for your continued faithfulness is attending, giving, and working together in our ministries. Children, youth, food pantry, mission trips, and all our ministries are dependent on your steady commitment to our life together. We were all current on bills untill we had some equipment breakdowns last week. We have had to replace two furnaces and some other equipment that totaled over $13,000 last week. Would you prayerfully consider giving something extra to help us stay current with our expenses?

Thank you for your love, support, and partnership. It is true; we can do far more together than we can do alone. May God’s Kingdom come, and His will be done, in us, through us, as it is in Heaven.

Blessings, Ron Allen for the servant leadership of Heartland Church

More churches have been destroyed by the Accuser of the Brethren and its fault-finding than by either immorality or misuse of church funds. So prevalent is this influence in our society that, among many, fault-finding has been elevated to the status of a “ministry!” The Lord has promised, however, that in His house accusing one another will be replaced with prayer, and fault-finding with a love that covers a multitude of sins.

In an attempt to hinder, if not altogether halt the next move of God, Satan has sent forth an army of fault-finding demons against the church. The purpose of this assault is to entice the Body of Christ away from the perfections of Jesus and onto the imperfections of one another.

The fault-finder spirit will incite individuals to spend days and even weeks unearthing old faults or sins in their minister or church. The people who are held captive by this deceitful spirit become “crusaders,” irreconcilable enemies of their former assemblies. In most cases, the things they deem wrong or lacking are the very areas in which the Lord seeks to position them for intercession. What might otherwise be an opportunity for spiritual growth and meeting a need, becomes an occasion of stumbling and withdrawal. In truth, their criticisms are a smokescreen for a prayerless heart and an unwillingness to serve.
Christ Himself could not satisfy the “standards” of this spirit when it spoke through the Pharisees. No matter what Jesus did, the Pharisees found fault with Him.

If you personally have not consulted with and listened to the individual of whom you are critical, how can you be sure that you are not fulfilling the role of the accuser of the brethren? Even the “. . . Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him” (John 7:51).

The enemies’ purpose in this assault is to discredit the minister so it can discredit his message. I have personally listened to scores of pastors from many denominational backgrounds. The timing of this spirit’s attack upon their congregations almost always was just prior to, or immediately after, a significant breakthrough. The unchallenged assault of this demon always stopped the forward progress of their church.

When this spirit infiltrates an individual’s mind, its accusations come with such venom and intimidation that even those who should “know better” are bewildered and then seduced by its influence. Nearly all involved take their eyes off Jesus and focus upon “issues,” ignoring during the contention that Jesus is actually praying for His body to become one. Beguiled by this demon, accusations and counter accusations rifle through the soul of the congregation, stimulating suspicion andfear among the people. Devastation wracks the targeted church, while discouragement blankets and seeks to destroy the pastor and his family, or other servants of God in the Church.

Nearly every minister reading this has faced the assault of the fault-finder spirit at one time or another. Each has known the depression of trying to track down this accusing spirit as it whispers its gossip through the local church: trusted friends seem distant, established relationships shaken, and the vision of the church quagmired in strife and inaction.

To mask the diabolical nature of its activity, the fault-finder will often garb its criticisms in religious clothing. Under the pretense of protecting sheep from a “gnat- sized” error in doctrine, it forces the flock to swallow a “camel-sized” error of loveless correction, attempting to correct violations of Scripture! Where is the “spirit of gentleness” of which Paul speaks in Galatians 6:1, the humility in “looking to yourselves, lest you too be tempted?” Where is the love motive to “restore such a one?”

The church does need correction, but the ministry of reproof must be patterned after Christ and not the accuser of the brethren. When Jesus corrected the churches in Asia (Revelation 2-3), He sandwiched His rebuke between praise and promises. He reassured the churches that the Voice about to expose their sin was the very Voice which inspired their virtue. After encouraging them, He then brought correction.

Is this not His way with each of us? Even in the most serious corrections, the voice of Jesus is always the embodiment of “grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus said of the sheep, “. . . they know His voice. And a stranger they simply will not follow but will flee from him” (John 10:5). Remember, if the word of rebuke or correction does not offer grace for restoration, it is not the voice of your Shepherd. If you are one of Christ’s sheep, you will flee from it.

To find an indictment against the church, it is important to note, the enemy must draw his accusations from hell. If we have repented of our sins, no record of them nor of our mistakes exists in Heaven. As it is written, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies…” (Romans 8:33). Jesus is not condemning us, but rather is at the Father’s right hand interceding on our behalf.

The second weapon this spirit uses against us is our past mistakes and poor decisions. Each of us has an inherent propensity toward ignorance. One does not have to read far into the history of the saints to discover they were not called because of their intrinsic wisdom. In truth, we all have made mistakes. Hopefully, we have at least learned from them and developed humility because of them. This fault-finding spirit, however, takes our past mistakes and parades them before our memory, criticizing our efforts to do God’s will, thus keeping us in bondage to the past.

When the enemy pits us against one another, it first provokes us to jealousy or fear. The security of our place in life seems threatened by another’s success. Perhaps to justify our personal failures or flaws, we magnify the past shortcomings of others. The more our jealousy grows, the more this demon exploits our thoughts until nothing about the individual or his church seems right.

In the final stage we actually wage a campaign against him. No defense he offers will satisfy us. We are convinced he is deceived and dangerous; and we think it is up to us to warn others. Yet the truth is, the person whose mind is controlled by the fault- finder spirit is the one who is deceived and dangerous. For his own unrepentant thoughts toward jealousy and fleshly criticism have supplied hell with a “lumber yard” of material to erect walls between members of the body of Christ.

The fault-finders and gossips are already planted in the church–perhaps you are such a one! When the living God is making your pastor more deeply dependent, and thus more easily shaped for His purposes, do you criticize his apparent lack of anointing? Although he did not abandon you during your time of need, do you abandon him now, when your faith might be the very encouragement he needs to fully yield to the cross?

Those who are sympathetic to the accuser of the brethren fulfill, by application, Matthew 24:28, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” The backbiting of these vulture-like individuals actually feeds their lower nature, for they seek what is dead in a church; they are attracted to what is dying.
When the accuser comes, it brings distorted facts and condemnation. Those who are trapped by this spirit never research the virtues in the organization or person they are attacking. With the same zeal that the fault-finders seek to unearth sin, those who will conquer this enemy must earnestly seek God’s heart and His calling for those they would reprove.

True correction, therefore, will proceed with reverence, not revenge. Indeed, are not those whom we seek to correct Christ’s servants? Are they not His possessions? Is it possible the works of which we are jealous, and thus critical, might the the very works of Christ? Also, let us ask ourselves: why has God chosen us to bring His rebuke? Are we walking in Christ’s pattern?

These are important questions, for to be anointed with Christ’s authority to rebuke, we must be committed to melt with Christ’s love. But, if we are angry, embittered or jealous toward another, we cannot even pray correctly for that person, much less reprove him. Jesus, the great Lion of Judah, was declared worthy to bring forth judgment by virtue of His nature: He was a Lamb slain for men’s sin. If we are not determined to die for men, we have no right to judge them.

Our attitude should be one of prayer and love, leaving a blessing for what we gained by our time spent in the church. If there has indeed been sin in the ministry, we should contact the church authorities and leave the situation with them.

Indeed, the Lord’s word to us is that in the House of the Lord criticism must be replaced with prayer, and fault-finding eliminated with a covering love. Where there is error, we must go with a motive to restore. Where there are wrong doctrines, let us maintain a gentle spirit correcting those in opposition.
Lord Jesus, forgive us for our lack of prayer and the weakness of our love. Master, we want to be like You. When we see a need, instead of criticizing, help us to lay down our lives and meet it. Lord, deliver Your church of this fault-finding spirit! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

As I reflect back over the last few months, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace and goodness of God and for your faithful partnership through a difficult season and into a new beginning. Our community looks different than it did a year ago. We miss those who have moved on, but we rejoice in the many new families that have joined with us to be a community of mutual caring and outreach to our city and the world. New faces and friends in Children’s Ministry, Jr. Hi., Sr. Hi., CrossWalk Classes, Worship Community, and Mercy and Benevolence Ministries, have joined with long term Heartlanders in continuing to grow and express our life together. We express our values by what we do. Our practices reveal what we truly believe. And more that words and intentions, our practices express our love for God and each other. Feeding the hungry, visiting prisoners, caring for orphans and widows, partnering with the church in the city through Associated Churches, campus ministries, outreach in renewal to Native Americans, and more demonstrate our faith and love. Heartland Church, you are doing well. Heartland is not a religious cliche, but a Kingdom of God initiative. All bills are paid and our missions support continues. Thank you. As we have laid a foundation of intercessory prayer, we are seeing more and more the evidence that God answers our prayers for healing, help and revival. You are God’s precious Body and I am honored to be a part of what God wants to do in and through us at Heartland. Even though there are many difficulties before us and even though many have incredible challenges, we are continuing in faith to love God passionately and love each other compassionately. Everyday, I rejoice in the goodness of God’s heart that you all show forth daily. Thank you. Thank God.

Blessings,
Pastor Ron

By Benjamin Sternke

On Sunday I preached on Ephesians 1:1-14, which is an unruly run-on sentence of praise to God for pouring out “every spiritual blessing” on us in Christ.  These first verses of Ephesians ground us in three inter-related realities:

• God’s story
• God’s sovereign grace
• God’s blessings

Being grounded in God’s story means that what God is doing in the world is what is really going on in history. From choosing us before creation all the way through until God brings everything to unity under Christ, God is writing a story that we get in on. We get to join God in the renewal of all things.

Being grounded in God’s grace means that we understand that God is the one who has saved us, and not because of anything we did. He did not do this because we were beautiful or good or talented, but simply because he loved us. God is the actor is almost all the verbs of this passage. We get to “hear” and “believe” – God does everything else.

Being grounded in God’s blessings means that we become increasingly aware of the magnitude of what God has done in Christ. We (right now!) have the spiritual blessings of holiness, adoption, redemption and forgiveness, knowledge of his will, the Holy Spirit as a seal, and the hope of glory that assures us that what God has started, he will finish.

Do we thank God for these things? Or are we content with nice weather or a good parking spot at the mall? Do we live with an understanding of the magnitude of our blessings in Christ?

C.S. Lewis said in a letter once, “if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Are we far too easily pleased? Do we settle for thanking God for nice weather when we could be diving into the depths of our life in Christ to discover what having every spiritual blessing really means?!? Are we selling ourselves short with our polite thank-yous when we ought to be shouting and dancing about the Spirit’s work in our lives?

Last Sunday I spoke on how Mary and Joseph model for us how to receive God’s promise for a better day. They were “favored” by the Lord, which did not end up meaning they got a great parking spot at the mall during Christmas shopping season, but that they sacrificed their personal desires and dreams in order to embrace the strange way that God was bringing his promises to fulfillment. Oftentimes embracing God’s will means that we will need to sacrifice reputation and personal gain in order that others might see the fulfillment of his promises in their lives.

One aspect of Mary’s “yes” to God that we did not spend time discussing on Sunday was the song she sings in response to the whole situation. Traditionally it has been called the “Magificat” after the first word of the song in Latin (“My soul magnifies the Lord…”). The song she sings is a powerful picture of Mary, in the midst of the current struggle, announcing the future glory “ahead of time.” It’s a great example of how we as Christians are to be people who are constantly “getting ahead of ourselves.”

The song itself is found in Luke 1:46-55. Mary has gone to her relative Elizabeth’s house (who will shortly give birth to John the Baptist). Elizabeth’s baby “leaps” in her womb when Mary arrives, and Elizabeth announces a blessing on Mary, who responds by proclaiming a song that has been called “the gospel before the gospel.”

Mary announces that her soul glorifies the Lord because he has done such great things for her. She declares (in the past tense!) that God has knocked tyrants off their thrones and lifted up the humble, that he has filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away empty-handed, that he has remembered Israel and been faithful to the covenant…

This is remarkable partly because none of this had “actually” happened yet. We are tempted to say, “Whoa, Mary! Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself there? Perhaps we should cautiously say (in not so loud a voice) that we really really hope God will do these wonderful things in the future.”

But that’s not what Mary does. She recklessly announces the gospel even before it’s happened. In the midst of her own struggle (teenage pregnancy, shame and misunderstanding from most people) she announces that God has done great things for her. In the midst of Israel’s occupation by a pagan empire, she announces that God has already knocked the arrogant tyrants off their thrones and lifted up the humble poor. She gets way ahead of herself!

But that’s actually how God seems to work. We get in on his work by declaring “ahead of time” what God will do, as if he’d already done it! We can declare with confidence what is to come because we know that life has won the decisive victory over death. In the face of trials, temptations, suffering, and hardship, we can confidently announce the year of the Lord’s favor. In the face of a world filled with violence and war, we can announce “Peace on Earth!” In the face of sickness and disease, we can announce healing for the nations. In the face of poverty and a looming economic crisis, we can announce the provision of God while acting generously with the resources we have.

And this is not some kind of “whistling in the dark” where we turn a blind eye to the real problems of our world. We joyfully announce God’s reign not to ignore the horrors of the world, but in order to declare that the horror will not have the last word, that God will bring his peace and justice and establish his kingdom on earth.

In the meantime, it isn’t necessarily our job to save the world or make sure we eradicate poverty or heal everyone. Our job is simply to announce God’s reign, and act, as a community, in ways that make sense in a world where God reigns. This means we’ll continue to feed the hungry and provide for the poor, as well as preach and celebrate the gospel together, because that is congruent with what we are announcing, that we really are “getting ahead of ourselves,” by following our Lord Jesus in (in the words of Isaiah 61):

proclaiming good news to the poor.
binding up the brokenhearted
proclaiming freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

proclaiming the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
comforting all who mourn,

providing for those who grieve in Zion -
bestowing on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.

In January of 1982 John Wimber (founder of the Association of Vineyard Churches) began to teach a class at Fuller Theological Seminary called MC510: Signs and Wonders. I was in attendance for this class, which was held in the basement of a church because of the large number of students, faculty, staff, and others who were curious about whether or not spiritual gifts were for today and God still was in the business of doing signs and wonders in answer to the prayer of faith.

John taught for over an hour on the Kingdom of God. He taught that no greater reality existed than the authority of God’s rule. John explained that while not everyone was healed, more were healed when we prayed in faith, than when we didn’t. He used the idea that Jesus had inaugurated the in-breaking of God’s reign, but that the Kingdom had not been consummated. That would happen at the second coming of Jesus Christ. So till then we lived between the “already” and the “not yet.” We were to occupy or do “Kingdom business” until He comes again and ends the present age. All Christians were given the delegated authority to do God’s works. He granted gifts, or “gracelets,” for ministry. We all get to do what Jesus did. “As the Father has sent me,” Jesus said, “so I send you” (John 20:21). John illustrated the present predicament by explaining that we lived between “D-Day” and “V-Day” reminding us that when the Allied troops in WWII stormed the beaches of Normandy, the tide of the war had turned, but the war itself wasn’t over until the soldiers marched through the streets of Berlin. Between the invasion and the final victory the Allies were in a “mopping up” operation. So it is with us today. The enemy had been defeated, but we still battle until the war is consummated.

Wimber then said it was time to do “lab.” He shared several “words” that he felt God had given him. He said things like, “Someone here has a pain in their lower left side and God wants to heal you tonight.” Or, “Someone has just suffered a major betrayal, and God wants to deliver you from your pain right now.” After several words like this, John asked people to identify themselves if one of the words were for them. He then very naturally began to pray for the first few. He said he went through a ministry interview in his mind. It went something like this. “Where does it hurt? Why does it hurt? Was this caused by an illness or an accident or perhaps a sin? What prayer do I pray? What is happening while I pray? Were people engaging with God? Were people experiencing any phenomena in their bodies? Did they feel heat, or heaviness, or peace, or anything at all? Then, When do I quit praying? When people were healed or there was a release from the Holy Spirit. The last question was, Is there any post prayer instruction? Like, Go and sin no more, or, Make restitution as you can.

After minimal instruction John moved us into an experimental mode and then had people all over the room pray for each other. He said to expect God to prompt us with words for people and to go slow and pay attention to what was happening while we prayed. Soon the level of conversation escalated as people ministered and people were healed. It was really happening. I saw cripples healed and blind eyes opened. Here was a practical illustration that God still was honoring His Word and His saints as they ministered in faith. I was utterly amazed. Here were ordinary evangelical Christians taking the Bible at face value and seeing God move in amazing ways. This is what I wanted to do the rest of my ministry for the rest of my life. And we have never really left that commitment even though there certainly has been an ebb and flow in the moving of the Holy Spirit over the years.

What I am going to share in my seminar this weekend (Friday, 6-9pm and Saturday, 9am-Noon) is from my MC510 class syllabus. We will be laying a biblical and historical foundation, and practicing in “lab” the exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As John used to say to us, “Learning to live naturally supernaturally.” God wants us to live a 24/7 lifestyle of operating in the superior reality of the Kingdom of God. We all get to play. So for those who are wondering about how to get on the ministry team at Heartland Church, or who need a refresher getting back to the fundamentals of ministry in our church, or even for those who have let skepticism creep back into their lives, this seminar is for you.

This Saturday, November 1st, is All Saints’ Day. It’s a day for Christians to remember and celebrate those saints and martyrs who have gone before us in the faith. It’s kind of like the “Memorial Day” of the church – we celebrate the faithfulness of those who have died in Christ and who are now part of the “great cloud of witnesses” who cheer us on as we run our race.

The idea and practice of remembering and commemorating the dead in Christ goes at least as far back as 270 AD, and there are numerous references to these kinds of feasts in the writings of the early church. At Christ Community we’re going to celebrate All Saints on Sunday at our 5pm worship gathering. I want to invite you to participate in it, and I’ll say more about what we’re planning below, but first, some of you may be wondering: Why celebrate this feast? Why spend time thinking about these dead people?

Because they have something to teach us.
It can be far too easy for us as modern Christians to fall victim to what C.S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery,” where we assume that what is newer (living people) is by nature superior to what is older (dead people). We like new things, and sometimes we’re tempted to dismiss out of hand anything that’s “out-dated” or “traditional.” But G.K. Chesterton once provocatively (and humorously) asked why we should deny our ancestors the right to vote just because they happened to be dead. He called tradition “the democracy of the dead,” where we allow those who have passed on to continue to have a voice of influence in how we do things.

Many of the Christian saints and martyrs who have gone before us have an immense amount to teach and show us about faithfulness to Christ, courage in the face of fear, perseverance in the face of adversity, humility, servanthood, joy and love. And not just the “biggies,” like Mother Teresa, St. Francis, St. Benedict, Martin Luther, and the like. It’s also those that we know, those who touched and impacted our lives. Our loved ones who have died in Christ can continue to teach us if we allow them a place in our thoughts and prayers. We can remember the lives of the departed and commit our lives to following in their faithful footsteps.

Because they are alive and part of the Body of Christ, just like us.
Strictly speaking, those who are dead in Christ are just as much the church as we are. Death is a thin wall, really. Scripture says we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.” This isn’t just a nice way of talking, it’s a reality; we are surrounded. If you’ve ever gotten the sense you’re being watched, you are! And sometimes if you get quiet enough, maybe you can hear what sounds like the faint sound of a crowd roaring… it might be the echo of the voices of millions of saints and martyrs who are cheering us on.

Because we will be (re)united with them at the resurrection of the dead.
Although it doesn’t erase the grief and pain of experiencing the death of someone you love, the really good news is that, in Christ, partings are always temporary. We have a risen Savior who guarantees that we too will rise from the dead and enjoy new life in the new creation. Part of the joy of the resurrection will be being united with our loved ones who have died in Christ. The comforting truth is that we will see them again, and it’ll be the best family reunion in history.

In addition to thinking about saints who have gone before us, All Saints Day is a great day to remember the persecuted church.

So this Sunday (Nov 2) Christ Community will be celebrating All Saints Day by hearing several people give 3-5 minute “mini-biographies” of saints, martyrs, or a group of currently persecuted Christians that they find especially inspiring. If you have a saint you’d like to talk about, email me (ben [at] christcommunityfw [dot] org) to see if there’s space left, because you’d be welcome to join us! I want to hear from as many different people as possible. If you’d simply like to come and hear about a few saints and worship with us, that would be wonderful, too.

We’ll respond in the Eucharist together, and by singing Graham Kendrick’s song “How Long?”, which reminds us that we are united in one Body not just with the faithful dead, but with Christians all over the world, many of whom are experiencing terrible trouble because of their faithfulness to Christ. Here’s a few lines from the song:

Lord, help us to live worthy of
Our sisters and our brothers
Who love you more than their own lives
Who worship as they suffer
To embrace the scandal of the cross
Not ashamed to tell your story
To count all earthly gain as loss
To know you and your glory

How long, Lord, till you come?
How long till the earth is filled with your song?
How long until your justice shines like the sun?
How long, Lord till you come?
How long, how long?

On All Saints’ Day we remember the fact that Christianity is a corporate faith, that we participate in a communal salvation, that God’s kingdom creates a diverse yet unified community. We need one another, and we need the example of the saints in history, because we often don’t know what faithfulness looks like until we see it with skin on. We often don’t know how to follow Jesus until we see another human being doing it. When we remember the saints, we see what faithfulness looks like, and we pray that their faithfulness would become ours, and that we could pass on the faith to others as we have received it.

A review of the movie FIREPROOF, from Ron Allen…

Fireproof was a surprisingly good movie. For a low budget movie conceived and made out of a southern evangelical church, this movie has real impact, with real excellence and competes with the “big boys” in movie theaters all across the country.

The story line will resonate with most married couples: a young couple several years into their marriage are faced with issues of increasing emotional and relational distance in their marriage. They are frustrated by their inability to connect in a meaningful way.

Without giving away too much of the story line, the balance of the movie portrays in laughter and tears the journey back to love and intimacy. Carolyn and I wish we could have seen this movie about 5 years into our marriage. It is not only very entertaining and well-acted, but able to really “teach” while telling the story. I wish we could have every adult in our church see this movie. Especially for those going to Chip and Colleen’s workshop this weekend, this movie would be very helpful.

As a pastor, every once in a while there is a book and a movie that I would like everyone to avail themselves of. This movie is one of those.