The Welcome

Last Sunday with Fenway Church, we looked at 3 priorities to embrace for the new year. You can listen to that message here. There is one more vital priority that I want us to embrace each Sunday and in our lives - the welcome.

The Welcome - Luke 10:20-24

And he (the prodigal son) arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And... said to his servants, "Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate."

The son was a long way off, wearing tattered, smelly clothes and ashamed of his past. He was uncertain of what kind of reception he would receive in his condition and with his history. The reception he received was not what he expected.

In this story, Jesus reveals the power of a welcome. The father in the story never needs to say the son is forgiven or accepted - the welcome communicates that; and with this welcome, Jesus portrays what every person should experience when they come "home" to His family (the church).

When people come to church they often hear they are forgiven and accepted, but they don't always experience what that feels like. They are left wondering if what the preacher says is actually true. This should never be experienced in God's church.

How we welcome people into our church gatherings signals to them who God is, what his family is like, and whether they belong in that family. The reception they receive when they walk into church should surprise them as much as it surprised the prodigal son.

What should that welcome look like? Here are some practical steps you can take based on Jesus' story.

1) Look for guests or people who are standing or sitting alone (while he was a long way off the father saw him).

2) Go introduce yourself to those people with warmth and love (he felt compassion and ran and embraced him).

3) Give them your best (bring the best robe). We often want to reserve our time and energy for our friends or the actual worship service. Instead, let's give our energy, time, and best to those who are new or feel isolated in our midst in the following ways:

• Listen to them. 
• Offer to sit next to them. 
• Introduce them to someone else. 
• Make sure they feel connected and welcomed.

4) Clothe and feed those who need it (put shoes on his feet and kill the fattened calf). God may bring and has brought those who are literally in tatters or hungry to our gatherings. Let's be the ones who go get them breakfast and find them a coat to wear.

5) Celebrate their lives (let us celebrate). People's lives are worth celebrating no matter how different they may appear from our own. Let's get to know their interests and stories and find ways to celebrate their decision to visit our church and the life God has given them.

To my awesome Fenway Church family, let's make "the welcome" a top priority this year. As we do, many more will experience the tangible reality of God's grace, forgiveness, and love.

With you on the journey,

David W.

Top Messages from 2012

These are some of the messages/moments from 2012 that have stuck with me the longest throughout the year and have shaped how I think and act and what I meditate on.  It may be worth listening to some of these messages again before we move to far ahead in 2013.  Let's not forget what God has spoken to us.

You can listen or download these messages on our Fenway Church media player.

Living to Finish - Tom Griffith    1/8/12

The Father's Heart - David W.   2/25/12

'You' Is Plural - Jesse Sudirgo    3/4/12

Young Lions - Jeremy Jackson   7/8/12 (definitely listen to the prophetic word at the very end of the recording)

Keep on Keeping On - Casey Marques        10/21/12 (Steadfastness)

Your Greatest Enemy is You - Jan Horjus  10/28/12

Also, my good friend, Charlotte, says every new attendee at Fenway Church should listen to this message.

A Chosen Family - David W.  8/26/12

http://www.fenwaychurch.org/media

Hope for the City (Stories from Tell Week)

Here's a powerful and wonderful account of one of our Community Group's experiences last week for the tell portion of our "Pray, Serve, Tell" theme for the fall.

Our Community Group went out to do the 'Challenging Outreach' one night last week in Boston's busy Prudential Center.The more that I do this outreach, which involves asking people about the biggest challenge they face, the more I am filled with boldness! This is largely because I am so delighted and surprised by people's willingness to open up about the things that matter most to them, even to a complete stranger, and even in academic and largely secular Boston. God is moving in this city!

As we asked people about the biggest challenges they faced, their answers moved us. Here are some of them.

• 'Going to work everyday even though I want to quit' 
• 
  
• 'Overcoming my father's Alzheimers' 
• 
  
• 'Adjusting to life in a new city'
•  
• 'Telling people that I'm adopted.' 

This simple question allows people to honestly share where they are at and opens up the opportunity to pray and be invitational with people. Last week, we prayed with a young Hindu man who was visiting Boston for a conference, invited an Asian couple to church for our Christmas services, and exchanged email addresses with a Buddhist gentleman who has since been in touch to find out more about FenwayChurch! 

Our CG had fun together meeting new people and were thankful for the opportunity to be a part of Tell Week.

To learn more about the Challenging Outreach click here.

Questions About the Holy Spirit

Two questions were asked this week after my message on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. You can listen to that message here: http://www.fenwaychurch.org/media.php?pageID=5

Questions are not surprising!  When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost in Acts 2, people asked questions (see verses 7-13), and Peter them.  In the same way today, when the Holy Spirit moves, questions often arise and they are worth answering.

For anyone but often people who have come from backgrounds where they have not seen supernatural things before, watching or hearing about some of the things that happen when the Spirit comes can make them feel uncertain or uncomfortable.  For example, on Sunday some people cried when experiencing the Holy Spirit. One young man was overcome by the presence of God and fell backwards.  While it is the person of the Holy Spirit that we are seeking, we acknowledge that certain signs and experiences often are associated with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

If you have questions about what you are seeing or hearing, ask your CG leader about it at community group or feel free to email me with questions - dwhill@fenwaychurch.org

For now, let's address the two questions that have already come up.

1) Does baptized with the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit mean the same thing?  Are they interchangeable?

Yes!  Jesus promised the disciples in Acts 1:5 that they would be "baptized with the Holy Spirit... not many days from now."  This promise was fulfilled in Acts 2:4 when the same disciples were "all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues."

In Acts 8:17, people being baptized in the Holy Spirit (which I described in more detail in Sunday's message) was referred to as receiving the Holy Spirit.  All these phrases are referring to the same thing and are used interchangeably in the New Testament.

2) Is it Biblical for everybody to speak in tongues at the same time like Betsy experienced in Zimbabwe?

Good question.  In Acts 2, all 120 people were speaking in tongues at the same time when the Holy Spirit fell upon them so it is certainly not without precedent.

Paul does encourage order when we come together to worship in public as a church.  In those meetings, Paul states that if someone speaks out in tongues he should only do so if someone can interpret it so the whole body can be edified and built up (I Corinthians 14:26-27).

These instructions by Paul point to the purpose of tongues.  Tongues enables a person to pray with their spirit and not just their mind (I Cor 14:14).  Tongues builds up the individual that is praying but not the church unless their is an interpretation (I Cor 14:4).  I have founded praying in tongues to be hugely encouraging and empowering for me in my personal prayer life because of those reasons.

We do need to proceed with wisdom and with Paul's instructions in mind when praying in tongues corporately.  Here's how I attempt to do that.

I would encourage people in our Sunday public worship gatherings that if they pray in tongues they should do so quietly and in a way that will not be heard by others.  Of course if they sense their tongues if for the whole body and there is going to be an interpretation, they should then approach our MCs to see if their is space in the meeting to speak the tongue. This helps keeps order in the service and prevents people who don't know about tongues especially non-believing guests from being confused.

In prayer meetings and other gatherings where guests are not involved, I have found that as in Acts 2, Acts 10, and Acts 19 when the Spirit moves when we gather corporately it can cause many people to erupt in praise and prayer in tongues as Betsy experienced in Zimbabwe.  I have usually found these times empower prayer and build up the body as we all individually feel ourselves being edified by the Spirit.

With that said, we do want to make sure we are explaining what is taking place to those who may not have experienced it before and help them understand and experience these gifts as they desire.

Our Dear American Friends... (A Note from Across the Pond)

I felt this note from a friend from Germany (who is deeply involved in the expansion of God's kingdom in many ways particularly through simple church planting) hit the right note this morning. I need more time to weigh everything that he is saying here, but I sense much of it is from God's heart.  I post it this morning because I believe we need to hear its message and consider this man's conclusions with the election and the state of our nation still fresh in our minds.

David W.

P.s. I would welcome any questions or thoughts in the comments.

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Our dear America – where do you go from here?

Today, Obama has been re‐elected; all the efforts of many Christian leaders, prayer movements, “prophets” and “concerned Americans” who have lobbied, written appeals, articles, books, letters ‐ some have even done films ‐ to warn not to vote for him have come to nothing. Many of them have behaved as if the future of the Kingdom of God is at stake. Well, it is not.

  

Can we, as foreigner who dearly love you as a people, say a few words into this situation? Because it is evident to us that God has a clear plan with your nation. But many don´t seem to see it, and therefore run the danger of fighting the wrong fight, wasting precious time and resources, and even endlessly call upon God to do what he just will not do.

The German weekly Der Spiegel, kind of a German Time Magazine, has a cover picture of Uncle Sam in bed, titled, The American Patient: The decline of a Great Nation. We think this is a prophetic picture. As your friends, we know, acknowledge and admire that America has had a great past. But how will your future look like?

God chastises whom he loves because he knows: pride will come before the fall, and humbleness and brokenness is the only condition he responds to. We personally sense we need to tell you: the destiny of your nation is in God’s hands, not yours. It is not at all about Obama or Romney, it is about God using all the nations in the world according to his global and unchanging plans. Did you ever allow the thought that God in his sovereignty is using Obama like a pawn on his chessboard to humble the US as a nation because he wants to show his grace to a nation gone completely self‐sufficient? A nation that is so full of independence, individualism, nationalism and trusting a greed‐ and fear‐based economy that there may be only one way open to heal it from its idolatry and re‐align itself with the Kingdom of God: a crisis beyond anything that America has ever seen?

In 2008, God has been challenged by a man standing up in public, preaching to the cheers of a huge crowd: “Yes we can!” We watched it; we saw the tears of excitement in the eyes of the people; the statements were received as if coming from the Messiah himself, and the electoral rallies had all the flavor of a religious revival. "Yes, we can" is the exact opposite of the King of kings saying: "Without me, you can do nothing!"

If God is the one who "deposes kings and raises up others" (Dan 2:21), does it really matter what are the names of the current puppets set in place by God that advance both the New World Order and the Kingdom of God? Neither Herod, Pilate nor Cesar were truly important for the development of the Kingdom. That is exactly why Kingdom people do not play in the Second League, but the First, the one that matters. The one that puts the Kingdom first, and everything else ‐ including their own nation ‐ second.

The problem of the current commotion and insecurities arises when even the people that call themselves after God keep confusing the Kingdom of God with the United States of America. And when that happens, especially through Christians with a public voice, then we have truly lost all perspective of the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ and the predictions he has made that will precede his coming.  

America is being publicly humbled by God; and he is going to use Obama – and those after him ‐ to further advance his agenda that will lead all nations to kneel before that one true King Jesus very soon. If any nation wants to become a tower that reaches up to high heaven, it will be humbled by a God who will not share his glory with people relying on their own strength.

America, where do you go from here? What does this mean for you? The future is going to be very, very rough. Your securities will vanish, the economy will go down, the education system will become even worse, the streets more dangerous, the churches even more divided, the youth even more disillusioned – unless there is a true movement that abandons all those idols mentioned above, and radically repents, makes a radical alignment with the King of the Kingdom of God and his constitution, live the Law of Christ in all areas of life, first and foremost in the areas of sex, money, power and how we “do church”. This is a defining moment for you as a nation. You could go down, as the German journalist of ‘Der Spiegel’ predicted. Or, America could be literally re‐invented by Kingdom people who are ready to implode the prevailing myths about Americas greatness, and replace it by God’s greatness (my emphasis - DW). The King has even greater things purposed and would fulfill those purpose IF those who call themselves after Jesus the King, would turn away from their self‐made religion, self‐made churches and religious factions, self‐made visions of success, and their self‐made, harmless God.  

Can we lovingly but urgently call you back at this hour to begin and initiate a movement to reposition and repatriate yourselves into the eternal Kingdom, by submitting yourself not only in theory but also in practical deeds to Jesus the King, starting to obey the King and his liberating decrees in all the areas that count? You might even want to write a declaration of dependence on God and each other, because by idolizing anything else before and over God, you will become illegal aliens in the country that counts, where we all are called to have our home: the Kingdom, the one place where our true citizenship, nationality and allegiance lies (Phil 3:20). This is the only one country that will not be shaken, as it has an unchanging King.  

If there is any way that we can help you in this great challenge and task – we want you to know we will.

Wolfgang and Mercy Simson, Germany

Serve Week @ Fenway Church – The Pleasure of Serving

In the spirit of our desire to engage our communities through prayer, service and telling God’s big story, our community groups (CGs) will be serving their neighborhoods the last week of October. Below is an update and celebration of what we’re up to and why we’re doing it. 

Why We Serve 

Standing in the bright morning sun last Sunday, surrounded by college students from our church and gardeners at the Fenway Victory Gardens, I couldn’t help but think two thoughts – “why did they come?” and “this is so fun!”

A bunch of students (who probably would have preferred to sleep in) got up early on Sunday to serve at the final Community Participation Day at the Fenway Garden Society, kicking off Serve Week at Fenway Church. Rather than hitting the snooze button, they chose to sort through and clean up compost piles, plant daffodil bulbs and build and repair fences (with and for people they didn’t know). And why? My guess is that they want to be more like Jesus, who came as a servant among us (Luke 22:27).

But, I think it’s also because there is a pleasure in serving. When we give freely of our time, energy and talents to others, we experience the same love that our Heavenly Father has for us and gives us unconditionally. When we serve, we act out a quality of kingdom living, characterized by giving freely of ourselves for the benefit of others. Through service, we embody a key component of God’s character and, as God’s children, that is enjoyable and fun! 

How We’re Serving

This week, all of Fenway Church’s community groups are serving the different neighborhoods in which they meet. Here are some of the ways we’ll be serving our neighbors:

• Getting the word out about family and community services by helping Operation Peace distribute their newsletter throughout Fenway businesses and residences
• Offering warmth and love by serving free hot chocolate to residents of Jamaica Plain as they head home from work 
• Completing random acts of kindness for our neighbors in Jamaica Plain, East Boston, Quincy and Roxbury
• Preparing and sharing a meal with people rising out of homelessness
• Partnering with Abundant Grace Church to let residents in Oak Square know about their new location
• Receiving and sorting through bikes with Bikes Not Bombs for parts that will contribute to overseas economic development and programs wherein Boston youth get active, make friendships and are empowered as leaders in their community

Looking at this synopsis, I am amazed at the impact we’re having on the city! Powered by God’s love, we’ll be serving many of Boston’s neighborhoods and, in doing so, enjoying the fun of becoming more like Jesus. 

Prayer Walking

This Fall all of Fenway Church's community groups will be taking specific action steps to engage the communities and neighborhoods they live in through learning how to pray, serve, and tell together.  September's action will be prayer walking.  Below is a how to guide on prayer walking.  Enjoy!

PRAYER WALKING

What is it?

Prayer walking is simply walking through neighborhoods, observing what God is doing and what the needs of the community are, and praying into those things.

Abraham was a man who enjoyed a conversational relationship with God in which they walked and talked through prayer.  Once, God told Abraham, “Look around from where you are… Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you” (Genesis 3:14-17). Like Abraham, we want to walk through our neighborhoods seeking out God’s hopes, purposes and plans for them.

Prayer walking uses the power of observation to understand the areas we live in so that we can more effectively pray for them.  It also gives us an opportunity to imagine and visualize how God might transform the lives of the people in a neighborhood.

This type of prayer moves us beyond our own concerns to praying directly for the needs of our neighbors.  This prayer is called intercession.

How do you do it?[1]

Pray with a Partner/Group. 

• You can prayer walk alone, but prayers are more focused when expressed with a friend. If you go as a larger group, plan to break up into groups of 2-4 so you are not disruptive to the natural flow of the neighborhood.
• Pray audibly for clarity and agreement. It may feel awkward at first, but praying aloud enables us to agree together for things. This is very important because Jesus said agreeing in prayer is vital to its effectiveness. (Matthew 18:19)
• Pray as you walk, but also find locations where you can stop to pray.

Seek to Observe. 

• Invite the Spirit of God to accompany you, guiding your steps and your words.
• Be attentive during moments of silence, allowing the Holy Spirit to help you see with His eyes and pray in accordance with His heart.
• Note the needs and demographics of the community as you walk through it.

Pray with Purpose. 

• Pray for the present-hour needs of people and places that you see.
• Pray God’s Word. You can read scriptures or sing worship songs.
• Sketch a map to focus on select streets, buildings, parks, etc.
• Pray quietly. You can be on the scene without making one. In confidence of God's unfolding purpose which includes your preparation prayer, don't look to initiate gospel conversations during your prayer walk.
• Explain what you are doing to inquirers: "We're praying God's blessing on the neighborhood. Are there specific ways we can pray for you or others?”

Review after.

• Gather your full group and write down the prayers, people, and places that seem most important before you leave or when you arrive back at your meeting place.
• Use these observations to continue to pray for the neighborhood and ask God how your group might serve the needs of the community.

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[1] These guidelines were based on “How to Prayerwalk,” http://www.waymakers.org/prayerwalking/howto.html