What would you say are the top 5 books you would recommend for someone aspiring to plant a church? Similarly, what would you say are the top 5 books for someone to grow theologically?

I have no conditions on what books, I am just trying to build a better library.

My response…

TOP 5 PLANTER BOOKS:

• Driscoll’s Radical Reformission
• Malphurs’ Planting Growing Churches
• Belcher’s Deep Church
• Chan’s Forgotten God
• Keller’s Counterfeit Gods

TOP 5 THEOLOGY BOOKS:

• Elwell’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
• Grudem’s Systematic Theology
• Wright’s The Mission of God
• Frame’s The Doctrine of God
• Pearcey’s Total Truth

Some of these may be a surprise—like my church planting recommended list. There are few books that are worth reading regarding church planting. It’s better to focus on slaying idolatry in our lives and on learning the Holy Spirit…He will teach you how plant a church. It’s about making disciples…not recruiting people.

My 2.5 cents.
Love you Brother.
Your Nashville brother,
Jeremy

• That we would constantly mention our people in our prayers
• That God would make us worthy of our people’s recognition of what kind of men we proved to be for their sake
• That they would become imitators of us and that we would be worthy of imitation
• That their response would be turning from idols to faithfully serve the living and true God
• That we would have boldness in our God to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of conflict, suffering and trials
• That our appeal – would spring NOT from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive – speaking NOT to please man, but to please God, who tests our hearts
• That God would cleanse our words of flattery and greed
• That we would never seek glory from man and that we would become humble stewards of the authority God has given us
• That we would be gentle to our people – like a nursing mother taking care of her own children
• That we would become affectionately desirous for our people – ready to share not only the gospel, but ourselves because of how dear to us our people have become
• That we would labor and toil so not to be a burden to any of our people
• That our conduct would be holy, righteous and blameless towards our people
• That we would love our people like a father does his children – exhorting, encouraging, and charging them, to walk in a manner worthy of God
• That when our people receive the Word of God from us, they would accept it, not as words from men but as the Word of God
• That we would endeavor eagerly to see our people face-to-face
• That when we meet Jesus face-to-face, that our hope and joy and crown and boasting would be our people – those entrusted to us
• That our people would be our glory and joy.

I love the Axis Church.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jeremy

…our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

Here I notice four things regarding the gospel that was delivered by Paul to the church in Thessalonica.

First, their message of the gospel (who Jesus was, is and will be; what Jesus did, does and will do) was delivered in word.
It has been a popular saying now for many years that Christians should always “tell of the love of Jesus but only use words when necessary.” I think this was linked back to Mother Teresa, but regardless, it’s limited in its helpfulness to those who have yet to hear of Jesus Christ.
If we only perform in front of others and simply hope that they “get” Jesus, understand their sinfulness and God’s holiness just by our actions, we are being disobedient. We must share with others the truth of Jesus Christ! If we only do good things for sick people we only make them feel good for a few minutes—at best! We have the cure for the soul-sickness of the world—the gospel of Jesus Christ. Share it! Tell of it—so often! The gospel came to the church in “word.”

Second, their message of the gospel was given in power.
As Christ-Followers, we must have the power of God in our lives—saturating the words we share with others. This was apparently a very distinct power that accompanied the words of the gospel that was shared by Paul and his gospel posse. We must seek the Lord for this power to be with us, in our lives as we share His message of hope to the dying, dark world that we are all called to love and share the gospel with. May we all be found begging God for His distinct power to guide and fill us and our message as we obey Him in sharing it with those around us—whether at work, in our neighborhoods or in our Christian gatherings.

Third, their message of the gospel was given in the Holy Spirit.
This is where it gets crazy! Unless the words we share are packed full of the Holy Spirit, they will not just be power-less, they will be utterly confusing and not at all life-giving. On our own we cannot manufacture this divine influence. We must pray for God to supernaturally deliver the words of the gospel that we share with others to—not just the mind—but to the very center of their heart/soul. When the gospel can penetrate the heart, the person will be convinced. When the gospel merely penetrates the mind, the person will desire more evidence or information. May we each spend much of our day in prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to be involved—empowering—all we do and say!

Fourth, their message of the gospel was given with full conviction.
Here again, we see that as we share the goodness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must have God’s help in the effectiveness of sharing the message. It is only God who can work in the soul of mankind. It is only God that can convince the heart of a dead man to begin to come alive. It is only God who can truly change the heart of man beyond that of simple behavior modification. Our message must ring true to the mind and the heart of our audience. Only God can allow our message of hope in Christ to make sense to the hearers. May we pray much for God to work in the hearts and minds of the people we are led to share the gospel to!

May God do what only He can do as we are busy doing the things that we can do!

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeremy

This morning as I was reading Paul’s first letter to the Church at Thessalonica, I was really challenged by the words he used in his introduction…

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

Paul wanted the Thessalonians to know that he prayed for them often and that he remembered three specific things about them. Here is what intrigued me. Paul didn’t say he remembered their cool music, their free books, their elders dressed in such rad clothing—no. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even say this to the elders in particular, rather he wrote it to the church—the people who made up the family of faith their in Thessalonica.

What Paul remembered was 1) their work of FAITH in Jesus, 2) their labor of LOVE in Jesus, and 3) their steadfast HOPE in Jesus. For some reason this pulls me in to know more.

Paul wasn’t WOW-ed by their love for the neighborhood—though I am sure it was present.
Paul didn’t necessarily remember their great skill in contextualizing the story of Jesus, though I am sure they nailed that.
Paul wasn’t in awe of their tight-nit community—though I am positive it was obvious.

Paul was blown away at how a church could be so in love with Jesus. He couldn’t shake it from his memory at how dependent they were on Jesus. He remembered well how desperate they were for Jesus.

Question for me…When people gather with The Axis Church, do they think that we are desperate for Jesus? Do guests think that our hope is in Jesus—or our trendiness? Are people blown away at how much we love and honor Jesus.

This is what it’s all about. Let’s do our best at making much of Jesus and allowing Him to shine so brightly that WE quickly and easily fade, becoming forgettable, as others remember HIM.

Grace and Peace…Pastor Jeremy

———
In order to witness and spread Jesus we have to have something to stand on. That is the Bible. We stand on that. As long as it is Biblical, we are good. And as long as we don’t run around rewriting scripture, we are good. Yes.

And then there is the part about living a life that reflects Jesus. That is the most important part. Yes—it is considered “obedience” or “holiness” or “godliness.” We are supposed to live what we believe. Yes—our “fruit.” That is how people know us and come to Jesus – not so much by our words but by our works. I believe it is best when we use both—words and “works” or “fruit.” But… it is impossible for us not to sin… right? Correct. And then there is the idea that Jesus considers all sins equal. Correct. All sin is evil in the sight of God. All sin is … sin. All sin is death. Yes—the result of our sin is death; is being banished away from God forever (that is if we never see Jesus as Lord, confess, repent and follow hard after Him). From cursing at another driver to sleeping around to murdering people…Sin has different consequences here on earth but in the sight of God, anything less than perfection or complete holiness is sin, yes.

So how does this work then? How do we live our lives as reflections of Jesus, even though we sin and are imperfect reflections? As Christians 1.) We have been saved, 2.) We are being saved, 3.) We will be saved.

1. We have been saved—justification, being made “right” or perfect before the eyes of God,—this is when God gives us a new heart (changing the heart of stone to a heart of flesh). God forgives our sin—all sin past, present and future. There remains two “natures.” The capacity of sin is still very real and active; we are still very much capable of sinning.
   At this point we have two natures…
   a.) Our “old man”, “self” “sin nature”
   b.) Our “new man”, “spirit”, our “new nature”
2. We are being saved—sanctification, or our pursuit of looking more like the original image of God (the imago dei) which is considered to many today to be our “pursuit of holiness.” This is the war raging within our bodies—the fight between sin and obedience; the struggle between “right” and “wrong”; killing the “flesh” and living in the Spirit.
3. We will be saved—glorification, or being made “completely perfect”—all physically, emotionally, socially, relationally, spiritually, etc.—this is when our sin nature is totally removed—the capacity of sin is no longer present; we will then be incapable of sinning.

How do we witness to people even though we sin? Our lives should reflect a deeper way of life—meaning that we should be more conscious of those around us, forgiving others, offering grace when we normally would have been very judgmental, etc. Our new life as a Christ-Follower is marked by humility, peace and love—both to the outside world and within our own lives. When we sin (we will sin), we confess (to others and to God) and repent (seek to obey the Spirit rather than the flesh)—then we see and believe that God has forgiven us because of Christ’s work for us on the cross. This brings peace. This is such a comfort. When others sin (the “unregenerate” or “lost” or “unsaved”) they will eventually experience an uneasiness with their inner being, within their souls (this “soul” is what distinguishes us from other animals on the earth) that will further lead to restlessness, bitterness, anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, and so forth. As believers, we sin but we no longer see ourselves as carrying the burden—for Christ has liberated us, He has freed us from the dominion, control and power of sin—ultimately sin itself.

When we confess, we must confess to our God in Trinity (our Triune God):

• Confess to God the Father: He has forgiven us yet we still sin. We must realize that we have offended Him.
• Confess to God the Son: Acknowledge your sin before Him and thank Him for dying for you so that God could forgive you.
• Confess to God the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is “quenched” or limited when we sin—it is as if we say to Him that His “leading us” (pushing us to obedience) was not near as important or worthy as obeying and going along with our sin nature, our flesh. We must welcome Him to consume everything in us and to pull us to better obedience as we seek to see the sin in our lives killed. It is the Spirit that awakens our heart (awareness) to our sin—He reveals the sin in our lives so that we can seek forgiveness for it.
  Unconfessed sin will fester if left that way. It will lead to “spiritual-soul-rot.”

And how do we love on people when our witness is damaged by the evidence of our sins? Again, we seek forgiveness—when you otherwise could have cared but only very little. Now there is a deep concern when others are hurt because of you—even when they do not acknowledge that is a big deal. They see you living in emotional freedom—you are never beating yourself up for things done and confessed because you see them as gone because of what Christ has accomplished for you. Is that why some people can reach certain types and not others? I suppose this may be true. I wouldn’t think that you could build a strong case for this—personally.
Why this dude over here can bring druggies to Christ but this guy over here can’t even get them to talk to him? Perhaps it’s more the Spirit of God at work and less of a particular dude being “different” or appearing “cleaner.” Again, I wouldn’t try building a case here.

It is happening – already people are deriding my choices as I start to slowly come out of my hidden Christian closet. Unfortunately they will continue to do so. The evil (Satan) does not like you being redeemed. He feels as if you were stolen and now he wants to ruin you. Here’s the good news—1) you have been stolen, 2) there is nothing he can ultimately do about that and 3) he cannot ruin you.
You now belong to Jesus. When the opposition gets worse, know that it is a spiritual battle that the Lord can handle for you. He fights for His people! Fight with prayer—calling on our most powerful God to come to your rescue. He will. Also, in moments of intense deriding, please learn to rely on your Christian community. We are to work with one another—helping each other through spiritual battles.

And still I sin and have to repent – every single day. Your repentance is beautiful. You are living in the Spirit. You cannot live comfortably in your sin anymore. That is a testimony of the very Spirit of God within you! So I’m confused and trying to fit the pieces together. ‘Cause I need to be able to stand up and defend my Jesus. Rather, your Jesus will stand up and defend you. He will fight for YOU. Your life of repentance will show all the power of Jesus. Right now I’m totally a Peter – “Jesus Who? I don’t know any Jesus.” And I am NOT going to be allowed to sit at His feet and rest if I keep that up. Jesus is at work in your life. The Holy Spirit is at work in your life. You do not need to live in the fear of not “sitting at the feet of Jesus”—as a believer you are already there. As a believer there is no more condemnation because of Christ’s work for us on the cross.

What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact, which underlies it — the fact that He knows me. I am graven on the palms of His hands. I am never out of His mind. All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me. I know Him, because He first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me, and there is no moment when His eye is off me, or His attention distracted from me, and no moment therefore, when His care falters.
This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort — the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates — in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love, and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me. There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow men do not see (and am I glad!), and that He sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which in all conscience, is enough).
There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, He wants me as His friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given His Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
(from J.I. Packer’s 1993 Knowing God, pg 41-41)

You are such an encouragement. It is a joy to know that you can ask me these things. It is even a greater joy when I feel that God gives me the words to comfort your soul as one of your spiritual shepherds.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jeremy

Bi-Centennial Park

Today I Sabbath-ed (rested for spiritual and physical renewal/commandment #4) in the city of Nashville.
I woke up late—intentionally—got ready for the day and then simply began driving around my city—the city that God has called us to.

I was really unsure where my drive would take me. At first I was going to grab something to eat in East Nashville but turned around instead. I found myself back in the center of the city. I decided to grab an apple from the Farmer’s Market.

As I looked for a parking place for my Suburban, I drove past a homeless man who was drying himself out after yesterday’s rain. He was barefooted—socks and shoes were drying on the bench. I parked and grabbed the cash I had ($4) and a bottle of water. For some reason I knew that I was going to talk with this man. For some very strange reason I knew that I was to give him $4 and a bottle of water.

I walked over to him and he said “Hello.” He was just finishing up his lunch of saltine crackers and sardines. I said, “Hey, how are you?” He said, “I am ok.” I said, “Sir, I am to give you $4 and a bottle of water.” He looked me in the eyes and started singing—in a deep, passionate and clear African-American tone, “Jesus Christ you love me. Jesus Christ you take care of me. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

I was taken back a bit. He said, “Thank you sir.” I said, “Do you mind if I sit with you for a few minutes?” He said, “Please do.” I asked, “What’s your name?” He answered, “I am the 51 year old Edward Holmes. And you?” I said, “My name is Jeremy Rose.”

Come to find out he is from the Upstate of South Carolina. He moved to Nashville in 1984. He thought he was going to move to Washington, D.C. but upon purchasing the bus ticket he didn’t feel right about it so he asked the Greyhound employee where she thought he should go and she said, “Why not Nashville?” The rest is history.

He has been homeless for over 8 yrs now. At one time he had a home, two jobs and a car. Today he carries very little. I intended to share with him some joy and practical help—instead, Mr. Holmes served my soul. He preached the pure gospel to me, as I have never heard it. Mr. Holmes said, “Mr. Rose, God can handle your needs. He knows exactly what you are looking for. Do not be afraid. Even though the enemy encompasses around you, do not be afraid. Jesus loves you—what else do you need to know to do what it is that God has called you to do? Do not fear man. When their faces are in your nightmares and you are scared of what man can do, rejoice in Christ alone. He can handle it.”

The park where I met Mr. Holmes

He continued, “Sir, you do not have to feel sorry for me. I am homeless for the glory of God. My homelessness is a gift from God.”
I thought to myself, “Dang. This guy is a rock of the gospel.”
He said, “If I weren’t homeless I would not know that God could provide the way I have seen Him provide over these last eight years. If I weren’t homeless, how could I share about Jesus to the needy homeless people in Nashville? They all come to me to tell me their problems. They think I am crazy because I am always happy, but I’m not crazy in the head, I’m crazy in the heart. Jesus loves me and I just cant get over it. Job and Jeremiah are men that inspire me. They trusted Jesus. Hey, that’s a sermon, The JJ’s!
You know, I have seen Jesus as good both when I had anything and now when I have almost nothing.”

I do not have the words to say nor the time to say them to accurately give you a description of my soul after my hour and a half Mr. Edward Holmes. He blessed me. His BIG smile and genuine eyes, man…God sent him to minister to me today. On my Sabbath, God sent Mr. Holmes to teach me the gospel.

He said, “Mr. Rose, I have thoroughly enjoyed our time together today. You are a man who knows much and cares deeply. Thank you for ministering to me.” WHAT? Seriously? He ministered to me. I asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?” His answer, “You already have done so much. Thanks for asking.”

I hope that Mr. Holmes (or as he puts it, “just plain ‘Edward’”) gathers with us on Sunday as we gather as The Axis Church. I am sure that he would be the most honored guest in the gymnasium on Sunday if he can make it.

Take time to listen to those around you. You could be missing out on so much.

Now, time for me to finally eat my apple. 

Little Red Tractor from South Georgia Church of God on Vimeo.

The growing Christian has a “busy shovel” and uses it to dig deep into God’s Truth.
It is such a THRILL to not sit back in apathy and take the Word flippantly, but to aggressively seek to plummet the depths of God’s wondrous mind and heart that are found in His Word.

Go for it!
Don’t settle!!!

This is what true life is about.
Read the Word with aggression.
Read the Word with passion.
Read the Word panting for breath and with sweat on your brow.
Work for the deep truths of Scripture.

Oh man, when you do this…the Word becomes magnificent—so NOT boring! You begin to read it not only with better clarity but in full color—with grandeur. I pray that the Holy Spirit pulls your soul to the depths of His Word during your study of it.

Go for it…start TODAY!

• Tim Keller’s Church Planting Manual
• Packer’s Knowing God
• Stott’s The Cross of Christ
• The Tangible Kingdom

I read daily from each of these:

• The Bible…I am reading and journaling through the Bible this year. I will give away this particular Bible to one of my children in a few years as a unique gift.
• Thomas Watson’s Glorifying God
• Banner of Truth’s Voices from the Past
• The Valley of Vision
• It may sound odd but I also read a few pages from The Book of Common Prayer each day. This helps me think through our liturgy for our gatherings. You can easily change up the vocabulary and theology (I strongly suggest doing both) for your own uses.



His passions? The man in the picture above loves Jesus. He is a student of the Bible, and has been since he was saved by the grace of God while at Appalachian State University back in the early 70’s. He lives each day to gain more insight into the heart of God. He lives each day to fight sin well and to glorify God much.

He loves my mother, Nedra. Never in my 30+ yrs of life have I seen any man love a woman the way my dad loves my mom. The only close second would be my grandfather (my dad’s dad), and the way he esteems my grandmother.

He loves his family. Everything my dad did in life–whether it be mowing the yard, going to the store, kicking a football miles into the sky–he did it with us. He has carried this into his relationship with my three kids, his grandkids. He When we get together it is as if I have four kids! He is such a family guy.

He loves good food and great fun. When trying to explain the personality of my father, I often will say that he is a man who laughs with his whole life. You are not with him for long until he lets out a jolly laugh that fills the room. Then you find yourself in laughter yourself! Also, each time he sits down to eat a meal (whether in Togo, India, Peru, or the U.S.), he will assure you that that particular meal is the “best I’ve ever eaten! EVER!!” That’s my dad.  

The bottom line about this guys is that your are not with him for more than five minutes before he talks about Jesus Christ, Nedra Rose or his family. It is far from rare that he is moved to tears when talking about the aforementioned.

His love for me? I love this man because he loves me. I never, NEVER remember him ever belittling me or making me feel insignificant. My dad views every failure of mine (there have been many) as an opportunity to love me and encourage me in spite of my failure.

Even in times of discipline (there were many), he would say with tears in his eyes “Son, daddy loves you. I love you enough to tell you the truth. I love you enough to care how you live life. I am only doing this because I can’t help but love you. You are my son.”
Also he would say, “Jeremy, there is nothing you could ever do that would ever make me love you anymore than I do right now. Son, there is nothing you could ever do that would ever make me stop loving you or begin loving you any less than I do right now.”

It is easier for me to understand the love of God because I have Bubba Rose as my father. I pray that my children will be able to say the same thing for me.

The above mentioned isn’t necessarily just because my dad tried really hard to do this or to become that. The only reason my dad is the way he is is because of the grace of God. My dad constantly seeks to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ more clearly and deeply. As a result of the hunger for God that God Himself has placed in my father, my father is who he is. He is reliant upon the Holy Spirit to teach him how to act and why. Jesus has made a difference in my dad and as a result he has made a difference in me.

I love this man. Thank you, Jesus. Thanks dad.

photo courtesy of LuAnn Hunt Photography