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EPISODE NOTES
In this episode of The Transforming the Church Podcast, we have one driving question: Should we even exist if our community doesn’t change?
Join Dr. Derwin L. Gray as he shares his stories on cultivating communities that bless those around them through the driving question. He boils it down to 4 Key Characteristics of churches that positively impact their cities.
Tune in and learn more about it with us!
Do you desire to see your church make a lasting impact on the community? I will be sharing the key to creating a Jesus-centered church that transforms its influence on the local area. You can achieve a church that leaves a lasting imprint on the community by implementing the solution I will provide. With this approach, your church can become a powerful force for positive change in the community.
In this episode, you will be able to:
- Understand the profound impact of church blessings on the local community.
- Embrace the essential characteristics of a Jesus-centered church to foster positive change in the community.
- Discover the transformative power of a Gospel-shaped church on its surrounding community.
- Learn how a mission-driven church can lead to tangible community transformation.
- Harness the potential of a prayer-empowered church to drive impactful community outreach.
SHOW TRANSCRIPTION
00:00:02
When my wife and I, Vicki, co-founded Transformation Church, one of our non- negotiables was this. If our community did not get better, we should not exist. If our community does not get better, we should not exist. Or to put it another way, if we did not exist in our community after a few years, and if we were no longer there, would we actually be missed? So what I’m saying is we wanted to plant a church that blessed our community, that if we were present, God’s presence was there and people’s lives got better, the community got better.
00:00:43
And if we didn’t exist, people would demand that we stay because we have made such a difference. And the only way that can happen is if we are rooted and grounded in the deep love of Christ. If we are standing tall, by being on our knees, you will never be taller than when you are on your knees. And we are soaked and saturated in prayer asking for Jesus to manifest Himself through us individually and corporately. So what I want to do right now, ministry leaders, is I want to invite you into having what’s called mythical imagination.
00:01:22
Mythical imagination. What would it look like if the Holy Spirit filled and overflowed you and the staff you lead and your key leaders and volunteers in your congregation? What would that look like? How would the community actually be different? So I want to talk to you about four characteristics of a local church that blesses their community.
00:01:46
Four characteristics of a local church that blesses their community. Now I want to put my cards on the table. You cannot lead someone where you have not gone. You cannot make someone passionate about something that does not pulsate in your being, because what you’re passionate about, you want others to be passionate about. This teaching, this communication is dual.
00:02:14
It’s not only individual, but then it’s transferable. Because ultimately, as the leader or leaders, you’re going to transfer your passion, what you embody. And so it’s important that we are resting and embodying something that’s going to anchor us in the truth. And the truth is Jesus. He’s the way, the truth and the life.
00:02:37
So what are the four characteristics of a church that blesses their community? Number one, this is going to seem obvious, but it’s really not. Number one, it is Jesus centered. So let me pause here. It is not centered upon vaccinations.
00:02:51
It is not centered upon politics. It is not centered upon anything other than the risen Lord Jesus Christ. King Jesus is Lord over all. He touches every single aspect of life, every square inch of the universe belongs to Him. So when I say Jesus centered.
00:03:21
I don’t mean just this private, individual faith, that there’s a transaction where you receive forgiveness and you don’t go to hell, but then the rest of your life is you really want Him to bless what you do, instead of saying, God, bless me to be a blessing, so that Your name, Your renown, Your kingdom will come to earth as it is in heaven. So, we want to be Jesus-centered. That’s number one. The one place that people should come to, the one community that people can belong to, where they get an overdose of Jesus is His very own church. Let me challenge you with this, particularly if you are a preacher or if you communicate and teach.
00:04:04
Being practical is really important. But sometimes we’re so practical, we practically preach Jesus out of the message. And never forget, theology is practical. So number one, the first characteristics of a church that blesses their community is Jesus centered, which means we as leaders must be Jesus centered. Listen to the words of the apostle Paul.
00:04:29
He’s writing to the church at Colossae. It’s a multiethnic church. He’s dealing with division between Jews and Gentiles. He’s also dealing with people walking in the flesh and not bearing witness to the Grace of God. He’s also dealing with false teachers.
00:04:48
And so what does He do? He roots them in the person of Jesus. Now, this may seem obvious, but what I’m seeing more and more and more is not an articulation of Jesus, but a use of Jesus. Like Jesus has become like a divine life coach that helps people achieve their dreams and their goals. Instead of Jesus being Lord God, king, the gracious one, the faithful one, who invites us into His story for His glory, who equips us to be His hands and feet in the world, His body.
00:05:24
So check out what the apostle Paul says here about Jesus. Now, ministry leaders, get this in your heart. He says He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. In the Greek language, firstborn is not talking about Jesus being born as a human being to marry through the power of the Holy Spirit. Firstborn is talking about His preeminence over all of creation with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.
00:05:54
This is a sneak peek into the beautiful mystery of the tri personality of God. But notice the reverence that Paul has here for Jesus. He doesn’t talk about Jesus as his homeboy. He talks about Jesus as the image of the invisible God. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus, because Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
00:06:21
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. If you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus. Because Jesus is the human face of what the invisible God looks like. In Jesus, in the incarnation, we see what human beings were meant to be, and we see the very face of God.
00:06:40
Hey, those of you who preach and teach, and when you lead, do your people know that you are preoccupied with Jesus, that the sweetness of His presence is what you long for? I hope that they do. Don’t be a ministry professional. Be a worshiper. Next, it says, for everything was created by Him.
00:07:02
So that’s His divinity in heaven, on earth, the visible and the invisible, where the thrones or dominions are rulers or authority. So Paul is saying, even the demonic world, the different levels of demons and the different levels of angels, everything was created by Jesus. Let me pause here. Just a little preaching point here. If King Jesus is the Creator of everything, don’t you think He can create in you the capacity to lead, the capacity to serve, the capacity to teach, the capacity to preach, the capacity to be the leader that he’s called you to be?
00:07:41
Believe His voice more than the voice of doubt. Verse 17. He’s before all things. This is speaking of His eternality, that there was never, not a moment that the Father, the Son did not exist. God has always been, always will be.
00:07:57
He’s the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning, the end, the first and the last. He didn’t have a yesterday. He doesn’t have a tomorrow. He lives in the eternal now. The moment that you were born and that the dinosaurs lived and the moment I die is right now to our sovereign eternal King Jesus.
00:08:16
And He holds all things together. Think about this. The nail pierced the hands of Jesus. Right now, he’s at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. Those same nail pierced hands hold you together also right now.
00:08:36
Leaders, I know you’re overwhelmed. I know you feel like I can’t do this. I know you feel like you’re underqualified. While I got good news, all of us are underqualified. He qualifies whom He calls, and He holds us together.
00:08:51
His blood is the cosmic glue that holds you together. He holds all things together. Now watch the pivot of the apostle Paul here, verse 19. He is also the head of the body. The Church.
