The New Testament uses a variety of terms to express our transformed life in Jesus. Jesus talks to Nicodemus about being “born again” or “born from above.” Paul tells the Colossian church that it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27 ESV). Paul describes this life in Jesus in several ways. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) he declares, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Being “joined to the Lord” is another phrase that the apostle Paul uses.
Being in Christ gives us a new life and a new identity; we leave behind former ways of behaving and self-identifying. We are now becoming the people we were initially created to be—people in Christ, bearing the image of God, no longer bearing a false or broken image.
The apostle Paul provides a sample list of these types of former behaviors. Not so much as a “checklist,” but as a reminder of the ungodly, unrighteous activity we leave behind. After all, grace teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness (Titus 2:12).
In Paul’s letter to Corinth, he said:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV)
And the key to Paul’s point is found in the next verse:
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV)
Paul reminds the church of who they were apart from Christ. He does this to break down their division and pride, but even more importantly, to help them regain their new and true identity in Christ and to refocus on their kingdom of heaven citizenship.
We all get called out in this list in one way or another. The great common denominator all Christians share is that before coming to Christ, we were outside of his kingdom – outside of a participatory relationship with our triune God—because of our sin. None of us were living according to our true, original, God-intended identity.
This Corinthian passage often gets singled out to show how the church is known for its views on homosexuality. However, let’s not miss the bigger context here; it is not just sexual activity that is called out. Paul shows us how sexual immorality in general as well as greed and swindling are symptomatic of a false identity (and this certainly isn’t a complete list of such behavior). To be part of God’s kingdom, we need to live according to the identity we have in Christ. We are to no longer be defined and controlled by our past, present, or future sin, whether that is seen in sexual struggle, idolatry, or greed. All those things are poor and false substitutes for what is offered to us in Christ.
How do we treat people who are struggling with these various temptations? How do we share God’s love without implying an endorsement of sinful behavior? How do we help people see the real issue is about our true identity—living in Christ, knowing him, and knowing he knows and loves us.? Can we be pastoral in our care?
First, we must admit that even though we are in Christ, we are also in the flesh; we all deal with temptation in various ways. In his letter to believers in Rome, Paul says that as believers, we aren’t ruled by these temptations, yet the temptations still nip at our heels. When considering the sins Paul listed, we need to delineate between temptation (the lure or attraction involved in sin) and response to temptation—behavior. Temptation, the attraction which leads to sin, is not the problem. It’s the wrong behavioral response to temptation that is the problem. This is true for all of us, whatever sinful temptation we experience. Jesus said that we must deal with the plank in our eye before we call out the speck in our neighbor’s eye. In Peter’s letter, he says that we should engage people in humility and with respect. That’s good and sound advice to heed.
Second, Jesus died for all. Therefore, we don’t look at others as outside the atonement of Lord Jesus. All are included in the love, grace, and life of our triune God. We who have received the transforming love of Jesus are outfitted to align with the two great commandments—loving God with our hearts, minds and souls and loving our neighbor as ourselves—and the new commandment Jesus gave us – to love others as he loves us. This means treating others, no matter their sin struggle or their false identity, with grace, respect, care, compassion, and hope.
What posture do we take as church communities in receiving and discipling people who are showing interest in Christianity, yet are still entangled in sinful behavior and false identities?
As stated earlier, we must first see people as children of God under the atonement of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we should always display an environment of welcoming and care. We can seek to understand the struggles people deal with, as best as we are able, and not rely on misinformation or prejudice. Our central message and our actions consistently point to who Jesus is and who we are in relationship to him. We rely on the Spirit to guide the new person toward convictions about sin and righteousness in their individual life, according to a timing that only he regulates. If we, as a group of mature believers, can do this, we provide a safe space where people with all types of struggles can find their identity and belonging in Christ Jesus. We share with them a life journey of forsaking sin and growing in our relationship with Jesus in the true identity he gives them. This is a picture of the church being the church, and this is how we live out the slogan “All Are Included.”
We have GCI churches all around the world, in many different cultures, facing different societal pressures regarding sin issues. Let’s all be true to the gospel of Jesus by focusing on Jesus and our identity in him. This enables us to give answers and counsel to people’s struggles and sin issues.
Even as we have doctrinal unity outlined in our GCI Statement of Belief, the understanding and application of how we show care has some variance around matters of indifference and depth of understanding in various cultures around the world. This is no surprise to Jesus as he remains the faithful Head of the church. Some congregations, for various reasons, may be more effective in ministering to people experiencing various identity issues. In every case, however, the consistency we hope for in GCI is that we faithfully point all people to Jesus, over and above any social agenda or false identity. As we participate in a wide variety of relationships, we trust the Holy Spirit to actively accomplish the transformational work that only he can do.
The takeaway is this. Christ-centeredness and Holy Spirit dependence is how we operate as healthy churches. Because of Christ’s saving grace, we have a new identity. The sense of our belonging, significance, purpose, security, and destiny is realized in the true self found in Jesus. This union with Christ is the highest prize for which we lay all other things aside. We are justified in Christ by being forgiven and made righteous in his sight. For the rest of our lives, we live into that new identity as we are sanctified more and more, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Savior. We are a born-again, Spirit-filled work in progress, pointing others to the same Jesus and the same journey.
In Him,
Greg Williams
Devotional—As We Go
Editor’s Note: For our Ordinary Time Devotional series, you will be hearing entirely from young authors. They will be sharing their perspectives on the theme, “God is in the streets.” Enjoy reading how the next generation of emerging GCI leaders experiences God outside the walls of the Sunday church gathering.
The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” John 4:9-10 NRSV
If Jesus only held Sunday service, the Samaritan woman in John 4 would not have encountered him on her daily routine of drawing water from the well. Jesus spread his love and his message almost exclusively to those marginalized by society, like the Samaritans were. Those marginalized—almost by definition—didn’t gather in the temples, in the city centers, or in public.
Jesus made it clear. If you practiced religion exclusively in the traditional religious gathering spaces, you were absent from most of the miracles Jesus was performing and the message of love he was spreading.
How then, after more than 2,000 years, have we come to act as if Sunday worship is the highest form of spiritual expression? It seems as though we have learned no lessons from our past. Jesus says “go,” but we’ve stayed put for many years.
Prayer:
Lord, help us reach those marginalized by our society.
Help us reach those experiencing homelessness—giving them spare change so they may get through another day.
Help us reach those struggling with their faith in humanity—giving people the benefit of the doubt whenever they ask for help.
Help us reach those experiencing loneliness—taking time out of our day to make conversation with our families, neighbors, and coworkers.
Help us “go” and be like you. Amen.
By Jesús Molina
Glendora, CA, US
Park Pop Up
Grace Communion Cleveland hosted their first “Coventry Peace Park Pop-Up” for the community on Saturday, August 12, scheduled from noon to 4:00 p.m.
After months of prayer, planning, and participation, families were able to enjoy a bounce house, a game truck, face painting, a balloon artist, free hot dogs with chips and water, games, and a DJ. Community partners included Whitmore’s BBQ, Cleveland Heights police officers and firefighters (who brought their fire engine), Lake Erie Ink Creative Writing Center, and Cleveland Heights Public Schools.
Even though rain cut our event short at 2:00 p.m. and prevented the live performance of the band we hired, we could see the Lord move and make connections that are forming relationships for future events. We were looking for a perfect weather day, but God was moving forward with his plans. The rain actually provided opportunities to meet about 20 neighbors and talk with them while huddling under two canopies during the downpour.
We are learning to see the Lord in new ways and to trust him completely, no matter how it looks physically. All in all, it was a beautiful day of experiencing God’s presence.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
By Pastor Tamar Gray and Love Avenue Champion Pat Shiels (pictured)
Cleveland, OH, US
Healthy Church Challenge Winners
On a sunny Sunday, August 20, the GCI Église Réalité (Reality Church) congregation in Montreal, Québec, Canada held the Community Ice Cream Party. The party was possible thanks to the involvement of our two winners of the 2023 Healthy Church Challenge, Uweso and Martha Nzamba. The prize money from that challenge was used to cover the expenses of the party.
Uweso and Martha chose this refreshing activity for the occasion. They set up their booth with festive decorations, with the help of family and members of the congregation. To the delight of young and old alike, they offered twin ice pops, ice cream sandwiches, Revello ice cream bars, Fudgesicles, and Cosmic pops!
The Ice Cream Party took place in the parking lot of our place of worship. It was integrated into our first community welcome event in our Ville-Émard church neighbourhood of Montreal.
Martha and Uweso offered the ice cream treats to visitors, who were warmly welcomed in English and French by members of the congregation. This event was organized by the Love and Hope Avenue teams.
Uweso and Martha participate in worship at Église Réalité in Montreal. They love to offer songs of praise to the Lord. They also love to witness to their faith and love in the community, as they did through the Healthy Church Challenge and the ice cream party.
Thanks to GCI for this opportunity to involve young people in the life of the church.
By Marie-Line Tremblay Rochette, Children’s Ministry Leader
Montreal, Québec, Canada
Outside the Walls
Comunión de Gracia Internacional Bogotá, Columbia held our first Outside the Walls event on August 26. We combined the three Avenues (Faith, Love, and Hope) by bringing kids to the church for an afternoon of fun. We concentrated our efforts on five activities: an inflatable slide for kids, a bubble game for all ages, a cookie decorating station using different shapes, colors, and flavors, a puppet-driven Bible story time, and a fantastic game of bingo. There were numerous bingo winners; one of them won a bike, and thanks to Pastor Heber, another won a tablet.
We witnessed how God orchestrated this event. Several new families that live in the neighborhood visited the church, and we had the great opportunity to meet them and have a great, edifying conversation.
Our elderly members, the youth group, the church servers, the pastors, and everyone else took part in the event with an open mindset toward fostering relationships. We all had a great time with our beloved kids. We also met interested onlookers who were inspired to join the church service on Sunday.
Additionally, we had a great time reuniting with some families who hadn’t been to church in a while. We ask God to grant us the ability to continue organizing these events at least once a year to share quality time and love and bring smiles to the families in our neighborhood. With the help of all, the Love Avenue team undoubtedly had a fantastic experience for one of their first Avenue events.
By Juanka Barrero, Hope Avenue Champion
Bogotá, Columbia
70th Church Anniversary
Grace Communion Big Sandy celebrated its 70th anniversary as a congregation with a festive potluck luncheon after services on Sunday, July 30, 2023. Our congregation was established in Big Sandy, Texas as the denomination’s 5th congregation in the United States in June 1953. We are so grateful for God’s faithfulness to us over these last seven decades!
We held our anniversary celebration in July because June was packed with activities. June activities included our first neighborhood day camp, Father’s Day, the Big Sandy Rotary Club Banquet, the Denominational Celebration.
We had 56 in attendance, including several guests who came to celebrate with us. People brought a number of mementos, many of which reminded us of our church’s involvement with the denomination’s former Big Sandy Ambassador University campus. It was a wonderful time of remembrance and celebration, and a great way to kick off our next decade of church life here in Big Sandy.
As grateful as we are for God’s provision for us the past 70 years, we are even more excited about what he has for us in our future! We look forward to continuing to walk with and follow Jesus here where he has placed us, sharing his faith, hope, and love with many for years to come!
By Jerome Ellard, Pastor
Big Sandy, TX, US
GCI Buzz—Rhythms, Part 2
This month’s GCI Buzz is part 2 of our 3-part Ministry Rhythms series. In this Buzz we define rhythms of community and show how they are essential for church renewal.
Click here or the image below to view the entire Buzz. #gcibuzz
In Musoma, Tanzania, we are grateful that the meetings of the Life Club have been meaningful. People have committed themselves to God and receive the salvation of Jesus Christ. Twenty new members were baptized. Life Club has been a great help to bring people to Jesus.
We have also created a Youth Group to start the cultivation of vegetables, melons, and fruits. It helps young people to make a living instead of moving away from the church to find a life. We ask for the opportunity to help those young people.
By Pastor Shadrack Fabian Malugu
Musoma, Tanzania
GenMin Equipping Webinars
GENERATIONS MINISTRIES WEBINAR SERIES
The Generations Ministries (GenMin) Webinar Series is designed to equip
congregations to better disciple children and youth. Participants will learn
how to connect with young people in their neighborhood and share the love
of Christ with them. The series is both for groups currently serving young
people and for those who would like to start building those relationships.
The webinars are open to any member of Grace Communion International
congregation or fellowship group, though the research and context of the content was developed for the US.
If you cannot join the webinars live or miss one, the recordings will be made available after registering. All proceeds will fund initiatives that serve children and youth.
