Check out Isaac’s Keep featured in Canton’s and Cherokee county’s historic newspaper, The Cherokee Tribune.
Isaac’s Keep: The Lone Church in Historic Downtown Canton
Keep an eye out! Isaac’s Keep will be featured in an upcoming article in the Cherokee Tribune. I talked to Donna Harris this week about Isaac’s Keep and I’m looking forward to seeing what she writes about us. I wanted to try to draw the contrast of what makes Isaac’s Keep a little bit different than the other 30 churches in Canton, Georgia, and why Canton needs another church. She was interested in the church name, which I guess is a normal question, but I tried to communicate that the name is just something you put on a sign, yes, Isaac’s Keep has a strong biblical foundation, however we are not a church because of our name, we are a church because of what we are, God followers and worshippers. I kept hammering that point of emphasis on simple worship and being the church, not just doing church, I hope it comes through in the article.
In other news, Isaac’s Keep is now the lone church on Main Street in Historic Canton. The ELCA church moved to Holly Springs. God really seems to be giving Isaac’s Keep a center from which to build and to redeem downtown Canton with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s get to work!
Three Years of Joy
One of my mom’s favorite lines of reason goes something like this, “When you get my age…” or “One day you will….” I usually see such reasoning as manipulating the conversation or argument, especially since she’s been saying such things since I was 13, I’m now 31, but in her eyes I will always be in need of her perspective. But one thing is certainly true in her wisdom, and that’s the fact that children change you and you never can fully grasp how much until you indeed have one.
My daughter Piper Joy turns three today. Celebrating her birth brings back so many thoughts and prayers. Thoughts of the years before her birth as Paula and I struggled to have children. The prayers that we prayed preceding her arrival that goes as far back as when we first married, 10 years ago.
Celebrating Piper’s birth is really a celebration of God Himself. What an amazing God to have blessed us with such an amazing little girl. And yes, I know most dads would say the same thing. Piper Joy is very much a shiny little light of God’s reflection. Every morning she wakes to a new day full of life, expectancy, that borders on jubilee. She lives with a jovial trust in sovereignty. She doesn’t know or really care what the events of the day might bring, she is going to live and enjoy. What point of life do we start calling that naïve? I often wonder if she is naïve to live with such joy or if really we are naïve for not?
She has a routine, much like her mom, and it always includes affection toward her father. Her morning hugs and “I love you dad’s” are far more than a sentiment in my day. They point me to God, like an espresso shot of God in the morning, that will always put a smile on my face and an indescribable warmth in my soul, no matter what that day might hold. This little girl has very much turned my heart to snow, but beyond that she teaches me so much about myself, about life, and about Him.
In about an hour she will get out of bed again and we will make a great fuss about her being three today. But really we are celebrating Him. We are remembering His great gift to us in Piper Joy. We will sing “Happy Birthday to You!” but really we are saying thanks God for making us so happy, and reminding us of what this day represents in our lives, the day that God expressed Himself in the gift of our first child. It surely reminds me of the ultimate gift God has given me, life in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the greatest gift that makes Piper such a joy.
I love you Piper. I love being your Dad. I love the joy you bring to my life and the life of others. I love being loved by you, and I pray His greatest gift for you, His Son.
Encouragement in the Sovereign One
Taking some time to reflect on this past week’s exposition, Mark 9:1, I’m still in awe of God’s grace. His grace permeates the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ. To see Him encourage those He has called to follow, those He has called to deny themselves, those He has called to prepare to suffer, those He has called to die, to then give them a glimpse of the kingdom of God with power is really astounding grace.
As I look at my own life for application I see my stumbling blocks that are tied to my misapplication or doubts concerning His sovereignty, His power. When suffering comes I’m far too prone to curse God instead of thanking Him. I often get frustrated when I (emphasis on I) can’t see 10 feet in front of me, yet knowing in my mind that God sees the beginning and the end. I’m reminded in this verse that looking at the kingdom of God as revealed in the Word and the person of Jesus Christ that I have hope in the midst of struggle, a shoulder in the midst of pain, and a sovereign visionary when I am blind. And to that I fall and worship.
On another note: The Isaac’s Keep audio sermons are slowly coming back online, I’m catching back up and please use the resource for your reflections. You can access the sermons through ITunes (podcast) or by clicking here.
Isaac’s Keep joins RSS Hugger
In today’s church market, for a lack of better terms, the internet is proven an invaluable tool for communicating and presenting the church to the public. Most people that visit churches for the first time feel an uneasiness about being an outsider, the church web page provides an initial hand shake. But with the abundance of churches and church budgets, church marketing is often dominated by the mega churches. The internet levels the playing field. Blogs have proven to initiate relationships and usually are only limited by the time and effort of bloggers.
Since Isaac’s Keep is only beginning to promote our church and plan of ministry on the web, it only makes since for us to optimize our website to appear as credible in the eyes of Google and other search engines. One of the ways we accomplish this (there are many) is to submit our rss feed to website directories. These directories index our site into a specific category and create a link back to our site (a notch of credit in Google’s eyes). However, these directories fall in and out favor from Google over time and my goal is to always partner with the best of directories. As of today Isaac’s Keep is on top of a Goggle Search, but it takes continual effort to stay there. One way to do that is something I ran across this morning.
I was recommended to RSS Hugger as one of the best directories available. Why? Because they understand search engine optimization (SEO). I learned about RSS Hugger from my brother Brad Nix at Maxsell Real Estate. Brad is an excellent resource for local real estate and the greatest and latest internet technology. On his blog he references Mary McKnight, RSS Pieces. Brad says, "Mary is an excellent resource for real estate SEO," and she had this to say about RSS Hugger:
"Anyhow, when it came to RSS Hugger, a blog directory that combines Technorati, rss directories, and search engine optimization into one, I LOVED the way they required the reciprocal link. Instead of some rediculously useless chiclet, they want me to write a review of their site. This a makes perfect sense, they get a high quality backlink and some press. Now, what do I particularly like about RSS Hugger? I have the ability to post my RSS feed, get listed in their directory and I am dealing with a service that actually understands SEO."
Isaac’s Keep is now a partner with RSS Hugger, perhaps your church or business should be too.
http://www.rsshugger.com
Plan On It
When it comes to spiritual solitude we have to get honest with ourselves and also brutally practical. One of the critiques of spiritual devotion and discipline is that it is somehow ethereal, not practical, overly existential, and/or subjective. Perhaps some of the criticism is true, however Nouwen teaches us honesty and practicality when it comes to solitude.
Regarding solitude he says, “Five or ten minutes a day may be all we can tolerate. Perhaps we are ready for an hour everyday, an afternoon every week, a day every month, or a week every year. The amount of time will vary for each person according to temperament, age, job, lifestyle, and maturity.” We can’t expect meaningful solitude by shear force, we’ve already covered that, so trying to force an hour when you are only ready for 5 minutes will only produce quick burnout. However you must plan for it or it will never happen.
Nouwen comments, “we do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to Him. We may have to write it in black and white in our daily calendars so that nobody else can take away this period of time.” And if you struggle, as I often do with managing time, if you don’t set time aside, you will never get there. You just keep fooling yourself.
Inner Chaos
But what about the chaos of our lives? Nouwen speaks, “to bring some real solitude into our lives is one of the most necessary but also most difficult disciplines. … As soon as we are alone without people to talk with, books to read, TV to watch, or phone calls to make, an inner chaos opens up in us.”
“This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shutting the door, therefore, does not mean that we immediately shut out all our inner doubts, anxieties, fears, bad memories, unresolved conflicts, angry feelings, and impulsive desires. On the contrary, when we have removed our outer distractions, we often find that our inner distractions manifest themselves to us in full force.”
That’s good stuff! It is no spiritual achievement to find a place of physical silence or time alone, in fact that’s perhaps when the battle really starts. Nouwen continues: “We often use these outer distractions to shied ourselves from the interior noises. It is thus not surprising that we have a difficult time being alone. The confrontation with our inner conflicts can be too painful for us to endure.” I think anyone who has really sought out spiritual solitude can say amen to this. Perhaps this is sometimes the root of our feeling like we are banging our head against the proverbial wall or when our prayers feel like they are bouncing back. We have perhaps found a time and place of silence to beseech God, but we’ve not gotten honest with Him first.
Nouwen concludes, “This makes the discipline of solitude all the more important. Solitude is not a spontaneous response to an occupied and preoccupied life. There are too many reasons not to be alone. Therefore we must begin by carefully planning some solitude.”
Rational Ministry: The Way of the Cross or OUR Way?
Reflecting on Mark 8:34-38
I am frequently contacted with opportunities for ministry that range from building schools to training local pastors to collecting socks for kids in our community. Needs, needs, needs, everywhere, but where? In Mark’s gospel chapter 8 verses 34 through chapter 9 verse 1, Jesus gives us the requirements for following Him. And how is that related to ministry opportunities? Maybe like this:
The call to follow is pretty clear in Mark 8:34, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This verse and what follows is really a call to self-abandonment, to end self-idolatry, and to stop pleasing the world and instead please God. It is a call to complete identification with the person and work of Jesus Christ. And this is where our problems begin. As westerners and specifically Americans we are brazen rationalist. We like order. Schedules, detailed agendas, goals, objectives, exit strategies. We want to know that our efforts are not wasted. We are by culture, rugged rational individualist. But the question remains, does such rationalism belong in following God. Five, even three years ago I would have said yes, absolutely, rationalism is just another word for stewardship. Rationalism can sound very pious. But I am struck with Mark 8:34-38.
When Jesus gathered the crowd and the disciples to teach them a new truth about following Him, the audience surely didn’t have a rational for such a teaching. In the requirements to follow, Jesus never gives a detailed agenda with dates, objectives and exit strategies. He simply said in Mark 8:31, “the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected… and be killed, and after three days rise again.” The disciples had no idea what Jesus was talking about, evidenced by Peter’s attempt to rebuke Christ. They received all the information they needed but it wasn’t fitting into their expectations. They were expecting the messianic ministry to be full of public victories, public glories, and a political kingdom to be established. Their well intended and informed rational was wrong.
Jesus was teaching them of the journey to Jerusalem that would end in His death and resurrection. But not only that, He was teaching them that they too would follow in His steps. Something they had no idea about at the time. In fact it would take the resurrection before they would know what to do.
So it is with our rational in ministry. Often times we look for rational decisions instead of denying ourselves, taking up the cross and following Him. Sure that’s a pretty scary idea, it involves trusting in a future glory that we may not be able to see at the present. It involves a complete denial of self and a complete abandonment toward the will of God.
As a minister who affirms the complete sovereignty of God and the doctrines of grace I’m often surprised by my brothers who share my theology or even use it to rationalize their ministry opportunities. If the doctrines of grace teach us anything, it is that abandonment to God is the only secure place to be. The details, the agenda, the exit strategy is God Himself. The adage is true: “It isn’t about us, it’s about Him.” The questions we should ask are not rationalistic, but rather, “Can I worship God in this opportunity?” “Can or will God be made known?” “Can I spread the glory of His grace?” If the answers are yes, which they usually are, forget rationalistic ministry and abandon yourself into the hands and will of God. Seize the day, seize real ministry, and stop hiding behind your theology. Deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow!
Who, When, Where?
Isaac’s Keep Weekly Schedule:
Corporate Worship: Sundays, 10:30am @ The Loft @ 185 E. Main St
in Historic Downtown Canton (Above 181 East Main beside the Historic Canton Theater)
Kids of the Keep Nursery Ministry provided for children ages 0-4
Community Groups: Thursdays, 6:00pm @ various homes (contact Spencer for directions)
Contact Information:
Church Phone #: 770.721.7154
Church Email: church@isaacskeep.org
Contact Elders:
Spencer Nix
404.819.5520
Nick Downs
770.361.8503
Rhon Redwine
770.377.5492
A Time and A Space
Nouwen says, “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” Ouch! A remember reading this about six years ago and then being challenged to just spend 1 hour in complete solitude. That one hour is unforgettable. Not because I gained great spiritual insight, but because I learned so much about myself. I don’t like silence and solitude. Even as I write this I’m listening to Violent Femmes (ITunes is on party shuffle). My wife marvels at the ability to think while there is so much noise. She’s the opposite, she likes some silence, which if you know my wife is really strange, she is very much the talker (love you babe!).
The point is we need to set time apart for just Him. When I get into the Word I turn everything off, even if it bothers me at first. Sometimes I just have to sit and do nothing for up to 20 minutes before I can get my brain and attention focused on where it should be. I have to stop thinking about the 1,000 other things that need doing and be re-convinced that what I’m about to do is the most important, and all those other things are pointless without this. We all have to get into that closet if we really want spiritual discipline. Otherwise we are really just fooling ourselves.
