read Acts 4:32

this 30 day journey ends in the same text where we began. we asked God to take control, bring us together, and make us one in heart and mind, and there is proof all around that He has done exactly what we asked and more. so, now what? this was more than just a nice way to begin the new year. the things He has stirred in us should push us deeper in all of these commitments. a deeper love for Him and abiding life; a deeper love for one another and commitment to walk together through life; a deeper love for our church and ownership of what He has called us to. unity always has a purpose. it propels you forward with a renewed sense of vision, empowerment, and joy. this is where we go from here… we go forward. we continue to abide, serve, love, obey, give, receive, care, and grow. He has brought us together in heart and mind, now let’s keep going!

let’s wrap up the 30 days of prayer by thanking Him for the unity of heart and mind He has blessed us with, and ask Him to help us continue to walk all of these things out, full of grace and truth.

For His is the Kingdom, and the Power,
and the Glory, Forever! Amen.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Philippians 2:1-11

read Ephesians 3:20-21

All this will be accomplished by Him, through Him, and for Him.

now that we have slowly walked through our commitments to God, to one another, and to the church, it is perhaps more clear than ever that we simply cannot do it. we can’t do what we promised we would do. even if we dig down deep and try our hardest, in our own strength we cannot walk out this covenant. we need supernatural power in order to live in community like this. what a glorious truth, that He has graciously provided a way for us to make good on each and every one of these commitments.

Ephesians 3:20-21 says it all. His power at work within us will bring all of these things to fruition. by His power, through His life, and for His glory, our church covenant will not be something that just looks good on paper, but it will become more and more real in our lives as we walk it out together. once again He brings us back to abiding, proving how crucial it is for each of us. as we abide, His life and power flow into us and through us. this empowerment allows us to fulfill all of our promises. and keeping these promises brings glory to Him, which is what we are all about. by Him, through Him, for Him. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

today, take time to pray that we as a group would not lose sight of this, that our self-reliance would be fleeting, and that our dependence on Him would lead us to abide more deeply.

read Hebrews 13:17

Should we move from this place, as soon as possible we will unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

according to this verse, the elders of our church will have to give an account for the way they pastor and lead the ring community church. no one is entirely certain what this will look like, but it is a charge that is taken very seriously by each of our elders. the reason this verse connects to this part of the covenant is this - if the elders have to give an account, it is crucial for them to know who is under their care and who they will have to give an account for when that day comes.

we added this in as the final way that we will fulfill the mission and vision of the church, because it reinforces the belief that a commitment to the local church is of vital importance to each of us, regardless of where we live. this keeps our members from being idle, and helps the shepherds know their sheep from other sheep. it’s no secret that people come and go all the time. some switch churches within our city, and others move to other parts of the country. our desire is for people to stay in the center of God’s will, and if that means leaving the ring, that is perfectly fine. unfortunately, some leave our church and for whatever reason don’t get connected to another church. as we all know, our faith is designed to be communal, and when those relationships are not in place it affects us in every way. should a move happen, it is important to officially ‘change flocks’ and ‘change shepherds’. when this fails to happen, there is an uncertainty as to who is “keeping watch over your soul”, and that is contrary to God’s design for everyone involved. for these reasons (the benefit of the sheep and the accountability of the shepherds), our covenant establishes on the front end that we will not take our local church membership lightly, regardless of if it is at the ring or some other faith family.

pray for those who have moved away from the ring, that they may quickly establish relationships in their new flock… and pray for those who are moving to our city, that they would find a church home as soon as possible.

read Hebrews 13:17

[We will work together to fulfill the mission and vision
of this church] by supporting the leadership of this church.

*** note: this verse is talking about elders, so when it speaks of those who have to give an account before God, it is referring to elders only. but this line in our covenant is referring to all of our leaders, so today we will draw principles from the verse and apply them to how the church body relates to those in leadership roles

for many of us, when we read this verse, the words that jump out are “obey”, “submit”, and “authority.” and for some reason we tend to not like these concepts. we don’t like the thought of someone being “over” us, telling us what to do. maybe it’s our pride, or our leaning toward self-sufficiency, or bad experiences with people in leadership, or a combination of all three that make some of us cringe at the thought of authority. regardless of why, if we are not careful these things can get the best of us and we will rebel against the truth that this and other passages teach. keep in mind that this verse is not negative at all. in fact, in reality it is quite comforting and is intended to help us in our journey together. authority is advantageous to the Church and our church, and God has designed it this way on purpose. we should feel secure that God has anointed, called, equipped, and personally placed people in our lives to “keep watch over” us. if we really believe that He knows what He is doing, we must trust Him and fall in line with His design which is always beneficial to us.

supporting the leadership of our church helps us fulfill our mission and vision, because it helps us function according to His design. the wording of the covenant is intentionally vague, allowing for various forms of support such as encouragement, trust, prayer, a willingness to jump in and serve, and a general sense of unity and working together. we as a faith family are the ones who God uses to make this verse come alive, and make leading a “joy” for those in leadership roles at the ring.

pray for those who provide leadership to various aspects of our church (elders, staff, MTXs, community group leaders, etc.), and ask God to help you make their work a joy.

read Luke 21:1-4

[We will work together to fulfill the mission and vision
of this church, by] being faithful in our giving

people get a little uneasy when you start talking about money at church. there are a number of reasons for this uneasiness, and many of them are justifiable. in this passage Jesus addresses money in a way that is brief, but one that challenges us deeply as well. we see here what matters most to God. Jesus was impressed by her heart, not the amount she gave. do you ever struggle with giving, particularly in regard to the amount? it is easy to feel guilty because you don’t think you are giving enough. or, when you look at how much you give in comparison to the total (or what others give), you ask yourself, “what’s the point?” keep this passage in mind, particularly the words of Christ… “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.” he looks at the heart, always.

being consistent in our giving is another way we will fulfill the mission and vision of the ring community church. most of the time ministry doesn’t cost a dime, but in some cases it does and every time it helps open doors to begin to address the deeper issues. so we have committed to give generously to the work of the church and together we will absorb the costs. we do this keeping in mind that God entrusts money to us in order to meet our needs and the needs of others. it’s all His in the first place, and we have the opportunity to join Him in what He is doing on the earth by giving of ourselves in every way, including our finances.

as we all learn to give of ourselves in every way, pray that God would challenge and change your heart to be one who gives out of gratitude and love.

read Hebrews 10:24-25

[We will work together to fulfill the mission and vision
of this church, by] being faithful in our participation

yesterday we looked at attendance and how important it is. but it’s one thing to show up, and another thing to participate. being in the room is great, and that definitely needs to happen, but once you’re there it’s easy to just kind of coast along and not really engage. this is one of the great tragedies of the modern church. sanctuaries all over our city are filled with people week after week, but if those people are not fully participating in the various forms of worship, then there is no abiding. and when there is no abiding there is no fruit. and when there is no fruit… well, there is no fruit. this is a problem in many churches, and the enemy has used this form of deception for years to make people think that they are doing just fine. we want to avoid this being the case for us, so we have committed to push one another beyond mere attendance and into a deeper experience with the Lord and each other.

our desire is not to just get people in the room, but for us all to be fully connected to God and what He is doing with our time together. to corporately abide. and this means active participation. notice in the text how much action is involved… stirring one another up to love and good works, encouraging each other more and more. this is not a passive interaction, but one where the abiding branches all interact in beautiful ways. this is what we want sunday nights and community group gatherings to look like, as well as any gathering of the saints.

pray that our gatherings would not just be things people go to, but that we would fully engage with the Spirit and each other, and that we would truly abide corporately each time we come together.

read Hebrews 10:24-25

[We will work together to fulfill the mission and vision
of this church, by] being faithful in our attendance

this probably seems like a no-brainer, but we need to be consistent in showing up for the gatherings of the church. the most obvious examples would be sunday nights and community group, but there are other aspects of communal living where the people of God come together and we need to be there. in this passage, it is clear that attendance had become optional for some, and the author is trying to correct this pattern. we don’t know why this happened in their situation but it’s fairly easy to figure out why it happens today - life is busy. we are a rushed culture, and we pack a lot into our days and weeks. unfortunately we get into situations where we have to cut things out, and oftentimes God is the first thing to go. not necessarily Him, but the things that help us abide and grow, like personal prayer and study, and time in community. this is a devastating pattern, and is why the author of Hebrews is so direct in addressing it.

being faithful in our attendance is another way we fulfill the mission and vision of our church. these gatherings are places to learn, grow, be stretched, share, open up, give, receive, think, wonder, question, dream, pray, focus, realign, minister, serve, fellowship, connect, and then be sent out again into the relationships God has given us. we are a people who are gathered and then sent, gathered and then sent, gathered and then sent… all for the glory of Christ. it’s the pattern of the church, and being faithful in showing up is of vital importance to you, to us, and to the mission.

pray that we would see our gatherings for what they are, and that though that we would value them and be faithful in our attendance.

read Matthew 9:35-38

[We will work together to fulfill the mission and vision of this church, by] actively using our spiritual gifts, abilities, and passions in ministry

we looked the other day at how each one of us has been given the manifestation of the Spirit, for the common good. this means that the way He shows up in your life is not to build you up, but to build the Church up. He also uses your personality, natural abilities, interests, passions, skills, training, and so much more, to strengthen and edify the church. your faithfulness in willingly and actively using all of these to live a missional life is another way that we will fulfill the mission and vision of our church. the effort is ours, but the outcome is His. He fills us up, He sends us out, and He makes it all happen. He just asks that we trust Him and jump in.

we are the workers being sent out into “His harvest field”. in this passage Jesus is talking about you and me. He has organized us and made us a fully functioning living organism (a church), and we must keep in mind that He has done this for a reason. God is drawing people to Himself, and most of the time He uses our lives to do so. He doesn’t need us, but He graciously involves us and allows us to be a part of carrying out His divine plan. we must simply be willing to get into peoples’ lives and watch Him work through us.

today, let’s pray for our corporate impact on the city of baton rouge… that we would have a burden for the lost in our city, and that we would rise to the occasion when given opportunities to minister.

read John 15:1-5

[We will work together to fulfill the mission and vision of this church] by maintaining unity in our personal and corporate devotions

one of the ways we will fulfill the mission and vision of this church is by faithfully holding true to our commitments. in other words, we all have to do what we’ve said we are going to do. this may seem obvious, but each one of us must recognize the role that these devotions play in making it all happen. every single concept in this covenant comes from scripture and deals with an abiding life, either connecting us more deeply to the vine or helping us bear more fruit as branches. if we are all abiding daily then we are all bearing fruit daily, and those collective fruit-bearing branches bring glory to Christ in our city and beyond. it only makes sense that we would maintain unity in this pursuit, relying on His power and working together to make it more and more of a reality.

pray that we would take our devotions seriously, and that our abiding would bear much fruit.