Preached by Chris Broom, 1/20/2008

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From left: Roger Parlour, Theo Dawson, Jay Shelbrack and Pat Boea Sr.

Building a Great Church, part 1 - Outline

Dear Chicago Church:
The Tulsa church wishes to express our extreme gratitude to the Chicago church. It was a long weekend and the trip was tiring (They drove 14 hours in one day to be with us for our Winter Workshops). But it was a small price to pay for what we got. The lessons were powerful and moving. The challenges were convicting and encouragement will be lasting. However, as great as that was it was not the greatest or most memorable part of the trip. What really made it a great trip was you, the church. You really understand what family is and the feeling of belonging that you instilled in us is priceless. Your love and sacrifice is the one thing that will last and will bond us together through eternity. Disciples truly are known for their love and we felt a great love from you. After spending just a short time there we fully expect to see God do some amazing things in your city in 2008.
With Love and Gratitude, Ralph Holtsclaw

We are very encouraged to see that God is using us to inspire His remnant everywhere. People talk a lot about greatness in our day and age. I saw a great movie … I ate at a great restaurant … I read a great book. But what you don’t hear talked about anywhere near enough is building a great church, and that’s what we are going to talk about today …

Building a Great Church, part 1!
The Book of Acts: Chapters 1-4

We are very fortunate to have four older brothers serving as shepherds for our congregation in very specific roles. Roger Parlour, Theo Dawson, Jay Shelbrack and Pat Boea Sr. along with their wives have been given the charge to guide us in our marriages, parenting, hospitality and chemical recovery issues within our congregation. We are also excited to have several brothers and sisters in our church who dream of being in the full-time ministry and planting great churches all over the world. Even so, we know that in order to build a great church, it’s going to take every member of the congregation living as Christ calls us to live and loving as Christ calls us to love. Therefore, I want all of you to ask yourselves one question as we go through the book of Acts … “If everyone was like me, what kind of church would this be?”

The book of Acts is the second book written by Luke and early on, we see that the message on Jesus’ heart after the Resurrection and before the Ascension is the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

We see that the Apostles still didn’t understand that Jesus had not come to bring a physical kingdom that will come and go, but a spiritual one that will never be destroyed (Acts 1:6).

Then Jesus gives his followers a charge that would be the motivating vision of His church …

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 7-8

That’s the scope of the 28 chapters of the book of Acts. As we study these chapters, we will see the evangelization of the world in the 1st century because of the charge Jesus gave … the great commission.

Great Commission

We will never built a great church, without the vision of the great commission. In Matthew 28:18-20, we see another record of the dispatching of this incredible mission. It is there that Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them and teach them to obey everything that Jesus came to teach us. The question we have to ask ourselves when it comes to the great commission is, “If everyone was like me, what kind of church would this be?“ Are you obeying Jesus’ command? Do you have a great discipling relationship where you are lovingly urging one another to become more like Christ and to share your faith and teach all nations of people how to become true Christians or are you a dead-end Christian?

Great Message

“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Acts 22-24

We will never built a great church, without the unapologetic preaching of the great message. What an incredible message! Just 50 days earlier, Peter had cowered before a servant girl and in that fear claimed that he didn’t even know Jesus. Now, he stands before thousands and lays out the message that though Jesus was from God, we had murdered him. Many times we are tempted to only deliver the positive parts of the gospel, but the truth is that unless you understand the bad news (that your sin murdered Jesus), you will never really appreciate the good news (that Jesus died for your sins and does not wish to count them against you).

Peter then goes on to proclaim the great message of the resurrection. Peter knows that Jesus was the Christ because he rose. He and many others died a martyrs death because of their conviction that Jesus rose. The resurrection proves that Jesus is the Messiah. It is what separates Christianity from every other kind of religion there is. If you look in Buddha‘s grave, his bones are there. If you look in Confucius‘ grave, his bones are there. If you look in Mohamed‘s grave, his bones are there, and if you look in Abraham‘s grave, his bones are there. But if you look in Jesus’ tomb, it is empty! How great is your conviction that Jesus was from God, that you are responsible for murdering Him, that God raised this Jesus to life and that He will raise us as well if we are united with Him? The question we have to ask ourselves when it comes to this great message is, “If everyone was like me, what kind of church would this be?“

Great Commitment

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:41-42

We will never built a great church, without a great commitment. It’s is amazing to see such a response to the gospel. 3000 added to their number in one day! The question that’s fun to answer is … what was their number before the 3000 were added? Acts 1:15 tells us the number of believers was about 120. We know that his faithful apostles were there along with some women. Most likely, the 72 he had sent out were there, and most inspiring, his mother and brothers! Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, they had thought he was out of his mind (Mark 3:21), but because of Jesus’ unwavering love and dedication to the Father, they were now among the believers! Let us pray that we can imitate Jesus‘ example so that our physical families could be counted among the saved! I think of Steve Droblas, who one year ago this week, flew to Chicago to baptize his Muslim sister, whom he had prayed for daily for 16 years. Because of his faith and dedication, Ginger is now your sister! Now Ginger is just as committed as her brother. In the same way, we know that the 3000 who were added were just as devoted as the 120. Acts 2:42 says they devoted themselves. They are the 3120. The 3000 were indistinguishable from the 120. They were all sold out disciples. That’s the kind of great commitment that Jesus calls us to. The question we have to ask ourselves when it comes to great commitment is, “If everyone was like me, what kind of church would this be?”

In Acts chapter 3 Peter and John heal a cripple beggar in the name of Jesus. Because of their preaching in Jesus name, they are sent to prison. Still the number of men grows to 5000. When they are questioned by the authorities about how they healed the man, Peter responds …

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” Acts 4:8-10

Great Boldness

We will never built a great church, without great boldness. They could have easily left out the most convicting part of the message (that the authorities themselves were responsible for crucifying Jesus), but Peter does not cower to being politically correct. The authorities are amazed that these ordinary men had such Great Boldness. The Apostles are then commanded to speak no longer in Jesus’ name in order to stop Christianity from spreading. Thankfully, they obey God and not these jealous religious leaders. Their response is that they can’t stop speaking! The question we have to ask ourselves when it comes to great boldness is, “If everyone was like me, what kind of church would this be?”

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 4:32-37

Great Sacrifice

We will never built a great church, without great sacrifice. There were no needy among them, because of how selfless they all were. Some sold houses and put it at the apostles feet.

While reading an article by Steve Johnson of the Portland Church, I was reminded that in the early 1980’s a preacher named Marvin Phillips and his congregation, the Garnet Road church of Christ, made national news for being the first church in the U.S. to collect a million dollars in one contribution. Marvin promised that if the church hit their goal he’d “push a peanut across the stage with my nose.” The morning shows all across America shared that story with the world. Not long after that another preacher lead his congregation to be the first church to collect a million dollars entirely for missions. That preacher was Kip McKean of the Boston Church of Christ. That incredible accomplishment set the pattern for what would be millions of dollars collected for missions by churches all over the U.S. and many other countries including London, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, and Hong Kong to name just a few. Between 1979 and 2003 the fellowship of churches which became known as the International Churches of Christ collected over one billion dollars and used it to plant and sustain over 400 congregations in 171 countries

I became a true follower of Jesus because of the sacrifice of these people, many of whom I have never even met, who gave their money to help send someone to preach the gospel in the city where I was living. How about you?

As a young Christian in New York City, I sold one of my most prized possessions, A Selmer Mark VI Saxophone. I was able, as a young single “starving artist” to give over 1000 dollars to missions that year. One family sold their house and gave the profit to the missions contribution. Many have tithed on the sale of their homes when moving to different congregations or to start a congregation.

We are in an economic suppressed time and we have to ask ourselves, how much do we believe in what we are doing? Are we willing to simplify and sacrifice. Sacrifice hurts. Without pain, there is no sacrifice; and without sacrifice, there will be no miracles.

All you have to do is look at all the miracles that God has done to know that there has been much sacrifice. Your generous hearts helped to make it possible for many lives to be changed. The church here deserve to be commended for having the foresight to get behind the decision to push ahead and hire Anthony Franklin as our Teen / Campus Minister even when our resources are so tight. We need more men and women dedicated to preaching the gospel if we’re going to accomplish the work set before us, and we are determined to do whatever it takes. In the past, Theresa and I have taken less pay to hire interns, and we will do it again. The question we have to ask ourselves when it comes to great sacrifice is, “If everyone was like me, what kind of church would this be?“

Let me warn you, if you don’t spend a lot of time reading the history of our early brothers and sisters in the book of Acts, you will fall into denominational thinking. The new testament church was not a little group of autonomous churches scattered everywhere, but a movement that swept the world in a generation.

Let’s do it again!

Chris Broom

Categories: Building a Great Church, Sermons