Archives For Omaha

Weather Whiplash and Kingdom Groaning

Erik Raymond —  May 2, 2013 — 5 Comments

A couple of days ago we had to turn on the air conditioner in the house. The temperature outside was over 80 degrees and the temperature inside was nearing the same. This I did even though it bristled against my prideful resolution to wait until May to hit activate the arctic cool. Less than 48 hours later we were in a Winter Storm Warning. You can’t predict this stuff.

I read where someone said this is like Narnia before Aslan, always winter and never Christmas. Well, maybe not quite that bad. This type of thing is not unprecedented in Omaha (or other cooler climates). It actually snowed 2″ on May 9, 1945. I heard recently of a town in Colorado getting snow on the 4th of July.

This type of exaggerated fluctuation helps to remind us of the instability of the world around us. Paul tells us that the creation groans (Rom. 8.22). We witness unpredictable wind, floods, hurricanes, tornados, heat, and cold. Amid the weather whiplash of the last few days we join the chorus with creation awaiting the final liberation and restoration through Christ. Until then we groan in the slush alongside of the wilted tulips.

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Article on Emmaus Bible Church in Omaha Paper

Erik Raymond —  April 2, 2013 — 2 Comments

This past weekend our local newspaper (The Omaha World-Herald) ran a story on some of the things happening in our church, Emmaus Bible Church. As you can imagine it was a great encouragement to us to have our paper take interest in what we are doing. But it was a double surprise to see the the article on the front page of the Saturday paper, on Easter weekend!

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Without giving away the article, here is one of the lead quotes:

As Easter approaches, a youthful congregation marks the end of its first year in a striking church — 103 years old.

As the saying goes, what’s old is new again. But not too new.

“We practice cutting-edge, 16th-century Reformation theology,” quipped Pastor Erik Raymond, 36. “We’re very old-fashioned, but we try to do it in a fresh way — engaging, compassionate and authentic.”

The funny thing was that this question was in response to the writer’s question, “What new things are you doing to attract this growth?”What a blessing to testify to the enduring power of God’s Word to change lives and the beauty of Christ to captivate hearts. In a pragmatic, subjective culture, this is a fresh gust of the gospel breeze (on the front-page no less!).

Another interesting note. On Wednesday nights our kids come together for Bible memory, devotions, singing, and games. My wife teaches the kids music. One of her most successful methods in teaching the kids to participate and memorize Scripture has been Christian Hip-Hop. In particular Shai Linne’s song “Holy, Holy, Holy”. The kids love it. When the photographer came out she took some pics of the kids and then the front page of the paper noted that my wife teaches hip hop to young kids. We smiled at that in light of the previous quote about the 16th Century.

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As some of us at Emmaus talked about this we said it is like our Dad owns the paper. No not Warren Buffet. But our Heavenly Father. He allowed us to be featured on the front page to promote gospel growth and renewal. This greatly encourages us as we remember that everything is truly about him and his fame. May God use the article to this end!

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A Gospel-Centered Church Will Have Their Eyes Open to Racial Issues

Erik Raymond —  February 18, 2013

It has been said that in order to be polite in conversation one should not speak of politics, religion, or money. What are the three taboos are for churches? I suggest, money, sex, and race. It is this third topic that I want to discuss in this post.

Why is the issue of race something that a gospel-centered church should deal with? Simply put, it is because the gospel deals with racial reconciliation through gospel reconciliation.

How do we get there and why is it necessary?

Continue Reading…

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What Does it Mean for a Church to be Gospel-Centered?

Erik Raymond —  February 5, 2013

What does it mean for a church to be gospel-centered?

My friend and fellow Omaha pastor Bob Thune is extremely helpful when he writes in his book The Gospel Centered Life:

Churches often obscure the glory of the gospel by reducing it to something less than it is. Some understand the gospel only as doctrinal content to be believed. Others diminish it to a personal, subjective experience of God’s presence. Still others see it as a social cause to be championed. The gospel is none of these, and yet it is all of these. A truly gospel-centered church understands and embraces the fullness of the gospel as message, community, and mission.

GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Gospel is a message that is to be preached or proclaimed (Mark 1:14; Acts 14:21; Rom 1:16; 1 Peter 1:12). It is the story of God’s redemption of his fallen creation. It is the good news that God has acted in history to conquer evil, rebellion, and sin and reconcile sinners to himself through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor 15:1-12). A gospel-centered church is one where the gospel is proclaimed clearly, consistently, and compellingly and applied to every aspect of life (1 Cor 9:16-23).

GOSPEL COMMUNITY

The gospel is not just a message to be believed, but a power to be experienced (Rom 1:16). The gospel shapes a new community as those who were formerly God’s enemies are reconciled to Him (Rom 5:10) and adopted into his family (Gal 4:4-7). The church is not a place, but a people – a community that is continually being reformed and renewed by the transforming power of the gospel (Col. 1:6). This new family becomes the conduit and vehicle for God’s mission in the world (Acts 2:42-47).

GOSPEL MISSION

The gospel is a call to mission – a declaration that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). Just as Jesus became a missionary in his incarnation, he sends us into the world as missionaries: “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21). We are sent to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to work for the restoration of all of creation to its original “good” (Gen 1:31; Rom 8:19-22). A gospel-centered church will train people to live on mission in the practical rhythms of everyday life.

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Angry Muslims, Graffiti Artists, and Joe Six-Pack

Erik Raymond —  September 25, 2012

Scene 1: The Muslim world is rocked by protest and violence following the release of the film The Innocence of Muslims. The short film mocks Islam and in particular the prophet Muhammad. As a result, many Muslims are calling for the death of the filmmaker.

Scene 2: A guy in his 30′s comes home from work and to find his wife telling him that he has dropped the ball on several things and that she feels like she can’t talk to him. He gets angry and tells her that she is nit-picky, oversensitive, and hard to talk to herself.

Scene 3: A high-school kid shakes up his can of spray paint and angrily begins tagging the City’s graffiti removal truck. The City worker was painting over this kid’s work.

What do all of these scenes have in common? The need to protect and preserve something. What is that something? Honor.

Continue Reading…

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“How do you train future elders?”

Erik Raymond —  June 12, 2012

This is a question that seems to come up quite often. It is also a question that we as a church have attempted to answer. In our setting we are a newer church plant who is committed to planting more churches. As a result we need to equip and send leaders. We also are in a military community, this results in only having guys for a few years at a time. You can sense the priority.

As far to our process we identify a guy as a potential elder spend time with him to sync up philosophically, interview him and then work through an appointment ordination process where there are various examinantions of theology and life.

As far as how we get there, here is something of the process:

  1. We have begun a program to train leaders called ELI – Emmaus Leadership Institute. It is not necessarily ”elder training” though it can be. More, it is a men’s discipleship and training program. Here is the link and the schedule. We just finished the first class and are writing as we go.
  2. As far as potential elders we want to make sure they are theologically sound before taking them to the interview stage. Therefore, as pastors we are trying to spend the time on the front end to assess guy’s theology and its application (life) as we go.
  3. I am very concerned about philosophy. I want to make sure the elders get it. I take them through Trellis & The Vine, What is a Healthy Church-Member? and  The Shepherd Leader. This helps construct the big picture of discipleship, shepherding and local church priority. We do this before interviews or examinations. These are the initial steps.
  4. I am also very concerned about tone. I take guys through A Bruised Reed, and some historical accounts of praying pastors like Taking Hold of God and The Secret Life of Prayer. 
  5. Once they seem like they are qualified, synced up philosophically, and hitting the appropriate pastoral tone, then we bring them in to be interviewed, proceeding on with ordination.

Let me give this disclaimer: we are young and trying to work this out. We have not ordained a ton of guys. However, we now have this process in full swing with a number of guys identified and/or in the process. I think it is wise to move slowly and ensure that potential elders are on singing from the same sheet of music. This framework seems to help achieve that end.

Hopefully this is helpful on your end. Feel free to add your own contributions to make it better.

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The Value of Pastoral Lunches with Members

Erik Raymond —  June 7, 2012

One of my favorite aspects of my “job” as a pastor is my weekly lunches with men in our church. I try to do this at least two days a week and work through the list of members and newer guys. In this practice I feel like I am the one who comes away blessed. I know there is some aid to the ministry and hopefully some personal encouragement to them but the reality is I benefit greatly.

Here are some basic priorities for pastors in their meetings with guys.
Continue Reading…

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