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What’s your response, Christian?

Apr 22

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Cultural Commentary | 11 Comments

A friend on Facebook posted this status today:

So, Larry King is getting his 8th divorce, and Elizabeth Taylor is possibly getting married for a 9th time. Jesse James and Tiger Woods are, well… you know… Even Newt Gingrich is on his 3rd marriage. Yet the idea of same-sex marriage is what is going to destroy the institution of marriage? REALLY?!?

What’s your response, Christian? Can any argument be made? Our inability to distinguish our actions from the rest of the world has made us look foolish when pushing a political agenda but not living up to our personal moral one.

You know what my response was? Nothing on Facebook. Went and got my wife flowers. The only comeback we have is to live out our gospel.

What about you?

What we can learn from The Suits

Feb 6

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Leadership, Spiritual Insights | No Comments

Sometimes both Christians and pastors of my generation think they can’t learn much from a man in a suit. This video, a sermon excerpt from Mark Beeson of Granger Community Church, shows just how much we can learn and be inspired by those who’ve gone before us. Please please please take the 6 minutes to watch it.

Here’s a link to Mark’s breakdown of the video.

The Early Church from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Debt even Dave Ramsey would love

Feb 2

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Leadership, Spiritual Insights | No Comments

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

- Romans 13:8

Let’s make sure we’re putting something down on this debt today!

Ed Stetzer laying the HAMMER down

Feb 1

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Leadership, Trinity New Life Church | 1 Comment

“So, my Reformed friends, let’s not only read 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John (that is, John Calvin, John MacArthur, and John Piper), let’s go plant some more churches. My emerging church friends, let’s take a pause from the theological rethink and head into the neighborhood and to tell someone about Jesus. My missional friends, let’s speak of justice, but always tell others how God can be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” My house church friends, let’s have community, but let’s be sure it is focused on redemption. My Baptist friends, let’s focus more on convincing pagans than Presbyterians. And, my charismatic friends, let’s focus less on getting existing believers to speak in tongues and more on using our tongue to tell others about Jesus.”

BRAVO, Ed. Bravo!

Read the full article here.

How white pastors can honor MLK Day

Jan 18

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Cultural Commentary, Leadership, Spiritual Insights | No Comments

Today we remember the life and passion of the great Martin Luther King, Jr., who for a brief and all-too-short period of time was the mouthpiece of God to breakdown sinful and wretched beliefs, mindsets and practices along racial lines.

As a white pastor, I would like to take a moment to encourage other white pastors to honor MLK’s legacy and dream with more than self reflection and social media compliments. I’m far from a race expert(though one of my best friends is black [and he's so well-spoken!]), but since I believe it’s not just the responsibility of black pastors to talk about race, here’s my entry into the fray-

  • Watch the speech. If you’ve never done that, PLEASE do so. It’s not about black and white, it’s about all of creation coming together. There can be no doubt this man was a prophet from God in this area.
  • Read Ephesians 2:14-17
  • Speak about race in your church. From the pulpit. Call it Sin. Because it is. It’s not just “kinda wrong,” or “just the way some people were raised.” It’s sin. It’s sin in white people, it’s sin in black people. It’s sin in Asians, Latinos, and New Yorkers. Racism is a Sin, and it must be called so, and called to be repented from. If you can speak on sensitive topics like sex and money, why leave race out?
  • Have a pastor of another race come and speak in your church, one of your friends. You are friends with more than just white pastors, right? Doesn’t have to be on MLK, doesn’t even have to be on race. But be intentional about exposing your congregation to people and cultures they never would come across in their daily lives.

That’s my list. Anything you want to add? Anything you want to disagree with?

These go to 11!

Jan 12

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Leadership, Our Family, Spiritual Insights, Trinity New Life Church | 4 Comments

This doesn’t quite qualify as a goal for 2010; it’s really more of lifestyle change my wife and I are committed to making.

Kelly and I’ve been at the same base level of giving (with various offerings on top of it) for years now, but we’re upping our baseline monthly giving by 1% in 2010. I think we’ve exhausted the amount of growth and faith we can have at our old level, and need to step forward in trusting God for greater things in our lives. We’re not doing this hoping for a greater financial return, or really to GET anything. We’re doing it to trust God and be a blessing.

Now isn’t the best time to make this change, financially. While we’re not talking about hundreds, or even one hundred dollars more a month going to the church, every dollar is crucial for us right now. But my God gives seed to the sower, not the one who waits until the perfect time to give.

Because there never is one.

How about you? Are you consistant in your giving? Have you increased your consistant giving recently, or have a plan to do so?

If “Church” is online…

Dec 22

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Church Planting, Social Media, Spiritual Insights | 2 Comments

How do you do communion?

How do you do baptism?

How do you do evangelism? If you see someone won to God, do you tell them to come to your house and sit with you, or do you have them sit at their own house and watch?

How do you make disciples?

How do you execute church discipline?

I’m not against streaming service online for those unable to make it, or creating an experience online which allows people to check out your church before they come, or if you’re in a remote part of the world with no English-speaking church…

But when we say that “church” is totally online (not just services but being the church), how do we accomplish these, which in my opinion (and others smarter than me) are defining qualities of a church body?

I know we’re just beginning to explore what it means to do “church” online, so I’m honestly asking if there are answers, or if these issues are being considered by those attending and creating the experiences.

Enlighten me…

I hate HELL

Dec 8

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Church Planting, Leadership, Spiritual Insights, Trinity New Life Church | 3 Comments

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t real.

If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.- Revelation 20:15

book-of-life

I know too many people who’s names are not currently written in that book.

Too many.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.- 2 Corinthians 5:20

Am I taking this seriously enough?

Are you?

How’s TNLC doing? So glad you asked!

Nov 24

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Church Planting, Our Family, Trinity New Life Church | 2 Comments

Brent Garrard, Lead Pastor of In Focus Church (an Every Nation church in Georgia), asked us to put together a video he could show his congregation to let them know about TNLC. Here’s the finished product, thought you might enjoy seeing it too!

RSS readers click here if you can’t see the video.

More Tim Keller Awesomeness

Nov 13

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Church Planting, Cultural Commentary, Leadership, Resources, Spiritual Insights, Trinity New Life Church | 2 Comments

keller200You know I love me some Tim Keller. Man’s got game. Smarts. Insight. Fruit. Hair.

Well, three of four ain’t bad.

His church in NYC, Redeemer, is currently casting the vision for their next ten years. Here’s how they described the RENEW campaign:

By the end of this next decade the vision is to have three strong congregations serving a total of 9,000-10,000 people, worshipping at 7-9 locations and 12 or more services around the city, drawing many more un-churched people into a relationship with God, and with a reputation for serving and loving those in the city who don’t share our beliefs as well as loving those who do.
Keller’s been preaching a series of messages tying a key theme of the Christian life with hope and showing how it should be lived out in the city. The sermons are available for free HERE during the campaign.
Download them. Listen to them. Listen them again. You’re welcome.