Denver Music Scene

I love the Denver Music Scene and we are starting to get a rep in the country for producing some great music. We are an eclectic community in regards to musical tastes and we are well represented in everything from hip hop to acoustic folk. Lately, I came across a great band here in Denver called Meese (www.meesemusic.com). Their sound is alternative and rich vocally and musically and I enjoyed their online music video "Next in Line". Check them out and support our local Denver area artists.

Churches on the Brink...Part Two

Churches are dying and are unhealthy in America. Our response to this problem usually is to bring in a "consultant", pay them thousands of dollars to tell us how to put on a better show on Sundays (laser lights, fog machines, and a really cool skit!). Paul approaches broken churches differently and says to fix a broken church you have to start with the pastors/elders. They need to repent of unsound (or absent) doctrine and unsound practice.

Once the pastors/elders are squared away Paul tells Titus to deal with false teaching that has always been and is to this day a major problem in the church. Paul says to rebuke false teachers sharply and to "silence them". This is almost impossible for American Christians to conceive of because we are so "nice". We tolerate almost anything even when Scripture says some things (like false teaching) can't be tolerated in a church. Pastors are challenged by Paul to be able to discern false teaching and deal with it so it doesn't ruin the lives of the people he is instructed by God to protect.

Churches on the Brink

Not a month goes by that I don't hear about another church on the verge of collapse. Somewhere between 3000-4500 churches die every year and many more are struggling and not very healthy. Most interesting to me is that when churches arrive at crisis they go to many sources for a fix and very rarely will go to the Bible first.

In the book of Titus, Paul instructs Titus how to fix a broken church. First, deal with the leadership or what scripture calls the elders/pastors of the church. Paul doesn't say to find the sharpest businessmen to come in and administrate the church, he says that the elders/pastors (those who really should be leading the church) should be doctrinally sound and above reproach. In other words they need to know their Bible and live their Bible. It is a both/and not either/or. Many pastors don't know their Bible and many pastors don't live their Bible. This is the main reason why churches and the American church at large is on the brink. Fixing a broken church starts with the elders/pastors repenting of their sins of unsound doctrine and unsound practice. It does not start by hiring a consultant for thousands of dollars to tell you everything is alright. More on what Titus says it takes to have a healthy church later...

Collision in Minneapolis

This looks really good and will be worth a viewing: http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/. You can see the trailer below in an earlier post.

Music for the "Sojourner"

I have had the privilege recently of hearing some great new music from Sojourn Church in Louisville, KY, Austin City Life Church, Austin, TX, and Red Mountain Music out of Alabama. There is a cultural renewal going on in America through churches who are centering all of life on the Gospel including the arts. Great music...check them out.

New City Church Summer Tour 2009

This Sunday is our first tour stop of 2009 and we are going to have our worship gathering at Belleview Park (5001 S. Inca, Englewood) starting at 9:30am. Our children will be with us for the service and we will have a picnic afterwards. Bring your own picnic lunch and games for afterwards. There is plenty to do at the park and it will be a great time, invite some friends to come along.