DINING WITH SINNERS
WITH (prep) function word to indicate manner of action
Re: group
I do not know if this is normal and well not much has been normal since the inception of Matthew’s Table. Recently, however, the life of our church community has gotten strange to say the least. So, we are going to take some time to re: group and cancel our usual Sunday gatherings until July 11.
There are several reasons and I wish to highlight a couple here:
1. The Gospel
The Gospel compels followers of Jesus to live, regardless of our occupation, with the same vocation. Jesus said, “You will be my witness” (Acts 1:8). However, I believe we have manipulated a God-centered gospel to fit our human-centered preferences. This is evidenced in that we have seen very few guests, no baptisms, and sporadic involvement in the church and our city from our membership over the past 6-8 months. Therefore, we will spend some time together over the next couple of weeks returning to the centrality of the gospel in the life of our church community as well as discussing where/what/who/how God is calling us to.
2. Leadership
I never imagined all leadership falling on one person, namely me. The leadership model we originally envisioned for Matthew’s Table is modeled after Alan Hirsch’s APEST:
- Apostles who extend the Gospel through global church planting.
- Prophets who are particularly attuned to God and his truth for today.
- Evangelists who are infectious communicators of the gospel message recruit others to the cause by calling for a personal response to God’s redemption in Jesus.
- Shepherds who nurture and protect make and develop disciples.
- Teachers who understand and explain Scripture.
I am not called to be, nor could I with all of my best efforts fill all five of these roles. Therefore, we need to work toward structuring our leadership so that we can ensure that all five ministries are present. We want each member of our leadership team to represent one aspect of this fivefold model and be responsible for heading up a team related to that area of ministry. This, I believe, will foster a church in which people will live our and embrace their identity as God’s missional people.
3. Personal burn-out
Getting kicked out of the house that we thought had been given to us by a family member for reasons unknown to us.
A new baby due any day.
Not a day off in at least 2 years.
I am not complaining. I LOVE what I do and where God has placed us, but to put it simply, I’m tired and need to time to recharge both my physical and spiritual batteries.
I pray this time will be a period of renewed focus, energy, and wisdom as we move forward with making Jesus’ name and fame known in Lebanon and beyond.
Michael Carpenter
Michael is an urban church planter in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock. He and his wife Amanda have been married since 2003 and have two children – Austin and Max. Michael is an entrepreneur, missiologist, and chef.
Praying for you my friend.
I know where you guys are, and we are praying for you, as well.
M, Rodney thank you. Know your prayers are felt and appreciated.