Coffee shops are like churches or at least they can be (it's not what you think)

A lot of coffee shops have a lot of things going on. They offer great music. They create environments that could be another place to find happy times. There are special events and community mobilization. These and many other amenities draw all sorts of people to come to these dazzling coffee shops. But what fundamentally makes a coffee shop a coffee shop? Can it be a good coffee shop without these trappings? What is the irreducible, core principle and need to be a good or great coffee shop? It would seem that the central need is coffee. It is the foundation for any good or great coffee shop. These shops may have other elements, but never to the neglect of making and selling coffee. For if you took away coffee from a coffee shop, it would not only keep it from being good or great but it would fundamentally disqualify it as a coffee shop.
In a similar way churches often offer a variety of services and accoutrements. There is a live band, community involvement, inspirational words and lots of fun things to get involved in. There are no end of new and interesting ideas that people in church have about what services the church needs to provide. There is also a never ending stream of practical needs that break the heart of church goers and members demanding the church's involvement and attention. But what is true of good and great coffee shops is also true of good and great churches. Good and great churches must remember what is central to their existence and mission. They may have these other extras but they must be centered theologically and practically on their foundational need. It is not a principle and it is not coffee. It is the person and work of Jesus. It is the character of God and His activity that we celebrate and are fueled by. Having a live band is great if it makes much of Jesus. Community involvement is only good if it makes much of Jesus. All of these extra services and ministries are fine if they point to and glorify Jesus. But if they don't they need to be changed or scrapped. For if upon examination churches find that Jesus isn't really the whole point of what they are about from nursery to youth to preaching to parking lots, they need to repent and change by God's grace or close the doors. For if you remove the foundational person of the church, you cease to be a church.
A lot of people think that making churches more like coffee shops would be revolutionary and world changing. And they might be right. Coffee shops that keep or rediscover what is central to their existence can be good or even great. So can churches. As long as they don't make coffee the most important thing and keep Jesus Christ as the foundation and center of all they are. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Grace and peace,
Matt

Settlling and Seemingly Small Changes

There are times when life forces you to make some changes. They may not be what you want most or even at all. But the changes come nonetheless. A few weeks ago I had the flu for the first time in my life. It was just as bad as everyone said except it was worse since I had it! What was interesting during that week was the strong discouragement from the doctor over drinking coffee. She wanted me to get as much fluid as possible and too much coffee serves as a diuretic. So, for a week: shivering, burning up, aching all over and coffee withdrawals! What I found at the end of that week, besides being incredibly weak, was that I could live without coffee. Heresy I know but it was important for me to recognize. I had been wondering and pretty sure that I was consuming too much coffee. It wasn't usually for the caffeine but mainly I just love the taste and warmth of coffee. What had happened was my body had built quite the dependence that was actually hurting my body. Interestingly enough, that is often how our lives are. We form attachments to good, bad or somewhat neutral things as a normal course of life. These attachments create patterns that can lead to very beneficial effects but without Gospel guards they can have detrimental effects.
We are all people who are driven by love: we long to be loved deeply and we long to love deeply. But when we get our loves disordered, we begin to love small, weak things more than we should. It could be food, exercise, people, work; you name it. Many times we form these unhealthy and unholy attachments little by little. It is the day by day expressions of love and devotion to people, things or ideas that reveal what we really love. This is at the heart of what it means to worship. It is not merely something that we do at a religious service once a week, although it can be expressed there and should. It is the myriad of choices and the life we live that are the primary vehicles to express what we love most. Many times our life intrudes in to give us a heart check.
God in His grace grants sickness, sorrow, loss of job or relationships to let us see what we love most. God also works in a million different little ways each and every day to expose and encourage our love or to reveal where we have misplaced or overvalued certain affections. God's purpose in each day is to draw our hearts back to His. We are called to walk in step with Spirit and to set our hearts and minds on things above. Life may have come at you hard in huge ways this week or this last year or it may have been lots of little challenges or successes. Whichever it has been, there may be changes that God is calling us to so our affection for Him and His glory go up and our love for lesser things goes down. It may be considering what our schedule looks like. Don't just compare how long you read the Bible with other activities. Evaluate your time spent developing your worship of God in all the different ways that genuinely happen: prayer, in community with other Christ followers, serving and sharing in and through the Gospel. Then see how much time, money and attention you pay to other affections. You may find that things are going great and you are passionately pursuing Christ and seeking Him in all you do. But if you are like me, from time to time there will need to be some changes. They may seem insignificant but as Paul Tripp says often it is in these numerous, varied little decisions and actions that we really see growth and change that honors the Lord Jesus. These changes in real life show how impactful the Gospel is in all of life and how valuable Jesus is to us.
So whatever life throws at you, take a look at what you are loving in the midst of it. If it causes loss, you can see how much you really value something or someone. If it brings something new, you can evaluate how much your passion for that compares with your passion for Jesus and His Gospel.

Community

So much fills my heart and life when I think about what life could look like. When I think about church as a family; as a place of hope and growth; of a group of people connected around the Gospel of Jesus (his life, death and resurrection); these things overwhelm my heart and mind. I have had some friends ask about some sermons I did on community in the church and so I am posting them on here. There are 3 of them so I will provide 3 links. Feel free to comment on what you hear as I desire feedback and always want to grow in small and great areas of life. Much love to you all.

Community #1
https://soundcloud.com/mattgurney77/community-brings-supernatural-life

Community #2
https://soundcloud.com/mattgurney77/community-brings-greater-sanctification

Community #3
https://soundcloud.com/mattgurney77/community-brings-shared-life

Perfect amounts for imperfect days

So when I am at home I am the primary coffee drinker. My wife drinks some coffee occasionally, but she doesn't mind reheating it or just having a half cup. This means that I don't have to share much at home. When we travel to stay with family at the holidays or even at work, there is a requirement that we allow other people to have at least some coffee too. While I can go to Starbucks and get free refill after free refill, I know that that situation is special and should not necessarily be the norm. But interestingly enough, there always seems to be enough coffee when I need it. Now sometimes, I have to grind more or even run to the store and purchase more. But I believe that there is a picture of walking with Jesus that we can learn from this.

Just as we find ourselves regularly supplied coffee, snacks and bathrooms, so we can thank God for the myriad ways that He supplies all that we need according to His supply. And when we have to put some effort into getting more, I am reminded of the Spirit led, gracious effort that I need to sometime put in to grow. I don't have to grow the coffee or ship it or anything like that. I just have to make it, or buy it. Similarly, we don't have to grow ourselves or yank sin out of our hearts. We are called to make every effort to enter God's rest and to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. But it is in coming to Jesus empty handed that we confess openly that he is all we truly need. We receive his grace and walk by faith in it's enduringness. And what we find is that God is always showing up and being faithful to His promises. We can trust God because Jesus has shown us who God really is and how the Father really feels about us.

Just as many days we feel our need for more of Jesus than others, so there are days when we make a second pot of coffee. There are days when conversation happens at the coffee shop and we are laughing more and relaxed. Maybe you and I really just need to relax and remember the Gospel first. From there we can trust that God loves us and provides for us and also that we desperately need Him. The good news is that he knows our need before we ask and He is faithful. in fact all of God's promises are "yes" in Jesus. So be of good courage: God is with us by His Holy Spirit and will always do what He has promised so we get what we need at just the right time.
Grace and peace


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Saturday morning coffee

As my wife sleeps and half of my kids-the early risers-watch cartoons, the coffee tastes a little different this morning. Quite possibly the changing weather has affected my sinuses and taste buds in such a way that different flavor notes are more prominent. And as I was thinking of the different cups of coffee you get from different places, I was struck by a couple of truths. 1.) what you put into it and how consistent you are with that input greatly influences the flavor. Whether it is going to my in-laws and using their coffee supplies or their coffee proportions or a different local coffee shop that clearly filters it's water differently, those changes make a world of difference. 2.) the environment where you receive coffee doesn't change the actual flavor of the coffee but probably your perception and memory of it. Maybe it's the music or lighting at a coffee shop or the sound of my kids playing and laughing or maybe just the cold, dark house that speaks to my need and desire in those early morning hours. As I drink my 3rd cup I know that this can be very proverbial in life. 1.) Maintaining a consistently joyful relationship with God and others means you need to faithfully put in the best of what you have in each. We can often complain about how deficiencies in both vertical and horizontal relationships while not actively seeking to make them better. We need consistent application and fresh practices. The good news of the Gospel in these relationships is that God Himself is actively involved in pouring in and pouring us out. So many times our mood or energy is less than desirable and yet God is still working and calling and His Word is still powerful and always accomplishes what He intends. 2.) We can all consider how the relationships and events in our lives affect its "flavor". Just as the sounds of Mickey Mouse or Phineas and Ferb and my kids enjoyment of them stirs a simple joy and thankfulness so can many other environments stir or assault our affections. It may be the work environment that is less than desirable. If work is merely a means to an end and we are working to please ourselves and others and not God, we will miss the enjoyment of God's provision. But as with many things, it may mean that something needs to change . It could be the environment but it could also be you. What are the elements of life that help you enjoy the grace of the day, whatever it looks like? What are your Saturday morning spaces that allow you to think, pray and evaluate things that really matter? If you don't have that type of time or environment, seriously consider making it happen. I am consumed with fighting for joy, but not just for joy as end. While it takes effort to grow and enter the rest God has provided Jesus, joy flows when I consider the perfectly obedient life of Jesus that I get credit for instead of my messed up, sinful choices. Joy is sustained by the truth of the cross and Jesus dying in my place. I can't make myself right and I don't have too-the cross has paid for all my sin. And as I face the scary things in life I know that Jesus is alive and my life is safe with him as he intercedes for me daily.

So as you travel or visit people and places and seek to enjoy coffee in those different places, remember the varied magnificent grace that is yours in Jesus Christ. Seek to enjoy each situation with the knowledge that he is with you and loves you no matter what if you have entered into a relationship with him through repentance and faith.
Grace and peace

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Savoring every sip

There are some mornings that are just amazing. I get to slowly wake up and drink coffee sip by delicious sip. To just savor the moment and the mysteries of life and God. But then, there are those other mornings. The ones where you wake up feeling as though you were beaten with rods and possibly slipped a rufie. All you can do is slug back mug after mug in the hopes of being moderately awake by lunchtime. Or maybe it's like Monday of this week: sick and weak from being sick, fearful and cautious about all consumption, especially coffee. This led to sluggishness and a headache. These are not times of enjoyment. But they are real and most everyone has dealt with those days. If we stop always fixating on the busy day ahead or the mistakes of yesterday, we might start to see renewed joy, peace and hope. Even when days are hard.
Now I love when coffee is really hot. This makes me have to slow down. If I don't I get burned and I don't really take the time to enjoy what's before me. I truly believe that if we all would remind ourselves each day to slow down a bit and enjoy whatever is before us, we would be better spouses, parents, friends and workers. This is especially true if God is before us. If we take time to soak in the life, breath and diverse new mercy that God has bestowed on us, our perspective and our activity can be markedly improved. By opening up a Bible (I'm currently reading through Leviticus-seeing how great a sacrifice was needed and how a Holy God demands holiness in His people) we get great reminders and challenges for our hearts and what we treasure. What we slow down and gaze at each day starts to change us. If it's the tv or the internet predominantly, what we are viewing will impact our hearts and what we value in some negative ways. We are also drawn into the ultra busy, no rest for the weary mindset that keeps us pushing through nap time or bed time to be more...fill in the blank. But if we can fix our hearts and minds on things above, what we will treasure is Christ. Oftentimes when life is really busy or difficult is when we most need to slow down and enjoy our kids, our spouse,friends and family.
I am seeking to be a man who understands how to enjoy the moment better than I have been. I don't want to find what's wrong with situations or people all the time. I wanted to remember the sovereign goodness of God towards His children. I need to remember that God is at work in, through and for me to accomplish His Glory and deepen my joy in Him.
So the next time you have the chance, drink your coffee a little more slowly and enjoy what is going on around you.You might be surprised at all the joy that awaits.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Refining

You know good coffee shops know when and what to change. They recognize that change is a part of life and growth. They also recognize that changing the right things at the right time leads to improvement over time. I love when different coffees are made available or products or environments fazed out or restructured. This keeps discovery ongoing and guards against complacency. The opposite is also true. Some coffee shops and many people, don't think any change is good or necessary. I myself often settle into comfortable patterns of life and faith. My schedule is full but predictable. If anything gets moved or changed it is seemingly catastrophic. But in the midst of all the superficial change, God has been reminding me that there are deep, heart level changes that He still needs to make in me. I am thankful for the grace of God that covers me through the substitutionary life and death of His Son. I know that I can't outs sin the grace of God. But I also know that that same grace appears to teach me, over and over again to say "no" to ungodliness. I still have much to learn and much to change. Thankfully, my hope is in His faithfulness not my own. My grandmother, who turned 98 today, has trusted God for the long haul and been a huge example of God's transformative plans for our lives. I'm thankful for all that I've learned from her and look forward to being example for others to trust in God's faithfulness even when we're in the midst of our brokenness.
Grace and peace

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad