The Manifesto!

Live Worship and Live The Mission!

This is my declaration! This is my plea. Live Worship, and Live The Mission of Jesus Christ! Declare His Gospel, and herald His Hope. This is our objective and this is what our declaration must be!!! Worship leads to Mission, for Worship is to be on Mission. Am I saying this to be provocative?  Yes! Am I being overly provocative?  No! My intention is to provoke others to truly live, and of that I am guilty. This is my hope. This is my prayer (Ephesians 5:1-2, 8-14). A prayer for awakening. A hope of destiny.

Life is life. Life is to be lived. Life is what it is, but it is also what we make it. To truly be alive we must live as we have been created to live (Matthew 22:36-40). We must live faith, live hope, and live love (1 Corinthians 13:13). We must live life fully alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:17)! We must Live Worship and to do so we must Live The Mission of Jesus Christ.

What we do is worship! We were made to worship! We were made worshiping! Harold Best in his insightful book Unceasing Worship states, “Worship is at once about who we are, about who or what our god is and about how we choose to live. It is about something that is quite simple yet wrapped in...mystery”. Worship becomes us, for we become like what we worship. Our identity is found in what we worship, and worship leads us in how we live our lives. It commands much of us. It determines who we are and how we live. It determines our desires, and it determines what we will sacrifice in order to achieve our desires.

Worship requires devotion. It requires obedience to command
 and true desire to obey. The tendency to worship is naturally within us, for we naturally devote ourselves to something. However, the tendency to worship the one true God is not naturally within our being (Romans 3:10-12). We are are indeed worshipers. However, we are indeed worshipers of false gods (Romans 1:18-25).

What then? How are we to Live true Worship if we are indeed unable? By grace! By grace our desires change and by grace we become worshipers of the one true God. By grace, God becomes what we Worship. By grace, what we Worship becomes what we love, why we love, and how we love. I would be a fool to say that I completely understand this profound mystery. However, I do understand this mystery to be true.

To know the truth, to believe the truth, to act according to the truth, and to love the truth will naturally result in true Worship and The Mission of Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Worship is a response and a reception of God's truth and grace through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is not a matter of what we do but a matter of what God has done. The Law (what we do) leads to death, yet Christ is the way to life (Romans 8:1-2, Colossians 2:8). Even The Law of Love is a law that leads to death (Matthew 22:34-40). We Worship not by our love. We Worship by God's grace, and our response to His grace is to Love. Our Love is conditional upon God's grace. We Love because God first Loved us, and we act out of this Love because God acted first (1 John 4:19). We are able because He enables us. We continue in worship. However our object of worship has changed. Worship and The Mission is how we respond to what God has done, and it is by grace that we have been granted this ability.

How then shall we keep God's commands (John 14:15)? By grace! Christ has interceded on our behalf, and He has become our righteousness (Colossians 1:22). In Christ we now have a holy given desire. If we Love God, our obedience will naturally follow because our desires have changed to Love God. Failure is inevitable, yet our new desire shall remain unchanged. Our destiny shall also remain, for God's Love perpetuates Jesus Christ as the manifestation of grace and propitiates His wrath (John 1:1-5).  In turn, our Love perpetuates from Jesus Christ in Worship and Mission (Psalm 40:8). For what is Worship without Love and what is Love without service? Mission becomes a continuum of our Worship, for Mission is an act of Worship. Worship is what we do. Our Worship is unceasing. However, our sinful nature may break this continuum. So how then shall we Worship? By grace, through grace, and because of grace! May the joy and gladness of Jesus Christ fill our hearts (Psalm 100: 1-5)!

May a revolution ensue (John 17:3)! May God's Love revolutionize our hearts and may we revolutionize the world with and by His Love. May a resurgence revive dead, beating hearts to Live Worship and Live The Mission of Jesus Christ. May our hearts beat and our feet march with this rhythm. May Christ be our declaration. May His Gospel be our clarion call. May His Great Commission be our Mission (Matt. 28: 18-20)! Take initiative. Be engaged by grace. Engage in Faith. Engage in Worship. Engage in The Mission of Jesus Christ. May we Live Worship and Live The Mission of Jesus Christ!

EDIFICE // CHURCH

What is the church? How was it built? Who built it? How was the foundation laid? How shall one build? How shall the supports be raised? How can one build upon that which has already been established? The Kingdom of God is advancing, yet are we on mission? The Revolution has ensued, yet are our hearts engaged! Christ has laid the foundation, the apostles have built upon it, and we have been commanded to build as they have been commanded to build (Matt. 28: 16-20). Are our lives dedicated to His Kingdom's cause? Are we engaged in The Mission of Jesus Christ? Are we in submission to His commands? Do our actions reveal who we Worship? Do we sacrifice our lives because He sacrificed His life for our's? Do we sacrifice anything and everything for His glory?

What is the church? Is the church just a building or is it the act of building up that which resides inside and outside of it's walls? Edifice Church has been designed to equip, enable, and edify each individual to Live Worship and Live The Mission of Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:11-16), thus acting as an agent to build The Kingdom of God. In surveying the lands we have decided that Charlotte, North Carolina, more specifically the University City area, is the place to build. Due to the lower-income demographic and the transient nature of the area, it has historically proven difficult to sustain a church in the University City area long-term. Many churches attempt and fail to start and sustain a church in the area for this reason, consequently being forced to either close their doors due to financial destitution or move to the suburbs for financial restitution. We observe this harsh reality as a convocation to start a church that will sustain the elements despite the anticipated storms. We observe this need as a calling to respond.

We see a glorious Son on the horizon that wants to bring His truth and light to the University City area to vanquish the darkness. We see a glorious vision of a place in ruins being entirely restored by the truth and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We see a place of darkness, a place of high crime and spiritual despair, in need of a divine light and it is by us through whom He shall shine (John 8:12). We see a place of educational deception and spiritual deceit in need of the truth (John 14:6).

We see a place and people in need of a Savior (John 3:16). In light of these things, we have chosen to bring light to the University City area (Matt. 5:14). And with this in mind we have decided to be the messengers of The Truth, that is Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:15). For if the truth be told, if The Truth and Light are not shed on the University City area, it will remain in darkness and it's people will remain Hell-bound, wandering in the dark without direction, walking in the ways of evil with no light to guide them.

So, united we stand and for this cause we assemble. The message of truth must be heard. The light of life must be shown. For this we assemble and for this we deploy. With that in heart and mind our declaration is this: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. In that spirit our directive is this: The Spirit of God. Taking that to heart our objective is this: Live Worship and Live The Mission of Jesus Christ! To do so in a cultural demographic which predominately consists of 18-25 year old, poor, non-Christian, college students and lower-income singles; we do ask for your financial support (The 2000 // 2010 Census: http://www.census.gov/ // The 2011 Statistical Abstract: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population.html // http://www.CityData.com/ //). In a place of high crime and lower-income, we ask for your financial sanctioning. Will you build with us? The foundation has been laid, yet the supports must be raised. Will you help us in preparing the grounds through prayer and fasting? Will you help us in raising the supports of Edifice Church through giving and/or through service? The foundation is Christ and the workers are His saints. In laying the foundation every stone will be set according to Him, Jesus Christ, The Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-22). He established The Church. He is sustaining The Church and He commands us to build, as His Church. Will you build with us? Will you support the Church of Jesus Christ?

We are dedicated to The Mission and we have responded to the call (Mat. 28:16-20 // Acts 1:8). We've responded out of compassion and we've responded out of love (Mat. 22: 36-40). Out of obedience we march and out of passion we lead the charge. Will you join in The Revolution? Will you join in the Mission of Jesus Christ? For it is He who shall lead us and it is He who has revolutionized our hearts!