How Do We Love on Our City? One Ten Pictures Partners with Together LA to Carry the Conversation

LOS ANGELES — Churches in Los Angeles and surrounding communities now have a premier hub to share insights, inspiration, and best practices at Together LA (togetherla.net) , said One Ten Pictures Executive Producer Jeremy Gant.The video and media production company, One Ten Pictures, has announced its partnership this week with Together LA, a ministry organization that began two years ago as a conference that asked and began to answer the question, “How do we love on our city?” The collaboration includes the recent launch of the website and an ongoing content partnership.

NEWS RELEASE

“We hope to see Together LA and it's web portal at togetherla.net become a beacon of light and hope for the church in Los Angeles,” Gant said. “We want to serve as a catalyst for sharing the insights, the stories, and the beauty that is the Church in Los Angeles.“One Ten Pictures exists for this reason—to see ministry multiplied by empowering the local church and the everyday believer. We cannot think of a better partnership than to work with Together LA and it's network of churches.”The website serves as place to find resources that will help serve the city, encourage residents of the city, and confront the injustice taking place in the city, said Together LA Director Brannin Pitre.“Most of all, we hope that togetherla.net becomes a place that you feel that you can go to find the information that you need to further your ministry,” Pitre said.Gant said he is excited about the partnership for many reasons, but also because One Ten Pictures exists to equip ministries with media resources that will exponentially multiply their impact. One Ten’s other partnerships include special projects with Saddleback Church, Every Man Ministries, and other churches and ministries nationwide.“What's an added benefit about working with Together LA is that it's in our backyard,” Gant said. “We aren't traveling to some other part of the country or the world... we are literally just stepping out our front door in an effort to make a worldwide impact by first reaching our local community of Los Angeles.”

Together LA: togetherla.netOne Ten Pictures: onetenpictures.com

Media contact: Together LA Senior Editor Alex Murashko — alex@togetherla.net

Evangelical Pastors, Leaders Come Together to Call Christians to Make 2017 'The Year of Good News'

'We commit to preach louder than our nation's politics, and we aim to make the message of Jesus Christ transcend the monopoly of our media.'

 RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A cross-denominational group of some of America's most influential Evangelical pastors and leaders has come together to call Christians to make 2017 "The Year of Good News."Pastor and Harvest Crusades founder Greg Laurie—who organized the letter—is joined by Evangelist Rev. Franklin Graham, Assemblies of God General Superintendent George Wood, Southern Baptist President Steve Gaines, Author Anne Graham Lotz, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler, Family Talk Founder Dr. James Dobson, among others, in signing and publishing the letter urging American Christians to make 2017 the year they "share the message of Jesus with everyone they can at every opportunity they can.""In a time of bad news, distracting news, divisive news, disorderly news, and, sometimes, depressing news we—as Christians and as leaders—want to recommit ourselves to making sure that the Good News of Jesus cuts through it all," says the letter.The letter, which is a strong reminder of the Christian calling to be bearers of good news, was also signed by pastors David Jeremiah, Levi Lusko, Robert Morris, Ronnie Floyd, Skip Heitzig, and James MacDonald, as well as authors Max Lucado, Joel Rosenberg, and Randy Alcorn. Christian leaders such as Eric Metaxas, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, and O. S. Hawkins also added their names to the letter.Christians everywhere are invited to join the "Year of Good News" with #YearOfGoodNews and to add their names at: goodnews.harvestamerica.com."We need a national miracle to heal our political, racial and cultural divisions, and that miracle is found in the power of Jesus to change our hearts," say the Evangelical leaders. "Therefore, we commit to preach louder than our nation's politics, and we aim to make the message of Jesus Christ transcend the monopoly of our media."The letter in its entirety, with its full list of signatories, is copied below.

The Year of Good News

In a time of bad news, distracting news, divisive news, disorderly news, and, sometimes, depressing news we—as Christians and as leaders—want to recommit ourselves to making sure that the Good News of Jesus cuts through it all. We call upon Christians in America to make 2017 "The Year of Good News."Christians everywhere must share the message of Jesus with everyone they can at every opportunity they can. Pastors must preach the Gospel boldly and pray intentionally for national revival.Despite the divisions and distractions dividing our nation and disorienting our culture, we believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ remains the hope of the world and is more needed in our nation now than at almost any point in our nations history.This is not to diminish the important good works and example that the Church as a whole provides, but it is to emphasize that Jesus has commanded us to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel" and to "make disciples of all nations."Our message is the Good News that God loved us so much He sent His son to this earth on a rescue mission. Jesus who is fully God and fully man lived a perfect life, died a perfect death and rose again from the grave.We need a national miracle to heal our political, racial and cultural divisions, and that miracle is found in the power of Jesus to change our hearts. Therefore, we commit to preach louder than our nation's politics, and we aim to make the message of Jesus Christ transcend the monopoly of our media. We confess our only hope of unity is on the level ground at the foot of the cross of Jesus, and our only hope of healing is in the victory achieved through his empty tomb.The gospel is the timeless, God-honored, God-ordained message that can change a human heart for time and eternity. We accept Jesus' command to proclaim his message, wherever we are to whomever we are around.Because 2017 is such a critical year for America, it must become the Year of Good News.Signed,Greg LauriePastor, Harvest Christian FellowshipCathe LaurieSpeaker, AuthorFranklin GrahamBilly Graham Evangelistic AssociationAl MohlerPresident, Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryAnne Graham LotzAuthorJames DobsonAuthor, Family Talk with James DobsonJack GrahamPastor, Prestonwood ChurchSteve GainesPresident, Southern Baptist ConventionDavid JeremiahPastor, Shadow Mountain Community ChurchChris TomlinMusician, SongwriterMax LucadoAuthorRussell MoorePresident, Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionJames MacDonaldFounder and Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible ChapelGeorge WoodGeneral Superintendent, Assemblies of GodEric MetaxasAuthor, Speaker, Radio HostKevin EzellPresident, North American Mission Board (NAMB)Robert MorrisPastor, Gateway ChurchRonnie FloydSenior Pastor, Cross ChurchJoe FochtSenior Pastor, Calvary Chapel of PhiladelphiaBrian BrodersenSenior Pastor, Calvary Chapel of Costa MesaJoel RosenbergAuthorLevi LuskoPastor, Fresh Life ChurchOS HawkinsPresident, Guidestone Financial ResourcesRandy AlcornAuthorWillie JordanCofounder and President, Fred Jordan MissionsRev. Samuel RodriguezPresident, National Hispanic Christian Leadership ConferenceSkip HeitzigFounder and Senior Pastor, Calvary of AlbuquerqueLee StrobelAuthor__________Pastor Greg Laurie serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, one of the largest churches in America; is the author of more than 70 books; hosts the nationally syndicated radio broadcast, A New Beginning; and is the founder of Harvest Crusades, a large-scale evangelistic ministry whose next event, Harvest America, will be held June 11 in Phoenix at the University of Phoenix Stadium and broadcast live nationwide. His next book "Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon" releases on June 13.Photo at top: Jeremy Bishop

Harvest Crusades Story: ‘I’d Been a Meth Addict For Over 20 Years’

Global Church Planter's Vision to Reach Millennials Begins in Downtown LA

Pastor and church planter Jimmie Davidson wants to help millennials get over the whole "church thing" which apparently, for whatever reasons and according to recent stats, is causing a mass exodus from traditional Sunday services.Davidson is the visionary behind TheBrooks.Church, designed to help people who are accustomed to watching church services through the Internet or on TV “become people with a church” wherever they meet.He is aiming high, hoping for a billion global “gatherings” that meet at coffee shops, workplaces, and homes. While Davidson seems to be always thinking globally, his thoughts and prayers most recently have focused in on establishing a home base in Downtown Los Angeles."Lori (his wife) and I are in downtown LA preparing to launch The Brooks as a base to love this city, as a model for the world, as the launching point for the churches we pray to start Internationally," Davidson said.  "This will only be won through prayer, so we are asking you to pray!"His launch team has grown to 18 people over the past few months while "we expect the 300!""Our focus right now is community service projects to love our neighbors.  Those early adopters and pioneers of the faith who God is sending are largely from the arts, including actors living in the city," he said.Plans are for Easter Sunday to be the first service for The Brooks.  After Easter, monthly services are planned for May, June, July, August and September, and the launch of weekly services in October.Leading up to the Easter service, Davidson said he plans to begin a weekly message this Sunday (Feb. 26) titled “You Are The One” which he hopes will help people discover their calling, "their voice for God’s purpose in Life."“We are trying to bring the church where the church doesn’t exist as we raise up people that are not in the game, not using their talents, they are more spectators, and help them be a part of what Christ is doing all over the world,” said Davidson, whose bio includes the descriptor “Great Commission Strategist.”“One billion people mobilized, awakened, to host His church where they live, whatever space they have. It’s about His movement, it’s like streams of the desert, Isaiah 43:18-19. It’s the ultimate seeker-sensitive movement,” he said.“Forget the former things, I’m doing something new, like streams in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19Davidson told me that the timeline for reaching the 1 billion host milestone is not up to him, it’s “up to God.” Even so, it appears Davidson is well-equipped to lead and launch TheBrooks.Church at a time when one-third of millennials say they are unaffiliated with any faith, according to a Pew study released last year and other studies released this year.Davidson’s church planting experience includes starting Highlands Fellowship Church in Virginia which grew from a small group study of family and friends to 4,000 people in attendance and multiple sites. He is the founder of the Global Glory of God PEACE House where over 300 international business leaders and pastors have been trained from over 70 nations, “touching tens of millions of lives.”He was also a contributing author of the book, Multi-site Churches: Guidance for the Movement’s Next Generation, by Scott McConnell.“During the process” of his ministry work, as Davidson describes it, Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren asked him to lead the church’s global campus launches. Three years ago, after several months of prayer, he joined Warren’s team and became a PEACE Pastor overseeing all global missions including a staff of over 35 as well as thousands of volunteers in carrying out the PEACE Plan which includes “Planting Churches, Equipping Servant Leaders, Assisting the Poor, Caring for the Sick and Educating the Next Generation.”“Two years ago, we [Saddleback] launched three global campuses on three continents in two weeks – Hong Kong, Berlin, and Buenos Aires and then the following year, in the summer, during a hurricane, we launched Manilla,” Davidson said. “All of that had led to [the] innovative idea that I’m working on. God has wired me up to be an entrepreneur with an apostolic calling – how do I reach the people who are not being reached.”He says the vision for TheBrooks.Church is to “launch churches all over the planet through ordinary followers of Jesus, using 21st century technology, the Internet, where 3 billion people are online, with the 1st century idea that Jesus gave us when he said, ‘I will build my gathering and the gates of hell will not prevail against me.’”...or a trending millennials downward outlook.He added, “The gospel is meant to be seen up close. The online launch can be a little bit misleading because we are using that as a tool, as a platform, but the heart of what we are doing is what the Lord said, ‘Do not forsake the gathering of your souls together.' Jesus said if two or three of you meet in my name it will be done by my Father. There’s something powerful about people following Jesus gathering, others gathering, God showing up and needs being met.”Perhaps millennials, saved and unsaved, will begin to look at church in a new way.

The Brooks Church: Jimmie Davidson Launches Church Movement from One Ten Pictures on Vimeo.

.@JimmieDavidson wants to help millennials get over the whole “church thing” https://t.co/w1at39Ih4y #losangeles @together_la

— Alex Murashko (@AlexMurashko) February 20, 2017

Political Firestorm: DC Church Elder Shares 16 Ways to Promote Unity Within Congregations

Editor's Note: Jonathan Leeman is an elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., editorial director of 9Marks, and author of several books, including Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ’s Rule (Bio as it appears at The Gospel Coalition). His response to a pastor who is wondering "how can the gospel show a better way" during the current political unrest in the U.S. from both outside and inside the church begins below.A pastor writes:

Members of my congregation are increasingly hostile and mistrusting of one another after the election, especially online. What is my responsibility as a pastor, and how can the gospel show a better way for our polarized culture if we can’t honor one another in our own churches?

Dear friend,That’s a great question. I trust most pastors and Christians believe the gospel is big enough to reconcile and to unify. It’s easy to say, “We’re Republicans and Democrats together for the gospel!” But living together amid our partisan differences is like eating a spoonful of pudding with gravel hiding inside. It looks sweet at first glance, but put it in your mouth and you’ll break your teeth.I’m not going to Pollyanna you. Maintaining gospel unity amid political disagreement is hard.It’s hard because politics, by its nature, deals with questions of justice, and the gospel requires us to care about justice. So if one member’s conscience tells him that a certain party, candidate, protest event, or slogan represents an injustice, while another’s conscience says the party/candidate/slogan represents justice, it will be difficult for either to back down.It’s hard because political engagement nearly always involves making alliances with groups of people who don’t agree on everything. So any given party, candidate, protest event, or even slogan probably represents a conglomeration of issues, three of which might be biblically good and three of which might be biblically reprehensible. Can a Christian get behind the cause for the sake of the good things, especially if no other candidate, party, protest event, or slogan represents those good things?And maintaining unity amid political disagreement may get harder. The more our culture looks to government to solve our problems and be our savior, the higher the culture-war stakes will become on both sides.Certainly, our church on Capitol Hill has felt its share of political tensions. Here are 16 things the pastors or elders try to do to help maintain unity.

1. Preach expositionally.

If you’ve trained your congregation on topical sermons, I dare say they’re going to be more accustomed to your personal and ideological formulations. As such, throwing in a politicized sermon or two won’t startle them. It will sound like what they usually get—a topical sermon.If, however, you’ve trained them on weekly biblical exposition, forays into partisan politics will alarm them. And that discomfort is good....

 READ FULL STORY AT THE GOSPEL COALITION

 

D. A. Horton on Reach Fellowship; What Is the FABRIC For Los Angeles?

Together LA had the opportunity to catch D.A. Horton of Reach Fellowship at the recent Send Conference as he opened the two-day event during the first session and we wanted to share something about his ministry. The Send Conference was hosted by the North American Mission Board in Long Beach, California.Horton and his family relocated to California to plant Reach Fellowship in south Los Angeles County. D.A. was sent out by the Summit Network after he completed his residency at Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina. He has served as an urban church planter/pastor in Kansas City, Missouri, for nearly six years, a National Coordinator of Urban Student Ministries, the Urban Initiatives Team at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the Executive Director at ReachLife Ministries, the non-profit arm of Reach Records. He earned his bachelor of science in Biblical Studies from Calvary Bible College, his master's degree in Christian Studies from Calvary Theological Seminary and is currently working on his doctorate in Applied Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.Reach Fellowship's launch team meets weekly at a local community center in the 90805 for vision, prayer, and fellowship, as they look to launch in 2017, according to the website. Horton and his team are currently inviting others to join and/or support them.We found Reach Fellowship's plan (below) for South Los Angeles County inspiring and useful.

South Los Angeles County needs gospel-centered, multi-ethnic, cultural, and generational led churches that model for their people long-lasting engagement as they intersect in the Six Avenues (F.A.B.R.I.C.) of life while mobilizing their people to do the same.FAMILY – Our homes are the first place of ministry and will mirror Ephesians 5:22-6:4 which then will lead our entire fellowship to practice familial interdependence.AUTHORITY (SCRIPTURE & GOVERNMENT) – Our rule of faith & practice the Bible, commands we pray and respect our national, state and local leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-6).BUSINESS – Our money will be stewarded for God’s glory as it’s shared with those in need (Philippians 4:10-20) as we teach them principles of biblical stewardship.RELIGION – Our hearts will be filled compassion (Matthew 9:35-38) when we give reasonable responses for the hope we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:13-17) when our evangelistic efforts are opposed.INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING & REHABILITATION – Our time will be spent volunteering/working educational and correctional systems in order to see the gospel reach the lost (Romans 10:9-17).CULTURE (ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT) – Our focus will be to assess the culture’s beliefs, language, and practices and filter them through Scripture before identifying ways to engage with the lost in our city (Acts 17:16-34 & 1 Thessalonians 2:8).

Photo: Courtesy of North American Mission Board.

What is Church Really Supposed to Be?

The New Testament writers regularly used the metaphor and example of the family when teaching about the church.  Here are a few examples:

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.–1 Timothy 5:1-2

We were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you… For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.–1 Thessalonians 2:6-8, 11-12

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.–Titus 2:2-5

These passages show that the family structure of high-commitment caring, loving, teaching, and exhorting was all part of the way the church was supposed to function.My church, CityChurch Lawrence, takes this idea very seriously.  We all should.The church is not a business.  It’s not a social club.  It’s not a hierarchy or even a seminary.It’s a family.More specifically, a family of families....READ FULL STORY https://www.theboroughonline.com/church-family-families/

Fantasy Island: Every Man Ministries' Founder on Porn Epidemic

One of the most popular TV shows of back in the 1970s was “Fantasy Island,” starring Ricardo Montalban playing the role of Mr. Roarke, a suave, tuxedo-clad host who, along with his sidekick, Tattoo, greeted his visitors by proclaiming: “Welcome, welcome to Fantasy Island.”Let’s talk about Fantasy Island.The story lines, weaving extravagant fantasies of the newly arrived quests, didn’t always work out the way they wanted. In fact, their fantasies actually brought them back to reality, making them want their reality more than the fantasy. This “ah-hah” moment is sorely needed by male guests visiting the new fantasy islands of today.Someone has to talk about this idea of fantasy because it has become an epidemic – not only here in the United States, but globally. I’m not talking about innocent fantasies, childhood dreams, like the Disneyland fantasies. I’m talking about millions – more likely billions – of men chasing manly fantasies, mainly pornography and extramarital sex. These guys are experiencing the same thing guests on the fictional show did — the promise of fantasy only delivers a moral hangover, a cheap release, and a numbing shame that exposes his lack of character.  The “ah-hah” in front of today’s fantasy islanders is resolving to accept our responsibilities as men and reject the double life of Fantasy Island.Today, pornography revenues in the United States exceed the revenue of ABC, CBS and NBC combined. Indeed, the revenue of the pornography industry is larger than the revenues of Apple, Amazon, Google, eBay, Microsoft, Netflix and Yahoo! – combined.This problem is so large it’s not only plaguing men globally, but it’s creeping into the lives of our mothers, our wives, our sisters, our daughters – even our grandchildren. There is nothing more obviously evident than the New York Times best-selling trilogy called “Fifty Shades of Grey,” three books which chronicle the dark secrets of Anastasia, a college student who desires to be dominated by Christian, a tortured man who has particular sexual tastes (fantasies).  The caricature of “Christian” is stunning.  He is so lost and needs so much help.  Where have all the good men gone?These disturbing cultural trends should hit every Christian man in the mouth and reboot his moral compass as this country heads towards moral, spiritual and cultural implosion.…But I’m not discouraged. As we go through our series called Fantasy Island, you will embrace reality and reject fantasy. We can turn things around. We need, however, to turn to God for spiritual direction and revival. Our reality is the reality of God’s glory: His redemption, His love for us.Men, let God bless you!  Pray about your decisions to embrace reality or live a life of fantasy. The choice is yours, and God is waiting for you to make the decision.Join Every Man MinistriesFantasy ranges from innocent to indecent. From Disney dreams to dark diversions, it is the wallpaper of popular culture offering every man an alternative relief or escape from reality. Why is fantasy so powerful? Why is it so destructive on so many levels? Most importantly, what does fantasy reveal about a man’s relationship to reality? Watch this eye opening session with men’s expert and pastor Kenny Luck and learn why fantasy is an island.GO DEEPER:  Watch the Fantasy Island videos from Kenny.Try the 30-day Free Trial and sign up for the Every Man Ministries Newsletter.Kenny Luck is the president and founder of Every Man Ministries. As the former men’s pastor at Saddleback Church in California and current leadership pastor at Crossline Community Church, Kenny has found the proven way to improve men’s ministries around the world. Sleeping Giant is this blueprint, and gives men the tools they need to lead and understand their own men’s ministry. Watch Kenny’s teachings at EveryManMinistries.com and start your men’s group today!Follow Every Man Ministries now on Facebook, Twitter (@everymm,) and YouTube.

Timothy Keller: The Early Christian 'Social Project'

In November we looked at two new books by scholar Larry Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World (Baylor University Press, 2016) and Why on Earth Did Anyone Become a Christian in the First Three Centuries? (Marquette University Press, 2016). These volumes explain that the early Christians were persecuted more than any other religious group in the first three centuries because they refused to honor other gods or worship the emperor and therefore they were seen as too exclusive, too narrow, and a threat to the social order.Hurtado asks the obvious question that a historian should ask. Why, if Christians were seen as so narrow and offensive and were excluded from circles of influence and business and often put to death — why did anyone become a Christian? One of the main reasons was that the Christian church was what Hurtado calls a unique “social project.”They were a contrast community, a counter-culture that was both offensive and yet attractive to many. We mentioned this briefly in November, but here we will spell out what made the Christian community so different.Hurtado points out that the basis for this unusual social project was the unique, new religious identity that Christians had. Before Christianity, there was no distinct “religious identity” because one’s religion was simply an aspect of one’s ethnic or national identity. If you were from this city, or from this tribe, or from this nation, you worshipped the gods of that city, tribe, or people. Your religion was basically assigned to you.Christianity brought into human thought for the first time the concept that you chose your religion regardless of your race and class. Also, Christian-ity radically asserted that your faith in Christ became your new, deepest identity, while at the same time not effacing or wiping out your race, class, and gender. Instead, your relationship to Christ demoted them to second place. That meant that, to the shock of Roman society, all Christians, whether slave, free, or high born, or whatever their race and nationality, were now equal in Christ (Galatians 3:26-29). This was a radical challenge to the entrenched social structure and divisions of Roman society, and from it flowed several unique features....READ FULL STORY AT REDEEMER REPORT