Urban Reformation

We seek to always find the balance of true Grace and true Christian liberty, with the understanding that being a believer in Jesus Christ means living out the Christian life as a doer of the word.

Not because we are mandated by the law in order to obtain righteousness, or to be good enough to go to heaven, but because it is out of the overflow of who Christ is and His finished work that we seek to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.  Thus God’s word demands a response, lest we be deceiving ourselves.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” - James1:22

- Listening and Obeying.

1) Listening

It is essential that we take the Old Testament cry of having an ear inclined to hear wisdom. And it is so very important that we are quiet to listen, and not drown out by the world.

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding”
- Proverbs 2:1-6

2) Obeying

The next step in responding to God’s word is to for this word of God to bring about some action in your life. It is not appropriate for the believer to just listen and not apply to his life. This application of the word should be applied to the heart, the mind and to a person’s actions.

This requires a great deal, first regeneration has to have taken place, or you must be born again. So this assumes that you know Christ already and that He knows you. Secondarily there must be a new relationship with sin and a striving toward being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This is a product of faith, a gift from God given by His wonderful Grace, and not of ourselves.

Where does Living come in here? Living is part of hearing, or being transformed, it’s the extension or a fruit of our transformation in the sense that it is part of the means in which God molds us into the image of His son Jesus Christ. As we are sanctified, God brings conviction of sin, of excess, of worldliness to us and as we begin to follow hard after God we begin to shed the things of this world.

How does that apply in the North East part of Kansas City, Missouri you ask? And what does this have to do with living?

We pray that God is working on the hearts of men to turn away from some minimum material vanities of this life and move within proximity of one another. Our church happens to be in the burbs but there has been in recent months a small group of people who are of like mind and heart considering a move to the inner city.

And either for the financial benefit of being debt free and “owing no many anything but to love him” as it says in Romans, or to share Christ together in community with a dark and dying area of town, this is an opportunity for those who are convicted in these areas to come together in Christ and live out Christ, in obedience, in community with one another.

Our desire is to be a means of the gospel into a dark area of the city, leaving the current sub-urban Christian trend of living off by yourself, self-indulged, with huge gaps between you and your neighbors and live within walking distance of each other.

This allows the “neighborhood” to be much more involved in each other’s lives. Sharing Christ together, eating meals together, being easily available to each other as members of the body of Christ, to be strengthened and sharpened for the kingdom. We hope to have a greater impact for Christ as the neighbors see what we are by how we live, and hear about who Jesus is and what He’s done!

If you’re interested in knowing more about the North East and the Christian Community in the area please contact us!

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