Renewal Staff Blogs

Breaking Shovels

Trevor Hoffman — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:37:38 +0000

by Trevor Hoffman

For the first time in my tenure as a homeowner, I broke something. It was horribly disappointing, tragically ill timed and surprisingly discouraging. I wasn’t expecting things like this to not occur (I’ve seen Home Improvement); I just wasn’t expecting it to occur when it did. That’s right – I broke my shovel in two.

Last Monday, I was working the afternoon away, exercising dominion over my little portion of creation – cutting grass and eating weeds - when I noticed several small stumps in the middle of my yard. The previous homeowner had apparently trimmed the would-be-trees down but never fully uprooted the plants. They were fairly small stumps, no bigger than 3 inches in diameter, but enough to eventually grow into little thorns in my side. I had toiled the afternoon away thus far; why not attempt to pull these trees up, as well? Wouldn’t be too difficult, right?

As you’re aware, this task proved to be exceedingly more difficult than anticipated. These insignificant little stumps would not uproot! I axed them to pieces, kicked them repeatedly and dug all around them, producing only sweat and frustration. These obstinate little trees remained clinging to the dirt.

I finally resorted to brute force, wedging the shovel under the roots doing my best to leverage the roots vertically. My 205 pounds of pure masculinity bearing down against the roots’ death grip proved to be too much for the integrity of the shovel’s handle. There was a violent snap, then 205 pounds of pure masculinity lying on the ground.

I was really irritated, it was late in the afternoon and I’d made great progress up to this point. So I quit. The shovel fragments are still lying in my backyard and the stump remains as rooted as ever.

Here’s the point of this blog post: in our battles to uproot and kill sin, we will lose, we will become frustrated and we will be tempted to quit.

But do not grow weary in doing good! Don’t be like me - conceding loss at the first sign of disappointment. Look to Christ. Continue to press into the Lord through prayer and His word. Battle sin, seek accountability and fight the good fight! Be encouraged that the Lord who began a good work in you will not let you fall away.

Friends, you must persevere! Relentlessly attack your sin, never lose heart, and by all means, break shovels!

Spurgeon on the Value of a Godly Mother

Lee Buford — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:55:08 +0000

Shared by Sarah Rogers

Mother's Day is this coming Sunday, and Charles Spurgeon provides us an excellent reminder to consider on the value of a godly mother:

"I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother; neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the young heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring. A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of "mother" is creation's blot. Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother. Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me. How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape from the wrath to come? I thought her lips right eloquent; others might not think so, but they certainly were eloquent to me. How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, "Oh, that my son might live before Thee!" Nor can her frown be effaced from my memory—that solemn, loving frown, when she rebuked my budding iniquities; and her smiles have never faded from my recollections— the beaming of her countenance when she rejoiced to see some good thing in me towards the Lord God of Israel."

- Charles Spurgeon, as quoted in Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1

“Brooks ain't no bug. He's just...institutionalized.”

Trevor Hoffman — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:12:40 +0000

by Trevor Hoffman

Everything sounds better when Morgan Freeman says it – this quote being no exception. In the classic film, The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman plays ‘Red,’ an older man serving a life sentence for murder. The story spans nearly two decades as we see the impact a single prisoner, Andy, has on all those imprisoned and employed by Shawshank, especially Red, the film’s narrator. It’s a beautifully told epic of hope and redemption.

Midway through the film the audience is introduced to the character Brooks Hatlen, an elderly gentleman whose home is Shawshank after 42 years of imprisonment. Word spreads that Brooks is being considered for parole, resulting in Brooks behaving unlike himself and ultimately attacking another inmate. Red concludes that Brooks has become institutionalized. Red says:

“These prison walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them. That's institutionalized. They send you here for life, that's exactly what they take. The part that counts anyways.”

Brooks is so used to his chains he’s become anxious at the thought of losing them. This of course begs the question: will Red, an aging prisoner soon to be eligible for parole himself, react the same way?

Eventually, Brooks is paroled and welcomed into normal civilian life. He has a difficult time adapting, writing in a letter to his friends back in Shawshank:

“I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss - not for an old crook like me.”

Brooks, tired and despondent, takes his own life. The great tragedy of Brooks’ story isn’t his suicide necessarily, but his “institutionalization” and ultimately his hopelessness.

Shortly after Brooks’ death, Red is released for parole after 40 years of confinement. Red is seen working at the same grocery store, performing the same functions and living in the same rented space as Brooks. Red’s narration during this time parallels Brooks’ letter, both expressing frustration with the hurried nature of the outside world, feeling out of place and the lure of what once was home, prison.

But there’s something different about Red. Earlier in the film, Andy manages to escape the inescapable Shawshank, sending a letter to Red detailing the location of his new home in paradise. While on parole, Red boards a bus and heads to Mexico to meet up once more with the escaped Andy. The final scene of the film is Red’s flight to Mexico and reunion with Andy beside the great blue Pacific Ocean.

The stories of Brooks and Red aren’t so different from our stories. Institutionalization doesn’t belong exclusively to hardened criminals. In Sunday's sermon, Matt argued from Romans 6 that, prior to our encounter with Christ, we were willfully enslaved and imprisoned to our sin. In Christ, we have been made slaves to obedience, rescued from the oppressive, destructive slavery of sin. But do we not find ourselves to be institutionalized? How often, like Brooks and Red, do we feel despair over our new freedom? How often do we desire to be imprisoned again? Our pursuit of sin after we’ve encountered Christ is nothing short of institutionalization, a longing for chains once more.

Let us not be like Brooks, overcome with despair and hopeless in our institutionalization. As Peter writes in his second letter:

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:20-22 ESV)

What a tragedy it is for us to taste freedom yet crave bondage.

Let us be like Red. Consider the final lines of the film as Red travels to be reunited with Andy:

“I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

For those in Christ, we have hope. We have excitement in this hope. Sin has been defeated, sin has no dominion over us, and, unlike Red, our conclusion is certain. Our “friend” will be there, we will make it “across the border,” and I assure you, our “Pacific” is infinitely greater than our dreams.

Be encouraged, be hopeful, and be reminded that Jesus has defeated sin and freed us to a life of obedience, freeing us from oppression to sin. Live today as those hopeful in Christ’s victory, brought to life by His resurrection, and desperately longing for and clinging to our certain conclusion.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, April 15, 2012

Lee Buford — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:36:05 +0000

by Lee Buford

We are grateful, by God’s grace, to have had another great time of worship and study as we gathered as a church on Sunday. If you couldn’t be with us, here is a recap:

Study/Serve

Hugh taught through our fourth class on a Christian ethic of life, focusing this week on reproductive technology. These subject-intensive study times are proving very profitable each week, and we look forward to seeing how God continues to challenge and grow us through our time together in His Word.

Main Gathering

Matt kicked off our new series, “Killing Sin,” teaching through Romans 5:1-11. In this series, over the next nine weeks, we will take a closer look at specifically why the resurrection matters in our individual lives.

Sunday’s sermon, "Accept the Verdict," reminded us that the resurrection matters greatly in our daily Christian living and our fight for conformity to Christlikeness.

Easter validates our justification, providing proof that by the resurrection Jesus conquered death.
The resurrection is God’s signature, or stamp, on our salvation.
We are justified by his grace as a gift (Romans 3:24), and not by works of the law (Galatians 2:16). Therefore, our “killing of sin” or moral efforts in no way justifies any of us.

The first step in killing sin: ACCEPT THE VERDICT!

Truly accepting the verdict that God has declared us justified produces three key outcomes:

Peace – deals with our guilt (no worry now about the wrath of God, our salvation is assured)
Access – deals with our alienation (we’ve been reconciled to God, from enemy to friend)
Hope – deals with our condemnation (biblical hope is confident, expectant, and certain)

In Luke 15, we see the truths of Romans 5 played out in the stories of the prodigal sons.

The verdict is in: those who are saved are justified and have the full assurance of salvation. We must accept the verdict for good, trusting in the promises of God to complete in us the work that He’s begun.

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday, you can listen to the sermon audio here.

Foundations: Join Us Tomorrow Night!

Matt Rogers — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:26:00 +0000

by Matt Rogers

Tomorrow night Renewal Church is hosting "Foundations", a teaching event from 6-11pm on the topic of gender, and we’d love for you to join us!

We will address God’s design for biblical manhood and womanhood, gender roles in the home and the church, spiritual formation for both genders, and the implications of our walks with the Lord on our sexuality. To assist in the teaching we have several outstanding speakers who will be joining us; including Will and Tarah Browning from The Journey Church in Summerville, Phud Chambers from Remedy Church in Rock Hill, and Ken and Pat Forrester from Rocky Creek Baptist Church in Greenville.

I highly encourage you to sign up for Foundations: Gender so that you can get a holistic view on God’s good design for your manhood or womanhood. This event will allow you to learn how to answer younger men and women as you disciple them and teach them about what it means to be a man or woman. You will also learn foundational truths that will give you wisdom as you make decisions for your future.

We need you to register so we know how many to expect. Please take a moment to do that now by clicking here. Again, the event is tomorrow night, April 13^th, from 6 to 11pm at the Hilton Garden Inn on Woodruff Road at I-85 here in Greenville. The cost is $15, but if that is a stretch for you, let us know and we will help you with that.

If you’re wondering what we will be discussing, keep reading below to whet your appetite:

“Feminism as a cultural movement is over. This is not to say that feminism has ended. On the contrary. The only reason the feminist movement is over is that it has been so wildly successful. Feminism has transitioned from being a movement to being a mindset of the masses. Hence, a movement is no longer needed…Virtually everyone is a feminist. Feminism has seeped into people’s systems like intravenous drugs into the veins of an unconscious patient. The majority of people in today’s churches are feminists – and they don’t even know it…Prior to feminism, culture upheld many Judeo-Christian ideas about manhood, womanhood, male-female relationships, sexuality, marriage, and family. During the feminist era, all of these ideas were challenged and deconstructed. This upcoming post-feminist generation has absolutely no concept about God’s plan for gender and morality. In the past, truths about gender were generally “caught,” but now, they must be intentionally “taught.” The biggest thing that leaders need to understand is that the default setting has changed—even for those raised in the church. Leaders cannot assume that the people in their congregations have a biblical framework for understanding these things. Manhood, womanhood, and male-female relationships have become primary discipleship issues. It is critical that we ground our leaders and our people in deep, gospel-centered theology about God’s design for gender. A doctrinally rich understanding of manhood and womanhood is essential in order to combat the relational/sexual/marital carnage that accompanies a post-feminist mindset.” - Mary Kassian

We know that there is something far amiss in our culture when it comes to God’s design for manhood and womanhood. This next generation has NO CONCEPT of God’s plan for gender and morality. We must learn, love, and live God’s design for gender and pass His good design on to the next generation so that they can do the same.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow night!

Easter in the Park: Join us on Sunday!

Matt Rogers — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:47:30 +0000

by Matt Rogers

Sunday is a big day in the life of Renewal Church. We are incredibly excited to celebrate this Resurrection Day with you.

At Summit Church and Renewal Church, we believe from Genesis to Revelation the Bible tells a story of a God who is on a mission of reconciling the world to Himself. The work of reconciliation was perfected in the person and work of Jesus Christ for all who have begun a relationship with Him. We believe that Jesus and the Gospel transform all of life, and we long to continue to discover that for ourselves and reveal that to others. We believe God's heart is infinitely loving and His desire is to offer His gift of life in His Son to everyone.

Sunday will provide us a wonderful opportunity to see, hear, and reflect on the implications of the finished work of Jesus Christ evidenced by the empty tomb!

We also believe, based on Scripture, that God's primary vehicle for taking that message to the world is through His body, the Church. To that end, Summit Church and Renewal Church are apart of Mission Upstate. Mission Upstate is a group of churches from around the Upstate of South Carolina that are taking responsibility for the geography in which God has placed them. These churches understand that they could have started anywhere, but God had them start where they are in order to present Jesus to every man, woman and child in that area. They also partner with existing churches inside those circles because they understand that it is not about their local church, but rather about THE Church in their city and region. The only way they will reach their circle is by partnering with other churches around the Gospel of Jesus Christ for God's glory and fame.

Sunday morning both churches, our friends, and anyone from the city are gathering at Falls Park at 10am to celebrate. Please come early, bring something to sit on, and experience Easter in a unique way this year.

Our prayer is that you would be introduced or reminded of God's deep and passionate love for you, demonstrated perfectly in His Son, Jesus Christ.

For more information you can visit Mission Upstate (www.missionupstate.org), Summit Church (www.summitupstate.org), and Renewal Church (www.renewalchurch.cc) on the web.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, April 1, 2012

Lee Buford — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:18:40 +0000

by Lee Buford

We give God the glory and praise for another great Sunday at Renewal and we hope you had a chance to be with us. If not, here are a few highlights:

Partner Meeting
We kicked things off with our monthly meeting for Renewal partners (held the first Sunday of each month). Hugh led our people through a sweet time of prayer in preparation for this week’s Easter service, praying for our city and all that God would do in and through “Easter in the Park”.

Main Gathering
We began our corporate gathering with a time of prayer for one of our partner churches, Covenant Life Church in Tampa, FL. We encourage you to pray for them this week, as we did, for the following:

Salvation for the lost resulting from the efforts of a mission team that served alongside Covenant Life last week
Courage for the people of CLC to invite many to hear the hope of the gospel on Easter Sunday
Growth in holiness and fight against sin of the members of CLC

Matt concluded our series in Jonah, teaching through Jonah 4. The sermon, “Living on a Little TV”, gave us a great perspective on how Jonah was so consumed with his own story that he consistently missed what God was doing in the big story.

When our thoughts and lives become consumed with our own desires, versus our obedience to God’s plan, we too are living life on our own little TVs. Matt gave us the following “Five Marks of Living Life on a Little TV” to consider as evidences that one is viewing life as Jonah did:

Faltering Joy
Exaggerated Emotions
Resentment of Change
Wasted Time
Missing Mission

Ultimately, it’s God’s story and God’s plan. Nothing can thwart His plan; therefore, we must make the decision to accept the fact that it’s not all about us and obediently join in on the mission He’s set before us.

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday you can listen to the sermon here.

Finally, we concluded our gathering with a special time of giving that we’ve been praying about as a church for several weeks. We designated Sunday as a day of “First Fruits” at Renewal, and we gave generously as a church body to support the work God is doing here in Greenville and around the world. As we invest in other church plants, existing churches, and mission opportunities, we trust that God will use our efforts for His glory in the days and years to come. To Him be the glory!

I Wish It Was As Easy As Making Mac And Cheese

Matt Rogers — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:45:13 +0000

In the realm of cooking, my skill set is quite limited – Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Hamburger Helper, and an occasional taco. Give me any other assignment and you are likely to regret tasking me with culinary creative process. My primary flaw boils down to a lack of framework for the end product. I know food when I see it. I know when something tastes good. I know when I feel full. But, I have absolutely no concept of what ingredients make for good food and how to put those ingredients together into a delightful meal. When making food, I may know what a food item means, but without a concept of the ingredients that comprise a meal, I am unable to make anything of lasting value.

The same is true of my role in God’s story. He tasks his people with a project. He gives us something to make.

“Go, and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18)

I’ve heard that command for the better part of my life. And yet, to be honest, I was groomed in a church milieu that taught me how to make many things: budgets, teams, cool services, and a host of other programmatic tools meant to aid the church in accomplishing its mission.

The tragedy is that I knew very little about two things: 1. What makes one a disciple of Jesus? and 2. How does a person help another individual become a disciple? Much like food, I could point you to examples of a disciple of Jesus. I knew one when I saw one. But I did not know what its looked like to get in on the process of actually making one.

Now as a pastor, it is my job to make disciples and train other people to do the same. So, over a series of posts exploring the Scriptures, my desire is to pursue a healthy definition of a disciple of Jesus and then discuss how one might give their lives to bringing this definition to life in the heart and lives of others.

Rather than simply looking at “the disciples” I think it might be best to attempt a more holistic appraisal on those in the Scriptures that were known to walk with God and attempt to discern some universal truths about what made them disciples.

Church Planting in Gym Shorts

Matt Rogers — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:12:41 +0000

by Matt Rogers

I used to be a world renowned athlete.

On the concrete slab in my back yard playing basketball with myself. I would do the play by play in my head: “The time is running out. Matt Rogers open in the corner. 3,2…Matt for the win…1.” The crowd would erupt as the fictitious shot went through the net.

In many ways this is the story of my church planting efforts. I was a church planter in gym shorts, devising all the right ways and means of planting the perfect church. I knew it all, had read all the blogs, purchased the right books, downloaded the podcasts. The roar of the crowd was only days away.

And then I actually started a church.

Two years later, I realize how far from reality my church planting journey had been. Being a bit young, somewhat naïve, and very prideful, I ran headlong into a game thinking what I had figured out in gym shorts would work in the real game. And it doesn’t.

By God’s grace I am still in the game and God is being faithful to build His church. Recognizing that the landscape of American evangelical culture is littered with young men like me, aspiring to plant a church and honor the Lord through the efforts, I offer the following questions as those I should have been asking then and am still asking now.

How do you keep score?

Forgive the over usage of an illustration, however the point is essential. Without a concept of “scoring” in any game or business, a person cannot rightly understand the nature of the task at hand. For a church, this means that we must understand the goal and have a measurable means of knowing whether or not we are “scoring”. If, as I believe to be true, disciple multiplication is what counts as a “score” then the church must focus, dream, strategize, pray and build towards this end and must inject its culture with ongoing means of measuring disciple production in the body.

How do you devise plays that result in scores?

Knowing that we are after disciples, the next question is how do we develop systems within a church culture that actually help us score. Growing up in a context filled with diverse church programs it is often easy to miss the point of the systems. The challenge of church planting, once you have more than 12 people sitting in a living room, is designing systems that fan into flame the work of disciple-making in our culture. This is far easier in theory than in practice, but it is the vital question of pastoral ministry.

Who plays which position?

Once you know the score and the plays, you have to have someone to run them. And church leadership is not an individual sport. This means diverse people with complicated backgrounds and gift mixes must be catalyzed into a cohesive unit that facilitates disciple multiplications. Simply having a bunch of sharp dudes wearing the title of leader does not guarantee scoring unless these people have the ability to score, and assist others in scoring, on a regular basis.

Who is the opponent?

If I mislabel who is on the other team, then the game falls apart. Tragically, the other team is often foolishly characterized as other churches, established churches, the church that hurt my feelings, or the church that is not like me. This results in us missing the real enemy, the one who comes to steal, kill, destroy and terrorize the church of Jesus Christ. Spending more time criticizing those that aren’t like us than we do working together to make disciples in our city often reveals the men in gym shorts and the ones in the game.

Planting a church in gym shorts is easy. The problem is once you actually start planting a church you will, by God’s grace, get exposed. If we are not consistently asking the hard questions about what it means to make disciples in the real context of the local church then we will never win anything that really matters.

Celebrating Meltdown Student Conference

Toby Dix — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:27:17 +0000

by Toby Dix

For those of you who may not be familiar, Meltdown Student Conference is a weekend conference aimed at encouraging youth to renew and strengthen their relationships with Christ Jesus. Students in grades six through twelve are among the hundreds who attend conferences in two different states each year.

Pigeon Forge, TN has been the home of Meltdown for the past fifteen years. The Ramada Inn serves as an ideal location to host the conference as most students are able to stay in rooms adjacent to the conference center. Over the years thousands of young people have come to hear God’s Word preached and been given an opportunity to worship through song.

Our most recent conference took place January 20-22, in Pigeon Forge. Over 600 students were in attendance and we saw God move in a mighty way through the teaching of His Word, worship, and our special guests. Here are a few of the highlights:

Dustin Willis, a pastor and church planter in Columbia, SC, taught through the book of Jonah over the course of the weekend. It was an incredible time for all to be reminded that God cares for all, that God was not punishing Jonah, and that God chases after us in life.
Jonathan Elrod and his band from Williamston, SC, did a great job leading us in worship the entire weekend.
Illusionist Jared Hall and comedians Bean and Bailey amazed and dazzled us with their humorous skits, songs, and talents.
The band, the Museum, performed and led worship as the weekend concluded on Sunday.

Prior to the conference in Pigeon Forge, Meltdown Branson was held at The Stone Castle in Branson, MO during the final week of December 2011. This marked the second year for the Branson conference, and God was gracious to move in big ways there as well. Highlights from the Branson conference included:

Attendance doubled from the first year in 2010.
Mike Keahbone of OK, taught through God’s Word, also preaching on the book of Jonah.
Jason Taylor of Joplin, MO, and the Meltdown Praise Band led in worship throughout the weekend.
Theatre Off the Cuff entertained and provided many laughs throughout the conference.

God has blessed mightily during and through these conferences in both states. We are already working on the details for the next two Meltdown Student Conferences for winter 2012 and 2013, and God has given us a vision and heart for starting more conferences in other areas in the years to come.

Please join us in praising God for all He’s done in and through these conferences to date, and we’d greatly appreciate your prayers for our upcoming conferences in the months to come. You can also visit our website, follow us on Twitter (@MeltdownSC), and "Like" our Facebook page to stay updated on all conference information, view pictures from our events, and much more.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, February 5, 2012

Lee Buford — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:03:46 +0000

by Lee Buford

Sunday was another exciting day at Renewal and we hope you had a chance to be with us. If not, here are a few highlights:

Partner Meeting

We kicked things off with our monthly meeting for Renewal partners (held the first Sunday of each month). Matt led a discussion on church leadership, taking a closer look at how the Bible speaks to the various offices, roles, and qualifications of those called to shepherd and serve the local church. In addition, we discussed Renewal’s process for the equipping and installation of additional elders as we move forward as a church.

As part of our main gathering we were blessed to have Jeremy and Kelly Keever with us, and they followed our opening worship time by sharing their testimony and experience in the areas of adoption and stewardship. Jeremy challenged our church specifically in two areas relative to this biblical issue:

Stewardship – Are we being responsible with what God has entrusted us…not just financially, but also relative to our resources, time, and gifts? What are we doing to take care of “the least of these”?
Adoption is a gospel issue, a beautiful picture of what God has done in adopting us as sons and daughters. Do we view it as such and what are picture are we painting for others?

Current Series: Blueprint

During our main teaching block Matt continued our Blueprint series with a sermon titled, “And That”, teaching from Leviticus 19. As God’s covenant people we are to act in certain ways; not in an effort to earn his favor, but rather because we have His favor. Just as there are things He’s commanded us not to do, there are others that He’s commanded us to do. These are weighty issues for many of us, and we are consistently reminded of the “why” in Leviticus 19 as God continues to give the same reason: “I am the LORD.”

As we see in the text we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (v. 18)
We are to love others, meeting their needs and treating strangers as though they are not “outsiders” (v. 34)
God’s people are called and put in places to be a blessing to those around them (the primary means by which the church spread throughout history).
Why do we have such a hard time with this? Most often, as Matt related, our difficulties with obedience in this area stem from our tendencies to forget who we really are: corrupt, filthy, unworthy, sick, enslaved, outsiders who, by God’s grace, have been adopted into the family of God ourselves.

That said, what does it look like for us to “get in the game”? Matt provided three means by which we get involved:

Look around. – What similar situations exist in our society?
Do something. – What would mercy look like in this situation?
Give generously. – How am I called to act?

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday you can listen to the sermon here on our website.

After our gathering we were blessed to have the opportunity to baptize three believers who wanted to make their profession of faith public. We praise God for this time to celebrate His saving grace in the lives of His people.

We closed out this tremendous day with Super Bowl parties hosted by our Small Groups all around the city. Our groups gathered in various homes for a sweet time of food, fun, and fellowship, and we give thanks to God for allowing us this opportunity to come together with our friends and neighbors.

What You Can Do For Me

Matt Rogers — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:41:54 +0000

by Matt Rogers

As a child our family had an annual vacation rhythm that included a Thanksgiving week trip to the Outer Banks. While the ladies shopped and played at the beach, the men of the family would spend the week surf fishing. The nature of the boomerang shape of the island made the prime fishing spot the primary bend in the island, known as “The Point”, where the island made a 90 degree turn and the surf seemed to merge. This combination of moving water and high tides made for a prime hangout for baitfish, meaning that the big fish were not far behind.

The real fun of fishing The Point was waiting until low tide and wading out into the surf to the first sandbar, allowing you to fish much further out into the ocean. As the tide would shift, it would be impossible to wade back to the main shore and fishermen would be stranded out on the sandbar for hours until the surf shifted again. Out on the sandbar, surrounded by the ocean, there was nothing to do but continue to fish and attempt to withstand the elements and the sheer exposure.

Reflecting on this picture is likely the closest visual I have to the experience of my first two years of church planting. In spite of the fact that I had ten years of experience on a church staff prior to planting Renewal Church, I vastly underestimated the degree of exposure that would result from planting a church. Two years into our plant, some days I feel like I am fishing and some days I feel like I am surviving.

In light of this reality (which I think is true for every church planting pastor, regardless of their skill set and regardless of the competence of their team) one of the chief conduits of God’s grace in my life and in the life of Renewal Church has been the fact that we are assured of the prayers of other believers who are partnering with us in these early days. However, it often seems that the prayers offered for church planters and their young churches involve very practical matters, such as more people, more money, and more influence. While these are valuable prayers, I would like to take this space to provide some ways that I think you can pray more intentionally for the church plants that are a part of the NACPF and the men that are entrusted to lead her.

Paul’s counsel in the pastoral epistles provide some specific ways you can pray for each of us by praying that we will:

Cling to our faith in the finished work of Christ and grow to love Him more daily (1 Tim. 1:19)
Pray passionately for those entrusted to our care (1 Tim. 2:1-2, 8)
Grow in holiness in both our orthodoxy and our orthopraxy (1 Tim. 4:7, 12, 16; 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:19, 22, 3:14-15; Titus 2:7-8)
Laboring, striving, and being absorbed in keeping and teaching sound doctrine (1 Tim. 4:1-16; 5:1-7; Titus 2:1, 7-8)
Live in such a manner so as to declare and demonstrate the gospel to the lost in our cities (Titus 1:1-4; 2:11-14)
Develop the giftedness to passionately and carefully teach and preach Gods’ Word (1 Tim. 4:13, 16; 2 Tim2:15, 4:2; Titus 3:8)
Guard the church from the destruction of false teaching (1 Tim. 1:3-4, 6:6; 2 Tim. 1:13-14; 2:25; Titus 1:9-13, 2:15
Appoint Godly individuals to lead and serve the church through the offices of elder and deacon (1 Tim. 3:1-16; 5:17-22; Titus 1:1, 5-9)
Develop the next generation of leaders and teachers of the Word (2 Tim. 2:2)
Give generously and instruct others in how to grow in their stewardship of that which God has entrusted them (1 Tim. 6:17-19)
Avoid foolish and petty disagreements and training others to do the same (1 Tim. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:14, 23; Titus 3:9)
Perform church discipline for the sake of the purity of the Body and the restoration of those in sin (1 Tim. 5:19-22; Titus 1:9-13, 3:10)
Endure through suffering in a manner worthy of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:8, 2:3, 3:1, 4:5)
Persevere through the trials and stay true to our calling in our city (1 Tim. 1:3)
Remember Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:8)

Because of your prayers we are thankful that, while it may often feel like we are fishing on a sandbar, we are not fishing alone.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, January 15, 2012

Lee Buford — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:50:35 +0000

by Lee Buford

Sunday was a big day at Renewal! Most of our college crew was back with us after returning from holiday break, and we wrapped up our “Home for the Holidays” series. In addition, we began a new Study/Serve series and kicked off our latest three-week partnership class with 25 perspective new members. We continue to give thanks to God for all He is doing in and through our church each and every week.

Study/Serve

For those of you who may not know, Study/Serve is a topic or subject-specific teaching block we have each week at 9:15am, just prior to our main gathering.

This week’s subject was “Systems of Ethics”, looking specifically at ethics and how we make decisions, believers and non-believers alike. We will take a closer look at marriage and divorce over the next couple of weeks, so make plans to join us.

Home for the Holidays: The Unbreakable Promise

During our main gathering, Matt concluded our “Home for the Holidays” series with a sermon titled, “The Unbreakable Promise”, from Psalm 117. Here a few highlights:

Big idea: Marriage is meant to be a reflection of the covenant-faithfulness of God to His people.
Our current standard for marriage is astonishingly low, and statistics show that things are getting worse rather than better.
In Psalm 117 we see the emphasis of God’s “steadfast love” for His people…His ever-faithful, ever-present, covenantal love.
We looked back to Genesis to note how God’s faithfulness and covenantal love are related in the Scriptures. Matt conveyed these, and expounded upon each, in the context of these three ideas:
- Promise Made
- Promise Kept
- Promise Reflected
Our marriages should ultimately reflect this type of love. To the watching world, our marriages ought to serve as models of God’s covenant faithfulness to His people.

If you could not be with us on Sunday you can listen to the sermon here and download the corresponding Study Guide for further reference.

Renewal in Review: Sunday, January 8, 2012

Lee Buford — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:14:05 +0000

by Lee Buford

Sunday marked our official return to the Student Center at Greenville Tech after the holiday break, and it was great to see several new faces and many of our folks who have been away visiting family or traveling over the past couple of weeks. As Matt mentioned, be sure to arrive early this coming Sunday as, with our college crew returning to the Upstate, we certainly expect a packed house.

We kicked things off this week with our January Partner Meeting. We will continue to meet the first Sunday of each month during our Study/Serve block (prior to our main gathering) and we encourage all Renewal partners to attend.

Continuing our “Home for the Holidays” series, Matt taught from Psalm 127. The sermon, “Unless the Lord: A Biblical Perspective on Children”, allowed us to see God’s role in and design for the family from perhaps a different text than most have seen before. Here are a few key takeaways from the teaching:

The Lord builds the home as a means of disciple multiplication and thus children should be received as a gift from the Lord.
The text leads us to the following three perspective questions:

Is the family His or mine?
We see in the first two verses that God is both the chief builder of and watchman over the home, and our desire to be in ultimate control leads to much of our efforts being in vain.
Are children a burden or blessing?
Though modern society often seems to communicate otherwise, Psalm 127 makes clear that children are a blessing: “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (v. 3).
Are children for collecting or releasing?
Psalm 127 uses the image of an arrow to convey the sending of our children for God’s purposes. They are to be released into the world as disciples for Christ rather than objects or idols for our own possession.

Your home, as a family, is a picture of the gospel for others to see.

If you could not be with us you can listen to the sermon here and download the corresponding Study Guide for further reference.

We hope you’ll make plans to join us on Sunday as we conclude the “Home for the Holidays” series… 10:15am in the Student Center at Tech. In addition, be sure to check the homepage of our website for the latest information and registration for several upcoming events you won’t want to miss.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, January 1, 2012

Lee Buford — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:06:29 +0000

by Lee Buford

If you’ve been with us through the holidays you’ll undoubtedly agree that we’ve learned a great deal about the character of God, our rightful response in worship, and how the Christmas season gives us numerous opportunities to reflect upon His character and what the gospel means in our individual families. Our journey through several of the Psalms has been tremendously profitable for us as individuals and as a church, and we’ve been able to worship together in praise and adoration for our Lord and Savior, King Jesus.

Sunday’s sermon, “Every Day is New Year’s Day”, was the fourth in our “Home for the Holidays” series, and Matt taught through Psalm 101. Here are few key takeaways:

It’s easy to deceive ourselves in thinking that the life we’re currently living is of supreme importance.
Each New Year most of us make some type of resolutions to change something in our lives. Most of those resolutions fail. Psalm 101 is a great model of what it looks like for us to properly reflect and resolve to grow in a biblical manner.
Our internal, moral compass pushes us to see and reflect upon Christ.
We saw in Haggai that God takes personal responsibility for seasons of drought when we pursue our own ways and desires rather than His. He warns each of us, “…consider your ways” (1:7).
The psalmist resolves to take personal responsibility for growing in three directions, specifically in this order in Psalm 101:
- Upward (v. 1)
- Inward (vv. 2-4)
- Outward (vv. 5-8)
We must resolve to take responsibility in this manner and to lead ourselves before leading our families and others.

If you couldn’t be with us we encourage you to listen to the sermon and download the corresponding Study Guide.

We also provided the Renewal Family Reflection as a tool to aide in the process of reflecting on 2011 and resolving to live in humble submission and worship to Jesus in 2012. We trust that you’ll find it helpful in leading your family well in the year ahead.

Finally, as a reminder, we’ve added or updated several key events on our website and we encourage you to check back often for the latest information. We will be back in the Student Center at Greenville Tech this coming Sunday, January 8^th, and we hope you’ll make plans to join us at 9:15am for Study/Serve and 10:30am for our gathering.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, November 13, 2011

Lee Buford — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:32:19 +0000

By Lee Buford

We give thanks to God for another great day of worship and study at Renewal on Sunday. The house was packed for what was, we think, our last gathering in the main auditorium at Greenville Tech. We officially moved over to the Student Center on November 6th and, with the exception of a few dates around the holidays, will be meeting there going forward.

Sunday’s theme was all about fighting. Not literally, but figuratively, as Matt continued our “Bound” series with a sermon titled, “Bound to Fight”. He taught from the text in 1 John 5:1-5, and here are a few highlights and key takeaways:

We’ve been looking closely at the three tests John presents as assurance of genuine faith for professing believers: love, obedience, and doctrine. At this point in the text a key question looms for each of us:

Do these three tests of your faith validate your faith or cause you to question it?

Matt detailed the importance of hope, specifically its importance in all that we do in life, noting that “hope, for the soul, is what gas is to a car…the fuel to keep going”.
As Paul reminds us throughout the NT, a walk with Christ will be a struggle, a battle, and a fight. So how does one maintain the hope to keep going, to overcome, and to emerge victorious? Definitely not by way of another list of things to “do better”!
Verses 4 and 5 of 1 John 5 address this idea as overcoming is specifically mentioned in three different ways, each giving us instruction on how to “fight” well:

Fight knowing that you HAVE overcome.
Fight knowing that you WILL overcome.
Fight knowing that you CAN overcome.

God’s Word promises that we will overcome, that His children will emerge victorious at the end of the fight. The finished work of Christ has ensured the ultimate victory, but we still must fight daily against the enemy and against hopelessness.

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday you can listen to the sermon here and download the Study Guide for further reference.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, October 23, 2011

Lee Buford — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:33:13 +0000

by Lee Buford

Sunday was another great day at Renewal, and we hope you had the opportunity to be with us. If not, here’s a recap of the day:

We kicked things off with our October membership class and Study/Serve, both of which met prior to our main gathering. We’re excited to have more than 20 people in this month’s class and look forward to having them connected with Renewal going forward.

In our Study/Serve time we continued our look at the attributes of God, dialing in on the differences in those attributes we refer to as “Incommunicable” and “Communicable”. We spent some additional time studying God’s “holiness” and “love”, referencing passages of scripture that give us a better understanding of each.

Matt opened our gathering with a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:

On Sunday, November 6^th, we are moving back to Sunday mornings!

We will gather at 10:30 am in the Student Center at Tech going forward, with the exception of a few key dates over the holidays. Due to the fact that Greenville Tech will be closed for the holiday we are, in essence, “homeless for the holidays”. But don’t worry, we’ve got a plan! You can find the details and schedule for the rest of the year here on our website.

Hugh continued our “Bound” series during our teaching time, preaching from 1 John 4:1-6. The sermon, titled “Bound to the Spirit”, focused on the truth that, in believers, the Spirit produces all that is required by the Law.

A few key takeaways from the sermon:

The Spirit Test - John’s comfort for believers that the Spirit indwells and assures God’s children.
Assurance - The Spirit assures of salvation by providing the very things required of God: faith & love.
False Prophet - Anyone that claims to speak on behalf of God, but twists His word.
Confession - There must be a matching confession of the heart & mouth.
Children - God’s children are given new identities because of rebirth, and they overcome because Christ overcame for them.

If you weren’t able to be with us on Sunday we encourage you to listen to the podcast and download the Study Guide for further reference.

Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you next Sunday!

Renewal in Review - Sunday, October 2, 2011

Lee Buford — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:40:31 +0000

by Lee Buford

Anytime we have the opportunity to get together as a church body to fellowship with one another, worship God, and study the Word, we rejoice in the fact that our holy, sovereign God is gracious and faithful to meet with us. Sunday was one such time, and we’re grateful for the opportunity we had to do just that.

We kicked things off with our monthly partner meeting prior to our corporate gathering, spending time in prayer for our upcoming missions efforts and for the pastors and people that God would have us meet with. As we seek to make disciples in our city and around the world we continue to pray for such opportunities, and we ask that you would pray with us. May we be obedient to His mission and may He be glorified in our efforts to point others to His glory.
As part of our main gathering we celebrated the gospel and the work of Jesus on our behalf, partaking of the Lord’s Supper. This special observance of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross is always a sweet time of worship for our church, and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to share this as a Body of believers.

Matt continued our “Bound” series, teaching this week from 1 John 2:18:28.

"A disciple of Jesus places their faith in certain essential doctrinal beliefs."

That was the “big idea” from Sunday’s sermon, “Bound to Truth”. John, having previously revealed “obedience” and “love” as tests of true faith in a believer, now shows us that genuine faith in Christ also has a truth component.

As Matt noted, “Simply being in the church doesn’t mean you’re of the church”. John makes abundantly clear in this text that those with heretical views and theologies are not of the church.
While there may be disagreement on non-essential doctrines of the faith (i.e. end times timeline, gifts of the Spirit, etc.), there cannot be divergence on central issues (the deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, etc.). This serves as a remind to us that following Jesus is about more than simply loving and obeying, but requires faith in proper, Biblical truth as well.

Matt related the requirement of the components (Obedience, Love, and Doctrine) in the form of three equations, noting that the absence of any of the three yields trouble:

Obedience + Doctrine – Love = Hated
Doctrine + Love – Obedience = Hypocrite
Obedience + Love – Doctrine = Heretic

John makes it clear that people professing false doctrines and teachings are to be “called out” in a manner so as to protect the flock from the “wolves”. As Matt pointed out, sometimes the most loving thing we can do for others is to say “that’s out of bounds”.

If you weren’t able to be with us on Sunday you can listen to the sermon and download the Study Guide for further reference.

Our memory verse for the week is: 1 John 2:28

“And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.”

Renewal in Review - Sunday, September 25, 2011

Lee Buford — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:31:19 +0000

by Lee Buford

We give thanks and glory to God for another great Sunday at Renewal. We were back in the main auditorium at Tech and were blessed to have several new visitors, a sweet time of worship, and a profitable time in the Word as Matt continued teaching through 1 John in our “Bound” series. If you couldn’t be with us, here are a few highlights:

Brandon Simpson led our Study/Serve time as we continued our look at “Missions and the Glory of God”, this week looking at every believer’s role as a theologian. We discussed our responsibility and approach to the Bible, noting the ways God is glorified through our obedience in this area. As we see in 2 Timothy 2:15, we do this as we:

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

As we kicked off our main teaching time we had the opportunity to hear from three of our partners on what it means to be meaningfully connected at Renewal. Each reflected on the importance of community and fellowship with other believers and how their investment in small groups has been a blessing in their own growth and maturity in Christ. Our next membership class will take place in October, and you can learn more about it or register here on our site.

As Christians, one of our greatest temptations, as individuals and the greater church at large, is to “blend in” with the world. How do we live in this world yet, at the same time, glorify God through our lives as part of His kingdom? That was the topic of our teaching time on Sunday as Matt taught from 1 John 2:15-17.

A few key takeaways from the sermon:

Living in the kingdom of God allows a disciple of Jesus to rebel from and push back the kingdom of this world.
In this text, John discusses the love of the world, which provides the most dangerous obstacle to one obeying Christ and loving his neighbor.
Living as disciples of Jesus in this world means that those living under the rule and reign of God live in such a way that they push back the darkness and love God and others alike.
John warns against and pushes back on our most common tendencies or obstacles in doing this, specifically in three areas: taking over, getting out, and blending in.

Matt highlighted three key areas in which we must reject the kingdom of this world:

Desires of the flesh: What I want
Desires of the eyes: What I long for
Pride in possessions (materialism): What I have

We see that ultimately, as disciples of Christ, we are to reject the kingdom of the world and push forward the kingdom of God.

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday, we encourage you to listen to the sermon and download the Study Guide for further study and discussion.

Finally, just a reminder about our “Multiplying Disciples Summit”, coming up this Friday night and Saturday morning… You are invited, and we encourage you to check out the details and register here. This promises to be a great time of worship, fellowship, and study, and we certainly hope you’ll join us.

Church Leader: You're Invited!

Matt Rogers — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:56:12 +0000

by Matt Rogers

In at least one way I am sure you are like me.

If I get another email invite to a training lab, coaching seminar, pastoral conference, or church-planting in a box event, I might pull out my goatee (that was an attempt at humor due to the fact that I have no hair).

The funny thing is that while I seem to get those types of messages regularly, I often feel disconnected from the pastoral network of men in my very own city, from whom I could likely learn, pray, and gain the much needed encouragement from.

To that end, I would like to invite you to join me for lunch (the “Nameless Lunch”) on Wednesday, September 28th from 11am - 1pm at Fatz Cafe on Woodruff Road in Greenville.

The agenda is simple: eat, talk, pray, go home (hopefully with a greater appreciation for the work in our city and an expanded heart for those that serve in different capacities).

Why Nameless? Two reasons:

I think that is a great reflection of the inner tension many planters and pastors feel. While the beginning glitz and glamour of church planting is great, the reality of the discouragement, pressure, and frustration soon sets in, and often I (and perhaps you) feel alone and nameless in the journey. It quickly becomes apparent that the long journey of planting and establishing a church is a dirty, messy, often seemingly fruitless road. I believe that one of the means of grace the Lord provides to help us through this process is the mutual interaction of brothers battling alongside of you. Simply having an environment to take a breath, let down your guard, and enjoy a meal with other pastors can be nothing but good for the soul.
We have no desire to teach you anything, sell you anything, or get you to commit to anything. This is not a training lab, coaching network, or ministry objective by some group (if you want invites to those, I will be happy to forward you them from my inbox). Being nameless helps us avoid the stigma often associated with these types of email requests. For many of us, what we need most is not another lecture on missional church planting, but a common meal with some other missional planters.

In attempting to initiate this, I have simply gone through my mind and developed a list of guys that I know who are planting or leading churches to plant churches in Greenville (and surrounding areas). I am confident that I have missed people and that the date and time will be impossible for some, though I hope many of you will be able to attend.

Please feel free to invite whomever you like and rest assured we will try to do it again in the following weeks. Also, if you know young guys who are thinking about church planting in the future, this would be a great environment to connect them with other guys who are planting. Feel free to invite guys you know, teach, or disciple who might have planting in their DNA.

Please RSVP to matt@renewalchurch.cc so that I will have an accurate list of who will be joining us.

Blessings to you all. I am thankful for what you do in our city and the churches you lead!

Renewal in Review - Sunday, September 18, 2011

Lee Buford — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:26:44 +0000

by Lee Buford

A disciple of Jesus loves people.

That was the big idea from Matt’s sermon on Sunday as we continued in our “Bound” series. As a church, we want to be a body of believers who exemplify this love for one another, our community, and those around the world.

We kicked things off prior to our gathering with Study/Serve, focusing this week on “giving glory to God”. Hugh led us through an examination of several scripture references relative to the many ways we are called and commanded to glorify God. A servant spirit and a heart of mercy motivate our efforts in missions, and we are to exhibit the same passion Christ had for seeing the gospel spread to the nations.

You can join us each Sunday at 4:30pm for Study/Serve, immediately before our 5:30pm gathering.

Our college crew arrived back in town to join us after attending our “Fall Getaway” this weekend. We appreciate our friend Dustin Willis providing some excellent teaching for our students, and we’re thankful for Dan Carroll and all who served, attended, and/or supported this event. We trust that God will use our time together for His glory.

During our teaching time, Matt taught from 1 John 2:7-14, on being “Bound to One Another”. Over the past couple of weeks we’ve looked at the first “test” John presents as evidence in the life of a true disciple of Christ: the OBEDIENCE test. This week we turned our attention to the second, the LOVE test.

A few key points from the sermon:

We looked at the “Basis of Love” in two contexts: CREATION (Birth) and RE-CREATION (Rebirth).
The image of the cross is a great memory trigger: we are to love God (vertical) and love our brothers (horizontal)
Whoever loves God must love his neighbor. It’s a necessity. Matt reminded us that, as a Christian,

“You do not have the right to choose who you will love.”

“Lovelessness” is not befitting a follower of Christ, and is a source of stumbling for others, both internally and externally. When you live a “loveless” life you make it difficult for others to walk with Christ.

In closing, Matt challenged us to be a church that loves well. He asked us to ask ourselves, “Is there bitterness hindering your soul?” If so, we must repent. We must be reminded of the gospel…this is not something we work FOR, but rather something we work FROM.

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday we encourage you to listen to the sermon and download the Study Guide for further reference.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, September 11, 2011

Lee Buford — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:11:04 +0000

by Lee Buford

We continued our “Bound” series on Sunday, gathering again this week in the Student Center at Greenville Tech. We continue to give thanks for the many new faces each week, as well as for our faithful team of volunteers who make it happen each week!

To get things started, Hugh kicked off our new “Study/Serve” time at 4:30pm. Our adults, children, and youth all gathered in individual groups for a time of study and prayer. This week’s topic of study was “Missions and the Glory of God”, and we looked specifically at Jesus’ command to go and make disciples in Matthew 28:18-20.

As we discussed, “Worship is the FUEL and GOAL of missions. It is the goal of missions because, in missions, we aim to bring the nations into the enjoyment of God’s glory."

Matt continued our “Bound” series during our corporate gathering, teaching this week from 1 John 2:3-6. The sermon was titled, "Bound to Obedience", and the big idea here is that the gospel transforms our head, heart, and hands, which in turn motivates our obedience.

As part of the sanctification process in all Christians, we examined three primary means by which God conforms us to the image of His Son:

Knowledge of Him (v. 3) - Head
In knowing Him we have a truth component that, as Matt said, “jars my soul”.
Love of God (v. 5) - Heart
In Him our love is perfected, by the keeping of His Word
Abiding in Him (v. 6) - Hands
We ought to walk as He walked

As Matt pointed out, obedience does not simply happen. No one drifts towards holiness, but rather toils, fights, strains, and presses towards conformity to the image of Jesus. This process of ongoing, lifelong, incremental movement towards conformity to the image of Jesus is known as progressive sanctification.

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday, you can listen to the sermon and download the Study Guide on our website.

Are You Connected?

Matt Rogers — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 03:07:37 +0000

by Matt Rogers

Often spiritual growth and development is thought of in terms of an event…something I attend or sign up for. The thought is that if I attend one more conference, hear another sermon, or have another mystical moment, then magically I will be transported to a desired height of spiritual attainment, and I will coast there until I die.

While intriguing in theory, this is simply not the way it works in practice or the Scriptures. Practically we know that spiritual formation takes time, is often complicated, and is much less programmatic than we would like to think. Scripturally we see that, while the giants of the faith may have had moments of bliss, their faith journeys were marked by sporadic, often frustrating, steps forwards and backwards. Many times it seems that they would simply never get it.

That journey is far from an anomaly…it is the norm.

In a similar fashion, let’s say that I had a desire to bench press 350 pounds. While you might think that would be mere child’s play for someone with my athletic prowess and physical stature, the reality is that it would crush me. No amount of trying hard would work. I simply could not lift it. The only way to get to that goal would be to enlist in a training program whereby I would systematically take micro-level steps towards my stated goal. And it would not happen overnight. It would be hard. I would want to tap out. But it would be the only way.

Likewise, spiritual growth is much less an event than it is a process. It is a lifelong process of coming under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ as you increasingly submit to His Spirit and His Word in the context of a local church. However, few enlist for that type of program. There are a host of reasons most people shortcut the process and thereby remain stuck in their spiritual growth and maturation.

SOME LACK CONSISTENCY
Due to church hopping, trivial pursuits, or lack of submission they fail to come under the authority and influence of a local church and choose to go at it alone (these are the folks that changes gyms each month).
SOME LACK DISCIPLINE
While they may be motivated to pursue sanctification for a short season, or after hearing a particularly gripping message, they lack the rigid focus required for the long haul (these are the folks that recommit to the gym each January).
SOME LACK HUMILITY
Submitting to the leadership of a local church and allowing them to provide guidance and direction is in direct opposition to the pride that wars in our souls (these are the folks that rebel from their trainer).
SOME LACK THE GOSPEL
Instead of being adopted as sons and sealed with the Spirit, some have bought into a moralistic understanding of the gospel that betrays them in the moment of greatest need and undercuts the dependency prompted by the gospel (these are the folks that stare at the mirror but don’t get under the bar).

What about you?

Simply stated, spiritual growth is a process. The question is whether or not you are in.

It's All Connected

Matt Rogers — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:41:03 +0000

by Matt Rogers

As a pastor, there are many options for the ways I choose to invest my time and lead our church to embody the purposes for which she was created. While the options are numerous, the Scriptures define that my central role is to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.”

This job description helps to give shape and clarity to the systems that we put in place around Renewal. Simply put, if the central goal is to glorify God by equipping the saints for living out the mission of God, then it is essential that I prayerfully develop a plan that will facilitate this actually happening.

As a 17-month old church, we are attempting to do just that. This year the elders of Renewal have chosen to adopt the theme of “Gospel Saturated Relationships”, in which we will seek to equip our people to live out the implications of the gospel in the context of all of their relationships. Some of the means we plan to use to push us towards this goal are the following:

Six Sunday teaching series between now and August 2012, dealing with the concepts related to our theme. During this time we will study the books of 1 John, the final third of Leviticus, Jonah, and Proverbs. We will also do three thematic series on Marriage, Family, and Killing Sin.
6-8 additional small groups of gospel communities in various geographies throughout the city (including the college campuses) for the living out of the life of the Body and the engagement of mission in our city. Prayerfully, we will launch many others after the first of the year.
The first phases of the developmental plan of Renewal’s Family Ministry model, led by Toby Dix, which will serve to multiply disciples of grade-schoolers and teenagers, as well as serve parents as they attempt to lead well in their homes
Renewal’s membership class, “Connections”, will meet every Sunday during the month of October, and is designed to integrate attendees into meaningful membership in the life of the Body.
Multiplying Disciples Summit, a two-day mini-conference, will take place on September 30^th and October 1^st, with the intent of equipping the church at Renewal to multiply disciples within their relational contexts.
The launch of “Study/Serve”, a pre-gathering, theological instruction time for adults is aimed at maturing our adults in their walks with the Lord. Beginning this Sunday, September 11^th, our body will begin studying the concept of “Missions and the Glory of God”.

As you can see the process of equipping is multifaceted and requires the intentional and passionate engagement of the body. Far from the simple addition of programs, Renewal is seeking to be an equipping and sending station, and the elders believe that these are tools to that end.

Jump in as we seek to equip the church and multiply disciples.

Study, Serve, and Worship

Hugh Carson — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:33:33 +0000

by Hugh Carson

We believe that Renewal Church will only fulfill its mission of multiplying disciples to the glory of God if we are healthy as a church. There are some clear markers of church health, two of which are a passion for Scripture, both to be learned and to be lived, and a church body that serves together, utilizing their spiritual gifts for the benefit of the whole body and advancing the mission of God. We have a vision for every Renewal member to be actively involved in both studying and serving.

To that end, Renewal will soon introduce a ministry model called "STUDY / SERVE / WORSHIP".

Beginning September 11^th, in the hour before corporate worship, we will begin offering small, adult classes aimed at the study and application of doctrine. The curriculum will be created by Renewal with a focus on beliefs, practices, and virtues consistent with that of a disciple of Christ.

Our first study will be on "Missions and the Glory of God." The premise of the study will be that you don't do missions if you don't love God's glory. Therefore, we will attempt to study the Scriptures and paint a picture of God whereby we can see that He is infinitely beautiful, holy, and full of wrath and love, justice and mercy. Once we see Him and His glory, our prayer is that we will join with Him in His mission as we are captivated by proclaiming the excellencies of His worth to people and places that don't know. We will also address contemporary topics and questions such as "Is explicit faith in Jesus necessary for salvation?", and "Is eternal punishment unjust?"

This will create additional needs and opportunities for service in the areas of childcare, set up/tear down, and greeting. As we’ve discussed in our recent gatherings, we will need full participation from the body for this model to work. The life and vitality of the ministry done inside and outside of Renewal depends on every partner serving so that we are able to care for our children well, welcome visitors, and set up each week. This will also ensure that no one person will bear the burden of having to serve every week, and everyone will have the opportunity to learn and grow in the process.

So mark your calendars for Sunday, September 11^th. We look forward to having you join us!

Renewal in Review - Sunday, August 28, 2011

Lee Buford — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:59:42 +0000

by Lee Buford

We hope you had a chance to join us Sunday for what was another exciting day of worship, teaching, and fellowship at Renewal. As you probably are aware we had our official fall kickoff on Sunday, including the start of a new series in 1 John and our “Welcome Back Bash” following our gathering. Here are a few highlights:

We give thanks and glory to God for the many new faces and families he continues to bring to Renewal. We had over 200 in attendance on Sunday.
We say this each week it seems, but God continues to move in big ways in and through our worship team at Renewal. We are so blessed to have a group of men and women who love Jesus like they do, and it’s evident in the way the lead us each week. To the team, thank you for leading well again on Sunday!
Toby formally introduced Dan Carroll and Josh Pedersen, along with their families, on Sunday. Dan will be heading up our college ministry and Josh will be directing our Renewal Leadership Institute. You can read more about them, and all of our leadership team, here on our staff page.

Matt kicked of our new series in 1 John titled “Bound”, and taught through the introduction to the letter in the first four verses. The central idea herein is that personal intimacy and love for Jesus is a natural byproduct of true conversion. John defined himself in relation to Jesus. Could the same be said of us?

John was fixated on Jesus:

Intellectually - his nature – “was from the beginning”
Experientially - his experience – “seen, touched, felt”
Transformationally - his transformation – “the word that gave life”

As Matt noted, John was “one guy who never got over Jesus writing to a people who were tempted to move past Jesus.”

Being “bound to Jesus” results in fellowship and joy.

But like those to whom John was writing, we too can “get over” (or move away from consistent, genuine fellowship with) Jesus for a variety of reasons if we aren’t careful. Matt presented these four:

Familiarity – familiarity breeds forgetfulness
Time – not spending time alone with Jesus on a regular basis
Outside voices – voices that define Jesus differently than the Bible
Secondary issues – distractions and other things in which we involve ourselves

The point we must remember is that Jesus is the point, and thus should be the focus and fixation of our hearts, minds, and actions.

Remember Jesus.

Finally, we give thanks for a great time of fellowship with one another at our “Welcome Back Bash” after our gathering. Dan Carroll graciously cooked the BBQ for us, and we had a great time eating, talking, and playing games with friends and family. Take a couple of minutes to check out the pictures we posted on our Facebook page.

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday you can listen to Matt’s sermon and download the Study Guide on our website.

Our memory verse for this week is:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14

Renewal Women and the Pursuit of Truth

Lee Buford — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:22:05 +0000

by Sarah Rogers

From the beginning of time, in the Garden of Eden, we see two powers at work: God and His Truth, and Satan and his lies. God speaks His truth to Adam and Eve, telling them that they are “free to eat of any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat if it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Soon after, we see Satan speaking to them as well in subtle and outright lies as he questions God’s Truth: “You will not surely die! For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” After listening to this lie, dwelling on it, and choosing to believe it, Eve acts on this lie by eating the fruit that God commanded her not to eat, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The women of Renewal studied the truths of Scripture and practiced using those truths to combat the lies of Satan, our culture, our experience, and the lies we tell ourselves by reading Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Lee DeMoss this summer. God used this study in our lives to open our eyes to lies we’ve allowed ourselves to believe and act on: lies about God, ourselves, sin, marriage, children, emotions, and circumstances. DeMoss countered these lies by encouraging us to listen, dwell on, believe and act on the truths of Scripture.

Our lives were enriched and changed as we interacted with Scripture and listened to other women share about God’s faithfulness and work in their hearts causing them to live out how God has created them as women.

Many women were convicted by God’s Spirit to live out hard truths that God has called us to as women. We were also convicted to learn to discern the subtle and outright lies that we are fed daily through what we allow ourselves to read, listen to, watch, and think about. We are fully convinced of the importance of John 8:31-32,“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

And we are thankful to God for His grace to continue to carry His work in our lives to completion.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, August 21, 2011

Lee Buford — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:57:41 +0000

by Lee Buford

Sunday at Renewal was quite a unique experience...in a great way of course!

If you'd been around the previous couple of weeks you know that Matt had been promising that Sunday you would hear "the best sermon you've ever heard", and he made good on that promise. Ryan Ferguson, from North Hills Community Church in Taylors, provided that sermon, reciting the entire book of Hebrews from memory.

That's correct...the entire book of Hebrews from memory. It was an extraordinary display of the power of God's Word, and a great opportunity for our church to hear the book of Hebrews in its entirety following our corporate reading of Hebrews over the summer. We thank God for Ryan and for the opportunity to have him at Renewal. If you couldn't be with us you can listen to Ryan's sermon here on our website.

In addition to Ryan's message, our worship team lead us well as we praised God through a sweet time of singing and worship. We are so blessed to have such a great group leading us each week as we seek to glorify God in our worship time.

Hugh presented eight more Renewal partners yesterday, and we give thanks and glory to God for the building of His church and for those He's gathered to be part of what He's doing in and through Renewal Church. Our next membership class, "Connections", will be taking place in October. If interested you can find out more information or register here.

Finally, we'd like to remind you that this coming Sunday, August 28th, is our fall kick-off at Renewal Church, and we want you to be a part of it! We'll begin our new series, "Bound: The Call of 1 John", followed by our "Welcome Back Bash", immediately after our 5:30pm gathering. Everyone is welcome, and we encourage you to invite your friends as well.

Have a blessed week and we look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Renewal in Review - Sunday, August 14, 2011

Lee Buford — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:39:10 +0000

by Lee Buford

If you couldn’t be with us on Sunday, you missed an exciting day at Renewal for a number of reasons. Matt continued in our “Blueprint” series, teaching on the Day of Atonement from Leviticus 16. Here are few of the highlights:

We shifted our gathering to the Student Center for this week only, and our team of volunteers did an outstanding job getting things set up and ready to go. We are so blessed to have a crew so willing to serve each and every Sunday, and we couldn’t do it without them!
Many of our college students were back in town, and we were glad to have them in attendance with us.
Hugh brought us up to speed on several upcoming events such as our “Welcome Back Bash”, our August Partner Meeting, and the Fall Getaway we have planned for our college students. Stay tuned to the website and our social media channels for all the details!

Matt’s sermon was titled, “A Tale of Two Goats”, and gave us a detailed look at the Day of Atonement. As Matt so aptly noted,

“If you miss the atonement you don’t understand the Bible.”

The symbolism of this day gives the reader a glimpse of the substitutionary death of Jesus.
We looked specifically at key concepts such as sacrifice, penal substitutionary atonement, God’s wrath, propitiation, and expiation.

Matt also detailed the differences in the two goats, what they signified, and how each relates to the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalves:

Goat #1 – The Sacrificial Goat (“Christ for you”)
Goat #2 – The Scapegoat (“Sin from you”)

Ultimately, as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we should see change in five key areas of our lives:

Your PRIDE should be BROKEN.
Your GUILT is REMOVED.
Your JOY is RESTORED.
Your OBEDIENCE is MOTIVATED.
Your FAITH is DEMANDED.

The Day of Atonement reveals the beauty of the message of the gospel which is Christ for you and sin from you.

You can listen to the entire sermon and download the Study Guide here.

We are concluding our corporate read through the book of Hebrews this week, reading Hebrews 12:18-3:25. Our memory verses for the week are Hebrews 13:12-13…

¹²So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. ¹³Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

Renewal in Review - Sunday, August 7, 2011

Lee Buford — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:09:22 +0000

by Lee Buford

Sunday marked our second gathering in our new home at Greenville Tech, and we continue to be encouraged by, and grateful for, God’s grace and provision. Our focus was all about “WORSHIP”, and Toby taught on the subject from Romans 12:1-2 in our “Core Values” series. Here are a few highlights:

Paul, has told us much about God’s grace, sovereignty, mercy, and more in chapters 1-11 of Romans, and now he begins to flesh out the truths of grace in Chapter 12, showing us what grace produces in the Christian life.

Looking specifically at Romans 12:12, he related six truths from Paul’s words in these two verses:

The foundation of Christian living is God’s mercy. (12:1a)
God calls Christians to whole-life sacrifice. (12:1b)
God calls Christians to whole-life worship. (12:1c)
God calls Christians to Godly non-conformity. (12:2a)
God calls Christians to inside-out transformation. (12:2b)
God calls Christians to do the will of God. (12:2c)

Our view of God is reflected in our obedience and our worship, both a result and response to His grace and mercy in our lives. A right view of God Himself necessitates that we worship Him with our entire beings, in all that we do and say.

If you couldn’t be with us, you can listen to the sermon and download the Study Guide here on our website.

Our corporate memory verses for this week are Hebrews 12:1-2:

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.