The Church

I believe that the church is the entire body of Christ - all over the world, from all denominations and backgrounds, from all styles of worship and from both ends of the theological spectrum. There is but one requirement to be part of the "church" and it comes from Acts, chapter 4, "It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is " 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Calling on the name of Jesus is the only requirement. It is also only the first step. There is a life to live after you make this step - a life that must be sold out to Him. Jesus desires, yes, even demands it all. The very first of the Ten Commandments makes it clear that He will not be second in our lives. Exodus 20:3 says, "Thou shall have no other gods before me." Our God is not predictable or tame, but He is good and trustworthy. He wants all of you.

Last night our church held a memorial service in memory of those lost in the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Here in South Florida we have a lot of Haitian immigrants, and almost every one of them that I have run into have lost someone - family or friends. Due to the fact that we have a partnership with an orphanage in Haiti and because of the overwhelming need to support these Haitian-Americans, our pastors teamed up with some local Haitian pastors and invited the community in for this service.

There were huge poster sized pictures of rescues hanging from the ceiling, everyone wore red arm bands in honor of the people there, and our musicians mixed with a worship team from a Haitian church. One of the men on our staff was in Haiti the day after the earthquake with a medical team offering relief and he stood up with a Haitian pastor to speak. First, Todd would speak and Pastor Bo would translate. Then, when Pastor Bo brought his part of the message, someone translated that into English. The music was done the same way. The words to the worship songs would appear on the screen in Creole and in English - the sound of two languages singing worship songs like "How Great is Our God" in harmony was overwhelming. The sound of the redeemed of God, under one roof, with many skin colors and two languages, arms raised high, offering praises to God was awesome.

These people have amazing faith. This earthquake, which lasted less than 60 seconds devastated their capital city. It crippled their government and left over 1 million people homeless. So far the death toll stands at over 200,000 with over 300,000 more critically injured. The food relief is predominately being handled by the church, which is a miracle in and of itself. In the area where the orphanage that Summit is a part of is located, the UN deferred the food distribution to the Christians there because they could handle it "better." The Haitian people have been brought to their knees, but the church is there to help them rise again. There is much spiritual darkness in this country, much idol worship, and satan prowls freely in many areas. However, there is a light that is beginning to penetrate the blackness. Last weekend, the pastor at the orphanage baptized over 300 new believers. People who have placed their faith in Jesus since the earthquake. The churches in the area surrounding the capital have opened their doors and the refugees are flocking in. They are being fed physically, but also spiritually. They are receiving the Bread of Life.

At the end of the service last night we heard music from a Haitian couple. They are native missionaries in the Northwest area of the country. They sang a song pleading with God to have mercy on this country. To reach down and touch the lives of the people who have lived in darkness for far too long. I could only think of the theme verse from our speech and debate organization....

Ephesians 5:14 "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."