Sojourn Membership Class: Week One

We had our first membership class at church last week, and it was really, really helpful. We covered a lot of material, but it isn’t really hard to sum it up: the gospel. The gospel is the central focus. It’s central in our own lives. It’s central to community. And it’s central to ministry.

This diagram presents the message in a way I’d never seen before:

And it basically covers the three essential areas of content in the gospel:

1. God is holy, absolutely separate from evil.
2. People are not.
3. The cross is the bridge between the depth of our sin and the height of God’s holiness.

When we first become Christians, we are at the point of the diagram. We understand the basics of those three truths. But… and this is the really helpful part for me …as we continue in our faith, our understanding of God’s holiness increases and our sense of our own depravity deepens. In our experience we see the gap grow wider and wider.

What should happen when this disparity becomes more clear is a magnification of the cross and the work of Christ in the eyes of the believer. The power of the cross grows in our understanding and we give more glory to Jesus for what he’s accomplished for us. So the gospel is not something that we get down when we become Christians and then outgrow. It is central to the everyday walk of faith.

Sojourn

I’ve now been in Louisville just a little over two months. I’m pretty well settled in here at the apartment, but I admit that I do still get a little lost in the city. I know the places where I have to go–the grocery story, the library, the coffee shops–but beyond these I’m not too knowledgeable. I’m going to have to get out one day and just drive around for a while. That’s really the only way to learn.

I’ve been visiting the same church here in town for the last month. It’s called Sojourn Community Church. It’s located right downtown in the heart of the city in an old elementary school building. (The building also houses an art gallery and music venue.) It’s a much larger church than I anticipated attending when I came to Louisville, but I’ve really enjoyed the teaching and the worship. There is a strong emphasis on small group community, and I’m looking forward to getting involved. There is also a strong emphasis on urban renewal projects in the city, which I’m also looking forward to joining. The next step is to attend six weeks of Gospel Classes that start in April.

That’s pretty much it for now. I’m trying to come up with a list of new places I’d like to visit in the coming weeks. Spring break is coming up, so I’m hoping to do some camping at some point. I really need to get out into the woods and do some walking.