There is nothing quite like the first service of a new church. Everything is driven by faith because there’s absolutely nothing to see, as far as results are concerned, up until that point in time.
My wife, Marcia, and I were privileged to celebrate in the first service of the Chicago Church of Christ on June 6, 1982, in Oak Park. We were all thrilled when more than 100 people showed up that morning! Needless to say, Marty Fuqua preached a fired-up lesson and we were all amazed at what God was beginning to do in the great city of Chicago.
The Heritage Chapel Church of Christ in Charleston, Illinois, had been praying for a church that would be supportive of the great numbers of college student from the Chicago area who were becoming Christians at Eastern Illinois University. Most of the group that made up that first Chicago Church membership had been converted at Eastern Illinois University and also at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb where Marty and Chris Fuqua had led a dynamic campus ministry. Now God had filled all of them with the faith to start this small church with a huge heart in the City of Big Shoulders. From 1982-85, the disciples in Chicago continued to see their faith rewarded, and the church continued to experience great growth in numbers and in their love for one another.
In 1985, we were invited to help lead the Chicago Church alongside the Fuquas. As we planted and watered, God grew the church from around 350 to nearly 1500 in attendance in just three years. We began publishing The Chicago Fire to help fan the flame among all of the new disciples. Hundreds of souls were being baptized into Christ and hundreds more were moving to Chicago to be a part of the Holy Spirit's fire that was building this young church. Today, every Chicago member is in reach of many of these courageous souls who made incredible leaps of faith back in the early days of the church to see it grow and become the congregation it is today. Some of those individuals are in your region. Some are now your evangelists, elders, deacons, house church leaders and Kingdom Kid’s servants. Let me encourage you to find out more about these incredible men and women and invite them to tell you their stories about life in the early days of the Chicago Church of Christ. It will greatly inspire you and build your faith!
Marcia and I were blessed to return to Chicago three years ago, and our hearts have continually been warmed by the Spirit's fire that continues to burn (almost 20 years later) in the hearts of many of the people we remember as college students, singles and young couples, young men and women who were baptized in the 1980’s and lived out true lordship and discipleship of Christ in their daily lives and careers. Now we see that same fire being spread at their children's baptisms and marriages!
Fueled By Faith
I am often asked how someone like me can keep their faith strong for so many years. Besides trying to tell me something about my age, it’s a great question. Most anyone can keep up their spiritual zeal for a short time, or until life really smacks them in the face. God has taught us many things over the years as we dealt with two intense battles with cancer in our family, chronic illnesses, two of our children leaving the Lord, disappointment in kingdom heroes and other challenging scenarios. Then, after all of that and 35 years of preaching, teaching, serving and leading in God’s kingdom, we found ourselves without financial support as our churches were going through a firestorm of another kind.
But as I look back on all that God has done the past 25 years, I clearly see that He has always worked all things together for good for those who love Him and have accepted His call according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) In fact, we look around the Chicago Church and see others who have endured far greater hardships than we have, with far less encouragement along the way, and their faith still shines brightly and their zeal still burns strong. In this, we are greatly encouraged!
So how do you keep the fires burning? When your faith is young and new, you can almost catch fire spontaneously from the others burning around you. But what about when you’ve burned for a long time—you’re now responsible for providing fire for a family and others around you, and you likely have seen the fire in some of your best friends and spiritual heroes go out along the way? The following five statements, based upon the teachings of Jesus, will definitely help you in your pursuit of being your best for God and in keeping you “on fire” for Him for the rest of your life on Earth.
1) My source has to be the eternal flame. Every disciple made a commitment to God that He would be their only true source of joy and purpose. After all, God is the number one reason we became a disciple in the first place. And we must remember that everything comes from Him. I enjoy the heat I get from other burning embers, but even if they go out, I’m still going to be on fire because of the promise I made to God at my baptism, that Jesus would be Lord no matter what challenges or circumstances I found myself facing at any given time.
I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5:19)
2) My work has to be God's work. When God is my source of joy and purpose, I cannot rest until I discover what it is that He wants me to do. God and His desires are my ultimate priority and I get great joy and a recharged spiritual battery when I devote myself to focusing on
living out His purposes.
For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. (John 5:36)
3) I must remember why I am working for God. When my motives are wrong, I tire of hard labor, I work to please others and, when times get tough, I regret my past sacrifice. When my motives are right, I remember the joy that comes from serving and helping someone become a Christian or get through a challenging time.
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him, God the Father has placed His seal of approval. (John 6:27)
4) I must keep doing what God wants me to do. The secret of Christian longevity is not the specific work we are doing at the moment, but the true work of faith in everything that we do. We must continue to do what is good and right in the eyes of God, regardless of the results we are seeing, knowing in our hearts that God is pleased with our actions.
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent." (John 16:29)
5) I must believe that I can keep my faith strong through the years. All the apostles ran away in fear when Jesus was arrested, but years later all but one died a martyr’s death for their convictions. What kept their faith growing? No doubt these words of Jesus were remembered often when things became difficult for them.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:36-37)
Through the years, the Chicago Church has represented faith and fire to so many disciples around the world. Still today, as we travel, one of the first questions we are asked is, "How is the Chicago Church doing?" And it is so encouraging to be able to relay so many stories about the fire that is still burning brightly in the disciples here. And when disciples hear about or see the flame of the Holy Spirit still burning strong in those who are older in the Lord, how do you suppose it makes them feel? I believe it gives them great hope and confidence that they, too, can continue to serve God in a similar fashion. And this is what the Chicago Church provides for thousands of souls in the United States and around the world. Let’s continue to keep the Spirit's fire burning in our hearts, in our homes, at our jobs and in our neighborhoods? And let’s fan it into flame with faith and watch God continue to use each and every one of us for His glory and His honor.