At Antioch we list holiness as one of our core values. My prayer (which, admittedly, I don't pray consistently enough) is that the men of Antioch be marked by holiness, being set apart from the world.

What that means practically is an all-consuming love for JESUS that teaches "us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age ..." (Titus 2:12).

So the germane questions are:

- What does it mean to practically deny ungodliness?
- What does it mean to deny worldly lusts?
- What does it mean to live soberly?
- What does it mean to live righteously?
- What does it mean to live godly?

I believe the Spirit provides those answers as we walk with Him and listen to His voice and as we submit to biblical doctrine expounded by those He's placed as our elders, pastors, and mentors.

I'm moved by Jimmy's constant emphasis on John 15, with the exhortation being that if we abide in Christ, and His word abides in us, we will consistently walk out His will for our day-to-day lives.

The epistles, I would add, are often didactic in nature. "Live life this way," Paul often says (though not exactly in those words). For example:

But as for you, speak the things that are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things -- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility ... (Titus 2:1-7

Those are specific examples of specific character traits that Paul wanted Titus to continually teach. I pray we at Antioch hear Paul's exhortation well, that we may all walk in the fullness of His word.

I wonder what exactly that is and what it means for the 21st Century evangelical church?

Ostensibly, "authority" is what gives our pastors the right to get up in front of 3,000 people on Sunday mornings and deliver messages from the word. That's encouraging because I see the love of God and the character of JESUS in each and every one of our leaders.

I'm still, though, pondering what the idea of authority means (beyond it's Sunday morning context) and how it should impact daily life.

Baptism is a big deal.

It's a bigger deal, I think, than the average evangelical thinks it is. It's not an afterthought. It's not a glorified seal-the-deal-on-becoming-a-Christian type handshake. And it's not a mere formality. It's being buried with JESUS, only to be raised from the dead! The Bible says we are "buried with Him in Baptism, raised to walk in newness of life."

With that said, I have to say I'm often grieved by the way we do baptisms at Antioch. They're most often done at the beginning of a service, while late-comers (including myself sometimes!) are still filing into the sanctuary. Often times while the baptism is being administered, you can hear the low hum of idle chatter emanating from the back of the sanctuary, where the aforementioned dawdlers are still greeting friends and attempting to procure seating before worship begins.

I'd rather see baptisms not happen at all on a typical Sunday morning, until we have a dozen or more people ready to be baptized, and then make the baptisms the centerpiece of a special service. It's too big of a deal to not be taken seriously.

It looks like our fellowship is in the middle of a theological paradigm shift, and I don't think that's an overstatement.

Since I started reading church history religiously in 2004, I've lamented the fact that certain branches of the Protestant tree tend to ignore the Lord's Supper. Our non-denominational Antioch stems from a Baptist background, and at most Baptist churches I've encountered, Communion is only observed on average once a quarter. It seems the leadership at Antioch is planning on delving into the Lord's Supper with more consistency.

Nate Bobbett delivered the message and spent some time talking about how the church throughout history has viewed the Lord's Supper. With regard to how often the meal should be taken, he quoted the Didache, Tertullian (I think), Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and Zwingli. He even covered transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and other views with regard to whether the elements are literally the body and blood of our Lord or not. What's Antioch's view? I don't know. His explanation seemed ambiguous to me. I think what he communicated was that the elements are "somehow" the body and blood, but didn't seem to go so far as to say they are literally His body and blood.

It's going to be interesting to see how all of this works out practically. I am liking this new emphasis, though.

I love driving down Waco Drive and seeing the Antioch arch on the horizon. I remember when we first bought the building there was talk of taking the arch down, or putting a Jesus Loves You sign up there, or something -- anything but actually keeping it. After deciding to keep the arch as is, it's become part of our church culture. It's now an indelible sign -- a sign that many in our community readily recognize. A sign that reminds us of God's banner over us, and His love for us.

How many times over the past 10 years has the arch been featured in media photographs, reports, magazine articles, etc.? Quite a few. People remember the arch and are drawn to its visual appeal. And hopefully when people think of the arch they think about the believers who gather every week under the arch in order to hear their Rabbi's heartbeat.

I love the arch. It makes me feel at home.

It reminds me of JESUS.