Archive for the Community Category


Aug 16

Community Groups, Fall ’12: What Did You Expect?

2012 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Community

This fall, our Community Groups are going through a study called, What Did You Expect: Fighting Sin and It’s Effects on Relationships.

Now, if you’ve hung around DSC long enough, you probably recognize the title of that study. That’s because it is based on a book by Paul Tripp, titled, What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage.

If you’ve read this or heard someone talk about it, you’ll know that it’s not just a book about marriage. It’s really a book about God, our relationships, our sin, and the gospel – all applied to marriage, that one relationship where these things converge in force. But the same heart machinery that is involved in the trouble and glory of our marriages is the same machinery that is at play in any and all of our relationships.

That’s why our Community Group studies will be based on Paul Tripp’s material throughout the fall season.

Here’s a video introduction to Paul Tripp’s book, What Did You Expect?:

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

If you aren’t in a Community Group yet, there are a few ways to get plugged in. You can ask a friend at DSC if they’d welcome you to join theirs. The answer is, yes! You can express interest through the Communication Card on Sunday morning. Or, you can email community@desertspringschurch.org with your interest. Visit the Community Group page to learn more about Community Groups and about this fall’s study.

Jan 18

Why Church Membership?

2012 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Community,The Church

DSC’s membership class, Knowing Christ, Knowing the Church (KCKC), is offered three times a year, and the spring session begins on Wednesday, February 1, from 6:30-8:30 PM.

Perhaps you are not a member at DSC and intentionally so. You aren’t certain membership is important for Christians or important for you specifically. Or maybe you are a member, but you’ve never really thought about what the Scriptures say about the nature of the church and our relationship to one another as Christians.

All of us could take church membership more seriously, and for that reason, Nine Marks ministries has a helpful video and summary in answer to the question, “What is church membership?”

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

In KCKC, we explore the foundation, nature, and purpose of what is at the heart of God, His Word, and God’s plan of salvation: the church of Jesus Christ. She has been purchased by the blood of Christ for a display of God’s glory.

Here are some of the questions we explore in the class:

  • What is the foundation of the church?
  • Why the church?
  • What is the church?
  • What does the church do; what are its purposes?
  • What are the distinctives here?
  • How does DSC operate; how is it led?
  • Why join a church and what does it mean?
  • How do I get involved?

For more information about DSC’s membership class, visit the KCKC Page. To sign up, fill out a Communication Card on Sunday, email info@desertspringschurch.org, or call the church office at 505.797.8700. This class is not just for those pursuing church membership, but for anyone interested in getting better acquainted with DSC or the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nov 4

Audio by Topic from the Elders Q&A

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Church Planting,Community,Mission,Vision

Last week we published a post in follow up to our recent Elders Q&A. Below are links to audio for specific sections from the Q&A, along with relevant links around DSC’s website and additional recommended resources. 

Church Planting 

DSC Finances

DSC’s Affiliations and Accountability

Shepherding

Church Membership 

Community Groups

Adoption Ministry

Schooling Approaches

Global Church Planting

Click here to listen to previous Elders Q&A’s.

 

Jun 18

Z on Community

2010 | by Ryan Kelly | Category: Community,Quote

Zach has a great post today on the “Blessing and Ache of Living in Community”:

We have been “homeless” since April 30th.  Dear friends in Albuquerque and Madison have been gracious enough to allow the three ring Nielsen family circus to invade their homes for weeks at a time while we wait for our move in date of July 1st to arrive.  We are living in true community with those who love us.  For this we are endlessly thankful.

This has got me thinking a lot about church community and what it means to live with each other.  Middle class Americans have a hard time doing community.  Part of this is due to technology (FB and Twitter allow me to have “friends”), part of this is due to wealth (we don’t need to depend on anyone else), and part of this is due to the general ethos of Americanism which trumpets the value of “I did it myself!” and “you don’t have a right to tell me what to do!”.

Aside from these cultural influences, living in community with other people is just plain hard.  It exposes our selfishness.  Living alone is easy. You only have to look out for number one.  Relationships are a dance where you have to learn to move and bend with the preferences of those around you.  Being selfish is easy but God said “it is not good for man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18).

Living intentionally with others in community is a blessing but also comes with an acute ache.  Why?  Because our flesh only goes down swinging and the punches of our flesh hurt bad.  Who likes to have their selfishness assaulted?  But that is exactly what we need and therein lies the blessing.  Any means by which I can learn to be less selfish will always, in the end, bless me. Take the punches from the flesh, endure in the fight, and the blessing of your personal sanctification will be more than worth the battle.

Unless our churches can learn to embrace the messiness of community we’ll never grow together into the beautiful body of Christ that Jesus wants us to be.

Pray for this sweet, courageous, church-planting family. May their tribe increase!