Merry Christmas

As we reflect on this year, we are very thankful for the ways in which Christ connects us with each other and with God the Father.  Looking around our church on Sunday mornings we are black, white, Asian, Hispanic, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, young, old, life-time New Orleanian and newcomer. The one thing that connects us all is Christ. 
 
We are thankful for God's Word that connects us to Him and guides us through life. We are thankful for the ways in which our works of mercy and compassion have connected our church to the neighborhood and created an awareness that God is at work.  We are thankful for the gift of prayer and how it has allowed us to know that God hears us and cares for us in very specific ways this year.  We are thankful for the ways in which our faith connects us with others within our denomination, other local churches, the Church throughout the country and the invisible Church throughout the world. 
 
This Christmas season, we are thankful for the way in which God, through the life and sacrifice of Christ, made it possible to reconnect us with Him.  We are thankful that  "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
 
We are thankful for the ways in which God has connected us with each of you.  We are thankful that He has allowed for His work, through St. Roch Community Church, to continue because of your commitment to us through your resources, prayers and labors. A majority of Church plants in well-resourced communities don't last past three years.  We'll be celebrating four years in February; something we don't take lightly.  We are thankful that God has seen it fit to use our church, a diverse, broken and weak body, to bring Him glory and to proclaim His amazing grace. 
 
As the the year comes to completion, we ask that you prayerfully consider giving a much needed year-end gift to help us finish strong and give us a solid foundation to start the new year.   
 
Gifts can be given online at www.strochcc.org or via Network for Good.  Gifts can also be mailed to:
St. Roch Community Church
1738 St. Roch Ave. 
New Orleans, L A 70117
 
Again, thank you for all the ways you supports St. Roch Community Church.
 
Merry Christmas,
 
Ben McLeish
Development Director

Please Pray

On Saturday night we left our kids home with a babysitter and my wife and I went out on a date. While out, we received notice that our next door neighbors had been held-up at gun point in their house and robbed by a young black male. It is suspected that this is the same young man who burglarized and raped a young lady in her house a couple blocks away earlier in the week. Last night we heard the ambulances drive off on the block behind us. They were responding to a triple shooting. Two survived, one died.

In days like these, life in my neighborhood is scary, chaotic and hopeless. How will things ever change? Of the people I have known over the years who commit crimes, their stories are always tragic. They are often stories of severe poverty, neglect and abandonment which often leads to the drug scene and then to violent crime. Their desperation brings destruction.

But somehow, God is gracious to remind me that He’s here, that He hears our cries and that He’s still at work redeeming and restoring all things. This Sunday after church a couple of our young black men called for a meeting of the men in the congregation. This was their goal; that together we would create a “band of brothers” that would encourage each other to grow in our faith, that would provide accountability with each other and that together we would reach the young men of our neighborhood.

Often when the police release descriptions of perpetrators, it’s often a black male 18-24 with dreadlocks, the same description of these two young men who were infectiously admonishing us to pursue God. Throughout God’s redemptive history, God has used unlikely people from unlikely places to redeem and restore that which is lost and broken. Here He is doing it again.

My heart breaks over the violence that has occurred here recently but God, the hope of the world, is still at work. He hasn’t abandoned or forsaken us. His rescue plan that was revealed nearly 2000 years ago in a dirty stable, in the form of a helpless baby is still at work.

We ask that you continue to pray for us. Pray for our protection and pray that God would use us to be agents of His peace and His healing.

In Christ's Redeeming Love,

Ben McLeish
Development Director

Help a needy family this Christmas...

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas just around the corner, many families who find themselves “blessed” are often looking for a way to help out a needy family during the holiday season. But if you’re at all like me, my motivation in a situation like this can often be selfish. I’ve given to relieve my guilt, impress others or have a “warm fuzzy” feeling. My giving can so often be about me.

As we look to God, though, we find a different economy of giving. The Apostle Paul, describing the attitude of Christ, encourages us to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.”

If we are honest with ourselves, we are the needy ones. When sin entered the world, we were all totally effected by it, both rich and poor, black and white, young or old. Our own motivations, thoughts & actions attest to this. But thanks be to God, the Great Gift Giver, that He provides a remedy to our condition. How? By sending Christ into the world, not just leaving us a good example to follow but actually exchanging our wretchedness for Christ’s righteousness, providing the opportunity for our broken relationship with God, one another and all creation to experience redemption & restoration.

When it comes to giving, Jesus’ words cut right to the heart “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Is it ok, then, to give to those in need? YES! It’s commanded all throughout scripture. What then should our motivation be? We are givers because our Heavenly Father is a giver and we his children, the benefactors of his grace & mercy, should seek to mimic His actions.

This Christmas we invite you to give to those in need by helping provide access to affordable Christmas gifts for families in our neighborhood by donating to our annual Christmas Store. Our store will sell the donated items at rock bottom pricing, thus providing a dignified shopping experience for hard working parents. Together we can help tackle the needs of the under resourced in our neighborhood and help the neediness of our own hearts in the process.

For more details, including gift ideas, avenues to donate, and a fuller explanation of the philosophy behind the store, visit:www.strochcc.org/christmas

Thankful for Things Both Big & Small

There are certain things that, if I’m honest, I feel a certain sense of entitlement to or take for granted. A warm bed to sleep in, a hot shower to greet me in the morning, three square meals to fill my belly, reliable transportation to get me to and fro, good health and a number of other comforts. By living in the inner-city of New Orleans, God, through my neighbors and friends here, is cultivating a much deeper appreciation for being thankful for the so called “little things.” When many of my neighbors pray, it inevitably starts with “God, thanks for waking me up today.” Somehow I just feel like it is my right to wake up each morning but that isn't true. Year in and year out, New Orleans tops the country in murder rates. Just last week a 17 year-old boy was murdered a couple blocks from the church. With evidence of despair all around, it has been deeply convicting to see such great joy, perseverance and generosity come forth from my neighbors & friends who, by American standards, have very little. I’m very thankful for the ways in which their faith in God as their Great Provider, prods me to be thankful for the many “little things” He faithfully provides for me.

For the work of St. Roch Community Church to happen, it takes a great deal of resources. We are so thankful to all of you who have given of your time, talent, treasure and prayers to see the work of the Gospel go forward both in word and deed. Here are a few other things that some of the members here are thankful for:

“I am thankful for the awesome family that I have here at St. Roch. I have been richly welcomed into a new home. I am thankful for the blessing of opportunity to use the gifts God has given me to glorify Him at St. Roch.” - Julie

"I'm thankful that Christ hung out with crazy individuals. It makes me feel good that when others reject me Christ is always going to be my friend" -Monique

“ I went to church at St. Roch for the first time at Thanksgiving time last year. Since then I have seen my entire life flipped upside down by God. I now live across the street, have loving friends that challenge me and a community to call "home". I am so thankful for SRCC! In all honesty, most blessings in my life can be traced back to my church in some way.” -Benjamin T.

“I am thankful for the way God has assembled such a special group of people together known as St. Roch Community Church. I am thankful for how He has allowed us to grow together, fellowship together, pray together, worship together, etc. I am thankful for the love of God that is evident at SRCC.” -Pastor J.B.

“I’m thankful for my health, my job, my growing faith I have in the Lord, prayer, my children and of course my St. Roch family.” - Ms. Monica

“I am thankful for God’s provisions and providence for me and His calling me to be a part of St. Roch.” - Kayti

Again, thanks for all of your support of St. Roch Community Church. May God richly bless you with His presence as you gather with friends and family.

Sincerely,

Ben McLeish
Development Director

Uncovering the Chrome

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. -Romans 12:15

I’m not sure if you are like me, but I’m an expert in hiding my sin. I put tremendous energy in preserving a chrome image where everything is shiny on the outside and rusting, rough and dangerous metal on on the inside. Maybe you have found yourself striving in the same manner and even more so at church.

We know, though, that God has called us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Most church settings that I’ve found myself in, though, we never get beyond the shiny chrome exterior and if your church is at all like ours, brokenness is all around. One of the great privileges of living in the inner city, though, is that people do not hide their “junk.” There is a realness and authenticity that is unmatched.

I was incredibly encouraged this past week as Pastor J.B. brought before our congregation a young married couple whose marriage is crumbling and taught us the true meaning of weeping with those who weep. As this couple shared their struggles, Pastor J.B. reminded us of our own troubles and sin and challenged us to come around this couple and encourage them.

Looking to Christ, who left all the comforts of Heaven and redemptively entered into our suffering (2 Corinthians 8:9), we as His followers are all called to enter into the pain of others. At St. Roch, we see this played out in a variety of ways including the preaching of the Gospel, restoring damaged homes, programs for underserved youth or just doing life with one another.

Imagine what it would be like if we, the Church, were honest about our sin before God and others. What if we took serious the mandate to enter into the sufferings of others? I wonder how many marriages would be saved, relationships restored and how much rejoicing would be experienced. How would that effect poverty in our country and abroad? Would there be a need for orphanages? Would there be discussions about building bigger prisons? How would the unbelieving world respond? Our young married couple has a long road ahead but with the support of the Body of Christ around them, we anticipate great rejoicing.

By Ben McLeish, Community Development Director at St. Roch Community Church, a PCA church plant in inner-city New Orleans.

The Blog Begins

Stay tuned for updates and reflections from Pastor JB.