When I stop to ponder it, I am amazed by the working of the human body.  Right now, as I type, my brain is sending messages to my fingers about which keys to hit, information stored in my memory many years ago and available instantly at a single thought.  My heart is also pumping blood to every part of my body, with very little awareness on my part that it is even doing so.  Last night while I slept, I continued to inhale and exhale while my conscious self was completely oblivious.  I could go on.  It’s absolutely amazing.

And this working of the human body is used in Scripture to metaphorically describe Christ and the church.  When the church actually works like it is supposed to, it is simply incredible, just like the working of the human body.  Yet, just as our human bodies are often affected by sin and disease, so it is with the church body.  And so it can be rare that we see the body of Christ functioning in the way pictured in the Bible.  But when we do, it is awesome.

I am grateful on a daily basis that this picture of the body is often beautifully displayed at Isaac’s Keep.  It is a precious thing to be a member of a body like this.  In the past few months, we have seen God working in marvelous ways in the individual and family members of IK, and it has been truly refreshing to see how the rest of the body has come alongside and functioned like, well, a body.

Take last Thursday, for instance.  The Geist family has been busily preparing for Hide and Seek Day Camp, a ministry the Lord impressed upon them.  The body of IK has come together in many ways to aid them in this work.  On the day I have in mind, volunteers spent the day helping to build the camp’s climbing wall.  Tractors were loaned, sweat was donated, expertise was even provided by a body member now living in Alabama!  That evening, we came together for dinner (because the body needs to be refueled from time to time) and then the work of the body resumed.  And, to my knowledge, no one worked or donated or helped grudgingly.  Everyone was genuinely delighted to be of use in the body.

I hope that you all see the body of Christ working in these simple ways wherever you are.  If you do, feel free to share them as an encouragement.  If not, pray that the body would become all it is meant to be in Christ and that you would find your place within it.

Summer time in the park with IK family.

When people ask me where I attend church and I say “Isaac’s Keep” the typical response is “Huh?”  It isn’t your run of the mill church name, in fact it doesn’t even have the word “church” in it, which sounds a bit outlandish, especially to the ears of folks raised in the south.  But trust me, there’s a reason for that.  There’s a reason for pretty much everything we do, and don’t do, at Isaac’s Keep.  So let me tell you about this one.

The name “Isaac” comes from the promised son of Abraham, and denotes that we are people of the promise, just as Isaac was a son of the promise, a covenant people, Romans 9 stuff if you will.  But you can read more about the Isaac part here and here.  What I want to focus on is the latter part, “Keep”.  Why do I call my church a “keep”?

First, we have to look at what the word “keep” means (the noun, not the verb).  One definition is “the innermost and strongest structure or central tower of a castle”.  So a keep is strong, it is fortified, it is a place where the people can go and be safe.  Wikipedia notes that, in medieval times, a keep was “often…the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area, or contain important stores such as the armory, food, and the main water well, which would ensure survival during a siege.”

The writers of the Psalms used a similar picture of a tower to describe God.  “For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.” (Psalm 61:3)  “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” (Psalm 18: 10)  Ultimately, God is the strong, fortified place we can run to, the only place we can go to “ensure survival during a siege.”

But, why use it in the name of a church?  Simply because that is what we desire our church to be.  A keep, a strong tower, a refuge from the onslaught and siege of the world around us.  We want Isaac’s Keep to be a place where believers can and will come for relief, peace, encouragement, and rest.  We want this body, this family of believers, to be a place of refuge, not another exhausting activity to add to your already enormous list of activities.  We want this to be different.

It is our hope that the members of the body of IK are out facing the onslaught on a daily basis, living out the gospel in their community and world in a way that glorifies God.  It is also our hope that IK is a place of refuge for them, it’s the Word of God in people that are a source of encouragement to them, and taking shelter within it’s walls, if even for a short time, refuels them and enables them to face the world once more.  That is truly what IK is for me, and I am glad to call The Keep my home.

written by Paula Nix

by Paula Nix

I love cross cultural ministry.  One of the things I love about it is how relational other cultures around the world are.  Relationships really seem to matter.  Time isn’t important, schedules aren’t important, people and relationships seem to trump all.  I long for that, but many times the cultural context in which we live makes it difficult.  Ours is a society where schedules and time clocks rule the roost.  But, isn’t missional supposed to be all about relationships?  So, how do we become missional in THIS cultural context?  How do we start to make the relationships we have and the people we love the most important thing? Continue Reading

REVIEW OF MARK 1, CONDENSED FROM THE BOOK:
Expositional preaching is the first and most important mark of a healthy church.  Do we really believe that? I do. What does our culture seem to say about the most important mark of a healthy church?  Numerical growth, baptisms, offerings, budgets???  We must be driven by Scripture and its meaning must drive the agenda. Continue Reading

Isaac’s Keep is discussing the book What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti M. Anyabwile in its community group.  Being a church that seeks to be a 9 Marks church, this book is an important book to accomplish this goal.  I am including a review of the book and hope to post more articles as we study together. Continue Reading