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Note these late-breaking adjustments to our weekend worship schedule!
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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc with our plans, routines, and calendars. Praise God that the LOCC family remains largely unscathed by the virus, but an uptick of cases and deaths around the state has nonetheless prompted LOCC leaders to restructure our weekend worship schedule as follows (until further notice):
SATURDAY
- 5:30 p.m.
Live Inside at Southern Oaks (Grace Tabernacle)
(There's ample space at this venue to employ social distancing. Face masks are encouraged as we continue to observe all COVID-19 protocols.)
This service also will be livestreamed on liveoakschurch.org and YouTube.
(The 4 p.m. service at Woodridge is SUSPENDED until further notice.)
SUNDAY
- 8:30 a.m.
Live outside at The Grove (please continue to employ social distancing)
This service also will be livestreamed on liveoakschurch.org and YouTube.
- 10:15 a.m.
Replay of the first service projected on the Jumbotron outside at The Grove (please continue to employ social distancing)
Indoor restrooms will remain open. Please wear face masks and continue to observe all COVID-19 protocols.
(All indoor services at Woodridge are SUSPENDED until further notice.)
ONLINE
- View Saturday's Southern Oaks service on liveoakschurch.org or YouTube any time after it originally airs.
- View Sunday's service at The Grove on liveoakschurch.org or YouTube any time after it originally airs.
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PLEASE ALSO NOTE:
FILLER FACTORY, TOO, IS SUSPENDED
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
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It’s that time of year again when you can partner with Love INC (In the Name of Christ) to help purchase clothes for kids in need. There are two ways you can participate:
- Volunteer to be paired with a Clothe-A-Kid family and accompany them on their shopping spree on July 28 or 30. You’ll get to cheer them on, share their fun, and even help them make clothing selections. Contact Dana Parker at 352.245.8774, ext. 204, to reserve your spot.
- Sponsor kids at $90 each – or any other amount you feel led to give. Make your check out to Live Oaks Community Church, mark “Clothe-A-Kid” in the memo line, and drop it in the offering bucket as you leave.
For details, contact Kirk Carver at kirk@liveoakschurch.org or visit the Love INC website at loveincheartofflorida.org.
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Biblical
Justice
Workshop
A Brief Review
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Nearly 70 people attended the Biblical Justice Workshop hosted by Live Oaks Community Church last Sunday, July 5, at the Woodridge Campus Worship Center. In the wake of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis on May 25, and other recent, disturbing incidents around the country, as well as the subsequent protests and civil unrest in the U.S. and around the world sparked by this event, LOCC invited John Gerhardt of Urban Impact, New Orleans, and Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) Superintendent Glen Schrieber to present a "Biblical Framework for Justice and Reconciliation." Both men have strong ties with Live Oaks Community Church, and share more than 60 years of combined experience living and ministering in an inner city context.
The focus of the gathering? God's heart for justice and mercy. Suddenly the Christian community is confronted anew with questions that continue to resurface in a fallen world broken by sin. What is the Christian response to racism and injustice? What does it mean to love my neighbor, especially when we may have fundamental disagreements? What is the difference between social justice and biblical justice?
"We will not solve these issues in one-and-a-half hours," John said up front. "But let's have a dialogue. One of the biggest issues we have with race in America is we never have a talk. We don't talk about it – we don't deal with it – and because of that we end up in the situation that we're in."
After both men shared their stories (their backgrounds and the influences in their lives that opened their eyes and fired their passion for biblical justice and reconciliation), they invited others in attendance to share their own stories. And a few did just that – folks from diverse backgrounds talking openly and frankly about their own sometimes heart-wrenching journeys.
Among the evening's major takeaways:
- We cannot ignore these issues – the Gospel leaves us no choice but to deal with racism and injustice.
- God loves everybody, regardless of class, culture, race, lifestyle, political persuasion, etc. He offers the free gift of salvation to one and all.
- The Gospel of Jesus Christ must remain at the core of everything we think, say, and do as Children of God.
- As believers, we are living on a green card! Our citizenship is in heaven, and our allegiance, our worldview, flows out of that citizenship.
What do we do now? Here are some of the suggestions John and Glen offered:
- Assess where we are on the continuum from comfort, to awareness, to understanding, to lament, to restoration, to action, to change – no shame, no judgment, just honest soul searching.
- Adopt an attitude of "courageous humility," admitting that we don't know all the answers and swallowing our pride in order to talk with, listen to, and learn not only from each other but also from those whose backgrounds and experiences differ from our own.
- Read to broaden our knowledge, actively pursue relationships with others who are different from us, and broaden our responses, implementing change based on what we are learning.
- Understand the pyramidal progression of steps toward unity in Christ (see graphic below), at the base of which is the truth from Genesis 1:27 that God created ALL humans in His own image.
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Above all, John and Glen encouraged everybody to keep learning, keep growing, keep conversing, and keep communicating the Gospel in word and deed.
"God, where do You want me to act this afternoon and tomorrow and next week?" John suggested that we pray. "How do You want me to stand in the gap so that we can start eradicating racism in the body of Christ – and we can start alleviating it in the world around us?"
The leaders of LOCC desire to keep the conversation alive and are in discussion about next steps we as a church family can take as we continue working toward reconciliation and unity in Christ.
View the "Biblical Justice Workshop" in its entirety HERE:
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John Gerhardt is assembling a library of recommended reading that he will soon be making available to our LOCC family. Inquire with the church office to find out more and to check out a few must-read titles.
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