MISSIONS
August 31, 2025
When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago. When’s the next best time? Today. We all know that we plant seeds in the mission of God’s plan. Matthew 13’s Parable of the Sower tells the tale of seeds that fall on the path, or into the rocks and thorns. But wait, there is always good soil.
There are many plantings that don’t find good soil. But when you do, oh what the Lord will do. Twenty years ago, this congregation planted the seed of God’s word in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. Twenty years later, this metro area has four churches praising God, with a fifth one being planted in the next year. Souls have been saved. Lives have been changed. A terrible bus accident – three young lives lost but the church persevered and trusted in God. Austin Avenue families have visited. AIM students have served. Missionaries have come and gone. Families have been fed. Youth groups have evangelized.
The first person baptized is now a missionary in Brazil. Elders have been named at Cochabamba Centro Church of Christ. Local Bolivians have graduated from the Monterrey School of Preaching. Songs of Praise have been raised up by over 200 where there were none. All by the grace of God. All by the action of this congregation. All because good soil exists. All because it’s the best time to plant a tree.
-Rodney Chesser
A BETTER YES
August 24, 2025
One of my favorite teachings is the idea of finding a “big yes” in life. Tim Elmore puts it well: “You can do almost anything, but you can’t do everything.” Hebrews encourages us to “run the race set before us.” It’s all the same idea.
We are surrounded by ministry opportunities, both locally and globally. Our church is abundantly blessed and able to serve in many of them. But here’s the truth: with God’s blessing we can do anything—but we can’t do everything.
When I hike, I can’t climb two peaks at the same time. In the same way, churches often preach about sacrificing the bad for the good, but we rarely admit that even good things must sometimes be sacrificed for the better things that God uniquely calls us to do.
One lesson of the Incarnation is that even Christ embraced human limitations. In John 12, when the Greeks asked to see him, Jesus didn’t say “no” outright. Instead, he stated his mission: to give his life for all people. His implicit “no” led to a greater “yes”: he would be “lifted up,” drawing all people to himself.
Jesus was mature enough to say “no” to a very good thing because God had given him a better “yes.” In doing so, the “no” itself became a “yes.” He was lifted up—and spiritually speaking, those seeking Greeks got their “yes.” They saw Jesus.
Here’s the point: not even Jesus did every good thing before him. He did what the Father laid out for him and trusted it was sufficient.
Today, ask God to show you what he has laid out for you. What is the “big yes” God is calling you to? He won’t call you to everything, but he will call you to what matters most.
-Lance Havens
BORROWING WORSHIP
August 17, 2025
Can you borrow the intangible? Can you give away what was never yours to keep? The answer is yes—it happens every Sunday. Language, ideas, words, texts, connections: these are my native tongue. Singing—choruses, shape-notes? Not so much. And yet every week I borrow those gifts from you. I’m swept up in your harmonies; my soul soars on your melodies—even though I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. Those shape-notes might as well be hieroglyphs to me.
Yet week after week you share a gift that was never yours to keep—a gift realized only in the giving: praise. All worship is rightly directed toward God—a pleasing aroma in the throne room, a veritable feast. Within that feast are crumbs; like a grateful beggar, I’m overjoyed just to be at the table—even if most of my vocal offerings are only the scraps I’ve gleaned from you.
Last week, Chad wrote about incorporating microphones into our worship service. To be clear, this is nothing new at Austin Avenue. The singers will remain seated in the pews; the only difference is that those holding microphones are committing to greater preparation and intentionality.
Here’s the paradox: the microphones aren’t for the gifted singers—though they may hold them. They’re for people like me—people who struggle to know and sing “their part.” I can devote more praise to God when I can clearly hear a model of the part I’m trying to sing.
So thank you—for lending what can’t be owned, for proclaiming what I cannot sing (well), and for sharing such a special moment with me and my family each week.
-Lance Havens
WORSHIP TEAM
August 10, 2025
Leading worship is a heavy responsibility. A worship leader must select the right songs that set the right mood, energy, and message and allows a large group of people to worship God in varying stages of life. Each week, a worship leader is an emcee, a conductor, a volunteer coordinator, and an event planner. There is a lot that goes through a worship leader’s mind during the service and during a song. We strive to give our best so that focus can be directed towards God and not our individual shortcomings.
The elders have decided to evaluate a Worship Team to assist the worship leader on Sunday mornings. This would be four singers on microphones – soprano, alto, tenor, and bass – who will compliment the worship leader and encourage the body to sing and worship with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.
If you have a passion for singing and would like to participate in the Worship Team, please come join us each Wednesday night after class, starting August 13, in the auditorium. Each night we will practice upcoming worship songs, explore new songs, and begin planning the Worship Team introduction into our Sunday services. We also invite our sound and computer teams to join us in this process, ensuring we create an effective Worship Team that enhances, rather than replaces, our congregational singing.
If you are unsure and want more information, join us on Wednesday night and let’s learn together how we can best serve Austin Avenue in this way.
-Chad Benton
