EPHESUS VENUE CHANGE THIS WEEK

I just found out late this afternoon that our building in Uptown has had a major electrical problem and we will not be able to meet there at least this week and perhaps longer. But Ephesus is still happening! Through the graciousness of the Charlotte 24-7 Prayer Room we still have somewhere to meet this Sunday. We will meet at 6pm at the 24-7 Prayer Room which is located at Area 15 at 514 15th Street, Charlotte, NC 28206. Here’s a link to a Google map. The 24-7 Prayer Room is just a few blocks north of I-277 heading towards NoDa.

We will be in a new place, but Ephesus will still be going on this week! We will have City Kids available for children birth-10 years old. We will also have a team at our Brevard Street location with directions to the Prayer Room for folks that don’t get the update in time. We are coming off an incredible launch this past Easter Sunday and we are looking forward to what God is continuing to do at Ephesus, no matter where we gather! I’m starting a new series this week about what the church is truly about, what a great way to dig into what the Church is really about as we meet this fresh challenge!

I’d like to ask you to note the venue change and also get the word out to everyone you can about where Ephesus will be this Sunday. Please email me with any questions you may have. Thanks for being a part of Ephesus as we continue to Love Jesus, Love People and Love the City!

The reality of the Cross

This past Sunday at Ephesus I touched on the physical realities of death by crucifixion. I want to give a little more of the details on this form of execution which was first practiced by the Persians and possibly learned by the Romans from the Carthaginians. The reality is that crucifixion, while horrific and violent, was fairly common during the Roman Empire. It was reserved for non-Roman citizens for crimes in which the government desired to make a very public mockery of the victim. While the crucifixion of Jesus is certainly the most recognized instance of this form of execution there are several other instances where execution occurred on a large scale. Notably the crucifixion of Spartacus and his followers during the slave rebellion of the First Century BC. There were upwards of 6000 crucified along a major Roman highway as so admirably portrayed by Kirk Douglas in the great man-movie Spartacus. The noted Jewish historian, Josephus, recorded many Jews were crucified following the failed Jewish revolt around AD 70. It is also tradition, although not with authoritative records, that Peter was crucified upside down. He made this request, because he felt he wasn’t worthy to die the same way as Jesus. All of this being said, crucifixion was a very horrific way to die, and very few survived crucifixion, and then only because they were shown mercy for some reason or another and taken off the cross or pole before they succumbed. Bottom line, either you died on the cross or the Romans very intentionally allowed you to live. No one ever accidentally survived. There has been some debate as to whether Jesus truly died on the cross or merely “swooned” or “almost died.” There is simply no historical evidence that this happened, nor is it realistic that it could have happened. Not only did the Roman executioners ensure death, because their own lives depended on them properly completing their job, but Jesus certainly was in a state of extreme trauma when laid in the tomb where he was wrapped in over 100 pounds of linens and without food or water for 3 days. You just don’t get up and walk out of a situation like that.

Next, I’d like to detail the physical realities of crucifixion. Much of this is taken from an article written in the March 21, 1986 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

First there was flogging

• A flog is a leather whip of braided leather straps with metal balls and small pieces of bone in them
• These bits of bone and metal were used to rip open the flesh on the back of the victim often exposing the spine and internal organs
• When whipped, these bits would grab hunks of flesh and tear them off the victim
• After being flogged Jesus would most likely go into shock which correlates with his collapsing while carrying the cross and being thirsty due to blood loss on the cross.
• This would lead to something known as hypovolemic shock. This is shock caused by the loss of large amounts of blood. It has 4 major effects

1. The heart races to try and pump blood that is no longer in the body
2. the blood pressure drops leading to fainting or collapse
3. the kidneys stop producing urine so as much blood as possible can be maintained
4. extreme thirst as the body needs more fluids to replace the lost blood

Next was the journey to the place of execution.

• Jesus would have had to carry the crossbar of the cross which weighed between 75-125 pounds outside of the city to to the site of crucifixion
• This rough hewn piece of wood would be resting on his ripped open back

Once at the site of the crucifixion:

• There would be the upright portion of the cross already in the ground
• Jesus would then be thrown to the ground which allowed dirt to get into his torn back with his arms outstretched across the crossbar
• He would then be nailed through the wrists to the cross by 5-7 inch long metal spikes. These spike would go right through the median nerve in the wrist causing pain similar to, but far beyond, something experienced when we hit our “funny bone” in the elbow as this nerve was crushed by the spike.
• The nail went between the two bones in the wrist to hold the victim to the cross.
  • traditionally it has been said that the nails went through the hands, but the palms would tear from the weight of the victim
  • At that time the wrist was considered part of the hand in common usage
• Jesus was then lifted to the upright portion of the cross where his ankles were nailed to the cross again through the major nerve leading to the feet
• At this point his arms would have been stretched an additional 6 inches and both shoulders dislocated
• While on the cross Jesus’ back, still ripped open would be scraping across the rough wood of the cross
• Then began the slow process of asphyxiation as the position of the body on the cross made breathing impossible except by pushing up on the nails in the feet to release the tension on the lungs and allow breathing again.
• All the while the exposed back is tearing across the wood of the cross
• To add to the insult of this act was that individuals were stripped naked and often times lost control of their bodily functions resulting in urine, feces, blood and sweat pooling at the base of the cross
• Eventually the combination of all these factors led to exhaustion and an inability to lift up and breath.
• At this point the victim would die.
  • those that did not die in the necessary timeframe would have their legs broken to quicken asphyxiation as the person could no longer lift themselves up.
  • This is why we read in the bible of the Roman executioner nearly breaking Jesus’ legs but realizing he is already dead.
• The spear to the heart would have released pericardial effusion around the heart and pleural effusion around the lungs giving the appearance of water when punctured by the spear
  • These would have been caused by the hypovolemic shock and resulting cardiac failure
  • This would have only occurred after the death of the victim

The bottom line is Jesus died a horrible, gruesome death at the hands of experienced executioners. But the ending of the story is that 3 days later He was no longer lying in that tomb!
Additional reading :

“Vintage Jesus” Mark Driscoll, & Gerry Breshears 2008

“The Case for Christ” Lee Strobel 1998

“On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ” JAMA, Vol. 255, Number 11, March 21, 1986 Edwards, et al

“The Science of the Crucifixion” http://www.apu.edu/infocus/2002/03/crucifixion/

Vol. 255 No. 11, March 21, 1986

UPDATE: Sermon notes from this weekend

I said yesterday during our Easter service at Ephesus that I would be putting up additional notes on this blog on physical ramifications of death by cross, substitutionary atonement and 1 Corinthians 15. I’m hoping to have those up by Wednesday or Thursday. I’m taking a little break today and spending some time resting with my family. But I will be good to my word and have those notes up! Our launch service yesterday was incredible! Lots of prayer and an amazing team came together to set Ephesus up for amazing things. God is moving in Charlotte and I’m excited to be a part of a church he’s using in this city! See you in a few days…

Preaching on Easter

You know, much is put into Easter at churches around the world every year. I’ve been a part of Easter planning and prep many, many times, but you know I’ve never preached on Easter Sunday. The weight of the responsibility is certainly telling on me this evening. People need to know Jesus loves them, that He willingly died for them, and that he rose again. It really is that simple isn’t it? Why do we struggle with the simplicity of it? Why do we question and doubt, him and ourselves? Why do I doubt my ability to proclaim his love and resurrection tomorrow? It isn’t about what I say, it’s about Him and what I’m merely a messenger for. He already took care of it. The battle’s done. “O death where is your sting?” Well, tomorrow, I’m preaching my first Easter message, the first Easter message at Ephesus. I’m going to sit back and watch God do His thing and get out of the way. As my good friend Mike J. likes to say “Give ‘em Heaven…”

Easter at Ephesus

The official launch of Ephesus Church is this Sunday at 6pm. We’ll be looking at the unbelievable reality of what Jesus did on the Cross and after the Cross on that Sunday 3 days later. For everyone in the Charlotte area, you’re going to want to be at Ephesus this Sunday! For those of you not in the Charlotte area you can get the podcast on iTunes at EphesusChurch.tv

Easter is the perfect time to check out Ephesus and invite someone you know to come along. Most folks are looking for somewhere to go on Easter, and I happen to think Ephesus is a great place to start.

See you Sunday!

Ben Eige
Pastor
Ephesus Church

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Latest email update from Ephesus

This is an almost weekly update to the friends and folks of Ephesus for March 12, 2008.

An exciting Sunday this week at Ephesus as we dig into the kind of life Jesus has called us to lead in part 2 of “Why Jesus.” In part 2 we’re going to look at Jesus’ words and actions throughout the book of Matthew and the call he has put on all of our lives. We will also hear about how Ephesus is partnering with the Justice Project in living out the life Jesus modeled. Lisa Koons, lead at the Charlotte 24-7 Prayer Room, as well as the Justice Project, will be engaging us in how to be a part of making a difference in the Villa Heights neighborhood just to the northeast of Uptown Charlotte. Ephesus Church and Next Level Church in Matthews will be adopting the Villa Heights neighborhood for the next 9 months. This is truly a part of our DNA as a church and our vision to love Jesus, love people and love the city. I’m excited that so early on in our history we have a very tangible, authentic way to love on our community. I hope you can be at Ephesus Church this Sunday at 6pm in Uptown Charlotte.

Audio podcasts from Ephesus are now available at the iTunes Music Store. Just search for “EphesusChurch.tv” in the iTunes Music Store search bar and you can subscribe to the podcast feed. We are hoping to have video podcasts available very soon.

Finally, this Sunday at Grace Covenant Church, Pastor Farrell and the leadership of GCC will be praying over the entire Ephesus team. They’ve asked for everyone serving at Ephesus or just attending Ephesus to be a part of this prayer time in all 3 services. I’d like to ask all of you that are a part of Ephesus at any level to be a part of this prayer time at GCC by joining us when we are invited forward at the 8, 9:30, and 11:15 services.

Please continue to pray for relationships in the Uptown area of Charlotte to be developed and the word about what is happening at Ephesus to spread. Thanks for your support!

This is what church planting will drive you to…

This is what church planting will drive you to…

Originally uploaded by g8rben

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The podcast…

There is now officially 3 files on our podcast feed. Crazy! It’s cool stuff. We’re recording via a M-Audio FireWire Solo Mobile Audio Interface straight from our soundboard to a MacBook. Right now we’re recording the audio into GarageBand, but are looking to use Cubase or ProTools very soon. We’re also using GarageBand to do post-production on the podcast. We also have a Mac Mini on order that will become our dedicated recording device. We opted to record our audio straight to digital and avoid the extra step of either cassette (who the heck can even play one of those anymore?) or CD recording. Being a mobile church this saves us the need to store media and we can keep everything online. The reality is, the audio interface and Mini are not much more expensive than a decent CD recorder, and we’re not having to purchase blank CD media on a regular basis. It’s a nice solution that has not required too much technical expertise. Adam Wilson, our worship leader, is also able to use the interface throughout the week for recording to enhance the worship and provide audio tracks for the worship team to use in their rehearsals. Of course, right now we don’t have a backup recording option, but we will get there eventually. It’s pretty cool seeing all the Macs running in the back for our visual displays and for our audio recording. It appeals to the hidden geek inside.

Our next goal is to get our vodcasting up and running. We are currently recording via video on our Sony HDR-HC7 HDV 1080i camcorder. It’s a high end consumer-grade HD camera. It does very well in good lighting conditions, but what we’re struggling with right now is the dated lighting in the 100 year old church we rent on Sunday evenings. We’re very limited in our lighting options right now and are hesitant to invest in any lighting solutions as the building owner is in the midst of major renovations. Anything we may acquire now could become unnecessary in only a few weeks. So for now we are dialing in the options with the camera in preparation of the lighting to make the vodcast viable.

Just a little info on what we’re doing at Ephesus. The audio podcast is currently available via the iTunes Music Store, and is hosted by Podbean for free while we set up our own dedicated server which we should have running in the next month or so. A little something we may give a shot at just for fun is actually setting up a video chat with a friend of mine from the back of the sanctuary so he can experience our service from California. I’m fairly confident the quality will be very low, but it will be a real-time, low-cost opportunity to provide online interactivity with what we’re doing at Ephesus. It’s just the test bed for where we would like to see ourselves get as a global community.

IMG00015.jpg

IMG00015.jpg

Originally uploaded by g8rben

On the way to setup…
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Church Planting 101

Don’t I wish! We’ve had our first service and things went well. We learned some things, but that’s the whole point of having a soft launch, but overall things went really well. You could tell I had been listening to a lot of Mark Driscoll, because my first sermon had a little heft to it. You can head to the iTunes Music store and get the podcast at EphesusChurch.tv if you want to give it a listen. This week I’m starting a 3 parter on “Why Jesus?” Not sure how I’ll get Jesus into 3 weeks, but I had to do something foundational with the 3 weeks leading into Easter. I’m sure the topic will be visited again. At some point here I’m going to start laying out a few lessons learned on this journey of church planting. Hopefully some practical tidbits. There are some great books on the subject so I’m not trying to overshadow those, just some thoughts on our own experience. Something else I’ve really felt strongly this week too is the need to begin work already on planting more churches out of Ephesus. We’ve got one week under our belt what better time to start thinking about planting?