Posts by Charlie Hogstad

Check out our recap of our latest Men's Event on April 6th! These events are meant to give the men of River City a chance to connect with one another over meaningful topics, while enjoying one another's company. We want to address stewardship as a means by which we take what God has graciously given us and use it for his purposes and glory. We have discussed financial s...

The ongoing celebration of Christ and of conversion can boil down to very simple but profound reorientation of life. It is our hope that these celebrations would lead to more handshakes, initiating redemptive relationships with people you encounter. We hope that meeting and connecting with people in meaningful ways would be an overflow of a joy in Christ and a desire for o...

As we gather together in Missional Communities to celebrate Christ, to celebrate connections and cultivation, we also celebrate the growth we experience in community. We also love change, we get excited about transformation because it is what God intends for us as his children....

Imagine a discussion where you are asking questions of others, they are inquiring about your life, and together, you use words that are not corrupt but rather good for building up, as fits the occassion of the other person, that they may receive grace (Ephesians 4:29). This is where Christ is truly celebrated in community, where family connections lead to Christlike cultiv...

We get excited about initiating new relationships and going deeper in existing relationships. Being made for deep and meaningful connections, we seek to foster healthy friendships whereby we can know and be known, where the celebration of Christ becomes personal to us....

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and yoru life is hidden with Christ in God. - Colossians 3:1-3...

What is the recipe for success in the tech world? Why are companies like Apple and Google becoming bigger and bigger, while controlling more and more aspects of our lives? It is more than just the sleek designs of their phones or the ease of their search. They have become adept in what is called "vertical integration." This is when a company builds the hardware, the softw...

How do the people we encounter in our neighborhoods, in the dorms, in the office, make sense of the world? How do they view what's wrong with society? Where do they look to for hope? What do they consider to be good news?...

Far too often I am the detective from Law & Order asking question after question that makes people feel more like suspects than actual people. Becoming an audience and receiving what is the most important information validates the individual as one embedded in this broken world, and shows a willingness to learn more of how they have actually experienced that brokenness....

As the Lord moves me here and moves me there, giving new opportunities for relational connections everyday, I hope to be open to those opportunities and step into them by faith....

So how does this missional, outreach-oriented church manage nearly as a whole (as a collective of individuals' actions) to overlook, avoid, whatever, a lone father and his son?...

The Lord sovereignly uses our mistakes in evangelism to teach us how to better contextualize the gospel....

Missional Communities are places where the thirsty soul can come for refreshment, for satisfaction....

On August 16th, I was honored to preach on the topic of silence and solitude as a discipline for growth in godliness. Unfortunately there were issues with our recording and no audio was captured. Do to a few requests to read through the message on Luke 10:38-42, you may download a PDF of the manuscript here. ...

We want our kids to have front-row seats to the spiritual growth of the community of believers as we are raising them to be Christ-centered missionaries in our world. Parents have a unique role to discipline and instruct them toward this life of following Christ. So many of you are bringing your children into the body of Christ. You are showing them your desire to know ...

Could we radically redefine “normal” for our kids? As I have seen over and over in my own life, I default to “normal.” My wife will tell you that my normal is not the same as her normal but I go back to my normal all the time. Normal is a distracted mind. Normal is forgetting responsibility. Normal is waiting until someone is upset before addressing the issue....

As our children are in the family of God developing their identity as missionaries of God, we want to equip them to live in a broken and fallen world. This includes exposing them to the reality of sin in the context where they will see it appropriately....

Throughout the bible, there are a lot of children born (or there was a lot of ‘begat’ing for the KJV fans). Their life begins and their life ends but most of the stories we know well are people in their teenage or adult years. So, where were do children show up? If you read with this question in mind, you might see that they are not where you would expect based on m...

Merry Christmas! As we left last night's service, I thought to myself as I often do, "I love this church." I'm very grateful today and everyday for all those whom the Lord has brought into the body of Christ at River City. Prayerful for your Christmas celebrations, wherever you may be! As my family watchesA Christmas Storyon TBS, I'm taking a few minutes to finish up our...

There was a time when during our announcements on a Sunday morning, we would essentially communicate that going to a Missional Community was more important than showing up on Sunday mornings. Our hope in that was to show how important the life of the church outside of Sunday mornings was incredibly important, more so than our churched culture here in Fargo usually believes...

What an amazing privilege, to take part in the work of God in our community. The Lord's design since before the dawn of time, before the foundation of the world, was to build for himself a Church. A Body. A group of people who exist by the grace of God to show off the grace of God, to show the richness of his mercy, the greatness of his love, the immeasurable riches of his...

We're jumping right in this week to Section III entitled "Uncovering the Sources of Missionary Power," looking at chapters five and six ofOutgrowing the Ingrown Churchby C. John Miller. You can check out my recaps of the previous four chapters here and here. Hoping this has been a helpful look at what I've found to be a helpful book! Section III: Uncovering the Sources o...

Welcome to installation #2 of our time together inOutgrowing the Ingrown Church by C. John Miller. Last week, we discussed chapters one two, this time around we'll get into three four which will start the second section of the book entitled "Getting Our Missionary Identity Straight." Going through these pages has once more encouraged me in the work of the Lord and at the...

Every Thursday I'll recap the general points of a chapter or two from a book I've enjoyed and found applicable to what God's doing in and through us as a church....

MC Discussion questions for week 10 of our series in Proverbs....

Introductory Question When it comes to the nature of temptation, what's your prevailing attitude: ignorant/hopeless/deflecting/arrogant? Discussion/Application Questions Read Proverbs 5:1-23... How does the father's description of temptation play itself out in other areas of Scripture? Where do we see this actually happening? Is anyone willing to share how tempt...

Here are discussion questions for week 8 of our series in Proverbs....

Each week, I'll be doing my best to post the general questions given to each MC leader to frame out their discussion. My hope is to expose participants to the questions prior to discussion to come ready to confess and repent amongst their brothers and sisters in Christ. ...

“You’re constantly interpreting your world…You are an incessant interpreter. That is a significant and important function. You never leave your life alone.”...

In June, we will be focusing on how as MC Leaders we live as ambassadors for Christ as we are united to him by faith. We'll look at this on an individual level as men, but also how to foster an understanding of the role everyone plays within a group as it pertains to proclamation. To begin, I'll be synthesizing chapter five from Mack Stiles' book Evangelism: How the Whole ...

We're excited to announce our Women's Weekend entitledHere is Our God: A Weekend For Women, Not About Womenhappening June 6th and 7th here in Fargo. The purpose behind the weekend away is to continue fostering relationships between women, fighting for their identity in Christ, and clarifying the function of each person plays in the outward-focused mission of their group....

Check out this great bibliography of resources on Union with Christ from Phil Gons...here. ...

A healthy leader is one who believes the truth of the gospel, living as a disciple of Christ, as part of the family of God, and as a bold missionary. They live in light of their identity in Christ and the overarching mission of God in our city. As they lead their Missional Community, they foster an environment of deep discipleship, tangible care amongst the group members, ...

In April, our MC leaders will explore the doctrine of union with Christ and how that defines them as his disciples. As a supplement to that, here are some thoughts from John Owen inCommunion with the Triune God on the loveliness and graciousness of our Lord and Savior. Jesus is... Lovely in hisperson---in the glorious all-sufficiency of his Deity, gracious purity and h...

So very grateful for the men and messages given at the 2014 Desiring God Pastor's ConferenceentitledThe Pastor, the Vine, and the Branches: The Remarkable Reality of Union with Christ. Here are my favorite messages, and it's worth the time to work through them all...enjoy! ...

Here's D.A. Carson on why we read the Bible...we read the Word to meet with the Living God. The question then becomes do you want to meet with him? Check out the original post at Desiring God....

Note: this is part three of a series on being disciples, part of a family, and missionaries. God's design in creation was good, very good in factas God reflected on what he had made there was a complete satisfaction with what came about. This is obvious, but the creation he made and the intent behind it was perfect and his design in Adam's role was therefore perfect. He p...

Note: this is the first post in a series looking at being a disciple, part of a family, and missionaries to our city. The goal is to clarify and give depth to each aspect of our identity in Christ by looking at the theological basis, the example of Christ, and the empowerment of the Spirit. I attended Concordia South (Luther College, Decorah, IA). Imagine our beloved pr...

Note: this post is second in a series focusing on the disciple, family, and missionary aspects of our identity in Christ. This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for so many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and ...

Last night, we launched our 16th Missional Community! It's located in the Robert Asp neighborhood of North Moorhead, which is the 14th neighborhood in which we have a presence. This group is led by Richard Traci Anderson, hosted by Michael Allison Vetter. Their mission is to make disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus where God has placed them. This is truly ge...

Fill me with grace daily, that my life be a fountain of sweet water....

"Jesus is clear that our job as Christians is to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-10). Any church that doesn't have this aspiration as a focal point of their mission simply disobeys Jesus. But mission drift happens even in organizations with clear goals and objectives."...

HT: Zach Nielsen...

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to youunless you believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2) As Paul tells the Corinthian church what's up, he points them back to the gospel. He uses the word 8 times in the book, either in...

Here are my favorite messages from the 2013 Desiring God National Conference, in chronological order... Myth Wars: C.S. Lewis vs. Scientism Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles Undragoned: C.S. Lewis on the Gift of Salvation In Bright Shadow: C.S. Lewis on the Imagination for Theology and Discipleship Panel Discussion What God Made...

Drawing from Acts 4, David Platt and Francis Chan discuss specific prayer for boldness and courage in our disciple-making. ...

Many in our church and in our city are struggling with this or that, with unbelief in the promises of the gospel. Asaph struggled with the same thing, and shared how he worked through it in Psalm 73....

Thanks to Aaron Tetzlaff for pointing me to this encouraging message from Paul Washer....

"Small groups. Growth groups. Mini-churches. Community groups. Cell groups. Accountability groups. Home groups. Missional communities. Mini-flocks. No matter what you call them, most churches of any size highlight the importance of meeting together in smaller communities within the local church. How do I cultivate meaningful relationships in my small group?"...

Missional Community leaders need to set the pace, showing that "money and possessions and sex and sports and success are not worthy of their worship." Jesus is, and we seek to see his worship increase. How can we stand by as our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. worship things other than Jesus which will only lead to death and destruction?...

In searching the City of Fargo's website for regulations on slow-moving vehicles (that's another story altogether), I found that there are 7 neighborhoods in town that have formed an assocation....

"When it comes to the Great Commission, there are basically three responses a church can have. A church can do nothing, something, or one thing."...

Who you are influences what you do. What you believe influences how you live. In our fallenness, we are great at getting this wrong and placing more emphasis on what you're to do rather than living out of who you are. Therefore, we must highlight our "gospel identities" as the basis for and the motivation of shared mission. ...

A few years ago, I found myself leaning on Akon's Lamborghini....

The most valuable resource for the missional journey is real-life examples and real-time conversations. ...

My prayer is that as we develop our concise mission statements group-by-group, we can look at our MC's and see them "standing firm in one spirit, striving side-by-side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything" by those hostile toward the faith (Phil. 1:27-28)....