Pastor's Blog

 

The past two Sunday mornings have allowed me to preach on two of my passions as we have continued our journey through the book of Ephesians: the family and spiritual warfare. Time did not allow me to combine the two this Sunday, but because marriage and the family are not merely human conventions or cultural customs but divine institutions, it should be expected that Satan, who seeks to rob God of His glory, would attack them. There are a plethora of books and seminars that focus on fulfilling your partner's needs in marriage, improving your communication skills, or resolving marital conflict, but there is only one that acknowledges the fact that spiritual warfare is a vital issue in marriage and the family, Andreas J. Kostenberger's God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation. Let me share with you some of the highpoints from the book.

 

Several New Testament passages teach that the Devil's efforts to destroy marriages and to undermine family life did not stop at the fall but continue to this very day. While three particular areas are singled out, doubtless others could be added. A first area of vulnerability Satan will seek to attack is susceptibility to sexual temptation. In 1 Corinthians 7:5, Paul counsels married believers not to abstain from sexual relations, "except perhaps by agreement for a limited time" for the purpose of prayer, but then to come together again so that Satan may not tempt them because of their lack of self-control. This would seem to indicate that the sexual component of the marriage relationship is very much a regular target of Satan's attack and must be carefully guarded by the married couple. Scripture repeatedly warns Christians to flee from sexual immorality.

 

A second area of weakness that Satan will target is unresolved anger. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26-27, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." While not limited to marriage, this pronouncement certainly includes the marriage relationship, cautioning believers not to allow broken relationships to render them vulnerable to the Devil. Paul later writes in Ephesians, as well as in Colossians, that fathers are not to provoke their children (Eph. 6:4, Col. 3:21).

 

Thirdly, Satan will seek to disrupt marriages by sowing the seeds of marital conflict through the husband's sensitivity to his wife. Paul tells husbands to love their wives and not to be harsh with them (Col. 3:19). Peter writes, "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers" (1 Peter 3:7). According to Peter, the husband's insensitivity toward his wife may cause spiritual disruption in marriage, and marital discord, in turn, becomes a hindrance to united, answerable prayer.

 

First, an awareness of the fact that there is a battle is imperative for success. A soldier that fails to realize he is in a battle will be an early casualty, and the same is true in the realm of marriage. Divorce rates have skyrocketed, not because of a lack of good intentions, the unavailability of resources, or even the lack of love, but because many inadequately recognize that spiritual warfare is a certain reality that calls for a concerted, deliberately planned response.

 

Second, you must know the enemy. This enemy is not one's spouse, nor is it one's children. It is Satan, the enemy of our souls, who employs a variety of strategies, methods, and schemes. Satan specifically targets people's areas of weakness and greatest vulnerability, and every individual must be prepared for this in order not to be caught off guard.

 

Third, spiritual battles must be fought by the use of proper weapons. Many lose a spiritual conflict because they fail to use proper spiritual weapons. It is easy to notice the battle but attempt to fight in our strength. In the context of Christian marriages, as well as in parenting, it is imperative that believers, in order to overcome a spiritual enemy put on the "whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:10-17):

 

   * Belt of truth: Like all believers, spouses must "put off falsehood and speak truthfully" to one another (Eph. 4:25), yet they must speak, "the truth in love" and hence "in all things grow up in Him who is the Head, that is, Christ" (Eph 4:15). In their speech they must make every effort to "not let any unwholesome talk" come out of their mouths "but only what is helpful" for building each other up "according to their needs" (Eph 4:29).

   * Breastplate of righteousness: Righteousness is both one's standing with God in and through Christ and one's dealings with God and one's fellow human beings with integrity. For this reason it is only marriages in which both spouses are Christians that God's will can truly and consistently be lived out.

   * Feet filled with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace: As believers, the husband and the wife have been given the peace of Christ in the Holy Spirit (John 14:27); they know that they have been eternally forgiven and that they are sons and daughters of God. Being at peace with God, they can be at peace with each other and act as peacemakers in the world around them (Matt. 5:9, 1 Cor. 5:17-18).

   * Shield of faith: As is true for all believers, husband and wife must follow the Lord in discipleship and learn to trust Him to meet all their needs and overcome all challenges and adversity. Their overriding concern should not be material needs but the extension of God's rule in the world. Faith in God also entails trusting God with one's husband or wife and trusting the Holy Spirit's continued transforming work in their lives.

   * Helmet of salvation: Because a married couple is secure in their assurance of salvation and eternal destiny, they can truly love each other unconditionally and selflessly; the husband can provide responsible, loving leadership without abusing his authority, and the wife can trust and submit graciously to God's leading of her through her husband.

   * The Sword of the Spirit- the Word of God: Because there is no lasting foundation for our lives other than God's Word, a married couple must be committed to abide in God's Word through regular personal and joint study of Scripture and faithful attendance of and participation in a local church where the Word of God is preached.

 

If we, as believers, want to have a part in showing the world by our marriages what a glorious and good God we have, we must, for God's sake and for our own, engage in spiritual warfare, and we must do so using spiritual weapons. Then, and only then, will Christian marriages reflect the image and design of the Creator. For in the end, it is God's glory that is the proper goal of Christian marriages.

 

God bless,

 

 

One of the hardest days in my life occurred when I was 9-years-old and began the 3rd grade at Sheridan Elementary. I did not know anyone in the entire school, I did not no where anything was, and I quickly discovered that I had the meanest woman ever as my teacher. She was what we would call today an "old-school" teacher, and she started the day off by writing a word that was longer than anything I had ever learned in Fordyce, and she wrote it all in large letters: RESPONSIBILITY. I really believe it took up the entire chalkboard, which was the length of the wall. She stated that we would learn all about responsibility that school year, and boy did we ever.

 

While I still have nightmares about the 3rd grade, I learned that there is nothing wrong with responsibility. I have responsibilities as a husband, father, and pastor, and I need to embrace those responsibilities. We need to fulfill our responsibilities. We need to go to work, take out the trash, wash the clothes, clean the house, pay the bills..., but while we are doing those things, we can find ourselves buried alive by our day-to-day responsibilities and can totally miss out on the spiritual opportunities all around us.

 

In Matthew 8, Jesus invited a young man to follow Him, but the young man responded, "'Lord, first let me go bury my father.' And Jesus said, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.'" (Matthew 8:21-22)  Bible scholars have a few different takes on what happened that day. It is possible the young man was putting off following Jesus until his father died. Maybe his father was sick and the young man was just waiting until that moment, understanding the need to support the rest of the family during this difficult time. Or maybe he did not want to follow Jesus because he wanted to ensure he received his father's inheritance. Or maybe he was afraid of turning his back on his responsibilities in the family business while his father was still living.

 

We do not know what the problem was with his request, and I feel sorry for the man. It seems responsible and reasonable for this young man to look out for his family and bury his father. However, when we are tempted to sympathize with someone other than Jesus, when something does not make sense, we need to take a closer look at the story.

 

I think that this young man was doing what many of us do. He turned responsibility into an excuse, and Jesus saw right through it. The young man was allowing an arguably legitimate responsibility--burying his father--to get in the way of embracing his greatest responsibility and experiencing his greatest opportunity- following Christ.

 

We do the same thing. We turn our responsibilities into excuses. We allow less important responsibilities to replace more important ones, and we find ourselves practicing irresponsible responsibility. I challenge you to evaluate your responsibilities and determine which one(s) you need to give up in order to pursue God's call for your life.

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

 

 

The last two posts have dealt with Jonathan's daring plan and Saul's camping under the pomegranate tree during battle. There is a third character in the story that we often overlook- Jonathan's armor-bearer. If we are honest, most of us are not Jonathans. We are not the brave ones, climbing cliffs and engaging a battle. Every Jonathan needs an armor-bearer. Jonathan could not do this great deed alone; he need his armor-bearer. Armor-bearers were chosen for their bravery. Their responsibilities were not limited to carrying the armor, but also included standing by their commanding officer in times of difficulty or danger.

 

"Come on, let's cross over to the garrison of the Philistines," was quickly followed by "I'm right here with you whatever you decide." Jonathan climbed up with his armor-bearer right behind him, and together they were victorious. Neither could have succeeded without the other.

 

We need more people like that- people who are with us heart and soul. We were not created to be on mission alone. Some of us are Jonathans. Some of us are armor-bearers. Sometimes we play different roles at different times. Most of us need to be serving as an armor-bearer to someone else.

 

I think that one reason so many new Christians remain infants in the faith is because they do not have an armor-bearer, someone to walk with them and help them in their new-found battle with the enemy. We have the expectation that they will demonstrate a life-change, but we do not give the tools needed to win the daily battle. Who is someone that you need to serve as their armor-bearer?

 

You may not have an armor-bearer yourself and need to seek out someone to serve you in this capacity. This should not be seen as a sign of weakness. God created us with a need for community, and if you find yourself struggling regularly in the faith, consider enlisting someone to serve as your armor-bearer, someone that can warn you about rough spots and hold you accountable. You are not alone in your faith journey.

 

God bless,

 

I haven't posted in the past couple of weeks. I do not have an excuse other than letting other things take precedence.

 

If you read the last post, you will remember that I addressed Jonathan's daring plan. While Jonathan was being courageous, notice what his dad was doing in 1 Samuel 14:2, "Saul was staying under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah. The troops with him numbered about 600."

 

What a contrast! What Saul did not do is just as significant as what Jonathan did do. While his son was climbing cliffs and audaciously confronting the enemy, Saul was just sitting under a pomegranate tree on the outskirts of town. We have all seen the pictures of people kicked back under a palm tree on the beach. I think Saul's activity is the Old Testament version of that picture. The Philistines controlled the pass at Michmash. As the leader of the army of Israel, Saul should have been fighting back instead of kicking back. He was sitting on the sidelines instead on the frontlines.

 

Unfortunately, this would not be the last time that Saul acted this way. When David confronted Goliath and ultimately defeated him, this should have been Saul's battle. He was head and shoulders taller than anybody else in Israel. Rather than using his strength, he allowed a young shepherd boy to fight his fight. And he was content with this position.

 

I think that we have the tendency to turn the spiritual life into a spectator sport. We are a lot like Saul, who let others fight battles instead of getting on the battlefield himself. We are a lot like the Israelites, who told Moses to climb the mountain and talk to God for them. It seems like we want someone to seek God for us, pray for us, study for us, and make decisions for us.

 

As much as I love the church, I think that it fosters this environment. The Bible is clear that we should not neglect the habit of meeting together, and many will testify that we need the syngery we experience when we come together for worship. But do you really think God's ultimate dream for your life is to sit in a pew for 1-2 hours every weekend? Listen to a sermon, sing a few songs, and you are good to go? Is that as big as He can plan? Or is it possible that we have turned church into an end when in fact it is supposed to be a means to an end? Our worship should be the environment where we recharge spiritually through the exaltation of God and responding to the work of the Holy Spirit upon our lives. Sitting in church is not a barometer of spiritual maturity.

 

I think there is a little bit of Saul in all of us- and a lot of him in many of us. Part of us wants God to defeat the enemy while we are on the outskirt of Gibeah under pomegranate trees. As the old saying goes, "Pray like it depends on God; work like it depends on you." Sometimes we have to get up and do something. If we do not do anything, nothing is going to happen. Very profound, huh? If Jonathan had not climbed the cliff, engaged the enemy, and picked a fight, the status quo would have remained. We have got to take a little step of faith.

 

Here is the choice we have to make: Will we sit under a promegranate tree on the outskirts of town, or will we climb a cliff?

 

God bless,

 

January 9, 2012 

I think that one of the reasons we often miss out on fulfilling God's call for our lives is fear. Some of the fears may be real but many are the worse-case scenarios that we can envision. 1 Samuel 14 records a time when Jonathan displayed courage in the midst of battle. He came up with what could be the worst military strategy in history: let's expose ourselves to the enemy in broad daylight and concede the high ground. Then, he devised a "sign" to inform their next move: "If they say, 'Wait until we reach you,' then we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, 'Come on up,' then we will go up, because the Lord has handed them over to us- that will be our sign" (1 Samuel 14:9-10).

That sounds ridiculous to me. I would pick the opposite: "If they come down to us, that will be our sign." "If they fall off the cliff, that will be the sign that the Lord is giving them to us." Jonathan's plan was far more dangerous, difficult, and daring.

I am not as daring and courageous as Jonathan. I like to play it safe. I played paintball with some "friends" in college one time (you will see shortly why I played just one time). They supplied all the equipment and all I had to do was show up. I showed up in some old jeans and a shirt. Everyone else was wearing camo and covered in padding. (Maybe they thought I had enough padding already!) When you got shot, you had to raise your hand (it kept you from getting hit again) and return to the base for 20 seconds before you could jump back into the game. After getting hit several times quickly, I would hear a shot go by me and know that another one was coming, so I just started raising my hand so that I could return to the base.

Before you judge me for my fearful display, how often does a similar scenario play out in our spiritual lives? Probably far too often. We have a desire to be obedient, but fear hits us and we return to the base.

We do not know what caused Jonathan to come up with such a courageous plan. I think the key is found in verse 6: "Perhaps the Lord will help us."

Let me share with you the words of Pastor and author Mark Batterson: "I do not think what we are lacking most in the church is education. We need to keep learning and loving the Lord with all our minds. But most of us are educated way beyond the level of our obedience. I don't think our biggest need is resources. Let's keep giving, but we are the most resourced church in the most resourced country the world has ever known. You want to know what I think we lack the most? Guts. Good old-fashioned guts- to live by faith, climb the cliff, engage the enemy, and realize we are involved in something that is a matter of life and death. We lack the guts to realize we are called to live courageously and even dangerously for the cause of Christ."

Ouch! This story reminds me that the will of God is not an insurance plan; it's a daring plan. More often than not, the will of God requires a daring decision, a difficult decision, and sometimes, a dangerous decision that may seem unsafe and insane. People may think you are crazy.

We jump to the end of the story and see "So the Lord saved Israel that day" (1 Samuel 14:23). Jonathan saw God bring victory because he was willing to be courageous.

I like the way 20th-century missionary C.T. Studd said it: "Some wish to live within the sound of Church or Chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell." The church needs more Studds.

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

Do you have your list of New Year’s resolutions yet? Everyone has at least one thing they want to change about themselves. Most people attempt change at the beginning of a year. It could be losing weight, quitting smoking, or finishing a degree. Some will even try to gain more peace and self-control. Getting a grip on things like worry or a short temper are great as well. I never write down any resolutions but a stated one was to finish my doctorate, which was accomplished, but I guess I should have made one about not re-gaining the weight that I lost due to the previous year's resolution.
 

Our Sunday School lesson yesterday started a series that addresses some "Resolutions Worth Keeping." The focus of the series is looking at ways that our faith can impact our everyday life (which I thought was supposed to be a given). If you are not in Sunday School, I would love to have you in the Young Couples Class Sunday to look at this study. If you think you are too old for my class, I will point you in the direction of another class.

 

Here are 10 resolutions that I believe will help us improve our spiritual effectiveness:

 

1. I resolve to never compromise my character in my search for progress. The temptation is great to take shortcuts and hide certain areas in our lives in order to get ahead. We think that we will make up for it later or that no one will ever notice. A good example is withholding the tithe so that we can put additional money on a bill. Or maybe we rob our employer of a full day's work so that we can use the time to prepare for our next weekend activity. As the old saying goes, character is who you are when nobody is looking.

 

2. I resolve to consistently be walking by faith. Hebrews 11:8 says that Abraham "obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Most of us abhor the thought of being in the same situation. I have found that rather than telling us what He is going to do, God reveals to us Who He is, and we must respond in faith.

 

3. I resolve to pray earnestly. I read this resolution on a leadership website this morning, and it included the phrase "before I make major decisions." While we do need to be pray earnestly before major decisions, if that is the only time we pray earnestly, then we are missing out on prayer; we are only using it as an emergency hotline. We need to pray earnestly for those without a relationship with Christ, for our church, for our government leaders, for those with spiritual and physical needs, and the list could go on and on. We should pray earnestly about all of our needs.

 

4. I resolve to learn from others. Everyone has the tendency to be "know-it-all," but we rob ourselves of a lot of learning when we have that attitude. While you may be confident of your knowledge in an area, seek out someone that you can learn from in a different area. The key is that we should learn from people who are wise and moral. Spend some time with someone to learn from them, read a book, read some blogs online, do something to learn from someone.

 

5. I resolve to protect my family time but not use it as an excuse to not serve or worship. I love being at home with my wife and kids, but when I leave the office each day and pick up the kids from the babysitter, I always have something else that needs to be done or someone else that needs to be visited. Since there are days that I do leave for a little while that evening to address to make the visit or complete a task, I use my off days to spend with my family to make up for that time. I am thankful that I serve a church that supports this time.

 

What I see regularly, though, is that decisions are made by parents throughout the week that cause them to use their family as an excuse not to serve the Lord through the church, or they do not attend church because they have had a busy week. Choosing to use all of your family time on other pursuits throughout the week and not leaving time for worship and service clearly demonstrates misplaced priorities.

 

6. I resolve to make my personal health a priority. I have already informed the Mexican Restaurant that I must reduce the frequency of my visits, then I walked outside to be reminded that the Doughnut Palace is coming soon! Join me in remembering that our bodies are a temple and we need to use them accordingly, and you can also join me and Betty Daniell at the Hampton Fitness Center every morning around 6:00. As I look back on my ministry, the times when I have lost weight and focused on my personal health have been the most fruitful times of ministry. Coincidence? I think not.

 

7. I resolve to allow the difficulties of life to turn me close to the Lord. Life is tough. James teaches that the trials in life are allowed by God to shape us into the people that He can use.

 

8. I resolve to love the unlovable. I never said these 10 resolutions were going to be easy! When we want to run from the unlovable, let us remember that God came to use while we were unlovable and demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Let us be a people of love.

 

9. I resolve to pray for my enemies and forgive fully. I rejoice that God forgave me of all my sins, but I have a harder time rejoicing in the command to forgive as I have been forgiven. As we pray for enemies, our attitudes toward them will change and the ability to forgive will grow.

 

10. I resolve to commit to the Body of Christ, the church. I love the church and thank God that He has called me to serve the church. Attend regularly, find a place of service, invest in the life of someone in the church, simply commit to be involved in what God is doing in His church. We will talk Sunday about the commitment to the body as we pick back up in our sermon series on Ephesians, "Evidences of a Changed Life." I hope to see you then.

 

God bless,

 

 

If you check this regularly, you know that I have been slow in updating, and I am going to take another week before getting back in the swing of things in January. You may call it being lazy, but the only thing that I can think to write about needs to go in the newsletter this week. If you don't get it and want it, email me your mailing address to broclint@sat-co.net. Until January 2, Happy New Year and I hope to see you Sunday.

 

 

Christmas festivities are in full swing and children are gearing up for Santa's visit. It seems that seldom do you hear Santa referred to as "Saint Nicholas," but I want to focus upon the rich ancient heritage behind the Santa Claus story. The secularized contemporary version pales in comparison with the deeply Christian passion and content of the original.

The story goes that Nicholas was born in A.D. 280 to pious and wealthy parents who raised him in the fear and admonition of the Lord and taught him "sacred books" from the age of 5. He was forced to grow up quickly upon the sudden death of his parents.

Inheriting his family's wealth, he was left rich and lonely, but he had the desire to use his wealth for good. The first opportunity to do this happened when he heard about a father who, through an unfortunate turn of events, was left destitute with three daughters. Without marriage dowry money, the daughters would be condemned to a life of singleness and prostitution, so Nicholas threw some small bags of gold coins into the window of the home (some traditions say down the chimney), thereby saving the children from a life of misery.

Later as a teenager, Nicholas made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine. Upon returning home he felt called to ministry and was subsequently ordained. He spent time at the Monastery of Holy Zion near Myra until an old priest had a vision that he was to be the new bishop.

The congregation overwhelmingly elected him bishop, and he became known for his holiness, passion for the Gospel and zeal. He challenged the old gods and paganism at the principal temple in his district (to the god Artemis), and it was said that the evil spirits "fled howling before him."

But the old deities did not go easily. In A.D. 303, Emperor Diocletian directed the persecution of Christians, and "as he [Nicholas] was the chief priest of the Christians of this town and preached the truths of faith with a holy liberty, Nicholas was seized by the magistrates, tortured, then chained and thrown into prison with many other Christians."

With the Edict of Milan, Emperor Constantine ordered the cessation of all persecution of the church, and the Christians were released from prisons. Those who survived Diocletian's purges were called "confessors" because they wouldn't renege on their confession of Jesus as Lord.

When Bishop Nicholas walked out of the prison, the crowds called to him: "Nicholas! Confessor!" He had been repeatedly beaten until he was raw, and his body was the color of scarlet. Bishop Nicholas was also said to have intervened on behalf of unjustly charged prisoners and actively sought to help his people survive when they had experienced two successive bad harvests.

One of the most interesting stories connected with him was his role during the Arian controversy. St. Methodius asserted that "thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as death-dealing poison." (Arius, of course, asserted that Jesus was a created being and had not existed from all eternity.)

One weak tradition has him actually attending the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, when Arian doctrine was rejected. The story goes that he got into a heated debate with Arius himself about whether there was a time when the Word (Jesus) did not exist. Nicholas strongly disagreed.

The debate ended suddenly when Nicholas punched Arius then and there on the floor of the council. This gives new meaning to the ditty: "He's making a list and checking it twice, he's going to find out who's naughty or nice."

The mental image of Santa Claus punching Arius on the floor of the Council of Nicea with Emperor Constantine looking on fundamentally changes the way one ever sees Santa Claus again. While I might not agree with his methods, I certainly admire his passion for Christological orthodoxy and doctrinal purity.

So when you think of Santa Claus, here's something to think about:

Think of a godly Christian bishop who was persecuted and imprisoned for faithfully proclaiming the faith under the most dangerous of circumstances. Think of someone who had a sensitive caring pastoral heart and took care of the flock of which God had made him shepherd. Think of someone who provided support and defense for children, the weak and poor, the helpless and victims of injustice. Think of someone with an unparalleled passion for doctrinal purity. And to top it off, think of someone whose whole purpose in life was to point people to Jesus.
 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

As the song says, "It's the most wonderful time of the year," because football season is reaching its climax. We will not talk about the Hogs' game Friday... I do not follow the NFL very closely other than pulling for the Cowboys, but I have watched Tim Tebow's career develop in Denver. You may be familiar with Tebow from his days as quarterback at Florida. He was a first-round pick by the Broncos despite many believing he would never be an NFL quarterback. Well, he has not put up great numbers, but Tebow is now 5-1 as a starter this year. The thing that impresses me most with Tebow is his faith, which was modeled for him by his parents and remains an integral part of his life. Tebow gives glory to the Lord for his accomplishments, he is often seen bowing or pointing toward heaven during the game, and in many interviews.

 

A couple of days ago, former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said in a radio interview that he wished Tim Tebow would curb his references to Jesus and his faith. When asked about Plummer's remarks in an interview on ESPN's First Take, Tebow said:

 

"If you are married, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife 'I love her' the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity? My relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life. So any time I get an opportunity to tell Him that I love Him or given an opportunity to shout Him out on national TV, I'm gonna take that opportunity. And so I look at is as a relationship that I have with Him that I want to give Him the honor and glory any time I have the opportunity."

 

That is awesome!

 

While you may not ever have the chance to proclaim your love for Christ on national TV, all of us have the opportunity to tell people around us about Him. Let's be honest, if we do not talk about Him to those we know and live around, we will not talk about Him if given the opportunity on national TV.

 

As the Christmas season enters full swing, consider ways that you can proclaim your love for the Lord for others to take notice.

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

This week will begin a hectic time for most people as Thanksgiving plans will be carried out, followed by Christmas shopping, family, work, and church get-togethers, and then the Christmas celebration itself. It is hard to find time to be still and quiet. I have done some deer hunting the past couple of weeks that have not resulted in seeing a lot of deer. I have been tempted to head back home early a couple of times, only to think "it sure is quiet out here." So, I stay a little while longer.

 

We are told in Psalm 46, "Be still and know that I am God." This is written at the end of a psalm where chaos reigns, and the Lord sends the reminder to calm down, be still, and know Who He is. We would do good to learn to be still and quiet.

 

When I am home alone, or in the office alone, I hear sounds that I normally do not hear. While I am sure that the refrigerator or AC unit makes these sounds at other times, I do not notice them when there are other things going on around me. However, when I am alone, I listen better and am more alert to the circumstances around me.

 

I have also found this to be true spiritually. When I am still and quiet, I am better able to hear from God. I think that may be why we do not hear from him as much: we are too busy. My schedule is just like everyone else's, full of running here and there. When I make the time to be still and hear from God, He never lets me down because He loves it when His children come to Him. I read the paper every day but have made the commitment to myself that when one of the kids comes up and wants in my lap, the paper goes down. God is the same way. He has lots of things going on, but when one of His children desires to spend time with Him, He gives us one-on-one attention.

 

Make the commitment today to find time to be still, especially over the next few weeks of chaotic holiday festivities. God desires to spend the time with you.

 

In Him,
Bro. Clint

 

I have enjoyed preaching through Ephesians the past few weeks and look forward to examining the rest of the book. Paul focuses upon "the mystery of Christ," the now-open secret that God has created a new race of those who have a relationship with Him through faith in His Son. I did not have the time to focus on a phrase found in Ephesians 3 that I want to address in this context. Speaking of the mystery, Paul writes in verses 10-11, "His (God's) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

"Through the church" should jump off the page at us because so many people that profess to be Christians do not value the church. I believe that this text shows us the importance of the church, and theologian John Stott suggests that this includes three grand facts:

 

1. The church is central to history. The open secret is that the church, the new humanity, a multi-racial, multi-national third race, will rule in the universe along with Christ and the angels. With all of the swirling tides of other faiths, only the church will survive history.

 

2. The church is central to the gospel. Ephesians teaches that the complete gospel involves both the preaching of Christ and the mystery of the church. Christ died and rose from the dead not only to save us, but to create a single new humanity. That means that the church we attend is important. It is the third race watched by the world and by angels. When it preaches Christ and lives as the church, souls are drawn to Christ.

 

3. The church is central to Christian living. Paul ended the section we looked at last week by alluding to his suffering: "I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory" (v. 13). Paul was willing to pay any price to see the church go forward. As an apostle, he saw his suffering as the church's glory.

 

The bottom line is, the church is not an option for believers, nor is supporting it an option. I am not saying you have to go to church to be a Christian, but you also do not have to go home to be married. However, if you do not frequent your home, your relationship will be in jeopardy. Attendance and participation in your local church is not an option. Paul's gospel was Christ and the church.

 

As we all know, the chruch on earth is imperfect because it is composed of imperfect people. Nevertheless, we must be committed to the local church. We must be committed to regular worship and should worship with all we have. As the third race, we must be committed to our church's fellowship as well. If we only attend worship, we are robbing the church, ourselves, and Christ. We must be involved in a small group Bible study where we interact and minister to others. Also, since Christ and His church has the only answer for the world, we must be involved in sharing both. Evangelism is not an option. We must reach out to those who are not like us. When we do, we will be living out one of the supreme glories of the church!

 

God bless,

 

One of my favorite people in the Bible is Josiah, a man who became king at the age of 8 and changed the course of his nation. The main event that brought about the change was the discovery of the Law, which the nation had been living against, and Josiah was convicted of their shortcomings and changed the spiritual climate of the nation. It all began by dusting off the Word of God, which I think is something that we need to do today in our homes, personal lives, and even in our churches. We usually have some excuses, though, that keep us from dusting off the Word, so let's take a look at a few of them.

 

"I already know. I have heard it my entire life." If we assume we already know the Bible, but we really only know it partially or with some degree of inaccuracy, we could be doing about our lives blindly thinking we are complying with God's Word when in reality we are not. When the time comes, what we thought we heard from God's Word will not matter; only what the Bible actually declares will hold any weight. We would do well to double-check what we have heard or thought we have heard with what is actually written. "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11). We need a hunger for God's Word.

 

"It is not relevant to me today. It is ancient history." People who read the Bible as only a record of ancient history commend themselves for gaining knowledge. What they do not see is that God wants the knowledge to prompt action, even today. Some prophecies in the Bible have yet to be fulfilled; what if we respond to them the same way Josiah's generation responded to the prophecies of Jeremiah?

 

"I cannot understand it. I'm too far behind to start learning it now." Scripture makes it clear that Josiah's people gave up trying to live righteously. Even after hearing the Word of God, they continued in their sin until it was too late. Rather than rely on the Book of the Law, they depended on teachers, religious leaders, and prophets who had their own agendas. Those who have never learned the Bible may need to overcome the shame and embarrassment of not knowing where or how to start, or having to depend on teachers because they don't know how to check out for themselves what others say. We need to take an active role in testing popular messages, but that may require us to improve our ability to think critically.

 

Let's dust off the Word of God and become people that are obedient to it in its entirety.

 

God bless,

Bro. Clint 

 

2. That's my job. I am a pastor so it would be inappropriate to not go. My church expects me to be there and I expect me to be there. I also expect others to be there.

3. I like the people there. Christians can really be fun people. They are loving, appreciative, and caring. Some of my best friends are in the church.

4. It's the main place where I get to study God's word with God's people. With all the technology around today, nothing beats sitting in a room with a few others believers and digging into the word. I don't have all the answers. You don't either. But together we have more right answers than either of us do alone.

5. Our testimonies encourage me. We need to do more sharing than we do. Your experience of living the Christian life will help me.

6. It's the house of prayer. Yes, I can pray anywhere and I do, but when I go to church I get to pray with you and for you. I can hold your hand, hug your neck, and feel your burden.

7. God said to. Remember that verse about not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together?

8. I get fitted for and dispatched to ministry. Ministry really is an "on-the-job training" kind of thing. But think of the church as the employment office that sends you to a job opportunity. And the resources you need to do the job are found in the church: teams, training, and tools.

 

Our Sunday School lesson yesterday involved the story found in Luke 7:11-15 where a widow's son was brought back to life. Jesus and the disciples enter the town and see a funeral procession going on, and Jesus took the initative to meet a need. The dead man's mother was a widow and he was her only son; not only did she have to bear the pain of losing her only son, she also had to face the cruel reality that she would be destitute because of his death. Without a husband or a son to take care of her, she would have no way of making a living.

 

Jesus was moved to compassion for this lady. His heart went out to her as He watched her suffer under the strain of uncontrollable sorrow. He felt the pain that gripped her, and He decided to do something about it. Jesus reached in the coffin and touched the body (a huge no-no in this culture) and told the young man lying in the coffin to get up. The disciples and others witnessed a dead man come to life and be returned to his mother who discovered hope in the midst of desperate sorrow.

 

There are a few unique features to this miracle. First, the widow did not ask Jesus to bring her son back to life. She did not ask Jesus to do anything. His compassion for her prompted Him to exert His authority over detah. This applies to us in that we must express our concern for hurting individuals and families even though they may not ask us for help at all. Just knowing that someone is hurting should be enough to make our hearts go out to them and help them.

 

Second, Jesus did not say anything to this mother about restoring life to her son because of her faith. Many other miracles are performed because of someone's faith. Instead, Jesus' compassion alone moved Him to perform the miracle. Today, we can trust Jesus to exert His authority over life and death on our behalf. Because of His authority, we can rest assured that we will experience our own resurrection one day! After we die, we will rise again like the widow's son and be united with our loved ones who have already gone on to be with the Lord. In heaven we will rejoice over the reality that eternal life has been given to us by Jesus our Lord.

 

It is time to be people of compassion!
 

God bless,

 

I just started reading a book that I used parts of for my Doctoral Seminar, Walking Tall in Babylon. This book is written for parents in mind to encourage them to evaluate how they can raise their children to be godly and wise in a perilous world. Most people are probably familiar with Daniel and the lion's den, as well as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnance. These men (actually they were teenagers at the start of the process) exhibit 7 characteristics that are essential for all of us if we are going to "walk tall in Babylon."

 

1. They knew God's Law and accepted God's commands as the absolute moral standard and personally as their absolute moral standard. They listened carefully to God's Word with a heart to obey it, so they desired to walk in His ways.

 

2. While well educated and always at the top of their class, they were also fully educated to live productively in the pagan world. However, they were personally determined not to become participants with their pagan neighbors in their sinful practices. Their personal relationships with God and their knowledge of His Word, His ways, His requirements, and the consequences of disobedience were strong enough to withstand the temptations of a pagan culture.

 

3. They developed relationships with "faith-full" friends who also accepted the Law of God as their absolute moral standard. They sought God together in times of need, helped one another, and encouraged one another to stand firm in their determination to obey God, no matter what.

 

4. Their devotion to prayer was part of their daily lives. They lived dependent on God, with a right attitude that allowed two-way communication with Him. When they prayed, they expected God to answer their prayers. When they called for help, they expected God to rescue them.

 

5. They sought and experienced God's supernatural power in their lives. They grew in their knowledge and awareness of the spiritual battle between the Lord and the spiritual forces of evil that were behind the false gods. They engaged in spiritual battles through their defiance of evil in the natural realm, through their prayers, and through the use of supernatural gifts God gave them to use for His glory.

 

6. They lived attuned to the unfolding fulfillment of prophecies in their lifetime. They regularly studied God's Word and the writings of the true prophets of God, believed them to be true, looked forward to prophecies being fulfilled, prayed, and acted accordingly. They knew God's Word well enough to recognize and dismiss false prophets and false diviners.

 

7. Their lives showed that they loved the Lord their God with all their hearts, and all their souls, and all their strength. Their courage demonstrated they would rather die than defile themselves or dishonor the Lord by bowing to an idol or by ceasing to bow daily in devotion to God, whom they firmly believed to be the only true God. They showed their love for God by loving and serving their pagan neighbors, and by being a blessing in their workplaces and communities, while revealing the power and glory of God to those who had never known Him.

 

We live in a modern-day Babylon, surrounded by ungoldiness. It is important that we stand tall, above the wickedness that surrounds us.  I challenge you to evaluate the presence of these characteristics in your life.

 

God bless,

 

It is great to be back home and in the saddle, and I want to thank each of you that checking the page regularly for updates and prayed for us during the trip to Chile. God used us to draw people to Himself, and I am continually amazed at what does through our church to reach people around the world.

 

While we take the trip to Chile, we are involved in missions every day through the Cooperative Program, the missions strategy of the Southern Baptist Convention. I think that the Cooperative Program (CP) is one of the best man-made inventions ever, as it has enabled Southern Baptists to cooperately spread the Gospel. I encourage you to check out http://www.cooperativeprogram.net/2003/default.asp to learn more about the CP. The CP supports missionaries serving in North America and around the world, theological education, disaster relief, church planting, and many other ministries.

 

I was saved at VBS, called to ministry at a Youth Evangelism Conference, and equipped at Williams Baptist College, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Therefore, I see myself as a product of the Cooperative Program.

 

Our church gives 6% of every dollar to the Cooperative Program, so 6 cents of every dollar you give goes to support missions! When churches are forced to reduce their budget, one of the first things often cut is their CP giving. I will be asking our Financial Resources Team to consider raising our Cooperative Program giving for the 2012 budget as a result of God's blessings upon us financially. But why? Why do we need the Cooperative Program? Consider the following 5 reasons, written by Rusty Hart of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention:

 

1. The CP allows every individual to fulfill the Great Commission. The CP begins with individuals obediently sacrificing to present their tithes and offerings to the Lord. Since the Southern Baptist Convention is a convention of mostly smaller churches, the CP gives every church member the opportunity to be involved in what God is doing around the world.

 

2. The CP reminds us that the cause is greater than any one individual. The task is greater than any one individual or any one church. With 70% of the world's population lost, the task is indeed enormous. The CP allows us all to work together to achieve what none of us could do without the others.

 

3. The CP supports a comprehensive missions strategy. We educate and train; send and support; provide necessary resources for ministry; and let everyone celebrate the victories. Through the CP, we do missions comprehensively from beginning to end.

 

4. The CP provides for complete focus on missions. We worked with a missionary couple in Chile this past week that had to raise their own support. They commented on the difficulty in raising money in today's economy. Southern Baptist missionaries are able to focus on missions because the CP provides for their needs.

 

5. The CP takes the gospel to places and people that most will never see firsthand. Through the Cooperative Program, we get to share the Gospel with those in a remote land who have never heard the name of Jesus.

 

Through the Cooperative Program, there is a baptism every 1.25 seconds and 86 new chruches started every single day somewhere in our world. We are changing the world- together!

 

God bless,

 

Yesterday was another great day in the Lord's House and I pray that you have been considering ways in which you can "pursuade others" to fear the Lord. I look forward to what God is going to do in and through our church on our mission trip to Chile next week, through the Wild Game Dinner, through the Friend Day, as well as through our weekly FAITH visits, services, and other ministries of the church. I challenge you to pray for the next month in our church, that we will experience a harvest.

 

I want to share with you today some words from the International Mission Board President Tom Elliff that were convicting to me when I read them this morning. He is making the point that we do not need a revival but an awakening in the Southern Baptist Convention:

 

"Revival presupposes pre-existing life," he explained. "I'm not so sure we need to be saying the things we say about the size of our convention and the number of our churches because I'll be quite honest with you -- I'm not so sure all those people we claim as members of our churches know Christ. They may know about Him, but if knowing Christ makes a difference in your lifestyle and a difference in your community, if knowing Christ drives you to periodically come for the family reunion which we call a worship service, over half of those people that we say are Southern Baptists never come to the table.

"But if we had awakening -- that's a revival of those who know Christ but it's also a stirring and deep conviction of the Holy Spirit among those who are out there on the fringes, the kind of stirring that calls them to repent and receive Christ as their Savior. If we had an awakening in our nation, then think what Southern Baptists could do in terms of global missions, not to mention right here in this nation."

Such an awakening, Elliff cautioned, will require a "totally different" kind of prayer, one that rests on God's character rather than our own.

"I'm afraid that so much of our praying is a shot at getting something done by God with the thought that if He doesn't come through we've got another plan. Folks, if God doesn't come through we don't have a plan.

"[We need to pray] like someone crying out from beneath the rubble of a building … and I'm afraid our prayers are not that desperate yet -- because most of us come to the altar with two or three alternatives in our pocket."
 

I read a story last night of a group of believers meeting in secrecy in Asia, under the threat of their lives. They began to pray for others to know the Lord and each lay prostrate on the floor. When the prayer time was over, there were puddles of tears on the dirt floor. That example reminds me of my lack of persistence in praying.

 

Please join me in praying "like someone crying out from beneath the rubble of a building" for God to work in our midst.

 

God bless,

Clint

 

Yesterday was a great day in the Lord's House for worship and study together. We had to make some adjustments in the early service because the projector was out, but the Lord blessed the service in spite of the difficulty. I believe that God spoke to people and challenged people in spite of me and my feeble attempts to proclaim His Word. One of the things that continually amazes me about the Lord is that He uses a sinner like me! Every time I look in the mirror, I see a picture of grace because of what God has done in spite of my sinfulness.

 

It was also great yesterday to have Jacob and Lindsey with us, along with Noriah and Jonah. Many people commented on how pleased they were with the 100% vote to call him as our youth minister, and I do believe that it shows the unity that exists within our church. Jacob has accepted the call and will begin on Sunday, October 2. He has a great group of students to work with and that are ready for his arrival. I had the privilege to speak to our youth last Wednesday evening in their service, and I have to say that it was the most respectful group of students I have ever spoken to. Now, they may have been bored out of their minds, but they did not move, speak, or anything else that would have been called misbehavior. We rarely commend our students but their behavior from Wednesday needs to be pointed out.

 

On another random thought, I got my credit card bill in today and it was an very high balance. Thankfully, only a couple of small things were mine because the Chile airline tickets are on there, stuff for the remodel of the youth house is on there, and there were a some other "church things" that I had used my card on. So, it did not bother me to see the balance because I will give it to Julie tomorrow and take care of it, but I did notice that if I paid the minimum balance each month, it would take me 34 years to pay it off! Bottom line is that I would never pay it off because other stuff will be added along the way. Our debt to sin was the same as my credit card- unable to be paid off without someone else paying the bill. Just as I was pleased to know that the bill is taken care of, I rejoice that Jesus paid the price for my sin by dying on the cross for me. May we never get over what He did on Calvary!

 

While I am credit cards, I will tackle another thought- credit card debt. We live in a consumer-driven world that gets what it wants by putting it on the plastic. College students receive multiple credit card applications a week, and many of them will get a card and start charging without ever wondering how they will pay it off. If credit card debt has ahold of you, start breaking the chains! A simple plan is called the 10-80-10 plan. The first 10% of your income is your tithe. I believe that this is the first step to financial freedom because you recognize that God owns all things. The 80% is used to pay your bills and the other 10% is used for savings and debt retirement. If you need help in this area, I would be glad to give you some direction.

 

Two last things- Don't forget that we continue to collect the Dixie Jackson Offering for State Missions, and please pray for our Chile Mission Team. We will leave September 24.

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

I have had a couple of conversations lately about helping the Police Department start a Neighborhood Watch. You have probably seen the signs in places that warn criminals that the neighbors are watching and will call the police if they see anything suspicious. I have known of rural communities that have benefitted from such a group. As I sat here looking at the Neighborhood Watch information brochure, I started thinking about the comparisons to the church.

 

I believe that our church should be a neighborhood watch!  Rather than seeing things and reporting them, we should have our eyes open to the lostness that surrounds us. When we see someone without Christ, we should move to share Him with them.  When we see people hurting, we need to respond with compassion and mercy.  When we see people with ministry needs, we should enact a plan to help meet the need.

 

The police tell me that they regularly encounter people who see a crime take place but cannot describe the criminal.  While they saw the whole thing unfold, they did not pay enough attention to get the race of the person, what color clothes they were wearing, how tall they were, and so forth. The church is good at saying that we desire to reach lost people, but we have a hard time describing them because we do not pay attention to them.  We usually attach vices to them - "the drunks" and "the druggies" - and think that these are the only lost people. However, regular, hard-working, self-supportive people are also lost!  Your neighbors, family members, old classmates, and other people just like you, but we do not think of them as being lost because they are part of the "good ol' boy" network.

 

While the Neighborhood Watch detracts criminals, the church should attract lost people. They should see us as a group of people that love them and that love Jesus. Those two characteristics should be evident, and when they are present, they are easy to spot due to their contrast between the things in the world.

 

I encourage you- get involved in our church's Neighborhood Watch. Tell someone about Jesus! Show them Jesus by the way that you deal with them.

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

I made the statement in yesterday morning's sermon that "attitude is so crucial in the life of a Christian." I want to elaborate on that today, because I am afraid that we are often in need of an "attitude adjustment" in our spiritual life. Charles Swindoll states that "Greatness is revealed mainly in our attitudes."  If you think you are going to be great but harbor wrong attitudes, you are in for a rude awakening. Greatness comes in the sweet-spirit attitudes of humility and forgiveness toward your fellowman. Joseph set a beautiful example of being generous in mercy and forgiveness.

 

Thomas Jefferson was correct when he said: "When the heart is right, the feet are swift." Part of the reason we are so sluggish in carrying out the application of God's truth is that our heart is not right. When that is fixed, we are fleet-footed servants of God.

 

There are many possibilities for a heart not being right. The heart may not be right toward the person that never paid you back. The heart may not be right toward the person that divorced you. The heart may not be right toward a God who took your mate. The heart may not be right toward your now-grown child who took advantage of you. The heart may not be right toward the parent who abused or neglected you or toward the pastor who took unfair advantage of you, or toward the teacher who failed you.

 

It takes God to make a heart right. When we have a wrong attitude, we look at life humanly. When we have a right attitude, we look at life divinely. That is the real beauty of Joseph's life. He was great, mainly because of his attitude.  Notice three quick truths:

 

1. When I am able, by faith, to see God's plan in my location, my attitude will be right. God sent me ... God sent me ... God sent me.  Not until you can relax and see God in your present location will you be useful to Him. A positive theological attitude will do wonders for your geographical latitude.

 

2. When I am able, by faith, to sense God's hand in my situtation, my attitude will be right. Don't begin each day gritting your teeth, asking "Why do I have to stay in this situation?" Instead, believe that God made you the way you are and put you where you are to do what He has planned for you to do. Do not wait for your situation to change before you put your heart into your work. It is called "blooming where you are planted." There is nothing like an attitude of gratitude to free us up.

 

3. When I am able, by faith, to accept both location and situation as good, even when there has been evil in the process, my attitude will be right. When we can say with Joseph, "but God meant it for good," then we become a trophy of grace.

 

Our Savior is not walking the earth in flesh anymore, so we are called to bear His image to the world around us. By having His attitude in what we do and say, we are showing Him to the world.

 

Have a great week.

 

It has been a wild couple of days, but our tickets to Chile have been purchased! When I talked to the travel agent last week, they tickets had increased about $500 and he wanted to watch them through the weekend. He said that tickets will often decrease over the weekend. Well, yesterday morning brought an email that said the tickets were now over $3,000, which is $1,000 more than normal. I did not know what I was going to do. While I want to make the trip as planned, I felt I would be a poor steward if I paid an additional $5,000 that could be used for ministry. I told him to continue to watch the tickets and that I had a decision to make.

 

I had to go to El Dorado yesterday and prayed for clarity down there and back. I got a headache I thought so hard (ok, maybe it was stress)! I went out to make some visits yesterday afternoon and stopped by the office at 5:00 to check the tickets for myself. When I did, the tickets were $2,100, which is normal! I asked the travel agent why there was a difference and he said that the airline released some seats during the day yesterday. God answered my prayer! The tickets were reserved and paid for today and now there is no turning back!

 

I share that to show you how God works in the small ways that we often ignore. It also serves as a reminder to trust Him, not to panic (point #1 of Sunday's sermon). Think back over your day today and see how God intervened and worked in your life, and give Him praise for it.

 

God bless,

 

I have finally completed all the written work for my Doctor of Ministry project! All that is left is to get it back from the style reader and proofreader, make their changes, and send it back in. After working hard on it for about 10 days, shouting at the computer many times for not doing what I needed it to do, I now understand "writers' block."

 

One of the last things I had to write was the "acknowledgments" page and the "dedication" page. Those ought to be easy, right? How hard is it to say thanks to those that have assisted in the journey and then dedicate it to Jennifer, Addison, and Whitley? Well, it was harder than you think. I have to remember that it will be printed and available for anyone to read at anytime, and while I do not expect people to flock to read it, I suspect that some poor ol' Doctor of Ministry student will read it one day and I want to make sense. I found out that it is hard to say "thanks." My gratitude for my family, for mentors who have assisted the process, and for my church for its support is great, but yet I had a hard time putting it in words.

 

How often is that the case? For me, it is pretty often. I think of those that faithfully serve our church and the need to say thanks to them publicly, but I often neglect that need because it is hard to adequately show my appreciation. Or is it? I believe that "thanks" is enough. We teach our kids to say it regularly, but somewhere along the way we forget how easy it is to say "thanks."

 

Jesus once healed ten lepers of their condition, but only one came back to thank Him for restoring their lives. I am sure that they were all appreciative, but other things hindered their thankfulness for Jesus being the Great Physician. There were probably some that just didn't know what to say, so they went back to their families that they had been cut-off from.

 

Do you need to start saying some "thanks"? When was the last time you thanked God for sending Jesus? When was the last time you thanked Jesus for His willingness to bear the Cross for you? When was the last time you thanked a spouse for loving you when you are unloveable? When was the last time you thanked a parent for providing for you?  What about a Sunday School teacher that is faithful is being prepared each week? Let's get busy saying, "Thanks!"

 

God bless,

 

I am actually a day late in posting, but I had to run to Home Depot and Wal-Mart yesterday to pick up stuff for the youth minister's house and to feed the teachers. While there, I got the topic for this post. Spending time at Home Depot and Wal-Mart in one day can make my question my love for people!  I could not get anyone to help me, then I got behind people that would not move out of the isle, and you can probably imagine other inconveniences. Well, I was reminded of our Sunday School lesson the day before- "Love One Another."

 

When missionary E. Stanley Jones met with Mahatma Gandhi in India, he asked him why he seemed to respect Jesus' teachings but reject becoming His follower. Gandhi responded with the following convicting words: "Oh, I don't reject Christ. I love Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ. If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today."

 

I wonder how many other countries would be Christian today if we loved like Christ? It is so easy to get all wrapped up in what we want, how we want it done, and other self-focused things that we lose focus of the love of Christ. The self-sacrificing love Christ commands is impossible without Him. He called us to love one another "as I have loved you." That descriptor changes everything we know about love. Before Jesus uttered those words, He modeled love by being willing to wash the feet of His disciples, the lowliest task reserved for non-Jewish slaves. After those famous words, Jesus went to the Cross. Those two events serve as an example of the love we are to have for one another; a love that loves those that do not love in return. It would change the world.

 

In the book, The Rise of Christianity, Professor Rodney Stark relates the rise of Christianity in the early centuries to terrible plagues that swept the Roman Empire in A.D. 165 and then again in A.D. 251. Roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the people in the empire died. Unbelievers were gripped by fear as the death toll soared. Many put self-preservation above all else, abandoning or casting out their own diseased family members. Christians, on the other hand, showed confidence in the face of death and counted it a called and privilege to serve one another. They bathed, fed, and comforted those who suffered, and they compassionately served non-Christian neighbors. Christians survived the plagues at a higher rate because of the loving care they received. Non-Christians received a powerful message: Christians have hope and courage, and they truly love one another. Many people turned to Christ.

 

If we want to turn our world around, we do not need another special prayer meeting, we do not need another Bible study, we do not need special evangelistic meetings, etc.  We simply need to love one another.

 

Love,

 

I enjoyed Sunday evening's fellowship and honoring of Ms. Louise.  As I was listening to each kind word uttered and each story told, one word kept coming to my mind- legacy.  Ms. Louise's legacy goes beyond playing the organ faithfully for many years.  There were more stories about her kindness, compassion, smile, humor, and other qualities more than there were stories of her playing the organ. She has left a legacy of faithful service.

 

The previous week, I was also thinking about a legacy in our business meeting when we addressed the estate of Donn Poole.  I always think of Donn's willingness and eagerness to serve. If everyone tried to serve in the church to the degree that Donn did, I would never have any complaints.  Rarely does a week go by that I do not talk to a grown man that will speak of being in RA's with Donn and the legacy he left with them.

 

What about you? Are you leaving a legacy? That is a question regularly asked by the Arkansas Baptist Foundation in regards to how an individual can leave a legacy by the dispersing of the financial assets upon their death.  Legacy, though, goes beyond finances.  As a matter of fact, most people leave a legacy through their personal interaction with people and service to them.

 

I believe that everyone is leaving a legacy, but many (if not most) are leaving one that is centered upon themself. When you only serve yourself and your interests, you are leaving a legacy of selfishness.  When your time is spent pursuing your interests, your selfishness is shining through. What kind of legacy will you leave?

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

I am back to work!  After a week of traveling with the family, we are all glad to be home and ready to get back in our routine.  It is always good to get away, but it is also good to get back home.  I am ready to worship with each of you again on Sunday.  I did something while away that I never do- I did not answer my phone.  I did respond to texts, but I felt like I owed it to myself and my family to not answer the phone calls that I often get.  It is very hard for me to "turn off" from being the pastor.  I constantly think about the church, what is coming up next, what can I preach next, and so forth.  So, I want to share today the Ten Reasons I Am a Pastor, which are adapted from a recent article I read. 

 

Several years ago, I completed some training for Associational Missionaries, and while I value the work of the association, I do not know if I could ever enjoy that work.  I have also had conversations a few years ago about positions on the denominational level.  While I do not want to limit what God may call me to do, I always wonder if I could adjust to life without being a pastor.  I love the church and remain committed to its ministry for at least the following reasons:

 

1.  The church is the only institution Christ promised to build and bless.  He said, "I will build My church and the gates of Hell shall not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18).  Christ's purpose in the world is to call to Himself a redeemed people who would live to the praise of His glory.  He is building the church.  I take great comfort and confidence in that, thankful for having a small part in the Lord's great work.

 

2.  The corporate functions of the Body all take place in the church.  The church is where God has ordained His people to meet together to celebrate the Lord's Supper, to worship Him, and to encourage one another.  All of these could be done in any location, but God expects them to be fulfilled through the church.

 

3.  Preaching is the chief human means God uses to dispense His grace.  Paul commanded Timothy to "preach the word" (2 Timothy 4:2).  I have the privilege each week to proclaim God's message to His people- a message of grace, by which God saves people and transforms lives.

 

4.  I can be consumed with the study of God's Word.  While I might preach three hours a week, the preparation lasts for days.  I get to receive the message from the Lord that I get to convey to you.  I consider this a high and holy privilege.

 

5.  I am directly responsible to God for the lives of the people He has given me to shepherd.  When I write the weekly column for the newspaper, I am not personally accountable for how people might apply God's Word.  As the pastor, though, I have a relationship with my people like that of a shepherd and his sheep.  I watch over their souls as one "who will give an account" (Hebrews 13:17).

 

6.  I am also accountable to the people in my church.  Everything is exposed to them: my life and family, my personal strengths and weaknesses- everything.  I cherish that accountability.  It is a constant encouragement for me to reflect Christ in everything I say and do, and it has kept me from doing some stupid stuff through the years, especially when I am in a long, slow checkout line at Dollar General!

 

7.  I love the challenge of building an effective leadership team from the people God has put in the church.  When someone starts a business, he can hire anyone he wants.  It's another thing to build with the people God has called, when few of us are wise, mighty, or noble by the world's standards.  God reveals the greatness of His power by demonstrating that the world's nobodies are His most precious resources.

 

8.  The pastorate embraces all of life.  I share the joy of parents over the birth of a child, as well as the pain of children over the death of a parent.  I help celebrate at a wedding; I also offer comfort at a funeral.  I love the unpredictability that comes with the position.  An incredible adventure may begin at any given moment.  It is at those times tha thte pastor goes beyond his sermon to stand in the gap for God in the lives of His people.

 

9.  While I work to store up treasures in Heaven, there are some good rewards in this life: I feel loved, appreciated, needed, trusted, and admired- all because of being an instrument God has used in the spiritual lives of others.  My family is also treasured, and I get to be involved in the lives of other people.  People pray for me and my family.  I owe a debt of gratitude to God!  I am honored to be a channel through which the grace of God, the love of Christ, and comfort of the Holy Spirit can be made real to people.

 

10.  I am not afraid to pastor.  The tough decisions do not scare me, because I know that as I seek God, His will is made known.  He has equipped me to do the work that He has set before me. 

 

The reward of being a pastor far surpasses any frustration I will ever feel in ministry.  So I say with the apostle Paul, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

I found an article last week entitled "7 Deadly Sins of a Dying Church."  This grabbed my attention, of course, because of the number of dying churches that are found in the Southern Baptist Convention, and I believe that this epidemic spreads beyond our denomination.  The article was written by a consultant based upon his years of dealing with various churches.  I want to share it so that we can avoid the pitfalls that many other churches have faced.  (You will read "we" and other first-person pronouns in the article- they come from the original author.)

 

One of our consultants sat in a Bible study class of a church that had brought in our team for a long-term consultation relationship. He had been told that the class included some of the church’s strongest leaders. Much to his surprise, the entire Bible study was a debate on whether or not a non-Christian might go to heaven. After much argument, the conclusion was that God would indeed allow such a person into heaven.

When such cardinal truths as the doctrine of exclusivity become issues of doubt, a church is in trouble. There’s little motivation for outreach and evangelism if other paths and other religions are equal to Christianity.

Ironically, in our survey of unchurched persons across America, we found that these non-Christians were much less likely to attend churches with weak doctrinal beliefs than those with strong ones. “Why should I waste my time in a place that does not have much certainty of belief,” Amy, a 29-year-old unchurched person from Arizona, told us. “I can find plenty of uncertainty in the world.”

 

It is no surprise that declining and dying churches have little evangelistic passion. In my January/February ’05 Outreach column, I highlighted one of the major reasons for evangelistic apathy: Many senior pastors either don’t have or have lost their evangelistic passion. Congregations tend to follow the passions and visions of those in key leadership positions, particularly the pastor.

 

Unfortunately, many churches in America are out of touch with the changing trends and values of today’s culture.

Some churches, for certain, abandon many of the cardinal truths of the faith in their quest to be relevant to the community they serve. But even more churches are woefully unaware of the realities, hopes and pains of those around us. Failure to be true to doctrines of the Christian faith leads to apostasy. Failure to understand the world in which we live and serve leads to irrelevancy.

Sin #4: Few outwardly focused ministries

In a recent survey of churches across America, we found that nearly 95% of the churches’ ministries were for the members alone. Indeed, many churches had no ministries for those outside the congregation.

Many churches seem to exist only for themselves. While there certainly should be ministry available for church members, often the balance between external and internal ministries is heavily skewed toward internal. When churches seek to care and minister only to their own, it’s a likely sign that decline is in motion and that death may be imminent.

 

Sin #5: Conflict over personal preferences

Some of the more vicious internal battles in congregations today are not fights over defending the great truths of the Christian faith. Instead, members have conflict over their preferred worship style, the way a room is painted or carpeted, and the type of pulpit the preacher uses. Battles like these are sure signs that members are more concerned about their needs than the needs of the hurting and unchurched people who live and work next to them.

 

Sin #6: The priority of comfort

A few years ago, my youngest son, Jess, was a high school senior on the football team. Because he gave so much of himself in the Friday night game, he often slept late on Saturdays. Around noon, he’d trudge down the stairs, turn on the television in the family room and collapse on the sofa.

One Saturday, I passed him as his extended body contorted on the sofa and noticed that my football player son was watching HGTV. Curious, I asked Jess why he was watching a home and gardening show. His response was classic—“ ’cause the remote is broken.”

Many churches are in definitive patterns of decline because church members simply will not move beyond their couches of comfort. It’s much easier to do things the way we’ve always done them, rather than to get uncomfortable in the world outside the walls of the church.

 

Sin #7: Biblical illiteracy

Only 3% of churches in America have a planned method of instructing their members to learn the Bible in its entirety. While studying the Bible shouldn’t be limited to a church setting, it’s imperative that churches take the lead in these types of endeavors.

When only three of 100 churches even attempt to provide a way for their members to understand Genesis to Revelation, biblical illiteracy is likely to occur. And biblical illiteracy means that our churches may not be obedient to the calls of Scripture because they don’t know what the Bible says.

Lights in the darkness?

Our research shows that many churches in America are sick, declining and dying. Still, I remain an obnoxious optimist about the American Church. I’ve seen many churches reject the darkness of these seven sins and do something about their decline. They’re truly lights in the darkness.

I recently concluded a one-year consultation with a church that had seen a reversal of almost all the negative trends in its congregation. The pastor summed up the experience well: “We were not lacking in resources or know-how; we were just lacking in obedience. When we made a decision that mediocrity and complacency would not be acceptable, God began to bless us. It is just that simple.”

 

Bro. Clint

 

P.S.  I also found another article that I believe gives some insight into Youth Ministry.  It is something to ponder as we search for our new youth minister.  Check it out at http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/questions/spirituallife/youthministry.html?start=1

 

I read a couple of blogs last week that copied each other that covered 10 “things” each wants the membership of his church to know.  I thought that they were pretty good and something that all members of Hampton FBC need to know, so I am also going to copy it!  I have tweaked them a little to fit FBC and be somewhat more personal. Please read these 10 points and just imagine with me for a moment what your life and ministry would be like if all were lived out. Just imagine with me what impact the church would make it all members lived these daily.

#1 – I want every member to understand salvation in a Biblical context, knowing that they have been made right with God through Jesus Christ.  (1 John 5:12-13, I Corinthians 15:1-4)

#2 – I want every member to truly learn how to find their identity in Christ.  (Colossians 1:15-17, Philippians 3:7-14, Galatians 2:20)

#3 - I want every member to have a right relationship with others.  (Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 6:14-15, I John 2:9-11)

#4 – I want every member to love God’s church and be fully bought into her potential.  (Matthew 16:13-18, Colossians 1:18,  Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 3:10, Ephesians 3:20-21)

#5 – I want every member to know about and discover their spiritual gift and use it to impact God’s Kingdom.  I Corinthians 12:1, 7, I Peter 4:10)

#6 –I want every member to know how to lead someone to Christ and feel the calling/responsibility for doing so.  (II Corinthians 5:18-21, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, Romans 1:16)

#7 – I want every member to learn how to recognize and follow the voice of God by reading their Bibles on a daily basis.  (Hebrews 4:12, II Timothy 3:16-17, Isaiah 45:18-19)

#8 – I want every member to have godly dating relationships, godly marriages and strive to raise children who have a heart for Jesus.  (II Corinthians 6:14, Ephesians 5:22-33, Ephesians 6:1-4, Colossians 3:18-21, I Peter 3:1-7, Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

#9 – I want member to steward their money in a Biblical way, putting God first, living within their means and embracing generosity as a core value in their lives!  (Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 3:9-10, I Corinthians 6:1-2, II Corinthians 9:6-15, Psalm 37:25-26, I Timothy 6:17-19)

#10 – I want every member to feel the freedom to admit their weaknesses and confess AND repent of sin without feeling judged and condemned. (Isaiah 1:18, I John 1:9, James 5:16, Romans 8:1)

 

Have you prayed for VBS today?  I want to challenge you to bathe next week's VBS in prayer, and begin doing that now.  I am asking God that we see kids saved next week, that families are changed, and that God-sized things happen.

 

Last week, I wrote about taking the risk for those that need someone to stand with them, using Barnabas and Ananias' support of Paul.  After their first missionary journey, Paul suggested to Barnabas that they go back and visit the believers in every town where they had preached the message of the Lord.  Paul cared about them and wanted to investigate their progress in the faith.  He also may have wanted to encourage various elders they had appointed to lead these churches.  Barnabas wanted to take along his cousin John Mark, but Paul was against this idea.  John Mark had deserted them early on in the first journey.  Paul's thought process was probably "he has deserted us once, he will do it again."  Barnabas, though, wanted to give John Mark a second chance.  A sharp disagreement ensued between Paul and Barnabas, and they parted company, thought this does not suggest a permanent rift appeared between the two leaders.

 

We must remember that believers will make mistakes.  Young believers sometimes lack the maturity to follow through on ministry assignments. While their inexperience and immaturity can sometimes prove frustrating to mature leaders, our goal always should be to recognize their potential and restore such people.  As we show willingness to forgive failures and give second chances, we provide Christians the opportunities to grow and learn from their mistakes.

 

Sadly, I am afraid that many Christians are unwilling to give second chances.  We want them given to us, but we are not as quick to give them out.  We want to experience God's forgiveness for our daily struggles, yet we do not want to offer that forgiveness to people when they disappoint us.  Part of taking a risk on people is to display a willingness to give a second chance.

 

Mark is believed to be the writer of the Gospel of Mark.  He made good use of the second chance Barnabas gave him.  Paul also later recognized and valued John Mark's usefulnesss.  Who do you need to give a second chance?

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

We often talk about the conversion of Saul, a persecutor of the church that was radically transformed into one of the greatest leaders in the early church.  There were two people, though, that played a huge role in Paul's ministry that we often overlook: Ananias and Barnabas.

 

After Paul's encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus, Paul was blinded.  He fasted for three days as he waited on the Lord's instructions.  The Lord directed Ananias to find Paul and lay hands on him to restore his sight.  Ananias, as one could image, was not keen on the idea and protested that he had heard of Paul's reputation.  Rather than allowing Ananias to be disobedient, the Lord informed him that Paul was His chosen instrument to bring the gospel to many people.  Ananias obeyed, the Lord restored Paul's sight and he was baptized into the faith.  He immediately began to proclaim his faith in Christ in the Damascus synagogues.  People were amazed because they knew that only days before, Paul had tried to persecute the church.  If Ananias had not been obedient, I believe that the story may have been different.  It was probably tough for Ananias to enter the room and then to get close enough to lay hands on Paul.  His obedience proved beneficial for Paul, just as our obedience always proves beneficial to those around us.

 

When Paul traveled to Jerusalem following his conversion, he probably knew the situation he would face.  He tried to associate with the disciples.  He sought fellowship with those who loved and followed Jesus as he did.  Unfortunately, he found that they were all afraid of him.  After all, they knew his reputation for persecuting the church.  The disciples did not believe that Paul was a disciple.  His track record appeared to speak for itself.

 

Barnabas (which means Encourager) lived up to his name.  Apparently he saw evidence of God's work in Paul's life and recognized him as a true disciple and brother in the Lord.  Barnabas was willing to take a risk, and he took him and brought him to the apostles.  Is Paul was merely using Barnabas to find Christians, especially leaders in the church, the plan would have worked.  However, Barnabas believed in Paul, and was willing to come alongside him to introduce him to other disciples.  Barnabas described how the Lord had talked to Paul and given him instructions regarding his new calling.  He also testified as to how in Damascus Paul had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

 

New Christians, especially those who may have a bad reputation due to prior sins, need people who will come alongside them and validate their testimony to other believers.  Sometimes, those of us who have grown up in Chrsitian homes have a hard time believing other people have truly come to Christ when we know their past lifestyles.  However, Barnabas helped the early church overcome its hesitations regarding Paul by testifying to God's work in Paul's life.

 

Sometimes, investing our lives in others may even require us to risk our own reputations.  Other Christians may wonder why we associate with "those kinds of people."  Yet, the Gospels contain many examples of Jesus changing people's lives as He associated with them.  Investing in others sometimes involves taking a risk, but the risks can yield huge spiritual dividends.

 

Who is someone that needs you to risk an investment in their life?

 

 

After all the fuss from the weekend, we know that the world did not end Saturday.  Although many must have thought they missed out and chose not to worship yesterday, I never considered Saturday to be "the day."  Scripture teaches that no one but the Father knows the day or hour when Jesus will be given the Word to return to gather His children.  If He would have returned Saturday, I was ready, as were many of you.  Therefore, we can look at it and say that it was a bad thing that He did not return.  Rather than experiencing the rewards of Heaven, we are still left in this fallen world. 

 

It is also a good thing that the Lord did not return as predicted Saturday, because I know of several people that would have  been left behind.  I talked to one such man on Thursday that knows he needs a relationship with the Lord but refuses to make a decision to trust Jesus as his Savior and Lord.  Our FAITH teams visited others over the past several weeks that have the same attitude.  There were even people in our service yesterday who know they need a relationship with Jesus but refuse to ask for His forgiveness.  There are many others that are not as open about their need for a Savior but continue to live apart from Him and serve themselves.  For the sake of those listed, it was a good thing that Jesus did not return.  If He had, they would have spent eternity in Hell, separated from Jesus.

 

When Jesus returns and the world ends, or when one's life ends (whichever happens first), it is going to be a joyous time for believers.  We cannot imagine what Heaven will be like.  The descriptors that we have from Scripture make us long for it, but I believe that it is so great that words will not do.  As a matter of fact, that was Paul's testimony when he was given a vision of Heaven.  He saw things that we not permissible to tell.  He know that he could not do justice to what he saw, so Paul chose to keep quiet.  Going to be with Jesus for eternity will be a great day.

 

However, those that are unprepared for His coming will find His return or their death to be a horribly tragic day.  Many Christians will find the blood of these people on their hands because they refused to tell them about Jesus.  It may be a childhood friend, a work acquaintance, or someone you did not minister to in Chile, Indiana, or some other part of the world.  The church must be busy taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth, to the people like the Mapuche in Chile who have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ.  We must support new church starts in our own country where large segments of people have never had the chance to respond to God's invitation of grace.  We must continue to give to the Cooperative Program and special missions offerings so that we can send missionaries to live among people who have never heard the Gospel.  We need to pray for lost people by names, we need to pray for missionaries, we need to pray for God to work in lives to bring salvation. 

 

As many of our old hymns proclaim, it is going to be a great day when God's children enter Heaven.  However, it will be an equally horrible day for those without a relationship with Him.  May we never get so focused waiting on His return that we fail to proclaim Jesus' Gospel of grace.  As Oswald J. Smith said, "We talk of the second coming; half of the world has not heard of the first."

 

Proclaim the Name of Jesus!

 

 

The weather is warming up (except you cannot say that today), the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing, and signs of spring and summer are all around us, including the time for baseball season.  I have always enjoyed watching baseball, as I still wish that more Cubs games were on TV.  I have had a new experience, though, with baseball this year and it is called T-Ball.  Addison is playing T-Ball and it is a sight to be seen.  At the first practice, she hit the ball and started running toward the pitcher's mound.  She thought that you had to touch the base with your hand, rather than stepping on them.  Other kids have ran to third rather than first.  It is a blast to watch.

 

No one keeps the score on T-Ball, it does not matter if someone bats out of turn, and you can get out at any of the bases but still continue to run.  No one is jumping up and down when something goes wrong- matter of fact, I think that they expect things to go wrong.  There is a coach at each base that is encouraging the kids to run, and coaches stand in the field to give instructions on what to do when a ball is hit to a particular area. 

 

I think that the church can learn a lot from T-Ball, including the importance of not keeping the score.  While someone keeps up when team scores five runs each inning so that they can switch from offense to defense, the overall score is never displayed.  I always ask Addison if she had fun.  When I was coaching 8-10 year olds at Swifton, when I went to the mound to talk to a pitcher, I would always ask if they were having fun and remind them of its importance.  Don't misunderstand me, I wanted to (and still want to) win as bad as the next guy, but I realize the need to keep the score in different areas.  It is easy for a church to keep the score based upon attendance, but I think that we need to focus upon the number of changed lives, rather than the number that show up for an activity or worship.  When can have a packed house but make no impact on the Kingdom if lives are not changed!

 

There is a lot of encouragement in T-Ball, and there should be in church.  The writer of Hebrews tells us to encourage each other as long as it is called Today.  He is stresses the importance of offering encouragement daily.  The church usually has good intentions to encourage people but then drops the ball when it comes to carrying them out. 

 

T-Ball expects kids to do something wrong.  The coaches are prepared to give instruction when necessary.  I am afraid that the church does not let people fail.  We know that people will fail and disappoint us, but we are often guilty of being so judgmental that when someone fails, they feel like they cannot return to the church.  Rather than coming beside that person that is running the wrong way and encouraging them to get on the correct path, we remind them of their failures.  We must remember that we are to be people of grace.

 

T-Ball involves constantly teaching the sport, and the church must never quit teaching the Word of God.  We must be patient, and we must not neglect the Word.  T-Ball does not teach basketball or soccer, and the church must keep its focus on the Word of God.  While our strategies to proclaim it may change, the message is never adjusted. 

 

Have a great week!

 

Whether you were up when the news broke or heard it the first thing this morning, there was probably a sense of relief when you heard that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. forces.  I was ready to go to bed when I heard that the President was going to address the nation and no one knew why.  I was immediately concerned.  When word broke that bin Laden was dead, I started watching the many celebratory posts on facebook.  While I am glad that bin Laden can no longer inflict pain and loss of life, as well as other evil, I have to admit that I was convicted of having an attitude of celebration on hearing the news of his death. 

 

I believe that we need to celebrate justice, not the death of a man that is, in all probability, in Hell.  Let me be clear I am not bin Laden's judge, but his fruits speak for themselves.  Scripture is clear that those who die without placing their faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ experience eternal damnation in a literal place called Hell.  Many of bin Laden's videotapes end with the phrase, "Praise to Allah," showing me that he placed his faith in a false god.  His actions demonstrated that bin Laden remained a radical Muslim. 

 

Today, I still cannot celebrate the fact that someone is in Hell, even someone that we would say is in the place that he deserves, such as bin Laden.  I pray that I never celebrate that fact.  I feel for the thousands, if not millions, of people that followed bin Laden, thinking that they found the truth through him.  If these people do not profess Christ, they, too, will experience eternal damnation.  Scripture teaches the seriousness of hell, most notably in the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man, in constant torment and agony, wants just a drop of water to relieve the pain.  Hell is full of people today that echo the same desire.

 

The rich man also asked that someone be sent to his father's house to warn his five brothers of their impending spiritual doom.  Hell is also full of people today that echo that same desire.  Osama bin Laden now knows that he was wrong.  When his life ended and he stood at the judgment seat of God and received his eternal destiny, he understood that he had given his life to following lies.  You and I have been given the responsibility to warn others that are on that same path. 

 

Just this past week, I encountered a family that lost a loved one and had to admit that he never made a profession of faith, to anyone's knowledge, and therefore is spending eternity in hell.  My heart broke for them, as it does for hearing that anyone died without the Lord, including an infidel like Osama bin Laden.  I want to do everything in my power to ensure that fewer families have to face that reality, and the only thing I can do is proclaim the good news of the Gospel through words and witness. 

 

May God use me, and you, to ensure that there will be more people in Heaven and less in Hell.

 

 

Yesterday was a great day together of worshipping the risen Lord!  Thanks to those that participated in our Gospel canvass Friday evening and Saturday morning.  We covered a large part of the county and had several guests with us yesterday.  I always enjoy the excitement of Easter, but I am convicted of the need to have that excitement on a daily basis.  The Resurrection should be celebrated each day because we have victory over sin and death every day, not just one.

 

I have spent the past couple of weeks writing about Christian parenting.  I think that we normally associate Christian parenting with parents that have their kids in church.  However, it involves more than church attendance.  In ApParent Privilege, which I have mentioned previously, Steve Wright defines that Christian parenting is "more than keeping our kid from having sex, using drugs, or going to jail.  It is about fostering an awe of God in our children.  It is about showing our children their need for a Savior and introducing them to Jesus who alone can rescue their lives from sin and give life that lasts forever."  What is the focus of your parenting?  I am afraid for most it is raising kids that do not "mess up," rather than kids that are living godly lives and influence the Kingdom of Heaven in a positive manner.

 

Wright gives four characteristics of Christian parenting.  The first is that Christian parents seek to model the Gospel.  Our children are driven away from the faith when they see their parents live one way on Sunday at church and another the rest of the week.  They are looking for authenticity, and living a life that models the Gospel shows children the Bible in action.  Before they can even read, they can learn about the Gospel from parents, as children imitate their parents.

 

Secondly, Christian parents value and protect the sanctity of Christian marriage.  One of the best gifts you can give your children is a healthy marriage relationship.  Kids pick up on the stress in the house, and many will act out for attention when they see mom and dad having conflict.  I hear regularly from school teachers how most of the students in their classes do not have both mom and dad in the home, and an increasing number live with neither mom or dad.  As a result, these children never know the Christian view of marriage, and I believe that they often have marriages like their parents.

 

Third, Christian parents see their children as blessings.  Children are loud, make messes, cost A LOT, and many other things that can be seen as negatives.  Dennis and Barbara Rainey note: "Many parents today feel like kids are a burden.  That's not what the Bible calls them.  It doesn't say, 'Behodld, children are a burden of the Lord,' or 'Burdened is the man whose quiver is full of them.' Our views have become distorted.  What we see as a burden, God sees as a blessing.  Some of us need to knock the windows out of our corrupted views and let the Spirit of God come into our homes and refresh our hearts and minds so we can see clearly again that children are a blessing."

 

Lastly, Christian parents desire that Jesus captivate their children's hearts.  Everyone has dreams for their children.  The most common is that they will become a doctor or some other "good" profession, make a lot of money, and take care of the parents in the later years of life.  A Christian parent wants nothing more than to see his or her child live for Jesus.  If we are going to see this happen, we must convey to our children that Jesus' death on the Cross was the most tragic and glorious event in history.  They must acknowledge that Christ's death took their sin and gave them their righteous standing before God the Father with an eternal hope in Him.  This is more important than what university they will attend, what career they choose, how much money they will make, or how good they will be in their (or your) favorite sport!

 

Many children have a desire to be obedient to God that is extinguished by their church-attending parents.  We say we want our children to be used by God and captivated by Jesus, but we do not want them to go to the obscure mission field.  We do not want them to be a fanatical and face persecution for their faith.  We discourage them from service within the church.  I could go on and on, but the fact remains that Christ is not calling our children and us to an easy belief that affects a small part of our lives.  He calls us to pick up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24), being completely consumed by Him.

 

Do you qualify as a Christian parent (or grandparent)?

 

God bless,

 

There is a new term that I have heard that I do not like: "graduating from God."  This phrase refers to the mass exodus of teens from the church around the time of high school graduation.  A study from UCLA found that almost half of college students drift away from their Christian upbringing.  While 52% of incoming students said taht they regularly took part in church events, the number shrinks to 29% who are still involved in church activities by their junior year.  George Barna's research concludes that only 33% of churched youth say that the church will play a part in their lives when they leave home.  There are many other researchers whose work has come to the same conclusions.

 

We have plenty of young people staying busy in our churches.  We have VBS (which you know that I love), Sunday School (which I also love), age-specific services and areas of the church, trips, camps, and many other activities.  It makes me wonder if our young people are learning to love these programs or learning to love Christ and His Bride, the church.  Today's consumer-driven mentality leaves young people asking, "How does the church serve me?" rather than "How can I serve the church?"

 

People have bought into the thought that they can love God and love Jesus but not love the church.  That is not possible.  That is the same as saying, "Clint, I love you but I can't stand your wife."  The church is Christ's Bride.  If our children love Christ, the natural progression would be that they also fall in love with the Bride of Christ, the church.  I found the following quote: "The greatest motivation we could ever find for being passionately committed to the Church is that Jesus is passionately committed to the Church... If Jesus loves the Church, you and I should too.  It is that simple."

 

The first time that Jesus spoke of the Church (Matthew 16:15-18), He offered a promise that nothing, not even hell itself, will be able to overcome her.  The church is that important to God.

 

In Acts 2:42-47, we see that there is a relationship between home and church; there was no division between the two.  What happened in church moved into the home and vice versa.  As a result, the Lord blessed and people were saved.  Regrettably, the two have drifted apart and I am not sure if the church doesn't actually promote the division.  Maybe we have lost what the church understood two thousand years ago- its vital role of supporting and championing the family.

 

It is clear that partnership between Church and home is God's plan, God's wisdom, God's design.  He put these two institutions in place for our good and His glory, and any framework or plan that ignores these two institutions is foolishness.  Church and family must work together; there is no biblical option.

 

Many families in our community do not have any member with a growing relationship with the Lord.  As a church, we must reach that family and disciple them to fulfill their role in God's work.  I hope that you are making plans to participate in our role in "Across Arkansas" this weekend.  We will canvass and doorhang as many homes as possible on Friday evening and Saturday morning.  Please be at the church Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m.

 

One more rambling thought: I wonder if we are losing our children from the church because the parents they see at church and the parents they see at home are two different people?  Young people today, including my generation (as the problem did not start just recently), are looking for authenticity.  They are wanting us to be the same in church as we are outside of church.  Are you driving your kids (and grandchildren) away from church?

 

God bless,

 

As you may know, I am working on the project that will complete my Doctor of Ministry Degree.  I have always had a passion for the church equipping families to disciple their children, and that passion is at the heart of my project.  In some reading for research, I found "Seven Foundations of the Theology of Family" in the book, ApParent Privilege by Steve Wright.  I want to share these with you and encourage you to spread the word to other families to check them out.

 

1.  God created man and woman in His image.  Genesis 1:27 clearly states this foundation.  The fact that men and women are equal yet different is indeed a result of God's purposeful and beautiful design.

 

2.  God blessed man and woman with the gifts of marriage, sex, and family.  The definition of marriage has become a hot topic, but that is not the case in the Bible.  God's design is to join man and woman together.  He created the first family.  Family did not evolve from societal needs for financial stability and domestic support.  God created family, just as He created man and woman.  Sex was created as a gift from God to bring a husband and wife closer together for enjoyment and to procreate a family.  When a Christian marriage functions as God intended, men and women are fulfilled in their roles and children are brought into a loving family where they will hear the Word of God taught and watch the Gospel on display.

 

3.  God gave parents the primary role of spiritually discipling their children.  The peak of this teaching is called the "Shema" and is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  I encourage you to look that passage up.  Before there were Sunday Schools, churches, and youth groups, God entrusted parents with the privilege to teach their children.  This command has not changed.  Teaching our children about the Lord is our privilege and responsibility as parents.  We must remember that God will hold us responsible for the spiritual development of our children.  This work cannot be delegated.

 

4.  God calls husbands to love their wives and wives to submit to their husbands.  Just as God created family, He did so with an order to it.  The Bible is clear that God sees husbands as the head of a family, regardless of what is popular in today's culture.  A husband has the privilege, responsibility, and duty to lovingly lead his family.  Husbands must remember that Christ Himself modeled the kind of leadership they are instructed to provide when He willingly laid down His life to honor His Bride.  Christ's love was selfless.  Christ's example should compel husbands to out-serve and cherish their wives.  When a wife is loved according to God's Word, I believe that she willingly and lovingly submits to her husband.  Every couple should study and model Ephesians 5 in their marriage.

 

5.  God's design is for marriage to be lifelong.  God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).  The Bible is unified in its teaching against divorce.  Unfortunately, churches have been growing silent in regards to this teaching.  Christian marriage is sacred, as it represents Christ's commitment to His Bride.  Ephesians 5:28, which tells husbands to love their wives "in the same way" Christ loves us, reminds us that our marriage commitment speaks to the world that Christ's love for His Bride is enduring.

 

I am not saying that divorce is an unforgivable sin or that divorcees can never serve Christ.  We are narrow-minded when we hold that position.  What I am saying is that God's design is clear.  His framework is for marriage to last.  He wants our marriages to be light in the world, and churches must do all they can to rescue marriages caught in the storms of life.

 

6.  God seeks to use Christian families as a testimony of His love for His children.  2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are "ambassadors for Christ."  Our families must be representatives to the world on God's behalf.  What makes your family different than every other family on the block?  Is there something more than the fact that you go to church?  Our families must be distinct from those of the world, serving as a very real picture of Christ's love for us.

 

The presence of Christ in our marriage must drastically change it.  Christian marriages shoudl be marked with confessing sin, asking forgiveness, serving selflessly, and in humility regarding your partner as "more significant than ourselves" (Philippians 2:3).  Christ is making His appeal to the world through our marriage and our family, so the way we understand family is extremely important.

 

7.  God's design is for families to unite and partner with the local church for the mutual purpose of discipleship.  In Genesis, God created the first institution- the family.  He creates the second institution in the New Testament- the church.  So how are we to view these two institutions?  Are they rivals?  Is one no longer needed?  I believe the Bible teaches that the church and the family are to be united for the same purpose.  Deuteronomy 6:7 says that families are to "diligently teach (God's Word) to your children," but God says the same thing of the church in Ephesians 4:12, giving the church the task to "equip the saints."  Families are to teach young people.  Churches are to teach all people, including young people.  Why the overlap?  Families should no more drop their kids off at the church door to be discipled any more than they should avoid the church and try to do it alone.  Family and church need each other to function like each is designed to function for the glory of God.

 

God bless,

 

I want to give another thought that flowed from the search for the tooth (read last week's post if you don't know what I am talking about).  Jennifer even made the statement to just forget about it, to quit looking for it.  However, I knew that it was somewhere in the proximity of the kitchen.  Since it was small and hard to see, we were on our hands and knees looking for the tooth.  The only places left for it to be was under the refrigator or the stove.  Since the refrigator was easier to move, we started there.

 

When I was writing about the experience in this place last week, I thought of this story from Jesus: “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)

 

This story is the second in three where Jesus addresses a person losing something and searching for it: 100 sheep, 10 coins, 2 sons.  In each instance, one of the items is lost, and each time the item missing is more personal and a larger percentage of what the owner had. 

 

When we were looking for the tooth, we were just like the lady who lost a coin- we moved stuff, looked under items, and were on our hands and knees searching for one special item.  Addison will lose many more teeth, but this one was special- it was the first.  I was not going to rest well until I had found it.

 

We should have the same intensity in our search for people that are lost without a relationship with the Lord.  There are places in Calhoun County that are as hard to find as a coin- or a tooth- that is missing!  The church is guilty of being happy with what we have, with those that are already "found," and we ignore the ones that are lost.  We do not search for them.  Or when we do search, we do so reluctantly or half-heartedly.  The story would be different if the shepherd was happy with the 99 sheep that remained, if the lady was content with the 9 coins in her purse, and if the father was glad to have the other son at home.  However, each person was not willing to rest until what was lost had been found.  May the same be said about us.

 

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

It has been a couple of weeks since I posted something, and I am not sure why I have not taken the time to share some thoughts.  As you may know, I was gone a couple of weeks ago to do a revival at Shirley First Baptist.  I had a great time with the church and getting to spend some time with a college friend that I had not gotten to spend time with since college.  The first night I was there, though, Jennifer called to inform me that Addison had pulled a tooth.  Since we did not think this common for 4 year olds, I was thinking about all the driving that I was going to have to do to come home, take them to the dentist in Brinkley (that is another story of why we go to the dentist so far away from home), and then get back to Shirley in time for the service the next night.  To make a long story short, the dentist said it must have been time for the tooth to come out and none of that had to happen.

 

The tooth fairy left the tooth so that I could see it, and so that we could keep it.  The tooth has been on the counter in the kitchen in a little container that someone gave us when Addison was born.  It has a place for the first lost tooth and some hair from the first haircut.  Addison has opened the container multiple times to look at the tooth.  Well, last Sunday as I am trying to herd everyone out of the door to get to the business meeting, Addison proceeds to drop the tooth and it cannot be found.  There was no time to look for it then, so we searched more that evening.

 

Finally, Jennifer and I reached the concensus that it was probably under the refrigerator.  I started moving it, afraid of all that we would find.  Sure enough, the tooth was under the refrigerator, along with LOTS of dust and a few other items that had fallen off the refrigerator.  I grabbed the broom and mop, cleaned it up, pushed it back in place, and threatened anyone that every dropped anything else under there!  My allergies started bothering me due to all the dust- and that rarely happens to me.

 

I wonder how many times we need to move the "refrigerator" in our lives.  We all have some areas that we allow "dust" (sin) to gather that we really do not want to expose.  It is easy to leave it there, rather than face the reality of the matter.  It may be unholy thoughts or attitudes that we have pushed in a corner.  It could be "secret" acts such as gambling or pornography addiction.  Gossiping, lying (tax season is upon us), anger, hatred, and many other things need to exposed, cleaned out, and something holy put in their place.

 

I believe that most Christians are aware of these sins and want to be released from them.  They may even regularly confess these sins, but nothing is ever put in their place.  Scripture teaches that we must cleanse ourselves and put something holy in the place where the sin was, or we will discover that the sin returns and multiples quickly.

 

Today, do you need to move the refrigerator out and do some cleaning in your life?

 

God bless,

 

I heard many positive comments about The Cast's performance in our service yesterday morning.  Since no one in the church had ever seen them before, I later realized that no one had any idea what to expect.  I found out that many thought it was going to be a play and that it would be short and then I would preach.  However, as you know, they performed several sketches that were humorous and convicting.  The Word was preached!

 

I think that we are often guilty of thinking that things have to be done a certain way for them to be correct.  Think about it.  We expect a worship service to include music, preaching, prayers, and an offering.  We have preconceived ideas of how ministry is  to be performed and we do everything we can to make it fit into our small notion. 

 

As we have gotten involved in missions in Wichita and in Chile over the past couple of years, I have realized the many different ways to achieve the same result.  The demographic in Wichita is drastically different than Hampton, and what works in one place may not work in the other.  Chile is almost like another world, as our cultures do not compare.  What often happens on the mission field is that someone comes in from a different place and tries to do ministry like they do at home, causing heartache for everyone involved and very little effectiveness.

 

I say all of that to conclude with this: we must look for different ways to minister and share the Gospel with those in need.  "The way it has always been done" may no longer be effective.  When I look at our Celebrate Recovery ministry, I see a ministry that does something that many churches do not do: it accepts those struggling with life-crippling addictions.  As GriefShare starts Wednesday, this ministry will meet a need that many people in our church do not know how to meet.  Most of our adults would not be comfortable in our youth service on Wednesday because the music is different, and the "Living Inside Out" Children's Ministry is much louder than the typical adult gathering. 

 

I am thankful to serve a church willing to do things differently.  How about you?  Is there a particular ministry that God has laid on your heart that is "different"?  Please do not allow what you think it should look like deter you from service. 

 

God bless,

 

Another great day was had yesterday.  I always love Sunday School, but it is well known that some lessons are better than others (just like some sermons are better than others).  Yesterday was one of those "better" lessons.  We have been studying the life of Hosea and how Hosea was called to married a prostitute, Gomer, to demonstrate God's love for Israelites.  They had prostituted themselves by following other gods.

 

In Hosea 11, God speaks of Israel as a child, and He shows us the perfect example of fatherly love.  I am amazed at the number of people that cannot understand fatherly love because they were never shown that by their earthly father.  So many dads are either out of the picture of their child's life, or if they are at home with the kids, they often choose to allow the mother to have most of the interaction with the kids.  Many have a hard time understanding unconditional love because they  have never seen it demonstrated in their personal lives.

 

God shows us in Hosea 11:1 that His love pursues His children, even when His children rebel.  God does not give up on us or throw us to the dogs; He pursues us with a passion that cannot be matched. 

 

God pursues us when we are lost.  In Luke 19:10, Jesus tells us His ultimate purpose for coming to earth was to seek and save the lost.  Scripture says that Jesus pursues two things: true worshippers and lost people.  We talked in class yesterday that a way that God pursues us when we are lost is through other people: parents, teachers, preachers, and others that have a concern for our salvation.  God can also pursue us through situations, both good and bad.  Jesus' purpose for coming to earth was to find people like you and me- to seek us out.  When He found us, He did everything He could to make sure that we understood He wanted an eternal relationship.

 

God pursues us when we are His.  One of the biggest mistakes we make in the Christian life is to think that Jesus ceases to pursue us once we are born again.  We have this idea that once He has us there is no reason for Him to keep pursuing us.  It is actually the contrary, though.  Through the Holy Spirit, the Lord is constantly pursuing us to use us in Kingdom effectiveness.  We are convicted of sin, called for service, given wisdom for decisions, and many other demonstrations of God pursuing His children.

 

God pursues us when we stray.  Jesus told of the shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to search for the 1 sheep that strayed.  We are a wandering people.  When left to our own devices, we will rebel and wander away from our Savior.  In these times, the Heavenly Father pursues us and seeks our restoration.

 

There will be times when we need to be pursued.  Jesus seeks us out and continues to mold us into His image.  He follows us when we go astray and find ourselves away from His presence.  Sometimes, Jesus pursues us just to tell us He loves us.  Aren't you glad that we have such a Father?

 

In Him,

 

 

 

Yesterday was a great day together, as we were blessed with several guests, as well as having several members present after a prolonged absence.  Saturday was another great work day as we pretty well finished up the remodeled area for our Wednesday night children's ministry, as well as the new area for Grief Share.  Thanks to all the men who worked the past couple of weeks!

 

We are just a few weeks from our revival services, and I ask that you join me in praying for revival.  Most Christians today have never experienced a genuine and prolonged personal and corporate revival.  I believe the main reason this is the case is because the pride that sets in that makes us think that we do not need revival.  We think that we are ok spiritually.

 

Did you know that pride was the first sin to be seen in the universe?  That is how the devil came into being.  Once he was an angel of beauty and delight, but he became puffed up by pride.  It has been said that "we most resemble the devil when we are proud, and we most resemble Christ when we are humble."  I am afraid that it is possible for there to be more pride in our churches today than in a comparable group of non-Christians.  There is pride in the fact that we are saved and others are not, pride in our knowledge of the Bible, pride in our ability to pray, and pride in many other areas of our Christian life that we may not even notice.  When we look down on someone because of a spiritual attribute, that is pride.

 

Theologians in the past have listed what they called the seven most deadly sin, and pride was at the head of the list.  Not lust, not cruelty, not even murder.  Pride!  We must realize that pride is the enemy of God, and He gives some stern warnings in Scripture concering it- none more sober than this:  "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).

 

The antidote for pride is humility.  We are called in 2 Chronicles 7:14 to humble ourselves.  Humility has several characteristics.  First, it is a right estimation of yourself.  You are not God, but you are not a worm either.  Humble people see themselves as they really are.  Humility also has within it the fact of self-forgetfulness.  The humble turn their attention from themselves to God; they rarely think about themselves at all.  Again, humility recognizes that without God we can do nothing.  Those who are not humble foolishly believe that without them, God can do nothing.

 

Selwyn Hughes, in his book "Why Revival Waits," says the following in regard to how we humble ourselves: "I believe that what God has in mind primarily is a willingness to judge and evaluate ourselves, not by the standards of others, but by the standars of God's Word, the Bible, to come under its authority and submit to its truths.  It is not possible to understand what humility is unless we are prepared to lay our lives alongside the Bible."

 

I challenge you today to lay your life alongside the Bible.  It is always a humbling process for me, and it reminds me how desperately I need revival to come.  Will you see if the same results in your life?

 

God bless,

 

I missed posting last week while I was attending the state evangelism conference.  It was a great time that only a pastor can understand because no one else would consider hearing about 10 sermons in less than 24 hours!  I always enjoy going to conferences like this to get away and get some time for my spiritual development.  There are always convicting and encouraging messages.  One of the greatest joys, though, is seeing some of the other pastors.  I firmly believe that Solomon was right in saying that "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Prov 27:17).

 

It is always good to see the same folks every time that are always there and we look for each other.  It seems that there is always a person or two that I haven't seen in a while.  One particular person was spotted talking to mutual acquaintance and I thought, "I will talk to him later."  Well, I never saw him again, then later received a facebook message that he was looking for me but never saw me and that he had just moved back to Arkansas after serving out of state for several years.  I sat with another pastor that I have re-connected with after several years.  Both of these guys were pastoring in different churches in Paragould when I was a youth minister there, and they let me be part of them.  I learned a lot from them, as well as my pastor, and I got to spend some time with him last week, too.

 

I say all of that to say that life is full of people that we intersect with at various times that impact us.  It can become hard to get close to others after we have to tell close friends goodbye.  I have yet to realize why we teach babies to say "bye bye" when we really do not like to say it.  I have said goodbye to people when I graduated high school, when left my home church to serve in Paragould, when I graduated college, and each time I have left a church.  We say goodbye and intend to see them again, but in reality, we will not see most of them until Heaven.  When we left Chile and told our missionary team goodbye, I knew it was highly probable that we would never see these people again this side of Heaven

 

In "No Wonder They Call Him Savior," Max Lucado says:

 

 

Have a great week!
Bro. Clint

 

What a great day yesterday!  We had several guests in our worship services, our Deacons got some practical training all afternoon, and the Soup and Chili Supper was a great time to look back and look ahead at what God has in store for us in 2011.  I am excited about what is before us with the new ministry opportunities and the continual privilege that we have to minister to Calhoun County. 

 

We start FAITH back tomorrow evening, which always serves as a reminder of the lostness that surrounds us.  It is estimated that 57% of peole in Arkansas are lost, and I figure that the percentage is pretty close for our county.  We all probably have friends and family members that are lost, and it is the family members that break our heart the most.  God has consistently been involved in saving households and families for many generations.  Could it be that God has placed you in this family situation so that He can work through you to reach out to family members with love and concern? 

 

I often hear people saying that they find it hard to speak to family members about spiritual matters.  I got an article a few weeks ago from Ben Phillips, one of our Cooperative Program missionaries with the state convention who gave some principles to reach your lost family members.  I want to share those with you.

 

*Give up.  Give up trying to strong arm someone and guilt them into heaven.  Instead, get on your knees and fervently pray for their salvation.  It is your responsibilty to share the Gospel and it is the Holy Spirit's responsibility to draw them into a saving relationship with Christ.

 

*Spend time with them in a casual, neutral environment and build a relationship with them.  Learn to ask open-ended questions that help them ponder their relationship with Christ.

 

*Invite them over to your house for meals or holidays.  It is more work for you to host, but you do have more control over what happens or does not happen in your home.

 

*Let them see the real you.  Don't try to pretend to be something you are not.  Allow them to see that you are not perfect and that you struggle with things also.

 

*If they have children, then develop a relationship with them, too.  Offer to take the children to church or other special activities.  Some parents will be more open to the Gospel when they see their children changed by it.

 

*Make sure you spend time alone with God seeking Him and growing in your own personal walk with Him.  The best testimony to an unbelieving family member is a transformed life.

 

*Be prepared to share the Gospel with them clearly without using traditional church words.  You have to be ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself.

 

*Look for opportunities to meet their needs and to serve them, even in the smallest endeavors.  The old saying is true, "people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care."  Ministering to people, especially in times of crisis, will help you earn a hearing.

 

Let me know how I can help you in sharing the Gospel with your family. 

 

God bless,

 

I hope that your New Year is off to a great start.  We had a great day yesterday.  Attendance was up considerably, so it was obvious that many had made a resolution to be in church- at least for yesterday!

 

Jennifer and I regularly talk about the fact that we are pretty boring people.  We have our routine of life and it takes a lot to get us out of that!  There is very little adventure in our life.  I would love to go white water rafting, but I have never put plans into place to fulfill this desire.  It probably  has a lot to do with the fact that I do not know if I could save myself if I really had to in the water.  My sense of self-preservation overrides my sense of adventure.

 

When we consider the coming of this New Year, we look forward to another opportunity to make new resolutions and set new goals. The anticipation for this season comes from the desire in our lives to do things differently, to improve on what we have done in the past. We want to improve in our personal walk with the Lord, and we want our church to experience new life and new health in the Lord.

We dream of Sundays when the seats are filled with people, and the people are filled with anticipation that God is going to speak. We pray that God's Spirit would be present in power and that people without Christ will come to hear the gospel and respond by yielding their lives to Him. We hope for new Sunday School classes and ministries where lives are really shared and changed by the love and encouragement given.

I dream of 2011 being a year when something new and exciting and wonderful will happen in our church. However, how often does it end as a dream? Often, the dream of going white water rafting, and the dream of real growth and health in our church ends for the same reason. Our sense of self-preservation overrides our sense of adventure.

If you knew that God was calling our church to greater things in this new year, would you be willing to support the strategy, to take the risk, and to do the work that it would take to become more of who He wants you to be?  I pray that your answer is "YES!" 

 

I look forward to sharing with you on January 16 about our 2011 and how you can be involved.

 

God bless,

 

I hope that you had  a great Christmas.  It is hard to believe that 2011 is right around the corner, and I am taking the day to get some stuff ready for the new year.  I am excited about what God is going to do in and through our church- and I pray that you are too!   The temptation is to dream big and then think "there is no way that can happen."  I need to be reminded constantly of the angel's words to Mary: "With God, nothing will be impossible."

 

The angel Gabriel told Mary that God was planning to do something humanly impossible.  All human logic would agree that a virgin could not give birth to a child.  It was impossible.  Yet this is exactly what was to happen.  When God speaks of doing the impossible, it is no longer absurd.  When was the last time you asked God to do the impossible in your life?  When was the last time we asked Him to do the impossible in our church?  When was the last time God spoke to you about what He wanted to do and you were scared to death by its magnitude?

 

God still does the impossible?  That attribute of God did not stop with the birth of Jesus- and it will never stop.  Too often we acknowledge our belief that God can do whatever He wants; then we add a safety clause: "But I just don't think will do that with me!"  Or we believe that He can change lives, but refuse to believe that He can transform "that" person.  We can fall into the trap of practical atheism: believing that God can perform miracles but never expecting it to occur.

 

God wanted to bring salvation to all of humanity.  It is critical that Mary not only believed God could perform a  miracle, but also adjusted her life to the awesome work He planned to do through her.  Henry Blackaby said, "The difference between a Christian and a moral person is the divine.  The difference between a church and a social club is the miraculous."  Some can duplicate the morality of a Christian, but no one can reproduce the miraculous that should be a part of the Christian experience. 

 

Do you believe that nothing is impossible for God?  Claim that promise for 2011 and join me in praying for God to do a work in our midst that only He can do.

 

God bless,

 

P.S.  Don't forget that Sunday is the last day to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.  We are about $2,000 short of our goal, so please consider a sacrificial gift this week. 

 

Christmas is only 5 days away, and I hope that you are ready.  I do not mean ready with gifts, etc., but a heart ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior.  I rarely get frustrated with the activities of Christmas- shopping, parties, and the like; rather, I get frustrated with God's people for refusing to have Christ in their Christmas.  The fact that yesterday's services were poorly attended did not help with the frustration factor!  I will get over the frustration, then it will come back some other time in the (near) future.  However, I have learned that I should thank God for other believers, even when they frustrate me.  Here are a few reasons why:

 

First, it is God's will.  In Paul's letters, we see him continually thanking God for other believers.  This practice provides a pattern for us.  God calls us to offer thanks for other believers and the ways that God is at work in their lives.  God's Word gives us Paul's example to challenge us and to stir us to carry out God's will- which is to thank God for other  believers.

 

Secondly, when we thank God for other believers, God is glorified because we are acknowledging that God has saved them, transformed them, and blesses them.  It is actually praise for God!  We can do no spiritual good on our own. We are sinful and in need of the grace of God.  By thanking God for the change and the blessings of other believers, we acknowledge that God is the Source and the Giver of those things.  Our thanks for other believers is praise for all the blessings that God gives to those who believe and follow Jesus.  We honor God by acknowleding what He has done and is doing in their lives.

 

Thanking God for believers fosters unity.  By thanking God for them, it keeps your heart tender toward them.  It is hard to thank God for believers and not be in a right relationship with them.  At the same time, if you struggle with other believers, thanking God for them can melt your heart. 

 

Giving thanks for other believers also guards your heart.  It protects your heart from covetousness- the great enemy of giving thanks.  As you give thanks for what God blesses believers with, it defends you from desiring what they have, even resenting their blessings.  It also offers protection from jealousy and envy.  By thanking God, we focus more on God's grace than our worthiness.  We often see what others have and believe, "I should have that" or "I shoul be blessed like that."  Giving thanks for others reminds us that God is gracious and that He blesses all His children in the way that pleases Him.  God gives His children what they need at the time they need it.

 

Lastly, thanking God for other believers requires discernment.  When you practice this, you have to look deeper than the surface.  It means thanking God for the growth that you see.  It means seeing the hand of God in their lives in difficult times.  It means recognizing steps of faith even if they are "baby" steps.  We should call on God to grant us this discernment.  We must have it if we are to grow in the ability to thank God for others.  At the same time, this discernment enables us to pray wisely for other believers.

 

Who do you need to pray for today?

 

Merry Christmas,

 

“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

Mary and Joseph were holding baby Jesus when they heard someone outside their room whisper, “can we come in?” Mary pulled the baby close to her while Joseph stood up to welcome the guests. In peaked a sheep herder wanting to know if this was the room of Jesus.

“Is this Jesus’ room?” He entered very quietly followed by a number of other shepherds. The sheep herder began to tell Joseph and Mary all they had just experienced. The announcement of the birth of Christ and a worship service led by a sky full of angels. He recalled all the names of the baby the angel had told them about. Also, who He is and what He will do. With pure joy and excitement they went over and over the events with each sheep herder recalling a unique aspect of the event. It was a night no one would ever forgot, for the birth of the Christ Jesus the Savior of the world had been announced.

However, there is one verse in Luke which has always struck me. In Luke 2:19 the scriptures says, “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” As the sheep herders were telling the story Mary sat there with here new born baby held close to her face. She gazed into his eyes and kept hearing the words of the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:30-33. “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Mark Lowery penned the song, "Mary, Did You Know?" that ponders just what Mary knew as she began this journey.  I believe as Mary sat there and held her little baby she knew she was holding the Savior of the world. She knew as she gently kissed his cheek the was kissing the face of God. She knew she held the sacrificial lamb of God which was sent to take away the sins of the world. She knew all mankind would would day be redeemed by the blood of the little baby she held in hear arms. She knew because God had told her. And as the sheep herders sat there and told Joseph the glorious story of the worship service they had just had led by angels, Mary held her little baby tightly in her arms pondering all of these things in her heart.

So yes, Mark Lowery, I believe Mary did know.  Even though she knew, she still was willing to be a servant: "I am the Lord's servant.  May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 2:38).  While God may not give you the whole picture, are you willing to be as obedient as Mary?  When God gives a difficult assignment, will you have the faith to submit to God's will?

God bless,
Bro. Clint

 

 

Yesterday's Sunday School lesson was on the church, and it was a great lesson.  I believe that every child of God should have a deep appreciation and love for the church.  Jesus gave His life for the church and it is the bride of Christ.  Just as any husband worth his while will not allow you to talk about his wife or mistreat her, Jesus has the same feelings toward His bride.  If we love the Lord, I believe that we will have a love for the church.

 

The question was posed in the teacher's book: "What, if anything, does it mean if a church is not experiencing numerical growth?"  Now, I have spent many hours in classrooms talking about church growth, have read many books, and have attended many seminars.  There are many factors to church growth, including the church's willingness to grow, the church's willingness to change, and the demographics of the community. 

 

The early church in Acts 2 experienced great growth.  As a matter of fact, they grew from 120 to an additional 3000 in one day, a 2500% increase.  Can you imagine!  As the new believers began to join the early church, we find that "fear came over everyone."  This fear is a reverent fear of God.  This fear arose as "many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles."  These actions were performed in order to demonstrate God's hand in the organization of the church.  This enabled early churchgoers to have confidence that they were rightly aligned with God's desires and purposes.  Through the wonders and signs, they had assurance that the church was established by God.

 

We begin to see how much they cared for each other throughout the text: "all the believers were together and had everything in common" and "they sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all."  Some people use this passage to promote some type of "early communism."  This is incorrect because the believers gave up their possessions voluntarily.  There was no government involvement.  This was a group of people, joined by their love for God, who voluntarily chose to help out each other.  In addition, not all property was common to all, as private property is seen in the fact that they were breaking bread from house to house.

 

These early believers demonstrated the early church's commitment to Jesus' commandment.  The reason for selling property and having common goods was to help other people, as anyone had a need.  In other words, the early church made sure that every member' physical needs were being met.  They saw each other as a close family, bonded together by a saving relationship with Christ.

 

We also see that these people were diligent: "every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex."  We may not go to church every single day, but we ought to commit ourselves to regular attendance.  Further, we ought to find ways to invest in relationships with fellow church members on a regular basis.  It is vital that we build relationships with others in our church who can pray with us, listen to us, and encourage us in our relationship with the Lord.

 

The result of their efforts is that "every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved."  The early church was a growing church.  It did not have some elaborate church growth strategy.  Rather, it simply sought to honor the Lord.  They had a reverent fear for God that guided them in their daily living.  They made love other believers as themselves a priority for their fellowship, even to the point of selling private property in order to provide for members in need.  They followed Jesus' great commandment to a "T."  God honored them for that by blessing them with new converts every day.

 

I believe we can say that a church not growing is a church that is not honoring the Lord.  God rewards His people.  May we be a God-honoring church!

 

 

Well, if you read last week's post, I talked about the failures of the Dallas Cowboys.  Well, they changed coaches later that day, then actually won their game yesterday.  I am sure that it had to do with this blog!

 

As you know, this weekend started the modern gun deer season.  Many people descended upon Calhoun County with their campers, 4-wheelers, guns, and lots of camo!  It was raining Saturday morning, but everyone ventured into the woods as quietly as possible, took their position, got quiet, and waited.  Some only had to wait a few minutes before seeing deer, and many of those quickly harvested some fresh meat.  Some waited for a long time before they got to see anything, and then missed the shot.  There were still others, including me, that waited for a long time and never saw anything!  This process will last for the next month.

 

Sadly, the church is composed of Christians who always act like they are deer hunting.  We get up on Sunday mornings, get our "church clothes" on, head to take our position on our favored pew, we come in and get quiet, and then we wait.  Since we have done everything "right," we expect for God to produce a harvest.  We expect lost people to be saved, families to be restored, many to repent of their sins, and people to join the church, but we do nothing to prepare for that to occur.

 

I would guess that just about every hunter had made preparations before Saturday morning.  They had a stand placed in a strategic location, they had been putting out corn, rice bran, and other attractants, and many other things had been done to prepare for a good hunt.

 

As a church, we must continue to prepare for the harvest.  We must invite unchurched people to church.  We must share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those without a relationship with Him.  We must encourage couples to strengthen their marriage through a strong relationship with Christ and fellowship with other Christians.  We must challenge parents to raise their children according to the Word of God.  We must continue to meet ministry needs as they arise in our community.  We must continue to live out the presence of Christ in our daily lives.  There is much more that we need to do to enable ourselves to come to church and wait for the harvest.

 

What preparations do you need to make today?

 

 

I am a Dallas Cowboys fan, and it has been a tough year for the Cowboys.  If you are not a NFL fan, let me help you understand what is going on.  The Cowboys were favorites to be in the Super Bowl, which will be played in their home stadium.  No team has ever played the Super Bowl at the home field, so this was going to be a first.  They won a playoff game last year for the first time in ages, so the expectations were to win more than one this year since nearly every contributing player returned. 

 

Well, things have not turned out as expected, as the Cowboys have a record of 1-7.  It is widely expected today that the head coach will be fired, as well as other coaches, and owner Jerry Jones said that other careers may be impacted by his decisions today, pointing to the possibility that some players will also lose their jobs- and big contracts.  The team has under-achieved and fans are calling for changes to be made.

 

Sadly, there are times when the church under-achieves, when it does not fulfill God's expectations for it.  The church becomes focused inwardly, conflicts rise, God's Word is watered-down and other sources are considered sufficient for teaching, disciples are not being made, and I could go on and on.  If the world cared, it would call for changes to be made, and their call for action would be warranted. 

 

The same could be said of your life.  There are times when you under-achieve because of your lack of obedience, and some would probably agree that God should just get rid of you and let someone else fulfill your responsibilities.

 

Thankfully, the grace of God does not fire us and put us aside when we under-achieve!  Rather, we are given the opportunity to correct the situation and become effective in service for the Kingdom of God.  While God may make some changes, the personnel (you) will not change.  The church or the individual will be convicted through the Holy Spirit of their shortcomings and adjustments will be made, but God does not have anything else to replace the work of the church and His individual people.  Many churches and Christians realize their shortcomings and think that God cannot use them, so they remain in a state of disobedience. 

 

Today, may you realize areas where you have under-achieved and come to a fuller understanding of God's grace that will cover those shortcomings and give you another opportunity to be effective in Kingdom service.

 

Because of God's grace,

 

What a weekend!  Only Heaven knows the total impact that we had through "Bread of Life," Harvest Festival, and our crusade services yesterday!  We had a great participation from the church and God has already brought results from our efforts.

 

We have spent the past 40 days praying for the crusade, and many of you have prayed specifically for unchurched and lost people that you know.  I will be preaching Sunday on the "Lord's Prayer," but we find others prayers throughout Scripture.  One such instance is in 1 Timothy 1:2, where Paul, on Timothy's behalf, requested grace, mercy, and peace.  This is an example of a prayer asking specific gifts for those we care about.

 

Grace is the unmerited gift the Father gives to His children.  The Lord relates to us only by His grace.  His grace provided salvation, though we deserved destruction (Ephesians 2:8).  His grace blesses us with the riches of Heaven.  His grace brings us peace in troublesome times.  His grace brings us good things every day (1 Timothy 1:14).

 

Mercy is God withholding the punishment we deserve because of our sinfulness.  The consequences of our sin is death, yet Jesus paid this penalty for us (Romans 6:23).  God is patient and will delay giving us our just punishment in order for us to have every opportunity to repent and to receive His gift of salvation (2 Peter 3:9).

 

Peace is the state of mind and heart we experience when we are confident of God's grace and mercy toward us.  Peace comes in knowing that God's grace will sustain us, even in our most difficult crises.  God assures us that even when we fail miserably in our commitments to Him, He will show mercy upon us.  This assurance gives us peace.

 

How are you praying for your loved ones?  There could be no better request than asking the Lord to give them an abundance of His grace, His mercy, and His peace.

 

In Him,

 

I am in Jonesboro for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention and Pastor's Conference.  Today was the Pastor's Conference, and there were a few good messages that I really needed to hear.  However, one guy preached in three different sessions- but never open a Bible.  Matter of fact, he never read any Scripture!  I have  a problem with that!  If someone is going to "preach," then they need to use God's Word as the basis for their message.  This is a pet peeve of mine and something that I will die believing.  A man's words will never convict someone apart from the Word of God!

 

If I ever preach a message that is not centered on the Word of God, I hope that I will be called on the carpet and given a chance to pack my stuff before it is thrown out!  I know that I will be held accountable by the Lord for such action.

 

The Bible- it is God's Word given to us to show us the character of God.  We need to read it, study it, know it, memorize it, and live it.  It should be a part of our daily lives.

 

Over the next week, we are going to be proclaiming the Word of God through the Bread of Life and the crusade.  While we will do the steak night and other emphases to draw people in, the bottom line is that we want them to encounter God through His Word.  I know that our speakers for the services carry the same commitment as I do and will boldly preach the Word.

 

Please continue to spread the Word about the crusade.  Invite someone to be in church with you Sunday and buy then a steak dinner ticket.  Most importantly, continue to pray kingdom-focused, bold prayers, pleading with God to work in our midst.

 

God bless,

 

As I finally sit down to write this today, we are less than 24 hours until we begin the first leg of our flight to Temuco, Chile.  I have spent most of the day getting stuff ready, packing the supplies we are taking for the first aid clinic, and picking up food items that our missionaries cannot get in Chile.  As I sat in the office floor opening packages and re-packing, the realization set in about what God is using us to do. 

 

I have always read about Christians taking the Gospel of Christ to places that have not heard about it, and now I have the opportunity to be involved in such an endeavor, and our church is playing an integral role in people coming to Christ.  I believe that one of the reasons God has blessed America in spite of our many failures, and why He has kept up from harm (for the most part) from other countries, is because we have led the evangelization of the world.  While other countries do send some missionaries, it has been the United States that has paved the way.  I think it is safe to say that Southern Baptists have led the charge by Americans!

 

It will be hard to leave Jennifer and the girls, as I am a homebody and love being with them.  I pray that Addison understands, and Whitley too when she is older, that daddy will not be home for a few days because he is going to tell people about Jesus.  Other little boys and girls do not have churches to attend and they have never heard about the baby born in a manger.  I am thankful for a supportive wife that will carry the load by herself for a week (if she starts bad-mouthing me this week- someone tell her to read this!). 

 

I am also thankful for a church family that has gotten behind the vision of seeing a people come to know the Lord.  Five others are going with me, many have given extra financial gifts, and even more are praying.  I encourage you to check the website each evening for an update on how the Lord has worked each day and how you can pray specifically.  If you were not here yesterday and did not get the prayer guide, look under "Mission Mission Trip Updates."