>This is difficult to watch because of the content but also because the community of Christ is not speaking up more for those who are used!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
How long will we turn away?
This is difficult to watch because of the content but also because the community of Christ is not speaking up more for those who are used!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
>SBC, Great Commission Resurgence, and the Great Commission
>I took some time this week to check in on the Southern Baptist Convention via live streaming. I knew that one of the issues that would be discussed was the Great Commission Task Force Final Report. I had read the report and was excited to see some of the ideas and thoughts behind it. While I am glad for the voice and direction of the report, I am afraid that the churches of the SBC are missing the heartbeat of the Great Commission while at the same time being passionate for its results.
One of the things that Southern Baptists are passionate about is helping those who don’t know Christ to meet Him. The history of missions and evangelistic effort in the convention bears this out. Even with the constancy of the heartbeat there seems to be a lack of growth of those who trust Christ and a lack of churches growing through involvement from men and women who have recently trusted Christ.
This is also compounded by the fact that statistically the lives of people in Southern Baptist churches look relatively similar to those of their neighbors who don’t know Christ or attend services of other faith practices. The magnifying glass gets put on the Southern Baptist Convention by the world even sharper when it states positions publicly which the majority of its attendees either don’t agree with or don’t practice in their everyday life. It seems the problem of the convention and its churches is not one of passion for those who don’t know Christ but an inability to help a majority of those who have met Him follow Him.
Every church should have a percentage of their congregation that are not practicing their faith well. We all grow at different rates and through different means. I also believe that growth best happens in our relationship with Christ as we seek to obey Him through fulfilling His mission in our spheres of influence and in this world. We should always have non- and nominal believers among us. But I think as we have focused on certain cultural issues, we have forgotten that personal growth leads to those outward manifestations. Rather than focusing on the cultural hot button issues I wonder if the Spirit is asking us to remind our members of His work of manifesting His fruit in each person’s life.
I am thankful for The Great Commission Task Force and their work. I see wisdom in their recommendation. My desire is for the Southern Baptists to realize that the heartbeat of God’s heart for the lost can only be maintained by those who are growing in a constantly maturing faith in Christ. That is where we as local pastors must do a better job at looking at what we are expecting of our people. We need to ask questions like:
One of the things that Southern Baptists are passionate about is helping those who don’t know Christ to meet Him. The history of missions and evangelistic effort in the convention bears this out. Even with the constancy of the heartbeat there seems to be a lack of growth of those who trust Christ and a lack of churches growing through involvement from men and women who have recently trusted Christ.
This is also compounded by the fact that statistically the lives of people in Southern Baptist churches look relatively similar to those of their neighbors who don’t know Christ or attend services of other faith practices. The magnifying glass gets put on the Southern Baptist Convention by the world even sharper when it states positions publicly which the majority of its attendees either don’t agree with or don’t practice in their everyday life. It seems the problem of the convention and its churches is not one of passion for those who don’t know Christ but an inability to help a majority of those who have met Him follow Him.
Every church should have a percentage of their congregation that are not practicing their faith well. We all grow at different rates and through different means. I also believe that growth best happens in our relationship with Christ as we seek to obey Him through fulfilling His mission in our spheres of influence and in this world. We should always have non- and nominal believers among us. But I think as we have focused on certain cultural issues, we have forgotten that personal growth leads to those outward manifestations. Rather than focusing on the cultural hot button issues I wonder if the Spirit is asking us to remind our members of His work of manifesting His fruit in each person’s life.
I am thankful for The Great Commission Task Force and their work. I see wisdom in their recommendation. My desire is for the Southern Baptists to realize that the heartbeat of God’s heart for the lost can only be maintained by those who are growing in a constantly maturing faith in Christ. That is where we as local pastors must do a better job at looking at what we are expecting of our people. We need to ask questions like:
- Do the systems and structures complement the work that the Spirit wants to do in the believer’s life or work against that work?
- Are we actively asking those who join us to follow in a deeper relationship which the god of self is being put to death?
- Are we actively engaging the needs of those around us where the world must stand up and give a response?
Labels:
Culture,
Discipleship,
Evangelism,
Faith,
Missions,
Santification,
SBC
SBC, Great Commission Resurgence, and the Great Commission
I took some time this week to check in on the Southern Baptist Convention via live streaming. I knew that one of the issues that would be discussed was the Great Commission Task Force Final Report. I had read the report and was excited to see some of the ideas and thoughts behind it. While I am glad for the voice and direction of the report, I am afraid that the churches of the SBC are missing the heartbeat of the Great Commission while at the same time being passionate for its results.
One of the things that Southern Baptists are passionate about is helping those who don’t know Christ to meet Him. The history of missions and evangelistic effort in the convention bears this out. Even with the constancy of the heartbeat there seems to be a lack of growth of those who trust Christ and a lack of churches growing through involvement from men and women who have recently trusted Christ.
This is also compounded by the fact that statistically the lives of people in Southern Baptist churches look relatively similar to those of their neighbors who don’t know Christ or attend services of other faith practices. The magnifying glass gets put on the Southern Baptist Convention by the world even sharper when it states positions publicly which the majority of its attendees either don’t agree with or don’t practice in their everyday life. It seems the problem of the convention and its churches is not one of passion for those who don’t know Christ but an inability to help a majority of those who have met Him follow Him.
Every church should have a percentage of their congregation that are not practicing their faith well. We all grow at different rates and through different means. I also believe that growth best happens in our relationship with Christ as we seek to obey Him through fulfilling His mission in our spheres of influence and in this world. We should always have non- and nominal believers among us. But I think as we have focused on certain cultural issues, we have forgotten that personal growth leads to those outward manifestations. Rather than focusing on the cultural hot button issues I wonder if the Spirit is asking us to remind our members of His work of manifesting His fruit in each person’s life.
I am thankful for The Great Commission Task Force and their work. I see wisdom in their recommendation. My desire is for the Southern Baptists to realize that the heartbeat of God’s heart for the lost can only be maintained by those who are growing in a constantly maturing faith in Christ. That is where we as local pastors must do a better job at looking at what we are expecting of our people. We need to ask questions like:
One of the things that Southern Baptists are passionate about is helping those who don’t know Christ to meet Him. The history of missions and evangelistic effort in the convention bears this out. Even with the constancy of the heartbeat there seems to be a lack of growth of those who trust Christ and a lack of churches growing through involvement from men and women who have recently trusted Christ.
This is also compounded by the fact that statistically the lives of people in Southern Baptist churches look relatively similar to those of their neighbors who don’t know Christ or attend services of other faith practices. The magnifying glass gets put on the Southern Baptist Convention by the world even sharper when it states positions publicly which the majority of its attendees either don’t agree with or don’t practice in their everyday life. It seems the problem of the convention and its churches is not one of passion for those who don’t know Christ but an inability to help a majority of those who have met Him follow Him.
Every church should have a percentage of their congregation that are not practicing their faith well. We all grow at different rates and through different means. I also believe that growth best happens in our relationship with Christ as we seek to obey Him through fulfilling His mission in our spheres of influence and in this world. We should always have non- and nominal believers among us. But I think as we have focused on certain cultural issues, we have forgotten that personal growth leads to those outward manifestations. Rather than focusing on the cultural hot button issues I wonder if the Spirit is asking us to remind our members of His work of manifesting His fruit in each person’s life.
I am thankful for The Great Commission Task Force and their work. I see wisdom in their recommendation. My desire is for the Southern Baptists to realize that the heartbeat of God’s heart for the lost can only be maintained by those who are growing in a constantly maturing faith in Christ. That is where we as local pastors must do a better job at looking at what we are expecting of our people. We need to ask questions like:
- Do the systems and structures complement the work that the Spirit wants to do in the believer’s life or work against that work?
- Are we actively asking those who join us to follow in a deeper relationship which the god of self is being put to death?
- Are we actively engaging the needs of those around us where the world must stand up and give a response?
Labels:
Culture,
Discipleship,
Evalngelism,
Faith,
Missions,
Santification,
SBC
Monday, June 14, 2010
>From Death to Life
>My wife and I have great conversations on I-20. It happens because it is one of the few times we have uninterrupted moments to talk. It is through those uninterrupted times we will finally get to conversations beyond managing life to the deeper desires and dreams we have for our lives.
On our recent return trip, I broached a topic that I had wanted to talk about for a while. I knew it would not be easy but I also knew it would be well worth it after the fact. It centered on my desire to go back to school to pursue a doctorate.
She knew this was a desire I have had from other conversations. As I got into the conversation I remembered praying to God that He would let it go well. It went great! But it did not go the way I wanted. Through tears, a dream I had died.
It did not die because of lack of support or understanding. It died because, as my wife does so well in my life, truth came into focus. My dream was about chasing prestige and approval rather than anything else. It was painful to let go. It had been my little god for a while. But it was time to face the fact that it needed to be put to death. It did not die easily. It had been my focus and the object of my affection. But in the light of truth, the simplicity of its idolatry came to light.
God did not just remove the idol but replaced it with something better. The more we talked, the more I began to get a clearer picture of how giftedness, desire, and dreams might come together. It did not smooth away all the pain but it helped to provide hope and clarity to the process. It will be fun to see this new dream find its expression.
On our recent return trip, I broached a topic that I had wanted to talk about for a while. I knew it would not be easy but I also knew it would be well worth it after the fact. It centered on my desire to go back to school to pursue a doctorate.
She knew this was a desire I have had from other conversations. As I got into the conversation I remembered praying to God that He would let it go well. It went great! But it did not go the way I wanted. Through tears, a dream I had died.
It did not die because of lack of support or understanding. It died because, as my wife does so well in my life, truth came into focus. My dream was about chasing prestige and approval rather than anything else. It was painful to let go. It had been my little god for a while. But it was time to face the fact that it needed to be put to death. It did not die easily. It had been my focus and the object of my affection. But in the light of truth, the simplicity of its idolatry came to light.
God did not just remove the idol but replaced it with something better. The more we talked, the more I began to get a clearer picture of how giftedness, desire, and dreams might come together. It did not smooth away all the pain but it helped to provide hope and clarity to the process. It will be fun to see this new dream find its expression.
From Death to Life
My wife and I have great conversations on I-20. It happens because it is one of the few times we have uninterrupted moments to talk. It is through those uninterrupted times we will finally get to conversations beyond managing life to the deeper desires and dreams we have for our lives.
On our recent return trip, I broached a topic that I had wanted to talk about for a while. I knew it would not be easy but I also knew it would be well worth it after the fact. It centered on my desire to go back to school to pursue a doctorate.
She knew this was a desire I have had from other conversations. As I got into the conversation I remembered praying to God that He would let it go well. It went great! But it did not go the way I wanted. Through tears, a dream I had died.
It did not die because of lack of support or understanding. It died because, as my wife does so well in my life, truth came into focus. My dream was about chasing prestige and approval rather than anything else. It was painful to let go. It had been my little god for a while. But it was time to face the fact that it needed to be put to death. It did not die easily. It had been my focus and the object of my affection. But in the light of truth, the simplicity of its idolatry came to light.
God did not just remove the idol but replaced it with something better. The more we talked, the more I began to get a clearer picture of how giftedness, desire, and dreams might come together. It did not smooth away all the pain but it helped to provide hope and clarity to the process. It will be fun to see this new dream find its expression.
On our recent return trip, I broached a topic that I had wanted to talk about for a while. I knew it would not be easy but I also knew it would be well worth it after the fact. It centered on my desire to go back to school to pursue a doctorate.
She knew this was a desire I have had from other conversations. As I got into the conversation I remembered praying to God that He would let it go well. It went great! But it did not go the way I wanted. Through tears, a dream I had died.
It did not die because of lack of support or understanding. It died because, as my wife does so well in my life, truth came into focus. My dream was about chasing prestige and approval rather than anything else. It was painful to let go. It had been my little god for a while. But it was time to face the fact that it needed to be put to death. It did not die easily. It had been my focus and the object of my affection. But in the light of truth, the simplicity of its idolatry came to light.
God did not just remove the idol but replaced it with something better. The more we talked, the more I began to get a clearer picture of how giftedness, desire, and dreams might come together. It did not smooth away all the pain but it helped to provide hope and clarity to the process. It will be fun to see this new dream find its expression.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
>Hanging on too long
>I have just moved offices. One of the down sides to my new place is I am missing some file cabinet space. This moved me to go through my files and see what I needed to keep and what I could file in the trash.
I was amazed at the amount of stuff I did not need. There were files I had not used in 3 years. I kept thinking I will use this one day. I finally realized that I will not use it and it is time to unload it.
What is in your life that you are hanging on to thinking you will use it? Are you waiting too long to get rid of it? What is is costing you to hang on to that stuff?
I was amazed at the amount of stuff I did not need. There were files I had not used in 3 years. I kept thinking I will use this one day. I finally realized that I will not use it and it is time to unload it.
What is in your life that you are hanging on to thinking you will use it? Are you waiting too long to get rid of it? What is is costing you to hang on to that stuff?
Hanging on too long
I have just moved offices. One of the down sides to my new place is I am missing some file cabinet space. This moved me to go through my files and see what I needed to keep and what I could file in the trash.
I was amazed at the amount of stuff I did not need. There were files I had not used in 3 years. I kept thinking I will use this one day. I finally realized that I will not use it and it is time to unload it.
What is in your life that you are hanging on to thinking you will use it? Are you waiting too long to get rid of it? What is is costing you to hang on to that stuff?
I was amazed at the amount of stuff I did not need. There were files I had not used in 3 years. I kept thinking I will use this one day. I finally realized that I will not use it and it is time to unload it.
What is in your life that you are hanging on to thinking you will use it? Are you waiting too long to get rid of it? What is is costing you to hang on to that stuff?
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
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