ABSC Recap 2011

3 11 2011

It’s that time of year again.  The time of year when Arkansas Southern Baptists get together for our annual meeting.  Although you might not describe everything that takes place at these meetings as “action packed” overall it is always a good time for meeting and encouraging both new and old friends.

I don’t know the average number of messengers that attend these meetings but this year’s count was around 600.  Seems to be a little low for having the meeting in Little Rock (there’s something like 1500 SBC churches in Arkansas). I don’t know the median age for the messengers there but I’d guess that it was around 50-55 (not very many younger pastors ministers there).

This is only the 3rd annual meeting that I’ve attended and overall I’d say it was pretty average.  Don’t get me wrong, Arkansas Baptists are doing some great things around the state and it was encouraging to hear some of the reports from the different ministries that we are involved in, but I’m afraid that year after year we are being lulled to sleep.

For 3 years in a row I’ve heard a couple of challenging messages that were met with hardy amens from those attending. Yet, the honest truth of the situation is that we are in desperate need of revival.  I’m afraid of where we are headed as a denomination if things do not turn around.  We need leaders who have a zeal and passion for pursuing God.  We desperately need churches who will risk all to preach the true Gospel of Christ.

Once again, I’m not knocking this year’s meeting per se.  It was an average meeting.  But that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.  I know some may think I am being to harsh.  I am an avid supporter of the cooperative program and our great convention.  However, I believe we are in need of an act of our great God.  It’s only by His hand that we can be put back on the right track.  Arkansas Baptists, please don’t go to sleep.  There is a battle raging and the opportunity is now to make a difference.  But this is no easy task. One of the speakers at the convention made this statement: “Maximum results do not come from minimum efforts.”  It’s time that we put everything on the table.  Everything. 

Are we maximizing every dollar?  Do our prayer lives reflect the urgency of our day?  Are we willing to change and rearrange certain things? Are we willing to stand unapologetically by some of our traditions that are backed up by the Word of God? Are we satisfied or will we repent of our complacency and “go” no matter the cost?

Time will tell.


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What is the Gospel?

26 10 2011

What is the Gospel? I hope that you understand the Gospel clearly enough that you can articulate it in 60 seconds or less.  Obviously there are parts of the Gospel we could go into very deeply, studying tons of verses, that might take a long time to discuss.  However, the Gospel is simple enough for children to understand.  Here’s an outline of the Gospel: (the headings are used from Greg Gilbert’s book What is the Gospel?)

God the Righteous Creator: Genesis 1 tells us this story.  God created the heavens and the earth and everything in the universe, including mankind. He is Holy, Righteous, Loving, Just, etc….  God is.

Man the Sinner: God gave Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden the command to not eat of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil… They disobeyed.  Since Adam was our representative his curse is our curse.  It’s not that we are born perfect and then mess up, we are born as sinners! (cf. Romans 5).  Romans 3 tells us that “None is Righteous…” and that on our own, none of us seek God.  The Bible is clear that mankind, left to itself, is in a hopeless condition.  Everything we do is sin, and unable to please God.  We overlook our own sin and make ourselves into our own idols.  We worship everything that is not God: self, money, sex, T.V., power, fame, etc… We are totally depraved, meaning that we are not always as sinful as we could be, but that every single fiber of our being is tainted by sin.

Jesus Christ the Savior:  God is a Holy God, unable to fellowship with Sin.  There did not HAVE to be a Way made for salvation. God, justly so, could have left us in our sin to punish us for all eternity.  Because of our Sin we deserve an eternity of judgement.  However, in His compassion and grace and mercy He decided to make a way by sending His Son to die on the Cross as a substitute.  Jesus is God the Son.  Jesus lived the perfect life and then died our death.  He was our substitute!   He died on the Cross in our place  (Is. 53:5-6).  Because of our Sin there had to be a perfect sacrifice to make atonement.  Jesus was that sacrifice.  He drank the cup of wrath stored up for us.  Then, to exemplify His power over death, Hell, and the grave Jesus rose from the dead.  After 40 days He ascended to heaven to be with the Father and He is coming again soon in power and glory… (Romans 5 contrasts the first Adam and the second Adam- Christ). 

Our Response Faith and Repentance:  All this being said, what’s left? When God opens our eyes to the Gospel and the wonders of His infinite love, mercy and grace, it is our responsibility to respond with faith and repentance.  Jesus says “repent and believe” (Mark 1:15), and in the book of Acts the Apostles say “repent and believe”. So what must we do? Repent and Believe! (respond in faith and repentance). Faith means that you trust Christ alone for your salvation. It means that you acknowledge you are totally dependant upon Him for your salvation and the final righteous verdict.  It is by His righteousness that you can stand before God completely justified.  Let us not forget that faith is also trusting Christ not only as the King of the Universe, but also King of our lives (Lordship Salvation).  You move from being a slave to sin to a slave of Jesus! Repentance is where you acknowledge your sin and turn from it.  Repentance is not just acknowledging your “sins”, i.e. “I lie”, “I think bad thoughts”, etc., but acknowledging your Sin! That to the very core you are a sinner in need of a Savior.  “Turning” from our sin implies asking God to forgive our Sin and trusting that it has been paid for on the Cross. When God saves us the Bible tells us that we are a new creation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17) and that we will be known by our fruits (cf. Matt. 7:16).  Transformation is at the heart of the Gospel.  We go from being dead to being alive.  The good fruit that flows out of our Salvation is not what saves us, but what Christ Himself produces in us. Now, as Christians we live for the King, awaiting His triumphant return.

So, there’s the Good News! I know some of that would make a presentation a little longer than 60 seconds, but I felt there were a few things that you might have needed clarified.  For some of you reading this blog you might not be a Christian.  For the first time, God has opened your eyes to His truth.  If that’s you, what you’re left with, is the responsibility to respond to Him in repentance in faith.  It’s not some “magical” prayer or long process of using the right words and rituals.  Trust Christ.  Put your faith in Him as the King of kings (the God-man) who paid for your sin and died in your place.  Turn from your sin and your self in repentance.   God is merciful and mighty to save by His great Grace, but remember too, that God is just and will punish all sin.  For those who’ve been redeemed our price was paid on the Cross.  But for those with hard hearts who refuse to turn to Christ, God promises an eternity in Hell (the place He will carry out His righteous judgement), a place prepared for the Devil and his angels.


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How long should a church service be? Question 1

27 05 2011

In my last post on this topic (click here) I said that asking the question “how long should a church service be?” is really the wrong question.  The 1st question you must ask is this: Who are the services for?  This post seeks to answer that question…

Let’s just get to the point: Weekly gatherings are for Believers.  You will not find a shred of evidence in the New Testament that would suggest our regularly gatherings are for anyone but Believers.  Here are just a few verses to look up: Acts 2:46, Hebrews 10:25, Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2, and 1 Thess. 5:27. 

Automatically this should cause us to know/be reminded of several things:

1. Our service is geared towards the tastes and interests of Believers (not the World- i.e. I shouldn’t put a motorcycle on stage in hopes that more people will come)

2. Believers are characterized by a thirst and zeal for more of God and love for one another. (Psalm 63, 1 John 3:14).

3. Believers need regular fellowship with God and one another.

Now a word of caution: We must remember 3 things-

1. Believers will be on different maturity levels in their walk with Christ.

2. Some who claim to be Believers are not actually Believers.

3. Inviting lost people (or them just coming on their own) to our services is a good thing!

Again, we are seeking to answer the question “How long should church services be?” by answering the questions that really lay the foundation for that question.  If services are for the lost in the World then that would definitly change the way that we do things.  Hopefully, however, you see that they are not- the bible is clear that our weekly gatherings are for the Redeemed.

Next week we’ll seek to answer the question: “What are our weekly gatherings for?”


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Memorizing Scripture in 2011

28 12 2010

“I just don’t have a good enough memory to memorize Scripture.”

That’s the excuse we often give ourselves, others, and God for why we don’t memorize Bible verses.  Think for a moment about the stuff you actually do have memorized… How many songs do you know by heart?  How many phone numbers could you dial right now without looking at your contact list?  How many movies can you quote line by line?

The point is, God gave us an amazing memorization capacity.  You CAN memorize verses!  Psalm 119:11 says

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

For many of us our “verse bank” has insufficient funds!  When we need to make a withdrawal to combat sin in our lives there just isn’t anything there to work with.  I would write a little more about the necessity for memorizing Scripture, but John Piper has an excellent read on this subject: CLICK HERE to read what he says.

I will admit to you this is something that I struggle with too.  We need to discipline ourselves to memorize God’s Word!  Will you challenge yourself to do so in 2011?

Below is a link to a challenge I’m taking in 2011- Memorizing the book of Philippians.  Beginning in February we’ll start a series on the book of Philippians here at FBC so if you are a member here, this would be a good challenge for you to take too!  If you don’t attend FBC DeWitt, then I still think this will be worth your time… Check it out below:

Partnering to Remember the book of Philippians

I also found this website: http://scripturetyper.com/ I have not really looked at it much yet, but it seems that it may be a neat resource to use in your effort to memorize passages of Scripture.


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How to Read through the Bible in 2011 (and why you should)

27 12 2010

One bite at a time.  That’s the answer to the old riddle, “How do you eat an elephant?”.  I think it’s also the answer for Christians when it comes to the question, “How can I read through the entire bible?”.  Ok, so I don’t think we want to pull a Jeremiah and literally eat the Word of God, but when it comes to reading through the entire Bible in 2011 here’s how you’ll do it: One verse at a time.

One verse at a time.  Why is that so important to remember?  I think some Christians look at their Bible and feel so overwhelmed by its size and content that they lose the battle to read it in its entirety before they even get started with Genesis 1:1. 

The Bible is made up of 66 individual books, but it is also one grand story.  I’m not advising reading the Bible out of context or to zoom yourself in so closely to a single verse that you miss God’s amazing narrative.  What I am saying though is that the Bible is made up of books, and that the books are made up of chapters, and the chapters are made up of verses.  Keep this in mind as you plan to read through the Bible in 2011…

Do you really think it’s a must that Christians read through the entire Bible? What about all those genealogies? What about difficult books and passages?

What did Jesus say?   “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4).

How about the author of Hebrews:  “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (4:12)

And then of course Paul: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:16).

How can we live on every Word of God, if many of us haven’t even read every Word of God?  It’s amazing that we live in such a nation with such easy access to God’s Word and yet have become so ignorant as to what it says.

The goal is to not just read the Bible as a textbook.  Read it as Scripture! Read it for transformation!

So, what can you do? Start one verse at a time! Make a commitment right now to read through the Bible in its entirety in 2011.  Below are a few practical tips on how to do it, and some links to several Bible reading plans.

Tips:

1. Have a consistent time and place for Bible reading.  This is key!  Don’t just read when you find time, make time.

2. If you miss a day, or even a few days, don’t get discouraged.  Keep reading! One verse at a time!  And if you get to a day where you can read a little more to catch back up, do it.  And if you get to December 31, 2011 and you still have 1/4th of the Bible to read, just keep reading!  The goal is to read the whole Bible in 2011, and I hope you meet that goal, but the most important thing is that you do read through the entire Bible.  So, if it takes a little longer than a year for you, then so be it.

3. Pray.  Pray that God will open your heart to receive His Word.  Pray that He’ll give you the faith to apply His Word to your life.

4.  Don’t get discouraged about not being able to understand some passages.  I do believe that most of the BIble is pretty clear, but you will probably run across at least a few things that you may need to talk to a pastor about or consult some extra readings.  Don’t get bogged down on those passages, but don’t just dismiss them as incomprehensible either. (Sometimes a good study bible can help clear that up!  Here, here, here, and here are some I recommend).

Bible Reading Plans:

Bethlehem Baptist Bible Reading Plan (I used this in 2010.  You read a few chapters from different places in the Bible each day, and then have a few catch up days built-in at the end of each month).

Expository.org Bible Reading Plan (Similar to the plan above, but you’ll read the OT Chronologically)

OWNit365 Bible Reading Plan (This one’s pretty neat!  Gives you one day off each week. The other 6 days you’ll have 2 separate readings on your own, and one chapter to read with your family! Great way to begin Family Worship!)

Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading Plan (Probably not a plan for 1st time readers!  This plan is 10 chapters a day.  Click the link for more info.)

Create your own plan! The first time I read through the Bible I looked at the number of pages in my Bible and divided it by the time I wanted to finish reading.  So, if you want to read your bible in 365 days and it is 1075 pages you’ll need to read 3 pages a day (1075 divided by 365).

Also, if you haven’t heard about YouVersion, it’s worth checking out…

I hope you will commit to reading the entire Bible in 2011!


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Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?

8 12 2010

“Don’t be deceived: If u r able to go to church and don’t, u r either in sin or you’re not a Christian”

On November 30th 2010 I “retweeted” the above quote.  Since then I’ve had some questions and comments about this quote so I thought that I would write a little…

Where in the Bible does it say a Christian has to attend “church”? Aren’t we all the “Church?”
Yes the term church in the New Testament can mean the universal church.  It can also mean the church of a specific region. But also very specifically, it can (and does in many instances) mean the “local” church. Check out for example Philippians 1:1. Notice Paul addresses the Saints, Overseers, and Deacons of Philippi. He was writing to a local congregation that gathered regularly.

Secondly, think about church structure. There are Pastors, and deacons in churches. This is clearly taught in the New Testament. Hebrews 13:7 says “obey your leaders.”  Teachings and verses like this wouldn’t make sense if there was not a regularly gathered congregation.

In Acts 2 we see the church regularly gathering.  In Hebrews 10:25 we have a specific command to not forsake the times we meet together. Also,  in the New Testament world the idea of “being a Christian” and “not gathering together with the church” would not have made sense.  Now days we do have many “Christians” who claim to be adopted by God but don’t gather with His family. Now, I do agree that the church is NOT a building.  We should not say “I’m going to church today”.  We should say “I’m going to gather with the church today.”  But in our culture, “going to church” and “gathering with the church” have become synonymous, so I don’t think we’ll win that battle!

1 John 3:14 tells us that we know we have passed from death to life because we love the “brothers.”  This is not talking about cheap “I love you” with my words love either.  This means that we can’t truly love one another if we don’t ever see one another.

Now, is the church supposed to gather on a weekly basis? Several passages of Scripture not only indicate yes, but they also indicate what day!  Take for instance one of the first gathering of the disciples post-resurrection (cf. John 19-20).   Then we look in Acts and see the church gathering on the same day (Acts 20:7).  What day were they gathering? Sunday! The first day of the week- Sunday- the day Jesus rose from the grave.  See also 1 Cor. 16:2 where Paul instructs the church at Corinth to collect money on the 1st day of the week, and also notice in Revelation where John was shown many great wonders on the Lord’s Day (Sunday).

Paul instructs Timothy to “preach the word” and even tells him that one day people will still “gather” but with false teachers because they can’t take sound doctrine (cf. 2 Tim. 4:1-4). Another interesting verse is 1 Thess. 5:27 where Paul instructs the recipients of his letter to read that leader to all the brothers and sisters.  These things would be impossible without a time that the church regularly gathered.

Also, Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 14 talk about our spiritual gifts that we use when we are gathered.  What’s interesting about 1 Cor. 14 is that Paul goes on to detail for us some of the things that need to go on during worship together (1 Cor. 14:26-40).  The New Testament shows that God’s people gathered together in local congregations (that were led by Elders (Pastors)).  The Bible clearly commands God’s people to gather on a regular basis.

Finally, I’ll comment some more on Hebrews 10:24-25.  Just because you attend church does not mean you are actually fulfilling this commandment.  One may go to church and still be “forsaking” the assembly.  They may go to church begrudgingly or just for ulterior gains (power, political, etc.).  Also, one may be at home and not really be breaking the commandment given in these verses.  They may actually be unable to gather (sickness, unavoidable job situation, etc.).  The point is however, that the people of God desire to be with the people of God.  Those who are able, but don’t go to church are either living in sin, or not a Christian.


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The Good News

15 09 2010

“Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear Ye! All rebels, insurgents, dissidents, and protesters against the King! Hear the royal decree! A great day of reckoning is coming, a day of justice and vengeance.  But now hear this, all inhabitants of the King’s realm! Amnesty is herewith published by the mercy of your Sovereign.  A price has been paid.  All debts may be forgiven.  All rebellion absolved.  All dishonor pardoned.  None is excluded from this offer.  Lay down the weapons of rebellion, kneel in submission, receive the royal amnesty as a gift of imperial love, swear fealty to your Sovereign, and rise a free and happy subject of your King.”

From God is the Gospel by John Piper (pg. 19)

How can I be saved? Repent and Believe the Gospel! (Mark 1:15 – click here for more info)


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Where are the men?

1 09 2010

The middle school in the town that our church is in recently started a Christian club called “Impact”.  The club meets every Tuesday during the 2nd half of lunch.  I am excited about this idea and glad to see some Jr. High kids taking the initiative on beginning this club!

After going to the meeting however, I am somewhat concerned…

There were 27 students at the meeting! I personally felt that was a great number. The problem? 20 of those students were girls and only 7 were boys.  That’s roughly a 3:1 ratio.  I know that it was only one meeting and that to cite those numbers as statistical fact would be unwise, but still it got me thinking… Why such a low number of boys?

I believe it’s because we are losing our MEN in the church! The same day I went to “Impact” I also went to another “meeting”.  This meeting was for the DeWitt Touchdown Club and it was held at the High School practice field.  There were about 20 or so men from our community that showed up to encourage the Jr. and Sr. high football teams.

I personally do like football and am a member of the touchdown club.  I think athletics can teach young men a lot.  HOWEVER, why is it so easy to get men to encourage boys to play a game, but not encourage them to serve the living God?  It’s because slowly, but surely we’ve allowed distored teachings of biblical manhood to enter our churches.

 Where are the men who God has called to love their wives and disciple their children?

It is hard for some of us in ministry to teach biblical manhood because we’ve never been taught it ourselves! Are you practicing and teaching biblical manhood? Search the Scriptures! They are not silent!

I conclude with another link from the Connecting Church and Home conference (8/20-8/21/2010)… This is general session 2, Dr. Randy Stinson speaking about Biblical Manhood (definitely worth your time!): CLICK HERE


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No time to disciple our kids?

26 08 2010

I’ve been reading a lot about family-equipping ministry lately and I would like to quote a paragraph written by David Prince in a book coming out soon entitled: Trained in the Fear of God edited by Randy Stinson and Timothy Paul Jones.

In this chapter Prince says this about families that don’t have time for “family worship and daily conversations about God”…

“What if you think you are too busy for such things? Then perhaps you should ask yourself: do you eat? do you provide meals for your family? If so, you have just admitted that physical food is more important to you than spiritual food.  Do you watch television? If so, then you have declared entertainment a higher priority than worship.  Do you partake in extracurricular activities? If so, you are saying that recreation is more important than your  children’s spiritual well-being.  Do you sleep? If so, you are telling your children that comfort has a higher priority than godliness.  These are dangerous messages to communicate to children.”

I really don’t have anything worthy to add to that.  Wow.  May we as parents reexamine our priorities and really think about the message we are sending our kids by what we say and do…


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5 iPhone Apps (FREE!)

25 08 2010

I’ve seen several blogs lately about different apps people are using for their iPhone.  I thought I’d weigh in on the topic and list 5 apps that I use on a regular basis.

The best thing about the apps below is that they are all free! These are in no particular order…

1. Ligonier Ministries App: I love this app! I was thinking today about how much I’ve learned just by listening to some of the solid teaching offered through this app.  Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

2. Acts 29 App:  This app is similar to the Ligonier app and is another great resource for listening to sermons and reading blogs about the Acts 29 church planting network. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

3. ESV Bible: I actually don’t use this one all the time since I usually am around a hard copy of the Scripture, BUT this app comes in real handy when you are out without your Bible. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

4. SBTS App: This is the app of my current school, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  With this app you can watch chapel services, get announcements, and read the blogs of some of the professors at the Seminary. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

5. Mars Hill (Mark Driscoll) App:  Another great app for listening to sermons.  This app, like the Ligonier and SBTS app, stays very current with its messages. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

BONUS APP! iReformed: I had to add this app as a bonus because it costs $0.99.  This app gives you access to the shorter and longer Westminster catechisms and the Heidelberg catechism.  It also gives you access to the Apostles’ Creed, the Westminster confession, as well as other creeds and confessions. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

Hope one of those will come in handy and help grow you in Christ as they have helped me! God bless…


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