Chambers on Worship

I must take time to worship the Being Whose Name I bear.

- Oswald Chambers

Character

The Lord knows them that are his by name, but we must know them by their character.

Matthew Henry

The Faith of God's People, Luke 7-8

Faith Defined: Hebrews 11:1,6


Faith is the medium of exchange in the kingdom of heaven. We receive from God by faith. Faith is the greatest asset we have. Unbelief is the greatest stumbling block. Unbelief is the chief wickedness. Unbelief is the mother sin, the father sin, the parent sin. The sovereign God has limited Himself to work according to the faith, the belief of the people of God. – Adrian Rogers


Faith’s Reward:

Salvation (Ro. 5:1) The fullness of the Spirit (Gal. 3:14)
Victory over the world (1 Jn. 5:4) Victory over Satan (Eph. 6:16)
Sanctification (Acts 26:18) Confidence (1 Jn. 5:13-15)


Faith’s Source: Hebrews 12:2; Romans 10:17


All true biblical faith is rooted not only in knowing God but in hearing from the God that you know. In order to have faith, you must hear from God. You cannot know the will of God by guessing at it. You don’t generate it; it comes. God gives faith. No one can believe God unless God enables him to believe. How does that happen? God gives you a word. God speaks, and you believe it and receive it. – Adrian Rogers

The revelation of God, given in Christ, revealed in the Bible – that’s the logos. But there’s another word that is translated word, and that is rhema. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the rhema of God. Not the logos but the rhema. What does rhema mean? It means an utterance, a spoken word. We would call it a word from the Word. You take the Bible – the logos; and as you’re reading, the Bible begins to speak to you out of the Word of God. You get a rhema from the logos. You get an utterance from God, and God speaks to you, and you hear it in your heart. How does God speak? You’re reading the Bible or you’re praying, and God puts that portion in your heart. God says, “This is from me. It is all true, but this is specially from Me to you.” - Adrian Rogers


Faith Illustrated:


1. The Centurian exercises faith in Christ’s authority (7:1-10).


2. The widow experiences faith in the midst of hopeless circumstances (7:11-17).


3. John exercises faith in the midst of life’s disappointments (7:18-23).


4. John’s followers exercise faith in spite of humble means (7:24-35).


• Jesus’ perspective on a man of humble outward appearance: (28)
“there is none greater than John”
• they acknowledged that God’s way was right (29); they submitted to His lordship and accepted His rule
• some rejected God’s purpose for them (30, refusing to submit to God’s means and method because it was uncomfortable, inconvenient, and unpopular

When people reject God’s way, they will find fault with anything. It is not a rational choice. Their spirits become clouded by unbelief. What a terrible thing to reject God’s way. But those who submit to God’s way walk in wisdom. What a contrast between the religious leaders (who rejected God’s way) and the followers of John (who accepted God’s way).

Those who rejected God’s way chose comfort, convenience, their culture, and a religious club.


5. The sinful woman exercises faith by extravagant love (7:36-50).


6. The women exercise faith through changed lives (8:1-3).


7. The seed illustrates faith through hearing (8:4-18).


8. The Lord emphasizes faith by the habits of hearing and applying (8:19-21).


9. The disciples learn about faith in the midst of trouble (8:22-25).




Summing it Up: how to have a victorious faith

1. Be saturated with the Scriptures.
2. Be dedicated to the Savior.
3. Be separated from sin.
4. Be activated by the Spirit.

The Rockefeller Republican vs. The Reagan Conservative

Michael Reagan comments on Newt Gingrich as "the Ronald Reagan conservative."

Ronald Reagan's Eldest Son on Newt Gingrich

Reagan and Limbaugh blast Romney for his attacks on Gingrich.

Reflections by Willett

I thank God for bitter things;
They've been a 'friend to grace';
They've driven me from paths of ease
To storm the secret place.

I thank Him for the friends who failed
To fill my heart's deep need;
They've driven me to the Savior's feet,
Upon His love to feed.

I'm grateful too, through all life's way
No one could satisfy,
And so I've found in God alone
My rich, my full supply!

by Florence White Willett

Why I Support Newt Gingrich

The Presidential election of 2012 will be one of the most important ones in the history of our country. Newt Gingrich has repeatedly shared in talks that it will be the most critical election in terms of impact on our country since the election of 1860.

The United States of America is at an incredible crossroads. Many would like (and have tried diligently) to remake American into something she has not been historically. If you want more information about that, or if you doubt it, read Jim Demint's books Saving Freedom or The Great American Awakening or Newt Gingrich's book A Nation Like No Other.

Barack Obama and his far-left radical agenda must be stopped. I remember my wife and I sitting watching his speech in Chicago the night he was elected. I felt as if a dark cloud had just moved across the USA. As I watched Oprah and Jesse Jackson cry, I wanted to cry - but for very different reasons. At the time, however, I really did not know how little Obama appreciated American values, what a bad leader he was, nor the poor choices he would make for this country.

The fall of 2010 I began seriously hoping for one particular person to enter the race for the Republican nominee: Newt Gingrich. I was gladdened when earlier this year he did so and was very pleased with his positive campaign of solutions. Though I considered the other candidates, without question Gingrich stayed at the top of my list as the year (and debates) went on. Not that Gingrich is my ideal candidate - I don't think that person exists! But I believe Gingrich is the most electable candidate of the choices. And I believe he is the best person to lead our country.

Several people have asked me, "Why do you support Newt?" So here is my brief response.

1) Newt has a proven track record as a consistent conservative. He is without credible question a "Ronald Reagan conservative." He may have the best grasp on the conservative movement of any living American. I just heard his daughter Jackie speak in person this week. She shared of his first two (failed) attempts at being elected in Georgia in the 1970's and of his perseverance to keep going when most people thought he could not.

2) Newt understands American history. He understands what makes America, America. He understands what makes America work. And as he says, he understands the world that works versus the world that doesn't.

3) Newt, I believe, understands redemption from a Christian point of view. By his own testimony, he has shared again and again of his own moral failures. However, he has not stopped there. He has shared regularly of his own coming back to God in repentance, asking for forgiveness, learning about redemption, making amends with family members, and experiencing the grace and redemption of God. This week I asked his daughter Jackie about her perspective on this matter. She shared how the past ten years he has deepened in his relationship with God, has taken it more seriously than ever, and how she has seen him soften and exude godly qualities like patience and gentleness. (She also shared of his great love for his grandchildren!)

4) Newt is a thinker. He, in my opinion, has been the best debater among the Republican candidates. Drawing from a lifetime of experience, he knows how to engage with ideas, to come with facts, and to be a bear when necessary without being ugly. He can clearly communicate in a way that people can understand. Without question, he is the most qualified one to debate President Obama and talk circles around him.

5) Newt has already told us what he is going to do. His 21st Century Contract with America, a bold, fresh plan that exudes leadership, needs to be put into action! He even has a Day One Plan, including numerous executive orders he will sign his first day as President. That folks, is leadership, not just politics!

6) Newt has run a positive, solutions-oriented campaign. He has shown himself a statesman among the Republican candidates, refusing to run a negative campaign against his fellow Republicans. He consistently refused to attack others on the stage even when baited by the moderators. When other candidates were firing shots at each other, Newt was returning to the issues, speaking facts, and offering solutions.

7) Newt is a prolific writer and producer. He has given out his ideas for years in books and documentaries, which can be seen at Gingrich Productions. Our family has enjoyed his documentaries Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny and Rediscovering God in America.

8) Newt offers positive solutions for key issues facing America. He understands the problem with the judiciary in our country and the need to balance the power again in keeping with a Constitutional Republic.

9) Newt, without question, has the most legislative experience of any of the Republican candidates. The current presidency of Barack Obama suffers from a man who was elected with no practical experience. Let's not do that again.

10) Newt understands the historic relationship that America has with religion and in particular her Judeo-Christian heritage. He unashamedly explains that there has been a liberal agenda for years to "remove God" and that heritage from our country. He understands the foolishness of that and that to do is grossly un-American. He explains in detail in the first chapters of his book A Nation Like No Other that the rights of our citizens are grounded in one dominant fact: they were created in God's image by God himself.

Because of these reasons, I believe that Newt Gingrich is the most electable conservative candidate to help lead the United States of America toward a brighter future. He may indeed be an Esther who has been prepared by Providence his entire life for such a time as this.

Finally, some Christians seem to wrongly believe that pastors and Christian leaders in general have no business trying to influence politics or social agendas. Blasphemy! Those folks should be introduced to the historic Black Robe Regiment. In the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, we find two imperatives for God's people: multiplication and dominion. Multiplication involves what we call The Great Commission - the tasks of evangelism and disciple-making. Dominion, however, involves what we call The Cultural Mandate - redeeming and influencing the culture with the grace and truth of the Word of God. We need to engage the culture with the salt and light of Christ!

Newt's sign is in my yard and the sticker on my car! Go Newt!

Prayers for My Children from Daniel Chapter One

1. That they will be willing to stand alone when necessary.

2. That they will be motivated to do the right thing, not necessarily the easy or popular thing.

3. That they will be initiators.

4. That they will be holy.

5. That God will give them knowledge and understanding.

6. That they will be great learners.

7. That God will position them into places of influence.

This is Awesome

Gingrich slams the liberal, biased media at the opening of the Republican Debate in Charleston, South Carolina last night. He receives a standing ovation, of which newscasters say they can never remember that happening at the opening of a presidential debate.

Watch Newt tell them how tired he is of the liberal media attacking Republicans in order to protect Barack Obama.

Leadership vs. Discipleship

What do you do when your leadership principles seem to clash with your discipleship principles?

Well, I know the stock answer I have heard in several churches. "This is business, and we will handle this the business way." What that CAN mean is, "Now you are about to see the church respond and handle a situation in the FLESH!" When that happens, political processes replace biblical community, leaving excessive carnage.

Our leadership team at church just finished Bill Hybel's (leadership guru) book on that subject entitled When Leadership and Discipleship Collide.

What a fresh, honest, thought-provoking book!

I completed a doctoral thesis and years of research on the subject of how people who have been abused, misused, and mistreated by the church can heal and move forward positively. As a result, I learned a whole lot about the unbiblical approaches many people take to leadership in church work and ministry.

People take routes in the name of leadership that are sometimes shocking and breathtaking . . .

Like the pastor who wanted his church to relocate. They disagreed, so he paid his son to burn down the building!

Or the senior adult church librarian who disagreed with the senior pastor's leadership. As a result she was told that she was no longer needed as the librarian and that the library would be closed and turned into bathrooms! When her husband calmly went to the church to talk with the pastor, he was told to leave and that if he stayed they would call the police and have him arrested!

The pastor who had people write down the names of people who disagreed in business meetings with his ideas.

The senior pastor who taught his people that their job was to submit to him and obey him - even if he was wrong!

Or the denominational worker who came in to handle a church conflict between a staff and the senior pastor, and he and insisted that the women who worked in the church office were not allowed to discuss with their husbands what went on in the church office!! (That is a huge red flag, and it reeks of manipulation. The Bible says that a husband and wife are one flesh.)

Those are just a few of the many, many nauseating situations I have heard of, experienced, or read about.

I've seen or heard it too often. People decide to take an approach that works well in the military or even in the secular workforce. An, in order to handle conflict, we are going to get everyone 100% behind this person or thing - and anyone who gets in the way will be removed.

There is a problem with that, however. We are the Body of Christ - not the military! We have shepherds and spiritual leaders, not Donald Trumps! This is not the military nor a business. This is the Bride of Christ.

Hybels makes an excellent point:

In those rare cases when the human laws of leadership and the scriptural demands of discipleship do collide, decide on the side of discipleship every time. Decide on the side of discipleship every single time. Trust the promptings of the Holy Spirit, for they will help you at these deadly intersections.

Much of the published leadership literature these days has come from secular leaders in secular arenas. While we can learn a lot from people in business and athletics and government and the military and so on, we cannot forget that, ultimately, Christians - in whatever arena they lead - are trying to build God's kingdom. From time to time, leadership lessons from the secular world do not translate well into the arena of kingdom building, and, as ministry leaders, we must remember that our operating values and our ultimate marching orders come from only one book - a book that is God-breathed, Spirit inspired, perfect in its content, unchanging in its ability to transform lives.

When the demands of discipleship articulated in the Bible collide with human laws of leadership, read my lips: Defer to the Bible. Trust the Bible. And obey the Bible . . . every time.

So, our leadership team has discussed since reading this short book, how might we be tempted to choose leadership over discipleship?

Quotation of the Day

Even active students receive only forty hours or so of biblical instruction from their churches. Parents, on the other hand, have more than 3000 hours a year in which they’re constantly “teaching” their children in some way! Our church recognized that—if we wanted to see an emerging generation that loves God with everything in them—we would have to redirect our ministry’s time and energies toward equipping parents to impress truth in their children’s lives day-by-day.

- Jay Strother

Thoughts on the Family-Equipping Model

In the Family-Equipping Ministry Model, many semblances of age-organized ministry remain intact. In some cases, the family-equipping church might even retain a youth minister or a children’s minister. Yet church leaders plan every ministry to champion the place of parents as primary disciple-makers in their children’s lives, asking at every level of the church’s ministry, “How can we best equip families to become fundamental units of discipleship and evangelism?” At the same time, parents recognize the church as a community that’s been called to participate actively in the discipleship of all believers, including children. The church equips parents to disciple their children, and the parents recognize the church as an active partner in this process. Whereas family-based churches develop intergenerational events and activities within current structures, family-equipping ministry reworks the church’s entire structure to call parents to disciple their children at every level of the church’s ministry. Every aspect of the congregation’s life consciously “co-champions” the church’s ministry and parental responsibility.

In many ways the family-equipping model represents a middle route between the family-integrated and family-based models. Semblances of age-organized ministry remain intact in family-equipping contexts. Many family-equipping churches even retain youth ministers and children’s ministers. Yet every practice at every level of ministry is reworked to champion the place of parents as primary disciple-makers in their children’s lives. Because parents are primary disciple-makers and vital partners in family-equipping ministry, every activity for children or youth must resource, train, or directly involve parents.

To envision the family-equipping model in action, imagine a river with large stones jutting through the surface of the water. The river represents the Christian growth and development of children in the church. One riverbank signifies the church, and the other riverbank connotes the family. Both banks are necessary for the river to flow forward with focus and power. Unless both riverbanks support the child’s development, you are likely to end up with the destructive power of a deluge instead of the constructive possibilities of a river. The stones that guide and redirect the river currents represent milestones or rites of passage that mark the passing of key points of development that the church and families celebrate together.

- Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Powerful Church Prayer Meetings Handout

Biblical Patterns for Powerful Church Prayer Meetings
From the booklet by Dr. Gregory Frizzell



Corporate prayer is God’s primary pattern for sweeping evangelism and
revival.


Why the intense prayer of previous generations?

1.Their deep belief that intense corporate prayer was essential to meeting God in revival and widespread evangelism.

2.They were experienced at meeting God in powerful prayer meetings.

3.Former generations exhibited intense spiritual hunger and a deep desperation to seek God’s face.



Especially in the New Testament, God’s absolute ‘essential’ for His Presence and Power to radically change lives, cities, and whole nations, is believing, obedient, and corporate prayer! The churches were devoted to their Lord and therefore to corporate prayer, and experienced God’s mighty activity as they prayed. Every time of prayer was a crucial time before God.
- Henry Blackaby



What were the historic patterns of corporate prayer and how have we changed from generations of great revival and evangelism?

1. Prayer meetings focussed on lost people, personal repentance, revival and missions.
2. Until the 20th century, prayer meetings were primarily led by lay people.
3. People spent the majority of time praying.
4. Prayer meetings were not confined to brief time slots or crowded into other activities.
5. Church prayer meetings involved whole families.
6. Prayer meetings contained strong emphasis on personal repentance and confession.
7. Fasting was a frequent emphasis. The first 300 years of Baptist history held a common emphasis on fasting among serious believers.
8. Prayer meetings were characterized by great fervency and inspiring testimonies.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that modern prayer meetings are extremely different from the churches of the great awakenings. But, believers, we should take hope. Through God’s grace our prayer meetings can change! Based on scripture and history, corporate prayer is not only the biblical thing to do, it is the most practical thing we can do! Like nothing else, God used prayer to release His supernatural presence in church discipleship, evangelism, and missions. Beyond question, God’s supernatural power is the desperate need of our day.

Newt's Highlights from SC's Debate Monday Night

Watch them here.

21st Century Contract with America

America needs this bold plan.

Standing Ovation in South Carolina

Newt brings the house UP Monday night in Myrtle Beach at the debate. It's the first time this has happened since Ronald Reagan in 1980. View it here. Awesome answer!

Newt in South Carolina Interviewed by Hannity

View it here.

LaHaye Letter to South Carolina Pastors

Tim LaHaye, author of the famous Left Behind series, joins Newt's Gingrich Faith Leaders Coalition as the national co-chair. LaHaye sends a letter to South Carolina pastors.

Tim and Bev LaHaye Endorse Gingrich

Read it here.

My Children's Drawings of Newt Gingrich from the Town Hall Meeting at The Newberry Opera House

Quotation of the Day

Is there grass on your prayer-trail?

ACTS Ministry Plan

Yesterday Wayne Traverse, Donald Thompson, and I spent the day at a training event at Forestville Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. The ACTS: A Church that Serves Ministry Plan is the best infrastructure plan in order to sustain ministry, reduce bureaucracy, and unleash people to do ministry that I have seen. Marhsall Fagg was the senior pastor at Forestville who basically originated the idea, and Paul Fleming helped him much in the implementation.

Five years ago I attended the conference, was deeply impressed, and hoped to be able to transition the church I then served toward that plan. Instead, five years later I am pastoring a new church and wondering how this great plan may fit into our future.

One of the exciting things about starting a new church is that you start without organizational baggage. You don't have years of tradition working against you. You don't have to change a power structure that impedes or suppresses ministry. You have lots of flex room to prayerfully consider, What does God want here? and What process will best enable ministry to take place?

In a paper I wrote entitled Church Structure: Organize Around Your Mission, I state the following:

Bill Hull writes in We Must Sacrifice the Forms for the Function, “The mentality of the present system is management, not leadership. Its focus is maintenance, not mission. And its result is restriction, not release. The solution is to think function, not form. If the church desires to move people toward mission instead of toward institutional maintenance, a new administrative model is needed.” Hull advocates a “ministerial congregationalism supported by a streamlined administrative congregationalism.” In other words, empower the congregation to do ministry while empowering appropriate individuals to make decisions in their various areas. The balance of the system is accountability: “The three loci of power in the church – the congregation, leaders, and staff – must provide checks and balances, which facilitate mission.”

Empower people on ministry teams and committees to make decisions regarding their respective areas: “Delegating decisions nurtures a feeling of ownership and openness. It makes the church more grass-roots in practice, with those close to the action making the decisions. Those working within their sphere of ministry are endowed with the responsibility and the authority.” When appropriate, they too come to the congregation for input and approval. Every decision does not have to be discussed with the entire congregation. Instead, use congregational discussion times for sharing what they sense to be leadership from the Lord and sharing about things that affect the entire body.

Forestville's ACTS plan does just that.

Gingrich and the Power of Vision

Newt Gingrich and the Power of Vision

Your Family

So stirring are the words of Jesus. Through the years I have been impacted many times by how different is his perspective than our own - and certainly than the religious crowd of his day. (That is why Philip Yancey called his personal study of the gospels The Jesus I Never Knew.)

Many times his perspective challenges and cuts through the natural thought-processes of our day. So it is in Luke 8. Jesus has been ministering and generating crowds. For some reason unknown to us, his mother and brothers wanted to see Jesus to talk with him. Now remember, this is not a reprobate or a Pharisee - this is Mary of whom we just thought a lot about during December. Gentle, sweet Mary.

So Mary and the boys can't get into the house where Jesus is due to the crowd, so they send word through someone else (maybe they passed a note - I don't think they could have texted). And someone tells Jesus, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you (20).

Jesus then takes the opportunity to teach a kingdom principle. He uses the situation not to answer as they expected, but instead to share some of His thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9; Psalm 139:17). He simply replies, My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice.

That's a mouthful in one sentence. Coming off of the Christmas season, you have probably had time with your blood family. You may have seen aunts, cousins, grandparents, grandchildren, etc. I enjoy sending and receiving cards from extended family members in December that I may not see or hear from the rest of the year.

No doubt the Bible says that our family of origin is important. The Bible is clear that, as much as it depends on us, we should strive to honor our parents. Sometimes in the New Testament, families would come to faith together.

However, Jesus states a fresh kingdom principle - in God''s eyes our family are those people who accept God's Word and obey it - people who follow Jesus. The Bible states that in heaven, we will not be married - we won't be connected in the same family ties that we are on earth. I don't think that means that we won't know those people in a special way, but we will be bound by something greater than biological blood and genes. We will be bound by the blood of Jesus Christ - our elder brother and the firstborn among many.

It also should challenge us to reach out and include members of the body of Christ who may not have a lot of extended family members. We need to bring them into the party and treat them as the family members they are to us - part of the family of Jesus.

How are you doing relating to your spiritual family?

Every Day

I came across a new study of an old truth. Did you know how important it is for you to spend time reading God's Word daily? Turning everything else off and spending time with Him?

Brad Waggoner, a researcher for Lifeway Christian Resources, recently wrote a book entitled The Shape of Faith to Come. He explains in detail that when church members read the Bible every day they are more likely to demonstrate spiritual growth in a number of areas:

•To be active in a small group or Sunday School class for Bible study and fellowship.
•To spend greater time in prayer.
•To attend worship services regularly.
•To share their faith more often.
•To be involved in local ministries and missions.
•To give more generously to the church.

Jack Hayford, a pastor whom I have respected much through the years, challenges pastors to focus on growing big people rather than growing a big church. He says that, essentially, if you willl grow big people (strong disciples of Jesus who are abiding in the Word and filled with the Spirit), then God will help you to grow out numerically. It will be a natural by-product of growing big people.

The Spring will only be the people God wants if we are reading God's Word daily.

Thom Rainer shares, "Too many times we think of local church discipleship as a program where church members meet at a specific time. Ultimately, though, discipleship is really about becoming more like Christ. And we become more like Him as we read and study His Word. The Bible is inspired by the Spirit, so it is transformative for the believer."

How much time are you spending in a week in God's Word? What is shaping you and your decisions more - the culture around you, your own feelings, the opinions of those around you - or the Word of God?

Go Newt!

We need a Ronald Reagan conservative, not a Massachusetts Moderate.

My Favorite Things . . .

As I look back upon 2011, here are a few of my favorite things!

Favorite (Serious) Books I Read

1. A Nation Like No Other by Newt Gingrich

2. Second Guessing God: Hanging on When You Can't See His Plan by Brian Jones

3. One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer

4. Tell Your Heart to Beat Again by Dutch Sheets

5. The Church Awakening by Charles Swindoll

7. Courage and Consequence by Karl Rove

8. Original Intent: The Courts, The Constitution, and The Law by David Barton

9. Seeking Daily the Heart of God by Boyd Bailey


Favorite (Just for Fun) Books

The Summons by John Grisham

The Broker by Grisham

The Last Juror by Grisham

The Appeal by Grisham


Favorite New Movies of 2011

Cars 2

The Muppets

Favorite Family Entertainment at Home

Anne of Green Gables

The Road to Avonlea

Favorite Thing to Follow in the News

Newt Gingrich's campaign


Favorite Family Fun

1. Playing at home in our yard and with our yard toys (treehouse, swings, playhouse, barn, and trampoline).

2. Dollywood

3. Playing at the beach.


Favorite Purchases of 2011

1. Treehouse and swings for the kids
2. Deck for Tracey


Favorite Moments with Church

1. Praying with friends while planning and preparing for the new church.
2. Wednesday morning breakfasts with friends.
3. Our covenant-signing service in September.



Favorite Music I Enjoyed this Year

Wintley Phipps

Hillsong Live

The St. Olaf Choir

Dolly Parton

Alabama

Randy Travis

Larnelle Harris

Sandi Patty

Favorite Things that Fill Me When I am not Working!

1. Spending time with my family.
2. Writing and working on a book proposal.
3. Reading about law, politics, and the judiciary.
4. Following the political road to 2012.

Presidents and Christmas

Read here how some past Presidents celebrated Christmas.

Poem for Christmas

I came across this magnificent poem by Rod Jellema today . . .

Take a Chance

If you cancel the trip to Innesfree
because it's raining, you may miss the quick
red rage of a torn leaf
before it gentles itself onto the quiet pool.

The tests warned him that his exceptional mind
was weakest for doing math, so math
is what he took up with holy awe,
forcing his dazzled way to insight.

If you always leave a nightlight burning
because as a child you got fearfully lost,
turn it off. The lights far out in the dark
are sending lifelines you never imagined.

The New Age seers, tracking the fates, may tell you
no - but take a chance. Just maybe that old
unbelievalble Yahweh really did imprint you
with enough God Image to make you free to leap.

- in his book A Slender Grace

The Black Robe Regiment

Did you know that the British saw the clergy in the USA as being largely responsible for the ideas behind American independence and that the clergy for two decades had preached the main ideas that led to the Declaration of Independence? So much so that the British gave the American clergy a backhanded name - The Black Robe Regiment.

Ministers were at the forefront of social and political issues of the day. David Barton says, "If it was in the news it was covered in the pulpit. They gave a biblical viewpoint of every issue of the day."

How different today when so many people want to keep the clergy and the church from speaking to social-political issues. I wonder today how many in the clergy would deserve the title The Black Robe Regiment?

Barton writes, "In short, history demonstrates that America's elective governments, her educational system, and many other positive aspects of American life and culture were the product of Biblical-thinking Christian clergy and leaders. Today, however, as the influence of the clergy has waned, many of these institutions have come under unprecedented attack and many of our traditional freedoms have been significantly eroded. It is time for America's clergy to understand and reclaim the important position of influence they have been given. As the Rev. Charles Finney - a leader of the Second Great Awakening - reminded ministers in his day:

Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree. If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it. Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren; but let us lay it to heart, and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation. [100]

America once again needs the type of courageous ministers described by Bishop Galloway:

Mighty men they were, of iron nerve and strong hand and unblanched cheek and heart of flame. God needed not reeds shaken by the wind, not men clothed in soft raiment [Matthew 11:7-8], but heroes of hardihood and lofty courage. . . .And such were the sons of the mighty who responded to the Divine call. [101]

It is time to reinvigorate the Black Robed Regiment!"

You can read the entire article here.

Where's the Spirit and Guts?

It is in the Newt Gingrich campaign. Read these comebacks he has given in his debates, and make sure and watch the last video clip when he puts it right back to Scott Pelley. One thing I admire of Newt in the debates is that he is not intimidated. He speaks with the great calm confidence of a seasoned statesman.

No Attacks, Please!

I signed the petition. We need a positive Republican campaign, not one filled with negative attacks. View it here.

Positive Gingrich Ad

Watch it here.

The Characters of Christmas

The Characters of Christmas
Luke 2:21-40

Joseph and Mary (21-24,39)
• They knew and obeyed the revealed, written law of the Lord.
• They desired their child to be consecrated.
• Their worship cost them something.


Simeon (25-35)

The adoration and prophecy of Simeon is rich in spiritual suggestion. This spectator kept the lamp of prophecy burning when religion was at a low ebb in Israel. Simeon means “one who hears and obeys” and this saintly Simeon knew the voice speaking in the prophets of old and obeyed the light he saw.
- All the Men of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer


Verse 25 shows us four qualities of Simeon’s life:

1. He was a righteous man.
2. He was a devout man.
3. He expected the Lord; He was waiting on the Lord.
4. He was a man of the Holy Spirit.


A person of the Holy Spirit will be marked by the following:

- The Spirit will be on/in him (Ro. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 12:13);.
- He will walk in the spirit of revelation (Ep. 3:5; Da. 2:28-30; Mt. 11:25; 1 Cor, 2:7-10; Ac. 13:2).
- He will be moved by the Spirit (Ac. 6:3; 11:24; 16:6; 2 Pe. 1:21; Gal. 5:16- 18; Ro. 7:6; 8:14).

5. Simeon experiences the Providence of God (27).
6. Simeon experiences the Keeper of promises (29).
7. Simeon moves in the spirit of prophecy (29-32).


The spiritual gift of prophecy is the divine ability to read, hear, and understand what God says and communicate that truth in a clear, compelling, and convicting way under God’s anointing. They speak for a particular time, situation, or circumstance for they know they have a timely message from God. The prophet stays on his knees before God, God burdens them, and, sometimes spontaneously, they speak according to what God gives them by His Spirit and according to His Word.

A prophet is one who knows his time and what God is trying to say to the people of his time. Today we need prophetic preachers; not preachers of prophecy merely, but preachers with a gift of prophecy. The word of wisdom is missing. We need the gift of discernment again in our pulpits. It is not ability to predict that we need, but the anointed eye, the power of spiritual penetration and interpretation, the ability to appraise the religious scene as viewed from God's position, and to tell us what is actually going on. Where is the man who can see through the ticker tape and confetti to discover which way the parade is headed, why it started in the first place and, particularly, who is riding up front in the seat of honor? If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation it must be by other means than any now being used. If the church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting.

Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many) he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the church, and it is my belief that the one gift we need most now is the gift of prophecy. – A. W. Tozer in The Gift of Prophetic Insight


How we need in this day of shaky values and shady ethics those who will bring a genuine message from God that will call for turning from sin and finding purpose for living according to the will and Word of the Lord.
- Charles Swindoll


3 common manifestations of the gift of prophecy:
1. Preaching and teaching
2. Speaking (warnings, exhortations, instructions, consolations)
3. In and through the ministry of intercession


Anna (36-38)
• Anna’s life is marked by hardship (36).
• Anna’s life is marked by worship (37).
• Anna’s life is marked by intercession (37).


Lessons Learned from the Characters of Christmas

1. We must be obedient to the Word of God.

2. We must develop faithfulness in the mundane.

3. We must walk in the reality of the Holy Spirit.

4. We must wait for the Lord to fulfill His purposes and His promises.

Though Dead, He Still Speaks

A. W. Tozer . . .

The Gift of Prophetic Insight

Very Good Article

Why is the Tea Party lining up with Newt Gingrich?

Laurens County Tea Party

I was very glad this week to hear that the Laurens County Tea Party (I live in Laurens County) has now endorsed Newt Gingrich. Actually, this week both the LCTP and the Myrtle Beach Tea Parties made national news with their endorsements. Our friend Dianne Belsom, the leader of the LCTP, received calls from reporters all over the country.

Read their endorsement here.

White Paper on Restoring the Judicial Branch to its Rightful Role

See Fox debate clip when Newt slams activist judges.

Read Newt's white paper on "Bringing the Courts Back Under the Constitution."

Not a Judicial Dictatorship!

Newt on Hannity after the Iowa debate. Go Newt!

Newt on Constitutional History

The place of the judiciary in American history.

Quotation of the Day

Prayer is foundational; prayer is not supplemental. God’s people need to learn to pray. We miss so many things necessary for the spiritual victory that God would gladly provide if we would come to Him in prayer. If the church wants to succeed in its God-given mission, its leadership must realize that one of its greatest needs is more prayer meetings, not more planning meetings. If the monthly leadership meetings would give more time to praying than to planning, leaders would soon find changes in attitude, in perspective in ministry, and in results.

– Donald McDougall, Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically

An Open Letter to My Mother on My Parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary

November 18, 2011

Dear Ma-Ma,

I am thankful today as I reflect that 50 years ago you and Dad were married. I looked on the internet and found that in 1961 postage stamps cost 4 cents, JFK was inaugurated, Carry Back won the Kentucky Derby, West Side Story was adapted for the big screen, and Patsy Cline released her song Crazy!

I think of a lot of people who would have been at your wedding – Mom-ee and Pa-Pa, Frances and Emily, Dad’s parents, and high school and college friends.

Lots of good memories come to my mind. Many more than can be penned. I am thankful for the security of my childhood home that gave me the foundational grace and strength to stand through the storms of life as an adult. You all instilled in me that family was very important. I never doubted if you and Dad loved and cared for me. You took time to develop a relationship with me and eventually with my friends. I knew that I was a vital part of your lives – not just someone passing through. You and Dad both took time to spend with me and let me know that I was important. And you both communicated your love for me, of which I am grateful. As I became a pastor and began working with men, it surprised me to discover how many grown men have never been hugged by their father nor ever been told the ever-important words from their father, I love you. I cannot recall one night I lived with you and Dad that you both did not touch me and tell me that you loved me.

You all instilled in me the need to love and respect God, to believe His Word, and to be involved with the church. We talked about the Lord, the Bible, and church so often around our supper table. I distinctly remember you and I sitting one dark night at our kitchen table in Henderson with a children’s story Bible while you told me the story of Old Testament Joseph. The lesson from his life, that God is always with us, has carried me through many highs and lows in my adulthood. I have so many pleasant memories related to church and our friends from church. Those were great, happy times for me that I enjoy recalling and reliving in my thoughts. I remember your impacting my friends in high school as you taught the girls in Sunday School.

I remember so many wonderful holiday memories – Easters, birthdays, anniversaries, Halloweens, Thanksgivings, and Christmases. The house was always ablaze with Christmas decorations in December. I remember enjoying our advent season, particularly when school got out and we were home.

You also modeled for me to have a lifestyle of showing compassion to other people and to use your life to serve your fellow man. I saw in you that life was not just about making self happy but about reflecting God and giving to others. Many times I can recall your taking time to share what you had with others and get involved in their needs.

You worked so hard to provide for me. I know that was very difficult at times, and it did not go unnoticed. Thank you for the sacrifices you made in order to give me a good start on life. In part it gave me a great sense of responsibility to make good choices and invest my life wisely. According to the Gallup organization’s StrengthsFinder, one of my top five natural strengths is “responsibility.” I know you modeled that well for me.

You all embraced Tracey when she won my heart, and you both showed interest and love for her. And when our children came along, you exhibited great love and joy for them. It has brought me much pleasure through the years to see the joy that you all had in our children. I distinctly remember all of us being together at the hospital when Hendrix was born. A snapshot in my memory is walking out of the operating room holding Hendrix with you, Dad, Karen, and Ray looking on. Anna-Frances has so enjoyed spending time with Amma. Moose Keller told me a few years ago that Dad’s daily topic of conversation at breakfast was “Dawson.”

Finally, you specifically exhibited two qualities worth remembering. One, you prayed so consistently for my life, my friends, and eventually my own family. Thank you for your labor of love and ministry of intercession. I have no doubt that your prayers enabled me to make many good choices and have a relatively smooth voyage into adulthood. I value your prayers for my children as they grow up in a culture hostile to the Judeo-Christian value system. And two, you modeled for me perseverance in the midst of trials and disappointments. You were often like the Energizer Bunny that took a licking but kept on ticking! As Twila Paris sang, the warrior is a child who keeps running back when she falls down. You showed me how to cope with difficulty, trust God in the face of heartache, and hang on when your world is shaken. Those are very important qualities worth remembering.

Happy Anniversary! I am glad that you all were my parents.

Much love,

Rhett

Since last fall, Newt Gingrich has been my choice for the Republican nominee for President. I wonder if he has not been prepared by the Almighty his entire life to lead our country for such a time as this. Currently, Newt leads the polls.

Hilarious!!!

Don't know where this started, but it is so funny!!! A letter from a Boy Scout at camp to his mother . . .

Dear Mom,

Our scout master told us all write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and worried. We are OK. Only 1 of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened. Oh yes, please call Chad's mother and tell her he is OK. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search & rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.

Scoutmaster Webb got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will blow up? The wet wood still didn't burn, but one of our tents did. Also some of our clothes. John is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Webb gets the car fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked OK when we left. Scoutmaster Webb said that a car that old you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance on it. We think it's a neat car. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the tailgate. It gets pretty hot with 10 people in a car. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrolman stopped and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Webb is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Terry how to drive. But he only lets him drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any traffic. All we ever see up there are logging trucks.

This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Webb wouldn't let me because I can't swim and Chad was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood. Scoutmaster Webb isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets.

He has to spend a lot of time working on the car so we are trying not to cause him any trouble. Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Dave dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Also Wade and I threw up. Scoutmaster Webb said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken, he said they got sick that way with the food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and become our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time.

I have to go now. We are going into town to mail our letters and buy bullets. Don't worry about anything. We are fine.

Love, Cole

Why Gingrich Could Win

Read it here from the Wall Street Journal.

Incredible Article for Parents

4 Mistakes I Made as a Dad by Thom Rainer

Don't Believe the Lie!

Many folks believe the lie that pastors are not allowed to endorse or oppose political candidates.

Matthew Staver, attorney, writes, "Liberal groups seek to silence pastors and churches. I would encourage pastors to throw off their muzzle and pick up a megaphone. It's time pastors and churches became the moral conscience of the community."

Read the Political and Legislative Guidelines for Pastors and Churches.

Read the article, Pastors, Churches, and Politics to learn more about our freedoms!

Newt's 21st Century Contract with America

Since the beginning of this year, Newt Gingrich has been my choice for the Republican nominee. Read about his 21st Century Contract with America.

Quotation of the Day

If when God said "Go," you stayed because you were so concerned about your people at home, you robbed them of the teaching and preaching of Jesus Christ Himself. When you obeyed and left all the consequences to God, the Lord went into your city to teach; as long as you would not obey, you were in the way. Watch where you begin to debate and to put what you call duty in competetion with your Lord's commands.

- Oswald Chambers

Spiritual Heroes

Hebrews 6:12; 12:1; 2 Tim. 3:14

We need our spiritual heroes; we need our spiritual examples; we need those who encourage us in the hope that a consistent discipleship is possible; we need those whose own spiritual consistency is commended to us by the testimony of history.
- John Calwell, The Communion of the Saints

In the seventh century, the Church created a holiday to honor God and all His saints. The church chose November 1 for this holiday hoping to replace pagan festivals that took place on that date and involved the spirits of the dead. This celebration is known as the feast of All Saints or All Hallows. On All Hallows, the church remembers the "great cloud of witnesses" described in Hebrews 12 who have gone before us and are now with the Lord. In 1484, November 1 was declared a holy day of obligation: The faithful were required to attend Mass, in addition to fasting the night before. That is, they fasted on the Eve of All Hallows, from which we get the word Halloween. The Feast of All Hallows provides a link between what is known as the church triumphant--that is, those who are with Christ, and the church militant--members of the church still struggling on earth. Christians remember that God has been faithful to His promise to preserve His Church in the midst of even the most trying circumstances. Christians could also use All Hallows Eve to reacquaint their kids with Halloween's Christian origins.
– Bump in the Night by Charles Colson


I. The Inspiration of Godly Encouragers (1)

a) Noah ran against popularity (11:7)

Noah was called to preach and to build. Preaching was probably more difficult than the building. Hard jobs are always easier to deal with than hard people. – Johnny Hunt

b) Abraham ran against security and uncertainty (11:8-10)

Hebrews 11:1-2 is faith’s definition; Hebrews 11:8-10 is faith’s demonstration

c) Moses ran against prosperity (11:24-27)

Moses chose the imperishable, saw the invisible, and did the impossible. – V. Havner

If ever there was a generation of people sorely in need of spiritual role models, we are it. No matter how we choose to observe Halloween, those of us attending non-liturgical churches can take a modest step toward telling ourselves a different kind of story this Sunday. Pastors might include the story of a saint in their sermons. Parents could make a point to share the story of a saint or two. All Saints' Day is not about remembering just the saints with brand recognition. It's designed to thank God for the gift of a praying great-grandma in our family tree, a friend who sacrificially provided for his family by working two jobs before he died of cancer at age 42, and an anonymous old woman who quietly fed the poor in Jesus’ name when she thought no one was watching. – The Best Christian Halloween Party by Michelle Van Loon

Saints here and there both remembered

1) The lives of saints of the past. In addition to the saints depicted in Scripture, we have nearly 2,000 years of history that can and should be used as challenges to piety and faith. We Protestants have been so concerned about avoiding the veneration of saints that we often have bypassed a rich heritage of faith. Just as the Book of Hebrews gives a roll call of believers, so we can look to countless examples of equally courageous lovers of God.

2) "The life of the blessed in paradise." Most of us have been completely unaware that All Saints' Day is a celebration of all the saints. It is a day when Christians can remember not only those great believers of the past but also loved ones and friends who have served Christ and are now in heaven. True, it is a day to remember the lives of well-known saints and "to follow them in all virtuous and godly living." But it is also a day to remember our own "blessed dead." - Harold Myra


II. The Motivation of Godly Exhortation (1)

a) Recognize encumbrances.
b) Recognize entanglements.
c) Run with persistence.

Five Types of Spiritual Heroes Worth Remembering:

1) Those who shared God’s truth (like William Tyndale).

2) Those who extended mercy (like William and Catherine Booth).

3) Those who walked by faith (like Watchman Nee).

4) Those who took a stand (like William Wilberforce).

5) Those who practiced endurance (like Charles Simeon).

6) Those who loved, trained, and shaped us.


Redeem Hallowe’en as an exercise in being a transforming influence. Set October 31as a day when stories are retold regarding how our family came to know Jesus.
- Jack Hayford, Redeeming Hallowe’en

Why allow Halloween to be a pagan holiday in commemoration of the powers of darkness? Fill the house or church with light; sing and celebrate the victory of Christ over darkness. – Richard Foster in The Celebration of Discipline

For more information, search for these articles:

Harold Myra’s article Is Halloween a Witch’s Brew at www.christianitytoday.com

Charles Colsons’ commentary Bump in the Night at www.breakpoint.org

Jack Hayford’s Redeeming Hallowe’en at www.jackhayford.org

Redeeming Hallowe'en

For years I have appreciated Pastor Jack Hayford's spiritual and practical teaching and responses to a lot of questions in society. One of those is the much-disagreed subject of what a Christian should do with Halloween. Hayford offers his advice, with which I agree, in his article, Redeeming Hallowe'en.

Richard Foster writes, Why allow Halloween to be a pagan holiday in commemoration of the powers of darkness? Fill the house or church with light; sing and celebrate the victory of Christ over darkness.

Remember Our Heroes

I have so enjoyed the fall weather this week. The colors around Laurens have been beautiful and probably at their peak.

Am preaching a message tomorrow morning entitled Spiritual Heroes in recognition of this time of year. For me, this week always officially starts off the Novemember-December preparation for and celebration of the holidays. November 1 is the day set aside by the church as All Saints Day, a day to remember our heroes in the faith. It is actually a sort of Christian memorial day. Then, October 31 was recognized as All Hallowe's Eve, a day to prepare for All Saints Day. And it was on October 31 of 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Witttenburg chapel door - the spark that ignited the great Protestant Reformation.

I try to take some time in my family beginning this week and during the month of November to teach my children about some of the great spiritual heroes of Christianity - and also to take time to remember some of our own heroes in our lives. Don't just let these days float by as missed opportunities when the secular world dresses up like gouls and glorifies death and destruction. Redeem this time and use it as a stepping stone into the holiday season. Spend the month of November leading up to Thanksgiving learning some new spiritual heroes - and being thankful for some familiar ones.

I have found that the years that I intentionally do that throughout the month of Novemember - beginning on October 31 - it makes me sense that the whole month is a spiritual preparation to be truly thankful by the time we get to Thanksgiving - and then ready to move forward worshipfully into the December holiday season.

The following link is a tremendous resource from Chrisitan History Institute linking us to dozens of stories of Christian heroes through the centuries. Click on it here.

Jim Demint

The last 3 years I have been extremely impressed by South Carolina's Senator, Jim Demint. Today I read that Demint scored a 100% in supporting conservative, family-related legislation on the Family Research Council's Congressional Scorecard.

Three years ago, I read Demint's excellent book Saving Freedom, in which he gives a clear and impassioned call to make choices in America that will keep freedom alive, unlike many of the choices that are coming out of Washington. I encourage you to get his book and read it.

Demint just came out with another one called The Great American Awakening: Two Years that Changed America.

Demint is a genuine Christian, a Southern Baptist, and is the real deal. He did not go into politics until his late 40's, when God stirred in him to help take a stand in a declining world. (You may remember that he was the most vocal opponent to President Obama's bailouts.)

Interestingly, his books are published by Broadman and Holman, the publishing house of the Southern Baptist Convention. Many Southern Baptist pastors endorsed his Saving America.

I encourage you to familiarize yourself with Demint. Many folks hope he will run for the Republican nominee one day. He is a godly statesman among many thorns. We need God to raise men like him up to change the course of our nation.

We Don't Have to Get Together

During the liberal-moderate-conservative controversy that engulfed the Southern Baptist Convention in the late 20th-century, Adrian Rogers (who became probably the key spokesperson for the Conservative Resurgence), was in a peace meeting when people on different sides of the table were supposed to be working things out and coming together. One man kept challenging Rogers to compromise. The exasperated man exhorted something like, "Adrian, if you don't compromise, we will never come together!"

The following was Rogers' response:

I’m willing to compromise about many things, but not the Word of God. So far as getting together is concerned, we don’t have to get together. The Southern Baptist Convention as it is does not have to survive. I don’t have to be the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church. I don’t have to be loved; I don’t even have to live. But I will not compromise the Word of God. – Adrian Rogers

We Are In Trouble

Truth is a basis for society to survive, relationships to endure, and churches to prosper. In the very beginning, in the third chapter of Genesis, the serpent attacks truth: Did God really say?

Al Mohler shares how the serpent is still asking the same question today. Read it here.

Family-Equipping Ministry

Timothy Paul Jones coined the term family-equipping ministry to describe the family ministry paradigm that he and Randy Stinson developed for the School of Church Ministries at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Soon afterward, Randy Stinson located and brought together an informal coalition of ministers who were doing in practice precisely what he and Jones had sketched out in theory. Leading early practitioners of the family-equipping model included Jay Strother at Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee, Brian Haynes at Kingsland Baptist Church in Texas, and Steve Wright at Providence Baptist Church in North Carolina (1).

In many ways the family-equipping model represents a middle route between the family-integrated and family-based models (2). Semblances of age-organized ministry remain intact in family-equipping contexts. Many family-equipping churches even retain youth ministers and children’s ministers. Yet every practice at every level of ministry is reworked to champion the place of parents as primary disciple-makers in their children’s lives. Because parents are primary disciple-makers and vital partners in family-equipping ministry, every activity for children or youth must resource, train, or directly involve parents (3).

Whereas family-based churches develop intergenerational activities within existing segmented-programmatic structures and add family activities to current calendars, family-equipping churches redevelops the congregation’s structure to cultivate a renewed culture wherein parents are acknowledged, trained, and held accountable as the primary faith-trainers in their children’s lives. As in family-integrated churches, children whose parents are unbelievers are connected with mature believers in the types of relationships that Paul described in his letter to Titus (Titus 2:1-8). Every level of the congregation’s life is consciously recultured to “co-champion” the church’s ministry and the parent’s responsibility.

To envision the family-equipping model in action, imagine a river with large stones jutting through the surface of the water. The river represents the Christian growth and development of children in the church. One riverbank signifies the church, and the other riverbank connotes the family. Both banks are necessary for the river to flow forward with focus and power. Unless both riverbanks support the child’s development, you are likely to end up with the destructive power of a deluge instead of the constructive possibilities of a river. The stones that guide and redirect the river currents represent milestones or rites of passage that mark the passing of key points of development that the church and families celebrate together.

Most of the authors whose contributions appear on these pages view family-equipping ministry as the ideal. At the same time, the principles that they present will be useful far beyond family-equipping churches, particularly in family-integrated and family-based contexts. Even segmented-programmatic and educational-programmatic ministries may find this text helpful as they seek to develop theological foundations for their ministries to families.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) For the model as practiced by these ministers, see Jay Strother, “Family-Equipping Ministry: Co-champions with a Single Goal,” in Perspectives on Family Ministry, ed. Timothy Paul Jones (Nashville: B&H, 2009); Brian Haynes, Shift: What it Takes to Finally Reach Families Today (Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2009); Steve Wright with Chris Graves, reThink: Is Student Ministry Working? (Raleigh: InQuest, 2007).

(2) Much that is found in Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide (Colorado Springs: Cook, 2009) fits in the overlap between the family-based and family-equipping paradigms, at least from an organizational and programmatic perspective; many of the associated publications may be helpful in resourcing the development of family-based and family-equipping ministries. The content and approach of materials from The reThink Group seem in many cases to be driven more by ecclesial pragmatism than by substantive theological or biblical considerations.

(3) For the “resource, train, involve” principle as well as the term “co-champion,” see Steve Wright with Chris Graves, reThink: Is Student Ministry Working? (Raleigh: InQuest, 2007).
[Editor's Note: This article was adapted from the book Trained in the Fear of God, edited by Randy Stinson and Timothy Paul Jones. Used by permission.]

Tuning Out by Turning it On

Charles Colson shares a great commentary on our culture - the culture of sloth. Read it here.

Wisdom is Justified by Time

I have been enjoying slowly reading Dick Cheney’s autobiography In My Time. It fascinates me to review the lives of those who have shaped America the past several decades. Cheney rubbed shoulders with many of Washington’s elites in the Republican party.

One lesson was gleaned from observing the leadership of Gerald Ford: some actions are only justified by time.

Cheney shares the surprise he, and many Americans, experienced when President Ford announced on September 8, 1974, that he was issuing a full, free, and absolute pardon to Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. Cheney writes, He described his actions as a way to ‘shut and seal’ the matter of Watergate and to mitigate the suffering of Richard Nixon and his family.

At the time, this action cost Ford – some speculate that it cost him the reelection. There was immediately a firestorm of controversy and criticism. Ford’s approval rating dropped from 71% to 49%. The press condemned Ford, and he endured much negative criticism as a result.

However, more than thirty years later, Cheney writes, the wisdom and generosity of Gerald Ford’s instincts have been recognized for their courage and honored for their rightness. But at the time the pardon was controversial and unpopular.

Wisdom beckons that at times the right choice is the unpopular choice. The right choice may be greatly misunderstood and even condemned. It takes courage to make the right choice. And in time, even those who criticize that person may see years later that it was the right choice.

More than a decade ago, my parents left a church situation that had become abusive. Before they left, she warned some persons of the unwise and ungodly path that the senior pastor was taking. Mom and Dad received an incredible amount of criticism and ostracism for their stance. The staff was even told to not have conversations with them. Several years later, however, (after several hundred people had left the church), a staff member commented in retrospect, Mrs. Wilson was right.

One of the traits of a godly man or woman is this: a godly person does not play to the crowd. A wise person does not make his judgments solely based on public opinion. King Saul in the Old Testament lived most of his reign working to make himself look good in front of others. The fruit of his character revealed a pitiful life, not so different than the lives of some Hollywood favorites or political figures who woo the crowds but lead miserable lives of shallow character.

Be willing to make the hard decisions when necessary. God will be pleased, and time will tell.

Quotation of the Day

I have been enjoying reading a sermon by the great expositor Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his studies on John 4 called Living Water. He writes in his sermon, The Possibilities of the Christian Life . . .

Possibly one of the most devastating things that can happen to us as Christians is that we cease to expect anything to happen. This may be one of our greatest troubles today. We come to our services, and they are orderly, they are nice - we come, we go - and sometimes they are timed almost to the minute. But that is not Christianity, my friend. Where is the Lord of glory? Where is the one sitting by the well? Are we expecting him? Do we anticipate this? Are we open to it? Are we aware that we are even facing this glorious possibility?

Or let me put it like this: You may feel and say, as many do, "I was converted and became a Christian. I've grown - I've grown in knowledge, I've been reading some books, I've been listening to sermons - but I've arrived now at a sort of peak, and all I do is maintain that."

My friend, you muyst get rid of that attitude; you must get rid of it once and forever. That is religion - not Christianity. This is Christianity - the Lord appears! Suddenly, in the midst of the drudgery and the routine and the sameness and the dullness and the drabness, unexpectedly, surprisingly, he meets with you, and he says something to you that changes the whole of your life and your outlook and lifts you. Do not let the devil persuade you that you have all your are going to get. That has been a popular teaching among evanglicals. You get everything at your conversion. Oh, do not believe it; it is not true. It is not true to the teaching of the Scriptures, it is not true in the experience of the saints running down the centuries. There is always this glorious possibility of meeting with him in a new and dynamic way.

Quotation of the Day

The ultimate goal of spiritual leadership is not to achieve numerical results, to accomplish tasks with perfection, or to grow for growth's sake. It is to take people from where they are to where God wants them to be. God's primary concern for people is not results but relationship.

Leaders cannot take their people into a relationship with Christ that goes any deeper than where they have gone themselves. Thus, spiritual leaders must continually be growing themselves if they are to take the people into a more mature relationship with Christ.

- Henry and Richard Blackaby

Quotation of the Day

Waiting time is not wasted time for anyone in whose heart God has placed a vision. Difficult time. Painful time. Frustrating time. But not wasted time.

– Andy Stanley

Quotation of the Day

I have always found that the writing out of a pain makes it at least bearable.

- L.M. Montgomery

Attacking Dissenters - How Outcasts are Treated

Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton share in their book Toxic Faith about the five roles that occur in a faith community that has turned unhealthy.

The fifth role is that of the outcast who refuses to play the dysfunctional games, becoming one of the lone voices crying out for change – change that “will not come as long as the co-conspirators manipulate the system, the enablers allow it to continue, and the victims fall in line with blind faith. When outcasts surface, they are identified as troublemakers and pushed out of the system as soon as possible.” The outcasts are unimpressed by position or title; they see through the delusion and are willing to suffer great personal loss in order to make a stand and leave the system. Unfortunately, these outcasts will be discredited by the leadership immediately through the process called labeling. Even if they are long-time supporters of the church, the leadership will be glad to see them leave.

One mark of an unhealthy faith community is that it attacks these "dissenters." Anyone who continues to disagree, particularly after initial pressure, becomes the enemy. The pastor and his key supporters will secretly but effectively spread the word that he or she is a trouble maker. Members who speak out with genuine concerns about the leadership are considered rebellious and will be scapegoated. References to the dissenter may be that she is sinful, selfish, and unstable and that she is going to hinder the work of God in that place. The opposite of Christian fellowship occurs; the leadership will consistently discredit and discount the persons they view as the enemy.

If necessary in an abusive system the leadership will destroy the reputation of the persons with whom they disagree. Arterburn and Felton call this process labeling: “Once the label is in place, it becomes more difficult to see that person as a human with real needs and the potential for good judgment. . . . Disqualification by labeling hurts the victims and allows persecutors to continue in their toxic faith. It is sheer poison.” Unhealthy systems will even aim their venom at their sub-leaders and get rid of them quickly if they pose a threat in his mind to their continued success. This divisive practice illustrates the destructive nature of an abusive system. Political processes replace biblical community, leaving excessive carnage.