We Baptists say that we have 16 million members, but on an average Sunday only about four million attend Sunday School. There was one thing that surprised Debbie and I as we traveled to different Baptist churches in Mississippi, Florida and Georgia, two of the pastors mentioned the fact that the majority of the people who come to Christ in Southern Baptist churches come as a result of Vacation Bible School. According to this, our most effective evangelism outreach is done in one week out of a year. This got me to wondering why we as Baptists seem not to be reaching the world as we should and why people are not attending church after they become a believer in Christ.
God kept bringing to my mind the word "confess." Many times at the end of a church service you will hear the pastor exhort people to come forward and confess their belief in Christ before men. In Romans 9:10, it does say this, but it also says to believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. As you can see, the belief as well as the confession by mouth are coupled together. The word "confess" by definition also means "to acknowledge." Our acknowledgement of Christ can be verbal as well as non-verbal. How we live our lives in our community gives a strong indication as to whether we "confess" or "acknowledge" Jesus before men. Do our actions, conversations and interactions with other people acknowledge Jesus or are we deep-cover secret agents? The speaking about what Jesus has done in your life in ordinary conversation can be an effective means of witnessing.
John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress, was passing by some women who were discussing the things of God. They talked about a new birth, the work of God in their hearts. This was new to John Bunyan. He drew closer and listened to the conversation more intently. And as a result, he was drawn to conviction. If it were not for the conversation of these ordinary women, the conversion of John Bunyan and the writing of Pilgrim's Progress, the second most published book after the Bible, would not have occurred. How many times during the day do we have the opportunity to show the light of Jesus and to be the salt of the earth. Here I am paraphrasing two different verses, Jesus said that we are the light and that we are the salt. By not acknowledging Christ before others we hide our light under a basket and our salt loses its savor (Matt. 5:13-16). Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, says of disciples whose "flight into the invisible is the denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him." This is a very strong statement and is something we need to think about.
At one church, we attended a Wednesday night gathering in which the subject being discussed was evangelism. All through the conversations, there were statements such as, "I can't do that. I might offend them. I'm too shy." These statements were the majority of what was being said. Has our belief become so shallow and our light dimmed so much that it cannot be seen by others? Are we at risk of being denied by Christ at the Throne of Judgement because we did not acknowledge Him? The next time you are out and about remember the 7,200. This is the number of people who die each hour on an average day, two per second. A great majority of these people will be going to hell.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The Privilege of Freedom
July 4 is the birthday of our country. We are now 224 years old. This date marks the independence of our nation from the tyranny of England. We as a people rebelled and fought for the freedom for which we had come to the new world. Many who fought died for this freedom.
Since the American Revolution, there have been many wars fought by American men and women to secure the freedoms we now enjoy. Thousands and hundreds of thousands have died in these wars, even more have served in America's armed forces. They have endured many hardships: such as, leaving behind family and friends, enduring all kinds of harsh weather, the stresses of battle, and even watching a buddy give his or her all. Many service people come home with debilitating mental and physical disabilities.
Despite the difficulties, hardships and injuries, I do not think you will find many of these service personnel who will say that they regret serving their country. To the contrary, most wish they were still able to serve. I know this to be true. I am one of these soldiers. I am proud to have served my country no matter the cost to me.
We take for granted the freedom we have. In Ecuador, the Quichua people were enslaved to the Spanish hacienda owners as far back as the 1500s. They just recently enjoy their freedom from this servanthood. In the 1960s and 1970s, they have been allowed to own their own land. This was accomplished by the governmental Land Reform Act. Despite the freedom to own land, many Quichua are still enslaved spiritually by false teachings and beliefs.
Let us fully enjoy the freedom we possess and honor all those who have sacrificed so much for this freedom. Let us also pray for all those around the world who do not have and are still fighting for their own freedom.
Since the American Revolution, there have been many wars fought by American men and women to secure the freedoms we now enjoy. Thousands and hundreds of thousands have died in these wars, even more have served in America's armed forces. They have endured many hardships: such as, leaving behind family and friends, enduring all kinds of harsh weather, the stresses of battle, and even watching a buddy give his or her all. Many service people come home with debilitating mental and physical disabilities.
Despite the difficulties, hardships and injuries, I do not think you will find many of these service personnel who will say that they regret serving their country. To the contrary, most wish they were still able to serve. I know this to be true. I am one of these soldiers. I am proud to have served my country no matter the cost to me.
We take for granted the freedom we have. In Ecuador, the Quichua people were enslaved to the Spanish hacienda owners as far back as the 1500s. They just recently enjoy their freedom from this servanthood. In the 1960s and 1970s, they have been allowed to own their own land. This was accomplished by the governmental Land Reform Act. Despite the freedom to own land, many Quichua are still enslaved spiritually by false teachings and beliefs.
Let us fully enjoy the freedom we possess and honor all those who have sacrificed so much for this freedom. Let us also pray for all those around the world who do not have and are still fighting for their own freedom.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Ordinary People
It is easy for us as Christians to look at people like John Piper, John MaCarthur, David Platt, and the apostles Paul and Peter with awe and say that we could never be like them, but the Bible uses ordinary people to make important differences. The apostle Andrew is an example of one of these ordinary people used by God.
Even though he was a member of the inner group of disciples composed of James, John, Peter and Andrew; after introducing his brother Peter to Jesus, he quickly faded into the background. He is only mentioned three other times, but each of these instances places an emphasis on a different aspect of his character and his faith in Jesus. Andrew originally was a disciple of John the Baptist. In John chapter 1, he runs and tells his brother, Simon Peter, that he found the Messiah, and brought his brother to Jesus. From that point on, it was Peter who was the prominent one. Andrew knew full well that his brother would probably take over still shared the special moment of finding the Messiah with his brother.
The next time we see Andrew in the Gospels is in John 6 at the feeding of the five thousand. It was Andrew who mentioned that there was a lad with five barley loaves and two fish. Even though he didn't think it was significant, he did mention it to Jesus. Of all the things John could have written about in this episode, he chose to write about Andrew and Philip. While Philip thought the situation was hopeless, Andrew showed some optimism.
In John 12, we again see Andrew and Philip. Philip approached Andrew about the fact that there were some Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. It is interesting here to note that it was Andrew of the inner group who appears to be approachable and takes initiative. Just as he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah and told his brother, he was also enthusiastic to bring others to Jesus.
Even though he was not in the spotlight, he still could be seen as a figure significant enough to be written about in the Bible. The ordinary, everyday Christian today also does not have to be in the spotlight to be seen by God as a significant person to carry out His work on earth. Remember that a kind word spoken here or an action taken there may not seem significant to you, but it could be very significant to the person on the receiving end or even by a person just watching. It was Andrew who merely mentioned the five loaves and two fish that belonged to the boy and look what Jesus did with that. He fed five thousand men plus the women and children who were present.
Even though he was a member of the inner group of disciples composed of James, John, Peter and Andrew; after introducing his brother Peter to Jesus, he quickly faded into the background. He is only mentioned three other times, but each of these instances places an emphasis on a different aspect of his character and his faith in Jesus. Andrew originally was a disciple of John the Baptist. In John chapter 1, he runs and tells his brother, Simon Peter, that he found the Messiah, and brought his brother to Jesus. From that point on, it was Peter who was the prominent one. Andrew knew full well that his brother would probably take over still shared the special moment of finding the Messiah with his brother.
The next time we see Andrew in the Gospels is in John 6 at the feeding of the five thousand. It was Andrew who mentioned that there was a lad with five barley loaves and two fish. Even though he didn't think it was significant, he did mention it to Jesus. Of all the things John could have written about in this episode, he chose to write about Andrew and Philip. While Philip thought the situation was hopeless, Andrew showed some optimism.
In John 12, we again see Andrew and Philip. Philip approached Andrew about the fact that there were some Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. It is interesting here to note that it was Andrew of the inner group who appears to be approachable and takes initiative. Just as he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah and told his brother, he was also enthusiastic to bring others to Jesus.
Even though he was not in the spotlight, he still could be seen as a figure significant enough to be written about in the Bible. The ordinary, everyday Christian today also does not have to be in the spotlight to be seen by God as a significant person to carry out His work on earth. Remember that a kind word spoken here or an action taken there may not seem significant to you, but it could be very significant to the person on the receiving end or even by a person just watching. It was Andrew who merely mentioned the five loaves and two fish that belonged to the boy and look what Jesus did with that. He fed five thousand men plus the women and children who were present.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Our Disposable world
After riding on a bus for three hours traveling south of Quito, Ecuador, I was confronted by a world completely foreign to me. I came in contact with a people called the Quichua Indians in the mountains of Ecuador. Immediately, I was reminded of Matthew chapter 5 in a literal sense. I was confronted by a people who had little even compared to what I was carrying with me in my luggage. I had my computer, ipod touch, electric razor, and my cell phone. I had at least two changes of clothes for each day I would spend in Ecuador.
The first things in the streets of Ambato, I saw an Indian woman who was crippled from her knees down trying to sell toilet paper she had in a pack on her back in order to make a living. After walking a few minutes from there, we were at a coop that was run by the Christian Indians to whom we were to minister. They said they were honored and blessed to have us there. How ironic!
Later that evening, we were up in the mountains at their village preparing for the evening service. We were greeted warmly by the members of the church. They each came to us individually and shook the hand of every member in our group. I realized I had met a truly meek people and who hungered and thirsted after righteousness. They had little of what we call physical comforts. But, they had an abundance of love and joy and God's Spirit that glowed from them. I realized how insulated we are in our culture. We have disposable phones, disposable dishes, disposable razors, and even disposable clothing. So fluid and disposable is our culture that our relationship with God and people has become temporary, usable and disposable. If you don't like your wife, you divorce her. If you don't want children, you get an abortion. If you don't like God, you ignore His existence. It is interesting that in Western culture we are the only people who deny the existence of God. It becomes very easy to forget about the people like the Quichua Indians, because we are so insulated from the world. Don't think of them as a disposable people. They need us and so do the rest of the poor and seeking people of the world.
The first things in the streets of Ambato, I saw an Indian woman who was crippled from her knees down trying to sell toilet paper she had in a pack on her back in order to make a living. After walking a few minutes from there, we were at a coop that was run by the Christian Indians to whom we were to minister. They said they were honored and blessed to have us there. How ironic!
Later that evening, we were up in the mountains at their village preparing for the evening service. We were greeted warmly by the members of the church. They each came to us individually and shook the hand of every member in our group. I realized I had met a truly meek people and who hungered and thirsted after righteousness. They had little of what we call physical comforts. But, they had an abundance of love and joy and God's Spirit that glowed from them. I realized how insulated we are in our culture. We have disposable phones, disposable dishes, disposable razors, and even disposable clothing. So fluid and disposable is our culture that our relationship with God and people has become temporary, usable and disposable. If you don't like your wife, you divorce her. If you don't want children, you get an abortion. If you don't like God, you ignore His existence. It is interesting that in Western culture we are the only people who deny the existence of God. It becomes very easy to forget about the people like the Quichua Indians, because we are so insulated from the world. Don't think of them as a disposable people. They need us and so do the rest of the poor and seeking people of the world.
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