Harvest Sunday 08

We just participated in "Harvest Sunday" last night. At the invitation of my friend Jim and Central Baptist Church, I was able to bring the Biblical challenge from the book of Ezra. It was a great joy to see people respond to the truth of God's Word and to be responsive to the call of God on their lives. Many of the people that came forward last night are simply saying I am here and available. This decision is a huge step in the process. To be willing to do "whatever" for the glory of God is incredibly freeing!

Here is the outline of the message that I shared last night:

Any great spiritual awakening results from God’s initiative:
1. He is revealing His character
trustworthiness (1:1)
sovereignty (1:2)
presence/immanence (1:3)
patience, longsuffering (1:4)
2. He is building our character (the backdrop of the exile)
3. He is equipping us to do His will (1:4-7)
4. He is stirring our spirit, inviting us to respond (1:1, 5)

All great spiritual harvests are the result of a response to God’s initiative:
1. Discover and delight in His character
a. worshiping Him
i. re-establishing the sacrificial system (3:1-7) and festivals (6:19)
ii. rejoicing over successes (3:11; 6:22)
b. proclaiming that knowledge to others –
i. Ezra made it his “job” to tell others about God (7:10)
ii. How does Cyrus know what he does about God? Perhaps by Ezra’s ministry to him? (7:27-28)
2. Appreciate His ongoing, intentional work in our lives
a. acknowledging His righteousness and justice (9:5-15)
b. growing through it (6:19-22; 10:1-3)
3. Move forward in His revealed will (both general and specific)
what He has shown us and equipped us to do (2:1; 3:8; 6:15; 7:21, 23)
4. Invite others to do the same (7:28)

So ....

1. Is God stirring your spirit today?
2. Are you awake now? How will you stay spiritually awake?
3. Will you respond to His gracious initiatives?
4. What has God uniquely outfitted and called you to do today?
5. Will you go make a difference in His field?

I am ready, here I am,

Mike

Back with a BANG!

Hello. My name is Mike and you have been wondering what in the world is going on with me and this blog. Thanks to the impetus of my brother Todd, I am getting back in the saddle of blogging.

I begin to blog once again with this quote, modified only slightly from a statement made by the Sr. Pastor in a message a few weeks ago,

"Indifference to the miraculous, personal revelation of God is worse than adultery, harlotry and sexual deviance."

That quote is a reference to the challenge given by Christ to Capernaum "Woe to you Capernaum! It will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day (judgment day)..." (a loose paraphrase of Matthew 11:23-24).

So how has God revealed Himself to you recently? Did you make the necessary personal adjustments to realign your character with God's? Did you obey or balk?

If you saw a glimpse of God and continued to be the same as you were before, you are in a seriously bad place! I have seen some pretty amazing glimpses of my Savior this summer. I pray that I will never be the same because of them! I will blog some more about them soon, I am sure.

Hope you are being challenged to growth,

Mike

Church Growth The Way God Meant It To Be

There are many people who are selling the next best idea about how to raise up a church that excels in the areas of buildings, bodies and bucks. It has been called a "Glitz, Glamor, and Glee" gospel or the "health and wealth" gospel. But these things are no different than corporate America. So what does really make a great church?

Dr. Gary Candlish described a church that is growing God's way at a conference on prophecy that I attended a few months ago. Here are some of the points that he made from that session:

• A growing church is a congregation of people that are committed to pleasing God "no matter what". We must never allow the culture to dictate what we will or won't do in church.


• A growing church must focus on the stuff of the Scriptures, affirming that Biblical truth is not obsolete. We must think outside the box, but never outside the book.


• A growing church cannot be built on a diet of spiritual cake and ice cream. We must place a premium on doctrine and serve spiritual broccoli and spinach with great regularity.


• A growing church does not use pragmatism as the reason for doing anything in the church. We must never allow faith to be become less important than finances, family, friends, fun, freedom.


• A growing church takes the focus off of their own sufficiency and comes humbly to worship and wait before the Lord. We must not draw our approval from the world's criteria for success.

So are we really ready to redefine church growth in Biblical terms? Are we ready to do the stuff of ministry with a focus on discipleship? Are we ready to move beyond surface level results and get God's heartbeat on the matter?

If there's something sickly or dying in our churches, what better place to go for wisdom than to its founder, God. We, as leaders of WyBC, have arranged our focus around a Biblical model of discipleship. We desire to see people built up in Christ through a process of "Come In, Put Off, Put On and Go Out". This construction of God's church through intentional discipleship is our mission.

We, therefore, are committed to pleasing God in every aspect of this growth cycle. We will endeavor to use the Scriptures as our standard of faith and practice at every phase of this cycle. We desire church growth to occur at God's speed and according to God's parameters. We understand that God, and God alone, is able to convict the hearts of men and bring about true heart change and life results. We are building an environment that is designed to offer every person that enters it a chance to begin or build his/her personal relationship with God. With God's help, I look forward to seeing many lives changed into the image of Jesus -- beginning with me!

Changing and growing for the glory of God,

Mike

The Proof That You Have Arrived

I just finished reading Yancey's book, What's So Amazing About Grace? He provides a great summary statement in his discussion of "Grace Avoidance" or legalism.

"In other words, the proof of spiritual maturity is not how 'pure' you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door for grace."

Yancey, p.198

This quote, and this book, are good balancers for the lats post on testing your growth in teh area of wisdom. Unfortunately, we can get caught in the pursuit of the quantity rather than the quality. Wisdom pursuit, like humility pursuit, like holiness pursuit is a fleeting chase. As soon as we think that we have achieved our goals, we look and find that there is much work to do from here. Paul said it this way:

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-15

Still working at it (exercising my faith),
while the sanctifying Spirit guides/shapes/teaches me,
and until I get obedience of Christ to perfection,
Mike

Why Do I Serve?

I had the opportunity to teach this weekend to about 80 people (teens and adults) on the topic of "Service". I taught the seminar 3 separate times. In the first 10-15 minutes of my session I laid the Biblical foundation for a life of full-time ministry for every believer. (Note: not the paid professional kind that I get to enjoy! LOL)

Q. Why should you serve in your local church?

A. It's just what Christians do.

Q. Why should Christians serve?

A. Because Christians are...

1. Servants -- Because I have been redeemed by Master, I now no longer serve myself; I serve Christ! (Mt. 25:21,23; Ac. 27:23 + Ro. 1:1 (et al); Ga. 2:20)


2. Disciples -- I am attempting in every way to more accurately reflect the character and actions of Christ, the True Servant. (Mt. 12:18, 20:28; Mk. 8:34; Lk. 22:42; Jn. 13:15-16)


3. Worshipers -- My life is a continual active praise session to God who is worthy of my loyal service. (Ro. 12:1, 11; Co. 3:15-17)


4. Witnesses -- By serving others, I am distributing the same kind of grace that I have recieved and building a bridge to those around me who need to hear about my Gracious Savior. (Mt. 5:16, 1 Co. 9:19; 2 Co. 9:12-14; Ja. 1:26-27)


5. Members of the Body -- God has placed me in my spheres of influence (including my local church) for the purpose of exercising fellowship and connection. (Ro. 12:4-5; 1 Co. 12:18; Co. 2:19)

So, if you are not actively involved in the ministry team of your local church, why not? If you are a Christian, you have no legitimate excuse. If you choose to simply come and sit and soak in the same seat every week without exercising your faith in ministry opportunities all around you, then you are a "Christian cripple", handicapped only by your choice to be uninvolved. Be warned! God is not pleased! Church ought not to be a spectator's arena. Join in the ministry of your local church today! There are no exemptions from ministry.

Actively serving the Master,

Mike

The Ripple Effect

This is not a post singing the merits of textured potato chips. This is about infectious discipleship. The kind that ripples through the church and spills out onto everyone who is ready for change and growth.

We have been reading books as a leadership team. I have watched some of the individuals on our team totally embrace the concepts that are contained therein. Those who get it have incorporated the language into our vocabulary and have talked about it with passion and enthusiasm such that others get excited about it and are driven to read more. Then, the fresh recruits, in turn, share it with their friends and family and then the next wave catches it and gets excited about the concepts and their implementation.

This is about multiplication. The Christian life is not meant to be lone rangerism. It is meant to be a place of accountability and ripples. As I understand God's wisdom better and make successful, albeit hard, decisions, I share it with those around me. Then, the whole thing goes into other circles and suddenly, I am affecting change and growth in circles that I do not even frequent! God is good! He has enlarged our borders even without daily prayers of Jabez!! :)

NOTE: This post is about celebrating the joy of discovery and watching the aha! moments spreading in the body of Christ. These comments are based on a real situation that was just reported to me! :) YES! Remember to share the good stuff withthose who teach you! Gal 6:6

Sharing with you,
Mike

Spiritual Disciplines

"Christian discipline can be of three types: enforced or external discipline, such as we use with children and immature people; self-discipline, which primarily consists of adult attitudes and decisions; and Christlike discipline, based on spiritual surrender. ...
All Christian leaders must come to the place at which they take responsibility for personal discipline rather than always needing the encouragement and push of other people."

Coaching Ministry Teams, p.29