Change Is Coming!
March 29, 2010
by Michael Catt – Senior Pastor
Sherwood Baptist Church
Nationally, we need some change. Wall Street has been more like a back alley with drug dealers making quick bucks than a business handling the investments of hardworking people. Politics needs to change. Democrats and Republicans alike are self-absorbed. They don’t do what’s in the best interest of the country; they do what’s in their best interest. We are insane if we think the same old political cronies are going to produce real change. It’s the clowns in Congress who allowed the legislation that got us in this mess.
I’m for change—make the Representatives and Senators live in their districts face the music every week for the constituency that elected them. The car companies need to change. The unions have destroyed the free enterprise system, and we are paying people not to work. Unions have set up their own welfare system within the auto industry. That needs to change.
Churches need to change. Churches obsessed with business meetings or run by a few families need to go out of business. Churches that treat pastors like slave labor need to close their doors. Communities would be healthier if about half of the churches were shut down or combined to make vital, stronger churches. We don’t need a church on every corner. We need churches that are more committed to the four corners of the earth than their corner on the pew.
Denominations need to change. We are losing a younger generation because we aren’t listening and leading. The younger preachers flock to conferences that lack balance and do little to encourage biblical preaching. Why? Because the majority of mainline denominations don’t have a clue what’s going on in the pew. The ivory castle is no place to figure out what is needed. Jesus walked among the people; He didn’t sit in an office removed from them.
There has been much debate in my denomination about the name of the Cooperative Program. I believe that program is a solid way to join together in a common cause and mission. It was right to change the name of the Foreign Mission Board to the International Mission Board. It was right to change the name of the Home Mission Board to the North American Mission Board. It was right to change the name of the Baptist Sunday School Board to LifeWay. So what’s the problem with changing the name of the Cooperative Program?
I know of meetings where men have dug in their heels on changing this name. They refuse to think of Kingdom business. They are more stuck on two antiquated words than a name that will (a) continue to emphasize CP giving and (b) get the attention of a younger generation that thinks in missional, kingdom terms. Of course, they would rather let the funding die and ministries cease than do anything about increasing our giving to missions. The change that needs to come is (a) in the name and (b) in anyone who wants to hold on to a name for a name’s sake.
Change is not the same old thing with a new label. Baptists are notorious for changing the label on the same old product. We use to have BYU on Sunday nights, and then it was Training Union, then Church Training, then Discipleship Training. The problem was never the name. The problem was that we weren’t doing a good job of training and discipling. Call it Bible Study, Sunday School, Small Groups or Cell Groups—the key is the leader’s commitment to the purpose of the event and process.
Churches have to be willing to change. We’ve changed a lot at Sherwood in my nearly twenty years here. When I came, we were King James only, women couldn’t wear pants, and Scofield was as sacred as Saint Paul. Today, nothing has changed theologically, but we wouldn’t be the church we are today if we had not changed.
We changed the music, but not the message. We changed the translation we use, but not the commitment to inerrancy. We changed the way we do ministry, from committees and deacons running the church to Pastor-led. The result? Over 5,000 people have joined in the last twenty years. With the declining population of our area, it is a God thing that we are growing.
What if we had stayed the same? One, a lot of folks who left would have been happy. They would still be large and in charge. Two, we wouldn’t be making movies. We wouldn’t have a Sports Park. We wouldn’t be an integrated church like we are with people from nearly a dozen nations. We wouldn’t be reaching people in 29 surrounding communities. Three, we wouldn’t be “anchored to the rock and geared to the times.”
We must be consistent and at the same time changing. One day, we may not be in the movie business anymore. I don’t foresee that day coming soon, but if it does, God has something else for us. We need to be constantly thinking, “How do we keep the vision of ‘reaching the world from Albany, Georgia’ when we are aiming at a moving target?” The methods must never become sacred. The message must always be essential.
Paul was willing to become all things to all men that he might save a few. Paul never compromised the gospel, but he did whatever it took to carry the gospel to others. Will you join me in praying that God will continually use us in a changing world to change lives and the culture? Let’s pray we never get stuck in our ways or preferences. Let’s ask God to make us fluid in our thinking, while at the same time fixed on the cross.
Copyright 2009, Michael Catt
The opinions stated in this article are not necessarily those of Marina Ministries Association, but solely the expressed opinions of the author
printed with permission
The Promise of Heaven
March 27, 2010
By Billy Graham
evangelist
The Bible doesn’t answer all our questions about Heaven – but it does tell us that it will be far more glorious than anything we can imagine. Heaven is like the most perfect and beautiful place we can possibly conceive – only more so. Only in Heaven will we know exactly what Heaven is like. People have speculated for centuries about what Heaven will be like – some realistic, some fanciful (or even perverse).
But the most essential truth about Heaven is this: We will be in God’s presence forever. And because we will be with God, no harm or evil can ever touch us again. One of the most moving descriptions of Heaven in all Scripture is this: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
In Heaven there will be no more fear or worry or stress. We won’t need locks on the doors, or bars on the windows, or sophisticated alarm systems – because everything that causes fear will be eliminated. Evil and Satan and death will be banished forever, and we will no longer be threatened, either by nature or by other people. Conflicts and wars will cease, and all the things that divided us on earth will divide us no more. God’s promise will be fulfilled. In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to “a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).
Heaven will also be a place of reunion. I am often asked if we will meet our loved ones there who have died in the Lord. I have no doubt that we will! This truth has become even more precious to me since the death of my wife, Ruth, almost three years ago.
The most important truth about Heaven for us today, however, is that God wants us to be there! We cannot win our way into Heaven by our own goodness, because we will never be good enough; God’s standard is perfection. But God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to become the final and complete sacrifice for our sins – and when we put our faith and trust in Him, all our sins are erased and Heaven’s door opens before us.
May this truth become a reality in your life today.
Rev. Billy Graham is an evangelist and chairman of the board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Too Difficult to Love God?
March 25, 2010
by John ImlerJohn is the author of It’s Never Too Late This is an appropriate question for our discussion on loving God, because there is an answer. God desires our love above everything and everyone else (Deut. 10:12).
We use the word love so frequently that it loses some of its meaning. We love our families, our spouses, our cars, our houses, our jobs, the movies, TV, and even our pets. Although there is nothing wrong with that, we sometimes put our love for those at the top of our list of loved things.
Our Creator God wants to be at the top of that list! He expressed that clearly to the children of Israel in Exodus 20:3-4.
However, God gave man the freedom of choice to either follow His commandments or to disobey them. In the Garden of Eden the choice of obedience or disobedience is clearly spelled out along with the consequences. In Genesis 2 we read that Eve chose to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil over the tree of life. In Genesis 3:1 we read that Eve listened to another voice—to that of the serpent (Devil). So began the eternal battle between the forces of good and evil. The Apostle Paul speaks of that same battle still raging in him in Romans 7:15-16.
“When [Eve] saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it” (Gen. 2:6). This is the reason it is difficult to love God above everything and everybody else.
We are not just physical beings—we are spiritual beings as well. Two interconnected beings and both involved in the battle between good and evil. Each of us has a choice to make: to be controlled primarily by our physical being or by our spiritual being—to be believers or nonbelievers.
It is so easy to follow the desires of the physical, as Eve did, and to partake of that which seems to be good, pleasing and desirable to us while here on earth. Yet in His parable of the farmer sowing seed in Mark 4:19, Jesus warns that the things of this world can choke out the seed of God’s Word and cause us to allow the love of other things to be greater than our love for Him.
Join me again next week as we continue our discussion on loving God.
John welcomes your comments either below or email him directly at john@faithrescued.com
Why Love God?
March 19, 2010
by John ImlerJohn is the author of It’s Never Too Late You may ask, “Why is it so important that I love God?” The Bible states clearly what man’s greatest duty and obligation towards his Maker is. Jesus Himself expressed it in Matthew 22:36-40.
You may not understand why you should love God
- if you have not recognized Him as your Creator,
- if you have not accepted the Bible as the factual and true record of man’s journey on this earth,
- if you have not consulted the Bible as the Guidebook for your life,
- if you have not listened to the words of Psalms 139:13-16, James 1:17, John 3:16, or
- if you have not considered the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, death on the cross and resurrection.
That is why the terms “believer” and “non-believer” are often used within Christian circles. Those who do believe understand why man’s greatest duty is to love God. It is because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) and continues to do so in spite of our sinful natures.
I know that my God “knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13) to create me as a unique person. My earthly mother and father were the first to love me as I entered this world. As the result of their love, it was natural for me to return that love – because they first loved me.
As a child, I recall my parents saying “If you love me, obey me” and “If you love me, do what I tell you.” I John 4:10 tells us that we “love God because He first loved us.” Now I hear it from my Heavenly Father in the words of Jesus: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15 NIV).
John welcomes your comments either below or email him directly at john@faithrescued.com
World Vision Attacked in Pakastan
March 16, 2010
By Nathan Black – Christian Post Reporter
A World Vision office in Pakistan was attacked by gunmen on Wednesday, leaving at least five staff members dead.
photo by Graham Fitzgerald, Sky News Online
The international humanitarian organization said the attack was unprovoked.
Initial reports say the militants detonated grenades and opened fire on the office, which is located in the Mansehra District of Pakistan, north of the capital, Islamabad. The office received no threatening letters prior to the attack.
“World Vision today is mourning the brutal and senseless deaths of five members [of] our staff,” the Christian organization said in a statement.
Seven additional employees have been hospitalized and one staff member is missing.
“Those who kill humanitarian workers must be reminded that they are not only killing their own country’s residents, but also people seeking to improve the lives of victims of poverty and injustice,” the statement on Wednesday further reads.
The staff consisted of local Pakistanis who were serving in relief and development work.
Up to 15 gunmen arrived in pick-up vehicles and began firing on the staff, according to UK’s The Times. World Vision administration officer Mohammad Sajid said the militants took their mobile phones, “dragged people one by one and shifted to an adjacent room and shot and killed them.”
World Vision established offices in the South Asian country, where Christians make up less than three percent of the population, in 1992 and was focused primarily on relief interventions. In 2001, the organization expanded its operations as it collaborated with other aid groups in the North West Frontier Province and Punjab Province on emergency relief assistance and community development initiatives. After a massive earthquake struck the country in October 2005, World Vision expanded further and began operating in the Mansehra District.
All of World Vision’s operations in the country have been suspended indefinitely.
NCAA Removes Focus’ Family Ads
March 2, 2010
By Jennifer RileyChristian Post Reporter Just weeks after the brouhaha over the Tim Tebow Super Bowl commercial ended, Focus on the Family finds itself again defending one of its pro-family ads.The National Collegiate Athletic Association has removed an FOTF banner ad from one of its websites this week.
The governing body of college sports explains that it came to the decision after receiving complaints, including from some of its members, that FOTF’s views on same-sex relationships are in conflict with the NCAA’s policy on sexual orientation.
But FOTF says there is no reason to pull the ad, which it describes as “benign” and non-political.
The ad pictures a dad holding his young son with the caption: “All I want for my son is for him to grow up knowing how to do the right thing.” It includes the address to the FOTF’s website and the title, “Celebrate Family. Celebrate Life.”
“Have we really become a society where it’s considered distasteful and controversial for a dad to hope the best for his son?” asked Gary Schneeberger, vice president of ministry communications at Focus on the Family, according to Citizenlink.com. “If so, we have a lot of soul-searching to do as a nation.”
The ad formerly posted on the NCAA website was part of a CBS Super Bowl package that included the 30-second, pro-life commercial featuring Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mom. CBS maintains the NCAA website and sells ads to support the website, Schneeberger said. But the NCAA is allowed to review the ads.
Opponents of the ad say the problem is not the message but the group behind it.
Pat Griffin, who is a consultant to the NCAA on gay and lesbian issues, contends the message of “life” on the ad reflects FOTF’s anti-abortion stance, and its calls to celebrate family only applies to heterosexual married families.
“It’s not the right image or role for the NCAA to be endorsing an organization that has such an extreme right-wing Christian political mission,” Griffin said, according to The Associated Press.
But FOTF maintains that the NCAA ad is similar if not more benign than the Tim Tebow commercial, which critics – after watching it – admitted was not controversial.
“The print ad now being protested is even more non-threatening – if that’s possible,” Schneeberger asserted. “It simply says, ‘Focus on the Family is here to help you raise your kids, thrive in your marriage and tackle the challenges life throws your way.’”
Dr. James Dobson Says Final Farewell
March 1, 2010
By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
His last day at Focus on the Family was Friday, February 26, 2010. “Nothing is forever. Everything has a shelf life,” Dobson said in one of his final radio broadcasts at the Colorado Springs-based organization.
Some 40,000 cards expressing gratitude and appreciation have poured in for the evangelical leader who has spent three fourths of his professional life helping people build healthy families. Calls from listeners around the world were featured this week on the ministry’s daily broadcast, each sharing how much Dobson has influenced their lives.
For Dobson, 73, both sadness and a conviction that “this is right” are the two emotions “going on inside” of him, he said Friday.
Though this week marks the final days of transition – a period that began some 10 years ago – at Focus on the Family, Dobson will not be signing off the air just yet.
He has a new ministry called “Family Talk” that he’ll be starting “not very far” from Focus on the Family. With a $1 million grant from FOTF, Dobson plans to continue to reach families, addressing marriage, parenting and cultural issues, with his son, Ryan, alongside him.
Family Talk, Dobson stressed, is not meant to compete with Focus on the Family, which reaches more than 220 million people. But with “moral issues getting more discouraging” and the family unit continuing to disintegrate, the need for family ministry is great, he noted.
“How silly to think one organization is going to meet the need of the whole country,” he said, noting that one church on the corner can’t reach an entire city either. “There’s plenty of work for all of us to do.”
“I’m not setting out to construct some magnificent organization like, frankly, this one is. But I also do not believe the Lord is through using my voice in the culture and speaking to parents,” he highlighted.
Denouncing several media reports that have painted Dobson’s new endeavor as competition, the evangelical leader said, “It’s bologna! Don’t believe it.”
“It just bugs me like crazy that the media is out there saying the reason I’m doing this is to create a ministry for my son or [that it's] some kind of hostile act against Focus on the Family,” he said.
“I’m not going into this for any personal gain. I’m not going to take a salary just like I haven’t here,” he added.
“To be honest with you at my age in life every now and then I say ‘what are you doing here?’ … And there are other times where I’m keenly aware that this is what the Lord has asked me to do.”
After launching Focus on the Family from a two-room office in Arcadia, Calif., in 1977, Dobson has grown the ministry to an influential organization, reaching more than 220 million people around the world. Talks of leadership transition began some 10 years ago when Dobson and his wife, Shirley, began praying about it.
One of the common errors of founders and CEOs, he said, is to hold on to the reigns too long and subsequently stifle the growth and creativity of the organization. Convinced that the Lord was telling him to let go, Dobson has for the past several years stepped down from leadership positions, including his role as president and CEO in 2003 and chairman of the ministry in 2009.
Pat Caruana, chairman of the Focus on the Family board, expressed his thanks as he came to realize the wisdom of Dobson’s decision to begin the transition so early on.
“As we come to this point, I have grown greatly to appreciate the wisdom and the courage that it took for you to initiate that discussion (about transition) so early on so that we can come today and conclude this in a way that honors God and that respects all that you and Shirley have done for this ministry,” he said.
After carrying the baton for three decades, Dobson has come to the end of his lap in the relay race and is now handing it off, as he illustrated. As long as that baton is transferred successfully – that is, getting it snuggly in the hands of current president Jim Daly with the same values and same commitment to the Lord – then the ministry can continue for many years, Dobson said.
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