Is Our Doctrine Really Beautiful? If Not Put Some Make-Up On It!

I go to an awesome church!! Our youth ministry has had "True Love Waits" Youth Revivals for several years now and they have always been a huge success. This year Sublett Road Baptist Church led by our Pastor Bill Morrow decided that purity wasn't just for youth and that we were going to have a Purity Revival for the whole church. So far it is going great.....Our evangelist did a great job today and I am looking forward to the rest of the week!

Chase is preaching to us out of Titus chapter 2 and today he shared something about Titus 2:10 where it says that we should live pure lives and do good works ".....that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." I studied it some more tonight and the word adorn is "Kosmeo" in the greek which is the same word that we get "cosmetics" from in English. Does the purity of our lives and our good works make our doctrine more beautiful? We are always hearing people say that we shouldn't try to appeal to the World but these verses clearly say that we can and are commanded to make our doctrine more appealing to the World! Get a load of that!

This made me think of verses like 2Ti 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine" and I began to wonder if this is the fault of those of us who profess Christ in the end times....After all the Bible does say "For the time [is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God?" I Peter 4:17 Is it possible that we who profess Christ and are in the Lord's Churches are actually turning the lost and new believers away from sound doctrine because we are not living pure lives and not doing good works like we should. Could it be that our doctrine is not beautiful because people actually see the lives we are living. It's time that we started adorning God's doctrine with our pure lives and good works so that it will be Beautiful to the World and to new believers! Is Our Doctrine Really Beautiful? Is Your Doctrine Beautiful? If not put some make-up on it!

What Is Really Going On?

I associate with a group of Churches known as The American Baptist Association.....recently my dad wrote a blog on his website http://www.goxstream.org/ about our missionary efforts and I thought I would share what he wrote.

"It was recently reported that over 13,000 souls have been saved in the collective work of our missionaries. This is worth shouting about!However, without dampening the spirit of this wonderful report, we must ask the question, "why have there only been 14 new works started in six months on the foreign field and only 6 new works on the home front so far?" There is something very ominous about this.

Now, I do understand that you can't get everybody baptized that gets saved, and everybody that gets baptized doesn't necessarily end up in church or part of a new church. But if only half of these people ended up in church or a new church there would have been significant church increase and new works being started and it would have been widely reported. But there hasn't been that I can tell.

What's going on? Can someone answer my question? Maybe I'm missing something.With 13,000 plus having been saved we should have heard of dozens if not hundreds of new churches being started. Someone enlighten me?"

I had never thought about it before but the statistics are taken from the 120 or so missionaries recommended by the churches of the association. If you divide 13,000 by the 120 missionaries you get approximately 110 professions per missionary. I agree with my dad ......why aren't we seeing more missions and churches started? What is even more stunning is that many of the new 20 missions and churches started globally in our work are done by the unrecommended missionary force......that larger group of forgotten missionaries that are sponsored by ABA churches that do not go through the recommending process and are never recognized at the "Meetin' ".

I am in full support of the ABA but sometimes we have to take a hard look at what is being done and ask ourselves.....What is really going on?

Asleep in the Light

I had a great time at this years North Texas Weekend 4 Jesus. The theme of the weekend was "Now Is the Time" and the emphasis was on evangelism and outreach. Spencer Davis was our Worship Leader for the Weekend and he did an absolutely great job for the honor and glory of God. I hadn't heard it in years and had forgotten about a great song by Keith Green called "Asleep in the Light" when Spencer sang and played it for us on the Keyboard. I wanted to share it with you all......and if you go to my other blog www.myspace.com/cityreachdude you can hear the original song for yourself! It reminds me of when Jesus said "Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest". Then later he told the church at Laodicea who was rich, increased with goods, and had need of nothing that they were blind.

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Asleep In The Light

Do you see, do you see,

all the people sinking down,
Don't you care, don't you care,

are you gonna let them drown,
How can you be so numb,

not to care if they come,
You close your eyes

and pretend the job's done.
Oh Bless me Lord, bless me Lord,

you know it's all I ever hear,
No one aches, no one hurts,

no one even sheds one tear,
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds,

and He cares for your needs,
And you just lay back and keep soaking it in,

oh, can't you see it's such sin?
Cause He brings people to your door,
And you turn them away,

as you smile and say,
God bless you, be at peace,

and all Heaven just weeps,
Cause Jesus came to your door,

you've left Him out on the streets.

Open up, open up, and give yourself away,
You've seen the need, you hear the cry,

so how can you delay,
God's calling and you're the one,

but like Jonah you run,
He's told you to speak,

but you keep holding it in,
Oh, can't you see it's such sin?
The world is sleeping in the dark,
That the church can't fight,

cause it's asleep in the light,
How can you be so dead,

when you've been so well fed,
Jesus rose from the grave, and you,

you can't even get out of bed,
Oh, Jesus rose from the dead,

come on, get out of your bed.

How can you be so numb,

not to care if they come,
You close your eyes

and pretend the job's done,
You close your eyes

and pretend the job's done,
Don't close your eyes,

don't pretend the job's done.
Come away, come away,

come away with Me, My love,
Come away, from this mess,

come away with Me, My love.

Mission, Vision and Morphing

A year or so ago our church had a "vision casting" service on New Years Eve. For those that actually stayed awake and were able to concentrate there were alot of really interesting things that were said. In the whole process of thinking and praying about what "vision" God had given me for the ministries that I lead at our church I came to really understand the difference between "mission" and "vision" for the first time in my life.

If someone were to ask 10 carpenters to each make a dining room table and gave them a certain amount of money and a certain amount of time each of those carpenters would create a table that was different from the others. The task of making a table would be "mission". What those tables actually looked like would be "vision".

The "Mission" of the Lord's Churches is obvious Matthew 28:19-20 etc. The "Vision" is not always so obvious. In my experience almost all of the church splits that I have ever known have not been about "Mission" but in the area of "Vision". Different people have different ideas of what the end product should look like. Most of the time the differing opinions are neither doctrinal issues nor moral issues but usually "vision" issues. In a desperate effort to justify their divisions to "the brethren" I have literally seen people jump through incredible hoops trying make it look like it was about doctrinal issues when in fact it was nothing of the sort.

Even in denominations most splits and divisions are over "vision" issues and not "mission" issues. In the association of churches that I fellowship with there is a growing differences of opinion concerning what starting new churches should look like. There really isn't a doctrinal or moral issue at stake its mostly just a preference of which terms should be used, which methodology should be followed and a lack of trust from those that have never done it that way before.

It is interesting to note that the word "division" with the prefix "di" actually means "Two Visions". In this group of churches neither of the "visions" for how to start churches is necessarily unscriptural they are just different. When such a situation exists the key to avoiding a division is to have "morphing" take place. "Morphing" is when two visions are turned into one. When "morphing" two pictures you lose parts of both pictures but a new and interesting picture develops. The problem is that it takes humility on both sides in order for morphing to take place, both sides have to give up something. Most of the time its really just pride that has to be given up....to actually admit that there is more than one way of doing something.

I grew up in Canada a country where interacial marriages are almost the norm. Something that I came to realize in most cases is that the more diverse the parents race often times the more beautiful the children were. Do you think that this is a coincidence.....No! God is trying to teach us something. The more diverse the differences between two people, two visions, two groups etc.....when they are willing to "morph" the more beautiful they can be. When a couple comes together and a child is created each parent gives DNA to the process. Some is used from one parent and some is used from the other. It is Gods way of making something beautiful out of two seperate entities. I believe that if there is a willingness to morph among our churches that God can take the city churches and the country churches and make something beautiful, the older generation and the younger generation and make something beautiful, the small churches and the large churches and make something beautiful, the mission methodology and the church planting methodology and make something beautiful. The bible says "submit one to another". If we do this then we can be morphed into something very very very beautiful. I pray that this would happen in our churches!

Green Eyes

This picture was taken on Christmas day at Grandma's house. I love Christmas espescially for the children. One of the best parts of Christmas is the anticipation, the imaginations (sugar plums dancing in their heads) all that goes in to looking forward to that moment when the gifts will be opened. The best part is often the days leading to Christmas. Then Christmas comes the gifts are opened and many times the kids play more with the boxes the gifts were in than the actual gift! What happens? You know the Christmas day blahs, after all the presents are opened and that deep down in the gut feeling comes over you that says "Is that all there is". It's called disillusionment. We have a vision of what we think should happen and that the things we wanted will bring us happiness and reality falls short. Why is there so much disillusionment in this world. Why so many disenchanted people?
The answer is that many of our dreams and visions for our lives are not from God but from our own fleshly desires. If we would expect in life what God wants us to expect then we would be disillusioned (freed from illusions) to begin with!

Disillusion
1.
to free from or deprive of illusion, belief, idealism, etc.; disenchant. –noun
2.
a freeing or a being freed from illusion or conviction; disenchantment.

Some think that to keep from being disillusioned in life you should just lower your expectations and not think big at all......therefore some are against the whole "Vision" concept. This is not biblical. The problem is that when this is taught the person is assuming that another persons "vision" is not from God! What a presumption! What a judgement! What a sin! Who called you to be an inspector and destroyer of dreams. Did it actually cross your mind that you may be the one causing the the "disillusionment".....but its actually a false disillusionment because the person never needed freed from an illusion to begin with.

God did not call us to tear down peoples dreams or visions. Are you going to be like Joseph's brothers who mocked him, sold him into slavery and abandoned him because of the vision God gave him?.....Who are you to judge someone elses dream?......What if God put that in a person to dream that?......What if you are fighting Gods purpose in that persons life? You might say.....then it will happen anyway......Not necessarily......not every dream is predestined! Just like we may have the blood of the lost on our hands we can end up with the tears of a lost dream on our hands too when we stand before God!

When a person has a vision of what God wants them to do......It usually is pretty big and its usually not accepted by most people. There are those that will try to find something unscriptural about it. Matter of fact in church work some go so far as to come up with the ridiculous notion that "church growth" isn't scriptural and that if your church is growing you're compromising on truth. These same people nitpick and find a handful of random churches across the country and find something unscriptural with them and superimpose that image on all growing churches or at least the ones they don't like. Its interesting to note that most of the time it comes down to opinions and or perceptions not anything substantial or factual.

A God vision is much bigger than what man can come up with and in the end it doesn't bring disillusionment it brings about the workings of God in the lives of men! We accuse those with vision many times of trying to do the work themselves and not letting God do it. We use scripture like "God gives the increase" and terms like "We need the power of the Spirit" to make our case against those who are laboring hard in the Lords work because of a vision. Did it ever occur to you that in reality you are guilty of the judgement you are giving and doing the same thing by trying to work at tearing that persons vision down instead of letting God do that work(if its even necessary)? What hypocrisy! Maybe someone destroyed a vision you had long ago, that doesn't make it ok to do the same thing. Maybe the real truth is that you have Green eyes, full of envy.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" Ephesians 3:20

Distracted

Distracted by the things around us we are! Not to sound like "Yoda" but it's so true. In what age or what generation have men been more distracted? It is amazing to me how many things there are that keep distracting me from my mission in life. I'm not going to make a list of everything because you know what I'm talking about. I want to show you some quotes from an "eyes on the prize" sort of Christian lady. Listen to the focus and feel the mission Fanny Crosby was on. Her eyes were literally on Christ.

"It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."

"If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind...for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour."

I am so blind at times that I get distracted even by the things that God is trying to use to get me focussed! I find that the most happy, joyous, fulfilled times in my life are when I am totally focussed on the mission that God has for me. When I get distracted my whole life seems out of whack. Listen to what she wrote when she was only 8 years old.

Oh, what a happy child I am,

although I cannot see!

I am resolved that in this

world contented I will be!

How many blessings I enjoy

that other people don't!

So weep or sigh because

I'm blind, I cannot - nor I won't

Its incredible how one that was so blind was so focussed. I want to stay focussed, I don't want to be distracted. I want to teach my kids to think like this amazing woman. God help me not to be distracted, not to turn to the left or to the right........ Help me stay on mission!

Daddy, I Don't Want To See

Wow.....I never thought that I would hear that from anyone. Life sure has a way of teaching us things that are beyond our imagination. My little girl is 5 and a half now and she is asking so many questions and learning so many things. Just today she broke her all time record and brailled her name and the alphabet in 49 seconds. I think she's awesome!

A few weeks ago we were talking and she was wondering if there would ever be a way that her eyes could be fixed. She has asked this question before and we had actually talked about it in our home because of all the wonderful advances that science and technology have made. We told her that there may be a day when the doctors could fix her eyes so she could see. Her response was "Daddy, I don't want to see." We were kind of shocked because we know how much better it would be to see. Having never seen she doesn't know.

Some of her response was due to having to go through surgery, some of it was that it would be so different and change is scary. The largest part of it however was that being blind has become a large part of her identity. She is the blind girl, she gets lots of attention because of this, she gets to do things that other kids don't get to do. She knows braille and they don't. She has 3 teachers and the other kids only have 1. She has never known anything but blindness. It's who she is!

I wonder if many times we too don't want to see......I mean.....if our eyes are opened and we see certain truths more clearly, things may not be the way that we thought they were. What if our identity is based on what we have always thought to be reality. What if the world really isn't the way that we thought it to be.

I liken my daughter to believers because she can see the light but she doesn't see detail. Just like my daughter doesn't want to see maybe many of Gods people are happy just being saved or happy just doing things the way they've always been done. Maybe we too actually prefer being blind. Maybe alot of the changes that are so resisted in so many churches and associations are actually resisted for no other reason than if we did it that way we would lose our identity? I tell my daughter..... "We would love you the same!" We tell her "Don't you want to see your daddy and your mommy?" She doesn't say anything. Maybe we are just like she is, maybe we too prefer our identity more than seeing God work in our lives, our families, our churches, our jobs? My prayer is that I will find my identity in Jesus Christ and nothing else.

Maybe you are without Christ and you are totally blind to spiritual things, maybe you have your identity wrapped up in the things of this world. You can be more than that, you can identify with more than the temporary things of this world......Turn to Christ and find a much better identity in Him. May God Bless.