Proof The Unbelieving World Has No Idea Of What What Awaits Them

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My heart broke yesterday. I was walking through a local gift store when I noticed these oddly-shaped novelty coffee cups. As I read what was written on one of them, my breath was taken. Here is the exact quote, “The Upside of Going to Hell: you’d probably sweat off a bunch of calories and look super hot in a string bikini”. Really?

There is no “upside” of  going to Hell. I can’t get my mind around what would lead people to believe there could be anything positive about it. Instead of joking and making fun of it, it should break our hearts that people actually go there. God’s Word paints a less-glamorous picture. The Bible describes Hell as a real place, a place of “of weeping and gnashing of teeth“. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man, upon his death, finds himself in Hell. He cried out that he was tormented by the flames and that he desired someone to tell his brothers so they did not join him.

Aside from the physical element, there is also a mental element to Hell. It is there the individual is separated from the presence of God eternally. Within God, there is hope, truth, light, and love. Being separated from Him is darkness and hopelessness. Truthfully, even the individual who does not believe in God today still enjoys His presence. He/she may not acknowledge the existence of God, but they enjoy the spirit of love and the presence of hope that comes only from a loving God. Without the presence of God, there will be no love, no hope, no peace, no light, and no second chances. There is no “upside” to being eternally separated from the presence of God.

Some may say this is no big deal. Some may defend statements like these by passing it off as a joke or harmless fun. The possibility of being separated from God is no joke and by no means harmless. The one true “upside” to life is that Jesus Christ is still saving sinners. Who, if not for Him, would be staring down an eternity without God.

Worth Repeating

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“God intended the church to be alive, not dead. Romans 6:4 says, ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’ A dead church is an oxymoron. In light of the resurrection, how could you have a dead body of Christ?”

Brad Powell, Change Your Church For Good

Blog Recommendation

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I enjoy reading the blogs of other people. I read a wide array of what other pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders write in the areas of ministry, missions, and church life. I find it encouraging to interact with others on issues that matter to me. One such blog that I read every day is that of Jerry Rankin. Dr. Rankin is the president of the International Mission Board. He writes with clarity and passion about missions with a perspective of a former missionary. I would like to recommend his blog to you. I believe you will find it helpful and encouraging as well. Dr. Rankin blogs at Rankin Connecting.

Real Church Happens Outside The Church

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I have done quite a bit of looking around lately. I have made it a point to intentionally notice the people and places around our church. I have noticed that we have both the traditional family structure and single-parent families in our area of influence. I have noticed that we have different races, nationalities, and religious beliefs in our area of influence. I have noticed that we have both ends of the economic spectrum in our area of influence, often living close together. I have noticed that we have people that share similar interests or are linked by some common bond. Some of these in our area of influence are skateboarders, multi-housing, and the military.

There is a reality that I believe I have always known to be true. That reality: there are people who will not connect with the body of Christ through the old “they know we’re here” mentality. Because everyone does not look, act, or respond in the same ways, our ministry approach must fit them. It is up to the church to go to the people. In the Parable of the Great Supper, Jesus tells the story of a man who prepared a banquet and when time come for the guests to arrive, excuses were made as to why they could not. The master of the banquet then went intentionally looking for those who would come. In Luke 14:23 we have the words of Jesus, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full’. I believe there is a principle that we can carry over to the church today. We have made ready. We have prepared places and ministries. We have sat back and waited. We are to go out to where the people are.

Last night, I met with our Church Council, which is made of staff and department leaders. I appreciate this group of people for their passion in their area of service. I am thankful for their desire to see the lives of people changed. As we discussed upcoming community ministry, I posed a question to our leaders and challenged them to some “outside of the box” thinking. Here is the question I posed: ‘What meaningful services can we provide for our community that would be unavailable to them or cost them to obtain?’ I asked them to join me in considering this question and come up with areas of need that we meet “outside” the church walls. I am excited about what I am going to hear. I am looking forward to our church increasing its area of influence in our community.

FIFS : Matthew 28:19

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“ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

One part of the commission that Christ left to the church was the making of disciples. A disciple is one who is intentionally following after a master in order to know more about him. In the context of the Great Commission, a disciple is pursuing after Christ in order to be more like Him.  However, before a person can pursue Christ, he/she must first know Him. So, for someone to know Christ, someone must first share Christ. Sharing Christ is the responsibility of every believer. Jesus said, “go therefore”, literally “as you are going”, make disciples. Our sharing of Jesus with others is to be a lifestyle rather than an activity. But why? Why should we share our faith with others? Why should we take time to tell others about the message of hope through Jesus? Why should we take time to verbalize the heart-change we experienced? Let me suggest a few.

1. Jesus left every believer the command to do so. There is something special about the last words of a person. Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:8, “ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

2. Because lostness is real. Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

3. The chosen method of God for the lost to hear the gospel is for the believer to tell them. I don’t know why God left this tremendous task to us, but He did. I am certain God could have come up with at least five other options. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that God, through Jesus Christ, redeemed us. Only the redeemed can testify of redemption.

4.  Someone once cared enough for us to share Christ with us.  They have the right to expect that we will do what they once did for us.

It Is Not Enough To Just Say That Something Is False

/ Steven Ruff / 1 Comment

Across the Christian faith today, there is an ever increasing wave of false and erroneous teaching being pushed upon people. Sometimes, false teaching is obvious. We can see this in the religious cults of today. Cults are truly masters of math. Here is what I mean. A cult will multiply the ways in which a person can be saved, thus denying the teaching of Christ in John 14:6. A cult will divide the loyalty of its followers between God and the earthly founder of that faith. A cult will add to God’s Word claiming the writings of the founder are equal to, supplementary, or complimentary to the Bible. A cult will also subtract from the deity of Christ, claiming that Jesus Christ was only a prophet, a teacher, or just a good man, but not God incarnate.

Sometimes false teaching is not so obvious. What does false teaching look like? It is false to teach that if a person gives a monetary gift to a ministry, they can expect a larger monetary blessing from God, and when that blessing doesn’t come, the individual’s faith was not strong enough. It is false to teach that the keeping of a list of rules, either man-made or church-made, will bring a person into a closer relationship with God. Why should all of this matter? Teaching that does not place Christ first in all things and exalt the One True God of the Bible, keeps people from experiencing true freedom in Christ, thus keeping them bound in rules, regulations, and ritual.

During Christ’s earthly ministry, He come into contact with false teaching that was leading people away from God, rather that bringing them closer. It was not His practice to just merely go around stating that certain teaching was false. Often, Jesus confronted the false teachers and called them on their message. Jesus would tells these teachers, who were often the religious leaders of the day, the negative effects their teaching was having on the people. And as only He could, pronounce judgment upon them. It is not enough for us to just say that something is false. It is not enough to just talk about how false teaching can harm others. There may come a time when we as Christians must confront false teaching. We are to confront the false with the true. We are to confront the wrong with the right of the Bible. The souls of people are at stake and we have a responsibility to them. I believe John MacArthur said it best,

‘Jesus knew something evangelicals today often forget: Truth doesn’t defeat error by waging a public relations campaign. The struggle between truth and error is spiritual warfare, and truth has no way to defeat falsehood except by exposing and refuting lies and false teaching. That calls for candor and clarity, boldness and precision – and sometimes more severity than congeniality.” John MacArthur, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore

Reflections on the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Initial Report : Part #5

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This is the final post in a series on my personal reflections of the initial report from the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force.

Component #6: We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission, that a greater percentage of total Cooperative Program funds should be directed to the work of the International Mission Board. Therefore, we will ask Southern Baptists to support this goal by affirming an intention to raise the International Mission Board allocation for the 2011-2012 budget year to 51%, a move that is both symbolic and substantial. At the same time, we will ask Southern Baptists to reduce the percentage allocated to Facilitating Ministries by 1% as part of our initial effort to send a greater percentage of total Southern Baptist Convention mission funds to the nations.

This component is closely linked to Component #4. The fourth component of the report recommended moving the responsibility of Cooperative Program education and promotion from the SBC Executive Committee and placing it in the hands of the state convention. The task force believes the International Mission Board deserves a bigger piece of the CP pie. Currently, the IMB receives 50% of all CP dollars forwarded by the state conventions. The task force recommend increasing the amount given to the IMB from 50% to 51%. The additional 1% would come from the Facilitating Ministries budget.

In simple terms, the task force is asking for a budget adjustment, a reallocation of funds. The 1% will likely come from the Executive Committee’s budget once CP promotion is no longer an SBC responsibility and is taken on by the state convention. I am in favor this component. I believe the IMB needs more of our CP dollars. They have a huge task before, taking the gospel to all the nations. I applaud the task force for recommending an increase in the IMB budget. This recommendation speaks volumes to the importance of, and the need for, more dollars to the mission field.

Overall, this is a good solid report with the capacity to bring about a needed change across the SBC as it relates the carrying out the Great Commission. I am not sure how these recommendations will be out to a vote in Orlando, if they even get to a vote. There are two options: vote on all six recommendations as one, or vote on each component individually. What would I do? If the report is offered as a whole for consideration, I would have to vote no. If these recommendations are offered individually, right now, I would vote this way:

Component #1: Yes

Component #2: No

Component #3: No

Component #4: Yes

Component #5: No

Component #6: Yes

If you like, you can read the entire initial report here.  

Book Review : ReChruch, Healing Your Way Back to the People of God

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 Everyone has heard of it. Many have experienced it. Some have even walked away because of it. What is it? I am talking about Christians being wounded and hurt by other Christians at church. In his book ReChurch: Healing Your Way Back to the People of God, Stephen Mansfield deals with this personal issue from the perspective of one who has been through the hurt. ReChurch is written to the person who has been hurt and wounded and how they should perceive and deal with the hurt. Mansfield writes very matter-of-factly about this recovery.

Mansfield declares from the beginning of the book that he wants to be the “coach” that helps the reader understand the hurt in order to be productive in the future. ReChurch is a powerful tool for the wounded believer. Mansfield handles a very serious subject with an appropriate dose of humor. Chapter five, “The Throne Room of Your Mind” is worth the price of the book. ReChurch is an easy read and will not disappoint.  If you are struggling with a church hurt or know someone who is, this book is for you.

Reflections on the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Initial Report : Part #4

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Component #4: “We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission, we will ask Southern Baptists to move the ministry assignments of Cooperative Program promotion and stewardship education from the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention and return them to being the work of each state convention since they are located closer to our churches. Our call is for the state conventions to reassume their primary role in the promotion of the Cooperative Program and stewardship education, while asking the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to support these efforts with enthusiasm and a convention-wide perspective.”

 The task force believes the primary responsibility of education and promotion of the Cooperative Program among  local churches should be given to the individual state conventions. Since 1997, Cooperative Program education and promotion has been the responsibility of the SBC Executive Committee. Dr. Floyd, task force chairman states, “We envision that a consortium can be created by these state convention leaders that involves the President and CEO of the Executive Committee and together they can plan and execute an annual strategy that will promote the Cooperative Program to our churches as well as challenge our churches in biblical stewardship.” In its infancy, Cooperative Program education and promotion was the responsibility of the Executive Committee.

 I don’t really have a problem with this component. I personally feel that the each local SBC church needs ongoing education as to how Cooperative Program funds are distributed. Churches also need new and varied ways to promote the Cooperative Program. I believe the state conventions are in the best position to fill this important assignment.

 

 Component #5: “We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission, we will ask Southern Baptists to reaffirm the Cooperative Program as our central means of supporting Great Commission ministries; but in addition, we will ask Southern Baptists to celebrate with our churches in their Great Commission Giving that goes directly through the Cooperative Program, as well as any designated gifts given to the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention, a state convention or a local association.”

 I am 100% opposed to this component of the report. The task force desires to create a new category of giving entitled “Great Commission Giving”. The goal of this designation is to celebrate what every church is doing to fulfill the Great Commission by recognizing their CP gifts and their designated giving to other SBC, state, and associational causes. In a supplemental article, Dr. Floyd writes, “there was a need to ask Southern Baptists to celebrate with our churches the Great Commission Giving that is given through the Cooperative Program which is our priority, but also to celebrate with our churches those gifts they felt led to designate to the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention, a state convention, or a local association. When our churches give to offerings like Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, and state-related missions offerings, the Gospel is being advanced. Therefore, our convention should celebrate with our churches what God is leading them to do.”  

Dr. Floyd states that this new category of giving is not designed with traditional CP giving. He states, “We are reaffirming the definition of the Cooperative Program that was adopted by the 2007 Southern Baptist Convention. We believe the Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ unified plan of giving through which cooperating Southern Baptist churches give a percentile of their undesignated receipts in support of their respective state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention missions and ministries.” I believe this too. One area of possible confusion, at least to me, is the inclusion of Cooperative Program gifts in this new Great Commission Giving. I am fearful that a competition will naturally arise between these two giving designations.

 The Cooperative Program is a unified effort. This means that a portion of church’s offerings through the CP reach all the various ministries and missions across the state and SBC. This collective work enables all agencies, commissions, and boards to be funded and carry out the work they have been called to do. My question is this: How does including designated monetary gifts to the local association, state convention, and SBC causes, not given through the Cooperative Program channel, reaffirm the Cooperative Program as the primary plan of giving for the SBC? Hopefully this example will explain further.

 First Church gives 5% to the CP totaling $15,000, $2,000,000 to a church plant in New York City, $10,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and $8,000 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Under the new designation, their Great Commission Giving would total $2,033,000.

 Second Church gives 11% to the CP totaling $29,500, $3,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and $2,800 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Under the new designation, their Great Commission Giving would be $35,300. Who do you think will be celebrated? I am not opposed to church planting, nor am I opposed to individual churches supporting specific missions and ministries. Although First Church gave over two million dollars, only $15,000 went to the collective efforts of the state and SBC.  I am concerned that an atmosphere of “look at how much we gave” will overtake the foundational principle that “we can do more together than we can do alone”. The Cooperative Program  fuels us doing more together.

Personally, I believe that if this component comes to pass, there will be an abandonment and erosion of the CP as we know it years down the road. Although not intentional, when two classifications of giving are offered, one will fall by the wayside. The CP is the SBC at its best. Any effort, intentional or unintentional, to shift the focus off of collective funding of missions and ministries will would unravel the very fabric that holds our unified missions efforts together.

 

Reflections on the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Initial Report : Part #3

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I am continuing my thoughts on the initial report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. What I thought would be three posts, will more likely be four or five.

 Component #3: We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission, we will ask Southern Baptists to entrust to the International Mission Board the ministry to reach the unreached and under-served people groups without regard to any geographic limitations.

 The task force envisions the International Mission Board taking on the responsibility of assisting the North American Mission Board with reaching the lost across the North America. A large number of the world’s identified people groups that do not speak English are represented in major cities across the North America. Many of these groups have strategy coordinators working overseas with the same group. The task force seems to believe that a more effective reaching of these people groups would be accomplished by allowing the overseas coordinators to work in North America.

 I believe this is a terrible idea. One statement from the report seems especially ambitious. Dr. Ronnie Floyd, GCRTF chairman wrote, “We are confident that the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board can communicate with one another effectively about their respective work and communicate with our state conventions and local associations about what God is doing in their gospel work. I don’t understand how improved communication at denominational, state, and associational levels can be accomplished through this “unleashing” of the IMB on North American soil. I tend to believe the opposite will occur. Here are a few of the concerns I have about this particular component.

 1. The IMB has more than enough one their plate. With the number of unreached people groups around the world growing almost daily, their concern, efforts, and energy should be spent pursuing these groups. I believe with all of my heart that moving the IMB to North America will lead to a less-effective IMB. I would hate to see the IMB get so spread out that they would suffer the same ineffectiveness that the North American Mission Board is seeing now.

 2. North America should be the responsibility of NAMB. I believe the responsible thing to do would be to restructure NAMB in order to reach these same goals. Of course, I’m just one pastor.

 3. I believe this movement of the IMB to North America will blur the lines of responsibility  between these two mission boards. I can also see a funding nightmare as it relates to the Cooperative Program.

4. Does this mean that NAMB will be “hands-off” in the areas of North America in which the IMB is working? Who will have the ultimate responsibility of reaching North America?

 I would rather see the North American Mission Board strengthened through new structure and vision than to see the International Mission Board weakened by taking up the slack of the North American Mission Board.