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Gleanings from Long Term Ministry

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My good friend, Brad, pastor at Old Powhatan Baptist, recently wrapped up his 8th year at one church.  Here’s his reflections, which I would echo as I just wrapped 15 at Crestview.

1) Prayer is the heartbeat of ministry.
2) Strategy starts and ends with submission. (1 & 2 unpacked in part 1)
3) Family is essential for ministry.
4) My adequacy for the task and calling as pastor comes from Jesus. (3 & 4 unpacked in part 2)
5) The Holy Spirit changes people, not programs.  And, Holy Spirit changed people change programs.
6) Preferences are not the Gospel. (5 & 6 unpacked in part 3)
7) It is not enough to hold to the infallibility and inerrancy of God’s Word.
8) We are not meant for trench warfare, but for the victorious advance of the Gospel. (7 & 8 unpacked in part 4)

Thoughts On The Election

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Yesterday, I posted Some Thoughts On the Election from my good friend, Brad Russell.  He put this on a blog post, so I thought I’d link it here, since I posted it on Facebook only yesterday.  Thanks for your patience with the re-post.

While I am not thrilled with our president, and cannot stand for his moral/immoral stance… a couple of things to remember:

1. Everyone likes to say it, but as Christians we MUST believe it… Our Lord is enthroned forever. Remember that in the end, Jesus is the one Who has promised to destroy America (and every other nation) to reveal His Kingdom… There will be only one banner flying in the new heavens and new earth… the banner of Jesus. 

2. Our first priorities now as Christians must be to pray for our leaders and make disciples who make disciples… amazingly, no matter who is in the oval office, this will be our commissioning from our Lord. 

3. Prosperity is not a promise from God. It is also not a sufficient reason to be upset about our nation. It is better to be righteous and poor than to be wrong and prosperous. More Christians need to concentrate on GIVING away what they have for the sake of the Gospel and the suffering as opposed to HOLDING ON to things that will never satisfy us. 

4. The moral decline of our nation is not Obama’s fault. It is sin’s fault. It is OUR fault. Things aren’t worse morally now than they have been… in the 60′s “Christians” beat and killed people because of the color of their skin, made them drink out of different fountains, eat at different counters, go to different churches, schools, etc. In the 18th and 19th centuries “Christians” thought it was ok (if not biblical) to OWN PEOPLE like they were cattle. We have to remember that no Republican president has been able to change the morals of our nation (abortions were legal thru Reagan, Bush, Bush Jr.) and no president has ever saved anyone from their sins… Only Jesus has the power to save. 

What will you be talking about today? The problems of America, or will you a part of the solution by proclaiming Christ? We have a job to do… and that job has been the same… and will stay the same… until Christ returns.

So well said. I loved Brad’s heart here and continue to be challenged by it. In the mean time, now that we have a day behind us, this can serve as another reminder to be about the eternal work we’ve been called to pursue. Hope you have a blessed day to this end…

Weekend Recap – Suffering…

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We enjoyed a blessed Lord’s Day yesterday on so many levels.

My good friend, Brad Russell, was here preaching from 1 Peter 1:3-9 a message entitled Perspective in Suffering.  Many of us, when facing suffering, act as if some strange thing is happening to us.  But, the Bible is clear about how we can remain grounded in the midst of it.  I appreciated Brad opening his life to us and giving us solid anchors to latch onto in the midst of the storm.  The perspective we have in suffering leads to perseverance based on the Prize we have in the glorious Gospel of Christ.

In the evening, our rain moved on and the temp cooled off and we enjoyed a great night of fellowship at our church picnic.  Fun stuff.  Nothing like unhurried fellowship, tossing the football around and watching the joy on the children’s faces as they played together.  What a rich time.

Hope you had a blessed Lord’s day and enter this week refreshed.

Weekend Preview – My Good Friend

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One of my best friends, Brad Russell, will be preaching for me this coming Lord’s day. Brad is pastor at Old Powhatan Baptist Church in Powhatan, VA. As you continue to think about God and His greatness extended to us through Christ, anticipate blessings from Him as we worship this coming Lord’s Day. Reminder, too, in the evening, we will be having our church pic-a-nic at Herman Bunte Park here in Hutch at 6PM. Please bring a main dish, chair and side or dessert. Have a great week.