The Government Should Have No Say in What a Woman Does with her Body
Recently I have seen a huge push by those who are pro-choice that the government should have no say so in what a woman does with her body. As a pro-life Christian, I completely agree. In fact, almost every single pro-life Christian I know would agree with that statement. In fact, the pro-life position goes even further. We do not want the government telling women or men or boys or girls or babies what they can do with their bodies.…
Don’t Let Your Pet Doctrine Destroy Your Soul
No matter where I go or who I talk to it seems like the majority of Christians in our culture are dissatisfied with their church or are having a hard time finding a good church to worship and fellowship with. Through these conversations it has become abundantly clear that the problem is not the church as an organization but those who profess faith in Christ. Almost every conversation or article about how bad the church is centers around one or…
The Greatest Missions Opportunity is the Established Church
It has taken me many years to come to this conclusion, but I believe that one of the ripest harvests is the pews of churches in the American South. I understand that many people have “shaken the dust off their feet” and moved on from the established churches in the South, but I believe that this is a mistake. The question truly is this, have American’s heard the Gospel and rejected it or have they never heard the Gospel? I…
Regenerate Church Membership
Where do you begin as you seek to renew a church? There are so many issues from music to finances to leadership. Where do you begin? I would submit to you that the greatest need is a truly regenerate church membership. In Scripture there are sheep, wolves, and goats. If you are part of your typical church here in the South you will find that it is about 10-20% sheep, 10-20% wolves, and the rest are goats. Sheep are the…
The Key to Church Renewal
Before any church can be revitalized, you must settle one question: Who is going to revive the church, you or God? I believe that there is no greater offense to the Spirit of God than the spirit of dependence upon the flesh. The Word of God is clear. “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5.) There is nothing that God requires of us that we are actually capable of doing. We are without strength (Romans 5:6.) We are completely…
Church Health vs. Church Growth
Healthy churches will grow. Unhealthy churches can grow as well. Healthy bodies will grow taller and stronger. Unhealthy bodies will grow wider around the waste and weaker. Healthy cells multiply and divide. Cancer cells multiply and divide. This is very important to remember in church revitalization. The goal is a healthy church not church growth. The healthy church will grow in time, and the growth will be God glorifying and sustainable. A church may grow like a cancer cell, but…
Church Revitalization
In recent years the emphasis on church planting has been accompanied by a growing emphasis on church renewal. For the last twelve years, I have been part of two different church revitalizations. I am planning on discussing this process at length from start to finish. My prayer is that it will encourage each believer in Christ to help strengthen their local church so that it can be all that God has called it to be. What is meant by church…
Not Making a Decision is Making a Decision
I once asked a man if he would follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. He stared at the ground and did not answer. Eventually his answer came, “I am not going to say, ‘No.’” However, he would never say, “Yes,” nor did he follow Christ’s teachings. I have many similar conversations over the years. People know what God requires of them, yet they will not do it. They keep delaying and putting off what they know they should do. However,…
Day 6 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
We continued to work on this week’s projects, discovering more issues than we expected and challenges that must be overcome. In passing it will appear not much has been accomplished, but we are all wore out. We still put priority into having time for devotions and prayers twice daily as a team. Even during our labors we spend time to understand the spiritual needs of each other and the Lakota men we are working with. This year we have the…
Day 5 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
We continued working on the rehabilitation center (staining kitchen cabinets, running internet cables and the roof sheet metal is almost done). In addition we continued work on getting the old trailer dug out so it can be towed away for the new (well it is 40 years old) to replace it. You can see in the picture below of the kids playing and they are getting excited to have a new home arriving soon, possibly tomorrow. Several of us will…
Day 4 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
Wow! We had a great day. We worked on a wide range of projects today: We worked with two local Lakota ranchers to have their cattle checked and vaccinated by a Veterinarian mission team (Aaron got kicked and Luke got dumped on). We prepared to remove a trailer that will be replaced by the trailer we are living in right now. This included digging out the tongue and wheels. We started installing the steel roof on the rehabilitation center. It…
Day 3 – Pine Ridge Mission Trip
Today was our first day of work. We were blessed to have ten Lakota men working with us throughout the day. Projects included pouring cement, constructing walls, getting a mobile home ready to move, moving a Lakota family from Rapid City back to Pine Ridge, and various other projects. It was great to see old Lakota friends and learn what has been going on in their lives, both good and bad. We have devotions, pray, and sharing our meals with…