Encouragement to be Missional

What does it mean to be missional?  What does it look like to be missional?  Christ makes it clear through the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 that we as His disciples are to be missional in all we do.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

                                                                                 Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
 

This week at First Baptist we will be hearing testimonies from the team who spent a week at the Pine Ridge Reservation.  These team members went to the edge of our state to a completely different culture in order to preach the Good News to a people with very little hope.  But we do not have to travel very far in order to fulfill the words of Christ above.  The idea of “going” in this passage is better translated “As you go, make disciples . . .”  This means that as we live our daily lives we who are disciples of Christ should be actively and purposely seeking out others to disciple.  This may be bringing someone to Christ for the first time or encouraging another’s growth in spiritual maturity in Christ.  Either way, Christ’s words are focused on His disciples living out discipleship on a daily basis.  This is what it mean to be missional.

 

May the testimony and witness of those who share this week be an encouragement to us all to fulfill the Great Commission and may we be prayerfully prepared for God’s dramatic call for our daily lives.

All Things to All People

As God's children we are all called make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them the commands of Christ.  But sometimes that is easier said than done. And in reality, though we want to follow this command with all our hearts, things tend to get in our way.  How do we identify and removed these obstacles?

 

This week we will be studying Acts 15:1-5 where Paul has Timothy circumcised.  This comes right after Paul found himself in the midst of a church conflict where Jewish believers were insisting that Gentile believers be circumcised to be saved.  Paul was adamantly against this and went as far as getting a letter from the counsel in Jerusalem to speak against this "salvation through works" doctrine.  And yet Paul supports Timothy's circumcision.  Why? 

 

Making disciples and Timothy's circumcision seem miles apart but they are actually very closely related.  My hope this week is that we will be able to identify and remove those obstacles in our lives that prevent us from making disciples, baptizing, and teaching others.

 

May we be prayerfully prepared for what the Spirit will teach us this week as we study and strive to live out His Word.

Go Therefore and Make Disciples

This week at First Baptist – Emery, Chuck Hiatt (former pastor at FBC) will be bringing the word of God from Psalm 90.  The title of his message is “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.”  Pray for him as he brings the truth of the Gospel to ears that will hear.

The reason for Chuck preaching this week is due to my joining a group from Emery and Virginia heading to Pine Ridge, South Dakota to lead a Vacation Bible School, build relationships, and help the local church with any needs.  This trip has taken place for at least the past fifteen years and hopefully will continue for the next eighty (at least).

This begs the question, why do we go back to Pine Ridge every year, with seemingly very little “progress” or “success” in the realm of spiritual growth (Pine Ridge is made up of around 1% believers/disciples of Christ)?  To answer this question we need to look beyond what we can see.  Yes, there seems to be very little “progress” of the Gospel to our own eyes, but God is calling disciples of Christ from South Dakota, Virginia, and across the country to Pine Ridge to continue the work of fulfilling the Great Commission.  We are called to go and make disciples.  So, we go and each year we wait to see what God is going to do.  As long as he calls us to Pine Ridge we will continue to go.  We are disciples of Christ who desire to see revival in the hearts of those at Pine Ridge.  We cannot overcome the historical, current, and future road blocks of the Gospel message.  But God can.  And will.

One final question for you: What are you doing to fulfill the Great Commission?  Perhaps it is in another country or in your own neighborhood, but God is calling all of his children to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

Please pray for the team heading to Pine Ridge this week from July 13-20.  Do not let your first prayer be safety (as Pine Ridge can be a very dangerous area), but let your first and most fervent prayer be for the Gospel Message to make its way to the hearts of those whose ears hear.  May we come back from Pine Ridge this year with stories of revival and repentance of those at Pine Ridge.  May we come back changed ourselves, more reliant upon Christ, and renewed in our own faith.

Brotherly Strife!

I had a friend once tell me, “Where you have people you will have conflict.”  This is a very true statement, not only today but also in the life of the new and growing Church.  Acts 15:36-41 reveals to us a conflict that came about between two very respected leaders: Paul and Barnabas.  This conflict was not small nor was it insignificant.  In fact, it played a major role in the life of both men. 

In the church we tend to place Biblical characters (such as Paul) on such a high pedestal that we begin to place them in the realm of perfection, just a step down from God.  But in reality, they were human.  And being human means that they were sinful.  Paul and Barnabas have such a large disagreement that they actually part ways, never to travel together on a missionary journey again.  But was the conflict between them sinful?

What was this conflict?  Why couldn’t they work out their differences?    What type of affect does conflict have on us and those around us?  What type of consequences are there to conflict? Is conflict always a bad thing?

May we prayerfully prepare our hearts for what God is about to speak to us about conflict in our own lives.