Are you ready for Sunday at EFBC? I'm unbelievably excited about what God has in store for us this weekend. We'll be hearing an incredible testimony from two very special people, and you definitely don't want to miss it.
The message this Sunday will come from Luke 10, and it's entitled It's Time To Celebrate. The testimony we'll be hearing is definitely something worth celebrating; and even more than that, if you've been saved by God's amazing grace you've got even more of a reason to celebrate.
We serve an awesome, holy, powerful, amazing, healing, forgiving, saving, mighty God! We ought to celebrate all that He is, all that He's done, and all that He's going to do! I hope you'll be able to be with us this Sunday morning, and I hope you'll come ready to celebrate Jesus!
He has done great and mighty things, but I guarantee you that we ain't seen nothin' yet!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Rob Bell And The Danger Of Stereotyping
A typical response by some evangelical church leaders to the Rob Bell controversy goes something like this, "Bell's denial of orthodox Christianity exposes the postmodern church movement for what it really is: a sham." Many seem more than willing to seize upon this opportunity to castigate all pastors who may not dress in a traditional suit and tie, read from the King James Bible, or lead a church that sings only hymns that are at least a hundred years old. It's almost as if any pastor who is young, hip and non-traditional has become anathema to them.
And that's a problem. Because as I see it, there are a lot of "trendy" pastors out there who are reaching a multitude of lost people not with a watered down, soft on sin and hell gospel, but rather with the timeless message that God is holy, sin has separated us from Him, Jesus died in our place to atone for our sins and save us from a literal hell, and without Him we are eternally lost and condemned. To be sure, that's not the message that Rob Bell appears to be preaching in his latest book Love Wins, and the outcry against it is loud and absolutely justified.
But why do some conservative Christians feel the need to stereotype and paint with such a broad brush the Rob Bell scarlet letter onto countless other ministers who stand diametrically opposed to the message in Love Wins? When did style of dress, choice of Bible translation, musical preferences, etc. become a litmus test for true orthodox Christianity? Because last time I checked, there are plenty of pastors out there who wear a suit and tie, read from the KJV only, and pastor a church that sings only the timeless hymns of the faith, and yet their message is as foreign to the truth of the scriptures as is Rob Bell's and Brian McLaren's. The emerging church movement doesn't have a monopoly on bad theology; you can find it in all shapes, sizes and styles.
So here's my plea: Let's get back to substance over style. Let's quit judging ministers by the clothes they wear and the music they listen to, and let's start listening to the content of what they're communicating. Heresy is heresy whether it's coming from a guy with tattoos and earrings or whether it's coming from a man in a three piece suit. Truth is truth whether it's coming from a guy wearing denim or whether it's coming from a man wearing silk.
Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that one day every man, woman, boy and girl would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. And I believe in that dream. But I also have a dream that one day the evangelical world will judge pastors, ministers and churches by the message they are preaching and not the methods they are employing.
And that's a problem. Because as I see it, there are a lot of "trendy" pastors out there who are reaching a multitude of lost people not with a watered down, soft on sin and hell gospel, but rather with the timeless message that God is holy, sin has separated us from Him, Jesus died in our place to atone for our sins and save us from a literal hell, and without Him we are eternally lost and condemned. To be sure, that's not the message that Rob Bell appears to be preaching in his latest book Love Wins, and the outcry against it is loud and absolutely justified.
But why do some conservative Christians feel the need to stereotype and paint with such a broad brush the Rob Bell scarlet letter onto countless other ministers who stand diametrically opposed to the message in Love Wins? When did style of dress, choice of Bible translation, musical preferences, etc. become a litmus test for true orthodox Christianity? Because last time I checked, there are plenty of pastors out there who wear a suit and tie, read from the KJV only, and pastor a church that sings only the timeless hymns of the faith, and yet their message is as foreign to the truth of the scriptures as is Rob Bell's and Brian McLaren's. The emerging church movement doesn't have a monopoly on bad theology; you can find it in all shapes, sizes and styles.
So here's my plea: Let's get back to substance over style. Let's quit judging ministers by the clothes they wear and the music they listen to, and let's start listening to the content of what they're communicating. Heresy is heresy whether it's coming from a guy with tattoos and earrings or whether it's coming from a man in a three piece suit. Truth is truth whether it's coming from a guy wearing denim or whether it's coming from a man wearing silk.
Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that one day every man, woman, boy and girl would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. And I believe in that dream. But I also have a dream that one day the evangelical world will judge pastors, ministers and churches by the message they are preaching and not the methods they are employing.
Friday, March 04, 2011
March Newsletter Column
Have you caught the vision? Thankfully, it's not a new contagious disease that's going around. It's the expectation of seeing God adding to this church daily those who are being saved, just like He did in the first church. And on February 20th, we got just a small taste of what that would be like!
That morning we saw seven people come forward in the service and trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. What would it look like if that became a weekly occurrence? What would it look like if, instead of averaging one baptism a week (which is incredible), we were averaging seven baptisms a week? What would it look like if God used this body of believers in Eulaton, Alabama to spark a revival that would spread throughout our community, our county, and our state?
We were privileged to have John Hays with us on February 23rd, pastor of Jersey Baptist Church in Ohio. He shared with us how thirty years ago God planted a church in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, and how that church is now one of the largest in the state. The journey at Jersey began with eighteen people who had a vision for what God could do in that community. And today, eighteen has grown to over twenty-five hundred!
Church, if God can do that in a cornfield in Ohio, He can do that on a dead end road next to an army depot in Alabama! I'm not saying we'll one day have twenty-five hundred people here. We may never see that many here; we may see more. But what I'm trying to get across is that God is able to do exceedingly greater things than we can even imagine. So let's not limit our vision!
One of the things Pastor John shared that really stuck with me was his testimony. He grew up in a home that knew nothing about Jesus. The first time he ever went to church, it was so he could play basketball. But even though he didn't attend church for the right reason at first, He soon met Jesus and his life was radically changed. And look at how God has used him!
The thought that came to my mind was this: how many kids do we have attending on Wednesday nights that might not be coming for the right reason? I'm sure many come just so they can play with their friends or to get out of the house for a few hours. But what's important is not why they've come to church; what's important is what we share with them while they are here! And who knows what the future will bring for some of these children? We may be ministering to the next John Hayes, or Adrian Rogers, or Billy Graham. What we're doing here matters. And it will have eternal consequences.
Have you caught the vision?
That morning we saw seven people come forward in the service and trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. What would it look like if that became a weekly occurrence? What would it look like if, instead of averaging one baptism a week (which is incredible), we were averaging seven baptisms a week? What would it look like if God used this body of believers in Eulaton, Alabama to spark a revival that would spread throughout our community, our county, and our state?
We were privileged to have John Hays with us on February 23rd, pastor of Jersey Baptist Church in Ohio. He shared with us how thirty years ago God planted a church in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, and how that church is now one of the largest in the state. The journey at Jersey began with eighteen people who had a vision for what God could do in that community. And today, eighteen has grown to over twenty-five hundred!
Church, if God can do that in a cornfield in Ohio, He can do that on a dead end road next to an army depot in Alabama! I'm not saying we'll one day have twenty-five hundred people here. We may never see that many here; we may see more. But what I'm trying to get across is that God is able to do exceedingly greater things than we can even imagine. So let's not limit our vision!
One of the things Pastor John shared that really stuck with me was his testimony. He grew up in a home that knew nothing about Jesus. The first time he ever went to church, it was so he could play basketball. But even though he didn't attend church for the right reason at first, He soon met Jesus and his life was radically changed. And look at how God has used him!
The thought that came to my mind was this: how many kids do we have attending on Wednesday nights that might not be coming for the right reason? I'm sure many come just so they can play with their friends or to get out of the house for a few hours. But what's important is not why they've come to church; what's important is what we share with them while they are here! And who knows what the future will bring for some of these children? We may be ministering to the next John Hayes, or Adrian Rogers, or Billy Graham. What we're doing here matters. And it will have eternal consequences.
Have you caught the vision?
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