It’s official. The numbers are in and they don’t look good. It can now be stated emphatically that we are without a doubt in a recession. But I’m not talking about the United States economy. I’m talking about the Southern Baptist Convention.
The definition of the word recession is, “the act of withdrawing or going back.” The latest study showing that membership and baptisms continued to decline in the SBC during 2008 is proof positive that our convention is heading in the wrong direction.
But what about Eulaton First Baptist?
I was listening recently to an Internet broadcast of Christian financial counselor Dave Ramsey’s radio show, and he was taking calls from people who were declaring that they weren’t participating in the economic recession. Well, why can’t we as a church make the declaration: “We’re not going to participate in the SBC recession!”
Although I’m absolutely discouraged by the numbers showing that our convention is continuing to decline, I’m incredibly encouraged by what God is doing in our church. So yeah, I don’t think we have to participate in this spiritual recession. Let’s buck the trend. Let’s swim against the current. Let’s trust God to make our future even brighter than our past.
Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research, recently wrote about the decline in our convention and compared our problems to heart patients who are incredibly sick but refuse to change their lifestyle. He points to a study showing that, “left alone, most patients choose death over change.” And that is true about many of our SBC churches. Many are so tied to “the way things used to be” and so afraid of the pain of change that they would rather die than transform.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a part of a dead or dying church. And I praise God that EFBC is alive and growing. Have we undergone changes? Absolutely. Have some of those been painful? Undoubtedly. Will there be more changes? Probably. But this past December I reached a point in my ministry where the pain of staying the same became greater than the pain of change. And since then, I’ve been a moldable piece of clay in the hands of the Master Potter.
I’ve decided to choose change over death. I hope you’ll join with me and do the same.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Are You Ready For Sunday?
I don't know about you, but I am PUMPED for this Sunday at Eulaton! I believe we're going to see some great things happen because I believe God is going to show up in a BIG way.
There are a couple of things that I want to ask you to be doing between now and then:
1. Be praying. Pray that God will prepare the hearts of the lost that will be here to receive the message of the Gospel.
2. Be investing and inviting. This Sunday's Fun Day is a great time to really put our Invest & Invite Strategy into practice. Invest in the lives of others, and invite them to come and hear the Gospel. I'm praying that God will allow me to present the message in a way that is clear and engaging. I guarantee if you can get your "investee" here on Sunday, they are going to hear the Gospel.
Make sure your investee knows that they don't have to run out and buy some new clothes just so they can "dress up" to come to church. Let them know that at Eulaton, we believe church is about Jesus and not about a fashion show.
Make sure your investee knows that we're not going to embarrass them, have them stand up in front of everybody, or call on them to pray. Let them know that you'll be there with them and that you want them to feel at home at Eulaton.
Don't ever forget how stressful and/or scary it can be for a first-time visitor at a church, especially if that person has never been to a church service anywhere. Let's show them this Sunday that this is not about a bunch of religious stuff that has nothing to do with God. Let's show them that this is about having a relationship with Jesus.
Are you pumped yet? I hope you are. This Sunday is going to be AWESOME! Be praying. Be investing and inviting. And come expecting God to do some great things!
I'll see you Sunday morning.
There are a couple of things that I want to ask you to be doing between now and then:
1. Be praying. Pray that God will prepare the hearts of the lost that will be here to receive the message of the Gospel.
2. Be investing and inviting. This Sunday's Fun Day is a great time to really put our Invest & Invite Strategy into practice. Invest in the lives of others, and invite them to come and hear the Gospel. I'm praying that God will allow me to present the message in a way that is clear and engaging. I guarantee if you can get your "investee" here on Sunday, they are going to hear the Gospel.
Make sure your investee knows that they don't have to run out and buy some new clothes just so they can "dress up" to come to church. Let them know that at Eulaton, we believe church is about Jesus and not about a fashion show.
Make sure your investee knows that we're not going to embarrass them, have them stand up in front of everybody, or call on them to pray. Let them know that you'll be there with them and that you want them to feel at home at Eulaton.
Don't ever forget how stressful and/or scary it can be for a first-time visitor at a church, especially if that person has never been to a church service anywhere. Let's show them this Sunday that this is not about a bunch of religious stuff that has nothing to do with God. Let's show them that this is about having a relationship with Jesus.
Are you pumped yet? I hope you are. This Sunday is going to be AWESOME! Be praying. Be investing and inviting. And come expecting God to do some great things!
I'll see you Sunday morning.
Friday, March 27, 2009
He'll Do It Again
In Acts 2, you can read all about the birth of the first church and how it began with some 3000 people being saved and baptized. No kidding. That’s the number “three” with three zero’s behind it. And all this happened without the benefit of a church building, a microphone, or a copy of the New Testament. When God poured out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost, He really started the church off with a bang.
And it didn’t stop. By Acts 4, the Bible tells us that the number of the men (apparently not counting women and children) had grown to 5000. By the time you get to the end of the book of Acts, the message of the Gospel had spread out from Jerusalem and had been carried as far away as the city of Rome. Numerous churches had been planted and the world has never been the same since.
One strange thing about the book of Acts, though: It ends very abruptly. It’s almost as if Dr. Luke was writing one day and decided to put his pen down and close the book without a proper ending. Why is that? We’ll probably never know this side of heaven.
But maybe, just maybe, the reason the book of Acts ends so abruptly is because it is the only book of the Bible that has yet to be finished. Could it be that the book of Acts is still being written today and we are a part of the story? The book is titled The Acts of the Apostles, but I think it could better be titled The Acts of the Church. And the book of Acts was only the beginning of that story.
Some people look at Acts 2 and think that God would never work that way today. Some people read how God used a relatively small group of people to literally turn their world upside down (Acts 17:6) and think that God could never use them in the same way. I’ve got a Greek word for that: “baloney!” God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So let’s all pray and ask God to bless our church like He blessed those early churches in the book of Acts. He hasn’t changed, and I believe He wants to do it again.
And it didn’t stop. By Acts 4, the Bible tells us that the number of the men (apparently not counting women and children) had grown to 5000. By the time you get to the end of the book of Acts, the message of the Gospel had spread out from Jerusalem and had been carried as far away as the city of Rome. Numerous churches had been planted and the world has never been the same since.
One strange thing about the book of Acts, though: It ends very abruptly. It’s almost as if Dr. Luke was writing one day and decided to put his pen down and close the book without a proper ending. Why is that? We’ll probably never know this side of heaven.
But maybe, just maybe, the reason the book of Acts ends so abruptly is because it is the only book of the Bible that has yet to be finished. Could it be that the book of Acts is still being written today and we are a part of the story? The book is titled The Acts of the Apostles, but I think it could better be titled The Acts of the Church. And the book of Acts was only the beginning of that story.
Some people look at Acts 2 and think that God would never work that way today. Some people read how God used a relatively small group of people to literally turn their world upside down (Acts 17:6) and think that God could never use them in the same way. I’ve got a Greek word for that: “baloney!” God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So let’s all pray and ask God to bless our church like He blessed those early churches in the book of Acts. He hasn’t changed, and I believe He wants to do it again.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Recommended Reading
The following article is a great example of what we who are followers of Christ ought to be about:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373
Thursday, December 04, 2008
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year?
Are you ready for Christmas?
Every year I get asked that question, and my response is usually something like, “not even close.” Why? Because one of my annoying and unfortunate habits is that I’m bad about putting things off until the last minute. I heard someone say once that Baptists believe in justification, regeneration, and procrastination. The only thing I could say in response was, “I resemble that comment.”
But getting back to the initial question: “Are you ready for Christmas?” Isn’t it a shame that this time of the year, when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, usually turns into a mad dash to buy presents for everyone on our list. You’ve probably heard by now about a temporary worker at a Wal-Mart in New York who was trampled to death by frenzied shoppers on Black Friday. And when customers were asked to leave the store after this tragedy, many who were so intent on getting that great after Thanksgiving deal flat-out refused. How’s that for this season of peace on earth and goodwill toward men?
Regrettably, what usually happens is that the first twenty-four days of the month of December turns into one big headache that is followed by a huge sigh of relief when the twenty-fifth finally rolls around. The result of this Christmas rat race is that this holiday has by-and-large turned into a huge celebration of American commerce, and if we’re lucky there just might be a nativity story tagged on at the end. I have a friend who pastors a church in Tallahassee, and he posted this on his blog this week:
This past Monday, my wife and I went to a place called North Pole City in Oklahoma. We love Christmas decorations and this place was the largest Christmas store I have ever seen. Overwhelming is the understatement of the day when it comes to this store. It probably takes about 90 minutes to walk through the whole store and I think we still didn’t see everything.
Something we both noticed…was that nothing in the store was about Christ. Nothing.
Santa, Snowmen, Villages, Rudolph, Penguins, Christmas Trees, you name it..they had it.
When did we get to the point where Christmas was not about Christ?
I don’t know when we got to that point, but I do know one thing: I can honestly and unequivocally say that I am ready for Christmas. I don’t have all of my gifts purchased. I still haven’t mailed out any Christmas cards. We haven’t even put up any Christmas decorations at the Lambert home yet. But none of those things matter, because Christmas isn’t about any of those things.
And that’s why I’m ready for Christmas this year.
Every year I get asked that question, and my response is usually something like, “not even close.” Why? Because one of my annoying and unfortunate habits is that I’m bad about putting things off until the last minute. I heard someone say once that Baptists believe in justification, regeneration, and procrastination. The only thing I could say in response was, “I resemble that comment.”
But getting back to the initial question: “Are you ready for Christmas?” Isn’t it a shame that this time of the year, when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, usually turns into a mad dash to buy presents for everyone on our list. You’ve probably heard by now about a temporary worker at a Wal-Mart in New York who was trampled to death by frenzied shoppers on Black Friday. And when customers were asked to leave the store after this tragedy, many who were so intent on getting that great after Thanksgiving deal flat-out refused. How’s that for this season of peace on earth and goodwill toward men?
Regrettably, what usually happens is that the first twenty-four days of the month of December turns into one big headache that is followed by a huge sigh of relief when the twenty-fifth finally rolls around. The result of this Christmas rat race is that this holiday has by-and-large turned into a huge celebration of American commerce, and if we’re lucky there just might be a nativity story tagged on at the end. I have a friend who pastors a church in Tallahassee, and he posted this on his blog this week:
This past Monday, my wife and I went to a place called North Pole City in Oklahoma. We love Christmas decorations and this place was the largest Christmas store I have ever seen. Overwhelming is the understatement of the day when it comes to this store. It probably takes about 90 minutes to walk through the whole store and I think we still didn’t see everything.
Something we both noticed…was that nothing in the store was about Christ. Nothing.
Santa, Snowmen, Villages, Rudolph, Penguins, Christmas Trees, you name it..they had it.
When did we get to the point where Christmas was not about Christ?
I don’t know when we got to that point, but I do know one thing: I can honestly and unequivocally say that I am ready for Christmas. I don’t have all of my gifts purchased. I still haven’t mailed out any Christmas cards. We haven’t even put up any Christmas decorations at the Lambert home yet. But none of those things matter, because Christmas isn’t about any of those things.
And that’s why I’m ready for Christmas this year.
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