28:19 Church Growth - Biblical and Relevant Church Growth Principles

07/01/2024

Hello friends, Barry here. I had a unique experience over the past week. We had a great Vacation Bible School with 40-50 children in attendance. They were a multicultural group, which I thought was awesome. They resembled the surrounding neighborhoods located near White Bluff.

While that was cool, we had a really cool thing happen twice.

The first time, I was busy preparing for Wednesday night’s games when someone came up to me and shared about a child who had just accepted Christ. She said that he did not have a Bible. So, I felt God’s tugging at my heart to give her a student Bible to share with Him. We went to my office, and I immediately pulled it off the shelf. She returned the next day and said the young man was overjoyed to receive his first Bible. While I never met him, there was plenty of joy to go around!

Sunday, many of the children who attended VBS sang in church. It was awesome, and they did a fantastic job! After church, a young family approached me and shared that they did not have a Bible in the house. The mom said her daughter especially wanted a Bible. Again, I thought about all of the Bibles in my office and how they needed to be put to good use. I asked the family to enjoy some of our WB Krispy Kremes but not leave. And they hung around! When I returned, I had a NIV Essentials Study Bible in my hand along with a Eugene Peterson Message Bible. You would have thought I was handing them bars of gold. To God be the glory for another blessing!

These opportunities reminded me of an important question, “Why are we not doing more regularly to bring people to Jesus… people who really need Jesus?” I know there will always be long-time churchgoers new to the community who need a church, but what about folks who need their first Bible? What are we doing to reach them? Are our Bibles collecting dust on a shelf or being commissioned for life change?

Carey Neiuwhof says there is a difference between “reaching people” and “church growth,” and he’s right! “Church growth” can bring people to faith in Jesus, but churches can also grow by transfer growth from other churches. “Reaching people” is concerned with sharing Jesus with souls who may never have received Christ as Savior or may have fallen away from the Church but are now returning. I understand and believe in the world of Christian Church Growth, but I do like Neiuwhof’s distinction.

I am grateful for God’s blessings this week. The greatest gift we can give is Jesus, and those of us with ample access to God’s Word need to share it freely and openly at every opportunity!

04/26/2024

WE HAVE BEEN SEEN, CHOSEN, AND SENT. LET'S GO!

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. -Mark 16:15 CSB

Growing up the daughter of first-generation Greek immigrants meant growing up in a very Greek bubble. Because my parents—and all their friends—came to Australia with no one to rely on but one another, they huddled together, firmly entrenched in the idea that there was safety in numbers. So, all my childhood, my parents and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends and neighbors stayed to themselves as much as possible in a tight-knit community, as though they were afraid of what might happen if they ventured out. And it wasn’t because they didn’t speak English. My parents actually spoke five languages: Arabic, Greek, French, Italian and English. They were brilliant people! They knew how to navigate modern society, but they chose to live in a small world of their own making.

Sometimes, I think we as Christians behave similarly. We live in Christian bubbles, inside our Christian communities, inside our collective of Christian friends, and we stay there. Perhaps, we even hide out there, in this Christian subculture of our own making. We design what we think is heaven on earth, and we hunker down in hopes all will go well until we get to leave this planet. When all the while, Jesus has seen us, chosen us and SENT US OUT INTO THE WORLD to make disciples. We can’t make his greatest commandment our first priority if we won’t break out of our bubble.

Jesus didn’t save us to build a Christian subculture. To avoid meeting people who do not look like us, act like us, think like us, or believe like us. He didn’t save us to hide from the world, avoid the world, ignore the world, fear the world, hate the world, condemn the world or judge the world. He literally sent us into the world…to make disciples…for us to love the world that he created and loves so tenderly and so fiercely.

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

The most important word in this verse? GO.

Go into all the world.

Go and love the lost.

Go and understand the lost.

Go and have compassion on the lost.

Go and tell the lost about Jesus.

Go and make disciples.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you that you have seen me, chosen me and sent me. Help me have the strength and courage to go where you tell me to go and do what you’ve called me to do. Amen.

For more on this visit www.christinecaine.com/2020study
Adapted from 20/20: Seen.Chosen.Sent by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2019 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Lifeway Women. All rights reserved.

04/25/2024

MAKE JESUS' LAST COMMAND YOUR GREATEST PRIORITY

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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. -Matthew 28:19-20 CSB

These verses are often referred to as The Great Commission because God has commissioned us to “go and make disciples.” Matthew recorded that these were the very last words Jesus spoke before he ascended into Heaven.

Don’t the last words someone utters always seem important? If someone is writing a Last Will and Testament, they are penning their final instructions and remembrances. Aren’t those words we never forget?

When my mother passed away, it was on the same day as my 50th birthday party. Nick had thrown this marvelous party for me with so many friends, and on the way home, I found numerous missed calls from my brother, Andrew, and a simple text: “Mum is gone.” I’ll never forget how grateful I felt that my other brother, George, had helped her FaceTime with me earlier in the day. I had told her how I would call her after the party and give her a full report on all the fun. I’ll always treasure the last memory I have of her—looking at her face, seeing her sweet smile and hearing her last words to me, “I love you.”

How could I not cherish her last words?

Has anyone every given you last words? What would you do if those last words contained an instruction? What if those words included a plea like, “Take care of your brother,” or, “Look after your mother for me”? Wouldn’t that request become a mission in your life? Wouldn’t that request become your biggest priority?

Could it be that it’s time to make Jesus’ last words—his last command—our greatest priority?

Imagine what would happen if we offered our lives to God for him to make his compassion, power, presence, truth and love known? What would happen if everywhere we go, every interaction we had, we simply said, “God, I am fully available. Use me, use this time, use this interaction to draw others to you?” Do you think he’d answer that prayer? I am convinced he would.

God has chosen you and me to make him known in this world. There is no plan B. We are God’s plan A. Let’s go and make his last command our greatest priority.

PRAYER
God, everywhere I go today, I am fully available. Use me in every interaction, every encounter, to draw others to you. I am ever ready to go and make disciples, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Adapted from 20/20: Seen.Chosen.Sent by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2019 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Lifeway Women. All rights reserved.

03/22/2024

03/18/2024

Focusing on the Presence of God: Picket Fences

This past weekend, I had a new first. I noticed for some time that a neighbor’s wooden picket fence needed some TLC (pressure washing and maybe a little white paint!). So, I asked the neighbor recently if they minded if I spruced it up, no charge! They said yes.

Over two hours, I pressure-washed the fence but realized that white paint would be important to protect the wood from decay. As I began to think about how to quickly and efficiently apply a fresh coat of white paint, I was reminded of the old saying, “Many hands make light work!” I knew six hands were playing video games and could be diverted to assist me (namely, Maddux, Paxton, and Lennox). As we began the process of painting together, it reminded me of times like helping my dad, helping other family and friends, and serving on many mission opportunities.

As we painted, I enjoyed that I was able to share in the activity with my three boys and they were able to learn what serving someone else was all about. While they were not as excited as I was, with encouragement, they did a pretty good job. It reminded me of how our Heavenly Father must feel when we are in His presence… just spending time with Him in a common activity (prayer, Bible study, and Christian community) where He serves us as we serve Him, He listens to us, and He provides the wisdom that we desperately need.

Brother Lawrence once said, “By living in the presence of God, we have an unclouded vision, and life becomes one unbroken divine practice of God’s presence.” I certainly am not God, just ask Erin! But I do know that as children of God, we all should be more willing to spend time with our Creator doing whatever task He calls us to simply for His enjoyment and glory! I long for all our lives to become one unbroken divine practice of God’s presence!

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Lord, so often our attention is focused on other things. May we have gratitude as we can spend time with you, even if the mission may sometimes seem difficult and uncomfortable. May we realize how you delight in us and how our time with you leads you to rejoice with joyful songs over us. We love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

03/12/2024

Focusing on the Presence of God: The Difference Between Obedience and Holy Fire

Recently, I walked into a KFC to eat a quick lunch before heading to the hospital to pray with someone who was having a procedure. As I stood at the counter to order, the lady at the counter said, “I see on your shirt that it says White Bluff Methodist. I love that church.” A little taken aback, I said, “Yes, it is a beautiful church. We are blessed to have such a beautiful facility.” And then I felt like the Lord had opened a door for me to share faith with her. I said, “Thank you for what you are doing here. I pray God’s blessings on you and your friends as y’all work here.” We talked a bit more and then I let her return to her work. After sitting down the Spirit said to me, “Barry, why didn’t you invite her to church?!” I finished my meal and walked back up to the counter. I said, “I would love to invite you to come to my church for one of our 9:30 am services on Sunday.” She said, “I will!” I almost missed an opportunity simply because it was easier to quietly eat my meal and go about my business. Thank goodness I had my shirt on because God had other plans.

God’s holy fire that burns deep within the human heart is attractive to others; they may not know what it is, but they know that they want to be close to it… to be warmed by its presence, to receive the light from its blaze, and to find haven as they draw near.

I am grateful that I feel a holy fire deep within my soul to commune with God, not just daily, but as much as possible. This fire makes me want to dive deeper into Jesus because I feel a strong, continual connection to Him that at times in my life has been missing. It makes me want to pray for my marriage and my children daily. It makes me want to read the Word. It also makes me want to repent. Lord knows I’m not perfect! But he also knows that we should make amends and move forward, not living with regret.

Brother Lawrence said back in the 1600’s, “The soul that is kindled cannot live but in the presence of God.” Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is a consuming fire.”

Years ago my grandfather, Francis Allen, and my uncle, Henry Davis, would go over the generational family farm called “Wood Hull.” Wood Hull started as a sawmill community. There were about 200 acres at Wood Hull that my family still owned (they had to sell some of it during the Great Depression to put food on the table). My grandfather and my uncle would do many things out there. Mowing grass was code for “playing golf,” and they loved to play golf! From time to time they would do a controlled burn on the property. The purpose of the controlled burn was to burn away the dead leaves and underbrush so that the trees could grow more freely and the woods became a natural barrier to further fire episodes in the future. The leftovers from the fire acted as fertilizer for the ground so that the pine trees could experience even greater growth.

Oh that God’s holy fire would burn deep within us! We need God’s holy fire to burn away the junk so that we can bloom into the being that He has created us to be. We also need God’s holy fire to create a barrier in us against the wrong kind of fires that can crop up, either of our own doing or because of circumstances that we may encounter in this world.

I have always tried to live in obedience to God. There’s nothing wrong with that as God does command our obedience in Scripture. But here’s the cool part… when we have God’s holy fire raging deep within us, we want to live in constant contact with God, and even that is not enough!

Dear Lord, do with me what you will. I am sorry for the times that I have gone astray and not fully surrendered to you. I pray that your holy fire would be a raging forest fire within the depths of my soul and heart so that people no longer see me, but they see the light of your fire. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.