Tag Archives: Church

Sep 10 2009

On Mission with God


The humble saints who worship at the Hemley Road church of Christ will probably never set foot in a foreign country. The economy in Bayou La Batre, Alabama is awful with unemployment at many times the rest of the nation. They are truly living by faith, trusting God day by day to provide the means to run church vans to gather children and those without transportation, pay utilities, and feed the hungry, etc. How then can this little flock carry out the great commission given to all believers?

They have been faithful with what they have been given and without realizing it have become a model of church ministry. They are salt and light in their community, loving the down and out folks, rebuilding homes and lives, feeding the hungry, and loving those who need love most. And, they are touching the world.

I noticed with admiration that soon after they became a local church they started to give to World Radio, helping to get the good news about Jesus to a needy world. Recently, their ministry became international. No, they have not been on a mission trip across the sea, God brought Bolivia to them.

When Carol and I visited Hemley Rd Easter weekend three men from Bolivia attended services. They had recently moved to Bayou La Batry to work in a sea food packing plant. None of the three men spoke English. So, they communicated with the universal language of love. Smiles and hugs, shared meals, and rides to Wal-Mart were some of the ways they loved these foreigners. At once they started to imagine ways to reach them with the good news about Jesus and they have.

One of the men, Roberto, was recently baptised. This past Sunday when I spoke at the church a young hispanic man stood with me and interpreted my message to those in the audience who only understand Spanish. This young man is the son of the Summerdale church’s hispanic minister. They have song books with both English and Spanish, side by side.

One expression of Roberto’s gratitude and affection for his new family is this beautiful mural he painted behind the baptistery where he reenacted the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

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This is a wonderful example of Christians seeing what God is doing and joining him in his mission. God’s agenda most often cannot be accomplished by plans and programs. By being faithful with what they have been given the church in Bayou La Batre has been able to touch Bolivia. Who knows what God will do in the lives of Roberto’s family and friends in Bolivia?

What is the lesson here? Become aware of what God is doing and join him in that mission. No program, no planning, is better than what God is already doing. When will you or your church have an opportunity to join God in his redemptive work. Your “Roberto” is waiting…

for Jesus,
Royce

May 20 2009

Secret Weapon!


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Today I attended the monthly men’s fellowship luncheon at The Pentecostals (church) in West Monroe. Each month a well known community leader, politician, coach, or other notable speaks. There is also singing by either a group or individual, and of course great fellowship around a delicious meal prepared by a local businessman and the ladies from the Pentecostal church. The event is free and very well done. (They also have a monthly luncheon for ladies)

Today’s speaker was our Ouachita Parish Sheriff Royce Toney. He gave a very informative and interesting talk about things the sheriff’s office is doing to make our parish safer and more appealing economically. Then, near the end of his presentation he unveiled something that had been covered by a large white cloth with two signs that said “Secret Weapon“. All of us wondered what it could be.

When the white cloth was pulled away we saw a large galvanized cattle tank used to water cows. He said that in his fight against crime this is his newest secret weapon, a portable baptistery. He went on to tell of the dozens of inmates (223 out of a population of 800) who have found Christ and have been baptised in the last few months. He mentioned Celebrate Recovery and what a fine job they are doing inside the bars and razor wire fences.

The recidivism rate in our parish is 80% compared to a national average of only 40%. He is convinced the way to lower that rate and our crime rate is to change hearts one man at a time. What a great thing for our sheriff to be proudly displaying a baptistery and saying faith in Jesus is the way to make our communities better!

This story reminded me that our Angola Prison, with one of the worst reputations in the nation for being a violent, tough place, has been transformed by winning men to Christ. Violence has greatly diminished since they have aggressively been allowing Christ to be preached and have even sent out missionaries two by two into other prisons to evangelize and disciple men for Christ.

The gates of hell, nor the gates of prisons, will prevail against what God is doing in bringing sons and daughters to himself. I am so proud of Mac and Mary Owen for bringing Celebrate Recovery to our people. And, I am equally proud of my friend John Grigson and others who head up CRInside. They are building churches inside the walls!

Christ be praised for the good things He has done and is doing!

Royce

May 18 2009

The Wholeness of Truth


Today’s post is from the pen and heart of my friend Edward Fudge. The title of this gracEmail is “Wholeness of Truth”. It spoke to my heart and so I decided to share it with you. I am interested in your thoughts on this.
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(gracEmail list) wholeness of truth
Edward Fudge
May 17, 2009

THE WHOLENESS OF TRUTH

As a child, I naively thought that the particular subgroup of the non-instrument Churches of Christ into which I was born had discovered “the truth” and that all other Christian groups were either ignorant or dishonest because they differed from us. By the grace of God, when I became a man, I put away those childish ideas.

I gradually realized that almost all the hymns we sang were written by Christians from other denominations, as were nearly all the biblical commentaries our preachers studied in preparing their lessons. That didn’t mesh with the notion that of all God’s people, we were the most informed.

As I came to know other Christians personally, I quickly discovered that they were not dishonest at all — their piety and commitment to Christ often dwarfed mine, and what I usually saw within my own religious movement.

Over the years, there gradually emerged in my mind a picture of the wholeness God desires for his church universal. The fact is that every orthodox Christian group has important truth to share. Each such denomination, fellowship or Christian tradition began by a move of God’s Spirit to recover, renew or restore some element of Christian teaching, activity or experience then dormant, lagging or lacking in the church at large. All of us believers in Jesus need all the truth — and we dare not fail to receive it just because someone else found it first.

In this quest, we all must learn to eat the meat and throw away the bones. The danger is that we misuse the truth we do discover, or get it out of balance. Every part of the Church — including our own — has abuses and extremes, confusions and errors, which we do well to reject and to avoid.

The point is not who said something first, but whether it came from the Word of God. If it came from God, it is for all his people. I want all the truth anyone else has found. I also want to share any truth that I might find with others who also love and follow Jesus Christ.

Edward Fudge

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Thanks for reading,
Royce

May 10 2009

How to Build a 1st Century church in the 21st Century


The following is a post from the archives. I believe it is worth a second look. Agree or disagree, I’d like to know what you think.

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19) Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. (Matthew 16:18) It is clear that Jesus is in the church building business. He came to earth to seek and to save the lost. His mission is plain, His plan is sure. 

When you set out to build a great church like the ones you read of in the book of Acts your motive should be “redemption”. If it isn’t perhaps you should pursue some other endeavor. Tens of thousands of folks have set out to build churches and some of them had a measure of success. Many of them reached their stated goal, to build a church. In my view the goal should always be reaching folks with the good news about Jesus, the goal should not be building a church. If the job of presenting Jesus is done right the church will happen with little effort. 

Jesus mapped out a plan that was magnificent. Every time it has been tried it has been successful and when His plan is not followed there is little success. Matthew 28:18-20 is where we begin. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen”

 Before we “go” we must get Jesus’ “therefore” settled first. “All authority in heaven and on earth” is the most overlooked aspect of evangelism. In previous posts I have made the Bible case for having Holy Spirit power before you begin. I have heard possibly scores of sermons and Bible lessons on this great passage in Matthew 28 and almost all of them overlooked the most important part of the formula for success. We can only go and tell because of Jesus’ authority. If you and I will join God in His redemptive work we must go in His authority and power. It is precisely because He who commissions also gives authority. As the Apostle Paul pointed out in Ephesians 6 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”. In 2 Corinthians 2:4 Satan is referred to as “the god of this age”. We must understand that when we go to the lost with the message of reconciliation in Christ that we are invading a wicked, spiritual kingdom controlled by Satan and we can only do this work in the “authority” and “power” of Jesus Christ. 

The “go” of the great commission is assumed. There is no “opting out” of the command. The emphasis is not on going but rather, “making disciples”.  How do we then make disciples? The same way Peter, Paul, Phillip, and others made them. One only has to read through the Acts to see that the message, the only message, was the good news about Jesus. When the apostles were put in jail it was for preaching about Jesus. When the Ethiopian did not understand the book of Isaiah the Holy Spirit sent along Phillip to preach Christ to him. There is no message other than Christ. 

Building a church that is like the 1st Century one must follow the same formula. You will not build a Bible church, focused on Christ, by preaching the church. Many church planters have as their goal a church and their message reflects that goal. In churches of Christ much of our historic ministry has been “corrective” rather than “redemptive”. The most common method employed is to lay out a logical argument in favor of the church of Christ as the only true church, for water baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and to finally win the argument. The result in my view is that our churches are populated by many people whose security is tied to the church of Christ and the fact that they have been immersed and not to Christ alone. 

 While I am on this subject, I am reminded of the seriousness of preaching the pure, unadulterated, good news about Jesus. In Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia he gave this chilling warning. “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8, 9) This is pretty serious language! “If I, an angel from heaven, or anyone else..” preaches anything other than Christ “Let him be accursed”! Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul was pretty upset that some were not preaching Christ and Him only. In verse 7 Paul spoke of those who “want to pervert the gospel of Christ”. What had they said or done that was so offensive that Paul would make such a strong defense for the gospel? The Jews who had given allegiance to Christ were teaching Gentile believers that faith in Christ is not enough, to really be saved you also need to be circumcised. That was it? Yes, that was the “perversion” of the gospel in this case. At first glance this doesn’t seem to be that bad, after all we of the faith have Abraham as our father, our history goes back to the old covenant, so what is so wrong about having some foreskin removed? Wouldn’t that be more proof of one’s allegiance to God? Paul would have none of that! The Holy Spirit through the pen of the Apostle says to those who preached circumcision in addition to faith “Let him be accursed”! 

 I ask this with a pure conscience and with love. Am I treading on the same ground if I tell people they are not really saved unless they are members of a local church of Christ? Is it a perversion of the gospel to tell a person they must be re-baptized to really be saved? Is a person in danger of being accursed if he preaches that only people who sing in worship without the accompaniment of instruments are going to heaven? These are serious matters not to be taken lightly.  One more quote from Galatians chapter 1. In verses 3 through 5 Paul clearly lays out the gospel story. “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen”. The reason we must preach only Christ is that only He can save; only He can deliver us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God. No church can do that, no religious act can do that, no pattern or from of worship can do that, and water baptism cannot do that. Jesus saves! Nothing or no one else does. 

Building a 1st Century church in the 21st Century requires the right motive, the right authority, the right message, and also the right ministry. We go in Christ’s authority and power, we preach Him and make disciples or (learners), we baptize them in water, and then we begin to teach them ALL Jesus commanded. The model is laid out clearly in Acts. These men and women, including Peter, who were prayed up and filled up with the Holy Spirit, preached Christ, baptized believers, and then the Scriptures say this of those new Christians, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship..” (Acts 2:42)What was the “doctrine” of the apostles? Christ! Read it for yourself. They taught that salvation was only though Him and were convinced enough to endure jail, whippings, hunger, and finally death rather than compromise the message of the gospel.

 There was an air of excitement in the air! These new believers met every day to break bread (possibly to share the bread and cup of communion remembering the Lord), the praises of God were on their lips, (they even had the favor of outsiders), they exhibited the unselfish love of God by pooling their resources for the furtherance of the gospel and the care of fellow believers, and the church grew like a prairie fire driven by the wind. There was no focus of how to “do” church; there was no preaching about the church. The church grew because of the Christ who was the focus of their faith, their love, and their surrendered lives, and He alone was their message. 

There is no question in my mind that any people who go into a community any place on the earth and follow this ideal will find God’s blessing and the church will grow, multiply, and men and women will become children of God. If the meetings take place on the patio of a Starbucks, in a rented saloon, in an abandoned theater, or in a beautiful church facility, the results will be the same if Christ is central in every message, motive, and mission. 

 Churches that make much of Jesus grow, and those whose focus is elsewhere do not. Admittedly, there are still false prophets and those who follow them. And the way to mark them out is the Jesus test according to 1 John, Paul’ and Peter’s letters, and Jesus’ own words. 

My prayer and sincere hope is that we will see scores of churches rise up whose only goal is the one Paul talked to the Corinthians about. I close this post with his words.  

                            “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 
(2 Corinthians 5:18-21) 

Grace to you,
Royce Ogle