New Years Resolutions?

Now is the time of year that I hear a lot of people talking about what they want to change or accomplish in the next year. Most of the time these "resolutions" are kept for a few days or at most a few months. We live in a culture that most of the time does not keep commitments because we want to quit whenever things get hard. Whenever I hear someone talk about what their resolution is for the next year I always think about Jonathan Edwards.

When he was just 19 or 20 he wrote down a list of resolutions. These were not just things that he wanted to accomplish in a year, but these were lifetime resolutions. If you are looking for something that you want to accomplish this year, pick one and try your hardest to live it out. Better yet, challenge yourself that you are going to read over this list a certain number of times a week or month and actually stick to it. I really believe that with these things in your heart and mind you will be challenged to live for God every day.

There are a lot more but here are the first 10 put into modern english.

1. Whatever I do, I will do to give the most glory to God, and also for my own good and pleasure, as long as I live, no matter how long it takes to master. I also will fulfill my calling to do good to all mankind as much as I am able, no matter how much difficulty I face.

2. I will continually strive to come up with new ways to accomplish the things mentioned in #1

3. If I ever find myself becoming disinterested in keeping these resolutions, I vow to turn back as soon as I realize it, and do everything I can to remember and keep them.

4. I vow to never do anything, in thought or deed, whether it be a big thing or a little thing, except to do that which brings honor and glory to God. I will also stay away from those things that do not honor God as much as I possibly can, and whenever possible; I will try to put a stop to activities that bring God dishonor.

5. I realize the importance of the time I have been given by God. I vow to never lose one moment to worthless activities, but constantly think of ways to make the most of the time I have.

6. I vow to live my life with all the passion I can muster up until my very last breath.

7. I vow to never do anything that I would be ashamed of if I knew that I was facing imminent judgment.

8. I vow to live with the understanding that I am no better than the most wicked person to ever live. I vow to allow this attitude to remind me that I am constantly in need of confession and God’s mercy.

9. I vow to always remind myself that this physical life is temporary, and that death could come at any moment.

10. I vow, that whenever I experience physical pain, I will remind myself of those who are suffering for the sake of Christ, and also to remind myself of the great mercies of God which saved me from the justice of eternal punishment in hell. I do this to increase my compassion for those who need Christ and motivate me to share the message of the gospel to those that do not believe.

Conversion vs Christianization

I got to thinking today about the church. There are a lot of people who get up every (or almost every) Sunday morning to go to church. Most, if not all, those people would call themselves Christians and by all accounts may look like Christians. They are probably good, moral people who like the community that comes with being a part of a church. The real question is has that person been converted or merely Christianized? I am convinced that our churches and our culture today are full of people who at one time or another have been Christianized and never really been converted into new beings.

The gospel not being preached in many of our churches has led to people being Christianized and not really converted. Sermons about finance, friends, and morals apart from how those relate to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ do not produce new people but "better" dead people. A new person looks nothing like the person he or she was before.

Take a moment to think about your life before you were saved. Are you a completely different person than you were before? If not, I encourage you to think hard about whether or not you have been Christianized or if you have really been saved.

My goal for Fuel Student Ministry at CFB

"The goal of student ministry is to develop disciples who see the world as missionaries and live as missionaries. The goal is not to have a great event and have a lot of buzz. This means we do less student ministry that is based on the lowest common denominator. It means you score success in long-term disciples. It means to help students to grow and to develop their own plan for gospel impact now. If you help individual students to develop a plan for gospel advance in the context of your local church you will in fact help them to hear from God and be confident in their planning and thus to be better prepared about college, career, etc. This means your role may be less to be the Pied Piper to students and more a developer of leaders who can help students develop uniquely. Or, it could mean that your focus is not primarily to plan events or even to be a great speaker, but to help student see themselves as artists who were created by God to be remarkable in some way for the glory of God and the sake of the gospel." -Alvin Reid

This is my goal for the student ministry here at CFB. I want to see our student ministry grow. That does not mean that we need more people here. I want to see students grow in the knowledge of who God is and what He has done in their lives. If more people come and grow in that way, I will be happy. If less people come but they grow in that way, I will be happy. I want students who make an impact for the kingdom of God. I want to see students love God with all they have and realize that Jesus is better than anything this world has to offer. I am still praying that by October of 2012 we have 100 students at our weekly gatherings, not for numbers sake but so that they can all be learning about the life changing power of the Gospel.

My goal is not to be an event planner but a mouthpiece for God who speaks truth into the lives of the students that God has given me charge over.

Humbling

This video is extremely humbling. When I see what this amazing woman is doing to reach people with the gospel it makes me stop and think about my own life and how I am using it. We have so many excuses for not sharing the gospel but they all fall away when we see the lengths that she goes through to get the message of Jesus Christ out to the world.

I pray that you will take the time to watch this video and allow it to change the way you live for Jesus.

Sarah Coiner's Story from Andrew Fish on Vimeo.

Halloween Outreach

I mentioned during the Pastor's Minute yesterday that we are going to do something a little bit different for Halloween this year. Instead of having something here on our campus, we are going to invade neighborhoods in Cheraw with the gospel. One of my seminary professors said one time, Halloween is the only night of the year in our culture where lost people actually go door-to-door to Christian homes. I think this could be a great opportunity to reach our neighbors and engage in intentional spiritual conversations.

I was a part of something like this last year in my neighborhood in Durham. We had a table set up in the driveway and gave away free hot chocolate and water to the adults who were walking with their children. Members of our church manned the table and engaged people in conversation and gave each one of them a gospel booklet.

We had houses like this all over Durham and it was great to get to talk to people and engage them with the gospel. I really think we can make this a success here in Cheraw.

We will have an informational meeting tonight at 7:00 in the Street. I hope that you will be a part of this outreach and live as missionaries right here in our own town.

A Dry and Weary Land

I am currently reading through the Bible using the ESV Study Bible one year reading plan. In this plan, each night I read from several sections of the Bible but there is always a Psalm to read. I have always enjoyed reading the Psalms and this time is no different. Last night I read Psalm 63 and part of it really got me thinking about the gospel. Yes, the Gospel of Jesus. It is not just in the New Testament. Read what David said in the beginning of this Psalm.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

Is that not a great picture of the gospel? If we really believe that our lives have been changed because of what God did through Jesus did on the cross, wouldn't that be the way we respond to God? I long for this to be my daily response to God. It is clear that David had an incredible relationship with Him because he knows that God's love is better than life!

Is this the way you respond to God? Do you long for Him like water? Do you consider His love better than life itself? If not, I pray that you will consider what God has done for you and would begin to relate to God in that way.

Radical Student Ministry

I want to be a radical Student Pastor. I do not want to be a program director or a sanctified babysitter. I want to be a shepherd to the students that God has entrusted to my care. I pray big prayers for my ministry because I want to see lives changed for the glory of God. Imagine what could happen if the 25 or 30 students that are here for the majority of our times together decided to stand up and live lives that glorify God no matter the cost.

I have a request. I have begun praying that God would bless the Student Ministry here at First Baptist and that in one year...October 1, 2012, there would be 100 students who are involved in the activities here on campus. Would you join me in praying this prayer? I honestly believe that this can happen. Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still (Joshua 10:12-14) and it did. The same God that answered that prayer can answer this one as well.

I am not interested in numbers just to have people here. I want to see 100 students here praising God for snatching them out of the pit of Hell. I cannot do this alone. It will take the church stepping up and becoming involved in the ministry to students. It will take volunteers giving up their time to help out with our events.

Dr. Alvin Reid says in his book Raising The Bar, "Imagine what wold happen if thousands of young people in America served Jesus with the passion of a Bin Laden? Imagine if high school youth spent as much time planning to reach their peers with the gospel as McVeigh spent planning his bomb attack?"

I ask you the same question. Imagine what could happen if 100 students (or more) in Cheraw decided to serve God with the passion of Bin Laden or McVeigh. This is a radical passion and I would argue looks more like the passion the Apostles served God with than anything we see in America today.

Please join me in prayer that God would do a radical work in the Fuel Student Ministry here at Cheraw First Baptist for his glory and his alone.