By Joe McKeever RIDGELAND, Miss. – “You shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things, for this is not my doing” (Numbers 16:28). “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and I have done all these things at Your word” (I Kings 18:36). What Moses and Elijah prayed, I pray. It is entirely in order for the Lord’s messenger to pray that the people to whom he was sent will recognize that God is God and fully in charge, and that he himself is the Lord’s servant, on mission from Him. During what was possibly the worst time of my life when a little group of self-righteous members clamored for my resignation and criticized every thing I did, that was my prayer. I was going through the fire, being tried as I rarely had. The prayer felt like the dying gasp of the weakest child in God’s family. “Lord, let these people know there is a God in this place. And that I’m your servant, just doing your will.” Did God hear the prayer? Did He answer? I’m confident He did. He heard and answered in His own way, and to the extent that pleased Him. And–don’t miss this–in His own time. (Not always in my time!) That is not to say any … [Read more...]
How Do I Start a Multiplying Church?
By Lane Corley SHARE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. The Gospel is a proven and tested VIRAL Idea. And Jesus promised to empower the spread of the Gospel through the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 FIGHT FOR SIMPLICITY AND REPRODUCIBILITY. Jesus’ started a movement which has exponentially multiplied, partly, because it was as simple as water, bread, and wine.Simple Church = Saying No to Almost Everything.Ask: Is my ministry 2 Timothy 2:2 Simple? CREATE MARGIN. We have so little multiplication because churches have so little margin. We have JUST ENOUGH, instead of MORE THAN ENOUGH.Margin is typically created through BIG CROWDS or RADICAL SIMPLICITY.More than enough can also be toxic. Like a sponge. Like buried talents. Jesus meant for us to use what we have. LOOK FOR LOW HANGING FRUIT. Persons of Peace. New Believers network of relationships. Apostolic Leaders. People Groups and Population Segments. Existing Social Movements. People Scattering and moving about the country. New Churches. New Ministries. MAKE ROOM FOR UNBRANDED MINISTRY. Is the invite to our brand of church louder than the invite to the head of the church? Build partnerships with like-minded ministries who are sharing the Gospel of Jesus … [Read more...]
It’s too pristine
By Chuck Kelley Rarely does Hollywood contact a Southern Baptist seminary, but rarely is not never. One day location scouts for a major motion picture to be filmed in New Orleans called NOBTS and asked to tour the campus. They were looking for a place that with a bit of movie magic could be made to look like the United States Coast Guard Academy. As they looked around, the location scouts absolutely loved what they saw. The star of the movie, who was a major Hollywood player, also had to sign off on the location before they could make a formal request to film some scenes within our gates. After looking things over, he overruled the scouts and rejected the recommendation to use NOBTS, saying it was “too pristine,” meaning too unspoiled and fresh. When news of the Hollywood conversation reached the president’s Office, I found it amusing, Upon reflection, I realized how instructive it was for the future facing Baptists. Having lived and worked on the campus for more than four decades, I was accustomed to hearing people speak of how beautiful the campus was and how different it felt when entering our campus from the city of New Orleans. The classic academic quadrangle was designed by A. Hays Town, a legendary Louisiana architect, … [Read more...]
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