Archive for LifeWay
Long Term Perspective
Posted by: | CommentsHere is an article I have worked on for our Church newsletter. I realize I have been away for awhile, but other obligations have kept me from producing anything for SBCToday. Until I am able to return with more frequency, I thought I would share my latest newsletter to Immanuel. It expounds on the article of Dr. Thom Rainer concerning his love and desire to see established churches grow. Below is my article:
I recently read an article by Dr. Thom Rainer, President of Lifeway Christian Resources. In it he makes this statement:
“We need leaders who will have a long-term perspective, who realize that, while change may be slow, it is possible. We need leaders who will love the existing congregants and lead them at a pace that will not divide the church. We need leaders who will love and live among the church members. We need leaders who will live and love in the community.”
If there is one think I have always felt, it was a “long-term perspective” in my leadership at Immanuel. I have heard too many pastors talk about how they were going to “change the church within a year” only to prepare their résumé for another pastorate after division forced them out of the pastorate. What many of them fail to realize, and by God’s grace in my own experience I have been able to grasp, is that pastors don’t change churches. God and Him alone is the author and finisher of our faith. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying; while a vision is given to pastors for leadership, it is God to gives the growth. Yes, leaders preach, pray, and prepare, but when we begin to understand that God is ultimately in control, all of us can experience less frustration.
God has his hand upon our church and is working in many of our lives to prepare us for the future. Who would have thought 3 years ago we would have a new Music Minister? What will God do three years from now? I don’t think any of us can say with certainty what God will do, but I do know this, God will provide for us whatever we need to be the church He desires us to be. What is our role in this? Nothing less than to seek God’s will in our life and see how he will have us fit in to what he is doing in His church. I believe he is calling us all to “trust and obey.” I look forward with anticipation in witnessing where God will bring us.
Bro. Robin
Whose Jesus Do We Follow?
Posted by: | CommentsIn the epistle of 1 John, the apostle is fighting a heresy that is contrary to a proper understanding of Christology. The heresy was known as Gnosticism and it distorted a true apprehension of who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and how a believer should live in light of the right response to those questions. Today we are facing another heresy involving who Jesus is and what he has done. While different in some respects from Gnosticism, it still has the same root issue of epistemology: “Where do we get our information concerning a correct understanding of our Savior?” or “Whose Jesus do we follow?”
Is Any Price Enough for Us to Sell Heresy?
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A few weeks ago a church member came to me and asked if I had read The Shack. I said that, with all of my other reading obligations, I had not. We had a brief conversation about the book, and what I heard alarmed me, so I made a note to myself to investigate the book later. Last week, as I was walking through LifeWay (the book store chain owned and operated by the Southern Baptist Convention) I noticed that The Shack was on the book shelf. Below the book was a special tag with a disclaimer. It read as follows:
Read With Discernment. This book may contain thoughts, ideas, or concepts that could be considered inconsistent with historical evangelical theology. Therefore we encourage you to read it with extra discernment. For important background information and additional insight related to this book, please review the Author Briefing and related content at www.lifewaystores.com/readwithdiscernment .
