Category: Editor’s Articles

by: Allen Domelle

I recently had a friend email me an article about the so-called demise of the “fundamentalist educational institutions.” The author of this article talked about the recent decision by Tennessee Temple University to close its doors and merge with Piedmont International University. Though I personally reject the premise that fundamentalist institutions are dying because they won’t adapt, but there is some validity to this article that we need to address or this article will become fact.

One of the first things we must understand is that everything is born to die. There is only one institution that is promised perpetuity, and that is the church. God promised in Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This promise to the church is only valid if the church continues to stand upon the principles of God’s Word.

God does not give this promise to Bible colleges. Bible colleges are usually built because of God’s blessings upon a man’s ministry. Those blessings led to many youth desiring to get training from that man, which led to the start of most Bible colleges. You rarely, if ever, see the demise of these colleges while that man is alive. Most of the time, their demise happens after these men go to Heaven.

After reading this article, I found 16 reasons as to why some Bible colleges have closed their doors and why fewer young people are desiring to go into full-time service. All of these reasons can be averted if we will simply do what is right.

1. They left what they were to become something else.

Many of the colleges that were listed in this article left the independent Baptist movement several years before they closed their doors. You cannot change your DNA and expect to live. They were started with an independent Baptist identity, and you can’t expect God’s continued blessings if you leave what made you. Galatians 6:7 is still true when it says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Whenever you leave the very reason for which God blessed you, then you can only expect to reap death.

2. We belittle successful men of God from previous generations.

One of the reasons many young people want nothing to do with full-time service is because they have heard present-day preachers criticize the men of God from the past while they attempt to build their own kingdom. Many of these present day preachers are no different from the Pharisees of Matthew 23. It’s interesting that many of these present-day preachers attended the colleges of the great men from the past and received a good foundation to build their ministry; but, now they’re critical, spiteful and disdain the very people and teachings that helped to make them who they are today. When young people see this, they want no part of serving the LORD full time.

3. We’ve griped about the ministry and praised a materialistic lifestyle.

It is time to stop apologizing for being in the ministry. We have poor-mouthed the ministry to the point where young people want no part of it. We act like preachers are starving to death because of the ministry. Let me remind every preacher that there are many people in your congregation who make less money than you. Stop making the world look so great. The world will only give pleasure for a “season” (Hebrews 11:25), but serving the LORD gives eternal dividends. If we would start praising the blessings of the ministry instead of griping about it, then more young people would desire serving the LORD full-time.

4. We’ve closed more churches than we have started.

One of the reasons there are fewer young people going to Bible college is because we have stopped starting churches. There are more churches closing down than there are starting. Why? Because for some unknown reason, planting churches is no longer considered a part of the Great Commission. Common sense will tell you that the more churches you start, the more young people we will produce to send off to Bible college to train for the ministry.

5. Parents have stopped pushing their children towards full-time service.

This is the core of the problem. There used to be a day when parents would tell their children they wanted them to go into full-time service, but today we have swallowed the Devil’s lie that we don’t want our youth to be “Mama called” and “Papa sent.” I believe the Scriptures make it very clear that if a young person is born into a family that is in the ministry, then by birth they were called to serve God full-time. The children of the priests and Levites were called to those respective areas by being born into their families. The greatest thing a parent can do for their children is to help them realize that the greatest life one could live is in serving the LORD full-time.

6. Youth departments had stopped emphasizing full-time service.

Youth departments have praised the Tim Tebow’s more than they have praised the man of God. It’s no wonder our youth departments are not turning out full-time servants. Every youth department should emphasize full-time service. It’s not that other areas are inferior, but our purpose is to lead youth to serve the LORD full-time. The youth should see that God’s desire is for them to serve Him full-time. Don’t model your youth department to keep the youth at home; instead, model your youth department to send the youth out to serve the LORD full time.

7. Pastors have held people back from full-time service to build their empire instead of building the kingdom of God.

Pastors need to get out of the empire-building business and realize their responsibility is to build the kingdom of God. Too many pastors counsel graduates to wait before getting involved in the ministry when they should be sending them out. If they are not ready to go into full-time service after graduating from Bible college, then why are you sending them to that college? Nobody will ever gain all the experience needed to go into full-time service at any college, but that experience will come and God will help them when they get into the ministry. We need to stop trying to build our kingdoms and start sending people to build churches.

8. We’ve traded preaching for teaching. 

It has always been through the “foolishness of preaching” that God has stirred the hearts of youth to surrender. Young men don’t want to become a preacher when they hear someone get up with no fire or enthusiasm and teach instead of preach. Preaching has always stirred the heart of young men to the point where they say, “I want to do that.” The hottest pulpits are the pulpits that produce the most young people surrendering to the ministry.

9. We stopped making the call for full-time service.

I’m always amazed how we lead people to the point of accepting Christ and even ask them if they want to pray to accept Him, but we won’t make a plea for young people to surrender for full-time service because we say they need to be “called.” Whatever happened to Romans 12:1? God makes it very clear that He accepts volunteers. Many of the people God used in a great way were volunteers. It’s time we reject the unbiblical philosophy of not making a call for  full-time service. We should not stop making calls for full-time service just because a few people who backslid said their calling was only an emotional decision.

10. We’ve praised the emerging church movement and attacked the fundamental movement.

If we want our youth to go to independent Baptist colleges, then we need to stop attacking those who defend the fundamental movement. We have “spiritual” leaders who are recommending emerging church books more than they are recommending God’s Word. Youth can see where you are headed. You may have tried to put up a smoke screen, but they can clearly see when emerging church leaders are of greater significance to you than fundamental leaders. If you will praise those who are in the fundamental movement, then our youth will continue to want who we are.

11. We have acquired the Empire model instead of the local church model.

I have briefly touched on this previously, but let me reemphasize that we need to get back to building local churches instead of trying to build empires. Stop minimizing the pastors whose churches are not large. They are great men of God just like any other pastor.

12. We have copied the new paths and forsaken the old paths.

When parents, pastors and youth pastors forsake the old paths, we can expect nothing short of our youth having no desire to go into full-time service. When colleges, pastors and churches proclaim that the old paths don’t work, then there is no reason for youth to go to a Bible college that promotes the old paths. We must be very careful that we praise and walk the old paths.

13. We left the old paths church building model for unproven models.

Sunday school has always been the church building model of churches that walked the old paths. For some reason we have traded Sunday school for contemporary services and small groups. Sunday school still works! It is in Sunday school where we teach the Word of God so that our youth are grounded in the doctrines of the faith. Churches have not stopped growing because we live in harder times, they have stopped growing because we have tried unproven models of church building and forsaken the tried and tested church building model of Sunday school.

14. We’ve lowered the standard instead of challenging people to rise to God’s standard.

Youth are always up for a challenge. Sadly, many no longer challenge youth to raise their standard of living. Instead, we have criticized and maligned those who do challenge the youth to live holy and separated lives. When you lower the standard to the world’s model, you will find that youth will go to the world because that is their model. Stop lowering the standard and challenge them to live up to God’s standard. God will touch their hearts for full-time service when they are striving to live up to His standard more readily than if we make the ministry more like a country club.

15. We’ve lost the passion for souls.

Soul winning is always the tool God has used to save a nation. Soul winning is what created the passion for people, and a passion to help people moves youth to surrender to serve God full-time. We will never turn out youth who have a heart for God until we once again make soul winning the main thing in our youth groups.

16. We’ve forsaken Holy Spirit power for technological power.

I’m all for technology, but I’m not for technology replacing the power of God. What touched the heart of youth in years gone by was seeing a man of God who was Holy-Spirit filled on fire preaching the Word of God. That power, passion and fire produced a desire in youth to want to be men of God. It produced a desire for them to go to Bible college to learn from these men who had this fire. It’s no wonder our youth don’t desire going to Bible college when technology and graphics have become more appealing than the power of God. Instead of trumpeting graphics and technology, we ought to trumpet prayer and the power of God. Youth need to see that there is no substitute for the power of God. When they see that God has touched someone with His power, they will desire that same touch on their life.

All of these areas can be turned around if we choose to do them. It simply goes back to believing the old paths are relevant today. Let me challenge you to stop listening to those who make the old paths sound irrelevant and trust God’s Word that the old paths are relevant. When we once again show that the old paths work and are appealing, then we will once again see youth wanting to attend Bible colleges that promote the old paths.

by: Allen Domelle

Sadly, I know I don’t do everything right all the time, and for that I apologize. For anyone to think that they are always right is simply pride, arrogance or someone blinded by their sin. The Scriptures teach, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12) Even the good that we try to do is still tainted with sin. God says in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” I know this is not what you were exactly expecting, but an apology is in order because I am still a sinner growing in grace.

However, there are several things for which I don’t apologize. The Apostle Paul made it clear that he was not on an apology tour for his beliefs concerning the Word of God. He says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” He clearly understood the power of God’s Word and how It’s truth changes lives. He was not going to apologize for clearly preaching the Word of God.

When he was confronted with preaching the truths of God’s Word, He again would not apologize. He said in Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” What he preached had offended some Christians, and he made an argument that just because he told the truth doesn’t make him a bad guy. In fact, he contended that instead of getting mad for telling the truth, they needed to change their lifestyle to match the guidelines of truth. He continued in verses 17-18 by saying, “They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.” He was teaching that they needed to let the discomfort that truth caused to bring about a change in their lives.

It seems as if there is an element in society who are critical of those in the past. These people are critical of the methods of previous leaders and what they believed and how they led. They seem to be on an apology tour to the present generation for being so harsh. President Barack Obama has apologized to the world for America’s supposed “transgressions.” Modern preachers who have swallowed the doctrine of Balaam for the cause of acceptance and crowds have criticized the methods of past generations to satisfy the Christians who want to live a worldly lifestyle.

Let me be unmistakably clear that though no one is perfect, we don’t need to apologize for our past. America became a great nation because of what our forefathers fought for and the principles on which they stood. Likewise, the independent, fundamental Baptists don’t need to apologize or criticize what has been handed down to us from those who walked the old paths without wavering. It is time to cancel the apology tour and start embracing the principles and methods of those who have walked the old paths.

Let me make it very clear, though I may not always do everything right, there are several things for which I don’t apologize.

1. I don’t apologize for the old paths of the past generation.

Paul said to Timothy, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;” (2 Timothy 1:8) There are too many wanting to throw the past generation out for the modern day Balaam’s which I absolutely disdain. These modern day Balaam’s who have copied the Rick Warren and Joel Osteen models more than the model which Jesus Christ set out in the Scriptures are destroying a younger generation. I don’t apologize for walking those paths that others showed us from the Scriptures. Instead of apologizing for those paths, we should embrace and teach them to the next generation. Instead of making those who try to make those paths clear look as if they are outdated or mean spirited, why not applaud them for standing for truth.

2. I don’t apologize for my scriptural stance.

I am not going to apologize for making the Scriptures my absolute source of truth. If making the Scriptures my absolute source of truth makes me a minority among the modern day scholars, then so be it. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” He was not about to change what he believed just because others tried to make him uncomfortable. He further explained that the Scriptures were the final authority for the Christian in 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 when he says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” I will not apologize for my scriptural stance, even if modern day “scholars” reject it.

3. I don’t apologize for pushing people to keep others out of Hell.

How can one read Mark 9:44-48 and not push people to keep others out of Hell? How can one read the story of the rich man and Lazarus and not have a burning desire to push people to be avid soul winners? The compassionate person is not the one who doesn’t push people to become soul winners, but the compassionate person is the one who will do all in their power to keep someone from going to Hell. Jude 1:22-23 says, “And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire;” I am not going to apologize for being aggressive about motivating people to be soul winners. If you believe in a literal Hell that has a literal fire, then you will push people to do all they can to keep others out of Hell.

4. I don’t apologize for preaching that tries to keep people as far away from the line of sin as I can.

When I was a boy, my mother did more than just tell me snakes were dangerous. She told me to not even get near any snake. She knew that if I didn’t play with snakes that I would never be bitten by a poisonous snake. The preacher who tries to keep you as far away as possible from the line of sin is not your enemy. God made it clear that we are to be “…wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” (Romans 16:19) My preaching may seem restrictive to those who want to skirt the line of worldliness, but I’d rather have preaching that restricts me from having the scent of sin on my life. Though to some my preaching may be too restrictive, I simply contend that I’m doing what I can to keep them from getting close to anything that might lure them into sin. For that I do not apologize!

5. I don’t apologize for believing that there are dangerous directions to avoid.

The Scriptures say in 2 Thessalonians 3:14, “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” This verse was not talking about a lost world, but it was talking to the brethren. There are dangerous directions in Christianity that we are to avoid. When someone doesn’t believe that the King James Bible is the Word of God, then that is a dangerous direction. If someone doesn’t believe that “all Scripture” is doctrine, then that is a dangerous direction that we all must avoid. God doesn’t say that some Scripture is major doctrine and other Scripture is minor; no, He says that He inspired “all Scripture.” That means anything or anyone who has a chance of pulling someone away from the truth must be avoided.

6. I don’t apologize for being a friend to my friends.

Just because you don’t like my friends doesn’t mean I need to apologize for them. Paul begged Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:8, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me…” There were some who probably thought that Timothy’s association with Paul was hurtful, but that association was truly helpful. Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees for being a friend of the sinner. If being a friend to someone who has fallen in sin brings criticism, then so be it. I don’t apologize for being a friend to my friends, even when their life is adversarial or in adversity. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” If I stop being a friend when someone is not popular or disliked, then I’m not much of a friend. I don’t apologize for being a friend to my friends, and I don’t apologize for being friends with those who are being friends. When my friends are attacked, I will defend. When my friends are criticized, I will praise. When no one stands with my friends, I will do my best by God’s grace to stand with them.

7. I don’t apologize for the crowd with which I choose to run.

One of the attacks against the Apostle Peter when Jesus was being tried was that he was “one of them.” They were criticizing him for his crowd. Let me make this clear, I don’t apologize for running with the crowd who champions the “old paths.” You can try to shame me into changing crowds, but I enjoy being identified with the old path’s crowd. I don’t mind being identified with a crowd who believe in holiness, soul winning, separation and old paths preaching. I don’t mind being associated with a crowd who hates sin but loves the sinner. I don’t mind being associated with a crowd who is not afraid to identify with a J. Frank Norris, Jack Hyles, Lee Roberson, Harold Sightler or Shubal Stearns. I’m weary of people being afraid to identify with a crowd who passed the old paths down to them. I am not going to apologize for the crowd with whom I’ve chosen to associate.

8. I don’t apologize for having to apologize at some times.

Some may think apologizing shows weakness, but I believe it shows strength. There is no person who has not done wrong, and if a person can show me FROM THE SCRIPTURES that what I believe is wrong, then I will apologize. Matthew 5:23-24 says, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” There are times when we may stand for right, but our disposition is wrong. In those times I will apologize for my disposition but never for my position. My position is not on the table for negotiation. When you do wrong you should apologize, but you don’t have to apologize for apologizing.

It is time that old-paths Christians stop their apology tour and stand for the truths of the Scriptures. Just because others may criticize and call names doesn’t mean you have to apologize for being who you are. As long as the Scriptures back up your actions, then you have no reason to apologize!

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

by: Allen Domelle

Home is supposed to be one of those places that is an oasis from the drama of the world. Home should not to be a reality show that you live out, but it is to be the one place you look forward to going at the end of the day. Sadly, for many, home is a place they want to avoid because of the drama they have to endure.

When you look at the reality shows of our day, you see what the average home is about. When you have the husband and wife constantly fighting with each other, the children squabbling and bickering, the tension between the children and their parents, it is no wonder that home has become the place where most do not want to be.

When God created the home, He also created the atmosphere which He intended for the home. Genesis 2:8 says, “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” As a single man, Adam enjoyed the quietness of a perfect world, but he was lonely. So, God put Adam to sleep, “…and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” There you have the first home in a quiet, sinless atmosphere. There was no drama in this first home. This first home enjoyed the peace of working together and the presence of God daily in the cool of the day.

This quiet atmosphere quickly vanished when Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit. Sin entered into the home, peace left and drama began. They had two children, Cain and Abel, who could not get along with each other to the point where Cain plotted to kill Abel. He carried out that plan which caused great drama in that home. Sadly, what used to be a home of peace and tranquility became a home filled with drama. I imagine that Adam and Eve daily wished that they could stop the drama and get back to the peace they once had.

Jacob’s home was another home that was filled with drama. It started when he as a boy he learned how to fill a home with drama from his parents. He ended up marrying two sisters, and the drama that created was enormous. Those ladies squabbled and manipulated their husband and children, which resulted in a drama filled home. The manipulation and squabbling became common place with the children. It got so bad in their home that Joseph was hated by his brothers which resulted in his eventual sale into slavery. That drama followed Jacob to the final days of his life. He never seemed to get to the point with his family where they removed the drama and learned to get along with each other.

You can have a home that is not filled with drama. Your home doesn’t have to resemble a reality television show. You can have the home you once dreamed of before you got married. God wants your home life to resemble the peace and tranquility that Adam and Eve enjoyed before they opened the door to a drama filled home. Let me give you several suggestions on how you can remove drama from your home so that you can have a home filled with peace, tranquility and the presence of God.

1. Keep sin from your home.

Sin is the ultimate reason homes are filled with drama. If you remove sin, you will remove the drama. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death…” You cannot allow sin to run through the home and not see death to peace and tranquility. As a husband or wife, you must not allow yourself to become involved in an adulterous lifestyle. It not only will destroy your testimony, but it will bring drama to your home that you never imagined. The world may paint the adulterous life as normal, but they never show you the drama it brings to one’s life and their home.

As an individual you must keep yourself from sin. You can’t commit sin and think that it doesn’t affect others. The tension sin creates in the home will only cause drama. Sin is the very root of all drama. If you want to keep your life or home free of drama, then keep yourself from sin.

2. Keep a clear role of authority.

One of the reasons drama fills the home is because we have lost the proper roles of authority. God established the role of authority in Ephesians 5:23 when He says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” Notice, the proper role is the husband is to submit to God and the wife is to submit to the husband. I know this isn’t popular in our day, but God chose for the husband to be the one in charge of the home.

God makes the roles even clearer when He says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” (Ephesians 6:1) If the children will obey their parents, and the wife will follow her husband’s leadership, then you will find a home that has no drama. The home must follow God’s role for authority to keep peace in it.

Whenever you leave God’s ordained role of authority for the home, then drama will replace peace and tranquility. You are going to find a drama filled home when the husband and wife are constantly fighting with each other over who makes the final decisions. When the parents allow the children to control the home, then you will also find a home filled with drama. Staying in God’s ordained role of authority for the home is the only way to avoid drama.

3. Don’t play the comparison game.

Don’t allow yourself to compare your home to someone else’s. God says in 2 Corinthians 10:12, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” Your family has its own unique dynamics, and you must not allow yourself to compare your home to another’s. Enjoy each other and live according to God’s Word, and you won’t need to compare one to another.

4. Make Christ your central focus.

Another great reason that homes are filled with drama is because they get their eyes off Christ and onto themselves. Our focus should always be on Christ. When we become self-centered and try to make everything revolve around ourselves, then our selfishness creates drama. Philippians 2:3 shows us that Christ must be our focus when it says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” When you get your eyes off yourself, you will end the drama that strife and vainglory create.

5. Guard family associations.

This reminds me of Amnon who allowed the wrong association in his life which created family drama. If you have the wrong associations in your life, then you will find their sinful influences will be brought into your home. Many homes have lost their tranquility because of the associations of parents or children. Carefully guard your family associations. Realize that associations will influence the spirit of your home.

6. Keep your finances right.

Poor finances will always bring tension into the home. When you have bill collectors constantly calling, you can’t help but become short tempered which results in a drama filled home. If you learn to control your money and live by a budget, then you can avoid the drama caused by poor finances. I completely understand that most people will go through financial struggles, but if you will learn to control your finances properly, then you will have a better chance of keeping the drama away caused by poor finances.

7. Keep life simple!

Proverbs 23:5 says, “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in possessions. The more things your bring into your home, the more complicated your home becomes. Don’t acquire a covetous mentality that you must always have what others have. Keep your life simple, and you will control the drama in your home.

8. Don’t bring the drama from work home.

One of the mistakes many make is that they bring the drama from work home. Let me encourage you to leave the drama from work at work. I understand there are times when you need to talk to someone, but you cannot continually dump on your spouse about what is going on at work without it eventually destroying their spirit. If you have a bad day at work, don’t bring that bad day home. I know there are times you need to decompress from the pressures of the day; however, don’t let your decompression come from losing your temper at those in your home. They didn’t cause the stress of your day, so don’t take it out on them. Leave the drama from work at work.

Home can truly be a place that is enjoyable. If you will guard these eight areas, you will find your home can be a place that is filled with a spirit of joy and happiness. Let your home be that Garden of Eden where you enjoy the peace and tranquility that God intended. Don’t let Satan deceive you into losing your Garden of Eden. Follow God’s instructions and commands, and you will always be able to make your home a Garden of Eden that is drama free.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

by: Allen Domelle

For several years I lived on the central coast of California. It was during my teenage years that the Oakland A’s had Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco as the main focus of their offense. Everyone who followed the A’s got excited when one of these men got up to bat. We cheered when they came to bat because we wanted to see them hit a home run. Many of the home runs were towering hits that brought the crowds to their feet. When they walked to the plate, the pitchers pitched more carefully than before because one wrong pitch and the ball would fly over the fence.

One of the most important keys to that team was Ricky Henderson. Ricky Henderson was known for his ability to steal bases. When he got on base, the pitcher had a hard time staying focused on the batter because of Henderson’s ability to steal bases. What was interesting about Henderson was that he didn’t try to hit home runs when he got up to bat, but he simply tried to get on base. How he got to first base didn’t matter, he just wanted to get there because that was when he could attempt to steal bases and eventually score a run. Though Henderson was not a home run hitter, every once in awhile he would hit a home run. In my opinion, the most important player to the A’s organization during those championship years was Ricky Henderson. With him on base, the pitchers couldn’t put their complete focus on the batters at the plate which allowed them to score more runs because of poor pitching.

One of the mistakes many young preachers make with their sermons is they try to hit a home run every time they get up to preach. That was certainly one of the mistakes I made when I started preaching. I wanted every sermon to be a home run or grand slam. I wanted every sermon to be the next “Fresh Oil” or “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” That desire to preach a great sermon every time caused unnecessary pressure that I should have never placed on myself. One of the greatest things that helped my preaching was when I stopped trying to hit a home run every time I got up to preach; instead, I just tried to get on first base with every sermon. It was then that I began to help people better, and every once in awhile God would give me a home run sermon.

In Matthew 13:45-46, you will find the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. What is interesting about this merchant who found the pearl of great price was that he did not go looking for it; instead, it says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:” Notice, the merchant was only looking for “goodly pearls.” It was while he was seeking for goodly pearls that he found the pearl of great price. Had he only looked for the pearl of great price, he probably would not have found it and passed over the goodly pearls.

Moreover, the goodly pearls were collectively of the same value as the pearl of great price. Verse 46 says, “Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” In order for this merchant to buy the pearl of great price, he had to sell all the goodly pearls to afford the pearl of great price.

Furthermore, the merchant lost sight of the value of the goodly pearls. What he forgot was that the pearl of great price could only help one person, whereas the goodly pearls helped many people. If you valued the pearls by how many people they would help, the goodly pearls were of more value than the pearl of great price.

Preacher, whenever you preach a sermon, just try to get on base. You will help more people when you try to get on base with your preaching than if you try to hit the home run. When you try to hit the home run, you will find that you will strike out more often. The base hit batter usually has a better batting average than the home run hitter. I would rather help more people by getting on base and helping those I’m preaching to than to attempt to hit the home run every time and strike out and miss helping those who came to hear me preach.

This same thought can be applied to many other areas. The Sunday school teacher doesn’t need to worry themselves with trying to hit a home run every time they teach a lesson. The Sunday school teacher would do themselves much help by simply trying to get one truth across to each person every week. Don’t worry about hitting the home run lesson every week; instead, go help each person to whom you teach and you will influence more lives.

When you go soul winning, stop trying to get the great soul winning story and instead just get the Gospel out to the lost. The soul winner who is more interested in trying to find the great soul winning story will miss many people whom they can lead to Christ. I would rather be the soul winner who gets the Gospel to as many people as possible than to wait for the one soul winning experience that seems to be the home run.

Parents needs to stop trying to hit a home run with their child every time they do activities with them and instead just spend time with their child. The parent who is always trying to hit the home run spends countless amounts of money thinking that they can buy the home run memories when if they would just spend time with their children the home run memories would be created. Most of the memories my daughter and I have were not created by money being spent; rather, they happened because I was just trying to get on base and enjoy my time with her.

The same can be applied to married couples. Too many married couples are trying to have the home run marriage when the best marriages are ones where the husband and wife simply do what they are supposed to do out of love for each other. They find that some of the greatest marital memories come from spending time with each other. Instead of waiting once a year to have a grand vacation, the best marriage will spend time with each other every week. The great marriages would rather have a base hit marriage which results in a championship marriage down the road. I’m not against taking nice trips if you can afford it, but that won’t make a strong marriage. A strong marriage is made when the husband and wife do what God commands them to do out love for each other. This creates time together, which creates a stronger bond and eventually makes a championship marriage.

Whatever you do, you need to become a Christian who just tries to get on base with every thing you do. When you go soul winning, just try to get on base. When you teach your Sunday school class, just try to get on base. When you run your bus program, just try to get on base. I believe you will find that you will score more runs for God if you just load the bases by getting on base. The bonus with getting on base is that every once in awhile God allows you to hit a home run. When that happens, don’t become enamored with it, but go back to the plate and try to get on base again with those whom God allows you to help.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

by: Allen Domelle

It’s that wonderful time of the year when we stop to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I love this time of the year for many reasons. I love hearing the Christmas music in public places, places that would normally never say anything about Christ publicly play songs that talk of Him. I love the Christmas lights at night that remind me that Christians are the light of the world. I love the time of families coming together and sharing gifts with each other. I love it that people are more giving to the poor during this time of the year than they are at any other time. It is truly a wonderful time of the year.

There is no doubt that the first Christmas was nothing like it is today. In fact, when Jesus was born, there was no place but a manger for the baby to sleep in. Joseph and Mary didn’t have the best hotel prepared for them; instead, they only had a place to sleep in a stable. When Jesus was born, the only celebratory announcement that was made came from an angel. The angel said, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:11-14)

There is one part of the announcement which people focus upon, “…on earth peace, good will toward men.” There is no doubt that people desire peace on Earth. Isaiah 9:6 tells us that Jesus would be the “Prince of Peace.” There is little doubt in my mind that one of the reasons people reject Jesus Christ is because they were expecting Him to literally give peace during His first coming. Jesus did come to give peace, but the peace He gave was for one’s eternity. Jesus did give peace, but man doesn’t want to accept Him as the “Prince of Peace.” The sole reason anyone does not have peace in their life is because they have not accepted the Prince of Peace as their Saviour. Without Christ, you will never experience the peace you desire.

I know there are many who truly do not look forward to this Christmas Day because they know there will be no peace. The peace I’m talking about is not the peace that salvation brings, but the peace between members of the family. This Christmas Day many will have family and friends over, but by the end of the day the peace will turn into tension, and sadly in some cases, fighting. A time that is to be filled with joy and “good will toward men” will turn into ill will for some. I believe in this story you will find some simple things from the birth of Christ that will help you to have a peaceful day with family and friends. These things will work throughout the year if you will practice them daily.

1. Keep Christ as the center of every relationship.

Christ is the Prince of Peace, and if you are going to have peace with people then you are going to have to keep the One Who gives peace as the center of each relationship. By keeping Christ as the focal point of the day you will keep yourself in check. When you start the Christmas morning, spend time reading the Word of God. Before you open the presents, read the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Before you eat the Christmas meal, ask each person what the birth of Christ means to them. This will help you to keep Christ as the center of your day.

2. Be willing to sacrifice so others can enjoy the day.

If you make Christmas all about you and what you want, then you will quickly find that peace will not be on Earth that day. There is no peace when selfishness is present. Jesus came to sacrifice Himself, and that is why He is able to give peace. You are going to have to be willing to give up your will so that others can enjoy doing what they want to do. It won’t be easy because with the passing of the presents we can become very self focused. Don’t let that happen to you. If you play games throughout the day, then switch up games so that all can enjoy doing what they want to do. The one who will enjoy Christmas Day the most will be the one who decides to sacrifice their own will so that others can do what they want to do. Don’t be demanding in having to have your way. Sacrifice your will, and you will find there can be peace with everyone.

3. Keep your expectations low and everything you get will be a blessing.

Many people will be disappointed this Christmas Day because they will not get what they want. The best way to keep from becoming disappointed is not to expect anything, and everything will be a bonus. Why do you think you deserve that one present? Truthfully, most people already have enough, but Christmas just seems to add to our selfish coffers. I’m not against giving gifts, but keep your expectations low. If you don’t expect anything, then you will have a peaceful day because everything you received was something more than you expected.

4. Be willing to overlook the weaknesses of others.

The one purpose of Jesus coming to Earth was to reconcile the world to God. Though Jesus had to pay for the sins of the world, He also had to be willing to overlook their weaknesses until He paid for their sins. Part of bringing peace to the sinner is accepting the sinner as they are. If you are going to have peace with those who come to visit you this Christmas season, then you are going to have to overlook their weaknesses and accept them for who they are. Don’t try to put everyone into your mold, and simply accept them for who they are.

5. Purposely do good will to others.

It was the good will of God for Jesus to be sent to Earth. It was the good will of Jesus Christ to be willing to come to Earth. It was His good will of giving of Himself that brought peace to man. One of the ways you are going to have peace with everyone this Christmas season is to try to do good for others. Don’t let the fray of shopping and wrapping presents cause you to get so uptight that you become edgy with people. Remember, this is truly about being good to others. Make it your goal to do something good for those you are around every day. Make it your goal to try and bring cheer to someone’s day. Decide to be a good will ambassador for Christ and help those whom He brings along your way.

6. Love people the way they are and not the way you want them to be.

Christmas Day is not the day to start preaching your sermons to the family. When Jesus started His ministry, He took the disciples from where they were and grew them. He didn’t force them into His mold, but He discipled them and loved them until they grew into His image. Preaching at your family because they don’t serve God the same way you do will only cause strife. Let the Holy Spirit do the work in their heart while you are simply a good testimony for Him. Love them for who they are, for that is how Jesus loved us. Jesus didn’t love us at our best, but He loved us and continues to love us at our worst. You will not have a peaceful Christmas Day if the only way you can love people is if they are just like you. Enjoy the day with family and love them the way they are. God will do the work on the heart that you cannot do.

7. Keep a spiritual atmosphere throughout the day.

The whole purpose of Christmas is Christ. Christmas Day should be a spiritual day. Don’t miss church just because the midweek service falls on Christmas Eve. Don’t throw your spirituality out the window and do things you normally would not do. Be sure what you watch is something that would be glorifying to God. If you want to have a heart that is at peace after Christmas Day, then do right before and during the day.

Yes, Jesus came to give us peace on Earth, but having peace on Earth doesn’t always mean we will have peace in our house. If you will follow the examples of how Jesus gave peace on Earth and employ them into your Christmas Day routine, you will find that you will be able to be at peace with the family and friends you entertain throughout the day.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

by: Allen Domelle

“Spring and Fall campaigns just don’t work in our area.” This is a statement I hear from many preachers. So, instead of trying to figure out a way to have a push for the souls of men, many have settled for having a mediocre church that has very little push for church growth. This has resulted in churches floundering and seeing very few people being saved.

There are others who believe that campaigns are bribery. They believe that using things to get people to church is bribing people, but they fail to look at all that our Saviour used to get people to listen to Him during His earthly ministry. Every miracle that Jesus performed was a campaign to get people to come so they could hear the Gospel. Look at some of the campaigns that Jesus performed. He healed the sick, caused the blind to see, fed the thousands, healed those possessed by devils, cleansed the lepers, filled the nets with a draught of fish, turned water into wine, raised the dead and so many more miracles. Every miracle was a campaign that caused the multitudes to come and see Him, but when they came they heard the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. Multitudes were saved because of these campaigns.

Don’t forget the greatest campaign of all. It is the campaign to keep people from going to Hell. God knew that while man was in his sinful state that he would not love God enough to get saved. So, He appealed to the selfishness of man to get him to trust Christ. God offered mankind a place called Heaven if they would accept Christ as Saviour. Was this bribery? Absolutely not! Jesus says in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Heaven is the campaign. He’s offering mansions and the opportunity to go live with Jesus in those mansions if a person will get saved. He says that the only way to get this offer is through Jesus Christ. He says in verse 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Because of this campaign, many people have trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour so they too can receive the free gift of Heaven!

Certainly, there is nothing wrong with a church have a campaign to excite God’s people to push harder to reach more people for Christ. There is nothing wrong with having a campaign so that the lost will want to come to church for a gift all the while hearing of the eternal gift: salvation. Yet, many churches seem to struggle with getting their campaigns to work. Let me show you 6 reasons church campaigns don’t work.

1. We have no resources.

One of the greatest reasons campaigns don’t work is because a church has failed to get new people into church who have fresh contacts who have never been invited. One of the greatest reasons a church needs to have an aggressive soul-winning ministry is for the sake of having new prospects. We can only tap into the resources of our church so many times without exhausting all the friends of those who regularly attend. This is not to say that we shouldn’t continually try to reach our friends and neighbors; however, having new people into a church brings fresh excitement and new prospects that have never been tapped into.

2. Our Sunday schools are anemic.

One of the greatest reasons campaigns don’t work is because the average Sunday school is an albatross that we have to have to be a fundamentalist. Friend, Sunday school is the life blood and heartbeat of a growing church. You will never see your campaigns work until you organize your Sunday school and make it a vital part of your church ministry. Church-wide campaigns work best through the Sunday school. So, if your Sunday school is floundering, then your church campaigns probably won’t work.

3. We promote poorly.

One reason I see many campaigns don’t work is because we are terrible about promoting them. We wait until a couple of weeks before the campaign to start telling our people about it with no excitement, and then wonder why they don’t work. Promoting a campaign starts with planning. If you don’t plan well in advance, then you will promote it poorly. When the campaign is promoted by the pastor, then he must be excited about its prospects and ask the Sunday school teachers to be equally excited about it. You will never get the people to believe this campaign is worthy of extra effort if you promote it as a “by-the-way” announcement.

4. Refusing to have fun

Some of the greatest campaigns I have ever been a part of are the campaigns where the leaders were as involved in it as the church members. You must be willing to come out of yourself if you want your campaign to work. I have watched pastors take a pie in the face, get dunked in a dunking tank, shave their head because they reached an attendance goal and so much more. These campaigns worked because the church didn’t refuse to have fun. If you refuse to have fun with your campaigns, then you will continue to see them fail. You cannot be a stick-in-the-mud and expect them to work. A little embarrassment is worth it if the result is souls getting saved and people being added to the church.

5. Overusing a campaign

Variety is the spice of life, and it is also the key to making campaigns work. You will notice that Jesus didn’t use the same campaign each time, but he continually used different ideas. Just because a campaign was successful last year does not mean that it will be successful this year. The newness of a novel campaign idea will lose its relevance if you continually use it. I’m not saying you can use it again, but I am saying that variety will help your campaigns to be fresh for you and your people.

6. Lack of belief

If you don’t think a campaign is going to work, then why would you plan it? Your people will pick up on your disbelief. A salesman who doesn’t believe in his product will not sell his product, and a pastor who doesn’t believe in his campaign will never sell it to the church. Furthermore, church members need to believe it will work. Stop being the doubting Thomas and realize it will work if you will believe it. Stop telling everyone that it won’t work and jump in with your heart to make it work. Most attendance-building campaigns fail because people just don’t believe it will work.

If campaigns are about reaching the souls of men, and they are, then we had better find some ways to make them work. Let me give you five ideas of how to make your campaigns work.

1. Keep your campaign unique.

The uniqueness of a campaign will help to peak the attention of the church. There is nothing wrong with copying a campaign another church had, but make your campaign unique to your church. Likewise, Sunday school teachers need to make their campaigns unique to their class. You may have a church-wide campaign theme, but tailor make the campaign for your class so that the people will want to be involved.

2. Make it interesting for everyone.

When preparing a campaign, make it possible for everyone to benefit from being involved. Some people don’t get involved because the campaign has no interest or possibility for them to get something. Think about each person in your church or Sunday school class and make it possible so that any of them can benefit from being involved.

3. Prepare the people ahead of time.

Preparation is the key to success. It would be good for the pastor to plan his campaigns several months in advance. Furthermore, give the Sunday school teachers ample time to prepare their campaigns for their class. If you are a Sunday school teacher, you can also plan ahead with your campaigns and adapt it to the main campaign when you find out its theme. Preparation always helps to build excitement.

4. Work your campaign.

The only way your campaign is going to work is that you must work it. Just having a campaign won’t make it work, but everyone must work it for it to succeed. Church member, don’t sit at home while others are out working. Get involved yourself! Total involvement is necessary for it to work. When inviting people to the church, use each part of the campaign to peak their interest to come. That is why you are having a campaign.

5. Praise those who are working the campaign.

We often try to shame people into getting involved instead of praising those who are involved. People like to see their name on a piece of paper when it is good, so use that desire by showing the names of individuals who have brought someone. Praise will go much further than shaming individuals.

Church campaigns are an important way of finding prospects. Once you have your list of prospects from the visitors who attended, then go after them while it is fresh. Don’t let their names sit on a desk for months and then wonder why your Sunday school campaigns don’t work. Spend much time in prayer asking God to bless your campaign, and then get involved and go work it so that you can reach more people for the Saviour. Many people have been saved through church campaigns, so don’t let that tool sit idly on the shelf because you don’t believe a campaign will work. Find the reason your campaigns fail and change them. The souls of men are worth your effort to make church campaigns worth it.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

The Art of Communicating
by: Allen Domelle

Communication is defined as, “The imparting of information and the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings.” The degree of your success in any field of life will be determined by how well you can communicate with others. A preacher who is a poor communicator will never grow those whom he leads. A teacher who is a poor communicator will fall short in conveying information to the students whom they teach. The soul winner who is a poor communicator will never reach the souls they could reach had they learned how to communicate.

Communication is a part of our daily lives. Husbands and wives communicate with each other to keep their marriage strong. Parents and children who have strong relationships have learned to communicate with each other. Employers and employees who want a smooth flow of operation must have a clear line of communication. Every day we have to communicate with people. Most hurt feelings and disagreements come because people have not properly communicated what they feel. One of the best ways to keep all relationships strong is to work on your lines of communication with each other.

God says in Proverbs 18:24, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” This verse is truly talking about people communicating with each other. You can’t show yourself friendly if you don’t communicate. Have you ever thought someone was conceited because they never talked to you? Yet, you found out later that they were very shy and didn’t know how to talk to you. This happened because they didn’t learn how to communicate well. Being friendly starts with communication.

Jesus Christ is the Master communicator. He communicated to us Who He is, what He wants us to do and how He wants us to do it through the Scriptures. Jesus Christ masterfully communicated in sixty-six books what He expects of mankind.

When you look at the life of Christ on Earth, you find that He was able to masterfully communicate to every crowd and in every situation. When He called Peter and Andrew, He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

When Jesus came across a lady whose life was filled with sin, He masterfully communicated with her to bring her to the realization that she needed a Saviour. He said to her, “Give me to drink.” (John 4:7) You will notice that Jesus commonly started His communication with short powerful statements that caused the listener to interact. By the time Jesus finished His conversation with this lady, she ran back to the town people and said to them, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:29) How did this lady come to this? She came to this realization because Jesus was able to communicate.

When Jesus faced the adversity of those who wanted to catch Him making false statements, He again masterfully communicated to them. He said to one crowd questioning Him about taxes, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.” (Luke 20:25) When they brought a woman to Him whom they accused of being caught in adultery He said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7) No matter what the situation Jesus faced, He successfully communicated what He believed and wanted to get across.

If you are going to be a successful soul winner, then you are going to have to work on your communication skills. The better you learn how to communicate, the better you will become at reaching the lost for Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that meeting people on the street whom you do not know is not the easiest thing to do, but if you know how to communicate with people you can lessen the stress of going and be enabled to talk to anyone whom you come across.

In order to communicate, you must have a connection with people. I like to illustrate communicating by using two hands. To get those hands to hold each other, the first thing you must do is get one finger from each hand to touch. You continue to add a finger until all fingers are interlocked together and two people are walking hand-in-hand. When you get five points of contact, then you will create a bond, or relationship. Communicating is the only way that you will accomplish this.

The key is breaking the ice. This is one of the areas that most people find hard to do. Going up to someone you don’t know and trying to establish a connection with them is one of the most intimidating things you may do. If you are going to communicate the Gospel to someone, you must first break the ice by getting the first point of contact. When you find something in common with someone, it then breaks the ice to be able to establish dialogue.

Breaking the ice can be easy if you learn how to gather information so you can break the ice. I have found there are three important things you must do that allow you to gather information so you can break the ice and communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others.

• Be observant

When you walk up to someone or knock on someone’s door, you must be observant of their surroundings. Jesus saw the surroundings of Andrew and Peter and He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Your eyes will see things that you both have in common. You may see something that you both have in common which naturally allows you to relax and establish a point of contact with others. For instance, I have watched Pastor Bob Gray II use his special needs son as the tool to break the ice with others. When he sees another special needs child, he immediately goes to the parents and introduces himself and tells them he also has a special needs child. That all happens because he is observant. It allows him to talk about what they have in common and eventually come around to their salvation.

• Listen

Listening will give you great information so you can break the ice with people. Jesus oftentimes listened to people as they first addressed Him to know how to properly communicate with them. I was in a restaurant years ago talking to a lady when she happened to mention something about her life that we both had in common. Immediately, I took that thing we had in command and I told her about my situation which broke the ice and eventually allowed me to lead her to Christ. When you first start talking to people, let them talk and listen for those things that you have in common.

• Learn to connect with something in your past or present.

You will only learn how to connect with someone’s past or present by listening. Everyone has something in common with you, and you must take what you have in common and use it as the ice breaker so you can communicate the Gospel to them. Don’t let what you have in common be wasted. Use it to create a connection so you can give them the Gospel.

You will find these three things are the keys to being able to communicate with anyone. Without breaking the ice, you will never create dialogue with people. Communication is important to creating dialogue before you witness to someone.

Before you can observe, listen and find the thing from your past or present with which you can connect, you must have that initial ice-breaker. I have several, what I call, “Generic ice breakers” that we all might have in common with someone. I use these generic ice breakers to establish the first point of connection. Some of these generic ice breakers are:

• Weather
• Place of employment
• Where they lived
• Children or grandchildren
• Pets, etc.

When you look at the list above, you can use them to establish a connection. For instance, you can comment on that day’s weather because it is something you both have in common at that time. Maybe it’s a beautiful day; you can comment on the great weather which allows them to start the process of talking back to you.

Maybe you notice that they have the same type of pet that you do. I have always found that anyone with a pet likes their pet. If they didn’t, then they wouldn’t have a pet. Comment on their pet and it’s similarities to one you had in the past. I have used dogs as the ice breaker in so many situations because I like dogs.

I was recently preaching in Alaska and saw a lady walking her dog. It was a big dog, so I asked the pastor to pull over so I could talk to this lady. I approached her and immediately commented on her beautiful dog. I told her about my dog and we established a connection that later allowed me to help her with a great spiritual problem that she was facing at that moment.

Commenting on someone’s child or grandchild will always help you to connect. Parents love their children and grandparents are proud of their grandchildren. Saying something positive about their children and equating it to your own children will help you to break the ice.

These generic ice breakers are keys to helping you go further into the Gospel with them. Remember, our desire should be to break the ice so we can present the Gospel. God has not allowed you to have things in common with people for no reason. Use those things as generic ice breakers to be able to communicate the Gospel to others.

I must be sure to give you a couple of things to avoid.

• Politics
• Religion

Never use these two things when you don’t know what someone feels about these areas. These are hot topics and can quickly run someone off. Remember, you are trying to give them the Gospel. You are not running for public office. You will never be able to correct their religious beliefs without first giving them the Gospel. Don’t attack their religion, JUST GIVE THEM THE GOSPEL!

Finally, let me say to always be friendly. Keep a smile on your face. Greet people happily. People like being around someone who is happy and friendly. If you come across as if you are about ready to interrogate them, then you will quickly run them off. Relax and realize that Christ does the saving, all you must do is yield to the Holy Spirit and be the tool to communicate the Gospel. When you break the ice, presenting the Gospel will become easy.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

by: Allen Domelle

A pastor up in the Northeast asked me if I wanted to go have steak after the Sunday morning service. Asking me if I want steak is like asking a child if they want candy. Of course I wanted to have steak, I love steak! After the morning services, he took me to a steak house that is only located in that region of the country. I was so looking forward to having a steak. The waitress took our order and then told us it would be a few minutes. Finally, the waitress brought our steaks to the table. The juices in my mouth were just exploding with the anticipation of biting down into a delicious steak. After prayer, I cut into my steak and took a bite. To my dismay, the steak was horrible. It was like eating raw leather. The steak was tough, and it was cooked way too long. The vegetables that came with the steak were stale. It was a horrible meal! I promised myself that I would never again go back to that chain restaurant.

Several months later, I was out soul winning and I knocked on the door of a very kind young lady. I introduced myself and my soul winning partner and told her what church we were representing. As I talked to her to break the ice before asking her the all important question about her salvation, I asked her where she worked. She told me that she was a manager at a restaurant. I asked her which restaurant, and her response was that she was a manager of the chain steak house that I had promised myself I would never go to again. Apparently, the look on my face said it all. She looked at me and asked me if I had a problem with the steak house. I then proceeded to tell her about the previous experience I had in that chain restaurant, and I told her about my promise to never go back again.

After I gave her my reasoning for disliking for that restaurant chain, she looked at me and said, “Oh, I get it. You had one bad experience in one of our restaurants, and so you are going to hold it against all of our restaurants.” She then said, “How would you like it if I chose not to go to any Baptist church because I had a bad experience in one Baptist church?” She said, “Does one bad experience in a Baptist church make all Baptist churches bad?” I thought to myself, who is this woman? I came to tell her how to get saved, and now she is preaching a sermon to me. I thought, who does she think she is? However, this dear lady was exactly right. I was letting one bad experience in one restaurant cause me to hold the rest of the restaurants hostage in my mind. I let one bad experience cause me to think that they were all bad. I have since been back to the restaurant and have had some very good steaks.

Sadly, God has become the bad guy for many Christians. I’m am constantly amazed at how many Christians allow a bad experience by sinful Christians to cause them to take it out on God. Their excuse for not going to church or continuing in the ministry is the sin of another Christian. Preachers children oftentimes will quit church when they are out of their parent’s house because of how the ministry supposedly treated their parents wrong, or because their parent’s never gave them the time they thought they deserved. It is truly amazing how God has become the bad guy for people when God was not the One Who did them wrong, man was.

I recently heard about a man who had a bad experience on a church staff. According to him, a church where he used to work treated him wrong. He said that the pastor for whom he worked didn’t treat he or his family right, so he was no longer going to serve the LORD full-time because of the pastor. It is interesting that God wasn’t the One Who treated him wrong, but a man who held a pastoral position treated him wrong. Yet, God became the bad guy in this man’s mind.

There is another person who used to work on staff that found out that the pastor was being dishonest in how he paid his staff. This pastor made sure that his family got paid more than all the other staff members. Even if this pastor’s family didn’t do as much as the others, his family still got paid more than anyone else. Yet, everyone else on the staff had to work second jobs just to pay their bills. This person vowed that they would never again work full-time in the ministry because of the treatment of this pastor. Again, God became the bad guy to this man. Yet, it wasn’t God who signed the paychecks it was that pastor, but because one person treated them wrong they were going to hold God hostage for man’s actions.

These are just a couple of stories, but it happens over and over again. God is held accountable for man’s actions. Someone had one bad experience in an independent, fundamental Baptist church, so in their mind they are all bad. A few preachers fall into sin in the independent, fundamental Baptist movement, so now all the preachers are bad because of the actions of a few.

It is amazing how God becomes the bad guy in all of these instances. It is amazing how they want to blame God’s standard for holiness, or some movement for all of the sin that is involved when they should be holding the sin accountable for their hard feelings. Instead of holding every church and pastor accountable, why don’t you hold the sin accountable? God was not the One Who made that person sin. The independent Baptist movement is not the one who caused people to be mistreated. A church is not the one who caused a pastor or staff member to fall into sin. Instead of putting God, His church and representatives in the lineup to point out as the one who committed the crime that hurt you, why don’t you hold the sin accountable? Why don’t you hold adultery as the crime against you? Why don’t you hold pride as the crime against you? Why don’t you take your anger out on pornography instead of on all those who hold a ministry position? Why don’t you get angry at injustice or selfishness instead of holding full-time service as the bad guy? Why don’t you get upset at the sin of gossip and backbiting instead of dropping completely out of church because your parents were mistreated in the ministry? GOD IS NOT THE BAD GUY! Sin is what you should be upset with, and not God.

Let me ask you, has God ever done you wrong? Has God ever personally attacked you or your parents? Has God ever told someone not to pay you right? Has God ever not supplied your needs? Has God’s standard of holiness ever caused one person to fall into sin? Absolutely not! It is sin that is the bad guy. It is sin that you should put on trial. It is the Devil with whom you should have a problem. Instead of using your energies to fight God and all that represents Him, you should use your energies to fight the sin that has hurt you. You should use your energies to fight adultery, injustice, gossip, backbiting, lust, fornication, etc. Sin is what caused the hurt in your life, not God. There are several things you need to keep in mind.

     1. The goodness of God is continuous.

God is good, and He is good all the time. Psalm 52:1 says, “Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.” We often overlook God’s goodness, but why would you reward God’s goodness to you by turning on Him? God gave you eyes to see, ears to hear, a mouth to speak and feet to walk. God has been so good to you to give you air to breathe, a home to live in, a Bible to read and a family that loves you. God has been good enough to give you salvation. I ask you, why would you turn on God when He has been so good to you? God’s goodness is continuous. It was not God who hurt you, but sin and those yielding to temptation are the ones who hurt you. Don’t make God the bad guy when He has only been good to you.

     2. God gives man a free choice.

God gave others the free choice and they chose wrong just like He gives you a free choice and does not force you to do what He wants you to do. Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” The greatest word in the Scriptures is the word, “whosoever.” That means that God gives us a free choice to choose. Just like God gave Adam and Eve a free choice in the Garden of Eden, He also gave you a free choice to choose what you want to do. Unfortunately, that free choice was abused by sinful humans. Don’t make God the bad guy because he gave someone a free choice and they used it wrongly. Our problem is we want God to force others to do right when it affects us, but we don’t want God to force us to do right when it affects others. You can’t have it both ways. God gives us all a free choice, it is simply that some have abused it. We must be careful that we don’t make God the bad guy because of another’s poor choice.

     3. Holiness is not what causes sin.

One of the things that is commonly thrown at those who defend truth and holiness is that standards run people off. My response to those who say this is that God did not change the standard of holiness in Heaven because Lucifer did wrong. Lucifer lived in a place where standards were of the utmost highest, but God did not lower His standards of holiness just because one-third of the angels fell. The standards of holiness were not the problem, the problem was the heart. When someone chooses to sin, it has nothing to do with the standards of holiness, but it has everything to do with the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Don’t hold God as a bad guy just because he has a high standard of holiness. Holiness never caused one person to sin, but they chose to sin. Don’t attack God’s standard of holiness just because one person who supposedly preached those standards ended up falling or hurting you.

     4. Quitting God will not make things better.

God gave Israel a choice in Deuteronomy 30:19 when He says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” You will notice that if they chose to quit on God things would not get better. Likewise, things will not change for the better if you choose to quit on God. I can certainly understand the hurt that comes when someone has wronged you, but don’t take it out on God and quit serving Him. He is not the bad guy, the bad guy is sin.

     5. Don’t use another’s sin to hide your rebelliousness.

It is very easy to use another’s sin as your excuse to quit the ministry or to stop standing for the old paths, but that would only be a cover up for your own rebelliousness. Adam tried to cover his sin of rebellion by blaming it on his wife, but that was still no excuse for his choice to sin against God. Friend, you can say you will no longer serve God in the ministry or quit church because of what others have done to you, but that is only a smoke screen to cover your own rebellion. I have personally been on the bad end of another’s sin, but I have still continued to serve the LORD. You are not the only one who has had a leader you admire fall, but don’t use it as your excuse to put God in the lineup with the bad guys. If you choose to quit because of another’s sin, it is only revealing your own rebelliousness.

     6. Use your energy to help others not to experience the same hurt.

The greatest thing you can do with the hurt you have experienced because of another’s sin is to use your energies to prevent others from experiencing the same hurt. Use your energies to fight the sin that caused the hurt and don’t use your energies to fight those who are fighting the sin that causes the hurt. In 1 Samuel 13:19, Saul and Jonathan were the only ones who had a sword in their hand to fight the enemy, so Saul determined that would never happen again and he trained the men of Israel how to sharpen their own swords. The hurt of sin can either cause you to make God the bad guy, or it can motivate you to be sure others will never go through the same experience by fighting the sin that caused your hurt.

     7. Realize that God allowed it so good would prevail.

The greatest thing you can learn from hurt is that God allowed it so good would eventually prevail. Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Though Joseph did not completely understand the hurt while he was enduring it, he did understand that God would be sure to make good come out of it. Friend, if you won’t make God the bad guy because of your hurts, then you will eventually see that God will make good come out of it. Don’t hold it against God, but keep serving Him and let good come out of your hurt.

It all comes down to what you choose to do. Are you going to put God in the lineup and point to Him as the cause of your hurt, or are you going to point to sin as the cause of hurt? Don’t put God on trial. Don’t make God the bad guy because sinners did you wrong. Use the hurt you have experienced as a tool to help others who have faced the same hurt. Point them to Jesus Christ Who can help place the balm of Gilead on their hurts. It is time you let God do what He wants to do in your life and get back to whatever He has called you to do. The only one who wins when you make God the bad guy is the very sin that caused the hurt. Don’t let sin win twice. It may have won one battle, but you need to be sure it loses the war in your life by continually doing what the LORD called you to do. Put sin in the lineup and point it out to everyone so you can to let them know that sin is the bad guy, and not God.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

by: Allen Domelle

The past three days, I have been in Mexico City, Mexico, preaching for Pastor Kevin Wynne and his national pastors conference. It has truly been a wonderful week of meetings. The crowds were the best I have seen in a conference in a long time. The spirit of the conference was truly exciting as you heard shouts of “Amen” throughout the preaching and the altars filled during the invitation time.

One of the thoughts that hit me square in the face this week is that this is now the largest gathering of independent Baptist preachers and Christians worldwide. The crowds in the daytime were not a drop in the bucket; instead, the auditorium was packed out with over 3,500 people in each service with a youth service that had at least 1,500 in attendance. The day, and especially the night sessions, were so full that they often had an extra overflow service to house the crowd, and sometimes two overflow services were needed.

It saddened my heart that America no longer has the largest gathering of independent Baptist; instead, it seems that the LORD has chosen to bless the Hispanic people with that privilege. I’m afraid that we in America have always thought we have an edge on every other nation, but God truly showed me that this thought process is erroneous. It was very evident this week that we don’t have an edge on God. I’m afraid we think we have that edge on God because of our chandeliers, nice buildings, fancy offices, technology, refined personalities, culturally correct preaching, nice wardrobes and contemporary services. The thinking that America has an edge on God is the furthest thing from the truth.

What I saw this week throws much of what is being taught in the states out the window. They didn’t have fancy buildings, just buildings that fits the need of holding the crowd. They didn’t have air conditioning other than the air that blows through the auditorium if there was a good breeze. These people didn’t have much of what is being pushed as important church building tools in America, yet God is blessing in a tremendous way. I watched people sit four hours straight with no breaks each morning, and three hours in the afternoon. After having a short break to eat supper, they gathered again for another three hours of preaching. They didn’t complain about the hard, narrow benches that were so close that when you sat down your knees were nearly touching the pew in front of you. What I saw this week were people who simply had a love for God and wanted God to use them.

The reality that hit me this week was that America is about ready to lose the blessings of God if her Christians don’t wake up. Friend, Americans don’t have an edge on God. Just because we have the fancy buildings and well choreographed services doesn’t make us better than anyone else. If anything, America has lost her edge of why God blessed her. What became very evident to this preacher is that God will use anyone who is willing to do what He says.

God is not using Bro. Wynne and his church to reach thousands every Sunday and hold a conference with thousands of delegates because of their suave personalities or contemporary services. No, God blesses them because they are willing to do whatever God wants them to do. I watched his son, Tim Wynne, open up his house all week long to the preachers as a guest room to relax and study in between their preaching times. I watched the people of the church work hard to make sure the delegates were welcomed, and also saw them sit with open hearts to the preaching of the Word of God.

Paul said in Acts 18:6, “And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.” Because the Jews refused to follow through on what God wanted them to do, they lost the edge of being the spiritual leader in the world and saw the baton passed on to the Gentile world.

I firmly believe that America is about ready to lose the blessings of God of being the spiritual leader because of our erroneous assumed edge on God. I absolutely believe that God can still do something great in America if we have the “want to.” However, if we continue on with the mentality that we have the edge on Christianity because we are America, then we can get ready to step back and become like England who only has a past to talk about.

If we truly want God to bless, then we are going to have to work hard to get our ministries going again. Bro. Wynne’s church is no mistake. It is a result of hard work. You can give your excuses of why churches are not growing in America, and it truthfully comes down to the fact that we just are not working. Great churches are not built by preachers who are more interested in their golf score than they are the work of the LORD. If God is going to bless the ministries in America once again, then His people are going to have to get back to working hard without an apology.

If we truly want God to bless our churches, then we are going to have to get consumed with the souls of men. God is not going to bless a church that is not aggressively going after the souls of men. You can say that people are not open in your area, or you can believe God can still save the souls of men in abundance. I know, you say that Bro. Wynne is in Mexico City and that people are receptive to the Gospel in his city. Well, to help you with your excuse, Mexico City has been known to be the graveyard of preachers because they said the people were not receptive. Bro. Wynne, and the people of his church, just believed they are to follow the command to reach the lost for Christ even if it is hard. Your two or three hours of soul winning a week will not build a great church.

If we truly want God to bless our churches, then we are going to have to preach the whole counsel of God. Bro. Wynne does not cut the corners on his sermons to build a large church. Instead, I heard him preach a strong sermon on Thursday morning, the likes that most churches in the states would never have him back if he dared to preach that sermon in their church. Hard preaching has always been a part of great independent Baptist churches. People are people in every generation, and people desire to hear absolutes. America will never again have thriving independent Baptist churches as long as we preach culturally correct sermons and not scripturally correct sermons. Culture rarely agrees with the Scriptures, and the preachers who choose old paths preaching will find that God will bless their obedience.

If we truly want God to bless our churches, then God’s people are going to have to stick their necks out once again and live by faith. They are going to have to believe that it still takes the power of God, and that God will not empower those who are not willing to step out by faith and do what others say will not work. God will quickly remove His blessings from those churches that choose to point their successes to themselves and not give Him the glory. The churches in Mexico are growing because the men of God have decided to stick their necks out for God and start churches everywhere. God has blessed this and will bless in America again if narrow minded preachers will remember that church planting in their own country is a part of missions.

The only reason God is beginning to move His blessings over to ministries like Bro. Wynne’s and not keep His blessings in the states is because of the vision of this pastor. He runs two services to house the crowds on Sunday mornings, and is in a building campaign to double the size of his auditorium. When asked if he would go back to one service, he responded that the open space in both services will give them a chance to reach more people for Christ.

I wonder where the vision of American pastors has gone. Have we become so filled with pride that we have lost our vision for God to do something great through us? Psalm 81:10 says, “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” How wide open is your mouth towards God? Do you have a great vision. God has no reason to bless American Christians if we are not willing to expand our vision and work hard and pray to see those visions come to reality.

Nobody has an edge on God. I believe the greatest days of Bro. Wynne’s ministry is ahead as long as he and his people keep a humble spirit and never acquire the mentality that they have an edge on God. Likewise, God can bless churches in America again if we will throw out the mentality that we have an edge on God and Christianity, and just get busy doing what God has commanded us to do.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.

 

by: Allen Domelle

Should a Christian love their country? There are some in the Christian world who would say that a love of country is unbiblical. There are religions that teach one should not quote the pledge of allegiance to their country’s flag because God is the only One Who deserves our allegiance. There are religions that teach it is wrong for a person to serve in the military.

We find a story in Luke 7 about a centurion who’s servant was sick and dying. When he heard that Jesus was coming to his area, he sent the elders of the Jews to beg Jesus to come and heal his servant.

What is interesting about this story is what the people said about this centurion and how it affected Jesus. They said in Luke 7:5-6, “For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them…” Notice that this centurion was recognized for loving his country. He loved his country and the people of his country so much that he built them a synagogue. It was right after this statement that it says Jesus went with them so he could heal this centurion’s servant. There are three things I want you to notice about this story.

1. Christians should love their nation.

When I look at this story, I see that there is nothing wrong with loving your nation. I believe we ought to love our nation. If God didn’t want us to love our nation, then why did he point out about this centurion loving his nation? He did so because He was showing us that it is good to love our nation.

I love America for many reasons. One of the greatest things I love about our nation is that we are known as being a Christian nation. We are a nation founded upon Christian principles. In spite of what the liberals would want you to believe, Christianity was at the core of our founding documents. It was the Danville Baptists who influenced our founding fathers in the writing of the Bill of Rights. George Washington, our first president, was known for his passionate prayer life. Many of those who signed the Declaration of Independence strongly believed in Christian values. Though there are some in our nation who would like to make us believe that Christian values and politics have no part with each other, this story of the centurion clearly debunks that thought. This story very clearly shows that Christianity should be involved in the forming of political thinking, and our forefathers strongly believed this.

I love America because she is a nation that allows us to have the freedom to preach. There are many nations that dictate to their citizens what religion one must be a part of, but America is that one nation that has enabled Christians to freely preach the Gospel without fear of imprisonment or death. Christian, your freedom to express your Christian beliefs should cause you to love America.

I love America because she has been the shining light to spread the Gospel to the world. Because God has blessed our country, America has had the opportunity to finance missionaries worldwide. There are countries that would not have heard the Gospel in the past 200 years had it not been for American missionaries who were financially supported by American Christians. There are many who read this article in other countries because of an American missionary who brought them the Gospel. Yes, I love my country because of her concern to get the Gospel to other nations.

Is it wrong for a Christian to love America? Absolutely not! No Christian should ever have a problem putting their hand to their heart to pledge allegiance to the American flag, because that flag represents the Christian freedoms we have today.

2. Christians can serve in the military and still be in God’s favor.

One of the things you will notice about this story in Luke 7 was that this man was also recognized for being a part of his nation’s military. Centurions were soldiers. This man had fought for his nation to allow it to be free. If God was not for Christians serving in the military, then why did He point out this man’s employment, and why did his employment have a part in Jesus’ motivation to heal his servant? If Jesus would have been against serving in the military, he would not have healed a servant who would help this centurion serve his country in the military.

I have known many fine Christian men who served in the military. Some would say that a Christian has no right to fight in the military for their nations freedoms, but that would be in direct contradiction to God’s Word. If God didn’t want Christians in the military, then why did He bless David who was a strong military man. If God didn’t want Christians to serve in the military, then He would not have told Moses how to order their military. I do believe that every Christian who desires to serve in the military should be sure it is God’s will for their life before entering the military.

Just think of how many people would have gone to Hell had there not been Christians in the military. The church I attended as a teenager had several military men who were very good Christians, and some who had a great impact on my life. In fact, one of the men, Rick Flanders, started a church while in the military and allowed me to preach in his church after I was called to preach. These men were godly men who were soul winners and witnessed to several other men with whom they served. I have preached in churches that were predominately military, and these churches had many good Christians serving their country.

I certainly understand that not everyone has to serve in the military, but I do believe those who do serve should be recognized for their contributions to our freedom. Many have given friends and parts of their body just so we can be free. In a time of the year when we celebrate our country’s independence, I think it is good for everyone to recognize the contribution of those who have served with honor. These people have had a great part in the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not they are saved themselves, their effort as a soldier to defend our freedoms is what allows us to freely spread the Gospel.

3. The best way to express your love for your country is by spreading the Gospel.

You will notice that this centurion was recognized for building a synagogue. The synagogue was the worship center of their nation. I am not going into whether the synagogue was right on salvation, but I want you to see that this centurion was recognized as a patriotic citizen, not only for his service to his country, but also his service in building a synagogue.

You may never have served your country in the military, but you can still serve your country by spreading the Gospel. Every time you lead someone to Christ, you are helping to keep your nation free. I dare to say that soul winners are some of the truest patriotic citizens of their country. We have freedom of religion, but what is the value of that freedom if we don’t show people how to free their soul from Hell. Christian, if you want to serve your country then become a soul winner. Get involved in your church’s bus ministry and bring people to Jesus Christ. Get involved in discipling Christians so they too will become a part of the soul winning ministries of the church. If you truly love your country, then show the citizens of your country the greatest freedom of all, and that is the freedom that comes from a person accepting Christ as their personal Saviour. It is that freedom that keeps the soul of a person from the bondage of Hell for an eternity.

I asked, should a Christian love their country? Absolutely, yes! It would be hard to have a passion for souls if you don’t love your country. This Independence Day weekend should not just be a time when we forget those who have served our country, but it should be a time that we remember the price paid for our freedom and a time of commitment from every Christian to do what they can to keep their country free.

My challenge to every person reading this article is to do your part as a Christian to keep your nation free. Keep passing out tracts and witnessing to the lost. Keep the busses rolling and bring in children to hear the Gospel. Keep growing the Sunday school classes so we have more people to reach our community for Jesus Christ. Most of all, keep your walk with God in the Scriptures and prayer active so that sin will not destroy your ability to reach this world for Christ.

Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.