Category: Featured Articles

by: Emily Carstens

The 2014 National Old Paths Conference kicked off at the Longview Baptist Temple last night. This year’s theme for the Conference is “Christianity 365” emphasizing the need for Christians to be true Christians every day of the year, not just at church. Many pastors from around the country as close as Jefferson, Texas, and as far as Anchorage, Alaska were in attendance. A few missionaries were also in attendance representing the countries of Cameroon, the republic of Georgia and India.

The service was started off with the Longview Baptist Temple choir singing, “His Grace is Still Amazing.” After the first congregational, Dr. Bob Gray, II, pastor of the Longview Baptist Temple, called on the men in the congregation to kneel at the altar and pray for God’s power on the service. Dr. Gray emphasized that the men need to hear from God to ultimately impact the homes. After another congregational, Bro. Alvin Martinez, from North Valley Baptist Church in California, sang two songs. His first song, “I Know a Man Who Can,” reminded Christians that we may not be able to perform miracles, but Jesus is the Man Who can. His second song, “I Take Him Back,” encouraged the crowd to take the Devil back to the day of their salvation when he tries to discourage them from serving the Lord.

Next Dr. Gray preached the first sermon of the night. He preached on the subject “America Needs Preachers.” He emphasized that fact that America does not need more politicians or more Starbucks stores, but more preachers to preach Jesus. He gave three points to his message. First, if you are a preacher, do not quit, resign, or give up. Secondly, if you have a preacher, support him by saying, “Amen” and smiling. Thirdly, your city is very blessed if it has a preacher preaching the Gospel. He ended out his sermon by stating that a person will never get down the old paths without a preacher.

After Dr. Gray finished preaching, Bro. Martinez returned to the platform to bless the congregation with two more songs, “Just One More Soul” and “We Believe.” Bro. B. G. Buchanan, pastor of the Central Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, preached a great sermon entitled, “I’m One of Them.” His sermon was taken from the story of Peter’s denial of Christ. Bro. Buchanan admonished Christians to be known as Christians by their testimony. Dr. Gray led the invitation and asked the men to identify themselves as dedicating themselves or being dedicated to being “one of those” Christians. The men filled the altars to identify as being “One of Them” who will walk the old paths. The service ended out with the Duckett family singing “His Life for Mine.” Announcements were given then everyone was then asked to return for the morning session at nine for more old fashioned preaching.

It was a great start to the 2014 National Old Paths Conference. God met with the delegates, and the anticipation of the LORD working through the rest of the week was very evident after the service. After a time of fellowship, the delegates left later in the evening anticipating Tuesday’s sessions.

by: David Owens

“…perilous times shall come.” “…men of corrupt minds.” 1 Timothy 3:1, 8

Have you been brainwashed? Why not? Perhaps we are afraid of the term “brainwashed” because it is often used in a negative setting. Maybe we ourselves have been accused of being brainwashed only because we put God first. The truth is, everyone has been brainwashed and will continue to be. Don’t miss this, the question is really not, have you been brainwashed, the question should be, by whom have you been brainwashed? We, as God’s people, are to be constantly washing our brain.

It is advisable to use an anti-virus program on a computer not only to stop a virus before it infects the computer, but one that can find and clean any viruses that have previously infected it. All computer users should also know not to open email attachments unless you know and trust the sender. Is your computer and it’s hard drive more valuable than you are? We want to keep our computers clean of infections so that they function properly for us, but we are not concerned enough to keep our brains clean so that we can function properly for God.

In the Garden of Eden, God’s plan was for man to know only good, to have a clean brain, a clean mind, a clean heart. Satan came along and introduced a virus. Adam and Eve allowed Satan to wash the life right out of them by infecting them with the virus of sin. “… Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, …” 1 Corinthians 5:6-7.

We were all born with a mind infected by sin. “…from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” Psalm 58:3. As he did with Adam and Eve, Satan will work hard to infect all of God’s people not only with sin, but also with viruses of false doctrine. We are warned to beware of false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing. You will probably not be fooled by the Jehovah’s Witness or the Mormons. False doctrine is most dangerous when it is set forth by those we trust; therefore, no human being is the final authority of right or wrong.

Many people who were saved later in life struggle with past sins and even false doctrine because they were infected years ago. Brainwashing ought to be a never ending process. We need to be sure that we use God’s anti-virus, anti-sin, anti-false doctrine program and keep it updated and running. We need to allow God to keep the wash cycle running in our mind.

The Christian’s life and mind are not self-cleaning at salvation. I believe the biggest struggle in a Christian’s growth is not cleaning up the outside, that is fairly easy because our outside is what others see. It is the inside of us, it is our mind that is not as obvious to others that is hard to clean and keep clean. Yet Scripture teaches us that our inside is who we really are. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:..” Proverbs 23:7. Look at Christ’s rebuke to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-28 as it says, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Some reasons that we all need constant brainwashing.

1. You need to be brainwashed because we are commanded to wash our brains. “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James 4:8. “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;” Ephesians 4:23. The Psalmist asked, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” Psalm 119:9, because we need constant washing. David begged God in Psalm 19:12 “…cleanse thou me from secret faults.” and in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart.”

2. We need to be brainwashed because our past has left us already infected with sin, wrong thinking and false doctrine. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind…not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.” 1 Peter 1:13-14. The unsaved mind is defiled. “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving (You believe in your mind.) is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” Titus 1:15. At salvation we received eternal life as a gift and are sealed with the Holy Spirit, but our minds were not magically cleansed of sin and false doctrine. Our minds will stay defiled after salvation if we don’t clean the iniquity and false doctrine out of them.

3. You need to be constantly brainwashing because the virus grows if neglected. 1 Corinthians 5:6 says, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” Give a computer virus a little time and it will control the whole computer. Give a dirty mind some time and it will control your whole being. A spiritual Christian will constantly be judging who and what is influencing them, as well as what has already influenced them. That statement may sound critical or negative, but it is actually scriptural for 1 Corinthians 2:15 says, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things…” Many have responded, “I don’t want to be critical.” Let me say, the Bible is a book of judgement. There is a difference between critical and judgement. Scriptural judgement has a solution but criticism is finding fault without a scriptural remedy.

4. You need to be constantly brainwashing because viruses can come from many unsuspecting sources even after salvation. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8. Churches, ministries and even “good Christians” can be guilty of injecting human traditions. If you don’t want your mind, direction and service to God spoiled, then never put yourself under the influence of any church, ministry, book, program or man who is not following Christ. Beware, as Eve trusted the serpent in the Garden, good men become corrupt because they trust some man, ministry or church that may appear legitimate in some areas because perhaps we have trusted them in the past. We falsely believe that we are strong enough to accept the good while rejecting the bad, but that never happens. A virus normally comes in with the good and gradually takes over.

5. You need to be brainwashed because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19. How dare us force the Holy Spirit, whom God has so graciously given to indwell and seal us, to have to live so close to the sin or false doctrine within us.

6. We need to be brainwashed because we are double minded. James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” Be careful of compromise! Compromise happens when we know better but weaken our stand for the sake of convenience, security or association. We compromise because it is easier or to “protect” ourselves or so we don’t offend someone else. In being double minded one of the minds has to be cleaned out.

7. We need to be brainwashed because our understanding is fuzzy or darkened. We are warned that our understanding can be similar to a lost person, yes, even a Christian can have a blinded heart. We are commanded not to be like the lost. Ephesians 4:17-18 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”

8. We need to be brainwashed because we all have secret faults. Psalm 19:12 says, “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.” We will not dwell on this point because these faults are secret, but nothing is secret from God!

9. You need to be brainwashed because it is easy to have a bad attitude. David asked God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit (attitude) within me.” Psalm 51:10. As Cain’s sin affected his countenance, our inward wrongs affect our attitude. A bad attitude is a funny thing because we most often cannot discern a bad attitude in ourselves. A bad attitude will hinder us from understanding that we are infected with sin or wrong doctrine. A person with a bad attitude denies that they have a problem. A Christian with a good attitude is open to judgement and can be helped.

So HOW do we get Biblically brainwashed?

1. Stay away from any more of the world’s (Satan’s) influence. This includes sin as well as any possible influence of false doctrine. Why bother cleaning yourself while in the hog pen hugging the hogs? Get out first! Why clean a computer of viruses while at the same time opening corrupted files and browsing sinful sites?

Ephesians 4:22-23 says, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”

Romans 12:1-2 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

2. Put Christ’s mind in you. You can’t clean yourself. Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” Being sinners, we are unable to clean our own minds. This is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:16, “…we have the mind of Christ.” He understood that his own human mind was not qualified to discern between the natural and the spiritual. He was not the judge between false doctrine and Bible doctrine, God is.

3. The Word of God is a must. Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Notice that God did not tell us to allow any man to clean us but the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Jesus explained to his disciples in John 15:3 “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

4. Check for cleanliness by comparing any advice or counsel to the Word, even from those you trust or who appear good. A good spiritual brainwashing is just the beginning, now we must fill our minds with godliness, making no room for filth to enter back in. A washing is not just to get rid of the dirt, it is to replace the dirt with cleanliness. God’s cleanliness (or godliness) repels dirt. Guard against viruses which are introduced to us by someone we trust.

What happens if we fail to keep our brain washed?

The Apostle Paul warned us of perilous times and described men of “corrupt minds” in 2 Timothy 3:1-8. Read some of the other traits of an unwashed brain:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”

Who has brainwashed you? That is the question!

Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way (Christian life) everlasting.”

David Owens
Pastor
Westside Baptist Church
Pacifica, CA

by: Kerby Campbell

I want to introduce you to our ministry, Treasured Trials. My name is Kerby Campbell. My wife is Kelli and my two boys are Isaac and Jack. We make up Treasured Trials. When one member of the family suffers, the whole family suffers. God allowed us to start this ministry in 2011.

God called me from North Carolina to Washington State in 1996, to start a church just North of Seattle in a city called Marysville. We started Northwest Baptist Church in December of that year, and God remarkably blessed year after year. Our church grew tremendously. The Lord allowed me to pastor there just two months shy of 15 years.

In February of 2010, I was scheduled to have knee surgery for a torn meniscus. The doctor told me I would be having a spinal epidural to numb me for surgery. I was not given a choice in the matter. I never dreamed that what was to be a simple every day procedure would change my life for good.

The day of surgery, we went in and they prepped me for surgery. The surgery time came and went. While we were waiting, the nurses brought a 17 year old boy out of the operating room and wheeled him right past our pre-op door. We noticed something did not seem right with him. The boy was trembling and shaking like he was experiencing severe convulsions. Everyone in the surgical center was running to his side. We noticed his mom standing there crying. Eventually the staff came and shut our door. We did find out later they had to send him to the nearest hospital.

A while later, the anesthesia doctor came in to give me my epidural. She made my wife leave the room. When she gave me the epidural, an electrical shock went through my body. My body jolted and I told her about it. She asked me questions about what I felt. I told her. She did not say anything else and left the room. She came back approximately 10 minutes later and tried again.

After I was in surgery, my wife saw the mother of the 17 year old boy come back through the surgical waiting room. Kelli asked how her son was and let her know that she was praying for them. His mother told my wife that her son had been given a medicine, in surgery, that he was known to be allergic to and had a reaction. They were able to help him at the hospital and at that point she said he was doing okay. This was the same doctor who gave me my epidural.

During the surgery, I could feel them working on my knee, so I alerted the surgeon. He called the anesthesia doctor over, and that is the last thing I remember until I woke up in the recovery room. I went home, and after the numbing wore off my nightmare began.

When the numbing wore off, I began to experience excruciating pain in my back, where I had the epidural. I also had a massive headache. I told my wife it felt like I had a rock in my back and that I was on fire. She looked at my back and began counting. I had 6 puncture holes where the epidural was!

I have left out many of the details for space sake. I was eventually diagnosed with a disease called Arachnoiditis caused from a bad epidural procedure. Arachnoiditis causes severe, unending, burning nerve pain that travels up and down your spine. It is incurable! For almost 4 years I have had to live on the highest form of pain medication a body can take with still no relief.

God has truly shed His wonderful and marvelous grace upon me and my family. What looked to us as a negligent mistake by a doctor who was not having a good day, was no mistake with God. God does not make mistakes.

It ended my years as being a pastor of the church He allowed me to start. I gave it my all while I was there. Praise God it has not ended my days of serving Him. I cannot do the things I used to do, but the Lord has allowed me to still serve Him as I travel from church to church and speak to others on how to treasure their trials, and most of all speak about our wonderful God.

God brought me to 1 Peter 1:7, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” This verse states “the trying of our faith is much more precious than gold.” I believe God is saying that we should treasure the “trying” that God allows in all of our lives a whole lot more than we would treasure all the gold we could obtain. When we have done this, then we have treasured our trials.

Dr. Jack Hyles said so many times, “Be good to everybody because everybody is having a tough time.” There are many people who have lost their dreams of a lifetime like we have. We want to help those people look at their trials, whether they be physical, financial, relational or emotional, like God wants us to without dread and something to be endured until it is over. It is not over when a trial comes into your life and rattles your world, turns it from bright and shiny to dark and dreadful. We try to help encourage others to keep on keeping on even when it seems like there is no real way.

Let me share a little outline with you that I have discovered that can help when trials invade our lives.

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

1. THE SURE FACT OF TRIALS

You and I can count on having trials in our lives. No one goes through life without them. The Scripture says the “trying of your faith.” It is not us that is on trial; it is our faith, the very thing that God says pleases Him the most. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

2. THE SEVERITY OF TRIALS

The Scriptures tell us that there are different degrees or severity of the trials that come into our lives.

The tried with fire trial (1 Peter 1:7)

The fiery trial (1 Peter 4:12)

The seven times hotter trial (Daniel 3:19-25)

3. YOUR SPIRIT WHILE IN THE TRIAL

“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

God commands us to have a good and positive spirit continually while going through our trials.

But rejoice

Be glad

Exceeding joy

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

“The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear.” Proverbs 18:14

4. THE SUCCESS OF THE TRIAL

“Being much more precious than gold.” 1 Peter 1:7

When God allows us to experience the trying of our faith, He tells us that it should be more precious to us than if we had all the gold in the world. Our trials are to make us more successful.

5. THE SUBMISSION OF THE TRIAL

“Though it be tried with fire; might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:7 The main purpose of our trials is for us to submit to the Father and make sure that He gets all the glory and honour. In other words, we are to make Jesus look good!

I have found that while enduring a trial is the best time to exalt the Lord. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

This outline has helped me so much in the last 3½ years of my trial. I pray that God will use it to help and encourage you during your trial. Remember, let us treasure our trials.

We appreciate your prayers for us as we travel and seek to help carry the burdens of many and also for complete healing from arachnoiditis. May God bless you and let us not forget to treasure our trials.

You can find us on our website www.treasuredtrials.com and on Facebook at Treasured Trials.

Kerby Campbell

Texas Baptist College was founded in 1982 by my father, Dr. Bob Gray, Sr. For legal and incorporation purposes, we have changed the name of this fine institution to Texas Independent Baptist Seminary & Schools.

The changing of the name came about as a result of trying to incorporate Texas Baptist College with the state of Texas. Incorporating Texas Baptist College was necessary for the purpose of retaining our SEVIS status. This highly coveted status allows us to accept foreign students into our institution. Part of the incorporation process uncovered the fact Texas Baptist College was not a name that could be legally incorporated in the state of Texas due to a law passed in 1965 prohibiting post-secondary institutions from using the name “College” unless that institution were willing to accept state accreditation. To remain legal, to retain our SEVIS status, and to remain true to our convictions of remaining independent, we have incorporated under the name Texas Independent Baptist Seminary & Schools.

Changing the name from College to Seminary may evoke an array of discussions and feelings. However, the word Seminary by true definition is “a college that prepares students to be priests, ministers, or rabbis.” However, because we are neither Catholic nor Jewish, Texas IBS will be a college that prepares students to be ministers or better yet old-fashioned men of God.

Although our name may have changed, our mission and purpose have not. We are committed to continue our more than thirty year history of training men and women for the work of the ministry. Our motto remains the same, “Training Soul-Winning Leaders.”

I am excited about the opportunity to train God-called men through the Seminary to have an in-depth knowledge of God’s Word. A man can earn his Associates’ of Theology degree (65 credit/1,040 clock hours) or Bachelors’ of Theology degree (128 credit hours/1,024 clock hours). We now offer master’s and doctorate’s programs in Theology (30 credit hours/360 clock hours).

In addition to the Seminary, we also have our Schools. Through the Schools a man or a lady can earn a Certificates of Church Office Administration (1024 clock hours), Certificate of Music Administration (1024 clock hours), Associates’ of Religious Education degree (61 credit hours/976 clock hours), Bachelor’s of Religious Education degree (128 credit hours/1024 clock hours). We now offer master’s and doctorate’s programs in Religious Education (30 credit hours/360 clock hours).

I am convinced that training men to be Pastors through the Seminary and training men and ladies as the support staff through the Schools is an unbeatable combination to reach the world with the Gospel and strengthen local independent Baptist churches.

As has been our tradition for over thirty years, we will take that classroom knowledge and combine it with practical ministry experience through the ministries of the Longview Baptist Temple. In addition to serving at the Longview Baptist Temple, we have connected with several churches in the area that allow our students to intern and gain hands on experience to prepare them for ministry work after graduation. Some of our students are in their fourth year as interns.

There is much to discuss concerning Texas IBS – from our annual mission trips, revivals, conferences, intramural sports, to our music recital, banquets, and so much more. Suffice it to say, I would encourage you to take a look at our new website TexasIBS.ORG.

In closing, if you are one of our alumni, please take the time to visit the alumni page on the new website. We want to keep in touch with you and build a relationship that will encourage our student body.

Please continue to pray as we keep old-time religion alive in Longview, TX!

Dr. Bob Gray II
Chancellor
Texas I.B.S.
http://texasibs.org

by: Jason Williams

America seems so confused today. Everywhere we look from the streets to the White House we find a lot of people who are very confused.

Our leadership is no different. It seems to me like we have conflicting reports from all levels in our current administration. Obamacare, for instance, is changing every time President Obama opens his mouth. Last week, the State of the Union (SOTU) address was no exception. Our President even seemed confused on his powers as he claimed he could circumvent the Constitution and force his will on the American people.

The amazing thing in all of this is that the rest of the administration and liberal media seems to be just as confused. The media wants to love Mr. Obama, yet they had almost nothing to say about his address. One of the most liberal newspapers in America didn’t even have anything to say about the SOTU until page 8, and most of the liberal news channels and sites were so confused by his speech that they simply pretended it didn’t exist.

This is on par for the rest of America. We have people who are confused about everything! No one seems to know who they are or what they believe! We seem to reward this confusion by having our President call them and congratulate them on being confused, when at the same time he shuns and rejects those brave men and women who lay down their lives and serve our country overseas.

It seems like perhaps Mr. Obama should have titled his speech, The State of Disunion because everyone seems to be confused and disconnected from reality and each other.

This reminds me of another group of people who were also confused. The people of Babel were confused and disconnected exactly like the people of America are today. Why does this happen? How did they get there? How did WE get here? I believe the Bible has the answer.

I think the reason the people of Babel were so confused is the same exact reason the people of America are confused. And that reason is this.

GOOD IDEAS THAT ARE DONE WITH THE WRONG INTENTIONS AND WITHOUT GOD’S HELP ARE BAD IDEAS.

People today have good ideas. Taking care of the poor is a good idea. Improving communication is a good idea; however, when you remove God from the picture and try to lift yourself up like the people of Babel, suddenly you become confused.

This is what happened to communist Russia. Russia had a good idea. Let’s make everyone equal. The problem is they tried to do so without God and soon they collapsed.

This is the problem in America today. Our President and our nation has a lot of really good ideas, but you cannot remove God from America and still have success.

THERE IS NO GOOD WITHOUT GOD!

You cannot even spell good without the word “God” in it. Yet this is what we are trying to do today. We are desperately running around in confusion trying to accomplish something good in America while also trying to remove Jesus from America. This is setting ourselves up for failure. The reason America is so great is because we were founded and established on one clear thought, in fact this thought is the motto for the state of Ohio. “With God all things are possible.”

If this is true, then without God nothing is possible. If we are ever going to get back to being One Nation, then we must get back to being Under God.

Jason Williams
Assistant Pastor
High Street Baptist Church
Columbus, OH
churchonhigh.wordpress.com

by: Bruce Goddard

Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you to be fishers of men.”

Our Lord did not say, follow me and I will educate you, or I will teach you lots about the Bible. Those things certainly happened, but that is not the real test of Bible leadership and Bible ministry.

In these three plus decades of pastoring I have seen a movement of preachers who are more concerned about the Sunday morning attendance and offering than they are with reproducing themselves.

I started our church with my wife and I knocking on doors. Before our first service, I had a man going with me door to door. I met him during the six weeks of door knocking and searching out prospects. I found someone to train. Over these years my goal has been to create an environment where people were equipped for the work of ministry, Ephesians 4.

Recently we had a big day where our people preached to over 8,000 people, with over 1,700 trusting Christ. We do this every year or so. We simply go into the community and bring church and thanksgiving baskets to the people who would not normally attend any church. The preaching services were done almost entirely by my laymen. The vast majority of the soul winning was done by laymen. Our weekly bus routes are all run by laymen except for one route run by a lady school teacher.

My young men are chomping at the bit to get to preach. I mean my teens and young adult men are excited and prepared to preach. Why is it some of the better known preachers in America have few if any young men wanting to preach? These larger but less productive churches are usually pastored by expository teachers who teach well but reproduce little.

On 9/11 we had a couples retreat planned. Here we were in the mountains with everything prepared, but our guest speaker could not make it due to the airline shutdown. On Thursday I asked several of our laymen to do one session each on marriage or the family. They had less than 24 hours to prepare. It may have been the best couples retreat we ever had, and it didn’t cost me anything. We must create an environment where our people learn to do the work of the ministry.

Someone asked me how a man could be so good at teaching the Bible yet have so few young men wanting to preach. The answer is not hard to see. These churches are seeking to reach the head more than the heart. They speak to educate, not to convict. While they are very attentive to not offending, they are inattentive to holiness, standards and separation from the world.

Bible preaching reproduces the leader. Bible-based ministries reproduce the leadership. Holy Spirit led churches have Holy Spirit called young people seeking to serve the Lord. Don’t get caught up in the nice man in the pulpit or his amazing ability to open the Scriptures, look at the fruit. Just what is being reproduced?

Artificial flavors taste good, but they cannot reproduce themselves. A real peach will have a real seed and that seed can grow more peaches. But those tasty peach rings cannot grow a peach tree, no matter how sweet they are.

Let me show you the short version of our churches today. We start going soul winning. We bring some folks with us and teach them to win souls. As the church grows we focus on keeping a crowd and change our music, soften our standards, bring in sound tracts and praise teams. Some or all of these things are going on while fewer and fewer members go soul winning. We do not want to pressure people. Soon, just the staff go soul winning. Then there are only a few specialty staff members known as “great soul winners” going out. If you want someone to get saved, you send “ol’ Bro. Soul winner,” he just has a gift. No, he is just the only one who is still obedient.

We draw our crowd without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but a lot of comfort for the flesh. We fail to reproduce ourselves, but as long as the crowd is growing it does not matter. Of course there are folks getting saved for a while, our children, friends who come to attend, and those reached by good ol’ Bro Soul winner. That is not the issue. The issue is, we are not reproducing ourselves. We are not making fishers of men. We are cursing the next generation!Who will be the pastors? Who will be the missionaries? What is sad is how we draw young families to this warm and friendly church. They join our staff in sincerity, but the backslidden preacher ought to tell them, “Your children will have no desire to serve God, your boys will never have a desire to preach, and the divine potential of your children will never be achieved.”

The reason we are not seeing changed lives and challenged lives is that we are not doing the work God’s way. Even little country churches have some young man surrender to preach now and then. As long as there is a preacher doing the work of God the way God directs, the Holy Spirit will change lives and we will reproduce ourselves.

Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you to be fishers of men.”

Train your members to go out into the harvest field. I was led to Christ by a teenager who was trained to witness by a mechanic attending a small country church. It is not the size of the church, but the perfecting of the saints to do the ministry that truly matters.

Ephesians 4:12 says, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Dr. Bruce Goddard
Pastor
Faith Baptist Church
Wildomar, CA
http://thepreachersfriend.com

by: Jason Williams

Yesterday was cold!

I mean downright nasty cold!

My wife had taken some girls dress shopping, and since I am not an expert on girls dresses I was left to fend for myself at an outdoor mall. I sprinted from store to store trying my best to stay warm until I found a place that took pity on me and gave me some coffee, but nothing seemed to work, so I shuffled around cursing Al Gore and waiting for them to save me. I was just so cold!

After what seemed like hours, they found the perfect dress and we made it home. It’s amazing how different things are when you are home. Soon we were gathered around talking and laughing while some logs crackled in our fireplace, and all that was cold was forgotten. We were happy, warm and content, and I was apologizing to God for cursing Al Gore.

Sometimes our spiritual lives are just like this recent polar vortex. As a pastor, writer and teacher, it’s tough to admit, but I often get spiritually cold. I mean downright nasty cold! The type of cold where I don’t even want to talk to Jesus much less His followers. It’s my own personal polar vortex.

I think most of us face this as we go through the ups and downs of life. We go from loving God to being out in the cold trying our hardest to thaw ourselves out.

So what do we do? How do we handle our own personal polar vortex?

1. GO HOME

By home I mean, back to the basics. It’s amazing how quickly we can change when we get back to reading Psalms, Proverbs or Matthew. Or, when we look back at the wonderful story of our salvation. Often when I am cold I simply take a look back at how Jesus changed my life and what He has done for me and soon I am changed.

2. GET CLOSE TO FAMILY

The truth is I felt the most cold when I was alone. As soon as our little family was all back together again sitting around the fire everything changed. This is the exact opposite of what most of us do spiritually. We get hurt or cold, and suddenly we want nothing to do with other Christians. Families can be messed up (especially church families). But there is just something about family that warms the heart.

3. LAUGH

The Bible says in Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…” Laughter will do miracles for you when you are spiritually or physically cold.

Are you spiritually cold?

Jason Williams
Assistant Pastor
High Street Baptist Church
Columbus, OH
churchonhigh.wordpress.com

by Jessica Martin

I get asked this on a weekly basis, “How can we better support you? What is it that you need from us?” I always worry when I answer. I am never sure that I give the right or all-encompassing response. I´m not even sure that my attempt to do so will be correct. I always worry when I put a blanket statement like the title above. For truly, we are all individuals, and I cannot answer for every missionary wife. As my experience is limited to my country of service and time here, I´m sure something will be left out. So, I´m definitely not the most qualified person to answer this. But since it is asked of me often, I asked God to help me to generally answer on behalf of some of my co-workers around the world, and maybe in some small way help us all knit closer together as the family of God.

1.) Be Interested. I cannot tell you what it means to me when I get an email, message or letter, and I can tell the person has been following our ministry, has read our prayer letter, knows our prayer requests or has checked out our Facebook pages. The fact that someone would take time out of their busy schedule and think of and/or pray for us means the world! Can I be honest? I don´t know how missionaries did it before technology! They were obviously better people than I. Because of distance, there is that immediate disconnect. It can be discouraging if you think no one from home that supports you cares about what you are killing yourself to do in a foreign country. Of course, I can already hear some of the sour responses “But, you’re doing it for the Lord, not for men. That should be its own reward!” And you´re right! That´s why most missionaries will stay on the field. The reward is not why we do it, but the encouragement is a motivation. A reminder that just as this person sees, God sees us, too. We are not forgotten. It’s always a missionary’s fear, that as soon as the missions conference is over, or the next missionary comes to visit, we will be but a distant memory. Make an extra effort to be sure your missionary wife knows you think about her and every single one of them! Because as soon as your missionary family steps off the plane onto that unfamiliar land, the Devil starts telling them they don’t matter. No one cares. What they do will never make a difference. He whispers those things constantly, especially into the wife’s ear. Each time you send that message, mail that package, make that call, you have helped defeat Satan and encouraged your missionary´s wife to keep going, for she knows she is not alone.

2.) Be Patient. I wish I could explain this well in words, but unless you experience it, it is an impossibility, but I will try. Things move at a different speed in foreign countries. I live in a city of 10 million people with Wi-fi (sometimes!) and Starbucks (which most missionary wives don’t have), and STILL it takes me half the day just to cook my meals for the day. Nearly everything has to be done from scratch, and when I say scratch, I mean like chop the head off the chicken, we need to wash and sanitize every veggie and fruit, purify/boil water before using, and so many other things that just eat up time. It takes hours to grocery shop. You have to push and shove just to be waited on, you will stand in line just for them to let a grumpy person cut in front of you so they “stop making a scene,” and carts of bloody meat will crash into your leg at least once a month. Every place has a line that you must wait in, but they can´t tell you why. Just driving somewhere in the horrific traffic is enough to give the sweetest lady severe road rage. Nothing can be easily done. You can´t just run to the corner store, grab a can of soup and heat it up for dinner. You have to understand that sometimes the ATM will run out of money and they will fill it “when they come,” which could be an hour or next Tuesday. Everything must always be done in a different language while trying to understand the different mindset. Most missionary´s wives have to do all of this with children! So, add all your pastor’s wife does and put it in these circumstances (and I really didn’t even scratch the surface!). Maybe now you will understand when she doesn’t answer your email right away, or why she didn’t “like” your church’s FB status, yet. Contrary to a somewhat popular notion, we do not sit on the internet all day. In my own life, I had someone very upset because they sent me a very nice FB message that it took me awhile to respond to. She told me that the computer said I was online. So, she took it to mean I just didn’t care to answer her. Newsflash! I am ALWAYS signed in, either on my phone or Kindle or somewhere! I never log out, and now all the hackers are running to my FB account, but it doesn’t mean I am always sitting there waiting to NOT answer you. We want to answer you. We want to give you an update on everything. We want to send you pictures of the children. We want to send you the list of needs. And we will! Just be patient with us!

3.) Be Kind. Ok, so this should be a no brainer, right? I just felt I should include it because of some of the things I hear. I recently went back to the States and so many of my amazing friends sent clothes back with me for the Peruvians, and they sent the very best! I was so proud to give them to our people. We have gotten things in packages for us or to “share with the people” of threadbare clothes, half-used bottles of shampoo, and all the other things that looked like they had been on their way to the garbage pile and accidentally put in the missionary package. Don’t just give. If you only have a blanket with stains and holes, just throw it away! Instead, pray for the missionary. One of my friends in another country was so excited as she waited for a box of clothes for her kids. She got it and the note said, “We sent these, because your last picture was so pathetic. At least now, maybe your kids will match!” Now, this time the clothes were VERY nice and first class, but the words stung! Every time she put those clothes on her children, she felt like a failure as a mother. Every time she heard of someone who had seen that picture, she felt embarrassed and ashamed. Those unkind words took all the joy out of the package. Kindness goes such a long way! Just a kind word or being kind enough not to share your opinions, especially of her or her family, could make such a difference to your missionary’s wife.

4.) Be Understanding. I know. We are supposed to be super Christians. We are never supposed to have a bad day. We are supposed to have perfect children who love their new culture and don´t miss America at all. We should always look good and not like the dowdy missionary wife. But, we shouldn’t look too good because then we must be stealing support money and going on shopping sprees! We are supposed to be able to sing and play at least two musical instruments. We should always have a good attitude about our husband never being home. Our prayer letters should always be positive and filled with good news, even though most don’t read them anyway. Complaining is forbidden. Tears are unwelcome. Depression a sin. I’m about to tell you a secret now. According to these standards, we fail. We all fail. Every missionary’s wife is no longer allowed to be one if this is the case. And, I know you think I’m exaggerating. And no, not everyone holds us to these, but some do. I have known people who have lost support because their prayer letter had “to many needs listed and not enough souls saved.” Or, the pastor who called my friend´s husband because “your wife seemed to be having a bad week when we visited your work. I don´t think she is cut out for life on the field.” Really? I mean, really? We are human. Unfortunately. Trust me, we all wish we didn’t have our failings and shortcomings! Life would be so much easier. Just try to understand. Be her shoulder to cry on. Let her be homesick. Allow her some “prickly” days. Understand. With that, maybe try the next one…

5.) Be Her Prayer Warrior! This is the most important one! Her husband and children have a prayer warrior. It´s her. The people they serve have a prayer warrior. It´s her. All of their supporting churches have a prayer warrior. It´s her. The missionary wife. But, who prays for her? And not in the, “Dear God, bless all the missionaries wives out there” way, although we will take that, too! But in the “I´m going to take this whole week and just pray for her. I will find out her prayer requests. I will pray for miracles. I will even fast a day. I will beg God to bind Satan in her life. I will weep as I ask God to protect her relationships and body. I will be the one who takes her name to God so she can have the wisdom, grace, love, mercy, peace, and strength to get through the day.” I know you´re thinking that it sounds pretty intense, and it is. We stand between the living and the dead here. I personally have encountered more spiritual warfare in the last year and a half, than I ever have in my previous 30 years combined. The Devil has had such a stronghold in all of our countries of service, and you can hear his demons scream and rage as another missionary sets foot on “his” kingdom. He will unleash all of his venom, every evil, every mind game, every sickness, every sin, every temptation, every hurt he has at his disposal until he can get them to leave. And the Devil knows, just like he did in the Garden of Eden, that the success of this missionary family hinges on one person…the wife. So, he´ll target her. He always does. That´s why she needs a prayer warrior. I´m begging you for her. Please, fast and pray for your missionary´s wife. It´s the only way she´ll survive.

I hope this helps! I must include that Junior and I are SO blessed to have the BEST supporting churches ever! They are all of these things to me and so much more. I love them. Every single one of them. I have just felt Spirit led to share this with you all. I love all of my missionary wife friends out there, too! Keep going, ladies! Hang in there. Don´t give up! If you get knocked down, get up again (we all do)! I have the highest respect for each of you and count you all as a true heroine. If I left the mission field today, it would have been the greatest and most instructive time in my life, and it has made me realize just how AMAZING each of one you ladies are! Can´t wait to get to Heaven and see how God honors your behind-the-scenes, selfless, sacrificial lives that you’ve given for Him.

Jessica Martin
Missionary Wife to Peru

by: Keith Phemister

Have you ever heard of a Beachhead strategy? Apparently our enemy has and uses it quite often to great success. The word “beachhead” by definition, means a secure initial position that can be used for further advancement; a foothold. It is a military term; a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a beach by sea and begins to defend the area while other reinforcements help out until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived.

In 1944, during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, Dwight Eisenhower led the allies to establish a beachhead. Once the amphibious assault started, the victory would go to the side which could re-enforce the beachhead most quickly.

In reading 1 Peter 5, it becomes apparent that often times we read verse 8 and separate from the content of the text before it. It behooves us to realize that our enemy (Satan) looks for a beachhead in our lives so that he can absolutely devour us. Look at these verses.

1 Peter 5:6-8, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

It is very important that we learn to cast our cares upon the Lord, or in consequence have the enemy establish a beachhead in our lives. We are so prone to try and carry our burdens ourselves instead of casting them upon the One Who really cares for us and can relieve the burdens.

Can I illustrate? When I was a young boy, I would get leg cramps during the night. Mom always told me they were growing pains. How often do I recall calling out to mom in the middle of the night for relief! All it took was a moan and a cry for mom to come and she would be there in an instant. She would also come with the relief that I was looking for, applying an ointment (Ben Gay) while massaging my aching calves. What a relief she was able to give me and all because I called.

Looking at Matthew 13:22, we see how our cares potentially leave us defenseless against our enemy. Notice what it says, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hearth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”

Notice that the cares of the world choke the Word and leave us defenseless against our enemy. The one weapon we have against him is the Word of God, and cares will choke the Word. I cannot imagine being matched against a hungry lion with no weapons.

Let me illustrate the truth. Suppose I asked you to do ten pushups. No problem, at least for most of us. How about falling to the ground and rolling over? Again, no problem. Now how about jumping up and down reaching for the skies. Simple, right?

Now let’s complicate things by giving you a cup of water filled to the brim! Now, I say to you: “Do ten pushups, but don’t spill that water – not a drop”. The instructions now become problematic and complicated. “Fall to the ground and roll over,” I say. Again, the concern is the cup of water in my hand. How do I do what you tell me to do without spilling the cup of water? The cup of water represents the cares that each one of us carries each and every day. The instructions given represent the Word of God. Doing what God tells us to do is a lot easier when the cares are absent from our lives. The problem is that “man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Troubles result in cares! “Ok, jump up and down ten times and reach for the sky.” I certainly can do that a lot easier with no cup in my hand filled with water.

Now the solution is obvious: Put the cup of water down while I am carrying out the instructions. So simple! Hey, most good Christians have a problem in their lives obeying the commands of their Saviour because they have not learned to “cast their care upon Him.” What’s more is that He wants us to cast them upon Him. He wants us to cast them upon Him for two simple reasons:

1. He cares for us and wants to help us.
2. He want us to be free from worries, anxieties and troubles so we can serve more efficiently and bring forth fruit.

Sadly, the result of not casting our cares upon our Lord is our enemy establishing a beachhead in our lives, and we become prime targets for the roaring lion, disarmed and ready to be devoured.

I think of Job and what he had in his life. He had everything one could want. A big, beautiful family, a home and all the modern day conveniences. Then there came a day when the sons of God came to present themselves to the Lord, Satan being among them. God pretty much boasted of his servant Job saying, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

Satan had been going to and from upon the Earth looking for those whom he could devour. Satan quickly answered back, saying, “Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”

Many of the cares of this life were absent. God had put a hedge about him. Blessings were everywhere to behold. However, with the removal of those blessings, Satan would be able to devour that great servant Job if he did not “cast his cares upon Him.” Satan understands the cares of this life and uses them to his advantage. Let’s not be ignorant of his devices.

Let’s not allow the enemy to establish a beachhead in our lives. Let’s cast those cares upon Him, freeing us from the burdens and allowing us to be the servants we were meant to be!

Keith Phemister
Pastor
Faith Baptist Church
Nashua, NH

by: Cameron Giovanelli

One of the saddest things that I have watched people do these last nine years is this, they return to the past that God rescued them from. They make this decision thinking that things can be exactly as they used to be. Such is not the case.

I have seen many people get victory. Whether they were in a youth group twelve years ago or whether they were adults in church ten years ago, I have seen the whole process. I have observed folks do great for about six or seven years. Then all of a sudden, something overwhelms them. Before you know it, they are back to what they were doing before they got saved – thinking life can revert back with no problem.

I have counseled people who have told me a bit about their past, “Be careful, because the Devil does not like how far you have come, and he will do everything he can to get you back to where you used to be. The Devil wants to hurt the heart of God more than anything. He knows that the best way to hurt God is to hurt His children.”

John chapter five deals with this idea of what happens when one attempts to go back to his past. Jesus had just healed a man by saying, “Take up thy bed and walk.” Remember the story? The following verses tell us what happened right after that:

[10] The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

[11] He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

[12] Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

[13] And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

[14] Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (Emphasis added)

You know what I have observed? It is never the same when a saved person goes back to the life that God saved him out of. Nothing is the same.

The booze does not hold the same appeal. Drugs and alcohol are not the same as they used to be before God saved them. It is worse. It is worse going back because the child of God knows better. James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” The backslider finds himself as a saved individual trying to live a sinner’s life. He is not going to be able to live it. He is going to be constantly convicted of sin.

As a matter of fact, that is why a lot of Christian men and women who have gone back and thrown their lives away have a lot of anger issues today. Many are depressed. Some are suicidal. That which God saved them from has now become worse than it used to be. The joy that they thought they could get a hold of from the bottle cannot be found. They are unable to drown all their sorrows away. The Holy Spirit can even be heard through a drunken state. The saved individual has a hard time quenching that Spirit entirely, even when he is backslidden.

This backsliding action on the believer’s part shows that they did not sever all ties that bound them from the past from which they came. One does not return to the world unless he has been thinking about doing so for some time. No Christian suddenly decides to walk back into sin. Sin starts as a small seed thought in the mind before it ever settles in the heart.

Let me ask you, “How is your mind right now?” Maybe you are running back to your old ways and the Devil has control of your thoughts. It could be that you have not severed all the ties of the past, even though you have convinced everyone that you have.

My wife and I do not run with people outside of our church. There is a reason for that. We have neighbors who will often invite us over for barbecues during the summer. I will say something like, “Oh sorry, I don’t think that will work.” Slowly, but surely, after asking us several times, they start to get the point. We will still be very friendly, but they will stop inviting us over.

A little boy in the neighborhood came running up to me and said, “It would be great if your son could come over and play with me.” Well, I did not feel like bursting his bubble right then. It was not the time or the place. I simply said, “You know, you give me time to think on that and we will talk later.” Why would I do something like that? I knew what the home was like over there, and I knew it would not be good for my son to be exposed to it.

We are still on extremely good terms with our neighbors. We came home from church this past Sunday and our trash was already taken out. I asked my wife, “Honey, did you take out our trash?” It turns out that our neighbor has been trying to help us for weeks during my health difficulties, and he decided to take our trash out for us. He is one of the kindest men I know. I have witnessed to him on several occasions. Unfortunately, he always has a nice excuse for me not to go further into the Gospel with him. I am confident he is going to let me take him there eventually. We invite him to church all the time. I cannot wait for the day when he comes to visit.

Though Christians should sever the ties of the past (and to things that remind us of the past), it does not mean that I cannot reach the world like God commanded me too. I am stronger in reaching the world when I have severed all the ties of the past that bind me to the things of Satan.

Trying to move forward for God while tied to the past is like trying to drive a boat that is tied to the pier.

(This article is adapted from the book, Quitting Places, by Pastor Cameron Giovanelli. To order a copy of this book click here.)

Cameron Giovanelli
Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church
Dundalk, MD