Hot or Cold?

Last night Jennifer and I were able to talk with a couple (members of PBC) who are in an undisclosed location trying to reach and undisclosed people. It was such a joy to share with them over the phone...to hear their voices...to laugh and cry with them. Oh, how we miss them being with us but what they are doing is nothing short of God's work.

When you stop to think about missionary families do you see them as radical? Is their sacrifice, their willingness to pay whatever cost is necessary, their ability to leave home and family unfamiliar to you? There was a time that I viewed them in this way. That is...until I went on my 1st mission trip. After the trip I began to realize that what they were doing isn't radical but rather it's obedience. This family is simply being obedient to God. What's radical is that our churches aren't filled with more people like them.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Matthew 13:44

Do we possess that type of enthusiasm? Are we willing to sell all that we have to follow Him? Unfortunately, for a lot of "believers", the cost is too high. When I consider this mentality - I understand quickly that there is a HUGE difference between believers and followers. It's far too easy to become lukewarm in our faith.

Lukewarm people do just enough to be considered a believer but aren't at all interested in becoming a follower of Christ. Pay attention to the quote from Fredrick D. Huntington, Forum Magazine, 1890: "It's not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity." Where does this mentality come from?

Francis Chan, in his book "Crazy Love" explains Lukewarm People in this way: "Lukewarm People don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don't really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one."

I know that my sound harsh but the truth often is. When will the people of God begin to capture the passion that was displayed in the early church? When will we, like the followers of Christ in the book of Acts, begin to turn our world upside down? For far too long the church has sought a co-existence within the world. Oh, dear friends, we were never meant to be a part of this world! We are in it but we aren't supposed to be of it.

Are you Hot or Cold? If we took your spiritual temperature would we find that you are lukewarm? It's time for the church to rise up from the ashes. It's time for the sleeping giant to awake. Today is the day for the church to storm the gates of hell. Let us not get caught up in trying to maintain the body of Christ - let's motivate the body of Christ to work for the kingdom of God rather than our own kingdom. In the end...it won't be the kingdom of PBC that stands - it will be the Kingdom of God.

Let's change to definition of a true follower of Christ from radical to obedient!

Big Congrats to Roy Williams & My Heels!

History does repeat itself.

In 2005 I celebrated the Steelers 5th Super Bowl win and followed it up with a celebration over UNC winning Roy Williams 1st NCAA Championship. Here in '09 I'm celebrating again! 1st with the record setting 6 time Super Bowl Steelers and now with Roy Williams 2nd Championship with the North Carolina Tarheels.

For those who know me - KNOW that I can't pass up an opportunity to give a shout out to my Heels. They had a great season and were able to once again cut down the nets after a championship win.

I'm happy for Roy Williams. If I wasn't a Tarheel fan then I would have pulled for Kansas when Roy was there. I have always thought that he is a class act, genuine, passionate, and a great teacher of the game. One other note: He's not afraid to cry!

I'm happy for Tyler Hansbrough. I don't know of any college athlete who has worked harder in 4 years to achieve this goal. Nobody out-hustles or out-works him on the floor. Day in and day out, he put it all out there. What a way to end an excellent college career. There is a lot be said for staying 4 years!

Last of all, I'm happy for UNC. It's good to have the ACC back on top. Most of us ACC fans know that this is the most difficult conference when it comes to basketball. So, way to go Heels!

P.S. All you Duke fans - Na Na Na Na Na!

An Article by Jerry Rankin (Good Read)

FIRST-PERSON: When is the last
time you lived with urgency?
By Jerry Rankin


RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--We live amid a constant stream of e-mails, phone calls and blogs, but how often do we really live with purposeful urgency?

Anyone who has become caretaker for a frail parent has lived with urgency because moments together become more precious. When a loved one is in need, we set other considerations aside.

Missions volunteers fresh from the field are often re-energized to make an impact for Christ at home. But sometimes that urgency can be diffused by settling back into everyday routines and responsibilities.

How can we continue to live with urgency despite the pressures of the immediate?

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 9:37-38, "... The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

We must not lose our sense of urgency to reach the lost with the everlasting hope that can be found only in Jesus Christ.

Our friends at the North American Mission Board are encouraging Southern Baptists to live with urgency as they work to gather the spiritual harvest in this country, Canada and their territories.

We praise God for NAMB's 5,600 missionaries who are sowing seeds, in partnership with state conventions, associations and local churches, through the support of the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions and the Cooperative Program.

We are to give not only when we have an overabundance of resources, but when we see that there is an overabundant need.

In a scene reminiscent of Jean-Francois Millet's painting "The Gleaners," a couple in Platteville, Colo., upon hearing that food had been stolen from churches, opened their 600-acre farm fields to anyone who wanted to pick up vegetables left over after their harvest. They were overwhelmed by the response -- 40,000 people showed up to receive what the couple offered. Urgent needs that are unmet can lead to acts of despair and hopelessness. When three of every four people in the United States are living without faith in Christ, sharing the Gospel with urgency should be our only response.

The North American and international mission fields are connected by people groups who urgently need to know the Lord.

While most of the Bengali (a mixture of Muslims and Hindus) live in Bangladesh and India, some 54,000 make their homes in New York. An additional 3,800 live in Georgia. And of the 1.3 billion Han Chinese, the world's largest ethnic group, more than 1.7 million reside in the United States. Their religious beliefs blend Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.

With these souls and millions more in mind, I heartily encourage you to live with urgency by giving sacrificially to this year's Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions.

Giving to missions at home helps the Great Commission cause overseas because having a heart for and commitment to missions can't be contained by geographic boundaries.

"I'm convinced that God called every one of us to fulfill the Great Commission," says Brad Bessent, pastor of Beulah Baptist Church in Hopkins, S.C.

Through prayer, this church recognized and answered God's call to adopt an unreached people group, those with an evangelical presence of less than 2 percent. They adopted the Bambara, a West African people group of 6 million -- nearly all Muslim.

Working together with IMB missionaries Steve and Susan Roach, the church set its sights on a village of about 3,000 Bambara in Mali. There were no evangelical churches in the village and no known Christians. That prompted Beulah to live with urgency.

Short-term missions teams from Beulah continued praying for the people and visiting their village every six weeks. They openly shared the Gospel with anyone willing to listen.

After nearly two years of prayer and 12 trips to the village, Beulah Baptist has witnessed more than 100 Bambara come to faith in Christ.

A yearning for all peoples come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ should cause us to live and give with urgency -- whether at home or abroad.
--30--
Jerry Rankin is president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

When will it End?

Part of me just hates to focus on this topic today but I can't get away from it.

When is Washington going to get a clue? The American people don't like bail-outs but more importantly don't like the President, the Cabinet, nor Congress getting involved in the private sector!

I saw a clip from Neil Cavuto's show on Fox News yesterday that expressed the outrage that many of us are feeling. Neil had a Democrat Congressman from Central Florida who was a major sponsor on a bill that would basically allow the Treasury Secretary the authority to get rid of people who get "excessive" bonuses if they were given bail-out money from the federal government. Now I don't have a problem with the government giving oversight if they are handing out tax-payer dollars but the problem with this bill is that it doesn't just list CEOs nor does it say what is excessive.

Folks, we are watching the deterioration of capitalism as we know it. The United States is on the verge of massive socialism. Doesn't blow your mind that the President basically fired the CEO of GM? Sure the guy was bad but what does the President have to do with this? On top of all that, if this bill gets through that I just mentioned then every CEO or worker of a bailed out company will have their income reviewed and if the higher-ups in Washington D.C. think that they were compensated too much they could lose their job or be forced into giving the money back, etc.

I'm so glad that I'm not living for this world, however, I do have to live in it. And since I'm living in it - I'm going to let my voice be heard. We have Congress getting ready to pass a MASSIVE budget that the president says is needed. But if you go through it line by line you will see that this budget is nothing more than a liberal agenda seeking to create more power for the federal government and more dependence on the programs they "offer".

When will it end? I wish that I could give you a timeline. I wish that I could say that there is a person on the horizon with a backbone who has great fiscal responsibility, moral clarity, and can communicate conservative values. But as of today, I'm not sure who that person will be.

It is our duty to pray for this nation and its leaders. I am excited to hear some rumblings of people who are fed up with all this nonsense. Hopefully we can see some real change real soon.

April Fools Day

O.K. So it's April Fools Day. I must admit that I pulled a prank on my daughter ~ it's part of the fun...right? One of the greatest jokes that I have heard regarding April 1st is about the judge who heard a case from a group of atheists who wanted a national holiday. He offered up April Fools Day as a perfect date. Why not? The Bible tell us in Psalm 14:1 & 53:1 that the fool has said in their heart that there is no God. Works for me.

Here's the problem: It's not funny! It's not funny that many professors on our college campuses are spewing out the theory to our young people that belief in God is just a myth. It's not funny that evolution is taught as fact rather than theory. It's not funny that even the leaders of our nation are doing their part to remove God from any and everything associated with the federal government. If the fool has said in his heart that there is no God, how foolish is it to remove Him from the classroom, creation, and politics?

I believe in the separation of Church and State. I just don't believe it in the way most government officials portray it. This line in our constitution was intended to keep the state out of the church not the other way around. It's intent was to keep churches free from the political positioning we see in Washington. It was intended to ensure Freedom of Religion. However, people have used this phrase to do everything in their power to eliminate God from every facet of public life.

Our children are afraid to pray, speak up, or seek out any type of religious exercise within their schools. They have been taught that you cannot introduce God into the classroom situation. But it's just not true. Our students have the right on their own to pray over meals, pray before tests, and even assemble with other students for Bible Study/Prayer as long as they lead it. The teachers within our schools are often afraid of stepping over their boundaries. They have been told they cannot initiate or lead in any religious exercise. The good news: they can answer questions when asked!

I'm a firm believer that when prayer was taken out of the public schools is the same time we watched our education system begin to tank. Now...I understand the difficulty in all of this. I don't want just anyone leading my kids in prayer. However, I don't have a problem with a moment of silence every day. The problem is that many of these kids have been sent to school without positive parental influence. Some of them are hurting emotionally, abused physically, and empty spiritually. Our teenagers are cutting themselves, exposing themselves, and getting pregnant way too early. Many of these problems are due to bad home situations. We can't blame them (necessarily) on the government school system. But I know teachers who could make a difference in the lives of these kids. Yet some of them are fearful that they will lose their jobs if they step in with some spiritual advice. The problem is that our government views all these problems as emotional, physical, social, or psychological. They fail to see the spiritual implications.

Our nation was founded upon values that reflect faith in God. We cannot remove Him from the public sector. To do so will result in the fall of our nation.

As believers we need to pray for the moral direction of our nation. What we hope to see cannot be accomplished legislatively. But God can do great things through the prayers of His people. Don't be fooled into thinking its about having the right person in the right position. These things may help but God's prescription for the healing of our nation rests with His people humbling themselves, praying, seeking His face, and turning from their wickedness.

So go ahead and enjoy the "foolishness" of this day. Have fun with it. Just don't get caught in the trap that so many "intellectuals" have found themselves in. God is REAL. His creation cries out everyday of His validity, and the empty tomb reminds us that God has made a difference in the lives of the human race. He is our hope. Trust in Him today.