We have been emphasizing "words" this week. They are very important in communicating ideas to us. We can hear a word, and many words will form pictures in our minds. Words are an expression of something else.
Words are so important that the biblical writer, John, chose that term to refer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (See John 1:1.) Later in that chapter we are told that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word was (and is) Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the divine expression of the Father. If you want to know what God the Father is like, look at Jesus!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Response Posting--Important Words
As you continue this week, keep asking and answering questions about the content of your materials. It would also be good for you to ask each other questions about the important words in your materials. You could also share some of your "word-detective" experiences.
Have a great day!
Have a great day!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Important Words
I hope you have already picked out three words to do your "word detective" assignment on. If you haven't, be sure and do that today. Hopefully, though, you have and you have a homemade definition for each of them. Maybe you have had to tweak that definition if that first guess did not seem to fit when the word was used again. You might even have two guesses--"It might be this, or it might be this."
After you have read all your chapters or watched your DVD's, you can finish the assignment. That report will go something like this.
Important Word:
First "homemade definition":
Tweaked definition: (you might have several of these or none for the same word.)
Final Homemade definition: (This might actually be the same as your first guess.)
Dictionary definition that most closely matches your guess:
Give that report for each word. (Even if the dictionary definition does not match at all, give at least one that you think really fits how the word was used in your chapter, and chalk up your "wrong" guesses to learning experience. I suspect that most of the time, you will find that your guess was at least close, but if not, there was still value in this exercise.)
You still have today to ask each other questions for that third bonus point.
Your discusssions have actually been quite good. Keep up the good work!
On a side note, last night Rhonda and I went to pick up Larry and Ginger Sauvageot from the airport in St. Louis. They have been ministering in Australia for the last few months. They will be here for a day or two. Then they will be on the road again.
After you have read all your chapters or watched your DVD's, you can finish the assignment. That report will go something like this.
Important Word:
First "homemade definition":
Tweaked definition: (you might have several of these or none for the same word.)
Final Homemade definition: (This might actually be the same as your first guess.)
Dictionary definition that most closely matches your guess:
Give that report for each word. (Even if the dictionary definition does not match at all, give at least one that you think really fits how the word was used in your chapter, and chalk up your "wrong" guesses to learning experience. I suspect that most of the time, you will find that your guess was at least close, but if not, there was still value in this exercise.)
You still have today to ask each other questions for that third bonus point.
Your discusssions have actually been quite good. Keep up the good work!
On a side note, last night Rhonda and I went to pick up Larry and Ginger Sauvageot from the airport in St. Louis. They have been ministering in Australia for the last few months. They will be here for a day or two. Then they will be on the road again.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Becoming a "Word Detective"
Along with your regular assignments, we have one additional assignment this week.
1. Pick three or more important words as you go through your study this week. (A definition of "important words" will be below.
2. Look at the first use of that word and see how it seems to be used in that context. The context means to see how it is used in that particular sentence or paragraph.
3. Write down, in your own words, what the word seemed to mean in that sentence or phrase. (Important: DO NOT LOOK UP THE WORD IN A DICTIONARY OR EVEN AN ONLINE DICTIONARY.)
4. Each time you come to the word, look at the context again. See if the definition in your own words still seems to fit. If so, good. If not, change your definition to where it fits better. (Sometimes you may have two definitions that are slightly different. That is O.K. too. Keep both of them handy to use the next time you see the word.)
5. At the end of the week. Look up the words in a dictionary or online (for this exercise, do not do this until you have read your chapters of viewed all your DVD's for this). Then see if one of the definitions is close to your homemade definition. Write down the one that seems to be closest to what you came up with.
Three definition of "Important Words" for this exercise: (1) These are words that stand out as being the main thing that is discussed. These are also words that the author is emphasizing a lot.
(2) Another definition of important words for this type of exercise is: a word that has a common meaning but is being used in a very specialized way by this author. He may be giving an "unusual slant" upon this word.
(3) The most important words for you are the words with which you are unfamilar. They could be new words that you have never heard before. They could be words that you have a vague idea of what they might mean. They are the most difficult words. This could be a different group of words for each reader.
You are not limited to three words. Pick as many as you like. Don't agonize over which words to pick. If none stand out when you first read this, just pick three or more, and go through the steps mentioned above.
At the end of the week, you will be asked to tell us the words you chose, give us your first guess as to what it meant. Then give us the last guess as to what it meant when you have finished reading the chapters and have looked at it in different contexts. (These might be the same, but sometimes you refine your guess as you look at different sentences.) After that, you will give us the dictionary defintion that most closely resembled your homemade definition. (Sometimes you may have been completely off base--if so, just acknowledge that and write down the dictionary definition.) You will have learned a lot in this process, and you will have been actively engaged in your reading. Even if you missed the meaning of the word, it will probably really stick in your mind for future reading.
If you wish, as you go through this exercise, you can even mention what you are doing in your posts. The rest of us may also comment about what we have thought those words meant. The only thing that is off limits is to give the dictionary definitions for those particular words during the week. If the author of your book defines the word for you, of course that is all right. He has helped you out!
Happy Studying!
1. Pick three or more important words as you go through your study this week. (A definition of "important words" will be below.
2. Look at the first use of that word and see how it seems to be used in that context. The context means to see how it is used in that particular sentence or paragraph.
3. Write down, in your own words, what the word seemed to mean in that sentence or phrase. (Important: DO NOT LOOK UP THE WORD IN A DICTIONARY OR EVEN AN ONLINE DICTIONARY.)
4. Each time you come to the word, look at the context again. See if the definition in your own words still seems to fit. If so, good. If not, change your definition to where it fits better. (Sometimes you may have two definitions that are slightly different. That is O.K. too. Keep both of them handy to use the next time you see the word.)
5. At the end of the week. Look up the words in a dictionary or online (for this exercise, do not do this until you have read your chapters of viewed all your DVD's for this). Then see if one of the definitions is close to your homemade definition. Write down the one that seems to be closest to what you came up with.
Three definition of "Important Words" for this exercise: (1) These are words that stand out as being the main thing that is discussed. These are also words that the author is emphasizing a lot.
(2) Another definition of important words for this type of exercise is: a word that has a common meaning but is being used in a very specialized way by this author. He may be giving an "unusual slant" upon this word.
(3) The most important words for you are the words with which you are unfamilar. They could be new words that you have never heard before. They could be words that you have a vague idea of what they might mean. They are the most difficult words. This could be a different group of words for each reader.
You are not limited to three words. Pick as many as you like. Don't agonize over which words to pick. If none stand out when you first read this, just pick three or more, and go through the steps mentioned above.
At the end of the week, you will be asked to tell us the words you chose, give us your first guess as to what it meant. Then give us the last guess as to what it meant when you have finished reading the chapters and have looked at it in different contexts. (These might be the same, but sometimes you refine your guess as you look at different sentences.) After that, you will give us the dictionary defintion that most closely resembled your homemade definition. (Sometimes you may have been completely off base--if so, just acknowledge that and write down the dictionary definition.) You will have learned a lot in this process, and you will have been actively engaged in your reading. Even if you missed the meaning of the word, it will probably really stick in your mind for future reading.
If you wish, as you go through this exercise, you can even mention what you are doing in your posts. The rest of us may also comment about what we have thought those words meant. The only thing that is off limits is to give the dictionary definitions for those particular words during the week. If the author of your book defines the word for you, of course that is all right. He has helped you out!
Happy Studying!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday's Posts
I have already put up Tuesday's new posting areas for week 4. To finish week 3 comments before midnight tonight, you will have to scroll down and click on "older comments" or "older posts." After midnight, you may use the new posting areas.
Course 6 Week 4 Roger's Topics
Roger, beginning Tuesday (or after midnight Monday night), you may place your initial posts and answers to questions in the comments section below.
Course 6 Week 4 Sean's Topics
Sean, beginging Tuesday morning (after midnight Monday night), you may place your initial posts and answers to questions here.
Course 6 Week 4 Tyler's Topics
Tyler, you may place your initial posts and answers to questions here. (Begin using this on Tuesday.)
Last Day Week 3
We end week 3 at midnight tonight.
Good job of discussing the different aspects of your courses.
Rhonda and I visited Grange Hall last night. Sean, I heard you were there. Sorry, I missed seeing you. Tyler, they told me you have been sick, and you haven't even tried to get sympathy here! Hope you get to feeling better soon.
A lot of testimonies of people dealing with real life highlighted the service. Praise the Lord.
At our church, we had a young man preach for the first time. I am looking forward to listening to the recording of the service. My mother said he did a very good job!
I also heard that the meeting concerning for how the church would go about looking for a new pastor went well, too. Please be in prayer about this process. This is the first time Rhonda and I have been away since we made the announcement about resigning. It was hard. That was why having such a good service at Grange hall really helped in taking that first step.
Good job of discussing the different aspects of your courses.
Rhonda and I visited Grange Hall last night. Sean, I heard you were there. Sorry, I missed seeing you. Tyler, they told me you have been sick, and you haven't even tried to get sympathy here! Hope you get to feeling better soon.
A lot of testimonies of people dealing with real life highlighted the service. Praise the Lord.
At our church, we had a young man preach for the first time. I am looking forward to listening to the recording of the service. My mother said he did a very good job!
I also heard that the meeting concerning for how the church would go about looking for a new pastor went well, too. Please be in prayer about this process. This is the first time Rhonda and I have been away since we made the announcement about resigning. It was hard. That was why having such a good service at Grange hall really helped in taking that first step.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
New Opportunities
Tyler's study of the Gospels, Roger's study of "Life in the Son," and Sean's study of writings by the apostle Paul, as well as other early Christian leaders, all describe the exciting events that took place in the first century or that can take place in any individual's life when they follow Christ.
Embarking on this new area of my life, (after having recently resigned as pastor of a church that is very dear to my heart) I was contacted yesterday by one of the mission organizations that I thought I might have the oppotunity to do some projects with. I don't know where everything is leading or how it will all come together, but I do know that God is faithful and He is trustworthy.
Possible trips to Japan and Australia seem to be real possibilities in the years to come too. As we go through life, we must learn two things. One is to be content with what God is doing at the present time of our lives. The other is always to be open to his leading to move in new directions.
God is Good.
Embarking on this new area of my life, (after having recently resigned as pastor of a church that is very dear to my heart) I was contacted yesterday by one of the mission organizations that I thought I might have the oppotunity to do some projects with. I don't know where everything is leading or how it will all come together, but I do know that God is faithful and He is trustworthy.
Possible trips to Japan and Australia seem to be real possibilities in the years to come too. As we go through life, we must learn two things. One is to be content with what God is doing at the present time of our lives. The other is always to be open to his leading to move in new directions.
God is Good.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Correlations
I noticed that in Roger's reading material, there was reference to both Hebrews and John 15. Then I noticed how Sean is studying Hebrews, and Tyler is studying the Gospels. There is a content link in our studies. Of course, The Lord is the common denominator of all of our studies. May He be glorified in it all.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
God's Promises
In your reading this week, list one or more of God's promises you come across along with the other items you wish to discuss.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Course 6 Week 3
We are a fourth of the way through the course beginning this week. We are dealing with topics as diverse as the four Gospels, the book of Revelation, and continued discussion of salvation by grace through faith, with faith being the important conditon of salvation.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Course 6 Week 3 Roger's Topics
Roger, you may place your initial comments and the answers to our questions in the comments section below.
Visitors may join our discussion by clicking on the word "comments" below any of these sections.
Visitors may join our discussion by clicking on the word "comments" below any of these sections.
Course 6 Week 3 Tyler's Topics
Tyler, you may place your initial posts and the answers to our questions in the comments section below.
Visitors may join us by clicking on the word, "comments below any of these sections.)
Visitors may join us by clicking on the word, "comments below any of these sections.)
Course 6 Week 3 Sean's Topics
Sean, you may place your initial posts and the answers to our questions in the comments section below.
Visitors may join us by clicking on the word, "comments below any of these sections.)
Visitors may join us by clicking on the word, "comments below any of these sections.)
End of Course Six Week Two
This week ends at midnight tonight. Thanks for a great discussion this week.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tying Things Together
We have had discussions this week on Hebrews, Perseverance/preservation, Mark and canonization of Scripture.
While these are varied topics, we do see that Scripture is important, that it is the Word of God, that we may have our opinions, but what Scripture says is the most important, and that it is important to rightly use Scripture.
I have appreciated the dynamic of this class. Keep up the good work.
While these are varied topics, we do see that Scripture is important, that it is the Word of God, that we may have our opinions, but what Scripture says is the most important, and that it is important to rightly use Scripture.
I have appreciated the dynamic of this class. Keep up the good work.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Keep Going, Fellas
On Fridays, sometimes I give a suggestion as to how to deepen our discussion.
As we progress through the course, however, I think we will see the increased importance of the idea of conditional security (or at lest the condition of salvation).
So, I don't have any suggestions at this time, just keep posting on any of the topics we are covering this week until you get at least the required number of posts.
As we progress through the course, however, I think we will see the increased importance of the idea of conditional security (or at lest the condition of salvation).
So, I don't have any suggestions at this time, just keep posting on any of the topics we are covering this week until you get at least the required number of posts.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Biblical "Criticism"
We who hold the Scriptures dear to our heart sometimes flinch when we hear the words "Biblical Criticism."
We have come across the term in some of the books in this course. As was pointed out, "criticism", in ths context, does not mean to "talk down about." However, there were some Bible schlars, who talked about "Higher criticism." They were mostly not orthodox (what we would loosely call, "liberal.") They did seem to do a lot of harm because they did not accept things such as miracles, etc. It looks sort of like a bunch of "unbelievers" talking about the Bible.
Their is another type of criticism that is engaged in by Bible believing Christians. It is called textual criticism. It basically is involved in trying to discover the accurate words that were probably in the original manuscripts of Scripture. The oldest things we have are based on handwritten copies of the originals. So, that type of criticism does not destroy faith, nor does it attempt to tear down Scripture. Rather, it ia an attempt to delve into the Word of God. Textual criticism is also an attempt not to twist the words of Scripture, but to portray those words and their meanings accurately.
Summary: (In my mind, and a little oversimplified) "Higher Criticism" = "Bad."
"Textual Criticism" (Sometimes called "Lower Criticism) = "Good!"
We have come across the term in some of the books in this course. As was pointed out, "criticism", in ths context, does not mean to "talk down about." However, there were some Bible schlars, who talked about "Higher criticism." They were mostly not orthodox (what we would loosely call, "liberal.") They did seem to do a lot of harm because they did not accept things such as miracles, etc. It looks sort of like a bunch of "unbelievers" talking about the Bible.
Their is another type of criticism that is engaged in by Bible believing Christians. It is called textual criticism. It basically is involved in trying to discover the accurate words that were probably in the original manuscripts of Scripture. The oldest things we have are based on handwritten copies of the originals. So, that type of criticism does not destroy faith, nor does it attempt to tear down Scripture. Rather, it ia an attempt to delve into the Word of God. Textual criticism is also an attempt not to twist the words of Scripture, but to portray those words and their meanings accurately.
Summary: (In my mind, and a little oversimplified) "Higher Criticism" = "Bad."
"Textual Criticism" (Sometimes called "Lower Criticism) = "Good!"
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Course 6 Week 2
We will get into our academic discussions in earnest this week. The requirement of giving the titles of your chapters ealy in the week is very important. The DVD's are different because sometimes they don't give the titles, so you will just have to tell us the numbers of the ones you will be watching.
Social comments and prayer requests are very good and encouraged; however, the 9 or more posts will need to be on topic for the course. (Sometimes social comments do relate to the topic, so sometimes they will count. An example of last week's discussion of perseverance followed by personal testimonies were examples of social comments that related to the topic.)
Roger, you got in to this very well. You seemed like an old pro by the end of the week.
Here ia review of the general requirements for each week.
You have three assignments each week
(1) Make at least two initial posts in your posting area. The first one will be the name of the course, and the names (or numbers of the DVD's) of the chapters or lectures you will be covering during the week. The second one will be a comment on one of those chapters. You will receive one point for getting the first post in on Tuesday or Wednesday. You will also get a point for getting at least one more initial post in.
(2) Go to your fellow student's posting areas, and ask them a question or questions about their intial posts. You will recieve one point for completing this assignment before 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
(3) Answer the questions asked.
(4) On Fridays, I will also give directions for making remaining posts during the week. Be sure and read those, and take them into account when making at least one of your remaining posts.
(4) In all, we want to make at least nine posts during the week. You will receive points for that as follows:
9 or more posts - 12 points
6-8 posts - 10 points
3-5 posts - 6 points
1-2 posts - 3 points
You will have the extra points you had accumulated by getting things in on time. Those are bonus points that will be used only to move your grade closer to 100 if you need them. They will be awarded each week if needed to move your grade up to 12 for the week. If you do not need them for that week, they will be carried over to the next week(s). Remember the posts that count for points will be at least three sentences long.
The first week of any course is an introduction week.
Make one post telling us about yourself.
Ask each other questions.
Almost any post will count as a quality post this week if it is three sentences long. We always want to have fun, but this is a great week to do it.
If you choose to cover a chapter or chapters (or DVD's) this week, divide the number of chapters in the book by eight. That will tell you how many chapters you need to try to cover this week. That's what the first item in the requirements refers to. Then pick out important parts of the chapter or lecture and comment on them. This will be letting the rest of us know what you are studying, and it will give us the opportunity to get in a discussion on a certain topic if we wish.
Social comments and prayer requests are very good and encouraged; however, the 9 or more posts will need to be on topic for the course. (Sometimes social comments do relate to the topic, so sometimes they will count. An example of last week's discussion of perseverance followed by personal testimonies were examples of social comments that related to the topic.)
Roger, you got in to this very well. You seemed like an old pro by the end of the week.
Here ia review of the general requirements for each week.
You have three assignments each week
(1) Make at least two initial posts in your posting area. The first one will be the name of the course, and the names (or numbers of the DVD's) of the chapters or lectures you will be covering during the week. The second one will be a comment on one of those chapters. You will receive one point for getting the first post in on Tuesday or Wednesday. You will also get a point for getting at least one more initial post in.
(2) Go to your fellow student's posting areas, and ask them a question or questions about their intial posts. You will recieve one point for completing this assignment before 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
(3) Answer the questions asked.
(4) On Fridays, I will also give directions for making remaining posts during the week. Be sure and read those, and take them into account when making at least one of your remaining posts.
(4) In all, we want to make at least nine posts during the week. You will receive points for that as follows:
9 or more posts - 12 points
6-8 posts - 10 points
3-5 posts - 6 points
1-2 posts - 3 points
You will have the extra points you had accumulated by getting things in on time. Those are bonus points that will be used only to move your grade closer to 100 if you need them. They will be awarded each week if needed to move your grade up to 12 for the week. If you do not need them for that week, they will be carried over to the next week(s). Remember the posts that count for points will be at least three sentences long.
The first week of any course is an introduction week.
Make one post telling us about yourself.
Ask each other questions.
Almost any post will count as a quality post this week if it is three sentences long. We always want to have fun, but this is a great week to do it.
If you choose to cover a chapter or chapters (or DVD's) this week, divide the number of chapters in the book by eight. That will tell you how many chapters you need to try to cover this week. That's what the first item in the requirements refers to. Then pick out important parts of the chapter or lecture and comment on them. This will be letting the rest of us know what you are studying, and it will give us the opportunity to get in a discussion on a certain topic if we wish.
Course 6 Week 2 Sean's Topics
Sean, you may post your initial comments and answers to questions here.
Course 6 Week 2 Roger's Topics
Roger, you may post your initial comments and answers to questions here.
Course 6 Week 2 Tyler's Topics
Tyler, you may post your initial comments and answers to questions here.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Hard Day, But One of Great Relief
Hey Guys,
This was an eventful day in my life. Bro. Roger, being one of my deacons, knew this day would be coming at some point.
For over seven years, I have been pastor of Unity Free Will Baptist Church. Last Summer, the Lord began to get my attention, and I started to pray about how much longer I was supposed to be at the church. One of the things that has confirmed the Lord's will for our lives in the past has been the Lord's unusual provision to meet our needs. Last summer, that extra provision shut off, and we began struggling financially.
A few months later, I asked my wife about what she was getting during her prayer life. After I told her about my wondering what was going one, she said, "The other day I was praying and it was like the Lord said, 'It will be O.K. if you leave [the church].'" I did not expect that reply because she really likes the church and really likes serving in the church. She also likes stability.
Notice the Lord did not tell her to leave, just that it would be all right.
Then I talked with the deacons. Every Church should be blessed with deacons such as I have had the privilege of serving this church with. I thought maybe the Lord had been "speaking" to them. If either of them had received an indication that maybe my time might be drawing close, I would have accepted that confirmation from the Lord. Neither of them had any such indication, so we agreed to pray about the situation.
During that time of prayer, the Lord confirmed some things for me about my style of ministry. One is that I often am involved in "pioneering" new things. I was in on the founding of Camp Jericho at the beginning, and Unity was almost like a new church plant, but I was not there right at the very beginning. In the past, I had started a Christian school and a College ministry. Unity has moved from being a new work to an established church.
So, in evaluating my ministry, some things I would like to do in the next few years are to go on some mission trips to Mexico, Japan and Australia. In Australia, I would be teaching some classes for a Bible College (or Leadership Institute) that one of my former college students has established over there. I also have a book on Marriage a little over half written that I would like to finish. (Some of the articles on the left side of the screen will be put together to furnish a lot of content for the book.) I also would like to have a speaking ministry along that line.
In order to go on the mission trips, I will have to be able to go to some churches to present the mission opportunities for those trips.
I presently am defining my ministry as "strengthening churches, marriages and ministries."
Once I defined that aspect of ministry for my life, the unusual provisions of God have started up again. The church raised the pastor's salary, which needed to be done whether I was to continue or not. It had only been raised once, and that was a couple of months after I became pastor. But the main source of supply is always from the Lord. He began to provide again.
Bro. Roger and Bro. Mike graciously offered to allow me to be gone quite a bit to arrange for these mission trips, and I thought for a while that would be all that would be needed to take care of the situation. But, as Rhonda pointed out, I was becoming so "fragmented" it seemed like it would be hard. That was true to some extent. Then I had some health scares that possibly could relate to trouble with my heart, and that seemed perhaps to relate to frustration and stress. One test has ruled out the heart truoble, but it is not as accurate as a heart catheterization. At this point, my doctor and I are just continuing to watch the situation.
I thought about timing too. My son, Rusty, His wife, Brenda, and their two-year old daughter are missionaries to Japan, and they had a commissioning service at church a few weeks ago (January 3, 2009) shortly before leaving for Japan. Sometime in late December or early January, I was praying and it was like the Lord said, (not in an audible voice), "You don't have to continue." Then I waited a little, and the clear direction came "Don't [continue at the church]!"
I wanted to wait until Rusty and Brenda got gone before I told Rhonda about what updated direction I seemed to be getting, but a day or two before the commissioning service she asked me about what was going on, so I told her. She was not overly excited, but she said, "Well, O.K."
So, I met with the deacons again, and told them about the direction I seem to have. We talked about how they would go about getting a new pastor. We even have someone in mind who is praying about the situation. We are all praying. We also agreed that I could stay on as pastor until the Sunday after Easter unless the church were to call a new pastor before that time.
Today was the day I announced my resignation. It was hard because this has been my favorite church. There is no earthly explanation for such a decision to leave. I am not mad at anyone. I hope no one is mad at me. Things are going well, but I know if I don't follow this direction from the Lord, things WILL get worse. I certainly don't want that to happen.
When Jonah was running from the Lord, God sent some rough circumstances to him and those that were on his ship. He finally told them that if they would throw him overboard, the storm would stop. They didn't want to do that. The storm, however, finally got so bad that they did decide to throw him overboard.
I would rather leave now while things are going well than to wait until the Lord applied such pressure that people would want to "throw me overboard."
The Church is in pretty good shape (of course there is always room for improvement). Even better days are ahead! We don't know about tomorrow, but we know Who holds tomorrow! (Sombody ought to write a song about that, Ha!)
This is a little scary because it is a cut in income on our part. It is a step of faith, which we have done many times before, but we are a lot older now. I'm sure the security of the last few years has felt good to Rhonda. I often make the statement, "Get out on a limb for God. Then saw the limb off, and watch God work!" but I really thought maybe those days were over for us. Well, we are out on the limb, and today I sawed it off. (Excuse me, time for a quick prayer) Lord, we want to see You work!
I also have mentioned about our church starting a new church. I also thought that someone from our church would go and do that. I did not think it would be me! or rather, Rhonda and me! But, who knows? Since my gifts seem to be related to the areas of pioneering maybe that will happen.
I don't know the exact "flavor" of our new direction, but it is a great relief to have things out in the open. Rhonda, my family, and the deacons and I have had months to process all this information. Today, many from the church are just hit with it and are beginning to have to process it.
We had a wonderful church service tonight where we celebrated the Lord's Supper. Since I have a little over two months left, I would like to see us again see several decisions for Christ. This last Quarterly report is the first one in a long time where we had to put "none" down for the number of conversions. I would like to see that pick up again. Really, I would like to go out "in a blaze of glory!" :) I would like to hand the church over to the next pastor with things going great guns! We'll see.
One of our teenagers testified tonight, and he showed great wisdom. He reminded us all that I am not the captain of the ship, the Lord is. He said some glowing things about me, but he realizes that all our reliance is upon God, not us as individuals.
Thanks for listening guys. Pray for Unity in the search for their new pastor. Some of you may be asked to fill in some while we are waiting.
We have been talking about perseverance, and there are times to persevere. Bro. Roger knows that we have done that many times in the past. However, there are also times to move on. This, to the best of my discernment, is one of them. In it all, to God be the glory.
This was an eventful day in my life. Bro. Roger, being one of my deacons, knew this day would be coming at some point.
For over seven years, I have been pastor of Unity Free Will Baptist Church. Last Summer, the Lord began to get my attention, and I started to pray about how much longer I was supposed to be at the church. One of the things that has confirmed the Lord's will for our lives in the past has been the Lord's unusual provision to meet our needs. Last summer, that extra provision shut off, and we began struggling financially.
A few months later, I asked my wife about what she was getting during her prayer life. After I told her about my wondering what was going one, she said, "The other day I was praying and it was like the Lord said, 'It will be O.K. if you leave [the church].'" I did not expect that reply because she really likes the church and really likes serving in the church. She also likes stability.
Notice the Lord did not tell her to leave, just that it would be all right.
Then I talked with the deacons. Every Church should be blessed with deacons such as I have had the privilege of serving this church with. I thought maybe the Lord had been "speaking" to them. If either of them had received an indication that maybe my time might be drawing close, I would have accepted that confirmation from the Lord. Neither of them had any such indication, so we agreed to pray about the situation.
During that time of prayer, the Lord confirmed some things for me about my style of ministry. One is that I often am involved in "pioneering" new things. I was in on the founding of Camp Jericho at the beginning, and Unity was almost like a new church plant, but I was not there right at the very beginning. In the past, I had started a Christian school and a College ministry. Unity has moved from being a new work to an established church.
So, in evaluating my ministry, some things I would like to do in the next few years are to go on some mission trips to Mexico, Japan and Australia. In Australia, I would be teaching some classes for a Bible College (or Leadership Institute) that one of my former college students has established over there. I also have a book on Marriage a little over half written that I would like to finish. (Some of the articles on the left side of the screen will be put together to furnish a lot of content for the book.) I also would like to have a speaking ministry along that line.
In order to go on the mission trips, I will have to be able to go to some churches to present the mission opportunities for those trips.
I presently am defining my ministry as "strengthening churches, marriages and ministries."
Once I defined that aspect of ministry for my life, the unusual provisions of God have started up again. The church raised the pastor's salary, which needed to be done whether I was to continue or not. It had only been raised once, and that was a couple of months after I became pastor. But the main source of supply is always from the Lord. He began to provide again.
Bro. Roger and Bro. Mike graciously offered to allow me to be gone quite a bit to arrange for these mission trips, and I thought for a while that would be all that would be needed to take care of the situation. But, as Rhonda pointed out, I was becoming so "fragmented" it seemed like it would be hard. That was true to some extent. Then I had some health scares that possibly could relate to trouble with my heart, and that seemed perhaps to relate to frustration and stress. One test has ruled out the heart truoble, but it is not as accurate as a heart catheterization. At this point, my doctor and I are just continuing to watch the situation.
I thought about timing too. My son, Rusty, His wife, Brenda, and their two-year old daughter are missionaries to Japan, and they had a commissioning service at church a few weeks ago (January 3, 2009) shortly before leaving for Japan. Sometime in late December or early January, I was praying and it was like the Lord said, (not in an audible voice), "You don't have to continue." Then I waited a little, and the clear direction came "Don't [continue at the church]!"
I wanted to wait until Rusty and Brenda got gone before I told Rhonda about what updated direction I seemed to be getting, but a day or two before the commissioning service she asked me about what was going on, so I told her. She was not overly excited, but she said, "Well, O.K."
So, I met with the deacons again, and told them about the direction I seem to have. We talked about how they would go about getting a new pastor. We even have someone in mind who is praying about the situation. We are all praying. We also agreed that I could stay on as pastor until the Sunday after Easter unless the church were to call a new pastor before that time.
Today was the day I announced my resignation. It was hard because this has been my favorite church. There is no earthly explanation for such a decision to leave. I am not mad at anyone. I hope no one is mad at me. Things are going well, but I know if I don't follow this direction from the Lord, things WILL get worse. I certainly don't want that to happen.
When Jonah was running from the Lord, God sent some rough circumstances to him and those that were on his ship. He finally told them that if they would throw him overboard, the storm would stop. They didn't want to do that. The storm, however, finally got so bad that they did decide to throw him overboard.
I would rather leave now while things are going well than to wait until the Lord applied such pressure that people would want to "throw me overboard."
The Church is in pretty good shape (of course there is always room for improvement). Even better days are ahead! We don't know about tomorrow, but we know Who holds tomorrow! (Sombody ought to write a song about that, Ha!)
This is a little scary because it is a cut in income on our part. It is a step of faith, which we have done many times before, but we are a lot older now. I'm sure the security of the last few years has felt good to Rhonda. I often make the statement, "Get out on a limb for God. Then saw the limb off, and watch God work!" but I really thought maybe those days were over for us. Well, we are out on the limb, and today I sawed it off. (Excuse me, time for a quick prayer) Lord, we want to see You work!
I also have mentioned about our church starting a new church. I also thought that someone from our church would go and do that. I did not think it would be me! or rather, Rhonda and me! But, who knows? Since my gifts seem to be related to the areas of pioneering maybe that will happen.
I don't know the exact "flavor" of our new direction, but it is a great relief to have things out in the open. Rhonda, my family, and the deacons and I have had months to process all this information. Today, many from the church are just hit with it and are beginning to have to process it.
We had a wonderful church service tonight where we celebrated the Lord's Supper. Since I have a little over two months left, I would like to see us again see several decisions for Christ. This last Quarterly report is the first one in a long time where we had to put "none" down for the number of conversions. I would like to see that pick up again. Really, I would like to go out "in a blaze of glory!" :) I would like to hand the church over to the next pastor with things going great guns! We'll see.
One of our teenagers testified tonight, and he showed great wisdom. He reminded us all that I am not the captain of the ship, the Lord is. He said some glowing things about me, but he realizes that all our reliance is upon God, not us as individuals.
Thanks for listening guys. Pray for Unity in the search for their new pastor. Some of you may be asked to fill in some while we are waiting.
We have been talking about perseverance, and there are times to persevere. Bro. Roger knows that we have done that many times in the past. However, there are also times to move on. This, to the best of my discernment, is one of them. In it all, to God be the glory.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Course Six Week 1 Introductions
Sorry,
I wrote this earlier in the week, but it saved as a draft instead of publishing.
Tyler and Sean, you have introduced yourself on this forum so many times, you may be tired of it. You have two options: copy your earlier introductions, or tell us something about yourselves we haven't heard before. Roger, you could look through the archives to see some or our earlier introductions, and then you could give us some of your background. (You already did some when you gave the testimony about the church. You could tell about your salvation, family, etc. (marriage ministry?).
I wrote this earlier in the week, but it saved as a draft instead of publishing.
Tyler and Sean, you have introduced yourself on this forum so many times, you may be tired of it. You have two options: copy your earlier introductions, or tell us something about yourselves we haven't heard before. Roger, you could look through the archives to see some or our earlier introductions, and then you could give us some of your background. (You already did some when you gave the testimony about the church. You could tell about your salvation, family, etc. (marriage ministry?).
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Course 6 Week 1
We want to welcome Roger Dutton, who will be joining us in our online journey for the next eight weeks.
Here are the general requirements for each week.
You have three assignments each week
(1) Make at least two initial posts in your posting area. The first one will be the name of the course, and the names (or numbers of the DVD's) of the chapters or lectures you will be covering during the week. The second one will be a comment on one of those chapters. You will receive one point for getting the first post in on Tuesday or Wednesday. You will also get a point for getting at least one more initial post in.
(2) Go to your fellow student's posting areas, and ask them a question or questions about their intial posts. You will recieve one point for completing this assignment before 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
(3) Answer the questions asked.
(4) On Fridays, I will also give directions for making remaining posts during the week. Be sure and read those, and take them into account when making at least one of your remaining posts.
(4) In all, we want to make at least nine posts during the week. You will receive points for that as follows:
9 or more posts - 12 points
6-8 posts - 10 points
3-5 posts - 6 points
1-2 posts - 3 points
You will have the extra points you had accumulated by getting things in on time. Those are bonus points that will be used only to move your grade closer to 100 if you need them. They will be awarded each week if needed to move your grade up to 12 for the week. If you do not need them for that week, they will be carried over to the next week(s). Remember the posts that count for points will be at least three sentences long.
The first week of any course is an introduction week.
Make one post telling us about yourself.
Ask each other questions.
Almost any post will count as a quality post this week if it is three sentences long. We always want to have fun, but this is a great week to do it. This is also a good week for Roger to ask questions.
If you choose to cover a chapter or chapters (or DVD's) this week, divide the number of chapters in the book by eight. That will tell you how many chapters you need to try to cover this week. That's what the first item in the requirements refers to. Then pick out important parts of the chapter or lecture and comment on them. This will be letting the rest of us know what you are studying, and it will give us the opportunity to get in a discussion on a certain topic if we wish.
Tyler and Sean, help Roger "learn the ropes" as we go along.
Roger, you want to pick out an important part of your chapter to talk about, but don't agonize about what to pick. If nothing jumps out at you, you just pick something from the chapter and talk about it.
We hope you enjoy the experience.
Here are the general requirements for each week.
You have three assignments each week
(1) Make at least two initial posts in your posting area. The first one will be the name of the course, and the names (or numbers of the DVD's) of the chapters or lectures you will be covering during the week. The second one will be a comment on one of those chapters. You will receive one point for getting the first post in on Tuesday or Wednesday. You will also get a point for getting at least one more initial post in.
(2) Go to your fellow student's posting areas, and ask them a question or questions about their intial posts. You will recieve one point for completing this assignment before 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
(3) Answer the questions asked.
(4) On Fridays, I will also give directions for making remaining posts during the week. Be sure and read those, and take them into account when making at least one of your remaining posts.
(4) In all, we want to make at least nine posts during the week. You will receive points for that as follows:
9 or more posts - 12 points
6-8 posts - 10 points
3-5 posts - 6 points
1-2 posts - 3 points
You will have the extra points you had accumulated by getting things in on time. Those are bonus points that will be used only to move your grade closer to 100 if you need them. They will be awarded each week if needed to move your grade up to 12 for the week. If you do not need them for that week, they will be carried over to the next week(s). Remember the posts that count for points will be at least three sentences long.
The first week of any course is an introduction week.
Make one post telling us about yourself.
Ask each other questions.
Almost any post will count as a quality post this week if it is three sentences long. We always want to have fun, but this is a great week to do it. This is also a good week for Roger to ask questions.
If you choose to cover a chapter or chapters (or DVD's) this week, divide the number of chapters in the book by eight. That will tell you how many chapters you need to try to cover this week. That's what the first item in the requirements refers to. Then pick out important parts of the chapter or lecture and comment on them. This will be letting the rest of us know what you are studying, and it will give us the opportunity to get in a discussion on a certain topic if we wish.
Tyler and Sean, help Roger "learn the ropes" as we go along.
Roger, you want to pick out an important part of your chapter to talk about, but don't agonize about what to pick. If nothing jumps out at you, you just pick something from the chapter and talk about it.
We hope you enjoy the experience.
Course 6 Week 1 Tyler's Topics
Tyler,
Place your intial comments in the comments section below, and answer any questions we may ask in that section.
Place your intial comments in the comments section below, and answer any questions we may ask in that section.
Course 6 Week 1 Sean's Topics
Sean, place your initial posts for week 1 in the comments section below and answer any questions you are asked in these comments.
Course Six Week 1 Roger's Topics
Bro. Roger,
You can click on the word, "comments" below to start commenting on your book or for the first week for any social comments you might want to make.
Place your intial comments in the comments section below, and answer any questions we may ask in that section.
You can click on the word, "comments" below to start commenting on your book or for the first week for any social comments you might want to make.
Place your intial comments in the comments section below, and answer any questions we may ask in that section.
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