I often close letters with some phrases like, “Yours in the Cause of Christ,” or “Yours in the Greatest Cause.” In this use, cause is a synonym for kingdom, church, and work. One way to describe the work of the kingdom or the work of the church is to use the work “cause.” If we …
Monthly Archives: April 2013
One Measures What Matters
Among the most important things a church does: it learns who it is, and it learns what is God’s purpose for the church. Leaders must work constantly to focus the identity of the church. It is the responsibility of leaders to remind the church of its purpose. Jan and I were in Fort Gibson Sunday, …
Developing Missionary Churches
In our mission work, we often talk about the goal of developing missionary churches. What do we mean by a missionary church? A missionary church can be developed in various ways, but the normal process is that (1) a church is planted or established with intense, focused evangelistic efforts, followed by (2) a continuing process …
An Evangelistic Church: Sharing the Good News
One can say it in many ways–a church that walks in and shares the story of God, a church that tells the Good News, a church that reaches out, a church that touches hearts and transforms lives, an evangelistic church. In my mission work, I outline and guide churches through steps for the development of …
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It’s Sunday Again: Teaching and Preaching about God
Today is jam-packed filled with kingdom “stuff.” We will attend early Anglo worship; I will teach the Bible class at Iglesia de Cristo. Today is community groups day–spending time with brothers and sisters is always special. This afternoon I will preach and give a mission report at Fort Gibson. This church is special, near and …
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The Power and Purpose of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1)
In Acts 1, the apostles were instructed to “wait on the Spirit.” Why? The obvious answer is that the Holy Spirit would provide the power for their testimony or witness unto the uttermost parts of the earth. While we in the contemporary church have affirmed the power of the Holy Spirit in evangelism and preaching, …
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Will We Share the Gospel?
I am thinking this morning about how much our world has changed from the 1950s world I knew as a boy. If you had told my grandmother, or even my mother, about the possibilities we enjoy today in a constantly shrinking world with almost unlimited opportunities for travel, they would hardly have believed it. The ability …
One Calling, Many Jobs
[Note: I am indebted to Os Hillman for an insightful article written under the same title.] “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Ps. 16:5-6). I often require ministry students …