Words of Encouragement

"I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, My strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies." Psalm 18:1-3

God's Attributes. My rock, my fortress, hightower and my deliver. David is telling of how he loves the Lord and what God has been to him as he protected him from Saul.

"A rock" - is solid and strong. God is a firm foundation, one that we can depend on
and one that we can trust in. He is strong. There is no one who is stronger than He. Our troubles are not stronger than our God. While we go through some difficulties, they are not stronger than the solid God we trust in.

"Fortress" Can you imagine an army coming at you, but you are inside of this large walled fortress. So even when the enemy comes from any side, you are protected from them. Well that is how God is. He will protect us from every thing that the enemy tries to throw our way. It doesn't matter what side the enemy tries to come on, God has it covered. Today as I write this lesson, I need to be reminded myself that God is my fortress. So many things are coming against me, illness, family situations, etc. and they feel like they are going to overcome me and take me out. Yet, I know that God has me surrounded and I am protected from the fiery darts of the enemy. I like David can say, God is my fortress.

"Deliverer" When you are in bondage, or in captivity, you need someone to take you out of that place you are at. You need someone stronger, bigger and better than that which has you captive. Well that's God. He is a mighty warrior. He has all the strength and the know how to bring us out of bondage. He is the only one that has the ability to do so. This God that can deliver us from the hold of sin, is also the one that can deliver us from the tricks of the enemy.

"Hightower" That's the look out, the place were you can see everything coming
from a distance. Well God knows everything, and He is able to direct us in the ways we should go, so that we are on the right path. I cannot see clearly the path and when I try, I often make a mess of it. The joy is knowing that God is that hightower and he directs me where to go, even if I cannot see the way ahead, I know he is directing me rightly.

Today we can rejoice in the Lord. He is our strength. He can keep us safe from all that the enemy tries to throw our way. For we know that the enemy comes for to kill and destroy. If he can't kill your physical body, he will try to kill your name, or destroy the work you do for the Lord. But we have someone mightier than he. We can trust in the Lord to direct us, to keep us, and to protect us. He is worthy of our praises.

Let's remember today, whatever we are going through, that God is mighty, He is able to keep us and we will be victorious in Him. Praying for us today, to lean and depend on God.

The Week in Review

Interview of The Grace Place pastor, Patrice Turner

                                                                                                                                  I interviewed Pastor Patrice Turner, the lead pastor of The Grace Place. You can also visit her online at http://graceplacecog.net I want to share with you her thoughts.


How did you know you were supposed to plant this church?

God told me to. I fought it hard and was pretty certain that I was hearing God wrong. But His call was clear and His confirmation was compelling. When I first knew what I was hearing Him say, I spoke to one of my mentors about it and said an emphatic, "No!" He encouraged me to pray about it and for a long time I refused to do so. My reasoning? As long as I didn't ask God a direct question, He wouldn't give me a direct answer and I was running from this responsibility big time.


Was this a difficult choice to make?

Yes and no. Yes - Because I had worked so closely with pastors I knew firsthand the full scope of their call. It was very hard for me to believe and then to accept that God would call me (this little Muslim girl from the West Side of Chicago) to this monumental and awesome task.

No, because once I did pray about it and knew with certainty that this was what God had for my life, the decision was no longer mine. His Will always has its way.


We all know when we desire to do the things of God, the devil gets busy to try and discourage us, or stop us, how did you handle any difficulties?

Let me tell you, when I finally said yes the devil got BUSY! Men and women who have known me and worked with me and prayed with me and praised me all of my saved life, all of my ministry suddenly either wouldn't speak to me at all or said cruel things about me and my ministry. Some, who knew and were in prayerful agreement with the church plant, quickly changed their tunes when others began to speak against the church. Worse still, some praised me to my face and rip me and the church to shreds behind my back.

I knew it was coming and I purposed in my mind early on that (1) God had not made a mistake in His purpose for me - Period. (2) I would handle all opposition, all demeaning comments, all roadblocks, all the moves of the enemies with grace and class. (3) I never, ever let anyone see me sweat.


What steps did you have to take to get the church opened? And how long was the process?

The process was about two years long from hearing God's voice to the opening service.

I am a huge proponent of reading. Books are the most economical, most easily accessible form of education available. I read every book I could get my hands on about God's will, church planting, leadership, church growth and prayer.

I set up a network of coaches. These men and women (some local, some all over the country) have been an unbelievable source of strength and advice. All are Senior Pastors, some are monumental in the COG Movement, and some are former church planters. Together they supply me with a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that is invaluable. Every church planter should have a team of coaches and support.

I attended conferences specifically for church planters and surrounded myself with people who have successfully planted churches.

I shared my vision and built my team carefully using discretion and prayer. I searched for and selected a facility. I prayed a lot.


Who helped you or inspired you in this endeavor?

God. The coaches mentioned above. My Senior Pastor. My family (husband and four children). CMA - the Church Multiplication Association. Dr. Ron Fowler. Bishop C Milton Grannum. Far too many people to list.

Now that the church has been open for a while, what things have you seen that encourages you about the work? What do you hope to accomplish?

The genuine interest in a different way of doing church. God's Word is unchanging, but the methodology that we use to reach His people does have to change with the times. The slow but steady acceptance of The Grace Place has been very encouraging. My family (mother and siblings) acceptance of the church is an amazing source of encouragement to me. The most encouraging thing, hands down, is the look of the face of someone in the congregation when the Word 'clicks' for them. Way cool.


What is it that the body of Christ can do to help you in this mission?

The extended Body of Christ can help me in this mission in simple ways. Be accepting of my role as Lead Pastor. Be accepting of my congregation. Be willing to share resources. If none of those things are possible, the next best thing to do is to just let us be - just let us be whom God called us to be and pray for us that His Will be done - that's my prayer for the Body of Christ worldwide. Period.

We often think of missions as going over seas, but what would you tell someone about reaching the lost "in their own backyard" or the mission being where God plants them?

I firmly believe that the church does have to be missional, but, yes, I think that has to start at 'home'. Look around you and see what needs there are in your community. Meet the real, day-to-day felt needs of God's people rather than giving them what you think they need. If you ask people, they'll tell you and if you pay attention to them, they'll show you.

Be original too but don't reinvent the wheel. For instance when we do our back to school drive, rather than handing out a back pack with all purpose school supplies, The Grace Place will invite parents and students to bring in their school supply list and then we'll purchase the items on that list. We'll also extend back to school time to our local community college and buy college text books for selected students. Often that added cost is prohibitive for many. Also, we might not cut grass but we will paint trim, or install new windows or give a single mom a day off from mommy-ing, or a married couple a chance to have a date night.


You mention that reading was a key instrument that you used to help you, what books would you recommend for someone interested in church planting? As well as what books would you recommend to use even to help one in their devotional life? We know the Bible is key, so what other books would you recommend?

Whew! I'd recommend any and every thing written by John Maxwell but especially Talent Is Never Enough, The 360 Degree Leader and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

Any and every thing by Chuck Swindoll. Brilliant!
Any and every thing by Steve Sjogren. Good. good stuff.
The Big Idea by Dave Ferguson. Simply wonderful. Common sense on paper.
Unchristian by Dave Kinnaman. A good look at what the past and current generation thinks about church and how we can help shape that view and best meet those needs.

Planting Fast Growing Churches by Stephen Gray.
Transforming Church by Kevin Ford. Courageous reading for courageous pastros.
Shaped by God's Heart by Milfred Manitrea. Good reading about the mission of the church.
Did I Get Out Of Bed For This? by Dave Edwards. Encouraging and humorous.
Ten Most Common Mistakes Made By New Church Starts by Griffith & Easum. I'm a firm believer in learning from other peoples mistake, so as not to repeat them.


You mentioned that your family has accepted the Grace Place and that has been encouraging for you, what specifically do you think drew your family to the church?

I think they came to support me and in the process of that, are opening up to the Word of God and its effect on their lives. The reason anyone comes to church is not as important to me as the fact that they come and that they keep coming and let God lead them to change their lives.

You mentioned that the body of Christ can help in several ways, sharing resources, acceptance of the body of believers there at Grace Place and your role as her pastor. As a minister what resources specifically could I lend to you to help your work at Grace Place? What about a lay leader, or a believer that simply wants to see you succeed in this mission, what specific things can we do to help?

Pray, pray, pray! Then visit, encourage and invite others to visit, sow a seed.


I love your ideas regarding meeting the needs of people, such as filling the children's list for back to school. This shows a clear look at where people are, why do you think this is important for a pastor and/or church to understand?

Decide whether its more important for you to help than it is for someone to be helped. Too often churches and even people in every day life help in ways that don't really help. Rather than give people what you perceive their need to be, ask them, or better yet pay attention to them, and give them what they actually need.

As a new church, what are some of your methods to developing leaders, ministers, etc.? And do you think it is important to develop and train leaders?

One of the most asked questions in the world is, what on earth am I here for? People are looking for ways to serve. It's important that we develop leaders in two directions. Leading out - finding what the Body of Christ needs and being willing to meet that need. and Leading in - finding out what God's purpose is for you and taking the lead in getting the training needed to fulfill that purpose.


You mentioned one of the most important things is to see when the word clicks for someone, why do you feel this is so important?

A sermon is just a lecture until it moves in someone's soul. When the message reverberates in a person for the first time and moves them to change their lives - there is no more important moment in life for that individual or for that pastor or leader who lead them to see the absolute need for Christ.

While we cannot predict where we will be in the next year or two, what is your vision for The Grace Place for the next year or two?

I pray that God will lead us right to where He wants us to be. That might be in a 2,000 seat church ministering all around the world. It might be in a 100 seat rented facility meeting the needs of our community. In two years I hope we are meeting needs physically, emotionally, spiritually, even financially as needed in the live of God's people. In two years I want the GP to be a felt presence and a place where real people encounter a very real God.


I forgot to ask this first, but what did you chose the name the Grace Place for the church?

I wanted people to understand that this new church is a place of acceptance and compassion. None of us are perfect or worthy or deserving of the favor of God but we're all recipients of His love and grace. I chose the name The Grace Place because all of us are hanging on by the grace of God. "There but for the grace of God, goes I."


In closing, I am thankful for Pastor Turner's time and my prayers are that God continues to bless.

The Week in Review

A Paper of Reflection of God’s Mission

God is the originator of mission. God brings men and women into his plan to take their place in missions. Believers are not able to successfully carry out God’s mission without the understanding, training and equipping for missions. When believers do not have the right motives or prepare properly for missions, there can be problems. Author, Bruce Wilkinson’s experienced problems in Africa and returned feeling defeated. The pitfalls of his trip will be discussed using the mission material covered.

God continually seeks to draw fallen men and women back to a right relationship. God’s plan for redemption was in place even before man walked upon the face of the earth. “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” (Ephesians 1:4).

The question is, who is the originator of mission? Author Gailyn Van Rheenen, in his book, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions states, “God the originator of the mission of deliverance, then sought a person to carry out his mission” (15). In this example, Moses has been given the assignment to be God’s missionary of deliverance to the Israelites (Ex. 3:10). Moses looks at himself and finds faults in himself that would prevent the mission from being completed. Moses complains that he would not know what to tell the people and that his speech is not good enough. Moses has the wrong idea about missions. This is the problem with many believers today. Believers think it is in their power they will accomplish the task. God was telling Moses it is not in self, but in God that the mission is accomplished.

Rheenen states it this way, “At least five specific applications of the ‘Mission of God’ can be made: First, if mission flows from the character and nature of God, it cannot be neglected by the church…Second, since the mission is of God, God will equip people for the task…Third, the ‘Mission of God’ enables Christian missionaries to understand themselves under God’s sovereignty…Fourth, the ‘Mission of God’ implies sacrifice…Finally, this perspective enables the Christian communicator to recognize that because the mission is God’s it will succeed” (19).

An important step for a believer to take in becoming successful on the mission field is to understand how Jesus accomplished the mission. Robert E. Coleman, in his book, The Master Plan of Evangelism states, “ Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of his goal. That is why it is so important to observe the way Jesus maneuvered to achieve his objective. The Master disclosed God’s strategy of world conquest. He had confidence in the future precisely because he lived according to that plan in the present” (24). If a believer is to fulfill the mission of God, he must like Jesus, never lose sight of the goal. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul speaks of having Christ as your goal and pressing toward that goal. Everything else is a secondary or defective goal. It is the same with missions. The primary goal should be out of the love for God and his purpose. Secondary motives, which are based on preaching Christ for humanitarian or personal reasons, are not correct motives but they do not have to stop one from being effective for the Lord (Rheenen, 42).

Jesus called men to him and set about showing them by his actions and his words how to live for God. “Hence, Jesus did not urge his disciples to commit their lives to a doctrine, but to a person who was the doctrine, and only as they continued in his Word could they know the truth” (Coleman, 56).

Coleman explains the process Jesus used to prepare his disciples for the mission of evangelizing the world. Jesus selected his disciples, not based on background but on willingness to follow. He then associated with them and allowed them to see him living out the mission. Jesus then equipped them (consecrated and imparted to them) with what they needed to achieve the mission. He also demonstrated to them how to do it. He prayed and gave them an example of what prayer looked like. He next gave the disciples an assignment to go out two by two. He gave them the instruction to follow on the mission. Jesus supervised them with the purpose of reproducing himself within their hearts and actions.

This is still the process that one can use today to equip others to understand the truth of the Bible and prepare them for missions. When presenting the message, one must be willing to meet an individual where they are. This is how Jesus spoke to the people. He gave them models that they could understand. He used the things they were familiar with and explained the deeper things of God. He took time with them and in love showed them the truth of God. In the book, Evangelism Made Slightly Less Difficult, the author Nick Pollard states, “I shall always remember a student telling me how he had become a Christian in one of my missions. He said that it was the open debates which had made the difference for him. But it turned out that it wasn’t any clever answers to the difficult questions that helped him especially. Rather, he said it was the loving and gracious way in which I had treated the aggressive questioners who where trying to have a go at me” (25).

Recently, I read an article about the Prayer of Jabez author Bruce Wilkinson. The article was in Christianity Today regarding his leaving Africa. I want to first state this is not a condemnation of Bruce Wilkinson or his vision only an observation of what pitfalls he encountered because of a lack of preparation.

In an article in Christianity Today titled Mr. Jabez Goes to Africa, the author Timothy C. Morgan, talks about Bruce Wilkinson’s decision to go to Africa. Wilkinson describes how he felt God’s call on him to go into missions. He immediately organized a company, CoMission to educate ministry in Russia (5). He set about creating the finish line (his goal), which was to train 120,000 Bible teachers to influence the top 2 percent of the world population (5-6). By the end of 2002, WorldTeach had 33,374 Bible teachers in 82 nations. WorldTeach was a bottom-up strategy. Strategy as defined by Rheenen is “the practical working out of the will of God within a cultural context. Missionaries ask, ‘How does God desire that we minister within this context?’ Seeking God’s will for the culture, they work with national leaders to develop creative, God-centered, biblically critiqued strategies with well-defined goals” (140).

When one looks at the numbers, this seems to be a great success and the future looks good. However, Bruce Wilkinson leaves Africa in 2005 because he is discouraged, and spiritually broken from the ordeal. What are some of the things that went wrong? Again, this is not a criticism of his method but simply an observation of the methodology he uses.

After his launch of WorldTeach, he began to move towards the next project, which was in Africa. He said God gave him a heart for the children of AIDS/HIV parents of Africa and he wanted to do something about it. In Christianity Today, the article, Jabez Author Quits Africa, Timothy C. Morgan writes, “The center would house, educate, and feed children whose parents had died of AIDS. It would also have a golf course and other tourist attractions. Swaziland, located between Mozambique and South Africa, is one of Africa’s smallest nations and has one of the world’s highest HIV/AIDS rates. Dream for Africa had hoped to house 10,000 children on a 32,500-acre complex by the end of 2005” (1).

While this seems like a great project there are flaws within the planning of this endeavor. First, Bruce Wilkinson’s motives were not the fundamental motives needed for missions. The fundamental motive needs to reflect the will of God (Rheenen, 38). Wilkinson’s motive was to help people’s physical needs. Even though this is an admirable undertaking, this motive is a secondary motive. Rheenen states, “Westerners are frequently touched by the poverty of the world in comparison to their own wealth. They are drawn to missions as a response to human poverty. They desire to use their medical, technical, and teaching skills to upgrade the physical and socioeconomic conditions of people…sometimes, however, this response is no different from that of philanthropists who desire to improve the world” (42).

Youth Inspiration Night

Words of Encouragement

MONDAY
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34



IN THE NAME. He is good. I’ve been ready lately about praising God. One thing that is so important to our worship is in our understanding of who God is. Now this isn’t to say we can understand fully all there is to know about God, but we can understand the traits and characteristic he has revealed to us in his word. So we will be taking a look at some of the names and/or attributes of God.


Today’s verse starts us off with telling us God is good. One meaning of the word good that I believe captures what the scripture writer was trying to get is this – Having the qualities that are desirable or distinguishing in a particular thing, Superior to the average.

To call God good is in reality saying that he is superior to anything we can say about ourselves. He has the qualities that we should desire and he is distinguished in there is no other God. In our understanding of this great God as good, we then should give thanks unto him.

God only is good. I’m not good when I compare myself to the original. I am striving for perfection, but God has and is perfection. So in my time of worship and praise, I must first begin to understand that God is good. He only is and I must humble myself before him. I then must give him honor and respect as I thank him for his goodness and for his mercy. For out of his goodness comes his desire to show us mercy. This is one of the qualities that are to be desired a merciful spirit.

Today let us praise him for his goodness and for his mercy that never ends and is in full supply. Today seek to exhibit the Godly “good” in you. Seek to allow his goodness to show through you to others in need of a glimpse of what it looks like. Praying for us today as we worship him.


TUESDAY
“But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” 1 Corinthians 1:23-25


IN THE NAME. He is powerful. What does having power embody? With power comes strength. It is having the ability or official capacity to exercise control or authority. God has authority over everything. He is all-powerful. He has the official capacity because he created the heavens and the earth. His say is final!


The name of Christ carries that power. To those that do not accept God’s authority Christ then becomes a stumbling block for them. It’s a stumbling block because it is what will “trip” them up in the end, their refusal to accept Christ. It will be there downfall. But to those that are children of God, the name of Christ carries the power of God.


There is no situation that I can face that even with all my strength, that God’s strength and power isn’t greater. So knowing this, why do we always try to work things out ourselves? Why do we think we can handle things as if we have any power at all? See I have to begin to acknowledge that I am powerless against the things of this world, its trials and temptations. The power and strength that I have comes only from the Lord. So everyday that I am able to stand I should worship the Lord. I should give my thanks to him for keeping me in spite of myself.


Today let’s us worship him for being the power that saves, the power that sanctifies and the power that will keep us until the end. Praying for us today as we worship him for being the authority of our lives.


WEDNESDAY
For thou art great and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.” Psalm 86:10

IN THE NAME. He is great. When you think of the word great, other words come to mind. Remarkable, Outstanding, Superior, Powerful, Grand, of noble character, and influential, just to name a few. These all fit God. He is a remarkable God with no one that can compare, for he is God alone. He is outstanding and he does outstanding things; that we cannot completely understand. He is superior. His works are grand to behold. He is a great God!

I rejoice in knowing that the God I worship and serve is a great God. He is not dead but alive. You cannot contain him in some small figure and set him upon your table. God is not a god that man made to worship. Instead we are the created, created to worship the creator.

We should worship and praise him because of who he is. He is the great I am! Because of who he is we should give him glory. This is a time of praising him. Yes we all have needs before the Lord, yet let’s take more time to just remind ourselves of who he is and just mediate on that. See if we understand that this great and powerful God cares about us, we would be less worried about what tomorrow will bring.

So today as we pray for ourselves let’s also pray for God to show his greatness to all that are in need of seeing him. God’s greatness can be revealed in any situation and in circumstances; we just have to have “eyes” to see.


THURSDAY
“O LORD our Lord how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.” Psalm 8:1

IN THE NAME. He is excellent. Excellent – of the highest or finest quality; exceptionally good superior. Yes God’s name is superior! To be able to call on the name of the Lord and have his attributes available to me is awesome! God is the highest, for his ways and his thoughts are higher than mine. He is of the finest qualities. He is goodness; holiness, joy, love, peace and the qualities are endless.

To take the time and lift my voice in praise to this excellent God is pure joy to my soul. I reap the rewards of the worship that I give to God. Have you ever thought about that? We say we are giving worship to God (as if he really needs it) as if we are doing him a favor. We give him worship because he is worthy of it. We give him worship and honor because in us doing so, we are reminded of the magnifices of God and then we are the richer for it. We worship him because we were made to give him worship.

To be able to call upon the excellent name of the Lord is something we have much to rejoice about. Yes we have situations and circumstances that face us, but he is far superior to what my problems are. Even if you have lost everything of importance to you, you are not completely destroyed if you have the love of the father. If you have your hand in his excellent hand, you are in capable hands. God hasn’t allowed our situations to destroy us. He is perfecting us. He is allowing the winds and the storms of this life to day by day bring you closer to him. He is preparing us for himself. He even wants us to know that if the sound of the storm gets to loud and we can’t “hear him”, he wants us to know that he is there. The storm has not drowned out his Excellency. He is the Lord and he hasn’t forgotten about us. Everything is working in his plan.


This week when you go to worship, praise him, praise him and then praise him so more! Let us as his children become more concerned with praising him and less about what things look like around us. Things are in the hand of an excellent and capable God. Praying for us as we grow in our understanding of this wonderful God we serve.


FRIDAY
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16

IN THE NAME. He is love. We are continuing our look at the name and/or attributes of God. We are looking at these attributes to remind us why we should worship and praise God. We look today at the attribute, love.

I’ve heard it before from people as they say that God is love, but what they really mean is God is “loving”. He is that but he is so much more. One of the attributes of God is he is love. His nature is love. It is from that nature that everything flows. It was from his love that he created us. It was from that love that he loved us first and made previsions for us. It is from that love, his very nature that all that he gives to us comes from.

So when you or I say we belong to God then we have to take on this attribute, because it flows to us and it should flow through us as children of the king. If I belong to God then I should be dwelling in his love. When I am “living” in love then God is indeed living in me.

If I don’t love my neighbor that I see every day, how can I truly say I love God? If I don’t love the things he loves who am I truly following? See as I live God’s love then it should become real in me. I should be willing to make sacrifices for the things that God loves. God loves the lost and wants them to come to him. I should have a love for the lost and am willing to be used for that purpose. God loves the brokenhearted and the mistreated. I should be willing to comfort with the comfort that I have received. And the list is endless.

So today let us make a mental list of the ways that God shows us his love. Then let us in turn begin to be love in the lives of those around us. Praying for us today to be ambassadors of God’s love to those seeking. Let us help them see true love and what it looks like.

The Week in Review

A Growing Church - Building People

Church Growth and Health

Written January 10, 2007

The church growth movement defines the mission as proclaiming Christ so as to persuade men and women to become his diciples and members of his church. Many view the mission as simply proclamation. In other words, when the church has proclaimed Christ, it has fulfilled its mission regardless of the results. The church growth movement maintains that seeing results, that is, proclaiming so as the persuade is crucial. How much responsiblity should the church take for the results of its proclamation?

The author, Donald A. McGavran in his book, Understanding Chruch Growth, states, "When existing Christians, marching obediently under the Lord's command and filled with his compassion, fold in the wanderers and feed the flock, then churches mutiply; but when they indolently permit men and women who have made costly decisions for Christ to drift back into the world, then indeed churches do not grow. Faithfulness in proclamation and finding is not enough. There must be faithful aftercare. Among the found, there must be fidelity in feeding on the word. quality goes hand in hand with quantity." (p. 6) This statement sums up the entire purpose of the body of Christ. There has to be a balance. While some may see "only" numbers, it does no good if the individuals only line a marginal Christian life and/or return back into the world. In a chart enclosed in t his book, it shows an outline of the world. It sates that 30% of the world is Christians. In that 30%, only 200 million are commited Christians, but 979 million are nominal Christians needing to be evangelized and renewed (Mc Gavran, p. 49). This statistic gives evidence that while the numbers were gathered, there also needs to be teaching and equipping for the mission, which was set by God.

It is also important that the church not be satisfied with the giving of the message "only". A better understanding of the mission is need to ensure that men and women are effective at what we are to do. A good illustration of that is given in the book, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies, by Gailyn Van Rheenen, which states, "God orginated the mission - reconciliation between himself and his fallen creation, Jesus enacted the mission - (my input - he did more than give the mesage, he became the message when he died for sinful man), Holy Spirit gives power to the mission, the church carries the mission and the world hears (receives) the mission" (14-18). This important reminder is that God calls for the church to carry his mission and it cannot be aborted or ignored. This also reminds us that God's mission is more than the world hearing, but the mission, "therefore, is the work of God in reconciling sinful humankind to himself...missions is the plans of committed believers to accomplish the mission of God." (Van Rheenen, 20).

Then, how much responsiblity should the church take in terms of her proclamation? There is great responsiblity. In one of the online readings, there was a short statement, but it carries a great truth, "healthy churches grow." There should be growing both in number and in spiritual character and maturity. Jesus as our example showed us how we as individuals withing the body should look. Jesus did not call everyone, but he called a few to come and walk with him (the twelve). His purpose was to train them, teach them by his example, and allow a close one-on-one relationship to grow. He also hada result in mind. That result was to equip these twelve to go and od the same, reach others. Yet, there is another part of this message, and that is that we should continue the process. When we have taught the few who are close to us, we are to repeat the process again and again. If everyone is doing this, what growth we would see both in number and in the maturity level of equipped believers ready to go into the white fields ready for harvesting (this also shows us that the responsiblity is not just the pastor's, but the responsiblity of every believer). The scripture uses an example of how important the individual is with the story of the shepherd that was ready to leave the ninety-nine sheep to gather the one. This shows how important it is to God that we mentor those in our care. He places great importance on our service, indeed.

I end with this quote written by Robert E. Coleman, from his book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, "Everything should be leading these chosen men and women to the day when they will assume by themselves a ministry to their own sphere of influence. As that time approaches each one should be well along in a training program with those won to Christ by his or her witness or who have been assigned to him or her for follow-up...We are not living primarily for the present. Our satisfaction is in knowing that in generations to come our witness for Christ will still be bearing fruit through them in an ever-widening cycle of reproduction to the ends of the earth and unto the end of time" (114-116). The body of believers (the church) must have a great desire to see men and women saved and equipped for service. We must "reach" and "teach" so that these new believers are able to do the same. When we do this, we have a futuristic outlook and not on the here and now. We look to see the fulfillment of the great commission that men and women would be saved.

The Week in Review

Assignment #5 Book Reflections of "Death of the Church"

Church Growth and Health

The book, Death of the Church by Mike Regele was a hard read. However, the information contained within the pages was such that it makes you think. One of the first quotes of interest is "Simply, we can die because of our hidebound resistance to change, or we can die in order to live." (19). Regele was making this statement to stay that the churchmust decide if it is going to die to it's traditions so that it can live to give the message in today's society or if the local churches refuse to die, they will suffer death eventually anyway because they will lose their importance to the people.

Regele also states, "And where is the church in all of this? It is simply one more of the many alternatives reality constructions available in the marketplace of beliefs, which is why it resorts increasingly to marketing techinques. It has no premier position...The church's message is simply one more voice in the cacaphony of created realities competing to attract a following. This will not change. It is in engaging what this means that the church again comes face-to-face with its own death. However, it is also in this place of death that its greatest opportunity dwells, and nowhere else" (80).

Regele states that the church has lost its place of honor and now has become one of many voices in a choice of alternatives for individuals. Because of this, many churches result to looking for marketing plans, without realizing those things are only band-aids to something greater.

Regele uses the wording that the church must die to live several times, and it also brings you to the thought of the individuals within the church. You and I must be willing to die to what our expectations are for "our churches" and allow what God wants to live to be birth into our hearts. The church, the Bride of Christ will forever be it is the local congregations that must look to see how they can be vital in today's world. One last point I would like to make is this, no matter how much we change in our world the message of God is still fresh and needed for the people. We cannot change the church in such a way that it is not giving "TRUTH". If truth is changed for the sake of change, we are no longer the church, but a gathering of people as the author says, our stories becomes just another story in the sea of stories. When in fact our story, or better yet, God's story is unique through all times.