Where is Your Focus?

Last week I quoted Reggie McNeal as saying that people outside the church don't think church is for them.   On the other hand--HOW DO THE MAJORITY OF YOUR RELIGIOUS FRIENDS VIEW THOSE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH?

Is it possible, as Reggie McNeal writes in his book, "The Present Future," that we have the mentality that the world outside the church is the enemy?

With this view, the goal of outreach becomes churching the unchurched, rather than connecting people to Jesus. Outreach can then become focused on cleaning people up and changing their behavior so that they fit into the church culture and not make us too uncomfortable. This shifts the focus of outreach from the lost to the saved.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR OUTREACH FOCUSED ON HELPING LOST PEOPLE FIND JESUS?

 No matter what...the future will depend upon our times of prayer. 

Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.



Attracting People to Church

In The Present Future, Reggie McNeal writes:  People are not looking for a great church.  People outside the church think church is for church people, not for them.

Abandoning Safety

In Charles Stanley’s book, The Ultimate Conversation, he makes a challenging observation about how we live out our faith:

We may be tempted to choose safe acts of devotion over unpredictable lives of service to Almighty God.



A Sad State of Affairs

Marriage in America is on shaky ground.


HERE IS A QUESTION TO CONSIDER:
What do you think is the one thing researchers have found that can help married couples lower their chance for divorce from 1 out of 2 to more than 1 out of 10,000?

Values Clarification

Brian Tracy, a prolific e-communicator, wrote in his July 11 email regarding The Need to Lead, “The greatest need we have today, in every area, is for men and women to practice the values of integrity, discipline, responsibility, courage, and long time perspective, both as individuals and in their families. These are the key qualities of leadership. “

There is a question that comes to my mind—what is the foundational source of these values. Some solid biblical responses can be found in 1 Corinthians 10.31, Colossians 3.23, and Matthew 22.37-39.

Tracy goes on to say that the greatest need we have today is for men and women to practice these values; these are the key qualities of leadership.

Tracy then quotes Immanuel Kant’s “Universal Maxim.” Kant suggested that “you should live your life as though your every act were to become universal law for all people.” Continuing he writes, “The very best judge of truth for you is to ask, ‘Is it true for me?’” Here is where you have to stick with me. I know this sounds relativistic. It sounds that way because it is. However there are some great points of application coming up! Hang in there.

Tracy contends that if everyone were encouraged to live in this way our society would be much improved. I think Tracy fails to account for total depravity, but now comes the good part. Tracy offers four questions to stay on track; questions to help us focus on living out our values. For the Christian community, a modified version of these questions can be helpful for us in continuing the journey on which God has placed us.

The four questions are:

1. From a spiritual perspective, what kind of community, workplace, school, would my community, workplace, school be if everyone in it was just like me?

2. Spiritually speaking, what kind of family would my family be if everyone in it was just like me?

3. What kind of church would this be if everyone in it was just like me?

4. What kind of Sunday school / small group would this be if everyone in it were just like me?

Are the values you profess being lived out in the arenas of life in which you live?

Father's Day

For Father's Day last Sunday we had a special service at Southwood Baptist Church to honor, encourage and challenge fathers.  The message of the day was "A Father is..." and used each letter of the word father to describe a characteristic of an outstanding dad. They were:

F is for Faithful (to family and God)
A is for Available
T is for both Tough and Tender
H is for Honest
E is for Encouraging
R is for Respected

Not a comprehensive list, but clearly a solid foundation for any father.