Life Here and There

What image comes to your mind when you think of the word “missions?” I think there are several that are fairly prominent – an old guy in a fat tie with a boring voice and a slide projector, a massive organization or denomination spending millions of dollars per year orchestrating global outreach, or just any humanitarian effort anywhere by anyone.

For me, there are two ways to define “missions.” One is the lifestyle every Christian ought to have of sharing Christ with others as God opens opportunities. In this sense, we’re to live our lives “on mission” with a sensitivity to God’s leading each and every moment as to where He would have us to speak well about Him next.

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It’s tough sometimes to hear a clear voice on how discipleship should be defined. We always like to attach methodologies to it – “you disciple people by…” Today I read a simple, yet thorough definition of discipleship that includes all the essential elements. Tony Evans, in his devotional book Get Serious says “(Discipleship) is that process that occurs in the framework of accountable relationships in the local church, whereby Christians are progressively brought from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.” (more…)

Various Scriptures

ONE GREAT TRUTH: God inspired His word to define the church in such a way that our greatest goal becomes to draw together around a common mission. (more…)

It’s apparent that there is a great departure from the church among twentysomethings. Recent studies have proven this statistically, but as a Pastor, I’ve watched it happen during my twelve years in ministry. It may be somewhat natural for young people becoming adults to experiment with living life their own way, including making choices about whether to continue the family tradition of church attendance or not. What is most alarming, however, is that about one in four do not return to church by age thirty, if at all.

Ideas on how to solve this youth exodus abound. We need to offer more programs within the church… We need less programs and deeper theology… We need to involve them more in leadership… Some of the suggestions are great, others lacking. One thing I do know, by observation and biblical data – the reason many young people leave the church has little to do with the church, and much to do with parenting.

Those families that fostered a genuine and authentic love for Jesus and modeled a truly godly lifestyle of humble dependence upon God, and who saturated their home with scriptural thinking, are the most likely to see their kids understand the nature of conversion, come to faith in Christ, and seek to live for Him perpetually. In many cases where kids leave the church, the problem is not that the church wasn’t good enough or entertaining enough. It isn’t that the family didn’t attend church. Instead, it is that there was not a display of authentic faith modeled by Mom and Dad.

We have a lot of confusion today about what genuine faith looks like. There are those families where the parents tend to focus on rules and standards, on being “strict,” and on discipline. None of those things are bad, in and of themselves, in fact, they can be very good. But if we aren’t careful, we’ll give our kids the impression that the Christian life is all about them, and it isn’t. It’s not about whether we’ve communicated our moral values or even our expectations that our kids live by certain standards. It’s about whether we’ve taught them that loving Jesus and following Him is the most worthy and rewarding pursuit in life. Rather than modeling a set of moral standards, we need to be modeling the adventure of living the Christian life in this world.

Having had some experience in youth ministry, and a lot more as a Pastor, I can honestly say one of my greatest frustrations is in parents. Let me be frank. The mentality among many parents is, “I can’t do this job, so here, fix my kid. If anything goes wrong, I’m blaming you!”

The Old and New Testaments concur that the responsibility of training kids to live Christian lives begins in the home. It isn’t that parents need to reaffirm what kids learn at church, it ought to be that the church reaffirms what kids learn at home. We take drop-offs in our children’s ministries all the time, because we love them and God loves them. But our hope is always that eventually those parents will come on a Sunday with their kids. Our hope is further that they eventually take the reins of spiritual leadership from our shoulders.

I realize this issue is really too large to cover in a single blog post, so I’d encourage some discussion on this one. Let me know where I’m right, where I’m wrong, and what solutions you think might work to help stop kids from leaving the church when they enter adulthood. It’s on my mind because my five-year-old is rapidly moving toward adulthood. I want to see her genuinely loving Jesus, and I want to see that for your kids too. In the meantime, here are some thoughts to ponder in relation to this issue…

• The church today must return to a good balanced diet of biblical and doctrinal preaching and teaching, rather than speaking only to the immediately hot or popular issues and felt needs of the day.
• We must also focus on the timeless elements of Christianity even more than the modern trends of society and church growth.
• The local church, though not ultimately to blame, is perhaps the greatest single solution, when she functions correctly as an evangelistic, prophetic, and instructional agent in the lives of families.
• Kids today are growing up in an age of increasing technological “independence” from God, and a time of tremendous intellectual advancement, often to the neglect of God. They need guidance to navigate the waters of adulthood wisely.
• Men, you need to determine to lead your family, your church, and your community so that your boys will not have the impression that church is just for Moms and kids.

Those are a few of my thoughts, what are yours?

Cory and I had a nice treat today in visiting with the directors of the Association of Baptist Students at the University of Arkansas. After touring the property, I was impressed with their ability to squeeze so much out of so little. Rather than a state-of-the-art facility, they were “making do” with three older houses, all in need of some repairs. I appreciated so much hearing the hearts of Director Warren Dugas and Associate Director Brad Harris.

Is collegiate ministry “missions?” I believe, absolutely! Let me tell you three reasons why: 1.) College students are a little nuts! When they’re fired up, they’ll charge into the most dangerous countries in the world for the greatest cause on earth… and they’ll raise money to do so. 2.) There are so many places that college students can connect with others who will pull them away from Christ that we have to offer them a ring of friends who will help them remain true to the faith. 3.) One of the greatest missions opportunities that exists today is the reaching of international students from closed nations that are studying in the states. We can reach them, disciple them, and then send them home as missionaries to their own country!

We must soon realize that America is one of the world’s greatest mission fields and college campuses are the central focal point in a cultural war that is being waged every day. You don’t have to worry much about liberalism creeping into your local church, but college students endure an onslaught of insulting propaganda concerning their faith everyday. I know, I suffered it once myself as a Religious Studies major at a state university.

I, for one, will begin standing beside this invaluable ministry. I’ll speak up on their behalf, attempt to raise money, and get involved when and where I can. If one of my fellow brethren from a sister church should happen upon these thoughts, I’d encourage you to do the same. Visit the campus, visit the ABS house, and hear the hearts of its leaders. Students are worth it! You can start be checking out their website here.

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” -Prov. 11:30

I’m afraid that the term “soul winning” has come to have a very particular connotation to it. We assume, when we see this phrase, that we’re discussing an official door-to-door ministry of the local church in which we head out with tracts and New Testaments with a view to winning converts to Christ.

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