This is the last in a four-part series on Roman Catholicism. After Simon Peter makes his famous declaration that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus tells the apostle, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:16, 18). Jesus further states, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already … [Read more...]
Mountain Grove rebuilds, reaches out
MOUNTAIN GROVE – Sometimes the road to church revitalization is less a road and more of a potato field. A year ago, Mountain Grove Family Church, a once-thriving congregation here in south central Missouri, was stuck mid-stride in a stalled building program, with just six or seven members paying the church’s expenses out of pocket to keep the doors open. The church sought help from the Missouri Baptist Convention, which paired them Westside Baptist Church 90 minutes north in Waynesville as … [Read more...]
Revitalization brings hope
WARSAW – After 15 years of serving small, dying churches, Daniel Yoder looked forward to birthing a new church here in 2012. But he had no idea that God would use him also to revive one of Warsaw’s small, established churches. Yet, beginning July 1, 2012, that is exactly what happened. On that day, Yoder’s church plant opened its doors for worship, and also on that day members from Open Arms Baptist Church, an established but struggling church in town, began to speak with Yoder about … [Read more...]
8 elements leading to community-wide revival
“Jesus Freak” is a label that suits me well. I was part of the Jesus Movement in the 1970s. Our Baptist church’s youth group conducted a weekly prayer meeting that attracted many lost kids and youth groups from several other churches. Keep in mind the setting: small town, rampant drugs and alcohol, over half of the freshman classes never graduated high school, unchurched families moved in with a new manufacturing plant, stagnant churches, perfunctory Bible teaching, and few if any teens … [Read more...]
What do Roman Catholics believe? (Part 2)
This is the third in a four-part series on Roman Catholicism. To view the first two columns, click here. Roman Catholics embrace at least seven doctrines that evangelical Christians reject as unbiblical. In the previous article, we explored five of these doctrines. This column examines two more. Sacramentalism The Bible reveals that salvation is a gift of God received by faith in Jesus Christ. The Christian partakes of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as acts of obedience, or … [Read more...]
Former missionaries fish for men in Joplin
JOPLIN – Wendy’s is one of Charles Brock’s favorite fishing holes. As he and his wife, Dottie, entered the fast food restaurant, they prayed and glanced around the room. Who needed to receive the Good News today? He took out a bright red Bible study guide that has “Good News For You” in large letters on the cover. A family of six gladly received several copies. Then Brock noticed a group of young men, one wearing a jacket with “Kazakhstan” written on the back. “I assumed they were … [Read more...]
Conference to highlight Museum of the Bible
WASHINGTON – Less than a year after defending their biblical convictions before the United States Supreme Court, owners of the Oklahoma-based arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby are taking steps to bring greater renown to the Word of God. The Green family—the Southern Baptist owners of Hobby Lobby—celebrated in February as construction began on the 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible here, which will display the story of Scripture’s history before a worldwide audience beginning in … [Read more...]
What do Roman Catholics believe? (Part 1)
This is the second in a four-part series on Roman Catholicism. To view the first two columns, click here. While Roman Catholics and evangelicals agree on a number of Christian doctrines, as we learned in the last column, there are profound differences between the teachings of Rome and the revealed word of God in Scripture. As Protestant theologian Harold Brown once warned, while Catholicism holds to key fundamental articles of the faith, the church “so overlays them with extraneous … [Read more...]
Living life in the fast-food lane
I’d like to squelch the rumor circulating the St. Louis area that if my husband wants to hide something from me, he puts it in the oven. Totally untrue. Because my husband would never hide anything from me. Maybe I mentioned before that a friend once told me I should stop the pretense and just get rid of the stove altogether. Of course, I told her that would be deranged. “De-ranged”? Get it? I know it’s not right, but I still so often relish life in the fast food lane. Relish it, mustard … [Read more...]
Leading real change for evangelizing
The Lord must be trying to tell me something. I’ve been reading about change and attended what I thought was a seminar on church revitalization, but it was really about leading lasting change. Many of the same principles were used. John Kotter has the best reputation in the business world for “leading change.” He’s got a great book by that name, too. Kotter has eight steps to change that are widely recognized as successful. If your church or ministry needs change to actively making … [Read more...]
Are we training our pastors wrong?
The email said, “Mark, we’d like you to address this topic: ‘Are We Training Our Pastors Wrong?’” Now, there’s a good way to alienate yourself from godly men you have served alongside for several decades! At least I was able to add, “Or How Can We Train Pastors More Effectively?” The article required hours of research. I began to understand that there was a disconnect between pastors and their church members. The Bible created the biggest gap. Biblical ignorance is rampant in our churches. … [Read more...]
Missional living required in hostile environment
SPRINGFIELD – Conference leaders at “Furnace,” the Missouri Baptist Convention’s 2015 state evangelism and discipleship conference, encouraged church leaders from around the state to remain faithful amid hardship and opposition, Feb. 5-6. During the morning session of “Furnace,” Feb. 6, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Jason Allen preached from the biblical account that inspired the conference theme—namely, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and the fiery … [Read more...]
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