Life Giving Church

Hey everyone! Sunday night God really moved in our service and gave us a word that was both uplifting and challenging. There is no doubt that God is moving and is ready to do something great here at South Decatur. He is creating a Life Giving Church within us. Now you might be asking what is a Life Giving Church? Well there are three things that make up a Life Giving Church. 

1st CONNECTION 

 It is impossible to be a Life Giving Church if you are not connected to three things.

Connected to Jesus 

Jesus tells us in John 10:10 “but I came to give you life, and life more abundantly”. We can not be a Life Giving Church until first we are connected to the life giver, Jesus. All that we do as a church has to be Christ center. From our worship to the way in which we live everyday has to have Jesus at the forefront. We must make sure that in everything that we do, He is being lifted up and if He is then He has promised that He will draw all men to Him. 

 Connected to the Holy Spirit

Jesus said “The Spirit bring Life” and if we are going to deliver that life to the world then we must have the Holy Spirit operating within our lives. Without the Holy Spirit leading us and guiding us it is impossible for us to be able to function the way that God has called us to. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to do the will of God. The world needs to see that the Holy Spirit is leading the church and they need to see the manifestations of the Spirit in all that we do. For if the Holy Spirit is allowed to have freedom within the church then He will draw people Jesus and He will change their lives. 

Connected through Prayer  

Everything that we do has to be covered in prayer. Prayer is the lifeline that we have with God and through prayer God reveals to us what He had called us to do. Prayer is the key to the anointing and without prayer then we can not be successful in the things of God. 

2nd COMMUNITY 

The church has to become a community of believers that is set on fulfilling the plan of God for our lives but individually and corporately. In any church there are many differences, and the enemy does everything that he can to divide us through these differences. Whether it is through generational differences, through social differences, through race, or any other he works to tear us apart. The truth is that we are a community because of the commonality that we have with one another and that is that we are all working for the kingdom of heaven. We must embrace what we have in common and we must realize to be successful for God we need everyone. Our community is a cross culture community. Those that lead in our community are those that serve, and the greatest is the least. This way of living goes against everything we are taught in our society. We are to love one another, this is the trademark of our community, and it is how the world knows that there is something different about us. 

3rd CONTEXTUALIZE 

The last thing that we must have if we are going to be a Life Giving Church is that we must work to contextualize. Every church has to face the issue of being able to take an unchangeable gospel and present it to an ever changing world. This is a challenge because though the message has and will never change, our society is changing every day. The methods of presenting the gospel have changed over the years and must continue to change if we are going to be effect. As a church we have to be willing to change the way we think if we are going to be successful in the work of the kingdom. We can’t do the same old thing and expect it to work. As leaders in the church we have to be willing to think outside the box and at times just get rid of the box all together. So many times we want to live within our comfort zone but if we are going to be effective for Christ then we have to step out and do something we have never done before to bring people to Christ. I heard a preacher say something that I have since said to South Decatur and that is “we will do anything short of sin to win people to Jesus”. What ever it takes we want to bring Life to those around us. 

God is calling us to be a Life Giving Church, and as we go about doing the business of God then He is going to bless us abundantly. 

Don’t Grow Weary

 This is an issue that has been on my heart for the last couple of weeks. I email my staff and volunteers about it last week, and then talked about it during our Bases o Ministry Sunday Life Class Sunday morning. The issue is growing weary doing the work of God. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:9 ” And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart”. The key to the verse is that we will reap if we just stay the course. The enemy is doing everything that he can to cause the people of God to give up on what God has called them to do. And many people that has sown the seed and watered the seed give up just before the harvest is ready to come in because they have grown weary because of the attack that has be waged against them. We have to understand that if we are doing the will of  God then we are going to be attack by the enemy. The more we are walking in obedient anointing then more of a threat we are to the enemies kingdom. Therefore we must do all that we can go guard ourselves against burning out. Less we do ministry and fall ourselves. There are some things that I think we can do to help us continue to stand even in the mist of the attack and continue to be productive for the kingdom. 

1. Make Time to be alone with God 

It is easy to get so busy even doing ministry that you fail to take the time to grow in your personal relationship with the Lord. You have to take time to pray, study your bible, and not just for the ministry that you are doing but for personal spiritual growth. 

2. Set under good Ministry 

You can not alway pour out and never take anything in, if you do then it will leave you empty. You need to seat under ministry and get a word for yourself. If you are involved in ministry then the Bible tells you “that more is required from you, because more has been given to you”. That means that you will have to attend a extra service during the week so that you can be ministers to. I believe that every person should be apart of a least one worship service and one Life Group each week. 

3. See the Attack for what it is 

So many times when we begin to grow weary we begin to take things to personally. We get our feelings hurt or we get angry. The truth is that the attack is no different than it was when we first started, but the difference is we have gotten tired and now we make it personal. We have to realize that the attack is coming from the enemy and we have to do all we can to stand. It is not flesh and blood we are fighting but it is powers of darkness. 

4. If you take a break make it short and scheduled.

There are times when you need a break but make sure that you have a scheduled time that you will return. Take a week or two and then come back with a fresh outlook on the ministry. Don’t say I need a break and I will come back when I feel I can because the enemy will make sure you never can. Set a time limit on how long you will be away. 

5. Build and become part of a Team 

So many times people become territorial about ministry. They won’t bring anyone in because they are afraid that they are going to take over, but you have to be willing to work with people. By building a team you have people that you can depend on when you need to. One person can set a thousand demons to flight but two can set ten thousand to flight. Team ministry is best for you and the ministry. 

 God is moving so mightily within our church and we can not afford to lose anyone. So make sure that you are taking care of yourself.

Is the Holy Ghost just not Cool Anymore?

Now before you think, “What is pastor saying?” just hear me out. So many churches today that were birthed out of the fire, and can trace their roots to a time when the Holy Spirit ran the show, have changed. Not so much in appearance, but in something deeper and something that is much more alarming. Now I know there are some that would argue that the Pentecostal church can’t be what it was twenty or even ten years ago but that it has to come into the future. They say that gone are the days of shouting, dancing, and people falling out around the altars. That the church has become more educated now and that we have learned how to worship God in a deeper level. So somewhere along the way we traded Hammond organs for smoke machines, and the Hymnals for movie screens. The pastor got rid of his suit and bought a pair of blue jeans and a stool where he can sit and teach the word, because the days of the old Pentecostal preacher have gone. But where is the Holy Spirit in this? Has He been left out because He is just not yep enough to come to this type of church. 

  On the other side of the isle you have those that think nothing should change and that the church should  be stuck in a time warp of 1970 forever. They don’t embrace any change and find themselves being left out and becoming more and more irrelevant in an ever changing world. So what is the answer, how do we embrace change without leaving the Spirit of God out of the church. 

  You see I was not born into a Pentecostal family but rather join it later in life. What drew me was the passion to serve God, the freedom to worship, and the moving of the Holy Spirit. I had no idea at the time what was going on but I felt something that I had not felt in all the years that I had been going to church. I saw God do things that I had never seen and I watch as people’s lives were transformed. Now I know, not everyone that came to the altar had a real experience with God, but the truth is today not everyone that comes to the altar has a real experience with God. Not everyone that came to Jesus had an experience. The thing is though I believe that we can embrace change without leaving the Spirit of God on the outside. As a matter of fact I find that the Holy Spirit is the creative power of God and therefore He can not only embrace change but that He can lead change within a church. There is nothing wrong with changing the way we do things within the church but we can not embrace change without power. Change without power is compromising and though it may bring a large crowd it can not bring with it the plan of God. When the Holy Spirit operates within our church He brings with Him a power that allows us to walk with God and allows us to operate throughout the week with God. 

  I say in this day that we live we need more of the Holy Spirit and not least. This week God sent a message to South Decatur that God was about to move in a mighty way. This revelation was about the Spirit of God that is felt so strongly within our church. I pray that we never get to where we think we are to cool for the Holy Spirit.

Grace

“for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. Ephesians 2:8-9

 These are some of my favorite verses in all the Bible, because they let me know just how much Jesus loved me. By grace we are saved, and not by what we do or even don’t do. Now before you get alarmed and think that I have went soft, let me just stop you and let you know that I still believe that a Christian has to do work for the kingdom. But that is not what Paul is talking about here. He is talking about what it takes to be saved. To have your life totally changed and set apart. To be transformed into another person, and that only happens because of Grace. The Grace of God is so powerful because it allows me to have access to God and there is nothing that I could do that would bring that to me. No matter how good I live, no matter what I give, I could never work my way to God or into heaven. Grace is a gift that is given to us by God that allows us to have access to His and heaven. Grace is what saves me from the sin that had me bound and all I have to do is have faith and believe. So many people can’t believe that salvation is so simple but here we read where it is only a prayer away. All we have to do is ask the Lord into our heart and believe and we can be set free from everything that has held us back.

  Now just so you don’t think something wrong, let me state here that God’s way is simple but it is not always easy. Once we come into the family of God then we must do all that we can to become holy as He is holy. Grace is the first step and it is a free step. Grace is the beginning of the journey and through the price that Jesus has paid it is free for all of us.

Back to Church

All this month we are working hard at South Decatur on our “Back to Church Campaign”. Many people that once were in the church have fallen out of church and we are making an effort to get them back into God’s house. Fallen out of church is not a hard thing to do. Miss a service here, and a another therre and then next thing you know it becomes easier and easier to come up with an excuse why not to go. With all of the things going on in our world today and with the busy lives that most families have, going to church doesn’t seem to be a priority in many peoples lives. People that once were working in the church and a major part of what was going on, now find themselves separated from the church all together.

 Is going to church important anymore? Do we  have to go to church to be saved? Hebrews 12:4 tells us ” Forsake not the gathering of yourselves together but even the more as you see that day approaching”. If a man told you that he was a ball player but you never seen him at the park then you would think he was lying to you. If a husband never went home it wouldn’t be long before he would find out that he did not have a home to go to. Our relationship with God doesn’t depend on any other but to walk in the will of God then we need other people. The church is a place where we are lifted up and it is a place where we can do the work that God has called us to do. Going to church should not be a burden but it should be an uplifting experience where we are with a community of believers. One of the thing that excites me more than any other at South Decatur is the openess that we have to new people and the family environment that the church has. Our desire is to see more people become a part of our family. If you haven’t been to church in a while then come and join us this week and just give it a try. That is all we ask.

The Promises are Yours

What has God promised you? What ever it is maybe you are like many waiting for it to come to past. Like many you wonder will it come to past, will God give me my promise? The truth is though that the promises of God are already yours. They were given to you by God and the Bible says that “He is not a man that He can lie” Not that God chooses not to lie but that God can not lie. Therefore if God has promised anything to you then it has to come to past which means that you have already received. The promises of God are alive in you and all they need is for you to be in the right place for them to materialize in your life.

  A great example of this is when God anointed David to be king. David did not receive the kingship right away and there is little doubt that there were times when he thought he would never get it, but in the right time the promise was fulfilled. The timing is what we need to understand, being where God wants us to be so that all that He has promise can come to past and the glory of God can be seen throughout the world in our lives. The fulfillment of promises shows the world the glory of God in the greatest of ways. So remember the promise is already yours, just get in the right place.

When we all Work Together

How do we grow the church? As a lead pastor for the past sixteen years I have studied this question from every angle. I have tried all kinds of things to help the church grow, more failing than succeeding I have to say. But as John Maxwell says, “we learn far more from our failures than we do in our successes”. In studying church growth I have seen church that are contemporary in their approve exploit in growth while other have failed. I have seen churches that were more traditional die while others like them prosper. I have seen churches grow that believe in children ministry or youth ministry while other believe it is music, and yet other that men’s ministry is what brings them in. I have come to the conclusion that there is no secret formula for growth, but it is hard work. You see I believe growth comes when the people of God get involved in kingdom work. Growth happens when every member becomes a ministry.

   You see we have all been called to do a work and when the body of Christ is doing what God has called them to do then God will back them up. The problem that many people in church have is that they thing of the church as what does it offer me. Too many people are self absorbed and what to know what is in it for me. The church grows when we as individuals are willing to change and allow God to do what ever God wants to do. The church grows when more people get involved in the cause of Christ and begin to do what God has called them to do

  At South Decatur we believe that doing kingdom work, thought not easy, should be simple. We have a very simple mission statement: Loving God, Loving People, and Serving our Community. We believe that everything that Jesus has called us to do is wrapped up in that simple statement.

Loving God—The first law of God was to “love the Lord with all of our heart”. Everyday our life should be an act of worship to the Lord. Through praise and service we worship God every day that we live. When we come together no matter what our musical style is we should praise the Lord with all of our heart. Coming together as believer weather we do it on Saturday night or Sunday morning it should be a celebration of our love for Jesus.

Loving People—Jesus said “this commandment I give you, to love your neighbor as yourself”. If we truly love God then must love what He loves and that is people, and if we love people then we are going to do everything that we can to help them come closer to God. Loving people is not always easy, at times it can be very challenging but it what Jesus commanded us to do. The church has to show love to mankind the same way that Jesus did.

Serving our Community—As Jesus was being taken into heaven He leaves us with the words “Go ye into all the world”. Jesus tells us that we can not build come to churches but that the church has to get out into the streets and take the gospel to the world. Paul said in Romans 1 “I am a servant (slave) to Jesus Christ” and that is what we must be willing to be.

  These are not just for the few but these are for everyone in the church. When the body begins to work then the Lord begins to bless. Growth comes when we all get involved in doing what God has called us to do. Growth comes when we forget about ourselves and we begin to think of the kingdom and what God would have for us to do in the kingdom work. What are you doing to build the kingdom of God? Find your place and get busy.

Straddling the Box

Ok, though it is true that we are living in a very pluralistic world, as Christians we do not serve a pluralistic God. Throughout the Bible we are told that God is a jealous God and that if we are going to serve Him then we have to do it with all of our heart, mind, soul, and body. In 1Kings 18 Elijah is facing a very wicked and sinful Israel. They have had over 200 years of wicked kings and now with King Ahab on the throne they serve one that is more wicked than all the other combined. They are idolatrous but yet they still try to remain some what tied to God. It is in this culture that Elijah ask the question “how long will you be halted between two opinions”? How long will you be divided between Jehovah and Baal?

  The question is still if not more relevant to us today than it was to them thousands of years ago. In a culture that believes in anything and everything that comes along, we want to be pluralistic but still maintain that we are a Godly nation. The truth of the matter is that we are anything but a Godly nation. We are a nation that is as much if not more idolatrous than Israel. Like Israel we have sexual immortality, lawlessness, and a false scent of security that everything is going to work its way out.  People come to church just to ease their conscience, and so when they get in trouble they can call on the Lord. They want to live as they please but then they want to remain a part of the church scene so they can call on Jesus when they need him. People that don’t want to commit or be held accountable for anything but want to be able to do as they please until they time comes that they can fit Jesus into their busy schedule.

  That is not the person that Jesus is looking for. Because though that may work in the real world it does not work with God. God is an all or nothing God. He will accept anyone that comes to Him but He will not accept anything that comes to Him. He is very longsuffering but He is not tolerate of you giving yourself to other things. He wants all of you and if He can not have that then He will have none of you. You can just serve Him on Sunday and expect everything to be fine between you and Him. God wants a relationship and that is the only way in which you can call on Him in times of trouble. God is looking for “Sold Out” Christians. Those that are willing to do what ever it takes to be with God, people that will serve and those that will lay everything on the line and give their best all the time. God is looking for true follower of Christ, whose main goal is to serve Him and then let everything else fall in place. Are you one of those? What do you give most of your time and resources to? What god are you serving?

In His Image

 In Genesis 1:26 God says “Let us make man in our own image”. Now it is here that we understand who man was and who we are today. When God declared this He was not saying that man would have blue eyes or brown hair, but what God was saying is that man would be made a triune being just as God is. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three but they work in total unity in the Godhead that they are one. In the workings of the Godhead there is a pattern that we see throughout the Bible. The Father wills, the Son reveals, and the Holy Spirit acts. The Father willed salvation, the Son revealed salvation, and the Spirit acts to bring salvation into the hearts of men. Each works in total harmony with one another.

  In the same way God created man. We are made up of three, Spirit, Soul (intellect, emotions), and body (flesh). Just as with God we were created to work in total harmony. Our Spirit wills, our soul reveals, and our body acts. That is the way that Adam and Eve functioned in the garden. In this harmony there was no worry, there was no doubt, and there was no fear. Then sin came into the picture and all of the sudden the harmony that man was created to be in was interrupted. Order was broken. Now the flesh had taken control and was making the decisions. The flesh willed, the Soul still revealed, and then the flesh acted. The Spirit was dead and had no part in the process. All of the sudden the flesh began to allow everything into the soul of man, worry, fear, doubt, and even death. So now rather than being in the image of God we have become something else, incomplete, out of harmony.

  The flesh was never meant to rule man. Think of this, the soul and the spirit are the only things that you have that are eternal, the flesh will die. No matter what we do or how well we take care of ourselves the flesh will one day return from the dust from whence it came. The flesh is temporary where the soul and the spirit are not. And we are allowing the thing that is temporary to make the decision in our lives. Rather than being lead by the spirit that protects our soul and flesh we are lead by the flesh that only seek to please it self. Jesus died so that the order of man could be placed right again. In accepted salvation and allowing the Holy Spirit to come into our lives we once again are set right in the image of God. Who is making the decision for you?

Where is your Faith?

Where is your faith? That is the question that Jesus ask his disciples in Luke 8. They found themselves in the middle of a terrible storm and were doing everything they could to survive, while all the time Jesus was asleep in the bottom of the boat. Finally in a panic they go and wake up Jesus who simple stands and says “peace be still” and the storm stops. The disciples are amazed that Jesus has this power over nature itself. In that moment Jesus ask the question “Where is your faith?”. The things is that for many in the church that question is still being ask, Where is our faith? In a world where the advancements of science and technology would seem to say we do not need the faith of the church of yesterday I would dare say we are in more need of faith today.

  First we have to realize that the Hebrew writer in 11:1 tells us that faith is real, it is a substance, it is evidence. Faith is not an emotion or a feeling that comes over us, but faith is something that we can hold to. Second, if faith is real then  it is something that we can lose just as the disciples did during that terrible storm. Most of the time we never realize as little faith we have until we are in the mist of a storm. Then and only then do we come to the realization that our faith is low or that it is missing all together. The times when we need it the most. So how do we make sure that we have the faith that we need, and where does our faith come from.

 Well Paul says in Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing; and hearing by the Word of God”. Now many times when we read this we only thing of the Bible. If we read the Bible then we will have greater faith, and though that is true, there is more to it than just readying your Bible. Remember when Paul writes these words there was no written Bible for masses. You see the Word as John told us in John 1 is Jesus Himself. John said that the ‘Word came and dwell among us”. Faith comes by hearing the Word, or hearing Jesus. Faith comes when our knowledge of Jesus and our relationship with Jesus grows. When reading the Bible is more than just reading but when it becomes a time of knowing Jesus in a more intimate way. When we know Him we trust Him, and when we trust Him then we have faith in Him. The disciples had been with the master and they had seen all that He could do and yet they had little to no understanding of the power that He had and had given to them. They lost their faith because they had failed to really know Him. When we know Him then we have Faith. So get to know Him better and your faith will grow.