In Genesis 1:3 God says “Let there be Light” now anyone that has studied the bible knows that verse and has read it many times. Have you ever thought of what kind of light that was. You see verse 3 takes place on day one of creation but the sun, moon, and stars were not created until day four of creation. Which means that for three days creation operated in the divine light of God. Now what does that have to do with us today? Well, to understand the vision that God has for our lives is much like that divine light. Vision can not be seen nor understood in the natural or created light. We can not understand all the things that God wants to show us in our own self but have to have the light of God to show us what He had for us. Vision is a divine move within us to show us those things that God wants for us to to. In order to go to new levels in God have to see what God has for us because only God can move us to the next level, we in ourself do not have the power to do it on our own. Each time we go to a new level it requires change on our part and for many of us the only way to bring about change is for God to empower us to do so. But very few of us are willing to change for no reason, it is then that vision steps in and shows us the need for change that the results of change.

Walking in the divine light of God allows us to walk in the vision of God and it allows us to accomplish the things that God has for us. We find our purpose in the divine light of God and we see what it is that He longs for us to see. We need to walk in the divine light of God’s glory.

Have you ever notice that people that cry for tolerance the most are the most in-tolerant people? Well, in church that seems to be the case anyhow. There are a lot of great things happening in the kingdom in 2009, new methods and ways in which people are being reach to the kingdom of God. Many have found new ways to do church and though there are some that I wouldn’t do I am all for doing whatever it takes to win people to Jesus. At South Decatur we say that we will do anything short of sin to win someone to Jesus. With that said, many people that are doing and trying new things, who have been telling the church that they should be more tolerant are the ones that are showing in-tolerance. I mean just because every church doesn’t change to a new format or, different worship style doesn’t mean that the church is dying. There are some churches that are traditional and they are reaching people for Jesus and ministering to the ones that are there. There are churches such as South Decatur that are more middle of the road in our style. We tried to be all things to all men, and give different ways in which one can experience God. Then there are those that are very non-traditional in they approach. The truth is there is room for ever style church and one style should not put down or look down on any other style. God wants us to reach people and how ever we have to do that then we should be willing. Just my thoughts for today.

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. 

 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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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?