Unity of the Faith

Are you concerned about the church and the direction we are trending? Put aside your thoughts on Praise Teams, Instrumental Music, and women preaching and leading in public worship, these are symptoms of the real issue. Are you concerned with the devastating loss in human souls? Are you concerned that we are losing ground?

If you are an elder or a preacher of the Gospel I hope that you are on your knees daily. But after that, after you have “turned it over to God” what are you personally doing? Some elders and preachers have thrown up their hands and surrendered to the onslaught of digression. Some have dug in deep and have continued to use ineffective methods to deal with the issues because they concentrate on the symptoms, not the root cause. Further angering and frustrating the people they are trying to help. Preachers are ineffective in the pulpits elders are ineffective in creating and having a vision of hope. No one is dreaming of what can be, because we are on defense and still others on the fence.

As a young preacher (many years ago) I went to hear an evangelist who was over 80 years old preach. His name I believe was Lester Fisher and has long since passed away. Brother Fisher preached for close to two hours and he held the people in the palm of his hand. There were children aged two and above in attendance, he had them engaged as well. His ability in the pulpit had me wincing in the stinging rebukes and laughing uncontrollably in the numerous stories and illustrations he wove masterfully into his sermon. I walked away that night feeling both blessed and with the realization that I was not near as effective in the pulpit as I could be. In fact I thought to myself, and have confessed to others that I had a long way to become a good Gospel preacher. To my preaching brothers, study some of the great sermons and preachers from the past and emulate that preaching do not buy into the lie that it is ineffective preaching. Congregations have grown wherever I have used that “old style” of preaching. When people ask if I am a good preacher I tell them I am a little better than the average preacher. I am still working on it after 38 years.
Elders, may I say a word of encouragement to you at this time? The author knows how hard you try to do the will of God and that at times you are overwhelmed. May I suggest that you make use of a real resource at your disposal? Your evangelist is full of ideas, training and abilities, so use him in the right way. He is not a Pastor, you are the Pastors. His job is to “preach the word, be ready in season and out of season…” allow him to “reprove, rebuke and exhort with great patience and instruction”. While it is important for the evangelist to build a relationship with members of the church, getting into their homes should be secondary to reaching out to the lost in the city. God has tasked you the Shepherds to know your sheep and feed the flock. You the elders must be getting into the homes of every member and get to know them, their hurts, their joys, their spiritual struggles, their doubts and fears.

According to our Directory of Churches of Christ we have lost 874 congregations and over 165,000 souls in recent years, knowing how our brethren don’t accurately report the real numbers, this number is closer to 200,000. This is arrived at anecdotally as I know of churches listed as two-hundred that are really one-hundred or less. Some say 75 when it is really less than fifty. This author believes we have overlooked the obvious.

Souls are being lost, that is not in question. The question is why? Some will point to liberalism as the cause leading people astray. Others will point to the conservatism as the cause because we are “too strict”. Still others point to “traditionalism” as the cause. Again we have overlooked the obvious; we seem to point at the symptoms and fall into a vicious blame game. As the old saying goes, “can’t we all just get along?” No we are not talking about compromise of doctrine. Elders read what Peter tell you in I Pet 5:1-4:

“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness
of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be
revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not
under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not
for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those
allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when
the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

My beloved elders, God has called you to a great and momentous task, to care for His sheep. Feeding the flock does not mean hiring a preacher to preach and teach. Feeding the flock means you are the ones leading the sheep to pasture where they may partake of the Word of God, it is you who must lead them to the refreshing water of eternal life. You my dear elders, not the preacher are responsible for this. If you are shepherding the sheep you are going into the homes, you are examining the sheep for any sign of problems before it happens. In other words the church is losing members, the reason souls are being lost is that our elders are not being proactive enough. But it is not the only reason.

Just as the elders as shepherds must shoulder this burden, so too the sheep, for not following the elders share in the burden. Peter also says this:
You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

There must be a three pronged approach to the issues in the church. First As look at yourselves are you proactive in your leadership style? Or are you reactive? Are you getting into the homes of all your members? Only when you do this will you really know what the challenges for your congregation truly are. This is not a daunting task after all, if you expect the preacher to be in the homes of the members you should lead in this example. Getting into the home allows you to see the sheep in their own environment. You can learn a lot about the family by walking through the entry way into the living room. Pictures on the walls, awards and books on the shelves, speak even if the family does not say much, be observant of your members. Find out what their real interests are. How can their interest or passion be used to the Glory of God?

The second prong involves your evangelist. Take off the shackles and set him free to do what God called him to do, preach the Word! Let the evangelist preach; don’t shackle him to the desk at the church building 30 hours per week. If he loves the Word of God, he will always be read to preach the word. If you have to lock him up in a prison cell for 5-8 hours a day to “study” you will not get the “quality sermons” you want.

Preachers stop stealing from God and His Church; re-read the epistles to Timothy and Titus one more time. Do the work of an evangelist. Be restored to your first love. Why did you get into ministry? If you came into ministry because it is an easy job, resign and go work somewhere else, but if you came into the ministry because of a deep love for God, His people and the lost of this world, then stand tall and preach the Word with a fire shut up in your bones. When you preach, it is to God’s people, the lost who are visiting and the Angels of God are listening intently to what you are saying.
This author feels the pulpit is more Humanistic and modernistic than they are evangelistic. Our pulpits are more vibrant on the topic of the day rather than the topic of the ages. Preachers, preach from the overflow of God’s word that is welled up with-in you.

The third prong is to challenge and empower the Flock of God. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2: (NASB)
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the
will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Challenge the church to sacrifice, show them your example and have them follow you. Encourage them when you go into their homes to be conformed to the Word of God. Some will be resistant, but you are the shepherds, so shepherd. It is your job to inspect the sheep, is there a sin disease that can spread into the flock of God? So challenge the church to the higher standards of the Gospel, some may resist, but ultimately when you are in heaven with them, they will be glad you were their shepherd. Realize that God is always in control and is always to be praised. How do we empower the flock of God? Look at Romans 12: 4-8:

For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

We look at the gifts/talents God has blessed them with. Utilize their gifts to the glory of God. All we must do is God’s will. Have we overlooked the obvious?

Steven Webb, evangelist
hppts://missionthailanfbolg.wordpress.com
© 2016 This article was first printed in the Gospel Advocate Oct. 2016

Jesus said: “I have come to seek and to save that which is lost” Luke 19:10.  The world today is more in need of Jesus than at any other time in my lifetime.  Threats of terrorism, nuclear destruction, “wars and rumors of wars”.  Beloved there is a “fire shut up in my bones” that is why I am here in Thailand and have been for almost two years, self funded except $400 from the Morningside church in Decatur, Illinois.  I have studied the people, the culture, and the condition of the Lord’s Church.  Here are a few simple facts in in my next writing I will go more into detail on this matter.

67,000,000 Thais in:

77 Provinces

926 Districts

7,415 Sub-Districts

80,000 villages

100 congregations of the Lord’s Church

3,500-3,800 members/adherents

This is the current situation in Thailand.  What shall we do? What can we do? Currently the number of Christians make up .000053% of the population compared to .046% in America.  Of course the Church has been in America since 1793 with James O’Kelly.  The church here was established by Parker Henderson in the 1960’s.

There is a vision for Thailand but we need help to bring the vision to life.  The Lord’s people need to establish a presence in every Province first.  At the time of this writing I am uncertain of the provinces we have a presence in.   Currently I am in the process of collecting that information.  Once I have the location of each congregation, I will put the information on my wall map.  Then I will publish a directory of the Lord’s Church for Thailand.

November 30-December 2 there is a lectureship in Bangkok Where, Lord willing I can meet with all the preachers in attendance.  Additionally my hope is to meet with the four Brothers that have some sort of preacher/leadership training school for talks on curriculum and what training is done on evangelism.  Once I have all of this information and we know what our potential strengths and weaknesses are then we can formulate a plan to reach all of Thailand with the Gospel of Christ.

There are many preachers in Thailand that no longer preach for the simple reason the churches are not large enough to support the preachers.  The average Thai salary is said to be 24,000 Baht per month.  Now you may say to yourself that is not bad at all, let me break that down for you in USD.  Twenty-four thousand Baht is equal to about $750 USD.

We must make certain we have the Thai preachers trained in not just preaching, but in how to evangelize the lost souls here in Thailand.  Once they are trained we need to raise support for them.  We can perhaps start a house church in a “shop house” for perhaps 10,000 Baht ($309).  A team of three preachers can move to a province and begin the church and if all three of them actively seek relationships and souls many will be saved.  Currently many good men are good preachers but poor in evangelism.  It is an estimate that there are 35-40 provinces with no Church of Christ.  That means we need 105-120 preachers just to have a presence in a province.  In other words we need to raise awareness, and funds to the tune of 3,400,000 Baht ($106,250) per month for 5 years and those congregations should all be self-sufficient.  To be truly effective we should have congregations in all 926 districts.  That would be a separate phase of the plan.

Beloved there is a great need for revival.  Pray for us in Thailand.  Pray that God continues to open the hearts of the people and pray God sends forth laborers.  The harvest is ready, let us not waste time and allow the fruit to rot, let’s revive this nation for Jesus.

Steve Webb, evangelist

(c) 2017

 

It has been some time since my last post.  It is not that I have been disinterested it is just that I have been much too busy which is a good thing.  Why am I writing now?  Because people are asking when I will write more, so here I am.  Let me update you a little on what is happening. 

Did you know that it is again the law to evangelize in Thailand?  It is a law that is not enforced per se’ unless the Government decided on any day to do so.   A proposal has been made to add a penalty to the law of one year imprisonment for preaching the Gospel unless the church is affiliated with the five recognized by the Thai Government. There is an exception there are a few denominations the Government has recognized a group of 5 and they are not hindered by the law because they have legal status.  The Church has been in Thailand for some 60+ years and has about 100 congregations in an unknown amount of the 77 provinces (best guess is 50 or so) here in Thailand.  These Congregations have an estimated 3,500 to 3,800 members.   

What shall we do then? Here are the harsh facts, The church is in survival mode but we are seeking to change that even as I write this post today.  Preachers are leaving the ministry in Thailand because they cannot support their families.  Most of the missionaries have left, though some are still very much engaged and still have some money they raise and send to help support the preachers.  The Kingdom of Thailand has a population of 67,000,000 and the Churches of Christ as stated are 3500-3800.

We have begun a new project this month. A map of the 77 provinces will be on the wall here in Phuket and we are contacting the preachers and missionaries to get a better idea of how we stand in Thailand.  Once we know where all of our churches are we will compile a directory by Province where each Congregation is, how many members to determines where we need to plant churches.  

Meanwhile as we are doing this I will travel to Congregations in Southern Thailand as I receive an invitation to speak.  The hearts of the Thai people must be stirred up.  A revival is needed and I am asking for your help.  First we need Prayer, lots of prayer for the King, and his magistrates that they will not enforce the law against sharing the Good News of Jesus.  However if they do indeed decide to enforce this law that all of us in Thailand will not just be strong but that we will rejoice if we are persecuted for the Lord’s sake.  Perhaps this is what Thailand needs to wake up, to have our members realize that following Jesus is not a Sunday thing but a lifetime event.  God is in control, so pray God provided the Workers for the harvest.  The time is now, for we “must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day for the night comes when no man can work”.  

So Prayer is needed for me and my Thai Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  Once we know where all of our congregations are and our real numbers I will post again.  As I go among the churches and visit with the preachers I am seeking to stir them up in the most Holy Faith.  We are getting ready for a revival. Good things will be happening in Thailand because God is Good.  What is the plan?

• Much Prayer
• Compile a Directory and a map of where our churches are located and how many members.
• Find out how the churches stand support wise
  • Teach the churches better about giving of their means
  • Do assessments on their talents and  gifts
  • Obtain short-term income if needed for those congregations 
  • Obtain funds to plant churches if needed
• February 2018 I will teach 100 hours at Kon Kaen Institute for Biblical Studies training preachers in English on the Pentateuch.
• May 2018 I will teach preacher students 100 hours in Kon Kaen on the Book of Acts
• Emphasis in Southern Thailand will be on evangelism and meeting with Preachers in different Provinces of Thailand to plan church plantings.
• Prayer 

My hope and prayer is that you will pray with me and for the work here in Thailand. May God bless each of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  You may write me for a more detailed Strategy if you like.  Or if you want to help with the work.  For my Preacher friends if you would like to teach a course for a month in Kon Kaen let me know and I will put you in touch with the Director of the School.

Steve Webb, evangelist

(c)2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategy #1

Friendship Evangelism: As the Brothers in our great Brotherhood seek ways to create a vision for the Church and lead them to win the lost much time in prayer and in the study of God’s Word is needed.  Your attendance must be looked at carefully.  How many do you have in attendance, and how many of those are members?

Let me give you a hypothetical, let’s say your congregation is about 100 so you have most likely say 75 members.  Ask each member to make a list of family and friends, and neighbors they know personally.  This will supply you with 225 to 375 names in your city; ask for the names and addresses.  Pray for these people.  Then ask those who submitted names to take you or your evangelist to see the people.  My personal experience with this is a high percentage will receive you, and study with you.  Even if the soul winner is of average ability you should see 55 to 90 baptisms.  This is the most effective means of evangelism. The next method is more labor intensive and is the least effective.

Strategy #2

Lost Souls: Let’s assume you have 10,000 housing units which average 3 per household.  If you door knock to set up Studies you will encounter 2500 at home of that you can expect to set up 1000 Bible studies and if the soul winner does an average job you will have 85 baptisms in your city the first time you cover those 10,000 housing units. This means your church through the LEAST effective means of evangelism will add 150-175 to your attendance of 100.  Tell me, should you be excited?  I am.

How hard is this?  It is not hard it just takes the courage, hard work and will power to do it.  Twenty trained couples can prayerfully knock 4 doors per hour 9am to 12pm 1 day per week and in 42 weeks every door in your city has been knocked.  This can be repeated until everyone has been given the opportunity to have a Bible study.  In other words you can have people being baptized and saved on a regular basis.  Does this sound too simple?  These two strategies work, I have used them and they are effective.

Will all of your members cooperate? no, that is why the elders must shepherd the flock.  Will your preacher do this? maybe, but my experience is most preachers are pulpit wise and very poor at evangelism.  There are far too many “good pulpit” men and far too few “evangelists”.  Elders must make the determination that they want the church to grow.  Do not listen to the worn out excuses “we tried it before and it did not work”.  It did not work because the people of God did not want to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus.  It is time for a great revival in the Lord’s church, look around, how many did the Lord add to your congregation so far this year?  What about last year, the year before?  How many are in attendance this year vs. five or ten years ago.

 

Steve Webb, evangelist

(c) 2017

Things are changing here in Thailand. There is a new King, the economy is emerging and in keeping with this we are noting there must be changes in our paradigm for how Missionaries work in Thailand and how Preachers in Thailand are trained.  Eph. 4:11-13 states:

 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Sometimes we forget this is God’s design and we relegate it to antiquities. The truth is our neglect of this passage of scripture has hindered us from understanding what we are to do in ministry.  This applies to not only the mission field but to the church in America as well.  The example of Jesus and His Apostles has survived over two-thousand years.  We must cling to the Ancient order, to the truth of God’s Word. We must resist attempts at changing the clear teaching of Jesus and His Apostles.  Yet we must understand we need to change our methods from time to time.  We no longer write on Papyrus, we use computers.  Some of us use tablets and I-phones to read our scriptures from.  In other words we adapt our methods of doing the same things of old.  During Paul’s day He would dictate a letter and send the letter with a messenger.  As time went on, governments used postal systems, and we adapted to use them. Now we choose between email, and snail mail. The content is the same, but the speed of getting the message there is greatly increased.  Let me give you a real world example: I receive the Gospel Advocate…when I eventually receive it it takes 6-8 weeks from the USA to Thailand.  When I receive correspondence from the USA first class mail it takes 5-6 weeks to receive it.  But when I send an email it is there within minutes.

We recognize our need to change in some respects and yet we remain tenaciously stubborn to change in other ways.  The way we train preachers here in Thailand is broken.  The way we missionaries do things in Thailand is likewise broken. It worked sort of in years past but we are not keeping up with the times. Some of the elderships’ will like what I will say, some missionaries will not like what I am going to say regarding Mission work here in Thailand and the training of local preachers.

We must be like Jesus, but we must also be 21st century Christians living in but not of the world.  We must stay up with the changing times in how we do things to be relevant. The message never changes, but the method should change.  Beloved when I write about changing methods I am not advocating false doctrine.  Missionaries from the USA, if you want to introduce Mechanical Instruments of Music as a “new method” stay home until you repent, there is enough of Satanic corruption in Thailand.  Elders if you believe in women leading in worship and preaching then keep your heresy at home until you repent of your error.  Would you agree that all true knowledge comes from God?  If so then stay with what God’s Word says, stay true to the Apostles doctrine and their Godly traditions. I want you to think on your own here without me leading too much.  Jesus used salt as an illustration, but what does his illustration mean to us today? What is the implication and application of his example?  We are to help the World to be saved yet most of us think we are just to flavor it a little. What Jesus said cannot mean something different in 2017 than it did in 29 A.D.

When missionaries come to any foreign land, they come with ideas from their own Country.  To be certain they have enthusiasm and bring their excitement into the work, but they bring their culture and their ideas.  The Missionaries of old as they came believed the best way to do mission work was to learn Thai, learn to eat all the yummy food and when they preached, many did so with Thai that was almost unintelligible to the Thai.  To be certain some missionaries have excelled in their ability to speak Thai, but then they also lived here in Thailand for forty years.  When the missionaries came they brought American methods and ideas. Not all of which was bad, but some have had unintended consequences.  Many preachers were trained just like our preachers a two to four year program. This is both good and bad. It is good because these men learned the Word of God and were trained to work with the church.

During their training these men were provided with support from American Churches of Christ. On the surface these sounds good.  it is economical for the church who supported the aspiring preacher at 25,000 baht per month ($735.00 USD). It was a wonderful blessing, then that preacher went out to start a church, and after two-5 years there was no more support from the American church.  In theory the church was supposed to grow to be to be self- supporting, that is often not the reality, especially here in Thailand.  The result was that many of the preachers could no longer support their families and left the ministry to pursue jobs to support their families. Here in Phuket the Preacher is paid 15,000 baht per month, a house to live in and a gas allowance.  Our congregation still needs 5,000 baht per month from the USA to pay our bills.  This means our preacher is paid about $435.00 per month.  and our shortfall of contribution is $150.00 per month.  Some congregations are self-sufficient most are not.

Perhaps we should look to Paul and his methods of mission work.  As I understand it his method, following the teaching of God helped the Gospel to be proclaimed to every creature under heaven within 30 years of the cross, or don’t you believe the Holy Spirit in Colossians 1:23?  Some will say this is hyperbole yet does the context bear this to be true? Paul is arguing that the church had exploded into a Worldwide faith. it was not just in Jerusalem, or Judea, it was far greater than local or regional. The Bible does not tell us yet we have tradition saying Thomas died in India. We know the Gospel started in the Middle East, we know it spread to Africa, Eurasia, Europe, Asia, hyperbole? I doubt it.  With all of the wealth of the church in the USA, with 13,100 congregations, with 1.3 million Christians in the USA why are we loosing ground? Then we send our failed methods to the world what is wrong with this picture? Maybe it is time to look at God’s word for fresh insight on how to reach the world. Better still, time for reflection on our love for God, His word and the souls of men and women who are lost.

In coming articles we will explore some ideas for a changing paradigm for the church here in Thailand.  Come with me on this adventure for a fresh look and possible ideas how to make a dramatic change to build the church in order to reach out to the 67 million Thais who are lost in sin.

Steven Webb, evangelist

(C) January 2017

Have you ever wondered what am I doing? Maybe you are saying to yourself I know what I am doing but I don’t know why.  Here in Thailand there are many challenges some similar to the USA others are more unique to Thailand.  Years ago missionaries came here for the love of the people and for the love of God. They came with enthusiasm and for the right motives, and they brought with them the American way of doing things.

There is of course nothing wrong with the American way, in fact as an American I can appreciate it and I enjoy it. However we sometimes forget the Gospel way.  Paul said that he became all things to all men…yet today we want to mold people to be like us rather than becoming what the people need.  The greatest need Thailand and the world has is the Gospel.

Herein lies the issue at hand; how do we induce a people steeped in a pagan religion that does not believe in God to hear us about God?  What can we do to reach the masses here.  The dominant religion is Thai Buddhism which is a hybrid of other Buddhists teachings.  It is ingrained in their culture and we see the influence at every turn.  If one leaves the Buddhist belief system they are cut off culturally, and economically creating a hardship for families.  So the church here is small.  In the Southern provinces, the church is confined to house churches 20-30 or so in each congregation.  In the Northern provinces there is a mixture of house churches in Chiang Mai, Chinag Rai etc. and dedicated church buildings depending on who the missionary was from the USA.  It is estimated that we have around 100 congregations and we know that in a population of Sixty-seven million souls there are 8 provinces with no church of Christ and less than five thousand Christians.

There has been a good work but it has been slow and now it is hindered by division.  American missionaries bring the Gospel and I praise God for that.  Some however come spreading lies. Harsh sounding isn’t it?  Yet it is true. Some have come from our liberal colleges bringing false doctrine and spreading their lies.  Before you stop and think oh this guy is riding a hobby horse I will tell you I left my boots in the USA.  What I speak of is the heresies of old cropping up again and splitting the church which is so small we cannot endure it.

Missionaries come to Thailand proposing instrumental music in the worship, and in case there are those who read this asking what is wrong with it, let me say first it destroys fellowship and unity among Brethren which is sin.  Secondly it is teaching to worship God in error as it is not as Jesus commanded in “spirit and in truth” therefore it is sin.  Then there is the lying about it not being sinful, which is sin. it corrupts the church, ruins fellowship and corrupts souls.

This however is not the only false teaching to come across the waters to Thailand.  There has also been introduced the false doctrine of women preachers and women in leadership roles.  This is contrary to God’s teaching, which is sin.  It contradicts an inspired apostle, which is sin, and it also disrupts the harmony, destroys the unity and destroys souls again massive sin for the fleeting moments we are upon this Earth.

These controversies do not belong in the church, but they are here.  They do not belong in Thailand, but they have been brought.  America, do not send any more false teachers. Church if you want to do good, stay home.  What are we doing?  Jesus must be preached. God must be glorified but instead what we see is false doctrine proclaimed and man made doctrine taught and what are we doing? We are dividing the church of our Lord on the subject of Instruments of Music.  Where did they come from? They were introduced into the Catholic church and some dare to divide the church because of a teaching of the Catholic church?  What a sad commentary when missionaries claim to speak for God when in fact they teach the doctrine of Popes.  What are we doing?  I am opposing false doctrine and proclaiming Christ, what will you do?

Steve Webb, evangelist

(c) 2016

We last looked at the theme Make the Church Great Again.  Today as promised we look at Stronger Together.  It is a fact that we can be, and should be Stronger Together.  As Paul pointed out in Ephesians 4:3,”Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.  For the Church to be truly great she must maintain “the unity of the Spirit”.  Why? Because God says we are stronger together. Please note that this unity is the unity of the Spirit, it is already given we must maintain that which He has already given. This is not something we engineer, it is merely for us to maintain.  We did not create it, we did not build it, we did not think of it, it is of the Spirit. The next time you hear a sermon about church attendance, don’t greet it with apathy.  The preacher is not just talking about your attendance, he speaks to the heart of the matter.  It is a show of unity.

Now you may ask how is it a show of unity? That is a fair question.  But first we might ask what is the purpose of the assembly?  It is at first glance and thought to worship God, and that is a good reason but it is not the only reason.  The gathering of the saints of God has a power in showing the united belief that Jesus the Christ rose again on the third day.  Do you think in God’s perfect plan Jesus accidently arose on Sunday the first day of the week?  Jesus arose the first day of the week and that is emblamatic of a new dawn, a new day, a new life and a new lease on Life.

To the believer we are proclaiming the Christ rose from the dead.  God started the church on the day of Pentecost.  It is the blood bought church that Jesus died for.  There are no accidents in God’s redeemtive plan for man. Jesus arose on the first day of the week. The church gathered together on the first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s supper, commerating his death until He comes again.  Your attendance shows your faith.  Your attendance shows that you believe that Jesus is the Christ risen from the grave.  You proclaim this united with Brothers and Sisters as you partake of the Lord’s Supper week after week.

Your worship of God is an acknowledgement that He has done something marvelous in your life.  You are telling not only God but the world that I belong to Jesus.  He is worthy of my time.   He is worthy of my heart.  He is worthy of my life.  I love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength and when I take the bread and drink the cup I am declaring to a fallen world that Jesus is Lord and He is coming back.  When I sing with others in the worship service I am praising God that He has redeemed me from my wicked life, that I trust Him to deliver me in that last great day.

As you hear your preacher speak about attendance, what is the message? It is about encouraging one another in days of trial, temptation and tribulation to “fight the good fight”.  His message is about loving one another in a way that the world can see is different from the way they love.  When you attend worship, you are an encouragement to a brother or sister, your smile, your kind words, your optimism in life and sharing what God has done for you helps them in their struggle.  The preacher is not interested in you as a number, he is interested in you as a soul.

I have not forgotten your earlier question of how your attendance is a show of unity.  But as you unite in song do you feel as one with the church?  When you partook of the Lord’s Supper, did you feel the communion with the Lord, and His people?  When you participated in prayer, were you not united with other believers lifting your heart up in prayer?  Then there is the contribution, wasn’t there a sense of unity as you all searched your hearts and gave back to the Lord joyfully knowing God loves a cheerful giver?  And finally, were you encouraged, were you spurred on toward perfection when you attended?  Didn’t you want to do more good?

I hope you did.  This may have been your text if you were paying attention:  ^“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25) Think on these things as you contemplate how we are stronger together.

Steven Webb, evangelist

(c)2016

 

Anyone who is watching the political stage this year has had an opportunity to look at the actors.  A decision has now been made and there are now two candidates with polar opposite visions for The USA.  My purpose is not to delve into which candidate is better suited as I will allow the voters to choose.  Please remember no matter who you choose that it will fulfill God’s design.  He is the one that raises up, and brings down nations still today.  So pray about your choice, if your person wins, praise God, if your person loses, praise God, because He is in control.  The two themes are “We are stronger Together” and “Make America Great Again”.  Both are great themes.  I like them both, so I want to “borrow” some of the words.  Please note I am giving credit where credit is due.  Today I want to borrow from Mr. Trump’s slogan, and next week I will borrow from Mrs. Clinton’s theme.

Today your humble scribe wants to write about, “Make the Church Great Again”.  Some will argue that the Church is already great, after all it is the blood bought church of Christ, He makes the church great.  I desire to look not at the church as having reached perfection, because we have not.  How do I know this?  Because I am not perfect…come closer I have a secret for you, I will whisper it now so no one else will know…you are not perfect either.  Smile it isn’t that bad.  I want to focus even smaller.  I want to talk about the lack of growth in the Lord’s Church.  Too be fair, the Church is growing in parts of the world, so this writer will confine his thoughts to the Church in the USA.

No one can deny that the Church burst onto the scene on the day of Pentecost perhaps 29 AD (Most scholars admit a mistake in the Calendar).  On that glorious day 3,000 souls were saved after obeying the Gospel of Jesus as it was preached by the twelve.  Both the Apostles, and those three thousand souls obeyed the last command Jesus gave while He was still on this Earth (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:45-49).  The Apostles did preach the Gospel, the hearers believed, repented and were baptized having their sins washed away, and God added them to the family of God as they were born of the water and the spirit. As we read through the Book of Acts we thrill at all the conversions that took place.  People were excited about Jesus, they were thrilled that their sins were forgiven and they shared their blessing from house to house concerning this one called Jesus.  The result was that the city was on fire, tens of thousands obeyed the Gospel of Jesus.  Contrast that with today.

The church not only does not have additions daily, they are not happening weekly, nor monthly as a whole.  In fact the recent 21st Century Directory points out we are loosing people.  The numbers suggest we have lost 165,000 since 1990.  Do the math, not only is the church not adding daily, but the church in the USA is losing 17.39 people every day, that is over 6300 souls every year.

People are perplexed about the decline of America, and how we have lost the culture war.  It is because we have retreated into the bunkers of comfort.  We give speeches from the relative safety of our pulpits, but do we inspire the church to be great? Can you sense an excitement about Jesus?  Do we preach the Word day in and day out?  Where is the excitement among Christians that our sins have been forgiven?  Are we sharing the Gospel of Jesus?  Have we ignited the flame within the hearts of our fellow Christians to take up their crosses to follow Jesus?  Let’s make the Church Great Again.

Once the Church was the only church, let’s enthusiastically work toward that goal of all being one.  Once the Church was the change agent within empires to change the culture, let’s make that commitment.  Once the Church was the fastest growing church in the USA, let’s pick up the gauntlet, let us no longer seek to maintain mediocrity, let us instead dare to be great.  Throw away the tired and worn excuses.  Open the door of possibilities and dream not of what once was, not of what might have been, but of what will be, what shall be done in the name of Jesus to conquer a divisive, decaying, dying world.  Do you want to make a difference?  Preach the Word like you mean it.  The church cannot be inspired by boring presentations of sermons.  Get excited about Jesus, so the Church will be excited.  Be enthusiastic in your delivery, God has given you a precious gift share it with those you love.

Steven Webb, evangelist

http://www.missionthailandblog.wordpress.com

(c)2016

 

In our first article we addressed some of the issues that hinder unity for all believers. Today we want to continue to look at this grave issue.  Fact: not all believers are one. Cause: Some have been misled and choose not to adhere to the Word of God.  How did this happen?  Like all human beings we are subject to sin.  As Paul writes in Romans 3:9-10 ”

“What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

Steve Webb, evangelist

missionthaliandblog.wordpress.com

(c) 2016