Category: Discipleship

Are You That Man? Woman?

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In his book, The Making of a Christian Leader, Ted Engstrom shares the following, powerful statement about what the world needs to see in Christian leaders:

The world needs men (and I might add women) who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who possess opinions and a will; who are larger than their vocations; who do not hesitate to take chances; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who will not say they do it “because everybody else does it”; who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hard-headedness are the best qualities for winning success; who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; who say “no” with emphasis, although the rest of the world says “yes.”

Are you that man?  Are you that woman?

How Much Does It Cost to Follow Christ

Posted in Discipleship9 Comments

18Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.  And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”  And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”  Matthew 8:18-22 (ESV)

Today I have been looking at this passage in depth.  As a result of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and a series of miracles that followed, Jesus had an enormous following.  Instead of embracing what many of us would have viewed as success, His words seemed to be aimed at weeding out some of the crowd.  He seemed to know that many of them were not sincerely committed. 

He then did something very unusual–He prepared his main disciples to leave the crowd behind by sailing across the Sea of Galilee.  Most “preachers” would stay with the crowd, but Jesus’ desire was simply to do the will of His Heavenly Father.  He did not let the crowd set His agenda.

What do you think about His statements in this passage?  What do you think He is saying about the cost of following Jesus?

Haiti Relief Effort

Posted in Discipleship, Evangelism, MinistryLeave a comment

Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti.  Please join me in praying for the people of Haiti daily and join me in asking God to show us what He would have us do to help.  As expected, we have people from our church who are gearing up to travel to Haiti to help with disaster relief efforts.  I will share information soon about opportunities to travel to Haiti and help if you are interested. 

I encourage you to consider giving a monetary gift to help the people of Haiti.  Here are a number of reputable ways you can give to the Haiti Relief Effort. 

Southern Baptist International Mission Board

Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief Efforts in Haiti

Salvation Army

American Red Cross

Edge Outreach Ministries

How Fat Are You?

Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens8 Comments

When I was a young man in my twenties, I decided to take up running.  I discovered that I not only loved the sport, but I was a halfway decent runner.  I built up my endurance to the point that averaged about 40-50 miles of running each week.  I was strikingly thin at 5′ 11″ tall and 145 pounds.  I often won my age divisions at local races and occasionally won the entire race at small events around eastern Kentucky.

Well, that was then and this in now! I’m still 5′ 11″ tall, but the rest is none of your cotton-pickin’ business.  Let’s just say, my waist size has increased three inches since those days.  Recently, I decided that enough is enough — I’m gettin’ in shape!

When I was in shape, I would often take long training runs up to 20 miles in length.  Now, it’s difficult to even jog around the block.  I realize that it’s going to be a long, slow process, but I’ve got to start somewhere.

Many times, our spiritual journey is a lot like my physical journey.  We fall off after a period of spiritual fitness and frankly, we know we’re not where we should be.  In order to regain our fitness, we have to become more disciplined in our spiritual lives.  Does that describe you?  I have committed to become more fit it all areas of my life and I invite you to join me.

Will you join me in this journey?  I’m writing about it here to build in some accountability.

Give me a shout-out here on the blog if you will join me to provide a level of accountability with your decision.  May God bless you in your efforts.  Keep pressing forward  Here’s a great theme passage….

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

World’s Greatest Sermon

Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship2 Comments

This morning I read the Sermon on the Mount from the gospel of Matthew, chapters 5-7.  One day an unusually large crowd gathered to hear Jesus, so he gathered them together on the side of a mountain.  There He preached the greatest sermon that has ever been preached throughout all history.

In the sermon, Jesus addresses some difficult topics like the following:

38″You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.'”  Matthew 5:38-42

Does Jesus mean this literally?  Do you know of anyone who has actually practiced this in real life?  I encourage you to read through this sermon–it will challenge you in your thinking and in your walk with the Lord.