Knowing and Doing

I must confess that I have forgotten about this blog. It has always been an avenue of expressing myself theologically as I deal with different things in God's Word, His wisdom, and the discernment and revelation by the Holy Spirit. There are some things I am now unsettled about and I am wrestling with the concept of BAPTISM. It's not that I don't believe in baptism or immersion. My question is that: Do we really understand biblical baptism and its meaning? I belong to a Southern Baptist Church and feel like my beliefs are comparable to the Baptist Faith and Message ( www.sbc.net ). With the name "Baptist" in the denomination, there must be some great importance on the theological meaning of this act. There is so much in God's Word about baptism, that I believe we overlook it. We also need to look at some history of theologians and what they said....starting with Martin Luther, a major player in the Reformation, who stood against infant baptism which wa...

DO WE HAVE THE WRONG "KINGDOM" AGENDA OR WHAT? From Fox News (www.foxnews.com) Reporting: Pastor Marc Grizzard claims the King James version of the Bible is the only true word of God, and that all other versions are "satanic" and "perversions" of God's word. On Halloween night, Grizzard and the 14 members of the Amazing Grace Baptist Church will set fire to other versions of the scripture, as well as music and books by Christian authors. “We are burning books that we believe to be Satanic,” Pastor Grizzard said. “I believe the King James version is God’s preserved, inspired, inerrant, infallible word of God… for English-speaking people." All other religious or Christian texts are sacreligious, the pastor insists. The list of books being burned will include works written by "a lot of different authors who we consider heretics, such as Billy Graham, Rick Warren… the list goes on and on,” Pastor Grizzard said. Brian's comments: I am deeply...

21 "You have heard that the ancients were told, ' YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER ' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering . 25 "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 "Truly I say to you, you will not come out of the...

31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. 1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:31 – 11:1 God has created us as unique individuals with different opinions, convictions, desires, perspectives, and priorities. At some point in life, you will have conflict with someone. It will be at work, at church, family reunions or in inner family circles, with friends, with neighbors, on the baseball field, at restaurants, and we could go on. God shares with us about how to handle conflict all over the New Testament. I think we need to seek His understanding of how we, as Christians, are supposed to handle conflict. Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.” William Ellery Ch...

This is an ongoing leadership blog for the meantime as I look at spiritual leadership. I recall all the companies and jobs I have been a part of. The churches and organizations I have been a part of. I begin to realize that there has been many different types of leaders in these various aspects. Interesting in the beginning of the chapter in the book Spiritual Leadership is an age old question I think we all have asked from time to time to peak our interest: "How can I move people to do what needs to be done?" Oswald Sanders is quoted as saying, "Leadership is influence, the ability of one person to influence others." There is much to that statement because we have seen dictators who dictate and expect those under him/her to get it done with no excuses. Then there are the leaders who are team leaders that inspire those under him to accomplish the tasks at hand. What about the team leaders who want to be friendly with all but when the time comes to accomplis...

I apologize for being so silent here lately. It seems that sometimes time gets away from you and some of your passions get put on hold for a while as other important matters need to be taken care of. With that said and done, let's move on to more pressing matters: Spiritual Leadership in the Church and the FOCUS they are supposed to bring. It is the responsibility of spiritual leaders to keep the REAL focus of the church the MAIN THING. Jesus taught: "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:15-16 (NASB95) Jesus also taught: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even to the end of the age." Matt 28:19-20 I was sad to hear recently of a large church that was experiencing som...

Ladies and Gentlemen; as I am continually on a personal spiritual pilgrimage seeking more understanding about God, Jesus and Holy Spirit and my relationship with Him it is without a doubt that God places resources in my path to help me grow. You never know what it might be!! This time, it the book SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP by Richard and Henry Blackaby. First, I want to tell you that a few years ago I had the opportunity to hear Henry Blackaby speak at Oklahoma Baptist University's chapel service one day. The Holy Spirit is truly with this man as h shared what God was doing and how we, as believers, need to go to where God is at work. As a young Christian many years ago, one of my first mentoring experiences was using the Experiencing God material and it was a huge impact in my life. Then, as I surrendered to ministry, I went through Called and Accountable with some close brothers in Christ and that opened my eyes to how one is called to serve and how one should maintain a close r...

Ladies and Gentlemen: As I continue to write about the issue of truth, I am reminded that one particular person came up to me distraught asking why we have all these religions if there is only one way to Christ and heaven. What if we are wrong? and Why do these religions bash each other? What if they are wrong? A set of questions that required very much deep thought and ones that should be wrestled with. As I pondered about this and came up with discussion to help provoke their thought process, I came up with a simple conclusion....... It is the credibility and belief in the Bible. Is the Bible reliable as a source? Lee Stroebel has done a wonderful job in the Case for Christ explaining his evidence after he was searching for answers and researched the Bible and why we have it today. Where did it come from and how are we expected to believe it? His quest answers alot of questions we all wonder from time to time. I find it Interesting that there are divisions to how one would ...

I love when you visit someone and they ask "what are your stance on the issues" or "will you preach on the issues" or "why don't we hear more sermons on the issues". I have heard a cornucopia of questions checking in on what I believe and possible expectations on what I will deliver. Interesting as it may seem, we should really look down to the basic question then. What is the ISSUE or ISSUES? Are they political or biblical issues? Are they personal political issues that we are passionate about? Is it really just a few things or is it a list of things? Is it an issue because the media made it an issue? These are but a few questions I have to ask myself when someone asks me about issues. The answer could range from homosexuality and the sanctity of marriage, abortion, gambling, drinking, sin in general, adultery, and I could go on and on. It's a loaded question, or is it? The issue really is the truth. Why should I be concerned with one p...

My daughter asked me the other day about a friend that had accepted Christ but still did bad things and enjoyed doing them. Are they a believer? What a question from an 11 year old!! My answer is this: When someone around us leaves their faith (this is what it seems to us) and will not be recovered or will not return, they did not lose their salvation they thought they had; they DID NOT passionately and with complete surrender receive or possess the gift of salvation through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ in the first place. They assumed that they were converted, but in reality, they werent. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:19 (NASB95) John is writing here that "they would have remained"....if they really were part of us, part of the body of Christ. Why does this happen: 1. Preachers are presenting ...

I want you all to know that there are more than just ten identity crisis' that the church experiences today such as lack of vision, greed with money the church has and fighting over it, misinterpreting the Bible and preaching incorrect doctrine, lack of church discipline, improper church government, the churches treatment of ministers, ministers who abuse their office, and so on and so on.  I feel like I have beaten this horse and need to move on.  So here goes the last installment of this series (gasp!!): IDENTITY CRISIS #10:  Accountability.  We are no longer accountable to each other in church and we are ok with that.  Church Membership is taken lightly as I have written before, ministers don't know who they are accountable to, believers continue to live according to the world and are adapted to its sin and dwell in that sin, and the list goes on. Case Study:  We live in a democratic country where we experience freedom and liberty based upon the dreams of our forefathers, wh...

Will the TRUE Church Please Stand UP!!! Identity Crisis #8:  We, the body of Christ, have evangelistic RABIES!!!  We bite too much and don't listen.  (Chapter 23 of Religously Transmitted Diseases by Ed Gungor) The proposal here is that when we think of evangelism, we still have the title of being a "Bible thumpers" hitting people over the head with God's Word to knock some sense in them.  This is our evangelistic bite into unsaved folk.  We are in such a hurry to get people to make a decision to know Christ, we have become rabid, not loving and engaging them with the gospel.  We have created many evangelistic programs to endoctrinate us with an gospel presentation outline that is not personal, but quick and short.  And when we get started, we rabidly want to finish as fast as we can spouting that we have presented the gospel.  Many times have I been rejected by this method, because I have talked AT someone.  Throwing it out there with no meaning or explanation. I am ...

Dear Readers: I know you are probably thinking "Will this series ever end?" However, I have been inspired by God's Word, Holy Spirit, and your comments. These factors are truly forming a reformation within myself and others in the way I look at the TRUE Church and the way we should be discipling those that are sheep in the flock. It doesnt matter if you are in a city or country church, anywhere a group of believers gather in Jesus' name, that is the church. In San Diego, it can be Church on the Beach, or in Plano, TX, Church under the tree, or in Waco, Church under the Bridge, or First Baptist Church, Dallas, or Travis Avenue in Fort Worth, we should all have the same mentality about church and following Jesus leadership and plan as He has set before us. Worshipping God and Equipping and Making Disciples. Love God and Love Each Other!! I know I am going to make someone upset on this particular blog....so here goes!! Identity Crisis #9: Most churches today are...

IDENTITY CRISIS #7: The church is making SHALLOW DISCIPLES!! We live in a Christian tshirt and bumper sticker culture in church. Most are Christian's on the outside but not on the inside. We are Christians only on Sundays. That is all that is required of us to attend church and maybe Bible Study and we are checked off for the week. #1: With his practical, positive, unpretentious, and down-to-earth teaching style, he has grown the church to an attendance of nearly two thousand each weekend. What is the "growth" focus on? Physical growth, not spiritual. This is the key to the downfall to many pastors and churches. Some pastors like this one his ridden on the coattails and success of the physical growth of the church. The idea is that when you have critical mass, you can really do something. Like what, build more buildings, hire more staff, go on more trips, etc. I even had a pastor tell me once that physical growth equals spiritual growth. You get one as a resul...

The continuing saga of this blog..........wow!! Did I tell you that I have been a part of churches that suffer from these crisis'? Each one suffered because of their incorrect focus. I believe that when we do not focus on the head of the church, Jesus Christ, and the blueprint for church found in the Word of God, we will not succeed. "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." 1 John 2:3-6 (NASB95) We are told to keep His Word and walk as Jesus walked. If not, John calls us liars, living in falsehood, working against God's Will which is not the truth. Identity Crisis #6: We have treated the church as...

Identity Crisis #5: The church has misunderstood what church membership is. One of the fallacies of church life is counting the number of people present in Sunday School and worship to show what "we" have. A common question among pastor's is "How many are you running?" By doing this, we are identifying numbers as success so that we have created a "faithfulness equals attendance" mentality, which in my opinion is a WORKS salvation. Don't get me wrong, I am not presenting a case for NOT going to church.......hear me out!! Membership then is reduced to attendance and giving, not anything else. This is a major crisis. If you are a believer and you are following the Great Commandment that our Lord taught, "Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength" then "love your neighbor as yourself"; you have a desire to worship the Lord corporately and to be around God's people in something that God created for worsh...

Identity Crisis #4: The church has been transformed by the culture of the world. It has been too long that we have opened God's church, the body of Christ, to the culture of the world. The following examples I give you are from experiences I have had in my own life as part of a church. I have understood pastor's say that they are CEO's of the church. Since when has God called you to a high paying salary, a private jet, greediness, selfishness, and a holier than thou attitude. We are supposed to live the life of a servant, teaching and preaching God's Word humbly, and applying that teaching to ourselves as well as teaching doctrine, theology, and application to the congregation. Paul writes in Philippians 2 that we are to have the same attitiude of Christ...."humility and obedience", so we, pastor's, are to model this to the congregation and the community. Instead of preaching "you" to the crowd, we need to be preaching "we"....be...