The View From Where I Stand

My computer is dead

2012-03-05T15:48:00.000-06:00

Frustration abounds. My laptop crashed and I'm hoping they can get my hard drive. This is the last time Adam Carrigan selects my computer. :) I may have to do the unthinkable and purchase an Apple product. Stay tuned...

Yesterday

2012-03-05T12:22:00.001-06:00

I'm grateful for what the Lord did yesterday in our church family. We found out two young ladies were saved over the weekend at the teen girls' retreat. Two adults told us they were saved in yesterday's worship services. A late 40s lady requested baptism. And all this happened on a "backstage" Sunday when I used the preaching time for vision casting. I love how the Lord works.

The feedback I got on the new building campaign was all positive. Families who had heard the vision rollout already, told me they are ready to pledge. Other families told me yesterday that they are excited to discover their financial role.

People are very excited about the "built out and debt free" vision. It will be as exciting to be done building buildings as it will be to be debt free. What will be even more thrilling is having adequate small group discipleship space and having significant resources to fund Farrington Mission, our north Houston church plants, and our overseas church planting efforts.

The Lord is doing something special at NEHBC right now. We have the opportunity to be part of something extraordinary.
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why vision casting?

2012-03-02T21:42:00.001-06:00

The primary roles of the pastor are preaching and vision casting. The preaching feeds the sheep so they can develop and grow and protects the sheep by helping them clearly identify dangers to their well being. The vision casting helps the sheep know the longterm plans for the flock--both that there is one and what they are achieving together. Preaching provides nourishment and protection; vision provides purpose and identity.

Therefore, in the life of the flock, the regular and systematic preaching of God's Word should be interrupted from time to time by seasons of vision casting. It is important to take time to look back on where we've come and look ahead to where we are going. The sheep should want and expect a healthy balance of preaching and vision casting from their shepherd.

This Sunday, we will begin a four Sunday, 21 day season of vision casting. We will look back down the trail from where we have come over the last two years and look ahead to the next two to four. I am praying it will be a season of renewal and refocus for our flock. I am praying NEHBCers receive the season of vision casting and that we have the eyes to see how important it is to the life of our church.

I'm very excited to communicate our next big step forward. May the Head of our church, Jesus Christ, be glorified.
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Midweek Worship

2012-03-01T15:37:00.001-06:00

Last night at midweek a couple took a step closer to NEHBC membership. A lady confessed deep, secret sin, and began the spiritual healing process. (The spiritual transformation in someone when they bring what's hidden in darkness into the light never ceases to amaze me. The healing visibly begins almost immediately. James 5 says confess your sins to one another and you will be healed.) A lady was able to find assurance regarding her salvation and enthusiastically requested baptism on the spot. A man came under deep conviction regarding his personal lack of involvement in gospel advancement. These are just the responses I know of from last night at NEHBC.

I love that Wednesday night at our church is not just tradition and empty of God's power. The Lord is moving at our midweek gathering. People are being saved, people are dealing with life issues, people are growing in Christ, and our Body is growing.

If you are not coming on Wednesday nights, come and see what is going on.
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2012-02-29T15:35:00.002-06:00

You've seen the teaser video in our worship services and have heard the
chatter. We are devoting the month of March to vision casting. I can't wait
to share with our church family what I believe is God's will for NEHBC's
next big step toward our Glory to God Vision. I'm going to share it with our
church this coming Sunday. I really believe the Lord is in this. Many have
sensed over the last few months that the Lord is doing something special at
NEHBC and we have the opportunity to be part of something great for God. The
Vision Continues this coming Sunday morning. Glory to God.

Team Mardi Gras Trip Report

2012-02-28T22:06:00.001-06:00

The team is reporting in during midweek worship tomorrow night, 2.29, at 7pm. I'm looking forward to hearing stories about the people behind the numerical report we have already heard.

By the way, tomorrow night we will hear from a young wife and mother who went on the trip as a result of the Nov 2011 Team Estonia trip report. While listening to the report in midweek worship she came under conviction about gospel advancement and determined to go on a 2012 mission trip. Mission accomplished. She wasted no time and went on the very next trip we offered. I'm looking forward to hearing her story.
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What NEHBC means to me

2012-02-27T19:50:00.001-06:00

Today, I received this email from a 30s, wife and mother of three. I have to
share it with you because I cannot take the credit for this. This is the
Lord working through a local body of believers who pour themselves into
their church:

"NEHBC is so much more than a big building with people in it. It's my
family. It's a group of believers that gather together to worship God and
encourage each other. It's the place where my family goes to hear the Word
of God with no watering down or exaggerations. It's where our family learns
how to communicate our faith to others and where we are held accountable. I
love NEHBC because from the start, from the day it began in an elementary
school gym, I have felt loved and like family. The church loves the
community and thrives on spreading the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.
The education that our children receives far exceeds that of any other
church we have ever attended. Children learn the Bible indepth with a
curriculum custom written for our children. It's not childcare, it is bible
study, no matter the age. I love that our church has a heart for missions
and for the needy. NEHBC is not concerned with gaining fame and money, but
rather people's eternity and salvation in Jesus Christ. NEHBC is not a
building, but rather a group of imperfect sinners loving and worshipping a
perfect and never changing God. At NEHBC I learn something new and deeper
about God's Word every time I attend. NEHBC has changed my life and the
lives of my family members." Allison

NEHBC, we are making disciples. Lives are being changed by Jesus Christ.
Glory to God.

One Life at a Time

2012-02-27T15:52:00.001-06:00

Last summer, by the grace of God working through NEHBC, a man in his 50s,
gave his heart to Jesus and we baptized him. He has been voraciously reading
and studying and receiving teaching of the Scriptures. Since last summer he
has found meaningful ways to serve and help build up the NEHBC body. He has
developed a passion for advancing the gospel locally to those who do not yet
believe. And this morning, he and I met to talk through him possibly going
this year on his first ever international mission trip. This man was not
reached because he was seeking answers in the midst of extraordinary
circumstances like the death of a loved one or betrayal by his wife or a
criminal conviction or personal bankruptcy. He is a successful businessman,
happily married, a responsible citizen, and an all around "good man". He is
representative of many of the people who live in the greater area around our
church.

This is very exciting stuff. This tells me we are building a system at NEHBC
that is very capable of making disciples. What the Holy Spirit has used
NEHBC to do in this man's life is a major win for our church.

It also reminds me of yesterday's sermon in Hebrews 8:7-13. If anyone is in
Christ they really are a new creation, the old really is gone and the new
really has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). As Ezekiel said in 11:19-20, when
someone is saved under the New Covenant, the Lord really will put a new
spirit in them. He will replace their heart of stone with a heart of flesh.
The heart change out which leads to life change is so obvious in this man;
most of all to himself.

We are making disciples.

The Southern Baptist Orthodox Church of the American South

2012-02-24T15:07:00.001-06:00

Russia has the Russian Orthodox Church, Greece has the Greek Orthodox
Church, the United Kingdom has the Church of England, and the American South
has the Southern Baptist Church. The similarities are unnerving:

* Like members of the orthodox churches, most people in our Southern
Baptist churches trust the rituals and the traditions of the church for
salvation, instead of the work of Christ. Ask most Southern Baptists how
they know they are saved and you will here: "I walked the isle when I was
eight", "I was baptized when I was six", "I prayed the sinner's prayer when
I was seven", "I have the date, place, and time right here in my bible cover
when I prayed the sinner's prayer, my pastor told me to do that."

* Like the orthodox churches, there are millions more people on the
membership rolls of Southern Baptist churches than there are in attendance
on Sunday mornings.

* Like the orthodox churches, we rely on getting people saved and
baptized and on our membership rolls as young and quickly as we can or we
think/know we probably never will at all.

* Like the orthodox churches, most Southern Baptist members only
attend church as its personally convenient and traditionally expected
(Christmas, Easter, weddings, funerals, baptisms, child dedications.)

* Like orthodox priests, Southern Baptist pastors are quick to
declare people saved and members of their churches and routinely acquiesce
to the wishes of the wealthy.

* Like the members of orthodox churches, many Southern Baptists
believe they are Christians when they show none of the evidences of
salvation provided by the New Testament.

* Like orthodox priests, most Southern Baptist pastors bring sermons
that are a blend of felt needs preaching, fun listening, and mandates about
morality.

* Like orthodox churches, we can't tell where most of our Southern
Baptist churches end and the State (ie: Republican politics) begins. We fly
the national flag in our worship centers, we devote entire worship services
(like July 4th) to the Red, White, and Blue, and we sing national songs in
our worship services.

* And like the orthodox church, most of our churches are viewed by
the general population as irrelevant, relics, and merely icons of the
cultural landscape.

Our local churches are adrift. In our efforts to be relevant, attractive,
and influential, we have ironically we've failed at all three. We must
return to preaching Christ and Him crucified. We must return to living
relationships with the Living God through the living Son through the living
Scriptures. When we abandon the Blood and the Book and when we stop
preaching the gospel and text driven sermons, we lose our spiritual power. I
pray that at NEHBC we forever boldly proclaim the gospel and preach the
Scriptures until Jesus comes. May it be so.

Hebrews 8:7-13 Coming Up Sunday

2012-02-23T18:25:00.001-06:00

This coming Sunday's sermon passage will be especially helpful to two particular groups:

1. Those who are doubting their own salvation. God will give us three diagnostic questions to either assure these people they are saved or confirm they aren't.

2. Those who are convinced they are saved, but aren't. God will reveal their lostness to them.

If you know someone who fits either of these two groups, call them right now and invite them to come to church with you this Sunday.
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Midweek at NEHBC

2012-02-23T10:47:00.000-06:00

I can't stop thinking about last night at NEHBC. It truly amazes me how a
movement of the Lord among His people in a 60 minute window of time is
enough to refocus and reinvigorate His people. It doesn't seem logical that
the feelings, distraction, and fatigue we feel from HOURS of living in a
broken world can be overcome by 60 minutes in a corporate gathering, but
that is exactly what is happening at NEHBC on Wednesday nights since midweek
resumed on January 11. Fresh winds of God are blowing in AWANA, X-Change for
teens, and our midweek worship service. There is new energy and excitement
in all three areas of ministry. Unchurched children are showing up at AWANA,
unchurched teens are showing up at X-Change, and unchurched adults are
showing up in midweek worship. You can sense the Holy Spirit at work in
people's lives. Genuine fellowship among the believers is happening at the
"after party" in the lobby and in the parking lot. More and more people are
coming. It is all very exciting.

Last night's midweek worship service was powerful. I could sense it almost
from the start of the service as people began belting out "A Mighty Fortress
is Our God". People were genuinely excited when I briefly shared stories of
life change through NEHBC from the last 7 days. Christ was exalted through
the singing and the Lord moved during the preaching time.

If you are not participating in our midweek ministries, you are missing out
on some of the great things the Lord is doing at NEHBC. I'd encourage you to
make every effort to be there...it really will change your entire week.
Sometimes the midweek worship experience plays out in me just like when I
get up at 4am to go running. I'm so tired when I get up that I don't want to
go run. My mind instantly gives me 100 reasons why I shouldn't get out of
bed, put on my running clothes, and head out the front door. Even the first
1-2 miles of the run feel sore as the kinks get worked out. But suddenly mid
run it starts feeling so good and at the end of the run I am so pleased I
ran and it literally changes my thinking for the entire day. That's the way
midweek worship is sometimes. By Wednesday evening we are tired and don't
feel like going. Our mind gives us 100 reasons to stay home or do something
else. Even driving to the church and coming inside feels like such a drag,
but the service starts and after a few minutes the kinks get worked out and
suddenly mid service it starts to feel so good and by the end of the service
we are so pleased we came and it literally changes our thinking for the rest
of the week.

Why don't you come next Wednesday night and see what the Lord is doing?

Great Commission Family

2012-02-22T21:57:00.001-06:00

As the spiritual leader of our home, a constant concern of mine is how we are doing about The Mission: Do we live on mission for the gospel? Does it matter to us? Do we just talk about it or do we actually do it? Are we getting better at it? To be sure, it seems like some days are better than others.

Tonight, listening to everyone recap their day around the dinner table, it occured to me that we had a good day today in the mission department. Between us, we handed out two tracts, Nicole taught the Scriptures to ladies in a small group setting, and Nicole and the kids picked up two unchurched children and took them to AWANA tonight. Campbell prayed for a lost friend to come to faith in Christ. The older kids were genuinely and visibly excited about it all. Seeing their reaction was one of those moments when you realize that slowly, but surely, by the grace of God, we are coming along as a family when it comes to The Mission.

May the Lord continue to flame the missionary spirit in our family...and yours.

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Team Mardi Gras Results

2012-02-22T14:39:00.001-06:00

The numerical results are in from the Mardi Gras mission trip: 3,050 tracts distributed, 114 one-on-one gospel presentations, and two salvations. I am overjoyed.

I'm letting that "114" number soak in. 114 people received a personal presentation of how they can know God through Jesus Christ. Wow. From personal experience, I can assure you that took great effort, dedication, and courage. I am so proud of the team.

I love the missionary spirit of NEHBC.

Listen, every one of those numbers is a real person with a face and a name. Our team will help us absorb that reality one week from tonight in midweek worship when they give their report. The stories are as important to us as the numbers. Come hear the report.
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Tomorrow Night in Midweek Worship

2012-02-21T12:24:00.001-06:00

A desire for recognition and honor from people around us is unhealthy and destructive to our lives. Even more damaging is the discovery that the honor and respect we crave is so temporary, hollow, and fleeting; ultimately dissatisfying. A desire for recognition and honor starts a vicious cycle that takes on a life of its own as the perceived lack of honor OR an unhealthy acceptance of honor only feeds the desire for more honor.

There is affirmation that is not temporary, hollow, or fleeting. There is affirmation that is completely satisfying; so much so that it overshadows any affirmation we get from people around us. Not only that, but a craving for this particular honor and recognition is good and healthy. A desire for this affirmation leads to a life of integrity, humility, and hardwork, which ironically are the very things that ultimately gain us the respect of those around us also.

Come to midweek worship tomorrow night, 7pm. We are going to talk about this. Esther 3. Be challenged, confronted, encouraged, and fed.
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2012 NEHBC Father-Daughter Banquet

2012-02-21T09:14:00.000-06:00

The event this past Friday night was one we as a church can be proud of; it reflected well on our church and especially Christ.

The quality of the event was very good. The music, the decor, the stage backdrop, and the speakers all tied into the theme: "fathers for all seasons". The lighting, music, and dressed up attendees made for quite the romantic setting. The girls loved it and fathers were challenged to recommit to the importance of our relationships with our daughters. The gospel presentation was bold and clear.

My three girls and I really enjoyed ourselves. We are looking forward to the 2013 banquet.

this past Sunday morning

2012-02-21T09:03:00.000-06:00

The Lord moved in our congregation this past Sunday. We had two people give
their lives to Christ, four people request baptism, one family request
membership, and two people sign up for mission trips. Two Sundays ago we had
three people give their lives to Christ and three people request baptism.
These are just the decisions we know about. It is exciting to see the Lord
work in people's lives on any given Sunday. It reminds us that we have to
make every single Sunday count. We can't take one off and we can't bring
less than our "A" game: every Sunday is the day of somebody's salvation.

The family who requested membership this past Sunday wrote to me in a note:
"We are excited to be part of a body driven by the gospel!!!"

One of the two mission trip sign ups this past Sunday was a late 60s single
lady signing up for an international trip to take the gospel to North
African Muslims.

Glory to God.

Team New Orleans Is Home

2012-02-21T08:53:00.001-06:00

Thank you to those who prayed faithfully for Team New Orleans while they
were on the field. They have returned safe and sound, by the grace of the
Lord. I've heard a preliminary report on the results of the trip and it is
very exciting. I don't have firm enough numbers to put them here, yet, but
there was a lot of seed sowing between tract distribution and one-on-one
gospel presentations. The preliminary numbers are quite impressive. In
addition, two people were led into a personal relationship with Christ!
Glory to God.

I believe the stories behind the numbers are very important and so as is our
usual custom upon the return of a mission team, they will report to us all
that the Lord did. The trip report is scheduled for midweek worship on
Wednesday, 2.29.12, at 7pm. The statistical numbers are exciting and serve a
purpose, but the trip report is when we get beyond numerical results by
hearing the trip stories that remind us that every number is a living
person. Join us for the trip report.

Mr Day is with the Lord

2012-01-13T07:24:00.001-06:00

This morning, Mr Day went home. Please be in prayer for the Day family. We'll pray for them Sunday in the services.
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2012-2013 Apprentice-Pastor Search

2012-01-12T17:47:00.001-06:00

The search is underway for the single, 18-26 year old, man, called by God to be a Senior Pastor, whom the Lord wants to be with us from July 2012 - June 2013.

Here is the info on the program: www.nehbc.com/apprentice

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Mr Day Update

2012-01-12T17:36:00.001-06:00

A couple of Sundays ago I informed our congregation of one of our members who had entered the final stage of his battle with cancer. It appears his death will happen very soon.

This afternoon, I joined his family around his bed. We read the Scriptures and prayed. I marvel at the strength and spiritual resolve of this family. They have a patient steadfastness in their belief in the sovereignty of God.

Our congregation is doing so well ministering to them. We are getting great coverage.

Glory to God.
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13 Years

2012-01-09T18:56:00.001-06:00

Today, is our wedding anniversary. I am still amazed that I have Nicole as my wife and the mother of my children. I am so grateful to the Lord for this amazing woman in my life.

Here is something kind of funny: she has been telling me for weeks that whatever we do today for our anniversary, she wants to watch the college football national championship. Well, usually for big football games we have folks over for a "watch party". Last night, for some reason I had these two events isolated in my mind: wedding anniversary and big football game. I was mentally in the football game box. So, I just did what I do when a big game is coming up: I started texting friends and inviting them over. In minutes I'd invited almost 40 people over for the game. This morning, I happened to say to Nicole, "________ said they are in for tonight's game". At which point she said, "wait...what?" At which point I realized I never discussed the invites with her and we had all these people coming over to watch the game with us on our anniversary. I had some explaining to do! But my "up for anything wife" jumped into the mode and tonight we are celebrating 13 years with a "watch party".

Good times.
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The Viewing

2012-01-09T18:47:00.001-06:00

It is amazing how much gospel ministry can be done at a viewing. Last night, I went to one for the mother of an NEHBCer. I took our four year old, Cassidy. I got to do minister the gospel in at least three different ways:

1. I listened to the deceased's son share with me his pain and sorrow and then we were able to find comfort discussing a key aspect of the gospel--that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in Him, though they die, yet shall they live. The faith of the deceased and her son provided the ointment on the pain of death. She is with the Lord and her son is at peace knowing that truth.

2. I used the viewing to teach Cassidy about life and death and the need for Christ. She saw the corpse in the open casket, touched her, touched the casket, and we went outside to the cemetery to see where people are buried. It was very good for her to come face to face with the reality of death. Her turn is coming and she must be prepared.

3. Standing by the casket looking at the deceased was a man I didn't recognize. I went and stood next to him. Turns out he is a long time neighbor of the deceased. He is struggling with her death. I shared how death is so hard to process because the Lord never designed us for such a thing because it was never meant to be. That allowed me to segue right into the gospel and so right there, standing over the open casket, staring death in the face, this man in his 50s listened to the gospel from start to finish. He didn't make a decision, but did take a tract before we parted ways.

The gospel is an amazing thing. It never gets old. May we never tire of it.
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Doctrine in the Church

2012-01-05T11:24:00.001-06:00

There is a mind set in our American churches that is most commonly expressed by some form of, "I'm not interested in theology, I just want a warm relationship with Jesus."

It is good to be reminded why doctrine matters. Let me do it this way:

Is your relationship with your spouse warm if he or she cheats on you? Is it warm if your spouse spends money yall don't have? Do you desire intimacy with your spouse when they yell and scream at you? Do you feel warm if your spouse doesn't meet your expectations when it comes to celebrating your birthday?

These are silly questions. Of course things are not warm if there is unfaithfulness, financial chaos, or harsh reprisals in your marriage. For there to be warmth, there are certain boundaries that must be established that guide the marriage relationship. Without these guiding buoys that define the relationship there cannot be a lasting relationship, never mind warmth.

There are countless guiding truths that keep your marriage relationship healthy and warm: we do not sleep with other people, we do not kiss other people, we don't snuggle with other people, we don't go to dinner alone with a member of the opposite sex, we don't have ongoing personal discussions with members of the opposite sex. And those are just a few of the guiding truths in just the physical arena of your marriage that keep things healthy and warm. I didn't even mention the guiding truths in the financial arena, handling of conflict arena, raising kids arena, gender roles in the home arena, commitments outside the home arena, etc.

Your marriage relationship cannot thrive on feelings alone. There have to be understood boundaries, truths, and guiding principles that mark out the playing field on which the relationship plays out. And as you know from the conflict in marriage, you and your spouse need regular reminders of what these things are and why you have them until they are ingrained in both of you.

This is the role of doctrine and theology in the life of the Christian. Your relationship with God cannot thrive on feelings or enthusiasm alone. Doctrines are the understood boundaries, truths, and guiding principles that mark out the playing field on which your relationship with God plays out. Without doctrine and theology, we cannot properly understand God and thus we cannot have a lasting relationship with him. These doctrines need to be taught and re taught to us--what we believe and why--until they are ingrained in us.

The challenge of doctrine and theology is that it requires thinking at a bit of a deeper level. One cannot grow in the knowledge of doctrine without studying God's Word. It requires effort and years of learning that builds upon itself. A mind set of Christianity that favors quick results and feeling good does not produce a student of the bible. It produces shallow spiritual waters and petty thinking.

Doctrine matters. It is worth learning because it is very, very important to walking with the Lord over a long period of time. It is not just for those who went to seminary. Those who went to seminary and are now pastors are simply those called by God to devote themselves full time to learning these things in order to pass them along to the other believers in the congregation.

Imagine if your spouse said to you they were no longer interested in the guiding principles and truths of your marriage relationship and just wanted intimacy. Imagine if the next time your spouse makes a financial move you disagree with or don't understand and you say you want to discuss it, that they say, "no, I'm not interested in discussing our principles of money management, I just want warmth and intimacy with you." Talk about dysfunctional.

Don't succumb to the prevalent mind set today that we need a focus on relationship and not doctrine. Doctrine taught properly is what produces a sustainable relationship. Decide you are not going to believe you already know enough. Commit to being a student of the bible. Join a church where the pastor systematically teaches the Scriptures and not merely different presentations of John 3:16 and life improvement tips. Commit to learning the Word of God over a long period of time. Be patient and settle into a lifetime of learning. Get a good bible. Get a notebook. Take notes. Ask questions. Study.

And as you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will have an intimacy with Him that those who don't want to go deeper won't ever experience.
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January NEHBC Trustee Meet

2012-01-05T11:17:00.001-06:00

This morning we had a very productive meeting. One of the things I love about our trustee system is the lively and thorough discussions and debates as we handle issues and yet almost always it is done in a Godly way with the fruit of the Spirit. Strong personalities disagreeing over issues always has the potential for fleshly manifestations, but when people truly love the Lord and live under His Lordship all matters can be dealt in an orderly fashion among brothers. When intelligent, decisive, Christian men in leadership are marked by meekness instead of ego, they can do something great things for the Lord. NEHBC's focus on men when planning worship services, decor, music, calendars, and ministries is producing a large pool of Godly men in our body. Three of them serve as trustees. I'm grateful for them and the role they play in my life and NEHBC.
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NEHBC Widows Gathering

2012-01-03T17:08:00.000-06:00

Today, I had my monthly time with the NEHBC widows. I genuinely love my time
with these ladies on the first Tuesday of each month. We had a very good
gathering today. We prayed together 3-4 times, read and discussed the
Scriptures, wrote letters of encouragement to some NEHBCers in need of such,
concocted a plan and made assignments to reach out to an NEHBCer about to
become a widow, dialogued about some big upcoming things at NEHBC, and
discussed some of the challenges they face as widows. There was crying,
laughing, and sharing about some very personal things. Lunch at a local
Chinese restaurant was a hoot--the kitchen workers came out to see the scene
when we sang "Happy Birthday" to one of the widows. These ladies love each
other and their church and are very important to the life of NEHBC. May the
Lord bless our widows.

How Is Your Ammo Supply?

2012-01-02T17:41:00.001-06:00

I have found that one helpful thing I can do to live on mission is keep a handful of gospel tracts in my truck. A wide variety are always available for pick up at the info booth in our lobby. As the Hell Fighters motorcycle ministry likes to say, gospel tracts are like ammo and they regularly remind each other to "ammo up".

Today, I was walking out of a church member's home when I noticed their neighbor raking his frontyard. I never even broke stride on my way to my truck as I took in this data. Yet before I even got to my truck it clearly hit my mind out of seemingly nowhere: take that man a tract. Now, I've walked with the Lord long enough to know when the Holy Spirit is telling me to take someone the gospel. To be sure, I immediately got the "are You sure, Lord?" feeling. The man was busy raking his yard.

But, I got a tract out of my truck, walked over to his frontyard, announced myself to him, and led with: "hi, my name is Nathan, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, and I want to give you this pamphlet that will tell you how you can know Him personally."

The Holy Spirit knows what He is doing! The man was thrilled I came over to chat with him. We talked for 10 minutes. I shared the gospel with him, he brought up his strained marriage situation, and though he didn't repent and believe, he did say he would be at NEHBC this coming Sunday.

If I hadn't had the tracts in my truck, I'm not sure how I would have initiated the encounter. I have always found keeping tracts in my truck to be helpful. It is like a sack of seed ready to be scattered as the Holy Spirit leads. I'd urge you to get some tracts and keep them in your purse or vehicle or workbag. It is just another way to make yourself available to the Spirit of God and to live on mission. Ammo up!
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Goodbye to the Wheeless Family

2011-12-31T16:48:00.001-06:00

With a surreal mixture of joy and sadness, 1.1.12 is upon us. Tomorrow is Pastor Tim's last day as a pastor at NEHBC. Our church family has known this for 3-4 months so there has been plenty of time to say goodbye and process the impending change, but that has not made it any easier for me. The Lord brought me/us an associate pastor to give all his attention to our teens and in the process trained and called him to pastor an entire church. I'm humbled that the Lord would use NEHBC to prepare another pastor, but I sad to see Pastor Tim go.

Tomorrow in the services we'll pray for Pastor Tim and Sharon, Dash, and Evey, and then they'll be gone. I can't help but think of the church at Ephesus experiencing the same thing when Pastor Apollos went to the church at Corinth in the book of Acts.

May Christ's will be done.
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corporate worship tomorrow

2011-12-31T16:27:00.000-06:00

I'm looking forward to NEHBC's worship gatherings tomorrow. A couple of heads up:

First, logistically: due to the holiday weekend, we will have both the 9am and 10:30am services as well as ministry to our preschoolers, but we will have no bible study classes for children, teens, or adults.

Second, spiritually: I'd encourage you to read Hebrews 4:14-16 in anticipation of tomorrow's sermon. In both services, we will pray for Dale Day and his family. The Days are very healthy 70s who moved to Houston from North Carolina last Spring. They left their church of more than 40 years where they had a very strong network of friends and joined their son and his family at NEHBC. In October, he was shockingly diagnosed with stage four cancer and there is nothing docs can do. He has less than two months left. They have been members of NEHBC less than one year where they know few people because they had little time prior to October to develop meaningful relationships with people. Their faith and joy in the Lord is strong. We will pray for them tomorrow. Mr Day will be the 3rd NEHBCer to die of cancer in the last six months. In addition, we are going to have a rich time singing, reading the Scriptures, praying, preaching the Word, proclaiming the gospel, responding to Christ, and giving our money to the Lord.

May Jesus Christ, the Head of our church, be exalted tomorrow, as NEHBC gathers in Him, for Him, and through Him tomorrow on the Lord's Day.
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You, Your Pastor, and the Sermon

2011-12-30T23:46:00.000-06:00

Today, I got an email from someone in Georgia telling me they listen to my sermons on line. Ok. They also told me that they consider my preaching their primary feeding because they don't particularly care for the preaching style of the pastor of their local church. Not ok. Definitely not ok.

According to 1 Timothy, one of the instruction manuals for the pastor, preaching in the local church is the process of teaching and applying the word of God. But, it says it is more than that. Preaching is also the pastor of a particular flock of sheep going to God to get the particular text and application of the particular text that a particular flock needs at that particular moment in the life of the local church and delivering that to the people on that particular Sunday. Each sermon time is a holy moment that can never be duplicated. It is exactly what God wants that particular body to hear at that moment in time.

So, for the brother in Georgia, if God has called him to belong to his particular local church, what his pastor preaches on Sunday morning is a word from God to that particular body at that moment in time, which includes that brother. When that brother listens to my sermon, he is listening to a sermon on a passage of Scripture through which the Lord can speak to him, to be sure. However, when he listens to his pastor preach, he is listening to a particular message God has for him at that particular moment of his life. That sermon is what God wants to talk to him about that day/week. My sermon is secondary and at best supplementary to the teaching he gets from his pastor.

It doesn't matter that he likes my style of preaching better or my personality better than his own pastor. We don't pick our pastor, God picks our pastor because He knows what is best for us. God knows better than we do what bible teaching we need. When God tells you what particular church to join, He has called you to sit under that pastor's preaching ministry. God wants you to pay careful attention to what your pastor is preaching week in and week out. What your pastor preaches is what God wants to talk to you about.

This has nothing to do with who your pastor is as a person and everything to do with God's call on his life and the role God has given him in the life of the local church. Your pastor is neither perfect nor the pope, and is a brother in Christ, but for reasons unknown to anyone, including your pastor, God sovereignly called and gifted your pastor to be the preacher at your particular local church.

With the plethora of sermons available online, tv, and radio, we must all be careful that we do not lose sight of this understanding of our relationship with our pastor and his preaching. By all means listen to other sermons, but don't become confused: your pastor's preaching is the primary preaching ministry God has for your life.

Here are some implications of this matter to think about:

1. If your pastor's sermons are truly messages from God to you, do you get the audio and listen to it when you miss a sermon?

2. When your pastor gets up to preach in the worship service, do you recognize that God is fixing to speak to you and listen accordingly?

3. If a pastor's sermons are truly messages from God to the particular people of that church, how heavily should the pastor's preaching count in the selection of a local church for your family?

4. How much time do you spend reflecting on and digesting your pastor's sermon after Sunday morning?

Take a moment to thank the Lord for the pastor of your church. Pray for your pastor's sermon preparation and delivery. Support his need to have lots of time to study and pray during the week so that he can get God's word for the flock for Sunday morning. Your pastor's sermon preparation and delivery is the most important thing he does for the church body.

To my brother in Georgia, I love you, but I reject any notion that I'm your primary bible teacher. That calling, joy, and responsibility lies with the pastor of your local church.
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Living on Mission

2011-12-28T16:16:00.001-06:00

I'm reminded this week while I'm in Austin, Texas, celebrating the holidays with Nicole's family, of how important it is for NEHBCers to live on mission.

I needed a couple of hours yesterday and today to get some work done and thus went to Starbucks. Both yesterday and today I got to share the gospel with men. Yesterday, I helped a sceptic take one step closer to believing. Today, I got to lead a man to faith in Christ and then helped him find a local church to connect with this coming Sunday.

Both encounters were to me random, but were clearly arranged by the Holy Spirit who is working to bring all people to faith in Christ. Both encounters happened as I said hello to people and the Holy Spirit burdened me to share the gospel with these two men. Neither man heard the gospel from someone on a formal mission trip or during a local church's scheduled evangelism program. An NEHBCer simply lived life with spiritual eyes and two men in another city heard the gospel.

I am convinced that if NEHBCers live life on mission, going through life with spiritual eyes, that we can greatly influence Houston and our nation for Jesus Christ. If we just go about our schedules here in town or on trips out of town, conscious of the Holy Spirit, we will influence many people for Christ.

More and more NEHBCers are living on mission. We need you to join us and help us become a living community of God that exists to make disciples. Glory to God.

Would you stop and pray right now and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and to give you a deep sensitivity to His leading in your life. I bet that within seventy two hours you will have been prompted by Him to share the gospel with someone, somehow.
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Pray to Live, Prepare to Die

2011-12-26T09:31:00.001-06:00

The 3rd NEHBCer since the summer has been sent home to die after doctors ran
out of treatment options. First, Ms Connie, then Regina, and now Bro. Dale.
Short of divine intervention, we will soon bury Bro Dale, just as we
recently did our two sisters. Praise be to the Lord, that just like our two
sisters, Bro Dale's trust in the Lord is complete, as is his sweet wife's.
In fact, when he was shockingly diagnosed with stage four cancer just three
months ago and simultaneously informed that the doctors had little hope they
could do anything about it, Bro Dale and his wife both put it in the Lord's
hands, embraced the will of God, and have not lost their joy. In fact, I
have said to myself multiple times in the last month, if I am to die of
cancer, I want to face death like Bro Dale.

I thought I'd take a moment to share here what I shared with each of these
three NEHBCers and their families after they were sent home to die. The
Christ-honoring attitude and mindset when facing death was modeled for us by
Christ Himself in Matthew 26:39, and I sum it up as "pray to live, prepare
to die." Jesus Himself was facing death in Matthew 26; He knew He was hours
away and short of divine intervention, death was inevitable. Clearly, based
on His prayer, He didn't want to die the gruesome death. Similarly, these
three NEHBCers and their families didn't/don't want the death to happen
either. Yet, look at Christ's attitude about His impending death. His prayer
had two parts to it: "take this cup from Me; nevertheless, not as I will,
but as You will." Christ expressed His wishes, but strongly affirmed that
what mattered most to Him was the will of God, up to and including death.

This is the prayer I sum up as, "pray to live, prepare to die." This is the
counsel I give people who have been told there is nothing left to be done.
Keep praying to live; Christ did. But, you must also prepare to die if that
is what God causes or allows; Christ did. So, we should pursue preparing to
die with the same gusto with which we pray to live. We must line up our
thinking with Scripture. As followers of Christ being watched by unbelievers
and believers alike, we must die well. Our death should reflect that we have
no fear of death. Our death should reflect that Jesus is the resurrection
and the life, whoever believes in Him, though they die, yet shall they live.
Our death should reflect our belief that even in death, we will not taste
death, but will instantly be in the presence of God forever. But, preparing
to die well doesn't just mean lining up our thinking with the Scriptures, it
also means taking practical steps to die well. That might mean the one dying
should have conversations with their spouse and/or children to clear up any
issues in the relationship that have not been dealt with. The living will
have to go the rest of their life living with any issues that weren't
addressed. It means the dying might want to make videos or write letters for
their children to view one day down the road. It means the dying should give
their living spouse their blessing to remarry after the death so there are
not feelings of guilt for the living spouse who kept their marriage vow of
"til death do us part." The dying spouse should inform the children of the
blessing for the living spouse to remarry so the children are not bitter at
their parent for remarrying-as is often the case. Hovering on death's door
is not the time to be in denial about death and to refuse to talk about it.
Hovering on death's door is not the time to be selfish and self-centered.
One must do what is best for the healthy loved ones and serve the healthy
loved ones even in death-afterall, that's what Christ did. The one dying is
about to get to go to glory; they are days or weeks away from receiving the
prize. The living will be left behind in grief. Pray to live, prepare to
die.

I share this here, because it is a good word also for us who are healthy.
Our turn in death is coming. We should prepare ourselves now as best as we
can for when that season of life comes. If we are scared to talk about our
death now, how will we be able to talk about it then? If we think death is a
taboo subject now, how will we will be able to die well when the time comes?
Nicole and I talk about life after death for the sake of the living spouse
in our marriage. We talk about it on our own and we talk about it with the
kids. I have repeatedly told Nicole she should remarry if/when I die. I've
told my kids Nicole should remarry if/when I die. Nicole has told them
similar things. They know mommy and daddy aren't afraid to die because we've
spoken with them about it. They've seen and touched corpses, watched bodies
get locked in caskets, watched caskets get lowered into the ground, watched
caskets get covered up with dirt pushed by a backhoe, and seen the ashes of
a cremated person. We've talked with them about how hard it would be for
mommy and daddy if one of them should die and what will happen to them in
death and how it will affect those of us who live here after them. I have
made flip cam videos for Nicole and the kids should I die anytime soon. We
don't talk about the death of one of the six of us every day, nor even
weekly, but we talk about it enough in our home that it is as a normal
conversation and not weird or taboo. Pray to live, prepare to die.

Think that's weird? Did Jesus refuse to talk to His disciples about His
death until the very end or did He talk about it regularly with them during
his three years with them? He brought it up in conversation on a regular
basis. It was natural for Him to talk about His impending death and what it
would mean for Him and the disciples. He may have been praying to live, but
He was always preparing Himself and the disciples for His death. Pray to
live, prepare to die.

Prepare to die well. That means you prepare yourself for the season of life
in which you will face death. That means you prepare your loved ones for the
season of life in which you will face death.

Have this mind in you which is in Christ Jesus. Glory to God.

Worship Gathering

2011-12-25T19:42:00.001-06:00

This morning's service was fantastic. It was so good to see the commitment of NEHBC to corporate worship on the Lord's Day, even when the Lord's Day is December 25. The full house today is a testament to how important Christ is to us as a church family. Amen.

We sang songs of worship and celebration, prayed for missionaries and military personnel overseas, read Scripture, prayed for NEHBC widows and those who have lost loved ones this year and thus are having a difficult Christmas, preached the Word, proclaimed the gospel, called unbelievers to salvation, gave people the opportunity to make decisions, gave our money, and closed out the service with a cande light rendition of Silent Night. Wow. It was a very good worship gathering for our body.

The Spirit moved, there was great energy, and people made decisions regarding their relationship with Christ.

Glory to God.
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Christmas Day

2011-12-24T22:18:00.001-06:00

Christmas morning, 2011, is just hours away. The two things I'm most
anticipating are corporate worship on the Lord's Day and the excitement of
our children on Christmas morning. Here's our plan: wake up, bible and
prayer time, open stockings, corporate worship with our church family, open
Christmas presents, and then Christmas dinner, which this year is grilling
burgers and hotdogs. I can't wait to see the kids open their presents: they
have one big one for the four of them to share, one small one for each of
them, and they will each get an ornament to commemorate 2011. I'm looking
forward to a day of worship and rest with my family.

Nicole and I hope you have a meaningful Christmas Day, 2011.

John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen
His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and
truth."

The irony of the American Church and Christmas II

2011-12-23T13:42:00.001-06:00

Our internal relationship and worship of Christ as a Christian community is one matter. There is also the matter of the public witness of the American Church to the unbelievers around us.

Here is what they are perceiving about us. We raise an outcry when unbelievers say "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas" because "we don't want Christ taken out of Christmas." We constantly tell people, "don't forget the reason for the season". We proclaim that Christ is God and is the meaning and source of life. We claim Jesus as Lord of our lives and that our allegiance is completely to Him.

Then on the very day that unbelievers view as one of the two Christian celebrations of the year, they watch us debate whether we are going to gather to worship Christ on Sunday morning because worship might interfere with our Christmas morning family traditions?

How in the world can they take us seriously when we share the gospel with them? They don't care about our debates over legalism and Christian liberty. What they know is that with the same mouth we both proclaim Christ as the King of Kings and then debate whether to gather for worship on the day we celebrate our King's coming. Is this the kind of faith they want to adopt?

By the way, do you know who "they" is? The unbelieving family members with whom you will spend time this coming Sunday.

We must practice a deeper devotion to the Lord and the Kingdom of God; not only for our relationship with Christ, but for the public witness of the American church.
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the irony of the American Church and Christmas I

2011-12-23T13:22:00.000-06:00

Our American Christianity is perplexing, revealing, and indicting.

Each year, on the celebration of our country's birth, most of our churches plan their worship gathering around July 4th and offer some form of a patriotic extravaganza. Christ's followers, assembled for worship on the Lord's Day, sing to our country, dress in our countries colors, and fly our country's flag in their place of worship.

This year, on the day of the celebration of the Lord's birth, many Christ followers are not planning to worship on the Lord's Day because it interferes with their family traditions that revolve around celebrating Christ's first coming. Some churches have even cancelled their Sabbath Day worship gathering altogether.

So, on America's birthday we plan worship on the Lord's Day around our country, but on the day we remember the Lord's birth, we contemplate whether to have worship on the Lord's Day at all.

Why is there a deafening silence within the Christian community about this? Am I really in the minority within Christian circles on this matter?

Going to worship on the Lord's Day this particular Sunday, December 25, should not even be about whether it is Christmas. Rather, it is the day of the week when we gather to worship the Lord and nothing should interfere with that priority and privilege. So, it is simply alarming when the reason Christ followers are considering not attending Lord's Day worship is because of their celebration of Christ's birth.

Forgive me for being deeply concerned about the state of American Christianity. It is more than concerning; it is alarming.

Christ follower, you simply must go to worship this coming Sunday. This isn't a matter of legalism nor Christian liberty. This is a matter of loving Jesus more than anything else in the world.
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Pastor Youcef's Letter and the American Church

2011-09-30T13:01:00.000-05:00

Check out this letter written by Pastor Youcef from prison.

Pastor Youcef's letter really gives us some perspective about American christianity. Here are some thoughts I have about American christianity after reading Pastor Youcef's letter:

1. Does how and what your church teaches you from God's Word prepare you to be willing to lay down your life for the sake of the gospel? Does your church teach you to GLADLY suffer for the gospel?

2. Those who worship in American churches tend to be horrified at the idea of suffering for the cause of Christ, but Pastor Youcef, in the tradition of our first century brothers and sisters, considers it a high honor. Are you willing to lay down your life for Christ? If not, why not?

3. Is the standard of salvation we practice in America the true measure of salvation? In the early church, people were willing to lose jobs, property, and even life for Christ on the day of their salvation. In Iran, you have to be ready to suffer for the faith starting on the day of your salvation. In America, we declare people born again after they have accepted a very simplistic explanation of the gospel and recited a prayer without ever having taken the time to count the cost of becoming a Christ-follower. Why have we separated the two ideas of "Savior" and "Lord"? If you haven't confessed Him as Lord of your life, how are you of Christ?

4. Pastor Youcef mentions to his congregation in his letter that he wants to remind them of the verses they study together EVERYDAY. The Korean church gathers early every morning for prayer. In America, believers wont show up for a weekly or montly prayer gathering at their church. Beyond that, we struggle with choosing between baseball games or going to worship on just one morning a week.

5. While our brothers and sisters around the world practice a christianity that expects them to lay down their life for the cause of Christ, we are asking questions like: "what progams do you have for my kids?", "how does that pastor make me feel?", "what color is the carpet?", "how long are the services?".

6. What are we communicating to our brothers and sisters in places like Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and China when we are too scared to go on a one week mission trip to Estonia or London, never mind the Middle East, and yet they have to live permanently in those spiriutal climates?

The American church is soft and weak. The metaphor holds: we build cruiseships and not battleships; we pamper customers instead of preparing soldiers. In many ways, I'm ready for persecution to come to the American church. If Billy Graham is correct in claiming up to 80% of Southern Baptists are actually unbelievers, and I tend to agree with him, then our churches will be cut by up to 80% when persecution comes. We will know who is truly of the Lord. Growth formulas, program driven models, and glitzy pomp and circumstance pastors conferences will be gone. We will be exhorting each other to remain faithful even during the moment of our hanging or beheading. We will be figuring out how to support our church members who are unemployed and homeless because of their stand for Christ. We will be reminding each other that Jesus is worth it when our children are taken from us "for their own protection". This is the reality in which many of our brothers and sisters live. To us, their plight is a distant phenomenon, to them, it is simply what it means to be a Christian.

I'm grateful for Pastor Youcef's example to me as a Christ follower. I'm praying for him so much. I'm in awe of him. His joy and confidence in the midst of his suffering, his strong letter of encouragement from his prison cell to his flock, and his determination all indicate there must be a special dispensation of grace given to the martyr by Christ in the final hours. It reminds me of Stephen smiling from ear to ear while being stoned to death. If and when we are ever called on to lay down our lives for the cause of Christ, it will be difficult to be sure, but there will also be the grace of Christ like we have never known it. We would truly participate in His suffering. I pray I will have the faith of Pastor Youcef. God is good.

Iranian Pastor Update

2011-09-28T16:17:00.001-05:00

Do not tell me Islam is a peaceful religion. Do not tell me Islam doesn't practice the part of their holy book that calls for killing "infidels". Islam is inherently evil. Islam wants to kill Christians. Islam and Christianity cannot peacefully coexist. While Christianity teaches us to love those that disagree with us, Islam teaches its followers to kill those who disagree with them.

Don't tell me it is just a few religious fanatics akin to abortion doctor killing Christians. If this is not representative of Islam, where are the clerics calling for our brother's release and condemning his trial? When Christians kill abortion doctors, mainstream christian pastors like myself loudly express outrage. That silence you hear coming out of Islamic mosques is support of the execution of this "infidel".

Islam is not a peaceful religion and teaches its adherents to hate us.

Yet, we must love deeply those adherents. We must pray for their salvation. We must plead with the Lord Jesus that the very judges in this case who will likely order our brother's execution will come to faith in Christ and join us in heaven one day. This is what it means to be in Christ: while our enemies would gladly lay down their lives that we might die, we must gladly lay down our lives that they may live.

Our brother is likely being called on to lay down his life, but his blood will not flow in vain. Jesus Christ will use his blood as the means to bring people from darkness into the light. Jesus will get to raise people from death to life because of this. May it be so.

Pray for our brother, his wife, his two children, and Muslims worldwide as they witness with wonder our brother suffering well to the very end. They will ponder this in their hearts.

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=36211
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Iran to Execute Christian Pastor

2011-09-27T16:38:00.001-05:00

As soon as tomorrow. Here is how I feel about it:

So sad to see our brother about to die. So angry at Islam itself--I hate it. So love the Muslims who will kill our brother--Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

http://aclj.org/iran/iran-upholds-christian-pastor-apostasy-conviction-execution-wednesday

May the Name of Christ be exalted by our brother's execution.
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Normangee Fall Revival

2011-09-27T16:31:00.000-05:00

This week I'm preaching at Union Baptist Church's 2011 Fall revival. This church is small and in a remote location--it is actually between Normangee and Madisonville on Farm to Market Road 2289 in a little area known as Ten Mile. Normangee, with a population of 750 people, is the closest large town.

UBC is the only other church I've ever pastored and part of my heart resides here. I'm having a blast preaching to and fellowshipping with my former sheep and meeting the new people in their flock. They have a fantastic pastor, Chace Murphy, and the Lord is moving in their midst. People are coming to faith, the church is loving the people of their area, and you should see the sweet fellowship hall building that is currently under construction. God is good.

I'm teaching Hebrews 1 and 2 over the course of four sermons.
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Colton has confessed Jesus as Lord

2011-09-21T22:33:00.002-05:00

Nicole and I are so excited that the Lord has given us a peace and confidence that Colton, 7.5, is now a Christ follower! We are in full celebration mode. Like almost all of life's most treasured occassions, it was a long journey getting to this point, but we are so glad we did it the way we did it.

Colton has been telling us since Sunday, November 16, 2008, that on that day, during an NEHBC worship service, "I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and be the boss of me". He can describe in vivid detail what was going on in the worship service, where he was sitting, and who he was sitting with when he prayed to Christ. Colton was four years old at the time so you can understand our doubt, or at least our hesitancy, to believe him. Our greatest fear is to ever affirm to one of our children that they are believers and it turn out they aren't. We had decided before we had kids that we would proceed with extreme caution and hesitancy about any spiritual claims they would make in life. In this case, we decided at the time to neither affirm nor deny his claim, but to keep sharing the gospel with him, keep calling him to salvation, and keep teaching him the Word of God and see what happens. It was a safe and prudent move--if he was a believer, he was reconciled to God even if we didn't affirm it; if he wasn't a believer, we'd still be sharing the gospel with him and calling him to salvation.

We have carefully watched his life and spiritual development and had many heart to heart discussions with him in an effort to accumulate mounting evidence of belief or unbelief in his life. It is so hard with a young boy to sift through his childishness, passion, personality, immaturity, and masculinity to see clearly what is going on in his heart. Is he an unbeliever, is he an immature believer, is he just being a 4-7 year old boy doing what young boys do? It is so hard and has required much prayer for wisdom and discernment.

But, we recently started becoming much more confident that we have seen enough clear evidence of salvation in him: 1. He has only become more and more passionate about his salvation--to the point that he started showing early signs of frustration and anger with us that we were not pursuing his claim of salvation. Over the last 34 months he has brought it up on numerous occassions without prompting. When we celebrate the Lord's Supper at church or he sees us baptize people, he gets very anxious that as a Christ follower he is not personally getting to observe these ordinances. He complains to Nicole and I for days afterwards. 2. He has only become more and more passionate about others coming to faith in Christ by attempting to share his faith with his peers and praying earnestly for lost family members. 3. He loves the Word of God and is hungry for it. 4. He can clearly articulate the gospel message when it comes to our holy God, unholy man, sin, hell, heaven, forgiveness, belief, grace and Lordship. 5. He has demonstrated genuine brokenness over his own sin. 6. While he is a long way from perfect, we have seen the fruit of the Spirit overwhelm the fruit of the flesh in Colton on numerous occassions.

Still, we wanted to be extra certain; we wanted further confirmation. We don't want to be overboard, but his eternity is hanging in the balance....ok, so we do want to be overboard when it comes to being cautious about affirming spiritual decisions in our kids. One of the worst things a parent can do is rush/pressure/manipulate their child into decisions they are making to please dad and mom and not decisions they are making as a result of the Holy Spirit's conviction in their life. Many a 5-10 year old has walked an isle, been proclaimed a believer by his or her parents, and baptized and by 20 years old has demonstrated zero evidence of salvation.

So, to find the further confirmation, we turned to one of the greatest gifts the Lord gives a Christ follower...the local church. As parents wanting to be certain our child is born again and to safeguard against moving too quickly, we wanted the affirmation or verdict of our local church regarding the matter. This is one of the roles the local church plays in our lives...by living in community with a body of believers they can watch our lives and affirm whether they believe we are born again. The assurance of a local church is a big deal. So, I told Colton that Nicole and I wanted him to meet with a man at NEHBC that Nicole and I trust deeply AND who has regular interaction with Colton so that this man has watched Colton's life. He immediately requested our Executive Pastor, Sonny. Without telling Colton, Nicole and I decided before hand that if Sonny doubted Colton's claim of salvation, we would proceed ahead as if Colton is not yet born again. So, Colton met one-on-one with Pastor Sonny for a grilling session afterwhich Sonny felt good about Colton's claim of salvation.

With the peace of God about the matter in our hearts, hard biblical evidence of salvation, and the affirmation from our local church regarding the matter, Nicole and I feel confident that Colton is now not only our son, but also our brother in Christ.

When we went to his room to share this information with him, we were surprised by the depth of his response to our affirmation of his salvation. He beamed from ear to ear in a serene, but not hyper manner, which is not like him, then leaned over and bear hugged me for a long time without saying anything, and then leaned over to Nicole and bear hugged her for a long time. Then he lay back on his pillow with his hands behind his head and got this distant look in his eyes with that big 'ol smile on his face and just stared into space. It was one of the best moments of my life. Right up there with my own salvation and my wedding day.

I suppose it is entirely possible that his account of his salvation is true. That on 11.16.08, as a little four year old in a sea of adults in one of three Sunday morning worship services at his local church, without any forewarning to his parents, he came under the conviction of God the Holy Spirit while his daddy was preaching and he quietly gave his life to Christ while standing by his seat during the invitation. It is the pattern of his life that he doesn't like our help; he likes to think things through and handle his business on his own. It is the personal testimony he has steadfastly clung to for 34 months and it has born fruit in his life.

We are so excited to begin discipling our son. There are now three believers and three unbelievers in our home. We dream of the day all six of us are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Two lessons Nicole and I would pass on from this journey. 1. We are so grateful we waited almost three years to affirm his salvation. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Parents, don't succumb to the pressure and panic of wanting your child to come to faith so badly that you manipulate them into a decision that is made for you and not in response to the Lord's work in their life. 2. We started bringing our son into "big church" at three years old. What can a four year old gain in corporate worship? Isn't it better that they be cut off from the church body and put in children's church all morning? Our four year old boy, all by himself, with no warning to his parents at all, came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and was compelled to give his life to Christ during the invitation. And his decision was so strong and deep that he stuck to it for three years in the face of strong questioning from his parents and evidence of his decision was born out in his life. Could he have come to faith in children's church? Of course. But did he need children's church to connect with God? No. He has been coloring books through expository sermons in big church since he was three, as do his two younger sisters. They have watched the adults of NEHBC worship God together through singing, prayer, missions moments, the Lord's Supper, baptism, response times, financial offerings, and other elements in the worship services. Colton was deeply affected by these experiences. We are so glad we bring our small children into big church. It is inconvenient and challenging, but their relationship with God is our number one priority during this season of life.

A big thank you to NEHBC, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and close family friends for the roles you have played in Colton's life. It truly does take a village. Your spiritual influence through verbal and nonverbal witness and praying for him to come to faith have played a big role in Colton confessing Jesus as his Lord, and Nicole and I are deeply grateful. He would not be a believer if it weren't for you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Glory to God.

three years that felt like less than one

2011-09-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

While in my personal life I am still processing, very sadly, that Pastor Tim will not be a constant in my day to day life anymore, as a pastor, this is a moment of great joy for me. After three years, the Wheeless' are ready to take the next step in their journey to what is very obvious to everyone around here: Tim is called to pastor his own church. I wouldn't trade the last three years with him for anything. He has become a close friend, trusted confidant, source of personal sharpening, and fellow pastor at NEHBC. But, I also can't deny that the Lord has very clearly raised him up to pastor his own church. Tim is ready and one big way I know that is I can honestly say I'd be happy for him to be my family's pastor.

One last challenge lies in the way: churches usually don't call a Senior Pastor if he doesn't have a Masters of Divinity (MDiv) degree; more and more churches view it as a requirement. It is not a short degree--96 credit hours. So, Pastor Tim's options are to spend the next 5-7 years doing it part time or devoting himself to it full time and finishing in 3 years. When a man realizes he is called by God to pastor and he is ready in every other way except his formal education, he doesn't want to wait 7 years to begin shepherding a flock. So, the choice for the Wheeless' is pretty simple. They are doing exactly what Nicole and I would do if we were in their position.

In December, Pastor Tim and Sharon will wrap up a 3.5 year ministry at NEHBC and head off to school. I am confident they have learned all they can here. Pastor Tim is now an experienced preacher, vision caster, counselor, and leader. He is an MDiv away from beginning a highly successful pastorate. Our families have plans to squeeze in one last Thanksgiving Day together (it has become somewhat of a tradition), although we have plans to talk them into Thanksgiving 2012--Houston is much closer than Georgia, and then their time will soon draw to a close.

The loss of the working relationship is hard for me, but I'm looking forward to a lifelong friendship and watching what the Lord does with the Wheeless'. God is good.

Pastor Tim has shared about this on his blog also.

Team London Update

2011-09-14T18:48:00.000-05:00

Today's update. Incredible report:

"Andrew had a young man from Ghana pray to receive Lord today, his mother professed faith 3 weeks ago. They will be baptized together. Today we encountered muslims, hindus, aethiests, agnostics, orthodox, catholics, anglicans, methodists, evangelicals, pentecostals, and jehovah witness, people from England, Scotland, Ireland, Poland, Serbia, India, Barbados, Jamaica, Somalia, Russia, Pakistan, and other central Asian countries - all today, all within walking distance of the church. Then we get back to our hotel and there are groups from China and Germany, God is truly allowing us to enter the lives of people from tribes and nations from all over the world!"
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Team London Update

2011-09-13T20:21:00.001-05:00

I received this update from the team today:

"Had rain part of the day today, so our afternoon canvassing was shortened-still good day. No reported salvations, but 9 full gospel presentations, several ministry encounters (addiction, grief, depression counseling). 400 cards/ tracts passed out. Everyone is healthy and in good spirits."

Praise the Lord. Keep praying.

NL
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Team London Has GREAT First Day

2011-09-12T15:28:00.001-05:00

I got this exciting report from Pastor Greg in London:

"We had 4 teams going door to door today. 3 professions of faith, 18 solid prospects for the church, at least 120 face to face opprtunities to tell people about the church - at least 20 of them full or partial gospel presentations, 500 info cards and tracts distributed. We're all tired but good day."

Keep praying for the team.
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IMB BOT

2011-09-12T06:55:00.001-05:00

Today, I'm headed to Orlando, FL, for a three day meeting of the IMB's board of trustees. We will discuss, debate, and decide on money allocation, missionary candidates, field strategy, and an assortment of administrative matters. I pray that we are faithful and wise with the handling of the most influential missionary agency in America. May we be in this for the glory of Christ.
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Blayne Owens Update

2011-09-11T15:23:00.000-05:00

NEHBC's first apprentice-pastor (2009-2010), Blayne Owens, and his wife of nine months, Cari, spent the weekend with us and were in worship this morning. They are doing very well adjusting to marriage, living in Fort Worth, and getting through their undergraduate work as they steadily march on toward pastoring a church. The journey to a pastorate is long and challenging as the Lord sharpens and builds His man to the point he is ready to lead a flock. Blayne will graduate with his Bachelor's degree this May, 2012, and then begin his Master's degree at Southwestern Seminary (a three year process). It was great spending time with these great friends of ours. God is doing a great work in them.

Sunday morning recap

2011-09-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

Well, this morning we had so much to cover in our worship services: the 9.11.01 segment, housekeeping, corporate singing, celebrating our 9 year anniversary as a church, recognizing Tom and Jennifer Thompson and their girls, skyping with Team London, preaching, the response time, and the offering. It was insane to have to cover all that ground and try to do justice to any of it. It is never dull at NEHBC, that's for sure. I really enjoy our church family's worship gatherings. I pray Jesus Christ was glorified.

Team London Update

2011-09-10T07:39:00.001-05:00

The team has arrived safely at ground zero. Work begins today. They have met up with Andrew and Sarah, NEHBCers and a pastor in London. I'll keep you posted as we get updates.

NEHBC, we are in London this week for the glory of God!
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A Tale of Two Reconciled Marriages and the Sufficiency of God's Word

2011-09-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you about two stories of life change in Christ at NEHBC and then make a point:

Couple A is in their late 40s or early 50s. There was physical abuse. There was lots of dysfunction. There was extreme financial strain. There was stealing. There was separation. Today, through the teaching ministry of our church, the counseling ministry of our church, and buckets of unearned and undeserved love shown by our church family, there is repentance of sin, brokenness, a reconciled marriage, and steady progress down the road of recovery. Their personal testimony to me last night: "We have a long way to go, but because of the love of this church and the commitment to doing things how the bible says it should be done, we are back together and we are on the way to healing."

Couple B is in their 50s. There was alcoholism. There was unfaithfulness. There were lies and deceit. There was dysfunction. There were divorce proceedings. Today, they are back together through repentance and humility. Their testimony to me this past Monday: "We have work to do, but because this church never stopped loving us, but also never compromised what is right, we are back together."

All Scripture is God breathed and SUFFICIENT for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16). Do you believe that? God's Word, given the opportunity, can conquer anything going on in someone's heart. We do not have to add to His Word. We do not have to take away from His Word. We do not have to soften the blow of His Word. We do not have to spice up His Word. God's Word is completely sufficient as is to bring life change to anybody.

I'm telling you, our Glory to God vision works. When we are a living community of God (love each other biblically) that exists to make disciples (evangelism, bible teaching, and prayer) life change happens. NEHBC is an incubator inside of which life change through Jesus Christ happens.

Glory to God.

The Thompsons Are Here

2011-09-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

We welcomed them in person in midweek worship last night, but I want to get the word out even more: Tom, Jennifer, Emma, Eliis, and Ella are here. They are members of NEHBC and missionaries to Estonia. They are here with us for two months. The Lord is going to use them to encourage us and exhort us to "Love the World" even more. I pray we are able to be an encouragement and blessing to them also. At the end of October, they will return to Estonia. If you want to have them over for dinner or coffee, email: assistant@nehbc.com.

Membership Gatherings

2011-09-08T15:59:00.000-05:00

Nicole and I are LOVING the gatherings in our home. We are systematically and alphabetically inviting every NEHBC member over for coffee and cupcakes in groups of 20-40. It is so much fun. Because we are doing it alphabetically, the tenure of the members ranges from one week to nine years and the age of the members ranges from young adults to senior adults. This makes the gatherings rich and biblical. We are loving the interaction we are getting with everyone and we find ourselves looking forward to the next gathering as soon as one ends. If you haven't had your gathering yet, we can't wait to see you.

Church Life Series Update

2011-09-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

I'm continuing the Church Life series in midweek worship. We are studying the critical components of the local church that when done biblically, create an environment inside of which the Lord does His glorious work of life change in us. Things like church membership, church discipline, biblical preaching, the correct gospel, biblical organizational structure, and the like. These are the factors that should matter to the Christ follower when finding a church, when evaluating their own church, or when planting a new church. These are the reproduceable factors anywhere in the world, in any ministry context. These are the marks of a healthy church.

I'm delivering this series with a style very different than our congregation is used to seeing from me. I'm reading from a manuscript instead of memorizing it and delivering it without notes. I'm doing this on purpose. First, I want to teach and not preach these biblical principles and this style is forcing me to do that. Second, I want to be very precise in what I say about a lot of detailed information because the audios of this series will be used a lot in the future at NEHBC. When the series started, I was very nervous about using this format. I was certain that by week three, nobody would be coming. Who wants to go hear Nathan read a paper on a week night about issues that not many people are talking about? But interestingly, attendance has gone up. I'm getting lots of positive feedback. As one man told me, "I wish someone had taught me this stuff 30 years ago, I'm seeing things completely differently now."

While I still think the delivery is awkward and I am uncomfortable doing it this way, to be sure, the spirit in the room during the teaching time and the genuine, biblical fellowship taking place after the worship service is telling me that the Lord is in this. I never ceased to be amazed that when you talk about the things the Lord wants to talk about, it will rarely draw a crowd, but those that come will be given by the Holy Spirit the eyes to see and they will see.

Glory to God.

A Tale of Two Men and the Sufficiency of God's Word

2011-09-08T15:44:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you the story of two men that have come to faith through NEHBC over the last week and then make a point.

Man A is in his late 50s, married, has a high school diploma as his highest academic achievement, earns an hourly wage, has a very outgoing personality, and is a blast to be around. I would not describe him as intellectual. I would bet he has many friends. He started regularly attending NEHBC in June, 2007. On Tuesday of this week he told me he has confessed Jesus as Lord and frankly, there is no way to describe the man I spoke with Tuesday other than the fact that he is a brand new creation. His testimony to me: "For 4 years I have listened to you preach. I have disagreed with you and argued with you in my head over and over. But every week you get up there and just keep teaching the bible and it finally wore me down and I had to admit Jesus is Lord and He is now my Lord."

Man B is in his early 60s, married, highly educated, quotes poetry, cites foreign books in normal conversation, corporate executive, has been retired for sometime now. I would describe him as intellectual. I would bet he does not have a lot of friends, but nor do I think he minds. He started regularly attending NEHBC 18-24 months ago. Last week, he told me he has confessed Jesus is Lord and wants to be baptized. His testimony to me: "Every week you get up there and just logically explain what the bible says and I started noticing over time that all the pieces of the bible actually do fit together and there are no contradictions. I realized the bible is right and I needed to confess Jesus as Lord."

My point: God's Word is sufficient. Do you know how hard it is for an adult man to confess Jesus is Lord? Do you know how hard it is for an adult over 50 to confess Jesus as Lord that late in life? These men are nothing alike; they are from two totally different walks of life. Both had hearts made hard as steel from pride and self reliance. How hard? How about 4.5 years of sermons before one of them broke? How about 1.5 years of sermons before the other one broke? As the former told me, every sermon was like a wave of water that washed over his heart eroding the bad things in him until it softened him up. Two totally different kinds of people who both came to faith because of the power of God's Word.
All Scripture is God breathed and SUFFICIENT for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16) We do not need to add to it, we do not need to take anything away from it, we do not need to spice it up, we do not need to soften its blow, nor do we need to apologize for what it says. Do you believe in the sufficiency of God's Word?

Widow Gathering Recap

2011-09-08T15:24:00.000-05:00

I had a blast this past Tuesday with our widow group. We struck out on a little adventure and drove down to the Chase Tower downtown Houston and went up to the 60th floor viewing deck. I really want to lead our ladies to have an even greater heart for our city; afterall, this is where the Lord planted NEHBC. Our ladies are already very involved loving our city through ministry at Farrington Mission, but there is much more to Houston than serving the poor; there is Downtown. I prepared a prayer list and we stood on the viewing deck looking out over the city and prayed for spiritual awakening among the people, revival in our churches, biblical values to be cherished, the Lord's wisdom for our city leaders, protection for emergency responders, blessings on our schools, protection from terrorist attack, and much more. On our Greece mission trips we stand on Mars Hill and pray over Athens and then we stand at Paul's Gate and pray over Thessaloniki. We had the same experience this past Tuesday standing on the viewing deck overlooking Houston and praying for her. It was awesome. Afterwards, we went down into the tunnel system under the city and ate lunch at a fantastic Tex Mex restaurant. I love these ladies.

Planned Parenthood and Abortion Trends in Arizona and Texas

2011-08-30T08:55:00.000-05:00

Here is an article worth reading re: abortions in Texas and Arizona. My favorite quote: "If Planned Parenthood truly cared about what's best for women, they wouldn't be repeatedly going to court around the nation to stop laws that allow women to make fully informed choices." This is exactly right. If abortions are a responsible choice, why does Planned Parenthood fight laws requiring pregnant mothers to hear their baby's heartbeat, see a sonogram, or find out how developed their unborn baby is? Planned Parenthood does not want mothers making their own decisions because they know that 98% of abortion minded mothers keep their babies once they see the sonogram. Planned Parenthood can't generate the revenue they need as a business if they only get to kill 2% of the babies.

Take a moment to read the article. Thank the Lord for the progress in the abortion arena. Pray for more mothers and our society in general to regain the value of human life. They are after our babies. Then they will go after the elderly who are viewed as a non-contributing drain on society's resources. Then they will go after those with physical and mental handicaps. Don't believe me? Read about world history. May the Kingdom of God prevail.

Membership Gathering 1

2011-08-29T22:11:00.001-05:00

Tonight, Nicole and I had the first of quite a few small group gatherings of NEHBC members in our home for coffee and cupcakes. What a meaningful time. Nicole and I had a blast fellowshipping with NEHBCers. We are having everyone over in alphabetical order so the membership tenure in the gatherings ranges from charter member to just one month and the age range in the groups is from 20s to 80s. We were reminded that NEHBCers are truly great people. We are looking forward to spending time with the next group tomorrow night. I love the people called NEHBC. May our commitment to one another be such that "they" will know we are His disciples. Glory to God.
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Vision Trip

2011-08-29T22:01:00.001-05:00

Today, I took the staff on location to the coming north Houston sprawl at the Hwy 59N and Grand Parkway intersection. We went up there to see what cannot yet be seen: hundreds of thousands of new Houstonians. One day, NEHBC is going to plant significant local churches there. We explored, prayed, and familiarized ourselves with the area. I'm so pumped about our future. It is going to happen.
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God's Word

2011-08-28T14:09:00.001-05:00

Today in worship I felt nervous. That isn't unusual; I'm always nervous when I have to preach. It does not come naturally or easily. Whatever good you see when I preach is strictly the work of God.

But, today I was nervous for additional reasons. I knew for a fact that in the house were members of a false religion (Mormons), very skeptical unbelievers related to Ms Connie's funeral yesterday who came only out of respect for her, unbelievers considering confessing Christ as an army commander considers his inventory before going to war, brand new believers with little foundation, believers who generally don't spend time thinking through deeper things, believers who have known God and the bible longer than I, PhDs in theology, and visitors from Southwestern Seminary who live life in the deep end of biblical thinking. How does one preach a sermon to such an eclectic group? Can it be done?

God reminded me today of the sufficiency of His Word. When pastors preach the Word, not something about the Word or loosely related to the Word, but the Scriptures themselves, everybody is affected. The lies of a false religion are exposed, skeptics have holes poked into their worldview, unbelievers are convinced to believe, young and longtime believers are discipled, and good thinkers and not so good thinkers are all fed. The best part of all is that none of it is accomplished by the preacher; it is the amazingly powerful Word of God that accomplishes this in us. His Word is alive and sufficient for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.

To be sure, a preacher must consider his audience when preparing a sermon. It does make a difference. But the most influential factor must never be the audience, but rather accurately interpretting and teaching what the text says. Get that right, preacher, and you have provided the environment in which God and His Word can bring the increase.

I am thankful for the goodness of God, the sufficiency of His Word, and NEHBC's expectation for the Word of God to be proclaimed faithfully.
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5k

2011-08-27T14:55:00.000-05:00

This morning Nicole and I experienced a new form of bonding: for the first time in our relationship we went on a run together. We've never done that before. We ran in the Lake Houston Chamber of Commerce 5k. We started and finished together. We had a blast. We decided to run in our Farrington Mission t-shirts to promote the work going on at the mission. Good times.
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to honor a man worthy of honor

2011-08-27T14:52:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow after worship, my family will pile into the van and head to College
Station, TX, for the 25 year anniversary celebration of Chris and Peggy
Osborne as the pastoral couple of Central Baptist Church. Nicole and I were
members of CBC from 1994 until 1998. I went down front to join the church
during the response time in a worship service the first month of my freshman
year at A&M. By requesting membership, I had just selected Bro Chris as my
new pastor; just the second shepherd I'd ever had in my life. My father was
the pastor of every church I belonged to during my first 17 years of life.
Three months shy of my 18th birthday I was living in a different city from
my parents, selecting my next pastor. Frankly, it wasn't hard. The church
held to the doctrinal beliefs I do and 2-3 sermons preached by Bro Chris was
all I needed to know I'd found my new church family and pastor. He is bold,
courageous, provocative, funny, and brilliant. God's Word comes to life in
Chris' sermons. To be sure, the CBC family deeply impacted my life in
lasting ways and I have lifelong friendships that were forged in that local
body, but Chris' preaching was the high point of my time at CBC. During my
four years in his church, he preached through just 1.5 books of the bible.
His systematic teaching of God's Word, his passion, and his sincerity were
used by God to further shape me and form me as a Christ follower and to
reconfirm what God had done in my life-called me to be a pastor. My junior
year I met, dated, and got engaged to his family's house sitter and baby
sitter, Nicole Parker. Ms Peggy and Bro Chris poured themselves into our
lives and all these years later they still do so. Nicole and I meet with
them annually for four days of mentoring and teaching about how to pastor a
church, be a biblical family, and live life for Christ. The time and energy
they have poured into us has caused them to occupy a special place in our
hearts. We deeply cherish them. Countless pastors and missionaries have
surrendered to ministry under their leadership. Literally, thousands of
Aggies have sat under Bro Chris' teaching and are living across America and
around the world. The impact of his preaching and their influence on
people's lives can only be measured in heaven. We can't wait to help honor
Bro Chris and Ms Peggy tomorrow night.

Tomorrow's Service Preview

2011-08-27T14:33:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow in Sabbath Day worship, we will observe the Lord's Supper and I'll
begin preaching through another book of the bible. We will also sing, pray,
read the Scriptures, and take up a missions offering for the Arabian
Peninsula. We will worship God and reconnect with each other as a local body
of believers. I'm looking forward to a great day in the Lord. God is good.

Ms Connie's Memorial Service

2011-08-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

According to her son and best friend, she would have loved it. We did our
best to honor her and exalt her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The gathering
was everything a memorial service should be: laughter, tears, sharing,
reminiscing, and ultimately finding our hope and answers in God and His
Word. We were faithful to share the gospel and call unbelievers to salvation
while providing comfort and encouragement from God's Word. Per Ms Connie's
wishes, we also had finger foods...more than I could ever have
imagined...trays and trays of delicious sandwiches, cookies, brownies,
chips, vegetables, and the like. When I left an hour after the service
ended, the lobby was still packed with people eating and visiting. I wish
she could have seen it. I also wish she could have seen how many people
came...well over 200. In her trademark humility, last month Ms Connie asked
me to have her service in one of our large classrooms because surely there
wouldn't be many people present. Ha! God is good.

"why isn't God moving in my life like He is my friends?", he wanted to know

2011-08-26T10:11:00.000-05:00

A group of Christ followers and close friends had one thing in common: they were all longtime Christians, mostly raised in the church, mostly moral, very nice people, and committed to the local church--especially when it came to fellowship.

What they didn't know is that while they were growing in Christian friendship, they weren't really growing in Christ. Based on their Christian tenure, they thought they were mature believers; they did not understand spiritual maturity is measured on one's spirit of obedience to God and the bible (1 John 5:3). Their passion for good, clean, Christian fellowship for them and their kids was all systems go, but a spirit of radical obedience was absent in the group.

Then God, through the constant presence of His Word, busted up the group. Spiritually, things changed. It began with two or three wives and became two or three of the couples, who began to respond in obedience and faith to the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their lives. A growing spirit of obedience began to separate them from the rest of the group. The others have noticed, leading to the question I received from a man this week and is the title of this post.

My response is simple. You can be moral, you can be nice, you can love your local church and your friends there, but that a confidant of God does not make. Truthfully, an unbeliever can attain those things.

You can be all those things and still have a spirit of rebellion, sit in judgment of God's Word, spend all your time figuring out what God's Word doesn't say instead of what it does say, and have a distaste for the parts of God's Word and leaders that push you toward radical obedience to God.

Howoever, God says in 1 John 5:3 that this is how He knows you love Him: obedience. Jesus says in Matthew 28:18-20 that you are to be taught to OBEY everything in God's Word. Obedience. A growing and mature believer is marked by a spirit of obedience to God's Word.

God began doing amazing things in and through these couples when they started obeying God's Word--even though they were scared and it required personal sacrifice. God did little in these couples when they didn't obey. If you are a Christ follower and God isn't moving in your life, you should examine your spirit of obedience. Why would God share his heart with someone who doesn't love Him so much? (Again, 1 John 5:3.)

Christ follower, when you are looking for a small group or friends, our tendency is to look first for people with whom we have hobbies and interests in common. Yes, that matters, but it isn't what you should look for first. You need to look first for people with whom you have a desire to live in obedience to God in common. When we pick your small group based primarily on hobbies and interests, you can expect to have a stunted spiritual life, yall are unequally yoked. When you pick the people with whom you will live life in Christ based on their spirit of obedience, then as iron sharpens iron, so yall will sharpen each other.
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A Woman of the Word

2011-08-25T16:04:00.000-05:00

One of the things I like to do when one of our members passes away is to ask
the family if I may borrow the bible of the one who died. It is always
surreal to me to page through their bible and I learn a lot about a person
if they were a person who marked up their bible. Paging through their bible
and the marks they've made helps me process their death and also helps me to
prepare for leading their memorial service. I'm paging through Connie
Nichter's bible. One thing is for sure, she loved her bible and her pink
highlighter. Passages that convicted her, encouraged her, and were special
to her at various times are highlighted. It is marked up from Genesis to
Revelation. The pages have the feel of having been turned often. Ms Connie
no doubt had some sweet moments with the Lord.

Her memorial service is this Saturday at 11am. I pray we honor Ms Connie and
exalt the Name of Jesus Christ.

Connie Nichter has gone home

2011-08-24T21:49:00.000-05:00

Today, NEHBC lost a member of the family when Ms Connie went home to be with
the Lord. This is a time for all NEHBCers to mourn. She is an amazing lady
and was deeply committed to the community of Christians called NEHBC during
her years with us. I am going to miss her so much. I am grateful to the Lord
that Ms Connie has now experienced complete healing from her cancer. To be
absent from her cancerous body is to be present with the Lord. Death held no
sting for Ms Connie. Amen. I pray we honor her and exalt the Name of Jesus
Christ at her memorial service. Glory to God.

Her memorial service will be Saturday at 11am at NEHBC.

Midweek Worship

2011-08-23T19:34:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow night we are taking a one week break from the Church Life Series to hear the trip report from Team Sturgis. I'm ready to hear all that the Lord did through our team and NEHBC at the motorcycle rally. While team members are rarely great public speakers, we must bear in mind this particular gathering isn't about public speaking skills. It is about hearing what God did through our church's efforts on mission. He called us to go to Sturgis so we went. We need to all hear what God did because we sent and went? Why did He call us to go there? This is about listening to brothers and sisters who were called by God to go with our church to advance the gospel, report back on what God did through them. This is biblical (Acts 14:27) and very healthy for our church body. Tomorrow night, 7pm.
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2011-08-22T16:01:00.000-05:00

I suppose a season of numerical growth and facility expansion at NEHBC is a good time to discuss this issue. What is the measure of a church? How do you know if your church is “successful” or “on the right track”? As westerners and people trained to be corporate types, we tend to measure the local church in the same way we measure our secular businesses: numbers. How many buns are in the seats? How much money is coming in? How many square feet is the facility? People raised in a church who end up at NEHBC, frequently point out that we talk very little, in fact almost rarely about these things. The reason is quite simply because…who cares!

Since the New Testament church was launched by the Holy Spirit of God in the Middle East in the 1st Century, we can rest assured that the western, corporate mindset is not God’s measure of a local church. The local church has no geopolitical nationality, but is rather “homeless”, as she has as her Head, Jesus Christ, who has no nationality in His deity, and as her home this place called Heaven. Since we can establish that the concept of the local church is not tied to a particular country or region of the world, but is rather temporarily here from another world, we can confidently conclude that every local church in every part of the world should be able to be measured by the same measures. The measure of a local church in America must also be the measure of a local church in Indonesia as well as in Tanzania. Clearly, a western, corporate mindset is not the measure of a local church.

So, if the measure of a church is not western, corporate numbers, then what is the measure of a church? Check out 1 Corinthians 3:6-7: “I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” Thomas White, Vice President of Student Services at Southwestern Seminary, once wrote that, “changed lives are the mission of the church, not the measure of the church.” Our mission is to make disciples, but the number of disciples we make is the not the measure of a church. If it is, then we have some big biblical problems we can’t solve. Let me point out just one:

“The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” With all due respect to my reformed friends, God’s mission is to save as many people as possible; ideally, everyone. Yet, what did Jesus say in Matthew 7:13-14? Narrow is the gate that leads to life AND FEW FIND IT. Another time, Jesus said, “In that day, many will say, “Lord, Lord”, but I will say get away from Me you evil doer, I never knew you.” God’s mission is to save as many as possible, but only a few people relative to the potential number are actually going to be saved. If numbers are the measure of a ministry, then God’s ministry is a failure. Do you really want to go there?

Dr. White is correct, changed lives are the mission of the church, but not the measure. It is not ultimately about numbers. (Now, to be sure, I’m not arguing that numbers are irrelevant—they can indicate something is wrong or that a less than healthy ministry is taking place—but, they are not the final arbiter on spiritual endeavors. They are not the final measure of a ministry.)

So then, what are the measurables of a local church? Look back at 1 Corinthians 3:6-7: we sow seeds and water them, but ONLY God brings the growth—spiritually and numerically. In the local church, spiritual and numerical growth is God’s department. That is what the verse says, unfortunately, not many believe it to be true. We are not responsible for numerical or spiritual growth. Can you believe that? Such a statement is completely foreign to our western, corporate mindset, but there it is in black and white. Growth is not our department.

So then, what are we responsible for? Well, if God is responsible for the growth in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, all that leaves for us is the planting and watering. We must work hard to create the environment in which God can grow things. We set the table for God to do His part of the equation. Thus, the true measure of a local church is not numbers, but how well we are setting the table for God to work. How well are we doing the things that create an environment in which life change can happen? How healthy is our church? How New Testament is our church? How much does our church look like the church we see in the New Testament? The true measure of a church is her biblical health, not her size. I mean it when I say I’d rather pastor a healthy church of 80 than a non-New Testament church of 1,000. I would rather be a member of a healthy church of 80 than an unhealthy church of 1000 or 3000 or 5000. I admire pastors who are building healthy churches, not pastors who are building bigger churches. I hope I’m numbered among the former and not the latter.

So, if the true measure of a church is her health and not her size, then one must ask, “what are the New Testament indicators of a healthy church?”. To be sure, there are numerous indicators of a healthy local church, but some flow out of others and some are secondary to others. There are a few choice New Testament indicators of church health. Mark Dever does a good job numbering nine big signs of a health church: 1. Expositional preaching. 2. Biblical theology. 3. The correct gospel. 4. A biblical understanding of conversion. 5. A biblical understanding of evangelism. 6. A biblical understanding of church membership. 7. Biblical church discipline. 8. Discipleship. 9. Biblical church leadership. In fact he has written an outstanding book on the matter of measuring the health of a church called, 9Marks of a Healthy Church. I’d highly recommend it to everyone. I don’t agree with all of his application of these nine marks, but I do agree that these are nine big indicators of a healthy church.

When they are done biblically, seeds are planted and watered, and the table is set for God to bring spiritual and numerical growth as He desires. Many at NEHBC who have been raised in the church know we are very different from what they are used to, some can’t quite put their finger on it. This is it. This is what sets NEHBC apart from what some are used to. We are much more interested in the health of our church than the size. I am more interested in this flock doing things biblically than I am in weekly attendance. There are a rapidly growing number of churches who are coming to understand that health must be the focus of the local church. I pray one day there are churches in every city who do things biblically. To pastors leading long established, program driven churches, entrenched in western, corporate mindset, the challenges are great. Practicing church discipline can split the church because afterall, that is definitely NOT going to draw a crowd. Expository preaching might not be embraced because that is not viewed as seeker sensitive and appealing to the unchurched who are looking for emotional and cathartic spiritual experiences. For a nine year old church like NEHBC that was birthed into this mindset, the path forward is much easier. Nonetheless, I’d appeal to pastors everywhere to chase after the biblical health of a local church rather than her size. The Lord will handle His department just fine.

I hope you can see how while the western, corporate measure of a local church cannot be applied to every local church in every part of the world, these biblical indicators of health can be applied. Every local church regardless of her context should be preaching biblically, practicing meaningful membership, practicing biblical discipleship, have a proper understanding of the gospel, etc. Restoring biblical integrity to the practices of our local churches would go a long way toward spiritual awakening in our churches which in turn would lead to revival in our countries. Simply put, when the focus is on church health, it is church done God’s way.

(By the way, on Wednesday nights, in midweek worship, I’m teaching a series on the local church called, Church Life. I’m using this series to teach our church family about a proper perspective of the local church. We are examining the biblical indicators of church health so we can know the measurable of our church. We just wrapped up a miniseries on church membership and next week we start a two part series on church discipline. Glory to God.)

Connie Nichter Update

2011-08-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today, I went to visit Ms Connie, one of NEHBC's sweet saints. I'm sad to report that since the last update, she has only deterioriated...rapidly. Her family reports that hospice is doing a great job. Baring a miracle, it seems the end could well be at hand. As I looked at her frail body as she struggled to breath, I was reminded of her remarks to me just last month as I sat in her living room. "Pastor Nathan, you seem more worried about this than I am. I want to live, but if God is ready to take me home I'm fine with that. I just want His will for my life." She is an amazing lady.

Ms Connie does seem to know what is being said around her, so today I spent time reassuring her that as a Christ follower, she has nothing to fear in death. The conversation went like something like this:

Ms Connie, sometimes when we get to the very end and death is at hand, we get scared. I want to reassure you that as a child of God you have nothing to fear in death. It has no sting for us. You are saved because you have confessed Jesus as your Lord. Because you were part of NEHBC, you gave lots of people the opportunity to watch your life over a long period of time and we have seen the fruit of the Spirit in you as well as a spirit of obedience to God and His Word. You have given us so much evidence of your salvation. You have nothing to fear. And if you die, you will be in the presence of God immediately; there will be no delay. You will be face to face with the Lord Jesus before you even realize you died. So, fight it as long as you want to and there is no doubt about it, God can still heal you, but if He decides it is time for you to go home, you have nothing to fear, Jesus is waiting for you. He'll be the first one you see. God is good.

Pray for Ms Connie and that the Name of Jesus Christ would be glorified through her. She would want nothing less.

do not commit adultery

2011-08-20T20:54:00.000-05:00

According to this editorial in today's USAToday, up to 60% of married women have an affair and up to 70% of married men. If these numbers are true, they are startling on two fronts:

1. Most married people have an affair. We live in a sexually saturated culture in which sexual immorality seems less and less gross and more and more acceptable, if not advisable. It could happen to any of us. Let’s be VERY careful with ourselves—be very clear in your mind what your boundaries are for interaction with members of the opposite sex: physical contact, personal correspondence, being alone with non-family members, etc. Err on the side of caution. One failure in this arena can derail your ministry and influence for Christ. 1000 moments of awkward physical interaction with a member of the opposite sex beats 1 interaction that causes a spark.

2. The gap has almost closed b/w men and women. Even ten years ago the gap b/w the % of wives and % of husbands who cheat was wider. The myth that men are more likely to cheat or are more prone to cheat is simply not true. We are so sexually saturated that women now are as sexually aggressive, open, and inclined as men are. Women in the Christian community may object, but the numbers are in. This should sound a note of caution to women: you are as likely to cheat as your husband. Women need to take as much precaution as men do in this arena—if not more. The tendency to hug everyone, physically touch everyone while talking to them, etc, needs to be considered. Women need to be very clear in their minds what their boundaries are for interaction with members of the opposite sex—for their own sake—so that they do not fall into temptation.

Walk in Christ, don’t light your sexual fire when you are single, make sure you have a healthy sex life when married—one that is meeting both partners’ needs, and you’ll be fine.

Glory to God.

stupid is as stupid does

2011-08-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

So, I thought I throw out this little piece of self-deprecating humor. While
running 6 miles Thursday at 10pm when it was 91 degrees, I wondered if it
was harder to run 6 miles in 91 degrees or 5 miles in 100 degrees. So today,
I waited for it to get to 100 degrees and then took off on a 5 mile course.
The first mile, all was fine. The second mile I was hot. The third mile I
was overheating and took note that I had yet to see another runner out and
about. The 4th mile...I did not finish. At the 3.2 mile mark I threw up. I
pressed on. At the 3.7 mile mark my body refused to go any further. After
the stars and wooziness passed, I realized the closest church member lived
about 200 yards from where I was sitting. So I walked to their house, lay
down in their yard with my face under their water faucet and let the water
pour on my face until I realized the reason I was gagging was because I was
waterboarding myself. Then I went and rang their door bell to ask for a ride
home. Except they didn't open the door. Which is probably because they
didn't recognize the sopping wet weirdo at their front door. So I sat under
the overhang of their front door for about 15 minutes and then began looking
for a car to wave down to ask for a ride home. The first car I tried to wave
down swerved around me. The second car slowed down, but it was a woman so
the giant wet guy in the middle of the street madly waved his arm telling
her to go on. The third car I stood in the road and blocked his way. He
rolled his window down a bit and after l asked for a ride home he told me
"I'm not comfortable doing that" and drove off. I think it's the beard. Thus
began the long walk home. By the way, in case you missed the conclusion of
the experiment, it is easier to run 6 miles in 91 degrees than 5 in 100+.

Tomorrow's Sermon

2011-08-20T09:16:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow will be our last Summer Sunday in Psalms and we'll take a look at Psalm 46: trusting God when your life is under siege. Last Sunday we looked at Psalm 42: trusting through tragedy. Tomorrow will be related, but very different. Sometimes things other than tragedy lay siege to our lives: uncertainty, unstable life conditions, spiritual warfare, a crazy political climate, and the like...not to mention a tanking economy! Invite a friend who is under siege to come with you and learn how to trust God through it.

By the way, I mentioned this in midweek worship, on my Twitter (you can always get my Twitter feed in the right margin of this blog), and on NEHBC's Twitter and Facebook. NEHBC's Twitter and Facebook are always a good place to check for current reminders and updates.
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Church Life Series: Church Membership III

2011-08-17T11:30:00.018-05:00

Tonight in midweek worship I'm wrapping up the three part miniseries on church membership. We will look at how these rich, biblical principles re: membership, play out in reality at NEHBC. We will explore and hopefully see how the things we do with membership are simply the implementation of God's Word. Come worship with us tonight.

small children in Big Church

2011-08-17T08:31:00.000-05:00

My wife, Nicole, has posted her thoughts on how parents should think about their small children and corporate worship in the local church. Well worth the read.

annual, external financial audit

2011-08-16T22:37:00.001-05:00

Today and tomorrow, PickensSnodgrass&Koch (PSK) out of Dallas, TX, are snooping around our business office reviewing our financials, internal controls, and policies and procedures, as well as performing risk assessment interviews and such with the staff. We've done this annually since we launched the church. When we rewrote our by-laws in 2005, I made sure an annual, external financial audit was written into our governing documents. It is very important that our financials are squeaky clean. Money needs to be appropriated with integrity, our financial reports need to be accurate, and we must make sure there are no financial shenanigans at NEHBC. We must all be able to be confident in our business office and church's finances.

We've received 8 successive outstanding reports and we'll get the offical report on this 9th audit in 3-4 weeks.
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you've lost a lot of weight

2011-08-15T12:53:00.000-05:00

To be sure, this is the most common question I've had to answer over the
last six months. It takes too long to explain in a hallway or lobby
conversation so I've just tended to avoid discussing it with anyone. In the
early stages, it was easy-I just blamed a few lost pounds on summer heat and
sweating a lot. Now I've lost too much for me to blame it on that, at least
people aren't letting me do so anymore. So, let me just put it out there.

Yes I have lost weight. 60 lbs is how much I've lost. Since February. No,
I've not dieted. No, I don't know how much I'll lose. No, I've not changed
my thoughts about healthy eating-I still choose ribeyes and fried chicken
over celery sticks when given the choice. I still am ready and willing and
hopeful to die and go to heaven today, just like I will be tomorrow. I still
don't want to live here long...heaven is going to be FANTASTIC. Trying to be
healthy for the primary purpose of living longer for the Christian is like
trying to extend one's stay in the barn when the best room in the farmhouse
is already prepared for you. No thank you. Yes, I'm sure I'll still make fun
of the healthy eating craze in our country from the stage.

So what happened? For 2-3 years now, I've grown more and more tired of
excess in my life. Tendencies that have always been in my life have grown:
I've always been prone to throw things out that I don't use (most of the
time to regret it later.) I've always had a dislike of getting things I wont
use (Nicole sincerely claims that in our 12 years of marriage, she has only
given me three gifts I've not returned to the store. After a year in my
world, my latest apprentice told me he is never getting me any gifts other
than coffee and sports tickets. LOL.) My philosophy about the things I do
get is simple: I don't want a lot of things, but the things I do want/get, I
want them to be quality. (I'd rather have 2-3 really nice things than 5-6
mediocre things.) I'm not seeking to live like a pauper, I just don't really
like having a lot of things. As Nicole says, if our house burned down today
and we lost everything we own in the fire, as long as the family is safe, I
wouldn't be bothered one bit. She's right. Stuff is meaningless. Except for
my vehicle, tv, and recliner, if you tell me you like something I own, I'll
probably offer it to you. I've always been this way.

By the way, I don't expect anyone else to live this way. It's just the way
I'm wired.

Over the last 2-3 years, these things about me have just intensified. I got
rid of shoes and clothes I don't wear regularly. I got rid of toys I don't
use regularly. I had an office at the church I didn't need so now I have a
different office-a folding table, a filing cabinet, and 3 dry erase boards
for sermon planning and brainstorming. If you saw my office, you'd think it
was for the youth intern. I got my life down to just the things I use and
need. It was a matter of time before it spilled over into the eating arena.

This past February, I woke up one day and I was just tired of eating. That's
it. I was tired of having more food than I needed. About that time, I was
sitting in a desert on the Arabian Peninsula one evening eating dinner with
a Bedouin family and we were comparing our cultures. That's when we figured
out I eat several meals a day and they eat one. He was very surprised we eat
more than one meal a day and asked why it was necessary. That triggered what
was already happening in me to flow into the eating arena. So, since then,
except for a few occasions of festivity, like our annual staff play day on
which Greg Kingry and I had to have set a record for raw oysters eaten off
the half shell (he and I are willing to take on all challengers), I've not
eaten if I'm not hungry. I didn't change what I eat, I just changed how much
I eat. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat.

A bunch of weight fell off. So I decided to see what it would be like to run
as a non-fatty and while I hated it at first, I could tell how light I was
and I began to wonder if I could learn to like running if I just kept after
it. The first day I ran in June, I couldn't run a 1.3 mile course. Last
week, I ran a 10k course. I run about 25 miles/week now. And now I like
running. I can definitely tell a difference when I run based on what I've
eaten. So, along the way, I've changed some of the things I eat to be a
better runner--eating more running food, or at least less types of
non-running food. So, of course, the running has really caused more weight
loss.

So that's it. That's how it happened. Now you know why I haven't discussed
it in the hallways-how can I explain all of that? I should write a book: the
Arabian diet: eat whatever you want, but only eat if you are hungry.
Apparently, that is a method that works.

teens witnessing at the mall

2011-08-14T19:46:00.000-05:00

I found out today that this past Friday, three NEHBC teens intentionally
went to a local mall to share their faith. They took tracts and were able to
have 1-on-1 conversations with folks. This was not tied to any NEHBC
scheduled event. I never ceased to be amazed and proud of all the different
ways NEHBCers are led by the Holy Spirit to advance the gospel. This is the
way it should be-just go where the Spirit says to go, do what He says to do,
and say what He says to say. Ministry should not need to be scheduled or
programmed. It should just happen "as we are going". Let's keep living on
mission. Glory to God.

"Big Church" Orientation

2011-08-14T07:22:00.001-05:00

Today at Noon, Nicole and I will host "Big Church" orientation for the incoming four year olds that transition into our corporate worship services next week. 80 four year olds were invited. 80 is a crazy number. Crazy good. I'd love to have 80 four year olds experiencing corporate worship with us next Sunday.

Nicole and I will explain why parents should want their children in corporate worship with them. Having transitioned three of our own children into corporate worship already, we will also give some direction and advise about how to do it.

We are excited about the meeting!
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Psalm 42

2011-08-14T07:11:00.001-05:00

This morning, I'm preaching from Psalm 42: Trusting Through Tragedy. God's Word has much needed insight for us re: how to think through tragedy and come through it with our faith unshaken and our witness for Christ untarnished. I pray that today, people will respond by releasing anger and bitterness against God related to personal tragedies, that any void of understanding will be filled by Truth and trust, and that Satan's lies will be exposed. Let's grow up into our Head, Jesus Christ, NEHBC! Glory to God.
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Why I preach the way I preach

2011-08-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

Recently, an NEHBCer thanked me for the five big principles of parenting I
shared here back in July. He reminded me that I also presented biblical
money management in five big principles back in February during my Soul
Stuff series: work (God's plan for getting money), plan (God's plan for
always having enough), give (God's plan for gratitude and overcoming greed),
pay (God's plan for acquiring things), save (God's provision for rainy days
and retirement). He told me his family has been doing the five money
principles ever since and God has been blessing them indeed. Praise the
Lord. He told me they have talked through the five parenting principles and
are beginning to practice them in their home. Then he asked for me to lay
out biblical principles for other arenas of life. Maybe I will.

But, I have to say, I'm not a big life issues guy. I don't generally think
about life in terms of life issues. I'm a strong believer in heart molding.
I really believe that if you lead someone to confess Jesus is Lord, die to
themselves, and abandon themselves to Christ and the gospel, life issues
tend to take care of themselves. For example: some would say I should do
lots of sermon series on why to tithe. I say teach someone to love Jesus and
they won't embezzle from Him anymore. If someone loves Jesus, they will
tithe. Some say teach a bunch of marriage stuff. I say if you teach a man to
die to himself, he will love his wife like Christ loved the church and will
give himself up for her--(his pride, his selfishness, etc.) If a man dies to
himself, he will become a biblical husband. Some say do lots of parenting
sermons. I say teach someone to abandon themself to Christ and they will
parent how their heavenly Father parents them. If someone is sold out to God
they will parent biblically.

This is the philosophy behind my preaching style--simply going through books
of the bible and calling the people called NEHBC to align their lives with
each passage we come to--ie: the continual molding of hearts by God's Word
over a long period of time. The life issues tend to take care of themselves.

This is not to say practical life issues shouldn't be addressed. I'm not
saying that at all. I don't minimize the urgency of a troubled marriage,
financial crisis, or someone's addiction. Those issues should be lovingly
addressed by the church with the gospel. We do those things at NEHBC....to
buy people time for their hearts to be molded by God's Word. We, Christ
followers, have a tendency to focus on practical life issues when it comes
to Christianity and our walk with Christ becomes a never ending stream of
treating life issues that pop up; our immediate needs in the moment. But the
truth of the matter is, these urgent, immediate needs are very often
symptoms of deeper spiritual issues--a heart that is not molded by God's
Word. To give the majority of time to treating immediate life issues is like
going to a doctor for an ongoing migraine, then going back for lack of
energy/exhaustion, then going back for vomiting, then going back for fading
eye sight, only to find out you have brain cancer that is causing these
immediate, urgent life issues. Do you want your doctor treating your
headaches and lack of energy or your cancer that is causing these symptoms?
Well, both, but much more so the cancer because you understand now that the
medication for the headaches and lack of energy are just buying you time
while the real problem is being addressed. This is the way it is with our
walk with Christ. Our life issues that pop up, (struggling marriages,
financial mess, depression, addictions, etc) are very often the headaches
and lack of energy being caused by cancer--a heart not molded by the Word of
God. The marriage is bad because of selfishness and pride in the spouses,
the finances are bad because of a lack of self control, the addiction is
there because of unbelief in something God says is true. So, practical
marriage help is great--it provides immediate relief, and counsel from a
financial expert is great--it provides immediate direction for the
situation, but if the heart is not changed, over time the marriage will
continue to struggle and the financial mess will not be overcome. We must
not be deceived into thinking the symptoms are our greatest needs; we must
be sure to treat the real problem--what is going on in our hearts.

Let me remind you of what the Scripture teaches us about this issue. Jesus
wasn't sent to earth to die because of poor marriages, financial
mismanagement, and depression. Jesus died because we were dead in our sin,
cut off from God, with a sin nature that needs to be killed. He died so we
could have a new nature that now needs to be honed, formed, and molded. So
then, what we need is heavy doses of teaching about holiness, dying to
ourselves, and selling out to God in order to discipline/reshape our minds
and hearts. Part of the results of our hearts being molded by the Word of
God is that our marriages are healed, our finances are sound, our addictions
are conquered. And while those are great spiritual victories to be sure, we
must never forget that our walk with Christ is about so much more than that.

So, how does this impact the corporate teaching ministry of the local
church? Well, to be sure, the local church must be in the ministry of
tending to both the symptoms and the real problems. Jesus did both in His
earthly ministry. But like Jesus and His ministry, the local church must
also never lose sight of what is most important--treating the heart. If the
majority of the time is spent treating symptoms, while that might draw a
crowd because people feel they are receiving immediate relief for an urgent
life issue, it does not make disciples, which is our marching order from the
Head of our church. So, at NEHBC, we offer biblical guidance for life issues
in our Center for Biblical Counseling, in special topic small group bible
studies, in mentoring relationships, and from time to time in our regular
small groups. But my preaching ministry and the main dose of the teaching in
our small groups is given to treating the heart of our problems--the need
for our new natures to be honed, disciplined, and grown. And this is the
reason I preach through books of the bible. As we go through the bible
systematically, we address the issues God says we need to address--which is
mostly heart issues. From time to time we do cover practical life
issues--when we get to those issues in the text. By preaching through books
of the bible, I address practical life issues as often as God does and I
address heart issues as often as God does. Thus, God is determining the
amount of life issues medicine and heart change medicine being served in our
worship services and small groups. Isn't that awesome?

One challenge for the Christ follower is to recognize the difference between
the migraines and the cancer AND the relationship between the two, in the
spiritual realm of their life. It helps the Christ follower understand that
while immediate relief for a life issue is good, their greatest need is to
treat the heart of the problem and not the symptoms. Thus, the Christ
follower does not succumb to falling into the trap of their relationship
with Christ being an endless stream of dealing with immediate, urgent, life
issues. Another challenge for the Christ follower is patience. Biblical
heart changes happens slowly over a long period of systematic, faithful
teaching of God's Word. Every expository sermon or lesson is like a wave of
water that washes over the heart, incrementally reshaping the heart. The
Christ follower should think about the corporate teaching ministry of their
church as settling into twenty to thirty years of sitting under the
systematic teaching of God's Word. Over time, God's Word, which is alive and
completely trustworthy and sharper than any two edge sword and never returns
void, conquers the human heart. Along the way is left a trail of conquered
addictions, healed relationships, peaceful finances, and personal integrity,
but much more than that, there is the sense of living in the abundant life
offered by Christ, there is the joy of being a trained, equipped, focused
disciple of Christ, living on mission and living out one's life purpose, for
the glory of God.

Preacher, preach the Word. In season and out of season. You don't need to
add to it. Don't take away from it. You don't need to be an issues driven
preacher. Don't be the doctor who treats the symptoms while the cause eats
away at their lives. Issues driven preaching is fine from time to time, but
it cannot be their main diet. The better alternative is text driven
preaching. Pick a book of the bible and just walk through the text. Just
explain what He says in the way He says it and call, beg, plead, and urge
them to obey it. That's what we do.

Christ follower, be patient. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Many of the
effects of disciplining yourself to sit under God's Word for a long period
of time will not be able to be measured and thus we are tempted to think it
is a waste of time. But, it's not at all. Along the way, the Lord will do
things to show you how far you have come and how much your heart has
changed. He'll use you to do things that surprise you. These are the little
things He does to help us mark our growth in order to urge us onward. Pray
and ask the Lord to give you an unquenchable hunger for the Word of God.
Just make it your life plan to sit under good, systematic teaching of God's
Word.

I love God's Word, don't you?

last night's teaching will be up soon

2011-08-11T16:13:00.000-05:00

Several have asked when last night's teaching from midweek worship will be
available. It has been re-recorded and will be up soon. Last night, during
midweek worship, we had three power outages which ruined the recording. I
retaught it today. Church Life: Church Membership II.

Connie Nichter

2011-08-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

She is one of NEHBC's sweet saints. She has been an NEHBCer for years. She
has been a constant source of encouragement to her pastor. She loves our
corporate worship and her small group. She has served our church family
sacrificially, willingly, and joyfully. She was a key player in starting our
monthly widow gathering. She won her first bout with cancer a few years ago.
Unless the path she is on currently changes, she wont win this one. The
doctors have given her 3-6 months and hospice got involved yesterday. Pastor
Greg and I visited her again this morning. I can't verbalize how I feel when
one of my sheep are enduring this. I don't talk about feelings much, but
situations like this hurt. I'm grateful we can trust the Lord to know what
is best. I do. She does. She is praying for healing here on this earth, but
she told me she's open to whatever God wants. Her faith is strong. Her
eternity is secure. The next few months are uncertain. Pray for our sweet
sister.

Her small group has been to her what every small group should be during a
time like this: a living community of God. The steady stream of prayers,
visits, flowers, cards, phone calls, meals, rides to the hospital, and just
sitting with her in her home is incredible. Her small group has been
rallying around her for some time. Her family keeps bragging on these NEHBC
ladies they don't even know. That's how it should be. By this, Ms Connie's
family is finding out that we are His disciples, that her small group is
deeply committed to Ms Connie's well being. Glory to God.

preach the Word, preacher. be still and listen, worshipper.

2011-08-10T13:00:00.001-05:00

After 10 years as a pastor of two churches (1 and 9), I have not gotten over
the weirdness of preaching. Think about it-in no other form of life, except
periodic, "on-going education" forums in the work place, do adults have to
sit in a chair among a group of people and listen to a 30-40 minute
monologue. The vast majority of people have not had to do so since leaving
high school or college. In workplace or charity organization meetings today,
text messaging, Facebooking, tweeting, and email is constant throughout the
meeting. In no other environment are adults asked to sit still with their
bible in their lap, and likely a pen and piece of paper, and learn through
monologue for 30-40 minutes. It's a fascinating phenomenon. God's Word talks
about how weird it is; God calls it "the foolishness of preaching".
Because people are unaccustomed to it, they generally find it difficult. The
lack of practice produces lack of self discipline. Ten or fifteen minutes
into a sermon people are struggling to keep up mentally because they aren't
accustomed to following the learning continuum from start to finish, over
30-40 minutes, without a break: awareness to understanding to acceptance to action.

Yet, God's plan is for Himself to be revealed to us in Jesus Christ who is
revealed us in the Scriptures which is taught to us by a pastor delivering a
monologue. And the pastor is a man hand picked by Him based on criteria we
do not know (thus keeping the preacher humble). The worshippers have
mysteriously picked the man whom they will trust to teach them God's Word
based on reasons neither they nor their pastor fully understand-God made it
happen. After the 40 minute monologue has ended, the worshipper has nothing
tangible to show for their time and yet days later they voluntarily return
to do it all over again. During those days, the pastor spent 15-20 hours
meeting with God, studying, researching, praying, learning, writing, honing,
practicing his next sermon, knowing all the while when he delivers it he
will be doing so to people who are used to getting almost all their
information via multimedia. Nothing about the preaching phenomenon makes
sense. It truly is foolishness to the human way of thinking.

Yet, this is God's plan. Thus the preacher must believe that despite the
archaic feel to preaching, God supernaturally uses it to communicate Himself
to His people. Thus, he must believe his hours of preparation in the face of
indescribable spiritual warfare is worthwhile and discipline himself to do
it. The people must believe that despite the archaic feel to preaching, God
supernaturally uses it to communicate Himself to them. Thus, they must
believe the time spent listening to a sermon is worthwhile and must
therefore discipline themselves to do so. Listening to a sermon is a
spiritual discipline that must be intentionally developed.

Preaching is weird, but it's God's plan and thus it's a beautiful
phenomenon. We can't understand it. We can't explain how it works. It is a
supernatural work of God and I love it.

midweek worship tonight

2011-08-10T12:42:00.000-05:00

I'm looking forward to continuing our Church Life series tonight with part
two of church membership. When both the body and the individual have a
biblical understanding of church membership, one's membership has a
tremendous spiritual benefit to the Christ follower. In today's church
culture, the idea of church membership is meaningless. If you ask somebody
why they should be a church member, the answer will somehow tie into voting.
It is tragic that we have lost the meaning of membership in our churches
today-much of the conflict in our churches is due to a lost understanding of
membership as is much of the individualism we see in today's version of
Christianity. At NEHBC, we are trying to do things differently. We must
restore a proper understanding of the church. We are attempting to do so in
part through the Church Life series. I invite you to join us for this series
as we seek to better understand this amazing concept of the church that was
born in the very mind of God. Wednesdays, 7pm.

Andrew and Sarah Bunnell

2011-08-09T19:23:00.000-05:00

I got 5 or 6 emails and texts today asking about the safety of Andrew and Sarah Bunnell, NEHBCers who are missionaries in London. They are safe and sound. The rioting and looting got within .5 mile of their house and church. He says things are now under control in their neighborhood.

Thank you NEHBC for thinking of the Bunnells's safety. That's a sign of believers living together in community. Glory to God.
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Team Canada Residual Fruit

2011-08-08T14:43:00.000-05:00

It is always good to hear about residual fruit from mission trips we take.
Here is a report we just got from the church planter with whom NEHBC worked
in June:

"A week after we returned to TX, a team from Calvary in Beaumont went in St.
Louis and conducted a VBS. They had 30 kids show up which was a surprise to
them. Jason asked them what made them all come and they told him it was
because they had spent time with the Texans a few weeks ago. On the day he
did their gospel focus they had 13 make decisions to accept Christ. Jason
spoke with each one of them individually and he is confident they are all
genuine conversions." (Pastor Tim Wheeless)

Glory to God!

Andrew and Sarah Bunnell Update

2011-08-08T14:29:00.000-05:00

The Bunnells are members of NEHBC and missionaries in London where Andrew
pastors a local church. This morning, I saw Andrew's tweet that they had 40
people in worship yesterday. That might not sound like much, but consider
these facts and you'll realize what a work of God those 40 people are: 1.
Andrew and Sarah only moved there in April. 2. On their first Sunday, they
had 7 people. 3. The ministry context is London. 40 people is incredible!
Glory to God. The hand of the Lord is on the Bunnells. They've personally
planted growing churches in Russia, Estonia, and now this new work in London
is already growing significantly. In addition to these church plants,
they've won Muslim men to Christ, trained them to be pastors, and overseen
the planting of several local churches in an undisclosed country in South
Asia. It is an amazing thing. I can't wait for Team London to get to the
field next month. I wish I was going!

Pray for the Bunnells.

membership gatherings

2011-08-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

In conjunction with my current midweek teaching series on church membership
and the bigger series this Fall on the local church, called Church Life,
Nicole and I are inviting all the members of NEHBC to our home in small
groups for coffee and dessert. There will be a small program in which I
share some things with our members that are on my heart-nothing earth
shattering like the changing of our church's vision, but still things very
important to the health of our body. The groups are being invited
alphabetically and the gatherings will be 20-25 people. We are going to do
4-5 gatherings per week until we get it done. We are very much looking
forward to spending time with the members of NEHBC in our home.

Team Sturgis Update

2011-08-08T08:13:00.000-05:00

It was really fun having Scott address our congregation from location in
South Dakota yesterday. His update on the team and the explanation of their
work assignment was good, but, come on, how could one not be moved by Scott
starting off our next congregational song live via video from South Dakota
and then the musicians in our worship center taking the baton while Scott
was faded out and we finished out the song here in Houston. While we sang
it, Hell Fighters were singing it also in their worship service in South
Dakota. That is the picture you can see in this post. Awesome. I'm so glad
that worked out. We were wondering all week long how to pull that off.

Our team is doing well. Yesterday was their first work day which at the
giant motorcycle rally can only be described as "shock and awe". The first
time out, mission trip participants experience tremendous culture shock and
a sense of feeling overwhelmed. It is a big plus for our first timers that
we have so many returning participants on the team--that makes the
transition into the ministry context easier, to be sure. Today is day two
and we can expect the team to be more at ease and ready to go. NEHBC is
making disciples from our city to the ends of the earth.

Love our City, Love the World.

midweek worship

2011-08-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

I was reminded last night how much I love our midweek worship service. One
thing is for sure, no church in Houston is offering a midweek worship
service with the quality of music we offer. The stage is full of people from
the chorus to the praise team to the musicians, the song selection is good,
and it is done with excellence. The lighting and multimedia is used in a way
that contributes significantly to the worship environment. Last night we
watched a brief video about half of a village of the Moi people coming to
faith in Christ. We had a special prayer time gathered around those in the
service especially in need of prayer. I enjoyed kicking off the Church Life
Series by teaching on church membership. When I consider the number of
NEHBCers who choose to worship twice each week instead of just once, I'm
disappointed. But when I consider the worship experience we are offering on
Wednesday nights, I get pumped. God is good.

August NEHBC Trustee Meeting

2011-08-04T12:09:00.000-05:00

I thought our meeting this morning was good. I really enjoy getting together
with these men in this capacity. There is lots of opportunity for open
discussion about me, all things NEHBC, and Farrington Mission. It isn't
always easy for these men to serve in this capacity so I'm grateful for
their participation in the process that makes NEHBC work. Our church faces
the struggles and challenges that all churches face, but for years issues
have been handled biblically and in the fruit of the Spirit and the Lord has
obviously honored the intent of our hearts. The trustee system is in large
part responsible for the biblical way we have handled things over the year.
I'm grateful for Jim Hamilton, Danny Wolfe, and Wade Smith. God is good.

September Widow's Gathering Correction

2011-08-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

A kind sister pointed out to be before midweek worship last night that the
viewing deck downtown is in the Chase Building, not the Chevron Building.
Oops. That's where we'll be headed next month.

on-line giving

2011-08-02T18:55:00.001-05:00

Today I was informed by our Church Administrator that over 70% of NEHBC's revenue now comes in on-line. Less than 30% comes in via cash and checks. This is a great statistic. The National Association of Church Business Administrators (NACBA) says the average church that offers on-line giving receives less than 30% of its revenue via the internet. Looking at our percentage, you'd think we are a church of just young people. I never dreamed we could get so many middle age and empty nester folks to give on-line.

I do not want anyone to feel like they can't give in person via cash or check. If that's your prefered method, I support you completely. Some have on-line security concerns and some have personal convictions about the matter.

However, if it doesn't make any difference to you, it does to us. On-line giving helps the business office because giving records are updated automatically and eliminates the need for manual entries. More importantly, it helps our financial planning and forecasting because giving becomes much more stable and predictable.
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Church Life Series: Church Membership

2011-08-02T18:36:00.001-05:00

I've been looking forward to this. Starting tomorrow night and over the course of the Fall, I'm doing a series on the local church I'm calling, Church Life. The local church is one of my deep passions. Afterall: 1. It is one of only two institutions designed by God (other: marriage) and thus not a man made idea. 2. It is God's organizational plan for His people until Christ's return. Out of all the options He had in his infinite wisdom, He chose local churches as the very best way to organize His children on planet earth. 3. God's plan for Kingdom growth on planet earth is the local church. For these reasons, the local church should be a passion of every believer. At the very least, it should be understood by every believer.

Church Life is designed to equip Christ followers to understand what God's Word says about the key components of the local church. We will spend the first three Wednesdays looking at church membership and then move to other components.

This starts in midweek worship tomorrow at 7pm.
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Get in the Game Sunday Recap

2011-08-02T18:15:00.001-05:00

We had the best commitment Sunday we've ever had regarding both the number of people pledging to serve our body and the number of people pledging for the first time. Serving the local church is a mark of a disciple and thus a good measuremnt of a church's health. I'm very pleased. NEHBC, thank you for responding to the will of God. I'm proud of you. God is good.

This doesn't mean people who didn't sign up aren't needed. The objective isn't for every place of service to be filled, the objective is for everyone who considers NEHBC to be their local church to serve the body. We have members who haven't pledged yet. Not to mention, we still can use more people in almost all of the ministry areas.

While we did very well overall, a couple of particular ministries did not fare well: 1. Website 2. Soundbooth.

Members who did not pledge to serve our body will find their names posted in the info guide this coming Sunday...just kidding. I will call for residual commitments this coming Sunday, though. People can still pledge on-line or in person this weekend.

Glory to God.
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widows setting the pace at NEHBC

2011-08-02T14:48:00.000-05:00

Today was our August gathering. I must brag on the NEHBC widows. They are
already pace setters for the church in their commitment to our church body.
Today, they took their pace setting to another level. During our gathering,
I went around the room and had each of the ladies tell us if they pledged to
serve our church body on Get in the Game Sunday and to share where they
pledged to serve from August 2011-July 2012. Only one lady had not turned
her card in and that's because she was out sick on Sunday and she turned one
in today. So, 100% of the widows pledged to serve our church body on Get in
the Game Sunday. Not only that, every single one of them signed up for at
least two places of ministry. I was beaming. These ladies could be moping,
depressed, and bemoaning their loneliness and the loss of their husbands,
but instead they are trusting the Lord and serving our church with gusto. Do
not think of these women as depressed, older ladies. NEHBC widows don't
mope. They cannot mope. They have a rare opportunity to show the world that
Jesus is life and hope even in the death of the loved one we hold most dear.
They are energetic and committed, they love the Lord, and they help each
other so much. Their ministry commitments to the NEHBC body this year
include: Sunday morning door greeters, children's ministry shepherds,
preschool ministry shepherds, singing in the chorus, stuffing Sunday morning
info guides, handling NEHBC mass mailouts, bible listeners for AWANA,
sorting inventory at Farrington Mission, and translating Spanish at
Farrington Mission. I get recharged spending time with them.

In September, we are going up to the viewing deck at the Chevron Building in
downtown Houston, the tallest five story building in the world, so we can
pray over our city and eat lunch down in the tunnel system. We hope the
outing will give us a bigger heart for our city. Love our City, Love the
World.

Farrington Mission July Update

2011-08-01T09:08:00.000-05:00

Here is a recap of NEHBC loved on Houston during the month of July:

* Food pantry - 125 total families fed

* Clothing Closet - 82 total families clothed

* Basketball - 40 men participated

* PMC - 58 total clients

* Abortion-minded clients who chose to keep their babies: 2 babies
saved.

Maintenance Team Leader and Basketball Team Leader positions are currently
open.

good to be back

2011-07-31T21:08:00.001-05:00

It was fantastic being back at NEHBC today. I sincerely missed our church family the last two weeks. I love the people called NEHBC..all of you.

We had really good energy in both our services today--especially the 9am. Many commented about sensing the Holy Spirit at work. I sensed it too.

I'll find out specifics about the Get in the Game Sunday results tomorrow. I'm very hopeful. The number of people commiting to serve is a true measure of how we are doing at making disciples. One thing disciples do is serve the local church, so Get in the Game Sunday is a good spiritual health check for our church. I want to know what % of our members and pending members committed to serve and how many more people committed to serve compared to last year.

Join us for midweek worship at 7pm Wednesday. I'm starting a miniseries on church membership that is part of a bigger series this Fall about the local church that I'm calling, Church Life. I want to do a better job teaching NEHBCers about the local church. Come explore the Scriptures with me.
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Living on Mission

2011-07-31T20:55:00.001-05:00

Today, I heard this story from a 50s, male NEHBCer:

He was at a company meeting in Pittsburgh. He and an Eygptian born colleague who works in Montreal were flying out at similar times on different flight and thus went to the airport together. The NEHBCer went to his gate, but felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to go sit with his colleague at the other's gate. So the NEHBCer did. During the conversation, the NEHBCer asked his colleague if he is a church goer which led to the colleague asking the NEHBCer about our church which gave the NEHBCer the opp to share the gospel from start to finish. The colleague did not confess Jesus as Lord there at the gate, but did express strong interest in further discussions about the matter. I'm so proud of the NEHBCer who lives on mission. I love hearing these stories. It encourages me so much.

How did the Egyptian living in Montreal get to hear the gospel? Because a Houston based Christ follower lives life on mission. I'm a firm believer that there are enough Christ followers in America that if we all just lived on mission, we'd not need any special evangelistic efforts in our own cities nor domestic mission trips. We could give all our attention overseas. There are enough Christians who work in our cities and who travel our country on business to reach the USA with the gospel. If requires all of us to live on mission, though.

As one NEHBCer told me this morning, "when my company sends me on a business trip, as far as I'm concerned, it is a company paid mission trip. My job is to sow the gospel in that city."

Glory to God.
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Packing Up and Heading Home

2011-07-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Our time here was a blur, but our memory bank is overflowing. This was such a fantastic time for our family.

It is a family tradition to write our name in the ground (snow, sand, rock, grass) and the year and take a pic when we go on a trip. Above is the pic of this trip. The collection of these pics over the years is awesome.

I will say the Europeans know something about how to take a holiday. The American tradition of one week vacations has always surprised me and I believe is directly tied to the high stress related medical conditions we have in our culture. A person cannot relax in one week. When Europeans take three and four weeks vacation in one go, we think its crazy, but they are completely detoxed and rejuvenated when they return. This trip reminded me a little of the annual three week vacations my family took when we were kids. Those were great times.

Today we pack it all up and tomorrow we head home. God is so good to us in that we don't dread returning home. We love what we do. We are looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.

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Midweek Worship Teaching Series

2011-07-27T10:15:00.001-05:00

Starting next Wednesday night and through the Fall, I will be teaching a series on church life that will look and feel very much like the series I did on corporate worship. The Church Life series will be a collection of miniseries including church membership, church discipline, church organization and governance, and more.

While these terms sound very institutional and maybe even irrelevant, they are critical aspects of the local church that every Christ follower needs to know and understand. The bible teaches us that the Christian's life is inherently grafted with their local church. There is no such thing as a Christ-honoring life in which the local church is not central to the Christ follower. Thus, every Christ follower should understand the local church. It is a critical matter in the Christian life.

Whether you have never been taught about the local church or you need to be reminded of the organizational plan Christ has for His followers until His return, join me for the Church Life series as we explore what the bible says about the local church. We begin a week from tonight.
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