Putting Out Quarrelsome Fires

Proverbs 26:20-21 - For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

The chairman of deacons called desperate for advice. For several years their church had been experiencing tremendous growth. God was moving in a great way. But for the past twelve months it seemed liked everything had begun to fall apart. The pastor was a good man, and well liked by most in both the church and the community at large. The church had solid leaders and was in better financial shape than it had ever been. Yet for the last twelve months families that had once been faithful had begun to drift away.

The deacon chairman had contacted the families who had left and heard a pattern of disturbing stories of gossip, hurtful comments, and rumor spreading. It all seemed to center on one family. The family held a leadership role in the church and always seemed upset or angry about something. That anger would come out in committee meetings and planning sessions. It would erupt in conversations in the parking lot after church. It would be displayed in awkward ways during church business meetings. The husband make his displeasure known about any and every subject within the church if things were not done exactly as he thought they should be. The wife was more subtle. She would make comments that seemed designed to get other people upset. She had a talent for knowing how to say things that kept everyone on edge, while appearing to be happy all the time. Between the two of them, they kept the fires of discontent and trouble brewing in the church all the time. Their actions had begun to take a toll on the church.

With great sadness, the chairman of deacons watched as years of growth and hard work evaporated in a few months time. The well loved minister was thinking of resigning and moving on to a different church. He called hoping I could offer some way to fix the problem. The solution was obvious, the quarrelsome couple needed to be removed from the situation. Until the deacons were willing to stand up to them and deal with the issue, the troubles would continue to simmer and erupt into flames on a fairly regular basis.

Dealing with such things is never easy, especially in a church situation where everyone is trying hard to be "nice." But if we love our church, and we want it to be able to impact our community in positives ways, then sometimes we must be willing to tackle hard things. Quarrelsome people have to be confronted. Hopefully they will repent and have a change of heart. But if not, then they must be removed from positions of leadership, and in the worse case scenario, removed from the membership of the church. Ignoring them will not make them go away. Making excuses for their behavior will only make the situation worse. At some point we have to remove the source of the quarrelsome whispering in order for the church to return to health.

Lord, give us the courage to confront those with a quarrelsome spirit. Help us to examine our own hearts to make sure we are not the quarrelsome person in the situation. Let the peace of Christ reign in our churches. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He has written a book about the spirit of offense that prevails in our current society. You can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

How Mini-Sermons Mess Up a Worship Service

Have you ever been in a worship service that seemed like one long series of mini-sermons, none of which went together? I use the term "mini-sermon" to refer to those infamous 5 minute talks that people who are participating use to insert their opinion into the flow of the service but which do more to distract from the service instead of add to it. It might be the long explanation about a song before a piece of special music, or a literal "mini-sermon" before or after what was supposed to just be a scripture reading, or perhaps it is a lecture wrapped up in the guise of announcements. Whatever form it takes, it typically has nothing to do with the theme of the service and often makes the service much longer than it needs to be. Though I dislike all mini-sermons, I suppose most people in a congregation can handle one mini-sermon in a service. However, I recall one service I was in where half a dozen people gave such talks. It basically added 30 minutes to the length of the service but provided nothing of significant spiritual value. Instead the result was people looking at their watch ten minutes into the pastor's sermon wondering how much longer the service would last. That was unfair to the pastor, who had spent numerous hours preparing to teach the Word that week.

If a person has something he or she wants to share with the congregation, that person should make their desire and topic known to the pastor or worship leader prior to the service. If it is appropriate, it can be inserted at the appropriate time in the service. If it is not appropriate, then an awkward moment can be avoided. It is wrong to hi-jack the service for one's unplanned mini-sermon and take time away from what the pastor, or others, have diligently prepared.

Someone is probably thinking that I don't believe that the Spirit can give an unplanned word in the middle of the service. On the contrary. I have witnessed many spontaneous testimonies in worship services. When the Spirit is behind it, everyone present will sense it and no one will be looking at their watch wondering how much longer the service will last. However, honestly, most of the mini-sermons I have heard did not seem Spirit led. They appeared to be people taking advantage of the situation to push their private agendas.

As a person who has participated in a wide variety of different types of worship services in churches of all sizes and worship styles, I want to urge my fellow worshipers to ask themselves if what they want to say is really NEEDED in that moment or will it distract from the point of the service or unduly lengthen it. One day each of us will stand before God and give an account for the words we speak. Let's make sure the ones we used in public worship were truly from the Lord.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is an author and Christian leader in New England. He is a happy husband, proud father, adoring grandfather and thankful cancer survivor. You can find his books at:
http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY/

Called Up for Active Duty

Galatians 6:9 - And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

The other day on Facebook a friend posted this cartoon. I don’t know who the creator of the cartoon is, so I can’t give him or her the credit he or she deserves. But the cartoon made me laugh and also made me want to cry all at the same time because it illustrated such amazing truth.

In far too many churches, a handful of people do all the work while the majority watch from the sidelines. Everyone wants the church to be there for them when they have a problem. But few want to do the work that keeps the church alive so that it can be there to help people in times of crisis. Greater numbers of Christians are “inactive” than ever before in American history.

But imagine how it would change churches if all Christians were called up to active duty! Imagine how many youth workers and Sunday School teachers and deacons and worship team members the church would have. Imagine the financial resources the church would have. Imagine how many soup kitchens, after school tutoring programs, homeless shelters, crisis pregnancy centers and adoption programs we could operate more effectively. If massive numbers of believers became reactivated in their faith, revival would come to America in a matter of weeks.

So what about us? Are we on the front line? Or are we hiding in the back hoping our draft number won’t come up? It’s time for all of God’s people to volunteer for active duty. A war is waging for the souls of men and women and we can’t afford to have anyone holding back. It’s time to serve!

Lord, let us not become weary in doing good but help us remain faithful in our service to You. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He has written a book about the spirit of offense that prevails in our current society. You can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

How to Have An Easy Revival

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2:4-5

Why have so many churches lost the spiritual passion they once had? That was the subject of a lively conversation I had last week with an experienced pastor. He recalled days gone by when churches were filled with people who sang enthusiastically, studied the Bible intently, donated generously and shared their faith with confidence. Now, he lamented, it seems that churches have a lot more empty seats, hardly anyone actually sings, few people carry a Bible (even an electronic one) and tithers have become an endangered species. As we discussed the challenges churches face, we agreed that the root of the problem seems to be with the lack of personal spirituality.

In our current culture, people have become so busy they no longer take time to read the Bible and pray, which greatly impacts the depth of their devotion to God. Likewise, people have become so focused on having the latest gadgets, the newest cars and the most fabulous vacations that they no longer feel they can afford to tithe. Many young adults have borrowed so much money in order to secure an education; tithing seems like a financial impossibility. All of this impacts the church more than most people realize.

A church is only as strong as its individual members, so when the individual members struggle spiritually, so does the church as a whole. When individual members no longer study the Bible on their own, know how to engage in worship or give of their time, talent and treasure, the church as an organization can no longer accomplish its mission as effectively as it once did.

The good news is that churches can be revived fairly simply. All it takes is individual members once again accepting responsibility for their own spiritual disciplines. Imagine it each of us began to have a daily time of Bible reading and prayer like our grandparent’s generation! Imagine if each of actually denied our wants and took up our cross daily and lived for Christ, volunteering our time and giving of our financial resources! Some may say it is unrealistic to expect everyone to do this. What if only 1/3 of the members of each church did this? I believe revival would come to such a church in a matter of months. Revival would come without the church having to start any new programs, build any new buildings or hire any new staff members. It would come as a result of the hearts of individual members being revived.

As 2015 draws to a close, perhaps it is time for us to focus on reviving the church by experiencing personal spiritual revival ourselves. Let us pray together toward that end.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

The Throw Away Church - Guest Post by Bill Davis

In a culture of polarization, when we strongly disagree with someone, we often just end the relationship instead of trying to work through our differences and fix the relationship. This has created a lot of "throw away" relationships. Regretfully, we often treat our relationship with our church the same way. If we do not like the message they are preaching or if that message steps on our toes or makes us feel uncomfortable, we just want to throw away that church.

Timothy 4:3 (NIV); "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

I have had a number of people say that they had been attending a particular church for a number of years and felt they really were not living that strong a Christian life. They chose to change churches rather than lifestyles and now feel they are living just fine as a "Christian".

I am afraid we often look for a church that fits our lifestyle rather than being willing to change our lifestyle.

Romans 12:2 (NIV); "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Another issue I often hear is when people are visiting various churches. They frequently say they are looking for the church that has the most to offer them and where they feel comfortable. In itself, this is not necessarily bad. They want a good choir, an outstanding youth program or senior’s curriculum. They want the Pastor to preach long enough but not too long, loud enough but not too loud, etc. Perhaps as we look for a church home, we should take the lead from Scripture and find a church home where we can contribute and not just receive. Don’t merely take but give as well. Look for a church home where you can impact other’s lives and the outreach of that particular church.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV); “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

We need to realize, the church or Church does not owe us anything. Jesus Christ already gave the ultimate gift of His blood. It is time for us to give back.

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Bill Davis lives in Anderson County, SC, where he speaks at churches and encourages evangelism and discipleship efforts across the region. He is the author of “The Revelation of Jesus.”

When It is Time to Change Churches?

There is a massive shift taking place in the American church. Not only have we seen the rise of the Nones (people with no religious affiliation at all), we have also seen the rise of the Dones (people who were once quite active in church but no longer attend at all). There is yet a third trend that few people have written about, which are the "Bummed." They are people who are still going to church but are bummed out about it. It just is not meeting their spiritual needs. They do not want to become a Done, but they are not sure how long they can continue participating in their current church. Perhaps it is an old family church we have attended for decades. Perhaps our family has been in the church for generations. Even though we have close relationships with others there and the thought of leaving is frightening, we know if we do not do something soon, our spiritual life will suffer. Perhaps we have heard about a cool new church across town and their slick advertising appeals to us. Should we make the switch or stay where we are? These are not easy questions to answer.

In my position as a denominational leader, I have helped many families work through this heart wrenching processes. Some end up recommitting themselves to their current church and making it a stronger congregation. Others end up in the cool new church across town. My goal is never to promote one over the other, but to help each family seek God's perfect plan for their own lives, a plan that helps them grow in Christ.

If your family is considering changing churches, think through the following issues carefully.

Here are some wrong reasons to change churches:

1. We want a worship service that is more upbeat.
While younger people tend to like more energy in their worship than their parents or grandparents, even mature adults do not want a service that drags on without a clear purpose. But just speeding up the tempo and adding drums does not necessarily make a worship service better. We must ask if the entire worship experience, not just the music, honors Christ. Does it help the worshipers be in tune with what the Spirit is speaking into their lives? Do the prayer times and and teaching aspects of the service point people toward Christ? One church may have better music or a faster paced service, but another church may have deeper truth being taught in the sermon or more powerful corporate prayer. All of this must be considered before a wise choice can be made.

2. We want a church that is more fun.
While the Sunday worship service is important, church is more than just the weekly service. The church is a family and families should enjoy being together. While church should be an enjoyable experience, fun is not its primary purpose. The primary purpose of the church is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to a community that does not know Him while also making disciples of those who have been called by God to believe. One church may have a whole menu of fun experiences, but do they also help people grow in Christ? Both are important but they must be balanced in order for a church to be healthy. A fun church may feel like it meets our needs in the short term, but if it has no depth, then that sense of enjoyment will quickly fade away. That does not mean that we have to settle for a boring church, but it might mean that a church that is less fun might actually be better for our spiritual journey. Perhaps our current needs us to volunteer to be the activities coordinator instead of just switching churches. We must consider this before changing churches.

3. We are tired of having to teach all the classes and lead all the programs for young people.
Sometimes churches get used to a small number of people doing most of the work. While we should all be willing to do our part, when we are the ones having to do so much of the work, sometimes we can begin to feel burned out. We may begin to think that our lives would be easier if we changed to a different church, other people would carry the burden for us. News flash! Every church, regardless of its age, size, organizational structure, or programming, struggles recruiting youth and children’s workers. Some people are workers. Some people are slackers. If we are workers, then it will not be long before we are working in the same ministries of the church we just left. If we change churches just because we thought it would be easier, we will be disappointed in a couple of years when we find ourselves taking more than our share of turns in the nursery at our new church.

4. The pastor (or deacon, or Sunday School teacher, or youth group leader, etc.) made us mad.
We should never leave a church in anger. When we do, we simply take the anger with us to the next church. It may lay dormant for a few months, but eventually our anger will come out at the new church. This is not fair to the new church. If someone at our current church said something to us or a member of our family that upset us, we should speak to the person directly and get the issue resolved. Running from an issue does is not the same thing as resolving it. Gossiping about the issue to others does not count as resolving it either. To resolve issues we must go directly to the individual involved and talk about it. It is possible that we will still have to change churches, but at least we will know we did everything we could to resolve an issue before we left.

Clearly there are many bad reasons to leave a church. However, there are some valid reasons to change churches. Here are some:

1. Our child does not want to go to church at all because nothing at the church relates to his or her life.
Every child goes through the occasional “I don’t feel like going to church” phase, so we should not freak out when that happens. However, when the phase becomes a clear pattern, and we have done everything we could to help resolve the situation, then as parents we have to consider our child’s spiritual well being. If we have done everything we could and the church is simply not willing to minister to our children, it is time to find a church that will relate to our child for his or her own spiritual health.

2. Our child is faithful to attend church but there is nothing he or she can do at church but sit and listen.
Many churches talk about reaching the next generation, but they do not let anyone in the next generation do anything. It is as if young people are supposed to sit quietly and be seen but not heard until they turn 25 or 30 years old. That is poor stewardship of those whom God has put under our care. Young people can help take up the offering. They can say the opening or closing prayer. They can read scripture. They can pass out bulletins. They can run the sound system or video ministry of the church. They can assist in teaching Sunday School and children's worship. Some of them might even be able to preach on youth day if someone coached them properly. If churches are unwilling to allow young people to serve, even though they attend faithfully, then something is wrong with the church as a whole. If there is a faithful group of young people coming to church and the church simply ignores then, it might be time to find a new church. We should first try to get the church to use the young people who come, because it is possible that it just did not occur to the leaders that young people are willing to serve, especially if the leaders are older. But if we have tried that and the leadership is just not interested in letting young people serve, then it is going to become increasingly difficult for our children to grow in Christ in an environment that does not value them. When that happens, it is probably time to find a different church.

3. Our church has abandoned biblical theology.
This is always a touchy subject because we must make sure we have separated biblical values from our personal preferences or religious traditions that make us feel more comfortable. However, we are living in an era when many churches have abandoned biblical theology and began to accept things that are incompatible with orthodox Christianity. When this happens, it is time to find a new church. Though it is important to try to turn our current church back toward the truth, if the leadership is determined to promote unbiblical teaching, there is no need to stay any longer than absolutely necessary to fulfill our current commitments to the church.

4. Our church leadership is in open sin and the church refuses to deal with it.
This is also a touchy subject because we do not want to become narrow minded and judgmental. We all sin, even leaders. Just because a pastor, deacon or elder makes a mistake does not mean that we need to leave the church. The bigger issue is how does the church deal with the issue? Does the person correct their mistake? Do they do whatever it takes to make it right? Does the church put in place better systems of accountability so it does not happen again? Depending on the severity of the issue, the leader may need to take a sabbatical from their position for a while, or perhaps resign permanently. If a key leader in the church is in open sin and the church ignores it, something is wrong. It is important to make sure the others leaders know about it. That does not mean gossiping about it in our small group, it means having a private meeting with whomever is in charge and sharing our concerns and then giving them time to address it. If the issue gets resolved, then this is a church worth staying in because they deal with things correctly. If the issue is swept under the rug, it should be cause for concern. We may not need to leave right away, if it is a minor issue, but if this becomes a pattern over and over again, then it is time to find a new church.

Regardless of our reasons, if we find that our family is considering changing churches, we should proceed slowly. We must pray through the situation thoroughly. We should think through the thoughts above objectively. We should discuss the subject with the leadership of our current church. If our children are old enough to understand the issues, they should be included in the conversation too. If our family does decide to change churches, we owe it to our current pastor to sit down and have an open, honest, and loving discussion of why we are going elsewhere. If we have made commitments to help lead a program, we should do our very best to remain in that position until our current term ends so that we do not leave our current church hanging. If we have made some type of pledge to the general fund for the year or financial commitment to a certain project, we should do our very best to fulfill it. When we leave, we should do our best to leave on good terms. This is not the time to post negative comments on social media or send out mass emails detailing the reasons we are leaving. We should speak to the pastor and/or other appropriate leaders, fulfill whatever commitments we have made and then quietly slip away without causing undue damage to the church we once loved so much.

Finally, we must keep in mind that sometimes both our families, and our churches, go through phases. It is possible that the church that we leave today, may change next year. Perhaps our own spiritual needs change and one day we may find ourselves back at the church we left five years ago. Which is another good reason to always leave on good terms. Changing churches is hard, and should be avoided if at all possible, but if we must do it, then we should do it for the right reasons and in the right way. Our goal should not be to prove a point and create a crisis or even to "be right" in a disagreement. Our goal should be to honor Christ in all things and to grow closer to Him through our relationship with our church. When these things are remembered, it impacts our behavior and attitude greatly. We can remain actively engaged in the life of a local church and avoid becoming a Done.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Christian Stewardship

Introduction:

When we think of the word “stewardship,” what comes to mind?

How does adding the word “Christian” to the word “stewardship” impact our thoughts on the meaning of the word?

Christian Stewardship is the biblical handling

of our time, our talents and our treasure.

As Christians, our stewardship should be based on the teaching of the Bible, not our culture’s ever changing opinions or whatever the most popular management style is at the moment. How we manage our time, talents and treasure says a lot about what we think is important as followers of Christ.

When thinking of Christian stewardship of our time, we should make sure our regular schedule includes time to study the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15), pray (2 Thessalonians 5:17) and worship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25).

When thinking of Christian stewardship of our talents, we should use our abilities to do our best (Colossians 3:23), to bring honor to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:21), and to serve others (1 Peter 1:4)

When we fail to be good stewards of our time, talents and treasures, our individual faith suffers and so does the church as a whole.

Most of us tend to agree that we should use our time and talents well, but the area of Christian Stewardship we least like to talk about is how we handle our treasure, meaning our possessions and our money. Most of us do not like it when the church starts talking about money. We have visions of fancy buildings or television preachers who spend millions on elaborate life styles. But the vast majority of pastors live modestly and the typical church building is often quite simple. Though talking about money in church sometimes makes us feel uncomfortable, there are THREE important biblical principles we should know for how Christians should handle our treasure.

First Principle of Christian Financial Stewardship

Our giving should flow out of our love, devotion and gratitude to God, not our of guilt, shame or duty.

Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Jacob made a promise to follow God with his every area of his life, including his money because of his great appreciation for how God was watching over him. He knew God had done a lot for him and his promise to give back to God flowed out of that relationship. Jacob’s vow to give was not motivated by guilt or shame but by thankfulness to God. The same should be true of in our own attitude toward giving.

Second Principle of Christian Financial Stewardship

Trust the Lord enough to give Him the whole tithe and receive God’s blessing as a result.

Malachi 3:10

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

God promised that if we gave Him the whole tithe, He would bless us abundantly. This makes no sense to the world, but many Christians can give testimony to the truth of it. We can never out give God.

But what is the whole tithe? The whole tithe is a tenth of what God gives us.

Leviticus 27:30
A tithe (tenth) of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

Back in the day when most people were farmers, God asked them to give one tenth of all they grew back to the Lord. This was how the priests who provided spiritual leadership and comfort to the people lived.

Deuteronomy 14:24-25
But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe…then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.

God also told them they could give money instead of “stuff” if it was too much stuff to carry. This is how most of us today will give our gifts to God since we most of us are not farmers. We will give money and that is how the pastors and the church will be provided for. It is still okay to give stuff instead of money, so long as it is not junk we are just trying to get rid of. Whatever we give must flow out of a heart of love toward God.

Some people believe that tithing is just an Old Testament thing and that we no longer have to practice it. But Jesus Himself says that tithing is still valid.

Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Luke 11:42
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

What Jesus was referring to in these verses was the practice of the Pharisees to grow small window boxes of exotic herbs. The Pharisees were faithful to tithe on these little boxes of herbs but they failed to show justice, mercy, faithfulness and love. On two different occasions Jesus said they needed both in order to be good Christian stewards! They needed to tithe and have a right attitude. Since Jesus Himself endorsed tithing, we know it is still valid in our spiritual walk. But Jesus also taught that the attitude of our hearts were just as important as our gifts to Him. If we give with a wrong attitude, we should next expect a blessing from God.

What attitudes did He want us to have when we give?

Cheerfulness

2 Corinthians 9:7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Compassion

1 John 3:17-18
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Faithfulness

1 Corinthians 4:2, 16:2
Now it is required in stewards that man be found faithful . . . Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him.

Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Sacrificially

Mark 13:43-44
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Conclusion:

God expects us to be good stewards of our time, talents and treasure. That means following the teachings of the Bible instead of our culture. It also includes handling money in ways that non-Christians might not understand. That includes giving out of love, devotion and gratitude to the Lord. Trusting the Lord enough to give Him the whole tithe, and receive God’s blessing as a result. Making sure when we give our hearts display attitudes of cheerfulness, compassion, faithfulness, generosity, and sacrifice.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a pastor, church planter, author and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is the proud father of three adult children, a cancer survivor and the author of 8 books. You can find all of his books at http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Learning Truth from Seahorses

Colossians 2:6-7 "Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude."

Recently my family visited the Mystic Aquarium and was fascinated by a tank of seahorses. There were several clumps of seahorses with their tails wrapped around stalks of sea grass. Other seahorses had their tails wrapped around other seahorses, which were in turn wrapped around stalks of sea grass. I was not sure why the seahorses were doing this, so I googled it. After looking at several websites, I learned that seahorses are not very good at swimming. They basically move by being carried along by the currents. Sometimes the currents take them to safe places with lots of food; other times it takes them to places that are not so favorable. When seahorses get to a place that is safe and has abundant food, they tend to wrap their tails around sea grass, or other seahorses, so they can stay in place and not be carried away by the currents.

When I realized this cool fact about seahorses, I could not help but think about how it relates to people. If we were honest, we would have to admit that we are not very good at life. We tend to get carried away by the currents of popular opinion, fads, and culture. That sometimes offers us good experiences, but most often it does not. Riding such currents make our lives feel as if we are swirling in a hurricane headed for destruction and we seem powerless to stop the wild currents that carry us. But when we find Christ as our Savior, suddenly we have something strong we can cling to. Like seahorses and sea grass, we can wrap our lives around the Lord, His Word and His strength. In that process we also find churches filled with people just like us. As we build healthy relationships with people in such churches, our lives become intertwined with other believers, which also gives us strength when the currents try to carry us away. Seahorses teach us to cling to something stronger than ourselves and to cling to each other for safety and security. That is a great lesson to learn!

Lord, help us cling to You and to other believers as we move through the currents of life.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is a church planter and writer who has lived in New England for over 20 years. An energetic speaker, he often finds ordinary things in life to help him teach powerful truths from God's Word.

Baptism: What Should We Believe?

The rite of baptism has been an important step in the spiritual journey of Christians since Christ Himself was baptized in the Jordan River. The story of the baptism of Jesus is so pure and powerful. God the Spirit showed His approval through His appearance of a dove. God the Father showed His approval by supernaturally voicing it immediately after the baptism. Clearly God wants people to be baptized. It sounds so simple and easy.

But the reality for many people is less simple and often not so easy. Many are confused about baptism because various churches teach different things. Many Christians want to walk in obedience to the Lord in this matter, but often are just not clear what that means. One way to cut through the confusion is to change our question from what does "the church" teach about baptism to what does the Bible teach about baptism.

What does the Bible teach about baptism?

The New Testament teaches that people repented of their sins and believed in Christ FIRST. Then they were baptized as an expression of that saving faith. Consider Acts 2:38 "Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." We find this teaching in numerous places and contexts.

For example, Phillip, a deacon, preached this same truth in Samaria. Acts 8:12 tells us the result of his preaching, "But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized." Again, we notice they believed first, and then were baptized as a result of that belief. It might be important to note in this particular verse that it says that it was men and women who were baptized, not infants or little children. There are no examples of infants or young children being baptized in the New Testament. 

Another example, from that same chapter but in a different context, comes from verses 36-38. "As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized? And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart you may. And he replied, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him" (Acts 8:36-38). Once again, we see that a man believed in Christ and was then baptized. One caveat about this passage is that it refers to believing with "all of our hearts." Clearly this is not just a general belief in God, or in the church as an organization, or even in Christ as a concept or idea, but a sincere and deeply held belief in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.

Sometimes we encounter people who are already religious and active in a faith community but have not yet been baptized. Should they be baptized when they come to believe in Jesus? We find the answer to that question in Acts 18:8, "Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized." This scripture tells the story of Crispus, who was a leader of the synagogue. Crispus was VERY religious and already a part of a strong community of faith. Yet Crispus was baptized AFTER he believed. What ever he had done to become part of the community of faith prior to his belief in Christ could not replace his need to be baptized as an expression of his new belief.

In each of the examples above the people first placed their faith in Christ. Then as an outward expression of that inner faith, they were baptized. The need to believe before being baptized was the clear teaching and practice of the early church. This clear truth is recorded in the Bible numerous times. Regardless of the confusion we may have in the modern church, there was no such confusion in the First Century. There is an important principle to learn in regards to this issue that also impacts other biblical issues, which is, if we stay with the timeless truth of scripture, instead of human tradition, our faith will be much clearer and less confusing.

Because of all the confusion over this issue, there are many people who were baptized by their parents as infants before they were old enough to understand what it meant to be a Christian. Though parents meant well by trying to make this choice for their children, faith is deeply personal and no one should make faith choices for another person. We all know people who were baptized as infants into some church and now that church does not meet their spiritual needs. It does not mean that church has no spiritual value, it just means that church is not right for that person. Such people often find themselves in an awkward situation of being baptized into a church they are no longer interested in being part of but may feel guilty about changing churches because they do not want to hurt their parents’ feelings. Many of these people have dropped out of church altogether because they could not reconcile this issue in  their own minds and now are Christians in name only, rarely, if ever, practicing their faith in a meaningful way. Others came to a more complete understanding of who Christ is and were born again. Now they struggle with the idea of baptism, because if faith is supposed to precede baptism, what are these Christians supposed to do? As challenging as it may be, if we strip away human  traditions and stick with scripture, then people who were baptized before they made a sincere commitment to Christ should be re-baptized. This is important because the Bible teaches that people should be baptized only AFTER they come to committed faith in Christ. Though human traditions are hard to change, when our traditions go against scripture, we must always side with scripture. Re-baptism should be done out of obedience to the Scriptures and with all due respect to the parents and family who were doing what they thought best when we were infants.

What Method Should the Church Use to Baptize?

The word “baptism” comes from the Greek word “baptizo,” which literally means “to dip under.” In the New Testament when a person was baptized they were always dipped under water as a picture of being completely immersed in Christ. Baptism is also a reminder of how Christ stood on the cross for us, was put under the ground for us, and rose again out of the ground for us. Baptism by immersion under water is the best symbol of this as the person stands in the water, is lowered under the water and then raised up out of the water. This symbol should be preserved as much as possible and only changed under rare circumstances.

What is the Connection Between Baptism and Church Membership?

There are a number of scriptures in the New Testament that seem to link baptism and church membership by referring to the people who were baptized as being “added to the number” of the church. Some have interpreted the phrase “added to the number” as meaning that the people were placed on a church membership roll. This is possible, but there are other scriptures that appear to separate these two issues. For example, the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8 came to personal faith in Christ and was baptized in the middle of the desert. There was literally no church for him to join. Philip baptized him anyway, resulting in him being a baptized Christian but not a member of any particular church. History tells us that he later founded what has become the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. But that church did not exist at the moment of his baptism, therefore he could not join it. In this situation, baptism and church membership were not automatically connected. Therefore, we should be cautious about making them automatically connected in modern times. While baptism and church membership are not automatically connected, it is very important for people to make a commitment to a specific church so they can serve the Lord with their spiritual gifts and be accountable to the biblical authority of that church. Once a person has been baptized, they should prayerfully take the next step and become a member of a specific church. This would normally be the church that baptized them, but we know from the experience of the Ethiopian eunuch that it might not always be the case.

Conclusion:
Baptism was important enough for Jesus to set an example by being baptized Himself. In the

First Century, baptism was practiced by those who came to sincere personal faith in Christ, regardless of their previous religious expression. Have we taken this important step and been baptized after we have made a personal commitment to Christ? If we have, then we should find a church to join and begin to serve the Lord with passion. If we have not, then we should prayerfully seek baptism even if it means we must be re-baptized. Once we have been re-baptized, we should join a church so we can use our gifts to serve the Lord.

Implementing Strategy Based Ministry

A presentation developed by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett that offers testimony of how God shifted the Green Mountain Baptist Association from a program based ministry to a ministry based on strategy.

Introduction:

The Green Mountain Baptist Association is made up of small churches that serve rural villages and small towns. It is not possible for us to do everything like big city associations do, so we decided to focus on three key priorities and focus our ministry on strategies that would support those priorities.

Historical Context - The way it used to be in the Green Mountain Baptist Association:

•               In the past the GMBA did a lot of things for the churches that the churches should have been doing for themselves.

•               For example, we trained most of the Sunday School teachers instead of letting the churches train them themselves.

•               It seemed we were constantly begging people to come to our meetings and our events.

•               In 1999 we realized that not only could we not keep doing things the way we had done them in the past, but that our well intentioned efforts were actually hindering the growth of the individual churches.

•               We began to look for ways in which we could be more effective in our efforts because the lostness around us was almost overwhelming and business as usual was not working.

•               We realized we needed to move to a strategy based effort instead of a program based effort. It took time to make this change.

•               In 2001 we decided to stop promoting specific programs and instead focus on helping churches develop individual strategies that actually worked.

•               Though some pastors did not like this approach, others embraced it and those individual churches have grown as well as the total number of churches in the association.

The Green Mountain Baptist Association decided to focus on three key priorities:

Encouraging Visionary Leadership

Engaging the Culture with the Gospel

Igniting Spiritual Passion

We encourage visionary leadership:

•Through 1 on 1 mentoring and small group gatherings due to the distance between churches and the large number of bivocational pastors.

•By encouraging more visionary pastors to take less visionary pastors out to lunch and spend time with them.

•By highlighting visionary efforts from our churches/pastors in our newsletter and website.

•By encouraging our pastors to plan their own events which the association can support and promote instead of asking the churches to take part in association sponsored events.

•Though aggressive fundraising to help our churches’ fulfill their vision. These funds are outside our regular budget and must meet one of our three priorities.

We engage the culture with the Gospel:

•                        By facilitating over 50 volunteer mission teams each summer to do ministry projects such as VBS, sports camps, block parties, construction on the homes of elderly and/or needy people in the community, and musical concerts.

•                        By asking those same volunteer teams to train the local church to do the ministry themselves once the team leaves.

•                        By encouraging our churches to take part in community events instead of creating their own events.

•                        By facilitating direct partnerships with state conventions, individual churches and associations, foundations, and individuals who have a passion for sharing the Gospel with Vermont. We encourage these partners to only adopt and fund projects that help the churches directly engage the culture with the Gospel.

We join the Holy Spirit in Igniting Spiritual Passion by:

•                        Encouraging our churches to engage in prayer walking in their own town and in nearby towns.

•                        Facilitated the adoption of every town in Vermont for concerted prayer by at least one church in North Carolina. Some towns have multiple prayer partners.

•                        Choosing not to start a mission in any town until we sense a “spiritual breakthrough” in that town.

•                        By asking each of our four full time missionary couples and our one half-time missionary to set the example by doing direct ministry themselves. Each of them are deeply involved in the churches they are members of and take part in direct missionary efforts instead of just doing administrative ministries. Note: All but one of these couples serve through the MSC program.

Is this strategy based effort working better than our old system of promoting programs?

• In 2001 all the churches combined had a total membership of 881 people, in 2010, the combined membership had risen to 1,663.
• In 2001 the churches only baptized 69 people combined, while in 2010 those same churches baptized 129 people.
• In 2001 the Sunday worship attendance of all the churches combined was only 866 people, whereas in 2010 the combined Sunday attendance was 2027.
• In 2001 the Sunday School enrollment for all the churches was 679, with an average of only 463 people. By 2010 the enrollment had increased to 1,789 with an average attendance of 1,300.
• Though numbers do not tell the whole story, clearly they tell part of the story. A focus on strategy instead of programs has helped facilitate remarkable growth in the past decade for GMBA churches. Join us in praising God for these amazing results.