Good Friday Meditation for 2016

Good Friday. What a name for a day on which something so terrible as the death of Christ happened. To think that an innocent man was brutally murdered in front of an approving crowd is almost unimaginable, except that it wasn't just a myth or someone's vivid imagination, it actually happened.

Good Friday shows the depths of the depravity of man. It shows how low people will sink to protect their political aspirations, their theological assumptions, or their place in the world. It shows how even good people will deny the truth or hide in the shadows while great horror happens around them, which begs the question, are they actually good? The answer of course is that there is none good, no not even one (Romans 3:10).

Good Friday also shows the amazing love of God. That He would endure such agony for us is something hard to fathom. None of us deserve it. None of us can truly appreciate it. None of us would even understand it without the gift of grace. Yet, while we were yet sinners, God demonstrated His love for us by allowing Jesus to die for us (Romans 5:8).

What makes this day good is not the agony of Jesus, but the love He had for those He was in agony for. Because of what happened on this day, every good and perfect gift can now come to us from the Lord who does not change like the ever shifting court of public opinion (James 1:17). He has declared that He loves us. And that declaration stands. No matter what. This is a hard truth to accept, and yet we must if we are to have any hope for a joyful life on earth and a more joyous one on the other side of death.

Let us remember Good Friday on days in which we feel unloved, or unlovable. Let us remember that He has decided that He loves us and nothing can change that. Nothing. Period. We can resist that love (which does not change the fact that He still loves us), or we can embrace that love (which gives us great peace and comfort). I chose to embrace it, and that makes this day good.

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/

The Answer - Guest Post by Rev. Robert Dickard

In my lifetime I have observed that the church has moved from a position of clout in society to a culture of cost. I mean by this that what the church believed and said on issues of the day had some influence and carried some weight. Politicians, and society in general, were guided by what Christians believed. 

We have seen a seismic shift in how our culture values the opinion of the church. Instead of having clout, there now seems to be a cost involved in having any biblical position on issues facing Believers. 

We are, in reality, “daytime people living in a nighttime culture.” 

We shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus said this would happen. The New Testament gives hope and assurance. The answer to the problems we face today will not be discovered by politicians or scientists. The answer is in the discovery of an empty tomb on Easter morning!

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Rev. Robert Dickard is the Director of Missions of the Piedmont Baptist Association in Easley, SC. You can learn more about his ministry at http://piedmontbaptist.com/

Teens on Mission for God

Matthew 16:18 - And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Last month I was blessed to spend an evening at a major youth conference sponsored by the ministry I serve. That night over 850 teens had gathered to worship, hear testimonies from their peers and hear the Word preached by a young adult who had once been in their number. That night the group also commissioned 23 teens to go on short term mission trips to three international locations and one domestic location. It was a blessing to watch the group pray for their peers and ask God’s blessings as they went on mission for God. In addition to praying, the group also took up an offering. They had been challenged to bring $10 to donate to the various mission efforts that the 23 students would be engaged in. Nearly $6,000 was raised that night, by teens, to send teens on mission for God.

It was a moving moment to experience. But I think it also serves as a great reminder that no matter what all the pundits say about young people abandoning the church, there are still many who have not bowed the knee to Baal. There a hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of teenagers across America who are deeply committed to sharing the love of Christ with others. They are willing to give of their time and their money to make this happen. They are a force to be reckoned with.

Though many are concerned about the future of the church in America, I am not discouraged. In fact, I am encouraged. I witness gatherings like that one and I am reminded that the gates of hell will not prevail against God’s church. The church may go through ups and downs, but until Jesus returns to take His bride, the church, home to heaven, the church will continue to be His voice on earth.

Lord, raise up a generation of men and women willing to put it all on the line for 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

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

Driftwood: Sea Trash Becomes Amazing Monument

Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

A few weeks ago I spent a week at a conference. The conference center we met at was on ocean. Each afternoon when our session would end, I took a long walk on the beach. Each day as I walked I would pass a piece of driftwood that had been made smooth by the waves and now was stood in the sand beside the ocean in an amazing display of beauty. One day it occurred to me that this piece of wood, which was once rough and nothing more than “sea trash” now stood like a monument to the stately beauty of the ocean’s power to smooth away rough edges.

As I reflected on the things of God while I continued to walk, I realized that this driftwood is a lot like our own lives. We all have our rough edges. We all have aspects of our lives that are less attractive. We may at times feel like trash battered about by the waves of this world. But God has a way of using the waves that batter against our lives to smooth out our rough edges. He has a way of making what seems bad into something that is good. God’s ways are often mysterious but when we submit to them, we become monuments to His power.

Whatever we are facing in our lives, we must trust the Lord to see us through. We must trust that our rough edges are being removed and we are becoming better, for the glory of His name.

Lord, help us learn to trust You to make us monuments to Your own glory. 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

Small Churches Matter!

19. That was how many people were present on my first Sunday as pastor of Washington Baptist Church, Washington, VT, which included my family of four. The church had never been large, even back in its glory years of the 1950’s, it had never averaged more than 45 or 50 in worship. It was a small church in a rural village in a rural state in northern New England. It was easy to feel like we were so small that nothing we did really mattered.

But for the 53 people who came to faith in Christ during the eight years we served that church, it made a difference. For the missionaries and mission projects that we raised money for, nearly $100,000 from our little church during that 8 year period, it made a difference. Though the church remains small, and it has been several years since we have been to that little village, they are still faithfully making a difference in their community and across New England through their involvement in disaster relief and through managing the Calef Retreat Center.

At a recent meeting I attended at the national office of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, TN, I learned that 64% of all Southern Baptist churches have less than 100 in worship. And 81.4% have less than 200 in worship. Yet the SBC remains one of the most robust missionary organizations in the world. Small churches matter. They do make a difference.

If you lead a small church, or are a member of a small church, do not feel discouraged. Do not bemoan what you cannot do, instead celebrate what you can do. Look around your community, look around the larger region where you are located, and look around the world and do something. That something, no matter how small it may seem, when empowered by the Holy Spirit and added to a lot of other small churches’ “somethings” makes a huge difference.

God is working through small churches, and that is something to celebrate!

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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

SEPARATION, EQUALITY, AND THE CHURCH - Guest post by Itamar Elizalde

I’ve often mentioned that I was born in the wrong decade. I absolutely love studying and reading about the civil rights’ movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. I’ve pictured myself at sit-ins and marches, singing in churches awaiting a speech by Rev. Dr. King. I am fascinated with the non-violent movement, proud of those within the Church who stepped up against injustice and deeply saddened by the forces of people who used the Christian faith to justify their own comforts and a sinful status quo.

The emotions I feel about our history are perhaps what fuel my shock about our present complacency both culturally (in our wider secular context) and within the Church. Segregation is more prevalent today than it was right before the civil rights movement. I lead a workshop of high school freshmen and they could very well attest. Their school and neighborhood are “dominated” by Hispanics while the next town over “is all white people”. They are also quick to respond that it’s different today than it was in Rosa Parks’ era of civil disobedience. When asked why, students respond that it is because it is their choice. They choose to stay in their particular town and not move to the next town over. Nobody is forced. There are no signs to determine which race or ethnicity can live where.

It’s our choice. Equality is now the law. Separation is our choice. My response was, “so we’re essentially separate… but equal”.

The kids could recognize the phrase that carries a heavy connotation to anyone who has studied the civil rights movement, but it rings true today. Here are some thoughts on our current complacency that justifies separation and blinds us to our responsibility…

Separation limits our choices. I love being Puerto Rican. I really do. We’re an odd bunch and I love it. But there are some things I do not like about my culture. It’s prideful and stupid of me to accept things of my culture that are ineffective, irrelevant or, worse, damaging (although this happens all the time). There are things about the Asian culture (as a random example) that I love and incorporate in my life. Things that are solid, sound, and biblical. If I choose to separate myself, I limit my exposure—securing ignorance, delaying growth, stunting progress and exposingdisobedience. Freedom is based on a freedom to choose. Just as sin enslaves, thus giving the illusion of freedom but forcing us to live under its consequences, the sin of intentional separation gives the illusion of freedom but limits rather than liberates.

Separation erodes our understanding of one another.  I confess: I love shortcuts. I like spending less time to get to exactly where I need to go. Stereotypes often seem like shortcuts to genuine community. I’m guilty of this one all the time. I don’t need to ask her, I know she’ll say no because she’s like this… It leads me to believe that I know others when I really don’t. This essentially deceives us into believing we’ve taken a shortcut when it’s only deviated us from genuine community. This has only gotten worse through the polarization of our politics. There is no need to have a conversation with anyone who votes Democratic or Republican because, well, we already know what they will say. People become static; a caricature, even.

I don’t want to go into the dangers of caricatures, stereotypes, segregation and hate but instead speak with the Church. I do see a direct link between willing separation and facilitating stereotypes, even subtle ones. And while I like groups with similar interests in background because of the support they can often provide, I’m bothered when these are more common than (or even replace) our explicit efforts of integration.

So what, then, shall we do? We, the Church, need to lead efforts of explicit integration by incorporating diversity not only in policies but in preaching, teaching, mission statements, and outreach. Encourage conversation with like and unlike-minded people. Remind each other that Jesus ate with known liberal types and sat down with conservative judges and was willing to compromise his reputation with some without compromising his character.

We often watch television, look at our bi-racial president and believe Jim Crow is dead when he’s quietly making a living in our churches, social circles and implicit belief systems. Intentional separation, like any other sin, is to be fought with repentance and empowered by grace. We shouldn’t be okay with separate fellowships based solely on race. We shouldn’t be okay with distinguishing our worship styles based on ethnicity. And we shouldn’t be okay with not addressing these issues simply because we want to avoid difficult theological conversations that expose our desperate need for grace.

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Itamar lives in Central Mass and is a campus minister in the Worcester area. She describers herself as a petite Puerto Rican with not so petite thoughts. This post, which was used with her permission, originally appeared on her blog, which can be read at:

https://itamah.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/separation-equality-and-the-church/