MORE Saved at ECS Retreat

We just completed our 2008 ECS Spiritual Emphasis Retreat with our high school students. We tried a new format this year and kept the students occupied on our 260 acre campus. They had a variety of activities across our campus, slept on campus, played games at (and in) our pond, swam at the local country club, etc. Each morning and evening, we hosted a chapel service! The services involved our Chapel Band and speakers from within our faculty. It may be one of the best spiritual emphasis retreats that I've ever been part of. Attending a Christian school myself, I know how easy it is to play the game of hypocrisy. I am committed to helping our students realize that spirituality is not a game and we are committed to having a Christian school -- not a "private" school. I feel that if all we do is offer a great academic product... we've failed.

With that being said, we are really trying to help our students see Christ as never before. I spent a couple of sessions really challenging them to recognize hypocrisy and decide to live lives of authenticity. Our Youth Pastor dovetailed with those messages and preached a strong message on "real" salvation. During the course of the weekend, 6 of our high school studnets made decisions for salvation and many others rededicated their lives to Christ. Others still need to be saved, so please join us in praying that they will.

26 Saved This Week

GOD'S SPIRIT IS MOVING in our church and in our Christian School. With the start of the new school year, we always start by sharing the gospel with our students and hosting a spiritual empahsis retreat for our high school students. Well, the retreat doesn't happen for another couple of weeks, but listen to what God did at ECS last week. We started this school year with 432 students and just this week, 26 of those students made decisions for salvation. This is one of the privileges of having a Christian School. Not only do we get to teach subject matter from a Christian world-view, but we also get to share the message of salvation. One person said, "We offer academics and MORE!" Pray for us as we now work to disciple these students and reach these families.

Revival Fires are Burning!

It's Monday, again, and I have to tell you what happened yesterday! The flames of revival continue to burn! We've seen another 3 people come to the decision for salvation. (Remember, we're in a town of less than 8,000 people!) The man who was saved last week was baptized this morning. It was a sweet time as he had to gently kneel and lean forward, due to severe back problems; but he wanted to take that step of public identification. It gave a great opportunity to ask, "If he could do it, what's your excuse?" We added another 8 new members today, along with their 3 children. 6 people rededicated their lives to our Lord and again, the altars were full. We are really to the point that we can't wait until the invitation time comes... so we can see what God is going to do!

MORE Saved and Baptized

God is working in our church services and revival is beginning! Today, our morning worship service started with 9 baptisms. Those who came forward during last week's invitation were among those baptized. Several others were also moved to take this step of obedience during the week. A young man who is on fire for our Lord has been a major spark in the flames of revival. He was baptized this morning and willing to say "yes" to whatever the Lord asks. A special moment occurred as our Youth Pastor, Justin, baptized his wife. Their transparency and honesty before our congregation was amazing. Remember... Justin was just baptized last Sunday.

In addition, there were five more salvations this week. Some occurred in conjunction to the service and others occurred as friends began sharing their testimonies with others. A man who grew up in our church, was so convicted that he came weeping and it took a couple of minutes for him to even tell me why he came forward. He said, "Preacher, I need to be saved." Three more teens were saved this week and the flames of revival are spreading. We added another family to the church and the altar was full again today. GOD IS MOVING!

The Start of Revival

Last night, we had a MAJOR wind storm that took down trees, power lines, and knocked out electricity across our area. Needless to say, today's service was interesting. Some lights, no air conditioning, etc. Believe it or not, the sound system worked and so did God's Spirit. I preached on "Holiness" and the altar response was so good, that I'm thinking about turning off the A/C again next week.

During this past week, our teenagers were running a VBS for a church that we are helping to start in Clover, SC. While our teens thought they were going to minister to others, it was our group that would experience God's moving. The VBS was a great success and there were 10 salvations among those who participated, BUT there were 6 salvations among our team of teenagers that were on the mission team. Included in that number were my middle daughter (17 years old) and our Youth Pastor's wife (age undisclosed for my own safety). On the night that they were both saved, the scene is described as our teenagers scattered across the lawn and through the buildings praying into the wee hours of the morning.

The Sunday after the team returned, we started our Worship Service with the Youth Pastor admitting to the church that he had been a hypocrite, because he had been performing many of our baptisms, but had not personally been baptized after his salvation. He asked the church's forgiveness and then I stepped into the baptistry and baptized him. Immediately following, I had the privilege of baptizing my daughter, Bethany! WOW... what a great feeling for a dad!

After starting our service by baptizing the Youth Pastor and then the Pastor's daughter -- I knew it was going to be a good day. At the close of the service, we had one of Christian School teachers come for salvation. Justin's testimony also touched another lady who grew up in our church and she came for baptism. Two came for church membership and the altar was lined with people rededicating their lives to Christ. It was a GREAT day!

If Gossip is Wrong, Why Do Christians Do It?

The privacy of the Catholic confessional booth provides great symbolism into people's desire to keep their secret sins secret. No one wants to be embarrased by having his shortcomings and foolish decisions proclaimed publicly; BUT, people sure don't mind talking publicly about the sins of others!

Gossip is one of the most "trendy" sins among professing Christians. Gossip is an artform which can be camoflouged under the cover of a prayer request, the guise of a concern, or under the veil of a self-appointed victim. Gossip can be used to rally support, to defame individuals, or to tear apart churches. Gossip is fun, because it directs all of the attention and blame away from the one sharing it and refocuses attention in a different direction. Bottom line, it's a great strategy to keep people focused on others, so they can't get close enough to discover the real you.

From the number of believers who share gossip, it is obvious that they do not realize what the Bible says about it. Prov. 6:16-19 says, "These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him...a lying tongue...19A false witness that speaks lies, and HE that sows discord among brethren." Leviticus 19:16 -"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. "Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life." Proverbs 16:28 - "A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends." Proverbs 25:23 - "As surely as a wind from the north brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!" Proverbs 26:20 - "Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops." Romans 1:29 - "Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip." Gossip is an abomination before God because it hurts His people and destroys His church!

There are many reasons why people gossip: 1) Jealousy - Speaking evil of others helps bring them down to our level. 2) Anger - Some people gossip to "let off steam" about an issue or person with whom they are upset. 3) Acceptance - People want to "fit into" a group. 4) Deference - Talking about others keeps people from focusing on the one sharing the gossip. 5) Self-promotion - The desire to advance or look good at the expense of others. 6) Finally (at least in this post), a major reason for gossip among Christians is failure to understand how serious it is and how it is used by the devil. A person who shares gossip is doing Satan's work for him!

So how should you handle a gossip? 1) Stop them - It is wrong to spread gossip, but it is also wrong to listen to it. 2) Arrange a meeting between you, the gossiper, and the ones being talked about. If the gossiper won't attend the meeting, you'll immediately know that what they were sharing was not true. 3) Once you have discovered the truth, you should go back and correct any misinformation in the minds of those with whom the gossip was shared. This will clear the innocent and remove shadows of doubt.

Gossip has no place in the life of a Christian. Gal. 5:19 NLT says, "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results...hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group." Contrariwise, Gal. 5:22 NLT says, "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." From these passages in God's Word, I'll let you determine whether a gossiper is Spirit-filled or Satanically influenced.

Whatever Happened to Commitment?

I've recently been preaching a marriage series entitled, "Lord of the Rings." It's been difficult having to touch on subjects that require people to do serious introspection, but it is very necessary. Yesterday, I preached on the topic of "commitment." When I asked the couples who had been married for more than 50 years what the key to their marital success was, they all said, "commitment." They admitted that their marriages weren't perfect, but rather than choosing to walk-out over conflict, these committed couples chose to walk-through their problems. Commitment was an integral and an foundational part of these long-term marriages!

In the middle of a marriage series, God revealed to me the lack of commitment among "Christians" in so many areas -- including to their local church. We had a family leave our church last year and state, "You all expect too much commitment here." I'm sure many other church-goers have a similar concept which pastors call the "consumer" mentality. People choose a church based on what's in it for them and they rarely want to give anything back. They want good ministries for all of their family members, but they don't ever want to help in any of those areas.

Other believers have what could be called a "hip-hop" mentality toward commitment. They get their hip out of joint and hop on over to the next church when their feathers get ruffled. A simple offense over a preference results in a total walk-out on the church family they have loved, laughed, served, and shared with. I've often wondered if these solemn saints would walk-out on their own spouse and children if they had different musical tastes at home... Wow! This could be why some kids hide their music from their legalistic parents. One thing is for sure, this is a pattern which will be repeated and the church-hoppers will hop again. I guess we could rename these as the "Elizabeth Taylor" church members. They initiate relationships, tell you how wonderful you are compared to their ex, vow commitment to their new church family, entrench themselves, love, serve, and then LEAVE ... it's only a matter of time.

There are also the "fair-weather" church members. This group is like the fair-weather sports fan who changes his team allegiance based on winning percentages. These church members"commit" to a body of believers as long as the church does everything the way they like it. They're committed during the good times; but when a problem arises, they suddenly feel God "leading" them somewhere else. They are like the adulterer who makes his menu selection, but when he sees what someone else ordered... he wants to try some of that! These church members will move their membership whenever a new preacher comes to town, a church starts a new program, or the preaching strikes a cord of conviction.

Lack of commitment among "Christians" is not limited to the church, it spills over into the workplace. Long-time employees fail to appreciate the opportunities provided by an employer and choose to walk-out for a few more cents per hour. Lack of commitment is seen in major league sports when players take free-agency and sell their soul to the highest bidder (like they couldn't survive on a mere $5 million per year). Lack of commitment is seen in some college students who transfer from school to school and some totally drop out. Lack of commitment is seen when dads don't keep promises made to their children and they break the marriage vows made to their spouse.

Lack of commitment is evidenced in many arenas, but it can generally be traced back to a lack of commitment to God. Are you struggling to keep your commitments? Heed the command found in Deut. 6:10-14. First, remember that everything you have comes from God. Second, remain faithful to Him. Verse 14 says, "You shall not go after other gods..." Be committed to God and all of your other commitments will fall into place!" Finally, realize that Jesus was fully committed when He died on Calvary's cross for you and Rom 12:1-2 says that it is our "reasonable" service to be living sacrifices (committed) to Him!

The Lost Tomb of Jesus

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus?" You've got to be kidding. Tours are given of the site daily that both Christian and secular historians have identified. So why would anyone say they found Jesus' family tomb, His bones, and the bones of His wife and son? I smell an advertising scheme being used to help someone put a dollar or two in his personal bank account!

Academy Award winning director, James Cameron is catalyst behind this endeavor. Cameron and investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici, who wrote the book "The Jesus Family Tomb" are attempting to ride the coat tails of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code." Interesting, since James Cameron's 1998 movie, Titanic, was such a success and Ron Howard's, "The Da Vinci Code," was not. After all of the hype prior to the Da Vinci code and questions about whether or not it would cause people to doubt their faith, that movie moved off the scene quickly and very little discussion followed.

Cameron's "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" will premier on March 4 on the Discovery Channel. I for one - won't be watching! To call this a documentary raises great question about the credibility of the Discovery Channel itself. The entire premise for this "documentary" is built around theories that have been discredited by archaelologists since the limestone boxes were discovered in 1980. In fact, Cameron and Jacobivici both appeared recently on the TODAY Show and admitted that the probability that the remains are NOT really those of Jesus and His family members is more than 100 to 1.

Jesus was a very common name during the time of Christ. Jesus is a variation on the names Joshua, Jeshua, and Jehoshua. The variation would be similar to Robert, Roberto, or Bob. The name, Jesus, in that time would be as common as the names Bill, Tom, or Bob, today. Historians record at least 5 high priests known as Jesus. The historian, Josephus, makes reference to at least twenty people named Jesus. The name Jesus is used over 600 times in the New Testament. Colossians 4:11 refers to Jesus Justus, the friend of Paul. Acts 13:6 refers to the sorcerer at Paphos called Bar-Jesus. Some manuscripts even give Jesus as the first name of Barrabus in Matt. 27:17. So, to find a tomb with the name Jesus on it and conclude it must be Jesus the Christ; would be like finding a tombstone with George on it and concluding it must be George Washington.

Even further, to hear the claims that Jesus' name inscribed on the box demands more credibility would disqualify the so-called "authorities" even further. Archaelogists describe the practice of inscribing names on the burial boxes as being a very common practice in that region of the world during the 1st century. To even further discredit the so-called authorities that are pushing for DNA testing... just who are they going to compare the DNA to? Rational thinking and scientific approaches quickly discredit Cameron and reduce his claims to nothing more than a publicity stunt for his new movie.

Finally, will this shake the faith and foundation of the Church? Absolutely not! If anyone is persuaded by Cameron's claims, their faith was weak to start. To put the claims of Cameron ahead of the Holy Bible, which has been proven to be supernatural, would be ludicrous. It would also be to ignore the teachings and warnings of Jesus found in Matthew 24.

Christmas -- Going...Going...Gone!

Each December, we are reminded that America is a post-Christian nation as evidenced by the effort to erase Christmas from our culture. Department stores are now requiring employees to say, “Happy Holidays;” school students get a “winter break;” Christmas parades have been replaced by “holiday parades;” Christmas trees have been replaced by “holiday trees,” and Christmas light displays are now referred to as “holiday lights.”

The attack on Christmas is more than a simplistic Scrooge mentality. It is symptomatic of the anti-Christian sentiment that is widespread in America. This sentiment just seems more obvious at Christmas as suggested by talk show host, Bill O’Reilly’s statement, “There is an anti-Christian bias in this country, and it is more on display in the Christmas season than any other time.” Author Don Feder displays the same sentiment as he states, “You’d have an easier time setting up a nativity scene in Saudi Arabia than in most public parks.”
Now don’t misunderstand, the anti-Christian bias extends far beyond Christmas.
Battles are raging over Ten Commandments displays, efforts to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance, banning prayer from public events, and even redefining marriage. Rosie O’Donnell recently compared radical Christians to the Muslims who flew the planes into the World Trade Center; Keith Ellison, Democratic Congressman from Minnesota, desired to be sworn into office using the Koran; Ford Motor Company endorsed the defeat of Constitutional amendments banning same sex marriage; and the list goes on!

The widespread attacks against religion in America have been ongoing and subtle. People offer their annual uproar about greetings such as “Happy Holidays” and celebrations of Santa, but neither is new. What is new is the readily accepted replacement of nativity scenes by decorations pertaining to Kwanzaa and Labafana, which are indicators that people are forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
Clemson University religion professor, Nancy Hardesty, recently reported her belief that even Christians have forgotten the meaning of Christmas as a religious event. Could this be true? Christians are launching attacks against those taking Christ out of Christmas; but as author Matt Friedeman states, “Christians too often love to tackle "Happy Holiday" type issues because it diverts attention from the truth of our collective lives.” He states, “We are evangelicals without evangelism, Christians without compassion, and saints without a sanctifying presence.” Could it be that this secularization of culture, the removal of Christ from Christmas is ultimately the fault of Christians who have lost sight of the true meaning of not only Christmas; but also the true meaning of Christianity?
The effort to save Christmas must start within the Christian community. Christians must go back to the biblical foundation and become proactive in telling people about God’s love for mankind and the gift of His Son. If we fail to do so, we can only blame ourselves when our children come home singing, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Holiday,” or “I’m Dreaming of a White Holiday.” Worse yet, when they don’t even know that Jesus is the “Reason for the season!”

Renaming the Trinity?

“What’s in a name?” You may remember that famous question from Shakespeare's lyrical tale of lovers. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet and fall in love, but their romance is doomed from the start because their families are at war. Juliet tells Romeo that a name is meaningless, and that she loves the person, not the Montague name and not the Montague family. Romeo, out of his passion for Juliet, rejects his family name and vows, as Juliet asks, to "deny his father" and instead be sworn as Juliet's lover.

It appears that in our quest to pattern the church after today’s modern culture, some Christians are losing their awe, reverence, and respect for the holy name of God. They have adopted Juliet Capulet’s philosophy of “That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet” and taken it upon themselves to rename God. Such an act borders on blasphemy! It is true that God’s divinity is not impacted by what we call Him, but it is certainly not our right or privilege, as the creation, to rename our Creator.

On June 19, 2006, the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) actually discussed the idea of renaming the holy trinity. The project was initiated in the 212th General Assembly of 2000 and due in 2003, but it was delayed. While not officially adopted, the paper, titled “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing.” was commended to individual congregations for further study and discussion. While changes are seriously being considered, the Trinitarian formula of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” will still be used for baptisms.

The variations for the Trinitarian formula which are suggested in “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing” are as follows: “One from Whom, One through Whom, and One in Whom;” “Rainbow of Promise, Ark of Salvation, and Dove of Peace;” “Speaker, Word, and Breath;” “Overflowing fount, Living Water, and Flowing River;” “Sun, Light, and Burning Ray;” “Giver, Gift, and Giving;” “Lover, Beloved, and Love that Binds together Lover and Beloved;” “Rock, Cornerstone, Temple;” “Fire that Consumes, Sword that Divides, and Storm that Melts Mountains;” “One Who Is, One Who Was, and One Who Is To Come;” and finally, “Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child, Life-giving Womb;”

Life giving womb? Leanne Millinger asks, “How does a uterus suggest the role of the Spirit in the believer’s life — power to be Christ’s witness, victory over sin, convicting the world regarding sin, righteousness and judgment?” Such absurdity has motivated other believers back to reevaluate doctrine and as David Irby points out, “All major ‘Reformation churches’ have always agreed that those who don’t affirm, “Father, Son, Holy Spirit” cannot be saved. So even tinkering at the edges of that formula poses a danger to souls.”