14 BAPTIZED

I'm amazed... I know I shouldn't be, but I'm still amazed. God Spirit is still moving and I'm amazed! When God begins to move in our congregation, I've learned to just get out of the way!

This past Thursday, Justin (our Youth Pastor) baptized 4 of our Christian School students during chapel. The baptistry heater didn't get turned on, so... the water was COLD! Those kids will never forget their baptism. :-) Yesterday, we had 10 people baptized during our morning service. Justin baptized 4 teenagers at the beginning of the service and I baptized 6 adults at the end of the service. It was special as several of the adults shared their testimonies. One is a deacon who was saved last week. One is a Christian School teacher who gained assurance of her salvation. One was a man who had known for several years that he was unsaved, but allowed pride to keep him from making that decision. (Interesting... when he got saved, he didn't care what anyone else thought!) Another was a lady who was saved last week, another saved a couple of months ago and another was a college student. In addition, we had another dear lady come for church membership and the altars were full as people were praying.

God's Spirit is moving and people continue to respond. People all over Hartsville are hearing about our services and talking about us (in a good way) wherever you go. Last night, we had a Ministry Meeting and people were unanimous in their decision and exhibiting unity in their spirit. It was another GREAT day!

ECS Girls Volleball State Champs

It finally happened! After winning state championships on the "A" level, our Emmanuel Christian School girls volleyball team is now the South Carolina State Champion on the "AA" level. The SCACS AA tournament was held this past weekend in Upstate and our Lady Crusaders took the championship match with a score of 3-0 against Conway Christian School. Coached by Billy Smith, our ladies have been the State Runners-up for the past couple of years; but not anymore... they are the CHAMPS! Team members include: Caitlyn Bell, Karen Bullard, Caylee Carpenter, Paten Hall, Krista Hodges, Mallory James, Krisa Melton, Millie Rogers, Bridgette Smith, and Laney Williamson.

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES!

Judgement House Report

EBC just concluded our 5th year of presenting Judgement House to our community. This year, there were literally 100+ volunteer workers participating from our church family, plus the JH team. All previous records were broken this year with 1,594 people touring the drama, 182 decisions for salvation, 64 decisions for rededication, and numerous others who came for special prayer. That sounds miraculous, but even more-so when you realize we are in a city with a population of less than 8,000 people!

Each decision was followed-up personally with a counselor and literature was distributed to help these new believers start their walk with Christ. Bibles were also given to those without one in their home. Each person who made a decision was asked to write their decision on a poster board and sign it. WOW! You should read these written testimonies!

Not only was this event beneficial to those who attended it, but it also benefitted our church. It helped us refocus on outreach and evangelism. It took our eyes off ourselves and made us aware of and compassionate toward those without Christ. It caused us to pray without ceasing, realizing that nothing would come of our efforts, unless God's Spirit brought people to conviction. It also reminded us of the joy it brings to work with other churches as Youth Pastors entrusted us to share the message of God's saving grace with their groups. Each church was given all of the follow-up information for those who made decisions and now we pray that true discipleship will take place.

A special "thanks" goes out to our volunteers, those who organized groups, and to the Lord of the Harvest Who blessed our efforts with eternal rewards!

God's Spirit is Moving at EBC

A new day is dawning at EBC and God’s Spirit is moving! It appears that God is opening the windows of heaven and pouring out His blessings on our church family!

Below are just a few of the ways God has been blessing EBC since August 3, 2008:
- There is a renewed spirit of excitement in our church services
- People are renewing spiritual commitments
- 31 students have been saved through ECS and 4 were baptized in chapel
- 22 salvations through EBC
- 20 baptisms
- 24 new members
- Worship attendance continues to increase
- Several LIFE Groups are ready to birth new classes
- Over 50 ladies are involved in Bible studies outside of Sunday mornings
- Men are being trained as deacons
- Our new singles’ LIFE Group and DivorceCare classes are steadily growing
- And the list goes on!

BUT LISTEN TO THIS...
Yesterday... I preached about God's saving grace and a man shared his testimony. It resulted in a 45 minute invitation and God's Spirit moving like I've NEVER seen Him before! 10 people were saved, 6 came for assurance, many for rededication, 14 for baptism, 2 families joined the church (19 members the Sunday before!), the altars were full, and people were weeping uncontrollably over what God was doing! Again... a 45 minute invitation! We had a deacon saved, our congregational worship leader walked off the platform in need of assurance, a man fell on the altar praying for his daughter and men engulfed him in prayer. A lady who was getting ready to have surgery was surrounded and embraced by other ladies. I can't even begin to tell you what it was like. And right now... I can hardly see my computer screen because God is still squeezing my heart and the tears are flowing. I just had to tell you! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!

In addition, men have been sharing how God had been convicting them to clear their consciences, repent, and renew their relationships with the Lord. Through tears, they are expressing how difficult it was, but how clean and refreshed they feel. They are experiencing real freedom in Christ.

These are just a few of the incredible stories of what God is doing at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hartsville, SC. Please keep praying for us!

19 New Members

I can't even begin to tell you what is happening at EBC! God is beginning to move in ways that are far beyond what I could ask or think. It is truly a moving of the Holy Spirit! When we were growing at miraculous pace, then Satan attacked our church through the sin of one of our staff members. Another church family was also involved and it has been devastating, but God is faithful. If that wasn't enough, our attendance decreased as our Spanish Pastor was not allowed back into the USA and that ministry went from 70+ to 25 on average. In addition, over 70 people from our church relocated -- only 3 of those families stayed in SC. It was discouraging to see over 125 people leave, but God is good and this is His church. In the midst of the turmoil, I felt impressed of the Holy Spirit to preach on revival and told the church that I wouldn't stop until we experienced it. Things got worse! Preaching on revival will truly divide a church as the righteous get right, but sinners get angry! Many in our church have been praying for revival and God Spirit has been moving in our church. Revival started in our youth department, but it has been spreading! Many new people have joined our church family and God brought us some of the strongest believers and dedicated workers that I've ever met! Attendance is stronger in our main service than it has been in the past two years! Last Sunday, God blessed our church with 19 new members -- on the same day! Remember... we're in Hartsville! That is an army of workers and these wonderful people really are workers. They were serving in various capacities even prior to membership. Pray for us as we minister to them and for them as they serve God and His people at EBC. Yesterday was GOOD!

Religion and Politics DO Mix

With the upcoming elections, I've already heard people saying..., “I don’t discuss politics or religion.” Well, don’t hurt yourself laughing when I tell you I’m from Palm Beach County, Florida. Yes... the state that had the voting fiasco, where we first heard about hanging chads, dimpled chads, and we supposedly stole the election from Al Gore; but I would like to share some thoughts regarding Christians and voting!

I suspect that many avoid discussions regarding religion and politics, because they know very little about either one. Many people choose to affiliate with a particular denomination and/or political party, due to their parents’ influence. Often, they don’t even know the basic tenets of their faith or their party’s platform. This lack of understanding in a voting booth often leads to a simple and uniformed vote along party lines. Such a flippant approach toward voting smacks in the face of those who died to give us that right! Christians must rise above this intellectual apathy by researching what the candidates stand for, then voting for those who uphold biblical principles.

The question arises, “Do religion and politics really mix?” The answer is emphatically “YES!” Christians have a right and an obligation to be politically active. We should be the leaders in the community; running for political offices and making decisions based on biblical absolutes. We should be outraged to see judges and politicians rejecting every semblance of Christianity. Contrary to popular belief, the words “separation of church and state” DO NOT appear in the U.S. Constitution and the premise that religious people should stay out of politics is absurd! Had Christians been more involved in politics, there may have been fewer Ten Commandments, nativity scenes and Christian symbols removed from public places.

Religion and politics must mix in order to form an educated political and world view for the Christian. Christ-followers cannot just ignore issues such as protecting traditional marriage, abortion, homosexual adoption, and more. No issue can be politically right if it’s biblically wrong! Christians should make no apologies for voting in accordance with biblical values and candidates who support them.

Believers should be researching the biblical positions of the candidates who will appear on the November 4 ballot. Research the candidate’s voting record, his reputation, how he treats his family, whether he attends church year round or only at election time, and whether or not he represents you based on biblical values or popular opinion. For information on the candidates visit www.afa.net.

Remember, politics and religion DO mix and it’s time for Christians to become politically active! This is still one nation “UNDER GOD!”

Agree to Disagree Agreeably

Some of the nicest and some of the meanest people that I have ever met have been those who claim to be Christians. Have you ever noticed that some people have a heavenly smile, while others look like they’ve been sucking on lemons? For some, the sour looks are a way of life, for others, they are the result of disagreements gone awry.

Have you ever disagreed with anyone? People have disagreements at home, at work and even at church. There is no problem with disagreeing; in fact, disagreements have the potential to expand the horizons of open minded people. The problems lie not in the disagreements themselves, but in the way that people respond to them.

Have you ever watched children on a playground? What happens when one doesn’t get his way? He becomes angry, he takes his ball and he goes home. Sadly, the same behavior is exhibited among some adults within the Christian community. They become angry when the carpet is not their favorite color, the choir doesn’t sing their favorite song, the preacher doesn’t support their viewpoint or a visitor sits in their favorite pew. They reenact the playground scenario--they get angry, but instead of picking up their ball, they pickup their Bible; instead of going home, they go to another church; and instead of dividing friends on the playground, they divide the family of God.

Disagreements can be good and even healthy; but becoming disagreeable cannot. Most churches do not lose members due to their biblical positions, but many lose them due to their harsh dispositions. Disagreements are a part of life and always will be, so let’s examine how to “agree to disagree agreeably."

In my observation, there are two common elements to any disagreement - an issue and opposing viewpoints. It is very possible that both viewpoints may be correct. If one person describes the interior of a house and another describes the exterior, they are both right in their descriptions of the house; but from different viewpoints. Viewpoints vary in accident reports, at sporting events, at smorgasbords and among auto enthusiasts. We don’t break friendships over a referee’s call, items on a buffet line or whether we drive a Ford or Chevy; so why do we break fellowship over things that are even less significant in a church?

It is imperative that we learn to disagree without becoming malicious and degrading. Ephesians 4:29 tells us that our words should edify others and “minister GRACE to the hearers,” lest they grieve the Holy Spirit of God. God desires us to be tenderhearted and forgiving toward one another as we remember the eternal debt that He forgave us.

The Bible records disagreements between godly leaders and how they responded. Two of the most familiar stories are Abraham vs. Lot (Gen. 13) and Paul vs. Barnabas (Acts 15). The characters in both stories eventually separated; but even after their separation, they exhibited grace toward one another. There is no record of unkind words being exchanged, no effort to defame their character and no attempt to lead a coup against them. The Bible indicates that they “agreed to disagree agreeably.”

Since disagreements are inevitable, there are several things to remember when caught in the middle of one: 1) Leave room for opposing viewpoints; 2) Don’t assassinate a person’s character; and 3) If you don’t get your way – get over it! We would never allow a child to attack his siblings because he didn’t get his way, neither can we allow “brothers and sisters” in Christ to tear apart the family of God. A mark of true spiritual maturity is the ability to “agree to disagree agreeably!

The Windows of Heaven are Open

You may be tired of hearing the same things over and over, but I can't stop sharing what God is doing. We had another 5 people saved and 3 baptized over the course of the past week. People are also beginning to share additional stories of opportunities they have been given to share at work and people who are stopping them in restaurants to ask what is going on at Emmanuel Baptist Church. When people are focused and excited about God, it is contagious!

There is a renewed spirit of excitement in our youth ministry, music ministry, school, LIFE Groups, and almost every facet of Emmanuel Baptist Church. I say almost, because we all know that the Pharisees missed Jesus in their presence and there are some who are sadly missing out of the revival that is going on all around them. Our prayer continues to be that God will use us to lead people into a passionate pursuit of Him.

Understanding Church Membership

I remember sitting at a pastors’ breakfast a couple of years ago, when an interim pastor told me that the church he had been serving was calling a new pastor. He asked me to pray for that new pastor and went on to say that he had a big job stepping into a church of 1,200 members. I knew the church he was speaking of and I was taken back by his comment. The interim pastor must have seen it in my eyes; because his next statement was, “Truth be known, even the CIA couldn’t find 200 of those members.” I personally thought, “Truth be known, the CIA couldn’t find 1,000 of them.”

Since that breakfast dialogue, I’ve been intrigued by listening to pastors talk about this thing we call “church membership.” I go to pastors’ meetings and hear pastors bragging about the size of their church membership. The numbers sound impressive, but the actual Sunday attendance is one-third or less. Associations, conventions, and denominational boards use this same manipulation of “membership” numbers for positioning against other denominations or even as leverage to persuade politicians.

Conversations among church-goers regarding membership also intrigue me. Some people don’t want to “join” any church, others join without even knowing what a church believes, and others desire to leave their membership at one church while attending another. Wouldn’t that be similar to maintaining a marriage certificate with one wife, while moving in with another woman? I guess the answer is left to be determined by one’s personal interpretation or definition of church membership.

Speaking for Baptist churches, most require those desiring to teach, work with children, or hold any positions of leadership to become members for the sake of maintaining accountability. The requirements for membership in a Baptist church are simply salvation and baptism. The practice comes from Acts 2:41 as it describes they that gladly (a) received his word, were (b) baptized: and the same day they were (c) added to the church. Denominations differ regarding the requirements for church membership and some require membership candidates to complete indoctrination classes before they can be accepted into the church. While the requirements differ, the basic concept of membership is the same.

As we know, many churches mindlessly practice the traditions they have acquired through the centuries. In an effort to be “biblical, not traditional,” we must examine what the Bible says regarding church membership. As we study the Bible, we find that those who were saved were immediately part of Christ’s body - the Church. While there is much theological debate over whether or not baptism was a requirement for Church membership; it is certain that those who were completely and fully denouncing their pagan lifestyle chose to identify publicly with Christ through the act of baptism after salvation.

So, did the church at Corinth, Ephesus, or Sardis practice local church membership? In Bible times, all of the believers in a city were part of that local church. They assembled and worshiped together. They didn’t fight, split, or consider themselves competitors as many churches do today. They saw themselves as members of Christ’s body. Through the years, the Church has adopted many practices from the business world, including the concept of membership. Pastors want commitment and members want to know who’s on their team, who is going to help pay the bills, who is going to help do ministry, and who should have voting rights.

I would have a hard time proving that local church membership, as it is practiced today, is completely biblical; but I do think it is important for the reasons stated above. While I believe that every person who comes to Christ the Savior for forgiveness of sin is part of Christ’s body, I also believe every Christ-follower should be part of a local congregation. Let me close by encouraging all believers to be part of a local church family, to serve in and through that local church family, and to remain committed to that local church family. We all need a place to belong, until Christ calls us home!

A Mighty Rushing Wind

I can't tell you that we are experiencing anything like the moving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, but I can tell you that we are at least feeling the effects of His wind! Today the Spirit continued moving in our services. For the past two months, people have been making decisions in our services, in our offices, in their homes, at school, and more. This week, 4 more people were saved. PRAISE THE LORD!

Our church family is getting right with God and He is moving in ways that we could never have imagined. Our key verse for revival has been 2 Chron 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." It's true... IF those who call themselves Christians will repent and begin living holy lives, God can do miraculous things through them.

The problem as I see it is that too many "Christians" are not true Christ-followers, which means that many churches are nothing more than social organizations. When people say the church is full of hypocrites... they're right! I've been preaching on the tough topics of pride, humility, honesty, holiness, forgiveness, and other lost topics in today's churches. It has resulted in our church family getting right and now the whole community is being impacted by the stories of revival that are being shared across our small town. Please pray that God will keep working, until every person in our church family is in a right relationship with Him.