Tommy Mitchell / The Rurban Church Blog

This Could Be the Day!

This could be it!  How absolutely beyond description it would be!  The experience itself would be unlike anything we have ever encountered! The transformation it would bring would be, in many instances, complete and far reaching!  The impact to the community would be evidenced within hours - maybe less!

This could be the day!  The day that we gathered together in worship and adoration of a Holy God! The day that somehow we collectively decided to no longer be in control!  The day that as worship unfolded we allowed the Holy Spirit full use of His roles - to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgement to come! This could be the day of yielding control of His church back to Him!  This could be the day of something far more than just a "revival!"  This could be the day that an awakening of God's spirit takes us to a place of service, sacrifice, and salvation like no other day!

This could be the day!  Sadly, many will read this, and longingly sigh, thinking it would be great - but doubtful it will happen.   We must live in expectation of this very thing - and we must live surrendered lives to the Lord ourselves!  This could be the day!

The Bible says that "He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask OR IMAGINE!" Ephesians 3:20.    I choose to ask Him who is able to unleash a flood of conviction, a flood of transformation, a flood of power upon His church today!  I choose to IMAGINE it happening at ABC!  What a fabulous day it will be!

This could be the day!

Multiplying!

I am reading a great missions book right now!  In it, a couple were talking about their frustration at not being able to reach more people for Christ!  The man said that he and his wife had averaged leading to 50 - 60 people to Christ each year!  Then he said they realized that with a different, more biblical approach, they could vastly exceed that by discipling others to lead others to Christ! 

So, when the Holy Spirit convicts people to whom they are sharing the Gospel, and when that person becomes a child of God, they get them to immediately begin sharing their faith, with five people per week!  There is much more to this process of discipleship which I will be sharing and probably using later.

BUT THE POINT that grabbed me was that this couple was so engaged in helping lost people understand salvation that they were leading 50 - 60 people per year to Christ!  In the vast majority of our churches, there would be REJOICING over the REVIVAL if 20 persons came to Christ in a year! This is the fruit of ONE couple being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Oh that we - that I - would be faithful in sharing the Good News of the Gospel and that we would disciple those new believers to share Good News with their friends!

An Open Letter to Agricola Baptist!

My heart is so full today!  I am excited about what God is doing!  Some great things are happening and are about to happen!

1. This Sunday! We will examine the topic "Do Worship Right!" this Sunday! As I prepare for this message I am reminded of how easily we make "worship services" about anything and everything other than focusing on Christ!  God is reminding me that there can only be one true object of our worship! Of course, worship is about far more -- far, far, more than Sundays!

2. This Sunday Night!  We will take some time to have fellowship towards the end of AAD with Dusty Sherrell, celebrating his recent earning of the Master of Divinity Degree!  That will happen at about 6:15 pm. 

3. This Fall!  Wow! The planning is not quite done - but God has laid an awesome theme on our hearts for August through December!  Each month will be different expression of this theme and I can hardly wait to unveil it to you!  Be praying! We are going to be doing some stuff for families, the community, and for our spiritual growth that will be fantastic! 

4. NEWSBOYS!  Have you heard?  Newsboys will be the featured group at Praise in the Park this year!  That is absolutely the hand of God at work!  ABC will go and participate!

5. Wednesday Night! In the adult study, we will be looking at Ananias: The Reluctant Disciple! What do you do when God tells you to do something you are not too sure about?  What do you do when you are instructed to do something by the Lord that seems.....well..... maybe dangerous?  We will see what Ananias did!  That is Wednesday night at 6:30 pm.

6. Wednesday Night Meal!  Hey! I just thought you might want to know!  We are having a baked potato bar and salad! That sounds great to me!

7.  God is blessing so much! We are enjoying serving our community!  Please remember Backpack Buddies this Sunday and bring a pop-top soup, little juicers etc.! We will take them during the $1.00 offering time to supply our Backpack Buddies for the rest of this school year! We are serving 41 children in two elementary schools by assisting them with weekend nutrition!  Praise the Lord!  I am thankful for the Lord raising up Melissa Smith to oversee this ministry!

Bring someone with you this Sunday! They will be introduced to the Lord and to genuine worship! Get excited! NOW!  Prepare for worship -NOW! How do you prepare for worship? You worship God now - today - with all your life! Obey Him - and come to the worship service with your heart full of God overflow from the week! 

Dr. T

Bucket List or Glory List?

We've all joked some about a bucket list!  You know, that list of things we hope to do before we "kick the bucket!"  For example, before I die, I hope to see Alaska!  I would also like to visit Russia and China!  Nothing wrong with that at all! I may get to do those things and I may not!  

But, I was thinking about the whole "bucket list" deal and I think it may need a little adjusting among the people of God!  You see, I'm not going to die!  Well, I may physically, but my spirit is alive in Christ and will be for eternity!  

So, I really do not need a bucket list! I will never run out of time!  What I really need is a "glory list!"  While I am still living in both body and spirit, there are some things far better than going to Alaska, Russia, or China! 

1. I would love to see the church I serve be overwhelmed with the Spirit of God - to the point that our only concern would be to accomplish the will of God! 

2. I hope to see people in the pew bringing people to Christ daily and filling the baptistry weekly for the glory of God!

3. I would love to see our church give away in and on mission as much as we spend on ourselves! 

4. I would love to see all our marriages either restored or strengthened! No more "bust-ups" and ruined lives!

5. I would love to be a part of a movment of God - a sweeping revival - a turning of people to the glory of God - sweeping across our county, state, and country! 

Give it some thought - your glory list might be different than mine - and mine might change - but I think a "glory list" is better than a "bucket list!"

I Wonder..................

I wonder......

.....When people will sing praise to God at church like they believe Jesus has really saved them!

.....When God's people will be as devoted to Him as their favorite hobby!

..... When God's people will be filled with the Holy Spirit and depend on the Spirit for empowerment!

..... When Gods's people will see their world as their mission field!

..... When God's people will show up on Sunday bringing their weekly harvest with them!

..... When God's people will pray with effective passion!

..... When God's people will act, talk, and live with urgency in taking the Gospel to everyone in their
        world!

..... When God's people will know, believe, and act on the precious and powerful Word of God!

I know some do all the above - but not nearly all who claim Christ as Lord!  I have room for improvement myself!

Simplifying Life!

Our lives get so busy because they are ....well....complicated!  We have many things to do - many places to be - many people to see - and I suppose - we manifest some need to be seen!  That is a simple way of saying that we have a lot to do! 

With all the stuff we have taken on - I have wondered how difficult it would be to truly and energetically take on "life simplification!"   What would it involve?  What would be the best things of which to divest ourselves? 

Do we need to own a home? Do we need a yard to keep up - flowers to plant - maintenance to perform?  If  - just saying - if we divested of some of this stuff and therefore created more time in our lives - what would we do with that time?

I suspect we would just fill it with more activities - but I could not help but think about this tonight while moving the big water sprinkler around in the yard.   I am just around from the corner from the time when I have to pretty much devote 2/3 's of a day every week just to keep my yard presentable.  That doesn't count other stuff I will have to do in the overall upkeep of the the whole property. 

That adds up to real time - time that one could spend talking to people about Jesus - building relationships etc..   This life is passing by - and we say we don't have time to do a lot of things in the Lord's Kingdom! But - do we not have time - or are we just not willing to divest of earthly things we cannot take with us for eternal blessings we cannot lose?  I'm not sure - I'm just asking!?!?!?

What if We Really Had Church?

There are several biblical reasons to gather together as the church on the Lord's Day!  We are instructed to do so! We also do so to bring glory to the name of Jesus! We also do so to bear one another's burdens and multiply one anothers blessings!  I get all that!

But gathering together on the Lord's Day assumed realities in the New Testament era that may not really exist today!  Gathering together in the earlier years brought together people who generally loved one another deeply! They were not free from relational problems, but they were much more "in love" than we are today! Shoot -we barely know each other in the modern church!  Those early Christians literally might not have survived the week without the love and support of other believers!  They gathered with deep fellowship and love for one another because of their deep and abiding love for Christ!

When they gathered, many had been seriously persecuted in the previous week for their faith in Christ! Most of us gather on Sunday not having paid any price for our Christian faith! And given the choice, we will choose an easy path instead of engaging in any Christian practice that might produce even so much as a question about our faith!  They gathered together helping their wounded - encouraging their persecuted - standing together!

When they gathered, many brought new believers with them - won to Christ through the week!  When was the last time you shared your faith - much less saw someone come to faith in Christ?  New believers coming into a church is THE sign of a healthy church!  A church is not properly discipled unless it is seeing new believers come to faith in Christ!  If we were really "having church" Monday through Saturday, then "church" on Sunday would be such an awesome celebration of new life!

When they gathered, they gathered reporting God-sized actions that had taken place in their lives during the week!  When we gather, we are happy to hear if someone else has seen something God-sized happen in their lives - but too ofen we have nothing to share! 

As one person pointed out to me - regarding the church today - it is not the number we have or don't have that is surprising - it is that anyone attends lifeless churches at all!

Let's have church! Real church! Monday through Sunday! Live for Jesus - 24 / 7!  Regardless of the cost!

 

A Great Way to Walk Through the Day!

The Holy Spirit of God lives in you - and He has eyes!!!!!!  Ask the Lord to show you what He sees!  Ask the Lord to show you people as He sees them! When you do, trust me, you will begin to pick up on things about people!  You will see people who need a word of encouragement, a word of instruction, a word of wisdom, a word of comfort, a word of love! You get the idea!  But you will not see these people if you don't ask the Lord to "help you see!"

The Holy Spirit of God lives in you - and He has ears!!!! Ask the Lord to let you hear what He hears!  You get the idea from the first example!

The Holy Spirit of God lives in you - and He has power!!! It is the power that raised up Jesus from the dead!  Think of what He can do with that power working through you to impact lives, to resist temptations, to break free from sin!

The Holy Spirit of God lives in you - if you belong to Christ!  What are you allowing God to do through you with His Spirit?  Write down more of what the Spirit has - and how that impacts you - and then live according to these great truths!

Less is More - Except When It's Less!

Missional studies fascinate me! I have been engaged in them since about 1997!  With the downturn in the economy, every ministry is examining what they do and seeking more cost effective ways of doing missions!  This is impacting the missional world for sure!

In some instances, less is more!  As has been pointed out by many and reaffirmed today at the "Verge" conference, we can not only be more cost effective in our missional approach, we can also be more helpful with a little thought! 

Example: Why spend thousands of dollars to take 20 people to Africa when we could send one or two persons with thousands of dollars to drill wells, provide medicine, etc.?!?!

Why spend tens of thousands sending team after them overseas to build housing / clinics / you name it - when we could find the connections to hire the local people in that overseas community and help them procure  the materials at a much cheaper price?  You help the locals have a job - earn money - and provide cheaper housing than we can ship in!

There are countless examples of how we sometimes end up overspending and wind up creating dependencies that are not good through our mission efforts!

So, at times less can be more - if we take the time to create a better strategy!

At times, though, there is no substitute for people being with people and declaring the Good News of Christ!  Then we make disciples - and we help those disciples get pointed in the direction of Christ and His Word!  Less is more - except when it is less - then we to do whatever we must to be wherever God leads us! 

My thought- we will not ever do this perfectly - but we can do this better!

Why URGENCY is a BIG Deal!

Urgency is not the same as carelessness! Urgency is understanding that the challenge at hand is too great to put off action!

A study of technological advances reveals that although technological progress has been rising since the 1800's, the advance of technology has been nothing short of meteoric since 1965!  All graphs of this progress show a near vertical climb in advancement since 1970!  If you are 50 years old, you have lived through an absolutely incredible birth of new technology! 

A study of decline is like the advance of technology - just in reverse!  The America church has been largely in decline since the mid 1960's!  The line that charted decline was at first a "flat-line"  followed by a slightly downward turn!  Unlike technology or finance, which are what they are in measurment, church decline has not necessarily been charted with honesty!  For example, to this day, Southern Baptist report those who join our fellowships - but not those who leave!  The reality is that the downward trending line is rapidly becoming a cliff!  The longer you are in steady decline - the more the foundational supports erode! As the foundational supports erode, the decline accelerates!   We have reached that point where it is not an unheard of prediction to say that the Southern Baptist Convention, as we know it, faces incredible pressures over the next 10 - 15 years. 

This is why URGENCY is a big deal!  We need to be urgent in our work to reach people - for the Kingdom!  Our goal should not be to "save" the church - but build the Kingdom!  And it is my conclusion that the church, as we know it, is far closer to imploding rather than exploding, more than any of us care to admit.  The church that will be effective going forward is the one that is fully dependent upon the Holy Spirit for power and success!  The church that will be blessed by God in spite of the demographics will be the one that unashamedly moves into the community with the Gospel - in word and deed! 

Churches that have become dependent upon "institutional" strength for success are failing - and should!  Churches that do not desire to get caught up in the "draining of the swamp" must revert to a New Testament dependence upon the Spirit of God and the Word of God!  URGENCY is needed! NOW!