Tommy Mitchell / The Rurban Church Blog

When You Use the Phrase "We used to...."

There is a pretty good indicator for change in any church! It is when you find yourself using the phrase "we used to" connected to some event, meeting, or practice in the church.  Wednesday night prayer meeting is a great example at ABC!

"We used to" always have a GREAT adult group!  There would be about 80 or more who came out.  This "used to" be true for several years.  Through those years I have taught  in-depth studies on numerous books - the two most significant studies were on ACTS and REVELATION. 

It is interesting that since January 2009 when the economic upheaval hit our country in a major way, we have had a major decline in our Wednesday night adult group! I have no idea what the connection is - but that is when it began!   All our other groups - Children and students - have continued to do well.

At any rate, there are two or three observations I have about it! (1) The way we do "prayer meeting" has never been too satisfying. It really isn't one - it is another Bible teaching time with prayer requests thrown in!  (2) When we have tried to make it a bit more of a prayer meeting by spending more time praying - our attendance has declined!  Apparently people don't like to pray in groups!  (3) It takes me, on an average, 4 to 8 hours to prepare the material for Wednesday nights! That is a significant investment for what is becoming 15 - 20 people!   After prepping for morning and evening services on Sunday - that additional prep time for Wednesday night is a killer.  (4) I wonder at times if people aren't just tired of me! I mean, I get tired of me!  Three major teaching / preaching events is a lot of exposure per week!

So, we are going to do something different!  I don't know what - but it will be different from what we are doing now!  I have one week to make an effort at a new direction - but I am not fully certain what it will involve. Because I hate to leave anything unfinished, I am going to teach the remainder of Romans on  Sunday nights starting in August! We already have some great services planned in July! 

Possible ideas: ( and we may end up doing all of them over time) 

    Prayer and story telling!  Prayer is prayer! Story telling would be enlisting people in advance to tell their story of faith and practice - of triumph and tragedy - of God's leadership and blessing!

Prayer and Mission Action!  Prayer is prayer! But perhaps we would connect it to a mission action - a hands on work done on Wednesday night!

Prayer and Guests!  Prayer is prayer! Guests would be invited to speak or demonstrate some spiritual truth or skill.

Prayer Walking!   More than just prayer - prayer walking a place, a neighborhood, a certain road, a school, for a particular reason!

Prayer and Visitation!  Prayer is prayer! Then spend the rest of the time visiting!

Prayer Stations! Have the room set up in "prayer stations" such as a Missions Station / Medical Station / Ministry Station / Etc. and have a facilitator for each station and have the people choose one or two stations per Wednesday to pray for needs in that area!

Again, these are just a few ideas and we might end up doing them all as a variety of approaches.  What I do know - I won't be worrying about what we "used to do" on Wednesday nights any more!

Wednesday Again!

Well, it is Wednesday again.  It is so tempting to try to make it to church - but I'm really not allowed.  Here is a thought or two on my mind!

Psalm 91:1-2   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."   NIV

These are beautiful verses at the beginning of a great chapter.  Think about them....

1. Where do you dwell?  Wherever you "dwell" will be a place in which you are comfortable! We don't just dwell anywhere! We only dwell where we feel a sense of belonging, acceptance, love, and contentment.   As children of God, we should feel all of those things about dwelling in the shelter of the Most HIgh God! We will only dwell with Him if we belong to Him, know we are accepted by Him, are aware of His great love for us, and are content to be with Him.   We will dwell in the "shelter" of the Most High!  We will be dwelling where we have all the benefits of His shelter - literally his "sheltering" us.

2. What is the result of where we dwell?  He who dwells - will rest - in the shadow of the Almighty! There is nothing quite like resting in the shadow of a huge oak tree! It is often cool, relaxing, and somehow, comforting! When we dwell in the shelter of the Most High, we will rest in the shadow of the almighty! There is no greater shadow in which to rest! Think of the proximity to God that we are talking about! The only way to be in His shadow is to be close!

3. How does this impact us?  We are able to say He is our refuge - a place where we can always go no matter what.  He is also our fortress - a place of protection and renewal.  He is "My God", in "whom I trust!"   If we can recognize these things as true in our lives, then our lives will never, ever be the same!

Bro. Mark has a great Bible Study prepared for tonight! Be sure to get on out to ABC!

Wonderful Wednesday!!!!

Today is Wednesday! It is weighing on my mind!  The docs want me to do things that I feel capable of - and they don't want me to be a couch potato!  Unfortunately, they will not let me  conduct mid-week services tonight.   Wednesday night at ABC is one of my favorite times.  First, the people who are there want to be there and are highly motivated!  Second, we pray for and care for our body!  Third, I absolutely love teaching on Wednesday night!   It's everything the doctor ordered, except standing in one place on my feet for an hour and being in the midst of germs!!!!! 

So, I got to thinking.  I may not be able to come - but that doesn't mean I can't conduct my own "Wednesday Special" right here!  So - here goes!

PRAYER NEED! There are two very important prayer needs I would mention.  Bob Chatel's wife, Anne, passed away this week. He is the Minister of Music at Barton.   The other is Jimmy Pierce - who has a tough case of pneumonia.

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Peter 1:3  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.     NIV

There it is! It is marked in one of my older study bibles as a WOW verse.  To me, 1 & 2 Peter are kind of like the book of Philippians - nearly every verse is one of those WOW verses. But this one is remarkable. The verses surrounding it make it even more remarkable - but just focus on this one.

What do you need? In my current condition of recovery, this is a question that I am asked often. "Preacher, you need anything? What can I do? You name it - I will do it! If you need anything call!"  It has been very comforting to know that so many people are ready, able, and eager to help me right now!  It is the joy of belonging to the body of Christ at ABC!   

But look at this first phrase of the verse!  His divine power has given us everything we need!  Word for word - it is one of the most powerful phrases of scripture. What would you do with absolute power? We talk about this more often than we think! We say things like, "If I had the power, I would take care of this moral mess in the country." "If I had the power, we would not have to worry about  - (fill in the the blank!)"  So, I'm not sure just what we would do with absolute power - but I know what God has done.  Our powerful God has used His divine power to give us everything we need!  Amazing!  He has not focused His power upon Himself - but upon us - to benefit us!

Specifics!  ...for life and godliness...   For life! His divine power equips us to live life! Literally, He has provided everything we need to live this life with all it's blessings, challenges, disappointments, surprises, temptations, and ups and downs!  Jesus came that we might have abundant life! It is not just a statement of intent. In His divine power, He has given us everything we need to live life.  For me, He has, through divine power, given me everything I need to live through and recover from 5 bypasses to my heart. What are your great life challenges right now? No matter what they are, if you are truly a child of God, you have divine power at your disposal to endure, to overcome, to go through life!!!

For godliness!  His divine power enables us to face life - but also His power enables and equips us with everything we need for godliness.  That is why it is such a cop out when we start whining that we are only human and everyone knows we just can't be quite as holy as the scriptures demand! If we are "only human" then we are lost and separated from God!  Children of God are not "only human!" We are indwelled with the Spirit of God and have been infused with His divine power that gives us everything we need for godliness!  We have been clothed in His righteousness! We have been granted His forgiveness! We have been justified by Him through faith!  He is keeping us, perfecting us, and empowering us!   We are capable, through His divine power, of living Godly lives!

How?     through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  When you received Christ as your Lord and Savior, you received the knowledge of Him needed, born out of His own glory and goodness, to be internally transformed in Christ with an external evidence of the internal transformation.  That is a mouthful so read that statement again slowly.  There is more here than you may think.  I am guilty, far too often, of asking God to do things for me that He has either already done or is already doing!  For example, I sometimes pray, "God lead me!"  Yet, the very nature of God is that He leads His sheep. I don't have to ask Him to lead me. More likely I need to pray, "Lord, help me resist the temptation to not follow your leadership!"    We have received a knowledge of Him that enables us to see the divine power that has given us everything we need for life and godliness!  

Take some time!  Reflect upon this verse.  It is what I call a "life" verse! Once it is in your head and heart, you can never be the same! This verse is a life transforming verse.

So, there is my Wednesday night service via the blog!  Be sure to attend the real deal tonight! You will need the fellowship, the Bible Study Bro. Mark has prepared, and the time in prayer!   God bless!

Last Wonderful Wednesday for 2008

Tonight Greg Barker, Pastor of Rocky Creek Baptist, delivered our last Wonderful Wednesday message!  He did an excellent job - and did so with a rather interesting approach - he preached his message by sharing a disgusting word in the Bible - vomit!!  It was rather unique, but certainly got our attention.

Essentially - it was about obedience - and he ended the message talking about Jonah - which I was thought was a "God thing" because this Sunday I will begin a month long series on Jonah following the theme Accelerate Obedience.

A Wonderful Wednesday Indeed!

WOW! John Montalvo, pastor of Sand Hill Church, Greene County, did an awesome job preaching tonight. Praise God for his message!  It was what I call "the unvarnished Gospel!"  His enthusiasm was contagious. 

Andrea and I enjoyed a meal with his wife Lisa, and his children.  May God bless him and his church!

Wonderful Wednesday #1

Tonight was our first Wonderful Wednesday!  And it truly was!  Paul Crowley, pastor at Woolmarket Baptist Church in Biloxi, preached a wonderful message on the primary purpose of a Christian.

It was a simple - but very powerful message! 

The purpose of a Christian is to GLORIFY God!
How do we do that?   STOP SINNING and START SERVING! 

We had a great service!  One young lady made public her profession of faith in Christ as Saviour!

Multi-Generational Prayer Service

Tonight, because of the holidays and our students still being out of school, we had a "multi-generational" service in the fellowship hall.  (in other words we all met together).  Oh, we met in the fellowship hall because it is COLD down here and the fellowship hall was an easier space to heat.  Oh, one more thing - we really didn't think a whole lot of folks would come out due to the holidays and the cold!  Well, we had a fabulous time.  First, we had a 100 people show up!  That was a crowd in our meeting space.

We were split about 50/50 - teenagers and adults.  The energy was wonderful and we had coffee, great sharing, and some good laugh along with the Bible Study.  I was teaching about the fact that God has provided all we need for life and godliness.  I asked the question - "What do we need to get through life? What do we need to get along with people?"  Then I used this illustration - suppose someone walks up to you and says "YOU DUMMY!"  How do you respond.  Right on cue, and with appropriate dry wit, one of our adult men said, Yes, dear !"  The whole place - all ages - erupted into laughter!   It was one of those great, unexpected moments.  I'm so glad we did something different tonight.   

Next week our full program starts back up.  And the kids will be back in school. 

Wonderful Wednesday

We had a fabulous Wednesday a few days ago.  I was out a good bit on Thursday, so I was not able to post earlier.  We had 238 present!  This is excellent as we approach Christmas!  Our adult group had over 80 present for our continuing study of Acts! 

The Celebration Choir was hard after our Bible Study putting the finishing touches on The Perfect Gift!  We are looking forward to great night this Sunday!

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY 11/14/2007

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY was just that last evening.  We had 223 people gathered together, studying God's word, making visits, eating pizza, singing, sharing, doing projects, and praying! 

The GA girls would have been a good group to join last night. They were involved in some projects and then ate PIZZA!  It smelled SO GOOD!!!! Thank you volunteers for leading those girls in mission's study and action.

Wonderful Wednesday

Great night!  We had 203 present tonight at ABC learning about missions, evangelism, and mission action.
We had a great time in our adult group. The Hamitic Conversion with Philip the Evangelist was our point of study tonight.  It is amazing how much God loves one person and the lengths He will go to reach that person. It is also amazing to look at the strategies God used to explode the Gospel throughout the world. Philip was blessed because he obeyed the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

May we do the same!