The very thing that God gave us to overcome worry

Why is, "God's got this," not enough? Why do we say we believe and yet misuse our brain power and our heart strength in concern for future outcomes that we cannot  or should not control by any amount of concern? It is a misuse of the same sentience that God made us in His image. Seeing future events, planning, dreaming, and being able to change certain outcomes, all are aspects of our God-given personhood. Moreover, we sometimes feel these things in our soul. When this ability is corrupted and applied against us or applied by us in a wrong fashion we lose the very freedom that Christ died for. When freedom is overcome by fear and doubt, by anxiety and worry, we should turn to the Lord and be changed. When we experience a supernatural expression of out of control concern we should rebuke it and stand firm in the faith. But it feels so hard because it is our God-given greatness put to misuse. The same thing that traps us MUST be submitted to Christ for His use to set us free.

Matthew 6:34 NASB1995

[34] “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Pastor Daniel Stevenson Southside Life Station-Director

New Heights Fellowship Baptist-Pastor
amaldaninc.com-Light and fun stuff

More than victory

I have seen an important pairing in that a victory is so much sweeter when there has been a grand challenge. It doesn't mean as much to win when there was no chance,, or at least appeared to be no chance of losing. This is that. Christians suffer through some of the worst things that life has to offer and then ultimately proceed to the greatest victory. Push me to my limits and watch my glorious victory, is not something we might ask for but it is just as sweet none-the-less. The smaller the distance between us and possible loss the sweeter the victory but at the same time faith reminds us that we cannot lose. And while not losing is a great victory and greater when it appears someone could lose, an even greater victory is to be faced with circumstances that testify to defeat and to know that, contrary to appearances, victory is in the offing. To be able to cry, we win, we win, when as far as everyone is concerned the game is not yet over AND to be proven correct, is more than to conquer. In fact, it is a victory so sweet as to be almost unbelievable.

Romans 8:37 NASB1995

[37] But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 

Pastor Daniel Stevenson Southside Life Station-Director
New Heights Fellowship Baptist-Pastor
amaldaninc.com-Light and fun stuff

Loving as a Progenitor

People are different and when people are found to be similar they are easier to relate to. When it seems someone is prioritizing you then it feels safe, even natural, to prioritize them. When it comes to relationships someone has to make the first move. Often it seems at if no one did. It happens that family, for example, just naturally prefers one another. This preference follows many other lines such as hobbies, similar ownership, personal habits, and even shared experiences. I think about summer camps making friends for life out of people from different backgrounds. The bottom line is, people find a reason to love those who love them but the Bible actually calls us to love unrequited. Be an originator with no better reason than that God has authored it. A few verses later, He reminds us that that is how God did it for us. God not only loved us when we hardly knew Him but when we were living opposed to Him. Following His example is accomplished when we choose to love as a first response and without reservation. Moreover, the more we love, the more we become who the word says we area in Christ. Sinners stumble on right activities but do it for the wrong, even completely logical reasons. We most adopt this alternative: Love others though they may not know you or even care about you. Then, and only then do we have something, a trait, an identity, a huge blessing, a grand victory, a powerful light to be shined, a notable internal change, and more to be His people. In the extreme, this means loving our enemies. In it's genesis we find our new reality. 

Matthew 5:46 NASB1995

[46] For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.5.46.NASB1995

Pastor Daniel Stevenson Southside Life Station-Director
New Heights Fellowship Baptist-Pastor
amaldaninc.com-Light and fun stuff

The debate continues

The amendment expanded language to include ANY position with the title Pastor including children's etc. Also, included the term "elder". We believe this, hence we voted for it heavily but to change the constitution is meant to be difficult. AND we have churches who have the terms in practice. If we were so solidly for this we have allowed churches to use the term Pastor for non-senior positions AND there's a question about the term elder. It's enough, has been multiple times now to put a fly in the ointment. Add "intentional difficulty changing a constitution to "female elders" and ALL pastors and you get just enough to have a concern. Also, information was given from the platform concerning opening up a legal issue if it passed, that makes four and with all those concerns the negative only managed to marshal just over a third of present votes. But, it was enough. No female elders? Absolutely NO pastors even over children when we have churches who will have to adjust? potential legal ramifications? Stacked needs of 2/3 which so designed to protect the constitution at all costs? None of these are easily dismissed concerns but still got a LOT of votes in the affirmative. It's not over. Here's the real question, with spending so much effort on this, where are we being distracted from working on something else? Also, when and if it actually happens will we have damaged something that we didn't mean to? Are we doing damage now by continuing to spend time on it? Got me. I'm not sure God has managed the investment. And, I am NOT presenting one side or another-jist speaking as to why, in my opinion, why we are still debating it. 

Pastor Daniel Stevenson Southside Life Station-Director
New Heights Fellowship Baptist-Pastor
amaldaninc.com-Light and fun stuff

How to grow a small church

Generate a prospect list by whatever your people do want to do. Knocking on doors is a good example. Baked goods, simple gifts of some kind. Look for a few green prospects. Then, I suggest having a candid conversation with them about vision and possibilities. You may have to say something like, we know we are in a building situation. Will you come and work to build this with us? To get that going you are probably looking for someone who is already a professing believer and is being pulled that way by God. Ultimately, the new believers will be your strength but they are also messy by comparison. Do not hit h your wagon to anyone fleeing a previous ministry situation and saying something bad about their previous church. But your prospect generator whatever it is will generate red (not interested), yellow (maybes),  and green (likely). Reconnect with green over and over until they either get involved, your interaction with them lead to the conversation above or they turn yellow or red. Community ministries such as food pantry and so on are just avenues of prospect generation. They may provide conversations where in the gospel can be shared and people can get saved. They may not. Either way, they will generate a list of prospects if you collect information from those you serve. Then funnel that list of prospects into the red green yellow system that I laid out above. Take heed in entering into the conversation that I explained above and treat it like you are looking for people who are called to form the growing version of your church. Caught by God, of course. If you find one or more families or individuals who fit that criteria-Called by God and willing to stick it out during the dry times, Then you will have what you need for sustained growth. Any core group of people can come up with simple ways to accumulate a list of names. Getting people into the red group is just as important as getting people into the green group. It even happens that people in the red group wound up getting saved and jump into the green group. Because contacts are continually being made with people in the green group You can encourage people by helping them realize these are not cold calls but talking to people who have said that they would be interested in a new church home. Even if you only generate a few names weekly on the lists In a year the list will be 150 names A good portion of which will be red and yellow and some percentage will be green. You should probably have some prayer warriors in your church who will be willing to pray over the names on the list segments. They can pray as the Lord leads of course but asking people what you can be praying for them about is a way to generate name for the list. Your people can say something like our church keeps the list of people that we regularly pray for and we know that God is going to provide miracles for those people. Would you like to be on it? What can we pray for? Would you say that you are looking for a new church home? Would you be an interested and knowing more? These are sample questions. They are questions your people can ask while waiting in the doctor's office, while sitting in a restaurant, while dealing with their family, whatever. Getting enough information to contact the people on the segments will actually be easiest when the contacts are green, harder when they are yellow, difficult when they are red. Asking someone who has professed a certain amount of interest in being included on the list or who has been served by giving them something if you can inform them when God has done a miracle for someone on the list and/or If it would be okay for someone to check up with them to see if God has done the miracle...would be a good way. One huge blessing when working with a population of seniors is the often time they will garner some respect in conversations with anyone who is tender-hearted. Middle-aged and younger Christians can be viewed with suspicion. If a 70-year-old man or woman carries a notebook and collects information from people they run into at a restaurant or whatever for a purpose similar to the example given above it is unlikely that anyone will take offense especially because your people can be trained not to push past objections at all. Once church members are engaged in collecting names for the list and a simple system for following up with people who are on the list and in the green category, post card, call, visit, visit, visit, etc. has been put in place and all the names are being bathed in prayer, whether or not the church grows will be largely up to God (which makes it a given because this is what he wants) and regardless of whether it takes weeks months or years The church will be doing what the church should be doing and being with the church is supposed to be all throughout the process. Souls will be won. It is possible that you will win dozens or hundreds of prospects to other churches because of rising tide raises all boats and the name of the kingdom will spread far and wide in small increments and ever-growing larger increments if new people coming are enlisted to the same process. I'd be more invested in ensuring this latter outcome than I'm ensuring the growth of the church. It seems more honoring to God even though God has assigned us to lead his sheep and grow his flock. 

Pastor Daniel Stevenson Southside Life Station-Director
New Heights Fellowship Baptist-Pastor
amaldaninc.com-Light and fun stuff