Morningview Baptist Church

This is a good question, and you certainly don’t need a secret handshake or password to get answers.  The Pastors Body of Morningview is YOUR Pastors Body; we are nominated to the office of elder by you and voted into our positions by you.  We are accountable to you just as you are to us, and we serve you and shepherd you with the Word according to the call of God upon our lives.  While we may need to guard the confidence of members that we are shepherding through crisis or discipline, almost all the other aspects of what we do Continue reading

In the midst of a discussion at one of our recent pastors’ meetings, one of our pastors asked a critical question: How do we build a congregational heart for evangelism? We had been discussing our outreach efforts, particularly our GRACE outreach ministry, and the simple fact that the vast majority of our members are not active in sharing the gospel. We know that everyone cannot participate in a particular outreach ministry like GRACE, but we are all called to be witnesses of Christ wherever we may find ourselves — in school, at work, at family gatherings, and at any other community venue we may frequent. So why are most of us not bearing witness to Christ?

This lack of evangelistic fervor characterizes most of the evangelical church in America. In our denomination alone, it takes almost 50 Southern Baptist church members to reach one person for Christ in one year. We certainly believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and we likewise believe that every believer has the responsibility to bear witness to the Gospel. So where is the disconnect between our theology and our practice?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article for you that was entitled, “Why I Don’t Do Grace Outreach.” In that article, I responded to the six most common personal excuses for not participating in our church outreach ministry. Tom then wrote an excellent article last week where he asked and answered the question, “Is ‘Knocking on Doors’ a Good Method of Evangelism?” I don’t intend to plow the same ground again, but I do want us to back out to a wider perspective and consider how the evangelical church as a whole can develop a congregational heart for evangelism.

Step #1: We must make our evangelistic practices a matter of prayer. Like any other issue of disobedience, we need to pray prayers of repentance for how we have disobeyed the Great Commission. We also need to be praying for the church in America, for our particular churches, and for each other. Pray that our hearts would be changed by Christ in regards to our personal evangelism, and that we would aspire to have His perspective of lost people.

Step #2: We must seek to discern the reason that our theology is not being born out in our practice. Is our strong belief in the sovereignty of God diminishing our evangelistic fervor when it should be what drives it? Are we allowing an emerging cultural ethos that deems proselytizing to be rude or politically incorrect to be a barrier to our sharing? Are we excusing ourselves from obedience in this area on the basis of our own fears, discomforts, or plain lack of interest? Are we excusing ourselves from obedience Continue reading

Beginning in April, there will be an important change in our GRACE outreach ministry. This evangelism ministry has been in place since 2007 and has served our community and our church well.  Four outreach teams go out every week to follow up with those who have visited Morningview and to make evangelistic contact with families that are new to the community.

G.R.A.C.E. teams will meet on Sundays at the church at 3:30 pm and will return by 5:00 pm in time for M.I.T.  Each team will go out into the community once each month.  Share the gospel of Jesus Christ and pray about your involvement in this great ministry opportunity. Call the church or look for sign-ups coming in the following weeks during Sunday morning service.

I would argue that the best method of evangelism is what we might call “integrated evangelism,” which involves living like Christ and speaking of Christ at the baseball fields, in restaurants, in our business relationships, at the workplace, and with our neighbors as we go about all of life. It means looking for opportunities to serve others and meet the needs of those around us every day, doing good in the name of Jesus Christ. We ought to become strategic about faithful presence and proclamation in every aspect of life. But, if you can’t say that you are already faithful in that wholistic way, and if you know you ought do better at keeping Christ’s commandment to preach the gospel out of joy in Him and love to Him, then may I commend Morningview’s G.R.A.C.E. ministry to you? Some have thoughtful objections to “knocking on doors” to proclaim the gospel. Let me address just a few of them.

It is One-Dimensional. Some have suggested that proclaiming the gospel on someone’s doorstep may deliver the Word of Christ, but it lacks demonstrations of love and kindness, and so it is one-dimensional. But, the Bible says to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15), which means it must be possible to demonstrate love in the way we speak to others. If we visit homes and proclaim the gospel, not just to do our monthly duty of evangelism, but from sincere love for God and His glory, and out of an earnest love and care for the souls of sinners, then others will be able to perceive it. If we can’t express love for others in how we speak to them, in the way we show concern for them personally, in the sincerity, kindness, and urgency of our tone of voice, then the problem may be with our sanctification, not with any given method of evangelism. How do we develop an earnestness for souls? We do that by knowing and loving Jesus more. There was none more earnest for the salvation of sinners than our Savior. If we love Him, we’ll become like Him.

It is Too Much Like a Sales Visit. Too many salesmen convince people they have a need they don’t really have, and then they try to sell a product that doesn’t really benefit the buyer. But, preaching the law and the gospel is about showing sinners that they have an urgent need that they don’t know they have and can’t know they have. Satan has “blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Cor 4:4), which means unregenerate sinners will always think you’re trying to sell them something. They don’t see that their sin is outright rebellion against their Creator, and consequently, they can’t see that they must be reconciled to a holy God through the blood of Christ. They will never see it apart from the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. This means we shouldn’t get too caught up in how lost people perceive our work of evangelism. They will never approve of it, until God changes their hearts. Historically speaking, the road to serious theological error has often come through compromises designed to get lost people to approve of evangelism and missions. Christ was the perfect evangelist, full of love and mercy. They killed Him for it. Let us follow Him.

It is Not Enough Time to Present the Whole Gospel. The total gospel is revealed in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. We are all still learning the many nuances and inter-connections of all the facets of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how they change our thinking and day to day living. So, it is true that an afternoon visit on someone’s doorstep can never communicate everything the gospel communicates. But, it is possible to communicate the basic apostolic teaching about salvation in Jesus Christ in a very brief period of time. That basic message is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” That basic message is what the Holy Spirit uses to open up sinful minds and hearts. Let us be faithful to sow the seed He has provided.

Next month, we are instituting and important change in our GRACE outreach ministry.  We have had this Evangelism ministry in place since 2007, and it has served our community and our church well.  For our newer members, GRACE is a ministry composed of 4 outreach teams (Designated by G, R, A and C) and one prayer team (Designated by E).  One of the four outreach teams goes out every week to follow up with those who have visited us and to make evangelistic contact with families that are new to our community.

The change we are making is one of schedule.  Right now, our teams go out on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm, but beginning in April, all teams will go out on Sunday afternoons at 3:00pm.  There are multiple benefits of this change.  First, it will keep participants from missing a weekday evening with their families and from interrupting the evening activities and meals of our prospects.  Second, it will keep our teams from ever making visits after dark.  Third, Sunday afternoons are simply a better time to find people at home and accessible for conversation.

The benefits of a well-organized Outreach Ministry are obvious, but many of us still tend to make excuses for why we cannot be a part of this kind of ministry.  Here are a few of the more popular ones:

Excuse #1:  I don’t have time to be a part of an outreach ministry. That is why we have structured this ministry the way we have.  We recognize that going out every week for visitation could be cumbersome, but ONE afternoon a month, a mere 24 hours A YEAR, is not too much for anyone.  We are capable of making room in our schedules for activities that are far more frivolous, so lack of time is not a valid excuse.  Also, Sunday is already a day of worship and ministry, so we are no longer asking you to take another day out of your schedule to be a part of GRACE.

Excuse #2:  Evangelism isn’t my spiritual gift. I hate to break this to you, but there is no such thing as the spiritual gift of evangelism.  In Ephesians 4:11, Paul refers to the gift of the “evangelist” which is a God-called individual fulfilling a biblical office in the church, but we all are called to “do” evangelism.  Remember what Christ said in Acts 1:8 – We are His “witnesses”; it is part of our new identity in Christ to proclaim His gospel.

Excuse #3:  I haven’t been trained to do evangelism. If you have personally trusted in Jesus Christ and know the basic elements of the gospel, you have plenty of training.  You will also be on a team with others who are trained, experienced, and who are comfortable in initiating spiritual discussions.  Plus, experience is the best teacher; getting out there and doing it is the best training!

Excuse #4:  I’m uncomfortable or afraid to talk to people about their salvation. A lot of people feel this way because they feel unprepared to explain the Bible or answer difficult questions.  We must simply remember that God is with us.  Saving people is His work; our work is simply to share the truth.  Also remember that you won’t be alone.  You will be shoulder-to-shoulder with your fellow team members and you will have all the support you need.

Excuse #5:  I need to take care of my children, and therefore can’t go. Great News!  The “R” team has childcare provided in our nursery for infants through 5 year olds.  If any of your children are older than that, take them with you.  There is no greater example you can be to your child than including them in engaging people with the Gospel.  You will be training them to be future witnesses.  If nap times are too crucial, another solution is to alternate.  Let your spouse go one Sunday afternoon a month and you go another so you can alternate in taking care of your children.

Excuse #6: I don’t believe this is the best method of evangelism. I would tend to agree with you.  I’ve said publicly that the best method is for you to be sharing the gospel and making disciples wherever you find yourself — with your neighbors, your co-workers, your classmates, your family members, and your acquaintances.  If we were all being obedient in this way, no church-based outreach ministry would be needed.  However, 98% of the time, you who are making this excuse aren’t doing evangelism this way.  In fact, you’re not doing it at all.  In the end, you are simply attempting to excuse your lack of obedience in this area on the basis of a methodological preference.

In the end, there are no good excuses for not reaching out to people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  So pray about your involvement in this great ministry opportunity and sign-up now to be a part of a GRACE outreach team.  I love you all dearly!

Last year, just after disembarking from a particular boat ride at Walt Disney World, my then 7 year old son John David asked me, “Daddy, there aren’t really any pirates, are there?”  In the next few minutes, we had a good conversation about fictional characters and stories versus the geopolitical reality of modern day pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden.  I thought then how strange it was that fiction underplayed reality.

In the past week, the morning headlines have been astir with reports of the four Americans who were murdered by the pirates who hijacked their yacht over a week ago.  The brutality of this whole episode is quite sad, and it serves to wipe away any romantic notions we might have about chivalrous pirates.  Despite all our supposed progress as human beings, we still live in a world where there are large bands of cutthroat men who are stealing ships and wreaking havoc on transporters and travelers off the horn of Africa.

But current evidence of violent turmoil in the world goes far beyond murderous pirates.  Also in the news this past week were reports of bodies lying in the streets in Libya as protests there continue.  There is unrest throughout the Middle East as citizens are rising up against oppressive governments.  China, the largest nation on earth, is struggling to contain potential threats as small pockets of younger citizens try to organize to unseat their communist government.  Protests involving tens of thousands have even come to American cities as labor unions and political factions are at odds over how to address budget shortfalls created by our crumbling economy.  All that we see bears witness to the fact that peace is always a temporary commodity in a world of sin.

In the midst of all of the violence and unrest, we do see glimpses of the solution.  Jean and Scott Adams, one of the couples killed by the pirates, had been sailing around the world since 2004 with a boat full of Bibles.  Wherever they went, they handed out the Word of Life.  I cannot profess to know much about this couple and their beliefs, but the fact that they manifested such a high regard for evangelism through Scripture distribution is strong evidence of faith.  And though they were not targeted and murdered for being Christians, they were definitely cut down in the line of Christian duty.

Their testimony points to the only solution for violence and unrest in the world — The Gospel!  The Gospel tells us that we are created in the image of the one true God, thus giving special, inherent dignity to every human being.  The Gospel tells us that God is the source of the only just and perfect law, thus showing us how to structure our lives and societies for His glory and our greatest good.  The Gospel tells us of how we have broken God’s law and how sin rules the creation, thus exposing the root of all that is wrong in this world.  The Gospel also tells us of God’s solution for sin and evil — His perfect Son, who sinlessly kept the law, who died as man’s substitute on the cross, and who rose from the grave on the third day.  Through repentance of sin and belief in Christ, we are forgiven of our sins, we are reconciled to our Holy God, and we are empowered and commanded to love God first and to love all of our fellow human beings as God loves.  In this glorious message of forgiveness in Christ, men are able to truly realize a certain, unshakable peace grounded in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

What a powerful message!  No other religion in the world can offer true forgiveness, true assurance of peace with God, and the certainty of eternal life with our Creator.  Think of what the Gospel could accomplish all over the earth!  How might this gospel change the heart of an African pirate?  How might the gospel give hope to impoverished, oppressed masses?  How might the gospel give light to countries shrouded in the darkness of false religions?  How might the gospel restore human dignity and respect for one another as image bearers of God?  How might the gospel melt the hearts of political despots?  How might the truth of the gospel end conflict and banish harmful ideologies?  How might the gospel form the foundation for new societies?

We know that this world will not see perfect peace until Jesus returns, until He finally abolishes all wickedness and establishes His eternal kingdom.  But as we pray for that day to come, the unrest in the world reminds us of the importance of our commission.  We are to go forth as ambassadors for Christ, proclaiming His gospel, knowing that as we sow the seeds of His eternal peace accord, fruit will be born according to His sovereign purpose.  This is the only hope for the people of the earth.  We should not fear men, we should not fear the power of nations, and we certainly should not fear death, for a believer’s death means the immediate joy of the presence of our Lord.

1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  How are we doing at proclaiming His excellencies?  I love you all dearly!

We are now down to the last few days before we celebrate Christmas.  We have had a couple very fruitful Sundays where we have been able to turn our hearts and minds to the wonder of our Lord’s incarnation, so it is my prayer that each of our church families will endeavor to keep the focus on Christ as we proceed with the observance of this holiday.

Many of us will either be traveling to be with family and friends or we will be hosting family and friends in our homes over the next several days.  For most of us, this means Continue reading

M.I.T. Courses Fall 2010

September 19 – November 21

Sunday Evenings, 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm

Practical Instruction for Lifestyle Evangelism (300)

Instructor: Dr. Shawn Merithew
Textbook: The Complete Evangelism Guidebook, edited by Scott Dawson
Room: 330

Course Description: Have you ever passed up a witnessing opportunity because you didn’t know how to begin a spiritual discussion?  This class is for you! The class will explore specific, practical ways to engage lost persons in witnessing conversations. We will establish the basic message of the gospel and discuss hospitality evangelism, servant evangelism,
and marketplace evangelism.  We will explore how to initiate encounters and witness to people in different vocations, religions, generations, and ethnic groups.

Theology of Evangelism (200)

Instructor: Rick Quave
Textbook: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer
Room: 329

Course Description: God has spoken and is speaking to His creatures.  What is the essence of that communication and what are we as believers to do with what has been communicated?  In this class, we will examine what the whole Bible teaches about the content of the gospel and the command to go and make disciples of all the nations.  The study will seek to establish a summarization of what is taught by the relevant passages in the Bible on the subject of evangelism.

Evangelizing Your Children (300)

Instructor: David Hardgrave
Textbooks: Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent and Barbara Hughes and A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent
Room: 331

Course Description: Do you want to learn how to be more faithful in evangelizing your children? This course is for you! We will examine the biblical issues surrounding sharing the gospel with children in the context of the home.  Special attention will be given to methods for developing a gospel culture within the family as well as methods for discerning a child’s comprehension of the essential truths of the gospel itself.

SIGN UP THIS SUNDAY!

M.I.T. Courses Fall 2010

September 19 – November 21

Sunday Evenings, 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm

Practical Instruction for Lifestyle Evangelism (300)

Textbook: The Complete Evangelism Guidebook, edited by Scott Dawson

Instructor: Shawn Merithew

Room: 330

Theology of Evangelism (200)

Textbook: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer

Instructor: Rick Quave

Room: 329

Evangelizing Your Children (300)

Textbooks: Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent and Barbara Hughes and A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent

Instructor: David Hardgrave

Room: 331

As of late, we have been putting a lot of emphasis on our global missions efforts — specifically the people groups we are considering for formal adoption by our congregation.  These are exciting endeavors for our church family.  But even as we consider these excellent works, we need to also keep an emphasis on gospel Continue reading