THE POWER OF RECIPROCAL ENCOURAGEMENT

Encouragement is reciprocal. If you encourage someone else, it blesses you too! And we all need encouragement- no one is exempt. If you know a buoyant, optimistic, endlessly happy person, you can be sure of one thing- they have known dark, discouraging days sometime, somewhere. It is inconsistent with Scripture and experience to assume anyone can perpetually avoid the emotionally heavy moments of real life. Charles Spurgeon, for instance, has often been crowned “the Prince of Preachers.” He may have been the greatest preacher in the English language. His Victorian age congregation in London was a mega-church when no one had ever imagined such a thing! His books and written sermons were so widely distributed he became the biggest selling author of his (or nearly any other) time. He was a faithful and favored minister but he wrestled with debilitating discouragement all of his life. His own descriptions of mood swings have led some to speculate that he suffered from a form of bipolar disorder. If not, he certainly exhibited a strange mix of unrivaled accomplishment and extended bouts of despondent depression.

During the painful days of inner chaos, Spurgeon discovered a powerful way to recover some emotional balance. He would seek out someone else to encourage! Regarding this therapeutic self help method, Spurgeon said, “I would go to the deeps a hundred times to cheer a downcast spirit. It is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might know how to speak a word in season to one that is weary.”

Discouragement casts a heavy shadow so each of us must learn to seek the sunshine of encouragement. Since encouragement is reciprocal, one way to get out of the oppressive darkness of personal discouragement is to shine a spotlight of encouragement on someone else. Why? Well, to put it into the trite, colloquial  terms of my youth, “What goes around, comes around!” Encouragement is reciprocal.

The principal of reciprocal encouragement became more clear to me just a few years ago. When I was a University student, studying for the ministry in the 1970’s, I read a book that has blessed my life for more than 35 years. For many years, whenever I traveled, I actually took the book along because I loved it so much and re-read it constantly. I still do. The book is “The Hour That Changes the World” by Dick Eastman. I have given away hundreds, or perhaps, even thousands of copies of the book over the years.

One day, not too long ago, it occurred to me to write the author, whom I’ve never met, to tell him how much his book has encouraged my life. I wrote a simple note and sent it to his ministry address not knowing if he would even see it.

Imagine my surprise when a package full of books arrived from Dick Eastman, including a hard-back, 25th anniversary edition of The Hour That Changes the World! In fact, there were several of his books, and each one was hand signed with a different encouraging message from the author. In addition, there was a personal hand written letter from Dick Eastman , letting me know how much my previous note had encouraged him! Think about it: he encouraged me through his book about 35 years ago, my note encouraged him, and his personal and unexpected response, in return, encouraged me again! That’s how it works. Encouragement is reciprocal.

You don’t have to be discouraged to encourage. Anytime you lift another person with encouragement you will benefit too. When you encourage others you will also be encouraged. It’s reciprocal. So, I encourage you to be an encourager!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 ESV)

~jkb

                              Making Sense of the Senseless

If you haven’t ministered beside a hospital bed in an ICU, or near the graveside of an innocent child, and had to struggle with the helpless feeling that comes to Christians when the wounded sceptic demands to know “Why?”- just wait, your turn is coming. It’s much easier to work through the question, “Why?” in a Bible study with other Christians, when most of the participants are predisposed by faith and a Christian worldview to accept a certain level of mystery. It is much tougher when an angry, hurting cynic leaves you feeling like the destiny of their soul depends upon how you answer the unanswerable. And while there is no simple answer to the tragedy of suffering, there are examples of people whose lives are heroic through the devastating setbacks of real life. Their testimony of steadfastness through the kind of suffering that appears to make no sense at all during the worst of it, speaks to us about how to live through trouble we can’t control.

God hasn’t revealed everything to us and we still “live by faith and not by sight” but the drama of the Old Testament Joseph is shoulder deep in wisdom, revealed through the life of a man who endured enormous, and what could have appeared to be senseless suffering. His testimony near the end of his life was unnervingly simple: God had a plan.

UNFAIR REVERSAL OF FORTUNES
He was only 17 and living a highly favored life when he became the victim of human trafficking at the hands of his own brothers! He was sold into slavery and through no fault of his own was almost immediately the victim of sexual harassment in the work place. Then, to make matters worse, the woman harassing him falsely accused him of attempted rape for which he was arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. Through it all God continued to show him favor even through his troubles- but his situation only got worse! While in prison he assisted some white collar criminals who had powerful political connections. As a result of his help, their convictions were overturned – but they forgot to help Joseph as he suffered for several more years in an Egyptian prison.

“WHY?” ARE THERE ANY ANSWERS?
Why does God tolerate any, let alone allow so much suffering? When the question is reduced to the narrow focus of a demand for an immediate, sensible response, it is virtually impossible to answer. But when viewed through the panorama of an entire life it is obvious God allows some of us to walk through incomprehensible personal tragedy, in order to bring us to a point of extreme value in His larger plan for history. Of course, that can only be known in part, and from the rear view mirror of life because, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest…” (Hebrews 12:11 NLT) It is the “afterward” that we want quickly and less painfully, and sometimes we start to think we will never see the “afterward” that makes sense of our seemingly senseless suffering. Looking back on some of the most painful times of my life I have to honestly ask myself if I was faithful through the suffering, or have there been times when the undesired circumstances of suffering led me to pursue shortcuts to avoid the pain, loss, humiliation, or difficulty and thus, I missed the good God was bringing into my life through the trouble. In other words, if you have been called to travel the back road of suffering, don’t stop short of your destination, or you might miss the goodness God is leading through pain to receive!

JOSEPH’S ‘AHA!’ MOMENT
Finally, Joseph’s faith in God was rewarded. He rose quickly -in fact he skyrocketed-through the ranks of the Egyptian kingdom, and his integrity and highly developed leadership gifts took him to the top of Pharaoh’s government. It was a strange career path but one day it all made sense at once! His brothers came to Egypt in need of help, and Joseph was the most powerful man, under Pharaoh, in the ancient, wealthy country.

Joseph was older now, and the years had changed him dramatically. His brothers had no idea the CFO of Egypt was the pampered little brother they ruthlessly sold into a life of unknown terror and misery years earlier. But Joseph helped them, and by doing so he rescued God’s small, chosen tribe of Israel’s household from starvation and annihilation.

The brothers, however, were living with secret guilt. They couldn’t look their brother in the eye without remembering the terror in those same eyes the day, so long ago, when they threw him in a deep, dark pit, and sold him without mercy to desert slave traders. So, after several years of living under the favor of Joseph, when they could stand the suspense of fear and dread no longer, they went as a group before their powerful brother and begged for their lives. Joseph, at that point, rises from the pages of Scripture as one of the truly great men who has ever lived. He forgave them. Then he said something that might help us when we are walking through the terrible times. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20 ESV)

It is clear that Joseph hadn’t forgotten what had happened but his faith had reassigned the significance of what happened. In other words, he didn’t view his difficult journey as something terrible but as something good. He no longer viewed what happened to him as senseless suffering. Instead, he saw the hand of a sovereign God orchestrating the details of his life to use him for something greater- to save his family- the family God had chosen to be a blessing to the world!

HOW JOSEPH SPEAKS TO YOU
Joseph died in Egypt at the age of 110. From 17 to 110 would be an insufferably long time to wait, wondering if God had a plan! Yet, we never hear Joseph ask God how long he had to suffer. He never blamed God or hated any of the people who betrayed him. He is a role model for us. He trusted God and became a man seasoned by trouble, but who was never outside of God’s will. In the end, he could see for who, when, and why his life turned out as it had. God had a good purpose for many others, and Joseph’s suffering was part of the process of God using him in a meaningful way to help them. It was all part of a plan! 

Suffering may never make sense to the man or woman who insists that “if there is a God He wouldn’t allow his children to suffer”. But to His faithful followers, who do endure through unimaginable hardship, many find the destination to wholeness and purpose is the path of brokenness and mystery. And through it all God’s grace proves to be more than enough.

~jkb

STREAMS OF REVIVAL – A RIVER OF AWAKENING

In nature, when two or more rivers or streams come together, the phenomenon is called a “confluence.” Spiritually speaking, there is currently a confluence of historic 20th century spiritual movements potentially drawing together life giving springs of lesser streams of revival into a mighty, rolling river of spiritual awakening.

After WWII Billy Graham led the most impressive evangelistic crusades in history while theologically conservative pastor and prolific author Harold J. Ockenga wrote books and articles advancing what came to be called, “Neo-Evangelicalism.” Concerned that the perceived anti-intellectual fundamentalism of a previous generation would not speak to the mind of post war Americans, Graham expertly used mass media and preached in carefully prepared stadium events, intentionally uniting multiple churches from different denominations for a common evangelical cause. Meanwhile Ockenga, along with other young evangelicals, with Graham’s encouragement founded both Fuller Seminary and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in the hope that a more educated and culturally articulate theological conservatism would give Bible believing pastors greater personal credibility in the modern age. In addition, he and others formed the National Association of Evangelicals as a way of uniting the growing movement around the common themes of strengthening an evangelical witness in America, influencing public policy, unifying various evangelical bodies, and acting together to assist in social ministry.

With these national efforts, along with the launch of Christianity Today (founded by Billy Graham and conservative theologian Carl F.H. Henry), Evangelicals reshaped what it meant to be a Protestant Christian in the 20th Century. Their strategic efforts were so successful that within 30 years, both Time and Newsweek declared 1976, “The Year of the Evangelical.”

On the “other side of the church aisle” (so to speak), at the beginning of the 20th century, in a run down building on Azuza Street in Los Angeles, a group of ministers and laymen, (some who had been part of the late 19th century Holiness movement, and an odd assortment of others), were teaching that supernatural healing, prophecies, and the strange gift of “speaking in tounges” were all for the church today, just as they had been in the book of Acts. In the Azuza Street Revival of 1906, only a handful of people identified with the “Pentecostal” message, but by the end of the 20th century millions of Pentecostals in America, and up to 600 hundred million worldwide, were impossible to ignore. Looking back, a well known Pentecostal leader, Jack Hayford wrote a history of the movement titled, “The Charismatic Century.” Given the unprecedented growth of Pentecostalism worldwide, which C. Peter Wagner called the fastest growing non-military movement in history, it’s hard to disagree with the assessment.

In the late 1960’s the fabric of American unity was shredded. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, the Women’s movement, the counter-culture youth and hippie movement, and numerous smaller cultural tributaries were coming together like a flooding river overwhelming the traditional view of America as many had perceived it. Campus unrest like the Kent State Massacre, racial violence like the Watts riots in LA, growing political activism and the protests of the left, combined with a relaxed and redefined sexual ethic, along with the wide spread introduction of the drug culture made America a cultural battleground. The American “Melting Pot” was boiling into an inferno!

Those days of social upheaval were my childhood and early teen years. As images of riots, assassinations, and angry protests in the streets poured into America’s living room at 6pm every night on our new color TVs, it seemed to me there was no hope. But I was wrong, God was still at work.

The Jesus Movement of the late 60’s and early ’70’s seemed to arise from no where and spread through the youth culture like a prairie fire. Tens of thousands of young people came to Christ. Long haired, bearded hippies tripping on LSD one week were carrying big leather Bibles, preaching a fundamentalist brand of the Christian message, expecting the imminent return of Christ, and creating a new musical style the next week. In a few short years The Jesus Movement changed the spiritual landscape of the nation. Bible colleges and seminaries filled up, churches were planted, and the mega church phenomenon was birthed. The revival among the youth culture reignited Charismatic and Evangelical Churches across the country. It was a “God thing.”

Those three major trends- the Pentecostal/ Charismatic Renewal; the Evangelical Awakening; and The Jesus Movement represent the greatest large scale revivals in the last 100 years. Most historians, however, regard them as something short of the full-scale National Awakenings of the 18th & 19th centuries that affected every corner of society. They were each related to the other, but still somehow distinct, like three fresh water streams that never meet until they reach the sea. 

Times change. Unfortunately, revival fires grow cold. Scandals came that embarrassed the Church and tarnished our witness. Some visible Christian leaders fell into immorality. A new generation of Americans, with less confidence in religious explanations, is asking a different set of questions today and the Church is finding itself in a rapidly changing cultural context. Simultaneously, some evangelicals in the late 20th century became overtly  enthralled with the political process and others failed to represent Christ in any tone other than a strident, partisan, argumentative one. Over time, the culture moved away from us again. That’s essentially where we are today. American Christianity has moved from the “Moral Majority” of the 1980’s to what Dr . Russell Moore calls, “the prophetic minority” of today. Atheism is rapidly becoming an option of religious choice for a new generation. Our nation has been scarred by the attacks on 9/11, global economic uncertainty, and war. Christians are increasingly marginalized by a growing secularism but even more increasingly focused on our need for revival!

The desire for another move of God in national awakening and revival has never seemed more needed, especially, perhaps, by those who are themselves the products of past revivals. Reflecting on the revivals of America’s past, and his own conversion during the Jesus Movement, evangelist and California pastor and author Greg Laurie in 2013 said, “…that’s history. We need to pray, ‘Lord do it again…’ We need another revival in America.” His view is shared by Christian leaders across the Protestant spectrum. For instance, Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, a congregation deeply identified with the evangelical wing of the Christian family, recently said, “Despite its foundational Christian heritage, America is rapidly degenerating into a godless society. The church in America, although highly visible and active, appears powerless to redirect the rushing secular currents. Mired in a moral and spiritual crisis, America’s only hope is a national revival, like God has graciously bestowed in the past.” The voices are different but the message is strikingly similar. Even Billy Graham himself said last year, “Our country is in great need of a spiritual awakening. There have been times that I have wept as I have gone from city to city and I have seen how far people have wandered from God.” (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/07/billy-graham-turns-95-says-country-needs-spiritual-awakening/)

Can America see another Spiritual Awakening? Yes. The three streams of revival from the 20th century still make up the collective memory and practical experience of the vast majority of Christians today. Almost every American Christian today is, in a sense, a child of revival. Each of these former movements started as small sub-culture movements which grew exponentially. Given the calls from numerous sub sections of the American Christian family for God’s people to repent and cry out to God for revival, our past may flow into something greater tomorrow. By God’s grace, the three streams of revival can become a mighty river of Spiritual Awakening.
~jkb

 
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THE RIGHT VISION, THE RIGHT LEADER, THE RIGHT TIME- NOW!

“If my people who are called by my name 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.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV)

Elvis was right: “It’s now or never!” Some things of great importance are so urgent there can be no delay. Joining with leaders with a God-sized vision for the soul of a nation is an urgent concern that should rally us to immediate action. The time for urgent, “extraordinary prayer” is NOW!

Our new SBC President, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, has issued a clarion call- an invitation loud and clear- that every Southern Baptist join him in “extraordinary prayer” for personal revival, revival in our churches, and national spiritual awakening. Early this morning, I committed to him the unqualified support of Hyde Park Baptist/The Quarries Church in this heart cry for our souls, our congregations, and our nation. How could we do otherwise? The time is NOW! (You can read Dr. Floyd’s urgent call here http://www.ronniefloyd.com/blog/7143/southern-baptist-convention/the-call-to-columbus-june-16-17-2015/)

Years ago, a prophetic voice in the music world, the late Keith Green, wrote and sang these alarming words of assessment about our times, “The world is asleep in the dark, that church just can’t fight- ’cause it’s asleep in the light!” I am praying the Body of Christ wakes up and I believe that it is already happening. But we are only at the beginning stages, much more remains to be done.

Our great nation is on a dangerous precipice and at a “tipping point.” If God does not intervene, the moral slide and the sins of our generation will escalate far beyond human control. In fact, we are already there and living by grace at this moment! How long will God delay judgment? Look around, it has already begun! It is past time for the Church to rise up on its knees to intercede as a Kingdom of Priests to pray for our own hearts, our homes, our churches, and the United States of America. The Apostle Paul insisted the Church is key to the healing of some of our world’s deep fears and frustrations. When the Church functions as originally intended and designed-as His Body- our decadent culture will get a glimpse of what it desperately needs, but cannot naturally recognize!  “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19 ESV) The world may not know it, but it needs the Church to be manifested clearly as the Church!

In his book, “Heart Cry for Revival” the late Dr. Stephen F. Olford warned that if America doesn’t see ‘revival’, there will be no ‘survival’ for our great nation. I believe that, and the storm clouds of geo-political, economic, social, ecological, moral, and spiritual troubles are darker and more obvious than at any time before. But God CAN still save us!

The time is NOW. Even though this particular call is coming from our denominational leadership, this is not a denominational issue! As we have clearly seen in our own city, that the burden for revival and extraordinary prayer is already shared by churches of every kind. For the sake of our future as a people, for our children and grandchildren, we must put factionalism and denominational differences aside for this call to prayer and revival! What can be accomplished if we separate from other passionate, Bible believing Christians over petty differences, only to lose a nation as a result? No! We won’t do it! If Jesus is your God you are my brother! Let’s meet in the “prayer room”(so to speak) as the Body of Christ, His “house of prayer,” and claim this nation for Christ! It’s not too late! 

During these weeks of summer, I am prayerfully seeking God’s direction for our church and it’s ministries for 2015 and beyond. The theme and the burden of revival and prayer are not new to us as a church or to me as a pastor. These twin passions are the convictions of my life! In the days ahead, as I pray, these two lights will guide my planning and my focus: prayer and revival. Stay tuned, but start praying now for what God wants to do. THIS IS THE REASON WE ARE HERE NOW- TO PRAY FOR AND EXPERIENCE REVIVAL. WE ARE EITHER A ‘REVIVAL GENERATION’ OR WE ARE WITNESSING THE LAST GREAT HOPE FOR A GREAT NATION. I believe we are a ‘revival generation,’ but there is a price to pay. It is time to begin.

I love you. I love our church . I love our city. I love Texas. I love America. It is time for extraordinary prayer and revival. The time is NOW!
~jkb

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5 STEPS TO SURGE BEYOND LIFE AT THE CROSSROADS

“When you come to a fork in the road – take it!” That was Yogi Berra’s famous but humorously bewildering advice. But standing at a crossroad moment in life is often the least humorous season for any of us. Surgery now or wait? Leave for a better job or try to make this one work? Should you tell her how you really feel or wait for a more opportune time? The crossroads can be agony.

Knowing that we make our choices, then they make us, can strand us paralyzed in the uncomfortable wasteland of indecision. Living at the crossroads means we are torn between two apparently good options and we don’t immediately know which is best. Or, we are left with the frustration of having no apparently good choices so we struggle to decide between the lesser of two evils. As a result, according to Psychology Today, we gaze out at an unrealized future up to one hour for every 8 waking hours everyday. Yet, author Peg Streep, (quoted in the article) finds that, lacking the skills to accurately assess our current situation, or decide what to do next, “We expect that when the future shows up, our best self will show up. Instead, we get our typical everyday self, struggling with the same traits—fear, laziness, procrastination—that consistently hold us back today.” (“Reinvent Yourself” Psychology Today, May 2014) In other words, we get stuck somewhere between dreaming of something different and doing something different. That difference creates a Grand Canyon of emotional distance and spiritual dissonance between what you really want to do and what you are settling for right now. Life at the crossroads starts looking normal, intractable, and permanent. But it is none of those things.

AN ANTIOCH MODEL (Acts 13:1-4)

The Christian movement itself was at a crossroads so a group of gifted, passionate leaders met to pray and worship God, literally expecting Divine intervention. Only a handful of them were there but they had already seen God move in power and He had given them dynamic spiritual gifts which they regularly used. The group included 2 men who are well known today but at the time Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus were relatively new Christians with a heart for God and a successful track record in the fledgling evangelistic and church planting ministry in Antioch, near modern day Antakya, Turkey. Antioch was an important city because it was on the trade route to the East. It had an impressive population of about 500,000 free citizens not counting slaves and was therefore the third largest city in the world.

It was exactly the kind of city the early church was attracted to and more importantly, God was moving in Antioch in a powerful way. It is the first city mentioned in Acts that was evangelized by the church without Apostolic assistance and is the second most frequently mentioned city in the book. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that leaders convened there for a strategic prayer gathering (Acts 13: 1-4).

The Christian movement had come to a crossroads moment. It seemed as if the prophets and teachers could sense an openness to the Gospel in the Gentile world, even though until that point Christianity had been almost exclusively a Jewish movement. What should they do? How should they precede? What they did is a blueprint for how you can move beyond your crossroads.

MOVING BEYOND THE CROSSROADS (Acts 13:1-4)

What did they do at the crossroads? Here are 5 steps you can take to get moving in the right direction.

“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.” (Acts 13:1-4 ESV)

1) They gathered a group of like minded leaders for prayer (vv.1-2). It’s amazing what God will do when you convene with other spiritual men and women who have real passion for God and simply seek His presence in prayer! It can be world changing. Join a group or call one together! Start praying with Godly people and watch your circumstances start to change.

C.S. Lewis, the 20th century Christian philosopher once said, “It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men” His point is obvious. Time spent in worship, with no agenda but seeking God’s face, yields life changing results.

2) They recognized that prayer and worship are intensified with fasting! The word “fasting” occurs twice in this brief section of Scripture (vv.2-3)- more than worship (1 mention) or prayer (1 mention). Fasting “clears” our spirit when we pray. It brings greater clarity and spiritual insight to the worship gathering. It adds a “turbo boost” to the engine of prayer and worship. When you fast and pray things happen!

3) They were very sensitive to the Holy Spirit (v.2). In fact, in this passage we read that the Holy Spirit talked to the group! Can you imagine being in a prayer meeting and the Holy Spirit starts speaking? This much is certain , when you are spiritually open to the Holy Spirit’s leadership you won’t be at the crossroads for long.

Regarding the Spirit’s tendency to intervene on behalf of believers at the crossroads, the British evangelical G. Campbell Morgan once observed, “To the individual believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit there is granted the direct impression of the Spirit of God on the spirit of man, imparting the knowledge of His will in matters of the smallest and greatest importance. This has to be sought and waited for.” In other words, whatever it takes, seek a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit and expect Him to communicate!

4) They were agreeable to new directions led by the Spirit! The Spirit chose Barnabas and his young apprentice Saul of Tarsus to go on a Mission Trip. It was the first of its kind and is often called “the first missionary journey of Paul.” The significance of the journey- through mostly Greek speaking gentile country in modern turkey- was the target audience. What had been a Jewish focus spilled over into the world wide evangelistic mission of the Church we know today!

It was a new direction. At the crossroads, if we are willing to fast, pray, worship and wait on a move of God’s Spirit, we can expect a breakthrough- when the way forward suddenly becomes unmistakable.

5) They obeyed. What a tragedy it is when we pray, hear from God, and then refuse to do what He instructs. After they fasted and prayed they booked passage on a ship and left town! When you are stranded at the crossroads of indecision, and then you worship, fast and pray with a group of godly people, and God speaks- you have to rise up and obey the Lord. Get going!

-jkb

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WHY I’M EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW SBC PRESIDENT- DR. RONNIE FLOYD

Before I knew him as a friend, I read Dr. Ronnie Floyd’s book “Reconnecting” and identified with him immediately. For as long as I have known him, for almost 20 years now, Dr. Floyd has carried and communicated a twin burden for spiritual passion and revival. These convictions mirror those of many pastors and leaders but I don’t know anyone who has been more deliberate in living those disciplines than our new SBC President.

Years ago, in a sermon at the New Orleans Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Floyd challenged the SBC to pursue God for revival through prayer and fasting. That day I began a 40 day fast that changed the trajectory of my ministry. His passion for revival and evangelism in our churches, our nation, and the nations of the world, has encouraged me as well. Honestly, I know some pastors who focus on the importance of the spiritual disciplines but seem to have little to say regarding the urgency of evangelism. Oddly, I have known gifted evangelistic leaders who have been relatively mum on the priority of spiritual growth. Only a few contemporary leaders have consistently wedded both essential disciplines together in a way that is common, for instance, in the book of Acts. Ronnie Floyd is a proven leader who is perfect for right now because he has lived and led a large, consistent ministry with the strengths we need now in our new leader. Congratulations Dr. Floyd on your election to the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention! Your denomination needs you, and I am praying your passions for spiritual life and revival will become the passions of this generation!

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31 ESV)

~jkb

Why does our church invest in a “multi site” vision? Why do we have different worship services, different locations, and a vision to keep expanding those worship and teaching venues? Here are a few reasons that motivate me.

MULTIPLE & SINGLE

The first and foremost reason we do multiples has to do with our singlular vision: reaching people for Christ! Jesus gave His church “marching orders” just before He ascended back to the Father. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19, 20 ESV) We live in a city where it is estimated more than 90% of our friends and neighbors have no affiliation with any religion or faith community. The need to reach out could not be more obvious!

Making disciples, baptizing the new believers, and teaching them to live the Christian life is the pulse of our ministry. That original vision of Jesus- to reach the world with the gospel, motivates us to respond!

Therefore, we are interested in every appropriate response to the lostness of our city. If you are a fisherman you go where the fish are. Going where people are makes sense if you want to reach people and we do! Multiple services and locations put multiple “hooks in the water!”

MULTIPLE & PRACTICAL

According to FORBES magazine (and several other observers), Austin has been the fastest, or one of the fastest growing cities in America for the last four years in a row! For a church, that fact is both exciting and challenging. How can we reach those already here and those who are coming into our city? Can we really expect everyone to come to our Hyde Park Campus? Yes, a few thousand regard the Hyde Park Campus as “home” in some sense, while hundreds of thousands of others are unreached. Austin is a mission field!

A land developer in our congregation told us if we could drop a pin onto the population center of the Austin metro area, the pin would land on the Quarries- our church’s 62 acre recreational property, (nine miles north of our Hyde Park Campus). Does that fact stir a creative thought in you? It did for me!

About 10 years ago, in response to the long held dream of many of our people, we started aggressively and intentionally developing the Quarries property to maximize our ministry options. First, in the early 21st Century, we built the Christian Life Center (CLC), developed the Varsity athletic field, and opened a new entrance off of MoPac. Once we had those things we were able to build Hyde Park High School. With the CLC and the MoPac entrance open we started The Quarries Church in the CLC gym six years ago. Later, when the High School was completed, it’s facilities (and our unique relationship with the school) made that location even more conducive to a church worship and education ministry. While many “church starts” and multiple site churches pay rent, or buy/build new meeting space, our church was able to expand in the growing north Austin area in shared, multi-purpose space without the additional burden of rent. There are costs associated with ministry to be sure, and we can imagine expanding into space and locations we don’t own someday, but for now the multi-use of existing rent free space just makes practical sense (and it works great)!

MULTIPLE & INNOVATIVE

Change, creativity, and innovation should be exciting words for the born again, Spirit filled, redeemed Church of Jesus- but sometimes they’re not as exciting as we think! People love tradition, often fear change, and can be reluctant to branch out. I heard about a new pastor who enthusiastically declared, “With God’s help we can lead our church into the 20th century!” One of the members said, “Pastor, I think you mean the 21st century.” The pastor replied, “Brother, with this church, let’s take it one century at a time!” At Hyde Park Baptist/The Quarries Church we know what century we are in! It is time to seize a moment.

There is a powerful statement tucked in the Bible about recognizing the opportunities of the moment. “David served God’s purpose in his own generation, then he died and was buried with his ancestors… “(Acts 13:36 CEB)
Did you see that? King David “served God… IN HIS OWN GENERATION.” Now is our time! We don’t serve God in the 1990’s! Those days are gone. We have to seize the present for the Kingdom of God.

In this age of rapid change, the church of Jesus cannot afford to cement itself in structures and ministries that produce little, while refusing to adapt to a changing mission field. Innovation is one of the advantages of multi-site ministries. It can be carried out with a lithe, nimble structure unencumbered with treasured but ineffective past traditions. If reaching people for Christ is what we exist to do then we will embrace the most creative and responsive ways to do it. That will always involve innovation and change and a willingness to follow the leading of the Spirit, who is calling us with Christ into the future! Our success at The Quarries Church, for instance, demonstrates that creative approaches to evangelism and discipleship can reach scores of new people. This year, for example, The Quarries Church has grown by over 40%! It is unprecedented but not unexpected. We believe, under the Lordship of Christ, and in the power of the Spirit, we can witness this kind of growth over and over again in multiple venues around Austin. Would you join me in prayer about a future like that? Together we can witness God do amazing things for His glory.

-jkb

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                                             CHOICES

There are no volcanoes in Austin. But there are quite a few in Alaska where I grew up. When a volcano erupted hundreds of miles away, the air in Fairbanks would be filled with fine particles of ash that covered our cars with a thin layer of volcanic dust like the cedar pollen on a spring morning in central Texas. Can you imagine what it would be like to live even closer to an erupting volcano?

In A. D. 79 the citizens of Pompeii near Naples, Italy experienced one of history’s most famous and devastating volcanic eruptions when Mt. Vesuvius belched super heated poison gas, volcanic ash, and tons of burning mud and tiny rocks, destroying the city and the people living there. Because the eruption was so sudden and fierce, the people were almost instantly mummified where they were.

I visited Pompeii a few years ago and toured the ruins of the 2000 year old Roman city “frozen” in time. One couple was attempting to flee the eruption but their petrified bodies reveal the tragic fact that they paused to grab handfuls of gold coins which, after all this time, were discovered still in their mummified hands.

Their choices in those final moments provide a heartbreaking lesson, preserved forever, about misplaced priorities. It’s not hard to imagine what they must have been thinking, but they were wrong. The coins remained for 2000 years to remind us that what seems like a good plan at the moment can be the wrong choice after all!

Our choices matter. As has often been observed, “We make our choices- then our choices make us.”

In meaningful conversations over the years, I’ve discovered almost everybody is in the decision making process at all times! We are usually wondering which way to turn with finances; “should I try to get a better job or stay put and risk the security of this lower paying job?” Or, we wonder, “are my retirement investments secure or should I play it safer?” If not our finances we are making relationship choices: ” He seems like a man I could build a life with but is he the one? Am I settling out of insecurity?” Or we speculate about a family member’s drinking or substance abuse and question if it has reached a point when we should do something -or would that only alienate us from then further? Beyond family decisions and financial decisions we make daily choices about a range of personal issues. “Is it time to buy a new car?” “Where should I go to college?” “Should I schedule surgery or wait and see how long I can live with the pain?” The list goes on!

The question, of course, is not “do I have decisions to make?” The real question is “how can I know I’m making the right one?”

EVERY CHOICE IS GOD SIZED!

Everyone has choices to make. God reminds us from Scripture our choices are “God sized.” In other words, because our choices affect our lives, and those around us,  God wants to guide our decision making process. As a result God advises us to:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make straight your paths.” (Pr.3:5-6 ESV)

Embedded in this familiar text are some actionable principles.

1) Choices are matters of faith. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord.”
No decision you wrestle with can be disconnected from your relationship with God as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Trust Him!

2) “All” means “all.” Twice in this passage God reminds us He is interested in sole ownership not “time shares” over our lives. Every choice we make is ultimately His choice! He wants “all” your heart as He directs “all” your ways.

3) “Acknowledging” God means more than noticing Him in the room! The Hebrew word comes from a root meaning “to know, to perceive, to experience.” When you have the opportunity to carefully consider a decision, acknowledging God may be as simple as lifting the matter to Him in unhurried prayer. In this way you may sense a powerfully clear direction accompanied by the strong and stabilizing “peace that passes understanding.” In any event, before you decide on a thing, you will want to wait in God’s presence for His leadership and direction.

You will make an untold number of choices today. Each one has consequences you will not be able to control. Knowing how unclear the future is should lead you to lean on God for leadership. He knows what is best. 

And finally, if you’re running from a volcanic eruption, don’t stop at the bank!
-jkb

       WHERE TO GO WHEN GOD SAYS “NO!”

For months, the large church had interviewed me and every indication was I would be their next pastor. I was young and eager to take the reigns of leadership of the well known congregation in a rapidly growing city. Then, after all those meetings and all those months, the chairman awkwardly and nervously dropped the bomb. They had decided to go with an older, more experienced pastor instead. His assurances that the committee had struggled with the decision did little to relieve my disappointment. In my heart I was “already there.” But that door closed suddenly, and that dream died painfully. Almost 25 years have passed since then, but I still remember how deflated I felt when I hung up the phone.

Where should we turn when dreams die? Where can we go when disappointment is heavier than gravity? I headed to South Georgia. In a small back bed room of their impressive country home, decorated with Victorian antiques, handmade Southern quilts, well worn leather bibles, and beautiful, heartwarming Christian books and artwork, a wealthy, godly, retired couple left me alone with my thoughts and prayers. I took nothing with me but a book on prayer, a prayer journal, and my bible. I barely left the back wing of their home for 3 days while I re-calibrated my spiritual life, and refocused on the Lord. It was an oasis!

What have you done when life has leveled you with the frosty chill of a dying dream? We can’t always retreat for days when we face discouragement and disappointment, but when the pain is deep, the recovery better be more than equal to the wound! When relationships you built your hopes around are ending, when love you thought was made in Heaven crashes to the earth, when the career path you spent a lifetime training for becomes an unexpected dead end, when the hospital bed of a loved one is the last visual memory you will ever have of them, what can you do? Where will you turn? And how much more complex is our grief if in some cases we realize what we lost was never God’s plan for us in the first place? In the Christian life, God often closes doors that cannot be reopened!

King David was a big dreamer and a blessed man! He intended to build God a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem. He dreamed about that building project night and day. He imagined the architecture and planned to gather the building materials . It was the great passion of his life. Even his spiritual advisor recommended David build the great house of prayer. What could possibly be wrong with that?

Then God said “No!” (1 Samuel 7:4-12). David’s dream of building the House of Prayer was rejected by God Himself. What David did next should provide a blueprint for our own lives when God answers “No.”

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?’ “ (2 Samuel 7:18 ESV) David, confronted with the fact that God had other plans, went privately into the place of prayer and sat in the presence of the Lord! Can you see him there alone in the dim light with his head bowed and his hands lifted lightly in worship? He’s humble and quiet as he sits praying and praising God.

That’s the only place your hope can be renewed when your dreams die. When God says “no” to our ambitions, when the feelings of loss are almost overwhelming, a prayer room in the presence of God is the only place I know where hope can come alive again. 

Even if God says “no” to our dreams, we can still say “yes” to God! And when we do, the presence of God becomes far more important to us than anything we thought we lost.

-jkb

SPEAKING OF SEX…

A recent conference where I was asked to speak dealt with a Christian view of human sexuality. It was a 3 day conference drenched in information on the topic. My portion was brief, dealing with practical, pastoral concerns, so I learned more than I contributed.

One consensus at the conference is that pornography is pervasive in our culture and the damage it causes in personal lives and families, including those in our churches, presents a looming question for our generation, as ministries consider how to deal with the aftermath of porn addiction. How can a Christian man or woman be free of the allure of this easily accessible but spiritually poisonous material?

Here are 3 practical, pastoral suggestions.

1) Sexual temptation is a spiritual battle and the enemy will offer substitutes in place of God’s plan for everything including sexual satisfaction. Therefore, to be forewarned is to be forearmed! You have to beat the devil before you meet the devil!

Every believer must cultivate a daily walk with God through the spiritual disciplines because through them we connect with God and gain spiritual strength to resist every kind of temptation. Bible reading and prayer should be daily exercises and the earlier in the day the better in order to be more spiritually prepared for the Satanic onslaughts, in every area of life, that are certain to occur.

In addition to these daily devotions, Christians, who are serious about spiritual growth, should develop the personal discipline of fasting. Fasting hinders the power of the flesh! There are numerous resources available on this subject and most Christian leaders will be happy to point believers toward those books, websites, or sermons. Ask your pastor for more information on the practical aspects and spiritual benefits of fasting.

Then, we must remember that our ultimate weapon in spiritual warfare is the power of the Holy Spirit! When I was coming into ministry in the late 1970’s scores of young people were flooding into the Body of Christ from the drug culture. I have known of examples far too numerous to mention of men and women instantly delivered from drug habits by the power of the Holy Spirit. Sexual temptation and porn addiction is no different in this sense- God is greater than all temptation! If we are spiritually bullied by the enemy into surrendering our confidence in God’s ability to deliver us by the Spirit’s power, we have laid down our most effective weapon during the heat of the battle! God can deliver us from every temptation and we must not lose sight of this biblical truth!

2) Coupled with spiritual disciplines are the excellent resources developed by pastor’s and Christian counselors. There are answers if we want to find them and most pastors can quickly point you to the books, websites, church classes, and teaching tools you need to be more informed and strengthened.

3) Christian counseling is always a good option for those who have started to feel overwhelmed and helpless in this battle. Beyond individual and secret battles, the damaging wounds of pornography affect families too. A confidential setting, where individuals and couples can discuss their battles with a professional Christian counselor, can be a powerful tool on the road to victory.

Remember, no one has to lose this or any other spiritual battle. God has provided for your victory!

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

-jkb