Real Life: Overcoming A Plateau in Your Church

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Overcoming A Plateau in Your Church

I read an article recently and thought I would share some of the high points.

Bible Text: Acts 6:1-4

1. Churches plateau because the pastor, or leader plateaus.

note: There can be other factors but the pastor must stay focused and on mission with God.

2. The pastor or leader must lead the church to grow.

3. Evaluate where you are.
- How is your walk with God?
- Do you have any goals you are trying to accomplish?

4. Set some goals.
- Sunday School or Bible Fellowship goals
- number of souls saved
- invitations distributed

5. Get some things in your life that will motivate you.
- listen to messages
- listen to uplifting music
- do some physical work that will give your mind the freedom to think.
- read good books that will motivate you (testimonies, stories, biographies)

6. Fellowship with men who motivate you rather than make you feel comfortable.

2 comments:

Sheff said...: Awesome thoughts, Billy!; 3:31 PM
Billy Howard said...: Thanks. Just passing along helpful info!; 8:31 PM

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ARE YOU A BELIEVER OR AN ATHEIST?

Consider the following…

1. You either came from monkeys (who were made from nothing-not even dirt) or you were created by a loving designer named Jehovah God (The Father, The Holy Spirit, and the Coequal Son Jesus-The God of The Bible).

2. All scientific dating is based on theory and not factual evidence. Some argue the Biblical age of the earth verses other given ages when everyone living on the earth is less than 120 years of age.

3. The fact that the Atheist believes all death, pain, and suffering are not God’s fault because “God does not exist” means the Atheist actually believes a biblical principle. Man is to blame for the current condition of humanity.

4. God created man with freewill to make personal decisions. All of man’s personal decisions have consequences according to the laws and standards God established before the world existed. The decision to reject Jesus as Savior has the greatest level of negative consequence.

5. The fact that many “Christians” use phrases like “God healed” doesn’t mean God was involved at all. Humans cannot see the invisible-therefore a person should only thank God for the positive outcome whether He was supernaturally involved, OR natural process, modern medicine, or even technology was what corrected the illness or problem. The Miracles and gifts mentioned in the Bible had their purpose and were never meant to be recreated as some have done in modern days. Many TV evangelist and faith healers have caused a great amount of confusion for the world of unbelievers in the arena of miracles and other spiritual gifts.

6. The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years by over 40 different writers. Under these conditions the only way the Bible could exhibit such unison is if an all knowing powerful being was behind the letters ascribed. God inspired the writers He chose! I challenge you with the following two options (two of a few) to disprove the Bible.

Option A. Go rebuild the city of Tyre in its exact original location. The city of Tyre was the capital of the ancient Phoenician empire. In spite the strategic location on the Mediterranean Sea and the nearby springs of Roselain which put out 10,000,000 gallons of fresh water every day, the city has never been rebuilt. God said it would never happen, so all you have to do is prove God wrong!

Option B. Go to Hell and come back and tell the world it isn’t real. This option isn't realistic but going to Hell would (will) absolutely change your mind!

To the point:

Don’t waste any time because if the Bible is truly the word of God you don’t have much time. As you may know around 150,000 people die every day. You could die in an accident or of natural cause any second. When you decide you can’t disprove the Bible you need to do the following.

1. Be sorrowful about your sin condition compared to such a great and perfect God. Stop playing games with your Creator and admit that you have a sin problem (which includes your rational thinking that rejects Jesus)! Job 14:1-2 Romans 3:23 (The Bible)

2. Turn to Jesus by faith and trust Him to change your life. The moment you trust Jesus as the only means of dealing with your problem-in an instant you are made right with God. Jesus’ death and resurrection are counted as the only acceptable solution for man’s sinful condition. Genesis 3:15, I Corinthians 15:1-8, Romans 6:23, 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9 (The Bible)

Finally, the Bible makes clear that by calling out to the Lord Jesus and asking Him to be your Savior-your name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life and you are promised a home in Heaven for Eternity! Romans 10:13, Revelation 20:15, John 10:27-30 (The Bible)

If you would like more information or have a comment please send an email! Hispanicpbh@aol.com

BIBLICAL CORE VALUES

The Core Values I Passionately Embrace In The Ascribed Order-

Intimacy- The success of the life of a believer is dependant upon an intimate relationship with Jesus. One is saved and secured in a relationship with Jesus from the moment of trust, but intimacy must be maintained through a daily walk with Christ. Without this intimacy all other core values fail. (Luke 9:23, John 10:27, Revelations 3:20)

Prayer- Prayer illustrates dependence upon God, and unleashes the power to live for God while fighting life’s battles against sin and the enemy. Prayer is needed to maintain intimacy and enjoy success in the other core values. (Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6, I Thessalonians 5:16)

Scripture- The Bible holds all truth and life principles necessary to obey God and enjoy an abundant life. A daily devotion to the Word of God is necessary to maintain intimacy with Christ and carryout His commands without partiality. The Scriptures are relevant to every culture and establish all other core values. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Family Life- God made the first man and the woman and brought them together as a family. Family life should be centered on all previous core values with the intent to worship God together. The home should be the primary training grounds for children. The God-centered family enables the success of the next core value. (Genesis 2, Joshua 24:15, Ephesians 5-6)

Church Life- Jesus started the first church which makes it vital to the life of all believers. Church life consists of worship and fellowship. Our worship is expressed through our service to God in keeping His commands. Fellowship with other believers is the mechanism God chose to encourage and challenge fellow believers to continue a life of worship in spirit and in truth. Church life is most exciting when the following core value is priority. (Matthew 16:18-19, John 4:23, Acts 2:41- 47, Romans 12:1-2, Hebrew 10:25)

Discipleship- Jesus commanded His church to make disciples of all nations. Discipleship involves sharing the gospel and then training those who trust in Jesus to observe His commands. Discipleship is a local process as well as the reproduction of new churches around the world. Discipleship is successful when local churches are sending out men to plant new churches that will plant new churches on every continent of the globe until Christ returns. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 2:2)

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Overcoming A Plateau in Your Church

2 comments:

Mike Huckabee

Free Gospels of John

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ARE YOU A BELIEVER OR AN ATHEIST?

BIBLICAL CORE VALUES

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