My Conviction for Missions

In June 2011, I was watching our Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting from Phoenix, Arizona. I am very thankful for this service by the way! During this 2011 annual meeting I listened to Tom Eliff’s report from the International Mission Board. I never thought that God would use a report at an annual meeting to change my thinking and my life, but He did. My entire life I have been Southern Baptist. My thinking has always been that if God wanted you to do International Missions then He would call you to serve through the International Mission Board. If He did not call you, then all you needed to do was support those missionaries doing the work through prayer and giving. My thinking was changed that year! Why? Because of what the Bible really says.

Let’s take a look at what the Bible really says regarding this issue.

What are we commanded to do?

“Then Jesus came near and said to them, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20

This scripture is the Great Commission and it is Jesus’ command to all Christians. All Christians, not just those that are called to full-time missionary service, are commanded to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” There is no in-between. We as Christians are to go and make disciples!

Where are we commanded to go?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

It is my conviction that this scripture tells us to be a witness for Jesus Christ everywhere starting with where we are located to the very ends of the earth!

How long are we commanded to go?

“This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14

We are commanded to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations until the very end. There is no time for retirement or quitting. Christians are commanded to go until the end.

What will be the result?

“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.” – Revelation 7:9

The result will be that the nations will hear the Gospel and there will be people from “every nation, tribe, people and language” counted among those that are saved. As Christians, we are commanded to go, the work will not be easy but the work will not be in vain!

Because of my conviction of what the Bible instructs Christians to do regarding the lost, I felt led by the Lord to lead our church to embrace an Unreached, Unengaged People Group. Our church has embraced the Italians of the United Kingdom. For a few years now, we have been praying diligently for this group to be saved! We have been able to travel a few times to visit, prayer walk and minster to our embraced group. Currently, we are trying diligently to raise money to send another team back this year.

I would like to ask you to pray for a few things:

• That God would move mightily amongst the Italians of the UK and that they would be saved.

• That our church can continue to raise funds to send another team back.

• That other churches will come alongside our church as partners to reach this group.

• That our church will continue to catch the vision

Inspiration from Memorial Day

"No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13

The last couple of days I have had the opportunity to reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made by our men and women in the United States Armed Forces. Sunday morning we stopped for a moment during our morning worship service to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by 1,321,343 Americans who have died in battle since the American Revolution. The North American Mission Board has distributed to our church fifty prayer cards to pray for our Southern Baptist military chaplains. I am praying for Commander George James Mendes, U.S. Navy Chaplain serving in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I have challenged our church to remember them in prayer until July 4th. On Memorial Day, I rested at home with my family but I never forgot why I was able to do so. I am able to enjoy my freedom because of the countless number of those who have served and still serve today.

I love to watch movies/documentaries about World War II. My fascination with World War II is probably due to the fact that my grandfather served in the Pacific during this war. I have enjoyed watching Patton for many years and yesterday I watched Tora! Tora! Tora! for the first time. I greatly enjoyed it! I know they are just movies but for me they give me a glimpse at the sacrifice that these service men and women have made for the freedom that I enjoy. Many of these service men did not have a choice in serving their country due to the draft, but they have all served faithfully and heroically. It is amazing to me that they would sacrifice theirselves for our continued freedom.

To all of our service men and women in the United States Armed Forces, past or present, Thank You for your service and your commitment to freedom!

As Christians, we should be reminded of our Savior's sacrifice when we look at our service men and women who have sacrificed their all for our freedom. We have a Lord and Savior in Jesus Christ who has laid down His life and sacrificed His all for our freedom from the penalty of sin. We should never let a day go by that we do not praise God and thank Jesus for His sacrifice that has saved us if we believe in Him. As Christians, I think we should also be inspired by the sacrifice of our service men and women. These men and women fought, some survived and some unfortunately did not however they were all committed to serving our nation. I wish the same thing could be said of Christians today. As Christians, we can stand to learn a lot from the service and sacrifice of those who have served in the  United States Armed Forces.

Let me give you one question to think about: Where would our nation be today if those men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces had the same work ethic and commitment as many American Christians and Churches do today?

Dawn, My Proverbs 31 Woman

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.” – Proverbs 31:30

Proverbs 31 is a beautiful passage on the qualities of the ideal wife and mother. This chapter may seem like it was written for women however I truly believe it was written to teach young men in what to look for in a great spouse. Men, then and now, might look for other qualities in woman but the Bible says that these qualities listed here are the best. Every man would do well to use this as an instruction manual for finding a wife!

In 1999, my life changed because I fell head over heels in love with a girl. The amazing thing is that she actually liked me too! Her name is Dawn, just in case you are wondering J As shy as we were, we eventually got married a couple years later. She loved me and married me despite the fact that she could have done better. We have since had three beautiful children and next month we will celebrate 13 years of marriage. Accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and serving Him has been the best thing to happen in my life, but do you know what’s next? Spending my life with my beautiful bride and building our family together.

I am incredibly proud of my wife because inner beauty is just as beautiful as her outer beauty. She is my proverbs 31 woman and I am very grateful! Proverbs 31 states that a capable wife is hard to find and if you do find one, she is more valuable than precious jewels. Her husband can fully trust her and she is good and not evil to him. Put that in perspective just a moment. Proverbs 21:9 says “better to live on a corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.” I thank God that I have a wife that I can fully trust and never have to worry about her because her motives are pure. The behavior of a Proverbs 31 woman is characterized by being hard working and a provider for her family. My wife has the hardest job in the world; she is a stay at home mom. She is constantly cooking, cleaning, watching kids and doing church stuff for me. How many times have we heard someone say “I need to go to work so I can get some rest?” That phrase doesn’t apply to my wife. She is constantly on the go! Not only is she trustworthy and a hard worker, but she is a wonderful mother to our children. She takes care of all their clothes, their extra-curricular activities and their general well-being. I’m not sure how much my children realize it or appreciate it yet, but one day they will look back and understand the hard work that their mother has done for them and the extent of her love.

Since the first time that I went on a date with my wife (which was October 15, 1999 to the Mississippi State Fair) I knew that there was something incredibly special about her. I’m just humbled to be able to be her husband. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with her! She is an incredible wife and a wonderful mother!

“Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!” – Proverbs 31:29

My Own "Lois and Eunice"

"Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, ⁵ clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also." - 2 Timothy 1:4-5

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he commends Timothy for his sincere faith. There are a lot of things that people can say about us but we could only hope for such a complement being paid to us as Paul was giving to Timothy. As I read the New Testament, I see where the early church had to deal with those that would profess faith in Jesus Christ but then turn away and teach another gospel. We constantly have to be on the lookout for false teachers. Timothy however was not a false teacher; his faith was sincere. Timothy had a heritage of faith in his family with his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Now their faith did not save him, but it was taught to him and he along the way accepted the gospel himself. He was extremely fortunate to have such women in his life that brought him up in the ways of the Lord.

Personally, I have my own Lois and Eunice that I am extremely thankful for and with Mother's Day soon approaching I want to thank them.

When I was about to turn five years old, my parents separated and eventually divorced so I lived with my mom and she raised me. I tell people all the time that I was raised in a single-parent home before it was cool. I think back on it and even today it still brings me a lot of pain but that's a different story for a different day.  I think my mom was 25-26 at the time; young enough to restart her life if she wanted to. She could have tossed me aside and started again without any baggage but she chose to raise me. I remember not seeing my mom too much as a child because she would work forty plus hours a week and then go to school at night to try and better herself. She did this I'm sure for herself but also because she had a child to raise. It would have been easy for her to stay at home and rest on Sunday but every Sunday we would go to Sunday School. She not only would attend but she would actively serve in the church nursery and with the youth ministry. She would work all that time and still find the energy to come to all my Boy Scout and Band activities. Mom, I cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done and still do for me including your love and prayers!

My grandmother began babysitting me when I was two weeks old and I thank her for what she has poured into my life. I'm sure there were a lot of other things she could have done besides keeping me. When my mom had to work and go to school, it was my grandmother that stepped in and I can never thank her enough. She set the example of a committed Christian and served her church up until she just could not physically serve any longer. When many people left my home church (including me) she stayed and was committed to her church. Stubbornness though may be a quality that she is known for and passed on to others :) For many years, she has served as a mentor to me and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate what she has poured into my life. Granny, thank you for always being there, praying for me and loving me.

I thank God for my own "Lois and Eunice."