Living by the Grace of God

I know that this is a lot for my first post but here goes if you are wondering about what God is doing in my life for his Glory through the spreading of the Gospel in New Orleans and the nations.

Here is the desire that God has put in my heart.

I love the idea of church revitalization (CR for here on out). Here are some reasons why. I desire to commit to a church for several years. I believe that God has placed this desire in my heart and through CR I can fulfill this desire. I desire to see the local community of a church come to know Christ through a pure teaching of the Scriptures. God has given me a great passion for his Word and the power that lies in it to change men's hearts. Only through expository preaching, will people truly come to an understanding of the Word and an understanding of their condition before a Great God whether they are saved or not. I also desire to learn from established members the history of the church and the desire of the people to see the church grow and in turn help them accomplish this goal. Committing time to a church will allow both of these things to happen. I will get to hear the people out and I will be able to help them with the Power of the Holy Spirit to see the most effective way their church can grow. I also have a great desire to see a dead church living again for the Glory of God. I have no power to do this on my own but I do pray that I am before the cross daily praying that God would work through me to bring back to life that which is dead. Luke says in Ch. 16 if the people do not have the Word of God an rise from the dead they will not convince people of repentance. The walking dead have no life to give. But the dead made alive again through the Word of God will bring people to their God so those people can live also. I pray I am in the business of putting life back into dead, hard, stubborn, people of God who want the Glory of God back in New Orleans through the Power of the Gospel.

What is CR?

It is basically going into churches that are declining and dying or almost dead and turning them around again. It is similar to a church plant but the church already has an existing body, bylaws, and mission in the city. CR plans to equip the body with the Word, infuse the bylaws with the missional aspects of God's Word, and invigorate the people to be mission minded to New Orleans , the USA , and the Nations. CR plans strategically to develop people’s mindset to the point that their efforts are no longer solely for themselves but those efforts are effectively used to maximize the potential of people coming to Christ in the local community, the greater region of that community, and the nations.

The plan that I believe that God has given me in CR?

First, to commit a season of my life and my family's life to a city. In this case, my wife and I love New Orleans . We believe that God has called us here. We will stay as long as he allows us to. We have said that we will commit 10-15yrs to the city. This is up in the air because God could radically change that at any moment.

Second, to commit to expository preaching. I plan to speak only the Word of God. I do not want to be topical. I will commit 1-2yrs to preaching on the over arching theme of Who is the Church? In addition, Why are we here? I will do this primarily through Acts and other scriptures that tie directly into this theme. In some way or another, I believe that the church has lost its focus on these two things. We must return to the basics of who is the church and why does the church exist if we truly desire to spread the gospel for the Glory of God.

Third, to commit to have everything that we (family and friends who support us in New Orleans) be covered in prayer. You are getting this email because you are the tip of the prayer chain. We are unable to do anything with out the unceasing prayers of those who believe that God IS doing something great in New Orleans and the nations. We believe that he is. I believe that he is. My friends believe that He Is. I have always said that I believe that God has me on the edge of something great. CR may be it. Revitalizing churches in the USA may be the greatest thing that God does through my life for his Glory. I pray that he does. Please pray and do not cease praying that God would allow all these things to happen for his glory and his recognition not mine or any of our supports.

Fourth, to commit to having a staff that reflects the community of the church. Right now in my life, there is a fear of joining a single cultural staff or calling a mono-cultural staff to do the work of God in New Orleans or any city God calls my family to in the future. I believe that churches today have lost site of the community that surrounds them. Most dead and declining church have not figured out how to minister to the community that directly surrounds their church. God has given me the desire to change this mindset of the church slowly. Let me emphasized slowly. I know that these kinds of barriers and changes are not going to happen overnight. This will take years. I committed to a lifetime of service when I answered the call of God into FULLtime ministry. I do not plan to retire and I do not plan to forsake my God. I plan to engage students on our campus of NOBTS on this issue to gain wisdom and help in forming a multicultural staff. This will most likely involve making diversity a key point in church policy and bylaws. Please pray for the hearts of those who oppose such changes. God can and will transform the hardest of hearts through an emphasis from his Word on the diversity of his kingdom. We must see this point as essential to truly making any church effective in its community.

A final note. God is not just doing this in my life. Another friend of mine and supporter of what I am doing began the same process about three months ago. He thought that the process of even getting into the church was going to take 1yr. He spent many hours in prayer over the church and engaging the community surrounding the church. Two months later he got to share his heart and passion with the pastor. A month later the pastor admits to praying for something like this. A week later, the pastor gives my friend the keys to the church and the church constitution. There are no time constraints on what God is doing in New Orleans . The thing that does constrain us is our willingness to seek his help in what he is doing where we are. If we are willing to do whatever he leads us to do through prayer we are not constrained. If we do not pray, we are constrained. I want to be a man of prayer of every area of my life right now.

This is a link to what my friend above is doing http://robwilton.blogspot.com/2007/09/relevant-emergent-emerging.html

Some good news about prayer: My wife was in a great deal of pain about two weeks ago because of the changes that come with having a baby inside of her. I committed to praying for her. From the prayers lifted up until this day there has been no pain. I prayed over a friend of mine who was speaking a week ago and a student gave his life to Christ. I do not claim to have any special power in prayer. But I do know that God hears the prayers of the faithful. I will continue to pray. I hope you do the same. I am truly excited about these passions that God has given me and plan to follow Him until he takes me to another season in life. Please do not take these things lightly because God is doing a mighty work in New Orleans . Thank you for your time to read this and your time to pray.