Think of us as servants of Christ who have been given the work of explaining God’s mysterious ways. And since our first duty is to be faithful to the one we work for, it doesn’t matter to me if I am judged by you or even by a court of law. In fact, I don’t judge myself. 1 Corinthians 4:1-3 (CEV)
The mission and vision of Bible Study Paths is to encourage enthusiastic Bible study in individuals and in the Church. It is to help us acknowledge the hunger and questions inside of us that can only be fed through the Living Bread of God’s Word.
I am saddened this month that only one person was nominated for the 2010 Bible Path Award. This person has been a tremendous influence on many, many people that I know. But this person is not the only one. Whether it is in a classroom, a sanctuary, a living room, or sitting at a table in the restaurant, there are people who have blessed me with their passion for God’s Word. Freely they have received and freely they have given to me! (Matthew 10:8) I wish I could nominate them all!
As we look at the modern Church, how many members are active? What is the percentage of those who attend worship once per week and those who do that and also attend a weekly Bible study? And how many encourage and mentor a ‘younger’ Believer? (And thousands of dollars are spent on surveys and studies to determine why the Church is declining!) All these things are vital to producing strong, deep roots in God’s vineyard. When will we learn to take the hard look at our life and set the priorities as God directs instead of allowing ourselves to be tossed about on the world’s sea? When will we live a real life example for our children and their children?
Take a moment and give thanks for those who have sown into your life, helping your to grow in your spiritual life. Maybe the Lord will speak to your spirit to send an email or card or pick up the phone and encourage this person who has given so freely to strengthen your feeble limbs.
Thank You, Lord, for these people in my life. Thank You for sending them with Your message. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
A comedian once said that people have the silly impression that the glass in cars somehow shields us from others seeing in. He wonders how could we think we were hidden by such a transparent material when it is so obvious that if we can see out certainly others can see in! It is so true! When I think about the things I’ve done “behind the windshield,” it just makes me burst out in fits of laughter! I’m quite sure that no other woman has perfected the art of the 5-minute make-up fix in the overhead mirror the way that I have. But, I’m really talking about time with God —praise, worship, and prayer kinds of things–hands waving, arms outstretched, heart totally revealed to God from the driver’s seat and hurtling toward destinations of His choosing. I think you get the picture. Glass is a two-way material.
Prophetic intercession is more than just walking places and proclaiming in English things that WE think God wants us to proclaim for Him. The majority of the time I have spent in prophetic intercession was behind the wheel of my Suzuki XL7, totally immersed in speaking in tongues, following His directions, without knowing where or why I was being sent–only that He was sending me. The things that are seen through that glass!
Now, I don’t want you to think that these “prayer rides” happen on a whim. Many times, the Lord will begin revealing certain issues months before a prayer ride actually takes place. The revelations determine a general course of a large ride. It is almost like a jigsaw puzzle. You can see how certain pieces fit together, but–well, God sometimes removes the box lid before He dumps the pieces out. That’s where faith comes in–and trust. You can’t always see the bigger picture. He teaches you to trust Him with the big things in life by starting with the smaller pieces. He reveals what you need to know, when you need to know it–and I’m not just talking about prayer rides here. It is the space between the beginning and the end that are filled with His surprises and delight–and His blessings. One time, while in Bessemer, AL, I rode by a little storefront. It was in a seemingly forgotten part of town, and truthfully, looked like a junk store. The Lord said to go in there. So, always up for an adventure with Him, I parked and walked in. As I looked around, trying to figure out why I might be in there, I saw a most pleasant woman sitting at her desk. A prayer request box was sitting on the desk. That sparked a conversation during which it came out that she was a pastor. She didn’t have an appointed church, she said, but the Lord led me to tell her that this store* was her church. We talked about how every customer that came through those doors would be ministered to by her sweet spirit and willing heart to help those who were hurting. A wonderful prayer and blessing followed. She gave me a candle that I still have. One day, we’ll see each other again. What a report I hope to hear–whether here on earth or in Heaven!
Another story that cannot be overlooked here was in a section of NW Alabama that the Lord sent me through. Two counties and countless cow pastures; towns that didn’t even have a red light, where no car passed me in either direction on those beautiful country backroads. Six months later, a dear pastor friend and a life mentor of mine sent me a random email to let me know what she had been up to. She mentioned, casually, that she was conducting a revival in the very small town of Valley, AL, that had been at the heart of the two county ride six months earlier. Needless to say, I attended the revival and what an awesome time the Lord gave. Along with a small restaurant, Canada’s Homestyle Cafe, at exit 77 on I-85, we had some good food that trip–spiritual and natural! You never know how God is going to thread things together! Next time you and your family are through there, stop by and tell Miss Velma that Iris sent you. You will be blessed by her loving heart and her gracious hospitality. After a down home meal, you might need to take a nap before you get back on the road!
It is true that my tires have traveled through many cities and across many miles–50,000+ in one year. Those were some incredible trips. When you travel for God, you are listening to His directions true; but it’s His nature that is to be your guide. He seeks to spread His love. That’s the main purpose of a prayer ride–spreading His love into places, and sometimes the lives of people, who just need a touch. He can do that through us when we surrender our limited understanding of how He can use us. He can speak from behind that glass through our praise and worship, our spirit prayers, or His proclamations through our lips. Those trips transform the lives of not only those people whose cities we ride through but also our own. His revealed power and glory in the lives of others bring us to a new understanding of who He is to US; and more importantly, who we are to Him. A new place that we all need to come to understand –a place of transparent existence in Him, for those looking out and in. And, after all, isn’t that where THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD? Rosie’s Unique Place, 527 19th Street North, Bessemer, AL 35020.
World Prayr was a vision given to Pastor Patrick Badstibner that God has grown by His Spirit into an organization of people founded on the belief that the second greatest commandment Christ gave us was to “love your brother as yourself.” We show we are his followers, not by what we might term “religious acts” but by our love for one another.
There are many team members who contribute to the success of World Prayr’s mission – bloggers, ezine and online store managers, business managers, the senior council team, Pastor Pat’s council of twelve and the trustees. Many are laying the foundation and the building blocks for what will hopefully be a ministry organization that will serve long after the founders have gone to be with their beloved Savior. BSP: What is the day-to-day mission of World Prayer?
World Prayr aggressively evangelizes the web providing online resources of encouragement, support, and prayer. It is also developing a network of believers in Christ that re-connect hurting people to local ministries and local bodies of believers, providing fellowship, support, and real answers; and treat them as family ought to be treated – nothing more nothing less.
As World Prayr began to take focus, one of the things that became obvious to its leaders was the tremendous disconnect of those online in these networks. As we watched, prayers came through our streams – the pain, hurt, despair, and feeling of loss was overwhelming. The physical, emotional, and spiritual needs were huge. People are disconnected in a multitude of ways including some of the following:
Need for a relationship with Christ
Believers who need fellowship in the body of Christ
Emotional pain
Financial challenges
Career changes and uncertainties
Too long has the body of Christ allowed itself to be divided by secondary issues, instead of making those outside the body envious to be in it. These divisions have made the body unattractive and have resulted in great chasms in the body of Christ.
It is within those chasms that World Prayr has chosen to work. It is our hope that in building connections and developing systems and methods to serve Christ that we will be able to work towards reconnecting those holes and letting the world know we are one. BSP: What systems and methodologies is World Prayr developing and working on to put in place?
World Prayr is currently working on and developing the following systems to serve those hurts we see and help put feet on the many prayers we see.
We are constantly at work developing a mission force using web technology to go into those sites where people are hurting
We are working on developing an online a connection point in times of emotional difficulty; to offer real hope
We are working on developing a connection point for support in budget management and career counseling
We are looking at creating ways to generate multiple streams of income; helping those in need and financially hurting to create new ways of generating income
We are making connections with other ministries and churches; we are working towards bridging that gap.
We are giving of our resources, time, and knowledge to serve others. In doing so we are exhibiting to the World our passionate love for another.
BSP: How can someone who is reading this help “put feet to prayers”?
We are on a definitive mission to put feet on the hundreds of prayers we see. As such, to say we need prayer would be stating the obvious. We welcome people who would like to serve in World Prayer. There are many ways to volunteer. We are in constant need of support from financial to time to other gifts that we may not have identified but that God has laid on your heart. If you are looking to be part of a bridge uniting the body of Christ and want to be part of a global effort to help put feet on people’s prayers as well as pray for others, World Prayr needs you! Contact us at: volunteer@worldprayr.org. BSP: Let’s hear from three World Prayr members. Each was given this question: What does reconnecting a broken world mean to you and how does your answer and your role fit in with the mission of World Prayr? Bob Kimball, CFO, World Prayr:
“We are all broken people as a result of sin inherited from Adam and practiced in our daily lives. Christ came to save us from our sin, but not only that, to sanctify us through his Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13). This can be termed the “restorative value of redemption.” In the words of John Donne, “no man is an island, entire of itself…” We are, or should be, connected to others and to Christ, but such bonds are severed by sin. Those of use who belong to Christ by faith and experiencing his sanctifying work, are called by Him to participate in His restorative work by bringing his message of salvation to others and healing the bonds broken by sin. We do this by helping others connect with a local body of believers where they can experience the human touch rather than virtually, and by helping fulfill needs under the right conditions.
My current role as CFO fits in with this by providing financial accountability, not just within the organization of World Prayr Inc, but helping those we come in contact with via World Prayr to be accountable to others.”
Pastor Bob Kimball became a follower of Christ in the summer of 1974. He graduated from a Bible College in 1981, was ordained, and worked at a Christian school for a year. He then went back for more schooling and received a Bachelors degree in Computer Science, married, and moved to Atlanta in 1989. He is a manager in the IT department at T-Mobile. He’s the father of special needs twins, which inspired his twitter name as @dadofspeckids. He has participated in music ministries in churches by singing in ensemble groups to lead worship. Dora Perry, CPO and Network Coordinator, World Prayr:
“Reconnecting a broken world to me means to bring the hurting and the lost into the Light of Jesus. Revealing to them that there is a Savior who loves them unconditionally very much, and Who wants to forgive them of their past and give them an eternal future with Him. I am the person responsible for building that connection process. I look for ministries, churches, and organizations around the world that we can connect these precious lost sheep to that need Jesus in their lives.”
Dora Perry started in a stock brokerage in the cage at the age of 18 where she eventually advanced to Trade Controller. As a Broker/Owner of her own Real Estate Co. she was associated with a company that worked for several major banks completing Broker Price Opinions. She was ranked 1ST in Indiana and 5TH in the Nation in this area of her business. She a wife and a mother of seven. She has one granddaughter and a God-grandson. She is also a sponsor at Network Goodness, which is a company whose goal is to help end world hunger by feeding the starving children worldwide. A voice for the persecuted Christians and a prayer warrior. Gary Patton, COO and Director of the World Prayr e-store:
“I think Paul said it best in Colossians 2:19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow”.
I, like so many people in this world today are struggling, not because of the physical world, God’s wonderful creation, but because of the spiritual ruler of this world, Satan.
Fortunately my Heavenly Father did not leave me to wander this modern day wilderness, he sent His people to lead me back to Him (note the word “back”). We are all His, always have been, it just takes someone or something to remind us of the love that God has for us….ALL OF US. I want to help remind people of this love and my position within World Prayr is both to assist and empower the people called by God to this Ministry to achieve His purpose.
I invite you to read Colossians 2 in it’s entirety and think of me whilst you do.
God loves you so much that He gave His only Son that we may be re-connected to Him.”
The poll is up!
I will confess that the total participation was disappointing. On the negative side, we had one entry that won by default, by Chris Eyre. I think it was a good negative entry, but I had hoped for much more discussion.
On the affirmative side, we had two entries, and they are shown in the poll to the right. Please read the entries and vote for the one you think most merits the $50 B&N gift card. The poll will close April 19. I’ve extended the poll time because I did not post the poll on time.
Please feel free to discuss the essays here and/or in The Christian Fellowship Forum, where both entries were initially presented.
— Henry Neufeld, owner of Energion Publications
When I first got onto Twitter a few months ago I met a wonderful man of God, Patrick Badstibner, founder of World Prayr (on Twitter). At the time, World Prayr was mostly forwarding prayer requests via Twitter, so of course I followed and soon we became more acquainted and I got involved with World Prayr as well.
I’m pleased to be able to present this blog post, the first in a series of monthly posts by Pat, to our Energion Publications family. We will be presenting a number of other guest posts over the next few months, so keep your eyes open, subscribe to our RSS feed, or come back frequently.
And check the World Prayr organization and the World Prayr devotional blog as well. You’ll find a dynamic and growing group of Christians who are practicing the second great command, to love their neighbors as themselves, and thereby practicing the first command as well. (more…)
Well, the blogswarm failed to show, very possibly because we called for it too late and perhaps not loudly enough. But there are entries in the contest, though many fewer than we’d like. There is still time to submit your entry.
Affirmative: Christopher Larson (from the Christian Fellowship Forum) Spencer (from the Christian Fellowship Forum). Spencer indicates his is an outline, but it is of sufficient length to be qualified as an entry, so we’re going to give him the opportunity.
Negative Not “the messiah” (Eyre Lines)
This post will be updated as entries are received.
In celebration of Consider Christianity Week, Energion Publications will sponsor a special form of blogswarm (invited, not spontaneous!) and a blogging/essay contest. (more…)
This question is triggered by this essay on Dave Black Online, which is quoted on our Energion Publications blog.
Let’s look at the question from three angles:
1) Should the gospel commission be supreme?
2) Is it supreme in your church and mine?
3) How could it be made supreme and what would that look like in practice?
Dr. David Alan BlackDavid Alan Black
Known for his love for New Testament Greek and passion for teaching, Dave Black is a husband, father, professor, author, preacher, lecturer, web journalist, and (above all) a sinner saved by God’s sovereign grace.
Dave is a political iconoclast who takes his constitutional ideals seriously. He is also committed to challenging the church to return to the simple patterns of Scripture.
Dave Black holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Basel in Switzerland and has taught New Testament and Greek for over 30 years. He is also the editor of the popular website, Dave Black Online. He has published over 20 books, including The Myth of Adolescence, Interpreting the New Testament, It’s Still Greek to Me, and Why Four Gospels? He and his wife live on a 123-acre working farm in southern Virginia and are self-supporting missionaries to Ethiopia, which they visit twice each year. Ephesians 4 speaks of God’s appointments to pastors, prophets, apostles, evangelists, and teachers. It does not mention “missionaries”. Did God leave this appointment out?
Reader, you are correct that English translations of the New Testament do not contain the word “missionary.” However, the Greek word apostolos can have that meaning in certain contexts. For example, in Philippians 2:25 Epaphroditus, who represented the Philippian church to Paul in prison, is called an apostolos. Here the term clearly refers to someone who is sent out from a local congregation on a mission trip, in this case to minister to Paul’s needs while he was in prison. A modern example might be the missionaries Becky and I take with us to Ethiopia. Each of them represents their own local church in America. They must be approved by the church leadership, they must be appointed by them to serve, and they must be held up in prayer while they are gone. When they return from their trip they must report to their churches what God is doing in Ethiopia. Our goal in taking such “apostles” with us is to deepen relationships between local churches in America and local churches in Ethiopia.
Notice that I did not refer to our team members as “professional” missionaries or “paid” missionaries. In the New Testament, Paul worked hard to support himself when he could, so as not to be a burden on others. One does not have to be on the staff of a missions organization to be a missionary. In fact, if I understand the Great Commission correctly, every follower of Jesus is to be His personal representative (i.e., apostolos) on this earth!
Youth GatherTimothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected theses and so have shipwrecked their faith. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NIV) Erin McClellan, youth director, wife, and mother, has a heart for the young people that she has been charged to pastor. Like most who are in youth ministry, she must work with little financial support and leftover space and resources. BSP asked Erin to share her heart about the ministry she has been given.
The focus for the young people that I work with may not fit in any stereotype you know. My group of young people, by and large, do not come from “church-going” families. I do not have the luxury of many years of Sunday School exposure when it comes to Bible study and lessons. With Bible study, I am simply trying to find stories or passages that introduce who God is, his attributes, as well as his love and plan for salvation. I do not focus lessons on outward things such as dress, music styles, or even profanity. I would rather spend the short time we have together focusing on what they should do, rather than what they should not do.
I have found that if I can get a young person to love God, family, friends, and even strangers I won’t have problems with theft, fighting, or a plethora of bad deeds. If I can show them the importance of speaking kindly to one another, there won’t be the need to teach about profanity. I have such a short period of time with my kids, that I don’t want to draw so much attention to trivial stuff – If they get the important stuff in first, the rest will follow naturally.
The tools that I use to gain that focus are absolutely anything that will reach my young people. We play games of all sorts, videos, music, acting things out, and field trips. One of my favorites is to use a completely secular movie and then ask them to explain to me how all or any part of the movie relates to God, Jesus, or church. It makes them think and I am frequently surprised by the answers.
For example, two weeks ago I took them to see “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.” When I asked what symbolism they saw, I got answers about how it seemed the Greeks made their gods very human-like with fighting, sex, anger, hatred, and selfishness. Also, how real hell seemed and how the main character was Jesus-like in his quest to redeem his mother. I feel that if they can learn to look for God or examples of God in everyday situations and circumstances, they’ll be far more likely to hear Him when He speaks or notice where He might be working.
Parents, church leaders, and those who are ‘older’ in their faith are so important to these young adults as they grow up. The bottom line is: Love them. Period. It is the hardest thing to do and the only thing that will bring real results.
More than once I have heard negativity from people in my own church and other churches as they complain how kids today are so much more disrespectful and heathenistic. Perhaps that is true. Yet, my thoughts are always: “well, how much time did you spend on your face before God praying and interceding for them, body, mind and soul, before you came to me?” “Why is it that you haven’t come to me before and asked how you can be involved with sports or discipleship or Bible study or prayer?” The painful and incredibly harsh sounding answer is: they don’t really love them. If I truly love someone, I will be willing to spend time with them, pray for them, sacrificing my time and money to make sure they grow up to be Godly men and women.
One time, while in Bessemer, AL, I rode by a little storefront. It was in a seemingly forgotten part of town, and truthfully, looked like a junk store. The Lord said to go in there. So, always up for an adventure with Him, I parked and walked in. As I looked around, trying to figure out why I might be in there, I saw a most pleasant woman sitting at her desk. A prayer request box was sitting on the desk. That sparked a conversation during which it came out that she was a pastor. She didn’t have an appointed church, she said, but the Lord led me to tell her that this store* was her church. We talked about how every customer that came through those doors would be ministered to by her sweet spirit and willing heart to help those who were hurting. A wonderful prayer and blessing followed. She gave me a candle that I still have. One day, we’ll see each other again. What a report I hope to hear–whether here on earth or in Heaven!
World Prayr was a vision given to Pastor Patrick Badstibner that God has grown by His Spirit into an organization of people founded on the belief that the second greatest commandment Christ gave us was to “love your brother as yourself.” We show we are his followers, not by what we might term “religious acts” but by our love for one another.
