by Wade Crews | Jan 5, 2015
I have given several toasts in the last few weeks (with sparkling grape juice), and each time, I have “pray-toasted” for a 2015 that was better than 2014. But then I began to wonder, “Who makes that happen?” Who is responsible for ensuring 2015 is better than 2014?
This is the season when many of us make New Year’s resolutions. We might resolve to lose weight (again) or resolve to quit some ugly habit (again). But what are we really doing? What is a “Resolution”? Why does it involve making a promise we find so hard to keep?
I like to study the history and origination of words. I often will use a web search or dictionary to “discover” word meaning and original intent. My search of “resolution” made me stop and ponder over the results.
Resolution is used modernly to describe clarity in audio or video output. It is also used as the statement in a legal setting or debate over which a decision will be rendered. In a personal sense, it is a self -declarative term used as a way to draw a line in the sand, as in “I am resolved!”.
One of the hats I wear is that of a Federal Mediator. I have worked with numerous federal agencies over the past several years, attempting to assist in bringing staff and their supervisors together. You are literally trying to mend broken relationships and help people see each other differently. Often the “Boss” is seen as unapproachable or difficult to communicate with. The result we are looking for is called “resolution”.
The Bible tells us in 1Timothy, 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”. In Hebrews 9:15, God’s Word also tells us “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
Many believers first verse they memorize or hear is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What a concept! God provided His Son as the mediator so we could have resolution to our relationship with Him. God was resolved to get us back in relationship with Himself. A trinity of needs was met by the Triune God. Substitutional atonement, a mediator, and the ability to approach and communicate with “The Boss”. In short, resolution to our sin problem.
This year I challenge you to be resolved. Make your resolution one of clarity in what you see and hear from God. Make your resolution a statement of faith no one can debate or challenge. Make your resolution a line in the sand over which no one or any temptation can push you. Resolve to move closer to God in 2015 than you were in 2014, for the answer to who is responsible for making 2015 better than 2014 is …….You. This year will you be resolved or will you be found wanting (again)?
by James Hunt | Aug 28, 2014
In August of 2012 Council Road Baptist Church submitted paperwork along with a $20,000 check to establish the Karis Adoption Fund. Written into the founding documents was verbiage that made clear our intention for the fund to be something that impacted families beyond the scope of the membership of our own church. In the first two years of its existence the Karis Adoption Fund has received $149,245.02 in donations. Every penny will go to help families change orphans to sons and daughters through adoption.
Our current balance after distributions and commitments is $96,696.84. This means that the fund has nearly $100,000 left to give to families who are adopting. God’s grace is amazing indeed!
Most often families who receive assistance from the Karis Adoption Fund do so by means of a matching grant. This means that the adopting family must give of their own monies, and/or raise monies to get matching dollars up to the amount of the award. In other words, Karis dollars are given as family dollars are raised. Some of the advantages of this type of award are as follows:
- Matching grants tend to net up to three times the amount of the award due to donors motivated by matching dollars (each dollar they give gets doubled by the matching grant up to the amount of the award).
- Matching grants give a financial vehicle that enables them to go to their social networks of family and friends – inviting their prayerful and financial participation in the adoption.
Matching grants are not the only way that the Karis Adoption Fund has helped. The fund has on more limited occasions and according to the unique realities of the applicants, offered the following types of assistance:
- Direct grants – these funds are simply given and not based on raised dollars.
- No Interest loans – these funds are also simply given and must be repaid.
Beyond financial statements and award options lies the underlying purpose of the fund: To glorify our Heavenly Father, who, at great cost to Himself, adopted spiritual orphans and made them sons and daughters. The Karis Adoption Fund exists to reflect through human adoption the grace of what God has done for us spiritually in Christ. Real families are being impacted. Children once labeled orphan now are labeled son or daughter. If a picture is worth a thousand words then I’ll let the following pictures – pictures of some of the families helped – tell the rest of the story.
by James Hunt | Jul 23, 2014
In church life, you hire a pastor or ministry professional to lead the charge up the hill to make a difference for Jesus’ sake. Right? What if there is no vision from the hired staff to recognize a real need? Consider leading up. Don’t wait for a professional to accomplish a ministry need; rather, create enough “noise” until those up the leadership chain eventually hear the buzz-buzz of the gathering crowd. Let me offer you an example.
Cindy Boecking is a mom with three kids – two of whom have been adopted.[1] Back in 2009 she and some friends, motivated by the desire to honor God’s clear revelation of what constitutes pure religion (James 1:27), set out to begin a ministry in their local church setting. There was no one on staff that had the vision to do this – it was Cindy and her friends. The ministry began with a small group of moms forged together with a vision of starting a movement in their church that would result in God’s people opening their hearts and homes to the fatherless.
Cindy writes the following about her experience:
Honestly, it wasn’t easy getting buy-in from our pastors, but we faithfully met every Wednesday night. We prayed and kept serving. Now, five years later, we have full support of our pastors and staff at our church.
For Cindy and her friends, the way to lead up was to start with a regular gathering for the purpose of supporting families already engaged in fostering or adoption. As time went on, interest and awareness increased. They have used a variety of things to help keep the momentum going. She writes:
We celebrate Foster Care Awareness month at our church as well as Orphan Sunday.[2] In past years, we have honored Orphan Sunday in different ways such as hosting the Waiting Heart Gallery, inviting the Governor to address the congregation, and hosting a Focus on the Family event to find homes for waiting children.
Orphan Sunday is Nov. 2 this year. Would the leadership at your church be willing for this one Sunday to include a song, a prayer, a Scripture reading, a sermon focus, a testimony, a short video, a luncheon or something that would highlight the Father’s heart for orphans and offer ways God’s people can respond?
Don’t be held back by the tyranny of the overwhelming need set against the backdrop of underwhelming leadership in your church regarding this issue. Be encouraged that God delights to use people just like you to start a movement. Just listen to Cindy’s encouragement:
There are so many ways to live out James 1:27. It takes no special talent or education to lead this effort in your church. It just takes a willing heart.
To find out more about Orphan Sunday go to http://orphansunday.org/, contact James Hunt at jhunt@councilroad.org, or contact Alyson Walker at awalker@bgco.org.[3]
[2] Foster care awareness month is in May and Orphan Sunday is the first Sunday in November each year
[3] James Hunt serves on staff at Council Road Baptist Church. Alyson Walker serves as the Childhood Education Specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma
by Caleb Gordon | Jul 17, 2014
I have friends who say things like: “I want my kids to decide for themselves about God.”
I have always struggled with this idea…well lo and behold, my pastor (Josh Eaton) recently did a sermon on why that’s a bad thing.
Here are his five reasons those are bad ideas:
1. It assumes they are not sinners and can figure it out on their own.
2. It assumes you don’t really believe God is the only way and others go to Hell.
3. It is disobedient to God’s command NOT to teach and train your children in his way.
4. You don’t have that attitude toward other lesser things.
5. It is assumes that you think God’s ways aren’t that important.
You (as a parent) are to be the primary BIBLE teacher for your children. Not your pastor, youth pastor, or your child’s Sunday School teacher. You are the one that needs to be teaching them about God.
If you don’t teach your child to love God, someone is going to teach your child to not love God.
Step up and start talking to your children about God.
Step up and start PRAYING with your children.
If you don’t know what to do, start with something video based. Just be present with them while you’re children are hearing about God.
IF they ask questions and you don’t know the answer, tell them you don’t know, but you’re going to find out the answer together.
Are you going to do it perfectly? NOPE! But that’s OK. It’s a process. Just do it.
Your child’s eternity is on the line. Be proactive in teaching your children the Gospel.
by Wade Crews | Jun 24, 2014
This is the time of year when many of us look at the church calendar and groan. The church bulletin asks for more cookies and snacks for the kiddos during Vacation Bible School. To me that was always the biggest oxymoron on the planet. I never envision “vacation” and several hundred kids under 12 years old in the same sentence. Definitely not my idea of a holiday. My mind usually drifts to “Didn’t we just have a bake sale for the last youth mission trip?” during those announcements.
It seems we get in those circular church calendar ruts where we come right out of the youth discipleship weekend and go into the spring break mission trip and then gear up for youth choir trip and then all the various summer camps and leadership conferences and then the Glorieta trip or youth evangelism conference right before we head back to school. Then we get to buy more colored tape because the AWANA circle doesn’t stick to the carpet anymore.
It can become stale, repetitive, and sometimes boring. As I write this, I am actually about to take my 16- and 18-year-old sons to get on the bus for yet another camp. Oh I am happy for them, and I want them to have a good time and make memories, and I know the camp is amazing and does wonderful things, but do I really need another prayer bracelet?? That was my attitude until a few days ago….when God got ahold of my heart.
I was visiting with a young family recently consisting of Mom, Dad, and a young son who was about seven years old. I was with someone else who was doing most of the interaction. Consequently, I worked with the seven-year-old boy to keep him “occupied” while the parents visited with my colleague. I have years of experience in this field. He was a handful, and it seemed as if he had two double shots of espresso before they arrived at the restaurant. Finally to calm him down, I pulled out my cell phone and showed him all my videos and pictures.
As we scrolled through, I showed him “my two boys,” and there was a picture of some medals they won in high school. Then he saw a picture of a friend of mine standing behind a podium leading music at a retirement center. He was sharp little guy, because he asked “Is this the man who gave your sons the medals?” I said “No, this is my friend telling these people about Jesus. You know Jesus – right?” He said “No”…………..
That was the saddest day in my life. My mother died more than four years ago at a fairly young age of 65 from cancer. Our family is not exactly sure of her spiritual condition (She was no June Cleaver), but she knew who Jesus was. That was sad – but not nearly as sad as staring a little boy in the face who just told you he doesn’t even know who Jesus is. So I asked him “You know Christmas – right? Baby Jesus…?” He said “I know Christmas – but I don’t know Jesus”. Ouch……. Trust me….. You do not want to feel what I felt at that moment.
PLEASE ….. do not take your church calendar and the children’s work for granted. Please……. Pray for the camps, pray for the kids, pray for the workers, pray for God to do His work. I do not want anyone to feel the conviction God placed on my heart for my flippant attitude toward the spiritual condition of others. How will they know if there is no one to tell them…??? I am going to make my own prayer bracelet this year, and I am going out to buy an entire case of cookies (for real…..). Thank you to all the children, youth and college workers/ministers out there – for God has used you to keep generations of our babies out of Satan’s grasp.
by Wade Crews | Jun 4, 2014
It has taken me more than 50 years to learn so many things. Only recently have I realized by watching my sons and their friends suffer through life and its many disappointments, that I could have and should have been a better role model. I see my imperfections in them. While they are human and accountable to The Lord for their actions, I can see their emotional struggles with situations beyond their control and hurt for them in times sadness. I am sure I would much rather watch them be filled with joy and live life in exuberance.
One of the things I have learned concerns the external forces in our lives. We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to what happens to us. It was only this year that I realized, God wants to be glorified by how we respond to adversity. Anyone can praise God when things go their way. In the midst of the blessing, God is awesome, but guess what?? He is awesome in the midst of calamity as well. Staying above the fray in the midst of the storm requires staying focused on Christ. The hymnist wrote “….the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
What happens when we take our eyes off of God? When we are distracted by the commotion of life and everything that rocks the boat, even if we are “on top of things”, just like Peter, we will sink like a rock (pun intended). Not only does it not honor God during adversity for us to go under, we are on display for the world to see. When we do go beneath the waves, we realize there are a bunch of other people down here too! I have plenty of company! Our spiritual challenge is: That is not where Christ would have us to be. He wants us to walk with Him above it all.
I was spiritually challenged recently when someone at the office asked me to participate in something unethical and totally un-Godly. I was not challenged in my decision matrix. That was a no-brainer. Uh….no? My challenge and my spiritual heartache came from being approached. Where did I miss the mark? Why would someone think I was an approachable candidate for this kind of behavior? Where has my living testimony been? Why do I not look different enough to this person for them to immediately cross my name off of the unethical list?
Perhaps I am being too hard on myself. But what if I had been caught in a moment of weakness where I was bitter or felt I had been treated unfairly? It felt a lot like one of those nights when you are driving in the wee hours of the morning, perhaps on vacation trying to make it to a motel in the next town. Your head begins to nod and then you pop back up having realized you fell asleep and crossed the center line. Then you are hit with a jolt of realization about what might have just happened to you and your family. It was a real wake-up call for me spiritually.
Song of Solomon Chapter 6:1-3 speaks about people asking where our beloved is so that they may seek Him too… Do I love Jesus enough that other people want to know HOW to meet Him and have the same relationship? Some of the challenges we face as Christians (or sinners saved by grace) is we don’t look different enough from the world and the lost for them to think they need anything we have. Some of the activities we are asked to join are not as overtly evil, as my earlier example. Unfortunately we (myself included) rationalize our behavior as Satan still says “You surely will not die!” The world tells us “You deserve it – nobody got hurt”. Christ tells us “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. If Jesus is the only way, then why do we always have to have ours? Who does that convince?
We cannot save anyone, but we should convince them there is a Savior. My conversion should be a testimony which leads to theirs. My life should be a roadmap to Christ, not a road block. The Holy Spirit can and will convict much more efficiently than I can. I need to put down all my stones and focus on my relationship with Christ. I may not be able to convert anyone, but I need to improve my ability to convince them.
