Slingshot

Have you seen the Slingshot video? My family went with the Runnels family on vacation to DisneyWorld recently. We had a great time and one of the attractions that drained my wallet, I mean that we enjoyed was called the Slingshot. It is a ride that Richard and I found by accident as we were doing our manly duties on the vacation--grocery shopping. We left the house we were renting following the instructions of that bossy woman. How dare you think of Missy and Davelyn--I was referring to the lady on the GPS system that Richard and I have. You should be ashamed of yourself. Anyway, as we were carefully following her instructions (twenty years of marriage teach you to do that), we passed this place with brilliant lights and a couple of rides. As we drove by and saw the Slingshot I told Richard, You have got to be crazy to get on that thing. It is 365 feet high, propels you at over 100 mph, and pulls around 6 G’s. I can handle the G’s and would actually enjoy the 100 mph, but the killer for me is the 365 feet. I don’t do heights.

By my own assessment, I must be crazy because I was on the ride just a few days after my statement. All of us, except the mothers, ended up being crazy because we all rode the Slingshot. It was one of the most thrilling moments of the trip. We even bought videos of our rides. They are so funny! If you haven’t seen them, come by and I will show them to you.

On a subsequent trip to buy groceries, I had the opportunity to offer a diagnosis of someone possibly being mentally unstable in another situation. As I was checking out at the grocery store, I entered into a conversation with the lady working at the register of the grocery store. It was early in the morning so there was not much business taking place. This afforded me the opportunity to talk with her at length about her life situation. Upon inquiring about her relationship with Jesus, she told me that she was a Jew who believed in Jesus as the Messiah--a Messianic Jew. I rejoiced with her in that and then asked about her family. She asked me to pray for her husband and father. They both are Jews and have not come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. I asked her what her husband believed about Jesus. She told me that both of the read the New Testament and that he believes Jesus was a prophet. It is then that I told her of the potential diagnosis of mental instability.

It is irrational to believe that Jesus was merely a prophet. When considering who Jesus is, He said He was the Son of God. That eliminates the possibility that He is a only a prophet come from God. If that statement is not true, then He is a liar at best and a lunatic at worst. If He is simply lying about who He is, then all the credibility of His words is lost and nothing he says can be considered authoritative. You may consider is wise and poetic, but not authoritative. If He is crazy, then we simply must pity Him for dying a horrible death needlessly.

But as I told the lady working at the grocery store, Jesus is neither a liar nor a lunatic but He is Lord of lords! I asked her to read passages with her husband that make this claim clear such as John 10:30. Then ask him what he thinks about Jesus.

I challenge you to do the same. Most of you that read this article claim Jesus as Lord of your life which is great! What does your life say about His Lordship? Is He the one giving the commands? Are you following His instructions turn by turn as Richard I did with the GPS lady? That is really what lordship is all about--following one command at a time. You don’t even know what lies ahead, you follow His leadership. When you do this it will lead to some of the most thrilling moments of your life.

Southside Going Green

There is much talk today about the need for Going Green. We have hybrid cars, solar panels, recycling plants and organic produce. All of us are being asked to raise our awareness of our carbon footprint. OK, maybe that is a little extreme but it is such a great phrase I had to get in somewhere.

Southside is going green by moving our Sunday evening worship service into the fellowship hall. We have more than enough seating room to handle our Sunday crowds. Besides going green, this will help with a smoother transition to small groups after the teaching time. The adult and youth small groups will meet in rooms adjacent to the fellowship hall. The teaching and worship time begins at 5:00pm with small groups following immediately afterward. We will begin this immediately.

When we say we are going green it could be that we are concerned about the enviroment which would be a noble cause. Of course, it could also be that we are concerned about the kind of green that goes into a wallet. Not quite as noble, but we could argue stewardship as the basis for this concern. Probably it is a combination of the two. Anyway you choose to look at it, Southside is going green!

The Road

What is your plan to achieve spiritual maturity? All of us are on the road of life. Some have a clear map and know how to get to where they want to be. Many do not. Often people plan for retirement, plan for advancement in the work place, and even plan for their children’s education. However few plan for their spiritual maturity.

Beginning Sunday, June 1 at 5:00pm The Road to Spiritual Maturity will help in guiding you to spiritual maturity. The format is different from most church services. There will be dialogue during the teaching time, interaction during the worship in music time and small group discussion after the teaching.

All of this is designed to help you become more self-sufficient in your walk with God. Come check it out
Sunday, June 1 at 5:00pm.

Kindness That Leads to Repentance

Have you ever sat and thought about what brought you to Christ? We often attribute our coming to an understanding of the saving knowledge of Jesus to someone or some event in our life. Many of you can remember the person that explained the Gospel to you. We often say of that person that they led me to Christ. We should all give thanks to God for those who took the time to tell us or teach us about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. They were a part of Gods plan.

Some of you can pinpoint an event in your life that inspired you to look to God and that eventually led to your salvation. Possibly it was a near death experience that brought you face to face with your own mortality and as a result you saw your need for Jesus. Maybe it was the death of loved one that pushed you to God. Often when someone we love dies, we consider the fact that we too will someday face death. Circumstances can be used by God to accomplish salvation in the lives of people.

God uses people and God uses circumstances to draw us to Himself but the truth of the matter is that it is the Spirit of God that draws us. Jesus said in John 6:44 that No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. It is the Father who draws us to himself. One thing in particular I would present for you consideration is the draw that comes as a result of the kindness of God. Romans 2:4 asks a rhetorical question so that we might think on the kindness of God …do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that Gods kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? It is easy to mistake God’s kindness of apathy. We think just because God does not punish every sin that a person commits that He is apathetic and that our sin does not really matter that much. Gods patience and kindness is not meant to give us a license to sin. Quite the contrary it is meant to lead us to repentance. When you look at Scripture you never see Jesus using coercion to bring people to Himself. He drew people to Himself through the love that He showed. He still does that today. If God did not exercise kindness and patience in dealing with our sin, we would all be damned to destruction through the wrath of God. God simply extends His kindness to us until there is a willing spirit in us that submits to His authority.

As you think of the kindness of it should cause great thankfulness to well up inside of you. God is not apathetic toward sin, but he exercises patience and show kindness to us so that we might see our sin in the way that He does. When that happens we will be convicted of that sin and see the need to repent. This is what draws us to God. As He extends His love to us it draws us to him. We become enthralled with His character and want to know Him more and more.

Yes, most of us can point to a person or a circumstance that created an interest in spiritual things, but we were all led to Jesus by God Himself. His kindness and love draws us to Him and leads us to repent.

I pray that you understand the kindness of God and allow it to lead you to a life of purpose and fulfillment found only it Jesus.

Membership has it privileges…and responsibilities

Do you ever read the obituaries in the newspaper? It seems like everyone who dies was a member of a church. When life comes to an end, more than ever people want to be associated with the things of God. Southside is no exception to this. Recently there was an obituary in the Lufkin Daily News that contained the following line at the end of the obituary: Mr. Jones (not the real name) was a member of Southside Baptist Church.� Was he? Yes, at one point in his life he walked down the aisle of the worship center, filled out a form, and was voted on in a church conference to be accepted as a member. However, I had not seen the man for several years and then I saw him only because I went to his house. He had not been in the buildings of Southside for over ten years. Does this constitute membership in a church? For many it does. This is the extent of membership for about 44% of the people on our church rolls. Sad to say, 44% inactive membership is a better percentage than many, if not most, churches across the country.

Church membership is much more than signing up. When we commit ourselves to Christ, we become part of the family of God. That is a great privilege that carries with it eternal life, provision of the Holy Spirit and many other blessings. Also included in this commitment is responsibility. While Jesus was walking the earth He lived His entire life to make the church better. Every word He spoke, every action, every step all were done to edify the church. There were no buildings with church on them, just a few synagogues. There were no denominations to choose from. The church is not made up of acreage with buildings on it. The church is the people who meet in those buildings. We are the church. According to Philippians 2:5 we are to make our own attitude that of Christ Jesus. Therefore, as a part of the family of God, we have responsibility to help make the church better. That’s what a member is, someone who helps make the church better.

So what does a member look like if it is not simply someone who filled out a form? A member is someone who makes the church better by praying for it. Lifting the family of faith to the Lord on a regular basis is something all members do. It is their privilege, it is their responsibility.

A member also attends services regularly. A member sees this not simply as a responsibility, but a privilege. Meeting together with the saints is something a member longs to do. They want to worship, study, sing and pray with other believers. There are people who are members of the church who are unable to attend services due to health issues and other factors. We actually have several who fall into this category. They remain faithful as members in every other area, they just cannot get out and attend services.

In addition to coming, a member is one who uses God given gifts and talents to strengthen the church. Some teach, some sing, some serve, some lead and some administrate, but all do so in order for the church to be strengthened. Members recognize the privilege of service and fulfill their responsibility in that area.

Finally, a member is a person who supports the finances of the church. It has been said, Salvation is free, but evangelism is very expensive. The Bible says that the member will give as God purposes in the believers heart. This is what sets the church apart from social clubs and civic clubs. They all have mandatory dues that are given by the members. The church operates on faith. We have no compulsory dues. Members simply pray to the Lord, look to the scriptures and God instructs them on how to give.

Looking at the idea of membership, how is yours? Are you a member in good standing? When your obituary is written and is says He was a member of Southside Baptist Church will that be a piece of paper filed in a drawer or a commitment written on your heart? I pray for the latter in your life.

Are We Ready?

Remember playing hide and go seek in grade school? Someone would begin to count and everyone would scatter in different directions hiding from the person counting. At the conclusion of the counting the seeker would say Ready or not, here I come. The new year is the same way. 2007 counted to 365 and then 2008 said, Ready or not here I come.

Each year many people set goals at the beginning of new year. It is a good time to start fresh—wipe the slate clean and strive for greater things in that new year. I pray that you will be able to follow God’s plan for you life in 2008. He has great things planned for each of us. Are you ready?

Weak Dollar Affords Strong Opportunity

What if you went to the grocery store this week and found at the check out counter that your money had lost half of its value? We are often concerned about the rising price of fuel and other commodities, but we do not have to worry directly about the value of the dollar compared to overseas currencies. Our Southern Baptist missionaries are not so fortunate however. The falling value of the dollar overseas is a daily issue that missionaries must contend with. While many companies benefit from a weak dollar because it makes their goods cheaper in the world market, we are exporting missionaries who spend US dollars. A weak dollar means that we must spend more of them just to purchase items the missionaries need to do their work.

It could get worse according to some financial experts. The currency may decline at least another 10 percent by the end of 2008, says Jay Bryson, an economist at Wachovia Corp., and Kenneth Rogoff, the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.1

All of this means that those of us who support these missionaries need to be conscience of this. More money is needed just to maintain the work that is currently going on. With that in mind, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Foreign Missions becomes even more important. Normally at Southside, we have a little emphasis on this offering and ask you pray about your part. This year the emphasis will be much greater as the need is greater. This offering funds more than half of the International Mission Boards annual budget. Last year Southern Baptist gave a record $150.1 million. With the weak dollar, more money is needed just to allow the IMB to remain status quo. Southside will do its part by setting a goal as we do every year, and then encouraging the church to give toward that goal. Every Sunday in December we will have something to emphasize this offering. The G.As and R.A.s will be helping with this. Please pray and ask the Lord what he would have you to do.

We have been given the mandate by Jesus to reach the world. He has told us to make disciples everywhere. We train people to reach Lufkin using the FAITH Evangelism strategy. You can be a part of the new semester beginning in January of 2008. We have plans to help reach the United States by traveling to New York to share the love of Christ there. You can call the office for more details on that trip. We are allowing the Lord to use us to reach Burkina Faso by traveling there four times a year to meet with the Sambla people and tell them of Jesus Christ. The January trip is full, but you can apply for the April trip. We are trying to reach the entire world by supporting the Cooperative Program to which we give a percentage of our offerings received. Through the Cooperative Program, less than half of the budget needed for the 5300+ missionaries is received. The rest of the $308 million budget will come from the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. We need to do our part in reaching the ends of the earth by helping send missionaries to the places we are not able to go.

Do your part! Pray that God would call people to go. Pray that God would show favor to those already on the field. Give to the cause of foreign through the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Go when you have the chance to go and share Jesus with people.

1 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a0UYSDYWDCHk&refer=us