Men's Retreat May 18th & 19th

We are considering a Men's retreat to simply regroup and challenge the men of our church to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  My prayer is that every person in our church rise to the challenge of passionately pursuing God.  I sincerely believe this will begin with our men leading the way in their families and homes.  We are looking to go to a hotel type retreat center in Toccoa, GA (about two hours from Holly Springs) for a Friday night through Saturday at noon gathering.  We will be bringing in a powerful guest speaker who will be sure to instruct, encourage, and challenge us to pursue God and lead our families.  The tentative dates are May 18th and 19th.  The place we would be staying would provide supper on Friday night as well as breakfast and lunch on Saturday.  The cost would be approximately $75.00 per person and would include hotel accommodations for one night, three meals, snacks, and a notebook. I would love to get some feedback from our guys as to whether or not this would be something they would be interested in participating in.

Yucatan 2012 Summer Mission Project

FBC Holly Springs is currently putting together a mission project for July 8th through the 14th (leaving on Sunday and returning Saturday). The project will take place in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The focus of the mission trip will be construction, VBS, prayer walking, street evangelism, etc. God is moving mightily in this area and we hope to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these people as well as a support group to the missionaries who currently serve in that area. The cost of the trip including airfare, housing, transportation on the ground, and translators is estimated at around $1100.00 per person. We will be having our second information meeting on April 15th immediately following the worship service. FYI, a visa is not needed for this project but an up to date passport will be required to enter the county. If you have any questions whatsoever please feel free to email me at pastor.phil@fbchollysprings.com or call the church office.

Why Stay in a Dysfunctional Church?

I recently read an article by Joe McKeever entitled Five Reasons People Stay in a Dysfunctional Church. Although the entire article was very well written it was the fifth reason that really spoke to me. This is what Joe McKeever shares as the fifth reason to stay:

God called me here, and I'll stay until He says otherwise.
He/she is committed to God's will.
This is the only solidly Christian position, for my money. After all, it's the Lord's church, not mine. The program of ministry is His, not ours. The people belong to Him. And regardless of whose name is on the deed, who functions as trustees, or who can vote to sell the property, it's the Lord's church.
The only question for members of the Lord's church---I mean the only question--is "Lord, what will you have me to do?" It was the question Saul of Tarsus asked Jesus outside Damascus the day he was unseated from his high horse. And it's the right question for all of us today, pastors and people alike.
When we come into a meeting to discuss church finances and budgets, the only question is Jesus, what do you want done with your money?
When we come into a time of worship where we seek to quieten our spirits and still our bodies and find God, the only issue is Lord, what shall we do?
And when churches try to self-destruct and to linger there any longer threatens to give one a nervous breakdown, the only prayer is Lord, tell me what to do, please.
There is no more liberating thought for church leaders than this: This is the Lord's church and not mine. He died for it; I didn't. He has plans for it, and I don't. So Lord, tell us what to do with your church, and we'll do our best to obey.
Once in a while, the answer will come back that we are to leave this church and go elsewhere. That's not all bad.
A pastor told me today that some of the disgruntled members of his congregation are leaving. They led an uprising against his ministry and lost that fight, and now they are walking away. Ideally, we could wish they would have reigned in their rebellion and submitted to their godly leader--this is not an abstraction; I know these folks--but they chose not to do so.
So it was good for them to leave. The smaller congregation they leave behind will struggle for a while filling the vacancies in leadership and compensating for the loss in contributions, but the new peace and unity of purpose will be worth the effort.
I suppose we should go back and revise the opening statement. Maybe there are three groups of members: those who leave churches easily and often, those who plant themselves in concrete and will not be moved, and the reluctant ones who by their leaving bless two churches, the one they leave and the one they join.

God help us to listen and obey the voice of God!

Yucatan Mexico Mission Trip

Details are beginning to come together for our mission project to the Yucatan Peninsula this summer. The tentative dates are set for July 9th - 14th. We will be having a information meeting on Sunday, March 18th immediately following the morning worship service. If you have any interest whatsoever in this trip or feel the Lord leading in any way please join us as we discuss the many avenues of ministry that will be available on this project. At this point, the need is for general carpentry, prayer walking, vacation Bible school, etc. This is going to be an incredible opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone and experience life change. I promise, if the Lord leads you to take part, He will radically change your life as a result of ministry on foreign soil. Stay tuned for further details and feel free to email me with any pre-meeting questions.

Go God!

Pastor Phil

Relexion

God is good and has been moving greatly in the midst of the first part of the summer. Vacation Bible school was awesome. Several kids gave their heart and life to Jesus and their lives will never be the same as the result of the time they spent on our campus hearing about Jesus. We are currently in the process of follow up and discipleship with them. Student camp begins next Tuesday. Many of our students will be traveling to Lee University for Student Life Camp and we are trusting God to do BIG things in their lives. I am grateful to God for our student pastor Matt Sawyer and his love for them and his investment in their lives. This coming Sunday we will begin the service with baptism, celebrating changed lives for the glory of God. I am super pumped about our new interim worship leader Scot Luman and his wife Katie being on board. I am grateful to God for his passion for the Lord and overwhelming desire to take us to the throne in worship.
With all that is taking place and all God is doing I want to offer a challenge. I want to encourage you to pray about increasing your giving to FBC Holly Springs – but not so that FBCHS has more money. I want us to give sacrificially so that we can give more to the nations. Michelle and I have committed to pray about increasing the percentage of our giving so that we never grow stagnant in our sacrifice for God’s work, and God has never let us down. He has ALWAYS met our needs, especially when we have sensed His call to give in a way that stretches our faith beyond discomfort. We’ve learned that He is never worried about the state of the American economy. As we move through the summer, please be faithful to your giving to God’s work. At the same time, I really do challenge you to seek God’s face about increasing your giving. Consider an increase of 1 percent of your income . . . or 5 percent . . . or $25 a week . . . or whatever God expects from you. Remember, though, that your giving is not about just making sure that FBCHS has money in the bank. While having a reserve is not wrong – it is still money unused for the gospel. As you and I give, a percentage of those dollars make a quick difference around the world for God’s glory through cooperative giving. That’s why we need to sacrifice more.

Jesus and Bad Advertising

The following is from an article by Steven Furtick. This truth could not be more relevant to the church today...

"I believe the most important message in the world deserves the best presentation. " Steven Furtick
I was on a road trip about a year ago, and Elijah needed to use the bathroom. There was a gas station that said “clean restrooms,” so we pulled in.
But the restrooms were filthy. Pee and trash everywhere. It was disgusting. Elijah looked at me and said, “Why does it say clean restrooms when these aren’t clean?” I said, “I guess they lied to us.”
Not too long after this, Elijah and I were in a nice hotel, and we went into the restroom, and it was super clean. He said to me, “Daddy, does this restroom have a sign that says it has clean restrooms?” It didn’t. Then he responded, “Why do some restrooms say they’re clean and they’re not, and then other restrooms are clean and they don’t say that they are?”
I don’t know.
And I also don’t know why this same dynamic continually plays itself out in the Church either.
The Church is fond of saying that the world offers everything but has nothing. And that’s true. But from my experience, the Church offers everything but doesn’t know how to really advertise it. Either corporately or individually.
People come into our worship experiences and hear us say Jesus is great, but then they see us celebrate Him with mediocrity.
People look at our lives and hear us say we’re Christians, but then they see very little difference in us that would compel them to want the supposed hope and joy that we have.
I’m tired of the world selling their product so well when their product can’t do anything for anybody. But I’m equally tired of the Church having something that can do everything for everybody, but we make it look like it can’t do anything for anybody.
I believe the most important message in the world deserves the best presentation. That’s why I’m so adamant about the Church being known for excellence. And that’s why I’m also so adamant about people living up to their full potential in Christ. It’s not that we’re trying to impress people with how great we are. It’s that we’re trying to impress into people how great Jesus is.
Some people might respond by saying that Jesus doesn’t need us to make Him look good. In fact, by presenting the gospel with excellence, we’re taking away from it. We’re stealing glory from God. Making people love the messenger rather than the message.
They probably should have told that to Moses when he was making an ornate Tabernacle.
To Paul when he presented the gospel with skill at Athens.
And to Apollos, who was a skilled orator and was used by God powerfully.
Of course, Jesus doesn’t need us to make Him look good. But I also don’t think He wants us to make Him look bad either. Or neglect to reflect how great He is.
We’ve got the greatest message in the world.
Let’s not make it harder than it has to be for people to realize how great it is.

Church Membership - What is the Point?

I am often asked about the purpose and meaning of church membership. I ran across this article by Thom Rainer and thought it was well worth sharing.

Rainer says: In some segments of American Christianity, there is a clearly expressed concern about the concept of church membership. It is perceived to be more of a cultural influence than a biblical expression of local congregations. “Church membership is an idea we copied from secular organizations like country clubs and civic organizations,” a pastor recently insisted. “It has no place in the life of local churches.”

Admittedly, one will not find the phrase “church membership” in the Bible. But is there a case to be made that the concept of church membership has biblical foundations? I think there is.

Some Points to Consider:

Local churches in the first century obviously included specific persons identified with their congregations. For example, Paul wrote “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi” (Philippians 1:1, HCSB). He undoubtedly knew many who were a part of that local church, because he identifies some of them by name: Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement. When Paul said in 4:15, “And you Philippians . . . ,” we could understand that phrase to mean, “And you members of the Philippian church.” While the word “members” is not explicitly used to describe those associated with a church, it does seem that the concept is implicit in the New Testament.

I understand fully why some struggle with or reject the concept of church membership. In most American churches, membership has little meaning or value. Many churches have less than one-half of their membership attend any weekly worship services. Many local congregations could not locate all the members on their rolls if they had an FBI team searching to find them. Membership means nothing because we expect nothing.

Advantages of Membership

But church membership does not have to be a meaningless concept. If our churches began to state clearly the expectations of membership, especially as new people come into the church, we could see a whole new attitude about membership.

Many of these high expectation churches stress that membership means every member is accountable to the others. All of the members have agreed on a clearly stated doctrinal position so there is no division about major and even secondary doctrinal issues. The members likewise agree to expectations of common mission and service in the community and the world. In essence, everyone who agrees to the membership standards has common beliefs, expectations, and behavior. Commitment and unity are real in high expectation member churches.

That Word “Member”

I have had more than one conversation with a church leader who would agree with the essence of this article, except for the use of the word “member.” They would argue that the word has been co-opted by secular culture and, therefore, has no place in the church.

I certainly understand that perspective. And I readily agree that there is no biblical mandate to use the phrase “church membership.” But it is not without biblical foundation.

The Bible, through the writings of the Apostle Paul, refers to the church as the body of Christ. And how does he denote those who are part of the body of Christ? He calls them “members”: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. And God has placed these in the church” (1 Corinthians 12:27-28, HCSB). Further, note the sense of unity that comes with each person being a part, or a member, of the body of Christ: “God has put the body together, giving great honor to the less honorable, so there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice in it” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26, HCSB).

Perhaps the problem is not church membership per se. Perhaps the problem is that we have lowered the standards for church membership so much that it has little or no meaning in many churches. Instead of doing away with church membership, perhaps we should be raising the bar.

Then we might truly see the body of Christ function as God intended.