A Message from our Pastor
The Task At Hand
The church is the primary instrument of Christ, sent forth into the world by Christ with a divine mandate to spread the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. The purpose is to convert the unbeliever so that they may become life-long disciples of Jesus Christ. The spoken word does not normally rise above the character of the person that speaks it. A message is always being spoken, whether it is through deed or word. The world pays careful attention to ethical performance, psychological fortitude, and the courage to be in the face of overwhelming odds. Personalities embody the message of Jesus Christ. We are epistles read by all people, exposed to ample scrutiny by those with whom we have close interaction.
One of the most critical problems, affecting evangelism today, is the confusing signals that the church sometimes sends to the world. We preach a message of love, but are preoccupied with self-serving agendas; we preach peace, but are hardly able to live with those within our own household of faith. The counter production of the church can be managed only through the freedom of the Holy Spirit. Because the church does not live within the full freedom of the gospel message, the world observes the church living basically the same lifestyle that it lives. It is not enough for church members not to murder, steal, or commit adultery. Most of the world does not do that, at least not intentionally so. In order to be an effective witness, the church must have an agenda that is not dictated by the surrounding culture. We must grow up, however Christian maturity develops as we lose ourselves in sharing the Christian message. At the heart of the gospel, is the church that Christ came to redeem. If the church is tainted, the gospel that the church proclaims will be damaged. The church is not for the purpose of evangelism; rather, evangelism is for the purpose of the church.
The Holy Spirit was sent to us so that we might carry on the ministry that Jesus began on earth. Everything Christ did was for the purpose of demonstrating that He is the possessor of all truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and came to internalize that truth within individuals. The Holy Spirit transforms vessels of clay into vessels of honor so that we may change falsehood into authentic existence. Christ was fully authentic, and only as the Holy Spirit aligns one with truth can one bear witness to His authenticity. The standard is authenticity, which is something that the church can ill afford to sacrifice. Some say that the church has lost it’s MOJO, (power) and is out of touch, not a relevant factor in the world today. Christ stood firm against the counter culture of His day, and would not allow His important life-transforming message to be compromised or tainted by bending to society’s demands. Every secondary means utilized must be subservient to the primary means, the Holy Spirit who liberates and flows out from the believer to unbelievers. There is a good possibility that the convert will rise no higher than the means used to reach him or her. Holy means will produce holy people.
Every person in the church should ask God to make him or her clean vessels through which God flows, not only on special occasions, but in the everyday course of events. The lack of the Holy Spirit’s power in the life of the believer, is the single greatest barrier to effective evangelism. The church must strive to be as authentic as it’s Head, Jesus Christ or else the church will be a non-factor in the world.