Association Matters

2009-07-22T14:55:00.001-07:00

Update: Downtown Decatur

2009-07-22T14:42:00.001-07:00

In a speech at Rice University in Houston Texas on September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave us those immortal words, “we choose to go to the moon (and do the other things) not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” This speech, more than any other single statement is credited with being the impetus for the successful NASA programs that culminated with the Apollo 11 Mission that landed Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon forty years ago last Monday.

With the resignation this week of Pastor Mitch Flesch as our Downtown Decatur Church Planter, I wanted to remind all of us that we had chosen to plant a church Downtown, “not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” In my opinion, no one could have done more work or better work than Pastor Mitch, who poured so much of his time, prayers, and effort into reaching this community for Jesus; or Tom Miller, who first led this work.

Men and women have come to know the Lord as a result of these efforts, and several Bible study groups have been planted in the apartment complexes in and near Downtown Decatur. We have not accomplished the goal of planting an autonomous Southern Baptist Church in Downtown Decatur; but, our passion for reaching lost people and having a church Downtown is unabated.

We have learned some very valuable lessons that will help us in all of our future church planting efforts. May God use these lessons to shape us and equip us for the great work ahead. Mitch Flesch and Tom Miller have been two of our most effective men at reaching lost people and growing churches in Central Illinois. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue in their present ministries.

Pray for the lost people of Central Illinois, and for our New Work Team as they seek the will and wisdom of God to reach them with the gospel. Pray that God will bless all of our CBA Family of Churches as we continue His Kingdom work.

God bless Mitch and Linda Flesch; God bless Tom and Pauline Miller; God bless our New Work Team; and God bless you!

Senior Adult Revival!

2009-07-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

It was a joy to be part of the CBA Senior Adult Revival last Tuesday! The Pastor and Members of Forsyth Baptist Church did a great job of putting this event on and making everyone feel welcome. The music, the meal, and the fellowship were great; and, we were particularly blessed by two excellent messages!

Dr. Don Evans preached from 2nd Chronicles 5-7 on the subject of “Revival!” He encouraged us to consider four things about revival:

What is revival? It is a resuscitation of God’s people. It is an instrument of evangelism, but it is not the evangelism itself. (Alvin Reid) “Revival is a renewed passion for Christ.”

Our need of revival! Dr. Evans reminded us that the SBC is growing older and smaller! While we have over 100,000 pastors and staff persons in our churches, 25% of our churches baptized no one last year. Reports tell us that only about 1/3 of Southern Baptists ever attend the church of which they are a member.

Don used the illustration of the ministries of Whitefield and Wesley to remind us that if the churches reject evangelism and revival, God will take His work out into the fields! He pointed out that while Whitefield was a Calvinist and Wesley was an Arminian, they were good friends who were both used of God to bring many thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ.

There are about 6.8 Billion people on earth and half of them, (3.4 billion) do not have the gospel and 2.3 billion have not so much as heard the name Jesus!

The way of revival! Revival comes through prayer and repentance. Evan Roberts (used of God as His primary instrument in the 1905-1906 revival in Wales) had four guiding principles: (1) Put away unconfessed sin; (2) Put away doubtful habits; (3) Obey God promptly; and (4) Confess Christ publicly!

The results of revival! (Psalm 126:5-6) When God’s people are revived, there will be (1) Weeping (2) Going (3) Sowing and (4) Reaping and (5) Rejoicing!

So what? We must pray for: Our selves, our Churches, the lost and unchurched; and an opportunity to share the gospel with them.

Pastor Doug Davis preached from Galatians 5 on the subject of “Christian Freedom.” He reminded us that our freedom comes from God! Adam and Eve were free in the Garden, but what destroyed that freedom? Sin! Following the flood, God gave human government to protect people from the results of sin.

Today, we still have the problem of sin and so does government! We can only be truly free in Christ! God can only give people and government real freedom as they submit to Christ.

This will not happen until it begins to happen in the lives of God’s people! The family, government, and the church are the three institutions God created; and they all exist to minister God’s grace to people.

As Christians, we are the only one who can take our freedom away. Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 both point out that one of the reasons Jesus came was to proclaim liberty to the captives! In Christ, we are free from the bondage of sin but we still wrestle with the sinful desires of our flesh.

Like Jacob, Pastor Doug had to wrestle with God about his call to ministry! He shared the illustration of an severed tendon in his hand and how God worked through that to show him that where He guides, He provides!

We are free in Christ to serve Christ, but many of us – like Doug – have personal baggage that hinders us. He shared his testimony of being saved on Sunday, August 9, 1977 and then telling several people of his decision the next day at school. Two of his friends accepted the Lord that day, but the ridicule of one friend greatly hindered his willingness to believe that God could use him.

He reminded us of the power of words to hurt us or to help us. Doug admitted that he was “more interested in what I thought I should be, rather than what God made me to be.” Even though he was not doing what God wanted him to do, God was still faithful.

He reminded us that God has a purpose for us – and if that purpose was done, we would be in heaven today! None of us deserve God’s forgiveness, and we must forgive those who hurt us as God in Christ has forgiven us. We need to ask God to search our heart and show us where we need forgiveness and then we need to go and forgive others.

He then challenged us to remember that, “partial obedience is disobedience; and disobedience is sin.” Following this helpful message, he gave an invitation to respond.

These were two very helpful messages, and the day was completed by a great meal and some “reunion and fellowship” time among our people.

A Great Night for CBA!

2009-04-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Last evening at the Executive Board meeting, the Association approved the joint recommendation of the New Work, Budget, and Leadership Teams to provide partnership funds for three new church plants in our area! These funds will be taken from the Baptist Foundation account; making the number of new churches that have been, are being, or will be planted with funds initially recieved from the estate of James and Zeva Johnson to a total of five: Christmas Tree Road, Faith Family (Downtown), Arcola, Cerro Gordo, and the Heyworth/Bloomington-Normal/Atlanta area.

Please continue in prayer for our New Work Team as they put together all of the convenants and agreements involved; and for the men God will use to plant these churches as they go through the church planter approval processes with CBA, IBSA, and NAMB!

May God raise up more churches and more men to plant more churches in more places in Central Illinois!

Spring Revivals!

2009-04-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

At least four of our churches are planning revival meetings in May. I hope that you will attend and support as many of these meetings as possible.

May 3-6: FBC Atwood will have retired Pastor Tom Marsh as our speaker. "Power of Praise" and others from our church will provide special music!

May 17-20: Galilee Baptist will have Pastor Lonnie Lehrman back this year! In the last seven years, the church he pastors in Granbury, Texas has had over 1,000 additions to the church!

May 18-22: FSBC Boody will have Lanny Faulkner as speaker. There will be special music featured in each service.

May 31 - June 5: Summit Avenue will have Evangelist Max Sample as their guest speaker!

For times of the services, or other information, please contact the churches!

New Work News!

2009-04-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord! Lots of good things are happening in the area of new work in our Association. Over the past few weeks, we have had several meetings with the New Work Ministry Team along with those who are already involved in planting new churches in our area. Dr. Lyle Seltman of the North American Missions Board has met with us on multiple occasions and is being very, very helpful to us.

Two really important things are in the works:
1) This coming Tuesday night the Executive Board will consider a motion from the Budget, New Work, and Leadership teams about funding for THREE NEW CHURCH PLANTS in CBA. Birchwood is already working on a new work in Arcola; Emmanuel has voted to allow Pastor Mike to start a work in Cerro Gordo; and FBC Heyworth has voted to partner with CBA and beginning the process of calling a pastor who will also serve as a church planter in their area!

2) Faith Family in Downtown Decatur hosted a Home Bible Study this past week on Clay Street in Decatur! You can see photos of this event on our website. Ms. Shelia Smith from the Herald and Review attended and is planning a story about this new church plant.

Please be in prayer for all of these men and their families as they begin these new church planting efforts! Pray also for the Executive Board and the Associational leadership as we continue to seek God's will about these opportunities.

God bless you!

Where was God?

2009-03-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

During the 8am worship service yesterday at FBC Maryville, a gunman walked into the sanctuary and shot and killed the Senior Pastor, Dr. Fred Winters. Our thoughts and prayers are with Cindy, their two daughters, all of their family and friends, and the members of this great Church.

In light of these horrific events, I want to provide biblical answers to two of the theological questions that are on the hearts and minds of many. I hope you will take the time to look up and read these verses carefully and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through them.

First, “Where was God?”
1) God is, of course, everywhere present! Psalm 139:7-12
2) God is always present in the midst of His people! Matthew 18:20
3) God was both in and with Fred Winters! John 14:16-17
4) Because God was with Fred Winters yesterday, we also know that Fred Winters is with God today! 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Second, “If God is both all-powerful and completely good, why does He allow things like this to happen?”
1) God is all-powerful! Jeremiah 32:27; Mark 10:27; 14:36
2) God is completely good! Psalm 119:68; James 1:17
3) God is completely sovereign! Psalm 115:3; 133:5-6; 139:16.
4) God is not the author of evil, but He allows the existence of evil in the world to accomplish His greater purposes! Genesis 50:19-20
5) God tells us in His word that these kinds of things are going to happen to His people! John 15:18; 2 Timothy 3:12
6) Fred Winters was a Christian man. He was among those who are described as, “those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) God does not say that all things are good for those who love Him; but, that He is working “all things together for good.”

Please continue in prayer for these beloved ones who are hurting in ways that most of us cannot imagine. Pray that God will be glorified; His people will be edified; and that lost people will be saved as a result of this heart-breaking tragedy.

Forgiveness as the Foundation for Fellowship

2009-02-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege earlier this week to hear a radio broadcast of Dr. Adrian Rodgers preaching on forgiveness. WOW! Later, I was discussing "things" with one of our pastors and we discussed relationships in the Association. I said to him, as I have often said to others, that the most hurtful thing in an Association of Churches is when angry church members leave one of our churches and move to another one of our churches without working through their anger and following biblical principles of forgiveness and restoration.

Sometimes, some members of the church they left do not want to participate in Associational events because "they" might be there; and others in the church to which they moved don't want to participate because some from "their old church" might be there! Guess what happens? Few people participate in Associational events and these Christian brothers and sisters are not reconcilled with one another.

No family, or family of Churches, can thrive under such circumstances. The Bible is clear about how to handle such broken fellowship. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:31-32, (ESV) "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." W.A. Criswell famously called this passage, "The sweetest passage in the Bible."
What does it mean to be "forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you"?

1) It means to be proactive! "We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

2) It means to be willing to forgive in spite of remembering what was done to you!

3) It means to be willing to forgive in spite of the fact that those you are forgiving may not deserve to be forgiven!

4) It means to act toward them as if they had never sinned against you at all!

5) It means to allow your pain that they caused to be the payment for their sins!

6) It means to submit to and follow the biblically mandated process for reconcillation! (Matthew 18:15-20)

Some have said, "I can forgive, but I can't forget." Well, to be like Christ we must forgive in spite of the fact that we remember what was done to us!

Paul points out in Ephesians 4 that we are commanded as believers to forgive each other, and that not doing so "grieves the Holy Spirit". Because we are human, we are going to sin against our brothers and sisters, and they are going to sin against us. It is my sincere prayer that all of us will obey the Word of God and determine to live like Jesus Who forgave us our sins and behaves toward us as if it had never happened.

May God grant forgiveness and restored fellowship to all of our people and all of our churches.

50 Years of Thinking About Death

2009-02-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

It was exactly fifty years ago today that I really understood death for the first time. I was eight years old, and after returning from school I heard on the news that Buddy Holly had been killed in an airplane crash. Three other men were also killed: the pilot, JD "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Ritchie Valens; but, at that moment I did not know who they were. No one in my family or any of my friends had died before that day; so this was my first brush with the idea of death.

Of course, many more would soon follow. My Great-grandma Crager died in 1961, Grandma Faulkner died in 1962, Patsy Cline on March 5, 1963, and then - of course - President Kennedy on November 22 of 1963. In 1964, Bobby Shay became my first friend and classmate to die when he was killed in an automobile accident. Since then I have lost all of my Grandparents, my Mom and Dad, as well as many more relatives and friends.

But, February 3, 1959 was the first time I began to think about what it meant to die. To this day, it amazes me how much impact this event has had on me over the years. A few years ago, while on vacation, I drove Lin many miles out of the way to visit Clear Lake Iowa and to go and stand at the spot where their plane crashed.

Its fifty years later now, and people are still dying. I read the obituaries in the Herald and Review every day to see if someone from one of our churches has passed away. And as I read names of people who have died in towns where we do not have an SBC Church, I am always reminded of our need to plant more churches to get the gospel to more people!

I guess I am thinking of two things: First, people still die and we must reach them with the gospel of grace before it is eternally too late. Second, young people - often younger than we think - are thinking about death; and this provides us with an opportunity to reach them for Christ.

May God bless our efforts to reach this world with the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ!

Book Review - "Shaped by God's Heart"

2009-01-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

Milfred Minatrea is the Director of the Missional Church Center for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He has previously served as a pastor and is a church consultant.

I was given this book by Sylvan Knobloch at IBSA and I have found it to be very helpful. The book is laid out in three main parts:
(1) The Church in a New and Changing World
(2) The Nine Essential Practices of Missional Churches
(3) Structures and Strategies for Becoming Missional

In a recent article, I summarized Minatrea's definition of "Missional" (an adjective for being 'On Mission') as basically meaning that while we still "send" and "support" missionaries to every part of the world (as we traditionally have); we also "see" ourselves as missionaries where we are, and we "serve" as missionaries where we are as well.

I found Part Two of the book to be the most practical, and therefore the most helpful. Minatrea's "Nine Essential Practices of Missional Churches" include:
(1) Have a High Threshold for Membership
(2) Be Real, not Real Religious
(3) Teach to Obey Rather Than to Know
(4) Rewrite Worship Every Week
(5) Live Apostolically
(6) Expect to Change the World
(7) Order Actions According to Purpose
(8) Measure Growth by Capacity to Release, Not Retain
(9) Place Kingdom Concerns First

I personally found #1 and #3 to be the most helpful, and #4 the least helpful, since I am a big fan of Bible-ordered worship!

All in all, this is a very helpful book. I believe that if we are going to reach post-Christian America in the 21st Century, we are not going to accomplish it through 19th Century methods. I would recommend that you invest the time to read this book and carefully think through the ideas contained within it. I hope you will gain valuable insights and that you will seek to apply those you believe to be helpful.

Reflecting on the North Central States Rally

2009-01-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Over the past three days, Adam Cruse, Mitch and Linda Flesch, Penny Davis, Wes Feltner, Clif Jones, Chris Vieth, and I joined the IBSA Staff along with about 300 other Illinois Baptists at the North Central States Rally in Indianapolis, IN. This is a tri-annual meeting of State and Associational leaders for training, worship, and fellowship.

This event was a great success. We heard inspiring and biblical messages from key SBC leaders including Thom Rainer of LifeWay; Robert Smith of Beeson Divinity School; Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research (and just about everywhere else); Geoff Hammond of NAMB; and Fermin Whittaker of the California Baptist Convention. In addition, 52 Break-out sessions were offered with everyone having the opportunity to attend up to six of their choosing. Lots of practical lessons were taught and hopefully caught by those who attended!

I found these sessions to be of great value. I trust that this event will produce fruit in the life of those who attended for years to come. Dr. Nate Adams and the IBSA Staff ought to be congratulated for the wonderful impact of this meeting. They both worked hard and invested heavily in equipping Assocational leaders from all over Illinois.

Because of the sale of the Johnson Property, we have funds available to assist members of our affiliated churches who would like to attend various training events in Illinois and across the Nation. I hope you will take advantage of these opportunities.

*Note: You will soon be able to view and download the key messages and some of the break-out sessions at www.ibsa.org

Senior Adult Banquet!

2008-11-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

The Senior Adult Thanksgiving Banquet was a wonderful time of fellowship, music, and feeding on the Word of God - and feeding on a great luncheon! Tom Miller, Chris Granda, and her faithful team put together a great program and a very good meal. We had 178 in attendance and this was one of our largest crowds for one of these events. Let me give special thanks to Pastor Mike Arthur and the dear people at Emmanuel for allowing us to move the meeting to their facility on very short notice!

Pastor Wes Feltner from Tabernacle brought a passionate and inspiring message from Colossians 1:9-14. Sue McClelland did a terrific job of leading our singing and Pastor Chris Vieth led the Senior Adults from Tabernacle who provided great special music!

A thousand thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put this great event together and to everyone who came out to be part of it. Our next Senior Adult luncheon will the the "Winter Picnic" on February 10th, 2009. The place will be determined soon and we will update you then.

Streator Experience 2008

2008-10-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

Monday, December 1st, beginning at 1pm through Wednesday, December 3rd at 12pm, several Illinois pastors and lay-leaders will gather at Streator Baptist Camp for the annual January Bible Study Retreat!

The JBS Book this year is "Exodus" and Dr. Odis Weaver and Dr. Lanny Faulkner will share the teaching duties. Les Snyder and "Sons of the Father" will lead our worship times!

The cost for the Retreat is still only $70.00 and covers room, board, and all materials. Please contact Brother Lanny if you have any additional questions. RSVP's are not required, but they are always helpful!

2008 ANNUAL MEETING

2008-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

The 59th Annual Meeting of our Association is now history! Highlights of the day include:
(1) Our new Officers: Pastor Adam Powers, Moderator; Pastor Glenn Baker, Assistant Moderator; and Mrs. Sharron Jones, Clerk.
(2) The Association voted to approve the application of Grace Fellowship of Decatur for affiliation with the Association.
(3) All of the Ministry Team reports and the Ad-Hoc Committee Report were approved, and all of the Constitutional Amendments were adopted without opposition.
(4) The financial report reflected the continuing faithful giving of our churches.
(5) We voted to support the decision of Calvary Southern Baptist Church to be the Primary Church for the new church being planted in Downtown Decatur. We had previously voted to extend our financial support of this project through December, 2009. The motion to transfer this church planter funding support to Pastor Mitch Flesch was approved.
(6) The recommended budget for 2008-2009 was approved.

Greg Braswell did a super job leading our singing! Carla Donoho brought greetings from the Baptist Childrens' Home and provided our special music, and Pat Pajak brought greeings from IBSA. Both Pastor J.J. Hairston and Dr. Jim Leischner brought faithful and inspiring messages. Pastor Mike Arthur, his wife, Sharon, and the members of Emmanuel Southern did their usual wonderful job as our Hosts for the meeting, and serving a wonderful fellowship meal!

The following churches were recognized for "Excellence in Ministry" this past year:
Tabernacle for being #1 in Baptisms and CBA Missions Giving
First Southern Boody for being #2 in Baptisms
Lincoln Southern for being #3 in Baptisms
Arthur Southern for being #1 in Other Additions
First Baptist Mt Zion for being #2 in Other Additions
Argenta for being #3 in Other Additions
Southern Baptist Sullivan for being #2 in CBA Missions Giving
Forsyth for being #3 in CBA Missions Giving
Hammond Missionary for being #1 in Per Capita CBA Missions Giving!

Mrs. Christine Granda was recognized as the "MVP of CBA" in recognition of her outstanding service to the Association and in commemoration of her 7th Anniversary as our Ministry Assistant!

Next Year's Meeting will be held (as the Lord allows) on Saturday, October 17, 2009 from 2-7pm at the First Baptist Church of Atwood.

The First Call

2008-09-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

"And He appointed twelve (whom He also named apostles) so that they might be with Him and He might send them out to preach." Mark 3:14 (ESV)

Dr. Bobby Boyles said lots of things during our Fall Revival last week at FBC Atwood that caught my attention and made me reflect deeply on the Word of God. But, few things he said impacted me more profoundly that his assertion that the first call of God upon the life of His followers is, "that they might be with Him..." Before ministry; before mission; the first call is to be with Him!

It is stunning to me how easy it is for me to allow everyone and everything else to take priority in my schedule over spending time with Jesus. Oh for the joy of just being with Jesus! Not to seek His blessing, not to fulfill an obligation, but simply to be WITH HIM.

Of the many family and friends whose fellowship we appreciate, the thing we ought to desire most is spending time with Jesus. Dr. Boyles went on to mention a time when he began to "pencil in" time for personal devotion on his weekly calendar. I have been guilty of that; and worse, there are weeks in my life that I set aside very little time just to be alone with Him. As we focus on our calling to be the people of God and to do the work of God, let us focus first on our first call: to be with Jesus!

Praying for Revival!

2008-09-15T08:20:00.001-07:00

George Mueller is famous for saying, "Prayer can do anything God can do, and God can do anything!" I have been reminded again today that prayer is real help. It seems that when we pray and we do not immediately see God's answer, we come to think of prayer as a "Cry for Help" and not much more.

God has said to us, "Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known." - Jeremiah 33:3 ESV. Prayer is real help! Almost everyone I know is praying for revival and it seems that revival still tarries. So, what do we do? Keep on praying and keep on expecting God to send revival.

We need revival in our lives, our Churches, our Association, and our world. The only way to ever see real revival is to pray that our mighty and merciful God will "Hear our prayer, forgive our sin, and heal our land." - II Chronicles 7:14b.

Lanny

Great Day in the Morning!

2008-09-08T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I was privileged to be part of a great service at SBC Sullivan! Each year they have a "9-1-1" Service in which they honor those who serve their community as emergency responders. This year a large group was present that included the Moultrie County Sheriff, other uniformed police officers, firefighters and EMT's, and several men and women who are part of the Disaster Relief Team that is sponsored by the Church and supported by our Association!

As always at this great church, Dr. Don Evans graciously led the service where the worship was very good and a sweet and welcoming spirit was felt. I am thankful to have been invited and that I was able to share a simple gospel message from Matthew 20:28 and Philippians 2:5-11 on "The Greatest Act of Sacrificial Service Ever Rendered on Earth."

Thanks to everyone at Southern Baptist Church Sullivan for making the service such a blessing to everyone there!

The Family of God!

2008-07-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

Local Baptist Associations are often described as being, “A Family of Churches.” I find this to be a clear and helpful description. Humans come into families in one of three ways: birth, adoption, or marriage. The Bible reveals that Christians come into the “Family of God” (Ephesians 3:14-15 KJV) in the same three ways: the new birth, (John 3:1-7; 1 Peter 1:3) adoption, (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:5-6) and at the consummation of the ages, we will be the “Bride” of Christ! (Revelation 19:7)

God created humans, (Genesis 1:1) and He immediately placed us into families. (Genesis 2:18-25) It should not surprise us that God blesses and uses the family motif in His Kingdom. It can be simply stated that a local church is, “A Family of Families” and the Local and State Associations as well as the Southern Baptist Convention are basically, “A Family of Local Churches.”

Therefore, the best way for a Church, Association, or Denomination to function is as a family! The very same things that enable a family to function well also enable the Church, Associations, and Denomination to function well. These would include, (but not be limited to) loving one another; (John 13:34-35) supporting one another; (Galatians 6:2) teaching and discipling one another; (2 Timothy 2:2) encouraging one another; (Hebrews 10:23-25) and (when needed) correcting one another! (Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20)

Sadly, Churches, Associations, and Denominations are all subject to the same kind of destructive dysfunctions as are human families. May our gracious Lord grant us to be part of a functional family, functional Associations, and a functional Denomination!

The Rules:

2008-07-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

I am asking that everyone who would like your comments posted to please comply with the following four simple rules:
1. Stay on the subject!
2. No personal attacks!
3. No crude language!
4. Be brief!

WELCOME TO THE ASSOCIATION MATTERS BLOG!

2008-06-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

As the Lord allows, I will use this blog to engage in biblical, practical, and polite conversation about the nature and work of a local Association of Churches, as well as things that impact local churches. I will be posting articles by me, (and others) that speak to these issues.

I hope you will join in the discussion!