While most of us have heard of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf because of his success in commanding the allied troops in the Persian Gulf War, most of us have never heard about what he did in Vietnam.
He was assigned a battalion that was in shambles.
The First Battalion of the Sixth Infantry was knowm as the "worst of the sixth." Schwarzkopf called the location of his assignment as "a horrible, malignant place" which was on the Batangan Peninsula.
The area had been fought over for thirty years, and was covered with mines and booby traps.
On May 28, 1970 a soldier was injured by a mine and Schwarzkopf flew to the man's location. While the helicopter was evacuating the injured soldier, another soldier stepped on a mine and severely injured his leg. He thrashed about in pain and that's when everyone realized they were all standing in the middle of a mine field.
The general believed the injured man could survive with his leg if he would only stop flailing around. He knew there was only one thing he could do.
He had to go and immobilize the man. Schwarzkopf later wrote,
"I started through the minefield, one slow step at a time, staring at the ground...my knees were shaking so hard that each time I took a step, I had to grab my leg and steady it with both hands before I could take another...it seemed like a thousand years before I reached the kid."
The 240-pound Schwarzkopf pinned the wounded man and calmed him down, saving his life.
Some may call it courage, heroism, or even stupidity. But he loved his soldier more than his own position, even more than his own life. That's servanthood.
In our marriages, families, and in portions of the church, there have been battles. There are places in our lives and relationships that are in shambles.
Personal landmines have been walked upon, bombs of bitterness have exploded in hearts, defiling many.
We need leaders who will go out and get the wounded. We need leaders who will leave their own comforts and bring healing to bleeding hearts. We need leaders who love people more than their position. We need leaders willing to serve others; who are more concerned about their testimony rather than a title.
Will you be that leader? Pray with me, that we would all be good examples of servant leadership to the flock. Let's us pray to that end!
Remember when I asked the church to stand and say our mission statement together? Wasn't that interesting? I was so proud of our youth group! If it wasn't for them, I think we would have been in real trouble!
Our mission is all about "Buildinging believers who reach others for Christ."
We have looked at Isaiah's terrific vision in God's unhindered presence (Is. 6). If you'll recall we saw the foundation on which our mission rests. It rests in what God uses to fulfill His mission in us and through us:
1. God fulfills His mission through suffering.
2. God fulfills His mission through His sovereignty.
3. God fulfills His mission through the forgivenss of sin.
4. God fulfills His mission through surrender.
Pray is the work. It is the fuel that empowers the church to fulfill our mission. Please pray fervently for our staff and ministry leaders as we seek God's wisdom for our church.
And praise God for those who have joined our fellowship in these last few weeks!
Yours for fulfilling our mission,
Dr. Mark L. Richardson, Lead Pastor
First Baptist Church, The Colony
Monday, June 15, 2009
Providence and Mission
"Buildinging believers who reach others for Christ."
That's our mission. Building believers includes preparing them for the day of calamity. For the day when they get the test results and it is serious; when they get word their children have been in a car wreck; when the spouse leaves; or the teenager is hooked on drugs. Building believers means preparing them to handle victories, job promotions, and abundance so that they will not forget God.
We have looked at four commitments in order to fuflill our mission from Acts 2:42-47:
1. Commitment to the authority of God's Word.
2. Commitment to the intimacy of fellowship.
3. Commitment to the memory of Jesus' death.
4. Commitment to the intensity of prayer.
But what do we do when it does not look like our mission is being fulfilled? Or what is our guarantee that we will be successful in fulfilling our mission as a church? How do we respond to suffering, heartache, loss, and pain while seeking to accomplish God's mission for our lives?
I like what one preacher has said, "God's calling the shots. He's running the show. Either he's in full control or he's off his throne."
A.W. Tozer once said, "The whole history of the world is discovered to be but a contest between the wisdom of God and the cunning of Satan and fallen men. The outcome of the contest is not in doubt."
A Jewish proverb states, "If God doesn't approve, a fly doesn't move."
These quotes are but an echo to what is revealed in Scripture regarding the awesome majesty of God over His creation. God's sovereignty is the foundation for our guarantee that He will accomplish His mission in us and through us. This coming Sunday morning we will look at how.
However for today I want to remind you of God's great providence over every area of our lives to bring comfort and confidence to you: to prepare you for storms, and to equip you to help others through them.
When we study the Bible we often come upon passages that do not seem to make sense. Some passages often go against what we initially think about God or what we feel.
For instance, "love your enemies." That does not come natural for me; how about you? This command is not a real "pick me up" to start a Monday morning for most people. However, when I meditate on it and think about how I was once an enemy of Christ, a rebel under His judgment, and rightly so, and that He conquered me with His love and mercy, the verse takes on a whole new dynamic.
There are many things in creation that we think of as merely "natural" occurrences. Yet Scripture says that God causes them to happen.
1. So-called "natural occurrences."
a. God causes fire, hail, snow, ice, frost, stormy wind, lightning,
seas, clouds (Ps. 148:8). Cf. Job 38:22-30; Ps. 135:6, 7; 104:4.
b. God directs the grass to grow - Ps. 104:14
c. God directs stars in the heavens - Job. 38:32.
d. God directs the coming of the morning - Job. 38:12; Matt. 5:45.
2. Animals. God feeds the wild animals of the field (Ps. 104:27-29; cf. Job 38:39-41). Jesus also affirmed this (Matt. 6:26; Matt. 10:29).
3. Seemingly "random" or "chance" events. From a human perspective, the casting of lots (or its modern equivalent of dice or flipping a coin) is the most typical of random events that occur in the universe. But Scripture affirms that the outcome of such an event is from God: "The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord" (Prov. 16:33)."[i]
4. Events fully caused by God and fully caused by the creature. A botanist can explain why grass grows, a meteorologist can detail the factors that cause rain, and a physicist can inform us on the force and reasons why the pair of dice resulted - but Scripture tells us God brings all of these about. In this way, it is possible to affirm that in one sense events are fully (100 %) caused by God and fully (100%) caused by the creature as well.
The divine cause works invisibly, behind the scenes, and could be called the "primary" cause that initiates everything that happens. But the created thing brings about actions in ways consistent with the creature's own properties and can be seen as "secondary" causes.
5. The affairs of nations. Scripture speaks also of God's providential control of human affairs.
a. God both prospers and destroys nations. "He makes the nations great,
then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away" (Job
12:23). "For the kingdom is the LORD'S and He rules over the nations"
(Ps 22:28).
b. God has determined the time of existence and the place of every
nation on the earth. "And He made from one man every nation of mankind
to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed
times and the boundaries of their habitation" (Acts 17:26; cf. 14:16).
When Nebuchadnezzar repented he praised God, "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?' (Dan. 4:34, 35).
c. God influences rulers in their decisions. Prov. 21:1; Ezra 6:22; Ezra
1:1.
6. All aspect of our lives.
a. God gives us food (Matt. 6:11; Phil. 4:19).
b. God plans our days before we are born. Ps. 139:16; Job 14:5; Gal. 1:15
Jer. 1:5
c. All our actions are under God's providential care. Acts 17:28;
d. The individual steps we take are directed by the Lord. Jer. 10:23;
Prov. 20:24; Prov. 16:9; Prov. 16:1
e. Our successes and failures. Ps. 75:6, 7; Lk. 1:52
f. Children are from God. Ps. 127:3
g. All of our talent and abilities are from the Lord. 1 Cor. 4:7; Ps.
18:34
h. God influences all of our decisions. When we realize that the "heart"
in Scripture is the location of our inmost thoughts and desires the
following Scriptures are significant: Ps. 33:14 From His dwelling place
He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, Ps 33:15 He who
fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.
i. God especially guides the desires and inclinations of believers
working in us "both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil.
2:13).
CAUTION: These Scriptures should not lead us to deny the reality of our choices and actions. God causes all things that happen, but he does so in such a way that he somehow upholds our ability to make willing, responsible choices, choices that have real and eternal results, and for which we are held accountable.
Exactly how God combines his providential control with our willing and significant choices, Scripture does not explain to us. But rather than deny one aspect or the other (simply because we cannot explain how both can be true) we should accept both in an attempt to be faithful to the teaching of all Scripture.
If you have not filled out a Top Ten Most Wanted prayer sheet, please do so this Sunday. We will have upcoming opportunities to pray for the lost without Jesus. We must also prepare ourselves should God move in a mighty way. Many are praying for this to happen, so please pray for the staff that we might equip our people to be ready to receive those who come through salvation or rededications. We must think out of the box in order to accomodate more people.
Thank you for praying for our house to sell. I'm happy to announce that we have a buyer and plan to close on June 15th. God is so gracious!
Again, I feel so honored to be your Lead Pastor!
Yours for fulfilling our mission,
Dr. Mark L. Richardson, Lead Pastor
First Baptist Church, The Colony
That's our mission. Building believers includes preparing them for the day of calamity. For the day when they get the test results and it is serious; when they get word their children have been in a car wreck; when the spouse leaves; or the teenager is hooked on drugs. Building believers means preparing them to handle victories, job promotions, and abundance so that they will not forget God.
We have looked at four commitments in order to fuflill our mission from Acts 2:42-47:
1. Commitment to the authority of God's Word.
2. Commitment to the intimacy of fellowship.
3. Commitment to the memory of Jesus' death.
4. Commitment to the intensity of prayer.
But what do we do when it does not look like our mission is being fulfilled? Or what is our guarantee that we will be successful in fulfilling our mission as a church? How do we respond to suffering, heartache, loss, and pain while seeking to accomplish God's mission for our lives?
I like what one preacher has said, "God's calling the shots. He's running the show. Either he's in full control or he's off his throne."
A.W. Tozer once said, "The whole history of the world is discovered to be but a contest between the wisdom of God and the cunning of Satan and fallen men. The outcome of the contest is not in doubt."
A Jewish proverb states, "If God doesn't approve, a fly doesn't move."
These quotes are but an echo to what is revealed in Scripture regarding the awesome majesty of God over His creation. God's sovereignty is the foundation for our guarantee that He will accomplish His mission in us and through us. This coming Sunday morning we will look at how.
However for today I want to remind you of God's great providence over every area of our lives to bring comfort and confidence to you: to prepare you for storms, and to equip you to help others through them.
When we study the Bible we often come upon passages that do not seem to make sense. Some passages often go against what we initially think about God or what we feel.
For instance, "love your enemies." That does not come natural for me; how about you? This command is not a real "pick me up" to start a Monday morning for most people. However, when I meditate on it and think about how I was once an enemy of Christ, a rebel under His judgment, and rightly so, and that He conquered me with His love and mercy, the verse takes on a whole new dynamic.
There are many things in creation that we think of as merely "natural" occurrences. Yet Scripture says that God causes them to happen.
1. So-called "natural occurrences."
a. God causes fire, hail, snow, ice, frost, stormy wind, lightning,
seas, clouds (Ps. 148:8). Cf. Job 38:22-30; Ps. 135:6, 7; 104:4.
b. God directs the grass to grow - Ps. 104:14
c. God directs stars in the heavens - Job. 38:32.
d. God directs the coming of the morning - Job. 38:12; Matt. 5:45.
2. Animals. God feeds the wild animals of the field (Ps. 104:27-29; cf. Job 38:39-41). Jesus also affirmed this (Matt. 6:26; Matt. 10:29).
3. Seemingly "random" or "chance" events. From a human perspective, the casting of lots (or its modern equivalent of dice or flipping a coin) is the most typical of random events that occur in the universe. But Scripture affirms that the outcome of such an event is from God: "The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord" (Prov. 16:33)."[i]
4. Events fully caused by God and fully caused by the creature. A botanist can explain why grass grows, a meteorologist can detail the factors that cause rain, and a physicist can inform us on the force and reasons why the pair of dice resulted - but Scripture tells us God brings all of these about. In this way, it is possible to affirm that in one sense events are fully (100 %) caused by God and fully (100%) caused by the creature as well.
The divine cause works invisibly, behind the scenes, and could be called the "primary" cause that initiates everything that happens. But the created thing brings about actions in ways consistent with the creature's own properties and can be seen as "secondary" causes.
5. The affairs of nations. Scripture speaks also of God's providential control of human affairs.
a. God both prospers and destroys nations. "He makes the nations great,
then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away" (Job
12:23). "For the kingdom is the LORD'S and He rules over the nations"
(Ps 22:28).
b. God has determined the time of existence and the place of every
nation on the earth. "And He made from one man every nation of mankind
to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed
times and the boundaries of their habitation" (Acts 17:26; cf. 14:16).
When Nebuchadnezzar repented he praised God, "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?' (Dan. 4:34, 35).
c. God influences rulers in their decisions. Prov. 21:1; Ezra 6:22; Ezra
1:1.
6. All aspect of our lives.
a. God gives us food (Matt. 6:11; Phil. 4:19).
b. God plans our days before we are born. Ps. 139:16; Job 14:5; Gal. 1:15
Jer. 1:5
c. All our actions are under God's providential care. Acts 17:28;
d. The individual steps we take are directed by the Lord. Jer. 10:23;
Prov. 20:24; Prov. 16:9; Prov. 16:1
e. Our successes and failures. Ps. 75:6, 7; Lk. 1:52
f. Children are from God. Ps. 127:3
g. All of our talent and abilities are from the Lord. 1 Cor. 4:7; Ps.
18:34
h. God influences all of our decisions. When we realize that the "heart"
in Scripture is the location of our inmost thoughts and desires the
following Scriptures are significant: Ps. 33:14 From His dwelling place
He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, Ps 33:15 He who
fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.
i. God especially guides the desires and inclinations of believers
working in us "both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil.
2:13).
CAUTION: These Scriptures should not lead us to deny the reality of our choices and actions. God causes all things that happen, but he does so in such a way that he somehow upholds our ability to make willing, responsible choices, choices that have real and eternal results, and for which we are held accountable.
Exactly how God combines his providential control with our willing and significant choices, Scripture does not explain to us. But rather than deny one aspect or the other (simply because we cannot explain how both can be true) we should accept both in an attempt to be faithful to the teaching of all Scripture.
If you have not filled out a Top Ten Most Wanted prayer sheet, please do so this Sunday. We will have upcoming opportunities to pray for the lost without Jesus. We must also prepare ourselves should God move in a mighty way. Many are praying for this to happen, so please pray for the staff that we might equip our people to be ready to receive those who come through salvation or rededications. We must think out of the box in order to accomodate more people.
Thank you for praying for our house to sell. I'm happy to announce that we have a buyer and plan to close on June 15th. God is so gracious!
Again, I feel so honored to be your Lead Pastor!
Yours for fulfilling our mission,
Dr. Mark L. Richardson, Lead Pastor
First Baptist Church, The Colony
Are We Ready To Launch?
As the shuttle rests on the pad fully fueled, it weighs about 4.5 million pounds. The orbiter has three main engines located in the back fuselage, which is the body of the spacecraft. Each engine is 14 feet long, 7.5 feet in diameter at its widest point, and weighs about 6,700 pounds.
The cost of each space shuttle mission is an astounding 450 million dollars.
In order to remain in orbit a shuttle must reach speeds of about 17,500 mph.
However, did you know that the space shuttle Discovery was once grounded. Do you know why? Not because of a multi-million dollar technical difficulty. It was not because of a lack of government funding. The space shuttle Discovery was grounded because of wood peckers.
Evidently, yellow-shafted flicker woodpeckers found the insulating foam in the shuttle's external fuel tank irresistible for pecking. Of course, the foam is critical to the shuttle's performance.
In a similar way, sometimes churches are grounded by God, and not able to launch out in their mission because they are rife with backbiting, gossip, and slander. The same is true in our marriages, families, friends, and business.
Unity is essential for the church's performance of her mission.
I was so blessed last Sunday morning when three of our young ladies in the youth group came up to me and said our mission statement together in unison. They were so proud that they memorized it:
"Buildinging believers who reach others for Christ."
Let's ask the Lord to search our hearts; ask Him to reveal whether our mouths have been building our fellow believers in Christ up, or tearing them down through pecking and picking on one another. Confession is the key to cleansing.
God looks at the heart. Remember when the Lord told the prophet Samuel to go see Jesse in order to anoint one of his sons to be the next king of Israel? Samuel look at Eliab and thought he was the one. But notice the Lord's response, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).
I've asked myself this question and have been meditating on it this past week:
"When the Lord looks on my heart, what does He see?"
We must see the people as He did, and be moved in compassion for them as He did, and have His perspetive of the harvest: it is plentiful, but the workers are few. Secondly, we saw that we must pray for the harvest.
I think our attendance and participation on Wednesday night prayer meetings can improve. In fact, it already has to God's glory! When I first came, there were four members, now we have to move to another room.
I don't want to make Wednesday night prayer meeting the sole metric to gauge the church's prayer life. However, if at all possible, please do your best to make it. And if your schedule will not allow it; please set aside a time and place to pray for a harvest through our church. For the glory of God.
We will have upcoming opportunities to pray for people who are lost without Jesus. We must prepare ourselves should God move in a mighty way. Many are praying for this to happen, so please pray for the staff that we might equip our people to be ready to receive those who come through salvation or rededications. We must think out of the box in order to accomodate more people.
Again, I feel so honored to be your Lead Pastor! Please remember my family during this transition, and pray that our house would sell soon.
Yours for fulfilling our mission,
Dr. Mark L. Richardson, Lead Pastor
First Baptist Church, The Colony
The cost of each space shuttle mission is an astounding 450 million dollars.
In order to remain in orbit a shuttle must reach speeds of about 17,500 mph.
However, did you know that the space shuttle Discovery was once grounded. Do you know why? Not because of a multi-million dollar technical difficulty. It was not because of a lack of government funding. The space shuttle Discovery was grounded because of wood peckers.
Evidently, yellow-shafted flicker woodpeckers found the insulating foam in the shuttle's external fuel tank irresistible for pecking. Of course, the foam is critical to the shuttle's performance.
In a similar way, sometimes churches are grounded by God, and not able to launch out in their mission because they are rife with backbiting, gossip, and slander. The same is true in our marriages, families, friends, and business.
Unity is essential for the church's performance of her mission.
I was so blessed last Sunday morning when three of our young ladies in the youth group came up to me and said our mission statement together in unison. They were so proud that they memorized it:
"Buildinging believers who reach others for Christ."
Let's ask the Lord to search our hearts; ask Him to reveal whether our mouths have been building our fellow believers in Christ up, or tearing them down through pecking and picking on one another. Confession is the key to cleansing.
God looks at the heart. Remember when the Lord told the prophet Samuel to go see Jesse in order to anoint one of his sons to be the next king of Israel? Samuel look at Eliab and thought he was the one. But notice the Lord's response, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).
I've asked myself this question and have been meditating on it this past week:
"When the Lord looks on my heart, what does He see?"
We must see the people as He did, and be moved in compassion for them as He did, and have His perspetive of the harvest: it is plentiful, but the workers are few. Secondly, we saw that we must pray for the harvest.
I think our attendance and participation on Wednesday night prayer meetings can improve. In fact, it already has to God's glory! When I first came, there were four members, now we have to move to another room.
I don't want to make Wednesday night prayer meeting the sole metric to gauge the church's prayer life. However, if at all possible, please do your best to make it. And if your schedule will not allow it; please set aside a time and place to pray for a harvest through our church. For the glory of God.
We will have upcoming opportunities to pray for people who are lost without Jesus. We must prepare ourselves should God move in a mighty way. Many are praying for this to happen, so please pray for the staff that we might equip our people to be ready to receive those who come through salvation or rededications. We must think out of the box in order to accomodate more people.
Again, I feel so honored to be your Lead Pastor! Please remember my family during this transition, and pray that our house would sell soon.
Yours for fulfilling our mission,
Dr. Mark L. Richardson, Lead Pastor
First Baptist Church, The Colony
Are We Crazy?
A visitor to a mental health institution was given a tour by one of the officials and they came to the place where the patients were exercising. To the shock of the visitor, there were only two guards for the patients that numbered well past hundred.
"How come there aren't more guards to make sure the place is secure?" the visitor asked the official.
"Oh, that's easy," he replied. "Lunatics never unite."
Sometimes I think we are going to look back, whether when we're older or in eternity, and wonder, "Why didn't we do a better job of partnering together?" "We were crazy for allowing the enemy to distract us and divide us from our mission."
The church has recently accomplished one of the most important tasks in getting a group of people to do great things. The church has established its mission statement and God has called me to lead the leaders to lead the church to fulfill its mission. We don't want our mission statement to simply lay next to a logo, on a shirt, a letterhead, or webpage. We want it to permeate everything we do, or plan to do, by God's grace whether it's with people, buildings, finances, programs, ministries: everything.
I recently sat down with our staff and asked them to write down what our mission statement is, and half of us got it right! It was about the same for the PST. I wonder what would happen if we asked you to write down our mission statement, could you state it? Now, don't worry, there is grace here because the statement is fairly new - praise God for grace!
But here is what the church affirmed what we should be about:
"Buildinging believers who reach others for Christ."
Our mission statement is biblical, essentially it's an echo of the Great Commission the Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples before He ascended to His Father's throne:
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:18-20).
Another strength of our mission statement is that it is memorable. You may not be able to quote the Great Commission but surely we all can remember, "Building believers who reach others for Christ."
This statement will help us to determine alignment and effectiveness when measuring our work, as well as encouragement when we're on target. It's so easy and common to miss things even when they are right in front of us; kind of like the squares...
Perspective drives what we see. For example, most churches count by seeing how many people show up on Sunday. But I think God also counts by seeing how many people do not show up! There are over 43,000 in our city, and 90% of them are unchurched! Do you know what our church's budget for evangelism is? The grand total is 2,800 dollars. This amount equals .5% of our budget. We must ask ourselves whether this reflects a serious commitment to fulfilling our mission of building believers who reach others for Christ.
Pray that God would grant repentance to us; that the lost would come to know His salvation; and that God would cause a holy stirring among us, a hunger to fulfill our mission in a way that glorifies Him greatly.
I am so honored to be your lead pastor! Please remember my family during this transition, and pray that our house would sell soon.
Yours for fulfilling our mission,
Dr. Mark L. Richardson, Lead Pastor
First Baptist Church, The Colony
"How come there aren't more guards to make sure the place is secure?" the visitor asked the official.
"Oh, that's easy," he replied. "Lunatics never unite."
Sometimes I think we are going to look back, whether when we're older or in eternity, and wonder, "Why didn't we do a better job of partnering together?" "We were crazy for allowing the enemy to distract us and divide us from our mission."
The church has recently accomplished one of the most important tasks in getting a group of people to do great things. The church has established its mission statement and God has called me to lead the leaders to lead the church to fulfill its mission. We don't want our mission statement to simply lay next to a logo, on a shirt, a letterhead, or webpage. We want it to permeate everything we do, or plan to do, by God's grace whether it's with people, buildings, finances, programs, ministries: everything.
I recently sat down with our staff and asked them to write down what our mission statement is, and half of us got it right! It was about the same for the PST. I wonder what would happen if we asked you to write down our mission statement, could you state it? Now, don't worry, there is grace here because the statement is fairly new - praise God for grace!
But here is what the church affirmed what we should be about:
"Buildinging believers who reach others for Christ."
Our mission statement is biblical, essentially it's an echo of the Great Commission the Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples before He ascended to His Father's throne:
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:18-20).
Another strength of our mission statement is that it is memorable. You may not be able to quote the Great Commission but surely we all can remember, "Building believers who reach others for Christ."
This statement will help us to determine alignment and effectiveness when measuring our work, as well as encouragement when we're on target. It's so easy and common to miss things even when they are right in front of us; kind of like the squares...
Perspective drives what we see. For example, most churches count by seeing how many people show up on Sunday. But I think God also counts by seeing how many people do not show up! There are over 43,000 in our city, and 90% of them are unchurched! Do you know what our church's budget for evangelism is? The grand total is 2,800 dollars. This amount equals .5% of our budget. We must ask ourselves whether this reflects a serious commitment to fulfilling our mission of building believers who reach others for Christ.
Pray that God would grant repentance to us; that the lost would come to know His salvation; and that God would cause a holy stirring among us, a hunger to fulfill our mission in a way that glorifies Him greatly.
I am so honored to be your lead pastor! Please remember my family during this transition, and pray that our house would sell soon.
Yours for fulfilling our mission,
Dr. Mark L. Richardson, Lead Pastor
First Baptist Church, The Colony
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