April 22, 2010

  • Missions Notes:

    The pastor of Antioch Community Church came to speak with us about local missions on Wednesday.  Antioch is a church plant a local Baptist church in the area, and it has a reputation for being a little more charismatic than most Baptist churches.  Speaking in tongues, healing, and raised hands in worship are common parts of that community of faith.  My parents, and dad in particular, were really never very positive toward "Antioch'ers."  My dad always said "It's not how high you jump; it's how straight you walk when you land."  I've have both good and bad experience with people that attend Antioch, and to be honest, I think they are closer to the New Testament church than most churches in America.  All that aside, I was really looking forward to class on Wednesday. 

    His topic was supposed to be local missions, but he spent most of the time sharing his testimony, which was great.  He wasn't raised in church, and his foreign mission experience was really cool.  It reminded me of when I was a college student going to closed countries to share the Gospel.  It made me wonder how much I've really let that experience continue to shape my walk with Christ.  Anyway, this post isn't so much for processing as to write down all my notes so I have them for later.

    He said as a young, naive Christian having not grown up in church culture, his question to himself was "What is blocking me from really knowing God?"  Whatever he decided that was, he got rid of it.  He talked about reading a chapter a day in his Bible, and whatever Jesus did, he would do same thing that day.  I wrote, "Read it + Do it = Peace." 

    He talked about his missions experience in New Guinea.  After seeing the things he saw there and doing the things he did there, he said to himself, "I'm never going to argue about this (i.e miracles, healing, demon possession, etc.) ever again.  It's real." 

    He talked about the problems with old church models and the problems with new church models.  He said, "As a minister, you just have to figure out whether you're called to deal with the old problems or the new problems, but you'll always be dealing with problems."

    In reference to all those people heavily involved in "ministry," he said, "You can be a full-time minister and completely miss the fullness of God."  "You have to live or die for it, or it won't work."

    Regarding seminary, he said, "You can be taught it, but unless you do it, unless you experience it, you'll never see it." 

    Regarding personal faith struggles, he said, "Whatever you haven't dealt with at home will be magnified 100 fold on the field."

    The two American girls captured in Afghanistan in August of 2001 were members of the Antioch church.  Here's the CNN link: STORY.  He said, "We were the tip of the spear at that point in history."  How cool a thought is that?

    He talked about how real prayer, really reading the Word, real evangelism, real community, and real discipleship was the mission of the church.  He said, "The church is supposed to change the world."

    Amen.

    ...

    After much deliberation and complication, I'm sending Anna's letter tomorrow.
    I'm fasting with the youth for 30 hours over this weekend.
    I have a 15 page paper due next Friday.
    I'll be finished with this semester in two weeks.
    I'm going to Georgia in 3 weeks. 

    Summer is coming!

    Tootles