The Great Commission - Coming to a Church Near You.

I am an unashamed Southern Baptist. If you cut me, I bleed the cooperative program. I believe that my denomination has the best mission sending capability of any Christian denomination in the world. This does not mean that God doesn't use other denominations by any means; in fact, I do work with other denominations all the time.

Recently, leaders in our denomination have called for a Great Commission Resurgence - a return to gospel-centeredness and active proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. Considering the current state of decline in our denomination - evidenced by the fact that we have reached a 22 year low in baptisms - I say it's about time!

So many churches have lost confidence in the power of the gospel message. We are often told that evangelism doesn't work anymore and we have to use other methods to reach people. Of course evangelism doesn't work when you don't do it.

I believe we need a revival of confidence in the power of the gospel to save whosoever, whenever wherever it is proclaimed.

I have been privileged to share the good news in 10 different countries and 16 different states. I have shared the gospel with many people in places like Mombasa, Kenya, Los Angeles, CA, San Antonio, TX, Kampala, Uganda, Indianapolis, IN, Denver, CO, Cartagena, Colombia, Portland, OR, St. Johnsbury, VT and Raleigh, NC - just to mention a few. I have shared in every kind of context you can think of from refugee camps, to special events, to churches, to the streets and so forth.

In every context that I have ministered in, I have seen God at work in the hearts of people. I have seen people experience genuine life change through Christ. I have seen people become followers of Jesus. It was not because of me, but in spite of me. It was all about God.

I believe that every church and every denomination can experience a Great Commission Resurgence when we become the resurgence that we long for. In other words, enough talk - now is the time for action. It's time to get out there and obey God.

As John Piper said, "Go, send, or disobey."

Being Jesus Among Them

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14 ESV

In 8 more days, we will celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that December 25 was not His actual day of birth, but I am more concerned about the event rather than the date.

As we peer into that manger, we see more than just a frail human baby; we see God the son taking on human flesh and blood. God chose to enter the human experience in order to redeem humanity. According to scripture, there was a valid reason for what we call, the Incarnation...

Hebrews 2:13-14 MSG says, "Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says, Even I live by placing my trust in God. And yet again, I'm here with the children God gave me. Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death."

It goes on to say that Jesus was tempted as we were in every respect, yet He was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

By entering humanity, Jesus chose to experience life as we experience it. He experienced, joy, pain, friendship, betrayal, being loved, being hated, happiness, sorrow, satisfaction and hunger and every other human emotion. This was so that He might be able to help us when we are tempted.

I also believe that He did this so that we could relate to him. Trying to understand a limitless God with our human minds is the equivalent of ants trying to understand people. But, I can relate to someone who has had the experiences that I have had.

As witnesses for Christ, we must live a life that is reflective of the incarnation. We must seek to be Jesus in the midst of a hurting generation of people.

On the streets this year, I have witnessed to drug dealers, prostitutes, the homeless, alcoholics, drug addicts, gang members, politicians, activists, the affluent, the penniless, the outcast, the in-crowd and many others in between. In each case, I have sought to understand their mindset, their fears, their emotions, their motivations, their pain and their spiritual condition.

Even though I have not "walked a mile in their shoes," I have sought to love them with the love of Christ without compromising the gospel message.

If you and I are going to touch the world with the saving message of Jesus Christ, we must learn from the example of our Master Jesus. We must love the Lord our God with all of our being and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Merry Christmas!

NOTE: There will be no blog post next week due to the Christmas celebration. God bless you and your family.

Good News - The Relaunch is Coming

After a long and lazy hiatus from blogdom, I am proud to say that I will relaunch the Friendfluence blog in the next few weeks. I plan to use it as a extension of my equipping ministry as an evangelist. So keep your eyes open for the resurrection of Friendfluence 2.o.

Darrel