Life and ministry can certainly present obstacles to finishing, and doing so with excellence. Jesus was able to truthfully state "It is finished," while on the cross. Jesus finished his earthly mission and purpose faithfully and fully.

Similarly, the apostle Paul was able to truthfully state in writing he had fought the good fight and had "finished the race" in 2 Timothy 4. Paul finished his earthly ministry and mission faithfully and fully.

Reflection: Am I finishing my commitments and endeavors with excellence?

Sometimes we have to wait ... in the lunch line at school or for our order at a restaurant; checking out with groceries; our turn to speak at the table; for an oil change or a car repair, etc.

Sometimes we experience waiting involving more relevant matters. We wait for a person to become a Christian. We wait on a loved one to turn their life around. We wait for an organization to take off and soar. We wait for leadership to emerge and excel.

This past Thursday two families intricately connected with Nashville Christian were waiting. Mrs. Overbay, who we honored on Thursday for our day of service for 40 years of dedication since the school's inception, has been battling an aggressive breast cancer. After a few years of prayers, procedures, treatments, and waiting, she learned later on Thursday after our assembly that her scan was clear and she no longer has to take any more medicine.

Also, our President Mrs. Shelton, husband Greg and their parents waited during the afternoon to find out if their middle child Hendrick had a concussion and how bad. After falling during service day, he had a headache and vomited six times. The ct scan confirmed he had a mild concussion but was not severe.

For these families, waiting was certainly not easy. Waiting rarely is, because we are not in control of plans, schedules and outcomes. All who know them are relieved and thankful for the good news and God's blessings.

Several Scriptures exhort God's people to patiently, prayerfully, and confidently wait on the LORD and trust in His timing and triumph.

Psalm 27:1 begins, "The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 27 ends in verse 14 - "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

Reflection: For what do you need to continue waiting for the Lord?

God's Word teaches and insists it is essential that each person pursues a genuine "connection" with both God and people.

Hebrews 10:25 reads, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

One simple but vital decision we make as Christians is to be involved - to be connected - to live in community - to worship with the assembly - to encourage one another.

Reflection:

Are you attempting life on your own? Have you lost a genuine connection with the church and commitment to her mission? 

If so, it is time to replace this habit with a new habit and reconnect!

-Brian

In the midst of a world in bondage to sin and darkness, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing. Paul writes that this is happening "all over the world."

Colosse was part of a tri-city area along with Hieropolis and Laeodicea. Compared to these two cities of status and tourism, Colosse was simple. The residents were common people. Yet Paul sees the value and potential of the Colossian citizens to bear fruit and make a difference in the world. Paul sees them as worthy of his time and effort.

Colossians 1:10 "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."

Reflection: Whether you live in a big city or a small town, are you living worthy of the Lord? Is the gospel bearing fruit in your life? Are you permitting God to utilize your time and talents to do good works in the world? Do you see all people as worthy of your time and effort?

Jesus emphasizes ministry to those overlooked in society. Jesus spotlights the disenfranchised - the poor, the handicapped and downtrodden. Christians and churches are called to go after the last, the lost, and the least among us. We are called and challenged to intentionally seek for those on the margins.

Luke 14:21 - "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'"

Reflection: What will we do in ministry as individuals and churches this very week to participate in fulfilling this kingdom calling and mission to the last, lost and least? 

Anastasis is the Greek term for resurrection. The Bible clearly and unequivocally conveys that Christians possess resurrection power!

Because Jesus conquered his grave, we can conquer our grave through him.

Romans 8:11 reads, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

Wow! The same power from the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus is available, living and active in the Christian!

Reflection: Do I approach each day with this truth?

Application:

-Do I believe the same power it takes to literally raise a dead Jesus (person) is available to resurrect my life when matters seem unchangeable?

-Do I think God can help me with my weaknesses?

-Do I trust God to be at work when I am afraid? When I feel defeated? When I feel overwhelmed?

Our lack of transformation will not be because God is not able or willing to help us!

God's anastasis power is accessible for new, fresh, abundant living for anyone who will choose to believe and commit themselves to Christ and walking by faith!

Romans 6:4-5 says, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection."

Ephesians 1:18-19a says, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

Nothing compares to the power of God.

The good news of the gospel is that we who believe can live daily with this supernatural, anastasis, resurrection power and hope!  

My suggestion is to look for an alternative when possible so that something is not just ending, but there is something new and exciting to begin as well. We must remember that just because an effort may not be effective anymore does not mean the time and resources invested were in vain. However, to continue laboring in a way that is clearly unproductive and prolonging the inevitable is unnecessary and even counter-productive when it wastes time and resources and lowers rather than lifts morale.

I want to end this short volume and series of elguy posts on the challenge of changing while remaining true to the gospel message and faithfully sharing it with a desperate world starving for God's Word, by returning to the scripture I started with - Philippians 1:4-6. Again, it reads, "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Prayer: Lord, as we anticipate your return, may we confidently and joyfully serve as partners in the gospel until your good work is complete in us as your church.

Some Christians and congregations want to change to be more evangelistic and fruitful, but do not know how. Ultimately, fruit bearing is God's work among us (Jn. 15, 1 Cor. 3).

Ephesians 4:11-16 provides insight into a healthy church. A healthy church has leaders who are involving and developing the other members. A healthy church has every member cooperating with the leadership - participating and contributing to edify the body in some way. Under this authorized apostolic model, the church will be looking for ways to consistently and effectively minister to the needs of the members in the congregation and to the needs of members in the community. Among other truths learned, we read in Acts of a first century church on the move and constantly adapting and adjusting to meet the various spiritual and even material needs of people.

I will now attempt to provide some examples of how a congregation might become more organized and oriented toward evangelism.

-Plan the weekly Sunday morning worship assembly to be most welcoming to visitors who are "seekers." This can include having members arrive early to greet visitors. Some congregations even schedule greeters to help welcome guests. Starting on time. Planning songs with both members and seekers in mind. Preparing and presenting lessons that are understandable to those who do not know the Bible very well.

-Organizing Sunday mornings with a concentrated effort from all members inviting people they know for a "Friends And Family Day," "Celebrating Family And Community Day," "Honoring Neighbors Sunday," "Children Promotion Sunday," and so forth.

-Scheduling fellowship activities at the building and away from the building for which to invite seekers. A great location for those away from the building is in the homes of members. (The Young Adult Class where I minister meets at homes the first Sunday of each month. This format has been a tremendous blessing specifically to our personal edification and strengthening of relationships with each other. We usually spend 3 or 4 hours together on these monthly Sunday evening gatherings!)

-Utilizing Sunday evenings for a variety of outreach ministries. The larger the number in the congregation that usually returns on Sunday evenings, the more the group can do out in the community. It can be organized for even some of the Sunday evenings and not all. This is also a good way to involve more members and to build relationships while working together on various outreach efforts.

-Having special events or week of ministry and/or teaching, such as Vacation Bible School, Camps, and Retreats (the James Avenue Church of Christ where I minister participates in the annual youth retreat of Winterfest and annual ladies retreat Women of Joy).

-Increasing financial support to Christians and their evangelism efforts in other places.

These are just some ways to be more mission-oriented on a weekly and yearly basis as a congregation.

-Brian

Change that is needed in congregations generally always involves surface level change such as methods or approaches and processes. It will likely involve being more intentional about involving and developing members (per Ephesians 4:11-16). However, it could also involve deeper and painful change in attitudes, traditional preferences, overcoming fear, laziness, etc.

Prayer: Lord, be at work in our congregations demolishing strongholds and both lies and excuses from Satan that potentially threaten our outreach and fruitfulness around the world. 

[Next week we will include numerous examples of "how" a congregation can become more mission-minded and mission-oriented. Some Christians and congregations want to be more evangelistic but do not know how.]

NCS has been having numerous meetings in various groups and as an entire faculty and administration assessing every aspect of the school. We are evaluating where we are, dreaming of where we want to be, identifying what we need to change to get there, and setting measurable goals to determine how well we are doing along the way. As examples, we were in two three hour meetings last month sharing from 7 committees where we allowed the other six groups to then provide further input on our area. Last Tuesday we were in an additional gathering where we individually answered a 20 question survey on a scale of 1-9 about where we personally think we are in various matters. Afterward, we divided into smaller department meetings. Our department decided to make major changes, especially in our format and options for students. Thus, now we are scheduled to meet during lunch the Wednesday after Easter with further information and ideas for making these changes. My ultimate point in sharing is to convey that while this is time consuming work, we believe it is not a waste but an investment in our future as a private school.

Perhaps this information will encourage and challenge all Christians who read elguy in Tennessee, Oklahoma and anywhere else regarding the church. If schools and other organizations and businesses care about results, how much more should the church be concerned about its work and mission?

Do we evaluate the fruit and sometimes lack of fruit in the various ministries, classes, assemblies, etc.?

We should all work together in partnership to evangelize to lost souls and grow the Lord's Church. Paul said that he is confident the Christians at Philippi will continue in the good work God began in them, and that they will continue to be a part of what God is blessing in their city.

What is incredible to me is observing over the years that congregations which are growing continue to adapt. They could be content with some growth, yet they are not. On the other hand, observing congregations that have plateaued or are in decline "generally" refuse to discuss change or make changes.

Changing is challenging ... but worth it!

Prayer: Lord, help us to see ourselves as you do, and to change and grow as you desire for our benefit and your glory.