Nauvoo Pastor

Resolved to Dissolve?

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:17:00 +0000

Today I am broken-hearted at some things that I have read on two SBC blogs that I have come to respect and value for their contribution to the discussion of what it is to be Southern Baptist. The first thing that came to my attention was this article by Dave Miller at SBC Voices. I was stunned and thought it to be a bad joke until I read the article that he linked to on the SBC Impact blog.

It is unfortunate about what happened with the resolution regarding the 2011 NIV at this years annual convention, I was not there so I can only depend on reports from those who were. It is my understanding that this resolution was brought before the convention from the floor with two messengers speaking out against this translation and no one speaking out in support of it. I am also under the impression that it was approved by what appeared to be 90% of those voting. So I went to Denny Burk’s blog and watched the process to confirm what I had been told and found the information to be accurate. I am in no way defending this translation, but making a point about how it was handled at this years convention.

It is disheartening to read the wording of the proposed resolution that is found at the SBC Impact blog. I find it outrageous that because someone does not want to learn the English language, they wish to state that the KJV “alters the meaning of hundreds of verses, most significantly by using archaic language.” Excuse me, but did you not learn how to use a dictionary? The alterations that are referred to appear as a result of someone’s lack of self-education. Then you have the gall to state, “Resolved: That the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 19-20, 2012 express profound disappointment with King James I for this inaccurate translation of God’s inspired Scripture.” On what planet did you drop in from? Because you are to busy to study English, that makes the KJV inaccurate?

I spent fifteen years and hundreds of dollars studying this very debate. If my library couldn’t get a book, I searched it out through rare book dealers. I even have an 1881 edition of the critical text as well as an 1881 English translation of that text. My concern is not with the idolized original autographs, but with the preservation of the words of God. Because that is what this debate is truly about. Did God preserve His words or not. If so, where are they and who has been hiding them from us. I have the latest and greatest UBS and NA critical text. I have the Majority text of Peirpont/Robinson. I have the Ecclesiastical/ Byzantine/Textus Receptus. I have the Beza Text. I have every major, and the majority of the minor, translations of the New Testament starting with Wycliff through to The Voice. I have read them. I have studied, wept, and poured out my heart over this issue.

My conclusion is not yours, and yours is not mine. I preach and teach from the KJV. I do not expect others to use it just because I do. I do expect people to be intellectually honest with themselves about the translation they use and ask themselves why they use it. If a man believes that the ESV is the best translation, I expect him to preach and teach from it. If he doesn’t because his church has always used the NIV, then he needs to educate his people about the translation he uses and why he uses it. If he doesn’t he is being dishonest with his people and himself.

This kind of uneducated, narrow-minded thinking is what makes KJV-only people salivate. You see, I recognize scholarship when I see it. I appreciate the work done on the Apologetic Study Bible, the ESV Study Bible, and the NKJV Study Bible. I read the notes. I digest what is there and I increase in my knowledge where I once was naïve. I appreciate Bill Mounce and especially Daniel Wallace and all the efforts that these men have put forth. Biblical scholarship and textual criticism have come a long way, but the issue is still the same, has God preserved His words or not? Dan Wallace will even tell you that current scholars are agreed on 90% of what the original reading was. Well, what about the 10%? Either God preserved His words or He didn’t. It is that plain of an issue.

If the purposed resolution does go to the floor of the convention, I will leave the SBC. I would even call on the twenty-three percent of pastors in the convention, who use the KJV, to do the same.

But why stop with the KJV? Why not go all the way and remove Calvin’s writings and Luther’s works. Oh and lets not forget the Puritans and their Geneva Bible. They are all over four hundred years old and still include archaic words in newer translations and editions of their works. The best solution to the resolution is to just say out loud what translation you do want instead of the one’s you don’t.

Resolved: That all of the churches associated with the Southern Baptist Convention will only use the Holman Christian Standard Bible and that Lifeway will not advertise, use, purchase, nor sell any other translation. Bible burning to be held in the parking lot after the meeting.

Technorati Tags: SBC Voices,SBC Impact,Dave Miller,KJV,NIV,Bill Mounce,Dan Wallace,original autographs

Christian Focus Book Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:42:00 +0000

Here is another great book that is being offered as this month’s giveaway.

http://blog.christianfocus.com/index.php/2011/08/29/august-book-giveaway-the-trials-of-theology/

Please enter and keep up with Christian Focus, as they provide some really great books for our personal and spiritual growth.

Technorati Tags: Giveaway,Theology,Christian Focus

Blessings,

Bro. Martin

Dare To Enter

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 03:33:00 +0000

Christian Focus Booknotes, the blog for Christian Focus Publishing, is sponsoring a give-away this month. You can enter HERE.

One of the ways to enter is by answering the question: How can the challenges of the protestant reformation equip us to deal with the challenges we face in the church today?

My answer follows.

We have come to rest upon our laurels in the last 40 years or so. Although our course is clearly laid out before us in Scripture, we have found our success a potent drug that keeps our eyes on grandeur instead of our focus on Christ. We need to forget our celebrity and give people what they need, the Gospel; instead of the entertainment they want. A renewed hunger for the WORD IN THE STUDY; will always lead to a renewed PASSION FROM THE PULPIT. Where are the fires that burned so brightly five hundred years ago? They have become embers on our dusty bookshelves. And right next to them sits the neglected truth of the Reformation, swaddled with care, lest we disturb the sacredness of the printed page.

Oh we have been warned to "quench not the Spirit." (1 Thes. 5:19) Instead, we drown Him out with bright lights and amps. The Americanization of not only the world, but in particular, the church has lead us down the path of falsely called revivals and sexually defrocked ministers. Emotions and feelings have replaced, Holy Spirit moves on the condemned and convicted. Many are praying for revival, but what is dearly needed is resurrection of a dead church that just can't stop being socially acceptable. Stop scratching your ears (see 2 Tim 4:3-4) and admit that you are so shallow, a gnat couldn't drown in your knowledge of Biblical doctrine. People are buying fire insurance from Satan, instead of investing in the full assurance of the Gospel.

Some here will say that I am being harsh, unkind, unloving.... Yet I say, NO. I am being honest about how we ALL are. Instead of asking, "what would the reformers do?" We should be DOING WHAT THE REFORMERS DID! Taking up the cross of Christ and beating the dead horse with it until resurrection happened, at all cost. Life.. limb.. and liberty are nothing compared to total surrender to the Sovereign Who gave His all for us.

Gave me the Christ!!! Give them the Christ!!!

Technorati Tags: Reformers,Giveaway

Why Baptist?

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Have you ever been asked, “Why Baptist?” and the person have a quizzical expression? I find that question to be most entertaining, especially the facial expression. But should that question be asked? I will have to be biographical in order to answer that question. In fact, I learn best by doing it for myself whether through reading, praying, or action.

I live in a very small, rural community that is just like every other one. You can drive straight through town, because we don’t have any stop signs or traffic lights on the main drag. Everyone and everything moves a little slower here. It is much quieter during the day and pitch black at night. Yet this small town (pop. 1100 according to the sign, less according to the mayor) is a bit different. We have many churches here.

The typical town of our size usually has one or two churches. In fat, you can drive through them one after the other and find a Methodist church in one town then the next will have a Christian church and then the next a Methodist church and so on from there with an occasional Catholic church thrown in for good measure. Here, we have a Methodist church we also have a Catholic Church. In fact the Catholic church is the largest in our area. We also have a Lutheran church, a Charismatic group, a Presbyterian church, a Baptist church (SBC), an Independent Baptist house church, a non-Sectarian congregation, and three different congregations that meet who use the Mormon scriptures (Community of Christ (formerly RLDS), the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (LDS) and Restoration Latter Day Saints. As you can see, we do have a lot to offer when it comes to the spiritual life of the individual.

With all of these different religious bodies present in such a confined area you can expect tension, and boy do we have it here. Most of it is directed at the LDS church and the hundreds of missionaries that they have here. There is also so hard feelings toward the SBC church in town because of the lack of community involvement and because people think they are a cult of some kind. I personally find this to be amusing because I pastored the local SBC church for two years and we made a personal commitment to this community by buying a home and staying here after we resigned from the church. My wife Wendy, and I have continued to work with the people here because we love them all. What breaks our hearts is the inability of people to work together because of all the religious tension. But where does one start? Let me just say that we fumbled the ball many times before we found something that opened the door to dialogue.

The one thing that has consistently worked is the Baptist Faith and Message. Now I know how some feel about using it as an evangelistic tool, but here it works. Why? Because every church in town teaches their people to educate themselves about the different faith groups that are here. This tract has been gladly received and studied by someone from each group. The one thing that they come away with is how much we agree doctrinally with each other. This has really been helpful with the LDS folks, because we meet with some of the leadership on a monthly basis.

In fact, one of these groups asked the very question that I stated out with in the first paragraph, “Why Baptist?” And this got me started down memory lane. I have my fortieth spiritual birthday coming up and I have been a Baptist the whole time. I was twelve, and the last thing I was considering was, “which church should I go to?” For me the choice was simple. I went to the church that sent the bus, which at that time was First Baptist Church (SBC). I learned a lot from my Sunday School teachers and from the preaching. I thought church rocked and could wait until next Sunday. I just assumed that all churches were the same and didn’t really concern myself with the question of “Why Baptist?”

All that changed when I moved from Ohio to Mississippi. This was the first time I had ever seen so many Baptist churches in my life. I was amazed at how we would come to intersections and you would see three Baptist churches across from each other. Not only that, but there were SBC, Hard Shell, Primitive, Northern, Independent, Fundamental and on the list went. I didn’t know such creatures existed. But I also noticed that there were people who started asking me the question, “Why Baptist?” I didn’t know myself, so how was I to answer them?

So I began to ask my pastor about the differences and he said, “Son, instead of telling you how about you read this book and see if you can’t find out for yourself.” I Looked at the cover and read the following title The Shadow of the Broad Brim: A Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I thought, “what has a biography got to do with why I am a Baptist?” I went to hand the book back but he encouraged me to read it and that I would find my answer.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a name with which I was very familiar. I had heard it thousands of times in church from the lectern and the pulpit, yet I know little about the man, so I read the book. How utterly fixating. This book captured my imagination and as I read I laughed, cried, and prayed. Finally, I read page 145. On it I had found my answer in clear terms.

His (Spurgeon’s) views made him a staunch Baptist, constantly emphasizing the six Baptist distinctives: the Lordship of Jesus; the Supremacy of the New Testament; Regeneration the basis of church-membership; the Right of private judgment; Separation of civil and religious entities; and Baptism by immersion.

The Shadow of the Broad Brim: A Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Day, Richard Ellsworth, 1965, pg. 145

What joy! I had my answer but I also had my homework to do. You see, I learned that having the answer was only a part of the equation. I also needed to learn what each of these six distinctives meant; find the Biblical resource for each one; study out the passages involved; and determine whether or not to be a Baptist. Thus my journey began and continues…and so shall ours as we look at each one together over the coming weeks.

Blessings,

Bro. Martin

Technorati Tags: Baptist,doctrine,Spurgeon,SBC

Past Giants–Present Help

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:36:00 +0000

Today I got my copy of Preaching magazine and as usual, I was prepared to dive right into it. This month was I little different because I had received another magazine the day before and I wanted to finish it up. At it happened, I put down Preaching on the table face down and was greeted by bold black letters saying: LUTHER, SPURGEON, MOODY. Naturally, I let my eyes fix upon this page and read the whole thing.

It was an ad the Sermon Central had placed on the back cover. Toward the bottom of the page they asked: “Who Inspires Your Preaching?” What a tremendous, pointed question. We all have men who we have heard preach. We may even imitate some of their style, but this ad wasn’t about hearing messages. It was about reading great messages and the writings of great messengers of the past.I would agree that this is something we all should do. Many of my friends read the Puritan Paperbacks. In fact, A couple of years ago Timmy Brister, a brother in the faith and a blogging buddy, put out a challenge to read one of the volumes every month for a year. I gained a new knowledge and appreciation for the Puritan writings and they are now a part of my steady diet of reading. My blogging buddy and friend, Tim Chailles, has a “Reading through the Classics” post on Thursday where he invites people to read a Christian classic at a chapter per week and then interact with the reading with him at his blog. (We are currently reading Gresham Machen’s classic work Christianity & Liberalism.)

But who is it that I read that gets the juices flowing? Many people look at my library and think that it is the Puritans and/or Spurgeon. Although I have a lot of books from those individuals they don’t foot the bill. In fact, I only started reading Spurgeon because I was told at a young age that all good Baptist read Spurgeon. I enjoy his writings and sermons greatly, but there is someone else that I read just as Luther read Augustine. Like Spurgeon reading Luther, And when as Moody read Spurgeon.

Every time I see a book with this man’s name on it, I get goose flesh with anticipation of the treasures and joys that I will find as I pour over every letter of the text, no matter how many times I have read the book, the expectation of blessing is there. Only the Bible brings out more child-like joy.

I have heard recordings of this man preaching and some of the radio messages he presented. But I have never met him. The man? Oliver B. Greene. I have spent two decades in search of any and every thing he has ever had in print. I know that there are still many pamphlets out there to find, but I believe that I now have every hardback book printed by his ministry. He inspires me. His words make me take a deeper harder look at who I am in Christ and how I flesh out the grace that God has given to me.

So who inspires you to greatness in your practice of the faith?

Blessings,

Bro. Martin

Technorati Tags: Spurgeon,Moody,Luther,Preaching,Greene

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:10:00 +0000

Every once in a while, a publisher will release a book that is deceptive. Now this can be a challenge for many people, because deception can take many forms. It can be false information. It can be
pure folly in its final analysis. Or it can be something altogether different than one would expect. Zondervan has placed into my hands a book that fits the latter category. What am I writing about? Well, it all started with the title and a certain expectation that I had about the book without having seen a copy of it. Any one who has spent any time looking at resources about New Testament Greek knows that each book comes with a warning about back injuries related to totting such a tome around. We have seen the effects on our Seminary campuses; you know, the students hunched over under the weight of the book bag, or the ones pulling two suitcases on wheels behind them just for Greek courses. So, needless to say, I was a bit taken aback by this particular book.

What is this wonder of publishing magic? It is Keep Your Greek: Strategies for Busy People by Constantine R. Campbell. Now it has been twenty plus years since I have used the Greek that I have learned and the insights that the author gives are timeless. Some of them are some simple that we forget them. The chapter titles are:

Read Every Day
Burn Your Interlinear (I really needed this one.)
Use Software Tools Wisely (This too.)
Make Vocabulary Your Friend (I hate vocabulary.)
Practice Your Parsing (Slave-driver.)
Read Fast
Read Slow (Make up your mind dude.)
Use Your Senses
Get Your Greek Back
Putting It All Together

What got me going was how this all started out on a blog; so the author included some of the comments he received on the different parts. It is a fun read and has got me headed toward getting my Greek back.

On a personal note. I would be remiss in not telling you that not only have I lost my Greek, somewhere, I lost my English grammar as well. I found a resource that has helped with that issue and guess what? Zondervan publishes the book. It is English Grammar to ACE New Testament Greek by Samuel Lamerson. I have decided to go through the first year Greek class taught by Bill Mounce online. There are also many fine resources available on the internet. I would encourage you to check out the links in the book, I have and now I am enjoying Greek once more.

A Barna Survey You Need To Take Notice Of

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:13:00 +0000

Today I had the opportunity to do some browsing on the internet. I don’t do that as often as I would like, so I took full advantage of doing so and came across several very interesting items. One caught my attention, a Barna Survey, and demonstrates some of the things that I have been preaching and teaching about at Garden Baptist Mission.

One of my greatest concerns has been the enormous amount of Bible illiteracy that I find within the church. It has long been my fear that the church is turning out Christians who are shallow and very superficial. I true believe that this is a result of the church giving up on discipleship as a part of its ministry.

Today we have a group of people who claim to know God, yet know nothing of His word or the life-changing power that is inherent within its pages. Theology is a buzz word for boring. Doctrine is close-mindedness. And Biblical authority is intolerance. Those who do preach a strong, deep, Biblical message are hate-mongers. Everyone wants to be accepted and acceptable to the world because we do not want to bruise egos or hurt any feelings.

Unfortunately, it is this very type of Christian who ends up drowning in a mud puddle whenever they are challenged about their faith. They have no where to turn and no authority that they can site for their belief. Many end up leaving the church because they are disillusioned about the function of the church within the larger picture of life.

One thing that we have done here, is to start Bible study groups, we currently have two. When we begin these groups, we always start with a series on How to Study the Bible. Each group has appreciated this series and learned how they can actively participate in their own personal study of God’s word. Many are now reading the Bible for the first time and they are learning more with each day. We make sure that the studies are opening to anyone and as a result we have some interesting participants.

What has your church done to increase the knowledge of Scripture?

Blessings,

Bro. Martin

Technorati Tags: Bible,Barna Group,Illiteracy,Discipleship

NAMB and the Future

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:08:00 +0000

Today I read a couple of blogs (here and here) discussing an article published February 9th by Baptist Press about the changes being made in the North American Mission Board (NAMB). So I went back over the article, found here. I was thrilled by what is transpiring under the leadership of president Kevin Ezell and the board members.

I do not know many of the new vice-presidents that have been appointed. I am thankful to Dr. Alvin Reid for giving us a glimpse of these men and his personal knowledge of them.

I have noticed that the NAMB has downsized and reallocated some of its budget and as a result $9 million is heading to the mission field instead of paying salaries, travel, conference and various other expenses. Finally, I see that people are getting a vision of what the SBC started out to be; a people on mission. But I do find it very disturbing that only four percent of our churches are involved in missions.

If this trend continues; we have lost the battle before we started the march. Church leaders need to realize that standing in line does not make you a part of the army. The goal of NAMB is to have ten percent involved in church planting initially. That is a lofty goal given the current numbers.

I am concerned about the focus on metropolitan areas, because we are in a very rural county. I understand that the majority of our population live in these cities, but we should never forget that 66% of SBC churches run less than one hundred on Sunday morning and the vast majority of them are rural in nature. We have forgotten our spiritual roots of being mission oriented, the figures do not lie, but to forget rural ministry could bring down all that has been accomplished.

One thing that I appreciate about this article is the following:

Both sending churches and new church plants will be expected to contribute to Southern Baptists' Cooperative Program and to minister in a manner consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

I could not agree more with that particular statement, as my wife and I are planting a church in a very difficult area. We are small, but we have many visitors. Each one receives a copy of the Baptist Faith and Message that first day and they are encouraged to read it, ask questions about it, and are welcome to join us only if they can agree with it. I take some heat for this, but in the area in which we live and minister, we can not have any room for debate about what the church stands for. We are sponsored by and SBC church. I love being a pastor in the SBC and look forward to many years of sharing the gospel as such.

Technorati Tags: Kevin Ezell,NAMB,SBC,Missions

Old Dog; New Gadget

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Recently, I had been having some very disturbing problems with my cell phone. So Wendy and I went to the provider and when everything was said and done, we had new Androids. The price was right and we no longer have to worry about a contract. I love it when things work out and we get something that is far better than what we had previously. One of the first things that I did was to get the Kindle app. I must admit that I was happy to be able to take my books with me and I just finished reading my first book on the phone. So now I have a new toy and boy am I enjoying it.

With all that said, let me update you on the mission. First off, last weeks message was not recorded because I forget to pack the recorder when we left for church. We had a returning visitor with us and what a great time we had looking into Isaiah 60:1: Arise! Shine! What a great time of year for the church to do just that. We have also decided that we want to participate in the January Bible Study, as well as the Lottie Moon Offering. We are very excited about what God has in store for us in the coming weeks. Next month is come to church then have some lunch at the café that is located in the same building we are in.

We had a great time with Moira, as she came home for the Thanksgiving break. We had dinner with Wendy’s family on Wednesday then we spent Thursday with the family of one of Moira’s friend here in Nauvoo. It was delightful to spend this time with family and friends . We look forward to having Moira again during Christmas.

As many of you know, Wendy has been having a lot of medical issues, so I want to update everyone on how things are going. Both her CT scan and ultrasound came back normal. She is feeling better, but still has trouble when she eats meat. Her voice is returning and we finally were able to get her knees injected with the Synvisc (joint lubricant). Know we have to wait and see if this will help. On the positive side, Wendy is not having anywhere near as much pain in her knees when she walks down steps. That is a very positive step in the right direction.

Please continue to pray for us as God is moving in ways we never dreamed of.

Bro. Martin

Yesterday

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:20:00 +0000

What a blessed day we had in worship at Garden Baptist Mission. Our attendance was down a little due to illness. Apparently there is a bug going around that is not so pleasant so be in prayer for my wife and Dr. Allen, both are ill. We did have one of our visitors make a return visit. How wonderful it is to see the Word of God touching the lives of people.

Last Wednesday, I lost a dear “father”, friend, and brother when Rev. Bill Riddick went home to be with the Lord. His funeral is this morning. Please be in prayer for the family.

If you have a Kindle or the software to read the books, you may be interested in a book entitled Jesus the Evangelist which is being offered for free at this time.

Until then,

Bro. Martin

Hebrews 11

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 01:42:00 +0000

Here is the link to the message I preached this morning. Continue to pray for the Riddick family as the funeral is tomorrow morning.

A Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 14:12:00 +0000

Last night I received a phone that I have been expecting, but it was still devastating when I heard the news; Rev. Bill Riddick had gone home to glory. It broke my heart as I sat on my couch and thought about what he had done during his ministry on the gulf coast of Mississippi. But the wound must be far deeper and greater for his family. So today will be spent praying for them and every life that was touched by this man of God.

I met Bro. Bill in the mid-seventies. I was a troubled, delinquent kid from an abusive home. I had dropped out of school, runaway and was not much account to anyone by the time we met. Bro. Bill had a vision long before I came into the picture though. He believed that God wanted great things from His people. So as pastor of the Ocean Springs Baptist Church, he started a bus ministry, then a Christian School, a Boy’s Home, and finally was asked to run a Children’s Home in nearby Gulfport. It was around this time that we became involved in each others life. Who knew that all these years later, he would be known to me as a mentor and one of two men there that I saw as father figures.

I was an awkward, gangly youth who had one thing going for me. That one thing? God. I can not explain it any other way. My life was a huge mess, my family was and even bigger mess and the only solution that the court saw was to send me to Faith Children’s Home. (Bro. Riddick told me years later, “I didn’t think you would make it.”) Many people remember me as a quiet young man, but I was anything but quiet. I observed, but so did Bro. Bill. The first time we sat and talked was about a week after I got there and he said, “Son just do as you are told and you will make it through this.” Following the rules were not an issue, but what got to me was the clear preaching and teaching of the word of God.

I had never been under the teaching of the Word in any of the few churches I attended. But here, I began to grow spiritually, in ways I had never imagined. It was here that I learned how to actually study the Scriptures. It was through this ministry that I finished high school and started taking college courses. But it was here that I learned what God can do when a man surrenders to His leading.

You see, it wasn’t about Rev. Bill Riddick. It was about Christ's life lived through an individual in total surrender. It was about God above all; the Word as our standard; and submitting to Jesus as Lord.

Let’s just say that God used this man to build the character of hundreds of men and women who are now scattered throughout the world. Many in full-time ministry. The greatest thing he ever said to me was three years ago. I had called him, he sounds frail but jubilant in service to the Lord. At the end of our conversation he said, “I am proud of you.”

We have lost our brother, father, mentor, and friend. Heaven has gained a saint with much to lay at the feet of his King.

Bro. Martin

Yesterday and Today

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:24:00 +0000

We had such a blessed day yesterday. The message was from 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5. We took a look at the following points:

Paul’s Removal from Thessalonica (verse 2:17)
Satan’s Restraint to Paul’s Returning (verse2:18)
Paul’s Resistance of Satan’s Plan (verses 2:17 & 3:1-5)
The Lord’s Reward at His Return (verses 2:19, 20)

We also had another visitor join us for the service. God continues to bless us every week and we look forward to what God has in store for the coming week ahead. Please be in prayer with us for our Bible Study on Thursday as we continue to look at the kingdom of God in the Scripture.

Today I read an article about Dr. Ezell meeting with some of the state convention execs. Last week, Wendy and I got the privilege of hearing him speak at the annual pastor’s conference. What a heart this man has for the gospel and those who are lost.

We are continually looking for ways to serve the Lord in our community. Recently, Wendy was talking with some friends who were discouraged about not getting enough Bible study where they attend. We had been doing Bible study on Thursday evenings in our home, but moved the study to Ferris to facilitate the need of the church. What we intend is to start a Tuesday evening study group in our home to facilitate these families. Please pray for us as we are looking to get this going in the very near future.

Bro. Martin

The Return of the Missing Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 05:26:00 +0000

Okay, so I haven’t been blogging much. To be honest, I have been debating about whether or not to continue to do so. After a long break and several conversations on Facebook and e-mails I have determined that I should continue to write my opines and leave them to the viewers in this nether world we call the internet or cloud or whatever new fangled term they are using now.

As you have noticed, the majority of my post have been book reviews, these reviews will continue, but not as frequently as before. I want to take a new direction and try something different. So starting next week look for weekly post relating too… Well, you will see.

My prayer is to do something positive and instructive with this blog, so lets see how that goes, okay?

Bro. Martin

Finding a purpose

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:18:00 +0000

Ever since I started blogging, I have struggled with the concept of purpose. Does this blog have a purpose and if so, what is it? Of late, it has been book reviews, but I believe that it needs to be more than that. Unlike many others, I don’t want to rehash SBC politics, or do investigative expose’ s of personalities within Christianity. Living in Nauvoo, IL gives me a certain prospective on Mormon faith and practice, but there are more than enough apologetic ministries out there that are directed by people who have left the LDS church, that do a far better job than I could ever think of.

So, I have had to ask myself some basic questions.

Do I really want to continue blogging?

If so:

What am I interested in?
Who am I interested in?
Will either of these make for interesting reading?

As my readership has increased, due to many factors, these questions have become more important to me. I want to be able to convey something of substance that could possibly help people to grow in the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3).

Over the next couple of days, I will be continuing to pray about the future of this blog and I will be making a decision on Reformation Day. Please pray with me about this.

Bro. Martin

The Best Kept Secret–A Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:14:00 +0000

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission by John Dickson. This review was made possible because I was entered in a drawing for the book. I was surprised and greatly appreciated the opportunity to receive this book, especially since it is an autographed copy.

Let me start out by saying that it is an easy read at 218 pages, with a font that is very comfortable to read with or without my glasses on. That has become very important to me over the coarse of the last year. Dispersed throughout the text are call-out boxes that give further background, illustration, definitions, or what have you, that give the content an extra lift. Each chapter (with one exception) is short and nicely divided into small sections by subtitles. The flow is wonderful and makes for enjoyable reading. The book itself is a page-turner and I have had trouble putting it down.

The chapter titles are short with an explanatory subtitle; i.e.

The One and the Many: Why Get Involved in Mission?
The Many and the One: The Challenge of Pluralism.
Following the “Friend of Sinners”: The Missionary Mind of the Ordinary Christian.

There is so much that I could say about this book, but I have chosen to limit myself to comment on three chapters in particular.

Let me start with chapter two, The Many and the One: The Challenge of Pluralism. I find that the author does a tremendous job of explaining pluralism in an easy to understand way. Sometimes we get so caught up in definitions that we lose many people along the way. On the other hand, Mr. Dickson does not. He gives a clear, concise, two-part definition of this issue, having divided it into popular and sophisticated pluralism.

In The Hidden Mission: Promoting the Gospel with our Prayer (which is chapter four) you will find sections such as; Compassion and Prayer (Matthew 9:35-10:5), Prayer and Mission Throughout the Bible, Pleading with God, Intercession for Others, Lifting the Gospel Above Our Circumstances, and The Hidden Mission. This chapter alone is worthy of your time to read and re-read.

Finally, I want to spend time speaking to chapter eight, What Is the Gospel? The Message We Promote. It is a rare thing to have someone give a clear focus on exactly what the gospel is. Mr. Dickson does not lets us down, as this is the longest of all the chapters. In this chapter, he takes us to various passages of Scripture in order to give a precise presentation of the Gospel message. Studying this chapter will pay huge dividends as you go forth and present the message of salvation. For those who teach and preach, I would recommend looking carefully at how Mr. Dickson uses the expository method in his writing. There is much fruit to be harvested from the example he has set forth here. If for no other reason, all who preach or teach the Word should learn exposition as the author has. What a delight!

This is a fantastic look at what it means to be on mission, to do mission, to live out our mission. Get the book. Read the book. Study it with your Bible in hand, looking up each passage. Pray as you learn what mission is. You will not find a better book on the subject outside of the Scriptures.

Yours,

Martin

AND–A Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:48:00 +0000

Last month I did a review of Exponential; today I get the opportunity to review another book in the Exponential series that is being published by Zondervan. And: The Gathered and Scattered Church by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay is a continuation of this series and is a welcome addition to what was started in the first book I reviewed.

I was enthralled with the idea of being able to review this second book in this series and it did not disappoint me in the least. Although the context is in a large city, there are several concepts in this book that I can adapt to the rural setting that I am in. I greatly enjoyed many parts of this book, but I will only share a few.

In chapter two, Starting the AND…Wherever You Are, has a great statement. “Context is one of those words that most people understand conceptually but rarely take as seriously as they should in real life.” How true is that? Especially when you are starting a church plant. Contest determines many things within the area in which God has called you to work. Here we are agricultural and very conservative. We are also very closed off to people who are not from the area. Wendy and I had to start by making friends and getting to know the people here. Demographics are great, but flesh and blood encounters are what makes the difference with our folks. This is what this chapter is talking about. it is context.

I was cheering as I read chapter three, Consumerless Church: Every Church’s Dream, Every Church’s Nightmare. What a great thought. The title alone was worth a standing ovation. But this speaks volumes on how the world has infiltrated the pews and then been sanctioned by the pulpit. Entertainment has taking the place of Exposition and let the church hallow and shallow. Where are the men of God who plunge the depths of the Word? What ever happened to the giants of the faith? Many have traded them in for superstar preachers and vignettes of love, peace and the good life.

Life as if You’re Really Dying, chapter eight, is worth the price of the book.

All I can say is, get this book. Chew on it. Mull it over and over; then let it sit until its fragrant aroma has penetrated your soul. You may not agree with everything in this book, but you will learn something of tremendous value by reading it.

New Testament Insights–Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:11:00 +0000

This month I have the pleasure of being able to review two books and today is the first helping. The book is one of a series that is being done on the New Testament by Charles Swindoll. The series is entitled Swindoll’s New Testament Insights and the volume that I will be looking at is Insights on John.

I was impressed with this volume right from the start. As I thumbed through it I noticed that each passage that is dealt with is clearly marked at the head of the section and that the print used is very easy to read.

The introduction is very helpful for those who wish to get a feel for this gospel and its relationship to the other three. There are also many sections inserted at appropriate times that deal with the application of the processing section studied. I also noticed that there are sections throughout the book that deal with some of the important Greek words of the text. This is done in such a way as to be very accessible to anyone who wishes to read this commentary. Throughout the book there are placed many boxes with background information that enhances the text and brings out important features relating to John’s Gospel.

My favorite pages are the one’s with the heading From My Journal which gives you a personal insight into the author’s experiences, thoughts, and feelings as he studied this gospel.

This is a great resources for pastors, Sunday School teachers, small groups, teens, and the person in the pew. Charles Swindoll has done us a great service by starting to put together this series of books and I look forward to the next time that I get to read a book from this series.

I highly recommend this volume.

Bro. Martin

Our Bible Study

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:42:00 +0000

For the last three years we have been hosting a Bible study in our home. We have just finished going through a series on church history and had a great time getting to know more about the who, what, when, where and how that has brought us to this point in God’s plan and purpose. We used Christian History Made Easy by Timothy Paul Jones as our base text with some additional material that I added. If you are looking for a good, general study of this topic I would recommend that you check into it. No sense in re-inventing the wheel when you can dress one.

Our next study is going to take us through the Bible in search of The Kingdom. I have put a lot of study thought and prayer into this and have decided that we are going to record the audio of this teaching for members of our church and others to listen to when they are unable to attend. I am also considering posting an outline here for those who follow this blog. So if you are interested, stay tuned because we are excited about what we are going to learn in this course of study.

Exponential – A Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:49:00 +0000

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Zondervan; I have the pleasure of reviewing Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement as a part of their blog tour.

Right out of the gate, I would like to say that this book resonated with me. I am a church planter and this book is about that very subject. But it is also about so much more than that. My personal experience is so inline with what is in this book it is exciting to see someone who has put it on paper for others to glean from. The impetus that started it for me was Acts 1:8 and I found it to be so with this book. One person with vision to see past the current situation and follow God’s direction.

Movements can and do start with one. Just one individual can get great things started when they are totally surrendered to the call on God on their life. Then sharing this vision with others, who in turn follow, learn, and share that vision with others until things burst open and overflow to the area where you live. It not only requires leaders, but it involves people who will be apprenticed as well. Each multiply the other until there is a network of people working toward a common goal for the sake of the cross of Christ. This is the current stage that we find ourselves in here.

Tribes of people then work in coordination with the larger vision. Each taking responsibility for their area of concern. Whether it be a few blocks in the city, or a small town in the country, these people know their role and perform the tasks necessary to reproduce. When is the last time we saw something like this? Yet it is being done without fanfare. Reading the personal stories in this book are encouraging.

Communities deals with setting up multi-site projects. This is an area that I am studying and looking at for what God is doing here. This chapter is valuable no matter what design you use.

Movements can and do get started using this scenario. Given the location they are in (urban) I can see this happening quickly. I have seen a mega-church in our area that has used this design with some success in the larger cities, but the rural areas remain unaffected by this. Yet I can see that by networking the churches of smaller areas together for a common purpose can be very affective in reaching the lost.

No matter where you live. How you operate. Or what your current status as a church is, this book has much to offer to someone with a burden, a passion, and a drive to see God do great things in the lives of their neighbors, community, or even their county. Don’t miss this book, it will make you ask if you are doing what God would have you to do for His kingdom. Go to the web sites mentioned. Used the discussion question to study further. Eat this book up for it is good food for thought.

Martin

The depths of Grace and love to the brethren

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:18:00 +0000

Today, I shared something very personal with a brother whom I have only known through the internet. You see, we are having a crisis of great import for us and I shared this with this dear missionary. In return, this dear one has demonstrated the depths of God’s grace to us and is doing something that is above and beyond anything we had asked. I know that this is coming at a great sacrifice to him and his family, yet he wishes to do this out of his love for the Savior and the brethren. It is humbling to think that there are Christians out there who are ready to give it all to Christ. I realize that I am not in a vacuum, yet these people are few and far between. Please visit this brother’s website and give to this ministry. Please pray for them as they go about doing the work of a servant.

If you want to help us, you can e-mail me at nauvoopastor@hotmail.com.

Revisiting a book review comment

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:20:00 +0000

Back in March, I had the opportunity to review a book entitled Your Church is to Small by John Armstrong. In the comments I was asked just how far we should let tradition influence us and our unity with other churches, as Baptist. Today I will make an attempt to answer that question.

First, I must admit that Baptist come in many different flavors, I am Southern Baptist myself. There is just as much division among Baptist as there is among Evangelicals, so this makes an answer difficult, because I can only speak to what I know from personal experience within the SBC framework.

Secondly, as a SBC church member and pastor, I have to confess that I have never attended an SBC church that recited any of the creeds during their services. One of the major points that is made is that we are not a creedal people, but a Bible people. We do have many within the fold that would make the Baptist Faith and Message a creed, but since each church is autonomous, that is not the general rule.

So as you can see from this brief outline, tradition is basically whatever you experience at the particular church(es) you have interacted with. That really doesn’t help me to make any kind of statement about the influence of tradition, since there really are a vast number of “traditions” within the sphere of churches I have had dealings with.

Many have sunrise services on Easter, yet many do not. Some have midnight prayer meetings on New Year’s Eve while others do not. Then you can find some having Christmas Eve services. Candle-light services. Revivals. Camp-meetings. Song services. Etc…. Yet no real tradition that is wide spread and consistent within the scope of my own experience, except for the humor that comes out of our famous pot-luck dinners and the taking up of the offering.

Yet with all of this difference, we are independent churches that come together as a convention for one main purpose. Missions. We learned long ago that by pooling our resources, we could accomplish more together, than we could as individual entities. Now that is a tradition I can get behind. That is a worthy goal to pursue.

As you can see, there is no way that I can answer my own question. I have very little experience with liturgy, creeds, or catechisms. The only solidly consistent thing that I do have is a high view of the Bible and its proclamation to a lost world. I do not feel that I have lost out on anything. I do not believe that I am missing some essential element of church because of my experiences. Although I do find the traditions of others fascinating, I do not long for them in my own services. So using tradition as a call for unity among the different denominations is not going to be of benefit to myself or others like me that have no historic tradition or creed to look back on.

Books, Books, and More Books

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:23:00 +0000

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Ecclesiastes 12:12

I have been on a reading tear lately. The main reason is that we got rid Dish Network and only watch movies now. This has been a real blessing as neither one of us miss the idiot box being on all the time.

So today I want to talk about a couple of books that I just finished reading. Both of them are biographies and it has been a great joy to read them once more. Unfortunately, both are out of print and very difficult to find. I am glad that I bought them while I had the means and the opportunity.

First out of the shoot is Bush Aglow: The Life Story of Dwight Lyman Moody by Richard Ellsworth Day. Followed by another book by the same author titled The Shadow of the Broad Brim: The Life Story of Charles Haddon Spurgeon Heir of the Puritans.

What a treat it has been to walk along side of these giants and pick up the bread crumbs that fell along the way. Their love of the Master is unquestionable and the zeal that each had for the Word makes me quake with inadequacy. But just to glean in the fields that they have harvested is a beautiful task. To read their sermons does not surpass the privilege of seeing them at home or in their study as they take to the work of living out the faith. Oh that we would catch the same vision and passion of these men in our daily life.

Both tomes were published by Judson Press and I believe that it is time that they be re-issued for a new generation of believers who need to read the biographies of those who went before us.

With that I am,

Martin

Technorati Tags: D. L. Moody,C. H. Spurgeon,chritian living,biographies

The Gospel & Personal Evangelism – A Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:35:00 +0000

This book is written by Mark Dever who serves as senior pastor of Capital Hill Baptist Church and executive director of IX Marks. I had the pleasure of meeting Mark at the annual meeting of the SBC in 2008, and have read several of his books and articles.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book, because it deals with one of my favorite topics, evangelism. This topic is personal for me because, as a young Christian, I was discouraged from sharing the gospel with people. I was told, “You haven’t been a Christian long enough.” And my favorite was, “You haven’t been trained to share the gospel, so you must wait for the next class to start.” Well needless to say, the next class never started.

In the short, seven chapters of this book, Mark deals with the Why & Why Not; What and What Isn’t, Who; and How of evangelism and its message.

In chapter one he deals with the Why Don’t We, and list five basic excuses used to stop us from sharing the good news. Then he concludes the chapter with, what I think is a funny twist, a twelve step-program to get us started on the road to sharing Christ with the lost.

Chapter two deals with What is the Gospel? This chapter is really a precursor to chapter five which deals with What isn’t Evangelism? These two chapters are great hand-in-hand descriptions of what is passed off as the good news in today’s society. When you look at each topic mentioned it reflects the “meism” of a self-gratifying, self-justifying age that we live in.

Chapter three looks at the Who Should of evangelism. YOU!! ME!! Every breathing Christian of the face of the earth.

Chapter four is the HOW section of the books and Mark provides kin insight into the balance of honesty, urgency, and joy that should be present within us and our message.

Mark deals with the negative and positive responses in chapter six. He does this in a way that is easy to read and worth the time spent reading it.

Finally, we come to chapter seven, which is the reason for the book, in my opinion. The Why We Should. People have various motives for sharing their faith, but is it the right motive. Mark looks at this in a pointed and fair nature.

My conclusion: get the book, read the book, and then read it again.

Technorati Tags: Mark Dever,evangelism,witnessing,IX Marks

Holy Subversion – A Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Martin Pitcher) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:56:00 +0000

Trevin Wax is an individual who I enjoy reading. I have read his blog for some time now and was delighted when I was able to read his book Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals.

Trevin takes on seven age-old idols that mankind has dealt with since the cross. In fact, many have been a problem since Adam’s fall. The seven are: self, success, money, leisure, sex, power, and evangelism. Yet he deals with each one in a way that is easy to read and understand. This book will penetrate any false notions we have regarding each one and the subtlety of there control within our life.

I recommend that anyone who is disciplining people get this book, read it, study it and then teach what you have learned from its pages to those around you. If we apply the the balm that is in its pages, it will change who we are as individuals and as a community of believers.

This book was a classic before the ink dried on the first page.