Struggles Of Blacks & The Church In Early America

Consider if you will the history of the Christian church in the early stages of the development of the New World, specifically the settlement of Virginia. It was the 1700’s. England colonized this portion of America, importing its religion of which the Church of England was preeminent.  The legal structure for the official Church of England was set up in 1660, with parishes being set up and one doctrinal standard established as set by the bishops of England. If you were not properly ordained and commissioned by the Church of England you could very well lose your livelihood. Here’s how the Virginian officials put it: “If any other person pretending himself a minister shall, contrary to this Act, presume to teach or preach publicly or privately, the Governor & Council are hereby desired and impowered (sic) to suspend & silence the person so offending.”[1] Talk about keeping it together!

Cultural Intelligence Applied To Mission

The Great Commission mandate provides a clear directive to believers: “Go,  Make Disciples, Baptize them, and Teach them *Mat. 28:19-20). This seems like a simple enough task until one recognizes the universal reach of the command: “of all nations”. This gospel is to be preached to all nations (Mat. 24:14).  This mission to the nations calls for the application of cultural intelligence as communicators of God’s message will need to have “a core understanding of cultures, language patterns and non-verbal behaviors,”[1] unless the preference is to limit their cultural exchanges to a certain demographics. Many of the nations to which the gospel will be preached comprise people “whose tastes, behaviors, and assumptions are not only different but often in conflict with one another.”[2] That said, the message of the gospel may be foreign to many within these foreign nations. This means a clear grasp of intercultural communication that is catered to the audience. We are talking about creating an indigenous experience that is totally biblical, especially since the gospel is a universal message with universal appeal. The same approach can be used for local missions work.

God Be Praised by the Potters House Mass Choir

The Operation of Spiritual Gifts Within God's Church

The Equipping & Building Of The Church (Ephesians 4:12-16)

Unfortunately, in many churches, only the office of the pastor seemingly is in operation. Christ’s intent was that all of his saints who have been graced with a measure of his gift would operate in their gifting (or that which they have been graced with) “in order that everything in the church might be well arranged, or put into its proper place, that Christians may have every possible advantage for becoming complete in love, and knowledge and order.”[1]  The main idea here is that the church becomes mature when Christ’s gifts are functioning within the community of believers. Jesus proclaimed he would build his church (Matthew 16:18), and he saw fit to govern such and organism through these various offices.

“What Did Jesus Say About Homosexuality?”

The debate surrounding marriage is as old as Moses (Deut. 24). Homosexuality as well has had  historic implications since Old Testament times (Gen. 19; Lev. 18:22, 20:13). Michael Brown contributes to the debate with a biblical response to the homosexual agenda in light of the institution of marriage (Gen. 3:18-24; Mat. 19:8; Deut. 24) and the argument of silence that supposedly supports tolerance of homosexual relationships in light of Matthew 19:11-12. If this were the times of the apostle Paul, he would say that any claim that the Bible favors homosexuality is not only false doctrine, but the discipline of homosexual theology is biblically incompatible.

Here We Grow Again! Church Home In Lauderhill Florida.

I savor moments like these, when you know you are living in a dream.  The picture to the left is myself, praying in one of the church offices overlooking the parking lot, facing a multicultural community of Inverrary/Lauderhill. Moments after I penned the last paragraph of my message for Sunday, I moved to the kitchen counter, stood by the sink for a moment, feeling a bit overwhelmed but in a good way. In the stillness of the early morning I declared, “Thank you Jesus!” The dream has become a reality. Once, a dream, now we are living it; and it feels like  a nonstop movement toward an intended purpose. Wow! Who would think we'd be doing this a year ago? Everything starts as a dream; God's providence effects the reality. "And God saw that it was GOOD" (Gen. 1:10).

You Are Not Your Sexuality

Impersonation Of Famous Preachers

Why Baptize?

Perspective on Baptism

The following is a block quote that serves as an excellent apologetic for Believer’s Baptism:

“In the NT, baptism represents at least three and possibly four things. First, it signifies cleansing from sin and is thus “unto repentance.” Obviously the threat of judgment is behind the need for baptism, but the baptism itself is (symbolically) the means of escape from judgment. Those who are baptized acknowledge their guilt and seek to have it washed away. Second, baptism is a ritual dying and rising again, symbolizing the believer's participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. This is the point of Col 2:12. Third, it is a “sincere pledge/request to God” because in baptism one comes to God in genuine faith, seeking forgiveness, and desiring to walk in the light. Fourth, it may represent the effusion of the Holy Spirit upon the believer after the patterns of the descent of the Spirit at Jesus' baptism and the reception of the Spirit by Cornelius' household just prior to their baptism (Acts 10:44–48).”[1]

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[1] Duane A. Garrett, “Meredith Kline on Suzerainty, Circumcision and Baptism,” Believer’s Baptism, Nashville, TN: B&H, 2006).

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Salvation During Old Testament Times

How was salvation obtained in the Old Testament? Was it through circumcision? Was it adherence to laws, rituals and ceremonies? How could they be righteous without the indwelling Holy Spirit? These are profound questions that have been the source of contention for decades. The Bible attests to several instances in which men of God were called righteous: Abraham (Gal. 3:6), Noah (Gen. 6:9), and Job (Job 1:1,8). How is it that folks could be righteous without the work of the Spirit? A study of the Bible reveals that indeed the Spirit of God has been working a plan since the beginning of time. There may not have been a blanket indwelling of the Spirit of God, but there were several accounts of men controlled by God’s influence (cf. Moses, Joseph, Saul, Daniel, Joshua, Abraham). Here's one instance you may find interesting. There was "an apostolic appointment as far back as the days of Moses: 

"Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him" (Deut. 34:9). Was this a foreshadowing of New Testament "laying on of hands" for the gifts of the Spirit?

The point is, God has been working through his Spirit long before incarnation.