“The Spirit of the Lord…..he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;….to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” Luke 4:18
Jesus said that He came to bring freedom to those held captive by destructive habits, to give sight to those who are spiritually blind, to lift up those who've been put down, and to announce that the time of God's favor toward us has arrived.
The story is told of a man passing by elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not.
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:16-17) KJV
I read in my devotional the other morning that “Giving up often causes us to miss the best God has to offer”. I agree. A few weeks ago, many of us witnessed the dethroning of the New England Patriot’s football team to the new Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. While there were many amazing stories behind the scenes of the terrific season they experienced, one of the most exciting stories was how the second-string quarterback, Nick Foles, almost quit football just a few months before his historic win and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player performance.
"And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him." (Mark 1:18)
We hear a lot about discipleship these days. Churches have discipleship classes and sponsor conferences on discipleship. Also a number of books have been written on discipleship. Here in our verse is a concise and excellent statement about discipleship. There are three factors that are vital in discipleship. The first factor is Fervency. The text says it was "Straightway." This word means to do something immediately. If you are going to be a good disciple of Jesus Christ you must be diligent not slow.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Ps. 37:5-6
In a recent article written by Thom Rainer, the author of “Simple Church”, he argues that the number one reason why church attendance is declining in America is because members attend with less frequency than they did just a few years ago. He says, “If the frequency of attendance changes, then attendance will respond accordingly. For example, if 200 members attend every week the average attendance is, obviously, 200. But if one-half of those members miss only one out of four weeks, the attendance drops to 175. Did you catch that? No members left the church. Everyone is still relatively active in the church. But attendance declined over 12 percent because half the members changed their attendance behavior slightly.”[i] In other words, our attendance at worship matters greatly.
Revitalization is the action of instilling something with new life and vitality. According to recent research conducted by the Rainer Group, 9 out of 10 (90%) churches in America need revitalization. They are either declining (finances, attendance and morale) or growing more slowly than the communities in which, they are located. In other words, most churches are losing ground in their communities.
But, in the midst of all the bad news about churches, this same study showed that some churches are growing despite the seeming overwhelming revitalization challenges. These growing churches have 6 factors in common.
“A man without a vision is a man without a future. A man without a future will always return to his past.” (P.K. Bernard)
“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law” Proverbs 29:18
Vision is the bridge between the present and the future. Without it we perish or go “unrestrained,” as the New American Standard Bible puts it. Vision gives purpose to pain. Those without vision spend their lives taking the path of least resistance as they try to avoid pain, discomfort and the unfamiliar. I remember one of my mentors saying to me, “Major, the level of sacrifice that a vision requires will determine the size of people who follow.” In other words, one’s ability to “see” one’s future will be measured by his/her willingness to endure the effort, pain and arduous work required to accomplish the feat.
As we prepare to enter a brand-new year of life, Sister Stewart and I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every member of Greater Mt. Sinai Baptist Church for “sharing all good things” with us in your prayers, love, friendship, encouragement, support, Christmas gifts, cards, well wishes and generous love offerings (Galatians 6:6). On Christmas day, we sat at our dining room table, thanking God for how generous, caring and loving you have been to us in 2017. You have modeled the grace and love of God towards each member of our family.
Over the last few days, I have been able to reflect over the past year and I am amazed at how much God has blessed us, as a church, to accomplish.
In 2017, by the grace of God, below are just some of the things we have been able to accomplish as pastor and people:
Baptisms and Baby dedications; Home, nursing home and hospital visits; Home dedications
Pastoral pre-marital counseling/Weddings; Counseling for Bereavements/Funerals
Participation in community outreach and tutoring services
Participation in going back to school rallies; Domestic Violence initiatives
Health awareness initiatives; NA/AA strategic partnerships; Increased security presence
Fellowship with sister churches and United Missionary Baptist Association – Ordination Supervisor
Community basketball league; Ongoing Minister Training; Installation of electronic church signage
Assisted families in need; Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway (more than 50 families); Room in the Inn outreach; Toys for Tots; Soup for our Neighbors; Community & Church cookout
Inclusion of Pastor’s Bible Study Classes; Added Christian Education Courses
Improved internal processes for governing the church
Improved ministry infrastructure and strategic operations through assigning Ministry Administrators to each ministry
Many ministry opportunities during the year for all
Some of our goals for 2018 include:
Expand parking lot; Launch new church website; Christian Education community conference
Launch Evangelism, Mentoring, Greeters and Parking Lot Ministries
Increase stewardship awareness for church attendance and giving to adequately support ministry goals
Recondition exterior of Education Building; Add exterior church and directional signage
Add Minister of Music and Executive Church Secretary; Increase church security measures
Enhance church policy and procedures to ensure operational compliance in every department and ministry
I am most grateful to you for the trust and confidence that you place in me as your pastor. I do not take it lightly or for granted and it is my great privilege to serve you. On behalf of the Stewart family, I wish you God’s peace and abundant blessings in the New Year.
