Partner's in Ministry

Looking through the BGCT website and the areas that it is involved in, I chose Patners in Ministry. This stood out to me, because I am interested in who the BGCT affiliates itself with. I was surprised to find the Baptist Church Loan Corporation on the list. It is nice to know that there is a corporation that is specifically designed to provide financial assistance to Baptist churches.

I also enjoyed reading more about the Texas Baptist Men (TBM) and the Women's Missionary Union of Texas (WMU of Texas). The men's ministry is designed to provide help in the wake of natural disasters such as clean-up after hurricaine Ike and transporting the buckets for Haiti. The WMU of Texas provides a large variety of ministries for missions not only in Texas, but everywhere around the world.

There is a Time for Birth and a Time for Death

I chose to reflect on an article which addresses the question of whether or not it is acceptable for church's to close there doors. The website is http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10781&Itemid=53

The thought of a church "dying" or closing its doors is not something I tend to think about very often. It is not exactly a happy thought to think about a church dying some day, but it is reality. A quote that I found interesting was "Churches are human institutions. Why shouldn't they complete the same cycle? It is not unheard of for a church to die. The article pointed out that the seven churches in the book of Revelation are no longer existent.

As changes come to the community and surrounding areas, the church must adapt and find new ways to serve that ever-changing culture. I believe this article is beneficial because it brings awareness of the fact that churches are not necessarily meant to last forever.

I found the closing sentence to be most encouraging. "Bodies die, but the body of Christ doesn't. It may wane in one place but will rise up in another."

Christians in Crisis

The website that I chose for this blog is www.christiansincrisis.net

Christians in Crisis ministry exists to spread the gospel to the Islamic people and advocate as a voice for Christians who are persecuted for their faith. Their primary mission statement is to bring an awareness to the body of Christ of the persecution of Christians. They do this by speaking at churches worldwide, selling audio, videos, newletters, flyers, etc.

It was interesting to read their mission statement. Since September 11, 2001 my guard seems to come up when I hear anything regarding Muslims. It is not my intention to judge, but it is now a relfex. As I read the following paragraph, my heart was softened for those who have no choice and who have never known any other beleif.

"Islam will not be shaken by attacks on the Quran or on the lifestyle of their Muslim believers, but it will be shaken as Muslims are won to Jesus, recognizing that He is God, that He did die on the cross and that He died for their sins as well as for the sin of all mankind. Let us love all non-believers, but most of all let us pray for their salvation. Let us spend more time in prayer for them than we do criticizing their belief system or lack there of."

Reading this ministries purpose has challenged me to look on muslims with love. I am reminded that the only reason I am not in their situation is because that was not God's will for my life. I am so blessed and this ministy calls on me to use those blessings to there fullest.

'The Church'

It seems like a lot of time we as the body of Christ will first resort in blaming our pastors and church leaders. We tend to lay all of the responsibility to grow the church on their shoulders. On the other hand, it is so easy to fall into the trap of blaming our brothers and sisters in Christ, because problems in the church stem from problems in our hearts. Unless we change our hearts and revive our relationship with God, nothing in the church will change.

At this moment I am failing to manage my time including not taking enough time to sleep. I cannot properly spend time with God and contribute as a member of the body of Christ unless I act on my realization that I need to spend time with God personally.

A Formless Prayer Life

Often times I allow my prayers to lose there form or purpose. I have recently become comfortable enough to just start conversations/prayers with God. This has caused me to become very personal with him, but also focus on myself and not enough on praising him.

I realize that I tend to have spiritual ADD and need to lay my requests before God, but I think it would be good for me to begin my prayers with an expression of Thanksgiving. I feel like I so easily get caught up in my own concerns or problems that I forget to praise the one who has given me life. God has been revealing to me how trully sovereign he is in ways that he has placed people/situations in my life. I need to improve my prayer life with him by praising him for how he has changed my heart to love him and how he is working in my life and in those around me.

Spiritual Gifts

Encouragement through listening.

As a leader to youth and college age girls, there will be an excessive amount of opportunities to use that gift. A primary part of my responsibility will be to listen to the struggles and the joys. Just because it is encouragement does not mean that it is necessary to speak. Many people find encouragement by just having a person who is willing to listen.

In the past month, I been tempted to feel unworthy to encourage others because of struggles I have been going through. So often I feel inadequate to carry their burdens because mine are weighing me down. I realize that this is only Satan trying to rob me of the opportunity to share in the joys and struggles of others. It is because of situations I face through my life that I am able to relate and encourage my brothers and sisters.

Time Efficiency

How interesting that this would be the blog topic. I was just thinking about how I tend to waste or procrastinate with my time.

The number one way I would like to use my time more effectively is in my relationship with others. I tend to get caught up in all of my responsibilities and forget to prioritize those things and accomplish my tasks so that in the end I do not have time to invest in others lives. The first priority is to have one-on-one time, but also to send little notes and really put forth the effort to keep up with their lives and go the extra mile.

I know it might seem to methodical, but I need to set up alarm reminders. Not in the sense to remind myself to talk to specific people, but to remind myself to encourage those I encounter throughout the day or send a simple text message. Also, to plan my days more strategically and think through things I would like to accomplish at the beginning of the day and follow through with those goals.