Author: Jordan Houston

Do We Really Care?

I went with the children’s ministry volunteers to a training event yesterday. Before the sessions started, the speaker gave alarming statistics.

• In the state of Tennessee, there are 4 million people who don’t know Christ. 1 out of 2 people are lost.
• If current trends continue, 9 out of 10 kids born after 9/11 will not know Christ.

As I heard these, I began to think about what we could do as the body of Christ to reach people more effectively.

1. The first thing we must do is take ownership of these people who don’t have eternal life. If they don’t matter to us, then are we right with God?
2. We must do something. There’s no such thing as a passive Christian. We are disciples and they are doers of God’s word.
3. Pray specifically for these people. A prayer isn’t effective if there’s no specific request behind it. Be specific. God doesn’t want us to impress Him with our long and vague prayers. Do it from the heart. Be conversational with Him.

I am millennial. The generation after me is Generation Z. Generation Z will out populate millennials. Do you know what this means?

WE MUST GO OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF THE CHURCH!

Yesterday I made a follow-up call with someone who visited the church. I was alarmed when I was told that the churches they visited never contacted them after asking for their contact information. I am in no way dishonoring other churches out there because we are the body of Christ. However, we need to at least let people know we care! If people matter to you, you will follow-up somehow. Be sure to remember to talk to them too! I shouldn’t have to say that but it bears repeating.

I plead with you to get involved with your local church. Get involved. Get connected. Here are a few ways you can get connected at Chestuee.

1. Connection team: Provide a warm welcome and get their contact information and answer any questions they may have. Follow-up with them the next day and thank them for coming. Discuss involvement and salvation if applicable.
2. Start a small group or be involved in an existing group: The purpose of a small group could be relational, missional, financial stewardship or simply dedicated to prayer. Church will provide curriculum.
3. Bus ministry: Transporting people to and from church. Develop relationships with the families.
4. Student ministry: Serve alongside the youth leader to invest in the youth.
5. Children’s ministry: Serve as a teacher or a teacher’s helper.
6. Nursery: Serve the parents while you take care of their children.
7. Media ministry: Serve as a sound tech assistant, work in social media, video or take pictures of events. Always promote the gospel and engagement through social media.
8. Praise and worship. Be on the team as they lead the congregation into God’s presence.
9. Evangelism: Serve others by giving away free coffee, etc. No strings attached. Show the love of God in a tangible way.
10. Fellowship meals: Serve alongside the food coordinator and others as you prepare meals for events at church and outside of church.
11. Maintenance: Serve by making needed repairs and upkeep of buildings.
12. Van maintenance: Serve by making sure the van is in good condition. You don’t have to work on the van just make us aware of the needed repairs. It’s up to you if you want to take it to the mechanic.
13. Wide Open Ministries (Affiliate Ministry) Serve alongside Nick Herron and the team as they win people for Christ.
14. Global Wrestling Ministries (Affiliate Ministry) Serve alongside Casey Kage as they win people for Christ.

Training will be provided and you have an option to serve in another area if you feel the area you chose is not what God called you to. These are just many of the few things you can do in God’s kingdom!

Each one of these ministries serves the vision God has given us which is to reach the lost and teach the saved. One last key I want to give you is that we must stop talking about going to church and be the church. Let’s be involved and be more than just a church-goer. Please join us to reach more people and fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord. God bless you.

What God Has Saved Us For

One lovely moonlit night a grandfather and his small granddaughter went for a walk. The stars were magnificent. As the grandfather named individual stars and constellations, the granddaughter exclaimed, “Grandpa, if the bottom side of Heaven is this beautiful, just think how wonderful the top side must be.”

Heaven is definitely beyond our comprehension and every person who has yielded to God by faith is going there to be with Him. In the last blog, I wrote about the doctrine of hell and what God has saved us from if we yield to Him by faith. I want to write about what God has saved us for. The first thing He has saved us for is:

1. Purpose – If you are reading this article, then you have purpose. Purpose means the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Thomas Carlyle said, “A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder–a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life, and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you.” God has called you as sure as He has called Jeremiah mentioned in Jeremiah 1:8, “”Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” You are not an accident or a mistake. You have been appointed to be a representative of God. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” His purpose is what lasts. God has created you with a purpose in mind. Don’t compare your life with others. God has a special purpose for you.
2. Potential – Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, is the only athlete to have hit a Major League home run and scored an NFL touchdown in the same week. Sanders grew up on the mean streets of Fort Myers, Fla., where exposure to some would-be athletes spurred him to make a success of himself. He explains: “I call them Idas. ‘If I’da done this, I’d be making three million today…If I’da practiced a little harder, I’d be a superstar.’ They were as fast as me when they were kids, but instead of working for their dreams they chose drugs and a life of street corners. When I was young, I had practice; my friends who didn’t went straight to the streets and never left. That moment after school is the moment we need to grab. We don’t need any more Idas.” The Omni-Potent God who lives in you can help you fulfill your potential. There’s nothing too hard for God. If you understand God is in control of your purpose then you can allow Him to work in you and through you.
3. Power – When J. Wilbur Chapman was in London, he had an opportunity to meet General Booth, who at that time was past eighty years of age. Dr. Chapman listened reverently as the old general spoke of the trials and the conflicts and the victories. Then the American evangelist asked the general if he would disclose his secret for success. “He hesitated a second,” Dr. Chapman said, “and I saw the tears come into his eyes and steal down his cheeks, and then he said, ‘I will tell you the secret. God has had all there was of me. There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater opportunities; but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart, and a vision of what Jesus Christ could do with the poor of London, I made up my mind that God would have all of William Booth there was. And if there is anything of power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.’” Dr. Chapman said he went away from that meeting with General Booth knowing that, “the greatness of a man’s power is the measure of surrender.”

If you will surrender to the fact that God is your Creator, Redeemer and Planner of your life then you will live with purpose and potential that you could never muster on your own.

 

The topic of hell can be uncomfortable to talk about. People have many questions about the reality of hell but I wanted to write about this topic because it’s mentioned in the Bible. First, I want to tell you why I am writing this piece:

1. To warn you of the eternal consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
2. My desire is not to scare you to Jesus. The Bible says we are to believe God by faith. We are never supposed to live out of fear. God doesn’t want us to live in torment. We serve God out of a relationship with Him.
3. It’s a doctrine of the bible. We need to teach it regardless of how uncomfortable it may be.

The Old and New Testaments use 18 different words and figures to describe the doctrine of hell. While I won’t mention all 18 descriptions I will share with you a few Scriptures shedding light on the subject.

The final state of the wicked is described under the figures of eternal fire (Mt. 25:41)
The pit of the abyss (Rev. 9:2,11)
Outer darkness (Mt. 8:12)
Torment (Rev. 14:10-11)
Eternal punishment (Mt. 25:46)
Wrath of God (Rom. 2:5)
Second death (Rev. 21:8)
Eternal destruction from the face of the Lord (2 Thess. 1:9)
Eternal sin (Mark 3:29)

We have no Biblical reason to say hell is just a metaphor or a symbol. This is a literal place.

There are four questions I want to answer on a Biblical basis:

1. Why is there a hell? In Matthew 25:41, Jesus said hell was a place prepared for the devil and his angels. We don’t belong there. If we go, we choose to go there.
2. Who is going there? In John 12:47-48, Jesus said that we would be condemned if we reject him. C.S. Lewis said, “Hell is God’s way of saying, ‘Have it your way.'”
3. How can I be sure of not going there? Jesus promises, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
4. How should we respond to this doctrine?

*We should be thankful because God has provided a way of escape for us all. The reality of hell should drive us to the infinite mercy of God through His Son Jesus Christ. You can never behave your way out of hell. It’s only by the grace of God you are saved and have a desire to live a righteous life.

*We should be deeply saddened by the people around us who don’t know who are on their way to hell. Does our heart break for those people? Do we really care?

*We should have an intense desire to rescue those who are perishing. You run into people everyday who don’t have an understanding of the reality of hell.

Another question to ask is, “Do we live in view of eternity?”

“Charles G. Finney, a young lawyer, was sitting in a village law office in the state of New York. Finney had just come into the old [attorney’s] office. It was very early in the day, and he was all alone when the Lord began to deal with him.

“ ‘Finney, what are you going to do when you finish your course?’

“ ‘Put out a shingle and practice law.’

“ ‘Then what?’

“ ‘Get rich.’

“ ‘Then what?’

“ ‘Retire.’

“ ‘Then what?’

“ ‘Die.’

“ ‘Then what?’

“And the words came tremblingly, ‘The judgment.’

“He ran for the woods a half mile away. All day he prayed, and vowed that he would never leave until he had made his peace with God.

“Finney came out of the woods that evening, after a long struggle, with the high purpose of living [for] the glory of God” (Knight, Master Book, 351).

My question to you is “Then what?” What will you do with this doctrine of hell?

“Unless we come to grips with the terrible doctrine of hell, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, … When He cried out that God had forsaken him, He was experiencing hell itself.…

“When Jesus was cut off from God, He went into the deepest pit and most powerful furnace, beyond all imagining. And He did it voluntarily, for us” (Larson, Contemporary Stories, 56).

Lastly, I want to show you what the Bible does not teach:

1. Annihilationism: This view eliminates the truth of eternal punishment. If heaven is forever then hell is forever.
2. Probationism: This view teaches you have a second chance after you die. Now is the day of salvation.
3. Universalism: This view teaches everyone will eventually be saved, but the problem is that not everyone wants to be saved. We have free will.

Even if you didn’t believe in eternal punishment, it’s still absence from the presence of God. That thought ought to place a reverential fear in our hearts toward God.

According to 2 Peter 3:9, God doesn’t want you to perish. All you need to do is believe in Him. God knows you aren’t perfect. God knows you better than you know yourself. Be honest with Him. He won’t turn you away.

In this blog, I want to share with you our vision, mission, values and specific goals for the next few years. It’s my desire that we will unite together under this vision and accomplish what God has called us to do. Before I share our goals with you I want to give you a report of what God has done this year.

1. Four people have been healed by Jesus this year!
2. One person gave their life to Jesus!

We are looking to baptize many more and we are excited about seeing more people join the body of Christ! Now I would like to share with you our overall vision.

Why we exist: “To reach the lost and teach the saved.”
Our desire: “To see our community and beyond transformed by Jesus Christ.”
How we will do it: “Since change starts with us, we have adopted seven core values to accomplish the mission and vision God has given us.”

1. I will worship
2. I will mature
3. I will serve
4. I will give
5. I will seek unity
6. I will pray
7. I will sacrifice

By living true to these values, we will see the gospel of grace spread like wildfire.

Another goal we have is to eliminate our mortgage as soon as we can in order to

*Give More
*Do More
*Reach More

1. We want to allocate what we pay in debt directly to ministry and mission.
2. We don’t want to be about mortgage and maintenance, but about ministry and missions.
3. We don’t want years of lost ministry opportunities sacrificed on the altar of debt.

By removing the debt, we will invest in:

1. Children’s ministry. The children are the church of today. What we do for them today will matter tomorrow. We want to be better equipped to meet the spiritual and felt needs of the children’s ministry such as curriculum, food, possibly another facility and funding special trips.

2. Youth ministry. The bible says that in the last days God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh. I believe in this generation and I believe that when we give to this generation we will see a move of God like we have never seen before. We would like to be better equipped to meet their needs. If a child can’t afford to go to youth camp we will provide funds in order for them to do so. When it pertains to their walk with God we are interested in helping them.

3. Benevolence Fund: We have a desire to meet the needs of families who may be struggling. As a compassion ministry, we want to show the love of Jesus to the poor and needy.

4. Add on to the community building: Every time we have a function we overflow the building. We want to build on so we can comfortably fit every one in the building.

5. Missions and Evangelism: Missions is the heart of God. As we support local missions from the church, we also desire to support other missionaries and Christian organizations. Since God’s heart is to the Jew first, we want to support Jewish missions.

I ask you from the bottom of my heart to partner with others to implement these core values in our lives. By doing so, we will reap a harvest of souls into the kingdom of God.