Grace or Grit

Have you ever heard of church hoppers?  Have you ever BEEN a church hopper?  Is this phenomenon OK?  Is it a God thing or is it one of the devil's tools?

And, what about the pastor's role in such activity?  Especially church planters?  Many church planters are perhaps more focused on church growth than any other kind of minister in any other branch of ministry, and rightfully so.  But, does the church planter build with disgruntled saints from other churches, or with baby believers freshly rescued from slime-pits of sin.  Or... can he benefit from both; from both kinds of growth.  Maybe not disgruntled saints, but seed families who are seasoned servants of the Lord leaving one church to bless another - can't that be part of the strategy?  And can established churches send their own members out with a blessing, not just as missionaries, but at participating members?

On this episode Dave and Patrick are joined by a church planter from over in Seaford, Deleware.  Pastor Gil Vargas is the pastor-teacher of Hope Bible Church.  It is a young church plant that is growing rapidly.  Listen as the 3 preachers discuss the challenges and blessings of church planting.

How in the world does a man go from a God-denying atheist to a devoted missionary, passionate about taking the good news of the saving grace of Jesus Christ to the Wolof people of The Gambia in Africa?

Well, his wife's prayer certainly played a part.  And the preaching of the Word was helpful.  But ultimately it is nothing more nor less that the providential purposes and plans of the Almighty that produce such transformations.  God is patient.  But He is also persistent. 

In this episode Dave mostly listens as Patrick shares the story of his journey from being a young atheist to where he is now, a evangel of the Christ!

It is fairly common for outgoing US presidents (on their way out of office) to pardon a few people.  For better or for worse, it is one of many of the checks and balances that was placed (by statesmen who lived before us) into our form of government.  Perhaps we can complain that far to many unworthy criminals receive pardons, but perhaps we should also look in the mirror.  Have you been pardoned?  Were you worthy of it?

My (Dave writing here) favorite verse in the Bible is Isaiah 55:7.  I memorized it when I was in 4th grade.  I was not yet a believer.  It goes like this: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."  Abundantly pardon!?  This implies clearly that God has plenty of "pardons" to go around, and then some.  He has pardons to spare.  What a generous God we serve!

This episode is made up of Dave and Patrick (mostly Dave) talking about God's grace on his (Dave's) life.  From salvation, to spiritual growth, to service in ministry - God's grace has been the key.  And at the forefront of God's grace on Dave's life, is His gracious pardon.  To God be the glory!  He is doing great things!

Church polity can be a sticky and difficult issue; especially if you are called on to try to change it.  Who is responsible for the decision making in ministry?  Is it the pastor? The deacons? The congregation? The trustees? A board of directors? The most influential family? The riches members? The oldest members? The loudest members? The most cantankerous members?  The busiest members? 

There are actually many different models that have been tried.  Most models are grossly flawed and even the best models have certain weaknesses.  So what should we do?  The 3 approaches that seem to be dominant among Baptist churches are as follows: # 1. deacon board run churches, # 2. pastor run churches, & more recently # 3. various attempts at a plurality of elders.

On this episode Patrick and Dave are joined by David's little brother, Stephen, for a discussion on how churches should be governed.  Take you time and listen carefully.  And, give us your feedback as well!

Do you struggle to balance the priorities of life?  Perhaps you do struggle.  Do you love God?  Do you love your family?  Do you love your job?  Do you love your church?  You probably love in those directions and in a whole bunch of other directions too.  But sometimes a person can show so much favor in 1 or 2 of these directions that they end up neglecting and even destroying in other directions. On this episode Patrick and Dave are joined by a Christian nobleman, Charles White.  Bro. Charles is the patriarch in a family tree that has grown fruit in the congregation in Hurlock.  One of his sons serves on the deacon board at Grace Baptist Church.  Bro. Charles is a godly man, a family man, and a businessman.   This conversation is an attempt to unpack the story of how Bro. Charles has experienced God's blessings on his life and family, and to see what lessons we all can glean concerning how to better moderate the daily pressures of the domestic and commercial demands of life. 

His life may never be the same.  He contracted the coronavirus back in August and still has not completely recovered.  But what was his experience like and how is his life different now than it was before?

This is the most interesting episode yet.  Listen as David and Patrick talk with Evangelist Philip Schipper about his personal journey through the pandemic.  

Phil is a member of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Plainwell, MI.  If you want to connect with him directly, go to evangelistphilipschipper.com.