For the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body....

That phrase comes from Ephesians 4:12 and it is God's plan for how the ministries of the local body of Christ, the church, is to go about her mission of making disciples. The context of that passage outlines how God given leadership to His church has a responsibility to equip and empower the saints of God to carry out the work of the ministry of the church as a whole so the church will be edified or built up, strengthened and grow. When the church leaders and saints all do their part, the kingdom of God is expanded and God is glorified in that. 

I thought in light of that I'd update you on some of the work of the ministry that is taking place at Calvary highlighting a few committees that have been working hard at their responsibilities. The nominating committee has presented to the church the slate of workers for the new church year that begins in September. Also, all of our Sunday School positions are filled which is no small undertaking. Every classroom is full as people gather each Sunday at 9:45 to study God's word in the Bible Study hour. Our R.E.A.C.H. Sunday School teams faithfully follow up on absentees and prospects. Our Sunday school attendance continues to average from 70 to 80% of our morning worship attendance which is incredible and I say to God be the glory! This demonstrates the importance of getting people connected to a small group from the corporate worship crowd and how well ya'll do at including people. I'm so proud of you.

Your trustees are hard at work maintaining our property. We've recently had a number of major things to deal with, our air conditioning, phone system, oversight of getting a bathroom installed in the Narthex, plumbing leaks and roof leaks that have caused some damage to the Happy Followers classroom are all major projects they've had to tackle. This is on top of the ongoing maintenance issues that need to be addressed weekly. Maintaining our property is a huge challenge and I'm thankful for these trustees.

The Personnel Committee has been hard at work as well and has processed approximately 60 resumes for our associate pastor positions. Initially we are looking to fill the position for discipleship and administration. Farther down the road, we would like to see an associate pastor of missional outreach and family ministry. This is a slow and tedious process and they are earnestly seeking God's will for the man that He has chosen for this first position of discipleship and administration. We're much closer than we were when we started and they are actively interviewing potential candidates. Please pray with us that God will make His will known to each member of the committee in the upcoming days as they seek God's man to join our team. When we have someone to present to the church for consideration, that news will be publicized as appropriate.

The ad hoc vision committee I appointed continues to pray for God's direction about our future. We're seeking the Lord's direction for the long term future ministries of Calvary and what we can do here to reach as many people with the Gospel as a neighborhood church and how we can make the greatest impact on our community for Christ. Through prayer, study and research on a number of spiritual and physical needs as our church is in the spiritual business of making disciples that takes physical logistics; we've been asking the Lord to guide us. We’re asking questions such as how we can maximize our existing space, what future space needs to we need to plan for over the next 20-30 years and what will this community look like in 20 to 30 years? How will BRAC and APG impact our church ministry? How can we plant new churches or develop other campuses to reach other areas when we max out our property here? Other immediate questions related to current space needs with a burgeoning children's and youth ministry weighs heavy upon us. One of the things the vision committee has sensed of the Lord's leading is to see what realistic options there are at developing our church property with an updated master plan. The current plan we have in place is over 30 years old so we’ve asked for the wisdom of local experts in their fields, knowledgeable with the town code and what limitations there are with current codes. Some folks from the vision committee and the trustees informally approached the appropriate town leaders with some initial ideas we had to help us with space needs. We learned that those ideas would not be well received. While that was disappointing, it was also helpful and gave us direction on how to proceed. You learn through these kinds of discussions that this process is a tedious one as we balance stewardship of resources, needs for space but also gaining the approval of our plans with the town and our neighbors. We are confident that as the Lord leads us, He will go before us to make it all work the way He wants. Pray for this team and the trustees as they pray and seek God’s face and the wisdom of others who can help us develop our master plan.

These are just a few examples of the work of the ministry by the saints of God taking place here at Calvary for the edifying of the body of Christ. Space will not permit at this point to recognize all of our ministry teams/committees who are all actively putting together their ministry action proposals for our 2012 budget process that is well under way. I know some might be discouraged we’re not currently meeting our budget need this year but we’re always careful stewards of God’s resources and the church is sound financially as God’s people are faithful with their tithes and offerings.

We've had a great time in the Word of God with my summer preaching series seeking to answer the question of “What is God like?” as we seek to know the God the Bible and not the god of our understanding. Those messages are available on our website on the media tab and it is simple to invite someone to listen to it with an email invitation feature. We just recently added a feature that allows you to download the study guides that have been given out on Sunday mornings also. I trust these have been helpful to you and I’m thankful for all these volunteer committees who do their work so I can continue to labor in the study and preach the word. I plan to conclude this series on the attributes of God on Labor Day weekend with the names of God and how they reveal His character to us. You won’t want to miss it, but if you’re traveling, catch it later on the website. I plan to preach a series this fall through the Book of Revelation to give us an overview of the book and will conclude this series by Christmas. It should be an exciting adventure.

One final thought as I’ve been discussing saints doing the work of the ministry. Last Sunday was the last Sunday Ernie & Marie Moretz would be with us. For 57 years they have been members of Calvary and they are faithful servants. They are moving to North Carolina to minister to their family. They have faithfully modeled servant-hood and the Ephesians 4:12 principle and we will miss them, but we wish them God’s blessings as they go.

What a joy to pastor a church where the saints are doing the work of the ministry and edifying the body of Christ. Updating you from my little corner of the world to yours…

 

Pastor Ralph Green
Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

  www.calvarybelair.com

 
 
 

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

All it takes to grow a great church...

“All it takes to grow a great church is everybody doing what they can do.” That’s something my long time Pastor Dr. Bill Sutton would say quite regularly from the pulpit at First Baptist Church in McAllen Texas. Hearing that simple statement regularly from Brother Bill had a profound impact on me personally and on our church culture there at First Baptist and under his leadership and in the power of the Holy Spirit, became a great church. All Bill did was summarize the realities of the Christian life and the process of making disciples. A huge part of being a maturing disciple of Jesus Christ is to learn how to be a servant. Jesus Himself taught His disciples to be servants and commanded them to “wash one another’s feet” after Jesus took a basin of water and washed their feet. We don’t understand what that means in our modern culture but in the 1^st century, the famous Roman roads were dusty and since the primary mode of transportation was walking.  Since Nike hadn’t produced a tennis shoe, sandals were the foot wear of the day. As people walked, their feet would get filthy with caked on dust and dirt. To make matters worse, they didn’t typically sit upright at table to eat; the custom was to lounge on your side by a low table and obviously your feet would be close to your neighbor’s space – those dirty, nasty feet. It was the custom to provide a basin of water for your guests to wash their feet or better yet, have a servant come and wash and dry the feet of your guests. Except Jesus was the host of the dinner and He strapped a towel around His waist and took a basin to wash His disciples’ feet. That exercise of washing the feet of your guests was so refreshing to them and so kind. It’s about like being on a long airplane ride and the stewardess brings you a hot moist towel to refresh yourself before landing. There were some important lessons learned that night those disciples never forgot; and Jesus made an amazing statement in that context of having washed the disciples’ feet in John 13:17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

Jesus was clearly saying that blessings flow to those who are willing to serve others. Is the work glamorous? No! Is it always fun? No! is it necessary? Absolutely! I share this because this past Sunday night in at our church in conference, we formally appointed over 270 volunteer workers who’ve said they will serve this next church year in some capacity here at Calvary! These folks have said yes to servant-hood, they’ve said they will wash the feet of others and have volunteered to carry out a variety of assignments that range from changing diapers in preschool to keeping records for Sunday School. No job is more important than another – in God’s view, the diaper changer is just as important as the most eloquent Sunday School teacher. I can tell you the child of God who is not involved in some kind of servant ministry is not growing closer to Christ and they certainly are not experiencing the blessings that flow from the throne of God into their lives. There is in many cases a lack of joy, peace and contentment in folks who refuse to serve.  One of the things that makes church life here at Calvary so wonderful is the presence of the Savior shining through the many volunteers who faithfully serve Jesus doing all the things needed for the church to minister effectively. Menial tasks that need to happen that may be nasty to perform, but so beneficial to the church body and the lost world looking on around us. Men laboring in a bathroom on a Sunday morning to mop up a water leak from a bathroom toilet that flooded the bathroom and destroyed the ceiling tiles in the classroom below. A dear woman on her knees pulling weeds out of a flower bed and planting new flowers to beautify the grounds. A mom and her kids cleaning up and organizing a storage closet. A woman preparing supplies for an upcoming promotion we’ll hold in August. A man with weed killer spraying weeds in flower beds, another man cleaning a bathroom with no real supplies between services because it needed attention. A group of adults leading a group of children to a homeless shelter with gifts – teaching them mission work…all these things are just some of what I’ve witnessed around here just recently. Every time I see volunteers working for the King of Kings around here, I can hear the echo of brother Bill in my head from years gone by “All it takes to grow a great church is everybody doing what they can do.”

There’s always more that needs to be done though and some ministries haven’t even been undertaken yet because people haven’t stepped forward and said they will take that on. Sadly, we live in a consumer culture where many people are content to sit on the sidelines and be served. Some may think since they came to church on Sunday and found a spot in a seat that God has gotten the warm fuzzie’s about their presence; yet they wonder why there is a painful void and the nagging feeling that something’s missing. The “missing something” is not serving. Here at Calvary, we’ve identified 4 critical ingredients we all need to be adding to Calvary for our church to be all God intends it to be: Connect, Grow, Serve, Renew. I won’t take time to explain them in detail but we want simply to connect with God and each other in genuine relationships. In those connections with God and each other, we’ll grow in our spiritual walk as we’re intentional about studying God’s word together and caring for one another. As we grow, a natural result of that is serving the Lord. As the disciples hung out with Jesus daily, they learned how to serve others and minister because Jesus mentored them in how to do that. The renew part comes through corporate worship as God’s people gather, our spirit’s are revived and renewed because of the focus on Christ. The process of discipleship is found in those simple ingredients but I’m highlighting serving here today. Let me thank all of you who’ve agreed to serve the Lord here at Calvary this year. Do it heartily as unto the Lord and know that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. If you serve bountifully, you’ll reap bountifully. Maybe you’ve been burdened for a ministry and God is calling you to serve. Step out on faith and watch God do amazing things through your service. Maybe you’d like to be involved but never have before in a particular ministry – ask someone in that ministry if they’ll teach you. I’m sure you’ll find them receptive to that request. Those of you who serve, seek out someone you can teach how to do what you do. I proudly echo my beloved pastor Bill Sutton: “All it takes to grow a great church is everybody doing what they can do.” Praying you’ll find the rich blessings of serving our Lord Jesus, from my little corner of the world to yours….

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  

Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RalphGreen  

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

A big thank you...

VBS…a.k.a. (a.k.a. means “also known as” in police lingo) Vacation Bible School, has become something I look forward to in church life. Each summer the church building is transformed into some kind of adventure. I think my first as a church planting pastor in New Hampshire was “Amazon Outfitters” and with a whole lot of help from our home church, First Baptist of McAllen Texas, we turned the old Littleton Opera house in to a virtual Amazon jungle. The next year was “The great kingdom caper” which had a distinctly British feel and we had a plane full of FBC McAllen volunteers to help us with that one as well. During my tenure here at Calvary, we’ve been on the “Boomerang Express”, the “Saddle Ridge Ranch” and this year the “Big Apple Adventure.” One thing I’ve noticed with each VBS are a number of common denominators regardless of what church I was serving in at that time:

1.       Much pre-planning and organizing in advance. Each January/February dedicated people who love Jesus, VBS and children begin the preparations for the mid-summer adventure. Decorations are planned out, supplies ordered, crafts to be considered, volunteers to be recruited and trained, music lyrics & choreography, Bible study lesson plans, meals to be planned, snacks, games, mission emphasis, what to do with preschoolers, how to pre-register/register children, how to advertise, what the family night  will look like, what the mission project will be, how the contest for the offering will be handled, who’s going to run sound, video, who’s going to help in each grade….you get the idea. I’m sure I’ve missed some important component in listing all this…the point is, there is huge preparation for VBS that starts in the beginning of the year and it takes an army of people to pull it all together. Each year the week before VBS, I look at VBS like I view one of those giant Air Force transport planes across the bay in Delaware at Dover AFB wondering: “How in the world will this thing get off the ground and fly?” But it does! It flies because a lot of people have planned all the logistics needed to make it happen.

2.       How God shows up. With each VBS, I’ve been amazed at the little miracles that God does related to the weather since invariably we’re doing some part of it outside and our critical need for the weather to cooperate and God provides exactly what we need, without fail. How God protects the kids, the leaders, how He provides patience for leaders and preacher types who may not be exceptionally patient people in everyday life. How God blesses people with an attitude of flexibility and good spirits to faithfully show up each night for a solid week after they are exhausted from working all day long at their regular jobs. How God continues to reach children, parents, and yes even leaders and draw them closer to Him as the church endeavors to minister through VBS. God shows up in big and little ways during VBS and He shows me how He’s at work during that VBS week.

3.       How much fun you can actually have as an adult making a fool of yourself with kids. I will not comment further except that I routinely see different sides of people you’ve never seen beforeJ.

4.       How the music gets stuck in your head and heart for months. Music is such a powerful tool to teach kids and adults spiritual truth, and in VBS, it effectively does this in fun way that actually allows me to worship the Lord. I always get choked up and tears come to my eyes when I hear kids singing the ABC song for that week or a new song about serving Jesus. VBS is such a blessing each year.

5.       How fast the week seems to fly by. Maybe I’m just getting old but time flies during the week of VBS. I wake up the Saturday morning afterwards exhausted and in shock at how fast VBS came and went and wondering what in the world happened.

6.       How God draws children to make decisions for Christ – by salvation or to be obedient in believer’s baptism. Historically, I share the gospel with all the age groups during the ABC night when I get to teach the Bible lesson that special night. I don’t give an invitation to the kindergarten or 1^st & 2^nd grades; we just sow seed. We are intentional with 3^rd & 4^th, and 5^th & 6^th grades, and God always allows us to reap a harvest because faith Bible Study teachers and leaders have been sowing seeds with their groups. I marvel at the simplicity of the Gospel that kids not only understand but respond to and how the gospel reaches moms and dads as well. This year we had at least 3 decision for Christ and a couple for baptism.

7.       How I always loose the contest of the week whether I represent the boys or the girls, the pastor seems to be getting dunked, a pie in the face, or a Gatorade bath. I think every pastor should be able to write a book about the VBS contests he’s lost. ( I think my record thus far is 1 win and 8 or 9 losses. My “win” was against my dad who’s a minister also so I didn’t feel bad on that one!) The reality is that God’s Kingdom wins because kids have given generously to support whatever mission cause we supported. This year, our kids gave over $1400.00 to the Harford Homeless shelter and I’m thrilled to tell you that our church is going to match that gift. Over $2800.00 given to minister to folks right here in our community. I don’t care if I lose every contest till Jesus comes if it furthers Kingdom work!

There are other common denominators for sure but one of the biggest is just how thankful I am for every volunteer who tirelessly works to prepare and lead in VBS, who serve on the front lines or in a myriad of ways behind the scenes in preparing cookies or taking out trash, or having a preschooler crying on your shoulder; or just locking up each night; however you helped with VBS, thank you. I can’t list people by name or I’ll be in trouble for sure because I’ll forget someone. God knows who you are and I can tell you if you didn’t work or serve, VBS would have never happened. So a big thanks to our Calvary family for once again serving the Lord through the ministry of VBS. I’m so proud of you and thankful to God for you, from my little corner of the world to yours…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  

Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RalphGreen  

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Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

A word about Bible translations...

Historically, Baptists in general and Southern Baptists in particular have been known as “people of the Book”; meaning that we hold the Bible in high esteem and surrender to its authority over our lives, our faith, and the practice of our faith. The choice we make for the Bible you and I read in English is an important choice. It can be terribly confusing because when you go to the Christian bookstore, multiple choices abound. The impact of what we might call the “Wal-Mart” mindset where there are lots of options has found its way into how bookstores & publishers market books and Bibles. When I was a child, there was basically one choice, the King James version of the Bible. It was and is still a good translation, but it’s biggest drawback is that we don’t speak in old King James English today so it can be difficult to understand and therefore people quite reading it because they didn’t understand it. Thankfully, scholars recognized this and have worked diligently in most cases to give us newer, accurate translations. I spent weeks in seminary classes understanding all the translation philosophies but I won’t test your patience with all the details of that. I thought I would however; share a few highlights that will help you choose a translation that works for you.

First of all, I have a news flash for you; the Bible as originally inspired by God was not authored in English. The Old Testament was primarily written in the Hebrew language. The New Testament authors primarily wrote in the Greek language. You need to make sure that you choose a Bible that is translated directly from the original languages into English that faithfully expresses in English the words and meaning of the original text. The original manuscripts from the Hebrew or Greek that are used for translation basically can be divided into two camps, the Byzantine text and what is known as the Alexandrian text. I won’t go into all the details of what this means, but the most popular English translations all use one or the other of these texts to translate the Scriptures into English. They will typically footnote well any differences between the texts. For example, the King James (KJV), New King James (NKJV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB) all used the Byzantine texts. The New International Version used the Alexandrian texts for translation. Both the Byzantine & Alexandrian texts match about 90% of the time. In the roughly10% of the places where there are differences, those differences don’t change the overall meaning and message of the text. The bottom line is if you currently have an English Bible that is a translation and not a paraphrase, you have an accurate version of the Bible from the original manuscripts.

 

Secondly, readability is something you should consider when choosing an English Bible. I personally like the New King James and use this version when I’m preaching. Since I grew up memorizing the KJV, the NKJV has the same “feel” to it without all the “thee’s” and “thou’s” of King James English. It reads on about a 10^th grade level and my preaching Bible is sized and formatted in a way that helps me communicate God’s word effectively. However, in my personal devotions, I’ve used a NASB, NIV, Holman Christian Standard but most currently I’m using the ESV or the English Standard Version. The ESV uses simple plain English and reads on about an 8^th grade level and I enjoy the simple, clear reading of Scripture I find with it in my personal devotions. With the simplicity of the ESV, I’ve found I don’t need the aid of commentaries to explain what I’m reading and it allows God’s Word to speak on its own without someone’s opinion telling me what it means and this is a wonderful blessing.

As a Pastor, I have a duty to the Lord to warn fellow believers of dangers that can lead them astray. One of these dangers I’ve learned is in the new 2011 version of the New International Version of the Bible. I hesitate to justify calling it a Bible because I am of the conviction this should not be held on equal footing with other faithful translations. First a little background is in order. Several years ago, Zondervan publishing published the TNIV or Today’s New International Version. This translation made headlines because it was dubbed as the “gender-neutral” version. Bowing to political correctness, this translation did away with much gender language such as “he”, “him” or “she” and  “her” using terms like “they” or “them.” The obvious problem is this changes entire meanings of the text. Since all Scripture is inspired by God according to 2^nd Tim.3:16; we must accept that God inspired the authors of Scripture to use the gender language we’ve been given. There was much conservative outcry against this version and rightly so because it undermined what God intended to be said.

This brings me to the 2011 NIV. This version retains about 75 % of the language used in the TNIV. It’s a repackaged rerun of the same thing that once again should be rejected by conservative Christians. I’m pleased to say the problems with the 2011 NIV were brought to the attention of the Southern Baptist Convention last month in Phoenix Arizona. A resolution was adopted by a large majority of convention messengers expressing our disapproval of this translation. Part of that resolution reads as follows:

“WHEREAS, Seventy-five percent of the inaccurate gender language found in the TNIV is retained in the 2011 NIV; and
WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention has passed a similar resolution concerning the TNIV in 2002; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, June 14-15, 2011 express profound disappointment with Biblica and Zondervan Publishing House for this inaccurate translation of God’s inspired Scripture; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage pastors to make their congregations aware of the translation errors found in the 2011 NIV; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we respectfully request that LifeWay not make this inaccurate translation available for sale in their bookstores; and be it finally
RESOLVED, That we cannot commend the 2011 NIV to Southern Baptists or the larger Christian community.”

(You may read the full resolution by clicking here) http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=1218  

If you have an older copy of an NIV Bible, don’t go out and throw it away as it is still a good translation. I have a small NIV New Testament I keep in my truck for soul winning or hospital visits. I just want to caution you if you plan to purchase a new Bible that you research what you are buying before you plunk down your hard earned cash so that you don’t buy trash. In the front of most Bibles, they will explain their translation process for you so you can make a wise decision. I’d be happy to help you further if you have questions.

By the way, if you have a study Bible, let me remind you the study notes are someone’s insights and they are not inspired Scripture. Regardless of what version you prefer, let me encourage you to read it, study it, meditate upon it and apply it to your life daily. After all, it cannot be hidden in your heart so that you might not sin against God by osmosis. Encouraging you to be vigilant from my little corner of the world to yours…

 
Pastor Ralph Green
Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

  www.calvarybelair.com  

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

A real life catastrophe...

So the other day I’m riding up the road on an interstate, not quite in the boonies but you could see them from where I was. I’m driving along at highway speed and up in front of me, I saw the tell tale brake lights of about 15 vehicles in front of me suddenly coming on as cars, a tractor trailer, a school bus and other vehicles are slamming on brakes for some problem in the roadway I was not yet able to see. When I saw the tractor trailer begin to fish tale slightly next to the school bus, I thought “Oh this is not going to end well!” Fortunately the trucker did an amazing job of straightening out the truck, the school bus driver stayed in her lane and miraculously none of the other drivers over reacted and there was not a 15 car pileup.   The blue smoke from tires quickly dissipated and traffic keep flowing with some cars still veering left or right. I figured this meant there was some kind of debris in the roadway that was making people swerve. As I got to the spot mere seconds later, I saw the problem. A flock of about 15 terrified ducklings was going back and forth in one lane of traffic, disoriented and tragically confused. They were scurrying one way only to have a car zoom by and they’d reverse direction unexpectedly. Their choice of timing happened to be when all those cars were passing through an otherwise clear stretch of highway. It was terrorizing the ducklings and also the motorists who suddenly were risking life and limb to spare the lives of these ducklings; attempting to make several thousand pound vehicles do things only professional stunt drivers would attempt. Keep in mind this is all happening on a highway with a posted 65 mile an hour speed limit. As I avoided the ducklings with my vehicle, a quick glance at the roadway sadly showed there were a number of ducklings and or parents who were not so fortunate as the roadway was littered with feathers and bodies. I glanced in my rear view mirror in time to see an SUV swerve and miraculously drive over the flock – straddling them with his tires and I don’t know how but he missed them, I think only by the grace of God! 

As the intensity of the near catastrophe I had just witnessed and been a part of with those other drivers began to subside; I finally exhaled and a flood of emotions and thoughts began to flow. The drama was so intense I blurted out some of my thoughts even though I was the only human in the car! Since I had a long drive ahead of me, I thought about that scene from a spiritual point of view. One of my thoughts was the irony of priorities. Here were ordinary humans, swerving all over the road or trying to stop on a dime; making a split-second decision and risking a major accident that could have very well meant major injury and possibly even death for them or others in order to save the lives of some ducks. Now before you think I’m heartless and don’t care about the poor animals, while I’m no Dr. Doolittle, I avoided the ducks because I saw the warnings of the conditions and was able to do so safely. If however I’d have been a few seconds faster and was forced to choose between my safety and the well being of those poor ducks, I’m sure the ducks would have lost. I was taught that people are more valuable than animals and certainly possessions. God’s word makes it clear this is the proper way to prioritize as mankind was the crowing act of God’s creative work. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care for animals, but we should not place animals above people in terms of importance. Our society doesn’t have these same priorities and there are numerous examples where people suffer so animals might prosper.

As I was driving after this intense near miss, I thought about the actions of those well meaning drivers and I looked at that little group of lost ducklings, without father or mother to guide them, running scared to and fro, terrorized and traumatized  and I thought of the compassion of our Lord Jesus who looked upon the multitudes with a gut wrenching view of the multitudes because they were weary (some translations say harassed), and scattered,  like sheep having no shepherd (Matt. 9:36). My next thought was that many Christian people arguably might care more for a flock of ducklings than for people who are doomed to an eternity in Hell. Many Christians would risk life and limb for those 15 ducks faster than for 15 lost neighbors on their street. Convicting isn’t it? At least it is to me. Yet I’m proud to tell you that many Christ following disciples here at Calvary are moved with compassion for those lost sheep who have no shepherd and they demonstrate this by their faithful service to Jesus.

This past week, 46 of our people left the comforts of home on two different mission trip opportunities, one group of 9 adults to Waterville Maine to work with Living Water Community Church in a place that is 98% un-churched. The other team of 31 youth and 6 chaperones went to serve in Philadelphia as part of a large mission opportunity involving a number of churches working in the inner city. I am so proud of Calvary as the bride of Christ because you consistently demonstrate your commitments to give, to serve and to go to minister and reach people who are more lost than those poor ducks. The urgency of the task for those who are in danger of perishing without Christ demands we risk everything to save them as that is exactly what Christ did for me and for you so that we could avoid a real life catastrophe. In our neighborhood, in our city, county, state, nation and even to the uttermost parts of the earth; people need the Lord. At our annual meeting of Southern Baptist Churches, we were challenged that every church needs to embrace one of the 3800 yet unreached people groups with no access to the gospel in order to win them to Christ. I accepted that challenge and believe God would have us do that here at Calvary. What will it take to move us? The image of those little ducks on the brink of disaster, scurrying back and forth is etched in my mind; but oh the joy of seeing them saved and rescued is thrilling. How the Lord delights when we do His will in reaching out to win those He died to save. How He delights in a church who engages in helping people avoid an eternal, real life catastrophe called Hell! By the grace of God, we’ll see God do the impossible in saving those people if we’ll be faithful to take all measures necessary to rescue the perishing and care for the dying. Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save… from my little corner of the world to yours and theirs…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  

Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RalphGreen  

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

A willingness to get involved...

I’ve often wondered why God has wired me the way He has and believe it or not, I’m actually kind of a shy person.  I take after my mom more on that naturally than my outgoing father who’s never met a stranger. Some of my actions comes from my training and background in law enforcement, but I believe God draws me to intervene and get involved in stuff that quite frankly the average person would think is none of my business. You see police officers, firefighters, emergency service workers like EMT’s, doctors and nurses are trained to get involved and respond when everyone else is just standing around. While that “get involved” mindset was enhanced with my police training, God has wanted that from me long before McAllen PD got their hands on me. As a college freshman, I was driving home from Liberty on the weekend and saw black smoke off in the distance. The cloud got larger and more intense as I kept driving and I’ll never forget rounding the curve and seeing a small truck next to a house that was engulfed in flames. The engine was on fire and the front tires had already begun to burn. I slung gravel as I sped up the driveway and ran to bang on the door to get someone’s attention. A man met me and I hollered his truck was on fire. He shared a few expletives at my news but I didn’t stand there waiting. I ran looking for a hose and only found two 5 gallon buckets and I became a one man bucket brigade. I’m not sure how, but I single handedly put out that fire with those two buckets while the man, his friend and his family stood watching. They never got involved to help even though it was their home that was in great jeopardy if that truck were to explode. Their fear paralyzed them from action and all they did the whole time was holler at me “you gonna get yourself blowed up boy…” I was thinking, “not if you’d get your rear in gear and help me!”

I share that story because in the last several days and weeks, God has given me the opportunity to get involved in people’s lives. A couple headed for divorce court, a young man at the end of his rope with no hope, a family experiencing the tragic death of a son, a woman trying to put the pieces of her life back together and looking for encouragement in the Lord. Honestly, fear of what might happen could paralyze this normally shy preacher, but by the grace of God, I got involved and the Lord is working in each of those situations. It had nothing to do with me, but is the grace of God and I’ve been merely a tool, an instrument in my Redeemer’s hands, a conduit of the grace of God. You might say – “good for you preacher, that’s your job” and then in your heart you’re thinking “boy I’m glad I don’t have to do any of that!” I hate to break it to you, but if God has saved you, He’s called you to get involved in people’s lives. The New Testament demonstrates that Jesus got involved in people’s lives, ordinary people going about their business, and Jesus got involved. Then he taught those He invested in to do the same with others. I love the passage in John 4:4 that says “But He (Jesus) needed to go through Samaria.” On the surface, that innocent little statement doesn’t mean much except that Jesus was a Jew and the Samaritans were half-breed Jews and the two groups hated each other more than feuding Hatfield’s & McCoy’s. No Jew went through Samaria even though it was the most direct route from Jerusalem in the south up to Galilee in the north. The Jews would go miles out of their way to avoid going through Samaria but Jesus needed to go there according to the Apostle John. Once you read the whole story, you learn why Jesus needed to go there. It was because He needed to meet a certain woman at the well and introduce Himself as the Messiah, the source of living water. Her life was gloriously transformed because Jesus got involved and went out of His way in order to do it. She in turn got her whole town worked up to come meet this Jesus – she got involved with others too!

The Apostle Peter, got involved in people’s lives. Paul, same thing – the Philippian jailer was about to commit suicide, the very man who beat Paul & Silas unjustly and put their feet in stocks, and Paul intervened by calling out to him before he fell on his sword. That jailer was gloriously saved and baptized that night as well as his entire family. The point is, God wants us to engage people. Two members here at Calvary told me stories  this week of how they were involving themselves in the lives of others. There are many other stories like that yet to be told as we live in a world of hurting people. Each Bible Study class should be investing in a family with our “boxes of love” efforts. We saw some of the fruit of that last week when 5 people were baptized & 3 members of one family were baptized who are a direct result of our church family getting involved in their lives. For those at Calvary who are intentionally getting involved in the lives of others, I want you to know how proud I am of you for being like Christ; taking “church” outside the walls of the building. I know “the people business” can be dirty, nasty work at times because of the sin in peoples’ lives, but when we involve ourselves and invest in others, God uses that to draw people to Him. Keep at it, keep investing and get involved in someone’s life, let God use you to be a conduit of God’s grace to that person who desperately needs for you to come their way. A couple of thousand years ago, Jesus needed to go through Samaria on a particular day, I wonder who God wants you to encounter today, tomorrow or next week? As you are passing through on the journey of life, your primary calling as a Christian is to share the good news and be a conduit of grace to others. As you do that, you honor your Savior who did that exact thing with you. Worship should not be something we do once a week on Sunday. Worship is walking with Jesus daily in obedience & as we go, dispensing grace to others.  I can tell you Satan doesn’t want you to get involved – he’ll be hollering at you the whole time “you gonna get yourself blowed up” – don’t listen to him. Obey your Lord and reach out to the people that God puts in your path and watch God literally perform miracles before your eyes. I’m looking forward to hearing your story of how you got involved in someone’s life for Jesus, how God used you to be a conduit of grace, from my little corner of the world to yours…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

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Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

Summertime observations...

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer even though around here, school isn’t out yet for a couple of weeks. Summer is one of my family’s favorite seasons as the days are longer, vacation is on the horizon, the kids are out of school, trips to the beach, possibly the mountains, the amusement park, or maybe just a run over to “Brooms Blooms” for ice cream or finding a local swimming hole make summertime a lot of fun. Much needed “R&R” for a family vacation is awaited with much anticipation or a long weekend and a chance to get away are always such a blessing. Jesus set an example for us and He withdrew from the rigors of ministry to rest and recharge with his disciples so if the Son of God needed this, we do as well.  One of the observations I’ve made that happens in church life is there is an easy tendency to take a break from church and the things of the Lord during the summer. Most churches see a decline in attendance and offerings during the summer as people travel. Offerings tend to suffer as people either forget their tithe & offering or they choose to spend that money on their leisure (of course I’m sure no one at Calvary would do that)!

I wonder what would happen if God decided one day He was going on vacation for two weeks “because He needed a break” so He cancelled all prayer requests, worship activities and He decided to withhold the usual blessings He provides because He needed “a little extra cash” for His vacation? Of course that is preposterous because one of God’s primary attributes is that He is always faithful, He does not grow tired or weary, He does not sleep or slumber. If God were to take a vacation for just one day, let alone two weeks, the end result would be disastrous.

My point is that while families and individuals who make up the church are able to take a vacation, pursue leisure and enjoy a little R&R, the church does not go on vacation and continues with ministry and the expenses that go with that. Human nature is such that it is easy to forget that the church opens her doors week in and week out and all through June, July and August. As we are coming off Memorial Day weekend, let me encourage you to be faithful to support your church. My desire for you is to enjoy your summer and your vacation; that you’ll be able to rest, recharge, renew and come back refreshed. When you’re away, don’t take a break from the Lord, draw closer to Him; find a place to go to worship and honor the Lord on the Lord’s Day if at all possible. When you’re in town, be faithful in your attendance and stay caught up on your tithes and offerings. Our offerings have started to decline a bit for several weeks and I realize we’re still gripped by tough economic times, but God is always faithful to provide when we honor Him with our tithes and offerings.

We’re about to finish our study through the Book of Ezekiel on Sunday mornings very soon. The summer message series I have planned at this point will be more topical in nature as the Lord is leading me to preach and teach on the doctrine of God. We’ll be looking at the aspects of His character so we have an accurate picture of God through what He’s revealed to us from the Scriptures and not what we imagine Him to be. If we’re not careful, we tend to get a one or two dimensional view of God and He is so much more than that! I know it will be a wonderful time as we journey through this doctrine together on Sundays and I trust you’ll have a deeper understanding of our Great God on the other side of our journey. After Labor Day, I believe the Lord would have me preach through the book of Revelation to help us understand world events going on around us. My desire is to help us with the big picture of the book of Revelation and I will conclude that by Christmas. I truly believe the Lord’s return is soon even though some so-called “preachers” have recently and very wrongly predicted when this will take place; the fact is, Jesus is coming back and we need to be about His business until He comes.

In light of Memorial Day, I would be remiss if I did not say how thankful I am for all of those who have given their lives for the cause of our freedoms. The blood of patriots and heroes has been shed so we can enjoy the freedoms we have in America, one of the most important is to worship God as we see fit. To the families of those who’ve paid the ultimate price, we are thankful for you and our prayers are with you and your families. On Sunday July 3^rd we’ll honor our military and veterans with an incredible musical tribute from our choir and musicians.  I’m reminded we have an obligation to teach the next generations of the costs and sacrifices necessary to continue to secure our freedoms in this nation that was founded on Biblical truth and principle as “One nation under God.” We should never assume our children understand what this means. The story is told of boy staring at a plaque in the lobby of the church one day. He asked his mom what the plaque meant and she responded that it was in honor of the men and women who had died in the service. His surprised response: “Did they die in the 8:30 or the 11:00 o’clock service?” Let’s ensure we teach them that freedom is never free and comes from sacrifice; but let’s be faithful also to teach them where true freedom comes from, the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us. Our love and devotion to Jesus should be demonstrated to our children all the time, even in summertime. Praying you enjoy your summer, from my little corner of the world to yours…

Ralph Green
Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church
www.calvarybelair.com
Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  
Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RalphGreen  

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph