Mr. C's Blog

“Today’s church growth is largely numerical, and it is without Biblical or theological foundation.” – Bill Hybels

When I read the above statement by Bill Hybels, pastor of one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., I was blown away by how he described the growth of today’s churches. In essence, Hybels is saying the church is growing big numerically but, in many cases, lacks Biblical power and substance.

I am sure that this statement is not true of all churches, but I believe it does hold true for the overall impact the modern-day church is having on society. I am grateful for FBCIT and its theological foundation and love for God’s Word and people.

However, research tells us most Americans do not believe the church is making a positive contribution to society. In fact, only 36% of adults surveyed believe that the church is making a positive impact on society. These numbers break my heart. I believe with all my heart that the church should matter and should be making a difference.

By church, I mean we who have been saved and make up a local body of believers. As Christ followers, going to church should be a top priority for us. As well, the church we attend (our local body of believers) should be impacting others positively with the Gospel.

The world in which we live is being torn apart by so many divisive issues. This world desperately needs to see the love of God through individual believers who make up the local church. I wonder what might change in our world if the church really began to fulfill the mission that God gave us in our society.

What if we began to fulfill Matthew 28:19 which says: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

 Unfortunately, studies tell us that 97% of all those know Christ as Savior do not share their faith. I pray that we will all begin to share the love of God and His Gospel to this hurting world that is in search of hope.

Also, what would it look like if we began to love others as Christ has commanded us? We have so much hate and division in our world today and I am convinced that the only way to turn this around is for the church to really love the way Christ intended for us to love. The book of 1 John tells us that “love is the proof of our belonging to Christ.”

In fact, John tells us in Chapter 4 that it is impossible to love an invisible God when we cannot manage to love a visible brother. We need to have a love for others that only God can give us.

I especially love 1 John 2:20 that declares: “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.” This verse tells us that loving this way will enable us to live in the light and truly make a difference in this world for the cause of Christ.

I pray that we would allow the truth of these verses to penetrate our hearts and stir us to fulfill the commission that God gave us to share our faith and to love others as Christ would. I am convinced that if we could begin to do these things, the church will matter as never before!

Unfortunately, studies tell us that 97% of all those know Christ as Savior do not share their faith. I pray that we will all begin to share the love of God and His Gospel to this hurting world that is in search of hope.

Also, what would it look like if we began to love others as Christ has commanded us? We have so much hate and division in our world today and I am convinced that the only way to turn this around is for the church to really love the way Christ intended for us to love. The book of 1 John tells us that “love is the proof of our belonging to Christ.”

In fact, John tells us in Chapter 4 that it is impossible to love an invisible God when we cannot manage to love a visible brother. We need to have a love for others that only God can give us.

I especially love 1 John 2:20 that declares: “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.” This verse tells us that loving this way will enable us to live in the light and truly make a difference in this world for the cause of Christ.

I pray that we would allow the truth of these verses to penetrate our hearts and stir us to fulfill the commission that God gave us to share our faith and to love others as Christ would. I am convinced that if we could begin to do these things, the church will matter as never before!

Things have changed a lot in my lifetime. When I was growing up, I knew the difference between right and wrong because my parents developed that in me by utilizing a single source of truth. That source of truth for my parents was the Bible. In years past, much of our society operated with the Bible as the source of truth for navigating life’s decisions and moral dilemmas.

However, it is apparent that things have changed. According to researcher George Barna, only about 22% of all people today believe that there is such a thing as absolute truth. The vast majority, according to Barna, believe that truth is relative to the person and situation. In other words, the thinking has shifted from knowing what is right and wrong according to God’s truth to the attitude of “what works” for me or you.

This idea of what works can also be restated as “if it feels good, do it”. This is the essence of existentialism. Existentialism is defined by Webster as: “a philosophical movement, especially of the 20th century, that stresses the individual’s position as a self-determining agent responsible for his or her own choices.”

I am convinced that this prevailing attitude is one of the reasons why we have so many issues that plague our culture today. This lack of a truth standard has caused so many to lose their moral compass and the devastating results are so evident. We need look no further than the high number of failed marriages, excessive crime, and violence, and so many other issues that affect families and children.

As a believer, I know that truth matters. I know that adhering to God’ truth matters. Psalm 119:105 tells us that: “Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” The Bible should be the guidebook for navigating our way through life. His Word is the only source of truth that can provide us hope, peace, and direction in daily living.  One of the greatest responsibilities of being a parent is teaching our children to live by the truth of God’s Word.

Isaiah 55:11 reminds us just how much truth matters when it declares: “So is my word that goes out from my mouth; It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” This verse reminds us that God’s truth will make a difference in our lives. It will produce fruit and it will change hearts.

I have seen this truth over and over in my life and in that of my children. I love how former President Ronald Reagan described the Bible. He said: “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”

My prayer is that we as Christians would live in a way that would demonstrate that truth really matters. Also, I pray that we will begin to dig into God’s Word as never before so that we will be ready to face whatever this world may throw at us and our children.

The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:14 that when we are prepared with truth:“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” Truth really does matter!

“Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.” Hebrews 11:2

In the world today, it has become obvious to me that Christians are not held in high regard by much of our society. Christians are characterized many times as narrow minded and critical people. Unfortunately, that sometimes is true as I am afraid, we do not always show the love of Christ even when speaking truth. 

What concerns me more these days, is that so many Christians do not live with a distinctive and attractive life of faith. As Christians, the world needs to see that we have an exciting, life-transforming relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If we would live that way, I am convinced that the world would be so attracted and interested in the life that Jesus promised. 

Our faith matters! I love the truth of Hebrews 11:2 above as it reminds us that through faith, we earn a good reputation. In essence, our faith could truly make a difference in the lives of others if it is firmly rooted and grounded in a deep and loving relationship with God. 

Think about that idea for just a minute. Who do we really want to impact throughout our lifetime? For me, I want to impact my children spiritually more than anything else. To do so, my faith must matter, and I must model for them a growing, dynamic relationship with God. Let me share with you three principles that will help us to ensure that our faith really matters. 

1) We must think Biblically - Everything we do must be Biblically based and spiritually focused. In other words, we need to live with a Biblical Worldview, which means, making life decisions through the lens of God’s Word. 

2) We must live an authentic Christian lifestyle - God’s Word must be our guide and in doing so we would recognize the need to love and serve others before ourselves. Ray Steadman once said: “If the church was doing what it is supposed to be doing, people couldn’t stay out.” Distinctive Christian living will make a difference. 

3) We must protect ourselves from falling away - E.E. Cummings said: “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you everybody but yourself means to fight the hardest battle which any human can fight and never stop fighting.” We must continually ask God to give us wisdom so that we can follow the words of the Apostle Paul and not be “conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.”

I pray that each of us will recognize the truth of Hebrews 11:2 and allow God to build a faith that really matters in our lives!

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” C.S. Lewis

Failure.  An experience that C.S. Lewis reminds us is filled with great opportunity to grow as a result of what we have learned from it.  Most adults can remember moments where they have fallen short with a genuine sense of appreciation for them.  However, as parents the thought of failure can feel a little more intimidating when we think about our children.  Even though it is easy to say they should learn from mistakes, it tends to be more difficult to do as we watch them face those situations.  

This takes effort as the culture seems to push students to achieve more, acquire more, and stand out more among their peers.  The pressure can easily cause our protective hearts as parents to change from an encouraging nature to an enabling one.  When a test does not go well, when friendships change, when a team is not made, when mistakes happen - it is hard to watch the tears stream down their faces causing us to try and fix it all for them.

However, the beauty in those tears is the truth of God’s Word that tells us we, including our children, are going to face trials and God allows them for a purpose.  James 1:1-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

As parents, a powerful way to love our children is to pray for them and remind them God continues to work in their mistakes, their disappointments, and their struggles.  Through difficult moments, faith grows, character develops, and joy can be found knowing what the world sees as failure, God can use for their good.  

As a mom, this is where the wisdom and hope we have in God’s word brings me the reassurance I need as I remind my children to see the goodness of the Lord in the joys and trials of life.  Our children are paying attention to how we respond to their failures and our own and we have a decision to make.  Are we are going to walk down the wider path of the world that is filled with blame and excuses or are we are going to rest in God’s sufficient grace?  When we teach our children to seek the Lord and His goodness in all things, we provide a lasting solution built on a foundation rooted in God’s Word.

Lisa LiVigni
Assistant Head of School, Early Learning and Lower School

“The family should be a closely knit group. The home should be a self-contained shelter of security; a kind of school where life’s basic lessons are taught; and a kind of church where God is honored; a place where wholesome recreation and simple pleasures are enjoyed.” ~ Billy Graham

My high school basketball team was a closely knit group. I went to school at Stone Mountain High School right outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Stone Mountain is the world’s largest all granite mountain. Our school’s sports slogan was “Do Not Take Stone Mountain for Granted.” It may sound corny to you, but I still love the sound of that slogan.

Our team was coached by a basketball legend in the state of Georgia by the name of E.L. Rainey. Coach Rainey taught us the game of basketball, but he taught us far more about the importance of caring for each other and learning to be good men. Coach took a lot of time after practice and outside of basketball to teach us how to be good men.

If we are going to build a Godly home, we must invest a lot of time personally into the spiritual development of our families. The practice that I am referring to here is spending time together as a family talking about God and His Word and how we are to live our lives in light of who God is and what He says in His Word. The practice of family devotion I am referring to here is what happens away from church when you spend time as a family.

Now, the practice of having family devotions can take a lot of different forms. It can be a formal sit-down Bible study or can be done as a part of everyday conversation at the dinner table, riding in the car, or conversation in the living room. You see a lot of times the formal sit-down may not work for your family. What is important is that we teach and talk to our children about God and who He is daily. Our children need to hear of how God has worked in our lives and how much we love God. I love Psalm 78:4 and have used that verse as my guidepost in how I have talked to my kids over the years about God.

Psalm 78:4 “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.”

Just like that verse says, we should not be keeping anything from kids when it comes to God. We should want them to know how God has personally changed our lives and we should also want them to know of the experiences in our everyday lives where God has shown Himself so strong. This verse also encourages us daily to use the situations and circumstances of life to teach God’s truths to our kids.

An easy way to model the idea of family devotions around everyday conversations and not always the formal sit down. That is the model that my parents used when I was growing up. They cunningly used the time we spent together as a family to practice the truth of Psalm 78:4.

What is your practice of drawing your family together in devotion? I pray that you will begin to redeem the time you have with your children to teach them the truths of God.