Don't Stop Praying

"When trouble comes, we very quickly get on our knees and ask God for help.  It is then that we realize even the more that we are not self sufficient and that we need God" more than ever.  God is a jealous God and "nothing must come before him" (Pitt, 2008).  There are many times in our lives that we find it hard to trust God, however, we must realize the power of our prayers.  Communicating with God should never be neglected.  We should never forget about the one who gave us life and saved us from the hands of the enemy.  The more I pray and commune with Christ, the closer I am to him.

So never get too busy in your daily lives that you forget to have your moment with Him.  He deserves everything that you have to give.  Your heart, your soul, your TIME.  No matter how hard life gets, continue to seek God, continue to pray...


-Dr. Moses O. Pitt

twitter: @mosespitt
facebook: facebook.com/GSPCM


                          References:
 Pitt, Estella. (2008).  "After You Have Suffered a While:  The Sufferings of the Righteous."
(available on Amazon)

"Why the Cross?"

Almost everybody who follows Christ, and almost every gathering of those Christ-followers constituting a church, says the same thing: 

“We want to reach the world for Christ.”

Yet most don’t.

So where’s the breakdown?

It’s not strategy. There are vast numbers of churches who are successfully penetrating the culture of the “nones,” growing through conversion growth, and who willingly offer their tried and true strategies to any and all who wish to learn.

It’s not theology. As mentioned, almost every Christian church would have evangelism as part of their core values and integral to their mission statement. 

It’s not the new generation of leadership. Most young leaders got into the game to see a lost world won to Christ. They are sold out and ready to rock. 

It’s not the new generation of Christians. If you want to meet an evangelistic animal, spend time with a new Believer. They are, in the best sense of the word, shameless with enthusiasm.

So what is the problem?

Jesus knew.

When challenged about His own missional emphasis toward those on the outside of faith, He responded: “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what the Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not pamper insiders'" (Matthew 9:12-13, Msg).

The problem? Seemingly long-term “insiders.”

Countless numbers of leaders and members of churches have given in to a Christian consumerism. They embrace a mentality that gives ample rhetorical support to evangelistic intent but resists violently at the point of implementation because -- at the point of actually “doing” it -- it “costs” them. 

In other words, scratch the surface of a sacrificial, pick-up-your-cross, to-die-is-gain, eat-my-flesh-and-drink-my-blood Christian…

…and you have an it’s-all-about-me, spiritually narcissistic, turned-inward, meet-my-needs, feed-me consumer. 

The problem with outreach today is that the most basic and elemental issues related to building a relationship with someone apart from Christ;

...and then engaging in spiritual conversations;

...and then inviting them to an open and winsome and compelling “front door” so that they can come and see, come and hear, come and experience;

...is resisted by the very people who say they want those unchurched people to come and find Jesus.

Why? Because it would call for sacrifice or inconvenience of some kind. A leader would have to work harder, or invest in vision-casting and face potential opposition. Attenders would have to be part of a church that no longer exists solely to serve them, but to serve those who have yet to enter the doors.

Which means that evangelism is fine in theory, but not in practice, because in practice evangelism almost always involves death to self, the complete anti-consumer state of mind.

Understanding Spiritual Authority (Leadership Class excerpt)

What you believe will control your actions

 A principle of belief: you have to have faith in what you are believing.  Without hope, faith has nothing to work with.  It first starts in our mind.  If our minds are not clear, the devil will continue to get in your mind and your emotions.  We have to understand that Satan’s aim is to come and destroy us (steal, kill, and destroy).  He will use certain strategies and forms to deceive us.  It is an attempt to distract: an intrusion of the mind. Satan wants to change your mind about the word of God!

Study scriptures:

James 1:16

(Satan’s chief focus is to deceive us.)

Isaiah 5:13
(What God is saying is that they have become captive because they have shown no knowledge of the correct way to behave.  This is why we have to continue to pray and do the word. There has to be a corresponding action (faith without works is dead!).  Guard yourself from the attacks of Satan by remaining in your word and meditating (Philippians 4). )

Understand the spiritual authority of the word.  The potter of our lives shapes us and continues to make another vessel; I am so glad that we are never OUT of his hands. As preachers and pastors we need to understand that we cannot go into the word of God looking for a sermon to preach. We have to use the word as our daily bread; therefore we will be able to minister with conviction.

Once you become a Christian, there should be a change in you.  In order to be transformed, there has to be a renewing of our mind.  By keeping our minds clear, open, and ready to receive from Christ, there is nothing against us that will be able to prosper.

(Excerpt from GSPCM Leadership Class, Jan. 27, 2013)

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