Dear Church Family and Friends, October 31, 2012
I trust this letter finds you well! I am sitting in Pettit Goave, Haiti catching the rainfall from Hurricane Sandy. Because we cannot go out, I have spent much time reading, meditating, and praying these last few days! What a wonderful thing to do and yet so hard to do in our busy world! I have been thinking about our church, our nation, and our mission. I would like to address each one of these areas with you for just a moment.
Our Church
Community Bible Baptist Church exists in order to bring people to Jesus Christ and teach them to follow Christ. This is our mission statement. I am very pleased with how far we have come over the last three years together and firmly believe God is positioning us for the future. To be honest, I have questioned that over the last few months but have sensed God's clear hand of confirmation on me over the last few days. The tremendous building offering, the love offering for Hope Children's Home, the decisions that have been made, the strength of FBI, the growth of RU and discipleship, and other factors have shown me how much the Lord is doing in this place. Our regular giving has been consistent and strong, and we have operated within our budget except for the occasional unforeseen occurrence. I have also spent the last month evaluating our staff, leadership, policies, and our procedures. In doing so, I am encouraged with what I have found as well as enlightened in some areas that need to be addressed. As a result, in the upcoming months you will notice changes in responsibilities as well as changes in our procedures. Overall, I am confident in what God is doing at Community and feel that we are about to see God do greater things in the days to come. As in all churches, some members are locked in and committed while others stand idly by. But for the most part there is a strong group of committed believers in our congregation who want to do something for the Lord! I am honored to pastor and lead such a people!
Our Nation
On November 6, our country will cast one of the greatest votes in her history. Before you get upset about me saying something about politics, know that over the last several weeks the Lord has clearly directed me in this. If you read the history of Germany in the 1930s, you will find many German pastors who said and did nothing until it was too late! I am afraid America will duplicate this great tragedy if we do not speak out as pastors! In our own Revolutionary War, it was the Black Robed Regiment Pastors who spoke openly and freely against the policies of England. Their boldness to stand for truth caused the British leaders to fear! We must vote against bad policies as much as we must vote for good policies! President Obama stands for abortion on demand as the law of the land. Governor Romney, while not as strong on the issue as we would like, has said he is against abortion. Therefore we must vote against bad policy. The next president may have the chance to appoint two or three members to the Supreme Court. We have the opportunity to at least get Roe vs. Wade struck down and bring it back to the stairs of the Supreme Court to decide. We could work to enlighten voters of the murderous truth to abortion. But as long as it is not decided by the people on a vote, millions of children continue to die. This President stands for marriage of homosexuals; Mr. Romney stands against it. The home is the first institution God ordained. From there, we have government and the church. If the home continues to be weakened, soon the government and the church will cease as we know them! In America, your sexuality is your choice under current law; but we should not be forced to accept something as right that the Bible plainly declares as wrong! Never before has a society survived legitimized homosexuality, and America will not either. This President refuses to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; Mr. Romney does. This President will not travel to Israel nor meet with her Prime Minister. Yet members of the Muslim Brotherhood have almost open access to the White House. Any nation in history that has rejected Israel has been rejected by God. This President has left Israel to fend for herself while he gives aid and comfort to her enemies. We must stand with Israel; and this President has made it clear he would rather appear on television with David Letterman than meet with our most important ally in the region. The first responsibility of any President is the protection of our people. This President has failed us on the border with "The Fast and Furious" arms fiasco as well as in the murder of four of our countrymen in Bengazi that he called "not optimal". This President is not only a failure but a danger to our country. The morale and strength of our military is at a low approaching the depths of the Carter years in the late 1970s. We cannot afford four more years of this President with the constant terrorist threat we now face. Economically, this President's plan is to redistribute money from earners to give to those who do not earn. Nowhere, at any time, has it ever been successful to take people's desire to work and earn away. The Bible is clear on the value and necessity of honest labor. The welfare state this President envisions with his Obamacare is a nightmare of European Socialism. All of this is taking place as Greece, Spain, and the European Union as a whole collapses under a similar system. The free market is the best and overall successful form of economy in the world, and this President is set on destroying it with taxes and unnecessary regulations. For there to be a financial future we cannot have four more years of this President. Mr. Romney is a problem solver and understands how our economy works! When Communist and Socialist leaders such as Putin, Chavez, and Castro support this President you must see he is more like them than he would want you to believe. My final thought on this is that another four years of the policies of this administration are going to directly affect the church and the ministry of the Gospel. We are already seeing it now with the Health Care Mandate, but I promise you the liberals have targeted the message and ministry of the church. I urge you to vote on or before November 6th and vote out the policies that are destroying this nation.
Our Mission
Our mission as a church is clearer now to me than ever before! We are to be witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in our communities and around the world. We ourselves must be witnesses, and then we must give ourselves to the training and sending of others! I want to see Community become a vibrant training ground of devout fundamental theology, while at the same time, seeing that theology demonstrated in daily living! I envision young men and women training with us and being sent out by us for the work of Christ around the globe. We will start in our nurseries, continue through our Sunday Schools, and finish with our institutes and mentoring programs. Single Vision is going to become a force for God that He is going to use to turn the world upside down before His coming! I am confident in this as the Lord has given me new vision and clarity for our work! I pray that you will commit to pray and be part of what God is going to do in, and for this place, for His praise, honor, and glory!
For Jesus Sake,
Preacher
