ENGAGE!

Do you remember the TV show Star Trek? Captain Kirk would have them set the course and then give the command, "Engage", and off they would go through space?  Well the course has been set and it is time for the Church to ENGAGE!

The course was set by Christ in his admonition to the believer in Matthew 5:13, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." Salt is both aseptic and antiseptic.  It prevents and heals which is just what our country needs.  We need to prevent the further decay of truth and heal that which has already been defiled.  The first part of the verse tells us what we are, but the second part of the verse asks the question, “ what good is salt if it is no longer salty?”  Or another way to ask it is, “what do you do with salt that is no good?’  The answer is, you throw it out.  If we are not making a difference in our world for the cause of Christ and for Biblical truth, we have forfeited our right to exist.  Christian we must engage!  Not just in this election cycle but all the time.  Biblical principles of life, the home, work ethic, strong defense, and fiscal conservatism are Biblically based and sound principles.  We must engage in the process in order to educate our people. 

Sixty million evangelical Christians did not vote in the last election!  Sixty million would have been enough to turn the election, but for whatever reason, they disengaged instead of engaging!  Pastor, we need to stick to the gospel, not politics!  I AGREE with sticking to the Gospel! It is our only message.  The death, burial and resurrection of Christ!  If Christ did not rise from the dead there is no message!  But politics is the vehicle we have to protect our rights and opportunities to share that message.  Freedom of speech, money for missions and ministry, the rights we have in America, and the opportunities we have to pursue those rights allow us to be the gospel sending nation for the rest of the world.  If we lose our America, we lose our ability to impact the world for the cause of Christ! 

Engage pastor, engage Christian!  Let me give you several simple truths to educate and engage with!

1.       The Biblical issue of life is not up for negotiation.  God gives life and abortion is taking life, end of story.

2.       The Biblical institution of marriage is not up for negotiation! Male and female God created them and then gave them the ability to reproduce.  Any relationship outside of a man and woman in marriage is wrong.

3.       The Biblical roles of the home, the government, and the church are settled.  The home is the primary institution, and the government is not to intrude.  It does not take a state to raise a child, it takes parents.  The church is God’s institution spiritually for this age and is not to be dictated to by the government.  The government is to protect the people, while the home and the church are to provide for their other needs.

4.       Fiscal conservatism is a Bible principle.  Do not spend more than you make.  Save your money.  Do not go into debt.  God teaches the believer these principle in both the Old and New Testament.

5.       Israel is to be blessed by other nations.  God is not done with Israel.  At the conclusion of the church age, Israel will again be front and center of God’s attention and affection.  Our relationship with Israel is a critical issue for God’s blessing.  (Apart from the Biblical admonition to bless Israel it is wise to be an ally to your ally regardless.  Israel is the only real ally we have in that region of the world.)

6.       Less government, not more government, less tax, not more, and less regulation, not more, are always the better way.  Even in the Old Testament God did not intend Israel to ever have a king, but granted her wish for a king, while warning that a king would “tax” them to death.  Taking their materials, their children, and their future.  That is exactly what happened to Israel and what has happened to us. 

7.       Government is not God.  We are to look to God for our needs, not to man.  Too many have turned to social or government programs for their needs, and not to the Lord.  We have created a paradigm of dependence on government, and not God.

There are so many more clear Biblical principles that we must take strong stands on and engage with.  If you fail to educate and engage your people, you may find yourself in a few months unable to do anything about it.  Here is a final thought to leave you with.  Socialist/communist nations are not sending missionaries to us, we are sending missionaries to them.  We must protect what God has given us at home so that we can continue to make a difference here and abroad.  Engage!

Your Invited to Join the Friends of Brent Fellowship

Dear Friends of Brent Fellowship,

                Friends of Brent Fellowship is for myself and others who find themselves in the same place I do.  That place is somewhere in the middle of a very crazy and confused spiritual landscape.  Now before I opine let me say there are three wonderful things the last fourteen months have taught me as I have wrestled with the issue of fitting in.  First is a greater love and appreciation for my Savior.  In all of my wrestling with issues, personalities, and problems I have come to love Jesus more now than ever because Jesus never fails; and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Any problem I have faced has been well worth it because it has forced me to prayer and drawn me closer to Him!  Secondly, these months have taught me to appreciate and respect the local church above friend, institution, movement, fellowship, or any other conveyance man has authored.  I love my school and others like her.  I love our fellowship and movement, but I love my local church! It is here that God works on and through me more than anywhere else.  I love the brethren, but the brethren’s decisions do not affect me or my local church ministry.  Therefore, my love and appreciation for my local assembly has grown immeasurably.  Thirdly, these last fourteen months have given me a greater love for my Bible.  The inspired, preserved, Word of God is my constant and consistent source of wisdom and strength.  I have learned to pay more attention to the Bible than what men say about the Bible.  The Bible is our final authority not a man, book, or institution.  We should carefully study it before we make any statement about any subject. 

Our First Annual Fellowship Meeting

                Friends of Brent Fellowship is a simple fellowship started because I find myself loving a lot of people who don’t always love each other.  I am in the middle of some weird relationship dynamics.  I love some far right wing zealots, and I love some guys who would consider themselves far more moderate.  I love the Independent Baptist world I am a part of, and I also have some dear Southern Baptist friends.  (I also have some United Pentecostal friends but don’t tell anyone!)  Some of my friends would not sign the Bible of young man if they saw the name of some of my other friends in it. So where do I belong?  I don’t, so I have formed the Friends of Brent Fellowship.  The rules for my fellowship are fairly simple because I am fairly simple.  They are:

1.       I am the President for Life of the board of directors for the Friends of Brent Fellowship, as well as the board of directors itself.  All members of the fellowship are approved or disapproved by me.

This way I can pick and choose who I want to fellowship with, or who I don’t want to fellowship with based on our friendship alone.  I do not care who you are, where you went to school at, what your board is, or who your other friends are.  If you are my friend, it is enough to be in my fellowship.

2.       Who we allow in our fellowship with us does not depend on who you fellowship with outside our fellowship.

This way I can demonstrate Christian liberty by not forcing you to practice secondary separation.  I have friends in the militant right wing of the family and in the moderate wing of the family.  I disagree with both of them on many issues, but it’s my decisions not yours.  So they are in my fellowship.  I have friends to the right of me, friends to the left of me, but still friends. Do not bash either one.

3.       Our doctrinal position is the Word of God itself.  Personal preferences are not considered as a basis for fellowship.   You can be different with me on some things and still be in the fellowship.

In our fellowship, you are allowed to like Southern Gospel Music or not; the choice is yours.  Of course, if you speak against Southern Gospel, Bluegrass especially, you will have to see the president for a review of membership.  We believe every soul has liberty to follow the Holy Spirit’s leadership.  

4.       No god makers or kingdom builders are allowed in our fellowship.  We have one God, one Son, and one Holy Spirit; you are not any of them.

Our fellowship allows us to appreciate good men, their ministries, what they have done, and what they are doing without exalting them to an unbiblical position of authority.  Good men have huge egos and flaws like everyone else.  The closer you get to them, the more you will notice them.  We can love and appreciate you without worshiping you.  Plus when we learn of your failures, we will not have to throw you out of the fellowship but simply realize God uses messy people to do great things.

5.       Our fellowship will only meet for a purpose.  We are not going to get together for the sake of showing off our new buildings, getting you to financially support our schools, fight straw men, or beat dead horses.

We come together for encouragement, evangelism, teaching, training, starting churches, etc.  We do not meet to discuss old issues, men’s failures, or why we are the only ones right and everyone else is wrong.  We spend a lot of time preaching Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and encourage each other to do the same.

6.       Our fellowship will respect the heritage we have been given, honor the gray hairs of wisdom but will not discount the energy and excitement of those with the dew of youth still on their brow.

We love our Fundamental heritage and will do all we can to promote, protect, and pass it down.  Although we will not make gods of flawed men, we will learn from them and appreciate the trail they cut so that we can be where we are.  At the same time, we will not discount new ideas and new technology but will instead intertwine them with the tried and true methods and message we have been given.  We will not curse new technology as evil simply because it is new and makes us have to leave our comfort zone.

7.       Our fellowship will love songs based on their message not their age. 

Old songs are not automatically good, and new songs are not always evil.  The content and delivery of a song is the issue not when it was written.  Hymns will always be the core part of our worship, but we will seek to teach new songs along the way in order to hopefully inspire others to use their gifts and talents for the Lord as well as to worship Him in every way possible.

8.       If you criticize another member of the fellowship, that is fine as long as it is his position you criticize not his person, and as long as you do it personally. 

If there is a sin problem, we do not discuss it; but we seek to restore or report it to the proper authorities as necessary.  We can and will disagree with people, but we can always be Christian about it.  If you have a problem with someone else, keep it with that person. My fellowship with you does not need to be affected by your problem with someone else. 

9.       Our fellowship will go to whatever meetings we want and support whatever colleges we want.

We do not believe that only one meeting or one college fits every need for every person.  Go to the West Coast, East Coast, North, South, Middle, or out of the country if it is what God leads for your life and ministry.  We have several colleges and conferences that we love and support and thank God for each unique part they play.

10.   We will not kick you out of our fellowship because you kick us out of yours.

I choose you to be in my fellowship, you do not choose me.  Therefore, whether you want to be or not, if I want you to be, you are in our fellowship.  I have learned to love people and thank God for them even when they no longer seem to love or thank God for me.  It is the best love when it is given freely whether reciprocated or not.

Welcome to My Fellowship!