Steadfast in the Journey

Oftentimes, we go through special services like revivals, conferences, or even camps, and retreats hearing soul stirring preaching and being challenged by the songs and the very Word of God to make a decision, vow, or commitment to be…   But, how long do we remain steadfast in our new found journey?

In Philippians 3:14, we read, “…I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…”  This verse, in context, is about not being high-minded and thinking you have arrived,  forgetting about the things which are past and focusing on what lies ahead, and earnestly striving to reach the goal that Jesus Christ has placed for your life which is his divine will.  And in reaching the goal, i.e. discerning the calling of God on your life (both his general will and specific will), there is much joy as in receiving a prize.

This verse doesn’t say that we should press toward the mark for a week, or maybe 2, or maybe even a month or so.  There is no time limit given here.  Today, at Calais Independent Baptist Church, we will be having a special service to commemorate and make public a very specific vow that our teens, who attended the Great Awakening Youth Conference this summer, made to God.  This vow was made about 3 weeks ago and it pains me to contemplate the prayer, the will power, and determination that has already been required to remain steadfast in their new found journey.   There were many other commitments/vows/decisions to God made that week as there have been numerous others both before and since all around the world.  The question comes down to this, Are we being steadfast in the Journey?

We can’t do it on our own.  If we make a decision, vow or commitment to God based on the genuine leading of the Holy Spirit and honest desire to discern the will of God for our individual lives, the devil will tempt us and sometimes God will test us.  Remaining steadfast in the journey requires prayer with much supplication.  It also requires staying close to God and resting in His Word.  Just like the runner in a race, without strength and endurance, we may end up injured instead of winning or even finishing the race.  As Christians, our source of strength and endurance is Jesus Christ himself.

My challenge to you all this morning is that you remain steadfast in the journey to which God has called you.

Coming closer to the times

Good afternoon,

This is the first, of hopefully many, blog update I have been able to do from the office at the church (instead of trying to remember to do one once i got home). We have finally moved a little closer to the current decade and now have high-speed wireless internet at our church here in Calais. Can't use your cell phone still (no towers close by), but you can get on the web if you need to :).

Things are getting busy as the summer swings into full bloom here at Calais. I picked the bus up today from getting repaired after breaking down during our teen trip last month, and it will go right into use beginning this Sunday morning for our weekly bus ministry! Excited that we will be kicking off a new outreach ministry for our area, the bus ministry. We are praying that many visitors, children and families, take advantage of the opportunity to catch a ride to come to church and hear the gospel. VBS is also just around the corner, as it kicks off on 7/17. Lots of last minute details to wrap up, but praising God for the volunteers already signed up and planning on breaking our attendance record since I became pastor. (for all you out there that didn't get the intended joke, I have only been pastor here at Calais for 1 yr and a month) We had 82 different children attend last year through the week, with an average of 110 counting the adults each night. This year I am challenging our people to reach a goal of 100 different children! Not just for numbers sake, but that they may be exposed to the truth of God's Word, and see what our church is like. I am praying that we will get at least one family from VBS, faithfully start attending our church, get saved serving in our church after VBS, like we did last year. It's great to set goals and strive to reach them, but it is more important to share the gospel with them that they might get saved. Pray for us as we strive to be good stewards of what God has given us at Calais and as we carry out the VBS program from AIG, Gold Rush, this year.

Also, be praying for a purity ceremony that we have scheduled for Sunday, July 17th AM where our teens can make public there vows made to God during the Great Awakening Youth Conference last month regarding remaining pure until Christian marriage.

You'ns have a great remainder of the week and make sure to share the good news with someone today!

Long Overdue Update!

It has been a very busy Spring and beginning of Summer here at Calais Church. Sorry it has been so long since the last update.

We took the teens to The Great Awakening Youth Conference at Morning Star Baptist Church June 22-24 and stopped in Kentucky at New Grace Baptist Church, Pastor Todd Lockyer and his wife Amanda were there to welcome us, to do some mission work on our way back home. Great time of fellowship, got the church cleaned up and ready for the Teens and Adults from Cornerstone Independent Baptist Church from Rocky Mount, NC to come up and do Vacation Bible School this week! The conference and mission work was great and an adventure, but God must have thought we needed even more as the bus broke down 2.5 hrs. from home. Thanks to some awesome church members who gave of their time and drove their vehicles down to shuttle our teens/leaders and the luggage back home we were all safe in bed by 1am on Sunday. Check out the video recap of the week on the church website www.calaisindependentbaptist.com under our teen ministries tab. The sermons from the conference are also available on the media tab of our website.

Lots of fun and exciting things coming up this summer. VBS is only 3 Sundays away! We are very excited to be using AIG's Gold Rush as our program this year and are looking for even more children to be impacted for the Lord. If you remember, last year we averaged about 110 each night (adult/teen workers included) and had a total of 82 different children throughout the week of VBS (many were repeat attenders during the week).

Our bus ministry kicks off, Lord willing and all repairs complete, on Sunday July 10th. Be praying that we will have good reception as we go out in the surrounding communities to pick up children and families that wouldn't otherwise be able or inclined to attend church. Pray also that the Lord will give the drivers and workers the strength, energy and endurance needed to give this ministry our best!

We have some fun services and different things planned for our Sundays during this summer and I, as pastor, am issuing monthly challenges to the church as a whole, our teens, and our children throughout the remainder of the year. May the Lord give me wisdom as I choose how to stretch and equip the flock over which he is allowing me the privilege to be under shepherd. The first teen challenge is to memorize 50 verses (from a book of 100 verses every Christian should know - received at the Conference) by 1st Sunday in August, and our church-wide challenge to be revealed this Sunday morning is 2-fold, first to read the entire New Testament by the end of July (only 8-9 chapters a day)and then to kick it off by committing to a 2 day fast from TV, XBox, and other technology that seems to crowd our time. Pastor is leading by example in this one, as well as the Teen challenge, by shutting off the Satellite service at the house (yep, it is disconnected and getting ready to be shipped back to Dish). Sometimes you just have to get radical about your Christianity ;). The children's challenge is yet to be determined. Why issue challenges to the church, well part of my task as Pastor is to disciple and equip the saints, and these challenges are a part of meeting that responsibility. Feel free to join along with us as we strive to meet and exceed these challenges.

Attendance at worship services continues to remain steady and slightly above last year's average. We have been able to add 2 missionaries so far this year, and have several more to come through on deputation. We have purchased a church bus, begun to have it painted, and have also purchased and installed A/C in our annex building wiht much appreciation from our nursery, Sunday school, Jr. Church,Chilren's Ministry, Youth Ministry and VBS workers (all who use this building and have done so with no A/C for several years).

I think God still has big plans for our little country church out here in Calais,OH. Be in prayer as we endeavor to do our best to stay in the will of God and impact our surrounding areas for the Gospel.

Appologies in advance if the next update is a little while in coming. Y'all (you'ns) have a great Summer!

Getting Back to the Basics

I’ve been really burdened lately concerning whether I, we the local church, am telling God what His church should be like instead of asking Him to show me what He wants it to be.  That’s the challenge I have been sharing with my church congregation over the last several weeks.  Trying to season everything done with the thought that we need to be seeking God’s leading on what we are to be doing, not telling Him what we are going to do.

I know, easier “typed/said’ than done.  However, it is my personal belief that if we really get back to the basics of proclaiming the gospel, sharing the message of salvation, preaching/teaching the doctrines of the Bible, going out in missions or sending others if we can’t go, and preaching the WHOLE counsel of God that the rest will take care of itself.  I believe that today’s  churches and pastors have gotten so far off track that many now follow man and not God.  SHAME ON US, SHAME ON YOU!

In Matthew 7 and Luke 6 Christ warns us that “…wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.  Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it…ye shall know them by their fruits…”

Perhaps we are in the predicament we are in because we have walked through the straight/narrow gate but are trying to walk on the wide path (not heeding or not seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit).  We have trusted Christ as Lord and Savior but refuse to give up living like the world.  Or maybe worse, we have walked through the wide gate (not saved), but trying to walk the narrow way (playing church).  God tells us in His word that we are to examine ourselves.  The trend today can be symbolized by the growing habit to ask the following question in an effort to assure someone of their salvation: “Can you remember a time in your life where you prayed…”.  It’s not the prayer that saves us, it is our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross and nothing more or less that saves us.  Perhaps a better question would be, “Can you remember a time when you realized that you have sinned (fallen short of God’s standard), that there is a penalty for that sin, that you can’t save yourself, believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by faith (death, burial and resurrection), confessed and repented of those sins and called on Him in faith to save you?”  Really, we can’t assure anyone of their salvation, that is up to their own selves and God.  Remember, “…ye shall know them by their fruits…”  Has there been a change in your life, if not are you being chastened or disciplined by God?  Or the fact that we want to say we worship God yet our church services sound/look/feel like the world.  The trend in many churches today is to water down the Gospel, water down the doctrines and the scriptures.  Today, many churches do what they do because that’s how they’ve always done it.  “Vain repetition” breeds loss of motive, meaning and purpose.  God is not pleased when we are satisfied to simply go through the motions/play church!  “Broad is the path that leads to destruction”, if it’s easy, comfortable, pleasing to the flesh, not confrontational and doesn’t require us to make a sacrifice or commitment then everyone will want to go that route.  But this is the route that will lead to destruction.  Christ tells us in Matthew 7 that not everyone that calls Him Lord will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  There will be many in the last day saying that they have done great things in His name, but His response will be, “…I never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity…”

We need to get our own selves right with God, get busy doing the work of the ministry to which He has called each of us to, and understand that it is He that does the changing in us and others (it’s by His power alone that we will be able to change), not us.  It’s time that we get our eyes fixed on Him, get our feet fixed on the narrow path and worship the Lord Jesus Christ.  It’s time that we GET BACK TO THE BASICS.

How Deep is Your Love

As I have been studying and preparing for this morning’s sermon, as well as making sure not to forget that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, the song, “How Deep the Father’s Love for us” has been running through my mind.  The impending holiday is a day that we usually set aside to make a special show of the affection with which we should be loving our “special someone” all through the year.  It brought to mind the thought that we are to be like Christ, in all things, including in love.  Continuing on my short series about having passionate, intimate relationships with Christ and those whom we love here on earth, today we will open the Word of God and see what real Love is:  sacrificial, overwhelming, unconditional/never ending, in short completely and passionately enraptured with each other.   Just think, God was so in love with us that he freely gave his “…only begotten son…” to die on the cross for us who were lost and dying in the filth of our sins.  Christ is so in love with the Church (those of us who are saved) that He willingly laid down his life, gives grace abundantly and beyond measure, and unconditionally stands, knocking wanting to be part of everything we do (but never turning His back on us when we ignore his pleading).

As you go through today and as you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your loved ones tomorrow, remember to love as Christ loves!

Have a great Sunday as your worship and praise the Lord!

Reflections from Sunday

Good morning everyone!

I have been reading, praying, and pondering (or to make it really spiritual I guess I should say meditating :) ) regarding the lack of motivation in our churches today and the shortage of visitors joining us for worship services.  What I have been challenged to consider/correct personally, and that which I have challenged my congregation to consider/correct, is the idea of having a passionate and intimate relationship with Christ.  A book that I have been reading recently, “Igniting Passion in Your Church”, (disclaimer:  I do not accept/condone everything contained in this book, but have read with thoughtful comparison to scripture/biblical principles in mind and where there was a difference the Bible always was/is the correct standard) compared the stages of an earthly marital relationship to our relationship with Christ, as does Ephesians 5 and other passages.  The catalyst for thought is this question: “Does my life/church make others want to have a relationship with Christ?”.  If it doesn’t, maybe instead of telling others, even Christ, what church is we should be asking Christ to show us what church is so that others will want to “flirt (be interested), date (faith takes a step forward), get engaged (make a commitment), and eventually marry (faith that conquers – celebration)” Christ.

Consider whether you are passionate about your faith.  Do others want what you have, or do they see a depressed, complaining, stick in the mud (self-righteous), or pessimistic person?  If you are exhibiting the latter adjectives/emotions, then why do you think someone will accept your invitation to be in that same relationship with you?  They’ve already got that without the accountability/responsibility that they fear.  It’s time that we Christians, the Church, the Bride of Christ, get passionate about our personal relationship with Him.  Time that we wholeheartedly accept that we are His, transfer ownership to Christ, and ask Him what church is and what He wants us to do instead of carrying out our business meetings based on what WE like or want or think we need.  Christ has been locked out of the church far too long! 

New Year at Calais

Well…it has been a while since we last updated our blog.  Life has been pretty busy with both the adult and children’s cantatas and Christmas Eve Candlelight service and everything else that goes along with the wonderful time of the year, Christmas.  Sorry for the delay, but here is our latest update.

To catch you up since the last post, I guess we should begin with our Live Nativity.  This year we were able to present our live nativity in downtown Woodsfield in conjunction with their Christmas Festival.  We also had a float in their Christmas Parade that evening.  It was a great outreach opportunity as well as a privilege for our church folks to serve and minister.  We followed this activity with two more weekends of our annual live nativity in the usual spot just off the highway.  We had several stop in the check things out and get some homemade cookies and cocoa at the “Inn”.  This all led up to the weekend of December 19th, which was the weekend for both our Children’s and Adult Christmas Cantatas.  What a great job everyone did as the services went very well and we had record numbers in attendance for 2 out of the 3 services that Sunday.  We wrapped up the month of December’s special services celebrating the birth of our Savior by having a Christmas Eve Candlelight service which was attended by 55+ from our Church, their families and community.  Whew…what a wonderfully busy month in the ministry here at Calais.

New Years Eve was rather quiet as we just hung out around the house and rang the new year in by sleeping soundly in our bed :).  Just couldn’t stay up as late this year. 

Our First Sunday of 2011 at Calais was spent, after the previous week’s reflecting, reviewing and refocusing, challenging the congregation with God’s message for the future of Calais Independent Baptist Church and specifically what I felt God leading us to do for 2011.  I’m sure that we were not unlike many of your churches in doing so.  Please pray for us, as we do for you, in our prayerful efforts to challenge each other to do more this year for God and the church than we ever have before. 

As I am writing this post, we have many exciting things to look forward to, event his month!  My, Brandon’s, parents are coming up in another week and will spend an entire week here with us (which we are very excited about), I will be starting weekly Discipleship classes at the church on January 15th, Kim began our weekly Children’s ministry on Sunday nights last Sunday, I have premarital counseling sessions to get underway for a young couple in the church, and my in-laws, Kim’s parents, are talking about coming up sometime for a visit.  What an exciting time to be in the ministry and for us personally, to be in the will of God!

Hopefully won’t be as long before the next post, and it will be a shorter one (no promises though).

Have a great week/month as you strive to serve Christ faithfully in whatever capacity, and location He has called you.

Pastor Brandon and Kim Ward