OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FREE WILL BAPTISTS

Bu¡lding the ChurchThrough ¡ , ,

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Let's Build the Church . . .

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ocal church congregations,like individuals, develop per-sonality traits and build for

themselves a name. Name, in thiscase, meaning reputation.

The church in Sardis had a name,and so does your church and mine.Truth is, you and I helped our churchget its name. We're part of it.

Names are mighty important! If youdon't believe your church has a repu-tation, just try going on door-to-doorvisitation. It won't take long to dis-cover that your church is known in thecommunity. It does have a name andso does that other church down thestreet.

Your church will be known andbecome named by three things: itspastor, its people and its program.

The PastorThe pastor, your church's minis-

ter-no person in the church is moreinstrumental and influential in regardto building your church's name thanthe pastor. Perhaps because of thisfact, Paul wrote plainly in I Timothyconcerning the bishop's (pastor's)conduct and qualifications.

IntheChurchThe scriptural standard for a pas-

tor-minister includes three areas.

ThroughaGoodName

ByBenScott

First, among the church congregationitself. He must among the churchpeople be ". . . blameless, the husbandof one wife, vigilant, sober, of goodbehaviour, given to hospitality, apt toteach; Not given to wine, no striker,not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient,not a brawler, not covetous" (l Timo-thy3:2-3).

Pastor, the importance of your con-duct cannot be overstated. If you are ahumble, right-living, spiritual leader,your church will reflect that image.Conversely, if you're a quarrelsome,unstable, impatient, self-seeking dicta-torial leader, your congregation willmore than likely become similar intheir conduct.

The minister's name means a lotamong those he's been called to serve.

lnhisFamilyThe next area in which a pastor

must have a.good name is in his ownhouse, among his own family mem-bers. The scriptural reasoning for thisis stated. "For if a man know not howto rule his own house. how shall hetake care of the church of God?"

For many a minister it's much eas-ier to preach it abroad, than to prac-tice it at home. Blessed is thatpreacher whose own household, thosewho know him best, believe in him andrespect him as a godly man.

IntheCommunítyThe third area in which the minister

must have a good report (name) isfrom "without," The community andneighborhood must know him as anhonest, upright, godly, Christian man.Otherwise, the church to which heministers will be given a less thanhonorable name.

Too often have God's called andchosen men fallen into bad reputebecause of some weakness in theircharacter reflected in their conduct. Ittakes a long time for a church congre-gation to recover from a "black eye" itreceived because of an immoral pas-

tor. Someone suggested that everypreacher ought to be especially carefulof his conduct in regard to ladies, lucreand laziness.

Preacher, if we break down in eitherof these areas, our church and itsname willsuffer.

The PeopleThe people-church members also

contribute to the making of a church's

name. The individual member's con-duct is so important. Someone willjudge your church solely by what hesees in you. You will be, to someone,the only representative of your churchwith whom he'll ever have any closecontact.

That short, one-chapter book of IIIJohn gives a clear commentary oncontrasting character. There wasGaius, who "walked in the truth." Hewas also described as being faithfuland charitable. He had a good namewithin the church and elsewhere. Thechurch benefited by his good name.John believed him to be a spirituallystrong Christian, and for that he washighly commended.

Another man in the church is men-tioned in that little book, Diotrophes,who loved the pre-eminence. Mostchurches are short on the likes of thegodly, gracious Gaius. Too often we'relong on the likes of the domineering,divisive Diotrophes. You, churchmember, are helping to mold yourchurch's image. You are helping tomake its name.

The ProgramThe program of the church-never

has the ministry and program of thechurch come into focus as it has in ourgeneration. All kinds ofcauses claim the energyand interest of churchesand their leaders. Whileevery church ought tobe known for its stronqstand on moral orimmoralissues, greatdiscretionmust beused inregard to pol-itics, theendorsementof politiciansand involve-ment in purelypolitical mat-ters.

Some churches, even entiredenominations. have built a namebased mainly on their involvement insocial reform. Personally, I fear thatthe name of the church in general, andrespect for the preaching ministry inparticular have been cheapened as somany have left the main line and gotten

ABOUT THE WRITER: Reverend Ben Scotfpostors First Free Will Boptîst Church, NorthLitfle Rock, Arkonsos.

involved too deeply in side lines.Let the church be the churchl Jesus

said, "The poor have the gospelpreached unto them." That was a suresign to the imprisoned John the Bap-tist that Christ was truly the Messiah.Our main line must always be thepreaching of the gospel. The providingof groceries must be secondary, notprimary in our program.

Our generation's social gospel hasbeen described as beingan attempt to build morerespectable, better-smelling, cleaner andmore comfortable hogpens. The true gospelcalls the prodigal to

leave the hogpen and

7¿ iã*" n"-à,to get out ofthe "farcountry"and returnto theFather.The pro-

gram of thechurch must

always be basedupon and centered around savinggrace, not merely a social gospel. Let'sbuild our churches through a goodname. And may that name be acquiredby scriptural, spiritual standardsexemplified by the church's pastor, itspeople and its program.

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ContentsOctober 1986

2 A Good NameBen Scott

4 Lile's Prlce TagsFloyd Wolfenbarger

5 Brlølcase: Hard-Hal RellglonJack W¡lliams

6 A Strong PulpltJonathan Yandell

I VlsltatlonBrian Atwood

9 Tho Sunday SchoolJames McAllister

1'l Chrlstlan SchoolsSam Henderson

13 Vlctorlous FalthLarry Hampton

'14 Target 90: How Arø We Dolng?Robert E. Picirilli

16 Deallng Wlth DepresslonMalcolm Fry

18 Hølpl l'm ShylDennis Hensley

19 Nol For Saro,Larry Hughes

21 Free Wlil Bapîlst New'lrcnt23 Currøntly

24 The ScarccrcwWanda Bankhead

24 Top ShellThomas Marberry

25 foon Scene

26 On Llttlø LanegDonna Mayo

28 Green Tree Blble StudyRobert E. Picirilli

29 Espaclally For Young PreachersDennis Wiggs

30 Nows oî the Rellglous Communlty

3'l Looklng lor a LaymanMelvin Worthington

Edltor-ln-chlef: Dr. Melvin Worth¡ngtonEdltor: Jack WilliamsEdltorlal A3slstant: Marilyn PritchardClrculatlon: Geneva TrotterPr¡nted by Randall House Publlcatlons

Volume XXXil, No. lO

CONTACT IUSPS t30-660), publishedmonthly by lhe Nat¡onal Association ol FrceWill Baptists. Post Olf ¡ce Box 1088. Nashville,fonn€ssoe 37202. Addrcss all coffespon-dence and subscr¡ptions to ll,ls addrgss.Phone 615/361-1010. Subscript¡on rctos: 1

yeat, $9.00; chutch fam¡ly plan $7.50 peryear; chutch bundle plan $8.00 per year.Second c/asspostage pa¡d at Nashville, Tan-nesseo. Copyright pt¡v¡leges, reserved o,1986 Member ol the Evangel¡cal Press Asso-ciation. POSTMASTER.' Send addrasschanges to CONTACT, P.O. Box 1 088, Nash-vil Ie, Tennessee 37202.tssN 0573-7796.

Life'sPriceTags

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By Floyd Wolfenbarger

he Baptist Scotsman R.E.O.White wrotg about two youngboys in a toyshop who, while

the shopkeeper was occupied,rearranged all the price tags to con-form to what they thought each toywas really worth. Their deed bewil-dered the customers and angered theshopkeeper.

It has been said that Jesus came toearth and did just like those mischie-vous boys; He put a correct value oneverything. He turned our treasuresupside down and created a more puresystem of genuine worth.

He challenged the value we put onpossessions. He told the rich youngruler to relinquish worldly goods andfollow Christ to become rich beforeGod. Those with few possessionsneed not despair, for our Fatherclothes the lillies of the field and thespaffows in the sky. Those with manypossessions must not horde them asthough riches could be trusted to bringsecurity and joy. Rather we are toadminister our possessions in such awayastoglorifuGod.

He challenged the value we put onpeople. How strange it seems that thepublican left the house of God justifiedwhile the pious Pharisee leaves with adevalued esteem. Only Jesus wouldtell a story in which a sore-riddenbegger seems a saint while a princelyrich man cries from torment.

A recent survey of young peopleshowed that a list of their top30 heroescontained no one who was not anentertainer or athlete. Our amuse-ment-crazed society pays Kareem-Ab-dulJabbar more in one year than all ofthe costs of Free Will Baptist foreignmissionaries combined.

If Jesus were here, He'd change theprice tags. In fact, He would tum thewhole world upside down. ¡

BECEIPTS:

StateAlabamaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaFlorida'GeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyMichiganMississippiMissouriNewMexicoNorthwest Assoc.North CarolinaOhioOklahomaSouthCarolinaTennesseeTexasVirginiaWestVirginia

Totale

Yr. to Date$ 6,335.90

?t.D28,150.09

5,750.26r4,415.0830,515.73

r90.7248,U0.733,945.47

429.73

3,t47.9432,779.67

3,302.s758,472.&

247.3118.00

14,712.U20,506.0i

288,r94.119,t22.75

11,550.5352,592.393,996.75

23,593.&3

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Cooperalíve Channel

Cooperative Channel ContributionsJuly 1986

cooPDeeign. (Undeeignated) Total July'85

$ 691.70 $ s97.4r $ 1,289.11 $1,081.31.00 .00 .00 .00.00 2,974.92 2,974.92 2,152.48

50.00 542.56 592.56 782.8752.00 2,52t.36 2,579.36 7,197.72

3,835.19 .00 3,835.19 1,834.53.00 .00 .00 .00

3,652.34 648.04 4,300.38 s,9&5.03581.40 108.51 689.91 631.31

.00 69.93 69.93 105.022.00 501.00 503.00 134.68

2,079.82 332.25 2,412.07 7,æ0.ñ89.00 674.74 763.74 385.38

1,48s.02 8,244.23 9,725.25 6,336.06.00 .00 .00 .00.00 .00 .00 .00

1,399.03 315.00 1,714.03 594.502,562.97 3,064.00 s,626.97 1,639.00

36,186.69 7,3Ð.19 ß,5&5.88 29,524.54r,281.34 .00 1,28r.34 .00N.62 1,227.12 1,707.74 1,1¿18.37

7,æ1.57 392.94 8,074.51 .001¿15.00 1,û38.10 1,183.10 1,425.20

3,892.10 477.s5 4,369.65 2,742.14

w,147.79 _$31,130.&5 _W,n8.64 __!9!ee0.r8 _$660ó1!.16

DISBURSEMENTS:

Executive OfficeForeign MissionsFWBBCHomeMissionsRetirement & InsuranceMaster's MenCommission for Theo.

IntegrityFWBFoundationHistoricalCommissionRadio & TV CommissionHillsdale FWB ColleseOther

Totale

$14,7tß.94 $13,%9.0050,925.10 29,812.965,700.70 5,7M.r2

17,693.21 9,371.052,563.05 2,056.762,329.56 7,747.30

192.M 150.521,070.3s 798.32192.10 r¿ß.57222.10 1¿lÍ1.31

7,475]Í36 979,39727.21 108.98

$ 1,309.%46,W.73

1,ó40.3314,515.50

97.M34.50

15.9811.04IJ.OZ45.62

1,475.tß727.27

$13,476.984,W.374,ffi.373,177.712,477.612,295.ú

176.ß1,059.31

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$rß,508.56336,657.80 .

44,330.68118,733.37

18,455.2616,707.77

1,431.028,045.93r,432.87r,663.729,123.33

524.85

_w,14?J9_ $31,130.&5 $64,W.28 $@,615.16$97,278.æ

Briefcase

id you ever walk onto a bus-tling construction site and çtstopped cold by a weather-

beaten face that growled, "Hey, Mac,where's your hard hat?"

Safety's a way of life on big con-struction jobs, and for some goodreasons. There's always somebodyworking higher up than you. Some-times they dropthings that hurt.

So the rule is, either grab a hard hatand help or get out of the way. Abuilding site's no place for a casualstroll. First off, it's awfully noisy.Things clang and scrape and throb andpound and spew and whistle and bel-low. That's how buildings get up out ofthe dirt-with unending struggle and alot of noise. That's hard-hat living.

Construcüon sites areinconvenient and not very pretty.When the weather's hot, there's dusteverywhere. When it rains, mudclimbs over boot tops. The hard hat.ter's got nowhere to go to escape thedust or the mud, because that's whyhe's there.

Hard-hat projects attract the scru-tiny of John Q. Public. Every sidewalksuperintendent that comes alongoffers an opinion on what's being built.Some like what they see; others laugh .

at it.Hard hatters gulp huge quantities of

raw materials. They waste some of it,though not by design. One of the hardlessons of building is that you can'tsaveeverything.

Hard-hat work roughs uphands and clothes. Hands blister,

Hard-HatReligionbleed, peel and ñnally toughen to thetask. Clothes rip and tear and fade andfall apart from the grit and stress. Thehard-hat world's no comfort zone.

And, yes, people do get hurt. It's arisky business where folks who dontget serious çt cutsandbruises. That'swhy most of us prefer to åvoid thebother in airconditioned ease.

But thoee who learn to liveunder a hard hat discover there's noth-ing more invigorating than the freshsmell of new-cut lumber, the feel offinished concrete, the challenge tokick and gouge the earth until some-thing better emerges from a pile ofbricks and a truck load of steel.

There's also the wonder of how it allfits together. Buildins something fromthe ground up toughens a man andmakes his hard hat a badge of distinc-tion.

Therets a parallel here inChristian living. I'm not talking aboutthe ease-through-life-quietþ crowd. Irefer to those who grab society andtwist its ear, who pull and scruff withlife's ugly realities, who take seriouslythe business of living right

Hard-hat religion is New TestamentChristianity. You'll discover it's noisyand not very pretty at times becausepeople struggling with life trying toremove beams from their eyes and millstones from their necks frequentlybump into one another and scar theirfriends.

Hard-hat religion kicks upclouds of dust and tracks mud throughthe sanctuary. It's inconvenient. Itrequires loads of raw material, blun-ders at the worst possible moment andattracts public ridicule.

God's hard hatters take risks, andsometimes they drop things from highplaces when they attempt to span achasm of unbelief with a girder ofhope. Christians and buildings share acommon truth that the only way to getup out of the dirt is unending struggleand mashed fingers.

Better wear a hard hat if you takeChristianity seriousþ. You'll be issuedone your first day on the job. It's calledthe helmet of salvation. Don't leavehome without it. You won't last long ifyoudo.

Itte trrre that sometimesGod's people sing anthems in thesplendor of some spectacular atmos-phere that exudes awe and createsangelic expressions. But the factremains that most of the time, Christi-aniþ is some Daniel spending anuncomfortable night with the big cats.Or a Jeremiah straining to keep hishead above the mud in a dungeon, or aPaul dragged through the streets ofsome jerkwater town and left for deadon the garbage dump.

Yes sir, keep your hat on if youmean business with God in thissocieþ. Mind you, there's a differencebetween hard hat and hard-headed.But you cant confront racial prejudiceand social injustice without raisingsome dust. You can't decry hatred andenvy and selfishness and perversionwithout blistering your hands.

But for those who risk hard-hatreligion, there's nothing in the worldlike the smell of freshly cut timbers-godly men newþ-heum from the forestof sin. And there's nothing so invigo-rating as the noisy clanging, throbbing,pounding of new Christians beingtrimmed and tempered and fittedtogether into a community of believ-ers.

This world'e no place foraquiet stroll. We've stepped onto aplanet-wide construction site. It began2000yearsago.

The Foreman cut down a tree froma hilloutside Jerusalem, worked alonethree days in the belly of the earthdigsng a foundation, burst forth tospend ¿10 days training His first crewand now travels the globe hiring "who-soeverwill" to work on the building.

Need a job? Like a challenge? Grabyour hard hat and come on! A

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ThroughaStrong

By Jonathan Yandell

ome 100 years ago CharlesHaddon Spurgeon told hisstudents at the Pastor's Col-

lege, "The chief business of a captain isto know how to hãndle his vessel,nothing can compensate for deficiencythere; and so our pulpits must be ourmain care or allwillgo away."

Spurgeon's statement was insight-fulthen; it may be moreso now. What-ever else pastors may be called on todo, their primary task remains preach-ing.

In this time of unprecedented dis-cussion and planning for growth, wedare not lose sight of the fact that ourefforts will hinge largely on whatoccurs or does not occur in the pulpit.While a strong pulpit ministry alonewill not build a church, no church ofconsequence willbe built apart from it.

Holds Central PlacePreaching holds a central place in

the work of the church. Jesus com-manded, ". . . Go ye into allthe world,and preach the gospel to every crea-ture" (Mark 16:15). Fundamental toour mission and purpose is thepreached gospel. Because of thispreaching centrality, the pulpit minis-try forms the hub around which thechurch ministry revolves.

Each avenue of church ministry isan extension of the motivation andtheology supplied by the pulpit. Asspokes anchored in the hub, theysprout from and are stabilized byinstruction given from the pulpit.

If the hub remains strong the wheelmoves smoothly. Btrt if the hub rustsor cracks, the smoothness deterio-

rates to a wobbling, lurching motion.Once the "wobble" begins, the roadstress causes it to progressivelyworsen untilthe spokes fallout and thewheel gives way. The ministry of thechurch draws its strength from thehub, the pulpit.

Builds PeopleThe term "strong pulpit" evokes

different visions. Some see a tall, well-built preacher with a booming voiceand commanding posture. Others seea pulpit ministry like a grand towerwhere alldecisions are made, alldirec-tions charted, and from which alldivine decrees are handed down. But,quite simply put, the strong pulpit isone which builds people.

The church is not buildings, bud-gets and bills; the church is people.Peter said, "Ye also, as lively stones,are built up a spiritual house, an holypriesthood, to offer up spiritualsacrifi-ces, acceptable to God by JesusChrist" (lPeter2:5).

Built on the cornerstone of Christ,the church is a spiritual house of living,breathing Christians. As with anyphysical structure, the building is nostronger than its materials. To buildthechurch, wemust build people.

Biblically, it is the purpose of pasto-ralministry to "perfect" (fully prepare)the saints ". for the work of theministry, for the edifuing of the body ofChrist" (Ephesians 4:12). A strongpulpit ministry equips the saints forservice.

True and lasting church growthcannot be produced by paid staff and

paying spectators. It results from apulpit ministry that equips God'ssaints to win the lost, and disciplesthem in the faith. When the preacherbuilds people through effective disiple-ship, he multiplies his ministry throughtraining others to minister, and thoughgrowth seems slow at first, it mush-rooms and multiplies at a faster ratethan if he alone was winning, disciplingandteaching.

Meets NeedsIn our day of systematic classes,

courses and programs, remember thatJesus Christ, the greatest of allpreachers, won souls and discipledsaints not by systematized theologicalinstruction, but by speaking to meettheir needs.

It has always interested me that inorder to develop a systematic theologywe must glean bits and pieces from allparts of scripture. Have you noticedthat the Holy Spirit did not give us inone concise location a series of pro-gressive, well-outlined chapters called"God's Systematic Theology?"

Instead, we're forced to learn ourfacts about God by reading how Hedealt with people in various situations.The Ten Commandments came in thecontext of meeting the need of God'speople for instruction in obedience.The Prophets, which reveal so muchabout the character of God, aremerely the compiling of God's mes-sages through His men to meet theneeds of His people. Every New Testa-ment epistle addresses the needs forinstruction, correction or exhortation.

The life of Christ illustrates thisprinciple. We learn about salvationwhile we watch Him meet the needs ofNicodemus and the woman at the well.We learn about prayer as He respondsto the disciples'request, ". . . teach usto pray." We learn about the HolySpirit's ministry as Jesus comforts Hismen in preparation for His departuresaying ". . . I willsend him unto you."

Given this biblical, pragmaticapproach to preaching, small wonderthen that men drift off to sleep whenwe begin our 11:00 a.m. Sunday morn-ing theology class.

W. A. Criswell says, "The differ-ence between a bore and a goodconversationalist is that the bore hasnot discovered the distinction be-tween what interests him and whatinterests his hearers."

The interest of today's listeners, asin Jesus'day, is what will meet theirpresent needs. Their main concern isnot theological suppositions, butrather, how what we're saying affectsthem.

What can I do to help my childrenturn out right? How can my spouseand I get along better? How can I tithewhen I can't pay my bills now? Howcan I stand it one more day on myhigh-pressure job? I'm battling tempta-tion, how can I win? How can I getthrough to my lost friends?

These questions demand answers.Sadly, they often come with woundsneeding salve and bandages, only tofind us dispensing medical textbooks!

The strong pulpit preaches to theneeds of people. It must be relevant-addressing existing needs and realproblems and offering practical biblicalsolutions. It must be understanda-ble-on the levelof the hearer in easilycomprehended language, aimed topenetrate the heart. And, most impor-tant, it must be applicable-down toearth, something you can put to worktomorrow.

Challenges MenIn addition, the strong pulpit chal-

lenges men. The challenge from thepulpit that builds people begins in aflaming heart. Spurgeon said, "A burn-ing heart will soon find for itself aflaming tongue." The strong pulpit isnot merely one from which men areinstructed but one from which heartscatchfire.

ToSoluafionThe primary challenge the pulpit

issues to men is to make a decision forChrist. Our divine calling is not merelyto govern the daily affairs of the churchand administrate its ordinances. Paulsaid, "For Christ sent me not to bap-tize, but to preach the gospel . . ." (lCorinthians 1:17).

What greater need can we addressthan the need of all to be saved? Wemust challenge men to receive Christ!We must do it often, we must do it well,and we must do it in fresh, insightfulways presenting it as the answer totheirneeds.

ToWinOthersThe pulpit that builds men further

challenges them to win the lost. Thegrand vision of the church's task cannever be clouded if we expect to buildthe church. The preacher must callbefore his people the lost condition ofour friends, our neighbors, our world,and challenge us to be part of God'smission to reach them.

ToExcellenceThe sorely needed challenge today

is the challenge to excellence. Thecancer of "good enough" eats away atour society and churches. The pulpitthat builds people must cry out forexcellence from the saints. It mustissue the challenge to be our best forour master, not simply to do our best,for if we ore our best we willbe so evenwhen no one is watching.

If we teach men to be soulwinnersthey willwin souls wherever they are.However, if we teach them only to dothe work of a soulwinner, they will doit only when we are watching and atthe regularly scheduled time. Can wenot challenge men to go into thedepths of true, meaningful service toChrist and the church?

"More" without "better" will even-tually lead to decline, as recent FreeWill Baptist history demonstrates. Wemust have growth, but we must alsogrow toward excellence in our abilitiesand methods of ministry if we expectto retain it.

The birth of spiritual excellence inthe pew results from excellence con-ceived in the pulpit. Much preachingmisses the mark due to slothful orineffective preparation by thepreacher. Preaching to build peopleand meet their needs requires labor

among them, with them and for them.We cannot be intimately acquaintedwith their struggles and only passivelyacquainted with them. Let the testi-mony of Paulbe ours also, ". . . I havebeen with you at all seasons" (Acts20:18).

Requires CommitmentSuch preaching requires a commit-

ment of time and energ5l on the part ofthe pastor to prayer and preparation."Borrowing" our message fromanother preacher will not work whenwe preach to meet the needs of ourpeople. We must discipline ourselvesto dig into the Word and study it longand hard looking for principles andtruths for daily living.

As we study our people and ourBibles we willsee where the two meet,the point where their needs convergewith biblical answers. That, then,becomes the cross-hair in our sights; itis there that we must aim and fire!

The hunter can stalk the prey fordays. He can prepare the tools todress the game. He can use the finestequipment to locate the game andcarry the finest firearms in preparationfor the kill. But when he pulls thetrigger he must hit something or allisfor nought.

Preachers, let us plan, pray andprepare for growth. Let us use thefinest tools and the most excellentmeans to obtain our God-given objec-tive. Let us be sure that every roundwe squeeze off finds its way into thehearts and eventually the lives of men.In so doingwe willbuild the church. t

ABOUT THE WRITER: Reuerend JonothanYandell pastors North Metro Free Will BaptistChurch, Sacramento, California. He preachedhis/irsf sermon ot the age oÍ nine. He is the sonand grandson of Free Will Baptist preachers.He attended both Hillsdale FWB College andC alif or nia Chr istian College

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Let's Build the Church . . .

v¡ThrByBrianAtwood

man in our church called meat home last Tuesday nightto ask which community

newcomers'names should be placedon the Thursday night visitationassignment cards. He and anothermember wanted an early start on theorganized visitation outreach of ourchurch. Each week these men andothers take note of people who couldbe reached for Christ and the churchbyavisitinthehome.

That's just one of the pleasingby-products of organizing for evangel-ism. Folks in the church use their timeand talent to serve Christ in obedienceto the Great Commission and not inconflict with one another. The pastorand people who keep busy in an effortto rescue the perishing won't havemuch time (or inclination) to fight eachother. (The same can be true of adenomination.)

Biblical ExamplesOf course, that's not the main

motive for organized visitation.

There's the biblical example of Jesuswho frequently won souls in homesand advocated home visitation. (SeeMatthew 8 : 6,7,14; 9 :I0,23,281' 70 :72,73 ;26:6; Mark L:29; 2:7,151' 5:19,38; 14:3;Luke 4:38; 5:29;7:36;10:38; 14:1; 15:2;19:5,9; John 12:1-3.)

Consider the example of the earlychurch (Acts 2:tl6; 5:42; L0:22; L6:32;20220). By the precedent they set it'sapparent their knuckles were not toodelicate to knock on doors!

Pragmatic ProofThere's also the pragmatic proof:

organized visitation works. While onthe one hand we should be wary of theidea that the final test of everythingdepends upon results, we should, atthe same time, utilize the practicalaslong as it's not unbiblicalor unethical.

For years the cult groups havegrown because of the successs of theirorganized visitation. Even the Avonlady knows the results that accom-pany contacts with individuals in thehome. A church that preaches thegospelat its services, yet doesn't mus-ter an effective outreach program of

onsome sort probably won't grow. Thatfact must be faced.

Keyto SuccessThe greatest key to success in an

organized visitation program is thepastor. Once he settles in his ownheart and mind that organized out-reach is biblical and practical, heshould then do at least three things: (1)designate a specific time each week togo; (2) begin a filing system for pros-pects and visits made; and (3) stirinterest among his church membersby preaching, teaching and trainingsoulwinning.

Weekþ visitation time may varyaccording to the particular circum-stances of an area. One evening aweek and,/or Saturday morning orSunday afternoon may be scheduled.The main goals are to find suitabletimes when your people can participate and when your prospects aremostlikelytobehome.

Determine atime, and then commityourself to it. Persistence is anothersecret to success. Only a few may start

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ByJamesMcAllister

he important part of the titleis "Build the Church."Donald McGawan saidthere are four basic reasons

why churches gtow: They believegirowth is God's will; they pray forgrowth; they know what producesgrowth; they do what producesgrowth.

Jesus said the church belonged toHim, and that He would build Hischurch. He uses men to build Hischurch. Therefore, our task is to beused by our Lord to build His church.

Building the church is a many-fac-eted proposition. You cannot buildthe church through one departmentonþ. To build the church one musthave a well-rounded program. In thisarticle we will refer to one of thoseapproaches-the Sunday School.

OrganizeFirst, we will discuss the organiza-

tion of the Sunday School. It's mypersonal opinion that we reach peoplewith visitation and keep them withorganization. Most of us know that.

Free Will Baptists have usuallybeen able to win souls, but we haven'tbeen able to keep them. So organiza-tion, if it will help us keep our stu-dents, will be worthwhile to under-stand.

My favorite organization structurefor the Sunday School is the depart-mentalized and graded SundaySchool. I personalþ like for eachdepartment to have an openingassembþ with song, prayer, briefdevotion, announcements and pro-motions. After the opening assemblythe students go to class.

We have 12 departments in ourSunday School at present-nursery,toddler, beginners, kindergarten, firstgrade, primary, fourth grade, fifthgrade, intermediate, junior high,senior hþh and adult.

Each class is graded. Whatevergrade a child attends in school, he's inthat same grade in Sunday School.We've found that this is the best plan.The child is with his friends, andusually has the same leaming abilitiesas his peers.

We constructed our educationalbuilding with the department assem-bly area surrounded by classrooms.With this approach allgroups can go

from the classroom back into theassembly area for their youth church.This works well for us. Naturalþ, onemust decide about his organizationalstructure before building his educa-tionalplant.

If, for example, one decided tochange his organizational plan frommaster teacher to the small classdepartmentalized and graded SundaySchool, he might find the need to tearout walls and spend a lot of money.Better to make the decision beforeyoubuild.

ExciteSecond, we should concem our-

selves with the important subject ofexcitement. A dear friend of mine whohas since gone on to be with the Lord,Reverend Lawrence Thompson, toldme that one can't excite the churchunless he is first excited himself. Ibelievethat.

It's the duty of the pastor to be themotivator of the church. Motivation

and excitement are indispensable inthe church. The congregation can dowhatever it believes it can do andwantstodo.

Excitement is contagious. lf thepreacher is excited, before long thechurch will be excited also. I'm not aself-motivator. I look to others to helpme get excited so I can motivate thechurch. I find ways to get motivated.

I read the right kind of books,listento tapes, attend conferences, hearmotivational preaching, and try tohave someone in the church or com-munity that I can depend on to helpme get excited and stay excited. Wehave a young man who believes it's hisduty to keep the pastor in good spir-its. An excited Sunday School is agrowing Sunday School.

TrainThird, we must consider teacher

and worker training. A continuing

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Let's Build the Church . . .

Through

SundaySchool

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Vf SITATION ( f rom pag e B )visiting, but word spreads when con-verts won in the home walk the aisle toprofess faith in Christ. Consider acampaign or contest between teams toget the organized visitation programoffto a good start.

Visitation prospects are plentiful ifthe church makes a priority of findingthem. Ask visitors to your services tofill out visitor's cards, and keep theseon file. Ask members to give prospectnames and addresses to the pastor ornotify the church office.

Check newcomer lists to your com-munity; visit these folks to tell themabout the Lord and your church. Takea survey by getting members to can-vass house-to-house looking for folkswho are unsaved. Don't overlook

those who claim affiliation withanother religious group but are uncon-verted.

If you have a bus ministry, follow upon the rest of the family, not just thebus rider. Visit absentee and delin-quent members as well as unsavedfamily members who live under thesame roof. Consider a telephone sur-vey.

Get StartedAfter deciding on these or other

means of obtaining prospects, gatherat the church at the appointed time.Schedule a brief of prayer, a pep talkand then divide the volunteers intopairs. Give each pair an assignmentcard with the instructions such asname, address and purpose of visit.

These cards should be prepared inadvance by the pastor or some othercompetent person.

The more people involved in thevisitation program, the more likely thesuccess. Assign different volunteers tobring a devotion or personaltestimonybefore making visits. Commend every-one for giving their time. Remember togive the teams attractive church bro-chures, gospel tracts and door knobhangers to leave.

Keep good records. File your pros-pects and visits made. Consider filingunder the following categories: visitorcard prospects, inactive members,census prospects, bus ministry pros-pects, prospects submitted by mem-bers, new Christians, etc. When visitsare made, file your assignment cardsinstructing teams to list results of theirvisit on the back. These results willhelp future visitation.

Keep it GoingProvide consistent training in the

art of soul winning and visitation foryour volunteer ambassadors. Giveinstruction not only on biblicalmattersbut also on practical matters. Trainmembers in exactly what to do and sayon a home visit. Many Christians willstep forward if they're properly moti-vated and instructed.

Those who represent Christ andHis Church must be clean and neat inappearance, mannerly in conduct andpolite when they visit, even in the faceof prospect hostility.

Don't give up if something doesn'twork the first time you try it. Reorgan-ize and try again. Organized visitationis one of many ways to help yourchurch grow, and it willbe wellworththe extra effort necessary. Give orga-nized visitation a try in your church.A

ABOUT THE WRITER: Reverend BríanAtwood postors Emmonual Free Wíll BoptistC hur ch, W abash, Indiana.

Sunday School ( From page 9)

program of training is necessary tokeep the church and Sunday Schoolon a schedule of growth. When lreÍerto growth, I usually mean numericalgrowth. However, churches like otherthings that have life and grow, move incycles.

As there are four seasons of theyear in agriculture growth cycles, sothere is a growth cycle in the church.There are times to prepare theground, plant the seed, nurture thesoil and reap the harvest. There aretimes in a growing church thatgrowth occurs even though there'sno numerical growth. The churchmay be growing doctrinally, inmaturity and in Christian stew-ardship.

Training teachers, officers, ushers,soul winners, bus workers and othersare all necessary if the church experi-ences prolonged growth. Start a pro-gram today and keep at it.

PromotePromotion is the fourth ingredient

in this discussion of building the Sun-day School. The Sunday School mustbe promoted in the congregation andin the community. When we considerpromotion, we must think about goalsandgoalsetting.

First, set soals (big goals should bedetermined by vote of the church).Second, promote that goal in thechurch by means of banners, bulletins,posters, drama and skits. Third, pro-

mote the goal outside the churchthrough visitation, street banners,newspaper ads, radio announcementsand handouts.

EvangelizeFinally, we need a means of reach-

ing numbers. In my opinion the fastestand most productive way to reachpeople is through the bus ministry.God does something through an oldbus.

First, because of that bus, theworker is able to get into a home thatwould otherwise be closed to him.Second, because he's dealing withchildren primarily, the parents willlisten. They really do love their chil-dren.

Don't have a bus ministry without achildren's church program. Go afterchildren with salvation as your goal.Ask God to convict you about theirsalvation. Try to win them to Jesus.Go after their parents. In the busministry, all five points of this articleare brought into focus.

Organize, excite, train, promoteand evangelize. Five ingredients thatwill make your Sunday School thrive.If your Sunday School thrives, yourchurch will grow. God demands it.Non-growth is sin. Believe it, and bestirred to build a great Sunday School. rABOUT THE WFdTER: Reverend JamesMcAllíster is presidenf ol CaliÍornia ChristionCollege and pastor ol Harmony Free WillBoptísf Church , Fresno, Calilornia. At the tímehe wrote this article, he was posforing FírstFree Will Boptisf Church, Farmington, Mis-souri.

Let's Build The Church...

illiam C. Pitts wrote in arecent article for theOhio State Associa-

tion's newsletter that Free Will Bap-tists must attempt to answer thesethree questions:

1) Is the loss of our young peopleavoidable?

2) Is the answer to our problemtruly available?

3) Is the remedy needed accept-able?

Borrowing from these three points,I would like to point out that, first of all,we can avoid such great casualtiesamong our "new recruits" throughbetter training and planned life-prepa-ration.

Secondly, we do have an answerthat is available: Christian schools canbe effective in helping the localchurchhelp its youth.

And thirdly, the remedy is accept-able: it is built on our convictions; itperpetuates our congregation; it pro-vides the consistency needed through-out our denomination. This consis-tency will, as a result, cause growth inour churches, our Bible colleges andour outreach.

f ane Seagrove, associated press

^ I writer, states, that in the days of{t the church-house schools,American children learned their mor-als from story books in which "liarsalways suffered and honesty paid...."

Teachers enforced obedience. But, bythe 1970's,little remained in the publicschools of the age-old method of"teaching morals like multiplication."

Many schools have accepted pro-grams that essentially say there is noright or wrong. "We are going topresent all these different values, andthe kids can pick and choose betweenthem," says Marilyn Rauth, ex-direc-tor of the Ed. Issues Department ofA.F.T.

Our kids may come out with novalues at all, but to someone with anamoral philosophy, this is good.

Frustrated parents, conservativegroups and educators led by U.S.Education Secretary William Bennettare calling for a new approach for amoral education. "Kids are hungry toknow what's right and wrong...andsince the time of McGuffey's Reader,nobody has bothered to teach them,"says Ray Erlandson, Jr., executivepresident of American Inst. of Charac-terEd.

Now, who is qualified to teach ourchildren these "rights and wrongs?"Certainly not the amoralsystem whichspawned some of the recent day's"wishy-washy" young people which weall deal with in our communities andchurches. Not to alienate those good,Christian public school teachers, butthe answer must not be in the typicalAmerican classroom, or else public

education wouldn't be in the shape it'sinnow!

But without proper Christian train-ing, our future generations-they onwhose shoulders the burden of theLord's work will rest tomorrow-willachieve no further growth for ourdenomination. Without timely plan-ning and implementation of productiveprograms, our denominational goal of'50,000 new members and 100 newchurches by 1990" will never bereached, nor could that growth besustained.

¡' ¡, t hatwemustfacesquarelyist/1, that our world today isY Y vastly different from 20

years ago. We passed from the "we,"through the "me," to the "free" genera-tions; outlooks and life philosophieshave, as a result, changed dramati-cally.

The results can be seen in attitudestoward sin and the lack of accountabil-ity in many denominations today. Theproblems we dealwith today are differ-ent; older methods are often outdatedor ineffective, we encounter new prob-lems and greater demands on ourministry.

As society changes, it becomes initself a force of change that affects ourchurches through subsequentchanges in our laity (the source of

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CHRISTIANSCHOOLS(from page 11)

future preachers, teachers and educa-tors).

What we really need today is abetter biblically-trained and orientedlaity. And this need illustrates yetanother need, a more extensive teach-ing of God's Word. Bible teachers arefinding that the presence of a humanis-tic philosophy in society is affecting thestudents in their Sunday Schoolminis-tries.

Humanism states that there are noabsolutes: man is his own ultimateauthority; man is as a mere animal, asoul-less, temporal being which willsimpþ one day cease to exist. This iswhat the textbooks used in almost allgovernment schools teach.

The results are increasingly evi-dent: an immoral, hedonistic philoso-phy of materialism that says, "Do yourown thing," without any restrictionswhatsoever. This attitude manifestsitself in every aspect of our world frompolitical leaders to television program-ming to religious temperance.

Our laws are corrupted by a "lais-sez-faire" attitude of our judicial sys-tem toward socialills. Our schools arebreeding grounds of vice, corruptionand rebellion. Our children in publicschools could therefore become in-grained with values that are definitelynot what our churches preach.

You support your stateunlverclty

wlth your taxe8.

How do you sr¡pport yourBlble College?

hat we realþ need tocultivate is a true hungerfor the Word and a

"want-to" attitude of service. If we canshow our children the need to serve,and if we can instill in them the neces-sity of seeking God'swill, then theywillfind meaning and values and divinedirection for their lives and for ourchurches and our denomination as aresult.

By and large, one or two hours aweek of Sunday School training aloneis proving insufficient. Even the bestBible teachers find themselves hin-dered by a lack of time, by a lack of realstudent interest and by outdatedmethods of presentation. SundaySchoolis a good supplement, but not asubstitute for Christian day schools.

The government schools tradition-ally give facts, but few really lay outfootsteps for our youth to follow downcorrect paths. Children can surviveand even prosper without Christianschools. But the difference betweenlife-preparation in a Christian schoolas opposed to that in a secular schoolis the equivalent of running a race inAdidas as opposed to running in high--top combat boots.

There must be the "3 R's" in thecurriculum, to be sure. But the basis ofalltruth must be a correct theistic viewof life in order to apply the knowledgegained. Proverbs 1:7 says the fear(reverence) of God is the beginning ofknowledge, but fools despise wisdomandinstruction.

Many children today in publicschools reject attempts by the teach-ing staff to give them knowledge of anykind. Frequently, the school adminis-tration tolerates unruly students out ofnecessity, but as a result, the learningenvironment for those who do wish tolearn decays, and in some cases, ispractically non-existent.

Many parents are concerned thatany departure from the "traditional"patronization of public school will pro-duce less-than-satisfactory results.But has the public school been anagent for improvement in society'sstandards and morals? I think not.

f fact, the traditionalmethod

I n i'"L?*i"k,i3å';r ""',iteacher in front of a group of age-graded children. For up to 300 years

the traditional method was a one-roomschool house, usualþ a church, with aroom full of children, ages six to 20,who received their assignments,instruction and advancement individu-ally.

There was no "social promotion" or"grading on a curve." Learning was thesole criteria of advancement. Maybethey were not exposed to as much asstudents today, but they learned moreabout those things which really mat-tered (Jeremiah 4:22). Why? Becausethey were taught using God's princi-ples and God's Word (and often theywere taught by God's man-thepreacher).

By this example,l point out that ourchildren from Free WillBaptist homescan receive something better thaneven the government schools offer.Our homes, our churches and ourcommunity can reap the benefits of afocus on truth and wisdom.

Christian education does cost, butdo real convictions evet comecheaply? Our churches need the kindof "return on investment" that is Chris-tian education. We, as a denomina-tion, must not only participate in theChristian school movement, we mustalso promote the concept.

Our churches can be built for thelong haul, but only if we invest in thefuture of our congregations nowthrough Christian schools in ourchurches, using our people to guide,instruct and educate ourchildren.

Today, the future is upon us. Let'suse Christian schools to insure thecause of Christ in our denominationand in our communities.

^

ABOUT THE WRITER: Reuerend SamHenderson posfors First Free Will BaptistChurch, G r een Rock, lllinoß.

ictoriousFaith

ADream ComeTrue

For years, numerous individualslonged to see the NationalAssociationof Free WillBaptists use the broadcastmedia to spread the gospel. In 1982 thedream moved nearer reality by thecreation of the Free Will Baptist Radioand Television Commission.

Delegates to the 47th session of theNational Association meeting inColumbus, Ohio, instructed commis-sion members to "formulate and exe-cute plans to bring into beingtelevisionand radio programs commensurate tothe needs and opportunities of ourpeople." After careful consideration,the commission decided to limit itspresent activities to radio.

OnTheAir

In January 1985, the "VictoriousFaith" radio ministry was launched onWGKR in Perry, Fla. From the open-ing note of the theme song-"Faith IsThe Victory"-to the sign-off, the pro-gram was totally Free Will Baptist.Pastor Tom Malone of First FWBChurch, Florence, Ala., spoke on the3O-minute broadcast.

When Rev. Malone resigned, thecommission selected Rev. RobertShockey as the new speaker andadopted a revised lS-minute format.

Bob Shockey, director of Christianservice and campus pastor at Free Will

Baptist Bible College in Nashville,Tenn., has been a soul-winningpreacher for more than 30 years. ThèKentucky native has pastored, servedas a home missionary and directed theDepartment of Home Missions andChurch Extension. He's a popularconference and revival speaker.

Shockey, a 1958 graduate of FreeWillBaptist Bible College, married theformer Betty Gambill. The Shockeyswho have two daughters-Stephanieand Paula-are members of NewHope FWB Church in Joelton, Tenn.

SponeorsNeeded

Would you like to sponsor "Vic-torious Faith" on your localradio sta-tion? If so, follow these simple steps.First, contact the station and secure aweekly time slot. Your cost will bedetermined by the size ol the marketthe station serves and the time seg-ment you wish to purchase.

Next, request a series of 13 pro-grams from the commission. Whenyou write, indicate when the programwill be aired and the station's callletters.

There is a tape fee of 939-that's 93per tape. This one-time charge coversreplacement of tapes due to loss ordamage. Individual tapes and seriesare available for purchase.

The next series of tapes willbe sentin plenty of time to reach you before

the next quarter begins. Should youstop sponsoring the program, yourmoney will be refunded when the tapesare returned.

PartnersinMinistry

The Free Will Baptist Radio andTelevision Commission needs yourhelp and prayers. Please give gener-ousþ to enable us to keep "VictoriousFaith" on the air. While localchurchesbuy air time, the commission pays allproduction costs. Whether you in-clude the commission in your churchbudget or receive a monthly offeringfor the work, we need your consistentsupport.

Together we can accomplish ourgoal"to broadcast plainly and power-fully the Word of God with a view towinning the lost, strengthening believ-ers and encouraging active involve-ment in Free WillBaptist churches."

Send all gifts and correspondenceto

Free Will Baptiet Badio-TelevicionConmieeion

P.O.BoxlO88Naehville,TNST2OZ L

ABOUT THE WRITER: Reverend Larry D.Hampton is a member ol the Radio-TelevisionCommission. He serues os princ ipal oÍ BethanyChnbfion School, Norfolk, Vír4inia.

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TargetgO:HowAreWeDoing?

ByRobertE. Picirilli

just finishedfirst year ofTarget 90 cam-

paign. It's only right, then, that wereport to the denomination how it hasgone so far. Have we reached ourfirst-year goal? Have we done anygood?

In case you've forgotten, Target 90is the name of a growth campaign forFree WillBaptists. First adopted by allour departments of work and theNationalAssociation in 1985, the cam-paign was scheduled for five years andhad two major goals. The first goalwasto add 50,000 members to our denomi-nation by national convention time in1990. That overall goal was brokendown on a year by year basis, asfollows:

1985-86: 5,000 increase in membership79t36-87: 7,500 increase in membership1987-88: 10,000 increase in membership1988-89: 12,000 increase in membership1989-90: 15,000 increase in membership.

The second major goalwas for theplanting of 100 new Free Will Baptist rchurches, also broken down into fiveyearly goals:

1985-86: l0newchurchesplanted1986-87: 15 new churches planted1987-88: 20newchurchesplanted1988-89: 2Snewchurchesplanted1989-90: 30 new churches planted.

ave we accomplished thesegoals? Perhaps we have, butwe can't say for sure. And

therein lies one of our Free WillBaptistproblems, one we simply must solve ifwe're to determine whether we ategrowingandhowmuch.

The problem is that we still aren'tgetting accurate statistics, eventhoughwe started offthis campaign bystressing that need and by getting thereport forms simplified.

Whether we have added 5,000 newmembers to our denomination thispast year depends, then, on how youread the incomplete statistics we have.In one set of columns, it looks asthough we reached the goal. The total

"members added" for the year is12,052. Subtract from that the total"members lost" for the year, 7,314.That should leave a net gain inmembersof 4,738.

That set of figures is encouraging. Itat least means that, for the churchesreporting (and assuming the correct-ness of the figures), there was a gain inmembership of almost 5,000 this firstyear ofTarget 90.

The trouble comes when you com-pare another column, namely "totalmembership." A year ago, "total mem-bership" in the statistical report stoodat 217,838. This year, the "totalmem-bership" figure reads 205,5¿16. Thatfigure is discouraging. It would seem tosay that we have lost ground instead ofgainingany.

But the problem is that this figure iscompletely unreliable, since it is rea-sonably clear that there are a greatmany churches whose membershipfigures are not reported in that total

-evidently a lot more than last year!Actually, we find a great many

inconsistencies in the statistics. The

figures just won't hold water. Frankly,we can't tellwhich columns to believe.

We are going to try to go back tothe associations and get more com-plete, correct statistics all the wayfrom top to bottom. But the first thingwe have learned in Target 90 is crystalclear: so far, we do not have the kind ofreporting of statistics in our denomina-tion that will enable us to tellanythingat all about our numbers-growth orlgsses. And that's a pitifulfact. Please,please, please-let's all determine thatwe will get complete and accuratestatistics at all levels.

What about new churches planted?The problem of statistics affects ushere, too. At this point, then, we sim-ply do not know whether Free WillBaptists have planted 10 newchurches in the past year or not. Intruth, by the grapevine, as wellas bythe formalwork of the Home MissionsDepartment, those of us on the Target90 Committee have learned of severalnew churches planted in the last year.We are trying to trace down specificinformation. Here is another areawhere we need better reports.

The news is not all uncertain, how-ever. In fact, much has been accom-plished during this first year. Evenbefore we began, we realized that thefirst year would be mostly a year oforganization and consciousness-rais-ing. Our congregational denominationdoesn't get quickly at anything. Onecommittee can't make decisions andadopt programs for our churches(thank the Lordfor that).

In these ways, we believe the firstyear of Target 90 has been successful.That is especially true at the organiza-tional level. In the first place, nearlyevery one of our state associationsadopted Target 90 and its own goals.Each of these has aCoordinator.

state Target 90

Here are the state organizationsthat adopted the Target 90 campaign:

Alabama: Richard CordellArizona: PaulThompsonArkansas: DavidJoslinCalifornia: NuelBrownFlorida: Larry MontgomeryGeorgia: Herbert WaidIllinois: David ShoresIndiana: BrianAtwoodMaryland: Home Missions BoardMichigan: Charles CooperMississippi: Joyce Gore

Missouri: Clarence BurtonNewMexico: CletaAdamsNorthwest: Terry StaffordOhio: DelmarSparksOklahoma: Executive Board and

one member from each boardSouth Carolina: Norwood GibsonTennessee: Raymond RiggsTexas: Billy WalkerVirginia:JeffCrabtreeWest Virginia: Carl Cooper.

(lf your state isn't one of these,make sure the next state meetingadopts the campaign.)

In the second place,375 individualshave personally committed them-selves to Target 90 on behalf of theirlocal churches. Most of these repre-sent different churches, many of whichnamed their own localTarget 90 com-mittees to spearhead a program ofgrowth. All of these have been sentmaterials and willcontinue to receivemailings in the months and yearsahead.

Here is where the real growth willtake place: at the local church level.We hope every localchurch willadoptTarget 90 and participate in this impor-tant campaign. If your church hasn'tadopted Target 90 and named its ownTarget 90 Committee, do it right away.For information, write or callDr. Mel-vin Worthington; as our executive sec-retary, he chairs the nationalTarget90Committee.

In summary, we've just got started,but we're off to a good start. Morepeople in more places are talkingabout growing. More churches areconsidering specific ways they can goabout winning people to Christ andbringing them into the church. Whenenough of us get burdened for the lostand determine to" bring them in," we'llsee the growth we've been missing.

The nationalTarget 90 Committeeconsists of a representative from eachof our departments of work: MelvinWorthington, chairman; Roy Thomas,Home Missions; Don Robirds, ForeignMissions; Herman Hersey, Retirementand Foundation; Mary R. Wisehart,WNAC; Robert E. Picirilli, FWBBC;Jim Vallance, Master's Men; andRoger Reeds, Sunday School. tABOUT THE WRITER: Dr. Robert E. Picirilli, amember of the Target 90 Committee, is aca-demic dean at Free Will Boptist Bíble Collegeand former moderator of the Nationol Assccio.tion ol Free WillBoptr'sts.

DirectoryUpdate

ANKANSASKen Rieter to Greenbrier Church,

Greenbrier from First Church, Arkadel-phia

David Bishop to Union GroveChurch, Atkins from First Church, Dar-danelle

Dale Doss to Grace Church, New.port

CALTFORNIAHolt Seawell to Oxnard Church,

Oxnard from Riverview Church, Betten-dorf,lowa

GEORGIAWalter Baxley to Cedar Springs

Church, CedarSprings

II T INOISSam Henderson to First Church,

Green Rock from Shenandoah ChristianAcademy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Kenneth Edwards to HarmonyChurch, West Frankfort

TOWAJoe Braddy to Riverview Church,

Bettendorf

MISSOUBTDon Robertson to Hazel Creek

Church, Kirksville from First Church,WillowSprings

NONTHCAROLINADennis Wiggs to Ruth's Chapel

Çhurch, New Bem from HeritaçChurch, Williamsburg, Mrginia

OIIIJIHOMAGeorge Harvey to Felker Church,

North Valliant from Greenbrier Church,Greenbrier, Arkansas

Roy Bingham to Liberty Church,Mannford

Gary Shipley to Crowder Church,Crowder

SOUTHCABOLINAFred Lockwood to Eastside Church,

Florence

TENNESSEEJames Jewell to Lowe's Chapel,

Newport from United Church, Cleve-land,Ohio

TEXASOwen Barger to First Church,

BowieJ. L. (Pat) Burttram to Easley Chapel

Church, Comanche

OTHERPEBSONNELSam Postlewaite to Gateway

Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia, aiprincipal of Gateway Christian School

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viçtotious, ,,énco¡.rnter :with ., ,ffiprophets,of Baal (l,K¡ng!,tA),and,thengot frightened and discouraggd bV thethieat of one wicked womàn.

-That

ought to tellus something., , ,Evên thè be,st,b¿li¿ver,is,s' b

- thurnan , fèais, and ,fãilùres;,, Wê all , är¿vulnerable to Satan, even in ourstrongest point of character and in thehour of great victory. Elijah met appar.ènt defeat on the heels of great tri-umph. Yet, he soon lärned fhat Goddid, care;,,He,::¡¿¿:, ¡o1 16isat<éñ ,HiS,,servant.

Emôtional depression follows emo-tional exhílaration (l Kings lB:37.89\,GUard,,aEainst,the,let,dówn, 1¡¿1,16¡,,lows great uictories. This principleshows the inherent danger in religionwhich stresses emotional

"*ercise] Ali

/rue workings of the Holy Spirit maín-

tain a sound emotional-intellectual bal-ance.

Jezebel's threai (l Kings l9:2)shows that the immediaie ðause ofdepression is seldom valid. Nonethe-less, Elijah capitulated and becamedepressed in spirit. He prayed ford":ath and argued with God, ievellingin his own pity party.

He seemed to lose confidence in thepromises of God and ihe God of thepromises. He saw himself alone. Hesuffered from what men call megalo-mania, "an excessive concept of oìe'sown ímportance." Depression is sohorrible because it shrinks one,s hori-zons until life is limited to self, whichleads to a totalloss of perspective.

GetRest

. fh" first step suggested to helpdefeat depression is physical-gétaway for a rest (l Kings L9:5-8). Elijahha.d just run 110 miles and was physi-cally and emotionally exhausteã. Hehad been so busy caring for thenationls spiritual needs that heneglected his own personal needs., , 'Exhausted, he f¿llasleep under thejuniper bush. Twice he was aroused by,añ,angel tô :eät.,'After táking a, goôärést and eáting föod he travêled 40,days on,that nourishment. We willfindthat a good rest will also help us.Proper diet and sufficient sleep couldbe a cure for depression.

':ShoreFrustratíons '

The second step suggested is psy-choþical-share your frustrations (lKinq.s 19:9-10). God asked Elþh whatwas,bothering him; ánd sö,Elijah usçd,:,

!þat gnnortunity to get everything:offhis chest. None of his assumptíonswaStrue., :: ''.....

The lg!*q is-get it out of yoursystem. TellGod what is eating you,,Voui, ,, dèpression, ,, mäy , ¿omê,=,from, ,

ímÞrópSr. reÞression;,66¿,',¡¡6ç5,, all,,anyway; He is,interested and com,pletely understands your problem.

'.,.:Acknowledge9od'sPresience i i:

The third step suggested is spiritual*receive a fresh awàreness of Godtspresence and power (l Kings i9:11.14).Notê,thât',ngWhe¡e, did,,Gôd, ask,,Elijahto Confess his depression as a sin.Depressed Christians always :feel

suilty;,b,úthâv¿,nòneedto,: ,: :,:,r, ,, :,: : r:r::Elijah now knew that he was not:

alone (v. 13) and that God had not

forsaken him. In those moments Elüahreceived a fresh awareness of thepersonal presence and power of God.Depression is defeated when the Lordreveals Himself. The problems maystill be there, perhaps, but they willappear small in light of God's pres-ence. We need to seek His presence inthe solitude and quietness of readingHis Word and praying.

Resume ActívitiesGo back to work (l Kings 19:15-18).

In effect God said, 'Elíah, you werecommissioned to be a prophet, so getup off your self'pity and be a prophet!Go and anoint three men. One of thethree, Elisha, will be your successor.As long as you sit here you will con-tinue to nurse your case of depres-sion."

Once we have rested and had thefresh awareness of the presence ofGod, we need to leave and get back towork. Idle hands and minds providefuel for depression, Resumption ofactivities takes one's mind off his per-sonal problems, and it makes himuseful and productive again.

Relotte to othtersGod àlso told Elijah that he was not

alone in the wôrk. Besides him, therewere7,Offi who had remained faithfulto God, Like Elíah, úe neêd to realizethat others,ãre álso êñgag¿d ¡n God'swork and thât oúr wor[ ii not,in váñ;Our depressive moods will be tessdisastious ¡f ,Wê'recalf ,that we,are jùStone in a gioodly:company., ,We ,all,,háv¿, tim¿s when ,wè feel

down, gloomy, ,dèjected and, ùôrttr,,less.,But, God,did,not,Þlan,fof us tö be,crippled by,deþreçioñ: Wtren aepreS,,,sion ov¿rtàkes usr, we,,can,d¿feat.¡t btfotlowing ,the ,sieþs,thät ,Elijâh, took.",Thou wilt keep him in WrÍect WÀce,whose mind is stayed on theeli $saiah26:3).,, ,,,!{þäteùér, itS,caùse, dèÞresSioh, isnot a phase that will run its course.Early detection and appropriate treat,m¿nt are'Vita!,, Left

, unlréated, de'près,

slon,tends,fo,Etow wor¡e ùhtil S¿rious,, long'lästing,,cönse¡uèhceS,, result.,, Fôrthe Christian, it robs one of personalvi Ctory ; lim its ;, tfie. efÍ ecliv gness f or,.thetordls,wérk and hi¡dêrs,, óth¿is,from,coming to Christ,r

ABOUT THE WRITER:. Dr:,.Malcom C. Frvpastors IJníþ Free WitlBoptist Church, Smith.lield,NorthCarolino, .'. .

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By Dennis E. Hensley

I I ave you ever "postponed"f-I an opportunity to witnessI I because you felt shy andself-conscious? Have you ever turneddown an invitation to a church activitybecause you felt shy and hesitantabout being around new people?Maybe it's time you learned how toovercome this outreach barrier.

Shyness isn't something just discov-ered in recent years. People havesuffered from it since ancienttimes-partly because the problemwas so often ignored or passed offlightly.

"What? Shy? My wife? She's just alittle moody, that's all."

"Yeah,I know my boy's bashful. Nobig deal. The kid'llcome out of his shellwhen he gets older."

"My daughter is shy, eh? So, whocares? Little girls are supposed to becoy, right?"

Those resÞonses are naive. The

"bashfulness" are just a cover for thereal problem: FEAR. Experts agreethat shy people are genuinely afraid ofsomething.

Their fears can be real or imagined.And the sad irony is that Christians areoften among the shyest of people.They read scripture passages aboutwalking through the valley of theshadow of death and fearing no evil,yet refuse to go out on calling nightbecause they're afraid to face strang-ers.

Too, often, our fears becomestronger than our faith, and we missopportunities to receive spiritual giftsfrom God. When God called Moses tospeak to Pharoah, Moses complainedthat he was not eloquent enough tohandle the job. His complainingangered the Lord (Exodus 4:14).

"l willbe thy mouth and teach theewhat thou shalt say," God promisedMoses. But Moses lacked faith. As aresult, his brother Aaron becameGod's spokesman. Moses had a

chance to receive the gift of spiritual-ly-inspired oratory (l Corinthians12:8), but his shyness and fear madehim forfeit this blessing.

Religious and lay counselors agreethat shyness hasn't been takenseriously enough. It can become anexcuse for lack of assertiveness inindividuals with poor work records,both in their church and secular jobs.

But it can be dealt with if people trulyhave a desire to overcome it.

"When it comes to overcomingshyness, everything comes down toattitude and preparation," says Dr. L.Stanley Wenck, psychology professorat Ball State University. "People whoanticipate that they are going tobehave awkwardly around other peo-ple actually program themselves tobehave that way. Instead, they shoulddevelop an attitude of confidence."

Dr. Wenck works with collegefreshmen living away from home forthe first time who feelshy because oftheir new surroundings. The tips hetruth is that words like "shvness" and

Help! I'mshy!

ff ecently the morning mailbroughtll to our church one of those lettersthat was no doubt intended for smallbusinesses. I almost threw it into thetrash before I saw the lead sentence,"Would you like to sellyour business?,;

I pondered the question for amoment. I thought, many have soldout my business (the church) for avariety of reasons and prices. Judasfirst sold the Lord for 30 pieces ofsilver. Some today sell out the churchby unfaithfulness, others by lack ofinterest, some for the pleasure of sin.The list is endless. Allwho sellout doso due to a lack of love for the LordJesus.

But back to that business letter. Italso said, "Avoid high brokerage fees.,,I thought, no way, it's impossible. yousee, to sell out the church is to sell outthe Lord Jesus. He bought the churchwith the supreme price, His preciousblood.

Another statement in the letterstood out, "Keep the sale a secret untilyou are ready to make your intentions

known." You may do this in the secu-lar world but not with the church. Godwillk_now it the very moment you sellout His church. Soon others willknowas they observe your life.

One last thing in this letter stoodout, "So what do you do?', The letterpressed for a decision. The devilpress€s God's people every day for adectslon_concerning our relationshipwith the Lord and His church.

After thinking it over I am thankfulthat my decision is the same as it waswhen I first saw the lead question. No,my business (the Lord's church) is noifor sale. The church means too muchto me. I could never sell as long as Ikeep my spiritualthinking straigñt. Bythe grace and help of Gãd I plan tókeep it straight. The church often hasproblems, but God is still using it tochange the lives of thousands of peo-ple.

Let us all hang a "Not For Sale,, signon our hearts.

^4POUT THE WRITER: Reverend Larry D.Hughes posfors First Free Wiil Baptist Chúrch,W olnut Ridge, Arkonsos.

I{rrçof sdel

gives these young adults are useful toany person facing shyness.

"Just as shyness compounds itself,s_g too does confidence,,, explains Dr.Wenck. "Shy people should build theirconfidence in small but steady doses.They.. can þe.sin by appioachinsrlendty.people (a reference librarian, abank teller, a minister) and asking foradvice or help on some matter. Èachweek they can get to know more andmore such people."

He adds, "They also should be_come members of small groups orclubs where they can be ,i¡th ä tewpeople and not be overwhelmed by alarge crowd." Church youth groúp;and school clubs can hãlp shy-teensbecome more self-assured.

Dr. Wenck admits that strange newsurroundings and major life chãnges,llke getting married, going into themrtrtary or going to college, can causethe sort of anxiety that might lead toshyness in people. But thãt doeinthave to be the case.

"New situations offer as muchopportunity for positive things tooccur.?s they do negative thingsj saysDr. Wenck. "Maybe someõne hãs

cares? This is nou.,. Strangers have nopreconceived notions about peoplethey meet. If the shy person willbehave with confidence, hä or she willþ"..ugg"pJq4 as a capable and strongindividual. It's a chance to start u n"*lmore assertive life."

Pastors, psychiatrists and othercounselors generally agree that thereis nothing baffling or mystical aboutovercoming shyness. Basically, thereare five procedures which coúnselorssug_gest to people seeking help:

pevouyse!t'. Y_ou havãmany uniqueand wonderful God-given p"isonaiitytraits which willattract people to you ífy_o_u relax and behave natúra[y(Hebrews 13:5).

_ Don't exaggerate circumstances.Don't develop needless anxiety aboutylaj qav happen or what folks mþhfthink about you. These are manufãc-tured

.worries. - Keep your negativermaglnrngs under control (Matthew6:25).

. .Be.frlendly. You can find many newfriends.by first being friendly yoúrself.A simple handshake, a kind word anda warm smile go a long way in increas-tng social contacts for yourself (llChronicles 10:7).

Get a new view of yourself. Learnto view your shortcomings as uniqueaspects of your character. No oneexcept Jesus is perfect; nevertheless,e_yqryone is unique. Capitalize on that(llTimothy 1:7).

Build conlidence datty. Try toac.complish something each day whichwill expand your circle of friends orexpose you to new circumstances.Bite off a little at a time. Progress, nomatter how slow or how lma[, isbetter than-standing still or regreséing(James 1:2-3).

God built into us some characterelements which enable us to be prop-erly cautious and logically carefui. BütHe didn't create us to beshy wallflow-ers who sit idly, eyes lowered, in backpews while others work and witness.

Instead, we need to overcomeÞqshfulness to be strong witnesses forChrist- Bashfulness is ã problem we:to.qld not shy away from (lsaiah41:10).r

ABOUT THE WRITER: Dr. Dennis E. Hensleyis_the author o/ Staying Ahead Of Time anâUncommon Sense (R & R Ner¿tr¡rk) and twoLhnsÍron nouels written under the pen name ofLeslieHolden,The Legacy Of Lilhañ parkeronábeen hesitant in other situations. Who The Compton Connection (Horu estHouse).

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CONTACTfor everyChurch

oWhy should the official denominational maga-zinebein the home of every Free Will Baptist?

oAs the name suggests ,Contactis a link betweenthe members of Free Will Baptist churches andthe denominational ministries. It's also a tiebetween the local church and the home.

oContact provides Free WillBaptists with inspi'rational reading material which many would nothave access to otherwise. We feel the officialdenominational magazine is worthy of beingincluded as a part of any church's regularliterature program. The church which provides

its membership with Christian literature beyondthe usual quarterlies makes an investment fromwhich it will reap extrabenefits of laity participa-tion and leadership in years to come.

.Contact's Church Family Plan is the mosfeconomícal way to subscribe. Churches thatadopt the Church Family Plan pay only $7.50per year for each subscription. That's $1.50 less

than the Bundle Plan rate.

Oh, and don't forget-when a church adoptsContact'sChurchFamilyPlan, the pastor gets aFREE subscription!

Here's How the Plan WorksContact is mailed directly to the home of eachactive family. The cost is paid quarterly inadvance with one check from the church.

After the church votes to participate in theContact Church Family Plan, the followingsteps are all that are necessary:

(Clip and maìl to: Contact P.0. Box 1088 Noshuiile, TN 37n2)

DearEditor:

DYes! I am interested in presenting the Church Family Plan tomychureh.

EPlease send sample copies of Contact to be used in present'ing the Church Family Plan.

PASTOR'SNAME

CITY-STATE- AP

CHTJBCH

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1. Select a responsible person to obtain thenames and complete addresses of oll activefamilies in the church. Forward one copy of thislist to Contactand retain a duplicate copy of thelist for church records. It is not necessary tosend any money initially.

2. This list will be checked against our currentsubscribers. Any current subscribers will con-tinue as they are until their subscriptions expire,at which time they will automatically be added tothe Church Family Plan.

3. The church will be billed quarterly inadvance at the rate of $1.89 for each subscrip-tion. The cost, for example, would be $37.80quarterly if 20 families were enlisted.

4. A form to update the Church Family Planlist will be sent quarterly with each billing.Additions, deletions or changes may be mademore frequently than quarterly if desired.

5. This plan continues in eÍÍect until thechurch gives a 30'day written cancellationnotice.CTTY-STATE

-ZN

FREE WLL BAPÎIST

neuysfrontSUNDAY SCHOOL FALL

ENLI\RGEMENT THEME SET

NASHVILLE, TN-The fall enlarge-ment campaign is different, accordinqto officials at Randall House Publicaltions. It offers resources and trainingfor leaders as wellas "how to" informaltion for a successful enlargement.

The "Go For the Goal,, themeallows participants to set their ownrealistic goals for short or longer peri-ods. The program is flexible and adapt-able to any size church.

- Tb" fall campaign begins Sunday,October5 and continues through Suñ-day, October 26 for competitive pur-poses. Sunday Schools in each äivi-sion who experience the greatestpercentage of gain over the 13 weeksaverag€ attendance for March-April-May 1986 willbe declared winners ãndawarded appropriate trophies denot-ingfirst andsecond place winners.

The following divisions have beenset:

DivisionA overS0OaverageDivisionB 400-500averageDivisionC 300.399averageDivision D 200-299 avengeDivisionE 150.19averageDivisionF 100.149averageDivisionG 50-99 averageDivisionH under4gaverãgeDivisionl NewlyEstablishèd

The present Sunday School sizedoes not prevent any church frombeing eligible to win their division.Campaign materials are available fromthe Sunday Schooland Church Train-ing Department. Entry blanks must bereceived by October 4.

Pas.tolvernon Lons L) and Euangelist Daruin ookes display banner withreviualresults.

PERSONAL CONTACTS KEY NEVIVAL EFFORT

The combination vacation Bibleschool and revival saw 16 people savedand 11 rededications in this west Ten-nessee city.

Victory FWB Church began as ajoint project of the Tennessee StateHome Missions Board. That arrange-ment endedJune30.

HILLSDALE COLLEGE IJ\UNCHES SPONTS PNOGßAM

{4ç¡S_9N, TN-Members of VictoryFWB Church, Jackson, participateãin a weeklong revival blitz thatresulted in 3,677 personal contacts inthe city June 13-20. Pastor VernonLong said the church youth, severaladults and the Darvin Oakes Evangel-istic team shared visitation duties dur-ingtheweek.

MOORE, OK-The Board of Trust-ees at Hillsdale FWB College an-nounced that the college willbegin anintercollegiate sports program thls fall.The college has been accãpted into theMid-South Conference of ihe NationalChristian College Athletic Association(NççAA).The new sports programincludes basketballand basebäl. -

Mr. Aaron Lawrence has beenemployed as student recruiter andc_oach. Mr. Lawrence, an OklahomaCity native, attended Moore High9chool,_Oklahoma City College añdIrugg Bible Institute.

-Before Joining

the Hillsdale staff, Lawrence coacheãtþree years at Logos ChristianAcadgmy in Oklahomã City, compil-ing a 60-18 won-loss record.

- '

When asked what his goals for theprogram were he said, "l want to stressthe spiritualvalues that are importantto any_program, and help young mento realize God's will for their lives.Also, I want to have a good relation-ship with all the players that wouldallow them to talk to me not onþ aboutsports, but about anything that mightbe on their minds. Last of all,l think wecan be very competitive on the court. Ican -promise one thing, we will playhard allthe time."

Reverend Edwin Wade, presidentof the college, said, "A sports programprovides a rallying point for the stu-dent body and personnel, thus boost-ing morale. This does not exclude orreplace spiritual training but it is apractical aid to accomplishing it."

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ARKANSAS CHURCHES GIVE $962,fi)O TO DENOMINATIONAL OUTREACH

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CONWAV, AR-Arkansas FWBchurches contributed almost $1 mil-lion to state and nationalministries in1985, according to Promotional Direc-tor David Joslin. Delegates to the 89thstate association learned that morethan $360,000 of those funds went toArkansas home missions ($72,000),

national home missions ($56,000) andforeign missions ($132,000).

Officials confirmed that 599 dele-gates and visitors registered for theAugust 12-14 session which met atCamp Beaverfork near Conway. Thatnumber included 89 ministers and 30deacons.

Moderator Carl Cheshier, re-elec-ted for his 10th year, presided during

the business sessions. Delegatesapproved budgets for all state agen-cies and endorsed a 1987 CooperativePlan budget of $170,000. Thirty-twopercent of the state Cooperative Planreceipts will be channeled to nationalministries while 68 percent will fundstate outreach projects.

Four Arkansas ministers preachedmessages developing the state associ-ation theme, "The Promises of God."The ministers included ReverendsLarry Montgomery, J. W. Blanks, PaulPayne and Darwin Kelton.

Pastors George Harvey (FelkerFWB Church, Valliant, Okla,), andDwayne Roper (Yorktown FWBChurch,Star City) preached during

the Tuesday Bible Conference at FirstFWB Church in Conway.

James Vallance, general director ofthe Master's Men Department,addressed 91 men at the 12th annualstate Master's Men meeting Wednes-day at Bowen's Restaurant in Conway.

The 32nd session of the ArkansasWoman's Auxiliary met August 12

using the theme, "Thy Word HathCalled Us." Missionaries to BrazilEar'nie and Willie Jean Deeds spoke to theattendees. State president GenelleScott presided.

The 1987 Arkansas State Associa-tion will meet August 11-13 at CamPBeaverfork.

SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGEADDS MUSIC MAJOR,

FACULTY

VIRGINLA BEACH, VA-Southeast-ern Free WillBaptist College willoffera major in sacred music beginning withthe fall 1986 semester, according toDr. Lorenza Stox, college dean. Ran-dall Sawyer, chairman of the musicdepartment, says the music major willbenefit Free WillBaptist churches byfilling a growing need for qualifiedmusic personnel.

To assist in the music programdevelopment, the college employedMrs. TerriSiebert as a full-time facultymember. Mrs. Siebert has worked as apart-time professor at the school. Shebrings 29 years of experience as pian-ist at Gateway FWB Church, 26yearsas a private piano teacher and sevenyears teaching music in GatewayChristian School.

Mrs. Siebert will teach music the-ory, sightsinging and ear training,evangelistic hymn playing as well asprivate piano lessons.

!!!

ComingNextMonth..o

Make Big Days Work ForYouIf The Missionary Hadn'tComeGod's Word-Handle W¡thCareStart A New ChurchWorry-It's Causes andCuresWhv Go To Church?The Whiner's Wail

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Currently . ..

Ever had one of those weeks whennothing turned out right? Talk with pastorChester Rineer ar Firet FWBChurch, Valdoeta, GA. The churchinstalled a large sign that pastor Rineerused.to display eye-catching quips in eightinch letters. One week he uìé¿ ihe sigñ toask this probing question,,,What havãvoudone today that a Christian wouH îotdo?" Some wag responded by stealing hismovable letters!

Members of Pleaeant H¡¡t FWBChurch, Vienna, GA, honored oneoftheir own- They called it,,Viola Hunt Day.,'The special occasion honored Mrs. ViólaHunt for 60 years of service to the churchand community. Mrs. Hunt has served aschurch clerk/treasurer since 1959. Mem-bers also presented her with a plaque ofappreciation. The tribute to Mrs. Hunt.titled "A Woman God Uses,' attracteámore than 100 family members andfriends. Willia¡n Sunner pasrors.__,Pastor David Dollar reports thatWhite Rock Fl¡gB Church, phenixCity, AL, dedicated a 250-seát sanctu-ary. The dedication service followed twoyears ofwork to erect the sanctuary whichincludes four classrooms and officóspace.Members invested $75,000 in the ;tr;¿-ture now valued at more than $140,000.Thel borrowed $S,SO0 to buy pews. Þas.tor Dollar related that many of the g0members are on social security..Two

special dedications wãre observedat Trinity FWB Church, Bridgeton,MO, according to pasior úin.rriSaeeer. A new church sign was erectedby P.V. Barnes Constructión Company inmemory of Ryan Merrihew. Mémblrsalso_ dedicated the church library as areading center in honor of founding pas-tor, the late Reverend Ruecel Spu.-geon.

Easley Chapel FWB Church.Cornanche, TX, celebrated its 100tÉbirthday in September. Members plannedtwo days of fellowship and prayer activi-ties, according to Pastor Pat Burttran.The Centennial Homecoming Committeewas composed of Sue Rainey, JinnyPlunlee, Joyce Colline anã FaytenãBrown.

Members of First FIUB Church,Benton, IL, celebrated their 15th anni-versary this summer. Larry Clyatt pas-tors.

Two high school seniors from BluePoint FWB Church, Ciene, lL, wereespecially pleased with the baccalaureatespeaker at Cisne High School. The twoseniors-Steve Conrad and RoxanneRahn-heard their pastor, ErnieLewie, preach to the graduating class.

Members of Grace FWB Church,þk" City, SC, surprised pastoiMircheal Jonee with a special pastor

{Þpreciation Day. The surprise beganSunday morning when the church sprãada huge banner proclaiming that theyappreciated the pastor. Members pre-sented Pastor Jones with a book contain-ing pictures and letters regarding his earlyministry. Then to top off the special day,the congregation presented Pastor Joneswith a $1,081 love offering.

Pastor Kenneth lflaiber of pineGrove FIJVB Church, fronton, OH,says the church began a Sunday morningradio broadcast at 9:30.

Members of St. Johne FWBChurch, Patrick, SC, gave a $1,400gift toward the purchase of a vehicle forMissionary Sherwood Lee. Mil¡e McAu-leypastors.

The junior church at Midlandc FWBÇhu¡ch, Wect Colunbia, SC, raised$41 for Missionary Sherwood Lee. Theyoungsters presented a check to Mission-ary Lee following a Wednesday night mis-sions service. Ernect Barnee paðtors.

Members of Bculah FlttB Church,Pamplico, SC, completed a $12,00órenovation project including paint, carpet,seat cushions and other repairs. joeMcKnightpastors.

Pastor and Mrs. J. B. S¡nith un.wrap-ped-the biggest surprise of the yearorle Sunday morning. The congregatión atFirst FWB Church, Cheãtõr, SC,g-ift-wrapped a 1986 Chevrolet CapricéClassic!

. Pastor Wilburn Beacley reportsthat a fire destroyed the auditórium ande_4ucationalbuilding at High Hill FWBChurch, Scranton, SC. Pastor Beas-ley said the. fire was apparently caused bylightning. The blaze took almost two hoursto extinguish. In the course of fighting thefire, a young volunteer fireman was kiltedwhen the roof of the buildingcollapsed.

Oklahoma'e Progreeeive Aeso-ciation raised more than $1,800 for mis-sionaries Eddie Payne, Steve Reeves andDanny Hester during their annual mission-aryconference.

How's this for a change of pace? Johnand Claudette k[, members ofSouthweat FWB Church, Okla-homa City, OK, celebrated their 30thwedding anniversary by cooking and serv-ing dinner for the entire church. The Bellswanted to express their appreciation forthe support of the church family. JoeBlairpastors.

Pastor Sam Henderson reports thatattendance at Firct FWB Church,Green Rock, lL, increased from théthirties to almost 80.

Pastor Luther Sandere preached to150 inmates at the Hawaii State Prison.Sanders pastors ttraipahu FWBChurch, Waipahu, Hawaii.

Pastor Jerry Norrie celebrated eighty_ears at Calvary Fellowchip FWBChurch, Fenton, MO. When Norrispreached his first sermon as pastor, theSunday morning attendance was 69. Thatattendance is now almost 200.

Southeactern Free Will BaptietCollege, Virginia Beach, VA, willobserve its fall "Get Acquainted Days" forhigh school sophmores, juniors, jeniorsand graduates November 20-22. Prospec-tive students will arrive on campus Thurs-day and leave at noon Saturday. Collegeofficials plan special programs for tñevisiting students including class sessions,cþapeland a giant youth rally. The spring"Get Acquainted Days" willbe condúcteãApril 16-18, 1987.

Pastor Brian Atwood said membersof Enmanuel FWB Church,Wabaeh, fN, are praying and waiting onthe Lord regarding the possibility of relo-cating the church. Pastor Atwood said thechurch advisory board investigated sev-eral properties. The church also renego.tiated their mortgage at a lower interãstrate which will save several thousanddgllars annually. The group voted to pur-chase portable classrooms to accommo-date dualmorning services this fall.

Members at Firet FI4IB Church,Guin, AL, gave more than $6,500 in ábus ministry offering, according to PastorRichardCordell. ¡

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must have stood by that old treein the garden for an hour, gazing atthe scarecrow pushed against the

garden fence. Put there for a reason,his frame was now worn and his haybody and limbs molded and gray.

His clothes were tattered and torn,his slump quite impressive, for he hadstood faithfully, guarding this smallgarden against predators for longyears. There seemed to be a personal-ity in the tired figure that cried out.

Although a lifeless weatherbeatenform, he captured my mind as if hewere alive and in pain. The expres-sions in his straw face were only spotsthat took on a mysterious gaze ofsadness, yet of hope. His slumpingframe bespoke years of service in thisplace.

Why was I so captivated? What wasso dynamic about a form of straw andrags? Then I realized-the scarecrowcaptured the roll of a servant.

Hugh F. Pyle, What EueryP¡ esche¡ Should Knout (Murfrees-boro: Sword of the Lord Publieh-ers, 1981, 382 pp., paperback,$õ.e5).

'l'he pastor is the key to churchI girowth. He must not onlY be

committed to it, he must know how toachieve it. Many pastors are frustratedby a lack of knowledge about how togrow. No book can guarantee that apastor will build a g¡owing church, butthis one gives practical, down'to-earthadvice about this vitalarea.

The opening chapter discusses howa pastor should begin a new pastorate,some things to do and some things toavoid. The new pastor must take sometime, get to know the people and letthem get to know him. If he disruPts

TheScarecrowByWandaBankhead

the situation in his first six months, itwill be hard to put it back togetherlater. He should be slow to changelong-established ideas.

Throughout the book the authorstresses the importance of good inter'personal relationships. The pastorneeds a good working relationshipwith his staff and the leaders in hiscongregation. No simple formula canguarantee success in this area, but thisbook contains useful suggestions.

One of the most helpful sectionsdeals with the pastor's relationshipwith his famiþ. The author stressesthat the pastor is, first of all, a husbandand father. If he fails at home, it willbealmost impossible for him to build agrowing church. Many pastors makeunrealistic demands on their wives.

This volume contains informationon how to have a successful revivalmeeting. Pyle outlines what the pastorshould expect of an evangelist andwhat an evangelist should expect of apastor. This section alone is worth theprice of the book. He reminds us that

Perhaps the scarecrow remindedme of a pastor who held his faithfulplace in the church, the outstretchedarms of one who cared and loved his"garden." A man placed by God towarn and protect against predators'He could never be haughty or desirousof worldly gain, but always remainshumble knowing that time would takeits tollon his life.

He would suffer storms of life, neverrelaxing or feeling smug. He wouldminister to the needs of his people, nomatter how tired he might be, alwaYsloving and bearing the burdens of hispeople.

He would be the Loi¡d's right hand,willing to stand, to love and to watchhis Master's garden grow.Â

ABOUT THE WRITER: Wanda (Mrs. Jock)Bankhead is a member ol Frîendshíp Free WillBaptíst Church, Fort Worth, Texas, where herhusbondpostors.

no church can grow without an em'phasis on evangelism.

There are a few areas where I musttake issue with the author. His nega-tive comments about pastoral coun'seling are most unfortunate. In our daya pastor who has some training andability in counseling is a geat blessingto his church and community.

Unfortunately, the author reflectslittle appreciation for modern compo-sitions in the area of church music.Much modem church music is of hishquality and deserves a place in wor-ship.

The list of books which he recom-mends for pastors is at least tlO yearsout of date. Much excellent researchand writing has been done in recentyears, and the pastor needs to makeuseof itinhisministry.

In spite of these limitations, thisbook should be read by all pastors,especially young pastors. It can helpthe pastor build a growing church andsave him many heartaches along theway.^

Top Shelf

LocalScene

Rev. Dale McCoy hosted a miniyguth revival in Black Mountain,North Carolina. Scheduling for a full-length revivalhad been difficult to planbecause of work schedules ãndsummer activities. As an alternativethe Homer's Chapel Free Will BaptistChurch youth group planned a youthSunday at their church.

The all-day activity included twoworship times, one in the morning and

one in the evening. Between the ser-vices, youth loaded up picnic lunchesand headed for Fort

- Geiser park

where fellowship time was dividedbetween gatnes, eating watermelonand water balloons. Onã source said,"Weallgotsoaked."

The speaker for the youth Sundavwas.l5-year-old Scott Suttles. Speciámusic w_as provided by Tracy Walker.a member of the Homer,s Chapeiyouth group. Rev. McCoy said, ,,Theproject was great for the morale-of ouryouth group, and the picnic gave us atime forfellowship and fun.,, -

Nationalscene

This year's Truth and peace Lead-ership Conference was held at Hilli-dale Fre!. .Will Baptist College inMoore, Oklahoma, and also at theN,ational Youth Conference in Tulsa.The program emphasis centered ãnleadership qualifications. Resource

speakers were recruited from Okla-homa.

The undeclared theme of the con-ference seemed to be unity. The groupbecame a close-knit community-con-cerned about each member,s ñeeds.The Truth and Peace staff enjoyedwatching the growth that took pÉcã inthe .young people during the three-weekconference.

-_ Four awards were given to the best

all-around boy and girl and to theTruth and Peace reprèsentatives withthe most leadership potential. Thegroup chose all.around winners. Theleadership potential awards wetedecided by the Truth and Peace staff.Thisyear'swinners:

BectAllAround

Truth Member: Barry Harris, AlabamaPeace Member: Elizabeth Sizemore, Ohio

LeadershipPotential

Truth Member: Tim Sizemore, AlabamaPeace Member: Tanya Getz, Texas

\oto+jooÈOt-.zoOto='N

1986 Truth and Peace particpante and workerc.

BY DONNA MAYO

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il'r ^^]anos Big Letdoftrr---IYIr--tJ- --t6 6 lUf ****,^r"i:ï Håiå ìl:¡d[ ilti:i."]:å.i}xl: -9 .n Ugf:;h*

IYI ffi¡n;;iti';;Ëtü: others made sure the props were in Cinderella.

ment as she bui.st tnroi,gn in" Uu"t pla-ce.ltwashardwork,butfun. As the cast took their places on

door. - The days tu$9{ into. weeks, and stage, Meg-an qgefed out from the,,Whatisit?,,askedMrs.Lane. finally, it *ur Wednesday, the day curtain to find Christy.-She searched,,1got the part. Can you believe it? þqf9i" the first performance. It was every,row,butcouldn'tfindher'

I,m going to be cinderáá in tn".ius s,sd p.m. -und i¡rne to. iiart dress "Places everyone," said Mrs' cur-

play!,,saidMegan. r"rt"uïiãi. r"tágun was shivering with tis.''oneminute'tilcurtain.",,That,swonderful,,,saidMrs.Lane. n"ruãl*"ir.1ÀenChristywalkãdin. Megan grabbed her broom and

,,lknewyoucoulddoit.i 'õh;M¿;"l-', vóu tòot ruper!" she started to the fireplace where she

,,\ile,ve got four weeks to practice. crieJ *hen"shä-spotted thà ragsed would be sweeping when the curtain

And l,ve got to hu""ìio-iJ.tÑ;: littþmaid. opened. But instead of going to theyou,ll make them for ;;; ;;ü;, ';christy,whatareyoudoinghere?" fiieplace, she.ran quicklv over to take

ùá-ui;; r"rãgán couldnt .io*-aoõttió asked Megan in surprise. one last look for Christv.

wait for an answer. "A;ã;;re gi;iõ - - 'l'm oñ rny wáy .to work, but I "she said she'd come backstage to

two performur,""r-onäi;ti*;h9"1 *uni"á to r19ó uv und *i.h you luck " wish me luck," muttered Megan under

on Thursday u.a or," ån Èr¡åãv nigrrt. un.õãràá ch;istv. "l know you'll do brealh. "wherecouldshebe?"

You'llcome, won't you? I can'fwait to gregt'" The music started and Megan

tellChristy.lhopestelan"ä-".;; - "oh, __l'T ?o.gc.argd," confessed heard someone whispering to her to

--;óiãoúrr"*Lll.onrã. Wã*ouldn't Megan. "l don't think I can remember getinplace.

miss it. Just imagine, ¡¡y littt" tut"gun, anfJmylines.". .. "l can't do it," thought Megan'

cinderella,,, said Mrs.'-Lunã. "R|o; ts";;yg" *l!i said Christy patting "christy, where are you? I need vou!"

Christy, you can t"ri'to'ái itur"rt i,"ritrouía"r. "You've just g-oi stase Throughout the.play, lvlegan had

tonight.lt,s w"an"rauv,,î.àb;¿ rtig¡ti. ä *itLull come baðk to you onðe trouble concentrating. She fumbled

christy babysat roiii," Lun"s a few v.ilgàl.iiit"di' -

her lines, missed a couple of.cues and

ti.ãå,åiáM;é;;"õ*drt"r.õnrirtv - - "óo you really think so?" asked forgot to put-.much enthusiasm into

was 16, pretty u"a iåf"ii"á: Wùt'; Megan. hei acting' When it was over' Megan

more, she was friendly, not at all stuck 'idure,"_called Christy as she turned knew shehadn't done a very sood job'

up like some teenagei.. str" -u¿e to lãave. "Gotta ,un ñow, or I'll be But she was so hurt by Christy not

Megan feel like t", riË.äj"ãt iiùäã late." showinsup,thatshedidn'tmuchcare'

littlekid. -

Suddenly Megan felt fine. A few The twins walked home from

Megan told Christy her good news ki"ã *orãiiad siopped her jitters and school and told their parents what had

"t "t üiit . ,,That's '.õd; -ðhrirty boosted her confidence. The rehearsal happ^gned.

said. "You'll neve, ueñãIe it, but I *as *""t pã*""ttvr t'Oh' Honeg' I'm so sorry"' said

Cinderella in the third Srããbfuy. I.un At-church that night Megan eagerly Mr.s' Lane'

help you learn your lines, andyou can *rankedchristy' "she promised," said Megan' "And

even wear n.,y "o.tuÃãs.

i had the ¿¡i ððuldnt Îave done it without I needed her. I thought I could trust

iìJ;id;Ëouíwh¡teôó*n.' voq,lgaidJvlesql'. her'"

Megan couldn,t bãþ;; her sood :.;'Gt"d i iãîld h"lp," said Christv. "Megan, shg mav have.had a verv

luck-first, getting iñ"i aráå- Ëãit, "And I don't have to work tomorrow, good reason for not coming to your

then sharing it wit-h a fiiend'[ké sol'mgoingtocome-seeyourplay." þlay," said Mrs. Lane. "Just forget

Christy. -.-;,Gätt;

said Megan. "See you about her and concentrate on doing a

I .' egan,s class worked hard on thenit -somehow

Me--gan knew she goodjobtomorrownight."

ll¡¡ the play. ¡""C.ã nåã "i"U *oùla ¿o Uàit"r if Chr-isty were there . "Tha1's right,"-agreed Mr. Lane. "lÄ v I to do. Some qj'eiäã.Iãi., úf." forsupport. know it's hard, Megan, but you learn

as you grow up that people just aren'tperfect. Sometimes they let youdown."

- - "B_ut you can count on us," saidMrs. Lane. "Wild horses couldn;t keeous from seeingyou be Cinderella.',

Friday evening Mrs.Lane and Jeff took

_\.t Il the twins to school.Then they went to pick up Mr. Lane ãi

But when Marty went back inside.he was amazed to see that Megan waécalm, confident and doing a ma-rvelousjob.

I f and Mrs. Lane and

lvl r . i:Í"1:"",i;*""1Ti:iin time to be caught by a train. Aftercounting 139 cars, the Lanes spottedthe caboose and then took theìr turncrossing the track.

At the school, the finalcurtain wascomingdown, and this time Cinderellawas a smashing success. When Megancame out to take her bow, she saw herparents come in the back door. Whyshe had been so caught up in beingCinderella that she

-had-forgotteñ

about them."Tough luck," said Marty when it

was over. "l mean if you can,t trustyour own parents, who can you trust?"

The Lanes apologized to Meganand tried to explain what happenãd.6ut they were constantly interruptedby people telling Megan what a goodjob she had done. And they were rìght.Y"g9n remembered eveiy line. 5hehad been so enthusiastic ánd expres-sive that the audience truly did noì seeMegan Lane but Cindere[â

"Sounds like you weÍe a hit. evenwithout us," said Mrs. Lane.

"l didn't think I could do it withoutsomeone here cheering me on,,, saidMegan, "but I guess I did.',

"That's because your best friendwas here," said Mr. Láne quietly.

Megan looked surprised."Jesus, the friend that sticks closer

than a brother, was here with you,,, heexplained.

"When we realized that we weren'tgoing to make it-right after our flattire-we prayed for you," said Mrs.Lane. "We asked Jesus to help you doyour best and help you not be ðcâred."

"That's right," said Mr. Lane."Since we couldn't be here to give youa hug and say'You can do it,'wl askedJesus to do it for us. I believeHe did."

"l'm su.re He did," said Megan. ,,1

was so sad that you weren,t heré, and Ihad a terrible case of butterflieá, butthen theywentaway."

, "Megan, we're so sorry that we

missed your play," said Mrs. Lane."But I think you learned somethingm.uch more important. Jesus is alwayãwith you. He will never leave you o, Þtyoudown. And He's all you nèed.,,

- - '.'Ye..p," said Megan,'ispecially whenHe's allyou got!"I

OURREADERSCOMMENT

.MOSTSPIRTTUAL'CONVENTIONEVER

I am still rejoicing because of the mostwonderful National Association, as we met inTulsa, Oklahoma, Julg 20-24. I-believe it wasone of the most spiritual NationalAssociations Ihave ever attended.

I commend the Oklahoma State Associarionand the Free Will Baptist churches of the Tulsaarea for their work and dedication in obtainingsuch fine facilities. There was no crowding in thãTulsa Convention Center.

I have been called out of retirement topastor the First Free Will Baptist Church inBowie, Texas. There were ¡¡,¡o additions to thechurch. On August 3 in the moming."*i."i ãfamiþ offive was added to the churcñ.. We covet the prayers of our churches every-

where.Out of retirement at age 71. praise the Lord!

Back at school Megan was onceagain peeking out of the curtain."Have you seen Mom and Dad?,, sheaskedMarty.

"No," answered Marty, ,,but don,t

worry. They. wouldn't miss your playforanything."

Meanwhile, Mr. Lane's shortcutwas not working out so well. ,,1thought

for sure that Cedar Drive came outãnBlakewood," muttered Mr. Lane as hedodged traffic and tried to read roaásigns.

.. "Honey, please slow down just alittle on these curves,,' advised Mrs.Lane. "You know howJeffis in the car

But Mrs. Lane's warning came toolate. For Jeff was already cãrsick. Mr.Lane pulled into a serviðe station anJasked for directions while Mrs. Lanetried her best to clean Jeffand the car.

At the school Marty paced acrossthe.stage looking at hié watch. Meganand the other members of the cãstwere taking their places. Megan wasabout to cry. "Where are my parents?How could they do this to me?,,shethought as she took her broom and9þrte.d sweeping the fireptace cinders."lJon't they know I need a friend at atime like this?"

, , Mu{{ was really afraid for Megan.He could tell that she was nervous-. ,,lfshe starts crying, she,ll ruin the whoteplay," thought Marty. In desperationhe ran out the door and onto theparking lot to look for his parents'car.But. there was no sign of them. Hecould.picture Megan, back inside_jit_tery, jumpy and bungling the wholeptay.

his office. Traffic was heåvy, and Mri.Lane was late getting there.

,. "We'd better huriy,', said Mr. Lane

snolng under the steering wheel andtaking off. "We don't want-to be late.i'-_ - "The traffic light was out of order onMain Street," said Mrs. Lane.,,Do youknow another way?"

- "Sure," answered Mr. Lane. "lknow a shortcut."

Reverend Or¡.ren Barger, PastorFirst Free WillBaptist Church

Bowie,Texas

lTYEARSI

-. -l¿S.trqt" yearly subscriptions. t am sending

$150. Maybe it will last for a few years.

.",,,".r''i1åIlTfåil(Editorlo note: Anyone else care to sub-

scribe for l7-years? Send your g150 today. you*o.l'l_!91 from our billins departmeni againuntil2003A.D.!)

LIXES'YOUNG PBEACHEBS'COLUMN

The series of articles bv Dennis Wioos(Esæcially For Young Preachers) has bävery practical. He has provided sound advicefor young (and older) preachers.

Reverend [arry Hamptonprincipal

Bethany Christian SchoolNorfolk, Virginia

OOPSINEEDMOBEFACTS

^larry Hampton had a good story on ,,Howto Get the Most Out of the National Conven-tion" (July issue).

Where and when was the National Conven.tion? There's no mention in the story or in therest ofthe issue.

_ Oops-just found date and location in..TheSecretary Speaks" schedule on next to laüpase.

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Green Tþee Blbfe StudY

Bobcrt E. Picirilli

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The ChurchinActs-BoldWitnessing

I ¡¡there are any growth "secrets"llabout the church in Acts, atII least one of them must be this:those first Christians were consistentin speaking forth boldþ the good newsof salvation inJesus Christ.

The Greek word translated "bold'ness" (noun: porresio) or "be bold"(verb: porres iazomail contains withinii the idea of boldness of speech. Itsuggests speaking openly, publicly,forthrightly, freely.lt does not neces'sarily imply that the sPeaker. isunafraid; but even if his knees areknocking, he speaks out anYwaY.

The interesting thing is that this pairof Greek words occurs severaltimesthroughout Acts in connection withthe ministry of the original apostlesand of the apostle Paul.

Consider Acts 4:13: the JewishSanhedrin had Peter and John on thecarpet, threatening them with seriouspunishment, possibly death. Peter,.inihe power of the Holy SPirit, sPokeforth boldþ about the fact that thevery Jesus whom they had crucifiednot only had healed the lame man butalso was the only source of salvation(w. S-12). The members of theSanhedrin observed this boldness.

Consider also Acts 4:29,3I:Peterand John returned to the assembledchurch after the Sanhedrin hadreleased and threatened them. Thechurch went straight to prayer, askingfor boldness to speak the word of theLord. The prayer was immediatelY

answered; they were all filled with theSpirit and spoke God's word withboldness.

Paul's boldness in witnessing to theqospel is seen in numerous Places.Éight from the start, following his con-veision, he boldly proclaimed Christ(9:27l.He and Barnabas "waxed bold"io pieach in Pisidian Antioch (ß:a6)and in lconium (14:3) on the first mis-

sionary journey. He sPoke boldlY-

about-the things of the kingdom ofGod in the Jews'synagogue in EPhe-

sus (19:8), as wellas in the pre-sence ofroyalty as a prisoner in Caesarea(26:26, r¡¿here "freelY" is the sameGreek word). Acts ends with a refer'ence to Paul's boldness to preach evenas a prisoner in the capital city of Rome(28:31, where "confidence" is the same

Greekword).Even a relatively minor character in

Acts, Apollos, is characterized as

speaking boldlY about the Lord inEphesus (18:26).

we i#miiy'räl[:ïiitchurch was a bold witness. Nor do weneed to limit our understanding of thisto the times the word "bold" appearsin the record. Everywhere their bold-ness is evident.

They were bold when theY weremisunderstood and falsely accused:consider Peter's forthright message atPentecost, in the face of ridicule(2:13-14).

They were bold when persecutedand threatened: consider not only the

response of Peter and John to theirfirsi appearance before the Sanhedrin,as måt'ttiotted above (4:7-8), but also

their response when arrested the sec'ond time. Miraculously delivered fromprison, they were told to stand right inihe temple precincts and speak pub'licly the-words of life; and thev-did it(S:ig-Zf). Beaten soon afterward, theyceased not teaching and PreachingChrist-with public boldness (5:t10'

42llIn the face of religious rejection they

were bold: Stephen's "sermon" cer-

tainlv testifies to that, even in the face

of dãath (6:9-7:60'). Thev were bold topreach Christ when misunderstandingwas inevitable, as Peter's visit to Cor'nelius shows (10:1'aB).

And is there anYthing about Paul

that is more noticeable than his bold'ness? He was bold before Jews and

Gentiles, in new and familiar places,

when appreciated or rejected,whether contradicted or agreed with,in the home of afriend or shut up in jail,

on land and sea, whether his hearers

would stone or embrace him, even

facing death. The record of his minis'try is a record of bold witnessing.

- We cannot miss the Point: the

qrowth of the church in Acts is directly

õroportionate to the boldness that was

lhe s¡ngle most outstanding character'istic of its witness.

Let's face it: haven't we lost that? Ifwe have, we need to recaPture it. Andif we can, we can get Christ's churchgrowingagain. a

EsPeciallYPs¡ YounBPreachers i

\

Type and File Your Sermons

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in rurililçrtlTl.ooo" r.uv¡ -- _ -^*^-.iqr .i" v*t o1d age

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Bes ides, t9Y,i:'ål ciî:"h:tï;/ii-i'"il "¡târ

vou die'

sel1 it, and Provr<

Next Month: Ministering from the Automobtt" ,l)

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NEWS O

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RELIGIOUS

COMMUNITY

CHURCH MEMBEBSHIP GROWSNEARLY ONE PERCENT

NEW YORK, NY (EP)-Churches in the U'S.registered an overall growth in membership ofnearly one percent in 1984, continuing a patternin recent years in which membership figureshave kept pace with population growth, accord'ing to statistics in the newly publishedYearbook of Americon and CanadionChurchesin 1986.

A large religious body reporting significantmembership increase was the Assemblies ofGod, with a net increase of 2.19 percent, to atotal membership of 2,628,133. The SouthernBaptist Convention, with a net increase of 1.16percent, reached a total membership oí74,341,821, remaining the largest Protestantdenomination in the U.S.

Mainline churches showed only small mem-bership losses compared to past years. TheUnited Methodist Church reported a 1.16 per'cent decline from 1982 to 1983, the most recentyear for which they have statistics available, andother large mainline bodies reported losses ofunder one percent from 1983 to 1984.

Leading the smaller church bodies in mem'bership growth was the Presbyterian Church inAme¡ica, with a 7.85 percent increase to168,239. Jehovah's Witnesses showed a 7.38percent increase to 697,660, and the ChristianReformed Church grew 5.2 percenlto224,764.

Other smaller bodies showing gains thatexceeded general population growth were theChristian and Missionary Alliance (3.37 percentto 223,141), Seventh Day Adventists (2.46 pet'cent to 638,929), Church of God'ClevelandTenn. (2.4 percent to 505,775), Church ofGod-Anderson, Ind. (1.76 percent to 185,404),

Church of the Nazarene (1.66 percent to516,020), Wesleyan Church (1.36 percent to109,140) and Baptist General Conference (0'99percent to 130,193).

One smaller body showing a significantmembership decline was the MennoniteChurch with an 18.09 percent decline to a totalmembershipof 90,347.

Collective U.S. Church membership grewby 0.96 percent in 1984, the most recent year forwhich membership figures are available frommost of the 224 U.S. religious bodieslisted in the1986 Yearbook. With a new growth of 1,355,753new members, those churches'totalU.S. mem'bership came to L42,L72,L38. U.S. populationgrowth was estimated at 0.9 percent in 1984.

CHBISTIAN EDUCATORS SAYTEACHER SHONTAGE MISSIONS

OPPORTUNITY

ANAHEIM, CA (EP)-Hundreds of Christianpublic school educators who gathered for the

iecond annual Christian Congress for Excel-

lence in Public Education, were told by Execu-

tive Director Forrest Turpen that the shortageof teachers in public schools provides an excit'ing mission field that is going unnoticed'

"Christian schools are fine," says Turpen,who spent 20 vears working in lllinois public

schools, "but that's less than 10 percent of the

kids. We're dealing with the 90 percent of the

kids that are still there. You can't abandonthose. We have to encourage and equip the

Christian teacher, and show those parents how

they can be salt and light right where they are'i'There are a lot of committed Christians

who are serving in the public schools," he

continues. "Ourioncern is not to overlook the

mission field that is there. If we totally abandonthat situation, who's going to run the country?What happens in the classroom is going--to

make a ðisnificant difference in society. Wehave to be involved."

Turpen says legal battles for religious rights

in public schools are important, but are onlypait of the answer. "We need to be out in frontieading, instead of trying to put out the fires

createã by humanists, the ACLU (A¡nerican

Civil Liberties Union) and the NEA (National

Education Association)' We need to confrontthem on the legal issues, but there's anotherwhole aspect wè've forgotten about' We've got

several hundred thousand missionaries-born-again teachers-sitting in those s9ho9.t9'

and thã church hasn't even recognized it. Weneed to recognize that God has given us the

opportunity in our age to make a difference inthe public schools."

TBAFF¡C AIÌD PABI{¡NGPNOBLEMS THBEATEN DALLAS

CHURCHES

DALLAS, TX (EP)-A plan to restrict churchbuilding in residential areas because of prob-lems with traffic and hoise has the religiouscommunity of Dallas up in arms. The proposedplan would prohibit construction of churcheswithin a half-mile of existing churches on two'lane streets.

The Rev. Bill Weber, Pastor of the

7,000-member Prestonwood Baptist Church'said churches are being used as scapegoats for"a generalfrustration in this city about traffic'" .-Dallas

has 1300 churches, including nine ofthe nation's 100 largest congregations. A home'owners group is urging an overhaul of cityzoning to ease traffic and parking problems inresidential neighborhoods.

A church lobby group, "Citizens forChurches," spent $50,000 fightíng the plan Itsmembers include Dallas Cowboys coach TomLandry, cosmetics queen Mary Kay Ash, andmotivational speaker Zig Ziglar.

PRESIDETTT BEAGAII¡ UNGESBIBLE WEEK OBSERVANCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (EP)-The Bible shouldbe an important part of every person's knowl'edge, Président Reagan said in his message forNaiiónal Bible Week 1986. The President said,

"tn the pages of the Bible, the histo¡y of West-

ern Civilization begins. Our laws, our sense of

iustice and charity, our moral standards-allihese find their roots in the Bible."

National Bible Week will be celebratedNovember 23-30. It marks the 46th consecutivenonsectarian educational observance of Bible

Week, which has as its purpose increasing Biblereading and study throughout America.

Reãgan said, "The theme for the 46th annual

observance is an invitation to knowledge and

understanding: 'Bring your mind as well as yourheart to the Bible.' All Americans can profitfrom following this rule, and by observing

National Bible Week with reverence and enthu'siasm. Such an effort will deepen our under'standing of liberty as a right bestowed by God'

and of responsibility as a duty fortified by belief

inHim."National Bible Week is sponsored by the

Layman's National Bible Committee. Since

Nátional Bible Week began in 1941, each Presi'

dent has issued a Bible Week message.

DONATIONS TO RELIGIOUSCAUSES BISE TI4'ICE AS FAST

AS INFI.ATION

NEW YORK, NY (EP)-American gifts to reli-gious organizations rose to $37.7 billion lastyear, a jump of 6.5 percent over the previousyear, growing nearly twice as fast as inflation.But religious organizations lagged behind thegeneral gain in charitable giving, which was upbv 8.9 percent, according to a report by theAmericãn Association of Fund-Raising Coun'sel.

Americans contributed $79.84 bitlion tocharitable causes in 1985. Religious causes

received 47,3 percent of that amount. Thosefigures may be misleading, since a study by theCouncil on Foundations indicates that religiousbodies give away 27 percent of what they.

receive in grants to human welfare projects'

That study found that religious groups give

more than twice as much to such causes as

corporations or foundations.Religious denominations put a large share of

their funds into charitable work, a practice notshared by television ministries, according to the

report. "While the lion's share of contributionsto TV evangelists goes to pay expenses con'nected with reaching their audiences, churchgroups spend a considerable portion of theirieceipts on social service work," says thereport. Giving to the electronic church has notsubtracted from financial support of localchurches, the report saYs.

The report includes annual donation figutesfor major television ministries. They include PatRoberison's Christian Broadcasting Network($233 million), Jim Bakker's PTL network ($100

mnt¡on), Jerry Falwell's "Old Time GospelHour" ($100 million), Oral Roberts ($120 mil-lion), and Jimmy Swaggart (believed to be $140million). A

LookingFor

ALaymanamples-Noah, Abraham, David, a"*,rg"J"itñ-iñäî¡.iä city. TimeGideon, Daniel and others-confirm JÀer time He sent prophets amongthis fact. The Great .Commission, th", to protest the evils whichgiven to the church. further ilustrateé ã*irt.d,- uüi-àïà.t"' steadily grewthe truth that Goã *orlr'tfliãuõÀ i,ior"" untit judgment hovered tike amen. thunderheadovãrJerusãlem.

The well-known Ezekiel22 passaqeleaves no doubt that God searèhes fór The Searchmen, "And I sought for a man amonathem, that should make up the f,ã4..åÌ God looked among the prophetsand stand in the gap before me for i-hé for a man (vv. 25, 28). The prophetsIand, that I should not destroy it; but I made.the people comfortable in theirfound none" (v.30). sins, daubing society with untempered

rhesituation ff'.å?,'ål"li^if,? J*:;lxlr. ¿:ÍEzekiet 22:!-T2describes the condi_

t'$¡i:lil:ïilff if,:.|;.,ä,.,".tion of Jerusatem. Instead of being full zol. in."püà.i.äiËjtä discriminateof truth and righteousness,. thelity Uãi*""n'clean anã-rn.l"un things.boiledwithfalsehoodandwiikedness. iÁ"v violated the law, hid their eyesIdolatrv oppressed the.peopre. The rroni tt

" ;"bb"lÀ.;nä profaned horyinhabitants made. w.orshippäd_and i-ñ;;.1õãã f"ffi,ää among thedefiled themselveé *itn Uãi..-fuËã örärt..priests paraded the streets. ' 6|.i looked among the princes (v.Injustice shamed the popuration. 2Ð. id;;ì;;;';"r'i,,å1;es ravishedwhile the blood of thousandã of chil- Itiá peopr", shed brood and were dis-dren had been spilled in offerings to f,o-nest in their practices. God foundMoloch, justice also was ru"ri-fi."á nãrnunurnongtheprinces.

when those who protested ag.ainst thà "ïh";6å.ä;ilï;,;man amons

i^ïiå."i:s were hated anã srain by the peopte þ. ñi.

-s"l tnà ô;i;

od chose to use human was 4isgusting, depraved, disobe-qeils_g as instruments to dient.GôänåããáAurnun.

--'do His work. Biblical ex- fzekiel iùl3-g cãpsules God,s

Insensitivitytowardspiritualobliga- Secrerary,esched¡lction and sabbath observance blãn-keted the-city. Few felt the need to ocroberGlO LittleMiamiRivereuar-serve God or to keep His command- terlyConferencements. FirstFWBChurch

Immorality raged. Verses 9-11 set Davton,ohio

PF the impurity, intemperance, octoberrS-16 oklahomastateAssoci-lnd-ecency, incest and indulgence ationstalking the city.

Indiierãniãerodedthefoundation Ocroberlg FirsrFWBChurch

or soc¡ãtv. 1¡r.-i.-nåu¡tants turned checotah,okla.

indifferent faces to the sanctity of life, october2g-3l FloridaStateAssociationthe standard for living and thá Lòrá(sovereìgnty. Verse 12 gruphi.;ll; oct'31'Nov'l MississippistateAssocia-

underliñes- the problem. Jeiusalem tion

THE SECRETARY SPEAKSBy Melvin Worthington

lHt: :r^T()N^t. ^ss(¡JATtON

( sFree WillBaptisti

followed unreliable spiritual guides andgave themselves to oppression, rob-bery and affliction. No man could befound.

The SolutionThe Sovereign seeks for servants

today who willmake up the hedge andstand in the gap. He sêeks for Jpecialmen-submitted, surrendered, sin-cere, steadfast and strong.

God looks for a coñverted man,transformed by the grace of God andthe new birth. A man with character.One who is blameless and honest indealing with the Sovereign, with selfandwithsociety.

Where is the consecrated man. theman whose life is set apart from sín toGod? God looks for a óonsistent man,one who can be counted on both inseason and out ofseason in his churchandcommunity.

God wants the courageous man,the man who believes- God undbehaves under all circumstances. Theman who demonstrates love in hisdaily work, walk and witness.

God wants the confident man, con-fident, that is, in the Word of God. Hedemonstrates that confidence in hiswalk with God and work for God._ God looks for a compelled man.God's man is motivated from within bythe ministry of the Holy Spirit. HeÉcooperative, cheerful, congenial andmaintains a considerate spirit.

God needs the competent man whowalks with God and learns to commu-nicate His Word correctly and con-cisely. The man God seeks is carefuland cautious. He's not careless. Hedoes not compromise nor is he con-tentious.

The Sovereign seeks simple, sin-cere servants to stand in the gap andmake up the hedge in this hour.

-

Will you be that servant?r

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CONTACT

P.O. Box 1088

Nashvllle, Tennessee 37202

Second class postage paid at Nashville, Tennessee

198TEK'tqnS YIEN

DRYYour local Master's Men Chapter can have a vital part in helping.lrfg-ste¡'s Men Department operate. A.lot of

timeiìhãñuiionuiMuriãr;r-tr¡ä-nepãrtment is takän for granteã. We forget that the.Department budset is

ää;;;ö;iú;;SprõlÀI bnV orreiinss in óiaã' io ôpntutä Laymen-have.ãn -opp.o.rtunjlv to help the Master's

ñfää;iiì"-ñö;t";';;;;k. Pl¿;.¿ ir;þ."Giue.u snn"roùs offering-on Master's Men Dqv. Be one who cares! lheãif,jii"õ i;õ; ih" éã"äraifu"a *frich'keeps thdoff¡ce operatinglMailyour Master's Men Dav Offering to:

65

Master's MenP.O. Box 17306

Nashville, TN 37217

October 5, 1986