I, like my pastor Andy, have been surprised that Holy Week has come upon us so soon. It feels too early for some reason?

Well, this morning, the Lord has led me to a few passages that blow me away in regards to the ramifications of the cross!!

First thought: what killed God was what pleased Him: namely the peace and restoration of God to His creation. Check out Colossians 1:19 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace THROUGH HIS BLOOD, shed on the cross.”

Second thought: knowing where I stand helps me where I struggle: even though I struggle now and here on earth with sin and my sinfulness, I stand forever cleansed and pure as one without blemish THROUGH CHRIST’S PHYSICAL death. Col 1:22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

This week should really be called ‘PERSONAL HOLY WEEK’ when we think of the personal ramifications of our sin and His righteousness given to us… through His death, burial, AND resurrection.

Recently, I had the chance to speak to a group of Furman students on the issue of how do we lovingly and respectfully share the most important thing in our lives to people who really need to hear about Christ? Here are my notes from the things that I shared. Hope it encourages all in our call to be ambassadors as though Christ is making His appeal through you!

1) God is Sovereign / We are responsible
– both and, not either or…
Why? What would it be like if it were 1 or the other? Discuss…
• 1 Cor 2 – I planted / Apollos watered / God caused the growth
• Romans 10:13-17 – How can they believe without a preacher…”
The next two points really expound on God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. For more study, check out ‘evangelism and the sovereignty of God’ – JI Packer
1A) The Word of God is the change agent, it’s the bullet that brings life – the gospel!
o Not trusting in your rational / argumentative skills
o Hebrews 4:12 The word of God is living and active…
o Heard you guys ask the question – how do i? how can I ? Tools are great. Apologetics are great! Etc… but figure out HOW to get the word of God in them and them in the word of God and watch it transform lives!
1B) Prayerful skill of man is the trigger…
o fishing for men… using skill vs. just fishing all day long…
o we put tons of intellectual energies to figure out how to WIN a girl / to manipulate circumstance / interview for a job / get the right guy or girl in your frat / sorority… / We strategize over tons of things – Why not over how to win people to the word and the word into them?
o winsomeness with SHARING THE GOSPEL – winsomeness for the sake of the gospel not to feed our people idols and have people like us! It is not about US but ABOUT Beautifying God and the Gospel;
• the gospel as a diamond; beautiful in and of itself; we are just trying to put it in a good setting to display how beautiful it is!
o There isn’t a one size fits all program or strategy… YET A METHOD or STRATEGY is necessary to start with… Know that methods and strategies are counter cultural – especially on the college campus, and rightfully so because so many have used methods / strategies as an end and not God’s glory!
2) There really are different doors – open doors, cracked doors, closed doors – all of which the Lord CAN open and all of which are our good works to walk into –
o We often see things as either open or closed – open ones we walk through, everything else we hope and pray will open – well, the Lord uses man to OPEN doors that are shut through prayer and SKILL…
o Ethiopian eunuch – went from an closed door to an open one…
3) What’s your goal or the end in evangelism? – 4 options.
1. Live a good life in front of them. – example of the lightcaps at the beach –
i. Think about this – it’s MORALISM!! Living a good life in front of them
2. Get to share the gospel verbally. Get it out there and check it off the list…
i. Communication is not what is said but what is heard! Rachel at SB!
3. See them come to faith… You’ll fail at the goal more than you will succeed…
4. Bring them to an INFORMED decision about what Christ has done for them.

I contend that the first two are means (if taken together), the 3rd is really not to be a goal since it’s up the Lord (remember God’s sovereignty). And the last is a good GOAL or END to have in mind.

4) Rejection and denial are guaranteed.
• Gal 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
5) Hell is real and we are unbelievers that need faith to believe this TRUTH!!
6) Evangelism is both an event and a process
o So if there was a great opportunity (open door) and we wimped out, or missed it, there is hope! It is not just AN/ One event but also a process; we can say, “I was thinking about what you asked the other day/ said the other day…”
o At the same time, it cannot just be a one-time bomb; requires multiple conversations, follow-ups. Prayer, etc…

I’ve been with our church staff team over the past few days and have thoroughly enjoyed my staff team! Our church overseas and supports COG and this is a picture of some prayer time we had this afternoon…

This weekend Wofford and Western Carolina students will be in Asheville, NC for a retreat.

Date: March 12-14

Where: Asheville, NC

What is it? This is a weekend for our students to get away from the busy schedule of school while spending time engaging their spiritual life. We will have a speaker, worship, dodgeball and basketball tournament, and time for shopping in Asheville. We look forward to seeing many of our students that we have been spending time with, here at the retreat.

Speaking: Clint Darst is on staff with Campus Outreach Charlotte. He is an area director over Elon, UNCG, and Wingate. We are really excited to hear from him and how he talk to us about how not to waste our life.

We are praying that students from each of the campuses represented hear the gospel clearly and will use this retreat to take another step in knowing Jesus more.

This weekend for our annual missions conference at MRPC we witnessed two brothers who really love the Lord their God, His message, and each other well. Here are a few statements that clearly and succinctly can be taken away from the weekend that I want to ponder more – (with personalized nuances)

We don’t do anything for God, we do everything WITH God! If I believe this or learn to believe this, this changes the way I do ministry at the core!!! It’s less about my part as it is my worship and my joy in His presence being WITH HIM. This tears down the line between service and worship as being 1 rather than 2 parts to the Christian life.

Go to the Lord and His word WITH prayer. Ask Him to direct you to Him and through His word!

When it comes to the myriad of needs in the world, what is within your arms reach? What is within your hearts reach? In other words, what things has the Lord placed on your heart personally? Start by praying for those needs and ask the Lord to lead you to what He would have you do – if anything?

The lyric, the melody, and the dance! Which one do I focus on and which is missing? How’s my dancing??

There is only one you – there is a treasure inside you that can change the WORLD! There are people the Lord wants to reach through me and through my unique voice and life.

How is my marriage (and our marriages) strengthened by the calling the Lord has given to us?

Fine line between transparency and manipulation (when it comes to ministering to people).

We all have an external description of true masculinity; what are those and how are they alike or different than the biblical notion of the true man – Christ?

How do we do more team ministry? Do we really believe that 2 are better than 1 and that there is greater reward for their labors?

Our hub church Mitchell Road in Greenville is hosting its annual Missions Conference this weekend. It will feature keynote speakers Scotty Smith and Scott Roley from Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN, as well as firsthand accounts from missionaries around the globe. Come join us for the different events, especially hearing from Dave Culmer in Bulgaria during our Sunday School hour at 10am.

The conference runs from Thursday night March 4th through Sunday night March 7th. Here is the schedule:

Thursday March 4th
5:45pm International covered dish dinner
6:45pm Missionary Kaleidoscope

Friday March 5th
10:45am Communion Service
12:00 Lunch with missionaries
5:45pm Dinner
6:45pm Evening Service – Scotty Smith & Scott Roley

Saturday March 6th
9:00am Pancake Breakfast
9:45am Breakout Seminars – various missionaries
6:30pm Evening Service – Scotty Smith & Scott Roley

Sunday March 7th
10:00am College Sunday School – Dave Culmer
11:00am Worship
6:00pm Evening Worship – Scotty Smith & Scott Roley