The Church at Brook Hills

Brook Hills College – Blog

1. Judson’s prayer for more laborers among the unreached…

   March 24, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   

   I am in the middle of putting together some training material for a short-term missions team of college students. One of the resources I am using is J.D. Greear’s excellent book, Breaking the Islam Code: Understanding the Soul Questions of Every Muslim. It is a must read for all who are serious about engaging our Muslim neighbors with the Gospel.  At the end, the very last paragraph of the book, JD quotes Adoniram Judson’s prayer for more laborers among the unreached…

   O God, have mercy on the churches in the United States…continue and perpetuate the heavenly revivals of religion which they have begun to enjoy; and may the time soon come when no church shall dare to sit under Sabbath and sanctuary privileges without having one of their number to represent them on heathen ground.

   Have mercy on the theological seminaries, and hasten the time when one half of all who yearly enter the ministry shall be taken by thine Holy Spirit, and driven into the wilderness, feeling a sweet necessity laid on them, and the precious love of Christ and of souls constraining them.

   Hear, O Lord, all the prayers which are this day presented in all the monthly concerts throughout the habitable globe, and hasten the millennial glory, for which we are all longing, and praying, and laboring… Come, O our Bridegroom; come, Lord Jesus!

   Picture above is of Adoniram, not JD. Ha!

   Category: Mission, UncategorizedTags: Adoniram Judson, Islam, J.D. Greear | Comments (0)

2. We Need His Word – Psalm 119

   March 23, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   This post was written by Ryan, a Church Planting Resident at The Church at Brook Hills. As a College student at Brook Hills he invested his life into disciple-making relationships. He and his wife are now preparing to go to Central Asia to plant churches among unreached peoples.

   I’ve been burdened lately with my great need for God’s Word. It seems that if I go even one day without His life-giving Word I start to wither and grow cold. In light of that, I’ve spent the last few days studying through Psalm 119, reminding myself of my desperate need for Him through His Word. These are my conclusions.

   Reasons we must read, study, memorize, meditate, and abide in His Word daily…

   For life, strength, hope and peace:

   God uses His Word to give you life (25, 28, 37, 40, 50, 93, 107, 156)

   God uses His Word to give you strength (28)

   God uses His Word to give you hope (43, 49, 74, 81, 114, 147)

   God uses His Word to give you more desire for Him (131)

   God uses His Word to give you great peace (165)

   We need God’s Word because we need God. We are sojourners on this earth (v. 19) and God has given us His Word not only as our truth and guide but as our very source of daily life. It gives us life because it is His Words: words of life from the Giver of life. When the psalmist is faltering for lack of life, strength, hope, or peace, he turns to God, trusting that by His Spirit, He will use His words to heal. To enter the tasks of the day without being filled with our source of life, strength, hope, or peace would be foolish indeed.

   For holiness:

   God uses His Word to keep your way pure (9)

   God uses His Word to keep you from sinning (11, 165)

   God uses His Word to turn you from false ways, selfish gain, and looking at worthless things (29, 36, 37)

   God uses His Word to keep you from going astray (67, 102)

   God uses His Word to show you the way that pleases Him (59, 105, 130)

   God uses His Word to cause you to hate false ways (104)

   God uses His Word to cause you to fear Him (120)

   God’s Word is our defense against sin and temptation, something made clear to us throughout the Scriptures (Matt. 4:1-11, Eph. 6:17, Heb. 4:12). How then can we enter each day, with sin crouching at the door for us, without being filled with His Word? If we go into the day without it, we go arrogantly and foolishly.

   For wisdom:

   God uses His Word to give you counsel (23-24)

   God uses His Word to give you wisdom and understanding (98-100, 130)

   This truth is made much clearer in Proverbs 2:1-5. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. But how do we come to fear the Lord? Through God’s Word being treasured up within us. How can we expect to face the challenges of living a godly life in Christ Jesus each day if we do not fear the Lord? We must treasure up His Word within us each day and call out for understanding.

   For endurance:

   God uses His Word to preserve you in times of trial (69-70)

   God uses His Word to comfort you with reminders of His promises to you (41, 43, 49, 50, 107)

   God uses His Word to keep you from perishing in affliction if you delight in it (92)

   God uses His Word to cause you to hide in Him (114)

   God uses His Word to give you confidence in His enduring truthfulness (151, 152, 160, 172)

   How often do we run to other things for comfort in time of trial? When was the last time a trial in your life caused you to flee to Him in His Word? God uses His Word to impart to us comfort and confidence in His enduring faithfulness. We would be wise to grow daily more dependent on His Words and promises to us.

   For worship:

   God uses His Word to cause you to praise Him (7, 162, 172)

   God uses His Word to bring you joy (14, 16, 20, 24, 35, 40, 47, 48, 70, 72, 77, 92, 97, 103, 111, 113, 119, 127, 129, 131, 140, 143, 161-63, 167, 174)

   God uses His Word to produce praise in the Church when you follow it (74)

   Pure Joy. John Piper said it best when he said that those who enjoy God more glorify God more. The most common benefit of the Word described in Psalm 119 is the great joy and delight it brings to we who love our God. If your desire is to glorify God, you would do well to enjoy Him as much as possible. And if your desire is to enjoy God, you would do so best if you consumed His Word daily.

   Let us stop this foolish arrogance of running into each day without being filled with the Words of our God. Our generation has suffered enough from the witness of little boys and little girls who refuse to be men and women of the living God through knowing, cherishing, and depending on His Word; and though I have been the foremost, I refuse to be so any longer. Do not enter another day without being filled with the life, strength, hope, peace, holiness, wisdom, endurance, and joy of your God through His Word.

   How can we go a day without His Word?

   Category: Gospel, UncategorizedTags: Endurance, God, Holiness, Psalm 119, Scripture, Wisdom, Worship | Comments (0)

3. East Asia update from Ashley and Mandi…pt. 2

   March 22, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   Below is the 2nd update from Mandi and Ashley, who are two young ladies that have been making disciples through our college ministry the past few years. They are currently on a mid-term missions effort in East Asia with the primary task of making disciples among those who have never heard!  I thought their update could encourage and spur our readers on…so I decided to post it as a blog!

   So many things have happened since our last update.  It’s so hard to narrow three weeks down into one email!  Language study is going really good.  We have learned enough language to share some core Truths of the Gospel in the heart language!  We’ve even began sharing simple sentences of the Gospel with the local folks in their own language!  This has really motivated us to learn language fast.

   We have had a few groups of people over to our apartment for music and American snacks.  One group consisted of one believer and 7 of her friends who are not believers.  We shared the Gospel with them and pleaded for them to trust Christ for repentance and the forgiveness of their sins.  From this group, three girls told us that they are interested in studying the Bible with us in order to learn more!

   Hopefully, we will begin meeting with them this week.  Please pray God redeems these girls.  The one girl who is a believer out of the group wrote to us a message after we met with her friends saying this:

   “Thank you for inviting us over tonight…The three friends of mine are my best friends.  Two of them are against God, but I want all of them to be my best friends in God.  Even if it is God’s will to save who He wants to save, we still have to tell good news to everyone.  But when they hear…they hate the news.  I can understand them because every man is a sinner, and God is pure.  Sinners cannot get close to God by themselves.  Today, they heard about your story and your faith.  Although they don’t believe, they know you are firm and strong in your faith, so it’s worth it for them to spend time with you.  So thank you very much.  I want all my friends to know Jesus, but they don’t believe or they’ve never heard before…I want to learn more from you and let my friends have the chance to see God’s power in you.  Please pray for me.”

   We ask you to please pray for her, and please pray for us and our influence in her life as well as her friends’ lives.

   We have also been investing in a group of students at another campus in our city.  These students have become like friends to us.  We’ve named them after our friends back home, so there may just be a Chinese person walking around with your name, ha!  We really want them be saved.  We are going to one of the girl’s homes to meet her family on Tuesday.  This is a great opportunity, and we hope to share the Gospel with her entire family.  Please pray for boldness to share and for her entire family to repent and believe!

   Another unexpected area of influence has been with our language teacher.  We absolutely love her!   She is a believer, and we often talk about the Gospel and it’s implications for our lives.  She asks a lot of questions about leadership in the church, marriage, and family.   She even wants us to meet with a group of women in our city who are leading in the church to share what God has taught us about the role of a women in the church and at home.  She has also asked us how to have a Christian wedding, and we are getting vows that will clearly present the Gospel at the wedding so that everyone in attendance will hear the Good News and see marriage as a picture of the Gospel!

   Please pray for our language teacher and the influence we have in her life and in her church’s life.

   Finally, we have been privileged to meet some native believers during our time here.  We typically ask them how they became a Christian.  Almost every time, if not every time we have asked them, their response includes, “I had an American friend or an American came to my campus, and shared the Gospel with me.”   I have also talked to many, many people who have not ever had an in depth conversation about the Gospel.  When you combine these two facts, it shows that Americans are still vital in the mission of getting the Gospel to all nations, and that we need more laborers to go out and tell the people.

   Matthew 9:37-38 says, “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

   Please pray that more laborers will be sent out to into the harvest.  To our brothers and sisters in Christ:  We have been given so much.  Christ has given us His righteousness and the joy of enjoying Him forever.  In light of that, we ask that you would earnestly pray and seek God about you going to a foreign land for the sake of the Gospel reaching all nations.  We also ask you to pray and seek the Lord about your finances, time, and energy and how He may want to use them for the sake of people who have never heard the glorious Gospel that has been given to you through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   Thank you so much for your love and prayers!  We love you all!

   Category: Mission, UncategorizedTags: Mandi and Ashley | Comments (0)

4. Insights Into Disciple-Making – Part 2

   March 21, 2011 by Ashley Chesnut

   This series of blog posts is written by Ashley Chesnut. She serves as a Disciple-Making Small Group Leader in the College Ministry at Brook Hills and is in her 3rd year at Beeson Divinity School pursuing a Master of  Divinity.

   How did Jesus make disciples? Obviously, what He did works because Christianity continues to spread, so doesn’t it make sense that we would follow Jesus’ example in discipling others?

   In the last post in this series, we saw that Jesus prayed before selecting whom He would disciple, which is essential, for prayer is one of the main ways that we remain connected to the True Vine (Jn. 15:4-5). Also, look around at the relationships that God has already given to you. Who has God placed in your life whom you can disciple?

   In the Gospels, we see that Jesus spent time with His disciples. Throughout the three years of His earthly ministry, the disciples traveled with Jesus hearing Him teach and watching how He interacted with all types of people. They saw Him minister and knew that what He preached was authentic because they saw it lived out in His life.

   Mark 3:14 says, “And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him…”

   Jesus specifically chose the twelve disciples so that they would be with him. Discipleship cannot happen in just 1-2 hours of small group time each week. It happens as you share life together and as you hang out together, eat meals together, minister together, etc. Something that I learned from a friend is to always take people with you, for how can they learn from your example if they never see your example outside of small group?

   Do you have regular one-on-one time with the people in your small group? Do the people in your small group, the people you’re discipling, see how you live? Do they even see you outside of small group time?

   Get to know the people in your small group. Be involved in their lives and invite them to be a part of yours. Know what’s going on with them. Be available, be real, and be intentional.

   Warning: this is a lot like eating BBQ ribs – it can get a little messy because people’s lives are messy. Disciple-making is often inconvenient, uncomfortable, and requires you to sacrifice. It’s not always easy because you and those whom you disciple are sinners living in a fallen world. But we are called to make disciples, and God promises to give us the grace needed to be faithful (2 Cor. 9:8).

   Do you remember when you were learning to write the alphabet and you had dotted letters to trace? The teacher gave you a pattern to trace and to imitate. Scripture presents us with a pattern to trace for how to make disciples, and as you disciple, those whom you’re leading are watching you. You present a pattern to them, but what kind of example are you setting? Is it one that points people to Christ?

   Category: Mission, UncategorizedTags: Discipleship, Insights, Small Groups | Comments (2)

5. God Glorifying, Jesus Satisfying – Spring Break 2011

   March 13, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   

   It is officially Spring Break 2011! Or as they say in Twitter world, #SB11!  Many students from Brook Hills are enjoying a week of chilaxing! Some are headed to the beach, others to the mountains, and still some have opted to head home for a few days.

   All you need to do is a little channel surfing to see that Spring Break is not a week where college students typically are focused in on honoring God by studying the Bible, walking in purity, and living a life of self-control.  Literally, the week of Spring Break has become synonymous with everything has ”Gone Wild”.  Literally.

   So, in light of the realities of Spring Break, what is your personal battle plan to keep from believing a lie that anything is better and more satisfying than Jesus? Sure, the big ones are to be considered- binge drinking, casual hook-ups, partying like a rock-star. But also the more “acceptable” ones such as- envy, jealousy, immodesty, rivalries, etc.

   I am a big fan of Piper’s acronyms. I have used his IOUS for prayer pretty much on a weekly basis.  Now, I want to introduce you to ANTHEM. This one pretty much covers the gauntlet of how to the glory of God you should war against the Enemy, this World, and your Flesh (or as I call them- the Nasty 3)!

   Read them. ReRead them. Print them off. Stick them in your swimming trunks. Tatoo them to your bicep. Do something that will help lodge them into your thinking so that you can utilize them throughout this week, and every other week you live life entrenched in your battle with sin!

   A – AVOID as much as is possible and reasonable the sights and situations that arouse unfitting desire. I say “possible and reasonable” because some exposure to temptation is inevitable. And I say “unfitting desire” because not all desires for sex, food, and family are bad. We know when they are unfitting and unhelpful and on their way to becoming enslaving. We know our weaknesses and what triggers them. “Avoiding” is a Biblical strategy. “Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness” (2 Timothy 2:22). “Make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14).

   N – Say NO to every lustful thought within five seconds. And say it with the authority of Jesus Christ. “In the name of Jesus, NO!” You don’t have much more than five seconds. Give it more unopposed time than that, and it will lodge itself with such force as to be almost immovable. Say it out loud if you dare. Be tough and warlike. As John Owen said, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” Strike fast and strike hard. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” ( James 4:7).

   T – TURN the mind forcefully toward Christ as a superior satisfaction. Saying “no” will not suffice. You must move from defense to offense. Fight fire with fire. Attack the promises of sin with the promises of Christ. The Bible calls lusts “deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22). They lie. They promise more than they can deliver. The Bible calls them “passions of your former ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14). Only fools yield. “All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter” (Proverbs 7:22). Deceit is defeated by truth. Ignorance is defeated by knowledge. It must be glorious truth and beautiful knowledge. This is why I wrote Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ. We must stock our minds with the superior promises and pleasures of Jesus. Then we must turn to them immediately after saying, “NO!”

   H – HOLD the promise and the pleasure of Christ firmly in your mind until it pushes the other images out. “Fix your eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1). Here is where many fail. They give in too soon. They say, “I tried to push it out, and it didn’t work.” I ask, “How long did you try?” How hard did you exert your mind? The mind is a muscle. You can flex it with vehemence. Take the kingdom violently (Matthew 11:12). Be brutal. Hold the promise of Christ before your eyes. Hold it. Hold it! Don’t let it go! Keep holding it! How long? As long as it takes. Fight! For Christ’s sake, fight till you win! If an electric garage door were about to crush your child you would hold it up with all our might and holler for help, and hold it and hold it and hold it and hold it.

   E – ENJOY a superior satisfaction. Cultivate the capacities for pleasure in Christ. One reason lust reigns in so many is that Christ has so little appeal. We default to deceit because we have little delight in Christ. Don’t say, “That’s just not me.” What steps have you taken to waken affection for Jesus? Have you fought for joy? Don’t be fatalistic. You were created to treasure Christ with all your heart – more than you treasure sex or sugar. If you have little taste for Jesus, competing pleasures will triumph. Plead with God for the satisfaction you don’t have: “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). Then look, look, look at the most magnificent Person in the universe until you see him the way he is.

   M – MOVE into a useful activity away from idleness and other vulnerable behaviors. Lust grows fast in the garden of leisure. Find a good work to do, and do it with all your might. “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (Romans 12:11). “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Abound in work. Get up and do something. Sweep a room. Hammer a nail. Write a letter. Fix a faucet. And do it for Jesus’ sake. You were made to manage and create. Christ died to make you “zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14). Displace deceitful lusts with a passion for good deeds.

   I hope and pray this will help you this week to have a God-glorifying, Jesus-satisfying Spring Break!

   Praying for you all!

   Category: College Life, UncategorizedTags: ANTHEM, Sin, Spring Break, Temptation | Comments (0)

6. Thoughts on “Love Wins” by Rob Bell…pt 2

   March 9, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   

   Previously, we addressed the controversial video promo of Rob Bell’s up and coming book entitled, Love Wins.  I noticed the other day that it is pretty much near the top on Amazon sales, even topping a certain little orange book, which means that the “hoopla” has actually boosted his sales about 1,000%.  Some have 0bjected to the criticism coming out about his new book, stating that these responses are premature (due to the fact that no one has even read the book).

   However, we can begin to consider the questions, which IMHO were actually meant to make statements, that Bell poses in his monologue. I considered going through his statements, urrrrrr- questions, one by one and giving Scripture to reference in light of each one.  However, a friend sent me a post by a man who has already done a stellar job of this.  Denny Burk responded to many of Bell’s inquiries in his blog post from February 26. I believe it helps us see what God has revealed/communicated in His Word which addresses what Rob Bell seems to be pushing.  The illustration of a little boy pulling limbs off of creatures is spot on! Below is an excerpt from that blog post…

   Bell: Gandhi’s in hell? He is? And someone knows this for sure?

   Answer: The Bible teaches that there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The Bible also teaches any person who does not believe in Jesus falls under the judgment of God (John 3:18). Anyone (including Gandhi) who refuses to trust Christ alone for salvation will die in their sin and will not be able to follow Jesus into eternal life (John 8:21).
   

   Bell: Will only a few select people make it to heaven?
   

   Answer: Yes, that is true. Jesus taught that a select number of people would make it to eternal life. Most people will choose the broad way that leads to destruction, but a few will choose the narrow way to life (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-28). Nevertheless, the Bible also teaches that there will be a great multitude which no one will be able to count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9).
   

   Bell: And will billions and billions of people burn forever in hell?
   

   Answer: I don’t know if anyone knows what the exact number will be, but the Bible teaches that at the end of the age there will only be two groups of people: those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life and those whose are not. All those whose names are not written in the book will be thrown into the lake of fire. This will no doubt be a countless throng of people (Revelation 20:10-15).
   

   Bell: And if that’s the case, how do you become one of the few? Is it what you believe? Or what you say? Or what you do? Or who you know? Or something that happens in your heart? Or do you need to be initiated or baptized or take a class or be converted or be born again? How does one become one of these few?
   

   Answer: There is nothing that any person can do to be counted among the saved. Salvation from the penalty of sin is all of grace. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). God offers us His Son, and the only way to receive Him is by faith. Jesus said it this way, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29). If you want to become one of the few, then you have to trust in Jesus alone for your salvation.
   

   Bell: And then there is the question behind the questions. The real question: What is God like? Because millions and millions of people were taught that the primary message, the center of the gospel of Jesus, is that God is going to send you to hell unless you believe in Jesus. So what gets subtly sort of caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that that we would need to be rescued from this God?
   

   Answer: What is God like? This is the ultimate question and how one answers this question will determine how all the others get answered. God is holy. He loves righteousness, and He hates sin. He is the most valuable, precious being in the universe. He is worthy of all our worship, devotion, and obedience. All people fall short of their obligation to love and worship God, and this falling short is called sin (Romans 3:23). Through our sin, we all have earned God’s just sentence of death (Romans 6:23). In fact, God says that He is angry with those who do not repent of their sin. The Bible says that God is storing up His anger for impenitent sinners (Romans 2:5) and that it will be a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of an angry God at the judgment (Hebrews 10:27, 31). The Bible teaches that God is both the treasure of heaven and the terror of hell. God will punish His enemies.
   

   Bell: How could that God ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news?
   

   Answer: You are asking how can God be good if He sentences sinners to eternal damnation, but I think you have the question backwards. The real question is how can God be good if He doesn’t send sinners to judgment. In other words, how can God be good while forgiving sinners? This is the question Paul wrestled with in Romans 3, and he concluded that God set forth His son Jesus as a propitiation for sin. That means that all of the wrath and anguish that would have taken us an eternity in hell to endure, God poured out on His Son in the moment of the cross. God is good because He settles our sin debt in the cross of Jesus Christ, our substitute. This is good news because God clears away guilt through the cross and offers eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus. Anyone who believes in Jesus in this way can have forgiveness and eternal life. This is more than good news; it’s the best of news.
   

   Bell: This is why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith. They see it has an endless list of absurdities and inconsistencies, and they say, “Why would I ever want to be a part of that?”
   

   Answer: Sin will always appears as a trifle to those whose view of God is small. If you were to discover a little boy pulling the legs off of a grasshopper, you would think it strange and perhaps a little bizarre. If the same little boy were pulling the legs off of a frog, that would be a bit more disturbing. If it were a bird, you would probably scold him and inform his parents. If it were a puppy, that would be too shocking to tolerate. You would intervene. If it were a little baby, it would be so reprehensible and tragic that you would risk you own life to protect the baby. What’s the difference in each of these scenarios? The sin is the same (pulling the limbs off). The only difference is the one sinned against (from a grasshopper to a baby). The more noble and valuable the creature, the more heinous and reprehensible the sin. And so it is with God.
   

   If God were a grasshopper, then to sin against Him wouldn’t be such a big deal and eternal punishment wouldn’t be necessary. But God isn’t a grasshopper, He’s the most precious, valuable, beautiful being in the universe. His glory and worth are infinite and eternal. Thus to sin against an infinitely glorious being is an infinitely heinous offense that is worthy of an infinitely heinous punishment.
   

   We don’t take sin seriously because we don’t take God seriously. We have so imbibed of the banality of our God-belittling spirit of the age that our sins hardly trouble us at all. Our sin seems small because we regard God as small. And thus the penalty of hell—eternal conscious suffering under the wrath of God—always seems like an overreaction on God’s part. If we knew God better, we wouldn’t think like that.
   

   Bell: [You] see, what we believe about heaven and hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about who God is and what God is like.
   

   Answer: You couldn’t be more right. But I question whether the god that you are describing is the same One I am describing.

   Category: Gospel, UncategorizedTags: Character of God, Heaven, Hell, Love Wins, Rob Bell | Comments (0)

7. Questions in light of Colossians 1:29

   March 6, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   Colossians chapter 1 is packed with some goodness! Paul is unloading a thick chapter on Who Christ is and what He has accomplished. He goes on to state that this Christ has compelled him to proclaim the Gospel to all peoples. It is at the end of the chapter that he drops a life-changing, ministry-altering sentence.

   For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:29 ESV)

   Let’s break it down one phrase at a time…

   For this I toil…

   -Do you “toil” in the mission of Christ?

   -Is your investment into others costing you something?

   -Are you trying to make-disciples on the spare change of your busy schedule?

   -Consider a farmer relentlessly toiling the hard soil, does this resemble your disciple-making efforts?

   -Do you sometimes feel like you are fatigued because you are giving so much?

   …struggling with all his energy…

   -Did you catch that? Who is supplying the energy?

   -Do you see the MASSIVE difference between “His” energy and “your” energy?

   -Is your effort dependent on your own strength or His?

   -If the Spirit were to back out of your disciple-making efforts, would things continue on as business as usual?

   -Is your deep, intimate, dependent, abiding relationship with King Jesus that which is overflowing into your disciple-making?

   …that he powerfully works within me.

   -Week to week, how much are you expressing your desperate need for Christ to work in and through your disciple-making effort?

   -Are you overly dependent on a particular Christian (pastor, author, podcast, etc?) or on the Person of Christ?

   -Do you understand what this phrase is saying, the very power of God is at work within you? Are you Humbled?

   -Do you stand in awe of the reality that the One who created and sustains every square inch of the universe is “powerfully” working in you?

   -If He is for you and working within you- what can stop you? What can keep you from accomplishing His purposes?

   This one verse, interpreted in light of its context, should have an enormous impact on your efforts to “Glorify God by making disciples of all nations”.

   Category: College Life, UncategorizedTags: Colossians, Discipleship, Paul | Comments (0)

8. Insights into Disciple-Making – Part 1

   March 2, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   This series of blog posts is written by Ashley Chesnut. She serves as a Disciple-Making Small Group Leader in the College Ministry at Brook Hills and is in her 3rd year at Beeson Divinity School pursuing a Master of  Divinity.

   At the last College Worship Gathering at Brook Hills, I asked the girls in our discussion group if they knew how to make disciples. They looked at me, and the awkward silence lasted until they shook their heads.

   These girls want to make disciples. They know Scripture commands us to make disciples (Mt. 28:19). But they did not know what that looks like on a daily basis. This blog series will elaborate on how we as believers, as students, can practically make disciples in our daily lives. Here’s the quick answer:

   RELATIONSHIPS.

   Who has God already placed in your life that is either not a Christian or is a Christian whom you could disciple? Odds are that there is someone in your family, sorority/fraternity, classes, dorm, group of friends, work, intramural team, etc. who is not a believer or who needs to grow in their relationship with the Lord.

   Before Jesus called the Twelve, Luke 6:12 says, “In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”

   Identify who these people are in your life. Pray and ask God to show you. Don’t just pray once, but be dedicated in prayer. Jesus prayed all night before calling the Twelve.

   The relationships you have right now are for a reason. Are you being intentional in showing Christ to the people that God has already placed in your path?

   Discipleship happens best in the context of relationships.

   Category: Mission, UncategorizedTags: Discipleship, Insights, Small Groups | Comments (0)

9. Thoughts on “Love Wins” by Rob Bell…pt 1.

   March 1, 2011 by Britten Taylor

   Rob Bell needs no introduction. He is a rock-star among college students. His uber trendy videos coupled with his unconventional books are a huge hit in the college world.

   However, there have been some major concerns with his ministry in the past. I love Bell’s style (his uncanny ability to communicate his point) but I have always seen some serious problems with his content.  Well, after his latest video pushing his soon to be released book, let’s jack up those concerns up 100 fold!

   Watch video here…

   LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

   A few MASSIVE concerns…but to save time I am going to address one that I think is crucial, in particularly among students. We need to distinguish between a certain, life-changing, eternity-altering, mind-boggling truth and an untruth that can and will lead you away from biblical Christianity.

   Truth: God is love (1John 4:8)

   Untruth: Love is God (not found in Scripture)

   That is a necessary distinction that keeps us from going wacko in our theology.  It seems that Rob Bell has missed this ever-so-important distinction. There is no better chapter, in my humble opinion, which addresses this common error, than the chapter entitled “The Love of God” in AW Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy.

   He says…

   The apostle John, by the Spirit, wrote, “God is love,” and some have taken his words to be a definitive statement concerning the essential nature of God.  This is a great error. John was by those words stating a fact, but he was not offering a definition.

   Huge point! Don’t miss that point.

   If literally God is love, then literally love is God, and we are in all duty bound to worship love as the only God there is. If love is equal to God then God is only equal to love, and God and love are identical. Thus we destroy the concept of personality in God and deny outright all His attributes save one, and that one we substitute for God. The God we have left is not the God of Israel; He is not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; He is not the God of the prophets and the apostles; He is not the God of the saints and reformers and martyrs, nor yet the God of the theologians and hymnists of the church.

   The words “God is love” mean that love is an essential attribute of God. Love is something true of God but it is not God. It expresses the way God is in His unitary being, as do the words holiness, justice, faithfulness and truth. Because God is immutable He always acts like Himself, and because He is a unity He never suspends one of His attributes in order to exercise another.

   Rob Bell is right, “What we believe about heaven and hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about who God is and what God is like.”  Tozer has said, “What comes to your mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

   My hope and prayer is that students won’t fall into the trap of elevating one attribute above the rest. It seems from this video, and his other works, that Rob Bell has done just that.

   God is love. But, He is also just. God pours out His mercy, but He also pours out His wrath. We need to continually be reminded of the truth that none of His attributes conflict with another. He is a unitary Being that does not suspend one attribute to exercise another. He always acts in a way that is consistent with all of His attributes (love, mercy, justice, holiness, grace, sovereignty, wrath, etc.)

   To misunderstand this truth definitely leads to a low view of God and an unbiblical view of the afterlife!

   Category: Gospel, UncategorizedTags: Character of God, Heaven, Hell, Love Wins, Rob Bell | Comments (1)