Missions on Target

The Lord started His church with His disciples and gave to them the Great Commission to make disciples, baptize, and then instruct them in all things. Our Lord instructed them in Matt. 28 saying:

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsover I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Then in Acts 1:8 before His ascension he said again,

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

These things are important in regards to missions. Our Lord traveled 60 miles to be baptized by John the Baptist. His disciples were also baptized of John the Baptist. It was to this first church that He gave the authority to go and evangelize, baptize, and instruct in all things. This Authority wrought power, and this power wrought results. The entire world was turned upside down (Acts 17:6) as a result of this Authority, power, and obedience to this command.
He had earlier given to the church the authority to discipline (Matt. 18), to administer the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26), and now to baptize (Matt. 28). From this point on, all examples of mission work was done through the local church. It was the local church that sent out its missionaries (Acts 8 & 13). Paul's epistle reads:

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Eph. 3:21

That church Jesus started began other churches to which was passed the Authority and Power to start other churches. Thus in a relatively short time, there were churches at Antioch, Galatia, Ephesus, Babylon, Corith, Pergamus, Rome, ...Cincinnati, Ohio; Loveland, Ohio; Goshen, Ohio; Hillsboro, Ohio; Bullhead City, Arizona; Magdellena, Mexico; Tata, Hungary; etc.
I am not one that holds to the thought that you have to be able to trace back your church to the Lord's; but I am one that believes that your church ought to leave the same 'print' as the Lord's. I don't know that it is humanly possible to trace back every church's history today...I've tried with ours, but hit dead ends very quickly.
I'm getting off track....back to missions. It is the church's responsibility to send out it's missionaries. I have heard and read of all the reasons why a 'mission board' or 'clearing house' are 'necessary;' but I can't find those para-church organizations in the Bible. The church was given the authority and power and I believe that a church under that authority, with that power, is more than capable to handle the missionaries God calls from that body. To think otherwise is to doubt the omnipotence of God, the promises of God, and the calling of God. Why would God call out of your body a man to send to the mission field that a church was not able to send forth? God will never ask from us what He does not supply for us.
I know that the clearing houses and boards are of mostly good intention and are seeing people get saved and works being established. Yet, we still read in 2 Timothy 2

And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully

In order for there to be God's reward, there must be obedience to God's law.
I believe we have in our churches strayed away from God's plan somewhat. In His Word we read:
Jesus started a church, gave the authority to that church which started another church there at Antioch. That church sent out with the authority men like Paul who started other churches which continued this process. Paul was sent by his church. Other churches sent gifts (2 Cor. 8:2) of which Paul was greatly thankful.
We have developed a system where 'Church A' supports 50 missionaries at $60 a month ($3,000 month). Church A has a man in their church called to the field of Somewhere Out There and prepares to go. The church does not have the 'time, means, or finances to send that missionary out'. So, that man spends the next four years traveling around the country exposing his family to church atmospheres he normally would not attend for the cause of support. He will expand his waist line 6 inches from the lack of exercise and eating out constantly. Will struggle to properly educate and train his children from a lack of time. Could experience some 'spoiling' as he travels. Drifts away from his home church and pastor's heart. Picks up some unfortunate habits along the way. Finally reaches his goal, returns to his home church and meets the 1/4 of the church he does not know. A portion of his support from other churches now goes to a mission agency outside his local church. He is 'approved to go' by that board and heads out to the field, only to find the field has gotten much harder (or he has become somewhat weaker), his children have become some what rebellious (from a lack of time and investment from parents), and he just doesn't agree with his pastor on some 'minor issues' any longer.
Unfortunately these things do happen. We have gotten off target!
How I praise the Lord for the three missionaries Cozaddale sends out. How I look forward to the next missionary we are able to commission and send out. But wouldn't it be great if we were able to send him out and take care of the greater part of his needs? Wouldn't it be great if he need only visit a few very like minded churches who can send 'gifts' to help his needs? Wouldn't it be great that his pastor and he share a heart, vision, and doctrine?
We wouldn't be able to 'glory' in the 50-100 missionaries OUR CHURCH SUPPORTS, but we just might find that a greater work gets done and at a quicker rate, and by a means that glorifies our Lord.
Just something to think on.

An Auditorium Amber Alert!

Truly, in most churches today, there could be issued an Auditorium Amber Alert! Who exactly is missing? Well, basically all children. Who has taken them? No one really; the parents have handed them over to nursery workers, jr. church workers, Awana workers, Sunday School teachers, etc. They can be found many places: roaming halls, in the fellowship hall in jr. church, in the gym playing dodge ball, making a craft in the Sunday School room...but this we know, they are not in the auditorium.
When did this all begin? Best I can find, nurseries began with Billy Sunday and his campaigns held in his tabernacles. We can read

Crowd noise, especially coughing and crying babies, was a significant impediment to Sunday's preaching because the wooden tabernacles were so acoustically live. During his preliminaries, Rodeheaver often instructed audiences about how to muffle their coughs. Nurseries were always provided, infants forbidden, and Sunday sometimes appeared rude in his haste to rid the hall of noisy children who had slipped through the ushers

Again, as noted before, due to the 'conversion success' that men like Sunday saw, Baptist began to adopt their 'unBaptist' ways into their churches. The "Jr. Church" began in 1929 with John Higgins, an Episcopalian, as an experiment to separate children into their own age groups and attempt to reach them on their level. We have more children's ministries than ever before, yet, we are losing our children at a faster rate than ever before. Why is this?
The typical child that rides the bus does not know the pastor, hear the pastor, or many times even know what he looks like. They know their bus captain, their Sunday School teacher, and their jr. church leader, but not the pastor. Please note...how we praise the Lord for those who will serve the Lord in these capacities. Their desires for the young people are pure and admirable; yet we cannot get away from Scripture that the Lord has 'set the members' has 'given pastors' for the perfecting of the saints...that includes the young ones too.
Instead, our children get a steady diet of "Father Abraham," "the twizzler game," and quiet seats galore! They get a steady diet of 52 sermons on simple salvation every year for 7 years, then upon entering the teen class feel the sudden need to be a 'jr. church worker' because they just don't feel comfortable in the auditorium.
So, we look to Scripture. Let us examine children's ministries in God's Word....still looking....still looking....none to be found. Instead we read:13And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 2 Chron. 20



There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them. Joshua 8:35


When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: Deut. 31:11-12


Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. Ezra 10:1

In the New Testament, children were brought to Jesus and He welcomed them in His presence.
Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Mark 10:14

The New Testament Epistles were written to local churches and it was expected that the children would be in the congregation listening to the letters read aloud.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Eph. 6:1


Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Col. 3:20


My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 1 John 2:1

Point is, they weren't in jr. church, teen class, kid's club, or anyplace else...they were sitting in the service. Rather than being surrounded by a majority of children their age, learning their traits (most bad), they, in the early church, were sitting in the congregation where the majority were adults who were matured in the Lord, who showed a love for the Word of God, who showed them what the Christian life was truly about.
I just can't help but believe that if we went back to doing things God's way, things would go so much better. It seems like these last few years Independent Baptist and Evangelicalism has been inundated with books dealing with the issue of why we are losing our children. From Ken Ham, to First Baptist of Hammond, to David Cloud, Terry Coomer...to even myself and Pastor Carr; we have studied and shared why we believe we are losing our children to the world. Perhaps we need only to look at ourselves. Perhaps if we brought our children to church with us, sat under the same preaching, discussed how God is working and speaking to our lives, and spent more time together as a family and less time separate with peers-our children might not depart when they are old. Perhaps if we kept them in an atmosphere conducive to maturity and less ones 'on their level,' our children "may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:".
Doesn't it seem ironic that the services where the 'Lord really moved,' are the services where the families are all together?
We could issue our auditorium amber alert-for our children are indeed missing. Sadly, most after aging 18 years, continue to be missing.

Bribes and Cheapening the Sacred

What a sad, sad day this is for our country. As I sat last night and listened to the vote count on the health care reform, I was numb. When Nancy P. said "Tonight we make history and better our nation," I said she was half right. History was made, but a nation was not bettered.
I sat and watched a democracy turn another page towards socialism, and what tore me up even more was to see Ohio Representative Driehaus, 'change his mind' and revise at the last minute his vote to a yes in favor of health care reform. This of course had nothing to do with Vice-president Biden making a special visit last week to a fund raiser for Driehaus. Many back door deals are being pointed at as to the reason this bill was able to be passed....regardless of how you feel about the reform, we all can agree we love our nation and we will pray for our leaders.
Those back door deals though, they fire us up don't they? The audacity to bribe and cheapen politics such as that....but that leads me to our thought this week....
Zoo Day, free kites, Freddy the Flipping Frog give away, come see the BMX star do a back flip, pizza, hot dogs, cotton candy, win a bike, everyone wins a prize, carnival games, bring your mamma to see the llama, horse rides, limo rides, and all for just riding OUR BUS to church this week!
This of course is nothing like the bribing and cheapening of our nations heritage in politics, this is SOULS! That justifies it...right?
We have four routes each week, and thank the Lord for the privilege of bringing others to church. I have spent the last 27 years of my life in three churches that all ran successful bus programs. I have worked on many bus routes, driven bus routes, captained four routes, and started three routes from scratch. I have been personally in charge of our jr. church program and worked in a jr. church off and on since I was 16. I have seen many children make professions of faith....hundreds of children...without exaggeration 1,000s of children make professions of faith through these ministries; and I know of maybe 50 still in church of those professions.
I did again, you know, I looked in the Bible for Bus routes. Couldn't find anything. I know, I know....

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. Luke 14:23

Of course we would have to ignore that in context the Lord was teaching how that the Jews had rejected the Truth and the Gospel was being taken to the gentiles. It's a great motivational verse though to reaching the lost, but this was done for 2,000 years without gimmicks and prizes or a bus route that does such.
Now let me say this plainly: I love our bus routes. I love every child that rides in on those busses, I wish we had 30 bus routes, we will always pick up all those who desire to go to the house of God. I just wonder the following:
1. If our desire is to bring those who desire to come to the house of God, why do we not run them on Sunday nights or mid-week?
2. I know it happens, I've watched it all my life, many of the children go to the church that gives away the best stuff. What lesson are we instilling in them? Are we not teaching them that determining which church to go to revolves around what you are getting out of it? And then we wonder why they grow up and quit or go to evangelical, vineyard, flesh pleasing assemblies? We taught them that way.
3. Wasn't church designed for the saint? I am not saying that people can't be saved at a church, but the church was designed by God for the saint and the perfecting of that saint. We all must agree that when a church is designed with the lost in mind (Vineyards, purpose driven, evangelical), it must weaken doctrine, change music, be centered on activities and entertainment, and keep giving and putting out in order to keep them coming...sounds like Jr. Church doesn't it?
4. What percentage of church budget is being spent on pizzas, stuffed animals, 2 liters, and a myriad of Kipp Bros. junk? While the missionary's support is being lowered, pastor is getting a second job, and the mortgage continues on the property?
5. Doesn't 1 Cor. 11 teach against gathering in the house of God in the wrong spirit: "I praise you not that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse"? It does matter in what spirit you come to assemble, and greed and selfishness are not proper spirits.
6. Do we not believe that proselyting is wrong? If there is a brother that is going to another Bible believing Baptist church, it would be wrong to steal them from that church so that they can be added to this flock; yet, it is accepted in the bus ministry. Not just with the children, in order to win the trip to King's Island amusement park, they have to bring visitors, and thus take their Aunt Mollie, Grandpa Jones, and other relatives away from their local church to come to ours. Isn't that contrary to Scripture and the doctrine of the local church?

The Lord's churches are like nothing else on this earth. It is unique and it is sacred. To be a member of one such church, one must be saved and Scripturally baptized. He then can join the church by that baptism, by moving of letter as a result of God moving Him for a doctrinal reason, or by statement should his previous church unfortunately cease existence. I do know that God does move folks and sets the members in the body, but this is clearly God's moving.
Does not our goldfish, pizza, horse rides, and $5 bills contradict everything we have discussed? Are we not cheapening the church, our Lord's sacred institution?
I am not against having a hot dog, slice of watermelon, or a full out meal with the members of the church-including our bus riders; but when we make that the reason why they come...well..."have ye not houses to eat in?"
I agree that the prize doesn't change the Gospel, and that truly was my motivation in keeping on giving away our trinkets...but it does cheapen and belittle the doctrine of the church. We will continue as long as our Lord allows us, to run routes and pick up those who desire to come to our church, but we cannot bribe, we cannot steal from the other sound church, we cannot cheapen the church and train young people to belittle it.
When we do, we are not better than a high ranking political figure buying a vote to achieve his goal.

Church Van Needed

Our church is in need of a used 12 or 15 passenger van. If any church has one or knows of one available, please contact me by email or commenting on this thread. Pass the word along for me. Thank you!

Lord's Supper Dinner Show

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11 "For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come."
In this passage, Paul rebukes the Corinthian church because they had made a feast out of the what supposed to be a memorial. They were filling their bellies and leaving drunken. Paul said, "Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in?" The Lord's Supper was to be a memorial (11:24-25), a time of personal examination (11:28), a testimony to others what we have believed in (11:26), and a symbol of what it took for our salvation (11:23).
I believe it needs to be remembered that it is the LORD'S SUPPER. It's not mine, not yours, it's our Lord's. We don't need to improve it, revise it, or update it...it is perfect as He instituted it.
He instituted it and set the guidelines. The Lord gave the ordinance to the local church. He gave the ordinance of baptism to the local church. We baptized and added one to the church yesterday...did anyone else out there vote or even know that who is not a member of our church? No? It is because the ordinance was given to the local church and not some made up 'invisible church.' So is the Lord's Supper.
It is to be observed by the local church and by the members of that local church. Notice the references in our text to "when ye come together." The book was written to the church at Corinth.
The Lord limits who the participants are. Even when He instituted the Supper, we know there were near 120 believers, yet He instituted it with only the 12. 1 Cor. 12:28 teaches that the apostles were the 'first church.' So why were the other believers not invited? They were not members of that first church, and the Supper is only for members of the church.
Furthermore, none would argue that church discipline is to be administered by the local church. It is a ludicrous and impossible suggestion that "all believers of like faith" or "some universal church" discipline its members. There is a wonderful church in Mongolia right now, and have never met the transgressing believer that is facing discipline at your church. How could they have a part in this? Of course they cannot, for church discipline is a local church matter. The Lord gave the instructions for discipline again to the first church (Matt. 18). I mention this because 1 Cor. 5:9-13 reads

I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

We are to judge them that are within. Within what? The local church. And those that are involved in an unconfessed, unrepented sin such as fornication we are 'not to eat' with. They cannot observe the Lord's supper with the church. Now, it stands to reason that if we are to judge within and not to eat with those who are facing church discipline, how can we allow anyone to partake with us that is not a member of our local body? We cannot. If that believer from Mongolia visits our church this Sunday, I have no idea whether he is facing church discipline or not there in his local church. Thus, I cannot allow him to partake with us.
Simply, the Bible only teaches CLOSED communion; and to be a true Baptist, you will believe in only Closed communion. To do otherwise is ecumenical in thought and foundation and will always lead to a weak stand on alien baptism.
It is the Lord's Supper, and I believe this foundation was crucial to understanding my thought as follows. Many have made the observance of the supper a show, a performance, and/or ritual.
I have sat in churches that when the observance time drew near, the lights were dimmed, the organ plays softly, everyone sits and watches a 'priestly pastor' bless and pass out the elements. When did this performance begin? The observance should be done reverently, but not as a show. We don't play music, don't dim the lights to set the mood, and we don't even allow our nursery workers that evening to observe (The nursery is next week's topic). How can a nursery worker be examining, remembering, thanking, and praising God in that environment? How can the organist watching her notes be doing the same? (and should she miss a note...well there goes everyone thoughts).
Fact is, like many other areas that we have been looking at, we have "Catholicized" our services. We want to appear religious like them; but this is nothing new. Why a pure virgin envies and desires to appear like the whore (Rev. 17) is truly a mystery, and a battle today.

Now Let Us Have A Little Talk With Jesus

I grew up with the above mentioned song, and never quite understood it all. The chorus is penned:

Now let us have a little talk with Jesus,
Let us tell Him all about our troubles,
He will hear our faintest cries
And He will Answer by and by,
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning,
Then you'll know a little fire is burning,
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

How does one feel a little prayer wheel turning? I know the Buddhist have prayer wheels, but that can't be what I'm singing about, could it?
Any ways, just an introduction to this thought, Prayer in the church.
There is so much Scripture in regards to prayer in the New Testament. Without a doubt the early church was a praying church. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples (the first church) the importance of prayer. His lesson as found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 teach the following. We see that His disciples asked the Lord "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." Then we see our Lord's lesson:
1. Don't be as a hypocrite: (Matt. 6:5)
a. To love to stand up in the synagogue
b. To love to stand in public view in the streets
c. To love to be seen of men praying
2. Prayer should be in 'the closet.' (6:6)
a. Secretly
b. Directed to the Father
c. Answered by the Father publicly
3. Not as Heathen (6:7)
a. Pray with vain repetition
b. Pray with much words
c. Pray as to 'inform God' of needs
4. Prayer Correctly (9-14)
a. To the Father (9)
b. Praise (9)
c. Submission (10)
d. State daily needs (11)
e. Forgiveness (12)
f. Protection from sin (13)
g. Dedication to God (13)
h. Claiming the Promises of God (14-15)
5. Prayer can be associated at times also with Fasting (16-18)
a. Again not as hypocrites, done in view of others
b. Secretly
6. Prayer will be heard and answered by God (Luke 11:5-13)
7. Pray according to the will of God and in the interest of His will (Matt. 6:19-24)
8. Leave it in the hands of God and don't worry, but rather trust Him (6:25-34)

Throughout the Bible, prayer is mentioned as being done by individuals, in one accord, and as being requested by those in need. Always, in the New Testament, prayer was done individually or individually with a group. No where in Scripture does one 'lead in prayer' on behalf of a congregation.

Does someone leading in prayer in the church not contradict the above foundational teachings of our Lord concerning prayer? When 'Bro. So-in-So" leads us in prayer, is he not:
1. Standing up in public view and being seen of men when he prays
2. Not praying in secret
3. Often times somewhat repetitive in wording-(Dear Heavenly Father, bless_____, bless_________, speak to hearts, use the preacher, bless gift and giver, dismiss us in your care, bless this service, etc)
4. Not personal

The church prayed together in the New Testament. Acts 1:14 reads:

These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

So did Mary and the women pray out loud or lead in prayer? Doubted, as that would be a direct contradiction to 1 Tim. 1:12 "But I suffer not a woman to teach, not to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." When read in light of 1 Cor. 11 this is made clear that a woman could not have lead vocally in prayer.

Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.
Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

So how was the church praying in Acts 1 or in Acts 12 when Peter was arrested and in prison? Could it be that they all just came together and each person spent time in prayer personally? When it was time to move on, I suppose the pastor or one could inform the congregation? They did in Acts 12 when Peter was at the door knocking. Either way, everyone in Scripture was to pray, and no one in Scripture ever 'led the church in prayer.'
Are there not Christians who struggle in praying in their personal life? If there was a time of prayer in the church like the examples above, would not new converts and mature saints learn to pray the only way we know we can learn to pray..by doing it? Do we not agree that when someone 'leads in prayer' a group in the congregation is listening to the 'prayer' instead of praying to our God? If every heart was in prayer, do we not believe the power of God would be most evident in lives?
"But we have to have someone open in prayer?" Do we?
"We have to have someone bless the offering?" Not if we don't pass the plate and everyone gives as they enter or leave.
"We have to have someone close in prayer?" Jesus, sang a hymn after He met with His disciples.
Imagine a service that we call "Prayer Meeting" actually be a prayer meeting. Imagine a service where we gathered at an appointed time, spent time in prayer as individuals, sang some hymns together, a man of God preached, and a hymn in dismissal. (and of course the people gave their offerings as they entered/left).
Fellowship would follow, and folks wouldn't be in such a hurry, for there was more time seeing how there wasn't specials, offertories, announcements, etc.
Something to think about. We have men lead in prayer, we have a man ask God's blessings on an offering, we have a man dismiss in prayer; but should we?

Side Notes

I was ask to recommend a reading concerning our last post called The Great Invitation. This book can be found on Amazon.com. I have purchased a copy of it, but as of yet, have not received it. I do, though, look forward to reading it.

Secondly, I know this is not important and completely off subject, but thought I would take the moment to invite. I have a fantasy baseball league set up if anyone is interested. It is totally not important, and if you plan on spending hours studying and playing it, don't bother, you take it way more serious than me and anyone on earth probably should. It is with Yahoo.com, and the league ID number is 355608. If you are interested, email me at: tburke002@gmail.com and I will send you the password to join. Again, just for fun for people who like baseball like me.

Lastly, I wish to thank all those who have emailed/texted/posted comments durring our discussion. It has been educational, challenging, and eye opening. I was a little suprised at the amount of churches on the poll that do not have an invitation already. I would be interested in knowing the name of those churches. If you voted "No" and would like to do so, please comment below and let me know what church you are referring to (and you may even remain anonymous for this comment).

We will continue our study on such areas in the weeks ahead.