I am a spiritual thing.

“Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”-Jesus of Nazareth

Our relationship with God will be seen and felt by those around us. If it is strong, others will see Christ in us, if it is lukewarm, others may not list “Christ-follower” as a description of us. This is why having a real relationship with God is vital to one’s own life and to one’s ministry. But how is this relationship grown? Through inner spirituality. This is where one’s relationship with Christ takes place. And according to Thomas Kelly, this spirituality is nurtured by the practice of thinking about God and talking to him constantly. Kelly writes that this will at first be “awkward and painful” as it is quite difficult to keep Christ in one’s mind all of the time. But that is where that amazing capabilities of our brain come in. We have the ability to think on different “levels” at the same time. Because of this, we must make Christ the focus of a deep level, even while other things demand our attention on a more superficial level. When we have this constant relationship with God in practice, it will impact every action that we do. It will change the way we talk, the way we reckon, and the way we love. Our spirituality is the basis by which we live. 

Church or action? Church AND action.

Our faith is the means by which we are to engage every aspect of our lives. This is something that William Law wrote about. He wrote that is it far more important to live out one's faith in every aspect in one's life than to be devoted to prayer or church. The bible, indeed, speaks more to the way one is to live than it does to how much one should go to church. I know that for myself it would be easy to only be holy at church. It would be easy to put on an act and "worship" and sing and have all the right things to say but then not let my faith impact my everyday life. I think that overall I am a pretty decent person. I try to do the right thing, obey the law, and tell the truth. But I know that one area, and it's pretty vast, that needs improvement is in my thoughts. I will not be flat out rude to someone, but isn't thinking rude thoughts just the same? My heart is so naturally selfish, and that is where my faith needs to work.  I have a far way to go before I can say that I honestly let my faith control every aspect of my life. Haste the day!

God loves a cheerful giver

I have long struggled with the idea of giving. And this struggle does not just arise out of my selfishness. I honestly just have a hard time understanding tithing. The New Testament does not give clear examples of it as ten percent, rather it says the the Body was giving away everything to serve the Lord and to take care of each other. It is also hard to read passages that say not to give out of compulsion, but then hear preachers condemn those who do not give, as if their "gift" was rather a bill that was due. Needless to say, I am still finding how the Lord wants me to give.  O'Conner wrote about how the needy have a face. And I think this is so beautiful, because it is so much easier to give when the need is more clearly seen. Who would not share their dinner with someone if they knew that that person would go without a meal? And who would not sell a few items of clothing to buy a child a coat for the winter? But while the need remains concealed behind a glistening offering plate, many will not give with sacrificial joy for others in need (I only use physical needs for example. I know that offerings go much farther that physical needs).
I do not have an income whatsoever. The money that is in my bank account is money that I have saved from working at a camp this summer. I have mainly used it to buy food and gas a couple of times. When you do not have a job, spending irresponsibly becomes less possible. I have let God used my money, though. Sometimes that meant buying someone else's dinner, and sometimes that meant giving when I have no money coming in to replace it. I do not think that I have let my money gain control over me. But I know that money can so easily enslave and I want the Lord to constantly remind me that His kingdom is the one that will not end. His kingdom is my treasure.

Churches for churches.

When one often thinks of church plants the images that come to mind are the jungles of Africa or the secret meetings in the night. But America needs churches just as much as other countries do. As the "melting pot" we have a unique opportunity, and even responsibility, to share the gospel with many different people groups. While living in the South, we can forget that there are places even in our own country without Christian churches where people can feel welcomed and presented with the truth of Jesus. And this is where Send North America comes in. Send North America is a mission though the North American Mission Board, which is connected to the SBC.They have a goal and a dream to plant churches all over the US, especially in places where there are not many already. But to do this, pre-existing churches must get involved. Churches grow off of each other. They do not just "happen." This mission God has laid on the hearts of baptists, and it is because of this that we must unite to further God's kingdom with church plants. Each and every church must use their God-given recourses to make this happen. We are stronger when we work together.

BGCT=ministry goldmine

Education and Discipleship. Sounds like an interesting tab right? Well, It really was. I read an article about ministering to refugees, discipleship curriculum, as well as about the role of woman in vocational leadership. Even though I am becoming more accustomed to the concept that many Baptists accept women in leadership, it was still surprising to me to see so many articles about it. There was a whole tab about women in leadership. It is awesome to see that the BGCT cares about educating the Body. They did not push the issue in a harsh way, but rather encouraged readers to pray and seek the Lord and the scriptures to find a better balance of “power” between males and females in a church. The refugee section was really encouraging and helpful because it educated me as to what qualifies at a refugee, in addition to telling me how I can get involved in ministries to reach out to such people. It surprised me that the BGCT really went into detail to make sure that they were not just presenting issues (refugees or hungry) and leaving it at that, but they encouraged action and partnership with other denominations and organizations. Once again, I am really excited to be able the use the BGCT as a ministry resource. How did I not know about this before?

Finally. Intelligence.

The article I chose for this blog is about prayer in schools. It talks about the origins of prayer in schools, and some of the political issued surrounding it today. It was really great to read this article from an intellectual point of view. Often Christians get so emotionally caught up in arguing for prayer in schools that they do not look at it logically. This article is just one example of the political relevance of the Baptist Standard. This newspaper brings attention to all areas of faith, culture, news and politics. Christians would be encouraged, informed, and challenged by their findings in the Baptist Standard. I was pleasantly surprised by its diversity. 

http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14293&Itemid=53

Siblings in the Kingdom.

As Christians, our communion with Jesus is key. Through salvation, we have been brought into an intimate relationship with Jesus. But what we often forget is that we have also been brought into a relationship with other Christians. We have become a family with God as our father, and others as our siblings. As a family, we need each other to accomplish things that we cannot do on our own. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes that we need each other for encouragement in times of confusion and uncertainty. Bonhoeffer writes, "He needs his brother as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation." This it so true. When a human is struggling it is so hard to preach the word to oneself. What that person needs is for their brother or sister in Christ to come along side of them and proclaim the truth. We are to relate to each other as siblings of a united family. We are to lean on each other, bring the word to each other, and bear each others burdens. After all, we going to be spending an awful long time together one day, we might as well truly love each other now.