The Masters

Through the generosity of a good friend Phyllis and I were able to attend the 3rd and final rounds of the 2007 Master's in Augusta, GA.

Zach Johnson was the winner posting a 3-under par 69 on the final day to a two stroke victory over Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini. It was his first win since the 2004 BellSouth Classic his rookie year and his first major.

What makes this even more special...he's a believer. PTL!

Here are some pictures.

Training our Children

I am thankful for three daughters who love the Lord. The Bible exhorts us to train up our children. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

I am a Southern Baptist. I also live in the south. We are big on evangelism and missions, Sunday School and Discipleship. We believe that the Bible is the innerant and infallible Word of God. Like other denominations we have our way of doing things.

The Presbyterians have the Shorter Catechism. They would do well not to forget it and we would be better off learning it.

The following article is quite lengthy, but well worth the read.

Is the Shorter CatechismWorth While?
Benjamin B. Warfield
The Shorter Catechism is, perhaps, not very easy to learn. And very certainly it will not teach itself. Its framers were less careful to make it easy than to make it good. As one of them, Lazarus Seaman, explained, they sought to set down in it not the knowledge the child has, but the knowledge the child ought to have. And they did not dream that anyone could expect it to teach itself. They committed it rather to faithful men who were zealous teachers of the truth, "to be," as the Scottish General Assembly puts it in the Act approving it, "a Directory for catechizing such as are of a weaker capacity," as they sent out the Larger Catechism "to be a Directory for catechizing such as have made some proficiency in the knowledge of the grounds of religion."No doubt it requires some effort whether to teach or to learn the Shorter Catechism. It requires some effort whether to teach or to learn the grounds of any department of knowledge. Our children — some of them at least — groan over even the primary arithmetic and find sentence-analysis a burden. Even the conquest of the art of reading has proved such a task that "reading without tears" is deemed an achievement. We think, nevertheless, that the acquisition of arithmetic, grammar and reading is worth the pains it costs the teacher to teach, and the pain it costs the learner to learn them. Do we not think the acquisition of the grounds of religion worth some effort, and even, if need be, some tears?For, the grounds of religion must be taught and learned as truly as the grounds of anything else. Let us make no mistake here. Religion does not come of itself: it is always a matter of instruction. The emotions of the heart, in which many seem to think religion too exclusively to consist, ever follow the movements of the thought. Passion for service cannot take the place of passion for truth, or safely outrun the acquisition of truth; for it is dreadfully possible to compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, to find we have made him only a "son of hell." This is why God establishes and extends his Church by the ordinance of preaching; it is why we have Sunday schools and Bible classes. Nay, this is why God has grounded his Church in revelation. He does not content himself with sending his Spirit into the world to turn men to him. He sends his Word into the world as well. Because, it is from knowledge of the truth, and only from the knowledge of the truth, that under the quickening influence of the Spirit true religion can be born. Is it not worth the pains of the teacher to communicate, the pain of the scholar to acquire this knowledge of the truth? How unhappy the expedient to withhold the truth — that truth under the guidance of which the religious nature must function if it is to function aright — that we may save ourselves these pains, our pupils this pain!An anecdote told of Dwight L. Moody will illustrate the value to the religious life of having been taught these forms of truth. He was staying with a Scottish friend in London, but suppose we let the narrator tell the story. "A young man had come to speak to Mr. Moody about religious things. He was in difficulty about a number of points, among the rest about prayer and natural laws. 'What is prayer?,' he said, 'I can't tell what you mean by it!' They were in the hall of a large London house. Before Moody could answer, a child's voice was heard singing on the stairs. It was that of a little girl of nine or ten, the daughter of their host. She came running down the stairs and paused as she saw strangers sitting in the hall. 'Come here, Jenny,' her father said, 'and tell this gentleman "What is prayer." ' Jenny did not know what had been going on, but she quite understood that she was now called upon to say her Catechism. So she drew herself up, and folded her hands in front of her, like a good little girl who was going to 'say her questions,' and she said in her clear childish voice: "Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies." 'Ah! That's the Catechism!' Moody said, 'thank God for that Catechism.' "How many have had occasion to "thank God for that Catechism!" Did anyone ever know a really devout man who regretted having been taught the Shorter Catechism — even with tears — in his youth? How its forms of sound words come reverberating back into the memory, in moments of trial and suffering, of doubt and temptation, giving direction to religious aspirations, firmness to hesitating thought, guidance to stumbling feet: and adding to our religious meditations an ever-increasing richness and depth. "The older I grow," said Thomas Carlyle in his old age, "and now I stand on the brink of eternity, the more comes back to me the first sentence in the Catechism, which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes: "What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever." Robert Louis Stevenson, too, had learned this Catechism when a child; and though he wandered far from the faith in which it would guide his feet, he could never escape from its influence, and he never lost his admiration (may we not even say, his reverence) for it. Mrs. Sellars, a shrewd, if kindly, observer, tells us in her delightful "Recollections" that Stevenson bore with him to his dying day what she calls "the indelible mark of the Shorter Catechism"; and he himself shows how he esteemed it when he set over against one another what he calls the "English" and the "Scottish" Catechisms — the former, as he says, beginning by "tritely inquiring 'What is your name?,' " the latter by "striking at the very roots of life with 'What is the chief end of man?' and answering nobly, if obscurely, 'To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.' "What is "the indelible mark of the Shorter Catechism"? We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer of the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: "What is the chief end of man?" On receiving the countersign, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever" — "Ah!" said he, "I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!" "Why, that was just what I was thinking of you," was the rejoinder.It is worth while to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God. So apt, that we cannot afford to have them miss the chance of it. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it."

REVIVAL

It All Began With a Tea Party

In 1856 in Ulster, Ireland, James McQuilkin was invited to tea. There a visiting woman skirted the civilities of discussing the weather and spoke openly on a subject McQuilken found uncomfortable: the condition of the soul. After another guest at the tea party described the nature of her Christian experience, the visitor said, “My dear, I don’t believe you have ever known the Lord Jesus.” McQuilken later wrote, “I knew that she spoke what was true of me. I felt as if the ground were about to open beneath me and let me sink into hell. As soon as I could, I left the company. For two weeks I had no peace day or night. At the end of that time I found peace by trusting the Lord Jesus.”

The following year McQuilken felt burdened to pray for his neighbors. He asked three friends to join him. Once a week the four men gathered at the village schoolhouse to pray for each person in their community by name. The town was Ahogill, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland. The date: September 1857.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, God was laying the same burden on many hearts, and similar prayer groups started throughout northern Ireland. Pastors began preaching about revival.

In December 1857 McQuilken’s group rejoiced to see the first conversion in Ahogill. But widespread revival did not come. Still, God’s people prayed – for 19 more months. Then one morning in the city of Ballymena, just six miles from Ahogill, a young man fell prostrate in the crowed marketplace and called out, “Unclean! Unclean! God be merciful to me a sinner!”

The night of March 14 1859, the McQuilken group responded by inviting Christians to a prayer meeting at the Ahogill Presbyterian Church. The church was so crowded that they moved the meeting out into the street. There hundreds of people knelt in the mud and rain, confessing their sins and praising God. They were the first of one hundred thousand people God called to himself in 1859 in what became known as the Ulster Revival.

There was a great spiritual movement among young people. It was not uncommon for teenage boys to hold street meetings to reach their peers for Christ. At one such street metting an Irish clergyman counted forty children and eighty adults listening to the preaching of twelve-year-old boys.

The results of the revival were remarkable. In 1860 in County Antrim the police had an empty jail and no crimes to investigate. Judges often had no cases to hear. With their owners converted, pubs closed and alcohol consumption fell so drastically that whiskey distilleries were sold. Gambling at horse races fell off by 95%.

A visitor to Ulster reported “thronged church services, abundant prayer meetings, increased family prayers, unmatched scripture reading, increased giving, converts remaining steadfast.” The Ulster movement touched off similar revivals in England, Scotland, and Wales.

God drew hundreds of thousands of people to himself, and it all began with a woman unafraid to speak spiritual truth over tea.

(The above story appears in the One Year Book of Christian History, compiled by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, pp. 148-149, Tyndale House Publishers.)

Doing God's Work

I did not know Perry Goad, Ric Mason or Martha Fuller. I have never traveled a Honduran road, though I know many who have. On Tuesday, February 6 the three were killed-- when their truck tumbled off a rugged, remote mountain road and into a ravine during a weeklong mission trip to Honduras. "They were doing the work of God when death came," said Don Hattaway, Goad and Mason's pastor. Yes they were.

I read an article this morning in the AJC. It was a story of a meeting between a couple headed for the Super Bowl with Honduran (and glory) bound Goad. Some would call it a chance encounter, others divine. I'll let you figure out my take. Goad owned a heating and air conditioning company, but took time off to serve as a volunteer missionary from his church. Les and Kim Kuykendall were from Alpharetta on their way to a big football game when they met at Hartsfield International Airport and sat together on the plane.

The AJC writer spoke of how this encounter changed the Kuykendall's "outlook on life." They spoke of the peace of Goad and how he had no fear for his life in this country outside of American soil. The Kuykendall's eventually contacted Goad's family after they heard the news. My prayer is that it will change more than their outlook, but their entire lives.

None of us are promised tomorrow, nor do we know what tomorrow holds. We do however have the promise that God is Sovereign and in complete control. Nothing takes Him by surprise.

Check out the related link: http://www.christianindex.org/2977.article

The Cross Is Offensive!

Williamsburg, Virginia – Once again the most liberating symbol known (and even unknown) to man has become an obstacle and an offense. An 18 inch brass cross that has graced the altar in historic Wren Chapel on the campus of the College of William and Mary since about 1940 has been ordered removed to make the chapel more welcoming to students of all faiths.

Can you believe it? You probably can!

Although offensive, there is nothing more welcoming than the cross. The Bible says that “(God) is not willing that any perish, but all come to repentance.”

The cross beckons all to come. As a matter of fact if one is ever to be free they must come by the way of the cross or not at all.

Paul writes, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18)

The Cross is Offensive. It is offensive today. It was offensive in Jesus' day. It was an instrument of execution. It was the equivilent of our electric chair.

I love the gospel song, "It’s Still the Cross."

It's not conservative or liberal, however they're defined;
It's not about interpretation, Or the judgment of the mind;
It's the opposite of politics, power or prestige;
It's about a simple message, and whether we believe.
It's still the cross, It's still the blood of Calvary;
That cleanses sins, and sets the captives free.
It's still the name, The name of Jesus, That has power to save the lost;
It's still the cross.

We can water down theology, and preach a word to suit our needs;
We can justify sweet subtle lies, That are wrapped in noble deeds;
We can alter our convictions, To adapt to social whims;
But we cannot change the gospel, Or the truth contained within.
It's still the cross, It's still the blood of Calvary;
That cleanses sins, and sets the captives free.
It's still the name, the name of Jesus,That has power to save the lost;
It's still the cross.

Though some may say it's man's religion,Or ancient history;
The cross of Jesus still remains,The price for sin that sets us free.
It's still the cross, it's still the blood of Calvary;
That cleanses sins, and sets the captives free.
It's still the name, the name of Jesus,That has power to save the lost;
It's still the cross.It's still the cross it's still the cross.

Amen!!!

The cross made the difference for me and you.

C.H. SPURGEON wrote, "If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Savior, while they are wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel , insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness."


Here are some related scripture and links to research.

Acts 17:16-32; 1 Cor. 1:17-25

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/2594.htm

http://www.unionchurch.com/archive/maundy98.html

http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/2007/01/removing-offense-of-crossthe.html

The Christian Index: A Must Read For Every Georgia Baptist

Every Georgia Baptist needs the Christian Index. If you want to know what's going on in Georgia Baptist life read the most recent issue, find a back issue or go online to www.christianindex.org. Dr. Gerald Harris and his investigative reporting staff keep us informed and abreast of the life and times of Georgia Baptists. Stay abreast of the mission field, colleges and universities as well as our seminaries. Read interesting articles by James Dobson, Gerald Harris and J. Robert White.

What's more it's a bargain. Subscriptions are available individually and through the church subscription plan. In addition, churches can have editions delivered in bulk right to the church to distribute as desired. For instance, 50 issues (delivered every two weeks) at a cost of $300 a year; or 100 issues (delivered every two weeks) at a cost of $600 a year. We could go on in multiples of 50 and you can do the math. Place them in Sunday School classes, new member /visitor packets or use on visitation. Bottom line make sure the Georgia Baptists that make up your particular flock know what's going on in our churches, our denomination and the world at large.

You need the Christian Index. Call Kim Griffin at 770-936-5590. Hey you can even advertise your business in the Christian Index. But on thing you can count on is that the Christian Index will adverstise the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Legislative Prayer Breakfast

The 5th Annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast was held on Wednesday, January 24th in the Empire Room of the Sloppy Floyd Building in downtown Atlanta, GA. Sponsored by the Georgia Baptist Convention and the Ethics and Public Affairs Committee it was a time to pray for our State Legislators as they begin a new term.

Following breakfast Dr. Mark Sterling, Consultant for Prayer and Spiritual Awakening for the GBC, Dr. J. Robert White, Executive Director brought a challenging message from God's Word. In summation he referred to Micah 6:8,"He has told you O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God."

Dr. Ray Newman, Specialist for Ethics and Public Affairs, recognized the Legislators. Dr. Jon Duncan led a period of worship and provided special music. Rep. Terry England of Barrow County closed in prayer.

Remember our state leaders. The Word of God admonishes,"First of all, then I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we might lead a quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Reception in Southwest Georgia

On Thursday, January 25, Phyllis and I were treated to a reception at our office in Albany. Dr. Bobby Boswell, Assistant Executive Director of the Georgia Baptist Convention was in attendance along with his wife Mattie, Tom and Martha Hocutt, Paul and Lucille Day, Ken and Brenda Cloud, David Cook, Craig Nalls, Ann Tomlinson and Lindsey Hopkins.

Ann and Lindsey coordinated a delicious and very elegant meal. These ladies are tops. We appreciate them very much for all they do for the kingdom.

Because of the graciousness of the Mallary Baptist Association and DOM Tom Hocutt we have great offices to work out of. Ann Tomlinson, Administrative Secretary/Ministry Assistant keeps the office running smooth and efficient.

We look forward to serving the churches of Southwest Georgia and seeing God's kingdom move forward.

New Office

As of January 8 I am now the Georgia Baptist Convention Ministry Resource Consultant for Southwest Georgia. My office is in Albany, Georgia where we plan to move in the next few months. The Southwest Region consists of 11 Associations and 358 churches. It is my job to serve as a resource liason between the missionaries, associations, pastors and churches to the Georgia Baptist Convention.

I will be on the road most of the time visiting with pastors, associational missionaries and churches. My calendar is already filling up. I have included some pictures of the office.

A LOOK BACK

2006 was a year that began with change. 2oo5 closed with three big events. Our second grandchild, Samuel, was born the day after Thanksgiving. Shauna and Ben Pilgreen live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where Ben is College Minister at Calvary Baptist Church. Their oldest Elijah is three.

In December, Natalie returned from Russia where she served the International Mission Board as a Journeyman doing Sports Evangelism. She now lives in Louisville, KY where she is in her first year at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary studying missiology.

Katie, our youngest, married Matthew Srickland on New Years Eve of 2005. They live in Gainesville, GA where she teaches 2nd grade at Lyman Hall Elementary School. Matthew is a computer programmer for a company in Duluth, GA

After 26 years in the pastorate I resigned as Senior Pastor of Central Baptist Church in Americus on January 7. I have accepted the position of Ministry Resource Consultant with the Georgia Baptist Convention. My office is in Albany and we will be moving to the area in the near future.

God is good. He is forever faithful. Praise be to God for His goodness.

Lottie Has a Blog

Can you believe it? Lottie Moon has a blog. Yep, you can log on to "lottielives.blogspot.com." Check it out and learn more about the life and heart of one of Southern Baptists greatest heroes.

Thankful To Be A Southern Baptist

I have always belonged to a Southern Baptist Church. There has never been a time when I have wanted to be anything else. We are not a perfect people by any stretch of the imagination. However, like all believers we are being perfected.

We are at that time of year when we are receiving our mission offering for International Missions. We do the same in the spring for North American Missions and in the fall for State Missions.

The offering we are taking during this season was named after one of our most storied missionaries Charlotte Diggs "Lottie" Moon. Miss Moon served in China for over 39 years. She didn't just serve as a missionary, she identified with the people and gave her life in service to her Lord. She only came home when her health prevented her from staying and died on Christmas Eve on board ship bound for the states.

She has become something of a legend to us. But in her time Lottie was anything but an untouchable hero. In fact, she was like today's missionaries. She was a hard-working, deep-loving Southern Baptist who labored tirelessly so her people group could know Jesus.

Over the next weeks children will give their pennies and adults their dollars. Some churches will reach toward a goal of several hundreds of dollars while larger ones will set goals well into the thousands. Last year almost 138 million dollars was given toward a goal of 150 million.

A long time ago before I was even a thought in my parent's mind God gave Southern Baptist leaders a vision for a vehicle through which we could do missions and evangelism around the world and at home. They were convicted that we could do so much more together than we could do on our own.

In 1925 the Cooperative Program was born. Through this cooperative stewardship vehicle, Southern Baptists pool their monies in order to fund mission and evangelistic causes.

I have never been a part of a church that did not give to the Cooperative program. I never interd to be a part of one either. It is not the only way, it may not be the best way, but it is the best I have seen and until someone comes up with a better plan it's the one for me. Dr. J. Robert White, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Georgia Baptist Convention says, "If there were no Cooperative Program we would have to invent something just like it in order to accomplish our mission."

Notherbeau

Notherbeau is a name that I gave to my grandmother years ago because I could not say "mother." I am told that one day I was calling out "beau" (mother) and my mother responded. I was really trying to get my grandmother's attention so I said "notherbeau" (or my other mother).

In those days daycare was at our grandparents house. Those were cool times. Whether playing catch with my granddaddy or going to Mr. Roper's store or fishing, it was a trip. Those were the days my friend.

Notherbeau went home to be with the Lord on Monday, November 13, 2006. She was ready. She had been emotionally ready for about 4 years. She had been spiritually ready ever since she was saved.

Most of the family was there as we watched her slip into glory. The Bible says, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on...that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them." (Rev. 14:13)

She never learned to drive. My dad was the only one that would even venture to teach her. He said that she put the car in the ditch one time to many and he said he had had enough. I don't exactly know how we will get around in heaven, but I feel pretty confident that she will have no trouble now.

She was a Sunday School teacher that loved the Lord, loved the Bible and loved her class. She visited, called and served faithfully at Walker Baptist Church in Monroe, Georgia as long as her body would allow.

She was a prayer warrior. Many times we would visit her and as we walked into the room we would catch her praying. Such was the case in mid-October when Phyllis and I took our youngest grandson Samuel to see her. She held him and talked to him.

Good-bye Notherbeau. Our loss is heaven's gain.

The Greatest Need For the Church Today

When you ask people what they think is the greatest need of the church of the 21st century you get a variety of answers. Some will say "relevance." The church needs to be relevant. No doubt that is a need and no doubt we need to be answering the questions that are being ask, but I do not believe that is the GREATEST NEED. Others will say "compassion" and even a great burden for the lost.

The GREATEST need of the church today is REVIVAL. We will never be as relevant as we need to be until real Holy Ghost Revival stirs the church. We will never have the compassion that the world needs until the Spirit of the Holy One moves in our midst convicting us of sin. We will never have the burden for the lost until we are reminded that we were once lost, undone and dead in our trespasses and sin.

Oh, Lord of Glory, please send REVIVAL.

Two-wheel upgrade

I recently purchased a new bike. Not a Harley, but a Schwinn. This is my second Schwinn in 41 years. As a matter of fact I am in the process of rebuilding that 41 year old bike and hope to have it finished by next summer. I doubt I do alot of riding on it, because quite frankly it will be more "relic" than "ride".

I have to credit my brother-in-law Doug for getting me started back to biking. Now I try to ride at least three to four times a week. By next summer I plan to "Do Jekyll on Two Wheels."

Here's the old and the new.