Our friends at ONE8 in north MS are serious about church planting, and we want to make you aware of their upcoming boot camp on Aug 27-28. Russ Moore, Tony Merida, Jerry Rankin and more…see below for details!
BQ2
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What is it? ONE8 Bootcamp is an annual conference held just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. Bootcamp is hosted by the ONE8 Network, a cooperating network of like-minded SBC churches working together to advance the gospel by planting new churches and equipping existing churches for multiplication. Their vision is to partner with churches, associations, and state conventions as a resource to help initiate a church planting movement throughout the South. Through an intensive application and assessment process, they seek to provide church planters with internships, coaching, networking, and resources.
Who is it for? ONE8 Bootcamp is designed for pastors, church planters, church staff, volunteers, associational, state, and NAMB representatives. The goal is to encourage, equip, train and connect those who want to advance the Gospel across the street and around the world. Spouses are encouraged to come as well, as there will be several breakout sessions specifically for wives.
When and where is it? August 27th and 28th, 2012 at Longview Heights Baptist Church in Olive Branch, Mississippi, just 10 minutes south of Memphis.
Why should I come? First of all, the lineup of speakers is impressive. Dr. Russell Moore will be addressing “The Gospel and the Kingdom” and “The Gospel and Marriage,” while Dr. Tony Merida will tackle “The Gospel and Moralism” and “The Gospel and Justice.” Dr. Danny Sinquefield will be covering “The Gospel and the Mission.” In addition to these main sessions, there will be around 30 different breakout sessions, headlined by Dr. Jerry Rankin leading a special breakout series on “Spiritual Warfare.” These breakouts will cover a wide-range of issues from church planting, to ecclesiology, to family. Finally, ONE8 events have been a great place for networking. In the past, participants have ranged from 25-year old planters to 65-year old established pastors representing churches that range is size from 10 members to 2,000. Events like this present a great opportunity to meet other pastors in different contexts, circumstances, and phases of life who are on the same mission. God can use a gathering such as this to form bonds and friendships that last far beyond a two-day event.
How much is it? ONE8 Bootcamp is one of the most affordable conferences of its kind. General registration is $50 and registration for church plants and seminary students is only $35. This includes lunch on Monday and Tuesday, as well as a light breakfast each day. Use the promotional code “baptist21″ to get a 15% discount!
Where can I find out more? Click here for the schedule, a full list of breakouts, and registration. If you have any questions, you can contact josh@one8.org.
Recently, I observed a young father worshipping Christ during a chapel service. He had one raised and the other holding his crippled 18mo old daughter; she was enjoying a few minutes out of her wheelchair.
One of my dearest friends waits daily for his hospital-issued beeper to go off so he can rush his four year old daughter, “Leah,” to the hospital for a heart transplant—Leah’s heart will not last much longer.
Several years ago, a close family member was kidnapped, beaten, molested, and left unconscious in the edge of the woods; a few high school boys thought this was a good idea for gang initiation.
What emotions manifest when you hear these stories? Fury, for me! But, furious at who? Or what? Psalm 97:10—“O you who love the Lord, hate evil!”
Rarely are we reminded of Scripture’s instruction to hate sin. I do not have in mind the theological dilemma about whether or not God hates sin and sinners, but simply the fact that when Christians grow deeper in their love for God, their hatred for sin should deepen also.
Rape, incest, abortion, fathers who abandon their families, theft, sex trafficking, greed, million dollar mansions built next to tents and trailer parks, genocide, homicide, infanticide, suicide, sex trafficking—all man-initiated realities in God’s good world, but not what God intended.
Cancer, hunger, still-born babies, tornadoes that destroy towns, hurricanes that sink cities, tsunamis that devastate districts and earthquakes that cripple countries—all the effects of sin in creation that have taken the lives of countless millions.
How can these things be??? They are both the effects and outworking of sin.
And here’s the kicker, we are participants.
Men, every time you gratify yourself with a glance at a short skirt, a gorging at the buffet, or yet another draw-attention-to-yourself comment about who you know or what you’ve done, you fight for sin’s team. Ladies, each time you cover your mouth to whisper gossip, starve yourself so you’re more relationally marketable, or enjoy the thought that your kids are better dressed and better behaved than so and so’s kids, you fuel sin’s fire. As the redeemed of God, we certainly still struggle with sin, but it is not enough to “try harder to stop”; while resting in the sin-destroying work of Christ in our lives, we must increasingly hate sin and its effects. We must recognize that when we sin, we participate in the very evil that rapes women, kills children, starves families, and ravishes every ounce of order in creation. Hate sin!
But, love righteousness. God’s mission is to destroy this sin and evil that He too hates. By way of Christ’s finished work, and His Kingdom come, God will destroy death, sin and evil and restore all things to Himself where His people will reign with Him forever with righteousness and equity. What a privilege to share this great news with those who are slaves to sin, but can become slaves to righteousness.
As your love for God deepens, so should your hatred of sin. Don’t counsel porn addicts simply to “stop.” Help them understand that they’re contributing to the very thing that causes chaos and suffering in our world. Hate sin, but love, evermore, the One who has crushed it and will destroy it.
He bids us come and fight for His team. And, Christ, the team captain, “loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed [Him]…” Heb 1:9
B21 wants to make you aware of the Go Network for church planting in Mississippi, focusing primarily on the central and southern parts of the state.
“Go Network is a group of churches committed to developing church planters that will reach people far from God with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are looking for planters who are in this for the long term and who want to plant externally focused churches in Mississippi. Planters who participate in Go’s development process will be asked to engage in very intense ministry experiences that will cause them to examine their lives and grow through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Led by church planters Eric Smith and Philip Thurman, Go Network is sure to serve Mississippi well with Gospel-centered, disciple-making churches.
For more info, visit http://www.goplantchurches.com/
Delight to Serve:
Have you ever experienced a waiter who each time you asked for a refill or extra napkins, he responded as though you were interrupting his evening? As though you were bothering him? We’ve all experienced some version of this, and can all agree that it is gut-wrenchingly annoying. Why is it so frustrating? Because, the waiter clearly doesn’t recognize his role as a servant. Somewhere along the way, he began to think that serving was someone else’s job.
Christians are called to serve. Yet, I notice far more Christians finding ways not to serve rather than delighting in the opportunity. This takes various forms like the secretary who always finds a way to transfer the call to someone else because she doesn’t want to deal with it. Or, the yard maintenance man who cuts corners every chance he gets. What is the mindset of this secretary and landscaper? It is to do what’s best for “me” instead of asking “how do I best serve?” It is delighting in one’s self rather than delighting in loving God and His world.
This kind of thinking is fundamentally upside-down and antithetical to the Christian command to consider the interest of others above your own. The attitude of one who delights to serve echoes the Psalmist who writes, “Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” (Psalm 100:2) It is with this attitude that we should approach all of life. If you take orders at Burger King, recognize the opportunity you have to serve customers and delight in fulfilling your task with excellence.
If you are in management, see your role less as an order giver, and more as a servant leader. Serve your employees, and make every effort to demonstrate that you are not above any task.
Pastors, be reminded that you are called to model service to your people, and this service goes beyond the pulpit. Do not be found complaining that too few people serve in your church when your example is that of passionately pontificating on Sunday morning, yet nowhere to be found, and not to be disturbed the rest of the week. Is this really the shepherding of souls?
Seminaries, IMB, NAMB, State and Local Conventions, recognize your role as servants to the churches of the convention and delight in the task you’ve been given. Beware of making dictatorial decisions that are handed down to the churches you are called to serve. Make every effort to thank the churches of the convention for their ministry and support, and ask “how can we better serve you?”
Chick-Fil-A has modeled this well over the years, and for that I’m quite proud; but I’m embarrassed that they put most Christians and Christian leaders to shame as persons who delight to serve. When was the last time you meaningfully asked “How can I serve you?” and finished with, “It’s my pleasure”?
Approach every person and every task with this in mind, “How do I best serve?” Sometimes, the best expression of service is a loving confrontation of sin, sometimes it is volunteering to keep the kids so your wife can take a break, sometimes it is missing the newest Office episode because a friend needs a sympathetic ear, sometimes it is spending more time at home so you can get to know your neighbors.
“Lord, remind us to wrap a towel around our waist and delight to wash the feet of saints and sinners. For your Gospel rings more loud and true when proclaimed from the lips of those whose lives demonstrate a love for and service to God’s world.”
A while back B21 let our readers know about a conference held at Union University. The Read the Bible for Life Conference at Union University on Apr 15-16 did not dissapoint! David Platt’s three plenary sessions and the panel discussion with Platt, Michael Card and George Guthrie were a buffet of spiritual nourishment to the hundreds of sunday school teachers, deacons, pastor and students who attended.
