Getting to the Core: Bible Believers

I remember the call of the Lord on my life to preach at a very young age.  My father wasn't a preacher nor my grandfather, but I knew what God was calling me to do by age 12.  I began seriously studying the Bible my senior year of high school.  I remember going into my local Christian bookstore and wandering around trying to figure out what book I should get and I settled on a book entitled "Coming Events in Prophecy" by M.R. Dehaan, M.D.  I was hooked.  That sparked a fire in me for studying the Bible that has been raging ever since.  I still have that book on my shelf as a keepsake to remind me of where it all began.

It's been 28 years since I purchased that first book and that has turned into the new church plant of Reliant Ministries, Inc.  Reliant is producing Jesus followers of faith that will expand the kingdom of God by their witness and His Word.  This has already begun to happen as we have many starting to embrace our first core value of being Disciple Makers.  Here are our five core values:

1. Disciple Makers: We will make every effort to multiply our faith through evangelism and mentoring.
2. Bible Believers: The Bible is our final authority for all life and practice.
3. God Pleasers: By faith we will please God and trust him with our lives.
4. Community Engagers: Ministry runs on the rails of relationships.
5. Kingdom Builders: We will take every God-given opportunity to advance His kingdom in this world.

The second core value is Bible Believers: The Bible is our final authority for all life and practice.  I am amazed today at the number of Christians that can't find the book of Ephesians if their life depended on it (and someday it might).  There is a growing epidemic of Bible illiteracy that has stifled evangelism and is causing the enemy to get the upper hand in the lives of the saints of God.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus when he was praying to the Father and said that he had given the words of the Father to the disciples and they received them and believed them in John 17:8, "For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me." (emphasis mine).  As Jesus continued in that prayer for the disciples of his day and those that would come after, he said, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17)   Jesus knew that the way to live a sanctified life, holy, and unto the Lord was going to come through knowing and living the Word of God.  

Therefore, we will be very intentional about training the disciples that God has placed in our care.  I refuse to preach sanctification unto the Lord and not give them the Word that is able to sanctify.  It is the Bible that gives us all we need to live holy in this crooked and perverse generation.  I believe it is spiritual neglect to withhold from God's people the very words that will set them free.  We are Bible Believers.  The Bible is our final authority for all life and practice.

Consider a one time donation to help Reliant Ministries get off the ground.  Click Here to Give. 

Getting to the Core: Disciple Makers

Over the last few years you have seen a business term creep into the church world and that term is "core values."  As I was learning how to run a church in the early days, I understood you needed a mission statement, goals and objectives, and tactics to accomplish those objectives.  Now the language has somewhat changed in the fact that you have a vision statement, core values, and strategies to get it done. There is a not much difference in these sets of statements but I do believe they are better defined today.  For example, a core value is defined as "A principle that guides an organization's internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world." (Read more: www.businessdictionary.com)

As we start the new church plant: Reliant Ministries, it is important that are core values be the very principles that guide our organization both internally and externally.  We have five essential core values:

1. Disciple Makers: We will make every effort to multiply our faith through evangelism and mentoring.
2. Bible Believers: The Bible is our final authority for all life and practice.
3. God Pleasers: By faith we will please God and trust him with our lives.
4. Community Engagers: Ministry runs on the rails of relationships.
5. Kingdom Builders: We will take every God-given opportunity to advance His kingdom in this world.

Everyone of our core values are given to us directly from God's Word, and our first core value is "Disciple Makers."  We are commanded in Matthew 28:18-20,

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Notice that Jesus didn't tell us to go and make converts or simply evangelize, but to go and make disciples.  The word disciple is defined as "a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower." (Dictionary.com)  Jesus has commanded us to make followers.  It is so clear in the scripture that Jesus called the 12 disciples when he said "follow me."  After the ascension of Christ, Paul gives the same command to the church of Corinth when he says, "Follow me as I follow Christ."  There is a lot that goes into making a disciple.  The first step is to evangelize and win them to Christ, but that cannot be all there is.  Salvation is a spiritual birth.  You wouldn't leave a baby at the hospital and claim success as a parent.  No, the journey has just begun; and then the training begins.  And the way you train will have a direct impact on the life of that child, soon to be an adult. So it is in the life of a new born babe in Christ.  "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation." (1 Peter 2:2)  

There are three key elements to any effective discipleship strategy:

• Building Intimacy with God
• Establishing the Authority of God's Word
•  Accountability to God's Word

Sound the Trumpet

For centuries now people have balked at organized religion because of the corruption that man brings with it.  You have movements of people that want to do something for God so they begin to rally together around a cause, but if they are not careful the cause in not conveyed to the next generation and the cause is lost and the movement stops.

The Pharisees of Jesus day thought that Jesus was the head of such a movement.  They had seen people come and go that were proclaiming to be the Messiah.  But a movement from God can not be stopped!  God sounded the trumpet and has gathered his armies to rescue the brokenhearted and wounded of this world; to forgive sins, and restore relationships.  Reliant is a part of that movement of God. This is our time to take up ranks and fight for the cause of Christ.  We are not here to organize religion, or create monuments for the next generation, but to fight for the souls of men, women and children that desperately need a Savior, a Messiah, and a friend.  They need Jesus!!!

I love the passage in 1 Corinthians 14:8 that says, "And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?"  With the organization of Reliant, God is giving a very distinct sound as he is calling us together for the purpose of making disciples.  Producing Jesus followers of faith that will expand the kingdom of God by their witness and His Word. 

We know that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves or even the Church that we belong to.  Every Christian is a part of the Body of Christ.  But yet in any great army there is organization for the purpose of movement.  God has organized different churches to accomplish different objectives as we all work toward the ultimate goal of seeing the world come to the knowledge of Jesus the Christ.  So Jesus has chosen some as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers, to lead his people into this battle for the souls of men.If you know Jesus as your Lord and savior, yea as your King, you are in fact enlisted in his army.  So the question is, are you a good solder for your King?  Have you joined the movement that has changed the world?  Are you making disciples in the name of Jesus? 

Windows of Opportunity

Today, I close the door on a wonderful opportunity that God gave me to minister to the people of New Season Church in Hiram, GA. It is always hard to leave people that you have poured your heart and soul into.  My hope is that New Season will take the truths that I brought and continue to apply them to their lives.  I'm excited to see what God is going to do with the new staff that he is creating to accomplish the goals of New Season.  New Season will always be apart of me and part of my heritage in my journey for the Lord. I wish you all the best and will be praying for you all.

While the door is closing for me and my family at New Season, God is faithful to open another in the way of Reliant Ministries which is the name of our new church plant in the Acworth-Emerson area.  This is a huge leap of faith and I'm beside myself as I watch God provide and guide in this new birth.  I would ask all you to pray for us and the new planters.  Planting a Church will be the hardest thing I have done in the ministry thus far and I believe it will yield the greatest fruit for God's kingdom.

One of the first things I am teaching to the young church is how to pray specifically and in expectation of the mighty things God is doing. So, here are some ways you can pray for us:

1. We need to settle on our meeting place both immediately and when we open in August.
2. We need a core group of about 25 families to really get ready for the opening this fall.
3. We need people to be generous to the ministry as it takes quite a bit of money to start from scratch as we are doing. If you can help right now with any amount please click here. 

I know my God will supply all our need according to his riches in glory.  Here's my question, is he going to use you to do it?  Stay tuned with me over the next few weeks as I lay out God's vision and plan for Reliant.  If you haven't read the last few posts it might be good to go back and catch the last few.  

Establishment is Everything

The word motto is defined as "a maxim adopted as an expression of the guiding principle of a person, organization, city, etc."  So where a vision statement gives you the what, a motto gives you the how.  Yesterday I revealed that our vision statement for Reliant is: Producing Jesus followers of faith that will expand the kingdom of God through their witness and His Word.  This is what we will be doing.  But how are we going to get that done.  This is where a motto can come in handy.  A motto tells the organization in a few simple words the overlying principle of how to get it done.  For Reliant our motto is simple: Ministry Runs on the Rails of Relationships.

I first heard this phrase from a pastor/teacher of mine, Alan Shelby, the pastor of Harvest Baptist Church in Blue Springs, Mo.  The meaning is self-explanatory.  We know that all of life is determined by the relationships we have whether good or bad and ministry is no different.  When Jesus started his earthly ministry he did so by choosing some relationships that would last for all eternity.  These relationships would turn into more relationships that would eventually change the world.  Any true discipleship model will have the element of godly relationships built into it.  Without close relationships Christianity is just passing on information and information doesn't change lives, relationships do.

When we launch our website in February the address will be www.reliantrails.com.  We do this so as not to forget that building godly relationships is the key to our discipleship process.  Reliant members will be asking themselves three simple questions.

1. Who is behind me?  As mentors there should be someone that we are leading in the ways of the Lord.
2. Who is beside me?  As brother and sisters there should be people with whom you are walking.
3. Who is in front of you?  As ministers we will target and impact people with the gospel message of Christ. 

When these three questions are active in every members life well see a mighty moving of the Lord as he builds relationships through us.

Reliant Ministries

Ministry Runs on the Rails of Relationships   

Please consider a charitable gift to Relaint by Clicking Here. 

Why Another Church

I was running errands yesterday and I couldn't help but notice all the church buildings on every corner.  I live in Paulding County GA where the majority of the population never steps foot inside any of these places of worship. I have two thoughts on all these churches.  First, If your preaching the exact same message and targeting the exact same people, join up with the guy across the street and cut down on some the expense of running both places.  Second, if you have a building that seats 600 and your running 30, it time to change your strategy.  

In the midst of all these church buildings some would ask me, "Bill, why start another church in an area full of churches."  My answer come from Andy Stanley's book "Visioneering" (a must read for all church planters and pastors).  He states, "A God-ordained vision will begin with concern.  You will hear something that gets your attention."  God has gotten my attention over the last few years of this fact.  The people of God do not walk by faith anymore.  This breaks my heart for without faith it is impossible to please God.  If the church is not going to teach God's people to walk by faith we set them up for failure with God.

The vision statement for Reliant is:

Producing Jesus follower of faith that will expand the kingdom of God 

by their witness and His Word. 

We used the word "producing" on purpose to show the ongoing action of discipleship in the lives of the believers.  They will not only follower Jesus but will learn to follow him by faith.  This is the major lesson that Jesus pounded into the heads of the disciples.  His goal was to have them walking by faith by the time He ascended knowing that they could handle anything if they were walking in faith.

As I walk this journey of faith with the Lord my prayer is that I can be a shining example for others to walk by faith along side me.  Stay tuned.  

Join the journey by helping us get started.  Give Here  

The Journey Begins

As many of you may already know, Kim and I are about to embark on the biggest adventure of our lives. We are taking all the the wisdom and experience that we have learned over the past 25 years in ministry and starting a church. For the past 3 months I have been getting all the background work done (corporate papers, people management systems, bank accounts, vision statements and core values, etc., etc.) And now it's time to get the ball rolling with a core group of people that have the same heart and vision.

I had a great time with the staff of New Season Church as they gave me a send off lunch and blessings all around. I have learned many things during my two year tenure at New Season. It reminds me of all the things God has been teaching me from my first ministry 'til now.

The new church is called Reliant as we rely solely on God to see us through. It will be based on a discipleship model with many new ideas. When the vision comes to pass we will not look like traditional church at all. Our core group meetings beginning February 1st at my house. Our plans are to find a meeting place that will hold the core group of about 25 families (my house is not big enough). We will then look to open the doors to the public some time early August of this year.

During this start up time as we form the core, we could use some help with some simple start up money. It is amazing what happens when the people of God get together and give for the cause of God's kingdom. Many of you have been touched in some way through our ministry in the past and I'm asking all of you at this moment to pay it forward. The investment that I have made in many of your lives is the same investment I will be making in others. Some of you can give a little and some of you can give a lot to get this new church off the ground. I know that God will multiply your giving many times over. Please Click Here to pay it forward. All donations are tax deductible and will go directly to Reliant Ministries.

Stay tuned for the latest updates on the new church plant. And more than anything Pray, Pray, and when you get done praying, pray that God would do something amazing and unexplainable for His glory.

 

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