Four BIG Words from T4G!

Originally posted at www.emmanuelbaptist.com/blog

Last week I had the great opportunity to attend Together for the Gospel (www.t4g.org) with the other Emmanuel pastors and many other men from the church.
I am very thankful for everyone who made this time of encouragement in the Word and in fellowship possible.

I wanted to share something that challenged me throughout the conference.
It is a general conviction that works itself out in many different ways.
Worship, Missions, Discipleship and Evangelism are not programs of the church.
They are what the church needs to be about.
People can become very passionate about one of these specific areas but we need to remember our purpose is to glorify God and help others.

• WORSHIP is not the singing time at the beginning of the service.
• DISCIPLESHIP is not information collection.  Discipleship is SO MUCH MORE than a Sunday morning class time or a weekly 90 minute meeting. 
• EVANGELISM is not what a small group of gifted people do at special events. 
• MISSIONS is not a line item or percent of the annual budget. 

WORSHIP:
"We need to know the joy of resting in the sufficiency of Scripture."
Worship at its heart is being in awe of who God is and God's Word is where we see Him and His glory.
"Be fearless to always preach about the depth of God and His glory."
"God is rich.  He is never stifled by the need for resources."
"We cannot separate what is preached from the pulpit and sung in the pew."

DISCIPLESHIP:
"Be in a church that is not dependent on you."
"Whatever happens in Christian ministry and in church, and whatever happens in our neighborhoods and families and workplaces, is part of what God is doing to move all things inexorably towards their goal and end - which is Jesus Christ."
"Everything we do as God's gathered people (as 'church') should be an exercise in the transformative learning of Christ."
Challenging video clip:



EVANGELISM:
"You don't have unreached people in your office or neighborhood because you are there."
"If we really believe the Gospel and the consequences of not believing/trusting in Christ, than our churches would be different."
"Leverage your job for the spread of the Gospel."

MISSION:
The fact that someone has a passion to see the Gospel spread across the nations doesn't necessarily show someone is meant to be a missionary.  It shows that they are a Christian.  Christian, do you have a passion to see the Gospel spread across the nations?
"Missions is not a compartmentalized program of the church for an elite few but it is for EVERY believer."

We need to glorify God by doing good to others.  This is done through worship, discipleship, evangelism and missions.