Read about Reading (alternate title: Read? I’ll just wait until the movie comes out)

I originally posted this at blog.emmanuelbaptist.com

No there is not a movie based on this post coming soon.
But I do want to remind each of us of the importance of reading.

As a Christian writing about the topic of reading, I must begin with an very obvious and necessary reminder.

In the book Lit!  A Christian Guide to Reading Books, Tony Reinke writes “Scripture is the ultimate grid by which we read every book. Scripture is perfect, sufficient, and eternal. All other books, to some degree, are imperfect, deficient, and temporary. That means that when we pick books from the bookstore shelves, we read those imperfect books in light of the perfect Book, the deficient books in light of the sufficient Book, and the temporary books in light of the eternal Book.” (p. 26)

We, the pastors of Emmanuel Baptist Church, have recommended many different books.  We actually have several classes, like our current Christ-Centered Church study, that are based on books other than the Bible.  I was tempted to list some of them but decided not to AT THIS TIME.  However, if you have read a book recommended by an EBC pastor, post the title below.  You could even include a comment or two about the book.

One of the reasons we recommend books is because there is a lot of teaching on topics and specific issues we would like to do but we realize
Godly, Bible saturated books have been written on these topics
we and you don’t have the time to sit in a classroom to learn about every topic
we want to equip you become self-feeders.

Two online resources to help you read more:

Don Whitney writes “By reading one page per day you can read 365 pages in a year, or the equivalent of two full-length books. That may not sound like much, but it’s far better than not reading at all. Moreover, by some accounts this would place you above half the U.S. population in the number of books read each year.”
http://biblicalspirituality.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Read-One-Page-Per-Day.pdf

Here is an article by Tim Challies on how to read more.
http://www.challies.com/articles/read-more-read-better

For a post on how parents can ignite in others a love for book reading, click HERE

HOW PARENTS CAN IGNITE IN OTHERS A LOVE FOR BOOK READING

Thank You for Your Support!!

Krista and I want to thank you very much for your financial and/or prayer support for our Jamaica/Fairview Baptist Bible College (FBBC) trip. 

Here is a video summary our church put together of the trip.



We had a great week working on the administration building at Fairview! Krista was a painter most of the week.  I was a painter, stainer and drywaller.  We were able to put up office walls, lay tile, put in two student bathrooms, install windows and doors, and do A LOT of painting and staining! While we didn't get everything completed, the Jamaicans should have the work finished by May 1st.   You can read and see more about the work at http://ebcjam.blogspot.com/

The teens along with some adults taught the children’s church class at church two the two Sundays we were there.

I also had  a last last minute but great opportunity to preach the first Sunday there. 

We also were able to go into three area schools and share the Resurrection story and the hope we have in Christ.

One of the great truths I was reminded of during and after the trip is that God is doing great things in Jamaica and around the world. 

God is not dependent upon me to do what He wants to do.  However God does give me the opportunity to be part of His plan!

If you want to read more about the trip and check on the ministry at Fairview, you can go to http://ebcjam.blogspot.com/

I wanted to share a little bit of what I shared with Emmanuel after we got back.

Here is a picture of me with some of the students I had the chance to reconnect with on our trip.  And I want to use this picture to remind of the impact of your help on the church in Jamaica.

Many of us see homeless people around the city and look away or drive away.

Marvin, the FBBC on the right, saw the same man at the same corner on the bus route he regularly takes. 

One day Marvin decided to stop and talk to this man.  They have had several conversation about many different things including the Gospel.

When I first saw Marvin on this trip, he came up to me and said “Hello sir!  We need to talk about some ministry things.”   Later that we talked about how to share the Gospel with someone who says he is insane.

Krista also had the great opportunity to connect with one of the female students, Deandra, the only girl in the picture.  She is a Biblical Counseling major who is prayerfully considering going to Brazil, Canada or China to use what she has been learning. 

Marvin is a passionate young man who had a rough childhood but God grabbed a hold us his heart and Marvin wants to share Jesus with others.

Deandra has a gentle caring spirit who grew up in a pastor’s home.  She and her brother attend Fairview.

Casey and William are two unsaved gentlemen who were invited by area pastors to come to Fairview to work alongside us.

PRAY FOR MARVIN AND DEANDRA AS THEY PREPARE!  PRAY FOR CASEY AND WILLIAM

PRAY FOR EACH OF US TO TAKE THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD BEGINNING IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS

 Acts 20:24 is a reference I put at the bottom of my emails.  It reads “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Thank you so much for your support in helping us testify to the good news of God’s grace not only on our trip to Jamaica but also in our ministry in general!

Why small groups in light of the deep, powerful truth in Romans….

While reading through Romans 1:1-17, I was struck by the number of times relationships are mentioned.
Paul wants to meet with the Romans to strengthen them.  Romans 1:11
Paul knows that their faith will be a mutual encouragement.  Romans 1:12
Paul wants to see the fruit among the church and the  rest of the Gentiles  Romans 1:13
Paul needs to share the gospel with different groups.  Romans 1:14
The spread of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles makes visible the power of the Gospel.  Romans 1:16

In thinking about Soul Care and the deep truth in Romans, I wanted to share the following quote from the book Community.

We do not have community groups to close the back door of the church.
We do not have community groups because people need to belong or we need to care for one another.
These are good secondary effects of authentic community.
These effects are not the foundation.
We have community groups because we have seen the glory of God and we have been given the  grace to live our lives to exalt the Christ.
We have community groups because we have been reconciled to God and one another.
We have community groups as a proclamation of the goodness of our God and testimony to the completed work of the cross.
This is the foundation for gospel-saturated community that will overflow with life. 

Page 43

The power of the gospel is made known as Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish, are saved and brought together by the power of God.

Our Soul Care ministry is not about meeting felt needs.
Our Soul Care ministry is not about caring for people.
Our Soul Care ministry is not about getting more people to 4207 W. Laskey Road.
Our Soul Care ministry is about people growing in their satisfaction in Christ and helping others grow in their satisfaction.
Genuine Soul Care involves helping people understand that their souls will be truly satisfied and cared for only when they rest in Jesus Christ.

REMEMBER, a small group ministry is NOT a silver bullet for relationship building.
It is an attempt to build what needs to be built in a community.  
Biblical relationships are dependent on God's work in people's lives.

Stress is not about your circumstances!

At least one Sunday a month one of the pastors head down to the Aurora for a Bible study/Biblical counseling time.

During these meeting the ladies study a topic like worry or thankfulness.

On March 15, I had the opportunity to teach the on Stress: Peace Amid Pressure.

Here are some thoughts from the time.

Setting up the learning/teaching:

Women from Emmanuel Baptist Church have been going to the Aurora House, a transitional home for women and their children www.auroraprojectinc.org, for the last several years.  On Sunday nights they have taken meals, organized a game night or planned a Bible study.  EBC women have brought some women from the Aurora House to our Christmas events and Sunday morning services.
What a great way to share God’s love and Word with others.

Over the last couple of months one of the pastors has gone down once a month to cover various Biblical counseling topic.
On March 15, I taught from the booklet entitled Stress:  Peace Amid Pressure.
I want to share a couple of great reminders and challenge I took from this booklet.

What was my learning/teaching:
What I really love about this specific booklet s the fact that it is a study of Psalm 131, “a show-and-tell for how to become peaceful inside” (p. 2).  One of the points Powlison makes at the beginning of the booklet is that “composure i learned, and it is learned in relationship” (p. 4).

Psalm 131:1:  Deliverance from the Noise

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.

This first verse reminds us that much of the noise, pressure and distraction of life is because of what we are treasuring in our hearts, watching with our eyes and concerned about.

Psalm 131:2:  The Process of Peace

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Here is a big truth to remember as you think about calming and quieting your soul.
“Only one thing is strong enough to overpower a stormy life: what God promises to do in and through Jesus Christ” (p. 13).

Psalm 131:3: The Reason for Peace

O Israel, hope in the Lordfrom this time forth and forevermore.

Read Psalm 130 to see some of the things we are to hope in…
there is forgiveness with God
with the LORD there is lovingkindness
and more.

The final, overview section of the booklet is about personalizing Psalm 131.
Powlison uses a great image to help us do that.

1. Identify ladders to nowhere (Ladder of achievement, ladder of appetite, ladder of avoidance).  Stress is often caused when we “chase after impossibilities.”  Stress is more ME than my circumstances.  You are your biggest problem.
2. Come to know Jesus.   Psalm 131 overthrows the powers-that-be to establish the reign of HIm-who-is.  Jesus saves you from sin.  He saves you from yourself.
3. Live the mindset of Psalm 131.  Set your hope in the right place

We all need to remind ourselves of Biblical, life changing truth over and over again.

If you are asking yourself the question “Why am I stressed?”
Consider these two questions:
“What am I pursuing?”
“Is my heart set on Christ and the things of God?”

It doesn’t meet my needs & I don’t want to take the time to invest in others!

“Check it out I’m in really bad shape! Gimme, gimme, gimme – I need, I need, I need, gimme, gimme, gimme…”  Some of you may be familiar with this movie quotes.  Others may not.
This quote ties in well with yesterday’s myth #2.  People can approach their Soul Care groups with this mentality.  It might appear this desperate but it is there nonetheless.
One of the most subtle ways this mentality appears is when someone stops or never starts attending and their reason is something like this “I don’t get anything out of groups like that.”

Myth #3 addresses the idea of the time it takes to develop trust and transparency in a group.

​Myth 2: Small groups exist for others to meet my needs.

Don’t misunderstand. It is a wonderful blessing that our relational needs can be met by one another in small groups. It’s a good thing that if you don’t feel connected, or know anyone, you can join a small group and meet others at the church. But the overarching reality is that small groups exist for you to love God by loving his body, the church. Small groups exist for you to love others with the love of Christ. This is a radically different orientation than expecting others to meet your needs. And when we all have this aim—to love each other with the love of Christ—then we do meet each other’s needs.

Truth: Small groups exist for you to love and serve others with the love of Christ.

Myth ​​3. Trust and transparency take many years to cultivate in a small group.

Consider Acts 2 and how the believers had all things in common, making sure none was in need, breaking bread together, praising God together. How long had they known each other? They probably had been in community for a couple of weeks or maybe months, but not much longer. The reality is that more time together doesn’t always mean more trust and transparency. That just tends to be an excuse. Stepping into a small group, where the expectations are properly set, significant trust can be cultivated from day one.

What prevents you from opening up? Perhaps it’s shame over your sin, embarrassment that your marriage is struggling, or heartbreak over your wayward children. This is precisely what the gospel addresses. Christ took the wrath of God at Calvary and with it took our shame, condemnation, and fear of man. We can in fact be open and honest about where we are with God, because God is actively at work in us to conform us to his image.

Truth: Trust and transparency are fruits of recognizing we are all recipients of God’s abundant grace for the forgiveness of sins.

Reality: Soul Care is messy!

From Gospel Coalition article entitled “5 COMMON SMALL GROUP MYTHS (AND THE TRUTH TO HELP TRANSFORM YOUR GROUP)” by Steven Lee
http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/five-common-small-group-myths-and-the-truth-to-help-transform-your-group

What expectations do you have of our Soul Care ministry specifically and small groups in general.
Over the next five days this blog will at these five different myths.

Myth 1. A successful small group will not be relationally messy.

While most people wouldn’t explicitly say so, they expect their small group be without relational messiness. They go in thinking that these people will be their best friends (more on that later), and when they find out they’re nothing alike they wonder if they’re in the right group. When someone in the group is passive aggressive or talks way too much about politics, you’re looking for the closest exit. Yet the reality is that small groups are composed of sinners all along the same journey of faith. They’re going to get messy relationally, which is precisely why we have the gospel of grace that shows us how we ought to be long suffering and humble toward one another (Phil. 2:1-11).

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in Life Together:

The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it. But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves.

Truth: Small groups are where the grace of God overcomes all types of relational messiness through the blood of Jesus.

Reality: Soul Care is messy!

From Gospel Coalition article entitled “5 COMMON SMALL GROUP MYTHS (AND THE TRUTH TO HELP TRANSFORM YOUR GROUP)” by Steven Lee
www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/five-common-small-group-myths-and-the-truth-to-help-transform-your-group

What expectations do you have of our Soul Care ministry specifically and small groups in general.
Over the next five days this blog will at these five different myths.

Myth 1. A successful small group will not be relationally messy.

While most people wouldn’t explicitly say so, they expect their small group be without relational messiness. They go in thinking that these people will be their best friends (more on that later), and when they find out they’re nothing alike they wonder if they’re in the right group. When someone in the group is passive aggressive or talks way too much about politics, you’re looking for the closest exit. Yet the reality is that small groups are composed of sinners all along the same journey of faith. They’re going to get messy relationally, which is precisely why we have the gospel of grace that shows us how we ought to be long suffering and humble toward one another (Phil. 2:1-11).

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in Life Together:

The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it. But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves.

Truth: Small groups are where the grace of God overcomes all types of relational messiness through the blood of Jesus.

Disciple making in the church

Disciple-making in the church IS NOT the list of programs going on in the church building.
Disciple-making in the church IS NOT merely the scheduled events on the church calendar.

Disciple-making in the church IS the people of God-glorifying God by loving others.
This love needs to be shown THROUGH caring actions of individuals in the church and the church as a whole.
This love needs to be spoken THROUGH Biblical words of individuals in the church and the church as a whole.

This can be done through a church program like Monday nights at Groceries 4 Life, Thursday nights at the Biblical Counseling ministry, Saturday mornings at UPWARD games.
This can also be done through everyday activities like meeting with someone to read the Bible or discuss a book over a cup of coffee, doing family worship with the kids, talking with your neighbor outside while shoveling the snow (if it is not subzero weather).

This love needs to be shared WITH those who don’t know Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior and need to be challenged to repent of their sin and call out to Jesus to save them.
This love needs to be shared WITH those who know Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior and need to be challenged to grow closer and closer to Him.

This love needs to be shared BY anyone who has been saved by the overwhelming grace of God!

Krista and I are going on a Mission Trip to Jamaica

Here is some of our Jamaica Mission Trip Letter and Information:

Greetings from the Rodgers!

  

We are very thankful for your friendship over the years and the role you have played in our lives and in our ministry.  As many of you may know Krista and I met while serving the LORD in the Dominican Republic.  We also had the amazing privilege to serve there four years as a married couple.  We have a great opportunity to serve on an Emmanuel Baptist Church mission team together. We will be complete the construction on one of the buildings at  Fairview Baptist Bible College in Jamaica along with serving the college and students in any other ways needed.

Fairview Baptist Bible College has a very special place in our hearts.  David has been there 3 times:

As part of a training/evangelism trip with other Baptist Bible Seminary students in 2007.
As part of library construction team with Emmanuel Baptist Church in 2013.
As a Biblical counseling teacher for the students at Fairview in November 2014.

One of the amazing benefits of building relationships like the one Emmanuel has with Fairview is we have been able to see individuals move from being students at the college to pastors of local churches. 

We are very much looking forward to working with Ken and Clea Rathbun, a missionary couple supported by Emmanuel.  Ken is the Academic Dean at Fairview. Here is the mission of Fairview Baptist Bible College “to train competent, compassionate, effective servant leaders for the ministry of Christ in the local churches of Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world.”  They are doing this and we are very excited to partner with them. 

As a group we have committed to raise funds through donations to cover our travel expenses and some of the construction cost.  If you are able to financially support our JAM ‘15 team, please send your check to: 
  Emmanuel Baptist Church

  4207 W. Laskey Road

  Toledo, OH 42623

In order to keep within IRS regulations, we ask that all checks or money orders be made out to the Emmanuel Baptist Church with Jam '15 on the memo line. Doing it this way will allow you to use a tax-exempt deduction at the end of the year.

We would very much appreciate your prayers and if possible your financial support for the Jam 15 team  as we look to minister to the students at Fairview Baptist College and the people of Jamaica.  You can check out ebcjam.blogpost.com for updates on the trip and posts from our previous trip.

Serving the Lord,

David & Krista Rodgers

Here are some of the students I taught in November.

My posts are not my own. They are....

Recently I posted the following on my facebook page. I wanted to explain why I wrote it and why I wrote it the way I did.


My FACEBOOK FRIENDS, please read this especially if you have posted or read the other "legal statements" on people's feeds.



This is my personal rewrite of a "legal notification" being shared on facebook.

As of January 5th, 2015 - I do not give MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS permission to continue facebook hoaxes that clutter my and other people's newsfeed. 
I give notice to MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS that each of us need to think twice before posting hoaxes we have not verified, thoughts we have not committed to the Lord or videos we have not watched all the way through. Violations of these principles can lead to unwanted spam, spread of lies and other things I cannot think of right now. 
All FACEBOOK FRIENDS must realize that the statement "I am not sure if this is true or not but..." should not be used in the real world OR the social media world. "I am not sure if this is true but I heard Dave is a liar" is not acceptable in conversation and should not be acceptable among our FACEBOOK FRIENDS.

Check out this link from CBSnews about this resurfaced facebook hoax.

Why make a post like this on facebook knowing that many friends have posted this?

• I know there are many people who have seen these "legal statement" posts and realize they are not true but they don't do anything about it.  Recently, I began private messaging people about some videos they were posting and/or liking that contained a link to information they did not want to promote.  Each person was appreciative of my message.  There are reasons why I chose to do one through private message and another through a public post but I don't want to get into that right now.  The point is we need to help one another grow in the truth.  I know in most cases when the Bible talks about growing in the truth it is referring to the Gospel.  BUT isn't part of growing in THE GOSPEL TRUTH growing in speaking and typing the truth.  
• Too many people are too passive about what they post and what they read on facebook.
• Too many people are too quick to become too passionate about the wrong things on facebook.  We are quick to attack someone holding an alcoholic drink or a movie that we don't agree with BUT we don't respond to little white lies and false truths or celebrations of gluttony.

Why write a post the way I did?

• Part of the spread of this hoax every couple of months the facade of legal language this statement has in light of changes in facebook's terms of service.  The original statement sure sounds good but it is not a binding legal document.  Sounding good but not saying anything good is not... I don't know how else to say it.  Sounding good but not saying anything good is not good.
• I believe writing the post using the same legal tone connects the lack of substance of the original post to what I am trying to say.

What I am not saying by posting this email?

• I am not saying we need to go out and hunt for every email, facebook hoax or falsehood out there BUT when you see it, especially when you see it over and over again, you need to do something about it.
• I am not saying every correction situation needs to be a public post for the world, or at least my facebook friends, to see.  As I mentioned above, I have handled different situations different ways.  Think about what you want to say and what is the best way to say it.
• I am not saying this type of posting is the biggest issue in the world today.  It is not first and foremost about what you are posting on facebook.  It is about who you are trusting in.  Your faith needs to be in Jesus Christ who said "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."

It is my prayer that my initial facebook post and this blog post will help you think about what you post and why you post it.

Instead of claiming your rights to your pictures and posts have you thought about it this way...
"My posts are not my own, they belong to the Lord."

Merry Christmas from the Rodgers family!

Christmas time we have been reminded of the great truth in the Christmas carol “Hark the Herald  Angels Sing.”  In Christ, God and sinners are reconciled!  We are so thankful for the life that we have in Jesus Christ (1 John 4:9).

As we think back over 2014, we have been blessed by so many old and new friends.  God has given opportunities to encourage and be encourage by others.

Over this past year our family has been growing in many different ways.  The picture to the left shows that Joel is now taller than Krista.  In this same picture  Krista is wearing a Jamaica hat.  Dave went to Jamaica for two weeks in November to teach a class on Biblical counseling in the church.  It was a great time!  We are very thankful for awesome grandparents and friends who helped Krista and the kids. Thank you to those who were praying for this time.  

At this year’s Emmanuel Baptist Church Christmas eve service, David was able to share about what God wants for Christmas.  We want to close this brief update with what he shared.  The picture to right shows what God wants.  Not a selfie of David.  He wants you and your worship.

You can read more about Dave’s trip to Jamaica, the Christmas eve lesson and other thoughts about our year at www.boonedy.blogspot.com

Have a Merry Christmas and an Amazing 2015!  

What God Wants - Christmas Eve service at EBC

Tonight I had the opportunity to share with Pastor Duke at Emmanuel Baptist Church's Christmas eve service.  

While I may not win an Oscar for my acting, I was very excited to share the truth of God's Word with those who were there.

The two specific things I shared were a poem and a couple of verses.  

The poem was adapted from the Christmas devotional What God Wants for Christmas.  Here it is.

What God wants for Christmas.  Now here’s the surprise

In this box is where it’s been disguised.

Peek in the box, for so long you have waited.

What God wants is you – the one He created!

“Me?” you ask.  “Why is this so?”

”I cannot wrap me and put on a bow!”

No you cannot; but what you can give

Are the choices you make in the life that you live.

God wants you to know Him and love Him within.

And this is called worship, an offering to Him.

To do this   trust Jesus, who died in your place

When you didn’t deserve Him – that is called grace

Give him control of your life and your heart

Say, “Jesus I need You.  I’d like a new start.

Forgive me today for the sins I’ve committed

So one day in heaven I will be permitted.”

When you this way, the heavens rejoice
That you have made worship of God your life’s choice.

God wants you to know Him, so choose every day

To love God and thank God

And give Him all Praise.

The verses were 1 John 4:9, 10, which are part of this quarter's memory verses at Emmanuel Baptist Church.

1 John 4:9 says "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him."

The reason Jesus was born was so that we might live through him.  We have abundant, eternal life because Jesus - God in flesh appearing died on the cross, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.  

1 John 4:11 says "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

What God did for us in Jesus Christ should impact they way we live in this life.  

In my ministry at EBC as pastor of children/family ministry and soul care, I want to help people live out the faith in their families, among believers and in their communities.  I was very thankful for the opportunity to share on Christmas Eve.  It is my prayer that the evening encouraged people to focus on Christ this Christmas time. 

Looking back at my time in Jamaica

Here is most of the class with their Christ Centered Biblical Counseling books.  Click HERE for some reviews of this book.

Each of the students received a copy of this great Biblical counseling because of the generosity of Emmanuel Baptist Church's members.

 

Here is the campus!

The small white house in the middle of the hill is where I stayed.

The picture is taken from the classroom door.

Here is the last day of class!

David and the rest of the class gave me several gifts.

The two weeks of class were great!
I really enjoyed getting to know the students.

Preparing to land in Detroit, which is colder than Jamaica.

The pilot just informed us Detroit is warmer than it was earlier today and this week.  44 degrees.

Telling people coming from 80+ Jamaica it is a "warm" 44 degrees brings no comfort to my soon to be chilled body.  

It was a great two weeks. I missed my family during the time.  There were many challenges.  BUT God is good.  Actually God is awesome.  

After a 3.5 hour delay in Jamaica I am looking forward to seeing my family and worshipping with my church family tomorrow.  

Over this next week I am going to be posting some thoughts and reflections on my time in Jamaica.  This will include some pictures of my pets for the weeks (no I am not talking about students), ministry thoughts and prayer requests for me and for Fairview.

Thanks for your prayers!