Category Archives: Herald of Truth

A look at the second section of Church Inside Out

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CIOI’ve been traveling this week and haven’t had much time to write. But it’s Friday, and I want to share some more information about Church Inside Out, the book and workbook I’ve written that 21st Century Christian will be publishing in the next few weeks. I wrote the book as part of my work with Hope For Life (Herald of Truth) and will be doing seminars based on this material in local churches around the U.S.

Let me tell you about the second section of the book. It’s titled “The World Outside” and has three chapters:

  • Diplomatic Mission
  • Who Is My Neighbor?
  • Eating With Sinners

The previous section was very introspective; this section turns the focus outward. There’s an emphasis on looking at the world around us and considering our interaction with that world. The “Diplomatic Mission” chapter stresses the need for us to be intentional in our dealings with the world, to recognize our role as ambassadors for the Kingdom of Heaven. The chapter on “Who Is My Neighbor?” is intended to be very practical, looking at how to do community analysis and how to use that analysis to tailor our ministries to the needs of our city. It also includes a brief section on multicultural ministry.

The final chapter in this section discusses the need for Christians to develop relationships with outsiders. If people mainly come to the church through the influence of friends and neighbors, then a growing church must have members that have significant relationships with non-Christians.

Like I’ve said, my desire is that this book be used practically and not as another intellectual exercise. It includes a workbook for that very reason. Between the book and the workbook, churches and individual Christians should find tools that will help them more effectively impact the people around them.

A look at the first section of Church Inside Out

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CIOOK, I want to share some more information about Church Inside Out, the book and workbook I’ve prepared that will be published soon by 21st Century Christian. I wrote the book as part of my work with Hope For Life (Herald of Truth) and will be doing seminars based on this material in local churches around the U.S.

Let me tell you about the first section of the book. It’s titled “The Church Inside” and has four chapters:

  • Church Inside Out
  • The Inward-Focused Church
  • Members Only
  • Accentuating The Negative

It’s a section of self-examination, encouraging church members to look at attitudes and actions that hurt our outreach to the community around us. As I mention in the book, it’s a bit like a visit to the doctor; you want to hear good things, but you know that you really need to hear what could be improved to make you healthier. I want to affirm what’s right in each congregation while challenging them to improve in other areas.

This is one section where I think a church could benefit greatly from a group study of the workbook (and the book, of course). The workbook includes a lot of questions and charts that will aid in diagnosing the current strengths and weaknesses of a congregation; when member share their views on these subjects, they can come to greater understanding of what their church is doing well and what could be done better.

And that’s my goal in all of this. I don’t want to stop at informing or educating; the goal of this book is to help churches increase the positive impact they are having on their communities. It’s all about getting church members out to help bring outsiders in.

Spiritual hunger in Cuba

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tonyOne of the great things about working at Hope For Life / Herald of Truth is the fact that I get to work with some amazing people in other countries. One of them is Tony Fernández, who continues to inspire with stories of his work in Cuba. I’ve shared the following in several places, but wanted to share it here as well:

Neat story from Tony Fernandez in Cuba. He was coming back from Havana, and several other drivers warned him of a police control on an upcoming bridge. Sure enough, as Tony approached, the policeman was waving him over. Tony started getting his papers ready, but the policeman said, “Please, put your documents away. I just want to know if you can get me a Bible. That’s always been my dream, but I’ve never been able to get one.”
Tony didn’t have any with him, but told him where to hear the Herald of Truth radio program and gave him the post office box number so he could write in.
Reminds me that the thousands Herald of Truth raises every year for Bibles in Cuba are going to good use. And reminds me that we have faithful brethren around the world working hard to spread the message every day.

Travel update

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airplaneJust a note about where I’ve been the last few weeks:

  • Cuba — Feels funny to say that I went to a women’s conference. Actually, I wasn’t at the women’s sessions much, but did get to speak to a group of preachers that gathered at the same time. I also translated for some of the group from the Beltline Church of Christ in Decatur, Alabama, as they addressed the men. Beltline sponsors the women’s conference. Most of the time, however, was spent with Tony Fernández, visiting radio listeners and studying a part of the province where he hopes to begin new mission churches soon. (Tony’s congregation has planted more than 40 churches over the last 10 years)
  • Kansas — I got to go to Lawrence, Kansas, doing my Christ and Culture seminar for the Southside Church of Christ there; that’s part of what I do for Hope for Life / Herald of Truth Great people, and they felt like the content I shared was very timely for their group.
  • Nicaragua — This is part of Herald of Truth’s Central American Project. Steve Ridgell and I travelled to Managua, meeting with radio listeners and preaching an evangelistic campaign. We also met with a brother who works in the area south of Managua, making plans to expand our work to that area in 2016.
  • Silver Spring, Maryland — I was invited to do a men’s conference at the Silver Spring Church of Christ, as well as speaking for their whole Hispanic group on Sunday morning and for an areawide event Sunday night. Another great group. It’s always encouraging to see what God is doing around the world.

What have you been up to?

Busy days

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Class at LipscombIt’s been an eventful few weeks. The last day of May, I traveled to Long Island for a campaign sponsored by Hope For Life (Herald of Truth), the ministry I work for. We arrived on Saturday. On Sunday, I received word that my mother had fallen in Abilene and broken her hip. I cut short my participation in the campaign and returned to be with her. I got her settled into a physical rehabilitation center, spending two nights with her in the hospital, then two in the rehab place.

The next week, Carolina and I left for a long-planned trip to the Holy Land. My sisters graciously came to be with my mom to allow us to make the trip. I’ll tell you more about that trip in the coming days.

We returned late one Wednesday night, then I left on Saturday to speak at a church in Morro Bay, California, the following day. That Sunday night I took a redeye back home, before leaving on Wednesday for the Summer Celebration at Lipscomb University. Hope For Life hosts a breakfast every year, so I was there for that. I also got to teach a class with Steve Ridgell, as well as doing two classes in Spanish.

So yes, I did get confused more than once as to what time zone I was in. And I’m afraid I had to push this blog to the back burner. I’ll try and do better over the next few days.

What have you been up to?