EG Leadership Summit

(Posted After Attending EGL Summit; March 17th and 18th)

Oh My! I am SO glad we made the trip to Nashville to be part of this assembly. Thank You for the invitation. What an encouragement we recieved. As we watched God move I sensed the following:

1) I NEED to get up and get with God each morning. Journal it and expect to see God!

2) We are thinking WAY too small. God has unfathomably BIGGER things in mind for our time through His people. “If it makes sense and / or seems possible, it probably is NOT God”

3) He is OBVIOUSLY very much still in the business radically changing lives, communities and nations through ordinary people sold out fully to Him!

There is SO much more to be said about what God showed us at this Summit! I am convinced that we were gathered from across the nation to bear witness to a Real, Personal, Loving God who speaks to His people as He moves forward in His redemptive purpose. That being said, we dare not overlook the lesson well taught. Seeing God move and hearing His voice comes with significant responsibility! What we do next testifies clearly to what we believe about God! Much more so than what we say.

I am praying that those of us who attended will post or BLOG what we sensed from God in this experience. If we all were to bring together the small piece of the puzzle God has entrusted to us, perhaps we can put them together and begin to see a clearer picture of what God intends for this little group.

The body of Christ would be well served to know these things! (as would our nation and perhaps the world)

Humbly Submitted, Terry Baldwin

The Pressure’s Off

Contentment Pressure

In our small group meeting Monday night we were fleshing out “Contentment”, which was the subject of the message at CrossPoint Church this past weekend. As the conversation deepened it was observed that unfulfilled striving for self-contentment was a common struggle. And that, although we really love Jesus and God is our life’s focus, we still find ourselves forgetting to pray as we should, not thinking of or caring spiritually for others when their situations are difficult or stressful, having to repeatedly ask forgiveness for the same shortcomings, and failing to recognize times when we should be seeing God in peoples situations for Jesus sake. Then we become disappointed with ourselves and thusly, not very self-content.

We concluded (rightly I believe) that if our contentment is in ourselves then it is wrongly placed. Our contentment MUST be in our LORD Jesus. The only path by which a personal relationship with the risen LORD is possible. Nice answer but it brings an even better question; how do you APPLY it?

As you may imagine, our time ran short for ferreting out the fullness of the answer to that query. But last night as I put away the book I’m currently reading, I noticed my copy of Larry Crabb’s work “The Pressure’s Off” gathering dust on my night stand. Then this morning I saw it again so I picked it up and carried it to breakfast with me. (it wasn’t as dusty as I made it sound. Lorie would never give our dust a chance to settle in!) I supposed that having noticed it twice after ignoring it laying there for who knows how long, maybe I should again look into it. I opened the book and as I reviewed the content it was startling how directly it applied to our conversation last night! Chapter by chapter it refreshed for me the difference between the “Old Way” of thinking / living and Gods “New Way” made possible by Jesus Christ for the lives of every believer. And although this “New Way” is available as well as necessary for all believers, it is FAR from automatic. In fact, most believers languish in living the old way for years before transitioning to “New Way” living. I certainly find myself in that boat much more than I like to admit!

I also was reminded that Mr. Crabb wasted very few words in illustrating his points. To give a fair hearing of “The Pressure’s Off” in this space is simply not possible. Let me just say that this book comes highly endorsed and will be a great read for anyone who is ready to move from living in the “Law of Linearity” trying to “keep the rules” hoping for a better life to living life in the “Law of Liberty” for the better hope of “Nearness to God”. The nearness that only Jesus has provided for each of His Children.

Get it. Read it! Live it!!

Christian Challenge Salina Update 11/24/2010

Christian Challenge Salina Update

Things have been moving at an incredible rate for Christian Challenge Salina. (www.ccsalina.com) Our new meeting location has gone over quite well and attendance has grown to averaging over 35 per week. (We had 41 last week!) Additionally nearly 80% of our weekly attendees are involved in a weekly L.I.F.E. group meeting (our small group setting) and some of the guys have even begun having coffee together at 6:00 am. on Thursday mornings! It seems like something is always happening.

We are now on campus at K-State Salina on Wednesday mornings and Kansas Wesleyan Thursday afternoons interacting with students and faculty there. This is an important new activity and we are making a lot of new friends. We’ve seen a number of new faces on Thursday because of this effort. Our bi-monthly visit / presentation at the Academy of Hair Design has gone very nicely. These students bring many great questions and a good deal of interest in Challenge. Salina Area Technical College has invited us to have a booth on campus December 1st over their lunch period. I am very much looking forward to being there as well.

Recently our staff attended our annual retreat for Challenge Directors, Worship Leaders and Staff Members. We learned a good deal about how students respond to different approaches on campus. It should come as no surprise that great relationships are the key first and foremost. This is how our Challenge chapter has functioned from the start. Our focus is on real Christian friendship marked by honesty and openness. It is most important that we care for those young people whom God has put us along side. We see the results in changed lives and it spreads when it is authentic!

In the future I will be providing you with a monthly update on what Christian Challenge Salina is seeing happen. Before becoming involved at Challenge I honestly had no idea how God was working on campuses or what kinds of obstacles our young adults were facing there. From the pews, our congregations have heard precious little about collegiate ministry. It was simply out of sight out of mind.

I want to put an end to that! I encourage you to share these messages with everyone that you think may be interested in Gods work on our campuses. We need your prayer and support! It takes a lot of time and commitment to see this through each week. Perhaps you sense Gods moving you to be involved with the ministry of Christian Challenge Salina. If that is so, please contact me at your convenience either by replying to this e-mail or by phone at 785-452-5416. Working effectively together we can make a real difference in the lives of these future leaders of Christ’s Kingdom!

Most Sincerely,

Terry Baldwin
Director, Christian Challenge Salina
2 Chron 7:14

Am I a “Disciple”?

On October 15 we looked with Pastor Richard Edds from First Southern Baptist Church of Salina at Christs command to make disciples and more specifically how must we live to stay on track. Only then can we be good leaders for others to follow to Christ. Dr. Edds struck a baseline for us in Matthew 28 from verse 16 on wherein Jesus disciples saw Him and worshipped Him. Jesus also declared that He has been “given ALL Authority in Heaven and on Earth” putting His followers in a uniquly confident postion indeed! So how can we as Christians maintain our edge as we show Him to others? Rich gave us the following 5 words to help us.

1) Surrender….your heart fully to Christ in worship of Him!

2) Grow….in likeness of Jesus! Do YOU have spiritual markers set down from your life? Mark those times! They demonstrate your growth in Christ.

3) Memorize….Gods Word! Meditate; think and ponder upon it! Look it up. Mull it over in your mind chewing it like a cow chews it’s cud. Allow it to deal RADICALLY with your sin! Courageously slay that old sin nature!

4) Connect…With a local Church! It’s your Community of believers! It is how you encourage each other. Find the local Church Body that God is drawing you to! You won’t suvive, you cannot thrive cut away from your “Body”.

5) Serve…In a God Given Ministry. Your Church will guide you into that opportunity!  1 Pet 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.     AND

Col 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Share the Gospel of Christ! God loves you. He sent Jesus as a Sacrifice to pay for your sin debt. God responds to those who honestly seek Him.

Share your testimony. Learn it, practice it, DO IT!

1.

Secrets??

Our Theme this semester has been “Looking at Commands of Jesus” in light of and in response to His statement in John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me”

This weeks message is titled: SECRETS?? Quietly Doing Good for God’s Glory & Praise Alone

Found in all Gospels and includes:

* When you pray, fast, or give, do it secretly Matt 6:1-4, Matt 6:5-11

* Don’t use vain repetitions when praying Mk 12:40 Matt 6:7-11

* Pray to God the Father Lk 11:9-13, Jn 16:23-24

* Keep asking, seeking and knocking Lk 11:9-13, Matt 7:7-11

* Ask in Jesus Name! John 14:13-14 and 16:23-24, 26

We will discover what this actually means in a bit but first lets clarify what it Does NOT imply:

It Does NOT…

…Mean we maintain a PRIVATE Faith: Paul urged Timothy to be public about his faith in 1 Tim 4:13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift…

…Prohibit Public Prayer: Jesus in John 11:43 Prayed about Lazarus aloud before the gathered crowd specifically for the purpose of benefitting the people hearing! (Lazarus raised from dead)

…Discourage Corporate Prayer: Paul and Barnabas on the beach at the end of Acts 20 and the beginning of 21where their “Church” and the local disciples prayed TOGETHER prior to sending them off on their missionary journey.

So what Does it Mean? Look at Matt 6:4, 6:6, and 6:16:

…Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you… When it is for Gods Glory the Father will reward you!

Now look at Matt 6:2 (giving) 6:5 (praying) & 6:16 (fasting)

If our Praying, Fasting or Good Deeds are done to get us recognition applause or attention from people, then the recognition applause and attention from people is your reward in FULL. The Father will NOT reward these things any further. The question is “how is your heart” on these things?

Gut Check Time!

At Gut Level:

Do you crave “atta boy’s” for good deeds?

What if someone forgets to “Thank You”

What if you don’t get the “Credit You Deserve”?

What if nobody notices your contribution?

What is your gut feeling?

Do you do good things for these reasons? If “Yes” Then you’ve got your reward IN FULL!

Take inventory and take it to God.

“Keep Asking, Seeking & Knocking”

He wants to answer our prayers! He always wants His very best for you! And that comes only through a loving relationship.

Pray to God the Father
Don’t use vain repetitions when praying
Keep asking, seeking and knocking
Ask in Jesus Name
What’s the difference between Vain Repetition vs Keep asking… VR is that memorized exact same muttering of a “prayer” over and endlessly over. No feeling, no emotion or even thought. God wants a real conversation that stems from the personal, real and practical love relationship we have with Him! THEN He says to “Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking!

Key: Asking Within Gods Will. As we walk with Him in His Word, in prayer and through fellowship with other believers (the Church!) He reveals Himself, His purposes and His ways to us. It is then that we come to a sense of His perfect will. Now our prayers can align with what He already has in store for us! As we keep asking, seeking, knocking, He is then overjoyed to answer that which we bring to Him in faith!

ASK IN JESUS NAME

John 16:23-24

23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

John 14:13-14 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

John 16:26 In that day you will ask in my name.

We are NOT to be ashamed of the name of our Lord Jesus. We are directed to pray specifically in Jesus name. Why would we EVER do anything that might even risk a chance of being misunderstood as anything else! Just pray in Jesus awesome name.