Whenever I get the opportunity to baptize someone into Jesus Christ, my emotions are all over the map. It's a combination of sincere, heart-deep joy and panicky, clammy-handed nervousness. Here's why:

In the past, a big part of my nervousness has been over petty stuff. I get nervous about sounding silly or looking silly. Admittedly, I have an ongoing fear that I'm going to drop somebody in the water. Irrational and silly? Yes. But true? Unfortunately, yes.

But in my better moments, when all of that is gone, rather than fading, the disquiet is often even stronger. My heart races and my hands often tremble as I realize the gravity of what is happening at that moment:

• I'm witnessing the moment that God saves someone's soul from Hell.
• I'm seeing the moment that God transforms someone's heart.
• I get to be a spectator to death of the old life and resurrection to new life in Jesus.
• I'm witnessing God's forgiveness of a lifetime of sin.
• I'm watching as God fulfills so many of his promises at once.
• I'm right there as God breathes life into a person's soul like he did to the first man he created.
• I'm seeing a testimony to the fact that the Devil has been defeated.
• And I'm rejoicing with the angels that one more sinner has repented.

And as all of that starts to sink, the thought that is always in my mind is, "How do I say something that even comes close to describing this marvelous reality? How do I communicate how astoundingly powerful God has made this moment?" I know what I usually say. And I know what I will probably say in the future. But I also know that those words fall far short of the real significance of the moment.

So, until the power and splendor of baptism into Jesus Christ fades from the scope of reality, I guess I will have to continue being nervous.

- Dan Lankford, minister

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before 
its shearers is silent, so he opens not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34)

“Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on 
the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39)

“Roll with the punches.” That phrase comes from the realm of boxing, where competitors are taught to pull their bodies in the direction that an opponent’s punch is thrown in order to lessen the blow and therefore allow the fighter to endure a little longer.

While Jesus does not use that same imagery, he does give us some related encouragement to endure the blows that life will inevitably deliver. In the verses above, the Holy Spirit encourages us to press on in a life of faith even when you must suffer. Obviously, these verses are meant to encourage Christians in the toughest times: when you or your loved ones are threatened, attacked, or killed for believing in Jesus. But if we are being encouraged to roll on through the punches in those hard times, how much more should we endure our smaller sleights and struggles? Can’t we learn to “roll with it” sometimes?

My encouragement to you is this: Don’t take too many things personally. Find peace in forgiving others. And when life delivers a hard blow: roll with the punch, admit that it hurt, and keep on fighting the good fight.

- Dan Lankford, minister

"All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white fence post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution. Briefly, if you want the old white post you must have a new white post." (G.K. Chesterton)

Chesterton's illustration is a good reminder of the need to constantly teach the word of God in a way that allows it to be fresh, living, active, and powerful. If the church is going to be just like the first-century church in things like faith, evangelism, and love for one another, then we cannot be on auto-pilot. If you want it to stay the same as when it was new, you have to re-NEW it all the time. It takes constant effort to refresh, restore, and rejuvenate the group that God is saving.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." (2 Cor. 4:16)

- Dan Lankford, minister

*this concept came to my attention from a sermon by Wes McAdams*

I am going to take a break from writing these articles for a period of time. Thank you for reading them.

--Roger

"As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ."  (2 Corinthians 8:23)

The cooperation seen so often in Paul's life demonstrates one of the great imperatives of God's kingdom: that his people can and must work together to accomplish his purposes. Whether it was with Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Titus, or several others mentioned in his letters, Paul shows us the value of kingdom cooperation.

Obviously, we believe this is an important idea for evangelists. It's why we are financially supporting two men who are working together to plant a church in Harrisburg, PA. It's why our elders encourage our minister to spend time with other preachers often. It's why we bring in guest speakers and have some of our men preach on occasion. There is value in fellowship and cooperation between those who preach. As Paul said of Titus, we are partners and fellow workers for the benefit of God's people.

But the verse has value for everybody who lives in Christ. We are recreated (2 Cor. 5:17) in Christ to be in community and fellowship with each other. As Paul and Titus were fellow workers, we are all fellow workers toward the same goal: the glory of Christ. I encourage you to think about some good that you can do for God's glory. And then think of some other saints you can get involved in that. Make an effort to be fellow workers and partners in the gospel, so that in all things, Christ may be given the glory that he deserves.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Many churches have a significant percentage of their members who are single. Excluding children, many of the adult members are not married. There are a number of reasons for this ever growing demographic in the Lord’s church.

• Human lifespan is longer – there are more widows and widowers
• The divorce rate is higher – sometimes even among Christians.
• Many never marry – some are unasked; some are unanswered. And a higher percentage than ever either decide not to marry or else they are waiting until later in life to marry.

I realize that this can be very discouraging to some who fall into this category and who would love to be married if the right situation would arise. Some are content in their singleness and have made a conscious decision not to marry.

But I am afraid that there are too many single Christians who feel that they cannot serve the Lord effectively because they are single and so, as a result, as powerful force is left untapped in many congregations.

There are many positive and valuable things that a single Christian can do and I would like to remind you of some of those things in the hopes that we can mobilize a group of disciples who can make a huge difference in the life of a church in the here and now and a great difference in other people’s eternal destiny.

1)  Do not become discouraged.

Being single is no reason to have a low self-esteem. Singles sometimes ask, “What’s wrong with me?” Nothing is wrong with you, except perhaps that you are focusing on the wrong thing. Look to your strengths, talents, and abilities. (Married people who concentrate only on what they can’t do or don’t have will never be happy either.)

There are many great men and women of God in the Bible who were single (either never having married or having lost a spouse). In the Old Testament, some of them were Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Mordecai. In the New Testament, we have Paul, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, John the Baptist, Timothy, Barnabas and, of course, Jesus.

When you find yourself feeling lonely, do something for someone else to take the focus off of your aloneness. Visit with friends, enjoy the children of others (buy them things; take them places you would like to go, like the zoo, a museum, etc.). Just keep busy doing something.

2)  Recognize your opportunities.

The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 7:7-8, recommends the single life. He is not forbidding people to get married (1 Timothy 4:3), but he wants you to realize that you are definitely not a second class Christian if you are unmarried.

The fact is that marriage divides a person’s interests into two areas – serving the Lord and being with your mate. An unmarried person has the time to do things for God that married people often cannot do. Notice this passage from 1 Corinthians 7:32-35:

“But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord – how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world – how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world – how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.”

He continues on to discuss one who does not give his daughter in marriage and says that such a one have chosen what is better. There are some advantages in being single over being married. (There are also advantages in being married over being single. It is not all one sided in either direction.)

Some advantages a single Christian has are:

• Can be more spontaneous
• Freer to come and go
• No one to answer to about time
• More time to study the Bible and pray
• Have get-togethers at your place (make it a potluck)
• More time to attend gospel meetings in other places
• Often in a position to contribute more than average to the church
• Galatians 6:10

3)  Maintain sexual purity.

This is very important. A single Christian must work very hard, with the Lord’s help, to keep himself or herself pure.

There are two important things to watch out for – your friends (1 Corinthians 15:33) and your activities (Ephesians 5:11).

Remember that you are be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Don’t let your unmarried status be an excuse to sin it up. Think about the example you are setting for others.

4)  Help others.

One of the biggest problems of single Christians is turning inward, only being concerned with self. Give of your self to others (Acts 20:33-35; Matthew 20:25-28).

Matthew 19:10-12 speaks of those who refuse marriage (“make themselves eunuchs”) for “the kingdom of heaven’s sake.” Being single often gives you more time to help others.

• The needy – James 1:27
• Sick, hungry, lonely people – Matthew 25:31-46
• Spiritually weak – Galatians 6:1-2
• The lost – Matthew 4:19

Conclusion

If you find yourself in this situation, by choice or by circumstance, use it to the glory of God. The church has a huge army of single, godly men and women out there who need to be mobilized in His service. Realize that this is an opportunity to serve God and the church and the world around you in a way that will make a difference in the lives and eternity of others. May God richly bless you.

--Roger Hillis    

Consider Paul’s words about the human heart before and after Christ: “...you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:21-24)

When our lives are transformed—which we often call ‘converted’—by Christ, a change takes place at the core level of existence: the heart. This is why we must always recognize the difference between a person’s need for conversion and his need to “learn the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26). We need true conversion; not just moral improvement.

Look again at Paul’s words. Do you see the contrast between “deceitful desires” and “renewed in the spirit of your minds”? Conversion means more than living a better moral life; it means changing what we want. Does that mean that we will no longer be tempted? Of course not. But it does mean that we no longer dwell on those desires—the ones that corrupted our lives and robbed us of salvation and joy in God.

For those of us in Christ, our prayer should be that God would transform our minds, that he would make us altogether new people, and that our desires for that which is holy will grow ever stronger. I pray that every person who names Christ is truly converted to be a Christian at every level, down to a change in the heart.

- Dan Lankford, minister

The recent story of the Thai soccer team stuck in the cave was an international sensation, and rightly so. So many elements of the story touched our hearts and showed us that there is good in the species made in God's image. I'd like to highlight one more element of that story.

After divers discovered the boys and their coach were alive, many people made return trips into the cave to bring food, oxygen bottles, and lights to them. They also carried letters from their families who were anxiously waiting outside. One of the most touching letters is the one in the picture: the letter to the coach—the man who had been responsible for their children when all of this took place.

And I don't need to say much about it, except to point out that in any language, forgiveness sounds good. Those parents' common attitude toward the coach stands as a powerful example of how we, as Christ's people, ought to think about those who have made really bad choices.

Sin is a trap that we enter by our own choice and from which we cannot escape by our own power. And while it is tempting to stand in the safety of salvation and be bitter toward someone "who got themselves into this mess" as the coach had done, how much better would we be to learn the lesson of these parents (the same attitude that the older brother should have had in Jesus' prodigal story in Luke 15)? Our task is not to be upset at the sinner, but to be passionate & excited about his rescue.

- Dan Lankford, minister

I hope you are enjoying and profiting spiritually from this series I have been writing on the subject of Strengthening the Local Church. A few have commented to me that they are benefitting from these articles and I truly pray that they are being helpful to you.

For the next few weeks, starting next Monday, Lord willing, I want to focus on the value of several groups in the church, people who can use their talents to help the church to grow spiritually and numerically.

There seems to be a feeling on the part of way too many Christians that, if they can’t ever serve as a preacher or elder or deacon, they really aren’t very important to the Lord and His work.

That is most unfortunate, because the Bible teaches that God loves every person, without partiality or favoritism (Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:11; James 2:1-4). Every person, male or female, is important to the Lord and vital to accomplishing His will in the world.

Each of us is a unique individual, created in God’s image, with an immortal soul, to glorify Him while living on the earth. You know people I may never know. You love people I have never even met. You have, within your realm of influence, people who need to be saved and who may have been placed in your life by God, so that you can touch them with the gospel. And if you don’t do that, it may well be that no one else ever will either. And that is true for me also. And it is true for all of us who are Jesus followers.

Two passages make it abundantly clear that every one who is a disciple of Christ is important to His work.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31 compares the church to a physical body and teaches us that every part of the body is important to its proper functioning. No one should feel more important than anyone else, as we perform our work for Him. No one should feel inferior to others either. We all matter to God.

The context of this passage deals with the spiritual gifts that first century Christians were given before the New Testament was completed. Some thought themselves better than others because of their gift and some didn’t think they were as important as others because they got a different gift than someone else. But they were all to work together, just as all the various parts of our bodies work together. Although we do not have these same miraculous gifts today, we are all gifted by God with natural talents and abilities that should be used to help other people come closer to God and to glorify Him in every way we can. And Paul points out that, even with the miraculous aspects of their gifts, the greatest gift of all is to love others.

Romans 12 is an entire chapter of the New Testament that emphasizes how we are different, but that we should all use our abilities in a way that honors the Giver. You can do things I cannot and you are accountable to God to do what you can. And I need to do whatever I can.

Well, with that introduction, if the Lord doesn’t come back first, I plan to spend the next several weeks discussing what various groups of Christians can do that will strengthen the church where they worship.

The groups I plan to discuss, if I am able, will be:

• Single Christians
• Older Christians
• Women
• Teens/Young people

I hope you will benefit from this short series within the larger series of Strengthening the Local Church. May the Lord richly bless you as you seek to do His will.

--Roger Hillis

This story is truly astonishing: in Thailand, a team of teenaged soccer players went for a hike in a cave they visit often, and a flash flood trapped them and their coach on a narrow ledge with nothing but the clothes on their backs. With incredibly diligent search efforts, it took 10 days for divers to find them. Once they were found, they were given flashlights, food, and letters from their families who were anxiously waiting outside the caves. After four more days, all of them were rescued by a complicated and very risky underwater extraction plan. They are in hospitals recovering, and all are going to be completely fine.

The story is compelling even if its details are told in a dry, facts-only way. It is dramatic, it is heroic, and it is so joyful!
It was interesting to note that news reports about the rescue efforts repeatedly emphasized the boys’ needs and how they were met: the first divers who found them gave them lights. Then they brought them oxygen so they could breathe. Then the rescuers brought them food. Then they brought them letters from family members.

And as reporters kept repeating those four things—light, breath, food, and family—I couldn’t help but see parallels to God’s plan of salvation. God came to us when we were stuck in darkness, and he brought us light (John 1:1-14). He brought us breath—the same Greek word which is translated “Spirit” in many places (Acts 2:38). He has told us about a family of people who care about us and wait to welcome us after our rescue (Eph. 2:19-22). And he has brought us food to sustain our souls eternally, calling himself “the bread of life” (6:48).

I don’t mean to sound like I think the events in Thailand these past few weeks were somehow orchestrated to demonstrate God’s plan of saving mankind. But if you thought that story was dramatic and joyful, how much more should God’s salvation of humanity excite us and fill us with joy? It is astonishing to fully realize how lost we are without him. And yet, it is even more astonishing to realize the herculean efforts which God himself has put forth to save each and every person. “you are… a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

- Dan Lankford, minister 

*one additional parallel realized after initial publishing: the rescued boys were brought safely through water—an exciting parallel to 1 Peter 3:18-22*