All Posts (Page 22)
What Did They Mean, “Believe in Christ?”
How do we explain the sudden reversals of life found in the New Testament? As Jesus spoke, or Paul or Philip or any of the other presenters in the early days of Christianity, scores of people believed. It’s the suddenness of belief that shocks you. In a moment, before a day was over, or before a few days had elapsed, so many turned from paganism or centuries-old religious traditions to Christ. The New Testament says that they “believed.” Or it…
A Seven Minute Testimony by Philip Gittens from Cape Town, South Africa
Listen here as Philip recounts the effect of Wasted Faith in his life.
Check Out Our New Book!
You can order copies here. Below is an excerpt from the Introduction: In this book, we will revisit one of the New Testament’s compelling stories, alluded to in three of its books and featured prominently in a fourth. The Apostle Paul, responding to a crisis of poverty among the believers in Jerusalem, undertook the arduous project of raising a collection for them among the young churches in the Roman provinces of modern-day Turkey and Greece. As we engage this story,…
A Gospel Shotgun: A Letter from Jim
My grandmother Elliff was a presenter of the gospel. Are you? She looks harmless, but in the case in this photo was a sawed off gospel shotgun! One day a tramp came to her screen door asking for food. Grandmother and her pastor husband lived close to the train tracks and this was not an uncommon experience during those days. Always accommodating, she asked the man to remain at the front door while she went back to get him something…
God’s Supply: A Letter from Jim
Do you realize what an amazing thing it is that God has supplied everything we have needed for our ministry and our personal needs and the needs of our team for over 32 years? He has an ocean-like supply to meet all our needs. This means that many tens of thousands of dollars have come in to this ministry every year without solicitation to anybody but God alone. He did it again this year, providing over $210,000 for our living…
California Christmas: A Letter From Jim
California Christmas! We just returned from sunny California, where the Christmas season is, frankly, a whole lot more like Israel than Kansas City. Years ago, I pastored a church in Orlando, Florida. Warm Decembers were part of the mystique, yet I never quite got used to it. But now it seems VERY appealing to live in such a place. We’ve already had a couple of snows here in KC and will see much more than that, I’m sure. We arrived…
The Faithful Rural Church
I have a deep respect for the rural churches. I’ve been in many that have retained their vibrancy and usefulness for 100 years or longer. Don’t underestimate the potential of such churches. God may very well pass over the clever church for the faithful one. It would be like God to surprise us by awaking rural churches and pouring out his blessing in them once again as he did in the past. He delights to make the weak strong. Rural…
Not Much to Be Thankful For
Table Mountain reigns over Cape Town, South Africa. When we first got sight of it from the highway, we were unable to take our eyes off of its stately, presiding presence. Its abrupt cliffs, rising up out of Cape Town on the oceanfront etched its postcard beauty in our minds. As you see, I can get rather poetic about it. But . . . Not everybody sees it this way. My first child was with us in the back seat…
A Letter from Jim | October 2018
Just a couple of weeks ago, Steve Burchett and I loaded up his van and drove to Oklahoma from Kansas City for retreat with the leaders of a well-known international ministry I won’t name. The trip was pleasant, but when we arrived after several hours, the gate of the retreat center was only partially opened and unmovable. Steve decided to slip through the gate on foot to see who could help us. He found no one to help. So, returning…
Authenticating Glory in Scripture
Though the Scripture may be shown to be trustworthy by many historical and logical proofs, it is essentially received as true because of the revelation of God’s glory experienced through it. Just as nature reveals God (Rom 1:19-21), and some receive or reject his glory, so man receives or rejects the glory of God in Scripture. In other words, a man sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking a majestic display of nature has every reason to believe in…
Stop Talking So Much…And Other Tips for Leading a Small Group Bible Study
I meet with a small group of men once a week early in the morning primarily to study the Bible. We read and dialogue about a portion of Scripture. Typically, we walk through one Bible book at a time, examining a section each week. Though I am the leader, I almost never prepare for this meeting. I am a firm believer in preparation; it’s just that this meeting is different. I arrive ready to open our Bibles, to read the…
A Letter From Jim | September 2018
Dear CCW family, Those kids! Pam and I have three older ones, along with their two spouses and two grandchildren. Steve and Patty have three in the mid-range. Kole and Rachel have two that are younger. Through the years we have often taken our family with us as we travel. We believe this is important for them and for the churches and conferences when at all possible to do. It’s been our desire to promote both fear of God and…
A Letter From Jim | August 2018
Greetings! We’re working hard on completing Bryan Elliff’s book called SURPLUS: FEARLESS GENEROSITY IN 2 CORINTHIANS 8-9. Here’s a portion of the introduction: I can remember when I first took seriously the Bible’s teaching on money and possessions. I was a college student at home for the summer and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was a topic of vigorous discussion among my friends. As I read and talked about those fascinating and memorable words of Christ, I realized just how…
A Letter From Jim | July 2018
We are in a new day of hatred and demeaning language. I’m sure you see it. One US senator said that he had just come off a seven month fast from social media and realized that he had forgotten that people were supposed to hate each other. Believers must do better. I have often been shocked by spiritual leaders, along with otherwise faithful Christians, spending so much of their public speech in vitriolic, accusative language about political issues, at the…
SBC Recovery
The SBC must recover a high view of the meaning of conversion and membership, and must bring back or expel non-attenders through a loving and thoughtful process. We must pursue the doctrinal understanding and biblical practices necessary to overcome the remaining membership bloat, and the ongoing increase of unregenerate membership. We have much to be thankful for—for instance, the quality and training of young leaders is the best I remember it. Yet, we must address unregenerate membership—or we die. It’s…
It Isn’t About Me
When you meet with the body of believers in which God by his sometimes secret design has put you, remember this great truth: it’s not about “me.” You don’t gather mainly about you, but them. “Let all things be done for edification,” Paul said. That is, do all you do together for the building up of others. Amazingly, you will be most edified yourself if you think of the body of Christ in this way. And, it may well lead…