Catching Up

With the end of the year, I have been frantically running to renew my annual advertising contracts for KSTA radio, plus the usual holiday celebrations (both Christmas and New Year's), weekly outreach canvassing activities, dates with my wife and the preparation of sermons and Bible studies. Thus, I haven't had much blogging time lately.

It seems though, as things are calming down, so I have time to give you an update. One of our regular attendees was in Central Texas last weekend, and another family was sick, so we wound up with 8 people present for the second Sunday morning in a row. While that did shoot down my Morning Worship average for my monthly report, the truth is that I am not doing this work for the sake of filing reports.

Last week, we didn't have services at Market Place due to it being Christmas Eve. We are having services tonight, though.

Currently, we are working to bring more people into the Grace Pointe fold.

Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes

George Jones had a hit a couple of decades ago titled, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" It was a song about the legends of Country music. His question was, as these men get older and pass away, who will play the Opry, or come up with classics like the Wabash Cannon Ball. (I realize some of this might be Mandarin Chinese to some of you, but bear with me).

Country music has a long tradition of being a part of American life, especially rural America, where people would tune in their radios to WSM 650 AM on Saturday nights in hopes of being able to pick up the Grand Ole Opry, and hear the Country Music Stars of the day playing their signature hits and engaging in playful banter, both for the audiences in the Ryman (which is no longer the home of the Opry), and those on radio (based in Nashville, WSM covered most of the Southeast US at night).

In addition to Opry stardom, these artists recorded new albums almost every year and toured relentlessly. Then there were the TV show appearances and movie cameos (Who could forget Mel Tillis in Smokey and the Bandit II.... "We're cl-cl-cl-cl-We're closed!")

Despite the passing of generations, Country music is still one of the top formats in America. With artists like Brad Paisley still growing in popularity, and the legends like George Strait still cranking out popular music, it looks like the traditions of the Opry will continue for years.

More important than the Opry, however, is the state of our churches and evangelism. I look back on the years following the ABA split of 1950 with some amazement. The men who surrendered to the ministry in those days really surrendered. They left everything behind to go to seminary at TBI, or LMBIS, or another seminary. Then, they ministered to where God called them regardless of financial situations. They sacrificed. They went out and did mission work without the promise of an associational salary. They went to areas where few ABA churches were, where fellowship would be limited, and attacks on their new work would be numerous. Still, they ministered, discipled and evangelized. I think of the work Jack Dean did at Northcrest MBC in Snyder, or how about the work of Jim Slocumb in Andrews?

Where are the missionaries and church planters today? Where is our zeal for expanding the Kingdom of God? (It may be alive and well, just show me!) I think the statistics being compiled by Bro. David Smith are telling. Few new works are being started, and often times once a new work is started, it may take 10-15 years for that new work to be self-supporting, and even longer for it to reproduce. At the same time, the lost and unchurched population of our nation, our state, and even the counties where we have numerous churches is quickly rising, and our average attendances are quickly falling. Who's gonna fill their shoes?

Look, I'm not calling anyone out. Nearly every minister I know is banging his head into a brick wall trying to figure out what more could be done. Many church members I know are overwhelmed by the task at hand. I am not being critical of our work at all!

All I am saying is "Who's gonna fill their shoes?" Where are the men going to come from who will plant new churches, lead existing ones through revival, and work sacrificially for the cause of Christ, throwing worries to the wind?

Sunday report

It's a blessing to be able to travel home and visit with family and friends for Christmas. We had one family that did just that, and some others weren't feeling well Sunday morning, which resulted in us having 8 in attendance. Still, things are moving in the right direction.

Canvassing efforts

We bought 600 door hangers that read "A New Beginning" and 300 that read "Extreme Home Makeover, Family Edition." The "Extreme Home Makeover" door hangers are for a sermon series I have coming up in February on restoring the family from Nehemiah. We'll be handing out the "New Beginning" hangers throughout the rest of December and January.

Our presence in the apartment complex is pretty interesting. We can hold services, invite people to church, but we've been cautioned against repeated door-knocking. So, we can put out these door hangers every single week.

Today, Jessica and I put out 200 door hangers at the Brownwood Apts I & II complexes, La Villita, and another nameless complex within a stone's throw of the Phase II community room.

Also, we'll begin having midweek services there on Tuesday nights (mostly Awana), as I have gotten clearance from management to use the room on Tuesdays. Management at the apartments has been really responsive, receptive and enthusiastic about our ministry, and we are glad to be able to help.

Getting back on track

I did some praying and Bible study, as well as some reading in "Spin-Off Churches," and I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things. Emotional and spiritual ups and downs are something I have experienced since being saved in November 2002, but it seems like my emotional and spiritual roller coaster has been more erratic since moving to Brownwood, and I am not sure why. My spiritual highs are higher, as are my emotional highs, but the lows are lower, and sometimes (especially during stressful times) we move from the highs to the lows back to the highs rather quickly.

I have identified some spiritual issues I am struggling with. These issues are:

• The lust of the flesh - I am struggling with a mild case of gluttony. I know which foods I should be eating, but still I gravitate toward hamburgers, junk food, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, and soda. Not only that, but I often overdo it. Gluttony is no less a sin than is pride, and has a devastating effect on one's body. If I am going to have a long, successful ministry, I have got to get this in check quickly.
• The pride of life - Ever since I was in high school, I wanted to be the best at whatever I did. From being the best on the debate team, to being the best at shooting the bull, to being the best at scoring concert tickets, etc, I wanted to be the best. (Oddly enough, this pride never translated to a desire for academic achievement). At work, I find myself wanting to outperform the staff in Brownwood (even though they have three-times the radio stations and four times the population). To do such would require me to work long hours, which would adversely affect the mission. As far as the mission goes, I often find that my motivation is wrong. God did call me out here, and I am doing His will, but too often I find myself thinking about the monthly reports and what we could do that would look good there. On both of these fronts, I have to get myself back in line, because pride comes before the fall. If my motivation in mission is the monthly report, eventually I will stumble. I'll either fall into heretical practice, or I'll be disobedient to God, choosing to please man rather than God. As for work, I have often seen those who want to be #1 fall flat on their faces.

If we look within ourselves, we will find sin. (If we say we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us). Still, this sin needs to be dealt with, because if we choose to write it off as "everyone has sin," then our sin will eventually surface and cause us great harm.

God bless you, wherever you are, and in all your struggles.

Out of Sync

Yesterday was amazing. I booked nearly $13,000 in advertising for KSTA radio, aired my Red Steagall interview, which is one of the best celebrity interviews I have ever done, had 17 in services at the Market Place Apts, had wonderful services with a sermon that came out better than I had planned, and enjoyed some of the finest Chicken and Dumplings known to man.

Last night ended on a bad note, though, and I lost a lot of sleep on it. In fact, I didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m. I woke up at 4:30 a.m., got ready, and went into the station to host my radio show. I just can't shake the "incompetent" feeling that I have today. I feel weak. I feel like a loser.

Granted, the bad ending to last night and the lack of sleep are probably playing a role in this, but I think there is a deeper spiritual issue at work here. I've got some praying and meditating to do today.

Sensational Seniors!

We had 17 in our services at Market Place tonight as I preached "Lessons Learned from the Birth of Christ" from Luke 2:1-20.

I. The Humility of Christ.
II. The Peace of Christ
III. The Proclaimation of Christ.

We've had several who have had family members who have passed away, but this has not dampened spirits at Market Place. In fact, one of the ladies there excitedly shouted, "I'm next!"

One big church, or many small churches

Which would be more effective in reaching a community for Christ... a church of 1,000, or 10 churches of 100?

Or, how about one church of 500, or 10 churches of 50?

Spin-Off Churches, Chapter 1 Review

The author (Rodney Harrington) chronicles how church planting was on the back-burner of ministerial vocations up until approximately 20 years ago. So, Chapter One is titled, "Recovering a Practical Theology of Church Planting."

In this chapter, Harrington notes how theologians of centuries past focused on their theological passions, so there are no ancient texts outside of Acts that focus on the study of church planting... although he did refer back to the Nicene Creed and noted the word "apostolic church" could mean a church that is a sending church. I was uncomfortable with his referral to the Nicene Creed, but he does have to sell books to non-Baptists, afterall.

Harrington also noted that the church growth movement taught that the Great Commission was obeyed by building large, mega-churches. He also noted during that time, the number of churches and church members declined per capita when compared to the growing North American population. He went on to say that church planting is a way to obey the Great Commission.

My opinion on all this is that God sent us into the world to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), to Baptize them and to teach them the doctrines Christ taught us. If we are obedient in that we are doing this all over the world, and in our pwn back yards, new churches will emerge.

The first six chapters of this book deal with church planting fundamentals and attitudes. This may get pretty interesting.

Spin-Off Churches

I'm normally not one to purchase books, but I saw this one at Family Christian Bookstore in Abilene. I picked it up, skimmed through it and liked what I saw.

Spin-Off Churches chronicles what pastors, denominational leaders and church planters are saying about mission work. It also discusses indigenous church planting and mission work in adverse environments, like crime-ridden intercity areas. It discusses the phenomenon of multi-site church plants and "Set-Free Churches."

More than just a "check out the new trends" and a "how-to" church planting manual, this book seeks to motivate churches to become sending churches. It is put out by the North American Missions Board, the same board that brought you Church Planting Village. The North American Missions Board is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

I'll be posting reviews on this book in the days ahead.

Grace Pointe on the upswing

We had 18 in attendance this morning, with all who attended last Sunday returning this Sunday. I preached from Matthew 2, my sermon was "Wise men seek Jesus." While the wise men sought Jesus in Matthew 2, all men who seek Jesus are wise men.

Market Place recap

We had 14 in services tonight as I preached from Luke 1:38-46 about magnifying God.

I. We magnify God when we submit to His will (v 38)
II. We magnify God when we worship (Mary quickly went to visit Elisabeth).
III. We magnify God when we believe (Blessed is she who believed).

Coming soon to Grace Pointe MBC

At the request of the overwhelming majority of the members and attendees at Grace Pointe, we will be launching an Awanas program at the Brownwood Apts. Phase II, hopefully by January.

A proponent of the Discovery Club, I had mixed emotions about this at the start. However, after reviewing the doctrinal statement of the Awanas program, and learning that they do not mind that we teach local/visible church only, and observing the enthusiasm people have for this program... I think going with Awanas is the best option at this point.

Putting the cart before the horse

It's true. I was guilty of this Sunday. For the past two weeks, the congregation at the Brownwood Housing Authority has been giving tithes and offerings. At the present time, we have no overhead as far as church operations go (no building, no utilities, etc). So, I recommended that we begin giving 10% to missions and spend the rest on Awanas. Several in the group were quite puzzled. So, I dropped the issue and told them we would work toward establishing an Awanas program by January.

I realized after services that my mistake was just assuming that everyone understood the purpose of a church and understood that a church should give to missions. We are still at the basics in this situation and I pushed just a little farther than the group was ready. So, in the weeks ahead, I'll continue discipling this group and working with them. As time goes on, I am confident that they will come together and function as a church.

That's the real challenge in organizing churches, btw. It's not getting people to show up and give tithes, it's getting them to understand why they are there, the role of the church and why that's important.

Wild and wooly Sundays

We had 16 in attendance this morning as I preached Matthew 1:18-25, discussing how that passage is a fulfillment of God's promise to save His people from their sins (those promises made in Isaiah 1:18 and Isaiah 53). We had 7 adults and 9 children.

The children got out of hand a couple of times, but that will happen on occasion. Much of the problem was due to a lack of classroom space. There is a possibility we can expand into another community room at the apartment complex, but there are some hoops we'll have to go through to get there. Either way, we're going to have to reassess our approach to children's ministry and get a better structure in place.

Tomorrow night, Bro. Jeremy Moore and I will have a Bible study. We are studying the doctrinal statement of the American Baptist Association.

Leland's talk-radio playtime

Friday, I got the opportunity to fill in on the "Coming Home" program on News/Talk 96.9 KXYL in Brownwood. Among the highlights was the interview with former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski (pictured right).

Bill was quite prolific in the NFL, and was known for making big hits, both on his opponents and team mates. Some of the highlights from the interview were:

Leland: Would it be safe to assume you enjoyed playing linebacker?
Bill: Oh, heck yes!
Leland: What was your favorite part?
Bill: Knocking the (daylights) out of people.


Leland: Some of your critics would say that you took some cheap shots at people.
Bill: You know what? I did. I really did... people go to football games to see the big hits... where do you draw the line on what a cheap shot is?
Leland: To quote a famous philosopher, that's above my pay grade.

Leland: What's your opinion on the NFL's personal conduct policy?
Bill: Roger Goodell's doing a good job... you take the situation with Plaxico Burress. What does he have a gun in a nightclub for?
Leland: He'll tell you for protection and quote Shawn Taylor.
Bill: You know what? You hire a body guard.
Leland: Then you wind up throwing him through a hotel mirror.
Bill: I think Goodell is doing a good job.
Leland: At least these guys still have a future with the Dallas Cowboys.

I let my operations manager, and regular host of "Coming Home" ask Bill about his BALCO scandal and his Nutrition 53 company. Talk radio is a lot of fun.

IDF

IDF is a military term meaning "Indirect Fire". It is a situation where the enemy is firing morter rounds in your general direction without knowing your exact coordinates. The idea I get from talking with soldiers is that when you are taking IDF, you often hear the rounds explode in the distance, and often close to the base, sometimes too close, but rarely do you actually suffer a direct hit.

Granted, I am no expert on military matters, but soldiers I know that have been to Iraq told me that they could take IDF two-to-three times per week, sometimes daily. I never heard them discuss getting hit, though. In fact, the U.S. Army still didn't require their soldiers to wear body armor unless they were leaving base.

The reason I bring this up is that Mission: Brownwood has been taking IDF from satan's forces since May of this year, when we began the final preparations to move to Brownwood. Satan would seek to stir conflict in mine and Jessica's marriage via miscommunication. He would try to drive a wedge between me and my sponsoring church via miscommunication. Once on the field, he would attack through various people we met on the field.

Satan's attacks in these instances amount to IDF, in my opinion, because my family and ministry have been directly attacked by satan in the past. In various places in my ministry, I feel like he brought on an all-out attack. These attacks ranged from temptations to false accusations, to attempts to assassinate my ministry through the false accusations and rumors started by other preachers, to all-out rebellion by the members of the body of Christ where I ministered. I remember thinking in some instances that these attacks would literally kill me. Once, it almost did, but that's a whole other story altogether.

No, in comparison to previous experiences, these attacks have been mild... hence they are IDF.

The IDF we are experiencing right now comes from the apartment communities where my wife works, where I also minister. There are those there who love us and want us to continue ministering to them. Then, there are those who live there and would rather Jessica and I fall off the face of the planet. Neither these people, nor these complexes have ties to our mission-church, Grace Pointe. However, they still oppose our ministry.

So far, the attacks have been limited to lies, false accusations and rumor-mongering which has gained no traction with the ownership of the apartment communities, or the company for which my wife works. Still, it is annoying and is having a draining effect on my wife. (One courageous man boldly confronted my wife while she was alone in an elevator... yes, we have elevators in Brownwood). Others have also vandalized property.

Our plan is to stay the course. When God calls us to a ministry, we also understand that He calls us to a battlefield. Satan has no respect for God's people, or His creation, and will oppose the spread of God's word everywhere he can. We understand that. We just covet your prayers.

Last night, we had 10 at our Wednesday evening services at Market Place. Four were out of town at a funeral, one was having surgery, one was recovering from surgery and one was tending to her mother who just returned from surgery.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Oh, and things at Brownwood Apts. II are still going well. This will be where we build the core group (which is already taking shape) and be able to organize and launch the church.

Mission: Brownwood November 2008 report

Mission: Brownwood starts Grace Pointe Missionary Baptist Church

Grace Pointe Missionary Baptist Church (mission status sponsored by Rocky Springs MBC) held its first Sunday worship services Nov. 2 at the community room of the Brownwood Apts. Phase II community room. Only three were in attendance, but we felt encouraged by the Lord to continue. We had five the following Sunday, then saw 20 join us for services on Nov. 16. We experienced our first additions Nov. 23 (four by statement, one on promise of Baptism) and collected our first offering Nov. 30 ($365).

Our plans for Dec. 7 are to establish a missions budget, an operations budget, and begin plans to implement our youth program. We hope to have youth programs established by mid-January.

We expect this congregation to grow as we have a decent meeting place and have been canvassing the area weekly since the beginning of November.

Market Place rolls on

Our ministry at the Market Place apartments continues to build momentum, with new people attending and the weekly faithful hanging on. High attendance was 18 on Nov. 19, low attendance was 13 on Nov. 5.

Missionary Acker approved by the messengers of the MBA of Texas

It was an incredibly humbling experience to stand before the messengers of the Missionary Baptist Association of Texas as they stood and approved our request for half-salary. Seeing a full house stand at Calvary Baptist Church in Henderson was truly encouraging, and I thank you for your support.

Finances

Income: MBA of Texas $955.50; Rocky Springs MBC (Jacksonville, TX) $150; Northcrest BC (Andrews, TX) $450; Memorial MBC (Rusk, TX) $200; John Nickle (Rusk, TX) $25; Beacon BC (San Angelo, TX) $150; Bethel MBC (Tatum, TX) $50; Hickory Grove MBC (Newport, AR) $99.97; Nevill’s Chapel MBC (Mt. Pleasant, TX) $293.13; East Side BC (Jacksonville, TX) $100; Wyndrock MBC (Abilene, TX) $40; Muse MBC (Grapeland, TX) $400; Memory Lane MBC (Palestine, TX) $50; Quaker Ave. BC (Lubbock, TX) $100; White Rock MBC (Center, TX) $100; Denson Springs MBC (Grapeland, TX) $50; 58th Ave. MBC (Amarillo) $144.90; Bassett Road BC (Palestine, TX) $75.

Expenditures: Salary $1000; Housing $740; Vehicle repair $644.71; Printing $61.20; Fuel $50.20.

Another good Sunday

We had 13 in morning worship Sunday, down a little, but it was a holiday weekend and there were illnesses. The core is sticking together, though. My new colleague, Jeremy, brought a message on Bringing Children up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. He will eventually step into the role of Children's minister at Grace Pointe.

We collected a good offering, and will decide how to budget our finances next Sunday. Top-of-the-list is missions. One of our goals is to be sending out missionaries in all phases of mission work within the next six years (local, state, interstate and foreign).