Today, my Facebook Friend, Pastor Oden Fong of Calvary Chapel,
posted the message below - and it resonated with me on several levels.
First, it spoke to me of two very important tasks for Christian believers and Christian fellowships. (1) Getting people into church, into our worship services and Bible studies, and (2) keeping those people in our church and Bible studies by responding to their spiritual needs.
I am reminded of a true story I read some years ago. It was about two churches which started at about the same time in the South Bay area of Southern California. One of the church fellowships was withering on the vine - the other was thriving and filled with the Holy Spirit. Hmmm? I wonder what made that big difference?
That can be answered from a conversation between the two pastors. For convenience, we will call them Pastor Flourish and Pastor Wither and I will paraphrase their conversation. They were discussing their respective church plants and Pastor Wither lamented that his church plant had started with a real bang - and then over a few years began to wither. He said, "I used all the newest marketing tools and techniques they taught me in seminary. And for a while that really worked. But, then it slowed down and our congregation began to slip away."
Then he looked at Pastor Flourish and asked, "Our churches were planted about the same time - and your church seems to really be growing. What marketing tools and techniques are you using?"
Pastor Flourish told him, "None. One day I was driving down the freeway and prayerfully seeking God's guidance in my pastoral ministry. Then, it was as if He told me to get off the freeway. I did and started driving around the community - and again it seemed that He was telling me to plant a church in this community."
"Okay," Pastor Wither asked eagerly, "Then what did you do?"
"I started a Bible study, asked the Holy Spirit to guide us and to grow us - and left the rest to Him. The only marketing tool I ever used was the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit."
In my own Christian walk over the past 29 years, I have personally experienced both of these type of church conditions, flourishing and withering. I have seen church fellowships split and I have personally seen these two experiences played out in other churches in Southern California. I have seen churches large and small - some flourishing and others dying. My answer to that dilemma: forget all those seminary marketing tools and cast your needs, trust, and faith upon the Holy Spirit.
Second, I have personally seen churches split over worship music. I recall one specific local church that at one time had about 300 members. In that church the older folks wanted "only" hymns - and the younger people wanted mores secular sounding praise songs, contemporary Christian music, and choruses. The end result: all the young people left and scattered to other churches which fed their desire for secular sounding worship music.
When I first met the young pastor (mid-forties) and attended some of their worship services, he told me, "Bill, our church is dying - literally." What he meant was that the youngest members of that church now were in their mid-sixties, with the others even older. So, literally, that church was dying - one member at a time. He left and went back to his hometown on the East Coast and another pastoral family came in and began the effort of reviving the fellowship.
Another church where I was involved had a good mix of contemporary Christian music and hymns. And, I began to see that fellowship grow. The pastor and I talked a number of times, both agreeing that we would concentrate on building the fellowship spiritually - and let God handle the numerical growth. I can still remember the day that I felt that the Holy Spirit had begun that numerical growth. A couple who had known our pastor in another church came and joined our fellowship. That day, during fellowship, I told the husband, "Pastor and I have discussed the fact that if we work on growing the church spiritually - He will give us the numerical growth. I have a feeling that the two of you are the beginning of that new church growth."
And, it happened just that way. A few weeks later, this new member brought his brother and his family. Shortly after that, the brother brought both sets of in-laws - and those in-laws brought a number of people from the local senior community where they lived. After a while, we had almost as many seniors as we did the less senior. That fellowship began to flourish, spiritually and numerically, for a while.
Third, don't let pride and ego tear down what the Holy Spirit has built. And, I have personally experienced that sad dilemma strike churches. A church I was in some years ago began to lose members over disagreements with the pastor. And, I am not speaking of just the regular church members - but church leaders. Over a matter of a few years, at least six church elders were driven from that church by the pastor. A few years ago, I commented about that church, "When I fist came, we had one pastor and three elders. Now, there are three pastors and one elder. And no one left to disagree with the pastor."
Another sad comment I made regarding that church fellowship is even more disturbing, "If all the members who have left that church because of pastoral disagreements were in one church fellowship now - that new fellowship would be numerically larger than the church they all had to leave." When such things happen in our Christian fellowships - we need to sit back and ask ourselves why we are tearing down what God has built.
Fourth, as Pastor Oden Fong has mentioned in his post below - I see far too many Christian brothers and sisters who go on the social media such as Facebook - and post the "F" word and other vulgarities. And many times I have seen Christian brothers and sisters who seem to have no problem with taking God's name in vain by frequently posting that old favorite "OMG" - which no matter how one excuses it - really means "Oh, my God!" When that happens, I respond by telling them, "I sincerely hope that was the beginning of your prayer - for otherwise, you are stepping on God's holy name."
To my Friends on Facebook, etc., you may or may not be posting under your own name. On Facebook most folks do seem to use their real name, but I have seen some folks using a pseudonym, i.e., a phoney posting name. That practice is common on some forums where folks tend to feel they can be nasty and/or vulgar, as long as they remain anonymous. I have had many stones thrown at me by atheists, secularists, and even some liberal and legalistic Christians, using pseudonyms, who disagree with me. Many times folks, even forum moderators, have questioned why I always post using my real name - warning me of their perceived danger of being known.
I tell them, "I am posting my Christian faith. I cannot do that while hiding behind a phoney name. I am an ambassador for the Lord of the universe and proud of it. If I were America's Ambassador to the another nation, would I introduce himself, 'Just call me John Smith' - or would I proudly announce, 'I am Bill Gray and I represent my homeland, America!'?" To me, it is important to let folks know that Bill Gray is a Christian believer and an ambassador for Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) - and that is why I have always posted using my real name.
Yet, let me be honest. The practice of using my real name has at times stopped me from posting nasty responses. Yes, there have been a number of times when a post has hurt me or angered me - and I have written a stinging, and at times nasty, response. But then my inner Guide, the Holy Spirit, takes over. Once I have privately vented my anger - I can then just delete that post and move on. While others may see no problem with posting the sharp response, Bill Gray, ambassador for Christ, cannot do that. So, you see, using my real name truly is a great advantage.
But, to get back to my point - when someone steps on God's name by using His holy name to add emphasis to their comments, i.e., OMG ~ keep in mind that no one is anonymous with God. No pseudonym is going to hide you from God. He knows us all - and He knows what we do and why we do it.
Those thoughts and memories were prompted by reading the following Facebook message posted by Pastor Oden Fong:
Some if my Friends may be wondering just who Pastor Oden Fong is and why I would quote him. Well, he is the perfect example of how God can rescue us from the secular world and make us ambassadors of Christ. Oden's father was the Hollywood star, Benson Fong, of the old 1940s Charlie Chan movies.
Okay, so most of you are too young to know about Charlie Chan movies. Benson Fong was also known for his work on The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, the story of General Jimmy Doolittle's bomb raid on Tokyo (1944), The Love Bug (1968), Flower Drum Song (1961) and Our Man Flint (1966), as well as many other movies.
Oden Fong was a wealthy Beverly Hill's boy turn hippie, drug dealer, new age follower, musician, and all around wasted life - until he found Jesus Christ while on a drug binge in the desert. For many years he has been a Christian musician and pastor in the Calvary Chapel movement, one more of Pastor Chuck Smith's saved hippies turned very effective pastor. This short video of Pastor Oden Fong is a beautiful testimony of the Holy Spirit working, especially among the lost.
Are YOU an ambassador for Christ? If so, please feel free to share this blog with your FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors). Who knows? Someone you know may be ready to receive the Gospel and, in the process, find a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
First, it spoke to me of two very important tasks for Christian believers and Christian fellowships. (1) Getting people into church, into our worship services and Bible studies, and (2) keeping those people in our church and Bible studies by responding to their spiritual needs.
I am reminded of a true story I read some years ago. It was about two churches which started at about the same time in the South Bay area of Southern California. One of the church fellowships was withering on the vine - the other was thriving and filled with the Holy Spirit. Hmmm? I wonder what made that big difference?
That can be answered from a conversation between the two pastors. For convenience, we will call them Pastor Flourish and Pastor Wither and I will paraphrase their conversation. They were discussing their respective church plants and Pastor Wither lamented that his church plant had started with a real bang - and then over a few years began to wither. He said, "I used all the newest marketing tools and techniques they taught me in seminary. And for a while that really worked. But, then it slowed down and our congregation began to slip away."
Then he looked at Pastor Flourish and asked, "Our churches were planted about the same time - and your church seems to really be growing. What marketing tools and techniques are you using?"
Pastor Flourish told him, "None. One day I was driving down the freeway and prayerfully seeking God's guidance in my pastoral ministry. Then, it was as if He told me to get off the freeway. I did and started driving around the community - and again it seemed that He was telling me to plant a church in this community."
"Okay," Pastor Wither asked eagerly, "Then what did you do?"
"I started a Bible study, asked the Holy Spirit to guide us and to grow us - and left the rest to Him. The only marketing tool I ever used was the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit."
In my own Christian walk over the past 29 years, I have personally experienced both of these type of church conditions, flourishing and withering. I have seen church fellowships split and I have personally seen these two experiences played out in other churches in Southern California. I have seen churches large and small - some flourishing and others dying. My answer to that dilemma: forget all those seminary marketing tools and cast your needs, trust, and faith upon the Holy Spirit.
Second, I have personally seen churches split over worship music. I recall one specific local church that at one time had about 300 members. In that church the older folks wanted "only" hymns - and the younger people wanted mores secular sounding praise songs, contemporary Christian music, and choruses. The end result: all the young people left and scattered to other churches which fed their desire for secular sounding worship music.
When I first met the young pastor (mid-forties) and attended some of their worship services, he told me, "Bill, our church is dying - literally." What he meant was that the youngest members of that church now were in their mid-sixties, with the others even older. So, literally, that church was dying - one member at a time. He left and went back to his hometown on the East Coast and another pastoral family came in and began the effort of reviving the fellowship.
Another church where I was involved had a good mix of contemporary Christian music and hymns. And, I began to see that fellowship grow. The pastor and I talked a number of times, both agreeing that we would concentrate on building the fellowship spiritually - and let God handle the numerical growth. I can still remember the day that I felt that the Holy Spirit had begun that numerical growth. A couple who had known our pastor in another church came and joined our fellowship. That day, during fellowship, I told the husband, "Pastor and I have discussed the fact that if we work on growing the church spiritually - He will give us the numerical growth. I have a feeling that the two of you are the beginning of that new church growth."
And, it happened just that way. A few weeks later, this new member brought his brother and his family. Shortly after that, the brother brought both sets of in-laws - and those in-laws brought a number of people from the local senior community where they lived. After a while, we had almost as many seniors as we did the less senior. That fellowship began to flourish, spiritually and numerically, for a while.
Third, don't let pride and ego tear down what the Holy Spirit has built. And, I have personally experienced that sad dilemma strike churches. A church I was in some years ago began to lose members over disagreements with the pastor. And, I am not speaking of just the regular church members - but church leaders. Over a matter of a few years, at least six church elders were driven from that church by the pastor. A few years ago, I commented about that church, "When I fist came, we had one pastor and three elders. Now, there are three pastors and one elder. And no one left to disagree with the pastor."
Another sad comment I made regarding that church fellowship is even more disturbing, "If all the members who have left that church because of pastoral disagreements were in one church fellowship now - that new fellowship would be numerically larger than the church they all had to leave." When such things happen in our Christian fellowships - we need to sit back and ask ourselves why we are tearing down what God has built.
Fourth, as Pastor Oden Fong has mentioned in his post below - I see far too many Christian brothers and sisters who go on the social media such as Facebook - and post the "F" word and other vulgarities. And many times I have seen Christian brothers and sisters who seem to have no problem with taking God's name in vain by frequently posting that old favorite "OMG" - which no matter how one excuses it - really means "Oh, my God!" When that happens, I respond by telling them, "I sincerely hope that was the beginning of your prayer - for otherwise, you are stepping on God's holy name."
To my Friends on Facebook, etc., you may or may not be posting under your own name. On Facebook most folks do seem to use their real name, but I have seen some folks using a pseudonym, i.e., a phoney posting name. That practice is common on some forums where folks tend to feel they can be nasty and/or vulgar, as long as they remain anonymous. I have had many stones thrown at me by atheists, secularists, and even some liberal and legalistic Christians, using pseudonyms, who disagree with me. Many times folks, even forum moderators, have questioned why I always post using my real name - warning me of their perceived danger of being known.
I tell them, "I am posting my Christian faith. I cannot do that while hiding behind a phoney name. I am an ambassador for the Lord of the universe and proud of it. If I were America's Ambassador to the another nation, would I introduce himself, 'Just call me John Smith' - or would I proudly announce, 'I am Bill Gray and I represent my homeland, America!'?" To me, it is important to let folks know that Bill Gray is a Christian believer and an ambassador for Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) - and that is why I have always posted using my real name.
Yet, let me be honest. The practice of using my real name has at times stopped me from posting nasty responses. Yes, there have been a number of times when a post has hurt me or angered me - and I have written a stinging, and at times nasty, response. But then my inner Guide, the Holy Spirit, takes over. Once I have privately vented my anger - I can then just delete that post and move on. While others may see no problem with posting the sharp response, Bill Gray, ambassador for Christ, cannot do that. So, you see, using my real name truly is a great advantage.
But, to get back to my point - when someone steps on God's name by using His holy name to add emphasis to their comments, i.e., OMG ~ keep in mind that no one is anonymous with God. No pseudonym is going to hide you from God. He knows us all - and He knows what we do and why we do it.
Those thoughts and memories were prompted by reading the following Facebook message posted by Pastor Oden Fong:
Oden Fong: MUSLIMS AND MORMONS IN ORANGE COUNTY
Orange County (California) is overflowing with Muslims. They are everywhere, especially noticed in the large shopping centers.
It used to be that the Orange County was overflowing with "on fire" Christians. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are still countless “professing Christians,” but they no longer stand out. They blend in with the secular society. On many Facebook profiles belonging to Christians, there is often an equal amount of praise for God - and for mixed drinks at a fun filled party. There is a mixture of Jesus and four letter words. It’s the fountain flowing sweet and bitter.
Many people are converting to Islam and they are converting to Mormonism. Why? Because both these religions seem to be seeking a moral life.
Both of these groups are noticeably set apart from the secular society. They seem to be fervent in their faith and for their gods.
There has been a noted exodus out of Christian churches. And this is because people, particularly the younger generations, find that there is not enough of what they are seeking.
Good music? There is better music outside.
Fervent worship? Ever been to a secular concert or a sports stadium?
Uplifting messages? You can’t touch the hem of a seasoned motivational speaker in the secular arena.
All of the clever marketing can get people into the church - but without holiness, without the experience of the divine presence of the Almighty, without a personal relationship with Christ - they will not stay.
It is in the divine plan of God for those who become Christians to be sanctified - meaning "set apart" for the person and purposes of God.
John 17:14-19 (nkjv), "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."
If we get real with God - the people will come to God. And this is because they will see and experience something genuine.
Some if my Friends may be wondering just who Pastor Oden Fong is and why I would quote him. Well, he is the perfect example of how God can rescue us from the secular world and make us ambassadors of Christ. Oden's father was the Hollywood star, Benson Fong, of the old 1940s Charlie Chan movies.
Okay, so most of you are too young to know about Charlie Chan movies. Benson Fong was also known for his work on The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, the story of General Jimmy Doolittle's bomb raid on Tokyo (1944), The Love Bug (1968), Flower Drum Song (1961) and Our Man Flint (1966), as well as many other movies.
Oden Fong was a wealthy Beverly Hill's boy turn hippie, drug dealer, new age follower, musician, and all around wasted life - until he found Jesus Christ while on a drug binge in the desert. For many years he has been a Christian musician and pastor in the Calvary Chapel movement, one more of Pastor Chuck Smith's saved hippies turned very effective pastor. This short video of Pastor Oden Fong is a beautiful testimony of the Holy Spirit working, especially among the lost.
Pastor Oden Fong Gives His Testimony, February 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOTFJ30rIHQ
Are YOU an ambassador for Christ? If so, please feel free to share this blog with your FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors). Who knows? Someone you know may be ready to receive the Gospel and, in the process, find a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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