THE
FMI REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2005
Praying
for Persecution,
Kairos Journal Award Dinner,
Access Your Christian Character, and Leaders are...?
"WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE OF GOOD REPORT... THINK ON THESE THINGS"
PHIL. 4:8
Welcome! What
a pleasure it is to be in touch with you again. The FMI Report
mainly documents the previous month's activities. We would like to
thank all of you who have been forwarding these messages to your
friends and family.
In
This Month's Report:
* Editorial -
Praying for Persecution
* September Events - Kairos Journal Award Dinner
* September Ministry - Featuring Agape Worship Center
* In Next Month's Report - NJ Defense of Marriage Clergy Press
Conference
* Tips and Resources - Access Your Christian Character
* Products - Two New Resources (see link below)
* Partnership - Invest in God's Program for the Northeast of America
We would love to
hear from you; please send us your feedback today. Don’t forget the
ever-popular 'GOD THOUGHTS' at the end of this report. Enjoy!
JB
EDITORIAL – Praying for Persecution
(This month I have included this article, with permission from World Magazine. I think it is absolutley pertinent to the current state of affairs here in America. JB)
Praying
for persecution
Chinese Christians Have a Slightly Different Idea of How God Blesses. By Gene Edward Veith
How should American Christians pray for the church in China? So asked
the reporter from the Baptist mission board, ending his interview with a
leader of the Chinese house-church movement.
His subject answered, "Stop praying for persecution in China to end." He
added, "It is through persecution that the church has grown."
The leader of the underground church then added something else: "We, in
fact, are praying that the American church might taste the same
persecution so revival would come to the American church like we have
seen in China."
James Draper, the president of the Southern Baptist bookstore chain
LifeWay who recounts the incident in a column with Baptist Press, notes
the irony: "We in America keep praying for God to bless us"—with
success, prosperity, political clout, and booming churches—"and
Christians in other nations are praying God will allow us to experience
persecution so that we'll act like the blessing we were made to be."
What did the Chinese leader—who constantly faces arrest for evangelizing
and worshipping—mean? It is certainly true, both in China and throughout
church history, that the greatest periods of church growth have been
times of persecution, or at least cultural hostility.
This happened most dramatically in the Roman Empire. After Rome fell,
the European barbarians first martyred the missionaries before finally
accepting their message. During the Reformation, the gospel spread like
fire while those who preached it were burned at the stake.
In more recent times, though falling short of overt persecution, the
church has flourished in times of cultural hostility. At the height of
the Enlightenment, with its anti-supernatural rationalism, John Wesley
sparked the Methodist revival and America had its Great Awakening. The
age of Modernism, which was expected to eliminate religion altogether,
gave us the evangelical movement. Conversely, times of cultural
conformity—the late Middle Ages, today—show the church at its worst.
Persecution does not always create growth in numbers, as is evident in
Islamic countries. But it does eliminate nominal believers who only go
to church for cultural approval. The church members remaining, who are
willing to endure suffering for their Christianity, demonstrate a faith
that seems particularly real, and particularly persuasive to
nonbelievers. We blithely speak of "witnessing to our faith," by which
we mean just telling someone about Jesus. The Greek word for "witness"
is martyr.
So, if persecution has been good for Christianity, does this mean we
should cultivate martyrdom? Not at all. It was good that Rome finally
legalized Christianity (though this would have unintended bad
consequences). Today we should work to promote religious freedom around
the world, including China. And we should resist—while we can—the
assaults on that freedom in our own country. Nor should individual
Christians try to turn themselves into "martyrs" through obnoxious or
illegal behavior.
The Reformers made it clear that "self-chosen" suffering—as in
asceticism, self-flagellation, and purposefully getting in trouble—has
no spiritual value and can contribute to works righteousness and
hypocrisy. But suffering that we do not want, enduring trials and
tribulations out of our control, can be a refining fire, forcing us to
depend ever more on Christ.
Despite the clear teachings of the Bible, many of us actually think God
has abandoned us when we go through difficulties, failures, and sorrows.
We expect one glorious victory after another and are disconcerted when
Jesus sends us a cross to bear.
We American Christians have become so prosperous, so successful, so
optimistic that we have become spiritually soft and thus ineffective.
The Chinese churchman sees that we could use the bitter medicine of
persecution.
So when you find yourself struggling with hardship and opposition, or,
even more so, when you are exulting in your success and popularity,
remember: Someone in China is praying for you.
Copyright © 2005 WORLD Magazine
October 1, 2005, Vol. 20, No. 38
www.worldmag.com #
SEPTEMBER EVENTS...
Kairos Journal Award Dinner - The Kairos Journal is an online resource with subscribers in over eighty countries. It seeks to equip and support pastors and church leaders as they strive to transform the moral conscience of the culture and restore the prophetic voice of the Church.
On September 8th, Kairos Journal held its first
annual award dinner at the
Metropolitan
Club in New York City. The awards are given to individuals
who demonstrate exemplary fidelity to the authority of Scripture and exceptional pastoral courage in
their efforts to restore the prophetic voice of the Church as the moral
conscience of the culture. Honorees are
further chosen based upon their response to a 'kairos moment' - a moment
of cultural crisis demanding timely action
from the Church.
The awards were presented by Emmanuel Kampouris, publisher of the Kairos Journal and former CEO of American Standard. The four recipients this year were four archbishops of the Anglican Church in the global south. They were Archbishops Henri Orombi of the Province of Uganda, Datuk Chung of the Province of South East Asia, Gregory Venables of Southern Cone of South America and Peter Akinola of the Province of Nigeria.
These four archbishops oversee the majority of Anglican/Episcopalians in the world today. Archbishop Akinola has a constituency of 17 million in Nigeria alone (the total for North America, Britain and Australasia is only 5 million). They have resisted trends in the Western Anglican/Episcopalian Church to ordain practicing homosexual bishops and have formed their own breakaway association to uphold the fidelity of scripture on these issues.
SEPTEMBER MINISTRY…
Last month, we were at the following churches and events:
Sun, 4th - Evangel Church, Long Island
City, NY, Pastor Bob Johansson
Sun, 11th - Word of Life, Dover, NJ, Pastor Linda Bellini
Tues, 13th - Gospel Fellowship Leaders, Plainsboro NJ, Pastor
Margaret Clarke
Wed, 14th - City Covenant Coalition Regional Leadership Meeting,
Brooklyn, NY
Sun, 18th - Tues 20th – North Central PA Minister's Retreat,
Pastor Kurt Heisey
Thurs, 22nd - NJ FAITH Alliance Regional Leadership Meeting, Toms
River, NJ
Thurs, 22nd - Harmony Ministries Anniversary, Pastor Owen Alston,
Lakehurst, NJ
Fri, 23rd - Christ Church Anniversary, Pastor Bryan Attinson,
Howell, NJ,
Wed, 28th - Agape Worship Center, Pastor Anthony Ventola,
Bloomfield, NJ
IN NEXT MONTH'S REPORT…
The Second NJ Statewide Defense of Marriage Clergy Press Conference and Prayer Luncheon
Over 270 Clergy from all over the State of new Jersey gathered in Trenton on October 3rd for the Second Statewide Clergy Defense of Marriage Press Conference and Prayer Luncheon.
Leaders of the rally also presented a statewide clergy signed petition in defense of marriage to acting State Governor Codey.
Speakers at the luncheon included H. B. London, Pierre Bynum and Lawrence White.
This was a very powerful time of unity and inspiration.
Full report next month....
NEWS AND RESOURCES…
Getting to
Know God -
Resources to
help people find or develop a dynamic relationship with God
provides daily devotions, Bible studies, Bible challenges
and life topics.
Hiking the
Trail of Truth -
Offers an informative,
educational and inspiring trek into understanding more about
God, the Creator, through the things He has made.
Access Your
Christian Character -
Measure your Christian
character, the obstacles to your spiritual growth, and your
God-given spiritual gifts.
American
Family Radio Network
-
A National Radio Network
with over 165 stations in the US and Canada.
TWO NEW MESSAGES AVAILABLE THROUGH FMI...
"A
Cause to Live By and to Die For!"
Western culture has become soft and
mushy, and the Western Church has become the same. But when we read
about
Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, John the Baptist,
Paul or even Jesus challenging authorities such as wayward kings,
idolaters or pompous Pharisees, we don't see any of them
doling out soft and mushy entreaties, but rather issuing challenging, often
scathing indictments of their audience's willful blindness. In an
age when everyone has come 'out of the closet,' it's time for the
Church to do so too!
"Healing the Hemorrhage of
Hell"
Why has soul-winning slowed down so in the West? We all hope to go to Heaven, but an unwritten rule
for western preaching has become, ‘don’t mention the ‘H’ word! We
don’t want to make potential believers uncomfortable by telling them
that if they reject the gospel they will be headed to eternal
punishment.’ We leave that in the
fine print. The
subject of Hell and eternal punishment was very important to Jesus.
He taught more about it than He did about Heaven. Heaven has a road, but
few travel it; Hell has
no gate, but men will dig to get there.
Available on DVD, audio CD, and audio cassette. To order, click here
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JEFF BEACHAM
Pastor
/ Evangelist
Firepower Ministries International
2 Route 37 West, Toms River, NJ 08753
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