Tag: <span>Discipleship</span>

My Pastor is better than Your Pastor.

July 23, 2023
by Sharon

I was reflecting on a conversation I had with a church friend of mine. I had accepted his invitation to visit his home church. An experience that even he agreed was boring.

He told me that he stayed there, despite how boring it was, because he felt safe there. Why? Because the pastor preached right out of the Bible.

This begs the question; Is the presence of the Bible and use of scripture enough evidence that you’re in a place where you can gain the wisdom and understanding that is essential for spiritual growth and discipleship?

Perhaps not.

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

Just the other day I was talking with a man who recently started attending a new church. He was really excited about it. “What do you like about it?” I asked. With great enthusiasm, he said, “I like the fact the pastor preaches right from the Bible. So many don’t, you know.”

Really?

I’ve been to a lot of Christian churches and I never found one that didn’t preach from and through the Bible. They all preach the Bible. They just don’t all preach the same way. Nor do they all arrive at the same conclusions about the meaning of each scripture or passage.

Even within the same denominations, you’ll have inconsistencies in interpretations.

This isn’t to say that any of them are wrong. The fact they have a Bible in their hands… just doesn’t automatically mean they are right.

A perfect example is the time our team visited three different churches of three different denominations in three different cities on the same weekend. One was Pentecostal, one United Methodist, and one Baptist. All three were teaching from the same passage of scripture. None of them communicated the same message. None of them handled the verses in the same way. None of them applied the verses in the same way. We each have our own preference for style and teaching and that’s perfectly fine.

My Way is Better than Your Way

There are three primary Biblical teaching formats: topical, textual, and expository. Most pastors tend to favor one over the other. Most Christians, by the way, tend to favor one over the other as well.

The problem is that many of us make a value judgment saying one is a more valid method of teaching what the Word of God has to say than the other.

With topical teaching, the pastor selects a topic and uses passages from the Bible to elucidate that topic and support the thesis. Love, service, marriage, parenting, sex… the Bible has something to say about all of them.

In practice, the pastor prays about what God wants them to teach the church and then they go to the Bible to construct their message using a variety of verses. Many people find this style of learning helps them connect to the Bible on a very personal level. This style can be useful for helping us gain practical knowledge about how the Word of God relates to our everyday lives.

The danger is that if you are not reading the Bible on your own, you may never fully experience scripture within its original context…and with the Bible, context is everything. There is a beautiful unfolding of the story of God when the books of the Bible are read one by one. A careful teacher will make sure the scriptures are used in ways that preserve the contextual message. Having said that, it’s a dangerous assumption to think that all pastors are that careful.

Textual teaching is where one specific passage from the Bible is used as a jumping-off point for the pastor’s lesson. For example, the pastor may use the story of the Good Samaritan to teach a message on serving others. Like topical teaching, this style is easily relatable to the average listener but, once again, it uses the Bible more as a reference book. Unless the attendees are reading the Bible on their own, the only understanding of the Word of God they’ll have is the one their pastor gave them.

“I believe the Church has to get back to expository teaching…allowing the text to speak for itself. Instead of topical verses that say what I want it to say…the scriptures must be the final authority…if you’re not careful, you’ll have an entertaining leader …but what happens when that leader falls apart?…the church is over because it was built on a personality… I have been that leader…” Jay DePoy, Ashville, NC

Expository teaching is when the pastor teaches through the Bible verse by verse. Each week’s message will be whatever lesson the text at hand is teaching. Most conservative churches feel expository teaching is superior to others. It illuminates the Bible one scripture at a time and allows the learner to better comprehend the “full counsel of God”.

On a practical level, many people find expository teaching hard to follow…or even boring. I say that depends on the teacher.

In reality, no matter the style, a teacher will convey the message the way they, themselves, understand the text. Therein lies the rub.

The most important thing about learning what the Bible has to teach is this; what we hear on Sunday morning is not enough to lead us to wisdom and maturity no matter how great our teacher is or what teaching style is employed. We grow in wisdom and knowledge when we pursue God’s Word, pray for wisdom, and live out what we learn.

Hearing it will never be enough.

“You don’t go to a restaurant once a week expecting to be fed…if you only feed on the Word of God once a week.” Pastor Dale Travis, Family Life Church, Amarillo, TX

“…Pastors are held accountable for what they preach, the listener is held accountable for what they hear…” Pastor Vic Redding, Faith Free Will Baptist Church, Greensboro, NC

Read that last quote again. Ultimately, the communication style isn’t what matters most. It’s up to each of us to make sure we are not just “hearing” the word of God – but what we do with what we’ve learned that changes us from “attenders” to true followers.

In His love and service,

Sharon Bollum

Uncategorized

My Church is better than Your Church!

July 21, 2023
by Sharon

“The Body of Christ is divided.” Pastor Ryan Stafford, Victory Christian Church, Tulsa, OK

“I believe that most people are just playing religion. They don’t have a relationship with Jesus. They believe their connection with a building, walking through those doors, is going to cleanse them. And then they’re out religiously trying to live by rules we know from the Old Testament that man can’t live by.”

Pastor Kevin Berg, Desert View Baptist, Winslow, AZ

“Jesus said we are to esteem each other as more important than ourselves. If we can represent Him in that way then we are wanting our brother or sister to have better than we have. Then we’re really trying to say, “You are not a threat to me; you are a compliment to me. I’m not comparing myself to you. I’m not competing with you. I am meant to blend with you and celebrate you and be excited about the gift in your life.”

Unfortunately, insecurities, comparativeness and competitiveness have made people build little personal empires instead of building the kingdom of God.

It’s been more about a ‘me’ than a ‘we’. What God’s looking for is a ‘we’. ”

Pastor Francis Anfuso, The Rock of Roseville, Roseville, CA

Sadly, the spirit of competition, personal bias, and negative judgments toward churches and denominations other than our own have conspired to make us all look like arrogant supremacists who create more confusion than clarity to the message God is trying to send to the world.

“Denominations just build walls between us. We have a tendency to declare that ‘this is what the Bible teaches’ and be really arrogant about it. We need to respect that another equally intelligent person might see it differently…we have to get over our pride and realize we are all on the same team…God loves us all in the same way and if we could work together the world could be saved.”

Pastor Jeremy Brown, Journey Church, Jackson, TN

“If we’re going to reach this world for Jesus… if we’re going to help people move from where they are…the biggest thing is the Church needs to stop throwing rocks at each other…if the Church can’t get along with itself and unite around Jesus and loving people…why should I put my faith in them?”

Pastor Chuck Van Hook____ , Journey Church, Jackson, TN

“The vast majority of Americans are not interested in a Sunday morning church…the fastest growing churches are growing with transfer growth. We have churches competing with each other for an ever-decreasing piece of the pie. We’re…we’re either going to reinvent the way we do things or we’re going to see an increasing decline in the church.”…”

Jeff Kirsch, We Are Church, Denver, NC

“I think we have to recognize there is no perfect structure. And structures in and of themselves don’t bring transformation. What we’re trying to do is facilitate and make it as easy as possible for God to come on earth as it is in Heaven…For His Kingdom to come. The Church is called to be the incarnate expression of Jesus on the earth. It’s why I love the Church. I love the Body of Christ in all its varied forms and expressions. I’m convinced that if we pay attention to what God is doing and what God is saying to us that every church in every city has a role, a place, and a future.

Paul said it is so unwise to compare ourselves with ourselves. We are not to do that. That’s where so many churches get into trouble. We go to conference after conference trying to figure out what are we doing that’s wrong or what we are doing that’s right or how we do this better.

I am all for excellence. I am all for effective ministry. But I’m so much more confident in the Holy Spirit’s ability to teach us, guide us, empower us, and equip us.”

Pastor Roger Nix, Believers Church, Tulsa, OK

“(Churches of other denominations need to) come together for the sake of the mission…it isn’t just for the lost to be found, but to make God known…that’s when we come together to fight human trafficking or stop hunger… ”

Pastor Les Croft, Greensboro Christian Church, Greensboro, NC

“We shoot ourselves in the foot…the spirit of competition is not of God.”

Reverend Reggie Fowler, 1st Christian Church, Amarillo, TX

I could list more, but you get the idea.

Virtually every pastor we met expressed some amount of frustration about the way churches compete with one another, or the way one denomination will promote the message, their view on scripture is the only, truly accurate one.

We form our opinions about what is true and then make the wild assumption that any differing opinion must be wrong. And by wrong, they usually mean that you won’t go to heaven until you get it right.

Well, their version of right anyway.

One lifelong Christian and seasoned sr. pastor I interviewed admitted, with a good deal of chagrin, that until recently he hadn’t realized the Methodists were saved.

“We are too denominationally driven…my church is more right than your church…”

Dr. Lee Simpson, Faith Clinic, Amarillo, TX

“I’m Longing for a church that isn’t about denomination…just a building that says “We love God”.”

Reverend Reggie Fowler, 1st Christian Church, Amarillo, TX

Here’s the thing: According to the 2010 Religious Congregations Census, there are about 314,000 Protestant and other Christian churches in America.

Most of them probably feel they (or their denomination) have the “most accurate” understanding of the Bible and what it has to say about God, faith, and practice.

Yet, there will be a multitude of disparities from one to another. If we all got together to argue about theology and doctrine we’d surely walk away feeling exhausted and frustrated at the end of the day (if not beaten and bloody).

Simply put, no one could win the arguments because we’re not all wrong and we’re not all right.

We ought to be humble enough to admit it, but far too many of us aren’t.

If thousands of scholars and theologians can’t agree; why are we so hell-bent on this relentless, community-destroying game of “Religious King of the Hill” with one another?

We reviewed hundreds of church websites looking for those we might visit as we traveled across the U.S.

There were more than a few who weren’t shy about claiming superiority over other churches, even at times, within their own denomination.

We would usually find it in their “What We Believe” page or in the “Letter from the Pastor” page.

I read numerous comments that boasted about how special or different their church was from all the rest.

One pastor even posted this,

“Other churches pick and choose which doctrines they want to follow. But (his church) is not ashamed to follow traditional doctrine.”

The upshot was, ‘if you want to go to the right church, with real Bible teaching, with the real people going to Heaven, this is the only one!’

It isn’t only denominations.

With the surge of the new myriad Post Modern expressions of the Church, we have no shortage of arguments about what is the “right way” to do church. We’ll talk about this in more detail later on.

“The Body of Christ is divided.” Pastor Ryan Stafford, Victory Christian Church, Tulsa, OK

Given the reality we’re confusing the non-Christians and undermining the work of the Gospel by criticizing one another, do you think that a cease-fire is in order?

What message do you think the present disunity among God’s people is conveying to the non-Christian world?

In Sacramento, CA, where I live, there is a movement started to create unity among pastors of all denominations.

They meet with regularity to build one another up.

They pool resources and meet the needs of all churches to the best of their ability.

This movement has created a groundswell of love and brotherhood that has erased the lines between denominations, individual church communities, race, and gender.

“As a result (of reaching out to other pastors) bridges have been built, breeches have been healed, relationships have been formed that have been absolutely transformational. So now, some of my closest friends are leaders around the region that I know would take a bullet for me just as I would take a bullet for them.”

Pastor Francis Anfuso, The Rock of Roseville, Roseville, CA

“I see denominations partnering more than ever before.” Pastor Steve Tiebout, The River, Cookeville, TN

Let’s be honest. We all want to feel like the church we attend is the right church. There is nothing wrong with that…to a point.

One Body but Many Parts (1Corinthians 12:12-27)

There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.

Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.

The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.

You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.”

Before you let that message go in one ear and out the other (ooh that’s punny!) It isn’t you who decides what body part you best represent. God alone knit us together. God alone knows how this all shakes out.

Be humble. Lift up all who proclaim the Name of Jesus Christ.

In His love and service,

Sharon Bollum

Christian Living

Who are you following? No really. Do you know?

December 24, 2022December 25, 2022
by Sharon

Since the birth of our nation, we’ve had guiding principles. Shared values. We didn’t all see the future the same way, but we were free to pursue it in whatever way we believed to be right. We were guided by our own conscience and fidelity to our shared moral and social contract. We each understood that our personal liberties and rights only extended to the point they interfered with the rights of others. Our founding fathers called that contract The Constitution of the United States of America and established a government comprised of fellow citizens to keep and protect it.

Lately, it feels like We the People of this nation are trapped in a bus with no steering wheel and no brakes. Our direction AND our destination are being changed and changed again by powerful people and politicians pushing us in a direction most of us don’t believe to be right or good.

None of these people have the right to nullify the Constitution that made the United States the greatest nation on the planet. Nor do they have any authority to supplant it with a new one created in their own woke image. But that isn’t stopping them. It’s not even slowing them down.

They have completely flipped the script on us. It’s like we woke up in 2020 to discover we no longer live in a nation ruled by the consent of the governed. Sadly, the MAJORITY of our leaders are corrupt and rule as though they don’t need or want our consent. Not anymore.

They see you and me as sheep. And themselves as rightful shepherds and benevolent saviors of the world.

I used to feel a bit offended that Jesus referred to His followers as sheep in the Bible. I get it now.

Sheep are kinda dumb, aren’t they? They mostly just go with the flow. Most aren’t even following the shepherd. They are only following the sheep in front of them. They don’t actually know the shepherd personally. So if someone else came along with a bucket of oats and SAID they were the shepherd … well, they’d be easy to fool.

This is what’s happened to America. Whether it’s Mainstream Media, Cable TV, Social Media, or celebrities; they’ve persuaded many sheep to follow them …and hate anyone who won’t.

These new shepherds want us to believe the Christian ethics, morals, and values that called the United States into being; were wrong all along. They say those who penned our Constitution were merely imposing the traditions and preferences of “old white men”. Never mind those “old white men” weren’t old OR that the genesis of our Constitution was rooted in the freedoms and liberties given us by God alone- not them. Not any man.

The ultimate power of our Constitution IS that We the People hold the power AND the right to shut down our government if it ever attempts to take our God-given rights away.

But our new shepherds don’t want us to believe that. They claim they are protecting Democracy by nullifying our Constitutional Rights. Just as every tyrannical government has done before.

By delegitimizing the people who wrote and signed our Constitution they attempt to usurp the rights and powers embedded in it.

Our self-appointed “shepherds” have this in common. They esteem their own words above the Word of God.

Everything established by God or created in His image is either being distorted or destroyed.

As hard as it is to believe, our own government calls those who refuse to accept the usurpation of God in America… a threat to our democracy. ANYONE who knows the Bible knows what an outrageous lie that is.

And right now, that’s our biggest problem, isn’t it? Far too many are easily led astray by a bucket of oats and a skillful liar.

Mark Twain said it best. “It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them they’ve been fooled.”

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3

Do you KNOW who you are following?

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”John 10:27

He is still speaking. Just listen.

He WILL show us the way, the truth, and the life that supersedes the insanity that surrounds us today.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

In His love and service,

Sharon Bollum

Christian Living

The Chaos of Destiny

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019
by Sharon

Remember your first time on the monkey bars? The goal was to get from one end of the bars to the other. You’d seen other kids do it lots of times. They climbed up the ladder, took hold of the first bar and then swung their free arm toward the next. Once they grabbed hold of the second bar, they let go of the first bar and swung that arm toward the next bar. Simple.

But there you stood. Feet firmly placed on the ladder. Mentally wrestling with fear and uncertainty.

In order to even start, you had to sacrifice the safety of the ladder you stood on. Holding tightly to the first bar with one hand, you risked life and limb to swing out with the other hoping you’d reach the second bar.

Whew! You did it! Remember how that felt? It was absolutely thrilling!

But then you had to let go of the first bar and swing your body to the third one. If you didn’t do it just right, you’d fall. No one wants to fall.

That space between the bars, where we hung by hope and the tenuous grip of one little hand…is chaos. Anything can happen. You might reach the next bar, but you might not. No one wants to fall. No one wants to fail.

Like every other little kid on the playground…you probably did a little of both.

But look at you now! You survived the monkey bars and lived to tell the tale. You even mastered a few other daring feats along the way to becoming who you are today. You have a lot to be proud of! Life is seldom easy and accomplishments are almost always hard won.

I know something else about you too. Despite all your success, you have a nagging sense that God has something more, different, or new for you in mind.

We can’t always articulate our destiny, but we can feel it in our bones.

That space between who we are and who we are becoming is filled with mental and emotional chaos. The uncertainty can be so fearsome it’s tempting to just stay where we are and call it good. Well, at least, good enough.

That only works for a while though. Sooner or later your love for God will prove greater than your love for comfort and the status quo. You know it will.

Maybe you feel it already.

It is time to reach for the next bar? Are you ready to let go of that thing that holds you back so you can reach for something greater on your way to becoming someone greater?

Is today the day you say yes to Jesus and the chaos that often comes with it?

What’s holding you back? Be honest with yourself.

Do you need more courage? Ask Him for courage.

Do you need more strength? Ask Him for strength.

Do you need more faith? Ask Him for more faith!

Whatever you need; Ask Him!

Trust that even if you fall, He will catch you. That’s His Grace. And His Grace is indeed sufficient.

He who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

No one ever said it wouldn’t take a little effort on your part too.

In His love and service,

Sharon Bollum

Uncategorized

Whose Side Are You On?

March 15, 2018March 17, 2018
by Sharon

Our society is changing all around us. Some days I feel like my head will spin right off my shoulders when I listen to the latest news of the latest scandal or the latest disaster. Each one triggering another round of caustic social comment and chaos.

I’ll be transparent and say I am worried about the future of America these days. Yes, yes, I know God is still God, but never underestimate the ability of mankind to make a mess of the world God gave us.

I still remember the bomb raid drills at school when I was a kid. I remember lying awake at night wondering if everything and everyone I loved was going to disappear in one awful moment.

It feels a little something like that to me again, these days.

I bet you think I’m talking about North Korea aiming its nuclear missiles at the West Coast. I’m not. I’m far less worried about Kim Jong-Un and his potential destruction of America than I am of the destruction of America that’s happening from within.

Do people actually believe that we are so much smarter and wiser today that we no longer need the wisdom of the ages to guide us?

Yesterday I heard a public figure from Great Britain say how strange it is that “America still clings so strongly to a set of documents written more than 200 years ago”. His contention is that in 2018 we should feel free to write a new declaration of values and principles for our society.

I can only imagine his view of people who still cling to a set of documents that were written more than 2,000 years ago!

Do people actually believe that we are so much smarter and wiser today that we no longer need the wisdom of the ages to guide us? Do people actually believe it’s time to toss out the writings of the framers of the greatest nation on earth simply because it’s nearly 250 years later? Do people really believe it’s time to discard the wisdom of the Bible?

Do we think a man or woman born in the 21^st Century is somehow endowed with greater intelligence, morality, or wisdom than a man or woman born any generation before? Such arrogance!

There was no such thing as Google in Abraham Lincoln’s lifetime, but there is no greater wealth of wisdom today than there was then.

Without question, some of the greatest thinkers in history lived and died before anyone reading this post was born.

Each and every one of us is born completely ignorant no matter what year we arrived in this world. Any claim we lay to a new or greater wisdom is wholly dependent on the successes and failures of those who came before us. EVERY generation must rely on the experience and wisdom of those that preceded it… or risk recreating the failures and disasters that already scar the history of humanity.

Jesus, who knew everything, taught us to revere the wisdom handed down from the prophets. Wisdom recorded centuries before His birth.

That’s because Jesus knew something we are in danger of forgetting:

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

To be sure, we have gained new wisdom through generations of Americans. But, by no means has every generation been a forward step in anything we can all be proud of. Believe me, I came of age in the 1970’s. My generation gave you Disco, legal abortion and the sexual revolution. Were it not for Atari, Wozniak, and Jobs we’d have nothing good to show for ourselves but bell bottoms, line dancing and a few epic PG-13 disaster movies.

Every social boundary we’ve set, (the sexual revolution notwithstanding), was made based on the ethos formulated and carried forward through the ages in a collection of books we know as the Bible. Yes, even those penned in our Declaration of Independence and every subsequent amendment was rooted in what the Bible teaches.

So, it is no surprise the enemy would strive to make the Bible and all who revere it into a whipping post for those who think “It’s Time” to tear it all down.

Our culture isn’t just becoming “less Christian” people are increasingly seeing Christians as the ones whose values should be formally disregarded and rejected. Our prayers are mocked as silly and useless. Our brand of morality is ridiculed. We are considered enemies and obstacles to social equality and freedom.

This battle belongs to the Lord. The least we can do is not be foot soldiers for the enemy.

The divisions among us are growing. But they aren’t growing because of new and greater wisdom. The divisions are growing because satan knows:

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25

And this, my friends, is why it’s all happening. This hostile environment of competing values is exactly what satan wants.

Is your head spinning trying to understand how Christians have become the unwanted step-child in this country?

Understandably, Christians are jumping into the fray to defend our faith and values from the barrage of attacks on social media. This isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. If we don’t speak up we risk having our voices and our values summarily stamped out of the American discourse. I’m glad we have so many people who are willing to defend the Gospel. The problem is when we try fighting “fire with fire” …because that is not The Way.

If we set the Way of Jesus aside while we slug it out with the jerk on social media we’ve set aside the very thing that makes us different.

I believe this is what Jesus meant when he said,

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13

Getting us to act out in ways that cause more harm than good is exactly how satan rolls. Divide and conquer! He gets tempers to blow and the finger of blame pointing in every direction. Then all he has to do is sit back and watch us devour one another!

satan is running around starting fires, burning down relationships, shattering institutions, disfiguring morality, and using outraged Christians to destroy the reputation of Christianity! Why? Because when we say we represent Christ but act in ways that don’t, we send the message that Christianity is utterly self-serving and useless.

Worse, when we act ugly; When we act judgmentally; When we act superior; we unwittingly become the instruments of satan not the messengers of God we set out to be.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48

Let me go one step further and say that getting into arguments about what is moral or wise is no help at all. Whether online or in person, understand that people are judging Christ and the wisdom of our faith by how YOU handle yourself.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

Brothers and sisters, we are the fragrance of Christ in this world! Let that be more powerful than any argument.

Dear ones, we must live as we are called to live. Show respect and Love to others even in the midst of disagreeing with them. Your goal should not be winning the debate or grossly displaying how many scriptures you know to bring another low.

Your goal should be to honor God by displaying Christ in every encounter you have with another human being…whether they share your view of scripture or not.

“If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Galatians 5:15

Our very mission is to draw others to Christ. Isn’t it obvious that anything we do that drives people away defeats us?

If you can’t express your point of view without violating the tenets of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control you forfeit any claim that you represent Christ or the wisdom of God’s Word.

You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:21

God has His own way of dealing with His enemies.

He doesn’t need you making things worse.

This battle belongs to the Lord. The least we can do is not be foot soldiers for the enemy.

In His love and service,

Sharon Bollum

Uncategorized

How to be a Christian in an anti-Christian Culture

October 26, 2017October 30, 2017
by Sharon

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but things are kind of a mess right now.

Our society is in chaos.

The secular world is splintering in a thousand different directions.

The message of the cross will never be irrelevant. But that doesn’t mean the Church isn’t in danger.

Christianity is being steam rolled by an aggressive and growing anti-Christian movement while we struggle to keep the American society, as we know it, intact.

A recent headline stated that Christians are now the minority in the US. However, a careful examination of the article reveals they are actually talking about the shrinking percentage of WHITE Christians;… as if the color of a Christian’s skin is relevant.

Of course, it isn’t relevant at all but that really wasn’t the point of the article. The goal of the headline was to promulgate the notion that Christianity is becoming more and more irrelevant in our society.

What’s true is the health and reputation of the Christian community is at an all-time low. Read more “How to be a Christian in an anti-Christian Culture” →

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Why is the Christian Community so Terribly Weak?

January 14, 2017August 12, 2017
by Sharon

“And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24

We have churches the size of small cities in just about every metropolitan area. This creates the impression our Christian community is healthy and growing by leaps and bounds. In reality, according to the latest census, there has been zero growth in church attendance in the last 20 years. Sadly, our churches aren’t populated with scores of new people coming to faith nearly as much as people moving from one church to another. Read more “Why is the Christian Community so Terribly Weak?” →

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Mercy is a Form of Love That Covers Both…

November 18, 2016August 12, 2017
by Sharon

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

We don’t see a whole lot of mercy or humility in America right now. And because of the way our media distorts absolutely everything we read and hear, it’s nearly impossible to make an accurate determination about what is true or just.

Every single person I know has a fundamental desire to do and be good. Some are better at it than others, to be sure, but I maintain that they all share the same instinct if not the same world view.

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Tsunami of Hope!

October 18, 2016August 12, 2017
by Sharon

There are a lot of different natural disasters in our world.

Thanks to the invention of the camera phone, many are recorded as they happen. Mud slides, earthquakes, flash floods, hurricanes, tornados… Each one a terrifying sight to behold. The sheer strength and force of them are humbling.

When nature versus humans, it’s almost always nature who claims the victory. Leaving in its wake a path of destruction that forever changes the face of the world as we know it.

If you ever wonder about how awesome the power of God and His created universe are, go ahead and watch a few of the videos. Try to watch them without your jaw dropping in amazement and horror. I doubt you can. Read more “Tsunami of Hope!” →

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A Few Thoughts on Women in Ministry

October 14, 2016August 12, 2017
by Sharon

I remember the very first wedding I ever officiated. It was for a couple who were members of the church where I was on staff as a children’s pastor. The request caught me off-guard.

I was surprised anyone would ask a woman to officiate their wedding. It was pretty unconventional at the time. I suppose it still is to some degree.

I’m not sure I would have chosen a woman to marry Mike and me back in 1982. That isn’t terribly meaningful since the minister who did marry us also worked as an Elvis impersonator at the casinos down the road. That’ll drop the perceived holiness factor down a notch or two, won’t it? Go ahead. Take a moment to imagine Elvis saying, “Dearly b’loved, wer gatherd here t’day, tajoin thisman, and thiswoman inholymatrimony…” It takes you pretty far away from the sound of church bells, doesn’t it?

In our defense, we didn’t exactly choose the Elvis impersonator; he came with the wedding package we selected at The Love Chapel in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Don’t judge. Read more “A Few Thoughts on Women in Ministry” →

Tag: <span>Discipleship</span>

Hearing it will never be enough.

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Lately, it feels like We the People of this nation are trapped in a bus with no steering wheel and no brakes. Our direction AND our destination are being changed and changed again by powerful people and politicians pushing us in a direction most of us don’t believe to be right or good.

I used to feel a bit offended that Jesus referred to His followers as sheep in the Bible. I get it now.

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Whew! You did it! Remember how that felt? It was absolutely thrilling!

We can’t always articulate our destiny, but we can feel it in our bones.

Is today the day you say yes to Jesus and the chaos that often comes with it?

Whatever you need; Ask Him!

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I still remember the bomb raid drills at school when I was a kid. I remember lying awake at night wondering if everything and everyone I loved was going to disappear in one awful moment.

Do people actually believe that we are so much smarter and wiser today that we no longer need the wisdom of the ages to guide us?

There was no such thing as Google in Abraham Lincoln’s lifetime, but there is no greater wealth of wisdom today than there was then.

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

This battle belongs to the Lord. The least we can do is not be foot soldiers for the enemy.

And this, my friends, is why it’s all happening. This hostile environment of competing values is exactly what satan wants.

Is your head spinning trying to understand how Christians have become the unwanted step-child in this country?

Worse, when we act ugly; When we act judgmentally; When we act superior; we unwittingly become the instruments of satan not the messengers of God we set out to be.

If you can’t express your point of view without violating the tenets of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control you forfeit any claim that you represent Christ or the wisdom of God’s Word.

This battle belongs to the Lord. The least we can do is not be foot soldiers for the enemy.

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The message of the cross will never be irrelevant. But that doesn’t mean the Church isn’t in danger.

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“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

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When nature versus humans, it’s almost always nature who claims the victory. Leaving in its wake a path of destruction that forever changes the face of the world as we know it.

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