upward & inward

The Bible says:  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.  Psalm 145:3 A.W. Tozer writes: The dictionary says that to admire is "to regard with wondering esteem accompanied by pleasure and delight; to look at or upon with an elevated feeling of pleasure." According to this definition, God has few admirers among Christians today. Many are they who are grateful for His goodness in providing salvation. At Thanksgiving time the churches ring with songs of gratitude that "all is safely gathered in." Testimony meetings are mostly devoted to recitations of incidents where someone got into trouble and got out again in answer to prayer. To decry this would be uncharitable and unscriptural, for there is much of the same thing in the Book of Psalms. It is good and right to render unto God thanksgiving for all His mercies to us. But God's admirers, where are they? The simple truth is that worship is elementary until it begins to...

How important is planning to you? I struggle with planning.  Because God has often surrounded me with those who are far more accomplished in this regard, I've relied on them to push, cajole, and sometimes shame me into it.  However, even though I know how important it is, I'd much rather do something else - like watch paint dry - or simply solve problems.  But, even the thorniest of problems can require solid planning to ensure they are solved rightly in a timely fashion. We as a staff are going through an abbreviated process of strategic planning for the year.  We settled on May 28 as the first day, with June 10 as the final discussions regarding what we hope to accomplish as a team and within the ministries for which we are individually responsible. As we approached the first day, I sensed what felt like spiritual opposition to the event.  I wanted to cancel it several times.  Then, even during the event, Sherry and I had a personal event within the family which I found to be...

As we think through the filter of strategies, goals, and tactics required of us as leaders in the church, we are reminded that we already have a mission and vision for this church - and that we can and should use this foundation to form strategies to accomplish what we can to God's glory.  So that we remain aware of the simplicity of what God has called us to do here at Central, here is a summary of our vision and mission. What's the vision? To become a biblically functioning community of believers so that the purposes of Christ can be accomplished in the greater Wichita area and the world.   What are the purposes of Christ for our church? Exalt God in biblically aligned worship Evangelize the lost Encourage God's family Educate the believer for maturity through discipleship Equip the church for ministry and service to others What's our mission?  Changing lives: turning uncommitted people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. What's a fully devoted foll...