Early in my pastoral ministry at Lancaster Baptist Church, the Lord allowed me to preach at a meeting in Northern California with Dr. Lee Roberson. He was the pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church for many years, and the founder of Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a young pastor, I was eager to spend some time with Dr. Roberson and to receive counsel from him regarding our growing, young church.

Finally, the moment came when I was alone with him. With a yellow pad in hand, and a heart full of questions, I was ready to vigorously take note of every word. I was certain I would leave the appointment with several pages of notes to implement in my life and local church.

I don’t recall what my first question was, but I will never forget his answer. With his trademark tone of voice, and with firm but brief certainty, he simply said, “Die to self and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” This wasn’t quite the profound, lengthy, detailed answer I had anticipated. It struck me as overly simplistic and left me wanting a longer discussion about the problem. But I wasn’t about to question this great man. I wrote the answer down and moved on to the next question.

Once again, and with the same tone of voice, his resolute answer was, “Die to self and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Can you believe this continued for several more questions? His pat answer to nearly every single question was the same, “Die to self and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

What at first seemed overly simplistic, became a transforming truth to my entire life and ministry. God knew exactly what I needed to hear, and He let me hear it over and over that day. I will never forget that meeting. It changed everything about my approach to the Christian life and ministry. It was without hesitation, the greatest advice I have ever been given.

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

What do you love? What consumes your heart and your life? Whatever your answer—this is your passion.

Christ loves the church. He loved it so much that He gave His life for it. And He has commissioned the church to bring His divine plan of redemption into all the world by planting more churches. This is God’s passion.

I’m thrilled that my friend, Dr. Bud Calvert, has written God’s Passion about this very topic. Dr. Calvert is a church planter, and his church has sent out dozens of church planters. He writes on a subject with which he is well acquainted, making this manual on church planting a rich mine of truth and practical help. (more…)

This is part two of this article. You can read part one here. We’ve already seen from Acts 13 that the context of God’s strategy for missions is the local church and that He calls Christians who are already engaged in service.  Let’s see one more step in this biblical strategy.

The Commencement of Missions

It wasn’t enough for the missionaries at Antioch to be called—the church had to send them to the field. It does the heathen little good if the church is full of called missionaries. The sending step is crucial. (more…)

Two thousand years ago, Christ delivered the marching orders for the local church: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). With nearly seven billion people in the world, separated by political, cultural, and linguistic boundaries, this is a staggering mission.

How can we accomplish this Great Commission? Is there a technique or element of technology we can use to boost our success stats? What should be our strategy? (more…)

My grandson Camden is just beginning to walk, and our entire family delights in helping him in this new adventure. From encouraging his unsteady steps along furniture to holding both of his little hands and walking with him, everyone wants to have a part!

No one expects a little child to learn to walk on his own, but sometimes we forget that baby Christians need help in learning to walk in the Spirit. This is the bottom line of discipleship. It requires a lot of time and a great deal of energy. But the rewards of seeing a new Christian take his early steps of faith are worth every sacrifice along the way.

What kind of support do new believers need to learn how to walk in the Spirit? (more…)