Yesterday I had the privilege of sitting with three representatives of SIM and to chat candidly about the issue of missions and the local church. We talked about the reasons for the decline in missions in the North American church. We talked about the usual suspects: things are too comfortable here, we don't pray enough, we don't talk about missions enough, etc. I then suggested that one reason was there was too much competition between churches. Churches feel that they have to put on a better show than the church down the street in order to keep their people. Shows cost money - hence less money for missions. Those around the table then discussed the latest mega-church plant coming to Brantford. It was then that one of SIM's people described this type of church plant. He called it a "non-evangelistic church plant." Missionaries say the darnedest things.
Starting a Family Devotion Time by Michael Kelley I haven’t always been a family devotion guy. It’s not because I didn’t want or aspire to be, I honestly did. But we went a long time as a family before pulling the trigger and trying to integrate this practice into the regular rhythm of our family life. We’ve been doing morning devotions together for about five years now – long enough to where our kids expect that we will. It’s a long road, as are most things with young children I’m finding out. Though revival doesn’t break out every morning over eggs and toast, our continued hope and prayer is that times like these build into the love and discipline our children will have in the future when it comes to God’s Word. Through those five years, we’ve tried different things, failed at a bunch, and have learned some things along the way. So, as encouragement to those of you just starting out or maybe some affirmation for those of you already in ...
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