Reaching the "Nones"

Who are the “Nones”? The Spring 2004 issue of Church Planting and Evangelism, a magazine published by the North American Mission Board, described the “Nones” as a growing segment of the U.S. population who claim no religious affiliation in public opinion polls. If the “Nones” were a religious body, they would be the fastest growing denomination in the country.

The National Survey of Religious Identification claims the “Nones” number more than 30,000,000 (that’s right - million) in the U.S. “If viewed as a religious group, they would only trail Catholics and Baptists in numbers.”

The numbers are staggering, and they remind us that the fields are truly ripe for the harvest (Luke 10:2). However, do not let the enormity of the task cause retreat. The same survey discovered that 50% of the “Nones” agreed strongly that God exists; indicating an openness to discuss spiritual matters.

Remember, Bixby is no different than the rest of America. The Bixby Chamber website estimates there are 360,000 people living within ten miles of our community. Moreover, Tulsa Metro Baptist Association research reveals that 80% of Tulsa County is ‘un-churched’…or ‘nones’. This means there are a quarter of a million people in our community, and surrounding area who do not have a church home. Subsequently, tens of thousands likely do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Bottom line - we need to get busy.

In Luke 10:2, Jesus told seventy followers the fields were ready for the harvest, and that they should pray for God to send out workers into His harvest. Then in Luke 10:3 Jesus sends them, the seventy, out into the harvest. WE ARE THOSE WORKERS. This Summer make it a priority to:

• Learn how to share your faith with a “None”.
• Share your faith, on a regular basis, with someone who needs Jesus.
• Invite someone to church every week.
• Work in the Lord’s fields.
• Pray every day that God will send workers into His harvest.
• Learn who the “Nones” are in your life, and minister to them.
  
  aj

Food For Thought

I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.
Psalm 119:47

Not too long ago on the all sports network I watched the world champion hamburger eating contest. For those who care Joey Chestnut won by eating 102 hamburgers in six minutes. Consider these other amazing culinary conquests. Six pounds of baked beans in under two minutes, 1 ¾ pounds of butter in five minutes, 65 hard boiled eggs in six minutes, and my favorite 128 oz of mayonnaise in eight minutes. (Folks that is over four big jars of mayo.)

How is your spiritual appetite? Do you gorge yourself once a week at Sunday School and Church only to starve the other six days? I am not a dietitian, but I am quite sure eating four jars of mayonnaise, or 102 hamburgers can not be healthy. In the same way taking in spiritual nourishment once a week is not the path to spiritual health and vitality. Instead we need a steady diet of Bible study and prayer? Here are a few suggestions which can help make regular Bible study a reality in your life:

- Schedule time for Bible study. If you do not plan it, it will not happen.

- Eliminate distractions.

- Start small. Remember newborns do not dine on steak and potatoes. Your appetite for scripture will increase just like your appetite for food has grown over the years.

- Make Bible reading and Bible study a positive habit in your life. The good news is many experts estimate it only takes three weeks to develop any habit…good or bad.

- View personal Bible study as a privilege not a duty.

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Jesus

AJ

Casting Pearls

Be careful in voicing judgments according to your Christian convictions. Jesus gave the reason in Matthew 7:6; He said doing so is like “casting pearls before swine”. Because pearls have no value to pigs, they will simply trample them under their feet. His other illustration was wild dogs turning on you, and tearing you to shreds.

To see this you only need to watch a news program when a Christian takes a stance on their spiritual convictions, believe me, the claws will come out in the secular media. The following is a case in point. I read this article on the KOCO TV 5 website about a documentary filmed at a Christian Church Camp in North Dakota called “Jesus Camp”. For the full article go to http://www.koco.com/family/9935738/detail.html

Some of the words used to describe the camp in the article are ‘shocking, indoctrination, frightening, brain-washing, and child abuse.” Folks, it is a short jump from mentioning Christianity and frightening brain-washing in the same sentence, to linking the two together. In fact, one mother was vilified because she home schools her children, and teaches them to question science. I thought asking questions was the whole point of science?

The bottom line is this; we may live in desperate times…but not in hopeless times. Jesus is still Lord, God is still on His throne, and the Holy Spirit is still working in the hearts and lives of men and women. Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel, (Romans 1:16) take your stand for Christ.

Matthew 5:10-12
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great…

AJ

Tithing Recession

Is there a recession? I keep hearing how the US economy is in a tailspin, but frankly I don't see it. Maybe it just hasn't trickled down to the people I live around.

I went to a Tulsa Drillers ball game the other night (thanks for the tickets Dr. R), and I was amazed at the amount of money flying out of wallets - mine included...not to mention it was the end of a long month...right after tax day.

As I looked around half of the people were texting with their cell phones, souvenirs were flying off the shelves, and I know for a fact, my kids made a $12.50 stop at the concession stand for,
(1 - Cracker Jack, 1- Cotton Candy, - 1 Soft Pretzel) and trust me there were lots of people buying lots of expensive 'refreshments' during the entire 3 1/2 hour game. Finally after the game there was a fantastic fireworks display that lasted at least for 20 minutes. Premier Pyrotechnics a fireworks display company quotes this type of display at $7,000.00.

As I took all of this in I was thinking to myself...if this is a recession...God must really bless America, 'cause we got it good. I laugh because we think we are in a recession yet we buy $4 coffee, $3 gas, and $1 water quicker than you can say cha-ching. We go to $10 dollar movies, spend $100's on Cable TV & Internet, and buy cars that would be 30 years wages in some countries around the world...and that is just the tip of the iceberg...or maybe its just the tip of the Titanic. Anyway.

As my thoughts turn to the church I wonder if a 'recession' will affect tithing? Will people stop giving? Will ministry falter? I sure hope not, but only time will tell. The truth is; church people haven't been the best tithers while things are good, so I am setting the bar of my expectations kind of low.

So let me encourage you to decide right now to be obedient to God in your giving no matter what happens with the American economy. Choose to be a good steward with out looking to the circumstances around you.. Remember - this whole world is God's and all that it contains, (Psalm 24:1) so don't sweat the little stuff...like a recession. You belong to Him, and your Father owns the store.

God Bless - Andy

Praying for the Lost

Please read this !! It is another testimony of God at work at RBC. The idea is inspired and self explanatory. Having a prayer list for people who are lost is something we MUST DO. I do not say we must do it because it is a good idea, or because I am the pastor, and I can say "We must do it." I say we must pray for the lost, because it is Biblical.

1 Timothy 2:1-5
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (NASU)

Let me say this: If you are worried about offending someone by putting their name on a prayer list, then use their first name only, or even just their initials. God knows who they are, and He will hear our prayer as we pray for people to be saved.


Hello church! This is Marci S. writing here. Most of you probably don't know who I am because I'm such a quiet in the background kind of person. But that's OK you don't have to know me. I'm writing because recently one of Andy's sermons made me start thinking. It was the one about prayer. Ephesians 1:17-23. One of the things he said was that we need to have perspective and pray for spiritual things more than physical needs. He said that sometimes we pray for a lost person's health but don't pray for their salvation. I immediately thought of my young cousin Austin. He is somewhere around 6 yrs old and losing his hair in large patches. They don't know why. When I heard about it I thought 'I need to pray for him.' He and his family are not saved and I don't remember anytime recently praying for their salvation. After Andy's sermon that Sunday I realized that I have so many unsaved relatives who need prayer. I know we as a church in our Sunday school classes have prayer lists and that sort of thing but I would like to start a church wide prayer list of nothing but unsaved family, friends, co-workers, neighbors etc. I proposed the idea to Andy and he thought it was good. So after a week of praying and thinking about how to do it here's what I feel we should do. I have opened an email account the address is salvationprayers@hotmail.com I would love for everyone in the church to be involved in this. Please send the names of every unsaved person you know to this address. Also please tell me if you would like to receive the list to pray for these people. If someone that you put on this list gets saved please let me know! We want to see the results of our prayers and praise God for them. Also if someone we are praying for is starting to go to church or is asking questions or anything that shows you God is working on their heart please send me those updates. I will update the list and send it out either monthly or weekly. At first probably weekly as I expect to have frequent emails to start with. I realize this will be a very long list and it will take a long time to pray for every individual on the list. A good goal would be to pray through the list once a month. Take several people each day and pray for them. I would recommend printing out the list. If you do this you could even cut the list into sections. Each day as you get ready to do whatever you are doing grab a section and put it in your pocket. Every time you think of it pull it out and pray for those people. However you do it is fine those are just a few suggestions. If we get everyone praying and everyone prays for each person at least once a month think how many people are in our church, that's how many times each person will be prayed for that month. Not just that one time that you pray but I hope hundreds of times. We need to pray for the lost to come into our church. Every week at the end of the service we have an invitation. We have seen a few people saved and every single one is reason to celebrate. But every week that no one comes I wonder why not. I think to myself, maybe that means everyone here is saved. That's good right? But then I think, why aren't there lost people here? Aren't they our mission? Is everyone in Bixby saved? No. We need to start praying for the lost. It's not our job to go out and bang down doors and drag people in. It's not our job to have a big exciting program to bring them in. It is our job to pray, and to be available to talk to anyone God leads us to. If we don't do this then Andy is preaching to the choir. Yes the things we learn are good for us to learn but what's the point of us being the only ones who hear it? We'll become, as Andy said himself, religious fatheads. I believe that many of us in our church have gone through personal revival in the past year, myself included. It's time to move it outside our church walls and the walls of our homes. One of the most important things we can do is pray. So sorry if this email got a little long I tend to do that! If you want to put someone on the list please send me their names. If you do not want their full name listed just let me know what you want listed. We can do first names, initials, whatever. God will know who they are. For those who would like to get this list emailed to you please send me a message and I'll add you. If for any reason you ever feel you need to be taken off the mailing list just let me know. I think God can use this in mighty ways. God can do awesome things! Thanks! Marci

Remember - this is a work in progress so be patient with any glitches or tweaks. Thank you Marci. May God bless this part or our prayer ministry.

AJ

A Brid in the Hand

I read an article in World Magazine recently that told the story of birdwatchers in Scotland who were privileged to observe the very rare Red-Humped Swallow. However, while they were watching that bird, another bird, a Sparrowhawk swooped in, and made the rare specimen a rare meal. One spectator, Mike Sawyer, told Britian’s Metro, “We were horrified, we had just called other birdwatchers to tell the news, and then had to call back to say it had been eaten.” (Copyright © 2006 WORLD Magazine, December 02, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 46)

How often are we, the church, guilty of simply watching the lost and hurting world around us, when instead we should intercede? Let’s not be idle. When someone is hungry; feed them. When you see a need; share. When a heart is broken; give comfort. And, when a soul is lost; share the words of life. Christians are not merely spectators in the grand scheme of eternity, we are participants. So then, commit to being involved in the Ministry and Missions of Riverview Baptist Church. Say to yourself right now – “I will be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer”. (James 1:22)

‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (NIV) Matthew 25:35-36

Have a great week - Andy

Praying for a Pastor

For a few weeks now Riverview has been asking God to lead us to the right man to be our Associate Pastor. I am so happy to announce to you that God has done just that. Yesterday at the end of our worship services RBC officially invited Victor Mendoza to come to Riverview in view of a call on April 27th. Pray for Victor, Janeen, Alyssa, and Jessica as they pray about answering God's call on their lives.

To make a short story long. Victor has been a member at Riverview for ten years, and a Deacon here for eight years. He was called into ministry a few years ago, and and has since completed his undergraduate degree in Leadership Management, as well as taking several classes through OBU. I was praying for Victor, and asking God to open up a church that he might Pastor, and then it hit me...Victor is the man for Riverview.

I asked Victor if he would be willing to submit his resume to RBC, and he was. About two weeks later as I prayed for confirmation that Victor as the man; two different people at exactly the same time...I mean precisely at the same time on the same day contacted me to say God had given them a word of "CONFIRMATION" - their word not mine - that Victor was the man. One person called me at 11:20 on Tuesday, and the other emailed me at the very same moment.

There are several other 'WOW' events in this whole process, but needless to say. We are excited that God would so clearly lead us to the right person.

Just thought I'd share that with you...Praise the Lord.

AJ