accountability

HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR

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Four Practical Applications for Overcoming Lovelessness

My recent posts focused on Christ’s letter to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

Jesus holds his churches accountable for practicing fervent love. We must make every effort to comply with his demands to that end. We need ears to hear his complaint against lovelessness. Embrace his remedy for lovelessness. Heed his warning about lovelessness. What will it look like if we have ears to hear what the Spirit says and overcome with conquering love? Here are some ideas for application.

Audit Your Love

What better, more obvious way to be a doer of the word and no hearer only from this text, than to continually audit yourself individually and your church corporately about how loving you are. If we don’t do this, we run the risk of hearing Jesus say, I have this against you. Please take this seriously. Regularly subject yourself to the blazing light of the attributes of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and remember and repent accordingly.

Study Biblical Love

Alexander Strauch’s little book Love or Die: Christ’s Wake Up Call to the Church (Lewis & Roth, 2008) is a profitable resource to this end. He points to nearly 1,000 references to love in one form or another in God’s word. Do you want to pursue love more diligently? Then you must read and study what God says about love in his word. Strauch’s appendix B contains 50 Key Texts on Love. That will get you started. Prefer learning by listening? Consider streaming John Piper’s sermon series (15 messages) entitled The Greatest of These Is Love.

Pray for Love

If Jesus reported on an audit of your church, would it include a commendation like this? I know your works how you earnestly pray for one another—especially that you grow in love and even overflow in love? Let’s take our cue from Paul in 1 Thessalonians 3:12. May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you. The Thessalonian church was a prime example of first love according to 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10:

“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more.”

Practice Genuine Love

First John 3:16 says this: Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. Here’s my challenge. Conduct a self-audit in Romans 12:9-21 soon, and ask the Lord to focus you on just one tangible love practice in which you want to grow. Choose from among honoring, praying, giving, serving, showing hospitality, blessing, rejoicing, weeping, peacemaking, associating with the lowly, and more. You can do this! The Holy Spirit will help you (Gal. 5:22). 

There is evidence in the writings of the church fathers of the 2nd century that the Ephesian church did repent. A letter by Ignatius to the church praised them as “characterized by faith in and love of Christ”—their pastor “a man of inexpressible love.” 

May we too have ears to hear what Jesus says about the serious sin of lovelessness. To the one who conquers he will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

I HAVE THIS AGAINST YOU

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Jesus Takes Personal Offense to Lovelessness in the Church

You’ve been served.

Have you ever heard those words spoken to you? I have, thankfully only once. Years ago, I caused a car accident involving two other vehicles on one of our busy Orlando highways. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt–or so I thought. Months later the doorbell rang one morning. Upon answering, I was handed a manila envelope giving me notice of a lawsuit against me for $100K in damages resulting from that wreck. Weeks later my insurance company settled for considerably less than that amount. But it’s hard to describe the sinking feeling which comes with hearing someone say, “You’ve been served.”

Imagine something quite similar happening to you and your church, only the One serving the papers is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The first-century Ephesian church experienced that very thing in Revelation 2:1-7.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

The Main Idea

In my last post, The Serious Sin of Lovelessness, I summarized the thrust of the letter this way:

Because Jesus holds us accountable for practicing fervent love, we should make every effort to comply with his demands to that end.

There are three things in the text related to this accountability: from Jesus there is a grievous complaint, there is a continuous remedy, and there is an ominous warning. In this post I want to address the nature of the lawsuit.

Jesus’s Grievous Complaint

But I have this against you.

Before dealing with the charge, notice the context of this blistering accusation. It’s signaled by the strong contrast “but” at the start of v. 4. The previous two verses could hardly be different in tone and content:

“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.”

The High Priestly audit does not overlook the good. Toil. Perseverance. Hatred of evil. Calling out false teachers. Suffering for the name. Yet more commendation comes in v. 6. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. That’s probably a reference to libertinism—cheap grace—do what you want because it’s all forgiven anyway. Upshot? They hated false doctrine and ungodliness just as Jesus does, and he credited them for it. High praise indeed. Well done, good and faithful servants.

All well and good, but … back to v. 4. I have this against you. That’s highly personal language. Jesus takes personally this flagrant flaw among this otherwise first-rate church of his: you have abandoned the love you had at first. I suspect most are more familiar with a different translation: you have left your first love. The original literally reads: you have abandoned the love of you the first. The word “first” comes at the end of the sentence for emphasis. Either approach has merit. But I lean with the ESV in light of the word “fallen” in v. 5. We’re talking serious failure here.

My principal objection to the idea of abandoning their first love, Jesus, is that the praises heaped upon them don’t seem worthy of a lack of love for Christ in the midst of such a wicked culture. They strike me as far too strong. Unless of course a lack of love among one another in the assembly amounts to a lack of ultimate love for Christ. In truth, the two are never far apart, as in 1 John 4:7-8: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Professor Dennis Johnson of Westminster West Seminary hit the target here in a Table Talk article for Ligonier Ministries:

“Keeping a firm grip on both poles — truth and love — is a constant challenge for redeemed sinners who swing like pendulums from one extreme to another. Too often, churches and their leaders either stand for biblical truth vigorously but lovelessly or else they preserve apparent unity and love at the expense of truth. Of course, when the truth of the gospel truly grasps our hearts, love for others must result; and, by the same token, the love that delights Jesus grows only in the rich soil of fidelity to God’s truth.”

Jesus holds us accountable for practicing fervent love. We should make every effort to comply with his demands to that end. This is a grievous complaint. A loss of love is no minor defect. No amount of religious orthodoxy and doctrinal fidelity can make up for lovelessness. How should we respond?

Audit Your Love

What better, more obvious way to be a doer of the word and no hearer only from this text, than to continually audit yourself individually and your church corporately about how loving you are. If we don’t do this, we run the risk of hearing Jesus say, I have this against you. Please take this seriously. Regularly subject yourself particularly to the blazing light of the attributes of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and take stock accordingly of any hurtful way within you (Psalm 139:24).

Self-auditing must precede embracing Jesus’s remedy in the text–the subject of my next post.

THE SERIOUS SIN OF LOVELESSNESS

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What If Jesus Conducted an Audit of Your Church?

I tend to look forward to fetching the daily mail. But I admit that my heart skips a beat when occasionally we get something with the return address label, Internal Revenue Service. I immediately stress. “Oh no, what if they wish to dispute a past tax return?” I think I’d rather have a root canal than face an audit by an IRS agent. Maybe you can relate.

Imagine with me for a moment a Sunday when the pastor announces to your church that he has received a certified letter from none other than King Jesus. And he informs you of a pending heavenly audit scheduled among the congregation at some future date. The Lord Jesus personally plans to conduct a thorough inspection of every aspect of your ministry and people. I wonder how you might take stock of your ways in advance. I wonder what changes that prospect might galvanize before his arrival.

Revelation 2:1 makes that plain. These are: The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands (emphasis added). Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher of old, summed this up well:

“No one knows the churches as Jesus does . . . he continually walks among them.  … His eyes are as a flame of fire. He sees the churches through and through, and knows their true condition much better than they know themselves. The Lord Jesus Christ is a most careful observer of churches and of individuals; nothing is hid from his observant eye.”

Does that sober you? I suspect it does. Your church is one of Christ’s lampstands. In a way, he has already written a letter to your church and every other church for that matter. Jesus means for us to ponder this one long ago to Ephesus, along with the other six in these two chapters, to see what he might say to us. As we confront the message here to Ephesus, I want to help you wrestle with what he might say to you about the serious sin of lovelessness.

Most scholars regard chapters two and three as real letters written to real historical, 1st-century churches. It begins with Ephesus—the highest profile, most influential one of all. Ephesus was a hotbed of idolatry, false teaching, and sin—a difficult city in which to function as an effective body of believers. This timely letter from John on Patmos took aim at a major fault in the church at the time of writing. 

Here’s the text of the entire letter to Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

Here is the main idea: Because Jesus holds us accountable for practicing fervent love, we should make every effort to comply with his demands to that end. I want you to see three things in the text related to this accountability: from Jesus there is a grievous complaint, there is a continuous remedy, and there is an ominous warning.

In my next post I will unpack one or more of these particular aspects of the Ephesian audit. In the meantime, I invite you to pray Colossians 3:14 often for your local church community.

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

And remember, Jesus walks amidst the fellowship with eyes a flame of fire.

AN OUTDATED TOOL MAKES A WELCOME COMEBACK

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The Strategic Value of a Printed Church Directory


Numerous gains have come with our age of advanced technology. Few, however, will deny the reality of certain losses as well. Among them I count the utility of a printed church directory in favor of a tap-of-the-app digital kind. Granted, an online database makes accessing member contact information a convenience-lover’s dream. But in all the year’s I’ve employed these 21st century church versions, I’ve failed to find them as beneficial to my spiritual life as a good old, handheld, picture-containing church directory.

Major props to the officers of our church for favoring the ancient paths by providing a printed member directory. Who cares if it becomes outdated the moment you publish it? So what if a few more trees must be harvested to print the next edition? Maybe I’m just old and set in ways that prefer to turn pages of a book held in my hands rather than swipe them on a screen, but I find my printed directory so much more conducive to reaping its benefits than my digital options.

Whether you favor the new paths or the old, please consider three ways to use your church directory to the glory of God, the benefit of your church, and the growth of your faith.

One, to keep a covenant promise. Among the sacred things to which we commit in our membership vows is this: “Ever mindful of our fellow members, fellow heirs with Christ, we promise to walk with them in faithfulness, patience, grace and love” (emphasis added). Ever mindful. Talk about a high bar. Our directory contains twenty-nine pages of members with four households per page, except for the last with just two. That’s 114 units. I counted twenty-five of them I’ve yet to meet or know anything about after attending eight months at Grace Fellowship. I expect that number to decrease gradually, but in the meantime the directory helps me keep the still unmet in mind too, along with the rest with whom I already have some connection. More below on how it does that.

Two, to grow in brotherly love. Peter admonishes us, “Above all, love each other deeply” (1 Peter 4:8). Question. Do you feel loved when someone new in your life remembers your name? Of course you do. Names matter. Just read through Romans 16 and Colossians 4. Paul takes great pains to shout out by name all kinds of people and their service to Christ’s church. No matter how hard Jan and I try to recall names on Sundays, we constantly ask each other for help in remembering. But now we have a printed tool with color photos to help us match and review names and faces. And we can make important connections like family relationships that we often miss when just meeting a spouse or another family member. We also recall requests others have asked us to remember on their behalf. Our love for the body grows as a result.

Three, to help with intercessory prayer. None of us survives the battle with spiritual forces without the prayer support of other saints (Eph. 6:18-20). The directory adds a weapon to my devotional life the use of which use doesn’t require all that much additional time or effort. Take one page a day—that’s only four households—and pray a passage/verse of Scripture for each. This month I’m asking the Father to make 2 Peter 3:18 a reality in each household’s life. I add anything personal I know about them as well. Then I pick one of those households and text or email them a quick message of encouragement letting them know I’ve taken them before the Father that day. Do that consistently, or some version better suited to your schedule, and who knows what the Lord might do in our church as a result.

One 9Marks pastor considers a church directory the second most important book a pastor owns. He argues from Hebrews 13:17 for a pastor’s unique accountability for his members’ care which he does not have for Christians elsewhere. They are the sheep of his pasture, not someone else’s. The directory helps keep his priorities focused accordingly. Similarly, members of a local church steward unique accountability and support to their other covenant members in ways unlike other believers they know. Shouldn’t that make our church directories terribly important to us as well?

Brothers and sisters, let’s make good use of our tried-and-true church directories.

WHO’S ON THE HOOK?

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Two Priority Reasons for Timely Transferring of Church Membership

Crane hook

Last Sunday Jan and I joined our new church home in Idaho.

After years of partnership and ownership of the mission, community, and family at Orlando Grace, we now have covenanted for the same with Trinity Reformed Baptist.

And it mattered greatly to us for the transfer from one treasured fellowship to another to be intentional, official, and public.

I say that for numerous reasons, but will cite only a single biblical one—perhaps the most important—for the purposes of this post. Consider Hebrews 13:17.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

The first reason Jan and I made a priority of a timely—not too fast but not too slow—transition in church membership was for our own souls’ sake.

The writer of Hebrews commands a recognition of and submission to the servant authority entrusted to a local church’s leadership so that earthly shepherds know just whom they are responsible for in keeping watch over their spiritual condition. More on that in a moment.

As for me and my house, I know my heart. As the hymn writer put it, I am “prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”

I require spiritual care. I need loving accountability. I want someone fighting for my soul by praying, teaching, exhorting, and confronting me when necessary to guard against the ever-present threat of spiritual drift (Heb. 2:1).

Failure to so identify and grant informed consent to a specific and particular body of shepherds in a local church of some kind puts you and me as sheep at risk. Have none of it!

The second reason Jan and I made a priority of a timely transition was for our churches’ sake—both of them.

This is true for their congregations and leaders alike, but this post concerns the leaderships’ demands first and foremost. Back to Hebrews 13:17.

Elders of a local church “keep watch over souls.” As such, they will give an account to the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4) one day for how well they executed their charge.

Our transfer of membership now takes the elders of OGC off the hook for the Heffelfinger household’s spiritual care AND puts the elders of TRBC on the hook for that care.

Love demands that we serve both churches this way. Alfred Poirer notes:

The New Testament writers assume that Christians can identify their leaders to whom they have voluntarily submitted themselves. . . . And conversely, they expect the leaders of a church to be able to identify those members for whom they must give an account. . . . Yet God will not hold a pastor liable for failing to discharge his duties as shepherd over sheep that he cannot determine are his own.

Membership matters for both the sheep and the shepherd. Who’s on the hook for your soul?

Question: What other reasons can you cite for the importance of a timely transfer of church membership?

Sweet Fruit of Gospel Accountability

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For several years now I have enjoyed a relationship with another pastor outside our city. We meet not as often as I would like. But my life has been much enriched by his fellowship and partnership in the gospel.

In our last encounter he shared quite vulnerably with me about an area of his life and ministry for which he felt great concern. I sensed the weight of his burden. The Lord nudged me to propose a mutual forty-day exhort-one-another-daily accountability campaign of sin-killing in the spirit of Heb. 3:13. So for several weeks now we have engaged in daily contact whether by text, email, or phone – all bathed in prayer designed to pull down strongholds.

Today I received from my brother the text of a hymn over which he had wept and prayed earlier this morning.  The hymn is by John Newton (written in a particularly difficult season in his life) entitled I Asked the Lord.

I asked the Lord that I might grow,
In faith and love and every grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

It was He who taught me thus to pray,
And He I trust has answered prayer.
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request.
And by His love’s constraining power,
Subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel,
The hidden evils of my heart.
And let the angry powers of hell,
Assault my soul in every part.

Yes, more with His own hand, He seemed,
Intent to aggravate my woe.
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

“Lord, why is this?” I trembling cried.
Will You pursue Your worm to death?”
“This is the way” the Lord replied,
“I answer prayer for grace and strength.”

“These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set you free;
And break your schemes of earthly joy,
That you may find thy all in Me.”

This is an example what I call sweet fruit of gospel accountability. Do you have someone in your life waging war with you against sin in gospel grace? Pray that God gives you such a brother or sister and enjoy the spoils that will come your way. Challenge someone to do this with you soon, particularly if you are locked in a battle you are struggling to win.

For a soulful treatment of this hymn by Indelible Grace click here.

Reasons to Attend Our Annual Meeting

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Gotta love church marquees (and yes, I spelled it wrong in the e-news today!)  Truth be told, attending a church business meeting might seem to many an unpleasant duty at best, a beastly punishment at worst.

May I suggest some things to give you hope that such won’t be the case this Sunday evening at 6 PM when we have our annual congregational meeting?  Let’s begin by dropping the word “business.” I prefer the word “member.” Romans 12:5 says that in the body of Christ we are “individually members one of another.” While we permit visitors to observe our normal member meetings, especially those exploring the possibility of joining with us, these occasions, especially the first one of the year, give those of us in covenant community at OGC the opportunity once again to get on the same page about the priorities of our mission as a body of believers.

And we have some exciting things to report! Deacon Paul Hunt will review the state of our church finances. It will blow you away how good God has been to us!  Elder Chuck Mitchell will cast a vision for the retirement of our mortgage debt so we can do even more ministry in the future. By the way, another benefit of member meetings is keeping leaders accountable. What we do in stewarding the resources God has entrusted to us has a direct impact on the welfare of each of our households. Please shoulder your share of this responsibility by participating if at all possible.

Finally we will hear from various ministry leaders about what God did in 2012 and their vision for 2013. God did some great things for which we want to give thanks. We also want to believe Him for more this year. If you aren’t yet plugged into a ministry at OGC, this will be a terrific way to explore options for the use of your gifts for the sake of the body. I too will share a brief “state of the church” assessment that I hope will encourage you, especially as we wait on God for the changes in our staff situation and our ongoing rebuilding of the walls. Please be in prayer for this Sunday evening. And remember, an hour long prayer time will take place at 4:45 PM in the conference room in preparation for our time together.

Why Now Was the Time to Build

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As we anxiously await the granting of a CO from the city so that we may occupy our new building (sorry, no green light as of this writing), it occurred to me this morning why, at least in part, in our twenty year history as a church, now was the time to get this project accomplished.

The insight came in the course of my through-the-Bible-in-a-year reading this morning from 1 Kings 5:1-6. Solomon has assumed the throne in the place of his father, David. He desired to build a temple for worship, a dream his father never got to realize. So in this chapter he writes Hiram, king of Tyre, with whom David enjoyed a close relationship, to request materials for the project. Here’s how he explained the circumstances that gave him the go ahead where his father experienced only disappointment:

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David. And Solomon sent word to Hiram, “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. And so I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians (emphasis added).”
I found myself very grateful for a similar sentiment with respect to the last few years at OGC. God has given us rest. We have enjoyed peace. There has been neither adversary or misfortune, at least in terms of ministry-arresting plans for the advancement of the gospel through our work. Lord knows, we have had our share of that in the past. That kind of thing frustrated our building plans before. But God has blessed us as of late and for some time now so that we could actually get to the point of planning, building, and now soon occupying our own facility for executing the mission God has given us.
We have seized the opportunity afforded by fair winds and sought to make the most of it. Matthew Henry, the Puritan commentator would congratulate us to this end:
Satan does all he can to hinder temple work (1 Th. 2:18; Zec. 3:1), but when he is bound (Rev. 20:2) we should be busy. When there is no evil occurrent, then let us be vigorous and zealous in that which is good and get it forward. When the churches have rest let them be edified, Acts 9:31. Days of peace and prosperity present us with a fair gale, which we must account for if we improve not.
Let us not forget to give God much thanks for such days as these while we revel in the excitement and satisfaction of finally taking possession of our own church home.
As long as He gives us peace, let us give ourselves to improvement that results in great reward at the Last Day. God help us to sail on with the help of every fair gale.

Recharge Messages Now Available!

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Good news!

All three messages by Jonathan Dodson on discipleship and the panel discussion to conclude our men’s retreat are now available on the audio portion of our website.

To listen to session one – Making Disciples – click here.

To listen to session two – Multiplying Disciples – click here.

To listen to session three – Maturing Disciples – click here.

To listen to session four – Panel Discussion – click here.

Of course the take away question of this post in light of Recharge 2011 is . . .

HAVE YOU GOTTEN INTO A FIGHT CLUB YET?

Followed closely by . . .

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Seven Reasons to Get Recharged

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This year’s men’s retreat at OGC is just around the corner. Here are seven reasons I think our men will want to attend:

  1. It’s good and pleasant for brothers to dwell together in unity and we will do that together in spades for a weekend (Psalm 133).
  2. Our mission is the Great Commission to make disciples and this event will help equip us to do that (Matt. 28:18-20).
  3. We are to fight the good fight and our speaker wrote a book (Fight Clubs) on how to do that (2 Tim. 4:7).
  4. Sin hunts us to deceive and harden our hearts and a concentrated time of fellowship and mutual exhortation like this weekend can help guard us from the enemy (Heb. 3:12-13).
  5. Our iron as men is to be sharp and getting together like this for iron-on-iron interaction will contribute to our razor-edge biblical masculinity (Prov. 27:17).
  6. Everybody needs an armor bearer to fight his Philistine-like battles and you may find one or more at this retreat who will say to you, Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold I am with you heart and soul (1 Sam. 14:7).
  7. And best of all perhaps is that the gospel is that in which we stand and by which we are being saved and the thread of teaching we will hear from Jonathon Dodson will strengthen our grasp of and delight in that gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-2).

Brothers, this retreat has the potential to generate more ripple effects long-term in our community at OGC than perhaps any I can remember in recent time.

Early registration closed on Friday, but there is still plenty of time to claim you spot. You have until November 11 to register for the normal rate of $75. After that late registration will run you $85, so act now.

If you need some help with a scholarship for registration, contact us at the office and we will see what we can do!

To register now, click here.