If we can learn anything from the first century churches of Asia Minor, it is the propensity of Christians, churches, and spiritual movements toward decline.
Churches today face a host of challenges from both within and without. Between a corrupt culture, biased media, lukewarm leaders, apathy, and hyper-criticism, it is realistic to acknowledge our propensity toward decline.
And yet, though our challenges may have different nuances, they are really no different or greater than the challenges faced in the first century. To such a church, Jesus instructed, “Strengthen the things which remain” (Revelation 3:2).
Regardless of present needs or current trends, the truth will always remain, and the Holy Spirit is always speaking.
I believe that today we—as pastors, individual churches, and likeminded Independent Baptists—need to strengthen some basic convictions of truth—convictions Scripture teaches and the Holy Spirit blesses.
In this month’s spiritual leadership podcast, we look at seven biblical convictions and see how we can strengthen them in our churches and ministries.
[mp3]http://lbc-downloads.com/podcasts/slp/strengthen_the_things_that_remain.mp3[/mp3]
Podcast: Download
This lesson was originally recorded during the 2011 Spiritual Leadership Conference. If you have not yet registered for this year’s conference, I would like to invite you to attend June 10-13, 2012. Each year, many pastors and spiritual leaders have found their hearts encouraged and their ministries strengthened during this special time.
For more information on the conference, visit lancasterbaptist.org/slc/.
The Spiritual Leadership podcast is a free resource from Striving Together Publications (a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church and West Coast Baptist College).
You can subscribe to this podcast through iTunes and listen on your computer or iPod. You can also receive the complimentary outline with each lesson. Click here for more information about subscribing to the outline.
