More D6 Hope!!!!!

This was written by a CRCC Dad.  Yes...I said DAD.  Praise your Name Jesus! :) :) :)

www.D6Reformation.org

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D6 has birthed Hope for my family!

April 2010 was the month of new beginnings for our family. Earlier that year we had resolved to do whatever it would take to make 2010 a year of doing and applying God’s word to our lives, rather than our frequent stance of merely hearing and expecting change in our lives.  We were desperate for true change; TRANSFORMATION! We had reached a point of spiritual stagnation! Growth was absent (at least measurable growth) and we became more and more frustrated with the direction of our lives.  This frustration paralyzed us and before we realized it, we were spending less and less time in the Word as a family and giving more of our time to the things that REALLY do not matter from an eternal perspective.  But praise God for an awakening that caused my wife and I to desperately search for some answers!  In our searching, the Holy Spirit had me to do a Google search for family churches in Chesapeake.  The results of that search led us to CRCC where we immediately connected to the vision and mission of the church.

 One of those missions, the D6Reformation, really hit home! We began to realize that we had missed a very important part of our foundation: Consistent Family Worship and Discipleship.  I looked in the mirror, repented to God and to my wife and sons and began my pursuit of multigenerational faithfulness by getting my family together for Family Worship and Discipleship on a regular basis.  From the moment we implemented this in our home, things finally all started to come together for us. The more we learned and began to intentionally apply Deuteronomy 6/Ephesians 6, our lives began to transform. The results have just been overwhelming (in a good way). Before long, the vision for our family became one that was more Godly (God inspired and influenced) than the one we initially had in place.  The influence of this culture no longer has a stronghold over my family because I am submitted to the Word as the head of my household and I will not allow the enemy or myself to lead them to a very real hell.

 This posture has also ignited the love that I have for my wife.  I have come to understand that God has appointed me Priest, Prophet, Protector, and Provider; a role in which I will be judged and held accountable for in the presence of our God.  And let me be real, I have had moments when I felt like I did not know enough of the Bible to teach my family.  Moments when I wondered what my wife would think of me and how my son’s would receive my teaching? All of these fears were overcome by my simple act of obedience to God. I no longer live in nor am I controlled by fear.  I allow my faith in our God to lead, guide and direct me in discipling my family.  My obedience has caused a whirlwind of peace and order to dwell within our family.  My wife and son’s are excited about our times of fellowship and are active participants in our Family Worship. Watching our son’s eagerly find scriptures to support our study and engaging in discussion has changed me as their father.  Holding my wife’s hand and looking at the fire that’s in her eyes while I am teaching and instructing our family has pushed me to become even more prepared by studying the Word of God, by reading assigned books, and by spending more time in prayer; rather than overindulging in extracurricular activities.  Now I can proudly declare that “There is Hope for the ----------’ family!”

 We have aligned ourselves in the Word of God, have connected to a ministry /church family that believes in the sufficiency of the scriptures, who are living, breathing testimonies (their lives model the TRUTH of the Word of God) And WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR HOLDING YOU ACCOUNTABLE!  The change and answers that we needed were in the Word of God all the time.  Family Worship and Discipleship has helped us discover and live God’s will for our family!  We are extremely grateful that God answered our prayers through the vehicle of the D6 Reformation.  If you have not taken a look at the information within the site, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not allow another day to pass.  Today could be the day of your family’s TRANSFORMATION!  Don’t wait any longer!

Fishless Fishermen's Fellowship

See the chart in the previous post for more motivation!

Something to Pray About!!!

Lord, help us do something about this nightmare!

 
 

This problem is both simple and complex in my opinion. Yes, it means we simply aren't preaching the Gospel. But it also speaks to how the concept of truth has changed as a result, the changes in the way people view the Bible and the Church, the influence of media on the culture, the inability to pass our faith on to our children, the consequences of secular education, the loss of courage in pulpits to preach the Gospel instead of ear-tickling, and so much more.

Oh Lord, we cry out to you to help us in this massive harvest!

Enough already with Consumer Church!

Happy New Year! :)

Now for my first rant of the year.  LOL!  I really dislike consumer church.  I think the mindset has hurt us.  I abhor what it does to Christians as it keeps the "me first" mentality alive and well.  I don't think the church should be thought of as a Target, Walmart, or a Starbucks.  The church is a house of prayer.  The church is designed to glorify Christ through the declaration of His truth.  The church is where true believers gather for biblical worship, prayer, teaching of the Scriptures, and to be sent out to impact the world with the glorious Gospel of Christ.  Not some of the Gospel...all of it.  Yeah...the sin and hell part too, with as much love as we can muster.

Instead, we have built many churches on the "what's in it for me" mindset.  We market our churches like we are selling products.  Don't believe me?  Check the yellow pages. There has to be a program for everyone and a class for everyone, based on the thought that we must "give the people what the want."  This is smart for the business owner but bad for the Church of Jesus Christ.  Why?  Because in the church, the customer is not king; Jesus is!  Because of our consumer orientation, sadly, even Christ-followers have a hard time relating to each other unless we are consuming the same product or are in the same age/stage of life.  That is not the pattern we see in the New Testament, where everyone came together!  (See more thoughts on this here.)  I've marketed this way too in the past. I'm so sorry Lord!

When did strong bible preaching, biblical worship, and prayer cease to be enough?

Meanwhile, secular humanism is now the dominant worldview in America.  Only 4% of youth can be called Chrisitans.  70-88% of them are gone by the end of their freshman year in college.  Family worship and bibilcal hospitality are largely things of the past.  (Maybe because we are always at a church program!)  Atheist books are on the bestseller lists, and 25,000 children will die today around the world due to prevantable causes.  And we believers actually taking responsiblitity to preach the gospel, teach our children, or truly make disciples?  Ha!  Not without a program! :)

This kind of news is breaking my heart. Here is a good article that makes the point I'm trying to make: The Shift from the Consumer Church to Missional Church.

And here is an oldie but a goodie....