Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Power of Multiplication – Who’s Your One?
What would be better? To preach to 100,000 people everyday or make 1 disciple who will make another disciple who will make another disciple who will make another disciple?
What if we dropped a “1” in front or a “0” at the end?
“If God be your partner, make your plans large.” – D.L. Moody
One fun exercise to enlarge your plans is to ask, “What would we do if we wanted to drop a 1 in front or a zero on the end?”
A new church has 35 adults attending small groups. “What would we do if we wanted to put a 1 in front of that and make it 135?” or “What would we do if we wanted to drop a zero at the end and make it 350?”
Jesus stretched the disciples’ thinking in this way when 5,000 plus hungry people were gathered listening to His teaching. They pointed out the need for food and Jesus said to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” They had two fish and five loaves at that point. Jesus basically said, “What if we put a few zeros on the end of that?” or “What if we put a five in front of that?” Jesus blessed what was provided and God gave a great increase.
Big thinking is not something I’m always guilty of. It’s easier to look at the decline around us and downgrade our plans for the church. It’s less emotionally draining to plan small and not be disappointed. But thinking big, and having great faith is a lot more fun. And bears more fruit because of obedience in the end. Think big. Plan big. Expect God to bring the increase.
Send No Man’s Land
No Man’s Land was a strip of ungoverned land between Louisiana and Texas at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. Today, it makes up Allen, Beauregard, DeSoto, Calcasieu, Natchitoches, Sabine, and Vernon Parishes. The first Baptist and Evangelical churches in Louisiana were planted in this territory in the early 1800’s. At least 40 by Joseph Willis.
How are we doing at reaching No Man’s Land today?
- 411,316 people live in these parishes today.
- 39% are Evangelicals
- 39% are None’s (164k people)
- 16% are Roman Catholic
- 4% are Mainline
- 1.5% are members of Cults or Other Religions
- At least 255k people in No Man’s Land do not have a personal relationship with Christ.
SBC/LBC Churches:
- 269 SBC/LBC Churches in No Man’s Land. 1 church for approximately every 1,500 residents.
- 5% of the population attended an SBC Church in 2023. (a little over 21k people).
- 12% are resident members of an SBC Church in 2023.
- 104 out of 269 SBC LBC Churches in No Man’s Land baptized zero in 2023.
Happenings:
- Lake Charles will continue to grow with LNG and other industry development
- Beauregard Parish is growing due to environmental migration after Hurricane Laura.
- Fort Johnson in Leesville continues to be a strategic location for military readiness with a base population around 30k.
- Church Planters, Replanters, Partners are needed to reach No Man’s Land.
Pray for these Planters, planting churches in No Man’s Land:
- Jason Nolde, Branded for Christ Cowboy Church in Leesville.
- Anthony Eaves, The Way Church in Rosepine.
- Bubba Sharpton, First North Church in DeRidder.
The 7 Realities of Experiencing God
Woke up to the news that Henry Blackaby passed away. What an incredible influence he had on a generation. His 7 Realities are so simple and profound. Worth review on this day and every day.
- God is always at work around you.
- God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
- God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
- God speaks by the Holy Spiritthrough the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church.
- God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
- You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
- You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.
Useful Things This Week
- Mind Pumps MAPS Programs – I’ve been running MAPS Workout Programs for almost a year now. Decided to try weightlifting after giving up running due to arthritis in my feet. I’ve completed MAPS 15, MAPS Anabolic, MAPS Performance, MAPS Aesthetic, and now working through MAPS Strong. Mostly 12-week programs that change it up enough to keep it interesting. And programmed well, so there is very little soreness or joint pain. Feeling stronger.
- Bible Memory App – 2,037 straight days of using the Bible Memory App. I picked it up years ago to reboot scripture memory as a habit and it has been a great tool and companion. I now have over 2,000 verses mastered in the app. I review those scheduled for review every morning and evening. And I review those I read during my regular Bible Reading time every morning. Memorizing the word aids in witnessing, preaching, and meditating. I’ve written about how to get started with the Bible Memory App HERE. And about why and how of Scripture Memory HERE. Get a discount off the Pro Version HERE.
- Masters of the Air – Loving Spielberg’s latest WW2 series about the B-17 Bombers in Europe. New episodes every Friday.
- The Importance of Children’s and Student Ministry: 72% of Evangelicals came to faith before adulthood. We must prioritize Kids and Student Ministry. It’s not just a way to get more people in church. It’s THE way to reach the nation.
- NewChurches.com Preaching Masterclass – Starting the masterclass with our church’s Preaching Collaborative. Short vids with discussion guides. Looking forward to getting sharper in this area of my life and ministry.
What are you finding useful in life and ministry right now?
Goal-Setting in Priority Areas
Seven priority ares for goal setting in the new year:
- Devo/Prayer – Daily prayer and Bible engagement.
- Share the Gospel – Initiating and engaging in spiritual conversations that lead to sharing all or part of the gospel.
- Encourage Others – Giving others courage through words and actions.
- Strengthen the Church – Using my gifts, time, and resources to build up the people of God wherever they are gathered.
- Fight for Focus – Pursue healthy bodily habits to bring the most glory to God for the longest time possible.
- Build Lifelong Love – Be a faithful husband, father, friend.
- Give God the Glory – Recognizing that everything comes from God and is meant for his glory.
Lost Population vs. Active Witnesses
Can we estimate how many Active Christian Witnesses there are in a given community?
In Louisiana, the North American Mission Board has established the lost and unchurched population to be 62%. That’s 2,889,672 people.
The estimated number of participating protestant believers in Louisiana is 879,479.
A Lifeway study found that only 54% of believers are willing to share their faith. And only 10% have actually shared their faith. And those who have shared their faith typically share it about once per month. We’ll call the 10% active faith sharers.
So, if there are 879,470 participating protestant believers in Louisiana and if 10% are active faith sharers. That would mean there are 33 lost persons for every 1 active faith sharer in Louisiana.
For Southern Baptist in Louisiana, if 10% of the participating members are active witnesses. There would be 1 active SBC witness for every 249 lost or unchurched persons.
Here’s how it breaks down by region:
| Lost Population | Active Protestant Faith Sharers | Active SBC Faith Sharers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Louisiana | 703,076 | 1 to 18 | 1 to 110 |
| SW Louisiana | 759,680 | 1 to 35 | 1 to 349 |
| SE Louisiana | 1,426,917 | 1 to 41 | 1 to 400 |
And by Metro Area:
| Lost Population | Active Protestant Faith Sharers | Active SBC Faith Sharers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Shreveport | 244,069 | 1 to 18 | 1 to 160 |
| Metro Monroe | 128,487 | 1 to 20 | 1 to 100 |
| Metro Alexandria | 94,482 | 1 to 19 | 1 to 120 |
| Metro Lake Charles | 137,978 | 1 to 32 | 1 to 217 |
| Metro Lafayette | 296,789 | 1 to 57 | 1 to 659 |
| Metro Baton Rouge | 540,101 | 1 to 34 | 1 to 480 |
| Metro Hammond | 82,611 | 1 to 30 | 1 to 219 |
| Metro Houma | 128,508 | 1 to 63 | 1 to 630 |
| Metro New Orleans | 789,053 | 1 to 54 | 1 to 540 |
You notice the drastic difference between North Louisiana and South Louisiana. 65-70% of protestant evangelical churches are in North Louisiana, while 70% of the population of Louisiana is in South Louisiana.
Observations:
- How can we develop more active faith sharers? I love the E3 Partners mission of training 1 million people by 2025. We’ve had over 1,000 trained in Louisiana. Trainees are equipped with a simple process and easy-to-remember tools to develop a personal ministry of evangelism. Doing nothing is not an option. How will you develop faith sharers in your church and community?
- Where is the church not? This is a great question to ask about your community. With low numbers of active witnesses, there are certainly pockets in every community where the gospel is absent. What segments of the population likely have few active witnesses? These would be great places to engage. For us, that has meant local multi-housing complexes, business networks, local gyms, and community organizations. Don’t just go where all the other Christians go. We’ve got to break out of our bubbles and build relationships where Christ is not being named.
- We need believers to consider investing in the least reached areas. Of course, these numbers are drastically worse around the country and across the globe. How can they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14). How can they hear the gospel without active witnesses in the neighborhoods, workplaces, playgrounds, and schools around them. Christians tend to want to locate where there are more Christians and Christian stuff. It’s safer there. It’s safer because someone at some point took the risk to move there and share their faith actively.
Let’s pray for more active faith sharers. And let’s pray for a missionary movement to south Louisiana and other parts of our world that are desperate for an active witness.
Character and Righteousness
- Psalm 51:6: “You desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within.”
- Ezekiel 36:26 – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Character and Righteousness:
- Character is the face; reputation is the photograph.
- Character grows from within; reputation grows from without.
- Reputation is what you have when you move to a new community. Character is what you have when you leave.
- Reputation is what people think you are. Character is what God, yourself, and those closest to you know you are.
- Reputation is what man desires. Character is what God desires.
- Character is built over a lifetime. Reputation can be made in a moment.
- Character grows like an oak; reputation grows like a mushroom.
- Character is the one thing we develop in this world and take with us into the next.
- A single news report can give you a reputation. A life of diligence gives you character.
We’re not alone in our fight for a life of character. Through faith in Jesus Christ and His way of salvation, God has promised to put a new heart of character in us. Really, something more than character – RIGHTEOUSNESS. Righteousness is pure white, bright light, no blemishes, no decay. It is the character of heaven, living on earth.
Yes! We can choose character. Greater still is to receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Character will be a by-product.
Don’t Burn those Leaves!
What’s happening in the garden right now?
- Carrots are still in. We covered them during our rare ultra cold snap here in south Louisiana. Hopefully they made it through. We’ll harvest them in February.
- A little bit of lettuce planted. Lettuce can handle some cold weather. And lettuce is on a 15-30 day cycle, so it can be harvested as is or covered heavy should another cold snap come through.
- LEAVES! LEAVES! LEAVES! This month, most of my neighbors are raking and bagging leaves. I steal them from their driveways before the garbage truck arrives. I’ve probably collected close to 40 bags at this point. Along with another 20 or so of my own leaves. What are we doing with all these leaves?
- Mulching and Composting. As time allows, I’ll run over these leaves with my mulching push mower. Each bag is reduced down to about 10 gallons when mulched…
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Suburban Garden Update
Hit the break even point for the garden this week. About $200 worth of food so far this spring and summer from this 750 square feet space. With plenty still coming in.
Lane Corley 