ChuckLawless.com is a blog about Missions, Evangelism and Biblical Church Growth

The Great Commission demands that we share the gospel with family and friends, but rarely do people turn to Christ as quickly as we would like. Have you ever prayed for somebody so long that you wondered if God were still listening? Are you now praying for someone, but your faith is wavering because God seemingly does not care about your loved one? 

It is easy to give up when we have prayed for others for many years.  Our prayers are passionate and focused at the beginning, but they often become repetitious and wandering as the years go by.  We speak the right language - we are “just trusting God to save our loved ones in his time” - but these words are more religious jargon than heartfelt belief.  Truth be known, we come dangerously close to giving up on the God who gave us the Great Commission.  Read More →

In my current roles, I have had the privilege of educating young SBC ministers, assisting state conventions in conferences, working alongside the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in training leaders, and consulting with the International Mission Board (IMB) in theological education.  Our denomination has much room for improvement, but I am more excited today about Southern Baptists than I have ever been - and the GCR Task Force progress report is one reason for my excitement.  Southern Baptists must still address a final report when meeting in Orlando in June 2010, but this progress report is filled with possibility and hope. 

First, the report begins with a call to repentance over our disunity, arrogance, selfishness, and caustic rhetoric.  Southern Baptists have unfortunately assumed that our size is evidence of God’s blessings on us, and seldom have we been accused of humility.  The GCRTF report is a jolting call to repent of our belief that the evangelical world somehow revolves around us. We have no right to think such about ourselves, especially when our own denomination is in decline.    

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How grateful I am for the church that gathered around me when I first became a believer.  I was young (13 years old), biblically illiterate (I did not own a Bible), and anxious (I did not know the “church lingo” or the Sunday school answers)–but I was certain that God had worked a miracle in my life.  I did not know enough to use the word “calling,” but I also knew quickly that God was somehow calling me to give my life for Him.  The believers that made up that church invited me into that Christian family, loved me, prayed for me, and gave me opportunities for ministry.    

What they did not do was systematically teach me so that I would be a disciple of Jesus.  To be sure, my pastor preached the inerrant Word, and my Sunday school teachers were great.  I would not be where I am today had that congregation not grounded me in the truth of the Word. 

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