Lots of FUN and then some....

A friend of mine has been asking me to go for a few years now, and this year I finally did. What am I talking about? Well, I am talking about the Carolina Opry show in Myrtle Beach, SC.

It's a Christmas show that will rival any of those in Nashville, TN, or Branson, MO. I thought it would be good but I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. Ten of us met in Myrtle Beach on Friday night, checked into our motel rooms and headed off to enjoy a delicious meal. After a good night's sleep we met for an early lunch or a late breakfast before heading to the theater.

The bottom line is that it was great. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would but now that I have been, I am already looking forward to going back again. I am tempted to say that the best thing about it all was the comedy but there was so much more to this show.

If you like singing, outfits that are incredibly beautiful, staging, orchestral music, good ole country singing, laughter and wonderful Christmas songs, then this show is for you. Perhaps the best thing of all is the strong Christian emphasis running throughout the show. Without question, the closing of the show with the singing of He's Alive made an amazing finale.

I'm already making my plans for next year...why not you too!

Picture This!

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I h have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (J. 3:16).


Last year, I took a trip to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC. For me it was a very moving experience. As I walked through the Library many things caught my attention, in fact too many to mention, but one picture made a significant impression.

It was a picture of faces, in fact, it was a room full of pictures near the end of the walk through. All I could think of was the many faces like these that I have seen all over the world. Faces in Africa, India, Philippines, Honduras, Japan continue to flood my memory. The good thing about all of this is that I have come to love many of these people through our contact and communication.

But this isn't enough. Our purpose is to reach them with the gospel and to make them into disciples. As I consider the life and ministry of Billy Graham, I am struck by the fact that he is one person who made this officially his goal in life. He just turned 90 years old and continues to do this as he nears the end of his life.

What about you and me? Regardless of our occupation, is this our goal? Are we committed to doing everything we can to make disciples out of people we meet in life? Do we see our life's goal as an attempt to please God by bringing lost people, those whom he loves, into a right relationship with Him?

It's amazing what a picture can cause you to consider. I will never forget this picture and hope you don't either!

Take a look across the page and check out the plan to revise "The Alexander Antidote" and let me know whether this resource might be helpful to you as you do the work of the ministry, whether it's in the local church context or in Christian ministry in general.

I have to give the Mechanicsville AC Church credit for doing something that few churches ever do. Are you wondering what that something is? Well, it's quite simple. They reached a point in their ministry life as a church where they decided that they needed help.

Their first step was to realize that if they were going to make it in the future, they would need to work with others who cared and could help. That was the beginning of the LMT (Leadership Ministry Team). Those pictured above include the Pastor and members of the in-house LMT, along with myself (Sam Warren-Director of Nurture). The members include (Front Row L to R)...Trish Harrington, Ruth Williams and Kari Phillips. The back row includes (L to R)...Ron Sties, Director of Nurture Sam Warren, Pastor, Rev. Warren Conary and Student Ministry Pastor Chris Phillips. Missing are Superintendent Marshall Tidwell and T.G. Ayers.

Beginning in January the in-house LMT will take over the full leadership responsibilities for the church. In the meantime, much work is being done in order to get ready for a month (January 2010)of vision casting for the entire church. There are many ways perhaps to stir renewal in the life of a hurting church and this is only one but we have found it to be effective.

Becoming what God wants us to be is hard work, even for a local church. I encourage you to pray for the Mechanicsville, VA AC church as they walk into the future. I, for one, think that they are going to make it work.

One of the real joys for me in my role as Director of Nurture for ACGC is the opportunity I get to attend various conferences and conventions held by Advent Christians across the country.

Last week, I was able to be in New England and participate in the Eastern Regional Convention led by Rev. Clint Taber (Eastern Regional Convention). This year was a real treat as the keynote speaker was a friend and biblical scholar, Dr. Edward Fudge.

It was exciting to hear him teach out of Scriptures on the book of Hebrews which is the subject of his newest commentary. There was excellent attendance from pastors, and lay leaders from across New England, especially given the economic times.

I am happy to provide some pictures along with this blog post of the conference, as well as a picture of Dr. Edward Fudge and Rev. Clint Taber. Hope you enjoy!

Lead Team ME: four and counting!

Last week I spent some time in the beautiful state of Maine with a group of pastors. Our meeting site was the Advent Christian campground found in Mechanic Falls, ME. It couldn't have been a prettier site for the most recent gathering of pastors who are interested in the establishment of a Lead Team ministry within the conference.

For two days we shared our lives and studied the Scriptures together. It was a refreshing time of interaction and fellowship. The end result was the desire to use the Lead Team ministry within the conference. This involves a commitment to meet together at least four times per year for a 24-hour uninterrupted period of doing life together.

Many pastors are alone, even if there are others near by, because they lack this kind of iron sharpening iron fellowship with others who can listen and if necessary, speak into one's life for good. This is an exciting development since we now have four Lead Teams that exist across the Advent Christian horizon (United States) plus one more in the process of being developed.

If you are an AC pastor and want to know more about getting involved in the Lead Team feel free to contact me at the department of nurture, ACGC.

Make it your Business!

I’m not a business man and I have never owned a business but I have had the privilege of sharing the ministry of the local church with a number of business leaders. Involving them in the ministry was one of the best decisions I have ever made. One thing I discovered is that they have a lot to offer but rarely get asked to contribute. We often think that they know business; we know ministry. But, the truth is that they are not incompatible.
Early on in my last pastorate which lasted for 18 years, I was blessed with three men who soon became my friends and over the years have taught me many things about ministry as they grew in their walk with the Lord. I can only hope that I blessed them as much. Last week, I had the opportunity to attend and take a group of business owners with me to a conference on “Doing Business as Unusual.” What this means became clearer the longer we participated in the conference. It became obvious that the world has a way of operating and it is not totally bad but the Bible clearly has something to say about how one does business and treats people.
In the picture you will see Steve Thigpen, Gene and Helen Stephenson, Dave and Sandy Carpenter and myself (Sam Warren). The retreat took place in Rome, GA at the beautiful Winshape Retreat center. Over twenty business leaders from around the country sat under the teaching ministry of Dr. David Ferguson of Intimate Life Ministries and Brian McCoy, CEO of McCoy building supply. McCoy’s has 84 stores across eight states and does 600 million dollars annually. David and Brian did a fantastic job of driving these principles home.
I certainly want to encourage every church and pastor to take a look across their congregations and pay special attention to the business leaders that might be present. Pray for them and ask God how you might include them in the ongoing ministry of the church. You might be surprised how eager they will be to share the load.