Biblical illiteracy...it is a pandemic and there is a cure

I was researching biblical illiteracy for my WorldReach radio program and ran across a very well written article titled "Crisis in America's Churches: Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low", by Dr. Michael J. Vlach (click here to link to it). Yes, biblical illiteracy is a pandemic...even among the most conservative, evangelical denominations.

However, there is a cure. Born again believers must learn to read the Bible for all its worth. This will not only instill in them the truths of Scripture, but draw them closer to the God of Scripture. It is not only taking time to read the Bible, but understanding how to properly apply proven rules of interpretation to what you are reading. Bible study enables you to determine what a passage says, what it means, and how it applies to your life.

On May 11, WorldReach Bible Institute will begin its next twelve week semester. The foundational course, Bible Study Methods and Rules of Interpretation, will be taught by Dr. Sam Cash from 6-9pm. Courses are held on the campus of Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Georgia (click here for driving directions). The material used is developed by the Bible Training Centre for Pastors, and has been used to train over 25,000 pastors, church leaders, and other believers around the world. The central text is, of course, the Bible. Included in your $60 tuition is the course guide book and an NIV Study Bible. Students come from various denominations. Scholarships are available.

For more information about the WorldReach Bible Institute, including a 2 minute promotional video with interviews of students and professors, visit the web site at www.wbionline.us. Applications are available there as well.

If you are teaching at an Association of Christian Schools International accredited school, WorldReach Bible Institute is an approved provider for Continuing Education Credits. One CEU is awarded for every six hours of classes; attendance at all twelve class sessions will provide six CEUs.

Inoculate yourself from the disease of biblical illiteracy. Enroll in the WorldReach Bible Institute and learn how to...or how to better...read the bible for all its worth.

Barry Shettel and his next great adventure

Barry Shettel has just retired (recycled, redirected, redefined, restarted...) after 39 years in youth ministry - the last 29 at Prince Avenue Baptist Church - and is beginning his next great adventure of cycling from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Follow his cross-country trek...so you can pray for his ministry opportunities and his travels...on his blog at www.4295miles.blogspot.com.

Pat Gillen has joined the Prince Avenue staff as the new Minister to High School Students. He sat down with Barry and interviewed him about his years in ministry using questions being submitted live from student ministers, workers, and others. That video can be viewed here. The interview is lengthy, but very much worth the time to view it.

All for now. Thanks for your continued prayers as we prepare for the upcoming mission trips and ministry opportunities.

Christ's resurrection...faith based upon fact

As born again Christians, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the underpinning of our faith. The apostle Paul, under the power of the Holy Spirit, wrote:

“Now brothers, I want to clarify for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it. You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you—unless you believed for no purpose. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He also appeared to me.

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, ‘There is no resurrection of the dead’? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is without foundation, and so is your faith. In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified about God that He raised up Christ—whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

Our believing in Christ’s resurrection is not a blind faith, rather it is one supported by the eyewitness testimony of those who encountered Him after His death, burial, and resurrection.

It is a faith that is supported by the actions of those whose lives were transformed by seeing the resurrected Christ. Just read the scriptures that describe the events following the days after the crucifixion. It is the story of those who abandoned Christ in the Garden, denied Him at His trial, and had gone into hiding, gathering together “with the doors locked because of their fear of the Jews” after his death and burial.

These are those same men who would stand before the masses gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and proclaim, “Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. Though He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it…God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this.”

These men, who had been hiding in fear, were now empowered by the Spirit to proclaim what they had personally witnessed. Their lives had been transformed by an encounter with the living, breathing, resurrected Jesus Christ.

God has given us a resurrected Jesus as our Savior, but He loves us enough to allow us to choose whether or not we will repent and believe this good news.

During this season in which we celebrate and remember what Jesus has done for us, let’s not forget there are hundreds of millions of others – some who may sit across the table and eat with us this weekend – who need to hear the message of the gospel and the hope we have because of the resurrection of our Lord.

To God be the glory...in Germany and Romania!

WOW!! The WorldReach team has safely returned to their homes in the US and Romania (except for one who traveled on to Russia to minister there). Thanks for your prayers and support. The God of the harvest added to His kingdom. But the work continues as the local pastor of the village churches where we worked, along with his leadership team in each church, are following up with the numerous people who made life changing decisions. The great commission given us by our Lord is to go and make disciples. The follow up begins the next step in the discipleship process.

Please pray for those who are now engaged in feeding these new born babes in Christ, as well as the babes themselves. There are many challenges - spiritual, logistical, and financial - that confront everyone involved. However, we know that God will provide all that His people need in order to complete the task to which He has called them.

Our meeting with the Romanian believers in Frankfurt/Wiesbaden, Germany on our way back to the States was a blessing. They want God to build His church through them and will be praying together, seeking His word on how to proceed. WorldReach is also working with them to get Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God" Bible study. Additionally, we will be working with our Bible Training Centre for Pastors/Church Leaders contacts in the US and Germany to provide the group there with additional leadership development that focuses on how to properly read and study God's word.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. To God be the glory; great things He has done!!