On Saturday our church gathered at a park for our worship time together. It was a beautiful day. We decided to ask God to show up and do something amazing in our group. We gathered and stopped to pray. After we prayed one man suggested that someone wanted something from God but was afraid to ask. This turned out to be true and the man who had been born with cerebral palsy asked for us to pray that his legs would be healed. He was always in pain, could only walk on the balls of his feet and could not run without great pain.
We laid hands on him in prayer and God healed him! He started to walk and then took off running. Do you know the God that heals the lame? I would be happy to introduce you to Him!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Option A or Option B - You choose
Wake up American Christians. The news gets darker everytime you turn around. If you continue to do what you have always done and ignore the writing on the wall (Option A) you may just lose an entire generation.
If you wake up and return to your first love and strengthen the things which remain (Option B) - God may bless us again and turn the hearts of the people to their God.
See the Story Here
If you wake up and return to your first love and strengthen the things which remain (Option B) - God may bless us again and turn the hearts of the people to their God.
See the Story Here
Saturday, April 11, 2009
God's Glory and the Great Commission
This is the second in a series of videos that expand on the first post of this blog.
The focus is on the foundational issue of God's Glory and how that effects life.
The focus is on the foundational issue of God's Glory and how that effects life.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Let the Remnant Connect
A little something to get started. More videos will be uploaded as I get them done. Everything on the first post will be dealt with in detail. Connect with me if this stirs your passion for reformation.
Friday, April 3, 2009
A Call to Reformation
Reformation is God's refining fire for His Church. Have you studied it in the past? Have you felt the need for it in the present? Reformation is not evil as the broken and corrupted establishment has always labelled it to be. Reformation is the work of God. When His Church is straying away from His ways then He sends His Spirit to set fire to the souls of those He has chosen to bring about reformation. It is always His work.
Reformation is risky business. People have died in the process. Hundreds even thousands. Many of them killed by the established leaders of the church. They do it in the name of God using justification language. Peace, unity, our God given authority, heresy. Words meant to mask their intentions and to keep people under their influence. They did this to Jesus so why not to the reformers He has called.
The fuel of Reformation is the Word of God. See what Martin Luther had to say.
"Take me, for example. I opposed indulgences and all papists, but never by force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise I did nothing. And then, while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip of Amsdorf the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing: the Word did it all. Had I wanted to start trouble.... I could have started such a little game at Worms that even the emperor wouldn't have been safe. But what would it have been? A mug's game. I did nothing: I left it to the Word." (Luther's Works)
Speak the truth of God's word and Reformation results. That is the formula today as it was in Martin Luther's day. Notice that he did not continue in the system that he sought to reform. He separated himself and let the word of God work. Reform is quite predictable in one sense - it never happens from within the system it seeks to reform. The system will make corrections in response to reformation but the true reformation occurs in new works.
It is time for reform. It is time to let the word of God cleanse us from man’s corruption on God’s Church. We have wandered from the path and He will set it straight by His Word. What needs to be reformed. How did Martin Luther know what to address in the Reformation he began? God placed it on his heart and then he saw it with his eyes.
Here is my call for this Reformation. The Top Ten list of my call to Reformation!
1. Return to the Great Commission. Every Christian personally fulfilling the Great Commission.
2. Restore the family. Age segregation is destroying our society and the church. It is time to return to God’s design for both.
3. Training Godly leadership. No more training to administrate the organization. We need leaders that can multiply spiritual warriors.
4. The Holy Spirit must lead all ministries. All disciples must be taught how to walk in the Holy Spirit. The church is meant to operate on the basis of spiritual gifts. As disciples are baptized in the Holy Spirit, walk in the Holy Spirit, and become skillful in the use of their spiritual gifts, they will be equipped for the works of ministry.
5. Structure may never lead ministry. Structure is defined as physical things used in ministry. The age of making ministry happen with money and systems must end.
6. God desires us to dwell in unity. John 17:21 declares that unity is one way in which the world will know that Jesus is Lord. Denominationalism stands as a block to unity. We must call for everyone to stop growing “their” church and start growing God’s kingdom.
7. A Personal return to consecration and personal spiritual disciplines.
8. An end to Program Driven Ministry. Program Driven Ministry is defined as ministry that is designed, scheduled, packaged, promoted, and offered up to society as a means by which to address certain apparent needs in society. It generally takes the form of age, gender or interest segregation. Program Driven ministry offers up the latest and greatest to address the needs of sinful men. It calls people to participate in activities or events as a means of spiritual growth.
9. An end to Invitational and Attractional Ministry. Many American churches operate on a philosophy of attracting people to their services as a means of growing the kingdom of God. The Bible does not tell us to do this.
10. Stop mixing Unbelievers in the Worship Service. This practice is so entrenched in our modern society that many Christians are not willing to even consider that it might violate God’s instructions.
This stands as my "Thesis Outline" for this generations reformation. This forum becomes the place for expressing the word of God regarding these matters. Video will be the media of this generation's reformation. The printing press fueled Martin Luther's message as YouTube will fuel mine.
As for those of you that are in the establishment, I ask this of you. Drop your guard and open your heart. God is speaking to you today. If your spirit confirms that there is a problem then join this reformation! Do not be decieved into thinking that change will come from within. The problems are too deep. The systems are too dependant upon their errors for survival. Before you decide to stay and fight, try to imagine what your church would look like if it stopped doing all these things. Could it continue to operate?
"For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel”
Martin Luther quote
If your heart connects with this call contact me and let's explore this reformation together.
Terry Goodwin
Reformation is risky business. People have died in the process. Hundreds even thousands. Many of them killed by the established leaders of the church. They do it in the name of God using justification language. Peace, unity, our God given authority, heresy. Words meant to mask their intentions and to keep people under their influence. They did this to Jesus so why not to the reformers He has called.
The fuel of Reformation is the Word of God. See what Martin Luther had to say.
"Take me, for example. I opposed indulgences and all papists, but never by force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise I did nothing. And then, while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip of Amsdorf the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing: the Word did it all. Had I wanted to start trouble.... I could have started such a little game at Worms that even the emperor wouldn't have been safe. But what would it have been? A mug's game. I did nothing: I left it to the Word." (Luther's Works)
Speak the truth of God's word and Reformation results. That is the formula today as it was in Martin Luther's day. Notice that he did not continue in the system that he sought to reform. He separated himself and let the word of God work. Reform is quite predictable in one sense - it never happens from within the system it seeks to reform. The system will make corrections in response to reformation but the true reformation occurs in new works.
It is time for reform. It is time to let the word of God cleanse us from man’s corruption on God’s Church. We have wandered from the path and He will set it straight by His Word. What needs to be reformed. How did Martin Luther know what to address in the Reformation he began? God placed it on his heart and then he saw it with his eyes.
Here is my call for this Reformation. The Top Ten list of my call to Reformation!
1. Return to the Great Commission. Every Christian personally fulfilling the Great Commission.
2. Restore the family. Age segregation is destroying our society and the church. It is time to return to God’s design for both.
3. Training Godly leadership. No more training to administrate the organization. We need leaders that can multiply spiritual warriors.
4. The Holy Spirit must lead all ministries. All disciples must be taught how to walk in the Holy Spirit. The church is meant to operate on the basis of spiritual gifts. As disciples are baptized in the Holy Spirit, walk in the Holy Spirit, and become skillful in the use of their spiritual gifts, they will be equipped for the works of ministry.
5. Structure may never lead ministry. Structure is defined as physical things used in ministry. The age of making ministry happen with money and systems must end.
6. God desires us to dwell in unity. John 17:21 declares that unity is one way in which the world will know that Jesus is Lord. Denominationalism stands as a block to unity. We must call for everyone to stop growing “their” church and start growing God’s kingdom.
7. A Personal return to consecration and personal spiritual disciplines.
8. An end to Program Driven Ministry. Program Driven Ministry is defined as ministry that is designed, scheduled, packaged, promoted, and offered up to society as a means by which to address certain apparent needs in society. It generally takes the form of age, gender or interest segregation. Program Driven ministry offers up the latest and greatest to address the needs of sinful men. It calls people to participate in activities or events as a means of spiritual growth.
9. An end to Invitational and Attractional Ministry. Many American churches operate on a philosophy of attracting people to their services as a means of growing the kingdom of God. The Bible does not tell us to do this.
10. Stop mixing Unbelievers in the Worship Service. This practice is so entrenched in our modern society that many Christians are not willing to even consider that it might violate God’s instructions.
This stands as my "Thesis Outline" for this generations reformation. This forum becomes the place for expressing the word of God regarding these matters. Video will be the media of this generation's reformation. The printing press fueled Martin Luther's message as YouTube will fuel mine.
As for those of you that are in the establishment, I ask this of you. Drop your guard and open your heart. God is speaking to you today. If your spirit confirms that there is a problem then join this reformation! Do not be decieved into thinking that change will come from within. The problems are too deep. The systems are too dependant upon their errors for survival. Before you decide to stay and fight, try to imagine what your church would look like if it stopped doing all these things. Could it continue to operate?
"For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel”
Martin Luther quote
If your heart connects with this call contact me and let's explore this reformation together.
Terry Goodwin
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