Gilbert Thurston

Random Thoughts About Life, Ministry and Whatever Else Happens to be on my Mind

Acts 29

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This morning in my personal devotions I finished up reading through the book of Acts.  Every time I do it’s always a wonderful reminder of the hard work and sacrifice that early Christians put in to get the church started and the message of Christ spread.  It’s also a reminder of how utterly useless we are without the help of the Holy Spirit.

However, what I’m always most struck by is the ending…or lack thereof.  If you’ve ever read through, you know that Luke the author goes into great detail for 28 chapters talking about times and places and doesn’t leave any loose ends…until the end that is.  Paul has just been put into a Roman jail and Luke ends by saying, “Paul stayed there for two years bravely preaching about the Kingdom and no one tried to stop him”.  And that’s it!  Done!  What?

Luke how can you leave us hanging like that?  If this were a movie we’d say…”Oh it’s obvious they are setting it up for a sequel”.  Here’s my theory.  There is a sequel called Acts 29 and it covers a period of nearly 2000 years.  It’s still being written and you and I are some of the co-stars.  In other words, Luke intentionally (being directed by the Spirit) abruptly ended his writing because God didn’t ever want us to think the story was done.  Acts 29 is where you and I continue on the work of the early church in making sure the Gospel gets preached throughout the world.  Acts 29 is you and I sacrificing of our time, talent and money so that others might hear the good news of what Jesus has done for us all.

I’ll end with a simple question…Are you off script?

I Can’t Believe I’m Posting About…

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…Women’s college basketball.  Ok so most of you know I’m a huge sports fan and will watch just about anything.  However, I’ve never been a fan of women’s basketball.  I think in this sport you most see the difference’s in athleticism between men and women and to me a fast break that doesn’t end with a dunk is just a bit boring.   However, I’m not posting this to get into a conversation about that, instead I want to talk about…

The University of Connecticut team that last night won their 70th game in a row.  This is the second time they’ve done this, but what stood out to me in the article I just read about it was that every victory in this streak has been by at least 10 points or more.  In other words, they’re very good at what they do and they don’t let the outcome in doubt.

To me that’s what churches should be all about.  Work together as a team to do the very best you can and each week make sure the devil knows that he’s not just beat, but stomped on big time.  I believe we need to run up the score on him.  Never should a Sunday pass us by that we just barely got through.  Never should we go into an Experience/Service without a game plan to severely humiliate our opponent.  God is the Harlem Globetrotters, the devil is the Washington Generals.  We should make him look foolish and our record should be unblemished.

Here’s the bad news.  The church in America is on the decline.  While the population has increased…and surprisingly people’s interest in God has increased over the past decade, statistics tell us actual attendance is on the decline.   In fact the amount of unchurched in our nation has doubled since 1994.  Is the problem with God?  No, He hasn’t changed.  Do we need to give up on church and do something different?  No the church was Jesus idea and He said the gates of hell would not be able to prevail against it.  Do we need to change our strategy in how we do church?  Yes!

The same game plans that won basketball games back in the 1950’s no longer works today.  Same goes for football.  The best teams and coaches keep up with what’s winning now, not what won 50 years ago, 20 years ago or even 5 years ago for that matter.  Our culture in America is always changing and either we keep up and redeem it or our culture looks at us like we’re in the stone-age and thinks of us a boring and antiquated.  That’s not a reflection on God, that’s a reflection on us and our methods.

I had no idea where I was going with this post when I first started writing, but it’s become pretty clear that this was meant for pastors and church leaders to examine your methods.  Remember, the message never changes, but our methods must.  Are you just barely surviving and sometimes that devil wins a game or two, or are you like the UConn women’s team?  Each week executing your game plan and running up the score?  Geno Auriemma the UConn coach gave the predictable, “We just take it one game at a time” quote when asked about their success.  But there’s truth there.  Just concentrate on creating the best worship experience you can this week.  After that’s done, repeat it again the next week and then the week after that.  Before long you’ll have put together a nice streak and the devil will have been put on notice that he’s in for a losing battle.  So be strong!  Be courageous!  Do not fear for God is with you and will give you victory!

Ministry Is Messy

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This week I was reminded that ministry is and should be messy.  In just the last few months I’ve met with people that are addicted to drugs and alcohol, with women involved as prostitutes and strippers, with people contemplating suicide and abortions, with couples involved in affairs and considering divorce.  Then on top of that are the normal relational and financial dificulties that many are going through. 

I relish the opportunity to speak with these people because what they really need is a relationship with Jesus.  They come in looking for quick fixes, but often leave with something far deeper and more powerful…forgiveness of their sins and the Holy Spirit living in them wanting to change them on a daily basis into the image and likeness of Christ.  Unfortunately, many times these people though want to continue figuring things out for themselves…they’re not yet ready to surrender to Jesus and I/we still need to love them and help them in the midst of their mess. 

Honestly, sometimes that can be draining.  Sometimes it’s tempting to want to quit and give up.  Ever felt that way?  What I remind myself of though is this…when ministry isn’t messy, you’re not really doing anything for God.  Jesus has called the church not to be a sanctuary for the saints, but rather a hospital for sinners.  If on Sunday’s everybody’s got it all together, that’s not a sign of a spiritually mature church, it’s the sign of an immature church because they’ve gotten off mission.

So pray with me that every week we’d smell smoke and alcohol on people, that people still coming off a high from Saturday night would stumble through the halls, that couple’s barely speaking to one another would sit in our chairs, and that others in the midst of destructive sin would show up.  Remember, we can’t expect non-Christians to act like Christians until they become one.  So one of our core values is, “No Perfect People Allowed”.  So let’s accept them without neccisarily approving of their actions…let’s show them the love of Christ and then let’s pray that they will accept his offer of forgivenss and new life!

A Bug’s Life

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It seems like God has been speaking to me a lot in the car recently.  Yesterday I was leaving the house when a huge grasshopper jumped onto my driver’s side window.  At first the noise startled me and then as I continued driving I was fascinated seeing it that close up.  What amazed me was that for miles he clung to my window before finally being blown off.

I was thinking wow that poor little grasshopper is now a long way from home and family and friends (that’s of course assuming that grasshopper’s know these things).  In any case, God then spoke to me that we do the same thing.  One little decision that we think is inconsequential (hopping on window) leads us many times into a life that we never expected.  Often times this new life and lifestyle is not what God wanted for us and we end up losing our family and friends because of it.

So before you leap into that big decision, make sure that it’s not a vehicle that’s going to carry you in the wrong direction.

What Happens to People Who Never Hear About Jesus?

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I talked with and then received an e-mail over the weekend from an attender of United who was wondering, “If only people who pray and ask Jesus for forgiveness make it to heaven, then what happens to people who have never heard about Him?”  I e-mailed him back with my response and thought it might be helpful for others of you as well.  So here’s what I wrote…

As we spoke about Jesus is the only way to heaven.  The question then becomes…”Well then what about people who have never heard of Jesus”?  That question can be answered in Romans chapters 1-3.  In chapter 1 we read about how God reveals Himself to us through His creation.  It’s hard not to look at nature, space, the changing of the seasons, the complexities of the human body, etc and not come to the conclusion that something greater than us created it all.  We call this “The Light of Creation”.

In chapter 2 we read about how our own conscience convicts us of right and wrong.  As I shared with you, “Even thieves in the deepest, darkest, jungles of Africa still steal under the cover of darkness”.  Why?  Because they know deep down, even if there are no commands or laws against it in their society that it is wrong.  This we call “The Light of Conscience”.

In Romans 3 then we read about the good news that Jesus is that “higher power” and that He can and wants to forgive us of all the wrong our conscience has convicted us about.  This we call “The Light of Christ”.  Now everybody during every time has had the “Light of Creation” and the “Light of Conscience”.

Many throughout time have been able to hear of Jesus and His offer of forgiveness.  For people like that (which includes you and I) we will be judged on “What decision did you make about Jesus in regards to how to handle your sin?”  If you’ve truly prayed and asked for His forgiveness and leadership in your life, then you will be forgiven and are given the assurance of eternal life with Him in heaven.  If however you decide that you are going to try to make it into heaven based on your own good works and deeds then you’ll spend all of eternity in hell because heaven is a perfect place and only perfect people are allowed to enter in.

Some though never get the chance to hear about Jesus.  So does this mean that they will have to suffer in hell forever just simply because they never heard about Him?  The answer is no.  Does this mean then that people who never hear about Jesus automatically get a free pass to heaven then?  The answer again would be no.  While they may be ignorant about the claims of Christ, they are not innocent of sin by any stretch of the imagination.  So then what happens to these people?  Simple…they will be judged based on the amount of light in which they have received.  Again we all have an innate sense that there is something out there greater than us (whether we know to call Him God/Jesus or not) and we all feel conviction about the wrongs which we’ve done (even if we don’t know the theological term, “sin”).  So the question is, do they acknowledge that sin in their life and recognize that only that “higher power” has the power to forgive them and change them?  So all people need forgiveness of sin, we just happen to know that Jesus was God in the flesh who made that possible for us.  So you and I will be judged on all 3 “lights”, some will only be judged based on the first 2 “lights” because that’s all they had.