Seventeen82

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” — Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus calls us to participate in his mission to redeem sinners by prayer and action in Matthew 9:35-10:15. We are to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers, and we are to participate in the harvest. Notice the following four points about Jesus’ life, ministry, and expectations for his disciples in this passage. First, Jesus was actively involved in a ministry that demonstrated and exercised the power of his kingdom (9:35). He taught in the synagogues. He proclaimed the good news of his kingdom. And, he healed every disease and affliction. Second, Jesus had compassion on the crowds of people who had gathered around him because they were harassed and helpless (9:36). They were weary, tired, exhausted, exposed, and dejected. Their leaders, who were supposed to care for them, had aband...

I wrote the below post on three essential commitments the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC) needs to make regarding church planting five years ago, while finishing up my term as Chairman of Catawba Presbytery's Committee on Church Extension. I repost it today because it is more relevant now than it was in 2017. Recent research reveals that the number of "nones" -- those not affiliated with any religious faith -- continues to rise in America. And, none of us have to be convinced that the Church's influence on the broader society has waned significantly in the last 5 years. Here are two statistics that are telling.  First, the percentage of the population of my county -- Chester County, SC -- who do not identify with any religion has ballooned to somewhere near 50% at present, and it continues to rise. This is shocking given that our county is located squarely within the region of the country commonly referred to as the Bible Belt. If this is the case for us...