The Omission in the Great Commission

I have heard many, many sermons on the Great Commission and read quite a few books on it. Most are great on motivating people to go. They are often good at telling how to share the gospel. Some even link the Great Commission with the local church by focusing on the word “baptizing.” But most leave out a key component.

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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

As John Piper notes,

“Jesus’ final command was to teach all his commandments. Actually, the final command was more precise than that. He did not say, “Teach them all my commandments.” He said, “Teach them to observe all my commandments.”

Jesus commanded all of His disciples to teach everyone in the world to obey all of His commands. Therefore, we cannot say that we are fulfilling the Great Commission until we are “obeying everything Jesus commanded” and teaching our disciples to do the same. The failure to teach it all and obey it all is the Great Omission in the Great Commission.

Disciples Obey Jesus’ Commands

The word “disciple” comes from the Greek word mathetes, meaning “student” or “learner.” It describes a protégé who learned and followed his teacher’s precepts and instructions. It speaks of a follower who adopts the lifestyle of his master. In the first century, a disciple-making relationship was based on intimacy and obedience. No wonder Jesus made the following statements:

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15
If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. John 15:10
You are My friends if you do what I command you. John 15:14

Disciples obey Jesus’ commands. Why have not been taught that? Nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard offers this answer:

The matter is quite simple. The Bible really is easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know that the moment we understand, we are obligated to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined.

Kierkegaard did not stop there. He continues,

Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can become good Christians without the Bible coming too close…Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.

C. T. Studd is one of my heroes. He was a wealthy, Cambridge graduate who also happened to be the best cricket player in the world when cricket was one of the most popular games in the world. He was the most popular athlete of the late 1900s. Yet, he gave it all up to obey a missionary call to China. In a talk he gave at a businessman’s luncheon, he told how obeying the commands of Jesus changed his life:

I once had another religion: mincing, lisping, bated breath, proper, hunting the bible for hidden truths, but no obedience, no sacrifice. Then came a change. The real thing came before me… Words became deeds. The commands of Christ became not mere Sunday recitations, but battle cries to be obeyed…

The Great Commission and the commands of Jesus are battle cries to be obeyed. Are you obeying the battle cries of Jesus?

At Grace City Church…We purpose to read the gospels daily with the purpose of obeying them.

___
This material was adapted from Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple-Making Is … (B&H Publishing, 2012).

God’s Will for Your Life

“What is God’s will for my life?”

 I teach Christian university and seminary students who are vitally interested in that question.

I am not psychic, but I do know God’s will for their lives and for your life as well.

Let me explain.

A few days before Jesus ascended into glory, He gave His disciples some final instructions. These words were and still are of utmost significance because they are the last words Jesus ever said to His followers. As His last words, they eloquently express His greatest passion and top priority.

These words are also extremely important because Jesus was essentially saying, “This is the culmination and climax of all I have been teaching you the last three years.” In other words, when He spoke them He was saying, “If you don’t remember anything else I said, remember this!”

Beyond that, these final instructions were repeated on three separate occasions and are the only commands of Jesus that are repeated in all four Gospels and the book of Acts (Mt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15; Luke 24:46-47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8). It is as if He was telling them, “Look, I keep repeating this one thing because it is the main thing. If you don’t do anything else, be sure and do this! ”

On top of that, this final command is the only command Jesus gave that He issued as an order that had to be obeyed. He played the ultimate authority card before dropping on them this command. 

Today we call this final statement the Great Commission. The most comprehensive of the five proclamations of the Great Commission is recorded in Matthew’s gospel.

Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

So what is God’s will for your life?

       The answer to that question is quite clear:

“Make Disciples! Orient your life around the Great Commission.”

These are the last words of Jesus. This is His definitive command to all of His followers. This is God’s will for our lives. 

The details of where and how we make disciples may change slightly from person to person, but the big picture is the same.  God’s will for the life of every Christ follower is to make disciples.

David Platt states,

 It makes little sense for us to keep asking, “What do you want me to do, God?’ the answer is clear. The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to make the gospel and glory of God known among all peoples.”

 At Grace City Church we aim to orient our lives around the Great Commission. We live to glorify God by fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples

Pray for us.

Join us.

___

This material was adapted from Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple-Making Is … (B&H Publishing, 2012).

THIS IS WAR!

THIS IS WAR! 

There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan. C. S. Lewis

 We are locked in a battle. This is not a friendly, gentleman’s discussion. It is a life and death conflict between the spiritual hosts of wickedness and those who claim the name of Christ. Francis A. Schaeffer

 Fifty years ago, pastor, author, and twentieth century prophet A. W. Tozer observed that most believers live their lives as though there really is no spiritual battle. He said, “The idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of Christians.”

Yet, if we hope to be biblical Christians who reach cities with the gospel we must look at our lives through the lens of spiritual warfare. The most often used analogy for Christians in the Bible is of soldiers. We are living in enemy territory when we live in the world.

Paul referred the Christians as “soldiers” (Phil. 2:25; Philemon 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:3-4). Christians are said to “engage in warfare” (1 Tim. 1:18; 6:12; 2 Cor. 10:3-5). Christians are told to wear spiritual “armor” (Eph 6:10, 11, 13-17; Rom 13:12). Weapons of warfare are to be welded by Christians (2 Cor. 10:3-5, see also Rom. 6:13; 13:12; 2 Cor.6:7; 1 Tim. 1:18). Paul referred to his own ministry in ministry terms (2 Tim. 4:7). The Christian life is called a military conflict or struggle (Eph. 6:12; Col. 1:29; 2:1; Heb 12:4; Jude 1:3).  

Jesus declared that His mission was to liberate “captives” and proclaim liberty to “oppressed” prisoners of war (Luke 4:18). In Luke 11:21-22 Jesus referred to Satan as a “fully armed” strong man whom He, Jesus, as someone stronger “overcomes/conquers” and takes his “armor” and divides his “spoil.”

Paul rejoiced that through the power of the cross and resurrection, Jesus “disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15 ESV) and that He “captured the enemy and seized the booty” (Ephesians 4:8 Message).

 

It all about Evangelism

Spiritual warfare is all about the gospel. The purpose of the war is to either advance or stop the preaching of the gospel depending on which side you are on (Eph. 6:19, 20).

We must understand that spiritual warfare is about more than experiencing personal freedom and liberation – although that is a wonderful result. Spiritual warfare must be fought so we can most effectively proclaim the gospel.

Paul reminded Timothy, the pastor of the Ephesus church, that spiritual warfare is all about “rescuing those captured by the snare of the devil” (2 Tim.2:24-26). Jude told us that it is about “pulling lost people from the fire” (Jude 22-23).  Jesus experienced spiritual warfare as He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for forty days (Luke 4:1-13). Afterward He returned with new spiritual power and launched His ministry focused on “proclaiming liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and setting at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:14-18). Later He discussed spiritual warfare in the evangelistic context of building churches and “kicking down the gates of hell” (Matthew 16:18).

 

Pray for us as we prepare to invade Las Vegas with the power of the gospel (Eph.6:18-20).

HOLY REBELS!

I believe that, if we only realized who we are “in Christ” and lived like it, the enemy would stand no chance on this planet and the kingdom of darkness would be routed. I believe that a church full of people who know who they are “in Christ” would be used of God to kick in the gates of Hell (Matthew 16:18). I believe that because of the power of the death, burial, and resurrection for your sins, each of us who are “in Christ” has unlimited and overwhelming amazing power over sin, and the enemy.

I am not alone in my belief:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Paul, Romans 8:37

Whatever you were before you were a Christian… you are now a sworn foe of the legions of hell. Have no delusions about their reality or their hostility, but do not fear them. The God inside you terrifies them. John White

The Christian is a Holy rebel loose in the world with access to the throne of God. Satan never knows from where the danger will come. A. W. Tozer

Three eternal truths: things are not what they seem, the world is at war, and each of us has a crucial role to play. The story of your life is the story of a long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it. John Eldredge

Today we do not fight for victory; we fight from victory. We do not fight in order to win because in Christ we have already won. W. Nee

Above everything else, Christians need to cultivate a faith that establishes them as winners. This is all-important. Anything less gives Satan and his kingdom a devastating advantage…We need to know that through grace and redemption’s victory we are nothing but winners. Mark Bubeck

Today, I challenge you to rejoice in the fact that you are nothing but a winner in Jesus. Realize that no matter what, nothing or no one can separate you from the unconditional love of God. Nothing can stop the God-given, unstoppable joy or unassailable peace you have in Christ.

You are already, present tense, this very moment a super-winner through Jesus who loves you. You no longer fight for victory you fight from the victory that Jesus secured at His resurrection and that is already uses. You are a holy rebel lose in the world with access to the throne of Grace (Heb 4:16).

Live like it!

“They Don’t Know Their Identity in Christ”

Two months ago, I spent two days hanging out with bestselling author Dr. Neil T. Anderson (Victory Over the Darkness & The Bondage Breaker). http://www.ficm.org/

What a great guy and a reservoir of godly wisdom!

One the most helpful pieces of wisdom he shared was this: Every defeated Christian has one thing in common – they don’t know their identity in Christ.

He followed that up by stating, Personal success in ministry is contingent on identity in Christ.
In the book Bondage Breaker he writes,

Nothing is more foundational to your freedom from Satan’s bondage than understanding and affirming what God has done for you in Christ and who you are as a result (p.42).

John Eldredge observes, There are three eternal truths: things are not what they seem, the world is at war, and each of us has a crucial role to play.

The story of your life is the story of a long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it.

He’s right. If we only knew what we could be, we could make the enemy run. Jesus did not die for us so we could live defeated lives. He died that we might be “more than conquerors” through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). In Christ we are liberated liberators, but the majority of us live as defeated captives.

Pray for us. This weekend we will be doing our first Freedom Encounter Weekend. Pray that we become Liberated Liberators able to be used of God to rescue spiritual captives when we invade Las Vegas 20 weeks from now.
www.gracecityvegas.com

Prayer Evangelism

Today one of my students asked, “How do you strategically pray for a city?”When asked a question, I like to offer a scripture that might address the issue before I wade in giving my opinion. In this case, the scripture that came to mind was 1Timothy 2:1-8.
In that passage, Paul was writing to Timothy, the young pastor leading the strategic church at Ephesus. From Ephesus, Paul wanted the church to evangelize all of Turkey and much of Asia. In his letter of advice for Timothy, Paul told Timothy how to practice prayer-evangelism.
1. Prioritize Prayer
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people …
2. Pray for All of the Lost to be Saved
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people … God our Savior, 4who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth… Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all… 1 Timothy 2:2, 4, 6 (bolding added)
3. Pray for Favor from Civil Authorities so Your Church May Share the Gospel
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.1 Timothy 2:1-2
4. Pray for Favor from Civil Authorities so Your Church May Share the Gospel
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.1 Timothy 2:1-2
5. Pray Throughout Your Community for All of the Lost in the Community
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. 1Timothy 2:8
Hudson Taylor said, “It is possible to move men through God by prayer alone.” For the last few months our church planting team has been practicing prayer evangelism at least five days a week. Even though we are yet in Las Vegas, we are praying for “Lost” Vegas. We are expecting to reap a harvest then because we are praying now.
When we get to Las Vegas we plan to pray for each of our neighbors and co-workers by name and need every day. We also plan to prayer-walk our neighborhood daily.
_____________________________________________
For more on this subject see chapter 12 of Dave Earley Pastoral Leadership Is…, Nashville, TN: B&H Academic Publishers, 2012

24+7+365+100 = Change the World

It was small and unnoticed when it began, but ended up changing history. Scholars tell us that the Great Awakening and the modern missionary movement trace their birth to a prayer meeting. On August 26, 1727, twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted together to continue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated by lots to different people. Others joined the Moravian intercessors and the number involved increased to seventy-seven people praying 24/7.
That astonishing prayer meeting beginning in 1727 went on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for one hundred years! Called Herrnhut (“Under the Lords Watch”), the 24/7 prayer meeting grew into a community that lived n “on the watch for the Lord.”

Known as the Hourly Intercession, it involved relays of men and women in prayer without ceasing made to God. That prayer also led to action, especially evangelism. More than one hundred missionaries left that village community in the next twenty-five years, all constantly supported in prayer.

Moravian missionaries were so dedicated to giving up their lives to reach people with the Gospel, the community would hold funerals for the missionaries before they sent them off. Imagine holding a funeral for someone who is about to leave because it was understood that the call of Jesus was to go give your life reaching lost people and that you would not return in this life. To reach the slaves in Jamaica, the Moravian missionaries would sell themselves into slavery as it was the only way to gain access to Caribbean slaves. Eventually Moravian missionaries served all over the world.
Though William Carey is often referred to as the “Father of Modern Missions,” he himself credited the Moravians with that role. He often referred to the ministry of the earlier Moravians in his journal.
John Wesley, one of the leaders of the Great Awakening, wrote that he was led to Christ by a Moravian missionary from Herrnhut while sailing on a ship to America. When the ship was nearly overtaken by a storm, and he and the other passengers panicked, however the Moravian fellow on the ship was calm, had peace and prayed. In his revivals Welsey often talked about the “warming heart” moment of his born-again experience with the Moravian missionary.

At Grace City Church

•  We purpose to become a house of prayer for all nations.
•  We purpose to establish a powerful prayer movement that, like the Moravians, will eventually change the world.

Join us!

House of Prayer

Rambo Jesus

Cathy and I love to walk together. One day, we happened to be walking around the campus of a small, used-to-be religious, private college. We stopped into the chapel for a few minutes to get out of the sun. At the front of the chapel sanctuary was a mural of a man walking through a field of flowers. He was wearing a silky white robe, and had beautiful, long, flowing light brown hair, flawless olive skin and a sweet smile.
“That has got to be the most effeminate looking picture of Jesus I have ever seen,” I exclaimed.
“It is creepy,” Cathy said.
Feeling awkward and uncomfortable, we left and went back to our walk.
The sad thing is, someone actually thought Jesus was like that. I guess they never read Mark chapter eleven.

They came to Jerusalem, and He went into the temple complex and began to throw out those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers ‘ tables and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple complex. 17 Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!” Mark 11:15-17

I cannot wait to get to heaven and see the video of this event. Imagine Jesus bursting into the temple, and like a bar bouncer, grabbing men by the scuff of the neck and tossing them out the door. Picture him throwing over their tables and gold coins rolling everywhere. See him pulling chairs out from under the money changers. Imagine him standing with his arms outraised, refusing to permit anyone from even walking through the temple area who was not there on spiritual matter. He did not want anyone using it for a travel or transportation short-cut.
Now picture him probably doing all of this with a whip in his hands (see John 2:15)!

Sounds more like Rambo Jesus than wimpy Jesus.
Something must have really ticked him off.

The Gentile Court

Let me give you a bit of context. The temple complex was divided into four primary sections. In the rear and elevated above the others was the Court of the Priests, containing the Holy of Holies. Next to it was the Israel’s Court, where Jewish men were permitted. Then the Women’s Court, which as was far as Jewish women were allowed. Below these, and larger than all of them combined, was the vast Court of the Gentiles. The Jews had lost respect for what this court was intended to be – a place where Gentiles from all nations could come and meet with God. Jesus was incredibly passionate about the things of God. The Jews behind the money tables were passionate about making money. They were extorting the spiritual pilgrims by exchanging their currency into special temple coins. They were selling them overpriced approved oxen, sheep and birds for sacrifices. Jesus said that they had made God’s house into a den of thieves. In doing this, they had lost the purpose for which the temple existed – to be a place where people from all nations come and meet with God. Understanding this makes it obvious why Jesus was so upset. When the temple was being used for something less than a house of prayer it so infuriated Jesus that he drove the defilers out. Then He predicted that the physical temple would soon be destroyed. Seeing such a display of His authority, plus losing their source of extra income so angered the priests that they plotted to have Jesus killed (Mark 11:18).

A House of Prayer

This was an extremely important incident in the life of Jesus that is often overlooked. Jesus was willing to make a spectacle in the temple and face death in order to remind people that God’s house must be a place of prayer, and not be something less than that. If Jesus took the prayer ministry of His people that seriously, how much more should you and I!

At Grace City Church (www.gracecityvegas.com)

• Our passion is to join God on mission for the nations.
• Our objective is to launch a church planting movement.
• Our goal is to become a disciple-making movement.
• Our strategy is to be a church devoted to prayer.
• Our plan is to become a house of prayer for all nations.
• Our practice is to gather for corporate prayer at least once a week.

Notes

1. Thom Rainer, Giant Awakenings: Making the Most Of 9 Surprising Trends That Can Benefit Your
Church, (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 1995) 23.
This article is adapted from Pastoral Leadership Is…: Leading God’s Church with Passion and
Confidence to be released by B&H Academic in 2012

God’s Chosen Fast

Most of us would assume that God would be very impressed with religious activity and religious study, especially if it is combined with fasting. Yet, the truth is not so much. In fact, God blasts His people for fasting with wrong motives (Isaiah 58:1-5). Then He outlines the right motives and rich rewards of fasting for the right reasons. Take a minute and read it carefully.
This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
 to break the chains of injustice,
 get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
 free the oppressed,
 cancel debts
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
 sharing your food with the hungry,
 inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
 putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
 being available to your own families.
Do this and
 the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way.
 The God of glory will secure your passage.
 Then when you pray, God will answer.
 You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
If you:
 get rid of unfair practices,
 quit blaming victims,
 quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
 If you are generous with the hungry and
 start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
[Then]
 Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
 I will always show you where to go.
 I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones.
 You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
 You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the
foundations from out of your past.
 You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild
and renovate, make the community livable again.
Isaiah 58:6-12 MSG
One of the primary practices of the Grace City Church leadership team is
following the practice of the early church by fasting at least one day a week. Currently
many of us are fasting from after lunch on Sunday until lunch on Monday. We are
linking this with a Sunday evening prayer gathering to corporately pray through
Scripture together.
This past Sunday evening when we met to pray, our text was Isaiah 58. As we
prayed, we were challenged deeply in two major areas:
First, be sure that our weekly fast days are being done for the right motives.
Second, make a commitment to spend ourselves for the hungry, poor and
homeless.
At Grace City Church (www.gracecityvegas.com)
Our passion is to join God on mission for the nations.
Our objective is to launch a church planting movement.
Our goal is to become a disciple-making movement.
Our strategy is to be a church devoted to prayer.
Our plan is to practice a weekly day of fasting mixed with using the money
saved to help the hurting, helpless, hungry and homeless.v

Devoted to Prayer

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers. Acts 2:42 bolding added
The first church was a church on fire because it was a church on its knees. Prayer was built into the DNA of the first church. It was a priority, a practice, a lifestyle, a habit, and a passion. It is impossible to read the book of Acts without repeatedly running into prayer as prayer is mentioned thirteen times in the first fourteen chapters (see Acts 1:14-15; 2:42; 3:1: 4:25-31; 6:4,6: 9:40; 10:2,4,31; 11:5; 13:2-3; 14:23).
When we look at the church globally, we see that where the church devotes itself to prayer, the lost are being saved and the church is strong and growing. Where prayer is neglected, the church is in decline.
Devoted to “prayers.”
Notice the plural ending on the word ―prayer.‖ Possibly because they were motivated by the example of David and Daniel, the pattern of establishing three daily prayer times daily was adopted by the Jews and was regularly practiced by the early church. (Psalm 55:17; Dan. 6:10). Regarding the Jewish pattern of prayer, church father, Tertulian says,
“As regards the time, there should be no lax observation of certain hours—I mean of those common hours which have long marked the divisions of the day, the third, the sixth, and the ninth, and which we may observe in Scripture to be more solemn than the rest” 1
At the time he wrote those words, the day started at 6 AM. Therefore, the third, sixth, and ninth hours represent 9 AM, noon, and 3 PM. So everyone in the church devoted themselves to praying three times a day – 9, 12, and 3. The Jewish world also offered prayer three times daily in the temple – during the morning sacrifice, and the evening sacrifice, and at sunset
The early church enjoyed the manifold blessings of seeing God work mightily in their midst and the lost saved daily because they were devoted to prayer and prayers. They lived a prayer commitment everyday at least several times a day. One church leader (Hippolytus, in the beginning of the third century) advocated praying at least six times a day. If we want what they had, we must do what they did.
If you are home, pray at the third hour [9 nine o’clock in the morning] and bless God.
But if you are somewhere else then, pray to God in your heart…Pray likewise at the
sixth hour [noon]… Let a great prayer and a great blessing be offered also at the
ninth hour [three o’clock in the afternoon]…Pray as well before your body rests on
it’s bed. But toward midnight rise up, wash your hands and pray…And at the
cockcrow rise up and pray once more.2
At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson was the first Protestant missionary sent from
North America to minister in Burma (now known as Myanmar). Although he had waited
six years for his first convert, he later planted churches and translated the Bible in to
Burmese. Sometime after his death a government survey recorded 210,000 Christians,
one out of every fifty-eight Burmese!
His advice to rising spiritual leaders is very challenging. Pray seven times a day!
Endeavor seven times a day to withdraw from business and company and lift up thy
soul to God …Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid
the silence and darkness of the night to this sacred work. Let the hour of opening
dawn find thee at the same work. Let the hours of nine, twelve, three, six, and nine
at night witness the same. Be resolute in thy cause. Make all practical sacrifices to
maintain it. Consider that thy time is short and that business and company must not
be allowed to rob thee of thy God.3
At Grace City Church (www.gracecityvegas.com)
Our passion is to join God on mission for the nations.
Our objective is to launch a church planting movement.
Our goal is to become a disciple-making movement.
Our strategy is to be a church devoted to prayer.
Our practice is to attempt to follow the early church pattern of prayer three
times a day.
Notes
1. Tertullian, De Oratione”, xxiii, xxv, in P.L., I, 1191-3).
2. Hippolytus, Apostalic Tradition, quoted in Boniface Ramsey, Beginning to Read the Fathers,
(Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1985), p. 165-166
3. Adoniram Judson, as quoted by Bounds, Power Through Prayer, p. 40.
This article is adapted from Pastoral Leadership Is…: Leading God’s Church with Passion and Confidence to be
released by B&H Academic in 2012