People Sharing Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is about so much more than everlasting life.  When Jesus broke the chains of death, he boldly declared that we should be people of endless hope.  We who know the Lord Jesus can never give up because we know that there is always a final word to be said, and that word belongs to God.  As Christians we have every reason to believe that something wonderful can come to pass even when all external evidence says that a good ending is impossible.  I not only believe this, but I have experienced it over and over.  Never has this been more evident to me than right now.  By Friday evening on that fateful day our Lord was crucified, there was apparently not one soul who saw any hope of a turnaround in the story of Jesus.  Those closest to Him were in hiding, frightened of their own danger in such an environment.  Sunday came and everything changed.  Fearful men and women began a journey toward an indomitable courage that turned the world upside down.

What have you given up on in your journey as a Christian?  Have you given up on some struggle in your walk?  Have you given up on the spiritual condition of a family member or a friend?  Never give up!  We are Easter people in a Good Friday world.  The greatest movements and moments in the history of Christianity have risen out of the ashes of seeming ruin.  Watch and pray and recapture the wonder of the resurrection.  Not just Easter Sunday, but every Sunday should be a reminder that not even death itself can defeat us when our faith is the Everliving One.

Dan Wooldridge

Crestview Baptist Church had the wonderful privilege of hosting an Engage Evangelizing Texas Conference early this year.  We also were asked to lead breakout sessions at conferences in San Antonio and Victoria.  Having the opportunity to participate in three of these and also have inside information about the other locations, I think I am in a great position to give a pastor’s perspective on them.

The Content was excellent.  My only regret was that I did not get to visit every breakout.  Any pastor or leader who could not get helpful ideas from these events would have had to sleep through them.  The personal contact with people who were doing effective evangelism is far more helpful than reading a book or an article on the internet.  If it were just as easy to be shaped by a book, God should have sent a book instead of sending his Son.  There will never be a substitute for the Incarnate Son of God, and there will never be a substitute for the incarnate testimony or conference.  Disciples are made face to face and hand to hand.

The attendance was disappointing.  I am astonished at the lack of interest in seeking greater effectiveness in evangelism that exists in our day.  I am personally aware of hundreds of churches that are weaker than they have been in thirty years.  It is incredible to me that the leaders of these churches are so apathetic that they would not take advantage of an opportunity to consider new and fresh ideas. I am left to conclude either that they arrogantly assume that they know all that needs to be known, that they are reduced to reading books or copying megachurch ideas, or that they just don’t care.  If the statistics mean anything, the third assertion is probably correct.  I have actually seen more ministries destroyed by copying megachurches than I have seen success stories.  The statewide leaders tell me that Crestview was the most successful Engage event of 2010 and even it was not nearly so well attended by pastors as I would have hoped.  I am sure these leaders would say they had more important things to do, but I must ask what is more important to our Lord than reaching people?  If they were engaged in an actual evangelistic event at the time of the conference nearest them, then I would heartily agree that this would be more important.

There was one very bright spot.  The Hispanic Engage Conferences were a huge success.  Thousands attended and several hundred salvations were recorded.  Maybe God is going to raise up a new set of leaders in Texas.  Maybe they just care more than those who have led in the past.  In my personal opinion we have a very narrow window of opportunity to turn the state of church life in Texas around.  I am praying earnestly for a new day for evangelism in Texas.

One final note.  I want to heartily commend the churches in Victoria who are committed to making 13000 personal home contacts as a part of Hope 2010.  They have challenged me to consider expanding our own vision from the current 10000 visits we are involved in.

Dan Wooldridge

Doug was baptized on Sunday.  His journey has been a journey toward grace and joy.  Doug called me in 2009 to tell me that I had been recommended to him by a friend.  Anita had suggested that he needed to visit with me.  Doug was what I would call an agnostic.  If I understood him correctly, he had been pretty much of an athiest previous to the call, but had become convinced that there is a God.  He had grave doubts about Scripture and about Jesus being the Son of God.  Doug told me that he had been reading my blog and that as a journalist he could really help me with my writing.  When my response was a hearty laugh and ready admission that I could use the help, I think we became friends immediately.  I asked Doug if he was willing to be intellectually honest with his doubts.  When he looked puzzled, I said, “What I mean is are you willing to explore them?”  He said he was and I congratulated him on being open.  I remarked that most doubters and agnostics are unwilling to examine their doubts and therefore are not intellectually honest with their doubts.  We talked for around an hour and then I gave him two books to read.  I gave him Josh McDowell’s, More than a Carpenter and Lee Stroebel’s, The Case for Christ.  He read them both.  His heart was opened up to new possiblilities.  It was obvious.  Then Doug disappeared.  I wondered what happened to him.  Some time later I got a call from him in Houston where he was staying with his parents.  Doug had gotten very sick and could not work.  We talked a long time and I prayed for him over the phone.  Doug was barely able to speak for the sobs after we prayed.  Later he told me that Christ had come into his life.  He visited our church on previous occasion and was overwhelmed with the love and kindness he was shown.  The next time he came was last Sunday.  He came to be baptized.  From the baptistry he gave his testimony and read a Scripture.  It was 2 Corinthians 5:17.  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  Those who know Doug best can readily testify that this Scripture has been fulfilled in his life.  Here is another Scripture for you my friend, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)

Dan Wooldridge

The world often overlooks the very ones that they should celebrate.  Today I want to celebrate an unsung hero.  My wife, Shannon, has never sought the spotlight.  She never wants to be on the platform or presiding over some organization.  She is a wonderful wife and mother, an excellent artist, a creative designer who has done interior design on homes and churches, an amazing cook, a loyal friend, a listening ear, and recently has become a world class grandmother who still looks like she might be in her early forties.  Every time someone congratulates me for some new accomplishment or just for the ongoing work of ministry, some of that should go to Shannon.  No pastor ever had a more nourishing place of refuge in his home than I do.  She knows me better than anyone except the Lord and loves me anyway.  She has been my encourager and my kind critic.  I am constantly aware of God speaking to me through her prayerful observations and suggestions.  She constantly prepares me in a crisis by discerning in advance when something is not right in the lives of people in our churches or in our circle of acquaintance.  She has given me advance notice about a coming crisis on many occasions through a strong spiritual gift of discernment which she possesses.  When I look at my children and grandchildren, I am keenly aware of the crucial role she has wonderfully fulfilled in their lives.  They have been loved passionately by her, and they all know it.  She is a Proverbs 31 lady, and I could not be me without her.  She is my unsung hero, and I am singing for her today.

Dan Wooldridge

In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians chapter five and verse seventeen he wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.  As the signs of spring are gathering around us, I am praying for many to experience a “springtime of their soul”.  God speaks to us this time of year of new beginnings.  It is interesting that the Resurrection of Christ during the season of Passover corresponds for the people of that day and of our own with the springtime.  To be sure there are places on the globe where this is not true.   However, in the land where Jesus lived, and in the land where we live, we have the added message of the glory of springtime to call our hearts to new life.  For some this could be the first springtime of new life in Jesus Christ.  People are coming to Jesus all around us.  Perhaps many more may yet come to Him in this glorious season of the year.  For others this may be a time of refreshing.  There can be new springtimes in the soul when we return to the Lord after a long, cold winter of wandering from Him.  With all of the rain we have enjoyed, this is going to be a beautiful spring in Texas.   Join me in praying for a moving of God’s Spirit that is even more beautiful.  If God can clothe the fields with flowers, He can make something beautiful of your life.

                                                           Dan Wooldridge

Since I wrote about the need for life long learning, I think it would be good to write about some things that I am learning in 2010.

1. The problem in our churches is a leadership problem.  People have not changed as much as I thought they had.  What we desperately need is for a new generation of leaders to rise up.  Please do not think I am talking about the church that I serve to the exclusion of others.  I have many opportunities to visit and dialogue with other churches.  Selecting, equipping, and delegating to leaders is the key to progress.  None of us can do it all.  Pastor’s who are focused on the Lord and faithful to their tasks still can see the power of the Spirit to draw people to Jesus.

2. Prayer is more powerful than I had known.  Having preached and taught about prayer since 1972, I am learning that there are breakthroughs happening around me that I can only attribute to prayer.

3.The information age is amazing.  Never has so much information been so readily available.  It seems tragic to me that in such an age people have time to “twitter”.

4.The harvest is plenteous.  I am making more contacts than at any other time in my life, and I am astounded at the openness which I am finding.  The stress of these times may be opening a new door of opportunity for witness and ministry.

5.The most important investments we make are in the lives of people, beginning with those of our own family.  As I think of my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, I see that every moment I have given to them is of incredible worth.  God’s blessings to me from my family are amazing.  Time invested with them is time well spent.  In fact, giving people your time is always of great worth.  Of course, I mean by this that we should give in a manner that is true to the Lord we serve. Material things are pale in comparison to the radiant faces of those in whose lives we have made a difference.

Dan Wooldridge

One of the most insightful comments I ever heard was when someone was spoken of as having twenty years of experience in ministry.  A person standing to one side, commented, “No, they have one year’s experience twenty times.”  As hard as that might be to hear, it is amazingly true.  People as a rule do not want to try new things.  They do not want to read new books or listen to new ideas.  Hardly anyone is immune to this reality.  Growth by its very nature requires change.  As a pastor, I must hasten to insist that some things must never change.  The unchanging truths of God’s Word must be held to tenaciously.  The ways we teach, minister, connect, engage, disciple, evangelize, worship, and generally carry on the work of God can go through many changes.  Established churches should be changed like a ship turning at sea.  There are not sudden turns only gradual adjustments.  Care must be given to explain the reasons for the necessity for change.  There must be a willingness to drop things that have ceased to be effective.  We must not just do things because we do them, if you understand what I mean.  We also must not be guilty of not doing things just because we don’t do them.  I was once a guest in revival in a traditional church where myself and the pastor sat on the platform during the service.  We were singing hymns and I began to sing with gusto.  The pastor turned to me and said, “We don’t sing.”  I replied, ” We don’t?  What do we do?” He said, “We read our bibles.”  It was a long week.  There are churches that have dug in and refused to try things that would be very effective simply because they have decided in advance that it just isn’t their way of doing ministry.

In your personal life, you too can be guilty of doing the same thing year after year.  I dare you to journal your activities for one day.  Note what you did each hour.  Then consider things you always wanted to do or meant to do, but never had the time.  You simply must realize that you have just as much time as the greatest movers and shakers who ever lived on this planet.  What they have in common is that they mastered their time and kept working on their game.  Go thou and do likewise.

Dan Wooldridge

I have always been a little cautious about listening to NDE testimonies.  That is “Near Death Experiences”.  I made an exception by inviting Don Piper to Crestview some time back.  The crowds were amazing which came to hear his story.  I was able to personally interview him and ask him some questions about his own understanding of what happened to him.  His visions were real.  He had no other explanation for them except that he walked on the edge of eternity for a time. (90 minutes)  One fact that he shared with me was that his left arm was severed in the accident and that bleeding to death was almost certain given the amount of time and the seriousness of his injury.  At any rate he lived and uses his story to encourage people to find a “new normal” beyond great experiences of pain and loss.

I think I need to explain why I am reluctant to focus on NDE testimonies.  My authority for the hereafter is the Word of God.  I do not and I will not base my beliefs about eternity on someone’s testimony of having died and returned.  The one who truly died and returned is my Savior, Jesus Christ.  His resurrection was from the full experience of death and not a NDE.  Such testimonies are interesting and can lend some support to the fact that people are more than flesh and blood.  People also have a spiritual nature.  They exist beyond the body.  J. P. Moreland has written on this subject in several articles and journals.  He is a true intellectual who has documented evidence of life beyond or outside of the body.

Concerning Dr. Maurice Rawlings, he was the personal physician to President Eisenhower.  He was a respected cardiologist.  I had heard his name, but had not known his credentials until this year.  Rawlings was an athiest until 1979.  In 1979 he was attending to a heart patient who died while being treated.  He revived the patient and was confronted by a terrified man whose hair stood on end.  The patient pleaded that he not be allowed to pass away again.  He cried out “I am in hell!”  Rawlings became a Christian shortly thereafter.  He was absolutely convinced that the message of Scripture is accurate and that there is judgement for the unprepared beyond death.  He then began to document other similar experiences.  He noted that unlike the positive experiences, those with negative experiences were not so inclined to talk.  Those who did talk had undergone a profound change in their lives.  There are videos on the internet of those testimonies.  If you view them, just remember that Maurice Rawlings was a doctor not a preacher.  He was highly educated.  He walked in the highest circles of power and influence.  Maurice Rawlings passed away in Chattanooga, Tennessee on January 5th, 2010.  He leaves behind several books and movies showing his research.  You should check them out.

Dan Wooldridge