Category Archives: Christian Walk

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November 10, 2015

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Christian Life, Christian Walk

Why the Relevance Versus Obedience Argument Isn’t As Relevant As We Think

Phil CookeBy Phil Cooke

This blog post originally appeared at www.PhilCooke.com and has been reprinted with permission. Phil Cooke is one of our keynote speakers at the Mission & Ministry Summit, July 18-20, 2016 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

I have to admit that I’m growing weary of the “Is it better to be relevant or obedient” arguments. Frankly, it’s wasting a lot of time and energy, plus, it’s causing division and isn’t helping the cause. Here’s why:

1. We’re not even using the word correctly.

By definition, “relevance” isn’t about popularity, being cool, being liked, or by extension, compromise. Relevance is about the right thing at the right time. It’s about being connected to the matter at hand. It’s about the right tool, strategy, message, or idea that fills a need. What could be more important in sharing the gospel? By misinterpreting and condemning the word “relevance” we’re closing the door on important and critical ways it could be used to reach this culture with the gospel.

2. Relevance and obedience actually work together.

Using the word correctly, if you’re obedient, then you’re relevant. In our obedience, God uses us to be the right answer at the right time. Anything else is disobedience and irrelevance.

3. The relevance versus obedience argument is a slippery slope.

It can too easily imply our superiority and godliness, and minimize other’s efforts to share the gospel. Are we forgetting that we’re all in this together? We all make mistakes, go too far, don’t go far enough, miss the mark in many ways. Can we just extend a little grace? You say you’re called to “Preach the Holy Ghost with fire.” Great. Knock yourself out. I’m all for it. Just remember that not everyone has the same calling as you – and it’s not our job to decide which is the most important.

4. We use scriptures like 1 Corinthians 1: 18-25 as permission to drive away the very people we’re trying to reach.

That scripture doesn’t give us the right to be pushy, arrogant, weird, or jerks in order to share the gospel. Our weirdness shouldn’t be a badge of honor. “Speaking the truth” doesn’t mean you have to be rude or insensitive when you do it. If the message of the gospel drives people away, so be it. If our behavior, style, or attitude drives people away, it’s wrong.[bctt tweet=”If the message of the gospel drives people away, so be it. If our behavior, style, or attitude drives people away, it’s wrong.”]

Do people compromise in sharing the gospel? Of course. Do others become “theology cops” in their efforts to bring them back in line? You bet.Maybe we should spend more time in the middle. And for what it’s worth, I’m not diminishing doctrine and theology. Let’s just use the right definitions when we teach (or rant via social media.) The stakes are too high in today’s world to waste time just getting the choir amped up.

I’m probably dreaming to think our time would better be spent sharing the gospel with a lost culture than arguing over the wrong definition of a word. Maybe we all should just repent and start over.

But wait – you’re using a fog machine at your church, and that’s not godly – so I’ll need to correct you on Facebook…

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October 19, 2015

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Christian Life, Christian Walk, Family, General Baptists, National Missions, Staying Connected, Staying Strong

An Interview with Gary Baldus – Part 2

This is the last of a two-part post of an interview with Gary Baldus, pastor of New Walk Church in Zephyr Hills, Florida.

General Baptist Ministries asked Gary several questions about his walk with Christ, his calling to ministry and church planting, the personal and ministry connections with General Baptists, and the ongoing work of New Walk Church.

General Baptist Ministries (GBM):  You served as Moderator/Host for the Mission & Ministry Summit in 2013. How did this experience impact you personally? How did it impact New Walk Church?


Gary Baldus (GB):  What an unbelievable experience!  Our church loved it.  They look back on that as one of the coolest things to be involved in that we have ever done by serving all those leaders who traveled to Florida.  It was like a New Walk Event.  We just watched our church rally to the cause. We told them, “We have all these people coming down and these are the General Baptist people who helped us get started.”  They just thought it was awesome that they could serve those people who had invested in New Walk from a distance.

Pastor Gary Baldus

GBM:  As you look to the future what do you see as the greatest challenges for our General Baptist network?

GB:  It all boils down to money and men.  Many are called and few are chosen.  God sifts through people and not all guys are capable to lead church work.  I have people tell me of their call so I give them ministry assignments.  It is not unusual that six months later they are crying because ministry is so hard and they quit.

GBM:  How did your connections with General Baptists aid in the construction of New Walk’s first permanent buildings?

GB:  Our building would not have happened if not for the General Baptist Investment Fund.  This was like when the Kingdom Expansion Campaign was involved at the outset.  This is a faith based thing for us so we had to have someone who believed in us to be the right kind of lender. We are going to spend the next 2-3 years on stabilization and taking care of things to maintain a healthy operational base but if it had not been for a group of people seeing the potential in New Walk we would probably still be in the YMCA setting up and tearing down every time we had a meeting. Continue reading →

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October 13, 2015

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Christian Life, Christian Walk, National Missions, Pastoring, Staying Connected

An Interview with Gary Baldus – Part 1

This is a two-part post of an interview with Gary Baldus, pastor of New Walk Church in Zephyr Hills, Florida.

General Baptist Ministries asked Gary several questions about his walk with Christ, his calling to ministry and church planting, the personal and ministry connections with General Baptists, and the ongoing work of New Walk Church.

General Baptist Ministries (GBM):  How did you come to faith in Christ?  Who/what influenced your decision?

Gary Baldus and family

Pastor Gary Baldus and family

Gary Baldus (GB):  It was probably through the death of my wife’s mother. She had been inviting us to a local General Baptist Church all along in 2001 but I had grown up Christian Science.  Fortunately I didn’t pay too much attention to Sunday School at the Christian Science Church but I paid enough attention to know something about Jesus.  But they so focused on worship of one God and dismissed the Trinity so to them worshipping Jesus as God was a form of idolatry.  When I came into a General Baptist Church that centered on Jesus I was dismissive of it at first.  I remember sitting in the back of the church one day and as I reflected on the death of my mother-in-law and through the preaching of Pastor Bob Harber, I came to faith in Jesus when I was 29 years old.

The teaching of the word was where it happened to me. Then getting the revelation of the truth of the word and getting the whole truth rather than just the segments of Mary Baker Eddy Christian Science teaching, made such a difference for me.  Now, over the last few years I have been able to see several people in my family come to faith in Jesus.

 

GBM:  What are your earliest memories of the church?

GB:  My background was not conducive to where I am today. My faith journey has always been a sensitive issue in some family settings.  My earliest memories were my parents taking us to that Christian Science church, which was a two-minute walk we made every Sunday.

Some things I learned in that early church experience are a cross over into full-blown Christianity.  I got some foundation there but not the whole truth about who Jesus is and what Jesus does.”

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