What kind of Calvanist are you?

 

Either God Is Sovereign Over Everything… or He Isn’t Sovereign at All

There’s something I’ve noticed among certain Christians—especially in some Reformed circles—and honestly, it troubles me.

These folks are quick to affirm the classic five points of Calvinism (TULIP). They’ll passionately defend the truth that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and that God alone is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

And on that, I agree.

But here’s where things start to break down:

Mention how God led you to a particular church…
Or how He brought your spouse into your life at just the right time…
Or how He provided a job that you didn’t even apply for…

And suddenly they say,

“Oh no, that’s not how God works today. You’re being too charismatic.”

Wait—what?

So God sovereignly saves you from sin, death, and hell…
But He doesn’t direct your steps in everyday life?

That’s not sovereignty. That’s compartmentalization.

Either God is sovereign over everything, or He’s not sovereign at all.

---

What the Bible Says

Let’s look at what Scripture actually teaches:

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
— Proverbs 16:9

“He works all things according to the counsel of His will.”
— Ephesians 1:11

“A man’s steps are ordered by the Lord.”
— Psalm 37:23

That’s not just theology—it’s reality.
God is not only sovereign over our salvation… He’s sovereign over our lives.
Every detail. Every day.

---

The Trap of Intellectual Calvinism

Some Christians—especially those shaped by academic, hyper-cessationist thinking—affirm salvation by grace but then live by self-effort. They believe God chose them for salvation but then operate as if they must rely solely on logic, instinct, or planning for the rest of their Christian walk.

That’s inconsistent.

It’s like they believe in justification by the Spirit…
But think sanctification comes by the flesh.

That’s not Calvinism. That’s Galatianism.

---

I’ve Seen God’s Hand

I’m not talking theory—I’ve lived this.

I’ve seen God open doors that no one could have predicted. I’ve watched Him use people, detours, disappointments, and divine appointments to bring about His plan.

• On the mission field.

• In churches.

• In friendships and courtships.

• In ordinary days that turned into turning points.

He didn’t just save me—He’s shepherding me.

If I start believing that God’s sovereignty stops at salvation…
Then what I’m really saying is that the rest of life is up to me.

But I know better.

---

I’m a Calvinist—The Whole Kind

I believe in a sovereign God who:

• Chooses His people before the foundation of the world.

• Regenerates dead hearts through His Spirit.

• Orders our steps—even when we don’t understand the path.

• Works all things for good and for His glory.

That includes marriages, moves, jobs, churches, conversations, delays, divine nudges, and even dreams.

This is not mysticism.
It’s not emotionalism.
It’s not charismatic chaos.

It’s biblical Christianity.

---

Final Thought

If your version of God’s sovereignty only covers salvation and not your story, your steps, or your sanctification—
then it’s too small.

I’d rather believe in a God whose rule is total.
A God whose will is good.
A God who doesn’t just save, but leads.

Because either God is sovereign over everything…
or He isn’t sovereign at all.

Exodus

     I recently read a book that was gripping, relatable, and heartfelt, but ended on a disappointing note.   Aside from the conclusions the author ultimately drew at the end, I would say it is a beautiful book, maybe one of the most enjoyable I've read lately.  I am referring to My Exodus, by Alan Chambers.  In it, Alan shares his story.  He was born into a Christian family, coming to Christ at age six.  Yet he had a problem.  He had unwanted same-sex attraction.  This did not align with his faith.  What was he supposed to do with it?  What is the right way for Christians to minister to those in his predicament, or to anyone identifying as LGBT (etc.)?  

     Alan shares his experience of receiving great help from the ministry Exodus International.  With accountability and God's help, he committed to celibacy.  Eventually, the Lord surprised him by bringing a wonderful Christian woman into his life.  He was attracted to her, and they fell in love.  Alan and Leslie have been happily married for almost thirty years now.  It was very interesting to read about his experience of being attracted to his wife, and at the same time, having these struggles of same-sex attraction.  His insights are invaluable. 

     As a Christian who loves God and people, and wants to stand on biblical truth, I was very interested in this book.  Alan's story has many beautiful parts, especially his love story with Leslie.  In spite of his general attraction to men, Leslie was his first and forever choice, and he is attracted to her.  They share a beautiful marriage and sex-life (nothing graphic was shared about that, but it was addressed).  He fully acknowledges God's work in his life.  He honestly shares his story.  It was engaging to read how a Southern Baptist boy with same-sex attraction went from afraid and alone to being the president of a major ministry that had helped him.  He ended up married to a woman he loves with all his heart.  They have two children.

     It is clear to me that homosexuality is a complicated, nuanced experience that can't be summed up simply.  There is a "bottom line" biblically, in that both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible refer to marriage being created for one man and one woman, and also refer to homosexual acts as being outside of God's will (Genesis 2:24; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Matthew 19:5; Romans 1:26-27).   We need to stand with that truth.  Period.  However, in ministering specifically, everyone is different, and, while we are sticking with God's Word on this issue, we need to pray for guidance in addressing each case with grace and truth.  There are disagreements among Christians about how to best minister to the LGBT (etc) community.  Exodus International started off as a place where those with unwanted same-sex attraction could get help and accountability.  

     There was disagreement about whether someone could "become straight" with no further homosexual desires at all, or if it was a "thorn in the flesh" that the person would have to fight all their lives.  Both positions have biblical basis.  First Corinthians 6:9-10 lists several sins, including homosexuality, concluding in verse 11 with And such were some of you.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  Likewise, Second Corinthians 5:17 says that those who are "in Christ" are new creations.  God can deliver us from all our temptations and sin areas, including homosexuality.  On the other hand, Paul had his thorn in the flesh, shared in Second Corinthians 12:7.  Paul pleaded with God to remove it, but instead, in verse 9, God said, My grace is sufficient.  While we don't know what Paul's problem was, this truth can be applied to all areas, including homosexual desires.  No matter what we're going through, God's grace is sufficient.  Alan said almost all of the people he served in Exodus continued having same-sex attraction to some degree, so experience would seem to indicate the "torn in the flesh" reality was more common than the miraculous deliverance, though there are testimonies of changed lives, such as that of Dennis Jernigan (who wrote the beautiful worship song You are My All in All).  You can read his thoughts and story here.  

     Exodus itself didn’t even have an agreed-upon position about what the participants could expect.  Everyone's story was different.  Alan himself said his attraction to men never diminished, but the temptation did as he enjoyed his wife.  He even likened it to heterosexual people still finding others attractive, but being faithfully committed to their spouses.  

     Alan shares about how Exodus helped him tremendously, and he rose in the ranks to become President in 2001.  He stewarded the ministry until 2013, when the organization closed for good.  There are other, similar ministries in operation today, such as Restored Hope Network (you can look at their website here.).  

     The odd thing was that Alan himself made the choice to close the organization.  His beliefs about homosexuality changed.  He didn't have some "ah-ha" moment while reading the Bible or seeking the Lord.  He just felt it was more compassionate to recognize that homosexuality could be a valid lifestyle.  After everything he had gone through, that was so disappointing to me.  He is still a professing Christian, going to a godly church (from what I can gather), and happily married to his wife.  But he closed an organization of which he was their greatest success story.  He is now deeply critical of what are termed "ex-gay" ministries.  That is, these are ministries that help homosexuals who don't want to live in that lifestyle.  

     Many are critical of groups like Exodus or Restored Hope.  I don't know everything that has gone on in them, so I can't make a statement.  Perhaps there was false teaching.  Perhaps abuses have happened.  I don't know all that is involved.  What I do know is that people have a free will.  If someone has same-sex desires and wants to be counseled in a particular way, he or she has a right to attend a group like this if he or she so wishes.  If not, no one is required.  

     Alan is clearly compassionate, and was deeply saddened by those who shared how they were hurt in Exodus.  In some cases false promises of making participants straight broke their hearts when they weren't able to shake their same-sex attraction.  In other cases, people share that they were hurt by the ministry itself.  Alan decided to become more grace-focused, showering everyone with the love of God.  That is great, however, this is where Alan took steps away from biblical positions.  God's grace and love for all (including LGBT) are biblical.  But God calls all of us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus.  Homosexuals don't get a free pass on that.  

     I don't want to simplify how complex it is.  I'm not homosexual, and can't rightly imagine wrestling with this.  I CAN imagine, however, having to deny raging desires that cannot be righteously fulfilled.  I remained celibate until my wedding night.  That wasn't easy!  I married at 33, so I went through my teens and twenties with these urges I had to deny.  Not only did I have those burning passions, but I also experienced mockery from a world that doesn't know God.  Even some people I love made fun of my commitment to wait until marriage.  Shortly before meeting my husband, I had an attraction (which was mutual) to a male in my life, and it would have been 100% wrong to indulge.  That was a battle I had to fight, but God's grace was sufficient, just as He promises.  God doesn't just ask LGBT folks to deny their desires.  He asks all of us to do right and be conformed to the image of Jesus.  

     You are not your sexual attractions.  You are not your raging passions.  You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (Second Corinthians 5:21).  You have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).  That is how you should "identify."  We have been told a lie by our godless society, that we are our desires, and we can't control them and have no choice but to indulge.  In fact, not indulging is often seen as living a lie, though it isn't.  God gives us a better way.  

     We all have to fight the good fight.  Alan did not share any scriptural revelation that told him it was "okay" to encourage people to embrace the gay lifestyle (because there isn't any scripture that would say that).  He saw some errors in Exodus' premise (some felt they were guaranteed the program would make them straight, which I would agree is a mistake that could have been corrected).  Other people shared that they had been hurt in the ministry (again, I agree that is wrong and should be addressed--but it should also be noted that people have been hurt in all sorts of organizations, not just Christian, and not just those related to homosexuality.  It should all be addressed, but that doesn't mean the whole organization needs to close).  

     Ultimately, though, Alan just felt that encouraging people to go with their desires was kinder than helping them have mastery over them.  That was his error, even if his motives were compassionate.  It might have been compassionate in the immediate sense, but not ultimately.  Leading people away from obedience to Christ leads to destruction, and that is not a kind thing to lead anyone into.  In helping people with any issues at all, we MUST go back to the Bible.  While using the Bible, we MUST also be very merciful, acknowledging what the person is going through,  and that we ourselves need that grace as much as anyone.  But we still can't compromise truth, and I feel that's what Alan did in the end.  Being kind, preaching the Gospel, and letting the Holy Spirit convict are good things.  Approving of sin is a step too far.

     There aren't easy answers in ministering to those in the LGBT (etc) community.  Everyone's story is different.  But God is faithful to His children.  His word is full of promises for believers in their struggles.  The Holy Spirit is the Helper.

Hero Worship and Red Flags

     "This is what I believe, and I won't change my mind!" he told me emphatically.  "So-and-so wrote a book about it, and that has me convinced.  If you read this book, you'll be convinced too!"  

     "If you can show me in the Bible, that would convince me," I told him, and that ended the discussion.  

     The "so-and-so" he had mentioned happened to be a well-respected pastor with widely-accepted orthodox Christian beliefs.  He held a specific position about a non-salvation issue Christian may disagree on (which I don't go into now, as it doesn't contribute to my point here), and had written a book that many believe proved his point.  

     What scared me about that conversation was that this man--a fellow missionary, in fact--was basing his beliefs more on this well-known preacher, when the Bible alone didn't give conclusive reason to hold this particular position conclusively--or at least not this vehemently.  

     I'll say that this particular doctrinal belief wasn't "wrong."  It is one held by many believers.  But many other Christians, who love the Lord and the Bible just as much, have not found the same reasons to hold this belief.  Upon studying the Bible for myself, I also did not take this position.  It wasn't related to salvation, or the inerrancy of scripture, or anything I would consider the important doctrines.  This man was unwilling to agree to disagree.  This was vital to him.  

     This conversation happened several years ago.  I have been reminded of it this week, and, after conversations all week with my husband Walter, and my friends, Deb and Cindy, I have felt led to write about what I'll call hero worship.  

     When I hear the term hero worship, I think of a teenager going wild over their favorite rock band, or having posters of their favorite actors and actresses all over their bedroom walls.  But anyone can fall prey to hero worship, including godly people who like their favorite commentators and preachers too much.  

     It is not wrong to have a Bible teacher you look up to, or even see as a mentor.  I feel that way about Mike Allred, the pastor who performed my wedding, as well as Steven Smith, the pastor my husband and I sat under for about 4 years when we first moved to Arkansas.  Both of these men were deep, expository Bible teachers, and we were spiritually fed by both.  

     Sometimes, the pastor you admire isn't even someone you know personally, but is a famous pastor.  Perhaps he has a large church, or even a seminary under him, and people all over the world listen to his teachings on the radio and online.  There are some preachers like that I also admire, though not as much as the two I mentioned.  

     I love the teaching of the late pastor Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel in Southern California.  I also really enjoy listening to evangelist Greg Laurie, a protege of Chuck Smith's who is a preacher in his own right.  While Chuck Smith was a gifted Bible teacher, Greg Laurie has the gift of evangelism.  His teaching is good, but not as deep as Pastor Chuck's.  His evangelism, on the other hand, is powerful, and many are saved every year from his crusades.  I grew up in Riverside, California, the city where Greg Laurie's church is located.  My high school graduation was even held there.  I took unsaved friends to his crusades.  Another pastor I have more recently become familiar with and appreciate a lot is Andrew Farley, in Lubbock, TX. 

Chuck Smith

 

Greg Laurie

     Maybe you have other well-known ministers you look up to.  My husband loves listening to Jack Hibbs, also affiliated with Calvary Chapel.  There are numerous Bible teachers we can like and enjoy.  We can be fed by them, and it is easier than ever to listen to multiple pastors, due to the internet.  

     Here is where there can be a problem.  Some people start to see these pastors as their lifeline to God.  They take everything they say as if God Himself is saying it.  They don't leave room for human error, or differing beliefs within biblical Christianity (because Bible-believing Christians do disagree sometimes).  It becomes "wrong" to disagree with this favorite pastor.  We quote everything he says, rather than going to the Bible itself for the answers.  

     Some people are prone to believe that in order to like and appreciate a pastor's ministry, they have to agree with him on everything.  You don't!  As much as I love Chuck Smith's teaching, and more recently Andrew Farley's, I don't 100% agree with everything they said.  I don't take every exact theological position they have.  That's okay!  It is okay to disagree with a pastor you admire.  Maybe you're wrong.  Maybe the preacher is!  Maybe you both are!  If you don't think a certrain preacher can be wrong, that is a red flag that you are starting to worship him. 

     If you hear yourself constantly quote a pastor, rather than the Bible, combined with what the Holy Spirit has taught you, that is another red flag.  These pastors are used of God, but they are not to do your thinking and spiritual work for you.  

     There is an important doctrine many forget, and that is the priesthood of ever believer.  This is the teaching that every Christian has direct access to God through Jesus, and we don't need another human mediator in order to access God, study the Bible, or hear from the Holy Spirit.  God deals with us as individuals.  

     Jeremiah 31:34 says, And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.  This does not negate the importance of pastors or leaders, but it does mean that they aren't our lifeline to God.  We answer directly to God.  It is okay to disagree with a pastor, but it is not okay to disagree with God.  God has told us undeniable truth in His word, so we must always align with the Bible.  But on things that Christians may disagree on, due to lack of conclusive clarity in scripture, we have to hold it loosely.  We may draw different conclusions than other believers, even pastors, and that is okay!  We're probably all a little bit wrong about some of these minor things, and we will be righted in Heaven! 

     We are to study the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  In John 16:13, Jesus promised, When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  We have that Holy Spirit in our hearts right now, if we are saved.  He is our teacher so much more than any pastor.  Don't listen to any leader at the expence of hearing from the Holy Spirit for yourself.  First John 4:1 says (I'm quoting out of the Living Bible here),  ...don’t always believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God: test it first to see if it really is...  If you unquestioningly follow everything a pastor says without testing it against the Bible and the Holy Spirit, that is yet another red flag.  

     My friend Cindy and I recently had a very in-depth conversation about this.  She wisely said, "I think a huge issue with most Christians is that they rely on men and women to interpret and apply the Word for them.  They don't trust the Holy Spirit to teach, reproof, correct. etc. them.  So they place their faith in various men and women to fulfill the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives...Surely we need to learn historical context, etc. so we better understand, but [studying the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Sprit] is a very good beginning."  If you are not in the Word yourself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (as opposed to just reading a pastor's commentary), that is a red flag!

     I recently heard someone say that a certain well-loved pastor was the Apostle Paul for our day.  That really struck me as a red flag, because no one today can be the Apostle Paul.  There was only one, and he died about 64 or 65 AD.  Furthermore, the Apostle Paul, while as human as us, and having equal (not greater) access to the Holy Spirit as us, was specifically given a task of writing books of the New Testament.  His words in those books are inspired by God in a way no preacher's today can be.  Don't believe something just because a preacher you think is like the Apostle Paul said it.  He isn't being guided in quite that way.  I do believe the Holy Spirit leads and guides our pastors, but they do not have words equal in authority to scripture.  Don't place that on anyone you know.  You can guess what I say about that--red flag.  

     Someone's ministry may be a blessing to you.  That's great!  That's the purpose.  But please be careful not to get into hero worship.  To recap, here are the red flags I shared (and then I'll close with a couple more):

1) You don't think a certain preacher can be mistaken or wrong

2) You hear yourself quoting this person often, more so than the Bible itself.  

3) You follow everything this pastor says without checking the Bible or letting the Holy Spirit speak to you about it.

4) You are not in the Word by yourself, letting the Holy Spirit speak to your heart before checking commentaries or listening to your favorite preacher.

5) You compare your favorite pastor to Jesus, or the human authors of the Bible, who were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in a way no one today can be.  

Here are a few more red flags for you to think and pray about:

1) You are unwilling to hear any sort of criticism about your favorite pastor.  There is a very loved pastor who recently went to be with the Lord, and I personally had a lot of concerns about him.  My concerns were not popular at all.  Most believers adore him.  To be clear, I didn't disagree with him about the things others love about him.  I just saw and expeirenced some other things that concerned me.  But his followers told me I wasn't really saved if I didn't agree with him on everything.  I was told that to disagree with him means I'm going to hell, and that I have a victim mentality.  The fact that these people weren't willing to even hear a different view (stated kindly) shows that this man had too much control over them.  That is dangerous.  If you don't like Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie, or Andrew Farley and you tell me what your concerns are, I will never, ever jump on your case.  I'll listen and take what you say seriously.  I may or may not agree, but I don't think disliking them is the same as disliking Jesus!  

2) You are not allowed to question or disagree with this person, or you feel guilty for questioning or disagreeing with him.  It is never, ever wrong to ask questions.  God allows it!  In Acts 17:11, the Bereans were commended for searching the scriptures to make sure what Paul told them was right.  Many cults don't allow questions, and if your pastor or favorite leader doesn't want to be held accountable or questioned, that is a red flag!  If you simply feel guilty for questioning and disagreeing, this person himself might not be the problem, but you might be holding him in too high a regard. 

3) Fellow Christians who disagree with this person are viewed as your enemies.  Christians are not your enemy!  

4) You don't read or listen to godly people with different views on these non-essential doctrines from your favorote preacher.  I am Baptist, but I respect and listen to biblical teaching from some who may differ from me on certain teachings, such as the late R.C. Sproul (who was Presbyterian), Shane Idleman (who is more charismatic than I am), and several from Methodist, Pentecostal, and even one particular Seventh-Day Adventist.  I glean a lot from all of them, but I always go back to the Bible for what I really believe.  

     In Conclusions, don't follow any leader at all cost.  Don't put them equal to or above God or the Bible.  Don't get into hero worship.  This leader has nothing you don't have!  You have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit!  You need solid teaching, but not to replace the Holy Spirit and the Bible for you, personally!  Read your Bible, pray every day, and you'll GROW!  

Autopsy of a Deceased Church

     "I'll let this church die before I let that happen!"  A church member declared angrily in a very heated meeting.  

     Eight years later, he would get his wish.  

     What was this heated meeting about, and how did it end up leading to the death of a church that seemed to be growing and thriving at the time of this meeting?  That is the subject of a fascinating book I just finished, entitled, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, by Thom S. Rainer.  I will put a link to order this book at the end.  

     The topic of struggling and dying churches is fascinating to me.  The church I loved as a little girl died.  It went from a happy place, complete with a school, and family involvement almost every day of the week, to an empty building, which has now been demolished, and is the site of a grocery store today.  Newer residents of that community (meaning residents that weren't there in the 20th century) have no idea of the hopes, dreams, friendships and heartbreak that happened at that spot.  They don't know about the Christmas caroling parties, the Easter plays, the closeness, the mission trips, the truths committed to hearts.  I learned how to look up verses in the Bible at that church.  In fact, the teacher who taught me how has recently been in touch with our ministry, and is a prayer partner.  

AWANA awards night 1990.  I am walking down after getting my award.  Everyone you could see were important to me, and some are still dear friends today.  Less than ten years after this picture was taken, the church closed down for good (though no one in 1990 would have believed that).  We were all part of something wonderful and life-changing together, and then it was gone.

     As an older teen and young adult, we went to another church--one that still exists, but is really small now.  I referred to that church in the previous post, about my friend Shelba.  That church had existed since 1927 (and was 70 years old when we joined in 1997).  A few months earlier, it had been about to die, but the handful of members left called a very enthusiastic man to pastor.  He was a visionary, and an evangelist.  He had a gift, and under his ministry, the church did so much outreach.  So many were saved, and the church grew to about 120 people.  It was an active church, always doing ministry, sending out missionaries.  The core members who had joined were very outreach-oriented.  Sadly, when this pastor retired in the 2000's, there was some manipulation and foul play about selecting the next pastor.  Many of the people who really wanted what was right and wanted to do outreach felt they couldn't succeed against the tactics being used, and they all quietly left, and went to different churches.  Without as many of these ministry-minded people there, the church shrunk drastically.  They called a kind man to be there pastor.  There wasnt much action at that time.  Many were content with mediocrity.  There appeared to be no vision for more.  No more concern for the lost.  They cut their missions giving from the budget.  I was a missionary by that time, and I was cut.  I remember the new pastor leading a study about the differences between Mormonism and Christianity.  Almost no one came for it, and even for those who did, there was no follow-up plan to actually witness to any Mormons.  

     I had remained friendly with this church, but was actually attending another church in town.  In my late 20's, I felt led to return and try to really revamp the children's ministry.  I acted on a deeply-rooted passion.  Perhaps it was seeing my childhood church die.  Or perhaps it was seeing this other church I had loved at the brink of death.  But I believe the Holy Spirit led.  I worked hard.  Rachel (who is my cousin, and was also my roommate at the time), helped me.  We got about 15 kids coming to the church (which doubled the attendance, because that's roughtly how many adults we had).  We did Sunday school, children's church, fun outreaches to families.  We had a dinner theater while the kids performed the play of A Charlie Brown Christmas.  We did evangelism in the nearby neighborhoods.  We went Christmas caroling in the community.  We took the older kids on mini-mission trips.  We shared the Gospel at the county fair.  We had Sunday school picnics and other outings.  Deep discipleship happened over those years. 

Children in our VBS during that time--the certificates they're holding are for scripture memorization.

     And yet when I got married and moved away, no one was carrying on with this ministry (Rachel also moved away), and it dwindled again.  Today, that church is very, very small.  I don't know what the future holds.  Their current pastor is an excellent Bible teacher.  If he had come as the next pastor right after the visionary from the 90's, I think that church would never have lost all those ministry-minded people.  

     Now, in our ministry here in Arkansas, God is leading my husband and me to do ministry with struggling little churches.  The church we have joined was a dying church when we met them, with seven members, all senior citizens.  Through partnering with them, we have seen the membership grow to about 40, all ages.  We've seen whole families baptized together in that church.  That church is now full of outreach-minded people.  

Some of the kids at our church, in line at a recent potluck (adults hadn't come in yet).

     Other small churches we partner with are seeing growth, and we are feeling our passion ignited.  We feel this is our calling right now.  With all of this being shared, you can understand why this book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church was such a powerful read to me.  

     So why did my childhood church die?  Why did my young adult church decline?  Why have some of the churches we now work with come so close to death?  Autopsy of a Deceased Church attempts to answer these questions, and help find solutions for churches before it is too late.  We can learn a lot from these autopsies.  

 

     Thom Rainer conducted autopsies on fourteen churches that had died.  He shared a lot of anecdotes and patterns to serve as warnings.  There were several points.

     For one thing, churches that died generally had "good old days" that were in the distant past, and the membership were not really trying to do anything in the present, but instead lived off those past victories.  Past victories matter.  There are so many recorded in the Bible to build our faith.  It's wonderful to remember, and know that there are still "ripple effects" of these past victories happening today.  And yet we can't live on past victories.  We can't stay stuck in a rut.  We have to keep running the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1).  Isaiah 43:19 has always been a favorite of mine:  Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.  God has something new in store, and we'll miss it if we're living on past victories.  

     I remember visiting a church in the California desert years ago. Upon walking in, I saw many framed pictures on the wall showing groups of children.  A closer look revealed that these were the church's kids at camp different years.  The year was printed on each picture.  I looked at each one, and saw the most recent year was almost twenty years earlier.  What had happened since then?  But there was more.  This church had once had a very active AWANA club, and the AWANA awards earned from Bible quizzing and AWANA Olympics decorated walls, in very prominent places. And yet the most recent year was again, decades earlier.   In the Sunday school rooms, there were world naps on the walls, with prayer cards of missionaries the church supported.  And yet the maps were outdated, with nations that no longer existed.  The missionary prayer cards were all black and white, and looked quite old.  

     I ended up attending the adult Sunday school class.  One of the elderly men referred to "current events" such as "that conflict in Nam."  I expected everyone to laugh, as if it were a joke, but he was serious, snd everyone acted as if what he said was valid.  I began to wonder if I really had gotten into a time warp!  

     In the worship service, I was the only adult without gray hair.  There were about 5 kids in children's church, all grandchildren or great-grandchildren of members.  

     This church was living on past victories.  There was something disconcerting about it, while at the same time, fatally attractive.  

     Another mark of a dead church is that members no longer prayed together, in a deep, real, Book-of-Acts way.  Many of these churches just recited prayer during the service out of habit or obligation, but it hardly qualified as prayer.  I love Acts 12, about Peter's miraculous release from prison.  After he was released, he made his way to John Mark's house, where believers were praying for him!  That kind of fervent prayer will keep a church alive.  

     

     Still another commonality found in the autopsies of dead churches involved demanding "my way" more than God's way (conflicting over music, service times, church property, etc.).  The book gave some crazy examples.  One church split over whether or not to buy a new pulpit.  The group that wanted to keep the old one left and started a new church with the old pulpit.  It only lasted two years before disbanding.  The older church that ended up getting a new pulpit closed down seven years later.  These kinds of squabbles have nothing to do with kingdom business.  It doesn't mean they don't need to be addressed ever.  It simply means they don't deserve that high of a priority.  

     Losing evangelistic fervor was a huge red flag in these church autopsies.  When churches stop being burdened for the lost in their community, they're on the road to death.  It may be a slow death.  It may take years.  But it's coming, unless something changes!  I have shared in other posts how important evangelism is to me.  Jesus's very last command was to preach the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8).  If a church isn't doing this, they are in disobedience.   

     A close cousin of this problem was losing love toward the community.  Sometimes, a changing demographic in a neighborhood goes unnoticed by those inside the walls of the church.  This can involve racial change, economic class change, or somethong else.  These members want to do things the way they always have, but those things are no longer effective.  The members don't care.  They make no effort to reach out to the community.  They do things that reached the community thirty years ago, and when it doesn't work, they pass it off as hard-heartedness on the part of the community.  They might hold some sort of outreach, but expect those in the community to come to them.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).  As His people, we are to seek out those who need Him.  With rare exceptions, they're not going to just come to us.  

     A common (but not universal) thread was that churches that had died had had a revolving door with pastors the last several years in operation.  Their stubbornness and selfishness wore these poor ministers down, and they really couldn't lead.  Feeling they couldn't accomplish anything, they left.  The few churches autopsied that had longer-term pastors had a different problem.   The pastors simply adopted the attitude of the people, and served their whims, rather than lead.  

     These were all things observed in these autopsies.  Thom Rainer put churches in four categories: Healthy churches, which he estimates to be about 10% of churches; Sick churches (that is, they are showing some signs toward death), which he said were about 40%; Very sick churches (those almost beyond repair, and which can only survive if real repentance and drastic action happens), which were also 40%; and finally, dying churches (no hope--only a matter of time), which were at 10%.  The book ended with advice for sick, very sick, and dying churches.  There was hope for sick churches, but action required.   There was a glimmer of hope for very sick churches, but a lot more action was required.   For dying churches, the advice was about dying well.  Some ideas were given, such as giving their building to a new church plant that needed one.  The sacrifice would allow their church's death to give life to another.  That's what our faith is all about.   

     The only issue not addressed in this book was corrupt leadership that can close even large and seemingly-thriving churches (for further insight, listen to the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill).  

     This was a sobering read for me, and it made me revisit some tender memories.  The universal church (Christ's body) will never die (on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18).  Individual congregations do die, though.  It hurts when that happens.  That is why my husband and I have a great love for these struggling churches.  Our heart is reflected in the last verse of the song Shout to the North.   I will close with these lyrics: Rise up church with broken wings.  Fill this place with songs again, of our God who reigns on high.  By His grace again we'll fly.  

To order the book, go to https://a.co/d/bKSLNMg

Dream Come True

      Last night (July 6, 2025) the earth lost a great saint of the church, and Heaven gained a resident who has been waiting to be there her whole life, who had stored up so many treasures there that it was already her home.  My dear old friend, Shelba Williams, passed from this side of eternity to the other--the life (as C.S. Lewis put it in The Last Battle), which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

     Shelba is important to so many people for so many reasons, but part of the reason she made a difference to me was that she facilitated the realization of my first dream coming true.  

     As Christians, we have to be careful about our dreams.  We need to let the Holy Spirit guild our decisions, and fill our hearts with His desires.  We need to be in the Word, and making sure we are in step with what God has said.  When we are walking in the Spirit, following His leading, and delighting in Him, I believe the dreams in our hearts are often His will for us, placed there by Him.  Psalm 37:4 says, Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Verse 23 in the same chapter says, The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way.

     So what was my big dream?  I was sixteen years old when it came to fruition, so you could guess what it might be.  But you're probably wrong.  I didn't dream of money, fame, popularity, or romance (okay, I did dream about romance, but that wasn't my biggest dream!).  

     When I was younger, I had been part of a wonderful church community, where everyone was close, and we were there many days a week.  We also had a school, and all of us kids were together a lot, and started to grow up together.  I didn't know insecurity back then.  One of my favorite things about that whole time in my life had been attending AWANA on Wednesday nights.  Not only was it a time of closeness with friends and teachers who loved us and invested in us, but it was a time and place of getting deep into God's word.  I was with a lot of these people other days. of the week too, but AWANA was a deeper connection.  I would venture to guess that more than half the verse I can recite today were learned in AWANA.  The Lord really ministered to me in AWANA.  I made resolves in my life, and built deep, real friendships that still exist today.

With my siblings in front of our church/school.  I'm the tallest one, at left.  We got there early to get this taken.  It was on our 1991 Christmas cards.

     Right as I was going into junior high, that church family fell apart.  There is a whole story behind that, which isn't important to this post.  Suddenly, all the friends and teachers I had known were far away, and my family felt alone.  We joined another church, and there were some good moments.  God did a lot in my life then, actually, but there was also a lot of hurt that still affects me to this day.  

     When I was a Freshman in high school, we joined yet another church.  I was emotionally hurting.  I distrusted people, and it is understandable after some of what I had experienced.  But my deepest heart's desire was to be in a church family that loved me, and to be a leader in AWANA, the way my leaders had loved and impacted me.  That was my deepest dream.  I wanted to make that kind of difference.  I wanted to create that kind of impact that was made in my life--and maybe even get back what I had lost.  

     This new church we joined was actually a very old church, started in 1927.  The pastor had just been there a few months.  The church had been dying when he arrived, but God used his ministry to revive it quite a bit.  That first Sunday we came, there must have been about 50 people.  After we joined that church, others continued to join.  People were coming in.  It remained a relatively small church (maybe 120 at its height), but it was lively, and a very loving church family.  The summer of 1997, as I was going into my sophomore year of high school, they celebrated 70 years with ice cream and lemonade after the evening service.  It's hard to believe that church will be 100 in two years of this writing.  

     That church was a sweet place of healing for me.  It was a great place to be in our youth group.  In our youth group, we weekly sang songs like Do, Lord, Oh do, Lord, oh do Remember Me, or we would sing Amazing Grace to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme song (Try it!  It works!).  In the youth group and the actual church services, the hymns and preaching form the King James Bible soothed my spirit in ways "cool" 90's contemporary worship never could have at the time.  This is not to say I only approve of hymns or the King James Bible.  On the contrary, I actually love lots of Christian music (including those 90's worship songs), and I primarily study from the New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version (my major research paper in Bible college was about Bible translations, in which I concluded the NASB was the most accurate, and that was before the ESV came out).  All the same, God always seems to meet me in those old-fashioned, simpler churches.  

     Even right now, our family is part of a little country church, complete with hymns, the King James Bible, and sweet, lively fellowship.  Our ministry has partnered with this church for a few years, and it was just time to move our membership over there.  It is a small but growing church, with love, friendship, and a lot of evangelism.  We are there healing up from some hurts from a larger church we just left a few months ago.  This church we're at right now is so similar to the church of my teenage years, and both are places of blessing and healing to me.  Those old-fashioned things are my love language, I guess.  

Our church had a pot luck this past Sunday, and these are the kids.  Our son Tommy is at the far left.

      One member of my high school church was Shelba Williams.  She was an outgoing woman.  She was friendly, and got to know new people right away.  Shortly after we joined, her husband passed away.  I remember her peace and friendliness to others, even at his funeral.  She had that assurance she would see him again.  Nothing could steal her joy.  She had an uncanny ability to know all the prayer requests of the church and pass them on without it being gossip.  She just had a gift for loving others and meeting needs.  She went through a short-lived cancer diagnosis, but she beat it.  She never stopped doing ministry in that time, though she had fun experimenting with different wigs during the times when her hair fell out (but it grew back after she went into remission, of course).

     Getting back to that fall of 1997, we had been at that church a year, and I was almost sixteen.  Shelba announced that she was going to be starting an AWANA at our church.  She was in charge of it, and she urged everyone to get involved.  This was my dream!  It was finally within my reach.  I would have a chance to have an impact.  I could make a difference.  

     For years, Shelba led our church's AWANA program.  I worked in AWANA, teaching all ages at different times, exercising my spiritual gifts, sharing the gospel, and teaching children God's word--just as I was taught in those long ago days of innocence.  I am so thankful for that opportunity, and for everyone who was ever part of it with me.  My involvement with Shelba's AWANA club led me to be able to teach evangelism at our AWANA conferences for the Los Angeles area, something I loved and did throughout my 20's.  That was another dream come true!  This led to so many friendships and contacts.    

     When I was eighteen, I went on a mission trip to Zambia.  That was one of the hardest experiences I ever had, and led to years of counseling, and even got me an official apology from the ministry's President--but I don't regret going on that trip.  During that time, my church family supported me, prayed for me, and ministered to me when I came home.  To this day, I have never seen a church family get behind someone the way that church got behind me.  

     The following summer, I went on a mission trip to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and again, the church was behind me.  Because I didn't leave the country, I was able to call Shelba during that summer and tell her about what we were doing, and the people who were coming to Christ!  When I felt God calling me into full-time stateside mission work, it was Shelba who helped me set up Bible clubs all over our home area of Riverside, CA.  At the end of the several weeks of these Bible clubs, I took Shelba out to steak, and we rejoiced about all God had done! 

     Eventually, God led people from our church family in different directions, and that's okay.  God has different plans for each of us, and we have to follow His leading.  It's hard when He leads us together for a season, and then leads us away.  It reminds me of the church in Jerusalem.  In Acts 2:44-45, and again in Acts 4:32-35 it talks about their closeness and unity.  Yet in Acts 8, amidst persecution, we are told, And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.  It is so hard to see this play out, and yet we know those believers took the gospel with them--as did our church family as the Lord moved everyone on.  Shelba went on to a church she ended up really being blessed by (in fact, that pastor is one of my husband's favorite to listen to online).  

     My husband and I have been in full-time ministry, and Shelba was one of our supporters and prayer partners.  It has been a joy to know her to the end of her life.  I know she is with Jesus forevermore, and I will see her again.  I believe we will relive old times at AWANA (like the time we had Bible costume night, and she dressed up as Queen Vashti and I dressed up as Queen Esther and pretended to have a rivalry going), and rejoice about those who are in Heaven because of how God used our AWANA club.  

     I have shed some tears today with this news, but I'm reminded of First Thessalonians 4:13-14, But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  Shelba, as well as every Christian friend I have lost to death (and that number grows the longer I live) is gone from us, but with Him!  They are happier than I could imagine.  They are whole and joyful in what God has done.  They are looking Jesus in the eye right now!  Their faith is sight!  And one day, that will be true of me!  What am I doing today that will matter when I meet Jesus in Heaven?  Am I cherishing those God has placed in my life?  I often don't think I thanked Shelba and others enough at the time.  Thank those God has used in your life right now!

     Shelba can honestly say now, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.  (Second Timothy 4:7-8).  For those of us left in what CS Lewis called The Shadowlands for the time being, we can try this one on for size: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.  

     Thank you, Shelba.  I hope that I make that same impact you did, and I thank Jesus for the way He used you in my life.  In case I never said it enough, I pray He tells you for me now.  

Around the Corner, Around the World

      It has been almost a month since my last post.  Again, I needed to wait for the Lord to release me to share.  If you read my last post, you know that I left a situation (not our ministry with CEF, nor my job at the Christian school) due to differences in views on evangelism.  At one point, in essence, I was told that I talk too much about Jesus and salvation when I should be teaching students about missionaries.  This bothered me so much, because what is the point of missions it if isn't the Gospel?  

     I know missionaries often do many things, such as helping communities, building houses, providing food and clean water, etc.  All of that is important work we can do in Jesus' name.  Most godly organizations who do these things also share the Gospel with the people they serve.  I have no idea why I was expected to teach students about missions work without including the message missionaries teach.  

     I continued sharing the Gospel anyway, continuing to see children saved.  When we left in April (there was a last straw), I felt like telling this person, "Try not to be too disappointed when you get to Heaven and see people there I led to Christ after you said not to!"  That would have been petty, but it's satisfying to at least imagine I said it.  

    All of this has led me to a deep realization:  Some people would rather send a missionary to the furthest point on earth than witness to their neighbor, or to person who comes through the door of their church.  This is especially dangerous here in the South, where there is a false sense of security that "everyone is a Christian here" (spoiler alert: not true!).  

     The missions curriculum I was asked to teach wasn't even quality missions information.  It was always giving very false stats about how godly everyone in our state is, while the people they were sending missionaries to (whether in non-Bible-belt states in the US or other nations) were ungodly and bad and needed our help to become good like us.   Here is my first critique on that: Missions should always be about love for God and love for people, not about comparisons.  It should not be condescending or conceited.  First Corinthians 13:4b-5a reminds us, that love does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking...  And yet this curriculum was all of those things--boastful, proud, dishonoring others, and self-seeking.  

     The curriculum always said 90% of the people in our state were following Jesus (note: they can't possibly determine who is really following Jesus, only basic stats of what religion people claim).  Pew Research, an unbiased and reliable source, actually says that 79% of our state's residents claim to be Christian--not 90%.  Also, breaking that down, only 50% of our state's residents say they are evangelical Christians (those who have most likely had a salvation experience--while not all claiming to be evangelical have, and there are mainline and other groups of Christians who likely have been saved, so we can't possibly know).  Pew research's figure was much smaller than the curriculum's inflated view. 

     The curriculum also made comments to imply that only 10% of New Yorkers believe God exists (which implies 90% of New Yorkers are atheists).  Again, according to Pew Research, this is untrue.  Fifty-seven precent of New Yorkers claim to be Christians.  As with our state, though, I am certain not every person who claims it really is saved.  But if 57% at least claim to be Christian, they aren't atheists.  This also doesn't count other religious groups who believe in God.  I say all this to assert that their claim that 90% of the good people of New York are atheists is an unfounded assertion.   

     Depending on which research you go by, all US states have at least 50% of the residents claiming to be Christians, but I am certain true believers are a minority anywhere.  Jesus said it would be that way. (Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. -Matthew 7:14).   Christian culture isn't a virtue in itself.  It is only good inasmuch as it facilitates people coming to salvation.  If this does not happen, there is little benefit to living in a more wholesome, God-fearing culture.  What shall we as Christians profit if we teach people to be moral and nice, yet lose them for all eternity?  

    When I shared my statistical findings and the errors in the curriculum with those over me, almost nobody wanted to hear it, and they refused to believe the statistics I was showing them in black and white.  They wanted to keep believing people in our state were just more godly and Christian and morally superior to those heathens in Oregon, New York, or (gulp) New England.  That is pride, and God hates pride.  (God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. -James 4:6).  

    Some of the finest Christians I have ever known are from places with a much lower Christian presence.  These people have looked to their faith and known it is worth living for, even dying for in some cases.  I can't make a total judgment, but the Christians I have met from New Jersey (a state where 59% of the population claim to be Christians) have known the Bible better than any other Christians I have known.  I grew up in a more Conservative area of California, and I remember going to camp each year.  Kids from all over the state would be there, and there was always a group from San Francisco (a city known for non-Christian values, with 46% of the population claiming to be Christians).  These San Francisco church kids were some of the most godly, spiritually-mature, and biblically-literate of anyone else at camp.  They won sword drills.  They memorized scriptures.  They treated others with a Christlikeness I seldom see. Coincidence?  Maybe.  But my point here isn't really comparison.  It's to illustrate my frustration with the missions curriculum I was given.  

     Part of the reason I got in trouble for sharing the Gospel was because it implied I thought people in our perfect community, coming through our perfect doors, weren't saved, and how dare I think that?   Who did I think I was?  Well, the Bible tells me exactly who I am.  Second Corinthians 5:20 says, We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  I was told that sharing the Gospel brings confusion!  And yet the God who is not the author of confusion (First Corinthians 14:33) told us to preach the Gospel to the whole of creation (Mark 16:15).  Is God confused?  Of course not.  During this confrontation, I told the person addressing me that this was unbiblical.  I was very polite, but never caved.  I knew that this wasn't necessarily the entire ministry's belief or ideal.  But the fact that someone in leadership would say this was a huge problem to me.  

     When I went home that evening, my husband shared he didn't feel we were led to leave that situation just yet, and I knew I would need God to get through this.  I begged God for a scripture to encourage me, and He immediately led me to Second Timothy 4:5, which states:  As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.  I knew that God was leading me to continue sharing, against all odds.  This has been my lot in life.  Many, many times, I've been called to share the Gospel in so-called Christian settings where it wasn't welcomed.  I had learned when to obey God over human authority. 

     In the book of Acts, not one person who tried to silence Peter, Paul or other apostles was ever one of the "good guys."  They weren't even usually the godless Romans.  They were usually the religious leaders.  They saw themselves as their own personal Bible belt.  But they were wrong.  In Acts 5, a very wise Pharisee named Gamaliel advised the others, Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.  (Verses 38-39).  Gamaliel wasn't even a believer in Jesus himself, but he had more wisdom than the other religious leaders.  He knew that if God was behind the apostle's ministry, it couldn't be thwarted.  The same is true in the situation I left.  I know God was behind those who were saved in my class, so the leader who wanted me to stop was really in opposition to the will of God, according to the Bible.  It makes me angry that this person would rather teach these children about the heathens in Wyoming (yes, Wyoming was another state they deemed as inferior) than tell these children about Jesus, and what He has done for us to be saved, and actually inspire them to share Jesus with others (rather than make unfair comparisons).

     Many years ago, in Norco, California, there was a man named Mike.  This man was a janitor at a church, and this church had a day care center for elementary kids after school each day.  Mike shared the Gospel with these kids, gave them gospel tracts, and was always sharing the Bible with them, and asking the staff how he could pray for them.  He was viewed as odd, but he didn't care.  He was kind and good and beloved by the kids.  But he ended up changing jobs, but he promised he would keep praying for them all.  

     Not knowing any of this, I began working at this day care center in 1999, shortly after Mike left.  My first day on the job, I was asked to do Bible with a roomful of kindergarten-sixth graders.  I wasn't given any plan or agenda, so I just shared the Romans Road with them.  Before I even finished, a second-grader named Michaela asked, "How can we be saved?  I want to do that right now!"  That day, 12 children received Christ.  They were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and they began leading others to the Lord.  It was a mini-revival.  It reminded me of Acts 2:47, And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved.  Those who were being saved were hungry for the word, and concerned for the lost.  I saw that evidence of their salvation.  

     You guessed it, though, I got in trouble.  I was confronted, and told to stop.  I was told about Mike, the janitor who was just as odd as me, always talking about Jesus and salvation.  I knew in that moment that I was an answer to this man's prayer and burden, and I couldn't let him or God down!  I kept evangelizing anyway, even though I wasn't supposed to.  I felt like a spy in the Soviet Union!  I learned a lot of tricks, but every day, I prayed that God would keep what I was doing a secret until the day it needed to be known.  I knew my reckoning was coming.  And it did.  

     That morning, I had just read in my Bible about the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7.  As I read it, I felt a nudge from the Lord, Today, there will be a battle, but if you look to Me, you won't feel the stones!  That very day, I was caught evangelizing and confronted for it.  I had a little speech prepared, but instead, as I opened my mouth, the Holy Spirit, who knew the heart of this individual and what they needed to hear, put His words in my mouth, and at the end of the conversation, I was not only told I was allowed to keep evangelizing, but I was asked to lead Bible classes with the Gospel specifically for the kids!  I did that for many years there!  From 1999-2002, over eighty children at that center gave their lives to the Lord.  I ran into some of them many years later, and they were still following Christ.  

     We can't fight God.  We are the answer to other people's prayers.  We can't let them or Jesus down!  The Gospel came to us through sacrifice.  We can't drop the ball!  Much of this has been festering within me for a very long time.  No one who asks you not to share the Gospel is on God's side.  This isn't to say a leader can't ask you to share it in a specific way their ministry prefers.  But asking you not to tell others of the life-giving message of Jesus is actualy hatred.  It is contrary to everything we are commanded to do as Christians.  

     I am still healing up from my recent situation.  I still have troubling dreams.  I could still use your prayers.  But in the meantime, our ministry has seen seven come to the Lord this month alone!  In 1000 years, that will matter a lot more than stress or hurt feelings I might be struggling with.  I choose joy in the Lord, but wanted to interact with these things.  Your insights are welcome.  

Jaclyn and Matthew, two cousins who received Christ last week!  Photo used with permission.