Ministry Spotlight - Arkansas Sheriffs' Ranch

Mike Cumnock, CEO of the Arkansas Sheriffs' Ranch, joined The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss his ministry. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Tell me about the Arkansas Sheriffs' Ranch.

The program was started in the early 70's by a group of sheriffs, which is why we're the Arkansas Sheriffs' Ranch.

We actually don't have any other connection to law enforcement, beyond the fact that they are very supportive of us.

Often in towns, you'll see kids sitting around, and people will say, "Why aren't they at home?"

The answer is that their homes aren't safe places for them to be.

We are basically very long-term safe places for kids to grow up.

How long is the typical stay at one of your ranches?

The typical stay is about 4.5 years.

The idea is that a child has to get there before they're 18, but after that they can stay as long as they need to.

Give me the profile of the kind of kid who comes to stay with you.

Typically the average age of admission is 13-16. Oftentimes, they have been in several homes before they get there.

Typically a child will be referred by a grandparent..

Often the mom is wanted by the police. She'll leave the kids and say something like, "Mom, , I'll come back and get the kids once I've gotten my life together." And she never comes back.

Our second most likeley referral source is juvenile judges.

What does your program look like?

First of all, I consider myself a professional lover. Many of these kids have never been loved by anyone.

We try to offer stability. We're a long-term placement.

Once a child is at the ranch, they are required to be involved in a church.

We want all of our kids to go to public school if possible. Educations are key for these kids. If they can get an education, they can get out of this cycle of abuse.

Each of the kids have chores they have to do. Each of our locations is actually a working farm.

Every child in our program is required to be in counseling.

We're filling in a lot of the gaps for what the kids didn't get before they came here.

We're basically treating a lot of wounded kids. These are the walking wounded.

I love every kid who comes through our doors. I don't like them a lot of times, but I love them all.

Pastor's Circle - Chris Lohrstorfer

 Dr. Chris Lohrstorfer is the pastor of Hinds Independent Methodist Church and an adjunct professor at Wesley Biblical Seminary. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss his church's upcoming "Friend Day". Here are the CliffsNotes of his interview.

Talk to me about "Friend Day."

What I try to do is help my church people participate in church growth. I'm going to give them the tools to use and the event to use to help them bring others in. 

It seems to work pretty well. It's not a magic bullet, but when people get interested in this event, they'll actually start inviting their friends. 

If you do it right, everybody can do it.

Is it a sin not to make disciples?

If you're going to be like Jesus, I think you need to get out where unsaved, unchurched people are. 

How are you going to make disciples if you don't get out and rub shoulders with people who aren't disciples? 

In the book of Acts, when Stephen is killed and the disciples are scattered, you see churches pop up wherever they go. Even under horrible circumstances, they're spreading the good news. 

I call it intentional Christian living. That means sharing my life with people who aren't like me.  

I think as pastors, we've got to encourage people to reach out. I've been preaching on it for several weeks now.

How will you retain these people?

Obviously, you want to give them several touches. I'll send them a letter. We'll take them a gift bag personally. 

And we'll try our best to get our church people to establish a relationship with that family.

Pastor's Circle - Ronnie Floyd

Dr. Ronnie Floyd has served as the Senior Pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas for 25 years. He has authored 20 books, including his most recent, Our Last Great Hope: Awakening the Great Commission. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview on the Matt Friedeman Show.

You talk about "Awakening the Great Commission." What does that mean?

We need the Church of Jesus Christ to awaken and fulfill what God has always asked us to fulfill, which is to tell everyone in the world about Jesus.

Other places internationally are doing a great job of the Great Commission. What has happened to this country?

We've lost our authoritative source, which is the Word of God.

We do not pay strong attention to what God says.

I think God is obviously trying to get our attention. I believe God is calling us to himself.

I hope that the Church will run to God during this time.

You have a chapter here on kudzu. What is that about?

Kudzu is a vine...that is what we would call today somewhat out of control.

What we've done in the book is try to learn basic principles of the Great Commission.

We use kudzu as an illustration of planting churches.

We need to do our best to plant more churches, to where there is an explosion in America.

Why plant more churches, rather than just revitalizing the ones we have?

I believe there is nothing wrong with saying we need to have our churches revitalized.

But as Andy Stanley says so well, new triggers momentum.

People are attracted to new things periodically.

There are many reasons we need to do it. One reason is that it's biblical.

Every church in America, big or small, needs to become committed to church-planting.

Talk to us about discipleship in the home.

We cannot expect the Great Commission to be fulfilled if we're not discipling our own kids.

In reality, children need to be brought up conscientious  of the Great Commission.

They need to understand it goes from a  friend or neighbor all the way across the world.

What would be the one thing to do to awaken the people of God?

I believe that the true evangelical church is concerned about the lostness of their world.

I believe if they understand the lostness of their own communities and nation and world, they cannot help but be moved to action.

Until we individually own passages like Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20, it's going to be hard to take seriously the mission in our own backyard.

Why is it important to evaluate everything financially?

It takes resources to do ministry. It takes resources to do church. I takes resources to do business.

The single most important thing in the world is that people hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our money needs to follow that prioritization.

We have got to get really serious about this. So serious that we embrace a new way of thinking.

I make a strong challenge in the book in relationship to giving ten percent to the Lord, like he commanded.

Pastor's Circle - Steve Blakemore

Steve Blakemore is the Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the newly appointed pastor of Wesley Chapel. Here are the highlights of his interview on The Matt Friedeman Show.

Talk to us a little bit about new pastorates.

The thing that can be best done for the church is for the pastor to refuse to think about himself like Moses, coming in to lead the people of Israel. 

People often get excited about a new pastor because they think there will be a new source of vision for the church.

It's not for the pastor to be the source of vision for the congregation.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said what happened was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel.

What the Pastor needs to see himself doing is to help his congregation to hear the voice of God.

Is God sending these natural disasters that have been hitting the U.S.?

I think something like this happens in our minds because we forget how much suffering and natural disasters have happened in the history of the world.

In medieval Europe, many people were convinced that the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague, was the sign of the end times.

While I don't want to minimize at all that Jesus is coming back, I do want to emphasize that we can make too much of the "signs and wonders" that we see.

And often when we do that, we forget to respond with prayer and compassion to the results of the natural disasters.

Ultimately, we should be thinking what should our response be, as the hands and feet of Christ.

We often don't realize that we are in as much of a moral disaster as Katrina was physically and economically. Instead of seeing it as a sign of decay, we should be seeing the huge moral vacuum that we can help to fill.

Pastor's Circle - J. Lee Grady

Author, journalist, and minister J. Lee Grady joined The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss the concepts behind his new book, 10 Lies Men Believe.

Let's go over some of the "lies" from your book. Lie #1: God made men superior to women. Is this a widespread problem?

Absolutely. I've spent much of my life traveling, and I've seen a lot of abuse of women. I've had to speak to men about where this came from, and it really stems from this attitude that you mentioned.

This is part sin-nature. Every guy struggles with this problem. We live in a sinful world, and this is what it teaches us.I haven't been to a country yet where this isn't a problem.

Guys think they can kick women around, or abuse them, or mistreat them. It's a very basic problem with sin.

Even in US today, we have a lot of domestic abuse going on in Christian homes, because the church doesn't address this.

We have to preach the whole gospel. Even in marriage conferences, people always want to speak about women submitting to their husbands. But you have to read that whole passage. The Bible says to love your wives as Christ loves the Church, as you love your own body, as you love yourself.

Lie # 3: A real man is defined by material success.

We've got to help our men understand that your value is not about how you've climbed the ladder, or how many toys you've collected over the course of your life.

We've really misplaced our values. We've got to tell guys that their integrity, character and purity are what's important.

Those are the kind of things that are going to last when this life is over.

Lie #7: Real men don't need close male friendships.

I think this is one of the reasons why so many guys today are really really hurting. Because we thought that we were supposed to go through life alone. 

I am convinced that we cannot do this alone.

I learned a while back that I have to have strong male friendships to be able to walk through life and have the support that I need to do what God wants me to do.

A lot of guys out there are going through strong addictions and problems, and they really don't have anybody to unload their baggage to.

Guys need that. I don't think it's that difficult, it just requires humility.

What is the "journey from wimp to warrior"?

I use some examples from the Bible in this chapter of my book. One of those is Gideon.

It encourages me to see that the people God picks are not the ones we would always choose to be on the star team.

Gideon is someone that I would have never ever thought could be a warrior and lead an army.

God has a plan that he wants to take everyone from that internal "wimp" place, and show you who you are in Christ,

Ministry Spotlight: Truth For Youth

Tim Todd is the President and Executive Director of Revival Fires International. He is partnering with AFA to provide the Truth For Youth Bibles to teenagers in public schools.

Where did you get this idea of Truth For Youth Bibles?

I was in Russia, and there was a program to make the Bible a textbook in the Russian schools. They asked me what the Bible program in public schools was in America, and I had to hang my head and say that while Russia was putting the Bible into schools, America had taken it out. 

I went back to America with a burden on my heart for these schools. In 1998, the Lord laid it on my heart to create the Truth for Youth Bible.

Are these Bibles working?

Absolutely. In fact, just a few days ago I received a call from the principal of a school who said he had a young lady who had been ready to commit suicide. She was cutting herself, involved in sorcery and witchcraft, and heavily into drugs. 

She got one of these Bibles from a friend, and gave her life to Christ. The principal who was calling me ordered 1000 Bibles, set them up on tables, and within fifteen minutes they were taken. The whole school was strongly impacted.

According to your strategy, Christian teens order your Bibles and give them to their friends at school. How well is this tactic working?

Extremely well. We had one young man, a drug dealer, get one of those Bibles and give his heart to Christ. He quit smuggling drugs into school, and started smuggling Bibles. 

We're gonna see a massive movement of God in these last days. One thing we're seeing is young people becoming radical for God. 

I believe that the revival is going to take place outside of the four walls of the church building. I believe that getting the Bible into schools will be a massive part of this national revival.

Pastor's Circle - Bert Harper

Bert Harper pastors at West Jackson St. Baptist Church in Tupelo, MS, as well as serving as the chairman on the  board of American Family Association. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show today to talk about missions in the local church.

Can a local church be healthy without a strong missions program?

The simple answer is no. 

Churches typically "do" missions, but being on a mission means that you're involved in your community as well as internationally.

What would that look like in a local church?

I think Acts 1:8 would be a good criteria for judging that. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 

Many people look at that list as progressive, but if you look at the book of Acts, you find out that it's simultaneous.
What we do wrong is talk about local missions, home missions, foreign missions. What we should be doing is being missional wherever we are.

I think you need to look where you're needed the most. Sometimes it's hard, because it's easier to do a one-time project than it is to continue a process.

How can a church evaluate how they're doing in missions?

At least keep it in front of people. Try to give a report about how the mission is going. 

I believe individual testimony is God's way of doing it. When Paul got back from a journey, he would give a report. There's accountability in that, and there's also rejoicing.

Normality is missional. There is an awareness now that the church is subnormal. And when we get normal, they're going to call us fanatics.

Ministry Spotlight - Union Mission Ministries

Union Missions Ministries, based in Norfolk, VA, is dedicated to reaching "the least, the last, and the lost" in their community.

Tell me about your ministry.

Well, we were started in 1892 by a group of Methodist businessmen.

We now have nine original ministries in three cities, including men's and women's shelters, a children's home, and substance abuse rehab.

Which ones seem to be most productive?

I'm not sure what you mean by productive.

To us, productive is saving souls. And our shelters are doing a great job of that.

We have huge numbers of people coming to us every day, because of the economic downturn.

How are you funded?

We've never received any federal funding.

We're able to do what we do with only church and personal donations.

As we look around at the other organizations like us who have accepted federal money, we frequently hear that they're constrained because of their funding.

We've been able to do everything God has called us to do.

What have you seen as the fruit of your ministry?

People come to our ministry from all over the region, and from all walks of life.

As in most homeless shelters, you would see your typical drug and alcohol addictions.

We have a lot of mentally impaired.

The first thing they do is meet with a case worker, who assesses their case and helps them understand how to get back on track with their lives.

We help people with housing. We have GED and literacy classes. We have parenting classes.

What does it look like when people get a plan for their lives?

We treat people as individuals. It's not like we have one plan and everyone fits into that mold.

When someone comes to us and they're trying to support a family on a fast-food job, they can't do it. You can't support a family like that.

But they don't have an education to get a better job.

So we help the acquire the skills that they need to get a better source of income.

Can you measure your success?

I don't know that we can. We can look at how we've taken care of a person's physical needs.

And the most important thing to us is a relationship with the Lord.

If someone leaves us with a relationship with Jesus, we consider that a success.

Every week someone accepts the Lord. We just finished a six-week summer camp for kids from the inner city.

We had  a record number of 570 kids this year, and of those, sixty accepted the Lord.

I don't know that I can give you a number or a percentage, but people come to me all the time saying, "I don't know where I would be without you."

To me, that qualifies as a success.

"If we become focused on the physical, we're no longer the salt and light of this world."

 Dr. Rick Scarborough, Founder and President of Vision America, joined the Pastor's Circle today to discuss Christianity in politics.


Did you get in on any of Rick Perry's Response?

I was there for about three hours of it. It was wonderful.

It's easy to get excited about a particular candidate, simply because of their testimony. Then later you may find out they aren't who they said they were. Do you have any words of caution?

I'd say what Ronald Reagan said. You have to "trust, but always verify".

Over time, you have to observe a man's life and see if what he does lines up with what he preaches.

And verify means what? You look at their record, the fruit of their life?

Absolutely. All of the above.

I've had my issues with Rick Perry over the years. There have been three or four major missteps during his career.

 But when you look at the overall fruit of his tenure, it's primarily positive.

You can make that work for anything. I pastored for several years, and you could make the case that I was a bad pastor or a good pastor, depending on isolated incidents.

But you've gotta look at the overall picture.

Should we be skeptical about religion in politics?

The real key here is that all of us are subject to the fleshly response to power. Whether it be the President, Governor, or the Mayor of a small city.

If it has any elements of the power of this world, we're attracted to it.

What we need is a spiritually minded person who isn't focused on this world.

If we become focused on the physical, we're no longer the salt and light of this world.

Is it fair to say that even the most "spiritual" people may not be genuine?

No, you're being very fair. It's in the unscripted areas of life that you can tell who a man is.

We're going to learn a lot about Rick Perry under the spotlight, because that is a pressure cooker that brings out the real man.

Watch for the unscripted moments.

What are some biblical examples of people who resisted the temptation of political power?

The person who always comes to my mind, who was courageous and spoke with power, is John the Baptist.

Jesus said he was the greatest man ever born of woman.

He had power but he said of Jesus, "He must increase, and I must decrease."

There's gotta be the kind of commitment to Christ that encourages you to lay down yourself to glorify Him.

How can you avoid being fooled by power?

I think it's all wrapped up in Galatians 2:20. "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

I think you have to constantly pray, "Father, give me the strength."

Pastor's Circle - Joseph Parker

Joseph Parker, Pastor of Trinity AME Church, talks about having a lifestyle of seeking God.

What does a lifestyle of seeking God look like?

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the Christmas story, specifically about the Wise Men. One of the reasons it's so good is because it teaches us what the life of the Church should look like.

They were people who had come to know God and built a life of seeking Him.

They realized that worship is worth our time and money.

A life of seeking God is modeled by the Wise Men, and also I think by David.

He was an important model of what God calls us all to.

Can a passion for God upset other people?

I think that's definitely true, because when you see people who walk with God with a passion, they're different.

They have different priorities. They're living out the life of being a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

Our greatest and most important citizenship is that of heaven.

Those on the dark side are clearly people who are listening to the spirit of darkness, the Devil. And the Devil gets angry when people do what God wants them to do.

What does it mean practically to have that lifestyle of seeking God?

It comes in many different forms. Just spending time with God is a privilege, and it's an opportunity we have every day.

Bible study, spending time in prayer, all of these are things that help us keep connected with God.

When we tune into God, we'll hear from God. And we can hear from him every day.

When is the hardest time to seek the Lord?

It seems like it can be difficult any time of the day, depending on what's being done.

More and more as I grow older, I realize the resistance that can be activated by praying.

It reminds me of the story of when Jacob wrestled with the angel.

Prayer really is work, and it's very critical work.

I feel the resistance, but it's important to push past that.

I think it's helpful to pray, "Lord, anoint me with the spirit of prayer."

Asking God to give us the grace to pray can be very helpful in our daily prayer life.

Interview: John Rosemond

Parenting expert John Rosemond is an author, speaker, and columnist who takes a counter-cultural and common-sense approach to parenting.

 "My children come first." Are these appropriate words?

Child-rearing is absolutely the biggest responsibility a couple can take on. But it's essential that the focus stays on your marriage.

Position the marriage as such that the children pay attention to you.

This is a radical idea now. It wouldn't have been radical at all up until the age of psychobabble.

People used to understand that you cannot effectively disciple a child unless the child is a student. That requires that the child pays attention to you.

Most parents are paying so much attention to the children that the children never get the message that they are supposed to be paying attention to the adults.

How has parenting changed in the last fifty years?

The main difference is the micromanagement of children.

I would say that the cutting point was the late 1960s/early 1970s when they started turning to professionals for child advice.

The main difference is that prior to the professional child rearing age, parents didn't micromanage their children.

Children used to be expected to do their own homework. Now their parents sit beside them at the table to help.

Today's children really aren't learning the sub-skills that children learned in my era.

It was a better time for children, because they were able to learn by trial and error.

What is your advice for stepparents?

The problem in the American stepfamily is that the stepparent is oftentimes a second-class citizen in the family.

The problem is that people are paying more attention to the prefix step- than they are to the word family.

The rules shouldn't change. This is not two different ballgames.

When people start acting like this is a different ballgame, the stepparent starts feeling like his primary responsibility is to befriend the children, which is absolutely wrong.

The primary job of the stepparent is to be the best husband or best wife that they can be.

What do you see as the main thing that has broken down the family?

One of the main things is television.

In most families, people watch television more than they talk to each other.

This is something that my wife and I discovered when our children were 10 and 6. The television interfered with our ability to communicate with each other.

We went without a TV for 5 years, and the positive results were absolutely astounding.

It's certainly not the only thing that has changed the face of the American family, but it's certainly a large factor.

Pastor's Circle - Gil McKee

Gil McKee, Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa, joined the Pastor's Circle today to discuss how fatigue affects our relationship with God

What makes a good church service?

Just the presence of God. When you walk in a place with the expectation that God is going to be there and meet you, it's just a great thing.

Of course, there are going to be people who come with agendas other than to worship Christ, and I think those people will be out there until Christ returns.

But that doesn't keep us from worshiping and giving God the glory.

I think a lot of people are just tired. Do you ever run into that?

In fact, I run into that myself.

I think what's happened in the church is we've gotten so busy doing church, rather than refreshing themselves by simply being.

I think it's really easy to get locked into that if you're not careful.

What deadens our spiritual sensitivities?

I think we have to simplify our lives. We live in a culture that's packed with so many things we can be a part of, yet we still have the same number of hours in a day that we've always had.

People have to prioritize and make choices between a lot of good things.

A lot of people just don't have time for church, or when they get there, they're just worn out from everything else.

What can we do fix that?

God knew what He was doing when He created the Sabbath, the day of rest.

Very few of us know how to take advantage of a Sabbath, to rest and be prepared for the work the Lord has prepared us for.

We need to evaluate our schedules and priorities, and figure out what we can put aside .

What do we put back into those slots? Some time with the Lord. Time to meditate, time to read the Word.

Would you make the case that prayer and Bible study is invigorating?

No question. And the reality is every day isn't one that you hit a spiritual home run.

But if the first thing you do every day is spend time with the Lord, it's always feeding, always invigorating.

And in the long run, it will make your relationship with Him better.

Pastor's Circle - Mark Durie

Mark Durie, vicar of St. Mary's Anglican Church in Caulfield, Victoria, Australia, joined the Pastor's Circle today to discuss weaknesses of the church in western countries.

Spiritual vulnerabilities of those of us who live in "modern" countries. What are some things that we struggle with today?

I think because we don't have a good theology of suffering. We can be used to success. And that can corrupt us.

To actually put ourselves in God's hands....is quite scary for us, if we haven't faced up to the reality of suffering and the sovereignty of God over our lives.

Is the problem that we don't have the reality of suffering?

I think that's right. We don't have to think, "If I'm a Christian today, I might be dead tomorrow."

That means it's sometimes harder to get sold out to the Lord, and easy to get caught up in little things.

If you're thinking, "If I witness Christ today...I could lose my wife, or my kids tomorrow," it makes you think more seriously about your life.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to pray for persecution. But what's the antidote to our lack of theology of suffering?

I think one thing we can do is empathize with our brothers and sisters who are suffering.

I think it's a very good thing to read the New Testament, focusing on what it says about suffering.

There's the word of God that points us there. There's the experience of other Christians.

You can read history, as well. You can read the history of how the Church has grown, and where it's come from.

You talk about not just suffering. Give it to us in a nutshell. What is our theology of success in the western Church?

Well, our theology is if you live in the right way, pray the right prayer...give to the right ministry, you will be blessed.

It's a convenient message. Because it's a way of getting people to give.

Sometimes people who struggle and face many difficulties and setbacks...are the ones God is most present with.

Blessed are those who weep. Blessed are those who mourn. I think we've lost sight of what Jesus taught there.

Everything you're saying sounds like the book of Job.

The thing about Job's friends is that everything they say sounds so plausible.

Actually, they're not speaking the truth. Job is actually wrestling with God..and is refusing to accept the message that just because he's suffering, he must be a sinner.

God is pleased with him. It's amazing, really.

God honors his integrity of clinging on to the truth.

What's something else we can move to here. What's a serious vulnerability for us in the modern evangelical world?

Maybe it's not such a  problem in the US, but it's a problem here in Australia.

There's a privacy issue.

It's not being real.

It's a lack of emotional engagement with God.

We live at a disconnected level. The reality of the message in our lives is really shot away.

That's a thing that troubles me a lot.

Ministry Spotlight - Panama City Rescue Mission

Billy Fox, executive director of Panama City Rescue Mission, talks about the mission's ministry.


Fill us in just a little bit. Tell us what the Panama City Rescue Mission is all about.

We've been at this a long time.

Rescue mission here, and every other rescue mission I've been at, is not a faith-based mission. It is faith at the top, middle, and bottom.

We start off sheltering people, feeding them - we're feeding about 800 meals a day.

We give them opportunities to either connect with the other social services in the community.

If the people are working on their problems, then we continue to extend their time of stay.

My rule is, "We'll try to match your effort. But if you don't make an effort, we'll match that."

A lot of people establish programs that aren't godly, because they make people dependent on their services. How important is it to make people self sufficient?

It's essential in my biblical philosophy.

Those who are not ready to help themselves, and don't want to let their pride down.

Then they just continue to stay in their bad behavior as long as we aid and abet it.

If they're not ready, it's never a waste of time sharing the love of God with someone.

One of the things that is really interesting to me. All of the ministries that are really working have said no to government funding. What would happen to the Panama City Rescue mission if you started taking government money?

The other night we had two young Muslim men who were here who refused to go to chapel.

I offered to call the mosque to pick them up.

If I was getting government money, and we did that, not only would they stop the money, many times there have been times where the money has been taken back.

Our purpose is to share the gospel. We've had about 900 people who have accepted Christ in the last nine months.

We're going to pray and thank God for everything He has given us. You have to sit there and deal with it.

If you were at my house and ate dinner, you would hear me pray.

You sound like a tough love guy. Which comes first, tough or love?

Tough has to come first.

It's a lot easier to start tough and get easy than it is to start easy, then get tough.

But the tough is still delivered with dignity.

That's tough, but it's also with respect and dignity.

How do you know whether you're being successful or not?

The people in all of our programs are having devotions or bible studies.

They're constantly seeing the power of God in our lives.

I'm not responsible for that. I just have to make sure that we're delivering the gospel pure and clean?

And lives are being changed.

We had five adults through our programs get custody of their children back this year.

We just finished a project last week, and outfitted almost 600 children with back-to-school uniforms and supplies.

That says we're successful, because the Christian community believes in the fact that we do this through faith.

Pastor's Circle - Chuck Huckaby

Chuck Huckaby, pastor of St. Andrew's Church in Lawrenceburg, TN, joined the Pastor's Circle to talk about adversity in the Christian life.
 
Tough times are going to come. What is the purpose of adversity in the Christian life?

In my church we've been studying through the book of Philippians.

He says, you act like true citizens of heaven and you stand firm, because there's a purpose in adversity for you.

Their standing firm is a sign that just like God stood with Job, just like God stood with the Israelites...just as God stands with all people in the moment of crisis, God stands with them.

Then he goes on to say that their standing firm is a sign that God is with them.

It's almost like we can look at adversity as a gift from God.

It's a gift that's part and parcel of the blessings of God.

Even though no one else may know, God is enrolling us in that list of anonymous saints through that gift of adversity which comes to purify us, to transform us, to make us His people in a way that we've never been before.

Does American and  western Christianity as a whole miss out on some of the maturity God wants for us, because we lack that suffering?

There are plenty of people even in our prosperous western culture who are going through adversity.

God still has plenty of ways to bring us to the time of testing to purify us and refine us in one way or another.

The language that Paul uses is the language of the people in between the Old and New testaments.

We may not have persecution, but don't we have a culture all around us that's trying to take us away from our biblical moorings?

How does a believer stand firm against a hostile world?

Well, what Paul told them to do is "stand firm."

It's spiritual warfare...our own imbibing the word of God.

But then he says stand firm in one spirit...that's how you encourage me through your radio program.

How important is it that people have some folks who are intimate with them, to share their lives with?

You remind me of this book I used to have on my shelf called, "The Friendless American Male."

When you find one, they're so precious to keep.

It's so hard to find just a few men to pray with for an hour a week.

When you find them, they're so hard to keep.

Pastor's Circle - Jeffrey Klick

Jeffrey Klick, pastor of Hope Family Fellowship, talked to us today about disciplining children.


I'd love for you to tell what some of the world's child training philosophies are.

The world, of course, isn't talking about the cosmos or physical world; it's talking ab out the mentality out there.

In the olden days, you had more of a father's firm hand.

Children were expected to behave in a certain way.

When Doctor Spock came on the scene...he was more of a we shouldn't damage our children because of our approach.

There's this inverse philosophy that's not in the scripture.

The child now has the authority to make all of the choices. And the parents are just supposed to help and come alongside.

Some people will suggest that if you discipline to quickly, you're squashing your child's potential.

The Bible is  very clear about the philosophy of the parents.

A child's personality can't develop when he runs the family. That's chaos.

You're not suppressing anything; you're enhancing it.

When did this change happen? Was it Dr. Spock? Was it the baby boom generation? And why did the change come about?

I believe a lot of it did happen in the 60's and 70's...where Dr. Spock and that mindset came in where we know more than scripture and we know more than the Lord.

I believe it came about because we have an enemy who hates us.

We don't war against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities.

The "why" is that we have an enemy who hates the family and wants to destroy them.

There's been a general philosophical bent away from scripture for a while now.

Have you noticed how few pastoral families have their act together in disciplining their children?

Scripture is very clear about qualifications for families.

We've just quit following the biblical teaching there.

One of the things you say is that the primary battle is a battle of wills.

In any situation, especially with our children, it comes down to a battle of wills.

Don't touch this. Don't eat that. Turn the computer off.

It's that way in our relationship with God.

The family is where we learn how we're going to respond to authority for the rest of our lives.

I like to say submission is a wonderful concept, but it's hard to live out.

When I as a parent instruct my child to do something, and my child decides she's not going to do it, we've come to a battle of wills.

When the (child) wins we have anarchy.

When does the battle of wills start for a young child?

I think parents need to start listening and discerning in their children when this battle of wills is starting.

That will vary from child to child. It's in all of our hearts. Obviously, it started in the garden. Every child comes equipped with a rebellious attitude.

Interview with Rick Perry

Texas Governor Rick Perry was on the Matt Friedeman Show discussing the Response and his own journey as a Christian.

Talk to us about the genesis of this prayer emphasis.

It actually was just a conversation I had with some friends.

We were just talking about when you look at what's going on in America, when you look at the economic problems. We were just discussing back in December about having a day of prayer.

We just decided what a great idea to follow the instructions in Joel 2, it gives us clear instructions to blow the trump in Zion, call a solemn fast....

It gives clear instructions for a nation to come together. Obviously in context here, the nation had gotten off track...Joel clearly gives us instructions on how to get back on track.

By the grace of God, that's what we're going to do.

It's nothing more or nothing less. Some people want to say this is about a governor who wants to get more exposure for himself.

The fact is, this isn't about me...it's about Jesus, and it's about lifting up our concerns to him, asking for guidance and asking for forgiveness and asking for grace.

What about your religious faith? I think a lot of people are interested in your religious pilgrimage.

Again, you're absolutely correct. This is not about me.

Throughout my tenure in Texas...we've had a day of prayer to correspond with the national day of prayer.

This is not out of the ordinary for me at all. I can't separate my faith and my public life in any form or fashion.

I grew up in a really small place, about sixteen miles from the closest place that had a post office.

We went to a little Methodist church out in the country. I was led to Christ as a young man at a church camp, actually.

I went off as a pilot in the Air Force after that....I decided I didn't need all that - religion and God.

In 1977 I left the Air Force, and God dealt with me in a very harsh way.

I was making a decision about going into the ministry.

I thought I was supposed to go down to South America with the Wycliffe Bible Commentators as a pilot.

Long story short, there was a hurdle put up in my life.

None of us faithful Christians end up in life by coincidence.

Your desired outcome for this event. What difference might this gathering make?

This is just about God. This is just about asking him to raise our country up, to bless this nation again.

There's not any doubt that our founding fathers, that they were clearly people of faith.

It may just be me and a couple of ushers. But that's okay. We're going to do business with God.

We're going to pray for the president of the United States. We're going to pray for God's wisdom to be poured out on him.

Thanks, for being on the show today, Governor Perry.

Matt, God bless you and best to your family.

Ministry Spotlight: Redwood Gospel Mission

Jeff Gillman, executive director of Redwood Gospel Mission, stepped into the InTheFight Ministry Spotlight to talk about his ministry, and how it's having an impact.

We want you to tell us a little about what your ministry is.

Our ministry really is to mobilize the body of Christ in the community...so lives are transformed.

We do that through providing homeless and alcoholics ministries.

But really our ministry is to mobilize...the Christian community.

Isn't this what the church is supposed to be all about? Why do we need organizations?

The churches working together can do much more than one individual church.

We exist, so that we can help churches work together.

It's more cost effective. It's more efficient.

Tell me about your specific call to your involvement with the poor and homeless.

Well, it was many years ago while I was in college, I came to the Lord.

I had had some challenges in my life that kind of brought me to my knees.

After my third year of college, I took some time off to go to bible college.

When I was in Chicago...I saw many, many homeless people and it broke my heart.

How important is it that the church do this without government funds?

I don't want to criticize those ministries that do receive government funds, but we don't find it something that helps us...share the gospel of Christ.

In doing so, it's been freeing. And in doing so, it's helped us focus on what our true mission is.

What's the most challenging program that you do?

We recognize that a lot of the need in our society is caused by broken relationships, family breakdown.

Those things cause homelessness et cetera. We try to deal with the cause of homelessness at that root level.

That's probably the most difficult. Seeing people whose lives have been torn apart as a result of alcohol, and helping them find freedom in Christ.

We seek to provide that help. For those who want help, there's hope, but it's a huge challenge.

It involved a lot of folks in the community. A lot of volunteers in the community working in the lives of men and women whom we serve.

Tell me about the most life-changing program you do.

Our must successful has also been the most difficult, our drug and alcohol program.

We've had hundreds who've found new life through that program.

What is the greatest need of the poor?

Relationships.

Relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And relationships with people who will love and support them.

When we see the broken and needy in our community, we see people in isolation.

God said it in the Bible. The first not-good thing is man being alone.

Who is someone really good at this kind of thing?

(laughs)

Someone who loves Jesus.

If we took out passages about caring for the poor from the Bible, we'd have a pretty thing book.

Anybody that loves Jesus is a good volunteer opportunity person.

I think a lot of people agree, "I love Jesus," but they're not reaching out to the poor.

I think the disconnect is that too often we have made our relationship about Christ about a personal relationship.

I think that that's what we need to do as a society: remember the poor.

Dan Boone on youth ministry

Dan Boone, president of Trevecca Nazarene University, joined the Pastor's Circle today to talk about youth ministry - and what makes a good one.


Modern youth ministry hasn't worked...do you agree with that premise?

Well, there would certainly be youth programs I would look at, and say, that 's more about fun than discipleship.

I even think there has been a turn back towards more of a service-oriented youth group.

I'm really concerned about the theological depth of what young people are getting from the youth ministries out there.

Is part of the problem that we think "who is the coolest young guy," not "who is the person who will disciple our kids the best?"

In some ways I don't just fault teenagers for that.

I've got a great friend named Greg who's a youth pastor in Memphis.

He has such a clear discipleship track from the time a young person hits 6th grade until they graduate.

They truly engage in that

It's a thoughtful attempt to form students in Christian thinking and Christian action.

He wouldn't win anybody's contest for cool, but those students love him.

I think you mentioned something good...have a discipleship program. What would you put on a list of discipleship characteristics?

The first one would be, just a deep-souled passion to be like Jesus.

The second one, I think, would be someone who knows how to feed themself as well as to appreciate the corporate process as a feeding.

I think journals are a great practice for a teen.

Third one would be, they are becoming a pretty good exegete of the culture they live in.

By the time they graduate from high school, they can look at some kind of movement or person and think, everyone might be going along with this, but I think there may be some kind of wrong here.

I would hope they would also have the beginning of a sense of vocation, that God had placed them in this world to do particular kinds of work to the glory of God and the good of others.

That would be my off-the-top-of-my-head list.

Dave Kinneman says that 85% of youth leave the church after high school....what does that tell us?

One, a lot of the youth pastors aren't thinking beyond high school.

The statistics just make me weep when I think about.

I think our Christian colleges and universities are a pivotal discipleship choice.

I think parents sometimes are sometimes missing it. I know the cost factor...but when you get to the end of that four years, and that person's married to a non-believer, and they've walked away from the church, I want to say, is that worth the savings?

When we look at youth ministry, are we expecting too much of youth ministry?

Well, I don't know if we expect too much of youth ministry; I think we expect too little of parents.

I've always said to youth pastors, you are pastors to the entire family.

I think it takes a great parent and a great youth pastor to disciple a family.

There are 27 million people enslaved today

Zach Hunter is nineteen. Despite his age, Zach has  already written three books - Be The Change, Generation Change, Lose Your Cool.  Zach speaks and writes to raise awareness about the issue of slavery. Check out his website here.


How old were you when you wrote your first book?

I was 14 when I started the book, and turned 15 in the middle of it.

Did you have anyone helping you with the project?

No, I did this myself.

I compiled the book from things I had been speaking about.

How did you get a start?

I found out from my mom that there are more than 27 million people enslaved today.

We are given emotion for a reason, to move us to action.

Tell us about slavery around the world.

There are more people enslaved now than during the entire transatlantic slave trade.

There are more now than ever before.

It's a shame. It's estimated that more than 27,500 people are trafficked into this nation every year.

Slavery takes so many forms, plantation labor, bonded labor.

What can we do about it?

Awareness is definitely a huge deal.

I've been speaking about this for seven years now...and I'm still surprised that there are people who haven't heard about it.

So we need to reach critical mass on awareness.

We need to get enough people aware that movement starts to happen.

The focus for this year is on prevention.

It seems like so much of it will be legal. Is there anything that someone listening right now can do?

I would say sponsor a kid through Compassion International.

As Americans we love to rush to a fire and put it out. We love to rush to an emergency and help out.

At the same time, what if we can prevent a fire from happening in the first place.....that's what we're doing by sponsoring Compassion kids.

Being educated makes them much less at risk for slavery.

Tell me what Loose Change to Loosen Chains is all about.

It's really just a huge fundraiser I started when I was 12.

It's a student-led organization to raise money for International Justice Mission.

Essentially it's just raising loose change to stop slavery.

Are you headed to college anywhere?

Yep, I'll be going to college in Colorado Springs.

I'll be writing more.

And I have some fun speaking engagements coming up.

Today's pastor talked about a church tragedy that made national and international news

Rurel Ausley, Lead Pastor of Niceville United Methodist Church, shared a recent experience his church went through when a young family died in a plane crash. The accident made national and international news, and even got the attention of Westboro Baptist Church.


Your church had quite a tragedy happen. There was an airplane accident, and a family of seven died. What exactly happened?

Well, it was a young family in our church. He did all our computer consulting and work. She had a daycare in the community.

They were flying their plane back - no one knows exactly what happened, except their engine went out.

They had five children under ten.

It was a shock not only to our church, but to our entire community.

This made national and international news.

I talked with ABC, CBS. And Reuters.

This is not something that pastors are prepared for, so we had to feel our way through it.

It was a learning experience and a very stressful experience for us.

Almost every reporter would say, "Anything you want to add?" And I would say...we believe in Jesus Christ, and so did everyone of these family members, so they're in heaven.

It gave our church an opportunity to speak to the community about things that are very important.

How did your church help each other?

I think part of what I tried to do in the message was to bring some kind of sense to the thing.

I used Romans 8:28, and said all things work together for good for those who love good.

One of the things I helped the congregation understand that God did not cause this tragedy.

Life is fragile. We don't know from day to day, and we can't take things for granted.

Life is about relationships. You just have to make that a priority.

Another thing I said is, if you've got something to forgive, go do it.

The last thing I said, nothing would please the Teutenbergs more than to know that you came to Jesus Christ as a result of their death.

This is a bombshell event. Is that a similar kind of message you'll share when someone dies unexpectedly?

Yes. In fact, we had a young man who was 16-years-old who got tackled on the football field and died.

I just told the congregation, we're starting to heal together.

Our counselors on staff went to the children's facility.

It's something that we're continuing even to this day, that we're continuing to talk about.

The grieving process is exactly that; it's a process.

It's not like you can say a few words somewhere and everything will be fine.

A lot of it starts with trying to get it framed in God's eyes.

I imagine the first question out of the blocks is "Why, God?" Do the questions change over the weeks?

My first reaction was grief. Then it went to anger.

Yes, I think the questions probably do change from why did this happen to what do I need to do.

They were a family that challenged all of us by how they lived.

When the tragedy happened, you heard that Westboro Baptist Church was going to show up. What happened?

That was an interesting thing.

We were issuing statements to the media that we do not agree with this.

We also prepared our congregation. We sent out emails to our congregation. The best way to treat these people is with silence.

A local radio station negotiated with them to give them time on the air with them if they would not come. Of all things, they took that up with the radio station.

By 9:00 that morning, at least 100-150 people had shown up with American flags on motorcycles to protect the family, so they didn't see any of the protesters.

"Jesus has made the way for us to be free, but we have to cut the supply lines."

Dr. Bill Ury has spent the last few weeks speaking at campmeetings. He has been preaching on the topic of human sexuality. Dr. Ury shared some of that on the Matt Friedeman Show today.

The horrible thing about human sexuality is that really bad things are done to kids, and for the rest of their lives they struggle with it.

At least two times in the past weeks I've had teenage kids at the altar who have looked and said, I was abused, what do I do?

We've got to open the door to start talking about these issues.

You and I both know a guy who ministered to homosexuals in school.

If you don't live out this theology with them, there's no hope.

Whoever the Lord puts into our life, we've got to say to them, I'm not leaving you until you're free.

What passage do you preach from?

I preach Leviticus 18.

It's the only passage in the Bible that outlines sexual sin.

It's so straightforward that you blanch in church.

Jesus has made the way for us to be free, but we have to cut the supply lines.

I would love to see some good, old-fashioned legalism. I would love for everyone to go home and break DVD's and get rid of iPods with trash on them.

If I were to talk to people about areas of their life where they' concerned, it would be family and human sexuality.

We're in an epidemic.

That's why I love camp meetings. There's a place after six or seven hot days, people can get real.

I may be out-of-date, but there's something happening there that works.

This list in Leviticus is mind-blowing. Apparently there was a problem with these sorts of things. If you were to give some outlines as to what parents need to do with their kids, what would you tell them?

First is prayer. Interceding.

Secondly, they've got to know every avenue of what's going on with their kids' lives.

Thirdly, gotta find some age-appropriate book....especially fathers, especially males.

The average number of partners before people get married in America is 14 sexual partners.

We've got to say, we're in this fight.

Lastly, have a good, healthy, holy marriage.

It's not just sex...everything else matters.

These kids have to see the image of God held out in front of them.