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Monday, January 03, 2005
Starting 2005 with a Healthy Attitude
In September 2003, a little church in Chelsea took up its entire Sunday offering, $622.45, and sent it to a Gardendale megachurch as a contribution for its $55 million building project.
The Rev. Leonard Irvin, pastor of the 20-member Mount Signal Baptist Church in Chelsea, said he was trying to teach his congregation a biblical lesson that those with little to give should still be generous.
"I was trying to convince them that it's not really size that matters," Irvin said. "We needed to do something dramatic outside our walls. I was hoping it would have a good effect on our people and just might turn our thinking around."
Gardendale's First Baptist Church, which is in the first phase of an expansion over the next 20 years, could have easily overlooked the gift. Several months went by, and the little church didn't get a thank-you note or acknowledgment from the big church.
"We realize a big church like that probably doesn't have time to recognize and thank everybody," Irvin said. "Our people said that's not why we did it. We needed to get to that point that we weren't looking for their recognition."
Then in January 2004, Gardendale's First Baptist Church sent its video crew to visit Mount Signal and ask why the members sent money. It became a segment in First Baptist's weekly television program, and First Baptist Pastor Steve Gaines invited the Mount Signal congregation to visit a Sunday night service in Gardendale.
"We were just so moved by it," Gaines said. "I did not know them, did not know the church. We were all just taken aback."
Gift comes back:
Gaines took up an offering that day for Mount Signal and handed it to Irvin. "He didn't ask for a dime," Gaines said. "They didn't know we were going to do it."
"They gave us a check for $28,157.29," Irvin said. "I was overwhelmed. I tried to give it back to him. I can't imagine a church that's trying to raise so much money giving that much money away. They sent us another $340 a week later from people who heard about it that just wanted to give."
Mount Signal donated $3,000 of that money to Southern Baptist mission work, then spent most of the rest to pave the church parking lot.
During the summer, Mount Signal heard that the Gardendale church was raising money to send its choir to the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis. Mount Signal sent $200 to help.
"When God really looks at churches, he doesn't look to see if you're big or affluent," Irvin said. "He judges you by whether you're faithful or not. We need to be as faithful as they are."
When he came up with the idea, it was not immediately embraced by the 16 people attending Mount Signal's service that Sunday.
"I thought they might fire me," Irvin said. "It did sound stupid."
Gardendale's First Baptist plans to break ground in August on the first phase of its building project near Interstate 65. The Gardendale church baptized more than 300 people in 2004 and had a budget of $8.1 million.
"They are about the same business we are," Irvin said. "They are taking what they have and trying to reach the most people they can. We were faithful with what God gave us."
Make a point:
Irvin, 61, was a Birmingham police officer for 23 years. He retired from the police force as a sergeant in 1990 and went to work as standards and training officer for the Jefferson County Youth Detention Center.
He said no one at Mount Signal had ever had any connection with the Gardendale church, other than watching its Sunday services on TV.
Some people at Mount Signal asked him why not donate the money to the poor instead of a megachurch that didn't need its money.
"That question came up," Irvin said. "I thought it would be a wake-up call to give away money, and give it to somebody that would least expect it. The reason I picked them was because they were big and affluent. We were small and poor.
"I was trying to make a point to our people. To take what little money we had and give it to them for their building project, I thought it would make that point. We would be showing our faithfulness. We didn't really have it to give. That church didn't know we existed."
Irvin said he saw precedent in Jesus' praise of a widow who put all she had in the offering plate, and the Apostle Paul's writing in II Corinthians 8:1 about poor churches in Macedonia that gave generously to help the church in Jerusalem.
Gaines cited the Gospel of Luke 6:38, "Give and it will be given to you." Both churches learned a lesson that goes to the heart of the Christmas season, Gaines said.
"It's more blessed to give than receive," he said. "I think it's God's economy. We cannot outgive God. When we give from the heart, for the right reason, I think the act of giving is a blessing."
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Comments
I think it is awesome just to see the unity of Gods people. Most churches are afraid of other churches. It seems there is always competition between the people of God instead of the unity that Jesus prayed for. It is all Gods kingdom, His people and His work. We are all working towards the same goal; that is to wins souls for Christ and disciple them and train them until the coming of our Lord. The sooner we can all work together the sooner our work will be done. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for the selfless acts of these great pastors and may God always continue to bless them. Tim
Posted by: Tim Anderson | Jan 3, 2005 9:22:28 AM
In india i am having serval independent church and i will arrange christian meeting in southindia for you and there are chances for collection of amountin southindia.
Please let me know your programme.
Yuor's in christ
M.S.Albertemmanuel
Posted by: M.S.Albertemmanuel | Jan 3, 2005 9:53:57 AM
This is a great example of the Body of Christ. We tend to minimize our understanding of the unity of the Body. We are One Body, says Paul, therefore we should act as one Body. This is a good reminder!
Posted by: Dan Michel | Jan 3, 2005 10:05:20 AM
This teaches me a lesson I need to know. What a wonderful story that all Christians need to emulate on a daily basis. It is my heart to give as God would have me to this year also. I have not done what I should in this area.
Already this year, the Lord Jesus Christ is "tugging" on my heart to really live for Him and to quit worrying about men and those who would hold us back from doing God's work. I am challenged this year to really be what He wants me to be and do what He wants me to do, and fully trust in Him to "do it".
These past few years have been rough ones for me. I'm called to "ministry". No matter how tough things may seem to be, I need to persevere through Jesus Christ. He is the "Author & Finisher of my faith", not man. The Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.
I am excited for each new day as I follow Christ and the things He has for me to do!
In His Freedom, Service & Abiding Love,
Terry D. Harder, Jn. 8:36
Posted by: Terry D. Harder | Jan 3, 2005 10:06:05 AM
Great Article about the rewards of giving. God is true to His word all the time. I enjoyed it very much.
Lloyd
Posted by: Lloyd Maddoux | Jan 3, 2005 12:12:07 PM
A great example for the churches and christians today. I am pastoring a small church (30 families) in Navi Mumbi, India. We are not a rich chrurch but last sunday I reminded our church of our christian duty & responsibility towards those affected by the Tsunamis is South East Asia. We will be taking up offrings till the 15th of January.This is a great example for me to share in the church this coming sunday.
Thanks and God Bless.
Posted by: Nitin Dethe | Jan 3, 2005 12:25:26 PM
What an awesome story. I'm reminded of a similar story told years ago by Gloria Copeland. She shared that God had placed it on her heart to bless a woman that was very rich. This woman could buy any thing she wanted. Gloria said that she reasoned with God when He spoke to her to be a blessing to the lady. She told the Lord that this woman had everything, what could she possilby give her. But she obeyed and gave the woman a gift. Upon receiving it, the woman cried. She said that because people knew that she had so much, no one ever GAVE to her. It really blessed her heart to see that God loved her enough to speak to some one to GIVE to her even though she could purchase anything. It spoke to her of the love of Jesus for her. Thank you Pastor Irvin and Mount Signal Baptist Church. What a lesson for us all.
Posted by: Bernice Hypolite | Jan 3, 2005 12:32:58 PM
As a churchless pastor, who was starting 2005 with a rather negative attitude, this article came at just the right time. Because of my frustration and impatience over waiting on God for the last year to lead me to the church that He wants me to serve, I have slowly allowed my attitude to shift in a very negative direction. Basically, I am jealous. I look around, and I'm jealous of other pastors who are serving at healthy productive churches; I'm jealous of other men who seem to be sufficiently providing for the needs of their family, I'm jealous of the happiness that others have that I don't. Therefore, I just started to withdraw--I don't like seeing everything that I want.
Posted by: Bob Lawrence | Jan 3, 2005 12:52:25 PM
Anyway, as hard as it is for me to do--I really want to be content with my current circumstances. It's not that I want to settle for less that what I can do for God in this life, and it's not that I want to pretend to be happy when I'm really not. I suppose what I really want is for my "every day" attitude to reflect my trust in God. So please help me by praying for me in this area. Scripture tells us in 2nd Corinthians that Paul prayed 3 times for the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh, and the Lord's answer to Paul was: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." In 2005, I want so much to be like Paul in that I want to be able to boast all the more gladly about my current circumstances so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Thanks for writing an article that made me see what I needed to see.
Posted by: Bob Lawrence | Jan 3, 2005 12:54:18 PM
We sometimes struggle with confluency on our own staff…
what if we could actually establish confluency among our community churches?
This is a great story of our faith...
Posted by: phill | Jan 3, 2005 1:13:38 PM
I am glad to hear the story of a small church giving so generously. I notice so many talking about how good it is to see the churches unite through this story. What I am struggling with is the fact that the church unified with only another Baptist church. What I would like to see is the abandonment of denominations, which are in no way established in scripture as a part of the church. I would hope to simply call ourselves Christians with no titles or sectarian/denominational names. I think this is the way to begin unifying the church--Abandon those names that clearly divide.
Posted by: Seth Andrews | Jan 3, 2005 1:42:06 PM
I think this was an excellent blog to start the New Year with. I often recite the story of a couple that belonged to the church I grew up in and learned to tithe 90% of their wages and live off of 10%. They worked average jobs and made average pay, yet they were able to build a home, retire, and send two kids to college on 10% of their wages. Each year they found the Lord blessed them with the financial knowledge they needed to meet the needs of their family and also with unsolicited gifts (for instance when they built their home the contractor gave them all of the kitchen appliances as a gift). This story on how the Lord blesses churches that give from the heart, without ulterior motive, is an excellent compliment to that couple's story. Thanks.
Posted by: Beta | Jan 3, 2005 2:13:55 PM
This was a wonderful story and reminded me of the new ministry taking place in our church. We have decided to embark on a Hispanic Ministries program and I am excited about the prospect of reaching out to those who do not speak English. Please keep this new ministry in your prayers as we work on reaching out of the box into a new and exciting avenue of discipleship.
Yours in Christ,
Sue
Posted by: Sue Arredondo | Jan 3, 2005 9:26:23 PM
(I hope this blog can handle a contrary opinion.)
The article seemed to point out how lost the church is. Not only that, but it is sad that those responding don't see any problem.
I've been reading/studying a lot about the topic of "giving" lately. The church is really messed-up when they think like they do in this article. In the New Testament, they NEVER collected money to build churches. It was always for the poor and needy. Jesus said to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, etc.
Giving money to the rich to prove some point just shows to me how off-base these people are. It's like they are playing with their egos. Where's their heart? We have brothers/sisters dying of starvation, and they are playing around with money like this. How numb! How will they explain this to their brothers/sisters in heaven when they meet up? The small church didn't feed the poor because they wanted to prove a point that they weren't jealous of a big church!
How sad about how far the wicked "Prosperity Gospel" has reached into our community. It is directly contrary to our Lord's teaching:
Luke 12:33
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
...Bernie
http://www.FreeGoodNews.com
Posted by: Bernie Dehler | Jan 3, 2005 11:39:51 PM
I see another later-day philiphian church in this place, Phil 4:17, this church gave out of necessity and the Lord who rewards all men actually dazed them.
One lesson we ought to learn here is that "IF YOUR SUBSTANCE IS NOT UP TO YOUR REQUIRED HARVEST TURN IT INTO A SEED" and the Lord of miracles will turn it into an harvest. $622 was multiplied to $28,000 - God still works wonders.
Julius Olutokun (Pst)
Lagos, Nigeria
Posted by: Julius Olutokun (Pst) | Jan 4, 2005 4:22:09 AM
To Bob Lawrence,
I know exactly how you're feeling right now, because I'm in much the same place. I've had to take a secular job to make ends meet, and I can't tell you how many times I've spent weekends in other cities interviewing and trying out(I'm a worship leader), only to get home and wait for either the "thanks, but no thanks" letter or phone call.
I've tried the networking through trusted friends and pastors, I've tried sending professional resumes and DVDs out, and yet, I'm still here.
God has a plan, and I just want to encourage you that as depressing as the situation can get, we both have to keep believing that it's going to happen, and let the hope of what is to come propel us through the "now" with a good attitude.
I have felt many of the same things you're feeling.
This article reminded me that it's not what you have in your hand, it's what God can do with it that counts.
Posted by: John Morris | Jan 4, 2005 10:19:57 AM
On January 1, 2005 the first day of the year I wanted to get alone with the lord and decided to leave the house and seek out a secluded place to be alone with him. So I drove around and the Lord impressed upon me to stop at a small wood building church and so did. I got out of my pickup and went and sat on the steps of the Church and read and fellowshipped with the Lord. I was impressed upon by the Spirit of God to visit the Church the coming Sunday. During my visit Lord gave me a message for this small group of believers to encourage them and to ask them to unite together to reach the lost in their area of influence. During the time of the offering call the pastor seemed to go out of his way to say that the money collected would not go to him, but to God’s work. It saddened me in that a servant of God should have to almost beg God’s people to fund the work of the Gospel. The Pastor held down a full time job to support his family and gave his off time to the work of the Church and yet he still had to beg the congregation to give to a special offering.
During my life I have suffered for my testimony and those who would oppose me have attacked me both spiritually and financially, but God was with me and I only grew stronger by their attacks. One of the lessons I learned during the attacks was that when my finances or when those items that I owned came under attack I could only be hurt if they were mine. When my pay scale was cut after 28 years of faithful service to discourage me to quit, I continued to work an additional two years because the Lord would not allow me to quit and by the experiences of staying on in a hostile environment I learned that God is my source for every need. I learned that everything I considered my own was not so, but that I was only a steward for God to use me as his vessel to do His Will, with the earthly materials he had entrusted unto me. Everything we have belongs to God and if we really believe the scriptures, we understand that we are only passing through, and this life is building in us the skills we will need to rule with Christ.
I don’t believe in bigger church buildings when the congregation does not even know what they believe. The disciples our churches are turning out are lukewarm at best and their relationship with God takes second place to tee time. The attitude of the pastor of Mount Signal describes his lack of knowledge as to who he is in Christ in that he refers to himself and his congregation as poor and small. This need not be so if the King of Kings is in their midst. And look at what they did with God’s blessing given to them. They turned it into a parking lot for his 16 members. What a shame.
Our buildings have gotten bigger and our congregations colder. We no longer know how to disciple our members and lead them to a real relationship with Christ. We never give a call unto repentance and we never demand that we turn from our wickedness so that the almighty can heal us and our land. Look about us and see the condition of our nation and the society in which we live …. It makes me weep. But there is hope if we but return to Him who is able to restore us with all our hearts. For He is a forgiving God and will not turn you away if you come in true repentance for behold He who comes will come suddenly and if you are not ready you will be left behind.
The bible in the parable of the 10 virgins declares to us the condition of our Churches today. Fifty percent of those who call themselves Christians will not enter into the kingdom of God. Let us understand what the Spirit is saying unto us in this parable. All ten knew that the Lord was coming all ten went out to meet the Lord, but only 5 of the ten entered in to the presence of their Lord. The condition of our society is a direct result of the lukewarm members of the body of Christ and when we hear the truth we, like the Sadducees and the Pharisees of Christ’s time, reject it and persecute those that bring the message of repentance. We are so close to the rapture of the church that there is no time to lose. Let’s return to our Heavenly Father with all our hearts and we will find Him for it is his desire to fellowship with those He has made in His own image. The day is far spent, let us discern the times and call for a solemn assembly with all the members of our families and seek Him who waits for us to call upon him once more with all our hearts.
Posted by: Daniel | Jan 4, 2005 11:28:14 AM
I would very much like to share this article, in print, as a Stewardship thought article. Appropriate credit would be given to Insight's Monday edition. Is this permissible?
Posted by: Rees Olander | Jan 4, 2005 11:31:43 AM
God started out His calender with Passover: May we start out our New Year with the blood of Jesus!
Posted by: Harry Miller | Jan 4, 2005 3:38:52 PM
To Harry Miller
Hi Harry,
Just wanted to respond to you about starting the year with the blood of Jesus. This would definitely be a return to the New Testament type attitude that changes society. Can you imagine if every believer in every house would start their day pleading the blood of Jesus and invoking the name of Jesus on behalf of all the saints? The devil would definitely be hindered and his power diminished. We must remember that we have been given authority in Jesus name and it is up to every believer to use that authority to bind the enemy for sure, but also to call on our heavenly Father in Jesus name to provide for all our needs and circumstances. It just awes me to think what would happen if every believer would begin their day by praying the name and blood of Jesus. To say Father I come to you in Jesus name and plead the blood of Jesus upon my family and their future. I call on you in Jesus name and ask your will be done in me and in my community and in my nation even throughout the world for we will not limit the name of thy beloved son Jesus. To say, Father we bind Satan in Jesus name and remind him he is a defeated foe and we further weaken his hold over all the earth as we plead the precious blood of Jesus against him. The name of Jesus and his precious blood invoked by the members of the body of Christ makes the universe shake when spoken in faith. We the church have not even begun to tap into the knowledge and power of Jesus name and his blood that has been entrusted unto us. Oh what a wonderful way to start this year and every day in it. God Bless you richly in the knowledge of Him.
PS in case you don't return to this page I am going to try the e-mail link.
Posted by: Daniel | Jan 4, 2005 5:38:25 PM
Cool article. Only if we all had that kind of faith and obedience.
On a side note, isn't the picture of the church at the top of the article a picture of Presontwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX?
Posted by: Jason | Jan 7, 2005 12:36:14 AM
That article rocked my face off, because when they talked about giving man!!! I know form personal expereince what giving can do for you and your ministry.
Posted by: Jospeh Allison | Jan 17, 2005 1:45:40 AM
Giving must have purpose.
In this era of prosperity Gospel we tend to focus on monetary type blessings and we are quick to quote (LUKE 6:38) every time we give "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." The promise is true and surely we shall be blest when we give according to God's command. But our blessing should not be limited to monetary gain only but should be in the revelation of who Christ is.
To know Him may cost us everything we own and even our lives and we should not expect for God to grants us our greed’s and leave our souls in drought. God is more interested in your spiritual growth than in our portfolio. In Jesus day there were many followers of Jesus that followed him not because he was the messiah, but because He had loaves and fishes to feed them.
Today prosperity preachers teach that our focus should be on monetary gain and that we should demand it from God as if we deserve to be rich with mammon. Our following of Jesus should not be for the loaves of bread and fishes that he can provide to maintain our earthly bodies, but our seeking should be the revelation unto us that He is the Messiah and that it is He who reveals the Father unto us. This is that great pearl of great price that demands we spend all to obtain. It is the knowledge of God’s Love and how He became flesh to redeem us from destruction.
Yet we are stewards of earthly riches and yes we do prosper for God so has ordained it, and if He has chosen us to have earthly means it is not for our personal gain alone but to advance God’s kingdom here on earth. Therefore when we give it should not be without prayer and purpose, but according to God’s direction. The monetary seed that God gives us is holy and we should be prudent in how we sow the seed God grants us, for there are places that claim our seed and produce no crop. Let us be quick to listen to the words of our Savior with spiritual understanding as he told the parable of the sower for this parable does not only apply to God’s Word spoken but also to our finances. Let us read Matthew 13:3-9
Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
So let us be determined that when we give we give according to God’s command so that when we sow monetarily we sow into good ground that will produce for us the kind of return God desires and not necessarily financial gain but something far more precious than gold and silver that is God’s favor and his divine approval.
Posted by: Daniel | Jan 17, 2005 4:39:08 PM
Blessings and greetings! I am the pastor of Mt. Signal Baptist Church, yes the same pastor and church that has prompted these comments. I have noted with interest that a number of people have commented on the article about our interaction with Gardendale's First Baptist Church; most are positive but some are critical. I choose to take this as constructive criticism (something we can all use), and I'm not offended by them. I think I can offer a little more insight into our church that may satisfy those who think our efforts were self-centered or misguided.
My wife and I have been at Mt. Signal less than two years, and the event explained in the original article took place while I was still interim. Two years before we came, Mt. Signal was down to three people and had less than $100.00 in the bank; they didn't run heating in the winter or air conditioning in the summer for fear that they could not pay an annual insurance payment on the church and a run down parsonage. However, they came and they prayed and God sent them 8-10 people, some who had prior affiliations with the church in its "glory days" of 20 years ago. These people were tithers and givers and pulled the church out of its financial hole and accumulated about $3000.00 for needed repairs. It was God, prayer, and these people, not Leonard and Carol Irvin (we weren't there yet) who turned Mt. Signal around.
After being with Mt. Signal for several months, I became impressed by the Spirit that our prayers for the recovery of the church could not be answered until we regained our ability to look beyond our own walls. It's only natural for a dying person (or church) to focus its prayers on self needs when you think your death is imminent. We got a little better, still sick, but better. It was time to focus our prayers and efforts away from ourselves.
I deliberately chose Gardendale's First Baptist Church because they were large and affluent (financially speaking)and we were not (of course we were spiritually rich). The point was that size and affluence, or lack of it, is not what matters; the issue is FAITHFULNESS. We gave our entire week's collection (about $200.00 larger than average)to that "rich" church, not to gain prestige or attention or hope of reward, but because they reach people with the gospel, they see people saved, and they disciple those that enter their membership. Gardendale isn't just building greater buildings, they're building greater outreach to impact and convert more lost people and grow them in the Kingdom of God. I wanted our people to see that the small and poor (by size and finances) can be just as faithful as the large and affluent, that our small church could matter in the Kingdom work of God. Shame on my own lack of faith, the results were electric.
Neither I nor my church are into the prosperity gospel. If some people think we were pulling a spiritual "con game" to increase our bank account, they are wrong. We expected to receive a follow-up call or thank you letter from Gardendale but not a huge sum of money; after all, a church that is trying to raise $55,000,000.00 wasn't likely to be giving away $28,000.00 checks to people they had never heard of. We were not after and did not expect what we financially received. We were trying to step out in faith, change our inward thinking to an outward direction, and spark a spiritual revival in our midst; that is what happened. I also cannot emphasize enought the friendly, spiritual aura that surrounds that "big" church; those folks love the Lord and He loves them!
We paved our parking lot, not for 16 people, but for the potential we see around us. Shelby Co., Alabama is the fourth fastest growing county in the United States, and the little city of Chelsea is right in the middle of it. We are the closest Baptists church to several new subdivision under construction in our area. A hundred people would fill our building and almost overflow it, but it's what we have and we start with it. We are literally in the place where the country is meeting the city and we want to minister to both populations. Too many rural churchs have "circled their wagons" when the suburbs caught and surrounded them, then died as a rural pocket in a surburban sea. We don't intend to abandon our rural roots or people (I am a city boy with rural ancestry), but we also don't want to stand off from the new community because they are "city folks." We have a wheel chair bound paraplegic and eldery among our membership. Having pavement instead of mud, gravel, briars, pine saplings, and fire ant hills is a blessing, not a misuse of funds. Whether it seems spiritual or not, curb appeal is important when a suburban migration begins to look at rural churches. For this and other reasons we also erected an attractive lighted sign with moveable lettering ($4300.00 and a ministry in itself), but not from Gardendale's gift; we gave it ourselves.
Concerning giving to the poor and needy instead of a "big, rich" church; we haven't neglected this. To be sure, with our limited resources, we have to carefully consider needs for assistance, but we are a compassionate people. Our church has built a wheel chair ramp at a mobile home for a lady who attends another church (her daughter does attend with us). We have paid several drug and utility bills (of several hundred dollars) for our paraplegic member. We have paid a house payment and some utility bills for another member amounting to a total of about $850.00, and we have assited several others in our church and community with several smaller amounts, one this Christmas. Some of our people have also made some individual benevolent gifts on their own. It was freely given to us, and we do know how to freely give.
Yes we did give to another "baptist" cause, and yes we know that the Kingdom of God is far more than just Baptist, but I don't think anyone is going to financially support ideas that seem a little too unbiblical to them; we don't. We have, however, supported several independent, non-baptist mission causes we are comfortable with, but we are PROUD, not ashamed, to be Southern Baptist. My brother-in-law is the pastor of a growing Assembly of God church in the county where we live (Jefferson Co.); the Spirit spoke to him about our interaction with Gardendale, and he asked me to come share our testimony with his congregation. I have preached at his church several times, and he will preach at Mt. Signal. I have also preached at a black, Pentecostal church (I am white and am NOT Pentecostal) and their pastor will also preach for us in the near future. We have our convictions, but we are not narrow minded and exclusive.
Finally, Mt. Signal has climbed out of its grave (some thought we were dead and buried) and has shed its grave clothes for Kingdom apparel. Our name comes from our location at the base of Signal Mountain. The mountain received it's name from the land grant days when a lantern hung on a limb at night to guild those coming into the valley. Our church's light almost went out a few years back, but God wouldn't allow it. Mt. Signal is committed to being a spiritual force in our community and beyond as our new motto, "STILL SENDING THE LIGHT" suggests. As we look back at our relationship with Gardendale's First Baptist Church, our exchanges of offerings, and how we spent their generous gift, we do not apologize to anyone, not even God, for what we did. This is not arrogrance or defiance but a settled conviction; God has not requested nor does He expect an apology. No one has to apologize for doing God's will, and we were in His will and we know it! We have made some repairs to and continue to do some work on the parsonage (not with Gardendale's money), and we are living there toward the end of the week and weekends. This puts us on the church field more, for we live 25 miles from the church; to get there, we have to travel highway 280, the most congested highway in Alabama.
I hope the readers of this blog now better understand Mt. Signal Baptist Church and its people. God bless you all! If you are ever in Chelsea, AL, come worship with us, even from Nigeria!
Leonard Irvin
Pastor,
Mt. Signal Baptist Church
Posted by: Leonard Irvin | Jan 18, 2005 2:16:05 PM
Praise be to God, Pastor!
I thank God for your share in the great commission of God which every one who claims to be a believer should be a partaker. The good Lord will bless the work of your hands even as you trust Him for a greater harvest. Rome was not built in a day nor can we climb a ladder from up; we have to start at the foot. We need to undergo such lifeline so that God can be glorified and not man.
I know some comments up here may not have been pleasing to you, especially from the way you have tried to come clear in your response. But what is the big deal? The sound from God or that from the world? Sometimes we are too emotional not being sensitive to the will of God amid the happenings in our lives.
Be encouraged in your submission to the service of God.
God's blessings to the congregation in your church, your household and the church's neighbourhood.
Joseph z. Iyadi,
Director Sunday School Ministry,
Christian Newhope Ministries,
joseph_biafrax@yahoo.ca
NAIROBI-KENYA.
Posted by: JOSEPH IYADI | Jan 21, 2005 5:21:52 AM
