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Getting John 1:12 Right: Should You Invite Jesus Into Your Heart?
Is it useful to critique any person’s or ministry’s method of evangelism? For one thing, there are not enough people calling on others to follow Christ. Should I attempt to cripple anyone’s efforts in the slightest way, even for the few who might listen to me? I hope I will not. I would rather think that I’m improving our evangelism. And it does need improving. The apparent results of the method of evangelistic appeal built upon the verse in question…
“I Forgive Him”: The Potency of Forgivness
The wife of Charlie Kirk, Erika, said with much emotion that she forgives her husband’s assassin. “I forgive him” were words which powerfully impacted the thousands in the arena and millions streaming during the memorial service for her husband. She meant, of course, that she would not personally avenge herself of her husband’s blood. That would be God’s business. Surely the following passage of Scripture was in her mind: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.…
He Just Died: A Letter From Jim
Dear CCW family, “He just died.” “She just died.” These are words I’ve heard nearly every year of my adult life. I heard them this week. One day these very words will be said about me. When these words, sober and simple, are spoken, the report is not meant to say that death is all that happened. In other words, it isn’t supposed to convey that he merely died. No one just dies. There is so much more to it…
Help for Seeking Jesus
Since the death of Charlie Kirk many have come to see that following Christ will give you purpose and significance, even if it costs you your life. Since so many are considering Jesus Christ right now, Here are some simple helps for true seekers. If our ministry can help in any way, please let us know. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. Write me at info@ccwtoday.org. Jim Elliff
Your Favorite Famous Bible Teacher
Renowned Bible teachers are immediately accessible online. Thousands of their sermons are available at no charge. Some of these men speak at multiple conferences throughout the year and might even influence thousands daily. Do you have a favorite famous Bible teacher? Have you ever considered what place he should have in your life? Consider these three guiding principles: 1. Keep learning from him. God uses certain men in extraordinary ways for the growth of His kingdom. The Spirit is empowering…
Why Churches Lose Members
A church might lose members because its leaders are burdened with a new direction the people are unwilling to travel. Or, it might lose members because of natural calamities or factory closings. Perhaps the demographics of the community have changed, such as in rural areas where land that once used to be teeming with large families is now controlled by farming conglomerates. But often a church will lose members for less noble reasons. Some people will tell you to just…
What It Means to Praise the Lord: a Brief Primer
If I say, “I just want to praise you, Lord,” I’m saying something good about my motives. If I say, “I praise you, Lord,” I’m describing my good actions. If I say, “Thank you Lord for answering my prayer,” I have not praised him, but thanked him. If I say, “Praise the Lord!” I’ve asked others to say something to honor him. If I say, “Lord, you alone know the future and will accomplish all your plan,” I have praised…
Confessionism: The Misuse of 1 John 1:9
Do you believe that you must confess every known sin to God? For many years earlier in my ministry, I made statements such as the following: “In order to be restored to fellowship with God and to be filled with the Spirit you must confess every known sin to God.” What am I to think of such instructions now? Sadly, this teaching adds a layer of requirement for our forgiveness not intended by God. And it may lead to confusion…
Three Tragic Consequences of Falling Back in Love With This Present Age
One man often comes to my mind when I think about people I’ve seen fall away from the Lord. He was so zealous for Jesus when I baptized him. His fervor lasted for several years. But then he started hanging out with the wrong people and became enslaved to alcohol. As a school teacher, he would even show up for class “buzzed” from the night before. I crossed paths with this man once and pled with him to repent. I’m…
Remembering and Hoping: A Letter From Jim
Dear CCW family, I recently ran across a Family Letter from 2016. It spoke to me about intentional travel, such as we are about to do again but in the opposite direction. As we drive to California, Oregon, Montana and back, I want us to remember and anticipate the guidance and interventions by God that I expressed in the letter below. Pam and I long for that. I’ll be speaking in various places, seeing friends and ministry associates, but also…
Hard Work: The Spurgeon Way
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the renowned preacher of London in the 1800s, was not only a gifted leader, but was a hard worker. By the time most pastors write a few emails, wrestle with the dates for VBS and read the junk mail, Spurgeon would have completed a mountain of tasks. For instance, each week he preached several times (often 10), trained pastors in the pastor’s college, wrote several hundred letters (“I’m immersed to my chin in letters.”), led an elders’…
Praise Luck? : A Letter From Jim
Dear CCW family, Joni Eareckson Tada is one of the most gracious and effective Christians in the world. She has lived with the results of a diving accident that broke her neck during her teen years. At 76, she continues to radiate Christ to a listening world. Joni is known by millions of Christians through her books, radio program, and conference speaking. Once my brother asked Joni how she made it through the difficult battle with her paraplegia. I later…
Who Sends Missionaries?
Who sent out Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey?* You might say that it was the church in Antioch. But to be precise, the correct answer is the Holy Spirit: “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit . . . ” (Acts 13:4a). However, Acts 13:3 says the church “sent them off,” but that does not mean the church was ultimately responsible for commissioning and sending out these two. New Testament scholar David G. Peterson explains. [T]he…
Childhood Conversion
A woman came to humorist Will Rogers, saying, “I struggle with this problem. Every time I look at myself in the mirror, I’m proud.” He said, “Ma’am, that’s not pride, that’s a mistake!” Now I know that you are proud of your children, but you have never been as proud of a child as a woman I met who claimed that her five year old daughter had never sinned! She was serious. I realize that this woman was not doctrinally…
A Tale of Tested Assumptions
Quincey was an exacting man, an accountant. He wanted to be forgiven by God for his many sins because his conscience was troubling him. He assumed that he must confess each of his sins to receive that forgiveness, and that this confession could not be just an act, but genuine. So he set out to do that. Not all sins are of the same weight, since Jesus talked of “greater sins” and “worse sins,” so he further assumed he must…
Asahel Nettleton: The Forgotten Evangelist
The year was 1812. America had just declared war on Great Britain in June and lost its first battle in October. In the midst of that climate, a young, unimpressive minister on his way to an assignment in New York stopped at a church in the community of South Britain, Connecticut.[1] When he was invited to preach, no one could have anticipated the impact his ministry would have, not only on this small church, but also on all the East Coast over the…