I left the ministry a few years ago. I will talk about the why in another post, but at the time I decided I'd just call it quits, I (obviously) thought I would never be back. Keep in mind, I didn't say I left the church. I continued to sing, preach, and teach when given the opportunity but I had faced such discouragement and I felt so isolated that I wanted nothing to do with professional ministry again. A few years later, after a very long time seeking and searching for a restored vision, the Lord answered my prayer. I had what I thought was a word directly from Him. A "word" for the church I felt sure He would someday allow me to be part of and dare I say the church I was certain I would pastor.
Mission statements are all the rage aren't they? Experts do not agree on whether or not an organization even needs a mission statement but a lot of time is spent writing them. I seemed to have a certain clarity for a mission statement that would easily and concisely communicate elements of and for a new church. This new ministry outreach would be a -
P.E.P. Rally
P.E.P. is an acronym for Praise, Equip, and Prepare.
I want to share some things about each of the elements in this acrostic mission statement but will start with the last and work my way to the first. So, let's talk about Prepare.
Let's talk about a church that would, as part of it's very foundation, prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus. It's an important topic considering the fact that Jesus talked about His coming a great deal. Check out this portion of Matthew chapter 16:1-4;
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked
that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is
evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the
morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’
Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern
the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign,
and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He
left them and departed.
We must obviously guard our propensity to eisegete Scripture. I have often heard this set of verses quoted to support trying to estimate the time in which Jesus' would return and time would cease. I think there may be a link, albeit weak, that would allow us, with some degree of assurance, to discern "...the signs of the times..." in connection with His coming. However, having said that, and if one would be true to the text and context, I don't think these verses speak directly to or explicitly of trying to determine when Jesus will come.
So then, what's the point and why am I suggesting that this part of Matthew's Gospel could provide an accurate and biblical way to determine whether or not we were close to the day of Jesus' return?
I'm glad you asked...I'll explain it in the next post. Stay tuned!
