Purpose For Life

Many of you are familiar with Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life". The church I pastor has really enjoyed learning more about the 5 key purposes for every follower of Christ.

Worship
Rick Warren says, “Worship is far more than praising, singing, and praying to God. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving him, and giving ourselves to be used for his purposes.”

The Bible says that we are to “Use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.” Romans 6:13b NLT

Fellowship
Loving other believers
“Following Christ is not just a matter of believing, it also includes belonging and learning to love the family of God.” – Rick Warren

Although we will stand before God by ourselves, in the Christian life we are never meant to fly solo. We need one another.

John 13:34-35 (NIV) 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Discipleship
Discipleship is simply defined as “becoming like Christ”.
Once we are born into the family, it’s time to grow, to mature.
How do we know what Christ is like?
1. Bible Study
2. Prayer
3. Attend a Bible preaching church
4. Mentor (coach).
Part of discipleship is having a mentor (coach).
Most great athletes have a successful coach.
Even Michael Jordan, at the pinnacle of his career, was not above the need for a coach.
I can’t think of any athlete who has been successful without a coach.
I love to sit behind the boys basketball team and listen to the coach as he gives them direction during the time outs. He is intense about getting his team on the same page, running the plays that he feels will work best for the team.

Find someone who loves the Lord, has great wisdom and would take the time to invest in your life.

Ministry
ACTIVE INVOLVMENT
Can you imagine somebody having a dream to win the gold medal in speed skating and yet never getting on the ice to skate, or skiing and never going down the hill? The life of an athlete is about active involvement. So is the life of a Christian.
Use your gift.

1 Corinthians 7:7 (NIV) 7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
1 Timothy 4:14 (NIV) 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
2 Timothy 1:6 (NIV) 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

Be faithful with the talents that God has given you.
Excel in your strength

Evangelism
God’s love for people is not to be a secret.
When I was a kid I would often be the one to organize the neighborhood games. I would go to one house and ask the kids if they wanted to play, then we would go to the next, and then all of us would move on to the next house. The more that joined us the better our games were.
Let's be excited about inviting others to give their life to Jesus. The more in heaven the better.

Wild Game Dinner

For the past 4 years, men and boys have enjoyed having a wild game dinner at our church. This year the dinner will take place on March 21st. I can hardly wait. Eating squirrel, elk, bear, venison, walleye, pheasant and who knows what else, is a treat for the tongue!

I usually tease our church that I drive the countryside the week of the dinner in search of road kill. The longer it’s been on the road the better. It really gets tenderized.

Another reason I enjoy this night is because half of the men that come are not from our church. In fact, many of them do not attend church anywhere. This is not a “churchy” service. We try and have our fellowship hall decorated in such a way that gives you the outdoors feel. We give away prizes and have somebody share about hunting or fishing and a testimony of how Jesus has changed their life.

I believe the church needs to do more to reach men. At least the church I pastor. The following statistics from “Church For Men” (www.churchformen.com) sounds an alarm that must wake us up to do whatever we can to reach men.

The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories.

On any given Sunday there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches.

This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.

As many as 90 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it by their 20th birthday. Many of these boys will never return.

The last statistic breaks my heart. We can’t afford to loose our boys.

At the end of the article from “Church for Men” they asked 4 questions.

What is it about modern Christianity that is driving men away?
Jesus was a magnet to men, but our churches repel them. What’s changed?
Why do rival faiths inspire male allegiance, while ours breeds male indifference?
What can we do about it?

As I challenge myself, I also challenge you to think about change. Not for the sake of change, but for the sake of being effective in reaching and keeping boys and men for Christ.