Dear Southtowners,

Odyssey, Expedition, Quest, Journey, Excursion, Voyager, Scout, Explorer, Safari, Cruz.

Attention getting words. Exciting words. Motivating words. All words that have become names of cars. The automobile industry has clearly tapped into our inner desire to go on an adventure. Are you on an expedition? Or have you given up on quests? What is your excursion? Do you have a "lifelong dream"? Anything "dominating your life" enough to hold your attention for hours, days, weeks, months, years and decades?

Without an odyssey, life is quickly reduced to bleak and wimpy black and white, a diet too bland to get anybody out of bed in the morning. An safari fuels our fire. It refuses to let us drift downstream, gathering debris. It keeps our mind in gear, makes us press on.

Do you know who else is on an expedition? God. God is on a mission. In fact, He reveals His adventurous journey throughout the New Testament.

Rom 8:29 reports to us that God is seeking to conform us more and more into the image of His Son.

1 John 2:6 tells us that if we belong to Christ, we should walk like Christ.

Eph 5:1 informs, be imitators of God.

Eph 2:10 exposes that we are God's workmanship created to go on great adventures with God.

2 Peter 1:5-7 publishes a list of beautiful, strong characteristics God is producing in us; faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

Phil 1:6 confesses that God will carry on this good work in us and He is not about to stop.

Character qualities in His children—that's His quest. And He won't quit until He completes His masterpieces.

When will that be? When we rest in peace . . . and not one day sooner. If you think you've arrived, then you probably haven't even started.

Thanking God for His awesome expedition. Seeking to cooperate with God on His mission.

Pastor Chris

Dear Southtowners,

Who changes culture?
Who enhances the world?
Who stops evil and selfishness?
Who helps others: marriages, families, work places, neighborhoods?

Ordinary average Christians!

Jesus explained, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." John 14:12-13

Do you remember Jesus putting a family back together by healing a man from leprosy? The man was able to go back to his wife and children.

Do you remember Jesus pushing evil out of the man in the cemetery? He was able to go back to the town he was from and introduce that town to the Messiah, which impaced the entire town.

Do you remember Jesus stopping to play and bless the children? He cast vision for parents to invest in loving, discipling, and raising them to enhance the world.

Jesus trains us to be disciple makers. Do you remember when He called Peter and said, "I will make you fishers of men?" He said, I will make you a disciple maker.

Paul instructs the church in Eph 4 that the leadership task is to train the church members to be disciple makers.

With every person Jesus encountered, He helped them identify where they are on their spiritual journey and then challenged them to take their next step. He discipled everyone.

As an average Christian, how are you doing at discipling others? How are you doing withdiscipling your spouse, children, brothers and sisters in Christ, your co-workers, your neighbors, everyone you encounter each day?

Do you have eyes, the heart and wisdom to see them like Jesus sees them? Or are you too busy accomplishing your agenda for the day?

Are you in a mindset, as you do your responsibilities, tasks and relationships, to help everyone you encounter each day to take their next step with Jesus?

Some say, "that is not my ministry." Others say, "I do not want to be too pushy." Others, "that is the pastor's job."

How does a world, nation, state, city, town, neighborhood, work place, family change? One person at a time. One man at at time. One woman at a time. One husband and father at a time. One wife and mother at a time. One teenager, son, daughter at a time.

Maybe you can set up a weekly lunch meeting with someone to encourage them in their walk with Christ. Maybe you can set up a lunch meeting with a person far from God to talk about real life issues. The average Christians usually do both. When average Christians are weekly meeting with a Christian friend and a friend far from God to love, serve and encourage, the world begins to change. Marriages and families are enhanced. Work places and neighborhoods become safer and more enjoyable.

Paul trained Timothy in 1 Tim 2:1-7 to pray evangelistic prayers for everyone. If God answered those prayers, the community would live in peace more and more.

Let's ask God to help us to continue to become disciple makers so that Jesus can enhance marriages, families, workplaces and the world through us; average, ordinary Christians.

Praying that all of us are used by God to change the world.
Pastor Chris