My Follow up proposal.
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:03 pm
Here is my suggestion for a project to follow up on what we experienced in Atlanta. What do you think?
The Immanuel Project:
A modest proposal for keeping covenant with Gaza Baptist Church.
The Immanuel Project would seek to be the presence of Christ with the members of Gaza Baptist Church. This would be accomplished by doing something that Baptist in the south should be quite familiar with, namely packing a pew. Teams of eight to ten Baptist consisting of members from any of the Baptists groups in North America would go to Gaza for two weeks at a time. Twenty-six teams would mean that Baptists in North America would be with our brothers and sisters in Gaza for a whole year.
Rationale: In Christ, God was with us. God did not offer salvation to us from afar. Rather, God took on flesh and dwelt among us. God became God with us. While few of us have the knowledge or experience to offer solutions to problems that face the church in Gaza, many of us have found comfort during times of trial knowing that God is an Immanuel God. This project would seek to be a visible reminder for the members of Gaza Baptist church that God is with them.
What would team members do?
1. The primary task would be simply to be there.
2. Worship with church.
3. Maintain a constant prayer vigil at the church building.
4. Assist in any other way that might seem practical.
This may seem like an extreme idea for follow up to New Baptist Covenant meeting, but I do not think that it is. At the Celebration, I experienced the power and the presence of God in ways that I did not know were possible. To think that such a meeting could actually happen required not only faith and vision on the part of the conveners, but a certain amount of audacity as well. The Spirit of the Lord was indeed upon us in Atlanta. Our response should be no less faithful or bold.
The Immanuel Project:
A modest proposal for keeping covenant with Gaza Baptist Church.
The Immanuel Project would seek to be the presence of Christ with the members of Gaza Baptist Church. This would be accomplished by doing something that Baptist in the south should be quite familiar with, namely packing a pew. Teams of eight to ten Baptist consisting of members from any of the Baptists groups in North America would go to Gaza for two weeks at a time. Twenty-six teams would mean that Baptists in North America would be with our brothers and sisters in Gaza for a whole year.
Rationale: In Christ, God was with us. God did not offer salvation to us from afar. Rather, God took on flesh and dwelt among us. God became God with us. While few of us have the knowledge or experience to offer solutions to problems that face the church in Gaza, many of us have found comfort during times of trial knowing that God is an Immanuel God. This project would seek to be a visible reminder for the members of Gaza Baptist church that God is with them.
What would team members do?
1. The primary task would be simply to be there.
2. Worship with church.
3. Maintain a constant prayer vigil at the church building.
4. Assist in any other way that might seem practical.
This may seem like an extreme idea for follow up to New Baptist Covenant meeting, but I do not think that it is. At the Celebration, I experienced the power and the presence of God in ways that I did not know were possible. To think that such a meeting could actually happen required not only faith and vision on the part of the conveners, but a certain amount of audacity as well. The Spirit of the Lord was indeed upon us in Atlanta. Our response should be no less faithful or bold.