Judah Smith | Greatest Sermon I've Ever Heard

Judah Smith | C3 Conference 2012

Missionary Bunnells Synopsis of Our RU Mission...

The RU Team did an outstanding job while here in London. 6000 homes were contacted which saved us about one year's worth of outreach and advertising. We had a high attendance of almost 60 in church, 46 of whom were locals. That beat our previous total by 15 people. We had an unprecedented number of first time visitors, four adult professions of faith, and best of all we have had 5 new adults start attending regularly since the team was here. On February 5 our first baptism in almost a half century will include a man saved on the Sunday that Richard preached. Our Catholic neighbors came specially to hear him, and they received the Lord. They have been faithful to church since the team left. They had been to church once together in the six months prior. New visitors have been to every single service since the team departed. On the RU side, the team worked closely with our church people, and provided three dynamic sessions which have already catalyzed the church. We are seeing a number of our people inspired to confess addictive struggles, and start to explore the material. The team inspired an unprecedented level of cooperation from our church people. One man spent two days out with our team distributing leaflets. Several of our people gave significant time and money to helping provide meals and transportation for the team. One of our men took an entire morning off of work to get the team's luggage out to Heathrow - over one hour away during rush hour morning traffic. Finally, the team committed almost a full day of work: painting a classroom, doing a huge cleanup at both of our buildings which allowed us to prepare for new toilets and new heating installation over the next two weeks. Our people have given many testimonies of how much of an encouragement the team was to them. Some were in tears at the love, sacrifice, and unbelievably hard work demonstrated by the Temple RU team. As a church we shared in the work, joy, and exhaustion of the team. We have taken a giant step forward since the New Year. Thank you for coming, for giving, and for caring about the lost of London. On behalf of the people of Southside Baptist Church you have an open and permanent invitation to come back any time.


Blessings,


Andrew Bunnell

RU SWAT- Part I

So, my name is Richard Wallace. I'm a Pastor's kid. To be honest, as I was growing up in the church I never really found "church work" that exciting. I mean, dad's job always seemed fairly cool, but beyond that "Christian service" seemed a little dull. I remember often feeling disappointed by the men that were called to serve God. I don't just mean because some of the them were snared by the Devil... I mean, the ones who truly seemed to love God seemed "soft" (and by "soft" I don't mean effeminate... I mean... Passionless, and seemingly lacking intensity.) Then there were the men who I perceived to be intense, driven, alpha-males; but it seemed as though most of them were not too interested in spiritual things beyond men's basketball leagues, and some church attendance.

Then, I met my football coach. Coach Hale. I guess, I'd consider (if only for half of a second) calling him, "Chris", today... Men like him will always be "Coach Hale"! He was intensity personified! On and off the football field! In his Walk, in his ministry, and in his devotion to his fellas! I still remember those bear crawls... SCREAMING at the top of our lungs, "'I CAN' MAKES A GREAT MAN!!! 'I CAN' MAKES A GREAT MAN!!!". I still remember the fire in his eyes when, with his gnarled-up fingers, he'd grab both sides of my helmet- covering the ear holes- look me straight in the eyes, and say, "When I became a man... I put away childish things!" I saw him at his best, I saw him at his worst. But I NEVER saw him passionless!

And, of course, you know my dad... Passion personified!

As I got late in my high school career I began to drift. The military began to look very exciting. A lot of what I had begun to see in ministry turned me off. It seemed to be a lot of egotistical men devouring one another for a larger platform. Seemingly, personality had run over propriety. By my senior year I had all but decided I would take a path that led to Esprit de Corps, brotherhood against all odds, and intensity... I WOULD JOIN THE MARINES! And, join the Marines I did!

Fast forward ten years. I've served in, and left the Marines. I'm now surrounded by another set of alpha males... Phone salesmen! These guys are less about the Esprit de Corps and a little more like sharks, but they are passionate... ABOUT MONEY! Little does anyone know I'm drowning, at this point, in addiction. Things that once were a toehold, have become a stronghold, and are very quickly becoming a choke-hold! Once a "functioning addict" I was ceasing to function more and more each day.

Fast forward a few months. I trust Christ. By the way, no greater passionate Man, than Jesus Christ! He was intense in His teaching, intense in His living, intense in His dying, and intense in His raising! He was fearless against the patterns of religion and government. He was careless of the opinions of man about whom He associated Himself with... He was a man's man! He was the God Man!

In March of 2007 I was introduced to a red-headed fire ball! Steve Curington, to me, was the embodiment of everything I had been searching for since those days in high school. He was fiery in his preaching... But, I had seen that for twenty-seven years. He was fanatical in his ministry service... Again, I had seen that for twenty-seven years. What literally took my breath away about this man was that he was fiercely loyal. Though he was sharp in his dress I saw him more as a "special operator" in the spiritual warfare I was beginning to learn about. I heard about fallen preachers- wounded warriors- limping to Jesus through him. I began to hear tales about Steve- conference preacher- showing up on seedy sides of towns greasing the palms of people just to buy his friends back, and pay off drug debts. Literally, meeting the enemy and POWs behind enemy lines... Rescuing many a fallen comrade, and even seeing the "enemy" joining the fight against paradigms of their past. Prostitutes, and gang-bangers, and drug dealers and users are getting saved and setting fire to churches all across America. Even a few worn out Believers begin to catch the zeal that they once had, and miss so badly...

My heart began to burn as tears began to streak their way down my cheeks! I thought within myself... I may never preach on a large conference ticket. But, I can go get a fallen friend! I mean, it was bred in me! All that time in the Marine Corps. it was our mantra... You NEVER leave ANYONE behind! You carry 'em out! You risk your own life that they might live, or be laid to rest on American soil! The names we learned about and studied in Marine Corps. lore weren't the names of the highest ranking men, we didn't even learn the names of the men who served the longest! The names that were "worshiped" were the names of those men who put their brother to their right and to their left ahead of their own lives.

So, for nearly five years now I've been involved in this special team of "spiritual operators". There are more than eight hundred of these teams now across the Globe. They are groups of men and women who are specialized in their training, their tactics, their armory, and their camaraderie. In tomorrow's blog I will explain the Passages that drive us into enemy territory, time and time again. The Brotherhood that keeps us safe while we're there... The weapons and tactics that we use to gain victory once we arrive on scene... Lastly, the MASH unit and triage centers of Scripture that we use to heal our wounded warriors! Prepare yourself for "RU SWAT" indoctrination!

From a full heart after searching the under belly of Dallas for a friend...
-R

Kleenex Box in the Back Window

So, my wife and I are sitting in this amazing little seafood restaurant/market in the West Village of Dallas when half way through lunch a Bentley sedan pulled up, and parked. Three stately looking gentleman exited the car while the driver remained behind. These three men were joined by another man who arrived in a sky blue Ferrari... They walked in like they owned the restaurant, seated themselves, and carried on with lunch. Now listen, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand... Hey! These guys are successful! I caught myself daydreaming, and then discussing with Michelle what we thought they might do for a living, etc.

But, it wasn't until the two of us were leaving that I was reminded of the lesson. As the valet was bringing our car around I noticed in the back window of the Bentley a crushed up Kleenex box. I thought to myself, with a chuckle, how tacky to be in the back of a "Bent"! Then I remembered, these are normal men, and to them that is just their mode of transportation. But, then I was reminded of being a kid in a Pastor's home... I would hear people say stuff like, "We saw Pastor and Paula at Wal-Mart this week. I didn't know y'all shopped at Wal-Mart?!" How quickly we put people on pedestals, and assume too much.

Too oftentimes there is a sense about those in "Christian service" that they're too spiritual to have a "box of Kleenex" in the back window... Nah! We share all of the same struggles as those we're called to lead! We're not "Spiritual Supermen"... So, when you catch a glimpse of your Pastor's weak side... Chuckle to yourself, whisper a prayer, and then be reminded that we're all made of the same stuff, battling the same enemy, and striving toward the same goal!

-R

Taking Reformers Unanimous to London, England

I trust this blog finds you well. The reason for my sending this is to tell you about an opportunity that has been extended to me. For the past little while I have been involved in a discipleship program that is geared toward helping people overcome addiction, and deep-rooted sin in their lives. The miracles that have happened in my life, and in the lives of my friends are beyond description!

Reformers Unanimous is a global organization with over eight hundred chapters world-wide. The program is a faith-based, Christ-centered recover and reconciliation program. It has been an effective tool in reaching and rescuing thousands of people since it began, as a little Bible study in 1996.

God has opened the door for our local chapter- here in Flower Mound, TX- to travel to London, England to launch this program at a local church. We will be teaming with a missionary family whose church is located in a part of London that is decimated by drugs and alcohol. During our time in London we will be training and equipping the church to effectively minister to broken people. We will be involved in outreach, and spreading word in the community of the recovery group. We will also host the first two meetings in this new groups history.

With that being said, I need help to make this dream become a reality. First, I would like to ask you to pray for our team. London is a cold city to the Gospel, but we know that prayer will soften the hearts of those with whom our team will be in contact. Secondly, I would humbly ask that you would consider supporting our mission financially. We have put together a very cost-effective, high-impact trip in the "travel off-season" to maximize every dollar. Every little bit will make a HUGE difference!

Checks can be made payable to Temple Baptist Church with "RU London" in the memo line. The mailing address for the church is: Temple Baptist Church, 2501 Northshore Blvd., Flower Mound, TX 75028. All gifts will be completely tax deductible.

Thank you,
Richard

Lost In Translation

Meanings are everything, aren't they?! Oftentimes we will miss out on what someone is saying to, or about us because somewhere along the way the message and meaning have been lost in translation.

This is exactly where I found myself regarding Psalm 119:11 "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee." For several years I had been trying to figure out what in the world this verse was exactly saying. I had preconditioned to believe that this verse was talking about Bible memorization and I was to hide (by memorizing) Scripture in the depths of my memory bank and that somehow years down the line those deep memories would keep me from sins... But, then They didn't! So, was the Bible wrong?! Are the promises of God void?! Because, you see, I had mass quantities of Scripture memorized when I willfully and woefully walked in all forms of unrighteousness!

It is not that the Bible is wrong! It's not that God's promises are not reliable. It is, however, that the true message of this verse has been lost in translation. The word, "Hide" in this verse literally means, "to take refuge". WHOA!!! That is entirely different than memorization to "stow away information"! The Bible isn't telling us to put away the Bible "for safe keeping"... It is literally telling us that the Bible IS "MY SAFE KEEPING"!

Obviously, this could go far deeper than simply one word in one verse. For surely it does. It does in my heart, in my Journal, and in the Word. This was simply the "Director's Cut" for our RU bulletin, and I felt it might be a blessing.

Lotsa' Love For Ya',

-R

Top 10 Reasons EVERY Church Should Have a Recovery and Reconciliation Ministry!

Top Ten Reasons to Have an R&R Ministry

10. Addicts Are Givers Not Takers. They are just given to the wrong things!

9. Once an Addict Finds Freedom They Want to Tell Everyone Where the Well is!

8. You won’t be pressured to change all that you’re already doing in your church. They [the addicted] don’t know church can be *done* any other way!

7. Your church is ALREADY full of addicts!

6. Newly released addicts, though scary at first (think “Demoniac of the Gadarenes”), will set your church on fire!

5. There is no shame in their game! Just wait until they get a hold of Romans 1:16!!!

4. The church was never intended to be a trophy case (or a museum)! It’s a Hospital!

3. Don’t be afraid to let sinners in! It’s the Church! Jesus already said the gates of hell won’t prevail against it! Quit thinking sinners are spies sent to destroy... They’re lost sheep searching for the fold!

2. Because addicts are dying in the dark while we harbor the Light for whom we perceive to be “righteous”!

1. Jesus’ ENTIRE ministry was a ministry of Recovery and Reconciliation!