Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies

I am writing a paper on Pakistan and reading a great book (so far) "Three Cups of Tea" (thanks Chris) I found this article on the American Thinker Blog and thought that it may be useful to you in understanding Islamic Law a little bit better. Now, regardless of what you think about the American Thinker I want to encourage you to read it and think about how this has impacted our culture and cultures around the world.

Be blessed,

Pastor Willy


Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies

It's called the economy stupid!

Southside,

We are in the midst of one of the biggest economic crisis since the great depression and many independent forecasters agree that the hemorrhage is not over and we may enter into a second depression that will dwarf the great depression. Some have dubbed it "The Greatest Depression".

As believers we should be prepared to help as much as possible in time of crisis. We should have three priorities, listed in order of priority:

1. Take care of our families
2. Take care of our church family
3. Take care of our community

In order to be able to do this we need to make sure that our house is in order. Here is a check list that will help prepare you and your family for emergencies, including natural disasters.

Be blessed,
Pastor Willy

Here is the link to that check list: www.safetycentral.com

Confessions of a Reformission Rev. - Book Review

I am reading a great book written by Mark Driscoll, "Confessions of a Reformission Rev." The book chronicles Mars Hill's journey as a church from 0 - 4000 members. Mars Hill is a Seattle church that is culturally relevant and also fiercely Biblical, both in its teaching and practice. In chapter 0, titled: Ten Curious Questions, Mark ask this question:

Question 7

Will your church have a mission of community or be a community of mission?

The buzzword community is so often bantered about that it is nearly devoid of meaning. But since the church is a community, it is important to define what kind of community the church should be. Without a clear definition of what a missional church community is and does, tragically, community will become the mission of the church. Consequently, the goal of people will be to hang out together in love, like the family they never had. While this is not evil, it is also not sufficient.

If taken too far, this can lead to the heresy of participatory redemption, in which the goal is to have authentic friendships and a loving community instead of repentance and personal faith in Jesus Christ as the means of salvation. This error is a very real threat is overlooked by many young Christian Leaders I meet who prefer small and more loosely defined neo-church arrangements and so-called new monastic communities, in which being in community sometimes takes priority over being in Christ.

In Scripture, we see two prototypical communities: Babel/Babylon and Pentecost. Their similarities and differences are noted below.



The Babylonian version of community is godless affinity. Babylonian community does not aspire to grow except by internal births, dies not welcome people who are different, does not practice hospitality, and seeks to remain safe and successful. Community is the only goal for churches who think Babylonian. God’s response to Babylonian community is judgment and scattering, because it is a sin, especially in the church.

The Pentecost version of community exists for mission, not for itself. Pentecost community is not held together because people are similar but rather because they are on the same mission with the same Lord. Because of this, Pentecost community is marked by a desire to expand God’s kingdom through salvation of many diverse people, who are hospitably welcomed to learn about the greatness of Jesus.

People who think with a Pentecost mindset do not see the building of community in their church as their mission. Rather they see their church community as existing solely for God’s mission, and they accept that the only way to have healthy community is to pursue God’s mission of reaching lost people because community is an effect of mission but not an effective mission. God’s response to Pentecost missional community is grace an unity through the Holy Spirit.

Be blessed as you build a Penticost Community,

Pastor Willy

Stephen R. Covey The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

There has been a popular saying in Free Methodist Circles over the last several years when it came to the life of the church, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing".

I have lately been reminded of the fact that secondary issues, if allowed, will divert your attention from what is really important!

One thing that I learned from my Theology professor, Dr. Gary Habermas, was the difference between 1st Order theological issues and 2nd order Theological issues.
First order or First importance issues are the non-negotiables of the faith. These are often referred to as the Fundamentals. If you have ever attended a fundamental church you would readily recognize this term. It is basically referring to the 5 non-negotiables:

1. The literal inerrancy of the autographs of scripture. (The word autographs means the original writings of the authors of scripture, so manuscript copies and translations are not included in what is inerrant according to the fundamentals.)
2. The virgin birth and deity of Christ.
3. The substitutionary view of the atonement.
4. The bodily resurrection of Christ.
5. The imminent return of Christ.
Or some variation of these.

Second order theological issues would be things that we could disagree on and still consider that person to be a believer. Here is an example:

Special Creation is a first order theological position. The time and length of creation is a second order issue. In other words, all Christians believe that God created the universe, how he did that is a different issue all together. If you believe in The Big Bang, The Gap Theory, or a Literal 7 Day creation as I do, you can still be a Christian.



Now I know that some of you at this point are feeling sleepy, and I am sorry to get all theological on you, but this is very important for us to understand in order to maintain unity in the body.

The point is that on the negotiables it is ok to have differing opinions and to still love and fellowship together.
Here are some examples of negotiable:

1. The Tribulation
2. Women in Ministry
3. Worship styles
4. The duration of Hell
5. Sign Gifts (Healing, Tongues, Apostle, Miracles & Interpretation of Tongues)

And there are many more… all of which can be violently divisive if we allow, more than one church, more than one person, more than one denomination has been wounded and divided by choosing to focus on secondary issues.

I believe that this is one of the MOST EFFECTIVE strategies of the devil!

I want to admonish you… “Keep the main thing the main thing.”

Jesus told us what the main thing was just before He ascended. Remember, He said to go and make disciples!

As a church plant we cannot afford to have our time and energy diverted from this important work! We must all be diligent to keep the mission that Christ charged us with on the forefront of our mind and actions.

Southside, what are you doing this summer to use your gifts and serve God in making disciples?

Keep your eyes on Jesus and your focus on building His kingdom and all the secondary issues will fall into line.

Pastor Willy

Here is a link to where you can find out more about what Free Methodist's believe: www.freemethodistchurch.org