Jason Dollar . Net

The new church website is coming right along. Check it out if you get a moment. Suggestions are welcomed.

www.rmlbc.com

This morning, I had the honor of being a guest on Conversations with Harry Reeder, a radio program hosted by Pastor Harry Reeder of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, and Tom Lamprecht of Atlantic Coast Communications. The topic of our conversation primarily dealt with teaching apologetics to high school kids, with a focus on the recently published book Contend, which I co-authored with Bradley Pinkerton. (Please note that the book can now be read free of charge online).

We recorded five sessions that will air the week of August 10.

BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(Monday through Friday)

Birmingham, AL / WLJR-FM 88.5
3:00 p.m., 5:20 p.m. & 11:45 p.m.

Panama City, FL / WPCU-FM 106.9
6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.

West Point, PA – WPRV-AM 1700
7:05 a.m. & 5:05 p.m.

Jacksonville, NC / WEGG-AM 710
10:30 a.m.

New Bern, NC / WSTK-FM 104.5
10:30 a.m.

Olivebridge, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, NY / WFSO-FM 88.3
12:30 p.m.

I do ask for your prayers, that the Lord would bless these broadcasts, bringing needy ears within the sound of the radio. Our goal, as always, is to point people to the everlasting life found only in Jesus Christ.

This photo, taken and edited by my wife Page, communicates a couple of major things to me.

First, that the Lord is good. He creates life for his glory, he loves children and wants them to come to him, and he calls parents to lead their young ones into the Father’s care.

Second, Page has stepped up her game tremendously in the world of photography!

1 Cor. 12:18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

Have you noticed that the notion of church membership has fallen on hard times? For whatever reason, many folks do not see the need or importance of joining themselves to a local flock. And churches are often guilty of watering down the concept as well. Some churches are easier to join than, say, Sam’s Wholesale, or a tennis club. This reveals serious misunderstandings about the usefulness of keeping a clean church membership roll.

From a pastoral standpoint, a clean membership roll is essential. How can a shepherd care for a flock, if he is uncertain which sheep are in his flock? A pastor cannot possible care for the entire world of Christians, or even an entire region or city. He must be accountable to God for the sheep that God has placed him over. But how can he know which sheep those are, unless some method is used for determining this?

Some object and say, I can be a Christian without being a member of a church. Fair enough. A sheep can wander alone in God’s pasture if that is what he likes. But this is not the way God intends for it to be. A man can marry a woman and live down the street from her, but that is not the way God intends for it to be.

The Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20) has commanded that, instead of being a loner, we unite with the sheep around us. This uniting goes beyond simply being in the Lord’s field (being a Christian). It is a gathering together of believers, under the Lord’s direction, for the purpose of community worship, fellowship, and service. As an undershepherd, I want to know which sheep have united to our local flock, so that I can focus the greater part of my energies on those sheep.

Bottom line: take your own church membership very seriously. Willingly place yourself in submission to the authority of a biblical local church, and enjoy the great benefits that come from obedience.

We will not hide them from their children, but  tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. -Psalm 78:4

My son Isaac was born yesterday, on my birthday. It was thrilling. His first and last name means Laughing Wasp. His middle name is Mincaye (which means Wasp), a name we borrowed from a Central American Indian who was responsible for stabbing missionaries to death many years ago, but who, because of the grace of Jesus Christ, became a Christian and a lead many of his fellow tribesmen to the Lord. It is an incredible story of grace and redemption. A few years ago, the story was retold in movie form (see http://www.endofthespear.com/).

Thanks for all your prayers for Page, Isaac, and our family. The Lord has been good, and we want to pass down to the next generation, the truth of his wonderful deeds.