This morning Brad and I want to share some important (perhaps critical) information with you. We are going to share this information by asking each other questions. We hope you listen, think, and remember.

1. David asked Brad three questions and Brad shared information in his answers to those questions.
   1. The three questions David asked Brad:
      1. Brad, what should be our definition of Family Life Ministry?
      2. Brad, what are the objectives in developing a Family Life Ministry?
      3. Brad, explain to us what a Family Life Ministry is and is not.
   2. The information that Brad shared included the following:
      Many people are thinking, "Family Life Ministry ... I continue to hear that term, but I'm just not sure what you mean by that." We need to begin by defining what we mean by Family Life Ministry.

      Family Life Ministry is ministry of the church through preventative and therapeutic efforts designed to strengthen ALL forms of families in the church and in the community.

      In other words, we want to begin by finding some form of ministry for every single member of our church family, whether they are single, married, divorced, remarried, widowed, young, old, or in between. By actively involving every member in some form of ministry or service to others, we will in turn, be better prepared to reach out to our community and reach others for the cause of Christ.

      Good Family Life Ministry will be built on 3 things:

      1. The Bible
      2. Marriage and the Family
      3. Adult Education-- address and prevent problems before they arise and teach people how to deal with specific problems when they do arise.

         The church often deals with the task of having to "pour cold water on smoldering ashes." Effective Family Life Ministry helps you "get there before it's too late"--before the problems arise.

      Before we go any further, let us tell you what Family Life Ministry is not. Family Life Ministry is not:

      1. Building a Facility
      2. Not necessarily expensive (it can start small and grow to different levels and involve many different ministries)
      3. Not a catalog of programs--("if we just get the right program, it will fix everything here").
      4. A "title only" approach to ministry--("we definitely need something new here, so let's start this new thing and give it a fancy name").
      5. A counseling center--it will involve counseling but goes far beyond just counseling alone.
      6. Not just limited to mom, dad, and the kids--(The percentage of traditional families in the church has dropped to about 15%. [The definition of a traditional family: parents and children with the father working as the only source of financial income. Mom stays at home.] The number of families in the church that are dual income families has risen to over 25%. The fastest growing type of family in the church is the single parent family. There are also singles, blended families, and widow/widowers.)

      Family Life Ministry is a philosophy of ministry that is people centered and seeks to do good to others just as Jesus did.

      Family Life Ministry will help families begin their spiritual journeys, grow, suffer, struggle, etc. In order to do this, the leadership must know their members well.

      Because of the need to know each member better, we have decided to participate in a Congregational Needs Analysis. This 25 question survey will allow the leadership to get to know the congregation better and it will better prepare us for the types of programs and educational classes we need to provide our families here.

2. Brad asked David three questions and David shared information in his answers to the questions.
   1. The three questions Brad asked David:
      1. David, what is God's purpose for any person [man or woman] being a Christian?
      2. David, what do you consider to be ONE critical understanding that each one of us in the congregation needs right now?
      3. David, you have spent forty years of your life preaching, teaching, counseling, and studying. With all of that as a background, what do you understand God wants us to be as a congregation of Christians?
   2. The information David shared in his answers included the following:
      1. Question one: what is God's purpose for any person [man or woman] being a Christian?
         Let me begin my answer by stating that I am convinced (even among Christians) many purposes we champion for being a Christian are more about our purposes than God's purposes.
         1. These common purposes have existed for a very long time.
         2. They have been around so long that the vast majority accept them and no one uses the Bible to question them.
         3. In fact, to question them is to be "ungodly," "unbiblical," and disloyal to the church.

         My understanding of God's purposes for being a Christian must included these two basic understandings:

         1. God's purpose for the man or woman who becomes a Christian is for him or her to become a spiritual person in Jesus Christ.
            1. That is much, much more than becoming a member of the church.
            2. That is the dedication of that Christian man or woman to let Jesus Christ remake him or her into a specific kind of person.
         2. God's purpose for the man or woman who becomes a Christian is for him or her to come as close to His mind and His heart as possible.
            1. He or she wants to think from Jesus' perspective because Jesus thinking was God's thinking in a human body living in this world.
            2. He or she wants to have the feelings of Jesus (again) because Jesus' feelings are God's feelings clothed in a human body in the world.
      2. Question two: what do you consider to be ONE critical understanding that each one of us needs in the congregation right now?
         1. One critical understanding everyone of us needs to have in common right now is this: it is okay with God for Christians to be different. Romans 14 made that point very powerfully to the Christians in Rome.
         2. God's objective in Jesus is to make spiritual persons, not to make spiritual clones.
         3. Each one of is an individual. God wants each one of us to be a godly individual.
      3. Question three: what do you understand God wants us to be as a congregation of Christians?
         1. This is my understanding of what God wants us to be as a congregation of Christians: any struggling person could come into our midst and sense quickly that he or she could find help with those struggles and encouragement.
         2. People who are hurting should be able to be with us and quickly sense that we care.
            1. With a little time they should be able to understand that we care because we know God.
            2. With a little time they should be able to understand that knowing God is the greatest source of pain relief in existence.
      4. There is a lot of pain among us.
         1. We need to provide the teaching and help that opens our lives to God.
         2. To do that, we need to know where you are hurting and in need.
         3. That is the purpose of this analysis.

      [Transition: Brad steps down and David closes]

3. If Jesus the man lived in Fort Smith today, and if Jesus the man met with this congregation, several of us would have a very difficult time hearing him and watching him.
   1. Think about only the people and incidents that are found in the gospel of John.
      1. In John 2, he took plain water and turned it into wine at a wedding feast.
         1. If he performed a miracle right here right now, some of us would have real problems--"Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. Miracles are not permitted around here."
         2. If he made wine right here right now, some of us would have real problems--"Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted around here."
      2. In John 2, he ran people out of the temple because they were there for the wrong reason.
         1. If right here right now he got into someone's face and told that person to get out of here because they were here for the wrong reason, some of us would say, "Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. "
         2. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get people to come?"
      3. In John 3, he challenged the knowledgeable Nicodemus by demanding that he grasp the basic concept of the new birth.
         1. Nicodemus was very prestigious in the religious community, and Jesus exposed his ignorance.
         2. "Jesus, you simply cannot do that here. Do you have any idea of who he is?"
      4. In John 4, he offered living water to a Samaritan woman who had been divorced five times and was currently living with a man to whom she was not married.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, "Jesus, you simply cannot do that here."
         2. "That is not the kind of people God wants in His church."
      5. In John 6, Jesus miraculously fed five thousand people many of whom had no spiritual interest in his teachings.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, "Jesus, what are you doing? You simply cannot do that here."
         2. "Do you have any idea of the problems you are creating?"
      6. In John 8, Jesus refused to condemn a woman who was taken as she was in the actual act of committing adultery.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, "Jesus, you simply cannot do that here."
         2. "People will get the wrong idea about God."
      7. In John 9, he healed a blind man and really upset the religious community.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, "Jesus, you simply cannot do that here."
         2. "You are alienating the people who are serious about God matters.'"
      8. In John 12, he allowed Mary to anoint his feet with a very expensive perfume.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, "Jesus, you simply cannot do that here."
         2. "That is a waste of money, an extravagance that cannot be justified."
         3. "You simply must learn to make better use of our resources."
      9. In John 13, he very humbly washed his disciples' feet.
         1. If he did that right here right now, some of us would say, "Jesus, you simply cannot do that here."
         2. "You are embarrassing people by making them feel very awkward."
         3. "Making people feel awkward is not what we are about."

There are many, many lessons to be learned from all those incidents. To me it seems one lesson is obvious: Jesus cared. He cared about God. He cared about people. He cared about hurting people. In his caring, he gave hurting people hope.

The more you learn about God, the more you care about people. The more you learn about Jesus, the more you care about people. The more you learn about God and Jesus, the more you extend hope to struggling people.