Pilgrim Strategies - Pilgrims Beacon

PILGRIMS STRATEGIES

God’s purpose is the element in pilgrim strategies for the church that is vastly different from the secular strategic planning models. We see setting our hearts and minds on God as the beginning of the strategic planning process. Without question, it is God’s plan we want, not our own.

God obviously expects us to plan. He has given to us a number of clear principles along with some great examples. He makes it clear that we are not to trust our own plans and strategies and ignore the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is only after we seek the heart of God and His direction that we can establish plans that are pleasing to Him and plans that will succeed.

Strategic planning is not only a biblical concept, it is a biblical mandate. It is God’s chosen method of working to establish how you and your church intend to carry out the Great Commission. Don’t just repeat last year. Be intentional in getting God’s heart and knowing how you will accomplish His mission in your setting.

The Theology of Christian Resistance

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THE question of Christian resistance to a lawfully constituted authority is a very difficult one today, and it has been from the beginning. The New Testament unquestionably establishes the fact that disobedience to political authority is valid under those conditions where the civil government is attempting to suppress the preaching of the gospel (Acts 5:29).

To deny this is to deny the history of the church. On the other hand, obedience to the authorities (plural) is required by Paul.

“Conflict between Christ and Caesar is not inevitable: in fact, Jesus specifically commanded His disciples to ‘render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. Conflict becomes inevitable when the secular authority-‘Caesar’-demands for himself honors that belong only to God….In modern America, the state does not openly claim divine worship; but in effect it is seeking to make itself the center of all human loyalties, the goal of all human aspirations, the source of all human values, and the final arbiter of all human destiny. In so doing, without using the language of revelation, it is claiming to be divine…..”

John W. Whitehead, “Christian Resistance in the Face of State Interference,” in this symposium.

“The question of resistance to a lawfully constituted authority is a very difficult one today, and it has been from the beginning. Christians from the beginning have had to answer questions like these: