Christ Communicator

The Masters, my favorite tournament of the year. This is the week to be Jim Nantz (whom I can hear saying the statement above in my head), who got front row seats at the great NCAA championship game Monday night, and he will get the best seat in the house at Augusta as he commentates for CBS.

Who’s your pick, Tiger or the field? I’m taking the field.

…with Aigerim from Kasakhstan.

This weekend (I was in Athens, Ohio–more on this in a future post), I got to spend several hours with a young man who just recently got back from a two-year missionary stint in East Asia. His name is Mark, he was a college student and member of First Baptist Church of Athens while I was the pastor there, and he’s like my “son in the faith.” I just love to hear Mark talk about his dreams, and also his experiences (he could have lost his life a couple of times these past two years!). 

He said something Sunday afternoon that was so profound, I wanted to share it with you. He was talking about how truly difficult life on the mission field can be (he was not complaining, just stating facts), and then he said something like this, “You can go to a hard place and might be sustained for maybe a couple of months just off of the buzz of John Piper sermons, but spiritual highs from things like that don’t last. What is ultimately needed is steady and prayerful meditation on Scripture.” Mark and I both really love John Piper’s preaching, and God has given the church pastor-teachers (Ephesians 4:11-12), but I think he’s on to something here, not only for future missionaries but Christians in general.  Consider the words of the psalmist: ”The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:7-8). Or think of Jesus Who, when He was in the wilderness being tempted, was sustained by and countered Satan with Scripture (see Matthew 4:1-11).

Piper sermons are normally very helpful, but they must complement, not replace, a life of Scripture reading and meditation. John Piper’s words will not get you through the hard times, God’s Word will. Thanks, Mark. I love you brother. 

http://www.ccwonline.org/powerpoint/eaglet.pdf

My kids would listen to this story (and look at the pictures!) nearly every day, I think.

Have you ever wondered how the entire Bible fits together? CCW’s site has a great little ministry tool (written by Buz McNutt) that can be used with people of all ages in order to learn the Bible’s “story.” It’s called “A Pictorial Survey of the Bible,” and it can be downloaded various ways at the following: http://www.ccwonline.org/survey.html.  Learn it as a family, learn it in your Sunday School class, or just learn it personally.

The following is not a plan for reading the Bible in a year, but a way to keep track of what you have read in your Bible: http://www.bulletininserts.org/txtfiles/biblere.pdf. You might like this approach to Bible reading in 2008.

If you prefer a reading plan that gets you through the Bible in a year, I recommend Don Carson’s two volume devotionals titled For the Love of God (based on the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Schedule). You can start receiving these daily (I’d recommend you start getting them now, and start with the plan January 1) by going to the following site – http://freegroups.net/groups/christwaymedia/ - and then clicking the e-mail address to the right of where it says “Join” (a bit confusing, so let me know if you have any problems). If you are going to purchase the volumes, start with volume 1 for 2008, and then volume 2 for 2009. I am not typically a fan of devotionals, but these are excellent because Carson does a tremendous job of teaching the storyline of Scripture. Here’s where you can purchase the actual books: http://www.wtsbooks.com/

I was scheduled to preach at Faith Christian Academy’s chapel on December 5, but I got a call yesterday asking if I would fill in this morning at 8 am.  I accepted the offer and preached John 16:8-11 (which is a portion of Scripture I explain when I teach a childhood conversion seminar), and really tried to teach the 7th-12th graders about the convicting work of the Holy Spirit upon any whom God saves, making application to their lives.  Pray for these students.

Dear Readers: 

I have established this site for at least two reasons:

1)  To update those who support my ministry, that they might hear and see what God is doing, and subsequently pray more appropriately.  Patty and I have many faithful people who pray for us and give financially to us, and we hope this site will be a place they visit often to see what the Lord is doing in our lives and ministry.  As we minister in our church, Christ Fellowship of Kansas City (www.christfellowshipkc.org), we hope to inform our support team through words and pictures.  As the Lord opens up opportunities for me to travel on behalf of Christian Communicators Worldwide (www.ccwonline.org), I hope to announce and then summarize each trip and provide pictures when possible.  Finally, in God’s goodness, I have begun to write a bit, and I hope to keep our friends updated in this area of my life.

2)  To provide necessary information to those who might invite me to teach or preach.  I will put information on this site specifically designed to aid those who might desire to have me come and minister to them.   

The name of this site is derived from the church in which I share leadership responsibility, Christ Fellowship of Kansas City, and the ministry in which I serve, Christian Communicators Worldwide.  Thus, I took “Christ” out of the former, and “Communicators” out of the latter (making it singular), and came up with a summary description of my ministry and name for this site.  As the Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

 I’d be grateful and humbled if you would pray for the Burchett’s. 

For Christ’s Glory,
Steve