General Post

My 2023 Prayer for Our Country

Stan and Carol Ponz
January 3, 2023 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 189

Dearest Heavenly Father,

What a challenging year 2022 has been for everyone. It seems we all know someone who lost family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and classmates to the pandemic or maybe even to violence. There were verbal battles and lost friendships due to positions on social concerns and other issues like critical race, gender meanings, vaxing or not vaxing, masks or no masks, global warming or climate change, and being politically red or blue or even purple. Then there were theological divisions between reformed positions, free grace, creationism, and a host of other conflicts.

There is increasing hostility about homelessness, racism, law enforcement, and crime. Then there are natural” catastrophes like monster hurricanes, severe flooding, raging fires, devastating tornadoes, and deep freezes.

All these have brought a sense of human hopelessness.

The pain of 2022 has been portrayed on the front pages of our newspapers and in the auditoriums of our churches. According to a Barna statistic, 38% of U.S. pastors, with 46% of those under age 45, have considered resigning in 2021. If the trend continues, those statistics will only worsen for 2022 and will continue to get even worse in 2023!  

Then we have the black eye given to the Bride of Christ, the Church. She has been led by too many pastors, Christian leaders, apologists, and evangelists, who have sinned with greed, moral impurity, worldly styles, and dictatorship-style leadership. These and many more have denigrated your Name in front of all the people of the world.

Dearest Father, in addition to all these appalling leanings, we are losing the next generation if most of that generation has not been lost already. Two studies we read conducted again by the Barna Group and USA Today found that nearly 75 percent of Christian young people leave the faith and the Church after high school. Intellectual skepticism is one of the main reasons. But how many of these young people were accurately taught the Bible in their homes or churches? Statistics have shown that adolescents today are sitting in school an average of 30 hours per week, often watching television, bombarded by commercials and sitcoms, playing video games, or connecting on social media. All these contrasts with the time spent weekly in the church classroom or worship service: 45 minutes. Generation Z has been identified as “the first post-Christian generation in the history of the United States.”

Here’s my prayer, oh heavenly Father, for our country in 2023: Would you revitalize your Church to rally young people to be sound in the faith once delivered to the saints so long ago to evangelize their world today? Would you light up the parents and adults with the brilliance of the truth of God’s Word that would ignite the new generation of young people with the power of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit?

Prepare a new generation of pastors who will model true Christlikeness, minister to those who are disenfranchised, mentor the next generation of spiritual influencers, message the flock of God with the accuracy, clarity, and urgency of the gospel and God’s Word, and manage the affairs of the Church and ministry with honesty, decency, and integrity.

Prepare a new generation of parents who listen to God, learn from God, lean on God, and live for God to be the examples of holiness, and then teach and train their children in God’s Word.

Prepare a new generation of teenagers who stand strong and last long for the cause of the Great Commandment of loving God and others and the Great Commission of presenting the message of salvation by faith alone in Christ and then growing to become fully obedient worshippers of God.

May this prayer not just begin a movement with a Biblical message but be echoed across our country and around the world!

Please, dear Father, use Make It Clear Ministries, Clarity Christian College, and other like-minded ministries and churches to heal your Church, our nation, and this world until Jesus’ soon return.

I ask these things in the Name of and for the glory of our mighty Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!

Amen.

Dr. Stan Ponz
President Make It Clear Ministries and Clarity Christian College

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Leadership

Ways to Serve Our ONE

Ways to Serve Our ONE
August 15, 2022 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 181

As Christians and especially Christian leaders, we are wanting people to come to faith alone in Christ and going on to become fully obedient worshippers of God. And we are wanting to help Christians to do the same…right? Right!

But so many times wanting to and wanting others to do it doesn’t translate into actually doing it ourselves…right? Right!

No one I know likes getting into a cold car in the dead of winter. That’s why auto makers manufacture cars with seat warmers and now steering wheel warmers. This makes taking a trip more comfortable.

So, today’s edition of Leadership Helps is to remind us to identify our ONE who we will lovingly serve for a gospel conversation. Of course, the best way is to use prayer to warm them up. While keeping our ONE in prayer, we could add the following ways to warm up our ONE to a gospel conversation.

  1. Take them out for a cup of coffee.
  2. Write a note of encouragement.
  3. Hand out notes of encouragement to those who serve you at grocery stores, restaurants, barbershop, hair salon, hardware store, etc., letting them know they are prayed for and loved by Jesus and you.
  4. Text how you can pray for them.
  5. Drop off a gift card for your ONE at their door and leave a hand-written note explaining why you did it.
  6. Type up a note saying you are offering to help your neighbors in any way they need. Leave it on neighbors’ doors. Offer to do yard work, run errands, etc. Ask for prayer requests. Put your contact information in the note.
  7. Anytime the Lord puts your ONE on your mind, stop to pray for them, then send a text or DM them to let them know you have prayed for them and ask how they are doing.
  8. What other ways can you serve your ONE? Let me know so I can add to my list those ways to serve my ONE too!

No doubt we can all agree this form of friendship evangelism still needs an actual GOSPEL conversation. Warming them up is just a vital first step. So, let’s get busy and serve our ONE with the gospel!

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General Post

The Foundations of Freedom

The Foundations of Freedom
July 4, 2022 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 155

In the LORD I put my trust; how can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? For look! The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

Psalms 11:1 – 7

Preparing for a very important election year in 2022 and again in 2024 has reminded me again why the Foundations of our Freedom need to be remembered and realized.  I would like us to be prepared for decisions we will make as we are given the right and privilege to vote for future candidates and on issues that will affect our lives.  That is one of the main reasons I want to write on the subject, The Foundations of Freedom.

Have you ever had someone, or a group of well-intended friends or families try to give you counsel based on their own bias?  I have.  How did it work out for you?

This is exactly what was happening with David.  He makes a statement of his unshakable trust in the Lord as His refuge during times of challenge.  Then it appears his “counselors” respond in panic with advice and support… their lack of faith is revealed in how they responded.

Let’s take a moment and see what is going on in this Psalm of David…Psalm 11:3 – 7.

The pivotal verse may very well be verse 3… “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”  Perhaps the best translation from the Hebrew and interpretation of this verse is done by Joseph Alexander in the classic three volume commentary, The Psalms: Translated and Explained; first published in 1850 and printed again by Baker Book House in 1975.  On page 53 Alexander wrote…

The year was 1833. The place was the island of Jamaica, the Crown Colony of the British Empire. The issue was the abolition of slavery. Although the British considered Jamaica an important resource to their empire, their Parliament had voted to set the nation free. A date was set, and the island slaves waited for their freedom with great anticipation.

Finally, the morning came, and as the rays of the sun announced the day, across the Island could be heard the song, “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last.”

Likewise, there is a song of freedom at the heart of the American spirit. We are a nation founded upon the idea of Freedom.

Our Constitution declares we were established:

“To secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and those who would follow.” Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg address declared our nation to have been, “conceived in liberty”. Freedom and America are synonymous terms.

But true freedom never comes apart from God. Our Forefathers understood and acknowledged that vital truth. That is why when they establish this land, they made sure that America was built on solid foundations from the Word of God.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FREEDOM.

John 8:32 “And you will know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.”

A clear understanding of the truths of life, morality, honesty, and social order are best found in the Bible. The teachings of no other document more plainly describe the principles upon which nations build a civilized society.

These Biblical principles have come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic. And although they are numerous and found throughout the Bible, we will look at seven of the most basic ones that have undoubtedly served as foundations for our great nation.

America’s Founding Fathers gave us the country’s founding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and others. For them to form such documents, they had to lean upon some common understanding of law, government, social order, and a basic moral code. These understandings sprang from a common acceptance of what has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic. The term “Judeo-Christian” refers to “the influence of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament on one’s system of values, laws and ethical code.” It is not just a system of theological thought, but a culture of values as seen in one’s individual’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Some would argue that a few of our nation’s Founding Fathers were not Christians; some were Deists. Whether they were Christians or not, their writings, words and votes indicate that the vast majority of them embraced the Judeo-Christian Bible as the basis for a civilized society and social order. It is especially important during these days of rampant pluralism and situation ethics that we pastors (and our people) remember these same anchors of faith and values that are brought to us through the Word of God.

Although there are many biblical principles from which our Judeo-Christian values spring, I have selected seven biblical principles that seem to have the greatest relevance in America’s past and present. These “common sense” values provide moral balance in a seemingly unbalanced world.

Principle #1 – The Dignity and Sanctity of Human Life

Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.”
Matt 22:39, “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Scriptures emphatically teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. In the Declaration of Independence, our nation’s Founding Fathers wrote that every man, woman, and child have the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We Americans not only believe this for our land, but we also send our brave men and women in our military forces across the world to defend the rights of those whose lives are threatened. 

When we believe and understand that every human being has measureless worth that does away with bigotry, racism, self-centeredness and all the rest that goes along with it. If people and nations do not grant this respect and protection for the born and unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless, because they are no longer undergirded by the most basic of human needs—the need to exist.  FACT: 79,817 abortions were performed in Florida in 2021.The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible—it is the beginning principle of any civilized society.

Principle #2 – The Traditional Family

Genesis 2:21 – 24, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

The biblical view of marriage and family is the basis of our society and serves as the backbone of a healthy social order. The clear plan of God involves a man and a woman producing children within the institution of marriage. Since the joining together of Adam and Eve, marriage has been defined as a holy union between one man and one woman, and out of that union comes children born into a loving home with a father and a mother to nurture them and teach them how to become healthy, productive, and responsible citizens.

God instituted the traditional family defined as one man and one woman. If this marriage is blessed with children, those children have the rights to a godly and secure home with a dad and mom.

When God’s definition of “marriage” and “family” are no longer respected, these institutions become meaningless. World history has proven over and again that preserving the traditional family is vital to the future of any great nation.

Principle #3 – A National Work Ethic

2 Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

Meaning that people should work for their own livelihood and the welfare of others. We are not to be dependent upon the government for our livelihood. Ingrained deep within the American spirit is the willingness and desire to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. This independent spirit has no desire to exist on handouts from the government or siphon off a living from benevolence or friendships. And it is this independent spirit that has allowed America to create the greatest and strongest economy in the history of the world.

True, Americans have had their challenges. The Great Depression of the 1930s knocked us to our knees, but it did not beat us. Americans, hand-in-hand and heart-to-heart helped one another and lifted our nation back to economic might.

The powers of the world may look at our nation and ask where this spirit of honest labor came from. Where did this work ethic originate in the American psyche? It came from the men and women before us who were raised to believe the principles of honest work found throughout the Word of God.

Principle #4 – The Right to A God-Centered Education

Deuteronomy 6:1 – 7, “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—“a land flowing with milk and honey.’ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

We read in Proverbs 1:7 that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” One cannot possibly understand the creation without first knowing its Creator.

Our forefathers certainly understood this. For example, did you know that most of America’s oldest and most respected universities—such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth—were founded by Christian preachers or churches?

Harvard University, founded in 1636, adopted “Rules and Precepts” which included the following: “Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.” The university’s original seal has upon it these words: “Truth for Christ and the Church.”

In addition, the first textbook for school children, The New England Primer, taught the ABCs to children by instructing them to memorize: “A—In Adam’s fall, we sinned all. B—Heaven to find, the Bible mind.”

This does not mean that all schools should be Christian, but it does mean the recognition of the Creator God.

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s future. Our nation’s first president, George Washington, reminded us of the importance of a God-centered education when he said, “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle…it is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

Principle # 5 – Recognizing the Abrahamic Covenant

Genesis 12:1 – 3, “Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Galatians 3:7 “Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.”

Psalms 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…”

The book of Genesis records the story of God coming to Abraham and making a covenant with him. Meaning that a Nation under God was a nation which was especially blessed above all the nations of the world.

The basis of this covenant was that, if Abraham would follow God in obedience to His laws and commandments, God would bless Abraham with generations of children that would outnumber the stars in the heavens (Gen. 15:5). Abraham believed God and obeyed His Word, and God rewarded him with a nation of people known as the Jews.

The Abrahamic Covenant states that if a person or a nation obeys God, observing the moral truths found in the Bible, that person or nation will be blessed.  If they disobey, they will bring punishment upon themselves. For most of our nation’s history, Americans have accepted as fact that good deeds produced good results, that people who were “God-fearing” and respectable in language and lifestyle would be blessed by God. This fact has been proven to be true time and again. The writer of Proverbs tells it plainly, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

Principle #6 – Common Decency

Matthew 22:39 “The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Simply put, decent nations are made up of decent people who, when faced with a situation, would do the decent and honest thing. For the most part, this has been the experience of our national history. For example, Americans have given their lives in wars on foreign soil so that others might taste freedom. Americans have worked to feed the world’s poor and hungry, to clothe the naked and aid the crippled. Americans have opened their arms to many of the world’s oppressed peoples and allowed them safe harbor upon our shores.

Engraved on the pedestal on which stands the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor are these words by Emma Lazarus:

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

A world-renowned symbol of freedom, this Statue reminds us all that America has indeed been, and continues to be today, a nation of common decency.

Principle #7 – Our Personal Accountability to God

Hebrews 9:27 “…it is appointed for men to die once but after this the judgment.”

Perhaps the greatest restraint for acts of evil against one’s fellow man is the realization that every person and every nation of people will one day give an account for their actions to Almighty God. Certainly, the Bible tells that we are responsible for our actions, and we will be held accountable for what we do or don’t do. Also, there is a penalty for doing wrong to our fellow man, and there is a blessing when we do that which is right, noble, and just.

The story is told of Daniel Webster, the great American statesman who was once asked, “What is the most sobering thought that ever entered your mind?” He quickly responded, “My personal accountability to God.” Daniel Webster knew that one day he would stand before God in eternity and give an account for his actions. The same applies to every man, woman, and nation.

The Founding Fathers knew that these and other principles of Scripture are essential for the preservation of our national freedom.

America has been blessed as a nation in a particular way. We are not a special people above all other nations—not at all—but God’s blessings have certainly been given to us, because for the greater part of our history, a greater part of our people have honored and obeyed the teachings of the Bible. What is true for us is true for all others who choose it, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Ps 33:12).

THE GREATEST FREEDOM OF ALL

Upon our coinage is stamped these words: “E PLURIBUS UNUM” It is Latin meaning: “From Many — One” America is nation of ones. For the “Land” to be free, the people must be free!

That is the message of the Gospel. Jesus told us the reason He had come into the world to set men free. Certainly, Christ is the greatest Freedom Fighter this world has ever known!

Galatians 5:1 (NIV), “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm…”

Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from law of sin and death.”

FREE from SIN…  

Think about it… No longer do sin and the weight of sin control our lives. No longer are we controlled by the World, the Flesh and Devil. We become free to live our own lives for the very first time.

FREEDOM from DEATH…

Death no longer has control over us, for through Christ we have conquered Death, Hell, and the Grave.

Are you free today? I’m not talking about political or social freedom but spiritual freedom. Eternal freedom.

Have you been set free by Christ? You can make your eternal proclamation of Freedom today. Place your faith alone in Jesus Christ (The real foundation for freedom) and He will become your Savior. Allow Him to Set You Free!

Even if our country no longer holds to any or all the seven biblical principles that have the greatest relevance in America’s past and present, we can remain free in Christ!

Thank you to Dr. Richard Lee for information used in the preparation of this article.

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Leadership

How to Lead Through Daily and Unpredictable Change

How to Lead Through Daily and Unpredictable Change
August 4, 2020 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 566

Before the virus crisis, we already thought we were leading through rapid and unexpected change.  But now we are called upon to lead through local, national, and global change that is unprecedented. Often with information that is “accurate” one day, we discover through more study and information, it was not.  

So, no surprise. You are leading through unprecedented worldwide change.

Take a moment and re-read that last line.

Unprecedented worldwide change. 

If it feels challenging, it’s only because it is challenging.  Then how does this translate into your smaller “world,” whether you lead people in a rural, suburban, or even urban location…and include the world in which your missionaries live!

The question becomes, how do you lead through daily and unpredictable change? How do you lead through this kind of change when you’ve never been down this road before, and frankly…neither has anyone else?

While the points in this post relate to the virus crisis, I’ll share some principles that can help you lead through daily, unpredictable change in almost any situation.

1. To Help Others Work Through Their Emotions, Work Through Yours First.

It is proven some personality types can navigate through change better than others; most people’s emotions are all over the place; shock, unbelief, anxiety, denial, depression at the most, and discouragement at the least. So are yours.

While the statement is true, the only thing constant is change.  Change can be challenging at the best of times.

As I write this, educators are still trying to figure out whether or not to open schools or what it would look like if they did and then to plan for worse case scenarios one, two, and three.  Can you just imagine the working parent and how they would, could, should handle all this?  This kind of massive disruptions triggers so many emotions in people and in you—including disbelief—that making time to work through it all is essential…for you and them.

For every leader, that’s difficult though, because you likely spend most of your time helping other people, finding “reliable” information, making decisions, and then rethinking everything the next day when new information is unloaded. In addition, you’re probably putting in 12-18-hour days with just trying to keep up with what you decided on yesterday.

This raises the question: How exactly are you working through all this?

Just because a crisis is not a time to take a sabbatical or spend a week alone in the woods contemplating how you really feel doesn’t mean you can’t work through your emotions daily.

In fact, according to Scripture, doing so will make you a better leader and help you make better decisions.

Here are some things you can do to make sure you’re processing decisions:

    • Make time to sleep. A fatigued leader is an ineffective leader. Rest can re-set you physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
    • Pray and meditate in Scripture. Begin every day with some time to reflect, pray, and even meditate on Scripture. Turn your problems over to God. This will refresh you and clear your head.
    • Eat better. Isn’t this sounding like something you already know? So just do it.
    • Take time to exercise. Even a 20-minute run or a brisk walk in fresh air will help.
    • Phone a friend you know will listen. In a crisis, you need people who don’t need anything from you. Do it today.
    • Devote more time to your family. They need your leadership and friendship too, as much as your church or company does.  If you don’t help them, your crisis will even be greater!
    • Put some distance from crisis management.  Doing so will help you make far better decisions. Not every crisis can be solved by you immediately.  Right?

It’s a given: If you don’t control your emotions, your emotions will control you.

2. Act Sooner, Than Later

When public safety is at risk, which by every account it seems to be, the best leaders are the first to act, not the last.

The “Well, the President, Governor, Mayor, Health Officials said we could gather under [a certain number of people], so we’re allowing [name that number] at a time,” isn’t likely the wisest route, particularly when things are literally changing hourly.

You want to be on the right side of Scripture on this one, protecting rather than risking, helping rather than hanging on. Aren’t that what shepherds are supposed to do for the sheep of His pasture?

Do you remember when Apple pulled out of SXSW about a week before it was canceled? It made its workers work remotely early on in the process. And it announced the closure of most of its stores long before the government mandated it.

Barring any conspiracy issues, it’s hard to know why they’ve been early leaders; it’s likely either because they have information most of us don’t or really great intuition. Being ahead of the curve isn’t bad when public safety is involved.

The reasons for being the last one still hosting events/making everyone come into the office/keeping things open often aren’t that great. Dig a little deeper, and underneath you may find stubbornness, denial, fear (of decline or lack of money), or selfishness. In other words, a sea of motivations that put your own interests ahead of the public interests. 

Some leaders play “we have faith” or “God over government” or something similar.  Hiding or flaunting our freedom are not the extremes that leaders should want for the people they are to shepherd.

I appreciate how Life Church, North Point, Mecklenburg Community Church, and many others canceled their in-person weekend experiences ahead of government directives.

Even when things began to open up, causing the surge in the numbers of infected people, North Point (a congregation of over 30,000 ) publicly stated they have stopped all in-person meetings large or small (including watch parties) and moved to virtual groups and gatherings…having a sense of excitement and anticipation of what the Lord will do in new ways to reach more people for Christ!

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

So, what about those who think this is all overblown or a massive overreaction to media or government over-reach?

What can be worse, overreaction, or delayed reaction?

‘What have you got to lose by acting sooner than later?’ is a troubling question, but less troubling than, ‘What have you got to lose by acting later?’

What you lose if you’re wrong about that is far greater than what you gain if you’re right.

It’s as simple as that.

Remember, faith can work both ways too!

You deal with the pain now, or you potentially experience far more pain later. It’s your decision.

3. Change Imposed from the Outside Isn’t Always Fixed by Motivation Alone

You can’t motivate your way out of a crisis like this.

You have to lead your way through it.  After all, we are called leaders for a reason.

Making the leadership challenge more intense is the fact that the change we’re experiencing is externally imposed change (often daily and unpredictable), not internally driven change.

For simple example. It’s one thing to decide you want to lose 20 lbs. and making the lifestyle changes to do it, or launch a new location, or build a building, or major ministry (all of which are internally driven change). Sure, that’s difficult.

But it’s another thing entirely to have someone change your kitchen, restock your pantry and order you to drop 20 pounds in six weeks, order you to open a location or to raise money for a new facility. That’s all externally-imposed change—it wasn’t your decision.

When change is externally imposed, you lose freedom, choice, and control. That’s what makes it so difficult.

When you lead internally motivated change, you set the

    • motivation
    • agenda
    • timeline
    • budget

With externally driven change, you control none of that, including control over the outcome.

COVID-19, and the radical changes it is causing on the world and daily life, are externally driven changes. You didn’t ask for any of this. But you have to lead through it anyway.

This leaves a lot of people and leaders panicking. Many of us, after all, are control freaks. Go ahead, say that out loud!

There’s no easy answer, but simply being aware of the undercurrents in play can help you understand what you’re dealing with and why you and others feel the way you feel.

The best way to lead internally driven is to focus on motivation…the why behind the what. (Think about how great you’ll feel after! How you will actually become a more effective leader!)

Motivation still matters when change is externally driven. But a significant part of your job in leading externally driven change isn’t motivation; it’s clarification.

People are confused. They don’t know what’s happening. They need a spokesperson they can trust. A leader who knows what’s best and acts.

In other words, people are looking for someone who can help reliably interpret and clarify events and lead them into a better future.

I’ve seen a lot of leaders miss that during this virus crisis because they’re still focused on motivation.

I’ve heard a lot of: God has this. This is no big deal. We’re bigger than this. We can make it. While this is true, it can cause leaders to lose credibility because they’ve failed to communicate the situation accurately and clearly.

While it’s extremely difficult to get reliable and accurate information, and while some government decisions may be under or overreactions to the problem, the crisis we’re facing is both real and deep.  Often those in government positions are still at the mercy of the information they are given…and it changes daily and unpredictably for them too. And still, the crisis exists and is sobering.

On a very factual level, the stock market is very volatile, borders are closing – opening-closing, airports and cities are madhouses or ghost towns, businesses are struggling at best or failing, people are struggling, freedom and mobility is dwindling to war-time levels, states are closing and quarantining between one another, and of course, people are sick and dying… a lot of them.

You can’t motivate your way out of a crisis like this.

You have to lead your way through it.

4. Evaluate Your Motives

Take an honest look at your motives.  Then let Scripture guide you.

Consider what change(s) need to adopt.

A crisis doesn’t always make you a great leader, but it does reveal who you really are, and often you may not like what you see. I’m regularly disappointed by my first inner response.

But you don’t have to act on your first inner response, which is where effective leadership begins.

So, to deal with that, evaluate your motives.

You’ll find things like:

    • Fear and faith
    • Denial, delay, and acceptance
    • Selfishness and sacrifice

With careful reflection, evaluation, and wise counsel to help you, you can choose the latter, not the former.

5. Both Ideal and Real Comprise Effective Leadership

The clutter online often misses the point.

Arguing whether this is right or wrong or real or not is beside the point. It’s all happening right now, and you can’t avoid it.

Many leaders seem to be gravitating toward either the cruel reality or some unrealistic ideal, the latter of which includes denial (this is so overblown people!) Actually… it’s not.

Effective leadership comprise both the ideal and real.

The wisest leaders will embrace what Jim Collins calls the Stockdale paradox.

During the Vietnam war, Jim Stockdale was an American general captured and imprisoned. For seven years, he was detained and tortured.

Stockdale said the first people to die in captivity were the optimists, who kept thinking things would get better quickly, and they’d be released. “They died of a broken heart,” Stockdale said.

Instead, Stockdale argued, the key to survival was to combine what was real and ideal, so there would be hope. Stockdale stated:

“This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end–-which you can never afford to lose–-with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Your job in crisis leadership is exactly that!

Supported by the best information you can get, be relentlessly honest about the situation facing you, and yet never lose faith in the Lord that things will get better in the end.

As one church leader wrote, crisis leadership falls apart when leaders embrace the extremes: pessimists only see the real, and naive optimists only see the ideal.

Effective Christian leaders see both…
because change is almost daily and always unpredictable!

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Leadership

1 Bad Virus Can Cultivate 5 Good Virtues

1 Bad Virus Can Cultivate 5 Good Virtues
July 10, 2020 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 258

In reality, there is not much “good” about COVID-19. There is death, illness, financial ruin, and life as we have known it will never be the same.

But since “all things work together for good,” good can come from it…if we realize our heavenly great, good, and chief Shepherd Jesus Christ is still in charge.

Instead of this virus only hindering us, how might it really help us?

Are you seeing some of the good? I know I am.

I saw Resurrection Sunday 2020 like never before. Easter 2020 was like no other before. Empty buildings, sermons online, and millions of people hearing the good news of Christ’s resurrection and salvation by faith in Christ alone. Maybe even more so as the virus crisis generated more “seekers” for hope in a hopeless situation.

Could this possibly be the largest global outreach opportunity ever? Lots of pivoting going on, but all with God’s help. Even now, as some churches are opening up, they are keeping the technology they learned during the crisis in place as they return to face-to-face worship. Thus, extending the outreach potential!

It remains my prayer that the Holy Spirit and the follow up of the Church would help each one connect in a genuine and ongoing relationship with their Savior.

The big question is, how will we cultivate the good while we fight the bad during COVID-19?

We are still early in figuring out how to cultivate the good while dealing with the bad.

You may feel getting a grasp on the five good virtues may be a bit out of reach for you at this moment. Start with one, then go to two, and so on. It is not a sprint but a marathon, with or without a crisis. It is to be a way of life for us, not a check-off list. Go for it!

5 Good Virtues Each of Us Can Cultivate:

Virtues that boost endurance, resilience, and hope as a pastor and leader.

1. Charity

The heart of charity or generosity was core to the New Testament Church and is still alive and well today.

Meeting the needs of others is part of the good about who we are as human beings.
Even in our fallen nature, we intuitively know the right thing to do.

Now, more than ever, we have an opportunity to do the right thing.

Big-heartedness is on the rise, with no strings attached, and everyone can be a part.

Perhaps you read about Tyler Perry buying groceries for thousands of seniors and at-risk individuals. He paid the bill at 29 Winn-Dixie locations in Louisiana and 44 Kroger grocery stores around the Atlanta area. Countless people in New Orleans and Atlanta were blessed, as you can imagine.

That was certainly on an ambitious scale, but so many others are doing similar things but for one person at a time.

    • Churches are stepping up big time to do all they can through benevolence.
    • Families are helping each other pay bills.
    • Neighbors are pitching in more now than before.

The heart and hands of people demonstrating charity are providing hope to many during this virus crisis.

2. Community

It seems like almost everywhere you see businesses and communities making statements like, we are all in this together.

Yes, relationships are best developed and cultivated in person, but we can still experience a sense of authentic connection through digital platforms.

In the last few months, I’ve enjoyed some of the most meaningful social media connections, facetime chats, and phone conversations that I can remember in a long time. Not only with those who live close to me about also those around the world! This includes personal reach-outs and ministry “meetings”.

When genuine community and unity increase, division and discord often decrease.

Things like division and judging still exist, but those who live in that world are not given as much credence.

As the saying goes, hurting people hurt people. We are more aware of why people are hurting now. This can cause us to be more understanding and gentler, yet not allowing the disruption of community to continue.

People are looking for ways to connect, and it’s not just in response to isolation. It’s a deeper recognition of our need for each other. Social distancing and safer-at-home “mandates” are revealing the need for deeper and healthier relationships.

When we travel through our days at dangerous speeds dominating our to-do lists filled with increasing tasks and decreasing relational connection, it’s possible to lose sight of what together means. It’s almost impossible to be together when we are always in motion.

We now have the opportunity to discover community in the most unique circumstances. Though it’s not easy with social distancing, we can still discover new ways for community to occur.

3. Clarity

While I enjoy my alone times with the Lord, I am not fond of being isolated from others any more than many of you are, but it’s teaching me some things.

Those who know me, know I keep a full schedule. Yet even now my schedule is (surprisingly) very full. However, it moves at a slower pace right now. That just means I’m not “blitzing” from one thing to the next. When I am in town, I’m not driving very much even though things are opening up. My transitions are more deliberate.

This new time and space allows me to focus better on what is truly important.

    • I am in my “study” or home-office (it is open and connected to our family room, dining room, and kitchen) putting me around my wife Carol much more often. I think she likes this.
    • My pastoral and Christian leader friends are trying to figure out how to serve their people in this crisis reminding me I am not alone and should be available to serve them as they serve others.
    • I can control my interruptions better and spend longer and more meaningful times with Jesus in listening to Him while reading and meditating on Scripture and communing with Him in prayer. These keep me centered on what matters to God.

I am sure you have stories like this too. None of these stories represent something we didn’t care about before, but they all bring clarity right now.

Clarity about what is important, about what matters. And here’s the “surprise” … Everything that matters, all that is important, in each single situation, is people.

There are no exceptions. It’s people. With Jesus, always has been and always will be…people!

Well, that’s not so much a surprise.

However, it can be life-changing if we intentionally do whatever it takes to continue to live out this truth that we’ve always known.

Yet it can be difficult. When we get to the other side of this virus crisis, and we will, what will we remember about what we have learned, and how will we live differently? Especially as it relates to people.

So, let me be clear, every task we can think of somehow relates to people. To remember it is about relationships, it clearly requires nothing more than slowing down, even just a little.

4. Creativity

Who can deny rising up incredibly during COVID-19 is creativity and ingenuity!

If you need a list to celebrate creativity and ingenuity here it is:

    • Researchers and scientists are putting their best minds and efforts into finding a cure or medicine to prevent its impact and spread. And they seem to be getting closer!
    • The production of creatively designed and effective home-made masks that help save lives. And new home-based businesses are on the rise!
    • One wedding was held at home with just immediate family, and everyone who would have attended drove by their house at an appointed time and honked. How cool was that?
    • The many creative ways high-school and college kids experienced their graduation ceremonies while socially distancing!
    • The unprecedented opportunities for the church to rise up in creativity to reach people for Jesus and help them mature in their faith.

There are so many possibilities for creativity and innovation, including but not limited to:

    • Family devotions online
    • Next-gen ministries online
    • New follow-up systems for guests and those who trust Christ as their personal Savior
    • Better streaming capabilities
    • More productive social media
    • New methods for leader meetings
    • Innovative ways for training leaders
    • and the list goes on.

Three good things about all this creativity in the church:

    1. Some of it will become a new way of doing things even after we get to go back to our church buildings and worship together again on a regular basis.
    2. We will remember we truly can do more than we think, and better than we imagined when the pressure is on!
    3. Our creative God never let us down in showing us what can be done by His grace and for His glory than ever before. The best is yet to come!
5. Commitment

Perhaps never since 911 have we seen such commitment and sacrifice by so many first responders and especially our health-care workers. They remain on the front lines and are risking their own safety and welfare for the lives of others. This humbles me.

Undoubtedly you know a doctor, nurse, or hospital staff member. And then there are those in the food industry and delivery people providing us access to essentials like food and other necessary items. Thousands of us are praying for them daily, asking God to protect them as they serve others.

You may not be called or equipped to serve on the front lines. But we can all do something, from prayer to making home-made masks to sending them meals.

It’s not just in the health and food industry; the economy also benefits by sacrifice. I read Delta Airlines announced that approximately 10,000 employees have voluntarily taken unpaid leave. This leave or furlough is a double-edged economic sword but clearly helps Delta get through the crisis. And there are countless other businesses whose owners paid their staff when their staff was told to stay home.

I pray your job is secure and even prosperous, but if you are employed, you may have the opportunity to help someone else.

This type of commitment is a deep thing to consider.

Commitment is not about performance, guilt, or a keeping score. It’s between you and God.

This may or not be your moment for sacrifice, just be attentive to God.

Each one of these virtues are found in the life of Jesus Christ. For those who have trusted Christ to be their Savior, we have His ability to not let one bad virus keep us from cultivating virtues in us that show our love for Him and for others!

As a pastor and leader let us model these virtues in our personal life and then help shepherd the way for those we lead and serve.

We are all in this together. Let us all grow in these and other virtues for the glory of Jesus Christ!

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Marriage

Five Lessons to Help You Enjoy A Lasting Marriage

May 29, 2019 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 2023

My wife Carol and I will have been married for 50 years on June 7 – and we’re still best friends.

We loved each other before we got married at just 19 and 21 when we were college students. But even after all of these years, we still like each other. In fact, we’re closer than ever.

Carol and I recently reflected on the lessons we’ve learned along the way that have kept our marriage alive and helped it thrive. These lessons have carried us through both good and tough seasons, and we want to share them with you, with the hope that they can do the same for you and your spouse.

So, from our family to yours, here are five lessons we learned that will help you enjoy a lasting marriage:

  1. Be able to laugh. Laughter helps smooth over a lot of rough edges. I cannot tell you how many times it has de-escalated arguments in our marriage that otherwise would have led us to say hurtful things we’d surely later regret. Laughter cools down our hot tempers and helps us see each other again. From there we can proceed with kindness and love.

  2. Embrace change and adversity together. When you first get married, you’re so fired up about your exciting new life together. But the reality is that through the stages and seasons of life, every marriage changes and every marriage has its challenges. It’s when you join forces to overcome problems that your marriage gets stronger. Whether it’s personal, emotional, physical, or spiritual adversity – face it together.

  3. Focus on what you have in common. There will be things that both you and your spouse don’t naturally gravitate to, and that’s fine. Focus on the things you both like to do, so you can experience joy and happiness in doing them together. And if there’s something your spouse is passionate about, become her (or his) biggest champion — you’ll quickly find their passion becoming yours as well.

  4. Express your appreciation. So many marriages die by a thousand nicks and cuts – a little criticism here, a backhanded comment there. If there’s one thing most marriages need, it’s a greater dose of expressed respect and appreciation. When you express gratitude to each other, you not only make your spouse feel valued, seen and appreciated but you also reinvigorate your desire to continue loving and serving him or her.

  5. Put Jesus first and your spouse second. Of course, this might at first sound counter-intuitive, but prioritizing Him doesn’t lessen your love for your spouse. In fact, it’s the opposite. You’ll have more to offer your spouse when your relationship with Christ is strong. This means spending time in the Word of God and prayer individually and together. A commitment I made to the Lord on our honeymoon was to read through the Bible each year of our marriage. Let Him and His Word be the foundation that holds your marriage together. … it won’t fail!

These lessons have carried our marriage for 50 years, and I believe they will carry it for many more. Put them into practice and watch your marriage become better and stronger than ever!

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Education

Why A Bible College Education?

March 27, 2019 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 112

Why would any normal young man or woman want to attend a Bible college? And why would anyone of at least average intelligence start a Bible college in the first place? What possible good can come from attending such a college, having such a narrow field of study? Knowing the Bible certainly cannot put bread on the table or clothes on the back, so is it really of practical value?

We have heard questions such as the above so often from so many people that we thought that it would be worthwhile to plainly state the case for Bible colleges.

First of all, let us be clear on one point – Bible colleges are not for everyone. The Bible college/institute movement began at the turn of the twentieth century to fill a need – to train the Lord’s people in the rich spiritual truths of the Word of God. Big buildings, campuses, accreditation and such things were given little thought at first … the important thing was to teach the Bible, to train believers in Christ to live the Christian life and to spread the gospel effectively around the world. It is still true today that Bible colleges exist primarily for the purpose of training Christians in Biblical truths for the purpose of making God’s Word known to others.

While it is true that Bible colleges are not for everyone, they are perfectly suited for some. Bible colleges are ideally suited for at least three groups of people:

  1. Those who know Christ as Savior and want to be able to witness intelligently for Him in their secular occupations. These Christians do not plan to enter so-called “full-time Christian work.” They may go into engineering, business administration, education or some other occupation. The important thing is that they want to know Scripture well enough to explain God’s way of salvation clearly to others. Most Bible colleges offer a one-year course for these individuals. Florida Bible College’s one-year course is especially designed to take as preparation before going to a secular campus … it provides the adequate answers to the questions of modern young people.
  2. Those who just want to know the Bible better. Perhaps in this group are Sunday school teachers, concerned lay-people, or Christians who feel unfamiliar with God’s Word and desire to know it, understand it, and use it in a so-called lay ministry. The solution for many of these is the Bible Institute or Bible college (evening school) where a person can hold a full-time job and once or twice week attend two hours of concentrated Bible study taught by competent instructors.
  3. Those who plan to spend their lives serving the Lord in a Christian vocation. In this group would be students who intend to be pastors, youth workers, missionaries, Christian teachers, musicians, evangelists, or the wives of such men in Christian work. Without doubt those in this classification need the best and most thorough Biblical training that it is possible to receive … they need to specialize in God’s Word, particularly developing their skills in presenting the Word of God and gospel of Jesus Christ crystal clear and accurately to others.
WHY A BIBLE COLLEGE FOR ME?

If you know Christ as your Savior, God says 1) you are to be an ambassador for Him. In fact, you are to plead with men “in Christ’s stead” (meaning, in Christ’s place) to be reconciled to God. Christians are here upon the earth, in place of Christ, to make His Gospel and Word known to others. No one is adequate for this task of witnessing without a good grasp of God’s Word; this is reason enough for you to seriously consider attending Bible college.

In addition to the above, 2) God commands Christians to “study…the Word of Truth …” The entire Christian life – including prayer, walking in the Spirit, witnessing, success in life – is taught in God’s Word. Ignorance of that Word will keep us from growing and from the blessing of our Father upon our lives. It is imperative for every Christian to know the Word of God. Bible college can provide the knowledge upon which to build a solid life.

WHY FLORIDA BIBLE COLLEGE FOR ME?

Assuming you know Christ as your Savior, and that you seriously want His will in your life, there are five good, solid reasons why Florida Bible College could be just the school you have been looking for.

  1. Because of its EMPHASIS. As previously indicated, FBC has a way of majoring in that which is major and minoring in that which is minor. For instance, the purpose for which FBC was founded in 1962 is to train God’s people to effectively serve Him and to be qualified in clearly presenting the gospel in any situation. The school has never wavered from that purpose. If anything, the administration and faculty are more dedicated to that goal than ever. The motivation to fulfill the purpose of FBC comes as an outflow of our foundational emphasis of loving Jesus Christ first with all our heart, soul, and mind. So many Christians do not present the gospel or the do not present the message of salvation by faith alone in a risen Christ clearly. Often, the reason is that they themselves do not know the Bible well enough or are unable to make practical application of its truths; but FBC students are trained while they learn. This produces graduates who are “thoroughly equipped” to do a competent job for the Lord.
  2. Because of its STAND. The Bible – and only the Bible – is the authority at Florida Bible College… and we would have it no other way. We are “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,” but we love and cherish it. In a day when Christians tend to lower their standards and fly their flags at half-mast, FBC stands unequivocally for the “faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (See our Statement of Faith).
  3. Because of its FACULTY. Each faculty member at FBC teaches with the goal in mind that he or she is training soldiers for a spiritual battle. Academics are combined with practical applications of God’s Word to everyday situations. FBC instructors are not just theoreticians … they live what they teach. Students benefit from the example of the faculty and enjoy each instructor’s readiness to discuss Scriptural things. Faculty members teach in their area of expertise while holding an accredited degree. Most have earned a Master’s Degree or higher. If you are looking for this kind of faculty, where Jesus Christ and you are important, and where your life is considered a sacred trust by the people who instruct you, then Florida Bible College is for you.
  4. Because of its STUDENTS. We have a great student body and alumni … and we do not mean that in a boastful way but just as a matter of personal observation and conviction. Hundreds upon hundreds are reached by the gospel and won to Christ every single week of the year by those who are or who have been our students … and that is not “evang-elastically” speaking! Over and over again guests who come to FBC comment on the unbelievable friendliness and warmth of the students. These young men and women are – by far – the greatest advertisement of our school. If these are the kind of people with whom you want to go to college, you will find them here at FBC.
  5. Because of its OPPORTUNITIES. Orlando is one of the most strategically located cities in all of Florida. It is located right in the middle of the state, nestled between Miami directly to the south and Gainesville and Jacksonville to the north…and Daytona Beach to the east and Tampa / St. Petersburg to the west. Over 57 million people including tourists from all over the world are accessible to our local students yearly. If you are interested in working with Latin Americans, or Middle Easterners, or Asians, or people from the Caribbean, or with Jewish people, or college students – in fact, with just about any kind of culture or Christian work imaginable, you can do it right here in or around Orlando. Students from the College can lead weekly Bible studies, pastor churches, travel in musical groups, conduct door to door and beach evangelism year around, and minister cross-culturally.

Just this year FBC has launched our online campus to serve alongside our physical campus that is a very short distance from I-4. This not only allows us to expand our educational outreach locally, nationally, and globally through our local and online campuses immediately, but also allows us to accept all the students who are serious about learning God’s Word and serving the Lord. Are you serious about wanting to know and do God’s will? Florida Bible College might be just the place for you. How about it? The rest is up to you.

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General Post

The 500TH Anniversary of The Reformation

reformation 500 years
June 1, 2017 by Stan Ponz No Comments

Views: 157

Historians usually date the start of the Protestant Reformation to Martin Luther’s publication of “95 Theses” posted on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg Germany on October 31, 1517. Its ending can be placed anywhere from the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, which allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany, to the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The key ideas of the Reformation—a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, not tradition, should be the sole source of spiritual authority—were not themselves novel. However, Luther and the other reformers became the first to skillfully use the power of the printing press to give their ideas a wide audience.

Did You Know?

No reformer was more adept than Martin Luther at using the power of the press to spread his ideas. Between 1518 and 1525, Luther published more works than the next 17 most prolific reformers combined.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was an Augustinian monk and university lecturer in Wittenberg when he composed his “95 Theses,” which protested the pope’s sale of reprieves from penance, or indulgences. Although he had hoped to spur renewal from within the church, in 1521 he was summoned before the Diet of Worms and excommunicated. Sheltered by Friedrich, elector of Saxony, Luther translated the Bible into German and continued his output of vernacular pamphlets.

THE REFORMATION: SWITZERLAND AND CALVINISM

The Swiss Reformation began in 1519 with the sermons of Ulrich Zwingli, whose teachings largely paralleled Luther’s. In 1541 John Calvin, a French Protestant who had spent the previous decade in exile writing his “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” was invited to settle in Geneva.

Calvin’s Geneva became a center for Protestant exiles, and his doctrines quickly spread to Scotland, France, Transylvania and the Low Countries, where Dutch Calvinism became a religious and economic force for the next 400 years.

THE REFORMATION: ENGLAND AND THE “MIDDLE WAY”

In England, the Reformation began with Henry VIII’s quest for a male heir. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could remarry, the English king declared in 1534 that he alone should be the final authority in matters relating to the English church. Henry dissolved England’s monasteries to confiscate their wealth and worked to place the Bible in the hands of the people. Beginning in 1536, every parish was required to have a copy.

THE REFORMATION’S LEGACY

Along with the religious consequences of the Reformation came deep and lasting political changes. Northern Europe’s new religious and political freedoms came at a great cost, with decades of rebellions, wars and bloody persecutions. The Thirty Years’ War alone may have cost Germany 40 percent of its population.

But the Reformation’s positive repercussions can be seen in the intellectual and cultural flourishing it inspired on all sides of the schism—in the strengthened universities of Europe, church music of J.S. Bach, the baroque altarpieces of Pieter Paul Rubens and even the capitalism of Dutch Calvinist merchants.

THE MAIN TENANTS OF THE REFORMATION – THE FIVE “SOLAS”

The “SOLAS” of the Protestant Reformation are a set of doctrines held by theologians and churchmen to be central to that period of change in the western Christian church. Each sola— from the Latin meaning “alone” or “only”—represents a key belief held by the reformers of the 16th century in contrast to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. The precise number of SOLAS varies, but lists of three and five are common.

The SOLAS were not systematically brought together until the 20th century. But sola gratia and sola fide were used by the reformers themselves. For example, in 1554 Philip Melanchthon wrote, “sola gratia justificamus et sola fide justificamur” (“only by grace do you justify, and only by faith are we justified”). All the SOLAS show up in various writings by the Protestant reformers, but they do not all appear in one place. In the earliest references to the SOLAS, three were typically mentioned: Scripture over tradition, faith over works, and grace over merit. Each of these pairs of terms is intended to highlight how Protestant teaching differs from Roman Catholic teaching.

SOLA SCRIPTURA (“by Scripture alone”)

The phrase, sola scriptura, or “by scripture alone,” asserts that the Bible must determine church traditions and interpretations. All church practices and doctrines must be in unity with the teachings of Scripture, the divinely inspired Word of God. This principle asserts that the Bible is to be interpreted through itself, with one passage of Scripture being useful in the interpretation of other passages. It shows that the Bible is a unified system of truth as well as the revelation of truth. The teachings and customs of the church must align themselves with the Word of God; only then can they be applied with any assurance of God’s approval and of their own trustworthiness.

SOLA FIDE (“by faith alone”)

The two Latin words, sola fide, translated “by faith alone,” declare that good works are not the means by which salvation is attained; neither are they required nor accepted by God for granting salvation. Sola fide is the teaching that justification (understood in Protestant theology as “being declared just by God”) is received by faith alone, without the need for good works on the part of the believing individual. Good works may be viewed as the evidence of saving faith; they do not determine salvation.

Martin Luther used the expression “simuljustusetpeccator” (“at the same time justified and a sinner”).  Justification is entirely the gracious work of God. It is only as a justified person that one is enabled to do anything that is acceptable (good or righteous) in the sight of God.

SOLA GRATIA (“by grace alone”)

The idea that a person’s merit is excluded from having any part in salvation is expressed in the words, “by grace alone” (sola gratia). Salvation comes by divine grace, God’s “unmerited favor,” and not as something offered, exchanged, or sacrificed by the sinner. Salvation is a gift, an unearned blessing from God for Christ’s sake.

SOLUS CHRISTUS or SOLO CHRISTO (“Christ alone” or “through Christ alone”)

The expression, solus Christus, means “only Christ,” and indicates that Christ is the exclusive mediator between God and man. In other words, there is salvation through no other person, because no other person’s intervention or intercession, whether pastor, rector, bishop, or Pope. The phrase is sometimes rendered, solo Christo, since salvation is “by Christ alone.” This SOLA of the Reformation rejects “sacerdotalism,” a term meaning that there are no valid sacraments in the church without the services of a properly ordained clergy.

Most Protestant denominations understand the Bible to teach that there are only two continuing ordinances in the Christian church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Solus Christus does not deny the office of ministry in the church, to which is committed the public proclamation of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments. On the contrary, it affirms that Christ is the only priest (the High Priest) of his church, and that no saving grace at all is communicated to human beings except through him. His ministers (his pastors and teachers along with any true Christian) are commissioned by him to bring the light and life of salvation to the attention of saints and sinners, but they are not the “administrators” of salvation in any other sense than being messengers and “managers” of Biblical truth.

SOLI DEO GLORIA (“glory to God alone”)

Soli Deo gloria teaches that all glory is due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished solely through his will and his action. The reformers believed that human beings are not worthy of that glory.

The Protestant reformers were convinced that certain teachings of the Bible were necessary for a true understanding of the way of salvation. The Christian faith stood in jeopardy of being overthrown unless these doctrines were taught with precision, power, and persuasion. They continue to be upheld in true Bible believing and teaching churches today and in many evangelical churches as well. SOLA SCRIPTURA, the Bible alone is our final authority in every area of life because it is the Word of God. SOLUS CHRISTUS, Christ alone, in his perfect life and atoning death in the sinner’s place, is the basis for our acceptance by God. SOLA GRATIA, the grace of God alone in Christ and not works of human merit or effort is why God saves sinners. SOLA FIDE, faith alone is the means by which sinners receive or appropriate this grace of God. SOLI DEO GLORIA, to God alone belongs the glory for saving sinners and for everything else in this life and the life to come.

IS THE REFORMATION OVER?

But is the Reformation on its last gasp? Not where the Gospel is prized and preached.  Not where a denial of justification by faith alone is known to be a denial of the Gospel itself — and to be a heresy that has lasted far more than 500 years.  Today and until Jesus Christ comes again, true believers in Christ must defend and proclaim until death the message of the Gospel of grace built on Scripture alone that teaches eternal salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone!

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