The Ohio Independent Baptist, November 1972

(Concluded from page 8) t all r•la crs. , tltllcnt go,,crnn1c11t Jcad– ers ,,,. I bcl1c, 1 c that all of these 1~Jll' ' "'f I coi,Jc sl1 ltJld be rcnchcd and t1 · t t flf tl1c l ord once they arc ·a,,cd. tit.at l do not hclt , c a hristian work ~ht,tilti t,c "5harp 0 people on ca111pt.1 01 in a 0111n1t.1nit\. Thot1gh it mav 'l'llnd archaic. the lord de cribed very clc.1rl) the kind of people H.e ~ene:– aJJ,, t1.. e - great I). The descr1pt1on 1 fo~1nd in I or. I : 26-3 J. Among tho e fl5tcJ \\ horn God a}· He u e a~e th~ ..f ooli h-,\-eak-ba e ... the de pa ed. I per onall)' kno\J everal young men and ,, omen who have been "u ed" b) uch group . They loved it for a\\ hile. but when their usefulne wore out (in other word , when they were no longer, Hbig men on campu " etc.) the}' ~·ere dropped like a hot potato. To me this smacks too much of building an organization instead of reaching the world with the gospel . ·.. too much commercialism and public relation and not enough strong, clear go pet pre entation. Just as it is true that I don't have to look like a hippie to win the hippie, so it is equally true that I do not have to look like an al l-American ... to win an all-Ameri– can ... a Christian girl doesn't have to be a beauty queen to win a beauty queen to Christ . Make no mistake about it, we should always be our very be t for the Lord. However, what the Lord con iders "our very best" and what men sometimes mean by that ame terminology may differ as much as night does from day. Biblically speaking, to be "sharp" for the l.,ord would mean to have those spiritual , emotional and mental qualities and attitudes that would really honor Him in every way. This wou]d include a clean and neat physical appearance, but not necessarily to the point of be– ing "Joe Cool." OUR MUSIC One of the most common-and nauseating trends in some of our Christian organizations and schools is the tendency to present what I call a uJazzy Jesus." The way some groups and organizations sing about the Lord nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised if one day I hear "The Old Rugged Cross Blues." Now, don't get me wrong. I am not one of those who think that a guitar, or a bass, or a drum is sinful. They are only instru– ments and can be greatly used to glorify the Lord in song. But I was disturbed when I attended a city-wide "Christian Concert,,. put on by well– known singing groups, whose purpose (supposedly ) was to present the gospel of Christ in word and song. In an en- 14 NOVEMBER, 1972 tire evening of song5 there were seven ~ectilar so11gs played and ung (noth– ing hristian abou t them ), even f 0 .lk songs ( the. c had a somewhat Chr1 - t1an-type leaning-but ~oti had to train real hard to ee tt) and one clear cut Chri tian ong ( but even that was on the bouncy side). At th_e end of thi concert those in the audi– ence were told that if they wanted to have "a vital encounter with the living J e u " . . . they needed to "turn on to Him.,, Then the speaker gave a little imple prayer that he recommend.ed tho e in the audience pray. After giv– ing this simple prayer-with heads bowed and eyes clo ed-he asked those in the audience who agreed with the prayer to raise their hands. I sup– po e tho e who raised thei_r hand were the "decisions" for the night. The music set the tempo. It would have been entirely out of keeping for a serious gospel message to fol low the kind of songs that were sung. And– unfortunately-this trend i being fol– lowed all over our country in Chris– tian groups and schools. Columbus Church Holds Anniversary And Dedication Service On September 17, member and friend of the Maranatha Baptist Ch urch in Columbus, Ohio, gathered to mark their even th anniver ary. On thi day a very pecia] afternoon serv– ice wa he]d at which time they dedi– cated their new auditorium and educa– tional building. Those participating in the services of the day were Rev. WiJ– I iam A. Brock ( Pastor of the church), Dr. James T. Jeremiah (President of Cedarville College) and Rev. Lawrence W. Newans ( Pa tor of the Northwest Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indi– ana). Rev. Newans was the first speak– er at the Maranatha Baptist Church when it began in 1965. Special music wa presented by Dr. Robert Monroe (Mu ic Faculty-Cedarville College ), Rev. George Zinn (well known Gospel inger) and the Maranatha Ensemble. Thi lovely new auditorium covers approximately 5000 square feet. It i completely air conditioned, seats 550 and co t $70,000. The two-story edu– cational building covers approximately 8500 square feet. It is basically a class– room building costing $80,000. At the pre ent time, the folk at Maranatha are con tructing garage and storage units. I believe in being contemporary. I believe that music that stirred men for the Lord seventy-five or a hundred years ago may not stir men the same way today. I have seen teenagers deep– ly stirred by gospel mu ic ung to a guitar accompaniment, but the word were solemn and the tune comple– mented the words. This i as it ought to be. Yes, perhaps we should be revolu– tionaries for Jesus, but not in the usual and accepted meaning of that term. If every one of us would simply live the Christian life as the Bible de cribe it (with total irrevocable ur– render to the Lord hip of Chri t) we would be revolutionary enough. The Maranatha Baptist Church has ~ it aim and purpose to be always. '"Bible Centered Bible Teaching and Bible Obedient." Their annual budget exceeds $ 100,000. Better than one third of thi money is designated for Mi ion . The church ha adopted II Chron– icle 15: 7 a their ver e for 1972 ... " Be ye trong therefore, and let not your hand be weak: for your work hall be rewarded ..." Revival Will Come -When the thorn tree of trife is rooted from the heart. -When apologies are made for unkind, na ty word , and grievance are adju ted in a manner plea ing to God. . -When the dead atmo phere of indifference, indolence and lukewarmne 1 dispelled by a fresh anoi nting of the Holy Spirit. -When there are long vigils of prayer in which the oul i laid bare before God in humiliation and contrition. -When the killing frost of mug complacency i confe ed and renounced (Amos 6: 1-7; Rev. 3: 14-22). - When fasting i practiced for self-di cipline, and self i forgotten in service. -When faith takes hold of God' promise and re ists every attack and accu a- tion of Satan. -When per onal testimony is warm and i buttre ed by a holy life. -When we attempt great things for God and expect great thing from God. -When holy people are willing to face oppo ition ridicule, persecution, hate, suffering, and shame for Jesus' sake, rather than compromi e their conviction or soften their witness against sin. -TIIEN the revival wi)J come-in supernatural power! THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST •