At 60!

I can't believe that on the 15th of this month (September) I will have reached the big 60. Some of you reading this blog have a ways to go before you reach that number, others may have passed me a long time ago.

So what has 60 years meant to me? More than I can tell. I received Christ at the age of 5 with the faith of a little child. I'm so glad Mom taught me how to be saved. She also taught me how to put gospel tracts in people's doors in the small Canadian town where we lived. She gave me a handful and sent me out on my own, I was six years old. That was my initiation into evangelism. I started my own kids out in a similiar way by taking them with me in our outreach evangelism and visitation while they were very young. It was a good investment in their lives spiritually. Evangelism was built into their DNA as it was in mine.

At 60 I am as serious about evangelism and church planting as I have ever been. In fact, we are presently looking at starting a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic church in the very near future. There is probably more on my plate now than ever. Of course, XSTREAM is a very big part of who I am for Christ and will continue to represent my vision for the rest of my life.

My dream, at 60, is to see the ABA become truly serious about church planting and missions. There are some who are awakening to the challenge, but many have yet to catch a vision for souls and church planting. I believe it is yet possible for the ABA to become a viable and progressive association of churches if we would launch out into new horizons and become proactive with the Great Commission.

My prayer at 60 is for creative Christ-honoring changes to take place everywhere among our churches. That a renewal of evangelism and church planting would dominate our thinking at associational meetings. That our associations think less of mundane business and think more of the buisness of church planting.

May I be so bold, at 60, as to say that we would do well to spend our associational times together developing strategies and plans for church planting rather than what seems to be endless making and discussions of reports. Reports need to be put on paper then distributed and only casually referred to, in my opinion. Let's spend the extra time that would be generated in seminars, good preaching, and real planning on how we are going to reach our neigborhoods, and our nation for Christ! How to help our churches to 'comeback' from decline and imminent death.

At 60, I'm looking for some serious Christ-honoring change.

David