Establishing a Healthy Church: Things We Need to Know and Do in the Body of Christ

By Madison Clark Jr.

This book is written to help believers know they can be spiritually healthy and bring spiritual health to their local church bodies. It's not an attempt to present anything new or to discredit any spiritual thoughts or views. It will help Christians better manage what Jesus has already established - His church. Jesus says, "upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"(Matthew 16:18). This is the assurance that the founder, foundation, formation, fellowship, future, and function of the church are right. However, members the body of Christ must have spiritual checkups by the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to keep themselves healthy for Christ.
Its design is to assure Christians that they are following the divine mandates set by Jesus by bringing them into view of the spiritual and physical works of the church. It will resurrect Gospel Communication and Love, which many believers have allowed to remain dormant. It challenges people to open their hearts and mind to the Holy Spirit as He attempts to guide them into all truths through transformation, unity, and true
spirituality. It will help women in the church discover their identities rather than search for their roles as they follow God's word more closely. It also helps believers depend on the resurrected Christ for their assurance. This book enhances (Jesus), but it helps us see the whole picture of the church and not just a few personal, isolated, individual views, trying to make sense. It will help settle doctrinal disputes and assist in church discipline. There are many ways spiritual health can be maintained in the church. I have pinpointed only a few to inspire believers to bring spiritual health to your life, the church and the lives of people everywhere.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 20, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452010175

Madison Clark Jr.

Pastor Madison Clark, Jr. was baptized at age five and raised in a Christian environment. He was called to preach in 1980. He has pastored Good Hope Baptist Church, Westlake, Louisiana, for thirty years. He graduated from International Bible Institute and Seminary, Plymouth, Florida, in 1987 with a Bachelor of Bible Theology degree. He was healed of multiple myeloma in 2006, so his life is a testimony for God. He and his wife Joy has been married for forty years and reside in Westlake, LA. He has one son, three daughters, and ten grandchildren. He loves to fish, both spiritually and physically. He loves to sing and has written ten songs. Most of all, he trusts in God and knows He is able to keep and sustain that which He has created.

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About the Book

This book is written to help believers know they can be spiritually healthy and bring spiritual health to their local church bodies. It’s not an attempt to present anything new or to discredit any spiritual thoughts or views. It will help Christians better manage what Jesus has already established - His church. Jesus says, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it(Matthew 16:18). This is the assurance that the founder, foundation, formation, fellowship, future, and function of the church are right. However, members the body of Christ must have spiritual checkups by the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to keep themselves healthy for Christ. Its design is to assure Christians that they are following the divine mandates set by Jesus by bringing them into view of the spiritual and physical works of the church. It will resurrect Gospel Communication and Love, which many believers have allowed to remain dormant. It challenges people to open their hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit as He attempts to guide them into all truths through transformation, unity, and true spirituality. It will help women in the church discover their identities rather than search for their roles as they follow God’s word more closely. It also helps believers depend on the resurrected Christ for their assurance. This book enhances (Jesus), but it helps us see the whole picture of the church and not just a few personal, isolated, individual views, trying to make sense. It will help settle doctrinal disputes and assist in church discipline. There are many ways spiritual health can be maintained in the church. I have pinpointed only a few to inspire believers to bring spiritual health to your life, the church and the lives of people everywhere.

ESTABLISHING A HEALTHY CHURCH

Things We Need To Know And

Do In The Body Of Christ

Madison Clark Jr.

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2010 Madison Clark Jr.. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/17/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4520-1017-5 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-1015-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-1016-8 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010908519

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Establishing A Healthy Church Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this book, text or pictures, may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in reviews. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, unless otherwise indicated.

To the Memory of

Madison Clark, Sr.

A man among men, beloved father, Lover of people,

faithful example of Christ, Christian gentlemen

this book is affectionately dedicated

To the memories of

Dr. Horace C. Allison,

A loving pastor, preacher, teacher

and leader beyond compare.

Dr. W. W. Batties Bible scholar, wise elder

and strong denominational leader

Your work has followed you.

Dr. Sidney Fontenot

Who told me to put it on paper

You are gone but

your Advice has been adhered to.

Dedicated to

Dr. M. L. Thomas

Retired Pastor of

Ninth Baptist and New Hope Baptist Church

Ville Platt, LA.

A Big Brother, a friend, a mentor

Thanks for your wise counsel

To the members of

Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church of Westlake, LA. Inc,

May God Forever bless you.

Acknowledgments

"A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify,

who gave His son my soul to save, and fit it for the sky.

To serve the present, age my calling to fulfill,

oh may it all my power engage to do my master’s will."

Thank You Lord

I am indebted to so many people who have touched my life over the years. Many friends and loved ones have been instrumental in helping me accomplish many goals.

Thanks, especially to the members of my beloved family. To my wife, Joy, you have been there even through your tough times with your care and compassion. Thank you. To my children, I thank God for each of you. You have believed in me and have shown it through the lives you now live. To my extended family thank you.

To the Good Hope Baptist Church Family whom the Lord has allowed me to serve, I thank God for you. You have been an encouragement to me when I was up as well as down. You helped me to believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You are my crown and joy. To Miss Velma Carheel who designed the title, content and collage pages thank you for all that you do. To Sister Geneva Laws my eighth grade teacher, thank you for your expertise in proof reading and critiquing this book. Doctor Alvin Joseph Noel for his inspiration and information. Members of Newlight District Association and Louisiana Home and Foreign Mission State Convention, thank you for giving me many opportunities, may you always be blessed.

To my preacher friends I want to thank God for your giving me the opportunity to use my gifts. You have inspired me and I sincerely pray that this book will inspire each of you as you continue to be God’s watchmen.

To each of you who will share in this ministry, may the writings within these pages help you with your personal walk with Christ as well as strengthen your church and the lives of others.

Contents

About the Book

Acknowledgments

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PREFACE

Many Christians have the wrong concept of what it takes for a local church to be considered healthy. This causes them to miss out on the abundant life that Christ came to give His saints. Some people believe large memberships, large buildings, large bank accounts, and popular preachers mean a church is healthy. Though these achievements can be pleasing and appealing in the church, as well as earnestly sought after, they don’t necessarily determine the health of the church. We know just like every church large churches started out with small memberships, buildings, bank accounts and pastors. You and I know a person can be popular, with a nice body, live in a big house, have a big bank account and still be unhealthy. A building can look good on the outside, have real beautiful landscape, can even have the best interior design and be infested with termites. Actually, cults can have large memberships, popular preachers, large buildings, big bank accounts, but you and I know they are not spiritually healthy at all. Many churches today seem to be the picture of health. But once they are inspected under the spiritual microscope of God’s Word, a true spiritual health report is shown and amazing findings are discovered. Remember what Jesus said about the church at Laodicea, Revelation 3:15-17. She looked well, sounded good but she was undigestible. A healthy church basically, is one who operates by faith under the established guidelines of God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That’s as close as we can get. The following analysis will give you an in-depth view of the establishment of the church, as well as its health. In so doing, you will have a, sort of, measuring guide of yourself and your church. You can then take a self-inventory, in order to discover your strengths as well as your weaknesses and take the necessary steps to spiritual health. Before we get into our study we must first of all get a clear understanding about the church. The church is people. It is people like you and me with strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and limitations, faults and failures. People who get lonely, tired, and discouraged. And people who sin, get sick, get weary and die. That’s the church that Jesus was talking about building. The church is the congregation of organized baptized believers in Christ, equal in rank and privileges, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The church is the living being who administers her affairs and ordinances under the headship of Christ, in order to be united by His Word, that His kingdom might be advanced.

1 Peter 2:4-6 reminds us that we are the church, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the Chief Corner Stone. The church is unlike any other organization and is not an institution, but a living organism. What makes the church a living organism is the fact that believers (people) are added into the body (not the building) by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And by faith Christ lives in believers and shows Himself to a watching world through His church. Therefore, in a healthy church, people must see that God is love, Jesus is Lord and the Holy Spirit is leading. This can only be seen as Christians live in harmony with each other according to the word and will of God. To this end we propose to share these findings on ESTABLISHING A HEALTHY CHURCH.

CHAPTER 1

GOSPEL COMMUNICATION

Have you ever thought about the power that lies in communication? Gospel communication is even more powerful. It is the power of God.

When we read the book of Acts we see an account of Gospel communication. It is the history of the early church, which reveals that Christianity is a universal faith. It shows us the dynamic power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in the lives of all people, everywhere. It was written to give an account of the birth and growth of the Christian church. Acts presents a chronological record of the powerful growth of believers from Jerusalem to Syria, Africa, Asia and Europe. In the first century the church spread from believing Jews to non-Jews in 39 cities and 30 countries, Islands and provinces.

I believe when the Holy Spirit works, there is action or activity, energizing stimulation and growth. This verifies what is told to us in (Acts 1:8), But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost shall come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. I know we have heard and read, and also for the most part, felt the impact of this verse. However, we must understand exactly what this power means to the believer from the spiritual perspective. Power from the Holy Spirit is not limited to strength beyond the ordinary, as many Christians view Holy Ghost power. When people limit the power of the Holy Spirit to just strength beyond the ordinary, they have a tendency to keep their whole view on the supernatural, which in turn, causes their effectiveness for God, in the natural, to be limited. The result, there is no effective witnessing. The Holy Spirit is a person by whom we are supernaturally empowered, but we are empowered to operate in the kingdom of God in a natural world. We are in the kingdom of God but we are not in heaven yet. There is no other way for the church to communicate the Gospel. You have heard the term heavenly minded but no earthly good.

As Christians if we are going to fulfill our mission and experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we must not limit the Holy Spirit to just strength beyond the ordinary. To do this we must understand how courage, boldness, confidence, insight, ability and authority fit in. I included the word authority and I want to put a pin here. Christians can often have the wrong understanding of power, because they don’t associate it with authority. When we think of power alone, from the human point of view, it can lead us to believe we have something to prove. So we try to demonstrate our power. Power from a spiritual view will let us see that we have already been given authority or the rights from God. This means we have been given influence power that has already been proven by God Himself. So if we have power (authority) from the Holy Spirit we are to be influentially as well as authoritatively powerful for God in this world.

We have been given the official rights from God to be witnesses for Jesus without having anything to prove.

We can understand now why power in the church is often misused, and, on the other hand why authority is misunderstood. We often take power, in the church, that man gives, and use it to try and overrule the power (authority) that God has given. That’s misuse and misunderstanding of power. Misuse and misunderstanding of power (authority) in the church can cause people to miss out on true spirituality, unity and witnessing with powerful results. When this happens we see the results, an unhealthy church and a lack of Gospel communication. Again Jesus told us, but ye shall receive power (authority) after the Holy Ghost is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me (Acts 1:8). This is a key verse in the book of Acts because it shows that the Holy Spirit gives us the motivation, energy and ability to communicate the Gospel to the whole world. There are many themes on the book of Acts, but the main theme can be the transformation and communication of Biblical faith. You see, up to the resurrection of Jesus, biblical faith was narrowed and held tightly by the Jewish people, namely Jewish men. Then transformation of that faith to a universal religion was accomplished, and a new community was formed through Gospel communication. This was a community of new believers, which cut across the religious, cultural, social, racial, economic and sex barriers that had divided mankind for so many years. The Jewish community had made religion a selfish ambition that they did not understand themselves. Luke gives us an account of the first preaching of the gospel messages to the Jews and growing fellowship, (Acts Chapters 2-7). He tells of the unexpected conversion of many in Samaria, (Acts 8), the conversion of Paul, (Acts 9). He presents the stunning conversion of Cornelius, the first Gentile to come to Christ, (Acts 10 and 11), the establishment of a Gentile Church at Antioch and the first Missionary Journey, (Acts 13 and 14). He presents the meeting of the church council in the first Church Conference, (Acts 15). These chapters can be labeled as mission history.

But in (Acts 16-19) we see mission principles. This helps us understand the fundamental doctrine practiced by the early missionaries in establishing healthy new churches, which are vital to the life and mission of Christ’s church in our day and time. Paul did what missionaries today argue should be done in our outreach efforts. What did Paul do? Well Paul did something so simple that many