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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
A
former world editor of The Upper
Room and a local church pastor,
Dunnam has also served as president of
Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., and is
now its chancellor. Henry
Blackaby, who lives in Rex, Ga., has
been a Southern Baptist pastor and
denominational leader, and is widely
known for his books, Experiencing
God and Fresh
Encounter. "We
must become one with God's Word; our
life must match what we speak
about." Until
that happens, he warned, the nation and
world will not heed what the church has
to say. Blackaby
stressed the need for spiritual leaders
to maintain a vital relationship with
the Lord: "Everything in your call is
dependent on the intimacy of your
relationship [with God]. Keep
the intimacy real and
personal." If
there is a disconnect, he said, "the
problem is not with God -- it's with
us! There is no problem with God's
faithfulness, but with
ours." Both
men warned that the future of America
lies in the hands of the people of
God. Noting
that the divorce rate among clergy is
about the same as in society, Dunnam
said that the moral relativism
prevalent in society has invaded the
church. He
said the deadly terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, were one indication
that God "is removing his protection
from America because of the sins of
God's people." Further,
he said, Christians should be asking
what
God was
saying
through the tsunami in Asia in late
2004 and the powerful hurricanes on the
U.S. Gulf Coast last fall. The
condition for God healing America,
Blackaby said, is repentance. "The eyes
of the Lord are open to see what we
do.... The ears of the Lord are open to
the prayers we make." While
parts of their messages were heavy with
portent, both men lifted up God's
promises for salvation and wholeness in
life. "It
is our willingness to respond to God
that releases God's power," Dunnam
said. God
graciously "accepts us where we are,"
said Dunnam, but He will not "leave us
where we are." Indeed, because of
Christ, God will "[give] us far
more than we asked or
imagined!" The
Rev. Candy Wynn, an ordained UM deacon
who help coordinate the conference,
said the event exceeded
expectations. "It
was [a] Spirit-filled weekend,"
Wynn said. "We just felt so humbled by
hosting these two great men of
God."
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
Ministry
of the
Word:
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sermons
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Today
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TOWARD
REVIVAL
From
Gateway
Today
The
e-magazine of
Gateway Church
SPRING
2006
A
call to repentance and
holiness
Wesleyan Christian
Advocate
Two
prominent leaders in their
denominations were united in their
message at a recent weekend conference
at Duluth First UMC: spiritual
leadership arises from holy living and
an intimate relationship with God.
The Rev. Maxie Dunnam, a United
Methodist, and the Rev. Henry Blackaby,
a Southern Baptist, each spoke four
times at the March 24-25 Spiritual
Leaders Conference, with workshops,
prayer and worship rounding out the
agenda.
The
call to holiness
Speaking
at a session for clergy, Dunnam
referred to the need today for a
prophet/priest like Ezekiel in the Old
Testament. "We, too, must speak to and
call the people of God to
holiness....
Repenting
of our sins
Blackaby
said followers of Christ must examine
their lives and repent of anything out
of harmony with God's standards: "If
God's people...do not change the way
they are behaving, judgment is
inevitable."
Believing
God will act
This
article first appeared in the April 7,
2006 edition
of the Wesleyan Christian
Advocate, the newspaper of
the North and South Ga. Conferences of
the United Methodist Church.