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This is an age of options. Never in history have
Christians enjoyed such diverse opportunities. Where we live, whom
we marry, how we work, what we eat, etc., is all a matter of personal
choice. But with all these options come increasing responsibility.
And one of the most important choices a Christian can make is where they
will worship. Some people shop for a church the same way they
would for a good restaurant; they look a the decor, the menu and the
clientele and make their decisions accordingly. There are entire
movements today dedicated to teaching churches how to smartly market
themselves to an ever picky consumer.
At Lakeside Church, we do things a little
differently. The early church endured suffering, intimidation,
imprisonment and death to cling to the pure gospel of
Christ. The Reformers risked life and ling to re-capture that same
gospel. The Puritans and Presbyterians were driven from their
country to the forbidding shores of the New World because they refused
to compromise that same gospel. So at Lakeside, we do not
compromise the historic, orthodox Christian faith in order to make it
more acceptable to the modern consumer. The gospel has power, the
Scriptures are true, our Lord is God, therefore we can rest in obedience
to Him.
Because there are so many
churches, and names sadly mean little today, Lakeside has gathered
together a series of position papers that outline our understanding of
the historic Christian faith in those areas of most concern to the
average Christian. These position papers are really a philosophy
of ministry. They outline what we believer to be some of the
crucial areas of ministry.
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Unless otherwise indicated, the position papers were
written by the Rev. Brian M. Abshire. Some of these position
papers had their origin in articles Pastor Brian wrote for nationally
published magazines. Other papers became articles. All were
written to help give Lakeside Church a coherent, consistent and Biblical
view of what a Church is, and what God expects His people to do.
These papers are sometimes funny, often scathing of Christian compromise
but always dedicated to understanding and applying the Christian
faith. Read them, discuss them, question them, crumple them up and
use them to start a fire if you need to. But most of all, look
behind the papers to the Scriptures and see what God Himself says.
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