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The dramatic story that unfolds in the book of Acts ends suddenly with chapter 28. What happens next? Greater Los Angeles District Supervisor Tim Clark says it’s up to us. He believes that Acts is not as much a prescriptive model for church life as it is a descriptive account of what spontaneously happens to people and congregations when they are fully immersed in the Spirit.
God has empowered us by His Holy Spirit to be people who demonstrate the love of God to a dying world. Foursquare Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Ron Thigpenn says the Holy Spirit’s empowerment is not only for our personal edification, but also to equip us to fulfill the Great Commission.
Jenna Javins, a Foursquare credentialed minister and missionary, looks for God in the raging storm of Acts 27. She says we all face similar circumstances and have the same choices the apostle Paul had that day. When God whispers in the storm of our circumstances, will we respond in faith or abandon ship?
In a recent letter to credentialed ministers, President Glenn C. Burris Jr. outlined several important points of celebration, clarity and communication for The Foursquare Church in 2012. He also announced the theme for this coming year: “Speak: Reclaim Our Voice,” which will also be the focus of Foursquare Connection 2012 in Phoenix, May 28–31.
Foursquare President Glenn Burris Jr. wonders about our responses to God-ordained, everyday situations that occur in our lives. Have we become too busy to step back and ask the important questions? Are we afraid to speak up? He believes that sometimes “these situations are looking for just one person to make the difference.” Will that person be you?
The enemy of the gospel tries to diminish the voice of Christians and confuse our message, but Heartland District Supervisor Dan Mundt believes it’s possible for us stay on point for Christ. Dan says that the apostle Paul remained clear about his message and his purpose even amid trials and imprisonment, and he affirms we should maintain the clarity of our message, as well.
“To attack one of Jesus’ disciples is to attack Jesus Himself,” Foursquare Missions Director Jim Scott says, and, “I shudder to think of the times I may have attacked my fellow believers.” The Pharisee Saul knew a thing or two about persecuting Christians, and Jim says it’s a good idea for us to recognize the lesson Saul learned when his life was changed one day on a dusty road near Damascus.
Southwest District NextGen Director Marcus Ellington reflects on the apostle Paul’s declaration that he had preached the “whole counsel” of God during his ministry. Paul’s teaching was based on a complete and balanced doctrine that brought health and nourishment to the first-century church, and is exactly what the church today needs from leaders as we follow Paul’s example.
In Acts 19, the apostle Paul asked a question that defines our unique place in the body of Christ: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Bill Gross, Foursquare missional development coach, believes that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is an amazing gift of God and a powerful Foursquare distinctive. He reminds us that the fullness of the Holy Spirit enables us to live as people who are truly transformed as God’s redeemed.
Foursquare Vice President and General Supervisor Tammy Dunahoo will never forget a recent experience where she felt the presence of God deeply. It was in a very unlikely place, cold and dirty and four stories beneath the earth’s surface. She says it was a vivid reminder that God dwells in the hearts of His people who truly worship Him wherever they are.