An independent Baptist church.
Archive for August, 2010
Bro. Sam Davison will be preaching all services for us on September 26, 2010. His preaching ministry has spanned several decades and has impacted literally thousands of lives. It is our privilege to host him as he comes to be a blessing to us as he preaches God’s Word.
Get to know Bro. Davison by watching the following video presentation that honored him at the Spiritual Leadership Conference in Lancaster, CA, this year. When Bro. Davison comes to preach, welcome him and thank him for his ministry. What a blessing it would be to show up at a church that is expecting God to bring revival. We can really be an encouragement to Bro. Davison if we simply let him know that we have been expecting and praying for him.
Sam Davison: Soldier of Grace Award from Lancaster Baptist Church on Vimeo.
The following article is found on Southwest Baptist Church’s website, and it explains a little of the history of Bro. Sam Davison.
Samuel Stinnett Davison, born August 5, 1945 in Fairview, Oklahoma, was named after his great-great and great-grandfathers, who were Baptist preachers in England. His father, Clyde, was a hard-working man who instilled work ethic in his six children while sharecropping in Perry, Oklahoma. Bro. Sam’s days as a boy on the farm were filled with working in the garden, raising animals, and planting and harvesting crops. His mother, Anna, was a godly woman who kept right influences of music and Bible in her home. She prayed for a son who would be a preacher of the gospel, and God answered her prayer.
Clyde Davison saw to it his family was in church every time the doors were open. They attended the First Baptist Church of Perry. When Bro. Sam was six years old, an old-fashioned preacher preached about hell. Bro. Sam remembers, “That day, I not only realized hell was a real place, but I also understood that I would go there if I died the way I was. The next Sunday, the pastor preached about what Jesus did so people like me would not go to hell; how Jesus never sinned, but that He loved sinners and was punished for sin when He died on Calvary. I believed the message and called upon Jesus to forgive me of my sins and be my Savior.”When he was twelve, an independent Baptist church took root in Perry. Discerning his family needed that type of Bible preaching, the Clyde Davison family became a part of the Calvary Baptist Church. The pastor, Dan Tidwell, was a “fireball preacher” who made a profound impact on Bro. Sam. At sixteen, while attending Silver State Baptist Camp, Bro. Sam heard a sermon from Harvey Springer on Jonah running from God, and two weeks later he surrendered to preach the Gospel.
Later, he met Sandra Lewellen, who became his high school sweetheart. At that time, he didn’t want to be a preacher and had a “Jonah experience” of his own before settling with the Lord. They both went to Springfield, Missouri to attend Baptist Bible College. They served at Seminole Baptist Temple under Raymon Tracy, of whom Bro. Sam said “his humility, his tender heart, his preaching with tears, and his wisdom all made a lasting impression on me.” Bro. Sam and Sandy were married in 1966 and graduated from Bible College in 1967.Bro. Sam first entered ministry at First Baptist Church of Del City, Oklahoma as associate pastor. In 1974, he moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to pastor Bible Baptist Church. As Bro. Sam and Mrs. Sandy rolled up their sleeves and began to work and seek the Lord, He blessed and the church grew. They were blessed with three children, all of whom are serving the Lord.
In 1989, Bert Harrison, pastor of Southwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, asked Bro. Sam to preach at a banquet. He was convinced of God that Sam Davison follow him as the next pastor, and upon a vote of the church, he became pastor of Southwest on May 1, 1990.
Bro. Sam and Mrs. Sandy were ready to give their best years to the work at Southwest. He started his pastorate by preaching a week-long revival which bonded the hearts of the members to their new pastor. Under his leadership, the church flourished in attendance and giving. The church services have been blessed with Christ-honoring music and spiritual growth as Pastor Davison challenged the church through solid, Bible preaching. The ministries of Southwest are far-reaching, including missions, bus routes, Sunday school, door-knocking and visitation, children’s and youth programs, and retirement home, deaf, and jail ministries.
It hasn’t just been Southwest Baptist Church that has benefited from the ministry of Sam Davison. He served as Trustee of Baptist Bible College in Springfield from 1989-1992, and as President of Baptist Bible Fellowship International from 1994-1998. In the summer of 1998, Heartland Baptist Bible College came to Oklahoma City, and since May of 1999 Bro. Sam has served as President. He is respected for his mentorship to many fellow pastors, and has been a tremendous influence in training young men and women for the ministry, something very dear to his heart. Since 1976, he has also preached scores of revivals, missions conferences, youth camps, and fellowship meetings all across America and in several foreign countries. Through our CD distribution ministry, his preaching has inspired countless people as his sermons are heard literally all around the globe.
Sam Davison’s life and ministry can be summed up with a phrase he coined that has been oft-repeated here: “Keep the main thing the main thing.” The main thing to Bro. Sam has always been the preaching of the Word of God. In a recent interview, he said, “The absolute sufficiency of the Scriptures is what will keep us on track – that’s what keeps me going. It’s that simple …. just let the Bible influence what you do and let it shape your philosophy … I don’t believe we have reached a time when churches can’t be built by faithful preaching, soul winning, visitation, and calling people to holiness. To say it can’t be done is an indictment against the Word of God. The very fact that we now live in a society which is basically biblically illiterate says our opportunities are greater than they have ever been.”As Bro. Sam leaves the pastorate of Southwest after twenty faithful years, he is excited about the future of the church and his own future of traveling with his wife, preaching the Gospel, and influencing young preachers. It is our prayer that the Lord will continue to bless them as they leave a legacy of leadership, love, and devotion to God.
Join us this Monday for a couple softball games in the morning and then an evening at the Rench Ranch.
SOFTBALL
LOCATION: Temeku Hills Park
WHEN: Monday, September 6
TIME: 8:30 AM
BRING: Softball gear (glove, ball, bat…) if you have it.
PICNIC
LOCATION: Rench Ranch (Pastor’s home)
WHEN: Monday, September 6
TIME: 3PM
BRING: Your own meat AND a side/dessert to share.
“Children are given to parents.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again. In fact, I try to preach to them the basic idea that if they are not right with their parents, they are certainly not right with their God! That said, I want it to be clear that parents are absolutely welcome to ANY class or activity we have. If you’re curious about the format of the class or if you just want to see how things are run, come out on a Wednesday night at 7 or a Sunday morning at 10. If you have questions about a particular series we’re in, sit through as many of the messages as you want and see what it’s all about! If you have a hesitation about sending your teen with us on a trip, you’re invited to come along… I’ll invite any help I can get with these ruffians! I hope a parent NEVER feels hindered by the youth ministry, because a major point of our existence is to strengthen the homes in which these teens live. A few parents have already accepted the invitation to join us, and the offer is open for everyone else! We’re here to assist parents, and if you ever have a question, just let us know!
Thanks again for the wonderful opportunities you give us,
Bro. Ryan
As was quoted in various news articles, our primary concern is that the land adjacent to our property is wholly inadequate and unsuited for the proposed 25,000 square foot Islamic worship center. As Baptists, we have always been defenders of America’s concept of freedom of religion. History records that Baptist people led the way in that regard, but it is an issue of context as well. It is our stand for religious freedom that causes us concern when we see the growing influence of the more radical elements in Islam, and the principles embedded in Sharia law which seek to give prominence to the expression of Islam and seek to replace the American Constitution and our Bill or Rights.
This argument is true also for the situation concerning Ground Zero. While we maintain that we as Americans are free to worship as we please, the insistence of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to build the mosque on Ground Zero is completely out of context and spreads an aggressive and “in your face” message. On top of the message that is sent, certain contradictions in his quotes raise concerns. Taken from this article, Imam Rauf’s statements in English contradict his statements in Arabic.
What he said in May was “Our purpose is to interweave America’s Muslim population into the mainstream society.” However, in March he was quoted as saying, “I do not believe in religious dialogue.”
When asked his views on Sharia law the day after his “interweaving faith” statement, he stated: “Islam can be established through a kingdom or a democracy. The important issue is to establish the general fundamentals of Sharia that are required to govern.”
His apparent support for Sharia law over our American system is disconcerting. Context is certainly a factor when determining the location of certain mosques across this country, but a major concern is also with the religion of Islam itself. We as Christians certainly believe that we have the truth! We want to spread the fact that God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world because He loved the world. He died and rose from the dead, and we all should repent of our sin and put our entire trust in His finished work. Where would the purpose and future of a set of beliefs lie if it were not propagated?
Our purpose as Christians is to propagate the message of the gospel: “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…” (I Cor. 15:3-4) When Islam contradicts this simple yet exclusive message, why would people be upset over our supposed “intolerant view” when we teach what we believe? I personally have much more respect for those who hold to a position that they believe is true rather than for those who believe one way yet accept all other teachings. It seems logical to me that we would be opposed to Islam based on its fundamental teachings and on documented stories of the terror that radical Islam promotes.
Certain radical expressions come to mind. Jackie Sheets chronicles the following in an article that was posted on August 5, 2010 in the North County Times:
Imam Zaid Shakir, former Muslim chaplain at Yale, stated the Koran “pushes us in the exact opposite direction to the forces at work in the American political spectrum.”
Omar Ahmad, co-founder and past president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), stated: “Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.”
Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR spokesperson, said: “I wouldn’t want to create the impression that I wouldn’t like the government of the U.S. to be Islamic sometime in the future…”
And Imam Feisal Rauf has refused to sign a pledge to “repudiate the threat from authoritative sharia to the religious freedom and safety of former Muslims”, a pledge issued by ex-Muslims. Islam functions under a church/state form of government that is incompatible with our Constitution.
As an American who honors and seeks to defend our Constitution, am I supposed to ignore these statements by American Islamic leaders?
Christianity is vanishing in the “Holy Land” and no churches or synagogues are allowed in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia continues to finance Islamic organizations, mosques and Wahhabi Islamic day schools throughout the U.S. with petrodollars.
Former Congressman, Newt Gingrich warns that radical Islam and the spread of Sharia law takes place not only by acts of terror but also through “non-violent methods—a cultural, political, and legal jihad that seeks the same totalitarian goal even while claiming to repudiate violence.” In this article, he goes on to say the following:
In some ways, it speaks of the goodness of America that we have had such difficulty coming to grips with the challenge of radical Islamists. It is our very commitment to religious liberty that makes us uncomfortable with defining our enemies in a way that appears linked with religious belief.
However, America’s commitment to religious liberty has given radical Islamists a potent rhetorical weapon in their pursuit of sharia supremacy. In a deliberately dishonest campaign exploiting our belief in religious liberty, radical Islamists are actively engaged in a public relations campaign to try and browbeat and guilt Americans (and other Western countries) to accept the imposition of sharia in certain communities, no matter how deeply sharia law is in conflict with the protections afforded by the civil law and the democratic values undergirding our constitutional system.
Last month, police in Dearborn, Mich., which has a large Muslim population, arrested Christian missionaries for proselytizing at an Arab festival. They were doing so in a legal, peaceful manner that is completely permissible by law, but, of course, forbidden by sharia’s rules on proselytizing. Police may say they were trying to prevent an incident, but why should the 1st amendment right to freedom of speech and the exercise of religious freedom be sacrificed in deference to sharia’s intolerance against the preaching of religions other than Islam?*
Shockingly, sharia honor killings—in which Muslim women are murdered by their husbands, brothers or other male family members for dishonoring their family—are also on the rise in America but do not receive national attention because they are considered “domestic disturbances.” (A recent article in Marie Claire Magazine highlights recent cases and the efforts to bring national attention to this horrifying trend.)
Cases like this will become all the more common as radical Islamists grow more and more aggressive in the United States.
He says this about Imam Rauf:
There are many reasons to doubt the stated intentions of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the Ground Zero mosque. After 9/11 he did not hesitate to condemn the United States as an “accessory” to the attacks but more recently refused to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization. This is unsurprising considering he has well-established ties to U.S. branches of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has also refused to reveal the sources of funding for the mosque project, which is projected to cost $100 million.
More importantly, he is an apologist for sharia supremacy. In a recent op-ed, Rauf actually compared sharia law with the Declaration of Independence. This isn’t mere dishonesty; it is an Orwellian attempt to cause moral confusion about the nature of radical Islamism.
An Associated Press article by Deb Riechmann and Amir Shah spoke of the terrible slaughter of ten relief workers on August 5. These ten people from America, Afghanistan, Germany and Great Britain were killed simply because they were understood to be Christians, according to the sole survivor. While they did not proselytize, they were sent out by a Christian organization as a medical care team for remote villages. This is only one recent example of what is promoted by the Quran and acted on by those Muslims who are radically fundamental.
In our recent debates, some supporters of the proposal of a mosque next to our church building have suggested that Islam respects all “faiths” and seeks peace for all. That does not appear to be what the Quran and Hadith teach. Are we misreading these passages?
Hadith 8 “I have been ordered to fight against people until they testify that there is no god but Allah.” The marginal explanatory note included below that verse says, “The waging of war is enjoined against certain categories of persons such as those who attack a Muslim country, and those who prevent the preaching and spread of Islam by peaceful means, and apostates.” (Apostates are those who leave Islam)
Hadith 29 says that the highest act a Muslim can do to ensure entrance to Paradise is an act of Jihad (holy war to Spread Islam).
Surah 2:190-192 commands Muslims to fight in the cause of Allah.
Surah 2:216 “Fighting is prescribed upon you.”
Surah 3:13 “Say to those who reject faith, ‘Soon ye will be vanquished and gathered together to Hell.’”
Surah 3:83 “Do they seek for other than the Religion of Allah? While all creatures in the heavens and on earth have, willing or unwilling, bowed to His will (accepted Islam), and to Him shall they be brought back.
Surah 3:85 “If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah) never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost.”
Surah 5:74 “Let those fight in the cause of Allah who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter.”
Surah 5:76 “Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject Islam fight in the cause of Evil.”
Surah 5:95 “Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons then to those that sit at home.”
The above are but a sampling of the many passages in the Quran that would seem to us to make it difficult to describe Islam as a religion of peace. Bible believing Christians know that our source of power is not the sword, or politics, but our Saviour, and His word. The most powerful means we Christians have to answer the claims of Islam is to preach and to live in our lives the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
No, in spite of our fundamental differences with the local Islamic group here, we have no intention of interfering with their worship services, or participating in marches or demonstrations. The Imam and I parted our last meeting shaking hands and smiling. We plan to talk together again. I pray that I can some day introduce him to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
—Pastor Rench
Here is the slideshow that we showed at “Camp Echoes.” They are the same pictures as were just posted this morning, but are now set in a different way. Enjoy!
Camp Slideshow from Calvary Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Here are a few pictures and videos that we took at camp this year. While we had lots of fun, as you will see from the slides, the best part of the week was the preaching of God’s Word on issues that these teens face every single day. Decisions were made to honor their parents, respect authority, and commit themselves to marriage, and total surrender to God was the underlying theme of the week. If you would like a copy of all the sermons that Pastor Jim Shettler preached while at Ironwood, please ask Bro. Ryan and he will be glad to get that for you!
Here are a few more pictures. We didn’t have time to show all of them in the service or in a video…
God’s Word is absolutely amazing. The chances of one man fulfilling 48 prophecies (let alone the other 250) are 1 in zillions! A mathematician figured it to be a chance in 1 with 157 zeroes behind it, but Jesus Christ fulfilled all those prophecies and destroyed the mathematical odds. Hundreds and even thousands of years separate the prophecies from their fulfillments, and an honest person would really have to hate God to not believe in him. God’s Word is absolutely trustworthy.
I love the Bible because it’s so practical. I love the book of Romans because it pretty much sums up the whole Christian life when you look at it from start to finish. On Sunday mornings, the teens will be preached to about their sin (chapters 1-3), their forgiveness (3-5), their spiritual growth (6-8), some doctrine and future events (9-11), and then some really practical uses of their Christian faith (12-16). The whole book is Paul’s argument that our lives should be lived “from faith (salvation) to faith (sanctification)” as seen in Romans 1:17, and every week will include a biblical message with a practical application to today’s problems. We do well to find out what God said. Once we know that, we can see what he is saying to us. Join us this Sunday!
People everywhere question gender. Few seem to know what God says about it.
Join us every Wednesday night for a fun but informative and challenging time in God’s Word. Not every question will be answered every week, but we will do our best to conform our thoughts to God’s purpose for our gender. We will discuss dating, feminism, thinking, dress, and other issues that everyone faces, and we will do it through the lens of Scripture. God is the only one who has any clarity on the issues anyway, so come see what we should be and do for God.
When: This Saturday, August 14th
Time: 8:30 AM
Location: Church Gym
All the men of Calvary Baptist Church are invited to this wonderful time of fellowship and prayer. A full breakfast will be provided with an opportunity for a donation only. If you do not have the money, come anyway and we will be glad to have you!
Dear parents, teens and all other readers,
My wife and I are absolutely thrilled about the youth ministry at Calvary Baptist Church! I just got through some more brainstorming and planning for our Wednesday night meetings, and the more things I think about, the more things I desire to communicate to the parents and teens. I want to say once again that I could not be happier with the spirit that already exists in the teenagers in our church. I speak not only of the ones we got to know at camp but also of all those with whom we have had contact through CBC’s various ministries. I said before that we are reaping a lot of fruit from the plowing, planting, watering and caring that the Burkholders put into that part of their ministry and lives! It is fascinating to see how much a group takes on the personality of its leader, and we would not want this group’s personality to be any other way.
With that said, I want to welcome you to this new portion of the website. The “Announcements” page under the “Youth” tab will include a lot of the details for any upcoming events, but this page will be something a little different. I am always thinking about something, and there are SO many times throughout the week that I think, “Man, I wish there was some way to communicate this.” Right now, my wife and I are coming into this whole ministry as “the kids,” and we certainly realize that. In light of that, we want to conduct ourselves in a manner that would be fitting for the position in which we have been placed, and we cannot express how seriously we take the responsibility we have been given. Now, this does NOT mean that we will be serious all the time and never have any fun, but it does mean that we will do our best to be good examples and teach God’s Word. Also, we will do our best to have clear reasons behind the things that we do so that you can at least have the confidence that our decisions have been thought through.
Our position as youth directors is not a position of authority over the home. Children are given to parents, and the rearing of children is your responsibility as parents. We are here to help the family and provide a place for teens to grow in God’s Word and serve God through the opportunities that the church provides. What that growth and service looks like is weekly meetings, regular activities (all with some purpose in mind), encouragement to serve in the church and much more. I am no authority on youth ministry and I will try to never convey a supreme attitude. In fact, I ask, plead and beg for your help as we jump into this for the first time; we don’t have a clue! I sincerely desire parents who have been through this before or are going through the full-time job of raising teens to teach me, be patient with my mistakes, and help the future of the church by encouraging and growing the youth ministry and its leadership. I may not make every decision just how you would like it, but if that’s the case, please let me know as soon as possible.
Simply put, we will be preaching God’s Word every week to the teens, and my wife and I will love on them like they are our kids. We joked on Sunday that we had just adopted about 40 kids (!), but we couldn’t be happier about it. Thank you once again for the kindness over the last couple of months, and for trusting us every week with the teaching of your teens. If you ever have any questions, please call, text, email, or somehow let Mrs. Jamie or me know and we will do whatever we can to help.
- Bro. Ryan: ryan.rench@cbctemecula.com (See the directory for my cell phone number)
- Mrs. Jamie: jamie.rench@cbctemecula.com
Until next time,
RR
This Sunday, August 15, everyone involved in or interested in special music at CBC will meet in the choir room at 5:15 to discuss a few new policies and procedures. If you have any questions, please see Bro. Ryan.
