Mark’s Blog

“Go into all the world…”  How much of a difference does one little word make?  What if Jesus, the Great Commission (Mark 16:15), had said “Go into the world” instead of “Go into ALL the world”?  Would it make a difference?  I believe so.  If Jesus said it, then every word is vital!

So what is the importance to us of “all”?  It means our commission is unlimited.  We are not allowed to put up fences and borders in evangelism.  God wants everyone to have an opportunity to hear the good news.  There is more than a lost teen out there – more than a lost family – more than a lost neighborhood – more than a lost city – more than a lost nation.  There is a lost world.  Go into all the world.

This truth can be applied at multiple levels.  For instance, at the congregational level, as we look out at the community which we serve locally, are there parts of that community that we are neglecting – parts of it where we have not gone?  Jesus said go into all.

At the national level, there are places aplenty where the Lord’s church needs to go.  Pick up a copy of “Churches of Christ in the United States” and look at the helpful data compiled there.  There are huge counties in our country where there is no representation by churches of Christ.  The commission in the United States is far from complete.

And of course at the international level there are countless places still to go.  Do we pray for the day when God will make it possible to go to Iraq?  Afghanistan?  Pakistan?  Jesus included them as well.

You see, the Commission is about more than numbers.  The Commission is fulfilled not simply by converting a certain number of people.  The Commission is fulfilled when the good news is spread widely to as many people as possible, regardless of the number baptized.  God wants every corner of his world, and every part of our community, to know that He is and the Jesus is His Son.  Whether they accept it or not – whether they fill the pews in our churches of not – God at least wants them to know.  His Presence needs to permeate every nook and cranny of His Creation.

Only when that is accomplished can the vision of Revelation 7:9-10 come true:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Amen!

Only in America…
…do drugstores make sick people walk to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
…do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a Diet Coke.
…do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
…do we leave cars [...]

I grew up just a few minutes from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Every year there is a big festival and celebration as new members of football’s greatest heroes are enshrined in those hallowed halls.  It is a big deal in Canton, Ohio – and a big deal for those involved in the National [...]

I am writing in hopes to generate a lot of community support for an organization I feel has done a lot and asked for nothing in return. I am a recent recipient of the Mid-Ohio Valley Work Camp 2010. I had a group of young people, some from this area, some from [...]

This is a big summer for the churches of Christ in the Ohio Valley.  During the month of July, there will be an evangelistic campaign conducted by congregations in Vienna and Parkersburg to knock every door in our county, introduce ourselves, offer Bible studies, seek ways to serve, and invite people to an area-wide revival [...]

In a recent Breakpoint commentary, Mark Earley reminds us of the urgent needs of our Christian brothers and sisters in a war-torn part of the world: “Iraq’s Christian population is caught between three competing Muslim groups: Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. While these groups agree on very little, elements within each of [...]

The Church of My Dreams
John Milton Moore

This is the church of my dreams:
The church of the warm heart,
Of the open mind,
Of the adventurous spirit;
The church that cares,
That heals hurt lives,
That comforts old people,
That challenges youth;
That knows no divisions of culture or class,
No frontiers, geographical or social;
The church that inquires as well as avers,
That looks [...]

Ohio Valley University’s Church Relations department will present an area-wide Bible class teacher training workshop, Saturday, August 7 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on OVU’s main campus.
The workshop is hosted in conjunction with the nationally-known Christian Education Association in Fort Worth, Texas. The day-long event will consist of intense and practical workshop sessions that [...]

I want to remind our Young-at-Hearters that our area-wide Senior Saints Day is fast approaching this month on Thursday, April 29th, hosted by the Grand Central congregation.  The theme this year is “Rejoice in this Day Too!”  The day begins at 9:00 am and continues through lunch at noon.  The guest speaker is David Wright [...]

I offer below something a little different – an academic essay I wrote a few years ago as part of my coursework at Harding University.  I hope you enjoy it – if it is not your cup of tea, please forgive me! – MEM
Genesis 1:1-3:24 as Cosmogony in its Ancient Near Eastern [...]