Pastor Buddy’s Blog

Hi Journal,

Yep, there it is.

That’s the original pulpit of Christian Challenge. I built it with my own two  hands. Hard to believe that it is almost 32 years old. Well, we had to begin some place. And what is a ministry without a pulpit.

I suppose some folk wonder why we even let the old pulpit hang around. After all, it really isn’t very pretty. Its scarred up with pen markings everywhere. But that old pulpit could tell some stories that many would find hard to believe. Besides that, the old pulpit always reminds me of the road that we have traveled.

Actually if the truth be known, no one aside from my family and one dear sister will have any memories of our two and a half years in Boyce. And the one sister became part of our ministry not long before we relocated to Pineville. She wouldn’t be familiar with the earliest days of Christian Challenge. But Boyce was where it all began.

I could write a book on our ventures in Boyce and could just about guarantee that it would be spell binding. What happened in Boyce is a story hard to believe, that is, of course, unless you truly understand how the Holy Spirit goes about to raise up a ministry. But I’ll spare you on the book part. 

Yep, that old Boyce pulpit could tell a many a story if it could talk. But perhaps I should add that the old pulpit was only our main pulpit for a little less than three years. After relocating Christian Challenge to Pineville, we are now on our third pulpit. The old Boyce pulpit is used largely in our School for Christian Workers. It always warms my heart when I see it.

The point is that the story of a talking pulpit is how…

The Lord raises up a ministry the same way He saves a soul…

This is the part that is difficult for some to grasp. The old pulpit was one part of a calling from the Lord. It was the old pulpit, in an old storefront run down building, with no congregation to speak of, with no backing from any organization or church group, and with nothing to bolster us aside from a stewardship from the Lord. It all had to do with a call.

You see, no one gets saved because they just decided on their on to get saved. The Spirit of the Lord is always in the background of a person’s salvation experience. And our response to salvation has to do with a call. It is as Peter said:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

“for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1Pe2:9,10 nasb) 

Then we have to consider Abraham of whom the Bible sets forth as the prototype of the new covenant believer. In fact we are instructed to follow in his steps. Of him the writer says…

“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Heb11:8)

My point is to allow you to see that the same way the Lord saves a soul is the same way He raises up and gives life to a ministry. The very hallmark of genuine Christianity rests entirely upon the call of God.

This is also why we hear the apostle say,

“Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble…” (2Pet 1:10)

So, can it be said that…

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…

Seems we now have a problem. If the Lord is the one who builds the house, what part do we have in its construction? We have very much to do indeed. Our part is to be obedient to the instructions that are given us by the Lord Himself.

Even the materials to build the house are supplied by the Lord. What materials you say? Glad you asked. The beginning place is always the foundation. There is only one foundation that we are commissioned to lay. The foundation is contained in a message, ‘the finished work of the cross.’

Once the message of the cross has been provided, then we are to build on that message with doctrines provided by heaven. And this is where a builder must be very careful. It is possible to use man-made and not heaven-made material. Listen:

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

“Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1Co3:9-15)

The wood, hay and straw are the doctrines of men. The gold, silver, and precious stones represent heavenly teachings that belong to the covenant of Christ.

Learning to be an assayer…

My old pulpit would be the first to tell you that I didn’t always use the best material in my early preaching and teaching. It wasn’t a matter of purpose. It was more a matter of mixing some man-centered teachings with heavenly teachings. It was so easy to get caught up in teachings that were worldly-thinking without truly realizing it. At the same time I always had a nudging in my spirit that something was off-centered.

But the Lord was faithful to hold me close to the one message that He had given me to preach from the beginning, that is, the finished work of the cross.

Some years later the Lord gave me a prophetic dream concerning the deep of His faithfulness. In the dream He told me to launch out into the deep of His faithfulness. I understood this to mean that it was time to leave off from the shallow-emotional driven, charismatic-type, earthly-centered teachings, and teach people solely about living from a personal relationship with Jesus Himself.

Yes, my pulpit knew there was something in a major change taking place. (This was back in the early 8os.)

And this is where Christian Challenge began to take on its proper nature of being a truly evangelical centered ministry.

What is this about being an assayer?

Would you believe that this idea is a major part of any minister’s walk with the Lord. Even the apostles themselves had to learn how to separate misteachings from the truths of the new covenant. Peter being sent to the house of Cornelius is a classic example. At that time the Jewish apostles still held a distain for Gentiles. Of course the Lord got His message across.

Anyway, here was what the Lord said to Jeremiah:

“Therefore, thus says the LORD, ‘If you return, then I will restore you– Before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman.

They for their part may turn to you, but as for you, you must not turn to them. Then I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; and though they fight against you, they will not prevail over you; for I am with you to save you And deliver you,’ declares the LORD. So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.” (Jer15:19-21)

I have this odd notion that someone among my readers really needs to catch what the Lord said to Jeremiah. Is that you?

There is so much more I’d like to tell you about our journey of faith. But its time to close down. But to you who are familiar with Christian Challenge proper, remember what I said about the old pulpit. Next chance you get, take a closer look at the old pulpit. That old pulpit has something to tell you. It is filled with stories and messages.

And above all when you see the old pulpit, don’t look at it like some old weathered  piece of junk. It deserves more respect than that. That old pulpit has seen many a person come to the Lord. That old pulpit has seen more than one miracle. That old pulpit felt the heat of a lot of anointed preaching.

What can I say? By now you know why I won’t let anyone get rid of the old pulpit.

Much love coming your way,

Buddy