December 14-17

2011

Make plans to attend now!

ICOF US Synod   Calendar 2011

August 2-5, 2011

Holy Convocation  

August 2nd-6th, 2011. 

Birmingham, Alabama  

We are so excited. There is a lot of planning in the process, and our theme is 

"Impacting a Paradigm Shift"!    

Get ready for a powerful move of God as the Next Wave continues!

Host Church: 

Restoration Assembly Birmingham, Alabama

Tired of traditional church? Looking for a change? Interested in a relevant, life changing church community? We are now in the process of forming a core group of leaders.  If you are someone who wants to be involved in this NEW and exciting church plant, we would love to sit down and buy you a cup of coffee and talk to you! Or if you just want some information, let us know! Worship leaders, small group leaders, church plant internships, children director, youth pastor and minister leadership opportunities available. Lots of potential for growth!  All we need is you!  If you are in the area, please email to set up an interview or send us your information. If you are not in the area, but would be willing to relocate for an incredible opportunity, please call or email your resume/information.  

We are looking for people immediately who have a desire to be a part of a new CHURCH PLANT. Must be able to build relationships and have a heart for the lost.

God gives His girls equality-and has commissioned them to take territory for His Kingdom

Most Israelites who traveled through the Sinai desert with Moses probably knew about the daughters of Zelophehad. While other women hid inside tents and covered themselves head to foot with heavy veils, these girls-Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah-defied the patriarchal system of their day and earned a special place in biblical history.

We rarely hear sermons about Zelophehad's daughters today, even though they are mentioned in the Bible five times (see Num. 26:33; 27:1-7; 36:1-12; 1 Chr. 7:15; Josh. 17:1-6). Maybe this is because many church leaders simply don't want to empower women or are afraid to. But it is time we unlocked these women's secret for a new generation.

God's daughters must understand who they are, how their heavenly Father views them, and what He has commissioned them to do in His kingdom. The daughters' portion must be claimed.

You may have been told that women have only second-class status in the church, or that your role is limited because of your gender. You may have even been told that women are less valuable to God, or less useful. But the Bible contradicts this view.

In fact, the Old Testament contains several accounts of daughters who were empowered and given their full inheritance-in an age when boys were preferred over girls, and women had no civil rights. The stories of these daughters are recorded in Scripture so that you, too, will muster the courage to claim your inheritance.

Five Pioneer Women

At a time when most women in Israel lived like prisoners in polygamous households, the daughters of Zelophehad must have spent lots of time outside their tent. They were curious. They had a zest for life. And they refused to be confined by the limitations of their culture.

Why did they think differently from other women of that era? My theory is that their parents offered these girls overwhelming validation and encouragement. Zelophehad, who had no sons, must have decided after his first daughter was born that he was content to raise a houseful of women. He recognized their value. He was generous with his affection and instilled in his daughters a powerful sense of personal destiny.

Zelophehad probably showered his daughters with gifts, held them in his lap after dinner and told them stories about the exodus from Egypt while he tucked them into bed. They knew their daddy loved them, and his affirmation nurtured a sense of empowerment.

I can imagine these playful girls dancing and singing next to their father's goat pens as they did their chores. Their ankle bracelets jingling as they skipped past the tents in Manasseh's encampment.

Neighbors might have even complained about all the giggling that came from Zelophehad's household. They may have shouted to Zelophehad's wife, "Tell those girls to be quiet!"

But these girls were not easily silenced. They were God-ordained troublemakers. They would soon make history.

As the girls blossomed into women, their confidence grew. They must have started talking among themselves about the problems with patriarchy, finally asking the most forbidden questions: "Why don't the women have any privileges around here? Why can't women own land? Why can't we get an inheritance when we cross the Jordan?"

The Bible tells us that after Zelophehad's death, his daughters went to Moses and made a daring proposal: "Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father's brothers." (Num. 27:4, NASB)

We can't even begin to imagine how bold and audacious this request was. Women in Israel did not ask for rights. Yet the daughters of Zelophehad risked their reputations by approaching the leader of their nation and asking for something revolutionary.

What is most remarkable is that Moses took their request seriously and sought God about it. Most church leaders who restrict women's involvement in ministry don't pray about this issue at all. They simply consult their denominational policies and traditions and decree, "No women in the pulpit. Women can't teach men. Women can't lead anything." Then they reinstate man-made rules that quench the Holy Spirit.

But Moses asked God, and God had a surprising reply: "The daughters of Zelophehad are right in their statements. You shall surely give them a hereditary possession among their father's brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them. " (Num. 27:7)

In that moment, God contradicted centuries of prejudice and wrong-headed tradition. He made it clear that in His kingdom, women are not afterthoughts or appendages. They have equal value with men and full rights to His benefits.  

2. Christians ignore most of the methods, practices and principles found in the book of Acts. (Acts 2:42,44; Acts 2:46; Acts 2:38)

3. Many treat "church" like any other social club or sports event that they might attend. (Acts 2:46; Heb 10:25; Acts 1:14)

4. We've made Christianity about the individual rather than the community of believers. (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12; 2 Tim 4:16)

5. In most "churches" the priesthood of all believers isn't acknowledged and the role of pastor is abused. (1Pt 2:9; 1 Cor 12:12; Eph 4:11-13)

6. The "church" as a whole has lost the concept of their being grafted into the promises given to Israel. (Rom 11:15, 17-18, 20, 25)

7. There needs to be a recovery of teaching the whole counsel of God, especially in expository form. (Acts 20:27; 1 Tim 4:6, 2 Tim 2:15)

8. We take it too lightly that we have the blessing and honor of having God's Scriptures in our possession. (Ps 119:16; Acts 13:44; Neh 8:9)

9. There has never been more access to the Word of God, yet so little reading of it. ( I Tim 4:13; Neh 8:1-3; Ps 119:59)

10. Some read the Scriptures to attain knowledge, but do not practice what they read. (Jam 1:22; Mt 7:21; 3Jn 4)

11. Worship has become an idol in many "churches". The music often resembles that of the world. (Amos 5:23; Phil 4:8; 1Jn 5:21)

12. The world is shaping the views of the "church" more than the "church" shaping the world. (Rom 12:2; Mt 5:13; 1Cor 1:22-23)

13. The "church" spends more money on dog food than on missions. (2Cor 9:6; Lk 21:2; Acts 4:34-35)

14. We take lightly the cost of discipleship laid out by Jesus Christ and do not deny our lives. (Lk 14:33; Lk 14:26-27; Mt 8:19-20)

15. There is a lack of true discipleship and making others to be obedient disciples. (Mt 28:20; 2Tim 2:2; 2Tim 2:14)

16. Many subscribe to the error that parts of life are to be spiritual while others are to be secular. (1Pt 4:2; Col 3:3; 1Jn 2:6)

17. Modern Christians often find Jesus' command to sacrifice and serve abhorrent. (Phil 2:21; Jam 3:16; Rom 12:1-2)

18. Self disciplines in the Christian life such as fasting and praying are considered legalistic. (2Tim 2:21; 2Tim 1:8; Mt 6:17)

19. Little thought and contemplation is put towards the lostness of men, the seriousness of the Gospel. (Phil 3:8; Gal 2:20; Heb 10:34)

20. We are living with an epidemic of cheap grace with flippant confession and shallow consecration. (Lk 14:28-30; Lk 14:26; Jam 4:8)

21. Since the inception of the Church, the Gospel had the requirements of repentance and discipleship. (Acts 2:38; Lk 14:26; Jn 8:31)

22. Now forgiveness is offered without repentance, discipleship without obedience, salvation without sanctity. (Heb 10:29; 4:11)

23. Introspection, counting the cost, godly sorrow over sin, are all foreign to many in the "church". (Acts 2:37; Ps 119:9; Heb 6:1-2)

24. The modern church loves itself more than its neighbor. 

(1Cor 3:3; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:3)

25. The church must repent of its idolization of personality, and of business principles. (2 Cor 2:17; 1Cor 3:5; 1Cor 12:23)

26. Many elders and pastors of the "church" sadly are fleecing the flock to supply their own wants. (Jn 10:12-13; 1Pt 5:2-3; Rev 2:15)

27. The qualities most in demand in today's pastorate are frequently foreign to the Scriptures. (1 Tim 3:2-3; 1 Tim 3:5; 1 Tim 1:5-7)

28. The professionalization of the pastorate is a sin and needs to be repented of. (2 Cor 11:13; Gal 3:1; Gal 2:6)

29. There must be repentance for the ambitious desire and idolization of the celebrity pastorate. (3 Jn 9; Jer 17:5; 1 Cor 12:22)

30. Pastors must trust the Spirit, not statistics. 

(2 Sam 24:1; 1 Cor 1:25; Rom 8:14)

31. Modern day prophets are being stoned by criticism and neglect. 

(2 Tim 4:3-4; Gal 1:10; Jer 1:7-8)

32. God's prophets are ill-treated and shunned by most "christians" considered too harsh or extreme. (Jer 6:10; Isa 6:9-10; Gal 4:16)

33. The prophets prophesy falsely, priests rule by their own power; and my people love to have it so. (Mt 24:4, 11-12; 1 Cor 1:19, Jude 8 )

34. There are many false gospels being preached from pulpits in our day. 

(2 Cor 11:4; Gal 1:8-9; Jude 16)

35. There is an epidemic of a "mock" salvation message. It is correct in doctrine, but false in reality. (2 Cor 3:6; 1Jn 5:11-12; Rom 8:9)

36. A salvation that does not make men holy is trusted in by a deceived multitude. (Jude 4; Rom 8:1; Rom 6:17-18)

37. There is a needed perseverance in the truths of the Gospel without unbelief. (Eph 1:1; Heb 6:11-12; Heb 10:26-27)

38. A great need is to see "christians" become saints in actual experience. (1Jn 2:29; Col 3:5-8; Tit 3:8)

39. Many professors of religion are forbidding people to be a part of the holy body of Christ. (Mt 23:13; Ps 119:1-2; 2Pt 1:3-4)

40. Preaching has become all about the happiness of man and not the glory of God. (Jn 6:26; Rom 4:20; 1Pt 4:11)

41. Preachers give smooth words to entice men, yet very few give any words of correction or rebuke. (Jer 6:14; Pro 1:23; 1Tim 5:20)

42. Run from gospels that focus on our success and prosperity in the name of Jesus Christ. (Jn 2:16; Acts 20:33; Jer 6:13)

43. Run from gospels that focus on self-improvement. 

(1Tim 6:5; Heb 12:14; Jam 4:14)

44. Run from churches where men, and not Christ, are glorified. 

(Col 1:18; Jude 25; Jn 16:14)

45. Run from churches where there is no Bible, no cross, no mention of the blood of Christ. (1Pt 1:18-19; Eph 3:13; Rev 1:5)

46. Run from churches where the worship leaves you cold, where there's no sense of God's presence. (1Cor 5:4; Ps 80:14-15; Jer 12:11)

47. Run from churches where you're comfortable in your sin. 

(1Cor 14:25; Heb 10:30-31; Heb 4:13)

48. Run from churches that use the pulpit of God for a personal agenda. (Jude 10-11,19; 3 Jn 9)

49. Run from those who preach division between races and cultures. (Jam 2:4, Gal 3:28, Rev 5:9)

50. Run from ungodly, spasmodic movements and endless empty prophesying. (Jer 5:13; 1 Cor 14:33, 1Jn 2:16)

51. Run from preachers who tell mostly stories and jokes. 

(Eph 5:4; Tit 1:8; 2:12)

52. Run from those that are only after money, who use one gimmick after another to get your money. (2 Pt 2:3; 2 Cor 12:14; 1Cor 9:18)

53. The phrase "accept Jesus as your personal Saviour" is not found in the Scriptures. (Rom 10:9-10; Col 1:13; Acts 26:20)

54. Evidence of true conversion does not seem important to modern day Christians. (1Jn 2:6; 1Jn 4:17; Mt 7:20)

55. Thousands of sinners think of God as having only one attribute: Love! But they continue in sin. (Rom 1:18; Acts 5:11; Ps 2:12)

56. "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!" has hindered true evangelism. (Rom 3:19; Acts 26:18; Phil 3:18-21) 

57. A Gospel of love and grace only, without the law of God being preached.  This is a doctrine of Satan. (2 Tim 4:3-4; Rom 2:4-5; 3:19)

58. There has clearly arisen a careless mixture of 20th century reasoning with God's revelation. (Col 2:8; Rom 1:25; Gal 1:6)

59. Decisionism and the "sinner's prayer" has been a major cause of false conversions in the "church". (2Pt 2:1-2; Eph 2:4-5; 2 Cor 5:17-18)

60. Many will be surprised to hear Jesus say, "I never knew you, depart from me." (Mt 7:22-23; 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21)

61. Men have taken the place of the Holy Spirit in confirming men in their supposed salvation. (1Jn 2:3-5; 2Ths 1:8; Gal 6:12-15) 

62. The doctrine of hell and eternal suffering is something little grasped by most professing "christians". (Mt 13:42; Jam 5:1; Ps 9:17)

63. The judgment seat of Christ is perhaps one of the most neglected topics in the modern pulpit.  (2 Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10; 1Cor 3:13) 

64. The second coming of Christ needs to be re-instated as the church's general thrust and burden.  (1Jn 3:2-3; Col 3:4-6; 1Ths 4:14-17)  

65. The church has lost the fear of God and has over emphasized the love of God. (Heb 12:28-29; Lk 12:5; Heb 10:31)

66. The church has left evangelism to a few trained professionals. (Acts 8:1,4; Acts 4:29; Rom 10:14)

67. Repentance is considered a one-time act in modern evangelism rather than a way of life. (Rev 3:19; Heb 12:17; 2Pt 3:9)

68. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is something that is not taught in many pulpits. (Acts 2:36; 1 Cor 12:3; Rom 6:18)

69. Many in "churches" are not open to correction, church discipline or rebuke.  (1 Cor 5:5; 1Cor 11:31-32; Heb 12:7-9)

70. Some preach salvation as a theory instead of persuading men to come to Christ. (Jn 5:40; Col 1:28; 2Cor 4:5)

71. There has been a loss of the fullness and majesty of the gospel. (1Tim 1:11; Jude 25; Rom 15:29)

72. There is little mention of sin or the depravity of man from "church" pulpits. (Jn 3:20; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5)

73. Covetousness, consumerism, and coddling of the world's goods does not appear wrong. (Jer 22:17; 1Jn 2:15-16; 1Tim 3:3)

74. Little is made of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in churches or in evangelism. (1 Cor 15:14-15; Acts 4:10, 33)

75. The "church" has relied more on technology than God. 

(Zech 4:6; 1Cor 1:21; 2:4)

76. The prayer meeting is considered one of the least important meetings in the "church".   (1 Tim 2:1; Acts 4:31; Phil 4:6)

77. Pastors have never prayed less than they do in the "church" today. (Jer 10:21; Phil 2:21; Eph 6:18-19)

78. Very few are waiting on God for His direction and purpose for His Church. (Eph 1:11; Ps 37:7; Isa 40:31) 

79. The "church" has many organizers, but few agonizers. 

(Phil 3:18-19; Rom 9:1-3; Jer 9:1)

80. We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the "church".  

(2 Tim 4:2; 1 Cor 14:39; 1Cor 12:31)

81. A serious, sober, self-controlled Christianity is very seldom found or preached. (2 Pt 3:11; 1 Pt 4:7; Jude 3)  

82. The "church" at large has forgotten how to pray. 

(1Jn 3:22; Acts 6:4; 1Th 5:17)

83. Many "churches" are more dependent on tradition than the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Mk 7:13; Acts 16:6; Acts 13:2)

84. Multitudes of professors preach and teach: that you cannot be freed from sin. (Rom 16:18; Rom 6:1-2; 2Pt 2:1) 

85. The Apostles and Christ always preached the possibility to walk free from sin. (Tit 2:11-12; 1Pt 1:14-16; Rom 6:19)

86. Sinners are not saved to sin, but rather, saved to holiness and good works.  (Rom 6:13; Eph 2:10; 2Pt 3:14)

87. Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner.  (2 Tim 2:19; 1Pt 4:17-18; 2Tim 3:12)

88. A baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living is the crying need of our day. (1 Tim 6:3; 2 Ths 3:6; 2Ths 2:13)

89. Many are confused about obedience, and good works that are readily mentioned in the Scriptures. (Tit 3:8; Jn 10:32; Rev 3:15)

90. Little emphasis is put on the plan of God to make us like Jesus Christ in "churches". (1Pt 1:14-16; 1Jn 2:6; 1Pt 4:1) 

91. Christ did not die on the cross to obtain a worldly "church" but for a "glorious Church." (Eph 5:27; Tit 2:14; Col 4:12)

92. Christ does not come into an unregenerate and impure heart as many contemporary theologians say. (2 Cor 5:17; Mt 5:8; Eze 18:31) 

93. A holy Church is God's blessing to the world; an unholy "church" is God's judgment upon the world. (Mt 5:14,16; Eph 4:1; 1Ths 2:12)

94. If Christianity is to make any headway in the present time, it must be proved to be more than a theory. (2 Ths 3:6-7; 1Ths 4:1,11-12) 

95. Unbelief has gagged and bound us as risen Lazarus! We need release in this final hour! (Heb 3:12-14; 1 Cor 3:21-23; Heb 11:6)