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Equipping Christian Leaders for the Challenges of the 21st Century
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Several years ago I went to Washington on business. I flew into Dulles International Airport on that trip. The morning after my meetings, I left the motel early to be sure I would be at the airport well before my flight. I always carried things to read, and, having missed my flight one time by less than a minute, I always tried to be at the airport at least an hour before my flight. Since it was raining, I left extra early. I turned onto Interstate 495 (the circle freeway) watching for the Dulles exit, but it seemed farther than I had remembered. I kept going faster and faster, trying to be sure I got to the airport on time. Finally, I got off the Interstate and checked my map to see how much farther it was. I was going the wrong direction! No matter how fast I went, I could not have made my flight going that direction. (I did make my flight, but just barely.)
Christians have the most valuable and precious thing in this creation, but sometimes we get on the wrong road. We’re so certain that we’re going the right direction, and we put more and more effort into trying to reach our goals. But too often we are going the wrong direction, and no amount of effort can solve the problem until we stop, check the roadmap, and turn around.
If you are honest with yourself, there should be some things about Christianity as you have learned it that bother you. Perhaps you feel like you’re trying harder and harder without making progress. Perhaps your concept of heaven doesn’t seem better than what we have here on earth. You may claim to accept by faith that it will be better, but somewhere in the back of your mind it just doesn’t seem right. Or some of the things God is supposed to have done and said in the Old Testament may bother you. Can God really be like that? Can this be the right road? Perhaps you are bothered by the drastic difference between some aspects of science and some things Christians teach. As the evidence piles up against certain Christian teachings, do you wonder how this can possibly be right? Perhaps you are bothered by what Christians teach about women, about sex, or about any of several other topics. In some cases we just need a new perspective on the ancient truths of Christianity. In some cases we need to go back to the source and learn that we have misunderstood important teachings from Jesus and his apostles.
New Century Ministries is a Christian ministry to help Christians address some of the questions and issues with which we must struggle in the 21st century. Through articles, lessons, and speaking engagements, this ministry seeks to present a biblical view that will give Christians a stronger sense of how right real Christianity is. The questions addressed range from the essence of Christianity to practical issues of Christian life to issues of scientific investigation.
Initially this ministry will offer a series of articles dealing with various issues facing the church and individual Christians today. (Many are still in the process of being written.) In addition, this ministry will develop a series of lesson materials intended to take Christian education in the church to a new level of effectiveness. It is the strong conviction of New Century Ministries that a view of Christianity and this world that stresses absolute commitment to truth, reasonable understanding of the Bible, and a genuine willingness to look at things from God’s perspective will resolve the vast majority of the questions that plague Christians—and at the same time, these answers will help Christians realize that the good news that the gospel is supposed to be is actually better news than most Christians ever imagine.
The information on this site is not comprehensive. The present articles do not address all the things that could be addressed here. More articles will be added over time. (The site is open to contributions and suggestions, though only articles that contribute to the purposes of the site will be included.) Each article is brief (generally about ten or fifteen pages) and presented as much as possible in terms anyone can understand. The articles are not comprehensive; they deal only with the key points of the issues addressed. The intent is not to address every opinion or to deal with every skeptic, but to provide a clear enough picture that a Christian can find good news and renewed strength from these articles.
This site is unabashedly Christian. As director of New Century Ministries, I have addressed the objections of the non-Christian world as honestly as I know how, but this site makes no pretense of treating anti-Christian teachings as acceptable. I believe Christianity to be the ultimate in reality and the most important issue in this creation.
Before becoming director of this ministry, I had a career that included being a highly respected scientist and engineer, a minister and a church leader, a teacher of science and engineering, a college professor of New Testament, while always being a careful observer of churches and Christians in their efforts to apply Christianity to life. This site offers the gleanings of over sixty years of growing as a person, most of which were also spent growing as a Christian.
Again, this site is for Christians. It is my contention that no argument can convince a person to change from agnostic, atheist, Jew, Muslim, or pagan to being a Christian—only God can bring about that change; but these articles may help Christians facilitate such a change in others they know. Primarily, the intent of this site is to help Christians grow as Christians and to help us as Christians shed some non-Christian practices and some teachings that create confusion and turn the world away from Christianity. In other words, this site is to help the church and individual Christians become the facilitators God intends us to be in bringing the world to accept his kingdom.
While there are several areas where these articles encourage change in the way we practice Christianity, the changes advocated are not anything that would be considered in any way inconsistent with Jesus’ ministry. In fact, many of the suggestions in these articles are of the sort that, once a Christian sees the point, he or she is likely to say, “Of course, that’s obvious. Why didn’t we see that before?” In some cases, the suggestions offered will meet resistance from those so tied to some traditional understanding of Christianity that they cannot see the need to break from a tradition that may once have served us well, but that has become a problem. As you study these articles, keep a firm grip on truth and on biblical teaching. Remember that new ideas need to be investigated with prayer and discussed among faithful Christians so that the error of one individual does not infect the whole body.
There are five issues that permeate the articles and teachings of this ministry: sin, faith, heaven, love, and truth. This ministry presents heaven as far better than most Christians have realized, sin as far worse than most Christians have realized, faith as far more serious than most Christians have realized, love as far more demanding than most Christians have realized, and truth as the only standard by which we can find our way to God. A better understanding of these is the way to a better understanding of many issues that have plagued the church. Article 1-001 addresses the issue of sin most directly, Article 1-002 addresses the issue of faith most directly, Article 1-003 addresses the issue of heaven most directly, and Article 1-004 addresses the concept of Christian love most directly. In every article, we have sought to make truth an absolute standard. If we do not know the truth, then we have tried to clearly say so. However, while these specific articles may address these key issues most directly, all five of these issues are at the heart of many of these articles.
It should be no surprise that God’s perspective is on eternity and the things that are necessary for that future to be ours. This earth is temporary, eternity is permanent. Our perspective is generally focused on this world and this life. In fact, we can never fully gain God’s perspective, but with a little effort we can see enough of that perspective to resolve some issues that have plagued us.
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All of the articles in the
List of Articlesare available either by e-mail or by postal mail. An e-mail request will provide anyone with any or all of the available articles for free, though a donation to the ministry would help defray the costs of maintaining this web site and answering requests. A request for printed copies needs to be accompanied by a donation large enough to defray the cost of printing and mailing. The cost of sending articles if mailed to a location in the United States would be as follows:
1 article $3.00
2–5 articles $8.00
6–10 articles $12.00
11–20 articles $20.00
21–30 articles $25.00
31 or more $30.00
(Only articles shown as “available” in the List of Articles may be ordered.)
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As director of New Century Ministries, I am available to speak on any of the topics addressed in these articles. The only cost is for expenses, though I request an offering be taken in addition to the actual expenses in order to help advance the ministry. You may contact me as director of this ministry at
CF.Webster@NewCenturyMinistries.org.
This web page and all of the articles mentioned on it are copyrighted. That is for two reasons: 1) so that anyone who finds an error or weakness in the articles can contact this ministry with suggestions for correction or improvement; and 2) so that anyone who wants to ask questions can find where to do so. All citations of these materials should reference this web site. If the materials in this web site are to be used to bring in money, we request that a portion of any income be donated to this ministry.
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Contributions can be made to New Century Ministries, PO Box 1239, Madison GA 30650-1239. Contributions above mailing expenses will be used to pay the costs of maintaining the web site, adding articles to the “available” list, getting the articles onto the web, and developing lesson materials. If budgets allow, this ministry will add provisions for more direct discussion of the issues addressed.
If these articles and lessons provide real help in your personal life or for your church’s life, I request that you consider making a contribution or even putting this ministry in your regular missions’ budget. There is much more that could be done. Future plans include lesson materials for Sunday school programs that will deal with some of the most difficult challenges of the local churches and lesson materials for after-school programs at which children may receive additional training in Christianity and its application in this world.
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A statement of expenses and income will be maintained on this web site.
Expenses to date:
Books - $103.48
Website - 318.17
PO Box - 70.00
Total - $491.65
Income to date:
Donations from director $491.65
Time, effort, and expertise for writing articles have all been donated by the director.
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Copyright 2005 by New Century Ministries,
Charles F. Webster Director
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