“The Welch College Certificate of Biblical and Ministry Studies supports volunteers and pastors in the local church. The courses that make up this 15-hour certificate are all available online, meaning you can commit to your studies while maintaining your life at home.”

Learn more at welch.edu/certificate.

It is not too late to sign your youth up for Youth Alive, Summer Youth Camp 2023! Please find the flyer attached if you are still interested in signing up your youth. Also find the Camp Guidelines and the Camp Checklist.

All Chaperones will need a background check. The link for that will go directly to the chaperones indicated in the sign-up form.

Please let us know if you have any questions and sign your youth up today if you have not already! You do not want your youth to miss out on this event with speaker Allen Pointer!!
Teressa Voltz

“Luke Johnson, prayer chairman for the North Carolina Free Will Baptist Steering Committee, invites you to join a Zoom Prayer Meeting for the 2023 National Convention. The first meeting will be Thursday, June 8, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Email Pastor Luke to sign up and get the meeting information.” pastorlukejohnson@protonmail.com

“Convention has been released, featuring sessions from: Board of Retirement, D6 Family, Executive Office, IM, Inc., North American Ministries, Welch College, WNAC, Commission for Theological Integrity, Historical Commission, Media Commission, Music Commission, and the Committee on Denominational Research.”
Find the full schedule at nafwb.org/convention/.

“Harvest Child Care Ministries is celebrating 30 years of ministry in Duffield, Virginia. We are inviting all of our supporters to join us on August the 5th for a worship service with special guests The Lore Family, & Preaching from Dr. Chris Dotson Tennessee Executive Director & cofounder of Harvest CCM. There will also be campus tours. Our Director from Mexico Rev Elias Perez & his wife Sara will also be there. Please consider joining us in our celebration!”

Steven C Shotzman

Please pray for ETEAM this summer taking place on June 9-28. Students and leaders will spend a week at Welch College in Nashville, Tennessee, training then leave for their fields for the next two weeks. There will be ten ETEAMs scattered throughout different fields doing various ministries in the local communities. Pray for the people who will hear the Gospel shared for the first time and pray for the students who will experience these life-changing opportunities to serve. (Logo attached)

APRIL 17, 2023 | CANDACE ECHOLS

My daughter’s middle name is Grace, and I know more than one family with a child named Mercy. Grace and mercy—concepts that are pillars in the gospel, concepts beautiful enough to name a child after. But in all my days, I’ve never once met a person named Obedience.

This name was used by the Puritans for their daughters long ago but has fallen out of favor. What a shame, since obedience is a foundational idea in the Word of God. In fact, the grace and mercy we love so much were made possible by Jesus’s perfect obedience.

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Why We Need to Talk About Obedience
APRIL 17, 2023 | CANDACE ECHOLS
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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

My daughter’s middle name is Grace, and I know more than one family with a child named Mercy. Grace and mercy—concepts that are pillars in the gospel, concepts beautiful enough to name a child after. But in all my days, I’ve never once met a person named Obedience.

This name was used by the Puritans for their daughters long ago but has fallen out of favor. What a shame, since obedience is a foundational idea in the Word of God. In fact, the grace and mercy we love so much were made possible by Jesus’s perfect obedience.

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But this word and the concept attached to it have lost popularity. Obedience doesn’t often bubble up in casual conversation with fellow believers. It’s not regularly written into the lyrics of modern worship songs, and it’s rarely the topic of podcasts or articles.

Why has obedience taken a back seat in our regular Christian discourse?

Avoiding Legalism
A couple of decades ago, there was a trend toward exercising Christian freedom while pushing back on perceived legalistic mindsets of prior generations. Issues like consuming alcohol, practicing Sabbath rest, tithing biblically, and using curse words became hotly debated. In an effort to avoid anything that sniffed of legalism, Christians often emphasized grace and mercy over obedience.

Avoiding legalism is a worthy endeavor as we follow Jesus. Certainly, he was no legalist. At the same time, obedience to the Father was of primary importance to him, and we walk in his footsteps when we prioritize obedience as well. Rejecting legalism and pursuing obedience aren’t mutually exclusive postures. Rather, they’re nuanced attitudes that work in tandem to produce a heart of wisdom.

Giving in to Laziness
Considering what pleases God often takes intentionality. It might look like stopping—even briefly—to pray for wisdom and strength for the moment ahead. Slowing to consider things like tone of voice or whether it’s wise to click “send” after typing a text takes spiritual muscle built with repetition over time.

Rejecting legalism and pursuing obedience aren’t mutually exclusive.


Building the spiritual muscle of obedience through slow and thoughtful living in a culture of relentless busyness is challenging. But when we repeatedly favor leaning into grace and mercy with no effort toward obeying, we’re giving into laziness. Certainly, the grace and mercy of Jesus are here to cover our sins—they’re the bedrocks on which our faith is built. But they were never meant to be our halfhearted default. As 1 Samuel 15:22 explains, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

Cultivate a High View of Obedience
Our efforts to avoid legalism and our tendency to give in to laziness can lead us to downplay the importance of obedience. But with the Lord’s help, we can cultivate a high view of obedience that more closely mirrors God’s perspective. Here are two reasons it’s worth bringing obedience back to the forefront of regular Christian living.

1. Obedience Pleases God
In Scripture, the person who willingly submits to the Lord receives the stunning blessing of walking more closely with him. Abraham was called God’s friend because he believed God (James 2:23), and that belief was demonstrated through repeated obedience. Scripture says Noah, Enoch, and Levi all walked with God, while mentioning their righteousness (Gen. 6:9; 5:24; Mal. 2:4–6).

Honestly, it’s easy to lose heart when I hear about saints like these, because I can’t seem to get through 60 seconds without disobeying God in one way or another. But let’s not read perfection into the lives of these men or any of the other people in Scripture who pleased God through their obedience.

We’re never told they were perfect—on the contrary, the Word shows us how far they were from it. But they walked with God in a steady relational atmosphere of obedience coupled with repentance. Not only were their acts of obedience pleasing to him, but their posture of regular repentance for disobedience revealed a submission to God’s commands. This cadence of obedience and repentance marks the rhythm of walking with God day by day for us too.

2. Obedience Demonstrates Belief
As Christians, we can come away from our study of Scripture, our fellowship with the brethren, our worship in church, and our private prayer time feeling spiritually strong. But when the heat is turned up through difficult circumstances, will we choose to demonstrate with our words, attitudes, and bodies what we believe in our hearts—especially when it costs us something? Obedience is the hard proof of belief—to God, to others, and to ourselves—that we take our Father at his Word and we’re willing to stake our lives on it.

In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus tells us those who don’t put his words into practice but instead live on their own terms can expect devastating effects from the storms of life. But when we live in obedience to him, we build our lives on a firm foundation. So when the storms come, we won’t be shaken. Even the smallest acts of obedience today lay a foundation that will help us stand firm in the future.

When we live in obedience to Christ, we build our lives on a firm foundation.


Obedience to God is rarely easy and even less often popular. I’ll likely never meet a kid named Obedience (although he could go by “Obed” for short). But as a means of showing our Father we trust him and are willing to do what he says even when it’s difficult, there really is nothing better. So as Christians who together make up the body of Christ, let’s talk about obedience. Pleasing God should please us too..

What Is Education For? 3 Perspectives to Teach Kids

“Every June, “Pride” Month comes along. It can be hard to know what to do and how to handle these situations. Perhaps it is possible we can use “Pride” Month as an opportunity to go on offense by preparing people to teach truth and minister to those who find themselves entangled in sexual sins. Dr. Eddie Moody shares a few principles that may help us as we encounter these situations:
Read the blog”: Preparing for “Pride” Month https://nafwb.org/site/preparing-for-pride-month/

by Thom S. Rainer
Founder & CEO

4. Be a source of unity. Don’t join the bandwagon of critics about churches and pastors: “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10, NLT).

5. Seek to be a Great Commission Christian. Pray for opportunities to share what Christ has done in your life. Invite people to church. Start a new group in your church where you invite those not in a church to join you.

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive. But it can be a good start.

By the way, thank you for taking time to read this article and listen.

P. S. Don’t forget to join us tomorrow to introduce a major new initiative called Church Equip. Register here: https://churchanswers.com/webinars/799923/ (This will now take you to the Church Equip homepage now that the webinar is over. To view a replay of the webinar, click here).