Vision4Living

It is the nature of parenting that parents be involved in their children’s lives. Detached parents are ineffective parents. The more involved the parents, the healthier the parent-child relationship. We do not generally accuse parents of young children of being too involved in their children’s lives. A child’s life and development are the parents’ business.

But as children approach adulthood that relationship changes. And as Christian parents, it is not always easy to make the shift from total involvement to measured and wiser involvement. We have always known what is going on in our children’s lives, guided their steps, and corrected their mistakes. In particular, the father can struggle with laying aside his God-given protective instinct to watch his son or daughter grow as an adult. Who among us does not struggle with the desire to continue our involvement in our children’s lives to the point of minding their business instead of our own. After all, in the past , their business was our business.

The truth is, one day we will be gone. Would it not be nice to have something to say about or some influence over the direction the lives of our descendants will take? Is there something one generation can do to affect the lives of the generations to come?

Men, I am convinced we are a vital element in the direction the next generation takes. While their is no magic or even spiritual wand we can wave over our children to assure their salvation and godliness, more than we know men, we have an influence for godliness in the lives of our descendants. God is calling us to  live our lives and make our decisions with a view to the next generation. I offer some Biblical thoughts from Psalm 112 that I hope will help form your conscience on the subject.

I. The Happiness of a God-fearing Man

Be careful lest the world forms your conscience in this matter. Happiness is   not an end but the by-product of knowing God. And what makes us happy goes a long way toward setting a coarse for the next generation. The psalmist challenges us with two seemingly contradictory truths: fear and faith. Their seems to be an incongruity here. How do we reconcile happiness and fear? After all, the Scriptures often say “fear not”. Are fear and happiness compatible? The fear of God and faith in God are not contradictory. They are complimentary. They are absolutely compatible and indispensable to one another. The man who fears God most, trusts God most. The man who trusts God most,fears God most.Their is another element in the happiness of a God-fearing man. It is not specifically mentioned in Psalm 112, but it cannot go unmentioned. The psalmist says in another place: “If You, LORD, should mark iniquity, then who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You that You may be feared” (Ps.130:3,4). The carnal mind would presume upon grace; take advantage of forgiveness, but not the one who fears The Lord. The God-fearing man leaves a legacy of happiness. He is happy in his fear of God, his unwavering trust in Him, and the assurance of God’s forgiveness in Christ.

II. The Hope of a God-Fearing Man

The hope of a Christian is not a vague positive attitude but a sure expectation based on the truth of God’s Word. The God-fearing man has the hope of an enriched life. God sees fit to bless Him in various yet consistent ways. Under the Old Covenant those blessings were primarily outward and material. Under the New Covenant, they are primarily inward and spiritual. The life of the righteous abounds with blessings, often beyond what can be immediately seen.

To know Christ and His forgiveness, to have His Word and His promises is to have an enriched life.

Part of this enriched life includes an enduring righteousness. There is an enduring quality to the life of a God-fearing man. There is a persevering quality. The Psalmist mentions it here. “His righteousness endures forever.” The God-fearing man perseveres because he is preserved by his God. He is not merely religious in the human sense. His piety and commitment are not matters of convenience.

So what do these things have to do with minding your children’s business? We will look more closely at this in part two.

Charles Cavanaugh

Its hard to believe that five years ago this past March we began the exciting journey of Vision4Living Ministries. So much has happened since then. Last October marked our fifth annual Passion4Christ Summit. 2012 saw us host our first Family Leadership Conference in a foreign country. This year, we are preparing the launch of our newest resource – Legacy Conference – which will be April 24-26, 2014. Our God has lavished His grace upon our efforts to equip the leaders and families of the church to transfer the gospel and all we treasure to the next generation. We have seen fruit abound in ways we never imagined possible. Our God has done exceedingly and abundantly above all we expected.

However, prayer has played a key role in this work. When we began V4L, we initiated a prayer team that has been praying regular for us throughout each year. In fact, many over the years have shared that they are praying, and we never knew it. We know that prayer is not just a part of the work… it is the work. This is where God’s people commune with Him and usher in His will for the kingdom. It is the means that our sovereign God has ordained to see His work accomplished. The faithful prayer of a righteous man does avail much.  Donald Whitney put it this way:

Some say, “if God is sovereign, why pray?” I say, the question should be the exact opposite, “if God is not sovereign, why pray?”

So in short, we are inviting you to join our prayer team. We do not ask you to consider quickly or lightly. It is a commitment that will require time and attention. As we grow as a ministry, we understand and feel the burden to bathe everything we do in prayer. But we cannot do it alone. We need a team of prayer warriors who will storm the throne of grace as we seek to do the work. In fact, you will be the forerunners of our ministry. You will pave the way as we do the will of God.

If you desire to join the ministry:

• Consider the responsibility

• Contact us with an email

• Commit intentionally

Serving with you,

Daniel Cavanaugh

Make sure to check out the following pilot episode in the series ‘Is Church Important?’  Building up to P4C13, we want to develop the concept of the importance of the local church from a personal level – interviews with real people from a real local church.  Why?  Because this year’s theme is ‘The Body: God’s Plan for the Local Church’.

This pilot episode is an interview with Jeff Knight – elder at Westwood Church, home church of the Cavanaugh family.

Be sure to stay tuned in the coming months for additional videos!

Breanna Mendenhall

This past Sunday, my pastor spoke on one of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 6 – Faithfulness.

Faithfulness means being utterly reliable and true to your word.  I feel that, today in our society and even in Christian circles, we lack faithfulness.  The question to ask ourselves is: “Do I trust God enough to show up?”

I’m faithful to church, job, family, marriage, and as a citizen of this country.  As my pastor, Dave Teruel, said, “It is more than a religious exercise.”  Our ultimate example of faithfulness is Christ.  I am so grateful that my salvation is not dependent on how I feel, but on God’s faithfulness.

Hebrews 13:5b says that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us.  We must be faithful to glorify Christ.  We cannot hide in our culture, but we must set our light on a hill.  We must be faithful to interact with our culture.  Are you running from it or going and making disciples?

Our faithfulness should not be works based, but worshipping God in truth.  In order to be faithful, we must be open to God’s Word.  His Word reveals the reality of faithfulness in what Christ did on the Cross.

We are we true to our word?  Does the Lord find me faithful in all areas of my life?  Only through His Spirit working in me can I be found faithful.

Psalm 36:5 says, “Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds.”  Ponder what Christ has done for you.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “ It is because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not, they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.”

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!“
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Thomas Chisholm

Pam Cavanaugh

1 Corinthians 1-3

There is never an end to new programs, gadgets, or gizmos when it comes to “ministry”.  A casual walk through a Christian bookstore these days, will give you no end to the “newest” thing that will help make your ministry a “success”. Do not misunderstand me; there is a place for resources and tools. Object lessons are wonderful tools to proclaim the glories of the cross. A play – in the right context – can bring alive the story of God’s redemption. A book can communicate what biblical gospel ministry should look like. Even Christ left us with His creation, which on a visually level constantly declares the glory of who He is [Ps. 19:1].

However, ministry has become increasingly pragmatic. We are afraid we will offend people; we want people to feel like they fit in; and this leads to fashioning our churches to have a more hip and relevant appeal. But lets not just pick on the “liberals” of ministry. How about the so-called conservatives? We look for ways to attain unto Christ through our “holy standards”. Human effort as opposed to faith in the grace of God motivates us. The fear of being “worldly” leads us to believe that being “in the world” will destroy us.  Or maybe, you are one of those who fits somewhere in between…

The question remains: how are we to discern if our ministry is centered in the work of the cross?

The glory of God vs. the greatness of a man

Cross-centered ministry has not a morsel of space for the building up of ones greatness.  When you proclaim “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”, it is a message of Christ alone. When Christ is proclaimed, the individual must decrease and Christ must increase [John 3:30]. This is the measurement of successful cross-centered ministry. This is how you know. No matter how seemingly wise, indispensable, or far reaching the success of a person’s ministry, if the cross is not their glory and their passion for you is not the same, they proclaim another gospel. Paul rebuked the Corinthians believers for their attachment to men rather than Christ – i.e. “ I follow Apollos”, I follow Cephas”, or ‘I follow Christ” [1:10-17.

Realize your message is foolishness to the world

The world cannot and does not understand the things that are spiritually understood. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing [1:18].” Man’s wisdom says, “You have what it takes to be what you want to be.” The gospel tells us, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of Christ.” “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God [Eph. 2:8].” Remember: we proclaim something that is as completely foreign to the world as a fish out of water.  All have sinned and because of that sin, man is blinded to the “foolishness” of the cross.

We proclaim the cross; the Spirit reveals cross

Do you fall into the trap of thinking that you are the one who reveals to people the truth? Do not. You cannot reveal the truth; only the Spirit of God can. 1 Corinthians 2:10 tell us, “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything even the depths of God.”  It is your job to proclaim the cross. It is the Spirit’s job to reveal the truth. Do not take responsibility for something that the Lord never gave us. Do your job – proclaim the gospel – and pray for the power of the Spirit to work.  Adrian Rodgers said, “I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth.”

The cross implicates your ministry work

We have already touched upon some simple yet profound implications. As we draw this post to a close, I leave you with a quote from D.A. Carson:

“Ultimately wisdom if from the world and is opposed by God, or it is God-given and tied to the cross. There is not middle ground. Those who try to create some middle ground by imitating the Corinthians – who confessed the Jesus of the cross but whose hearts were constantly drawn to one or another of the public philosophies and values of the day – will gain nothing but the rebuke of Scripture.”

Daniel Cavanaugh

Life is full of cliches, and the Christian life is no exception. It is not unusual for Christians to become comfortable with “christianeeze” words and phrases and to use them while giving little or no thought to their meaning. In the process, we fail to honor God with our words, shortchange ourselves by not thinking things through, and do not give a clear message of Christ and His Gospel.

One of the phrases often used when talking with someone about the Gospel and salvation is “a personal relationship with Christ”. People are often told that their greatest need is a personal relationship Christ. And they are also often told that if they will repeat a certain prayer, come forward in a meeting, or perhaps do some other outward religious act, they will have this relationship that is so necessary.

It is not uncommon for those who preach or otherwise promote the Gospel to get the order wrong. The question is not whether a right relationship with God is important. It most certainly is. In evangelism, the question is what is of first importance to the unconverted person.

In a day when people are starved for solid, genuine relationships, social media saturation not withstanding, I want to propose that the person who is not a Christian should not be encouraged to seek a personal relationship with Christ. And I challenge the reader to sight a clear instance of the call of a sinner to such in the New Testament. In the New Testament sinners are called upon to repent or turn from their sins, believe on The Lord Jesus Christ, or call upon The Lord. I am not able to find an instance when an unconverted person is challenged to consider the issue of a personal relationship. A drowning person does not need to get to know the lifeguard in a personal way. He needs to be rescued by him. I realize that human illustrations break down, but the point is still valid. The one who is lost in sin needs to be rescued. That is why the sinner needs Christ, because Christ is forgiveness, pardon, and rescue for the sinner who comes to Him in faith.

The truth of a relationship with Christ is a blessed reality for the follower of Christ. Does the believing sinner come into a personal relationship with Christ? Certainly. But it is the glorious result of looking in faith to Christ and Him alone for salvation. I challenge you (with the help of God’s Spirit) to make sinners aware of their sin and the judgement to come. Point them to Christ as the only Savior. Then watch those who trust Him enter the blessedness of a glorious relationship with our great God.

Charles Cavanaugh

As I wind down my series on leadership, I am reminded of the various leadership gurus, pastors, mentors, and men and women in history who have left us with abundant food for thought in their written and spoken words. We quote them often in various avenues in the social media outlets. Their thoughts and words have been tried through much study and life experiences. The wisdom we find in these words is founded in the unchanging principles of God’s word – whether they were Christian or not. After all, everything that is true has its roots in the One who is Truth. Their words have been our mentors. Their life experiences – tried by fire -have help light our path.  They have inspired us to achieve beyond personal gain. Their selflessness has burned within us a passion to continue in their steps. And those who have known and held true to the gospel have pointed us to Christ and His glory. We have learned from their mistakes and found joy in their triumphs.

On twitter and Facebook this past week, I asked people to send me their favorite leadership quotes. I wanted to hear from you the words and thoughts of men and women that inspired you to grow as a leader. I have sifted through all kinds of material, and I can say that it has run the gamete – some made me laugh while others cause deep reflection. In any case, I have left you with the ones that I thought you would find enjoyable:

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —John Quincy Adams

“I must go, they have gone, and I am their leader” – Unknown

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” – Theodore Hesburgh

“Convictional leaders propel action precisely because they are driven by deep convictions, and their passion for these convictions is transferred to followers who join in concerted action to do what they know to be right.” – Al Mohler

“The world is run by tired men.” – Unknown

“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” – Winnie the Pooh

“Spiritual leadership is knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to get them there by God’s means in reliance on God’s power.” – John Piper

“ Successful people are willing to do things that unsuccessful people will not do” – John Maxwell

“The leader is able to lead others because he has conquered himself” – J Oswald Sanders

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, your aren’t.” – Margaret Thatcher

“He who has much to teach must suffer much; and he alone can speak of the deepest things in the economy of God who has sooner or later entered into fellowship with the suffering of God.” G.C. Morgan

“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” – Abraham Lincoln

Daniel Cavanaugh

Registration is now open for Passion4Christ 2013!  Join us as we examine what the church is and why it is an important part of God’s plan.

When: October 23-27

Where: Pleasant Hill Outdoor Center

Who: Anyone College age & up

Find out all about it on our events page or click here to register.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Breanna (for everyone at Vision4Living)

 When I was growing up, I had little timeless treasures – you know, things that didn’t have meaning to others, but had a special meaning to me. These were things that brought joy or a smile to my face. I would tuck these special timeless treasures away in boxes, drawers, or other special places I found to keep them.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I reflect on how much I miss my mom who passed away several years ago. I also reflect on the timeless treasure the Lord has given me these past years in a woman named Mrs. Louise Crawford.

When I was young, I lived in the same neighborhood that she lived in. I went to church with her and became good friends with her children. The Lord was setting the stage. Many a Sunday, her son would invite some of us to go home with him for Sunday lunch. It never mattered if he had asked Mrs. Crawford, for the table was always open and ready for many guests. Eventually she and her husband moved to the country and built a new home. Years later, my husband became the pastor of their church. I became Mrs. Crawford’s pastor’s wife and she became my spiritual mom – another timeless treasure in my life.

Her home was always open and it was there that I walked through many hard times and was comforted by her through some dark hours in my life. She taught me the art of hospitality – not just what you put on the table, but what you bring to the table.

She would stop by my house on occasion with a beautifully wrapped gift for me. She told me from time to time that she would give her daughters a “happy gift.” I truly felt like one of her daughters.

She has been a friend of mine for many years even though we live so far apart. She has supported my two sons on their mission trips to Russia and around the World – financially and with prayers. What would our lives be like without the prayer warriors the lord places in our paths!

The Lord, in the book of Philemon, brought a slave into Paul’s life to refresh his soul in times of his bonds. Mrs. Crawford has refreshed me often. She is a timeless treasure. Wisdom is her clothing and she always imparts Scripture to me when we have our chats over the phone.

She is now caring for her husband who is very ill. I call and there is a tiredness in her voice, but her faith in God is strong and rules life’s challenges. She still refreshes my soul by her steadfast love for the Savior and her love for me.

Through the years, every Mother’s Day I make her a homemade Mother’s Day card. She told me that she has kept each card over the years and places them in a special box. I am blessed to be a part of a timeless treasure for a lady who has bless my life. My dear “spiritual mom.”

Malachi 3:17 says, “And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.”

Mrs. Louise Crawford, my timeless treasure, you are His jewel and I tuck you away in my heart, never to be removed.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Spiritual Mom!

Pam Cavanaugh

The spiritual leader lives with a higher calling. At the core of this calling lies the reason – the gospel. Not only has the gospel redeemed his life from destruction, it is the conviction that motivates every spiritual leader to invest himself in those in his sphere of influence. The gospel fuels his conviction, because within the gospel is the bread of life – Jesus Christ. The cross is his wisdom and informs every aspect of his ministry. It defines and hones his message and ultimately gives credence to true success – whether the God of the gospel is glorified or diminished. The gospel is not peripheral; it is central.

So, when steps to effective leadership are given, they should not be manmade steps born out of human reasoning. Those steps must have biblical gospel implications – the humility of our Lord, His forgiveness, His grace, a commitment to His glory, and undeserved love.

The Gospel-centered leader reflects Christ to others in his leadership. He is passionate while being grounded in the truth. He reflects a sanctified life in his interactions with those he leads. These traits are genuine, not forced. They are fruit born out of a life that is centered in the person of Christ. They are not profound truths except in their ability to transform a life.

Let’s take a look at a few.

1. Genuine love

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 [ESV]

2. Walking in the Spirit

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Galatians 5:16&17 [ESV]

3. Prayer

“In these days he [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12 [ESV]

4. Love for the word

But he answered, ”It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

5. Humility

“Therefore it says, ”God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

These are a good place to start for any who aspire to leadership.

Daniel Cavanaugh