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How can I become connected with the CMA???


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#1 Kevin Blankenship

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Posted 17 November 2012 - 05:36 PM

Of course, there is not a CMA church located within reasonable driving distance. I have read the Statement of Faith of the CMA and wholeheartedly accept these tenets as being Truth. I have attended so many of our local congregations of different denominations.
We need a Christ centered church that doesn't pattern it's worship services after a Bill Gaither Homecoming, or a Benny Hinn Crusade. Just a group of people.....we could meet in a barn somewhere, or my house,.... I am just craving fellowship with other sold out believers.
I am praying that God will send forth workers into the harvestfield of this area. People around here will be SO difficult to reach because most grew up in church and they have preconcieved notions of Christianity. Who knows....I probably still have some errant ideas of what a sold out life should be like.

#2 Jay Turner

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Posted 17 November 2012 - 06:32 PM

I can't help you with your C&MA inquiry, but I do have one piece of insight for you. Sometimes when God reveals a need or a problem, it is because He is preparing us to be vessel's through which He can bring healing to this world. Don't look or wait for others to be the solution, but instead ask God what part you can play in the healing process. I know how hard it can be to see yourself being used of God, but He has a tendency of taking the broken, the poor and the weak, and raising them up to be to do great things. Don't think of yourself as being insignificant or spiritually immature. Realize that God is with you and you are exactly where He needs you to be. He can use you right where you are...
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#3 Kevin Blankenship

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Posted 18 November 2012 - 05:29 AM

Thanks Jay. Your reply was full of implications........but not bad ones. And I appreciate your taking the effort to reply. I am really doing some 'tall thinking' (well...I'm 6ft 4 inches tall) about the state of my area and it's becoming my mission-field. For now anyway. I am asking God right now, for just ONE like mind...just ONE brother that sees eye to eye with me about Jesus. And preferably, one who is a bit more mature in the faith so that he can show me some stuff about how to effectively be a witness. Ya know...if I was 'way up' in the CMA , I would consider sending a CMA missionary down here to establish a church. The CMA Statement of Faith is one of the ONLY ones that I can TRULY say that I embrace ALL of their distinctives, Wait...I forgot one: The Calvary Chapel is another.(The fellowship that started in 1965 with Chuck Smith). It would be my second choice.
Right now....my ministry down here consist of PRAYING....NOT for a revival (that word has come to mean: "visiting preacher, church services on weekdays, etc etc" down here. I am praying instead for an Awakening. For people who call themselves by Jesus' name (nominal Christians) to SNAP OUT OF IT, and move on away from the Sinai mountain and closer to the Jordan.
Thanks Jay, as always, for your reply. I appreciate ya.
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#4 Jay Turner

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Posted 18 November 2012 - 06:13 AM

I know you have a some major limitations due to your circumstances. What I am talking about is simply looking at your circle of influence. You have neighbors or people you see at the grocery store. Just look at the needs you see in your day to day life and ask what you can do where you are. Be an encouragement for someone who is having a bad day. Help a neighbor shovel the sidewalk of snow. (If you do have snow where you live.) Being a witness isn't always about preaching the gospel, but instead it is simply being Christ to those around you. Remember that there are many that are hardened towards God. For them, the Gospel in word may just drive them away, but the Gospel in action may soften their heart and have an impact. I know it is not quite what you have in mind, but sometimes we just have to be the church where we are at while we wait for God ... and on God.
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#5 Kevin Blankenship

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Posted 18 November 2012 - 10:03 AM

Thanks Jay. You are a natural at edifying. Thanks for your post!!! And have a great Sunday.

#6 chipped china

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Posted 19 November 2012 - 04:27 AM

Kevin, you have your caring ministry with your mamma right now. Keep talking to us until Jesus puts a special person in your geographic location. Sometimes finding a church coffee group will open doors too. Of course I'm not one to give advise because I feel the same way you do. However, I don't think it's entirely the church's problem I've always been kind of a loner. I'm not that interested in small everyday talk. For 5 years I was very involved in animal rescue. In the last couple years the Lord has turned me more towards people. I learned early in life that animals were more reliable than people. God is teaching me that people are worth loving and need lots of care. It's been difficult but I realized I was worshiping animals, or at least putting them on the same level has humans. Kind of strange when I see this written out but I think it's true for a lot of people.

Anyway, like Jay said the Lord has you where He wants you and I think He has some good plans for you too. Blessings, On earth as it is in Heaven.

#7 Guest_Marvin Harrell_*

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Posted 19 November 2012 - 07:59 AM

Hi all...got some great conversation going here! Kevin, I would recommend you contact the regional office for the Southern district of the C&MA at office@southerncma.org and also visit the district page here to see some of the workers that are connected to the C&MA. You never know, they might be looking to plant something nearby anyway!

#8 Jay Turner

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Posted 19 November 2012 - 08:50 AM

Sometimes due to life, we are forced into positions which hurt, that we don't like and quite often hate. But God knows where we are at and He is with us each step of the way. It is easy to focus on the negative, missing the work that God is really doing, but if we choose not to judge our circumstances, but instead to accept what it is He is doing in our lives, in the here and now, He will use those circumstances to prepare us to be the vessels through which His plans may come about. In those times we need to let God lead us, step-by-step, to show us the path that He would have us take, while striving not to judge the situations that surround us. The problem is that the circumstances that we face may be the tool through which God is working, while other times He wants us to stand in the midst of the circumstances, while He brings about another plan. In times like these, there is no point in turning to others for advice unless you feel God is leading you in this direction. They don't know God's plan and will quite often lead you astray. We need to wait on God and let Him be the one to bring about answers and solutions. But like Simpson said in todays devotional, we should accept whatever treasures God is placing into our hands, even when those treasures may seem undesirable and hard For you never know what the tiniest of seeds can grow into.
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#9 Kevin Blankenship

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Posted 19 November 2012 - 12:10 PM

Thanks sister and brothers!!!!! Y'all are the best. And Marvin, I will do just that. I'd like to hear what they got going on here'bouts.

#10 Douglas Hautz

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Posted 28 January 2013 - 07:06 AM

I am praying for you Kevin. I have been in the same boat...desperate to have fellowship around the deeper things of God.

Be Light...it's not just a slogan.

The fact is we ARE connected. We've got the same burn. This fire is beautiful, dangerous, consuming, inviting, warming, yet transforming.

Bless him Lord..his heart seeks you

Doug Hautz


When you and I stand together in the presence of God- knowing and seeing who He is and all that He has done in His sovereign power to move us from birth to "that Day"- we will pour out our thanks and praise to Him, joyfully doing our best to shake the rafters of heaven.