Central Christian Church, Las Vegas was established in 1962. It was a typical small traditional church that you may find in any American community. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that some churches changed their approach to evangelism. This put churches in three categories: liberal churches, traditional churches and a different type of church called the “Seeker Church”. The seeker churches and the purpose-driven churches have been condemned by many as being too liberal and not teaching true Christianity. The same was said about changing from the King James Version of the Bible to the New International Version and other modern translations so most of us would have a better understanding of Scripture. Any change toward using modern methods presents a problem to many Christians. However, we saw that the seeker churches were reaching lost people and were growing both in numbers and spiritual maturity. A few traditional churches were also growing but most were either holding their own or struggling. Liberal churches were really struggling just to survive and many did not.

When we decided to reach out to the lost we detected some significant changes taking place. Some called them supernatural, others believed we were lucky and others thought them to be coincidences. But they just kept happening and they still continue.

A God Thing Story

In the early 1990s four elders and our wives went to San Diego to watch the Chicago Cubs play the Padres. When the game was over it took us approximately 40 minutes to get out of the ball park’s parking lot. The question was asked: “What if we build a large church and it takes visitors more than 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot? How many would be discouraged and never come back”? Roads became a major part of our relocation plan.

When the City of Henderson had to have 24 acres of our property south of us, which we sold, we were able to negotiate roads through the park to the north. The two roads gave us nine lanes for traffic which was adequate going north. We negotiated a 40 foot road coming from the south. Now, here is really part of the “It’s a God Thing”: Presently an overpass is being built coming off the freeway with a road right into the southern part of our back yard. We have enough roads and can provide a parking lot to handle thousands of cars. Just how big of a church is God planning for Central? How far behind God’s vision are we presently running?

For those who may have wondered why I have chosen “It’s a God Thing” as my blog site title, let me give you some background. My relatives have been members of a denominational church for many years. Every time we moved,  the first Sunday we would show up at our denomination’s church. The first seven years in Las Vegas was no exception. Something felt very wrong. In all that time we saw very little growth and believed the church possibly would never grow. I felt the need to find another church. I had a very good friend who was the Woolworth store manager who attended Central Christian Church. I also was acquainted with the Penny’s store manager and had served on a Chamber committee with his wife who was a local retail mall’s manager. They also attended. So I thought I would give it a try. It was a very traditional church. There were more traditions than I had ever seen, but I felt the Holy Spirit telling me that this was where I should be. 

 In 1983 I was elected to the church board. As a board,  we decided to make some changes and become a more evangelistic church. Most Christians agree that not all traditions are essential. Traditions like wearing of robes by the choir, thundering organ music and the order of worship are honorable but not Biblically necessary. But as we started, we found out  that those traditions weren’t going down without a fight.

We decided to clear the platform and have the minister sit on a front seat until it was time to preach. They would not introduce who was going to sing and no one gave their testimony before singing. It was a well-planned and organized presentation of the gospel. The reaction of some members of the congregation to the changes was unsettling. After about three weeks we had three families leave because we had removed the American flag.  Some asked why we were hiding the preacher. Had he done something wrong? It wasn’t long after that when our minister accepted a church in Seattle.

Over the next six months we interviewed a number of ministers from other churches. No one seemed to fit the leadership role we believed God wanted for our church. We were told that a young preacher three years out of college leading a youth group was going to be interviewed. I said a person that young and that inexperienced would have to walk on water before I would vote for him. Why were we even paying the expenses for someone that young to come? Gene Appel was interviewed. The board unanimously asked that Gene accept our call. Which he did! Gene arrived in 1985.

It was not very long after Gene arrived that we decided that every Tuesday morning at 6:30 a.m. we would meet and pray for God’s vision for Central. We did this for more than two years. To this day I feel assured that this was one of the most important things we have ever done at Central. From these meetings Gene received a vision that our church should change from being a traditional church, largely made up of traditional Christians whose concern for lost people seldom translated into action into a non-traditional church with a passion for the lost. Up to that point, with few exceptions lost people seemed to stay away.

In order to faciliate such a transition, we (The Board of Elders) went to Willow Creek Community Church of South Barrington, Illinois to learn more about the concept of  winning those to Christ who did not have a church background. It was difficult making the transition from a church that ministered to a closed community to a nontraditional church that would reach out to a lost people. Careful and prayerful planning was of the utmost importance if the road to spiritual renewal was going to be a success. 

Gene preached a long-term diet of teaching sermons to lead comfortable Christians out of their comfort zones. He taught the difference between that which is unbiblical and that which is antibiblical. Most of our Christian traditions were not necessarily biblical. For example there is nothing in the Bible that forbids women from taking an active part in Christian ministries or favoring a piano and organ over a guitar, drums and keyboard. Nor does the Bible say anything about things like choir robes, song books, Sunday School classes, the wearing of neckties or whether the congregation should applaud or not. These things are not biblical and we are free to decide for ourselves. We are not free, however, to alter things like God’s plan of salvation. The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace and when a church adds some requirement to this, it is doing so in defiance of Scripture. Such things are antibiblical.

It was not easy to convince traditional Christians that the purpose of the weekend service is designed to help us reach people with little or no church experience. The purpose of the mid-week service would be to build up believers through worship, teaching and praise. The transition did not go easily. The Board of Elders realized that spiritual leadership involved more than being right. It involves love and compassion for those who do not agree, or do not understand. Spiritual leadership requires a sensitivity and skill in knowing when to do what. In some respects, spiritual leadership is like parenting. Parents have to know when to encourage, when to correct, when to stand firm and when to let go and let a child make some mistakes. Of course, parents also make mistakes and we, as a Board could be guilty.

In our efforts we realized one important thing:  nothing would happen until both the leadership and congregation, or at least most of it, was willing to listen and respect each other’s ideas and opinions. We had to learn to cooperate with one another and once something was decided, we had to set aside our differences and work together toward a common goal. A focused commitment to corporate prayer, as I noted, began with the Board, but it took some time before the concept spread through the congregation. Everyone had to get out of the habit of praying occasionally for a few special projects or causes and become a congregation that prayed daily, for everything. This would include personal prayer plus corporate prayer. Praying together helped bond people together and start them on the road to spiritual maturity. Everyone knows there is no such thing as total unity. No two people ever agree on everything and the more people  added to the equation the more disagreement there is. But it is entirely possible to build a team, or congregation, where most of the people agree on a few key things. We believed prayer played a major role in making this happen. As we struggled through change, we made our Sunday service attractive to the non-believer. A new comer did not want to come and be embarrassed. They just wanted to hide in the crowd and not be given any special attention. It also became our vision that God wanted this church to evangelize the Las Vegas area.

In 2003 Gene Appel went to Willow Creek. He was replaced by Jud Wilhite. The seekers keep coming, the church keeps growing, and God is still in charge. Even after a number of years of trying everything we could to maintain our vision and keep people happy, it almost seemed impossible. Many believing Christians, who had always gone to services that were geared to their liking, still were not pleased that the emphasis was on those who were not even members. No matter how hard we tried, we realized Central would not be for everyone and that we would continue losing some believers. It was difficult to see some very strong, tithing Christians leave the door for another church. But I believed God needed these people to strengthen other churches in our city. As a result, there are now a large number of growing churches and they are spiritually very strong. God has a force in Las Vegas! Previously, I told you about expansion of our older church. I briefly described information on our new campus that was completed in 1999, but I will reserve some of the “It’s a God Thing” happenings to later writings. What I wanted to share with you is that though our church has gone through a lot, it’s been well worth it. On Easter Weekend 2009, we had over 28,000. That does not count the attendance in the two other churches that a number of our people left to help start. But God gets the glory. From 400 to 28,000 required a different vision, God’s vision.

I was encouraged to blog and thought, “ Why not?”.  Throughout my years of  teaching Bible classes, there were always certain questions that were repeatedly asked.  So, when searching for blog topics, I decided that I would go to my notes and try twice a week to shed light on things I have learned that may be helpful to others.  Then I realized that if I did this for a year that would require 104 blogs. As I thought about the commitment, I wondered  if I could even last six months? Then it came to me:  I will let the Holy Spirit lead me. 

It is very easy for me to make snap decisions.  Over the years I have worked with a few thousand people giving directions, so in most cases it was a natural response for me to just react.  Then I learned that there was a better way to make choices.  It was like one day I woke up and realized that the Holy Spirit was with me every minute.  The Bible tells me that He is there to help me live a better life and give me guidance.  He is there to guide me in making the right choices  if I will simply ask Him.  Partnering with the Holy Spirit in my daily activities has changed my whole life and how I live!  Do I now make better decisions and fewer mistakes?  Possibly!  But, most importantly, learning to lean on the Holy Spirit, has given me a greater assurance that I am living my life for Christ and not just for myself. 

It is not unusual to pray when buying a home or purchasing a new car.  What about praying for the everyday ordinary things in life?  Do we live our life by what we think is best, or do we pray and ask the Lord what He would have us do?  I am not suggesting that before making a selection we get on our knees and pray about it; however,  Scripture says we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  While I do not believe this implies that we are to live our lives on our knees, I do believe we are to focus on Christ throughout the day by leaning on the Holy Spirit.   He is our partner in everything,  not just when we find ourselves in a tough situation.  It’s often said that two heads are better than one. Why operate solo when we can have divine assistance?  If you want a life changing event to take place, then share your life with the Spirit that is within you throughout the day.   

I awoke early this morning, and as I lay in bed, I asked the Holy Spirit if there was something that I should blog about today.  It seemed like He was saying: “Tell them why you are blogging”.   So this is my blog for the day!

I asked my daughter what she was going to do this Memorial Day weekend.  She told me that she was baking cookies to share with the women at a gentleman’s strip club in town.  That seemed rather odd.  However, nothing surprises me anymore.  So I asked her to tell me what was happening:

The Story

Heather Veitch, a young stripper, was at Starbucks feeling very lonely and felt something was missing in her life.  Two ladies entered and started going from table to table inviting people to attend their church.  She hoped that they would invite her also, but they didn’t. Heather felt that because of the way she was dressed and the way she looked she was the only one that was not invited. 

Despite the initial shun from the two women, Heather  picked up one of the cards they’d left and decided to attend a chuch service on her own. Once at the service, she felt the Holy Spirit convicting her.  In time she accepted Christ into her heart and a charismatic event took place in her life.  She is no longer a stripper and now uses her life changing transformation to inspire others to change. She is the founder of JC’s Girls, a faith-based organization that reaches out and offers support to women in the Adult Entertainment industry. God has now laid it on her heart to witness to other strippers so they may come to know Jesus Christ.   

God’s Word tells us that “all things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). While God was redeeming the life of a former stripper, He was also orchestrating a divine pairing of two unlikely parties:

Rhonda came from Illinois to be a pastor at at our church–Central Christian Church.  She had no idea that such an awesome task lay before her. She was approached by a member of Central’s Executive Team to begin overseeing the partnership Central had established with JC’s Girls.  As a result of her first meeting with the leader of JC’s Girls, Rhonda agreed it would be beneficial to make a visit to the club to understand the full scope of this outreach ministry. Having never been inside a strip club before, Rhonda’s reaction was not much different from the reaction most Christian women would have.  God, are you kidding?  Do you really want this conservative woman from the Midwest to enter into a strip club?

Rhonda invited the leader of JC’s Girls, Heather, to share her story with small groups of women in hopes the Holy Spirit would stir in their hearts a desire to enter into the culture of the Adult Entertainment Industry for outreach. The trigger for both was an event organized by our Women’s Ministry in partnership with JC’s Girls to host a Christmas party inside the strip club for the dancers.  A prayer room was booked in a hotel room and filled with men and women praying before, during and after for the team of women who went into the club for this event.  God is answering those prayers.  Each month a team of women go to a club and visit with dancers, always bearing gifts of love that God provides through the generosity of others.   This past Easter women put 50 baskets together for the children of the dancers. The women are always overwhelmed and excited that someone would care enough to share with them. 

To this day, the club’s management has allowed our women to go into their gentleman’s club during business hours and witness to these women.  Slowly they are seeing a response and can see the Holy Spirit working in the lives of a few of these women.  My daughter tells me that this weekend she is baking cookies, as well as others, so they can be taken to the club.  The ladies of our church are praying that more doors will open to more clubs so they may reach out to as many strippers as the Holy Spirit allows.

I tell this story as a prelude to another experience I wish to share.  In 1981 the Brotherhood of Christian Churches printed a monthly handout called the Christian Standard.  It told of twelve women on the east coast who felt lead to pray for a revival to take place in America in the 1800s.  Because of those women, one of the largest revivals ever spread across America.  After reading that handout, I wondered when God’s next great revival would take place. With all that was going on in our country, it seemed like something spiritual was drastically needed to take place in the U.S. again.  It came to my mind, why couldn’t a revival start in Las Vegas?  That would be the last place anyone would ever expect.  And, of course, with God anything is possible!

Over the years, I have noticed that churches from many denominations in Las Vegas are experiencing spiritual revivals within their churches. I have already shared that since 1981 our church’s outreach has experienced an increase in church attendance of over 1000%.

I am seeing a number of Christian schools growing by leaps and bounds.  New Christian schools are popping up as I write.   I just contributed to the start up of a new high school that has received 75 acres of land.

It is no longer a secret that Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing Christian communities in America. Through the prayers of others, a small revival has already begun in the Adult Entertainment industry. If we are to see this spark ignite into a flame that burns in the hearts of those throughout America, shouldn’t we as Christians begin praying now for that revival? God is no respector of persons (Acts 10:34-35). If He is touching the hearts of strippers in Las Vegas, He will do the same for anyone.

During our last board meeting we discussed the hundreds of seekers that had accepted Christ and were saved yet failed to be baptized.  Our senior minister, Jud Wilhite, stated that the weekend of May 3, 2009 would be a special day with the emphasis on the need to be baptized.  The message addressed every reason a person would not consider being baptized.  There was no legitimate excuse to not accept.

Each service was a short program and a 20 minute message on the need to be baptized.  After each of the shortened five services those wishing to participate were asked to come down front.  Outside portable pools were set up to be used for baptizing anyone who wanted to be baptized.  All who were not being baptized were urged to join as witnesses to those being baptized. a

Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, NV is quite different from most churches.  People come as they are.  Rarely would you see anyone wearing anything but casuals.  During the warmer times many wear shorts.  Those wishing to be baptized were told that a towel would be furnished and they would be given plastic to cover up their car seats.  The turnout was a “God Thing”—1,211 were baptized over the weekend and year-to-date from January 1 to May 10^th there have been 1,485.

I belonged to a denomination that placed very little emphasis on being baptized.  As a young person I was sprinkled but never understood the importance of baptism.  It was years later that I was submerged and completely understood the need and the reason for being baptized.

If you are a believer but have never been baptized let me give you just a few Scriptures to consider:

Matthew 3:16 – “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.”  (He went into the Jordan River and was baptized by John the Baptist.)

Acts 2:38 – “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

Acts 8:12 – “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”

Acts 19:4 – 5 – “Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Are we enjoying life like Christ intended?  As Christians shouldn’t we be living an extra-ordinary life style?  One of God’s creations, the caterpillar, crawls along the ground with all kinds of obstacles blocking its way.  After a time, however, this lowly creature is miraculously transformed into a butterfly, which is one of the most graceful and beautiful of all insects. 

As a result of sin and our self-centered nature, we were born ‘caterpillar-like’.  But Christ came to offer us a ‘butterfly-like’ life.  If God can transform a caterpillar into a butterfly, surely, he can transform a sinner into one of His children?  The Bible says God will bring our life into a new dimension.  (“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17).  As a caterpillar, I face death.  As a butterfly, the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death.  (Romans 8:2)

Do we feel liberated?   To become a butterfly requires being born again into a new life that we might be forgiven of our sins and set free.  Do we believe that it is possible to completely change and live as a new person?  Do we sense His power, His love and His guidance in our lives? Do we believe God wants only the best for us?  Do we believe that the Holy Spirit is in our lives to guide us and help us make the right decisions? Do we and others see supernatural changing in our life?  The Bible tells us that God wants each of us to live extraordinary lives and has sent the Holy Spirit to help us achieve this.  He tells us we are to have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Have we seen evidence of this change? Are we living our life like the caterpillar or the butterfly?  

John 10:10 tells us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV)

Do we believe this verse? Let’s check.  Do we live like a son or daughter of a Father that has unlimited power and wealth?  Do we realize how rich God has made us?  Unfortunately, too often we accept the role of the caterpillar’s life and allow the devil’s lies to deceive us.  He tells us we are unworthy, and we’ll never amount to much.  If we believe him our lives could end in failure, so we must always be alert!  We must trust that God has a better life for us than we are able to make for ourselves and ignore anything that the devil has to say to the contrary. 

Many times Christians are disappointed with God when bad things happen to them. Why do we sometimes get discouraged?  Could it be we focus too much on our problems and not enough on God?  Do we place more trust in our ability to handle a problem rather than trusting in Him?  Do we believe that He’s too busy doing other things to intervene in our difficult circumstances. Or, is our trust in His promises weak and thereby limiting our ability to accept His help?     

There are times when God will allow obstacles or problems to come in our way to get our attention.  As children, many of us relied on our earthly father for guidance and direction. Why is it so hard to rely on our Godly Father? 

Matthew 7:11–If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

God desires to demonstrate His power and love for us by intervening in our lives.  Different from earthly fathers, God works silently and is invisible, so we must watch for Him and seek His intervention.  If we are not expecting God to show up in our lives, we may miss a great opportunity to see His work being done. So, when bad things happen, we must ‘trust’ that our negative circumstances are still working out for our good (Romans 8:28). God permits some things to happen to make us a better person. Or, He might be preparing us for greater responsibilities in the future, as He did with Joseph in Egypt.  

By surrendering to God completely, we show Him that we trust His ability to direct our paths. By studying His Word, we open ourselves up to a greater understanding of His promises.  When we don’t surrender our will and study His Word to guide us and protect us, we leave ourselves open to the deceit of the enemy, and it’s almost impossible to see the good will that God has in store for us. We should believe that God wants us to see His power and therefore do all that we can to increase our faith. It is through listening, expecting, and trusting that we can live the abundant life, and give God the glory! 

Acts 16:5 – 13 tells us that on Paul’s second trip to visit the churches he decided to go and spread the gospel to Asia.  But Paul had a dream that God told him he should preach the good news to the Europeans.  Had Paul continued on to Asia where he was headed, would there have been a Christian United States?  Aren’t we pleased that Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to change his direction?  The Holy Spirit may tell us to change direction or keep going the same way. If we are listening and heeding His guidance, then we will stay on the right path and experience the abundant life!

Romans 8:28 – 29a – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. (NIV) 

Do we realize that God has a plan for us?  If so, are we doing all that we can to live out that plan, or are we trying to create our own destiny?  God has given us the freedom to make our own decisions, but He wants us to choose what’s best.  It’s not always easy knowing whether we are following God’s desires for us or our own, so it’s important to ask ourselves the following: Am I living for the present or living for eternity?  Life is so short and eternity is forever.  Also, am I driven so that all of my earthly wants can be fulfilled or do I live as Christ has instructed me? 

Are a few years of fame, power and wealth more important than living forever in the presence of God and Christ?  There is nothing wrong with having fame, power and wealth for many times famous people can set examples and give tremendous Christian testimonies.  However, we must still search our hearts on a deeper level and determine if  we received these as gifts from God or our own burning desire to succeed at any cost?

1 Corinthians 2:9 — However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. (NIV)

There are two questions I want to ask when I get to heaven:  How much more could I have done or how much better could I have been had I truly surrendered complete control to Christ and trusted the Holy Spirit’s guidance?