{"id":302191,"date":"2011-01-07T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-07T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/empowering-laypeople\/"},"modified":"2011-01-07T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-07T17:00:00","slug":"empowering-laypeople","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/empowering-laypeople\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering Laypeople"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve been given marching orders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2011-01-07.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"25.63M","filesize_raw":"26873713","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[4126],"podcast_series":[],"cwp_profile":[8965],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302191","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reaching-out","tag-ministry","cwp_profile-chuck-colson","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302191\/empowering-laypeople","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302191\/empowering-laypeople","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"FD7SIrYlwS\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/empowering-laypeople\/\">Empowering Laypeople<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/empowering-laypeople\/embed\/#?secret=FD7SIrYlwS\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Empowering Laypeople&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"FD7SIrYlwS\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"You've been given marching orders.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2011-01-07.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Chuck Colson says there are too many of us leading a \u201cme-centered, let\u2019s just take it easy\u201d kind of Christian life.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what we were called to.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 The gates of hell can\u2019t stand against the church, right?\u00a0 You can\u2019t come to the gates of hell sitting in a pew.\u00a0 You can only come to the gates of hell when you go out and go into the prisons or go into the hospitals or go to families in trouble.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s when you get into Satan\u2019s territory.\u00a0 He\u2019ll leave you alone if you sit in the church.\u00a0 What you\u2019ve got to do is take that faith and live it out in every walk of life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Friday, January 7<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We\u2019ll hear from Chuck Colson today about how we can get off the bench and get into the game as followers of Christ.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 And that\u2019s probably the last thing you\u2019ll hear me say on today\u2019s program.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m done.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You think that Chuck Colson and I are going to get on our soapbox?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I know the subject.\u00a0 I know what you want to talk to Chuck about.\u00a0 I just figure I can lean back and I\u2019ll be back at the end to tell everybody how to get in touch with us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019ve got a feeling that you\u2019ll find your way in.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 I do as well.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you, Chuck.\u00a0 Thank you, Chuck!\u00a0 Well, I do want to welcome Chuck Colson to the broadcast.\u00a0 Welcome back, Chuck.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you very much, Dennis and Bob.\u00a0 I really enjoy being with you guys and love the ministry that you\u2019ve got.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ve had a good time. We\u2019ve been together several hours here and doing a lot of radio and it\u2019s just been really fun to hear your heart and your passion for Christ.\u00a0 You really are a Christian statesman for the gospel and around the country. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, Chuck, as you look at what\u2019s happening today\u2026\u00a0 You\u2019ve been a Christian, a follower of Christ, for over 38 years, and you\u2019re looking through a different set of lenses.\u00a0 You have some sense of decades of what\u2019s gone on in our country.\u00a0 What\u2019s your take on it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m watching in what I think is the most perilous period in my lifetime.\u00a0 You\u2019re seeing the social contract in America, that glue which has held us together that idea of the consent of the governed, you\u2019re seeing that fractured.\u00a0 Sixty-five percent of the American people are saying we\u2019re on the wrong track.\u00a0 You see it in the elections when they\u2019re angry at politicians in both parties.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSelf-government doesn\u2019t work unless people can participate in the process.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s in danger today.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s in grave danger, with the state taking over more and more functions, eliminating the intermediary institutions.\u00a0 What Edmund Burke used to call \u201clittle platoons of society,\u201d which do the work of society.\u00a0 That\u2019s a very dangerous condition.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAt the same time, the one place we could have some recurrence of morality and justice in society, the church, seems to be obsessed with the narcissistic culture we live in.\u00a0 It seems to be saying that \u201cI want to be in church because I want to be able to feel better.\u00a0 I want to be able to cope with the problems of life.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s all directed at yourself and your own spiritual satisfaction.\u00a0 It can no longer be that way.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe have got to get active in living out our faith in every area of life.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to become vibrant witnesses to our neighbors.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to love people who are hurting and suffering.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to be able to bring the gospel to people who are most desperately in need in our society. We\u2019ve got to be able to demonstrate that there\u2019s a better way to live your life, so the church has to do the part of the church.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOnly God brings about revivals.\u00a0 Only God can cause an awakening.\u00a0 It has to be under the spirit of God. So we have to start by repenting, repenting of the fact that we have turned our back on God.\u00a0 Repenting of the fact that as a church we have scorned at the blessings He has given us, which have been unprecedented in human history.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re just like the Jews that were put in exile, that Ezekiel prophesized, Jeremiah prophesized, Daniel\u2019s prayer.\u00a0 We need Daniel\u2019s prayer where he constantly repented, constantly repented.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe interesting thing was, in both Ezekiel and Daniel, when he was repenting he kept saying, \u201cWe repent.\u00a0 We want to be blessed for your sake God, not for our sake.\u201d\u00a0 And Ezekiel says God is speaking through him saying to the Jews, \u201cI will bring you back out of captivity and I will bless you in order that the world will see my blessing to you through your life and I will get the glory.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe makes it very clear.\u00a0 He does not bless us by giving us abundance.\u00a0 He does not bless us by giving us prosperity or all the things that many of us ask for.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the prayer He answers.\u00a0 The prayer He answers is the prayer of repentance which says \u201cBless us for your sake so that the world might see your holiness lived through us.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the key.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOnce we start getting that in our culture it\u2019s going to change our perspective.\u00a0 Our perspective becomes one of realizing that we have been entrusted by God with a precious, precious trust, which is the gospel, which is the good news.\u00a0 We have an obligation to live that out in every single walk of life.\u00a0 It we started doing that, and this has happened before in history, it will transform the society.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Chuck, you know some people hear this kind of conversation and it will sound to them maybe a little frightening, triumphalistic.\u00a0 It will sound like \u201cBoy, Christians want to impose their will.\u00a0 They want to recapture society.\u00a0 They want to marginalize the unbeliever.\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019re worried about what evangelical Christians want society to be.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is exactly the myth that we\u2019re trying to impose our will on somebody else.\u00a0 We\u2019re not.\u00a0 We proposing. Come to the wedding feast.\u00a0 Enjoy the gospel.\u00a0 It\u2019s the only way to live your life rationally.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to love people when you do that.\u00a0 You can\u2019t be harsh and judgmental.\u00a0 We have the reputation and it\u2019s wrong but we should do everything we can to shatter that stereotype by living lives of love and concern for others.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen I go to the prisons I\u2019m not judging those guys for the crimes they\u2019re committed when they went to prison.\u00a0 I\u2019m loving them because they\u2019re redeemed by Christ.\u00a0 When they\u2019re redeemed by Christ and they have so much to be thankful for,\u00a0 as I do in my life, that my sins have been forgiven, then you out of gratitude, the mother of all virtues, out of gratitude you want to serve God.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo people who tell us we\u2019re imposing our will, I say, \u2018Look, we\u2019re giving you the greatest invitation you\u2019ve ever heard in your life.\u00a0 And I\u2019ll tell you how wonderful it is.\u00a0 I don\u2019t judge you but this is the way I live and this is what I\u2019ve discovered and I couldn\u2019t go back to the old life.\u201d\u00a0 So I think it\u2019s how we present ourselves. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 When people parallel evangelical Christians and fundamentalist Islam and say there\u2019s this parallel that Christians want to do the same thing the Islamists want to do\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 You hear that from Christian detractors and that makes great headlines and great columns that they write about us.\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t be more false.\u00a0 It would be impossible to say anything more extraordinary than that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIslam is a theocratic religion.\u00a0 It believes that there is a church state.\u00a0 We reject even a state church.\u00a0 We believe in separation of church and state.\u00a0 I\u2019m a Baptist.\u00a0 I\u2019ll fight for that, separation of church and state.\u00a0 But never a separation of religion and politics.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut the radical Islamic vie of life, Islamists they\u2019re called, really want to impose their sharia law on everyone else.\u00a0 They want to impose it on their communities here in America.\u00a0 They are trying to do that.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you ought to be frightened about.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDon\u2019t ever equate Christians who follow the Prince of peace and want to bring love into the world and who believe in the separation of church and state, with an Islamist theocrat who want to really impose it, and by violence if necessary, because that\u2019s what a jihad means.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Church, you said three things to me that I just resonated with as you said them.\u00a0 You said, first of all, the Christian community has to repent, just as you said.\u00a0 We have to come back to our first love for Jesus Christ and we have to have the real disease.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to have the gospel being lived out in our lives, demonstrating what Jesus Christ looks like to our neighbors and in our community and in our businesses and in our schools.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>Secondly, you said we have to deploy individuals, couples, laymen and women, at all ages, in the church, in various spheres of influence, to make a difference.\u00a0 You\u2019re doing that through your video series that you\u2019ve created around ethics.\u00a0 You also do it through Prison Fellowship.\u00a0 In fact, you found a work in a prison in Pittsburgh that had occurred in spite of you!\u00a0 Not necessarily because of you, but it was the very thing we\u2019re talking about here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s a great example of the very thing we\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 This was a case where a fellow came running up to me after a speech and he said, \u201cOh, Mr. Colson, we\u2019re running one of your units at the Allegheny county jail.\u00a0 It\u2019s really working.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cTell me about it.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe said, \u201cWe\u2019ve got two hundred men.\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cWe\u2019re teaching them.\u00a0 We\u2019re running instruction programs for them.\u00a0 We get them mentors when they get out.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got volunteers coming in for ministry,\u00a0 We\u2019re using your teaching materials.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cThat\u2019s fabulous!\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cWe\u2019re getting an eight percent recidivism rate.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cWell, that\u2019s what we get in our big units.\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cYep, we\u2019re getting the same rate.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great success.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI go back to the office and I said, \u201cIsn\u2019t this wonderful, this unit we\u2019re running up in Pittsburgh.\u201d\u00a0 They said, \u201cWhat unit?\u201d\u00a0 They didn\u2019t even know it!\u00a0 Our people on the ground had done this, had given them the resources, and they\u2019d gone out and done it themselves!\u00a0 I rejoiced.\u00a0 Everybody in the ministry is saying, \u201cWell, they\u2019re copying us.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cGreat.\u00a0 Let them copy us.\u00a0 We want a movement.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe church is not a top-down structure.\u00a0 The church is people of God who deploy in little platoons--Burke\u2019s phrase, I love it--little platoons,\u00a0 and go out in society and make a difference.\u00a0 What these people did in Pittsburgh was simply take something we\u2019ve\u00a0 proven over 35 years\u2019 of prison ministry works, and is very effective, and they\u2019ve gone in and they\u2019ve copied it and they\u2019ve done it themselves.\u00a0 They financed it and supported it and they continue it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what everybody needs to be hearing in the church.\u00a0 We need to be getting out of our comfort zones in the pews, taking the gifts God has given us.\u00a0 If we happen to be lawyers, businessmen, plumbers, housewives\u2026whatever we have, we have a gift.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe understand how to raise a family.\u00a0 We should be helping other people that don\u2019t understand how to raise a family.\u00a0 Lawyers can offer all kinds of help to people who are in need.\u00a0 Businessmen can provide jobs for people who are desperately in need.\u00a0 The church ought to be a home base, ground zero, for a movement in the culture.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking of Ephesians, chapter four.\u00a0 This is the picture of what the church ought to be.\u00a0 It says, \u201cHe gave some as preachers and teachers and apostles and prophets\u2026\u201d for what purpose?\u00a0 \u201c...to equip the saints for the work of ministry.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI believe that work of ministry, now this is going to sound heretical but I don\u2019t think the work of ministry begins in the church.\u00a0 I think the work of ministry starts in the home, starts in the family and from there it spills over to our neighbors.\u00a0 It spills over into our businesses, our schools, the marketplace, in various forms and fashions.\u00a0 It may be organized.\u00a0 It may be something as simple as just caring for someone where there\u2019s been injustice or who\u2019s been hurt by this culture.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe point is that Christianity is Christ in one, not merely to redeem them from hell, but to get us in a right relationship with God so we have the heart of God and we see people as image bearers.\u00a0 We say, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 We can make a difference in our community, as moms and dads, husbands and wives, children.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe issue we\u2019re talking about today is what\u2019s your work of ministry?.\u00a0 What\u2019s your sphere of influence?\u00a0 Where are you going to make a difference?\u00a0 Is it the prison?\u00a0 Is it with orphans?\u00a0 Is it in marriage and family and I\u2019ll talk about that in just a moment.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut I believe there is a latent army.\u00a0 I like your quote you keep giving about platoons\u2026little platoons\u2026.parked all over a community.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s what needs to happen for a church to retake the spiritual and moral high ground in this culture.<br><br><strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 To rebuild the culture because all culture is is an expression of cult, that is the belief system that\u2019s at the core of the culture.\u00a0 That has historically been the Judea-Christian view.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ve let it slip and we\u2019ve lost it to people with alien points of view.\u00a0 But our job is to bring it back to its righteousness and its roots.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt will never happen if the people don\u2019t activate themselves and go out and do it.\u00a0 You\u2019re absolutely right.\u00a0 The gates of hell can\u2019t stand against the church, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re not going to come to the gates of hell sitting in a pew.\u00a0 You can only come to the gates of hell when you go out and go into the prisons or into the hospitals or go to families in trouble.\u00a0 That\u2019s when you get into Satan\u2019s territory.\u00a0 He\u2019ll leave you alone if you sit in church.\u00a0 What you\u2019ve got to do is take that faith and live it out in every walk of life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 In our conversation you said they have to repent.\u00a0 Secondly, we\u2019ve got to deploy laymen and get them out of the pews and into the marketplace making a difference.\u00a0 Then you said something that was--I just broke into a big grin--because you said, \u201cDennis, we\u2019ve got to give them tools.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to give them the ability.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen you said that something clicked in my own mind.\u00a0 I thought, you know what, we\u2019ve been really good here on the radio and in our churches, making people feel guilty and ashamed at the sorry condition of the culture.\u00a0 And we\u2019re maybe making an assumption here that people don\u2019t care and they\u2019re not willing to do anything.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut what we need to do is bring the needs of the marketplace close to individual people and instead of causing them to feel ashamed of what\u2019s happening, say, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 You can make a difference and let me offer you an array of tools to make a difference\u2026in a prison, and with an orphan or in a marriage or in your community with youth.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI broke into a smile because you didn\u2019t know it at the time but Bob Lepine had been working for almost a year, year and a half, along with a team of people here at FamilyLife, on a new video conference called <em>The Art of Marriage<\/em> that\u2019s designed to be a tool to be put in the hands of an individual, a couple in a community to bring it to their church.\u00a0 Bob, you just shared earlier this morning about one of these Art of Marriage video conferences that occurred in, was it, Idaho?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It was in Idaho Falls and it was a couple who was distressed about two friends.\u00a0 Their marriages were splitting and they called a guy who worked at FamilyLife and said, \u201cWhat can we do?\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cI\u2019ll send you some books that you can pass along to them or some CDs they can listen to.\u201d\u00a0 And they said, \u201cWell, it needs to be something more than just giving them a book.\u00a0 What can we do?\u201d\u00a0 And my friend said, \u201cWell, we have this video conference called The Art of Marriage.\u00a0 You guys could host one of those in a local church.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo they said, \u2018Well go to our pastor and see if he\u2019ll give us the okay.\u201d\u00a0 They talked to the church secretary.\u00a0 She got excited.\u00a0 The pastor got excited.\u00a0 My friend said, \u201cYou know, we were hoping maybe fifteen, twenty couples would come together for this event.\u00a0 We could get these two couples in distress to be there and maybe it would have an impact of them.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut people caught a vision for this and it was interesting to hear some of the things that happened.\u00a0 A local Christian school started putting flyers in the kids\u2019 lunchboxes to take home to invite Mom and Dad to come to the <em>Art of Marriage<\/em> video conference.\u00a0 The word just started to spread.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, it turned out they had 370 people show up at the church for this Friday night, Saturday video-based event.\u00a0 The couple who was hosting it, they\u2019re just an average couple who we had helped prepare them on what to say before the first video starts and what to say after it\u2019s over and how to do the second video and get it all up and going.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 They were just a couple with a passion who felt like something needed to be done about the destruction of marriages and families in their community.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 At the end of the day and a half, they got great feedback evaluations.\u00a0 Some people who came had trusted Christ for the first time.\u00a0 Some people who came said, \u201cThis has renewed my hope for our marriage.\u00a0 We were in trouble.\u00a0 We thought nobody else had our problems.\u00a0 It was very encouraging.\u201d\u00a0 Now this couple is saying, \u201cWe went to do this again in our community.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to ask you.\u00a0 Is that the video that I saw the beginning of?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s one of the finest videos I\u2019ve ever seen.\u00a0 The imagery of that stuck in my mind.\u00a0 I can see it right now.\u00a0 That\u2019s the kind of way we equip the church.\u00a0 Get out tools like that and you are going to change people\u2019s marriages, their understanding of their own marriages.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to strength the marriage institution.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn the Manhattan Declaration we don\u2019t blame the gay community and the gay activitists for undermining marriage.\u00a0 We say we\u2019ve done it ourselves by failing to build a healthy, vibrant culture of marriage in our midst.\u00a0 That\u2019s a mistake of the church, which is why we start with repenting.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut we\u2019ve got the tools available.\u00a0 You\u2019re providing some marvelous tools.\u00a0 Nobody has the excuse of saying, \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d\u00a0 Go find out wherever your gift is.\u00a0 You know, one of the significant things about the Reformation, was that when people came to Christ the first thing they had to do as an exercise of discipleship was to get their calling and their vocation straight.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn other words, they would study where their gifts were and then they would use them.\u00a0 Now that may not have been how they made their money but they still had a vocation and a calling.\u00a0 So the idea of calling is very much a part of the Christian life.\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t hear that talked about much in churches today but it is extremely important.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know where I first learned that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 Where?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Reading a book called <u>Why America Doesn\u2019t Work <\/u>by Chuck Colson and Jack Eckerd.\u00a0 You talked about the protestant work ethic and about vocation and I said, \u201cYeah!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is exactly what happened in the Reformation.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the work ethic expanded and that\u2019s why, probably the greatest reforms in modern times, flowing out of the Reformation.\u00a0 Exactly because of that.\u00a0 That could be recaptured in the church today.\u00a0 We can do that today.\u00a0 People continually say to me, \u201cIt\u2019s too late.\u00a0 Society\u2019s too far gone.\u201d\u00a0 No, it\u2019s never too far gone.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf we take seriously what God teaches us and we start to do it with the kind of resources you\u2019re offering, the <em>Art of Marriage<\/em> is dynamite, dynamite video, and get it out there into people\u2019s hands where they can use it, and take the initiative like this couple did and go to the pastor and say, \u201cWe want to put this on in the church,\u201d he\u2019s not going to disagree.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDo this constantly in every area and you will see disciples made and you will see this culture changed.\u00a0 It\u2019s not too late.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Even if you don\u2019t\u2019 see the change you\u2019re still doing what God has called you to do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019re not necessarily responsible for what the change is.\u00a0 We\u2019re responsible for being faithful to the vocation, the calling.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 Only God can produce the change.\u00a0 But we have to do our part as He calls us to do it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019ll never forget Bill Bright talking about success in witnessing.\u00a0 He says \u201cSuccess in witnessing is simply sharing Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s what we\u2019re talking about here.\u00a0 Ministry as we\u2019re discussing is being faithful to do what God\u2019s called,\u00a0 back to the concept you were talking about, Chuck, what He\u2019s called you to do, and then leaving the results to God.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think the question for every listener, back to Ephesians four, is if God gave pastors and teachers and book writers and Christian statesmen like Chuck Colson and others, for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of ministry, the question is this for you:\u00a0 \u201cWhat is your work of ministry?\u00a0 What has God called you to do?\u00a0 Not somebody else.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 What are the good works He prepared beforehand that you should walk in them?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 What are you passionate about?\u00a0 What do you pound the table about?\u00a0 What do you get your blood pressure up\u2026\u00a0 And I just knocked something over here!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut the point is I think there are enough followers of Christ in this nation to, in a very short period of time make an enormous difference in the spiritual moral climate of our nation.\u00a0 I think we can make a difference at a huge level in a hurry around the major institutions impacting our nation.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 There isn\u2019t any doubt about it.\u00a0 The place where you can have the most impact right away is the family because the family is in such trouble.\u00a0 But actually the principles that we live by are very simple and understandable.\u00a0 You can teach those and you can put them into practice.\u00a0 You will see an immediate change.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve been in the prisons 35 years and what I have seen is the results of the broken family.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen the single parent family.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen kids raised without fathers, without a male role model. They end up joining the gangs.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo folks, this is immediate, this is practical, this will have an immediate impact.\u00a0 Yes, God\u2019s responsible for the results.\u00a0 I have a sign on my desk I love, from Mother Teresa, saying \u201cFaithfulness, not success.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s my job.\u00a0 I\u2019ve just got to be faithful.\u00a0 But be faithful in whatever you feel God\u2019s pleasure.\u00a0 Wherever you feel God has given you a gift use it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Chuck Colson, you have been a great blessing to our staff here and I think to millions of those who are listening to the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck:<\/strong>\u00a0 if God doesn\u2019t tarry and He continues to give me strength, I hope I\u2019ll come back and get another blackened salmon.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ll take some more blackened salmon.\u00a0 Bob and I will practice up on our slow pitch, some nice slow softballs so you can just whack it out of the park.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And then let me encourage our listeners before you leave to go to our website FamilyLifeToday.com and we\u2019ve got a link there to the ColsonCenter.org website.\u00a0 You can go online and find out more about the Manhattan Declaration, about some of the video projects that Chuck Colson and his team have been working on.\u00a0 There are links to current columns that Chuck has written that are available there. Again, find out more when you go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click the link to the Colson Center.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen while you\u2019re on our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, get more information about The <em>Art of Marriage<\/em>, this brand new video event that we\u2019ve been working on, that now has hundreds of locations all over the country that will be hosting an Art of Marriage event on kickoff weekend, 2.11.11, Valentine\u2019s Weekend, coming up about five weeks from now.\u00a0 There is still time for you to host one of these events.\u00a0 You can still pull this off in your church or your community.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJust go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click on the link for the Art of Marriage to find out more about how you can host an <em>Art of Marriage<\/em> event in your community.\u00a0 Or click to find out where the event is being hosted.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you don\u2019t want to try and host one yourself, you and your husband or your and your wife can plan to go and be a part of the world premiere of The Art of Marriage on the weekend of February 11<sup>th<\/sup> and 12<sup>th<\/sup> in a location near where you live.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click on the link for The Art of Marriage or call us toll-free at 1-800-FLTODAY, that\u2019s \u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in Life, and then the word \u201cToday\u201d and then someone on our team can answer any questions that you might have about The <em>Art of Marriage<\/em> or let you know where it is being hosted in a city near where you live.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd with that we\u2019ve got to wrap things up for today.\u00a0 I hope you have a great weekend and hope you and your family are able to worship together this weekend.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to invite you back on Monday where we\u2019re going to hear a classic message from Dennis Rainey, a message for men.\u00a0 This is from a Promise Keepers event more than a decade ago, in Texas Stadium, a message calling men to be men of honor.\u00a0 It comes up Monday and I hope you can tune in for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back tomorrow for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t2010 Copyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. 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