Free Bible Training for Ministry at CLI
Greetings with grace and love from our Lord Jesus Christ. My name is Adrian K. Lynch, and I dwell in Fort Worth, Texas. My wife Amanda Lynch, and I own a beautiful historic home in the Southside district. I have three beautiful children, two dogs, two cats, and a small olive tree. Currently, I am receiving free Bible training for ministry at the Christian Leaders Institute.
I was born in the Town of Hempstead, New York. However, I spent most of my childhood growing up in Brooklyn, Bronx, Norwich, and Cooperstown, NY. I identify as a nondenominational disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, who studies to show himself approved before God. I take the promises, covenants, guidance, lessons, reflections, and testimony of the Bible literally. Also, I bear witness by the Spirit of Truth in me that the Bible is the Word of God.
Family History and Conversion
My family immigrated to Brooklyn, NY, from Trinidad and Tobago in the early eighties. They brought with them a fierce spiritual Baptist background, strong work ethic, and divinely inspired food dishes that delighted my soul growing up. Not only did they come here, but so did some of their bishops and other ministers from the motherland church.
My family also has members of various faiths, such as Hinduism and Islam. I can remember scenes growing up where two of my brothers would argue fiercely over the validity and authority of the Bible and the Quran. For an 8-year-old, all their words were extraordinarily confusing and aggressive. In retrospect, their words served more to alienate me from the whole thought of God.
My most significant influence of faith as a child was my Aunty Vera, whose devotion in life was to the Lord. She was a seamstress, evangelical, deacon, and full of immense joy from the Lord. I often read the Psalms to our congregation of over 30 people. I was nervous, but when getting on the platform, I felt abnormally relaxed. The elders were always calling my readings, “Holy Spirit-filled.” I often read from Psalms 23, 29, 36, 119, 89, and more. Aunty Vera often spoke in high hopes of one day the Lord delivering me to minister His word.
My Rebellion and My Salvation
As my teenage years settled in, it would seem the hope of Aunty Vera vanished. She went to sleep with the Lord, and my direction in life took a crooked turn. I became obsessed with the criminal lifestyle. I wanted the power, fame, and respect that most of my siblings commanded living that lifestyle. Especially my Muslim brother, who was a professing member of the Bloods. I would blindly follow him everywhere. When God delivered me from this glorification of men, I saw an issue in my life that only He could solve. I picked up my Bible again and my path to restoration in the name of Jesus began.
I had walked the way of the wicked. What the Bible says about that path is all true. Not one word lies about the expectation of wrath (Hebrews 10:25). Now, my ultimate end is to glorify God, His Son, His Holy Spirit, in all the things I do. I use God’s gifts to gather men for His glory alone. I am to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in and out of season.
Bible Training for Ministry at CLI
I write poetry that edifies the church with great encouragement and knowledge of the character of God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Currently, I am receiving Bible training for ministry at Christian Leaders Institute because I seek to carry out the Lord’s will for me through approved elders. Though I find my private study wholesome, the Lord has shown me the power and spiritual value of learning scripture through seasoned individuals.
My soul hungers to minister, and I thank the Lord that He blesses me with life and breath each day. I am a step closer to the fullness of my life for Him. I praise the Lord for the gracious finished work of His son Jesus Christ on the cross where He took away the sins of the world. All who believe in Him shall inherit eternal life. Amen!
Learn about low-cost degrees at CLI’s Leadership Excellence School. Learn about ordination with the Christian Leaders Alliance.
FREE PREACHING COURSE - ILLUSTRATIONS IN SERMONS
One of the secrets to good preaching is knowing when and how to use illustrations. Illustrations open windows on your subject and serve to “hook” your audience. The pastor of my teens prided himself on never using a gesture or an illustration. He explained his theory to a group of us teens who had been on mission trips the prior summer. He said that he didn’t want anything in his presentation that might distract anyone from the Word of God. So he stood behind the pulpit, the Bible held in two hands, and spoke his sermon in a monotone voice.
As you might guess, I don’t remember one thing from his sermons in an over ten-year period. Part of that experience may be due to a well-developed imagination on my part that allowed me to figuratively leave the church and explore the world. Imagination took me away from my boredom. In retrospect, though, I think he could have caught my attention if he had used illustrations to enrich the ideas in his messages.
WHY USE ILLUSTRATIONS?
There are several good reasons to use illustrations in your messages.
Authors In The Bible Used Illustrations
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is this: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles….” What a lovely illustration of what the result will be when we let God rule our lives! God used a powerful illustration when talking to Cain in Genesis 4, when He said, “…sin is crouching at the door.” That is a powerful illustration of temptation.
Jesus was the master illustrator. Most of his teaching contains stories or metaphors that related to the daily life of the people of his audience. The author of pastors.com put it this way: “In fact, the Bible shows that storytelling was Jesus’ favorite technique when speaking to the crowd: “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.” (Matthew 13:34) The pictures that Jesus shared in his teaching opened windows for his hearers, engaged them more deeply in his message.
Illustrations Open Windows
A second reason to use illustrations well is that illustrations open windows on the points that you make, and expand the hearer’s understanding. Here’s an example, an illustration of the treasure in jars of clay. Note how the picture created deepens understanding of the point being made.
Illustrations Move The Hearer To Obedience
A third reason to use illustrations in a well-placed way is that it moves people from understanding of obedience. Bryan Chapell, the author of Using Illustrations to Preach with Power, says,
“Illustrations will not allow mere head knowledge. They exegete Scripture in terms of human experience to create a whole-person understanding of God’s Word. By framing biblical truths in the world in which we live and move and have our being, illustrations unite our personalities, our pasts, our present, our affections, our fears, our frustrations, our hopes, our hearts, our minds, and our souls in the understanding of that which is divine. They are integral to preaching, not merely because they may entertain or clarify, but because they expand and deepen the applications the mind and heart can make.” (pp. 14-15)
Illustrations open windows for the hearer, that’s the lesson of this post. In the next post, we’ll reflect more on what kinds of illustrations work best to accomplish this, as well as explore some of the places you can get effective illustrations.
My Pursuit of a College Degree Led Me to CLI and CLI
Hi, my name is Lawrence Nkandu of Lusaka, Zambia, and I would like to get a college degree from CLI’s Leadership Excellence School. I was born in the early 70s. Two years after my birth, my parents divorced. Later, my mother remarried, and so I grew up with a stepfather who had children from a previous marriage. I was not the favorite of the house and felt somewhat neglected. I was like an outsider to the family.
My stepdad wanted nothing to do with my schooling. Therefore, the burden of my education fell on my poor mother. She was not employed but was diligent enough to raise money for my school fees, books, and uniforms. After much struggle, I managed to complete my grade 12. Despite getting good grades at my final exams, I could not go to college for a college degree. Instead, I opted to get a job to relieve my mother of the enormous burden of college fees.
Spiritual Journey
I was born again in 1988 after some Bible school students witnessed to me. It was for the first time I heard the gospel message. My heart filled with such joy that I knew I had finally found what I was missing. I had attended Sunday mass at a nearby Catholic Church but left with an emptiness inside me. So, I kept wondering whether that was all there was to religion?
Then, that Saturday afternoon came when those three college students explained the Word of God more thoroughly to me. I was so happy inside. They invited me to attend church the following day at the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church. It was my first time to enter a Pentecostal church. After the service, I knew I had found a home, and I never wanted to leave. I felt the presence of God there. Afterward, I vowed to remain a Christian for the rest of my life.
My Call to Serve the Lord
I fell in love with God and wanted was to be in His presence all the time and serve Him. After approaching and talking to my pastor, he confirmed my calling to serve the Lord. So after completing my secondary education, I wanted to go to Bible college to get a college degree, but the availability of funds was a challenge.
Hence, I opted for employment. Every morning, going to work was a struggle. Inside me, there was no interest in this job I was doing. So after about a year, I had enough and quit. I pushed myself into Bible school. I sold my cell phone plus the little cash I had saved paid for my first semester at school.
In my second year, I dropped out due to a shortage of funds and decided to launch into ministry. I started and planted a church for the first time in 1997. Later, I tried again to pursue my theological studies. However, the usual hindrance of money was there, so I gave up on college and concentrated on doing the work of God. To date, I’m still pastoring, though, with very little training. The Holy Spirit has been faithful in His work.
Finding CLI and My Pursuit of a College Degree at CLI
I stumbled upon the Christian Leaders Institute as I was browsing the internet about nine days ago. Before this, I had never heard of or even thought that anyone could be so generous as to offer high-quality spiritual education for FREE! I immediately enrolled to give it a try. Wow!!!! It’s so unbelievable and so good. I intend to go through all the classes that CLI is offering and one day lay my hands on the Bachelor of Divinity Degree from CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Learn about online ordination with the Christian Leaders Alliance.