This is not asking if you have perfect eyesight. Not many of us do, and those who are blessed with good vision generally will lose the ability to focus over time until we need a little help seeing clearly once again. This is sort of how we become as Christians, spiritually speaking.

We see great in the beginning, when we first find salvation. Everywhere we look we see people who potentially need Christ. Our family, our friends, our co-workers, neighbors, people we love, people we don’t really like, people we pass on the street, people we see each and every day. We want to share with them what we have experienced so they may have the same type of transformation in their lives.

But as times goes by, just like our physical eyesight, our spiritual eyesight may start to fade and we don’t see things the way we once did. We get out of focus and it becomes more of a strain on us to ask someone to go to church. The important part of life that we should be seeing isn’t as clear, and we get distracted by things like jobs, hobbies, and social gatherings. Church just becomes less important and being a soul winner doesn’t even show up on our radar.
Most any time someone mentions soul winning or outreach you get a big response in agreement, but when it comes time to actually “reaching out” the excitement isn’t there. There are so many others things that must be done: yards to mow, houses to clean, sales to shop, trips to make, on and on the list could go. I’ve heard the saying so many times.. “We believe God’s going to bring in new souls”.. and yes, God will .. He will forgive them of their sins and fill them with His Spirit, but there is one part of this process that we are required to fulfill. Look at the parable in Luke , and yes, this is all about outreach..      “So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.  And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

Before the House ( Church) can be filled, someone must go out there and reach them. Notice the Master wasn’t the one who went into the streets, but it was the servant ( you and I ) that did that part of the job.
So what’s a 20/20 Vision? Look at the example the Apostle Paul gave us in Acts 20:20.
“And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house.”

Paul was out there preaching, witnessing, inviting, teaching publicly and from house to house. He was reaching out for souls. Paul wasn’t sitting inside four walls of a building, praying that people be drawn inside the Temple. Paul could clearly see what soul winning was all about.

We cannot sit back and wait for people to stumble through the church doors. That’s having poor unfocused vision. We need to clearly see what God has called us as servants to do; GO OUT and compel them to come in. Outreach is going to require some Reaching Out.

1 John 3:17 “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

Each day when we turn on the news, read the paper or scan the headlines online we often see many stories about people in need. Those who have lost a home,

lost their job, lost a loved one. All around us we see people who are in need. Not just spiritual needs, but physical needs. Almost everywhere we look there

are those that are having hard times. Notice the street corners in our city, more and more there are those asking for help by people passing by. We cannot

always assume that they are just bums, alcoholics, drug addicts, lazy, uneducated and socially inept. But even if they are any or all of these things…SO

WHAT??, THEY ARE STILL PEOPLE. People that, for whatever reason, have found themselves in need; people that due to circumstances need help. People who are

hurt, afraid, alone and struggle through each day just as we do sometimes.

I cannot read 1 John 3:17 and apply “brother” only to someone in the church. God does not operate that way. When Jesus was walking the earth, He walked among

the poor, the sick, the needy, the ones that no one else would have anything to do with. His example to the church was to get down where its dirty and help

bring people out of their circumstance. Who is my brother? Who is my sister? Every human being breathing on this earth is who they are. The church must be

compassionate to our fellow man. The church must use the resources it has to help the ones in need. Yes, we must reach for souls, for those bound by sin,

those hurt by abuse, those sick with disease, those who need salvation, but we must also reach out to those that struggle day to day in ways that we are

blessed.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with

the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

How can we do this? We can work together to make a difference, we can help someone pay a light bill, cook a family a meal, mow someone’s yard that cannot do

it themselves, and show them the love and compassion that Christ has shown to us. We don’t do this to see what we will get in return, we do this out of the

love of God that is inside us through His Spirit.

We can take these opportunities that we see each and every day and embrace them to help further the work of God. Embrace the chance to help another person;

embrace the opportunity to help make a difference. One definition of embrace is to “include as a part of something broader”. What if by helping someone in

need they found God by your small act of kindness? By embracing the chance to help someone physically, the broader effect could be they came to church with

you, repented of their sins, was baptized and received the Holy Ghost, became great soul winner and brought many to the Lord.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1

If the Church can embrace that small concept, the Church can impact an entire city.

Founding Pastor Bob McCool

Celebrating 55 Years in Johnson City!  (1955-2010)

Welcome! to The Apostolic Christian Church  We’re glad you took time to visit us on the web.  We are a church that is seeking to serve as connection for all people by providing you with ways to enrich your life and your faith. Regardless of where you are on your Christian journey, just starting out or seeking a deeper walk with God, we want you to feel at home at the ACC.

Our doors and our hearts are open. We invite you to visit us at 121 Emmanuel Drive, Johnson City TN, where you’ll discover compassionate people, passionate worship, and life-changing messages.

This year the ACC is celebrating 55 years of reaching out to the Tri-Cities region. We are thankful to be a part of the area and we look forward to the next 50 years!

We invite you to visit the church for one of our services.  Sundays at 10am and 6pm, and Wednesdays at 7pm. If you are not familiar with our location click on the link for directions and a map.

Remember, You’re Always Welcome Here!

The McCool Twins

Young  twin evangelists Billy and Bobby McCool came the area to hold revival services in 1955.  A large tent was set up on South Broadway in town, and people came out to hear these young men sing and preach. From this tent revival, a church was born. The church moved from the tent to a small block basement on South Broadway for a more permanent place to hold church services. Across the street, a church building  was put up for sale, and the small congregation purchased the building. 1001 South Broadway was the church location for many years. In 1967, Pastor Bobby McCool felt that his time in Johnson City as Pastor was complete, and in March of that year he appointed Pastor Edward Davis to take his place. Pastor McCool and his family moved to West Memphis, Arkansas, to work with a church where they are still active today.

Bro. Davis and the congregation worked to reach out to the area and surrounding community for the next 18 years. In 1985, ground was broken and  construction began on a new church building on Cedar Grove Road, where the church is located today. Bro. Davis has now been Pastor of the ACC for 43 years, and we can never say how much we appreciate and love his devotion to this congregation.
   
Through the years there have been so many people that have played a vital role in this church that it is almost impossible to name each one. We are very thankful to be a part of a church with such rich history and a church with such far reaching effects in Pentecostal churches across the country. Dozens of ministers can look back and see their roots began with the small church they attended in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is almost unheard of for a church to still be in existence that sprang up from a small tent revival so many years ago. The Lord has always blessed the Apostolic Christian Church; we have 55 years of proof, and He is still blessing us today as we see  each time we come together in service. We have much to rejoice in as we celebrate our 55th Anniversary this year. Great things are on the horizon, and God will be with this church each and every step of the way!

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” We have all read or heard those verses of scripture at least once in our lifetime. Most of those who will read this article may even be able to quote the passage word for word.  Go on in Chapter 2 and we get to the most famous part of the chapter when Peter began to preach. “Then Peter said unto them…”  Yes, the book of Acts is a record of how the Apostles went about preaching and teaching, and how the church began on the Day of Pentecost. Look back at verse 4, the last few words… “as the Spirit gave”…. None of the acts performed by the Apostles could have ever taken place if the “Spirit” did not give the power.  All of the miracles from the book of Acts could have never taken place if Spirit had not given the power. Think about it.. there would have been no cloven tongues like fire, No lame man would be healed, sight would not have been restored to the blind, Paul and Silas would have been left in prison, demons would have not been cast out, Peter would have not been delivered out of jail,  Paul’s conversion, multitudes healed… and not to forget when they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance… Yes, the Apostles were involved, but they only acted under the direction of the Spirit. Without the power of the Spirit leading and guiding them, Acts would have been a pretty boring book of the Bible. We too must allow the Spirit to lead and guide and be used as God sees fit to use us. Many times we get so busy we overlook the fact that we are just a tool to be used as the Lord may need us.  Allowing the Spirit to work in our lives is the only way to fulfill God’s desire for our life. We do not control the Spirit; however it must have control of us. Remember, He is the potter, we are the clay. Pentecost Sunday is coming up May 23, 2010. Most of the time we overlook this Sunday that falls seven weeks or 50 days after Easter, but it is just as important to us as the “church” as the resurrection is to out salvation. It is the day of the birth of the New Testament church in the book of Acts. A day was only possible because the Spirit gave….

The New Year is still fresh in our minds and most of us are now anticipating the arrival of Spring and much needed warmer weather. The New Year as well as Springtime makes us think of something new. A New Year to make changes, offer hope for the future, a time to plan out where to go from here.

Spring brings new life to everything around us and shows us through nature that the hand of God is still at work. Spring also offers a new beginning as we celebrate Easter and the resurrection. If there’s something most of us like it’s a chance for a new beginning.

New beginnings are a time of refreshing. New beginnings can be established every day or every so often, but they are necessary for our sanity, and for change. With God, man has a chance for a new beginning. As we make God the ruler of our lives, we establish a foundation of new beginnings.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” Ps 119:105. As we make God’s Word a priority in our lives, it provides the light we need on our faith journey in life. A relationship with God is what lights our path and gives us direction, guidance, and encouragement along the way.

Each time we start the day in prayer, we are in a sense asking God to provide us a new beginning, and He does. Our sins and mistakes of the day before are forgiven and put away and we start over. Even if no one else gives you that extra chance or new beginning, God does.

If you’re in need of a new beginning, take it to God right now. Ask Him for a new life, a new beginning filled with hope, joy and peace. Not only does God want to give you a new beginning, but check out this promise: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Imagine that, a new beginning with a good life, and even more so, an abundant life! That, my friend, is what all of us really need.

Remember: Everybody is welcome, nobody is perfect and anything is possible with God! Encourage someone else today and see how it will encourage you in return!

Once again, time is making a difference in our lives. Our surroundings are taking on a beautiful array of colors and the handiwork of God can be viewed everywhere your eyes can behold. It’s a time when being thankful is all around us—–always giving thanks !

Paul told us to give thanks for everything, but did he really mean “everything”?  So easily said… but so hard to do.

Jesus gave us an example to follow: in the darkest of circumstances He gave thanks for the bread and wine that He served His disciples at their last meal before His death. The bread and wine represented His own body and blood!  While they were eating, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it. “Take and eat, this is my body…” He then took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them.

How could He give thanks for His own broken body and spilled blood? The only possible way: by looking at suffering and death with eyes from an eternal perspective. Isn’t it the same for you and me?  The only way we can be thankful is to look at our circumstances from God’s perspective.
 
If David, the writer of so many psalms, were alive today, he might have penned a praise psalm something like this:
 
Praise the Lord
Praise God in the glorious sunshine
Praise Him in the freezing drizzle
Praise Him as you drive to church
Praise Him as you drive to the dentist
Praise Him in the check-out line
Praise Him in the free-way traffic
 
Praise God on the job
Praise Him on vacation
Praise Him on payday
Praise God when you open your eyes in the morning
Praise Him when you can’t shut them at night
Praise Him for computers and e-mail
Praise Him for elegant dinners
Praise Him for take-out food
 
Praise God when you are thirteen
Praise Him when you are ninety-three
Praise Him at the family gathering
Praise Him in a lonely room
 
Praise Him with  the kazoo
Praise Him with the horn and drums
Praise Him with your heart and voice, or in silence
Let everything that hath breath, Praise the Lord!
 
William A. Ward ,  a Texas newspaper editor , once said, “God gave us a gift of 86,400 seconds in a day.
 HAVE YOU USED ONE TODAY TO SAY THANK YOU?
-Sis. Davis

There are two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein (1879-1955).

There is a car that I seem to pass on the road quite often with a tag on the front reading “Expect A Miracle.” Once I spotted this tag, it seems that my eyes are drawn to it every time I see the car. Actually, I have started recognizing the car from a distance before I can even read the tag. I am not entirely sure that it’s coincidence that I see this car several times a month or if by some divine authority it is sent to cross my path as a way of encouragement.  “Expect a miracle” is a bold statement in itself, but I seem to get stuck on the first word – EXPECT.  What does it mean to expect something? The word itself means to wait or stay. Another meaning is to look forward. A longer definition is to anticipate or look forward to the coming or occurrence of or to consider probable or certain. When we pray for a need in our lives, does it end with “amen”, or are we actively looking forward to the answer?

Look at the examples in the Bible when miracles take place. We see that obedience precedes the miracle. Action on the part of those in need brings the miracle. Looking at the first recorded miracle of Jesus’ earthly ministry of turning water into wine can teach a lot about expecting the miraculous.
 
Jesus and His disciples attended a wedding celebration in Cana of Galilee. When the wedding guests ran out of wine, Mary, the mother of Jesus, approached Him and said, “…they have no wine. (but) Jesus said unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.” John 2:3,4.
 
When Jesus appeared to reject her request, Mary could have yielded to a spirit of discouragement and given up. She could have allowed anger or hurt feelings to enshroud her like so many have done when their circumstances don’t immediately change. But she didn’t do any of that. Instead, she chose to believe that all things are possible. She had no idea what was going to happen. But she insisted on believing (expecting) that something wonderful was about to happen.  

Mary then told the servants what would become her last recorded words in the Bible, “…Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” John 2:5. She refused to be denied. She chose to leave the door open for something amazing to happen. She asked the servants to simply obey whatever Jesus told them to do. “Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim…. (and then He said) Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it” John 2:6-8.  And the Miracle happened… You can go on giving examples of  being obedient to God and EXPECTING a Miracle: seeing it come to pass.  Maybe this should be looked at again in the near future.

The Dallas Cowboys just opened a new football stadium this fall. Reportedly costing $1.15 billion dollars to build; covering 3 million square feet and seating 105,000 fans.  The grand opening of the new arena was well publicized and well attended on a recent Sunday night game. Their opponent was New York Giants, one of their fiercest rivalries. Though the new stadium looked fabulous and the crowd was in their favor, the Cowboys lost the game in a last second field goal by the Giants.

What does this have to do with anything? I was thinking about the setting … all of the elements seemed to be in the home teams favor. To most onlookers it would seem that the Cowboys would come out winners if they only were focusing on the surroundings, the hype, the media, the lights, the stars, and the grandeur of it all. But, no matter how everything seemed, they still had to face their opponent before victory could be rewarded. They still had to face the GIANTS.

Take this situation and apply it to our lives. We go through the day taking care of our responsibilities, things look good, they seem fine and in order to anyone we encounter. We go to church, we sing and worship, we give offering and support the congregation. A smiling face, a firm handshake, a friendly hello is what everyone sees. However, like the football team, we must still face the Giants before we can have victory.  We all have giants in our lives no matter who we are, or what we lead others to believe. The giants are there.  Depression, disease, disaster, debt… on and on the list can go until we find the Giant that lurks in our life. We can’t ignore them and we can’t claim the victory without facing them head-on. We can pretend that they aren’t there, however we will still be challenged by them daily in our thoughts, our actions, even in our sleep at times.

Facing our Giants: we don’t have to do it alone. David didn’t have to face Goliath alone.
To those watching, they only saw a small, young boy without much experience or skill stumbling through the field towards the giant. But David wasn’t facing Goliath alone, and he knew that. “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). David knew that he was not going into this battle alone, and we must realize that we are not alone either.

Looking back at the football game, many times the media only talks about one star player on a team. They may only focus on the quarterback or the running back as if they are the key to victory. The truth is that it takes more than one to win the game, to prevail in the battle, or to defeat the enemy. No one person can do it alone. It doesn’t matter how talented, how athletic, how intellectual or spiritually perfect someone may seem. We are all human and we all have faults, and we all need a savior to help us not only face our giants, but defeat them as well.  “ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Over the last two years, if not longer we have heard these words ring over the television and read them over and over in magazines and news print. “Change we can believe in.” This is one of the more positive phrases to be used to reach Americans in recent years. Breaking that down and looking at each word we see a phrase that was carefully crafted and created to reach a society that is hungry for something.

People everywhere are searching for something to make a difference in their lives. Some look for it in love, some in money, some in pleasure, and some in pain leading them into addiction. Often they find out that the road they choose to take leads to a never ending circle of ups and downs.

We are currently in turmoil in America. We have seen a new leader elected over our country and people are anxious for the change that was promised. The economy is sinking, unemployment is rising, Health care reform is causing near riots in small town meetings. This is the earthly version of change. We must look at the spiritual side of change.

Jesus said (John 10:10) “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and t<!–[endif]–>o destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus wasn’t promising change that would be somewhere down the road in the future. He told them “I am come” or “I am here”. To me he was telling those listening that he was there to make it happen right then, and from that moment throughout the rest of time. In that one statement he was saying, this is how it is, referring to the thief, and then he told them how it was going to be, referring to himself. He was talking about CHANGE and it was something they could believe in and not doubt.

He then went on to lay out his plan for change. In John 16:7 Jesus says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Once again Jesus reassured the people that change was taking place. He told them what had to happen for the change to take place. Then we see the fulfillment of the promise in the book of Acts. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord, in one place.” This was the fulfillment of the CHANGE that had been promised. From that moment in time until this present day we see that change still taking place.

Long after politicians, presidents, senators, congressmen and Supreme Court justices are gone from office and have their place in history, the CHANGE that Jesus Christ brought to this earth is still affecting humanity.

So, for all of the empty promises, false hope, disappointments and discouragements that people have faced because of false change, there is one place that we can find the answer.

Hebrews 8:6 “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better PROMISES.” The change that was spoken of in the Bible was a sure thing because it was backed up by God himself. There was no committee to get approval from nor was there a consensus needed to pass the bill. There was a promise made and a promise kept, so when we see others that are in need, hurting, disturbed, discouraged, distraught, depressed, lonely and yes, in need of salvation we can point them to something that will transform their lives. We can show them Change they can believe in.