In an assembly of preachers, a man who preaches for a large congregation was asked to share what the large church was doing to promote such growth. Each preacher got his pen ready to take notes of each fantastic program and idea that made the large congregation tick.

However, a very unexpected answer was to be given. The speaker said, “We have no organized programs, no promotions, no drives, no advertising programs, and no buses.”

In stunned amazement someone suggested that the preacher must surely do a lot of personal evangelism. Again, they were surprised when the preacher said that he did not do an excessive amount of visiting. He indicated that most of his time was spent in studying for his classes and sermons. Of the last 50 people who had been baptized, the preacher had only worked personally with two of them.

The secret of their success was very simple and in keeping with biblical examples. They believed in the priesthood of all believers and this leaves them free to develop their own work and ministry. They work on the principle that each one has a gift from God and that he ought to develop a work around that gift involving those of like interest. Of course, considerable encouragement is given for each member to develop his talents and use them in the work of the Lord.

Indeed, this large congregation did have a lot of work going on, but it was developed in a spontaneous way by the members themselves. Most of the growth has come through Bible studies when the church members invite a few members and several non-members into their home to study the Word of God. They selected a book of the Bible or a topic and then studied through it. Many such groups are in progress.

This concept gets back behind a strong tradition of how “church work” is to be done. It gets back to biblical model and, most important, it works practically.

No one has to wait around for someone to start a project and put a deacon, or elder, or preacher in charge. Each member allows the Lord to use his/her talent and the congregation grows for God gives the increase. I believe this system has great merit and should demand our immediate attention. If not, why not?

Of all the commands in the Bible, which one is repeated the greatest number of times? I think you may be surprised! Love is the greatest command, but it’s not the one most often repeated. Writers often speak of pride as being at the root of human failures, but warnings against pride or encouragement to be humble are not the most often repeated commands. Neither are the warnings against sexual impurity or the urging to believe or repent.

The single command that occurs more often than any other is “Fear not.” There are other forms of this command: “Do not be afraid,” “Be strong and courageous,” etc. In fact, there are 366 “Fear not” verses in the Bible – one for every day of the year, including one for leap year!

Fear doesn’t seem to be the most serious vice in the world. It didn’t make the Seven Deadly Sins list. No one ever receives church disciple for being afraid. So why does God tell us to stop being afraid more often than He tells us to do anything else?

Someone suggested that the reason God tells us to “Fear not” so often is because “fear is the number one reason human beings are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do.” Fear causes us to lie to avoid pain or embarrassment. Fear of rejection causes us to listen to gossip. Fear of being poor causes us to neglect family, friends and God to work more hours. Fear causes us to flatter someone because we’re afraid they won’t like us if we don’t. Fear causes us to go along with the crowd instead of standing apart. Fear of being lonely causes us to justify unwholesome companions. Fear is the reason so many will not step out of their comfort zones and teach a class or lead a song or prayer. Fear is one reason so little evangelism is being done. Fear is the reason we deny the Lord in difficult situations. Fear is the reason the storms cause our faith to falter. Fear is the reason we betray our values and friends in times of need. Yes, I’d say fear is a major problem for us. We need to be told often to “Fear not.” At least I do.

Yet, there is another kind of fear that would help us overcome these other fears if we would learn to use it. Solomon wrote centuries ago, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). In other words, we need to have deep seated reverence and awe of God in everything we do every day of our lives – to live by faith in God alone – to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and nothing else. Ironically, if we choose to “Fear God” in the sense Solomon said, we would be far less likely to need the 366 commands to “fear not.” Pity the person who is more afraid of the winds and the waves than he is of the God who created and controls them.