The Southern India Global Hub Opens With Full Capacity. An Inspirational Read!

Dear Visionary Leader:

The Southern India Global HUB of Christianity convened in Chennai, India. Hundreds of pastors and leaders from throughout Southern India came to study Leadership Development, Global Missions, Church Multiplication, Evangelism/Discipleship and Visionary Networking. John Ed Mathison, CoChair/North America and Pastor Emeritus of Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, and James O. Davis, Cofounder of Billion Soul Network, teamed together to teach eight courses in two days. The courses taught were:

Character Formation
How To Cast Vision
Developing A Global Christian Worldview
The Making Of A Missional Church
Principles of Church Planting
How To Plant Reproducing Churches
Understanding The Great Commission
The Essentials of Networking

All of the attendees also have access to all the courses in the Global Church Learning Center. Over the next twenty-four months, the same attendees of the Southern India Hub will convene four times (every six months) over the next two years. When these four sessions are completed, they will have learned and mastered the top 30 courses in the Global Church Learning Center. All of these pastors/leaders will then graduate with a Global HUB Empowerment Certificate. In the next 5 to 7 years, it is anticipated that at least 50,000 pastors and leaders will go through the training of the Global HUBS of Christianity.

As we approach Good Friday, here are some thoughts to ponder in answer to the question, Why Is Good Friday Good?

More than two thousand years ago, Mankind nailed his Maker on a cross of wood. On that horrific day, the devil laughed, the people sneered and the Father turned His back on His Son. Jesus Christ did not die and rise again for a percentage of the world, but for the whole world. While Jesus was dying on the cross, there were many miracles that happened to demonstrate Why Good Friday is Good. Easter is God’s grace for the human race. According to Matthew 27:45-54, when Jesus died on the cross:

* He touched the sun. In Him, we have victory over darkness! Jesus said that He is the light of the world. Yet, He is the eternal light of heaven. If we choose not to allow Jesus into our hearts, our lives will be filled with darkness. The glorious light of the Gospel transforms untold numbers of people every year.

* He touched the sanctuary and the veil was rent in two. In Him, we have victory over division! This veil had hung for more than 1,500 years between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest once a year could walk through the veil into the Holy of Holies. The veil symbolized that Mankind is sinful and God is holy. Yet, when the veil was rent in two, whosoever will can come into the Holy of Holies to get a glimpse of the Glory of God.

* He touched the stones with an earthquake. In Him, we have victory over devastation! In essence, Jesus was saying, “If you take Me out of your society, your world will fall apart.” Christ is the glue of our cities and the fabric of our Faith. Even though tough times come to all of us, Jesus is the One who pulls the pieces of our lives together.

* He touched the sepulchers and the dead came back to life. In Him, we have victory over death! While Jesus was dying on the cross, resurrection began to happen in the nearby cemeteries. People got up out of their graves and walked into Jerusalem. Can you imagine the stir in the city when these people arrived home! As Jesus was about to die, He shouted, “It is finished!” Every time Jesus shouted, resurrection was the result. The first time Jesus shouted, he said, “Lazarus come out!” And, Lazarus got up out of his grave and left with Jesus. The second time He shouted, Jesus was hanging on the cross. In the future, Jesus will shout one more time. The Bible states that the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, and then those who are in their graves will be resurrected, and those who are alive will be raptured (1 Thess. 4:16-18). We have victory over death.

* He touched the soldier. In Him, we have victory over doubt! The Centurion who crucified Jesus said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” This military leader no doubt had crucified scores of men over the years. Yet, when he saw the sun refuse to shine, heard the veil had been rent in two, felt the earth begin to shake, saw the dead coming into Jerusalem, he shouted, “Jesus is the Son of God!”

Why is Good Friday good? Because two thousand years ago, Mankind nailed the Maker on a cross of wood. One week, the religious crowd said, “Hail Him with a crown.” The next, they said, “Nail Him on a cross!”

In 2004, when I interviewed Mel Gibson in front of more than 6,000 pastors and leaders regarding “The Passion of the Christ” movie, he said, “Jesus was so pure, with one prick of a finger, a drop of His blood could have redeemed the world. Yet, He loved us so much that He went to the cross and died for every person in the world.” On Good Friday, let us recommit our lives and our leadership to share God’s grace with the human race. We are not the West going to the Rest, but the Best going to the Rest worldwide. As New Zealand’s Paul de Jong said, “The next billion lives next door.”

Until The Last Person Has Heard,

Dr. James O. Davis
Cofounder / Billion Soul Network
Cochair / Global Networking