Greetings from sunny Florida! Welcome to our website: speakingtruthwithlove.com. We are an online ministry committed to a clear, concise and common sense teaching of the Word of God. The following is our Mission Statement: the reason and motivation for launching this online ministry in the first place.
Over the past several years I have become increasingly concerned about two negative trends in American Evangelical Christianity. Negative trend #1: the overemphasizing of Christian engagement with politics, and related to it; negative trend #2: the de-emphasizing of sound Biblical doctrine. As far as I can tell, Christian involvement with politics has become an obsession. So much so that it has become a distraction to the real purpose for which God has established His Church on earth. That purpose was clearly stated by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20, where He gives His disciples a mandate which applies not only to them but all of us as followers of our Savior. In Matthew 28, beginning in v18, Jesus says this:
“. . . All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Over the years, this mandate has come to be known as the Great Commission. It is this mandate, this commission, that we as followers of Christ must have as our overwhelming first priority task. Yet we don’t! Instead, we have made politics our priority to the neglect of sound doctrine and the fulfillment of the Great Commission. What an ironic contrast! Nowhere in the New Testament do we read of an encouragement for Christians to be involved in politics to the extreme extent we see today. At the same time, repeated admonitions are given by the apostle Paul to learn sound doctrine and by the grace of God, to live it out in our everyday lives.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of this is found in 2 Timothy 4:1-5, where Paul issues a dire warning to his disciple Timothy of a “time” that would come where sound doctrine would be shunned in favor of falsehoods that would have nothing to do with the purpose of God. So Paul prepares Timothy to resist this negative trend and not fall prey to it by instructing him in vv1-2 to preach and teach sound doctrine. In addition to that, he also encourages Timothy to do the work of an evangelist in v5. It isn’t either/or but both/and. Learning sound doctrine produces spiritual growth which in turn creates a desire to share the gospel with those who don’t know our Savior. This is the connection between sound doctrine and the Great Commission. And sandwiched in between is this negative trend where sound doctrine is set aside in favor of falsehoods that have nothing to do with fulfilling the purpose of God. I have no doubt that this “time” has come. It is here. It is now. It is a negative trend that has become a significant hindrance to the cause of Christ.
I am equally convinced that the “time” has come for some push back. I’m only one person. I can only do so much. However, I believe God has called me for this specific purpose; in order to re-emphasize in a fresh manner, the importance of sound doctrine as well as the priority of the Great Commission, by means of this online ministry. My desire, in posting these video messages, will be to maintain a balance between doctrine and practice. Without such a balance, we will invariably gravitate toward one extreme or another. On the one hand, we can become enamored with theological abstractions that have little, if any, practical benefit. On the other hand, we can end up living a frustrating life of legalistic do’s and don’ts, heaped upon us with a heavy dose of guilt. Neither extreme will result in the kind of life our Savior wants us to live.
So these video messages will be relatively brief, thoroughly Biblical, and to the point. They will be supplemented by written notes which you can download and print out. I believe these notes will help to maximize what you learn from the video. With the exception of the initial video on the Word of God, each posting will consist of a fifteen to twenty minute segment, so that even if the message is forty-five to sixty minutes in its entirety, you will be able to digest it in three separate portions over the course of several days, if you so choose; if that best fits the context of your everyday life. Or you can view all three segments consecutively in one sitting if you prefer that.
Please understand, as well, that in no way should this online ministry become a substitute for your involvement in a local church. Its purpose is to confront issues pertaining to the Christian faith at large. The viewpoints expressed through this online ministry are not representative of a specific local church or denomination. In order to avoid any conflict of interest, I have chosen to remain independent of any such affiliation. However, I believe you will find that my doctrinal positions, as well as my ministry experience and credentials, are fully in harmony with historic evangelical Christianity. My hope is that this online ministry will serve as a positive supplement to your involvement in whatever local church you are attending.
Finally, we have provided e-mail access so that you can express your questions and concerns in a confidential manner. I promise to do my best in providing a response. I enjoy Q&A interaction. So it’s possible that if enough similar questions are being asked, a video message consisting of answers to those questions, while maintaining the anonymity of the questioner, would be provided. However, if I receive an e-mail that I consider to be disrespectful and/or inflammatory, I reserve the right to ignore it.
For those of you who would be interested, I need your prayer support. Launching this online ministry has been quite a challenge for me, and my wife Carlene. Maintaining and developing it will be an even greater responsibility. My sincere desire is to do my very best in teaching the Word of God and reaching as many people as possible with this ministry. I know that can’t happen without the prayer support of fellow Christians. So if you would be so kind as to add this online ministry to your prayer list, it would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely in Christ,
Henry Igras