A Letter from Me about the Next Steps…

Dear Midtown Family & Friends,

It is with a heavy but peaceful heart that I announce to you that I will be transitioning out of my current ministry role in Columbia and moving this March with my family to Atlanta, GA where I will begin serving as a National Church Planting Strategist with the North American Mission Board.

This was by far the hardest decision that Renie and I have ever faced. We did not take this decision lightly as we prayed, fasted, read the Scriptures, and sought wise counsel throughout the process. As I have even taught, we want Columbia to be the default home for people in our church family unless God calls us elsewhere. There have been many tears shed and I am sure there will be more to come, but it seems as though this is the new mission field that God is sending us to. It has been extremely encouraging to have the affirmation of the leaders and pastors of Midtown as Renie and I truly feel that we are being sent into this gospel-centered mission to help plant more churches.

Moving with Renie and a small group of friends to Columbia six and half years ago to start Midtown began an extraordinary journey that has continually been marked by the grace of God. Seeing hundreds of people baptized, homeless people moved off the streets, Homes of Hope started in India, addictions broken, the gospel understood, and overall life transformation take place has been nothing short of amazing. Serving as a Lead Pastor at Midtown over the years has been a blessing from God, as I have personally grown deeper in my understanding of the gospel through my relationships with you, my church family. To see a group of people who center their lives on the work of Jesus, love one another deeply as family, and join God in his mission to the world has been incredible. The great blessing of my new role in Atlanta is that I am essentially being sent out to take the DNA and vision of Midtown and help infuse that into new churches all across North America.

The plan moving forward is that we will be in Columbia into the month of March and then will begin our transition towards Atlanta. In the interim I will teach at the gatherings as well as work closely with staff and volunteers on the upfit and transition to the new Midtown Devine Campus.

This next season for Midtown is going to be incredible as Sunday morning gatherings are added, as well as the move to Midtown’s first permanent facility (Devine St.). I look forward to watching some of the godliest men I know, my best friends, lead Midtown forward as a Jesus-centered family on mission. With some of the facility changes on the horizon along with the great vision to focus more on being missionaries in neighborhoods, I have no doubt that Midtown is getting ready to go through a period of healthy growth. Prepare yourself for the continuation of the incredible mission God has given us in this city. I look forward to visiting soon and seeing the amazing work that God is going to do through you, His church. I will potentially have the privilege of coming back from time to time to help train some of the future church planters that will be sent out in the years to come as we all seek to live out the mission of the gospel.

Thanks to each of you who are a part of this incredible mission in Columbia. Continue pressing forward with the gospel, as there are 100,000 who do not have Christ in our city. Thank you for all of the love, grace, and encouragement that you have given to Renie, Jack, Piper, and me over the years. We love you guys more than you know and we look forward to spending time with you during this season of transition.

By His Grace,
Dustin

A Letter from Midtown

Dear Family,

Beginning with Midtown’s first day as a church, we have done our best to emphasize the missional calling on the church.  Throughout the New Testament, Christians were spreading out all over cities and being sent to new places to do new works in Jesus’ name.  We have tried to follow in this pattern by spreading out around Columbia as missionaries here, as well as sending people to other countries and cities as God has called.  The opportunity that Dustin and Renie have been given with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) falls exactly in line with this vision.  They will have the opportunity to help churches plant healthy churches all over North America, essentially taking what God has done here in Columbia through the Midtown family and spreading it to other churches.  We are delighted to send them out for this role, but are very sad to see them go.

The frequency with which we all hear about a pastor doing something unethical or illegal has created a great deal of suspicion in all of us when dealing with situations like this one. Unfortunately, when one of the more visible pastors leaves a church, it seems to usually be for bad, if not sinful, reasons.  With that in mind, we thought it best to directly state some of those reasons and assure everyone that none of them apply in this instance.

1. Moral failure.
Moral failure happens too often with pastors and to make matters worse, the issue is often handled unbiblically. In spite of 1 Timothy 5:19-21, the pastors sin is often covered up and the pastor simply moves on without the pastor or the church announcing what has happened. This typically allows the disqualified pastor to get a job at another unsuspecting church. At Midtown, our goal is for this type of thing to never happen. If a pastor’s persistence in sin disqualifies him for ministry and he is asked to leave, it will be stated as such publicly, as 1 Timothy 5 instructs us to do.

Dustin has not failed morally.

2. Career advancement.
Some men view being a pastor as a career instead of a calling. These types of pastors rarely settle in, put down roots, and give their lives serving a particular place for Jesus’ sake. Instead they are always looking for the next step up the ladder…a bigger church, a pay raise, a higher-profile opportunity. The Bible confronts these types of pastors as those who “peddle the word of God for profit.“

Dustin views this, as we do, as a calling; not career advancement.

3. Unrepentant, unfruitful church members.
Sometimes pastors are stuck with a church full of people who have no real love for Jesus and no interest in seeing their city get saved by Jesus. Despite a pastor’s best effort to preach the gospel and organize for mission, there is simply no interest from the members of the church.  This is an exhausting situation and often the pastors of the church will eventually move on to more fruitful opportunities.

Dustin, along with all of the other pastors, loves the Midtown family and has continually felt it a joy to be a part of leading them on mission here in Columbia.

4. Bad relationships.
One of the effects of the fall is that relationships become strained and sin comes between people…and pastors are people. When relational sin isn’t appropriately dealt with, it tends to fester. These relational tensions can make life miserable for the pastor who doesn’t do his part to confess sin, reconcile with others, and repent as necessary.  Sometimes these bad relationships continue to go sour until the drama and conflict is unbearable and the pastor involved finally just leaves as a way of avoiding the issue.

Dustin is in great standing relationally with the Midtown family. There are no issues here at all.

5. Philosophical differences.
Sometimes pastors will have the desire to make changes within the church that they serve but will be met with resistance. This can be very difficult for men who feel they are being led by God to make changes but find God’s people unwilling to follow along. Eventually the pastors of that church burn out or lose their fire because it seems that there is no hope of progress and kingdom advancement.

Dustin is actually taking much of the philosophy of ministry from Midtown and communicating it to leaders and churches all over North America. So it is safe to say there are no philosophical differences.

We are delighted to emphatically say that none of the above mentioned reasons apply to this situation. Our church family is healthy and flexible, all relationships are intact, and there have been no moral failures. Instead, here is our best summation of why & how Dustin and his family landed on this decision, and why the others pastors agree with them:

After the opportunity with NAMB was presented, Dustin talked with some of our pastors so they could all talk and pray through this together. Nothing was done abruptly, secretively, or in isolation. The other Midtown pastors think that this position will be a good fit for Dustin and to be honest, it very much appears to be a job that Dustin has been specifically gifted to do.  As a result, we are excited to see much fruit come from it.  He and Renie both sense that God is leading them to this ministry during the next season of their lives.   We are extremely grateful for Dustin’s service as a pastor in our church and are very sad to see our friends being sent out, but we are grateful to have such a huge kingdom opportunity.

How will this affect Midtown moving forward?
When the bible speaks of pastors/elders at the local church level, it speaks in plurality. From our best understanding of scripture, it was always the goal for local churches to have multiple qualified elders who serve by providing overseeing leadership through preaching and teaching, care, and decision-making.  This is what we have tried to model at Midtown.  The Bible calls Jesus the Chief Shepherd, or senior leader, of the church (1 Peter 5:4). With Jesus as our Senior Pastor, we have worked hard to train up and empower qualified pastors and leadership, and our church operates around a team concept.  God has been incredibly gracious to our church family by raising up strong leaders and as we transition Dustin out of his role as one of the lead pastors in our church, the teams that were already in place will continue to function as before, with a few people moving around and some roles being adjusted. Our vision is still to see missionaries spread all across Columbia and Jesus name be lifted higher in our city.  Jesus has promised that the gates of hell cannot withstand the onslaught of his ever-expanding kingdom, so we will continue our aggressive approach to ministry.  We are currently finalizing plans regarding church planting and campus expansion for the next few years and are excited to roll these out soon.

By His Grace,
The Leaders of Midtown

Some Potential Questions

With the transitions mentioned in the two letters above, we wanted to take the time to address and give answers to some potential questions our church family might have regarding Dustin’s transition to the new position at NAMB.

Did something suspicious happen behind the scenes?
No, not at all.  The letter from Midtown addresses this more fully.

Who will be preaching more?
Dustin had been preaching at one of our campuses approximately every other week.  We will continue to operate with a teaching team that prepares sermons together and you will simply see more of the same people preaching as before.  As always, we will continue to train and develop people in our church family with the giftedness to teach and hope to always be ready to give preaching opportunities to them.

Will we hire someone else?
We have already hired Kent Bateman to come on and take a more substantial role than he previously had as a staff intern.  He has served our church in a volunteer capacity for years and we are glad to be able to bring him on in a full time role.

Will this affect our vision moving forward?
In short, no.  We have no plans to slow down our efforts towards being all about Jesus, living as church family, and loving our neighbors in Jesus’ name.  When Jesus comes back we can take it easy.  Until then, there is a lot of work to do!

What will happen with Vision Team?
Our Vision Team pastors serve as the overseers of our overall church direction and heath.  You can find more information on our church’s leadership structure here. Allen Tipping and Adam Gibson will continue as Vision Team pastors and will be praying about who should be added. The goal is for Vision Team to consist of 3-5 pastors.

Am I allowed to talk to Dustin and ask him more questions?
Yes.

When are Dustin and Renie moving to Atlanta?
March

How long have the pastors known this was going to happen?
Around the first of December is when we began to discuss and pray together. In God’s providence, we talked about being ready for change on our Family Vacation trip in November.  We had no clue that this would be one of those changes, but God did.  He continues to lead our church quite well.

Are other people planning to leave?
No. We have been working to develop a culture of ‘family’ in our church.  We want for all of us to see church as family and Columbia as our home.  Our hope is that people will stay in Columbia to be a part of Jesus’ mission here unless God specifically calls them elsewhere. We want Columbia to be our default location.  But when Jesus says to move, we move, no matter how hard that move is.  Our staff has adopted this mentality and Columbia is home for us.  We are here and ready to get to work.  If Jesus says to move, then we move. If he doesn’t, then we stay because Columbia is home and we are family!

How can I be praying for the Willis family?
Dustin & Renie have been very clear that one of the most difficult things about this move is that they are leaving their best friends here in Columbia. Obviously this will all be difficult for them.  Pray that God would bring them new friends quickly in Atlanta. Pray that God would lead them to a new church family that they can be a part of.  Pray for a quick transition into Dustin’s new job and for more and more churches to plant healthy churches all over North America.

How can I be praying for the Midtown family?
We have a lot of changes going on right now.  With Sunday morning gatherings that require even more people to serve and an upcoming move to Devine Street, it’s a lot to take on!  Pray that Jesus would continue to lead us and make us ready for whatever he brings our way.  Pray that more people would meet Jesus in Columbia. Pray that Jesus would keep raising up godly, strong leaders to oversee our growing church family.  Pray that Jesus would protect us from burning out, as we have a lot of paid and unpaid people who give every drop of energy they have in service to God through Midtown. And specifically, pray that God would continue to provide for us financially by growing our generosity and bringing more adults into our family.

The Attributes of God: How They Interact with Humanity (Part 8)

Investigating and sitting with the truth of the attributes of God is a preciously invaluable practice for the believer of the one true God. To understand God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gives a person the full scope of all the persons of God and the value of each component as it interacts with humanity. To be able to revere God as Father, while knowing that God the Son has been temped in everyway, while all along God the Holy Spirit is their to guide and convict is life changing to a mortal man. To simply think of God as God and failing to interact with all the unrestrained aspects of God would lead to an unfulfilled life. Recognition of God’s attribute of holiness and man’s ascribed depravity allows humanity to fundamentally have an acceptable effort in appreciating the grace that God has made so evident throughout history. The acceptable effort that is present is conclusively made possible by the allocated power given by the Omnipotent God who then sustains one with a peace and hope that is made possible by His attribute of faithfulness.

Over time one reaches the conclusion that the attributes of God are distinctive in character yet they interact harmoniously and together communicate the being of the incomprehensible, the one true immortal God. Though each attribute can be thought of in separate terms the ultimate conclusion is they are not separate but one. That is the mysterious beauty of the unchanging, all-powerful, faithful, grace giving God of love. Ultimately, the attributes of God build upon and bring clarity to one another. When man recognizes the harmony of the attributes of God, it vitally changes every facet of that man’s life for his good and God’s eternal pleasure.

The Attributes of God: How They Interact with Humanity (Good)

Often people confuse the goodness of God with the holiness of God and though all attributes interrelate and build upon one another, the two aspects are functionally distinctive. God’s goodness is described as his kindness, gentleness, benevolence, and sympathy. Understanding definitively that God is good is foundational to understanding God in all of His contributing characteristics. The goodness of God complexly interacts with the other attributes of God and can be paradoxical in nature. The Omnipotence of God can create an arousal of healthy fear, while simultaneously one feels encouraged by the goodness of God. This is a clear picture of the paradoxical nature of one’s faith in light of the attributes of God. Tozer states, “It is a foundation stone for all sound thought about God and is necessary to moral sanity. To allow that God could be other than good is to dent the validity of all thought and end the negation of every moral judgment.” If one concludes that God is not fully good then the ramifications are that there is no real difference among vindictiveness and sympathy. If God is not good then there is categorically no plumb line for goodness then hell can be heaven and vice versa. James 1:17 states, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” The unseen force behind all blessings is the goodness of God. This truth allows explanation for the good in one’s life therefore continuing to build a humility that contains a revering gratefulness for God. The goodness of God does not vary according to deed, God is simply good. Good is who God is and God is good, it’s embodied as is all the attributes of the Almighty.

 

 

The Attributes of God: How They Interact with Humanity (Grace)

The depravity of humanity in light of the holiness of God concludes that humanity is undeserving to relationally interact with God. The grace of God is the central attribute that acts as the bridge from humanity to a Holy God. The grace attribute of God is displayed through out the Old Testament but is later embodied in the gospels by the God Man, Jesus Christ. Grace is receiving what is unmerited. Humanity did not and will not ever do anything on their own account to deserve relationship with God. Culturally, many seek to do this on their own performance and effort, nevertheless taking moral action with a lack of understanding of God’s holiness. Accurately viewing the attribute of holiness allows one to see that there is no merit in and of one’s own being. The need for the attribute of grace is vital for sinful men to have the hope of being reconciled back to an upright standing with a Holy God. “Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits upon the undeserving. It is a self- existent principle inherent in the divine nature and appears to us as a self-caused propensity to pity the wretched, spare the guilty, welcome the outcast, and bring into favor those who were before under disapprobation”  Grace is not something that God became on humanities behalf alone, it is who God is. Humanity profits ceaselessly by God simply being Himself in all of His attributes, including grace. Grace not a reactionary attribute of God to humanity bur rather an inherent attribute of God.

God’s gracefulness is abundant in its supply to the believing man or woman. James 4:6 states, “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Many would argue that copious grace only leads to a life of perpetual sin, but the Scriptures communicate the inverse of that deliberation. Accurately perceiving the attribute of Grace substantially changes the pattern of one’s life on planet earth.  Grace not only acts as the vehicle in which believing men and woman are eternally rescued from their depravity but doctrinally it also is operates as the prominent attribute that leads believers to Godly living. Titus 2:11-14 states, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”  Determining this essential truth about the grace attribute of God’s being is an imperative doctrinal resting place for those who desire to live a life that reflects the worthy calling they have been given through the sovereignty of God. God’s grace delivers and along with the attribute of faithfulness it also sustains man.

 

 

 

 

The Attributes of God: How They Interact with Humanity (Holy)

The creation account reveals that God made humanity in his image, therefore making humanity upright. God is holy; consequently the Almighty is without fault. In the beginning God created Adam and Eve without fault but as a result of their choice in sinning, humanity is marred.  Ecclesiastes 7:29 states that “God made man upright, but they sought out many schemes.”  Accepting God’s holiness and one’s blemished life record as a result of the fall, humanity leads to the inevitable truth that a holy God cannot associate or look upon sin. Habakkuk 1:13 states “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong.”  Grasping this truth is derived from the foundational knowledge of God as Holy. Seeing God as Holy at times acts a deterrent to humanity relationally knowing God, because many see him as unreachable due to a realization of depravity. Tozer argues that seeking to embrace God’s holiness should actually lead man to God not away from God. Attempting to see one’s self from God’s perspective facilitates an agitation within the soul that generates one’s need for the Almighty Holy God. God is holy and therefore separate from the depraved humanity that exists. Within the wake of this reality resides the tension of whether the unification of those created in the image of God can actually be reconciled back to a position of uprightness. Understanding these expansive attributes of God is vital to the life of mere mortals. To argue otherwise comes from a position that is simply uninformed.

Also, you should go check out the new song “Holy”of the 10,000 Reasons Album by Matt Redman. It’s very very solid work!

The Attributes of God: How They Interact with Humanity (Omnipotence)

Revelation 19:6 states, “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Omnipotent in the Greek text is defined as he who sways and rules all.  God is sufficiently all-powerful. Humanity can moment by moment conclude that there are factual limitations to what can be done by a single human or a even a multitude of humans. This draws great difference to the Almighty. God seizes what no other creature even has the prospective for – an impenetrable plentitude of power. Nature in and of itself paints a picture that acts as evidence of the unending power of God to humanity. The apostle Paul sheds light to this doctrinal truth in Romans 1:20 where it states, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” It can be concluded that it is possible that the omnipotence in and of itself is a revealing factor to humanity of who God is. This is eternally vital to the life of a person according to the Apostle Paul. Fully understanding the power of God means that one believes that God is able to do all His holy will. This type of power is threaded throughout the fabric of the biblical scriptures and sits on display for all of humanity to seek and identify with.

On the surface the power of God seems fairly clear in explanation but when investigated further it draws much debate among many cultures of humanity. Within the realm of omnipotence, many argue that God is not all powerful because God possesses certain inabilities. Many would argue that God is not omnipotent because He cannot sin, commit suicide, or walk, to name a few of the contentions. As a result of God being both essentially good and essentially non-physical, these arguments are irrelevant in nature and do not carry any real intellectual weight. God being unable and lacking the power are all together two different ideas. In His omnipotence God is also the self-existent creator, therefore He is the creator and distributor of all power. Tozer states, “God has delegated power to His creatures, but being self sufficient, He cannot relinquish anything of His perfections and, power being one of them, He does not give away. All that He gives remains His own and returns to Him again. Forever He must remain what He has forever been, the Lord God omnipotent.” Therefore, humanity can receive the life-changing power of the Almighty, but with the understanding that God cannot remain all powerful if he does not retain the ability to procure the power that has been given. Concluding this doctrinal truth gives a self-focused culture the correct humility to grow in their relationship with the all-powerful omnipotent God who is gracious in His delegation of power. Seeing his power for all that it is worth carries more value to a struggling humanity when there is the realization that his power and being are holy.

The Attributes of God: How They Interact with Humanity (Trinity)

Comprehending the Triune God is a foundational facet to gathering a genuine appreciation for the attributes of God.  In his article A Biblical Study of the Heart of God the Father, Edward E. Dudek foundationally sets up his work on the attributes of God by zooming out to display the Triune God as a whole. In order to grasp the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as distinctive parts of the Trinity it is key to possess an overall understanding of the functionality of the Trinitarian God in all of its components. Tozer states that “Out sincerest effort to grasp the incomprehensible mystery of the Trinity must remain forever futile, and only by deepest reverence can it be saved from actual presumption.” To search out God in all three persons allows humanity to see God as distinctive and on many layers perplexing in comparison to any other being. “The Bible doctrine of the Trinity is one of those sublime and glorious mysteries which the mind of man, at least while shrouded in clay, cannot penetrate. We may study and meditate until lost in thought, yet never can we comprehend the mode and nature of the divine being.”  This leads man to a continuous, yet appropriate reverence for God in his whole being. Moreover, grasping the reality of each divergent God person gives great appreciation to humanity for each distinction that is brought forth. Micheael de Molinaos states, “We think more loftily of God, by knowing that He is incomprehensible, and above our understanding, than by conceiving Him under any image, and creature beauty, according to our rude understanding.” The love of God is the love of God. The word love appears in the Scriptures approximately eight hundred times and most famously appears in the phrase, God is love. The Scriptures disclose that the Triune God is concurrently the source as well as the example of genuine love. To claim that God is love is to claim that He is Trinitarian.

Additionally, in no way does the love, grace, providence, or redemption of God differentiate according to which person of the Trinity is acting. The Trinity in and of itself is not a doctrine that should be tampered with or critically concluded upon beyond the realm of the Scriptures. When looking in Ephesians chapter one, it is clear that the Triune God unified together as one works to achieve salvation for those who have believed by faith in the redeeming love of the Triune God. Man was separated from God the Father as a result of the fall of man. As a result of God’s grace and faithfulness, God the Father sends God the Son to live the life of perfection that was not lived by humanity, die the death that was deserved for humanity, and then conquer the grave that was earned by humanity giving hope for new life and salvation on behalf of humanity. Then God the Holy Spirit works to draw man back to God the Father through the conviction of sin and the birth of faith. Through the drawing of the Holy Spirit man then sees the work of God the Son on the cross and through that work man is then reconciled back to God the Father whom man was fashioned for relationship with from the genesis of creation. It is obvious that the Triune God has different qualities but in no way are they segmented in their attributes and this is a key cause towards the life change of a person.

 

 

The Attributes of God: How They Interact with Humanity (Part 1)

During this blog series we will cover the following attributes: the Trinity, omnipotence, holy, faithful, grace, and God’s goodness. This first post will act more as an introduction to the entire blog series and should set us up well for the rest of the series.

Within culture there is a fight to wrap one’s being around who we really are at our inner cores. This search for happiness and rest arises in all of humanity and is fleeting in nature without the revelation of God. “If there’s anything necessary to your eternal happiness but God, you’re not the kind of Christian that you ought to be. For only God is the true rest.” This expedition is one of confusion and frustration that will never concede to a resolution without knowledge of the one true God. John Calvin states in his work The Institutes of Christian Religion, “It is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he have previously contemplated the face of God, come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”  If a person continues to view his or herself in light of the culture they reside and never chooses to venture to look beyond and upward to God then it will only lead to self-righteousness. Exploring the attributes of God in light of self leads to an accurate understanding of one’s iniquity, impotence, and extreme folly. Drawing this understanding leads one to a place of desperation for God in all of His attributes.

As a result, within humanity there should be nothing more important than seeking the doctrinal truth of who God is and searching for understanding on how that affects one’s journey through life. The Apostle Paul states in Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake Ihave suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” The apostle Paul states that everything is rubbish compared to the worth of knowing God. “Skybalon” is the Greek transliteration of the word rubbish, which defines as the excrement of animals. The graphic word picture basically exudes the conclusion that everything carries no merit to the privilege of seeking to distinguish God in all His attributes. Moreover, attribute is defined as a quality, property, or characteristic of somebody or something, therefore to truly know God is to know his attributes. Within the pages of The Knowledge of the Holy A.W. Tozer states, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Tozer infers that man’s view of God is the fundamental element to grasping an understanding of self. Therefore, if having an accurate conclusion of God’s attributes is significant in knowing one’s self then this verity begs humanity to seek out who God is in all of His worth.

Within the article The Divine Attributes, Nicholas Everitt seeks to communicate the essential attributes of God, and on what level these particular attributes are compatible with one another.  Everitt concludes within his work that there are commonly eleven main divine attributes, while Tozer communicates that there are eighteen. Rather than exploring all of the attributes, it is of greater assessment to look at the more expansive attributes of God in order to effectively expound on their effects within humanity and culture. Gaining an appreciation for God’s triune attributes, omnipotence, holiness, grace, and faithfulness are imperative to life change within a mere mortal life.   Having an accurate understanding of the attributes of God vitally affects the life of broken, sinful humans.