The WidoW's mighT - Baptist Bible Tribune

Thewidow’smightPastor Keith Blakeof Tulsa, Oklahoma,declares confidentlythat the first comprehensiveministryestablished by theearly church wasdesigned primarily to meet the needsof widows (Acts 6). He asks whychurches today have not kept up aconscious, directed effort to do thesame in the 21st century.That question prompted Keith tobegin the Widow’s Might for the 21stCentury, a ministry to address theneeds of the widowed. While thereare large stores of material andresources for specialized ministriesof nearly every sort, churches andpastors will not find many resourcesto begin a ministry to the widowed intheir churches and communities willnot find much. To correct that omission,Keith has designed a way forlocal churches to not only meet theirobligation to the widowed in theircongregations, but for communityoutreach as well.Keith has written a book, anexcerpt of which is printed here, andhe has a website for more help andinformation, www.widowsmight21st.com. The Tribune is pleased tocommend this worthy ministry tochurches and pastors who want tofulfill an ancient biblical obligation.Excerpt from Chapter 8: Training an Elite Force for MinistryWhen one allows his mind to focus on theterm “Elite Force,” most likely his thoughtwill go to the armed services; the Marines, theNavy Seals, the Green Berets, the Blue Angels.Every branch of the armed forces has their specialteams who are recognized for their intensetraining and combat readiness. These teamshave been trained, tested and prepared to anunbelievable level in readiness for the ultimateon the field of engagement. Their physical,mental, emotional, survival, and sensory skillshave been “honed” almost beyond our imagination.In the process of their training they areconfronted with most every known situation towhich they could be exposed during a mission.Besides the “known” threats and foreseeablechallenges, there has been developed in theman awareness and capability to devise a planto deal with the unsuspected and unforeseendevelopments they may confront in the act offulfilling their ordered mission. Only whenthey have been “battle tested” does the fullmagnitude of their conditioning show its valueby allowing them to survive and face their nextobjective in victory.There are multiplied thousands of peoplein every community and in every country inthis world who have experienced the most12 | Baptist Bible Tribune | February 2010