Welcome to ACT II MINISTRIES!

Welcome to ACT II MINISTRIES!

If you're new to our blog, WELCOME! We hope you find our thoughts intriguing and worthy of conversation! The topics of this phont of philosophy mostly match my own interests, and as a Christian my first interest is of course Him. But I'm hopeful that what I have to share on the topic is both interesting and different for you, and if something particularly catches you interest, please let us know in the comments!

I was (and still am) a teacher by trade, thirty years at the baton of secondary school band programs in Idaho and California; currently, I'm the director of the alternative school in Jerome, Idaho. I'm also an author, with several books published locally, and a composer and arranger of thirty-five years professional experience. So you'll get a taste of much of that part of my life, as well as a smidgen of my perspective as a father of five.

Much of the remaining conversation spewing forth from my fingertips here will come from my love of both football and mathematics, which I've combined for several years in a previous blog called FOLLOWING FOOTBALL. We've follow four brands of the game for the most part: the NFL and division one NCAA in the US (of course!), a smidgen of the Canadian brand (because c'mon! Twelve men, the 55-yard line, the rouge, you name it! It's just FUN!), and my absolute passion, Australian Rules Football! Anything that causes me to spend half the year's weekends with the internet radio playing all night listening to Rex Hunt and Peter Donnegan erupt over Hawthorn and Geelong must be important to me!

But let's talk about our mast-head: ACT II MINISTRIES:

Founded in 2013 by Gordon and Melissa Smith, ACT II MINISTRIES is a "pre-denominational" organization, based on the principles laid out in the Book of The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, verses 42 through 47:

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

The eight critical principles laid out there are what WE believe to be the essential qualities of any Christian worship.
1) Devote ourselves to the teaching of the apostles. (And all of Scripture, of course.)
2) (Devote ourselves) to the breaking of bread. (Sharing meals together, not just the communion.)
3) ...and the prayers.(Christ tells us to pray in secret, not for show.)
4) Many wonders and signs are done. (We have a BIG GOD, Who can do AMAZING miracles.)
5) Sharing possessions as any have need. (The moment called for a complete pooling of resources; later passages note that simple charity to support those in need suffices.)
6) Attending the temple (church) together. (We NEED our fellow believers, if for no other reasons than these two: believers who need OUR presence and knowledge, and our need for THEIR knowledge and love to keep us and our beliefs in line with Scripture.)
7) Having glad and generous hearts. (our words are insufficient; our true beliefs are what's important. "We want non-believers to ask us what the cause of the joy within us is.")
8) Praising God. Our purpose on Earth is to glorify God in everything we do. EVERYTHING.

These eight principles are what guide our actions and our beliefs. ACT II MINISTRIES was organized as an umbrella for our teaching, our writing, and our outreach to the community in the name of the Lord. Melissa Smith went to the Lord in December of 2014, but I continue to share God's Word from his home in Jerome, which is near Twin Falls in southern Idaho. For many of us who came to the Lord later in life, Christianity really is "Act II" in our lives! And as the apostle Paul said, everything that came before Christ we count as rubbish compared to Him. (By the way, the original Greek word Paul used does not really translate as "rubbish" no matter what King James thinks. We'll talk about THAT later, too! Yeah, I'm not above that sort of thing...)

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Join the community. No experience necessary. No fees required. (So far, there hasn't been any need for advertising or public support. God Provides.) Just keep it clean and polite, please.

May God Bless you, and may God Bless this endeavor.   - gordon smith