Guns with No Bullets

Any true believer knows that this church is doomed. The once thriving congregation of 900 members has now reduced to a struggling 30. They are contemplating changing their name in order to attract more visitors. But we know that garbage by any other name does not smell any sweeter.

The pastor revealed how blind he was when he said, "We're probably the most progressive church in the city, but 'Baptist Temple' sounds weird, like it's charismatic and conservative." The article continued, "He worried that the word 'Baptist' had become indelibly tied to the political religious right and that when combined with 'Temple' it sounded like a fundamentalist 'bring out the snakes' kind of place."

You might change the label on a bottle of poison, but that won't mean that you'll be able to effect a different outcome. Once the gospel is perverted, a church might as well begin to dig its grave. The gospel is central to the survival of a thriving community of faith.

An elder in a mainline church once said, "You can't fire a gun with no bullets." He was talking about how the church had lost the gospel and had become ineffective in reaching people. He saw the writing on the wall quite clearly. Now that church, which was once 500 members strong, is not far from its demise.

A lot of churches that might be called evangelical are on the name change bandwagon too. Their aim is to be hip and hid their true identity. No one wants to reveal who they are or what they believe right up front. That's part of our day where doctrine is downplayed or thought insignificant.

I am not knocking having a good title for your church. My wife once stated that Covenant Reformed Fellowship sounds like a place where nuns go when they have been bad. I know that people around town have a hard time remembering it too. When I picked it, we were not a church yet. We were just a bunch of Reformed people meeting for a Bible study. I didn't mean for it to stick. But it did and the group seemed to like it at the time.

I chose it because it summed up who we are: Reformed in doctrine, covenantal in our views of Scripture, baptism and salvation, and a group of people who love the Lord and meet together regularly for mutual encouragement (a fellowship).

But I'm not hanging the success of our church on our name. I know that Christ builds his church through the true preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments. All other ground is sinking sand.

Beds of Ivory

Ron Gleason hits it on the nose regarding the church's failure in society:

Interestingly, in the mid-1980s many denominations were in the throes of building mega-churches and didn’t have a lot of residual money to spend on true diaconal needs, since large sums of money were being tied up in erecting large, palatial-like edifices as monuments to the success of that particular church. The Church, therefore, abdicated its diaconal responsibilities to the state, which was all too happy to contribute significantly to the dependence of the poor upon the state for its well-being. The “womb to tomb” mentality produced wards of the state in great numbers, while the Church stood by and watched. Please don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that the Church did nothing at all during this time. Much good was done, but clearly a paradigm shift was underway.

Churches-Houses of Merchandise

Ahhhh Yeah. Stripping the church of all her fancy and non-essencial apparal David Vance gives us a look a the bare bones church. In his sermon, Churches-Houses of Merchandise Vance tells us that the church is for one purpose: making disciples through the word and sacrament. They are not for basketball events, car washes, and the like. No matter how we might think they lend good toward the extending of God's kingdom, they are not ordained of God. They are not wrong in and of themselves, but they are wrong when the church becomes the host of them.

In today's society, this gives ministers and laymen a great understanding of the true purpose driven church. When she is stripped of all her excesses and left with only her God ordained mission, then she may thrive.

Moreover, after listening to this message ministers may not fear going into the pastorate. A pastor's job description becomes quite encombering when he has to wear the hat of administrator for the singles society, the divorcee-recovery group, the bake sale, etc. But in reality Jesus just wants him to preach and pray.

Old Words, Contemporary Significance

His words sound all to contemporary. Speaking against one who advocated the new methods so rapidly catching on in the 19th century R.L. Dabney wrote,

Since the question is raised why the church does not grow faster, we are persuaded that the real answer that needs looking to is the one our author dismisses most hastily. The cause is not ecclesiastical. It is spiritual. The real need is not new methods, but fidelity to the old [ones]. [The real need is] a true revival in the hearts of ministers and Christians themselves, a fear of the power of the world to come and deep love for souls. What we most need is repentance, not innovation.

Opposites Attract

Jack's Pipe rips a great quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the purity of church and its effectiveness in reaching the lost. LL-J vividly tags the old understanding that becoming like the world never attracts the world. Only a true, burning fire will attract those who are cold.

Holy Habit of Church Attendance

In his biography the 19th century evangelist DL Moody is quoted to say that his mother's discipline created within him the holy habit of attending church.

As a boy Moody disliked going to church and and detested having to sit through messages that he did not understand (and, I'm sure, found quite boring when they were understandable!). He always thought that he would quit going as soon as he was old enough to decide for himself whether or not to go. But instead he found that his mother had created within him a holy habit that he could not break.

If only we had more mothers today who trained their children in the way they should go--to sit through and interact with sound church services. Most likely we would not have so many children walking away from the faith. Currently it is reported that 7 out of 10 Americans raised in Christian families stop going to church by the age of 23.

#1 Mission Field

"Believe it or not, one of the most strategic mission fields in North America today is the church!"
--Tullian Tchividjian, grandchild of Billy Graham

Christ in the Pulpit

I submitted an article to the Times Gazette for the pastor's column this week. It will be pulished Friday, but you can view it by clicking here.

I entitled it "Christ in the Pulpit." It is a re-work of an earlier post I put on this blog, but it is much more eloquent and structured. Pray that this will awaken souls in the devil's grasp and lead them to a Christ affirming church.

Man-Centered Non-Worship

Rather than being guided by the Word of God, churches are more and more coming to be guided by Hallmark.

Typically, the people of God gather for worship on Sunday to celebrate what the Bible denominates "The Lord's Day." But now, as churches run farther and farther away from Biblical principles and embrace worship forms and styles that are according to their own whims, pastors/church leaders tell people to stay home for the "special days" of the calender year, the most recent being Father's Day.

A local church, one that prides itself in being cutting edge and appealing to the ungodly, has told its congregation members to forsake the assembling together this Lord's Day in order that fathers may spend time with their families. Instead of having Sunday services where one can gather with the family of God to honor their Heavenly Father they are encouraging their fathers to lead their own families in worship that day.

I suppose that family worship every day of the week is not promoted in this church. If it was, fathers would already be spending a great deal of time with their families. I also suppose that families are not encouraged to worship together each Lord's day in this church (certainly not morning and evening!) because, if they were, they would not have to take a day off so that fathers could be with their families. But since the fathers are not with their children throughout the week and on the Lord's day (which is usually a cause for church discipline), corporate worship must be canceled in order to accommodate.

Though divine worship will not be held on Sunday, this church will be observing the sacred event of "Man Fest" on Saturday. Consisting of a car/motorcycle show, the eating of red meat, manly games (such as archery, fishing, etc.) and much more, Man Fest is certain to be a real blast. (But those of us who are males who do not enjoy such "manly" activities, but prefer classical music, literature, and thick books of theology, will probably find the time better spent elsewhere.)

Truly, man-centered worship has truly supplanted Christ-centered worship. The fifth commandment (Honoring one's father) has supplanted the first, second, third, and fourth, (worship God alone, in his way, with the right heart, on his appointed day). And, I believe, man's perceptions of manhood has supplanted man's true design and calling.

The Rivalry

Where ever the Lord erects a house of prayer,
The Devil builds a chapel there.

--Sorry, I forget the source.

F-Word Advertising

Today I opened the newspaper to preview the headlines, but was disgusted by the F-word.

If it were part of the normal print--an article or a quote, I might have raised an eyebrow with a bit of shock. But it was part of a church's advertisement.

The ad went like this:

The real f**** words: faith, forgiveness, family, freedom, hypocrites (I don't know why that one was there)
Do we have your attention, yet? Good. Starting this Sunday come learn what the real "F" words are all about.

It got my attention. It had tremendous shock value, but at what cost? What were people thinking? People (like me) filled in the blanks in their minds, just like men fill in the gaps when scantily clothed women walk past.

Now, let me ask "Is that something we want?"

As churches we are to make people dwell on what is noble and as Christians we are avoid even the appearance of sin (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Pushing someone into sin is gross error, and it would be better to be tied to a millstone and thrown into the sea.

Moreover, when it comes to church ministry and outreach, we should remember that Jesus never tried to be hip or "with it" in his ministry. He had great crowds, but he tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. The prophet Isaiah spoke of him in these terms: "He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench." Odd that today's churches don't replicate his ministry pattern.

No doubt though that Jesus caused people to be aghast. If anyone had shock value, it was Christ. That is as plain as day. But His offense was in his pure life and his searing message "Repent and believe in me." The scandal of his ministry often came out when he said things like, "I tell you, on the day of judgment, men will give account for every careless word they speak." (Matthew 12:36)

Yet, as this advertisement points out, Christ was about forgiveness. That was one of his main "f-words," and we should never forget it. When we blunder, it can be forgiven. But let's not forget the other f-word found so frequently in the Bible: foolishness.

"There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

Proverbs 12:18

Not Purpose Driven, Nor Seeker Friendly

If you're into Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church or the Willow Creek model--or if you want some solid ammunition against it--you need to listen to this (you'll need about an hour).

Remember also that this guy is from a Grace Brethren Church! Praise the Lord, the Lord is moving beyond the Reformed sphere.

Making Wise the Simple

"The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."

Psalm 19:7

What a good argument for having children in church. If children are anything, they are simple. The remedy? A pew.

One of the things that distresses me has to do with the lack of children that sit in the worship services. I honestly believe that we are training our children to be heathens. Parents drop their children off in the nursery for some free babysitting and then head off to another part of the church. Then, for the next hour, the children learn the basic theology of clay, Lego's, and various other forms of hedonism.

This from a so-called "family friendly" church. Let's be clear, any church that promotes the separation of parent and child is not pro family.

I have heard the argument so many times, "But they don't understand what is going on in the service." But we all know that's a big lie. Kids are as keen as hawks. Sure, they might not get it all, but they pick up quite a bit, even from very young ages.

Moreover, it is the parents duty to review the services with the children. In prior days families would discuss the points of the message they just heard over lunch. This way parents could keep a watchful eye on the development of the child's spirituality as well as assist them in their learning (And if the kids know that they will be quizzed, then they'll be more likely to stay a bit lively too!).

Obviously I'm not down with the "they don't get it" excuse. I honestly believe that, as long as the Bible is being preached in the right way, a child will be able to understand. That's because God gave the Bible to children too, to make them wise.

Moreover we can think of Jesus' preaching. His messages were simple, vivid, instructive (shall we say doctrinal?), and powerful. I don't see him organizing the disciples into a nursery duty rotation. I see him speaking to fathers and mothers, sons and daughters.

Certainly the church in Ephesus serves as an example for having children in church. In the book of Ephesians the Apostle Paul spoke directly to the children. We can safely assume that they were right there by mama and papa. They might have even received a "did-you-hear-that?" elbow in the ribs.

With our children in the pews we can have faith that God will speak to them (much more than He would through a crayola crayon and a ditto sheet with a Bible picture on it), for faith cometh by hearing.

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

2 Tim. 3:14-15

Front Yard Missions

Spring time is here!

You might have noticed that the blogs are not as frequent as they have been. That's because the warmer weather is drawing my family and I outside more. As a result, when evening time rolls around, I am pretty bushed.

But while I have been out there lolly-gagging about with the family I've been thinking about outreach to our neighborhood, especially the kids who always seem to swarm to our house.

The Bible commands us to be hospitable, and I have come to find that hospitality is more than having someone over for dinner or giving a person lodgings for the night. The Greek word for hospitality in Romans 12:13 has the broader idea of loving strangers. It could even be translated, "entertain strangers."

Hospitality then, if I might pose a definition, has to do with the pouring out of affection upon your neighbor and giving yourself (and your resources) to them so that they may be comforted and gladdened.

Perhaps now you can see how broadly this can be applied, especially when it comes to the neighborhood kids. A game of kickball, hide-&-seek, or coloring with sidewalk chalk may be the highlight of some kid's week.

When we think of evangelism we tend to think of a one on one conversation with someone over the legal drinking age and lands somewhere in the upper middle class. But we must remember that these little ones are our mission field too, not just adults. They need to be the objects of our hospitable attention too.

This is the essence of James' words when he says, "true and undefiled religion is this, to visit widows and orphans in their affliction." Biblically speaking, an orphan is not necessarily one who doesn't have any parents. He is often one who only has one parent, or even has both parents in the home, but not in his/her life.

Francis Schaeffer once started a whole youth program with kids just by going around the town and rounding them up off the street. He would march up to them and say, "Hey, do you want to have a hot dog roast?" After grilling up some Franks he would tell them a Bible story and then they would play some games.

Some people can go all out, organizing backyard Bible clubs like Schaeffer. But most may just simply play the role of the parent-they-never-had for a few hours.

Just a warning though: if you show a kid some attention, you may never get them off your front porch. But that's a risk you take with love.

Youth Ministry in Perspective

"Youth ministry is to parenting as vitamins are to meals."

I forget the source on this one, but boy is it a beauty. The speaker's point I think is obvious: We cannot as parents simply shove our kids in a youth program and think that they will become spiritual by it. Parents are the one's the Lord have appointed to be the primary spiritual developers.

Youth ministry is great, but never to supplant our high and holy calling as parents..