Prayers on a rainy Monday

The congregation that I am called to serve is a powerhouse for missions in the name of Jesus. Our members use their time and talents to farm local fields and use the proceeds to feel people in Malawi under the auspices of Food Resource Bank. They support a missionary family working to spread gospel churches in Romania and Bulgaria. They give to local crisis pregnancy centers and even the local volunteer firemen.

But today this amazing congregation is in prayer for two of our own. Trace and Karen Bender heard the call from the Lord to go and work for the gospel several years ago in this congregation. They obeyed His Word and sold their house, out their belongings in storage and went off to the Switzerland to train with Wycliffe Bible Translators. This year they were sent to the Central African Republic to labor alongside their fellow mission workers for Wycliffe.

While training in Britain for two weeks for a training seminar, Karen started having headaches and now is in the hospital as her condition worsens. Trace is on his way from Africa to be at her side as the doctors try to figure out if she will need to come home for further tests.

Today's post is in gratitude to a gracious God who called the Benders to His work and who now watches over them even in this time of worry and uncertainty. May the Lord work His will in their lives, watch over Trace's travel and guide Karen to the treatment she needs.

May God receive the glory.

Tuesday Preaching Clinic: Communicating the Gospel through preaching

Communicating the Gospel Through Preaching by Bryan Chapell from Vintage21 Church on Vimeo.

Satanic Tobacco defeated!

I know it comes as no surprise to long time readers here that I think the National Council of (Communist) Churches is a lame organization that actually hinders gospel work in this nation, but this recent story so well illustrates my point that I just had to call it to our attention. For it seems that the NCC (and my denomination within it) have decided that Congress is doing God's work by regulating the American tobacco industry:

Faith leaders have applauded Congress for its action approving landmark legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products.

“Better late than never, the Congress has responded decisively to pleas from medical and scientific experts and hundreds of religious leaders across the country to give the American consumer regulatory protection from the relentless marketing of this deadly health threat,” said Wesley “Pat” Pattillo, the National Council of Churches' Senior Program Director for Justice, Advocacy and Communication.

The vote followed years of advocacy by a diverse 25-member coalition of religious groups – Faith United Against Tobacco – that included the National Council of Churches, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), American Baptist Churches, Church of the Brethren, Episcopal Health Ministries, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Progressive National Baptist Convention, United Church of Christ, Seventh-day Adventists, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and Islamic Society of North America.

The bill, opposed by many groups affiliated with the tobacco industry, empowers the FDA for the first time to regulate the manufacture, promotion and sale of cigarettes, chewing tobacco and similar products.

One wonders about the amount of time these bureaucrats must have on their hands. But this is the natural progression of Social Gospel thinking: When one waters down the Christian faith into social activism and governmental advocacy for one's pet causes, this is all that remains--our churches become prisoners to politics and the fads and scapegoats of the age. I'm sure tobacco seems like a safe target for their work.

So, in honor of the time-wasting idiocy of the NC(C)C, here are two classic photos of faithful smokers:

J.R.R. Tolkien


C.S. Lewis

In honor of the NC(C)C's propensity to waste our time and continue in relentless pursuit of falsehood, let's light our pipes and cigars this week, all to the glory of God!

The Duties of Fathers--What have we forgotten?

Working through Deuteronomy 6, Ephesians 6 and First Peter's household codes for my sermon tomorrow leads me to a fascinating question for fathers whose families worship in the mainline churches: What are we to do with the seeming discrepancy between the Bible's teachings on the duty of fathers to teach their children and lead them in the ways of God and the message that we receive from our denominations, that patriarchy is dead? Where does the Biblical teaching on the importance of fatherly teaching and leadership in the home come in to play in our churches?

Talk about a can of worms discussing this in the mainline church!

I was trained very thoroughly in seminary that men and women were totally equal in stature before God. This is absolutely correct. But the problem occurred when I was also taught that men and women no longer had distinctive roles in the home. To do this, we had to ignore some important passages in the teachings of Scripture:

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’
Deuteronomy 6:19-25

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
1 Peter 3:1-7

It seems to me that the greater burden for the instruction of children lies on the fathers. I don't see how we can just ditch the range of texts that teach the prime importance that God places on fathers as the head of the household to lead the family in the worship and instruction of the ways of Jesus Christ:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5:22-32

So, what are we to do with the evidence? There are so many more texts that could be brought to bear on this. We have a consistent witness, from Old Testament to New.

And yet, so many men in the mainline churches have checked out. They have taken a back seat in their religious life in the home, the workplace and the church. Thank God for the godly women who have stepped up to do the teaching, the going to worship and the work of the church!

But without the fathers leading their family, our churches will always be weaker and less effective in our God-given purpose of being salt and light in a fallen world. Our families have accommodated and assimilated all too often. And in our denominations, we have aided and abetted the process.

We took out the Biblical image of God as Father. We neutered the hymns, the language of prayer and we created an environment where husbands and fathers were not encouraged to take up the joyful duties that God has graciously given them.

And we wonder why we fail.

So, men of God, let us rise up and build in our families and our congregations a climate where men are called to be the gracious and bold leaders that God designed them to be. Let us call husbands and fathers to be even more eager to lead their families to church and home prayer as they are to get home to watch the game or see their favorite sitcom.

Men of the church: let us give our lives for our families and the church as Christ loved us, by giving up our lives in the pursuit of faithfulness in our lives as disciples of Jesus.

Big News: The Layman Regional Conference, July 11th will be right here!

I'm issuing this invitation and proudly announcing that the church I pastor and Summit Presbyterian Church will be co-hosts for this conference:

The Presbyterian Lay Committee plans to reconnect with old friends and make new ones in July at its next Regional Conference.

Co-hosted by Jefferson Center and Summit Presbyterian churches, the event is set for 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. July 11 at Summit's Christian Community Outreach Campus, 650 Saxonburg Rd., Butler, Pa. Guests will hear presentations on equipping the laity for God’s work and the “re-Reformation” of the Church. The speakers will be Presbyterian Lay Committee President Carmen Fowler and Parker Williamson, editor emeritus of The Layman.

The cost for the conference is $25 per person, which includes lunch and materials.

The event will be a homecoming of sorts. The campuses of Grove City College and Waynesburg College in western Pennsylvania were hosts to the Presbyterian Lay Committee’s annual Faith and Life Conferences. The nonprofit ministry has replaced the Faith and Life Conference format with the more frequent regional meetings to reach more people over a wider geographic area.

“We look forward to reconnecting with those who are familiar with our Faith and Life Conference, and introducing them to the new regional events,” Fowler said. “We’ve always had such strong support in western Pennsylvania and are excited about the possibilities for strengthening those relationships in the years to come.”

Other events for the weekend include:

• Dinner and conversation with Fowler and Williamson at 6:30 p.m. July 10 at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh. The cost is $30 per person.
• Fowler will preach at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. July 12 at Memorial Park Presbyterian Church in Allison Park, Pa.
• Williamson will preach at Summit Presbyterian Church, 181 Caldwell Dr., Butler, Pa., at 9:30 a.m. July 12.
• Lunch and conversation with Fowler and Williamson at 12:30 p.m., July 12 at The Conley Resort, 740 Pittsburgh Road, Butler, Pa. The cost is $15 per person.

The Presbyterian Lay Committee hosted its inaugural Regional Conference on March 28 in Bonita Springs, Fla., and attracted participants from across the state. More conferences will be scheduled later this year.

For more information or to register, call Deb Corley at the Presbyterian Lay Committee at 1-800-368-0110 or e-mail dcorley@layman.org. Information on future Regional Conferences will be shared in The Layman and on The Layman Online at www.layman.org.

From the eminent Dr. Warfield: Being a "catechism man."

We have the following bit of experience from a general officer of the United States Army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien [bearing], whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: "What is the chief end of man?" On receiving the countersign, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever"--"Ah!" said he, "I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!" "Why that is just what I was thinking of you," was the rejoinder.

It is worthwhile to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow up to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God."

B. B. Warfield, "Is the Shorter Catechism Worth While?" in Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield, Vol. 1, ed., John E. Meeter (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1980), pp. 383-84.

Tolerant Intolerance :: Grace to You

John MacArthur at his finest:

Tolerant Intolerance :: Grace to You

Shared via AddThis

Dr. Jensen keeps at it: "The Inquisition"

This is an interesting article by Dr. Jensen, adapted from his new book. He gets many of the facts of the case wrong and his evaluation leaves much to be desired, but give it a look:

The Inquisition

Posted using ShareThis

Exploring covenant fellowships, part three: Buy Local

One of the mini revolutions in our age is a return to local identity in one of the most basic areas of human life--how we eat. Local farmers markets, local producers of meat, eggs and even processed foods are getting heavy commerce in local communities. In reaction/opposition to 'corporate food', food that is factory processed, made by the ton for people all across the globe and designed to last forever, thinking consumers are starting to return to a transformative consumer strategy: buy local.

As one who desires and aspires to be classical in all of his habits, this movement has not escaped my notice. I find myself wanting to know the chicken that laid the eggs I ate, to at least have the possibility of meeting a cow that some day becomes my burger or steak. It's wanting to drive past the wheat that becomes my bread and visit the mill that grinds the grain to flour for that same loaf. This is the classical model of eating, terroir. It's not just a term for wine snobs, it's a way of living with what we eat and eating what we know.

The classical aspect of all of this is that we strive to not eat asparagus in February or water melon in October. We delight in that which is produced in honorable labor, in practices that are timeless and fair to not only the producer but the consumer of the product. And the beauty of this timeless way of consuming and eating is that it uses the best of capitalism (using our money) for the best outcome for everyone. We also prefer local over imported, small producers over large.

But more than that, it is a way to use our resources to support a local identity, a local ethos, a local economy. Pennsylvania should not look like (or taste like) Texas, California should not feel like New York, nor Oregon like West Virginia. You get the idea.

And people know this instinctually. That's why the marketing industry has to convince us against our better judgment that buying factory produced canned goods is better than teaming up with our friends on one Saturday each month to can our own vegetables.

So, what does this have to do with covenant fellowships and the future of our common life and ministry together after the demise of mainline polity? Well, everything.

Our life together has to be more local. We have to have smaller circles of covenant fellowship, so that we actually know one another and can make decisions based on what is best for our ministry context. Applying Reformed theology is no cookie cutter business! I don't expect a Reformed church in Malawi to look like my church in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Nor should you.

Also, this means that our national denominations, so tied to the fortunes of the industrial nation-states might also be worth losing. There must be another way to organize a national witness of Reformed churches and presbyteries than falling into the old trap of overreaching our organizations and losing our local flexibility.

What I'm not thinking about is a new form of tribalism or the Balkanization of the church. This is not a call to merely local fellowships, but rather to a way of constructing a local ethos within a larger witness.

When it comes to our faith and our covenanting to live out that faith, buy local. Work with people you know. Plant churches with those you trust and don't expect that a church in Grand Rapids will make all of the same decisions that a church in Pheonix would.

We can still act nationally and covenant in larger groups than only local, but that which binds us will be our common witness to the gospel as understood by the Reformed faith. The local fellowships would have an identity that can sustain itself should any larger organization fail.

And we don't have to wait for the full composting of the mainlines! We can start this today. Buy local and let the revolution begin.

Exploring covenant fellowships, part two: Cutting a covenant

For those of us who are seminary-trained Hebrew nuts, we'll fondly remember that a literal rendering of the Old Testament phrase: to make a covenant is best rendered from the text as, to cut a covenant. This hearkens back to when people who entered into a covenant literally cut an animal in half and they walked between the halves.

This earthy, bloody and costly image of what goes on when two parties commit themselves to one another by oath and commitment in a covenant is what we need to remember when we ponder the cost and consequences of what we do in a covenant relationship with other believers.

With any tie that is binding there is a cost. As the Covenant of Works involved the literal cutting of animals in its administration, so the Covenant of Grace was initiated with a cutting of the Son of God for His people.

Clearly, covenants are not to be entered into lightly!

So, as we look to cutting ties to fading mainline dispensations of church governance, we must also look to the costly consequences of what we seek for our next phase of life together. Paul was pretty clear on the results of a poor covenant: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

What we seek to raise up in the wake of the composting of the old mainlines that we are coming out of had better be...well...better than what we are coming from! The problem of the old denominations was their quick dismissals of essential Biblical doctrines and Biblical discipline in the body. I would argue that this led to unequal yoking and we all paid the consequences.

Unequal yoking is not the way to witness to unbelievers!

Therefore, we must look to cutting a covenant between congregations into new configurations that are both costly, clearly-defined and founded upon sure and certain foundations of non-negotiables that all parties entering into the covenant will understand from the very beginning.

The other failure of the mainline experiment was our readiness to change the terms of the covenant, while binding its members into perpetual servitude to the institutions that we devolved into. Any future covenants must not make this mistake again.

It also occurs to me that the Biblical notion of cutting covenants keeps us from both hasty agreements and individualistic congregationalism. In other words, our future organized life together will not be just ties of emotion, hymnody, liturgy or past history together. All of these things fail us eventually. Our ties must be costly ties of mutually-held convictions of who God is and what He is saying in the Scriptures.

Solomon once rhetorically asked, "Can two walk together unless they be agreed?" The answer was and still is, no.