Blog https://www.newcovpres.com Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:43:30 -0400 http://churchplantmedia.com/ Picking Up Sticks in the Service of Jesus https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/picking-up-sticks-in-the-service-of-jesus https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/picking-up-sticks-in-the-service-of-jesus#comments Thu, 22 Feb 2018 19:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/picking-up-sticks-in-the-service-of-jesus One of the perennial problems of the fallen human condition is that men and women love to serve when there is respect, reputation and remuneration involved, and not serve when it involves what they perceive to be a menial task done out of the sight of the prying and praising eyes of others. This is no less true of members and leaders in the church as it is among the people of the world. It was for this reason that Jesus told the parable of the dinner guests:

"When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:8-11). 

Our Lord Jesus modeled what it meant to be a servant-leader when he stooped to wash the disciples feet. This was, of course, a foreshadowing of what he would do at the cross. The washing of the filthy feet of His disciples was a symbol of the washing of the filthy souls of His people. Jonathan Edwards explained this so well when he wrote:

"Christ’s washing his disciples’ feet; which action, as it was exceeding wonderful in itself, so it manifestly was symbolical, and represented something else far more important and more wonderful, even that greatest and most wonderful of all things that ever came to pass, which was accomplished the next day in his last sufferings. There were...symbolical representations given of that great event this evening; one in the passover, which Christ now partook of with his disciples; another in this remarkable action of his washing his disciples’ feet. Washing the feet of guests was the office of servants, and one of their meanest offices. And therefore was fitly chosen by our Savior to represent that great abasement which he was to be the subject of in the form of a servant, in becoming obedient unto death, even that ignominious and accursed death of the cross, that he might cleanse the souls of his disciples from their guilt and spiritual pollution."1

However, the foot-washing in the Upper Room was also the example that Jesus left for His people to follow for millennia. The Apostle Paul certainly followed the example of his Master when he modeled this sort of Christian service throughout his ministry. In what is one of the most fascinating (and frequently overlooked) details in the book of Acts, Luke tells us that, while a prisoner on Malta, Paul picked up sticks to start a fire to keep his captors warm (Acts 28:3).

William Still, the profoundly influential Scottish pastor of the 20th Century, has a chapter on this passage of Scripture in his book The World of Grace titled, "Evangelism Through Service - Paul Gathering Sticks." In this book, Still drew out the significance of the service of the Apostle when he wrote:

"This is the test. If you profess, prove that you possess Christ by being like Him who wasn't averse to washing dirty feet, other people's dirty feet; and, like Paul who gathered sticks--and I'm sure did even more menial tasks than that."2  When we consider this, we are faced with the following question: "Are we willing to pick up sticks to the benefit of others (even our enemies) in the service of Jesus?"

This question must be answered by both the members of the church. It must be answered among the membership of the church with regard to the service that it requisite for the church to function as the church. This takes the form of doing the seemingly less admirable acts of service that tend to get overlooked--hanging the church banner, working in the nursery, making coffee, setting up chairs, preparing the Lord's Supper, setting the book table, etc.

This question must also be answered by the leadership of the church. Pastors, elders and deacons must always ask whether the service that they render is the service that disadvantages them to the advantage of the people for which God has called them to care. This will take many shapes and forms. In his 1999 article, "Draped in a Servants Towel Rather Than a Master's Robe," Joe Novenson made the following important observation about the lack of emphasis placed on servanthood in the Christian ministry:

"I own quite a few three ring binders from leadership conferences. I cannot recall, though, a single servanthood conference ever being offered as an option. I can understand, for within my own heart, I seem to not mind being above people in a pulpit or next to them in a pew, but I don't like being beneath them as a servant. Perhaps we've collapsed beneath cultural pressure."3

When it comes to leadership in a local church, this does not mean that the pastors and elders will cater to every whim and desire of the members. It will, however, mean learning to differentiate between servant-leadership and entitlement-compromise. More often than not, it will look like the metaphorical stooping to wash dirty feet and the metaphorical picking up sticks to start a fire in order to keep those who have not benefited you warm. It will mean doing things that most would think were beneath them.

The Christian life and ministry is one in which we take the lowest place in order to maximally benefit others. This is what Jesus did when He hung on the cross. This is what Paul did in all of his missionary endeavors--and in the menial labor of picking up sticks to start a fire. In following the example of Christ and the Apostle, we will find that God uses our humble servant-like labors as a platform for the Gospel.

1. Jonathan Edwards, an excerpt from the sermon, "Christ, the Example of Ministers."

2. William Still, The World of Grace (Aberdeen: Gilcomston South Church) p. 48

3. Joe Novenson, an excerpt from "Draped in a Servant's Towel Rather Than a Master's Robe" in Reformed Quarterly Volume 16, Issue 1 (Spring 1997).

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One of the perennial problems of the fallen human condition is that men and women love to serve when there is respect, reputation and remuneration involved, and not serve when it involves what they perceive to be a menial task done out of the sight of the prying and praising eyes of others. This is no less true of members and leaders in the church as it is among the people of the world. It was for this reason that Jesus told the parable of the dinner guests:

"When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:8-11). 

Our Lord Jesus modeled what it meant to be a servant-leader when he stooped to wash the disciples feet. This was, of course, a foreshadowing of what he would do at the cross. The washing of the filthy feet of His disciples was a symbol of the washing of the filthy souls of His people. Jonathan Edwards explained this so well when he wrote:

"Christ’s washing his disciples’ feet; which action, as it was exceeding wonderful in itself, so it manifestly was symbolical, and represented something else far more important and more wonderful, even that greatest and most wonderful of all things that ever came to pass, which was accomplished the next day in his last sufferings. There were...symbolical representations given of that great event this evening; one in the passover, which Christ now partook of with his disciples; another in this remarkable action of his washing his disciples’ feet. Washing the feet of guests was the office of servants, and one of their meanest offices. And therefore was fitly chosen by our Savior to represent that great abasement which he was to be the subject of in the form of a servant, in becoming obedient unto death, even that ignominious and accursed death of the cross, that he might cleanse the souls of his disciples from their guilt and spiritual pollution."1

However, the foot-washing in the Upper Room was also the example that Jesus left for His people to follow for millennia. The Apostle Paul certainly followed the example of his Master when he modeled this sort of Christian service throughout his ministry. In what is one of the most fascinating (and frequently overlooked) details in the book of Acts, Luke tells us that, while a prisoner on Malta, Paul picked up sticks to start a fire to keep his captors warm (Acts 28:3).

William Still, the profoundly influential Scottish pastor of the 20th Century, has a chapter on this passage of Scripture in his book The World of Grace titled, "Evangelism Through Service - Paul Gathering Sticks." In this book, Still drew out the significance of the service of the Apostle when he wrote:

"This is the test. If you profess, prove that you possess Christ by being like Him who wasn't averse to washing dirty feet, other people's dirty feet; and, like Paul who gathered sticks--and I'm sure did even more menial tasks than that."2  When we consider this, we are faced with the following question: "Are we willing to pick up sticks to the benefit of others (even our enemies) in the service of Jesus?"

This question must be answered by both the members of the church. It must be answered among the membership of the church with regard to the service that it requisite for the church to function as the church. This takes the form of doing the seemingly less admirable acts of service that tend to get overlooked--hanging the church banner, working in the nursery, making coffee, setting up chairs, preparing the Lord's Supper, setting the book table, etc.

This question must also be answered by the leadership of the church. Pastors, elders and deacons must always ask whether the service that they render is the service that disadvantages them to the advantage of the people for which God has called them to care. This will take many shapes and forms. In his 1999 article, "Draped in a Servants Towel Rather Than a Master's Robe," Joe Novenson made the following important observation about the lack of emphasis placed on servanthood in the Christian ministry:

"I own quite a few three ring binders from leadership conferences. I cannot recall, though, a single servanthood conference ever being offered as an option. I can understand, for within my own heart, I seem to not mind being above people in a pulpit or next to them in a pew, but I don't like being beneath them as a servant. Perhaps we've collapsed beneath cultural pressure."3

When it comes to leadership in a local church, this does not mean that the pastors and elders will cater to every whim and desire of the members. It will, however, mean learning to differentiate between servant-leadership and entitlement-compromise. More often than not, it will look like the metaphorical stooping to wash dirty feet and the metaphorical picking up sticks to start a fire in order to keep those who have not benefited you warm. It will mean doing things that most would think were beneath them.

The Christian life and ministry is one in which we take the lowest place in order to maximally benefit others. This is what Jesus did when He hung on the cross. This is what Paul did in all of his missionary endeavors--and in the menial labor of picking up sticks to start a fire. In following the example of Christ and the Apostle, we will find that God uses our humble servant-like labors as a platform for the Gospel.

1. Jonathan Edwards, an excerpt from the sermon, "Christ, the Example of Ministers."

2. William Still, The World of Grace (Aberdeen: Gilcomston South Church) p. 48

3. Joe Novenson, an excerpt from "Draped in a Servant's Towel Rather Than a Master's Robe" in Reformed Quarterly Volume 16, Issue 1 (Spring 1997).

]]>
Becoming a Welcoming Church https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/7-ways-to-become-a-welcoming-church https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/7-ways-to-become-a-welcoming-church#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2017 08:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/7-ways-to-become-a-welcoming-church In his important book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller recounted an experience he had at a church in which he had been invited to speak. As he and his wife walked around and met people in the church, they continually heard the members saying things like, "We're one of the friendliest churches in the community," and "we are a very friendly church." Sensing that something was not right (since he had been told that the attendance of this church had shrunk considerably over the past several years), Miller began asking individuals and officers in the church what was really going on. What he discovered was that the congregants were friendly--to one another in a cliquish way--but that the congregation had started relying on the pastor to do all of the welcoming of visitors. No one was inviting visitors into their homes for meals or seeking to help integrate them into the life of the church. By God's grace, both pastor and congregation repented of having lost sight of the Great Commission and the role of the local church in the world. Sadly, this story is all too familiar with many churches in North America in our day. In fact, many churches that grow do so through leveraging an appearance of health through staffing, structures and programs. So what can be done to foster a spiritual friendliness and a welcoming culture in our churches? Here are 6 things that we should labor to implement into our churches:

1. Regularly pray for a set number of new families and individuals. During the first five years of church planting we repeatedly prayed for 10 new families every year. When the Lord answered this prayer, we would start praying for 10 more. As we have grown, this practice has declined. This should be an ongoing practice. It should be done from the pulpit, in small groups and bible studies. This will help to stir the congregation up to be thinking about being intentional about reaching out and welcoming visitors. Additionally, it will be a great encouragement to a congregation to see how the Lord answers prayers in bringing these families and individuals to the church. This shows commitment to the Great Commission, to our sincere desire to see God's Kingdom come and it shows dependence on the Lord for growth. In addition to doing this at all gathered meetings, congregants should be encouraged to do the same thing in their homes during times of family worship and prayer.

2. Intentionally sit by someone that you don't know. This is probably the least utilized and yet most strategic step that can be taken to become a welcoming church. It is easy to sit by someone you don’t know when you attend a church of 40 to 50 people. This dynamic changes quickly at the 100 + person mark. Also, we are creatures of habit and naturally do not like change. We habitually like to eat the same kinds of food that we enjoy and we like to sit in the same seat in classrooms and in the worship service. If congregants would intentionally look for someone that they do not know well, and sit by them in order to talk with them after the service, the church would automatically take the right steps toward becoming a welcoming church. As Colin Marshall has helpfully suggested, when you meet a visiting family before the service "sit with them and help them feel comfortable in this strange place by introducing ourselves and explaining what is going on." Assist them if they look unfamiliar with the order of service and what song/hymn book to use. Marshall further unpacks this when he says, "Keep attending to newcomers’ needs. If they can’t find their way around the Bible or the service outline, or they don’t have a Bible…help them yourself. It is your meeting, not the minister’s. It’s all about being observant and outward-looking."1

3. Go out of your way to talk with someone you have not yet met. This can seem awkward--especially for introverts--if you are not in the practice of doing it, but it gets easier and more comfortable with practice. There are times when people in a church have not met someone who has been coming for many months. Obviously you would not want to go up to them and say, "Is this your first time here?" Rather, introduce yourself and say something like, "Hi, I don't think I've met you all yet. My name is _____." After they introduce themselves to you, ask them how long they've been coming to the church. Then ask them about themselves--how long have they lived in the area, where they work, where they are from originally, etc. I have been told that these sorts of questions are things only Americans ask, but they help break the awkwardness of meeting someone new and they open the door for you to get to know others. Also, remember to be transparent about your own life if they ask questions in return.

4. When you meet a visitor, introduce them to others in the congregation who may have common interests. This takes some thoughtful effort, but it is immensely important. Having done the work of breaking the ice, intentionally think about connecting visitors to others in the congregation. If you find out that a visiting family or individual is from a certain city--far from where the church is--and you know that others are from the same city, bring them together so that they have a feeling of commonality with someone. This can also be done with occupations. If you meet someone who works at a certain company and you know that someone else in the congregation works there, ask them if they have met that person. If they haven't, this is a perfect opportunity to connect them with someone in the congregation that they may see semi-regularly outside of worship. If the visitor you meet works in health care introduce them to others in the congregation who are nurses, doctors, etc. If they are musicians, introduce them to other musicians. If they homeschool, introduce them to other mothers who are involved in the homeschooling community. If they have children who attend a public school, try to introduce them to families in the congregation who have children who attend the same school. Seek to introduce visitors to others in the congregation who may be at a similar stage of life (i.e. singles, young families with children of similar age, retirees, etc.).

5. Allow the Visitor Greeting Team to do its work. It is all too common for members to get caught up in conversation with the men and women who serve on the visitor greeting team. This is natural since they are the first people that you see when you walk in the church building. But they are there to identify and assist visitors and to get their contact information. The visitor greeting team needs to be alert to new families that are coming for the first or second time. They should be free to focus on these families and individuals. They need to be free to take a family to places in the church like the nursery or children's Sunday school classes. If the members of the church are standing by them and talking to them they may be inadvertently keeping them from being most effective in welcoming visitors.

6. Be prepared to invite a visiting family or individual to your home for lunch. While it is impractical to have visitors over for lunch every Sunday, get in the practice of having a meal ready for guests on a somewhat regular basis. Then, seek out visitors after the service. You will find that almost anyone visiting will jump at the invitation to come to your home for lunch. If no one is visiting on that particular Sunday, and you have a meal prepared for you and another family, invite a family in the church over. This fosters a spirit of outward focused hospitality and congregational fellowship. This is a win-win.

7. Make Use of Social Media. It takes two seconds to ask someone if they are on Facebook. Finding a visitor on Facebook and adding them is a expedient way to make them feel cared about and to help integrate them into the life of the church.

1. Excerpt from Colin Marshal's post at the Briefing, "Factorum #1: The Ministry of the Pew."

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In his important book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller recounted an experience he had at a church in which he had been invited to speak. As he and his wife walked around and met people in the church, they continually heard the members saying things like, "We're one of the friendliest churches in the community," and "we are a very friendly church." Sensing that something was not right (since he had been told that the attendance of this church had shrunk considerably over the past several years), Miller began asking individuals and officers in the church what was really going on. What he discovered was that the congregants were friendly--to one another in a cliquish way--but that the congregation had started relying on the pastor to do all of the welcoming of visitors. No one was inviting visitors into their homes for meals or seeking to help integrate them into the life of the church. By God's grace, both pastor and congregation repented of having lost sight of the Great Commission and the role of the local church in the world. Sadly, this story is all too familiar with many churches in North America in our day. In fact, many churches that grow do so through leveraging an appearance of health through staffing, structures and programs. So what can be done to foster a spiritual friendliness and a welcoming culture in our churches? Here are 6 things that we should labor to implement into our churches:

1. Regularly pray for a set number of new families and individuals. During the first five years of church planting we repeatedly prayed for 10 new families every year. When the Lord answered this prayer, we would start praying for 10 more. As we have grown, this practice has declined. This should be an ongoing practice. It should be done from the pulpit, in small groups and bible studies. This will help to stir the congregation up to be thinking about being intentional about reaching out and welcoming visitors. Additionally, it will be a great encouragement to a congregation to see how the Lord answers prayers in bringing these families and individuals to the church. This shows commitment to the Great Commission, to our sincere desire to see God's Kingdom come and it shows dependence on the Lord for growth. In addition to doing this at all gathered meetings, congregants should be encouraged to do the same thing in their homes during times of family worship and prayer.

2. Intentionally sit by someone that you don't know. This is probably the least utilized and yet most strategic step that can be taken to become a welcoming church. It is easy to sit by someone you don’t know when you attend a church of 40 to 50 people. This dynamic changes quickly at the 100 + person mark. Also, we are creatures of habit and naturally do not like change. We habitually like to eat the same kinds of food that we enjoy and we like to sit in the same seat in classrooms and in the worship service. If congregants would intentionally look for someone that they do not know well, and sit by them in order to talk with them after the service, the church would automatically take the right steps toward becoming a welcoming church. As Colin Marshall has helpfully suggested, when you meet a visiting family before the service "sit with them and help them feel comfortable in this strange place by introducing ourselves and explaining what is going on." Assist them if they look unfamiliar with the order of service and what song/hymn book to use. Marshall further unpacks this when he says, "Keep attending to newcomers’ needs. If they can’t find their way around the Bible or the service outline, or they don’t have a Bible…help them yourself. It is your meeting, not the minister’s. It’s all about being observant and outward-looking."1

3. Go out of your way to talk with someone you have not yet met. This can seem awkward--especially for introverts--if you are not in the practice of doing it, but it gets easier and more comfortable with practice. There are times when people in a church have not met someone who has been coming for many months. Obviously you would not want to go up to them and say, "Is this your first time here?" Rather, introduce yourself and say something like, "Hi, I don't think I've met you all yet. My name is _____." After they introduce themselves to you, ask them how long they've been coming to the church. Then ask them about themselves--how long have they lived in the area, where they work, where they are from originally, etc. I have been told that these sorts of questions are things only Americans ask, but they help break the awkwardness of meeting someone new and they open the door for you to get to know others. Also, remember to be transparent about your own life if they ask questions in return.

4. When you meet a visitor, introduce them to others in the congregation who may have common interests. This takes some thoughtful effort, but it is immensely important. Having done the work of breaking the ice, intentionally think about connecting visitors to others in the congregation. If you find out that a visiting family or individual is from a certain city--far from where the church is--and you know that others are from the same city, bring them together so that they have a feeling of commonality with someone. This can also be done with occupations. If you meet someone who works at a certain company and you know that someone else in the congregation works there, ask them if they have met that person. If they haven't, this is a perfect opportunity to connect them with someone in the congregation that they may see semi-regularly outside of worship. If the visitor you meet works in health care introduce them to others in the congregation who are nurses, doctors, etc. If they are musicians, introduce them to other musicians. If they homeschool, introduce them to other mothers who are involved in the homeschooling community. If they have children who attend a public school, try to introduce them to families in the congregation who have children who attend the same school. Seek to introduce visitors to others in the congregation who may be at a similar stage of life (i.e. singles, young families with children of similar age, retirees, etc.).

5. Allow the Visitor Greeting Team to do its work. It is all too common for members to get caught up in conversation with the men and women who serve on the visitor greeting team. This is natural since they are the first people that you see when you walk in the church building. But they are there to identify and assist visitors and to get their contact information. The visitor greeting team needs to be alert to new families that are coming for the first or second time. They should be free to focus on these families and individuals. They need to be free to take a family to places in the church like the nursery or children's Sunday school classes. If the members of the church are standing by them and talking to them they may be inadvertently keeping them from being most effective in welcoming visitors.

6. Be prepared to invite a visiting family or individual to your home for lunch. While it is impractical to have visitors over for lunch every Sunday, get in the practice of having a meal ready for guests on a somewhat regular basis. Then, seek out visitors after the service. You will find that almost anyone visiting will jump at the invitation to come to your home for lunch. If no one is visiting on that particular Sunday, and you have a meal prepared for you and another family, invite a family in the church over. This fosters a spirit of outward focused hospitality and congregational fellowship. This is a win-win.

7. Make Use of Social Media. It takes two seconds to ask someone if they are on Facebook. Finding a visitor on Facebook and adding them is a expedient way to make them feel cared about and to help integrate them into the life of the church.

1. Excerpt from Colin Marshal's post at the Briefing, "Factorum #1: The Ministry of the Pew."

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Not-So-Great Expectations https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/not-so-great-expectations https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/not-so-great-expectations#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2016 14:00:00 -0400 https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/not-so-great-expectations Whenever I carry out pre-marital counseling with a young couple, I dedicate an entire session to the subject of expectations and communication. I do so, because of the way in which this prevalent and recurring issue lays at ground zero of many hurting and broken marriages. Relationships are strained or decimated by unspoken or unrealistic expectations. This is no less true of relationships in the church than it is of those in the home. We all have expectations about how others should act–some of them are biblically justified and some are…well, not. Even when our expectations of others find biblical support, we sometimes (or probably more often than not) hold them with unrealistic rigor. Those who respond in anger or frustration, when their expectations have not been met, are often the catalyst for deep discontentment and discord in the church. It is just as possible for pastors to have unrealistic expectations of members as it is for church members to have unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations of pastors and others in the fellowship. When we hold others to expectations that are unbiblical, unrealistic or uncommunicated, we are simply acting in self-righteousness and self-centeredness. Only the message of Christ crucified and risen can cure our hearts of this evil. Here are five areas to guard against when seeking to avoid allowing unbiblical, unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations of others to cause discord in the local church:

1. Guard against expecting others to serve you. This is foundational to everything that follows. When we get upset that others have not met our unbiblical, unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations, we are showing that we merely wanted them to serve us and our perceived needs. The Gospel is the remedy for this problem. Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). When we recognize that selfishness is sin and that the Son of God came in complete unselfishness to serve us by taking away our sin, we will seek to serve others rather than expect them to serve us. When we remember how much Christ has served us, we will be quick to serve others slow to hold them to our own expectations.

2. Guard against expecting others to always agree with you. Most of us have known what it is to get upset (whether we show it outwardly or not) when others didn’t agree with us on something that was a matter of preference. Many local churches have been ripped apart by divisions caused by members in the church who thought that everyone should agree with them on what music should be played, who should serve on a particular ministry team or with regard to building related matters. These are things that do not necessarily fall into the realm of biblical doctrine and should be approached with great humility and a willingness to yield on our personal preferences. When we expect others to always agree with us, we look for others who do and then seek to stir up discord together with them. When we remember that Jesus is the King of the Church who purchased His people with His blood, we will be willing to hold loosely to our personal preferences on non-doctrinal matters.

3. Guard against expecting others to do all the work in the church. It is easy to complain about things that we do not have or do not like in the church. However, a complaining spirit often manifests itself when we see things that we wish were different and then impose an expectation that others will take care of these things for us. When we do so, we are not acting as problem solvers, we are acting as problem observers. When we remember that Jesus calls us to use the gifts that He has given us for the building up of His body, we will seek to use our gifts–or to encourage others who might have a more appropriate gift set for a particular need–to bring about change for the good of the entire body.

4. Guard against the expectation that you have to forgive others if they have only sinned against you a few times. This is so hard for us to learn. This sort of expectation is seen in Peter’s question to Jesus :“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matt. 18:21). One of my best friends recently said to me, “Most relationships can’t handle even 6 or 7 offenses. We are ready to write off others as soon as they have offended us once.” When we remember how much the Lord has forgiven us of, we will be quick to extend forgiveness to our brothers and sisters when they sin against us–even up to “seventy times seven.” This is vital for us to learn, but self-righteousness stands in the way of our learning it. The Gospel cures us of this sinful expectation too.

5. Guard against expecting others to get involved with particular causes with which you are involved. There are so many good and noble causes with which we could invest our time and energy. Whether it is involvement in an adoption agency, a right-to-life march, ministry in a nursing home or rescue mission or a cause that focuses on ending a particular social injustice, there is always the danger of imposing an unrealistic expectation that others should be involved in that with which you are involved. There is a world of need all around us, making it impossible for each and every individual Christian to be involved with every important cause. Rather than categorizing causes according to your own personal assessment or interest, it would be better to lovingly and humbly bring a cause with which you are involved to the attention of other believers in order to see who Christ might raise up to partner with you in it. We should ever be cautious of feeling as though we must be involved in something just because others in the church of which we are a part are involved.

Believers are called to be involved in the work of the Great Commission–sharing the good news about Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection to a lost and perishing world so that men and women might be saved, to care for the needs of the members of the church of which they are a part and to then serve the community in which they live and work. We must not impose an expectation that it is the responsibility of every believer in a local church to be involved in every cause that may bring about good for a community. While there are many causes that we might choose to give our time, resources and energy to in the culture around us, those criticizing other believers for not supporting certain political and social agendas are de facto criticizing the Apostolic ministry. Such an approach is often driven by overzealous adherents who seek to hold everyone around them to an unrealistic expectation. The Gospel sets the priority for the church gathered, as well as for the church scattered, and it would do us well to learn from the Apostolic example what that priority is for the church in the world.

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Whenever I carry out pre-marital counseling with a young couple, I dedicate an entire session to the subject of expectations and communication. I do so, because of the way in which this prevalent and recurring issue lays at ground zero of many hurting and broken marriages. Relationships are strained or decimated by unspoken or unrealistic expectations. This is no less true of relationships in the church than it is of those in the home. We all have expectations about how others should act–some of them are biblically justified and some are…well, not. Even when our expectations of others find biblical support, we sometimes (or probably more often than not) hold them with unrealistic rigor. Those who respond in anger or frustration, when their expectations have not been met, are often the catalyst for deep discontentment and discord in the church. It is just as possible for pastors to have unrealistic expectations of members as it is for church members to have unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations of pastors and others in the fellowship. When we hold others to expectations that are unbiblical, unrealistic or uncommunicated, we are simply acting in self-righteousness and self-centeredness. Only the message of Christ crucified and risen can cure our hearts of this evil. Here are five areas to guard against when seeking to avoid allowing unbiblical, unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations of others to cause discord in the local church:

1. Guard against expecting others to serve you. This is foundational to everything that follows. When we get upset that others have not met our unbiblical, unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations, we are showing that we merely wanted them to serve us and our perceived needs. The Gospel is the remedy for this problem. Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). When we recognize that selfishness is sin and that the Son of God came in complete unselfishness to serve us by taking away our sin, we will seek to serve others rather than expect them to serve us. When we remember how much Christ has served us, we will be quick to serve others slow to hold them to our own expectations.

2. Guard against expecting others to always agree with you. Most of us have known what it is to get upset (whether we show it outwardly or not) when others didn’t agree with us on something that was a matter of preference. Many local churches have been ripped apart by divisions caused by members in the church who thought that everyone should agree with them on what music should be played, who should serve on a particular ministry team or with regard to building related matters. These are things that do not necessarily fall into the realm of biblical doctrine and should be approached with great humility and a willingness to yield on our personal preferences. When we expect others to always agree with us, we look for others who do and then seek to stir up discord together with them. When we remember that Jesus is the King of the Church who purchased His people with His blood, we will be willing to hold loosely to our personal preferences on non-doctrinal matters.

3. Guard against expecting others to do all the work in the church. It is easy to complain about things that we do not have or do not like in the church. However, a complaining spirit often manifests itself when we see things that we wish were different and then impose an expectation that others will take care of these things for us. When we do so, we are not acting as problem solvers, we are acting as problem observers. When we remember that Jesus calls us to use the gifts that He has given us for the building up of His body, we will seek to use our gifts–or to encourage others who might have a more appropriate gift set for a particular need–to bring about change for the good of the entire body.

4. Guard against the expectation that you have to forgive others if they have only sinned against you a few times. This is so hard for us to learn. This sort of expectation is seen in Peter’s question to Jesus :“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matt. 18:21). One of my best friends recently said to me, “Most relationships can’t handle even 6 or 7 offenses. We are ready to write off others as soon as they have offended us once.” When we remember how much the Lord has forgiven us of, we will be quick to extend forgiveness to our brothers and sisters when they sin against us–even up to “seventy times seven.” This is vital for us to learn, but self-righteousness stands in the way of our learning it. The Gospel cures us of this sinful expectation too.

5. Guard against expecting others to get involved with particular causes with which you are involved. There are so many good and noble causes with which we could invest our time and energy. Whether it is involvement in an adoption agency, a right-to-life march, ministry in a nursing home or rescue mission or a cause that focuses on ending a particular social injustice, there is always the danger of imposing an unrealistic expectation that others should be involved in that with which you are involved. There is a world of need all around us, making it impossible for each and every individual Christian to be involved with every important cause. Rather than categorizing causes according to your own personal assessment or interest, it would be better to lovingly and humbly bring a cause with which you are involved to the attention of other believers in order to see who Christ might raise up to partner with you in it. We should ever be cautious of feeling as though we must be involved in something just because others in the church of which we are a part are involved.

Believers are called to be involved in the work of the Great Commission–sharing the good news about Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection to a lost and perishing world so that men and women might be saved, to care for the needs of the members of the church of which they are a part and to then serve the community in which they live and work. We must not impose an expectation that it is the responsibility of every believer in a local church to be involved in every cause that may bring about good for a community. While there are many causes that we might choose to give our time, resources and energy to in the culture around us, those criticizing other believers for not supporting certain political and social agendas are de facto criticizing the Apostolic ministry. Such an approach is often driven by overzealous adherents who seek to hold everyone around them to an unrealistic expectation. The Gospel sets the priority for the church gathered, as well as for the church scattered, and it would do us well to learn from the Apostolic example what that priority is for the church in the world.

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Time to Change Your Church! https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/time-to-change-your-church- https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/time-to-change-your-church-#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2016 14:00:00 -0400 https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/time-to-change-your-church- Time-to-Change-1-750x330I recently heard about a family in our denomination who drove nearly an hour to church every Lord’s Day for a number of years. Because of where they happened to live, there was no closer likeminded local church for them to attend. This family knew that committing to that long drive meant that they would not have the fellowship that they might have had otherwise. They did, however, expect that families in the church would invite them to lunch. After months of not be invited by anyone, the wife decided that she would be an agent of change. Every Sunday, she would bring a crockpot–with an easily prepared meal–to the church building. She would plug the crockpot in before the service and then invite families from the church to eat a meal with them after the service each Sunday. This is a prime example of what it means to “be the change” you are wanting in your church.

Last year, I wrote a post titled, “The Church Comes First,” in which I sought to give several reasons why I believe that according to Scripture the local church is to be the foremost sphere of priority in the lives of believers. I want to give further consideration to one of the points in that post where I suggested the following:

The Church is dependent on the resources and service of its members. The communal aspect of the church on earth is absolutely dependent on the willingness of the people of God to give of their time, gifts, prayers and resources for the building up of the members ofthe local church. Both pastors and people alike are in need of the gifts and resources of the members of the local church. The Apostles make this abundantly clear through their illustrative references to “the body” (Rom. 12 and Eph. 4). Equally, they do so by the multitude of references to using gifts and giving generously. Building cost, utilities, outreach, worship supplies, office supplies, staffing, mercy ministry, missionary support, etc. require the generous giving of the time and money of the members of the body.

When we divide our labors and fellowship, we necessarily end up hurting the local church of which we are a part. Imagine for a moment what it would be like if a husband and father decided to give a 20% commitment to provide and care for his family and an 80% commitment to provide and care for other friends and families. You would expect a monumental breakdown in the dynamic of his family life. In such a case, there would necessarily be detrimental marital and parental consequences. Similarly, many local churches suffer because the majority of its members only give a 10-20% commitment to the local church of which they are a part and an 80-90% commitment to other organizations and activities.

The local church not only suffers when her members divide their time, labors, fellowship and resources to a significant degree among secular activities in society–she suffers when her members significantly divide their time, labors, fellowship and resources between numerous local churches, or between the local church and parachurch ministries. Church hopping–while it might seem like a harmless way to meet an individual’s social needs–only ends up hurting the body. Those who tend to divide their lives between multiple local churches or between a single local church and a parachurch ministry believe that they are meeting a need or correcting a deficiency. I fear that discontentment often lies at the root of much of this division of commitment.

Every church will have its deficiencies. Local church members must not allow discontentment to fester in their hearts and minds. Rather, we should seek to be “change agents” for the health and well-being of the body of which we are a part. I am not sure who first coined the (fairly cheesy) phrase, “Be the change you seek,” but I find it to be full of wisdom–provided someone is not seeking to bring about change in a divisive way in the life of the church. In short, all of us are either “problem observers” or “problem solvers.” If the local church lacks fellowship among a particular demographic, we should be seeking to fill the gap–using our gifts to strengthen that particular dynamic of the local church. If the music in the church is wanting, we should be willing to fully use our gifts and talents to help better that aspect of the church’s life–or to encourage those in the body to do so through a use of their gifts in that area. If we find ourselves to be some of the only young adults or couples in the church, we should be active in inviting others in that stage of life to worship and fellowship with us. If the church’s hospitality is lacking, we should be seeking to model what it looks like to be hospitable. All of this should, of course, be done in loving communication with and humble submission to the elders and deacons of the church–but you should not wait for elders and deacons to take the initiative on bringing about change where we believe that we see deficiencies.

Imagine what it would look like if every member of a local church sought to use their gifts, labors and resources to the full in the local church. Imagine how many seeming problems would be resolved if each of us committed to doing our part to be a blessing and an agent of change. Problem observing fosters discontentment, problem solving yields peaceable fruits. In short, it’s time to change your church!

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Time-to-Change-1-750x330I recently heard about a family in our denomination who drove nearly an hour to church every Lord’s Day for a number of years. Because of where they happened to live, there was no closer likeminded local church for them to attend. This family knew that committing to that long drive meant that they would not have the fellowship that they might have had otherwise. They did, however, expect that families in the church would invite them to lunch. After months of not be invited by anyone, the wife decided that she would be an agent of change. Every Sunday, she would bring a crockpot–with an easily prepared meal–to the church building. She would plug the crockpot in before the service and then invite families from the church to eat a meal with them after the service each Sunday. This is a prime example of what it means to “be the change” you are wanting in your church.

Last year, I wrote a post titled, “The Church Comes First,” in which I sought to give several reasons why I believe that according to Scripture the local church is to be the foremost sphere of priority in the lives of believers. I want to give further consideration to one of the points in that post where I suggested the following:

The Church is dependent on the resources and service of its members. The communal aspect of the church on earth is absolutely dependent on the willingness of the people of God to give of their time, gifts, prayers and resources for the building up of the members ofthe local church. Both pastors and people alike are in need of the gifts and resources of the members of the local church. The Apostles make this abundantly clear through their illustrative references to “the body” (Rom. 12 and Eph. 4). Equally, they do so by the multitude of references to using gifts and giving generously. Building cost, utilities, outreach, worship supplies, office supplies, staffing, mercy ministry, missionary support, etc. require the generous giving of the time and money of the members of the body.

When we divide our labors and fellowship, we necessarily end up hurting the local church of which we are a part. Imagine for a moment what it would be like if a husband and father decided to give a 20% commitment to provide and care for his family and an 80% commitment to provide and care for other friends and families. You would expect a monumental breakdown in the dynamic of his family life. In such a case, there would necessarily be detrimental marital and parental consequences. Similarly, many local churches suffer because the majority of its members only give a 10-20% commitment to the local church of which they are a part and an 80-90% commitment to other organizations and activities.

The local church not only suffers when her members divide their time, labors, fellowship and resources to a significant degree among secular activities in society–she suffers when her members significantly divide their time, labors, fellowship and resources between numerous local churches, or between the local church and parachurch ministries. Church hopping–while it might seem like a harmless way to meet an individual’s social needs–only ends up hurting the body. Those who tend to divide their lives between multiple local churches or between a single local church and a parachurch ministry believe that they are meeting a need or correcting a deficiency. I fear that discontentment often lies at the root of much of this division of commitment.

Every church will have its deficiencies. Local church members must not allow discontentment to fester in their hearts and minds. Rather, we should seek to be “change agents” for the health and well-being of the body of which we are a part. I am not sure who first coined the (fairly cheesy) phrase, “Be the change you seek,” but I find it to be full of wisdom–provided someone is not seeking to bring about change in a divisive way in the life of the church. In short, all of us are either “problem observers” or “problem solvers.” If the local church lacks fellowship among a particular demographic, we should be seeking to fill the gap–using our gifts to strengthen that particular dynamic of the local church. If the music in the church is wanting, we should be willing to fully use our gifts and talents to help better that aspect of the church’s life–or to encourage those in the body to do so through a use of their gifts in that area. If we find ourselves to be some of the only young adults or couples in the church, we should be active in inviting others in that stage of life to worship and fellowship with us. If the church’s hospitality is lacking, we should be seeking to model what it looks like to be hospitable. All of this should, of course, be done in loving communication with and humble submission to the elders and deacons of the church–but you should not wait for elders and deacons to take the initiative on bringing about change where we believe that we see deficiencies.

Imagine what it would look like if every member of a local church sought to use their gifts, labors and resources to the full in the local church. Imagine how many seeming problems would be resolved if each of us committed to doing our part to be a blessing and an agent of change. Problem observing fosters discontentment, problem solving yields peaceable fruits. In short, it’s time to change your church!

]]>
Dividends and Drawbacks of Small Groups https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/dividends-and-drawbacks-of-small-groups https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/dividends-and-drawbacks-of-small-groups#comments Sun, 08 Nov 2015 07:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/dividends-and-drawbacks-of-small-groups Monopoly The term "small group" (or its many variations) carries almost as much baggage as the word "missional." It means many different things to different people. Some envision small groups to be places of meals, sharing and service, while others see them as places of discipleship and spiritual growth. In his book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller explained that there are basically four small group models--the growth model, the healing model, the worker model and the missionary model. The growth model views a small group as a place that exist primarily for the spiritual growth of the members; the healing model as a place of transparency, support and care; the worker model as a place where service is encouraged and initiated; and the missionary model, as a place to fuel evangelism. Miller proceeded to point out some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these models and then argued for something of a synthesizing of the various beneficial aspects of all four. Whatever else may be said, this much we can be sure of: There will always dividends and drawbacks to small groups. Here are five dividends and five drawbacks that we should always keep in mind:

Dividends

  1. Small Groups should encourage greater commitment to the Lord's Day gatherings in the life of a church. A small group should serve as a springboard to propel the members to be committed to Sunday school and morning and evening worship. Small group facilitators should be encouraging the group wisely, lovingly and regularly to fulfill their vows to regularly attend Lord's Day services. If the small group is functioning as it should, the members should be willing to "exhort one another daily" not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. When members begin to slide away from regular worship, members of the small group should reach out and see how to best encourage restoration in a gentle and loving way.
  2. Small Groups should encourage close spiritual friendships among the members of the church. People only have so much time in a week and can only sustain so many close friendships in their lives. Small groups encourage people in the church to form close friendships with each other, to pray for one another, to serve one another in our daily needs and to build each other up on a week to week basis. A large church mid-week meeting doesn't encourage this dynamic to the same degree. Having many people in a larger setting often breeds frenetic conversations and relationships. Small groups can serve as a good corrective to this problem.
  3. Small Groups should encourage prayer in the life of the church. Legion are the number of men who I hear bemoan the fact that the weekly prayer meeting is the least frequented meeting in the life of the church. If you build prayer into every small group, you will have a majority of the people in the church praying together on a weekly basis. Small group facilitators should be trained to lead a time of prayer where the members of a small group are encouraged to pray together. I have also found that people are more comfortable praying out loud in a small group setting in a way in which they are not in a larger corporate gathering. Small groups also encourage members of a church to share prayer requests that they might be more hesitant to share in a larger setting.
  4. Small Groups should encourage indiscriminate care for others in the church. In a church of over 100 members, care for others becomes increasingly difficult. The larger the church, the easier it becomes for cliques to form with people who are similar in age, cultural preferences and socio-economical status. Small groups that are arranged by geographical locations can help put members of a church together who might not otherwise get to know and deeply care for one another.
  5. Small Groups should encourage outreach and service in the church and the community. Because there are less voices in a small group, there can often be more unification and easier mobilization for outreach and service. Miller explained that "small groups are ideal for outreach. They form natural teams for evangelism if they are properly prepared and understand how to do this work." Additionally, small groups can be good places to bring unbelievers--especially if there is a meal and Gospel-centered teaching. If you have one elder and one deacon in a small group, this can help the session and the deaconate of the church disseminate and implement ideas for outreach and service. Small groups can also help the members of the church keep each other informed as to the prayer needs and material needs of members of the church. It is far easier to keep up with the needs of the members of a church through small groups. Finally, small groups can encourage members of the church to bring their ideas for outreach and service.

Drawbacks

  1. Small Groups can become a replacement for corporate worship. This is an all too common problem in churches. People can get excited about getting together with their small group, but not about coming together to worship the Lord with all His people on the Lord's Day. We are commanded to worship together on the Lord's Day, not to meet in mid-week small groups. I cannot count the number of times people have said to me, "Our small group is really our church." This potential drawback needs to be proactively warned against by the facilitators and members of a small group see it beginning to occur.
  2. Small Groups can easily devolve into cliques. One very real danger of small groups is that they can become cliques that exist in the gathered assembly on the Lord's Day. This is especially likely to happen if the members of the small group are of a similar age demographic or stage of life. Living in close community with one another on a week-in and week-out basis can hinder people from pressing outward to fellowship with the other members of the body on Sunday and on other days of the week. We must guard against allowing this to happen. Helping the members of a small group be self-aware of this danger is imperative.
  3. Small Groups can become arenas for schism and division. One of the great drawbacks of a small group is that it can become a place that fosters complaining, gossip, slander and even divisive factions. This is a heart issue, but it is heightened in smaller settings where a problematic individual thinks that he or she will be able to sway others to join them in their discontentment. If they succeed, the damage can be irreparable. Small group facilitators and members should be warned about such a danger. The Scriptures teach us that one of the seven things that the Lord hates is "one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:19).
  4. Small Groups can be used as therapy sessions for self-focused individuals. If an individual longs to be part of a small group for "healing" purposes, this can easily become a negative thing for them and all involved. People can monopolize a small group by constantly venting their problems and complaints. There are many who take great comfort in continually talking about their problems but never pursuing real change. While small groups should be places of transparency and healing, they can also become counseling centers or a functional priesthood in an unhealthy and damaging way. The group facilitator should encourage the group not to offer advice in the group setting, and to offer to meet with an extremely needy individual to talk and prayer outside of the small group setting.
  5. Small Groups can become ingrown. If a small groups are not accomplishing the purposes for which they were established they will easily become ingrown. It they lose the "worker model" aspects and the "missionary model" aspects they will simply exist for self-serving purposes. This defeats the entire purpose of establishing small groups. The facilitators need to constantly keep the "growth," "healing," "worker" and "missionary" model aspects of the small group in sight. This takes great intentionality and effort on the part of elders, deacons and other facilitators.

     

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Monopoly The term "small group" (or its many variations) carries almost as much baggage as the word "missional." It means many different things to different people. Some envision small groups to be places of meals, sharing and service, while others see them as places of discipleship and spiritual growth. In his book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller explained that there are basically four small group models--the growth model, the healing model, the worker model and the missionary model. The growth model views a small group as a place that exist primarily for the spiritual growth of the members; the healing model as a place of transparency, support and care; the worker model as a place where service is encouraged and initiated; and the missionary model, as a place to fuel evangelism. Miller proceeded to point out some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these models and then argued for something of a synthesizing of the various beneficial aspects of all four. Whatever else may be said, this much we can be sure of: There will always dividends and drawbacks to small groups. Here are five dividends and five drawbacks that we should always keep in mind:

Dividends

  1. Small Groups should encourage greater commitment to the Lord's Day gatherings in the life of a church. A small group should serve as a springboard to propel the members to be committed to Sunday school and morning and evening worship. Small group facilitators should be encouraging the group wisely, lovingly and regularly to fulfill their vows to regularly attend Lord's Day services. If the small group is functioning as it should, the members should be willing to "exhort one another daily" not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. When members begin to slide away from regular worship, members of the small group should reach out and see how to best encourage restoration in a gentle and loving way.
  2. Small Groups should encourage close spiritual friendships among the members of the church. People only have so much time in a week and can only sustain so many close friendships in their lives. Small groups encourage people in the church to form close friendships with each other, to pray for one another, to serve one another in our daily needs and to build each other up on a week to week basis. A large church mid-week meeting doesn't encourage this dynamic to the same degree. Having many people in a larger setting often breeds frenetic conversations and relationships. Small groups can serve as a good corrective to this problem.
  3. Small Groups should encourage prayer in the life of the church. Legion are the number of men who I hear bemoan the fact that the weekly prayer meeting is the least frequented meeting in the life of the church. If you build prayer into every small group, you will have a majority of the people in the church praying together on a weekly basis. Small group facilitators should be trained to lead a time of prayer where the members of a small group are encouraged to pray together. I have also found that people are more comfortable praying out loud in a small group setting in a way in which they are not in a larger corporate gathering. Small groups also encourage members of a church to share prayer requests that they might be more hesitant to share in a larger setting.
  4. Small Groups should encourage indiscriminate care for others in the church. In a church of over 100 members, care for others becomes increasingly difficult. The larger the church, the easier it becomes for cliques to form with people who are similar in age, cultural preferences and socio-economical status. Small groups that are arranged by geographical locations can help put members of a church together who might not otherwise get to know and deeply care for one another.
  5. Small Groups should encourage outreach and service in the church and the community. Because there are less voices in a small group, there can often be more unification and easier mobilization for outreach and service. Miller explained that "small groups are ideal for outreach. They form natural teams for evangelism if they are properly prepared and understand how to do this work." Additionally, small groups can be good places to bring unbelievers--especially if there is a meal and Gospel-centered teaching. If you have one elder and one deacon in a small group, this can help the session and the deaconate of the church disseminate and implement ideas for outreach and service. Small groups can also help the members of the church keep each other informed as to the prayer needs and material needs of members of the church. It is far easier to keep up with the needs of the members of a church through small groups. Finally, small groups can encourage members of the church to bring their ideas for outreach and service.

Drawbacks

  1. Small Groups can become a replacement for corporate worship. This is an all too common problem in churches. People can get excited about getting together with their small group, but not about coming together to worship the Lord with all His people on the Lord's Day. We are commanded to worship together on the Lord's Day, not to meet in mid-week small groups. I cannot count the number of times people have said to me, "Our small group is really our church." This potential drawback needs to be proactively warned against by the facilitators and members of a small group see it beginning to occur.
  2. Small Groups can easily devolve into cliques. One very real danger of small groups is that they can become cliques that exist in the gathered assembly on the Lord's Day. This is especially likely to happen if the members of the small group are of a similar age demographic or stage of life. Living in close community with one another on a week-in and week-out basis can hinder people from pressing outward to fellowship with the other members of the body on Sunday and on other days of the week. We must guard against allowing this to happen. Helping the members of a small group be self-aware of this danger is imperative.
  3. Small Groups can become arenas for schism and division. One of the great drawbacks of a small group is that it can become a place that fosters complaining, gossip, slander and even divisive factions. This is a heart issue, but it is heightened in smaller settings where a problematic individual thinks that he or she will be able to sway others to join them in their discontentment. If they succeed, the damage can be irreparable. Small group facilitators and members should be warned about such a danger. The Scriptures teach us that one of the seven things that the Lord hates is "one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:19).
  4. Small Groups can be used as therapy sessions for self-focused individuals. If an individual longs to be part of a small group for "healing" purposes, this can easily become a negative thing for them and all involved. People can monopolize a small group by constantly venting their problems and complaints. There are many who take great comfort in continually talking about their problems but never pursuing real change. While small groups should be places of transparency and healing, they can also become counseling centers or a functional priesthood in an unhealthy and damaging way. The group facilitator should encourage the group not to offer advice in the group setting, and to offer to meet with an extremely needy individual to talk and prayer outside of the small group setting.
  5. Small Groups can become ingrown. If a small groups are not accomplishing the purposes for which they were established they will easily become ingrown. It they lose the "worker model" aspects and the "missionary model" aspects they will simply exist for self-serving purposes. This defeats the entire purpose of establishing small groups. The facilitators need to constantly keep the "growth," "healing," "worker" and "missionary" model aspects of the small group in sight. This takes great intentionality and effort on the part of elders, deacons and other facilitators.

     

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Dividends and Drawbacks of Small Groups https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/dividends-and-drawbacks-of-small-groups https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/dividends-and-drawbacks-of-small-groups#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2015 19:00:00 -0400 https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/dividends-and-drawbacks-of-small-groups The term “small group” (or its many variations) carries almost as much baggage as the word “missional.” It means many different things to different people. Some envision small groups to be places of meals, sharing and service, while others see them as places of discipleship and spiritual growth. In his book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller explained that there are basically four small group models–the growth model, the healing model, the worker model and the missionary model. The growth model views a small group as a place that exist primarily for the spiritual growth of the members; the healing model as a place of transparency, support and care; the worker model as a place where service is encouraged and initiated; and the missionary model, as a place to fuel evangelism. Miller proceeded to point out some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these models and then argued for something of a synthesizing of the various beneficial aspects of all four. Whatever else may be said, this much we can be sure of: There will always dividends and drawbacks to small groups.

During the first five years of church planting, we had one collective mid-week meeting at someone’s home. But as the church grew, the mid-week waxed and waned. One of the biggest mistakes I made was not moving to a small group structure when we were averaging 50-60 people in our worship services. Years ago, my pastoral assistant said to me, “For the church to get bigger it needs to get smaller.” Considering the fact that 75-80% of the people in a church will likely commit–to some degree or another–to a small group, we could have easily had 4-5 small groups over the first 5 years. We missed the boat, so to speak.

After brainstorming for months about the best way to reorganize and restructure our midweek meeting, we decided to implemented small groups in the following manner:

  • We intentionally grouped families and individuals together by geographical location, yet gave people the freedom to go to whatever small group they wanted.
  • We approached several people to see if they would be willing to open their homes in those regions.
  • We asked some men in the church who we considered to be potential elders to be facilitators.
  • We had a church plant meeting and told the members what we were doing. We asked them to sign up for one of the new small groups.
  • We asked a couple if they would be willing to sit behind a display table every Sunday morning (for one month prior to launching the small groups) and set the table right outside of the worship room door so that we could get maximum sign up.
  • We encouraged the facilitators to appoint one person in their group to be a contact person who would call or email each person who signed up for that group to remind them of monthly meetings and events.
  • We encouraged each group to choose between going over the sermon with questions that I write or to pick approved teaching material (such as the 22-24 minute Lionier teaching segments with study guides).
  • We gave each group the freedom to pick a day that they wanted to meet and asked that each group meet at least twice a month.
  • We gave each group the freedom to decide whether to eat a meal or dessert together–while strongly encouraging them to do one or the other.
  • We offered to provide child care for all of the small groups.

In just a matter of months, it became apparent that the Lord was blessing this new structure. We are currently trying to figure out the best way to assimilate new families and individuals into these small groups. However, we are also currently working out a plan to reproduce some of the small groups that are growing numerically by breaking them up and starting new ones. Still, as we have already noted, we must be aware of the fact that there will always be dividends and drawbacks to a small group structure in a church. Here are five dividends and five drawbacks that we should always keep in mind:

Dividends

Small Groups should encourage greater commitment to the Lord’s Day gatherings in the life of a church. A small group should serve as a springboard to propel the members to be committed to Sunday school and morning and evening worship. Small group facilitators should be encouraging the group wisely, lovingly and regularly to fulfill their vows to regularly attend Lord’s Day services. If the small group is functioning as it should, the members should be willing to “exhort one another daily” not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. When members begin to slide away from regular worship, members of the small group should reach out and see how to best encourage restoration in a gentle and loving way.
Small Groups should encourage close spiritual friendships among the members of the church. People only have so much time in a week and can only sustain so many close friendships in their lives. Small groups encourage people in the church to form close friendships with each other, to pray for one another, to serve one another in our daily needs and to build each other up on a week to week basis. A large church mid-week meeting doesn’t encourage this dynamic to the same degree. Having many people in a larger setting often breeds frenetic conversations and relationships. Small groups can serve as a good corrective to this problem.
Small Groups should encourage prayer in the life of the church. Legion are the number of men who I hear bemoan the fact that the weekly prayer meeting is the least frequented meeting in the life of the church. If you build prayer into every small group, you will have a majority of the people in the church praying together on a weekly basis. Small group facilitators should be trained to lead a time of prayer where the members of a small group are encouraged to pray together. I have also found that people are more comfortable praying out loud in a small group setting in a way in which they are not in a larger corporate gathering. Small groups also encourage members of a church to share prayer requests that they might be more hesitant to share in a larger setting.
Small Groups should encourage indiscriminate care for others in the church. In a church of over 100 members, care for others becomes increasingly difficult. The larger the church, the easier it becomes for cliques to form with people who are similar in age, cultural preferences and socio-economical status. Small groups that are arranged by geographical locations can help put members of a church together who might not otherwise get to know and deeply care for one another.
Small Groups should encourage outreach and service in the church and the community. Because there are less voices in a small group, there can often be more unification and easier mobilization for outreach and service. Miller explained that “small groups are ideal for outreach. They form natural teams for evangelism if they are properly prepared and understand how to do this work.” Additionally, small groups can be good places to bring unbelievers–especially if there is a meal and Gospel-centered teaching. If you have one elder and one deacon in a small group, this can help the session and the deaconate of the church disseminate and implement ideas for outreach and service. Small groups can also help the members of the church keep each other informed as to the prayer needs and material needs of members of the church. It is far easier to keep up with the needs of the members of a church through small groups. Finally, small groups can encourage members of the church to bring their ideas for outreach and service.
Drawbacks

Small Groups can become a replacement for corporate worship. This is an all too common problem in churches. People can get excited about getting together with their small group, but not about coming together to worship the Lord with all His people on the Lord’s Day. We are commanded to worship together on the Lord’s Day, not to meet in mid-week small groups. I cannot count the number of times people have said to me, “Our small group is really our church.” This potential drawback needs to be proactively warned against by the facilitators and members of a small group see it beginning to occur.
Small Groups can easily devolve into cliques. One very real danger of small groups is that they can become cliques that exist in the gathered assembly on the Lord’s Day. This is especially likely to happen if the members of the small group are of a similar age demographic or stage of life. Living in close community with one another on a week-in and week-out basis can hinder people from pressing outward to fellowship with the other members of the body on Sunday and on other days of the week. We must guard against allowing this to happen. Helping the members of a small group be self-aware of this danger is imperative.
Small Groups can become arenas for schism and division. One of the great drawbacks of a small group is that it can become a place that fosters complaining, gossip, slander and even divisive factions. This is a heart issue, but it is heightened in smaller settings where a problematic individual thinks that he or she will be able to sway others to join them in their discontentment. If they succeed, the damage can be irreparable. Small group facilitators and members should be warned about such a danger. The Scriptures teach us that one of the seven things that the Lord hates is “one who sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:19).
Small Groups can be used as therapy sessions for self-focused individuals. If an individual longs to be part of a small group for “healing” purposes, this can easily become a negative thing for them and all involved. People can monopolize a small group by constantly venting their problems and complaints. There are many who take great comfort in continually talking about their problems but never pursuing real change. While small groups should be places of transparency and healing, they can also become counseling centers or a functional priesthood in an unhealthy and damaging way. The group facilitator should encourage the group not to offer advice in the group setting, and to offer to meet with an extremely needy individual to talk and prayer outside of the small group setting.
Small Groups can become ingrown. If a small groups are not accomplishing the purposes for which they were established they will easily become ingrown. It they lose the “worker model” aspects and the “missionary model” aspects they will simply exist for self-serving purposes. This defeats the entire purpose of establishing small groups. The facilitators need to constantly keep the “growth,” “healing,” “worker” and “missionary” model aspects of the small group in sight. This takes great intentionality and effort on the part of elders, deacons and other facilitators.

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The term “small group” (or its many variations) carries almost as much baggage as the word “missional.” It means many different things to different people. Some envision small groups to be places of meals, sharing and service, while others see them as places of discipleship and spiritual growth. In his book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller explained that there are basically four small group models–the growth model, the healing model, the worker model and the missionary model. The growth model views a small group as a place that exist primarily for the spiritual growth of the members; the healing model as a place of transparency, support and care; the worker model as a place where service is encouraged and initiated; and the missionary model, as a place to fuel evangelism. Miller proceeded to point out some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these models and then argued for something of a synthesizing of the various beneficial aspects of all four. Whatever else may be said, this much we can be sure of: There will always dividends and drawbacks to small groups.

During the first five years of church planting, we had one collective mid-week meeting at someone’s home. But as the church grew, the mid-week waxed and waned. One of the biggest mistakes I made was not moving to a small group structure when we were averaging 50-60 people in our worship services. Years ago, my pastoral assistant said to me, “For the church to get bigger it needs to get smaller.” Considering the fact that 75-80% of the people in a church will likely commit–to some degree or another–to a small group, we could have easily had 4-5 small groups over the first 5 years. We missed the boat, so to speak.

After brainstorming for months about the best way to reorganize and restructure our midweek meeting, we decided to implemented small groups in the following manner:

  • We intentionally grouped families and individuals together by geographical location, yet gave people the freedom to go to whatever small group they wanted.
  • We approached several people to see if they would be willing to open their homes in those regions.
  • We asked some men in the church who we considered to be potential elders to be facilitators.
  • We had a church plant meeting and told the members what we were doing. We asked them to sign up for one of the new small groups.
  • We asked a couple if they would be willing to sit behind a display table every Sunday morning (for one month prior to launching the small groups) and set the table right outside of the worship room door so that we could get maximum sign up.
  • We encouraged the facilitators to appoint one person in their group to be a contact person who would call or email each person who signed up for that group to remind them of monthly meetings and events.
  • We encouraged each group to choose between going over the sermon with questions that I write or to pick approved teaching material (such as the 22-24 minute Lionier teaching segments with study guides).
  • We gave each group the freedom to pick a day that they wanted to meet and asked that each group meet at least twice a month.
  • We gave each group the freedom to decide whether to eat a meal or dessert together–while strongly encouraging them to do one or the other.
  • We offered to provide child care for all of the small groups.

In just a matter of months, it became apparent that the Lord was blessing this new structure. We are currently trying to figure out the best way to assimilate new families and individuals into these small groups. However, we are also currently working out a plan to reproduce some of the small groups that are growing numerically by breaking them up and starting new ones. Still, as we have already noted, we must be aware of the fact that there will always be dividends and drawbacks to a small group structure in a church. Here are five dividends and five drawbacks that we should always keep in mind:

Dividends

Small Groups should encourage greater commitment to the Lord’s Day gatherings in the life of a church. A small group should serve as a springboard to propel the members to be committed to Sunday school and morning and evening worship. Small group facilitators should be encouraging the group wisely, lovingly and regularly to fulfill their vows to regularly attend Lord’s Day services. If the small group is functioning as it should, the members should be willing to “exhort one another daily” not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. When members begin to slide away from regular worship, members of the small group should reach out and see how to best encourage restoration in a gentle and loving way.
Small Groups should encourage close spiritual friendships among the members of the church. People only have so much time in a week and can only sustain so many close friendships in their lives. Small groups encourage people in the church to form close friendships with each other, to pray for one another, to serve one another in our daily needs and to build each other up on a week to week basis. A large church mid-week meeting doesn’t encourage this dynamic to the same degree. Having many people in a larger setting often breeds frenetic conversations and relationships. Small groups can serve as a good corrective to this problem.
Small Groups should encourage prayer in the life of the church. Legion are the number of men who I hear bemoan the fact that the weekly prayer meeting is the least frequented meeting in the life of the church. If you build prayer into every small group, you will have a majority of the people in the church praying together on a weekly basis. Small group facilitators should be trained to lead a time of prayer where the members of a small group are encouraged to pray together. I have also found that people are more comfortable praying out loud in a small group setting in a way in which they are not in a larger corporate gathering. Small groups also encourage members of a church to share prayer requests that they might be more hesitant to share in a larger setting.
Small Groups should encourage indiscriminate care for others in the church. In a church of over 100 members, care for others becomes increasingly difficult. The larger the church, the easier it becomes for cliques to form with people who are similar in age, cultural preferences and socio-economical status. Small groups that are arranged by geographical locations can help put members of a church together who might not otherwise get to know and deeply care for one another.
Small Groups should encourage outreach and service in the church and the community. Because there are less voices in a small group, there can often be more unification and easier mobilization for outreach and service. Miller explained that “small groups are ideal for outreach. They form natural teams for evangelism if they are properly prepared and understand how to do this work.” Additionally, small groups can be good places to bring unbelievers–especially if there is a meal and Gospel-centered teaching. If you have one elder and one deacon in a small group, this can help the session and the deaconate of the church disseminate and implement ideas for outreach and service. Small groups can also help the members of the church keep each other informed as to the prayer needs and material needs of members of the church. It is far easier to keep up with the needs of the members of a church through small groups. Finally, small groups can encourage members of the church to bring their ideas for outreach and service.
Drawbacks

Small Groups can become a replacement for corporate worship. This is an all too common problem in churches. People can get excited about getting together with their small group, but not about coming together to worship the Lord with all His people on the Lord’s Day. We are commanded to worship together on the Lord’s Day, not to meet in mid-week small groups. I cannot count the number of times people have said to me, “Our small group is really our church.” This potential drawback needs to be proactively warned against by the facilitators and members of a small group see it beginning to occur.
Small Groups can easily devolve into cliques. One very real danger of small groups is that they can become cliques that exist in the gathered assembly on the Lord’s Day. This is especially likely to happen if the members of the small group are of a similar age demographic or stage of life. Living in close community with one another on a week-in and week-out basis can hinder people from pressing outward to fellowship with the other members of the body on Sunday and on other days of the week. We must guard against allowing this to happen. Helping the members of a small group be self-aware of this danger is imperative.
Small Groups can become arenas for schism and division. One of the great drawbacks of a small group is that it can become a place that fosters complaining, gossip, slander and even divisive factions. This is a heart issue, but it is heightened in smaller settings where a problematic individual thinks that he or she will be able to sway others to join them in their discontentment. If they succeed, the damage can be irreparable. Small group facilitators and members should be warned about such a danger. The Scriptures teach us that one of the seven things that the Lord hates is “one who sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:19).
Small Groups can be used as therapy sessions for self-focused individuals. If an individual longs to be part of a small group for “healing” purposes, this can easily become a negative thing for them and all involved. People can monopolize a small group by constantly venting their problems and complaints. There are many who take great comfort in continually talking about their problems but never pursuing real change. While small groups should be places of transparency and healing, they can also become counseling centers or a functional priesthood in an unhealthy and damaging way. The group facilitator should encourage the group not to offer advice in the group setting, and to offer to meet with an extremely needy individual to talk and prayer outside of the small group setting.
Small Groups can become ingrown. If a small groups are not accomplishing the purposes for which they were established they will easily become ingrown. It they lose the “worker model” aspects and the “missionary model” aspects they will simply exist for self-serving purposes. This defeats the entire purpose of establishing small groups. The facilitators need to constantly keep the “growth,” “healing,” “worker” and “missionary” model aspects of the small group in sight. This takes great intentionality and effort on the part of elders, deacons and other facilitators.

]]>
February - July 2013 Posts https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/february---july-2013-posts https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/february---july-2013-posts#comments Mon, 05 Aug 2013 08:00:00 -0400 https://www.newcovpres.com/blog/post/february---july-2013-posts 9d

Because There Was No Sun… It has become increasingly popular for theologians to appeal to Meredith Kline’s 1958 “groundbreaking” article, “Because It Had Not Rained...” in order to propagate a dechronologization of Genesis 1. The principle argument behind the formulation of the Framework Hypothesis is that God–from the beginning–used natural processes in the preservation and cultivation of botanical organisms. For instanc

11d

Old Testament Personal Types and Shadows of Christ I continue to be amazed at the wisdom of God in giving us types and shadows of Christ throughout the pages of the OT. There is, perhaps nothing so faith-building in the OT–apart from the explicit Messianic prophecies–as God’s covenantal structuring of history that gave us people, places, and events to prefigure the coming Messiah. In their chapter on “God’s Covenant with Man,” the Westminster Divi

18d

The River and the Tree of Life In Ezekiel 47 the prophet sees an unusual sight.  This is not the first unusual thing Ezekiel has seen as he gets a guided tour of a new temple.  The prophet is exposed to all sorts of changes in the design of the temple, its sacrificial system, and in the surrounding allotment of land to the twelve tribes of Israel.  God is making all things new, as it were.  Jerusalem, the temple, and the priest

19d

A Bad Court In Which To Be Tried If there is one thing that those who know me well can agree upon it’s the fact that it’s not hard to fish an opinion out of me. I am all too painfully aware that sometimes this can be a strength and, more often than not, a weakness. The Scriptures speak of the strength of sharing strong, informed and wise convictions at the right times and the right places (Prov. 10:13; 24:7; 25:11-12); this was d

22d

William Fitch Sermons In 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul instructed his young protegee with some important departing counsel: “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2).” As one who has been the beneficiary of so many faithful teachers and mentors, I have come to appreciate how significant such mentoring is to the development

26d

The Wisdom of the Son In ”The Songs of the Son (Seeing Christ in the Psalms),” we saw that–although there is a rise of interest in Christ-centered biblical interpretation of the OT–”one of the areas of redemptive-history that desperately needs a renewed focus is that of Christ in the Psalms and OT wisdom literature.” It was suggested, in that post, that “among some of the more helpful works on these books are Nancy Gut

32d

A Covenantal Approach to the Song of Songs* The more I read and study the Song of Songs, the more impressed I am with the biblical theology that structures Solomon’s thoughts. It has not been an easy task to bring together the biblical-theological themes while at the same time doing justice to the text. Here is an attempt to develop these concepts in order to prove the Christology of the greatest of Scripture’s redemptive-historical Songs:

33d

Tolerance that Parodies Love It shouldn’t surprise us–but we all too often find ourselves wondering at the relevance with which an author of a bygone generation speaks into the atmosphere of our contemporary culture. Such has frequently been the case for me when I have read J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism and his What is Faith? Such also has been true for me when I read many C. S. Lewis’ shorter works. Writing

33d

C.S. Lewis on Beauty and Idolatry In his inimitable sermon, “The Weight of Glory,” C. S. Lewis made one of the most significant observations about the reality of beauty and idolatry. Building on the idea that the beauty and joy we find in created things and experiences is merely a reflection of the beauty and joy of God, Lewis explained that making those created things ultimate things for the beauty seen in them is idolatry : The

34d

John’s Use of the Song of Songs in the Book of Revelation In recent years the book of Revelation has been subject to new investigation into the role that earlier portions of the canon played in its composition—particularly respecting Old Testament revelation in the form of quotes and allusions.[1] With the release of his monumental commentary on the Apocalypse, G.K. Beale has given New Testament scholars a substantial treatment of the book of Revelation

36d

Book of Hebrews Resources As we enter into the new year, I am excited about starting a new sermon series at New Covenant on the book of Hebrews. As I’ve done in the past, I would like to share some of the resources that I have found most useful for sermon preparation. Below is a list of the sermons, articles, commentaries and other theological volumes on the book of Hebrews from which I’ve most benefited: SERMONS (Audio)

37d

Jonathan Edwards on Christ and the Song of Songs While preparing a lecture on “Jonathan Edwards’ Christology of the Song of Songs” for the Jonathan Edwards for the Church Conference, I happened across a fascinating historical and theological discovery. Having begun his Notes on Scripture very early in his ministry (1724),  Edwards wrote the final entry #507 in 1756–just two years before he died. This entry is a comparison between the Song of Son

49d

Sinclair Ferguson, William Still and Eric Alexander Crieff Fellowship Lectures My introduction to Sinclair Ferguson led, in turn, to my grateful discovery of William Still and Eric Alexander. I can honestly say that having listening to and read everything I could find by these men for well over a decade now, I have not been influenced more by any three preachers and theologians in the 20th Century. William Still, who is responsible for mentoring several of our great Reformed

55d

Jesus on the Inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture In his chapter, “The Attestation of Scripture,” in the  The Infallible Word, the late professor John Murray made one of the most profound and significant observations about the inerrancy and infallibility of the Old Testament from Jesus’ use of one single word out of Psalm 82. In his disputation with the Jews, Jesus proved and defended the truth of His own Deity (which was under attack) by an app

58d

5 Reasons to Join (or Not Join) a Church Plant   The books and blog posts which have been written for church planters today are legion. You can scarcely visit a Christian blog or website without stumbling upon someone’s thoughts about church planting–its dynamics, difficulties, benefits and/or pitfalls. When we moved to Savannah, GA in 2009 to plant New Covenant Presbyterian Church, I tried to gather as many resources as I could find. From th

58d

The Emmaus Sessions: Christ and Redemptive History Last year we started “The Emmaus Sessions” at New Covenant Presbyterian Church. The series is designed to focus on the hermeneutics of Christ in the Old Testament by touching on the major points of redemptive history. We plan on continuing this series sometime in the summer and fall. For now, you can find all the current audio and video of the lectures below: The Emmaus Sessions Audio A Tale of T

74d

The Songs of the Son With a resurgence of interest in Christ-centered biblical interpretation and preaching, one of the areas of redemptive-history that desperately needs a renewed focus is that of Christ in the Psalms and OT wisdom literature. Among some of the more helpful works on these books are Nancy Guthrie’s The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Ray Ortlund Jr.’s Proverbs: Wisdom

80d

No More Consciousness of Sin? There is a very wonderful verse in the book of Hebrews that I have been thinking about for years now. After the writer sets out the theology of Christ as the better Priest and the better sacrifice of a better Covenant, he contrasts the Old Covenant sacrifices (which were continually offered) with the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. Then he draws this conclusion: “For the law, having a shadow of t

85d

A Pastor’s Love for Christ The following is an article I wrote for the May 2013 edition of Tabletalk Magazine. It is a memorial for a man who exemplified more than any I have ever met what it meant to be motivated by and to exhibit the love of Christ in Christian ministry: Dr. John H. Skilton was professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for almost fifty-eight years (1939–1998). He was o

88d

Why We Fear Grace I love John Owen. I don’t know if there is a Puritan I would rather spend the rest of my life studying. I love his writings for their intellectual depth, rich Christological and Gospel-centered content and the fact that he did not blindly follow traditional interpretations of Scripture (he thought through the Scriptures for himself). So, you can imagine my deep surprise when I came across the foll

92d

Why Was Christ Veiled in the Law? In his commentary on the book of Hebrews, John Owen makes an important observation about the Old Covenant Law and why God gave something that was so burdensome to Israel–something that veiled Christ–if it was meant to point to Christ. Owen noted: Because these institutions were to be so glorious, that they might be shadows of heavenly things, and the people unto whom they were given, were carnal,

95d

Proud vs. Broken People Most of the Christian books, sermons and theological material that my father gave me as a boy failed to catch my attention; but, for some reason, I’ve never forgotten Nancy Demoss’ chart contrasting proud/broken people. I need this more today as a husband, father, pastor and friend than when I was young:   Proud, Unbroken People Broken People 1. Focus on the failure of others 1. Are overw

95d

The Covenant of Grace in Eternity and Time With the release of Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum’s Kingdom Through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants several important questions about what historic Covenant Theology teaches have once again resurfacing in the broader Reformed world. Michael Horton has done an admirable job of answering some of the challenges raised with regard to Covenant Theology in his review at

100d

When God Swears to God Many years ago I came across–what I continue to consider to this day to be–the most interesting tract I’ve seen. Taking first place in the evangelistic tract category is actually not all that difficult since most tracts are horribly predictably and uncreative.  If ever believers have ignored the admonition of our Lord Jesus to “be wise as serpents” it is in the tract-writing ministry department. T

118d

Taking Up the Hammer and the Nails There is remarkably sobering picture in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress where Christian, as he makes his way toward the celestial city, comes to the house of a man named Interpreter. Now this interpreter is clearly the apostle Paul by the description made of him; and interpreter shows Christian seven different scenes in this house that highlight various aspects of the Christian life, dangers and

124d

On Getting As Little Truth As Possible For several years now I have tried to find a statement, made by J. Gresham Machen, that I read as a young Christian about the importance of  growing deeply in our study of Scripture and theology. Machen sought to challenge the common attitude of men who, “devote most of their energies to the task of seeing just how little of Christian truth they can get along with.” In his book What is Faith? Mach

135d

Jesus’ Compassion for Sinners As I work through an exposition of the letter to the Hebrews at New Covenant I’ve been struck afresh by the greatness of the compassion of Jesus, our great High Priest. So often we hear people say–when they are going through some difficult trial or temptation–something along the lines of, “I just want to talk to someone who has been through this.” This is entirely understandable. In fact, the writ

150d

The Difference Between a Prophet and a Priest In his outstanding article “The Priesthood of Christ in the Epistle of Hebrews,” Geerhardus Vos explained the chief difference between the office of prophet and priest–specifically as it relates to the fulfillment of both offices in Christ: The first and most general element entering into the author’s conception of a priest is that of  leadership based on identification with those who are led. A p

164d

A Biblical Theology of Mountains I’ve always loved spending time in the mountains. I’ve lived in the Blue Ridge mountains, hiked the Sangre de Christo mountains, travelled through the German Alps and skied the French Alps. There is something mystical and majestic about these natural structures which tower over the rest of creation. Not surprisingly, the Scriptures have quite a lot to say about mountains. Mountains are used as an

168d

The Holy Spirit Says… In Hebrews 3:7, the writer introduces one of the many  Old Testament citations found in this letter with the words, “As the Holy Spirit says…” In setting up Psalm 95:7-9 in the manner in which he did (with the Holy Spirit presently speaking in the OT text), the writer intended to draw attention to the fact that God is the living speaker in all of the Scriptures. Scripture is not something that los

169d

John Newton’s Olney Hymn of Gospel Types If you’ve never read through the Olney Hymns you are missing out on a great blessing. Chances are good that you’ve sung one if you worship in a church that holds a high view of historic hymnody. Two of the more memorable hymns in the project were “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood” and “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” John Newton, the great slave-trader turned slave of Christ, wrote several of

173d

The Importance of Time Management If there is one area of life I imagine most of us wish we could improve upon it would be, without a doubt, that of time management. It’s not simply those who foolishy squander time who need to grow in this respect–it’s anyone trying to balance the responsibilities of family, work, church and personal care. Everything that fills our schedules can fall under one of these four categories and, in many

176d

Jesus and the General and Special Revelation of God One of the most important subjects to which we can give our thoughts is that of the relationship between general and special revelation. These two categories of God’s self-revelation are often approached as if they were two planets orbiting in concentric circles yet never touching one another. Such an approach misunderstands God’s original intention for these two forms of revelation in relation to

176d

Sinclair Ferguson Sermon Series Collective We have John Hendryx to thank for making so many of Sincliar Ferguson’s sermon series audio available at Monergism. Below you will find all of the Ferguson series that John has gathered from Tapes from Scotland, First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC and various other places: Old Testament: Genesis Joshua Ruth 1 Kings 2 Kings Nehemiah Psalms Daniel Joel Jonah Haggai Zechariah Malachi New Testam

177d

Warfield, Biblical Doctrines and Confessionalism B.B. Warfield, in his article on “The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity,” made a significant observation regarding the Scripturally accurate formulation and articulation of biblical doctrines. The locus classicus, and test case for Warfield, was the doctrine of the Trinity. He explained that the historical doctrine of the Trinity “can be spoken of as a Biblical doctrine…on the principle that the se

184d

“Textual, Expository, Redemptive-Historical, Applicatory” Preaching? Let’s be honest, none of us has the handle on preaching and no two ministers preach the same. John Chrysostym, Augustine of Hippo, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Davies, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Archibald Alexander, Martyn Lloyd-Jones and James Boice were some of the model preachers in the history of the church and they all had unique approaches to expounding God’s

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9d

Because There Was No Sun… It has become increasingly popular for theologians to appeal to Meredith Kline’s 1958 “groundbreaking” article, “Because It Had Not Rained...” in order to propagate a dechronologization of Genesis 1. The principle argument behind the formulation of the Framework Hypothesis is that God–from the beginning–used natural processes in the preservation and cultivation of botanical organisms. For instanc

11d

Old Testament Personal Types and Shadows of Christ I continue to be amazed at the wisdom of God in giving us types and shadows of Christ throughout the pages of the OT. There is, perhaps nothing so faith-building in the OT–apart from the explicit Messianic prophecies–as God’s covenantal structuring of history that gave us people, places, and events to prefigure the coming Messiah. In their chapter on “God’s Covenant with Man,” the Westminster Divi

18d

The River and the Tree of Life In Ezekiel 47 the prophet sees an unusual sight.  This is not the first unusual thing Ezekiel has seen as he gets a guided tour of a new temple.  The prophet is exposed to all sorts of changes in the design of the temple, its sacrificial system, and in the surrounding allotment of land to the twelve tribes of Israel.  God is making all things new, as it were.  Jerusalem, the temple, and the priest

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A Bad Court In Which To Be Tried If there is one thing that those who know me well can agree upon it’s the fact that it’s not hard to fish an opinion out of me. I am all too painfully aware that sometimes this can be a strength and, more often than not, a weakness. The Scriptures speak of the strength of sharing strong, informed and wise convictions at the right times and the right places (Prov. 10:13; 24:7; 25:11-12); this was d

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William Fitch Sermons In 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul instructed his young protegee with some important departing counsel: “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2).” As one who has been the beneficiary of so many faithful teachers and mentors, I have come to appreciate how significant such mentoring is to the development

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The Wisdom of the Son In ”The Songs of the Son (Seeing Christ in the Psalms),” we saw that–although there is a rise of interest in Christ-centered biblical interpretation of the OT–”one of the areas of redemptive-history that desperately needs a renewed focus is that of Christ in the Psalms and OT wisdom literature.” It was suggested, in that post, that “among some of the more helpful works on these books are Nancy Gut

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A Covenantal Approach to the Song of Songs* The more I read and study the Song of Songs, the more impressed I am with the biblical theology that structures Solomon’s thoughts. It has not been an easy task to bring together the biblical-theological themes while at the same time doing justice to the text. Here is an attempt to develop these concepts in order to prove the Christology of the greatest of Scripture’s redemptive-historical Songs:

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Tolerance that Parodies Love It shouldn’t surprise us–but we all too often find ourselves wondering at the relevance with which an author of a bygone generation speaks into the atmosphere of our contemporary culture. Such has frequently been the case for me when I have read J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism and his What is Faith? Such also has been true for me when I read many C. S. Lewis’ shorter works. Writing

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C.S. Lewis on Beauty and Idolatry In his inimitable sermon, “The Weight of Glory,” C. S. Lewis made one of the most significant observations about the reality of beauty and idolatry. Building on the idea that the beauty and joy we find in created things and experiences is merely a reflection of the beauty and joy of God, Lewis explained that making those created things ultimate things for the beauty seen in them is idolatry : The

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John’s Use of the Song of Songs in the Book of Revelation In recent years the book of Revelation has been subject to new investigation into the role that earlier portions of the canon played in its composition—particularly respecting Old Testament revelation in the form of quotes and allusions.[1] With the release of his monumental commentary on the Apocalypse, G.K. Beale has given New Testament scholars a substantial treatment of the book of Revelation

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Book of Hebrews Resources As we enter into the new year, I am excited about starting a new sermon series at New Covenant on the book of Hebrews. As I’ve done in the past, I would like to share some of the resources that I have found most useful for sermon preparation. Below is a list of the sermons, articles, commentaries and other theological volumes on the book of Hebrews from which I’ve most benefited: SERMONS (Audio)

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Jonathan Edwards on Christ and the Song of Songs While preparing a lecture on “Jonathan Edwards’ Christology of the Song of Songs” for the Jonathan Edwards for the Church Conference, I happened across a fascinating historical and theological discovery. Having begun his Notes on Scripture very early in his ministry (1724),  Edwards wrote the final entry #507 in 1756–just two years before he died. This entry is a comparison between the Song of Son

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Sinclair Ferguson, William Still and Eric Alexander Crieff Fellowship Lectures My introduction to Sinclair Ferguson led, in turn, to my grateful discovery of William Still and Eric Alexander. I can honestly say that having listening to and read everything I could find by these men for well over a decade now, I have not been influenced more by any three preachers and theologians in the 20th Century. William Still, who is responsible for mentoring several of our great Reformed

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Jesus on the Inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture In his chapter, “The Attestation of Scripture,” in the  The Infallible Word, the late professor John Murray made one of the most profound and significant observations about the inerrancy and infallibility of the Old Testament from Jesus’ use of one single word out of Psalm 82. In his disputation with the Jews, Jesus proved and defended the truth of His own Deity (which was under attack) by an app

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5 Reasons to Join (or Not Join) a Church Plant   The books and blog posts which have been written for church planters today are legion. You can scarcely visit a Christian blog or website without stumbling upon someone’s thoughts about church planting–its dynamics, difficulties, benefits and/or pitfalls. When we moved to Savannah, GA in 2009 to plant New Covenant Presbyterian Church, I tried to gather as many resources as I could find. From th

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The Emmaus Sessions: Christ and Redemptive History Last year we started “The Emmaus Sessions” at New Covenant Presbyterian Church. The series is designed to focus on the hermeneutics of Christ in the Old Testament by touching on the major points of redemptive history. We plan on continuing this series sometime in the summer and fall. For now, you can find all the current audio and video of the lectures below: The Emmaus Sessions Audio A Tale of T

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The Songs of the Son With a resurgence of interest in Christ-centered biblical interpretation and preaching, one of the areas of redemptive-history that desperately needs a renewed focus is that of Christ in the Psalms and OT wisdom literature. Among some of the more helpful works on these books are Nancy Guthrie’s The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Ray Ortlund Jr.’s Proverbs: Wisdom

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No More Consciousness of Sin? There is a very wonderful verse in the book of Hebrews that I have been thinking about for years now. After the writer sets out the theology of Christ as the better Priest and the better sacrifice of a better Covenant, he contrasts the Old Covenant sacrifices (which were continually offered) with the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. Then he draws this conclusion: “For the law, having a shadow of t

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A Pastor’s Love for Christ The following is an article I wrote for the May 2013 edition of Tabletalk Magazine. It is a memorial for a man who exemplified more than any I have ever met what it meant to be motivated by and to exhibit the love of Christ in Christian ministry: Dr. John H. Skilton was professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for almost fifty-eight years (1939–1998). He was o

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Why We Fear Grace I love John Owen. I don’t know if there is a Puritan I would rather spend the rest of my life studying. I love his writings for their intellectual depth, rich Christological and Gospel-centered content and the fact that he did not blindly follow traditional interpretations of Scripture (he thought through the Scriptures for himself). So, you can imagine my deep surprise when I came across the foll

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Why Was Christ Veiled in the Law? In his commentary on the book of Hebrews, John Owen makes an important observation about the Old Covenant Law and why God gave something that was so burdensome to Israel–something that veiled Christ–if it was meant to point to Christ. Owen noted: Because these institutions were to be so glorious, that they might be shadows of heavenly things, and the people unto whom they were given, were carnal,

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Proud vs. Broken People Most of the Christian books, sermons and theological material that my father gave me as a boy failed to catch my attention; but, for some reason, I’ve never forgotten Nancy Demoss’ chart contrasting proud/broken people. I need this more today as a husband, father, pastor and friend than when I was young:   Proud, Unbroken People Broken People 1. Focus on the failure of others 1. Are overw

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The Covenant of Grace in Eternity and Time With the release of Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum’s Kingdom Through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants several important questions about what historic Covenant Theology teaches have once again resurfacing in the broader Reformed world. Michael Horton has done an admirable job of answering some of the challenges raised with regard to Covenant Theology in his review at

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When God Swears to God Many years ago I came across–what I continue to consider to this day to be–the most interesting tract I’ve seen. Taking first place in the evangelistic tract category is actually not all that difficult since most tracts are horribly predictably and uncreative.  If ever believers have ignored the admonition of our Lord Jesus to “be wise as serpents” it is in the tract-writing ministry department. T

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Taking Up the Hammer and the Nails There is remarkably sobering picture in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress where Christian, as he makes his way toward the celestial city, comes to the house of a man named Interpreter. Now this interpreter is clearly the apostle Paul by the description made of him; and interpreter shows Christian seven different scenes in this house that highlight various aspects of the Christian life, dangers and

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On Getting As Little Truth As Possible For several years now I have tried to find a statement, made by J. Gresham Machen, that I read as a young Christian about the importance of  growing deeply in our study of Scripture and theology. Machen sought to challenge the common attitude of men who, “devote most of their energies to the task of seeing just how little of Christian truth they can get along with.” In his book What is Faith? Mach

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Jesus’ Compassion for Sinners As I work through an exposition of the letter to the Hebrews at New Covenant I’ve been struck afresh by the greatness of the compassion of Jesus, our great High Priest. So often we hear people say–when they are going through some difficult trial or temptation–something along the lines of, “I just want to talk to someone who has been through this.” This is entirely understandable. In fact, the writ

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The Difference Between a Prophet and a Priest In his outstanding article “The Priesthood of Christ in the Epistle of Hebrews,” Geerhardus Vos explained the chief difference between the office of prophet and priest–specifically as it relates to the fulfillment of both offices in Christ: The first and most general element entering into the author’s conception of a priest is that of  leadership based on identification with those who are led. A p

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A Biblical Theology of Mountains I’ve always loved spending time in the mountains. I’ve lived in the Blue Ridge mountains, hiked the Sangre de Christo mountains, travelled through the German Alps and skied the French Alps. There is something mystical and majestic about these natural structures which tower over the rest of creation. Not surprisingly, the Scriptures have quite a lot to say about mountains. Mountains are used as an

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The Holy Spirit Says… In Hebrews 3:7, the writer introduces one of the many  Old Testament citations found in this letter with the words, “As the Holy Spirit says…” In setting up Psalm 95:7-9 in the manner in which he did (with the Holy Spirit presently speaking in the OT text), the writer intended to draw attention to the fact that God is the living speaker in all of the Scriptures. Scripture is not something that los

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John Newton’s Olney Hymn of Gospel Types If you’ve never read through the Olney Hymns you are missing out on a great blessing. Chances are good that you’ve sung one if you worship in a church that holds a high view of historic hymnody. Two of the more memorable hymns in the project were “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood” and “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” John Newton, the great slave-trader turned slave of Christ, wrote several of

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The Importance of Time Management If there is one area of life I imagine most of us wish we could improve upon it would be, without a doubt, that of time management. It’s not simply those who foolishy squander time who need to grow in this respect–it’s anyone trying to balance the responsibilities of family, work, church and personal care. Everything that fills our schedules can fall under one of these four categories and, in many

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Jesus and the General and Special Revelation of God One of the most important subjects to which we can give our thoughts is that of the relationship between general and special revelation. These two categories of God’s self-revelation are often approached as if they were two planets orbiting in concentric circles yet never touching one another. Such an approach misunderstands God’s original intention for these two forms of revelation in relation to

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Sinclair Ferguson Sermon Series Collective We have John Hendryx to thank for making so many of Sincliar Ferguson’s sermon series audio available at Monergism. Below you will find all of the Ferguson series that John has gathered from Tapes from Scotland, First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC and various other places: Old Testament: Genesis Joshua Ruth 1 Kings 2 Kings Nehemiah Psalms Daniel Joel Jonah Haggai Zechariah Malachi New Testam

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Warfield, Biblical Doctrines and Confessionalism B.B. Warfield, in his article on “The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity,” made a significant observation regarding the Scripturally accurate formulation and articulation of biblical doctrines. The locus classicus, and test case for Warfield, was the doctrine of the Trinity. He explained that the historical doctrine of the Trinity “can be spoken of as a Biblical doctrine…on the principle that the se

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“Textual, Expository, Redemptive-Historical, Applicatory” Preaching? Let’s be honest, none of us has the handle on preaching and no two ministers preach the same. John Chrysostym, Augustine of Hippo, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Davies, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Archibald Alexander, Martyn Lloyd-Jones and James Boice were some of the model preachers in the history of the church and they all had unique approaches to expounding God’s

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