Pastors, Fight Against Fear of Man by Fighting for the Fear of the Lord

By / Sep 7

When I began pastoral ministry, I didn’t realize it would be my job to disappoint people. I had to tell a young man he wasn’t ready for ministry. I had to counsel a couple that they shouldn’t get married. I had to inform the church that Sunday’s text means exactly what they don’t want it to mean. Pastoral ministry is full of no-win decisions. Because of this, ministry is a miserable place for a pastor who needs everyone’s approval.

If we knew that before 2020, we know it even more now.

Fear of Man & Pastoral Ministry

This sinful desire for the approval of others is often called “the fear of man.” We were made to desire loving relationships, acceptance into a community, and the favor of those in authority over us. But the fear of man multiplies and warps these desires into an insatiable hunger for applause, honor, and status.

In pastoral leadership, this wrongly placed fear surfaces in many ways. It makes a pastor perform in the pulpit, but never quite preach from it. It makes him hide in his study with the light off, afraid the bully member might swing by. It fixates him on what would make his favorite professor proud, so much that he forgets to ask what his people need. It addicts him to fame or internet attention. It makes him easily manipulated by those who know how to hand out honor, shame, and pressure.

Every pastor struggles against this in different ways, but their hearts all say the same thing: “I need approval to be happy.” Young pastor, learn to overcome the fear of man now.

That’s easy to say. But how?

Fighting Fear of Man

There’s a temptation to fight fear of man with self-confidence or a foolhardy “who cares what anyone thinks” attitude. But that won’t work. After all, humans were made to revere something. The question isn’t whether we will tremble, but what will make us tremble. The only pastor who won’t tremble before the honor and shame of others is a pastor who has learned to tremble before God. This must be part of why, again and again, the Bible urges leaders to fear the Lord (Exo. 18:21; Deut. 17:18–20; 1 Sam. 12:14; 2 Sam. 23:3–4; 2 Chron. 19:7; Neh. 5:9, 15; Ps. 2:10–11, Lk. 18:2).

The fear of the Lord is a glad trembling before God that leads to humility and obedience. Like the word “thrill,” the word “fear” can be either positive or negative. It’s possible to be afraid of God, but the man who rightly fears God enjoys the thrill, the breathlessness, the awe of glimpsing God’s glory. This man knows his own smallness—and doesn’t mind it.

Over the years, this trembling disposition will form a man into a courageous and gentle pastor. He’ll learn to sit patiently while a church member scolds him or hurls false accusations at him. When that conversation is over, he can love that member even more than he did before. He can do this because he does not need others to tell him he is great. He is so consumed with God’s greatness that he is free from the fear of man.

Trembling before God does more than help a pastor overcome the fear of man. It actually becomes a source of strength for his leadership, giving him integrity (Deut. 6:2; Job 1:1, 8, 2:3, 4:6; Prov. 6:6) and wisdom (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7) while also blessing his wife and children (Ps. 128:3–4: Prov. 31:30). These qualities make him a more credible and effective leader. Some church members may not like the direction he takes Wednesday night Bible study, but they will recognize a gentle father whose children obey him. They will notice when he sorts out a sticky staff situation with God-fearing wisdom. A member whose husband left after two years will notice when her pastor leads for twenty years without a moral failing. In the fear of God he earns their trust while he also becomes a better steward of that trust.

What Your Church Needs

Future pastor, local churches need unwavering leaders who fear the Lord. They don’t need you to meet their expectations, but they do need to see your hand tremble when you hold up your Bible. They need to know that you would rather have the whole room turn on you than utter one word that displeases the Spirit. That means they need you to close the door to your study, read your Bible, and marvel at the God who forgives sinners. They need you to learn the fear of the Lord.

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared at the 9Marks blog and is used with permission.



(Not) Without A Doubt

By / Sep 6

Last Christmas Eve, I sat with my youngest grandbaby on my lap, full to the brim with the joy of family and the spirit of Christmas. As I nestled my grandson and listened to the pastor expound on the birth of Jesus Christ, I began to think about the fact that my pastor was not merely telling us an allegory or a metaphor or a fable meant to inspire. Rather, he was ceding a historical account, with a tacit assumption that the events written in Luke 2 had actually happened. For a few moments, I took myself out of believer mode and listened with the ear of an outsider. Suddenly, our otherwise rational, articulate, well-educated pastor sounded like a lunatic.

With a straight face, he spoke about messenger angels, ancient prophecies, and a virgin birth. His message concluded with the confident assertion of the return of a resurrected Savior who would establish an eternal Kingdom on a refurbished earth. Continuing in my outsider mode, I marveled that this guy genuinely, and with great passion, believes every bit of this stuff.

This is really where I went in my mind on Christmas Eve. And this is where I have been going the last year, as I’ve been wrestling in a rather unsettling season of doubt. Why, in the times in which we are living, when modern science explains so much, would any sane adult believe in such outlandish claims? Why do my husband, my children, most of my close friends, and countless other prudent, sensible, healthy, intelligent, level-headed people believe it? And why would I?

The Shadow of Doubt

A few years ago, in a blog I wrote explaining to unbelievers why I believe what I believe, I made the claim that I believe it without a shadow of a doubt. But I don’t think I was being completely honest. The shadow of doubt is a menace that hovers above my belief almost constantly, threatening at any moment to pull the one thread that will unravel all I have held as truth for so long.

Alisa Childers, author of the book Another Gospel, said, “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith. Unbelief is the opposite of faith.” I don’t like the season I’m in. I love God. I am committed to Christ. I revere him and love him dearly. Yet, I sometimes get caught up in worry, fearing that all I have come to believe may not be true. That everything I have committed my life and my work to, the personal sacrifices I’ve made and see others making, are all for naught. The most terrifying thing I can think of is that there is no loving God, no Savior, no heaven. What if non-Christians are right?

God’s Nearness to Doubters

In the end, what I have found in this season of doubt is a God who does not reject me. In fact, he draws near to me and gently reminds me of the truth when I doubt. Just like he did with Thomas (John 20:24-29) and with John the Baptist (Matthew 11:1-19).  And like he will for any believer who becomes afraid under the weight of an unbelieving world.

My doubt has led me to search, which, as God promised, led me to find (Matthew 7:7). And in the finding, I can now “make a defense to anyone who asks” why I believe what I do (1 Peter 3:15), and why this belief offers hope and peace and confidence, even when I doubt.

My Prepared Defense

If you ask for the reason for the hope that is in me, I will tell you what I have found.

1. Science is too remarkable and natural things too intricate to have been randomly generated.

The complexities of life cannot be explained by uncreated phenomena.

Consider this one fact: If it were possible to stretch out all of the DNA in a single human being and lay it end to end, it would reach to the sun and back six hundred times. That is fifty-five billion, eight hundred million miles of DNA in just one person. And DNA perpetuates itself in vastly complicated chemical processes on and on and on throughout generations of all living things, according to their kinds (Genesis 1:24-25). It takes great faith to attribute the enormous complexity of procreation to random processes of fortuity.

2. The existence of existence is inherently astounding.

While science may explain the workings of the world, science cannot explain the existence of existence. So any explanation we land on carries with it a level of absurdity.

Those who decry Christianity in favor of say, an influencing universe, or an impersonal deity, or any variety of polytheism, or a gospel of science, or even no belief at all, are not adopting any belief system less absurd than that of Christianity.

3. Biblical Christianity offers the best explanation for all that is.

The complexities of the natural world affirm, at the very least, an intelligent higher power. But Christianity asserts a personal Deity who sees us, knows us, and loves us. Why would anyone believe that?

Peter replied to Jesus in John 6:68,  “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”  The claims of the Christian Bible provide the most plausible explanation for the intricacy of the natural world, the vast intelligence of science, the beauty and order of math, the purity of love, the reality of evil, the appeal of sacrifice, and the very existence of anything at all.

So I write with a straight face that

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Not without a doubt, but with a decided Amen.



Should Elders Insist on Unanimity?

By / Sep 2

Unity is a wonderful thing, especially in leadership. How I pray that David’s description of unity would be true of the elders in my church and in your church. Unity that’s good and pleasant is the blessing of God!

But this raises an important question. In the interest of unity, should an eldership insist on unanimity before it acts? Wouldn’t it be a wonderful boost of confidence to your congregation to know that the elders only ever speak when they are of one mind?

Five Reasons to Not Insist on Unanimity

Let me give you five reasons why I’d discourage the rule of unanimity, and then finish with one brief caveat.

1. Unanimity isn’t the biblical pattern.

In 2 Corinthians 2:6, the church appears to have exercised church discipline by a “majority.” In Acts 1:26, the apostles determine Judas’ successor by casting lots. Does this settle the matter? Certainly not. However, if there were a strong biblical pattern of unanimity, we should pay it close attention. But no such pattern exists.

2. Unanimity can stifle dissent.

I remember in the years before I became a pastor, I worked with one company who insisted on unanimity in their product development decisions. One night over dinner with a group of R&D heads at large companies, I asked them what they thought of that practice. Did requiring unanimity protect the all-important minority viewpoint? Ironically, every one of them disagreed, insisting quite the opposite. When everyone in a group knows unanimity is required, people who disagree with the majority are actually less likely to speak up because they don’t want to get in the way. That can be true especially when the group trusts one another. Insisting on unanimity can lead to group-think.

3. Unanimity can discourage trust.

When I lose a vote on our elder board, I must then turn around and represent our decision to the congregation as my decision as well. Is that my conformist, people-pleasing tendency at work? No, it’s because I trust my fellow elders. On the other hand, insisting on unanimity removes the need for such trust. You need not lean on trust when everyone agrees. And just like a muscle atrophies when it’s not used, trust can decline when it’s not tested. For the health of an eldership and a church, trust is better than unanimity.

4. Unanimity can slow things down.

Elders regularly make decisions that are unclear but important. That’s the nature of the office. Very often, the timeliness in these decisions is important. For example, when a wandering sheep must be warned (1 Thess. 5:14), timeliness can prevent greater harm to that sheep. When a congregation must act to protect against division (Titus 3:10), timeliness can prevent greater harm to the flock. Unless the rule of unanimity has completely stifled dissent (concern #2), it nearly always delays a decision.

5. Unanimity underestimates God’s love for your church.

Time and time again, I’ve seen our eldership have a tortuous, difficult conversation, make a decision on a thin majority, and then realize with great certainly later on that we’d made the right decision. I ascribe that not to the wisdom of our elders but to God’s love for our church, who ordains that we act with far greater wisdom than we deserve. If my faith was ultimately in the wisdom of our elders, I might place greater weight on getting to agreement. But my faith is less in us as individuals and more in God’s kindness to lead our church through imperfect men. As such, I hold to the decisions of a majority with nearly as much confidence as unanimous ones. 

Unanimty in Nominating New Elders

I promised one caveat, and here it is: in my church, we’ve found it useful to insist on unanimity for the nomination of new elders.[1] That practice has all the downsides that I listed above. In fact, in describing those five reasons in favor of majority action, I’ve been mentally referencing problems we’ve faced as an elder board in nominating new elders.

And yet, despite the downsides of insisting on unanimity, there’s a greater downside in this one area of not doing so: asking a man to serve alongside an elder he believes is not biblically qualified. We’ve opted to choose for the lesser of two evils. As our elder board has grown, our definition of “unanimous” has evolved. At our current size—roughly two dozen elders—we allow a nomination to proceed when no elder votes “no” and abstentions amount to less than a quarter of the eldership. We assume any abstention is simply because one elder doesn’t know a man well enough to vote yes.

This practice works best for us, and I trust that your eldership will identify what works best for you.

Unity, Unanimity

Like David in Psalm 133, we should celebrate unity in our churches and in our elder boards. And as Paul instructs in Ephesians 4:3, we should be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” So we should pray for unity. We should work to preserve the unity God’s Spirit has given us.

Insisting on unanimity, however, can actually damage unity. Instead, let’s value trust more highly than agreement.

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared at the 9Marks blog and is used with permission.

Notes

  1. ^ We’re a Baptist church, so the role of elders at our church is to nominate new elders; the congregation is responsible for recognizing those men as elders.


The Heart of Family Reformation

By / Sep 1

When our children were younger we began the day with the hymn we are currently memorizing. When Laura was five, she sang for all of us the second verse of “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord” by the Yale president of the late 1700s, Timothy Dwight. With a determined look, she sang out,

I love Thy church, O God.
Her walls before Thee stand.
Dear as the apple of Thine eye,
And gravy on Thy hand.

My boys collapsed on the floor with laughter. The word is “graven!”

I value family worship, not only because it is sometimes humorous, but because it is glue that holds families together, stimulus for some of the family’s best discussions, and provides real strength for family member’s lives — it can become the heart, in fact, of family reformation.

The Puritans, long misunderstood, had an exceptional view of the family. We can learn from them even though we might not accept all they had to say. They often talked of the home as the “little church,” and the father as the pastor of his little flock. Lewis Bayly said, “What the preacher is in the pulpit, the same the Christian householder is in his house.” Family worship is the natural outcome of such a view. In homes without a believing father, the mother may fulfill this oversight role for children.

The practice of family worship (with or without children at home) is as forgotten to the church today as the dust in our attic, but this simple and effective method of restoring family spirituality is the most potent tool we have available to us—and every one of us can do it!

WHY IS FAMILY WORSHIP CRITICAL?

First, family worship is critical because the placing of the Word of God in the hearts of our family members is indispensable to their conversion.

Paul reminded Timothy that, “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3: 15).

Peter said that we are “born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through the Word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Pet. 1:23). This incorruptible seed of saving life (corresponding to the natural biological seed) is inseminated in the dead soul via the Word of God alone.

The Puritans believed this with a passion. This was the rationale for their long sermons, the catechizing of children, the morning messages in those cold church buildings prior to the work day, the daily meditating on the Word in private, and especially the practice of family worship. For the Puritan, family worship took place two times a day, as the “morning and evening sacrifice.” It was through this means that his children and wife, and any other guests or helpers in the home, might receive life!

Richard Baxter, one of the most famous of the Puritans, saw his village of Kidderminster, England transformed through this method. He stated:

I do verily believe that if parents did their duty as they ought, the Word publicly preached would not be the ordinary means of regeneration in the church, but only without the church, among practical heathens and infidels.

Second, it is critical because the Word alone enables your family to withstand the prevailing currents of an evil culture.

In the 2 Timothy 3 passage we find a torrent of base culture descending on young Timothy. “. . . In the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers… disobedient to parents…without self-control. . . headstrong . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (vss.1-4).

How will you be able to rescue your family from the effects of such a culture? Only through the Word of God, according to Paul. The Word makes Timothy as the “man of God,” “thoroughly equipped for every good work” necessary to strengthen the church. His toolbox is complete and “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (vs. 16) so that the people under his charge can withstand the flood of culture described in the previous verses.

In the same way, the shepherding father of the home (or the mother in homes without a father, which was Timothy’s situation) is made adequate to help his or her family. Paul tells Timothy, therefore, to “preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season” (4:2).

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth… (4: 3-4).

When culture rushes down on your family and the professing church is trying to imitate the world itself, how will your family keep from being swept away in its path? Only through the Word of God! Family worship, on a daily basis, is your hope that they will stand like steel piers against the prevailing tide.

When speaking in Basel, Switzerland years ago I saw a ferry which crossed the swift Rhone river. It had no engine but operated by means of its resistance to the current, guided from one side to the other along a taut steel line. Unless we attach those tender hearts of our family members to the steel line of truth, there will be little hope of their withstanding the forces pressing against them.

In India, there was a custom of throwing babies into the Ganges river as a sacrifice to the gods. If we are unwilling to do any more than merely take our children to church, we might as well be throwing them into the river of the culture. This is an explanation why many children of Christian parents are so often no different than the world’s. They have been given to the gods by their parents — thrown in with hands of neglect.

WHAT ARE THE BASICS?

There are three aspects of family worship that I find important: singing, the reading of the Word, and prayer, or as one friend puts it Song, Scripture, and Supplication.

Singing. Not every home is musical, but every attempt should be made to incorporate singing into the daily worship experience. We have been concerned that a whole generation of children are growing up without Christian hymnody. Therefore, we taught our children the best hymns of the faith. In fact, I used to give my children three dollars for every hymn they learn!

We preferred the hymns written by the theologians and pastors of earlier days (Watts, Wesley, Newton, Doddridge, etc.) since the theology is better. Some new authors are providing hymns and spiritual songs that are also valuable. A mixture is best. The “gospel hall songs,” however, written by the crusade musicians of the 19th century are often trite and less God-exalting, even though some believers are romantically attached to them.

I got the idea of paying money for learning hymns from Charles Spurgeon, the 19th-century pastor of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle.

My grandfather was very fond of Dr. Watt’s hymns, and my grandmother, wishing to get me to learn them, promised me a penny for each one that I should say to her perfectly. I found it an easy and pleasant method of earning money, and learned them so fast that grandmother said she must reduce the price to a halfpenny each, and afterwards to a farthing, if she did not mean to be quite ruined by her extravagance. There is no telling how low the amount per hymn might have sunk, but grandfather said that he was getting overrun with rats, and offered me a shilling a dozen for all I could kill. I found, at the time, that the occupation of rat-catching paid me better than learning hymns, but I know which employment has been the more permanently profitable to me. No matter on what topic I am preaching, I can even now, in the middle of any sermon, quote some verse of a hymn in harmony with the subject. The hymns have remained with me, while those old rats for years have passed away, and the shillings I earned by killing them have been spent long ago.

Reading the Word. Though there are uses for devotional books of various types, they are best as a supplement and not a substitute for the Bible. My preference was to stick with reading the Bible as our main diet during family worship. Occasionally you may wish to add a chapter day by day of a Christian biography, while still giving the Bible the center stage. Use other helps at bedtime, or as a supplement, if helpful, but drink the “pure milk of the Word” during family worship. We found that reading a chapter each day was best, and always completing the book we began.

You will find the Bible engaging enough on its own, and often a launching place for discussion about many things. For instance, what better place can you find to learn about sexuality than from Scripture? Don’t be afraid of the less-than-perfect characters you will meet in the Bible. They are included for our instruction. Use the examples, good and bad, to talk about those forgotten virtues of integrity, honesty, faithfulness, etc. Bring out the nature of sin and the beauties of the gospel, heaven and hell.

When the children are young, or the family is new to the faith, go over and over the story portions of the Bible. Begin with Mark, and then read the other gospels, Genesis, Exodus, the two Samuels, Kings and Chronicles, Ruth, Esther, Acts, etc. This will give them the history of the Bible as a great redemption drama. Later they can handle the teaching portions better.

Though the morning is by far the best time for family worship, you may not find it workable. You may wish to take the mealtime most attended by all your family. Have the Bible set beside the father’s place as part of the table setting. Then, after the meal, but before any dishes are moved off the table, worship together. Do it faithfully, even when someone must be absent.

Family prayers. Are your children unused to seeing prayers answered. Why? It is often because we don’t pray very specifically. Also, when we see the answer come in, it is important to make something of it.

I preferred to talk with the family about some of our needs and then assign each of us something to pray about. I usually accompanied this with an encouragement that God has been answering our prayers and that we all should pray silently while another is wording our request. There is nothing more beautiful than the sincere request of children.

Keeping this time fresh will be your hardest task. Sometimes you may wish to put requests into a basket and let each person draw one out. Seek ways to make this time better. When the children are young, however, family worship should not be long and tedious for them. They will learn best by degrees.

Some families will keep up the tradition of family worship throughout the family’s life together. Others will find other ways to encourage the intake of the Bible and prayer as the family matures. How we do it is a matter of personal choice. God has not commanded daily family worship as I have outlined it, but He does intend for each believing member of the home to grow by means of the Bible and to pray. It is the parent’s job to encourage this practice and to be the primary example for their children. When children are younger and do not understand the Bible on their own, family worship seems almost indispensable as a method.

JUDGMENT DAY

Puritan Richard Mather (1596-1669), grandfather of Increase, and great grandfather of Cotton Mather, once imagined children on judgment day, speaking to their parents. His words will serve as a final sober warning that we must be more diligent to care for the souls of our children:

All this that we here suffer is through you. You should have taught us the things of God, and did not. You should have restrained us from sin and corrected us, and you did not. You were the means of our original corruption and guiltiness, and yet you never showed any competent care that we might be delivered from it. Woe unto us that we had such carnal and careless parents; and woe unto you that had no more compassion and pity to prevent the everlasting misery of your own children.

Editor’s Note: This originally published at Christian Communicators Worldwide.



The Apostle’s Creed: Humble Beginnings and the Rule of Faith

By / Aug 28

The Apostles’ Creed is a summary confession of vital Christian doctrines used liturgically throughout the Western church. It was once believed that the Creed originated with the apostles on or around Pentecost, but now most historians reject this view, seeing the Creed as containing the apostolic faith while not actually having been written by the apostles themselves.

The Background to the Apostles’ Creed

How did the Creed originate? First, it is important to recognize that creedal formulations are common in holy Scripture. The Hebrew shema of Deuteronomy 6:4 was itself a kind of confessional statement used daily by pious Hebrews. The language of 1 Corinthians 15 is creedal, where Paul mentions the transmission of the gospel message which he received and passed on to the Corinthians.[1] Brief summaries of the faith were used devotionally and liturgically under the old covenant, and later among the apostles. It makes sense then that the church would adopt this custom.

In the post-apostolic period, the need for clear and concise articulations of the faith was due in part to the rapid growth of the church throughout the first few centuries of her existence. It is widely believed that the Apostles’ Creed evolved as a kind of baptismal confession. The articles in the Creed were the elementary principles of the faith which the catechumenate – think ancient new members class – were instructed in prior to being baptized. After a period of learning, they would confess the Creed and then receive the sacrament.The foundational doctrines taught to new converts centered on Christ, repentance, faith toward God, instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Click To Tweet

Does this ancient Creed really contain the apostolic “ABC’s” which the first Christians taught initiates? Yes! Consider what the author to the Hebrews said,

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (Heb. 6:1-2)

From as early as Hebrews was written, the foundational doctrines taught to new converts centered on Christ, repentance, faith toward God, instruction about washings (perhaps an allusion to sacramental theology?), the laying on of hands (ordination and ecclesiology?), the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. These fundamental teachings (all of which are present in the Apostles’ Creed) made up what the Fathers referred to as the regula fidei, or Rule of Faith. Men like Irenaeus and Tertullian believed this Rule had come down from the apostles, and that they were passing the baton to subsequent generations. The holy deposit of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ”[2] matured into creeds like the Apostles’ Creed between the 4th and 6th centuries, although each article of the Creed traces its lineage to the earlier teachings of Scripture.

The Articles of the Apostles’ Creed

The Creed puts forward twelve articles of faith (at one point it was believed that each apostle had contributed an article), and there are three main sections in the Creed. The first section begins with God the Father, and the work of creation; the second with Jesus Christ, and the work of redemption; and the third with the Holy Spirit, and the work of sanctification.[3]

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

Throughout the history of the church, commentators on the Creed have begun by defining what it means to believe. Belief includes assent (i.e. agreeing with or approval of), but it isn’t exhausted by it. The Creed isn’t simply a set of propositions for us to say “amen” to, but the faith once for all delivered to the saints through which we experience communion with God and one another. In explaining what it means to believe, 16th century theologian Caspar Olevian wrote, “Faith is to acknowledge and rest in the unchangeable will of God, namely; that He will graciously give us the salvation promised through the prophets and presented in reality through Christ, as the Articles of the Faith testify.”[4] Biblical belief lays hold of faith’s content and makes it ones own.Belief includes assent (i.e. agreeing with or approval of), but it isn’t exhausted by it. Click To Tweet

The first object of our faith in the Creed is God the Almighty Father. He is a Father in two senses, first, by his personal relationship to the Word, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Because the Word is eternally begotten, the Father is always Father. Second, as to our adoption through Christ, he is the Father of all the faithful. Christ who is by nature the Son of the Father, makes us sons and daughters by grace (Jn. 20:17; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 1:5).

The emphasis on God’s creative majesty echoes the opening line of Genesis, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We confess God as Cosmic-King without rival who made everything from nothing. This is hinted at by the identification of God as almighty. St. Augustine noted that the creation of the world ex nihilo (from nothing) reveals to us the absolute independence of God. “For granting that he is almighty, there cannot exist anything of which he should not be the Creator.”[5]

Embedded in this identification of God as Creator is also his providential rule over creation. The One God and Father who made all things is also intimately involved with the world he made, down to the seemingly insignificant occurrences of life (Prov. 16:33; Mt. 10:29).[6] This first section is a comfort to the church in that it introduces us to the God who not only rules over all, but cares for his creation.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

[1] The Greek word used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3, paradidomi was often used to describe the transmission of written tradition or creedal statements (See 1 Corinthians 11:2, 23; Romans 6:17; Jude 1:3).

[2] See Pelikan, Jaroslav The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition, 117.

[3] See Heidelberg Catechism question 24.

[4] Olevian, Caspar An Exposition of the Apostle’s Creed.

[5] See Augustine, De Fide et Symbolo, Ch. 2

[6] For an edifying discussion on this, see Olevian’s Exposition where he gives five key takeaways from God’s providence: 1) It highlights God’s intimate involvement in the world. 2) It reveals that everything tends toward the salvation of God’s elect. 3) It reveals God’s control over the actions of those around us. 4) It reveals God’s control over the angelic realm. 5) It encourages the use of God’s appointed means for growing in grace, rather than a fatalistic laziness.

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared at the Credo Magazine blog and is used with permission. 



Five Reasons to Pastor an Old Church, Even With All Its Problems

By / Aug 26

Driving a new car is way more exciting than climbing into your 15-year-old jalopy, and walking into a new house is far more gratifying than coming home to your old fixer-upper with its honey-do list. So I get it: starting a new church is exciting, especially when compared to taking an established church with all its problems.

Sure enough, church planting has seemed to be all the rage for the last twenty years. But I want to take just a moment to offer five reasons that aspiring and existing pastors should consider before deciding to plant.

Five Reasons to Pastor a Church That Already Exists

1. Many established churches eagerly desire a vocational pastor.

I live in East Texas, and I know several churches without a senior pastor. Simply put, these churches are ripe for the picking. You don’t have to form a core team, you don’t need to raise funds, you don’t need to persuade a commissioning agency, and you don’t even need to figure out where you’re going to meet for the next six months. Everything and everyone are assembled and waiting.

2. Speaking of meeting space, most established churches have buildings.

Many of these buildings include a main auditorium, some classroom and small-group space, and even a pastor’s office. And guess what? These churches often have little-to-no debt!

Let’s return to my car analogy. Your dream Corvette might look and sound better than my 2007 Nissan Murano, but my loan is paid off completely and my insurance is cheap. Your payments, meanwhile . . .

In other words, a church enjoys stability by owning its own property.

3. Established churches tend to have older members.

Generally speaking, older Christians bring some welcome strengths to the table. They’re often faithful attenders, generous givers, and committed members. I’ve been in ministry since 2012, and I’ve had to remind many under-50 church members about the importance of being present on Sundays. With older members, I usually have to help them not to feel so guilty about sometimes being absent.

4. Established churches are often full of under-taught and undiscipled sheep for whom Christ died.

Pastors have many important responsibilities. One of them is to work to present mature Christians to their Savior and Master (Col. 1:28).

Before I served as a local church pastor, I worked as a vocational evangelist. I loved it. There was nothing like watching someone appear to understand and believe the gospel for the first time. But I said “there was” for a reason. I feel that same joy when I watch long-time Christians spiritually grow right before my eyes. These days, and much to my surprise, I’m more compelled by a persevering saint finally entering glory than by an initial profession of faith. (Though both are wonderful!)

5. Established churches really can get healthier.

Many older churches have become entrenched in unbiblical traditions. Over time, they’ve slid into familiar customs and have grown resistant to change. These churches need help. They need patient pastors who are willing to explain what they need to do to change not through force of personality but through the clear witness of Scripture. To be sure, it’s probably easier and less stressful to simply leave these incredulous churches behind. But they need help! Furthermore, these churches really can get healthier. But for that to happen, they need faithful pastors.

Conclusion

If you’re an aspiring pastor, you may think your best route is church planting—and you may be right. But allow me to push you to at least consider the benefits and joys of investing your time and energy into an established church. You might find that you’ll be better resourced, better funded, and just as fruitful.

If you’re an older pastor, perhaps you’ve got years of experience and ten to fifteen years left in you. You might serve Christ best by staying right where you are. But I wonder if you might be just the pastor a dying church needs to lead her back to health and vitality.

May God help us all to serve him well wherever we are.

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared at the 9Marks blog and is used with permission.



Losing Friends

By / Aug 25

There is an art to losing a friendship. It’s never a painless process, but it does expose the ugly parts of your soul.

I’m not talking about losing a friendship because of youth-group-driven conviction that the character of your closet friend is “not Christian.” Nor am I condemning that type of advice given by youth pastors. I believe wholeheartedly that bad company ruins good morals. I’m talking about a friendship that drifts apart through distance, or because of a vocational change.

Many of us enter adulthood with an innocent optimism that our close childhood friends will be the same ones that we hold into adulthood. During youthful days, I collected friends like a sock in the desert collects cockleburs. Life was easy, and friends were the heartbeat of my social life. However, things quickly change. A vocational change led to a move, and some of those cockleburs fell off.

Nobody is at fault for these things. God led my family elsewhere. However, I soon realized that many of the friends I thought to be “life-long” were transient. It is a strange thing to think, “I’ll probably never talk to that person again.” Not out of malice or ill-will, but because you know that you’re not going to call, and they’re not going to either. Losing friends is a process that draws out the deep waters of the soul, and I thought it helpful to write about the process of losing friends and doing it gracefully.

Losing friends is an outworking of our creaturely limitations. We can only maintain a limited amount of relationships where there is mutual encouragement and joy. Human existence is limited by temporality, meaning that you will not have time to give to your family, keep up with your responsibilities, and get coffee with 5 different people every week. Thinking otherwise is foolish. I have been through periods of life where I was trying to keep up with too many friends. Instead of being a source of joy, the friendships quickly became burdens, which helped nobody. You have a finite amount of time. Steward it well.

However, that doesn’t mean that Christians should see the shedding of friendships as inherently negative. Old relationships will peter out so that one has time to make new friends. God places us in certain spaces and times for certain seasons. It is wise to recognize the changing of one season for another. New graces come with new friendships, and friendships of the past can shrink into the background so that God can shape and mold through new ones.

However, as the years pass, there will be friendships that deserve to last a lifetime. Identify the friendships that you cannot lose, and make those a priority. I know that a 10-minute conversation a month can keep the embers of a previous friendship warm. When God brings chances to re-kindle old friendships, these warm embers will fan into flame quickly. When God brings permanent friends who stick closer than siblings, recognize them, and tend the fire.

The insidious temptations that come with losing friendships depend on the role you played in the relationship. Were you always the one reaching out? If you were the driving engine behind a friendship, and it dies, the temptation is to feel resentment or bitterness. “I reached out all those times, why haven’t they reached out at all?” These are constant thoughts that I have to fight off, naturally being one who likes to plan gatherings with friends. Put these thoughts to death, and replace them with renewed care for the people who are in your life now.

If you were the one who never reached out, but always responded to invitations, the temptation is to feel neglected and left out. “Doesn’t she care about me anymore?” It is painful to find yourself on the outside of the inner ring. You may find yourself forgotten and lonely. Put these thoughts to death, and replace them with charitable thoughts about your former friends.

Have you ever considered the implications of friendship with Jesus? (John 15:15) Jesus calls us His friends after telling us to abide in Him, and promising that He will do the same (John 15:4). For fear of sounding too emotive, friendship with Jesus is not a common topic of Christian discussion. Like looking through frosted glass, all earthly friendships yearn for the intimacy of this friendship. The sweet communion that saints have with Jesus is the anti-type for all earthly friendships, which is why when Christian friendships die, it is painful.

However, the fact that all friendships prefigure friendship with Jesus means that eternality will remove time’s restricting walls. The eternal now will allow saints to know Jesus as well as each other without sin, there will be a deep and abiding joy. It will mean the end of vocational moves across the country, the death of relational rifts, and transient friendships, and all friendships with saints will last with unceasing duration and joy.



What Makes Jesus’s Commission So Great Anyway? 

By / Aug 19

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”

What makes Jesus’s commission so great anyway? 

I understand it is the singular mission that Jesus gives to anyone that chooses to follow him. But, why is it great?

If we aren’t careful, we can simply see these words from Jesus as a command to be obeyed. If that’s all it was from the mouth of our King, then that would be enough. But the Bible gives us more context as to why these words, in particular, are given as the directive of his church and the commission of his disciples. To see it, we need to zoom out from Matthew 28 and see the sweeping scope of God’s redemptive plan, and then ask how this command fits into God’s plan.

We need to go back to the very beginning where we see God create everything perfectly. It only takes two pages before everything is ruined. This is known as the “fall,” when mankind rebelled against their God and sin entered the world for the first time. A curse fell upon God’s good creation and where there was once only peace, now, there was death. Everything was damaged that day. Adam, Eve, and everyone that followed them would be separated from God because of their sin.

The world then descends into that darkness. We turn in on ourselves and against others—murder, rebellion, and corruption. The world was spiraling out of control until the events of Genesis 6. God sends a worldwide flood as a sign of his judgment. He does, however, save one family and many animals on an ark in his mercy. Still, not even a flood that covered every square inch of the earth was enough to solve the problem. That’s because the problem wasn’t external; it was internal. Sin still had a hold and would spread again until Genesis 11. God once again sends his judgement at the Tower of Babel as people strive to make a name for themselves. God scatters the nations and there seems to be no hope for humanity. We appear doomed to follow the evil inclinations of our own hearts and run away from God.

But then, the reader turns the page to Genesis 12. Pastor Mark Dever describes Genesis 12 as “the most crucial event in the Bible between the fall of Adam and the birth of Christ occurs in Genesis 12.” Do you know what that event is? The call of Abraham.

“The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land,
your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3

We know that this blessing wasn’t just a promise to make Abraham rich, because Paul writes this in Galatians 3:8 “Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12 sets in motion the events of the rest of the Bible. It is here that God tips his hand and says, “Here is my plan of redemption. This will be my mission. I’m calling you and I will bless you and your family and, through that blessing, I will save the entire world.”

God has always had a worldwide plan; global missions isn’t just a New Testament idea. When God calls Abraham, he didn’t just have one man or one family or even one nation in mind; he was thinking about the entire earth. God’s plan for blessing his people through the redemption of his Son has always had a missional thrust to it. God’s mission has always had a global target from day one. That’s the beginning, and the end looks sovereignly similar.

God’s worldwide plan is seen both in the promise of Genesis 12 as well as the praise of Revelation 7. The fulfillment of that promise to Abraham is seen in John’s revelation. “After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10

Look who is sitting in the seats around the throne, worshipping Jesus as the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world: every tribe, every tongue, and every nation. This is the blessing that God promised to all the families of the earth. His people around the world have been saved from darkness, brokenness, and punishment, and they will finally dwell with him. He is their God; they are his people.

In Genesis, God commits to his plan. In Revelation, God completes his plan.

The mission is to transfer a people from the domain of darkness and into the kingdom of light, from wrath to joy, from death to life. The mission of God is to rescue, form, and, ultimately, dwell with his people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. That plan was initiated by a missionary God. In John’s gospel alone, Jesus says the phrase “the Father sent me” 14 different times.

In a very real sense, Jesus is the first Christian missionary. He left the comforts and benefits of heaven to go into another land, and to live there among the people to bring redemption and salvation to a lost and dying world. He left his home to go into a foreign country to spread his gospel as he was sent by his Father.God didn’t wait for us to come to him; he came to us.

When Jesus came, he had a clear mission: that people would see him, believe in him, and live forever. Jesus was sent to rescue his people. He was the emphatic “Yes!” to God’s promise to Abraham. However, the mission didn’t end with Jesus. He then turns to anyone that follows him and says these words: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21). If you’ve been saved by Jesus, then you’ve been sent by Jesus.

What is extraordinary, and unexpected, is that God has actually committed this plan of redemption to his people.

We see the conception of God’s plan in Genesis and the consummation of his plan in Revelation, but the commissioning of his plan is in Matthew 28, and it’s been given to you: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” This divine, worldwide, and cosmic plan of reconciliation and blessing has been given to us. The very means that God has chosen to use to fill the seats around the throne in Revelation is you as you go and make disciples.

Revelation 7 doesn’t happen if Matthew 28 isn’t obeyed.

This is why the commission is so great. It is an invitation into God’s divine and eternal plan of redemption. It is a call to make your life matter. In his wisdom, God has chosen to entrust his mission to you. The mission reaches into every aspect of your life. You don’t have to leave everything you’re doing to obey this commission; you simply have to approach everyday moments of your life with a gospel intentionality.

You are no longer simply a stay-at-home mom changing diapers, scrubbing the walls to get crayon off, or figuring out how to parent a teenager with a smartphone. You are now sent by your King into your primary mission field: your own home. You strive, with every decision, to give your children a glimpse of God’s character: his kindness, his grace, his love, and his justice. You are an ambassador for your King in the lives of your kids.

Think about where you work out, where you live, where you eat, where you wait to pick up your kids from dance class. Do you stare at your phone during your kid’s practice, or do you try and meaningfully engage other parents in the hopes of establishing a relationship to share Jesus with them? How about being honest at work and living generously in the sight of others?

Every seemingly menial action in your life, when done in obedience to Jesus, fits into this plan of redemption and gives significance to every moment. In doing this, you are obeying the Great Commission and playing your part in God’s worldwide plan of redemption.

It is time for each of us to step into the story that God has for us. It is time for us to listen to Jesus, and learn what makes this commission truly great.



God Above All Governments

By / Aug 18

You may disagree, but I believe biblical history and subsequent Christian history demonstrates that radical internal holiness, godly enthusiasm to follow Christ, and courageous truth-inspired faith in him regardless of the societal externals or the diffidence and even hatred of those around us, do more to accomplish the will of God in the world than the seating of any government over the people.

The government may or may not support the Christian viewpoint. It did not in New Testament days when Christianity spread like a prairie fire across the known world. We should pray that our government will imbibe our principles. We should pay attention and do our part. But our faith doesn’t rest there. Not in the least.

God is above all governments of men; the message we speak is more powerful to transform than any governmental philosophy or program, speech or law; and the Spirit in us grants amazing powers through normal means — sometimes extraordinary means — even in times of suffocating suppression through otherwise normal people who believe resolutely in God to accomplish his will in the hearts of men.

We should, in fact, refuse to put trust in governments and policies, but only in God. God did not mean this world to be our home or a place of perfect peace or satisfaction. That will come later. Until then, we should keep our perspective right by seeing all that happens around us as the dark backdrop for the brilliant beauty and power of the Lord to be seen through his true church.



Fisherman or Fishermen? Considering the Church’s Corporate Mission

By / Aug 17

When Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “I will make you fishers of men,” do you picture an individual sitting on the edge of a pier with a rod and reel? Or do you imagine a group of fishermen leaning over the side of a boat, each one holding their part of a large net?

More importantly, which kind of fishing came to the disciples’ minds?

You or Y’all?

Western Christians often imagine the individual on the pier. Why? First, translators often flatten the distinction between second-person singular and second-person plural pronouns—between “you” and “you all.” Matthew 4:19 uses the second-person plural pronoun. So Jesus’ words could be translated, “I will make you all fishers of men.” The change is slight, but significant.

But translation isn’t the only explanation. We also have to consider the cultural intuitions of those raised in the West. Might some of us occasionally read our own individualistic presuppositions into the Bible? It’s certainly possible.

Scores of mission texts in the New Testament employ those same plural pronouns. For example, Acts 1:8 could rightly be, “You all are witnesses.” Jesus’ earlier declaration should be, “You all are the light of the world “(Matt. 5:14).. First–century believers hearing those texts—and many others—would’ve assumed mission to be a corporate undertaking. Therefore, rather than choosing to evangelize alone, they engaged in the church’s mission together.

Of course, these implications concerning the mission of the church proceed from the nature of the church. What the church is inevitably what the church does. The God who saves individuals by faith alone does not save them to be alone. Nor does he save them that they might fulfill his mission alone, as some evangelistic silo.

I recognize that all might sound highly theoretical, but let me attempt to demonstrate the practicality of this corporate mission. It’s possible that without theological categories for it, you’re already doing evangelism with others.

Children’s Ministry

I remember the first time one of my own children reached the age to attend Vacation Bible School. Admittedly, because a boy I named now wore one of the nametags, my missiological antennas were heightened.

Here’s what I remember. During those few days of VBS, a number of fellow church members enthusiastically greeted the kids as they entered the building. Other volunteers worked security. A few gracious saints watched babies so husbands and wives spend time with the kids. One of those wives skillfully taught the children songs about how Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Meanwhile, other church members prepared chicken strips and handed out Capri–Suns. Thankfully, a young couple thought of creative ways those kids could burn off some sugar outside playing games. And each night, my fellow elder Chris—one of my son’s favorite adults—taught all the children about a King who’d come.

This group of men and women gladly used their time, their energy, and their gifts to get the gospel before this group of children, one of whom came home with me each night eager to return the next. While my wife and I certainly retain the primary responsibility to teach that young man the gospel, some of my dearest brothers and sisters in Christ joined us that week.

At times, we’re so concerned about those not in our gatherings that we neglect those whom God walks through the door every week. In our setting, about 30% of our weekly attenders have yet to publicly profess faith in Christ. Most of those 30% also happen to be young enough to attend a Vacation Bible School or our weekly children’s classes. And every Sunday, as one volunteer greets at the front door, someone else changes diapers so yet another person can teach 4th graders the glories of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Whether we realize it or not, corporate evangelism happens throughout our churches week after week. From children’s ministry to youth group, this discipline shows up in nearly everything we do.

For example, consider that neighbor or co-worker you’ve been evangelizing. Perhaps ask your small group or a few friends at church to join you in praying for him or her. Then, the next time you go to a park, attend a ballgame, or decide to grill out, invite them to come along. Your brothers and sisters in Christ have already linked arms in praying. Now that name has a face. Corporate evangelism is that easy! And while you’re at the park or in the backyard, pray that those relationships within the body of Christ might be an attractive display of how God’s grace has transformed your—excuse me—you all’s life.

The mission of the church is in fact the mission of the church. Rather than merely being one person casting from a pier, it’s a host of men and women holding their part of the net.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared at the 9Marks blog and is used with permission.