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Thoughts on the Gospel, Life, and Ministry
The Reformed Tradition
I wrote the following essay for a video lesson series that our congregation used to study the Church’s history this past summer. The seventh video was on the Reformed Tradition. It particularly answered the question: What does it mean to be Reformed? If you would like to watch the videos, you can find them here.
Introduction
We are back for the seventh lesson in our summer series on the history of the Christian Church. One of the things that we have noticed, or at least said throughout the previous 6 lessons, is that the history of the Church is the history of the Western world since the beginnings of the New Testament Church during Pentecost.
The Church’s history has either shaped Western civilization directly or indirectly, meaning that the society in which we live has either embraced the Church and taken its form from the religion of the Church, or it has taken it’s shape by actively pushing against the Church.
But, there is no denying the fact that the western world’s history is intertwined with the Church’s history. It’s an historical reality.
Today, I thought we would take a moment to explore the aftereffects of the Protestant Reformation on the Church communities that came from it. Last week I gave you three hallmarks of the Reformation that summarize, to a large degree, the theological and church life commitments of the post-Reformation congregations. They are:
- The Authority of God’s Word;
- Justification by Grace Through Faith Alone;
- The Priesthood of Believers.
These three theological commitments greatly impacted the culture of the congregations within this Reformed tradition. So, today, I thought we’d take our time to work through some of the distinguishing characteristics of the ethos (or culture) of the Reformed tradition. In essence, we’re going to answer the question: What does it mean to be Reformed? Or, what does it mean to be faithful to the historic Reformed tradition?
Why is this Important?
You may be wondering why answering this question is important. I’ll tell you. Simply put, we are a Reformed congregation. And, it’s not because we have reformed in our name — Chester Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. It’s actually because we are Presbyterians. Next week, we’ll get into the specifics of the Scottish Reformation and the development of Presbyterianism. But, for now, we’ll leave it at this: as Presbyterians we are a part of the Reformed tradition.
The Reformation Spread Quickly
As we get started, let me give you an idea of how quickly the Reformation spread throughout Europe. Last week, I said it spread like wildfire due to the printing press, the renewed sense of intellectual advancement, and the growing sense of connectivity among the citizens of the various European countries. Society was becoming more mobile as well.
The Reformation began in Saxony (Germany) in 1517 and spread to neighboring nations immediately. A few years after Luther was excommunicated at the Diet of Worms (1521), Huldrich Zwingli started reforming Swiss Christian congregations in 1523. From there, the movement picked up momentum as it was propelled by the Holy Spirit. Below is a list of Confessional documents that were written and adopted soon after the initial blows of the Reformation were thrown.
- Augsburg Confession — 1530 in Germany
- The First Helvetic Confession — 1536 in Switzerland (Bring unity on Lord’s Supper)
- John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion — 1536 in France
- Scots Confession — 1560 in Scotland
- Belgic Confession — 1566 in Holland — Canons of Dort in 1619
- 39 Articles — 1571 in England
- French Confession — 1579 in France
All told, eight Confessional statements, representing 8 different Confessional bodies were written and approved within 58 years of Luther’s excommunication. 60 years is a long time for us. But, when you think about change within the Christian Church throughout all of Europe, it’s an amazingly short time. God worked quickly and broadly to establish the Reformed tradition, which changed the western world. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones said of the Scottish Reformation under John Knox, “It is no exaggeration to say that the Protestant Reformation changed and turned the entire course of history, not only the history of the church but secular history.”
Since this is the case, it behooves us to think about the distinguishing characteristics of the Reformed tradition? Our tradition. Our story.
The Distinguishing Characteristics of the Reformed Tradition
I want to point out six characteristics of the Reformed tradition. I’ve seen as many as nine identified, but for our purposes, six will do just fine. (As always, they’ll be listed in on the video). Here they are:
- A Focus on the Majesty and Praise of God;
- An Understanding of Divine Providence At Work in All Things;
- A Commitment to a Life of Holiness;
- A Dedication to the Principle of Faith Seeking Understanding;
- A Conviction that Preaching Should be Plain and Powerful;
- An Insistence on the Simplicity of Faith.
Let’s work our way through them.
A Focus on the Majesty and Praise of God
For Reformed Christians, God is the center of life and theology. He is the Creator of all things, the Redeemer of His people, and the King of Kings. There is none higher than Him and there will never be one higher than Him. This conviction comes from the Reformed Christian’s belief in the authority of the Bible. No one can read the Scriptures seriously and not conclude that the Bible is all about God and His glory. This reality has at least three consequences for the Reformed Christian.
First, this focus makes worship the principle purpose of the Church and the individual person. Both Church and person share the same chief end — to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Fundamentally, God has created and redeemed His people for the sole purpose of His glory. And therefore, they live lives of humble subjection to Him because they trust Him to accomplish His good purposes.
Second, this focus makes Reformed Christians ask the fundamental question: how is a man or woman made right before this holy, majestic, and powerful God? It’s not about finding a little bit of help in this life, or some physical healing, or a tad of guidance for this life, or some inner peace, or a friend to help with loneliness. It’s about being right with the Creator of the Universe, the maker of our souls. Reformed Christians are convinced that they are at odds with their Creator, and so their concern is reconciliation, which is reflected in the way they worship, the way they live, and the way they minister to others.
Third, this focus causes Reformed Christians to fight against the sin of idolatry. If God’s glory is the supreme end of life, then anything, anyone, or any practice that threatens His glory must be eradicated. It’s simple, really. God and His glory is pursued above everything else.
An Understanding of Divine Providence at Work in All Things
If God is majestic, powerful, and the Creator of all things, then He is sovereign over all things by definition. This means that He is working in and through all things to accomplish His divine purposes for His glory. The Reformed Christian trusts Him and allows Him to be the sovereign God of all Creation. He has a perspective and purpose that the Reformed Christian does not, and the Reformed Christian isn’t bothered by it in the least. He or she rests in the truth that God is working in everything to accomplish His purposes, and those purposes will be good for His people because He has promised so in His Word. God always keeps His promises, for He is a covenant keeper.
A Commitment to a Life of Holiness
Since God’s glory is supreme, and in His love and grace He reconciles undeserving men and women to Himself, then those who have received that reconciliation owe a life of holiness and obedience to Him. So, Reformed Christians and their congregations are committed to living holy and disciplined lives. But, this commitment doesn’t apply to Christians only. It also applies to the general public as well. Because of their conviction that all men are to live for the glory of God, Reformed Christians believe that general society should be reformed according to the Word of God and God’s standard of morality as well. This has caused Reformed Christians and their congregations to challenge friends, family, local and national governments to live, educate, and legislate according to the teachings of the Bible.
A Dedication to the Principle of Faith Seeking Understanding
A faith that seeks to understand the character of God, the world He created, and the faith that testifies to Him is a hallmark of the Reformed tradition. Reformed Christians and their congregations are not satisfied with an unapologetically anti-intellectual Christianity. They are convinced that the development of the intellectual components of the faith are both glorifying to God and essential for faithfulness. It is impossible to separate Christian practice from Christian doctrine. Thought informs and determines action. Therefore, Reformed Christians prioritize education within the Church and the society at large. Many of the world’s greatest universities trace their origins to the traditions of Reformed Christianity.
A Conviction that Preaching Should be Plain and Powerful
Reformed congregations not only prize the corporate worship gathering, they also prize the proclamation of God’s Word from the pulpit. But, there are two specific qualities that preaching ought to possess. First, it is to be plain and clear. A sermon should be written and delivered plainly and clearly enough that the worshippers will learn who God is and be challenged to live according to His will. Second, preaching should be powerful, which is dependent upon the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Delivering and hearing a sermon is a spiritual experience through which God speaks to His people.
An Insistence on the Simplicity of Faith
Reformed Christians and their congregations insist on the simplicity of the Christian faith in every aspect of it. They do this because of their commitment to the authority of God’s Word. If God prescribes it, then they do it. If God doesn’t prescribe it, then it is not required. Life and worship really are simple when viewed through this lens. Love God, do what He says, worship as He prescribes, and fulfill the ministry that He gives to the Christian and the congregation. There’s no need to add to what God says, and Reformed Christians refuse to do so because of their adherence to the Bible’s teaching on the Sovereignty and majesty of God. What He says is what goes.
Conclusion
And, there you have it. Six characteristics of the Reformed tradition. Now that we have them, we’ll move into the specifics of the Scottish Reformation and establishment of Presbyterianism next week. See you then!
Congratulations! Now, Go Forth.
Last week I had the privilege of addressing the graduates of our local Adult Education Department. The whole class had wonderfully inspiring stories of perseverance, dignity, and strength. Below is my address to them. Maybe you’ll appreciate my words.
Introduction
Congratulations to the 2022 Graduating Class! You’ve earned it. Well done.
I have been asked to address you tonight, and to be honest, I feel a little strange standing before you because I imagine you all have a lot to teach me. You’re the stars of this show.
You’ve overcome many obstacles.
You’ve shed some tears (maybe a lot).
You’ve probably said some stuff you didn’t mean to the people you love.
You’ve stopped and started again, and potentially have done that more than once.
But here you are! You’re finished. Hallelujah!
We’re all proud of you.
4 Things to Do From This Point Forward
I do have to do my job up here tonight, don’t I? So, let me make a few points.
First, thank everyone that has helped you get to this point in your life.
We all come from different backgrounds and different perspectives. We have all faced different obstacles in our lives. I’m not going to stand before you and act as if I know what you have been through because I don’t. It would be ridiculous for me to think that I do.
But, I do know this: you didn’t get to this point in your life without someone helping you. You had a teacher offer a helping hand with a difficult subject. You had a mom keep your children so you could do your schoolwork. You had a child cheer you on as you fought to get your diploma. You had a friend to pick up the emotional pieces of your life when you thought you couldn’t do it. You had a pastor challenge you to go back and finish your schooling. There were countless others who were there for you along the way.
And, yes, that includes those who told you that you couldn’t do it. You’d never amount to anything. You’d never be enough. Thank them for fueling your fire with their negativity.
Tonight, you celebrate a great accomplishment, but don’t think you did it all by yourself. There are many people who helped you get to this point. Make sure to thank them.
Second, take the lessons you’ve learned in grit and determination with you.
You have gained a wealth of knowledge during your time as a student. You’ve learned about English grammar, algebraic equations, geometric shapes, literature, historical events and their significance, how government works, and so on. You have mastered this information. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here tonight.
And, those lessons will serve you well. You intuitively will be able to engage the world in which you live. Your education has seeped into your bones and has become part of you. You’re more capable now than you were when you started. You will no longer struggle to figure out how to compute per unit prices at the grocery store to determine whether or not you are getting the best value for your dollar.
The greatest lessons of a completed education (I have to be careful saying this because I don’t want your teachers and administrators to charge the stage.), however, aren’t the ones you learned as you studied the subject matter. Rather, they are the ones you learned in the process of completing your educational requirements.
Psychologist Angela Duckworth has a defined grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” You’ve demonstrated grit over the course of your study. Some of you had longer-term goals than others but all of you have accomplished them nonetheless. As you continue your adult lives, this testimony of your grit will pay dividends in your life. It will remind you that CAN set goals, that you CAN persevere to attain them, and that you CAN complete them. Confidence is an invaluable characteristic for anyone who desires to accomplish anything in this life, let alone something great. And, tonight’s accomplishment will supply you with overflowing confidence. Never forget what you have done, and let the story of how you’ve done it inspire you to set goals and accomplish them throughout the rest of your lives. Don’t give up.
Third, fight to make sure you do the right thing, always.
You have probably heard the MLK quote that says, “The time is always right to do what is right.” It’s always the right time to do the right thing.
It’s always right to be kind to others.
It’s always right to be generous with your time, talents, and resources.
It’s always right to be a humble person.
It’s always right to be a loyal friend.
It’s always right to love other people well.
It’s always right to support and train the children around you.
It’s always right to motivate your friends and family while holding them accountable for their actions.
Make sure you fight against the temptation to take the easy way out or to not do the right thing. You learned how to fight this temptation when you were tempted to not turn in those assignments or complete the course of study before you, but you did it anyway. You know how strong those temptations are, and you know you have to fight hard to overcome them.
This is where faith comes into play. As a Christian pastor, I trust in a great and wonderfully powerful God who enables me to overcome the temptations of this world. If you have a similar faith in our God, then I encourage you to rely upon Him and His power. Fight to make sure you always do the right thing.
Finally, strive to make the world a better place.
Education is a wonderful thing. It gives you confidence. It makes you more adept at interacting with our world. It gives you an opportunity to better yourself. You know all of these things, for they are probably the reasons you decided to return to school.
However, your education is for more than just your benefit. It’s for the benefit of others. In this county, we believe in an educated public because it makes the world a better place. It makes everyone more capable of providing for themselves. It informs our public debates. It makes our democracy possible. The freedom, standard of living, and opportunity that we enjoy are only possible because we have an educated population. As education goes, so goes our country.
Now, that you have completed your secondary education, you need to be an advocate in our community for education. Impress upon your children and your grandchildren the importance of being well-educated. Help the teachers in our schools; they have tough jobs. Tutor students. Tell them to behave and commit to life-long learning. Use your influence and experience to make Chester County a better and more educated place to live and work.
As the Scriptures teach us, we all need to focus our attention on other people more than we focus it on ourselves.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to say again that it has been my honor to be a part of your special celebration. Thank you for giving me your attention and your time. Again, I say congratulations to you all. Job well done!
May God bless you richly in His grace.
Will You Follow Him?
I wrote the following article was written for the March/April edition of ARP Magazine, a publication of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. May it be an encouragement and a challenge to you.
My task is to write an article on the Moderator of our General Synod, Patrick Malphrus’s theme for this year which comes from Luke 9:62 — “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” You probably already know that this statement comes from a collection of passages in Luke’s Gospel where he defines the cost of discipleship.
In verses 23-27 of chapter 9, Luke records Jesus’s famous teaching on self-denying discipleship where he said that his disciples are duty bound to “deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him.” We must willingly lose our own lives for Christ’s sake in order to save them. There is no salvation for the man or woman who will not forfeit the whole world in order to gain Christ.
Luke 9:57-62 further explains this call to committed discipleship and what it means for faithful Christians in three ways. First, Christian discipleship means life-long struggle and warfare in the pursuit of Christ. Second, it means faith-filled devotion to Christ and his cause. And third, it means a definite break with our old life for the sake of Christ.
Before I expound upon each of these statements, let me quote the passage from which they were taken. It’s imperative that we always root our understanding of discipleship in the Bible.
57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” — Luke 9:57-62 (ESV)
Struggle and Warfare in the Pursuit of Christ.
The first of the three prospective disciples approached Jesus and boldly stated that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. Now, that’s and admirable statement from anyone, but especially from a scribe (Matt. 8:19). Scribes were the lawyers of the day. They understood the Law of Moses and made opinions on it. As a result, they were well respected in the community. They also frequently aligned with the Pharisees as they shared a common commitment to following the continually growing legal demands of the Law as it was interpreted by the tradition of the elders. Righteousness, for them, was found in how well they kept the law and the traditions of the Jewish faith externally.
This scribe, for some reason, was intrigued by Jesus. In fact, he was so intrigued that he was willing to commit his life to following Jesus. Not surprisingly, Jesus stood ready to welcome him into his band of disciples. But first Jesus wanted him to know what following him would mean in his life. It would mean struggle, conflict, and rejection.
Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but Jesus and his disciples have nowhere to permanently lay their heads in this world. The Christian’s life is described in the Bible as a pilgrimage – from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Think about the people of God in the Exodus. They were delivered by the grace and power of God from the land of bondage. They were given the Law on their journey to the Promised Land. Along the way, God provided for their every need while leading them day and night and meeting with them in the Tabernacle until they arrived in Canna. Consider also the image of Revelation 14 where the redeemed of God in Christ are pictured singing a new song and marching their way behind the “Lamb who was slain” to Mount Zion, the dwelling place of God. Our home – our holes, our nests – are not in this world; they are in the eternal dwelling place of God.
This scribe needed to hear this message from Jesus. Remember, he enjoyed a comfortable life, a position of honor and influence in the religious community of his day. To follow Jesus, he’d be required to forfeit his familiar and comfortable life. Was he willing to pay the price of following Jesus? Was he willing to join a group of disciples who were rejected, persecuted, ostracized and would eventually lose their lives for the sake of Christ? We cannot tell from the story.
Faith-filled Devotion to Christ and His Cause
The second potential disciple is different than the first and third because he received a direct call from Jesus to join the disciples in their pursuit of Christ. Jesus walked up to him and plainly said, “Follow me.” The man’s response is puzzling because it’s hard for us (at least for me) to imagine anybody telling Jesus to his face, “Hold on. I’m doing something. I’ll be with you when I’m finished.” But that is what this guy does! He responds with, “I’ll come but let me go take care of some other stuff first.” Jesus’s response is equally stunning. “Let the dead bury the dead. You go proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Now, I could write much about burial rites in the culture and whether Jesus is condemning a tradition that placed undue burdens of family members of the deceased. We could even make a spiritual argument that Jesus is distinguishing those who are spiritually dead and those who are spiritually alive. None of those things, however, changes the ultimate meaning of the interaction. The guy simply isn’t ready to devote himself to following Jesus at that moment. Burying his father is nothing but an excuse for not responding to the Lord’s call immediately. You see, discipleship is a matter of faith that plays itself out in devotion to Christ and his cause. It makes our relationship with Jesus and his demands on our lives our top priority.
I want you to notice that Jesus identifies one demand as paramount — “You go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Discipleship is not about “me and Jesus.” Rather, it’s fundamentally missional. That means we are called to join Jesus in the announcement of his kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel message. There is no Christian discipleship without witness and mission. “You follow me and proclaim the kingdom” is the call, not only on this disciple, but on everyone who has ever received the effectual call of Christ on his or her heart.
In this instance, there is something else of note as well. Jesus connects witness to mourning. In no way is Jesus saying that the man shouldn’t mourn the loss of his father. What he is saying is that family duties in the mourning of death or in the celebration of joy should not consume our time to the point that it prevents us from fulfilling our plainly stated religious duties. We are to declare by words and our deeds that our hope rests in Christ and that the world to come occupies our minds. Paul said it well, “We do not mourn as those who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” So, we proclaim the kingdom of God as we mourn. And that is what Jesus called this potential disciple to do. Did he? We won’t know until we get to Heaven.
Definite Break with Our Old Life for the Sake of Christ
The third man in this story has the easiest story to understand. He came to Jesus and said, “I’ll follow you on one condition, that you wait for me to go home and say goodbye to my family and my friends. It won’t take long.” Jesus said, “No.”
I want to draw your attention back to verse 57 for a moment. There Luke uses a participle to express the movement of Jesus and his disciples from one village to another, meaning that when Jesus meets this third prospective disciple he is literally on the move. To stop and wait on this fellow go home and say goodbye would disrupt the fulfillment of Jesus’s mission. He will not wait.
The significance of this interaction is found in the condition that this aspiring disciple, who approached Jesus about discipleship, puts upon his devotion. “I’ll follow you Jesus but let me go home first.” Jesus is not opposed to closure in personal relationships when his calling on our lives leads us in a different direction. He is, however, opposed to anything that places conditions on our discipleship, especially connections to our old lives. This is because he demands top billing and following him necessarily demands a defined break with our old lives. It’s the essence of repentance.
The Shorter Catechism defines repentance unto life as “a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience” (#87). Think about this for a moment. A Christian understands his or her sin and the mercy of God in such a way that he or she turns from it and unto God, forsaking the old life and its sin while embracing the new life and its pursuit of obedience to God. This is exactly what Jesus called the third man to do – “Forsake that old life and follow me because were on the move.” Was he willing to do it? We don’t know.
A Pearl of Great Value
Luke leaves us with big questions at the end of this passage. We don’t know, nor can we know, whether any of these three men made the decision to follow Jesus. We don’t know if they were willing to pay the price. And I think that is Luke’s divinely inspired point. He wants us to ask the question of ourselves. Are we willing to pay the costs associated with following Jesus? Each one of us will identify with one of these characters, if not all of them, and we must decide if we are willing to follow Jesus.
Some of us, no doubt, need to decide if we are willing to give up the comfortable and well-respected positions we now enjoy in order to pursue Christ and his call on our lives. Others of us need to make Christ and his cause the top priority of our lives. And some of us need to confront our past lives with its relationships and trappings that pull us away from Christ and our devotion to him.
Inevitably, we will make our decision based on whether we believe that following Jesus is worth the cost. It’s how we make decisions, isn’t it? Is the payoff worth the cost? The Bible’s answer is a resounding, “Yes, Jesus is worth everything.” What is your answer?
Jesus taught that the kingdom of God, which we enter through faith and repentance, is like “a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:45-46) The value of the kingdom of God, as it is embodied in the King, the Lord Jesus himself, is far greater than anything you or I could ever dream of possessing on our own in this life or the next. Just ask yourself what in your life is more valuable than an eternity spent in the presence of your Creator who loved you enough to take human flesh upon himself, live a perfect life, and bear the wrath stored up for your sins by dying on a cross in your place? You don’t have anything more valuable than that. I promise.
Friend, sell it all and throw yourself on Christ in faith. He is infinitely worthy of your life. Cash out your faith in yourself, endure the hardships in this world, repent of your sins, and trust him to get you home!
Thankfulness is Necessary — A Pastoral Note
[11] On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance [13] and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” [14] When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. [15] Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; [16] and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. [17] Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? [18] Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” [19] And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” — Luke 17:11-19 (ESV)
One of the most damning passages in Luke’s gospel regarding human pride and forgetfulness is the story of the ten lepers in chapter 17. While making their way to Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples met ten men with leprosy in a small village between Samaria and Galilee. Collectively, the men begged Jesus to have mercy on them. He answered their plea and cleansed them of their disease. Only one of them turned back to thank Jesus for his gift of grace and healing. The others went on their way to “show themselves to the priest,” as Jesus had instructed them. Troubled by the failure of the nine to return to thank him, Jesus asked the questions, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
For Jesus, thankfulness is a central and mandatory characteristic for anyone who has been touched by his grace. The neglect of the nine lepers to return to thank him is telling as it reveals the true nature of their hearts before God. Surely, if asked, they’d all say they were grateful for the healing. How could they not be? Being cleansed of leprosy gave them their lives back. They could return to their families, to the Temple, to their jobs, to their community activities. But, they couldn’t be bothered to stop and give God thanks for the healing he specifically brought into their lives. Why is this?
It seems that they struggled with the same phenomenon we battle. They were thankful for their healing. Felt it deeply in their hearts (I believe). However, they weren’t disciplined enough to go back to Jesus to say, “Thank you.” They simply couldn’t be bothered by it. After all, they were don’t what he told them to do. They were going to show themselves to the priest.
I can’t help but note that the nine lepers’ failure to thank Jesus offended him. And, I’m not using the word offended in the same way we use it today. Their ingratitude literally wounded his heart and insulted his grace. Sadly, we often do the same thing.
When we fail to express our thankfulness to Jesus for his great grace and work in our lives, we hurt him. It doesn’t matter whether our failure was intentional or not. It still has the same effect as it communicates our sense of entitlement. We, like the lepers, act as if we deserve God’s good works in our lives when we don’t. This arrogance, intentional or not, is an affront to the glory of God. We glorify him when we recognize our need for him, depend upon him, and thank him for his goodness to us.
Take sometime today to thank God for his goodness and grace to you. Make your plans to join with his people on Wednesdays and Sundays to join the chorus of thanksgiving. He deserves more than we will ever be able to give him, and we certainly don’t want to offend him or rob him of his glory.
Lord be with you.
A Witnessing Church — A Pastoral Note
[44] Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [45] Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, [46] and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [47] and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things. [49] And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (ESV)
As I prepared for this past Sunday’s message on Witnessing as a characteristic of our congregation, I thought about Like 24:44-49 multiple times. These verses contain Luke’s version of Jesus’s final words to his disciples before he ascended into Heaven. Several things in these verses stick out to me.
First, Luke 24:45 says, “Then he (Jesus) opened their (the disciples) minds to understand the Scriptures.” Jesus had to open the minds of the disciples before they could understand that the Scriptures were all about him. Think about that for a moment.
You and I often ask why the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus’s teaching meant nor what he had come to do. He was so clear, we say. But this verse tells us that their minds were closed to the real meaning of Jesus’s life, death, resurrection and mission. It had to be revealed to them and their minds had to be opened. This is why you and I understand it more clearly than they did. Our minds have been opened by the Holy Spirit. It’s also why so many people we know and love, some of whom are incredibly intelligent, don’t get it. Their minds are closed by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and must be opened before they will ever come to know Christ and trust in him. We must pray for them.
Next, verses 46-48 teach us that the gospel of Jesus centers on his death and resurrection and demands faith in him and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Faith and repentance are the only acceptable responses to God’s grace and love for us in the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Nothing else will please God. He only accepts our faith and repentance.
Finally, verse 48 says that the disciples were to be witnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as well as the blessed forgiveness that came to them through faith and repentance. Jesus assumed that they would testify to the gospel. Plain and simple. The same is true for us. There’s no other appropriate way for us to live if we’ve been transformed by grace. There is no biblical understanding of a Christian who does not publicly witness to the resurrection of Christ and the joy of being forgiven of our sins through faith and repentance. We are witnesses for Jesus by definition. It’s that simple.
The questions really are: 1. Are we being faithful to our DNA as Christians by witnessing to the glory of our God? and, 2. Do our lives present a good witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ or a bad one?
Let’s pray for one another as we seek to be good witnesses for Christ. Let’s also pray that our God will be pleased to open the eyes of our loved ones so that they will see him as he is and repent from their sins while trusting Christ.
The Virtue of Peace
Our family travelled to Atlanta to visit my wife’s family on the day after Christmas. One of their family traditions is that they all work a jigsaw puzzle together. It is usually 750- or 1000-piece puzzle. My sister-in-law tapes the box lid to wall in front of the table on which she scatters all the pieces. Everybody works the puzzle over the course of a couple days until it is finished.
This year I thought about how appropriate that tradition is when thinking about the arrival of the kingdom of peace we celebrate every Christmas. In the Bible, peace is defined most often as wholeness or completeness. I cannot think of a better illustration of biblical peace than a jigsaw puzzle.
As you know, the goal of working a puzzle is to put it together so that you have a finished picture. You also know that the puzzle begins as a picture and then is cut up into small pieces. Each fragment is a part of the whole, but they are all mixed up. And the best puzzle workers have a system for organizing those pieces and putting them back together.
Think about this with the reference to the human life in the context of the Bible’s story, if you will. The first humans were created good without fragmentation or defect. They were like the original picture of my sister-in-law’s puzzle before it was cut up. Over time, the first humans lost their original goodness by rebelling against their Creator, which led to the fragmentation of their lives as they sought to reclaim their initial goodness. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do it, no matter how hard they tried. All their efforts were for naught and led to more and more fragmentation. The same has been true for all of us since. We live fragmented lives while living in a fractured society.
This is what makes the Bible’s promise of peace so hopeful. God, by his grace, has collected, organized, and begun putting the pieces of our lives back together. He will complete this work at the end of time. So, we experience peace now through faith in Jesus as he puts the pieces of our lives back together. Day by day, he completes more of our puzzle, giving us a greater sense of peace.
One of the best effects of increased peace in our lives is that it makes us want to see other people enjoy the same sense of wholeness that we have. Therefore, we try to be those people whom God uses to help put the pieces together of the lives of our friends and family. As we do it, we will find that our society is more whole as well. And isn’t that what we want for ourselves and our society?
**This post originally appeared in the Wednesday, March 2, 2022 edition of The Chester News and Reporter of Chester, SC.
The Virtue of Love
Tina Turner famously asked, “What’s love got to do with it?” The answer is: everything.
Love, along with faith and hope, is essential for a society to function properly because love governs the interactions that people have with one another. And that’s by design. The Bible says that God created us to love him and to love one another. We’ll never experience harmony as a people until we learn to learn to love each other.
This love, however, is not defined by our feelings. Rather, it is a decision of our will. Your experiences prove this point. Think about your closest friend for a moment.
Have there been times when you couldn’t get enough of each other? Times when you shared your deepest concerns in life? Of course, there have. Have there also been times when you just didn’t like your friend very much? Times when they got on your last nerve? Times when they hurt your feelings or broke your confidence? Absolutely. But did you love them more when times were great than when times were hard? Or did you love them less when times were hard? No. Why? Because they are your closest friend and you have decided that you love them regardless of your emotions in any one moment of your friendship.
God’s ideal of love is for us all to have that kind of love for everyone – our friends and our enemies. You may have heard it said that we don’t have to “like” every person, but we’re called to “love” them all. This is because God loves us in this way. His love for us does not come and go; it’s constant. It is not wearied by our sins, our struggles, or our indifference toward him. In fact, it is the opposite in its relentless pursuit of a right relationship with each of us.
Imitating our Creator, then, our love should result in action. Again, this makes sense. If we willfully decide to love other people, then our love for them will show up in the way we treat them. This means at least two things for our daily lives. First, we will be more patient with, and kinder to, everyone since our love for others is not tied to whether we “like” them or not. Second, we will do more good things for other people. Love is like your savings account. The more you do loving things for others, the more the interest on those loving actions compounds giving you a larger capacity to love. And the more your capacity to love grows, the more love you have in your balance to share with other people.
So, you see, that love has everything to do with every aspect of our lives. It defines our relationships with ourselves, our families, our community, and God himself. We can’t function without love. Let’s decide to love and be kind to one another and trust that we, and our world, will be better because of it as we all grow into more loving people.
**This post originally appeared in the Wednesday, December 8 edition of The Chester News and Reporter. I’m thankful that editor Travis Jenkins affords me the opportunity to write openly about the Christian faith.
Christian Virtue and Society
It’s been a couple of months since I wrote a column, so I thought I’d start back with the first of a series of articles on what the Bible calls the “Fruit of the Spirit.” In Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul lists nine virtues that should define all good and upright people’s lives. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines virtue as “a particular moral excellence,” which is an academic way of saying that a virtue is a standard by which we determine good and acceptable behavior. We use virtue to govern our own personal lives as well as that of our community. We have personal standards that we set for ourselves, and we have collectively agreed upon norms for the way interact with one another. Both are necessary for a healthy society.
Author C.S. Lewis used an example of a fleet of ships sailing in formation to explain the importance of virtue and moral rules “for running the human machine.” He wrote:
“The voyage will be a success only, in the first place, if the ships do not collide and get in one another’s way; and secondly, if each ship is seaworthy and has her engines in good order…You cannot have either of these two things without the other. If the ships keep on having collisions, they will not remain seaworthy very long. On the other hand, if their steering gears are out of order, they will not be able to avoid collisions.”
In short, Lewis’s argument is simple. For human society to function properly, we all must be concerned with the general purpose of human life, the way we are to live in harmony with one another, and the presence of consistent behavior within each of us individually. If any of these three is missing long-term, societal collapse is inevitable.
As a Christian, I am convinced that the Bible gives the most comprehensive and cohesive plan for us to use as we chart the human course. There is a unified purpose for all of us – to glorify our Creator by loving him more than we love anything or anyone else (Matthew 22:37-38). There is an overarching principle that governs our interactions with one another – to love each other as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39) – as well specific applications of this principle in our daily lives. And there is a path for us to follow to ensure that we keep ourselves in good working order by living morally consistent lives – die to ourselves so that we can live for Jesus (Matthew 16:24-25).
I plan to discuss this plan in more detail in the coming weeks by highlighting the nine virtues of Galatians 5:22-23. Until then, let me ask you a question. If the God of the Bible created the world and us in good, shouldn’t we, at least, consider applying his wisdom to our personal and collective lives?
Thankful for Faithful Pastors
I can’t help but note that All Saints Day (Nov. 1) follows after Pastors Appreciation Month. (Yes, I realize that the two special occasions are not historically related.) All Saints Day is an ancient tradition within many denominations when Christians pause to thank God for the rich and goodly heritage they have inherited from those faithful men and women who have gone to be with the Lord and now rest from their labors. These faithful ones are a part of that “great cloud of witnesses” who’s testimony of God’s grace strengthens us as we walk with Christ. And, Pastor’s Appreciation Month is a modern invention meant to give an occasion to appreciate those who’ve pastored and helped us in our Christian journey. It’s the connection between these two occasions, intentional or not, that has led me to write.
Our congregation (Chester ARP Church) has had ten pastors before me. God has used all of them —from R.W. Brice to Dwight Pearson — to testify to his great grace, glory, and goodness. They have preached memorable sermons, prayed fervent prayers, pursued lost sheep, offered a helping hand or kind word. They have been constant presences in our daily lives. Their kind rebukes, challenging messages, and words of wisdom have come at just the right time in our lives, as well as that of our congregation. And, perhaps most amazingly, they’ve stood in the gap for us and kept believing in God on our behalf when we couldn’t bring ourselves to exercise our faith because the times were too tough. Regarding these pastors, one of our congregation’s historians, Esther Strong, once wrote, “Throughout the one hundred years of our church’s history, our pastors and officers have consistently sought to put the chief mission of the church at the core of its program and to translate their faith into Christian living.”
And so, I write to remind us of God’s blessed provision of faithful pastors and to give us reason to praise him for their good service to our congregation. I thank God for these men who’ve been stalwarts of biblical religion and who’ve led us well as we’ve followed after Christ. Nine of them have already received their eternal reward, and the tenth is sure to be richly blessed with his crown of righteousness in the future. Join me in thanking God for them.
- Rev. R.W. Brice (1869-1875) — As our founding minister, Rev. RW Brice served our congregation as a supply pastor by holding services every three weeks from July, 1869 until December, 1875, a total of six and one-half years. He came from his home on Great Falls road, probably on horseback, “through mud and dust, through heat and cold, and was regular and prompt. He dug deep and laid the foundation on which later pastors built.” Incredibly, he remained the pastor of our mother congregation, Hopewell ARP Church, the entire time he served ours.
- Rev. John Preston Marion (1876-1882) — Under Rev. Marion’s and the session’s leadership, our young church became involved in the programs of Presbytery and Synod and moved into the mainstream of civic and religious activities of our community. Very soon the church was taking its share of union services and of other cooperative activities in the town and country. He was our first full-time pastor and the overseer of the building of our first sanctuary, located at 132 Center Street.
- Rev. Mason Wiley Pressly (1882-1886) —For nearly four years the young pastor led our congregation energetically, and the church made real progress. Chief among this progress was the transition from “closed communion” to “open communion” during the congregation’s communion seasons, which began on a Thursday afternoon and finished on Sunday evening. This meant that baptized members of other, non-ARP congregations could enjoy the blessings of communion with the members of our congregation.
- Rev. James Strong Moffat (1887-1906) — By all accounts, Rev. Moffatt was one of the most loved ministers in our congregation’s history. He is most remembered for his evangelistic zeal and hard work as a pastor. Our church’s evangelistic zeal extended to all in need of the Gospel, from traveling men and cotton buyers in the hotel on the hill to employees of Catawba Mill. When Rev. Moffat failed to entice the traveling men in the hotel into the church on the Lord’s Day, he took the church to them. For some time, he held Sabbath (Sunday) afternoon services on the hill as the men sat in chairs in front of the hotel.
- Rev. Charles Edgar McDonald (1907-1909) —Rev. McDonald died while serving as our pastor. Though he was only able to give us two years as a full-time pastor, he was greatly loved by our congregation and had a tremendous impact on our congregational life. Between the pastorates of Revs. Marion and Pressly, he served as our supply preacher. He also ministered to our congregation multiple times through the 25 years between his first supply work in 1882 and his pastorate in 1907. He was greatly loved because he gave generously of himself, his time, and his many talents to the congregation and the community.
- Rev. David Gardner Philips (1909-1922) — Rev. Phillips cared deeply for our congregation and we, in turn, cared deeply for him. At the conclusion of his pastorate, the Session reportedly accepted his resignation with deep regret, for he was a “very excellent preacher and pastor and one with whom relations had been most pleasant.” During his tenure, evangelism in the Chester community was a constant priority for us as we participated in Synod’s evangelistic and kingdom advancing efforts while taking part in and hosting multiple evangelistic meetings/outreaches in Chester. Dr. Philipps was a “friend to everyone he met, high and low, rich and poor, white and black, and always had a word of cheer and inspiration.”
- Rev. Paul Adam Pressly (1923-1936) — In addition to theology, Rev. Pressly was interested in education, and his ministry proved it. He led our congregation in the expansion of our Christian Education ministry to include a space and curriculum for our children to receive specific instruction in biblical truths. Our current educational building, a monthly children’s sermon, and a children’s choir were all established during his pastorate. He was also in much demand as a preacher. One news report states, “He preached the unsearchable riches with splendor of utterance, gentleness of tongue, and spiritual interpretation which stood him out as a Saul, head and shoulders above his brethren.”
- Rev. Joseph Lee Grier (1936-1949) — Rev. Grier led our congregation through the tumultuous days of the recovery from the Great Depression, the preparation for WWII, the war itself. It was a period of extensive and intensive activity, but Rev. Grier remained steadfast in his faith and quiet leadership. He maintained the evangelistic and Christian discipleship emphases that had come to define us in the early days of the 20th century. Regarding the Lord’s work through these emphases within our congregation, a visiting ARP minister once observed, “The influence of this church in moulding a life and determining a philosophy and forming a concept of what true Christianity is would be hard to overestimate.”
- Rev. Arthur Murray Rogers (1950-1965) — Rev. Rogers was skilled in the gift of administration and guided our congregation to organize its various ministries more efficiently. Under his leadership, many of the discipleship ministries took the form that we know today. There was an active men’s and women’s ministry as well as a well-assembled Sabbath School program. Dr. Rogers also took great care to continue the Reformed tradition of preaching well-reasoned sermons.
- Rev. Dwight Lafayette Pearson (1965-2003) — There is no mistaking that Rev. Pearson is a pastor’s pastor. As such, he cared for our congregation extremely well from the pulpit and in our homes while serving us longer than any other pastor in our one hundred fifty-two year history. Under his thirty-eight years of leadership, our congregation continued its emphasis on Christian discipleship and reclaimed its mission of sharing the good news of Christ at home and abroad. Rev. Pearson guided us to remain faithful to the historical and evangelical religion of the Bible while also being loyal to one another, to our local congregation, to our presbytery, and to the Synod.
We have indeed received a rich heritage and experienced God’s great blessing individually and as a congregation. What a gift these men are to Chester ARP! May God be praised.
Soli Deo Gloria
Church Planting and the Future of the ARP Church
Between June 14-25, Christian Education Ministries hosted our denomination’s (ARPC) summer conferences for middle and high school students at Bonclarken (the ARP’s conference center). I understand those were two great weeks, and our Lord worked powerfully among the students.
After the conferences were finished, Brad Anderson, the conferences’ director, sent a text to a group of ARP ministers, including me, that read: “We have the next generation of ARPs and need to work on holding on to them. The conferences go well because of everyone that attends and serves. They’re a bright spot in the denomination.” I immediately thanked God for his grace and for the good work of those who led, served, and oversaw the conferences when I received the text.
I also thought about a conversation that Brad and I had with Chip Sherer during our Synod meeting in June. He told us that, as the President of Bonclarken, he believed that Bonclarken’s role in the growth and development of the ARP Church and her youth is a provide a place for inspiration and renewal where our children and youth can encounter the living God, build strong relationships with their peers across the denomination, and make lasting memories that will encourage them to join ARP congregations as they mature and move away from home. That’s a tremendous vision, and Bonclarken does a great job fulfilling it.
As I’ve thought about those two conversations in conjunction with my own ministry context, I think the ARPC faces a singular obstacle, from a strategic perspective, when it comes to holding on to the next generation. There are few to no vibrant ARP congregations in the areas to which our young people move when they graduate high school or college.
The Challenge of Rural Communities
Historically, the ARPC has thrived in rural communities. Our congregations have a familial feel that is rooted in tradition and relationships. Hard-working, independent, God-fearing people living and worshipping together while maintaining the faith and the customs of their ancestors have provided the solid foundation upon which the denomination stands today. But things are changing.
A 2018 report from the United Nations anticipates that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban centers by the year 2050. That is a predicted growth of 13% over the next 30 years.[1] This global trend is also reflected in US population statistics. In 2018, the Pew Research Center published a study that reported a 13% population increase for urban centers and a 16% increase for suburban counties between the years 2000 and 2018. This same report confirmed that rural counties, across the nation, experienced a 3% increase in the same time frame. The reported statistics indicate that this 3% increase was due to migrant workers moving into agricultural communities and a relatively high birth rate among the residents of rural counties. However, this small population increase for rural counties will most likely be short-lived as birth rates across the nation continue to fall. 2019 marked the fifth straight year of decline in the nation’s birth rate. That year there were 58.3 births for every 1000 women aged 15 to 44, and preliminary reports indicate that the number of births in 2020 will be less than 55 births per 1000 women, meaning that there will be 8% fewer children born in the country this year.[2]
Additionally, 88% of rural counties across the nation have lost prime-age workers at an alarming rate since the year 2000. These workers are between the ages of 25 and 54 and when they leave, they take their families with them, leaving rural counties with fewer young children, school-aged children, young adults, and middle-aged adults than suburban and urban centers. Moreover, it means that rural communities have more rapidly aging populations, with 65+ year old men and women being the most prominent demographic. Pockets of concentrated poverty, where at least a fifth of the population is poor, and an unprecedented income gap are the byproducts of this population shift.[3]
These statistics paint a bleak picture for rural counties in the near future. The picture is grimmer for a Christian denomination that makes its home, almost exclusively, in these rural counties. As the prime-age workers and their families move to suburban communities and urban centers the vibrancy and long-term viability of the ARP congregations in these rural counties will be negatively affected. Less children, less young adults, and less wage-earning adults means fewer church members, fewer worshippers in attendance each week, and fewer resources in the offering plates. These effects necessarily have consequences for the denomination as a whole, and we’re already seeing them as the ARPC’s membership numbers and Denominational Ministry Fund receipts are in decline.
The Future of the ARPC
So, what do we do? What do we do about our future as a denomination given this population shift? It’s simple: we have to plant churches where people are.
At present an estimated 82.5% of Americans live in city centers or suburban counties. That is a total of close to 275 million people. We have little to no gospel witness or congregational presence among those people even though 57 of the nation’s 200 largest cities are within the geographical bounds of our presbyteries. 28 of them are in Texas and Louisiana alone with 5 of those cities having a population of over 900,000. The other 29 cities are dispersed all around the eastern seaboard and the southeast. 22 of these urban centers have a population of over 200,000 people and comprise a total population of 29,266,000 Americans or 8.6% of the US population,[4] which means that we have a potentially fertile mission field already within our grasp as a result of the providence of God (chart listed
below).
If our young people and other members are moving to these urban centers and suburban counties for work and play, shouldn’t we? That’s what Paul did during his missionary journeys, isn’t it? He went to Antioch, Derbe, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Jerusalem, and Rome. He went to the population centers with the strategy of planting Christ-honoring and disciple-making congregations in those city centers because that’s where people lived, shopped, and recreated. As a result, those gospel congregations in the city centers influenced the surrounding communities. If there was a presence of Christ in those city centers, then the testimony of Christ made its way to the rural communities around them.
But this isn’t just about keeping the next generation of ARPs or reclaiming those who’ve moved away. It’s about fulfilling the Great Commission. Christ told his Church to advance his kingdom on earth by going to all the nations and making disciples among all peoples. He has also chosen to concentrate the population of our great nation in city centers and suburban communities, affording us the opportunity to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, make disciples of all men, and teach them to obey all that Christ has taught us right where our presbyteries already are.
Therefore, I call on our presbyteries to commit to developing and implementing a strategy to plant vibrant, disciple-making, confessional churches in the urban centers and suburban counties within their geographical bounds. I also call upon congregations in rural communities to contribute prayerfully and financially to this effort.
May God bless us as we seek to advance his kingdom and plant biblical churches.
22 Urban Cities and Their Populations
Existing Presbyteries – 29,266,000 people in these 22 of the 200 largest urban centers in US.
New York – 8,600,000
Philadelphia – 1,500,000
Houston – 2,400,000
Dallas/Fort Worth – 1,942,000
San Antonio – 1,600,000
Washington DC/Arlington/Alexandria – 1,107,000
Austin – 1,000,000
Jacksonville – 930,000
Charlotte – 912,000
Raleigh/Durham/Cary – 728,000
Boston – 696,000
El Paso – 685,000
Nashville – 678,000
Memphis – 651,000
Atlanta/Sandy Springs – 635,000
Louisville – 616,000
Baltimore – 576,000
Virginia Beach – 405,000
Tampa – 405,000
Arlington – 400,000
Corpus Cristi – 327,000
Greensboro – 301,000
Pittsburgh – 300,000
Orlando – 291,000
Plano – 285,000
Laredo – 266,000
Lubbock – 264,000
Chesapeake – 250,000
Norfolk – 241,000
Irving – 237,000
Garland – 236,000
Frisco – 225,000
Baton Rouge – 216,000
Birmingham – 207,000
Huntsville – 205,000
Augusta – 200,000
Amarillo – 200,000
[1] https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html.
[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/05/22/demographic-and-economic-trends-in-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities.
[3] Ibid.
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