Archive for the ‘Church Ministries’ Category

Kevin Bauder Examines Conservative Evangelicals

Posted: April 2, 2013 in Church Ministries
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Kevin Bauder, President of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, writes in his In The Nick of Time, about the separation issue today being fought between some Fundamentalists and Conservative Evangelicals. This is a current aspect of separation being discussed by concerned fundamentalists at Fundamentally Reformed.

Who are some leading conservative evangelicals according to Bauder?

John Piper, Mark Dever, John MacArthur, Charles Ryrie, Bruce Ware, Bryan Chapell, Wayne Grudem, D. A. Carson, Al Mohler, Tim Keller, John D. Hannah, Ed Welch, Ligon Duncan, Tom Nettles, C. J. Mahaney, Norman Geisler, and R. C. Sproul.

Some of the CE organizations are: Together for the Gospel, the Gospel Coalition, the Master’s Seminary, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, and Ligonier Ministries.

What do these men have in common?

Their commitment to defend the gospel. This is where Historic Fundamentalism started in the 1920s and 30s in the Modernist/Fundamentalist Controversy.

What are some of the differences between Fundamentalists and Conservative Evangelicals?

1. Conservative evangelicals are anti-dispensational. Bauder says CE is less vitriolic than the anti-Calvinism of some Fundamentalists. There is, however, plenty of vitriolism on both sides. Some CE doubt if dispensationalists are believers.

2. CE is tolerate of Third-Wave charismatic theology.

3. CE accommodate a more contemporary version of popular culture. The weakness of some Fundamentalists is to separate so from far from culture to never impact the people for whom Jesus died.

4. CE disagree about what to do with Christian leaders who make common cause with apostates.

Right wing Fundamentalists declare that CE are new evangelicals. New evangelicals, however, are committed to a policy of re-infiltrating ecclesiastical organizations captured by apostates. Chuck Colson with his leadership in producing Evangelicals and Catholics Together and The Manhatten Declaration represents new evangelicalism. CE reject this positions and attitude.

CE defend a different set of doctrines than the some Fundamentalists. The right wing Fundamentalists fight over the King James Version and anti-Calvinism. Right wing Fundamentalists are battling over versions, dress, and music. CE battle Open Theism, evangelical feminism, opponents of inerrancy, the New Perspective of Paul and the Emergent Church.

Some Fundamentalists insist that CE are the enemy.

More and more Fundamentalists are not entering into full cooperation with CE but they are working together in certain targeted areas. Bauder documents:

One seminary recently hosted John D. Hannah for a lecture series, and another hosted Ed Welch. A Fundamentalist mission agency brought in John Piper to challenge its missionaries. A leader who is a Fundamentalist pastor and seminary president has written for a conservative evangelical periodical. A very straight-laced Bible college sent its students to T4G. One elder statesman of Fundamentalism chose to preach in the chapel of a conservative evangelical seminary. Other Fundamentalist schools are slated to host Michael Vlach from Master’s Seminary and Mark Dever from Capital Hill Baptist Church. These steps are being taken, not by disaffected young Fundamentalists, but by the older generation of leadership within the mainstream of the Fundamentalist movement.

Bauder adds: These leaders are neither abandoning Fundamentalism nor embracing conservative evangelicalism. They are simply recognizing that the Fundamentalist label is no guarantee of doctrinal fidelity. They are aware that historic, mainstream Fundamentalism has more in common with conservative evangelicals than it does with many who wear the Fundamentalist label.

The group, Bauder calls the hyper-fundamentalist Right, reject these associations as compromise.

What is Kevin Bauder’s position?

We Fundamentalists may not wish to identify with everything that conservative evangelicals say and do. To name these men as neo-evangelicals, nonetheless, is entirely unwarranted. To treat them like enemies or even opponents is to demonize the very people who are the foremost defenders of the gospel today. We do not have to agree in every detail to recognize the value of what they do.

If we did not have conservative evangelicals to guard the borders, the real enemy would have invaded our camp long ago. Fundamentalism has exhibited a remarkable freedom from Open Theism, evangelical feminism, New Perspective theology, and other present-day threats to the gospel. The reason is not that Fundamentalists have kept the enemy at bay. The reason is that other thinkers—mainly conservative evangelicals—have carried the battle to the enemy. Conservative evangelicals are the heavy artillery, under the shelter of whose barrage Fundamentalists have been able to find some measure of theological safety.

So let’s get clear on this.

Conservative evangelicals are not our enemies. They are not our opponents. Conservative evangelicals have proven themselves to be allies and even leaders in the defense of the faith.

If we attack conservative evangelicals, then we attack the defense of the faith. We attack indirectly the thing that we hold most dear, namely, the gospel itself, for that is what they are defending. We should not wish these brothers to falter or to grow feeble, but rather to flourish. We must do nothing to weaken their hand in the face of the enemies of the gospel.

What is your position in this left to right spectrum? Admittedly there is overlap in Bauder’s labels. Most people do not fit neatly into a single category.

Evangelism: Salesmanship or the Power of the Gospel

Posted: December 10, 2012 in Church Ministries, Evangelism
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There are lots of questions our people ask about evangelizing the lost: “Shouldn’t evangelism be left to the professionals?” “I’m really not sure what evangelism means. I guess we’re supposed to convince other people that they’re wrong and we’re right?”

In Mark Dever’s Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, he asks and answers four simple questions concerning a Biblical understanding of evangelism. Dever addresses some of the many questions so we can be “more obedient ourselves and have a healthier church culture when it comes to our great calling to evangelize.”

1. WHO SHOULD EVANGELIZE?

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 is obviously one among many verses that teach that all of Jesus’ disciples are to evangelize. Jesus commanded “make disciples” and the first step is to present the gospel.

The book of Acts bears testimony that ordinary believers and not just the “professionals” in the early church obeyed Jesus’ Great Commission (Acts 5:42; 8:25; 23:32; 14:7, 15, 21; 15:35; 16:10; 17:18).

“Part of our evangelistic activity has to do with the way we relate to each other as believers. Jesus said, ‘By this all men will know that your are my disciples, if you love one another’ (John 13:34). If you are not expressing proper Christian love to every member of your church, you are in disobedience to God and you are hindering the evangelistic work of your church.”

2. HOW SHOULD WE EVANGELIZE?

Dever tells a story from Joseph Bayly’s The Gospel Blimp and Other Stories of a group of believers who bought a Gospel Blimp to evangelize. Did they evangelize?

Dever gives six guidelines about how to evangelize:

1) Tell people with honesty that if they repent and believe they will be saved—but it will be costly.

Robert Schuller is quoted as opposing informing sinners of their lost and sinful condition. To evangelize we must.

2) Tell people with urgency that if they repent and believe they will be saved—but they must decide now.

We must buy up opportunities to witness the gospel (Ephesians 5:16) and the sinner must respond “today and not harden your heart” (Hebrews 4:7).

3) Tell people with joy that if they repent and believe the Good News they will be saved. However difficult it may be, it is all worth it!

Yes there will be difficulties, just read Hebrews 11. But “it is infinitely more than worth it to make the decision to die to self and to follow Christ.”

4) Use the Bible

“When we use the Bible in sharing the Gospel, we help people to realize that we’re not just talking about our own ideas but about the very words of God.”

5) Realize that the lives of individual Christians and of the church as a whole are a central part of evangelism.

“Our individual lives alone are not a sufficient witness. Our lives together as church communities are the confirming echo of our witness.” See the early church for an excellent model (Acts 4:32-37). This stresses the importance of church membership and loving one another before the community.

6) Remember to pray (Colossians 4:3). See the post “Praying People Into Heaven”

3. WHAT IS EVANGELISM?

Dever mentions five things people take to be evangelism that are not evangelism:

1) Some people think evangelism is an imposition.

This is one way Christianity is different from Isalm which can put a sword to your throat or a gun to your head and convert you to Isalm.

2) Some people think of a personal testimony as evangelism.

Our testimony may not include the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

3) Some people think social action or political involvement is evangelism. The old Social Gospel or the new Emergent Church emphasis on bringing the kingdom through social salvation is not the true Gospel. There are conservative ways to use community outreach to win people as in Crash the Dash.

4) Some people think apologetics is the gospel.

Like our testimony, apologetics may include the gospel but it is not the same as the gospel. God can use apologetics as Lee Strobel testifies.

5) Some people think the results of evangelism are evangelism.

Imagine the guilt some Christians feel because they’ve shared the Gospel for thirty years with a particular person who hasn’t come to know Christ. This is the result of confusing the fruit of evangelism with evangelism.

4. WHY SHOULD WE EVANGELIZE?

We should evangelize because we love God not the praise of man for our success in evangelism. Love for God will help us not water down the message when it’s demands are rejected. Love for God will also enable us not to manipulate sinners into shallow decisions and fill our churches with unconverted members. Love for God will prevent us from becoming Christian salesmen with slick fool proof methods that always gets results but not genuine fruit.

Dever provides an example in C. S. Lovett’s book titled Soul-Winning Made Easy. Lovett said, talking to Christians as salespeople:

Lay your hand firmly on the subject’s shoulder (or arm) and with a semi-commanding tone of voice, say to him: “Bow your head with me.” Note: Do not look at him when you say this, but bow you head first. Out of the corner of your eye you will see him hesitate at first. Then, as his resistance crumbles, his head will come down. Your hand on his shoulder will feel the relaxation and you will know when his heart yields. Bowing your head first, causes terrific psychological pressure.

Dever responded to this salesmanship kind of evangelism: “How many churches today are full of people who have been psychologically pressured in such a manner but not truly converted by the Spirit of God?”

The power of our message is in the Gospel not our technique. “Charles Spurgeon tells how George Whitefield the great eighteenth-century evangelist, was hounded by a group of detractors who called themselves the ‘Hell-fire Club.’ When Whitefield would stand outside preaching this little group of guys would stand off on the side and mimic him. They didn’t believe a word of it. The ringleader was called Thorpe. One day Thorpe was mimicking Whitefield to his cronies, delivering his sermon with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and facial expressions, when he himself was so pierced that he sat down and was converted on the spot.”

Let’s never forget what Paul said about the Gospel: “The Gospel is the power of God to salvation to every one who believes”

Does the Lord have to be Lord of all or He is Not Lord at all?

Posted: August 10, 2012 in Church Ministries
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W. Graham Scroggie was a professor of homiletics in England. One of his students was Stephen Olford. Scroggie was preaching at a huge conference on the Lordship of Jesus Christ, that believers must make Him Lord of all of their life. Hundreds responded at the invitation. After nearly every one had left, there remained one young lady setting on the front pew sobbing her heart out. Scroggie asked, “Can I help you young lady?’ “I can’t make Christ Lord of all because I’m afraid He well send me to Africa and I hate snakes. I can’t think of dying of malarial fever from mosquitoes. I can’t make him Lord. Scroggie told of Peter to whom the Lord revealed that now he could eat all manner of meat and commanded, “Rise up Peter, kill and eat” (Acts 10) and Peter responded “Not so Lord.” Scroggie told the young lady that it was a contradiction. Scroggie handed her his Bible and said, “I’m going to pray for you. If you will not make Christ Lord then cross out the name and title “Lord” and let the words “not so” stand. Or cross out the words “not so” and let the name and title “Lord” stand. Scroggie slipped away and about thirty minutes  later tip toed up behind the girl and looked over her shoulder onto the pages of the Scripture that were wet with her tears and saw where she had crossed out the words “not so” and he could  hear her pray “You are Lord,” “You are Lord,” You are my Lord.”

Charles Ryrie disagrees: “The cliché, ‘If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all’ is simply that—a cliché and not a biblical or theological truth. He can be Lord of aspects of my life while I withhold other areas of my life from His control. Peter illustrated that as clearly as anyone that day on the rooftop when the Lord asked him to kill and eat unclean animals. He said, ‘By no means, Lord’ (Acts 10:14). At that point was Christ Lord of all of Peter? Certainly not. Then must we conclude that He was not Lord at all in relation to Peter’s life? I think not.” (So Great Salvation, page 73).

Peter had just healed two men in Acts 9, when God started working his in life about taking the Gospel to the Gentiles in Acts. 10. Peter was greatly being used of God. When Peter said, “Not so Lord” he was not acting like a carnal believer who was unsurrendered in every area of his life. He was not surrendered in just one area, violating the OT law in eating unclean meat. Just as soon as Peter understood the vision that we are no longer under the dietary restrictions of the law, he submitted. I agree with Ryire that the statement ,‘If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all’ is simply a cliché.

Five Important Ministries of the Church (Acts 2:42-47) Part 1: Teaching God’s Word

Posted: April 17, 2012 in Church Ministries, Sermons, Sermons in Acts
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Art Linkletter once saw a little boy drawing a picture. He was furiously coloring away with an intense look on his face. Linkletter asked him, “Son, what are you drawing?”

The little boy replied, “A picture of God.”

Linkletter informed the lad that no one knows what God looks like, to which the boy confidently responded, “They will when I get through” (Sermon illustration used by Stephen Davey). Luke is giving us his picture of what the church is to look like. But not all agree with his picture.

Andrew Sullivan of Newsweek wrote an Easter article entitled “Forget the Church, Follow Jesus.” Sullivan found some serious errors in modern day religion such as child molestation in the RCC, liberalism in mainline protestant denominations, and self-centeredness of the prosperity gospel. But he went on to condemn evangelicals for believing in the supernatural death and resurrection of Jesus, the inerrant Word of God, and belief in the major doctrines of Scriptures.

He believes Christianity is in a crisis. Instead on majoring on doctrine, such as, the supernatural resurrection of Jesus, Sullivan believes we should just read His words and follow Christ’s example.

Sullivan quotes St. Francis of Assisi “Preach the gospel always, use words if necessary.”  The problem with this quote is, you can’t preach the gospel without always using words.

You can’t Forget the church and just Follow Jesus. Someone appropriately responded with another article entitled, Forget Anderson and Follow the Church.

Jesus loved the church and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:25). The Church is God’s institution as well as human government and the home. Because these three institutions are not perfect we do not abandon them. None of these three institutions is perfect. We don’t abandon human government or we will have anarchy. We don’t abandon marriage or we will have adultery.

The first church in Acts was a model church but not a perfect church as the rest of Acts clearly shows. You have the first known sin in Acts 5 when Ananias and Sapphira selfishly did not give all they said had given.

We can focus on the imperfections or our perceived imperfections of the church or we can focus on the blessings of the church. This is what Luke does in Acts 2:42-47.

Luke describes five ministries that all churches should be practicing:

1. Teaching God’s Word

2. Fellowshipping with God’s People

3. Worshiping God

4. Serving in God’s Work

5. Evangelizing the Unsaved

Each of these ministries are related to the nature of God and the more Godlike or Godly we become the more our church will reflect Him in these ministries. These are God centered ministries not man centered. John S. Hammett makes point very clear in his book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches. 

1. Our church should emphasize teaching God’s Word because God the Father is truth (John 3:33 “God is true”; 7:28; 8:26) and God the Son is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and God the Spirit is “the Spirit of truth (John 14:17, 26). Therefore, the church is “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The more godly we become as a church the more we will teach the truth of God from His Word.

2. Our church should emphasize fellowshipping with God’s people because the three persons of the Trinity eternally have and are in fellowship with each other. We are made in their image as social creatures. We are “the people of God” not the rugged individuals of God and the more united we are in fellowship the more we will reflect the fellowship of the Trinity. The more godly we will be.

3. Our church should emphasize worshiping God because the essence of worship is giving and God has sacrificially given His Son for our salvation. The more we give and reflect Him the more godly we are.

4. Our church should emphasize servicing in God’s work because Christ came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for our redemption. The more we serve in God’s work the more godlike we are.

5. Our church should emphasize evangelizing the lost because God sent His Son to die on the cross not as a good example as Andrew Sullivan says, but as a substitute for our sins that “whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The more godlike we become the more we will evangelize.

Evangelism in the early church was not a program but a way of life. One of our mothers this past week was able to lead her son to Christ in devotions at home. This is the early church in action.

1. The Teaching of God’s Word (2:42) “And they continued stedfastly in the apostle’s doctrine.

Luke first gives the immediate results (Acts 2:37-41) of Peter’s preaching when people went to church for the first time:

1. Conviction

2. Salvation

3. Baptism

4. Church membership (None of these are options in the Christian life for spiritual growth)

Next, Luke gives the continued results (Acts 2:42-47) of Peter’s preaching which are the five ongoing ministries. What happened after the first day people went to church?

1. Teaching God’s Word

2. Fellowshipping with God’s People

3. Worshiping of God

4. Servicing in God’s Work

5. Evangelizing the Unsaved

Acts 2:42 first says that these new converts “continued stedfastly” that is they were continually devote to these ministries. Luke uses the word again in Acts 6:4 to describe the apostles complete devotion to prayer and the Word of God after they restructure the organization of the early church. These new converts in Acts 2 did not start and stop. There were no Nine Day Wonders in the early church which only proves they were never saved. Listen to some strong words by John:

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for it they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us but went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19).

John MacArthur observed, “Many churches today are made up of largely of unsaved individuals. Amazingly some even try to design a church were non-Christians can feel comfortable. This can’t be the good of a church that is devoted to holiness and righteousness in all areas of life, such a church will be unpopular with sinners. In this first fellowship all the professors were possessors” (Acts, page 80).

Now Luke gives the first ministry that model church was continually devoted to: Teaching God’s Word

Teaching is listed first because all of the other ministries are built on the foundation of teaching God’s Word.

Erwin Lutzer said that prayer is more important than preaching in the life of the church.  Scripture does not teach that. In the Pastoral Epistles teaching is mentioned more than 30 times. If a church properly teaches God’s Word prayer will not be neglected but be more effectively practiced (1 Tim 4:6, 11-16; 6:2-3).

A. Jesus was a Teacher of God’s Word (Jesus is called teacher 45 times in the Gospels and rabbi 14 times).

Andrew Sullivan cited Thomas Jefferson’s action of cutting all miracles of Jesus out of the Gospels and just leaving His words as the example we should follow. In other words, Jefferson, like Sullivan rejected the supernatural. The problem is that Jesus did not reject the supernatural. In His own words He said He would rise from the dead. It is interesting that the model early church continued stedfastly in “the apostles’ doctrine” not Jesus words. I guess Jefferson cut that part out also.

Jesus’ follower were and are called “disciples” or learners. As Peter later wrote, believers are like “newborn babes” who “desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).

Jesus commissioned His Church to make disciples or learners of God’s Word by winning people to Christ, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have taught you (Matthew 28:19-20).

B. Pastors are teachers of God’s Word. Pastors according to 1 Timothy 3:2 “are apt or able to teach.” Pastors are called “pastor/teachers” in Ephesians 4:11. The entire organization of the early church was totally reorganized so the pastors could devote themselves to the study of God’s Word in order to teach and preach.

C. All believers are to be teachers of God’s Word. Paul in Colossians 3:16 commanded all believers to “let the Word of God dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another.”

1. Through Sunday School

2. Women’s and Men’s Bible Study

3. AWANA

4. Power Zone

5. Through our regular services

6. Through your conversions with people (Acts 8:4)

7. Through daily taking in God’s Word like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who “searched the scriptures daily.” Study at home with commentaries. Go to bible.org for helps to study God’s Word at home.

Wiersbe, “Their Christian faith was a day-to-day reality, not a once-a-week routine.”

MacArthur said, “A believer should count it a wasted day when he doesn’t learn something new from, or is not more deeply enriched, by the truth of God’s Word” (Acts page 83).

How to Resolve Christian Conflict

Posted: April 10, 2012 in Church Ministries
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More than one hundred years ago, in the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game. But what happened that day was anything but routine. The Orioles’ John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third basemen. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse. Someone set fire to the stands and the entire ballpark burned to the ground! Not only that, but the fire spread to one hundred and seven other buildings in Boston as well!

I would like to critique Joseph Miller’s chapter entitled Conflict, Confrontation, and the Challenge of Leadership in his Building the Church: A Comprehensive Manual for Church Administration. Miller opens this chapter with the above story about conflict given by Larry D. Green.

Sadly, conflicts are not limited to ball parks. Conflicts erupt between couples, business partners, friends, church members and church members and pastors. Green cites one study that revealed that over an eighteen-month period; more than twenty-one hundred Southern Baptist pastors were forced out of churches. According to another survey, 58 percent cited personality differences and 42 percent identified the pastor’s leadership style. One of the greatest of all theologians, Jonathan Edwards (read about this sad chapter in Edward’s in Ian Murrey’s biography), was forced out of the church that he pastored where the first Great Awakeing started. Conflict is no respector of persons.

We Need To Expect Conflict.

Malcolm Forbes said, “If you have a job without aggravations, you don’t have a job.” We could paraphrase and say, “If you have a ministry without aggravations, you don’t have a ministry.” Spurgeon, who knew much about conflict, wrote, “The Devil never beats a dead horse.” Ian Murrey chronicles Sprugeon’s three great conflicts in The Forgotten Spurgeon. The last, The Down-Grade Controversy ended Spurgeon’s life and ministry prematurely.

In Galatians 2, Paul had conflict with Peter because of Peter’s doctrinal compromise. In Acts 15:36, Paul had conflict with Barnabas over a third party (nephew John Mark). In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul had conflict with the Corinthians because of their carnality. Paul dealt with conflict between two church members in Philippians 4:1-2. Vance Havner cleverly put it this way, “More harm has been done to the church by termites on the inside than woodpeckers on the outside.”

We Need  To Deal With Conflict.

Paul confronted every conflict in 1 Corinthians. Conflict is like cancer, if you ignore the cancer, it only gets worse and eventually becomes incurable. John Maxwell teaches the 24 hour policy. If there is a conflict between you and someone else, try to resolve it in 24 hours. If you delay, anger and bitterness only fester and finally explode. Bob Jones Senior noted, “You must have little problems to avoid bigger problems.” Jesus taught us how to deal with the little problem before it becomes bigger in the steps He laid out in dealing with conflict in Matthew 18:15-17.

When Rebuked In Conflict We Must Properly Respond.

Peter showed his humility when rebuked by Paul in Galatians 2. Peter was not bitter with Paul as evidenced in 2 Peter 3:15, “Our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him.”

After the conflict in Acts 15:36 over taking Mark on the church’s second missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas are mentioned together by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:6. Mark eventually won back Paul’s confidence in 2 Timothy 4:11. The Corinthians also properly responded to Paul’s rebuke according to Romans 15:25-26.

Charles H. Spurgeon once had a church member who on every Monday, sent Spurgeon a card listing all his grammatical mistakes from the previous day’s messages on Sunday. How did Spurgeon respond? Did Spurgeon become defensive? No! Spurgeon corrected his mistakes and benefited from the church member’s criticism. What have we changed in our lives because someone has pointed it out to us in the last six months?

When Wrongly Rebuked We Need To Respond Properly.

Job wrongly responded to his false accusers in Job 19:1-7. Paul teaches us not to retaliate in Romans 12:17. About Christ when He was wrongly accused and treated, Peter wrote, “When he was reviled, reviled not again” (1 Peter). Jesus taught us to “pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.” Matthew Henry wrote, “There is a strange paradox in Christianity, you have such a humble Savior, and proud saints.”

One of my favorite quotes from J. Oswald Sanders is my conclusion to handling conflict: “No leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will no where be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts and reacts to it” (Spiritual Leadership, page 177).

How to Increase the Giving in Your Church

Posted: April 5, 2012 in Church Ministries
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Joseph Miller reports that national surveys of evangelical churches indicate that 80 percent of the giving in those churches comes from 20 percent of the constituency. The balance of 20 percent comes from another 30 percent of the people, leaving 50 percent of the constituency contributing nothing.

Miller also cites statistics the Southern Baptists released that 80 percent of the giving in their churches came from people who were fifty-five or older.

Miller writes that if the average church constituency gave the tithe of their income to the Lord in the local church, the church budget would be four times as big.

Church consultant, Joseph Miller addresses these issues in two helpful volumes entitled Building The Church: A Comprehensive Manuel for Church Administration.

Here are the chapter titles just to give you an overview of the subjects addressed:

In volume one he covers Church Planting, Church Evangelism, Church Education, Public Services, Church Music, Church Growth, Missions, Stewardship, Church Administration, and Church Finances.

In volume two, Miller discusses Church Documentation, Church Leadership, Pastoral Leadership, Ministry Training, Staff Development, Property Development, Church Facilities, Interior Decorating, Personal Development and Personal Finance.

Here is just one chapter to show how each of these 20 chapters is developed:

In chapter ten Joseph Miller elaborates on Church Finances by instructing on Structuring the Church Finances, Funding the Local Church, Church Compliance Review, Taxes and the Church, Funding the Building Project, The Stewardship of Borrowing Money, Let Debt Serve You, Keep Your Balance, and Liabilities of Fundraising.

Under Structuring the Church’s Finances, Miller provides “ten components that compose a sound financial structure for the church ministry.”

1. Stewardship

Miller advises leaders to set an example of faithful giving. Church leaders should provide each new member with numbered envelopes that are large enough to hold an unfolded bill or check.

2. An Enlarging Faith

Miller does not encourage “Faith Promise” giving for Missions only but that our people would ask God for an “enlarged faith by trusting God for increased giving for next year.” Miller believes that Faith Promise or any designated giving eventually takes away from the General Fund. When people do not have what they promised by faith they start subtracting from their tithes and thus the General Fund suffers.

3. The Single Treasury

“Rather than keep your accounting in your church through several treasurers, accounts, and checkbooks, everything should be on one central account. This does not mean that the ladies’ missionary society could not have access to funds. Allocate funds to them as part of the budget. If the group receives offerings, add it to the church treasury.” This helps bookkeeping and auditing.

4. A Budget System

For a new church, Miller recommends, “Fifty percent of the church’s budget should be for support of the pastor and church’s program. Fifteen percent should be for missions and related support. Thirty-five percent should be for property development.”

Another resource for preparing your church budget is Mark Dever’s The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel. In chapter 20, he discusses how he processes his budget beginning with the church administrator in May. Then Dever discusses with the associate pastor and elder in charge of local outreach and global missions. Next the elders give input on the budget which is followed by the deacons. Finally the congregation has an opportunity to make suggestions at a members’ meeting. At the end of this elaborate process the congregation votes to approve or disapprove the proposed budget.

5. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

“Generally accepted accounting principles, budgeting, and the single treasury are essential to doing business ‘decently and in order’ (1 Cor 14:40). Furthermore, they attract people of the business community.”

6. Good Administrative Procedures

Keep good records in the church’s office, not someone’s dresser drawer. Present quarterly reports to your congregation. “This attracts professional people into your church.”

7. Supporting Pastor and Program Before Property

You can read Paul’s defense of this component in 1 Corinthians 9.

8. Priority To Quality

“Don’t expect to use poor quality stationary, cheap envelops, and hand scribbling to reach people who have the greatest capability of supporting your church financially.”

9. Debt That Serves You

Miller gives the following basic guidelines:

1) Debt load should not exceed two to three times the church’s annual income.

2) Always maintain a 50 percent net worth. (The total real value of the church’s assets should always be twice as much as the amount owned.)

3) Debt must be serviced by only one-third of your church’s income. Abuses in this area have brought a lot of the regulations upon us that schools and churches face today.

Until these guidelines come together, don’t borrow the money.

10. Prayer

“Prayer is not listed last to indicate that it is, therefore, the least important. I have called these components and not steps…. Prayer has a prominent place in the financial matters of the church. Expect God to provide…. Nothing replaces hard work. Nothing replaces prayer.”

Driscoll’s View on Drinking

Posted: March 2, 2012 in Church Ministries
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Mark Driscoll gives his testimony that before and right after his conversion to Christ, he was a teetotaler (a total abstainer of alcohol). But after he entered the ministry he was “studying the Scriptures for a sermon about Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine, as reported in John’s gospel, a miracle that Jesus performed when he was about my age. My Bible study convicted me of my sin of abstinence from alcohol. So in repentance I drank a hard cider over lunch with our worship pastor.”[1] When I read his testimony, I have to admit, that was a first for me. Usually the testimony is the opposite, that, having come to Christ, the drinker surrenders his drinking habits or addictions. While Driscoll accomplishes much for the work of the Lord, his promotion of drinking is dangerous and unbiblical.

We commend the impact he is having on the young men in Seattle and the training he provides, with one exception. Driscoll trains “them in what it means to be a godly man. So far our training is on everything from how to study the Bible, get a job, invest money, buy a home, court a woman, brew beer, have good sex, and be a pastor-dad to their children has been very successful for hundreds of young men.”[2]

Driscoll would say some things in culture are wrong such as homosexuality and extra marital sex, and we would agree completely; but drinking is not only not wrong, it is Christian: “I personally long to return to the glory days of Christian pubs, where God’s men gather to drink beer and talk theology.”[3] According to Driscoll, it is not a sin to drink but it is a sin to drink light beer. The title of chapter six in Driscoll’s The Radical Reformission is “The Sin of Light Beer.” 

Three Views on Social Drinking

There are three views on social drinking which Driscoll explains. I will give Driscoll’s discussion of the three views, and then my response to Driscoll’s preference. The first view is prohibitionism which holds all alcoholic consumption in the Bible is sin. Therefore, Jesus created and drank grape juice. Driscoll argues that since Jesus created and drank real wine so should believers today drink distilled wine.[4]

The second view on social drinking is absentionism which advocates drinking alcohol is not prohibited in Scripture but the believer should still abstain. One reason to abstain is to avoid leading a weak believer into sin. Driscoll states that Jesus drank (Mt. 11:19) undoubtedly in the presence of alcoholics. If that did not stop Jesus why should it stop believers today.[5]

Moderationism is the third view and Driscoll’s: “Alcohol itself is neutral and can be used in both good and bad ways. When used in a right and redeemed way [moderately and carefully], alcohol is a gift from God to be drunk with gladness.”[6]

After discussing the wine issue in the Bible, Norman Geisler came to a much different conclusion: “Therefore Christians ought not drink wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages for they are actually ‘strong drink ’ and are forbidden in Scripture. Even ancient pagans did not drink what some Christians drink today.”[7]

Modern Distilled Wine is Different From Wine in the Bible

One of the reasons for coming to this conclusion that believers should not drink wine today is because modern distilled wine is not the same as the wine in the Bible. Wine in the Bible was more like purified water because the wine was diluted with water. On average for every one part of wine there were three or four parts of water mixed with the wine to purify the unsafe water. Jesus was not a teetotaler but we should be because the alcoholic content was different in the wine he drank and the wine society drinks today.

Drunkenness is clearly and repeatedly condemned in Scripture (Dt. 21:20-21; Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:19-21). Yet, pastors and deacons were not forbidden from drinking some wine (1 Tim. 3:3, 8) and the reason was because with water being unsafe, wine was used as a medicine as Paul reminds Timothy in the same Pastoral Epistle: “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your often infirmities” (1 Tim. 5:23).

The same truth is found in the Old Testament that repeatedly condemned drunkenness (Hab. 2:15). Wine could, however, be used to relieve suffering. After the writer condemns leaders drinking wine and strong drink in Proverbs 31:4-5, he advices to “give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts” in verse six. We accomplish the same result today when doctors give suffering patients morphine to lessen great pain.

The Gamble of Moderation

One of the reasons believers should not drink wine today is because it may lead a weaker brother into sin. This truth is found in Romans 14:21: “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak.” Geisler made this observation: “A believer should ask himself, ‘Will my drinking cause anyone else to sin? Even if it would not be a problem to me, is it possible that it would cause someone else to stumble?’ The writer knows of former alcoholics who have attended church communion services in which fermented wine has been served, and just the taste of a little bit of it drove them back into alcoholism.”[8] For this reason it is best not to use wine in communion services today.

The proper elements used in the communion service should be unleavened bread and “the fruit of the vine” as Christ stated in Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18. While the Bible refers to “the cup” being used at the first Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25-27), the Bible never uses the Greek word oinos for the communion service. “Of course it was juice from the grape, but whether fermented or not is not stated. Unfermented wine was used more in the time of Christ than most suppose. Nevertheless, if this was fermented some it was apparently diluted with water. For the sake of converted alcoholics or even to forestall anyone beginning to drink, unfermented juice is preferable in the light of today’s worldwide problem with alcohol” (Ryrie, Basic Theology, page 425).

Another justification for abstinence is because social drinking can lead to alcoholism. Geisler stated that one out of ten social drinkers will become alcoholics.[9] Why gamble or cause someone else to gamble with alcoholism with those odds?

John Piper has an excellent sermon entitled Total Abstinence and Church Membership. Here part of his argumentation:

 “Some people rank alcoholism as our second greatest health problem in America….There are about 10 million alcoholics and 20 million persons who consume an immoderate amount of alcohol. About 70% use alcohol as a beverage. As a result, alcohol contributes to 205,000 deaths each year. Life expectancy of the alcoholic is reduced by at least a decade. One-half of all traffic fatalities are the direct result of the abuse of alcohol. It is directly connected to one-half of the homicides and one-third of the suicides. It costs business alone 19 billion dollars a year. And now one out of every twelve marriages comes apart over drinking.”[10]

I have heard men justify their drinking by saying, “I am not hurting anyone but myself.” Ask the wife and children of the alcoholic if he is only hurting himself. Even if he were only harming himself, he is dishonoring God with his body and life and that is reason enough to quit. But the drinker is not just hurting himself, he is destroying his marriage and family. If Jesus lived today, I believe he would be a teetotaler, and so should we.

[1] Mark Driscoll. The Radical Reformission (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 146.

[2] Ibid., 184.

[3] Ibid., 147.

[4] Ibid., 149

[5] Ibid., 150

[6] Ibid.,150.

[7] Norman Geisler. “A Christian Perspective on Wine-Drinking” Bibliotheca Sacra 139: 553 (1982): page 51.

[8] Ibid., 53.

[9] Norman Geisler. Criswell Theological Review-Volume 5, Issue 2, 2008.

[10] John Piper, Total Abstinence and Church Membership, Sunday Evening Message, October 4, 1981.

Fulton Street Prayer Meeting Revival

Posted: February 15, 2012 in Church Ministries
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Warren Wiersbe has a book entitled Something Happens When Churches Pray in which he describes the blessings of God on the praying early church in the book of Acts. Later in 1857, something happened when churches prayed. What happened was a national revival of prayer meetings.

Jeremiah Lanphier started a noon hour weekly prayer meeting at the Old Dutch North Church on Fulton Street in New York City on September 23, 1857. Not many came to the first three meetings. Then the great finanical collapse rocked our nation on October 14 which closed banks and put families out of work. This finanical crisis impacted the prayer meeting. Soon thousands were attending.

By January, twenty other daily prayer meetings were being attended by 10,000 businessmen. Newspapers started covering the revival with articles entitled “The Progress of the Revival.”

Here is an eyewitness account reported to the public:

We take our seat in the middle room, ten minutes before 12 o’clock. A few ladies are seated in one corner, and a few businessmen are scattered here and there through the room. Five minutes to 12 the room begins to fill up rapidly. Two minutes to 12, the leader passes in, and takes his seat in the desk or pulpit. At 12 noon, punctual to the moment, at the first stroke of the clock the leader arises and commences the meeting by reading two or three verses of a hymn.

Each person finds a hymnbook in his seat; all sing with heart and voice. The leader offers a prayer—short, pointed, to the purpose. Then he reads a brief portion of Scripture. Ten minutes are now gone. Meantime, requests in sealed envelopes have been going up to the desk for prayer.

A deep, solemn silence settles down upon our meeting. It is holy ground. The leader stands with slips of paper in his hand.

He says: “This meeting is now open for prayer. Brethren from a distance are specially invited to take part. All will observe the rules.” (The rules were no prayer or exhortation was to exceed five minutes so others would have an opportunity.)

All is now breathless attention. A tender solicitude spreads over all those upturned faces.

The chairman reads: “A son in North Carolina desires the fervent, effectual prayers of the righteous of this congregation for the immediate conversion of his mother in Connecticut.”

In an instant a father rises: “I wish to ask the prayers of this meeting for two sons and a daughter.” And he sits down and bursts into tears.

Two prayers in succession followed these requests—very fervent, very earnest.

Then arose from all hearts that beautiful hymn, sung with touching pathos, so appropriate too, just in this stage of this meeting with all these cases full before us,

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,

And sinners plunged beneath that flood

Lose all their guilty stains.

This request was read: “A praying wife requests the prayers of this meeting for her unconverted husband, that he may be converted and made an humble disciple of the Lord Jesus.” At once a stout, burly man arose and said, “I am that man. I have a godly, praying wife, and this request must be for me. I want you to pray for me.”

As soon as he sat down, another man got up and said, “I am that man. I have a praying wife. She prays for me. And now she asked you to pray for me. I am sure I am that man, and I want you to pray for me.”

Three, four or five or more arose and said, “We want you to pray for us too.”

Then came the closing hymn, the benediction, and the parting for twenty-three hours.

The prayer meeting revival lasted until 1860 and it is estimated 1 million were converted to Christ. What was unique about what became known The Fulton Street Revival was that the revival resulted from mainly lay people praying corporately.

Here is a model for us to consider in order that something supernatural might happen when our church prays.

The Church’s Missional Statement by Christ

Posted: January 19, 2012 in Church Ministries
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All nationalities should be welcomed and accepted in our churches. This is what makes the church Missional. Missional church researcher Ed Stetzer warns against being missional in wanting to reach your local culture but not being Missions in wanting to reach those not in your culture. Some Missional churches are focused on the local not the global. Some Missions churches are only concerned with cultures an ocean away. The remedy is for the church to be “glocal” as Bob Roberts says in Transformation: How Glocal Churches Transform Lives and the World. Driscoll, in Vintage Church, gives a good introduction to the Missional movement in chapter nine, “What is a Missional Church?” He strikes a balance: “It is unfortunate that foreign missions is not part of the vision of many missional churches….It is also unfortunate the local community is lacking from the vision of many missions churches….Subsequently, their youth spends ten days building a house in Mexico rather doing repairs on the run-down apartment building across the street” (page 242).

Christ’s mission statement for the Church is combined in five commission passages not just in the Matthew 28 version. We should interpret the great commission of Matthew 28:19-20 in the context of all five statements. The five commission passages were taught by Jesus over the 40 day post-resurrection period. The five statements combined give us the Great Commission:

We have been sent to make disciples by preaching the Gospel to every person which is the first step in making disciples which includes preaching repentance through the power of the Holy Spirit to the ends of the earth.

1.  We Have Been Sent (John 20:19) given on the first Easter in Jerusalem

2. To Make Disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) added two weeks later in Galilee

3. By Preaching the Gospel to every person which is the first step in making disciples (Mark 16:15) possibly stated at the same time of Matthew 28

4. Which includes preaching repentance (Luke 24:47) given just before His ascension in Jerusalem

5. Through the power of the Holy Spirit to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) also stated just before His ascension

If our commission is to make disciple then we need to be able to profile a disciple.

1. A Disciple is an obedient follower of Christ.

In Matthew 28:1-15, the Jewish leaders reject Christ on the first Easter. In Matthew 28:16, at least two weeks later, the disciples obey Christ. Matthew juxtapositions these two responses by splicing them together with “But” to give the effect they happened one after the other to contrast disobedience and obedience.

Jesus describes a disciple as a believer who obeys His commands in John 15:8-10. The disciples who obeyed Christ to meet with Him in Galilee traveled probably by foot for five days from Jerusalem. Unlike all the other post-resurrection appearances, this one was announced and for this reason there were probably 500 believers there (1 Corinthians 15:6). Obedience is not always easy.

2. A disciple has a ministry to people to perform for the Lord. The Great Commission in Matthew was given in “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Matthew 4:15). The setting of the great commission was among unsaved Gentiles. The Reformers believed the Great Commission was given only to the eleven. In other words, we are not responsible to reach our generation for Christ. Why is the Reformer’s interpretation wrong?

First, because the eleven did evangelize all nations. They also did not evangelize unto the end of the age. Lastly, non-apostles like Philip and Stephen participated in the Great Commission in Acts.

Now that we have examined the remote and immediate context of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 let’s unpack its content.

1. The Proclamation of Jesus’ New Authority (Matthew 28:18) 

All authority has been given to Christ in heaven and in earth because of His resurrection (Romans 1:4). There is no reference to Christ’s ascension to heaven in Matthew but Jesus speaks as one already in Heaven ruling over all creation.

Alexander McClaren writes of the investiture granted Christ: “And so the hands that were pierced with the nails wield the sceptre of the Universe, and on the brows that were wounded and bleeding with the crown of thorns are wreathed the many crowns of universal kinghood.”

2. His Plan for the Church (Matthew 28:19-20a)

The Great Commission based on the authority of Christ is seen in Jesus’ “Therefore.”

The great commission centers on the one imperative “make disciples.” We disciple “all nations” which is a plural collective that describes the whole world outside the community of believers (Luke 24:47).

The method for obeying our authoritative King for making disciples is laid out in the three particles (verbs that serve as adjectives).

A. The Method of Evangelization “Having gone”

1) Through confrontation as in Acts 8 when Philip goes takes the gospel to the Ethiopian bachelor. Sometimes God opens the door to witness to a total stranger who sits down beside you on a commerical flight.

2) Through friendship as in John 1:40 when Andrew brings his brother Peter to Christ. The person who impacted my life more than anyone and was responsible for my salvation was my godly mother.

3) Through event evangelism as in Acts 10 when Peter preaches to the friends and family of Cornelius. Elmer Towns made popular “Friend Day” which has been by God to bring many to Christ.

B. The Method of Assimilation “Baptizing”

Baptism is a public pledge of our discipleship. Baptism identifies us with the local church as in Acts 2:41-42. Baptism is, however, more than getting the new convert all wet. Baptism is immersing the new convert into the life of the church. Entry level ministries like AWANA can help with getting them plugged in.

C. The Method of Education “Teaching them”

The Great Commission version in Matthew was given in the context of five major sermons in Matthew interspersed in the narrative of Matthew’s theme of the Messiahship of Christ.

The narrative in Matthew 3:1-4:25 discusses the Birth of the King

1st Sermon: Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)

The narrative in Matthew 8:1-10:4 presents the credentials of the King

2nd Sermon: Mission to Israel (Matthew 10:5-11:1)

The narrative in Matthew 11:2-12:50 records the first rejection of the King

3rd Sermon (Matthew 13) Parables of the Mystery form of the Kingdom for reaching Gentiles in this age

The narrative in Matthew 13:54-17:27 records the second rejection of the King

4th Sermon (Matthew 18:1-19:2) Principles of the Kingdom

The narrative in Matthew 19:3-23:39 describes the presentation of the King

5th Sermon (Matthew 24-25) Olivet Discourse/Future Return of the King

The narrative in Matthew 28:1-15 details the Death and Resurrection of Christ

Now that Jesus is ascended back to Heaven, the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 commands the church to carry on the same teaching ministry. We teach people “them” not just lessons or sermons. We teach to transform them not just to inform them.

3. The Promise of His Enduring Presence (Matthew 28:20b) 

As we fulfill the Great Commission Christ promises to be with us in blessing our ministry. This is not just the omnipresence of Christ but the blessing of His approval as we implement the great commission. Paul experienced this presence in Acts 18:9-10.

It has been said that a church’s greatness is not in its seating capacity but in its sending capacity. As we understand and obey Christ’s mission statement God will bless us with disciple making disciples at home and around the world.

The New Fundamentals of the Faith

Posted: October 13, 2011 in Church Ministries, Music
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A friend of mine sent this story to me about the new fundamentals of the faith:

I was walking across a bridge recently. I spied this fellow who looked like he was ready to jump off. So, I thought I’d try to stall him until the authorities showed up. “Don’t jump!” I said. “Why not?” he said. “Nobody loves me.”

“God loves you.” I said. “You believe in God, don’t you?”

“Yes, I believe in God,” he said.

“Good,” I said, “Are you Christian or Jewish?”

“Christian,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said, “Protestant or Catholic?”

“Neither,” he said.

“What then?” I said.

“Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Independent Baptist or Southern Baptist?”

“Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” “New Evangelical/Moderate Independent Baptist or Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist or Lose-Your Salvation Armenian Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist or Historical Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me too!” I said. “Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women Wearing Slacks Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist or Compromising Fundamentalist Not Against Women Wearing Slacks Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist.”

“Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women Wearing Sacks Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist,” he said.

“Me, too!” I said. “KJV Only, Traditional Music Only Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women Wearing Slacks Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist or Modern Version, Contemporary Music Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women Wearing Slacks Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist?”

“Modern Version, Contemporary Music, Unashamed Fundamentalist Against Women Wearing Slacks Dispensational Premillennial Calvinistic Conservative Independent Baptist” he said.

“Auugghh!! You Heretic! What is this world coming to?” I said. And then I pushed him over.

The new Fundamentals of the Faith believers in Christ separate over are Music, Dress, and Bible Versions. We have come along way since 1909, when R. A. Torrey edited the “The Fundamentals” and identified five basic doctrines as the Fundamentalists of the faith that we unite around and separate ecclesiastically over: The Trinity, The Person of Jesus Christ, The Second Coming, Salvation by grace through Christ alone, and the inerrant and all sufficient Word of God.

There is no Scripture, however, for separating over the New Fundamentals of the Faith.  If there are clear Biblical texts for separation over the New Fundamentals of the Faith please help me and bring them to my attention.

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