Women

Women in the Church Logo

January 1, 2006 by Susan

WIC Logo

In 1973 the Steering Committee for a Continuing Presbyterian Church took steps to form a new denomination. A Convocation of Sessions was held in May,1973, at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Then an Advisory Convention met in Asheville, NC in August. At this meeting, the Steering Committee sponsored a meeting of interested women. Six of those women were elected to serve as an advisory sub-committee to the Christian Education Committee.

The First General Assembly heartily endorsed a plan from the Christian Education and Publications Committee for the establishment of women’s organizations in churches and presbyteries. Thus WIC-Women In the Church-was born.

Isaiah 62:1 was selected as the theme verse:

For Zion’s sake I will not rest and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep silent, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. Isaiah 62:1

An old-fashioned lamp was selected for the logo. Tradition this rich imagery to your daughters and grand-daughters . . .

In order for a kerosene lamp to give light, it must be filled with oil.
The believer’s life must be filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit.
The wick must rest continually in the oil.
We must rest in Christ and draw life and spiritual strength from His Holy Spirit.
The wick must be regulated and trimmed regularly.
Our lives must be daily regulated and trimmed in obedience to God’s Word.
The lamp chimney must be kept clean and clear.
Our light shines to the world as we repent of sin and live in whole-hearted obedience to our Savior.

Feel free to copy the logo(s) below and use in local WIC material and publicity. For a higher resolution logo, WICLogo-large.

Logo as of 2006

Old Logos

What Would Jesus Do?

January 1, 2005 by Bob

WWJD – What would Jesus do? It’s a question that was recycled from a book written over 100 years ago. It became a fad that quickly faded. But what would it mean to take the question seriously?

The evangelical church in the United States has trouble identifying just what kingdom living entails. It’s another way to ask WWJD. Many would suggest we ought to try to win as many people as possible to the exclusion of any other task. An extreme version of this would see secular employment as only a means to the end of evangelism.

Without detracting from the great command to make disciples, there is another command – to subdue the earth. That is to cultivate it. That command has never been abrogated.

For the most part, however, it would appear that we Christians are not unduly exercised about being kingdom disciples. That’s undoubtedly one reason pollsters contend there is little difference between those who claim allegiance to Christ and everybody else. Christians in the United States seem far more attuned to middle class American culture as expressed in their communities than the desires of Jesus.

That’s a stinging indictment. Yet Christians have a propensity to hear such things, perhaps even feel guilty, but have little motivation to do anything differently. In fairness, anything different would be counter-cultural and could have a ripple effect with profound consequences.

For instance, a relatively small minority of Christians advocates a simpler lifestyle. In theory many Christians agree with some aspects of that desire. But consider some of the difficulties:

1. Consumer spending is the engine that keeps the American economy going. If large numbers of people cut way back on spending we would experience a significant economic downturn. Those who produce “stuff” need us. This is despite indications that the more we have the less happy we become.

2. There are expectations that come from our children. When our daughters were little we had a lunch box issue at the beginning of every school year. They had to take their lunch in a lunch box. A paper bag wouldn’t do. But it couldn’t be just any lunch box. There were just a few deemed acceptable by the other kids. And it seemed that most years we bought the wrong one.

3. There are expectations that come from our community. For the most part these are not expressed in words but attitudes. Cell phones have moved from the province of a select few to the mass market. If you don’t have a cell phone (I’m still holding out), it’s obvious you’re out of step.

4. We’ve got our own desires too. I’ve got a car with over 200,000 miles on it. It’s beat up but it runs fine. Yet I find myself watching the new car ads regularly. With all the price competition it’s stirring a desire in me for some new wheels.

Which lunch box a child carries or which car a person drives are not intrinsically moral issues. Yet these decisions shape us.

A few will sacrifice for the sake of Christ. Consider the lady who is giving everything away so that the work of the kingdom can prosper. And the medical doctor who left a thriving practice to work with children who live on the street. The physician who retired early to treat the homeless. The couple that moved into the inner city. They experience poverty as they minister to the impoverished. But these are dramatic illustrations.

Consideration of the kingdom ought to guide us in every endeavor. That consideration is always in danger of being trumped by the quest for success and status. It’s bad enough that such desires detract from the kingdom. On top of that we live in a society where those who have achieved success are held up as models. This is as true in the Christian community as it is elsewhere. A life of sacrifice may be admired but it is seldom imitated. Couple that with our propensity toward evil and kingdom values can easily be suppressed or distorted.

So how do ordinary people like us attempt to influence society with Christian values? Scripture urges us to look after the fatherless and widows (James 1:27). Single moms have been with us for a long time. Micah asked, “What does the Lord require of you?” His answer, “To act justly (treat people fairly) and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). At times fairness is not enough. To show mercy is to risk being used. This is more than a prescription for an exemplary life. It is what it means to walk with God — what it means to influence society with Christian values.

Suffice it to say that it is in the church that we ought to learn what it means to be messengers of grace wherever we are. It is in this context that we are to make disciples. We have the great privilege of self consciously bringing the influence of God’s kingdom to a society dimly aware of his nature and purposes.

Just so we get it right. More things are caught than taught.

A Time to Evaluate

January 1, 2004 by Bob

I’m the Director of Discipleship Ministries at Covenant Church in Fayetteville, Georgia. For over a year we’ve been doing an in-depth evaluation of our Christian education efforts. Evaluation should be a regular part of everything we do.

We’ve looked at our community. Who we are reaching. Who we’re not. A large number of African Americans are moving into what we consider our “parish.” How is it possible for us to become a more racially integrated congregation?

We’ve looked at our purpose against the backdrop of the church’s broader purpose. We want “to introduce people to Jesus and help them grow in their relationship to him and to others.” The short version is “Reach and teach to love and serve.” That’s our summary of discipleship.

We’ve looked at our curriculum. Does it do what we want? Are there ways we need to supplement? We’ve checked attendance records. How are we doing relative to the community and to the church ministries? We interviewed teachers and leaders. What do they think they have achieved?

Then we took a further step, one that the church’s Christian Education committee thought was a natural outgrowth of our analysis. We decided to interview young people who spent a substantial part of their growing up years in the congregation. We invited six young adults to join a round table in which they assessed the impact of the congregation’s efforts on their behalf.

When I mentioned to them what we were doing, the response was basically, “What a gutsy thing to do.” But we didn’t think of it that way. In fact, I would favor such a discussion with some who had dropped out of church somewhere along the way.

It is God who changes hearts. But for whatever reason, he has chosen to use us. I believe he is most pleased when we do the best we’re able to do. To put it another way, a teacher hasn’t taught until the student has learned. With the gospel, learning is used by the Spirit to produce change – in our thinking, our desires, and our activities. So it makes sense to see what the product looks like. It also makes sense to assess the perceived impact our efforts have made.

In this case we were affirmed. Certain teachers and leaders stood out. The overall assessment was that they were grounded in our theology and sensitized to the importance of relationships. Mission trips opened their eyes to God’s will for his people everywhere. They were taught to serve. The biggest weakness discussed was the availability of programming for those recently out of high school.

The next step in our process is to talk with a larger cross section of the congregation to brainstorm where we go from here. Out of that, goals and strategy will emerge.

A Better Way to Handle Abuse

September 1, 2002 by Editor

By Ken Sande. Sexual abuse in the church does not have to end in broken lives, agonizing lawsuits, and divided congregations. When people follow God’s instructions, these terrible incidents can result in healing, justice, and healthier churches.When victims of abuse first come forward, I have found that most of them are seeking four reasonable responses. First, they are looking for understanding, compassion, and emotional support. Second, they want the church to admit that the abuse occurred and to acknowledge that it was wrong. Third, they want people to take steps to protect others from similar harm. And fourth, they expect compensation for the expense of needed counseling.

As national headlines reveal, many churches have unwisely ignored these legitimate needs. Instead they have blindly followed their lawyers’ and insurance adjusters’ textbook strategy to avoid legal liability. They try to cover up the offense and deny responsibility. All too often they distance themselves from the victims and their families, leaving them feeling betrayed and abandoned.

Many frustrated victims eventually run into a lawyer who tells them they could win a million-dollar damages award. Soon everyone is locked in an adversarial process that reopens wounds and generates even more pain and anger. Whatever the verdict, both sides lose, since money alone can never heal the wounds of abuse.There is a better way.
God has designed a powerful peacemaking strategy for dealing with offenses between people, including sexual abuse. When churches follow it, the cycle of abuse is broken and restoration can begin.

COMPASSION

If there is one place that victims of abuse should find understanding, compassion, and support, it is the church, which God commands to respond to suffering with tenderness and selfless love. “Be kind and compassionate to one another.” “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” “Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others” (Ephesians 4:31; Philippians 2:3-4). Instead of pulling away from victims, churches should draw closer to them, listening to their stories, mourning with and praying for them, and bearing their burdens. Responding with love and compassion is one of the best ways to show that the church abhors abuse and is committed to serving the victim.

CONFESSION

Attorneys instinctively instruct their clients to “make no admissions.” Hundreds of churches have followed this shortsighted counsel in recent years, prolonging the agony of abuse victims, infuriating juries, and triggering multimillion-dollar punitive damages awards. In contrast, everyone benefits when people trust God’s promise, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy (Proverbs 28:13). A church should acknowledge its contribution to an abusive situation and encourage the abuser to confess his sin, take responsibility for his actions, and seek needed counseling. These steps can prevent a court battle and speed healing for victim and offender alike. (Since an impulsive admission could allow an insurer to cancel coverage, church leaders should consult with their insurer, lawyer, and a Christian conciliator to plan their words carefully.)

COMPENSATION FOR COUNSELING

The Bible places a strong emphasis on requiring a wrongdoer to repair any damage he has caused to another person. “Pay the injured man for the loss of his time and see that he is completely healed” (Exodus 21:19). Therefore, churches should be earnest to do whatever they can to bring wholeness to victims of abuse. As soon as abuse is revealed, the church should immediately come to the aid of the victim and his family, holding forth the redeeming power of the Gospel and offering to provide or cover the cost of needed counseling.

CHANGE

When abuse takes place, statements of regret are not enough. Genuine repentance is demonstrated by making changes to protect others from similar harm. “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” “Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Luke 3:8; Psalm 82:4). This requires removing the abuser from his position and implementing screening and supervision procedures to prevent other abusive people from being in counseling or child-care positions. Such actions not only protect others from harm but also relieve abuse victims, who are deeply concerned that others not be treated as they were.

CONCILIATION

It may be difficult for a church to implement these steps if a victim’s family is already threatening legal action or an insurer refuses to support personal contacts. These situations can still be resolved without a legal battle, however, by submitting the matter to biblical mediation or arbitration. “If you have disputes, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church” (1 Corinthians 6:4). Christian conciliation by outside neutrals can provide a constructive forum to deal with both the spiritual and legal issues related to abuse. This legally enforceable process provides appropriate confidentiality and promotes confession and restitution, which help to bring about justice and reconciliation.

These five steps are not theoretical. I have seen many churches follow this process, usually with great success. In one case, a pastor discovered that a man had abused several children in the church, including the pastor’s daughter. In spite of his own personal anguish, the pastor prayed to respond to the situation in a way that would reflect the love of Jesus. After consulting with a Christian conciliator and the church’s insurer, the pastor and his elders ministered to everyone who had been hurt by this dreadful sin.They persuaded the abuser to confess his sin to the families of the children and to turn himself in to the police. He willingly accepted his prison sentence, and was even grateful that his destructive behavior had finally been stopped.

The leaders spent many hours with the families themselves, grieving and praying with them, and making sure they received needed support and counseling. In addition, the leaders improved their screening and supervision policies to guard against similar incidents in the future.They also reached out to the abuser’s wife and children, who were so ashamed that they planned to leave the church. But the leaders understood what being a shepherd is all about. They ministered to this broken family, reassured them of God’s love, and kept them in the fold.

Instead of being dragged through an excruciating lawsuit, the victims and their families, the abuser and his family, and the entire congregation experienced the redeeming power of God. This remarkable process culminated months later during a Christmas Eve service. As the church prepared to sing “Silent Night,” two young girls came forward to light the candles. One of them had been abused. The other was the daughter of the abuser. As they finished their task and smiled at each other, the congregation saw tangible evidence of God’s love and grace.Abuse in the church does not have to end with catastrophe. When a church follows its Lord, even this great tragedy can result in healing and restoration.

Praying the Psalms

May 1, 2002 by Editor

“Whoever prays the Psalms earnestly and regularly will soon stop those other light and personal little devotional prayers and say: Ah, there is not the juice, the strength, the passion, the fire which I find in the Psalms.” Martin Luther[i]

By Archie Parrish. God blessed my wife and me with three children. From the moment of their births we talked to them. Daily we did everything we could to get them to repeat what we said. At first only Jean and I could understand the sounds they made. Day after day, we continued talking to them, and after a while they began echoing our words back to us. Single words grew into short sentences. Because we continued to talk to our children they learned to talk to us.

In a similar fashion God teaches His children the language of prayer. The Holy Spirit prays for us and helps us learn to pray. The Holy Spirit inspired the whole Bible; and He uses all Scripture to help us pray. But He especially uses the book of Psalms. As we pray the Psalms, the Holy Spirit helps us commune with the Father, conform to the Son, and combat the devil.

Only men and women set free from sin through faith in Christ can successfully fight spiritual warfare. As sons and daughters in a conscious vital relationship with our Father and with His family in a local church, we can properly serve as soldiers in Christ’s army and gain victory in battles with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Leaders in spiritual warfare need not be brilliant; they cannot be self-confident. They are to be humble servants, who are courageous because they are confident in the Lord. They lead by example and are people of prayer who multiply after their kind. Soldiers in spiritual warfare are humble followers of Jesus who maintain their morale by a steady diet of psalms and basic Christian truth, especially Scripture. They boldly engage the enemy. Spiritual warriors know their enemies and believe God is sufficient to defeat them. Spiritual warriors believe kingdom-focused prayer is their super-weapon.

The Calvinist reformers were led by a militant aristocracy and financed by wealthy bourgeoisie. They put up long and frequently successful battles. Yet the leadership and finance could not have won the day had the individual Calvinists not possessed, to quote Cromwell, “a conscience of what they were doing.” In many cases, they won their battles or retrieved those they had lost, not through generalship nor through greater economic power, but because of superior morale. In building up and maintaining this morale, the battle hymns of the Psalter played a conspicuous part.[ii]

The psalms owed their importance in this connection primarily to Calvin himself. Usually when thinking of all his influence on the resistance movements, we tend to stress his teachings, his organization, and his personality. Yet at the grass-roots level these perhaps did not have all of the impact which we usually attribute to them. The thing that really “grabbed” the common man, the ordinary Calvinistic soldier, was something much more mundane: his catechetical training[iii] and the congregational singing of the psalms.

David said, “I give myself to prayer” (Psalm 109:4). Literally the original Hebrew reads, “I prayer”, i.e. “I am prayer.” The Holy Spirit desires to help us become prayer. Here is how He is helping me. I begin every day with the book of Psalms. I divided the book into thirty almost equal portions and I spend about thirty minutes prayerfully reading aloud one portion. I use the English Standard Version because it is an accurate translation and it is easy to read.

This daily discipline has been so rewarding that I am now trying to learn all 150 Psalms by heart. It was not unusual for devout Jews in the time of Jesus and His Apostles to know by heart the “whole of David,” i.e., the entire book of Psalms. It is probable that our Lord Jesus had all the Psalms memorized. They certainly were the very fabric of His life. In His most painful moments, as He faced death on the cross, He instinctively cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46). These are David’s words recorded in Psalm 22:1.

Jesus’ last words from the cross were, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). As soon as their children began to talk, devout Jewish mothers taught them to pray, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). Each night before going to sleep the children prayed these words. To this childhood prayer, Jesus adds the personal address, “Father.” Concerning His atoning work on the cross, Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), then He prayed to the Father as a little child turning in for the night.

Paul urged earlyChristiansto “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). Praying the Psalms built the early Christians into an army of kingdom intercessors. New Testament writers quote more verses from the Psalms than any other Old Testament book.[iv] Praying the Psalter shaped the life of early Christianity into a militant kingdom focus.

Martin Luther relied on the Psalms to become a man of prayer. Said Luther:”When I feel that I have become cool and joyless in prayer because of other tasks or thoughts (for the flesh and the devil always impede and obstruct prayer), I take my little Psalter, hurry to my room, or, if it be the day and hour for it, to the church where a congregation is assembled and, as time permits, I say quietly to myself and word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and, if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, just as a child might do.”[v]

The Secret that unlocks the Psalter is the fact that it is the prayer book of Jesus, the Messiah and Mediator. He is the Head; the Church is His Body. And Head and Body are one; so the Body should join in the prayers of the Head. With this perspective we can pray all the Psalms, even when the writer protests his innocence or invokes God’s judgment, or goes through infinite depths of suffering. Jesus Christ Himself is praying here and in the whole Psalter.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer observes:”This insight the New Testament and the Church have always recognized and declared. The Man Jesus Christ, to whom no affliction, no ill, no suffering is alien and who yet was the wholly innocent and righteous one, is praying in the Psalter through the mouth of His Church. The Psalter is the prayer book of Jesus Christ in the truest sense of the word. The Psalter is the vicarious prayer of Christ for His Church. This prayer belongs not to the individual member, but to the whole Body of Christ. In the Psalter we learn to pray on the basis of Christ’s prayer.”[vi]Ask the Father to show you the praying Christ in the Psalms and teach you how to use the Psalms in your prayer life.

A Significant Question

One question that often is asked concerning praying the Psalms is: How can I pray a Psalm when it does not express exactly what I feel in my heart at the moment? Anyone who is truly honest will admit the need to pray against our own heart in order to pray rightly. After all is said and done, it is not what we want to pray that is important, but that for which God wants us to pray. Jeremiah warns, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) If we only follow our hearts, we would probably only pray for “our daily bread,” God wants us to pray that His will be done, not our will. As you pray the Psalms, begin by praying, “Father, enable me to pray not from the poverty of my heart, but from the richness of Your word.”

Making the Psalms yours

Let me close this plea to pray the Psalms by sharing with you a few practical suggestions. Below is a thirty-day schedule for praying through the Psalms. Each section requires about fifteen minutes, depending on how much meditation I do.

Before reading pray: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law…. Give me understanding, that I may keep Your law and observe it with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:18, 34). “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts; and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24).

While reading turn the words of the Psalms into prayer.

Read aloud, in a normal voice if possible but at least in a whisper. (This helps concentration and avoids distraction.)

Read on your knees, when possible.

Read daily-I usually do this when the Lord awakens me early in the morning.

Read frequently during the day–Carry the Psalter with you and refer to the day’s portion frequently.

Let us join Luther in the following prayer:”Our dear Lord, who has given to us and taught us to pray the Psalter and the Lord’s Prayer, grant us also the spirit of prayer and grace so that we pray with enthusiasm and earnest faith, properly and without ceasing, for we need to do this; he has asked us for it and therefore wants to have it from us. To him be praise, honor, and thanksgiving. Amen.”[vii]

[i] Foreword to the Neuburg edition of the Psalms, 1545.

[ii] W. Stanford Reid, The Battle Hymns of the Lord-Calvinist Psalmody of the Sixteenth Century, p. 36.

[iii] The use of question and answer instruction used in Catechisms was part of the Passover celebration. See Exodus 12:25-27: “When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'”

[iv] Nestl

Do I Know You?

May 1, 2002 by Bob

Most everybody talks about relational ministry. Yet relationships are so easy to miss because our agendas call for more important things.I’m embarrassed that I don’t know the names of some of the people in our little church. That creates an awkwardness that inhibits any attempt to go further. Think of the people in your congregation, your Sunday school class, people you see regularly, whose names you don’t know. It’s one reason why the church can seem so impersonal.

Consider the visitor-or is she a regular attendee you’ve simply never met? Do you introduce yourself? I never will forget the time I introduced myself to a woman at church. I asked if she was visiting and she informed me that she was a charter member. That sort of response can be a big inhibitor to saying, “Hi, my name is _____.” But if you don’t the visitor might leave saying, “I attended that church and no one spoke to me.” And knowing a person’s name is just the beginning.

A Session or Deacon’s meeting might start with a conversation about what’s happening in everyone’s life and a time of prayer for each other. It could take a half hour or more, and it could be the most important thing you do. It will help everyone come together for the business at hand. It could surface some significant information, and it will add a little more glue to the bond that solidifies each one’s commitment to the others.

A Sunday school class ought to be about more than increased understanding of a biblical text. To be effective it must rub that passage against our lives. One way to do that is to help people talk to each other about ways they think the Spirit might want them to respond. A class could break into groups of three to five for exercises that help them get to know each other better, know the Bible better, and listen to God apply the Word to their hearts. Variations on this theme work in almost any age group. For instance, take an egg timer to a children’s class and let everyone have one minute. While the sand falls each one in turn can talk about the most fun he ever had, his favorite toy or best friend, or describe his mother or father. As the teacher, don’t forget to take your turn, too.

Many of us live in metropolitan areas where most everybody is from some place else. Often relatives live a considerable distance away, and neighbors seldom know each other. Houses are empty during the day and closed up during the evening. Many times I’ve heard neighbors say, “People will be out when it’s warmer.” But summer comes and, “People will be out when it gets cooler.” The reality is people don’t come out much at all. Relationships in the neighborhood, at the office, or at school are important. But if they don’t extend beyond the confines of that environment they have limited value. And the same is true of relationships at church. Hopefully, the believer will have friendships with some that extend beyond the confines of a church program.These relationships are necessary for us to not simply survive, but thrive in this Christian pilgrimage.