Teachers/Disciplers

The Openness of God

July 1, 2002 by Charles

God is sovereign and controls all things that come to pass. That is a basic belief of the Christian faith. Or is it? God knows all things, we say. But, does he really? In Titus 1 Paul writes, “For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers, and deceivers especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” This is one text which reminds us of the necessity to teach sound doctrine. Paul writes about the consequences of false teachings. They have a negative impact on relationships, upsetting whole families and, by implication, broader social units.

Paul’s words are important to us because in our pluralistic postmodern context, we are encouraged to believe that we can create our own reality. But if we have a wrong view of God, our view of ourselves will be flawed since we are his image and likeness. From those two faulty views grow all kinds of weeds and thorns that will choke and destroy other relationships. When we are wrong about God, every other major truth is affected-Scripture, the Trinity, Christ, the atonement, eschatology, God’s requirements for us, and reality itself.

In the March/April issue of Equip for Ministry we reviewed John Frame’s No Other God, A Response to Open Theism. We encouraged you to read and study that book because it deals with a topic that sadly is becoming more popular, especially among those who call themselves evangelicals. Though the church has dealt with this issue in the past, it still exists. It has several different names: “open theism,” “free will theism,” or “open view of God.” Like Frame, I do not accuse those who teach this of being intentionally heretical, but their teachings are wrong and distort God. They are capably articulate, but even granting them the benefit of the doubt that they are trying to be biblical, we still must conclude that they are in error.

They maintain that those who have a traditional view of God are not considering all of Scripture, and that when we do read the passages on which they build their case, we are turning cartwheels to make everything work according to our traditional system. Their teaching strikes at the heart of who God is and who we are. It challenges his sovereignty, his foreknowledge, and man’s “free will.” From there it challenges the sufficiency of Christ’s death and what it accomplishes. Can we really believe that God did not know whether Jesus would sin or not, that the Protestant Reformation would take place, or the September 11 disaster would happen?

Open theism begins subtly with the idea that God has humanlike characteristics that are not emphasized in traditional teaching. As the proponents develop their “movement in theology,” they have simply bought into a paradigm or model of God that differs from our Calvinistic and view of God. They claim that God does not know beforehand what is going to happen because to know would require his control to see that those things actually happened and that would infringe upon man’s free will. As Clark Pinnock, an advocate of open theism states, he is a “self-limited God.” He does not know all things, only the past and the present. He does not control all things to his predetermined end because so much depends on what man does. He doesn’t know beforehand who will or will not be saved. He can predict the future, only in part, because the future is not yet known. He is changeable and will alter his plan according to what man does; hence man has the ability to change God’s mind, determine the course of history, and play on God’s “humanlike” emotions.

I believe these teachers are reacting to an extremely deterministic view of God that makes man less than responsible for his actions, because God has predetermined all things. As you read Openness of God or The Case for Freewill Theism, you cannot miss their caricature of the sovereignty of God. According to their representation of the traditional view of God, it does not matter what man does or does not do. God is set in his ways and man’s actions make no difference. God does not even have serious interaction with man. Human decisions make no difference in their paradigm. Richard Rice, an open view of God advocate, frequently refers to God’s actions in relation to man as dynamic not static. That is, God is open to persuasion and change, even altering his plans, depending on man’s actions. He is not a stern, inflexible, all powerful God. Rice writes, “What he actually decides to do depends directly on the actions of human beings.”

What this really means is that God, like man, reacts to circumstances and those circumstances determine God’s course of action. Sound familiar? It is not a new teaching. It has been around for a long time under different names. For example: libertarianism, which teaches that man has total free will to choose and decide what he is or is not going to do. He has the freedom and often the power to make those choices, hence the designation “free will theism.” Another name for the open view of God is Socinianism, a sixteenth and seventeenth century heresy that challenged the traditional view of God, the Trinity, and the atoning work of Christ on the cross.

Frame quotes Robert Strimple, of Westminster Theological Seminary (Escondido), “But Socinianism also held to a heretical doctrine of God. The Socinian doctrine can be stated very briefly, and it must be contrasted with both Calvinism and Arminianism. Calvinism (or Augustinianism) teaches that the sovereign God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, and therefore He foreknows whatsoever comes to pass….The Socinians insisted that it was a contradiction of human freedom to believe in the sovereign foreordination of God. So they went ‘all the way'(logically) and denied not only that God has foreordained the free decisions of free agents but also that God foreknows what those decisions will be. That is precisely the teaching of the ‘free will theism’ of Pinnock, Rice, and other like-minded ‘new model evangelicals.’ They want their doctrine of God to sound very ‘new’ very modern, by dressing it up with references… but it is just the old Socinian heresy rejected by the church centuries ago,” (No Other Gods, page 33, 34). This is a good example of the importance of knowing church history. This teaching has been dealt with in the past and the conclusion can be helpful today.

In case you’re asked, being Christians of a biblically reformed Calvinistic persuasion, we respond, yes, we believe that God is the sovereign Lord who determines all things whatsoever that come to pass or he would be less than God. Yes, we believe that man has been given certain responsibilities and his actions can make a difference in how God’s plan plays out; yet, man cannot thwart the plan of God. Yes, we are certain that God does reveal himself as having certain humanlike characteristics, such as emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, has particularly experienced in his incarnation, all of our emotions, temptations, and limitations. Hence the writer of Hebrews states, “we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need,” (4:15, 16).

Because we are not God with unlimited abilities, we cannot always understand everything from a logical, rational perspective. But that is not a problem because we know that God’s ways are not our ways. We are aware that he is above logic, reason, and all parts of his created order, while being present within it. When we realize that God is the supernatural sovereign God, we are not bothered by not knowing everything that God knows. In fact, it is really refreshing not to have to believe that we have to know all things.

Does God know everything that will happen? According to the open theists, not before it takes place. Does God ever change his mind? Absolutely, they say. They even quote Scriptures to prove it. If man’s actions and behavior were totally foreknowable by God, then man would be less than free because God would have to see to it that those actions actually happen. But we believe that God is sovereign and controls everything in this creation, including man and his actions. Yet, we also believe that man is responsible for his actions before God. God does know all things, even the number of hairs on our head. He knew that Jesus would live a sinless life and not fail in his mission of going to the cross to die for our sins.

While we realize that these teachers claim to emphasize the part of God with which we can relate, the human side, we totally disagree with the extreme positions they take to get to that point. And, while we emphasize the sovereignty of God, we also realize that he is our personal God with whom we can interact with the deepest intimacy and love.

Piggybacking

July 1, 2002 by Editor

By Susan Spradlin. Good behavior of the children in the classroom makes such a difference. Would you believe me if I told you that someone else has already laid most of the groundwork for the management of your classroom and the discipline of your children in your Sunday school class? This same someone has already trained your children in classroom management procedures! Who is this person? The schoolteacher.You can “piggyback” by letting her training benefit your ministry. Piggyback by taking the child’s familiarity of the school classroom into the Sunday school to provide a more effective learning environment.

Where do you start?

Talk with the Christian Education person who oversees your Sunday school and let him or her know what you’d like to do and why. Understand that, probably, the schoolteacher will not be a member of your church and will have a relationship with God different from yours, but still functions as the primary educator of the child. You will be looking to integrate some of his methods with your own Christian worldview in the Sunday school classroom.

Your next step is to spend time in prayer.

Finding out who the students’ teachers are and making your initial contact will be next on your list. Invite a parent to introduce you to the teacher. The parent might explain that she thinks it would be beneficial for her child’s Sunday school teacher to know about the classroom-learning environment. After all, that’s where most of the learning is taking place. The parent could even accompany you to the classroom. Don’t forget other people who might know the child’s teacher such as other schoolteachers who go to your church.Remember, that you and the teacher have a lot in common-the most important thing being that you both love and care about the student you are teaching!

Make an appointment to visit the classroom. Let the teacher know who you are, share your common interest in the child, and explain that you are interested in finding out classroom management and procedure techniques, and exploring what could be duplicated in your Sunday school class

Helpful Tips:

Teachers are legally bound by right to privacy laws regarding the students so be careful to not infringe upon these laws in your questions or discussions. If your visit with the teacher takes place without the child’s parent present, let the teacher know up front that it is not your intention to discuss any student’s behavior or academic standing.

Teachers experience massive time constraints and demands. Let the teacher know that this won’t be a long, drawn-out visit

Effective Leadership

July 1, 2002 by Charles

Welcome to the July/August issue of Equip for Ministry. We believe this issue contains helpful articles, reviews, tips, and news items that will inform and encourage you in your local church’s ministry. I have asked Dick Aeschliman to develop the lead article which highlights some excellent thoughts of the late Dr. Donald J. MacNair in The Practices of a Healthy Church. Dick is CE&P’s Resource Coordinator and a trainer and consultant to local church leaders. He has been working with us in training elders and deacons for a number of years and is sensitive to the challenges and opportunities that God has set before those leaders.

The chapters selected from MacNair’s book demonstrate the tendency, especially among elders, of falling into one of two extremes: “lording over the people,” or being so laid back the church lacks direction, mobilization, and coordination. Finding the right balance for the leadership needed by a particular church at a particular time is not always easy. Our experience over the years is that effective leaders need the right attitude about their role but they also need training. This is consistent with Paul’s instruction in the book of Ephesians.

Having the right tools for training and knowing how to use them effectively requires much prayer and commitment. Regular check-ups of our leadership skills are a must if we are to be effective “under shepherds.” We need to be sound in the faith but we also need to understand people in order to come along side, encourage, and care for them. It is much easier to follow trusted, respected, and competent leaders. The best way to build that trust relationship between leaders and followers is for the followers to know that the church leaders genuinely care for them.

We hope that the summary of these chapters will challenge you to study MacNair’s book, and that those who do not hold a leadership position at this time will be challenged to pray for and encourage your church leaders. I have found that congregations who regularly uphold their leadership in prayer rarely come to cross-purposes with them. The mutual commitment of leaders and followers is necessary for the church to minister strategically and effectively.

The Equip Tip by CE&P Regional Trainer Susan Spradlin regarding an effective classroom learning environment will be particularly valuable for teachers of children. Susan’s experience as a teacher, trainer, and consultant comes through clearly in this helpful Tip.

“In Case You’re Asked” deals with a topic that we hope has not noticeably infiltrated the PCA. “Open theism,” present in some evangelical circles, is causing confusion and discussion. It was a “hot topic” at the annual Evangelical Theological Society meeting last fall. We need to be aware of what it is and how to respond if the opportunity presents itself.

The five books featured in the review section were carefully chosen, as usual, to encourage your reading in several different directions and levels. A Family of Faith will take you through some important topics as they relate to evangelicalism. The Connection Gap will encourage you to think more intentionally about relationships, an important topic for ministry in today’s fragmented culture. The Communion of Saints is also connected with the importance of believers in their interdependent relationships in the church. Finding the Will of God is a topic that has concerned Christians from the beginning. This book will be extremely helpful to those who take the time to read it. The Pocket Dictionary is a helpful resource tool for teachers and students.

We have also highlighted some of CE&P’s activities during the spring months. These are for your information as well as items for prayer. The ministry of Christian Education and Publications is totally dependent on the churches and individuals that God raises up to support this ministry, financially and with prayer. We are increasingly aware that “it is not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts,” (Zechariah 4:6). Equip for Ministry is one of our main resources for communicating with individuals and churches. If you would like an extra copy for a friend please let us know. You can also visit our website, (www.pcanet.org/cep) and link to our Bookstore, Video Library, and other helpful resources.

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

Prayerful Ministry

May 1, 2002 by Charles

Welcome to this issue of Equip for Ministry. We believe we have included materials that will interest you and benefit your Christian life and ministry. Our main theme is prayer. Could there be a more vital and essential need in our lives than prayer? The author of the lead article, Archie Parrish, a PCA teaching elder on staff with Mission to North America, has worked with us on numerous occasions. His emphasis on the relationship between prayer and renewal or revival hit the mark. He has helped many individuals and churches to become more involved in active praying. He is also partly responsible for the 50 Days of Prayer that you will read about in this issue.

His thoughts in “Praying the Psalms” are challenging and his suggestions for application are right on target. He naturally chose the Psalms as the format for prayer and his thirty days of prayer ideas and sequence will be workable and helpful to those who want to develop a more consistent and disciplined prayer life.

This issue contains some unusually valuable and helpful book reviews. You will not only want to read the reviews but you will be challenged to read the books. Teaching for a Change by Norman DeJong is a vitally important book for those involved in discipleship or Christian education. The Power of Team Leadership presents some of the most practically helpful ideas and applications on that topic. Each pastor and church leader will want to read it. Preaching in a Postmodern World will also challenge every preacher and teacher. The challenge to communicate clearly with today’s world cannot be overstated. For personal growth, reading through The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, would prove to be a valuable exercise. The Analysis of the Institutes will encourage you in that endeavor. The review of Os Guinness’s The Journey offers an unusual experience for the reader. It can help you in your personal life and witness. Finally the book Disciplines of a Godly Woman will be something that every Christian woman should read.

The “In Case You’re Asked” article is another attempt to look at the basic doctrines of the faith in light of today’s world. God’s special revelation in the Scriptures is our foundational point. There we start and there we end or we will run off track.

You will also appreciate reading the Equip Tip as it focus on the importance of relationships and the obstacles to developing good relationships. It is a timely topic for the postmodern world that is crying out for meaningful relationships.

The articles on CE&P activities including the conferences will keep you aware of some of the ministries that CE&P coordinates. They can also serve as a reminder to pray for us, that we might “Serve the Lord with gladness” and “Serve His purpose to this generation.”

You might have a friend that needs encouragement in his or her prayer life, or you might want to be sure your church leaders read the content contained in this issue. Pass your copy on them or help them acquire a copy of their own.

As we develop each issue of Equip for Ministry, our purpose is to include materials that will challenge you to think and edify you that process. In each issue we attempt to highlight some aspect of our ministry in order to keep you informed and aware of our need for prayer as we implement those ministries. We try to focus on a broad range of topics and issues, which is characteristic of Christian Education and Publications’ whole ministry. We do attempt to be as audience focused, as humanly possible, and it is interesting to see how the Holy Spirit leads us in each issue. The personal words of testimony and encouragement mean much to us.

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.