CDM Archive

Discipleship Ministries of the PCA

Church Leadership

Something Different

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Your evaluation of previous years’ efforts may prompt you to make some adjustments in your summer activities.

Sunday Evening

For the past two years the church I serve (Covenant in Fayetteville, GA) has offered prepared meals during June and July. This combined with a special program each week attracted about half of our Sunday morning congregation. Some features included: young musician’s night, which has brought grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.; missionaries known to the church; an old fashioned hymn sing, as well as musical groups and speakers outside our church family.

The result:

1) It fostered relationships within the church (we have two morning services).

2) It generated ongoing enthusiasm for other activities during what has usually been a down time.

3) Visitors from our morning services were invited as our special guests and many came. It helped some determine that they wanted to make the church their home.

Sunday Morning

Sunday School

Adults

We’ve offered one-month and/or six-week studies over the summer. We are doing two-month blocks the rest of the year. The jury is still out on whether that is a factor in increasing attendance.

Children

All our young children (4 years and older), middle- and high-school kids work on a construction project over the summer, along with any adults who wish to participate. The first year we did the tabernacle, last summer it was Noah’s Ark, and in ’05 we will make a replica of New Jerusalem.

The result:

1) It has brought some children to Sunday school who don’t ordinarily come.

2) It produced a significant bump in attendance.

3) It gave most teachers a two and a half month break.

4) It avoided having just one or two children in a class.

5) It gave us an intergenerational learning activity.

Since our schools begin in mid-August, we start fall activities then. (If you use CE&P curriculum, it’s no problem getting materials for a mid-August start.)

VBS

If you’re struggling, reflect again on your purpose and how you want to achieve it.

Last summer our church’s intern did a Backyard Bible Club in a neighboring county where we are planting a church. There were 204 children who came for one or more of the three days. They heard the gospel. Also several contacts were made for the new congregation.

Your setting might benefit from a one day or evening activity once a week over four to six weeks. Or you might be able to do a day camp running from morning into the afternoon. Years ago I led one in a mission congregation that had no property. We used a public park.

Another option would be a different kind of program, either a substitute for VBS or in addition. For two years we’ve had a Music Arts and Drama Camp. MAD Camp has attracted some who expressed no interest in VBS. The same was true for the Swim Camp we offered last summer. (There’s a pool on our property.)

Don’t do something different just to be different. But don’t be afraid to try something if you believe it will better utilize your resources to achieve your purpose. That means failure is always lurking. And you will fail. We tried a soccer camp two years ago. We had a professional player to lead and we live in a community where the sport is incredibly popular, but it didn’t work.

I’ve often said that much of what I have done hasn’t worked all that well. But the things that have worked make the effort worthwhile.

May God pour out his blessings as you attempt to serve him in the most effective way possible.

The Importance of Worldview

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charles.jpgIn the Nov/Dec 2004 Equip for Ministry, we reviewed a strategic book on biotechnology, Human Dignity in the BioTech Century, edited by Charles W. Colson and Nigel M. de S. Cameron. We believe biotechnology is one of the most crucial, exciting, challenging, yet dangerous areas for us to consider. Without a doubt it is true that the 21st century will prove to be the biotech century. Therefore, Christians need to be prepared to think clearly from a biblical reformed worldview and know how to teach their children to do the same. We are responsible to serve God in all of life, including biotechnology, but with our sinful nature we cannot always be trusted to do so because of our tendency to play God.

When it comes to biotechnology, we must not fall into the trap of dualism. Dualism is one of the most dangerously deceptive ideas today for Christians and non-Christians as well. So much of our Western thinking is based on it. Dualism has even taken deep roots within the evangelical community. Dualism seeks to divide life in to separate units or areas that do not need to connect. The result, as far as biotechnology is concerned, is the conscious effort to separate technology from ethics. This is dangerous because of its implications on the Lordship of Christ.

In reality you cannot separate ethics and technology. There are no dualistic sacred and secular realms in life. All of life is one. God has structured his reality to underscore the “unity of reality.” The danger of dualism is the temptation to believe that it is permissible for man to do whatever he is capable of doing. In other words, the ability to do something means that it is allowable to do. But, is that a proper line of reasoning, especially with the fine line between serving God and playing God?

In the case of artificial or alternative reproduction, scientists have been able to manipulate and control the birth process. Creating embryos in vitro (in the petri dish) is being done over and over. It is now a technological reality that life can be created artificially. Man can do that with a fairly good track record. But, should it be done? After all many childless couples now have children by the in vitro fertilization process. That process, however, raises ethical dilemmas. Scientists and medical personnel may need to create from three to five embryos for one to work, but what happens with the leftovers? What are we now to do with the between 300,000 to one million frozen embryos in storage? The shelf lives of many of those embryos are reaching their expiration dates.

I participated in a think tank a few years ago with a group made up of ethicists, lawyers, psychologists, and doctors dealing with this very dilemma. That was a challenging, as well as enlightening, experience. I will use the term artificial or alternative reproduction as an example to respond to several questions recently asked us, regarding the PCA’s position on stem cell research.

In case you’re asked, I respond in a twofold manner. First, the PCA has not, as of yet, adopted a position on stem cell research. However, the PCA has adopted positions on the sanctity of human life, which become a guide for us in this area. For example: In its position statement on abortion, the PCA has said clearly that human life begins at conception and as such, “is under the protection of the Sixth Commandment… and that because Scripture clearly affirms the sanctity of life and condemns its arbitrary destruction, we affirm that the intentional killing of an unborn child between concept and birth, for any reason, is clearly a violation of the Sixth Commandment, (1980 General Assembly Minutes, Overture 12).

When it comes to stem cell research, we have to operate ethically and morally. Therefore we ask if stem cell research is ethically and morally permissible. Our immediate response is that as long as it does not violate the Sixth Commandment, maybe so. However, we are told that the easiest way “to produce stem cells is to divide an early stage embryo into its component cells, thereby destroyed the embryonic human being.” (The Reproductive Revolution, John F. Kilner, Paige C. Cunningham, and W. David Hagar). While it may or may not be true that stem cells have the capacity to develop body parts, tissues, and organs, this does not justify the violation of the Sixth Commandment regarding “embryonic humans” in order to get those things. We believe that such stem cell research with human embryos crosses the line ethically and biblically, and Christians must know how to speak out in this area. We cannot fall into the dualistic trap at this critical point.

Stem cell research with adults, on the other hand, is not a life-threatening proposition and can possibly do much good in things like “genetic repair.” So it may be permissible in some cases. Where there is no violation of the Sixth Commandment, such research is permissible, as long as scientist realizes that life is sacred and they are self-consciously operating on that biblical commandment.

In conclusion to the question, “what is the PCA’s position on stem cell research?” we will simply say, as long as we adhere to the sanctity of life and do not transgress the Sixth Commandment, and as long as we do not attempt to separate bioethics from biotechnology, we believe man has and can continue to serve God’s purpose in a positive and life honoring way. However, we must start from a solidly biblical and ethical foundation as the research continues. As long we are engaged in making kingdom disciples, we will do what we can to encourage parents, adults, and churches in their discipleship and education training to teach God’s covenant people how to deal with these extremely important issues.

What Would Jesus Do?

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bob.jpgWWJD – 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.

The Importance of Worldview: Applying the Christian Faith to All Areas of Life

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Often, in teaching and speaking on a biblical world and life view, I am asked, “Why is it so important to develop a Christian mind that knows how to think God’s thoughts after Him?” In one way or another, even recently in a seminar, I was asked that question again. I remember one person saying, “You sound like I have to be an intellectual to be a Christian.” If what is meant by being an intellectual is that you have to know philosophy and logic and all kinds of facts, then that is not necessarily what I mean. If, however, I mean knowing God’s word and our world, knowing how to live as a Kingdom disciple who loves God with his mind, heart, body, and soul, and knowing how to apply his or her heart unto wisdom, then I guess I do mean intellectual.

The Apostle Paul connects with this when he writes that we are to be transformed in our minds (Rom. 12:1, 2). Why? In order to know God’s good, perfect, and acceptable will. A kingdom disciple is to be characterized as someone who knows how to apply the Christian faith to all areas of life. If the Christian life is about God and not simply about us, then we must realize the centrality of knowing and doing God’s will. He is the King and we are his servants. Jesus said that a kingdom disciple must deny himself, take up the cross, and follow him. Life is about the Sovereign God.

The Westminster Divines had an understanding of the importance of this when they penned the first shorter catechism. “Q. What is man’s chief end? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” They connected glorifying God with enjoying him. So must we!

We cannot enjoy God by leaving him out of any area of life, if it were really possible to do so. Joy comes as we know and do his will. Nancy Pearcey has written an outstanding book, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity, which in my opinion, should be the evangelical book of the year.

As I read this book and studied some of its sections with our CE&P staff, I reacted in a similar fashion as when I first read books like The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, or The Stone Lectures by Abraham Kuyper, or The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer, or The Defense of the Faith by Cornelius Van Til, or John Frame’s books on the Knowledge and Doctrine of God. Need I say more to communicate my feelings about this book?

Pearcey is an outstanding writer with the ability not only to express deep thoughts in a very readable way, but one who also understands a biblically reformed world and life view. My book, Making Kingdom Disciples, a New Framework, will be published in January 2005, and I found Total Truth to be a good companion book.

Pearcey is a familiar voice in the Presbyterian Church in America. She is a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary. She has also completed graduate work at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, and studied with Francis Schaeffer at L’Abri. She exemplifies our philosophy of the importance of understanding the Word and the world and how to communicate apologetically with today’s audience. Each chapter in this volume is a goldmine in itself. James Sire, the author of The Universe Next Door and, most recently Renaming the Elephant, called Total Truth “The best work of cultural analysis from a Christian standpoint available today.” James Skillen commented, “Seldom does one find a book with serious content, historical depth, and Christian integrity that is also easy to read. If you feel lost in the fog of today’s cultural confusions, read this book.”

If resources were available, I would give each teaching elder in the PCA a copy of this book along with Making Kingdom Disciples. These are crucial topics and somehow we are not communicating kingdom living or world and life view clearly, according to most polls, statistics, and testimonies. People who profess to love Jesus are not making the connection of that love with a total worldview. This is not a new phenomenon but it has great impact in this postmodern and post-Christian world.

Whether we are called to redeem culture or make cultural transformation can be debated, but no one can question our calling to be kingdom disciples living out our faith in all of life, doing all to the glory of God. We are to be the “salt of the earth,” and the “light of the world.” We cannot do that by separating our faith from life. Pearcey points to dualistic philosophy (attempting to create a dichotomy between the secular and the sacred) a reality of western evangelicalism, and she is absolutely right. I see no greater threat to the church and its witness, especially at this moment in time, than dualism.

Christian influence has continued to wane in western Christianity because the average Christian has not understood total truth, the Sovereignty of God, or the Lordship of Christ. This book will challenge the believer to understand the reality that Christianity has accommodated itself to the culture around it, if in no other way than by making it a Sunday religion. It will also offer an explanation as to why so many Christians do not enjoy their Christian life experience.

Here is the situation and connection; Christians do not always “enjoy God,” because they do not understand what is necessary in order to do that. To glorify God, we have to do more than ask the blessing at mealtime or go to church on Sunday, even have family devotions, important as those things are. We have to see the inclusiveness of our Christian faith. Once we begin to do that, we begin to experience great freedom and challenge to live fully for God. As we do that, Pearcey’s contention along with the Westminster Divines, is that we begin to discover or rediscover the joy of the Christian life. She writes about many people who were genuinely desirous to be good Christians but at first had no understanding of how that touched every area of their lives.

After coming to realize the all-inclusiveness of the Christian life, one of the people mentioned said,”That’s when I rediscovered joy.” Pearcey writes, “Ordinary Christians working in business, industry, politics, factory work, and so on, are ‘the Church’s front-line troops’ in the spiritual battle. Are we taking seriously our duty to support them in their warfare? The church is nothing less than a training ground for sending out laypeople who are equipped to speak the gospel to the world.”

Our contention is that if self-conscious kingdom people see the totality of the Christian life and will seek to glorify God in every area of life, then the joy of the Lord will become more and more real. Pearcey’s thesis is “the key to recovering joy and purpose turned out to be a new understanding of Christianity as total truth-an insight that broke open the dam and poured the restoring waters of the gospel into the parched areas of life.”

I have often quoted Charles Malik, from his address at the dedication of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton in 1980. He challenged the audience to the twofold task of evangelism, that of saving the souls and that of saving the minds. He said, if we do one without the other, we will fail to save the souls. We understand the importance of developing a Christian mind committed to total truth, and with God’s help, determining to apply that faith to all of life. Never has it been more important for Christians to be intentionally missional in their approach to life. To impact the world, however, we must know how to teach, model, and explain this to future generations what we mean by Christianity being “total truth,” and how the joy of the Lord is connected with that perspective.

If you buy only one book this year, this would be the book at the top of the list.

“The purpose of a worldview is to explain our experience of the world-and any philosophy can be judged by how well it succeeds in doing so. When Christianity is tested, we discover that it alone explains and makes sense of the most basic and universal human experiences,” Pearcey.

A Member of the Family

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Baptism divides Christian people.

On the one side are those who are convinced it is reserved for those who believe in Jesus. A minority within that group says it is necessary for salvation and an even smaller number says it’s only effective when done by their church.

There are also those who see continuity in the Old Testament signs of faith. Passover gives way to the Lord’s Supper. Circumcision is replaced by baptism.

The familial nature of faith is part of the essence of the redemptive story. But it was blurred when the revivalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, capturing the spirit of American individualism, emphasized the individual’s relationship with God to the virtual exclusion of the family. We live with that legacy today.

In a discussion of marriage, the apostle Paul said, “the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife” and vice versa. That is strong language. The least we might conclude is that a believing spouse provides some sort of covering for the unbelieving spouse. Perhaps implicit in this is that the unbelieving partner might be more open to faith in Jesus.

Even more compelling is Paul’s virtually throwaway line “otherwise your children would be unclean but as it is, they are holy.” (1 Cor. 7:14)

When a baby is baptized in the Presbyterian Church in America, the child becomes a member of the church. That recognizes the covenantal umbrella. The child belongs by virtue of the faith of the parent(s).

Sometimes it has meant that we assume too much. The gospel is not clearly and compellingly presented as the child grows. I believe that happened to me. But we might also assume too little, urging the child to pray the “sinner’s prayer” at the earliest possible opportunity. There is no magic in such a prayer. It might or might not signal belief. And a commitment to Jesus can be made without ever uttering the words to such a prayer.

We can’t take this challenge lightly. Money spent to help build up families and disciple children and young people will bear significant dividends. Examine your church budget. Where does the money go? Look at your statistics. What’s happening to your young people? Are your households maturing in the faith?

There are occasions when an unbelieving parent has had to stand or sit silently by while the believing spouse takes the vows of their child’s baptism. That’s appropriate but it ought to stir a restlessness to see the family united in faith.

There are many stories of congregations that have gotten used to the involvement of one spouse such that the other is virtually forgotten because he/she seldom if ever attends.

Many years ago a woman came by herself to our church in Connecticut. On one occasion I heard her say that she wished some man in the church would reach out to her husband. I decided to try and God blessed. After months of getting together to talk about anything and everything, always coming back to the gospel, he decided he was ready to follow Jesus. I wish I could say I’ve done that regularly. I wish that were a common practice in our churches.

Some of the most effective evangelism I know involves a believer inviting an unbelieving brother or mother or grandchild or adult child to services where the gospel is able to take root. The process might be more complicated in blended families but that’s where we are. So believing stepparents are presented with a great opportunity and challenge.

A synergism becomes possible when the church as the extended family builds up its households. And those households in turn build up the churches, which then impacts the community, enfolding others in the family of God.

A Question from the Children’s Ministry Conference

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Question: Regarding the training of covenant children, how do you reconcile the covenant family concept (with the father as the primary teacher) with role of the church?


At the recent children’s ministry conference sponsored by Christian Education and Publications, during the final question and answer period a number of questions went unanswered due to lack of time. I stated that we would answer some of those in the “In Case You’re Asked” section of Equip for Ministry.

Several different people raised the question above. We have addressed this topic in back issues of Equip and in our seminars on reaching the millennial generation. It is a good question that gives us an opportunity to restate and reinforce what we believe is the proper approach to training covenant children. I was recently sent a book for possible review entitled It Takes a Church to Raise A Christian. For years we have been saying it takes a covenant family to raise a covenant child.

Now in saying that, we realize that the covenant people of God include both immediate families and extended families. So when we say it takes a covenant family to raise a covenant child, we mean to communicate both concepts of family. Actually, there is not a good Hebrew word for “family,” so when we hear that term we generally think only of our immediate family. Many of the Scriptures relating to this topic are actually referring to the broader perspective of the people of God.

The PCA Book of Church Order (BOCO) is a good reference to use in answering the question because it is so consistent with Scripture at these points. For example: In chapter two, “The Visible Church Defined,” the BOCO states, “The visible Church [is] before the law, under the law, and now under the Gospel, is one and the same and consists of all those who make profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, together with their children.” We further read in chapter six, “Church Members,” “The children of believers are, through the covenant and by right of birth, noncommuning members of the church. Hence, they are entitled to Baptism, and to pastoral oversight, instruction, and government of the church, with a view to their embracing Christ and thus possessing personally all benefits of the covenant.”

In chapter eight, “The Elder,” we read in summary that the elders are responsible for oversight of the flock which means that the local church elders have a responsibility to care for the people, to oversee their teaching, instruction, and training, to know the people including the children. “…They should visit the people at their homes, especially the sick. They should instruct the ignorant, comfort the mourner, nourish and guard the children of the church. 8-3.”

We skip to the questions asked at the time of baptism and see as the parents answer questions posed by the pastor, so the congregation is asked, “Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child?” [Emphasis added on all BOCO quotes above.]

Because of their Reformed theology, Presbyterians have a particular understanding of the covenant in the broader people sense. For that reason, we have always seen the responsibility for raising covenant children to be with parents and church working in tandem. Of course the immediate responsibility is given to the immediate family but the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments do not think simply of the immediate family.

Actually, as the covenant community of God, our biblical understanding of theology should drive our ministry to children. The church is in a key role of coordinating, facilitating, helping the covenant family know how to follow through with the vow listed above.

We must avoid extremes. There are those parents, and I will assume well-meaning ones, who take their responsibility so seriously that they believe they are the only ones responsible for the nurture of their children. On the other hand, I have encountered parents who by practice would maintain that through Sunday school and children and youth ministries, the church should take care of the spiritual nurture of their children. In reality, God requires that of the entire family.

Just yesterday I met with leaders of our children’s ministries in the PCA. It always amazes and disappoints me to hear that the parents seldom use the fine take-home papers that we (GCP) give to children in Sunday school. What tremendous opportunities they miss in those cases.

I know of churches that have split or splintered over this issue. I hope, however, that we would see the importance of uniting home and church to disciple God’s covenant children. Both the church and home should always remember that our covenant children are first God’s. We are his stewards in raising and nurturing them. We cannot afford to waste time arguing over whose responsibility.

At our recent annual children’s ministry conference (see news section of this issue) we showcased the many resources available to churches regarding children’s ministry. In addition, we also took a further step in our action plan of developing support networks for those in the PCA involved in children’s ministries.