Plurality of Elders

A question that has confounded the church for centuries is whether or not the Bible presents evidence for a plurality of elders or for single elder rule.  Although there are no explicit commands in scripture regarding this matter, there are biblical implications, historical evidence, and practical advantages to support a plurality of elders in each local church. 

The Scripture presents a consistent pattern of plurality.  The church in Jerusalem is spoken of eight times in the book of Acts as having elders (Acts 20:17); the churches to which James wrote had elders (James 5:14), as did the churches to which Peter wrote (I Peter 5:1), and perhaps the strongest evidence is found in Acts 14:23 where Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in each church.[1]  These passages represent instances where the plural form of elder, overseer, or pastor is used in connection with a local church.  There are many other passages that imply plurality.

Historically, conservative churches have interpreted the Scriptures as teaching the plurality of elders although there have been differing opinions on how these elders function in practice.  The Presbyterian form differs from other congregational forms in that it allows for a hierarchy of church government.  Elders, in this system, are chosen by the congregation and form a session.  Members of the sessions form the presbytery and members of the presbytery form a general assembly.[2]  Although this system does have some benefits and has been successfully practiced, I believe that there is sufficient evidence to support a congregational form of church government with a plurality of elders without the hierarchy of leadership.  In a plural local elder government model, the congregation chooses elders who share authority over their local church under the watchful eye of the congregation.  Elders are chosen who have differing yet complimentary gifts to join together in the responsibility of shepherding the flock.  All must meet biblical qualifications and share authority but each has specific areas of giftedness.  I believe this model is the most faithful to Scripture and subsequently bring the most benefits to the elders and the congregation. 

There are numerous practical advantages to the biblical practice of a plurality of elders.  “Because it works” would be shaky ground to build an argument so that’s why I put this point last after biblical evidence and historical precedent. A book could be written on the practical benefits but just to name a few:

First, the authority to rule and judge does not fall on one person; Second, the elders have complimentary gifts, which work harmoniously to shepherd the flock; Thirdly, the elder’s personal strengths and weakness are rounded out; Fourthly, the elders are built up spiritually, emotionally, and mentally through common study, prayer, encouragement, and fellowship.

            Many evangelical churches have for one reason or another strayed away from plural local elder government but there does seem to be a resurgence of this practice in our day.  Although there is no direct command in Scripture, the evidence is in favor in the diversity of implied texts.  The additional support of church history and the practical benefits make the plurality of elders in each local church the preferred model of congregational church government.

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[1] James S. Hammett, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology,  (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2005), p. 178.

[2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), p. 926.

Advent Readings

Advent

A Season of Reflection upon our Saviors Birth

and Anticipation of His Second Coming

What is Advent?

Advent is a season of reflection upon our Saviors birth.  Traditionally the season of advent is celebrated the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day.  The word “advent” simply means “coming.”  Advent, therefore, is a season in which we celebrate the first coming/advent of the Son of God to earth to take on human flesh, live a perfect life, die a sacrificial death on the cross, and be resurrected from the dead and exalted at the right hand of the Father.  As we look back and remember what Jesus Christ has done for us in the past, our attention must also be drawn to the future because Jesus Christ is coming again and we must be ready to meet him.  During this season we are encouraged as we daily read through Scriptures from the old and new testaments to turn our focus to the true meaning of Christmas, which is Christ, and away from all the distractions of the world that seek to steal glory from him to whom all glory is due.  Each week of advent we focus on a different theme: Week 1 – Hope (Christ alone is our hope), Week 2 – Peace (Christ is the Prince of Peace), Week 3 – Joy (Christ alone is the giver of true joy), Week 4 – Love (We only know true love because Christ first loved us). 

Advent Readings

The following is a suggested list of advent scripture readings.  These readings will be a blessing to you and your family and serve to focus your attention on Christ this Christmas season.  Just take a few minutes each day to read each passage, think about and discuss the meaning and significance, and pray and thank God for all that he has done, is doing, and is going to do.

2010 ADVENT READINGS

Theme: Hope – Our Hope is found in Christ Alone!  (Mat 12:18-21)

First Week of Advent (Beginning Nov. 28)

Hymn of the Week: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Sunday   Isaiah 1:1-9  2 Peter 3:1-10   Matthew 25:1-13

Monday  Isaiah 1:10-20  1 Thessalonians 1:1-10  Luke 20:1-8

Tuesday  Isaiah 1:21-31  1 Thessalonians 2:1-12  Luke 20:9-18

Wednesday  Isaiah 2:1-11  1 Thessalonians 2:13-20  Luke 20:19-26

Thursday  Isaiah 2:12-22  1 Thessalonians 3:1-13  Luke 20:27-40

Friday   Isaiah 3:8-15  1 Thessalonians 4:1-12  Luke 20:41 – 21:4

Saturday  Isaiah 4:2-6  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  Luke 21:5-19

 Theme: Peace – Christ is the Prince of Peace!  (Is 9:6)

Second Week of Advent (Beginning Dec. 5)

Hymn of the Week: Hark! The Harold Angels Sing

Sunday   Isaiah 5:1-7  2 Peter 3:11-18   Luke 7:28-35

Monday  Isaiah 5:8-12, 18-23 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11  Luke 21:20-28

Tuesday  Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28  Luke 21:29-38

Wednesday  Isaiah 6:1-13  2 Thessalonians 1:1-12  John 7:53 – 8:11

Thursday  Isaiah 7:1-9  2 Thessalonians 2:1-12  Luke 22:1-13

Friday   Isaiah 7:10-25  2 Thessalonians 2:13 – 3:5 Luke 22:14-30

Saturday  Isaiah 8:1-15  2 Thessalonians 3:6-18  Luke 22:31-38

 Theme: Joy – Christ alone is the Giver of True Joy!  (Luke 2:10)

Third Week of Advent (Beginning Dec. 12)

Hymn of the Week: Joy to the World

Sunday   Isaiah 13:6-13  Hebrews 12:18-29  John 3:22-30

Monday  Isaiah 8:16 – 9:1 2 Peter 1:1-11   Luke 22:39-53

Tuesday  Isaiah 9:1-7  2 Peter 1:12-21   Luke 22:54-69

Wednesday  Isaiah 9:8-17  2 Peter 2:1-10a   Mark 1:1-8

Thursday  Isaiah 9:18 – 10:4 2 Peter 2:10b-16  Matthew 3:1-12

Friday   Isaiah 10:5-19  2 Peter 2:17-22   Matthew 11:2-15

Saturday  Isaiah 10:20-27  Jude 17-25   Luke 3:19

 Theme: Love – We love because Christ First Loved Us!  (John 3:16)

Fourth Week of Advent (Beginning Dec. 19)

Hymn of the Week: What Child is This?

Sunday   Isaiah 42:1-12  Ephesians 6:10-20  John 3:16-21

Monday  Isaiah 11:1-9  Revelation 20:1-10  John 5:30-47

Tuesday  Isaiah 11:10-16  Revelation 20:11 – 21:8  Luke 1:5-25

Wednesday  Isaiah 28:9-22  Revelation 21:9-21  Luke 1:26-38

Thursday  Isaiah 29:13-24  Revelation 21:22 – 22:5  Luke 1:39-56

Christmas Eve  Isaiah 33:17-22  Revelation 22:6-11, 18-20 Luke 1:57-66

Christmas Day  Isaiah 35:1-10  Revelation 22:12-17, 21  Luke 1:67-80

Christmas Night Philippians 2:5-11 Zechariah 2:10-13  1 John 4:7-16  John 3:31-26

November 28, 2010

Order of Worship

November 28, 2010

Call to Worship:

I invite you to hear the Word of the Lord this morning:

In the beginning, God said, “let there be light, and there was light.”

Jesus was born into this world and he said, “I am the light of the world”

Then Paul came proclaiming that God, who said, “Let Light Shine out of Darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Today begins the season of advent.  The word advent simply means, coming.  So, for the next four weeks we will be anticipating the celebration of Jesus’ first coming as a baby born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem on Christmas Day.  To symbolize this anticipation we will be lighting one candle each week for the next four weeks and a fifth candle at our Special Christmas Service on Sunday night Dec 19^th.  As the anticipation builds toward the celebration of Jesus Birth I hope that your anticipation for his second coming will also grow.  May this season remind us of the hope, love, joy, and peace that Jesus bought and the Holy Spirit is pouring out until He comes again?

Prayer of THanksgiving: 

*Please stand to worship the lord in prayer

Thank you Lord for calling us out of darkness into your marvelous light through the finished work of your Son, Jesus Christ.  For loving us that much, for giving us a hope that will endure, a peace beyond understanding, and a joy unspeakable.  Lord, fill us with your Spirit this morning that our worship may be acceptable in your sight that you would be glorified.  Lord fill us with an anticipation of your coming that would motivate us to worship you and live for you until we see you face to face.  We ask this in the name of your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Introduction to Joy to the World:

Psalm 98 says,

“Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!  His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for him.  The Lord has made know his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.  He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God.”

The Lord has made his salvation known.  How should we respond?

Congregational Reading:

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!  Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!  With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!”

If God has made his salvation known to you, then sing…

Song 1: Joy to the World!  By: Isaac Watts From: Psalm 98

Introduction to O Come, All Ye Faithful:

As the shepherds heard from the angels about the birth of the Christ child they immediately went and saw him and they glorified and praised God for what they had seen and heard. 

Come, all ye faithful, and join the angels and the shepherds in the adoration your Savior…

Song 2: O Come, All Ye Faithful

Introduction to For all the saints

King David found rest in knowing the Lord, His rock and his Salvation and that inspired him to sing praises like Psalm 18 where he says,

“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation…For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.”

Salvation has come to all the nations through the seed of David, who is Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us continue to sing his praises as David did long ago…

Song 3: For all the Saints

Introduction to Jesus, I Come

We have been called out of darkness into his marvelous light.  By God’s grace we experience love, peace, hope, and great joy through faith in Jesus Christ.

Song 4: Jesus, I Come

Prayer of confession before offering

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace.  For your great plan of redemption.  For sending your son into the world to pay the penalty for our sins.  Lord, forgive us for worshiping the things of this world above you.  Have mercy on us and send your Spirit to strengthen us in our weakness.  Lord we need you.  Especially guard us during this time of year.  May our satisfaction be found in you alone.  Your Word tells us that it is better to give than to receive.  Lord, fill us with a love for you and others and enable us to give and to give joyfully for your glory and the furtherance of your kingdom.  In Jesus blessed name we pray, Amen.

Offering

Song 5: Love me to the end

Introduction to Come, thou Long-expected jesus

This song expresses the anticipation that we spoke of earlier.  The opening line says, “Come, thou long expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free” 

Song 6: Come, thou long-expected Jesus

Scripture Reading for sermon

Pastoral Prayer for illumination

Sermon:  The Pentecostal Present (Acts 2:1-11)
www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=124101221272

Pastoral Prayer of intercession 

Song of Benediction: Come, thou long-expected Jesus

Happy Reformation Day

Historians like dates.  And one of the dates that historians like best is October 31, 1517.  On that day one monk with mallet in hand nailed a document to the church door in Wittenberg.  It contained a list of Ninety-Five Theses for a debate.  The immediate concern was an indulgence sale to finance St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and the Sistine Chapel—Michelangelo didn’t come cheap.  Martin Luther, the mallet-wielding monk, could keep silent no longer.  He got much more than a debate, however.  He and his list of Ninety-Five Theses triggered a Reformation that would sweep across the German lands, across Europe, and eventually across the entire world.  The world would never be the same.  Luther’s act gave birth to the Protestant church, now nearly 600 million members strong.  Luther’s act also brought the world out of medieval times and into the modern age.  Little wonder historians like the date October 31, 1517. 

The study of church history is vital.  It provides us with plenty of examples—good, bad, and even ugly—of Christians from all walks of life and from a variety of contexts who labored to bring their faith to bear upon the world in which they lived.  Church history is like one grand classroom focused on living out Christ’s final command to his church—to be disciples in the world.  When we remember the lessons, we tend to do well.  When we forget or ignore them, we tend to stumble.                                                   –Stephen J. Nichols

            During the time of the Reformation, God raised up able men such as Huss, Savernorola, Calvin, Zwingli, Beza, Bucer, Vermigli, Bullinger, Farel, Knox and others to radically develop a distinctly biblical worldview.  If for no other reason than the density and rapidity of change, sixteenth-century Europe experienced a transformation in worldview that was more nearly a revolution in the conventional sense of the term than perhaps any other period comparable period in history.                          –Scott Amos

           

The heart of Reformation doctrine was the five Solas:

·      Sola Scriptura, meaning “Scripture alone”: The Bible is the sole and final authority in all matters of life and godliness.

·      Sola Gratia, meaning “grace alone”: Salvation is by God’s grace alone.

·      Sola Fide, meaning “faith alone”: Salvation is through faith alone.

·      Sola Christus, meaning “Christ alone”: Salvation is found in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone.

·      Soli Deo Gloria, meaning “the glory of God alone”: All of life can be lived for the glory of God; everything we do can and should be done for God’s glory.

I believe that our theology determines our practice.  What we believe determines what we think, say, and do.  If we as a church don’t get it right on the doctrines of the Bible, Christ, and salvation, then our practice will be headed in the wrong direction.  Although the reformers were not perfect, God used them in great ways.  We would do well to remember them and benefit from their contributions.  The Reformers didn’t set out to invent something new.  They simply sought to rediscover what had been lost.  In many ways, we find ourselves in a similar predicament. 

The Reformers often used a phrase that is still relevant for us today, “Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda,” meaning “the church reformed, always reforming.”  On this side of eternity we will always be reforming in order to more clearly and accurately articulate biblical doctrine and exercise it rightly for the glory of God.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Interested in further Study?  There are so many good books on church history that it would be hard to choose a few.  Biographies are always my favorite.  Here are two books that I have read recently:

“Revolutions in Worldview”, ed. W. Andrew Hoffecker (Phillipsburg, New Jersey:  P&R Publishing, 2007)

“The Reformation: How a Monk with a Mallet Changed the World”, Stephen J. Nichols (Wheaton, Illinois:  Crossway, 2007)

The Church and the Surprising Offense of God's Love

I have begun to read a book by Jonathan Leeman called, The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love.  In the opening section, he makes some very interesting observations in his analysis of our modern view of love and authority.  He uses this angle to introduce the doctrines of Church Membership and Church Discipline.  The following are some thoughts from that first section that I found interesting.  I apologize for any rambling as some of these thoughts are still under construction.  For a better treatment, I recommend buying the book.

It’s no wonder that most churches have left orthodoxy for an “all we need is love” mentality.  But, is it really loving to sacrifice truth on the altar of pragmatism?  This seems more of a love for self than God.  Pastors don’t want to sound authoritative, judgmental, or dogmatic because our culture frowns at that.  We are told Christians should be people who overlook sin and accept people just as they are in the name of love.  I don’t know where they are getting their idea of love but it’s not from the Bible. 

To tell someone that they are ok with God when they are not, is most unloving.  Many churches today hold the cure in one hand but choose to treat the sinners symptoms instead.  Many pastors feel the demand and supply what the people want usually in the form of moralisms and therapies.  The consumerist mentality of our culture has crept into the church.  People want church their way and if you don’t give it to them they will leave just as quickly as they came for the next best thing.  Many pastors know the greatest need but feel the pressure and minister to felt needs in order to fill pews and to avoid rejection.  At the heart of the matter, is an individualistic love of self on the part of the pastor and the people.

The unholy union of individualism and consumerism have conceived anti-authority-ism.  The God of the Bible, His Word, and the message of His church are offensive to the modern mind. 

The campaign that Western culture has been waging for several centuries for the individual has been a campaign waged against all forms of authority.  From elementary school through graduate school, Western educators have taught us to question authority: the authority of the church because of what it did to Galileo; the authority of the king because of his usurpations; the authority of the majority because of its tyrannies; the authority of males because of their exercise of brute strength and acts of oppression; the authority of the Bible because of its alleged contradictions; the authority of science because of its paradigm shifts; the authority of philosophy because of its language games; the authority of language because it has been deconstructed; the authority of parents because they are not cool; the authority of the market because of extravagant inequalities; the authority of the police because of their fire hoses and night sticks; the authority of religious leaders because they’ll make you drink the Kool-Aid; the authority of the media because of its biases; the authority of superpowers because of their imperialism.   -Jonathan Leeman

We like authority as long as it conforms to our self-conception of right and wrong.  We like community as long as we are allowed to openly express our individuality.  We like the church as long as it tells us that we’re all right.

However offensive it may be to our culture, our God and His Word are authoritative.  God is the source of truth and his Word is true.  He is Lord and King.  He sovereignly rules over all things and will judge everyone according to His righteous standards.  He will not sweep sin under the rug.  Christians are those whom by his grace have been saved from his wrath through faith in Jesus Christ.  Instead of sweeping sin under the rug, God sent his son to die on the cross for all those who repent and believe.  The life and death of Jesus Christ put truth and love on display for the world to see. 

Any church that exchanges truth for love has fallen into error.  The redeemed of the Lord are called to hold fast to the truth and to speak it in love.  The church should be the pillar and ground of the truth.  Its authority does not lie within corporate or individual autonomy but on God and His Word.  True biblical love has an outward focus.  We are commanded to love God and one another through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The expression of Christian love is always guided by truth.

A proper view of God and man, as they are presented in the Bible, puts things into a right perspective.  The church is a group of individuals created by God, under His authority, in community, to love and serve one another for His glory.  The pastors as well as the people of the church are sinners prone to error but striving to obey God’s Word.  Obedience encompasses the proclamation of truth as well as loving one another.  We must avoid the great temptation to elevate love or authority above one another for both are to be equally exercised in light of biblical truth. 

The Good Shepherd

Psalm 23

        The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way (Is 53:6).  We lack provision, protection and eternal hope.  But God, not wishing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:8), sent his only Son and laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is 53:6).  The Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).  Those whom the Good Shepherd calls hear his voice and follow him (John 10:3-4) and find provision, protection, and eternal hope in the merciful, loving, and kind arms of their Savior. The Lord (Yahweh) is the Good Shepherd.  He is no nameless, faceless, impersonal deity, but one who knows his sheep personally and his sheep know him personally (John 10:14).  As sheep of the flock of God we enjoy many benefits. 

The Good Shepherd provides for the needs of his sheep.  The sheep of the flock of the Good Shepherd “shall not want.”  They feed from the greenest pastures and drink from the purest waters.  They are not drawn to other pastures or streams nor do they worry about where they will find their next meal.  They find rest from worrying about any physical or spiritual needs.  Their faith is in the Good Shepherd who has always provided for them out of his goodness and mercy.  We must trust Jesus, who has promised to provide for all of your needs according to his riches and glory (Phil 4:19) and who will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). 

           The Good Shepherd protects his sheep.  On the way to green pastures, the Good Shepherd may have to lead his sheep through dark valleys but he is still leading and his rod and staff are there for protection.  Although the sheep may experience fear in face of imminent danger, they must stay close to the shepherd.  The Good Shepherd is able to sympathize with our weaknesses as one who was acquainted with sorrows and grief.  We must draw near to him that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Though we may walk through valleys of darkness in this present evil age, neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor the sword, nor death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depths, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the loving kindness of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 8:31-39).

He promises an eternal dwelling place for his sheep.  David, the author of this Psalm, concludes by affirming God’s goodness and mercy as the source of future blessing.  David is confident that the extraordinarily lavish banquet of blessing that he has experienced will continue throughout his life and into eternity.  In Psalm 27 David says, “one thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”  David’s desire was first and foremost for the Lord.  The joy in his heart overflowed in doxology.  He yearned for the day when his faith would be sight.  In Christ alone, our hope is found.

            All those who have responded in faith to the call of the Good Shepherd enjoy his provision, protection, and eternal hope.  Our Shepherd in his very nature is gracious, merciful, and good.  He provides for all of our physical and spiritual needs according to his riches and glory.  He is the all-powerful God of heaven and earth who leads us and protects us as we pilgrim through this fallen world.  He provides eternal hope through the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We must always keep our eyes on the Shepherd, our ears open to hear his voice, and our feet ready to follow him.

Radical

Radical!  Radical is a convicting book about taking back your faith from the American dream.  The author, David Platt, transparently takes you on an autobiographical/expository journey in order to contrast what Jesus taught and lived to the way we teach and live our lives in the American church.  He employs many testimonies from his own life and ministry to illustrate what it means to live a life of radical faith for the sake of the gospel. 

As a young mega-church pastor, Platt was confronted with the startling reality of Jesus’ life and ministry.  As he heard Jesus say, “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head,” “Let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God,”  “no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God,” “anyone who comes to me and does not hate his family and even his own life cannot be my disciple,” “anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple,” he saw with new eyes what it meant to be a follower of Christ.  The type of radical abandonment that Jesus taught seemed to be far off from what was going on in his church and evangelicalism in America.  He observes that we have taken the Jesus of the Bible and fashioned him into a “nice, middle-class, American Jesus” who looks and thinks a lot like us.

Radical is a call for healthy judgment within the American church in order to see the world and our mission in the world more clearly.  It’s a call to hear the words of Jesus and respond in faith and obedience no matter what the cost.  It’s a call to pray for laborers and to make disciples.  It’s a call to treasure Christ above all else and to live a life of radical abandonment for the sake of the lost.  It’s call to proclaim the pure gospel.

Platt ends the book by challenging his readers to join in “The Radical Experiment,” which he promises will turn your life right side up.  The experiment is for one year, and involves five components. Because I want everyone to read this book, I’m not going to reveal them.  Far from five steps to a better you, the five components are less radical than you might think and more along the lines of what every obedient follower of Christ should be doing anyway.  Although it may seem bold to promise that five things could turn your life right side up, I think he’s pretty safe in calling Christians to obey the clear commands of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Take the challenge—Read the book!