Free to Serve

Elders, Members, and Moving Forward

On Sunday morning, Mount Vernon Baptist Church called eight men to serve with me as elders of the church. They were approved overwhelmingly. Please pray that each of us would "keep watch over ourselves" (Acts 20:28). Pray we would watch our "life and doctrine closely" (1 Tim. 4:16). Pray that we would watch over the flock of God at Mount Vernon. Finally, pray that everyone at Mount Vernon would serve God in the church.

I'm reading a book called God at Work by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. He makes the very important point that God works through each of us:

Christ is also working, in a powerful way, through the vocation of the pastor. Christ as He animates His body, also works through what laypeople are called to do in the local congregation. All of those seemingly humdrum tasks--singing in the choir, serving as an elder, being on the board of trustees, teaching in Sunday school, doing committee work--are nevertheless critical areas of service that are tremendous blessings to the whole congregation (116).

Veith reminds me that there really are no humdrum tasks in the local church. HIs words bring to mind Paul's teaching in Romans 12:3-5, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

What a privilege it is to serve in the local church!

Middle East

For several days, Mike Wilkinson, Bryan Pillsbury, and I will be serving in the Middle East. We plan to meet with many ministries and churches that Mount Vernon supports in this area. Please pray for us:

• That we would be loving and bold in our evangelism
• That we would encourage the believers we meet
• That we would have a better sense of those ministries we support by seeing them firsthand
• That we would see how to involve MVBC in these ministries
• That our entire congregation would have an greater desire to reach the nation

To the extent possible (and it may not be very possible!) I will give updates when I can.

The Greatest Story Ever Told: The Fall

Grace is always sweetest when we comprehend the extent of our need. Sunday morning we continued our series called, The Greatest Story Every Told, by thinking about the Fall. In Adam we all sinned (Rom. 5:12) but salvation has come through Christ. I ended the sermon asking why it is important for Christians to understand the Fall.

• For one, God uses this teaching to humble us. How can we be proud when we know that murder and anger both come for sinful hearts? 
• Second, God uses this teaching to give us greater confidence in him. Because of our sin we would never turn to God--unless God were to turn to us first. Our confidence must be in him. 
• Third, this teaching helps us read the Bible better. Instead of seeing it as a collection of moral stories we now see it as one story exposing our hearts. We can identify with the worst sinners in Scripture because they, like us, sinful. As we identify with them we see our need for someone to reverse the effects of the Fall.
• Finally, we need this teaching to see Jesus clearly: his life, his death, his resurrection. This is God's ultimate and perfect answer to a fallen world.

Creation and Intelligent Design

Two books that I have found helpful in understanding the complex topic of intelligent design are Philip Johnson's Darwin on Trial and Understanding Intelligent Design: Everything You Need to Know in Plain Language by William A. Dembski and Sean McDowell. 

Johnson was a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. During one sabbatcial he read a book by the atheist, Richard Dawkins, called The Blind Watchmaker. He decided to dive into Dawkins's arguments. Darwin on Trial is the fruit of his research. It was first published in 1991. It is dated (though there is a 2010 edition) so it dated. Still, his critique is still valid and his writing style makes the book easy to read. 

William Dembski is a mathematician and well known for his "explanatory filter" a process of computing the probability of a certain event being produced by chance or intelligence. It is a serious argument. Sean McDowell is a high school teacher and works hard to make the difficult topic easy to understand. 

"Why I Am a Christian"

Last Friday evening, Greg Wills of Southern Seminary was at MVBC explaining why he is a Christian. Here are his nine reasons:

1. "Because someone took and interest in my soul." He described how a girl in college who reached out to him with the Gospel.

2. "Because C.S. Lewis wrote Mere Christianity." This is the first book he read that challenged many of the assumptions he had as a non-Christian.

3. "Because the Gospel that Lewis explained revealed me to myself." Greg noted that every philosophy or religion seeks to explain basic questions like the nature of reality and the problem with humanity. Not only did the Gospel best explain the problem it provided the most satisfactory answer.

4. "Because the Gospel changed me." As he began to follow Christ, his life radically changed. This change, Greg argued, is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence for the truth of Christianity. He noted that the earliest disciples did what Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle could never do--they turned the world upside down. Islam changed the world too, but by the power of the sword. Christianity conquered the world under the edge of a sword.

5. "Because of the empty tomb." It makes no sense for someone to die for something he knows is a lie. The disciples who died preaching about a resurrected Savior clearly believed the tomb was empty and Jesus had been raised from the dead. They were in the best position to know if the tomb was actually empty.

6. "Because Jesus possesses authenticity." We can't escape the fact, Greg argued, that there is something compelling about Jesus Christ. He did remarkable things and said remarkable things. If you don't turn to Jesus, where will you turn?

7. "Because God sought me and saved me when I wasn't seeking Him." Greg noted that he was living a life of rebellion, happy to live apart from God. But God found him.

8. "Because Christ has forgiven me my sins." Christianity is not primarily about do's and don'ts. It is about an awareness of our sin, and understanding of our need for God, and the beauty of a merciful God who saves us. 

9. "Because there is salvation in no one else." Again, there is nowhere else to turn. No one else came to save. Not Buddha, not Mohammed, only Jesus came to save. This is why the Jews wanted to kill him, Jesus claimed to do that which only God could do: offer salvation to sinners. This is unique to Christianity.

Weekend with Wills

This weekend Greg Wills of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY is going to be at Mount Vernon to give three talks. 

• Friday Night he will answer the question, "Why I am a Christian." This is part of our series called Mount Vernon Dialogues. Greg will share about his journey into the Christian faith in a way that I trust will interest Christians and those who do not claim to be Christians. This will take place at 7:30pm.
• Sunday morning at 9:30 Greg will speak during the shepherding group hour on the topic, "The Value of Elders in Church Life." We are a few weeks away from voting on elders here. This will be a great opportunity to get a sense of how the Lord might use these men to encourage the body of Christ.
• Sunday morning at 10:30, Greg will be preaching from 1 Corinthians about the wisdom of the Cross. His sermon is entitled, "In Praise of Folly."

Greg and his wife Cathy were members of Mount Vernon while he completed a PhD at Emory. He was also my supervisor when I studied at Southern. I will enjoy seeing him again. For others, it will be good to have them both back.

 

Pilot Internship Program at MVBC

A few weeks ago we started a pilot internship program at MVBC. The Lord brought us a young man with a seminary education, a heart for pastoral ministry, and a desire to learn more. The internship is a great opportunity to learn more about the church, see what pastors do on a daily basis, discuss books on ministry and theology, and generally see whether or not pastoral ministry is a good fit. 

Investing in an intern is one way to multiply the ministry and reach of the church. Look at what the Lord has already done at Mount Vernon's life. Think of men like Steve Farish, now pastoring outside Chicago or Dean Ropp, a beloved pastor from MVBC who went on to plant a church near Alpharetta. Steve and Dean may not have been interns, but they were men we sent out (before I got here) for the good of the kingdom of God. 

My prayer is that through an internship program we will be able to continue our commitment to building not only into our own church but into men who may very well, eventually, be part of other churches.

So, what can you do?

• Pray for our first intern and church member, Patrick Hearn, and his wife, Elizabeth. They are newly married and adjusting to life together in Atlanta. This is a time of transition for them, so we should pray they would have wisdom in the days ahead.
• Get to know the Hearns. Invite them to lunch or dinner. Part of the internship is being immersed in church life, that means getting to know you.
• Give financially. The cost of this pilot program is very small because the Hearns live in the area. Should the internship program grow, the expense would as well. Our faithful giving to the ministry of MVBC goes not only to the growth of our own congregation, it is an investment in the larger kingdom of God.

9 Marks eJournal on the Parachurch

A parachurch ministry is a Christian ministry that is designed to come alongside the church. The prefix "para" means, "with" -- so the idea is that a parachurch ministry is supposed to work with a local church ministry. The question of parachurch ministries in the twenty-first century is a very interesting one. 

With the advent of the megachurch, many local churches are actually able to do many things that parachurches do. They can send their own missionaries, they can establish their own social service programs, and so on. Many churches traditionally devoted to the ministry of the Word and prayer have expanded their ministries, folding into the body some ministries which typically came under the umbrella of parachurch ministries. 

The growth of churches and parachurch ministries raises a number of questions. For example, what is the purpose of the local church? Should churches devote more of their resources to activities we think belong to the parachurch ministries? How should churches (and Christians) think about supporting parachurch ministries?

These are the kinds of questions addressed in the latest eJournal from 9Marks ministry. Included is an article I wrote. At Mount Vernon we support parachurch ministries. We have members who have founded parachurch ministries. These issues should be of interest to us. Let me know what you think.

Elders Recommended

I'm very pleased that last Sunday we recommended eight men to serve with me as elders of MVBC. This change has been in the works for quite a while. It has been preached about on Sunday morning, taught at retreats and on Wednesday nights, and prayed over. In October we passed a new Constitution and that goes into effect when we have at least seven men in place. 

You can see who was nominated and read just a little about each man in this month's Perspective. Through the entire process, a passage that I've turned to again and again is 1 Peter 5:2-4, where Peter writes directly to the elders, "Be shepherd's of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." A few quick reflections:

• An elder is a shepherd. He must care for people. He is not a board member, he is a soul-looker-afterer (yes, I made that word up). A man who does not genuinely love people and have a preeminent concern for their spiritual welfare should not serve as an elder.
• God is in charge. Peter makes it clear that it is "God's flock" and Christ is the Chief Shepherd. This should humble any man who is tempted to think too highly of himself. An elder's authority is derivative--it derives from God. His ministry is important, but it is subservient to that of Christ. A man who does not obviously submit himself to God's leadership cannot serve the church.
• The desire to serve as an elder is important. It is possible to desire to serve as an elder without that desire crossing over into selfish ambition. It is hard to know what is going on in any man's heart. Suffice it to say, I'd want to know why a man does not want to serve as an elder. (It may be he understands his gifting--if so, great! But it may also be that he undervalues the office of elder--if so, not so great!) Also, I'd want to know why a man is eager to serve as an elder. (It may be he is eager to serve the church--if so, great! But it may also be a hint of pride--if so, not so great!). The man whose desire to be an elder is pure will be eager to serve. The man whose desire is rooted in pride will probably be perceived as lording his office over others.
• An elder is an example to others. From now on, he will be viewed by every member of the church and every outsider of the church differently. He will be expected to typify what is best about the Christian life. None of us do this perfectly. However, an elder must strive to do this faithfully. It is unlikely that the spiritual vitality of the congregation will rise above that of her elders.
• An elder's reward is not in this life. I've served as an elder at two churches before pastoring at Mount Vernon. I speak from experience when I say that the labor is serious, criticism will come, hard issues will be faced, and a man's faith will be tested. But that's okay. We don't serve for rewards in this life, but in the next. This is true of every believer--Peter makes it especially clear for elders. This must be because of the temptation to give up. Don't! God will not turn a blind eye to the faithful service of elders

Please pray with me that Mount Vernon continues to grow in godliness. Pray the church has wisdom to see if the men put forward really are the men who should serve. Thank God that the process has gone so well. I look forward to seeing what God does in our midst.