Free to Serve

The Church Gathered

No one can accuse Christopher Ash, the author of The Priority of Preaching, of having a low view of the church. In this excellent little book he places the gathering of local churches in the context of all history. A people once scattered (Genesis 11) are in the process of being gathered (John 10) and, one day, our gathering will be complete (Revelation 7).

But in the meantime, until every Christian is together in the new heavens and earth, we gather as local bodies of believers throughout the world. And these gatherings are more important than most of us are willing to admit. As Ash put it:

We do not gather just in order to hear; we gather because gathering is important. Gathering is what Jesus does. The time when the whole local church gathers is a foretaste of the time when all redeemed humanity will gather. We could scrap Bible study groups and still be a church (an impoverished church, perhaps, but still a church); but if we fail to gather together in our main meetings under the preached word of God, we cease to be a church (92).

Are you looking for to Sunday morning? Christian, you should be! A foretaste of heaven is right around the corner.

The Death of a Church

Every day when I drive to the office, I pass 5855 Riverside Drive, NW, an address that was once the home of the Church of St. Andrew. That local church has been gone for months. This past week, even the name was scratched off the sign that sits near the road. A wooden cross is still perched in the yard, the last bit of evidence that a local church once called those grounds home.

The Church of St. Andrew was a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a denomination founded in 1983 when two mainline Presbyterian churches merged, the PCUS and UPCUSA, into the PCUSA.

The PCUSA is part of a Presbyterian tradition that has slowly drifted away from its historic, orthodox standards. For example, in its statement of faith, The Confession of 1967, the PCUSA sees the cross not as the means by which a holy God reconciles specific, individual sinners to himself but rather, “God’s judgment on man’s inhumanity to man.” Erased from the doctrine of this denomination is the reality that all of us have sinned against God and we deserve his judgment. Furthermore, the PCUSA long ago abandoned the absolute necessity of Christ for salvation insisting instead that the church “must approach all religions with openness and respect.” It’s clear the PCUSA teaches that the gospel is the best way for man to know God. It’s unclear that the gospel, however, is the only way.

Numbers cannot finally testify to the success of a ministry, God has always worked through a remnant. Still, it is telling that the PCUSA claimed 2.9 million members in 2007 and that number has declined to 1.8 in 2013. A church that is open to all religions will find a hard time staying open.

I don’t drive by 5855 Riverside with a sense of glee or spiritual superiority. I pass that empty building with sadness. A tradition that once held so tightly to the gospel has loosened its grip only to see the biblical gospel fall into the grass, just below a neglected wooden cross, on land where a local church once stood.

The closing of that church should be a reminder to every church. We can praise God that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church (Matt 16:18). But let’s never forget that it is our responsibility to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3)--a faith that preaches we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

Visitors & the Local Church

I once had a friend who was paid to go to the movie theater. Seriously! She bought a ticket, ordered snacks, and sat down for a screening of her favorite show—all on someone else’s nickel. How do you get a job like this? As it turns out, the theater hired people to rate a local cinema’s performance: Were the ticket agents friendly? Was the popcorn fresh? Did people’s shoes stick to the floor? She collected all this data and wrote it up into a report that could be used to help improve the viewer’s experience.

Did you know that some churches do the same thing? I just received a flyer in my box from a company that offers to hire “numerous, local, ‘unchurched’ people” to visit my church. They’ll attend anonymously, complete a survey, and then report on what I can do to make guests feel more welcome. The company even promises that after I implement their suggested changes, visitors will be “more likely to feel accepted, return, or even call the church ‘home.’” Maybe. 

It seems unwise to hire people to attend church. I appreciate leaders trying to pull down every stumbling block that might keep someone from attending or “sticking” at a church. But at the end of the day, we ought to be as faithful as we can be to the ministry of the Word and prayer, and leave the rest to God. 

But what does faithfulness to visitors look like? Certainly companies like the one I mentioned above exist for a reason. Churches can become lackadaisical, even lazy about welcoming newcomers. I don’t want to Mount Vernon to be apathetic. With that in mind, let me encourage you to give some careful attention to your approach to church visitors. 

By the way, what I’m about to say about visitors could apply to new members as well. If you have been a member of the church for a long time, consider ways you can fold some of the newer members into your life, too. Remember Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thess 2:8). So, just as Paul shared his life with others, so should we. 

But let’s think for a moment, especially, about how you should reach out to visitors: 

1. Know who the visitors are. I’ve noticed over the years that some people are hesitant to welcome visitors for fear they actually welcome a member. The conversation goes something like this:

                 “So, how long have you been coming?”

                 “About five years. We joined four years ago.”

                 “Really? Oh, I’m so sorry we haven’t met.”

                 “Actually, we did meet. Don’t you remember, at the picnic?”  

                  “Oh, that’s right . . .”

So to spare ourselves from conversations like this, some of us simply avoid talking to new people altogether. That’s not helpful. By all means, make sure you have a church directory and pray through it regularly. There are pictures next to each name, and that way you’ll know who the members are. But even if you make a mistake and greet someone who’s already a member, it’s not the end of the world. And it may be the beginning of a wonderful, new friendship.

2. Be thankful there are visitors. Our disposition toward the fact that we even have newcomers should be one of gratitude to God. He is sovereign in all things. “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills, and all that moves in the field is mine” (Psa 50:10). This God is at work in our daily affairs and when, in God’s providence, visitors come to our church, this is no accident. They are there, even for that one Sunday, for a reason. So let’s be thankful.

3. Give them a warm welcome. Christians are to kindly greet one another. “Greet one another with a holy kiss,” Paul wrote (Rom 16:16). American customs don’t allow for this kind of kissing anymore, but the point still stands. There ought to be a sincere warmth and appreciation for visitors—even those believers who may be passing through our town for a short while. They are brothers or sisters in Christ and the gospel compels us to receive them warmly.

4. Be thoughtful that not all visitors are Christians. I attended a church for over a year before the Lord saved me. I went there first for the sake of a friend, but eventually because I wanted to hear the gospel. I didn’t have a sign over my head telling people that I wasn’t a Christian. But if anyone engaged me in serious conversation, it wouldn’t have taken them long to find out. We should be sensitive to the fact that non-Christians do come to our gatherings. It’s one of the reasons why, when I preach, I often try to address unbelievers. I want them to know that they are welcome and that this is a safe place to explore the Christian faith.

5. Engage visitors in conversation. In our culture, one of the ways we warmly welcome is by engaging others in conversation. Simple questions like, “Where are you from?” “How did you hear about the church?” “What did you appreciate about the service?” can go a long way to making someone feel like you care about them, who they are, and what they think. Of course, this may mean not engaging a good friend in conversation—at least not at the service. But that’s okay. You’ll have other opportunities to talk to your friend. God has brought this new person into your life for a reason—so take a moment to engage him or her.

6. Invite visitors to share a meal. Isn’t it amazing that God designed us to need food? He could have made us like plants who get energy simply from sitting in the sun. Instead, he requires us to eat. And we can’t just stick a whole potato in our mouth. We have to cook it to make it soft and use a fork and knife to cut it up into bits that will fit. All of this takes time. It’s as if God is saying, “You need to eat, slow down.” Take advantage of the time needed to eat by welcoming visitors into your life over a meal. And who knows who you are having over! “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb 13:2).

7. Appreciate how hard it can be to find a church. If you’ve been a member of a church for years, you may have forgotten how nerve-racking it can be to meet new people. For someone moving from out of town, or across town, getting plugged into a brand new place presents a host of challenges. Will you be accepted? Will you make friends? Will your absence be noticed? Simply being mindful that some visitors are struggling with questions like this may motivate you to serve by welcoming well.

Much more could be said, but above all, be thoughtful about the people God brings into your life at our weekly gatherings. Part of serving the Lord is loving the flock—even those folks who are wondering if they should be part of this flock, too.

Challies on a Sunday Evening Service

One of the first changes that I made when I came to MVBC was to add a Sunday evening service. Of course, the church had an evening service years ago, but the nineties were not kind to these meetings.

It has been a huge blessing for my family and I to gather with the body on Sunday evening. It's not convenient (we have four kids in our home, and the service seems to be right in the middle of typical dinner time), but it's such a sweet time for singing, praying, hearing a godly man from the church speak, and getting to know my brothers and sisters in Christ better. 

At MVBC we encourage every member to come to an evening service (we also meet Wednesday evenings) but there is something unusually edifying about Sunday evening.

I was so pleased to run across this brief article by blogger-extraordinaire Tim Challies on why he loves the Sunday evening service at his church. He says it wonderfully, please read it.

http://www.challies.com/articles/why-i-love-an-evening-service

Why We Need to Be Reminded of the Gospel

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.

2 Timothy 2:14 

One of Paul’s last commands to Timothy was to “remind” the church in Ephesus of the gospel. False teachers had infiltrated the congregation. They had a tendency to lead believers into petty, unproductive conversations—“how many angels can dance on the head of a pin”—that kind of thing. But Paul would have none of that. To be a Christian, and especially to be a Christian leader, is to remind others of truth. There is a God, and he has “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ before the ages began” (2 Tim 1:9). 

Why is it so important for Christians to be devoted to reminding others of the gospel of Jesus Christ? In other words, don’t we ever graduate out of basic gospel truth? No! Christian maturity is not moving away from the gospel, but understanding the gospel more deeply. 

Let me offer up five reasons why your teaching and even your own study of the Bible should constantly be revisiting basic, gospel truth: 

1) Because as believers we are called to focus on the Bible (2 Tim 3:16-17), and the heart of the Bible is the gospel. When Jesus ministered to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he opened up the Old Testament scriptures and pointed out how they all pointed to him, his person and work. “Was it not necessary,” Jesus told them, “that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26). Jesus opened up the Hebrew Bible and pointed out the cross. Furthermore, when the author of Hebrews sought to ground new believers in their faith, he also reminded them that all of Scripture points to the cross. To pay attention to the Bible is to pay attention to the gospel. 

2) Because we don’t understand the gospel nearly as well as we think we do. Let’s face it, there are parts of the gospel that make perfect sense and parts that defy human understanding. How, for example, could Jesus’ righteousness become our righteousness? How can God be both the subject (Holy Father) and the object (Divine Son) of wrath? How does grace motivate the believer to greater acts of obedience instead of perpetual spiritual laziness? These are gospel categories and gospel questions that are of paramount importance—and the list goes on. We should approach the gospel with great humility, recognizing that its majestic truth requires a lifetime of study. Yes, we should be thankful the gospel is easy enough for a child to understand. But let’s also admit that it contains more wisdom than all the libraries of the world.

3) Because Satan is strongest where our understanding of the gospel is weakest. Believers can give Satan the opportunity to work (Eph 4:27). He sets snares (1 Tim 3:7; 2 Tim 2:26). We must resist him (James 4:7). He is an enemy seeking to devour us (1 Pet 5:8). And how does Satan work? He looks to jump through holes in our understanding of the gospel. For example, those with weak and attackable faith may be tempted to think that God’s approval of them is based upon their performance. Such believers will always feel like they fall short. Though they pursue holiness, they are riddled with guilt, always struggling to enjoy the peace and comfort that only the gospel can bring. Satan will enjoy holding a magnifying glass above their failures so that their sin looms large while the cross fades into the background. Likewise, other immature believers will assume that since their sins have been atoned for on the cross, they don’t really need to try all that hard to live a godly life. In this case, Satan will actually maximize the size of the cross in their eyes and minimize their sin. Thus, when temptation comes their way, these folks will be more likely to give in. Satan works most effectively where our understanding of the gospel is most deficient. 

4) Because our minds are not what they should be. There is a reason God ordained the church to gather once a week for teaching (Heb 10:24-25). Our minds are in constant need of gospel truth. It’s not just that we need to learn new things, but we need to be reminded of old things. A failing memory is part of the Fall. It is a horrible thing when an Alzheimer’s patient begins to forget his family. And it’s awful when the Christian forgets how to explain the cross-work of Christ. Because our memories are weak and failing, we need constant reminders of the gospel. 

5) Because there are numerous ways to apply the gospel. Even if the mechanics of the gospel are understood (and I would argue that a complete understanding of even the mechanics must wait for heaven), the implications of the gospel are too numerous to be exhausted in even a hundred thousand sermons. How does the gospel affect how I treat my child when he’s gotten out of bed for the fifth time in one night? What does the gospel say about how I should handle my depleted savings account? What does the gospel say about what church I should join, or what my involvement should look like at the church I have joined? What are the gospel implications of my floundering relationship with my dad? People are faced with a 1,001 different scenarios, each one of them needing the careful application of the gospel. But it is only when we revisit the gospel that these questions arise. 

Oh my friend, “remind them of these things.” Let your heart and the hearts of those around you be saturated with gospel truth. The gospel is what we need for life and for hope and for rest.

Preparing for the Lord's Supper

Next Sunday morning, we will be celebrating the Lord's Supper. This is both a sobering and joyful event. It's sobering because, after all, we are remembering that Christ died for us. But it's joyful too. After all, his death brought us life. Not only that, he conquered death and one day will return again.

Check out this summary of how you can be ready to gather with God's people and celebrate the Lord's Supper well.

Happy Birthday MVBC

It was on October 11, 1959 that Mount Vernon Baptist Church was born.

A small group of Christians actually hatched plans for the church in March of 1956. They sought the help of Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, they reached out to other Christians in the area of Mount Vernon Highway and Powers Ferry Road, and they prayed . In July of 1956 they purchased 21 acres of land, but it would be years before they built a meeting place.

In the meantime, they gathered as Mount Vernon Chapel at James L. Riley Elementary School--58 yeas ago today. Dr. Monroe Swilley, the pastor of Second Ponce preached the first service, and 32 people signed up to join what they called a mission (we would call it a church plant).

For a few months the mission was served by various men: James L. Baggott of the Atlanta Association, Frank Hopper, and J. B. Lawrence, previously of the Home Mission Board (now the North American Mission Board). But in November of 1957 the members of this small church plant called Forrest Garrard, Jr. to lead them.

Garrard labored and preached and the mission grew. In October of 1957 Mount Vernon Chapel had 83 members, but when they were ready to constitute as a church two years later, that small group had swelled to 232. 

If you were at the James L. Riley Elementary School that Sunday in 1959 when the chapel became a church you would have listened to Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Then you would have stood up and sung Fanny Crosby's "To God Be the Glory." After prayer and preaching you would have sung one final hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers," by Sabine Baring-Gould. The famous anthem concludes with these words:

Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,

Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song;

Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King;

This through countless ages men and angels sing.

55 years later, we are still a happy throng, and we are still singing. By the grace of God, Mount Vernon has held tightly to the gospel of God's great grace. We exist for his infinite glory. We long to see our neighbors reached for Christ. We humbly expect God to do amazing things in us and through us. Until the Lord comes again, we will do what we have always done: we will preach, we will pray, we will pursue lives of holiness, and we will wait for Christ's return.

Happy Birthday, MVBC.

 

Greg Gilbert in Atlanta

Greg Gilbert is coming to Atlanta. He's speaking on 21st Century Challenges to the Gospel this Saturday night, starting at 7pm. Sunday morning he'll be preaching from Ezekiel 1-3. Both events are at Mount Vernon Baptist Church.

He's the pastor of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. He's the author of What is the Gospel?, What is the Mission of the Church?, and Preach. 

I'm thankful to have served with Greg in Louisville. I've seen his heart for the church, his robust defense of the Christian faith, and his commitment to see the gospel reach the nations. If you can, join us this weekend, and pray that the time is fruitful.

Greater Atlanta Baptist Network **NEW**

One of the most frequent comments I get from visitors to Mount Vernon is how grateful they are that I pray for other churches during the pastoral prayer. I'm glad they noticed! We want to be a church that doesn't just care about ourselves and our work, but the members and work of other churches in our area. A heart for the gospel is going to include a heart for other, gospel-centered churches.

One of the ways Mount Vernon shows a concern for other churches is by being a part of the Greater Atlanta Baptist Network (GABN). This is an association of about 40 other Atlanta area churches. As pastors we meet monthly for prayer and encouragement. As churches we meet annually to see what the Lord is doing in Atlanta and to discuss how we can best partner to see the gospel planted in our area.

GABN has a new website, a blog, and a weekly newsletter. You can find it all here. 

Looking Ahead

In this month's Perspective I share how the MVBC Elders are thinking when it comes to the direction of the church. Goal-setting can be hard, especially in a church where we know that spiritual success is not always numerical. But faithfulness demands we have a sense of where we want to go. 

At MVBC we are planning in terms of a culture shift. What kind of culture do we want to see in our church? How does the culture of MVBC need to mature? In this article, I identify five areas we can grow in: First, a culture of evangelism. Second, a culture of discipleship. Third, a culture of family care. Fourth, a culture of generosity. Fifth, a culture of serving other churches. 

Please pray for Mount Vernon. Ask the Lord to give us wisdom and energy to pursue these areas in the months and years ahead.