Revival v. Revivalism

Posted on February 5, 2019 by John Samson

Article: “Hey Calvinist, Enough of Your Revivalism” by Michael Lawrence, original source here: https://www.9marks.org/article/hey-calvinist-enough-of-your-revivalism/

How do you grow your church? It’s a question every pastor or church leader asks, a question in which almost every Christian is interested. And let’s assume the best motive for the question, a sincere desire to see men, women, and children both knowing and growing in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The question is how?

HISTORY OF REVIVALISM

Ever since the early 1800s and the apparent success of the Second Great Awakening, the answer for most church leaders has been the techniques of revivalism. Revivalism and revival are not the same thing. Solomon Stoddard, a Puritan minister in western Massachusetts, defined revival as “some special seasons wherein God doth in a remarkable manner revive religion among his people.” [1] His emphasis is on both the surprising and supernatural aspect of revival, and its impact on the church generally. Conversion and discipleship, growth numerically andspiritually, are the result of divinely-wrought revival. His grandson, Jonathan Edwards, a leader of the First Great Awakening and its most able theological defender, would go on to argue that a genuine work of God’s Spirit isn’t “revealed by the quantity or intensity of religious emotions but is rather present where a heart had been changed to love God and seek his pleasure.”[2] In other words, it’s the fruit of the Spirit, not enthusiasm or momentum, that demonstrates God is at work.

Revivalism, on the other hand, is a set of techniques and methods that are assumed to reliably obtain “the external signs of conviction, repentance and rebirth.”[3] As historian Iain Murray notes, while revival preachers of the Great Awakening would have had no idea how “to secure a revival, a system was now popularized by ‘revivalists’ which came near to guaranteeing results.” [4] So much so that ever since the Second Great Awakening, a “revival” could be announced in advance! Today we call it “reverse engineering” results.

From the camp meetings, altar calls, and anxious bench of the Second Great Awakening, to the marriage of emotionally powerful preaching and singing in the ministry of Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey, to the stirring rallies of Billy Graham, the style of revivalism has shifted to match the changing culture. But the techniques have remained largely the same: the context of the mass meeting to encourage a response, the deliberate use of emotion to motivate a response, and the routine of a set prayer or physical action to actuate the response. Underlying all of this is the assumption that conversion can be reduced to, or at least evidenced by, a personal response that the preacher can elicit, observe, and measure.

I don’t mean to imply that the Second Great Awakening, or the ministries of Moody, Graham, and others did not result in true conversions. They certainly did. In fact, most of us probably know someone who came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at a Billy Graham rally. But if Scripture is to be our guide, we must never say that people became Christians because of the techniques of these ministries. After all, conversion is the supernatural and sovereign work of God, in which, through the message of the gospel and by the power of the Holy Spirit, he brings about conviction of sin, lasting repentance, and faith in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our response of repentance and faith is the unfailing result of God’s necessarily prior work of regeneration. Unless he makes us alive and gives us the gift of repentance and faith, we will remain dead in our sins. And there’s no human technique that can either force his hand or accomplish his work. This is what it means to be a Calvinist. More importantly, this is what it means to hold the same theology as Paul (Eph. 2:1-10) and Jesus (John 6:44–45; 10:27–30)

However, it wasn’t long before revivalist techniques moved from the evangelist’s ad hoc “revival meeting” to the local church’s regular Sunday worship. These revivalistic flourishes have even occurred in churches that confess a Reformed, or Calvinistic, understanding of salvation. And why not? After all, it apparently produced results. If you could gather a crowd (attract), connect with them in an emotionally meaningful way (relate), and remove barriers to response (automate), then you could grow your church without abandoning your theological convictions.

REVIVALISM “WORKS”

From Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral, to Willow Creek and Saddleback, to Mars Hill and Elevation, to your local megachurch, the style and music and branding has changed, but the method tends to be fundamentally the same across the theological spectrum. The pragmatic approach to church growth—attract, relate, and automate—works.

Just ask the Calvinists who pastor large, growing churches. “I like the (attractional) evangelism I do better than the evangelism you don’t do.” “Anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart.” “All it takes to grow a church is good music, a great children’s program, and sufficient parking.”[5] These comments defend fundamentally pragmatic, attractional approaches to the church, despite the sincerely held belief in the sovereignty of God in salvation by those who said them.

Twenty-five years ago, theologian David Wells published No Place for Truth, or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?, the first of his volumes critiquing modern evangelicalism’s love affair with modernity. [6] He concluded that as far back as the Second Great Awakening, evangelicals had begun to use the tools of modernity (marketing, technique, bureaucratization, etc.) to accomplish the work of God. The goals were noble, but the motivation was pragmatic. In the modern world, success is measured by numbers, and the tools of modernity worked. As revivalism was refined and perfected by the methods of the marketplace, churches were growing, the “unchurched” were streaming in, and multitudes were being saved. Blinded by our apparent success, however, Wells revealed what the rest of us had failed to see. The tools of modernity produce the culture of modernity, not the kingdom of God. As survey after survey revealed, our growing churches were not filled with the results of Spirit-wrought revival, genuine converts characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, but were filled instead with the results of modern revivalism, religious consumers characterized by the spirit of the age.

TRUST THE ORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE

So, back to the question: how do you grow your church? I suppose it depends on what you think a church is and who you think people are. If you think a church is just a crowd of people who are fundamentally able, perhaps with help from God, to choose to follow Jesus, so long as he’s attractive and relevant enough, then the tools of revivalism are just the ticket. But if you think a church is a gathering of people who were dead in their sins but have been born again through the sovereign and supernatural work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, then revivalism just won’t do.

What we want is revival, a genuine work of the Spirit, not a product of human technique. From the very beginning, the work of God has been done by the Spirit of God through the Word of God in a world gone awry. [7] From the first preaching of the gospel at Pentecost, to the recovery of gospel preaching in the Reformation, to the explanation of the gospel that God used to save you, God has always worked through his Word faithfully proclaimed to bring the dead to life.

So, “Calvinist,” enough of your revivalism. Grow your church through the ordinary means of grace that God has always used to grow his church: the right preaching of the gospel, the right administration of the ordinances, and the right use of church discipline. Give yourself to the ministry of word and prayer as the apostles did (Acts 6:4). Stop relying on the tools of modernity to build the kingdom of God because they never have and they never will.

There’s nothing wrong with having culturally appropriate music, adequate parking, attractive signage, and a clear process for joining the church. Those are important matters to which we must attend. But don’t think those tools, and others like them, will build Christ’s church. They won’t because they can’t. It’s not our ability to design an attractive worship experience or authentically relate to people in our sermons that raises the spiritually dead to life. The Spirit alone can and will do that work, and he does it through his Word, not our techniques.

[1] Iain H. Murray, Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism 1750-1858(Banner of Truth, 1994), xvii.

[2] Mark Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Eerdmans, 1992), 96.

[3] Murray, xix.

[4] Ibid ., xviii.

[5] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Mission or Message(Zondervan, 1995), 219. Comments one and three from private conversations with pre-2015 Acts 29 pastors.

[6] David Wells, No Place for Truth, or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology (Eerdmans, 1993).

[7] HT, David Helm.

Is It A Sin To Miss Church?

Posted on January 8, 2019 by John Samson

Article by Pastor Adriel Sanchez

(original source – https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/is-it-a-sin-to-miss-church)

Throughout much of college, I didn’t have a strong tie to the local church. Regrettably, I just didn’t think of being connected to a local body, and attending church on Sundays, was that important for Christians. I thank God for the people he brought into my life who encouraged me in my walk with Christ and helped me to see the importance of gathering together with other sinners around Jesus’ Word. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with a pastor in those days who really helped to shape my thinking.

He was from Chicago and happened to be a huge fan of the Chicago Bears. Growing up in San Diego, I knew what it was like to have a home team that you grew up watching and rooting for. This pastor took me under his wing, and we were having one of our discipleship meetings at a local Starbucks. He said something during our time together that stunned me. “Even if I had tickets to see the Bears in the Superbowl on a Sunday morning, I wouldn’t go…”

I laughed out loud as if to suggest that he was crazy. “Are you serious?” I replied. He was. At that moment, I thought he was a little extreme. I remember thinking to myself, “What’s the big deal? The Super Bowl is once a year! If they make it, your team probably isn’t going to go again in your lifetime!”

He was being absolutely genuine though. “No,” he said with a slight grin. “What’s more special than being gathered together around God’s throne, with God’s people?” It was hard to argue with him. I just hadn’t met many Christians who actually believed that at the time. My thinking had been: “yeah, the church is important, but the Christian life is really about your relationship with Jesus. You don’t need to be in church to have a healthy relationship with God.”

Sitting under this pastor had a profound effect on me. It’s the same effect I hope to have on the people I get to minister to. He loved the church, and you could tell. When he talked about missing out on the Bears game to be with God’s people, it was as if it was a no-brainer. He made me feel like I was the crazy one for thinking otherwise. Looking back now, I believe that I was.

Sometime later, I came across another shocking statement from a different pastor. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, a 3^rdcentury bishop in the Christian church. He famously said, “outside the church, there is no salvation.” Now, I know what you’re thinking, “There are Christians throughout the world who don’t have access to fellowship, how could anyone make such a claim?” The sentiment of Cyprian is hard to sell today because we’re so used to making a rule out of the exception. Yes, there are extraordinary circumstances that keep the sheep from hearing the voice of the Shepherd on a Sunday morning through a called preacher. But ordinarily speaking, to neglect Christian fellowship and the means of grace through which God grants us communion with himself is a terrible sin. And not only is it itself a sin, but it often leads to more sin.

Scripture reflects the same high view of corporate worship that these pastors believed in. The author to the Hebrews said, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb. 3:12-13) And “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Heb. 10:23-25)

The New Testament sets an example for us.

For the New Testament believers, weekly Christian fellowship under the apostles’ teaching was a non-negotiable (Ac. 2:42). There were accountability and submission to qualified and ordained elders (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-16), both for the sake of the genuine spiritual care of the people of God. To forsake this is to set aside what the apostles themselves delivered to the church as the normal structure God ordained for discipleship. Being connected to a church through membership, under the oversight of elders, is something every Christian should long for; and church on Sunday is integral to our Christian growth.

I understand as a pastor that there are weeks where we just can’t make it to church. Illness keeps us closed in, or some other unexpected barrier to worship presents itself. But I want to ask you, what to you is more exciting than gathering with God’s people around God’s throne? Have we so lost sight of what is taking place in worship that entertainment has become more captivating? Do we think that somehow we’ve surpassed our predecessors, and no longer need to gather together, and encourage one another? That the deceitfulness of sin is no match for the modern Christian?

I sometimes feel as though this is the case for many of us. Of course, who would admit it? But the reality is, we often live as though there are many things more important to us than gathering with believers under Jesus’ Word. We’re like the religious leaders who made excuses not to go to the king’s banquet, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused… I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused…I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” (Lk. 14:18-20)

The reason that flippantly missing church is so grievous is that the King himself is the one summoning us to the feast. And get this: more than demanding you bring your gifts to him, he’s bringing his gifts to share with you! Those gifts may come to us through humble means: the lips of a stuttering pastor, some bread and wine, etc. but they’re promised to you by God. I think that understanding is what I was missing for several years. It’s easy to have a low view of church attendance when you view the service as revolving around your work instead of God’s. In reality, this is the Divine Service. The King who summons us and washes us. If you’re like me, that’s not something you can afford to skip.

May God help us recover the joy of Christian worship, gathering together with other sinners eagerly looking to Jesus. When we see it for what it is, I think we’ll join my pastor friend in believing that there’s no more special place to be than gathered around God’s throne, with God’s people.

Sam Waldron Series: Parity in the Eldership and the Need for Balance

Posted on January 8, 2019 by John Samson

Original source: https://cbtseminary.org

Part 1:

We distribute a book as a Seminary that I helped to write and edit many years ago. It is entitled, In Defense of Parity. In that short volume, I with a few other men defend the notion (which many of us hold as Reformed Baptists) that there is no official distinction to be made between the different elders of the church. In other words, such a view of parity says that biblically all elders are pastors and all pastors are elders. This view is based on what seems to me to be an indisputable exegetical reality. That reality is that in the Bible the three words presbuteros, episkopos, and poimein refer to the same office in the church. This is a little confusing because each of these three Greek words has both an older and a newer. Presbuteros is translated presbyter in older English and elder in newer English. Episkopos is translated in older English as bishop and as overseer in newer English. Poimeinis translated pastor in older English but shepherd in newer English. Parity simply asserts that all these words refer to the identical office in the church.

But to repeat myself, I am not going to spend a lot of time defending that conclusion or implication of the parity of the eldership and the equivalence of the terms shepherd, elder, and overseer with regard to referencing the same office in the church. The reason is that this conclusion is the assumption or presupposition of these blog posts rather than their thrust or focus. Here I want to speak of my growing conviction over the years that the parity of the eldership needs to be balanced by the biblical teaching regarding the diversity of the eldership.

Part 2:

A few years ago a friend of mine mistakenly affirmed that I believed in the absolute parity of the eldership. I informed him, and let me now inform all of my readers, that I emphatically do not believe in such a view of parity. I believe, in fact, in three different kinds of diversity within the elders of the church. I will argue that there is diversity of spiritual gift, financial support, and actual influence. I believe that these three areas of diversity are much more than theoretical in their significance. They have important practical applications with regard to how the eldership and the church does its holy business.

The diversity of elders is clearly taught in the Scriptures. It is not, as we have seen, a diversity with regard to office, authority, or title. But in what, then, does this diversity in the eldership consist? It consists, as I said, in a diversity of spiritual gift, financial support, and actual influence.

Consider, first, the diversity of spiritual gift.

Both the Bible and experience show that elders may have greatly varying gifts. To think through this matter systematically, let me ask you to consider several things. First, the New Testament emphasizes the sovereignty of God in imparting those gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:11 affirms: “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”

Second, the New Testament also emphasizes (and in the same passage) the variety of spiritual gifts which the Spirit in His sovereignty imparts, and the variation given to different members of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 says: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” This same emphasis is found in Romans 12:3-7 and 1 Pet. 4:10-11. What is true of the gifts of the Spirit to the church in general is, of course, true for the elders of the church as well. Here too there is variety of gift according to the sovereignty of the Spirit.

Third, there are several different gifts that are important specifically for the eldership. Romans 12:7-8 names the gifts of teaching, exhorting, and leading. 1 Corinthians 12:28 mentions the gifts of teaching and administration. 1 Peter 4:11 mentions the gift of speaking. But once more we must remember that God gives these spiritual gifts in varying degrees. The parable of Jesus emphasizes this in Matthew 25:14-15. The varying degrees of gift given to Christians and especially to ministers is also taught in Ephesians 4:7-11. What these passages clearly teach, church history and our own experience confirm. Great diversity exists in the mix and measure of spiritual gifts given to pastor-teachers.

Now this reality has very important practical implications. For one thing, this means that the qualifications for the eldership should not be measured in terms of the gifts of the outstanding preacher-pastor that we admire so much. There may be lesser degrees of gift which still qualify a man for the eldership. Similarly, we must also not limit the exercise of the highly gifted pastor by insisting on an artificial equality in the public ministry of the Word in the church. Equality of office does not mean equality in opportunities for public ministry in the church. This should make us accept men of more slender gifts as true elders, but also makes us feel that no artificial equality needs to be implemented in the public ministry of the church.

Part 3:

In our last post we looked at the reality that there is a diversity of spiritual gifts in true elders. I commented that this has important practical implications for the church and its elders. But there is also diversity in other respects, specifically there is diversity of financial support.

The New Testament teaches that there is diversity in the matter of financial support. Some elders may be fully supported by the church. Other elders may work at another vocation to support themselves. Let it be emphasized that this diversity is not the product of human sinfulness. It is ecclesiastically lawful for it to be so. The key text here is, of course, 1 Timothy 5:17-18.

The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

Two questions must be answered with regard to this passage. First, what is double honor? Second, to whom is such double honor to be given?

(1) What is double honor?

Double honor in 1 Timothy 5:17 means generous financial support. How do we know this? Double honor in the context of 1 Timothy 5:17 is contrasted with the honor to be given to widows. Without any doubt this honor for widows consists in financial support (1 Tim. 5:3, 4, 8, 16). Widows are, then, to be honored, while well-ruling elders are to be given double honor—the generous financial support necessary to comfortably support a man in a leadership position who may also have a wife and children.

The financial character of this honor is confirmed by verse 18. Here Paul cites the same Old Testament text that he used in 1 Corinthians 9:9 to teach that ministers of the gospel should live of the gospel or be generously, financially supported. He also cites a saying of the Lord that in both Matt. 10:10 and Luke 10:7 had to do with the financial support of those who preach the gospel.

The term, double, used here is not intended literally. It is used figuratively in the New Testament to refer to a large or generous portion of something (Matthew 23:15; Rev. 18:6). Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”Revelation 18:6 “Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.”

In accord with its usage in the New Testament, then, double here simply means or denotes that this financial support is to be ample or generous. The generosity with which elders should be financially supported is confirmed by the parallel passages (Galatians 6:6; 1 Corinthians 9:14).

(2) To whom is such double honor to be given?

This financial support of the elders—according to the Apostle Paul—is not to be indiscriminately divided among or necessarily given to all elders. Notice how the passage speaks of this matter. Timothy and the church at Ephesus under his leadership are to focus that financial support on the elders who rule well. Among those who rule well financial support is especially to be given to those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

I think of this passage as viewing the eldership in terms of three concentric circles. Financial support is focused on the innermost circle, may extend to the next circle outward, but does not extend to all elders in general.

The measure of a man’s spiritual gifts in ruling and especially teaching and preaching (as well as his experience, maturity, diligence, and godliness) is related to the matter of financial support. Of course, the church’s ability may in some cases prevent the church from doing all it should do with regard to the financial support of elders. In such cases the priorities set by 1 Timothy 5:17 should govern the distribution of financial support to elders.

We may draw from all this a clear conclusion. The Scriptures could not be more clear that there is diversity with regard to the financial support of elders.

Let me state plainly that voting a man in as a pastor or elder does not mean that the church has any necessary commitment to support that man financially. Nor does it mean that they are committed to financially supporting that man at the level that they may be supporting pastors already. Practically, all this means that a separate act of the church from the election of a pastor may be appropriate or even necessary to grant a pastor financial support. 1 Timothy 5:17 makes very clear that some elders or pastors may not be financially supported at all. This is, then, a different issue than recognizing that a man is a qualified elder.

Part 4:

We have looked at the reality that there is diversity of spiritual giftedness in true elders and that there is also diversity of financial support. In this post a third area of diversity among the elders will be our focus. With regard to biblical eldership, there is also the diversity of actual influence.

It is also clear that there may be great diversity in a man’s actual influence as a Christian minister. This was certainly true even of the highest office in Christ’s church—the office of Apostle. Paul labored more than all the Apostles. He had, thus, a proportionately greater influence (1 Cor. 15:10). It also seems clear that Peter exercised a greater influence than many of the other Apostles (Matt. 16:18; Acts 1:15; 2:14, 38; 3:1).

What is true of the extraordinary office of Apostle certainly must be true of the ordinary office of the pastor or elder. The sovereignty of God in the work of salvation and the differing gifts the Spirit gives lead to differing degrees of influence for good in Christ’s church. Of course, once more church history and Christian experience demonstrate that this is true.

The New Testament, then, teaches the plurality, the parity, and the diversity of elders in the eldership of the local church. It is in light of these three principles that the eldership of every local church ought to be organized. The distribution of responsibilities and ministries must be guided by each of these three principles. The diversity of gift, influence and support must not disguise the parity of official authority belonging to each elder. The parity and plurality of the elders should not suppress the implications of the diversity of elders in the distribution of the responsibilities and ministries in the church. Parity of office does not require an artificial equality in the distribution of ministry or financial support. Rather, the sovereignty of Christ in giving a diversity of gifts should be acknowledged in such matters.

One great implication of the diversity of the eldership as we have seen it in this blog series is that part of the calling of a pastor is giving the man who is to be called a clear job description. This is especially true where the man is not to be the first or sole supported pastor of a church. Of course, the Bible provides every elder such a job description in its explanation of the duties of the office. These duties, however, will vary in their proportion and their weight depending on his particular gifts and specific responsibilities. His ability to fulfill such duties will also be dependent on the time he can devote to such responsibilities. In turn this will be dependent on whether and to what extent he is financially supported.

To re-emphasize my main point: all of this requires that the elder-to-be must be provided a clear idea or specific, job description of the particular duties he is called to fulfill as an elder. This is necessary in order to help a conscientious man make a responsible decision to accept the position being offered to him. This is also necessary in order to assure that hopes are not raised by the call to the eldership which are false or unrealistic.

Part 5:

In this last post I want simply to collect a number of practical thoughts which flow out of a biblical view of the plurality, parity, and diversity of the eldership.

1.) See in the diversity, parity, and plurality of the eldership the glory of the one, supreme, and almighty Shepherd of the church! I argue here in the same way that the Epistle to the Hebrews argues. Cf. Hebrews 7:19-28. Just as the limited duration and plurality of levitical priests pointed forward to the one, everlasting priest after the order of Melchizedek, so also the plurality of human pastors, the parity of human elders, and the diversity of human elders points up to the glory of the Chief Shepherd of the church. He alone can make us perfect in every good work to do His will working in us that which is well-pleasing in God’s sight.

2.) Look not to any human pastor for everything you need. Do not limit yourself to one pastor’s gifts or teaching. Do not virtually say I am of Apollos! or I am of Peter! or I am of Paul! Such a posture is both limiting to your growth and potentially divisive. Do not look finally to any limited, human pastor, but to the unlimited Christ and His unlimited grace.

3.) Observe the constant need for humility and the perpetual danger of pride in connection with the vocation to which pastors are called. Thankfully, I have not spent a lot of time in the typical pastors’ fraternals, but I have heard enough about such fraternals to know that they are often characterized by boasting and one-up-manship on the part of those named as Christ’s under-shepherds. I will also confess to you that I often feel the green monster of envy rising in my own heart and need to thrust the sword of the Spirit through that monster. But equally debilitating to the minister is another monster. The twin of the green monster of envy is the black monster of discouragement about my lack of usefulness which rises in my heart. That monster sucks the zeal and desire to labor earnestly for Christ out of my soul. It says to the pastors’ soul, “It will not do any good to preach. They will not listen. You will do no good. You have never done any good.” I think this black monster is also born of pride like the green monster. What will slay both these monsters is deep humility before Christ, the seeking of grace from Christ, and the determination to simply do what Christ has called us to do to the best of our ability.

4.) Be careful not to impose on the eldership your limited, human ideas and structures. The study of the church and the various views of the eldership that have developed in it is cluttered with views of the eldership which are simply too limiting. What views am I talking about? There is the notion that you can have only one pastor in a church. There is the notion that you can have only one bishop in a church. There is the notion that you must have a senior pastor who hires and fires the other so-called pastors. There is the notion that you can have only one supported pastor. There is the notion that you can impose on the eldership the cookie-cutter view which says that there are only two kinds of elders: teaching elders and ruling elders. There are other sorts of defective views as well. Some who get a hold of the biblical vision for the parity and equality of elders go to extremes as well. Since all elders are equal, then all must have equal profile in the church. They must all preach or teach or lead equally. They must be supported equally. Others who hold the parity of the eldership actually conclude that no elders at all should be financially supported. Perhaps this was the extreme which Paul was combatting in 1 Timothy 5:17. Others conclude that only missionaries or traveling evangelists should be supported, but not ordinary elders. All of these views are based on a one-sided and imbalanced view of the eldership which takes one part of the biblical teaching to an extreme and ends up denying other aspects of the biblical teaching. We must hold together the plurality, the parity, and the diversity of the eldership!

5.) Make sure your church is a good steward of the gifts of its elders. One of the saddest things about the limiting views which I just listed in the previous observation is that often it means that some elders’ gifts are not fully utilized in the church. Or it means that some men who should be elders are not even recognized by the church. Or it means that to exercise their God-given gifts men are forced to leave their church to find a place of ministry. If only there had been in the church a biblical vision for the eldership, if only there had not been the humanly limited views of the eldership that prevail in so many places, the church might have been blessed and God’s kingdom advanced. But no! The limited views of the eldership dictated by human wisdom had to be honored; and God’s blessing on the church through gifted men was lost.

Worshiping Together?

Posted on December 30, 2018 by John Samson

https://founders.org/2018/12/29/to-worship-or-not-to-worship-that-shouldnt-be-the-question/

Article by Tom Ascol (original source here: https://founders.org/2018/12/29/to-worship-or-not-to-worship-that-shouldnt-be-the-question/ )

Summit Church in Durham, NC (where SBC President, JD Greear is pastor), announced that they are not holding any worship services this last weekend of the year. Instead, they are encouraging their members to #worshipathome. In the video prepared for their people to watch as they #worshipathome there is a repeated reference to being “gathered together virtually” (I did note that there was no corresponding encouragement to “give virtually;” on the contrary there was a very explicit appeal to give actually before the year ends). This was said even though Psalm 34:3 was quoted: “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name ~~virtually~~ together.” No wonder irony is so hard to do anymore.

Later in the video (around the 19:00 mark) JD Greear explains Summit Church’s “semi-tradition” of not worshiping together on the last Sunday of the year, partly because of the intensity of their Christmas at DPAC production (complete with a “Angels We Have Heard on High”/“Let it Go” medley; it starts at 15:05, but keep watching) and partly because they know this is a “busy travel time.”

Thinking Christians know intuitively that something is just not right about a church canceling its worship service because people are tired. But when good, respected church leaders do it, it can tend to be a bit disorienting. Make no mistake, JD Greear and the Summit Church he pastors are both highly respected, and for good reasons.

From all indications JD is an amazing leader. Former missionary. Author. Church revitalilzer. Denominational unifier. And, as I already mentioned, current SBC President. Still not convinced? Then let Momma Pop persuade you (this remains my all-time-favorite SBC campaign videos—if you didn’t like JD before, you can’t help but like him after watching!). I admire JD and rejoice in all the good that he is doing for the kingdom. Which is why I am disheartened by the decision of Summit Church to cancel their worship services on Sunday.

I am concerned because as such a prominent and influential leader, JD’s public reasoning on this will inevitably lead other pastors and churches to think similarly, which is to say, to think unbiblically about a church’s gathered worship.

Why do Christ’s churches meet weekly? Because Scripture convinces us that is what Christ would have us do. God worked six days in creation and rested the seventh and calls His people to follow His pattern (Exodus 20:8-11). Under the old covenant, that meant resting and worshiping on the seventh day of the week. Under the new covenant, with the resurrection of Christ on the first day of the week, the pattern was kept but the day changed (John 20:1; Revelation 1:10; 1 Corinthians 16:2). You may not be convinced by these reasons but you will at least be compelled to admit that they a biblical argument rather than a pragmatic one is being employed. The same cannot be said for the very public cancelling of Summit RDU’s worship services.

That, brothers and sisters, is what makes this a serious problem. If it is legitimate to cancel services because of being tired one Sunday a year, why not two Sundays? Or 12? Or 52? Once you leave the authority of Scripture behind, anything goes.

What a contrast we are given with the attitude and actions of our persecuted brothers and sisters in China. If you have not been following the Chinese government’s crackdown on Christians over the last ten month, let me encourage you to get up to speed post haste. Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Covenant Church has, along with more than 100 of his fellow members, been arrested, harassed and worse in recent weeks. Pastor Yi made sure to prepare written documents in advance of the persecution he saw coming. He wanted to make sure his church would be properly instructed about how to think and react to persecution if he were no longer available to teach them.

I particularly want to call to your attention his “14 Decisions: In the Face of Persecution, What Will I Do?” The very first decision is this:

Do not stop gathering together
Under no circumstances will we stop or give up on gathering publicly, especially the corporate worship of believers on Sunday. God’s sovereignty is higher than any secular authority and the church’s mission and the Bible’s teaching on not neglecting to gather together is higher than any secular law. Regardless of whether the Religious Affairs Bureau and the police take administrative and forceful measures toward Sunday worship, whether or not their enforcement follows due process, I will resist by peaceful means. I will not cooperate with the police banning, shutting down, dissolving, or sealing up the church and its gathering. I will not stop convening, hosting and participating in the church’s public worship, until the police seizes my personal freedom by force.

Our Chinese brothers refuse to give up under persecution what so many American Christians voluntarily neglect or dismisses under ease. Could it be that we enjoyed gospel privileges so long that we have taken them for granted? Could it be that we have affirmed the authority of God’s Word so long that we have come to assume that we are submitted to it, when in reality we don’t think much about it at all?

Modern evangelicals in general (and Southern Baptists in particular) are not in any danger of rejecting the authority of Scripture out of hand. Our danger is losing the authority of Scripture by assuming that we are being submissive to it when we go following our own whims. May God deliver us from such a deadly mistake.

A Letter to the Inactive Member

Posted on December 23, 2018 by John Samson

Article by Kyle Borg (original source here)

I’m not certain but I suspect that if you asked a pastor what discourages him most, a common answer given would be the inactive member. By inactivity I don’t mean only those who are habitually absent, but also the member who merely warms a seat but does little to participate in the life, service, and especially the worship of the church. But it’s not only a great discouragement for a pastor (and congregation), it is also a good reason for concern. An inactive member is one of the sheep that has gone astray and requires the shepherd to leave the ninety-nine to go after the one.

As I thought about this, here’s what I’d like to say to the inactive member —:

Dear Friend,

I wanted to write you a letter of encouragement. I’ve noticed lately that you haven’t been as present in the life and worship of the congregation as you once were. I understand that there are many things in life that detract or hinder us from being as active as we should be, and maybe we just need a bit of a nudge in the right direction. In fact, it’s a temptation that the Bible encourages us against: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25). So with that in mind let me encourage you to not neglect the life, service, and worship of the church.

First, I want to encourage you because God is worthy. When we meet week-by-week to worship God we don’t do it because it’s tradition or mere formality. Rather, we do it because God is worthy to be worshiped: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12). When we come together in worship — as God wants us to do — we are saying “You are worthy!” But when you don’t come to worship because you don’t feel like it, or you’re too busy, or you’d rather do something else, you are telling God “You’re not worthy.” God is worthy of being worshiped, loved, and served by you.

Second, I want to encourage you because the church is a body. Paul wrote: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Romans 12:4-5). By the Holy Spirit we’re not only united to Jesus but to one another. When you’re not participating in the life, service, and especially the worship of the church we feel your absence. We value you — your presence, service, gifts, and graces. To put it this way, when you’re not with us we’re not complete but we’re a body that is missing a part.

Third, I want to encourage you because of your spiritual growth. God doesn’t intend Christians to grow all by themselves. Rather, we are to grow together. Again, Paul wrote that we have the ministry of the church so that “we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). I’m afraid to say it, but it’s a biblical assumption that your inactivity means you’re not growing spiritually. You’re not growing in a love for God or for your neighbor; you’re not growing in your knowledge and understanding of the things of God. This isn’t a good place to be and we don’t want you to be there.

Fourth, I want to encourage you because of the wiles of Satan. Peter wrote: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). I don’t know a lot about the habits of lions, but I do know that they prey on those who are detached from the herd. I worry that in being inactive and not participating you’ve separated yourself from the herd and have become easy prey for Satan — his lies, flaming darts, and temptations. There’s a reason that just before this Peter wrote “Be alert.” We don’t want you to be resisting the devil all on your own, that’s why God has given you to us and us to you.

Fifth, I want to encourage you because of mutual edification. Even Paul who was an Apostle wanted and needed to be with the church. To the congregation in Rome he wrote: “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you — that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Romans 1:11-12). You’re a member of this church and you’re also a friend and family member in Jesus. We want to have opportunities to edify you and also to be edified by you.

Sixth, I want to encourage you because of joy. In writing to a church John said: “Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete” (2 John 1:12). Everyone wants to be happy, glad, and joyful. The Bible reminds us that we find joy in the face to face presence of one another. That is to say, you contribute to our joy when you are present and we contribute to yours.

Finally, let me encourage you because of the promises you made. When you became a member of this church you promised to throw your weight into this congregation — your devotion, service, influence, encouragement, and help. You and I know both know what it’s called when we’re not true to our word. Would you allow me to ask: were you being honest when you made that promise?

We all need encouragement from time to time to not quit but to keep with it. I hope you know that just as you need us, so we need you: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

In Jesus,
Your Pastor

How My Parents Taught Me To Love The Church

Posted on November 13, 2018 by John Samson

Article by Ricky Alcantar (original source here)

I’m sure my parents talked to me about how important the church was in our lives. I’m sure they explained that because we love Jesus we love his people. I’m sure they explained that this was clear in the Bible.

But I don’t remember any of that.

Instead, this is what I remember: as long as I could remember, every other week, a bunch of people would invade our house, eat our food, and leave.

Our church small group was ingrained into our schedule like doctors appointments and Christmas Eve at Nana’s and dad’s work day. I’m sure my parents preached the theology of the church to me, but what I really listened to as a kid was how they preached their theology through the way they used their time.

I didn’t understand what the church was, or why it was important, but I got that it was important. Well, important enough for me to spend Wednesday afternoon helping get the house ready and Thursday morning cleaning up.

Take for example, what 1 Peter 2:4-5 says about the church:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.

I couldn’t explain the metaphor of the verse to you as a 10-year-old, but I understood something: when my mom and dad met Jesus they started living differently. And part of living differently meant building their lives into other people, so much so that when other people hurt we hurt, when other people rejoiced we rejoiced, and when people left it was hard for all the right reasons.

I have kids of my own now, ages 2 and 4. All the four-year-old understands about church is that if you get there early there are donuts, that you have to wait for four songs before you can go to class, and that afterward, you can’t run on the stage. I talk to him whenever I can about the truths of 1 Peter 2 in a way he’d understand, but I’m comforted knowing that while he may not remember the conversations, he’ll remember our rhythm of life.

Whether you realize it or not, you’re teaching your kids a theology of the church with your time.

Here are some of the messages they can hear from us:

The church is important, just not as important as kids activities
We might think that we’re serving our kids by prioritizing their activities or sports over church, but in reality, we’re speaking loudly about priorities.

In his book Gospel-Powered Parenting, Bill Farley shares a story of a family that always made church activities secondary to their kid’s activities and then were surprised when they wandered from the church in their college years:

Mom and dad taught them well. Church was not important. God was not at the center of their lives. What really mattered were their children’s activities. Ken and Jackie had placed their children, and their success, on the throne of the family. Their children had heard the message, understood it, and imitated it.

The church is important, just not as important as mom and dad’s more important things
When work or hobbies take precedence over the church, the kids notice. The message is that the church is one important thing that sometimes gets pushed out by more important things.

Now I’m not saying there’s never an excuse to miss church. My dad had to work Sundays sometimes growing up (no way around it), but then he was even more intentional about us getting together with church people during the evening. I could see him straining to stay connected and it said something to me.

The church is important, just not as important as comfort and convenience
One of the most common reasons I hear from people who don’t make it to the Sunday gathering is that “There’s just a lot going on” or “We had a really busy weekend.” And really, I do judge that charitably–because I really don’t know the exact circumstances in most cases.

But if the family only goes to church when it’s not “inconvenient” and when everyone is feeling “100%” they won’t make it often at all. And “not often” has a funny way of becoming “not usually” and then “never.”

There have been sleepless nights with a newborn after which my wife Jenn didn’t make it to church, so I get that. But there have been a lot more sleepless nights she’s made it. Why? Because we as a family want that rhythm built into our life as a family and that little buddy’s life, too.

The church is important, important enough that we sacrifice for it
When you’ve had a busy weekend and you make it to church, your kids notice. When you rearrange athletic obligations to get to church, your kids notice. When you get in late from a trip Saturday night and make it to church, your kids notice. When you are willing to slog through traffic after work to make it to a small group meeting where the snacks aren’t amazing and the fellowship is a little forced but you do it anyway, your kids notice.

We have one guy who regularly plays on our worship team even after staying up till 2am most Saturdays because of his job. That says something to his kids. I want to say the same thing to my kids.

Now please, don’t misread this as legalism. Church attendance doesn’t save anyone, Jesus saves. Church attendance won’t save your kids, only Jesus can. But part of imparting a love for Jesus to our kids means imparting a love for Jesus’ family, the church. If we tell our kids one thing about the church and undermine it with our time, they’re sharp enough to get the message.

So what are you preaching about the church to your kids? What is your time preaching to them?

I heard simple truths like this read as a kid: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10 ESV).

I couldn’t grasp how huge those words were–that once we were without a people but because of what Jesus has done we’ve become God’s people. But I knew this: we had a people and we saw our people on Sunday mornings and during the week at small group and sometimes unexpectedly when they showed up crying and sometimes in the hospital when they were sick.

They were our people. I heard that loud and clear.

The Local Church – Entry & Exit

Posted on October 30, 2018 by John Samson

Four Helpful Articles:

Why the Local Church Really Matters by Tim Challies at this link.

Church Membership – Like A Marriage by J.V. Fesko at this link.

When Should I Leave My Church by Tim Challies at this link.

How To Leave A Church by Eric Davis at this link.

When Choosing a Church

Posted on October 20, 2018 by John Samson

Article: What to look for when choosing a Church by Nicholas Davis (original source here)

A Christian is joined to a local church not because it is a service provider for a consumer or a club for a member. The church is a kingdom with a king, and the Christian belongs under this king’s rule. We are not primarily knit together by a common interest or common need but by this common kingdom that is not of this world (Jn. 18:36). God’s kingdom is over this world and informs our life in this world.

Jesus Christ is King, and as Christians, we are his people, or to use another biblical metaphor, we are his sheep and he is our shepherd (Ps. 23; Jn. 10). Jesus shepherds us through the local church, the primary place where we as God’s people begin to follow him.

So what exactly should we look for when choosing a church?

The most important thing to look for when choosing a church is whether it is true or false in its teaching. Notice that the most important thing is not musical style, what programs a church runs, the size or age of its building, whether it meets in a school, or the types of children’s activities it offers. (Those things are not unimportant, but they are not most important.)

In the ever-changing and growing religious landscape of America, many buildings have the name “church” on them and claim to have the truth. The difficulty is always in discerning truth from error, as error abounds these days. Religious cults are often passed off as “Christian,” even though they have no doctrine of the Trinity, hold to a different doctrine of Scripture, and to a different understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ—to name only a few differences.

So what is a person to do? How can we know where to find a faithful and true church?

There are two marks that you should look for when finding a church to call home. Is the Word of God rightly preached, and are the sacraments rightly administered?

The Word
A true church will clearly preach the whole Bible with the central focus being on the person and work of Jesus Christ. If a church rejects the gospel, it has committed apostasy and is no longer part of the visible church of Christ.

On this ground, if a church cannot confess the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ at the bare minimum, then it is not proclaiming the gospel.

The Sacraments
A true church will also rightly administer the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (i.e. Eucharist, Communion, Lord’s Table, etc.). The word “sacrament” may sound off-putting to some, but that’s just what my tradition calls it. To others, it may be more commonly known as an “ordinance.” Either way, the word comes from an older Greek word meaning “mystery,” but let’s not get sidetracked by the word and miss the point.

The point is this: does a church faithfully practice these two things or not? If you find a church that meets these two criteria (of Word and Sacrament), then it’s worth sticking around. If not, look elsewhere.

Other Important Factors to Look For
– Church membership: Does the church take membership seriously? It’s interesting that repeatedly in the New Testament, elders are appointed to each local church and are given the charge to shepherd the flock of God. Church attenders are told to submit to their leaders (1 Pet. 5:1–2; Heb. 13:17). The important thing is that there is some measure of common agreement. In other words, this specific person is my pastor, these are my elders, and I belong to this particular local church in this local place. How can the elders shepherd, and how can the sheep submit without having something like “church membership” in place? If we are to heed these apostolic commands, then church membership (or whatever name you give it) is a biblical necessity.

– Church discipline: Does the church faithfully and lovingly practice church discipline (1 Cor. 5:1–13)? Jesus Christ introduced church discipline for the sake of his sheep (Matt. 18) so that they would be protected from wolves and truly loved and cared for by his appointed shepherds.

– Church officers: The Holy Spirit has gifted his church with the ordinary offices of ministers, elders, and deacons. Does the church view elders and deacons as essential for the ministry of the church? Furthermore, are qualified and godly men leading the church (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Tit. 1:5–11)? The biblical requirements for officers in the church stretch beyond mere ability.

– Church fellowship: In Acts, Paul tells us what the earliest Christians did when they met together as a church:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42, emphasis mine)

From this early witness in the New Testament, it is clear that God’s Word, the sacraments, and prayer are central elements of a church service. But it’s also true that real fellowship with the “communion of saints” is equally as important. Often this is one of those “marks” that is left out by neglect.

Fellowship, of course, begins as we are knit together by true faith in Jesus Christ from Sunday to Sunday, but it doesn’t stop there! True churches will experience true fellowship with one another, long after the official service is over.

These are the most important things to look for when you’re trying to find a regular place of worship for you or your family.

May the Lord bless you as you seek to worship him and be ruled by Jesus, the King of Kings.

Why You Should Go to Church Even When You Don’t Feel Like It

Posted on September 6, 2018 by John Samson

David Sunday, pastor of New Covenant Bible Church in St. Charles, Illinois: (original source here)

Friends, do you realize how vital it is to gather here together on the Lord’s Day, Sunday after Sunday? Satan loves to isolate us. This is a killer! Don’t neglect to gather together with God’s people in worship! You’re here today—but your presence here today is not just for today. It’s for five years from now. Twenty years from now. It’s for a time when you may find yourself alone in a cancer ward; or isolated from Christian fellowship in a desolate place; or in prison for your faith; or in terrible turmoil within your soul; or alone at home, in the middle of the night, after you’ve buried your loved one in the ground.

You cultivate the means of grace today for sustenance you may need way down the road.

There are seeds that are being planted today in your heart that may not blossom into full fruit until many days from now.

But your attendance in worship, your participation in baptism and the Lord’s Supper and confession and praise and thanksgiving and singing and intercession and hearing the preaching of God’s Word—it’s all being woven together by sovereign grace.

Through all these ordinary means of grace, God is weaving a tapestry of remembrance to sustain you in days to come, when your soul may be famished, when you may feel lost and alone—God will remind you then of something you heard, many years before; he will bring to your remembrance a song you had long since forgotten; a person who had taught you the Word of God; a face whose radiance in worship always inspired you; a faithful follower of Jesus who now has gone before you into his glorious presence—God will take sermons you’ve heard, and bear fruit from them in your life decades from now. You may not recall the exact content. But the good seed of God’s Word is being planted in the soil of your heart, and it will bear fruit in its season, just when you need it.

That’s why we meditate on the teachings of God in Scripture day and night. That’s why we gather in the house of God with the people of God week by week. We don’t do it just for the immediate benefit. We take the long view. We cultivate these rhythms of grace, we practice these disciplines of worship, so that when the years of drought come, we will remember: we will recall when our souls pour dry the days of praise within God’s house. And the very remembrance will sustain us.

Why I Abandoned Seeker Church

Posted on August 25, 2018 by John Samson

The testimony of Pastor Paul Carter – original source here.

I began pastoring in September of 1994 – right in the middle of the seeker sensitive craze. The first two churches I worked in were 100% on board with the program. We were contemporary, we were targeted, we had good signage and all our core values started with the letter ‘G’ – we were as seeker friendly as it was humanly possible to be.

Both those churches are gone now and the movement itself appears to be in terminal decline.

It was a season of my life but I am very glad that it is over.

There were a lot of good people in the movement and some very admirable motivations behind it but as I reflect on my experience it seems to me that the model was always doomed to fail for at least these 7 simple reasons.

1. Because you get what you fish for
The basic logic of the seeker sensitive movement was that we would get people in the door by playing contemporary music, singing contemporary songs, speaking contemporary jargon and addressing contemporary issues. Then at some unspecified point in the future we would transition into more meaty and substantial things.

It was your basic bait and switch operation and as you might imagine it never really worked out in practice.

The bottom line is that what you win people with is what you have to keep people with. If you market yourself as a church for people who don’t like church, then you can’t do churchy things without expecting significant pushback.

This is why most seeker churches never managed to exit the theological merge lane. If you sell them on Christianity Lite then you need to continue to offer Christianity Lite week after week after week. The logic of seeker church traps you in a spiritual reenactment of Waiting For Godot.

Count me out.

I’m all for front doors, but I’m also all for kitchens, hallways and dining rooms. Eventually you have to get to the meat but in the seeker churches I was a part of, it seems like we never did.

2. Because small groups aren’t the church
Of course the theory was that we would get to the meat in Small Groups. That was our mantra. We said that Sunday church was for visitors now and Small Groups would be for us. That’s what we said, but in truth I’m not sure how many of us ever believed that.

I must confess that I have had very few positive experiences in a Small Group. Most of the Small Groups I was forced to be a part of followed the same basic script. We got together, somewhat begrudgingly, once every other week except over the summer and anytime our meeting fell within 5 days of a Statutory Holiday. Which meant practically that we met 14-16 times a year.

We’d spend 15-20 minutes chatting and eating small cookies. Then there would be “a study”. The study was usually led by someone who had prepared while we were eating small cookies. His or her leadership usually involved reading the selected passage and then asking some version of the question: “So what do you guys think about that?” What people thought about that was often deeply disturbing. Thankfully the content portion was inevitably interrupted by the high needs person who insisted on turning every Small Group gathering into a personal therapy session. I usually zoned out during this portion of the meeting and fantasized about playing in the NHL.

After that we prayed, ate more cookies and went home.

It was generally not a transformative experience and it was certainly not a legitimate experience of church.

Small Group is not church.

Small Group is small and groupy – most of the Small Groups I was part of were organized around geography and demography – meaning we were all the same age and we all lived in the same middle class suburban neighbourhoods.

That’s not church.

Church is young and old, rich and poor, black and white, well educated and working class sitting side by side under the preached word of God and responding with praise, prayer and repentance. Continue reading →

Effectual Grace

A blog by John Samson

Category Archives: Ecclesiology