My Friend Habib, Great Days and Grace Chapel in Markham

If you live in the Markham area it would be great to meet you this weekend at Grace Chapel. GC is a plant of Grace Fellowship Church pastored by Habib Sakr who will be set aside to the Gospel ministry this Sunday.

For information on service times and location, see below:

Services:
• Sunday Morning 10:30 am (Sunday School is available for children.)
• Sunday Evening 6:00 pm
• Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 pm

Place:
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites
7095 Woodbine Avenue
Markham, ON
L3R 1A3

Click here for Map and Custom Directions!

Two New Churches Are Born!

Tim recently posted on our longstanding prayer request at GFC for own meeting place for free. That request is one of many we gladly make every week as we gather to pray. Another thing we prayed about for many years was church planting.
Last Sunday night New City Baptist Church launched in downtown Toronto. It was a humbling experience to watch this new church be born. John Bell is leading the work and preached an excellent message from Matthew 16 challenging all of us to live like the Gospel is true. One of my favorite lines from his preaching: “Do you know what our biggest handicap is in evangelism? Who human beings are under sin.”
The Lord has been with this work so far and I cannot wait to see what He will do in the months and years to come.
Three weeks ago, we were able to launch a second church. Grace Chapel is pastored by Habib Sakr in Markham, a suburban area just north of Toronto. This work had a decidedly different birth than New City, but the Lord is clearly in it. Habib immigrated to Canada from Lebanon and was saved by God along the way. After many years of faithful associate pastor work, the time came for him to launch a new reformed and Baptistic church and amazingly, the Lord has gotten them up and going quickly. We were there for there first service where my brother preached an excellent sermon from Hebrews 11 on the faith of Noah. My favorite line from that sermon? “There was Noah before Noah. It was not like he had some model to follow!” That brought faith as humble reliance on God into a new light.
Please pray for us as we help both these churches move ahead. The lack of blogging around here has been in large part to the added work of helping these works begin. That has been absolutely joyful labour!

Are You Bored with Good Preaching?

A family came to GFC a few months ago and could not stop talking about how glad they were to "hear the Word again." I warned them, as I warn others in their situation, that they must guard their hearts from an over-zealous enthusiasm. Although it is great that they are being fed, even bland food feels like a feast to a malnutritioned man. What will they do when they have regained spiritual sustenance and find that the preaching is Biblical, yet quite average? If they train their senses to feel something is "good" only when they receive some kind of spiritual high, they could very well end up running from place to place looking for that high, not the Word.

There are still others that are so used to being well fed that when summer comes, or relatives visit or some other fancy strikes, they feel quite free to skip church to play.

Both these folks would do good to heed the careful wisdom of John Newton:

A Famine of the Word
Gladness was spread through Israel’s host
When first they Manna viewed;
They labored who should gather most,
And thought it pleasant food.
But when they had it long enjoyed
From day to day, the same;
Their hearts were by the plenty cloyed,
Although from heav’n it came.

Thus gospel bread at first is prized,
And makes a people glad;
But afterwards too much despised,
When easy to be had.
But should the Lord, displeased, withhold
The bread his mercy sends;
To have our houses filled with gold
Would make but poor amends.

How tedious would the week appear,
How dull the Sabbath prove?
Could we no longer meet to bear
The precious truths we love!
How would believing parents bear
To leave their heedless youth,
Exposed to every fatal snare,
Without the light of truth?

The gospel, and a praying few
Our bulwark long have proved;
But Olney sure the day will rue
When these shall be removed.
Then sin, in this once favored town,
Will triumph unrestrained;
And wrath and vengeance hasten down,
No more by prayer detained.

Preserve us from this judgment, Lord
For JESUS’ sake we plead;
A famine of the gospel word
Would be a stroke indeed!

Hymn 49 in Olney Hymns
John Newton

Church Government Models May Encourage the Toleration of Sin

In my pastoral theology class today we continued our study of what qualifies a man to be an elder. We have been systematically making our way through every single character qualification written in the New Testament. It is a humbling study!

In considering the command found in Titus to have “believing/faithful children,” one of my students made a keen observation. He commented how church government often impacts how we view these qualifications. For example, if our church government is something like one pastor, and a second board of deacons or elders or managers or what have you, there is an added pressure on the church to tolerate sin/disqualification in a pastor. Why? Because if the church were to remove the pastor, they are a ship without a captain!

However, if a church operates Biblically, with a plurality of elders (equal in standing, ministry and responsibility – albeit, to use Strauch’s term, there exists “a leader among equals”) then if one elder is disqualified (sad as this may be!) there is freedom to remove him without ripping apart the overall leadership of the church. Removing a solo elder is a much greater threat to the church. (This is partly why we wrote into our constitution that any time our local church is without 2 or more elders, the church must apply to a sister congregation to have their elders join the solo elder in leading our church.)

This is one more reason I think the Lord was quite right when he established two offices in the church – elder and deacon – and determined that both offices should be filled by a plurality of qualified men.

Strauch on Why You Should Hug In Church

I have argued for several years now that a time of greeting ought to be regularly included in the corporate worship services of God's people. This seems to bug a lot of folks, especially those who like to show up 2 minutes after a service begins and leave during a closing song! Others feel it is a disruption to their own focus on the Lord. But I would argue that this is a much too self-centered approach to worship.

Consider, for example, the one reason the New Testament gives us to sing in our corporate worship - "teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom." Singing is to be to one another in our church gatherings... it is not for your pleasure alone.

In like fashion, we need to participate in all aspects of corporate worship... corporately. Think of all the times Paul sent greetings to local churches. Have you ever noticed how many times he told them to "greet one another?" This is a Biblical command for Christians.

I do think there is cultural latitude on the application of the command. My father-in-law used to be a part of a denomination that took this Scripture quite literally and every service began with some smooching. Men kissed the men, and women kissed the women - and never the twain did meet! (Yes, on the lips... think of it in European ways and it is not so threatening... maybe...). Anyway, we don't kiss at Grace, but we often include a time in our worship of God to greet each other - and we try to teach our folks that this is more than "make the visitors feel welcome!" It is another aspect of our worship of God who exists in Trinitarian relationship.

Now, all of this is to introduce this quote from Alexander Strauch's new book "Leading With Love." I have been slowly making my way through this excellent work and trying to work on some weak and sinful areas of my life. But I loved this little section on the physical expressions of love in a church. So I have reproduced it to bless you!

Showing Physical Signs of Affection

One physical expression of Christian love is the “kiss of love,” and it is “one of the beautiful customs of the early Christians.” Peter urged his readers to “Greet one another with the kiss of love” (1 Peter 5:14), which is a practical outworking of his earlier instructions to love one another fervently as brothers and sisters:

• Love one another earnestly from a pure heart (1 Peter 1:22)

• Love the brotherhood (1 Peter 2:17)

• Above all, keep loving one another earnestly (1 Peter 4:8)

This “kiss of love,” which Paul also refers to as a “holy kiss,” is an outward, physical sign of “mutuality ... oneness of status and identity which all Christians share across divisions of race, class, and gender.” But it is a “holy” kiss, not a sensual kiss. It is to be expressed with respect and in all purity.

Whether we apply the “kiss of love” with an actual kiss, hug, or hearty handshake, we are commanded to greet brothers and sisters affectionately. Our greetings to one another should visibly express the reality of our family oneness and love. So let us not be impersonal, standoffish, or cold. Let us not take one another for granted. People need physical expressions of love as well as words of love. This physical expression of love is one concrete, practical way we live out the New Testament command to love “one another earnestly” (1 Peter 4:8).

John Stott, a naturally reserved and proper Englishman, has learned from his extensive world travels, especially to Latin America and Africa, to enjoy the affectionate physical embrace of fellow believers. In closing a letter to a friend, he quips: I “send you a greeting and a hug (I’m now a life-member of the Institute of Hug Therapy!).”

Paul too was a member of the “Institute of Hug Therapy.” At the end of Paul’s farewell message to the Ephesian elders, Luke records: “And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him” (Acts 20:37).

The children in our churches need to feel expressions of love too. Our Lord Jesus welcomed children. They were a joy to him. He was not too busy to pay attention to them. He touched, prayed for, and blessed them (Matt. 19:13-15). Mothers and children felt comfortable coming to Jesus because his nature was welcoming and affectionate. Let us also be protec¬tive of and loving toward children.

The local church is “the household of God” (1 Tim. 3:15) and should be filled with loving words and demonstrations of familial affection. Sadly, the atmosphere in some churches is more like a funeral home than a loving family home. There is little affection and warmth.

Legitimate emotional feelings are suffocated. People hardly know one another. They keep their distance, and the only display of affection is a speedy handshake before exiting the church doors. Such behavior is not authentic Christian brotherhood and sisterhood. It does not represent people who are faithful to the “new commandment.”

How to Get Started

To create a more loving atmosphere in your local church or in a group you lead, start by regularly praying for growth in love. Use these Scriptures as a guide in your prayers:

• And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more. (Phil. 1:9)
• And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. (1 Thess. 3:12)
• [I pray] that you ... may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. (Eph. 3:18-19)

Even if your church or group is a loving body, you always can excel still “more and more” in love (1 Thess. 4:10,). Teach what the Bible says about love. How often do people hear a careful exposition of 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 3:14-19 and 4:1-16, or 1 John 4:7-21? Most church-goers do not know the biblical demands of love and need in-depth teaching on this subject. Challenge the people you lead to grow in love.

An atmosphere of love doesn’t come by teaching alone. Church leaders need to model love. There are teachers, musicians, and others in the church who have voluntarily served for years. They need to know that their faithfulness to God and the congregation is appreciated. Express your gratitude to them and encourage others to do the same. There are people who clean, repair, and maintain the church building; don’t let them go unnoticed. They should be thanked verbally or with a gift or card. Don’t take anyone for granted. God doesn’t!

Don’t allow your church to be a place where members of the body of Christ have only superficial interaction, or worse, where they come and go without even speaking to one another. Again, it is your responsibility to lead by example. The church is not a business corporation, military institution, or government agency. It is the “household of God,” so act accordingly. Reach out to others in love. Greet them with a “kiss of love,” an affectionate hug, or a “holy handshake.” Make it a point to remember people’s names.

The church is to be a close-knit family of brothers and sisters who express Christ’s love to one another. It is to be a life-transforming community where people grow and become more like their loving Lord. Your church can become a more loving community and experience greater unity as you teach and lead with love.

From: A Christian Leader's Guide to Leading With Love by Alexander Strauch. (Lewis and Roth, 2006). Another critical work for pastors is Strauch's Biblical Eldership - I highly commend it to you!

Considering Special Needs in Church: Then shall the lame man leap like a deer

The girl talkers link to a great article by Peter Avery on how Christians ought to think about the disabled.

Matthias Media Briefing Web Extras: Then shall the lame man leap like a deer

Avery's quick 8 points are as follows:

1. God is responsible for people having disabilities
2. Disabilities are signposts of a broken and fallen world
3. God has a special concern for people with disabilities and special needs
4. God promises to restore fallen creation
5. Jesus breaks the power of sin and begins to restore creation
6. Jesus is the perfect priest who brings us salvation
7. God has given us his Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our restoration
8. We are to love the people with disabilities

I particularly appreciated this quote from his 8th point:

"We have many brothers and sisters in Christ who struggle with a whole range of disabilities—some more obvious than others. Some have frail bodies because of their age. Some suffer from mental illness. Some have physical disabilities, for example, blindness and deafness, which make participating in church hard. It's not easy for many who struggle. We must learn humility, patience, gentleness, and genuine love and care. Sometimes we will need to be firm. That's exactly what Leah needs when she wants to jump fully clothed into a bath full of water. Sometimes we will need to sit with someone and listen to them for a long time, rather than rush off to do something we want to do. Sometimes we will need to plan a visit to help with the mowing or the other jobs that our brothers and sisters cannot do. Sometimes we will need to open our homes to offer hospitality and friendship. Whatever we do in our fellowship, our weakest members must never be forgotten. They must always be included in everything, and encouraged to see that they have something unique to offer."

Encourage Your Pastor! Some Excellent and Practical Advice from the Prince of Preachers

I love my church. And not because I have to! I just love those whom the Lord allows me to serve. I can't wait for Sundays and Wednesdays, and I never get tired of telling others what the Lord is doing at my favorite place on earth.

Quite selfishly, one of the reasons I love my church is the great encouragement I get there. I am surrounded by men and women who purposefully seek to build up my faith and look for evidences of God's grace in my life. What is not to love?

I realize that is not always the case, however, and that is why I am posting the following. This is the third and final point of a sermon Spurgeon preached on October 18th, 1863, at the Cornwall Road Chapel, Bayswater. It is some of CHS's best stuff, as he speaks with a freedom on this topic that only such an occasion would provide.

Have you every purposefully and thoughtfully encouraged your pastor? I fear we spend far more time thinking about what we don't like rather than what little glimmer of good might be there. Perhaps you could go on an "encouragement hunt" this weekend, looking for ways to build up your brother? If nothing else, such strengthening will result in a stronger man, better preaching and more good for your soul!

It struck me some six weeks ago that I might say a few things to my brother's congregation which he might not like to say himself, and that as this was a new enterprise—and I am sure all our hearts anxiously desire it the very richest success—I might possibly take the liberty of saying a few things to you, the congregation clustering around this pulpit, which may be useful in the future of the Church. I shall speak of him as a stranger, as I should speak of any other young man anxious to build up a Church and glorify his Master. I believe there is a special occasion for the exercise of this duty of encouraging one another in the case of the minister and Church in this place. It is a fresh enterprise surrounded with peculiar difficulties, and demanding special labor. "Why," say you, "should a minister need encouraging? We have plenty of troubles all the week long, with our losses here, and crosses there, we want encouragements, but surely ministers do not." Ah! if you want to have a refutation of that idea you had better come into this pulpit, and occupy it a little time. If you would like to exchange, I would truly say that so far as the pleasure of my voice is concerned, apart from the spiritual joy my Lord gives me, I would change places with a crossing-sweeper, or a man who breaks stones on the road. Let a man carry out the office of a Christian minister aright, and he will never have any rest. "God help," says Richard Baxter, "the man who thinks the minister's an easy life." Why, he works not only all day, but in his sleep you will find him weeping for his congregation, starting in his sleep with his eyes filled with tears, as if he had the weight of his congregation's sins resting on his heart, and could not bear the load. I would not be that man in the ministry who does not feel himself so fearfully responsible, that if he could escape from the ministry by going with Jonah into the depths of the sea, he would cheerfully do it; for if a minister is what he should be, there is such a weight of solemn concern, such a sound of trembling in his ears, that he would choose any profession or any work, however arduous, sooner than the preacher's post. "If the watchman warn them not they shall perish, but their blood will I require at the watchman's hands." To sit down and spell over the question—"Am I free of his blood?" is terrible. I have sometimes thought I must have a day or two of rest, but I frankly confess that rest is very little rest to me, for I think I hear the cries of perishing souls, the wailings of spirits going down to hell, who chide me thus: "Preacher, can you rest? Minister, can you be silent? Ambassador of Jesus can you cast aside the robes of your office? Up! and to your work again." As Mr. Whitfield said, when he thought of the ministry, and what was concerned in it, he wanted to stand on the top of every hackney coach in London and preach the gospel as he rode along. It is a work so solemn that if you do not encourage your minister, your minister will probably sink down in despair. Remember that the man himself needs encouragement, because he is weak. Who is sufficient for these things? To serve in any part of the spiritual army is dangerous, but to be a captain is to be doubly exposed. The most of the shots are aimed at the officers. If Satan can find a flaw in our character, then it will be, "Publish it, publish it, publish it!" If he can lead us to keep back a doctrine or go amiss in practice, or wander in experience, he is glad enough. How delighted is the devil to break the vessels of mercy. Pray for the poor man, whom you expose to perish, if you do not preserve him by supplication. If there were a ship at sea stranded and broken on the rocks, and some one volunteered to carry a rope to the sinking crew, you, standing on the shore, could do no more, methinks you could not do less, than cry, "O God! help him to bear the rope to that wrecked ship." Pray for the minister and encourage him, for there are plenty to discourage him. There are always carping spirits abroad who will remind him of any fault; he will be afflicted by those dastards who will not dare to sign their names to a letter, but send it to him anonymously; and then there is the devil, who, the moment the man has got out of the pulpit, will say, "There is a poor sermon! You will never dare to preach again." After he has been preaching for weeks there will come a suggestion, "You are not in your proper sphere of labor." There are all sorts of discouragements to be met with. Professing Christians will backslide. Those who do remain will often be inconsistent, and he will be sighing and crying in his closet, while you, perhaps, are thanking God that your souls have been fed under him. Encourage your minister, I pray you, wherever you attend—encourage him for your own sake. A discouraged minister is a serious burden upon the congregation. When the fountain gets out of order, you cannot expect to find water at any of the taps; and if the minister be not right, it is something like a steam engine in a great manufactory—everybody's loom is idle when the motive-power is out of order. See that he is resting upon God and receiving his divine power, and you will all know, each Sabbath day, the benefit of it. This is the least thing you can do. There are many other things which may cause you expense, effort, time, but to encourage the minister is so easy, so simple a matter, that I may well press upon you to do it.
Perhaps you will say, "Well, if it be so simple and easy, tell us, who are expecting to settle down in this place, how we can encourage the minister here." Well, you can do it in several ways. You can encourage him by very constant attendance. By the way, looking round here, I think I know some of the persons present who belong to neighboring chapels. What business have you here? Why did you leave your own minister? If I see one come into my place from the congregation of another brother in the ministry, I would like just to give him a flea in his ear such as he may never forget. What business have you to leave your minister? If everyone were to do so, how discouraged the poor man would be. Just because somebody happens to come into this neighborhood, you will be leaving your seats. A compliment to me, you say. I thank you for it; but now, in return, let me give you this advice: these who are going from place to place are of no use to anybody; but those are the truly useful men who, when the servants of God are in their places, keep to theirs, and let everybody see that whoever discourages the minister they will not, for they appreciate his ministry.
Again, let me say by often being present at the prayer-meeting you can encourage the minister. You can always tell how a Church is getting on by the prayer-meetings. I will almost prophecy the kind of sermon on the Sabbath, from the sort of prayer-meeting on the Monday. If many come up to the house of God, and they are earnest, the pastor will get a blessing from on high; it cannot but be, for God opens the windows of heaven to believing prayer. Never fail to plead for your pastor in your closet. Oh, dear friends, when you mention a father's name, and a child's name, let the minister's name come forth too. Give him a large share in your heart, and both in private and public prayer, encourage him. Encourage him, again, by letting him know if you have received any good. Oh, if there should come into this house of prayer a sinner needing a Savior, and not knowing the way, and my brother's words shall point him to the Savior's cross; if he should be the means of showing you what faith means, and of leading you to believe in him who hath reconciled us unto God by his death, do not conceal the good news—come and tell it. The best way to do it will be by proposing to be united with the Church in fellowship. Our Church meeting-nights, when we receive fresh candidates into fellowship, are the harvest nights in the Christian ministry. Then we see how God's cause prospers in our hand. But if many in the Church who have been converted fail to let the minister know it, and hold back, how is the poor man to be comforted? I know I address some here—God's people—who have never made a profession. Suppose all God's people did as you do—and they have as much right to do it as you have—how, I ask you, would the ministry itself be maintained? How could ministers' hearts be kept from breaking, if they never knew of any conversion? Make haste. Do not put it off. Delay not to keep God's commandments, but come forward at once, and acknowledge what God has done for your soul.
Again, you can all encourage the minister by the consistency of your lives. I do not know when I ever felt more gratified than on one occasion, when sitting at a Church meeting, having to report the death of a young brother who was in the service of an eminent employer, a little note came from him to say, "My servant, Edward—is dead. I send you word at once, that you may send me another young man; for if your members are such as he was, I never wish to have better servants around me." I read the letter at the Church meeting, and another was soon found. It is a cheering thing for the Christian minister to know that his converts are held in repute. Of another member of my Church an ungodly employer said, "I do not think anything of him; he is of no use to anybody; he cannot tell a lie!" Oh, that is the honor which a Christian minister longs and pants after, to have consistent followers, to have those listening to him who will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
Gather round my brother, all of you, and encourage him, by earnestly aiding and abetting him in every good word and work. There is a neighbourbood here, I am told, requiring evangelization. Here we have, side-by-side, poverty and riches. Shall not yonder wretched potteries be the better for the building of this house of prayer. I am sure my friend Sir Morton Peto would think he had wasted his money, if it were merely for the gathering of a congregation, and not for improving the neighborhood. We build our houses of prayer always with a view to the people round about. We believe it is like opening a well in the wilderness, or a caravansary or oasis in the desert, or placing a drinking-fountain where thirsty souls may drink. It is introducing a new physician into the neighborhood to attend to the diseases and sickness of souls. Oh, how my heart yearns after the success of this house—not only because the minister is my brother, but because he is a valiant soldier of Christ. To preach the truth he has not hesitated to make himself a multitude of enemies elsewhere, and will not be ashamed to do the same here, if the same case should occur. I honor him, because he has honored my Master; and I expect that you will get from him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth—so far as God has taught it to him. I know he is ready to lay down his own neck for the conversion of souls. I know his earnestness to do anything for the conversion of sinners. And if you do not encourage him, you will bring down upon your head every curse of those who reject the prophet of God, but encouraging him, you will see a Church flocking around him which shall last long after our time, which shall be a perennial stream of benediction to ages yet unborn, until Christ himself shall come and consummate the kingdom, by reigning himself in person among the sons of men. May the Lord grant his blessing!
Some of you cannot encourage the minister. You can encourage no one, for you are not born again yourselves. Oh, if you have not passed from death unto life, the first thing that can encourage him is to begin to think about your own state. Where are you? What are you? Out of God, out of Christ, out of safety? You will be out of life and out of heaven—shut in the pit for ever, except you repent. Oh, you will encourage the preacher, if the Lord lead you to consider your ways and turn from sin and from self-righteousness too, and look to the Almighty Savior, able to save unto the uttermost all among you who shall trust him. May the Lord add a blessing, for Christ's sake. Amen.

Considering Special Needs in Church: The girl talkers Take On Discussing Moms of Kids With Disabilities

girl talk: Monday Miscellanies:

The girl talkers announced today that they intend to discuss moms of kids with special needs. What great timing ladies! I will be looking very much forward to this series.

From the teaser:

"On Mother’s Day, we offered encouragement to moms who were encountering trials of various kinds. While we couldn’t speak to everyone, there is a group of women we especially wanted to encourage. But we decided to wait until we could do it properly—or at least as best as we know how. So please join us this week as we talk to, honor, and learn from mothers of children with disabilities. We’re sure you’ll be inspired by their sacrifice and love for the precious children God has given to them."

HT: Eva Robinson

Considering Special Needs in Church: An Idea

I found this comment attached to that good post Tim wrote on Wednesday...

Our church has a ministry called Special Friends that my wife and I are a part of. About every 4-6 weeks we have a Respite night where families can drop off their special needs children and their siblings for an evening of games and stories while the parents go off and do what ever they like. Respite is open to the community and is a very effective outreach to the unchurched. Special Friends volunteers are also available to augment the regular child care during the church's worship services. This ministry is such a blessing to the parents of special needs children as well as to us volunteers! It is a very much needed ministry.

Stick that in your file of ideas of how one local church could minister to those families with special needs - both in your church and in your community.

Why We Must Be Clear On The Nature of the Gospel!

A family in my church brought this little postcard to our service last night to show me the kind of advertising that regularly hits their door.



The cheap knock off of a declining, immoral television show aside... it was the back of the card that just about made my teeth fall out!



In case you can't read it, please note the following. This church (whose name I have blocked off the image)* will have an Easter service - to talk about desperate housewives that live in their area. Presumably, there will be some funky twist to this story that leads to an altar call.

On the 29th of this month, this progressive, edgy, cool-cat congregation will have a PG-13 service to talk about sex. And just to get you out of bed that Sunday morning at 11, is the enticing prospect of a can of whipped cream for every couple! I am not making that up.

My guess is that the whipped cream is a little joke to entice sex-starved husbands to get to the service. There will be lots of nudge-nudging and winks and double-entendre... and the lucky participants will learn that the key to a good sex life starts in the kitchen when you learn to cook with your wife... or something absolutely ridiculous like that. You see, it is not about spraying whipped cream all over each other, it is about cooking! Time together! Isn't that lovely!

I am sorry. But it is this kind of confused attempt at evangelism that makes it absolutely essential we learn what the real Gospel is and how it must be presented.

This is a desperate church... and it seems to me that had best get their own household in order.

*UPDATE (4/5/07 3:07PM): Please forgive a major error on my part. I missed the name of the church in the written content on the back of the postcard. I have removed that image and if I have time I will post it again with that name removed. Thank you to commenters who caught that! I would have removed it sooner but I was teaching this morning and just got back to my computer.

UPDATE (4/5/07 3:20PM): I have posted a second scan of the image that removes any reference to the church name.

Helping Little Ones Learn to Sit in Church: A Few Practical Suggestions on Moving from Nursery to "Big Church"

One of the challenges every parent faces is teaching their small child to sit through a worship service. Although temperaments and dispositions vary, there are some very practical things you can do to help make the transition from the nursery to “big church.”

^· The best training begins at home. Having regular family devotions will do much to teach active listening and worship. Even the smallest ones can learn to quietly listen to the Word of God being read and to answer a few questions aimed at their age level and understanding. This learning will transfer right into “big church.”

^· You can “play church” and use a few minutes in the week to demonstrate to your child how to sit and pay attention while sitting on the sofa or in chairs. This is a great teaching time as there is none of the pressure to be quiet, etc! Besides, most kids love to play the part of “preacher!”

^· You can have a few “big church” rules that you rehearse with your child during the week. Maybe things like “No talking,” or “Sit still” etc. Every family can think through how they want to train their kids to be a part of God’s worship.

^· You may start keeping your child in “big church” for the first half of the service. Generally this includes the times of singing and prayer. You can then take them out to the nursery for the second half of the service. Over time, extend the times you keep them in “big church” and make it a goal for them to be able to get out of the nursery for good! It seems wise for you, not your child, to be the one who determines when it is time to exit and when it is time to stay in the service.

^· Do bring your kids to church on Wednesday nights. At Grace Fellowship Church, there is no nursery for the corporate worship time on Wednesday nights (it starts immediately after) so this is great training. The singing and prayer request time is all geared to the kids and teaches them some good skills for corporate worship.

^· Some children will find sitting in church easier if they are given a few books to read. One at a time and with growing breaks between each volume can be a good method. Other kids like to write. They can be encouraged to draw pictures of something they hear in the sermon. Still other families choose to avoid books and paper altogether. Think through what would work best to mentor your child.

^· You may consider encouraging good behaviour by rewarding it. Be sure to compliment even the smallest good choices you see and consider what might motivate your child in particular.

^· Expect a little rustling! Some adults can barely sit still for 5 minutes, let alone a 4 year old! We are used to a little noise and half the time no one hears it anyway. You may need to pull your child out of the service for disobedience, especially if it is loud, but try to keep encouraging good behaviour and participation. At GFC, we try to include the children in as much of the service as we can. You will be shocked to know how much a head that never looked up and a body that wiggled all morning actually took in!

^· Avoid using “big church” as nap time. The goal is to train our kids to be active participants in the worship of God.

^· Please do take your child out of the service if they get noisy. No one thinks you are a failure as a parent! We think you are... a parent... and a pretty good one at that! We have all had to do it and we all understand. Sometimes it is better to sit near the back when you have little ones that are being mentored in how to participate in worship. That gives you quick and easy access out of and back into the service. We do our best at GFC to save these back rows for families with little ones, but you may need to show up a little early to get your spot!

^· Don’t give up! You may have many weeks of things not going so well... but don’t despair! Parents have been doing this very thing for centuries and eventually your little one will figure it out with your training. What you are doing is such important work as you fit them for a life of sitting under the Word of God. Put a bad week behind you and don’t stop praying for the Lord to grant grace and help.

In all of this, remember part of the reason transferring into “big church” can be difficult:

“But children are unregenerate. They do not know God. There is a natural enmity in their hearts against him. Their boredom is not principally caused by their immaturity but because of their hearts of stone. This is to be combated by the loving lives of their parents, regular family devotions in which they become familiar with the teaching of the Bible, the language of prayer and they are confronted with their need to be born again. Their parents' love, respect and enthusiasm for the church services, the pastor and his preaching will be contagious. They will admire and hear the one to whom their parents pay such attention. But where the parents themselves are bored - or just one parent - then there is little hope for the children becoming gripped with the most exciting message in the world - the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When children have been taught to sit still at home, and hear the word of God read each day, and listen to parents coming with thanksgiving and petition to a heavenly Father who cares and provides every good thing the children experience, then they sweetly learn to be still during a sermon on Sunday morning, and to cry from their childish hearts to the Lord for help to worship and serve him, the living God.”

- Geoff Thomas, Banner of Truth Magazine, in an article entitled, “A Child Was Bored in the Service” accessed on Aug 8, 2006 from http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?218

A Church for the City

Reformation21 » A Church for the City:

"From Charles Spurgeon, 'The First Cry from the Cross':

'These places of worship are not built that you may sit here comfortably, and hear something that shall make you pass away your Sundays with pleasure. A church in London which does not exist to do good in the slums, and dens, and kennels of the city, is a church that has no reason to justify its longer existing. A church that does not exist to reclaim heathenism, to fight with evil, to destroy error, to put down falsehood, a church that does not exist to take the side of the poor, to denounce injustice and to hold up righteousness, is a church that has not right to be. Not for thyself, O church, dost thou exist, any more than Christ existed for himself. His glory was that he laid aside his glory. . . . . To rescue souls from hell and lead to God,, to hope, to heaven, this is [the church's] heavenly occupation. O that the church would always feel this!'"

Church Hopping and Boring Pastors

I was talking with a friend last week from out of town who told me they had just started attending their 5th church in 15 years. I thought more about this after our conversation and concluded that North Americans are just too consumer-driven when it comes to “finding a good church.” That is, until I thought through each transition of my friends.
In each instance, these dear folks were part of a church where the leadership began to change their ministry “style” or “philosophy” while they were there. In other words, the church itself changed – either doctrinally or methodologically. The church they committed to was not the same church they felt constrained to leave.
Now, without going into all the details, suffice it to say that the changes that took place in each case were substantial. You won’t get any argument from me against sempre refomata! But, always reforming is not the same thing as flip-flopping or trading in your sermon for a drama and a song.
My own view (for what it’s worth) is that churches whose leaders feel compelled to re-invent themselves every few years will never grow deep in spiritual matters – unless that change is toward instrumental prayer, expositional preaching, genuine worship, vibrant community, personal evangelism and Spirit-empowered obedience to the commands of Christ.
I pity folks who spend their entire Christian life having to learn the next “key” or “secret” every 5-8 years! These trends have grown almost predictable. In my day it has gone Gotthard, to Crabb, to PromiseKeepers, to Openess, and now Emergent. Each one building on the other in the sense of looking for some elusive sense of meaning – apart from instrumental prayer, expositional preaching, genuine worship, vibrant community personal evangelism and Spirit-empowered obedience to the commands of Christ.
We need men who will be content to lead by faithfully doing the essential tasks of a pastor as outlined in the Scriptures. There may not be much publicity or book contracts with that approach – nor stubble and straw to kindle the fire in the day of judgment.