Seventeen82

Today, October 31, 2020, we remember 5 0 3 years ago  when German  m onk,  Martin Luther , nailed  his  N inety-five Theses  to the door  of All Saints’ Church in W i ttenberg which sparked the Reformation. It was a time of the rediscovery of the gospel of Christ, the authority of the Word of God and the centrality of preaching and teaching the Scriptures. The gospel  of salvation in Christ alone through faith alone  transformed the lives  of many as God’s Word spread across Europe. The newly recovered gospel not only impacted  individuals but  brought about renovation of worship according to Scripture . And  this resulted in an eventual over-haul of  gospel ministry and  church structures . But today is not just a day to look back on what  God did through the Reformation. It is a time to examine our own priorities and carefully consider our need for continual reformation, renewal and revival.  Recently...

Behold, how good a thing it is, And how becoming well, Together such as brethren are In unity to dwell. In unity to dwell, In unity to dwell, Together such as brethren are, In unity to dwell. As Hermon's dew, the dew that doth On Zion's hill descend; For there the blessing God commands, Life that shall never end. Life that shall never end, Life that shall never end, For there the blessing God commands Life that shall never end. Those of you with any connection for any length of time to the ARPC likely know that the end of Presbytery meetings and Synod are ordinarily concluded by singing those words of Psalm 133. If you are not careful, you might allow such singing to become rote, not relishing those words. Not carefully and prayerfully and meditatively giving thanks for them.  I served in the ARP for nearly 5 years before the Lord called me to take a call to a church in another denomination. I took that call (to assist a church that had just been through a major split) under th...

  Fathers and Brothers, Many of you will have received the letter I sent out previously titled “ A Plea to the GeneralSynod of the ARP Church. ” In that letter, I and some fellow ministers laid out some of our concerns about the position and trajectory of our denomination. This open letter is a post- Synod follow up to that first letter. I must confess that I went into our 2020 General Synod meeting expecting many of the concerns we had presented to be marginalized, dismissed, or ignored altogether. In God’s grace and goodness, he saw fit to adjust my expectations and provide instead a meeting of Synod that has renewed my hope for future and long-term faithfulness in the ARP. Here is why I am encouraged: Membership – Prior to the convening of Synod, Andy Putnam (Synod Parliamentarian) reached out to point out that the 22,393 membership statistic included in the Plea Letter reflected a re...

                Tensions are high. For Americans, one of the most highly volatile elections of our time is quickly approaching. For Christian’s, there remains a significant amount of uncertainty concerning the future of the American church and of our religious freedom. For many of us, it has become increasingly difficult to decide where we stand as both political parties seem to drift further and further from basic Christian principles, begging the question, “how should we interact with politics in a secular society?”             As we approach the celebration of the protestant reformation on Saturday, there are, I think, a number of similarities that are worth our consideration as we ask ourselves how we should interact with a politically dominant culture. While there are notable differences between 1517 and 2020, there are a surprising number of similarities. In ...

The Philistines had been mighty in battle. Surely the hand of the god, Dagon, had delivered them from the Israelites. Even the ark of the Israelite God, which the elders had brandished like a good luck charm, had been captured, and 30,000 Israelite soldiers had perished. The ark would go to the temple of Dagon in Ashdod. The priests of Dagon would oversee it — and so they placed the ark before the god of the Philistines. A proper judgment in their eyes. However, when the priests entered the temple the next morning, the idol of Dagon was lying on its face before the ark. The priests repositioned the statue, posturing the ark of the covenant once more before it, but again, when the priests returned the next day, Dagon had fallen prostrate once more, and this time, with its head and hands cutoff. Then the tumors came upon the Philistines. The lords of the Philistine cities gathered and determined that the ark must go from Ashdod to Gath, but the tumors followed with it. And so they sent t...

  Fathers and Brothers  – I bid you grace and peace from Bavaria, Germany. Unfortunately, my call to serve as a chaplain in the United States Army precludes me from attending Synod this year. As a minister of Catawba Presbytery, I do wish I could relish the joy of your presence in person. However, Lord willing and time zones permitting, I will observe Synod from afar via live web-cast.     My inability to attend Synod this year prompts me to write this letter. I am thankful for the opportunity to present this meager contribution to the discussion regarding the state of our church ’ s retirement plan. In one sense, I write as a person disinterested in the plan. As an Army chaplain, I do not contribute towards, nor do I expect to benefit from the pension plan. That said, I am very concerned with the problem and deeply vested in its resolution as it threatens the church that I, by God ’ s providence and grace, have grown to love. With that in mind, I humbly ask your pat...

  Fathers and Brothers,    As we prepare for the 216 th  meeting of the General Synod on Thursday and Friday, you will, no doubt, spend some time refreshing your memory and revisiting the notes you made as you wade back through all the reports in your packet. That’s because you want to be prepared (unless you’re like me and then you’ll just rely on the people around you to tell you what’s going on).    The packet contains a lot of great information and several items that promise to bring lively discussions. Besides the reports of the Blue-Ribbon Committee and the Special Committee on DMF Spending, I’m most interested in the allocations from the Board of Stewardship found in Index 32A.    The recommended allocation of 20% to the Minister’s Retirement Plan is an unfortunate necessity for the foreseeable future given the account’s current deficit. I respect the board’s willingness to take measures in conjunction with the recommendations of Blue-Ribbo...