Seventeen82

          When I was in youth ministry, numbers reigned supreme as the goal and motivation. The goals on paper say super spiritual things like, “Growing in Christ” and “Loving Community” and my personal favorite, “Effective and Improving Ministry.” All of those things are great, but when I saw a stakeholder, they always asked, “How many did you have Sunday?” It’s definitely easier to count heads than it is figuring how effective I am. So rather than fight it, I bent the knee to King Numbers. You might now expect a story about the crowds I drew, but that never happened. We hovered around the average ratio for a church our size and I considered my ministry ineffective and unimproved. After 10 years of full-time youth ministry in two churches, I decided youth ministry was finished with me.      After planting our church ( Redeemer Community Church in Murray, KY), I still have regular flashbacks to my youth ministry days. They always come in the...

  One of the joys of ministry is connecting with people in the church.  We rejoice in seeing newcomers delight in the life of the church and we are encouraged when we see the church organically value the ministry of engagement.  We cultivate genuine love for one another that spans generations, demographics, professions, and hobbies.  We hold seriously our vows at the sacrament of baptism and we mourn with hope and confidence in the passing of the saints.  We connect because the Holy Spirit has united us in Christ.  We are nourished in the corporate worship and through the fellowship of the body.  But what happens when the fellowship stops?   When the various stages of  “ shutdown ”  began in the spring of 2020, churches were forced to make rapid decisions on how to operate and to rapidly consider opportunities for digital engagement.  And while safety-conditioned in-person worship services resumed shortly thereafter in many areas, t...

Do It Again D uring a Day of Prayer gathering in our sanctuary  last week , a man  went to the microphone with a brief prayer captured by his final words, “Lord, do it again.”  He prayed for  God to come down in power  with spiritual refreshment.  This is the kind of prayer needed in our day.  The longing of the people  of  God  in most every age is  for th e  Lord  to bring gracious and genuine revival .  As t he sons of Korah  reflected upon the  spiritual landscape of their day ,   they  yearned for  God to step in to their circumstances   and intervene , “ will you not revive us again…? ” (Psalm 85:6).  During the mid-1980’s  I heard a political commentator , Cal Thomas,   mention  that “the kingdom of God does not arrive on Air Force One.” While we need good civil leaders, King Jesus is most needed in our day . W e  earnestly desire  our Sovereign Lord t...

  In times  of unrest and  frenzy, we all tend to  forget our grounding. Just yesterday I received a phone call at the church that our power bill was two months past due and our power was about to be turned off. Thankfully, not having any authority to pay the power bill and not being that reacti onary  of a person, I stepped back and consulted all the wisdom  (people and resources)  at my  disposal  in order not to pay the bill immediately over the phone.  I called our treasurer and our treasurer called the power company. Easy enough. I t was a scam.   I’m glad I consulted the right people and resources.  In a few short minutes the truth was known and we could move on with our day. Those who trust in Jesus need to use the same  non-panic inducing  wisdom for daily, faithful living, and our God has given us his trustworthy , clear channels by which  he  pours his grace and favor: the means of grace.  Cha...

  (The Following is a letter from the moderator of the ARPC to the denomination) Call to Prayer from the Moderator Dear Friends in Christ, Scripture teaches that God ordained civil government on Earth and that He requires us to honor this ordinance and pray for and be subject to those who lawfully exercise the offices of civil government. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul writes, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone-for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." The Westminster Confession of Faith echoes this teaching when it states that we have a duty to pray for magistrates (WCF 23.4). In keeping with this duty, I invite you to join me on January 20 (Inauguration Day) in praying for peaceful transition of civil authority in the United States and for national, state, and local leaders, and let us also continue to pray for the leaders in our churches who...

This past Lord's Day, I began preaching a new series of sermons on Romans 12 and 13 during our morning worship service. These are, of course, well-known chapters in Paul's letter, and in particular the first two verses of Romans 12 are favorites for many: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Our presbytery hosts a youth camp each summer, and in 2019 these verses were the theme for camp that week. My oldest daughter (who turns 11 tomorrow!) still has the t-shirt from that camp, which serves as a reminder of Paul's admonition to the Roman Christians. Yet it's the phrase near the beginning of verse 1 that is so striking: "by the mercies of God." Verses 1 and 2 fo...

"There is  therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus..." Romans 8:1 is one of the most hopeful verses for sinners like me. There are other verses, of course, that offer this same hope (e.g. Ps 103:12; 1 John 1:9; Col  2:13 —and many more), but those words, “No condemnation,” ring loudly in my ears. It’s not that sins being removed and forgiven don’t ring loudly too; but “no condemnation,” as I read those words ring sweetly and loudly and resonate—probably because I need them so. Many many things condemn me. My memory. My conscience. My heart. My tongue. My actions. God’s Law. The accuser. These all stack up and weigh me down like Christian with his burdens on his back. “Lord, I am  the  sinner.” “No condemnation.” “But Lord, I am the  chief   of sinners. “ “No condemnation.” “Lord, my iniquities have gone  over my head .” “No condemnation.”[1] Of course, there is no condemnation only for those “in Christ Jesus”—that is, unite...

             One of my favorite quotes is by D.L. Moody, and you are probably aware of it. One time a lady criticized his way of preaching the gospel and doing evangelism, and after some questioning this older woman admitted that she hadn't actually ever done much of the later. Moody responded with, "I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it."       The world of the late 19th century was a cesspool of Sabbath desecration, antinomianism, and growing sexual licentiousness. The Church was giving itself over to the doctrines of hell found in Darwinism, Freud, and Wellhausen. There was even an election controversy ravaging the United States. And yet the cultured smart people were chastising men like Moody and other evangelists for having the audacity to call out the world for its wickedness. They didn't like "how" they went about it. Wanted them to be winsome and oratorically pretty, so the smart people talked ...

  The late and great country singer, John  Prine , passed away this  past  year, another one of the sad Covid-19 statistics. Each number in the tally represents so much more than a number.  Prine  was rightly called a master singer-songwriter. One of my  Prine  favorites is, “Hello in There . ”    We had an apartment in the city Me and Loretta liked living there Well, it'd been years since the kids had grown A life of their own, left us alone John and Linda live in Omaha And Joe is somewhere on the road We lost Davy in the Korean war And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore   You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"   Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more She sits and stares through the back door screen And all the news just repeats itself Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen Someday ...