Seventeen82

Pastor Corner - February 28, 2021  “I’m too busy!” is an excuse you hear a lot today. Much of this is because people let their lives run them rather than them running their lives. Patrick Lencioni, in his book,  The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family , describes our modern home life as “far too reactive, frantic, and unfocused.” When we say we are “too busy” or “don’t have enough time,” is it because we are maxed out in our schedules or letting the things of life dictate our priorities? If so, this can have disastrous effects on our marriages, our children, and even our work. However, the critical area we must examine is our relationship with Jesus.  You can treat Jesus like some teenagers do their grandparents. It is always good to see them, but often you have other things to do. There is an assumption that they will always be there. Often it is sad when these teens come to a day those grandparents are gone. Jesus and church may be something you are thinking you can get back to one

Extend the Free Offer  Announcing the gospel without “differentiation or discrimination” (Cannons of Dort, II.5) lies at the heart of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The founding of the Associate Presbytery at  Gairney  Bridge, near Kinross, Scotland on December 6, 1733 with Ebenezer Erskine, James Fisher, William Wilson, and Alexander  Moncreiff  was in a large measure due to a distinction of making the free offer of the Christ and the gospel known. This was set in contrast to a creeping trend toward hyper-Calvinism in the Church of Scotland of their day, in which the offer of the gospel was restricted to the elect. The Seceders, as they became known, affirmed God’s free and sovereign grace in salvation apart from human merit or status. They also proclaimed the gospel freely without distinction or discrimination to all who would hear. They helped establish a Church that was not only thoroughly Presbyterian, but thoroughly evangelical.  The Bible is replete with our privile

  This past Sunday, I looked out into the sanctuary and saw a growing group of believers. They were enjoying one another’s company. They were talking about the Sunday school lesson or the sermon. They were telling stories about life and laughing together. It was a great thing to see. I started thinking, “What brought that person here?” as I looked at each family. Many things help someone to walk through the doors of your church building for the first time. As an introverted over-thinker, I can worry about walking into a hardware store for several days before I finally do it. How much more difficult is it for someone to come to a church full of strangers for the first time? Over the past 6 years of church planting, I’ve discovered a few simple things that will help folks to break down those barriers before they even walk in the door. It’s no-brainer stuff, but sadly, we often bonk on the no-brainers.  Create a Church Website “We don’t have anyone who can build a website.” That may be tr

    It was around 11 o ’ clock on a sunny, midweek day in February  —  more springlike than winter in Florida  —  and I had made a run for it.  I had taken the backroads, hoping to go unnoticed, as much as I could driving a cherry red Eagle Talon.  Had I become too cavalier?  No.  I had been  confident , and confidence is what seals the victory.  I had even waved nonchalantly to the vice principal as I walked to my car and drove away from my high school.  Confidence had sealed the victory.  I was a good kid.  I had a good family.  Good kids from good families don ’ t do things wrong.     The backroads worked, mostly.  The two-lane scenic  “ highway ”  through the orange groves didn ’ t have much oncoming traffic  —  but, unfortunately, uncharacteristically, completely unpredictably  —  it did have my mom, driving to work late that day.  I noticed her car before she noticed mine, and just in time to shelter my face, as much as one can behind a windshield.  Confidence is what seals the v

  “It’s Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Or you could say, ‘Boyce Memorial ARP church.'” “Excuse me? I’m not sure what you’re saying.” “When you gave the welcome  this morning  you said welcome to Boyce Memorial Presbyterian church. We’re not just a Presbyterian church. We’re ARP.”  I was newly pastor to that sweet fellowship, and newly ARP. Those words, at the time, struck me as odd, but now (after having left and returned again to the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church) as a blessed picture of the nature of the ARP. We are different. We have our own great history, and own blessed ethos. We are not a picture nor product of the American Presbyterian system, but a harkening back to the “old land” Presbyterians. We have over 200 years of history and ethos, and of this, we should hold fast and be rooted in them. History and ethos. Ethos and history. I have elsewhere written  concerning my delight in returning to the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP). That delight

                             2020 was a different year for all of us. A previously unheard-of virus spread across the globe, killings thousands and functionally shutting down entire societies. For the church, the Covid-19 virus provided its own unique challenges. For many of our churches, an adequate response to the virus required an overhaul of the way we’ve always done things. Of course, this shift led to extensive online discussion about the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ of worship in the midst of pandemic. One of the most important questions to arise out of these discussions is the question of worship. More specifically, is online worship truly worship as defined by the Scriptures?             Before I attempt to answer that question, I believe that we can make a few important distinctions that clarify this discussion. First, there is, I believe, an important distinction between public (or corporate) worship and private (or personal) worship. When we examine the Scriptures, it quickly be

  Twenty years ago Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton released the findings of their study yon youth and religion stating that the default religion of modern adolescence is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). In this religion a god exists that created and watches over the earth; this god wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other; this god is not directly involved in the daily lives of humans; the goal of life is to be happy; and good people go to heaven when they die. This god is not the God of the Bible, yet they showed MTD cannot stand on its own as a religious structure. It needs a community from which to steal life and vitality, so “its adherents are affiliated with traditional faith communities but unaware that they are practicing a very different faith than historic orthodox Christianity.”  While unwilling to speak into other major religions Smith and Denton do speak directly to Christian traditions by saying,  We have come with some confidence to believe th

  What’s the Deal with Covenanting? A Very Short Primer By Rev. Benjamin Glaser       Given the political changes we’ve seen over the past several months I have had some folks inquire with me, the token Covenanter in the ARP, about what this whole doctrine is, where do I see that in the Bible, and why does any of it matter other than as historical curiosity. In this short essay I cannot give a full weight and defense, but my hope is that whetting the whistle will get you thirsty enough to dive into William Symington, or even read some Covenanter sympathizers like Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine, or my personal favorite (and whose image adorns my study wall at church) Alexander Moncrieff.       The ARP has a very rich history of political theology and we limit ourselves by not drinking deeply at this well. We do not ask enough questions, allowing the world too much leeway in instructing the people of God in how to think about partisan politics, defining for us what a "Christian nati