Seventeen82

I wrote the below post on three essential commitments the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC) needs to make regarding church planting five years ago, while finishing up my term as Chairman of Catawba Presbytery's Committee on Church Extension. I repost it today because it is more relevant now than it was in 2017. Recent research reveals that the number of "nones" -- those not affiliated with any religious faith -- continues to rise in America. And, none of us have to be convinced that the Church's influence on the broader society has waned significantly in the last 5 years. Here are two statistics that are telling.  First, the percentage of the population of my county -- Chester County, SC -- who do not identify with any religion has ballooned to somewhere near 50% at present, and it continues to rise. This is shocking given that our county is located squarely within the region of the country commonly referred to as the Bible Belt. If this is the case for us...

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 ge...

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 Bibl...

  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 ...

    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 befo...

  “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...

                             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...