Are We an Outward or an Inward Looking Church?

 “We are outwardly focussed. We believe our community is a mission field. We do not exist for ourselves, but for the glory of God and our neighbours’ salvation.”  That is a quote taken from the website of the Providence Canadian Reformed Church in Hamilton, Ontario.  Do you agree with that statement?  I believe that the last sentence is Biblical, but do our churches have this outward focus?  Can we apply the other two sentences to our own congregations?  To ourselves? We may believe that our community is a mission field, but can we honestly say that we are outwardly focussed? Are the Canadian Reformed Churches outward or inward looking?  Can we remain confessionally Reformed and be outward focused?

Rev. Wes Bredenhof, pastor at Providence, and blogger at Yinkahdinay, is writing a series of articles under the title, Outward Looking Church: Current Craze or Christ’s Commission?  I have certainly appreciated these articles, as it is no secret that I am one of the vocal proponents within the Canadian Reformed Churches for our need to become more outward looking, while remaining confessionally Reformed.  I appreciate Pastor Bredenhof’s candor, his high view of scripture, and his outward focus.

With his grace-driven, gospel-sharing  emphasis, Pastor Bredenhof will almost certainly upset two distinct groups of people in our federation of churches. Those who are comfortable with the status-quo and enjoy living in the bubble of our quiet corner of the Dutch reformed sub-culture, as well as those on the opposite end of the spectrum who want to dismantle the organs, burn the confessions and Genevan tunes, and hyper-contextualize ourselves to the society around us.

I fully support the view he presents and the argument he is making, and I rejoice that the predominately inward focus of our Churches in the past appears to be changing by God’s grace.  We serve a faithful God!

We can be confessionally Reformed in the fullest sense, and be outward looking churches.  You don’t have to choose between one and the other.  There are Reformed missionaries who have the Three Forms of Unity, not only as their confessional basis, but also as a powerful missionary tool.  Around the world in the most surprising places, there are Reformed churches who are not only NOT ashamed to sing the psalms (and even with Genevan melodies), but they delight in doing so.  So let me lay my cards on the table at the outset:  I am going to argue that not only can confessionally Reformed churches be outward looking and be healthy – they must be outward looking in order to be healthy. ~ Wes Bredenhof

Read part one here.

Read part two here.

 

Does Reformed Theology Cause Neglect of the Great Commission?

Anonymous states: “Reformed theology is fundamentally flawed in that it’s high view of the sovereignty of God creates a mindset among believers that neglects the great commission.”

If you are not a Reformed Christian, like my anonymous friend, you may have made that or a similar charge ( or at least thought it) against Reformed Churches and believers.  Let me assert that the Reformed belief that God is sovereign in grace and in salvation should not affect evangelism. Reformed theology teaches that evangelism is necessary, because no one can be saved without the gospel.  Salvation depends on faith, and faith on knowing the gospel. God’s way of saving sinners is to bring them to faith through bringing them into contact with the gospel. So, evangelism is necessary if anyone is to be saved.

The Canons of Dordt  is a Reformed document written to refute the Remonstrants. It was never intended to be the all encompassing “Calvinist” theology, but this is where the “doctrines of grace,” more commonly (and crudely) known as the “5 points of Calvinism,” originated.  These 5 points, best known by the acronym “TULIP,” have been abused and misused by both “Calvinists” and opponents of Calvinism alike.  While it does not completely define Reformed Theology, it does have it’s place in defining the Reformed  doctrine of salvation.  And it does speak of evangelism.

Let me quote Kevin Deyoung:

The Canons of Dort—if it’s known at all—often gets a bad rap. It’s considered by some to be too dogmatic, too scholastic, and too harsh. People outside of the Reformed camp don’t agree with its high view of divine sovereignty and especially its teaching that Christ died particularly for the elect. People within the Reformed camp often don’t read the points of doctrine carefully and sometimes aren’t comfortable with what they know (or think they know!) about them. And hardly anyone hears “Canons of Dort” and thinks, “Ah, yes, missions!” But it’s in there.

COD Second Head of Doctrine, Article 5

Moreover, it is the promise of the gospel that whoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish but have eternal life. The promise, together, with the command to repent and believe, ought to be announced and declared without differentiation and discrimination to all nations and people, to whom God in his good pleasure sends the gospel.

What a beautiful statement. And notice the carefulness of the language.

• The promise we ought to announce is the good news of eternal life in Christ. And not just Christ but specifically “Christ crucified.”
• This promise should be announced together with the command to repent and believe. It isn’t enough to make an open promise. We must make known the means of entering into this good news: faith and repentance.
• This message should be announced to all nations and people. We must not differentiate or discriminate. Everyone needs to hear this saving gospel.
• Ultimately, that anyone receives this good news and than anyone hears it in the first place, is a testimony to God’s grace. It is according to his good pleasure that the gospel goes forth.

So the document that we get our so called “5 points” from, the one that gets beat up by other Christians as being anti-missional, anti-evangelical, and anti-great commission, in fact demonstrates that Reformed Theology is missional, evangelical, and pro-great commission.  So to answer the question…

No. Reformed Theology doesn’t cause neglect of the Great Commission.

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Romans 10:10-17

Why Cities Matter (and Let’s Plant a Church in Burnaby)

After we were married, my wife and I lived, worked, played and went to church in Surrey, BC – Canada‘s 5^th most populous city.  After 5 years of marriage and suffering 2 miscarriages, we assumed that we would never be blessed with children to raise, so we were discussing moving to the big city, Vancouver, and becoming lifetime DINK’s (dual income no kids).  Since Teresa worked in downtown Vancouver, it would not have been a difficult transition for us. We were well on our way to a lifestyle of eating out, karaoke, pubs, movies, etc. But then our whole lives changed in a flash…Teresa became pregnant…and stayed pregnant…and we were blessed with a little baby girl and our self-centered lives were changed forever.  The 2 seater pickup truck was traded in (reluctantly) for a minivan, and instead of moving from Surrey to a downtown Vancouver condo near all the amenities and night life, we move 100 kilometers east and now live in a house near a farm and not much else.

 My family moved from the city to the country. I never saw it coming.  But similar stories, with different details of course, are fairly common in my church. Though it seemed dramatic, drastic and “crazy” to me…we essentially went with the flow and followed most of the other young families in our churches. You see, I attend a denomination that, out here in BC, has seen a mass exodus from the urban centers of New Westminster and Surrey to the rural pastoral settings of the Fraser Valley.  In fact there is no longer a congregation in New Westminster as that congregation packed up and moved to Surrey as the members moved east across the Fraser River. This same congregation, now located in Surrey, has dwindled from 270 members when I joined as a member in 1998 to 145 members in 2013 – mostly due to an exodus east by members looking for cheaper homes away from the urban centers.

However, recently there has been a push to plant a church in Burnaby, a city which borders the bustling metropolis of Vancouver.  In Burnaby there is a small group of people meeting for Bible study who would love to form a church.  I heartily applaud this effort and approve of a church plant in Burnaby– but if you know me, I am all about evangelism and outreach (and I am still secretly infatuated with the big city – but don’t tell anyone!).  As well, there is something that does not sit well with me when Bible believing churches shut their doors or see their membership dwindle; especially in urban centers where there are so many lost people who are hungry for the truth.

I recently read the book “Why Cities Matter” by Stephen Um and Justin Buzzard.  Stephen Um is pastor of City Life Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Boston.  Justin Buzzard is Lead Pastor of Garden City Church (Non-denominational-Reformed) in the Silicon Valley.  When this book crossed my desk, I was eager to read it because of the above mentioned exodus of Canadian Reformed Churches out of urban centers. The authors share what the book is about so I will quote them here:

The first chapter seeks to answer the question, “What is the importance of cities in our world today?” We consider the past, present, and future of cities, along with some basic categories for identifying a city. Chapter 2 looks at the way that cities function, and asks, “Why do cities play such a crucial role in our world?” We find that there are several common characteristics that explain the cultural prominence of cities in our world today. The crucial task of determining what the Bible says about cities is taken up in chapter 3. Then, in the last three chapters, we consider various issues that face those seeking to minister in our world’s cities: chapter 4 looks at the topic of contextualization; chapter 5 explores how we should relate to our city’s dominant storyline; and chapter 6 thinks through the development of a ministry vision for your city. (p. 20)

The authors argue that a major contributing factor in the success of the Reformation was the growth of densely populated cities and the development of technologies within the cities. They claim that the reformation was “a uniquely urban event.” With the invention of the printing press, tracts and Bibles easily spread throughout densely populated cities and towns. Of course I would argue for the Holy Spirit, but I understand the point they are making.  “The city stands as one of our great hopes for renewing our broken world” (p. 17).  This claim was what really caught my attention, especially as people in my denomination (in the west at least) leave urban centers for rural settings. This statement is central to the argument in the book. While it is an interesting and intriguing statement, my concern was whether this statement could be proven Biblically, or if it is merely a sociological argument.

“… we can see that the optimism of the new urbanist is based in part on the reality that cities are ideal places for human flourishing. We see this in the Psalms where the creational language of flourishing (“springs of water”; “fruitful yield”; “multiply greatly”) is connected with an earthly city that the Lord provides for his people (107:4–9, 35–38). The prophet Jeremiah is unafraid to connect the flourishing of an exiled people with the well-being of a pagan city (“in its welfare you will find your welfare,” Jer. 29:7). In the same way, we can look at the welfare of our present-day cities and find both the blessing of God’s common grace and the foreshadowing of the promised final city.” (p. 52)

OK.  I get what they are saying.  I can see the validity of the link that they are making between these texts and the emphasis that is being placed on urban missions.   However occasionally the connections they attempt to make appear to be a little bit contrived. An illustration of this is when they make a case for the importance of cities based on Jesus’s birth taking place in Bethlehem (p. 67).  Bethlehem was more like Chilliwack than Burnaby…it was not a tiny place, but it was hardly a bustling urban center.
The third chapter is where they make a strong Biblical case for the city. What the authors do, is effectively retell a shortened version of the historical spread of Christianity in an urban context. The analysis of Paul’s missionary strategies (pp. 73-76) and the new city of Revelation 21 (pp. 80-83) are points which were strongly presented by the authors. They show how Paul strategically plants churches in the hubs of culture, religion, power, and trade in his day; and the Bible ends with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. They effectively make the argument that the city certainly does play a role in the advance of the gospel.

Having shown that  historically Christianity has grown in urban settings, they then spend two chapters on the question of how to contextualize Christianity to serve the city.  This starts with understanding the city itself on its own terms. They state that Christian’s tend to make two very different but equally damaging mistakes in their approach to the city: abandoning their worldview or privatizing their worldview.   Both of which are nothing more than over-contextualization and under-contextualization, respectively. They argue that if we are to properly, biblically, contextualize Christianity, it starts with knowing the city’s story. Some questions they suggest asking include:

1. What is your city’s history?
2. What are your city’s values?
3. What are your city’s dreams?
4. What are your city’s fears?
5. What is your city’s ethos?

In the 6^th chapter the authors get to the meat of the book: Ministry vision for the city.  I was concerned about this as I assumed (never assume) that the contextualization they were speaking of would be to change the gospel message to fit into the context of the city.  But I was pleasantly surprised to read a solidly reformed view of urban missions.  Here is a quote:

City churches must connect people to God through the gospel.  They can do this best through gospel centered, evangelistic, corporate worship.  Clear contextualized worship services that place the good news of Christ at their center are the bread and butter of the faithful city church.  Our speech, prayers songs, liturgy, and preaching must all be shaped by the good news of what God has done for His people in redemptive History. (p. 138)

I found the book to be very intriguing and well written.  It is easy to read, and while I found the occasional biblical connection to be forced, I do highly recommend the book. Being a member of a rural congregation, I am sure that many of my brothers and sisters will not find the book as interesting as I did.    However the authors of this book certainly show, Biblically, why the church should seek opportunity to spread the gospel to the city.  After all, there are many people seeking the truth, and we have it…let’s share it.  Let’s not keep it to ourselves in a locked barn on the farm, let’s release it into the urban jungle.

After reading this book, I am more convinced now that the Canadian Reformed Churches should plant a church in Burnaby.

Purchase your copy of “Why Cities Matter” Here.

How I Evangelize My Workplace.

A reader emailed me about his desire to share the gospel with his coworkers, but he had no idea how to do it. To paraphrase  he said, “I am scared to share the gospel. How do you do evangelism at work?”

Let’s first define evangelism. Evangelism is the communication of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. It includes a warning, an explanation, and a call. A warning about sin and the consequences of sin. An explanation of God’s remedy for sin—the gospel. And it includes the clear call to repent (turn from sin and to turn toward God) and believe the gospel by faith. What this  means is that simply living a Christian life is not evangelizing, being a person of integrity is not evangelism, giving someone a bible is not evangelism (if they actually read it then perhaps it is…), cooking food for the needy is not evangelism, telling someone that God loves them is not evangelism.  All these are important, but if we boil it down, there are really only three parts to biblical evangelism:

1. Share the whole gospel message.
2. Call people to repent of their sins and trust in Christ’s work for salvation.
3. Oh wait…That’s it.  I guess there are only two points.  Then let the holy spirit work. After a person repents and believes, then begins the lifelong process of discipleship and sanctification…(join a church, get baptized, learn, grow…etc.)…

Pretty simple huh?  That is evangelism in a nutshell. Now, that is all fine and dandy, but I know that is not what you were asking me.  You were asking me how to do it.  How do I do evangelism at work?  Do I simply walk up to my coworker s and beat them over the head with the bible?  Do I wear a sandwich board that says “The end is nigh?”  Do I get up on my soapbox with my bullhorn and do some “street preaching” on the Campus Green space? If I did these things at work I would lose my job really quickly, be escorted off property by security, and in the process I would lose my opportunity to reach these people any further with the gospel message.  Don’t lose the opportunity to share the gospel because of well-meaning but misplaced zeal!  So this is how I do workplace evangelism.

1. First and foremost: I have daily personal devotions.  Think of your devotions as if it was like sleep.  You need sleep everyday to function physically…and you need devotions everyday to function spiritually.
2. At work, I do not hide that I am a Christian. I talk about it naturally – it is amazing how often it will come up in conversation. Monday’s and Friday’s are usually prime evangelism days (but not the only ones) for me…When people ask how my weekend was, or what my plans are for the weekend…  Church always comes up and that segues into #3.
3. I ask my coworkers if they believe in anything, or how their faith life is.  When (if) they answer I do not argue or force my views on them, I just listen and ask if they would like to hear what it is I believe.  This segues into sharing the Gospel message…
4. I am also open to listening to my co-worker’s problems, and sharing my own problems, as long as it is not gossip.  I will talk about how God’s faithfulness is a comfort even in the midst of my problems. I will offer to pray with them. This usually segues into sharing the Gospel…
5. I may give coworkers a Bible to read or another Christian book. I will offer to read the bible with them. This usually segues into sharing the Gospel…
6. I share my story; some call it a testimony, of God’s faithfulness in my life. This usually segues into sharing the Gospel…
7. I endeavour to train myself to be able to answer objections and questions about my faith and of course this may segue into sharing the Gospel…
8. Once I have shared the gospel, and given a Bible, and offered to read it with them, I will invite them to church or to a bible study…I have yet to have any current coworkers accept this invitation…but I am still praying and doing.

If someone accepts your invitation to go to church, tell your pastor, so he can meet with you and your friend before or after the worship service.  Your pastor will be able to answer any questions that you are unable to.

Remember that we do not convert people.  We do not save people. Salvation is God’s work.  He alone saves. But he uses us to spread his message.  Do your part and God will do his. Share the message and then let the Holy Spirit Work.

That is how I evangelize at work and I hope that it will encourage you to do the same.

Still Passionate …but a Little Less frustrated.

I wrote an article on the issue of the inward focus of the Canadian Reformed Church (CanRC), and how this was reinforced with the removal of a particular phrase from the mandate of elders.  You can view that article Here.

I have to admit that I am a little less frustrated today than I was when I wrote that article.  Why?  Well I have done some research and received some info from ministers in the CanRC. In so doing I have seen a reformation in process with regard to this issue.

The following is Article 51 of the Church Order(CO) of the CanRC.  This is the only article dealing specifically with evangelism in the current CO.

Article 51 current Church Order:

The churches shall endeavour to fulfil their missionary task.

When churches cooperate in this matter, they shall, as much as possible, observe the division into classes and regional synods.

While this article is vague, at least it is addressed.  There is also improvement in this area in our federation. That can be seen in the unity talks with the United Reformed Church (URC).  Not only do we see the inward focus dissipating in and through the unity discussion itself, but in the paperwork being generated because of these talks.   These two federations have separate and slightly different CO’s, so to remedy this situation a Proposed Joint Church Order (PJCO) has been created.  There are two articles specifically dealing with evangelism.

Articles 44 & 45 of the PJCO

Article 44
The Church’s Mission Calling
Each church shall fulfill its mission calling, which is to preach the Word of God to the unconverted at home and abroad with the goal of establishing churches. This shall be carried out by missionaries who are ministers of the Word set apart for this labor by being called, supported, and supervised by their respective consistories for this task. Such missionaries shall proclaim the Word of God, and administer the sacraments to those who have been converted to the faith. They shall also institute church offices according to the provisions of the Church Order. The consistory shall promote the involvement of church members in service that assists in fulfilling this mission calling. If necessary, a calling church shall invite churches within its classis or regional synod to cooperate by agreement regarding the field, support, and oversight of the mission work.

Article 45
The Church’s Evangelism Calling
Each church shall fulfill its evangelistic calling in faithfulness to the Word of God. Relying on the Holy Spirit it shall make known the good news of Jesus Christ to those in its area who do not know God or are estranged from Him and His service. It shall seek to persuade them to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, which includes joining His church through profession of faith.

Do you see a difference?

Now, if you are like me, you blurted out a hearty “Praise the Lord”, and your wife shushed you because the kids were asleep. Then you went straight to the mandate of elders in the PJCO to see what it says about evangelism. But most of you are probably not like me, so I will tell you what it said. Remember that in 1984 the General Synod Cloverdale voted to remove from the mandate of elders the phrase, “…exhort others to the Christian faith”.  

Here is the current Mandate given to elders in the CanRC:

Article 22, The Office of Elder

The specific duties of the office of elder are, together with the ministers of the Word, to have supervision over Christ’s church, that every member may conduct himself properly in doctrine and life according to the gospel; and faithfully to visit the members of the congregation in their homes to comfort, instruct, and admonish them with the Word of God, reproving those who behave improperly. They shall exercise Christian discipline according to the command of Christ against those who show themselves unbelieving and ungodly and refuse to repent and shall watch that the sacraments are not profaned. Being stewards of the house of God, they are further to take care that in the congregation all things are done decently and in good order, and to tend the flock of Christ which is in their charge. Finally, it is the duty of elders to assist the ministers of the Word with good counsel and advice and to supervise their doctrine and conduct.

Notice that in the current CO there is no mention of missions, evangelism sharing the gospel, or anything of that sort in the mandate for an Elder.  So my question here is this… who’s job is it to ensure that evangelism happens?  Is it the flock?  Or the minister? Or the Shepherds?  Here is what the PJCO says regarding elders:

Article 17
The Duties of Elders
The duties belonging to the office of elder consist of shepherding and ruling the church of Christ according to the principles taught in Scripture, in order that purity of doctrine and holiness of life may be practiced. The elders, together with the minister, shall watch over their fellow office-bearers, and ensure that they faithfully discharge their offices. They are to maintain the purity of the Word and Sacraments, persist in praying for the congregation, assist in catechizing the youth in the congregation, and promote schooling at all levels that is in harmony with the Word of God as summarized the Three Forms of Unity. Moreover, they shall visit the members of the congregation according to need, engage in annual home visits, preserve and promote concord and unity among the members and between the congregation and its office-bearers, exercise discipline in the congregation, promote the work of evangelism and missions, and ensure that everything is done decently and in good order.

This time I whispered, “Hallelujah!”   (to avoid upsetting my wife) The PJCO was drafted by participants from both the CanRC and the URC.  And since men from the CanRC were involved with this draft, this tells me that the inward focus that has been so prevalent in the CanRC for so long has begun to dissipate.  This is a very good thing.  This a reformation in process. This is God being faithful to His children, even when we were not.

I am hopeful for the merger, (for reasons other than a new church order) however, I also do not think that we should wait for the merger to include these in to the existing CanRC CO.  If these are really the thoughts of the majority of the delegates of Synod, then why wait?  If the CanRC really experienced an unintended deformation in 1984 with the removal of the phrase in the mandate for elders, then it should be addressed and reformed.  The merger may never happen, and if it does it could take years.  Why wait?  We are called to be continually reforming.

I am too late to send a letter a my consistory to request synod look into the 1984 decision (we have to have our requests in 6 months prior to synod) So, I am waiting to see what happens with this years Synod…then I will address the issue with my consistory.  Hopefully someone else addressed the issue.

So tell me what you think.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

I am Passionate and Frustrated

I am passionate and frustrated. About what?  I am passionate about evangelism and I am frustrated at the seeming apathy towards it from our Churches.

I have a title. It may be the longest title I have ever heard of.  I am not trying to be pretentious, but here it is:

Chairman of the Home Mission Committee of the Canadian Reformed Church at Chilliwack.

What a mouthful! 13 Words. 21 syllables. I choke on it when I say it…

I am passionate about evangelism. Our mandate (or part of it) as committee is to stimulate the congregation in their calling to evangelize.  I think it is nice that we have this mandate.  I have passion for evangelism and love to share with others what I have been given, and I love to help others learn to share their faith as well.  But if you are a Christian you should not need any further stimulation than this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If that simple fact does not “stimulate” you to share what he has done for you, then no amount of my sitting in a meeting discussing things over coffee and “boterkoek” is going to help stimulate you to spread the gospel!   Now don’t get me wrong, the committee has done some fine work in outreach, and some of us even partake of sharing the gospel message… but have we really stimulated any of you to share your faith? Ok, I know some of you who are taking part in some outreach that is set up by the committee, but something is missing here.  Something very fundamental to the spread of the gospel.  What is that?

Elder involvement is missing.

I know that the Church order does not say that elders need to evangelize. I admit that. But it did. For almost 2000 years this was something that was expected of an elder. Then in 1984 the Canadian Reformed Churches decided that the elders should focus only on their own congregations.  It was this decision that birthed the Home Mission Committee’s around our federation.

In my opinion, our Federation of Churches have been far too inward looking for far too long.  While it is a good thing to guard against heresy and protect against the attacks of the Devil, and in our unity talks we need to ensure the truth is central, but lack of evangelizing for fear of bringing in outsiders is not biblical and is antithetical to the biblical mandate we have as the church to spread of the gospel message.  This sectarian fear of outsiders was proven in the decision by Synod in 1984. Here is a quote from Dr. A J de Visser from the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary:

It is interesting to note that the Synod of Cloverdale (1984) adopted a revised version of the Church Order in which the mandate of the elders was narrowed down to focus solely on work within the congregation. The phrase in the original version that elders should “exhort others with respect to the Christian faith” was deleted from the mandate of elders. In my opinion this illustrates that the Canadian Reformed Churches had become more inward looking than the churches of the Reformation and the Secession.

I said that evangelizing is part of an elders biblical mandate.  I should clarify what I mean by this. Hospitality.  This qualification is required to being an elder. So, let me ask. What do you think that “hospitality” means? We Canreffers are famous for our hospitality…to each other.  We go to each other’s homes for soup and buns and we have dinner together and share what we have with each other and we partake of the communion of the saints and it is all very “gezellig”… but it is also very inward looking. Is this what the Bible means when it mentions hospitality?  Yes and No.   Of course it is hospitality when we open our homes to fellow believers, but the New Testament explicitly links hospitality with the proclamation of the Gospel:

Mt 10.5-42; Mk 6.7-13; Lk 9.2-6, 10.1-17 – these passages are the accounts of Jesus sending out the disciples and others to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. Throughout these accounts, there is an emphasis on entering homes and eating and drinking with hosts who receive them.

Acts 10.24-48 –Peter at the house of Cornelius. Cornelius invites Peter to his home. Once there, Peter proclaims the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit visits the house and the Gentiles present are saved and subsequently baptized. Peter stays with them for several days. Peter and Cornelius are mutual strangers in the context of hospitality. Peter is a Jewish Christian, and Cornelius is a Roman centurion.  Yet, hospitality is the bridge that overcomes all of their cultural differences and becomes the means by which God’s salvation begins extending to the Gentiles in force.

Acts 16.11-15 – this is the story of Paul and Lydia. When Lydia and her family are converted and baptized, she invites Paul to stay with them. Note that Paul’s acceptance of Lydia’s offer of hospitality confirms his belief in her salvation.

Acts 16.29-34 –Paul and Silas are in prison, the earth shakes, and the prison doors open, yet no one attempts to escape. The startled jailer is eventually presented with the Gospel message and he responds. His family isbaptized as believers, and he hosts them in his house with a fine meal after washing their wounds.

There are numerous other stories in the book of Acts, but for the sake of brevity, I will stop there. It is clear that hospitality was a tool in the transmission of the Gospel in the early church. I belive that this is what is meant by hospitality being a criteria for elders. I believe that nothing has changed in this regard, and if it has, it is only because we have missed something, or lost something along the way. Does it not surprise that 98% of our growth is from within the church?  I am one of very few in our churches who came from the outside.

I do not think that this blog post is going to change anything; I am not kidding myself.  But my prayer here is that Our Lord would awaken in us as a federation the joy of the Gospel message, and a desire to share this news to all who might listen.  I would like to see the phrase, “exhort others to the Christian faith” returned to its rightful place in our church order as part of the role of an elder.

So should I send a letter to consistory to appeal to synod to reinstate the phrase?  I wonder what the elders in my church would think of that…

Here is one final quote from Dr. de Visser:

It will be healthy for every minister to have some evangelistic contacts outside the congregation. Not only will it prevent him from developing a myopic view of life, it will also give his sermons and prayers an evangelistic flavour which will have a formative effect on the congregation as a whole. The same applies to elders. By definition, they are men who command respect. It would be great if our elders had the reputation that they are not afraid to use the contacts which they have in the broader society to “exhort others to the Christian faith.”

By saying this, I am not suggesting that the responsibility for evangelism should be thrown back entirely into the lap of the office-bearers. Evangelism is a congregational ministry, as we have seen. Both office-bearers and ordinary members should be involved in it.

 
Read a follow up article I have writter entitled Still Passionate but a little less frustrated.

Read Dr. de Visser’s entire article Here!  And please note that I am one of the “Passionate and Frustrated ones” 🙂

Freewill Part 2: You Are a Hyper-Calvinist

You are a Hyper-Calvinist.

Someone levied this accusation against me.   Some context for you: we were discussing  freewill, and whether man is able to choose God without the regenerating work of the spirit.  My “opponent’s” (I use that term loosely as we are friends) stance is that when we choose God, or choose to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus, it is that point when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. I disagreed with him on this point, stating that I believe that we are dead in our sin.  Just as a physically dead man cannot choose to be alive, a spiritually dead man cannot choose to be spiritually alive.   Yes we have choice, but being dead in sin, we will always choose selfishly for ourselves and against God, unless He first works faith in hearts. And in order for faith to be worked in our hearts…we need the Holy Spirit prior to our “choosing” him.   Then he struck back and said if God chooses us then why would I ever evangelize…at this point he called me a hyper Calvinist.  I do not want to get into debates here on this.  This example is just for context… so I did not cite scripture… So please keep the comments nice!

I have been called many things, depending on who it is I am speaking with: a legalist, an antinomian, a fundamentalist, ultra-conservative, a liberal, a Calvinist, a bigot, religious nut job, one person even called me an Arminian ( I don’t think he knew what that meant)…but Hyper-Calvinist?  This is a first for me.  When such an allegation is made, (or any allegation) I usually take a step back and examine what it is I am writing or saying.  So I did.

While I am not fond labels, I do accept the label of “Christian.” As well I readily accept the label of “Reformed,” because there is no denying that I am. I am Reformed in life and doctrine. I have summarized what it means to be Reformed here As well, I must accept the label of “5-point Calvinist,” not because I believe everything John Calvin wrote, but because I accept the Canons of Dordt as biblical doctrine. For those who are not familiar with Dutch Reformed theology or Dutch church history, the Canons of Dordt are where we get the “5 points of Calvinism,” more commonly known as TULIP.

As an aside, I have to say that narrowing reformed theology down to 5 points is just plain silly. First of all Calvin had nothing to do with the Synod of Dordt.  Second, the 5 points were only issued in response to the 5 points of the Remonstrants (Arminians), and were never meant to be an all-encompassing exposition of the reformed faith.

I digress…

Since we have seen fit to narrow Calvinsim down to 5 points, let’s also narrow Hyper-Calvinism down to 5 points (because I like irony and simplicity). According to an essay by theologian Phil Johnson, there are 5 major, unbiblical beliefs that if you hold too, you are a hyper-Calvinist. This list is not comprehensive, but they are the 5 points hyper Calvinism.

A hyper-Calvinist is one who:

1.            Denies that the gospel call applies to all who hear, OR

2.            Denies that faith is the duty of every sinner, OR

3.            Denies that the gospel makes any “offer” of Christ, salvation, or mercy to the non-elect (or denies that the offer of divine mercy is free and universal), OR

4.            Denies that there is such a thing as “common grace,” OR

5.            Denies that God has any sort of love for the non-elect.

According to Johnson,

All five varieties of hyper-Calvinism undermine evangelism or twist the gospel message.
Many modern hyper-Calvinists salve themselves by thinking their view cannot really be hyper-Calvinism because, after all, they believe in proclaiming the gospel to all. However, the “gospel” they proclaim is a truncated soteriology with an undue emphasis on God’s decree as it pertains to the reprobate. One hyper-Calvinist, reacting to my comments about this subject on an e-mail list, declared, “The message of the Gospel is that God saves those who are His own and damns those who are not.” Thus the good news about Christ’s death and resurrection is supplanted by a message about election and reprobation—usually with an inordinate stress on reprobation. In practical terms, the hyper-Calvinist “gospel” often reduces to the message that God simply and single-mindedly hates those whom He has chosen to damn, and there is nothing whatsoever they can do about it.
Deliberately excluded from hyper-Calvinist “evangelism” is any pleading with the sinner to be reconciled with God. Sinners are not told that God offers them forgiveness or salvation. In fact, most hyper-Calvinists categorically deny that God makes any offer in the gospel whatsoever.

In my eyes, the main issue that it always comes down to is the issue of evangelism.  If God chooses whom he wants then why evangelize?  Because God has ordained the means of salvation…Those means start with the Gospel Message. Hear the Gospel.  Repent.  Believe. One cannot believe unless one hears the gospel.  God has chosen to use believers to spread the message of Christ crucified and resurrected.  If we were all Hyper-Calvinists we wouldn’t ever share our faith and would only see church growth through births… Although sometimes I wonder, judging from how often some of my reformed friends interact with unbelievers at a faith based level…. Yes that is a shot…but I say it in love. After all, as chairman of our congregation’s Evangelism Committee, I have a job to do. 🙂

I am a Christian.  I am reformed.  I am a 5 point Calvinist (but the 5 points do not completely define reformed faith and life). I am not a hyper-Calvinist.  When it comes to evangelism I do not know who the elect are, so I must evangelize.   The Lord has commanded that we preach the good news, that we share our faith, that we be the light on a hill…out of love for him and the lost.  I do, and will continue to, proclaim the gospel of salvation to anyone who will listen.  The offer of the gospel is available to all who will hear.  Regardless of your soteriology, the Bible is very clear that Salvation is available to all who will believe.  How we get to that point of faith is the matter of contention – but that should not change the urgency, the frequency and the necessity of the proclamation of the Gospel to any unbelievers who might listen.

Why did I write this?  Because I think that Reformed Theology is totally misunderstood from being whittled down to a dutch flower…TULIP. I hope this post makes sense.  If you have questions please feel free to ask!

Called to Be Comfortable…

My congregation volunteers every 3^rd Friday of each month at Ruth and Naomi’s Mission in down town Chilliwack.  We prepare and serve a meal and deliver a message from the Bible.  It is one of my duties to recruit volunteers to cook, serve and deliver the message.  I am there almost every time, and I have cooked and served, but I have never delivered the message.  Why?.. Hi my name is Ryan and I am an introvert. 🙂

I am fine to do 1 on 1 evangelism, but to stand in front of 30 or 40 people and tell them the good news?  That is not me – or is it? After some prodding from a few people it was decided it was time I finally deliver the message.  It went well and I was not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be.  In fact it almost felt natural (almost) – which surprised me.

Since growing in my faith life and becoming more involved in the church I have discovered a couple things.

First:  Through faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice we truly do find peace which surpasses all understanding.   We gain contentment and joy in any situation in the infinite and all-satisfying worth of God. Worry, anxiety and fear should not be a part of us anymore – knowing that God has a design and guides all things in His providence.

Second: We are called to suffer.  We are not called to a life of comfort and prosperity. We are called not to sit at home and sip wine and watch tv.  We called to use our gifts for God’s glory, and our neighbours benefit.  How are you glorifying God and building up his church?

Third that as we use our gifts, or seek to serve God, God will use you in ways you may never have expected.

Don’t think you have a gifting?  Or perhaps you think that your talent will not help anyone or anything? Do you feel that your gift is being stifled by the church?  If so, perhaps God is calling you to something else.  Christians should seek out various opportunities to serve within the church. As we attempt different things and do so in prayer and in faith, believing that God will lead us, that he is in control, we may find that he will reveal passion and talents in ways we may not expect.  I never thought I would ever be able to lead a group in prayer or bible study, yet it is becoming much more natural and I actually enjoy it now. What better way to build up the church than by humbly seeking God with others?

There is a risk in doing only those things that we are comfortable with or serving only in the ways we think we are most talented.  Because if we only seek one way to serve and it is shot down or we are not satisfied, then we may give up or get discouraged. I could have very easily become discouraged when my ideas for accountability networks were “shot down.” Instead, in prayer I sought other ways of serving Him. Just because YOU think you are talented in one way, or not talented in another way – does not mean that God thinks the same thing. Think of Moses, a timid, stuttering man called to lead an entire nation or the apostle Paul with his “thorn in his flesh.”  These men were called to suffer and were greatly used by God.

God does not always gift us in ways we are comfortable with or in ways we might expect. Attempt different ways to serve you will be surprised how God blesses you and the church.

Called to be comfortable…not.  Get out of your comfort zone.

How are you serving?

Philippians 2:1-4
If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 

The Golden Rule and The Great Commission

“You claim to have a passion for evangelism, that you care for the souls of the unbeliever. Why do you then focus your blog posts on things like abortion and the lifestyle of Christians? You speak very little on evangelizing and seem to focus on our outward works as if we are to be good to get to heaven.  What are you doing with this blog?  Trying to earn salvation or peoples respect?”  This is a short paraphrase of an email I received recently.  But I must confess that the sender sent it tongue in cheek, as the sender is a friend.  But still, it really made me think.

Let me first say that I don’t believe that we can earn our salvation.  Salvation is a free gift of grace.  I am not doing anything to earn my salvation, or to earn divine acceptance, or peer acceptance, or acceptance from the world.  In fact this blog has caused a lot of people to reject me, to reject my beliefs, to reject this blog.  But that is OK by me.  The gospel is offensive, the cross is offensive, (Gal 5:7-11) and many more people will be offended by what I write than there will be who are in agreement with me. There are Christians who think that I am a fundamentalist bigot for my stances on Biblical truth and doctrine; there some who think I am too liberal in what I say; others say I am too legalistic.  If I tried to please everyone I would probably lose my mind! So we cannot care what others think – unless they are our spiritual elders of course 🙂

Jesus tells us, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  The fear he speaks of is one of awe, not of terror.  If God is in control, why would I fear the world?  Why would I fear the reaction of people for my biblical stances that I post about? Why would I fear rejection for my stance on abortion?  Why would I fear losing my job for my stance on not working on Sunday?  Why would I fear man or the devil or anyone, if I am walking in the truth of God’s word?   Why would I be afraid if I believe that God is ultimately in control? What about you?

So, if I believe in free grace, why do I continue to write about us being living and active members of the body?  Why do I stress the importance of personal devotions and prayer? or community involvement?  or church involvement? Why do I stress being a “living” Christian? Why do I stress the importance of the role of husband and father? Why do I even care about what you do? I mean I have enough of my own problems to worry about..right? The answer is because my salvation was a free gift to me, by way of an amazing, awesome and radical love.  Our Father has accepted me fully, even though I rejected Him and daily continue to sin against Him. He accepted me by faith alone in his son, apart from any works or effort on my part.  And so he wants me to be thankful for this free gift of grace. How do we show that we are thankful? He wants us to love Him and others in an amazing, awesome and radical way as well.  I don’t love people in order to save myself, but I love people because I am saved, because I know the forgiveness and restoration that comes from faith in the atoning work of Christ.  That is why I stress the importance of these things.

So, just like our Father cares for us, He has freed us to likewise care for others! We are to care about all the suffering in this life, including abortion, including plight of the poverty stricken, the prostitute, the starving children of the world, the single mother, and most importantly, most pressing, most all-consuming, He has freed us to care about the future eternal suffering for those people who are outside of the body Christ.  So he gave us the Golden Rule and the Great Commission as standards to live by. Ultimately both have the glorification of God in view, but the golden rule is with the view to the suffering of our neighbour in this life, and the great commission is with the view to the suffering of the lost in eternity.

It may appear that I went off topic, but I have not at all. To answer the original question…before we can evangelize, we must realize how much He has truly loved us.  When we do, we will also realize how much we are to also love others.  If we don’t comprehend His love, then we won’t love others in this way. If we don’t love others, we won’t care about their souls.  If we don’t care for their souls, we won’t evangelize.  Do you see where I am going? Evangelism starts on your knees in prayer, in a loving relationship with your creator.

Real love is radical.  Real love does not close its eyes to either the suffering in this world or the final, terrible suffering of the next.

But what do I know? I am not a theologian. I am just One Christian Dad.

By the way, if you live in Chilliwack…tomorrow there is a chance to open your eyes to the suffering of your neighbour in this life… there is a Choice Chain Saturday, July 14 at 5 corners in Chilliwack 10 am to 12pm.  Come a bit early for a briefing if you have never been to one.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Love Chilliwack 2012 Slideshow

This is the “Love Chilliwack 2012 slideshow” showing the various churches that were involved. Can you find us?