The questions: how do I build a stronger faith or a more robust fear of God; how do I overcome consuming lust are the questions being considered in this series of posts.

Our fourth directive for doing this was to develop and sustain a strong faith or a robust fear of God you must not only hear and study God’s Word, but you must also meditate on it. On this post, I want to continue and conclude this series by mentioning some additional guidelines for accomplishing this.

At this point, since we are continuing the theme of the previous post, you may find it helpful to review the contents of that previous blog.

If you want to develop and sustain a robust fear of God “Be still and reflect on the mighty works of God.

The connection between doing this and developing godly fear is clearly illustrated in Exodus 14:31. In the earlier part of message 14 God’s people are between a rock and a hard place. They have just been released from cruel slavery to the Egyptians and are making their way toward the land of
Canaan.

They have come to the Red Sea only to discover that the Egyptians have changed their minds about letting them go and are now pursuing them with the determination of making them return. On the one side they face the Red Sea and on the other the powerful armies of Egypt with their chariots and horsemen. In marvelous ways God protected and delivered them. “And the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of
Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. And the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and … went in after them into the midst of the sea. And it came about … that the Lord … brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. And he caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty, so the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them …’ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state …; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea …; not even one of them remained. … Thus the Lord saved
Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians …” (Exodus 14:19-30).

God did a mighty thing for His people that day; something that no man or group of men could have done. Well, what impact did this mighty act have on the Israelites? Scripture says that “when Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord …” (Exodus 14:31) Miriam puts their God fearing response in words as she composes a song which is found in Exodus 15. In the middle of that song, Miriam says, “Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11) As Miriam and other Israelites reflected on God’s mighty acts their fear of God was increased. When we look at the context of the verse about being still and knowing that He is God (Psalm 46:10), we find that it is surrounded by reminders of God’s great and mighty acts. In the context, the Psalmist talks about God providing a river whose streams make glad the city of
God. He mentions God being our refuge and strength, a very present help. He refers to His ability to melt the earth with His voice. He encourages us to, “Come, behold the works of the Lord”. He mentions God’s ability to bring desolation and make wars cease to the end of the earth. He informs us that God can overcome and destroy the mightiest of military weapons. He indicates that these weapons are no match for God. It’s easier for God to snap the mightiest weapons in two than it is for us to snap a toothpick in two. What is he saying but that we should be still and while being still we should think carefully about the mighty acts of God? Scripture says that “God made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of
Israel.” (Psalm 103:7).

From its beginning to its end, the Bible is filled with reminders of the great things God has done. This ought to cause us to ask, “Why does God do this? Why is He constantly reminding us of these mighty acts? Why are they recorded for us? Was God just filling space by doing this? Were these things recorded just for informational, historical purposes?” Obviously not! They were recorded for some very practical purposes, for motivational purposes. And without a doubt, one of chief motivational purposes for which these accounts are found in the Bible is to motivate us to a deeper and fuller fear of God.

So if you want to develop and sustain a robust fear of God, be still and reflect often on the mighty acts of God. Think much about the mighty acts of your God and you will have much fear; think little about the mighty acts of your God and you will have little fear; think not at all about the mighty acts and you will have no fear of God at all. (Deuteronomy 4:9; Joshua 4:20-24; I Samuel 12:24)

I wonder what Dad thinks about this style of counseling…

CLICK FOR LINK

You might want to check out Dad’s newest book.  I think it should be great! 

I started thinking today about some of the men outside my family whom God has used to change me. 

And you know what I realized, many if not most of them were pastors.  My life is different because of the work of these pastors.

Then I started thinking about their churches.   

In order for those men to have an impact on my life, their churches had to make a sacrifice.  In each and every case you have a church…

CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF ARTICLE… 

This post contains my (Wayne) answers to a friend who raised some questions about church leadership. His questions are in lower case and my answers are in capital letters only for the purpose of distinguishing questions from answers.  (In other words, I realize the capitals can be a bit much but for the sake of clarity bear with me…)

I HAVE LOOKED AT YOUR QUESTIONS AND FRANKLY DON‘T SEE ANY CONFLICT BETWEEN ELDER “RULE” (TIMOTHY 5:17) AND “HAVE CHARGE OVER YOU” (I THESSALONIANS 5:12,13) AND THE  ISSUES YOU RAISED UNLESS SOMEONE MISTAKES ELDER RULE FOR ELDER STUPIDITY OR ELDER DICTATORSHIP. 

BRIEFLY:  1. How do the principles of Elder Rule interact with the Doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer? What are the full functions of the New Testament priest? Believers have both a wonderful privilege and a great responsibility.  

I DON‘T SEE HOW ELDER SUPERVISION OR OVERSIGHT AFFECTS THE CLEARLY TAUGHT DOCTRINE OF THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS AT ALL. HOW WOULD IT AND WHY WOULD IT? I WILL WRITE MORE ABOUT THIS IN LATER ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS.

2. When Jesus says ‘… tell it to the church” in Mtt 18:17, is he asserting that the Church is the “court of final appeal” on this Earth? It is of particular note that Jesus does not say “tell it to the Elders,” or some church committee. Particularly in light of passages like 1 Cor. 6; if the church has been vested with the responsibility to judge angels, the world and each other – surely, a congregation who is properly informed and truly spiritual, should participate in the selection of their leaders in a determinative sense.  

IT DOESN’T SAY TELL IT TO THE CHURCH FOR A VOTE - THE DECISION HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE THAT THE BROTHER IS IN SIN AND THE CHURCH IS ENLISTED TO PRAY AND PLEAD AND EXHORT (in keeping with 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 15).

IT DOESN’T SAY TELL IT TO THE CHURCH AND IF HE REFUSES THEN TAKE A VOTE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT HE SHOULD BE  PUT OUT OF THE CHURCH. THE ISSUE IS WHO IS TAKING THE LEAD - WHO SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT SCRIPTURE - WHO SHOULD BE MOST MATURE IN SPIRITUAL MATTERS - WHO IS LEADING THE CHURCH TO MAKE ALL THIS KNOWN TO THE CHURCH – AFTER MATTHEW 18:15 AND 16 ARE FOLLOWED WHAT HAS OCCURRED IS COMMUNICATED TO  THE ELDERS AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CHURCH AND THEY THEN PASS IT ON TO THE CONGREGATION WITH THE EXHORTATION TO THE CONGREGATION TO ADMONISH, PRAY FOR, EXHORT THE ERRING, UNREPENTANT, UNRECONCILED BROTHER. THIS TELLING IT TO THE CHURCH IS OBVIOUSLY A FORMAL KIND OF TELLING.

IT CERTAINLY ISN’T REFERRING TO INDIVIDUALS GOING  AROUND AND INDISCRIMINATELY TELLING IT TO VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH. TO DO THIS WOULD BE GOSSIP WHICH THE BIBLE STRONGLY CONDEMNS. ITS OBVIOUS IN REFERENCE TO THIS TELLING IT TO THE CHURCH THAT  SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE DECISION WHETHER WHAT THE ERRING PERSON HAS DONE WARRANTS A PUBLIC DISCLOSURE TO THE CONGREGATION AND A PUBLIC APPEAL TO THE CHURCH TO PRAY, PERSUADE, ADMONISH, EXHORT, REBUKE, ETC. THE ERRING PERSON. SOMEONE HAS TO DECIDE ABOUT WHETHER THE TELLING SHOULD GO PUBLIC AND THEN WHAT AND HOW THE CONGREGATION SHOULD PROCEED. TO INDICSRIMINATELY TELL IT TO THE CHURCH WITHOUT ELDERSSHIP LEADERSHIP  AND SUPERVISION AND INSTRUCTION WOULD MERELY FEED THE GOSSIP MILL. THIS WOULD SERVE NOT CONSTRUCTIVE PURPOSE AND WOULD CLEARLY VIOLATE SCRIPTURE. 3. When Jesus says in Matthew 18:18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven;” what is He saying and what is He not saying?

I’M NOT SURE WHAT THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE ISSUE UNDER DISCUSSION IN THAT IT CERTAINLY DOESN’T MEAN (CAN’T MEAN) THAT EVERY PERSON IN THE CHURCH MUST BE IN TOTAL AGREEMENT BEFORE ANY ACTION MUST BE TAKEN.

THE QUESTION IS, DOES THE YOU IN THIS TEXT MEAN EVERY SINGLE PERSON OR DOES THE YOU MEAN THAT THE MATTHEW 18:15 – 17 PROCEDURE HAS BEEN FOLLOWED AND THERE STILL HAS BEEN NO REPENTANCE ON THE PART OF THE ERRING PERSON.  IF THAT HAS BEEN DONE, THEN THE ERRING BROTHER WHO IS FUNCTIONING AS AN UNBELIEVER (I.E., HE IS UNWILLING TO LISTEN TO CHRIST ASD HE SPEAKS IN HIS WORD – HE IS UNWILLING TO DO WHAT CHRIST SAYS HE SHOULD DO, NAMELY REPENT AND BE RECONCILED -  JOHN 10:28; MATTHEW 18:15 – 17) IS TO BE DISFELLOWSHIPPED FROM THE CHURCH WHICH ACCORDING TO PAUL IS THE SAME AS BEING TURNED OVER TO THE DEVIL (I TIMOTHY 1;20). TO BE PUT OUT OF THE CHURCH IS TO BE TURNED OVER TO SATAN. THE CHURCH IS WHERE CHRIST REIGNS. THE WORLD IS SATAN’S TERRITORY. ALL THIS TEXT MEANS IS THAT IF THE CHURCH FOLLOWS CHRIST’S ORDERS IN MATTHEW 18:15 – 17 IN REFERENCE TO AN ERRING, DISOBEDIENT PERSON ANDS DISFELLOWSHIPS THAT PERSON, THEY DO SO UNDER THE AUTHORITY AND WITH THE APPROVAL OF CHRIST. THE TEXT SAYS NOTHING ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF VOTING. NO VOTE IS NECESSARY IF THE PROCEDURE DESCRIBED IN MATTHEW 18:15 -17 HAS BEEN FOLLOWED. IT’S A DONE DEAL BECAUSE HE WON’T OBEY CHRIST. WHY WOULD ANYONE THINK YOU’D HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE WHEN CHRIST HAS ALREADY LAID OUT THE PROCEDURE AND THE PERSON WAS UNWILLING TO OBEY?

3 AND 4. What are the limits of Apostolic Authority with respect to the normative role of Elders today? “The church as a whole perpetuates the apostolic ministry though no individual has apostolic authority”. (Rodney Decker; Polity and the Elder Issue, Grace Theo. Journal, fall 198 Elders are to train men for the work of the ministry… they are not the ministry.

What is the Role of the Holy Spirit in the Congregation as a corporate body? 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” How is a congregation to test the spirit and make their collective mind known? How do elders prevent people from ‘voting’ with their tithe or with their feet? What long term effect does that have on the maturity of a church?

AGAIN I DON‘T UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM. OBVIOUSLY THESE STATEMENTS ABOUT EQUIPPING THE CHURCH FOR MINISTRY ARE TRUE - I BELIEVE IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY. EVERY BELIEVER IS RESPONSIBLE TO DO THIS AND TO DO IT OUT OF LOVE FOR CHRIST NOT BECAUSE HE IS ABLE TO VOTE ON WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN.

CONCERNING THE LAST TWO QUESTIONS, UNLESS PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED BY SELFISHNESS AND A DESIRE TO RUN THE SHOW RATHER THAN A REGARD FOR GOD’S GLORY AND A DESIRE TO SERVE AND GIVE OUT OF LOVE FOR CHRIST WHAT DOES VOTING HAVE TO DO WITH GIVING OR SERVING? I DON‘T THINK  ELDER RULE CAN AND DOES HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THE CHURCH OR THE INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER WHEN IT IS UNDERSTOOD AND UTILIZED PROPERLY. THE ONLY EFFECT IT  WILL HAVE WILL BE  A GOOD EFFECT BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL BE SERVING AND GIVING FOR THE RIGHT REASON – BECAUSE THEY LOVE CHRIST.  RIGHT NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, I AM NOT AN ELDER IN ANY CHURCH AND I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT IT HAS NOT AFFECTED MY GIVING OR MY SERVICE OR MY MATURITY. IN FACT, IT PROBABLY HAS HELPED MY MATURITY AND MINISTRY - NO ONE CAN SAY OR THINK THAT I’M DEVOTED, ZEALOUS, PRAYERFUL, ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD, SACRIFICIAL  BECAUSE I AM AN ELDER. 

AND, BY THE WAY, SOME OF THE MOST MATURE AND ZEALOUS AND SACRIFICIAL AND EFFECTIVE CHRISTIANS I KNOW ARE MEMBERS OF CHURCHES WHERE ELDER RULE IS PROPERLY PRACTICED. PRESENTLY WE ARE IN LITTLE ROCK, AR AND ARE ATTENDING AND TEACHING IN A CHURCH THAT PRACTICES ELDER RULE. THIS IS A CHURCH FILLED WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SOME OF THE MOST KNOWLEDGABLE, LOVING, DEVOTED AND EAGER CHRISTIANS I HAVE EVER MET. MANY OF THESE PEOPLE ARE LEADERS IN THEIR OCCUPATIONALS ENDEAVORS AND EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT ELDERS, THEY ARE READERS, THINKERS, GIVERS AND ZEALOUSLY SERVING CHRIST. THE SAME WAS TRUE OF

GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA WHERE WE WERE MEMBERS DURING THE TIME I TAUGHT AT THE MASTER’S COLLEGE AND SEMINARY. AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THIS CHURCH OF SEVERAL THOUSAND WHICH WAS ELDER RULED (SERVED) WERE SOME OF THE MOST VIBRANT, MATURE, ACTIVE, SACRIFICIAL, COURAGEOUS, GIFTED, ZEALOUS, JOYOUS, THEOLOGICALLY SOUND, CARING, COMPASSIONATE, EAGER TO SERVE, CHRIST LOVING CHRISTIANS I HAVE EVER MET.  

IN REFERENCE TO THE IDEA THAT SERVANT ELDERSHIP RULE KILLS MOTIVATION, I SAY AS I’VE HEARD OTHERS SAY ABOUT OTHER STATEMENTS THAT HAVE NO SUBSTANCE OR VALIDITY TO THEM, “THAT DOG WON‘T HUNT”. IN PRACTICE, IT DOESN’T WORK OUT THAT WAY UNLESS THE ELDERS ARE MISUSING THEIR AUTHORITY OR THE PEOPLE ARE SPIRITUALLY IMMATURE AND MOTIVATED TO SERVE FOR THE WRONG REASONS. THERE ARE MANY CHURCHES THROUGHOUT THE USA THAT PRACTICE SERVANT ELDERSHIP RULE AND YET THE PEOPLE ARE FUNCTIONING WELL IN TERMS OF THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS.  SERVANT ELDERSHIP RULE HAS NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE AN INHIBITING FACTOR WHEN RIGHTLY PRACTICED.   AT THE SAME TIME, I DO WANT TO SAY THAT I KNOW (AND SO DO YOU) OF  MANY CHURCHES WHERE CONGREGATIONAL RULE IS PRACTICED AND YET THE GIVING IS LAGGING AND THE PEOPLE ARE WOEFULLY LAX IN KNOWLEDGE AND ALSO IN SERVICE. THE IDEA THAT PRACTICING CONGREGATIONAL RULE WILL INSPIRE AND MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO GIVE IS OFTEN CONTRADICTED BY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MANY CHURCHES WHERE THAT IS THE MODUS OPERANDI.   MANY PEOPLE REACT AGAINST THIS TEACHING I’VE BEEN EXPLAINING BECAUSE THEY HAVE A WRONG UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IT PLAYS OUT IN THE REAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH. ELDERSHIP RULE DOESN’T MEAN THE PEOPLE DON‘T HAVE A VOICE - IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE ELDERS DON‘T SEEK COUNSEL OF THE CONGREGATION  - IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE ELDERS DON‘T RESPECT AND VALUE THE PEOPLE AND THEIR PERSPECTIVES - IT SIMPLY MEANS THAT THEY ARE LOVING SERVANTS WHO CARE FOR THE SHEEP AND ENCOURAGE THE SHEEP AND WANT TO BE OBEDIENT TO CHRIST WHO SAYS THEY ARE TO MANAGERS, BE OVERSEERS, HAVE CHARGE AND LEAD. THEY LEAD AS SERVANTS WITH A HUMBLE ATTITUDE AND WILLINGNESS TO SACRIFICE. THEY AVOID BEING PUSHY OR DOMINEERING OR AUTHORITARIAN. SERVANT LEADERSHI[P (ELDERSHIP) HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ELDER BEING MORE IMPORTANT OR SUPERIOR; IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH FUNCTION AND THE  WAY ELDERS SHOULD FUNCTION.AS A HUSBAND I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN MY HOME, BUT I DON‘T MAKE DECISIONS UNILATERALLY; I WORK, BUT I DON‘T DO ALL THE WORK.  MY WIFE IS MORE GIFTED THAN I IN MANY AREAS AND SO WISDOM AND LOVE MEANS I DELEGATE AND ENCOURAGE AND LISTEN AND ON MANY OCCASIONS UNLESS IT WOULD VIOLATE GOD’S REVEALED WILL I DO WHAT SHE WANTS RATHER THAN WHAT I WANT. THAT’S BIBLICCAL LEADERSHIP WHETHER IT BE IN THE HOME OR IN THE CHURCH. AN ELDER WILL DO THE SAME IN REFERENCE TO THE CHURCH. AND NOW FOR A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS: AGAIN PLEASE CHECK THE OTHER THINGS I HAVE WRITTEN ON LEADERSHIP ON OUR BLOG SITE. I APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN AND IN PART AGREE WITH YOU, BUT AFTER 45 YEARS OF READING AND RESEARCH AND EXPERIENCE IN PLANTING CHURCHES, PASTORING CHURCHES, WRITING BOOKS AND ARTICLES ABOUT THE CHURCH AND TEACHING HUNDREDS OF PASTORS ABOUT CHURCH RELATED ISSUES, I BELIEVE THE MEN YOU QUOTE ARE MAKING SOME ASSUMPTIONS AND MAKING SOME STATEMENTS THAT ARE NOT BIBLICALLY WARRANTED. I HAVE PROBABLY READ AND HEARD EVERY ARGUMENT ABOUT THE WAY CHURCHES SHOULD BE RUN THAT IS OUT THERE. FOR YEARS,  I PASTORED CHURCHES THAT WERE CONGREGATIONAL IN THE WAY THEY WERE RUN. FRANKLY, FOR BIBLICAL REASONS AND FOR PRACTICAL REASONS I NEVER WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT. I HAVE SEEN AND EXPERIENCED THE DAMAGE THAT THAT KIND OF SET UP PRODUCES. OUR CHURCHES IN AMERICA ARE OFTEN IN A MESS; THEY ARE IN DISARRAY WITH A VERSION OF THE SITUATION IN JUDGES BEING PRODUCED ALL OVER AGAIN - EVERY MAN (AND WOMAN) DOING WHAT IS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES IN THE CHURCH. THERE IS A CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP IN THE HOME AND IN THE CHURCH.   I THINK SOME OF THE STATEMENTS THAT ARE MADE IN YOUR QUOTES SUCH AS THAT PAUL AND OTHERS LIKE TIMOTHY WERE NOT ELDERS ARE UNWARRANTED. IN FACT, PETER WHO WAS AN APOSTLE SAYS HE WAS AN ELDER IN I PETER 5:1 AND PAUL HOLDS HIMSELF UP AS AN EXAMPLE TO ELDERS FROM EPHESUS IN ACTS 20.  ACTS 1 IS SOMETHINES QUOTED AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW DECISIONS WERE MADE CONGREGATIONALLY. IT’S IMPORTANT IN THIS PASSAGE TO NOTICE WHO WAS DOING THE LEADING IN VERSES 2, 3 AND 13. IT’S TRUE IN THE PASSAGE THAT LATER THERE WERE OTHERS WHO ,JOINED THEM ACCORDING TO VERSE 15. BUT THEY CERTAINLY DIDN’T VOTE . THE PASSAGES SAYS THAT THEY ALL PRAYED WHICH IS A GOOD THING AND SHOULD BE DONE BY  THE WHOLE CHURCH WHEN OFFICERS ARE BEING SELECTED, BUT VERSE 26 INDICATES THAT THE MAN THAT WAS CHOSEN WAS NOT CHOSEN BY A VOTE, BUT BY CASTING LOTS.

SIMILARLY, ACTS 13 CANNOT BE USED AS AN EXAMPLE OF CONGREGATIONAL RULE BECAUSE AGAIN IN THIS INSTANCE IT WAS NOT THE CONGREGATION THAT DECIDED WHO WOULD BE SET APART - THAT WAS DONE BY DIRECT REVELATION. AND THAT ISN’T HAPPENING ANYMORE. WE HAVE A COMPLETED SCRIPTURE. GOD HAS SAID ALL HE IS GOING TO SAY AND ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID. AT THAT POINT IN CHURCH HISTORY, ALL THEY HAD WAS THE OLD TESTAMENT. SO GOD REVEALED HIMSELF AND HISWILL IN WAYS OTHER THAN WRITTEN SCRIPTURE. NOT SO ANY MORE. NOT NEEDED ANY MORE SINCE WE HAVE THE COMPLETED CANON. IN ACTS 13 THESE MEN WERE NOT SELECTED BY CONGREGATIONAL VOTE.  

AND FURTHER - PEOPLE CAN DO ALL THE GYMNASTICS THEY WANT  WITH WORDS IN TERMS OF TITUS 1:5 AND ACTS 14:23, BUT IT IS CLEAR FROM I TIMOTHY 5:17 THAT RULING WITH A SERVANT SPIRIT IS MORE THAN LABORING IN WORD AND DOCTRINE. YES, ELDERS RULE IN PART BY MEANS OF PREACHING AND TEACHING GOD’S WORD. CERTAINLY THAT’S AN IMPORTANT PART OF RULING, BUT THAT’S NOT ALL OF WHAT PAUL MEANT. THE WORD “ESPECIALLY” MAKES A DISTINCTION INDICATING THAT THE RULING AND LABORING IN WORD AND DOCTRINE ARE NOT IDENTICAL IN EVERY RESPECT.   ALSO, IN REFERENCE TO THIS DISCUSSION, I DON‘T HEAR OR READ ANYONE ADDRESSING THE SPECIFICS OF THE “HAVE CHARGE OVER YOU” ISSUE OF I THESSALONIANS 5:12, 13. ALSO I HAVE NOT HEARD THE SPECIFICS OF THE “OBEY” AND “SUBMIT” COMMANDS OF HEBREWS 13:17 EXPLAINED. WHAT DO THESE WORDS MEAN? DO THEY MEAN SOMETHING OR NOTHING? PEOPLE CAN FOOL AROUND WITH SOME OF THE OTHER WORDS IF THEY WANT AS THEY OVERLOOK THE IMMEDIATE AND LARGER CONTEXT OF SCRIPTURE ON THE LEADERSHIP ISSUE. THE MEANING OF WORDS MUST NOT ONLY BE DETERMINED BY LOOKING AT A GREEK OR HEBREW DICTIONARY (LEXICON), BUT ALSO BY LOOKING AT THE IMMEDIATE AND LARGER CONTEXT OF SCRIPTURE - BY COMPARING SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE. PEOPLE MAY SAY  THAT CERTAIN WORDS MEAN SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT THE WORDS APPOINT, ORDAIN AND SET IN ORDER USUALLY MEAN. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE WORDS “OBEY” AND “SUBMIT” AND “RULE” AND “HAVE CHARGE” AND “APPRECIATE” AND “”ESTEEM AND THAT THEY MAY DO THEIR WORK WITH JOY AND NOT WITH GRIEF” WHICH ARE FOUND IN I THESSALONIANS 5:12,13; HEBREWS 13:17; ACTS 14:23 AND I TIMOTHY 5:17?  ANY WAY, THERE YOU HAVE SOME OF MY THOUGHTS - MY UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE ON CHURCH LEADERSHIP. OTHERS MAY DISAGREE - SOME BECAUSE THEY THINK OF ELDER RULE AS DICTATORSHIP; BECAUSE THEY MISUNDERSTAND THE WAY ELDER RULE SHOULD FUNCTION EVEN AS MANY MISUNDERSTAND THE WAY THE LEADERSHIP OF THE HUSBAND SHOULD FUNCTION IN THE HOME. IN ANY CHURCH THAT PRACTICED SERVANT ELDERSHIP RULE WHERE I SERVED WE ALWAYS INVOLVED PEOPLE.  WE NEVER ACTED UNILATERALLY. SOME PEOPLE ARE SCARED OF WHAT MAY HAPPEN; THEY ARE IMAGINING THINGS THAT NEVER HAVE OR HOPEFULLY NEVER WILL HAPPEN WHEN GODLY ELDERS WHO ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT GOD’S GLORY AND THE GOOD OF GOD’S PEOPLE  THAN THEY ARE ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN WAY AND THROWING THEIR WEIGHT AROUND. WHERE SERVANT ELDER RULE IS PRACTICED BIBLICALLY, PEOPLE WILL BE CONSULTED; PEOPLE WILL BE LISTENED TO; IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES OF PEOPLE WILL BE SOUGHT AFTER AND FACTORED IN.  IT WOULD BE UNBIBLICAL NOT TO DO THIS AS WELL AS FOOLISH AND DISASTROUS. THE AFFIRMATION OF THE PEOPLE IS ESSENTIAL AND IT OUGHT TO BE SOUGHT. 

WILL EVERY FINAL DECISION OR CONCLUSION THE ELDERS COME TO BE ACCEPTED AND APPROVED BY EVERYONE? PROBABLY NOT. BUT THAT SHOULDN’T SURPRISE US OR ALARM US BECAUSE EVEN IN CONGREGATIONAL RULE CHURCHES YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH THE VOTE OF THE MAJORITY. WHERE SERVANT LEADERSHIP (ELDER RULE) IS PROPERLY PRACTICED,  THE CONSENSUS OF PRAYING, HUMBLE, SERIOUS PEOPLE WILL BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. AND IF THE CONSENSUS OF THE GODLY, PRAYING, DEVOTED, CHRIST LOVING AND HONORING PEOPLE SEES IT ONE WAY THEN THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH WHERE SERVANT ELDERSHIP LEADERSHIP IS APPROPRIATELY PRACTICED WILL MAKE THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE CONGREGATION A LARGE FACTOR IN WHAT THE CHURCH DOES AND HOW IT FUNCTIONS IN MATTERS THAT ARE NOT CLEARLY LAID OUT IN GOD’S WORD. IN FACT, APART FROM BIBLICAL QUALIFICATIONS AND PRINCIPLE, A MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MAKING A DECISION FOR GODLY, BIBLICAL ELDERS WILL BE THE CONSENSUS OF THE PRAYING, GODLY, HUMBLE, DEVOTED, CONGREGATION. 

THE CONGREGATION WILL HAVE A VOTE EVEN IF THEY DON‘T HAVE A FORMAL, RAISE YOUR HAND, CAST A BALLOT, SAY “AYE” KIND OF PROCEDURE. PEOPLE NEED NEVER FEAR: WITH GODLY ELDERS  THE PRAYERFUL PERSPECTIVES OF THE CONGREGATION ARE IMPORTANT AND WILL BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.

The cutting edge of the church in the city is lordship evangelism - Jesus proclaimed by word and deed, Jesus our justification and our justice…

(FOR REST OF ARTICLE CLICK HERE)

“When I started this book, my wife was concerned that I would become a Christian.  That didn’t happen.  But I have become a fan, not just of the music, but of Christians, and of Jesus himself. To me, the message of the Gospel is love one another, look out for the less fortunate, and try to walk gently on the earth. And I love that…  To anyone struggling with Christianity, my advice is try to keep your eye on the big picture, not a verse here and there. Love God, if you are so inclined, and one another. Sort out the rest using those principles as a lens.”
–Andrew Beaujon, author of Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the phenomenon of Christian rock

I’m glad Andrew likes Christians.

I’m not surprised that he didn’t become one.  Because unfortunately, it seems he missed the point of the gospel.  The message of the gospel is not… (CLICK HERE FOR REST OF ARTICLE)

We can communicate without words.

Often a lack of words is a kind of communication.  If I don’t tell my wife I love her, I’m saying something.

When our words and are actions contradict each other, we are communicating something. If I say I love you and then ignore you, I’m saying something.

Churches need to understand this.  It’s not just individuals that can communicate without words… (CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE)

It’s amazing how many excuses you can come up with for disobedience.

The most dangerous excuses are the ones that sound the most plausible.  I know a big one for me is the old…  (CLICK HERE FOR REST OF ARTICLE)

I talked to someone recently who was willing to change.

It was refreshing.  He had an opinion, a strong one, but he was willing to talk about it.  And you know what, he was willing to at least examine whether or not he might be wrong. 

I almost had a hard time believing it.  I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. I don’t think I was surprised as much that he was willing to change, as I was that he was willing to change. 

Now I need to be sure I’m clear here.

I’m not talking about him specifically.

He’s a humble man and I should have known better. He’s always proved himself willing to listen.  

I’m actually talking more about the male gender.  I don’t know if this is true in every church, but one of the things I’ve seen church planting is that a new church often attracts men, especially middle aged men, who are just flat out arrogant.  

From my perspective, the arrogance of younger men is a little different.  It’s more cocky, but if you love them at least they’ll usually listen.  And older men, at least the older men I know that are still coming to church, they have been refreshingly willing to listen.

But there is a certain kind of middle age man, (emphasis on certain kind, I’ve got a number of really godly middle aged men at my church)there is a certain kind of middle age man who typically is just not.

I call him the middle age drifter.  

I don’t call them drifters because they have left one church for another.  I call them drifters because they hardly ever stay at any one church for long.  Typically we’re talking, months.

From the way they tell it, it is because there just aren’t any good churches out there.

I used to believe them. 

It definitely made me feel good about what we were doing.  But now, when someone says that to me, especially a middle aged drifter, I’m a little more doubtful. 

I know there probably aren’t that many good churches out there. I know that there are alot of churches with problems out there. I know there are really good reasons to leave a church. I know that some places in America it is really hard to find a good church, but still where I’m at, this isn’t like Turkey or Uzbekistan or any place like that. 

There are churches out there where you can hear the Word. 

The tricky thing with most of the drifters I’ve met is that they usually know the Word. A little. 

Spend some time with them though and you find out they think they know it alot.  And they really want you to know that they think they know it alot.  They’ll quote a reference and ask if you know it.  Or they’ll thank you for the message because it reminded them of some truths they already learned along time ago. 

It’s not just that they think they know alot, though.  Some of them actually might.  It’s not like that in is a sin.  The real problem is an unwillingness to learn any more. 

I think this is one of the things I love most about my dad, he’s been studying the Scripture for years and years, but when he comes to church and he listens to someone, he’s still taking notes.  I can’t count how many times he’s come home from a church service excited about an insight. 

I guess I’m rambling but I’m mostly writing this down as a note to self.  I’m on my way to middle age and when I get there, I want to remember there is hardly anything uglier than a proud Christian middle age man.  I mean, proud non-Christians aren’t that pretty either but at least they aren’t using the Scripture to justify their pride!

So Josh, remember no matter how much you might think you know you still don’t know that much.  And what you do know, you usually forget.  And what you do remember, you need to be challenged to apply.  You haven’t arrived and you won’t until you get to heaven.  You have nothing to prove. 

Just sit down and listen.  Oh yeah, and learn!

Compelled

For the love of Christ compels us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 2 Cor 5:14 and 15

To this point the posts on our blog site have been from Joshua and Wayne Mack, a son and father team of bloggers. On this blog, you'll hear and see some news from another Mack. This blog was developed by Wayne's daughter and Joshua's sister who is a missionary in the Joburg area of South Africa. She serves as Director of Women's ministries at Grace Christian Church and is also involved in the Lambano ministry to AID'S children which is a mercy ministry of Grace Christin Church. 

Recent Pictures of Beth's ministry

Grace Christian Church Women's Fellowship Lunch

June 2006

Here are the Lambano kids with the team from Grace Community.

Here are a few of the Lambano staff at a recent wedding.12:09 PM   1 comments  

Praise Items and Prayer Requests

This blog is my attempt to help keep you better informed of what God is doing here in South Africa.

Its been a great couple of weeks in that we have had a missions team from Grace Community Church fellowshipping with, ministering to us at Grace Christian Church. It's been great also in that they have made real progress in helping us build a church auditorium and hospice for our church plant across the street from where thousands of poor black people live.

At the end of their time with us, we took the team from Grace Community in Los Angeles to a game park. Now, I've been to a game park several times and I am always amazed by the awesomeness of our God and the truth of Psalm 19. This time was by far the most exciting though. We managed to come up on an unsuspecting elephant who in turn got very angry and began to come for us. There was a moment or two when I wondered if our car was going to be squashed or overthrown. It was a pretty scary couple of minutes.

No sooner did the Grace Community team leave when another team that arrived from The Bible Church of Little Rock. This team of twenty young people and adults will be holding a Bible Club next week at our church and at the church plant in the settlement. We're excited for the opportunity to reach out to our neighborhoods. Please pray that kids would come from the neighborhood and the settlement and that they would respond to the truths of the gospel that will be presented. Additionally, the team will be running the children's program at our church camp next weekend.

Thanks to so many of you who prayed for the conferences we had a couple of weeks ago for the Lambano staff. The days were an answer to prayer. The women seemed to be really receptive to the teaching and many of them commented that they wished they had heard this teaching 5 years ago. Many of them are presently feeling overwhelmed and wondering what the point is of trying to apply what they heard now that it is so late in their lives. Please continue to pray for them and for me as I help them practically work through the application of what they heard.

You could also be praying for a single mom (Jeanine) and her two daughters (Crystal and Cherri) in our church whose house was broken into last week and they were help hostage for several hours. While we praise the Lord that they weren't hurt, please pray that God would give them peace and encouragement as they work through the fear that often follows an experience like this. Please pray too for Cherri's salvation and that God would use this experience to draw her to Himself.

Please be praying for my brother, Josh and his family. He arrives next week and I am very excited to be able to see him and spend time with him. He and his family hope to move to South Africa next July and start an orphanage in the Pretoria area. Pray that his time here would be profitable as he works on his dissertation for his doctorate and meets with people about the orphange. Pray also for his wife and daughters who will be home in the states while he is here.

Thanks so much for praying!

posted by Beth Mack @ 9:00 AM   2 comments  

For those who have noticed and care, we haven't put anything new on our blog site for a few days. The reasons being that Josh has been in Kentucky at Southern Seminary taking his last course in the academic part of his doctoral program and I have been involved in getting settled in Little Rock, Arkansas for a brief teaching stint at a biblical counseling training school at The Bible Church of Little Rock as well as several other places in the USA. We'll return to South Africa in the fall of this year to continue teaching at Grace School of Ministry located in Pretoria.

Since our arrival in Little Rock, we've started teaching counseling classes on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. They are going well with with sizable groups of people eager to learn in all of the classes. The people are reading and doing the homework outside of classes which means they are going to get more out of the course than they would if they just took the class. Some have expressed their excitement about what they are learning. Some were only going to take one of the courses, but have told us that after being in that one course they received so much benefit that they decided to take all the courses. That's great and very encouraging in that each course requires a considerable amount of work. The elders at this church are really serious about developing a counseling ministry and about training their people to minister more effectively to one another. One of the pastors has been commissioned to focus a major portion of his time and attention on administrating and facilitating and developing the counseling ministry in the church and through the church. Several of the  men in the church were former students of mine in the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling Program at The Master's College. The interest of and commitment to Biblical Counseling of this church is also evidenced by the fact that Lance Quinn, the senior pastor of the church, is president of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors and by the fact that he will actually be teaching for one week during the Summer Institute program in Biblical Counseling at The Master's College.

We are living in a nice apartment the church has arranged for us out in the mountains close to Little Rock. The people who own it live on the second floor and we are on the first floor. They are long time members of The Bible Church who recently built their home with an apartment in it so that they could provide lodging for missionaries. We are the first to use it and they are very kind and gracious. .

As a whole I am very encouraged by the biblical commitment of the church and its people. The people and pastors here are very warm and caring. They are also very serious about missions with numerous teams going out to different mission fields to assist. Right now, there is a group of about twenty in South Africa helping Grace Christian Church. Last night we had dinner with a couple who had been on the mission field in Tanzania. He's one of the elders in the church. They had also invited another family that had just returned from a mission trip to help with a mission to the Indians in that area. They said that two bus loads of people had gone with them on that mission. Other groups will be going out from this church to other places during the summer. 

Josh, the other blog guy for this site, will be going to RSA shortly for most of the month of July to lay the ground work for going there on a permanent basis (during the next year) to help pastor a church and to develop a mercy ministry to orphans. While in RSA during July of this year, he will be meeting with Hanrais Brink (a South African brother who will devote much time and expertise  to  helping Josh to establish orphanages for housing and training a future generation to make an impact for Christ in RSA)  and John Mixon (director of a very effective Bethesda orphanage in South africa) about the orphanages Josh hopes to develop. He's also anticipating a good meeting with the elders of Grace Fellowship Church in Pretoria to discuss the church's involvement in this orphanage effort. We believe that raising up a generation of children in the context of godly homes and a good church is an important strategy for impacting the 80% black population in South Africa.

And, incidentally, I was recently told by a man who is involved in the orphan emphasis of Family Life radio ministry that there are more orphans in Africa than in all of the rest of the world. So the problem of orphans is humungous and the opportunity to reach into the black community through orphans who are godly and well trained is great. This is the burden and vision of Josh, myself, Hanrais and others at Grace Fellowship Church of Pretoria. We are convicned that we must train black people to reach black people and that there is no better way of doing this than to put them in homes where godly people will raise them from the time they are children. We don't simply want to house and feed them. We want to train them. So we ask you to add these concerns to your prayer times. We need your prayers. The church in Africa needs your prayers. Please join with us!

Additional personal prayer requests for Carol and me would be: pray for the stabilization of my blood sugar level in that it has been running high ever since I had a recent bout with bronchitis.  If it doesn't improve soon, I may have to go on insulin. We'll know in a couple of weeks. Also it appears that Carol who broke her wrist in South Africa a couple of months ago is going to have to have an operation on her hand. There is a tumor on her hand that needs to be removed. The doctor who saw her thinks it is benign, but will continue to grow until she has it removed.

We continue to rejoice in Christ and His goodness to us. God is very good and we praise Him for His greatness and goodness.

Greetings to all and keep on keeping on.

Because of Him, warmly in Christ,

Wayne and Carol Mack 

Romans 14:7, 8

PRIDE AND HUMILITY BEFORE GOD INVENTORY

If you've been reading our recent posts, you are aware that we've been focusing on what Augustine called the most important Christian virtue, namely, humility. Pride as Joel Beeke and others have stated is the first sin to rear its head and the last to go when we die. God hates pride and loves humility. God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble. Identifying ways in which our pride manifests itself and how will humility manifest itself is a useful procedure for us as we seek to defeat pride in our lives and develop increased humility. Because this is true, we have designed two pride and humility inventories to assist us in this endeavor. One of them is included in this present post and theo other will be inluded in the next blog. To diminish your PQ (rpide quotient) and increase your HQ (humility quotient) we eoncourage you to take these inventories and then confess, repent, plan how and where you need to change and then put your plan into practice. Since humility is considered by God to be such an important quality and since we are so prone to be proud, this inventory can be helpful in promoting spiritual growth in our lives. Read through each of the manifestations of humility and then rate yourself using the following rating scale: 4 = always true of you; 3 = frequently true of you; 2 = sometimes; 1 = seldom; 0 = never. On the items where you recognized your lack of humility, confess that lack to God as a sin and ask Him for help to change. Periodically, complete this inventory to promote spiritual growth in humility. Perhaps you would like to ask an honest, brave and loving friend to evaluate how he/she would rate you on these items.

True Humility in terms of your behavior before God:1. I heartily and freely acknowledge my insignificance and littleness before God. _____

2. I freely confess my sinfulness and unworthiness to God and acknowledge that I am totally unworthy of His mercy and grace _____

3. I am distrustful of myself (Isaiah 2:22; Jeremiah 17:5,6) and know that ultimately I can only put my complete and absolute trust in God. (Jeremiah 17:7,8). _____

4. I renounce all the glory of the good I possess and do, and give God allthe glory and credit (Psalm 115:3). _____

5. I am respectful of, receptive, responsive and obedient to God’s Word even when it tells me to do what is difficult and contrary to my own opinion or the opinion of others (Luke 9:23,24). _____

6. I accept and submit myself to God’s revealed will even if it is difficult to do and might cause others to criticize me and lose respect for me when I do it (Matthew 5:5; 10-12). _____

7. I am content with the providence and daily provisions of God for my life Hebrews 13:5,6; Philippians 4:10-13). _____

8. I delight in worshipping and praising God (Psalm 34:1-3; Philippians 3:3; Psalm 10:1-6). _____

9. I am continuously seeking God in prayer (Luke 18:1; I Thessalonians 5:16; Philippians 4:6). . _____

10. I consider serving Christ in small and insignificant and unnoticed things – basin and towel things -as well as tasks that are considered by others to be important and bring recognition as a great privilege. _____

11. I am content to let God know some things that I don’t know; I don’t require God to explain whatever He is doing to me; I rest in His wisdom and love and grace when the reasons for events and circumstances are not clear to me (Romans 11:32-36; Deuteronomy 29:29). _____

12. I realize that God doesn’t owe me anything except hell and that any pleasures I experience in this life are wholly undeserved. _____

13. When I experience suffering or unpleasantries I don’t get upset or bitter with God; nor do I think or say, "How could God ever allow this to happen to me ? God isn’t treating me as well as I should be treated. I don’t deserve this. I’ve tried to serve Him, I’ve read my Bible and prayed faithfully, I’ve gone to church regularly, I’ve given to Him, I’ve witnessed. I’ve tried to be moral. God should treat me better than this." ____

(Adapted from Wayne and Joshua Mack’s book, Humility: A Forgotten Virtue, P & R Publishers)

Over the course of my Christian life I’ve read a number of books about Jonathan Edwards and now I’m doing it again. And guess what’s happening again? Same thing that often happens when I read a biography of a devoted child of God. I get blessed and challenged and convicted of the shallowness of my Christian life and ministry. In the words of Hebrews 10:24 (KJV) Jonathan Edwards is provoking me unto a greater love for God and His people and a greater desire to serve God and His people with more fervor and devotedness. What child of God can read about the fervor and dedication of these humble and great saints of God and come away unchanged? I leave you to answer that question.

I could write about many things I’ve learned from the life of Jonathan Edwards that provoked me, but will mention only one (perhaps in the future I’ll mention others). Throughout his life he made it a practice to reflect on the quality of his Christian life and write his thoughts down in a diary as a means of promoting confession of sin, repentance and greater devotion to the Lord. His purpose was not to provoke morbidity or melancholy. His purpose was to avoid self deception and hypocrisy in religion. Edwards did not believe that claiming conversion should be taken lightly. Stephen Nichols, the author of the book, I’m reading writes that “keeping a diary was a typical Puritan practice, serving much like an X-ray of the soul. It enabled them to face and hopefully keep at bay that dreaded enemy of self-deception. Edward’s diary reflects moments of both triumph and defeat. On January 2, 1723, he begins his diary with the word dull, then on the 9^th he begins with decayed and by the 10^th he writes ‘Reviving’.” (Page 39 of the book Jonathan Edwards, A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought)

That practice of reflecting on one’s life in and of itself is provoking in that if Jonathan Edwards and other godly men found it to be a spiritually profitable practice and one that is warranted by Scripture perhaps we should consider doing the same. The examples of Edwards and other eminently godly and useful men like George Whitfield, David Brainerd and Robert Murray McCheyne who have made reflection on their lives a practice have provoked me to make it a practice to spend some time during the day reviewing and evaluating the godliness of my thoughts, desires, behavior, my prayer life, my devotional practices, my words and interactions with people throughout the day.

Honesty compels me to say that I have not always taken the time to write down my reflections because I often do this after I have gone to bed and just before I go to sleep. Nevertheless, even without recording my assessments on paper, I find the practice of mentally reviewing and evaluating my day to be stimulation to confession, repentance, commitment and sometimes praise for evidence of God’s working in me and through me.

So I thank God for provoking brethren of the sort of Jonathan Edwards. May God be pleased to make each of us “provokers” in the sense of this man. Lord, raise up a whole tribe of these kinds of “provokers” is my prayer. Don’t you agree?

Incidentally, I think I’ll be back again with some other ways reading the book about Edwards has blessed and provoked me. So until the next blog about Edwards or whatever, may our great God multiply His grace, mercy and peace to you.  So keep on being a Hebrews 10:24 “provoker” and thanks for taking the time to read and think about what we write.

You’re Needed in Africa

You can help in Africa without leaving your home. You say, How? Answer: by way of your prayers which are desperately needed. Specifically, we need your prayers for a couple of things. One, in just a couple of weeks we’ll be doing a Shepherd’s conference in three places in South Africa. These Shepherd’s conferences in South Africa are modeled after the Shepherd’s conference that has been conducted at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California for years. Apart from the fact that John MacArthur will not be speaking and that we do the conference in three locations (Johannesburg, Polokwane and Capetown), the conference is set up in basically the same way as it is in the USA. We will have plenary sessions and workshops. Dr. Bill Barrick from The Master’s Seminary, Pastor Bruce Blakely from Grace Community Church, Dr. Timothy Cantrell of Honeyridge Baptist Church (Honeydew, RSA), Pastor Joel James of Grace Fellowship Church (Pretoria, RSA), Pastor Brian Biedebach of Grace Christian Church (Primrose, RSA), Pastor Mark Christopher (Capetown, RSA) and I (Grace School of Missions, Pretoria, RSA) will be the speakers. Between the three conferences we are expecting to have 300 to 400 (or hopefully more) pastors and church leaders in attendance from all over South Africa and even from bordering countries such as Namibia and Zambia. Many who have attended these conferences in the past have testified that God has used the material presented to change their lives and ministries. One man recently told me that his approach to the study and teaching of Scripture was dramatically changed through what he heard at one of the conferences. This man is being wonderfully used by God especially in his teaching and mentoring of young men. Among the many the subjects presented at this year’s conference will be Using and Preaching the Old Testament in ministry, church planting, A Purposeful Ministry, A Patient Ministry, A Humble Ministry before God, A Humble Ministry before Men, Marriage and Family Counseling, A Biblical Perspective on Homosexuality, Resolving Church Conflicts and The Pastor’s Family Life.

We are moving forward with our plans for the opening sessions of Grace School of Missions in October and November of 2006. We will have a full week of classes in each of these months. The classes will meet from 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM every day for an entire week in these two months. In October we will have a class on Fundamentals of Biblical Counseling and a Discipleship Lab which meet from October 23 - 28. In November the courses which meet from November 6 – 11 will be Methods of Biblical Counseling and Hermeneutics. The classes will be held at Grace Fellowship Church in Pretoria. We are encouraged by the number and nature of the people (pastors, elders, pastor’s wives, church leaders, potential pastors) who have manifested an interest in the courses. We have planned a two year curriculum where we will be teaching most of the courses offered in the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling at The Master’s College in California. We have already worked out an arrangement with Northwest University in South Africa and The Master’s College in California for the courses to be credited towards a Master’s degree in biblical counseling if the students meet the qualifying criteria of each of these institutions. For those taking the courses for credit students will need to do some presession work by way of preparation and then they will need to do some post session work after the course by way of applying and processing the information they receive.

On a personal level, we will be returning to the USA for a period of time during the summer. I will be teaching counseling at the Bible Church of Little Rock throughout the summer, The Master’s College as well as doing seminars in San Francisco and Mexico City and doing some preaching in various places. I am a board member of Faro De Gracia and will be attending a board meeting in Mexico City. I also am a board member of NANC and will be attending a NANC board meeting and their conference during our time in the USA. In addition to this, we will participate in the Grace Missions International conference in San Diego, California prior to our return to South Africa. Oh, and one other thing to which we look forward very much, we’ll have the opportunity to visit members of our family – children, in laws, brothers and sisters, grandchildren – and dear friends. Then, God willing, we will return to become reinvolved in the work of strengthening churches in South Africa for Gospel ministry through the various venues in which we will be involved, especially Grace School of Ministry.

Brethren, if you are willing, we would so much appreciate your support in these ministries. Do you want an outreach to what many have called the dark continent? Here in Africa the problems are enormous (see one of our former blogs for a description of just one of the enormous problems that people live with every day – the security, safety issue; another problem relates to the AIDS epidemic – 60% of world’s total with HIV virus live in Africa – many of them in South Africa and these are just two of the problems); the needs here are great; the opportunities are numerous. You are needed in Africa and, as stated at the beginning of this post, you can minister here without even leaving your home through your prayers. Will you join with us in doing our little part in bringing some light (John 8:12; Psalm 119:105) to the people and churches of Africa? Without Him we are nothing and can do nothing. We are convinced that it is no prayer, no power; little prayer, little power; much prayer, much power. Please come over and help us through your prayers. Do what the Corinthians did for the ministry of Paul – join in “helping us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11)

With Dad as busy as he is in Africa and me pastoring away here in Pennsylvania, we thought it might make more sense to work together on a blog. We're committed to thinking together about what the Bible has to say about changing and how to help other people change as well. We hope you'll interact with us as we by God's grace seek to become better at helping others and to become more like Christ ourselves.