Sunday’s Challenge to Christians 100 Years Ago

Have you ever read a biography about Billy Sunday? I have thoroughly enjoyed a great book about Sunday's life. God used Sunday in incredible ways. The campaigns and revivals that America experienced in the 1^st decade of the 20^th Century were awesome.

The numbers were staggering.

Sunday was quite the preacher. Anything I could write would not give justice to Sunday's entire life. Every Christian needs to read at least one biography on Rev. William A. Sunday's life.

In the Philadelphia Campaign of 1915, 400 churches worked together to promote and participate in the city-wide tabernacle meetings. 400 churches working together—amazing—literally amazing and serves as a clear testimony to the unity Christ can create among born-again believers.

But this paragraph got my attention last night: Lee Thomas writes:

"Many times Billy would challenge the Christians with 'How can we expect the unsaved to come flocking into the kingdom over old, apathetic, critical church members?'"

What a challenge. What a statement. How can we expect the unsaved to come flocking to the house of God—a local church—when it is filled with apathetic, critical church members?

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines apathetic as: Having no interest, concern, emotion or feelings.

Sunday was concerned that the church rolls were filled with people who were apathetic. Are you apathetic toward the things of God? Are you concerned about your church? Are you interested in the people in the church? Are you doing anything to welcome our newest members and make our guests feel welcome? Are you concerned about building the kingdom of God? If Berean never grew beyond its current size, would that bother you?

Then Sunday said that the church has "critical" members. Critical members are negative and seldom satisfied with anything. These are the members that have a reputation of bringing all the problems to a pastor's attention. If a decision is made, they will be opposed. Very infrequently will you hear an encouraging word from these member's mouths.

If some members are apathetic and other members are critical, this is a killer combination that will surely quench the Spirit's work in a church. This must be why Lee Thomas writes "many times Billy would challenge the Christians." Sunday had to challenge Christians in every city to change.

Sunday knew that no matter how great the revival was in any city, if the church did not change, these new converts would not stand a chance against the world. They needed to be welcomed into a church packed with Spirit-filled believers who were positive and concerned about the Kingdom of God through teaching and growing new believers grounded in the faith.

If Sunday were alive today, would he say the same thing? If Sunday came to Berean, would he be concerned that our rolls are filled with critical, apathetic members who call themselves Christians?

 

 

 

 

 

Saying Good Bye

Today a very good friend of mine and a brother in Christ boarded a plane to depart to another duty assignment. I will miss him greatly. Friends are precious.

It is hard to imagine that we will not be running together again on his 4-day weekends. I look forward to the day God brings him back.

But I know that in spite of 1000s of miles of distance today's modern communication devices will allow us to stay in touch and our common love for our King will bind our hearts together in service in to His Kingdom.

He has served our Lord well and His church exceptionally well. He will be missed by all those to whom he taught so very faithfully every week.

I pray our Lord will guide him to his next duty assignment in the kingdom and he will bless another preacher as much as he blessed me.

Reasoner, be faithful and serve our King will all you have and He will reward you beyond your wildest dreams and expectations.

 

 

Covenant Discussion II

I want to encourage everyone to give serious consideration to this matter of covenants within the church.

Please don't feel the need to post.

I agree wholeheartedly with the Bible as being our guide, standard and rule by which we apply all things. Therefore, if you have a covenant shouldn't everything in the covenant be easily substantiated from the Bible?

Should we just say I pledge to live by the Bible? The Bible is a large book with much information in it. Some of which isn't very applicable to today—have you read Leviticus lately?

There must a reason why godly preachers of the past and elders of the church drafted and articulated the most important things into paragraphs that could be easily digested and comprehended.

Some of the godliest men in the world have written and pledged to live within the framework of a covenant.

I don't sense any leadership from the Lord just to continue to keep our covenant buried in a pdf file. Pray for me.

Greg Wills writes,

When persons joined a Baptist church, they subscribed to its covenant, which summarized Christ's commission to the churches. In it they declared that they intended together to be church of Christ: "We do voluntarily and jointly separate ourselves from the world, and give ourselves unto the Lord, hold ourselves henceforth his, and no longer our own. We do also voluntarily and mutually give ourselves one to another; and receive one another in the Lord, meaning hereby to become one body, joint to exist and act by bonds and rules of the gospel, each esteeming himself henceforth a member of a spiritual body, accountable to it, subject to its control" (Polity: A Collection of Historic Baptist Documents p. 23).

Why should I assume that in the 18^th century it was important but isn't important in the 21^st century?

Fundamentalist of the past must have thought it was important.

 

 

 

 

Covenant Discussion

A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties. It is a formal and binding agreement. If a church has a covenant isn't it reasonable to assume that the party that it applies to is its membership?

If the covenant applies to its membership then the covenant must contain only those things that the church would exclude someone from being a member.

The issue becomes defining these things. This requires a huge degree of spiritual maturity. Obviously, repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ would be absolutely essential. Baptism by immersion after salvation would be another non-negotiable.

Other areas are just as clear. Drunkenness is clearly prohibited in Scripture and a strong case can be made that any consumption of alcohol is a slippery slope; therefore, I choose not to drink and have chosen not to for 20 plus years.

But the difficult issue is do you prohibit alcohol consumption or drunkenness in the covenant?

Which can you most readily identify as completely unacceptable behavior for a Christian? Certainly pastors, deacons, teachers, staff and anyone associated with leadership in a church must be held to a higher standard than the membership, but what are the core expectations of church members.

I submit to you that the reason church covenants are not in practice and have been hidden away in the archives of church libraries and filing cabinets is because of these tough emotional issues.

Would you prohibit someone from becoming a church member because they listened to secular music?

Certainly sexual immorality must be present in a covenant. A man or woman who goes into sexual immorality would not expect to be able to remain a member in good standing with his or her church.

I think that only those areas in which a church (the people) would be willing to raise their hand high and vote someone out of the church would be included in the covenant.

Faithful attendance seems like a reasonable expectation. I met someone in a restaurant who claimed to be a member of Berean and openly stated she had not been in attendance in well over six months—the reality is 6 months was gracious. I remember when this young couple united with Berean and it was well over a year. You don't know them because they never attended church after they united. They have since been voted out of the membership because of their lack of commitment to the church.

I believe there isn't any wrong with having members pledge to be faithful to the church that they are uniting with. Do you?

Why would a church have a covenant if it wasn't going to use it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BBC Covenant

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior,

and on profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of our Father, and of the Son, and of the

Holy Ghost, we do now, in the presence of God, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into

covenant with one another as one body in Christ.

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive

for the advancement of this Church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and

spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence

over all institutions of human origin, and to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the

ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor, and he spread of the Gospel through all

nations.

We also engage to maintain family and private devotions; to religiously educate our children;

to seek the salvation of our kindred, acquaintances, and all others; to walk circumspectly in the world;

to be just in our dealings, faithful to our engagements, and Berean Baptist Church's Constitution;to be

exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from worldly

amusements such as gambling, rock music, and the modern dance; to be free from all oath-bound secret

societies and partnerships with unbelievers; to abstain from the sale or use of tobacco in any form, narcotic

drugs, or intoxicating drink as a beverage; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our

Savior.

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer;

to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy of speech;

to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior; to

secure reconciliation without delay.

We moreover engage that, when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible, unite with

some other Church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.

Pastoral Accountability

Have you seen the headlines?

CBS News has learned Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six prominent televangelist ministries for possible financial misconduct. The six ministries identified as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Three of the six - Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar - also sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University.

This brings up a very reasonable question:

To whom is the pastor of BBC accountable?

First and foremost, a pastor must fear God and be accountable to Him. When a congregation feels a pastor no longer fears God, he should be voted out of his office.

Second, a pastor must be accountable to his wife if he is married. If a pastor is keeping secrets (other than a surprise birthday party) from his wife, that should be a serious warning sign to the church. No one knows a pastor better than his wife, and she has a responsibility before God and the church to aid her husband in becoming more like Christ day by day in love and respect for him.

Third, as the pastor of Berean, I place myself in a position of accountability to the other pastors in the church. If you are looking for this in the NT—look in Acts and look at the plurality of leadership. Paul told Titus to ordain elders in every city. The pastors of Berean Baptist have demonstrated that they are willing to risk their jobs and do the right thing. They believe that you as a congregation will support them as long as they are following the Bible. A pastor who would knowingly let another pastor remain in the ministry when he is biblically disqualified should lose his ordination as well as the pastor in sin.

Fourth, I am answerable to every member of Berean. Every member of this church has a responsibility to approach me individually when they have a concern, issue, or a belief that I am not in compliance with the Word of God or the Church Constitution. Matthew 18.15, could be written, "Moreover if your pastor sins against you, go and tell him his fault." Read the rest of the chapter for more guidance from our King.

Fifth, I am accountable to the annual budget. The budget is approved by the congregation and provides the parameters within to operate. A need to adjust the budget must be approved by the congregation. The duly elected church treasurer has access to all financial information at his discretion. The church also provides quarterly briefing and reports on the financial condition of the entire ministry.

Sixth, I am responsible to follow the Articles of Faith, the Covenant and Church Constitution.

When a pastor falls into sin, he needs to be quickly disciplined according to the biblical criteria of 1^st Timothy 5:19-21.

 

 

 

 

One Example of a Church Covenant

In my study of church covenants this week I found this covenant:

What do you think of it? Would you sign it?

I believe it is time for me to teach on church covenants.

My thought is simple: Why have a covenant if it is not affirmed by all the members of the church?

ONE CHURCH's COVENANT

Having, as we trust, been brought by Divine Grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to Him, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other.

We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We will walk together in brotherly love, as becomes the members of a Christian Church; exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require.

We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others.

We will endeavor to bring up such as may at any time be under our care, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends.

We will rejoice at each other's happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other's burdens and sorrows.

We will seek, by Divine aid, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and remembering that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again from the symbolic grave, so there is on us a special obligation now to lead a new and holy life.

We will work together for the continuance of a faithful evangelical ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines. We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

We will, when we move from this place, as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

 

MY THOUGHTS

I certainly appreciate the emphasis upon God's help and grace in this covenant. It also will serve for years to come regardless of the wicked imaginations of man—a holy life describes a prohibition against all that man may devise in the years to come.

What do you think?