We just returned from spending the weekend in Oakhurst California. We got to Fresno Saturday and then spent the Lord’s Day worshiping with
Christ Community Bible Church (CCBC). It was a great time of worship and fellowship.
Then Monday (6/21) after taking a drive around Bass Lake we met at CCBC for some great teaching and fellowship. It is my understanding there were around 240 people, adults and children, at this “
NCFIC Road Trip-Oakhurst” stop which was a great turn out especially considering it was on a Monday afternoon/evening. CCBC did a great ob of hosting this event keeping things on schedule and even providing an evening meal between sessions where families could gather to meet together. This was especially appreciated as so often at conferences there is so much to pack in that fellowship can often be cut short but not here.
The sessions were broken down with the men and sons meeting together for the first 2 hours or so and the women and daughters meeting for a tea at the same time. After the initial sessions we all gathered together for a meal then all gathered for a final two talks as one large group.
As I only heard the men’s talks and the final talks I cannot comment on the women's talks but from what I understand they were very good. I will post a link to my wife and daughter’s blog when they get a post up on the women’s part of the meeting. In the first talk Scott Brown spoke on Building a Biblical Family. In his talk Scott, with his usual passion for the sufficiency of scripture, spoke on 12 areas that need to be dealt with to build a biblical family. Those areas are, and I given some, not all, of the scripture references given:
1) Examining Ones Heart to be Sure of Ones Salvation – II Cor 13:5; II Cor 5:17;Matt 7:16
2) Observe the Sabbath Day – Deut 5:12-15; Ex 20; Neh 13; Heb 4
3) Listening to the Preaching of the Word of God - Acts 2:42
4) Celebrating as a Family – Deut 12:12; Ps 127 – 128
5) Doing business with Sin – Job 1:5; Col 3:5
6) Dealing with the “One Another’s” in the church – Eph 4
7) Conducting Family Worship – Ps 78; Jn 4:23-24
8) Praying Family Prayers – Matt 6:33
9) Working Together – Prov 10:4-5
10) Saturating the Family in the Law & Love of God – Deut 6:1-9
11) Studying History Together – Deut 31:7
12) Make a God Centered Marriage – Gen 1:27-28; Gen 2:18; Prov 31
Peter Bradrick then spoke, mainly to the younger men, about the need to see we are in a battle. One of the great points he made is that we so often allow the young to use youth as a time of play while in reality it is the only time they have to prepare for adulthood. This is especially important for believers as youth is a time not for amusement but a time to prepare for the battle. A time that is lost if not used for God’s glory. He also spoke of areas that so often attach to young men. Areas such as: being absorbed in the culture of sports, simply hanging out with other young men accomplishing nothing and also the attitudes of apathy, pride and the pursuit of pleasure. This is a message that needs to be shared and instilled in all young men.
The time with the men was concluded with another message from Scott Brown on “Common Infections in the Family Integrated Church. These were areas that in some form or fashion are in many “Family Integrated Churches” but that should not be there and thus need to be corrected and dealt with in some fashion. The 12 items spoken on, and with explanations of each were:
1) Neglecting the Gospel – the exalting of Christ by “all” of His word
2) Misunderstanding Family Integration – especially in making it the centerpiece of the church
3) Misunderstanding Equipping & Evangelism in the Church
4) Lack of Biblically Qualified Leadership
5) Home Churching – especially as it relates to biblical leadership that scripture points to with regards to the church
6) Doctrinal Confusion
7) Fuzziness in Biblical Womanhood and the Influence of Feminism
8) Disrespecting Authority – often by having no authority
9) Lack of a Love for Scripture
10) Inward Focus that causes a Neglect in Ministry to the Lost
11) Absence of Humility
12) Lack of Love for the Church
After a great meal and fellowship we all gathered together to hear another talk from Scott Brown and Peter Bradrick. Scott spoke first and his topic was on Reformation in the Church. In covering the topic he did so in three sections:
Characteristics of Reformation
1) A Work of God, Not Man
2) Often follows Seasons of Idolatry & Sinfulness
3) Fueled by Desperation
4) Touched off by the Preaching of the True Gospel
5) Propelled by a Hunger for God
6) Outward Changes Followed by the Inward Conviction of Sin
7) Marked by an Unusual Love for Scripture
8) Ignites a Love for the Gathering of God’s People
9) Produces Opposition
Modern Signs of Revival
1) Clarification of the True Gospel & Preaching of it
2) Resurgence of Expository Preaching
3) Doctrinal Awareness
4) Revival of Biblical Fatherhood
5) Large Families
6) Rejection of Feminism
7) Modest Dress
8) Early Manhood
9) Dating Culture Rejected
10) Generational Retention
11) Biblical Counseling Movement
12) A Wave of Books on Family based on the Sufficiency of Scripture
13) Rejection of Evolutionary Speculation
14) New Churches Planted that Reject Age Segregation
15) Censure, Rejection & Persecution
What Kinds of Reforms are the NCFIC Seeking
As the talk went long this section was gone through rather quickly but some of the reforms sought were areas such as the use of the regulative principle and other areas that further promote the items listed above.
Peter Bradrick closed the conference speaking on the youth group culture the church is so enamored with. The
NCFIC has been working on a documentary that should be out this year on the subject as well as Scott Brown is putting out a book on the subject. Both of which will in all likelihood meet with resistance because they go against the churches culturally accepted norm even if it is not a biblically supported norm. Peter touched on a number of areas but the picture that was painted was one of the need to return to how God wants youth to be nurtured and discipled which is by equipping families and primarily fathers. I am sure more will be said on the subject as the two new resources from the NCFIC come out.
What a great time this was and many thanks to Christ Community Bible Church for doing a fine job of putting on the conference. If you are ever in the Oakhurst area this is a great church to spend the Lord’s Day.
CCBC Contact info:
Christ Community Bible Church in Oakhurst, California
Oakhurst Community Center
39800 Road 425 B.
Oakhurst, CA 93644
Michael Cox (mcox@sti.net)
If you have an opportunity try and attend one of the remaining
NCFIC Road Trip stops. You can find the the cities still to be visited
here.
Here are a few pictures from Monday:
Scott Brown
Peter Bradrick
"Not since 1731 has the Reformed world seen a comprehensive commentary on its most detailed standard of faith, The Westminster Larger Catechism. Even that earlier two-volume masterpiece by Thomas Ridgeley does not rival the depth and breadth of this contribution to Reformed doctrine provided by Dr. Joseph C. Morecraft, III. Culminating a lifetime of learning, preaching, and pastoral care, this five-volume work incorporates the most stalwart of Reformed theology from recent centuries as well as past masters, and exegetes the teachings of the Catechism through potent insight, consistent application, and relentless recourse to God’s Word. In a time when the Church faces many doctrinal challenges, Morecraft’s Commentary calls her back to the foundations of the Reformed faith, directing her to the spiritual power of God’s Word as taught in the Larger Catechism. In a time when even the Reformed lose heart and begin to tinker and modify their understanding of their own standards, Morecraft’s Commentary directs us to a clear confession of faith. In these volumes, Authentic Christianity: An Exposition of the Theology and Ethics of the Westminster Larger Catechism we find relevant solutions to the challenges we face, and the power to transform individuals, families, and entire cultures today.
Posts
.gif)
