A New Church Start: Sovereign Grace Christian Fellowship

After all of the contemplating what a Family Integrated Church would look like we have moved forward with starting a church. The name of the new church is Sovereign Grace Christian Fellowship and we have a temporary web site up at: http://www.sovereigngracecf.org/ . Stop on by the website and sign the guestbook.

So as to be able to transition out of the church I am presently serving at we are starting with a Bible Study on Friday nights and will begin services the first part of July. I think it is just as important how one leaves a church as it is how one joins, or in our case starts, a new church. We have been at Brea Center Baptist Church for 10 years so this new venture God has moved my family and me into is exciting.

We presently have four families committed to the start and we are gong to meet at our home for now until we grow to the point where we need to move. We simply see a need to start meeting as a church family and letting God move us as He sees fit.

Over the next weeks and months I will be writing some on this new ministry and try and share a little about not only starting a new church but starting a Family Integrated Church. Keep us in your prayers as our main purpose in all of this and what we always need to keep at the forefront of our minds is that we are here to exalt and worship Christ.

Interview on preaching with Voddie Baucham

Over at Unashamed Workman there is an interview on preaching with Voddie Baucham: Ten Questions for Expositors - Baucham. I have listened to a number of Voddie’s sermons and I highly recommend them.

Here is a link to some sermons by Voddie that was put together by Paul Schafer at Reforming My Mind – MP3’s: Voddie Baucham MP3 Sermons. By the way Paul’s site has a lot of great resources so I recommend checking it out.

Are you Homeschooling or Schooling at Home? Part 3

Matt has another installment on homeschooling (Are you Homeschooling or Schooling at Home? Part 3) with some good references to Charles Spurgeon and Richard Baxter.

Baxter is insightful when he says:

““Nothing can be rightly known, if God be not known: nor is any study well managed, nor to any great purpose, if God is not studied.”

All too often we assume that the goal of homeschooling is to make sure our kids get the best information but all the information in the world without true knowledge of God is nothing. It is an understanding of the creator that allows us to even comprehend HIS creation.

So I can do no more than agree with Spurgeon and Baxter that if we fail to teach our children the deep truths of God they will never truly comprehend even the basics of the world around them.

Again as Baxter says, and this can be applied to any subject:

“Your study of physics and other science is not worth a rush, if it be not God that you seek after in them.”

So remember when, you homeschool that the goal is not simply schooling at home but schooling in such a way that God is central to all that is done. The end result we should desire of our children is that they are God centered and not education, or any other facet of life, centered.

Interview with Philip Ryken on Preaching

Over at Unashamed Workman is an interview with Philip Ryken, of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, on preaching. Next weeks interview will be with Voddie Baucham.

Around the Blogosphere

It has been a little while since I have been to my blog, I guess that is what getting sick will do. Here are some things from around the blogosphere:

Charley over at Home Discipling Dad writes on how the church is to be different from the world and also how this relates to raising our children: Just another Flavor of Ice Cream?

Over at Fide-O they have a good chart on the 4 Views of the Millennium

John Piper writes on The Morning I Heard the Voice of God, make sure you read the whole article and then ask yourself do you regularly hear the voice of God.

Tom Ascol says: I confess I have a private prayer language, make sure you read all of this one as well so as to ask yourself if you have one as well.

Here is an Interview with Sam Storms

A Shocking Sermon to many, unfortunately

Thanks to Charley at HomeDiscipling Dad who linked to a sermon at a youth conference by David Washer of Heart Cry Missionary Society. You can download the text, audio and video if you prefer from here.



The sermon audio site mentions that he was not invited back and based on what I have seen and heard at most youth conferences you know why, the truth often hurts. I would pray that we would be as clear with the message God has given us with not only youth but adults. The sermon is about an hour but it worth the time.

Are you Homeschooling or Schooling at Home? Part 2

Matt has posted the second part of his article on “Are you Homeschooling of Schooling at Home?” He deals with the purpose and priority in homeschooling. It would be my guess that this is where many Christians make their error in homeschooling.

So often Christians defend the practice of homeschooling based on what God desires them to do and even will use scripture but their practice and goals look no different from that of an unbeliever. We have bought into the humanistic idea that education solves everything and the better educated we are the better off we will be. It amaze me how often we as Christians, me included, so easily buy into the world’s view of how things ought to be when we have the creator of the universe giving us the answers in His word.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Prov 1:7)

The wisdom and instruction that we are to seek is that which is from God. We need to homeschool so as to instill this understanding in our children and thus they can instill it in their children and so on and so on. This is not to say we are not educate out children and seek for them to do the best they can but it is to say we need to do this with the right purpose so that we achieve the correct ends, glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.

When we get trapped in the humanistic model of education the wisdom and knowledge of God becomes just part of the curriculum and I think children begin to just see it that way. Once children simply see the word of God as just more knowledge to have, on par with all other forms of knowledge, God’s word becomes little more than words on a page to remember. If this happens then we end up with generations that do not know God as we see spoken of in Judges 2:10. I pray that we will review the purpose and priority for homeschooling and seek for it to be what God would desire and not what the world desires.

Here is the link to Part 1: Are you Homeschooling or Schooling at Home? Part 1

John Newton on God’s Sovereignty and Sin

Justin Taylor, Between Two Worlds, has a blog post titled: If God Is Sovereign, and God Hates Sin, Why Does He Permit Sin? In his post he reflects on one of John Newton’s letters dealing with the issue of the sovereignty of God and the existence of sin or more precisely how to reconcile what we know as believers with what we experience.

Newton, if you have read about his life, experienced and perpetrated the sin that he later so very much detested. Thus, the question of God being sovereign and sin existing in the world would have been a very real part of Newton’s thinking and reflections. We would do well to listen to how God speaks through him, even today, to help us better understand this often difficult question.

The issue in the question often comes down to how to understand what we know and what we experience:

Newton says concerning the believer and the relationship or knowledge to experience:

In short, he is dead to the world, to sin, to self, but alive to God, and lively in his service. Prayer is his breath, the word of God his food, and the ordinances more precious to him than the light of the sun. Such is a believer in his judgement and prevailing desires.
But was I to describe him from experience, especially at some times, how different would the picture be! Though he knows that communion with God is his highest privilege, he too seldom finds it so; on the contrary, if duty, conscience, and necessity did not compel, he would leave the throne of grace unvisited from day to day. He takes up the Bible, conscious that it is the fountain of life and true comfort; yet perhaps while he is making the reflection, he feels a secret distaste, which prompts him to lay it down, and give his preference to a newspaper.

It is often our experience that leads to ask, How can it be?:

Newton says these issues lead us to ask two questions:

First,-How can these things be, or why are they permitted?
Secondly, How they may be mitigated?

To the first he says, in part:

By these exercises he teaches us more truly to know and feel the utter depravity and corruption of our whole nature, that we are indeed defiled in every part. His method of salvation is likewise hereby exceedingly endeared to us; we see that it is and must be of grace, wholly of grace; and that the Lord Jesus Christ, and his perfect righteousness, is and must be our all in all.
His power likewise in maintaining his own work, notwithstanding our infirmities, temptations, and enemies, is hereby displayed in the clearest light, his strength is manifested in our weakness.

Satan likewise is more remarkably disappointed and put to shame, when he finds bounds set to his rage and policy, beyond which he cannot pass; and that those in whom he finds so much to work upon, and over whom he so often prevails for a season, escape at last out of his hands. He casts them down, but they are raised again; he wounds them, but they are healed: he obtains his desire to sift them as wheat, but the prayer of their great Advocate prevails for the maintenance of their faith.

Further, by what believers feel in themselves they learn by degrees how to warn, pity, and bear with others. A soft, patient, and compassionate spirit, and a readiness and skill in comforting those who are cast down, is not perhaps attainable in any other way. And lastly, I believe nothing more habitually reconciles a child of God to the thought of death, than the wearisomeness of this warfare.

Death is unwelcome to nature; but then, and not till then, the conflict will cease. Then we shall sin no more. The flesh, with all its attendant evils, will be laid in the grave, then the soul, which has been partaker of a new and heavenly birth, shall be freed from every encumbrance, and stand perfect in the Redeemer's righteousness before God in glory.

To the second he replies (this is just part of his answer):

Faithfulness to light received, and a sincere endeavour to conform to the means prescribed in the word of God, with an humble application to the blood of sprinkling, and the promised Spirit, will undoubtedly be answered by increasing measures of light, faith, strength, and comfort; and we shall know, if we follow on to know the Lord.

I would encourage you to read the entire letter here and check out Justin’s blog to see the comments that he receives on Newton’s response to a question that is not new.

Family Time vs. Church Time

There is a good piece over at Al Mohler’s blog entitled: "The New Family Trump Card" -- Family Time vs. Church Time.

The piece references an article from the Leadership Report that speaks of the number of families skipping church for “family” activities. The idea is that family life with all its extra curricular activities is so busy that people opt out of church for the activities. But just as Al points out a significant part of the report is as follows:

Welker says the church isn't helping by segregating families once they arrive on campus. "Shouldn't we as a church try to bring families together?" Welker asks. "Instead what we do is bring them to church and then put mom and dad in this room, the high school kids in that room, and the elementary kids down the hall. It's no wonder families are spending more time doing family things than they are spending at church."

Holly Allen agrees. She is an intergenerational studies specialist at John Brown University. Despite recent interest in intergenerational church ministries, the trend of the past two or three decades has been toward age-graded ministries and the further stratification of generations. "In the past, spending family time and going to church were the same thing," Allen said. "Now, family time and church time are not compatible ideas, because families are rarely together when they are at church."

Al Mohler follows the above statement with:

This is a very important insight. When "church time" is seen as a competitor to "family time," something is wrong at church. When family members hardly see each other at church activities, the congregation needs to take a quick inventory of its concept of ministry.

At the same time, when Christian parents take their kids to Little League games rather than worship on the Lord's Day, these parents teach their children that team sports are more important than the worship of God.

Every kid has a "thing" going on virtually all the time. That is the condition of life today, it seems. But when that "thing" keeps the child -- or the whole family -- away from church, we need to name that thing what it is . . . at best a snare, at worst an idol.

Wow, for those of us that have seen this problem and want to do something about it we can only shake our heads with acknowledgement. The church has much work to do to change this trend. To get people to change a lifestyle that the church has in many ways fostered will I am afraid be uncomfortable for many, but it must be done. Not simply to bring people back to the church but to bring the family back to where God intends it to be.

We have to ask ourselves whether our church gatherings are a time where families are kept together or divided and then take the appropriate action. All too often the churches that promote themselves as “family friendly” are in reality the least friendly to the family as the bible would see the family.

Thanks Al for putting this article on your blog.

More on Elders from 9Marks

There is more useful information on the subject of Elders at 9 Marks ministries in the March/April 2007 newsletter. Here is the link to the Web Newsletter and one for the PDF Newsletter.

Here is the link to the previous PDF version of the February Newsleter which was also on Elders.

What Does a Family Integrated Church Look Like To Me - PT 7

One of the areas of importance in starting any church is that of membership. It seems today even the mention of church membership raises the hair on some people’s necks. The next response is usually to ask where in scripture it says that church membership is necessary and a chapter and verse is asked for. Well my first inclination is to ask if one needs a specific chapter and verse for everything we do because the truth is there are lots of things people do that do not have support of chapter and verse such as nurseries, youth groups and Sunday school. The truth is most people have what they would consider a biblical reason for these areas just as I see a biblical call for church membership.

So here is a short rundown of some of the biblical reason for church membership and the importance of it in the life of a God glorifying assembly of believers:

First is that the word for church is ekklesia which means called out ones. In the context of the church it refers to those called out by God (Eph 2:25).

So one of the things church membership does is to allow the church to set apart those who are believers and those who are not. If the church is to display God’s glory then those that are in the church need to be those that are His sheep. Now church membership does not make one a Christian and there will always be those that can fool the church but the general idea is that through the commitment to membership the church (visible) will better be able to discern those that are and are not believers.

A second reason for church membership is that calls it believers in the church to submit to their elders and leaders as well as support and honor them (Heb 13:7, 17; 1 Tim 5:17 & 1 Thess 5:12-13). The idea here is that there are Elders to be honored and people that the Elders are too lead

These would seem very vague commands if there were not specific elders and leaders over a certain group of believers. Membership lays out who those are to be led as well as who their elder is that they are to submit to and honor. I realize submitting to elders is probably a strange term in our individualistic age but Christ sets up His church as he sees fit and He has seen fit to have the church led by Elders as God defines Elders. It would also seem a strange command if it was simply to the church at large since then an Elder from some other area could have say over a group that they have never been associated with, I think not.

A third reason that church membership is a biblical principle is that the New Testament has 58 “one another” commands that would seem very difficult to follow, they are called commands, unless there was a specific group of people it was applying to and that group is the membership of a church.

Most of these commands are in the epistles which were written to local churches so in their context there is a local group of called out believers that were to care for one another. The truth of the matter is that the local church is to care for itself before those outside. This does not negate care for those outside the church but we are to start with those committed to a certain body. Even when Paul speaks of care for widows (1 Tim 5:3-16) it is for a specific group and not the church universal (even though the local church is part of the universal church). Again, this is not a call to shut the door to the world but is a call to care for each other within the context of the church. Remember that it is the love we show for one another that shows the world who we truly are (John 13:34-35). Church membership is then the avenue through which the care for “one another” can be accomplished to its fullest.

A fourth reason is church discipline. Now this for many is probably not a reason for church membership because it is a foreign or disliked concept. However it is a biblical concept since being held accountable is a very important part of church life. Again, I realize this probably steps on the individualistic toes of today’s culture but that is not reason to avoid it. There would seem to be two reason for accountability and church discipline the first is to keep and protect the purity of the church and the second to help the one who is in sin. In 1^st Corinthians when Paul confronts the issue of the man having an affair with his fathers wife (1 Cor 5) and the whole issue of judging those inside the church (1 Cor 5:12) the goal is to show a difference in the church from the world and to bring the offender back into fellowship.

Without membership it would be very difficult to hold anyone accountable and to protect the name of Christ and the church. We are not called to go from church to church holding people accountable but to do so from inside. Due to so much laxness in church discipline we constantly see people avoiding the correction that God requires. Now I have heard some refer to God taking care of this in the end or that the Holy Sprit will deal with these issues and it is not our part. But I would say that the Holy Sprit is taking care of things through the church He empowers. We do no one any good if we let fellow believers wallow in sin when we are called to help them get out of their issue and the best way to do this is to commit to each other through church membership.

There are other reasons that are in scripture that call for church membership but here are a couple passages referred to in Wayne Mack’s book, that I highly recommend on church membership, called To Be or Not To Be A Church Member?

In 1Tim 1:18-20 Paul speaks of putting out or excommunicating people and without them actually being in something specific, such as a member of a church, this could not be done.

In Matt 18:15-17 we see the rules for church discipline and they could not effectively be done if one was not committed to a specific church which may be why this process is not effectively followed today.

Lastly, I would say that the signing of a document such as a church covenant is a good thing to do. But I will also say that this may be a culturally driven thing. The reason I say this is that if one were to commit to attend a Christian church in say China or Somalia I would say that there would be no real reason to sign a document simply the fact of being associated with a church in that culture is detrimental to ones life says a lot. However in our culture in the west the signing of a document is an attempt to add some level of commitment since ones word is of little value today as so few people, Christian or not keep their word. I might even say today that even signing a document holds less value than it did at one time. I think this is why it is good to make such things as church membership classes take some time and a level of commitment as this may be a way to see the commitment level of those wishing to join a church.

I would hope that what I have said would lead one to see what scripture says about God’s church. We need to remember that it is not our place to try and reconfigure Christ’s church but to the best of our ability be the church God desires and the one that best exalts his name. I realize that some may abuse the idea of church membership but that is no reason for us to neglect or avoid it. We are called to a mutual commitment to other believers in any local church and I think that we should strive for this as best we can and church membership is one of these ways.

Here are some other resources on the topic of church membership:

9Marks Ministries – Articles on Church Membership

The Biblical Evidence for Church Membership - Brian Schwertely

Why Should I Join A Church? - Jim Ellif

Past Posts on Family Integrated Church:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Ministry, Marriage and Family

While reading Justin Taylor’s blog he had a good article by Wayne Grudem titled: Upon Leaving: Thoughts on Marriage & Ministry. It is not a new article but one worthy or reading. The issues he addresses is not just for those in ministry but it does deal with an issue that tends to be a particular problem with men in ministry.

It has been my experience both with me personally and with just observing others that often ministry takes precedence over family. This is usually justified, as I did, as valid since it was necessary to build God’s kingdom. I have also heard others use examples, both past and present, of well known Christian men who were away from home quite a bit due to ministry. The problem I have is that first of all just because someone may have done this and had their ministry be successful does not mean that we are all supposed to doe this. Secondly, because their ministry was successful does not mean it was the correct thing to do, it may have been but maybe not.

Grudem makes a good comment in his article:

I think that I failed to understand that, though the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church (Eph 5;23), a well functioning head has ears.

This means listening and not simply speaking and hearing words said back to us. We, as heads of the house may at times project a persona that hinders candid conversation with our wives. If we are not being a God glorifying head of our household have we disqualified us from ministry, especially as pastors? How many times do we hear of pastors kids being out of control? The fact that the mention of PKs can bring up images of kids living less than God glorifying lives should cause us concern.

I was listening to a sermon given by Voddie Baucham at Union University, “The Two Skills a Pastor Must Have", some time ago concerning elders and it was very convicting with regards to not only being the head of my house but being one that is the head the way God intends. Grudem’s article as well as Voddie’s sermon are well worth reading and taking to heart. Again, this applies just as much to pastors as others in ministry and even those in secular jobs. In this day and age of overwork how often do we, I have been here also, spend way too much time at work and very little at home. It is not just the time at home but how we send it that is important as well. It is not quality and quantity of time but I think the goal is both quality and quantity.

I would pray that as we come to understand our biblical responsibilities as heads of our houses that we as men would seek scripture for guidance and not the ways of the world. If we have to live with smaller houses, less cars and less toys then so be it. It is much better to be leading our families as God desires us to than to look successful to others around us. As Voddie mentions in his sermon we need to ask if we men that love our congregations more than our family. As pastors we need to make sure we are projecting the correct leadership and being a pastor that not only asks their members to care for their families in a biblical manner but also exemplifies it.

FIC Church Start - Visit to GfBC

Well we got back, Monday (2/26) from visiting Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston and while my wife and I are pretty tired it was a great trip. I have been in contact with Matt Bullen, an elder at GfBC, prior to the trip and was able to stay with the Bullen family while we were in Houston. I will be up front about the fact that even prior to visiting Grace I was very much in agreement with how they function as a Family Integrated Church. So this trip was as much about clarifying how their ministry functions as getting new ideas and insights.

We arrived Friday night to a great meal and then stayed up late conversing about ministry and how Grace started. This is not the first church started by Matt and it became clear that one of the great advantages that GfBC had from the beginning was that they had three elders; Matt Bullen, Paul Renfro and Voddie Baucham, who had a common vision to start a God glorifying multigenerational church. As I am looking to also start a church much like GfBC it revealed the need to have at least two other families equally committed to a church start as this does a couple things. First it helps to avoid church being a one man show and thus helps avoid burn out. Secondly, by starting with three elders they were already starting with what I consider a biblical model of multiple elders. Also, starting with three committed families helps with accountability on various issues as does having three elders.

Saturday we talked some more and then went to help a family that was moving into the area and was to attend GfBC move into a new home. A number of the deacons showed up to help the family move along with a number of other men as well as some of the children. It was evident that there was genuine care for this new family and that the GfBC members desired to help this new family get a good start in the area. Many churches show a similar care for people in helping them move so this simply shows that the family integrated church function similarly.

On Sunday we went to worship and got there early as there is some set up to do in the church which they rent from a 7th Day Adventist Church. The set up was done by many people and not simply a small few which was good to see. GfBC starts at around 10:30AM with about 15 minutes of fellowship prior to the start of the service. GfBC does not have Sunday School so this is the only gathering on the Lord’s Day. The service consists of many of the same elements of every other orthodox church which is significant as all too often many people see the concept of being a Family Integrated Church as having a sole focus on the family.

The announcements start with a mention of the church being a Family Integrated Church and letting people know they do not have an issue with cooing and restless babies and that there is no nursery. Also, announced was that they understand that sin affects even children and if anyone had to take their children out and deal with their sin they would not bother anyone. This mention of being an FIC was the only real mention of being a FIC so again the service is centered around Christ and not the family. The rest of the service contained:

- Singing
- Prayer
- Reciting of a catechism by one of the children, with the church joining in on the answer to the catechism question
- The giving of an offering
- The Lord Supper is done weekly and is done in such a way that people are given time to get right with those around them and in their families and then is administered by the men of the church
- After the service the room is changed and tables are put up so that everyone can partake in a fellowship meal which is provided by the GfBC families.

On this particular Sunday there were numerous baptisms done after the fellowship meal. The testimonies of the people being baptized were inspiring to hear as they revealed people that had a good grasp of salvation and it being a gift of God.

As I have not had the privilege of worshiping with so many children, especially small ones, it did help me realize that some people would have to get used to this paradigm shift. When talking to Matt he agreed that they realized that worshiping in a multigenerational setting will not be for everyone but that being true to scripture was more important.

I readily see that functioning as a Family Integrated church is much easier to do from the beginning than trying to change the paradigm of an existing church. By GfBC starting using the biblical model they use they did not have to deal with the changes that an existing church would have to go through. Anyone who has talked to others about the FIC will quickly realize that age segregating in ministry is very ingrained in the minds of people.

GfBC does have midweek family bible studies as well as regular membership meetings for those desiring to join the church. GfBC does take membership seriously and I think this is what adds to their success as those who desire membership and go through the process are obviously going to be committed to the church and thus to each other.
This is a quick synopsis of our visit and as other things come to mind I will write more.

For those interested GfBC is hosting a Family Integrated Church Conference October 26th and 27th, 2007 .

The Tomb of Jesus? – Should we really expect more from the world?

Should we really expect more from the world than the recent “Jesus Tomb” story? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 1:18-29:

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Since Paul so forcefully ties together the cross and the resurrection in 1 Corinthians we should not be surprised when the world seeks to undermine the resurrection which it quite naturally sees as foolish. We should also not be surprised that this gets so much press even though it is not a new story. When Hollywood gets hold of a story that fits its world view they will do the best it can to promote it..

This to me once again shows the relevancy of scripture since Paul in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians is stressing the importance of the resurrection and today we need to do the same. We do not have to fear the information being put out by Hollywood but as 1 Peter 3:15 says:

always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you

Here are some links to articles on the “Tomb of Jesus”.

The Jesus Tomb? “Titanic” Talipot Tomb Theory Sunk from the start - Ben Witherington

Oh Brother, Here We Go Again--or Do We? - James White

The Last Tomb of Jesus – James White

Who's Writing the Fiction Here? – Paul Maier on the Stand to Reason Blog

Transcript from the Larry King Live Show - You need to go about half way down to get to this part of the show.

Review of the movie "Amazing Grace"

I went to see the movie Amazing Grace this last weekend and it is very good. The cinematography was well done as well as the other cinematic aspects. The movie did a good job of showing the amount of desire Wilberforce had in seeking to abolish slave trading and the lack of respect for human life by those that fought to continue the slave trade. However, why does it seem there is always a however with “Christian” movies, I do think that the movie missed the true impetus of all that Wilberforce did. In the new February 24th issue of World Magazine is an article by John Piper that reflects on the true driving force behind William Wilberforce’s desire to abolish slavery and that was justification by faith alone.

The question is often raised as to what makes a movie Christian and I think that it has to be a focus on Christ, which this movie does not have. I am anxious to hear what believers and non-believers say about this movie as I am guessing that the non-believer will see one man’s desire for righting wrong and they may even see faith coming into play in some manner. However the faith they will see is not portrayed as not of being in Christ. The God displayed in the movie is nebulous enough to not offend so even if the non-believer sees Wilberforce’s faith as being in God it will be in such a way as not to create an issue in people’s hearts and minds.

The movie does mention Christ once when they repeat the famous line from John Newton: “I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.” This is not enough to make a movie “Christian” but it might be a start.

This all said I highly recommend this movie and along with his movie I recommend reading about Wilberforce and being ready to answer questions you may get about this movie. I would even say this movie may allow you to talk to other Christians about the importance of doctrine because it was doctrine that drove Wilberforce to do what he did and not simply some “feeling” he had. Above all things I would hope this movie drives believers to seek to see how their faith actually interacts with their lives and if it does not then they would sit down and reflect as to why.

As far as books here are some I recommend.

Roots of Endurance by John Piper
Amazing Grace in the life of William Wilberforce by John Piper (free PDF online)
A Practical View of Christianity by William Wilberforce
Wilberforce by John Pollock (this is out of print but I found that it is going back into print in England so I am trying to find where it may be gotten in the US.

Piper's Biography on Andrew Fuller

I was listening to John Pipers biography of Andrew Fuller, which you can download here (as well as read a shorter transcript of the sermon), and I highly recommend it as I think Fuller is another of those men from the past most of us know little about.

When I was listening to the biography I was struck by a section where Piper spoke of Fuller’s view of justification and faith and that justification by faith with a correct understanding of faith causes us to look away from ourselves towards Christ because faith is received from God. Piper then refers to Spurgeon speaking on people teaching children too much about loving Jesus rather than trusting Jesus. The idea of love can cause children, and us, to try and do something about it out of response but when one is properly focused on trust first they are forced to look away from themselves and look to Christ and so Piper ties this back to Fuller’s biblical view on faith. This whole issue with faith was, as the biography tells, formed around Fuller’s fights against Hyper-Calvinism (as correctly defined) and Sandemanianism both of which greatly misunderstand Biblical faith. Do we do today often propagate many of the same errors with faulty views of faith? We should learn from men such as Fuller about faith and the importance of understanding it.

You can get an understanding of Sandemanianism, which I knew little about, from the biography.

I encourage you to listen to this biography and the many other that can be found on the Desiring God site, you can find the biographies here.

Are you homeschooling or schooling at home?

Matt Bullen of Blessed Families Ministries has an article on his blog entitled: Are you homeschooling or schooling at home? Do we homeschool to keep our kids away from bad stuff and to give them a better education, neither of which are necessarily bad, or do we homeschool because we see it as that which most pleases God.

One may accomplish both of the first two reasons if you start with the main reason being to obey and glorify God. However it is possible to see the first two reasons as prime and never accomplish the third reason, pleasing God. As homeschoolers we need to answer the “why” question and as Christian Homeschoolers the answer needs to rest on God and His revealed word. I am one who has taken a while to come to this realization as I constantly was concerned about if our kids were learning enough. But when I came to the realization, through scripture and things I read and heard, that the goal of homeschooling is to raise children that seek after God and that the educational aspect, from the worlds perspective of education, was secondary.

Here is an example of a question you can ask yourself: Why do we teach children to read and write? From a Christian world view it should not be to win a spelling bee or some writing award but foremost it should be so they can read, understand and convey God’s word to others. We need to do our best at all we do but my concern is that our best is all too often defined by the world and not by God.

I look forward to Matt’s next installment and I pray you will ask yourself why you homeschool. I believe that if you can come to an answer for homeschooling that is biblically based much of the usual pressures that are felt will be greatly diminished.

More on a Family Integrated Church Start

I have realized that there is an inherent problem with reading blogs, other than finding the time. The problem is that in general unless you have started reading a particular blog from the beginning you end up reading from the end of a stream of thought to the beginning. This may cause misunderstandings with such things as describing what I see a Family Integrated Church looking like. If someone started at my last installments they may wrongly assume that the main focus of the church is to be the family. While the family is very important, as God designed it, it is not the most important aspect of a local church. The most important thing one is to do when gathering together is to worship God and glorifying His name in all that is done, whether prayer praise or proclamation of His word.

So, I place this post here to encourage any that may misunderstand this to go back to the first article and read forward. Any church that places man first or for that matter any aspect of man’s activities has greatly failed to understand the overall message of the bible. The message of scripture from beginning to end is about Christ and redemptive history. Man has a part in this but only as God has designed him to be and man’s primary purpose is to worship God. Just as with the Israelites in Exodus 7:16, 8:1 & 20, 9:1 & 13 as well as 10:3 God desires us today to serve Him and going to church, the local gathering of believers, for any other reason is missing the point of worship.

Now this said how we live and act is also worship so another aspect of the church gathering is to equip believers to better worship God in their daily lives. This is where the family comes into play as scripture does not delegate the nurture of families to the church but the church is to equip the families to disciple their own members with the father to generally take the leadership role in this(Eph 6:4). So for us to worship God in a manner that glorifies his name we must also disciple in a manner that is in accordance with God’s word and that is primarily through the family.

This focus on the family as the main discipling entity of the church often leads to another mistaken understanding regarding the Family Integrated Church, that it is only for “typical” families. While I cannot deny that the family today falls far short of God’s desire that does not mean that a family that has been hurt by sin, as truly all families are, cannot still function as a family. I would even say that singles can function as part of a family in a local church and thus are not left out of this process. Probably one of the biggest differences in an FIC and other churches is that the goal is not for the church to do the discipling, per say, but for the church to equip the people to disciple their families as God has put them.

While much of worship would appear the same with some other orthodox biblical churches the difference you would see is everyone from the youngest to oldest worshiping God together and encouraging and exhorting each other. The elder teaching the younger and the younger serving the older in such a manner to further give God glory. Through this multigenerational aspect of worship I believe a much richer fellowship will be developed that brings greater glory to God.

I hope it is clear that even though I may refer to a “Family Integrated Church” it is only so as to differentiate a way of doing church that I think is the most biblical. I wish there was no need to even use such terms as FIC because it was accepted and every church worshipped God in this manner but it is not so and thus terms are often used to distinguish how one goes about worshipping God.

Past Posts on the Family Integrated Church

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Church Start Part 1

More on Amazing Grace, the movie

If you are planning on going to see Amazing Grace, well even if your are not, there is a study guide on the movie at the movies website: AmazingGraceMovie.com (be aware that depending on your connection it may take a little time to download the PDF). The first part of the guide is good as it will give you some idea of the people involved in the movie and I am guessing that while many may know of John Newton few will know of William Wilberforce. All too often the fact that Christians were wrongly involved in slave trading overshadows the great contributions Christians, such as Wilberforce, played in stopping slave trading.

My prayer is that people will see the effects of true conversion and the part the cross played in the lives of Wilberforce and even John Newton. If you study the lives of both these men it becomes clear that they truly understood the depth of their sin and it was this understanding that allowed them to truly see the mercy and grace of God as it truly is. Again I pray that this comes out through the movie.

Keep in mind that no matter how good this movie is it is not the next great evangelistic event as so many movies have been touted as but I think it will be informative and if true to the men’s lives it portrays may show in some small way God’s effect on people’s lives through the cross and Christ’s substitutionary death for His people.

Small Children in the Corporate Worship

Pastor Paul Martin writes a good article called: Helping Little Ones Learn to Sit in Church: A Few Practical Suggestions on Moving from Nursery to "Big Church. The suggestions he gives for keeping young ones in the service are helpful. I would like to add something to a couple of his suggestions.

First is the suggestion: “You may start keeping your child in “big church” for the first half of the service.” This may be a good way to start but all too often I see parents keep this mentality. If we are not careful the children start to see the preaching of the word of God as not as important as the singing and other activities. This may not be intentional but children learn early how to worship. So while this may be a good way to start if you have never had young ones in a service I would encourage you to not keep this practice up too long. By the way there are many an adult that still check out for the preaching part of the service so this is not just an issue for children.

Second is the suggestion: “Some children will find sitting in church easier if they are given a few books to read.” While this also may be a good way to start children off who have not attended the regular service before if it is kept up too long they will soon see church as a place to do anything but listen to the word of God being preached. So my suggestion would be to try and engage them in the word in their bibles and have them draw and write things about what they hear. This, as with many things takes training and guidance but will better equip them for the future.

I linked to this before but John Piper also has an article that has suggestions on how to have small children in the service: The Family: Together in God's Presence.

Parents need to take Pastors Martin and Piper’s suggestions and implement them instead of unloading the kid’s in the nursery. How children are raised with regards to worship will greatly influence how they worship as adults. If they are led to avoid corporate worship as children they will in all likelihood find ways to avoid it as adults.

The article by Pastor Martin links to a good Banner of Truth article by GEOFF THOMAS called: A Child Was Bored in the Service .