The Gospel Coalition

The annual RCA Integrity Leadership Conference this year is fast approaching.

We want to invite you to this time of fellowship, learning and growth with like-minded brothers and sisters. This year, we will be meeting June 17-18 at Peace Church, just south of Grand Rapids, MI. Visit our website to learn more and register.

The conference is small and geared for RCA pastors, leaders, and members, but like minded friends from other denominations are also welcome.

Theme: The Bible and Pastoral Ministry

Location: Peace Reformed Church, Middleville, MI

Dates: June 17-18, 2013

Price: $50 individual

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Derek Thomas

Dr. Thomas joined the staff of First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC, in 2011, coming from Jackson, MS, where he was Chairman of the Theology Department at Reformed Theological Seminary and Minister of Teaching at First Presbyterian Church. A Welshman, he is a graduate of the University of Wales (Bc.S), Reformed Theological Seminary (M.Div), and University of Wales/Lampeter (Ph.D.) and was ordained in the Evangelical Church of Ireland, where he served Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Belfast for 17 years before moving to Mississippi. He remains the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at RTS and is a well published author.

At our Consistory meeting last week I asked all those whose terms were ending to share a few reflections and any advice for those just coming on the board. One of our elders–Peeter Lukas, a thoughtful, godly man who works on the line at GM–shared this letter. I thought it was worth sharing with others.

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to adequately express our gratitude to God for having led Carolyn and I finally to our “home” here at URC these past four years and me to the spiritual banquet table known as the board of elders. It was only yesterday, three years ago, that a couple of elders said to me–or was it a warning?–that the eldership would change my life and that I’d never be the same again. Truer words were never spoken to one who with awkward diligence has spent a lifetime staying in the background. By curious paradox these efforts at staying “small” end up producing people who, in this untested state of isolation, become too big–too big with fear, too big in self-reliance, too many glances at self and too few gazes upon Christ and His grace.

“You’re called to be faithful, not successful” were the scalpel sharp words of wisdom so graciously applied to my brooding heart by fellow elder Keith Widder a couple of years ago. Paul exhorted Timothy to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved” (2 Tim.2:15). He didn’t say, “Do your perfect…” I’m relieved at that, but both statements, by Keith and Paul, nonetheless point first to my utter impossibility to fulfill the task of elder, and my need for the gospel of grace to do anything that even slightly resembles Christ-likeness.

What have I learned these past three years? To be an elder implies the possession of at least a modicum of biblical wisdom and insight. And yet, what I learned seems to center in the most elementary of lessons. In John 15:5 Jesus plainly said “without me, you can do nothing.” In moments of insanity, I’ve recited–please tell me brothers that I’m not the only one here who has done this!–I’ve recited the words of the late and great mayor of New York City, Ed Koch, who roamed the streets of the city yelling at stray passerbyers, “Hey, how am I doin’? How am I doin’?”

In the glorious messiness of URC, Christ has had to remind me often that “without Me you can do nothing.” “People are messy” is no longer a cute book title. I no longer wonder or have a vague inkling of what I’m like; I now must say “thou art the man.” I’ve shed tears for others, I’ve shed tears for myself.

The eldership seems to not only encapsulate the gospel but to heighten it. As an elder you’re helpless, but with Him, all things are possible. It has stripped and overwhelmed me, and yet it has also alleviated my endless introspection–mmm, mostly—mmm, somewhat. There are better burdens in life than your own. There’s always that one sheep stuck in a hedge who needs a helping hand. There’s the young person who you know is watching, looking for signs of the living Christ within you. There are always prayers for others, prayers that always acknowledge that “without Me you can do nothing.”

When men express an interest in the eldership we all respond the same, don’t we? We’re measured, careful in our words. A serious joy descends upon us. We invite, but we know that a holy nakedness will occur if they join this “merry band of brothers.”

A then elder-to-be recently asked me how to prepare for the office. I simply replied that you’re never fully ready for the office. All we can do is to come as we are and see where God leads and how He will equip us. We’re never ready–and yet we will continue to invite men to be fools for Christ’s sake, to follow in His footsteps and to participate in the protection of His Bride. Is there any greater privilege and joy for the likes of us?

Thank you, dear brothers. Thank you for this spiritual home called URC. Thank you for the privilege of locking arms and hearts together for Christ’s sake.

It’s a privilege indeed to serve with men like Peeter and many others like him.

Let me begin with an understatement: I am not renowned for my dexterity with tools. It was only last year I got a real toolbox (as opposed to the plastic one I had been using for a decade, which my three-year-old now uses for his toys). I’m not real good with a saw or particularly handy with a router or especially adept with a lathe. My specialty is more in demolition, gopher work, and good humor. But if the task is simple enough, I can wield a hammer. Find a slender piece of metal and pound it. Find something sticking out and hit it. Find two things that need to stick together and start thumping away.

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

It’s true in carpentry and true in theology. Way back in the 2000s when I was speaking at different venues about the emergent church, I remember thinking to myself, “I sure hope I’m not talking about this stuff ten years from now.” The desire was partly because I didn’t want their bad theology to be such a hot ticket a decade later, but it was also because I feared degenerating into the speaker who couldn’t talk about anything else. I didn’t want to be the Not Emergent guy for the rest of my life. I was desperate to avoid the scenario where the whole world for the next ten, twenty, or fifty years looked like an emergent nail just waiting for me to strike with my Not Emergent hammer.

I have no problem with people having a focus to their ministry, whether that’s abortion, ecclesiology, Christian hedonism, tithing, or racial reconciliation. In fact, God often does much good with single-minded stalwarts like Wilberforce on slavery. Likewise, I recognize that God may give certain people special discernment or passion for a particular topic, error, or initiative. And because of our context we may feel compelled to protect certain doctrines or promote certain endeavors. We need experts and advocates. The problem is not with having a special hammer. The problem is when we whack at everything like its our special nail and whack at everyone for not being just as zealous about our one issue.

What do I have in mind? No one in particular but lots of things in general. The Christian who blames everything on fundamentalism and relates every story to their upbringing where they had to wear long skirts and watch Lawrence Welk. The feminist who sees the oppression of woman in every tweet. The conservative who can only sound the alarm of cultural declension. The Presbyterian who relates everything to the regulative principle. The church critic who sees every weakness as an expression of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. The gospel-loving saint who smells legalism in every exhortation against vice and in every celebration of virtue. The philosopher who has concluded that every problem boils down to epistemology or the one and the many or whatever. The academic who thinks everything that ails the church finds its roots in whatever he wrote for his dissertation. The revisionist who is confident that the church is all out of sorts because of Greek thinking, Constantine, or Old Princeton. The wounded soul who can’t see past his own hurts or makes it her life mission to rage against the machine. The liberal who can’t stop talking about tolerance and dialogue. The Sunday school teacher who finds a reason in every class to beat on Charles Finney. The peacemaker who sees every conflict as a third way waiting to happen.

Some of us have one main thing we want to say to the world. If that one thing is true, clear, and winsome, praise God. Say it again and again. But we shouldn’t say that same thing in every situation. And we shouldn’t stop with that one true thing. The Bible is a big book and God has placed us in a big world. There is much to celebrate, much to affirm, much to correct, much to enjoy, much to lament, and much to proclaim. There are a lot of nails sticking up that could use some pounding. So pound away. Just realize they don’t all call for the same hammer.

James Bannerman:

The Church, as a society, owes its origin to Christ:
it derives from Him its government and office-bearers;
it receives from Him its laws and constitution;
it draws from Him its spiritual influence and grace;
it accepts at His hand its ordinances and institutions;
it acts in His name, and is guided in its proceeding by His authority.

In the expression that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and in the fact that He is the only source of Church, power, there is much more implied that that He is the founder of the Christian society. He is both its founder and its administrator,–being the ever present source of life and influence, of ordinance and blessing, or law and authority, of word and doctrine within the community. Through His Spirit, and His word, and His ordinances, alike of government and grace, Christ both originates and administers His Church upon earth.

Is it the spiritual life of the Christian Church that is inquired of in regard to its source and supply? Christ is the Head of the Church as the source of life, breathing that spiritual breath into the body at the first, and holding it in being ever since.

Is it the doctrine of the Church that is inquired after in regard to its origin and obligation? Christ is the Head of doctrine to His Church having been Himself the unerring Teacher of wisdom and truth since the beginning, and still continuing to instruct His people savingly in all Divine knowledge by His word and Spirit.

Is it the ordinances of the Church that you inquire about, in respect to their authority, and the blessing contained in them? Christ is the Head of the Church as to ordinances, having appointed them by His authority at first, and made them the channel of spiritual blessings to His people ever since.

Is it the Divine grace connected with word and ordinance that you inquire after? Christ is the Head of His Church as to grace, immediately imparting it as He wills through His appointed ordinances, or by means of His Spirit, and thereby making the Church a living and gracious power in the souls of its true members.

Is it the authority of the Church in its transactions and decisions that is inquired about; and is it asked whence has it this authority that it claims? Christ is the Head of His Church as to authority and government, speaking through its voice, and binding through its decisions, and making these His own, in so far as they are framed according to His mind and word.

In all that regards its life and doctrine, and ordinances, and grace, and authority; in short, in all that belongs to the Church as a peculiar society on earth, we recognise its Jus Divinum–the presence and the power of its Divine Head. All is derived from Him; and all emanates from Him as its source. Within the province of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Teacher, Lawgiver, and Judge.

If doctrine is taught, it is taught because He has revealed it;

if ordinances are administered, they are administered in His name, and because they are His;

if government is established and exercised, it is through His appointment and authority;

if saving grace is dispensed, it is dispensed through the virtue and power of His Spirit;

if a blessing is communicated, it is because He blesses.

In the language of the Confession of Faith, “there is no other Head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ.” (The Church of Christ: Volume Two, 194-95)

While working on the book Crazy Busy I realized how important it is to have rhythm in my life. Busyness often comes, and often feels worse than it otherwise might, because we make no sharp distinction between work and rest.

It’s easy to find people who think work is good and leisure is bad (i.e., you rest to work). You can also find people who think leisure is good and work is bad (i.e., you work to rest). But according to the Bible both work and rest can be good if they are done to the glory of God. The Bible commends hard work (Prov. 6:6-11; Matt. 25:14-30; 1 Thess. 2:9; 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:10) and it also extols the virtue of rest (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15; Ps. 127:2). Both have their place. The hard part is putting them in the right places.

Many of us are less busy than we think, but life feels con­stantly overwhelming because our days and weeks and years have no rhythm. One of the dangers of technology is that work and rest blend together in a confusing mush. We never quite leave work when we’re at home, so the next day we have a hard time getting back to work when we’re at work. We have no routine, no order to our days. We are never completely “on” and never totally “off.” So we dawdle on YouTube for twenty minutes at the office and then catch up on e-mails for forty minutes in front of the TV at home. Perhaps this arrangement works for some employers and may feel freeing for many employees. But over time most of us work less effectively, whether it’s in the home or out of the home, and find our work less enjoyable when there is no regular, concentrated, deliberate break.

Not long ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating article about four-time Olympian Bernard Lagat.47 A native of Kenya but now a US citizen, Lagat holds seven American track and field records, ranging from the 1,500 meters to the 5,000. According to the article, one of the secrets to his running is, actually, not running. After eleven months of intense training and competition, Lagat “puts his sneakers in the closet and pigs out for five weeks. No running. No sit-ups. He coaches his son’s soccer team and gains 8 pounds.” He’s taken this long break every fall since 1999. Lagat says “rest is a good thing” and calls the month of inactivity “pure bliss.” Even the best in the world need a break. In fact, they wouldn’t be the best without one. Idleness is not a mere indulgence or vice. It is necessary to getting anything done.

People like to say life is a marathon, not a sprint, but it’s actually more like a track workout. We run hard and then rest hard. We charge a hill and then chug some Gatorade. We do some stairs, then some 200s, and then a few 400s. In between, we rest. Without it, we’d never finish the workout. If we want to keep going, we have to learn how to stop. Just like the Isra­elites had in their calendar, we need downtime each day, and a respite each week, and seasons of refreshment throughout the year.

Which is why it’s so concerning that our lives are getting more and more rhythm-less. We don’t have healthy routines. We can’t keep our feasting and fasting apart. Evening and morning have lost their feel. Everything is blurred together. The faucet is a constant drip. Life becomes a malaise, until we can’t take any more and spiral into illness, burnout, or depres­sion. We can’t run incessantly and expect to run very well.

Mother’s Day is over and you’ve probably seen this already, but man, Kid President is funny.

Here’s another worthwhile conference on May 25-28 in Orlando, FL.

Here’s the information straight from Sovereign Grace Ministries:

This reality is what lies behind Transfer, a four-day gathering (May 25-28, 2013) hosted by the churches of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Transfer exists to celebrate and proclaim those biblical truths and values that are most important to pass on from one generation to the next. For values to be transferred, they must be seen, taught, and experienced in daily life, not simply at a conference. For that reason,Transfer is designed both to equip and inspire you to view your life, generation, and church as part of a much larger tapestry God is weaving for his glory. You are not alone. And at Transfer you’ll have the opportunity to join with different generations to celebrate and be strengthened in the values we treasure most.

Why this conference?

That the next generation might set their hope in God… Psalm 78:4, 7 says: “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done… so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” We want to transfer what matters. We want those after us to see how glorious a relationship with Jesus is. We want them to hope in God – not in our methodologies, our practices, our structures, or even our example, but in God himself. Drawing on our history as a family of churches and the amazing truths we celebrate, the Transfer Conference will create a context for us to intentionally transfer the things we treasure to the next generation. If we assume these things, we will lose them, so we must be intentional to transfer them. In a focused way, Transfer will allow us to do this by devoting each session to a particular truth we collectively treasure: God’s glory, God’s gospel, God’s word, God’s presence, God’s people, God’s design, and God’s mission.

Who should come?

Transfer is for… Young Adults. Transfer will be geared especially toward young adults (18 and over). If you’re a young adult, your season of life is an ideal time to become grounded in the things that matter most. As you seek out which things are of first importance, we want you to be established in the truths we treasure.

Transfer is for… Teens. If you’re a teenager, you also need to explore the things that matter most. We want to partner with your parents in passing on the most important things to you.

Transfer is for… Parents. If you’re a parent of a teen, you are already doing a lot of transferring. This conference can be refreshing to you as you come with your teen and hear the truths we love once again.

It’s for… Anyone. If you don’t fit into any of the categories above, but just want to come, press into the Lord with his people, and be amazed by the things that have been amazing us for so long as a family of churches, you’re welcome to come.

Register here ›

This country loves Mother’s Day. We love to honor moms and get flowers. We love to take her out for dinner and make her stand up in church. Americans are the people of motherhood and apple pie.

But what makes a mom a mom?

Happy Mother’s Day. Or Parent’s Day. Or Gender Neutral Guardians. Or Whatever.

We know who mom is, but do we know what a mom is? Are the two persons (or three? or thirty?) in a marriage interchangeable? Is there anything beyond biology (and affirming biology is a start!) that makes a mom a mom? When your little girl asks, “What does it mean to be a mommy?” what will you say to her?

One answer is found in 1 Thessalonians 2. Look at how Paul uses parenting as an analogy for his pastoral work.

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also of our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 “For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

Within the span of a few verses Paul likens his pastoral approach to both mothering and fathering. And the approaches are not the same. For the Apostle, mothering implies gentleness, affection, and sacrifice. Fathering, on the other hand, implies exhortation, encouragement, and a spiritual charge. This is not to suggest that one set of virtues are exclusively feminine and the other exclusively masculine. After all, Paul says he was gentle among the Thessalonians like a nursing mother. Men can be tender and women can exhort. But still, there is a method behind the metaphors. For Paul, the picture of divinely aided gentleness is a mother and the picture of divinely guided exhortation is a father. A mom is a mom and not a dad, and a dad is a dad and not a mom.

I recognize that mothers have different personalities. Some are quiet and some are loud. Some prefer the background and some enjoy the spotlight. God doesn’t expect every mother to me shy and retiring. And yet, there is something particularly maternal and feminine and biblical about a woman marked by gentleness (1 Peter 3:4). It’s part of what makes a mother a mother.

Which is saying something, because if there is any vocation that mitigates against gentleness it is taking care of rowdy, unruly, ungrateful children. So take time this weekend to thank your mom, or your kids’ mom, for all the times she was affectionately desirous of you and eagerly gave of her own life because you were so dear to her. Be glad your mom was a mom.