What Is the Problem with Evangelicalism?

by Thabiti Anyabwile

Several folks at the Gospel Coalition responded to this question (HT:JT).  I wonder what you brothers would say in response.

Here's Mark's two cents:

"For pastors to know and understand what a local church should and can be and for pastors to teach this to their congregations. Much of the blessings and benefits of good teaching in evangelical churches in America goes into the hearts of individuals and then perhaps into the lives of their family and friend but is then largely lost in the sands of American individualism. If the preaching of the gospel and expositional preaching are the glorious founts of life, the local church is to be the bowl, the container, in which that life is caught and held up for display to a thirsty world. That pastors should know and understand and teach this is the most crying need in evangelical churches in America today."

Categories: Leadership

Posted on May 12, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

Mere and Mirror

by Matt Schmucker

Americans have a nasty addiction to success. Still worse, success seems only to be defined as growth, i.e. getting bigger and having more. In our addiction we want to measure our growth with better attendance, more programs and products. We see this in business, schools and churches.

It is the wise man who knows when to say enough is enough. Growth is not always good. Growth can distract and deplete.

Last Saturday night I was asked to "leave a charge" with the remaining board members and faculty of my children's school as I had come to the end of my term serving on the board.

I charged them to remain mere. It is defined as "being no more or better than what is specified." Do not become laden with programs. Do not bend to the pressures for more. Stay focused on the work specified.

If we can do this, we will mirror our Savior's life and work. Jesus was not about to accumulate things in this world or fight a war that was not his. He was about his Father's work. And only his Father's work.

Jesus said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working." John 5:17

He also said, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." John 9:4

So as the pressure comes to adopt this or that program, hire this or that specialist, attend this or that meeting, consider the charge to remain mere and in so doing mirror the One you serve.

Categories: Leadership

Posted on May 12, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

The Pace of Change

by Matt Schmucker

One last thought on older people in a reforming situation...

One of the older members of our church who was here before I arrived said this:

"Young people tend to overestimate what they can do in the short run and underestimate what they can do in the long run."

Now that I'm 45 years old I think I'm beginning to understand what he meant!

Posted on May 12, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

RE: Policy Explanation

by Michael Mckinley

Jonathan,

Wouldn't it be easier to go to the next office over and simply ask Matt Schmucker to stop posting comments?  Just a thought.

Posted on May 10, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

Jewish Emergent

by Jonathan Leeman

Interesting post over at Out of Ur:

 The Emerging Synagogue?

Apparently Christians aren’t the only ones feeling the urge to emerge.

Posted on May 9, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

Policy Explanation

by Jonathan Leeman

Dear Church Matters Readers,

We're grateful for the many good and constructive comments that many of you bring to the window, fulfilling the request we have made from the beginning (look at the right column) about comments being make "with the respect you would offer to people face to face." That's 99.9 percent of you.

However, since .1 percent of our readers have felt inclined to offer their insights in a slightly different vein, we've decided to take a more active role in deleting comments. As Mark D. has put it, we're not concerned about the "I don't agree" comments. In fact we welcome them. We're even grateful (sort of) for what may be legitimate criticisms of us, such as those recent comments which suggest that we suffer from a lack of humility (to steal a line from G. Whitfield, if you only knew how true that is!). It's the "I don't like you, and let me insult you" comments that we're going to remove more consistently. In our estimation, remarks of this variety do nothing to serve the conversation or edify its readers.

With regrets to the 99.9 percent for bothering you with this announcement, and with apologies for all those ways in which we fail to perfectly image our savior in tone or content,
Jonathan L.

Posted on May 9, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (3)

RE: Uppity Young People

by Greg Gilbert

Mike's absolutely right in reminding us all that loving, teaching, and caring for the older members of our churches is not just an "option."  The Bible really couldn't be clearer about that (Prov. 16:31, 20:29).

I think Dr. Mohler's comments were prescriptive in a couple of ways.  First, they were prescriptive in terms of evangelism.  If you're a new pastor, you need to be giving yourself to doing evangelism and bringing new people into the church.  By God's grace, that'll include all kinds of people---young, old, different ethnicities . . . possibly even some of the church's long-time members themselves. 

Second, respect for older members does not and cannot mean waiting indefinitely for everyone to be on board with a change in the church's culture.  Sometimes you have to make changes without unanimity.  Sometimes someone has to lose a vote.  We found ourselves in that position here at Third in Louisville.  The vast majority of our older members were against the reforms we were trying to make, but we were literally in a reform-or-die situation.  So we presented the reforms, talked and pleaded for months, held a vote, and reformed the church.  The official vote was unanimous, but that's only because a good number of our older members didn't show up for the meeting---and sadly, some even left the church over it.  But three years later, we're in a lot better place than we would have been had we held up the reform waiting on unanimity.

Posted on May 8, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (0)

Uppity Young People

by Michael Mckinley

Jonathan,

I think Dr. Mohler's words are most helpfully understood to be descriptive rather than prescriptive.

I am sure that he's right in what he says. Most young pastors starting out in churches that are in need of reform will find a more receptive audience among younger people and newcomers. Since that is true, the situation calls for patience.

But that doesn't mean that the younger pastor should not love, teach, listen to, learn from, and value the older members. We shouldn't view the people in our churches in mercenary terms, as if they fall into two camps: obstacles to overcome or people who will further our change agenda. I try (and perhaps should try more often) to publicly honor the older members of our church, even though with the influx of newcomers they represent less than 5% of the people who are in the church now.

Categories: Pastoring

Posted on May 7, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (6)

Late Night in Dever's Study--Mohler on reform

by Jonathan Leeman

Al Mohler made an interesting remark about church reform late last night in Mark Dever's study: a young man entering a church should not expect to reform it so much by persuading the old guard, but by raising up and discipling a new generation of younger men and waiting for them to grow into positions of leadership.

Looking around Dever's study, he observed a room full of twenty-somethings. What that might mean for guys in their twenties is finding guys in college and pouring into them.

The problem with Mohler's counsel, of course, is that it takes patience and a total commitment. It means taking the long view. And who wants that?! There's gotta be a quick fix, right?

Categories: Pastoring

Posted on May 5, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (14)

Mandatory Implications

by Michael Mckinley

Hey Thabiti,

Yeah, I totally agree with that statement that you culled from the comments. I think oftentimes we get our theological ducks so carefully in a line that we wind up creating excuses for our failure to actually do something. So I think it's wise to make sure that we're living out the implications before we start pointing out the fact that they are not essential to the gospel.

That being said, I don't agree with the way you described in-car DVD players as "optional". The in-car DVD is a key to our children's theological education.

Categories: Gospel

Posted on May 2, 2008 | Link to this Post | Comments (2)

View Archives