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Vanguard Presbytery Votes to Call for First General Assembly

By Dewey Roberts — 4 months ago

The three presbyteries will be regional in nature: Southwest Presbytery will encompass Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Missouri. Northern Presbytery will encompass all the congregations north of Tennessee and North Carolina (with the exception of Pathway Presbyterian Church (mission) in Clarksville, TN). The Southeast Presbytery will cover all the states east of the Mississippi River and south of the northern borders of Tennessee and North Carolina. All three presbyteries will have their formal organizational meetings to elect a Moderator and Clerk. They will also decide on a name for their body.

Vanguard Presbytery began on February 6, 2020 with the reception of two ministers, TE Dewey Roberts and TE Michael Frazier. The congregation of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Destin, FL soon voted to follow their pastor, TE Roberts, into Vanguard Presbytery. Other congregations and pastors followed. Vanguard held its formal Convocation in Nashville, TN in July of 2020. Vanguard Presbytery now has 17 particular churches, 10 mission churches, 2 mission works, and one pastor serving in a church that is expected to follow him into Vanguard. Additionally, the denomination is regularly discussing its distinctives with pastors and churches who are inquiring about Vanguard.
At its 14th stated meeting on October 18, 2024, Vanguard Presbytery met at Chapel Woods Presbyterian Church in Snellville, GA. The Presbytery voted unanimously to organize the denomination into three presbyteries and call for a General Assembly to be held some time before the end of August 2025. The three presbyteries will be regional in nature: Southwest Presbytery will encompass Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Missouri. Northern Presbytery will encompass all the congregations north of Tennessee and North Carolina (with the exception of Pathway Presbyterian Church (mission) in Clarksville, TN). The Southeast Presbytery will cover all the states east of the Mississippi River and south of the northern borders of Tennessee and North Carolina. All three presbyteries will have their formal organizational meetings to elect a Moderator and Clerk. They will also decide on a name for their body.
The retiring Moderator of Vanguard Presbytery, RE Mark Grasso, was authorized to appoint the convening Moderator and Stated Clerk for the General Assembly. He appointed TE Dewey Roberts to serve as the convening Moderator and TE Joshua Light to serve as the convening Stated Clerk. Both men will be eligible to be nominated for election by the General Assembly. Moderator Grasso also appointed the convening Moderators and Stated Clerks for each of the presbyteries, which will meet soon to establish themselves as separate presbyteries.
This move to divide into three presbyteries and call for a General Assembly was the appropriate time for Vanguard. First, it was becoming increasingly difficult to do the work of both a national presbytery and a denomination. There are some important distinctives of Vanguard Presbyterian Church which contributed to that decision. Vanguard does not have provisions for standing committees at the General Assembly level. We believe that church history shows that such committees can eventually become unaccountable to their denominations and function as administrative hierarchies within their respective spheres of responsibility. Hierarchy is contrary to the Scriptural principles of church polity.
Second, Vanguard believes that the Scripture establishes that the missionary work of the church is to be carried out by congregations and presbyteries—not the General Assembly. It was the Church at Antioch that sent out Paul and Barnabas as missionaries (Acts 13:1-3). Presbyteries have the authority to ordain and conduct oversight of ministers and their work (1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6), which includes the responsibility to oversee their work as evangelists and missionaries. The responsibility of the General Assembly is more legislative and judicial in nature (cf. Acts 15:1-35), especially in deciding such issues that affect the spread of the gospel. Thus, the General Assembly of Vanguard Presbyterian Church will be interested in receiving reports from each presbytery concerning how they are carrying out the Great Commission and how they are encouraging and helping every member congregation to do the same.
There are other unique principles that Vanguard has adopted, particularly in light of the heterodox positions taken by many modern reformed denominations. Vanguard holds that the creation account in Genesis took place in a literal six-day period. We believe this is supported by the Westminster Confession and Catechisms that God created “all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.” We believe those days were all the length of our days—twenty-four hours—since the Scripture says concerning them all that “there was evening and there was morning, one day.”
Vanguard also holds to the office of evangelist as a special gift given to some elders as was held by the New Side Presbyterians in the 18thcentury and the Old School Presbyterians in the 19th century. Indeed, the office of evangelist has great support in the history of the church, in Christian writings, and in the various books of polity of reformed denominations—even if most of those denominations today completely ignore the office of evangelist.
Vanguard also identifies with the theological positions of both the New Side Presbyterians and the Old School Presbyterians. These two movements are mirror images of one another. The New Side Presbyterians during the First Great Awakening emphasized support for that revival while also holding to orthodox theology. During the Second Great Awakening, the Old School Presbyterians opposed the “strange fire” and the heretical positions taken by some people who were actively promoting it, believing that God is the one who sends revival. The only real difference between the New Side Presbyterians and the Old School Presbyterians is the particular circumstances they faced and the times in which they lived. At heart, they agreed on all matters. Also, Vanguard requires full subscription to the Westminster Standards which is a great aid in promoting the unity of the denomination.
One special difference between Vanguard and other denominations is the amount of time spent in worship and prayer at every meeting. Preaching and prayer in Vanguard are not perfunctory, but lively and worshipful. At the most recent stated meeting, presbytery heard two excellent sermons and spent 90 minutes in prayer before conducting our business. The prayer time was an especially meaningful time with heartfelt prayers being offered for matters that are not usually a part of public prayers. Vanguard believes that if presbytery is to be the church of the ministers, then it needs to focus on the two things that the apostles determined should be the main focus of their energies—prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4).
While Vanguard began with some churches from the PCA, several of them have come from other denominations and some from mission churches planted by Vanguard. We have some churches in cities where no other reformed churches exist, such as Clovis and Roswell, New Mexico. There are some exciting things that have happened in some of the churches. For instance, the Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Live Oak, Texas under the pastoral leadership of TE Dick Jones was organized as a particular church in March of 2021. They recently bought and paid for three acres of land in a choice area for $550,000. The church still has assets in addition to the property of over $600,000. They are planning on erecting the first phase of their building program.
TE Ryan Denton, ordained as an evangelist by Vanguard, has taken the admonition of Paul to Timothy very seriously: “do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5). Under his faithful evangelistic efforts, there are several churches that have been raised up. He preaches most Sundays to the Lubbock Reformed Church in the morning and the Grace Covenant Reformed Church (mission) in Clovis, New Mexico in the afternoon. Clovis is 100 miles from Lubbock. Thankfully, Ryan has mentored a young man, TE Erick Welsh, who passed his ordination exam at our recent presbytery meeting. There are other works that have been started through Ryan’s efforts or through his faithful follow-up to opportunities brought into his path. This is what Ryan said about why he is in Vanguard today: “I joined Vanguard because of their culture of prayer, national revival, church planting, and evangelism, along with its commitment to the WCF and historic Presbyterianism. As Vanguard continues to grow, these principles continue to be reinforced and unleashed.”
TE Mic Knox is the founding pastor of Gospel Reformed Church (Mission) in Marietta, Georgia. Before coming into Vanguard, his leadership team looked into several denominations and talked with a representative of Vanguard congregations. They chose Vanguard because, “This is the best denomination for us. There really is nowhere else that would be right.” TE Knox preached at the recent presbytery from 3 John 2. He transferred into Vanguard a year ago and his congregation came into the denomination earlier this year. He gave the reasons for his congregation being in Vanguard: “Our Trinitarian, Covenant Lord—who has saved us by grace—providentially guided Gospel Reformed Church to Vanguard because the Holy Spirit has engendered an encouraging, evangelistic ecosystem where the gospel of Jesus is faithfully preached inside the church as well as in the community—which is the Biblically balanced mandate from Scripture. Vanguard’s regenerate and humble Teaching and ruling Elders galvanize one another in local, national, and foreign evangelism; while Vanguard is filled with godly men who love, glorify, and enjoy the Lord, each other, His Bride, and their local communities with deep compassion for the lost.”
The newest minister transferring into Vanguard is TE Sterling Brown who is starting a new church in Richmond, Ohio—Geneva Reformed Church (Mission)—which was ‘birthed from a body of believers fleeing the growing corruption in many of the well-known corporate Presbyterian denominations.” When he and his congregation were looking for a denomination faithful to the Scriptures and the WCF, he chose Vanguard for the following reasons: “We were thankful to join Vanguard Presbyterian Church because of their strong stance on the Word of God, their commitment to the Reformed faith (Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms) and the devotion to God in their understanding that the local church for whom Christ shed His blood is more important than corporate Presbytery.”
Vanguard members rejoice in the number of young ministerial candidates and licentiates as well as the number of students in the Vanguard School of Ministry. TE Al Baker, one of the founders of Vanguard, observed: “Vanguard is the very best denomination in our country and I would not want to be in any other one.” His sentiment is universally shared by others in the denomination.
For more information or to make a donation: Vanguard Presbyterian Church; or contact Dewey Roberts or Joshua Light

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Christophobe Kamala

By Bill Muehlenberg — 4 months ago

While Christians might well want candidates that are more moral, more pure, more faultless, and more pristine, they need to be reminded that Jesus is not running in this election – or in any election. In a fallen world we are ALWAYS left with less than ideal choices. But some are clearly better than others.

We have known for quite some time now that the Democrats in America are overwhelmingly an anti-God and anti-life party. This has been the case for decades now. They had not always been this way, but the hyper-left is now firmly in control of the party, and it seems that these two ‘A’s now reign supreme: atheism and abortion.
All this is easy enough to document. As but one example, consider this: In just this past week Kamala Harris has demonstrated even more of her intense hatred of Christianity:-She and her party makes a blasphemous TV ad mocking Holy Communion.-She tells pro-lifers who said “Jesus is Lord” that they are at the “wrong rally”.-She deliberately refuses to go to the 60-year-old Presidential Catholic charity dinner in NYC.
And some “Christians” think they should support her?! Go figure.
But let me speak to each of these a bit further. The ad featuring Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer feeding feminist podcaster Liz Plank a Dorito was blasphemous at worst, and just bizarre at best. Christians, and certainly Catholics, know exactly what it was meant to parody. If you have the stomach to view this cringe-worthy and awful ad, you can see it here, with a bit of sensible commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiDJerqeaCc
As to the Christian pro-lifers not welcome at her rally, she had said this: “I think you guys are at the wrong rally. No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.” Kamala in effect kicked Jesus out of her meeting, just as the Dems long ago kicked God out of their party. And this was the real Kamala speaking: an unscripted moment with an off the cuff remark. This Christophobe is simply diabolical.
Concerning the presidential dinner, the last person who failed to attend was Walter Mondale some 40 years ago. And as Trump reminded the audience, that did not go so well, as he went on to lose 49 of the 50 US states in the election. It is reported that Kamala was told by her handlers not to go to the Al Smith dinner because it would alienate her liberal base – all the pro-aborts and pro-alphabet people. Hmm, another disastrous call.
When other Dems recognised that refusing to go to the dinner was actually a massive mistake, she went into panic mode and hastily made a video for the event. That too was utterly cringe-worthy and weird. Yet Walz calls Vance and the Republicans weird!
Just how dumb is Kamala and her hardcore progressive machine? While folks in San Francisco and New York might love her anti-God and anti-life agenda, most Americans do not see things that way. There are plenty of Catholic voters in places like Pennsylvania, one of the key swing states that she needs to win.
And her ugly attack on the Christian pro-lifer was in La Crosse, Wisconsin, another place where plenty of conservatives and Christians reside. But she does not give a rip about ordinary Americans. She is hellbent on pleasing her radical leftist supporters at all costs. Appointing Tim Walz as her running mate was another crystal-clear demonstration of this.
If this misotheist baby-hating candidate does win the election in a few weeks’ time, we will simply see much more of this. Consider just one recent case in point. A Tennessee Christian, Bevelyn Beatty Williams, has been prosecuted by the Biden/Harris administration for praying in front of an abortion clinic.
The 33-year-old pro-life activist and mother was convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. For daring to stand up for the unborn, this woman has been sentenced to a three-and-a-half-year prison term! I kid you not. More details can be found here: https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2024/10/18/pro-life-mother-imprisoned-3-years/
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Could I Be One of the Bad Guys?

By Tim Challies — 4 months ago

Here is something I have been considering over the past few days: Every one of us acknowledges there is a lamentable lack of unity among Christians today. Yet none of us seems to consider that we ourselves may be the cause of that disunity, or at least contribute to it. In our minds, it is always other people who fracture the peace and disrupt the harmony. But sometimes I wonder: Could I be one of the bad guys?

Unity

God created us as social beings. God, who is himself triune and who has enjoyed perfect and unbroken communion within the godhead, created us in his image as beings who are communal. Yet because of our fall into sin, what should only ever have brought joy now brings pain. Where we should be displaying the kind of unity that pleases and imitates God, we now display the kind of disunity that displeases and grieves him. Sadly, this is true even in the local church and even in the wider community of those who have been redeemed. In fact, sometimes it seems easier to see evidence of disunity than unity, of fighting than harmony.

Yet we cannot allow ourselves to be content with this sad situation. Rather, we must learn to exist in harmony and to genuinely love one another. This is true of the relationships between individual Christians, true of the local church, and true of the church across the globe. This kind of unity is the subject of Conrad Mbewe’s book Unity: Striving Side by Side for the Gospel. It is a simple and brief book, but one that is both important and badly needed.

Mbewe begins where any call to unity must begin—with “the simple fact that unity is something already secured for us by God. Strictly speaking, our role is not to become united but to remain united, not to attain but to maintain unity.” When Jesus died for his people, he died not only to reconcile them to God but also to reconcile them to one another. Whatever divisions may have stood between God’s people have been negated as legitimate causes of disunity—gender, racial, national, financial, tribal, and so on. Where God’s people had once been one nation, they are now one body called “the church” and “everyone comes in on the same terms—repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

This means that our goal as we consider unity is not so much to create unity or demand it of ourselves, but to acknowledge that it already exists and to simply live it out. We can do this boldly and confidently because we know Jesus longs for it and has prayed to the Father about it. Unity is dear to the heart of our Savior.

After explaining how unity is accomplished in Christ, Mbewe explains how unity is applied by the Spirit—how the Holy Spirit “takes what Jesus Christ has done for us and applies it to our hearts.” He unites us to the one body, he dwells within us, and he guides us into the truths that make us value unity and pursue it.

With those two indicatives of unity in the background, Mbewe turns to two imperatives—two specific ways Christians are to foster unity. First, he shows how it is to be jealously guarded by believers. We guard unity by understanding the gospel and knowing who rightly professes it and who does not. Once we have ascertained who is rightly professing the gospel, we carefully ensure we are not allowing secondary differences to drive us apart, even as we may need to value different doctrines or worship in different contexts. The second imperative is to evidence unity in gospel endeavors. These are ways that Christians can actively and proactively display their unity in either the local church or in ventures that involve multiple churches or traditions (e.g. book publishing, training institutions, and fighting social ills).

In all of this, Mbewe shows that the stakes are high. “Jesus is saying that when the gospel reaches societies and the church is born, onlookers will be amazed at how people from diverse backgrounds have genuine love for one another. They will notice that these people come from different tribes, ethnic groups, and nations, and yet they are united. They will notice that they gladly worship and work together for a common cause. They will have to admit that something extraordinary is happening. They will be forced to give the claims of Christ their attention. How else can they explain the unity among God’s people? Where does this love come from?”

This book made me ponder whether I am increasing the unity that is so meaningful to God or if I am hindering it. It also gave me specific ideas for fostering it—specific practices I can embrace, implement, and pursue. I am confident the book will do the same for you if you read it—something I highly recommend.

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3 Things You Should Know about 2 Peter

By Kim Riddlebarger — 4 months ago

Confusion about our Lord’s return was common in the early church (one can think of the questions and answers about the end times in Paul’s two Thessalonian letters), even as it is in our own day. Bible prophecy pundits have made so many wild and irresponsible predictions about the second coming of Jesus Christ that non-Christians no longer pay any attention to the Bible’s teaching that Jesus is going to return to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.

1. The Apostle Peter warns the churches of the dangers of false teaching and the ungodliness that it produces.
Peter does not name these false teachers, but from his comments in 2 Peter 2:1–3, it is clear that they were once professing Christians who have since departed from the faith. Peter describes them as introducing destructive heresies, denying the Master who they claim “bought them,” while attracting a large number of followers who blaspheme the Lord. False doctrine inevitably leads to sinful conduct. Because of their apostasy, God’s judgment upon them is certain.
Based on several hints given to us by Peter, it may be the case that these people misused the letters of Paul to justify antinomian (lawless) behavior. In 2 Peter 2:19, Peter writes, “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption.” The Apostle goes on to say in 2 Peter 3:15–16 that there are some things in the letters of Paul “that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” Apparently, the content of Paul’s letters was distorted in the Apostolic age, even as it is in our own.
2. Peter speaks of his readers as having a righteous standing before God through faith.
Peter writes, “who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1). The faith that grants such a standing is a gift from God given through Jesus Christ—the source of the righteousness of God—and therefore something received (Eph. 2:8–9). All those who have been given such faith are said to be of the same faith as “ours” (the Apostles). Believers obtain this righteous standing before God through the instrument of faith by means of Jesus Christ—who, Peter tells us, is God.
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Understanding Paul’s Veil Imagery in 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:3

By Kenneth Berding — 4 months ago

What are the four truths that Paul wanted to communicate through his use of veil imagery? We should share the gospel openly and confidently (= referent #1). Jews who don’t believe in Jesus misunderstand the main point of the Law (= referent #2). Believers in Jesus are being transformed by the glory of God (= referent #3). Unbelievers have been blinded by Satan (= referent #4).

What does the apostle Paul mean when he uses the word “veil” in 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:3?
For years I didn’t really understand 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:3 because I was looking for a single referent for the veil imagery in the passage. Some time ago, though, I realized that a key to understanding the passage is to acknowledge that Paul keeps shifting the referent as he moves through this section of his letter to the Corinthians. In a span of ten verses, Paul uses the word “veil” four times along with the adjectives “unveiled” and “veiled” (once each). But what is Paul referring to when he utilizes veil imagery? Here’s the passage, with veil language bolded:
3:12Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. […skipping 4:1-2 since no “veil” imagery is found in those verses…] 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor 3:12-4:3).
A key to understanding Paul’s use of the veil in this passage is to acknowledge that he shifts the referent (= the thing he is referring to) each time he mentions it.
But first a bit of background. Why does Paul use the image of a veil in the first place? Paul is drawing upon something that happened to Moses during the time the children of Israel were camping out at the base of Mount Sinai. Exodus 34:29-35 explains that when Moses came down from the mountain after receiving the Law tablets, his face shone with the glory of the Lord. This freaked the people out. So Moses decided that he would wear a veil over his face when he was with people. But whenever he went to speak with God, he would take the veil off.
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Truly Understanding Doctrine

By J.V. Fesko — 4 months ago

Written by J. V. Fesko |
Friday, October 25, 2024
As we learn doctrine, we must earnestly pray that the grace of God would not only inundate our minds but that this knowledge would trickle down into our hearts until they are immersed in the truth of God’s word. When we encounter trials in life, for example, we then know in heart and mind that God’s provident hand superintends ever event in our lives and therefore, whether in times of plenty or in want, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13).

As a professor and minister I regularly evaluate students to determine whether they possess the requisite theological knowledge to pass their exams. After a thirteen week semester students must take their final exam to demonstrate they have mastered the knowledge they have learned. It’s not enough to sit and listen—students must prove they also know the material. The same is true of candidates for the ministry. They must show the presbytery that they have the necessary theological knowledge to preach and teach the word of God so they will not lead the church astray. But all too often we can mistake intellectual proficiency with a true and genuine knowledge of the truth. To put it more colloquially, we might be able to rattle off theological knowledge, but is this information written on the walls of our hearts?
Take for example the doctrine of providence. I can ask an ordinand, “What is the doctrine of providence?” and he can respond: “God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.” This is a spot-on perfect answer and comes straight from the Shorter Catechism (q. 11). For this question and answer the ordinand would score a perfect one hundred percent.
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Universities, Hate Speech and Anti-Semitism

By Bill Muehlenberg — 4 months ago

Countless examples of ugly anti-Semitism have been the norm at so many Western university campuses. And very few of those in charge have lifted a finger to bring this to an end and ensure that all students can safely go about getting the education they have paid for. In his new book, After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation (Spiked, 2024), English commentator Brendan O’Neill has spoken to this matter in some detail.

All over the Western world, especially since the horrific October 7 attack, we have seen universities pushing radical Islamist and pro-Hamas hate speech. Radicals have set up tent cities and occupied classrooms as they shout ugly anti-Israel chants. All the while Jewish students feel increasingly threatened and unsafe on their own campuses.
Examples of this are legion. One of the most recent and despicable cases involves an American academic who spoke at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney a week ago. Khaled Beydoun of Arizona State University actually said October 7 was a day of “considerable celebration, considerable progress and considerable privilege”!
Not only have the Australian sponsors not called this out, but the American university where he teaches at has said there was nothing wrong in what he said, and that it is all good because it is “free speech”. As one media outlet reports:
Beydoun was also quoted as saying at the rally, “I want to talk about some good things because it’s a good day, and we’ve got to mark some of the good news that comes about that we often times neglect.” In response to inquiries from Sky News Australia, a spokesperson on behalf of Arizona State University said, “The university is aware of the professor’s remarks and is respectful of the First Amendment privileges associated with academic freedom and free speech.” https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/arizona-state-university-defends-american-professor-who-told-sydney-rally-october-7-was-a-day-of-celebration/news-story/cdc85ef23a92c6233f793819999501fd
Countless examples of ugly anti-Semitism have been the norm at so many Western university campuses. And very few of those in charge have lifted a finger to bring this to an end and ensure that all students can safely go about getting the education they have paid for.
In his new book, English commentator Brendan O’Neill has spoken to this matter in some detail. I have already penned two articles on his brief but valuable volume, After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation (Spiked, 2024). My earlier pieces can be seen here:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2024/10/13/clear-thinking-on-october-7-and-beyond/
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2024/10/12/feminists-duplicity-and-hamas/
Chapter Seven of his book looks at how so-called safe spaces at campuses are certainly not of any use for Jews being targeted by the militants. Indeed, the double standards of the radical left is apparent to all. Consider his opening paragraphs:
So, we live in an era when you can be banished from a university for saying women don’t have penises, but you’ll be fine if you say ‘kill all Jews’. We live in a time when asking someone where they’re from is considered a ‘racial microaggression’, but hollering ‘Globalise the intifada’ in the aftermath of an ‘intifada’ in which a thousand Jews were slaughtered is apparently okay. We live in a culture in which students will demand access to ‘safe spaces’, complete with colouring books and bean bags, if a speaker they hate turns up on campus. And yet these same students who fear words like the rest of us fear death, will happily cheer the invasion of Israel and the murder of hundreds of its citizens. No safe space for Jews, it seems.
This was one of the most unsettling revelations in the aftermath of the 7 October pogrom: that snowflakes have a secret genocidal streak. That student activists who wail about feeling ‘erased’ if you fail to use their preferred pronouns don’t seem to have much of a problem with the literal erasure of hundreds of citizens of the Jewish State.
Overnight, students who had bristled at such ‘micro-aggressions’ as ‘Don’t you want a family?’ – it is an act of unforgivable ‘heteronormativity’, apparently, to assume everyone wants a family – (p. 114)
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The Ruling Elder’s Reasonable Service in the Courts of the Church

By Brad Isbell — 4 months ago

Doctrine matters. We live in times when all truth is under attack, especially orthodox Christian teaching. The higher courts of the church are essential to preserve truth and to ensure that the church’s ministers teach and live in accordance with sound doctrine. Ruling elders are part of the firewall that protects the sheep of today and tomorrow from error and wolves.

Some presbyters seem to believe that entering the arena of ecclesial/denominational controversy is—to quote the military supercomputer in the prescient 1983 teen movie WarGames—“a strange game. The only winning move is not to play.” In the film, the drama was supplied by the assumption that thermonuclear combat led to the mutually assured destruction of all participants.
A ruling elder’s participation in the courts of the church, though, need not necessitate mutual assured destruction, to stick with Cold War imagery. Rather, the goal is the peace and purity of the church; the hope is divinely assured edification and protection of Christ’s flock. The Great Shepherd rules the church, but he does it mediately through weak and fallible men—presbyters—who are always plural in the New Testament and in biblical presbyterian order. This means power is not concentrated in one or a few elders or (as we shall see below) in one type of elders. Weakness and fallibility (also known as the fact of total depravity) demand the plurality of elders and the accountability of courts we find modeled in Acts and the Epistles.
The fact of total depravity means the ruling elder’s service in any level of the church courts can be less than enjoyable. A newly ordained ruling elder may soon be shocked by discipline cases and thorny issues in his local church. Romantic notions of the eldership are quickly dispelled. There may be trouble enough “at home,” but a presbyterian ruling elder’s responsibilities and concerns ought not end at the local church’s property lines.
Called To Enter Into The Conflict
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door”—so said Bilbo to his nephew. One might say the same to a ruling elder sent for the first time to presbytery or General Assembly, even though attending the higher courts of a presbyterian church may not be physically dangerous—apart from hours of sitting in uncomfortable chairs! The biggest casualty is lost time for ruling elders who are usually otherwise employed in the service of occupation or family when the courts meet. There are yet more participation costs. Showing up regularly can get you tasked with more responsibilities (such as committee service) since ruling elders are often in short supply. There is a steep learning curve for most ruling elders and staying in touch with and informed about the wider church is tough for a ruling elder. Little about the church courts is familiar, especially to a new ruling elder. The rules and processes of church courts can be bewildering. And there’s controversy and conflict. The problems of other churches and pastors and disagreements about doctrine and practice are anything but pleasant.
Gresham Machen famously wrote, “In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight.” The church doesn’t need men who look for fights or love to fight, but she does need ruling elders who bring common sense and practical experience to the courts…and who are willing to fight for truth and good order when needed. Total depravity means the need often arises.
Can’t pastors (teaching elders in Presbyterian Church in America parlance) be trusted to handle the affairs of the wider church? History says otherwise, and the polity of the PCA requires otherwise. The PCA has arguably the most robust principle of the parity of elders among conservative presbyterian denominations.
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Statism, Totalitarianism and the Sovereignty of God

By Joe Boot — 4 months ago

From the Christian standpoint, there is no absolute power or authority for Parliament congress, civil governments, or monarchs. All authority is delegated, limited, and under God in the various God-ordained spheres of life. In light of this, and because of the legitimate sword power given to the state, Kuyper rightly warns, “we must ever watch against the danger which lurks, for our personal liberty, in the power of the state.”[7] Professing Christians today have largely lost that vigilance which Kuyper enjoins.

One of the most remarkable features of the late-modern era has been the strange coalescence of an incessant call for ‘total emancipation’ from the shackles of alleged oppression with an explicit totalitarian drift in political life. This perplexing and apparently contradictory element of life in the West manifests itself in a constant clamouring amongst the citizenry for complete self-determination, equality and self-expression in the name of ‘justice,’ whilst looking to the state as the appropriate organ to legislate into existence the rights, entitlements and freedoms being demanded. The reformed philosopher Jan Dengerink is to the point:
To [central government] is ascribed a clear supremacy over all other basically non-political groups. . . . This clearly shows its out-workings in the socio-political activities of various Western democracies, with all of the structural and spiritual leveling that follows from it . . . the result is always a heavy-handed bureaucracy, which in practice reduces the individual citizen to a nullity, one in which the technocrats and social planners get the final say . . .[1]
Statism Everywhere
In short, the majority of people have become statist in their thinking, implicitly or explicitly. The central meaning of statism is important to note. The presence of an ‘-ism’ should immediately alert the careful thinker to the possibility that there has been an exaggeration of a created and God-ordained structure (in this case the state) into something well beyond its intended function. Fundamentally, statism is a political system in which the sphere of civil government exerts substantial, centralized control over much of society, including the economy and various other spheres.
The dominance of statism today means that few people question anymore progressive, redistributive taxation (including inheritance taxes), national minimum wage laws, market interventionism, the suspension of civil liberties by unelected bureaucrats in the name of public health, state control and funding of medicine, education, charity and welfare, as well as a large share of the media such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The United States’ National Public Radio (NPR), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). In Britain, the National Health Service alone is one of the world’s largest employers.[2] The public sector has become so vast that most people have grown accustomed to the state’s omnipresence.
The Church Swallowed up by the State
In this brave new world, the church herself is increasingly treated as little more than another social club with no more significance in culture than a cinema or sports team. Yet in the West we seem increasingly ready to allow the state to license, control, and regulate the churches. We seem ready to allow our churches to be locked them down indefinitely and at will if ‘public health’ functionaries of the state require it, and we cease pastoral counseling in biblical truth for those struggling with their sexuality.
This ‘omni-competent’ vision of the state has become so ubiquitous that many evangelical Christians have lost their cultural memory of God-given, pre-political institutions, rights, and responsibilities that are to be protected but are not created, controlled, or governed by the state. As a consequence, believers have floundered in their response to unprecedented and illegal lockdowns of the church, the growing collapse of civil liberties, the total control of education, expanded abortion, euthanasia, no-fault divorce law, the redefinition of marriage and family, homosexuality and transgender issues, largely because a scriptural world and life view norming our understanding of these questions and the role of the state with respect to them has collapsed. Instead, we have a liberal democratic and statist worldview drilled into us by the various organs of cultural life, where Jesus and a hope of heaven is spread on top as a sort of spiritual condiment giving religious flavor to secularism via the ministry of the churches.
What has become increasingly clear in recent decades is that we are entering an era of (a likely protracted) struggle for the freedom of the church in the West, not just with the state and its bureaucracy, but with various church movements themselves, some of whose leaders are emerging as committed apologists for statism! There has never been a shortage of cultural leaders ready to support and advise falling down before the image of the absolutist state when the music plays (see Daniel 3).
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Evangelism as Faithfulness

By Rob Bentz — 4 months ago

God alone is sovereign in the response to our humble presentation of the gospel. No pushing, cajoling, arm-twisting, pressuring, or hard sell is needed. None! This truth should bring great peace and freedom to every believer who has ever invested in another by sharing the gospel of Christ. What God desires of his followers is faithfulness, just plant and water.

This is a story about evangelism. But it just might be different than any you’ve read about the intentional act of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with an unbeliever.
Picture a kind-hearted woman in her 70s. We’ll call her Mary. She’s a woman who did not grow up in an active, vibrant, Bible-preaching faith community. Her experience was staid and stale, so lifeless she would rarely if ever talk about faith with her friends—and assuredly never with a total stranger. Who would invite a friend into a faith experience when you’re not even convinced that your own spiritual heartbeat has a healthy pulse? The faith in Christ that Mary knew and experienced was understated, dare I say bland, and therefore unequivocally private.
Yet the words of Jesus found in Matthew 28, commonly referred to as the Great Commission, are as true for Mary as they are for missionaries living and serving around the globe right now. “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’”
God commissions all his people to tell others about the love and grace they have found through faith in Jesus Christ, so that they too might become his disciples—people who confess Jesus as Lord, walk faithfully in his ways, and become lifelong learners of God’s truth, all because they experienced a heart transformation that causes them to walk in submission to the teachings of Christ.
Who Will Tell Them?
Today, Mary is now at a much different place on her faith journey. God called her to leave the staid and stale behind. In its place is a church that loves God passionately, preaches the gospel consistently, and encourages believers to read their Bible regularly and walk in the ways of Scripture. The vibrancy of her newfound faith community has quickened her heart. The growth that she is experiencing on the journey, alongside other faithful believers, is something that she deeply longs for others to experience. I know this because she’s shared this with me with moist eyes. Her spiritual heartbeat is healthy.
Recently, as she was spending time with a group of long-standing friends, Mary was presented with an unexpected opportunity to fulfill her call to the great commission. In the middle of their lunch, she sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit to do something that she’d never done before—tell others about Jesus.
She admitted that in the moment she became incredibly nervous. (Which, in my experience, is completely normal.)
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