Church Leaders: June Is Not the Time to be Silent
The month of June has been usurped by the “father of lies,” (John 8: 44) who “deceives the whole world,” (Revelation 12: 9), and who disguises himself as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11: 14). In other words, many churches and our nation have readily turned over an entire month to serious evil—serious, yet so deceptive that it is embraced by so many, even believers in Jesus Christ.
June, which some have designated as “Gay Pride Month,” is not the time for church leaders to be silent. It’s the most appropriate, opportune, pertinent, and relevant time to address the heavy spiritual darkness hanging over the Church and our nation.
Pastors and elders, follow the model of the Apostles who addressed serious issues as they arose. Remember the Jerusalem Council in Acts. Remember the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans—especially chapter one, his letter to the Corinthians dealing with incest in the church, and Jude’s short epistle dealing with the sin and doom of ungodly people.
The month of June has been usurped by the “father of lies” (John 8: 44); who “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12: 9), and who disguises himself as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11: 14). In other words, many churches and our nation have readily turned over an entire month to serious evil—serious, yet so deceptive that it is embraced by so many, even believers in Jesus Christ.
Pastors and elders, this is not the time to ignore such evil, to be cowardly in the face of such evil, or to be compromised by such evil. Your flocks, your sheep desperately need your faithfulness to God’s Word in exposing evil for what it is. See Ephesians 5:11-12: 1:
“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of” (ASV).
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret” (ESV).
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret” (NIV).
The your sheep are inundated with deceptive messages deviously proclaiming sexual immorality and more as blessed, good, loving, righteous, wholesome and legal. Your flocks contain some mature believers, but many new believers, many youth believers, many parents, and many children—all of whom are vulnerable to such strong messaging. Sadly, many churches and Christians have not only accepted the message but have embraced and even practiced it. The deception is so appealing, attractive, beguiling, captivating, enticing, seductive, and subtle. These may be many words, but they powerfully define and describe Satan’s devices.
Growing up in a Presbyterian, Reformed Faith church, it wasn’t until later in life I realized that any Scripture relating to the sin of homosexuality was skipped over in sermons and Sunday school lessons. We never learned there was such a sin being practiced. As a result, no young person was warned about the dangers or the temptations to these sexual sins and how to resist and renounce them. In other words, we grew up naïve and ignorant—thus vulnerable. Do you wish that for your young people and flock?
Pastors and elders, now is the time to address such a sinister sin. Do it in love, but firmly. Don’t soft-pedal it with jumping onto other sins such as greed, gossip, etc. In the hierarchy of sins, this is a serious one because God commanded death to anyone guilty, and He used the harshest of adjectives and modifiers to describe how heinous and serious it is. When preaching on the sins of greed, pride, adultery, concupiscence, one doesn’t veer off to other sins to soft-pedal those. The Church is dealing today with what is termed the “Third Way.” The emphasis is so much on love or ignoring some issues that truth is canceled out or dismissed. When it comes to sin, whether immorality or other acts of unrighteousness, there is only “One Way,” and that is to proclaim what God said about them– to expose them, call for confession and repentance, and then forgive and restore the sinners.
It gives me no personal pleasure in focusing on or writing about this topic, but the force of the advocates for sin are so strong and taking prisoners—even deluding Christians—that it demands being addressed openly, cautiously, firmly, lovingly—but above all faithfully and truthfully. Many lives are at stake, especially the lives of members of your flocks. “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Romans 3: 4) relative to this issue. Don’t you wish to instruct and protect them? If you genuinely love your sheep, you will sacrificially protect or rescue them as much as you would feed and nourish them.
Pastors and church leaders, now is the time to stand up and step up to the present challenge. And while doing so, assure your flocks that believing God over Satan or the world does not make one “homophobic.” That has to be one of Satan’s shrewdest tricks.
Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.
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Top 50 Stories on The Aquila Report for 2023: 31-40
In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 31-40.
In 2023 The Aquila Report (TAR) posted over 3,000 stories. At the end of each year we feature the top 50 stories that were read.
TAR posts 8 new stories each day, on a variety of subjects – all of which we trust are of interest to our readers. As a web magazine TAR is an aggregator of news and information that we believe will provide articles that will inform the church of current trends and movements within the church and culture.
In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here are numbers 31-40:Queering Jesus: How It’s Going Mainstream at Progressive Churches and Top Divinity Schools
Queer theology is a mature, established theological subject of scholarship now in its third decade and armed with well-honed arguments that queerness is grounded in biblical texts and classic commentaries. Most newly minted ministers coming out of mainline divinity schools today have some exposure to queer theology, either through taking a queer course, reading queer authors in other courses, or through conversations with queer students and queer professors.
Actions of the PCA General Assembly
The AC continues to make progress with foreign language (Spanish and Portuguese) translations of our Book of Church Order (BCO) to help our church minister to all peoples and generations. The AC facilitates and supports the Standing Judicial Commission, which issues decisions according to how sworn testimony aligns with our Standards. The SJC is not separately funded.
It Doesn’t Work: Presbyterian Church USA
Since the change of the definition of marriage, the PCUSA seems to have lost all counterbalance to contemporary progressive ideologies. Having lost its conservative contingent, the PCUSA appears to be in theological and moral freefall with few voices seeking to preserve any historic biblical understandings. On the first day of the 2016 General Assembly, the opening prayer was by a Muslim imam offered to Allah.
The Rise and Fall of the Evangelical Elite
It is obvious now, looking back at the post-9/11 and pre-Obergefell era, that the leftward drift of this movement was inevitable. The end of Renn’s “neutral world” and the beginning of a negative world hostile to Christianity began soon after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision in 2015 and accelerated rapidly with Trump’s 2016 victory. Changed circumstances undermined the attractive witness model as previously practiced. The neutral-world ethos could not hold in the negative world; the era of open debate was gone.
Tim Keller Called Home to Glory
Some in Christendom resented Keller’s stumbled-upon celebrity. Others hailed him as the C.S. Lewis for a new generation. As for Keller, he stayed focused—there was a gospel to preach, cities to reach, souls to save. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer in June, 2020, he scarcely slowed, continuing to work, write, lead, and think—even amidst the chemo, right to the very end.
Deaconesses in the Presbyterian Church in America
We really don’t have generalizable data on how widespread (or not) the practice [of unordained women serving as deaconesses] is in the PCA. How many churches have deaconesses? How many deaconesses are there in the PCA? The purpose of this project is not to pick a fight, but to shed light, in the hopes that it will lead to more productive debate at PCA General Assembly.
Are There Trustworthy Protestant Universities?
Schools that aim for prestige and “excellence” as the current American regime defines it are most likely to accommodate our culture’s presuppositions. Fewer “prestige” schools embrace a conservative Protestant social teaching that emphasizes marriage, recommends different roles for men and women, and shuns same-sex sex and same-sex marriage. Students interested in becoming doctors or lawyers might choose Baylor, SMU, or Wheaton. On the other hand, schools without signs of American decadence are less descript, their chief virtue being that they fail to promote vice.
Lessons from “The Jonesboro Decision”
What God did in the midst of great suffering was remarkable. God used this situation to knit together a church family, to teach them to wait upon Him, and to show them His goodness even in the midst of great loss and strain. As I talked with one of the “Jonesboro 7” he testified to how God vindicated His word that those who suffer for the sake of righteousness are indeed blessed. The men and their families learned of the sufficiency and kindness of God even in affliction.
How Should We Then Repent? A Response to “COVID-19 Reflection”
One of the most obvious perversions of this ecclesiastical overreach was the “administration of virtual communion” by some sessions! In their rejection of first principles, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and issued declarations that bordered on idolatry. They tried to convince their flock that “virtual worship” was a viable substitute for corporate worship, and many have drunk the “Kool-Aid.”
5 Warning Signs That a Pastor has Not Been Truly Called by God
The greatest evidence of whether your pastor is called by God will be witnessed in his convictions about the doctrine of the church. Does he care enough to discipline wayward members? Is he more concerned about what the church looks like than its holiness and catholicity (the church universal)? Is he more concerned about being relational rather than theological, subjective rather than objective?
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4 Ways to Show Your Love for the Lord
My prayer is that as Christians we would grow in that love as we go about our daily lives learning to be satisfied in the situations that God has placed us in, reading and trusting in God’s Word and promises, obeying His commands as a sign of our faith and always thanking Him for the gifts that he gives His children every day.
What characterises the life of a Christian? Your answer will largely depend on your experience. You may say that a Christian is characterised by following certain traditions, by obeying certain norms within Christian-culture. You may jump to actions and think about Bible reading, church attendance, prayer and other kinds of Christian disciplines. But at the very core being a Christian means following Jesus and becoming more like Him, it also means being characterised the love that we have been shown by God.
Love is one of the many things that should characterise the life of a Christian. I often speak about four the key ‘loves’ that should be seen in the life of every Christian and that should, we pray, be growing in our lives as individuals and as local churches. The four loves are; love the Lord, love His Word, love His people and love the lost.
But what does it practically look like to love the Lord and how can we grow in that love? We don’t have the space to unpack everything that loving the Lord means, but here are four key things I’d like to mention:
1. Being satisfied in Him
One of the passages that many Christians run to for encouragement and strength to face their day to day struggles is in Philippians 4:11-13, where Paul famously says “I can do all things through him who gives me strength”. That statement of faith and confidence in God is the reason Paul has contentment, the reason he is satisfied, because he knows Jesus and all the wonderful gifts God had given him. Paul in his time of need and troubles, of which there were many, reminded himself of the gospel and the grace of God that called him, saved him and sent him to share Jesus with others. We can be satisfied in God because He has given us the solution to our biggest need – our sin and separation from Him, God knows everything we need and His good plan for us will be fulfilled. Growing in our knowledge of who God is will mean that our satisfaction in Him grows.
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Should the Church Promote Deeds of Darkness for Missional Purposes?
While the line may not be obvious to some for how Christians can serve and witness in the world, it should be clear that hosting an event on church property in “The Chapel” with a “Dragon” and “Celestial Bodies” with the face of Christ in the backdrop, and where Romans 1 anti-Worship is celebrated should be off limits to PCA Churches, Pastors, and Members.
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.—Ephesians 5:11
When has idol worship in Israel ever been permitted? How about encouraged? How about for “Missional” Purposes?
If an explicitly blasphemous event is held on property owned, managed, serviced by a church should Christians be concerned? What if the justification is that “we are trying to reach the culture and love people in the culture and win a hearing with them?”
How about if the Event on PCA Church Property is:called “Celestial Bodies,” (and here)
held in a ministry and building called “The Chapel,”
the headline act is a man named “Eldraco” (the Dragon)
who is advertised in front of a stained glass Image of Christ (not in the venue)
The other acts are all celebrating aberrant Gender & Sexual Identities
Event Culminates in a simulated worship experience called “a Euphoric Dance Party”
served by elders/members of the Church including providing free alcohol for the eventNo, you’re not reading the Book of Revelation, nor Exodus 32, nor Mark 14’s “abomination that brings desolation.” Or are we?
For most Christians for most of history the answer to this question has not been complicated. We cannot control what happens in the culture but we certainly can protect what happens on our property. Yet for some in the PCA with a heart to reach the lost this is not the case. And the PCA is undecided as a denomination as to what is ok with regard to property usage and church involvement and what isn’t.
2 years ago “The Chapel,” a ministry run on the Church Property of Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis (And featured in the PCA’s magazine), hosted the Transluminate event which was advertised as “A celebration of transgender, agender, non-binary, genderqueer, and genderfluid artists.” Due to complaints about this event throughout the denomination, the Missouri Presbytery investigated Memorial PCA and issued this statement. It is unclear, however, if this statement says events like Transluminate (or Celestial Bodies for that matter) are off limits for Church Property. The statement would suggest or imply that the issue is not that Christians facilitate these events but rather the issue is that the Church was publicly associated with the event. It seems Memorial PCA has since distanced itself from public promotion of “The Chapel” ministry which is made up of elders and members from Memorial, even as it still occurs on their property and facilities and is on their website.
Is that all that is required? From conversations around the PCA it seems the pastors in the denomination don’t have a unified position. It seems most would agree such events shouldn’t be endorsed by a PCA Church but that doesn’t preclude Churches from doing ministry and outreach at such events. However, isn’t it different when its on Church Property and only exists because the Church attracted such an event?
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