Do Theological Seminaries and Colleges Destroy Preaching?

Dr Henry Drummond thinks that seminaries are doing an inadequate job in the training of preachers because, firstly, teachers have so given themselves to the historico-critical method that it has suddenly undermined the authority of the Word of God. Preachers now do not have confidence in the Scriptures, therefore they do not believe that the unfolding of the Word of God is where the power of preaching really is. Secondly, the homiletical departments of seminaries and colleges have generally failed to emphasise expository preaching. Since Fosdick, life-situation preaching has been emphasised. The climate in many congregations today is such that it dictates a low priority of preaching, where preaching is not seen as significant in ministry at all. So often, Christians prefer to sit in judgment on the preaching, and even say such things as this: "if a man cannot say what he has to say in15-20 minutes, he shouldn't be a preacher." Today, preaching must be ultra-brief and go over us and hit our neighbour. This anti-preaching climate has a destructive effect on the preacher himself, for his very call is under question, his raison d’tre is challenged. And if such a climate tends to destroy the preacher, then the congregation has little or no chance of surviving. What many congregations want today is, not a preacher of the Word of God, but an office manager, (Ravenhill).

The Firm's Men.

Why is it that the 'firm's men' within the churches do not want to face up to the challenge of reforming the church to which they belong? One answer: their church is so perfect that it does not need further reformation, or reforming. A perfect church does not need to be brought into line with Christ and His will for His people, because such a church is already there.

One question to ask the 'firm's men' within your denomination is this: what must be done to conform our church to the likeness of Christ? What changes does she need to make? Are they fundamental changes, or are they peripheral? Does your church base its activities, beliefs and practices around your preferences, or are they biblically based? If they are biblically-based, why do so many other sound evangelicals believe and practice differently?

Is your church the kind of church that you could, with confidence, bring an unsaved friend along to and be sure he would hear the Gospel being preached by the preacher? Does your man preach the Gospel clearly and with passion? Can you sense that he is heart and soul committed to what he is telling you? Or is it just a lecture, a 'glorified bible study,' as Dr Lloyd-Jones describes such performances? When you listen to him praying, reading the Scripture and preaching, do you get a sense of God, an awareness that God is in the midst?

These are the questions that Christians within the churches need to ask their leadership and address with urgency. Too many professing Christians seem content to be part of a denomination that opposes and rejects the Gospel and that has a clear alliance with theological liberalism. They don't mind evangelicals and liberals cooperating and exchanging pulpits and sharing 'fellowship.' They, by their actions (or inactions) are sending out a very clear message that liberalism is not wrong, that it has an understanding of the Gospel that differs from theirs, but it is not that bad at all because we believe that if God wants a sinner saved, He will do it anyway. Now thank God that He is sovereign in salvation as in all other matters; but how wicked a thing it is to use this precious doctrine to excuse the error and falsehood of liberalism and also to excuse their refusal to deal with this evil and to remove it from their midst!

Do evangelicals in theologically corrupt denominations not realise that liberalism is as different from Christianity as Islam and Hinduism and Buddhism are from Christianity? Now here's the irony: evangelicals in these denominations would be up in arms if they were to join with these other world religions, but seem to be blissfully ignorant of the strange bed-fellows they are sharing with right now. To accept error as just another and different way of understanding the Scriptures is to damn countless souls in hell and to love what God hates.

Failing To Witness!

A friend sent this to me which I thought I’d like to share with you.  It is devastating in its impact, and very disturbing.  The challenge this brings to Christians is powerful and ought to stir us to become active witnesses to Christ and His great salvation.  The unsaved writer is standing in the judgement hall and is pointing the finger of blame at you for not sharing with him the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Read it slowly and let the words seep into your soul.

MY FRIEND

My friend, I stand in the judgment now,
And feel that you're to blame somehow.
On earth, I walked with you day by day,
And never did you point the way.

You knew the Lord in truth and glory,
But never did you tell me the story.
My knowledge then was very dim,
You could have led the way to Him.

Though we lived together on the earth,
You never told me of the second birth,
And now I stand here, condemned,
Because you failed to mention Him.

You taught me many things, that's true;
I called you "friend" and trusted you,
But now I learn, when it's too late --
You could have saved me from this fate.

We walked and talked by dawn and night,
And yet, you showed me not His light.
You let me live and love and die,
You knew I'd never live on high.

Yes, I called you "friend" in life,
And trusted you through joy and strife,
And yet on coming to the end --
I cannot call you now "my friend".

                                                 Author: unknown

What do you make of that, then?  How many have we let down by remaining silent?  Silent witnesses to the Gospel!  What a contradiction in terms.  Perhaps we are to become much more vocal in our witnessing if we are not to be in the position of the person addressed in the poem.

A Powerful Personal Experience of Jesus - DML-J

Here is a powerful quotation from an early sermon of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones about the importance of having church life centred around a powerful personal experience of Jesus.  The sermon was preached on Heb.13:14.

“Our Christianity has the appearance of being an adjunct or an appendix to the rest of our lives instead of being the main theme and the moving force in our existence….We seem to have a real horror of being different. Hence all our attempts and endeavours to popularise the church and make it appeal to people. We seem to be trying to tell people that their joining a church will not make them so very different after all. ‘We are no longer Puritans,’ we say, ‘we believe that they over-did things and made Christianity too difficult for people. They frightened people with their strictness and their unnecessarily high standards. We are not so foolish as to do that,’ we say, and indeed we do not do so. Instead, however, we provide so called ‘sporting parsons’, men of whom the world can say that they are ‘good sports’ – whatever that may mean. And what it does so often mean is that they are men who believe that you can get men to come to chapel and church by playing football and other games with them. ‘I’ll fraternise with these men,’ says such a minister. ‘I’ll get them to like me and to see that I’m not so different from them after all, and then they’ll come to listen to my sermons.’ And he tries it, but thank God, he almost invariably fails, as he richly deserves. The man who only comes to church or chapel because he likes the minister as a man is of no value at all, and the minister who attempts to get men there by means of that subterfuge is for the time being guilty of lowering the standard of the truth which he claims to believe. For this gospel is the gospel of salvation propounded by the Son of God himself. We must not hawk it about in the world, or offer special inducements and attractions, as if we were shopkeepers announcing an exceptional bargain sale…. 

‘The world expects the Christian to be different and looks to him for something different, and therein it often shows an insight into life that regular church-goers often lack. The churches organise whist-drives, fetes, dramas, bazaars, and things of that sort, so as to attract people. We are becoming almost as wily as the devil himself, but we are really bad at it; all our attempts are hopeless failures and the world laughs at us….And the world today is laughing at the church, laughing at her attempts to be nice and to make people feel at home. My friends, if you feel at home in any church without believing in Christ as your personal Savior, then that church is no church at all, but a place of entertainment or a social club. For the truth of Christianity and the preaching of the gospel should make a church intolerable and uncomfortable to all except those who believe, and even then they should go away feeling chastened and humble.” 

(From Iain H. Murray, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Years 1899-1939, pp. 141-142)

The Baptist, The Saviour, and the Salvation

Before the immaculate conception of our Lord Jesus Christ, there was a miraculous birth — of a man who would prepare the way for our coming King.  His name was John, son of Zachariah and Elizabeth, who became the Baptiser.  

John was the forerunner of the Saviour, the one sent to prepare the way for Him.  It was he who said, "He (Christ) must increase but I must decrease" (Jn.3:30).  John was happy to play the one instrument in any orchestra that no else wants to play - second fiddle.  John was honoured to be chosen and called by God to fulfil this critically important role.  His self-effacing attitude reminds me of the Holy Spirit Whose role was to point people to Christ.  He paved the way for the world's Saviour.

In the run-up to Christmas, what are you doing to prepare the way for Christ to come and be born in some else's heart?  Is your life drawing attention to Christ, or to yourself?  Are you prepared to be a nobody so long as Christ was all in all?  

What are putting before the Saviour?  For if you are putting anything before the Saviour, you are not preparing the way for Him.  Is it yourself, your family, your house, your job, your religion, your church?  And if you are not preparing the way for the world's Saviour, then you have no role in Christ's Kingdom.

Make up your mind today to be a 'preparer' of the way for the Redeemer of the world to come.  Make sure you are placing no obstacles in the way to His coming.  For when He comes and is born in any sinner's heart, that's what Christmas is all about.

The Blessing of Christ

We have been, of all Christian people, the most privileged and blessed people around.  God has been exceedingly good to us and has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams.  He has given us great family and friends who have supported us fully; and He has met with us by His Spirit on a frequent basis.  At times we were not aware that He was near, but then there were other times when it was unmistakable that He was with us and in us.  It was nothing short of the witness of the Spirit of Christ with our spirits, which is the highest form of assurance.  To have missed this would have been absolute poverty.  Christ “manifested Himself to us,” and that is the greatest blessing of all.

Contrast this with the Old Testament evidence of God’s blessing (where many Christians live, alas) and there you will see that the signs of God’s blessing is in the acquisition of wealth – lands, property, herds, slaves.  These signs are all material signs.

However, in the New Testament, things are very much different.  John the Baptiser lived in the desert places and ate what he could from what creation provided – locusts and wild honey.  Jesus Himself was raised in poverty and lived in poverty.  During His public ministry, He did not even have anywhere to lay His head, the very birds of the air being better off than He was in this regard. The disciples renounced everything in order to follow Christ; they left all, homes, lands, families and friends, and threw in their lot with the Saviour of the world. 

Take the Huguenots in France under the tyrannical rule of Catholic King Louis XIV.  They were hounded because they embraced the true Protestant reformed faith, many losing everything, even their lives.  Yet were there holier people who witnessed for Christ than they?  The Puritans and the Scottish Covenanters experience similar things.  But as Paul tells us, “Everyone who lives a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” The Kingdom of heaven can only be entered by many tribulations.  Pity those who know nothing of persecution for their faith in this apostate and exceedingly wicked age where darkness reigns.

No, we are mightily blessed.  At the end of the day, nothing matters but being in fellowship with Christ, and knowing it.  Knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings – that’s to be really blessed.  Material possessions and worldly success do not signify God’s favour – some of the most evil and depraved people in the world have all these things. 

How many there are who are like Job’s friends!  They can talk and talk, but they do not always know what they are talking about.  They are so self-righteous that all their talk does nothing to help poor Job.  They only plunged him into deeper depression.  For them to say that it was because of something in Job, something sinful he said or did, that explains his plight, was to get it totally wrong.  They spoke as if they had total knowledge of Job’s situation, but they knew nothing.  Isn’t it interesting that it is those who know least who talk most!  Empty barrels still make the most noise.

Job’s friends needed to have walked a few miles in his sandals for them to have known anything about him and his situation; but they didn’t.  Yet they talked and preached and advised and counselled and criticised this godly servant of God.  Job’s friends are still around today.  They jump to all kinds of wild conclusions as to why certain things happen, and only succeed in making life more difficult for those who are suffering. 

Do not look at external things to discover whether or not a man has been blessed by the Lord.  Is he enjoying felt fellowship with Christ, regardless of his circumstances?  Is his love for the Lord obvious?  Does he submit himself joyfully to God’s sure providence in his circumstances?  Does he love Christ more than everything else?  Is he experiencing Christ in a real way?  Does he know God’s Spirit witnessing with his spirit that he is a child of God (Rom.8:16)? 

Once you have tasted something of this, you know God is blessing you.  And you'll not be content until this is your constant experience.

Peace and Contentment

Better to have a little money in the bank and peace at home than to have a million dollars and a date in divorce court. A hard-driving, Type A corporate attorney happened to see a commercial fisherman in mid-afternoon, legs dangling off the pier as he helped his two young sons catch crabs. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked. "Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman. "Why don't you catch more fish than you need?" "What would I do with them?" responded the fisherman. "You could earn more money and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. Then you could buy a fleet of boats. Soon you’d be rich like me." "What would I do then?" "You could sit down and enjoy life,” the attorney answered. "What do you think I'm doing now?" the fisherman replied.

This is not an argument in favor of indolence but a call for balanced living. The wise person realizes that some things matter more than other things, that your career is not the measure of your self-worth, and that having more money can’t replace the joy of spending time with people you love. Contentment means that you have everything you need right now. If you needed more, God would give it to you. Work hard but don’t make work your god. When you want what you already have, you’ve discovered the rare jewel of contentment.

Father, I praise you that I have everything I need for this moment. Teach me to enjoy what I already have. Amen.

Augustine

Augustine was right: "God has some the church hasn't, and the church has some that God hasn't."

Do you belong to Christ, yet are not a church member?  Or do you belong to a church yet not
to Christ?  You can be the one or the other, but its better to be both.

The Church and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

One thing that church history teaches us is that nothing remains static in the life of the church.  There is always change and development, and, as happens in nature and in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics, left to its own everything tends towards decay and degeneration.  The same happens within the life of the church.  Here we see the results of sin and the fall on mankind.  Sin is degenerative, so this is the tendency within the church's life.

Few see this, of course.  The many, on the other hand, believe that "every day and in every way we are getting better and better."  Because the churches have more 'evangelical' ministers today, things are on the up.  But right from NT times, the apostles had to warn the churches of heresies and false doctrine propagated by false prophets.  Paul warned about wolves coming in sheep's clothing.  He spoke about false prophets from among their own number coming in to lead the people away from Christ and the Gospel.  That warning still stands, but the churches do not listen or believe what Paul was saying.  They actually welcome and embrace and protect false prophets within their ranks.  There is pride in what is called a 'broad church.'

But, and here's the vital point, the changes introduced by the false prophets masquerading as 'evangelicals' are so subtle that none but the most alert recognise what is happening.  At one time, services of worship were conducted in a reverent and dignified way, and solemnity marked all that was done.  This was true even in non-christian congregations.  There was a gravitas about what was being done, and everybody accepted this as right and proper.

But today, evangelicals have been at the forefront of subtly introducing changes into church worship that no one dared to question it.  It was being done by evangelicals so it must be OK.  And church members and elders simply went along with it.  The message is still the same even though we have changed the method of presenting that message.  We still preach the Gospel, but our dependence is more on powerpoint than on God the Holy Spirit.  We still sing the old worship songs and hymns and psalms, but we prefer the new one with their heavy drum beat, loud pounding of the piano, and tunes that are all but impossible to sing.  That's not to mention the theology that is taught through these (often) terrible songs.  But we still preach the Gospel.

Then there is the almost endless singing that goes on - to such an extent that worshippers become intoxicated with singing that they are no longer able to hear the message - if there is one.  There is also the terrible practice in some evangelical churches of singing the Psalms at such a slow pace that it can take up to ten minutes to sing Ps.23.  It's terrible.  And I often wonder what the Lord thinks of such deadly singing, for it hardly brings any glory to Him.

Yes, we may have introduced drama as a means of presenting the Gospel, but the Gospel is still being preached.  And we like to hear personal stories, testimonies they're called, and these last about 25 minutes so that the time for preaching is reduced; but there has been no change in what we stand for - the Gospel.

The litany could go on much longer, but I think you get the point.  You might be asking where this approach to Christian things emanated from, and you'd be right to ask.  Within the last 150 years, we have seen subtle theological changes that have come in from Germany where matters deemed to be circumferential have been tampered with, thus introducing theological rot into theological thinking.  Scholars denied the historicity of OT narratives, but emphasised the importance of the message that they obtain.  It's the message that is crucial and as long as you have the message, it matters little if the story that contains the message is factual.

And men fell for that lie!  Theological students who were being trained for the Christian ministry were contaminated by this garbage, and then spread it through their congregations with the result that what was left of a faith was based, not on historical fact but on an educated man's opinions.  Slowly this trend continued, and those promoting it assured the church that they were evangelicals.  But alas, the results are clear to be seen.  The church was started on a slippery downward trend, and no one saw what was happening.  But we still preach the Gospel.

Things are happening within the church; but are they good things that are happening?  Are deeper Christians, more spiritual people, being produced by today's church?  Where are the truly godly men and women that we read about in books?  Where are the men and women of conviction who once shook the world?  Where are the men who despised the world for the sake of knowing Jesus?  Where are they?  The Tozers, Ryles, McCheynes, Lloyd-Jones, Edwards, Calamys, Davenants, Baxters, Calvins, Luthers, Latimer's, Ridleys, Cranmers.

The church has created the conditions in which such men cannot be produced. thing.  If God has withdrawn from the church, then the spiritual equivalent of the Second Law of Thermodynamics will work itself out, and the church will tend towards its own disintergration. 

And woe betide those who did that very evil thing!

Evangelical Superstition?

I heard a good young preach say the following in his semron on Ac.14:8-20 , and I paraphrase:

1.  The Origin of Superstitution is FEAR, (8-13).
2.  The Objective of Superstitution is to make people feel good, (14-17).
3.  The Outcome of Superstition is, you can't hear the Gospel, (18-20).

I would add that what precedes superstition is PANIC, which in turn leads to FEAR.

How can this message be applied to the contemporary church, including the preacher's own church?

Many churches and church leaders are panicking greatly because of the drift away from the church of the next generation of members; they are losing their young people.  The big question is, What can we do to keep them in the church?  This panic is leading churches and church leaders to a depth of fear, forgetting that God the answer in the Scriptures which are sufficient for all matters of faith and practice.  For fearful and panicking church leaders, Scripture is not enough.  Somewhere along the way they have their confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture for the entire life of the church and for every Christian.  To mis-quote one James Bond 007 title, THE WORD IS NOT ENOUGH.  The fear exhibited by these leaders is palpable.  They just do not know where to turn or what to do.

So what do they do?  They look to the world, to the pop culture of the world, to see what young people are into and what they like and enjoy; they look to see what it is that holds them and keeps them interested and involved.  They see the success of the rock culture and think that might be a good idea for the church.  Then they import that into church life with potentially disastrous long-term results.  In comes the drums, African tom-tom drums associated with occult practices, the heavy beat of the base drum and base guitar, the pounding of piano keys, the theatrical performances by musically gifted young people; and on and on it goes.

But what drives them is fear.  And, according to the preacher, fear originates in superstition.  Wherever there is departure from the teaching of Scripture, there superstition exists and abounds.

But the churches do not see this!  Indeed, were the preacher to apply his own sermon to his own congregation he'd be in serious trouble.  Why?  Because that church is based upon satisfying the whims of adolescent young Christian people who, through no fault of their own, do not have the spiritual maturity to know what constitutes biblical worship.

That brings me nicely to the objective of superstition which is to bring benefits to the recipient and make them feel good.  In this application, the object is to make the young people feel good to be in church and therefore to make the church feel good.  It is an entirely utilitarian policy that drives this.  If young people do not feel good in church they might leave it.  So, the church does whatever it takes to ensure they stay within the fold.

Now, the desire to retain younger members of the congregation is good in itself; but this must be done on sound biblical principles.  To resort to the ways of the world to do this is to go against the clear teaching of the Scriptures.  "Do not love the world or the things of the world," we are taught.  But like so much in church circles, even this is changed to enable the world to infiltrate the church, and then argue that the church is serving Christ alone.  How strange!  Using the world to win the world is plainly wrong.  The world is diametrically opposed to the church and to the things of God. The world is under the rule of the Evil One, so it is not brain science to see that the world's aim is to dilute and then to destroy all Christin witness in the church. 

And this brings me neatly to the outcome of superstition - the inability to hear the Gospel.  Congregations that are being bombarded with the world's music played at the world's decibels become unable to hear the Gospel.  Indeed, it is likely that the true Gospel will have to be modified to suit the new church music.

I have seen it, and sadly experienced it, that when 'worshippers' are subjected to constant physical attack by 'worship groups,' they become intoxicated by both the noise and the beat of the music that they have lost the facility to hear the Gospel.  They become 'brain dead' as a result of such an onslaught.

Further, they then cease to recognise the true Gospel altogether.  If what is being preached does not first pass comfortably through the screening set up by such worldly music, it is rejected.  If the preaching does not gain the approval of 'brain dead' church youths, it is rejected.  If there comes a reaction to the preaching, the preacher is dismissed.  The Gospel is no longer goodnews, but something to be avoided because it divides and challenges and convicts.

Trusting in such things is superstition.  Let the contemporary church beware!

God is Not Boring - John Piper

John Piper writes: Recently I spoke at Northwestern College as part of their year-long 100th anniversary celebration. The title of the message was "The Supremacy of God in the Life of the Mind." One capability of the mind that I focused on was the imagination. It applies to everybody who has a mind. Here's what I said: One of the great duties of the Christian mind is imagination. It is not the only thing the mind does. The mind observes. The mind analyzes and organizes. The mind memorizes. But imagination is different. It does not observe or analyze what's there; it imagines what is not seen but might be there and might explain what is there (as in the case of most scientific discoveries). Or it imagines a new way of saying what is there that no one has said before (as in the case of creative writing and music and art). I say that imagination is a Christian duty for two reasons. One is that you can't apply Jesus' golden rule without it. He said, "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them" (Matthew 7:12). We must imagine ourselves in their place and imagine what we would like done to us. Compassionate, sympathetic, helpful love hangs much on the imagination of the lover. The other reason I say that imagination is a Christian duty is that when a person speaks or writes or sings or paints about breathtaking truth in a boring way, it is probably a sin. The supremacy of God in the life of the mind is not honored when God and his amazing world are observed truly, analyzed duly, and communicated boringly. Imagination is the key to killing boredom. We must imagine ways to say truth for what it really is. And it is not boring. God's world - all of it - rings with wonders. The imagination calls up new words, new images, new analogies, new metaphors, new illustrations, new connections to say old, glorious truth. Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of his beauty beautiful. Imagination may be the hardest work of the human mind. And perhaps the most God-like. It is the closest we get to creation out of nothing. When we speak of beautiful truth, we must think of a pattern of words, perhaps a poem. We must conceive something that has never existed before and does not now exist in any human mind. We must think of an analogy or metaphor or illustration which has no existence. The imagination must exert itself to see it in our mind, when it is not there. We must create word combinations and music that have never existed before. All of this we do, because we are like God and because he is infinitely worthy of ever-new words and songs. A college - or a church - committed to the supremacy of God in the life of the mind will cultivate many fertile, and a few great, imaginations. And O how the world needs God-besotted minds that can say the great things of God and sing the great things of God and play the great things of God in ways that have never been said or sung or played before. Imagination is like a muscle. It grows stronger when you flex it. And you must flex it. It does not usually put itself into action. It awaits the will. Imagination is also contagious. When you are around someone (alive or dead) who uses it a lot, you tend to catch it. So I suggest that you hang out with some people (mainly dead poets) who are full of imagination, and that you exert yourself to think up a new way to say an old truth. God is worthy. "Oh sing to the LORD a new song" - or picture, or poem, or figure of speech. By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700. Listen to John Piper and Desiring God Online Broadcasts at OnePlace.com.

Lying in the Church? NEVER!

Lying in the church?  Does this actually happen?  Do people stand up and tell downright lies in the Church? Do they realise what they are doing?  Not just lying to men, but to God the Holy Spirit.  To lie in the presence of the God of all truth is a terrible sin; yet it's done regularly.

Sunday is when Christians worship the Lord corporately.  They stand up and sing words that they just do not believe.  Is that lying?  They will sing words that do not relate to their own spiritual experience and knowledge?  Is that lying? 

When it comes to professing faith in order to have a child baptised, or an older believer, how many lies are told in one of the most solemn occasions in the church's, and individual's, life.  Yet it done with relish, and without compunction.

In what other ways, then, do we lie in church?  Exaggeration and blaming are kinds of lying. In fact, blaming may be described as at least half lying, whatever that is. This church problem was great enough to deserve more than one mention in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. The letter was to be circulated among a whole presbytery, or group of local churches. So this problem wasn't just in the First Ephesus (Presbyterian) Church; it seems to have been almost epidemic in the other churches too.

Just like today; lying in church in order to have a church rite administered to you or a family member is not just a one-church issue; it pervades all of them.  To deny that this is a problem only adds to the problem. To deal with it by admitting it exists in your church is the first step to sorting it out.

That brings me very naturally to another point. We lie in church by what we don't say - the sin of omission. For example, when we avoid facing up to hard truth; or when we deny those dark things that are obvious to other people. The list would also include forms of abuse that churches use such as the abuse of power, the use of guilt to make people feel bad and bring them back into line (with prevailing policy, not necessarily with biblical trust), mismanagement of congregational funds or property, bad leadership of the church or its organisations, and destructive behaviours by church members or leaders. The sad thing is that church leaders often imagine that these things will simply disappear if we don't talk about them out loud.

Does this describe YOUR church today?  Are you a minister in your church and do you recognise truths that are just too close for comfort?  Are you afraid to address and deal with these issues?  What if income dropped and I couldn't get my salary?  What if church authorities took a dim view of a drop in numbers attending the services?

Are you a church member and does this describe your life?  Do you contribute to this problem of ecclesiastical dishonesty?  Do you need to own up and repent of your sin? Do you enjoy the dishonesty that is your church?

That this is a problem in all churches is too obvious to deny.  And that nothing is done about it is also factual.

What do you think ought to be done when such sin envelops the church?

Incipient Atheism

It is amazing how we can be tempted to put our trust in the skills of the medical profession, indicating that perhaps this has become a substitute god for us.   

Sometimes we have emphasised statistics – how many people come through this type of surgery with flying colours.   

While I have no desire to minimise what medical practitioners can do and have done, it is important to affirm that no matter how good these professionals might be at their job, our trust is in the Lord our God.  To leave Him out of the equation is atheism, and we are not into that.   

But to see the skills of medical practitioners as being the gifts of God for the benefit of mankind and a demonstration of His common grace to all, is to view them in their proper perspective, for then we can pray to God the Father to use and bless the gifts He has given to men for the benefit of those we are concerned about.

Some Hindrances to True Worship

Worshipping the Lord is the highest activity that anyone can engage in on this earth.  Praising His holy Name is the most exalted thing we can do.  To meet God in living encounter is what makes worship worship.  And when we come to church, we are coming to give to God the honour that is due to His Name.  In heart we are taken up with His glory and majesty.  Indeed our very hearts and souls are moved deeply by the presence of God by His Spirit.  When we are worshipping the living God, we find ourselves "lost in wonder, love and praise" (Isaac Watts).  Nay, we find that we have nothing to say in the presence of the Almighty.  Every mouth stopped. Struck by the awesome holiness of God.  Silent.

But that doesn't happen much in many of today's churches.  Rather, when you enter the church for the public worship of God, it is like being at the local horse fair.  Then before the service starts, you cannot even get a time of quiet to prepare your heart to worship this awesome God - and in the church is where you'd expect a quiet and solemn atmosphere where Christians can focus their hearts on what they are about to do.  When the service actually starts, whether or not the singing pleases me is not the issue; the point is that the very singing and choice of 'worship songs' are contra-indications of what it is to worship God in spirit and in truth.  The unsingable songs are a hindrance to worship which some can overcome but others find utterly distracting.  Musicians roving about the church hardly able to out one foot past the other and dressed to look more like clowns that worshippers of God.

So when I go to church, I do not go primarily to get something from the service - though hungry sheep do need to be fed - I am there to give my heart up to God in the worship of His holy Name.  I am not there to support the church; I am there to be supported by the church.  What use is a church to anybody if that church has to be supported by those who need its help, the weak, the suffering, the depressed, the anxious, and so on!

I think that while the emphasis is right that we go to church to give worship to God, and not primarily to get for ourselves, it is also true that the sheep need to be fed and the goats need to be turned into sheep.  Yet the more we give in worship the more we get from it.

HOW TO AVOID PERSECUTION ‘A COMFORTABLE ABCD’ - Dr Alan Clifford

(!!! - presented thus to make a point)

A. Be sure your faith is nominal and ‘low profile’. Keep it for Sundays only. Why be fanatical?

B. Compromise your faith whenever it is likely to be demanding. Why make trouble for yourself?

C. Never question the religious opinions of others: be open to their insights. Don’t be too sure of your own beliefs. Be as broad-minded as possible.

D. Maintain a good reputation with all and avoid costly commitment to Christ. Be as nice as possible.

Professions of Faith Create Religious Formalism

The main 'Christian' denominations in the UK are almost as spiritually dead as it is possible for any denomination to be.  The insistence upon church membership being determined by one's profession of faith is well established, so well, in fact, that to bring about reform in this regard will be to provoke war from the religious formalists.

To be admitted to church membership on the basis of what an individual says, is not New Testament religion.  Of course, man cannot look on another's heart, so must be guided by what s/he reveals about him/herself.  But that has become the excuse par excellence for taking little care when it comes to admitting new members to the church.

Further, if church elders were to admit new members on probation and then confirm their membership after they have proved the reality of their profession of faith, this would be a welcome advance on what exists today. 

But it seems to me that there is another and better way to weed out as many false professors of religion as possible.  Ask new potential members the following questions:

Have you met Christ personally?

Do you know Christ personally?

How do you know Him?

What does Christ mean to you?

What did He say or do to you when you met Him?

Tell me what your life would be without Christ.

How does His importance to you show itself?

When you say you are trusting Him as your Lord and Saviour, are you talking about Someone you've known personally for a while, or is He Someone you just know a few things about?

Are you speaking as a Witness to Christ, that is, from personal experience; or as an Advocate, that is, Someone you know through other people's experiences?

Are you speaking about Someone you have never met personally?

Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ intimately?

What does knowing Jesus Christ personally mean to you?

Knowledge of the facts of Jesus Christ is not enough; you need to know also the power of the Holy Spirit in your life if you are to be an effective witness to Him.  You needs to know the facts of Christ AND the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Do you?

Tell me about it?

Are you sure you are a child of God?  Tell me about it.

Are you sure you are a citizen of Heaven?  Tell me about it.

Do you know that God loves you?  Tell me about it.


Were some such questions to be asked of prospective church members, there might be a lot less religious formalism in the churches today.

Spiritual Reflections

With all that is going on around and in us at present, it has been a real tonic for me today to take up my work on DMLJ and the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist connection.  
This has been a ministry to my soul, to spend time in the presence of men who not only knew God but who wanted to know Him even better.  
To be "lost in love, wonder and in praise" is a most wonderful, valuable and energising experience.  
Just to 'feel' God near at a time like this helps to quell the other unwanted intrusions that present themselves.  To be in His presence, and we have been there in the mornings and evenings, is something we would not wish to miss for anything.  
Just what the Lord has planned for us is unknown; but because it comes from Him means it must be superbly good.

Activity - a Smokescreen?

We have spoken about the 'barrenness of a busy life.'  How awfully true this is.

But let me put this another way:

"activity can be a smokescreen for disobedience."

Now what do you think about that!  Christian ministers like to boast about how busy they are, and they probably are very busy people.  What do ministers do about the command, BE STILL?  They live to be busy, and to be seen to be busy.  Business is a great ploy to keep a minister from doing the work he has been called by God to do.  Activism destroys ministries and churches.  It sends Christians down a one way street.  Devotion to Christ? - We've no time for that sort of thing.  We're too busy.  We have too many meetings to go to, too many committees to attend, too many conferences and seminars to participate in. 

So why do we go to all things events?  Because it makes us feel important, indispensable to the Kingdom of God.  It is how we achieve significance, as they say. 

But is our activity really a smokescreen for personal and habitual disobedience to God's revealed will in Scripture?  Do those whose calling it is to minister the Word of God practice what they preach to others?  How do husbands demonstrate their love for the wife and children when they are hardly ever there to show that love?  Is their activity really a smokescreen for disobedience?

How much of your activity can be done without?  Really done without.  How much of it is essential to the work of the ministry? 

Let every man examine himself to see whether he be in the faith.

Get Unction.

The issues that are relevant if we wish to see God move and bless His Work are godliness of life and  prayerfulness, and regardless of the theological camp a man belongs to, there is an absence of unction.  The evidence from Edwards and DMLJ is as clear as could be that these men experienced the divine unction on their ministries and numerous conversions followed.  Sadly, the same cannot be said of Owen, who had no known conversions, though, of course, that does not mean there were none.  He did say, mind you, that he would give all his learning to be able to preach like John Bunyan, the tinker and evangelist.  Wouldn't we all!

We are fooling ourselves when we convince ourselves that no conversions equate to faithfulness to the Gospel.  Spiritual pride and arrogance drives us when we think like that.  McCheyne used to preach and pray with his face buried in his hands and the tears running down his cheeks.  My biggest fault as a preacher is that I cannot preach in that attitude, for I am far too sinful.  Perhaps we need to read McCheyne's sermons and study them closely to see how to preach the Gospel with power sent down from heaven.  We need that sense of God in our services, and not "glorified Bible studies," as DMLJ so rightly described so many so-called sermons.  Orthodoxy is important, but if a preacher studies more to be orthodox than he does to know the Spirit's power upon him, he has no right to ascend any pulpit. 

How much we crave and pursue popularity with men, and neglect being in the special favour of God. Our hearts are so sinful and wicked.

I have said it often, there are far too many 'essay readers' in our pulpits today with the result that we are far more concerned to get something out of our heads rather than get something into the hearts and heads of our hearers.  Preaching is about communication, communication of the highest and most exalted order; yet it is here that we fail so lamentably.  How sorrowful I am when I think that I used to describe my ministry as "a Bible teaching ministry."  This is vitally important, but if that is all we are doing, then God be merciful to us.  My sinful heart was so full of pride of the worst kind that I blush to even say this.  My heart is pained to admit this travesty.

One thing I have been well aware of (and its something I have done more in the breach than in the observance) and that is "the barrenness of a busy life."  Satan works us so hard that we do not do the very spiritual exercises that we know are needed.  The church also plays into this because she does not want us to be "men of God" in any real and effective sense.  So, she puts us on all these committees and commissions with the very purpose of keeping us off our knees.  She invites us here and there, all to keep us from fellowship with the Lord.  And into the bargain, we become all puffed up with pride and entertain thoughts of how good/great we really are, when in reality we are no better than unprofitable servants. 

Satan will use anything and anyone to keep a man off his knees.  R. M. McCheyne said, "What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and no more."  We're not much, are we?  Someone also said, "If you want to humiliate a minister, ask him about his prayer life."  How truly devoted is he to Christ whom he preaches and offers to the lost?  How much does he love the Saviour (Jn.21)?  What are his real priorities in ministry? 

Perhaps we are much too full of our own importance for God to use us.  Perhaps self-righteousness has taken such a hold of us that we would not be prepared to admit it.  Perhaps we imagine that by 'performing' well in the pulpit, our own or someone else's, we are pleasing the Lord.  Are we?  Is ministry just about 'performance'?  How much do we really depend upon God's anointing when we preach, and how much on ourselves? 

We need to dedicate ourselves to doing serious business with God if we are see any move of His Spirit.  But we are not prepared to do what it takes to make this a reality.  We're too busy at other things.  We need to de-clutter our lives of all that does not allow us to do that very thing.

This is surely enough to be going on with for now.  We will continue this dialogue with a view to making the necessary changes in our lives so that we reflect more closely the pattern set out in Scripture.

God Got It Wrong!

When the Lord told Peter to "Kill and eat," and he refused because of his Jewish scruples, God told him not to "call unclean what He had cleansed."  Yes, according to the churches, God got it all wrong.  Even if God has cleansed and forgiven, the churches simply believe that God is wrong.  They believe that He is contributing to the impurity of the church and of the Christian ministry.  They are very happy to tolerate Gospel deniers within their ranks, but not Gospel preachers.  Regardless of what God says, the churches will do their own thing anyway. 

Indeed, it is difficult to see when the churches ever took God's Word seriously, so it is no great surprise to see her acting as she does.  They have always worked to their own selfish agendas.  Maintaining the organisation is what matters.  It doesn't matter much what the organisation actually does or believes, it must be kept going.

But the fact remains that the churches are most reluctant to step up to the mark and be gracious and restorative in their attitudes, which is profoundly sad.  They cannot accept that they are wrong and God is right in this matter.  To accept that God is right means that their previous actions are under His judgement. 

The churches must return to the authentic Christian faith, and rather than just talk Christianity, demonstrate it.  Especially those churches that laud the 'doctrines of grace,' well, they must begin to show grace and not just talk about it.  They must reach out the hand of fellowship once again and seek restoration and reconciliation.

Until attitudes like this pertain, churches can forget about praying for revival.