There is an old Protestant tradition of the family pew. It holds that families should worship together – at home and at church. Therefore, at church, the family should sit together. The result of that was, generally speaking, the family was a stronger unit because of their worship together. The father was the spiritual leader of his family – not just in the home but also in the church. The parents were there to guide, love, comfort and discipline as need be. There are some who are familiar with this tradition who says that this was very influential in the strong family dynamics that were common in Protestant families of years past.
I think it is safe to say that the family unit is under increasing fire and pressure in our day and time. The divorce rate is climbing higher and higher … many children will never know either their mother or their faith – or both … parents have busy schedules that keep them away from home … children have busy schedules that keep them away from home … family time has been reduced due to TVs, DVDs and Ipods. What was once a bedrock has now crumbled. Many times I wonder how much of that is due to the disintegration of the family pew?
Each generation prides itself on how much more “individualistic” it has become. Many times this seems to be code for selfishness. Our society has defined “individualistic” to mean more focus on self – not actual self-realization. The more focused you become on yourself and what makes you happy – and what makes you content – and what makes you feel better about you is what it means to be individualistic. It doesn’t take a genius to realize how quickly this will erode communities and anything that causes a person to give up something for the greater good of the group. It also doesn’t take a genius to see how this idea of “individuality” is tearing apart the family.
One of my concerns is seeing how this is tearing apart the family pew. It has become some unwritten rite of passage that when a child reaches a certain age, then they have “earned” the right to sit with their friends in church. To me, this is code for “I just want to do what makes my child happy”. It is just another symptom of a worldly idea overtaking a heavenly principle and right. Good parents will always ask their child where they are going on a Friday night, who with, for how long and what they will be doing. Yet, the same caution and care isn’t given to the care of their worship. As long as they are happy – or maybe it is just as long as they are there – then that is what matters. No –what ultimately matters is the family pew and the care it provides.
It is in the family pew that the family can gather everything week and worship God. It is in the family pew where the family can bow together and pray. It is in the family pew where families can learn hymns together. It is in the family pew where God’s word can be heard together – and where the sacraments are taken together. The family pew is where family togetherness takes place.
This doesn’t take place when your family is scattered throughout the church. What happens when your child has a question? When they misbehave? When they refuse to fully engage in worship? When they need leadership, and yet are stuck amongst their peers who are looking for the same leadership?
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 “5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” There is a sense of totality to this passage – parents are responsible for their children’s spiritual growth and well being, and the large part of this responsibility is on the shoulders of the father. The Lord tells us that children are a blessing … do we treat them as such? The family pew does – because with blessings comes responsibilities – and parents’ responsibilities are for their children’s spiritual well being. Let me encourage you to make and maintain a family pew – gather your family together in one pew every week, and worship the Lord your God together. Sing together … pray together … come under the means of grace together. This will only serve to strengthen your family – and will be a blessing in your lives. If you are maintaining a family pew, continue to do so, up until your children marry - and maybe your family pew will grow at that time! As a pastor, it warms my heart to see those families that worship together – for I see the covenant community at work. May the Lord continue to bless our families – and our family pews.
Soli Deo Gloria – Pastor James
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
By the way ...
did I mention that we are going to be parents?!?!?!? 'Lil McManus is due in early April - so Beth & I are busy preparing for this blessed arrival!
Questions, answers and websites
I was asked by Joshua Espinosa, church administrator for Christ Church of the Carolinas, to answer 10 questions about expository preaching and preparation. I have posted the answers and my questions - and also his website, where others have given far better answers than mine! His site is great for resources and encouragement - so please check it out!
www.thehavensc.com
10 Questions for Expositors
1. Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life?
I believe in the ordinary means of grace - word, prayer and sacraments. I think these means are the main (and, really, only) essence of ministry in the true evangelical church. Out of these means, I hold the preaching of the word to be the most essential to the church. It is through the preaching of the Word that God communicates with His people. The Westminster Confession of Faith states in 1.2 that the Bible is the written word of God … and I think that the Divines were allowing for the view that proper preaching is the spoken word of God. A right and true exposition of a Biblical text will communicate God's truth. Of course, the work of the Spirit has to be present in order for this to happen.
Terry Johnson of Independent Presbyterian in Savannah, GA argues that a minister’s most important ministry is in the pulpit - and I agree with that idea. It is from the pulpit that you can do the greatest ministry through the preaching of the Word. Therefore, I hold that the preaching of the Word is most important in the life of the church.
2. In a paragraph, how did you discover your gifts in preaching?
Through an inward calling and lots of practice! Thankfully, while I was in seminary, I was able to do a good bit of preaching - and a lot of my discovering my gifts were done through trial and error. I am still discovering my gifts and how to use them - and I think I will continue to hone these gifts over the course of my pastorate.
3. How long (on average) does it take you to prepare a sermon?
On average, I start a couple of weeks before the sermon thinking about it and running it over in my head. I try to get a handle on the text and come up with a rough outline. That Tues. before the sermon, I sit down with different commentaries and read through them at least 2-3 times. Then, I sit back down with the text and bang out a rough draft. I then spend the next couple of days looking it over, and on that Friday I will rework it as I need to. All told, I probably put in between 10-15 hours per sermon … sometimes I put in less, sometimes I put in more.
4. Is it important to you that a sermon contain one major theme or idea? If so, how do you crystallise it?
I think this is relevant to the congregation. Some congregations can handle more than one theme/idea … others can only handle one theme/idea. In my preaching, I usually stay with one idea, but try to incorporate "secondary" themes into it. For instance, in preaching on Mark 5.1-20, my main theme is spiritual warfare … but, I also spend some time discussing how Jesus is always victorious in spiritual warfare and how that should influence our thinking and participating in spiritual warfare. I will usually try and tie in other ideas with the main idea.
5. What is the most important aspect of a preacher’s style and what should he avoid?
My answer to both parts of this question is the preacher's personality. The Lord uses a man's personality in the development and delivery of a sermon - but his personality should never become the sermon. I think the Gospel writers are a good example - each writer's style tells us about their personality (Matthew's concern for the Jews, Luke's analytical doctor view, Mark's [Peter's] blunt and to the point, and John's lofty view, which I think is due to him spending so much time with Christ and knowing who He really is). Yet, their personalities never get in the way in the message - they each drive home the same message of the good news of Jesus Christ. The Lord uses our personalities - but never intends for that to overshadow our preaching. Christ is to be preeminent in all things- including our preaching.
6. What notes, if any, do you use?
I always take a full manuscript into the pulpit. This is a safety net for me, in case I lose my place or train of thought. I try to be as comfortable with the sermon as I can be so I don't rely on my notes. It is always my goal to never "read" a sermon. I try to preach it to the people. I also pray before each preaching opportunity that the Holy Spirit would lead me - and I pray the same before I prepare my sermon! It is my custom to always allow for the Holy Spirit to work in the pulpit - and I trust that He was at work when I was writing out the sermon.
7. What are the greatest perils that preacher must avoid?
The greatest peril a preacher must avoid is thinking that he goes into the pulpit alone. John Calvin fought great nervousness when he entered the pulpit - and he made it his custom to pray with each step to the pulpit "come, Holy Spirit, come". I think many men think that it is just them with many sets of eyes and ears focused on him. However, I believe that the Holy Spirit is present in the pulpit, and that the power of Heaven is behind every word. Understanding this has helped me to understand that I am a conduit of God - and that helps me from focusing on myself … am I speaking well? Are my notes in order? Is this a good illustration? Instead, I can understand, and believe, that God is at work in this time - and His word will go out and produce the desired effect according to the will of God.
8. How do you fight to balance preparation for preaching with other important responsibilities (eg. pastoral care, leadership responsibilities)
I always try and take a day off to spend in the sermon. I will have done some mental prep beforehand - but I hide out on that day and just focus on my sermon. I try to avoid phone calls and emails, unless they are absolutely necessary. After this day, which is usually Tuesday, I will do some reworking here and there, but the main work has already been done. I do it this way because of the great importance of preaching.
9. What books on preaching, or exemplars of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
I have enjoyed Martin Lloyd Jones, Bryan Chappell, and Terry Johnson's works on preaching. I find that listening to other preachers is very helpful for me - I enjoy servants such as Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, Rev. Bowers of Christ Church of the Carolinas, Rev. Rich Lambert of New St. Peters PCA, and Dr. Ligon Duncan. I also find listening to my peers very helpful - each of my good buddies from seminary each bring something different to their sermons, and I am always challenged by that.
10. What steps do you take to nurture or encourage developing or future preachers?
I think having young preachers come into your church and preach is the most nurturing thing a pastor can do. This allows them to figure it all out. Also, an older pastor can encourage and direct these men. We all start in the same place - and I love the idea of older pastors passing along wisdom to younger men. I think if there was more of this, maybe preaching would be more inspired and better directed to the glory of God.
www.thehavensc.com
10 Questions for Expositors
1. Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life?
I believe in the ordinary means of grace - word, prayer and sacraments. I think these means are the main (and, really, only) essence of ministry in the true evangelical church. Out of these means, I hold the preaching of the word to be the most essential to the church. It is through the preaching of the Word that God communicates with His people. The Westminster Confession of Faith states in 1.2 that the Bible is the written word of God … and I think that the Divines were allowing for the view that proper preaching is the spoken word of God. A right and true exposition of a Biblical text will communicate God's truth. Of course, the work of the Spirit has to be present in order for this to happen.
Terry Johnson of Independent Presbyterian in Savannah, GA argues that a minister’s most important ministry is in the pulpit - and I agree with that idea. It is from the pulpit that you can do the greatest ministry through the preaching of the Word. Therefore, I hold that the preaching of the Word is most important in the life of the church.
2. In a paragraph, how did you discover your gifts in preaching?
Through an inward calling and lots of practice! Thankfully, while I was in seminary, I was able to do a good bit of preaching - and a lot of my discovering my gifts were done through trial and error. I am still discovering my gifts and how to use them - and I think I will continue to hone these gifts over the course of my pastorate.
3. How long (on average) does it take you to prepare a sermon?
On average, I start a couple of weeks before the sermon thinking about it and running it over in my head. I try to get a handle on the text and come up with a rough outline. That Tues. before the sermon, I sit down with different commentaries and read through them at least 2-3 times. Then, I sit back down with the text and bang out a rough draft. I then spend the next couple of days looking it over, and on that Friday I will rework it as I need to. All told, I probably put in between 10-15 hours per sermon … sometimes I put in less, sometimes I put in more.
4. Is it important to you that a sermon contain one major theme or idea? If so, how do you crystallise it?
I think this is relevant to the congregation. Some congregations can handle more than one theme/idea … others can only handle one theme/idea. In my preaching, I usually stay with one idea, but try to incorporate "secondary" themes into it. For instance, in preaching on Mark 5.1-20, my main theme is spiritual warfare … but, I also spend some time discussing how Jesus is always victorious in spiritual warfare and how that should influence our thinking and participating in spiritual warfare. I will usually try and tie in other ideas with the main idea.
5. What is the most important aspect of a preacher’s style and what should he avoid?
My answer to both parts of this question is the preacher's personality. The Lord uses a man's personality in the development and delivery of a sermon - but his personality should never become the sermon. I think the Gospel writers are a good example - each writer's style tells us about their personality (Matthew's concern for the Jews, Luke's analytical doctor view, Mark's [Peter's] blunt and to the point, and John's lofty view, which I think is due to him spending so much time with Christ and knowing who He really is). Yet, their personalities never get in the way in the message - they each drive home the same message of the good news of Jesus Christ. The Lord uses our personalities - but never intends for that to overshadow our preaching. Christ is to be preeminent in all things- including our preaching.
6. What notes, if any, do you use?
I always take a full manuscript into the pulpit. This is a safety net for me, in case I lose my place or train of thought. I try to be as comfortable with the sermon as I can be so I don't rely on my notes. It is always my goal to never "read" a sermon. I try to preach it to the people. I also pray before each preaching opportunity that the Holy Spirit would lead me - and I pray the same before I prepare my sermon! It is my custom to always allow for the Holy Spirit to work in the pulpit - and I trust that He was at work when I was writing out the sermon.
7. What are the greatest perils that preacher must avoid?
The greatest peril a preacher must avoid is thinking that he goes into the pulpit alone. John Calvin fought great nervousness when he entered the pulpit - and he made it his custom to pray with each step to the pulpit "come, Holy Spirit, come". I think many men think that it is just them with many sets of eyes and ears focused on him. However, I believe that the Holy Spirit is present in the pulpit, and that the power of Heaven is behind every word. Understanding this has helped me to understand that I am a conduit of God - and that helps me from focusing on myself … am I speaking well? Are my notes in order? Is this a good illustration? Instead, I can understand, and believe, that God is at work in this time - and His word will go out and produce the desired effect according to the will of God.
8. How do you fight to balance preparation for preaching with other important responsibilities (eg. pastoral care, leadership responsibilities)
I always try and take a day off to spend in the sermon. I will have done some mental prep beforehand - but I hide out on that day and just focus on my sermon. I try to avoid phone calls and emails, unless they are absolutely necessary. After this day, which is usually Tuesday, I will do some reworking here and there, but the main work has already been done. I do it this way because of the great importance of preaching.
9. What books on preaching, or exemplars of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
I have enjoyed Martin Lloyd Jones, Bryan Chappell, and Terry Johnson's works on preaching. I find that listening to other preachers is very helpful for me - I enjoy servants such as Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, Rev. Bowers of Christ Church of the Carolinas, Rev. Rich Lambert of New St. Peters PCA, and Dr. Ligon Duncan. I also find listening to my peers very helpful - each of my good buddies from seminary each bring something different to their sermons, and I am always challenged by that.
10. What steps do you take to nurture or encourage developing or future preachers?
I think having young preachers come into your church and preach is the most nurturing thing a pastor can do. This allows them to figure it all out. Also, an older pastor can encourage and direct these men. We all start in the same place - and I love the idea of older pastors passing along wisdom to younger men. I think if there was more of this, maybe preaching would be more inspired and better directed to the glory of God.
Questions and Website
I was asked by Joshua Espinosa, church administrator of Christ Church of the Carolinas, to answer 10 questions concerning expository preaching. I have first posted Joshua's website where he posted the questions and answers from myself and others ... and he also includes a great deal of information on this site! I have also posted the questions and my answers. I hope you enjoy!
Sumter SC Presbyterian
Right outside my hometown of Sumter, SC is a beautiful, older Presbyterian church near the town of Mayesville. Here are some pics of that church, Salem Black River Presbyterian Church ...
Session house of Salem Black River Presbyterian Church
Rear view of Salem Black River Presbyterian Church
Entrance to the church cemetary
A Presbyterian church located in between Camden and Lancaster SC
Session house of Salem Black River Presbyterian Church
Rear view of Salem Black River Presbyterian Church
Entrance to the church cemetary
A Presbyterian church located in between Camden and Lancaster SC
Southern Presbyterian History
Over the years, I have developed an interest in the history of Southern Presbyterian churches. While I was an intern at Olivet Presbyterian Church in McConnells, SC, I went around York County and photographed some of the older Presbyterian churches in that area. Here they are ...
This is the view from the pulpit of Olivet PCA, McConnells SC
Another view from the Olivet pulpit
Olivet Presbyterian Church, McConnells SC
Bethesda Presbyterian Church, York SC
First Presbyterian Church, York SC
Bethel Presbyterian Church, Clover SC
This is the view from the pulpit of Olivet PCA, McConnells SC
Another view from the Olivet pulpit
Olivet Presbyterian Church, McConnells SC
Bethesda Presbyterian Church, York SC
First Presbyterian Church, York SC
Bethel Presbyterian Church, Clover SC
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Inheritance
I recently "inherited" an 80GB IPod - and I have been feverishly downloading all of my music onto it! Of course, I will come nowhere close to using up 80GB of memory from my own album collection. With that in mind, I started doing some exploring and found some great sermon podcasts that you may be interested in ...
The first is from First Presbyterian in Columbia, SC. The senior pastor is Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. His sermons are winsomely Reformed, and always a joy to listen to.
Another is Woodruff Road PCA in Simpsonville, SC. The senior pastor is Rev. Carl Robbins - a true scholar of Reformed doctrine!
Finally, Christ Church of the Carolinas, where my good friend, Frank Legare, is associate pastor. The senior pastor of this church is the Rev. Bowers (I was in seminary with his son). These pastors are routinely used by the Lord to produce powerful and thought provoking sermons.
I think if you were to listen to any of these groups of sermons, you would be greatly blessed in hearing the Gospel of our Christ proclaimed boldly by humble servants. They are quickly filling up my IPod!
The first is from First Presbyterian in Columbia, SC. The senior pastor is Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. His sermons are winsomely Reformed, and always a joy to listen to.
Another is Woodruff Road PCA in Simpsonville, SC. The senior pastor is Rev. Carl Robbins - a true scholar of Reformed doctrine!
Finally, Christ Church of the Carolinas, where my good friend, Frank Legare, is associate pastor. The senior pastor of this church is the Rev. Bowers (I was in seminary with his son). These pastors are routinely used by the Lord to produce powerful and thought provoking sermons.
I think if you were to listen to any of these groups of sermons, you would be greatly blessed in hearing the Gospel of our Christ proclaimed boldly by humble servants. They are quickly filling up my IPod!
Feedback
It is coming up on a year that we have had this blog running - and I was wondering what are your thoughts on it? Are you liking the set up? Any suggestions?
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