Rock Hill – The Final Frontier

By this point, I trust most of you are aware that this year’s youth mission trip is different from previous years. Instead of going to the Cumberland Gap for the Appalachia Mission trip, we are going to Rock Hill, SC for the Rock Hill Mission trip. The changes go further than name and location. We are going to Rock Hill to help with an ARP church plant, Hill City Church, pastored by Rev. Andy Stager. You may remember when Rev. Stager came to White Oak in April to share with us his vision for the church plant and the work that has been done to accomplish the vision. It’s an exciting work – and we are excited to be a part of it! Another change is that every aspect of this trip has been planned by us! For the Appalachia Mission trip, we were plugged into rooms, boarding – sometimes, even the church we would work with. Our main, and really only, responsibility was leading VBS for the week. For the Rock Hill Mission trip, every part of this trip has been planned for us – room, meals, location, even local churches supporting us by providing dinners for us. It has been a different experience to oversee every big and small detail! Even with all the changes, some things will look the same. We will lead VBS during the morning– although it will be in a park, instead of a building. Our focus will be more on outreach and evangelism. But, there will still be a focus on relationships in order to share the Gospel in word and deed. There will also be worship and prayer – with more focus on prayer. Each evening, one of the adult leaders will lead in devotion, our youth will lead in music, and we then have time for prayer. There will also be plenty of joking and fellowship with a great mission team! Overall, what will be the same is our aim to fulfill the Great Commission: 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) One other non-change: the church blog! Starting on Saturday, June 30th, we will be updating the church blog with stories and pictures. You can visit the blog at http://whiteoakarp.org/Blog.html and be a part of the trip! Please be in prayer for our group, travelling, weather (it’s forecasted to be very hot next week!), outreach, boldness, humility – and safety! You can find a list of the missionaries in the newsletter and bulletin. Please plan on joining us on Sunday, July 15th after the 11 am worship to hear about the trip! Soli Deo Gloria – Pastor James

Preparing for the mission trip

I guess it's time to dust off the church blog as we get ready for this year's mission trip! Here are a few highlights for this year's trip: * It is no longer the Appalachia Mission Trip for us. This year, we are going to Rock Hill, SC to help with an ARP church plant - Hill City Church. *What does this mean? A lot more planning for one thing. Another thing - we have been forced to think outside of the box. We will be ministering at a park (Glencarin Gardens) which is surrounded by neighborhoods of differing economical and sociological statuses. This isn't rural ministry - this is suburban ministry! * Rock Hill is where Beth and I went to college and where we met each other! And, Glencarin Gardens is where we used to spend some of our dates b/c we both lived next to the gardens (in separate houses, of course)! * We'll be spending time with other churches in the area as they provide meals for us. Love the Presbyterian connectionism! Stay tuned as we prepare to give daily updates! Look forward to sharing with y'all the wonders of God's grace in the midst of the work He has called each of us to! And, please be in prayer for us! Missions is only effective when we know that Christ goes with us - especially in prayer! Please pray much and often for us. JWM

Articles of interest to White Oak ARP

Sean Lucas is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. His book "On Being Presbyterian" is a must read if you are a member, or thinking about becoming a member, of a Presbyterian church. Also, his biography on R.L. Dabney is inspiring and convicting - Lucas aims a Gospel tinted magnifying glass on this Southern Presbyterian stalwart.
Lately, Lucas has been working on a biography of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson MS and has written two articles about what he has learned in the process of writing this history. FPC is an historical church that has stayed true to the Gospel over these many years --- there are many similarities between that church and our beloved White Oak. I highly recommend reading these two articles linked below.

http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2011/07/lessons-from-local-church-hist.php

http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2011/07/lessons-from-local-church-hist-1.php

Thursday

Tonight, I'll allow the pictures to tell the story of Appalachia.

Wednesday insight

No pictures tonight ... I would like to focus more on actions and grace for this blog.
During this week, our youth are praying with their groups and encouraging their kids to pray. Every day, Shirley thanks God for this VBS, how awesome it is, and how much she looks forward to it every year.
Kids are bringing friends because they want them to experience this VBS and our youth.
This evening, after the service, our group gathered in a circle, put our hands on the shoulders of the person next to us, and prayed for the person to the left of us. We laughed, we rejoiced, we praised ... it was one of the most moving Appalachia experiences for me.
Our youth and leaders are devising a plan to get some of the VBS youth to spend tomorrow evening with us.
Many of them chose to spend this afternoon with some of the kids from VBS, fishing and swimming.
Tomorrow, they are choosing to do the same thing.
I preached tonight - and every one of our youth showed me gracious support.
This is what missions is all about - loving others as God has so loved us.
Keep praying!

Up and running!

The powers that be came through and got us our username and password so we can use the local internet access! We are up and running!
We are 4 days into this trip and I want to give a brief recap of the days and activities. I hesitate to use the term "business as usual" b/c this isn't even remotely true for mission trips. Yes, we keep a schedule similar to years past, but past that, things change and change and change over time. I will try and point that out in my recap ...
Saturday
Loaded up and on the road by 8.30 am - right on schedule! No exciting trip stories - just time for fellowship and music. Arrive to campus around 3 pm, thinking we would check into the apartments and get this part of the trip started. Nope ... didn't work out that way! As I was checking our group in, I was told that our girls would be staying in one dorm and the guys in another dorm - across campus! Granted, Lincoln Memorial University isn't huge - but, since 2007, our groups have always stayed in the apartments and have been right next to each other for the entire trip! Now, that isn't so. The girls are staying in a dorm with other girls - 2 to a room and a community restroom/showers for each floor. The guys are in a dorm where we each have our own rooms and bathrooms. It was assigned this way b/c there is an abundance of girls this year, and they are fitting them in wherever they can. Thankfully, the WOARP girls took most of this in stride and settled in. The rest of Saturday was spent in Middlesboro shopping, eating and preparing. We met for worship that evening and began our week series on "Prayer". It was a good intro to the week!
Sunday
Up by 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, music practice for a while, then at the church by 11 am for worship with Flatwoods UMC. Turns out that their new pastor had his first Sunday that same day! He gave a great sermon on the power of sin and our part in it. Very convicting as we begin a week of teaching kids what sin is and how to repent of it from the story of Jonah!
The church had a cookout following the service, with hamburgers, fried chicken and all kinds of sides. After eating, we changed into our team shirts and shorts and split up to canvas the area. There is a trick to the art of canvassing - we look for any traces of children in and around the house. Toys, little push cars, playgrounds, tree houses ... all of that tells us that they may be some children there. So, we drive around and look for these signs. The youth do a great job of going up to the door and telling the families about why we are there and how much we would love to have their kids join us for the week! After a couple hours of canvassing, it is back to the church to prep the whole church for the week. This always takes longer than I think - but the WOARP youth are great about getting it done and making the church and their rooms so inviting for the kids and engaging for the lessons!
After finishing up, we head back to the basement of the guys dorm to eat some pizza, hang out, learn some new songs for the week and basically rest up for the whirlwind of the week that lies in front of us. Not so much early to bed as much as just taking a deep breath!
Monday
This is it! Up early, breakfast at 6.45 am, on the road by 7.15 am. We are already tired but know that God is always faithful! VBS starts at 9 am with 17 kids! There are a lot of repeats from previous years which is really encouraging. It was a great first day!
Of course, it is July 4th ... but time has a way of slowing down and reality kind of slips away. Many of us forget that this is Independence Day! But, we remember to go into Middlesboro after our prayer meeting. Some of the kids from VBS are there and we hang out with them, play some football, go to the DQ and watch fireworks. Then, back to the campus and into bed for another crazy day!
Tuesday
Even better than Monday! Things ran smooth and the WOARP missionaries are working together like a well-oiled machine. This is a group of youth who love each other, respect each other and want to operate as a team. What a joy to experience this!
Some of the kids asked some tough questions today -what is the Trinity? How does it 'work'? Our youth are happy to field these questions and talk them through.
Here are some pics from this week. Remember to keep track of our Twitter updates. Also, please keep me in your prayers - I am preaching tomorrow night at large group ... pray that I would have clarity of thought and ENERGY!

Early Tues morn

We still don't have Internet access so I am using my phone over a cell phone signal to post! This will be short!
A praise for this year - team unity and harmony. This years App. team is one in the truest sense of the word. Loving each other, serving God and others, putting others before them selves ... they have been a great mission team! I am humbled to be a part of it! I ask that you continue to pray for us - and praise God for thus unity!
Please keep updated with us through Twitter ... Hannah is having a good time recording all the things that Dustin Bray says that makes us laugh!

Update

There is a Twitter feed on the left hand side of the blog - this should enable all readers to follow our Twitter updates from Appalachia!
We are supposed to be given Internet access starting tomorrow evening. Once we are able to access it, I will post a big update!

Update

Dear Appalachia blog readers,
We have no Internet service at the college until Tues evening. I will keep the Tweeter account updated until then. Thanks!

Appalachia Technology

Dear Appalachia blog followers,

Thank you for following this blog to keep updated about the Appalachia mission trip! One other way to keep folks up to date is the addition of Twitter. This will allow more continual updates during the trip. My Twitter account will be used for this : http://twitter.com/jmcmanus76 . I believe you have to sign up with Twitter to access my account. Signing up is free and easy! You can log in at any time and get updates about the WOARP Appalachia trip! We look forward to keeping everyone in the loop!

And, as long as LMU allows us internet access, we will update the blog daily. Hope you enjoy!

Teaching for Christ

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:16-20 ESV)

This is called the Great Commission and gives a summary of what a mission-minded Christian should do (ALL Christians are called to be mission-minded). We go out because Jesus sends us - the same Jesus who has all authority in heaven and earth. He is the one who sends out His people to make (through the work of the Holy Spirit & not solely our own efforts) disciples. How this fits in with the Appalachia team is teaching. The main mission tool for our Appalachia team is teaching through the VBS. Each of our youth will do a considerable amount of teaching during the week. As I told them, their teaching assignment is very simple - we are called to teach them that they need to live in a way that is Christ-honoring through observing all that He has commanded us. The Appalachia kids can exalt Christ in faith and faithful living. That is our goal for the week!
Please keep our team in mind as they prepare for this. Pray that they would teach to observe all that Jesus has commanded us!

Mohler: The One Great Lesson He Has Learned

From an interview with TableTalk:

Although there are many, is there one lesson the Lord has taught you that you would care to share with us?

I think the one great lesson the Lord has taught me over these years is that the importance of the family and the local congregation supersedes every other relationship to which the Christian is called. Christians demonstrate the glory of God and the power of the gospel by the way we marry and stay married, by the way we raise our children, by the way we love each other, and by the way we live faithfully in the congregation of believers. In the end, I fear that far too much energy is devoted to and far too many hopes are invested in institutions, programs, and projects that will not last. The centrality of Christ’s purpose to glorify himself in His church and the blessings of God that are directed to the precious gift of the family — these far exceed our other allegiances.

The Necessaries of a Mission Trip

Missions work is kingdom work. Kingdom work is spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are called to go out to all unbelievers and share with them the truth of the finished work of Calvary. That is the essential of what the WOARP Youth are doing for the Appalachia mission trip.
In order to do this sort of work, we need money. When we start raising funds for Appalachia, people will usually ask me "how much does it cost"? I don't like giving non-committal answers, but I usually have to. For this trip, there are a lot of variables we don't know about that will affect the cost of the trip. For instance ...
How much will diesel gas cost July 4th week? At this point, we don't know - and it doesn't look good!
How much will our food and supply costs be? Again, we don't know - but, all indications is that it won't be getting much cheaper anytime soon
Those are just a couple of questions that we can't answer that will have a direct effect on our costs for the trip. We believe that the safest number for us to aim for is $3000-$4000 in support.
Thankfully, we serve a God who is gracious, merciful and abundant in giving to His people. We decided this year to have just one church fundraiser. Some of the church leadership believed that one fundraiser would be enough - and that would free up the group to spend more time preparing for the trip itself instead of raising money. I was a little nervous how this would turn out. $4,450 later, I'm not so nervous! The Lord has graciously provided for us! And, the support is still coming in. What a great affirmation of the work we believe we have been called to!
So, at the end of April/beginning of May, we are well ahead of our fundraising goal. Of course, we don't know how much the trip will cost us this year ... but we trust that the Lord will provide, just as He always does.
Thank you to all who have given to us - and to all those who will give to this trip. We really do appreciate it.
One other thing - money isn't the only goal for us. Actually, our main goal is prayer. Prayer is what will make or break this trip. The best way you can support this trip is by prayer. Please pray for us. Pray for us often. Pray for the Appalachia kids - and pray for them often. Pray for everything Appalachia related - and pray for it often. We do not receive because we do not ask. So, please ask, seek and knock for the Appalachia needs.

Food for the Soul

Here are a few quotes that have been feeding my soul:

Advice from Jack Miller to a struggling missionary in Uganda: "Make sure you are enjoying yourself and not taking your work too seriously. You don't have anything to prove to us or the world. The work is finished at Calvary...keep your focus there."

Dr. Ligon Duncan: You can be theological without being biblical ... but, you cannot be biblical without being theological.

John Piper: You cannot commend what you do not cherish.

Appalachia 'XI training

For this year's Appalachia trip, we are devoting more time to training. Our first training session was this past Saturday (2/19) morning on the topic of "How to Share Your Testimony and Your Faith". The premise was really simple (if you couldn't tell by the title!) - part of our calling as missionaries to Appalachia is to share our testimony and the faith. This is a way to fulfill the call to go and share the Gospels with all people.
As I shared with the youth, a testimony is a story about God's grace in your life. So often, we hear testimonies that major on the sin and depravity and, in the end, squeeze in a little bit about the Gospel. For so long, I was guilty of the same! The problem with that approach is that more time is spent on 'glorifying' our sin and not on glorifying God and His grace! To combat this, we looked at Paul's 'testimony' from Philippians 3, where we see his story of sin and depravity bookended by the wondrous grace and mercy of God. My challenge to our Appalachia team was this : we are going to Appalachia to share the hope and joy of the Gospel, so shouldn't our testimonies reflect the same? Absolutely, definitely, most assuredly YES!!! We talked about testimonies from those who have known the Lord their whole life --- and what a wonderful story of God's faithfulness to them! We talked about testimonies from those who are relatively new to the faith --- and what a wonderful story of God's grace to them! Their assignment is to start work on their testimonies, because in a few weeks they will start sharing them with the group ... and, on the Appalachia trip, they will stand in front of VBS crowd and share their testimony with them. Please pray for them as they think through, formulate and share their story of God's grace.
The other part of the time was devoted to how to share the faith. It may seem redundant to do this, since the bulk of our VBS work seems to be built upon doing this. However, we have found that VBS really starts the conversation, and our youth need to know how to further that conversation through the sharing of the faith. We shared two ways:

The Roman Road

This method uses verses from Romans to lead one through understanding our need for grace and forgiveness and where to find this. What I like about this method is that you are exclusively using God's word and not trying persuade, argue, debate or coerce through our own logic. This is a very simple way of telling the person what God says, and let the Holy Spirit be at work through the word.

The 4 Spiritual Laws


This is a tried and true method of sharing the faith. It is produced by Campus Crusade for Christ and takes you through 4 steps of understanding and receiving the faith. It is simple, concise and does a good job of emphasizing the need for church and discipleship. Each point is supported by Scripture, so, just like with the Roman Road, it is not your word trying to convince, but the word of God which is perfect, true and will always accomplish it's mission.

What an exciting time for our group! Thinking through their testimonies ... sharing their faith ... and all for God's glory! Please keep the group in your prayers as we continue to train, pray and prepare. Soli Deo Gloria!

Appalachia '11 begins!

I guess the official start date of Appalachia '11 was this past Saturday. At 10 am on a weekend morning, 13 youth and their parents gathered in the Westminster classroom of the church to begin the process of the Appalachia mission trip. What might look simple and routine on the surface is really not. The morning was spent discussing the Scriptural basis of our trip, their obligations to the trip and what is expected of them as missionaries. Simple and rountine? Yes and no. Yes in that we do this every year. No in that this is a vital part to building an effective mission team. 13 of WOARP youth have proclaimed that they want to spend a week away from home, sharing the love of Jesus with children in the Appalachian region. This sort of trip is vastly different from a Bonclarken retreat. At a retreat, the youth go to be served by the teaching, worship and seminars. On the mission trip, the youth go to serve others. They serve in the name and grace of Jesus Christ by teaching, leading and loving. They serve as a team. That is what we are focusing on this year - team. Not in an athletic sense ... but in a Biblical sense that we are the body of Christ - and the WOARP youth are going as the body of Christ to serve others. True leadership only comes when true humble service to Christ is practiced. Our youth need to be a team that understands this. That is why we started off this year's Appalachia trip with a mandatory meeting where we focused on teamwork.
What can we expect from this year's trip? We will be going back to Flatwoods UMC in Jonesville, VA to serve for that week. We will be staying at LMU as usual. We will be doing a lot of things we normally do. However, this year, by the grace of God, I am expecting to see a group of senior high youth transform into a solid team/body of Christ to share the Gospel in every lesson, word, interaction and hug. We need to pray that Christ would shape us into worthy servants of His Gospel. Pray with us and for us. Pray often that Appalachia would solely be for God's glory.
Keep checking back as I try and keep everyone updated on Appalachia!

Resources

Chances are that if you are reading this blog, then you spend some amount of time on the world-wide 'net ... and probably use it for some level of gained knowledge and trusted resources. Here is a website that I think would benefit all Christians seeking knowledge and resources. It is http://thegospelcoalition.org/ .It is a site worth going to.

Senior High Fall Retreat

Senior High Fall Retreat
September 24-26 (Friday-Saturday)
Speaker: Rev. Hunter Stephenson, pastor of North Macon Presbyterian Church
Music: Stephen Milne, First ARP, Columbia, SC
Topic: Face to Face with God (Isaiah)
Cost: $50
Sign Up: Immediately! Please see Pastor James. Deadline to sign up is September 9th.
T Shirts … Bowling … Fellowship … Krispy Kreme Donuts … Late Nights … Bonclarken Breakfasts … Wonderful Times!

WOARP Youth News

Dear WOAP Youth and Parents,

Welcome to the WOARP Youth Fall Season! We have a lot going on, both in the immediate future and the not-so immediate future! Below is information concerning the youth program that both youth and parents need to know about:

• Move Up/ Open House: This coming Sunday, August 15th. Both youth groups (Junior and Senior High) and parents will meet in the larger youth room upstairs White Oak Hall at 9.45 am for donuts and juice. We will then have a time of praise together and then go to our Sunday School classes. The Junior High class meets in the larger youth room, and the Senior High meets in the smaller youth room. Parents are invited and highly encouraged to attend so you can meet your youth teachers and get a sample of what happens for their youth on Sunday mornings. We are excited about this time and look forward to seeing all of you there!
• Sunday Evening Youth Gatherings: Starting this Sunday, the youth groups will begin their usual fall schedule. Junior High/SYNC will meet at 4.30 pm in White Oak Hall & the Senior High group will meet at 6.00 pm in White Oak Hall. This will be our normal schedule throughout the school year (unless otherwise notified). Each group will continue the study of different world religions by looking at Judaism. This study will continue for the next couple of weeks, followed by a study of Catholicism. Starting in the fall, we are planning on going through a book of the Bible a week! Our current and future studies promises to be challenging, informative and encouraging!
• Youth Retreats: The Senior High Fall Retreat is scheduled for Sept 24-26 (Fri-Sun), and the Junior High Retreat is scheduled for Nov 12-14 (Fri-Sun). Both of these are at Bonclarken. Information will be coming soon!
• Youth Activities: We are planning an evening of KGB … football games … parties … etc. Please keep posted for more details.
• Appalachia ‘XI: Tentative dates are July 2-9.

I am excited about the upcoming year! I am also excited about our new Junior High students, and those students who are moving up to Senior High. Please let me know what I can do to minister to your youth and family.

Pastor James

Michael Card concert info

About a year and a half ago Composer/Performer Michael Card led a concert at Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church, Peachtree City and it was a wonderful, inspirational evening. He is returning next month! Here are the details...

You won't want to miss Michael Card debuting his new album at Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City. General Admission tickets are only $10!! What a great price for a wonderful concert.

He will be joined by choir and strings.

Saturday, August 7th - 7:00 PM , Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church, Peachtree City

Go to www.peachtreearts.org for tickets

Day Six (Thursday)

I think the pictures above explain a lot about our focus for this trip – prayer. This trip is totally dependent on prayer. It all depends on prayer. We pray with our children on this trip – and are encouraged when we see them focused on prayer with us!
Part of what we are dealing with this year is continuing relationships from last year while building new ones. Our leaders have had to deal with different situations involving these relationships – nasty divorces, absent parents, alcoholic parents, drug usage in the family. What we are learning is how to apply the Gospel to these relationships. What do you say to someone who is struggling with their reality? The best we can ever do is to share the Gospel with them. The story of Joseph is a great avenue to do this. I have taken our youth through the Luke 24 account of Jesus teaching His two disciples that the whole of the Old Testament was pointing to Him … maybe Jesus used the story of Joseph to teach these two about Him! So, we have used that approach this week in our groups and our one on ones … that the story of Joseph is meant to point us to Christ. And, when we are pointed to Christ, then we are pointed to prayer. Christians pray – they pray often for everything. Lord willing, this is one of the lessons the Appalachia children will learn this week … and our team will continue to learn in their own walks.
You also see the pic of our playground crew at work! They finished up this evening after 5 pm ... they got there before 7 am!

Trouble with Blogging

It is Wednesday evening, and I am sitting in the bowels of the Tex Turner arena at LMU. I am down here b/c this is the only open internet access on all of campus! In years past, we could use the internet in our rooms, but that has changed this year. I am sorry about the delay in posting these blogs, but this is really the first chance I have had to get here and do it!
Because of this turn of events, tomorrow night (Thurs) will be the last blog before the weekend. I will try and post the rest on Saturday afternoon/evening ... please tune back in then!
Thanks for reading this blog and praying for us. We look forward to sharing more with you in person!

Day Four (Tuesday)

Kids showed up this morning dressed as Egyptians! Do you know what a thrill it is to see these young’uns ‘buying’ into this? They want to dress the part so they can be more of a part of it all. What a wonderful opportunity for us to draw them into the story and make it all the more real for them! We are looking forward to seeing how many more kids show up tomorrow morning looking like they came from Egypt!
This evening, Emily Etzel and Madison Vermilya gave the report on our trip before 450 people! I (Pastor James) couldn’t be more proud of them! They both spoke the truth, and did so without hesitation. It was really pretty cool to see that go on!
Tonight, we are doing the ‘usual’ Appalachia weekday evening activities: going to Wal-Mart for supplies and then to Sonic to feast on sugary goods and spend time with the other groups. It is a rite of passage to do this!
Tomorrow afternoon, our playground crew (Pastor Tom, Denny Robertson and Tracy Schroeder) will be here and begin their part of this mission work. The church and children are excited about this, and we are looking forward to seeing this work done!

Day Three (Monday)

We went to Egypt in Virginia this morning! We are conducting the VBS curriculum that tells the story of Joseph, so we have done our best to transform the church into an oasis of Egypt in the heart of the Appalachia Mountains. The youth are dressing up in their costumes, telling the story of how God was always with Joseph, and how God worked through Joseph. We sing songs, do Egyptian dances and have crafts with an Egyptian flair. The kids seem to really get into it!
We have seen a number of kids from last year and some new faces. It is great to see these kids come to hear the story of Scripture … sing the story of Scripture … pray the story of Scripture … soak in Scripture! Some have even admitted that they don’t really know the Bible or what it is about. Our prayers are that we would be good servants of Christ and share God’s word with all the children who come.
Our worship in the evening is led by Paul Patrick, chaplain of Erskine. His series is on the church – what it is (and isn’t), the foundation of Scripture, and that the church is for the justified and not the perfect. Each sermon has featured a particular point that hits right home with our situation in Jonesville, VA and Moreland/Senoia, GA. After the worship services, we come back to the girls apartment, talk through the sermon and music, and then break up into our teams to pray for the kids and the next day. We are doing our best to bathe this trip in prayer!

Day Two (Sunday)

This is one of those days that are a real pleasure of the Appalachia mission trip. We went to worship with our church site, Flatwoods United Methodist Church. This is the same church we served last year and it is a privilege to come back to reestablish old relationships and work on new ones. It is a pleasure to spend time in worship with this church of 44 members who are supportive of the mission work we will do this week. They are brothers and sisters in Christ, although of a different stripe. But, they have the same desire and passion we do – to know, and make known, the wonders of the Gospel.
The church provided a lunch for our group following the worship service, and then it was off to canvas the area! We use this time to reach out to the community to inform them of what we are doing. We spread out and go to as many doors as we can!
After all of this, we went into Middlesboro for a Wal-Mart run and then to see the July 4th fireworks. It was a great way to end the evening!

Flexible with Difficulties

Our team learned flexibility on Saturday. First, their trip was extended 2 1/2 hours when the interstate north of Chattanooga was shut down due to an accident. The team did not arrive to LMU until 5.15 pm - which means they didn't have time to make the 45 drive to our site. Instead, they had to draw up plans of the church and have the veterans explain to the newbies how the church is set up and how to best utilize all of the rooms. This morning, they are leaving earlier than usual so they can see the area and site and continue to make preparations.

Our second lesson of flexibility is that we will be without internet access until Tues evening ... so, this will be the last post until then. But, please tune in Tuesday evening to catch up on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday! We promise to have lots of pictures and stories to share!

One other thing - we will say this all week ... pray for the trip, the children and us. Please. In Paul's missionaries trips, he always relied on the prayers of believers ... we are doing the same. Please take a few moments to pray for us. Thank you!

Appalachia 'X - Team

Here is our team (minus Pastor James) preparing to leave for Appalachia! Remember to pray for the team and each of it's member.

Appalachia 'X

Please remember our WOARP Appalachia missionaries as they leave on their trip Saturday morning. We will start updating this blog with reports from the trip on Monday evening (7-5). Stay tuned!

Interesting List from Dr. Ligon Duncan

Here is an interesting post from Dr. Ligon Duncan, blogging on the Together for the Gospel (siteblog.t4g.org) ....

Praying for Your Pastor

by lduncan

Because I have a congregation that loves me more than I deserve, I am often asked by them: "how can I pray for you?" I've tried to put some thought into how I answer that question. So, maybe these ideas will help you pray for your pastor, or tell others how they can pray for you.

Pray -

1. That [your pastor] would know and love the living God, would have a saving interest in Christ, being purchased by His blood, and thus would be bound to the Lord by the indissoluble bond of the Holy Spirit.

2. That [your pastor] would know, embrace and ever more deeply understand the Gospel and be shaped by it in life and ministry.

3. That [your pastor] would be useful servant of the Lord, that he would know and love God's word, God's people, and God's kingdom; that he would be used to build it up and so that it prevails even against Hell's gates.

4. That [your pastor] would study, practice and teach the Word of the Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

5. That [your pastor] would love to pray, because he loves to commune with his God, and that he would be a man of prayer, characteristically.

6. That [your pastor] would be ever dependent upon and filled with the Spirit; and that he would possess true Spiritual wisdom.

7. That [your pastor] would be holy unto the Lord. That his tongue and heart would be wholly God's.

8. That [your pastor] would be kept from pride, and especially spiritual pride. That the Lord himself would be gracious to slay pride in him, and that your pastor would endeavor to always be putting pride to death, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

9. That God would give [your pastor] guidance as to where to focus his efforts in ministry.

10. That He would protect [your pastor] from himself, from the enemy of his soul, and from all earthly enemies.

11. That no decision which [your pastor] ever makes or desire that [your pastor] ever pursues would restrict his ability to pour his whole soul into the Gospel ministry.

12.That many would be converted and many built up under [your pastor]'s ministry, to God's glory alone.

13. That the Lord would bless [your pastor]'s wife, [. . . ], with holiness and happiness, Gospel assurance and Gospel rest.

14. That God would make [your pastor] a decent husband and father.

15. That [your pastor] would be a good friend to his wife, and love her self-sacrificially,

16. That [your pastor] would be a good daddy to his children. That they would love God, their parents and the church.

17. That [your pastor] would be a testimony in the home so that his wife might be able to respect him when he is in the pulpit, and so that [your pastor] will be able to feed her soul, along with the rest of the congregation.

Who Knows?

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Esther 4:14

As we stand on the brink of 2009, it seems to promise to be a new and challenging time for our nation and the world. The economy is on a wild roller coaster ride … we have a new President coming into office … there are tales of ruin for the auto industry … we are still dealing with levels of violence in the Middle East … and many other situations that we know about, and others we have yet to discern. 2009 will be the beginning of a challenging time for us as individuals, and, I believe, for the church.

Often we see Christians, when faced with these sorts of situations, throw their hands up in the air, complain about it all, and start predicting the coming rapture of the church. Many times, the church is great about talking about these things, but seldom do we see the church (and by this I mean both the institution and the individuals who compose the true, spiritual church) go out and ‘do’ the faith in the midst of a broken world.

Esther was faced with some hard decisions about her role in delivering the Jews from the evil intentions of Haman. Her uncle, Mordecai, counseled her through this, and gave this very poignant advice – “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther took this advice, and went about doing right for God’s people.

I believe we need to take that same advice for ourselves. Instead of declaring these times as gloom and doom and giving up, we need to heed the words of Mordecai, and trust that God has providentially put us in this time and place –and, who knows whether we have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? I truly believe that is the time for the church to start being the church and to affect the Gospel for a time and a place that desperately needs to hear the Gospel from the pulpit and from the lives of God’s children.

What we are asked to do in this time and place is laid out for us in God’s word and will for our lives…

Matthew 22:37-40: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

1 Timothy 2:1-2: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Titus 3:1-2: Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

I trust that if we believe that we have been called to a time and place such as this, and live our lives in the way God has called us, we will affect more change than humanly possible, because we will be living out God’s will, which will always reign supreme over all. We need not fear economic turmoil, a new administration, violence or pestilence. If we live out the grace of God’s will in our lives, this will do more then any hand-wringing, stress or anxiety can ever accomplish.

It is my prayer that my life will show this truth … and that your life will show the same. I hope that we will each grasp our call to a time such as this, and be obedient to God’s call and will in our lives. Who knows what the result will be if we live like Esther did? God used her obedience to deliver His people and vanquish His enemies. May God do the same with us, as long as we live according to His gracious will.

Soli Deo Gloria --- Pastor James

Thoughts on Worship

A friend of mine, Jake Hunt, blogs at wisertime.wordpress.com (check it out soon - he and his family are preparing to move to Prague to plant a church, and he faithfully blogs on Christianity, Scripture and culture .... good stuff), and recently posted this about worship. It is short and sweet!

Top 5 Reasons Corporate Worship is Important
December 30, 2008 by Jake

In response to a question from my boy Duane.

1. The Bible commands it. Lots. Of. Times.
2. God deserves it.
3. God takes it very seriously. (See Leviticus, Book Of.)
4. We need it.
5. Nonbelievers need to see us do it.

A Light in the Darkness

For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of the Christmas season. There are many wonderful memories of time out of school and spent with family, presents, meals, and shows such as “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. In all of these memories, one stands out more than others.
As a child, we attended Shaw Heights Baptist Church, located right across the highway from Shaw Air Force Base. They had the usual Christmas programs of caroling, pageants and parties. My favorite was the Christmas Eve candlelight service. I will be honest and admit that I don’t remember the sermons or Scripture readings. The only thing I really remember is that, after the sermon, the congregation would line the walls of the church, the lights of the church would be turned off, and a single flame would start in the back, and would be passed down each side of the church, until all candles were lit. As soon as all the candles were lit, the choir director would start singing “Silent Night” a capella, and within a few words, the congregation would join in. As the last verse started with “silent night, holy night, wondrous star, lend thy light”, the church would begin to file out, still singing. Usually my family was one of the last to file out, and I remember the voices growing more distant as they filed out into the night, and the sanctuary growing darker as the candle light was made fewer. As we made our way out, the choir director stayed in the front, still singing the last verse of the hymn. When we got into the church yard, we would blow out our candles, tell folks “Merry Christmas”, and go home to go to bed and get ready for Christmas morning!
For the longest time, this memory just served as a pleasant and warm reminder of childhood. Over the past few years, I have begun to understand the significance of that celebration. We live in a broken and fallen world, and it has been like this since the fall of Adam and Eve. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6.12 that this world is a dark world because of its fallen nature and inhabitants. Our lives are lived in a world that is clothed in darkness --- and that was the significance of the sanctuary being cloaked in darkness.
Jesus says in John 12.46 that He has come to be the light in the dark world – a light that pierces the darkness of sin and sinfulness, and a light that serves as a direction towards salvation. Without the light of Jesus Christ, the world would continue on in darkness. But, praise be to God, Jesus did come, and He has shed light onto the world. As Christians, as we respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we become lights in the world (Luke 11). This was the significance of the single flame that soon spread throughout the church, lighting the interior … Christ as the single flame, soon spreading through His children, bringing more and more light to the world.
The singular message of Christmas is the name given to the Son of God – Immanuel, “God With Us”. On that night, in the country town of Bethlehem, underneath the watchful eyes of His heavenly Father, his earthly father and mother, “God With Us” was born to mankind, in order to save mankind. He was born to bring light to a world clothed in darkness – salvation to his church. Truly, that was a blessed night … a holy night. As the sanctuary was clothed in darkness, and the light began to spread, we were reminded of the sacred truth of the season – that God had come to be with His people.
Thankfully, we have that same tradition here at White Oak, and what a wonderful reminder to us what the Christmas season is about. We do have the blessings of the season – gifts, meals, and family – but, most of all, we have Jesus Christ, the light in the midst of a dark world, “God With Us”. As we each prepare for this season, let our minds be primarily fixed on that truth of the Gospel, that the grace of God dwelt among us, and has proclaimed peace to God’s people.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor James

A Prayer for Advent

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
and enlarge my mind;
Let me hear good tidings of great joy, and hearing,
believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose, my
eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;
place me with ox, ass, camel, goat, to look with
them upon my Redeemer’s face, and in him
account myself delivered from sin;
let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child to my
heart,
embrace him with undying faith,
exulting that he is mine and I am his.
In him thou has given me so much that heaven can
give no more.

—from The Valley of Vision

Should You Pass on Bad Reports?

Here is another post from Justin Taylor at "Between Two Worlds" (http://theologica.blogspot.com/) ...

Tim Keller and David Powlison recently collaborated to provide some biblical wisdom and guidelines on speech and relationships. Our thinking was that perhaps bloggers would want to adopt these and spread the word about them as a way, in Keller's words, to "spiritually season Christian conversation in cyberspace."

So if this perspective resonates with you (and I hope it does), I'd encourage you to pass it along or post it on your blog.

May the Lord help each of us to have truth-in-love speech that is always gracious, salt-seasoned, gentle, respectful, peaceful, and edifying (Col. 4:6; Eph. 4:15; 1 Pet. 3:15; Rom. 14:19)


Should You Pass on Bad Reports?
by Tim Keller & David Powlison

One obvious genius of the internet is that it’s “viral.” Information explodes to the whole world. The old neighborhood grapevine and the postal service seem like ox-carts in a speed-of-light universe. (Do twenty-somethings even know what those antiquities once were? In the old days, people had to talk to each other or stick a stamp on an envelope.) Instantaneous transmission produces some wonderfully good things. Truth, like joy, is infectious. A great idea feeds into a million inboxes. But it also produces some disastrous evils. Lies, rumors, and disinformation travel just as far and just as fast.

So what should you do when you hear “bad reports” about a person or church or ministry? We want to offer a few thoughts on how to remain constructive. To paraphrase Ephesians 4:29, “Let no unwholesome words come out of your computer, but only what is constructive, in order to meet the need of the moment, that what you communicate will give grace to everyone who ever reads it.” That Greek word translated “unwholesome” is sapros. It means something that is inedible, either devoid of nutritional value or rotten and even poisonous. It applies to thorny briars or to fish or fruit that’s gone bad. At best, it’s of no benefit to anyone. At worst, it’s sickening and destructive. Consider three things in how to stay constructive.

What Does James Say about Passing Along Bad Reports?

Humble yourselves before the Lord.
Brothers, don’t slander or attack one another.
(James 4:10-11)

The verb “slander” simply means to “speak against” (Gk. kata-lalein). It is not necessarily a false report, just an “against-report.” The intent is to belittle another. To pour out contempt. To mock. To hurt. To harm. To destroy. To rejoice in purported evil. This can’t mean simple disagreement with ideas—that would mean that we could never have a debate over a point. This isn’t respectful disagreement with ideas. James warns against attacking a person’s motives and character, so that the listeners’ respect and love for the person is undermined. “As the north wind brings rain, so slander brings angry looks” (Prov. 25:23). Everybody gets upset at somebody else: slanderer, slanderee, slander-hearer.

The link of slander to pride in James 4:10 shows that slander is not the humble evaluation of error or fault, which we must constantly be doing. Rather, in slander the speaker speaks as if he never would do the same thing himself. It acts self-righteous and superior toward one’s obviously idiotic inferiors. Non-slanderous evaluation is fair-minded, constructive, gentle, guarded, and always demonstrates that speakers sense how much they share the same frailty, humanity, and sinful nature with the one being criticized. It shows a profound awareness of your own sin. It is never “against-speaking.”

James 5:9 adds a nuance: "Don’t grumble against one another." Literally, it means don’t moan and groan and roll your eyes. This refers to a kind of against-speaking that is not as specific as a focused slander or attack. It hints at others flaws, not only with words, but by body language and tone. In print, such attitudes are communicated by innuendo, guilt by association, sneering, pejorative vocabulary. In person, it means shaking your head, rolling your eyes, and re-enforcing the erosion of love and respect for someone else. For example, “You know how they do things around here. Yadda, yadda. What do you expect?” Such a “groan” accomplishes the same thing as outright slander. It brings “angry looks” to all concerned. Passing on negative stuff always undermines love and respect. It’s never nourishing, never constructive, never timely, never grace-giving.

What Does the Book of Proverbs Say about Receiving Bad Reports?

He who covers over an offense promotes love,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
(Proverbs 17:9)

The first thing to do when hearing or seeing something negative is to seek to “cover” the offense rather than speak about it to others. That is, rather than let a bad report “pass in” to your heart as truth, and then get “passed along” to others, you should seek to keep the matter from destroying your love and regard for a person. How?

Start by remembering your own sinfulness. "All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord" (Prov. 16:2). To know this automatically keeps you from being too sure of your position and of speaking too strongly against people that you hear about or people on the other side of a conflict. You intuitively realize that you may not be seeing things right. Your motives are never as pure as you think they are. To know this acts to keep you from being too sure of the facts, too sure of your position, and of speaking too quickly and too negatively about other people. Knowing your own sinfulness helps you not make snap judgments that take what you hear too seriously.

When you remember your sinfulness, remember God’s mercies. "Love covers all offenses" (Prov. 10:12). The God who is love has covered all your offenses. He knows everything about you (and the whole story about that other person). He has chosen to forgive you, and life-saving mercy cost Jesus his life. He could write you up with a 100% True Bad Report, but he has chosen to bury your sins in the depths of the ocean. That makes the life and death difference. If your sins are not buried in the ocean of his mercy, then you will be justly exposed and will justly perish. But when you’ve known mercy, then even when you hear report of grievous evil, an instinct toward mercy should arise within you. To savor the tasty morsels of gossip and bad reports is very different from grieving, caring, and wishing nothing less than the mercies of Christ upon all involved. And most bad reports are much more trivial. They are the stuff of busybodies and gossips going “tut-tut-tut.”

Then remember that there is always another side. "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him" (Prov. 18:17). You never have all the facts. And you never have all the facts you need all at once. You are never in a position to see the whole picture, and therefore when you hear the first report, you should assume you have far too little information to draw an immediate conclusion. What you’ve heard from someone else is only “hear-say” evidence. It has no standing or validity unless it is confirmed in other ways.

So when you hear a negative report about another, you must keep it from passing into your heart as though it were true. If you pass judgment based on hear-say, you are a fool. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out the facts. Go to the person. Hear other witnesses. If you’re far away from the scene, wait for more of the story to come out. Suspend judgment. Don’t get panicked or stampeded by mob-psychology and rumors. Be content not to know many things. You don’t need to have an opinion about everything and everyone.

Third, what should you do if you are close enough to the situation to be involved AND you think the injustice or matter is too great or grievous for you to ignore? For starters, notice that you only really need to know something if it touches your sphere of life and relationships. In that case, you should do what will help you to express God’s call upon you to speak Ephesians 4:29 words of wise love.

In Derek Kidner’s commentary on Prov. 25:7–10, he writes that when you think someone has done wrong you should remember, “One seldom knows the full facts (v.8) and one’s motives in spreading a story are seldom as pure as one pretends (v.10). To run to the law or to the neighbors is usually to run away from the duty of personal relationship.” See Christ’s clinching comment in Matthew 18:15: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." In short, if you feel the problem is too great and you can’t keep it from destroying your regard for the person, you must go personally before you go to anyone else.

When Should You Go?

Galatians 6:1 says we are to go when a person is caught in a trespass. That means there should be some kind of "pattern" or the unmistakeable exposure of a wrong. Don’t go the first time you hear a bad report about someone doing wrong. As we said above, there’s another side to most stories, and our motives are never totally pure when we get indignant. Go if the person seems caught—that is, trapped or stuck in a habit pattern of wrong behavior or falsehood.

How Should You Go?

Galatians 6:1 says we are to restore gently and in humility, bearing all the fruit of the Spirit. Beware of your own tendencies to be tempted—perhaps to the same sin, perhaps to reactive sins of self-righteousness or judgmentalism, perhaps to avoidance sins of cover-up and pretending. Galatians 6:2 goes on to say that we actually fulfill the law of Christ by bearing each other’s burdens. We become nothing less than lesser redeemers in the pattern of our Great Redeemer. Jesus in Matthew 18:15ff says we should also go persistently, and not give up in the process. Patience is one fruit of the Spirit because problems don’t always clear up quickly. There is a progression in efforts to get to the bottom of a bad report, to confirm the facts, and to work at bringing restoration.

Who Should Go?

Galatians 6 says you—plural—who are spiritual should go to the straying one. That both defines how you should go and it calls for multiple people to get involved. Similarly Matthew 18:15ff says to bring in other people if matters don’t resolve one to one. The right kind of checking out a bad report is always done in person and often will be done by involving multiple wise persons.

Why Should You Go?

In both Galatians 6 and Matthew 18 the goal is to restore the person and to re-establish sin-broken relationships. You are working to restore people both to God and to others.

Conclusion

In summary, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the principle is this. If you hear bad reports about other Christians you must either cover it with love or go to them personally before speaking of it to any others.

* The first thing to do is to simply suspend judgment. Don’t pass on bad reports.
* The second thing to do is “cover” it in love, reminding yourself that you don’t know all about the heart of the person who may have done evil—and you know your own frailty. Don’t allow bad reports to pass into your own heart.
* The final thing to do is go and speak to them personally.

What you should never do is rush to judgment, or withdraw from loving another, or pass on the negative report to others. This is challenge enough when you’re dealing with the local grapevine or slow-moving postal service. In a world of instant world-wide communication of information it’s an even bigger challenge, because you can do bigger damage more quickly. Whether the bad report offers true information, or partial information, or disinformation, or false information—it is even more important that you exercise great discretion, and that you take pains to maximize boots-on-the-ground interpersonal relationships.

What to do with the Lord's Day?

"Between Two Worlds" (http://theologica.blogspot.com/) is a great Reformed website run by Justin Taylor ... he recently linked this blog by Iain Campbell about the Lord's Day. Hope you enjoy!

http://creideamh.blogspot.com/2008/03/case-for-sabbath-observance.html

The case for Sabbath observance
I have noticed that there are two subjects which never fail to provoke a response in my columns. One is psalm-singing, of which I am convinced that there should be more, and not less in our churches.

The other is the issue of Sabbath observance, perennially controversial and deeply divisive in the landscape of modern Lewis. I could wistfully look back to a past day on the Isle of Lewis and ask why the former days were better than the present; however, as my number two son reminded me when he gave a public talk recently, the Bible explicitly forbids such retrospection.

So we must face the issue as it confronts us in the present. Unfortunately, the debate seems to focus on the wrong issues. Simmering away is the subject of Sunday ferries to and from the Isle of Lewis, and the subject of Sunday sports facilities in the town of Stornoway. Travel and sport: these are the emotive and important issues which currently threaten to secularise our communities.

Up to this point we have infamously bucked the trend of contemporary British culture, in which Sunday travel and Sunday sport are fixtures on weekly routines. We have sold out our national Christian heritage to an industry of sport and leisure. The pursuit of these pleasures has pursued our national soul, and we have dived right in. But that is no reason why we should sell out our local Christian heritage.

I have said it often: there is no earthly reason why being different is a bad thing. Actually, in many ways it is our contemporary British culture, with its 24/7 madness that is bucking the trend; in many places throughout European towns and villages one would be hard pushed to find a shop open on Sundays.

My position, as a local minister, however, is that the case for Sabbath observance is not made by appeal to local tradition or to social custom. It is that such a case can be made, and has to be made, by direct appeal to the Bible. My argument, therefore, is a theological one before it is anything else, and consequently becomes a moral one.

The principle of one day in seven being observed as a day of rest and worship is built into the fabric of the universe. According to the Bible, God rested on the seventh day, and bequeathed a pattern to humanity. By enshrining this principle into the commandments, God made the principle of the sanctity of the Sabbath as important as the sanctity of life or the sanctity of marriage.I t is on this basis that the principle of Sabbath observance becomes a matter of conscience and a matter of principle, binding on all mankind everywhere.

The same categories in which the Old Testament seventh-day Sabbath are described apply to the New Testament Lord's Day Sabbath - same principle, different application. Now, post-resurrection, the first day of the week has become the Christian Sabbath. That point of doctrine, I have discovered, is attacked more fiercely within the church than outside it. Any suggestion that the Sabbath principle carries over into the New Testament is regarded as legalistic at best and heretical at worst.

It's part of a trend of course, in which the best doctrinal emphases of Puritanism have been thrown out with the rejection of formal theology by modern evangelicalism, which seems more interested in experience than in doctrine. It has become a truism among many evangelical Christians that Jesus is our Sabbath, and that the day is a type of the rest we have in him. We ought to meet on whatever day is convenient for us. If there is any distinction to be made, it is not between work and worship, but between work and rest.

That is a theology I reject. The Sabbath principle is too fundamental a part of the structure of biblical theology to be thrown out in this way. Jesus has not abrogated his claim to be Lord of the Sabbath; it is not now that his death and resurrection have shed light on the deeper meaning of the principle that we should jettison the day he has given for his worship.

And why should we? There are positive blessings to having a day that is different from all the rest. Our families need to spend time together. Our bodies need rest from the routine of the week. Our society needs protection from the trend towards round-the-clock shopping. And our employees need protection from the exploitation of employers who will work them into the ground for a profit.

But above all we need sacred times to remind us of the bigger issues. We really don't need Christmas to remind us of the birth of Jesus, or Easter to remind us of his resurrection if we have a weekly Sabbath to remind us of these things continuously. A weekly Christian calendar is of far more benefit than a yearly one. A society, however, which does not need a Sabbath, is a society which has declared its independence of God, and which has turned itself into a secular institution.

We have already begun a process of bringing up our children without the idea of God, marginalizing the relevance of Christianity, and making peripheral the thought that we may, in fact, be accountable for what we do with our lives. We have indoctrinated our children in the atheism of our contemporary culture. We have taken the Lord's Prayer out of their daily routine, Bible stories out of their regular practice, church-going out of their weekly habit. We have shown by our example that Sunday is a day for travel, leisure, shopping and sport. God is not in their thoughts at all.

So are we really surprised when our society cries out for help? Do we wonder why a secular society requires so much Child Protection legislation? Or why an atheistic culture needs a Suicide Prevention Week? Are we so blind that we cannot see the correlation between our contemporary humanism and our contemporary despair?

Let's get real. Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that this is an issue of human rights and freedoms. The case to preserve the standards of our contemporary culture in Lewis, including our distinctive approach to Sunday issues, is strong, both theologically and practically.

Having said all that, this is not a debate I expect to win. All I can do is hope that we will learn the lessons of our Island's past. Our economy was never stronger, family life never more stable, and communities never more cohesive, than in the days when God was given a primacy of place in the weekly routine. Could there, after all, be some truth in the maxim that those that honour God, He will honour?

Right Where I Am

Recently, our family has begun using Charles Spurgeon’s “Morning & Evening: Daily Readings” for our family devotions. The other evening, we went through his devotion on 1 Corinthians 7.20: “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called”. For this month’s article, I would like to ‘reproduce’ this devotion in my own words and add some of my own ideas.
Pastor Tom spent some weeks preaching the doctrine of providence. This aspect of who God is needs to be comforting to each us as we realize that God is indeed in control over all aspects of our life. In his devotion on the 1 Corinthians passage, Spurgeon elaborates on God’s providence in our callings in life and how we need to be content with where God has us. Being a pastor, I often hear from people what a holy and satisfying position I hold, and some have even suggested that my prayers would be more readily answered because of the Geneva robe I wear each week! How sad it is that people think the best way to live a life for God is only in pastoral ministry. If that were true, how many people would be shut out from glorifying God? As Spurgeon says, “Beloved, it is not office, it is earnestness; it is not position, it is a grace which will enable us to glorify God”. Our good Lord has called each of us to our position in life, and it is when we accept this position in life that we can begin to truly glorify God. A pastor does not have advantage over a farmer! We are each called to a certain place and situation in life and it is from there that we can truly glorify God.
Some of my heroes of faith are not even pastors – they are laymen who seek to glorify God in all that they do. I realized this a few years ago, and it sent me spiraling into doubt over my call to the pastorate! However, the Lord has brought me to the place where I can really see how great these men and women are who glorify God in their positions as farmers, lawyers, teachers and stay-at-home mothers. It is these people who really do a lot of good ministry in the church – they are the good neighbors always willing to lend a hand … they are the good relatives always ready to give you whatever they have … they are the good folks in the community who are always ready to do what is best for where they live. Spurgeon says “God is glorified by our serving Him in our proper vocations”. Are you glorifying God in your providentially assigned vocation?
An idea that I have been formulating for some time now is the “I/Me Covenant Family”. The basic premise of the idea is that the covenant family is still taught faithfully from many pulpits in the Reformed world, but many parents have taken the covenant family and have stripped off all parental sacrifice and total and absolute responsibility and left only the shell of doctrinal correctness taught to their children. No longer is there an appreciation that God has providentially called these parents to be parents – no, there are bigger and better things for them to do than sacrifice to be a Godly covenantal parent. The ‘good’ ones do this by involving their selves in so much ministry that their family suffers. One of my practical theology professors in seminary, Dr. Frank Kik, drilled in our heads from day one that we have first been called to be Christians, then husbands, and then, for some, fathers, and then pastors – and that should be how we arrange our lives. I wish Dr. Kik was still alive so he could preach that to the so many families who have abandoned their callings as spouses and parents in order to focus on another calling – and because of that, their other responsibilities fail. I believe the root cause of this idea – and, as I examine this, I notice how much these families suffers, and as these families suffer, so does the church – is the lack of knowledge of God’s calling in our lives.
One of the beautiful practical applications of God’s providence in our lives is that we know without any shadow of doubt that we are right where God wants us. Shouldn’t this be cause for praise? Shouldn’t this be cause for worship? Why do so many of us try to buck off this providence and tread down a path of our own doing? We are not God, and never will be. Our sight will never be as good as His. Our knowledge will never be as complete as His is. Why is it that we can quote Romans 8.28 out of one side of our mouths, and out of the other side say and do the exact opposite?
Take comfort! You are exactly where God wants you! As Christians, as we seek to faithfully follow the fullness of Biblical commands, we can take great comfort that we are right where God intends for us to be. For a South Carolina boy, that means right here in the heart of Georgia! For you, it may be something else, but whatever it may be, isn’t it great to be right where God wants you to be! Praise Him wherever you are, doing whatever you have been called to do, serving all that He has put in your way. May we learn this and do this, and may God be greatly praised for His loving and gracious providence.
Soli Deo Gloria, Pastor James

Memorial Day Pictures

Here is a picture of some of our White Oak ARP Memorial Day celebrants!

Satan's Humility

David Cook was voted the 2008 American Idol winner. With 54.6 million votes for him, Cook was deemed the winner. Imagine 54.6 million votes essentially telling you how great, wonderful, special, unique, fabulous, etc. you are. I think it is safe to say that it would be hard to be humble in the face of that sort of adulation. 54.6 million votes can’t be wrong about how great, wonderful, special, unique, fabulous, etc. you really are!
Charles Spurgeon, who is widely regarded as the Prince of Preachers, was standing at the backdoor of his church one morning after he had preached when this alleged exchange took place …
“A man came up to him, gushing and saying, "That was the greatest sermon I have ever heard! And you are the greatest preacher alive!" Spurgeon looked at the man and said, "Yes, the devil told me that ten minutes ago!" It would be hard to stay as humble as Spurgeon with even that one little bit of adulation!
It doesn’t matter if you have 54.6 million instances or just one instance of glowing remarks aimed at you, it is hard for most to stay humble at all times. God has given each of us specific gifts, and when these gifts are being sharpened, and the public sees them being put to good use, we usually get praise for these gifts. It may be speaking skills, or planning skills, or relational skills, or handyman skills, or cooking skills --- chances are that we will be praised for that skill and its outcome. It is hard to stay humble in the face of such remarks!
In Paul’s epistles, we read a good bit about many hardships he faced, but we also read of a few instances of him being showered with adulation. One instance is when Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra, and the people were so overcome by Paul and Barnabas’ miracle working that they started worshipping them as the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes – to the extent of wanting to offer sacrifices! Another instance is in 1 Corinthians, as Paul talks about people who are exclusively following him, or Apollos, or Cephas. How did Paul handle such praise?
We find his very humble answer in 1 Corinthians 11.1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Paul knew that every good and admirable thing in him wasn’t of his own doing – it was of the grace of God shown in Christ. No matter how convincing his sermons were … or the vast ministry of his missionary journeys … or his collecting money for the poor … or taking a young pastor as his mentor … Paul knew that this was all a gift of the good Lord. Not his doing, but the Lord’s. Therefore, he told the churches in Corinth that they could look to him and imitate, but only because his main goal in life was to point people to Christ.
That is what Christian humility does – it longs that God alone gets the glory for all things. It points away from self, and points to God. What Christian humility does NOT do is point towards self. Why? Because who is self? It is someone who is fallen … a sinner … totally depraved … spiritually dead. What good can come from that? When we try to take credit for any good, then we are only pointing someone away from Christ, and, often, we try to point them towards our self. What can we do better than Christ? Why would we rather have someone look to us than to Christ?
The answer to this question is easy – Satan. Satan loves nothing more than to have any and all attention turned away from Christ. He loves to see broken and fallen people try and act as if they are better than Christ. Why? Because, if you aren’t looking to Christ, then you are easier prey for Satan. And, if you aren’t pointing towards Christ, then you inevitably point towards something that Satan can use against Christ.
It can be one instance, or it can 54.6 million instances --- either way, humility can be slippery in our sinful hands and hearts. We each need to take on the manner of Paul, and be so enthralled with Christ that we can tell others to look to us, because we will always point them towards Christ. We need to have the attitude of Spurgeon, who knew that personal adulation can be a tool of Satan. It is the Christian manner to be so enthralled and wrapped up in Christ alone, that when others look to us, they will see Christ, because that is our goal, our desire, and our life.
Soli Deo Gloria --- Pastor James