Church/Family

A Decade of Youth Ministry

Posted on by Scotty Anderson

Roots2In God’s kind providence I’ve had the privilege lately to see the fruit of covenant faithfulness come to roost at WRPC. The particular blessing I’ve witnessed (and you along with me, though you may not have realize it) is to see young people who were once a part of the WRPC youth, come back in their young adult years to make WRPC their church home.

First, I should say I’m incredibly grateful to the staff and session for allowing me to remain and serve in the capacity I do, working with the young people of the church. Although there are a few, those who get to have a long tenure working with young people are by and large the exception to the rule. Credit my incumbency to a sober-minded leadership who can recognize that fun and fellowship are not evils but who also believes young people benefit most, as all of us do, from serious exposition of the word of God, from theological and doctrinal teaching, from striving toward maturity, and from age-appropriate content and application.

The commitment of WRPC to those ministry emphases has resulted in an exceptional though not surprising continued commitment to the church in our young people. Over the years, somewhere over 90% of our covenant youth, who became communing members and stayed plugged into our student ministries through their high school years remain to this day plugged into solid evangelical churches with most of them settling in the PCA.

The particular recent blessing that led me to write this has been in seeing several of these young people not only staying committed to THE Church, but also coming to settle in OUR church. Among the young adult members of our congregation, integral to our weekly ministries and serving throughout the church, are former students I either inherited from my predecessors student ministry pastors (David McIntosh and Jeff Hooker) or who never knew a “youth pastor” besides myself. These “alumni” are now WRPC choir members, musicians, mission trip participants, Sunday School teachers, nursery workers, youth chaperones, VBS staff, kitchen crew, and more. They’re not just present, they’re PLUGGED IN!

Given how transient our culture is, and how uncommonly pastors remain in one local church for a decade or more (especially in working with young people), to have so many “come home” AND to be able to see it is exceptional.

But as I said before. It’s not surprising. When we pray persistently for our young people, when we’ve given them reasons to know they’re loved by the church, when they’ve come to trust that God’s word will take priority over personality, when they can expect that worship will not follow fads but be recognizable as serious and steady, year by year…well…we shouldn’t be surprised that they see the church of their youth as still being their church when they come into maturity. We shouldn’t be surprised, but we should be incredibly grateful.

Piety/Worship

Lessons on Prayer from Godly Old Anglicans

Posted on by Carl Robbins

Thomas-CranmerA few years ago (recognizing my own immaturity in this most necessary spiritual discipline) I began studying prayer. I carefully examined the forms of prayer in the Bible: from the Psalms to the Lord’s Prayer (in Matthew 6) to Christ’s High Priestly prayer (in John 17) to the Apostle Paul’s prayers (Ephesians 1, for example).

We began to be much more impassioned about our corporate prayer meetings and intentionally biblical in our pastoral prayers in our Lord’s Day services.

We even became intentional about the prayers we encourage you to use. On most Sundays we have a Prayer for Preparation on the front of our worship bulletin. You’ll notice that it’s taken from The Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

The BCP was first assembled in 1549 in England, largely by Thomas Cranmer.  Cranmer was an Anglican bishop who had deep sympathies with the Protestant Reformation and was eventually burned at the stake (by Roman Catholic authorities) at the age of 67. His final statements were “as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.”

As Cranmer was writing the BCP, he wrote “collects” for each Sunday Service.  These collects are what we have printed on the front of our bulletin as an aid to help you prepare for worship. The collect refers to the “collecting up” of the petitions of individuals into one prayer. A collect is a short prayer that asks for one thing only and usually consists of five parts.

1. The Address – where God alone is addressed, never the saints or any other object.

2. The Acknowledgment – reflects some quality of God related to what we will be asking for in the Petition: His power, His Grace, His Kindness, His Wrath.

3. The Petition – here is the Actual Prayer concerning basic needs: cleansing, forgiveness, protection, guidance, comfort, provision.

4. The Aspiration – a stated desire for sanctification and usefulness

5. The Pleading – “Through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Christ is our only mediator and advocate. Through Jesus alone can we draw near to the Father

So, understanding this structure for brief prayer, here is one of the more famous collects from the BCP:

1. Almighty God

2. Unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known & from whom no secrets are hid

3. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit.

4. That we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify Thy holy Name.

5. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Parenting/Uncategorized

Christ’s Rule in Your Family

Posted on by Scotty Anderson

HouseRulesHey Parents,

Have you ever heard yourself say, “Alright! That’s enough! No more                       !” (Fill in that blank with some carelessly made edict). Or your refrigerator is adorned with a list of “25 Laws of This House”. Or maybe you’ve multiplied rules to the point that you’re children just seem confused and apathetic toward them.

I confess that I’m more than a little embarrassed to live in the time and place that I do. My embarrassment is over the small things that have become a fixture in our daily living: warnings that coffee is hot, that peanut butter may contain nuts or nut byproducts, that college campuses require safe words and trigger warnings before discussing Mark Twain. But we’re also not the first culture ever to pile on the rules.

The Pharisees were notorious for taking the law (the rules God gave his people) and both applying them to people who didn’t need them and multiplying them upon people who did. Jesus famously said to them: …“Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers” (Luke 11:46). Their sin was not in being scrupulous to follow all the laws of God carefully, but in making themselves the law and at the same time not measuring up to either God’s law or their own. They had stopped serving the cause of God and had become servants of themselves. Their rules validated their own existence and place in the world more than it helped anyone please God.

Parents can be guilty of the same thing in a similar way. How many times have you organized the economy of your house around you. How many “policies” have you instituted that were not so much about sanctification, love, or honoring God and were more about placating you. To rule wisely, which you’re called to do, takes thoughtful deliberation on your part. It’s frequently worth slowing down, reflecting on the Scriptures, deliberating, and then implementing what you’re after. He are some “Rules” for rules, principles to keep in mind when getting your house in order:

    1. Constantly Promote the Source of Your Righteousness (See above) – This is a critical. You are righteous because Jesus is righteous for you. Without Jesus then even your rightest righteousness is filthy rags in his sight (Is 64:6). Don’t let a made bed be the measure of holiness (and that’s from a guy passionate about made beds).
    2. Major on Biblical Commands, Wisdom, and Discernment AND Minor on Rules – Think of rules as occasional necessary evils. Remember this: every rule you make becomes an occasion for sin (Rom 4:15). If Dad sets a rule, and it’s broken, however foolish that rule may have been, the one who breaks it has disobeyed his father. He has sinned against heaven and earth because children are to obey their parents. That’s a lot of power in a parent. Be judicious.
    3. When you make rules make wise rules:
      1. Wise rules are grounded in Scripture.
      2. Wise rules are those you intend to inspect, enforce, and for which you are willing and able to give consequences.
      3. Foolish rules are grounded in self-protection and self-promotion.
      4. Foolish rules are hasty, difficult to keep, and unenforceable. Remember, Christ’s yoke is easy and his burden is light (Mt 11:29-30)
    4. Explain the wisdom of actions/rules (Commensurate with age) – Children need to be able to obey without justification, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t helped by explanation. Justifying means that you:
      1. Ground your rules in biblical commands and wisdom to your children. It’s the word of God, not your rules, that will keep them from sinning against God (Ps 119:11)
      2. Teach your children what is wise and how the rules you do have are towards ultimately doing what God requires wherever God’s providence takes them.
    5. Parent out of a funnel – When children are young, there will be more rules. Dangers abound for little ones and they need to be protected from them. As they get older, rules need to be shed. Yes driving and dating add room for a few more directions, but the idea is that they are soon transitioning to being completely outside your rules and only under the rule of Christ. You want Christ’s law to be the one they leave home with and not to be one among many that they can’t wait to get out from under.

Rules are not in the least unbiblical. They serve a purpose. And that’s the very thing to remember with rules…they’re meant to serve…not to be served, but to serve. Rules must serve to guide, restrain, warn, give discernment, and make habits of godliness. Make sure that you make them in service to Christ, and not yourself.

Uncategorized

I’d rather be a worshiper of the Triune God than…..

Posted on by Carl Robbins

TabernacleBWThe Sons of Korah penned Psalm 84. They were descendants of one of the most notorious of all rebels in biblical history – Korah. You can read his wicked saga in Numbers 16. But, unlike His dealings with Achan and his children, God in mercy spared the descendants of Korah (Numbers 26:9-11). 400 years go by and now (1 Chronicles 9:17-34) the Sons of Korah are bakers, singers, and…..gatekeepers. They are the ones who open the doors (1 Chronicles 9:27) to the Tabernacle.

Are they bitter over their menial station in life? Hardly. Listen to Psalm 84:10…..”a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

You’ve seen them, the bumper stickers that say “I’d rather be fishing” or “I’d rather be watching television”. Consider this THE bumpersticker for the regenerate man: “I’d rather be in the lowest place, but worshiping, than with the unregenerate”.

The psalmist (in this case-the Sons of Korah), by saying this, is telling us several important truths:

  • He will ALWAYS choose the company and fellowship of the church over the world
  • One Lord’s Day spent in corporate worship is BETTER than 3 years of gathering with the world in their empty pursuits

The lowest task (door-keeping) if it is among the people of God, in the house of God, is preferable to reclining with the wicked! Because God’s WORST is better than the world’s BEST!

A sign of the children of God is their delight in worship/God’s presence and their PREFERENCE of worship and the House of God to the world’s entertainments.

Piety/Worship

Thanksgiving Gratitude

Posted on by Carl Robbins

Thanksgiving-BrownscombeEvery church has a persona. Some churches have the reputation of being a “friendly church”. others are known to be a “cold church”. Still others are said to be a “social church”. Have you ever thought about what the persona of WRPC is? They say you can discern a congregation’s personality by what they like to sing – I hope that’s true, because some of our favorite songs are taken up with…gratitude. “O Worship the King” (#2) begins “O worship the King all glorious above, O GRATEFULLY sing His pow’r and His love”.

What is gratitude? It comes from the Latin word “gratus” and means (in its Biblical usage) “a response of thanksgiving for generous and unexpected provision”. It is the proper way of answering God when He blesses us. A student once asked John Calvin to describe his conversion. Calvin responded by quoting Psalm 40…”The Lord brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God”.

Indeed, profound gratitude is one of the distinguishing marks of a true believer, just as ingratitude is one of the surest signs of an unbeliever. In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul speaks about the sinfulness of the lost man in this way “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, NOR WERE THANKFUL”. The unbeliever always betrays the real state of his soul by his grumbling, whining, and complaining. Conversely, the Christian is known by his grateful spirit.

The Scriptures even teach that in heaven we will STILL be expressing our gratitude to the Lord for all His mercies. The Apostle John describes a heavenly worship service where the worshipers “fall on their faces before the throne and worship God, saying: Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and THANKSGIVING and honor and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:11, 12).

What kind of church is WRPC? By God’s grace – a grateful church.

Church/Parenting/Uncategorized

Child Protection at WRPC

Posted on by Scotty Anderson

WRPC Cropped LogoThis Sunday, the Session has mandated the implementation of a comprehensive child protection policy. It’s designed to provide protection to both the children of our church and all those who come under our care and supervision. But we admit that policy is something few people get excited about and understandably so. Policies mean rules. And new rules are rarely beloved by freedom loving Americans. But while we understand that, we are committed to clarifying how we work with children in the church for the very reason that it is a Gospel issue. We not only ought to care about, but we must care about it and make sure we’re doing what we can and should do. We’re serious when we say this is a Gospel issue. To clarify:

  1. It’s biblical – The Scriptures are replete with commands and illustrations that require Christians to give special care to children:
    • Children are a blessing (Gen 33:5, Ps 127:3-5).
    • Children are greatly favored by Jesus and are used to teach us about the kingdom of God (Mt 18:10, Lk 18:16).
    • Children are a stewardship: their care, nurture, and education is appointed to bring them up to salvation (Pr 22:6,  2 Tim 3:14-15).
  2. It’s ecclesiological – The church for whom Christ died, his Bride, includes children (Mt 19:14, 1 Cor 7:14). You can see the seriousness of this in that the Presbyterian Church in America, our denomination, went on record in its resolve to protect children. You can read the full statement here.
  3. It’s prudential – Believers cannot afford to be naive or overly optimistic about all men. Our doctrine of man and sin demands that we be realistic about both those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18-21) as well as the problem of indwelling sin (Rom 1:21-23). The wicked are crafty and the foolish are reckless but the prudent recognize and respond to dangers (Pr 27:12). Our demeanor as Christians is to seek and live according to the wisdom of God (Pr 2:6-15).
  4. It’s a matter of witness – Protecting children is a three-fold evangelistic concern. First and foremost, few things could be a greater hindrance to a child or adult receiving the Gospel than having been abused in a church context by a ministry leader or caregiver (Mt 18:6). Second, families do not want to be in a church in which there is a sense that children are not cared for and protected. Third, a church in which an incident of child sexual abuse has taken place has a seriously marred reputation which most communities are generally slow to either forget or forgive.
  5. It’s loving – Finally, and this should be perhaps the most obvious, the most loving thing we can do for our smallest and most vulnerable neighbors is to protect them from evil. Evil comes in lots of different packages, both natural and moral. A useful policy is helpful in limiting and preventing both and is evidence of our love for one another.

We understand that policies bring some measure of discomfort and require sacrifices in one way or another. But we think the particulars of our policy are sufficiently reasonable and helpful to be worth carrying out. So please remember, a policy won’t protect children. Committed people will. We, and especially our children, need your support.

 

 

Apologetics

Transcendence and the Political Options

Posted on by Dan Dodds

IdolsforDestructionIn his perhaps underappreciated book, Idols for Destruction, Herbert Schlossberg wrote the following:

“One of the chief errors in Ayn Rand’s philosophy is her idea that the altruism of social democracy is the opposite of individualistic egoism. Seeing the destruction wrought by the former, she argues for the latter. But collectivism and egoism are both derived from immanence, both can live only when the limitations of transcendent law are overthrown, both are symptoms of the same disease. If it is lawful for the individual to do as he pleases, why should it not be lawful for the commissar to do as he pleases. If there is nothing to restrain the one lawfully, then there is nothing to restrain the other.”

In this (specific) sense, it doesn’t really matter whether you vote conservative or liberal, republican or democrat. If any economic or political philosophy is based in immanence (read: there is no ultimate tie to a personal, transcendent God) then both end up at the same place. As Greg Bahnsen once put it, “Abandoning one so as to embrace the other is like divorcing a woman because she is ugly and then marrying her twin sister.” The Scriptures teach, “Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint” (Proverbs 29:18). Dostoevsky said it this way: “If there is no God, all things are permissible.” Amen.

For a great talk on this see Greg Bahnsen’s lecture at Hillsdale College where he spoke on Libertarianism. It can be purchased here: Libertarianism vs. Christianity

 

Uncategorized

Missions Conference 2015 – November 7-8

Posted on by Scotty Anderson

Screen Shot 2015-11-06 at 9.37.46 AM

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

Our Fall Missions Conference is this weekend. Check out the schedule below and also introduce yourself to our speakers and the ministries with which they serve. These brothers and their families are doing yeoman service and we’re privileged to be connected to them.

Speakers:

  • SkipperGreg Skipper – Greg is a PCA minister serving as the Executive Director at Calvary Home for Children in Anderson, SC. Calvary Home provides not just housing for children who have nowhere else to go, but family and family life with Christian parents who nurture them in their time together. Greg works tirelessly to organize and raise support in caring for orphans.
  • JegarJegar Chinnavan – Jegar is well known to our congregation as a former member and now serves as church planter of the First Asian Indian Presbyterian Church, a Tamil speaking work among Asian Indians in Virginia. Tamil speakers are a significant segment of the population in the Washington D.C. area and Jegar is strategically located to reach this largely unchurched population.
  • David_ElyDavid Ely – David is the RUF campus minister at Furman University ministering, evangelizing, and discipling students locally in the collegiate community. David is especially concerned to pastor the students in their context and also to orient them toward PCA churches. David has also ministered directly to the young people of our church by speaking at both our middle school summer conference as well as our senior high fall conference.
  • SealyPhilip Sealy – Philip is our PCA church planter in Sylva, NC. He’s been at the Redeemer Church planting work for several years now with great success. We’ve been happy to partner with them since early in the work and they have blessed us in return with the musical talents of Philip’s wife, Lori performing at our ladies conferences. Bless them or curse them, Philip and Lori were key in Pastor Anderson landing in Greenville and at WRPC.
  • payneJon Payne – Dr. Jon Payne is our missions conference speaker. He’s fairly well known to our congregation having been with us before as a speaker but it’s our special privilege to have him speaking on missions. He presently serves as the organizing pastor of Christ Church Presbyterian in Charleston. Dr. Payne’s work for the advance of the Kingdom of God doesn’t stop there because he also serves as visiting lecturer in practical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, has edited and authored several useful books, he contributes to TableTalk and Modern Reformation magazines, and serves as the Convener of the Gospel Reformation Network and is also on the Council of the Twin Lakes Fellowship. We’re delighted to have his gifts put to use directly for our congregation this weekend.

Conference Schedule:

Saturday Evening Dinner: 5 PM
Catered by Tropical Grille

Saturday Evening: 6:15 PM
6:15 PM: Updates from Greg Skipper (Calvary Home for Children) and David Ely (RUF Furman)
7 PM: Dr. Jon Payne A New Church Plant in an Old Beloved City: Christ Church at Two Years
7:40 PM: Update from Jegar Chinnavan

Sunday Morning Worship: 9:30 AM
Dr. Jon Payne The Great Commission: Making Disciples Everywhere – Matthew 28:16-20

Sunday School: 11:15 AM
Dr. Jon Payne Missing the Mark: Unbiblical Trajectories in Modern Mission

Sunday Evening Worship: 6 PM
6 PM: Update from Philip Sealy
6:15 PM: Dr. Jon Payne Passion, Perseverance and Parity in Mission – Acts 14:19-23

Uncategorized

The Marriage Culture

Posted on by Scotty Anderson

If you haven’t obtained your copy of this issue of the Visionary, “do not pass GO or collect your $200” until you do. This is the first “Faithfulness in Marriage” issue and it’s packed full of good stuff. The pastoral staff had the privilege of interviewing the couples with “long” marriages in the church and it was a delight to hear their stories as they reminisced about their journey together.

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 9.58.59 AMOf special interest is Craig Bradenbaugh’s article, “Let the Redeemed of the Lord…Say So!” He gives both he and his wife Maria’s testimonies of faith and marriage. Wonderful counsel throughout! I’m including a portion here because it’s not to be missed but read the full version for yourself:

So what is a key to Faithfulness in marriage? I’m going to use a word that is not very well understood today, “duty.” It is a hard thing to learn duty and commitment in our marriage because it goes against our sin nature. A “Me first” attitude, “He or she is not meeting my needs,” etc. God has given us His word, good examples from others, good pastors, and especially His providence, always working in our lives. Do you ever struggle with your relationship with your spouse? Praise God, He is blessing you! He is teaching you, listen to Him, pray about it and examine your own behavior. First say, “Thank you Lord for…” don’t run from it, don’t argue, don’t push your sinful self-will, don’t leave, don’t clam up, and don’t stay angry, give up your will for the Lord’s. He is knocking the rough edges off of you and your spouse. This is your sanctification.

It’s hard to do better than that. You’ll be blessed by the rest as well. Don’t miss the article or issue (The Visionary). It’s your culture and your story, too.

 

Counseling

Syncretism Anyone? Counseling from the WCF

Posted on by Dan Dodds

WCFContinuing in our look at the Westminster Confession of Faith and Counseling, we come to Chapter 1 Paragraph 6 – which is chocked full of helpful information:

WCF 1.6  The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the word, which are always to be observed.

Paragraph 6 of Chapter 1 of the WCF is a great reminder that all we need regarding life and godliness (and counseling to that end) is contained in God’s Word. Does that mean we cannot use outside sources for help? Of course we can! If the outside sources (books, lectures, sermons) agree with Scripture they can be a great help. What are the limitations? The WCF rightly asserts that unless counsel is directly supported by Scripture or from the necessary deductions which may be drawn from Scripture, we should not treat the counsel as authoritative.  We should be particularly careful not to try to ‘blend’ any forms of pagan counsel or counseling techniques that attempt to synchronize opposing authorities or presuppositions. Whole books have been written on this subject (such as Malachi!) so there is much more to say, but suffice it to say for now that God’s Word is sufficient!

Secondly, note a reaffirmation of what we learned from paragraph 5: the inward illumination of the Spirit is necessary for the understanding of God’s Word. So if the counselee is not a believer – all counseling must be ‘pre’ counseling to direct him or her to Christ – then the real counseling can begin.