restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

Voting and the Constitution

Bob Strodtbeck

There have been some notable events, namely the Janet Jackson Super Bowl flash and movements to legitimize gay marriage in Massachusetts and San Francisco, which have stirred some Christians to feel compelled to be socially and politically assertive. Efforts to bring Christian influence on the events of the day include discussions to amend the U.S. Constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexual unions, a World Net Daily commentary by Rev. Jerry Falwell declaring God is pro-war, and proclamations by Pat Robertson that President Bush is going to win reelection in a blowout because, “it doesn’t make any difference what he does, good or bad. God picks him up because he’s a man of prayer and God’s blessing him.”

America’s cultural slide has not happened overnight nor is it going to be corrected simply because some well-meaning Christians attempt to assert their world view in public debates. Note needs to be made of the fact that the country had a pretty sizable Christian population as the culture began its decline. The problem Christian activists face is that although it is easy on a broad scale to abandon moral discipline for the sake of self indulgence, it is not so easy to restore public honor for moral restraints once they have been rejected – especially when that public is unwilling or unable to recognize the consequences of its profligacy.

Many Christians consider their civic duty to be fulfilled by voting Republican as a central element to the mission of sanitizing the culture. On the surface this makes sense largely because the Democrat party embraces social causes – primarily moral relativism, promiscuity, abortion, gay rights, and separation of church and state – that most Christians consider to be repugnant to the principles of their faith. The GOP, on the other hand, generally defends various traditional moral standards as a logical extension of conservative principals.

Too often, though, the claims that are made during election campaigns hardly ever seem to influence public policy. This is an especially frustrating reality for Christians who hope to use their vote to elect officials that effectively address issues they consider important to the future of the country. Is it enough for Christians just to vote or should they aspire to greater action as they see their values and principles defied by powerful and influential people? More importantly, what other action is there?

Perhaps the most important step for concerned Christians to take is to learn how American government is supposed to operate and how their principles apply to it. Actually reading the U.S. Constitution is a good place to start. Doing so won’t take long and what one would find is that it is not a hard document to understand.

The U.S. Constitution is a secular document, which is to say that it is not overtly religious or theological. If there is one aspect of the Constitution which is significantly impacted by Biblical thought, however, it is in the oath required by those filling constitutional offices. The presidential oath, for example, follows, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The phrase, “So help me God,” is not in the text of the Constitution, but was spoken by George Washington in his first inaugural and every other president has followed his example, which only adds to the oath’s seriousness.

According to the Bible, God places great significance on those who take vows in His name and promises judgment against those who violate them. In Numbers 30:2 Moses wrote, “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Although this verse is from a context that addresses marriage, other passages regarding vows throughout the Bible, regardless of their focus, demands adherence to the promise by the promise maker.

The fact that all American elected officials take an oath to, “… preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” gives not only Christians, but all Americans objective standards by which to judge the conduct of those who serve in government. The criticisms made of officials in the government in this column have always applied the standards of the U.S. Constitution and various state constitutions as well as the obligation to honor constitutional limits on power promised by taking the oath of office.

Consequently I see nothing particularly Christian in supporting an individual or a party that defies or ignores the official oaths for the sake of enhancing a political following from a voting block that chooses to remain ignorant of the principles of American government. The lack of discretion that many Christians have used to support just about anything that claims to be Christian is as much a cause of America’s cultural demise as any of the movements that seek to mainstream debauchery.

July 1, 2004

Since 1993 Bob Strodtbeck has been writing commentaries for The Apopka Chief, a news weekly circulated in a community ten miles north of Orlando. His analyses investigate a wide range of topics from what he calls a “Christian pragmatic” view – that is to say, he considers that human interactions are largely driven by the human instinct toward self-service, which is traditionally known as sin. This perspective has given Bob great liberty to criticize governmental officials from both parties upon the standards of constitutional laws they swear to uphold and review cultural and economic phenomena from moral standards defined in the Bible. Bob currently lives in Orlando with his bride Pam and children Charlotte and Richard. He may be reached for comment here.

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Viewing Human Life as Property: Logically Defeating Liberalism’s Slippery Abortion Arguments

John M. Leone

Basically, the abortion argument can be simplified down to three basic questions: 

A.     Do you view the conceived entity (embryo, fetus, baby) as a human being?

B.     Do you place any value on this life?

C.     What basic rights does this entity deserve?

I don’t see how this conceived entity could be interpreted as anything other than a human being, homo sapiens, or any other moniker denoting humanness that you wish to give it. It’s certainly not a duck or an alligator.  In the earliest stages of pregnancy, the baby may not resemble a full grown human being, but some people with physical deformities do not resemble “normal” people either.  Does this mean we can indiscriminately kill those with deformity due to their different physical characteristics?

When do you place value on human life?  Do some people have more “value” than others?  Does an innocent life have no value and deserve death due to the motives of others and not its own merit?  Does an unborn baby who is 6 weeks old have less value than an unborn baby of 20 or 30 weeks?  Does an unborn baby have less value than a baby who has been delivered?  If so, what has changed other than the fact that the delivered baby breathes air and the unborn does not? Does a human life that is incapable of surviving on its own merit deserve to die?  If so, do we then kill all of the premature babies kept alive by machines in the neo-natal ICU?  What kind of standards are we using to determine the “value” placed on a particular person? 

Are all people created equal, or are some more equal than others and more deserving of life?  Do those who cannot defend themselves verbally or physically deserve whatever we determine their fate should be?  Do those who cannot (as yet) sustain their own life deserve death?  If so, do we immediately kill the elderly and infirm whose life is currently being sustained by life support or other measures, such as a feeding tube? What is the difference between an elderly person who is incompetent (physically and/or mentally) and a human fetus other than the physical size of the people involved?

Do we view people as property, determining value based on the intent of the “property owner”?  If a baby is wanted by its mother does it have value? If it is unwanted does that value disappear?  Do the whims of the mother dictate the very value of the life of the child?  My television has value until I decide I do not want it anymore and put it out on my curb as trash.  Do we now treat human life in the same manner that we treat property?  To be disposed of when it no longer holds value for us like so much trash?

Do the unborn deserve any basic human rights?  Terrorists and prisoners of war held in Guantanamo Bay Cuba receive more courtesy and human rights than the unwanted unborn.  Do the unborn deserve the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  If you believe they do not deserve any rights, why not?  Because they cannot speak (as yet)?  Deaf mute people do not speak.  Should we forcibly dismember them or burn them to death and throw them into a dumpster like we do with aborted babies?  Do the unborn have no value because they cannot “communicate” in the same way as adult humans do?  Should we empty the hospitals of unconscious persons and those in comas to toss them out with the garbage?  Those in comas may never recover, while a baby will surely be capable of speech and communication in just a short time if left to its normal developmental processes. 

Sadly, the unborn do not have any rights or value today in America.  The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness applies to some, but not all, of us.  Apparently, it only applies to those who are capable of defending themselves from such brutal attack. 

If you support abortion, please ask yourself the questions above.  Think about your answers and the mental gymnastics required to support the continued legalization of abortion.  Do we as Americans want this holocaust as our legacy?  Denial, self-delusion, and ignorance cloud the abortion debate.  Critical thinking and logical conclusions are necessary for the average person to form an intelligent and informed decision regarding this topic.  So much liberal propaganda and outright false information envelops this subject that it is difficult to have an intelligent debate with abortion supporters. 

This argument has been based on logic, and not religious imperatives.  Religious imperatives, I have found, do not necessarily exclude some “Christians” from supporting abortion.  For religious arguments and Scripture that opposes abortion, as well as descriptions of the horrific methods of abortion, see my web page on this topic.

July 7, 2004

John Leone is a police officer in New Jersey, the editor of the Silverback Standard, and a staunch defender of biblical and constitutional government. He may be reached for comment here.

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The Value of Traditions

Jeff Adams

It’s hard for me to hear the word “tradition” and not think of the movie “Fiddler on the Roof” and Topol singing the song “Tradition.”  I liked that movie and how it showed that over time some traditions give way to new traditions, and that there is worth in some traditions, while others lose their value if those who advocate maintaining the traditions cannot justify their relevance.

It’s important for each generation to not only know and understand the traditions handed down to them, but to evaluate their relevance to their lives.  It has been proven in studies, as well as being noticeable through casual observation, that when people have “roots” and a knowledge of the history and heritage of their family as well as the society they are a part of, they are better grounded and function better in society (by function I mean they more often tend to be law abiding, productive members of society).

It’s the common values, morals, customs, and general culture that hold a society together.  Traditions are a way to pass these things along from generation to generation.  Diversity, as advocated by liberals, is not just over rated, but destructive for any society.  We should celebrate the customs, values and traditions of our land.  Parents who don’t make an effort to pass these things on to their children are failing at one of their most important duties.

One of the problems plaguing our country today is the “rootless-ness” of so many people.  The public education system has failed to pass on the basic understanding of our history, heritage, traditions and values, and an honest understanding of our form of government.  And parents are failing to take a personal interest in passing along this information, as well as family and cultural traditions.  My wife and I are making an effort to avoid this misstep with our kids.

One thing we’ve decided to use as a tool to link our kids to their heritage, and build a family tradition, is to take time to attend the second annual Southern Historical Conference and Bonnie Blue Ball.  I wrote about the inaugural event last year, and I have to say we were not disappointed in the least with what all took place at the conference or the ball.  In fact, my wife and kids left San Antonio more enthusiastic about attending this year’s event than they were about attending last year’s.

My wife and I hope to make this an annual tradition, to let our kids hear some great speakers address topics concerning their history, heritage, and their future, as well as explore the various vendor’s booths at the conference.  Not to mention having an evening where we “dance the night away” with others who share in a common heritage and aren’t afraid to celebrate it.

As for the value of this as a tradition, and what is taken from these events that is useful, my kids will have to eventually evaluate this for themselves, and determine if it is something that is worth passing on to their children.  I believe there will be much they find worth passing on, in one form or another, because much of what is addressed at these conferences are truths that stand the test of time.

This year’s Southern Historical Conference and Bonnie Blue Ball will be held in the same location as last year’s, which is in Schertz, TX, on the north side of San Antonio, and is scheduled for September 3-4.  Information on the conference and ball can be found here. I would encourage all who are within an eight hour drive (after all, you’d drive that far for a weekend trip for a ball game, or to attend an amusement part) to make the effort to attend this event and determine first hand the value of the traditions being promoted at this event, and if it is worth making a part of your family’s traditions.  For anyone who realizes the importance of the values and traditions that are the foundation for our land’s successes, they’ll see this event as something worth attending every year.

July 19, 2004

Mr. Jeff Adams is the State Director of Education for the Texas chapter of the League of the South. He currently works as an industrial engineer in Houston, Texas. He may be reached for comment here.

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The Value of Short Term Missions

 David Alan Black 

My wife and I went on our first short term mission trip back in 1978. (Becky, of course, had grown up on the mission field and had also attended Practical Missionary Training in Latin America while in college.) During that summer of ’78 we served in Germany with “Eurocorps,” a ministry of Greater Europe Mission. We were based in the quiet village of Seeheim, where we worked on various projects at the German Bible Institute. In addition, I played trumpet on a brass octet that held evangelistic concerts in various towns and cities.

Later, in the early ’80s, we lived in Basel, Switzerland, while I was working on my doctorate. We were deeply involved in the church there – not the English-speaking congregation, but the local German-speaking Baptist church.

Last October and November, while I was on sabbatical, Becky and I traveled to Ethiopia for five weeks. This was my first visit to the land of Becky’s childhood. While there my wife fulfilled her life-long dream of working in a down country medical clinic, while I taught at various schools. More recently, we spent several weeks this summer in Ethiopia.                        

What are the benefits of such short term ministry? Our short term experiences have effected several positive changes. Our missions giving has significantly increased, as has our prayer time for missions and missionaries. Our mission-related activities have increased a hundredfold, and being personally acquainted with missions has significantly increased our awareness of both the joys and difficulties of mission life.

How does a short term trip work? Many short termers are sponsored by sending agencies such as Greater Europe Mission (GEM) or Serving in Mission (SIM, formerly Sudan Interior Mission). A partial list of sending agencies may be found here. Becky and I work as “missionaries-at-large,” attaching ourselves to various ministries as the Lord Jesus directs us. For example, this summer in Ethiopia Becky launched a new ministry sponsored by her father’s foundation, which recently produced a CD Library containing 100 different Bible study helps in both Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia) and English. The CD has received an enthusiastic response, and Becky and her dad are now working on a second CD that will contain the textbooks used in Ethiopian Bible schools. For my part, I preached every Sunday in various churches (Baptist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Reformed Orthodox, etc.), taught Beginning and Intermediate Greek, and ministered to the persecuted believers. Together, Becky and I did leadership training for a new denomination and visited Gonder to visit one of our Ethiopian “sons.”

During our stay in Ethiopia we were constantly reminded of the importance of maintaining a humble, servant’s heart. A short term mission requires a measure of flexibility and the giving up of comfort and conveniences. But if you are willing to serve unselfishly, opportunities to advance the cause of Christ abound. Some projects, of course, lend themselves to short term participation more than others. I see short term missions primarily as an investment in the lives of people. Focus on people, show empathy for their circumstances and needs, and be yielded to the Lord as He directs your schedule and contacts, and then stand back and watch Him accomplish some awesome things!

But is short term service valid? Are we short termers doing any good? I know of few career missionaries who would question the importance and validity of short term missions. In the first place, short termers sometimes end up in career service (although this is becoming rarer and rarer). More importantly, almost all short termers begin to shape a “missions” lifestyle. They become, in essence, “world Christians.” In his book In the Gap, David Bryant has an excellent definition of “world Christians”:

World Christians are day to day disciples for whom Christ’s global cause has become the integrating, overriding priority for all that He is for them. As disciples should, they actively investigate all that their Master’s Great Commission means. Then they act on what they learn…. World Christians are Christians whose life directions have been solidly transformed by a world vision.

Finally, if properly teamed with veteran missionaries, short termers can provide valuable respite for career workers. But the focus must be on ministry and not on sightseeing. As veteran OM missionary George Verwer has put it, “Some people still misunderstand short-term work. They can’t discern between serious short-term programs where people are being stretched, trained and discipled, and glorified overseas sightseeing trips.”

So my question for you is: Would you prayerfully consider a short term mission trip for yourself or your family?

A student once asked Charles Spurgeon if the heathen who had never heard the gospel could be saved. Spurgeon replied, “It is more a question with me whether we who hear the gospel, and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved.” Until the Lord’s Great Commission is fulfilled, short term missionaries will be needed to assist nationals and career missionaries with the great task of world evangelization. When the Master asks, “Who will go for Me?”, believing hearts will answer, “Here am I, Lord, send me.”

August 7, 2005

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. If you would like to know more about becoming a follower of King Jesus, please feel free to write Dave.

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 Urgent Need for the Lord’s Church in Zobechame, Ethiopia

Becky Lynn Black  

Where were you 4 years ago, on Feb 17, 2007?  To jog your memory, this was before the Great Recession hit us, our army was active in Iraq, President Bush was in the White House.  It seems a long time ago, doesn’t it?

That date is important in the history of the Lord’s work in Ethiopia because on that date, the believers here in America sent $5,000 to the Lord’s people in Alaba for the purpose of buying property to build a church.  Actually, the Church was already built, by the Lord Jesus.  It consisted of about 250 individuals.  They were renting a very small building with a large yard attached.  On Sunday mornings and several times throughout the week, the believers gathered, easily overflowing the building out into the yard for their services.  The fence around the property was porous…just some branches thrown together…so as people walked by in the street, they could witness worship of Christ the Lord.  Since this rented building was located in the Zobechame (“Zoe-bah-chah-mee”) section of the town, it became known as the Zobechame church….not unlike the Ephesian or Philippian or Colossian churches in the Book of Acts.

Then the Church leaders received notice that the Alaba Town was doing an improvement project, and the building would be confiscated for that improvement.  They had one month to vacate.  It is difficult to find even small buildings to rent in Alaba; most of the land-owners are Muslims, and they refuse to work with Christians, especially in church matters.  So the congregation moved to a leader’s farm on the outskirts of Alaba Town.  This required about an hour’s walk, but it was their only alternative.

However, soon the neighbors in this rural area began complaining to the authorities about the congregation disturbing the peace with their singing and preaching.  So the congregation was banished from there.  They became known as the “homeless congregation.”

In the meantime, the Mother Church in Alaba Town was rigorously trying to find property to purchase for a permanent home for the congregation.  Do you remember our prayer alerts during this time period?  “Zobechame church” was on the forefront.  And God, by pure miracle, gave us the absolute perfect property.  It truly was amazing!!!!  This was a large piece of land, in perfect building condition, being flat and clean.   It was located in the “upper crust” Muslim residential section, smack in the middle of the movers and shakers of Alaba society.  It was directly across from the proposed site of a new hospital.  And it was at the junction of some main roads.  And the miracle of miracles, is that the Muslim owner was willing to sell the property to a church!

So Feb 17, 2007, the believers in America forward $5,000 to the Mother Church in Alaba to begin the purchase process.  A year later, we advanced the final portion of $1,000.  So this large, perfect piece of property was purchased in a key area of Alaba Town for a mere $6,000.  At that time, a couple in VA gave $3500 for the building of the church building; this was combined with another $1500 to provide the estimated cost for construction.

Then we entered a period of 3 years of haggling with the those who were upset with the purchase.  First, the neighboring Muslims complained to the government.  Then the Town decided to stop everything while they looked at re-zoning.  And from the beginning the Witchdoctor next door began his personal assault.

Explanatory Note:

Now, let us think biblically about all of this. First truth, the Church of Jesus Christ will be built; nothing will prevail against it.  This means that the individual believers who make up the Body can never be destroyed; it has nothing to do with the materials attached to the believers…like buildings, ministries, programs, etc.  No amount of persecution in Ethiopia will destroy the believers of Jesus Christ, His Church.  This is His promise to us, and He cannot break His promise.  He cannot be unfaithful.

Second truth, the Enemy of the Church of Jesus is NOT people.  In Alaba, we are not “fighting” Muslims, or followers of the Witchdoctor, or government representatives.  All of these people are individuals who are loved by our Lord with the same degree as He loves us.  And all of these individuals were in the heart and mind of Jesus as He voluntarily breathed His last breath on Calvary.  And all of these individuals are invited to the Throne of the Father by way of the Only Way, our Lord Jesus.  So we do not “fight” against them.

Instead, our fight (which is really the Lord’s fight, not ours) is with the Enemy of souls, with Satan, with the Evil One, with the Lying One, with the Deceiving One, with the Author of Death.  So we must direct our “ammunition” against him, not against the people who are in his awful power.  We do not harbor any anger or bitterness against the individuals who fight against us in the work of the Kingdom.  We love them.  We pray for them. And we share the Way of Life with them.

Third truth, in the culture of Africa, especially in the culture of Islam, the “staking of territory” is a very important concept.  Let me illustrate this:  Shortly after our government saved the country of Kuwait from Saddam Hussein (also known as the First Gulf War), the Islamic government of Kuwait donated millions of dollars to the Muslims in Ethiopia.  This money was earmarked for one thing: erecting mosques and minarets at key crossroads.  The goal was also to place such a building every few kilometers along major roads.  The fact that there were no Muslims living near the building was irrelevant.  In fact, in many areas, the joke among the Ethiopian people was “That’s Mohammed’s mosque, because no one goes there but him.”

Although the buildings were somewhat mocked initially, they spoke loud and clear to the local residents and to those traveling by:  “This is the land of Islam.”  “Only Muslims may live here.”   It was outright, direct intimidation.  Day after day, seeing that building, hearing loud prayers emanating from its spire, has had the effect of softening the heart towards Islam.  Now those empty buildings have devote attendees.

The Muslims of Ethiopia have a 5-pronged plan to take over Ethiopia.  One of those prongs is the building of mosques and minarets all over Ethiopia, even where Islam is not currently active.

We do not fight the Evil One with material things like buildings.  But we are called upon to be good stewards of the grace of God.  A good steward will analyze a situation, and consider the best manner of achieving a goal.  The best manner of doing Kingdom work is to consider the culture, the world view, the thinking, the operation of a people.  The Gospel always stays the same: Jesus is the one and only representative before God, He is the only source of salvation, He alone becomes Righteousness to us.  But the manner in which that Gospel is communicated changes from culture to culture.  In Burji, our clinic, solar loudspeakers, showing the Jesus Film, and evangelistic treks are some of the ways it is communicated.  In Alaba, which is almost exclusively Muslim, building buildings that represent the work of Jesus in His Church, is one of the ways of communicating the Gospel.   In Alaba, any Muslim who comes to Christ is absolutely guaranteed severe persecution, even to the point of hunting and death, even by family members; such is the shame associated with conversion.  But a building in their culture stands for Strength, Support, Choice, Alternative, Safety, because it is a visible expression of Christ and His people.  Believe it or not, many rural Muslims believe that the whole world has only Muslims in it….because until we came, there were almost no church buildings in the rural areas!  The testimony of a church building in a Muslim area cannot be under-rated.

Now, let me bring you back to the Zobechame congregation.  For 3 years (2008-10) the Mother Church leaders met with the Town authorities; eventually they had to take the disagreement to the higher, Regional authorities to get validation of the purchase and permission to build.  They used the $5,000 we sent for building the church on a 3-room school building, and began a kindergarten school; local families sent their children for education, and this softened the hearts of the local population against the church people.  The Lord, in His own amazing way, had the Witchdoctor convicted of financial fraud and put in jail.  The elders of the Mother Church began visiting him in jail, and every time Dave goes to Alaba, he visits Mohammed the Witchdoctor.  (The last time, the jail authorities freed him for a day, so that he could host Dave in his home for coffee!…God is softening this man to the Gospel.)

So this time last year, 2010, all lights were “go” on construction.  But now a new problem had arisen.  Its name is INFLATION.  This means what used to cost x amount, now costs xx  or perhaps xxx.  The cost for accomplishing the same job doubles or triples.  In the case of the building for the Zobechame congregation, the cost is now xxxxxx!    Did you count those x’s?  Count them!  There are SIX of them!  The price for construction the same building is now SIX TIMES the cost of what it would have cost us if we had be able to build in 2007 when the property was originally purchased!

So instead of needing $5,000, we need $40,000!   Where is this money to come from?  It is to come from the Master of the Harvest, from the Lord Himself.  He always supplies the needs of His people and of His work.  ALWAYS!

So let us be clear.  We are not “fund raising.”  We are not beating the bushes to see how many dollar bills will fall out.  We are not making you feel comfortable with good food, lovely music, and a nice setting, so that you will put a larger figure on your check.

No, we are letting you know the situation with your brothers and sisters in Zobechame, Alaba, Ethiopia.  No one else is communicating their need.  And the clear instruction of Scripture is this: Bear ye one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2)…Let the stronger care for the weaker so that there is equality (Rom 12:13 and 2 Cor 8:13-15).  In the early church, we have clear examples of how they obeyed these instructions.  Within the Jerusalem church, those with resources supplied the needs of those without resources, giving through the church leaders for distribution.  Within the network of early churches in Asia Minor, those in areas without famine supplied the needs of those in areas of famine. (Read the whole book of Acts!)  But they could not have been obedient to these instructions from the Lord of the Church if there was no communication of need.

And so we are simply communicating the need of the Lord’s church in Alaba, Ethiopia to the Lord’s church in America and beyond.  We in America are the financially stronger, despite our recession, unemployment rate, low inflation; we are infinitely stronger financially than Ethiopia!  We have the ability through modern banking methods to transport funds instantly from one location to another.  (Just yesterday I wired $6700 to the Burji church for a variety of urgent needs.)  The temptation of today is to get all of our “risks” sorted out before we obey.  If we wait until everything is arranged, so that there is no need for faith in the sufficiency of God to care for us and our home churches here, then we will never step out in confident faith to obey….and we will never see the glory of the Lord in operation.  He reserves His glory for those who are obedient.  And those who are obedient do not wait until all their ducks are in a row before taking action.

The Operation Ethiopia fund does not, frankly, have $40,000 for the Zobechame building.  Will God send this necessity through you, through your church?  All we ask if that you take time to lay this urgent need before the Lord and ask Him what, if anything, He wants you to do about the need.

Why is it urgent?  Because now a new issue has arisen.  In the Town government’s plan to improve Alaba, they are not happy with vacant land.  They are now threatening to remove the land from the church if building does not begin quickly.  Of course, if you have been on our email update list, you know the severe persecution that has come upon the church in recent months….murders, beating, robberies, riots, etc.  So there is much pressure from these aggravated Muslims to take the property away from the church.

From our perspective, we must begin building, and we must begin quickly, or we risk losing not only all the money we have already invested, but also the potential ministry in this location.

Now is the time to pray.  Now is the time to act.  We absolutely must redeem the time for the Gospel in Alaba.

Will you pray?  Will you obey whatever He impresses you to do?  Will you risk investment in His Kingdom?  Will you share the burden of your brethren, fulfilling the Law of Christ which is Love?  Will you act as the stronger one to the weaker one?

Rejoicing in His work,

Becky Lynn

February 25, 2011

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Urgent Need for the Lord’s Church in Zobechame, Ethiopia

Becky Lynn Black  

Where were you 4 years ago, on Feb 17, 2007?  To jog your memory, this was before the Great Recession hit us, our army was active in Iraq, President Bush was in the White House.  It seems a long time ago, doesn’t it?

That date is important in the history of the Lord’s work in Ethiopia because on that date, the believers here in America sent $5,000 to the Lord’s people in Alaba for the purpose of buying property to build a church.  Actually, the Church was already built, by the Lord Jesus.  It consisted of about 250 individuals.  They were renting a very small building with a large yard attached.  On Sunday mornings and several times throughout the week, the believers gathered, easily overflowing the building out into the yard for their services.  The fence around the property was porous…just some branches thrown together…so as people walked by in the street, they could witness worship of Christ the Lord.  Since this rented building was located in the Zobechame (“Zoe-bah-chah-mee”) section of the town, it became known as the Zobechame church….not unlike the Ephesian or Philippian or Colossian churches in the Book of Acts.

A portion of the congregation by their rented building in 2006:

Three elders of the Zobechame congregation in 2006:

Then the Church leaders received notice that the Alaba Town was doing an improvement project, and the building would be confiscated for that improvement.  They had one month to vacate.  It is difficult to find even small buildings to rent in Alaba; most of the land-owners are Muslims, and they refuse to work with Christians, especially in church matters.  So the congregation moved to a leader’s farm on the outskirts of Alaba Town.  This required about an hour’s walk, but it was their only alternative.

However, soon the neighbors in this rural area began complaining to the authorities about the congregation disturbing the peace with their singing and preaching.  So the congregation was banished from there.  They became known as the “homeless congregation.”

In the meantime, the Mother Church in Alaba Town was rigorously trying to find property to purchase for a permanent home for the congregation.  Do you remember our prayer alerts during this time period?  “Zobechame church” was on the forefront.  And God, by pure miracle, gave us the absolute perfect property.  It truly was amazing!!!!  This was a large piece of land, in perfect building condition, being flat and clean.   It was located in the “upper crust” Muslim residential section, smack in the middle of the movers and shakers of Alaba society.  It was directly across from the proposed site of a new hospital.  And it was at the junction of some main roads.  And the miracle of miracles, is that the Muslim owner was willing to sell the property to a church!

Discussing the land, on site, in 2007:

Two pictures of the Zobechame land:

The witchdoctor’s home, bordering the land, in 2007:

So Feb 17, 2007, the believers in America forward $5,000 to the Mother Church in Alaba to begin the purchase process.  A year later, we advanced the final portion of $1,000.  So this large, perfect piece of property was purchased in a key area of Alaba Town for a mere $6,000.  At that time, a couple in VA gave $3500 for the building of the church building; this was combined with another $1500 to provide the estimated cost for construction.

Then we entered a period of 3 years of haggling with the those who were upset with the purchase.  First, the neighboring Muslims complained to the government.  Then the Town decided to stop everything while they looked at re-zoning.  And from the beginning the Witchdoctor next door began his personal assault.

Explanatory Note:

Now, let us think biblically about all of this. First truth, the Church of Jesus Christ will be built; nothing will prevail against it.  This means that the individual believers who make up the Body can never be destroyed; it has nothing to do with the materials attached to the believers…like buildings, ministries, programs, etc.  No amount of persecution in Ethiopia will destroy the believers of Jesus Christ, His Church.  This is His promise to us, and He cannot break His promise.  He cannot be unfaithful.

Second truth, the Enemy of the Church of Jesus is NOT people.  In Alaba, we are not “fighting” Muslims, or followers of the Witchdoctor, or government representatives.  All of these people are individuals who are loved by our Lord with the same degree as He loves us.  And all of these individuals were in the heart and mind of Jesus as He voluntarily breathed His last breath on Calvary.  And all of these individuals are invited to the Throne of the Father by way of the Only Way, our Lord Jesus.  So we do not “fight” against them.

Instead, our fight (which is really the Lord’s fight, not ours) is with the Enemy of souls, with Satan, with the Evil One, with the Lying One, with the Deceiving One, with the Author of Death.  So we must direct our “ammunition” against him, not against the people who are in his awful power.  We do not harbor any anger or bitterness against the individuals who fight against us in the work of the Kingdom.  We love them.  We pray for them. And we share the Way of Life with them.

Third truth, in the culture of Africa, especially in the culture of Islam, the “staking of territory” is a very important concept.  Let me illustrate this:  Shortly after our government saved the country of Kuwait from Saddam Hussein (also known as the First Gulf War), the Islamic government of Kuwait donated millions of dollars to the Muslims in Ethiopia.  This money was earmarked for one thing: erecting mosques and minarets at key crossroads.  The goal was also to place such a building every few kilometers along major roads.  The fact that there were no Muslims living near the building was irrelevant.  In fact, in many areas, the joke among the Ethiopian people was “That’s Mohammed’s mosque, because no one goes there but him.”

Although the buildings were somewhat mocked initially, they spoke loud and clear to the local residents and to those travelling by:  “This is the land of Islam.”  “Only Muslims may live here.”   It was outright, direct intimidation.  Day after day, seeing that building, hearing loud prayers emanating from its spire, has had the effect of softening the heart towards Islam.  Now those empty buildings have devote attendees.

The Muslims of Ethiopia have a 5-pronged plan to take over Ethiopia.  One of those prongs is the building of mosques and minarets all over Ethiopia, even where Islam is not currently active.

We do not fight the Evil One with material things like buildings.  But we are called upon to be good stewards of the grace of God.  A good steward will analyze a situation, and consider the best manner of achieving a goal.  The best manner of doing Kingdom work is to consider the culture, the world view, the thinking, the operation of a people.  The Gospel always stays the same: Jesus is the one and only representative before God, He is the only source of salvation, He alone becomes Righteousness to us.  But the manner in which that Gospel is communicated changes from culture to culture.  In Burji, our clinic, solar loudspeakers, showing the Jesus Film, and evangelistic treks are some of the ways it is communicated.  In Alaba, which is almost exclusively Muslim, building buildings that represent the work of Jesus in His Church, is one of the ways of communicating the Gospel.   In Alaba, any Muslim who comes to Christ is absolutely guaranteed severe persecution, even to the point of hunting and death, even by family members; such is the shame associated with conversion.  But a building in their culture stands for Strength, Support, Choice, Alternative, Safety, because it is a visible expression of Christ and His people.  Believe it or not, many rural Muslims believe that the whole world has only Muslims in it….because until we came, there were almost no church buildings in the rural areas!  The testimony of a church building in a Muslim area cannot be under-rated.

Now, let me bring you back to the Zobechame congregation.  For 3 years (2008-10) the Mother Church leaders met with the Town authorities; eventually they had to take the disagreement to the higher, Regional authorities to get validation of the purchase and permission to build.  They used the $5,000 we sent for building the church on a 2-room school building, and began a kindergarten school; local families sent their children for education, and this softened the hearts of the local population against the church people.  The Lord, in His own amazing way, had the Witchdoctor convicted of financial fraud and put in jail.  The elders of the Mother Church began visiting him in jail, and every time Dave goes to Alaba, he visits Mohammed the Witchdoctor.  (The last time, the jail authorities freed him for a day, so that he could host Dave in his home for coffee!…God is softening this man to the Gospel.)

Dave with Mohammed the witchdoctor in his home, 2010:

Two-room classroom building, 2010:

Typical rural Ethiopian kindergarten, Alaba, Ethiopia:

So this time last year, 2010, all lights were “go” on construction.  But now a new problem had arisen.  Its name is INFLATION.  This means what used to cost x amount, now costs xx  or perhaps xxx.  The cost for accomplishing the same job doubles or triples.  In the case of the building for the Zobechame congregation, the cost is now xxxxxxxx!    Did you count those x’s?  Count them!  There are EIGHT of them!  The price for construction the same building is now EIGHT TIMES the cost of what it would have cost us if we had be able to build in 2007 when the property was originally purchased!

So instead of needing $5,000, we need $40,000!   Where is this money to come from?  It is to come from the Master of the Harvest, from the Lord Himself.  He always supplies the needs of His people and of His work.  ALWAYS!

So let us be clear.  We are not “fund raising.”  We are not beating the bushes to see how many dollar bills will fall out.  We are not making you feel comfortable with good food, lovely music, and a nice setting, so that you will put a larger figure on your check.

No, we are letting you know the situation with your brothers and sisters in Zobechame, Alaba, Ethiopia.  No one else is communicating their need.  And the clear instruction of Scripture is this: Bear ye one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2)…Let the stronger care for the weaker so that there is equality (Rom 12:13 and 2 Cor 8:13-15).  In the early church, we have clear examples of how they obeyed these instructions.  Within the Jerusalem church, those with resources supplied the needs of those without resources, giving through the church leaders for distribution.  Within the network of early churches in Asia Minor, those in areas without famine supplied the needs of those in areas of famine. (Read the whole book of Acts!)  But they could not have been obedient to these instructions from the Lord of the Church if there was no communication of need.

And so we are simply communicating the need of the Lord’s church in Alaba, Ethiopia to the Lord’s church in America and beyond.  We in America are the financially stronger, despite our recession, unemployment rate, foreclosed properties; we are infinitely stronger financially than Ethiopia!  And we have the ability through modern banking methods to transport funds instantly from one location to another.  (Just yesterday I wired $6700 to the Burji church for a variety of urgent needs.)  The temptation of today is to get all of our “risks” sorted out before we obey.  If we wait until everything is arranged, so that there is no need for faith in the sufficiency of God to care for us and our home churches here, then we will never step out in confident faith to obey….and we will never see the glory of the Lord in operation.  He reserves His glory for those who are obedient.  And those who are obedient do not wait until all their ducks are in a row before taking action.

The Operation Ethiopia fund does not, frankly, have $40,000 for the Zobechame building.  Will God send this necessity through you, through your church?  All we ask if that you take time to lay this urgent need before the Lord and ask Him what, if anything, He wants you to do about the need.

Improved roads in Alaba Town:

New construction is everywhere in Alaba Town:

Why is it urgent?  Because now a new issue has arisen.  In the Town government’s plan to improve Alaba, they are not happy with vacant land.  They are now threatening to remove the land from the church if building does not begin quickly.  Of course, if you have been on our email update list, you know the severe persecution that has come upon the church in recent months….murders, ambushes, beatings, robberies, riots, etc.  So there is much pressure by these aggravated Muslims to take the property away from the church.

From our perspective, we must begin building, and we must begin quickly, or we risk losing not only all the money we have already invested, but also the potential ministry in this location.

Now is the time to pray.  Now is the time to act.  We absolutely must redeem the time for the Gospel in Alaba.

Will you pray?  Will you obey whatever He impresses you to do?  Will you risk investment in His Kingdom?  Will you share the burden of your brethren, fulfilling the Law of Christ which is Love?  Will you act as the stronger one to the weaker one?

Dave discussing situation with mother church elders, 2010:

The elders of the mother church, bonded with us in the work:

Rejoicing in His work,

Becky Lynn

February 25, 2011

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Update from Becky

(From the Date of My Diagnosis Until Now; August 4-24, 2009)

Becky Lynn Black  

Praises….

1. for referral to UNC…where robotic surgery was an option and with an MD who is on the front lines both in advanced robotic surgery, and also in research of my type of aggressive cancer.
2. for UNC health care…it has been efficient, professional, timely; nurses are all kind, efficient, organized, gentle, positive, tender, personable.
3. for Prayer Times the morning of surgery…Dave and I in the car leaving the farm, with the anesthesiologists, again with the surgeons, and finally with all the family.
4. for the prayers of so many, many people worldwide…the Ethiopian churches, the website folks, the American churches (Amelia, Mt.Tirzah, Cresset, Ca-Vel and so many others), our home church of Bethel Hill.
5. for the special anointing prayer service at Bethel Hill…the joy of simple obedience to the Scriptures, as best we understand them, without waiting until our understanding of them is all neatly packaged and thoroughly understood…the joy of child-like obedience and faith exemplified in Miss Mary, Jason and so many others.
6. for the emails, seemingly hundreds of them, with declarations of love and need…. “I just have to write and tell you that I love you.”  “We need you.” Over and over in different ways…many trying to find words…all so amazing to me…that I could be loved and appreciated and needed in such a way!…such a protection from the Evil One who delights to throw the “no one cares” dart.
7. for the lack of emails that abused our vulnerability by giving unnecessary advise or correction, etc.
8. for the healing from surgery that was without undue pain, without complications; for the practical assistance of others, from the nurses explaining and guiding, to those who have brought meals, cleaned house, etc.
9. for the arrival of the 3 J’s…Jon, Jason and Joel…three very special brothers…before I left for the operating room, early in the morning, they arrived unexpectedly…and they looked so nicely dressed…it was encouraging to me just to see their vibrant health and neatness…such PRECIOUS brothers they are to me!
10. for a clean house before leaving…as soon as the diagnosis was given, we decided priorities: spiritual orientation, medical appointments, legal issues, household/garden chores…and in the Lord’s grace, He allowed all these things to be set in order before surgery.
11. for His grace in holding those who received the news of my situation; although it has been difficult for some (especially the Ethiopia family), I do not think any has been left in despair, but all have seen the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord in the midst of news; I praise Him for His care of them.
12. for the internet…that the website is available in Ethiopia, that a new modem was placed on our computer just days before surgery, that articles were published and emails sent/received without interruption; the wonder of modern communication is truly a gift from the Lord and should be used for His purposes.
13. for spreading the testimony of His grace….as articles from the website are re-printed in newsletters or carried on other websites; everywhere the story is told, may others be pointed to the Almighty God whom we worship… in sickness and in health, He is worthy of worship!
14. for success in getting home…arriving in a huge thunderstorm, going around trees that had fallen across the road, but safe at last in our home; the electricity was off for only a few hours upon our return.
15. for the Scriptures in my language…we have read Psalm 95 daily together, and I am listening to Alexander Scourby’s reading of the Scriptures…what a joy to hear Him speak through His Word, which never changes.  This morning in listening to Moses’ story, I was impressed that his life was saved twice for God’s work in His Kingdom, but when it came time for that work, Moses was slow to embrace the appointment and do the work with faith in God’s plan and His ability to accomplish His work. He had such a low view of his purpose on earth. My prayer is that I would not be like Moses, but I would be like Mary, who immediately said “Be it unto me as You have spoken.”  May I do His work, as appointed to me, without a view of my own limitations, but with a full view of His utter faithfulness, both to me and to His work.
16. for Dylan’s surgical success…this 9-yr-old boy from our church was in a different hospital the same time I was; oh, the joy of companionship and peace in prayer, one hospital bed to another via the Throne.  Thank you, Lord, for helping Dylan heal and for guiding his surgeons and nurses.
17. for phone access…35 years ago, when I had an emergency surgery for ruptured appendix, separated by ½ a continent from my family, alone at college, long-distance phone calls were for emergency only; now we have portable phones, free minutes, text messaging…amazing how we can stay connected!  This is a grace of the Lord to our society, to be used for His purposes.  Thank you, Liz, for getting me a cell phone!
18. for testimonies…of the lady healed 25 years ago, and all these years eagerly serving the Lord, leading others to Him…healed and in Kingdom work!  What praise and encouragement to me.
19. for testimonies…of annual anxieties, of bondage to the “c” word, of constant fear of the future recurrence….thank you, Lord, for this reminder that partial victories are no victories at all; I refuse to bow the knee, even a little, to the god of fear.
20. for expert anesthesiology…even with my unstable neck vertebrae, they were careful and expert, under the guiding Hand of the One who knows all things.
21. for all the surgical team…each one came and introduced themselves; such courtesy!  Dr. Cobb (resident) and Dr. Cantrell (attending) in anesthesiology; Dr. Bernstein (resident) and Dr. —- (fellow) and Dr. Gehrig (attending) in surgery; Amanda, nurse in Pre-Care Suite; —–, nurse in Operating Room; Tracy (dayshift nurse), Rickie (night shift nurse) and Millie (nurse aide) in Short-Stay Unit; I pray that the Lord Jesus will give each one a special awareness of Him and His love for them personally, because of their kindnesses to me.
22. for the joy of giving witness to the Lord Jesus in the halls of UNC Hospital…in conversations, in High-5 cards, in cake cards, etc.
23. for the ministry of food…the ability to take a cake for the staff, and the joy of eating baked ziti by Miss Rachel.
24. for fellowship and a picnic supper…courtesy of Rachel and Suzanne…with all the trimmings and the joy of spiritual fellowship around the Savior.
25. for Liz’ sister, who kept my 3 precious boys so Liz could be with me at the hospital…and for her singing balloon “don’t worry…be happy.”
26. for Nathan and Jessie’s daily visits…their gift of Little Women video…their sweet love and care.

Prayer Items…

1. for my mother to come safely here today; praise for her joy in this service to me.
2. for the lab technicians as they review my surgical specimens; for diligence, thoroughness, accuracy in evaluation….I do not pray for “no cancer,” but I pray for accuracy of report.
3. for my Ethiopian family, as they continue to struggle with my situation, often without knowing the details, and having extra worries…that they would surrender me to Him and allow Him to use this situation in their own lives…to learn in a deeper way that He is trustworthy and worthy of our full surrender.
4. for the oncology team meeting on Wednesday afternoon, as they decide the best course for follow-up care.
5. for continued, uncomplicated healing, if this is His will…and that all chemo and radiation follow-up can be completed this year, before our annual medical deductible resumes again January 1.
6. for the Ethiopia presentations in the coming weeks…as Dave takes over and things continue forward in getting the clinic vehicle, etc.

August 24, 2009

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Isn’t it time we returned to biblical practices in our churches? John Piper has noted:

So even though growth and upbuilding are from Christ, the head, it is the whole body that builds the body. And the word “whole” is important. The whole body builds the body. That point is emphasized in the words, “according to the working of each individual part.” The whole body — that is, each individual part in the body properly functioning — causes the growth of the body. Now I ask you, where and how does that happen in your corporate church life? Can we ever create enough programs that every person would be involved using some particular gift? That’s probably not even the right question to ask. Isn’t it more likely that Paul envisions a kind of regular gathering of the body in groups small enough so that every member of the body can minister to others with his own unique spiritual gifts?  

As I have written elsewhere:

God’s idea of the church is utterly different from ours. And it is high time we reported to His headquarters for His pattern. Religious activity is not synonymous with spirituality. The church at Ephesus proved that (Rev 2:1-7). One suspects that we are turning our attention to “seekers” partly to hide our embarrassment at not knowing what to do as church. It is a humiliating time when Christians should be red-faced with shame rather than strutting about with “success.”

Apparently the early church shared the bread and cup as part of a weekly communal meal that included the Lord’s Supper. Do we?

It seems churches were led by a plurality of co-equal elders (also called pastors and overseers) in an arrangement that was completely non-hierarchical. Do our current church structures match that?

New Testament baptism was done immediately upon conversion (with no time lapse or “membership classes”). How faithful are we to this pattern?

The New Testament teaches that all giving except that required to run the government (Matt 22:15-22; Rom 13:1-7) is to be purely voluntary (2 Cor 9:6-7). Should we, then, insist that believers tithe?

For the first three hundred years of the church’s existence, it met almost exclusively in private homes as opposed to large buildings designed especially for religious services. To speak of a church “building” is deceptive since, according to the New Testament, God’s “building” is not a pile of bricks but the people of God. Why, then, do many of our churches have larger budgets for buildings and grounds (that are used only once or twice a week) than for missions and people-oriented ministries? Somehow the church of the first two centuries managed not only to survive but to thrive without the benefit of a church sanctuary. Just think—no mortgages, utility bills, grounds upkeep, or property taxes! Isn’t it obvious that our traditions have distorted this clear pattern of Scripture?

This page contains articles on the New Testament church. They deal with such issues as:

• Why the church meets together as God’s people.

• What the church should do during its meetings.

• How often the church should meet.

• Where the church should meet.

• The type of church government the church should have.

• The requirements for church leaders.

• The role of women in church.

• The purpose and frequency of the Lord’s Supper.

• The place of children in worship.

• The role of Sunday School and Youth Ministry.

• The place of altar calls.

• The concept of ordination and the use of honorific titles for church leaders.

Do I have all the answers to these questions? Do you? Of course not. However,  the New Testament is not silent on these issues. You may not agree with everything (or anything!) posted here (I don’t agree with everything myself),  but I hope these essays will help you explore the issues afresh and anew. Let us ask ourselves, “Are there any practices or traditions to which every church should adhere because they are binding on us as apostolic traditions?” “Are there patterns for church life in the New Testament that are not merely descriptive but prescriptive?” I believe the answer to both of these questions is yes. Moreover, if we are honest with ourselves, my guess is that we will be forced to conclude that many of our current practices not only cause our churches to function in a way that is different from what the New Testament teaches, but completely alien to it.

The basic issue here is ultimately what the New Testament says, not what you or I may think is right or what our denomination’s traditions are. Above all, God’s Word must be held up as the only inerrant authority on all that is said or done in the church. After all, it’s His church.

Here you will find links on the following topics:

• ABCs of Church Reformation

• Age-Integration

• Altar Calls

• Apostolic Traditions

• Baptism

• Church Discipline

• Easter and Christmas

• Evangelism

• Family Life

• Giving

• Home Church

• Leadership

• Lord’s Day

• Lord’s Supper

• Meeting of the Church

• Men’s Roles

• Priesthood of Believers

• Women’s Roles

Just click on the links to begin your study of the New Testament church. I will be adding essays from time to time, so come back often. And feel free to suggest any links you think should be added.

(Perfunctory disclaimer: The citation of a work should not necessarily be viewed as an endorsement. In the words of the apostle John, “You have an anointing from the Holy One … and have no need that any man should teach you” [1 John 2:20, 27]. Let us learn what we can from men, but look only unto Jesus, the Truth [John 14:6].)

ABCs of Church Reformation

• Ready for Reformation?

• Why Not Ecclesiology?

• Reformation, Revival, or Restoration?

• The FDR-ing of the Church

• Organization of the Early Christian Churches

• Always Reforming

• The Bible Plus Nothing

• Formation of a New Testament Church

• Walking Without Slipping: Instructions for Local Church Reformation

• The Scripture-Driven Church

• Why Work for Reformation within the Southern Baptist Convention?

• Thoroughly Biblical Church

• Southern Baptists at the Crossroads

• Principles of the New Testament Church

• What Denomination Are You?

• Confessions of a Recovering Evanjellyfish

• Five Points of Evanjellyfish Christianity

• Selected Bibliography on New Testament Church Practice

• Churchianity Today

• In Defense of Biblical Churches

• Pastor’s Plea for Biblical Fidelity

• Worship Is a Way of Life

• The Church and the Churches

• 95 Theses for Apostolic Reformation

• Essential and Relevant Christianity

• Just Call Me Lonnie, I Guess

• Church of the Highest Common Denominator

• Each Local Church Is Self-Governing Under Christ

• Four Tragic Shifts in the Visible Church 180-400 AD

• Great Ecclesiastical Conspiracy

• London Confession of Faith

• Pragmatist Peril

• Regeneration

• Retracing Our Steps

• Searching for the New Testament Church (audio files)

Age-Integration

• Children in Worship

• Church Is a Family

• Children, Church and the Lord’s Day

• The Children of Church Members

• Church and Family

• Church for the Entire Family

• “What About Those Peer Relationships?”

• Age-Integrated Church

• Uniting Church and Family

• Want to Reform Your Youth Ministry? Reject Adolescence!

• What About Youth Groups?

• Suffer the Little Children

Altar Calls

• What About Altar-calls?

• Altar Calls

• Close Look at Invitations and Altar Calls

• Why We Don’t Use the Altar Call

Apostolic Traditions

• Apostles’ Traditions

• Apostolic Tradition: Obsolete?

• Church Traditions

• Whose Traditions?

• Scripture and Tradition

• What the Bible Says

• What the Experts Say

Baptism

• Infant Baptism and the Regulative Principle of Worship

• Baptism: A Matter of Obedience

• Baptism’s Practice

• Baptism’s Purpose

• Baptism – A Burial

• Scriptural Critique of Infant Baptism

• Critical Evaluation of Paedobaptism

• Baptism and Covenant Theology

• Reformed Baptist View of 1 Cor. 7:14

• Reformed Baptist View of Baptism

• Examination of the Rationale Behind Paedobaptism

Church Discipline

• Tell It to the Church (Church Discipline)

• Church Discipline: Lost but Recoverable

Easter and Christmas

• True Meaning of Easter

• Let’s Keep Christ Out of Xmas

• Is Christmas Scriptural?

• Temples of Ceramic Deities

• Why We No Longer Celebrate Christmas

Evangelism

• Reaching “Seekers”? They Don’t Exist!

• What’s Wrong with “User-Friendly”?

• John Calvin on Evangelism and Missions

• Will Calvinism Kill Evangelism?

• Early Baptists and Easy-Believism

• Evangelism in the Early Church

• Lordship Salvation

• Intentional Discipleship (“Tag-Team” Teaching)

• Passion for the Great Commission

• Growing the Body of Christ through Evangelism and Edification

Family Life

• Christian Marriage: Preparation

• The Gospel of Hospitality

• Family Worship

• Myth of Adolescence

• Preparing Your Children for Marriage

• TV Or Not TV?

• Family and Evangelism

• Leading in Family Devotions

Giving

• Doctrine of Stewardship in the New Testament

• Are Christians Supposed to Tithe?

• Church and Money

• Churches and Money

• Ministry of Giving

• How Shall We Give?

• Old Testament Tithing vs. New Testament Giving

• Cheerful Giver

• The Tithe Is Abolished!

• Tithing?

• “Grace Giving”

• Should Christians Tithe?

• Thoughts on Tithing

Home Church

• Church as Meetinghouse

• House Church and the Children

• Can House Churches Impact the World?

• Case Against Church Buildings

• What Is a Home Church?

• Why Homes?

• Why Do People Home Church?

Leadership

• Do Elders Rule?

• Hebrews 13:17

• Should Pastors and Missionaries Be Salaried?

• There’s Only One “Senior Pastor” and It’s Not Us!

• Clergy System

• Greener-Pasture Pastors

• Should We Recognize and Appoint Elders?

• Training Church Leaders New Testament Style

• Who Rules the Church?

• New Testament Church Leadership

• Is the One-Pastor System Scriptural?

• Church Leadership According to Philippians 1:1

• Spiritual Leaders in the Local Church

• Authority and Ministry in the Local Church

• Men Who Would Be “Kings”

• Home Grown Pastors

• Biblical Eldership in Light of Scripture and History

• In Search of Biblical Church Leadership

• Treatise on the Eldership

• Eldership and Mission

• Responsibility of Elders to the Church

• Lord’s Leaders

• Lord’s Servants

• Ministry of Deacons

• Faulty Foundation of the Five-Fold Ministry

• Biblical Eldership

• Legacy of No Accountability

• One Man Ministry

• One Man Pastors, Just Say NO!

• My Thoughts on Being a Loving Servant Leader

• Error of an Authoritarian Leadership Style

• Beware Elitism!

• Shepherds or Potentates?

• Shepherding the Flock of God

• Pastor

• Plurality of Elders

• What Is an Elder, Anyway?

• What Is a Minister?

• Status or Service?

• Who Rules the Church?

• Spiritual Leaders in the Local Church

• Consensus Governing

Lord’s Day

• Sabbath Observance for Lovers of Liberty

• New Testament and the Mosaic Sabbath

• Every Lord’s Day Is Resurrection Sunday

• “On the Lord’s Day”

• The Lord’s Day Still Belongs to the Lord

Lord’s Supper

• Some Considerations Regarding the Lord’s Supper Today

• Lord’s Supper: Feast or Famine?

• The One Table of the Lord

• Eating Together

• Lord’s Supper: How Often?

• Lord’s Supper Is Not a Sacrament

• Weekly Observance of the Lord’s Supper

• Observing the Lord’s Supper

• Lord’s Supper Is Not a Sacrament

• Communion in the Early Centuries

• Table of the Lord

Meeting of the Church

• From Serve Us to Service

• Why Do We Meet As We Do?

• A Look at the Early Church Meeting

• Church Business Or Kingdom Business?

• The Real Church

• What Does the Real Church Look Like?

• Restoration Life in the Church

• Church Membership and Church Fellowship: Is There a Difference?

• Saying Goodbye to the Needs-Based Church

• Interactive Meetings

• How to Have a New Testament Church Meeting

• Meeting of the Church

Men’s Roles

• Honoring Our Wives

Priesthood of Believers

• Spiritual Gifts

• Got Any Splanchna?

• Every Member a Missionary

• Every Member a Minister

• Every Member an Evangelist

• Every Member a Bible Scholar

• Importance of Spiritual Gifts

• How’s Your Hekastology?

• New Testament Church Meetings

• Discovering Participatory Church Meetings

• Every Believer a Priest

• Whose Responsibility Is It to Admonish the Unruly?

• Every Believer Is a Minister

• God Has Allotted to Each a Measure of Faith

• Clergy/Laity Distinction

• Building Up the Body – One Man or One Another?

• Enter to Serve, Depart to Worship

Women’s Roles

• The Gospel of Hospitality

• Women Praying and Prophesying

• Did Paul Encourage Deaconesses?

• Christian Wife

• Paul on Women Speaking in Church

• Role of Women in the Church

• Women Learning and Under Authority

• May Women Speak in Church?

• An Exegetical Study of 1 Corinthian 14:33b-38

• Paul’s Concept of Teaching and 1 Timothy 2:12

• Women in the Heart of God

   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

Uniting Church and Family

 David Alan Black

In his classic work Visions of Order, Richard Weaver lists the tenets of the philosophy of education that now dominates the teaching of American youth. He noted that “there is no such thing as a body of knowledge which reflects the structure of reality and which everyone therefore needs to learn. Knowledge is viewed as an instrumentality which is true or false according to the way it is applied to concrete situations or the way it serves the needs of the individual.” Weaver warned that relativism is king, adding that “there is no final knowledge about anything. The truths of yesterday are the falsehoods of today and the truths of today will be the falsehoods of tomorrow.”

It’s impossible to ignore the fact that our current educational system is, at best, a mixture of relativism, positivism, secularism, and humanism. And now educators have taken it upon themselves to tell us that the way to solve the problem is simple: more money. Their allies in seeking huge amounts of public funds are the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington who control the treasury of the United States. Meanwhile, the loss of Christian values marches on, having been replaced by the relativistic nonsense and moral bankruptcy that our educational system has created.

It seems to me that the church is just as guilty as the NEA for this sorry state of affairs. For over 20 years the homeschool movement has been a prophetic voice calling women back to their God-ordained role of motherhood and keeper of the home, and fathers back to their role of providing for, leading, teaching, and cherishing their families. You would think that the church would have embraced this movement, but nothing of the kind has happened. Our program-driven churches see the homeschool movement as a threat to their age-segregated programs, from VBS to Sunday School to Youth Group to Children’s Church. Rather than exhorting fathers to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, pastors view the homeschool movement as abnormal. They refuse to preach on the subject, and even the most popular Christian writers avoid it like the plague. Attempts to reconsider the pedagogy of a distinctly Christian education in the home are considered divisive – witness the refusal of the Southern Baptist Convention to pass a resolution calling parents to remove their children from the public schools.

Consequently, you will look long and hard before you will find a church that is willing unashamedly to encourage the bearing of children, oppose birth control, affirm Christian home education, oppose secular schooling, equip men in their God-ordained role of spiritual leader in the home, speak to the normative feminine role of home-keeping, or consider ending the family-divisive practices of age-segregated ministries.

The forces of secularism have taken control of public schools and have institutionalized a pagan religion in place of the faith of our fathers, yet with very few exceptions churches have refused to reconsider their biblical responsibilities to families. They fail to accept the scriptural dictum that Christian children are not secular individuals but are citizens of a different country with a different set of values, a different set of standards, and a different idea of truth. Even worse, large pockets of evangelical Christianity have been slow to respond to the educational crisis in America. This evangelical mainstream includes most of its academic leadership.

“All things are lawful for me” says the careless Christian, as though being saved gives him the liberty to do as he pleases. But liberty is never license. Not all things are expedient for us, not all things edify, and some things can enslave us (1 Cor. 6:12; 10:23). We are not free to do wrong, or to raise our children according to our own philosophy, or to act as though the Word of God has nothing to say about the family. The next generation will pay dearly for our foolishness today.

Over against all this is a movement designed to reunite the church and family, a movement, I believe, that God has provided as a stimulant for His people. The Bible has a great deal to say about the home, and Christ commands us to learn of Him and find rest. The average parent seems to be under the impression that no lessons need to be learned. Not so, say those who will be attending the Uniting Church and Family Conference in Saint Louis this August. Its message will be very simple: there is a way to parent scripturally, and that is by yielding our unsurrendered lives, consenting to our crucifixion with Christ, putting on the Lord Jesus, walking in the Spirit, and obeying the Word of God, even if that means being radically counter-cultural.

You are cordially invited to attend this conference. Let us together seek revival in our families, and in our churches. Let us return to the old, proven paths. Let us hold fast and hold forth the Word of Life (Phil. 2:16). Let a revival begin in my home and in yours.

July 16, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. His latest book is Why I Stopped Listening to Rush: Confessions of a Recovering Neocon.

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   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

Understanding the Great Commission: A Study of Matthew 28:19- as Seen in the Lives of the Apostles

 Becky Lynn Black  

So here they were, on a hillside outside Jerusalem, near a town called Bethany, saying good-bye. Not that anyone was aware of it being good-bye. Things were happening so unexpectedly these days and weeks. Now the followers of Jesus were just flowing, rejoicing in every minute, seeing the power of God and the evidence of their faith; some were still grappling with understanding all that was happening.

Each disciple had a story to tell. Just 3 years back an everyday-looking man with a common name had walked past. But there was something in the Man that answered the hidden, inner longing of the spirit. And when the Man said “Come,” everything was abandoned immediately – work, money, family, friends, familiar surroundings. Nothing was important when placed next to the way this Man addressed the inner sense of desperate need.

For 3 years they had lived together, sleeping usually on any spot on the floor or ground, eating whatever happened to be on hand that day. Somehow, eating and sleeping was no longer relevant. It was the talking, the sharing, the teaching, the mentoring that consumed life now.

Some of them had gotten so close relationally; it was clear for all to see that they were definitely “best” friends. Others related inwardly, but were less demonstrative. Only one traveled with them, having all the outward appearances of a Disciple, yet having a heart full of self-determination.

Not that they understood everything about this Man or what He taught. Much was new; much was confusing; much required a complete change of thinking, a paradigm shift. He contradicted the greatest spiritual leaders among them. Sometimes He went against tradition; sometimes He supported it. But His teaching met their need; something about Him was satisfying to that deep thirst in their soul. Nothing in the other spiritual leaders had been satisfying like this!

The Disciples had said good-bye to their beloved Teacher before; it had been a traumatic parting. In the middle of the night, soldiers had appeared. Blood was shed; there were angry shouts and confusion. The atmosphere was so dramatically changed in just a few hours!

Then the Disciples discovered that night really wasn’t good-bye: it was just part of God’s plan, a plan they didn’t fully understand. And for several weeks more, they enjoyed the Lord in their midst, drinking of Him, learning of Him, rejoicing in Him.

And what did He say to those following Him in the weeks after His Resurrection? Those last conversations – what were they about?  Some were very personal, like with the two men on the road, or with Peter at the fireside. Some were in small groups, like in Mary’s house. Some were to large groups, almost 500 on one occasion. 

What was He saying? 

He was helping them to see that His life, death, and resurrection were true, and the fulfillment of prophecy. He was encouraging them in Body Life, in caring for each other.  He was telling them the next step: to wait for the Spirit. And He was giving them a mandate about their responsibility to the peoples of the world. He was commissioning them to fulfill the eternal plan of His father. From the beginning, it was the Father’s plan to bless the whole world through the Saviour. His Gospel, His Life, His Sacrifice wasn’t just for the information of those surrounding Him; it wasn’t just for those believing initially; it was for the whole world, for all peoples! It was for each one created in the image of God, but headed to Hell, without a Saviour. It was for all generations, for all ethnicities, for all locations, for all types of people.

Matthew 28:18-, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-48, and Acts 1:8 all record the instructions of Jesus regarding this mandate. These passages show the heart of Jesus, the goal of Jesus: that all people everywhere should now be told of the Saviour. Let us examine the Matthew passage, which was the first recording of Jesus’ life, and then let us evaluate the lives of the Apostles, to see how they interpreted this instruction of Jesus.

Matthew 28:19: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” ALL power….unto HIM! Jesus has been given more power than governments, than nature, than individuals, than circumstances, than cash flow….ALL POWER is given to the Saviour. Did the apostles believe this? It is clear from the recordings in Acts and the epistles, that these early missionaries had no fear of governments, of treacherous circumstances, of natural calamities, of unruly peoples, of being bankrupt. All power had been given to the Saviour, and this Saviour had told them to spread the word about Him. The natural conclusion is that their actions were not influenced by worry or concern or fear in any way. Read 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 and 11:23-28 for Paul’s testimony of the afflictions he suffered, yet without fear.

Today, do our mission thrusts, our evangelistic ventures, our Gospel outreaches operate in the same way? Too often our approaches are moderated by fear of governments; they are determined by concern for health issues; they are governed by the positive feedback of the donating populace. 

Jesus’ teaching is very simple: ALL power belongs to Him; therefore we are not to operate in fear. Ours is simply to obey His command to spread the News of His salvation. The details, the settings, the circumstances are essentially irrelevant. If He appoints, then we must obey. End of discussion. He has the power to rule and overrule any circumstance, any government, any populace, any natural setting. 

Today too many Christian organizations and leaders are jumping onto the Humanitarian Aid bandwagon, believing that they must have this activity in order to win the approval of governments, or gain the contributions of donors, or establish the goodwill of populations. Jesus made it clear that in this world we will have trouble, and we will have trouble specifically because of Him. If we unashamedly share the message of salvation, then we will be opposed. This is an absolute given. A war is raging, and the Evil One controls many peoples and governments. How dare we act in such an ignorant manner as to suppose that people everywhere will welcome our message of salvation and that we will have no resistance? Our Lord Himself has warned us. We must expect it. But He has also assured us that in the midst of the trouble, He retains all power. So we need not act in fear; we need not calculate how to gain power through programs of aid. We need only to obey, and yield the building of the Kingdom to Him.

Matthew 28:19: “So, while you are going about your lives, make disciples all over the earth, baptizing them in the Name of the true God, and teaching them to obey what I’ve taught you” (my paraphrase). This verse is more descriptive than the other passages in Mark, Luke, and Acts as to exactly what we are to do. He says that as a lifestyle, as the focus, the central concern, the main issue of our activities, we are to make followers of Jesus. “As you are going…,” He said. “Do to others what I have done with you…call them and teach them.” 

Jesus emphasizes the baptism, because baptism is the public emblem of belief. Baptism shows to all that they have answered the call to the Saviour. It says to all, “I rest in His death, burial, and resurrection for my salvation; I identify with this God in His salvation plan.” And that baptism is done in the name of the one true God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There can be no doubt as the identity of the God whom is being trusted.

Matthew 28:20a: “And as they come out of the water, teach them…over and over again, as a matter of course explain this, explain that…not according to your own ideas and methods, but as I have taught you.  Help them to obey Me” (my paraphrase). Matthew’s recording of Jesus’ last instructions tells us clearly that following on the heels of baptism is heavy teaching of the commands of Jesus. This is not teaching for teaching’s sake, but teaching for obedience. It is not teaching our ideas of Jesus, our amplifications of Jesus, our imaginations of His doctrine. It is not teaching the doctrines of the church institution. It is not teaching a course that has been popularized. No, it is teaching directly the commands of Jesus with a view to the changing of a life through obedience.

And did the Disciple Missionaries do this? Repeatedly in Acts we see Peter, and Paul, and Steven, and Phillip engaged with the people, as a matter of course, telling of Jesus as Saviour, and also teaching of Jesus as Lord. The eleven disciples could draw upon their 3 years with Jesus in person; the Apostle Paul could draw upon his personal time with Jesus in the Arabian Peninsula. In both cases, all the disciples taught to the people was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus….as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, as the promised Messiah, as the Saviour of the world, as the satisfying of the judgment of God. And as their own understanding grew, as they remembered the teaching of Jesus, and saw it in the light of the Old Testament Scriptures, the Spirit of God caused them to write the completion of the equation – the new covenant, the New Testament, the new life of God in us. 

Today many struggle with the mandate of Jesus. The question is raised: Why did Jesus not refer to easing the ache of mankind in His mandate? Did He forget the poor? Was He heartless regarding the suffering of so many in the world? Did He doubt that a solution could be gained? How could Jesus be so limited in His understanding of the need of mankind that He mandates only that the Gospel be spread?

Jesus had indeed referred to helping down-trodden people, to assisting the helpless, to aiding those burdened with life’s issues. But His instructions to help were never in the context of doing it to the masses, as a sort of broad social program. His mercy is always shown within the context of personal love, personal relationship, personal testimony. 

Until our Lord returns, there will always be misery in the world, and as the human race grows, that misery will grow. Within the context of that misery, we are to touch lives with our own Jesus-love, face-to-face, cup-to-cup, arm-to-shoulder, look-to-look. This is the way that Jesus showed mercy. His own “relief work” was done on a personal basis, covered with personal love, teaching, and spiritual encouragement. He was well aware, as we often are not, that the things of this earth pass quickly, but the things of the spirit last for all eternity.  Life is in the spirit, and if that spirit is alive with the Life of Jesus, then the circumstances of the body, however difficult, are borne with Hope and Love, with Joy and Peace. This Life defies description; it knows no bounds; it transcends circumstances, however dire those circumstances may be. It is bound up in the person of Jesus, in the salvation He offers, in the freedom from guilt that only He can give (John 20:30-31).

Those who know this Life, which comes only from the person of Jesus, cannot help but reach to others in their pain and minister to them. It is a natural response of the Spirit within us! To say, “This person knows Jesus,” is to say, “This person helps ease the ache of those around him.” James, the half-brother of Jesus, clearly reminds us of this. To know Jesus is to be His arms, His voice, His legs, His pocketbook in easing the burdens of others (James 2:12-26). Just as a wind will move leaves, so a person who knows Jesus will willingly help others.

But to share those burdens is not the same as to share the Gospel. And this is where the confusion comes; the Evil One has tempted us to “adjust” the mandate of our Lord, so that it is more palatable and socially acceptable. Physical comfort and well-being is not synonymous with spiritual life. Nor does it lead to spiritual life. The teaching of Jesus and the Scriptures is clear: we are dead in our sins, utterly incapable of spiritual life, apart from the Saviour. No amount of physical benefit can ease the condition of the soul. No amount of education, or job training, or economic development, or feeding program, or any other sort of human service is able to give spiritual life. There is no other Saviour apart from the Living Lord Jesus!

In Jesus’ mandate, He mentions nothing about the earthy, human woes of mankind. He talks only of telling every person, everywhere, about Him. And in that telling, those whom the Father has chosen will embrace the message, be baptized, and follow in obedience to the way of Jesus. Let us not be confused. If we do Humanitarian Aid or other human development projects, we do well, but we do not fulfill the mandate of the Lord Jesus! We do not follow the steps of the first Missionaries, the disciples who heard for themselves, straight from the lips of the Saviour, what was His desire for succeeding generations of His followers.

Matthew 28:20b: “And, look, I am always with you, no matter where you go.”  Jesus is reminding them of a previous talk. “Remember my talking with you about abiding? Unless you abide, remain, concentrate, focus in Me, you cannot do anything that I’ve taught you. So I am going with you all over the earth, to enable you to make disciples, to empower you to call others to the true God and to teach them to obey Me” (John 15).

What a great encouragement and stimulus! With the presence of Jesus, we have the companionship of God Himself! And in that companionship is Encouragement, Comfort, and Guidance. 

After Jesus departed, the lives of the Disciples show a constancy of purpose, a deep sense of power, a firm hand, a clear eye. Clearly they demonstrated the reality of Jesus’ presence. Of course, they were not perfect. Peter showed his continued sensitivity to peer pressure; Paul became impatient with those who turned back from ministry. But most every Disciple-missionary died a traumatic death because of his loyalty Jesus, shown in his obedience of the last mandate. His obedience was not diluted with humanitarian aid projects. (Not even the record of the Jerusalem famine relief lines up with a humanitarian aid project. Theirs was a gift as one Christian to another, sent by the hands of their own leaders and Paul, and administered to fellow believers by the leaders of the Jerusalem church. It was not a public works, social improvement project for the purpose of softening hearts and governments so that perhaps some Gospel message could be preached.)

So what is the conclusion? Jesus’ mandate, what we call the “Great Commission,” is His last command to His followers and, by extension, to us. His command is to spread the news of Himself, encouraging others to believe on Him for salvation, baptizing the believers in the name of the one true God, and then teaching them the teachings of Jesus with a view towards their obedience of those commands. His mandate has no reference to relieving the plight of so many in the human race. His mandate is given and fulfilled by the authority and power which He alone possesses. His mandate is fulfilled in companionship between Jesus and the obedient follower. Any project of social improvement has very limited spiritual benefit; Jesus Himself gave testimony of this in John 6. (See our essay, “The Role of Humanitarian Aid in Building the Kingdom: A Study of John 6”.) Those who abide in Jesus will naturally care for the needs of other people; such is an outworking of the love of Jesus in them. But such care, in and of itself, does not constitute obedience to the Lord’s command.

As Jesus instructed, and as the Disciple-missionaries demonstrated, we must focus our lives upon spreading knowledge of the Gospel, upon baptizing those who embrace that Gospel, and upon teaching them the commands of Jesus, so that they also obey Him. Although we will naturally tend to the needs of those around us, let us not be distracted by these activities; they are no replacement for the Gospel witness, nor do they yield much spiritual fruit. Let us learn from the example of Jesus and the witness of the Apostles to focus our lifestyle upon being good witnesses of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus!

January 5, 2008

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