restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

Reflections on “The Greatest Generation”

 David Alan Black  

On this, the 67th anniversary of D-Day (our invasion of Nazi-occupied France), I can’t help but reflect on World War II.

My parents’ generation has been called “The Greatest Generation” because they fought the Nazis and mobilized for the Cold War. What we forget is the fiscal burden they placed on their posterity, producing an American political system that seems utterly incapable of tackling any big multigenerational problems, including our national debt.

America has entered an irreversible downward spiral. We had better understand this new era we’re entering. The American spirit — “We are entitled to whatever we want” — demands growth and consumption. We want the appetizers, the entrees, and the desserts, all at once. Today each follower of Jesus stands at the crossroads on the question of personal priorities. Will we surrender to the spirit of this age, or will we resist and join the downward movement of Jesus, making a conscious choice to deny the normal comforts and conveniences of life for the sake of others?

We honor those who die in military service, we celebrate the accomplishments of our nation’s athletes, we honor fire fighters who perish in public service, but the minute a Christian young person refuses to accept the American Dream and voluntarily takes on an assignment that involves suffering we spend hours trying to talk him or her out of “going overboard.” I am not saying that every Christian must become a professional missionary. No, I am saying that if you are really sincere about following Christ you will not be at peace until the whole world knows of Him, and you will be intentional about using whatever He has given you — your wealth, your vocation, your vacations even — to serve the expansion of His kingdom.

“What good is knowledge unapplied?” asked one of my pastors recently. What good is an education unless we place it at the feet of King Jesus? Students, my parents’ generation, and my own as well, have failed you because we have catered to the rotten spot in the soul of our nation. We have taught you to expect instant gratification, that the “good life” is the only life there is, that extravagance and waste are the normal patterns of our human existence. We have clenched our fists — not all of us, but many of us — and have refused to receive the nail prints of the cross, unwilling to make even small sacrifices to reach the millions of lost souls in our world.

How different this is from the self-sacrifice of our spiritual forefathers in the book of Acts! Something is desperately wrong, and it is up to your generation to turn it around. The only way Christ will be incarnated to a lost world is through you. As the Father sent Him, so He is sending you so that others can taste and feel and see His presence.

Could it be that He is calling you — each and every one of you — to manifest His light and power in a dark world?

My answer is yes — a million times yes!

P.S. If you are interested in changing the world for Christ, I want to hear from you. I’m currently in the mentoring phrase of my career, having approximately 6-10 years left of fulltime teaching. During this time I am looking for 5-10 additional students into which I will pour my life in our Th.M. and Ph.D. programs. My hope is that not only will your faith be strengthened, but that your love for the world will be deepened and the flame of His gift in you rekindled, so that you will be “blessed in your doing” (James 1:15) and not just in knowing the Gospel. I don’t want one who preaches, I want the one who practices. I’m looking for men and women who are willing to put the Great Commission over pay and career advancement, who are eager to destroy worldly ambitions and selfish priorities and who are serious about following Christ all the way.

If you are interested, send me an email atdblack@sebts.edu.

June 6, 2011

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

Reestablishing a Christian Culture in America

Darrell Dow

Establishing a Christian culture will first require Christians to re-establish the centrality of the family. The family is the only institution of Paradise, and it is the preeminent institution in God’s economy. Indeed, we cannot understand God’s plan for us until we understand His plan for the family.

Consider, for example, the Ten Commandments. There is nothing pertaining directly to church or state therein, but several explicitly address family life. The imperative to honor our parents, and the prohibition of adultery and covetousness are intended to preserve the integrity of the family.

Moreover, the Bible often uses family terminology to describe the mysteries of the faith. For example, salvation is described as God’s adoption of His people. We see that Christ’s relationship to the Church is described as a marriage. Idolatry is frequently associated with adultery, and the idolater is synonymous with the harlot. Such examples could be multiplied indefinitely.

We live in a virulently anti-family culture. For example, in 1970, just 36- of women ages twenty to twenty-four were unmarried. By 1995, 68- were in the “never married” category. Women are not just waiting longer to have children, but are conceiving fewer of them as well.

Meanwhile, divorce is rampant. The National Center for Health Statistics released a report which found that 43 percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years. To our shame, “born again” Christians are as likely to be divorced as any other group.

What is to be done?

Resurrecting the family as an institution entails reclaiming numerous powers arrogated to it that have been usurped by the state. Chesterton once wrote that, “The ideal for which the family stands is liberty. It is the only institution that is at once necessary and voluntary. It is the only check on the state that is bound to renew itself as eternally as the state, and more naturally than the state.”

Revolutionaries from Jacobins to Nazis to Bolsheviks have sought to control the future by controlling children. American liberals, and their ideological cousins, the Neocons, are no different with their propagandizing on behalf of universal daycare, expanded Headstart, Goals 2000, No Child Left Behind, messianic education and the whole panoply of statist programs looking to supplant mom and dad and become the universal parent.

One good place for Christians to begin is by removing their children from the public schools. As Christian parents, we ought not hand our children over to the enemy, and can anyone argue persuasively that these ignorance centers are anything other than godless?

Some Christians resort to the ludicrous argument that we must send our precious children into these Temples of Atheism so that they can be salt and light to a dying world. We must, they say, sacrifice our children to Molech in order to fulfill the cultural mandate.

The problem with this argument is that the evangelism process usually works in reverse. The Nehemiah Institute has proven conclusively through its surveys of student beliefs and attitudes that acceptance of a secular humanist worldview by Christian children attending government schools has increased dramatically over the last fifteen years.

Moreover, according to the Southern Baptist Council on Family Life, 88- of the children of Evangelical parents leave church at 18 and never return. Are we to assume that this sad state of affairs has no connection to the fact that secular public education divorces God from creation and science, history, mathematics, and philosophy?

Secondly, family authority over property must be restored. In the December issue of Chronicles, Steven Greenhut cites a report by the Institute of Justice documenting that localities have used or threatened to use eminent domain to benefit other private parties 10,000 times over the past five years. Invariably such land grabs entail a local government stealing the property of families and destroying neighborhoods for the benefit of large retailers like Wal-Mart.

Scripture is clear that all the earth belongs to the Lord (Ex. 19:5) and that He allows families to be stewards of His creation. In the Bible, we see that property is owned by families, not by the state or atomized individuals (see for example Naboth’s vineyard in I Kings 20). Importantly, the eminent domain of the state is clearly and directly forbidden in Scripture. In Ezekiel 46:18, we read, “The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that none of my people will be separated from his property.’ Indeed, God warned Israel that the eminent domain of the state was a consequence of apostasy. In I Sam. 8:14, God says that the king “will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.”

Like Naboth, Christians ought to realize that property is more than a product to be bought and sold. It is a place where homes are built, children are raised, memories are instilled, and the Word is taught. Christian families need to restore the ties that bind property, home, and kin.

Third, Christians must reclaim authority over inheritance and welfare. In the Old Testament, the eldest, godly son was entitled to a double portion. He then had primary responsibility to care for his parents. Scripture says that a wise and godly man will leave an inheritance for his grandchildren. Today, the state has usurped the role of the eldest son, demanding the double portion and promising to take care of mom and dad with Social Security and Medicare.

The apostle Paul says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Today, the welfare state has supplanted the family as provider for our aged parents and the indigent. As Christians, we have allowed this state of affairs to prevail, and it is godless.

The family, has been given stewardship over children, authority over property and inheritance, and control over education. The family is also the institution preeminently responsible for social welfare. The early church did not depend on the Roman civil authorities to meet social needs. Likewise, we see Jesus on the cross with His dying words ensuring that His mother is taken care of by John (John 19:25-27).

The modern State has encroached into all these areas that rightly fall under the purview of family government. Strong and stable families, jealously guarding their prerogatives, are the foundation of strong and stable communities, and only these mediating institutions can protect the naked individual from the maniacal, power-hungry State.

November 20, 2004

Darrell Dow writes from Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he works as a statistician. A misanthropic Paleoconservative, Darrell is the husband of Kathy and the father of Joshua and Andrew. Darrell maintains a website and a blog.  He can be contacted here.

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Redestined to Be a 4-Point Missionist

 David Alan Black  

I’ve begun to notice how repetitious my public speaking has become. Ethiopia or some other faraway mission field I have visited always seems to creep into the conversation, regardless of the topic at hand. I’ve asked myself why. Here’s the best answer I can come up with.

The meaning of Christianity is ministry and mission, disciple-making at home and in actual “missionary” lands. This to me has become a settled conviction. But it was only after I began my personal studies of the Scriptures, not merely on an academic level but on a more devotional level – I dislike the term,but it must suffice – that I was “redestined,” as one might say, to become a 4-point missionist, that is, a world Christian. (The number “4” refers to the points of the compass: north, south, east, and west.)

There was nothing strange about this. It was the natural result of reading the Scriptures. This refocus corresponded completely with my own inclinations, especially since I had grown disinterested in biblical scholarship per se. My concerns and my outlook were, I think, always missional.

Of course, not everyone agrees what it means to be “missional.” Today we read of Christians who support our adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq as “missionary” opportunities to reach the lost in those nations. Let the world be plunged into war if it can further the spread of the Gospel! Americans have no monopoly on this kind of thinking. We hear the same thing every day and on all sides, the only difference being that the threats are somewhat more modest and a little more restrained when uttered by less powerful nations engaged in the “war on terror.”

These are myths formed in the social milieu itself, out of its own spontaneity. Growing up on the military bastion known as Oahu I well remember how easily and frequently the line between flag and cross was blurred. It is no different today. Christian America must wage this war against the infidels of Islam! Ours is a righteous cause! There will, of course, be a few deplorable cases of abuse due to pardonable weakness, but let us look to the positive side: it is a page of glory, a call to courage, heroism, sacrifice! Wherever the soldier goes, the missionary will not be far behind.

Obviously I disagree with this way of thinking. No statements are more inordinate in my opinion than those made by present-day pulpiteers whose “Christianity” tries to justify our murderous nation-building. But mine is a gentle contempt for the world, not spiteful, not bitter. I can resist the general madness, and I have done this lately by sticking to the simple words of Jesus in such places as Matt. 28:19- or Mark 16:15 or Acts 1:8. Here our Lord summarizes all that He expects of His true followers. There is no way to avoid it. What shall we do with our lives other than mobilize them in sacrifice and suffering to share His love with the nations? It is a cruel and scandalous failure of Christian compassion to do otherwise.

Thus we come around in a full circle: in our society, war is considered ipso facto justified. But the crucial problem for the Christian is not the conversion of nations to democracy but the conversion of people to Christ. As a Christian I firmly hold to what Jesus taught about the relation of church and state. Of even more crucial importance to me, however, is the paradigm of the crucified Christ who was put to death by austere and virtuous men who devoted themselves with great energy to “doing good” as they saw it. We must realize that within our own “austere and virtuous” hearts exists a tendency to become exact replicas of the Pharisees – “doing good” by having the mentality of killers. We cannot forget the mistakes of the crusades. This is the exact opposite of everything Jesus ever did or taught.

If this is an extreme and radical view, implying the rejection of culture, so be it. But once again, it is only God who can redestine a man to become a Gospeler. It is also true that there is no time for ethical speculation, for such speculation implies that Jesus has not told us what we are to be about. Christ-followership demands a virile ascesis, not simply gentlemanly retreat into occasionally leaving atract in a restaurant. The missionary consciousness of today in America is simply a marginal worldly consciousness. It won’t do.

The world is a huge necropolis, a cemetery entombing lost people by the billions. But there is also a city of the living, a zoopolis if you will, whose citizens gladly enter the death, the sickness, the vice of the necropolis and tell those who remain imprisoned in their sins of One who was nailed to a Roman cross on their behalf, One who indeed “loves the world” (John 3:16) – the inhabitants of every tribe and people and nation, men and women, Muslims and Hindus, brown and white. I would not be a missionist if I did not believe this with my entire being.

It seems to me that this is the true heart of Christianity – when you want to live for the Gospel and, if necessary, die for it. It is hard but not depressing, difficult but not impossible. If what you are doing is truly the work of God, He is surely able and willing to provide for it.

May 8, 2008

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Recuperando la Perspectiva Paulina sobre el Liderazgo Pastoral

David Alan Black 

Recientemente leí un libro que cito: “Guiar a una iglesia es la tarea más dificultosa en el mundo”. Se refiere a una iglesia guiada por un pastor solitario en quien recae el peso de la predicación y la administración.

¿Así planeó el Señor Jesús que opere su iglesia? Tal vez nuestras dificultades son autoinducidas. Si pastorear una iglesia es la tarea más difícil del mundo, no es porque Jesús haya designado que sea así. Jesús nunca le confió el liderazgo congregacional a un solo individuo. Dotó a su iglesia con pastores (note el uso del plural en Efesios 4.11) cuya principal responsabilidad era equipar a los santos para hacer la obra del ministerio. Los pastores y la gente tienen que servir juntos para que los dones de todo el Cuerpo puedan ser ejercidos. Para eso está el liderazgo pastoral—no los Presupuestos, Paredes, Papeles y Programas.

Hoy me agrada decir que entre los muchos jóvenes cristianos que conozco, el hacer carrera de pastor deja el lugar a un estilo de liderazgo de equipo. Comienzo a ver que muchos estudiantes se dan cuenta que cada cristiano es un ministro y que Dios ha dado a cada uno de sus santos, hombre y mujeres, dones que contribuyen a la salud de la iglesia (1 Corintios 4.7). Estos estudiantes están deseosos de comenzar a liderar en equipo para entrenar a los santos. Están ansiosos de trabajar entre líderes-siervos que difieren en dones, pero tienen similares responsabilidades. Se ven a sí mismos como una “comunidad de liderazgo” (debo esta hermosa expresión a Michael Green) que sirven como iguales, no como gerentes en una cadena de mando. Comprenden que Cristo es la única Cabeza de la iglesia, el único Pastor Principal, y que bajo su liderazgo los ancianos siempre son plurales (Hch 11.30; 14.23; 20.17; Fil 1.1; 1 Tim 5.17-25; Tito 1.5; Stgo 5.14-15; 1 Pe 1.1; 5.1)

El libro al que me referí arriba también declara que el pastorado es el único trabajo en el mundo en que el impacto de una persona depende de un sermón de 30 minutos semanal. Bíblicamente, no hay nada más lejos de la verdad. Aunque el Señor Jesús proveyó pastores-maestros para nuestro beneficio, y aunque debemos aprovecharnos de su ministerio, no debemos depender de ellos para nuestra compresión de la Biblia. Cada uno de nosotros tiene el privilegio y el deber de acercarnos a dos directamente y buscar en las Escrituras para determinar lo que es verdadero. Además, creo que Ud. buscará en vano en el Nuevo Testamento un sermón de 30 minutos o una homilía cuidadosamente aliterada. Pienso que es significativo que los pastores nunca son descritos en el Nuevo Testamento como “predicadores”. En Efesios 4.11 se los describe acertadamente como “maestros” porque nada es más necesario para equipar a los santos que una sólida enseñanza bíblica de la Palabra de Dios. Igualmente, en 1 Timoteo 3.2 Pablo enfatiza que su habilidad de ensenar (o de ser “enseñable”—el griego permite ambos usos). El propósito final de la enseñanza es edificar a la iglesia—una iglesia en la cual todos los miembros son equipados por los distintos ministerios.

No encontré una explicación más clara de esta verdad que la dada por John Stott (Efesios, pág.167):

“¿Qué modelo de iglesia debemos tener en mente? El modelo tradicional es piramidal, con el pastor asentado precariamente en el pináculo, como un pequeño papa de su propia iglesia, mientras que los laicos están ordenados por debajo en un rango de inferioridad. Es una imagen totalmente no bíblica, porque el Nuevo Testamento deja ver no un solo pastor con un rebaño dócil, sino una supervisión plural y cada miembro como ministro”.

¿Es que no siento simpatía por el pastor solitario en “el trabajo más difícil del mundo”? Al contrario, oro por muchos de ellos diariamente. Aunque me temo que hemos traído sobre nosotros mismos nuestras propias dificultades. En el Nuevo Testamento existe un modelo más sabio, más grande y más eficiente, y cuando ignoramos o desobedecemos bien podemos esperar sufrimiento y consecuencias. Yo mismo no siempre pensé que este modelo de liderazgo fuese importante. Pero estoy aprendiendo que la Palabra de Dios es el molde en el que debo encajar mi pensamiento, mis creencias y mis acciones.

Cuando los arquitectos del siglo diecinueve buscaron completar la Catedral de Colonia en Alemania, no fue necesario preparar un nuevo plano, sino buscar y estudiar el diseño concebido por Meister Gerard en el siglo trece. Me pregunto frecuentemente por qué buenos hermanos y pensantes se olvidan fácilmente del mandato escritural de hacer todas las cosas de acuerdo al modelo que se nos mostró en el Monte. Seríamos sabios de pausar un momento y considerar cuánto necesitamos comprender y poner en práctica la amplia perspectiva paulina sobre el liderazgo en la iglesia.

Junio 30, 2007

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Recovering Paul’s Perspective on Pastoral Leadership (Chinese)

 David Alan Black  

重新認識保羅對教會領袖的教導 

最近我閱讀一本書，書內有一句話：「帶領教會是世上最困難的工作。」當然，這樣的教會是要求一位牧者獨立背負所有的講道和管理工作。 

是否主耶穌要求我們去建立這種模式的教會呢？相信我們遇到的困難是自己找回來的。如果牧養教會是世上最困難的工作，那這不是主所要求的。耶穌從來沒有把所有教會的工作放在一位領袖/牧者身上。衪把牧者(留意是眾數，弗4:11)賜給教會，這些牧者的任務是要裝備信徒參與牧養工作。牧者和信徒要運用他們的恩賜一起事奉。這是聖經所教導的領袖模式，而不是教會建築屋、預算案、圖書館，或宣傳工作吧了。

今天我要說團隊事奉已經被年青人肯定在不同的職業。我越來越見到許多學生認識到信徒皆祭司的教導，並且為了教會的成長神賜每一位弟兄或姐妹不同的恩賜(林前4:7)。這些學生盼望可以和一群領袖去牧養教會。他們希望在不同恩賜及同等責任的「僕人－領袖」群中一起事奉。他們看自己是屬於一個“領袖團隊”，大家平起平坐，不是上下層次分明的。他們了解到基督是教會唯一的頭，他是大牧者，而下面卻有許多長老(徒11:30; 14:23; 20:17; 腓1:1;提前5:17-25;提多1:5;雅5:14-15;彼前1:1; 5:1)。

    以上所講的那本書內也這樣評語說：牧養工作是世上一個工作每週只需靠三十分鐘的講道就足夠了。雖然耶穌為教會恩賜了「牧師－教師」這職份，也是一個神聖的工作，但這並不是整本聖經所要教導的。每個人都可以直接去看聖經，親自去肯定什麼是真理。但你無法在聖經中找到經文証明一個三十分鐘的講道。或者聖經也從來沒有指明說“牧師”就是等於“講道者”。在以弗所書4:11這些“牧師”也是“教師”。因為信徒更需要接受教導以致他們知道必須裝備起來被神使用，這才是聖經的真理。另外，在提摩太前書3:2，保羅也強調教導的工作(或“接受教導”，在希臘文也含有這意思)。這些教導的目的就是要建立教會，指明所有信徒都要裝備起來使用他們的恩賜在各種事工上。司托特(John Stott)在《以弗所書註釋》中這樣說(頁167)：

「在我們腦海中要有怎樣的教會模式呢？傳統的概念是一個金字塔，有一個牧師在尖頂像一個小教皇在教會中，而其他信徒卻縮在下面。這不是聖經的教導，因為新約要告訴我們不是一個牧師帶領一群信徒，而是有許多牧師/牧養的領袖看顧，並且信徒都一起參與事奉。」

     難道我不同情“一個牧師”擔任“世上最困難的工作”嗎？並不是的，我常為牧師的工作禱告。只怕我們自己找來這種困難。新約指明一個更偉大、更有智慧及更有效率的教會模式，如果我們忽視它那將真正的自找困難。我不會去思考這樣的教會領袖模式。聖經的確不是引導我這樣思考，反而是告訴我一個有許多牧者或人人參與事奉的教會模式。

當許多建築師在十九世紀重建法國哥倫大教堂時，他們並不需要重新畫一個新的建築圖，而是根據十三世紀哥樂(Meister Gerard)當時的設計修建。我們不要重新設計一個教會領袖模式，而只需要記得主耶穌一早設計的模式去牧養和建立教會。我們真的要停下來思考當初保羅教導我們的教會模式。

August 15, 2008

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Recovering Paul’s Perspective on Pastoral Leadership

 David Alan Black  

Recently I read a book that contained this quote: “leading the church is the most difficult job in the world.” The church being envisioned was one led by a solitary pastor upon whose shoulders the weight of preaching and administration was placed.

Is this how the Lord Jesus planned for His church to operate, however? Perhaps our difficulties are self-induced.

If pastoring a church is the most difficult job in the world, it is not because our Lord designed it to be that way. Jesus never entrusted congregational leadership to a single individual. He gifted His church with pastors (note the plural in Eph. 4:11) whose main responsibility was to equip the saints to do the work of ministry. Pastors and people are to serve together so that the gifts of the whole Body may be exercised. That is what pastoral leadership  is all about – not buildings, budgets, books, and broadcasts.

Today I am glad to say that among many young Christians I know, careerism is beginning to take a back seat to humble, team-style leadership. I am beginning to see more and more students come to the realization that every Christian is a minister and that God has given each of His saints, men and women alike, gifts that make an important contribution to the health of the church (1 Cor. 4:7). These students are eager to begin working in a leadership team for the purpose of equipping the saints. They are anxious to labor among servant-leaders who differ in giftedness but who have equal responsibilities. They see themselves as a “fellowship of leadership” (I owe this wonderful expression to Michael Green) who serve as equals, not as CEOs in a chain of command. They understand that Christ is the only head of the church, its only Senior Pastor, and that under His leadership elders are always plural (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 20:17; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 5:17-25; Tit. 1:5; James 5:14-15; 1 Pet. 1:1; 5:1).

The book I referred to above also made a statement to the effect that pastoring is the only job in the world in which one’s impact depends on a 30-minute sermon delivered weekly. Biblically, nothing could be further from the truth. Although the Lord Jesus has provided pastor-teachers for our benefit, and although we should avail ourselves of their ministry, we are not to be dependent on them for our understanding of the Bible. Each one of us has the privilege and duty to approach God directly and to search the Scriptures to determine what is true. Moreover, I believe you will look in vain in the New Testament for the well-crafted 30-minute sermon or the carefully-alliterated homily. I think it is significant that pastors are never described in the New Testament as “preachers.” In Eph. 4:11 they are rightly called “teachers,” because nothing is more necessary for the equipping of the saints than sound biblical teaching from the Word of God. Likewise, in 1 Tim. 3:2 Paul emphases their ability to teach (or to be “teachable” – the Greek allows both renderings). The ultimate purpose of all such teaching is the building up of the church – a church in which all the members are equipped for their various ministries. I have not found a clearer explanation of this truth than the following words of John Stott (Ephesians, p. 167):

What model of the church, then, should we keep in our minds? The traditional model is that of the pyramid, with the pastor perched precariously on its pinnacle, like a little pope in his own church, while the laity are arranged beneath him in a serried rank of inferiority. It is a totally unbiblical image, because the New Testament envisages not a single pastor with a docile flock but both a plural oversight and an every-member ministry.

Do I have no sympathy, then, for the solitary pastor engaged in “the most difficult job in the world”? On the contrary, I pray for many of them daily. Yet I am afraid that we have brought upon ourselves our own difficulties. A greater, wiser, and more efficient pattern for church leadership exists in the NT, and when we ignore it or disobey it we may well expect to suffer the consequences. I myself have not always thought that this pattern of leadership was important or believed this way. But I am learning that God’s Word is the framework into which I must fit my thinking, my beliefs, and my actions.

When builders in the nineteenth century sought to complete the Cologne Cathedral, it was not necessary to prepare a new plan but only to retrieve and study the design as it was first conceived by Meister Gerard in the thirteenth century. I often wonder why good and thoughtful people so easily forget the scriptural injunction to make all things according to the pattern shown to us on the Mount. We would be wise to pause a moment and consider how much we need to understand and then put into practice Paul’s broad perspective on leadership in the church.

June 30, 2007

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Recent Communications from Ethiopia

 Becky Lynn Black  

I have just discovered how to send updates to a large group of people.  It has become more difficult for me to keep up with correspondence, and things are happening so quickly in Ethiopia!  Because of your past interest in our Lord’s work in Ethiopia, I have added you to this list; please contact me if you are no longer “appointed” to this work, and I will remove your address.

There are three things that are on my heart to communicate to you.  First is a summary of excerpts from emails that we have received in the past 2 months; these are included in this email.  These excerpts come from our ‘sons’ David & Nigussie in Alaba; I have edited a little, and have written explanatory notes in italics.  You will notice that the most recent is listed first, so to read chronologically you need to start at the end.

Second is an update listing of financial and material needs for the work.  Inflation has hit Ethiopia in a royal fashion.  We think that 3-5- inflation here is terrible; well, the cost of cement alone has tripled (!) in the past 8 months!  Everything is going up there.  So we have had to revise our financial projections; this will be included in a subsequent email.

The most urgent thing to do is to PRAY!  This is a spiritual work.  Hence, a third email will include very specific prayer requests which you may use in your private and family prayer time, as also pass along to your church family.

For His Kingdom, by His grace,

BeckyLynn & Dave Black

PS…I encourage you to consider printing this, so that you can read it & review it prayerfully, bringing each situation to the Throne of our Lord.

RECENT COMMUNICATIONS FROM ALABA, ETHIOPIA (Notes are in parenthesis to explain, but we have tried to leave it as natural as possible so you can get the flavor of things. You can easily see that we are on the FRONT LINES in fighting the Evil One!) The most recent emails are first, so to read chronologically, start at the end.

Received Saturday, Sept 23,2006 from son David in Alaba

Concerning Zobechane church, the elders are still dealing with the government (in getting official building permit and land title); it is getting positive. Still we need prayer.

These are the verses for those two Churches in America. (Nehemiah 2:20 from Keranso Church). (2 Chronicles 20:15 from Zobéchame) (Isaiah 43:1-21 from Bedene Church). (Note: Read these verses, remembering their situation; thru these verses the Ethiopian believers are communicating and sharing faith with their American brothers & sisters who have “adopted” them.)

Received Friday, Sept 22, 2006 from son David in Alaba

Concerning, church building, the materials for Hajji Mohammed’s church is almost collected. The urgent thing which we must do is remove his home from church’s land and build a home to him. So he needs financial support. Our church elders told me to inform for you about it. (Note: Hajji Mohammed gave his best land for the church to be built upon; it is at the crossing of two main paths of travel.  His own home was on this place, so they are tearing down his hut and building another one outside the land he gave to the church.  Most huts have straw roofs, but I think they will put a tin roof on his home as a protection against the Muslims who want to burn his house.  Estimated cost is about $1,000.)  

Our plan is to complete this church before you came to us. Mom, things are going well there. Also I have met with Hajji Usman & he is doing well. Bedene’s church building is going well. The other thing which the elders want to inform you is, we are facing problem with the previous
financial proposal. By now the cost of every thing is increased highly. For example, when we propose the cost of cement was 80 -100 Birr. By now it is 320 Birr. So pray about it. (Note: when we calculated the cost of building a church in Feb 06, it was estimated at $2,250.  This cost is only for the purchase of items; the people themselves do the labor, bring wood posts from the forests, removing sand from the rivers, digging rocks from the land, building & mudding the walls, etc..  Inflation has really hit Ethiopia; it is so high that it is difficult to keep up, but now we estimate the cost of a church building is about $5-6,000.  This is still very insignificant when compared with the cost of building churches or homes in the USA!  Please pray for us to abide by His will in these matters, waiting on His timing as He provides funds & arranges economies.)

Received Tuesday, Sept 5, from son David in Alaba..

Please pray so that God would help me. Let me tell you exciting things, 1. The vegetables which (you) brought for Hajji Mohammed bore fruits. Even those Muslim people around him planted it in their garden. The fruits are yellow and green. It is happy, happy, happy! My Mom, the problem is, we couldn’t know how can we eat. Can we eat them raw or we must roast it? Please, can you explain about it? The people are
waiting your explanation about it. Note: I think these are the zuccinni and yellow squash sent by the people of Averett Baptist Church in VA.  I wrote a long email explaining 7 ways to cook these.

2. Last Sunday I preached in our church on the topic of “be motivated for the work of the Lord, Haggai” Mom, it was a wonder full time. I conveyed your greeting for the congregation. Also I read the passage which you sent for us. The congregation was very much happy to listen it.

3. Last Friday Girma and I went to Dada with the Jesus Film to show on that big conference. We went with horse chairote. (Note: most rural travel is by horse-drawn cart) The day was a day of heavy rain. The rood was extremely difficult. We reached there at 10:00pm at night. All of our clothes were muddy. But God helped us very much. Mom, do you now how much people accepted Jesus?  More than 40 Muslims. By now the building which you have seen is becoming full. It is absolutely God’s mighty work. Girma was one of the preachers there.

4, Last week, believers from different rural churches came together to cut the trees and collect materials for Hajji Mohammed’s church building. It was amazing! As they were cutting they were singing Christian songs. It was special time! You will see the pictures.

Yes, God is at work all the time to expand his kingdom. The matter is opening and humbling our hearts for his will. Still I believe that God will do more than these. It is his habit to do unexpected things for his servants. Praise to be him. … 

It is last week some of our church members informed me there are very poor children whom lost their fathers and mothers with HIV case and they are left alone. My Mom, I can not tell you, how much my heart is broken to see these poor children. Even by now they could not join school. So we need urgent support. Such kinds of children are increasing in our area. Please pray for these children.  The group which you are involved is doing well. Now this coming month we suppose to provide the needs of those 8 orphans. So we are trying as much as possible.

Received Aug 16, 2006 from David in Alaba…

I have learned a wonderful lesson from you, which is living for God’s kingdom as well as others. Really, it is absolutely from God. I pray so that God might empower you in his power and enable you to do more than this for his kingdom. My Mama and Papa, know that the Bible says  “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the Love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Heb. 6:10.

Your effort has been being a light in Alaba and Deda area and the name of our heavenly father is exalted. It is a great joy to see in our lives. I believe that the Holy spirit who begun this job will accomplish in amazing way. He is the God of miracle. He provides every thing which is needed for his kingdom’s work. O! How is it wonderful to be a servant of almighty God.  It is our great privilege in this world. How is it wonderful to plant unperishable things in this perishable world before we go to our heavenly Father. My Mom and Papa, be thankful for being a members in this field from billions of people in this world….

Mom about Keranzo#2 Church, sorry I did not go there still but I have plan to go there. I have met with Hajji Usman. Recently the Muslims are giving a serious warning for both Hajji Usman and Hajji Mohammed.(Note: these two men are ex-Muslim leaders who have come to Christ and are leading others to our Saviour; we are building a church building for each of their congregations.) As I told you last time, those groups of Muslims are still rotating in different areas to hurt believers. Last time a kebele chairman gave a warning letter with stamp on it; they threaten Hajji Usman to kill him.(note: this is like receiving an official, certified letter from a County Supervisor in Government, an official warning that H. Usman will be killed if he does not go back to Islam.) I have read it. It is very much harsh letter. Hajji Usman has appealed to higher government. Mom, the power of God is beyond every power so we trust in him. (Note: Prior to his conversion, Hajji Usman was a teacher of the Koran, receiving his paycheck directly from the Saudi government; he has refused all offers and inducements to return to Islam.  The last time we were at his home, we stood by the freshly-burned home of his son; the embers were still hot!)

Received by email on August 15 from Nigussie in Alaba…

The situation in Alaba is not good. Muslims are trying to attack Christians in the town as well as in the rural areas. Actually, they did not get any one still. Please pray about it.

Received by email July 29 from David in Alaba…

My Mom, last Sunday we went to Dada village. We distributed the 200 Bibles. Also we gave the money to the elders and we appointed the committee to facilitate the work of foundation. The congregation
was very much happy. All of them said you “may God bless you”. When we evaluated the memory work; it was amazing! Every body worked hard. We formed each group of ten and said together. It was wonderful!

Received by email July 10 from David in Alaba…

Regarding church building, the Galeye Church’s work is going well. We discussed with elders about additional money(5000 birr). They said “It is good but beginning last three weeks the cost of cement increased
unusually (it is raised from 117 birr to 200 birr which is the cost of 100 k.g) (Note: Inflation has hit Ethiopia tremendously! For calculation in US dollars, figure 9 Ethiopian birr equals $1. From mid-June to mid-August, cement has doubled in price!) However, we will try to arrange as much as possible and we will inform you how we did it. We appreciate your idea very much”. Also they are very much happy about your idea of well-digging. They said it will make a good bridge to reach the community.(Note: We are exploring the possibility of putting a well by each rural church that we build; this will be a preaching point for evangelism)

Last Wednesday we have a wonderful time to talk with elders. As we have evaluated, Bassa and Ololaka churches are ready to build. Also Keranso #1(Hajji Mohammed) is getting ready. Already the Woreda (district) wrote a letter to the chairman of Keranso (county)to approve the process. I hope these coming weeks it will get the end. So our decision is to begin either one of three. If Hajji Mohammed’s will get ready soon, we will give priority to it. Mom, what do you think? We are ready to work hard with this regard. The other good news is, Beshano church (Tesfaye’s) has got bright hope from government to have legal land. Really it is God’s hand to see this in that area. (note: this Beshano church was featured in the Voice of the Martyr’s Feb 2005 edition. We met Tesfaye in summer 2005; just before our arrival his daughter had been kidnapped and murdered because they were Christians.)

God is working miraculously in Alaba. Still the other good news is many Muslim high school students are accepting Jesus as their personal savior. Concerning persecution, still it is going on. Now their strategy is to bring back all Muslim converts. They took some of them to their Mosque forcefully. With this decision a group of Muslim people are rotating like hunters. So we are trying to handle those new believers. (note: “handling” them means encouraging them spiritually, supplying them with clothes & housing if needed, and taking them into hiding if needed.)  Please pray so that God might strengthen them in Christ. It is obvious that we will be winners with God. My Mamiye, the thing which makes you amazed is despite the persecution, God is working mightily in Alaba. Really it is amazing!

Mamiye,(Note: this is a term of endearment for a mother; David has adopted us as his parents.) today I have taken one of these persecuted boys to Dilla KHC because those Muslims are looking to kill him. (Note: Dilla is a large town far away from the Alaba region.  The KHC is an evangelical church association, founded by SIM Mission. The Dilla church will care for this boy until it is safe for him to return to Alaba.) On the way to Dilla I am sending you this email from Awassa. Still internet in Alaba is terrible.

Received by email June 25 from David in Alaba..

Concerning church buildings I discussed with the elders and told Nathan’s proposal. They are ok with it. But they said the cost will be raised. So what do you think? (Note: this proposal is to build the concrete perimeter foundation so that it protects the wood in the walls from termites; this necessitates more concrete than figured in the original proposals for the church buildings.) Mamiye, by know the third site is ready to build the church (the village called Bassa instead of Gadeba). Hajji Mohammed is still in process of getting land title. Also we are working hard to have legal land for Zobechame church.

My Mamiye, let me tell you what is going on with this regard. Mom, recently there is serious Muslim movement in Alaba area. There are some people who came from Pakistan to encourage the movement secretly. They are trying to create problems in our churches. A week ago, while a preacher was preaching in the Zobechame church, one of the Muslims entered into the church and tried to beat preacher as well as the believers. Many Muslims are moving in groups to harm Christians. Two weeks ago, while the preacher was preaching some Muslims came with their knives to disturb the congregation.  But God rescued his people.  Now the church is trying to deal with the government about the issue. However the situations are not safe. Please pray about it.

September 25, 2006

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The Real Problem With the Federal Marriage Amendment

Bob Strodtbeck

Two homosexual couples filed a civil suit in Orlando, Fla., on Monday, July 12, against the Orange County Clerk of the Court, Lydia Gardner, because she refused to issue them marriage licenses.

There are some very important peripheral facts of note regarding the this legal action. Among them is the law Ms. Gardner enforced, that can be changed by the elected Florida State Legislature, restricts marriage to heterosexual couples. Secondly, this is an election year and the four homosexuals seeking legal matrimony have every right to support the election of legislators who would work to change the law.

Since the law, written by a representative legislature, is being challenged in a court by a civil suit, the plaintiffs and their lawyer are assaulting the voting rights of citizens who have chosen, and will chose again in November, the legislature. It will be the judge who chooses to take the case, however, who will be violating not only his sworn duty to apply the laws authored by representative legislatures, but will be subjecting a public servant to a legal challenge for enforcing the law she swears to uphold as well. The opinion here is that such an assault on the rule of law in this country by a judge, sworn to uphold the law, is an impeachable offense that the Florida State Legislature has the duty to act upon.

Such a suggestion should be eagerly embraced by the Florida Legislature, which has Republican majorities in both houses, and the Republican governor, who just happens to be the brother of the President of the United States. This assumption is offered because the Republican Party has been very vocal about defending values and the family during this election year.

However, on the day that the legislative authority of the elected legislature was being challenged by a civil suit, Florida Republicans in elected state offices offered no defense of Ms. Gardner for upholding state law, the legislative process, or the role of the elections to influence public policy. They chose, instead, to hold their silence as Republicans in the US Senate conducted a debate over an amendment that threatens to bring the regulation of marriage under the authority of the federal government.

The silence of Florida Republicans over the civil suit against the Orange County Clerk of the Court, in deference of the US Senate debate over the Marriage Amendment, opens the door for more federal usurpation of the authority of states to check the power of the national government. More significantly, the election year ploy of the GOP is a direct assault against the very purpose of the US Constitution, which is to regulate the relations between the states – not the union between man and wife.

It is absurd to think that amending the Constitution is the only path open to Republicans to confront efforts to redefine the family and give legal protection for sexual activity (that is essentially the goal of those promoting the gay rights agenda). The GOP has party cells in every county in the nation. It holds legislative majorities in most states of the union as well as most of the governorships. It has broken fund raising records going into this election year, and in most media markets the GOP gets the support of more than 90 broadcast hours of conservative talk radio programming every week. It is not unreasonable to believe that these considerable political assets could be used to rally voters to elect state legislative officials who would protect traditional definitions of marriage.

Those assets could also prove to be very influential in helping to explain that judges, who refuse to apply laws written by the elected legislature, are actually assaulting voting rights and the principles of representative government. Articulating these points could help Republicans to build popular support for the impeachment of “activist judges” who decide according to fiat rather than in respect to laws restricting judicial power.

Over the past decade the GOP has had ample opportunity to make reasonable and defined steps to restore the constitutional order of American government. Had it taken those opportunities it would have helped to assure that the thoughts and convictions of reasonable people could properly influence public policy in all levels of government. At every turn Republicans have, instead, avoided the investigation of such principles to play upon the ignorance of the voting public – presumably to keep supportive voting blocks on their plantation. Those who are drawn to the concept of amending the constitution to protect marriage should consider themselves as something more than mindless pawns of support for incumbency and the concentration of political power.

There is no debate here that marriage and families are threatened by various political movements that assault moral traditions. They won’t be turned back, however, by shredding the principles that work to restrain the concentration of power. Just keep in mind that as state legislative influence over federal power diminishes, the general public will be left with nothing more than trust for the discretion of federal officials as the shield of its freedoms.

July 21, 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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The Real Message of Philippians

 David Alan Black  

Tonight at Bethel Hill we will begin a 4-week series on the book of Philippians, led by brother Joel. Philippians, Paul’s “joyful letter,” was written to help Christians deal with division and disunity, often caused by carnality and personality differences. Above all, we divide when do not share the same spiritual priorities. Philippians was written with a view toward Christians who mean business with God and who are prepared to put first things first (the Gospel).

The Philippian church was riddled with factions and rent by cliques. Unable to get along with each other, they took refuge in the alibi that unity was not really all that important. The fact is, their priority system was faulty. During WW II, our national leaders had a lot to say about “hyphenated Americans,” German-Americans, for example, whose loyalty was divided between Germany and the U.S.

Too many churches today have become hyphenated because their loyalty is divided between the Gospel and something else. We talk glibly about “God and country.” Or else our loyalty is first of all to “our church” and then to the universal kingdom of God. We place temporal value on eternal things and eternal value on temporal things, like padded pews and lush carpets. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not calling for perfect Christians. Neither is the apostle Paul (see Phil. 3:12 ff.). There are no perfect Christians, but there can be undivided loyalty.

The real message of Philippians is not about joy. It’s about priorities, about what comes first and foremost in our lives. “The only thing that matters,” says Paul, “is that you live together as good citizens of heaven in a way that the Gospel of Christ requires” (1:27).

And that, my friend, leaves no place for hyphenated Christians.

August 10, 2011

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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The Real Lesson of Bill Bennett

 David Alan Black

The great Baptist preacher Spurgeon once said that learning to say no is of far greater value than learning Latin. Life is largely a matter of setting priorities. That’s why the apostle Paul said, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

The great tragedy today that is that many of us are more interested in finding peace and joy than we are in finding righteousness. Like a sick man, we prefer to have our pain sedated without having the real problem corrected. But Paul says that there can be no peace and joy until there is righteousness.

Have you noticed that much of what goes under the label of “preaching” today is merely an attempt to soothe the unsaved with a false sense of peace and stir in them an artificial joy? The preaching of righteousness is unpopular these days. We want peace without repentance, happiness without holiness.

It is, therefore, useful on occasion to review one’s priorities in life. It is essential that I remember what God has called me to be and do. My first calling in life is not to teach Greek, or write textbooks, or preach sermons, or mentor students. God has called me to be, first and foremost, a “Christian” if you will—a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. This entails being sensitive to this matter of “righteousness,” as Paul put its. There is no place in the will of God for a lenient attitude toward evil. We are to abhor it (Romans 12:9) and to abstain from all appearance of it (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

The Word of God says, “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10). See how love and hate belong together—love of the Lord and hatred of evil. The church at Thyatira had love (Greek agape), but along with it they tolerated Jezebel and our Lord dealt with them in flaming judgment. Today we try to tolerate demonic statism and in the church we try to get by with false doctrine and shallow evangelism. Whether we disguise it as “homeland security” or being “seeker sensitive” it is still compromise with unrighteousness, in the nation and the church.

Thus, when I came across the story of Bill Bennett’s problem with gambling and his attempt to justify his behavior, it was simply another reminder that I am just as susceptible to self-deception as any other Christian. I too have an inbred tendency to abandon righteousness in my pursuit of peace and joy. Dare we point the finger at others when we ourselves may be just as guilty of gross hypocrisy?

I don’t know about you, but whenever I struggle with sin and temptation, I find that I must flee to God in prayer. It was Martin Luther’s counsel long ago to a friend when he perceived a temptation starting to rise in his heart to immediately get on his knees in prayer. Temptation is good because it teaches us to see the evil that is in us and drives us to God. Like Paul in 2 Corinthians 10, when you get to the point where you have no place else to go, you wind up going to God. When everything is going well in my life I tend to have to force myself to pray. But when there’s disaster, or abject evil, or temptation in my life, I am compelled to pray.

One thing is sure. All of us will eventually have to learn—or relearn—the lesson Bill Bennett is now being taught by a loving but holy God. Temptation devastates our spiritual pride. It shows us what we really are—weak as kittens. Anyone who thinks he’s arrived or who parades his pride really doesn’t understand that he is wicked, because a person who is truly godly, who is truly righteous, is also genuinely humble. He has had his spiritual pride shattered.

Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Let us not seek the “all things” and forget the “kingdom” and the “righteousness.” The divine order has never changed: righteousness, restfulness, rejoicing in the Holy Spirit. The real lesson of Bill Bennett is that when we abandon our own self-righteousness for the imparted righteousness of Christ, His peace and joy always come with it.

May 7, 2003

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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