Here in the days of COVID-19, with many churches are not yet able to gather, Christians are finding themselves increasingly adjusting to the isolation. After all, there are perks to being able to livestream a service and not have to leave the comfort of your home. Yet virtual relationships are hardly conducive to deep relationships. And podcasts and livestream services are no substitute for accountability and discipleship. As we need to be reminded again and again, this cannot be the new normal. Christians have always needed to be connected in meaningful relationships with other believers in the church. A good reminder of this is found in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Read More
The Old Redemption Story: Illustrations from the Book of Ruth
The book of Ruth begins in brokenness. The time of the Judges had seen people go from obedient and devoted followers of God to fickle and nameless wanderers who came to Him temporarily in their times of greatest distress. The first chapter records how one family even leaves God’s “Promised Land” to seek life elsewhere. The book of Ruth is short but deep. We see suffering, but we see restoration. The hope of the Gospel is very much alive even centuries before the arrival of the Messiah. This outsider and foreigner teaches us what it’s like to be an insider with God. In the midst of broken times, we are reminded that God knows us by name. When we are tempted to look back at how things used to be, we learn that there is nothing better behind us than the God before us. For all of us whose paradise has ever been broken, let’s make Ruth’s God of restoration our God too! Where He goes, we go.
Read More
How Did Spurgeon Fence the Lord's Table?
The sermon is over. The lights dim. As music begins to play, the pastor issues an invitation, “The tables are now open. No matter who you are or where you’ve come from, if you’ve responded to Jesus, then you can come. As the band plays our last song, feel free to make your way up to one of the tables. This is between you and Jesus.” Here in the 21st century, this has become a standard part of evangelical liturgy – an individualized view of the Lord’s Supper, with minimal accountability.
This practice can be traced back to a debate which began in the 17th century and reached a turning point in the 19th century.
Read More
The Mill Yard Women and the Counter-Cultural Witness of the Church
The church has always been a counter-cultural witness to the world. We normally think of the church’s witness in her preaching and good works, and rightly so. But sometimes, it’s her very structure and polity which bear witness to God’s kingdom here in this world.
We see this in the story of the Mill Yard Seventh Day Baptist Church in the 19th century. Founded in the 1600s this church had dwindled just to seven women by the 1820s, and they were without a minister.
Read More
Ask Pastor Charlie: On Joining a Church
Today, on Ask Pastor Charlie, we address the issue of joining a church. In this day of consumer churches, online sermons, and endless conferences, church membership seems like a thing of the past. Should a Christian join a church? What are some common objections? Does it even matter? Let’s listen in:
Read More
Four Lessons from John Knox on Local Church Reform
John Knox, champion of the Scottish Reformation, fearless preacher, uncompromising prophet… defeated by a church business meeting?
Knox’s legend began early. Converted under the preaching of the early Scottish reformer George Wishart, he became his sword-bearer, carrying a claymore to Wishart’s preaching engagements (29). After Wishart’s martyrdom, Knox became a preacher himself and his plain, fiery preaching with “ruide boldness… unto your faces” (59) won the hearts of both English and Scottish alike. Standing up to the Queen and royal authorities, he constantly called Protestant leaders to resist any compromise, not even when faced with persecution or exile (both which he himself experienced).
Soon after becoming a preacher, Knox was captured by French Catholic forces and enslaved in French galleys for 19 months. One story captures Knox’s spirit:
Read More
Meaningful Membership at Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle
In 1854, when Charles Spurgeon began pastoring at the New Park Street Chapel, he had a handful of deacons assisting him and a membership of 313 (though the actual attendance was much smaller). In just twelve weeks, they outgrew their space and began making plans to enlarge their building. But as soon as that was done, they found themselves immediately once again in need of more space, and so began making plans to build a new building, which would eventually be the Metropolitan Tabernacle. However, more than just a space issue, Spurgeon found himself caring for a congregation that was beyond his capacity to shepherd.
Read More
Irenaeus and the Ecclesiastical Constitution of the Church
In our day, there has been a revival of discussion surrounding church membership and other aspects of church polity. But are these matters simply modern inventions? How did the early church think about these matters?
Writing in the 2nd century AD, Irenaeus bishop of Lyons combated the Gnosticism of his day in his most famous work, Against the Heresies. Throughout his work, he appeals to sound reasons and the Scriptures to combat the Gnostic teachings of Valentinus, Marcion, and other heretics. However, Irenaeus shows himself to be not only a theologian but also a devoted churchman.
Read More