by Michiana Covenant | Feb 26, 2015 | Marriage, Office, Parenting
It seems as though everywhere you turn, you see another example of the abuse, the manipulation, and the deceitfulness of power. In recent months I’ve encountered so many stories of abusive husbands, fathers, pastors, and politicians that I’ve been left reeling.
One common feature in these stories is how slow people are to do something about it. It’s pretty easy to see the pattern: other people see the problem, but they are slow to do anything because they wonder “Am I just over-reacting?” “No one else seems to think that this is a problem.” “And when I look at myself, I face the same temptations — on a bad day, maybe I would do that too…”
And so we say nothing. We do nothing. We even think that we are being charitable — “showing grace” to someone, like we would want someone to show grace to us, right?
Except for one thing.
What about the people who are suffering under the abuse? Who will speak on behalf of the poor? Who will speak up for the oppressed? They are often so deceived that they don’t even realize that they are oppressed! How often does the abused wife defend her husband? How often do they say, “Oh, but I deserved it — I was in the wrong, after all!”
Part of the manipulation and deceitfulness of the abuse of power is that it is based on a half-truth: since we are sinners, we all “deserve” bad things. So when the abuser says, “It’s because of what you did,” it is really easy for us to believe him.
At this point, every single husband among you should be saying, “I’ve done this to my wife!” Every parent should say, “I’ve done this to my child.” Every pastor and elder should say, “I’ve done this to my flock.”
And this, my friends, is why we are paralyzed when we face abuse in others. We hear the words, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,” and so we do not dare to bring an accusation. After all, on a bad day, it could have been me…
So how do you know when to speak up? I will give an answer that I have failed to practice myself — partly in order to encourage myself to heed my own words! You always speak up. Obviously, you cannot speak into every situation of abuse in the world. So when I say “always” I mean, in every case where you have the opportunity to speak.
If you see someone who is abusing authority, then you should speak the truth in love, and show him his fault. If he is a wise man, he will love you for it (Proverbs 9). If he is a fool, he will hate you, and the result will probably be ugly — but at least there will be an opportunity for his folly to be unmasked. It can be as simple as asking a question, “Why did you say X to your wife?” “Can you explain why you did Y with your children?” You don’t have to take a “adversarial” approach. After all, you are doing this because you love him (or her). You want him to grow in wisdom. If you speak with the voice of the Good Shepherd, then ordinarily the sheep will hear His voice.
But what if they don’t? Well, that’s why Jesus gave us a way of handling such matters. If they refuse to listen — if they don’t repent — then you take one or two others and try again. If he won’t listen to them, then you tell it to the church (Matt. 19) — you bring a charge to the elders.
And then there are the hard cases. Several years ago a friend told me of a girl who accused her step-father of sexually abusing her. There was only one witness (the girl), and the man denied it. There was no other evidence. The elders believed the girl (and encouraged her mother to divorce the man), but how could they proceed with an ecclesiastical trial? They took seriously the saying, “Where there is smoke, there is fire,” and conducted a thorough investigation. It was highly unlikely that a man would molest his step-daughter once and never do anything else improper. Sure enough. They found other things that had sufficient witnesses. Maybe they could not convict him of the one thing that he denied — but they could assure the girl that (as far as the church was concerned) he would no longer be able to prey upon the weak. [And the church cooperated with a civil investigation that put the man in prison.]
If we do not speak on behalf of the weak, then the powerful will continue to oppress them. And if we do not gently confront the little “slippages” (as we call them!) among ourselves, then we will become oppressors in our turn.
And this is why we need to continually listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd ourselves. In a world that is overrun by words that bite and devour, we need to listen to the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.
by Michiana Covenant | Feb 18, 2014 | Office
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by Michiana Covenant | Jan 30, 2014 | Office
“On Fasting, Death, and Joy: Reflections on His Upcoming Ordination”
by Hugh Lynn
To me, fasting has always seemed like a some sort of mechanical ritual. When church leaders have talked about fasting and state that it is a sanctioned practice in the Bible, I have always asked myself, “Why should I fast? What is it for? When is it appropriate?”
So should I fast? Many people will be quick to point out that Jesus says in Mathew 6:16, “When you fast…,” not “if you fast.” So simple answer is yes, fasting is permissible.
But does that mean I should fast?
Pastor Peter pointed out to me that there is clearly a fast that is not beneficial to perform. In Isaiah 58:1-5, God declares that the house of Jacob has transgressed in their fast. So maybe I shouldn’t fast.
But how do I know? What is fasting for?
I think a clue can be found in Mathew 9:14-17. In verse 14, the disciples of John ask Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus reply is “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?”
Jesus is saying people are not to fast at just any time. When there is a celebration, when there is joy, this is not the time for fasting. But Jesus goes on to say, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Fasting is a time for mourning.
Jesus gives metaphors for fasting. He says that only shrunk cloth can be used to patch a old garment. Also that new wine is put in new wineskins. The reason is clear. If unshrunk cloth is used on an old garment, it will shrink in time and further damage the garment. If new wine is put in old wineskins, the fermentation process will burst the old wineskins since they have lost their elasticity.
So will fasting destroy a person if they attempt to do it when they should be rejoicing. Fasting is for times of mourning.
So, when is an appropriate time for mourning and fasting?
What do the fasts in the Bible look like?
Moses is the first person that I know to fast in the Bible. After the incident with the golden calves, Exodus 33 and 34 recounts the story of God wanting to send the people to the promised land without his presence. Moses interceded and asked to see the glory of the God. God told Moses that no man can see God’s glory and live. God would hide Moses in the cleft of the rock and cover him with his hand. Then God would take away his hand and Moses would see God’s back. Then Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights while God gave Moses the Law.
David has accounts of his fasts in the Bible. II Samuel 1 recounts one story of David’s fasts. He received news of king Saul’s and his son’s, Jonathan, death. In verses 11 and 12 it says, “Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son….”
Another one of David’s fasts is in II Samuel 12. David’s infidelity with Bathsheba lead to the birth of a child. The Lord sent a deathly sickness to this child. Verse 16 says, “David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.”
In I Kings 19, the story of Elijah’s fast is recounted. After killing the prophets of Baal, Jezebel desired to kill Elijah. So he flees, losses heart and asks God for death. Elijah eats two meals and then goes on a fast for forty days and forty nights as he travels to the mountain of God. When at the mountain of God, God asks what Elijah is doing there. Elijah answers in verse 14, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left and they seek my life, to take it away.”
As Joel has taught us in his sermons, Esther called for a fast, in chapter 4, verse 16, when she risked her life to go before the king when not summoned. And it was not her life only at risk, but the all the Jews in the Persian Empire were in deathly peril.
In Daniel, there is the story of a gentile king, Darius, that unwittingly made a law that condemned Daniel to death. When the sentence of being cast into a den of lions was executed, chapter 6, verse 18 tells us that Darius fasted all night because of Daniel.
And what about our Lord? Jesus himself has a fast recorded in Scripture. Mathew 3:13-17 tells the story of Jesus’ baptism. Then, in chapter 4:1-11 Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. Then the tempter came to Jesus and temped him with life. In verse 3, Jesus was tempted to cling to life by commanding stones to become bread. In verse 6, Jesus is tempted to live by being protected by angels. In verse 9 Jesus was temped to live life to the fullest by receiving all the kingdoms of the world only if he would worship the devil. But Paul says in Romans 6:3 that those “who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.”
In my quick study of fasting in the Bible, one thing stood out to make fasting appropriate.
Death.
Moses comes close to seeing the face of God, which no man can see and live. David fasts after the death of Saul and Jonathan. He also fasts when his child approaches death. Elijah, when fleeing for his life and even desiring death, fasts. Esther fasts when she faces death. The gentile king, Darius, fasts when Daniel is facing death. And even death is not far away during Jesus fast. For his future death must have been near his mind after his baptism.
So if I am to fast, who died? Who is dying? Who will die?
Well, me.
If I am going to do the duties of a deacon, then I must die. The list of qualifications in I Timothy 3 is a list that I have not, do not, nor always will live up to. I have not, do not, nor will not love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I have not, do not, and will not love my neighbor as myself.
In order for me to do so, I must die. Eventually, my body will die and by God’s grace and mercy I will love him more than anything and I will not love others less than I love myself. But until then, I have to die to my idolatries. I have to die to my worship of myself.
So I fast, because I know dying is hard. Dying hurts. Dying brings sorrow. I fast because this task set before me will kill me.
But with Jesus there is hope. With Jesus, death is a paradox and results in life! Because with Jesus, death is not the end. When we die, there is Jesus’ life in us! Paul says it nicely in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
And that is a reason to end the fast and have great, great joy.
by Michiana Covenant | Dec 27, 2013 | MCPC, Office
This is the officer training class used at MCPC in 2012-2013. While we seek to improve it every time, the basic pattern has remained intact for many years. We used to have a shortened course for deacon training, but over the years we discovered that the deacons needed the same sort of training in counseling and shepherding. Further, Paul says nothing about how to train elders/bishops, but he does say that deacons should be “tested first, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless” (1 Timothy 3:10). It would appear that Paul is assuming that (ordinarily) a man should serve as a deacon first, and then, if he serves well there, and has the requisite gifts and graces, he may advance to the presbyterate. Any man who says “I could be an elder, but I couldn’t handle being a deacon,” does not understand the nature of the eldership.
Officer Training Class Michiana Covenant PCA, Granger IN
Dr. Peter J. Wallace
Purpose:
The purpose of the Officer Training Class is to prepare and equip men to serve in the church as elders and deacons. We assume that a man will only embark on this course after he has already been a Christian for a while. Various parts of this training course will be “review” for some people – while other parts may be new. But the goal is to provide the tools needful for church officers (both in terms of knowledge and skills). Elders and deacons should know the scriptures and the church’s confessional standards. They should also understand the human heart and be able to apply the word of God to the situations they encounter.
Structure and Requirements:
The Officer Training Class includes two distinct courses: 1) Introduction to Reformed Theology (a study of the Westminster Confession and Catechisms), 2) Introduction to Practical Theology (a study of the work of the church and her officers).
Each week during part 1, students will turn in a written outline/summary of the week’s reading (any length is acceptable, so long as it demonstrates basic comprehension), along with any questions.
Required Reading:
Christopher Wisdom, Lectures on Servant Leadership (handout, 2010)
Reformed Theology:
Harmony of the Westminster Confession & Catechisms (Southern Pbn Press, 1997)
Robert Letham, The Westminster Assembly (P&R, 2009)
Chad Van Dixhoorn, The Westminster Confession of Faith, A Commentary (manuscript)
Richard Gaffin, By Faith, Not By Sight (Paternoster, 2007)
Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan (IVP, 2002)
Practical Theology:
Hughes Oliphant Old, Worship (John Knox, 2002)
Paul S. Jones, Singing and Making Music (P&R, 2006) chapters 1-4, 9, 18, 21-24
Timothy Z. Witmer, The Shepherd Leader (P&R, 2010)
David Powlison, Speaking Truth in Love (Punch, 2005) chapters 1-15
Timothy J. Keller, Ministries of Mercy (P&R, 1997)
Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts (Moody, 2009)
John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad (Desiring God, 2010)
Coursepack:
D. G. Hart, Recovering Mother Kirk (Baker, 2003) chapters 1-2
Gregory Reynolds, “The Spirituality of Mission Work”
http://www.opc.org/os.html?article_id=160&issue_id=47
Gregory Reynolds, “Ambassadors of the Heavenly King”
http://www.opc.org/os.html?article_id=159&issue_id=46
Charles G. Dennison, “Evangelism and the Church”
http://www.opc.org/os.html?article_id=158&issue_id=46
T. David Gordon, “Evangelistic Responsibility”
http://www.opc.org/os.html?article_id=155&issue_id=46
James S. Gidley “Biblical Theology and the Session,” 9:3 (Jul. 2000): 50-54.
Classic pastoral care www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1938&C=1738
Conclusion:
Gregory the Great, Book of Pastoral Rule (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007)
I. Introduction
At the beginning of the course each nominee will take a Bible knowledge quiz to ascertain where he is in his knowledge of the scriptures.
May 20 Servant Leadership Wisdom, Parts 1-2
May 27 Servant Leadership Wisdom, Parts 3-4
II. Confessional Standards WCF LC SC
June 10 Introduction Letham 1-119
June 17 1 1-5 1-3 Letham 120-158 VD 2-17
June 24 2-3 6-14 4-8 Letham 159-197 VD 18-36
July 1 4-6 15-29 9-19 Letham 198-223 VD 37-59
July 8 7-9 30-56 20-28 Letham 224-241 VD 60-91
July 15 10-11 57-74 29-33 Letham 242-292 VD 92-108
July 22 12-13 75-78 34-36 Gaffin, 1-52 VD 109-117
July 29 14-18 79-81 Gaffin, 53-111 VD 118-153
August 5 19-20 91-152 39-84 Letham 293-318 VD 3-24
August 12 [break]
August 19 21-24 178-96 98-107 VD 24-57
August 26 25-26 153-60 85-90 Letham 319-359 VD 58-71
September 2 27-29 161-77 91-97 VD 71-97
September 9 30-33 82-90 37-38 Letham 360-367 VD 98-121
III. Church Order
September 16 1-15 (Church Members, Officers and Courts) [& MCPC bylaws]
October 7 16-26 (Vocation and Ordination)
October 14 27-46 (Rules of Discipline)
November 4 47-63 (Directory for Worship)
October – December
Read Graeme Goldsworthy’s According to Plan and write answers to specific questions, due January 1. Meet one-on-one with current elders
Nominees will be examined by the session in Bible, doctrine, and church order at the beginning of January. Those who pass the exams will enter into a period of internship.
IV. Internship
Throughout 2013, interns will serve a practicum with the elders & deacons:
1) Elder interns will be expected to attend session meetings regularly
2) Elder interns will also be expected to attend at least one deacon meeting, one MCA board meeting, and other committee meetings as needed.
3) Elder interns will also be expected to participate in visitation, and will be asked to teach the adult Sunday school class at least once.
4) Elder interns must attend presbytery at least once
1) Deacon interns will be expected to attend deacon meetings regularly
2) Deacon interns will also be expected to attend at least on session meeting.
3) Deacon interns will participate in organizing at least one diaconal project.
V. Practical Theology: the Work of the Officers
April 7 Worship Old, chs 1-4;
April 21 Worship Old, chs 5-10; Hart, ch 1, 6
May 5 Worship Study Papers
May 19 Mission Piper, 1-132
June 2 Mission Piper, 133-260
June 16 Evangelism/Mission (OS readings – 2009)
July 7 Catechesis/Education (Augustine/Shepperson)
July 21 Shepherding Witmer, 1-105
July 28 Shepherding Witmer, 106-264
August 25 Shepherding/Visitation (OS readings)
September 1 Counseling Powlison, 1-97
September 15 Counseling Powlison, 99-194
September 29 Mercy Ministry Keller, 1-66
October 13 Mercy Ministry Keller, 67-122
October 27 Mercy Ministry Keller, 123-233
November 10 Diaconal Ministry Corbett & Fikkert, 11-99
November 24 Diaconal Ministry Corbett & Fikkert, 103-220
December 8 Gregory, Book of Pastoral Rule, books 1 & 2, 9-85
January 5 Gregory, Book of Pastoral Rule, books 3-4, 87-212
Note: the elders will certify those who may stand for election at their December, 2013, meeting.
Elections, January 2014
