Two Cautions for Conservatives

I am a conservative. I am a conservative in religion, politics, family values, and even fashion. I am an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, prefer less government to more government, believe marriage is to be between one man and one woman for life, and believe men should never be allowed to wear open-toed sandals. I am by all accounts, a conservative. I don’t wear it is a badge of honor or as my identity. I am happy to move from any position I hold if convinced by a contrary argument, whether it is considered a liberal, moderate, or conservative position (though, you will never convince me that men should show their hairy toes in public). However, having said this, I find that I am usually one of the more conservative people in any given room. This has led me to watch and observe others who tend to lean conservative. There are two cautions that I would offer to myself and others who tend to be consistently conservative.   Continue at Jason Helopoulos

Family Worship - A Neglected Grace

Family worship. For some it evokes a sense of dread, memories of long, boring, tiring times sitting around a table while listening to dad drone on and on. For some it evokes a sense of guilt, false starts and failures and giving up. For a few it evokes joy, sweet times of family fellowship and memories of seeking the Lord together.

Almost every book begins by describing a problem and then goes on to propose a solution. This is, after all, one very good reason to read: to find solutions to our problems. My books are no exception; I have addressed the problems of the neglect of spiritual discernment, addiction to pornography, and thoughtless dedication to digital technologies. In the opening pages of A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home, Jason Helopoulos says he must address the problem of family worship because it has very nearly disappeared. "If it were an animal, it would be on the endangered species list. We have not only stopped doing it, but we have stopped talking about it."   Continue at Tim Challies

Does Calvinism Kill Missions?

It is often asserted that Calvinism creates a barrier to evangelism and missions. The accusation usually comes in the form of questions. How could those who believe the Scriptures teach predestination and election truly have a heart for missions? If God has determined who shall be saved, why would there be any need to engage in evangelism or missions? And yet, we can safely say that this is an argument lacking historical proof (and theological basis).

It must be acknowledged that Calvinists have not only robustly encouraged, engaged, and propagated missions, but have led some of the great mission’s and evangelistic movements in the history of the church. Even a cursory glance at the history of missions and missionaries produces a hall of fame filled with Calvinists. It could rightly be argued that Calvinism is not only not a barrier to missions and evangelism, but has actually proven to be a spur to missions and evangelism. In fact, it has often been the driving force in missions. This is just a sampling of the history of missions and some notable Calvinists, who have led the way into foreign fields. One doesn’t have to be a thorough going Calvinist to be struck by the impact of Calvinism upon missions.

• John Calvin: Calvin sent missionaries from Geneva into France and as far away as Brazil. Most of these young men sent to France died a martyr’s death, but the church of Geneva continued to send them.
• John Eliot: A missionary sent to the American Indians in the 1600′s. He is believed to be the first missionary among this people group. As many have said, if William Carey is the father of the modern mission’s movement, then John Eliot is its grandfather.  Continue at Jason Helopoulos

Why Pastors Quit

Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos

 

Statistics regarding pastors are not encouraging. The Francis Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development reports that 35-40% of ministers last less than 5 years in the ministry. Many statistics show that 60-80% of those who enter the ministry will no longer be laboring in the ministry 10 years later. Whether these statistics are right or not, it is clear that there are struggles with persevering in the ministry. I would suggest that the reasons below are the greatest struggles to perseverance in the ministry (though you are welcome to add others in the comments). As we consider each, I want to offer a little encouragement to young pastors and aspiring seminarians:

Conflict: This is arguably one of the biggest surprises to young pastors. Conflict happens in the church; and it happens all the time. Those in ministry will often be called upon to mediate conflict, navigate the waters of a conflict, and are regularly the target of much conflict. Pastors will find that there are hateful, petty, arrogant, rude, brooding, and discontent people in their congregations. Unfortunately, and coming as a surprise to many pastors, is the fact that the unconverted don’t tend to cause the majority of conflict; it is the converted who often launch the hardest persecutions. As William Still one said, “They want their part of the Gospel or their emphasis, usually that which they wrongly think does not touch them, call upon them, or challenge them.” It is also the true that pastors are often the source of conflict themselves. Sin, errors in judgment, and mistakes in leadership can cause firestorms.

Encouragement: When pastors are engaged in conflict, they must search their own hearts to see if their passions are out of control (James 4:1-2). Has sin had a way with them? This must be their first and foremost concern. However, most pastors will find that a great deal of conflict in the church will not be a result of their own personal sin. To survive, a pastor must not carry every burden and conflict. There are times to “let go” and move on. Thick skin and a tender heart are good traits for a pastor. You must teach without fear the whole counsel of God, stand by your convictions, and be winsome; but let the chips fall no matter who may be offended.     Continue at Jason Helopoulos

Pain & Christian Marriage

Marriage is hard work and can be painful. And being a Christian couple does not somehow make it easy or take away the prospect of hurt. Whether we are atheists or Christians, we are still sinners living under the same roof and that can make for tight quarters. It is a reality that those we love the most have often caused us the greatest amount of pain and we them. This is just the reality of love and families. The greater our love the greater the possibility there is to hurt one another. While being a Christian couple does not make marriage easy or pain-free, we do have some great advantages that should make it easier and healing. 

These are just a few of the things that come to mind:

• We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, so marital conflict can become us against it rather than me against you (Eph. 6:12)
• We know forgiveness that overcomes any offense , so we can extend forgiveness for any injury our spouse can inflict (1 John 1:9)
• We know that we are sinners, so we can respond with grace when our spouse calls us out for being hurtful (Rom. 310; 1 John 1:9)
• We know the need to repent from sin, so we can be quick to respond when we see our fault (Col. 3:1-17)   Continue at Jason Helopoulos

Children in Worship–Let’s Bring it Back

I remember sitting as a small child in church sucking on wintergreen mints and drawing battle scenes on the offering envelopes (my mother would always give me a tap of correction when the explosions were a little too loud with my scribbling pencil). And though I might have been preoccupied with my wintergreen mints and airplanes dropping bombs on tanks, I was picking things up. Was it easy for my single mother to corral a feisty little boy and his sister in the pew? No, it is a testimony to her patience and grace! But it was good for my soul. 

As the church, let’s be open to the idea of inviting our children into worship again. Let’s be patient, deliberate, and wise, but let’s encourage families to have their children in worship as soon as they are able. Not all families or children will be ready to do this as each family functions under different circumstances. So having said this, let’s not go overboard. I think every church should have a well-equipped nursery at least for children under the age of five years old and even beyond if they deem it appropriate. In addition, we must be sensitive to visiting families and those that just aren’t convinced that children belong in corporate worship. So we must be patient and understanding, but it is something we should be aimed at before our children are driving cars! Even if our children cannot understand all that is happening, struggle to sit still, and even are bored at times during the service they are still benefiting from being in the midst of this divine meeting between God and His people (Mark 10:13-16). And at the very least they will come to appreciate the power of wintergreen mints.

Today, I want to offer a few reasons on why we should encourage the children of the church to attend our corporate worship services. Tomorrow, I will pass along some helpful hints for parenting in the pew.  Continue at Jason Helopoulos

What You Do In Your Hotel Room Gives Witness: A Warning for Conference-Goers

Jason Helopoulos offers a wise warning for those attending the upcoming Gospel Coalition Conference, and for attendees of any conference really, and you should read it. I'd like to renew a different sort of caution of my own from the lead-up to last year's T4G:

A word of warning for the thousands entering Chicago next month for The Gospel Coalition Conference: what you do in the privacy of your hotel room can be a witness against the gospel. Think this is unwarranted?

From Steve Farrar's Finishing Strong:

A number of years ago a national conference for church youth directors was held at a major hotel in a city in the mid-west. Youth pastors by the hundreds flooded into that hotel and took nearly every room. At the conclusion of the conference, the hotel manager told the conference administrator that the number of guests who tuned into the adult movie channel broke the previous record, far and away outdoing any other convention in the history of the hotel.

My friend Justin Holcomb helped me in looking into this phenomenon, recalling from his own research in an email to me: Read it HERE

Here Come the Conferences: Encouragement and Some Warnings

Every year we see the same cycle: the snow melts, trees begin budding, the sun begins to dominate the sky again, and Christian conferences abound. Evangelical Christian have a calendar as fixed as the seasons (and I’m not talking about the liturgical year). I am a fan of good Christian conferences, with restraint. Therefore, let me encourage and warn you about the conference season.

Encouragement

1. Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to hear some great Christian teachers. They achieve a purpose in gathering together a large contingent that induces these gifted teachers to share their gift. You will hear some of the best lectures and sermons of your life at conferences. This is probably the best reason to attend.
2. City, regional, and national conferences facilitate Christian fellowship outside the local church. It is important to remind ourselves of the greater church. This checks our tendency towards arrogance and parochialism on the one side and encourages a Christian worldview on the other. Keep Reading>>>

Good and Bad Reasons for Leaving a Local Assembly

Good Reasons for Moving On—The Four P’s
1. Providential moving
2. Planting another church
3. Purity has been lost
4. Peace of the church is in jeopardy due to my presence

Possible Reasons for Moving On – The Three S’s

1. Spouse
2. Special Needs
3. Special Gifts

Reasons Often Used Which are Insufficient

1. Children’s Ministry
2. Buzz
3. Youth Group
4. Church has changed
5. New Pastor
6. I’m Not Being Ministered to
7. Music
8. There are others… Read all the details HERE