PREACHING THIS MORNING...actually should be 'Appointing This Morning' as the focus today will be on appointing new elders at the Hickman Mills church. Several months of teaching and preaching have thankfully resulted in three new overseers being selected to serve. We will be blessed with an eldership of eight fine men, for which we are very grateful.

This will be the second elder appointment I have done in 14 months, the last one at Wilsonville, Alabama.

PREACHING THIS MORNING...'Duties of Elders & the Church' in view of an elder appointment process that is being initiated today.

This evening 'The Fiery Furnace' from Daniel 3. Like Daniel's three friends, we must be ready to stand by our commitment to God regardless of the consequences, knowing that He will never forsake us.

IS CHURCH DISCIPLINE OUTDATED?

The Wall Street Journal seems shocked--shocked!--that the age old (and might I add, biblical) practice of church discipline is rearing its head. Of course the article starts off with a 71 year old Bible class teacher being led from church property in handcuffs, but rather than being a return of the Inquisition it can be a sign of a healthy church:

Her story reflects a growing movement among some conservative Protestant pastors to bring back church discipline, an ancient practice in which suspected sinners are privately confronted and then publicly castigated and excommunicated if they refuse to repent. While many Christians find such practices outdated, pastors in large and small churches across the country are expelling members for offenses ranging from adultery and theft to gossiping, skipping service and criticizing church leaders.

The revival is part of a broader movement to restore churches to their traditional role as moral enforcers, Christian leaders say. Some say that contemporary churches have grown soft on sinners, citing the rise of suburban megachurches where pastors preach self-affirming messages rather than focusing on sin and redemption. Others point to a passage in the gospel of Matthew that says unrepentant sinners must be shunned.

The article paints the practice as the capricious prerogative of a threatened leadership. Obviously, any leadership worth its salt can stand honest and open questions. Church discipline is not to be used as a tool of intimidation, but rather as a means to remove the leaven from the lump (ie, an unrepentant bad influence on the congregation) and to impress upon the one being disciplined the seriousness of his spiritual condition.

Contrary to some opinions, discipline exercised by a church has no bearing on the disciplined member's status before God:

The process can be messy, says Al Jackson, pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala., which began disciplining members in the 1990s. Once, when the congregation voted out an adulterer who refused to repent, an older woman was confused and thought the church had voted to send the man to hell.

Neither I nor anyone else can send someone to hell. One's status before God will be a reflection of one's own attitude and actions, not those of someone else. But that does not mean that congregations do not have a God-given responsibility to discipline members when it is called for, while still treating the errant member as a brother, not an enemy. That means if someone is not actively disruptive to the proceedings at hand, I would think worship is exactly where the unrepentant member needs to be in hopes he will be encouraged in the right direction. Dragging little old ladies away in handcuffs tends not to be the way to go.

The real problem many churches face is that without proper leadership, ie, scripturally appointed elders, the process of discipline is very hard to initiate and even harder to carry out effectively. And once again we return to the problem of a lack of strong leadership among churches being our greatest crisis.

[Thanks to Wild Bill for the article]

APPOINTING ELDERS

As I mentioned in Sunday's post, I appointed elders at the Wilsonville church this past Sunday. It was the result of years of labor extending back to the time before I even arrived here.

I believe that it is the role of the evangelist to set things in order according to Paul's instructions by appointing (ordaining) elders. That does not mean arbitrarily choosing men and forcing them on the congregation. Following the example of the selection of the Seven in Acts 6, the congregation put forward men in keeping with the Scriptural qualifications. Although that example is not identical to the selection and appointment of elders, there we find guiding principles. An office, in that situation a temporary one, was created by the apostles, qualifications were given and the church put forward men in keeping with those qualifications. The apostles then appointed them to the work. We emulated that process in our appointment of our elders.

On Sunday I spoke to the congregation about our duties to submit to the leadership and example of the men selected. I then spoke again of the roles and duties of the elders themselves. I then asked the men to come forward, read a list of those roles and duties and asked them if they would fulfill them. Upon their agreement, I said the following:

In accordance with my role as an evangelist, in keeping with the considered selection of this congregation consistent with the revealed qualifications of Scripture, I appoint and ordain you overseers of the Lord's church in Wilsonville, Alabama, and commend you to the Lord in whom we believe.

I know there have been times when the installation of elders in some places has only gained a mention in the opening announcements of a church service. I believe it's a more significant event than that, and we would do well to mark the occasion of overseer appointment with some solemnity.

PREACHING THIS MORNING...actually, appointing this morning. Today we will appoint elders for the first time at the church in Wilsonville. This is something I have focused a lot of attention on over the past four years that I have been at Wilsonville. Two good men have been selected by the congregation, and I believe they will do a fine job shepherding this church.

I am structuring the sermon around the congregation's responsibilities toward the elders followed by a discussion of the elders' obligations. Both men will then come forward to be installed and speak to the congregation.

PREACHING THIS MORNING...'Appointing Elders In Every Church', a look at the need and qualifications for elders in the local church as our congregation begins to revisit the appointment process. The church here has tried and failed twice to appoint Scriptural leadership, once since I have been here. We must keep trying until we are in full compliance with God's expectations of local church organization.

NO SENIOR PASTOR?

So-called 'missional' churches are rejecting the senior pastor model of church leadership in favor of multiple pastors. Perhaps it may even occur to them to try the Biblical leadership approach of qualified pastors (elders, overseers), but I suppose they don't want to get carried away.