(By: Eddie Goodwin) Paul David Tripp talks up the “grace that decimates…” here.

Collected Headings
Grace will: decimate what you think of you while it gives you a security of identity you’ve never had, expose your deepest sins of the heart while it covers every failure with the blood of Jesus, make you face how weak you are while it blesses you with power beyond your ability to calculate, and take control out of your hands, while it blesses you with the care of One who’s plan is unshakable and perfect in every way.”

(By David Giarrizzo)

In last week’s post I gave my simple definition of a small group and discussed some of the benefits that small groups offer. This week I want to consider some of the potential pit-falls of small groups. As with any kind of ministry in this world of sin, men have been found to misuse or abuse something like small groups which are intended for our good. Based on my definition of a small group—“an identifiable, regular, and deliberate gathering of people (usually 12 or less?) from within the larger congregation who meet together to study God’s Word, pray, practice their spiritual gifts, and fellowship for the purpose of spiritual growth”—the very first part of the definition points to the very first potential problem with small groups: they’re full of people.

Small(er) Groups of Sinners—It is important for us to remember the doctrine of Total Depravity when we think about assemblies of people, especially when those assemblies involve lot of talking. Proverbs 10:19 aptly describes the idea here: “When words are many, sin is not absent…”. Furthermore, Matthew 12:36 warns, “…men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” Small groups, though they can be wonderful environments of peace, love, and unity, they can also be precarious minefields of pride, selfishness, and anger. We all have our opinions about things; we all have our suggestions and criticisms. But the small group setting is not the place to air our feelings on a wide variety of church issues or publicize our perspectives on specific areas of doctrine. Both small group leaders and members must remember humility and self-control. Judgmentalism, gossip, self-promotion, grumbling, defiance, exaggeration, course joking, divisiveness, and lying are sinful attitudes or behaviors and should have no place in a Christian’s life. May our small groups promote dying to self and living for Christ.

Self-Serving & Inept Leaders—In my last post I considered how one of the benefits of small groups is to allow believers to exercise their spiritual gifts, namely the ability to teach. Conversely, however, one of the dangers of small groups is that a group may be harmed by a poor teacher. Poor leaders come in various forms; but for the sake of this post, I will break it down into two types: the self-serving leader and the inept leader.

1.) The self-serving leader is a person with an agenda. This kind of person has volunteered for the “position” of small group leader/teacher (by no means, a biblical office of the church) because he has something to either gain or ingrain, not because he sincerely cares for the study of God’s Word and the edification of God’s people. This person’s mission may be political in nature: to earn the respect of others; to make a name for himself; to gain friends (or future followers). Or maybe he just has an opinion or belief or perspective that he is aching to share or promote and ingrain in the minds of others. Unfortunately, there have been numerous instances in churches across the country where a teacher has taught so persuasively on a position contrary to the church’s position that he convinced others of his position. Instances like these seldom end well. I have heard of these kinds of self-serving teachers leading their small groups away from the held position of the church and eventually away from the church itself. This is an example of the danger of self-serving teachers. (2 Timothy 6:3-6)

2.) There is another danger of having a leader who is unqualified to teach. While small group lessons are often discussion-heavy, I think that the leader should be a man who is gifted to teach. This doesn’t mean that a small group leader should necessarily be a seminary graduate, but simply someone who has some ability to handle the Word of God and lead a discussion on a specific text with others. According to Mark Mullery, “small group leaders are in place to extend the pastoral ministry of the church by providing a context in which to apply God’s Word so that growth, care, and relationships may occur.” I read this to mean that a small group leader’s role is not to serve self but to serve others through the faithful application of God’s Word for the purpose of sanctification and under the submission and oversight of his elders.

Formal & Informal Extremes—We humans are prone to extremes. Finding a proper, balanced way is often a difficulty we all face. This propensity can be evidenced in some churches’ small groups. Some small groups are so well-planned, neatly structured, and diligently led that they feel more like a business meeting or rehearsed performance than a Bible study. They are just too formal. Other small groups are so relaxed, casual, and spontaneous that they resemble more of a Fourth of July Bar-B-Que or Friday afternoon happy hour than a time of fervent prayer and true fellowship. Either extreme is a divergence from what C.J. Mahaney describes as the purpose of small group ministry: “…to be provoked and challenged by others so we can grow in spiritual maturity, for the glory of God.” Small groups should be places where Christ’s preeminence and our sanctification for God’s glory—not mental exercising or social networking—are primary themes.

Elder Planning & Oversight—All of the above dangers of small groups can boil down to a lack of awareness on the part of the church’s leaders. When the elders of a congregation cease from shepherding the flock, wolves are more likely to creep in the fold and sheep are more likely to get lost or stolen or eaten by wolves. Therefore, with any small group’s style or setup, elder oversight is essential to spiritual safety. However a church decides to do it, oversight must occur. Of course, while the only proven safeguard against Satan’s attacks is the sustaining grace of God at work in our churches, elders still carry the responsibility to look out for the health of the body. This, then, requires concerted effort and time to stay involved in the various ministries of the local church.

As we think about the ins and outs of small groups, it’s important for us to remember that the local church is a family. No family is perfect; they are comprised of people who have unique and peculiar personalities that when interacting with others can result in disagreements and bickering. The cause is remaining sin in the lives of believers; the solution is the Gospel and love of Christ.

May God grant us biblical wisdom and spiritual discernment as we consider our own church small groups and their potential for immense blessing as well as their potential for great harm within the local body. May the grace of God be upon our churches to keep us safe and keep us strong as we seek to further His Kingdom and give God all the glory in all things.

(By David Giarrizzo)

Recently our pastor reminded our congregation about the importance of keeping Christ first in every area of our lives, even our travel plans. He preached from 2 Thessalonians 1:4 where we read Paul’s words to the Christians in Thessalonica: “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” Here we are given a glimpse of the kind of network of churches among which Paul was travelling and communicating. Here we are reminded of a biblical argument for associationalism.  Likewise, we read the following in our 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith:

As each church, and all the members of it, are bound to pray continually for the good and prosperity of all the churches of Christ, in all places, and upon all occasions to further every one within the bounds of their places and callings, in the exercise of their gifts and graces, so the churches, when planted by the providence of God, so as they may enjoy opportunity and advantage for it, ought to hold communion among themselves, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification. (XXVI, 14)

We should seek to stay informed and connected with our brothers and sisters in other churches across the state, across the country, or around the globe. We should communicate with them when possible and pray for them often. Through our Association of churches, this is made possible and we are encouraged to stay connected for Gospel efforts and our edification.

Finally, from the text in 2 Thessalonians 1:4 my dad applied some sound advice for us to ponder and apply: When we know we will be out of town and away from our home churches on a Lord’s Day, we should plan in advance to visit a Reformed Baptist church in the area of where we will be staying. If a sister ARBCA church cannot be found nearby, we should do the research ahead of time to find the best Bible-teaching, Gospel-preaching church. This usually means doing some work: look the church up online; read their statement of faith or core beliefs; call the church office and ask for the pastor; listen to some sermons online. In other words, take the assembling of saints seriously. Or as my dad would say, “When you take a vacation, don’t take a vacation from God.” (Listen to the entire message here. The above mentioned part is approximately 27 minutes in.)

Please check out any of the following links to aid you in revolving your future travels around the Lord and His Day:

ARBCA Church Directory

Johnny Farese’s Directory of Reformed Baptist Churches

9 Marks Church Search

Also, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the Building Tomorrow’s Church conference for Reformed Baptist young adults in Arizona later this summer!

(By: Eddie Goodwin)

I so appreciated John Miller’s post from yesterday that I thought I’d pass on this quote from Martin Bucer’s Concerning the True Care of Souls (trans. Peter Beale, Banner of Truth Trust: Edinburgh, 2009):

“It is through this ministry that all the elect of God, whom the Father has given to him, our Lord Christ, but have not yet been brought into the church, that is his sheep-pen, will one day be brought into the church and his sheep-pen and incorporated into our Lord.  And those who have already been brought into the church and his communion are not only kept there, but also absolved from all their sins and led and encouraged in all that is good, that they might constantly increase in godliness and grow to a perfect man in Christ, so that both in understanding and in life no-one should be lacking.  That is the purpose and goal of the pastoral office in the church, as we will further prove.

Now all this is to be achieved and attained solely through teaching, exhorting, warning, discipling, comforting, pardoning, and reconciling to the Lord and his church: in other words the proclaiming of the whole counsel of God” (p.33)

(By: Nick Kennicott)

The 2010 ARBCA General Assembly got off to an excellent start on Tuesday morning when our brother (and fellow Ardent-Crier) Pastor Chris Powell gave a devotional message from Psalm 103.

Chris’ message was a great blessing to me and a wonderfully challenging reminder that I must be constant about approaching the God of Grace.

Chris began by asking us to consider how we deal with balancing our time when we are spread so thin, particularly as pastors. How do we deal with “blue Mondays” when we are faced with our weaknesses and failures? The wise response is to turn to meditating on God’s Word.

Christ presented Psalm 103 as the Monday Psalm, a reminder from the Scriptures as we see David preaching the gospel to himself. We must find and express our joy in God (v. 1) and give ourselves entirely to God. We must meditate on God’s Word, not as a work in which we strive to be found righteous in, but to be changed by the Word of the Holy and living God. It is vital that in our meditation we are not listening to our hearts, but rather speaking to them – informing our hearts of the truth and reminding ourselves of the great gospel we have inherited in Christ Jesus.

Verses 1-4 of Psalm 103 are a great explanation of what it feels like to be saved – it is the experience of the Christian faith. From this great Psalm, we see that we are secure and can be encouraged by 4 primary things:

1. We are justified (v. 3)
2. We are Sanctified (v. 3b)
3. We will be resurrected (and have, in the New Birth, been resurrected) (v. 4)
4. We are adopted sons and daughters of God (v. 4b).

I am always encouraged by the reminder of my adoption in Christ. Chris helped me tremendously in his devotion to remind me that I can approach God directly as one who is His son, and that Jesus is not ashamed to call me brother. I am a son of the King! Hallelujah!

Thank you, Chris, for such a wonderful encouragement and reminder – I plan to spend much time in Psalm 103 next Monday morning, remembering all along that God will work in my frailty (v. 5). Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

*****

In other news, all 5 contributors to Ardent Cries will be having our first official Ardent Cries meeting this evening – I look forward to the time with my brothers and pray that the Lord will encourage us all through one another. Perhaps through this we can become more clear in our focus on this blog, and find a renewed zeal for posting each day.

(By: John Miller)

Last week I introduced the book The Shepherd Leader by Tim Witmer. This week I want to share with you one thing that struck me from the first chapter, which is the first of four chapters in Part I: Biblical and Historical Foundations. The first chapter is entitled “Not a New Idea: Old Testament Themes.”

Dr. Witmer begins by pointing us again to the reality that the Lord God Himself uses the imagery of a shepherd to describe His relationship with and care for His people. The first place that this occurs in the bible is Genesis 48:15, in which Jacob describes God as “the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day.” Remember the context of this statement is when Jacob is blessing Joseph and his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Thus, it is near the end of Jacob’s life. What an amazing statement for Jacob to make, and what a change in perspective from the way that he thought about God earlier in his life. Jacob, the deceiver, was not someone who trusted in God to be his shepherd and care for him. Instead, Jacob believed that he had to manipulate others in order to receive blessing from God. Jacob had manipulated his brother Esau into selling him his birthright when Esau was famished (cf. Genesis 25:29-34). Jacob later deceived his father Isaac into thinking that he was Esau so that he could receive Isaac’s blessing (cf. Genesis 27). And even more ridiculous and foolhardy is Jacob’s belief that he can actually manipulate the kind of young sheep and goats born to Laban’s flock by putting branches with stripes and spots in front of the water trough where the flocks mated! Certainly it was the Lord who caused the young sheep and goats to be spotted and speckled, and not these branches, but Jacob still trusted in himself and his deceptive schemes to take care of himself instead of the Good Shepherd.

What about you? Do you trust in your own abilities and your own schemes in order to find blessing? Do you think that you need to manipulate the people around you in order to find happiness, joy, or blessing? Or do you realize that every blessing that you have in your life comes from the Good Shepherd? Do you realize that in spite of all your deception and schemes that it is God who is sustaining your life? And if you are in Christ, do you remember daily that He is the One who will take care of you both now and for all eternity? Oh, may the Lord increase our faith in Him, and may we come to own the words that Jacob uttered near the end of his life early in our lives, confessing with David, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”