7 Things About Joyous Pastors' Wives

Thom Rainer : 7 Things Learned From Joyous Pastors' Wives...

1. They focused on their identity in Christ. They are not first pastors’ wives. Nor do they find their primary identity in their local congregations. They are daughters of God, loved by Christ, and led by His Spirit. They know they are loved and accepted unconditionally by Him.
2. They know they have their husbands’ support and priority. Many of the pastors’ wives who are struggling are intensely lonely. And one of the key reasons for that loneliness is their sense that they are not the priorities of their husbands.
3. They are honest and transparent with their husbands. Because they know they have their husbands’ support, they are open and transparent communicators with them. They do not typically hold feelings inside of themselves.
4. They understand and accept that criticisms and unreasonable expectations are a part of church life and leadership. So when they or their husbands are criticized, or when expectations are unreasonable, they know that is an unfortunate price of church leadership. It does not eliminate the pain; but it does help them to deal with it in a more healthy fashion.
5. They are intentional about making friends outside the church. Most of the pastors’ wives admit they have difficulty making friends of church members. So they intentionally seek other female friends outside the church. This one act was mentioned several times as the key way they have mitigated loneliness.
6. They don’t let others dictate their roles inside or outside the church.They feel the freedom to “be themselves,” and not to be shaped into unreasonable images by church members.
7. They pray regularly for their churches and church members. Prayer is pervasively powerful. And our prayers for others shape our attitudes toward them. Such was the reason many of them were so positive about fellow church members.

Three Views of Sermon Length

Are church members and church leaders saying sermons should be longer or shorter? The answer is “yes.”

1. 41%: Sermons should be shorter, in the 20-30 minute range. These respondents see a cultural barrier related to short attention spans. Any sermon over 30 minutes, they say, does not connect with the typical mind of today, especially in Western culture. We, therefore, must keep the message shorter and pack more information into a relatively brief time period.

 2. 37%: Sermons should be longer, in the 35 to 55 minute range. A solid exposition of    Scripture, this perspective argues, cannot be done in just a few minutes. The sermon is the central part of the worship service, and the time allocated should be significant. We do a disservice to the Word of God when we move toward shorter sermons.

3. 9%: There should be no time constraints on the pastor’s sermons. The pastor should have a sermon length that is only subject to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Anything else lacks sensitivity to God’s work and involvement.

True vs False Grace

Believers over the years have been  faced with a chronic problem called "legalism". In this brief interview, Dr. Michael Brown documents how the pendulum has now swung in the opposite direction as the church is now being assault by men perverting the orthodox view of  biblical grace teaching.

This heretical wind of deception is called "hyper grace" and is leavening the church with flagrant antinomianism. The beauty of grace based sanctification is now mocked with accusations of being works righteousness, legalism, or sin absorption.

Click on the link below and give a listen to Dr. Brown as he articulates the problem and the solution.

dr-michael-brown True and False Grace

rgh

Eight of the Most Significant Struggles

Thom Rainer put together this list of  "Eight of the Most Significant Struggles" ministers face. Rainer makes the point that while most enjoy their calling, they would gladly receive help from church members, a word of encouragement from most anyone, and the knowledge that others are praying for them. I agree whole heartily!

1. Criticism and conflict. I do have a few observations about this number one issue. First, it seems to be growing, and pastors seem to be experiencing greater challenges. Second, most of the issues of conflict are not doctrinal issues. Indeed, most are trivial issues. Finally, very few pastors are equipped and trained to deal with the steady stream of critics and crises.
2. Family problems. Many pastors struggle with expectations by church members of their spouses or children. Others struggle with finding time for their families. Many pastors’ families struggle with the “glass house” syndrome.
3. Stress. The pastor’s life is one of emotional highs and lows. It includes critics and adoring fans. Expectations from church members can be unreasonable. The very nature of a pastor’s call into ministry can lend itself to seemingly unending stress.
4. Depression. Every time I write about this topic, I hear from countless pastors and staff. Depression is pervasive in pastoral ministry. And it is often the “secret” problem.
5. Burnout. Local church ministry can attract two broad types of persons: the lazy and the workaholic. Accountability is often low, and it can be easy to get away with little work, or to work 70 plus hours a week. I see more of the latter than the former.
6. Sexual problems. These problems are most often in one of two categories: pornography or marital unfaithfulness.
7. Financial problems. Most of the world hears about the few pastors who make huge salaries. The reality is that the majority of pastors struggle financially.
8. Time management. Expectations of pastors can be unrealistic. Pastors are often expected to attend multiple meetings, to visit countless congregants, to prepare sermons with excellence, to provide ongoing strategic leadership, to conduct weddings and funerals, and to be involved in the community. Many pastors don’t know how or when to say “no.” And many are not good at delegating, or they really don’t have anyone who can handle some of their responsibilities.

How Much Time Do You Invest In Sermon Prep?

Tim Challies says there are minimalists and maximalists, and everything in between.


Tim Keller – 14-16 hours.

John Piper – All day Friday, half day Saturday.

.

Matt Chandler – All day Tuesday, all day Thursday.

Kent Hughes – 20 hours.

John MacArthur – 32 hours.

Mark Dever – 30 to 35 hours.

Mark Driscoll – 1 to 2 hours.

Driscoll explains:

By God’s grace my memory is very unusual. I can still remember a section of a book I read 20 years ago while preaching and roll with it. I’ve also never sat down to memorize a Bible verse. Yet, many just stick, and I can pull them up from memory as I go. Lastly, I’m a verbal processor. I think out loud, which is what preaching is for me. A degree in speech and over 10,000 hours of preaching experience also helps. And most importantly and thankfully, the Holy Spirit always helps.

When I get up to preach, the jokes, illustrations, cross-references, and closing happen extemporaneously.

http://www.pastoralized.com/2013/09/26/the-number-of-hours-keller-piper-driscoll-and-5-others-spend-on-sermon-prep/

Survey Says? Nine things That Have Replaced Tradtional Outreach In Churches

1. Nothing. The church leaders who gave me this response knew that it was not a good answer. They simply have not found an effective means to reach their community.
2. Social and caring ministries. Usually these ministries are effective in helping people, but I have heard few success stories of getting those same people assimilated in the church. Often the socioeconomic barriers are too large, despite the church’s best efforts.
3. Big event. The church puts many of its resources toward a major production at Easter, Christmas, or Fourth of July, to name a few. Usually a good number of community residents do attend these events. Usually most of them do not return to the church.
4. New venues or campuses. The multi-campus and the multi-venue models are becoming increasingly popular. Because they are able to attract new segments of the community, this approach does seem to be more effective than most.
5. Community events. This approach is similar to the big event, except it is held in the community instead of the church facilities. I recently saw, for example, a church put significant resources into an event called “Carnival in the Park.” Like the big event in the church, I am not hearing of significant outreach success with this approach.
6. Natural relationship building. A number of leaders indicated problems with structural outreach approaches. They believed that the members should be naturally developing relationship with non-believers. I believe that too; I’m just not seeing it too often.
7. Intentional invitations. Our research shows that many unchurched persons will have a high level of receptivity to an invitation to church. Many churches encourage this approach to outreach, but I would like to see how some type of accountability could be created so that the approach can be sustained.
8. New groups. I am perplexed. Churches that are intentionally and aggressively starting new groups are having significant outreach success. They are seeing more unchurched people accept invitations to join the new groups. But relatively few churches are intentional and aggressive about starting new groups. Why?
9. Sticking with the traditional outreach. A few churches report that their traditional approach to visits in the homes works well in their communities. Great! If God’s using it, stay with it.

http://thomrainer.com/2013/07/13/nine-things-that-have-replaced-traditional-outreach-in-churches/?

More Than 4 in 10 LGBT Adults Identify As Christians

 How can we square these stats with the biblical truth of scripture that declares, "Sinner's shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous?" [Psalm 1:5]


Here's what else a substantial survey by the Pew Research Center discovered about LGBT adults and religion:

*Most LGBT adults with a religious affiliation are Christians (53% Protestant, 26% Catholic).

*Of LGBT adults with religious affiliations, 1 in 3 believe there is a conflict between their  religious beliefs and their sexual orientation (vs. only 18 percent of the unaffiliated).

*A majority of lesbians (56%) consider religion either very important or somewhat important in their life. This compares with 40 percent of bisexual adults and 39 percent of gay men."

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2013/06/pew-research-lgbt-adults-and-christianity.html?utm_

Three Types Of Churches

The Easter church “holds the belief that new & resurrected life in Christ looks a certain way and lives by certain standards.” It may be a conservative congregation that has strict doctrinal or behavioral standards or a progressive church that implicitly forces conformity to particular social justice perspectives.

The Good Friday church functions as a hospital for the wounded. They “make room for our woundedness … they also allow us to remain there.” She notes that they often focus their ministry on a particular demographic or specialize in responding to particular needs and devote themselves to tending the injuries of those broken by life.

The Pentecost church “witnesses to our worst wounds and our best actualizations, and it echoes the Spirit’s unending call to fuller life in Christ.” They regularly challenge people to refuse to settle for the outward righteousness that may pervade the Easter church or the wallowing in woundedness that may characterize those in the Good Friday congregation.

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/rachel-hackenberg-on-three-types-of-churches

When To Leave A Church?

J. Lee Drady says,"If you see any of these seven warning signs in your church, my advice is to run as fast as you can."

1. No accountability. There is safety in the multitude of counselors (see Prov. 11:14). There is much less safety—perhaps even danger—when a leader does not bother to seek counsel from a diverse group of his peers, as well as from gray-haired men and women who have the wisdom that comes with experience. If a pastor or church leader isn't open to correction or financial oversight, he is headed for a train wreck. If you stay in that church, you may crash with him.

2. Spiritual elitism. Healthy leaders love the entire body of Christ. Beware of any church that claims “exclusive” revelation or suggests they are superior to other Christians. This is how cults start. There is a large charismatic church in Hungary that began in revival, but the founder began teaching that their church was the only place people could truly be saved. If a pastor ever makes such claims it is time to shake the dust off your feet and move on.

3. Entrenched immorality. The apostle Paul commanded leaders to enforce biblical discipline. This must be handled with gentleness (see Gal. 6:1) but nevertheless with firm resolve, because the enemy wants to infiltrate the church with moral compromise. If a pastor has been involved in adultery or perversion and continues preaching, meanwhile refusing discipline, his unrepentant spirit will infect the entire congregation—and you can expect to see immorality spread throughout the church. Don’t be defiled.

4. An authoritarian spirit. Some leaders develop a dictatorial style and try to control people through manipulation, threats and legalistic demands. I’m amazed at how much spiritual abuse is tolerated in churches today. No pastor is perfect, and we are called to be patient with each other’s faults. But if a church leader is verbally abusive toward his staff or members of his congregation, he is in direct violation of Scripture. The Apostle Paul taught that church leaders should not be "violent" or "quarrelsome" but "self-controlled" and "gentle" (see 1 Tim. 3:2-3). It’s best to find another pastor if yours cannot control his anger.

5. Unbridled greed. Paul made it clear that a leader has no business being in the ministry if he isn’t “free from the love of money” (1 Tim. 3:3, NASB). Yet we have turned that requirement on its head today. We have given greedy charlatans access to the airwaves and allowed them to corrupt the church with a money-focused message. Your pastor does not have to live in poverty, but if he insists on living in luxury—and manipulates people during offering time to squeeze more money out of your wallet to pay for his toys—you are supporting his habit. You should leave.

6. False doctrines and manifestations. A pastor should be open to the Holy Spirit’s spontaneous work, but he or she should also protect the flock from deception. In many segments of the charismatic movement today, bizarre New Age influences have been wholeheartedly embraced—and Christians seem to have thrown away the gift of discernment. If your church is focusing on a particular prophet’s revelations, or is going off on weird tangents—at the expense of solid doctrine—then you should go elsewhere fast.

7. A culture of pride. Some church leaders are so insecure that they manufacture a sense of importance around them in order to function. They surround themselves with security guards, “armor bearers,” handlers and assistants—and never actually build genuine relationships with their church members. They think church is all about their stage performance, so they rely on volume, theatrics, clothes and a grand entrance to impress the crowd rather than just being normal, touchable, accessible servants. If your pastor is building a personality cult rather than a dwelling place for God, run for your life!

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project (themordecaiproject.org). His latest book is Fearless Daughters of the Bible. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady.

- See more at: http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/16895-when-is-it-time-to-leave-a-church#sthash.kBHFbGjf.dpuf

Post Preaching Agony

The overwhelming pains of discouragement and soulish agony often befall those who minister the word. What can be referred to as spiritual "postpartum depression" is the experience  associated with conception of the  life of God's word in the soul of man and then agonizingly being birthed as a message into the world of a local congregation.

I applaud  J. Lee Grady for being so candid concerning his own experience that follows his ministry of the word. Especially when it has the strength of prophetic tone in the proclamation.

This extract is a great read.

rgh

"What we need in today’s pulpits is less glitz and polish and more gut-level honesty"

"Ever since God called me to preach, I’ve battled with deep insecurity about my delivery style. I can’t electrify a crowd like T.D. Jakes, pack an arena like Reinhard Bonnke or get audiences to turn sermons into trending topics on Twitter like Craig Groeschel or Steven Furtick. Those guys hit home runs when they preach. I get base hits—or strikes.

For years I felt like the reluctant Moses, who complained to God by saying, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent” (Ex. 4:10). For years the Lord kept pushing me out of my comfort zone, urging me to surrender my fears so that I would take the microphone willingly. Once He told me: “I didn’t call you to be T.D. Jakes. I called you to be you.”

On many occasions after speaking in a church or conference, I would sulk. I battled constant discouragement and wondered if my words had hit the mark. Did I preach OK? Did the message sink in? Finally I asked an older pastor if he had ever struggled with disappointment in his pulpit performance. He smiled and told me: “Son, I feel that way every Monday of my life.”

I’m learning an uncomfortable secret about preaching: Those who dare to allow God to speak through them will always squirm in holy agony. Preaching the gospel is both a glorious and a horrifying responsibility. When we speak under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and impart the very truths of Christ, we get so dangerously close to Him that our pride is challenged."

http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/16716-the-secret-of-becoming-a-prophetic-preacher

Hyper Calvinism

Contemporary critics of Calvinism often attack the doctrines of grace by erroneously identifying them with “hyper-Calvinism.” Phil Johnson gets it right and by doing so, demonstartes that hyper-calvinisn should never be confused with Calvinism and to do so is  intellectually dis-honest.

rgh


Phil Johnson has a helpful primer on the subject, offering a fivefold definition:

... varieties of hyper-Calvinism, listed here in a declining order, from the worst kind to a less extreme variety (which some might prefer to class as “ultra-high Calvinism”):
A hyper-Calvinist is someone who either:

1. Denies that the gospel call applies to all who hear,
2. OR Denies that faith is the duty of every sinner,
3. OR Denies that the gospel makes any “offer” of Christ, salvation, or mercy to the non-elect (or denies that the offer of divine mercy is free and universal),
4. OR Denies that there is such a thing as “common grace,”
5. OR Denies that God has any sort of love for the non-elect.

All five varieties of hyper-Calvinism undermine evangelism or twist the gospel message.

You can read the whole thing

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/02/08/hyper-calvinists-are-not-the-same-as-hyper-calvinists/

2013 Gathering In Dallas,Texas

Greetings Brothers

Planning is underway for our "Reformata Family of Ministers and Churches" 
Gathering this year so I need your prompt action please. Jacob and Jon Paul
have requested that their new church plant,"Covenant Community" to host the
event in Dallas, Texas. Therefore, we have tentatively scheduled May 2nd-5th.

Covenant community is willing to graciously assist with housing, meals and
Airport transfers. This makes Dallas a very conducive location and the following
even more so:

>Frank, Jacob and Jon Paul are already in the region.

>Dr. Seif has shared willingness to join us and he lives in DeSoto..

>We plan to invite continuing Friends from Redeemed and make it a reunion of sorts.

>The event will be announced to invite other guests and interested ministers from DFW.

>Covenant Community congregants will attend the gathering.

These points make for a well attended-celebratory-and relational  RFM Gathering 
with added potential for future growth.

This means the rest of us need only purchase airfare for the event and advertised prices are currently excellent. Spirit Airlines is offering  $167.80 round trip from Atlanta and American Airlines in a modest $216.00 round trip as well.

Please check your locational listings and promptly procure your airline ticket. 

Kind reminder that you are encouraged to bring your wife and invite other ministers who may be interested in RFMC.

For The Kings Honor!

Richard G. Hanner

RFMC

Sr Presbyter

John Piper Shares "Things I Have Learned"


1. The right road always leads to the right place; therefore, get on the right road and go as far as you can on it.

2. There is only one thing to do about anything; that is the right thing. Do right.

3. Happiness is not found by looking for it. You stumble over happiness on the road to duty.

4. The door to success swings on the hinges of opposition.

5. God in the right place in my life fixes every other relationship of life (Matthew 6:33).

6. It is never right to get the right thing in the wrong way — like good grades, wealth, power, position. Don't sacrifice your principles.

7. It is a sin to do less than your best. It is wrong to do [merely] well.

8. It is wrong to be yoked to one who refuses the yoke of Christ. 
  
9. The part of your character that is deficient is the part that needs attention.

10. Don't quit. Finish the job. God can't use a quitter.

11. Anything you do that hinders your progress for God is wrong.

12. Beware of any society in which you feel compelled to put a bushel over your testimony.

13. It isn't enough to be good. Be good for something. The essence of Christianity is not a passionless purity.

14. Positive living produces negative effect[s].

15. Learn to be sweetly firm.

  

 With abiding and deep thankfulness for my father's wisdom,
Pastor John

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.

Please Don't Get Stupid!

From Charisma Magazine-"10 more stupid things ministers should never do".

1. Abuse the sheep.

2. Water down the gospel.

3. Refuse to release people into ministry.

4. Focus on gimmicks and programs rather than people.

5. Ignore evangelism.

6. Refuse to network with other leaders.

7. Failure to make prayer a priority.

8. Overemphasizing spiritual warfare teaching.

9. Quenching the Holy Spirit.

10. Burning out.

http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/the-plumb-line/16052-10-more-stupid-things-ministers-should-never-do

Leading A Ministry Team Of Friends

Here is a great article posted by Confluence,a Newfrontiers blog particularly for those of a reformed and charismatic perspective with a commitment to global mission.

rgh



"God is the God of unity in three persons. Within the Godhead is a flow of love and unity with and an absence of competition and jealousy. From among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit comes action to extend this fellowship of love to all creation.

Reflecting the Trinity, team-led churches are participatory and relational. Teams are comprised of people who are respected and gifted for service. Working together, they collectively pool their gifts for a single purpose. They are not a collection of individuals but a group working together collectively.

The Team Leader

The team leader has a key role in bringing the team together relationally as participators in the vision and mission. The team leader is not the “big banana” over all the “lesser bananas.” Indeed, the team leader’s task is not to shape the other team members into his own image but to help facilitate relationship, love and commitment among the team. He takes responsibility to ensure the team members build relationships with one another and not just with him. Some ways to facilitate this include retreats, lunches, team-building exercises, vision “jam sessions”, as well as praying and playing together. Relationships within the team are built on trust, which requires time together.

A principal goal to create a participatory team means the team leader takes responsibility to initiate a team process that results in giving away responsibility. The successful team leader has an attitude that they do not need to make all the key decisions nor assign all the key jobs. The team member knows that they don’t know all the answers and that each one needs the other members of the team. The team leader will draw out team member's feelings and frustration. There needs be a vulnerability and honesty. Building this kind of team requires energy, nurturing, maintaining relationships and a significant investment of time. As with any valuable endeavor, true friendship is worth the effort as it reflects the loving God we serve."

http://www.confluenceblog.com/building-team-on-friendship?utm

Four Rules For Minister's

Phillip Brooks—one of the great American preachers of the 19th century—offered this counsel in his Bohlen Lectures on Preaching delivered before the Divinity School of Yale College in January/February 1877:

First, count and rejoice to count yourself the servant of the people to whom you minister. Not in any worn-out figure but in very truth, call yourself and be their servant.

Second, never allow yourself to feel equal to your work. If you ever find that spirit growing on you, be afraid, and instantly attack your hardest piece of work, try to convert your toughest infidel, try to preach on your most exacting theme, to show your self how unequal to it all you are.

Third, be profoundly honest. Never dare to say in the pulpit or in private, through ardent excitement or conformity to what you know you are expected to say, one word which at the moment when you say it, you do not believe. It would cut down the range of what you say, perhaps, but it would endow every word that was left with the force of ten.

And last of all, be vital, be alive, not dead. Do everything that can keep your vitality at its fullest. Even the physical vitality do not dare to disregard. One of the most striking preachers of our country seems to me to have a large part of his power simply in his physique, in the impression of vitality, in the magnetism almost like a material thing, that passes between him and the people who sit before him.

Pray for and work for fulness of life above everything; full red blood in the body; full honesty and truth in the mind; and the fulness of a grateful love for the Saviour in your heart. Then, however men set their mark of failure or success upon your ministry, you cannot fail, you must succeed.

Annual Gathering of Reformata Ministers

                   The Majesty and Mystery of the Trinity
                       
                            Keynote Speaker -   Theologian-Pastor Jack Carter
                                                 
                                               Rehrersburg, Pennsylvania
                                                    
                                                       August 9th-12th
                    
                                                            Thursday
                                             3:00pm Afternoon arrivals
                                             6:30pm Dinner and Fellowship


                                                              Friday
                                9:00-9:50am.......................... ...Pastor Jim Crabb
                               10:00-10:50............................ .....Richard Hanner
                               11:00-12:00............................*Pastor Jack Carter


                               2:00-3:00pm...............................Ladies Gathering


                              7:00-8:30pm...........................*Pastor Jack Carter


                                                            Saturday
                               9:00-9:50am...........................................Joe Sacco
                               10:00-10:50...................................Richard Hanner
                               11:00-12:00..............................*Pastor Jack Carter


                               6:30-8:30pm............................*Pastor Jack Carter


                                          [By confirmed Invitation Only]

How We Became A Nation Of Heretics

I recommend that we all consider reading Ross Douthat’s new book, "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics."

Douthat isn't a "Doctrine Cop", a "Heresy Hunter" or one of todays so called "Discernment Ministries".

As the youngest-ever op-ed columnist for the New York Times, Ross Douthat has emerged as one of the most provocative and influential voices of his generation. In Bad Religion he offers a masterful and hard-hitting account of how American Christianity has gone off the rails—and why it threatens to take American society with it.

Justin Taylor has provided great reviews by Collin Hansen and Tim Keller,  as well as a video of Douthat speaking on the actual content of his new book. 

rgh

...at TGC Collin Hansen has provided a review of the book....the conclusion of Collin’s review:

"Whether Americans realize it or not, the country needs an orthodox, prophetic church. But the church today, bloated by a smorgasbord of heresy, is not fit to fulfill this calling...

 


– Timothy Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City
“Bad Religion is superb: sharply critical of the amazing variety of American religious pathologies, but fair; blunt in diagnosis, but just; telling a dark tale, but telling it hopefully. For those trying to understand the last half-century or more of American religion, and to strive for a better future, it is an indispensable book.”


http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2012/04/13/keller-and-hansen-on-douthats-bad-religion-how-we-became-a-nation-of-heretics/?

Ross Douthat Bio http://www.leighbureau.com/speaker.asp?id=475

John Piper Excommunicates His 19 Year Old Son

In First Timothy 5:21, The Apostle Paul charged the young minister with implementing biblical imperatives without showing partiality or favoritism. In other words, walk it out with integrity.

The Apostles principle of "scriptura suprema" reveals that every  relationship must be subordinate to the Supremacy of Christ and his law-word. This necessarily involves the practice of redemptive rescue through corrective discipline with family members.

John Piper modeled just such character based submission to Christ Lordship by initiating the redemptive process with his 19 year old  son.

What integrity!  What honor!  What nobility!  What virtue!  What courage! Not only that, but notice the honor and respect his son demonstrates to his dad for having biblical integrity.

”I went to the elders and I said to them, ‘Here’s the situation. I think my son needs to be pursued by the elders as far as you can, and then he needs to be excommunicated if he doesn’t respond.’ He was 19 years old….we did follow through with the discipline. And God was merciful.”

Christianity Today Magazine recently interviewed Piper and asked him about the excommunication of his 19 year old son and what the reconciliation process looked like:

".....The night after that excommunication, I called him at 10:00 and said, "Abraham, you knew what was coming."

He said, "That's what I expected you to do. That has integrity. I respect you for doing it." From then on, for the next four years, he was walking away from the Lord, trying to make a name for himself in disco bars as a guitarist and singer, and just doing anything but destroying himself. We were praying like crazy that he wouldn't get somebody pregnant, or marry the wrong person, or whatever. He came back to the Lord four years later and the church had a beautiful, beautiful restoration service. He wept his eyes out in front of the church and was restored. This is church discipline at its best. He wrote an article about it for Decision magazine....."

May the Exalted Christ grant that each of us have the same compassionate courage to walk out the wisdom of God and resist the vain philosophy of fallen man.

rgh



 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/marchweb-only/john-piper-racism-reconciliation.html?start=3

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/RecentlyAdded/3903

The Value Of Masuline Ministry

This is an extract from John Piper sharing on "The Frank and Masculine J.C.Ryle"

In dealing with the life and ministry of John Charles Ryle, my hope is to clarify and commend what I mean by the value of a masculine ministry. But before we turn to “the frank and manly Mr. Ryle,”1 let me make some clarifying comments from the Bible.

God has revealed himself to us in the Bible pervasively as King, not Queen, and as Father, not Mother. The second person of the Trinity is revealed as the eternal Son. The Father and the Son created man and woman in his image, and gave them together the name of the man, Adam (Genesis 5:2). God appoints all the priests in Israel to be men. The Son of God comes into the world as a man, not a woman. He chooses twelve men to be his apostles. The apostles tell the churches that all the overseers—the pastor/elders who teach and have authority (1 Timothy 2:12)—should be men; and that in the home, the head who bears special responsibility to lead, protect, and provide should be the husband (Ephesians 5:22–33).

Masculine Christianity

From all of this, I conclude that God has given Christianity a masculine feel. And, being a God of love, he has done it for the maximum flourishing of men and women. He did not create women to languish, or be frustrated, or in any way to suffer or fall short of full and lasting joy, in a masculine Christianity. She is a fellow heir of the grace of life (1 Peter 3:7). From which I infer that the fullest flourishing of women and men takes place in churches and families where Christianity has this God-ordained, masculine feel. For the sake of the glory of women, and for the sake of the security and joy of children, God has made Christianity to have a masculine feel. He has ordained for the church a masculine ministry.

And, of course, this is liable to serious misunderstanding and serious abuse, because there are views of masculinity that would make such a vision repulsive. So here is more precisely what I mean. And words are always inadequate when describing beauty. Beauty always thrives best when she is perceived by God-given instincts rather than by rational definitions. But we must try. What I mean by “masculine Christianity,” or “masculine ministry,” or “Christianity with a masculine feel,” is this:

Theology and church and mission are marked by overarching godly male leadership in the spirit of Christ, with an ethos of tender-hearted strength, and contrite courage, and risk-taking decisiveness, and readiness to sacrifice for the sake of leading, protecting, and providing for the community—all of which is possible only through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s the feel of a great, majestic God, who by his redeeming work in Jesus Christ, inclines men to take humble, Christ-exalting initiative, and inclines women to come alongside the men with joyful support, intelligent helpfulness, and fruitful partnership in the work.

There are, I believe, dozens of sweet and precious benefits that come to a church and family that has this kind of masculine feel. Some of those will emerge as we consider “‘The Frank and Manly Mr. Ryle’: The Value of a Masculine Ministry.”

Click in order to watch the video of Piper sharing his Masculine profile of Ryle: John Piper Profile J.C.Ryle