When You Pray, for What Do You Pray?

This past Saturday morning I had the great privilege of leading someone in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I was flying so high the rest of the day that nothing could bring me down.

I have had great experiences in my life; my Salvation, my wedding, to Paula, the birth of my children, my Ordination as Minister of Word and Sacrament, my oldest son's wedding, and the birth of my grandchildren just to name a few. I would suggest, no experience comes close to the joy of seeing someone into God's Kingdom. I have been permitted to lead many people into a faith commitment over the years. The Holy Spirit has graciously allowed me to participate in these many rebirths. It is the ultimate human experience.

This week I have been challenged in how I pray and for what I pray. I pray for my family, for my church, for health, for healing, for financial blessings, etc. Sadly, I seldom pray for souls. There are individuals that I pray for and have consistently done so for some time. If, as I have suggested, the greatest human experience is seeing a soul into God's Kingdom then it seems that that would be my primary prayer.

"If you would win souls, you must seek them. The sportsman knows that his game will not come to the window of his house to be shot. The fisherman knows that the fish will not come swimming up to his house. Do they not go abroad and seek their prey? And so must you and I." Charles H. Spurgeon from E-Word Today for February 27, 2010.

My challenge today and the days to come is that my heart would break for lost people. My only interest is that Jesus lead me to the paths of lost sinners. I ask that He give me sensitivity to see their need and the grace and wisdom to answer their questions and most importantly, ask if they would like to enter God's Kingdom.

Will you also make this your prayer?

Why Do We Meet for Corporate Worship?

The mainline church today is often victim to the great sin of needless formality and tradition. We get locked into the seven deadliest words in the church, “We have always done it this way.” Congregations and Corporate worship services so often starve for variety and for true Biblical purpose. We are consumed with meeting our own needs and we fail to be relevant to our culture. When a brave pastor or worship leader does add a new twist they are often crucified for it. “We don’t do that here.”

I remember my very first pastorate. The church sanctuary was beautiful, long, with a center aisle, and huge central pulpit elevated about ten feet above the sanctuary floor. There was space in front of the pulpit for the communion table and then adequate room for all the elders to gather for communion service. No one ever sat in the first eight rows of pews. (We were Presbyterians after all.) I felt as though I was in another room given the distance between me, up in the pulpit, and the first parishioners in row nine.

I came up with a brilliant solution. Early one Sunday morning I entered church and used the Ushers’ Ropes to block off the back eight pews. These were the rows that contained the greatest number of congregants on any given Sunday. I assumed everyone would just move forward eight pews and all would be happy. I would not feel so distant from the people and they would be closer to the front. Later, when visitors did arrive they would find seats handy at the rear, problem solved.

Time for worship arrived and the commotion was deafening. How could anyone worship God seated anywhere other than their own pews? I stood my ground and the ropes remained. They stood their ground and there was virtually no worship that day. Even worse, no one listened to my expertly crafted sermon. Later that afternoon I sheepishly removed the Ushers’ Ropes.

Seems a silly example, I know. Yet we are so petty and picky about our own comforts and peculiar wants and needs that as a group we become very unfriendly and unwelcoming to strangers.

There is an old story about the First Baptist Church in a wonderful city in the south. It was the preeminent church in that town and in the entire region. The church was filled to standing room only every Sunday. The Head Usher, Deacon Brown, ran a tight ship. He and his fellow ushers handled coat hanging and seating  with expert precision. The offering was received every Sunday with the kind of formality reserved for the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

One warm Sunday following the Call to Worship and during the first hymn a young man entered the sanctuary. He was dressed in old clothes, needed a bath, a haircut, and above all else he was barefooted. The contrast with the white shirts, suits, conservative ties, dresses and fur wraps was over-the -top. He then proceeded to march down the center aisle looking for a seat. No one budged an inch. Not finding a pew seat he sat down right in the middle of the aisle cross-legged on the floor.

The hymn ended and all were seated. You could cut the tension with a knife as murmurs wafted over the entire sanctuary. Finally, Deacon Brown, with the erect posture of a Marine on Parade proceeded down the aisle toward the young man. You could hear the chorus of thoughts, “Deacon Brown will handle this disgrace.” When the old Deacon reached the young man he carefully bent low with creaking joints and assumed a position cross-legged right next to him on the floor. Deacon Brown never lost sight of the purpose of the gospel, “to save lost people.” Nor did he lose sight of the purpose of the church, “be a vessel for that message.”

Presbyterians and the Absence of Faith

Fall 2008 I received a survey from the Presbyterian Church (USA) Research Panel. The Presbyterian Panel is a representative sample of 5,000 Presbyterians (members, elders, pastors, and specialized clergy) serve on the Presbyterian Panel for a three-year period and responds to mailed questionnaires four times a year. The Panel provides a way to listen to and collect information about the practices, beliefs, and opinions from both clergy and laity. The initial questionnaire was sent to more than 5,000 Presbyterians in late 2008, with response rates ranging from 59 to 70 percent from the various groups. The stated average margin of error is around 3 to 5 percent, according to the report, but in some cases can go as high as 7 to 10 percent.

The survey was filled with many questions. We were asked to respond on a scale of 1 to 5. From “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” I am a theological conservative and support traditional Christian Orthodoxy and I thought most others did as well. I believe I thought better of my colleagues and fellow Presbyterians than I ought.

The report entitled “Religious and Demographic Profile of Presbyterians” has outlined the findings of the survey I responded to. The survey was sent to Presbyterian Church members, Presbyterian Elders, Presbyterian Church Pastors, and Specialized Clergy. The report defines “specialized clergy” as ministers serving full-time in a school or seminary, as a hospital or military chaplain, as PCUSA middle governing body staff, in an ecumenical agency or any other job or position. The category also includes part-time and temporary ministries.

The results of the survey are frightening. Nearly half of PCUSA pastors (45 percent) and a majority of “specialized clergy” (60 percent) surveyed disagree that “only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved.” Approximately 1 in 5 in both categories answered “neutral” or “not sure,” making the totals that do not “agree” with the statement as 65 percent for pastors and 78 percent for specialized clergy.

More than half of “members” and “elders” surveyed answered similarly. Approximately 1 in 3 members (36 percent) and elders (31 percent) either disagree or strongly disagree that “only followers of Jesus can be saved.” In both categories, approximately 1 in 5 is “neutral” or “not sure.” Those who “strongly agree” or “agree” with the statement are: 39 percent of members; 45 percent of elders; 35 percent of pastors and 22 percent of specialized clergy. If you would like to read more of the report it can be found at http://www.pcusa.org/research/panel/index.htm.

I wonder why people who do not believe, “Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but by Him”, remain in the church? All ordained people in the PC (USA) respond in the affirmative to the following questions when ordained.

1. Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
2. Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?
3. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?
4. Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?
5. Will you be governed by our church’s polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?
6. Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?
7. Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church?
8. Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?
9. (1) (For elder) Will you be a faithful elder, watching over the people, providing for
their worship, nurture, and service? Will you share in government and discipline, serving in governing bodies of the church, and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?
9. (2) (For deacon) Will you be a faithful deacon, teaching charity, urging concern, and
directing the people’s help to the friendless and those in need, and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?
9. (3) (For minister of the Word and Sacrament) Will you be a faithful minister, proclaiming the good news in Word and Sacrament, teaching faith and caring for people? Will you be active in government and discipline, serving in the governing bodies of the church; and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?

Did they not mean it when they answered these questions in the affirmative? If people have changed their minds the honorable thing to do is resign from the PC (USA) and the Church of Jesus Christ. Why remain in a Christian church when one is not a Christian? Why remain in an organization that has Jesus Christ as its Head and believes the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the authoritative Word of God? Why do I say this? Jesus Himself says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9 NIV) “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV) The Bible goes on to speak of the exclusive nature of salvation, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-24 NIV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NIV)

There is small wonder why the PC (USA) is hemorrhaging members year after year. Half the church is populated by people that are not Christians. That kind of witness is useless in a lost and dying world.

It has been some time!

I was surprised when I opened my blog to find how long it has been since I made a post. It is not that I have had nothing to say, it simply is that I talk too much on Facebook. My apologies to those that would occasionally turn to this blog and find it wanting.