Month: May 2018

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Denominations

The fact that the church is divided into a multitude of denominations does not bother me.

There is a core of Christian teaching that provides a basic unity across denominations.

There is unity, but there is also diversity. Denominations seek to bear witness to the fuller teaching of Scripture and think through the details of the organization and government of the church.

That diversity is not necessarily bad. What is the alternative? In my view, only two: indifference to doctrinal precision or coerced unity for doctrinal uniformity.

The first option would be to say that doctrinal and organizational precision does not matter, but that would be to give up any united witness to the whole counsel of God.

The second option is to try to enforce unity by demanding that every church or individual agree to all the particulars of doctrine. This seems to me to be a recipe for hypocrisy.

A variety of denominations is the only option left. The church can have different organizations all seeking to do their best to explain the faith in its broader implications. The advantages of this arrangement is freedom of thought and conscience, a measure of unity, and a basis for common ministry.

But what about choosing a denomination or evaluate the denomination we are in? In light of the principles stated above, I believe that there are two wrong approaches we can take to our own denomination or tradition. Continue reading “Denominations”

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Faith for All of Life

There is no question that America is religious. Even those who don’t attend church regularly often have some sort of connection to the church. Our church attendance is much higher than other parts of the Western world.

Yet when you look at large swaths of American culture, one might question whether we are religious at all. You can watch television for hours without any sense that God has anything to do with life at all.

Some of this is based on a secular view of culture. The secularist believes that religion should never touch the public square. Religion should be relegated to the private world of the individual.

We must admit that some of the reason for the rise of secularism is the sectarianism of so many religious people.

Religion can be a blessing, but religion can also be a curse. The pride of man easily turns faith in the absolute into a belief that our own finite, limited view of things is absolute. This can lead to conflict worse than any pride of power.

It is understandable that people are cautious about religion in the public sphere.

For many of us, the problem is not a lack of belief in the applicability of religion to all spheres of life. It’s a lack of effort. It’s a challenge to apply our faith to every sphere of life, and we just don’t want to take it up.

We also may simply not know how to do it. Lack of clarity on what it means to be a Christian artist or economist or husband can easily cause us to give up any attempt.

But the attempt needs to be made. It needs to be made with humility, patience, and wisdom, but it needs to be made.

Why? Because Christ is Lord of all of life. As Dutch theologian and Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper put it, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” Continue reading “Faith for All of Life”

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Responsive Call to Worship Reading from Colossians

In our church, we use a call to worship to emphasize the fact that it is God who seeks worshipers and invites us to fellowship with Him in worship.

Whenever I preach on a text from a book of the Bible, I like to include readings from other parts of the book in our liturgy.

This week’s sermon is taken from the book of Colossians. So, I searched the web for a responsive reading that compiled the main verses and themes from the book like this one from 1 Thessalonians.

I was not able to find one.

So, I put together my own based on the structure of the book that describes for us who Jesus is and what He has done for us and our response. The leader reads a statement about the blessings and benefits we have in Christ. The people respond with our duties from Colossians 3 that we are called to in light of what Jesus has done for us.

Leader: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
People: Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Leader: For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
People: So whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Continue reading “Responsive Call to Worship Reading from Colossians”

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A Few Suggestions for Reading the Old Testament

One of the greatest resources we have for our own personal growth is the Bible. Innumerable people have gone to it again and again for refreshment and guidance in their journey through life.

Still, it is an ancient book, and it contains many things that may be unfamiliar, strange, or difficult. How can we read it in a way that will help us grow?

Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Just get started. Almost everything worth doing is difficult at first. Just make a plan and stick with it. The Bible is a book, but it is made up of 66 books. Pick a book and start reading a chapter or two a day.
  2. Pray. It is God’s book. He wants you to read it. Ask Him to help you before you read.
  3. Ask: what does this teach me about God? Example: in the book of Judges, chapter 10, we read how the Israelites had forsaken God and turned to idols. The result is that God gave them over to their idol-serving enemies. In the story, the people ask God to help them. He refuses. They respond by destroying their idols. It then says, “And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.” This passage teaches how much God cares for us and that even if He allows suffering for a time, it is not something He “bears” easily.

    4. Continue reading “A Few Suggestions for Reading the Old Testament”

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The Influence of a Mother and a Mother’s Mother and . . .

My Great Grandmother Roberta McMillan is the little girl on the bottom left; her parents are Florence Maupin McMillan (middle) and Clyde McMillan (right) with Jairus McMillan, her Grandfather on the left
How much do our mothers influence us? Probably more than we think.

Being a mother is a position of influence in a family, and it is highly significant.

The Apostle Paul had a young apprentice named Timothy. When Paul sent him to the Philippian church, he commended him this way: “I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare” (Phil. 2:21).

Paul taught Timothy and trained him, but Timothy didn’t come out of nowhere. Paul recognized that Timothy was the product of generations: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Tim. 1:5). Sometimes people make a relatively clean break with the past, but in Timothy’s case, he was following the pattern of the generations.

Most of us tend to think of ourselves as our own person following our own ideas and preferences. We give little thought to how we may be following the patterns of the generations. The more I have learned about my family, the more I have realized that many of the patterns of my life are following patterns set by families long gone.

In my case, I am a minister. Now, I have never thought of that choice as coming out of nowhere.

My Father, Sam White, is a minister. Growing up, however, I never, to my knowledge, thought of being a minister. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I thought about going in that direction. I think, though, that because my Dad was a minister, it wasn’t a very big jump for me to think of doing the work of a minister.

This isn’t only due to my Father. My Mother, Muriel, is a deeply spiritual woman who talked to my brother and me regularly about spiritual things.

But it’s not too surprising that my Mother is a spiritual woman. Her Father, my Grandfather, David Livingstone Keith, is a minister as well. My Mother was born in South Africa because her Father was serving there as a minister/missionary.

My Great Grandparents Clarence and Roberta McMillan Keith
But it’s not surprising that David Keith was a missionary in South Africa. He was born in Swaziland in the middle of the Republic of South Africa. His parents, Clarence Keith and Roberta McMillan Keith, had left their homes in southern Indiana and gone there in the 1920s as part of the wave of Methodist missionaries that went to South Africa at the turn of the 19th to 20th century.

In 2014, I went to a family reunion with 100 of the descendants of Clarence and Roberta. I was shocked at how alive faith was throughout the family. But really, this is not surprising since all three of their sons served as ministers and three of their five daughters married ministers!

Until this year, I would have considered this strong faith connection as being due to Clarence, and Clarence was a great man whom I admire deeply. However, I now tend to think of Roberta being the major conduit. Continue reading “The Influence of a Mother and a Mother’s Mother and . . .”

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