Category: Navigating God’s Crazy and Wonderful Invention, the Church

What is the church like, and how can we make it all that God wants it to be?

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Seven Practices for Effective Church Ministry

[Editor’s note: this is a shortened version of a longer version that I will publish next week]

Moses knew long days. He sat in the desert, hearing case after case, explaining God’s word to Israel. It looked holy and necessary. But Jethro, his father-in-law, wasn’t impressed: “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out” (Ex. 18:17–18). Moses listened, delegated, and the ministry multiplied.

The point is simple: God gives His people not only His Spirit and Word but also wisdom to order their life together. Common grace, observation, and practical strategy are gifts. Planning is not unspiritual—it is one way we love well, avoid burnout, and keep the gospel central.

Stanley, Joiner, and Riggs’s Seven Practices of Effective Ministry distills this wisdom. These principles echo Scripture and experience. They remind us that effectiveness requires more than hard work. It requires focus. Among the seven, three stand out as essential for churches that want to see lasting fruit: clarifying the win, thinking steps not programs, and replacing yourself.

Clarify the Win
When Paul said, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22), he showed clarity. Preserving one culture was not the goal; salvation was. That was the win.

Too often, churches confuse the “ketchup” with the mission. Years ago, our fellowship meal was moved to Sunday morning. Everyone stayed. Visitors connected. It was a clear win. Yet the leader in charge worried only about a missing condiment. The food wasn’t the win—the fellowship was.

Every ministry needs the same clarity. What does success look like for your Sunday School class, your youth ministry, your outreach event? If you don’t define the win, people will chase details that don’t matter. When you do, it aligns energy, reduces frustration, and keeps the mission in front of everyone.

Clarify the win—or people will invent their own. Continue reading “Seven Practices for Effective Church Ministry”

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How to Find Real Community at Church

Church can be disappointing. It can also hurt us. You can find deep friendships in the church—but sometimes they elude you. So how can you find real community at church?

The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed that rich and rewarding community was possible in the church. He experienced it. He also saw it go wrong. He offered powerful wisdom in his book Life Together—wisdom that helps us discover real community and avoid the traps that keep us from it.

It’s a Gift
Bonhoeffer wrote Life Together based on his time leading an underground seminary training pastors from 1937–1938. Eventually, the Nazi government shut it down. He learned through suffering that Christian community is not something to assume or demand. There might have been no church. As he put it, “[i]t is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians” (17).

He came to see the church as pure gift: “It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren” (20).

It’s About Healing
Every believer sins. Every believer must pray, “Forgive us our debts . . .”

But sin thrives in the dark. Bonhoeffer writes, “Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person” (112). Bring it to the light! “He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone” (110). But your brother “breaks the circle of self-deception” (116). Continue reading “How to Find Real Community at Church”

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5 Guidelines for Engaging in Controversy in the Church

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). Yet peacemaking does not always produce peace. As the Apostle Paul put it, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18). Both Jesus and Paul knew by experience: peace is not always possible.

Controversy is inevitable. In a fallen world—even among the redeemed—disagreements will arise. Some will be public. Some will be painful. All will be difficult.

What makes controversy dangerous is not just its presence but its power.

First, controversy often spirals. As Proverbs 17:14 warns, “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.” We’ve all seen small disagreements explode into chaos. Just as a single assassination ignited the horrors of World War I, so a careless word or action can trigger a prolonged and destructive conflict.

Second, controversy consumes. Once inside it, the temptation is to chase resolution endlessly. We keep thinking the next email, argument, or revelation will end it. But it rarely does. It drags on and on. Paul warns of those with “an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions” (1 Tim. 6:4). I’ve lived that. It took over more and more of my time, my energy, and my soul (see my article explaining this here).

So, how do we engage necessary controversy without being devoured by it? Here are five ways.

1. Don’t Turn Mountains into Molehills—or Molehills into Mountains
Francis Turretin, a master of theological controversy, wisely noted: “All truths are not of the same weight.” Some truths are essential to salvation and godliness. Others are important but not fundamental. Some guard church order. Others are matters of prudence and preference. Wisdom demands that we discern the difference (Sean Lucas called it “theological triage.” Read his post here).

John Holmes Agnew saw this clearly. He lamented how disagreements are often “magnified into mountains that separate us from each other,” while the weightier matters we agree upon “are almost buried in oblivion,” unable to unify us in “the sweetest harmony of love” (“Motives and Means to Peace in the Churches”). He was right. We must guard against exaggeration and distortion. Continue reading “5 Guidelines for Engaging in Controversy in the Church”

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How I Ended up on Stated Clerk Bryan Chapell’s List

It’s been a while since my name made waves, but yesterday it resurfaced in the Reformed Twitter world. The reason? I was named a “scandalizer” on a list held up by the Stated Clerk of our denomination. The warning, in context, was against becoming someone who constantly focuses on the errors of others. It’s a good and timely warning. I’ve seen firsthand how that path can lead to a dark place. Devotion to controversy has a way of hollowing people out. I’ve watched it happen—repeatedly.

So, how did I end up on that list?

I entered the Reformed world full of questions. Reading broadly only gave me more. Early on, I was drawn toward what’s known as the “Federal Vision.” It had a certain pull—especially its high view of the sacraments. That approach seemed to resonate with some New Testament language and offered answers to issues like assurance, the role of works, and the centrality of the church.

But over time, I began to see the problems. Taken too far, those views risked overemphasizing the external at the expense of spiritual communion. Charles Hodge’s Discussions in Church Polity helped clarify this for me. The dangers, I concluded, outweighed the benefits. I turned away.

A few years into pastoral ministry, those very debates hit our presbytery. The conflict was intense. Eventually, cases reached the highest court of our church. As the dust settled, I realized this wasn’t just a local problem—it was bigger than I had thought. And I believed some of our denomination’s most visible leaders—Bryan Chapell, Roy Taylor, and Tim Keller—weren’t doing enough to confront it.

So I fought. Hard. I used every means available to me, chief among them my blog: weswhite.net, also known as Johannes Weslianus. I modeled it loosely on Breitbart—exposing, analyzing, naming names.

By 2012, I walked away from it all. I turned my focus back to the local church. Why? Because while I had worked to expose falsehood, I hadn’t focused enough on truth. And the truth is this: the Gospel offers salvation to all and creates spiritual communion among those who believe it. That realization changed how I saw others—inside and outside the church. It made me want to become better at communicating how this faith draws us into fellowship with God and one another. Ironically, I found myself resonating with Bryan Chapell’s own vision for the PCA. I laid out my strong affirmation of his vision here.

I shut down the blog. I stepped away from church politics. Part of me felt the work I had been called to do was finished. It was time to hand it off to others.

My theological views didn’t change, but my posture did. I came to see that my approach had often been wrong. I had maligned good men—Chapell, Taylor, Keller—not because of theological disagreement, but because of how I chose to wage my battles. So, I apologized, publicly and privately, where I could.

I also began working toward reconciliation. One former adversary and I reconnected. We talked, listened, forgave—and became friends. You can read about it here.

That change was a gift. I don’t regret stopping. I don’t regret contending for important issues. I do regret the way I sometimes did it—especially the ways I hurt people, including those who largely agreed with me but chose a different, and perhaps wiser, path. I regret my impatience. I regret not building more around a positive vision of the Christian life—one grounded in love for the Triune God and service to others.

Being on that list doesn’t bother me. At one time, I was exactly the kind of person it warns about. But I’m grateful those days are behind me. I still care deeply about truth, but controversy no longer tops the list.

Today, I serve as assistant pastor in Dr. Chapell’s former church. I’ve seen the fruit of his ministry firsthand. I’m thankful for his work here and in the denomination. I wish him all the best—and I genuinely hope his vision becomes more and more the vision of the PCA.

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An Essential Summary of Our Book of Church Order (Presbyterian Church in America)

Our denomination has a book that governs the operation of our church on all levels. Personally, I think it is probably too long and complicated, even though I agree with the principles in it. I think we would be better served to simply have something like the following. This is a summary of our Book of Church Order that I use to give a simple explanation of what I believe are all the key points of the book.

The System of Government of the Church

Church Government:

  1. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. He defines the government, worship, doctrine, and ethics of the Church.
  2. The church of Jesus Christ consists of all true believers everywhere.
  3. All who believe are called to be members of local churches.
  4. The local church is a community of professing believers and their children who gather together under the leadership of ministers and elders in order to proclaim the gospel to the world, mutually encourage and build one another up, and worship God together.
  5. The official leadership of the church consists in the elders and deacons of the church.
  6. Some elders are called to devote themselves to the teaching ministry of the church and take a leading role among the elders and are generally called ministers.
  7. The deacons oversee the physical operations of the church and receive and distribute gifts to the poor.
  8. Churches should seek official relations with each other for mutual accountability and ministry. In our system of government, the regional community of churches is called a presbytery, and the national (or continental) community is called the General Assembly.
  9. These elders gather together in order to govern the local church or churches in common. These gatherings are called the Session (local), the Presbytery (regional), and General Assembly (national).
  10. No one can simply become an officer of the church by their own choosing but must be lawfully ordained.
  11. The ordination of all officers consists in an election by the congregation or other calling body, training and examination by other officers, and an installation or solemn setting aside of the individual to that office.
  12. The relationship between an officer and a congregation can be dissolved by a vote of the congregation and confirmation of the ordaining body.
  13. The congregation does not govern but should approve all major financial decisions and can be called upon for advice or vote on other matters. The congregation must elect all officers governing it.

Church Discipline:

  1. The purpose of discipline is to glorify Christ, build up the congregation, and help the subject of discipline.
  2. The governing body with jurisdiction over a member or minister can and should look into any matter that could become a scandal to the church.
  3. Individuals may seek to resolve issues of concern through church courts, but they must first seek to win their brother.
  4. When a matter cannot be resolved informally, the governing body should enter into a process of careful inquiry into a matter (or trial).
  5. If a governing body enters into process and finds a person guilty, then they may impose a censure.
  6. A censure is either a rebuke, suspension from the Lord’s Supper, suspension from office, or excommunication.
  7. If someone comes and confesses, the governing body may impose a censure, but it must be clear that a person actually intends to confess for this end.
  8. If someone tries to simply remove himself from the roll of the church, then the governing body should make clear the consequences of not being part of the visible church and seek to dissuade them.
  9. If someone disagrees with the action of any governing body over them, then that person may make seek to convince that body that it was wrong through a complaint.
  10. If a complaint is rejected by a governing body, then the person who made the complaint can take that complaint to a higher body.
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