Jason K. Allen's Blog, page 24

Lord’s Day Meditation: “At Evening Time It Shall Be Light” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “At Evening Time It Shall Be Light” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 4, Morning)

“At evening time it shall be light.” (Zechariah 14:7)

Oftentimes we look forward with forebodings to the time of old age, forgetful that at eventide it shall be light. To many saints, old age is the choicest season in their lives. A balmier air fans the mariner’s cheek as he nears the shore of immortality, fewer waves ruffle his sea, quiet reigns, deep, still and solemn. From the altar of age the flashes of the fire of youth are gone, but the more real flame of earnest feeling remains. The pilgrims have reached the land Beulah, that happy country, whose days are as the days of heaven upon earth. Angels visit it, celestial gales blow over it, flowers of paradise grow in it, and the air is filled with seraphic music. Some dwell here for years, and others come to it but a few hours before their departure, but it is an Eden on earth. We may well long for the time when we shall recline in its shady groves and be satisfied with hope until the time of fruition comes. The setting sun seems larger than when aloft in the sky, and a splendour of glory tinges all the clouds which surround his going down. Pain breaks not the calm of the sweet twilight of age, for strength made perfect in weakness bears up with patience under it all. Ripe fruits of choice experience are gathered as the rare repast of life’s evening, and the soul prepares itself for rest.

The Lord’s people shall also enjoy light in the hour of death. Unbelief laments; the shadows fall, the night is coming, existence is ending. Ah no, crieth faith, the night is far spent, the true day is at hand. Light is come, the light of immortality, the light of a Father’s countenance. Gather up thy feet in the bed, see the waiting bands of spirits! Angels waft thee away. Farewell, beloved one, thou art gone, thou wavest thine hand. Ah, now it is light. The pearly gates are open, the golden streets shine in the jasper light. We cover our eyes, but thou beholdest the unseen; adieu, brother, thou hast light at even-tide, such as we have not yet.

 

The post Lord’s Day Meditation: “At Evening Time It Shall Be Light” by C. H. Spurgeon appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

On Partnering with State Conventions and Incorporating the Millennial Generation

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of meeting with the executive directors of the Midwest Region State Conventions. I presented on how, together, we might best serve the churches in our region. After my presentation, we enjoyed a robust dialog about how we might best accomplish these shared goals.

As I prepared for our time together, I was reminded of how similar our ministries are, and how many of our challenges and opportunities are common to us both. I was also reminded of how our constituency is one and the same—Southern Baptist churches.

Thus, I spoke not about what they should do, but what we should do, and how, together, we can best serve in the years ahead and most effectively incorporate the millennial generation. Here are the high points of what I shared.

Mission Clarity

First, we must vigilantly maintain mission clarity. Like Midwestern Seminary, all ministries that are intended to serve the church must do just that—serve the church. Churches founded us, they fund us, and they expect us to serve them.

How we best serve the church will vary from entity to entity and state to state. Nonetheless, we must know the needs and expectations of the churches we serve. We should study them, listen to them, and give our energies and resources for them.

Meeting the needs and expectations of our churches may require fundamentally recalibrating long-standing organizational structures. If changes are needed, we must be willing to make them. If we do not, churches will eventually make those changes for us.

Most especially, in order to serve our churches, we must know their ministers. We must seek out opportunities to listen to them, network with them, and truly consider their concerns and insights. We can—and should—take the relational initiative. After all, we are called to serve them, not vice versa.

Optimal Stewardship

Given the financial limitations most every Christian organization experiences, optimal stewardship is a must. Mission clarity informs optimal stewardship. Interrogating our own entities with the right questions is helpful. “What do our churches expect us to accomplish on their behalf, and how do we most optimally steward our resources to that end?” informs our stewardship.

These days, answering hard questions about perceived duplicative ministries, mission creep, and overstaffing, among other things, are standard operating procedure. These questions should be welcome, and be humbly responded to with clear and compelling answers. The burden is on us, as stewards on behalf of our churches, to continually earn their trust.

Generational Transition

Southern Baptists are now experiencing a generational transition that touches nearly every aspect of our work. Incorporating the millennial generation does not give away our future; it ensures it. This must include more than trying to sell them on the Cooperative Program. The millennial generation, like every generation, will support that which they are passionate about.

A generation that has given up much to follow Christ—and even more to pursue ministry—is most impassioned by ministries that are bold for the Great Commission, the local church, and sound doctrine. As Daniel Burnham once observed, small thoughts and little plans have no magic within them to inspire the hearts of men. This is especially true when it comes to the millennial generation.

As Southern Baptists, how well we enlist, equip, empower, and embolden the next generation will do more than shape our future; it will determine whether or not we have one.

Value Added

As Southern Baptists, we have a great story to tell. The health of our entities, the unique effectiveness of the Cooperative Program, the training and deploying of thousands of ministers and missionaries, and so much more are compelling reasons to be committed Southern Baptists.

For Midwestern Seminary, I want our value to Southern Baptist churches to be so obvious and impactful that churches reflexively look to us to serve them. That is a worthy goal for our state conventions—and every denominational agency—as well.

A compelling vision is never in the past tense. We must project what we are doing now; and what, by God’s grace, we intend to do in the future. If that vision does not resonate with our churches, we must be willing to course correct until it does.

Inherited brand loyalty left town long ago, and it is likely not to come back any time soon. We must make our case continually before our churches, and, thankfully, we have a makable case.

In Conclusion

The executive directors with which I visited are friends, colleagues, and cherished ministry partners. They, and the entities they lead, are doing good, gospel work; often under challenging financial circumstances. I was pleased to speak to them as a brother to brothers, and we had a good and spirited conversation as a result.

Both the national and state conventions serve the same constituency—Southern Baptist churches. The SBC will thrive inasmuch as our state conventions thrive, and vice versa. As we most faithfully listen to and serve those churches, we will most complement one another, and our respective ministries will most flourish.

The post On Partnering with State Conventions and Incorporating the Millennial Generation appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Lord’s Day Meditation: “He Himself Hath Suffered Being Tempted” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “He Himself Hath Suffered Being Tempted” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 3, Evening)

“He himself hath suffered being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18)

It is a common-place thought, and yet it tastes like nectar to the weary heart–Jesus was tempted as I am. You have heard that truth many times: have you grasped it? He was tempted to the very same sins into which we fall. Do not dissociate Jesus from our common manhood. It is a dark room which you are going through, but Jesus went through it before. It is a sharp fight which you are waging, but Jesus has stood foot to foot with the same enemy. Let us be of good cheer, Christ has borne the load before us, and the blood-stained footsteps of the King of glory may be seen along the road which we traverse at this hour. There is something sweeter yet–Jesus was tempted, but Jesus never sinned. Then, my soul, it is not needful for thee to sin, for Jesus was a man, and if one man endured these temptations and sinned not, then in his power his members may also cease from sin. Some beginners in the divine life think that they cannot be tempted without sinning, but they mistake; there is no sin in being tempted, but there is sin in yielding to temptation. Herein is comfort for the sorely tempted ones. There is still more to encourage them if they reflect that the Lord Jesus, though tempted, gloriously triumphed, and as he overcame, so surely shall his followers also, for Jesus is the representative man for his people; the Head has triumphed, and the members share in the victory. Fears are needless, for Christ is with us, armed for our defence. Our place of safety is the bosom of the Saviour. Perhaps we are tempted just now, in order to drive us nearer to him. Blessed be any wind that blows us into the port of our Saviour’s love! Happy wounds, which make us seek the beloved Physician. Ye tempted ones, come to your tempted Saviour, for he can be touched with a feeling of your infirmities, and will succour every tried and tempted one.

The post Lord’s Day Meditation: “He Himself Hath Suffered Being Tempted” by C. H. Spurgeon appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Brothers, We are not Amateurs: A Plea for Ministry Preparation

Few men have shaped the 21st-century church more than John Piper, and few of his books have proven more helpful than his Brothers, We are not Professionals. Piper was right. Ministers are not to be professionals, and his call for radical, sacrificial, selfless ministry is spot on. Yet, when it comes to ministerial service, we are not called to be amateurs either.

A ministerial amateur is not one who lacks formal training or advanced degrees from reputable institutions. An amateur is one who lacks the knowledge base, skill set, and experience for a particular task, in this case, Christian ministry. This is to say, one can still be an amateur though holding an earned degree, and one can be a faithful minister though lacking one.

In fact, Christians—and especially ministers—are called to be 1 Corinthians 1 people, confidently preaching the foolishness of the cross. Moreover, the list of those who lacked formal theological training while impacting the world for Christ is long, including luminaries such as John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I have learned much from men in times past and present who lacked formal education.

Yet, never before in the history of the church has theological education been so accessible, and never before has it been so needed. Advanced technology, innovative delivery systems, and proliferating resources all make being a ministerial amateur—as a permanent state—inexcusable. Why pursue ministry preparation?

The Complexity of our Times

Our cultural moment necessitates rigorous ministry preparation. Every generation presents the church with particular challenges, but our generation comes with unique baggage and angularity. It is not that the 21st century is more fallen or more secular than previous ones, but it may well be more complex.

Befuddling ethical questions, the often tortuously complex ramifications of sin, and a cultural intelligentsia devoting its best energies to undermining the Christian belief system all present the church with serious challenges.

The lost need more than shallow answers from ill-equipped ministers. They need ministers prepared to bring the full complement of Christian truth to bear in a winsome, thoughtful, and compelling way.

The Centrality of Teaching the Scriptures

The preaching and teaching of Holy Scripture is the principal responsibility of the Christian minister, and it is the central need of the church. In fact, in order to be biblically qualified to be a Christian minister, one must be “able to teach.”[1]

Paul repeatedly charged Timothy to a faithful ministry of the Word with exhortations like, “retain the standard of sound words,” “guard the truth which has been entrusted to you,” “rightly divide the word of truth,” and “preach the Word.”[2] These exhortations, and many others, require a renewed mind—and an informed one. There simply is no place in ministry for sloppy exegesis, shoddy interpretation, or shallow sermons.

One can be a faithful minister without a seminary degree, but one cannot be a faithful minister without knowing the Scripture.

The Consequences of Ministry

There is an alarming inverse correlation between the seriousness of the ministerial task and the casualness with which it is often approached. We would neither let an untrained mechanic rebuild our transmission nor would we permit an unlearned pediatrician to diagnose our children. Yet, churches often place individuals with the lowest levels of preparation in the highest office—the pastorate.

Why would one knowingly receive soul care and biblical instruction from an amateur, and why would a minister be content as one? Souls hang in the balance. There is a heaven to gain and hell to shun. There is fixed truth to defend and proclaim. Satan is serious about his calling; ministers must be serious about theirs. The ministry is too consequential not to be.

The Priority of the Great Commission

The end to which the minister labors is the proclamation of the gospel and the furtherance of the Great Commission. Fulfilling the Great Commission necessitates a burden for the lost, a passion for the glory of God in the salvation of sinners, and an equipped mind to reason, teach, and persuasively present the gospel.

Furthermore, the Great Commission is a call to make disciples, not just converts. Though often conceptualized as primarily an act of zeal, the Great Commission also requires knowledge. It requires a readiness to “give an answer for the hope within you,” an ability to “contend earnestly for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints,” and the skill to “teach these things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”[3]

Conclusion

Once I heard a professor rebuke a student who argued it was appropriate to read his sermon manuscripts because Jonathan Edwards read his. The professor shot back, “You fool, you’re no Jonathan Edwards.” Similarly, don’t look to models like Spurgeon and Lloyd-Jones as justification for not pursuing formal theological education. They were self-taught geniuses. Likely, you are not.

God may well use you in spite of a lack of formal training, but if you have accessibility—and virtually every person on the planet now does—to theological education, why find out?

Ministers will be judged for their faithfulness, not their academic accomplishments, but it is impossible to be faithful without being rightly equipped. Brother, you are not to be an amateur minister.

[1] I Timothy 3:2.

[2] II Timothy 1:13–14; II Timothy 2:15; II Timothy 4:2.

[3] I Peter 3:15; Jude 1:3; II Timothy 2:2.

*This article was originally published 0n 1/20/14*

The post Brothers, We are not Amateurs: A Plea for Ministry Preparation appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Are They Not All Ministering Spirits?” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Are They Not All Ministering Spirits?” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 3, Morning)

“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14)

Angels are the unseen attendants of the saints of God; they bear us up in their hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone. Loyalty to their Lord leads them to take a deep interest in the children of his love; they rejoice over the return of the prodigal to his father’s house below, and they welcome the advent of the believer to the King’s palace above. In olden times the sons of God were favoured with their visible appearance, and at this day, although unseen by us, heaven is still opened, and the angels of God ascend and descend upon the Son of man, that they may visit the heirs of salvation. Seraphim still fly with live coals from off the altar to touch the lips of men greatly beloved. If our eyes could be opened, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire about the servants of the Lord; for we have come to an innumerable company of angels, who are all watchers and protectors of the seed-royal. Spenser’s line is no poetic fiction, where he sings–

“How oft do they with golden pinions cleave

The flitting skies, like flying pursuivant

Against foul fiends to aid us militant!”

To what dignity are the chosen elevated when the brilliant courtiers of heaven become their willing servitors! Into what communion are we raised since we have intercourse with spotless celestials! How well are we defended since all the twenty- thousand chariots of God are armed for our deliverance! To whom do we owe all this? Let the Lord Jesus Christ be forever endeared to us, for through him we are made to sit in heavenly places far above principalities and powers. He it is whose camp is round about them that fear him; he is the true Michael whose foot is upon the dragon. All hail, Jesus! thou Angel of Jehovah’s presence, to thee this family offers its morning vows.

The post Lord’s Day Meditation: “Are They Not All Ministering Spirits?” by C. H. Spurgeon appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Celebrating & Strengthening the Cooperative Program

The Cooperative Program ought not be a sacred cow, but it is close to one for me. Began by Southern Baptists nearly a century ago, it has proven to be a most effective and enduring way to support our collective ministry and mission work. I often visit with leaders of other evangelical denominations who are envious of the Cooperative Program. And they should be; there is nothing like it in American Protestantism.

I was reared in a Southern Baptist church, so I grew up with a general awareness of the Cooperative Program.  But, it was not until I sensed God’s call to ministry that I became fully aware—and fully appreciative—of the Cooperative Program.

As a seminary student, I was astounded by how affordable my seminary training was compared to other evangelical seminaries. While a student at Southern Seminary, I learned more intimately how the Cooperative Program worked, felt how much it helped me, and saw it impact the world by providing for our missionaries. It was during this time that I became a true believer.

Then, as a pastor, the two churches I had the privilege of leading gave 14% and 10% of their undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program. The first church grew exponentially, and we flirted with cutting our CP giving to hire additional staff. But we held firm. My second church, conversely, had to trim its budget on a couple of occasions. Cutting CP would have been the easier way to balance the budget, but we held firm then as well. I had come to value the Cooperative Program enough that I advocated against cutting it. Thankfully, in both churches, the CP won out and we kept our giving at its high levels.

Now, as a seminary president, I lead an institution that benefits daily from the Cooperative Program. Without it, we would be forced to double tuition on our students. Such a move would decimate the seminary, plunge the enrollment, and bring immediate and long-term financial hardship on our students. In the world of theological education, the six SBC seminaries stand as grand anomalies in size, support, and overall strength. The Cooperative Program is essential to this vitality.

Though the Cooperative Program has been proving itself since 1925, we cannot take it for granted. We neglect it or minimize it to our own peril. Without a robust CP, our work as a whole will suffer. With a robust CP, our collective ministry and mission can more flourish. That is why we must work in our generation to strengthen the Cooperative Program. Consider these three observations to that end.

First, like our denomination as a whole, the Cooperative Program is best led by pastors. The uptick in Cooperative Program giving in recent years is a direct result of past SBC president Ronnie Floyd’s efforts to this end. He strategically worked with pastors, encouraging them to strengthen their CP giving. Thankfully, recent SBC president Dr. Steve Gaines continued that same emphasis. Perhaps no single factor will determine the strength of the CP in the years ahead than how much our pastors believe in and advocate for the CP.

Second, those of us who serve in CP-supported entities must constantly give SBC churches good reason to support us. This is true at every level of denominational life: local, state, and national. We exist to serve the churches; they do not exist to serve us. We need to ensure that our churches continually see the benefits of their entities working for them. As our churches find in us skillful, faithful, and responsive service, surely we will find from them sufficient support to do our work.

Third, all of us must be careful how we posture and speak of Cooperative Program giving. If a church is evaluating or trimming their CP support, let’s not cajole, pressure, or shame them.  That is not a winning strategy. My assessment is not a pragmatic or political calculation. It is a biblical and theological one. Christ promised to build his church, not our denomination. Let’s clean up our vocabulary, and use words like “please” and “thank you,” and shelve words like “should” and “must.” The Southern Baptist Convention agencies and our state convention partners serve the churches, not the other way around. As we serve them, they will support us.

Southern Baptists’ persistent generosity through the Cooperative Program is one sign of God’s continued hand on our work. In denominational circles, it is a modern miracle. Through the missions and ministries of the SBC, we have together impacted the world.  Let’s continue to celebrate and strengthen our collective work.

*This article was originally published on 3/15/17*

The post Celebrating & Strengthening the Cooperative Program appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Lord’s Day Meditation: “A Man Greatly Beloved” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “A Man Greatly Beloved” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 2, Evening)

“A man greatly beloved.” (Daniel 10:11)

Child of God, do you hesitate to appropriate this title? Ah! has your unbelief made you forget that you are greatly beloved too? Must you not have been greatly beloved, to have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot? When God smote his only begotten Son for you, what was this but being greatly beloved? You lived in sin, and rioted in it, must you not have been greatly beloved for God to have borne so patiently with you? You were called by grace and led to a Saviour, and made a child of God and an heir of heaven. All this proves, does it not, a very great and superabounding love? Since that time, whether your path has been rough with troubles, or smooth with mercies, it has been full of proofs that you are a man greatly beloved. If the Lord has chastened you, yet not in anger; if he has made you poor, yet in grace you have been rich. The more unworthy you feel yourself to be, the more evidence have you that nothing but unspeakable love could have led the Lord Jesus to save such a soul as yours. The more demerit you feel, the clearer is the display of the abounding love of God in having chosen you, and called you, and made you an heir of bliss. Now, if there be such love between God and us let us live in the influence and sweetness of it, and use the privilege of our position. Do not let us approach our Lord as though we were strangers, or as though he were unwilling to hear us–for we are greatly beloved by our loving Father. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Come boldly, O believer, for despite the whisperings of Satan and the doubtings of thine own heart, thou art greatly beloved. Meditate on the exceeding greatness and faithfulness of divine love this evening, and so go to thy bed in peace.

The post Lord’s Day Meditation: “A Man Greatly Beloved” by C. H. Spurgeon appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Why I Admire Pastors and You Should Too

Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was one of the greatest elected officials in our nation’s history and one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. He was a tsunami of energy, one who never saw a mountain too tall to scale or a fight too threatening to join. He shook the nation, invented the modern presidency, and left a changed country in his wake. In other words, there is a reason why his face, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln is chiseled on Mount Rushmore.

Teddy Roosevelt, reflecting on the burden of leadership and the willingness to risk all and attempt great things, famously observed,

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Every time I read Roosevelts quote, my mind darts to the pastorate, and the fine work men of God do. The office of the pastorate is a high one, the work a noble one, and the men who faithfully undertake it, are worthy of our admiration.

In our age of constant news, social media, and the world’s attentiveness to pastors who have stumbled, it is easy to forget all that pastors do for the church. Sure, we have all heard of a pastor who has not acted admirably, but they are the exception, not the rule. Most of the pastors I know garner my trust and respect and deserve my prayers and support. That, and given my own years serving churches, makes me admire pastors. You should too. Here is why.

First, pastors are called by God. Christ has given the church, in our age, “evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”. One does not stroll into the ministry, one surrenders to it. Pastors are those who have been set apart by God, called by his Spirit, and who have submitted their lives to Him. This requires obedience not only to enter the ministry but to continue in it. Thus, I admire pastors for yielding their lives to God.

Second, pastors minister the Word. The pastor’s one, irreducible responsibility is to feed the sheep the Word of God. Paul stipulates the pastor “must be able to teach,” and he charged Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” and to “preach the Word.” The pastor who faithfully discharges this responsibility does more than feed the church the Word, he feeds me the Word. Every Christian needs a steady intake of God’s Word. And a faithful pastor, who rightly divides the Word weekly, is worthy of high praise.

Third, pastors are held to a higher level of accountability. In fact, both the task of preaching and the responsibility of spiritual accountability bring this higher level of accountability. It begins with the qualifications of the office, as outlined in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. But it extends to other passages as well, including “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgement,” and that congregations should “obey their leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.” This fact is all the more daunting when you realize that pastors face more intense temptation. Satan targets those who’s fall will do most damage to the church and most sully God’s glory. I admire pastors for putting themselves in the arena.

Fourth, pastors tend the flock. Pastors are more than a shoulder to cry on, and they offer more than consolation during life’s trials. They preach, lead, and fulfill a host of other responsibilities, but pastors are men who are willing to bear our burdens of heart. When we need prayer, counsel, or support, pastors stand in the gap for us, they bear our burden with us. Paul spoke of his affection and parental care of the believers in Thessalonica, and Peter exhorted the elders to shepherd the flock with eagerness, not lording it over them. Such is the heart of a pastor, one who loves his congregation. This is no easy task. Church members can be wayward, stubborn, and even rebellious. Thus, the pastor who serves the flock is worthy of our admiration.

In Conclusion

Do you admire your pastor? Does he know it? The point is not to put him on a pedestal. The point is to rightly value, appreciate, and honor him. Do not wait until pastor appreciation month. Why not thank him this week? Why not pray for him this week? Why not speak encouraging words about him and to him this week? As you do, he will be encouraged, your church will be strengthened, and you will no doubt be even better served by him.

_____________________________________________

Roosevelt, Theodore, and Brian M. Thomsen. The man in the arena: the selected writings of Theodore Roosevelt: a reader. New York: Forge, 2003, 5.

Ephesians 4:11-12.

I Timothy 3:2, 4:13; II Timothy 4:2.

 [4] James 3:1, Hebrews 13:17.

*This article was originally published on 3/1/17*

The post Why I Admire Pastors and You Should Too appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Hope Which Is Laid Up For You In Heaven” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Hope Which Is Laid Up For You In Heaven” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 2, Morning)

“The hope which is laid up for you in heaven.” (Colossians 1:5)

Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker’s brow, and fatigue shall be forever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word “rest” is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We have suffered bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom anything which defileth. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment forever, that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit Canaan? Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come.

The post Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Hope Which Is Laid Up For You In Heaven” by C. H. Spurgeon appeared first on Jason K. Allen.

Three Reasons Why Young People Leave the Church

Why young adults leave the church is one of the most vexing questions facing the church today. A 2007 LifeWay Christian Resources survey indicated that 70 percent of 18–22 year-olds stop attending church for at least one year. Furthermore, Barna surveys have repeatedly shown that a majority of 20 year-olds leave church, often never to return.

Writing at faithit.com, Sam Eaton cites twelve reasons millennials are leaving the church. Causation for young adults exiting the church has been studied for decades, yet little has been accomplished by way of reversing it. As a gospel preacher, seminary president, and father of five young children, this is more than a theoretical concern. At risk of being overly simplistic, I want to suggest three additional factors that are often overlooked in this discussion.

Many Young Adults Leave the Church because They Never Joined it Spiritually

Many young adults leave the church because they were never truly converted to Christ in the first place. John the Apostle warned us “They went out from us because they were never of us; for if they had been of us, they would have no doubt continued with us.” And in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus soberly warns, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my father in heaven.”

In fact, this is a troubling, but recurring, theme throughout the New Testament. Jesus frequently warned of pseudo converts, most memorably in his parables of the four soils, the wheat and the tares, and the sheep and the goats. This grievous occurrence is why Paul exhorted the Corinthian church to “examine yourselves to determine whether you be in the faith.”

This predicament is as old as the church itself, and it is no respecter of age. Young adults have not cornered the market on unregenerate church membership, but with so many other pressures and opportunities associated with their life stage, their exit ramp is more predictable and more pronounced. In other words, young adults are just one bloated demographic slice of an ever-present challenge within the church today: unregenerate church membership.

Many Young Adults Leave the Church because They Never Experienced it Corporately

To their own detriment, too many churches function like a confederation of para-church ministries meeting under the same roof. For instance, many young adults traveled from children’s church, to children’s ministry, to the youth group, and then to college ministry. Amazingly, many young adults spend 20-plus years in a local church with the congregation as a whole always being an ancillary group, and with their predominant religious attention focused from one of the church’s subgroups to the next.

Age-graded and targeted ministries can be healthy in as much as they undergird the life of the church and facilitate strategic discipleship and family ministry. But when they displace the central and formative place of congregational worship and corporate gatherings as a whole, they prove detrimental to both the individual and the local church. In fact, the beauty of the New Testament church is its homogeneous diversity: Jew and Gentile, young and old, rich and poor, all united by the gospel and gathered around the common ministry of the Word, the Lord’s table, prayer, and fellowship, together as the body of Christ.

There is a sweetness in God’s people, and we rob our children of experiences of God’s grace when we neglect to incorporate them into the corporate body. It is for this reason I want my children to know the saintly widow seated behind them and the contemporary adult couple seated in front of them as well as they know the children in their own classes.

When they are disconnected from the congregation, it should not surprise us that young adults, who have never known the church as a whole, are disinclined to embrace it when their age-graded group has run its course.  Do you want your children to participate in the church when they become adults? Then cultivate their participation as they travel life towards adulthood.

Many Young Adults Leave the Church because They Never Came to Love it Personally

Though the church is not perfect, it ought to be cherished, warts and all, by every member of the congregation, including our children. As parents, we cultivate this by esteeming the church—and the individuals who comprise it—before our children. As a parent, my wife and I have long since covenanted together to guard our tongues, especially before our children, about the ministers and members of the churches we have joined.

Granted, no church is perfect, and if you ever find the perfect church, do not join it, or you will likely ruin it. At the same time, a spirit of criticism and sarcasm about the pastor and other members of the congregation mark the homes of too many church members. In so doing, children are hearing reason after reason why they should doubt the Word of God, not value fellowship of the saints, and be indifferent toward gathering with God’s people. When this occurs, why should young adults commit their lives, time, and resources to a pastor and group of people they have overheard their parents repeatedly denigrate?

Conclusion

Why do young adults leave the church? This is a pressing concern, but an often-misplaced question. Instead of focusing so much on why young adults leave the church, let’s focus more on how they enter the church and how they engage it along the way. And, when you show me young adults who are truly converted, have ministered and worshiped with the church as a whole, and have grown to love the people of God, I will show you young adults who are a lot less likely to depart the church anytime soon.

_____________________________________________

See Scott McConnell, “LifeWay Research Finds 18- to 22-Year-Olds Drop out of Church.”

See, for example, The Barna Group, Ltd., “Most Twentysomethings Put Christianity on the Shelf Following Spiritually Active Teen Years”

[3] http://faithit.com/12-reasons-millennials-over-church-sam-eaton/

[4] I John 2:19

[5] Matthew 7:21

[6] II Corinthians 13:5

*This article was originally published on 2/22/17*

The post Three Reasons Why Young People Leave the Church appeared first on Jason K. Allen.