The Impossible Tour- Coming to a Heart Near You

The entrance into God's Kingdom is impossible with man. The building of God's Kingdom is impossible with man.

But with God all things are possible.

For the next four Sundays (February 24 - March 16th) we are going to be challenged from God's Word to consider the impossible challenges he has placed before us as a church family. As we hang desperately upon his power and grace, we can trust that he will do immeasurably more than we could ever hope or imagine.

Each weekday from February 25-March 14, the elders will open FOMC from 6 - 7 a.m. to lead our church family in prayer. Our prayers will focus on:

the unity of the church;
the reality of spiritual warfare,
the need for the Spirit's armor;
God's provision through our financial commitment and sacrifice,
the spiritual maturity for our church family;
spreading the gospel for the salvation of the lost;
our church leaders and servants;
our fellowship groups;
and more.

Please make plans to come join the elders and pastors for these times of prayer in the weeks to come.

Pursuing Biblical and Pastoral Leadership

A couple of weeks back at our Fellowship Group leader/co-leader gathering we talked about the process of pursuing biblical leadership in the local church. I condensed the gist of our time here.

At Four Oaks we affirm (at least) these five principles regarding leadership in the local church:

1. The importance of a spiritual office of leadership in the local church.
As opposed to a primarily pragmatic, utilitarian, and professional office. A pragmatic approach to leadership in the church is primarily concerned with the easiest route to finding 'leaders'. The utilitarian approach looks to get warm bodies to 'get things done' as opposed to finding spiritually called and qualified leaders to fulfill the biblical paradigm. A primarily 'professional' view of leadership in the church consigns the biblical office to only those who have fulfilled certain worldly criteria for leadership (they hold the degree, have so much 'tenure', etc.). A 'professional' understanding of church leadership reserves leadership for a professional class of elites, while the 'layman' exists on some lower tier of service to Christ.

2. The importance of a unified office of spiritual leadership: shared, dispersed, accountable, and understood.
There are three biblical terms for the office of spiritual leadership in the local church: episkopos (overseer, 'bishop'), presbuteros ('elder'), and poimen ('shepherd', pastor). These terms are three synonymous terms used interchangeable referring to one, unified team of leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:1; 5:17; Titus 1: 5,7; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-4). We may set aside certain elders/overseers/pastors that will devote themselves to a 'full time' vocational ministry for the care of the church. Paul says these men deserve 'double honor', and we may say that they serve as primus inter pares (first among equals). But we must not have tiers of spiritual leadership. There should be equality, unity, and healthy plurality in the leadership of the church. We should go to great lengths to bring our flocks to a proper understanding of this reality. Otherwise the spiritual burden falls upon one class of leader (often the preacher, or those in more visible leadership) or there arises a cult of personality that is unhealthy.

3. The importance of a called leadership: internal and external.
Men must 'aspire' to the office. There must be an internal call that compels by the spirit, so that we are not leading under compulsion by the flesh or the demands of men. The internal call places our duty primarily before God and not before men. This internal calling is recognized and confirmed by God's people (Acts 6; 1 Timothy 4:14; 1 Tim. 5:22).

4. The importance of a qualified and tested leadership.
We must not let the urgency of need as we see it override the need to have biblicaly qualified leaders. We must be careful to asses qualification according to biblical and spiritual standards above human and worldly ones. This is not a call to rigid legalism in our inspection of leaders- the biblical qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are patterns of holiness and character, not a checklist for perfection in obedience.

5. The importance of an ordained and sanctified leadership.
It is important to consecrate leaders publicly (and discipline them publicly). People should be able to readily see and know their leaders. There should be no 'star chamber' style of leadership where decisions are made secretively and mysteriously and the flock is called to just follow along. The Scriptures do not establish raw democracy as the pattern, nor does it establish a cold aristocracy. Leaders must lead, people must follow. But this is done through proper ordination, and with constant accountability.

The Impossible Tour- Coming to a Heart Near You

The entrance into God's Kingdom is impossible with man. The building of God's Kingdom is impossible with man.

But with God all things are possible.

For the next four Sundays (February 24 - March 16th) we are going to be challenged from God's Word to consider the impossible challenges he has placed before us as a church family. As we hang desperately upon his power and grace, we can trust that he will do immeasurably more than we could ever hope or imagine.

Each weekday from February 25-March 14, the elders will open FOMC from 6 - 7 a.m. to lead our church family in prayer. Our prayers will focus on:

the unity of the church;

the reality of spiritual warfare,

the need for the Spirit's armor;

God's provision through our financial commitment and sacrifice,

the spiritual maturity for our church family;

spreading the gospel for the salvation of the lost;

our church leaders and servants;

our fellowship groups;

and more.

Please make plans to come join the elders and pastors for these times of prayer in the weeks to come.

Gossip in God's Family

God's Word has a lot to say about gossip. Consider the Proverbs:

Proverbs 11:13 A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.
Proverbs 16:28 A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.
Proverbs 20:19 A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.
Proverbs 26:20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
Proverbs 26:21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.

Or God's Law:

Leviticus 19:16 "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD.

Or Jesus:

Mark 7:21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.

Or Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
Titus 3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
1 Timothy 5:13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.

Or James:

James 4:11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.

Or Peter:

1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation

There are many words in Scripture used to describe this sort of 'wicked speech' against one another: talebearer, mumbler, whisperer, slanderer, evil-speaker, reviler, blasphemer, babbler.

Gossiping is destructive for at least 10 reasons:

1. It is hatred toward God who created all men in his image and for his glory.

2. It is hatred toward God who redeemed his people and loves them with a steadfast love.

3. It is a hatred toward Christ who gave his life for his people, and who himself loved all men, especially those who reviled him- not reviling in return.

4. It is hatred toward the Spirit who lives in us and seeks to bear fruit and is grieved by our evil speech; it is hatred toward the Spirit who lives in our brothers and brings fellowship and is grieved by our divisive words and desires.

5. It is hatred toward men who bear God's image and deserve our respect, kindness, and love.

6. It is hatred toward our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are part of our very family deserving our protection and love.

7. It brings strife, division, and chaos in the body of Christ.

8. It plants seeds of doubt, discouragement, disloyalty.

9. It is an attack of Satan against those called to lead and maintain godly authority.

10. It is an attack against the Church and the Kingdom of God.

How should we protect our own hearts and tongues from this great evil? How should we protect the reputation and dignity of our brothers and sisters when malign and blasphemed? How should we handle those who come with wagging tongues against our siblings in the household of God?

I have the rare privilege of having my parents, my parents in law, my older brother and his family, my younger brother and his family, and my younger sister all living in the same town and all worshipping with us at Four Oaks. Yes, this presents challenges, but by and large it is a tremendous blessing and joy to me to have my family around me in ministry. I want to use my relationships with my family as a picture of the way we should handle slander in the family of God.

No one knows the warts and flaws of my brothers and sisters like me. No one knows my sins and failures like my brothers and sisters. If anyone has the goods on me it is them. But their love for me is fierce, as mine is for them. It isn't blind, and it doesn't passively accept all these faults. But this love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8); it bears all things and believes all things (for their good, doubting first the bad report). My love for them will not allow me to hear a hurtful word without protecting their name, because it is my own. My love for them will not allow me to accept a report without first coming to them for their side. My love for them causes me to bear trivial accusations or mocking sentiment against them in silence without burdening their hearts with petty concerns and harsh words.

You want to see Erik the fierce? Just try and speak some evil against my little sister. You can be
assured that there will be an unequivocal smackdown in every sense of the term if you wag your tongue against one of my brothers. It is not because I am a fool who cannot bear to hear the truth about them (as I said, very little anyone could say could surprise me). I desire that my siblings be conformed to Christ and turn from actual sins or flaws in character. But gossip never accomplishes this. The context for our growth in Christ is through the 'one anothers' of the New Testament lived out in the house of God, not through cowardly whispers and proud mumblings.

The next time you hear someone sharing a tasty morsel of gossip against another believer, remember that they are speaking against your own brother. The next time you hear someone bad mouthing the preacher or the worship pastor, remember that they are talking about your Dad- he's not perfect, but he's your dad. If we truly lived as a family together, and believed that we are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers in the household of God, we would be far less eager to speak against each other.

This happens more often than I'd like to think: someone has a word of judgment or criticism against me as a pastor. Little do they know one of my siblings is within earshot. But, the spiritual reality is- many of my siblings are within earshot. The problem is that we have either grown too accustomed with our hard and wicked words, or too unacquainted with our family to care.

So when you are about to whisper a word of dissent and contention against Joe Smith, remember you're talking to Joe's sister. When you lean in to hear the story of Jane Smith's recent struggle, remember that Jane is your little sister. Close your mumbling lips and bear the contention between your brother quietly and privately. Rear up with fierce and righteous indignation against the slander of your dear sister and stop the wagging tongue.

In this way we will begin to learn 'how people ought to conduct themselves in God's house, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth'.

Caring for Pastor's Wives

Of course, this is something that hits very close to home. I have commented before on the 'burn out' rate of pastors as being somewhat of a crisis in the church. I truly believe that the neglect of the home and family is a big part of the problem. But, the problem doesn't come only from the pastor's neglect of his family, but also from the church's neglect of the pastors families. Pastor's are reticent to call the church to care for their families- it seems self serving and manipulative. But, it is a necessity- if we take the strain upon pastors and their families seriously.

Mark Driscoll has a great post and vodcast over at The Resurgence. Scroll down to 'Death by Ministry- pt.10" Check it out.

Here are his main practical points regarding the care of a pastor's wife:

• She needs a clearly defined and guarded role.
• She needs some help with the kids and house.
• She needs some help getting to and from church on Sundays.
• She needs a designated parking place.
• She needs a handful of safe relationships with other godly women.
• She needs to choose her own friends and define her own relationships.
• She needs to see her first jobs as Christian, wife, and mother, not free hire for the church.

Pastor's wives, especially those with little ones, have a great burden in ministry- their husbands are up very early on Sunday, and mostly out of the picture till that afternoon (unless we have evening programs!). But, as different than other families whose husbands are up early and out late on any given weekday- our wives have to get the kids up, bathed, fed, looking 'sunday a.m. best', and to church on time and relatively sane. This is a HUGE feat done by yourself (especially with four kids under 6!) and it entails a lot of pressure and anxiety. Then, there are the many nights of entertaining in ministry. Then there are the 'demands' of other families upon the pastors and their families (in terms of interaction, friendship, expectations). In terms of home care, and child care- pastors don't make a ton of cash, and there are frankly not a lot of resources here to spare. There is also the reality that the pastor and his family works, lives, breathes, relates, ministers, etc. in the church. There is no 'escape'- and this is fraught with pressure, fear, and unrealistic expectations. If I paint a bleak picture- I don't do so because any of us are necessarily in 'crisis' - but this is a crisis that is never far from any pastor or any church. We should guard and fight it where ever and when ever we can.

My own church is a very loving, and serving body. There are so many of you who serve and love the pastors and their families faithfully and constantly. Tori and I have received so much care, gifts, love, appreciation over the years. And I know the same goes for our other pastors at Four Oaks. Your care and love is important and felt constantly by the pastors of Four Oaks. I could give so many examples of how our church takes this care seriously and provides the help that I present below (and that Driscoll outlines above). So, this is no rebuke for our church family.

That being said, I think this exhortation must be constant (like so many constant needs and concerns that face us) - and those faithful servants in the church understand that God's people need such exhortations constantly. Hopefully there are some that read this post (outside our church or inside) who need to hear it- even better, whose pastors need them to hear it. If God uses it to this end, then wonderful!

Often times and in many churches the daily, and mundane struggles of maintaining a home and family that face a wife in ministry is not attended to by the church body.

Here are some practical ways you can help your pastors (and I speak of ALL the pastors- not just the Braun's, and not just at Four Oaks):

• offer free babysitting. Be serious about it. If they don't take you up on it, don't be offended (this is a personal thing, and not just anyone can do it- but you can offer).
• offer to clean house (IF you know how to clean a house...don't offer help that is in reality not a help) even better- give a pastor's wife a day of housecleaning from a professional. It goes a long way when someone helps your wife by scrubbing floors and toilets. A LONG way.
• offer to help with the kids on a regular basis- help with homework, homeschooling...help that is regular is wonderful because it allows the pastor's wife to plan and gives constant relief.
• offer to help on Sunday mornings and other heavy ministry days. Again, don't see this as an opportunity to hang with the pastor's wife, but to come and watch the kids while she gets ready, help bathe, feed, get in the car, etc. (it goes without saying I'm speaking to the women of the church). And, again, don't be offended if she declines. This is highly personal territory- and not just anyone can do it. But, it never hurts to offer.
• do little (or big!) things to show her you love her and care for her and her family - bring a meal; give a gift certificate for a massage; give a gift certificate for lunch out; take her kids for the afternoon; write her a note of appreciation and encouragement; offer your vacation house for a weekend getaway (for her or for them!); help with landscaping and gardening; offer whatever your special gifts and talents are to her to bless her, her home, and her family.
• pray for her and fight for her...what? I mean, do spiritual battle for her and her family. Fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil that wants to claim her and her family. Fight against gossip and slander and against her, her kids, and her husband. I can't tell you how important this one is! A pastor's wife is devastated by the slander against her husband or kids. When you hear it- confront it with vigor and vehemence. Send it back to hell, or it will bring hell to a church.

If you attend another church- then please take this to heart and search out ways to care for your pastor's family.

If you attend our church- well... do the same!

A Preacher's Plea for the Prayers of His People

Some time back I made a plea to set aside a Sunday to pray intentionally and purposefully for you pastors. I have not been very good at reminding you of this commitment, though I do hope that many of you have remembered on your own and have been faithfully praying for the men who have been called to 'watch over your souls' (Heb. 13:17). Could you help us in that most immense charge to 'watch our lives and doctrine and so save ourselves and our hearers' (1 Timothy 4:16) by praying for us?

A great devotional work that I think should be not far from your bible, devotional notebook, and other resources (concordance- I'm always scrambling about from page to page trying to find that one verse that always eludes me at the point of need; Vine's Dictionary- so I can get a quick grip on the basic Hebrew/Greek meaning of a given word; a good bible software package so you can have a host of these resources at your fingertips- get them online, free at e-sword, or at your local bookstore/gypsy Christian trinket and t-shirt hocker) is a collection of Puritan prayers called The Valley of Vision. It is relatively cheap over at Amazon or Christianbook.com- and also comes in a handsome leather bound easily carryable edition. This wonderful prayer companion has over 200 prayers on a host of topics penned by giants of the Puritan and Reformed faith (Bunyan, Baxter, Spurgeon to name a few). My wife, Tori, pointed out a powerful prayer for 'A Minister's Preaching' yesterday. I have had this book of prayers since seminary, but for some reason this particular prayer never caught me (and me being a preacher?!). It shall be printed out and taped to the inside of my Bible from here on...along with 'A Minister's Bible'- another great one.

A Minister's Preaching

My Master God,
I am desired to preach today, but go weak and needy to my task;
yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth, that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer, with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertinent to my subject, with fullness of matter and clarity of thought, proper expressions, fluency, fervency, a feeling sense of the things I preach, and grace to apply them to men's consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects, and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.
Help me to offer a testimony for thyself, and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people, and to set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached, and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted, and help me to use the strongest arguments drawn form Christ's incarnation and sufferings, that men might be made holy.
I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness, that I might be a pure channel of thy grace, and be able to do something for thee;
Give me then refreshment among thy people, and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way, or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer, or be harsh in treating of Christ's death, its design and end, from lack of warmth and fervency.

And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.

Amen.

This great composition along with 2 Timothy 4: 1-5 are great weapons that I want to arm my heart and soul with as I stand before you each week. Would you pray this prayer (and this passage) with me and for me as I prepare to open up the Word for us each week. It would bless and strengthen me for what is often felt to be an impossible (but wonderful!) job.

Your Sons and Daughters Shall Prophesy...

Speaking of this past Sunday, I'd like to share with you a vision that struck me as I was walking from the sanctuary to the parking lot.

In my last post I already told you of the blessing of being surrounded by not only the family of God as we lifted our child to him, but also being surrounded by our blood, or biological family scattered from pew to pew. As we stood before the body I was struck with the glorious blessing of having three generations of Braun boys under the same sanctuary roof, all worshipping God together. There in front of me was my father, Mike Braun, who came to Christ 48 years ago in Southern California. He has served Christ as a preacher of the Word for most of those years. Then there's me. God has privileged me with the call to the pulpit and to pastor a wonderful body of believers here at Four Oaks. Standing next to me, with his sister Tess, was my four year old son, Bo (and of course, at Four Oaks there are all three of Mike Braun's sons, with six of their boys in tow). I prayed that God would sustain Bo and grow him up in his most holy faith. Then I thought, what a privilege it would be if he were called to serve the body of Christ as preacher as well?! Now, careful, I'm not into dynasties, and I would be happy if Bo grew up to work as an underwater beekeeper. But, the thought struck me nonetheless.

Back to my vision- this is as charismatic as I get, so hold on- as I was leaving church I saw Josh Hughes, our new worship pastor, and hollered out, "Hey Pastor Josh!" (he's trying to adjust to the new title). It was as he smiled over to me that I was struck with my 'vision'. The vision was of Tori and I, walking from the church sanctuary, though we are much older. Surrounding us were our grown children- all of them worshipping with us, and most of them obviously leaders and grown servants of the church.

I don't really think this was a 'vision'- more of a blessed thought, perhaps. And I don't really hope that I'll live in the same town with my grown children, or even go to church with them. I hope that they love and serve Christ, whereever they go, however far or close it is to us. I think this vision captured my heart becuase I thought about the blessing of having Josh Hughes come on staff with us here. Josh's parents, Kim and David, have been faithful servants of Christ for years at several churches here in Tallahassee. They both humbly serve under their son's leadership on the worship team. David has been a leader and elder in the church for years, and a trusted friend and servant by my side throughout my tenure here. Now, they are privileged to watch their son forsake a comfortable and promising management career for the work of the ministry at Four Oaks.

As well, Josh was talking with Barb Bollman. Barb and her husband Keith were with us at Four Oaks back before they moved to North Carolina, before I came to serve as pastor. Many of you would know Barb through your love for her daughter, Katie, who happens to be married to our Student Ministries Pastor, Ryan Oelschlager. I thought of Matt Schoolfield- Kerry and Ginny's son- who is training as a church planter in Arkansas. He has preached at Four Oaks several times and will hopefully have a long partnership with us in the gospel. I also thought of Alan Ivarson working on the computer back in the booth during worship. How many years has Alan's dad, Verne, served our fellowship in similar ways? And that while Alan's mom, Lori, would serve us in leading with the worship team. At once, face after face of believing sons and daughters flashed before me, all with the privilege of worshipping alongside, serving, and even leading their own parents in the local church.

What a gift to our fellowship. I have thanked God for this blessed thought often this week. May we see more generations to come, till He comes!

Dedication Sunday

This past Sunday was the second of our child dedication Sundays for the fall, and our Emma was dedicated to the Lord by our church family. Our whole family was there- Tessie, Bo, and of course Emma were up with Tori and I for the dedication. Tori's parents, Robert and Jane Wills, who are also members of our fellowship, were a few rows back with Tori's grandmother, Myrt (or Mee-Myrt our kids call her, to distinguish her from Mee-Ma; and not to be confused with Nana; we won't even go into who is Pee-Paw and who is Pa-Paw). On the second row sat my Mom and Dad, Susan (Nana) and Mike (Pee-pa) Braun, who have been living in Tally for close to a year now and also worship at Four Oaks with us. To the left was my older brother Mike, who is a teacher and coach at Lincoln high school, with his wife Karen, who teaches at Community Christian School, and their three boys. A couple of rows back from them sat my younger brother Adam, who moved here recently, with his wife Rachel and their two boys. Next to him sat my younger sister Kristen who is a student here in Tallahassee and is one of the youth leaders at Four Oaks. From my side of the family, the only ones missing were my older sister Robin and her husband Don (who live in Jax with their four kids). Tori's only sister, Monica, lives in Okinawa with her husband Brandon, and they are expecting their first child.

With all these believing and loving Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins surrounding us as we lifted our youngest child to the Lord my heart was filled with joy. It is not always easy having so much family around, or being their pastor, but it is always a blessing.

Saying the Hard Things...

After a few difficult 'counseling' sessions in the past couple of weeks as well as having the handle an issue of church discipline, I thought I'd throw out some thoughts for your edification.

Matthew 18:15-17 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

I've come to see the first stage of 'church discipline' in Matthew 18 as discipleship and community. Much of sanctification happens in this 'discipleship' stage of church discipline. This is the 'formative' side of discipline (while stages two and three, verses 16-17, move into a more 'punitive' side). It's like working out with weights three times a week, defining the muscles, increased reps, varied sets, gradual weight increases. It is being in a relationship where you can call someone brother. Here there is familiarity, there is commonality, there is a 'familial' tie, a love for each other. And this love is rooted in the redeeming work of Christ that has brought both of you from darkness into light, from sin and slavery to righteousness and freedom. It is in the context of these 'discipleship' relationships where each of you challenge one another into deeper righteousness and greater freedom. This is where the tedious, hard, and wonderful work of sanctification should happen. Proverbs 27:6 says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend".

How many times has someone been referred to me by another believer for a matter of 'counseling', when, fundamentally, that brother in Christ should have provided the 'counsel' of giving biblical encouragement, or biblical admonishment where such is due. One of the main reasons our pastors are mired down in one difficult 'counseling' situation after another, in many situations, is because the folks they are dealing with have not availed themselves of the means for daily growth in grace through believing relationships. Or, those who live with them, know them, and love them, don't love them enough to say the 'hard things'.

Is there someone in your life that is friend enough in Christ to deliver a few much needed faithful wounds? Are you faithful enough to wound your brother or sister, so that they are not left with the faithful wounds of a stranger (like a counselor they just met, or a pastor they hardly know) or the deceitful kisses of the enemy?

Good questions. At Four Oaks we answer this question with our pattern of church life. Worship, learn, and grow on Sunday. Worship, learn, and grow during the week. Worship, learn, and grow where life happens. We call you to meet in each other's homes, care for one another's families, share each other's burdens, and open up your life to your brothers and sisters in Christ so the wonderful work of 'Christ being formed' in us happens (Galatians 4:19).

This is 'hard work'. It means we sometimes have to say the 'hard things'. It means we have to be committed to 'formative' discipline, so that the dreadful work of Matthew 18:16-17 grows more and more uncommon in our family. Not because of our passive negligence, but because of our active obedience.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Family Time

Should be working on the sermon...so just a quick post. We had a wonderful family meeting the other night over at FOOB (Four Oaks Ox Bottom). I was a bit shocked at the turnout- had to be about 200 or so folks (that is a big jump from the 65 that came last year). See what happens when you offer pie?

I opened our time together by referring us to the history of Israel, making these general comments:

When God's people are wandering, they were often fixed upon God and faithful.

When God's people were fixed (in the land, with homes, farms, cities, a temple, etc.), they were often wandering and faithless.

To keep us faithful, God makes us sojourners, for "here we have no enduring city".

For some reason, God has called us at Four Oaks to be 'wanderers' as a church family now for some sixteen years. Just when we think we are getting settled, we are uprooted, delayed, put off, or whatever. And this is a good thing.

If you want to find vibrant, growing, and thriving churches when you drive into a city, head over to the local public school on Sunday morning. I was listening to a church planter who was quoting a bunch of statistics about the reality that these 'church plants' or as the New Testament called them, 'churches', are often filled with highly involved people (you have to set up chairs if you want to sit in one), very friendly (you have to be, it's all you got goin for you when your meeting place smells like mystery meat), and full of energized and youthful leadership (because the crusty old rich farts are over at First Bumble Baptistic Presleyterian Fellowship of the Suburban Socialite). Now, of course, there are vibrant, thriving churches that have facilities and cool stuff, but they are often saddled with petty divisions, struggles over those facilities, staff weighed down with peripheral concerns, etc. Just comes with the territory.

So, we should count it a privilege to continue wandering for a few more years. Keeps us faithful, by God's grace.

And when we're fixed, whenever that might be, let's pray we don't start wandering into faithlessness. And if we do, let's pray that God would kick us out and make us wander again, as He is prone to do.

Praying For Your Pastors

So far, over 150 in our family have committed to setting aside a Sunday (or any other day) to fast and pray for our pastors. May God strengthen this fellowship and the hearts of these servants through our faithful intercession.

If you will be praying and fasting for the pastors, here are some general areas for you to have before you as you go to God:

- Give thanks and praise to God for these servants he has given to us as a gift!

- Pray for the personal holiness and sanctification of these men. Pray that they are deeply rooted in the Word of God, the grace of Christ, and the power of the Spirit.

- Pray for their unity as a team of leaders. Beg that God give them a spirit of unity and love together. Pray that God might increase their love for one another as they labor daily together.

- Pray that there be unity in the hearts of the church as they follow the leadership of their shepherds. Ask that God would severe any root of bitterness, heal any wound, silence any haughtiness or unruliness, and grant peace and grace as we live and work together.

- Pray that God would make them effective and fruitful in their specific area of ministry.

- Pray that they might be encouraged and sustained in their work by God and the love of the body.

- Pray that their marriages would be strong, that they would be faithful, and resist temptation.

- Pray for the personal holiness and sanctification of their wives. Pray for these godly women who faithfully support their husbands and continue in their love for the bride of Christ despite the struggles, conflict, pain, and sin they sin in her on a daily basis.

- Pray for the spiritual health of their families. Pray that our church might be a body that allows our shepherds to care for and lead their families. Pray for their children, that God would graciously save each one and protect these little ones from the strategies of Satan.

- Pray that, in His providence and grace, God would grant each of these men long seasons of ministry in our midst.

There are some ideas to guide you in your times before the Father. More forthcoming!

Building a Family

At Four Oaks Church we are in the midst of a major restructuring of what we call our 'body life'. There are plenty of reasons for this, and if you are an Oaks-ter you might be growing tired of talking about it (and if you are not tired of talking/hearing about it, then, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?). To sum up all of these reasons in a rather simple and facile way:

The leadership of Four Oaks sees a woeful lack of understanding and experience of the fellowship of believers in the local church. We want to fight this with --

1. sound biblical teaching, God-glorifying theology
2. a call to deeper commitment of time, resources, gifts, energy, etc.
to the local church,
3. an exhortation toward intimate and accountable relationships,
4. a call to alignment with and submission to proper biblical leadership,
5. a challenge to lead, follow, teach, learn, serve, be served, be hospitable,
grow, change, etc. through smaller, more intimate groups

We call our local body to receive this challenge for the glory of God and the sake of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There will be plenty of info, articles, updates, etc. on this process on our website in the coming weeks and months. Go to www. fouroaks.net and click on 'sermons'- there is a five week series on this vision called "Church Body Building".

Yesterday I read an article on the state of the American Family by Matthew Spalding (read it here: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/wm373.cfm). I was grieved as I read the effects of divorce upon the children in our nation. We should never grow calloused to the horrible effects of our sin playing out in the culture at large. We have been able to chart the collapse of marriage and the familyfor thirty years now with the vision of 'no fault divorce' in the '70's: Dad's out of the home, mom is working full time, our children are raised by the state- or by themselves. The life is drained out of our greatest charge- our little ones. And the little ones from the early days of 'no fault' divorce and the 'me' generation of the sexual revolution are no longer little ones. They are all grown up but their attitudes, behavior, relationships, and struggles reveal the real devastation we have wrought. The statistics are absolutely overwhelming, and the prognosis is not good. Read the article.

Where is hope? As always, the believer finds his hope in Christ and the transforming power of the gospel.

And where is this hope brought forth? Consider Ephesians 3:8-11, To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God has ordained that the 'manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church'! God is revealing the glorious gospel through the ministry of the body to a lost world. The church is the 'household of God' (1 Tim. 3:15), the 'family of believers' (Gal.6:10; 1 Pet. 4:17) so that God might rescue his children and bring them into His house. And there they are grown up in the faith, loved as adopted children by God, loved as dear brothers and sisters by believers, and given the hope of abundant, and eternal life. And that, in a nutshell, is why I have given my life to be a pastor of God's glorious church.

So as families collapse, as we slide back to the days of Noah, as we grieve the innocence lost in our parent-less children, or our parent-less childhood, as the statistics prophesy doom...we listen to the Savior, the bridegroom, our elder brother, the Chief Shepherd of the sheep say, "Do you love me? Feed my lambs."

Let's be the family that God calls us to be.

A Preacher's Lament

1 Timothy 4:13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.

1 Timothy 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Titus 1:9 The overseer must [hold] fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Last Sunday, for you Four Oak-sters, you’ll remember that I was unable to finish my sermon on Psalm 120. If you’d like to see what I had intended to say, in its entirety, you can read the sermon text here http://www.fouroaks.net/docs/Text.03-19-06.pdf.

Please allow me the following lament (I’ll try not to grumble) regarding the common expectations we bring to corporate worship, especially the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

I love preaching. Some of my love for preaching is fleshly and worldly, I admit. I love to talk, ruminate, pontificate, even, dare I say it, entertain. There is always an unhealthy bit of ego in my preaching. A preacher is lying if he says that he doesn’t struggle with fleshly desires for reputation, fame, influence, or adulation to some degree. Preachers must wage war with the flesh in these areas. This is an ugly idolatry when we see it for what it is: a supplanting of self (or preachers) for the glory and grandeur of Almighty God. And God hates it with a holy hatred. And I pray that he will kill this insidious, festering disease by the power of his Spirit. I wage war with my ego during my preparation and in my preaching with prayer, with the godly disciplines, and with accountability.

But my love for preaching is rooted, by God’s grace, in far richer soil than my self. It is rooted in the heart of God revealed in His Word. I love preaching because it is the ‘proclaiming’ of good and glorious things from the very mouth of God. I love preaching because God ordains that the exposition of his Word amongst believers transforms and changes hearts. It brings conviction and repentance. It brings comfort and joy. It equips Christians with the weapons of spiritual warfare. It guards our hearts against the strategies and attacks of Satan. It rallies a host of people around the ultimate standard of holiness and the banner of truth. This is why Paul says what he says to Timothy and Titus in the Pastoral letters. Read those passages, study them, and see the urgency of Paul’s call on these young pastors and these young fellowships to dig into God’s Word.

We should not be surprised that the World, the Flesh, and the Devil would seek to minimize, undermine, limit, and denigrate preaching and teaching. How do we do this?
We package services into neat, tidy, palatable one hour blocks (recently a pastor was aghast that Four Oaks’ service was an hour and fifteen minutes long, his church services were 50 minutes. I told him I wished our services of worship were 2 hours!). Our corporate worship is a spectator-driven event, with stages, performers, the pastor is a hip entertainer/communicator. Corporate worship is more The Tonight Show and Oprah than family gathering in prayer, praise, fellowship, the Spirit’s power, breaking of bread, and teaching (Acts 2:42-47). And we want more people, bigger churches, bigger budgets, bigger programs; so we add another service (and another service, and another service). Soon we are shuffling in and out of each other’s lives on the Lord’s Day like lemmings at the local multiplex (the only difference being our willingness to sit through a 2, even 3 hour long movie). We say that we do this for outreach sake, because this is the heart of the Great Commission. But, I really don’t believe it. We mostly do this for ourselves. Sorry if that sounds too cynical.

We then build our corporate life on the Lord’s Day around these realities. And once we do this, we become enslaved to the forms we have built. If the worship goes long, the parking becomes too congested, the nursery workers are overwhelmed, the greeters are frustrated, the hallways jammed, the lunch plans (or soccer game plans) derailed.

Please hear me, I am culpable here! I am a shepherd in Christ’s church. I am called by God, and by you, to fight against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil in our gatherings. I am lamenting my own sin here.

I might be self deceived, but I am pretty good at perceiving the congregation’s reception of God’s Word. I can tell when I am boring people, when I am confusing people, or when I am missing the mark. I also realize that there are limits to what the average person can reasonable absorb in one sitting. I am not advocating long, boring sermons. But this past Sunday, in both services, we were really digging into God’s Word together. We were having a wonderful time searching the Word and God’s Spirit was very much working in our hearts through the preaching. We had hoped to respond to the Word with praise in a final song. And there just wasn’t enough time.

Forgive us, Father, of our narrow schedules, our foolish forms, our worldly preconceptions, our fleshly desires, our ignorance of Satan’s schemes that keep us from cherishing and savoring your wonderful Word and responding with worship in Spirit and truth.

The Vision for a 'Special Needs' Ministry

1. The overall purpose of a ministry to children with special needs is to uniquely reflect the glory of God. In our care of the seemingly helpless and "least of these," we exalt God’s glory in all those he has made in his image, and we display the love of God for humanity and our helplessness before Him. In such a ministry we delight to display a human picture of our own spiritual estate before a merciful and loving God.

2. The definition of a child with ‘special needs’ would include those children who have or are at risk for chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally.

3. Four Oaks would desire to be known as a light in the special needs community where families with special needs children could find spiritual nourishment, rest, and care. Children would be cared for in such a way to enable parents and siblings the freedom to nourish themselves in the Word and in the fellowship.

4. We believe that all children have a spiritual capacity to know God through Christ and it is our mission to fulfill our calling to each child regardless of physical or mental limitations knowing and praying that God would graciously touch their hearts through our care and that the mystery of the Spirit's work would be seen in their lives.

5. We desire special needs students to be offered fellowship with each other and with the church body at large, for the edification of all, children and adults alike. We will pray for healing, help, and mercy for all in need in our midst, sharing in each other’s suffering and sorrows as members of one body.

6. We desire to educate the local body to the intensity of life with a special needs child. We desire partnership between families with special needs children and families without special needs children so that as a church we can extend help and rest where needed.

7. We will seek to meet the needs of these children and their families as best we can through the resources and gifts available in the body of Christ administered by the guidance of God in His Word under the leadership of the Elders of Four Oaks Community Church.

Biblical Basis for this Ministry:

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 10:7-8 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Matthew 25:40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

1 Corinthians 12:20-25 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Isaiah 58:10 … if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

Exodus 4:11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

1 Corinthians 1:25-31 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."