David Chilton and his son, Nathan, discuss liturgy after visiting another church.  Quite interesting.

(HT:  Douglas Wilson)

Peter Leithart was recently asked (in a Federal Vision discussion at De Regno Christi) which is the true church? His reply:

“Which church?” Is there more than one? …I know this will sound peculiar if not hypocritical, but I hate movements, not least for the reason Daryl cites: Movements unite people ideologically rather than personally and sacramentally, but that’s precisely the problem we say we’re trying to fix.

I really like what was said by Daryl and quoted by Peter, so here it is again,

Movements unite people ideologically rather than personally and sacramentally, but that’s precisely the problem we say we’re trying to fix.

I have seen this very problem, especially among younger Christians or Christians just learning new doctrine–think Calvinism. I think I heard James White say that new Calvinists often go through a stage he called the “Cage Stage”. That is, the time period when they should be locked in a cage because they are the most irritating with their constant shoving of calvinism down the throats of others. As young Christians, or Christians new to some great doctrine, we often unite ideologically or doctrinally (around Calvinism, dispensationalism, baptism, etc…) rather than around fellowship and sacrament. Interestingly, John makes just our being in the light the grounds for fellowship, not our understanding of various doctrines.

1Jn 1:3-7 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

We have fellowship with God, and by that fellowship we have fellowship with others who are fellowshipping with Him in that Light.  Our being in Him (a consequence of the sacrament of Baptism) and fellowshipping with Him (experienced through the sacrament of the Supper) are the grounds of our fellowship with others.  Our fellowship is not meant to be based on doctrinal views, which leads to nothing more than movements, ideological movements.

The following is a post “borrowed” from Douglas Wilson at Blog and Mablog. It is an insightful and thought-provoking post, so I’m sharing it with you, I hope he doesn’t mind.

And Me (The Lord’s Table)

Recently, one of my grandchildren (she is only one) saw the bread being distributed during this Supper, and began cheerfully saying, “And me. And me.”

This is something we all need to learn how to say, because it is right at the heart of biblical faith. This is the child-like approach that Jesus required of us. It is relatively easy to believe propositions in the third person. Jesus died for sinners, and there are certainly sinners out there. They do this and that. God has elected certain sinners for salvation, and they certainly are blessed. They have come to Christ in truth, and have responded to the Word in faith. They are true believers, and we are glad for them.

This is all true enough, and quite proper to say. But we need to grow in the kind of faith that knows how to intrude itself. Christ died for sinners, the preacher says. And me, you say. This is my body which is broken for you, the minister declares. And me, you say to yourself, anchoring the point. This is the cup of the new testament, which is for the remission of the sins for many. And me.

But we do not stop there. Once we are assured that, yes, this includes the referent of and me, we learn to rest in this, growing in faith, and we learn to look around. I am not the only one. God has been kind to us, and I am only here as one of His people. It is not just me, but and me. This is for all the saints, not one solitary person. This is for all the saints gathered in this room. And me.

Could you imagine the mentality that would lead to this?  Although I suppose that it is already happening just not quite so blatantly in some churches.

(HT:  A Little Leaven)

USAToday has an article on people changing churches and why. 

According to the article,

42% of the people say they switched because another church offered more appealing doctrines and preaching or the preacher and church members’ faith seemed more “authentic.”

Let’s just hope the “more appealing” doctrines and preaching are really “more Biblical” doctrines and preaching, not just your “itching ears” kind of stuff.

Incidentally, VisionForum has a recent blog post on “How to Honorably Leave a Church“.

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mattb

Many are mistaken to think that only Roman Catholics and Anglicans and the like have liturgy.  Most every church orders their worship in some way, shape, or form and so therefore have liturgy.  The difference is in how we order our worship.

At my church, we start with a call to worship, a sin offering (confession and absolution of sins), an ascension/burnt offering (ascending into the presence of our Lord–with the reading and preaching of the Word), the grain/tribute offering (tithes and offerings), the peace offering (Lord’s Supper), and the Benediction (blessing and commission).

Others have their own, as reported by Tom in the Box News Network…

Here is 2nd Calvary’s new worship schedule:
Listen Up! (Announcements)
Look It Up! (Scripture Reading)
Hands Up! (Praise and Worship time)
Stick ‘Em Up! (Offeratory time)
Freshen Up! (Breath Mints, etc.)
Shake It Up! (Greet one another time)
Give It Up! (Soloist or Special Music)
Shut Up! (Sermon)
Wake Up! (Invitational)

Everyone has a liturgy…

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mattb 

This is more of a question than a post.

I read or heard somewhere that John Calvin once said something along the lines of (which means this is a loosely paraphrased quotation), ‘why say it when you can sing it?’  That has stuck with me, whether it be true or no, and has got me to want to introduce more singing, when possible, into the worship service of my church.

For the life of me, I cannot find any kind of sheet music or chords (or audio files for that matter) for prayers like the Lord’s Prayer, etc.

Additionally, I have wanted (for a very long time) to find audio files of psalms and hymns broken into parts.  So that you would have one file for the bass, one for the tenor, and so on that way each could learn his part independently and then come together to make beautiful music.

Is there anyone out there who knows where to find this stuff?

Thanks!
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mattb

Please consider the following and comment:

At ReformedCatholicism.com, the following was posted:

Well, for the first time in a year or so, Douglas Wilson has actually responded to a post I’ve written reacting to an article he wrote in Credenda/Agenda. Not only that, but he and Randy Booth fired off their double-barreled cap gun approach–instantly denouncing me and my comments. Lots of noise, no substance. Randy Booth, with the characteristic polite Southern dismissal typical of a Confederate officer you might see on Gone With the Wind (it is, after all, the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches!), even called me a fly! :)

I’m not going to respond directly to Wilson’s comments because any legalist can claim what Wilson has claimed. What? Did I forget that he did mention love and Christ and fervent devotion to a “triune personalism”–really, what does that have to do with anything? The Mormons claim such things and yet their gospel is undoubtedly legalistic. What legalist ever thinks that he engages in legalism?

No, Douglas Wilson is no legalist. He doesn’t teach legalism. For example, it’s not legalism to make sure you have the name and phone number of the pastor of any person who ever makes a negative comment on your blog and then ban those who won’t provide such information. It’s not legalism to insist that the only people who have any say in your congregation are men. Women can’t vote or hold any real position of leadership. Never mind what the Bible says. It’s not legalism to claim that parents are at fault for the mistakes of their grown children. It’s not legalism to personally attack almost anyone who strongly disagrees with you. It’s not legalism to insist that all children must either be homeschooled or classically trained in just right academies. It’s not legalism to blanketly condemn people who put their children in public schools. It’s not legalism to portray public schools as evil tools of the government. It’s not legalism to insist that “covenant renewal” worship is the only way to properly worship God. Never mind that all worship is covenant renewal worship, not just the stuff practiced with the utmost zeal in the CREC. It’s not legalism to interfere with the congregational polity of others when your by-laws say otherwise. It’s not legalism to say that slavery in the South was acceptable. It’s not legalism to further claim that slavery is a biblical idea based on the law of God. It’s not legalism to think that because Christ’s Lordship extends over all things that somehow that means you can offer commentary on anything and expect people to agree to your supposedly prophetic word on the matter and when they don’t you can institute disciplinary proceedings. It’s not legalism to claim that children are denied grace if they can’t partake of communion. It’s not legalism to…well…I’m guessing you get the idea.

Nah. Not legalistic at all. I am obviously completely mistaken. HAH!

The tirade speaks for itself.  And for those who have heard and read Douglas Wilson, you will recognize that these claims are either Biblically correct (not the legalism Mr. Johnson claims them to be) or Pastor Wilson has been misrepresented.  At any rate, the spirit of his post continues in his defensive responses in the comments which follow it.

Question is, which of these (his above post) or the following quote from John Anderson in his 2004 Auburn Avenue Church Conference message titled “How to Practice Catholicity” truly exemplifies the reformed catholicity he preaches?

http://bounddragon.com/__oneclick_uploads/2007/07/armstrong-on-wilson-64.mp3

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mattb

So a Southern Baptist mega-church in the Atlanta-area has elected a woman to lead as Senior Pastor.  Apparently, the SBC’s 2000 Baptist Faith and Message limits the office of pastor to Scripturally-qualified men.  However, the wording allows individual congregations to elect women if they so choose.  This action reveals a few things to us.

One, it is painfully obvious, even in light of the church’s denial, that they are making a statement with this vote. 

Two, congregational rule is an issue here.  The church has 2,700 members, and 500 of those remained after the Sunday morning service to elect the new pastor.  We’ll ask where the other 2,200 members were in another post–the one where we question the Baptist argument “for a regenerate church membership and that’s why we only baptize believers”.  These members elected a woman pastor, contradicting the Bible and their Convention’s statement of faith.  While qualifed elders could have made the same mistake, it seems more likely in a democratic, mob-rule situation than it does in an elder rule situation.  Statistics on this would be nice right about now.

Three, it reveals something of the judgment of God upon us, His Bride.  In Isaiah 3:12 the Lord has written, “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.”  God views women ruling over His people as a judgment for their sin.  We ought to repent corporately for such sin.

Fourth, it points us toward our sin.  Remember, women ruling over us is a judgment upon us as much as it is sin for us.  If God is judging us by this, what is He judging us for?  It points us toward our sin of abdication.  Men everywhere, not just the SBC, have abdicated their responsibilities.  We are not standing up as leaders in our homes, in our communities, in our churches, in our country.  As a result, women are stepping in and filling those roles (see Deborah in Judges).  Women are “wearing the proverbial pants” in the family, women are pastoring our churches (see above), and women are ruling our country (see Hillary Clinton).  I dare say that God is judging men (the responsible, covenant, federal head) for this sin much more than He is judging the women who are stepping in to fill the gaps.

Let us repent of this our sin and restore the order God has ordained with godly, Scripturally-qualified men as elders, and let us refrain from seeking a name for ourselves.

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mattb

MORE:  Albert Mohler, Jr. (president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) has responded to this situation on his blog here.

I cannot begin to do this topic justice, but fortunately for God’s people, Nancy Wilson already has at her blog, Femina.

I highly recommend reading what she has had to say, and even implementing it as you can. 

Interestingly, there is a new (to me) online store that specializes in tips, tricks, recipes, and specialty items for Sabbath Living:  Abondante Living.

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mattb