Pastor's Camp, March 28th - 30th, 2010

Serving as a pastor is not a sprint, but a marathon. The Ancient of Days calls us to invest our days, and nights, and weekends in the care and feeding of His sheep. Too often we shepherds go hungry. That is one reason why Highlands Ministries, each year, offers what we call Pastors Camp. Just as so many of us, when we were young, went off to camp for a time of concentrated teaching in the Word, a time of encouragement with our peers, and a time of great fun, so we gather together in a lodge in the woods for three days of conversation, instruction and feasting. We consider together our calling as pastors, and the nature of the church we serve. We call these sets talks, The Beauty of the Bride. We have found our alums go home well fed, both physically and spiritually. Truth be told, even we at Highlands go home greatly encouraged, having gained new friends, and strengthened old friendships.

Ideally we welcome five pastors, and five ruling elders, representing five churches. Our hope is that each man will go home with a friend to reinforce what has been learned, and to share the blessing. Our time together is close, intimate, suffused with the aromas of man food and cigar smoke. Our conversations are grounded in the Word, and designed to encourage. Our sheep, when we return, thank us. And the church is blessed.

Our speakers are Rev. Laurence Windham, senior pastor at Saint Peter Presbyterian Church, Mark Dewey, SPPC elder, and myself. I’ve attached a testimonial from one of last year’s campers, Rev. Mark Robinette along with a detailed schedule of the retreat’s events and the specific topics that we will talk about.

We need to collect a fee of $225 per man prior to camp to cover the cost of the lodge and meals from Saturday night to Tuesday night. You will be responsible for your lodging on Saturday night. The accommodations at the lodge are similar to those at a motel and you just need to bring your clothes and toiletries. There is a washer and dryer for our use and we have a full kitchen at our disposal. Hiking, horseshoes and enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery help round out a wonderful retreat.

To apply for a spot or if you have questions, please call Eric Owens, at (877) 878-2238 or email us at info@ HighlandsMinistriesOnline.org. You can also visit the Pastors Camp page at our website: www.HighlandsMinistriesOnline.org

Ask RC

How/when did you "get saved?" Or when did God sovereignly grant you the faith to repent and believe?

I don’t know. I certainly had any number of conversion experiences in my life, the latest of which took place when I was in high school. The first I remember was while saying prayers before bed with my mother when I was still in grade school. Another was a typical experience at church camp. The last I was alone, listening to Bob Dylan’s record “Saved” when I asked God to cover my sins in the blood of the Lamb.  I have been tempted over the years, however, when asked to give my testimony, to say something like this, “I was baptized as a child, and have been improving on that baptism, more or less, ever since.” I do not, of course, believe that God necessarily gave me the gift of saving faith at the time of my baptism. The Westminster Confession affirms wisely that the efficacy of baptism is not tied to the moment of time wherein it is administered (chapter 28, section six) and I concur with it. I don't believe in baptismal regeneration.

I am dubious about naming a time and a place despite these conversion experiences for a number of reasons. First, I never remember a time when I did not at least believe that God exists, that Jesus is His Son, and the Bible is His Word. My parents, as they vowed to do at my baptism, taught me the Christian faith from birth. They prayed with and for me. That, of course, doesn’t make a person saved. The devil, after all, believes all these things. Second, there were so many conversion experiences, how would I know which, if any, were the real deal? Third, I cannot judge which experience was real either on the basis of my sanctification. That is, I have sinned grievously even after my last conversion experience. I cannot point to that day and suggest, "Well, the Holy Spirit must have indwelt me then because from that point forward my sins were nice, respectable ones."

It is possible that God gave me new life within the womb, and over time I came into a deeper understanding of the faith He gave me. It is possible God gave me life during one of those conversion experiences. It is even possible that He gave me new life more recently than that. The issue isn’t, of course, when I believe, but that I believe. The drama of a “good testimony,” wherein we paint lurid pictures of our lives before Christ, and tranquil pictures of our lives after Christ is, in my judgment, fundamentally off. I never was a drug addict, and I never lived on the street. I never joined a witch’s coven, and I never played in a heavy metal band. I was, however, at some point in my existence, a rebel against the true and living God, who would have killed Him if I could. After my conversion, however, no one would use my life as a defense of the Wesleyan doctrine of perfectionism. But, because by His grace I have been born again, I repent of my sins, and He forgives. Because I have been born again, though I disobey, I disobey as His son. Because I have been born again, even though I disobey, I am indeed growing in grace, becoming more like Jesus every day.

God blessed me with parents who not only love me, but love Him. I grew up under the ministry of faithful men profoundly committed to preaching the Word of God. I remained, even in the midst of my foulest sins, a son of my mother the church. When I got saved I cannot answer. How I got saved is simple- by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, giving me a heart of flesh so that I might cling to His cross, crying out, "Lord, be merciful to me- a sinner."

Kingdom Note: Numbers and Context

It grates me when sundry bloggers take the news of the day and use it as mere fodder to feed their favorite hobby horse. Brett Favre wins a big football game, and that guy who is always railing against how we worship youth in America seizes the opportunity to praise Brett's hoary head. Or American Idol gets hit with a scandal over a judge's relationship with a contestant, and that lady who has devoted her life to hating TV connects the dots for us on her blog. I don't mind people speaking prophetically against our worship of youth, far less does it concern me that folks speak ill of the glowing blue eyed brain eraser. It's the seizing the day's headlines to make the point that gets under my skin.

Perhaps because I’m guilty of the same thing. I have noted before the strange phenomena that takes place from time to time when we have a national catharsis over some public event. Whether it is the death of Michael Jackson, or Hurricane Katrina we all seem to mourn together over events that are in truth rather distant from us. It is to the agony of defeat what video games are to the thrill of victory- opportunities for faux feelings, emotional self-gratification. Today it is Haiti.

Please do not misunderstand. It is in no way my intention to diminish the hard reality of the great pain many are going through in Haiti right now. I can’t imagine how my life would be changed were I hit with such devastation. Nor am I suggesting that people ought not to step up and volunteer to help in this way and that. When 20,000 dead bodies have been recovered, and fears remain that the death toll may hit 100,000, compassion is utterly appropriate.

But, we must remember this. Since that earthquake hit, in America alone, more than 20,000 mothers murdered their own babies. Since Christmas, 100,000 American mothers murdered their own babies. These did not die because of a natural disaster, though they did find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, in a mother’s womb in modern America. These died because a mother and a doctor, and likely a boyfriend, husband or father conspired together to commit murder. The police stood guard at the door, and politicians we voted for protect the practice. The rest of us simply accept it. The rest of us soothe our weary consciences by worrying about suffering Haitians. We send a check or some blankets, shed a tear watching the footage on the news, and walk away feeling good about ourselves. While babies are being murdered in our home towns.

Abortion is not my hobby horse. It is no one's hobby horse. One can not over-emphasize what is the greatest evil of our day. One cannot cry out against this barbarism too loudly, too shrilly, too persistently. I will not apologize for bringing to the attention of others. I will, however, repent for my own sin. I too forget. I too get distracted. I too lose sight of the horror. May God have mercy on my soul. May God have mercy on the souls of these little children. May God pour out His wrath on those who will not repent, and whose hands are bloody.

Ask RC

Can a single man who has never been married meet the Biblical qualifications for the office of elder or deacon?

Though my answers often begin with the enigmatic “yes, and no” here my answer must be the far more enigmatic “I don’t know.” The issue is this. While dealing with the qualifications for elders, Paul makes the case that an elder must have his children in proper submission, and then he goes on to draw a parallel between ruling one’s house well, and ruling the church well. The issue at hand is whether this is a negative, or a positive qualification. Those who suggest that a single man can perform these roles suggest that single men do not have children that are not submissive. Those who suggest that a single man can perform these roles suggest that single men do not have children that are unsubmissive. The difference is between those who affirm that one must have a positive testimony of one’s family to qualify for these offices, and those who affirm that one must not have a negative testimony.

On the side of the latter is Paul’s admonition to Timothy that he not let anyone despise his youth. The point here is that if only by reason of the term itself, one qualification for elders is that they be elder. But Paul admits the youth of Timothy and insists that his authority be honored. On the other side is the formation of this argument. This side suggests that the connection between ruling one’s house well and ruling the church well is so intimately connected that one cannot qualify for the latter without qualifying for the former. If you haven’t ruled your house well, you cannot demonstrate your ability to rule the church well.

Both sides have their advantages, thus my willingness, indeed my delight to affirm that I don’t know the answer to this question. That said, I believe the question can become practically moot. My principle concern about the modern church is that we tend to choose our officers by a standard that is utterly foreign to the Bible. In many churches, if you are not leading a scandalous life, if you are successful in business, and if you are willing to serve, you can become an officer. That is our great failure. The problem is not single men who are otherwise qualified, but married men who are not otherwise qualified. My counsel then would be this- focus on the qualifications that apply to both married and single. If you have candidates who meet those qualifications, whether they are single or married, it is likely they will serve well as officers in the church. If you have a plethora of otherwise qualified candidates, choose the married men. If you do not, I suspect the singleness of this elder or deacon will not be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

The evangelical church ought to be ashamed of its own standards on qualifications of officers in the church. Let’s get that problem solved, and then we can enter more fully into the debate inherent in the question above.