http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/ A forum for the discussion of Reformed Theology and the historic Christian Faith en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:36:06 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.puritanboard.com/images/retro/misc/rss.jpg http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/ http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/148-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:24:54 GMT I have cease to label each entry with a day and number; there isn't enough happening, unfortunately, for there to be any value in using that particular system of journaling.

Last week I attended an SBC church I found on 9 Marks. That particular morning I was especially sad due to many things happening in my life right now, which are naturally affecting me emotionally. I entered the Vacaville Community Center in which this particular congregation meets weekly, and sat in the very back corner. As I was thinking about the words of the songs the congregation just finished singing, I heard the pastor announce that there was a guest speaker today. (I am going to refrain from giving his name, for he is a bit of a theological celebrity in some circles, and I don't wish for it to distract from the point I am trying to make.) As I heard the name, I almost dismissed it as an error on the part of my listening, as if to hear that particular name would only be wishful thinking.

I have listened to many sermons by this man, and have been blessed extensively. When I first found his sermons on monergism.com, I knew very little about him. Because of this, he had no reputation to live up to, and no expectations to meet. From the very beginning, I could feel his heart for people in his words. Not just that he loved in the general direction of others, but that he really cared and could genuinely connect with suffering people on their level.

I knew he originally pastored in a town outside the Bay Area, but I read that he moved out of state years ago; so, I never expected to ever see him in a place like Vacaville.

His sermon had everything a normal guest speaker's sermon lacks. He was clear about the Gospel; he spoke outside of common rhetoric; he took various risks with the power of his statements; and, he connected with the congregation on a very deep level. He preached for more than an hour, and only ceased because the church had to be out of the building by 1:00. ]]> danmpem http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/148-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/128-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:48:13 GMT Day 10
Yesterday I attended a local Evangelical Free church. I went to its earliest service, so I had the advantage of beating the crowds later on in the morning. The pastor was preaching on of the last sermons of the current series "Wisdom for Relationships". It thought-provoking, but rather general and non-intrusive. Although evident he had a plan for what he wanted to teach, the sermon itself was fairly improvised; it was clear he did not give much attentiont o straying away from words and phrases he natually gravitates towards as a person and as a speaker. This was my first time there, and I was already getting too comfortable with his style; his rhetoric was rich with Chrisian lingo and lacking both edges of the sword. At the start, he lamented not having a prop with him as he usually does. In this case, he wanted to have an old-fashioned scale; instead, he just added a picture of one to his PowerPoint.

I appreciated the way he utilized multiple translations at a single time. Not that he used multiple translations - my old pastor used to use six in a single sermon every Sunday, and it was very cumbersome. It was the way he did it. It appeared that he used the ESV by default every Sunday. This particular one, though, he was preaching through Proverbs and wanted to help make the similes more accessible to some of the congregation. He used the NLT for contemporary parallels to Hebrew life. I think what made this different for me was that he started with the essentially literal words of the verse, brought in relevant comparisons from the NLT, and then brought it back to the original meaning. This was a little refreshing from what I am used to: someone switching the translations so often that I become suspicious that they are doing this just to make the Word of God say what he wants it to say.

The music was both a blessing and a little overboard for me. There were two electric lead guitarists, a bassist, a pianist, a keyboardist, two solo vocalists, another guitarist for rhythm, and a drummer completely enclosed in a sound-resistant fiber glass container. The emphasis on loud music during worship is exactly what I have been trying to get away from.

What I did find very engaging about worship, though, was that I had never heard any of the songs before. The lyrics had many layers to their depth as well as texture to their message. One of the things I have recently become critical of is whether the lyrics are directed at God or an individual. For the moment, I am not referring to man-centered worship songs. I am talking about music that really is glorifying to God, but that may have more of a conversational style to it's lyrics, as though they are directed at another person but speaking about God. This is what they were. Songs telling another person about the love of God instead of words one may use to worship God apart from an evangelistic agenda.

In the middle of the sermon, the pastor called the band back on stage, and they sang "American Dream" by Casting Crowns. It was to help emphasize his point about pursuing a life after God instead of worldly things. There was a PowerPoint with words and graphics to go along with each verse of the song, emphasizing various parts of the lyrics.

In the church brochure, there were pictures of everything from Bible studies and Sunday school to church pot lucks and youth group. It was very clear that the children's ministry operated completely separate from the rest of the body. The current campaign was to get the kids of Funkytown to sign up for the summer camp where they would hopefully come back on fire for Jesus.

When I was leaving, it occurred to me that if I took a friend of mine here, who was a non-believer, I would really have no idea if he would hear the gospel, because, as Al Mohler once said, their back door is bigger than their front door. ]]> danmpem http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/128-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/120-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:18:37 GMT Day 3
I was able to contact more of the church offices today. After calling around a bit, I got on the phone with local General Baptist pastor, and while it was clear pretty fast that his local body wasn't the right place for me (mostly retired folk), he kept pushing the question as to what I was looking for in a church. "Are you looking for contemporary, Baptist, Pentecostal?" When I gave him the details of my theological convictions, he started to give me some suggestions as to where I might like to go. After a few minutes of talking, it was clear that he was going to sell me on a church regardless of what I told him I was interested in.

While none of the three Lutheran churches had college groups, two asked me to start one. Yeah, I know. :eek: Not only do they not have any idea who I am, I would be doing such a disservice if I ever took it up.

By far, the pastor I hit it off with the most was the Sunday morning preacher of the third Lutheran church. He started out cautious, letting me know that I ought to come by and look at something called a "confession" and see that the teachings in his church are not only Biblical but are also very similar to those of the Protestant Reformation. When I told him that I had read Martin Luther and John Calvin, his enthusiasm burst, and he immediately opened up. It was touching. (It turns out that his wife was my high school Spanish teacher two years in a row.) ]]> danmpem http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/120-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/117-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:22:03 GMT _Day 2_ I moved back home to Vacaville, CA. While I am very happy with a local body in Dixon, the drive is too far to be taking every time there is an event or small group meeting, not to mention every Sunday morning. I am not very familiar with... Day 2
I moved back home to Vacaville, CA. While I am very happy with a local body in Dixon, the drive is too far to be taking every time there is an event or small group meeting, not to mention every Sunday morning. I am not very familiar with the various bodies here in Vacaville, save the megachurches.

Yesterday, I made a list of churches out of the phone book. After calling each of them and getting worship service schedules from their answering machines, the list made it down to 15 possibilities. These denominations ranged from Baptist & Presbyterian to Lutheran & Evangelical Free.

Today, I called their offices once again and spoke with several pastors, office managers, and small group leaders. Currently, this week I am scheduled for two small groups, one college fellowship gathering, and one adult Bible study class.

In the last five of the six years of being a Christian, all I have been exposed to is a seeker-sensitive and emerging church atmosphere. Doctrine was of secondary concern, and the gospel was something to be taken for granted.

While I'm going to look into all of the churches I have written down, the ones so far that look promising are Valley Evangelical Free Church and St. John Lutheran.


A Note on What I am Looking & Not Looking For

Essentials:
Reformed view & teaching of soteriology
Expository preaching
College community of any size
A group of older people to guide the younger
Opportunities for serious one-on-one discipleship
Confessional/Doctrinal Statement
Music during worship service


Non-essentials (I'm not concerned which way these go):
Credo/Paedo views on Baptism (I don't currently have a position or conviction)
Eschatology (I do have one, but I'm not getting picky)
Confessional/Doctrinal Statement (I'm okay with WCF, LBC, 3FU, etc. I just want them to at least have one. Where I come from, that is asking a lot.)
Denomination Affiliation
Music during worship service (I don't care if they are E.P., I just want the option of not having a rock band leading worship) ]]> danmpem http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/danmpem/117-series-looking-membership-new-local-body.html