There are a lot of churches out there in desperate need of revitalization.  Usually, these churches will hire young, inexperienced men to be their pastors (because older, experienced pastors can get better gigs).  Here are five mistakes I've seen guys make:

1. Pick a fight (or be drawn into a fight) with a well-loved member of the congregation.
2. Make immediate, dramatic changes to the Sunday service (especially the music).
3. Be proud.  Act like you know a lot more than the people who have been in that church and in that community for decades.
4. Try to effect good reforms (change church polity, implement meaningful membership, begin to practice church discipline) before you have taught on them and convinced people that they are Biblical.
5. Be impatient.  Overspend your pastoral capital.  Try to lead people before they trust you and are sure that you love them.

A warning against putting your spiriutal confidence in your spiritual frutifulness:

A man may edify another by his gifts—and yet be unedified himself; he may be profitable to another—and yet unprofitable to himself.

The raven was an unclean bird: God makes use of her to feed Elijah; though she was not good meat, yet it was good meat she brought. A lame man may with his crutch point to the right way—and yet not be able to walk in it himself. A deformed tailor may make a suit to fit a straight body, though it does not fit him who made it, because of his deformity. The church (Christ's garden enclosed) may be watered through a wooden gutter; the sun may give light through a dusky window; and the field may be well sowed with a dirty hand.

The efficacy of the Word does not depend upon the authority of him who speaks it—but upon the authority of God who blesses it. So that another may be converted by my preaching—and yet I may be cast away notwithstanding... God may use a man's gifts to bring another to Christ, when he himself, whose gifts God uses, may be a stranger unto Christ.

One man may confirm another in the faith—and yet himself may be a stranger to the faith... Thus the candle may burn bright to light others in their work—and yet afterwards go out in a stink.

                                                -- Matthew Meade, The Almost Christian (1661, italics mine)

This is a guest post by Mike Law, which is part of a larger series (featured here on the 9Marks blog) called "Applying God's Word to the Whole Congregation".

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One of the things I hope is helpful in this series is seeing how even though book of the Bible repeat themes, there is always new application to glean for our congregations.

Sermon Text:  Galatians 2:1-10 (Application from 2:10)

Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do

Paul and the Jerusalem Apostles part ways united in the same message and having a concern for the welfare of one another.  Reflected in Galatians 2:10 is the idea that Christians have the opportunity to extend care to their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  As a part of our church’s budget we have a benevolence fund set up to help facilitate that care. 

So, if you’re a member of this congregation and at some point you find yourself in need please come and speak to one of the elders.  It may be appropriate for the church to come alongside you and care for you.  You may have a need that is not financially related, but physically related, don’t hesitate to speak out and ask for help.  The New Testament seems to command local churches to place a priority on extending care to those in need within their membership, and so we want to do that when and where we can.

What the New Testament teaches about the Apostle Paul gives an example of a group of churches helping another group of churches, and I think that is especially what is in view in Galatians 2:10.  So, I’d encourage us as a congregation to be open to extending care to other congregations in need.  I would hope that if we saw a need arise within a sister church we would be willing to send funds and resources to help that church in a time of need.  We want to remember the poor within our own church and when we can, we want to remember the poor in other churches.

Galatians 2:6-10 not only model for us concern for other Christians, these verses also model for us cooperation among Christians.  The Jerusalem Apostles encouraged Paul to continue his work in the ministry – they gave to him the right hand of fellowship.  As Christians we want to rejoice when our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ preach the same message.  We want to give them the right hand of fellowship and support our brothers and sisters in Christ in prayer and in other ways. 

A spirit of cooperation, when rooted in the gospel, could usefully bear fruit in the lives of local churches.  So many churches these days are territorial.  They are secretly concerned about other churches coming in and having success in reaching the people that they wanted to reach when instead they should be giving God praise that the lost have been reached. 

Whenever we can, I think we want to partner with other local churches in preaching the gospel.  We want to give God praise when he is pleased to prosper other local churches around us, and we want to pray that God would prosper them.  That’s part of the reason that we pray for other local churches around the DC area each Sunday. 

We want to remember that we are not God’s last hope for Arlington, or Northern Virginia, or the world.  God is God’s last and only hope for advancing his kingdom.  Pray that the elders would have wisdom in thinking through cooperating with other local churches here in our area.  If you have ideas about how we can cooperate with other local churches, or want to recommend to us other local churches we should think about partnering with, then please talk to one of the elders.  We’d love to hear your ideas about this.

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Mike Law Jr. is the Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in Arlington, VA.  He is husband to his dear wife, Lisa, and father to three wonderful children.  Mike was called to serve as the first Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in July of 2009 after having served on staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church as a Pastoral Assistant and intern.

This is a guest post by pastor Tim Cantrell. Tim is the Pastor-teacher of Antioch Bible Church in Johannesburg, South Africa.  www.antiochbiblechurch.org.za

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I've just returned from a wonderful time back in the USA with family and friends and partner churches, all of whom become only dearer to us the longer we serve Christ here in South Africa where he's called us.  But one surprise on this trip was the chance, during a four hour layover in Salt Lake City, to tour the Mormon Temple compliments of a free shuttle service to and from the airport, obviously as a part of the LDS evangelistic efforts.  What an educational but heartbreaking experience, to see such a Satanic stronghold through the false gospel of Mormonism and the massive kingdom which is being built there. 

Also during our time in the USA, the hot topic of Muslim visions and the Muslim 'insider' movement came up with some Christian friends.  This was the second time in the last few weeks when godly Christian leaders have assured me how God's main way of now reaching Muslims is through dreams, rather than through His Word.  Then, while chewing on these twin issues of reaching Mormons and reaching Muslims, into my e-mail inbox arrives the monthly Gary Gilley "Think on These Things" newsletter.  Gilley tackles both of these very issues in a very engaging newsletter, giving what I found to be a biblical analysis and response and caution to recent evangelical efforts in reaching both Mormons and Muslims.  It helped me be more discerning and prepared for the next time these issues arise in a discussion.  For any who are interested, here is the link to Gilley's article: 

http://www.svchapel.org/resources/articles/21-church-trends/679-inside-the-insider-movement-and-more

I'd love to hear other's thoughts on Gilley's treatment of these pressing matters....

This is the third part in a series of guest blog posts by Mike Law on Applying God's Word to the Whole Congregation.

Mike Law Jr. is the Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in Arlington, VA.  He is husband to his dear wife, Lisa, and father to three wonderful children.  Mike was called to serve as the first Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in July of 2009 after having served on staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church as a Pastoral Assistant and intern.

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Hopefully by now you’ve been able to see how to draw congregational application out of a text.  If that is the case, feel free to stop reading my posts, but if you’re like me, another example is always helpful.

Sermon Text:  Galatians 1:11-24 (Application from 1:11-12)

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 

As a congregation we try to make sure that this good news is part of the very fabric of our congregation.  We want to constantly be reminding each other about the good news we’ve received.  For all of you who have joined this church you know that during your membership interview we asked you to share the gospel with us.  Part of the reason for that is we want to make sure that you know the gospel, and that’s important because you need to embrace it, remind yourself of it, encourage other Christians with it, and share it with those who have not yet received this good news about Jesus.

This is the second part of a guest blog post by Mike Law Jr.

Mike Law Jr. is the Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in Arlington, VA.  He is husband to his dear wife, Lisa, and father to three wonderful children.  Mike was called to serve as the first Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in July of 2009 after having served on staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church as a Pastoral Assistant and intern.

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As I mentioned in my last post, I try to apply God’s Word to various portions of my congregation (spouses, children, employees, employers, singles, non-Christians, Christians, and so on), but I also endeavor to speak to the congregation as a whole in order to biblically shape the vision of our life together.  This post is my attempt to offer examples of how I have tried to do that in my sermons with the hope of encouraging other pastors to give themselves to applying God’s Word to their congregation as a whole. 

Sermon Text: Galatians 1:6-10 (Application from 1:6-7)

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Paul also characterizes the false teachers in Galatia as those who want to distort the gospel of Christ.  That is a serious charge from Paul.  In fact, in some ways Paul’s charge against the false teachers mirrors the activity of the churches of Galatia.  In verse 6 Paul said that they were turning away from the gospel.  This language of distortion in verse 7 is the language of reversal, these teachers are taking the gospel and turning it completely around.

A major application to our church is to stand firm in the faith.  We don’t want a new kind of Christianity that is really no Christianity at all.  We want the Christianity of the Apostles – the Christianity of the New Testament.  There some who say that the church is headed toward “a new way of believing.”  The same thing that was happening to the churches in Galatia happens to churches today.  False teachers introduce a new way to envision Christianity and in doing so they introduce a new kind of Christianity, a distorted kind of Christianity.

The way to combat false teaching that unsettles churches is to stand firm in the faith, so we as a congregation want to continue to understand God’s ways from God’s Word.  We want to draw on God’s word to understand what he is teaching us and only in this way can we stand firm.  Dear church, you are responsible for what is taught here.  When you covenanted with this church you agreed to maintain the doctrine of this church.  And that is totally consistent with what we see here in Galatians.  In verse 6 we saw that Paul put the responsibility for hearing these false teachers upon the churches of Galatia, and here in verse seven he identifies what they’re doing – distorting the gospel.

So how can you be a part of helping us to stand firm in the faith, from being troubled by false teachers?  Be a lover of God’s Word, know what it says so that if false doctrine crops up, you will immediately recognize it.  You want to listen discerningly and to search the Scriptures like the Berean Christians.  You should always feel free to ask a question about something that is said in the service, sermon or in the discipleship hour. 

The elders are an active part of this as well.  We regularly sit down and talk about what took place in the discipleship hour, in the prayers, in the service leading, and in the sermon.  That helps us to disciple one another in our public teaching, but it also functions as an arena in which we can discuss theological questions or seek clarification.  There’s rarely ever disagreement over what is said, and we give God praise for that, but nonetheless we want to keep this practice up as a means to help guard the teaching of the church. 

Ultimately, we need to recognize that the buck stops with the congregation as a whole – that is who Paul holds responsible in this letter (the church that has accepted a different teaching).  Let me encourage you to not only listen discerningly, but to study the deep truths of the faith.  Read good books on doctrine.  They don’t have to be the big thick books.  I can recommend to you some excellent little books on doctrine as well.  Think about memorizing a historic Christian catechism.  I’m slowly trying to memorize the Baptist Catechism of 1813 and it has been really helpful in planting solid doctrine in my mind and it has been a great encouragement to my soul as well.  Perhaps most importantly, pray for us as a congregation.  Pray that we, as a church, would continue to stand firm in the faith once for all delivered to the saints, as Jude 3 says.

The below is a guest post by Mike Law, Jr. Mike is the Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in Arlington, VA.  He is husband to his dear wife, Lisa, and father to three wonderful children.  Mike was called to serve as the first Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington in July of 2009 after having served on staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church as a Pastoral Assistant and intern.

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Over the years I’ve heard pastors apply God’s Word faithfully.  Pastors are often excellent at applying God’s Word to non-Christians and Christians, and yet we often struggle to apply God’s Word to our congregation as a whole.  There’s good reason to work hard at this kind of application, because God intends to display something of his glory and wisdom to the watching world through the church (Ephesians 3:10). 

I’m young in my ministry and I’m learning how to do this as I go.  Yes, I’ve had some training in this area, but I think that I’m only going to learn to do this better as I read God’s Word and prayerfully consider what God is saying to my congregation through his Word.  What you’ll find in this series are my poor attempts to apply God’s Word to the life of my congregation as a whole.  I hope that you (especially you pastors) will be helped by these meditations and encouraged to keep doing the work of applying God’s Word to the life of your congregation as a whole.

Sermon Text: Galatians 1:1-5 (Application from 1:1)

Paul, an apostle - not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.

In one sentence Paul does two things.  He cuts the legs out from under the argument that Christian apostleship comes from mere human men, and at the same time he affirms that his own apostleship comes from Jesus and God the Father.  Here I want to pause and make an application to us as a church.  I’m not sure we have apostles in the church today like there were apostles in the first century church.  I think that was probably a special era of redemptive history where God gifted the church with men who were taught directly by Jesus in order to get the church going.  Nonetheless, apostolic authority still exists in the church today.  What do I mean by that? 

Apostolic authority exists in the church today in so far as it is consonant with the teaching of the Apostles.  And where do we find the teaching of the Apostles?  In God’s Word.  So, as a pastor, I only have authority in so far as I adhere to and proclaim God’s Word.  So if I stop following Jesus and stop proclaiming God’s Word, then you need to stop having me as an authority in the church.  And that goes for every elder and leader we recognize in this congregation.  Authority exists in the church only as it is consonant with God’s Word.

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We'll be running a series of posts from Mike on this topic of applying God's Word to God's people. Check back for more posts in the coming days and weeks.

I’ve almost finished reading (or listening to, really) the Aeneid. Never read it in school. Fascinating. Written probably in 29 to 19 BC for the purposes of promoting Roman values and legitimizing Julius Caesar’s reign.

Filled with the battles of gods and men.

Here’s what struck me: the protagonist is clearly Aeneis. Not the gods. They’re a bunch of punks. But perhaps the fact that this story was written so close to the time of Christ caused me to reflect on the nature of the Bible as literature. Have you ever noticed that no human figure in the Bible is ever really the hero? Either they are like Adam, Noah, Abraham, his sons, Moses, David, Job, or Peter, and they fail miserably along the way and there is no final glorious moment, after which the credits role. Or they are like Joseph, Ruth, Nehemiah, Daniel, or most of the apostles: they don’t mess up, per se, but the story continues on without them, and their significance simply peters out.

More to the point, the narration of the biblical stories does not flow in such a way so as to draw in your sympathies with the human protagonist, as most (I wouldn’t say all) works of literature or pop fiction do. There’s a distance or removedness that you feel from the human characters as you read. Reading the Aeneid, you know the writer means for you to sympathize with Aeneis. And it’s difficult to think of a work of literature in which this is not true.

In that sense, the Bible reads more like history.

But I don’t think the difference can be accounted for simply by the fact that the Bible provides history. As many a book on hermeneutics will tell you, it provides theological history—history from the viewpoint of God.

Now, God is not always a character in the story, or even mentioned in the text (think Esther). Yet all the stories, taken together, do seem to make only him “the good guy” or “the hero” or “protagonist.”

But he’s a hero unlike any other because he does things that are sometimes difficult to understand. The flow of narrative doesn’t always go out of its way to make you sympathetic with him, either (think Job). Rather, it presents him as raw fact. As non-negotiable reality. As immovable person. As rock. You accept him, or you don’t.

In the Aeneid, Jupiter, the king of the gods, talks tough, but he’s toothless. He lets two warring women (Venus and Juno) back him into the corner of indecision. Even the human Solomon does better when faced by two such women. But the God of the Bible? There’s no trifling with him.

Also, I think comparing the Bible to other literature helps us to see that we’re supposed to continually align our sympathies with him and not some human character. And that should change who we’re reading to learn about, and who we should continually preach. Do our expositions of Scripture end up saying more about God, or more about us?

Recently, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Cricuit ruled that the Foundation of Human Understanding, a religious organization that functions as a "vitrual congregation" via regular internet and radio, was not a church for tax purposes.

From the ruling:

The fact that all the listeners simultaneously received the Foundation’s message over the radio or the Internet does not mean that those members associated with each other and worshiped communally. As the trial court observed, “[t]here is no evidence. . . that [the Foundation’s] adherents regard their experience while listening to [the Foundation’s] broadcasts as a shared experience with other. . . followers, or as a communal experience in any way.”

You can read more and link to the whole thing here.

Certainly, the IRS and courts are not the final authority in these matters.  But it's interesting that things that are obvious to even secular organizations (that is, a church that doesn't meet isn't really a church) can no longer be taken for granted in American evangelicalism.