Reformation Day

I know Halloween is the more popular thing going on today, but today is indeed Reformation Day. That is, the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door of Wittenberg. He wanted an academic debate to reform the church over practices he saw that were contrary to scripture. In the 500 years since, yes there are the many fractured branches of the Protestants. And the reformers were still sinners. Luther, Calvin, Knox, to name a few, had their clear faults.

However, what was recovered was the doctrine of justification; that we are dead in our sins, but that God, solely out of his mercy, has chosen to love his people and forgive them, placing the punishment for their sins on Jesus. We do not and cannot earn God's favor.

What else was recovered was worship. We, the regular folks, got to participate again, to sing, to hear God's word in our own language, and to take both elements of the Lord's Supper.

So, I encourage you who are my brothers and sisters to be thankful today for what was recovered. And, we can pray even now for the whole Church to be reformed, indeed conformed, more and more to what our God would have us believe and do.

Can Introverts Qualify to be Elders?

Ironically, I've thought more about this question after I was installed as an elder than before. Still, it is a fair question. Another is how could someone who is drained by social interaction serve well as an elder? We have plenty of examples in scripture of men who appear to be extroverts, such as Peter, James and John (Sons of Thunder), Paul, David, Nehemiah, and more. Looking at these, we may think introversion is hardly desirable in a leader in the church.

However, we have the confounding factor that an extrovert will stand out more than an introvert as a consequence of the behavior associated with each. The extrovert will draw more attention (and perhaps more narrative) due to their higher levels of social interaction. It is not necessarily so, but could be.

Our better guide is to look at the qualifications set out for being an elder. Let's take a look at I Timothy 3: 1-7.

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

There are many aspects of a man's life to consider in these qualifications. We can summarize most of this by saying we should look for maturity and leadership. Maturity encapsulates most of the personal morality references to being above reproach, self-controlled, gentle, etc. Essentially, is he along the road of sanctification? Leadership includes aspects such as able to teach and leading his own household.

When we look at those two major categories of maturity and leadership, neither plainly disqualify an introvert. Maturity can clearly be true of introvert or extrovert. Leadership is the same. Though an introvert may have to push through some very social situations, that doesn't eliminate leadership qualities. Of course, neither category eliminates an extrovert either! Perhaps an extrovert would have to push through being self-controlled in the time he spends socially, but the fact of being extroverted would not disqualify him.

So, based on the general categories and specifics of the qualifications for elder, the introvert may have to overcome some things and the extrovert may have to overcome some things. Neither is disqualified just by being on the introversion/extroversion continuum. Not being mature enough to press on with his duties in spite of introversion/extroversion being a barrier in a given situation would be a problem and perhaps indicate not being qualified. I think this is one of the beauties of the Presbyterian system where a church is run by multiple elders. Hopefully, elders with complimentary gifts (and weaknesses) will be found on a Session so they can encourage each other.

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New Babies - One of the Elder's Joys

Our church has recently welcomed three new babies to our covenant families; two of those within the past two weeks. Both of those are in my shepherding group, so I had the joy and privilege of visiting them recently in the hospital.

My experience with visiting families as an elder is small. Most of these have just involved getting to know the people and praying with them. But, visits around newborns are different. You don't want to stay long, but you do want to see if everyone is well (including dad! but especially mom and baby). I prayed in particular that our God would bless these children with true faith at an early age. As a parent, that is my primary concern for my own children and I hope it is so for these families.

It's been several years since the last newborn in my family, but I remember the excitement and exhaustion. Of course, extended family is a huge support in those first few weeks. Let me encourage my fellow elders to come alongside these families also. Let them know their church loves them. Pray for them from the pulpit. Make sure folks are taking them meals. Even a brief visit is meaningful. The church should be loving on these families and children early. We are all sinners, even these little ones, and need the support of our church family to draw our hearts and minds to focus on our God and Savior. And, that extra chicken casserole someone brought is VERY welcome when you're too tired to think.

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The Weight of Leading Worship

For most of my life, things at church just happened. That is, events are scheduled and I just show up and participate. Having been part of a church plant, and now a young church, I've learned that there are people doing the planning and preparation to make those things happen. For example, weekly worship on Sunday.

At Redeemer Church, we organize worship in two halves. The first half includes the call to worship, prayer, a hymn, first scripture reading, a corporate confession of sin, assurance of pardon, prayer for our needs, and another hymn or two. This part is led by one of the ruling elders (usually). The second half including the second scripture reading, sermon, Lord's Supper, final hymn, and benediction, and is led by our pastor or a guest pastor.

Even when I was young I had some notion that pastors prepared their sermon each week. However, I didn't think much about making the rest of the worship service happen. Now, as a ruling elder, I have to prepare to lead the first half about once a month. There is a two-part burden to this. One is the preparation, which for me is reading things out loud until I can read it clearly, and preparing notes for what to say and how to pray. The second burden is heavier - the act of leading others in worship.

Other elders may experience this differently. For me, it feels like a weight on my heart to go up to the pulpit and lead our congregation through worship. It's not fear of public speaking, which grad school trained out of me. The weight is more about the sense of coming before God and leading others in such a high and significant task. It is made worse knowing I myself am a sinner, in need of grace, and of no particular worth in myself to justify standing before others in such a place. For me, I try to use that weight or burden as I lead worship to convey the seriousness of what we're doing.

I also admit to thinking about the incident of Nadab and Abihu every now and then when going up the stairs to the pulpit.

But for all that weight, it is a deep joy to be a part of leading worship, to point others to our infinite, eternal, and unchangeable God, and to help make worship "just happen" for others.