When it comes to grasping the nature of pastoral ministry, Ephesians 4:12–13 is one of the most liberating and inspiring passages in all of Scripture. In a letter loaded with theology and practical instruction for what healthy churches believe and do, this passage is one that leaps off the page.

It’s liberating because it releases pastors from the ever-present temptation to be the center of all the ministry and mission that happens within the body. When the vision of “equipping the saints for the work of ministry” is caught and transferred, the burden of the church’s mission spreads to many shoulders.

It’s inspiring because Paul is describing a body of active participants, not mere spectators. The local church shouldn’t look like an NBA team with one Alpha Dog doing all the scoring and grabbing all the headlines, while his teammates watch. It should be like a great football team (as much as it pains me to say it, think of the recent Alabama teams), where every player—from kicker to quarterback—has a role that is essential to the team’s success. When every member of the body of Christ senses their unique gifts and role in building up the body, there is an outpouring of Spirit-filled excitement. And there is an exponential increase in the capacity of that local church for engaging in gospel mission.

The role of elders is to help God’s people comprehend their vital role, help them discern how they are gifted to contribute, and then see them deployed in grace-empowered ministry. As Paul says in Ephesians 4:13, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”

That’s the vision behind our new Mission Briefs at Providence Community Church. They are quick testimonies that describe how people are living out different aspects of our mission: To be a community of disciples who Treasure, Declare, and Mature in the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God. They are snapshots that show all the different ways God is making and maturing disciples through the ministry of normal Christians, people who were simply faithful to the gospel opportunities God placed before them.

Our first Mission Brief, seen in the video below, tells the story of Leon. He’s a young man from Shanghai, China. His father is a prison warden (you can imagine what this might mean), and neither of his parents are believers. Through God’s design, he ended up at a community college just down the street from our church. And that’s where the saints, equipped and deployed for ministry, come in. Leon was invited to live with one of our families. He began attending a weekly meal for international students at another home in our church. Through numerous members taking their place in gospel ministry and mission, Leon heard about Jesus for the first time. And through the grace of God, extended through his people, Leon was born again to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3–4)!

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Matthew Wassink is a 2009 graduate of the Pastors College and served as an associate pastor at Sovereign Grace Church (Bloomington, MN) before moving to Kansas in 2011 to be the senior pastor of Providence Community Church. Matthew and his wife, Hannah, have two children.

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Recently I posted on Twitter:

The fact that Psalms doesn’t include a soundtrack or notation clues us in to what God values most in our worship songs.

I find it fascinating that God gave us a “songbook” with numerous musical references, but no actual music. It’s not that music is unimportant. Badly played or written music can make great theology sound obscure or unappealing. Great music can make shallow lyrics sound profound and incredibly moving. Which is why when we’re deciding what to sing congregationally, we want to give the greatest attention to the lyrics we’re singing.

In response to my tweet someone asked:

@bkauflin Is it not possible to worship without words?

Briefly, the answer is yes, especially when we think of worship in the “all of life” sense. We can worship God, or anything for that matter, without words. We do it all the time. The sight of a sunset over the ocean, a newborn baby, or a loved one can leave us speechless in wonder. But in my tweet I was specifically referencing the songs in our gatherings. While we can certainly worship God while listening to or playing instrumental music, here are a few reasons why it’s crucial to keep the connection between congregational worship and words strong.

Words are the primary way God has revealed himself to us and relates to us.
We use words because God is a speaking God. From the garden of Eden, words have been God’s primary means of interacting with us. At Mount Sinai, God met the Israelites with thunder and lightning, thick clouds, and an ear-splitting trumpet blast. Quite the worship experience. But the most significant aspect of that encounter was God giving them the “Ten Words” (Deuteronomy 4:2–12). God has always wanted us to know more of him than can be conveyed through impressions, images, or sounds, as powerful as they may be.

David was a skilled musician of profound emotions. But when it came to worshiping God, it was his words, not his music, that God chose to preserve for us in Scripture (the point of my tweet).

When Israel returned from the Babylonian captivity, Ezra sought to reestablish temple worship. So he and the other priests stood on a platform and read “from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). God’s Word provided the foundation for the repentance, gratefulness, praise, and celebration that followed.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and scribes for basing their worship more on traditions of men than on God’s commands (Matthew 15:3–9). The early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). Paul encouraged Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture and commanded him to “preach the word” (1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:2). We are to “let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly” as we sing” (Colossians 3:16).

God means for words, especially His Word, to be at the heart of our engaging with him.

Words are what we use to define God, ourselves, and our world.
Among other things, words tell us how God has acted in history and what God is actually like. Words inform us that we are sinners who deserve the wrath of God but that Jesus has come to suffer the wrath of God in our place, purchase our forgiveness, and reconcile us to God. Words also tell us that creation was once in harmony with God’s will but through our rebellion became subject to decay and futility. We are not evolving into something better but experiencing the damaging effects of the fall until the day when Jesus returns for his bride and makes all things right. Words also enable us to distinguish between experiences rooted in musical emotion or eternal truth.

Worship is more than words, but it’s not less than words.
Encounters with God are sometimes difficult to define. But wordless worship is not somehow better than worship with words. Worship without words can never communicate objective truth and God is the defining, objective reality in which we live and move. Experiences, whether audibly through music or visually through art, are in large part subjective. The ultimate goal of our worship is not to reach a state of feeling without thinking. And Revelation indicates we’ll be using words (without sin!) in the new heavens and earth.

Words enable us to worship God together.
Words enable us to think and say the same things together, rooting our unity in the gospel and not simply in a shared experience. A hundred people listening to a song being played can have a hundred different thoughts about what is happening. As my friend Jon Payne has said, “A picture is worth 1000 words. The problem is, the viewer gets to decide what those words are.” There will be some variation when we hear/proclaim words together, but there’s greater potential for unity in our understanding and expression. It’s one of the reasons God has us sing together and not simply hum or whistle.

Words complete the act of worship.
I can’t make this point better than C.S. Lewis, who wrote in Reflections on the Psalms, “But the most obvious fact about praise — whether of God or anything — strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise…I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” My love for my wife leads me to say something. Again and again and again. I want her and others to know my feelings. So it is in our relationship with God. Worship works its way out into words.

So by all means, let us thank God for music and treasure those times we’re dumbstruck as we consider the unparalleled greatness, holiness, beauty, and mercy of God in Jesus Christ. But let’s also remember that God redeemed us to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

* This post originally appeared on Bob Kauflin's website, Worship Matters.

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Bob is the Director of Sovereign Grace Music. His responsibilities include equipping pastors and musicians in the theology and practice of congregational worship, and contributing to Sovereign Grace CDs. He is a pastor and one of the worship leaders at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, KY. He is the author of, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness. Bob blogs at Worship Matters and hosts the bi-annual WorshipGod conference.

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Grace and Peace (acoustic version, performed and written by Joel Sczebel) is a three verse meditation on the wonder that grace and peace have come to us through Jesus Christ. This song is based on Romans 1:7, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." 

A stuido version of Grace and Peace will be included on Grace Has Come: Songs from the Book of Romans scheduled to release June 27, 2013. Keep an eye on Sovereign Grace Music's website as the release date approaches, and watch the promo video below for a look at what's been happening during production.

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Please be aware of the following press release.

Statement by Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM)
Regarding the Amended Complaint Filed May 14, 2013

With a heavy heart, we write to update you on the civil lawsuit filed against Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM).

The suit has been amended a second time. It claims that several members of Covenant Life Church and Sovereign Grace Church of Fairfax were the victims of egregious sexual abuse by a number of alleged perpetrators at various times and places. It further alleges that a number of pastors from those churches conspired to cover up the alleged abuse.

Named among these alleged perpetrators is pastor John Loftness, former Chairman of the SGM Board of Directors. John Loftness has denied the allegations and has offered a statement which is available at http://solidrockchurch.net/.

The charges in this amended complaint are serious, grievous, and difficult to read. The thought of such alleged abuse is extremely disturbing. Because of our resolve to see truth and justice prevail, we continue to work closely with legal counsel.

Our careful review of the allegations to date has not produced any evidence of any cover-up or conspiracy. If we discover otherwise, our Board will immediately report it to the authorities and see that it is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Without minimizing the serious nature of these allegations nor the grievous harm individuals may have experienced, we understand that it is possible for people to be wrongly accused. We thank God for the judicial system where these allegations can be brought, a defense made, and a verdict rendered through a fair and just process.

Thank you for your patience as these legal proceedings take place. Please continue to pray for God’s will to be done and for SGM to work through these challenging circumstances in a manner that honors him and that demonstrates that our hope and trust are in him.

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Do you feel weak? How do you view your weakness?

The Bible says that we are all weak (so you’re not alone)! Romans 3:10–12 talks about our weak state in this way, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Christianity is for weak people—Christ came to die on the cross for weak sinners like me and like you.

So, embrace your weakness, see that what you truly need is Christ! Take joy that you haven’t been left in your weakened state but you have been saved by the blood of Christ Jesus.

The most amazing thing about the gospel is that it brings peace, comfort, and encouragement to the weak. We are weak but he is strong, we are overwhelmed but he is sufficient, we are stressed but he is sovereign, we are weary but he gives us rest, we feel alone but he is near—he does all this through the gospel of Christ.

Allow your weakness to bring you to a greater appreciation for your savior and for his ever present help in time of need. May your heart sing “Hallelujah, all I have is Christ!”

Ray Ortlund writes:

…Romans 8:26 does not say, “The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses” but singular “weakness.” Our problem is not just weaknesses. More profoundly, our problem is weakness. Weakness is not just one more experience alongside our other experiences; weakness is the platform on which we have all our experiences. Weakness is a pervasive presence in all we are and do. It will not always be so. But for now, it is.

Every Sunday I am a weak man preaching to weak people. Admonition has its place. But what weak people need, more than admonition, is help. For weak people to live the Christian life in a way that is humane and sustainable, rather than defeating and shaming, we need good news more than good challenge.

Weak sinners, continually reassured by grace, will accomplish more for Christ than they would if continually confronted by demand. I am thankful that the Spirit meets us not in our strength but in our weakness, where alone His help enters in.

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Kurt Weaver is a pastor at Crossway Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Kurt graduated from the Pastors College in 2006 and joined the staff that June. Since that time, Kurt has taken over Crossway's parent/youth ministry (doxa), evangelism and outreach, served as the Sunday meeting administrator, and headed up media development. Kurt and his wife, Barbara, have six children.

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Four days left to register

Registration closes this Tuesday, May 14, so plan to register soon if you'd like to attend Transfer. We'll be gathering together in just a few weeks to worship our Savior and set aside time to celebrate and transfer the biblical values we treasure. We hope many of you will join us.

Why this conference?

That the next generation might set their hope in God… Psalm 78:4, 7 says: “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done… so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” We want to transfer what matters. We want those after us to see how glorious a relationship with Jesus is. We want them to hope in God—not in our methodologies, our practices, our structures, or even our example, but in God himself.

Drawing on our history as a family of churches and the amazing truths we celebrate, the Transfer Conference will create a context for us to intentionally transfer the things we treasure to the next generation. If we assume these things, we will lose them, so we must be intentional to transfer them. In a focused way, Transfer will allow us to do this by devoting each session to a particular truth we collectively treasure: God’s glory, God’s gospel, God’s word, God’s presence, God’s people, God’s design, and God’s mission.

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Visit www.TheTransfer.org for more information and to register.

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Jesus has something to say to you if you are one of his followers—“Take heart.”

“Take Heart” = No matter what—don’t worry, be encouraged & filled with hope from the inside out. 

Listen to your Savior say…

Take Heart, You are Never Alone in the Storms of Life.

To the disciples who thought they were all alone in the storm Jesus says,

“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Mark 6:50

Take Heart, I Can Do What No One Else in the World Can Do for You.

To the woman with an incurable disease who found absolutely no help from anyone on earth Jesus says,

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.  Matthew 9:22

Take Heart, I Have Met Your Greatest Need by Forgiving Every Single One of Your Sins.

To the man who had no clue that his greatest need wasn’t his nonfunctioning legs Jesus says,

“Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2

Take Heart, I am Calling You to Cast Your Cares on Me Because I Care for You.

To Bartimaeus weighed down with the burden of blindness Jesus had his disicples say, 

“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Mark 10:49-51

Take Heart, I Will One Day Bring All Your Brokenness & Suffering to an End.

To all disicples of all time who are dealing with the suffering & heartache of being broken people living in a broken world he says,

“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Take Heart. 

* This post originally appeared on Ian McConnell's website, Blue Collar Gospel.

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Ian is the pastor for preaching and vision at Grace Bible Church in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which he replanted in 2005 (watch a video of his story). Ian and his wife, Rachel, have three children.

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If you join us in Orlando in a few weeks for Transfer, Jared Mellinger will be one of the speakers you'll get to hear from. We recently interviewed him about the topic he's speaking on—God's people—and his vision for transferring a love for the church to the next generation.

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How was the gospel transferred to you?

I had the indescribable blessing of growing up in a Christian home where my parents told me about Jesus. If God placed you in a Christian home, he has been very good to you and you should thank him often for it. When I was five years old, I prayed with my mother that my sins would be forgiven so I could be in heaven with Jesus. However, during my teen years, I fell in love with the pleasures of this world and rebelled against God and against my parents. But I learned that God is the God who seeks prodigals, and he pursued me through the faithful love of my parents. I was born again as a teenager, was baptized, and joined the church. And my life has never been the same. The grace of God amazes me every day. And the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).

Would you describe the topic you will be presenting at the conference?

My topic is “God’s People,” or the local church. The church is simultaneously the dearest place on earth and one of the most difficult places on earth. We assume the church will be easy to love, because it is the bride of Christ. But the church is often weak, unattractive, disappointing, and difficult to love. Yet God has set his love upon the church, and Christ laid down his life for the church. Therefore we should cultivate a lifelong passion for the people of God. I want to spend my life saying with the Psalmist, “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight” (Ps. 16:3).

How was that particular value transferred to you?

My dad was (and is) a pastor who loves the church. So I grew up with examples of what it means to love the people of God. When I was five or six years old, my parents were sent from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to participate in a church plant. When I rebelled as a teenager, my parents were surrounded by a community of believers that was committed to bearing their burdens. I grew up in a church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that showed me what the church is supposed to be.

What challenges do you perceive to this value in our culture?

Where do we begin? There is an individualism through which we close off our lives and reject community. There is a tendency to reject commitment that ignores church membership. There is a love of change and newness that refuses to settle down and insists on hopping from one church to the next. There is a rejection of authority through which we prefer to not submit to the Scriptures and to authority figures in the church. There is a poor theology of the church, so that when people have bad experiences in a church they feel the freedom to reject the local church altogether. We are being called by so many voices to embrace a spirituality that moves beyond the church. But all of this, I believe, is a great mistake.

What are the key applications of this value in the lives of young people?

My burden is really quite simple: I want the next generation to love the local church. Not just in theory, but in reality. God wants us to love the churches we belong to, with all their weakness, faults, sins, and idiosyncrasies. I want to see more young people with a genuine enthusiasm about the church. I know you can see weaknesses and faults in your church—those are obvious. But can you see God’s purpose for the church and the beauty of the church? That is the question that confronts each one of us. I see reluctance in young people to be enthusiastic about the church, and this concerns me. If Christ gave his life for the church, I want to give my life to cultivating and spreading a passion for the people for which my Savior died.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the conference, and I am praying that God uses the messages and the fellowship to change lives for his glory.

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Still thinking about attending Transfer? Visit www.TheTransfer.org for more information and to register.

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Production is in full swing for Sovereign Grace Music's upcoming album Grace Has Come: Songs from the Book of Romans.

The album is set to release June 27, 2013. Keep an eye on Sovereign Grace Music's website as the release date approaches, and watch the promo video below for a look at what's been happening during production.

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Earlier this week we announced that H.O.P.E. Community Church will begin formal services in Allentown, PA later this summer. Emmanuel Suarez, a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary and the Sovereign Grace Pastors College, has been diligently preparing to be sent from Grace Community Church with his family and church planting team. 

Emmanuel recently took some time to update us on this church plant so we can better support him, his family, and all those involved with our prayers. You can read part 1 here. Today we bring you part 2 of this interview. 

What influence did the Pastors College and your church planting residency have on your vision for this church plant?

The Lord provided several blessings during my time at the Pastors College (PC) that I believe will continue to benefit and influence the vision for the church plant. First, having just graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary the same year, the time at the PC provided me the opportunity to strengthen and reinforce my theological foundation in Scripture, which is vitally important for any church plant. Second, it turns out that I attended the PC during one of the most difficult seasons in SGM. Nevertheless, it gave all of us at the PC front row seats to observe and learn how to begin to prayerfully navigate real problems that will come to all churches. Third, I value the friendships that I have come to know through the PC. Particularly, there’s a group of us from the Northeast who are either in the process of planting churches or are already in significant pastoral situations. This group has been meeting periodically for a time of fellowship, but it also provides a context to listen and learn from the other church planters. Not to mention that these brothers provide a real context for the formation of a meaningful gospel partnership with other local churches.

My church-planting residency has afforded me the opportunity to observe and learn from my pastors at Grace, particularly in counseling, church discipline situations as well as administration. In addition, my residency has been absolutely vital for making the necessary preparations of planting a church. I am discovering that it takes a lot of time and effort to plant a church. The residency frees me up to focus on the church plant and spend quality time in Allentown.

Where is your church planting team coming from? What are some things you're grateful for about those going with you to Allentown?

Most of our church planting team is coming from my sending church, Grace Community Church. There are numbers things that I’m really grateful to God for those who are coming with me to Allentown. First of all, we have a group who are spiritually hungry to see God pour out his Spirit in Allentown. Since January of this year, we have met weekly for a time devoted to prayer, worship, and intercession. It has been exciting to observe how the Holy Spirit continues to give a spiritual increase to the group displayed in a greater intensity, faith and joy in prayer. Secondly, I am also grateful for the variety of people the Lord has brought together for this plant. It’s a mix of seasoned, mature adults combined with a solid core of young adults. This kind of mix will be particularly ideal for our children’s outreach focus. Third, I am grateful for the faith that the group has demonstrated in their willingness to sacrifice personal comforts in order to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ into a poor and needy community.

Can you describe your partnership with Grace Community Church, your sending church?

My partnership with Grace Community Church (Grace) has been foundational for the church plant in many ways. Grace has willingly surrendered families that have effectively and faithfully served in the church for many years. As a result of Grace’s generosity, the Lord has surrounded me with men and women of wisdom and experience. Another demonstration of the support that Grace has given to the plant is that they are sponsoring the Run for H.O.P.E. 5K event in Souderton, PA. The purpose of this event will be to raise funds for the church plant in Allentown. There has also been discussion of forming a permanent e-team from the members of Grace that would be dedicated for providing regular support for outreaches in Allentown. Undoubtedly, given the nature of this church plant in an urban poor inner-city community, sustaining a lasting and meaningful partnership with Grace will be vital for the gospel to go forward in Allentown through H.O.P.E.

As a church planter, how is partnership with Sovereign Grace helpful to you?

As described above, my partnership with Sovereign Grace (SGM) is most visibly expressed through our vital partnership with Grace Community Church. But in addition to our partnership with Grace Community Church, it is our sincere desire to see the same kind of partnerships form with other Sovereign Grace churches. As a church plant in an urban poor area, we are very much aware of the difficulties and challenges that will confront the church plant. We will need the prayer, financial, and resource support of many churches and organizations. My partnership with SGM has also been specifically helpful in the number of resources and information that is made available to church planters. Like I said earlier, planting a church involves a lot of different disciplines. I am grateful that I do not have to figure it out all by myself. These SGM resources release me to focus on the necessary matters of the plant and not be bogged down with administrative details. Another benefit of a partnership with SGM arises out of the religious context of inner city Allentown. Inner city Allentown has an over-abundance of small independent Pentecostal churches. I’ve observed, in many cases, that communicating to residents in the community that we are part of an organization brings immediate credibility. Some in the community are simply exasperated by all the church splits that have led to more independent, unaccountable churches. Being a part of SGM will be helpful to avoid this characterization.

How can we be praying for you and for the church plant?

As any plant, we are in need of much prayer. We greatly covet and appreciate the prayer of God’s people. Please pray for the following:

• Pray that the Lord would continue to sustain me and my family in the power of his grace and grant me his wisdom to faithfully serve his people
• Pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the entire church planting team
• Pray for a move of God in Allentown, especially among the children and youth
• Pray that the work needed to get the building to conform to code be done quickly and cost-effectively, and that we would be given much favor with the Allentown building code inspectors.
• Pray that Lord would give us the gift of wisdom and creativity as we prepare for a major children’s outreach program to launch the church.

How can those interested in the church find out more?

If anyone would like more information on the Allentown church plant they can visit our web page at http://www.allentownhopechurch.org.  Also, I can be reached directly by email at eagle.suarez@gmail.com

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