Christian Leadership

To understand the big picture of Christian leadership I believe there are at least five main doctrines to consider.  These are my thoughts on leading for Christ by the truth of Scripture.  

Also, check out the Leadership post at - veritasfellowship@blogspot.com. 

GOD - His character and works, Holy, eternal, and triune.  Creator of all things, Sovereign and Gracious.

SCRIPTURE - the Word of God is the Word from God.  John 1:1, the Word became flesh in Jesus.   

CHURCH - the Body of Christ is built upon the gospel of Christ in the truth of Scripture.  

MINISTRY - A summary plan is for Worship, Discipleship, and Fellowship.

LIFE - Living out faith in Christ and nurturing our Families, with Work and Ministry.  

The Truth Appeal - as followers of Christ in a broken world, we can appeal to the truth of God and the truth of Scripture.  These are eternal in a constantly changing culture.  

FAITH TODAY: Jesus said, John 17:17, "Sanctify them in truth, your word is truth."

Ligonier Ministries

I retired from being an Advancement Officer at Ligonier Ministries, (www.ligonier.org), on July 31st.  I love Ligonier and all the people of Ligonier, but I need more time for my family.  

Also, by my own admission, I wasn't a very good fundraiser as I was always promoting the message of the ministry primarily.  I proclaimed a 9-part 'Message' and 1-part 'Money' philosophy of fundraising.  And I still think that's an excellent way to go.  

So, what are the 9 parts 'Message' of Ligonier as I see them?  From my perspective, here they are ...

1. Bible - Ligonier was instrumental in the creation of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.  R.C. Sproul was one of the leading spokesmen at the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, ICBI, in 1978.  This doctrine of inerrancy is foundational for all that Ligonier teaches and proclaims.

2. GOD - Probably the most influential book that R.C. wrote was, "The Holiness of God."  In this work, R.C. describes how the holiness of God is His central character and therefore the foundation for all theology.  God's character is sovereign, immutable, and holy, it does not change with culture.

3. Justification By Faith Alone - Next, I believe R.C. was known for his passion for the Reformation doctrine of JBFA.  Martin Luther championed this doctrine against Roman Catholic theology in the sixteenth century.  This is the key doctrine for the essence of salvation, which is by faith in Christ alone.  

4. Renewing Your Mind - Many people have said they first heard of R.C. and Ligonier Ministries through the radio program by this name.  R.C. saw the importance of the mind in the work of sanctification, which comes from the verse, Romans 12:2, and this is key for our fruitfulness and maturity in the faith.

5. Kingdom - R.C. was not an armchair theologian, but established the Ligonier Valley Study Center in 1971, which then was moved to Orlando in 1985 and became Ligonier Ministries.  He also established St. Andrew's Chapel, and the Reformation Bible College, all to propagate the kingdom of God.

6. Communications - in my many meetings with Ligonier friends and donors, there was an overwhelming testimony that R.C. had a great capability for communicating the difficult and abstract doctrines and philosophies clearly.  R.C. was a great communicator and could integrate many different ideas together. 

7. Philosophy - more than just a great Bible teacher and theologian, R.C. understood philosophy very well.  He described switching his undergraduate degree to philosophy as he was fascinated by the truth and logic of ideas.  He also could dismantle any secularistic or heretical argument that threatened the truth of the faith.  

8. Covenants - throughout the 20th century the Dispensational system of theology was primarily taught to the great majority of Evangelicals.  R.C., along with many other great Reformed theologians saw the truth of the Covenant structure connecting the OT with the NT in Christ.

9. Reformation - this may be a stretch on my part, but I believe R.C. was seeking a modern-day reformation like that of the sixteenth century.  R.C. was a Reformer as he knew that the historical Reformed theology would bring reformation and grace to all Christians, the church, and then culture.  

10. Money - last of all there is the sensitive doctrine of Stewardship, and seeing that all of our resources in time, talent, and treasures are gifts from God, and they belong to God.  Even more, we can see giving these gifts as eternal investments for the kingdom of God, with historical reformational theology.  

Ligonier Ministries is all about proclaiming, teaching, and defending the Holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible.  And, I'll be retired from the workforce now but my teaching ministry of these doctrines and Truths will continue for the rest of my life.  We need the Truth of Scripture to see through the self-centered, people-centered, and secularistic culture of our day.  And, we need to teach these Truths with grace diligently to our children for their faith, and for the generations to come.  SDG.  

FAITH TODAY: Romans 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

The Top Ten

In the same way as clarifying ‘The Big Picture’ at the outset of a new year, we can expand on the picture with ‘The Top Ten’ teachings of the Christian Faith.  

With a foundation of the truth of God, here are the top ten as I see them.  

-       BIBLE – The inspiration and authority of Scripture, Jn.1:1, 2Ti.3:16.  

-       GOD – “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty…,” Is.6:3, Re.4:8.

-       GOSPEL – Justification by Christ alone, atonement in Christ, Jn.1:12, 1:14.  

-       TRANSFORMATION – Sanctification in the Holy Spirit, Jn. 17:17, Ep.3:17.  

-       RESTORATION – To Lordship, leadership, and love of Christ, Ep.4:1, 4:12.  

-       CALLING – “Shema," love the Lord your God ..., Dt.6:4, Mk.12:30.   

-       CHURCH – Living in the body of Christ, Ep.4:10, He.4:14. 

-       FAMILY – Marriage, parenting, and discipleship, Dt.6:7, Ep.5:25. 

-       WORK – Vocations of ministry and service, Ge.1:28, Co.3:22.

-       KINGDOM – Seek first the life and teachings of Christ, Mt.6:33, Mt.24:14.  

This is not an exhaustive list of doctrines but a good start.  The truth of Scripture brings sanctification and spiritual life to those who are able to live by it.  

FAITH TODAY: Mark 12:30-31, 

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

 

The Big Picture

Here we are in a New Year and this is always a good time to review and remember what 'the big picture' is all about.  What's the big picture of our Christian faith all about?   

In order to answer the question about the big picture of faith, I believe we need to first ask ourselves what the big picture of God is all about?  We all know that God exists whether we are willing to admit it or not.  That's because God reveals Himself to everyone through creation and the conscience, and we all seek meaning and purpose.  

In addition to knowing that God exists and that we seek meaning and purpose, we can see that the Bible also teaches that God exists and we have meaning and purpose.  The Bible is a really good book, and it confirms basic truths we already know.  And we can summarize the Bible in five major categories to help us get 'the big picture' of what its teachings are all about.    

The five major categories I first understood as four categories, but I believe there is a fifth.  And, I believe it was from Francis Schaeffer's teachings, (but it's been so long that I can't remember for certain), that I first learned the categories of - Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Glorification.  The additional category that I believe is in Scripture is - Restoration, which comes right after Redemption.  And Schaeffer may have very well believed this too.

CREATION - we see from Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

FALL - we see from Genesis 3:6, "So ... she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."

REDEMPTION - we see from John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

RESTORATION - we learn from Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

GLORIFICATION - we can see this in Philippians 2:9, "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

When we see that the Christian calling is to the transformation and restoration of our spiritual lives in Christ, we discover a key part of the Christian faith.  We are called to live our lives for Christ and his teachings, to be restored to the image in which God has created us, for His own glory.  We are called to Christ and to live for the glory of God.  

FAITH TODAY: 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."