On Interviews & Testimonies, Part VI
Continued from Part V
Q. Should these young children vote? If they are full communing members of the church, how can they be forbidden the right to vote? Should children admitted to the table become voting members as well?
No, young children should not vote. They can eat at the Table, but they don't participate in ruling the church. Surely one can discern the significant differences between eating at the Lord’s Table and passing judgments in the church’s council. What happens in your families? Children are invited to the family table to eat, but they are not invited to participate in the family’s decision-making process. Why? That duty belongs to the father and mother since they have the prerequisite wisdom and experience to make wise judgments about the family finances, plans, etc.
Therefore, we must make provision for a two-fold distinction within the membership of the church: 1) members that do not vote (baptized children or new Christians who partake of the Lord’s supper but are not old enough or mature enough to vote); and 3) the adult communing and voting members.
Maturity is needed for voting, not for eating; for making complicated decisions, not for feeding on Jesus. Jesus feeds all, but not everyone is qualified to make decisions that bear upon the doctrine and government of his church. Every baptized member of the church is part of the family of God, but not necessarily mature enough to pass judgment in the assembly. This means that the proper place for training and extensive examinations is at the time when the young man or woman prepares to take on the responsibilities and privileges of voting membership!
The distinction between communing and voting can be biblically sustained, even if the Bible does not really talk about “voting” as we practice it in America. In the Bible, every circumcised member of the community and his entire family ate at the Passover and participated in the festival meals (Ex. 12:48), but only those who had reached a certain age could go to war and be counted in the census (Num. 1:3). Oftentimes, modern Christians are more interested in avoiding any criticism of being “undemocratic” than genuinely thinking through the implications of nine-, ten-, or even 16-year-old children voting on pastoral calls, church by-laws, or building programs. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me,” not “Let the little children participate in the community's decision making process.”
In our homes we practice this distinction regularly. Small children are acknowledged by the parents as being part of the family, as having a right to participation in the full life of the family, especially when this is manifest at the family dinner table. Parents feed their children, they regularly provide them with all the tokens and symbols of their incorporation and membership in the family. At the same time, parents recognize that until the child grows in knowledge and experience he will not be capable of making judgments about the leadership and direction of the family. Children are not given responsibility for keeping the budget, nor do we call together the entire family and vote on the weightier matters that parents must consider in ruling the family. Maturity and experience are needed to make such decisions. Thus, we must make a fundamental and important distinction between communing and voting members, between partaking of the dinner with which Jesus feeds us and making informed judgments about the administration and direction of the church.
Nothing in the PCA Book of Church Order forbids the Session from establishing a voting age for communing members. One of the former stated clerks of the PCA once noted that it is, in fact, the prerogative of the Session to establish a voting age if it so desired. Members of the original committee that wrote the PCA BCO have expressed their desire to keep the language ambiguous so that each Session would have liberty in this area.
Showing posts with label Children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
A Simple Church Year Catechism – Lent & Easter
Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lenten Season) is February 13. The season of Lent lasts for 40 days (not including Sundays). It ends on Easter Sunday (March 31).
The word “Lent” comes from the Middle English lente (“spring”) and from the Old English lengten (“to lengthen’), referring to the time of lengthening daylight from Christmas (around the Winter solstice) to Easter (Spring equinox). The Lenten season lasts 40 days, a time of preparation in anticipation of the great events of Good Friday and Easter.
During Lent we are encouraged to examine ourselves anew in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We follow his example and seek for forty days to wage a more earnest struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our desire in this is increased sanc- tification and growth in Christian maturity and obedience.
At the heart of any worthy Lenten observance is a cultivated attitude of repentance. True repentance means a genuine change in heart and mind, a change of disposition wherever in our lives we need to return to God. That is why true repentance and a true Lent can never be satisfied by mere external observances, no matter how rigorous they may be.
Lent is not merely a time to remember and think about the history of our Lord’s suffering and death, but is intended primarily as an opportunity for serious self-examination and repentance, even fasting (Luke 5:34-35). The high point of Lent is reached on Good Friday, when we remember that our sins led to the crucifixion of Christ.
The color for Lent is purple or violet—a rich color made with the costliest dyes in the ancient world. It appropriately symbolizes deep, heartfelt, and therefore costly repentance.
The following catechism is something I wrote for the children of the church. It's a continuation of what is posted for Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany.
The word “Lent” comes from the Middle English lente (“spring”) and from the Old English lengten (“to lengthen’), referring to the time of lengthening daylight from Christmas (around the Winter solstice) to Easter (Spring equinox). The Lenten season lasts 40 days, a time of preparation in anticipation of the great events of Good Friday and Easter.
During Lent we are encouraged to examine ourselves anew in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We follow his example and seek for forty days to wage a more earnest struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our desire in this is increased sanc- tification and growth in Christian maturity and obedience.
At the heart of any worthy Lenten observance is a cultivated attitude of repentance. True repentance means a genuine change in heart and mind, a change of disposition wherever in our lives we need to return to God. That is why true repentance and a true Lent can never be satisfied by mere external observances, no matter how rigorous they may be.
Lent is not merely a time to remember and think about the history of our Lord’s suffering and death, but is intended primarily as an opportunity for serious self-examination and repentance, even fasting (Luke 5:34-35). The high point of Lent is reached on Good Friday, when we remember that our sins led to the crucifixion of Christ.
The color for Lent is purple or violet—a rich color made with the costliest dyes in the ancient world. It appropriately symbolizes deep, heartfelt, and therefore costly repentance.
The following catechism is something I wrote for the children of the church. It's a continuation of what is posted for Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Young Child Communion & the Westminster Standards
On Interviews & Testimonies, Part V
Continued from Part IV
Q. Doesn't admitting young children violate the Westminster Standards? Shouldn't we only admit mature believers who can understand what is happening at the Table?
Is young child communion consistent with the Westminster Standards? Yes, I believe so. First, consider the Westminster Confession of Faith (hereafter WCF). No mention is made (wisely) of ages or intellectual capacity in either chapter 14 “On Saving Faith” or chapter 15 “Of Repentance unto Life.” Furthermore, paragraph 3 of chapter 14 shows that the Westminster divines were sensitive to the fact that mature faith ought not to be made the criteria for genuine faith since saving faith “is different in degrees, weak or strong, may be often and many ways assailed and weakened, but gets the victory; growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.” Surely it would be wrong to insist that a young covenant child give evidence of a mature faith before we count them as a genuine believer! Genuine faith may be present in covenant children, not having as yet grown up into “the attainment of a full assurance through Christ.” Why should such faith—weak and immature as it may be—serve as a barrier to the covenant child’s participation in the Lord’s communion meal?
The mention of assurance ought to remind us of another statement in the Confession which teaches that lack of the conviction of the assurance of faith is not necessarily evidence of the absence of saving faith. The Confession does indeed hold out to us the goal of attaining full assurance since those believers who “truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace” (18.1), but the divines are also quick to remind us that “This infallible assurance does not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of it” (18.3).
Continued from Part IV
Q. Doesn't admitting young children violate the Westminster Standards? Shouldn't we only admit mature believers who can understand what is happening at the Table?
Is young child communion consistent with the Westminster Standards? Yes, I believe so. First, consider the Westminster Confession of Faith (hereafter WCF). No mention is made (wisely) of ages or intellectual capacity in either chapter 14 “On Saving Faith” or chapter 15 “Of Repentance unto Life.” Furthermore, paragraph 3 of chapter 14 shows that the Westminster divines were sensitive to the fact that mature faith ought not to be made the criteria for genuine faith since saving faith “is different in degrees, weak or strong, may be often and many ways assailed and weakened, but gets the victory; growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.” Surely it would be wrong to insist that a young covenant child give evidence of a mature faith before we count them as a genuine believer! Genuine faith may be present in covenant children, not having as yet grown up into “the attainment of a full assurance through Christ.” Why should such faith—weak and immature as it may be—serve as a barrier to the covenant child’s participation in the Lord’s communion meal?
The mention of assurance ought to remind us of another statement in the Confession which teaches that lack of the conviction of the assurance of faith is not necessarily evidence of the absence of saving faith. The Confession does indeed hold out to us the goal of attaining full assurance since those believers who “truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace” (18.1), but the divines are also quick to remind us that “This infallible assurance does not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of it” (18.3).
Friday, February 1, 2013
On Interviews and Testimonies, Part IV
Continued from Part III
Questions About Interviewing Young Children
Let me take some time now to answer some common questions. Remember, I am a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). We don't practice paedocommunion. I believe it is biblical. I have taken exception to the Westminster Standards on this point. What our church does practice is young child communion. This is the closest we can get and still be true to our PCA church order. What this means is that young children are admitted to the Table by the session when they give evidence of a credible, age-appropriate profession of faith. I say all this because the questions that will be addressed in the next few posts will all relate to this practice—that is, interviewing young children.
What follows, then, is largely advice to fellow pastors and elders who practice some form of "young child" communion.
Q. My five-year-old daughter is not mature enough to sit before nine blue-suited elders and answer probing questions. She will freeze up. Should she be denied the table for this reason?
This is a great question. Why should Christ’s little ones be denied the benefits of the Table simply because they might be too shy to answer questions under the intense scrutiny of a room full of older men? After all, most adults are often quite intimidated when they meet with the full session of the church. In the case of most interviews with adults for membership the Session is not examining for knowledge, but a credible profession of faith. But when our young children come before us we interrogate them with questions about their knowledge of the Bible, the sacraments, etc. We seldom, if ever, do this in membership interviews with adults! Why should there be two standards—one for adults and another for our covenant children? Isn’t it enough that our children confess their simple faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and their hope of heaven? I would argue that such a confession is sufficient, and that most of our four-year-old children would have an easier time before the elders if they knew that it wasn’t going to be an “examination.” Our Lord made it easy for the little one’s to come to him. When he saw his disciples making it difficult for parents to bring their little ones to him “he became indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God’” (Mark. 10:14). Therefore, the first way that we could deal with this problem is to drop the insanely intense oral examination that we often require of our children before they are allowed to come to the Table.
Questions About Interviewing Young Children
Let me take some time now to answer some common questions. Remember, I am a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). We don't practice paedocommunion. I believe it is biblical. I have taken exception to the Westminster Standards on this point. What our church does practice is young child communion. This is the closest we can get and still be true to our PCA church order. What this means is that young children are admitted to the Table by the session when they give evidence of a credible, age-appropriate profession of faith. I say all this because the questions that will be addressed in the next few posts will all relate to this practice—that is, interviewing young children.
What follows, then, is largely advice to fellow pastors and elders who practice some form of "young child" communion.
Q. My five-year-old daughter is not mature enough to sit before nine blue-suited elders and answer probing questions. She will freeze up. Should she be denied the table for this reason?
This is a great question. Why should Christ’s little ones be denied the benefits of the Table simply because they might be too shy to answer questions under the intense scrutiny of a room full of older men? After all, most adults are often quite intimidated when they meet with the full session of the church. In the case of most interviews with adults for membership the Session is not examining for knowledge, but a credible profession of faith. But when our young children come before us we interrogate them with questions about their knowledge of the Bible, the sacraments, etc. We seldom, if ever, do this in membership interviews with adults! Why should there be two standards—one for adults and another for our covenant children? Isn’t it enough that our children confess their simple faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and their hope of heaven? I would argue that such a confession is sufficient, and that most of our four-year-old children would have an easier time before the elders if they knew that it wasn’t going to be an “examination.” Our Lord made it easy for the little one’s to come to him. When he saw his disciples making it difficult for parents to bring their little ones to him “he became indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God’” (Mark. 10:14). Therefore, the first way that we could deal with this problem is to drop the insanely intense oral examination that we often require of our children before they are allowed to come to the Table.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
On Interviews & Testimonies, Part III
Continued from Part II.
It's been so long since I wrote the first two essays on this topic that I had to go back and read them again to remember what I had written. What I am trying to do here is work through some of the problems I have encountered when well-meaning Christian leaders conduct "interviews" designed to determine the spiritual condition of a candidate. The candidate might be a child being interviewed for a place at the Lord's Table or church membership or enrollment in a Christian school. Adults are also interviewed for the same reasons. There are any number of situations in which churches, schools, presbyteries, etc. seek to determine the spiritual status of another person.
I have observed that we tend to get stuck in a few well-worn ruts in these interview sessions. There seems to be a "tradition" of Christian interviewing that has developed over the years. Interviewers are looking for the right words and phrases. When we hear them, we relax and move on. If we don't hear them, we become very concerned. And not only are there distinctive phrases we are hoping to hear, there are also words that set off flashing red lights and alarms.
In Part II we saw that at the Last Judgment (the final interview) the authenticity of every professing Christian's faith will be judged based on his life and work. As I said last time, this does not mean we are saved by our works. Nor does it imply that somehow our good works will have to outweigh our sins. There will be no righteousness/sins balance sheet. What it does mean is that everyone who says, "I love Jesus" or "I love God" or "I was saved at age 16" or "Jesus died for my sins" or even "I'm saved by grace alone" will have the authenticity of his orthodox verbal profession either certified or invalidated by his life.
It's been so long since I wrote the first two essays on this topic that I had to go back and read them again to remember what I had written. What I am trying to do here is work through some of the problems I have encountered when well-meaning Christian leaders conduct "interviews" designed to determine the spiritual condition of a candidate. The candidate might be a child being interviewed for a place at the Lord's Table or church membership or enrollment in a Christian school. Adults are also interviewed for the same reasons. There are any number of situations in which churches, schools, presbyteries, etc. seek to determine the spiritual status of another person.
I have observed that we tend to get stuck in a few well-worn ruts in these interview sessions. There seems to be a "tradition" of Christian interviewing that has developed over the years. Interviewers are looking for the right words and phrases. When we hear them, we relax and move on. If we don't hear them, we become very concerned. And not only are there distinctive phrases we are hoping to hear, there are also words that set off flashing red lights and alarms.
In Part II we saw that at the Last Judgment (the final interview) the authenticity of every professing Christian's faith will be judged based on his life and work. As I said last time, this does not mean we are saved by our works. Nor does it imply that somehow our good works will have to outweigh our sins. There will be no righteousness/sins balance sheet. What it does mean is that everyone who says, "I love Jesus" or "I love God" or "I was saved at age 16" or "Jesus died for my sins" or even "I'm saved by grace alone" will have the authenticity of his orthodox verbal profession either certified or invalidated by his life.
Friday, November 16, 2012
On Interviews & Testimonies, Part I
I've often been uncomfortable with the way we interview people to discover if they are believers. My concern goes back many years. It probably began decades ago as I was sitting with my young children as they were being interviewed by elders for the Lord's Table. But it includes my participation in countless membership interviews conducted by church sessions and school boards. So the problems I see are not endemic to interviewing children, but include the process of ascertaining the status of adults as well.
Part of the problem is that we easily settle for questions and answers that use simplistic slogans. If we hear the interviewed adults or children say the right words, we accept their "testimony" without much more inquiry. There are any number of evangelical code words and phrases that we learn so that we can communicate to one another that we are part of the same tribe. Which phrases and terms we use depends on the branch of the church with which we are associated. Some of the more common ones are:
Asking Jesus into my heart
Praying to receive Jesus
Personal relationship with God and/or Jesus
I was saved when. . .
I got saved. . .
My personal Lord and Savior
There are more, of course. But you get the idea. It's not so much that these phrases are wrong or dangerous in themselves. They can indeed helpfully summarize a Christian's experience and present commitment. My problem is not that people use these catch words to give testimony to their faith. My problem is that when these words are phrases are absent many interviewers are very likely to question the authenticity of that person's faith. What often happens in interviews is that we fish for these terms and phrases, asking question after question hoping to hear something familiar. Once we hear our favorite expression we breath a sigh of relieve and move on. Here is a real life example.
Part of the problem is that we easily settle for questions and answers that use simplistic slogans. If we hear the interviewed adults or children say the right words, we accept their "testimony" without much more inquiry. There are any number of evangelical code words and phrases that we learn so that we can communicate to one another that we are part of the same tribe. Which phrases and terms we use depends on the branch of the church with which we are associated. Some of the more common ones are:
Asking Jesus into my heart
Praying to receive Jesus
Personal relationship with God and/or Jesus
I was saved when. . .
I got saved. . .
My personal Lord and Savior
There are more, of course. But you get the idea. It's not so much that these phrases are wrong or dangerous in themselves. They can indeed helpfully summarize a Christian's experience and present commitment. My problem is not that people use these catch words to give testimony to their faith. My problem is that when these words are phrases are absent many interviewers are very likely to question the authenticity of that person's faith. What often happens in interviews is that we fish for these terms and phrases, asking question after question hoping to hear something familiar. Once we hear our favorite expression we breath a sigh of relieve and move on. Here is a real life example.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Sunday School is Important!
It Takes A Village
Well, actually it takes a Church. But as is often true with false ideas and philosophies, Hillary brushed up against the truth while promoting her particular distortion of it. We are not meant to live in isolation as individuals or even as families. As image-bearers of a Triune God, we are communal by nature and we reach our fullest potential when we make the most of the gifts, wisdom and service of our Christian brothers and sisters. This is particularly true in the area of raising our children.
All of us parents become weary at times, and most of us have experienced times when our children weren't anxious to receive our counsel. The larger family of God can contribute significantly to the Christian discipleship of our children, alleviating the illusion that it all relies on us. Of course, we know that their remaining faithful requires a work of the Holy Spirit, but we also know that this work most often, if not always, comes to them through other believers - parents, grandparents, Sunday school teachers, elders, pastors, friends, etc.
So writes Lori Shaffer on her blog in the first of two excellent reflections the importance of children's Sunday school. Read part 1 and part 2.
Well, actually it takes a Church. But as is often true with false ideas and philosophies, Hillary brushed up against the truth while promoting her particular distortion of it. We are not meant to live in isolation as individuals or even as families. As image-bearers of a Triune God, we are communal by nature and we reach our fullest potential when we make the most of the gifts, wisdom and service of our Christian brothers and sisters. This is particularly true in the area of raising our children.
All of us parents become weary at times, and most of us have experienced times when our children weren't anxious to receive our counsel. The larger family of God can contribute significantly to the Christian discipleship of our children, alleviating the illusion that it all relies on us. Of course, we know that their remaining faithful requires a work of the Holy Spirit, but we also know that this work most often, if not always, comes to them through other believers - parents, grandparents, Sunday school teachers, elders, pastors, friends, etc.
So writes Lori Shaffer on her blog in the first of two excellent reflections the importance of children's Sunday school. Read part 1 and part 2.
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