Presbyterian Partnership

Beloved,
 
We are continuing to contemplate our fourth core principle as a church, God-exalting leadership. We have seen that at the heart of presbyterianism is the conviction that local churches are not islands unto themselves but formally interconnected in mutual accountability, dependency, and support. Having looked last time at accountability, we turn to dependency and support. 

Upon hearing of the exponential growth of the church in the region of Antioch, the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to encourage the Antiochain church in Acts 11:22. He remained there for some time, building up this growing body of believers.

It is easy to miss, but the Jerusalem church that sent Barnabas was the regional church (what we call a presbytery). Where do I get that? From the fact that at this point the membership of the Jerusalem church was several thousand people (Acts 2:41; 2:47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7) at a time when churches were meeting in private homes (Acts 1:12-14; 2:46; 12:12; 19:9; 20:8; 28:30-31). There was no possible way for all of these church members to assemble as a single congregation. The saints in Jerusalem were gathering in a multiplicity of congregations formally connected so that they could be referred to as a singular church (Acts 8:1; 11:22; 15:4).

What we have in Acts 11 is the regional church of Jerusalem sending one of its most gifted preachers and pastors to Antioch to support the fledgling and thriving work because there is a “connectionalism” that reaches beyond Jerusalem to the region of Antioch. In fact, it reaches to everywhere the church exists. 

Beautifully, we see in Acts 11 that this inter-church support went both ways. So the church in Antioch, thriving under Barnabas’s ministry (thanks to the Jerusalem church!), heard of a coming famine in Jerusalem and determined to send funds there. V. 29: “So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.”

These are distinct churches in distinct regions functioning as one church in mutual dependency and support. Antioch needed the ministry of the word so Jerusalem sent Barnabas to preach. Jerusalem needed the ministry of mercy so Antioch sent Barnabas to deliver funds. Are you seeing the beauty and strength of presbyterian partnership?

Our congregation has experienced the blessing of such over-and-again. In fact, it may not be an overstatement to say that our church would not be in existence were it not for the support of the broader church. During the two years that Cornerstone was without a pastor, the presbytery provided us with a godly and gifted ministerial advisor, James Ganzevoort, to walk with our elders through this difficult time. They provided ministers to fill our pulpit. They provided counsel in difficult shepherding matters and in paying off the church’s debt. The church might still be standing, but I can guarantee it would not be nearly as strong were it not for the support of the presbytery in those days. Additionally, think of the great privilege we have had in supporting the work with A.J. Millsaps in Athens. Our church together with our sister churches in TN, our presbytery, and our denomination have partnered together to do what we could have never done as a lone congregation – fully support an evangelist to reach another part of TN with the gospel in hopes of a sister church being planted. Furthermore, think of the many missionaries we support all around the globe who are fully funded through our denomination as every church bands together to give financially and to pray fervently. 

Thomas Peck explains the logic of the Scripture’s teaching on the “connectionalism” of local churches with application to his own day (writing in the late nineteenth century): “If all the communicants of the Presbyterian Church of the United States could meet for worship in the same place, they might and should be under the government of the same session; but as this is impossible, they are broken up into single congregations, each with its own session. But in order to preserve the unity, all these single or local presbyteries are ultimately combined by representation in one presbytery, which we call the General Assembly, passing through the intermediate states of classical and synodical presbyteries.” 

As a local church, isn’t it a wonderful comfort to know that we are not alone? That we are united to other churches in gospel partnership as we depend upon and support one another unto the glory of Christ and the advancement of HIs kingdom?

Praise the Lord for presbyterianism! With all due respect to our Baptist friends, you couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to forsake this beautiful interconnection of churches. We need the broader church, friends, and the broader church needs us! 

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick