| Beloved, From the start, there has been no method to the madness of my weekly pastor’s email. Every Thursday I simply write about whatever is on my heart. This isn’t necessarily bad, and I hope my weekly quips have served to encourage you, but I am desirous to be more intentional and strategic with this mode of communication. As I mentioned last week, I intend to begin fleshing out the five core principles that encapsulate what we are about and are striving to be about as a church: God-centered Theology God-ordered Worship God-delighting Piety God-exalting Government God-dependent Mission Perhaps as you read them, you find yourself asking, “Why are we putting mission in last place?” or “Why does worship come before piety?” Before we begin expounding each of these principles, it is important to address their order. It is not accidental or random. I have been incredibly intentional in numbering them as I have. For I am convinced this order follows the clear logic of Scripture. We begin with theology because apart from a knowledge of God through His self-revelation in Scripture, we are lost and in the dark. Worship, piety, government, and mission are all founded upon a true, experiential knowledge of God, and none of them can be properly carried out without it. When our theology erodes, everything else erodes with it. We move, then, to worship because true theology is always unto doxology. We need right theology lest our worship be idolatry. But if our knowledge of God does not drive us to the glorification and enjoyment of Him (i.e., our chief end), then it is deficient. Next, we come to piety (i.e., godliness) which is founded upon our theology and worship. As we come to see the glory of God through His word, we are transformed into His likeness. As we come to engage in the elements He has instituted for His worship and experience communion with Him therein, we are refashioned into His image (which is why we call the elements of worship “means of grace”). If you pursue piety without true theology and true worship, you end up with a dead moralism. We move, fourth, to government which we call presbyterianism (from the Greek for “elder”). Christ, as the head of the church, leads, teaches, and defends every local congregation through a plurality of elders. He gifts them to teach/preach sound theology and to lead in public worship. He also delegates His authority to them to exercise discipline unto the promotion of piety. The government of the church, therefore, serves her theology, worship, and piety. Finally, we arrive at the mission. It is last not because it is a nonessential. It is last not because it is not a priority. It is last because the mission is the necessary and spontaneous overflow of a God-exulting, Christ-reflecting, Spirit-filled church. If you don’t believe me, just go read Psalm 67. It is as God’s people experience His redemptive blessing that that very blessing spills over into the world, spreading joyful worship around the globe. If you don’t believe me, just go read the book of Acts. The foundation of fruitful outreach and evangelism is a church transformed through the powerful application of the truth of God by the Spirit of God. Hence, the order. We often speak of the ordo salutus, a Latin term that refers to the logical order of the benefits of salvation. But here we see there is a certain ordo ecclesia, a logical order of the vital marks of a vibrant church. Given the priority of theology and worship, on the second Sunday in September we will begin a sermon series on theology proper (i.e., the doctrine of God) and an adult Sunday school class on worship. Please pray that, as we do, God would see fit to grow us in all five of these core principles unto His glory! Yours in Christ, Pastor Nick |
