Church/History/Missions

The Pastors You Don’t Know

Posted on by Carl Robbins

Hopefully, by now, you’re somewhat familiar with the “resident” pastors of WRPC: Pastor Anderson, Pastor Dodds and Pastor Robbins. They’re fairly accessible and you see them (and their families) weekly in worship, classes, prayer meetings, meals, fellowship settings, and in the community.

But, you may not know that WRPC has not one, but TWO MORE ordained pastors on staff: Assistant Pastor Albert “Berti” Kona and Assistant Pastor Francisco Cardoso.

Both of these men have the exact same education and credentials as our resident pastors. Because of our deep commitment to missions and international church planting, we’ve sent these pastors out to plant churches and form presbyteries in their home regions.

cardosofamilyPastor Cardoso labors in Recife, Brazil, a modern city of almost 4 million people (i.e. larger than Chicago or Houston). Recife is on the beautiful beaches of northeast Brazil. The need is great in Recife, since much of the population is trapped in the ignorance and superstition of Roman Catholicism. Others are devotee’s of voodoo. Many more are enmeshed in the prosperity gospel taught by Pentecostalism.

Pastor Cardoso faithfully preaches the Scriptures and evangelizes in this context. He is also a husband to Soraia & dad to Bernardo and Clara (10 year old twins), Catharina (7) and Aurora (4).

konafamily

Pastor Kona works in Durres, Albania, a port city on the Adriatic Sea. Durres is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world having been populated for almost 3,000 years! The Apostle Paul refers to it (in Romans 15:19) as “Illyricum”. It is the second largest city in the nation. Albania is dominated by Muslims, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox.

Berti is not only planting a church (they hope to particularize next year), he is also busy translating Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion into Albanian and teaching at a local Bible institute. He is joined in these labors by Jenny and Annabella (7), Miriam (4) and John “Hansee” Calvin (2).

If you have not yet done so you can catch up with the Kona’s and Cardoso’s THIS Sunday (Nov. 6). They will both be around.

Family/Parenting

Calvinistic Child-Rearing

Posted on by Scotty Anderson
Guest Post: This excellent and timely essay on parenting comes from the pen of Dr. Terry Johnson, an old friend of WRPC’s. Dr. Johnson is the world’s foremost thinker on issues related to Worship and is also a prolific writer on several topics related to the Reformed Faith. He has served as the pastor of  the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah for almost 30 years.

screamingchildFor twelve hours, from Taipei to San Francisco, I sat by a “challenging” three-year-old. From the gate to the runway, from take-off to cruising at 37,000 feet, from descent to landing, he screeched at an ear-piercing pitch. And whined. No one within ten rows was spared. Surely he will tire, I assumed. But he did not… for 12 hours. His parents alternately tried multiple toys, video games, food, and holding him with no success. He was determined to be miserable and to share his misery with others. What might have helped his parents were some biblical lessons in Calvinistic child-rearing. Is there such a thing? Indeed there it. Think not that this vital task of child-rearing is left untouched by Christian truth. Think not that all we can do is turn to our own devices to learn how to rear our children. The Bible says quite a bit about human nature, and human nature is precisely what we must understand if we are to rear and love our children aright.

Original sin

The single most important fact about humanity when dealing with little people as well as big people is the doctrine of original sin. Regarding big people, this is why we put locks on our doors, why businesses hire auditors, and why governments have police forces, courts, jails, and armies. Regarding little people, this is why we shouldn’t entertain foolish notions about our infants’ innocence or purity. They are neither. Our infant granddaughter, Audrey Boone Girgis, is as beautiful and precious as she can be. She is already full of spunk and personality (at six weeks, mind you; with Emily as grandmother and Sally as mother, who could have guessed?). Nevertheless, she is still a “little viper(s) in covenant diapers,” as Henry Krabbendam so memorably expressed it. “You will be fighting them for control of the household from the moment you bring them home from the hospital,” Jim Baird (my mentor in ministry and father of four sons) advised me. Truer words were never spoken, I can say after rearing five children of my own.

Children enter the world thinking they are, or ought to be, the center of the universe. All the descendants of Adam would “be like God” (Gen 3:5, NASB). Consequently, they are born thinking all the world should serve them. Every demand should be met. Immediately. Now. Whatever they want, they should get, whether food, playthings, or attention.

Wise parenting

Wise parents will begin early to rebut this egocentric view of reality. How? Children will want to eat, sleep, play, and later speak when they want to. They will require the whole household to revolve around their demands… if allowed. Wise parents will quickly begin to make newborns part of the household routine that is already established. Children, more or less, will learn to eat, sleep, and play when the family does. Early and frequent exposure to the word “no” is vital. When they refuse to lie quietly in bed at bedtime; when they demand food when dinner is soon to be served; when they interrupt adult conversation, the word no is salutary. A dozen times a day they are thereby reminded that they don’t come first and that all the world doesn’t exist to serve them. Compliance to directions should be immediate. As Elisabeth Eliot was fond of saying, “Slow obedience is no obedience.” If in the end compliance will be required on the 25th warning, why not on the first? All this to say, our natural desire as parents and grandparents to love our children, to do for them whatever needs to be done, and to do it now, must be tempered by regard for their built-in idolatry of self. We traveled with toddlers. We know what it is to navigate airports and airlines. The inconsolable child of my recent flight was a creation of his parents’ indulgence. The pattern of tantrums was established long before they got on the plane.

Ironically, the happiest of children are those accustomed to hearing the parental “no.” The fussy, whiney, miserable child has too many options and not enough maturity to make choices. He doesn’t know what he wants. He needs his parents to say, “Here is what we are doing next.” And follow through, parents! He needs to hear all day long, now it’s time for breakfast… now it’s time for nap… now it’s time for lunch, and so on. Then when he hears, now it’s time to get on the airplane, he will comply, without argument, without complaint.

Someone may object that they know children who were not reared this way and today those now-grown children are very committed adult Christians, serving Christ faithfully. This objection misses the point. There is no formula that guarantees that we will successfully transmit our faith to our children. Love covers a multitude of parental sins. Some very undisciplined parents have wonderful adult children. The point is, why should today’s parents, today’s children, and everyone around them be miserable in the meantime? The point is, why not rear them in a manner that is consistent with fallen human nature? The point is, why guarantee an unhappy childhood, unhappy parenting experience, and isolate the family from others? Take my counsel or leave it: original sin implies conforming infants to the family schedule, parental insistence on immediate compliance from children, and generous use of the word “no.” Establish a routine and they’ll love it. As my brother-in-law says, “Children are the original conservatives.” They live for things to be always the same. They thrive in a reliable, dependable, predictable environment. They are unsettled by irregularity and change. “That’s not my chair,” they’ll let you know in a hurry.

Is original sin the only truth that needs to be understood? Of course not. Still, a large part of parenting involves restraining our children’s idolatrous impulses.

The original article may be found here.

Church/Missions

How to Speak Presbyterian

Posted on by Carl Robbins

This last weekend Sandy and I were not with you at WRPC because we were in Charleston celebrating the “Particularization” of Christ Church Presbyterian. OK, I realize that word may be foreign to you (it’s “Presbyterian-speak”), so let me explain. When there is a desire to plant a PCA congregation in a location, several things have to happen:

  • A church planter has to be called and approved by the presbytery. In this case Dr. Jon Payne was called by Palmetto Presbytery (then Low Country Presbytery) from the Atlanta area to be the planter.
  • Finances have to be raised – because the church planter has to be supported while a congregation is being gathered. A network of churches including WRPC, Second Presbyterian, Independent Presbyterian (Savannah), Briarwood Presbyterian (Birmingham), First Presbyterian Jackson, MS and several others generously supported this work since early 2013.
  • The whole project has to deeply bathed in prayer, and so we (and thousands of other people ) have been praying for over 3 years that Christ would expand His church in Charleston, SC.
  • A location for worship has to be found – In the case of Christ Church they have been a “pilgrim church”, moving around. But for the last couple years they have been using the facilities of a middle school on Mt. Pleasant for AM & PM worship on Sundays, with other meetings through the week held in homes and restaurants and other creative locations.
  • A congregation has to be gathered – hopefully through evangelism and by Christians who want to see a new work built with their service and help
  • Elders have to be identified, trained, nominated, and elected by the congregation and examined and approved by the presbytery

Now, a church is ready to leave “Mission status” and become a “Particular church”. In order for that to happen representatives of the presbytery come in to the mission church, ordain the elders, administer vows to the pastors and the congregation. When all that happens, the congregation has been “particularized”.

I had the immense privilege of “charging the elders” (more Presbyterian-speak) of Christ Church PCA in the AM service. This means I exhorted them from Scripture to be faithful in their calling.

The worship was delightful: Psalms and hymns that you know and love, sung with joy. Dr. David Strain (an old friend of WRPC’s) preached the Word with power in the AM Service. I had the privilege to preach in the PM Service. Note: Christ Church Presbyterian is deeply committed to AM & PM worship each Lord’s Day and has been from their very beginnings!

And, the best part for me – I get to see lots of old friends and have a foretaste of our heavenly communion. Here’s a shot of a few of the brothers who gathered in Charleston last weekend.

CCP Particularization

From left to right:

  • Rev. Ross Hodges, Associate Pastor at Christ Church Presbyterian, Charleston, SC
  • Rev. David Strain, Senior Minister at First Presbyterian, Jackson, Mississippi
  • Carl Robbins, Senior Pastor at Woodruff Road Presbyterian, Simpsonville, SC
  • Dr. Jon Payne, Senior Minister at Christ Church Presbyterian, Charleston, SC
  • Dr. Rick Philips, Senior Minister at Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC
  • Ruling Elder Mel Duncan, Church Administrator at Second Presbyterian, Greenville, SC

 

History/Theology/Uncategorized/Worship

Singing 1600 Year Old Songs

Posted on by Carl Robbins

I enjoy “old” songs. You know – Beatles music from 1964, Frank Sinatra from 1957, even Bob Wills from 1940! But, in the grand scheme of things these are not really old songs. What do I mean by an “old song”? This Sunday morning we will sing a hymn that is over 1600 years old.

Ambrose (339-397) was a Christian lawyer, living in Milan, Italy. At the age of 34 he was made Bishop by popular acclaim, due to his godly life and giftedness as a preacher. It was under the ministry of Ambrose that the great Augustine was converted!

Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan (c. 340 – 397 A.D.)

When Ambrose was ministering the Arian controversy was raging. Arianism was the heresy du jour, maintaining that Jesus was NOT God, nor was he co-eternal with the Father. Not only did Arius preach and teach and legislate against this false doctrine, but he pulled out his big gun: He wrote Trinitarian hymns!

On Sunday morning we will close our worship service by singing one of these hymns: “O Splendor of God’s glory bright” (Trinity Hymnal #58). Penned by Ambrose in the 4th century, it is brimming with Trinitarian affirmations.

O Splendor of God’s glory bright, From light eternal bringing light, Thou light of light, light’s living Spring, True Day, all days illumining:

Come, very Sun of heaven’s love, In lasting radiance from above, And pour the Holy Spirit’s ray On all we think or do today.

And now to thee our prayers ascend, O Father, glorious without end; We plead with sovereign grace for pow’r To conquer in temptation’s hour.

Confirm our will to do the right, And keep our hearts from envy’s blight; Let faith her eager fires renew, And hate the false, and love the true.

O joyful be the passing day With thoughts as pure as morning’s ray, With faith like noontide shining bright, Our souls unshadowed by the night.

Dawn’s glory gilds the earth and skies, Let him, our perfect Morn, arise, The work in God the Father one, The Father imaged in the Son

We greatly prize the unity of the church: in her doctrine, worship and even her hymns. We draw great joy from singing the same songs our parents and grandparents sang. But, when we are singing great, rich hymns like “O Splendor of God’s glory bright” we are singing hymns that have been sung by 50 GENERATIONS of Christians!

 

Church/History

WRPC…Happily Presbyterian!

Posted on by Carl Robbins

We have no intention of changing our name to “Woodruff Road Community Church”. That is the case for a couple of reasons.

First, we believe in full disclosure. We believe that we should tell visitors and neighbors who we actually are, and not hide the details of our doctrine and practice. We are most decidedly not just a “generic church”. We firmly hold to a definite, historic, confession of faith

PresbyterySignInSecond, we are delighted to be Presbyterians! When we read Acts 15 we clearly see the elders from several congregations coming together to rule and exercise doctrinal oversight and discipline. We would call that “A Presbytery meeting”.

PresbyteryWorshipLast Saturday WRPC hosted the 131st meeting of OUR presbytery (Calvary Presbytery, which was formed in 1973). The pastors and elders of over 40 PCA congregations in the Upstate of South Carolina came together (as we do four times a year) for worship, oversight of our churches, discipline, examining ministers, and much more. Because we live in such close proximity and have such a long history with one another these meetings are not just technical business, but are marked by warm fellowship between old friends. Such fellowship is always strengthened when it includes excellent food – thanks to our Michelle Shore and her outstanding crew!

Counseling

The Trinity and Marriage – Counseling from the WCF – 2.3

Posted on by Dan Dodds

WCFWCF 2.3 states: In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

What does the Trinity have to do with counseling? Well, probably the most practical connection for our purposes is that the Trinity is the paradigm for marriage. God is of ‘one substance’ but ‘three persons.’ Each is equal in power and glory but each has a specific function or role. This is a picture of marriage isn’t it? The husband and wife are equal in worth but they have different functions. The man is ultimately responsible for the family and the woman is the helper to the man, but neither is of more value than the other.

This is why heresies of the Trinity also point to dysfunctional marriages (and visa versa). When you believe Jesus to be created rather than co-equal (one) with God you have the Arian heresy (think here of Jehovah’s Witness or Islam). A marriage based on this heresy would typically have the man ‘lording’ over the woman.

On the other hand, if you do not believe God to be three persons, that He only manifests Himself differently (sometimes the Father, sometimes the Son etc.), then you hold to Sabellianism or Modalism (think here of Oneness Pentecostalism). Marriages that model themselves after this heresy see the man and the woman as interchangeable; neither has a defined role.

But as God has graciously revealed Himself to us we have a wonderful picture of how we are to relate to one another, always in mutual love and according to our roles. Think of it this way, if we did NOT have God as our model, how would we know what marriage is, what our roles are etc.? Evolutionary and progressive attempts to answer this have failed miserably and led to the many disastrous marriages we see today.

Preaching/Worship

The Preaching of the Word: Our Legacy as Protestants

Posted on by Carl Robbins
William Perkins
William Perkins

The centerpiece of the life of WRPC is the preaching of the Bible. Twice every Sunday (in our AM & PM services) the zenith of our gathered life occurs when a minister opens the Bible and authoritatively explains a text and then applies it to you. But this emphasis is not new to us. From its earliest days the Protestant Reformers made the exposition of the Bible THE ministry priority.

Even though he only lived to age 44, William Perkins made his mark. Jonathan Edwards studied Perkins’ writings carefully and viewed him as the model for both theology and philosophy. At the time of his death (in 1602) Perkins’ published writings (dozens of books) were actually outselling those of John Calvin! Perkins was also a great mentor, training such luminaries as Thomas Goodwin, William Ames, Bishop James Ussher, Richard Sibbes and hundreds of others.

But it was his lectures on preaching that captured a generation. Perkins classic The Art of Prophesying has been a standard textbook for seminarian and preacher in training for over 400 years. Listen to this little snippet from Perkins that perfectly summarizes what we mean by expository preaching:

Preaching has four great principles. First, to read the text distinctly, from canonical Scripture. Second, to give it sense and understanding according to the Scripture itself. Third, to collect a few profitable points of doctrine out of its natural sense; and Fourth, to apply, if you have the gift, the doctrines to the life and manner of men in a simple and plain speech.”

Piety/Theology

Confer of the Word

Posted on by Scotty Anderson

 

TonyRogers
Tony Rogers

(Guest Post: Tony Rogers)

In WLC #160 it lists several things that are incumbent upon those who hear the Word, among which is the seldom-mentioned requirement to “confer of it” with others. To confer of the Word means we are to talk about it, to put off all unlawful and unprofitable conversation and make the Word the primary subject of our conversations with one another.

An example of this can be found in the case of the Lord Jesus who, following upon His resurrection, joined the conversation of two distraught disciples as they walked by the way, turning their foolish talk to the Scriptures (Luke 24:13-27, esp. vv. 25-27). Of course this is but one instance of what Jesus is seen doing all throughout the Gospels. If this was the practice of the Lord Himself, then it should also be the practice of those who own Him as Lord.

This duty may also be inferred from Scripture in diverse ways. For example:

  • The Word of God is to be in our hearts (Psalm 119:11); it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45); therefore, the Word of God ought to be in our mouths when we speak with one another.
  • Scripture commands us to speak the truth to one another (Zech. 8:16; Eph. 4:15, 25); the Bible is the Word of truth (John 17:17; Acts 26:25; 2 Tim. 2:15); therefore, we are to speak the Word to one another.

In addition to the example of our Lord and legitimate deductions that can be made from Scripture, the obligation to converse with one another about the Word is also expressly commanded. The locus classicus in this regard is Deuteronomy 6:4-9:

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

In a sermon preached July 20th, 1555, on Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Calvin said:

Therefore let us consider, that whereas we have so much needless talk our Lord will have his people exercised in talking and conferring upon his law, whether it be in resting, or in journeying, or when they be at home in their house. If we minded this warning well, surely it would be a bridle to rein us back and to withdraw us from the unprofitable talk whereunto we are so much given. [John Calvin, Sermons on Deuteronomy, Facsimile of 1583 edition (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987), p. 276.]*

People speak about what they know and love. If we are largely taken up with idle talk and seldom speak of the word to one another, especially on the Lord’s Day when we hear the Word preached and have the responsibility of improving upon what we have heard, it is an indication that we do not know and love Scripture as much as we ought, and is a call for us to more earnestly search, hear, and meditate on the Word of God.

*I have modernized the English from that found in the Facsimile edition.

Family/Parenting

Covenantal Joy

Posted on by Carl Robbins

ElaineJaniceRobbinsThe Lord has mercifully blessed our household with another grandchild!

Joining Bray (7) and Jack (2) and Emmie Ruth (almost 1), we are rejoicing in the birth of Elaine (“Lainey”) Janice on Sunday, in Rock Hill, S.C.

When asked about her vitals, I have responded that she is petite (7 lbs and 5 oz.) when compared to her big brother Jack (who was a ten-pounder). When asked if she looks like James or Megen, I have said “She looks like herself”.

Sandy and I are overjoyed because:

  • It is always a great mercy when God opens the womb: “Children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalm 127:3.
  • It is God who has knit this beautiful little girl together in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16) and we are commanded to rejoice and praise Him for ALL His works.
  • Our newest grand-daughter has astounding worth, since she has been made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and is an eternal soul.
  • Our Lord Jesus, by His nine months in the womb of Mary (Luke 1), forever showed the dignity of newborns and the joy that should accompany their birth.
  • Seeing one’s children, then grandchildren (Psalm 128:6) is to be understood as an unparalleled honor.

But, we are desirous of even more blessing from The Triune God. We don’t just want a bunch of grandchildren; What we are praying and laboring for is a bunch of gospel–believing, Christ-loving, church-centered, Holy Spirit-sanctified grandchildren.

Our great hope is the Promise of God, since He has gone on record and stated to His people (Deut. 7:9) that “He is the faithful God, who keeps covenant & mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”

Apologetics

Authority

Posted on by Dan Dodds

oliphant_covenantal_apologeticsOne of the classes that I teach in my worldview series deals with authority. Authority is one of the ‘bottom line’ issues in worldviews and apologetics.

Scott Oliphant, teacher of apologetics at Westminster East writes in his book Covenantal Apologetics: “Apologetics, in many ways, is simply a battle over authorities. It involves making plain just where we stand, or better, where we rest, with regard to what we claim. It also involves encouraging our opponents to make plain where they rest their own case. The authority issue is always primary.”

Why is it primary? Because in the end you have two choices. Either God is the Authority who has created, organized and defined the world and we conform ourselves to His world….or each and every individual conforms the world to their preferences. The first gives a foundation for objective, absolute truth; the latter rules out truth altogether. In the first we discover truth, in the second we declare our current beliefs/biases.

We are seeing in our culture now what happens when you leave the first for the second – and it isn’t pretty, individually, socially, philosophically or culturally.