by Bret Capranica | Oct 13, 2005 | Uncategorized
Ecclesiology seems to be a subject “up for grabs” among many congregations. This post and a number to follow will examine one particular aspcet of ecclesiastical structure, that of Deacons. This very embattled and much belittled leadership position in the local church deserves a fresh consideration. For two thousand years, the Church of Jesus Christ has wrestled with the subject of the purpose and nature behind the ministry of deacons, without much consensus. Within Baptist life, Charles Deweese notes that, “Deacons have been described in Baptist writings for well over 350 years,”[1] and once more, without an overall consensus as to function or form. Deacons have appeared to be involved in an unlimited number of ministries throughout church history. Deweese describes their ministry thus: The authority given to deacons was for positive and practical purposes – namely, to serve as church officers, to assist in limited administrative functions, to care for a church’s treasury, to make adequate provisions for the Lord’s table, to ensure that the minister’s needs were cared for, to minister to the sick, to stimulate responsible stewardship by encouraging voluntary contributions, and to be general servants of God, the church and the needy. . . . in America in the latter half of the eighteenth century, the role of deacons as caretakers of the temporal or secular affairs of the church began to assume a priority that it had never had before. The involvement of deacons in administrative, managerial, and business functions became more pronounced.[2] It has been my pleasure to consider the subject of deacons and read several works which attempt to come to an...
by Bret Capranica | Oct 12, 2005 | Uncategorized
The ongoing saga of sexual abuse by Catholic priests plummets deeper today as documents are released showing years of abuse and denial by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nations largest Roman Catholic diocese. Tell men they cannot marry (or allow homosexuals in as priests), teach a system of salvation that says grace must be achieved before it is given and grace must be regularly earned to be maintained and surround yourself with an ecclesiology that hides behind ecclesiastically infallibility, and you have the perfect mixture to bake up the kind of scandal that currently exists in Catholicism. It is a system that is sure to make one feel spiritual but fails to actually change the heart – thus the evidence of which we now read. Not that similar situations do not happen in protestant churches, especially the kind that care little for spiritual fruit as the indicator of conversion (not as the means to achieve). Protestants have their own moral black eyes due to their own theological aberrations such as the weekly push for quick profession-of-faith prayers, thus populating congregations with unconverted people, the exaltation of pastors as celebrity personalities, the redefinition of corporate church life in terms of popular opinion, pragmatism and moralism, rather than a careful and humble submission the sole authority of Scripture. Catholics and many aberrant protestant groups have much in common in their theology that creates a climate for such cases as described in the NY Times. May God be gracious to us to provide a genuine reformation in the hearts of people to adhere to the sole authority of Scripture that produces...
by Bret Capranica | Oct 11, 2005 | Uncategorized
Dr. James Dobson says he knows something about Harrier Miers that he probably shouldn’t know and he received it from the embattled Karl Rove and this information is what makes him want to support her as a new Supreme Court Justice. Now, I wonder what that might be. The White House is denying his claims and distancing themselves from Dobson. Has Dr. Dobson’s inside scoop and his eternal quest to get Christians to pay more attention to the social war being waged in America provided another setback to President Bush’s already questionable nominee to the court? Has Dr. Dobson’s assurances to his evangelical audience that what he knows that he probably shouldn’t know politicized this nominee more than she would have been? We will see. I’m not sure that the good Dr.’s attempts at politicizing American Christianity are really working to our...
by Bret Capranica | Oct 9, 2005 | Uncategorized
I do enjoy the rich thoughts behind many older hymns, like this one we will sing today in our corporate gathering: Crown Him with Many Crowns Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne;Hark! how the heav’nly anthem drowns All music but its own.Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for thee,And hail Him as thy matchless King Thro’ all eternity. Crown Him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o’er the grave,And rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save;His glories now we sing Who died, and rose on high,Who died, eternal life to bring, And lives that death may die. Crown Him the Lord of love! Behold His hands and side,Those wounds, yet visible above, In beauty glorified. All hail Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me. They praise and glory shall not fail thro’out...
by Bret Capranica | Oct 8, 2005 | Uncategorized
According to the linked report, it appears that being fat is almost inevitable. My guess is that most who are reading this post know that we all could probably learn to live off of the fat of the land a tad more. All execpt for Justin. So that he is not too embarrased I will not reveal Justin’s full identity to the blogosphere. But he knows who he is. He is approaching his thirties more quickly than he would like to admit, and he brags to some of us at church that he has gained no weight since high school. Sheesh! Until just recently, all he ever eats is rabbit food mixed with tofu. But now, his wife seems to have grown equally frustrated with his lack of rotundity and she now sends him to Bible study (oops, I may have given his identity up) with the most scrumptious desserts. He maintains that he continues to weigh in at his normal poundage. That is why this report is so encouraging for the fatter sorts of folks (like most of you reading this because you do little to break a sweat other than running to the kitchen for more . . .). I know, the report comes from the angle that those of us whose body mass index tends to daily increase, need to be more concerned about not being obese. However, I tend to see it as an indicator that no one can avoid it. Including Justin! He too will get fat and there is nothing he can do about it. It’s a lot like fibromyalgia. If you don’t...
