Articles

The Baby Begins to Walk

May 23, 2006 | Blogging

Last Sunday marked one year ago that I began “The Capranica.” The once humble beginnings remain humble (thankfully) – not necessarily the author, but the beginnings, that is. Beginning at the blogspot domain, I gradually grew into a more sophisticated and helpful platform in WordPress. I began to blog to verbally respond to culture and theology – to make me think a bit more and write a tad more than I normally would. I also wanted to collect articles, sites, quotes, etc., that I could use in my teaching and personal musings. I never got into the blogosphere to debate and comment on other sites, just to keep a personal collection of whatever I wanted to collect. Making it public simply refines the process of achieving my purposes. So, here’s “Happy Birthday” to The Capranica. . . ‘and many more. .... read more

Deacons – Part 3

May 23, 2006 | Deacons, Ecclesiology

I was too busy putting in a sprinkler system at The Capranica Villa yesterday to be able to read or post anything related to the blogosphere. So here’s what I should have posted yesterday on deacons: An Examination of Acts 6:1-6 in Regard to Deacon Ministry Objections and Answers Acts 6:1-6[1] is a passage widely discussed as to whether it has any direct or even implicit reference to the ministry of deacons. On the one hand, opponents to the view that deacon ministry is in view in this passage note that the noun diakonos is never used of the seven men chosen to assist the Apostles in the church in Jerusalem. Furthermore, some would argue that there is no indication in the book of Acts that this group of seven continued to exist in Jerusalem or even outside of Jerusalem once the initial complaint that created their need was satisfied (Acts 6:1). Also, while the book of Acts mentions elders on several occasions, the book never mentions a group of deacons. A further mark that some use to indicate that deacon ministry is not found in Acts 6 is that when the church in Antioch sent famine relief to the Jerusalem church, mention is made that it was brought to the elders of the church, not the deacons. Lastly, it is noted that neither Stephen or Philip continued in their role among the Seven of assisting the Apostles in caring for the needs of the widows in the Jerusalem church.[2] Adequate answers can be given to these objections. First, though the noun diakonos is not used in the Acts... read more

Deacons – Part 2

May 20, 2006 | Deacons, Ecclesiology

Continuing my thoughts on deacons: Examining the Scriptures Introduction As mentioned above, the biblical material concerning New Testament deacons is limited. Two New Testament passages directly refer to an official body of deacons, namely, Philippians 1:1[1] and 1 Timothy 3:8-13. I will later propose that even though Acts 6:1-6 does not mention the Seven as an official body of deacons or assert that the ministry of deacons began with the Seven, there is ample evidence to conclude that Luke’s discussion of the Seven and their ministry relationship to the Twelve was that upon which the church eventually derived and modeled later deacon ministry. Thus, the following discussion over the next few days of the biblical content concerning deacons will begin with a brief overview of the term translated “deacon” in the New Testament, followed by specific examinations of Acts 6:1-6; Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13. The Term Translated as “Deacon” in the New Testament “Deacon” is a word that is derived from a transliteration of the Greek term diakonos, meaning “servant.” Only in two passages in the New Testament is diakonos actually translated (in most versions) as “deacon;”[2] and in each instance, the word is plural, referring to a group, rather than an individual. Among the verb, noun and adjective forms, diakonos is used over one hundred times in the New Testament. The following is a sample of what the term may refer to in the pages of the New Testament: · A Literal Servant (Matthew 20:26; 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43; John 2:5; 12:26) · A Metaphorical Servant Government – Romans 13:4 Christ is not a servant of... read more

Ridin’ the Pulpit!

May 19, 2006 | Humor

Can you say you’ve had this much fun? Phil Johnson recently put up a post regarding the amazing pulpit at Grace Community Church: the headquarters of John MacArthur’s amazing pulpit ministry. It brought back many memories, especially this one, which I posted in the comment thread over at “Pulpit Live.” I think I can say this now, five years removed from membership at Grace, without getting into too much trouble. When I arrived at Grace and TMS nine years ago this month, I joined the custodial staff at the church. Little did I know of the custodial sub-culture that existed in such an esteemed environment. Anywhoo, my “baptismal introduction” (hazing) to the custodial staff was to “ride” the pulpit. Yes, that is right. I was instructed to get inside the pulpit and ‘ride her down’. Just when I was incsribing my good friend’s, and fellow custodian’s name on the wall underneath the esteemed platform, I heard a most unamusing growling sound – as if they were trying to trun the knob to let me back up and it wouldn’t work. Mind you, this was on a Saturday evening. I began to think, “What will John MacArthur do on Sunday morning when the guys in the little glass booth above the Worship Center finally raise me from my pulpit-like tomb and voila! there I am? Speaking of “Pulpit Live.” But alas, all was a joke and they finally raised me to life again. So is my fondest memory of the Grace Church pulpit. How many have the privilege of saying they have been able to ‘ride’ the pulpit’ at GCC.... read more

Singing Together for the Gospel

May 19, 2006 | Music

A recording was made during the T4G conference (really a ‘no, no’). “I Will Glory in My Redeemer” is the song available. Our church recently learned this one and it has become a perosnal favorite. HT: Adrian... read more

My Thoughts on Deacons – Part 1

May 19, 2006 | Deacons, Ecclesiology

O.K. so I started posting this paper on deacons some time ago, but never finished it – just like a number of other unfulfilled blog promises I’ve made. This time I do intend to finish it out. Reading Andreas Kostenberger’s thoughts on women deacons stirred me to repost. So, without further ado – here’s do-overs on my thoughts regarding a biblical approach to deacon ministry. 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... read more

A Radical Sociology Devoid of Biblical Theology: Randall Terry Becomes Catholic

May 18, 2006 | Catholicism, Culture, General Theology

National Catholic Register Reading this article confirms what I had often thought about Randall Terry.  He is on the right side (though his methodology is often askew) of the abortion issue, but devoid of much in the way of biblical theology.  Not that I had delved deep into Terry’s background, but based upon his public appearances, he seemed a bit shallow when it came to Scripture.  So, no wonder that he would move into... read more

Pastor James! This is SOOO COOOL!!

May 9, 2006 | Ecclesiology, Pastoral Ministry

Kids, Inc – Welcome to Our New Website! Pastor James is the pastor in our church who oversees our children’s ministry. Watch the video in the referenced clip. In my estimation, the difference between “Dale” and “James” is the word “Pastor.” Dale aint, James are one at least in the biblical sense. But hey, according to this video, the Bible is not quite THAT important to church. No biblical approach to worship or the word displayed in the Kids, Inc. church. As a matter of fact, I heard and saw vitually nothing in the clip to associate what they are doing with any biblical notion of “church.” But, at least the kids are having fun, right? Oh, by the way, the Senior Pastor of this congregation is the man who would be SBC President. See also Tom Ascol’s... read more

The Non-Congregational Church

May 8, 2006 | Ecclesiology

Unaccountable at Calvary Chapel – Christianity Today Magazine I used to hear the horror stories of congregational church polity.  Then, I lived them as a pastor.  I was convinced that “Elder Rule” was the model of the New Testament.  That is that the elders rule the church and the congregation follows with no corporate “say” or “authority.”  All authority is vested in the elders.  I have since come to see a more balanced approach, which I believe the Bible also affirms.  Elder leadership with congregational affirmation seems to be a more biblical model, providing accountability for both congregation and leadership. The article linked above is an example of the horrors of “Elder Rule” – where all the rule is vested in the elders and the congregation must blindly... read more

Worship Matters

May 7, 2006 | Ecclesiology, Music, Worship

Worship Matters I used to listen to the lyrics of Bob Kauflin through the group GLAD.  This group put out some contemporary redentions of old hymns as well as produced great lyrics, some sung acapella, through more recent songs.  While his blog has been out for awhile, I’ve just started looking it over.  He has some great thoguhts on the subject of... read more

T4G Articles

May 6, 2006 | Ecclesiology

The Affirmations and Denials from the Together for the Gospel Conference are now available in their final form. The audio from the conference is also available. The articles a well worded expression providing what I believe is a healthy series of statements that can lay a firm foundation for genuine church and individual... read more

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C.J., Lig, Al, Mark, et. al. Mark Dever and Company John Piper John MacArthur Phil Johnson and Friends the same says it all.