The CFC Blog https://www.cfcbirmingham.org Tue, 19 Mar 2024 01:53:32 -0500 http://churchplantmedia.com/ Planting Trees: Sowing Gospel Seeds in the Next Generation https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/planting-trees-sowing-gospel-seeds- https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/planting-trees-sowing-gospel-seeds-#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2020 11:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/planting-trees-sowing-gospel-seeds- “She rises up as morning breaks. She moves among these rooms alone before we wake. And her heart is so full, it overflows. She waters us with love, and the children grow. So many years from now, long after we are gone, these trees will spread their branches out and bless the dawn.”

The lyrics from this Andrew Peterson song have evolved over the 10 years since I first heard them. They have always been sweet and vivid, but today I see these lyrics in living flesh and blood. My wife may not be the early riser of our family, but she is daily giving herself to love and serve us. We both find ourselves constantly working to water our three kids with the love of Christ. Even at this young age, we are constantly sowing gospel seeds on the soil of our kids’ hearts. Our prayers are often consumed with begging God to give our kids new hearts, to sink their roots deep in fellowship with him, and to grow their affection for the Lord.

The importance of these little ears hearing the gospel on a consistent basis can hardly be overstated. Over and over again, the Bible instructs parents to teach God’s Word to their children. Think about Deuteronomy 6:4–7 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD 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. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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.” Or think about the church in Ephesus, where Paul assumes that children will be listening as part of the gathered church in Ephesians 6:1 – “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Or look to Paul’s protege Timothy. Evangelicals are often quick to quote 2 Timothy 3:16-17 on the inspiration of Scripture, but look at the two verses immediately before that – “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:14-15). The sincere faith of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice was passed on to him from childhood, so that it now dwells in him (2 Tim. 1:5). The gospel is not merely the greatest need for our world or our friends, but for our children as well.

While the Bible should convince us of the importance of preaching the gospel to our kids, the stories of our members should drive those convictions home even further. In a recent poll on the Facebook page for members, I asked people at what age they came to faith. Here’s the breakdown of our responses:

Age of Conversion Total Number Percentage
Younger than 5 (preschool) 2 2.4%
5-10 (elementary) 39 47.0%
11-13 (junior high) 9 10.8%
14-18 (high school) 17 20.5%
19-22 (college) 8 9.6%
22+ (after college) 8 9.6%

So north of 80% of those who responded were converted while they were living at home before college. Similar numbers emerge in other studies. A Barna Group study from 2004 found that 64% of respondents came to faith before their 18th birthday. A 2019 survey of nearly 400 children’s ministry leaders resulted in 84% saying they trusted in Christ before they were 20 years old.

This is obviously not to say that God stops working after people turn 18! Look at the Apostle Paul, or consider some of the testimonies of brothers and sisters in our church who come to faith through a godly coworker, an old high school friend, or simply reading their Bible and being supernaturally convinced by God’s Spirit. Evangelism doesn’t have an age limit.

But we should take seriously the responsibility we have as parents and as a church to train up the coming generation. While evangelism doesn’t have an upper age limit (no one is too old for God to save them), we should equally say that it is never too early to speak the gospel to your children. To that end, let me give a few recommendations that I need to hear and that I hope are edifying for you, church.

First, remember that growing trees takes time, so plan for the long haul. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard (or said), “The days are long, but the years are short.” We can all feel the stress and frustration of a long day. You’ve preached the gospel to your children a hundred times, but today when you talk about it your daughter tells you with confidence that we have to be good boys and girls to get into heaven. You’ve seen your son grow sensitive to sin in his life, only to catch him whacking his sibling with glee. You’ve been patient for days on end, but during the live stream you scream at your children to stay quiet so you can listen for once. It’s so easy in these moments to feel like you’ve lost progress. But don’t lose heart. When you make mistakes, show your children what repentance looks like by apologizing to them, confessing your sin to God in front of them, and asking for their forgiveness. When your child exposes sin in their heart, count it as an opportunity to lean in and shepherd them towards the gospel again. You may feel like an individual conversation or interaction goes poorly, but a lifetime of patient, gentle, instructive godliness leaves an impression that will often stand out above any one particular conversation.

Second, pray with and for your kids. According to John Calvin, prayer is the chief exercise of faith. In other words, it is the way that we most naturally demonstrate faith in the God we proclaim. Family devotions are excellent. Scripture memorization will serve your children for years, Lord willing. But don’t forget that all of our work is planting and watering. It is God who gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:6-7). Make it a priority in your life to ask God to save your children.

Third, don’t outsource the stewardship that God has given you. Your children were given not to just any parent, but God in his sovereignty gave them to you. Let that be an encouragement to you! Sure, there are other people who are doing a great job discipling their kids, and it’s a good thing to learn from others and strive to improve in this area. But even if your child goes to a great Christian school, has excellent CFC Kids teachers, or a cadre of good friends, you are the person God has called and equipped most directly to influence your children towards Christ.

Fourth, don’t neglect brothers and sisters in influencing your kids towards Christ. If you feel a slight tension between this point and the above, then you’re reading this rightly. It is absolutely true that you are the primary disciple-makers in your home. But that doesn’t mean you should wall yourself off and assume that you should try to get the job done all by yourself. I love that my children hear about God’s good news from CFC Kids teachers on Sundays, Growth Group friends on Tuesdays, grandparents on Wednesdays and Fridays, and other interactions that I’m just barely aware of. Today, my kids think I’m pretty cool. But one day, my guess is that they might want to talk through some spiritual questions and insights with Emily or Elizabeth or Billy before they come to me about it. Which leads to my last point.

Fifth and finally, shape your life around a local church. The local church is intended by God’s grace to be an embassy of heaven, a small picture of what it looks like to live with God as our king. Just being in church every time the door opens does not make you or your kids a Christian, and we should certainly not confuse our kids that this is the case! But I would count it a great blessing if my children grew up to love God’s people more than their favorite sports team or hobby, if being among God’s people frequently seemed like a natural outworking of being part of God’s family.

Gardening is hard work. I’m pretty sure that I have killed more plants than I’ve kept alive (Laura can testify!). But I’m learning to be better. More than that, I’m trusting that I’m just an apprentice gardener, not the Master. And I am praying that in His good grace our kids will one day be oaks of righteousness, spreading out their branches to bless the dawn.

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“She rises up as morning breaks. She moves among these rooms alone before we wake. And her heart is so full, it overflows. She waters us with love, and the children grow. So many years from now, long after we are gone, these trees will spread their branches out and bless the dawn.”

The lyrics from this Andrew Peterson song have evolved over the 10 years since I first heard them. They have always been sweet and vivid, but today I see these lyrics in living flesh and blood. My wife may not be the early riser of our family, but she is daily giving herself to love and serve us. We both find ourselves constantly working to water our three kids with the love of Christ. Even at this young age, we are constantly sowing gospel seeds on the soil of our kids’ hearts. Our prayers are often consumed with begging God to give our kids new hearts, to sink their roots deep in fellowship with him, and to grow their affection for the Lord.

The importance of these little ears hearing the gospel on a consistent basis can hardly be overstated. Over and over again, the Bible instructs parents to teach God’s Word to their children. Think about Deuteronomy 6:4–7 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD 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. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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.” Or think about the church in Ephesus, where Paul assumes that children will be listening as part of the gathered church in Ephesians 6:1 – “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Or look to Paul’s protege Timothy. Evangelicals are often quick to quote 2 Timothy 3:16-17 on the inspiration of Scripture, but look at the two verses immediately before that – “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:14-15). The sincere faith of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice was passed on to him from childhood, so that it now dwells in him (2 Tim. 1:5). The gospel is not merely the greatest need for our world or our friends, but for our children as well.

While the Bible should convince us of the importance of preaching the gospel to our kids, the stories of our members should drive those convictions home even further. In a recent poll on the Facebook page for members, I asked people at what age they came to faith. Here’s the breakdown of our responses:

Age of Conversion Total Number Percentage
Younger than 5 (preschool) 2 2.4%
5-10 (elementary) 39 47.0%
11-13 (junior high) 9 10.8%
14-18 (high school) 17 20.5%
19-22 (college) 8 9.6%
22+ (after college) 8 9.6%

So north of 80% of those who responded were converted while they were living at home before college. Similar numbers emerge in other studies. A Barna Group study from 2004 found that 64% of respondents came to faith before their 18th birthday. A 2019 survey of nearly 400 children’s ministry leaders resulted in 84% saying they trusted in Christ before they were 20 years old.

This is obviously not to say that God stops working after people turn 18! Look at the Apostle Paul, or consider some of the testimonies of brothers and sisters in our church who come to faith through a godly coworker, an old high school friend, or simply reading their Bible and being supernaturally convinced by God’s Spirit. Evangelism doesn’t have an age limit.

But we should take seriously the responsibility we have as parents and as a church to train up the coming generation. While evangelism doesn’t have an upper age limit (no one is too old for God to save them), we should equally say that it is never too early to speak the gospel to your children. To that end, let me give a few recommendations that I need to hear and that I hope are edifying for you, church.

First, remember that growing trees takes time, so plan for the long haul. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard (or said), “The days are long, but the years are short.” We can all feel the stress and frustration of a long day. You’ve preached the gospel to your children a hundred times, but today when you talk about it your daughter tells you with confidence that we have to be good boys and girls to get into heaven. You’ve seen your son grow sensitive to sin in his life, only to catch him whacking his sibling with glee. You’ve been patient for days on end, but during the live stream you scream at your children to stay quiet so you can listen for once. It’s so easy in these moments to feel like you’ve lost progress. But don’t lose heart. When you make mistakes, show your children what repentance looks like by apologizing to them, confessing your sin to God in front of them, and asking for their forgiveness. When your child exposes sin in their heart, count it as an opportunity to lean in and shepherd them towards the gospel again. You may feel like an individual conversation or interaction goes poorly, but a lifetime of patient, gentle, instructive godliness leaves an impression that will often stand out above any one particular conversation.

Second, pray with and for your kids. According to John Calvin, prayer is the chief exercise of faith. In other words, it is the way that we most naturally demonstrate faith in the God we proclaim. Family devotions are excellent. Scripture memorization will serve your children for years, Lord willing. But don’t forget that all of our work is planting and watering. It is God who gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:6-7). Make it a priority in your life to ask God to save your children.

Third, don’t outsource the stewardship that God has given you. Your children were given not to just any parent, but God in his sovereignty gave them to you. Let that be an encouragement to you! Sure, there are other people who are doing a great job discipling their kids, and it’s a good thing to learn from others and strive to improve in this area. But even if your child goes to a great Christian school, has excellent CFC Kids teachers, or a cadre of good friends, you are the person God has called and equipped most directly to influence your children towards Christ.

Fourth, don’t neglect brothers and sisters in influencing your kids towards Christ. If you feel a slight tension between this point and the above, then you’re reading this rightly. It is absolutely true that you are the primary disciple-makers in your home. But that doesn’t mean you should wall yourself off and assume that you should try to get the job done all by yourself. I love that my children hear about God’s good news from CFC Kids teachers on Sundays, Growth Group friends on Tuesdays, grandparents on Wednesdays and Fridays, and other interactions that I’m just barely aware of. Today, my kids think I’m pretty cool. But one day, my guess is that they might want to talk through some spiritual questions and insights with Emily or Elizabeth or Billy before they come to me about it. Which leads to my last point.

Fifth and finally, shape your life around a local church. The local church is intended by God’s grace to be an embassy of heaven, a small picture of what it looks like to live with God as our king. Just being in church every time the door opens does not make you or your kids a Christian, and we should certainly not confuse our kids that this is the case! But I would count it a great blessing if my children grew up to love God’s people more than their favorite sports team or hobby, if being among God’s people frequently seemed like a natural outworking of being part of God’s family.

Gardening is hard work. I’m pretty sure that I have killed more plants than I’ve kept alive (Laura can testify!). But I’m learning to be better. More than that, I’m trusting that I’m just an apprentice gardener, not the Master. And I am praying that in His good grace our kids will one day be oaks of righteousness, spreading out their branches to bless the dawn.

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CFC Kids Summer Update https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-kids-summer-update https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-kids-summer-update#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2020 06:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-kids-summer-update

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CFC Worship Update https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-worship-update---july-2-2020 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-worship-update---july-2-2020#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2020 06:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-worship-update---july-2-2020

Senior Pastor Bart Box gives un update on our worship services in light of the recent mask ordinance in Jefferson County.

Based on the recent mask ordinance released by the Jefferson County Department of Health, we have decided to require masks during entering, exiting, and singing starting this Sunday, July 5.

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Senior Pastor Bart Box gives un update on our worship services in light of the recent mask ordinance in Jefferson County.

Based on the recent mask ordinance released by the Jefferson County Department of Health, we have decided to require masks during entering, exiting, and singing starting this Sunday, July 5.

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Getting the Most out of Online Church https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/getting-the-most-out-of-online-church https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/getting-the-most-out-of-online-church#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2020 10:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/getting-the-most-out-of-online-church  The last few months have brought American believers a unique and unprecedented (for us) challenge. The centerpiece and heart of our lives together, the public worship service, has been widely cancelled and replaced with something that, while deeply meaningful and still containing many elements of what we love about “going to church,” is an incomplete shadow of the Biblically prescribed weekly gatherings of God’s people. Now, as conditions and regulations change, many congregations are moving toward in-person meetings again, which is a blessed and wonderful objective. But for some of us, whether due to family, health, or other considerations, meeting again in person isn’t something we can do right now, and possibly not for a while. 

While continuing to worship from home isn’t ideal, we know the Lord will continue to supply for all of our needs. Our souls will continue to be fed by the spoken Word of God, the public prayers of the saints, the preaching of the Gospel, and the singing of timeless truths. Over the last few months, my family has learned through trial and error that while being at home in front of the TV for “church” isn’t ideal, there are certainly things we can do to make the experience more nourishing to our souls. Not all of these tips will apply to or help everyone, but here are some quick pointers that have helped our family of four (two adults, a first grader, and a five-year-old) make the most of our worship together on Sundays.

Prepare

Our mid-week newsletter provides both the text of the preaching passage, and a playlist with songs that will be included in the Sunday service. I find that reading the scripture and listening to those songs is a good way to prepare my heart and mind for Sunday morning.

Participate in the Live Service

There’s something meaningful about worshiping with our brothers and sisters, even when we’re in different locations. Watching later is great, if that’s the better option for your family—but singing, praying, and listening along with the larger congregation can help fight feelings of distance and disconnection.

Shower & Get Dressed

Like brushing your teeth before a Zoom call, it will make you feel more prepared and promote a mindset that will help you leave everyday tasks behind and focus on an hour that is set apart. For those of us with kids, it’s also a helpful visual representation to them that we’re approaching an hour that is special and important.

Start Early and Reduce Distractions

This is probably about as realistic for most of us as getting to church on time. But for my family, I know that the earlier we start, the closer to on time we will be.  So about ten minutes before church starts, we try to give the kids a five-minute warning that we’re about to call them in for worship, we print the liturgy, gather Bibles and pens, and mentally and spiritually collect ourselves.

Turn on the TV and Turn Up the Sound

We have found that it really helps to have the service on the big screen, and to have the sound turned up so that we can sing with gusto. It almost feels like I’m at the building on Green Springs Highway when I close my eyes and can hear the worship team over my own voice!

Stand Up to Sing (and otherwise pretend like you’re in church)

It has helped us (and our girls) to stay focused on worship when we follow the service leader’s verbal cues. Doing so is a sort of whole-body reminder that we are participating in something greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a good way to engage the kids, too. They are much more likely to join in if Mom and Dad participate as usual. Besides, it’s hard to sing while sitting down!

Have a Kids’ Program

A leader in another local congregation asked the parents of preschoolers: “What memories do you want your kids to have of worshiping at home during the pandemic?” I found this question challenging and thought-provoking. A lot of us will be staying home because our kids are the challenge with returning to church right now, but rather than resent the adjustment required, we can think creatively about how to share our love for the Church during this time. Additionally, making sure the kids are well occupied allows you to focus on worship!

Having kids be part of the service at all possible opportunities is a good goal. Mine are old enough to participate through the beginning of the sermon, and then we allow them to go to a different room to read a picture Bible, color, and do other quiet activities. But for younger kids, plan ahead and do what you can to make sure you can listen to the sermon as uninterrupted as possible. 40 minutes of time for you to listen to the sermon is a great use of screen time! But most importantly, you want to love your children well by modeling love of the Church in this time.

Revisit the Service Later in the Week

Just as usual, it is strengthening to our hearts and minds to review the sermon notes and liturgy during the week. Read through your service notes when you have a few moments, reread the Bible passage, and talk about the themes with your kids and other church members.

Conclusion

As a recovering perfectionist, a big theme of my life has been learning to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Worshiping at home has been a prime area in which I can apply this principle. While my heart will be with my brothers and sisters who are gathering at the building at Green Springs this Sunday, I can be grateful that modern technology allows me to participate from home. And while I don’t know how long this season will last, I can agree with James when he says that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

Pandemics come and go, but Christ never changes. I find comfort in and grow closer to him as I pursue him through worship—even when an unusual season prevents me from gathering in person with the family of God. Like all good things in life, getting the most out of church during this time of social distancing takes a little work—but when I put the work in, I find God provides the harvest. "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15).

]]>
 The last few months have brought American believers a unique and unprecedented (for us) challenge. The centerpiece and heart of our lives together, the public worship service, has been widely cancelled and replaced with something that, while deeply meaningful and still containing many elements of what we love about “going to church,” is an incomplete shadow of the Biblically prescribed weekly gatherings of God’s people. Now, as conditions and regulations change, many congregations are moving toward in-person meetings again, which is a blessed and wonderful objective. But for some of us, whether due to family, health, or other considerations, meeting again in person isn’t something we can do right now, and possibly not for a while. 

While continuing to worship from home isn’t ideal, we know the Lord will continue to supply for all of our needs. Our souls will continue to be fed by the spoken Word of God, the public prayers of the saints, the preaching of the Gospel, and the singing of timeless truths. Over the last few months, my family has learned through trial and error that while being at home in front of the TV for “church” isn’t ideal, there are certainly things we can do to make the experience more nourishing to our souls. Not all of these tips will apply to or help everyone, but here are some quick pointers that have helped our family of four (two adults, a first grader, and a five-year-old) make the most of our worship together on Sundays.

Prepare

Our mid-week newsletter provides both the text of the preaching passage, and a playlist with songs that will be included in the Sunday service. I find that reading the scripture and listening to those songs is a good way to prepare my heart and mind for Sunday morning.

Participate in the Live Service

There’s something meaningful about worshiping with our brothers and sisters, even when we’re in different locations. Watching later is great, if that’s the better option for your family—but singing, praying, and listening along with the larger congregation can help fight feelings of distance and disconnection.

Shower & Get Dressed

Like brushing your teeth before a Zoom call, it will make you feel more prepared and promote a mindset that will help you leave everyday tasks behind and focus on an hour that is set apart. For those of us with kids, it’s also a helpful visual representation to them that we’re approaching an hour that is special and important.

Start Early and Reduce Distractions

This is probably about as realistic for most of us as getting to church on time. But for my family, I know that the earlier we start, the closer to on time we will be.  So about ten minutes before church starts, we try to give the kids a five-minute warning that we’re about to call them in for worship, we print the liturgy, gather Bibles and pens, and mentally and spiritually collect ourselves.

Turn on the TV and Turn Up the Sound

We have found that it really helps to have the service on the big screen, and to have the sound turned up so that we can sing with gusto. It almost feels like I’m at the building on Green Springs Highway when I close my eyes and can hear the worship team over my own voice!

Stand Up to Sing (and otherwise pretend like you’re in church)

It has helped us (and our girls) to stay focused on worship when we follow the service leader’s verbal cues. Doing so is a sort of whole-body reminder that we are participating in something greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a good way to engage the kids, too. They are much more likely to join in if Mom and Dad participate as usual. Besides, it’s hard to sing while sitting down!

Have a Kids’ Program

A leader in another local congregation asked the parents of preschoolers: “What memories do you want your kids to have of worshiping at home during the pandemic?” I found this question challenging and thought-provoking. A lot of us will be staying home because our kids are the challenge with returning to church right now, but rather than resent the adjustment required, we can think creatively about how to share our love for the Church during this time. Additionally, making sure the kids are well occupied allows you to focus on worship!

Having kids be part of the service at all possible opportunities is a good goal. Mine are old enough to participate through the beginning of the sermon, and then we allow them to go to a different room to read a picture Bible, color, and do other quiet activities. But for younger kids, plan ahead and do what you can to make sure you can listen to the sermon as uninterrupted as possible. 40 minutes of time for you to listen to the sermon is a great use of screen time! But most importantly, you want to love your children well by modeling love of the Church in this time.

Revisit the Service Later in the Week

Just as usual, it is strengthening to our hearts and minds to review the sermon notes and liturgy during the week. Read through your service notes when you have a few moments, reread the Bible passage, and talk about the themes with your kids and other church members.

Conclusion

As a recovering perfectionist, a big theme of my life has been learning to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Worshiping at home has been a prime area in which I can apply this principle. While my heart will be with my brothers and sisters who are gathering at the building at Green Springs this Sunday, I can be grateful that modern technology allows me to participate from home. And while I don’t know how long this season will last, I can agree with James when he says that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

Pandemics come and go, but Christ never changes. I find comfort in and grow closer to him as I pursue him through worship—even when an unusual season prevents me from gathering in person with the family of God. Like all good things in life, getting the most out of church during this time of social distancing takes a little work—but when I put the work in, I find God provides the harvest. "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15).

]]>
Worshiping with Your Kids https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/worshiping https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/worshiping#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2020 23:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/worshiping Parents, we know that it can be a daunting task to have your kids in worship with you. This is true whether your child is transitioning into CFC Youth or a pandemic results in the closure of CFC Kids. But we think that this is a great opportunity for your kids to potentially learn how to participate in worship with us and even for you to grow in shepherding your family towards Christ. We hope the information below is helpful as you consider how best to set your children up for success in worship.

Before Church

  1. PrayThis is the most important thing you do. It is God’s very Spirit that your child needs, not mere tips for success or even your good example. Pray throughout the week for your children to be given new life in Christ. And pray with your family on Sunday morning that the Lord would give you ears to hear and hearts to respond.
  2. Make Family Worship a Priority – Worship doesn’t begin on Sunday in the church building, but every night of the week around your dinner table (or wherever and whenever you worship together as a family). This is a great time to pick up a good habit, as it will have the added benefit of making hearing the Bible read, praying, and singing seem normal to your kids.
  3. Review the Songs We’ll Sing and the Sermon Text – Did you know that you can find our sermon text and songs for Sunday on our website? Head over to our website, and under the resources tab click “Preparing for Worship.” There you will find the sermon text and songs for this upcoming Sunday. Why not read the passage together one night at family worship, or help your kids learn some of the songs we will sing together? It can prepare your kids to listen and participate more fully.
  4. Be Prepared for Sunday Morning – Saturday night is actually pretty important too! Lay out clothes for your kids to wear, gather together anything you’ll want to take to church with you, and try to get to bed at a decent time. On Sunday morning, eat breakfast with your family and pray again for the service that morning. Set and talk about reasonable expectations for your kids as it relates to participation and behavior.
  5. Use the Restroom – Normally, I’d say just make sure that your kids use the restroom before the service when they get to church. In these strange times, let me encourage you to ask your children to use the restroom before you leave for church to minimize use of common touch points.

At Church

  1. Use Kid’s Notes or the Digital Liturgy – If your child is old enough to read and take notes, print out some kid’s notes during the week and look it over with them when you arrive at church, helping them know what they can or should take notes on. Even if they are not old enough to use kid’s notes or read, you can use the digital liturgy to talk to them about the order of the service and what is going on. Do this before service starts, and then feel free to quietly encourage them to listen and/or participate as appropriate.
  2. Model Participation – Kids are little sponges, soaking up both what we say and do. So give them all the good instruction (above) and a good example to follow. Sing loudly, say “Amen” with the prayers, take good notes (even encourage your kids who are learning to take notes on things they can write down), and fully engage as much as possible.

After Service

  1. Talk about the Service as a Family – Anything is open for discussion here! Talk about your favorite songs, the public prayers that gave voice to your own prayer, or points in the sermon that affected your head (what you think), heart (how you feel), or your hands (what you do). Let the Word of God echo throughout your household after the service as a normal course of action.
  2. Pray – If you skipped this earlier (or even if you didn’t), let me reiterate: This is the most important thing you do. Pray that the truths of God’s Word would grow your child’s love of Christ, that they might be our brothers and sisters, and that we might walk towards heaven together with them.

Let me leave you, brothers and sisters, with a few encouragements.

  • Worshiping with your kids takes consistency. Like anything in life, doing it over and over again with loving, caring instruction will often yield fruit. Keep at it! It’s hard, yes, and in this season we realize that with some kids who are very young or especially active, it may not be feasible for your family to be in worship every week. But strive for growth in consistency, even if it is in their participation watching the live stream.
  • Worshiping with your kids takes discipline. It takes discipline from you to set them up and help them. It takes discipline from your kids to grow in their ability to participate and pay attention. Often our kids will surprise us with how much they can take in or do. Don’t exasperate them, but don’t set the bar too low either.
  • Worshiping with your kids takes grace. Yes, we want our kids to behave, to sit still, to listen well. And there is nothing wrong with encouraging and rewarding that. But in a desire for quiet, don’t fall prey to the opposite trap of provoking your children to anger (Ephesians 6:4). Give them grace in correction and training for righteousness. We all need it.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot tell you enough that we love you and your children. We are genuinely delighted to worship together again soon, Lord willing. If there is any way in which we can better serve or care for you and your family, please let us know at the contact information below.

Love in Christ,

Ryan Adams

radams@cfcbirmingham.org

 

Elizabeth Bryant

ebryant@cfcbirmingham.org

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Parents, we know that it can be a daunting task to have your kids in worship with you. This is true whether your child is transitioning into CFC Youth or a pandemic results in the closure of CFC Kids. But we think that this is a great opportunity for your kids to potentially learn how to participate in worship with us and even for you to grow in shepherding your family towards Christ. We hope the information below is helpful as you consider how best to set your children up for success in worship.

Before Church

  1. PrayThis is the most important thing you do. It is God’s very Spirit that your child needs, not mere tips for success or even your good example. Pray throughout the week for your children to be given new life in Christ. And pray with your family on Sunday morning that the Lord would give you ears to hear and hearts to respond.
  2. Make Family Worship a Priority – Worship doesn’t begin on Sunday in the church building, but every night of the week around your dinner table (or wherever and whenever you worship together as a family). This is a great time to pick up a good habit, as it will have the added benefit of making hearing the Bible read, praying, and singing seem normal to your kids.
  3. Review the Songs We’ll Sing and the Sermon Text – Did you know that you can find our sermon text and songs for Sunday on our website? Head over to our website, and under the resources tab click “Preparing for Worship.” There you will find the sermon text and songs for this upcoming Sunday. Why not read the passage together one night at family worship, or help your kids learn some of the songs we will sing together? It can prepare your kids to listen and participate more fully.
  4. Be Prepared for Sunday Morning – Saturday night is actually pretty important too! Lay out clothes for your kids to wear, gather together anything you’ll want to take to church with you, and try to get to bed at a decent time. On Sunday morning, eat breakfast with your family and pray again for the service that morning. Set and talk about reasonable expectations for your kids as it relates to participation and behavior.
  5. Use the Restroom – Normally, I’d say just make sure that your kids use the restroom before the service when they get to church. In these strange times, let me encourage you to ask your children to use the restroom before you leave for church to minimize use of common touch points.

At Church

  1. Use Kid’s Notes or the Digital Liturgy – If your child is old enough to read and take notes, print out some kid’s notes during the week and look it over with them when you arrive at church, helping them know what they can or should take notes on. Even if they are not old enough to use kid’s notes or read, you can use the digital liturgy to talk to them about the order of the service and what is going on. Do this before service starts, and then feel free to quietly encourage them to listen and/or participate as appropriate.
  2. Model Participation – Kids are little sponges, soaking up both what we say and do. So give them all the good instruction (above) and a good example to follow. Sing loudly, say “Amen” with the prayers, take good notes (even encourage your kids who are learning to take notes on things they can write down), and fully engage as much as possible.

After Service

  1. Talk about the Service as a Family – Anything is open for discussion here! Talk about your favorite songs, the public prayers that gave voice to your own prayer, or points in the sermon that affected your head (what you think), heart (how you feel), or your hands (what you do). Let the Word of God echo throughout your household after the service as a normal course of action.
  2. Pray – If you skipped this earlier (or even if you didn’t), let me reiterate: This is the most important thing you do. Pray that the truths of God’s Word would grow your child’s love of Christ, that they might be our brothers and sisters, and that we might walk towards heaven together with them.

Let me leave you, brothers and sisters, with a few encouragements.

  • Worshiping with your kids takes consistency. Like anything in life, doing it over and over again with loving, caring instruction will often yield fruit. Keep at it! It’s hard, yes, and in this season we realize that with some kids who are very young or especially active, it may not be feasible for your family to be in worship every week. But strive for growth in consistency, even if it is in their participation watching the live stream.
  • Worshiping with your kids takes discipline. It takes discipline from you to set them up and help them. It takes discipline from your kids to grow in their ability to participate and pay attention. Often our kids will surprise us with how much they can take in or do. Don’t exasperate them, but don’t set the bar too low either.
  • Worshiping with your kids takes grace. Yes, we want our kids to behave, to sit still, to listen well. And there is nothing wrong with encouraging and rewarding that. But in a desire for quiet, don’t fall prey to the opposite trap of provoking your children to anger (Ephesians 6:4). Give them grace in correction and training for righteousness. We all need it.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot tell you enough that we love you and your children. We are genuinely delighted to worship together again soon, Lord willing. If there is any way in which we can better serve or care for you and your family, please let us know at the contact information below.

Love in Christ,

Ryan Adams

radams@cfcbirmingham.org

 

Elizabeth Bryant

ebryant@cfcbirmingham.org

]]>
Intercessory Prayer from This Past Sunday https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/i-am- https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/i-am-#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2020 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/i-am- Below you will find the video of Bart's comments in regards to the state of our nation concerning the death of George Floyd and the response to that, followed by the intercessory prayer from church member Dave Nix. Come, Lord Jesus.

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Below you will find the video of Bart's comments in regards to the state of our nation concerning the death of George Floyd and the response to that, followed by the intercessory prayer from church member Dave Nix. Come, Lord Jesus.

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Reopening Plan Q&A https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-reopening-plan- https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-reopening-plan-#comments Wed, 27 May 2020 10:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-reopening-plan-

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The Better Portion https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/the-better-portion https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/the-better-portion#comments Thu, 21 May 2020 06:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/the-better-portion To say that the past two months have been strange would be an understatement. All of us are experiencing a new normal, and I’m sure that has manifested itself in lots of different ways for you and your family. Who would have ever thought they would become a homeschool teacher in the middle of the year? Who would’ve expected to run a daycare out of their home office or have a toddler join them on a meeting? When was the last time you weren’t at church on Easter? These days are unprecedented for all of us. Undoubtedly, everyone is handling the days at home a little differently and has missed some things more than others. For me, church has been what I have missed the most while our state has stayed and sheltered at home since the middle of March.

The church has been one of my most constant sources of joy and normality for my whole life. The Lord saved me at a young age and gave me a love for His church that grew under the care of some great men who did their best to point me toward loving God and my neighbor. I was a freshman in high school when I first felt God calling me to ministry. I’ve been on staff at a church more often than not since I was seventeen. I love the church, and I have grown to love doing things for the church. Sundays don’t feel normal unless I’m preparing for a service at CFC or traveling to speak on behalf of the Baptist Children’s Homes, where I work in church engagement. While we all can agree that loving the church and regularly participating in church activities are good things, they can be problematic when we equate those for spiritual health and growth. God, in His grace, used my watching our church’s simulcast from home to make me realize that I had fallen into that trap of the enemy.

The first Sunday of shelter at home was a bit of a wakeup call for me. I found myself extremely discouraged, but for quite a while I couldn’t put my finger on why I felt that way. After some time, I started realizing that I didn’t feel like myself because in my mind I wasn’t doing all that I should be. I felt tired, discouraged, and, frankly, useless. I felt that way because I wasn’t able to participate in something that I felt made me who I am. It was at that time I began to realize that I was wrongly putting my identity in what I did. It is easy to base our worth, value, and who we are in what we do. Instead, we need to remember that those things are found in who God has made us to be in Christ. We are a new creation. We are members of a kingdom of priests. We are His ambassadors in this world. We are His agents of reconciliation.

When we recognize that our identity is in belonging to Christ and not in what we do for Him, we are free to take our focus off ourselves and begin to look to Him and to other people. This dynamic is especially tempting to those of us who are the most “bought in”; or in other words, it can be easy for those of us who do more things around church to equate those with spiritual health. While doing things to serve the church and to help others are good things, it becomes problematic when we elevate those actions to a status reserved in our hearts for Christ alone.

There’s a story in the Bible that speaks to this dynamic. It’s a story of two sisters who were hosting Jesus in their home. In this familiar story, recorded in Luke 10:38-42, one sister sits and listens to Jesus while the other does all the work necessary to host the scores of people who would be coming to their home to hear Jesus teach. Martha, the sister who did all the work, came to Jesus hoping to enlist His help in prodding her sister, Mary, to pull her weight. To Martha’s surprise, Jesus commends Mary instead. In His love for Martha, He tells her that Mary chose the better portion. Mary chose to prioritize the primary task for which she was created: to worship and enjoy God. Martha didn’t choose something bad; she merely did not choose what was best. Is this not the essence of idolatry? To elevate good things to a place reserved for God alone. Those things won’t satisfy in and of themselves. They will only lead to self-reliance when we think we are doing a good job, discouragement when we don’t feel that we are measuring up, or burnout when our energy is gone.

Instead of attempting to find joy in our own efforts, our Lord offers all of us who are burdened to come to Him for true rest and lasting joy. Throughout this process, I have had to confess multiple times that I have succumbed to the temptation to place my worth in what I do for Jesus instead of who I am in Jesus. If these times of staying at home and being unable to participate in our normal routine have brought similar feelings to the surface of your heart, I encourage you to fight the temptation to make excuses or to attempt to suppress those feelings of conviction. Instead, run to Jesus and, like Mary, sit at His feet. Listen to Him. Reflect on the truth of the gospel and repent of your sin. He has paid the price of our redemption and forgiven us of all of our sins, even sins of misplaced identity. The gospel is truly good news.

While I hope this season of being unable to gather as a church comes to an end in the near future, I hope that the Lord never lets me forget the hard lessons that I have learned while watching church on my couch. If I were never able to participate in another church service again, His global church and our local church would go on just fine. He doesn’t need me, and that is okay. I hope that all of us can emerge from our time in quarantine closer to Christ than when we entered it. I especially hope that any of us who have learned hard lessons during this time would never forget what the Lord taught us during this unique season of slower schedules and greater time for reflection.

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To say that the past two months have been strange would be an understatement. All of us are experiencing a new normal, and I’m sure that has manifested itself in lots of different ways for you and your family. Who would have ever thought they would become a homeschool teacher in the middle of the year? Who would’ve expected to run a daycare out of their home office or have a toddler join them on a meeting? When was the last time you weren’t at church on Easter? These days are unprecedented for all of us. Undoubtedly, everyone is handling the days at home a little differently and has missed some things more than others. For me, church has been what I have missed the most while our state has stayed and sheltered at home since the middle of March.

The church has been one of my most constant sources of joy and normality for my whole life. The Lord saved me at a young age and gave me a love for His church that grew under the care of some great men who did their best to point me toward loving God and my neighbor. I was a freshman in high school when I first felt God calling me to ministry. I’ve been on staff at a church more often than not since I was seventeen. I love the church, and I have grown to love doing things for the church. Sundays don’t feel normal unless I’m preparing for a service at CFC or traveling to speak on behalf of the Baptist Children’s Homes, where I work in church engagement. While we all can agree that loving the church and regularly participating in church activities are good things, they can be problematic when we equate those for spiritual health and growth. God, in His grace, used my watching our church’s simulcast from home to make me realize that I had fallen into that trap of the enemy.

The first Sunday of shelter at home was a bit of a wakeup call for me. I found myself extremely discouraged, but for quite a while I couldn’t put my finger on why I felt that way. After some time, I started realizing that I didn’t feel like myself because in my mind I wasn’t doing all that I should be. I felt tired, discouraged, and, frankly, useless. I felt that way because I wasn’t able to participate in something that I felt made me who I am. It was at that time I began to realize that I was wrongly putting my identity in what I did. It is easy to base our worth, value, and who we are in what we do. Instead, we need to remember that those things are found in who God has made us to be in Christ. We are a new creation. We are members of a kingdom of priests. We are His ambassadors in this world. We are His agents of reconciliation.

When we recognize that our identity is in belonging to Christ and not in what we do for Him, we are free to take our focus off ourselves and begin to look to Him and to other people. This dynamic is especially tempting to those of us who are the most “bought in”; or in other words, it can be easy for those of us who do more things around church to equate those with spiritual health. While doing things to serve the church and to help others are good things, it becomes problematic when we elevate those actions to a status reserved in our hearts for Christ alone.

There’s a story in the Bible that speaks to this dynamic. It’s a story of two sisters who were hosting Jesus in their home. In this familiar story, recorded in Luke 10:38-42, one sister sits and listens to Jesus while the other does all the work necessary to host the scores of people who would be coming to their home to hear Jesus teach. Martha, the sister who did all the work, came to Jesus hoping to enlist His help in prodding her sister, Mary, to pull her weight. To Martha’s surprise, Jesus commends Mary instead. In His love for Martha, He tells her that Mary chose the better portion. Mary chose to prioritize the primary task for which she was created: to worship and enjoy God. Martha didn’t choose something bad; she merely did not choose what was best. Is this not the essence of idolatry? To elevate good things to a place reserved for God alone. Those things won’t satisfy in and of themselves. They will only lead to self-reliance when we think we are doing a good job, discouragement when we don’t feel that we are measuring up, or burnout when our energy is gone.

Instead of attempting to find joy in our own efforts, our Lord offers all of us who are burdened to come to Him for true rest and lasting joy. Throughout this process, I have had to confess multiple times that I have succumbed to the temptation to place my worth in what I do for Jesus instead of who I am in Jesus. If these times of staying at home and being unable to participate in our normal routine have brought similar feelings to the surface of your heart, I encourage you to fight the temptation to make excuses or to attempt to suppress those feelings of conviction. Instead, run to Jesus and, like Mary, sit at His feet. Listen to Him. Reflect on the truth of the gospel and repent of your sin. He has paid the price of our redemption and forgiven us of all of our sins, even sins of misplaced identity. The gospel is truly good news.

While I hope this season of being unable to gather as a church comes to an end in the near future, I hope that the Lord never lets me forget the hard lessons that I have learned while watching church on my couch. If I were never able to participate in another church service again, His global church and our local church would go on just fine. He doesn’t need me, and that is okay. I hope that all of us can emerge from our time in quarantine closer to Christ than when we entered it. I especially hope that any of us who have learned hard lessons during this time would never forget what the Lord taught us during this unique season of slower schedules and greater time for reflection.

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How the Book of Job Answers the Questions Raised by the Coronavirus https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/how-the-book-of-job-answers- https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/how-the-book-of-job-answers-#comments Wed, 06 May 2020 06:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/how-the-book-of-job-answers- (The article below was written by Dr. Will Kynes, church member and professor of biblical and religious studies at Samford. It is a condensed version of a longer article that you can read here.)

I was as sick as I have ever been. The sore throat made it hard to breathe. The stomach pain made it hard to eat. The combination of the two made it hard to believe. I had moved to Nairobi to serve in a Kenyan church, but I was too sick to leave the house. Languishing in illness and loneliness, I wondered, Why, God?

Feeling an affinity for its title character, I read through the book of Job and was shocked by what I encountered. It asked precisely the theological questions I was struggling with, but it didn’t answer them the way I expected. Those same unexpected answers can now provide hope to face the coronavirus pandemic.

1. Will I Be Protected from Suffering?

This virus has stripped away the false security we find in our health and finances, leaving an anxious fog in its wake. The narrative opening of Job acknowledges our basic yearning to find protection from suffering; even righteous and wealthy Job feels it. In his anxiety, he offers sacrifices every morning on behalf of his children in the off chance that any have sinned (1:5), apparently thinking sufficient sacrifices will protect him and those he loves from suffering.

Satan, true to his accusing role, points out this apparent chink in Job’s armor to God. He questions whether Job’s faith will survive the suffering he has been so determined to avoid through his sacrifices and substantial livestock nest egg (1:9-11). So God allows Satan to rip Job’s wealth and health from him, just as COVID-19 has done to so many, not because of his unrighteousness but because of his righteousness. The book’s answer, therefore, to the question on all of our minds right now, “Will I be protected from suffering?” is a resounding, “I wouldn’t count on it.” As Jesus declares, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).

2. How Should I Respond to God?

The book forces us, like Job, to move on from the anxiety-ridden question, “Will I be protected from suffering?” to the faith-building question, “How should I respond to God in the midst of suffering?” Once again, though, it refuses to offer the expected feel-good answer. We like the stoic martyr of faith we encounter in the first couple chapters, who declares, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (1:21). This is all we tend to hear from Job. But Job has more to say. He curses the day of his birth, lashes out at his friends, complains (as might we) about his isolation from friends and family, even appears to accuse God of injustice (e.g., 10:3), enmity (13:24), and vicious attacks (e.g., 16:12-14). Something is not right in the world, he insists, and God must do something about it.

Shockingly, at the book’s end, God declares that Job, not the friends, has spoken rightly about him (42:7). God doesn’t justify this verdict, but the rest of the Old Testament does. Job joins the heroes of Israelite faith, Abraham (Gen 18:17-33), Jacob (Gen 32:6-12, 22-31), and Moses (Exod 32:1-14); the psalmists who dare to cry ‘Why?’ and ‘How long?’; and prophets, such as Amos, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk, in confronting God and demanding that he make things right. And God repeatedly responds favorably to their protests. Reflecting this biblical tradition, Jesus tells a parable of a widow whose persistent pleading convinces an unjust judge to intervene on her behalf, concluding, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?...However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8).

Job’s initial pious submission is easy to endorse when we consider suffering from the outside. However, as more are drawn into the inferno of infection, it may forge faith and protest together into a stronger theological alloy, which cries out to God in faith to rectify injustice.

3. How Should I Respond to Others?

If we would raise theological objections against Job’s bold protests, the book’s presentation of Job’s friends should caution us. Attempting to console Job, they preach profound theological truths about God’s just punishment of the wicked and sovereign deliverance of the righteous—to a man whom God has allowed to suffer because of his righteousness. As Job doggedly declares the injustice of his situation, the friends turn on him, accusing him of great wickedness (Job 22:5). They feel they must, because if Job is genuinely righteous, their righteousness won’t save them from his fate. Their fear of suffering drives them to blame the victim in order to create a distinction between themselves and Job that can protect them from his suffering. 

This same fear is behind my relief when I hear that a young, deceased victim of COVID-19 had some underlying condition that I don’t have. I want to keep their suffering at a distance by putting them in a different category than myself. The book of Job draws us into the suffering of others by destroying these imaginary walls separating us from it.

4. Is This Divine Punishment?

In times of suffering, we can feel, as Job did, that God has turned against us and become our enemy. Some have even attributed this pandemic to divine punishment. But righteous Job’s affliction should make us wary of such conclusions. Thus, when Jesus’ disciples ask if a man’s blindness was caused by his or his parents’ sin, he responds, “Neither...but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:2-3). Job’s story encourages us to ask, not what sin this pandemic is punishing, but how we might display God’s glory through our response to it.

5. What Does Suffering Tell Us about God?

God’s long-awaited answer to Job also violates our expectations. God doesn’t directly address Job’s suffering at all. Instead, after establishing himself as the creator of the cosmos (38:4-38), God describes his meticulous care for his creatures: dangerous, unclean, and uncontrollable animals below and beyond Job’s concern (38:39-39:30). If God is good enough to hunt prey for lionesses, feed young ravens, and midwife mountain goats, surely he cares for Job. Jesus similarly claims God’s care for sparrows should dispel fear, since “you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt 10:29-31). Then God turns this argument around. If God is powerful enough to control Behemoth and Leviathan, embodiments of human fear, then surely Job’s situation is not beyond divine sovereignty (40:1-41:34; cf. Rom 8:31-39). God guides Job’s gaze from his particular suffering to the breadth of creation in order to address his suffering, to provide him with hope that also applies to anyone and any affliction.

No one who suffers from COVID-19 is too insignificant for God’s care; none of the suffering we face is too powerful for his control. And yet, people are suffering. Job suffers. Some baby ravens starve. The divine speeches don’t attempt to explain why a good and powerful God allows evil to exist, why God created Behemoth and Leviathan (or COVID-19) in the first place. They redirect our question from why God allows suffering to persist, the answer to which is different in each situation and beyond our comprehension in most, to whom we must trust in every situation, and why this God is worth trusting. Job understands this. He is consoled while still on the ash heap (42:2-6).

6. Will Things Ever Get Back to Normal?

But God does not leave Job on his ash heap. Some find the book’s happy ending disappointingly trite, but it is perfectly appropriate for the good and sovereign God to make everything right in the end. We don’t know when that end will come in the current crisis. But the hope of the book of Job, as of the Christian faith, is that the God who allows our suffering will also eventually end it, that if we emulate “the endurance of Job,” we will see “how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). Job teaches us that persevering through suffering can create a new and better normal, one in which we see the God we had only heard of (42:5) and anxious sacrifices are replaced with deeper trust.

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(The article below was written by Dr. Will Kynes, church member and professor of biblical and religious studies at Samford. It is a condensed version of a longer article that you can read here.)

I was as sick as I have ever been. The sore throat made it hard to breathe. The stomach pain made it hard to eat. The combination of the two made it hard to believe. I had moved to Nairobi to serve in a Kenyan church, but I was too sick to leave the house. Languishing in illness and loneliness, I wondered, Why, God?

Feeling an affinity for its title character, I read through the book of Job and was shocked by what I encountered. It asked precisely the theological questions I was struggling with, but it didn’t answer them the way I expected. Those same unexpected answers can now provide hope to face the coronavirus pandemic.

1. Will I Be Protected from Suffering?

This virus has stripped away the false security we find in our health and finances, leaving an anxious fog in its wake. The narrative opening of Job acknowledges our basic yearning to find protection from suffering; even righteous and wealthy Job feels it. In his anxiety, he offers sacrifices every morning on behalf of his children in the off chance that any have sinned (1:5), apparently thinking sufficient sacrifices will protect him and those he loves from suffering.

Satan, true to his accusing role, points out this apparent chink in Job’s armor to God. He questions whether Job’s faith will survive the suffering he has been so determined to avoid through his sacrifices and substantial livestock nest egg (1:9-11). So God allows Satan to rip Job’s wealth and health from him, just as COVID-19 has done to so many, not because of his unrighteousness but because of his righteousness. The book’s answer, therefore, to the question on all of our minds right now, “Will I be protected from suffering?” is a resounding, “I wouldn’t count on it.” As Jesus declares, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).

2. How Should I Respond to God?

The book forces us, like Job, to move on from the anxiety-ridden question, “Will I be protected from suffering?” to the faith-building question, “How should I respond to God in the midst of suffering?” Once again, though, it refuses to offer the expected feel-good answer. We like the stoic martyr of faith we encounter in the first couple chapters, who declares, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (1:21). This is all we tend to hear from Job. But Job has more to say. He curses the day of his birth, lashes out at his friends, complains (as might we) about his isolation from friends and family, even appears to accuse God of injustice (e.g., 10:3), enmity (13:24), and vicious attacks (e.g., 16:12-14). Something is not right in the world, he insists, and God must do something about it.

Shockingly, at the book’s end, God declares that Job, not the friends, has spoken rightly about him (42:7). God doesn’t justify this verdict, but the rest of the Old Testament does. Job joins the heroes of Israelite faith, Abraham (Gen 18:17-33), Jacob (Gen 32:6-12, 22-31), and Moses (Exod 32:1-14); the psalmists who dare to cry ‘Why?’ and ‘How long?’; and prophets, such as Amos, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk, in confronting God and demanding that he make things right. And God repeatedly responds favorably to their protests. Reflecting this biblical tradition, Jesus tells a parable of a widow whose persistent pleading convinces an unjust judge to intervene on her behalf, concluding, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?...However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8).

Job’s initial pious submission is easy to endorse when we consider suffering from the outside. However, as more are drawn into the inferno of infection, it may forge faith and protest together into a stronger theological alloy, which cries out to God in faith to rectify injustice.

3. How Should I Respond to Others?

If we would raise theological objections against Job’s bold protests, the book’s presentation of Job’s friends should caution us. Attempting to console Job, they preach profound theological truths about God’s just punishment of the wicked and sovereign deliverance of the righteous—to a man whom God has allowed to suffer because of his righteousness. As Job doggedly declares the injustice of his situation, the friends turn on him, accusing him of great wickedness (Job 22:5). They feel they must, because if Job is genuinely righteous, their righteousness won’t save them from his fate. Their fear of suffering drives them to blame the victim in order to create a distinction between themselves and Job that can protect them from his suffering. 

This same fear is behind my relief when I hear that a young, deceased victim of COVID-19 had some underlying condition that I don’t have. I want to keep their suffering at a distance by putting them in a different category than myself. The book of Job draws us into the suffering of others by destroying these imaginary walls separating us from it.

4. Is This Divine Punishment?

In times of suffering, we can feel, as Job did, that God has turned against us and become our enemy. Some have even attributed this pandemic to divine punishment. But righteous Job’s affliction should make us wary of such conclusions. Thus, when Jesus’ disciples ask if a man’s blindness was caused by his or his parents’ sin, he responds, “Neither...but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:2-3). Job’s story encourages us to ask, not what sin this pandemic is punishing, but how we might display God’s glory through our response to it.

5. What Does Suffering Tell Us about God?

God’s long-awaited answer to Job also violates our expectations. God doesn’t directly address Job’s suffering at all. Instead, after establishing himself as the creator of the cosmos (38:4-38), God describes his meticulous care for his creatures: dangerous, unclean, and uncontrollable animals below and beyond Job’s concern (38:39-39:30). If God is good enough to hunt prey for lionesses, feed young ravens, and midwife mountain goats, surely he cares for Job. Jesus similarly claims God’s care for sparrows should dispel fear, since “you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt 10:29-31). Then God turns this argument around. If God is powerful enough to control Behemoth and Leviathan, embodiments of human fear, then surely Job’s situation is not beyond divine sovereignty (40:1-41:34; cf. Rom 8:31-39). God guides Job’s gaze from his particular suffering to the breadth of creation in order to address his suffering, to provide him with hope that also applies to anyone and any affliction.

No one who suffers from COVID-19 is too insignificant for God’s care; none of the suffering we face is too powerful for his control. And yet, people are suffering. Job suffers. Some baby ravens starve. The divine speeches don’t attempt to explain why a good and powerful God allows evil to exist, why God created Behemoth and Leviathan (or COVID-19) in the first place. They redirect our question from why God allows suffering to persist, the answer to which is different in each situation and beyond our comprehension in most, to whom we must trust in every situation, and why this God is worth trusting. Job understands this. He is consoled while still on the ash heap (42:2-6).

6. Will Things Ever Get Back to Normal?

But God does not leave Job on his ash heap. Some find the book’s happy ending disappointingly trite, but it is perfectly appropriate for the good and sovereign God to make everything right in the end. We don’t know when that end will come in the current crisis. But the hope of the book of Job, as of the Christian faith, is that the God who allows our suffering will also eventually end it, that if we emulate “the endurance of Job,” we will see “how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). Job teaches us that persevering through suffering can create a new and better normal, one in which we see the God we had only heard of (42:5) and anxious sacrifices are replaced with deeper trust.

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CFC, COVID-19, and Coming Together Again https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-covid-19-and-coming-together-again https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-covid-19-and-coming-together-again#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2020 06:00:00 -0500 https://www.cfcbirmingham.org/blog/post/cfc-covid-19-and-coming-together-again CFC, COVID-19, and Coming Together Again

Words from the Lord while we wait on word from the governor

Yesterday, April 28th, Governor Ivey issued new guidance for the state of Alabama, effective Thursday, April 30th, at 5 pm. Regarding churches, nothing much has changed in the short term. The same limited capacity restrictions remain in force for non-work groups, including places of worship. Governor Ivey did say that new guidelines would be issued on May 15th, but, of course, we have no details about any future orders. It’s possible that on May 15th we will see an extension of the previous orders, and it’s possible that we will see a gradual lifting of restrictions on meetings. Quite frankly, it isn’t that profitable to make lots of plans at this point. If nothing else, God is teaching us humility—humility about our incredibly limited spheres of sovereignty. If we don’t get James 4:13 after this, God help us! 

Having said that, though, God’s Word is not silent in the interim. God is ever the speaking God—a God of revelation and disclosure, of clarity and certainty. So, as we wait, anticipate, and prepare, here are a few scriptures that have seemed particularly important to me as we think about gathering together again in some fashion in the future. 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

This one is a layup, right? I have no idea what it looks like to gather as a church at this moment. What if we can only have 50, 100, or 200 in the building? What about kids? What about greetings of any kind? What about communion? What about passing the offering baskets? What about sharing microphones? What if we can’t find enough hand sanitizer or disinfectant for our building? And we could go on. Some of these issues have easy solutions. It’s not hard, for example, to put the offering baskets at the back of the room, and it’s not hard to forego handshakes for a verbal greeting. But easy solutions elude us on some of the more difficult problems.

All of this complexity cries out for wise deliberation and thoughtful processes. To that end, we would ask the congregation to be in continual prayer for understanding and insight from the Lord. God knows all the answers, and God is willing from His heart to provide those answers to His people. Indeed, this can be a great opportunity for us as a congregation to see the Lord answer prayers and provide clarity. Let’s ask, seek, and knock, and watch Him give, provide, and open.

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14)

The God who gives wisdom rarely locates that wisdom in one person. This is why we pray not only for President Trump but also for the people around President Trump. The same principle applies in the church. It would be inadvisable for me to make a decision on my gut feelings or intuition alone. I need wisdom, perspective, and insight, and I assure you I don’t have it already or exhaustively! Indeed, our entire body of leadership needs added understanding and help—the abundance of counselors that Proverbs 11:14 commends. So, the elders have asked about 15 to 20 brothers and sisters in our church to provide that counsel by serving on a reopening team. We’ve included in that number staff personnel, elders, deacons, medical professionals, children’s workers, business folks, and legal professionals. We have on this team men and women, younger and older saints, single brothers and sisters as well as those who are married with kids (we even have a grandmother so that we know we’re on the right track!). We are trusting that the Lord gifts His church with everything it needs, including the wisdom He places in His people for the good of the body.

Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. (Romans 14:3)

It’s not true to say that the church has never faced anything like this before (how many of us have learned more about the Spanish flu pandemic than we ever thought we would?), but it is true to say that we are in pretty uncharted territory for our day and age. That means there is essentially no script for what lies ahead. We can imagine conflicting guidance from state to state and from locality to locality. Likewise, we can imagine conflicting opinions and practices from family to family and Christian to Christian. Some members would feel comfortable going to church this coming Sunday, but some brothers and sisters would consider it unwise to attend a larger gathering absent significant changes in testing, new infections, etc. I fully expect our church, a body consisting of 426 individual members, to have differing opinions on the best practices moving forward. This likely reality underscores the need for humility and love in the days ahead. This doesn’t mean that we cannot hold opinions, even strongly, but it does mean that our opinions about non-Scriptural matters must be held and exercised in the context of unconditional acceptance and genuine charity. God welcomed us. Let’s welcome one another.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24–25)

I understand that this is quite the difficult text to apply right now. I mean, isn’t this the whole question? And haven’t we been neglecting to meet together already? Well, to answer the last question first, no, we haven’t been neglecting to meet together in the willful and indifferent sense that the writer of Hebrews discourages. We have been omitting a public gathering for the sake of community, statewide, and national health. There is a meaningful difference.

I raise this verse, though, to remind us that meeting together is essential. I don’t want us to conclude from all the talk and guidance regarding “essential” and “non-essential” groups, organizations, and businesses that the church gathering falls into the latter category. COVID-19 has disrupted almost everything, but you can be sure that the work of the Evil One is not disrupted. Satan is not quarantined or sheltering-in-place. He is a prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. That reality is why Hebrews 10:24-25 matters now as much as it ever has. The Day of the Lord is drawing near, so our accounting before the Lord is on the horizon. I trust that you, like me, have felt the absence of gathered worship in many ways, including in the fight against the lies and schemes of Satan. It’s harder and more wearisome to fight alone, to fight without weekly (in person) encouragement, comfort, and exhortation. Let’s ask the Lord to redeem this time in our lives, awakening us afresh to the privilege and purposes of corporate worship. It is, in fact, essential.

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CFC, COVID-19, and Coming Together Again

Words from the Lord while we wait on word from the governor

Yesterday, April 28th, Governor Ivey issued new guidance for the state of Alabama, effective Thursday, April 30th, at 5 pm. Regarding churches, nothing much has changed in the short term. The same limited capacity restrictions remain in force for non-work groups, including places of worship. Governor Ivey did say that new guidelines would be issued on May 15th, but, of course, we have no details about any future orders. It’s possible that on May 15th we will see an extension of the previous orders, and it’s possible that we will see a gradual lifting of restrictions on meetings. Quite frankly, it isn’t that profitable to make lots of plans at this point. If nothing else, God is teaching us humility—humility about our incredibly limited spheres of sovereignty. If we don’t get James 4:13 after this, God help us! 

Having said that, though, God’s Word is not silent in the interim. God is ever the speaking God—a God of revelation and disclosure, of clarity and certainty. So, as we wait, anticipate, and prepare, here are a few scriptures that have seemed particularly important to me as we think about gathering together again in some fashion in the future. 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

This one is a layup, right? I have no idea what it looks like to gather as a church at this moment. What if we can only have 50, 100, or 200 in the building? What about kids? What about greetings of any kind? What about communion? What about passing the offering baskets? What about sharing microphones? What if we can’t find enough hand sanitizer or disinfectant for our building? And we could go on. Some of these issues have easy solutions. It’s not hard, for example, to put the offering baskets at the back of the room, and it’s not hard to forego handshakes for a verbal greeting. But easy solutions elude us on some of the more difficult problems.

All of this complexity cries out for wise deliberation and thoughtful processes. To that end, we would ask the congregation to be in continual prayer for understanding and insight from the Lord. God knows all the answers, and God is willing from His heart to provide those answers to His people. Indeed, this can be a great opportunity for us as a congregation to see the Lord answer prayers and provide clarity. Let’s ask, seek, and knock, and watch Him give, provide, and open.

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14)

The God who gives wisdom rarely locates that wisdom in one person. This is why we pray not only for President Trump but also for the people around President Trump. The same principle applies in the church. It would be inadvisable for me to make a decision on my gut feelings or intuition alone. I need wisdom, perspective, and insight, and I assure you I don’t have it already or exhaustively! Indeed, our entire body of leadership needs added understanding and help—the abundance of counselors that Proverbs 11:14 commends. So, the elders have asked about 15 to 20 brothers and sisters in our church to provide that counsel by serving on a reopening team. We’ve included in that number staff personnel, elders, deacons, medical professionals, children’s workers, business folks, and legal professionals. We have on this team men and women, younger and older saints, single brothers and sisters as well as those who are married with kids (we even have a grandmother so that we know we’re on the right track!). We are trusting that the Lord gifts His church with everything it needs, including the wisdom He places in His people for the good of the body.

Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. (Romans 14:3)

It’s not true to say that the church has never faced anything like this before (how many of us have learned more about the Spanish flu pandemic than we ever thought we would?), but it is true to say that we are in pretty uncharted territory for our day and age. That means there is essentially no script for what lies ahead. We can imagine conflicting guidance from state to state and from locality to locality. Likewise, we can imagine conflicting opinions and practices from family to family and Christian to Christian. Some members would feel comfortable going to church this coming Sunday, but some brothers and sisters would consider it unwise to attend a larger gathering absent significant changes in testing, new infections, etc. I fully expect our church, a body consisting of 426 individual members, to have differing opinions on the best practices moving forward. This likely reality underscores the need for humility and love in the days ahead. This doesn’t mean that we cannot hold opinions, even strongly, but it does mean that our opinions about non-Scriptural matters must be held and exercised in the context of unconditional acceptance and genuine charity. God welcomed us. Let’s welcome one another.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24–25)

I understand that this is quite the difficult text to apply right now. I mean, isn’t this the whole question? And haven’t we been neglecting to meet together already? Well, to answer the last question first, no, we haven’t been neglecting to meet together in the willful and indifferent sense that the writer of Hebrews discourages. We have been omitting a public gathering for the sake of community, statewide, and national health. There is a meaningful difference.

I raise this verse, though, to remind us that meeting together is essential. I don’t want us to conclude from all the talk and guidance regarding “essential” and “non-essential” groups, organizations, and businesses that the church gathering falls into the latter category. COVID-19 has disrupted almost everything, but you can be sure that the work of the Evil One is not disrupted. Satan is not quarantined or sheltering-in-place. He is a prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. That reality is why Hebrews 10:24-25 matters now as much as it ever has. The Day of the Lord is drawing near, so our accounting before the Lord is on the horizon. I trust that you, like me, have felt the absence of gathered worship in many ways, including in the fight against the lies and schemes of Satan. It’s harder and more wearisome to fight alone, to fight without weekly (in person) encouragement, comfort, and exhortation. Let’s ask the Lord to redeem this time in our lives, awakening us afresh to the privilege and purposes of corporate worship. It is, in fact, essential.

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