The Communion of Saints

              Another week is behind us, and I hope your weekend has been pleasant to this point. Hopefully, your weather has been better than what we have had here in Middle Tennessee. We’ve had heavy rain, wind, thunder, lightning, hail, and everything in between.  God has also given us a measure of sunshine here and there! Luckily, damage from the storms seems to have been very minor and limited to some downed tree branches. It’s been a very relaxing weekend for me thus far. I spent yesterday dog-sitting and watching Michigan advance to the College World Series finals. Michigan began the postseason with 200-1 odds to win a national championship and is now only two wins away from doing so. They will face my hometown Vanderbilt Commodores in a best of three series beginning Monday evening. Go Blue!

              In the meantime, I wanted to introduce a new segment to this blog. Over time, I plan to write pieces covering various phrases found in the Apostles’ Creed.  So, what is the Apostles’ Creed? A creed is essentially a statement of belief. The Apostles’ Creed is believed to be the earliest of the Christian creeds, or statements of belief. The earliest version of this creed is believed to have appeared as early as 180 AD.  Our faith is ancient, folks! This primitive version evolved over the next few centuries into the final version of what we know today as the Apostles’ Creed.  A quick Google search produces many articles outlining the history and evolution of the creed in much greater detail than what I have done here. The creed is generally accepted in Western churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant. The Apostles’ creed as we know it today is as follows:

“We believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,

 And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

 who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,

 suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

 He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead.

 He ascended into Heaven

and now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,

 from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

 We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church,

The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

 The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

* “Catholic” refers to the universal church of God’s people throughout all time and from all places

              To start my series, I’d like to start with the emboldened phrase in the creed above – the communion of saints. If you belong to a church that doesn’t recite the Apostles’ Creed on a regular basis, you may be wondering what in the world I mean by “The Communion of Saints”. Using Google’s dictionary feature, to commune means to “share one's intimate thoughts or feelings with (someone), especially on a spiritual level”. For example, when we pray and share the deepest recesses of our hearts with God, we are engaging in communion with him.

              Who then are the saints that are communing in the doctrine affirmed in the Apostles’ Creed?  There are two varieties of saints being spoken of in this context. The first are the saints of the church “militant”. These saints are those that are currently on earth persevering towards salvation and everlasting glory with God. There are numerous passages in Holy Scripture in which the earthly Christian community at large is referred to as saints.

Take for instance Romans 1:7 “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Also, in Colossians 1:2 “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”

              As noted in the definition above, communion requires two distinct parties. The second half of this Biblical communion pair is the saints of heaven – those who persevered in the faith while on earth and now enjoy the wonderous glory of God for all eternity. This class of saints is commonly referred to as the church “triumphant”.  Revelation 5:8 indicates a relationship between the saints of the church militant and those of the church triumphant. For it reads, “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” This passage suggests that the glorified saints in heaven hear our prayers on earth and take the prayers to our Heavenly Father. Furthermore, we read in James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

A “righteous man” could certainly be a very holy man that is a part of the church militant – God’s people on Earth.  However, it is also true that no saint on earth can be considered as righteous as those saints that have passed through earthly trials and into eternity with God. The saints of the church triumphant have not only been covered by the bloodshed of Christ but have now been wholly sanctified and made perfect in His image.  It makes complete sense that the prayers of those made perfect in Christ would carry a heavy weight. The saints in heaven are more alive than we could ever hope to be here on earth! No, I’m in no way suggesting we break communion with God in favor of communion with the Church triumphant. I’m certainly not advocating worship of heavenly saints. For as we read in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,”.  I’m simply asserting that there is Scriptural evidence that suggests that the church triumphant are active in the affairs of the church militant.

Why is it so important that the doctrine of The Communion of Saints is true? The answer is simple yet profound.  Without the connection between earthly saints and heavenly saints, death wins. That is, death, darkness, sin, and evil have the last word. What a horrible fate that would be! Thankfully, due to Christ’s atoning work on the cross, we can avoid that horrible destruction. By simply believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and persevering in that faith until the end of our days, we too can pass into the church triumphant. As the communion of saints dictates, death has no finality in our lives. When we die, we don't cease to be part of the body of Christ, we simply become a perfected part of the body. The power of Christ to raise us to eternal life has the final word over death. I’m forever grateful that it does!

In Christ,

Kendal May

To the Ends of Your Earth

              Happy Wednesday afternoon! Unbelievably, another work week is more than halfway gone. I’m not complaining though! I returned from West Michigan on Monday afternoon. Stepping out of the car in Nashville, the 90-degree heat smacked me in the face. The weather in Michigan was mid-50’s, cloudy, and rainy (not so pure Michigan!). Despite the challenging weather, HighRoad persevered and managed to put on a great show at Sandy Pines Chapel in Dorr, Michigan. The previous evening, HighRoad graced the stage at the Gospel Barn in Hillsdale, Michigan. On my Facebook page, I shared the link to an article on the show written for Bluegrass Today. Check it out!

On to today’s reflection…

              Perhaps Billy Joel was on to something in 1977 when he sang “Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray; They built you a temple and locked you away.” Who knew he would be describing a large swath of Christianity forty-two (I'm an accountant, I hope my math is right!) years later in 2019? What a great theologian the great Billy Joel is!

              Countless numbers of Christians build God a temple one hour a week on Sunday mornings (maybe 2 or 3 if you’re really holy!) but lock Him away in said temple the remaining 167 hours of the week. Part of the reason I write this blog is to call out my own weaknesses and deficiencies. Man, this is one area I really struggle with! I tend to keep God and the story of redemption through Christ bottled up inside me. I fail to share and witness to the Gospel in a fervent manner as commanded in Romans 12:11. Perhaps, I could blame this deficiency on my reserved, Midwest, mind-your-own business nature.  This character is our birthright as Midwesterners (You know it’s true)! However, that is no excuse. Acts 1:8 exhorts the following: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

              What a powerful command! There are multiple ways we as Christians can go about fulfilling this verse.  Most notably, we can take an overseas mission journey to a part of the world in which the light of the Gospel is very dim or nonexistent. There are many wonderful missionaries out there raising the Gospel and shining its salvific light on the darkest of places – the ends of the earth. The Christian community should be eternally grateful for these fine men and women of God.

 Ok, so for most of us, it probably isn’t feasible to serve long-term as a missionary overseas. What do we do now? We must see every aspect of our ordinary, day-to-day lives as a perpetual mission field! You may not have the means to travel overseas to share the Gospel, but you can sure take the Gospel to the ends of YOUR earth each day! We all have numerous places where we interact with people of all sorts on a daily basis.  Be a witness to the Gospel at your workplace, your school, or at your children’s activities.  The way we do this effectively is through our words and actions.  Let your doings at all times be a reflection of the God who created you in His image. Simply embodying the teachings of Christ is one of the best ways to spread his message. (Remember that song from your childhood- “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love”?) Though God is sovereign and draws the unreached to Him regardless of our moral shortcomings, it remains imperative that we are faithful witnesses to the precepts of a life-changing Gospel message.  2 Peter 1, verses 5 through 9 state:

 "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind,forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins."  

          So be encouraged! Take heart in God's irresistible nature and be bold in sharing the Gospel, as the effectiveness of the message is not dependent on your evangelistic skill!  It's the Spirit of God guiding your efforts that draws people near to Him. Taking credit for those coming to know Christ is contrary to Scripture.

I know how difficult embodying the virtues of Scripture can be. Recently, I had an instance in which my words were not a reflection of the Creator. (I’m really pointing out a lot of my shortcomings today!)  This is precisely the reason I (and the entire Christian community) need the sanctifying grace conveyed in the sacrament of The Lord’s Supper.  I need to be perpetually conformed towards the image of Christ! I’m a sinner and in need of the grace and mercy that only our merciful God can bestow.  I’m guessing you’re in the same boat.

So, as we finish out another grueling work week, take Christ out of the temple we’ve built for him on Sunday mornings and into your perpetual mission field. As far as your world reaches, strive to shine the light of the Gospel. The world will be better of for it, no doubt.

In Christ,

Kendal May

Embracing Ordinary (Time)

         

 Just. A. Few. More. Hours. Weekend freedom is just around the corner! I’m wrapping up another busy week and getting ready to head to Michigan with HighRoad early in the morning. It’s always a treat to hear them play live. After returning home to Nashville on Monday, I’m looking forward to binge watching the College World Series throughout the next week. Although Ole Miss bowed out of the tournament last weekend, I’ve adopted the Michigan Wolverines (surprise, surprise!) as my team of choice for the week. Before you call me a bandwagoner, you must know that I’m a die-hard Michigan football fan.  It also just occurred to me that college football is only about two and a half months away! Can you believe it? Where has 2019 gone? It can't be mid-June!

              Speaking of seasonal change, this past Sunday (Pentecost Sunday) marked the end of the Eastertide season. As of Monday, the liturgical calendar has officially flipped to ordinary time. Some of our low church brethren may never have heard of ordinary time or even know that such a thing as the liturgical calendar exists. For those liturgical calendar novices out there, ordinary time runs from the day after Pentecost through the advent of the Advent season (See what I did there?). There is also a small period of ordinary time between the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent.  All in all, ordinary time consumes approximately half of the church calendar.

              The Easter attendance swell has come and gone, school has ended, and church activities may have ceased for the Summer. What do we do now? How do we maintain our walk with Christ through this seemingly “ordinary” season of life? As Christians, we should embrace the ordinary time portion of the Christian calendar and use these months as a time of directed spiritual growth.  In fact, the color associated with ordinary time is green. Many ministers (or priests, if you’re Catholic) will wear green vestments or stoles during this season. Green symbolizes growth! During ordinary time there are no pesky holidays, few school activities, and work often slows down. We have no excuses not to grow in our relationship with God the Father and God the Son. None! Not one!

Here are a few things I’d suggest trying in order to continue bearing spiritual fruit this ordinary time season:

Establish a spiritual routine – During the Summer, our routines often go down the drain. We may often find ourselves lugging our way through lazy, directionless days. I know this happens to me all the time! To combat this, I’d suggest establishing a routine. Something consistent that you can follow through on each day. This could be as simple as prayer time on the way to work. I find that spending just a few moments in prayer on the way to work gives me peace that God is sovereign and in control of any events that are to come that day.  I’m guilty of being sporadic in this practice. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 convicts me in this regard saying, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  If you have a family, be sure to establish a routine that includes the whole family. This could include nighttime prayer, daily scripture readings, or family service projects. Regular prayer and scripture reading instills a sense of spiritual discipline that children can call on later in life.  Teaching children to serve others at a young age will stick with them for a lifetime. I wish I had performed more service projects as a young child and developed a love for the Holy Scriptures at an earlier age.

Engage with Outside Content – With church activities slowing during the Summer portion of ordinary time, it’s important to replace that content to ensure that your mind remains on the things of Christ.  Romans 12:11 warns us “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” When I persistently engage in faith content, it stokes a fire in my heart to walk closer to God and to know Him more intimately.  I'd suggest listening to sermons from churches where you do not normally attend. Hearing different perspectives and angles on Biblical truths is never detrimental, provided the Word is being preached faithfully. Also, there are many excellent podcasts out there that can fill an entire work week. I love podcasts and listen to multiple shows daily while at work.  If podcasts aren’t your thing or you can’t listen to them while you work, read a few books! I’ve read a few books here lately that I would gladly recommend.

“Scripture Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine” – By RC Sproul

“Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God” – By Tim Keller

If these books don’t interest you, I’d suggest plundering your local Lifeway store before they close. Man, I’m going to miss those stores. What a treasure trove of material!

              But embracing ordinary doesn’t end with ordinary time. It extends to all facets of our lives. I’m reminded of the answer to question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”.  Enjoying Him forever includes enjoying Him in the seemingly ordinary aspects or our day to day lives. It means enjoying Him when it doesn’t seem like he’s moving at all. So, enjoy God while sipping that ordinary morning cup of coffee. Enjoy God while star gazing on a clear Summer evening. Enjoy God while taking that pre-dusk stroll through your neighborhood. Never take the ordinary for granted. God created the ordinary so that we may continuously be reminded of his presence. The truth is, when you are in Christ there is nothing that is truly ordinary.

In Christ,

Kendal May

               

Church Spotlight - The Church at West Franklin

              Happy Wednesday afternoon everyone! We’ve officially made it past the halfway point in the week. I’ve had a busy week thus far with no slow down in sight. I will be heading to one of my favorite places on Earth this weekend – Western Michigan. I will have a chance to see the band HighRoad in concert at the Gospel Barn in Hillsdale, Michigan and Sandy Pines in Dorr, Michigan.  Any more weekends on the road with HighRoad and I will be an official roadie (Or maybe just a groupie!).

              As I’ve been busy over the past few weeks, I haven’t had as much time to write as I would like. My current focus has been reading through the book of Ephesians as well as the book of James. Be on the lookout for a post connecting these two books in the near future. I want to take my time with this study to ensure I get from it what God intends.

              In the short term, I wanted to introduce a new segment. On a regular basis, I’d like to begin spotlighting local churches. Local churches have always and will continue to form and guide me in my walk with Christ. It’s the enthusiasm I developed through the local church that is the reason I write this very blog. Local churches are where we train up future leaders and send them out. Yes, the local church is much more than just a building. The church I am going to write about today exemplifies this ideal to the max.

Without further ado, here is the first of many church spotlights: The Church at West Franklin

Fast Facts:

Name: The Church at West Franklin

Location: 700 TN-96, Franklin, TN 37064

Affiliation: Southern Baptist Convention

Pastor: Dr. Matt Pearson

Other Notes: A regional campus of Brentwood Baptist Church

What to Expect

              The Church at West Franklin, located nearly halfway between downtown Franklin, TN and the Westhaven neighborhood, holds two weekly services. The services are at 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM on Sundays and are identical. Upon arrival, you will notice a spacious parking lot. I’m not always early and have never had difficulty finding a parking spot. A big amen just went up from all those who aren’t morning people! The entrance is usually manned by multiple friendly greeters, one of whom should hand you a bulletin outlining the order of service as well as various church happenings.

              The service is typical of most Baptist and other Evangelical churches. The service generally starts with approximately 20-25 minutes of praise and worship time. Most of the songs played are contemporary in nature, but there are hymns and other spiritual songs thrown in regularly for good measure. The musicians and choir are very talented and provide a very uplifting experience start to the service. The Christmas concert at The Church at West Franklin is one you don’t want to miss! The pre-sermon portion of the service nearly always includes announcements as well as a time of prayer.

              The preaching at West Franklin consumes the final 30-35 minutes of the service. Depending on the content, sermon series can last anywhere from three to twelve weeks. Preaching is generally expository in nature as opposed to topical. A typical sermon covers several verses in the Bible with frequent references to other relevant texts throughout the sermon.  Dr. Pearson is a terrific preacher and provides excellent illustrations and Biblical exegesis. I’ve never left with a feeling that I didn’t hear any Biblical truth that Sunday.

General Comments

              The Church as West Franklin is truly multi-generational and tries to provide enriching content for all age groups. In lieu of traditional Sunday school classes, West Franklin emphasizes Life Groups. These groups meet at various times during the week both on and off campus. As I mentioned in previous posts, I find these groups to be immensely helpful to me in persevering in the faith. In addition to the Life Groups, student ministry, choir practice, and adult Bible study takes place on Wednesday evenings during the school year.  There is no shortage of opportunities to get involved and develop friendships within this body of believers.

              A key distinctive of West Franklin (and Brentwood Baptist in general) is its heart for missions. The church regularly commissions members to mission fields both abroad and domestic. Several members of my Life Group have made the trip to India to proclaim the Gospel while others have participated in more local mission efforts.

              The relationship between The Church at West Franklin and Brentwood Baptist is symbiotic. The arrangement allows West Franklin to retain an intimate, small-church feel while simultaneously having access to the resources of a much larger church. Brentwood Baptist sets the general direction for all its campuses, but each campus retains its own unique feel. Although my theology and worship preferences have moved to the confessional, reformed end of the spectrum, I cannot say enough great things about the Church at West Franklin. Spiritually, I would not be where I am today without the witness of the fine folks at this church. If you are ever in the area, be sure to check out a service. You will be glad you did!

Find out more about The Church of West Franklin at www.westfranklinchurch.com .

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @WordSacBlog!

In Christ,

Kendal May

Word & Sacrament (and tradition)

             Somehow, we are reaching the conclusion of another week. It’s been busy at work this week and it seldom feels like there is enough time to squeeze everything in. Hopefully your week has been as productive as mine has been. I’ll be heading to Bean Blossom (yes, that’s a real town!), Indiana this weekend to take in the Bill Monroe Bluegrass festival. I’m looking forward to spending time in my home state before returning to the Nashville area late Sunday evening.

              It recently occurred to me that I hadn’t taken time to explain the title of this blog. How rude of me! In contemplating the title of the blog, I considered the ideals I want to convey in this blog space. I want this blog to be a place where readers can find encouragement and direction in their Christian walk. Encouragement and direction can be found in the ordinary means of grace – word and sacrament. To that end, “Word & Sacrament” seemed to be a logical name for this space.

              For those of us who have been saturated in Church life for as long as we can remember, Word & Sacrament may be very familiar. New believers, however, may have no clue what these words signify. To understand the significance of ‘means of grace’, we must first define the word grace itself. A quick Google search yields the following definition of grace: “courteous goodwill”. Though vague, this definition will prove sufficient for our exercise. There can be no doubt that God’s ultimate act of grace towards his people was to send his only Son down from heaven ultimately to die on the cross. It’s this act which imputes Christ’s righteousness to us Earthly sinners and allows the faithful to be justified before God. With that “ultimate” act of grace in mind, we can now consider the “ordinary” means of grace in their proper place.

              God knew that we would need help persevering in our walk with him. He knew our broken nature would often lead us into temptation. Thankfully, God puts some incredible tools in our spiritual tool box. Utilizing word, sacrament, and the guiding light of the Holy Spirit is essential to persevering in the ultimate gift of Salvation. Let’s take a closer look into the ordinary means of grace.

              I would venture to guess that nearly everyone reading a blog on theology is familiar with the word of God – the Bible. As orthodox Christians, we assert the 66 books (73 if you’re Roman Catholic! – more on that another time) of the Biblical cannon to be the inspired, inerrant (free from error) word of God. We read in 2 Timothy: 3 verses 16 and 17: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Thus, we are able to trust and discern God’s will for us in his written word.  What an incredible gift to have the ability to follow the entirety of Salvation history from Genesis to Revelation while simultaneously edifying ourselves and feeling God’s love oozing from the pages of Scripture. When we find ourselves drifting from the narrow path of Salvation, we only need to open God’s faithful word in order to find our way back. Too often, we take the accessibility of God’s word for granted. Until the invention of the printing press in the middle ages, it was rare to have a copy of God’s written word.

              Many of us may not be as familiar with the second of the ordinary means of grace – sacrament. There is substantial dispute regarding the total number of Sacraments. Roman Catholic theology holds to seven sacraments while most Protestant traditions only affirm two. Both traditions consider Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (often referred to as Communion or the Eucharist) to be sacraments. Thus, those are the two sacraments that I will focus on in this blog. What is a sacrament you ask? Augustine, a father of the early Christian Church defines a sacrament as “an outward sign of an inward grace”. Saint Thomas adds that a sacrament is “the sign of a sacred thing in so far as it sanctifies men”. Thomas's position is that sacraments are efficacious is conveying grace to the believer. The modern-day ethos in most Evangelical Churches contends that sacraments are only a symbol of what has already taken place in the heart of the believer and conveys no real grace. Essentially, Evangelicals affirm Augustine and shove Thomas to the side. They are correct that sacraments are indeed symbols. However, sacraments don’t stop at symbolism. As Saint Thomas points out, sacraments play a huge part in our sanctification. Over time, sacraments help conform the believer into a more Christ-like image. You see, Christ’s death on the cross imputed his righteousness to us in order that we may be justified before God. Conversely, the sacraments impart Christ’s righteousness within in our souls and allow us to become more like him each day. This dichotomy is important. The sacraments do not save us, they sustain us through the power of the Holy Spirit. No, we won’t ever be completely Christ-like this side of heaven! Given the sinful nature forever implanted in our DNA through the fall, complete sanctification is impossible on this Earth.  However, we should strive to allow ourselves to perpetually be conformed to His image. A rightly administered Baptism and frequent reception of the Lord’s Supper are a means to this end. In future posts, I’ll dive deeper into both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

              One last note. I almost included the word ‘tradition’ as part of the title of this blog. I left this word out as it can often become rather difficult to distinguish the apostolic tradition from the traditions of man. Evangelicals reading this blog likely covered their head and ducked under a desk at the sight of the dreaded ‘T word’. However, the man who the Holy Spirit inspired to write a significant portion of the new testament warns us against dismissing the tradition. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians: 2 verse 15: “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” Much like word and sacrament, the traditions of the Church are ordered to bless our spiritual journey. I will offer insight into various traditions of the Church, such as the liturgical calendar, in future blog posts.

Have a great weekend!

In Christ,

Kendal May