It’s been a couple of months now since I stepped down as pastor from Waco Reformed Church, and loaded up in my 2000 Saturn LW1 for eastern Tennessee.
When I stepped down, I wasn’t retiring from the ministry. But Heidi and I both felt we needed to move to Tennessee so we could be with our daughter, and her four children. That was the easy part of the decision.
The hard part: stepping down and knowing that Waco Reformed would cease to exist. There were only two elders, myself and one other man, and he did not feel led to continue on with Waco Reformed. So the church closed.
What makes this hard is knowing that God’s call upon my life as a pastor, has not ceased. I still long to preach the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27), proclaiming His truth to the saints for their edification.
The problem is: I really don’t fit in any of the denominations in the area. I am Reformed. I am a Calvinist. I am postmillennial. I am covenantal. But I also have distinctives that set me apart from the PCA and the OPC.
In fact, I probably don’t fit in the CREC either. While at Waco Reformed, we attempted to join the CREC, and they ended up rejecting us. They never had the decency to give us a reason as to why.
So here I am, in an area saturated with PCA churches. It would be OK if could just take exceptions to the Confession where I differ, but the GA of the PCA ruled they would not allow exceptions on paedocommunion any longer. Not only did they say it, they said “good riddance” as well. (See my posts on paedocommunion below).
But that is not the point of this post. The simple point is for prayer. My request is that Christ would open a door for a church where I do fit theologically and in all the ways that matter.
God may answer our prayers by leading me to plant another church, and if so, then I need like minded people to join with me to start this wonderful endeavor. Therefore, if you are reading this, please pray that our King would open the door to another church where I can serve and glorify Him. Thank you.
If you would like to hear a sampling of one of my sermons, go HERE.
What is paedocommunion? Paedocommunion is the practice of allowing those who are in the covenant via baptism, to partake of communion, regardless of age or mental ability. Those of us who hold to this position believe that since children and the mentally deficient have been given the sign of the covenant, baptism, then they should also be allowed to feast at the LORD’s table. This is borne out of a pastoral care for those whom Jesus said of children, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
The Proverbs tell us, “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” This verse needs to always be handy when it comes to battles within the church. To take a stand on anything, means that there will be conflict. In the midst of that conflict, sparks will fly, just as iron sharpens irons, unless of course, you belong to one of the denominations in which heated discussions are looked down upon under the guise of improper decorum.
The doctrine of paedocommunion—the teaching that since children are members of the covenant through baptism, they should be and are admitted to the Lord’s supper—has become a hot-button issue recently. This is especially true since the PCA General Assembly ruled that those who hold to this doctrine can no longer take an exception to the Westminster Confession and be accepted as pastors. They declared that paedocommunion strikes at the vitals of the faith.
In conversations with those who fully agree with that decision, the reasoning offered is often the same as that given by Baptists for why they will not baptize their infants: “What if the child who partook grew up and left the faith? Then what?”
Baptists make the same argument when it comes to baptism, and both groups want a person to be able to make a credible profession of faith before being admitted to their particular sacrament.
The problem with this is that both groups are focusing on the subjective natures of the sacraments instead of the more important objective nature. The objective nature focuses on what God is doing, both in baptism and the LORD’s Supper. In other words, He is marking us as His own through baptism, and feeding us spiritually through the LORD’s Supper. It is His work. Not ours.
The subjective nature focuses on man. Whenever we do that, we are failing miserably.
At least the baptist are consistent in their views. The child cannot come to the table, until he has been baptized, and cannot be baptized, until he is makes a profession of faith. In Reform circles, we baptize and then divide the body up in two tiers, those who can come to the table and those who cannot. We divide the loaf. We divide the body of Christ. (The very thing Paul was warning the Corinthians agains).
Those who defend the PCA’s position will continue to bar the children of their congregations from the table. They are raising a bar that should not be raised. This is the same thing the Roman Catholics did before the Reformation. They only allowed clergy to partake. Both groups are making the same argument, with the difference being where they place the bar.
Jesus had something like this happen to Him during His earthly ministry.
13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there (Matthew 19:13-15 LSB).
Here we have the principle laid before us: Children are a part of the kingdom of heaven, therefore, being members of the visible church, and being baptized, they too are to come to the table and feast, knowing that the LORD is good.
Yet some cannot have this because they feel that a child must make a profession of faith. Why? Do they not believe in the baptism given? Can we not just trust the Spirit to move when and where He pleases? Must we erect a test for those who should not be tested at all? They were born into the covenant and should have all the privileges of the covenant. Yes, they should be taught and catechized. But let us trust the Lord to move in them in His timing. Otherwise, we are starving the very children who need nourishment.
This view fails to meet the pattern we are given in Scripture. The same arguments that all good Reformed Christians make in baptizing our children, are the same arguments that should be made in allowing them to come to the table. They are members of the covenant, therefore, they should dine at the table of their King. As He has told us, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
There is a lot more to be said, but this will have to suffice for now.
