Posted on Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 10:51 am
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After the last blog there may be some of you who have been wondering how our church government actually works, particularly here at the seminary. Please let me give you a thumbnail description of the Presbyterian system of government as it is practiced in the PCA and at Knox Theological Seminary.
First, the seminary, its students and its professors are under the control of the board of directors. The faculty does not have tenure at Knox and can be let go for moral indiscretion or theological error, which is defined as teaching that is not in conformity with the Westminster Confession. Knox is proudly a confessional school. We are not independent, but are bound by the confession of our denomination; the Westminster Confession and the shorter and larger catechism. If you would like to see these documents, see http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/
The board is not an end unto itself however; it is answerable to the session of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. The session of any Presbyterian church is made up of a group of elders. These elders are of two kinds: teaching and ruling. A teaching elder is a minister, and a ruling elder is a man who has shown himself to be of good faith and Godly character who will represent the congregation in a Godly manner. The church is thus governed in a representative style of government similar to the United States. One elects elders to represent the congregation and the elders (grouped together and called the session) make many (though not all) of the decisions for the church.
The session is not an end to itself; it is answerable to the Presbytery. The Presbytery is comprised of the elders from the churches of a geographical area. Our Presbytery is South Florida and is comprised of the east coast from south Miami to Boca Raton. Every three months, each of the teaching elders from the churches and some of the ruling elders come together to discuss the business of the entire Presbytery. If a session has been out of order on any issue, the issue may be appealed to Presbytery who, if it decides to hear the matter, may either affirm or overrule what the particular session has done.
The Presbytery is not an end to itself; it is answerable to the General Assembly. The General Assembly or GA meets once a year and is comprised of elders from each Presbytery. If a session is concerned about the ruling that a Presbytery has made, it may be appealed to GA (the court of last appeal). GA may then decide to hear or not hear the appeal and upon hearing may uphold or overturn the decision of any Presbytery.
Why, you might ask, is there such need for this kind of court system? At least two reasons: First, this seems to be the kind of government that the early church practiced in the book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul. The early churches were ruled by a plurality of elders and these elders came together to rule on theological issues. Second, we are all totally depraved. Since we are so sinful, no one of us should have too much power. There should always be someone to whom we are accountable. Many, many of the problems in churches come about because the minister has too much power and becomes tempted by it. This should not happen (though it can, when things fall through the cracks) in the Presbyterian Church.
We have a BOOK OF CHURCH ORDER that tells us how things are to be conducted, how weddings, funerals, baptisms, and other things are to be done. It tells us how church trials are to be handled. It is when this book is not followed correctly, or worse is ignored that our churches find themselves in trouble.
I hope that this very small explanation of how the Presbyterian system of government works has been helpful to you. I am sure that many of you already understood all of this, but there might be one or two who did not.
Thanks for reading,
DrSamLam
Posted on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 10:20 am
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“Don’t blame your brother for the color of his skin
Don’t blame your neighbor for the house he lives in
From the same cloth we are made of,
We are just the same,
You gotta hold up the mirror and share in the blame”
Caedmon’s Call
The one or two of you who happen to read this blog may have been wondering why I have not posted anything in a couple of weeks. Then again, if you know me, you may already know why. I am going to take this post and try to explain what I understand, from an insider’s position as a faculty member, to have happened at Knox Theological Seminary over the past two weeks. Before that explanation there are a couple of things that I should make very clear:
1. No one has reviewed or “ok’ed” this article. It is composed of my own thoughts, observations and reflections.
2. This blog is owned and operated by me individually. It is not a part of Knox Theological Seminary or of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Any opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
3. I will not descend into the details nor the personalities involved in this conflict. I will only attempt to lay out the cause, result and ultimate end of this event.
On September 11 Knox Theological Seminary held a board meeting with the purpose of discussing certain charges which had been brought against faculty member Dr. Warren Gage. These charges had come about as a result of a student, after graduating, going to the dean of faculty and expressing concerns about some of the material in Dr. Gage’s Christianity & Culture classes.
After hearing this complaint, the dean of faculty listened to over 100 hours of taped lecture by Dr. Gage and extracted out certain comments that were thought to be very seriously problematic by the dean. The dean then showed these extracts to one faculty member for comments and verification as to the seriousness of the difficulties caused by the statements made by Dr. Gage. That faculty member amended the dean’s comments with footnotes. Both the original extracts from the dean and the footnoted version were given to the board.
At the September 11 hearing, Dr. Gage was confronted with this material. He was aware of, and had seen the extracts that the dean had compiled, but had not seen the footnoted version. After a great deal of discussion and hearing of witnesses from Dr. Gage, the board decided that Dr. Gage did not meet confessional standards.
The board believed that Dr. Gage’s teaching of typology was in violation of the Westminster Confession section 1.9 cited here:
WCF 1:9 WCF 1.9 The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.(1)
(1) 2 Pet. 1:20,21; Acts 15:15,16.
The most important part of the statement, from the board’s standpoint, was the portion in parenthesis. The board felt that Dr. Gage was allowing for more that one meaning of the Scripture, which violated the confession.
After discussion, the board voted to suspend Dr. Gage (with two votes against) with pay for the rest of the semester until he satisfied several conditions, including agreeing with the one meaning of Scripture.
Dr. Gage had been teaching Sunday School and Preaching on Sunday nights at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. In an effort to not create more problems than those that were already looming, Dr. Gage voluntarily stepped down from his duties at the church pending a resolution of these matters by the Coral Ridge session.
Knox Theological Seminary is different from most seminaries across the country in that it is under the governance of the session of a local church, and thus eventually, under the governance of the denomination. The session can oversee and overturn board decisions, which can then be appealed to Presbytery, and eventually General Assembly.
On September 25 a session meeting was called by Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church to examine the charges against Dr. Gage. In the first hour the board was allowed to make its case in favor of Dr. Gage’s conta-confessionalism. The board argued that Dr. Gage, through his typological approach, was seeing more than one meaning in Scripture, and was seeing things in Scripture that just were not there. This was followed by thirty minutes of questioning. Next Dr. Gage in one hour presented his defense both by admitting that he had, at times spoken not as clearly as he had liked, but at other times arguing that if the entire lecture had been heard, rather than just a small sound bite, the point would not have been seen as controversial. Dr. Gage apologized for anything that he had said which was seen as being cutting toward any other faculty member (his humor had apparently not translated well to tape) as well as for not being as careful as he might have been when he as explaining certain issues. Most importantly he stated that he did believe in the one meaning of Scripture when it is properly understood, and said “I could have written Westminster Confession 1.9.” He called several witnesses to his defense. This was followed by a half hour of questioning for Dr. Gage.
Following this, several members of the board wanted their time extended for a rebuttal. This question was put to the session, and not wanting rebuttals to go on and on the body decided to stay with the format that was agreed upon from the beginning (one hour each with half and hour for questions each).
Discussion followed and two motions were voted upon by the session:
Unfortunately my e-mail is down right now so I cannot give you the exact wording of the motions but this is the essence:
1. Dr. Warren Gage’s teaching and hermeneutic is within the bounds of the Westminster confession. –Unanimous, no negative votes
2. Dr. Warren Gage should be reinstated immediately to the classroom. –One negative vote
There were other things that were said and done, many details that I have left out, but I think that I have fairly captured the essentials. If the board so desired they could refer this matter to Presbytery of South Florida, but I am almost certain that this will not happen. I believe that the matter is over.
What then do we learn from this?
1. Satan is alive and well. There is no question in my mind but that this matter was a satanic work. Please don’t misunderstand me to be saying that either side was doing the work of Satan, I am not saying that. I am saying that Satan loves division in the church and he found a method for it here.
2. We should be thankful that we have a board that cares about doctrinal purity enough to put themselves through this kind of action.
3. We should be thankful that we have a professor who submitted to the board and waited for the higher church court to rule in his favor.
4. We should be thankful for Presbyterian church government. I spent the first 35 years of my life as a Baptist and the reason that I became a Presbyterian is because I believe that it is the government that God has ordained. I saw that government in action and I was proud to be Presbyterian.
5. We should be thankful to our Lord, who reminds us that all things work together for the good of those who love him. Let all of us seek to go forward in peace and unity with love for our brothers and sisters, but most of all for Christ and His Church.
For the Lamb,
DrSamLam
Posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
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2007 Christian Book Award winners are: Bibles:Archaeological Study Bible NIV (Zondervan); Bible Reference & Study:The IVP Atlas of Bible History, Paul Lawrence (IVP Academic/InterVarsity Press); Children & Youth:Sexy Girls, Hayley DiMarco (Revell/Baker); Christian Life:What Jesus Demands from the World, John Piper (Crossway Books); Fiction:When Crickets Cry, Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson); and Inspiration & Gift:Pearls of Great Price, Joni Eareckson Tada (Zondervan).
Posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 10:29 am
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The last time I saw Dr. Kennedy was several weeks ago. Dr. Ron Siegnethaler and I had gone over to visit and he was having a very good day. He met us at the door and greeted us both by name. Mrs. Kennedy was not at home and Dr. Kennedy led us to the living room where we sat and talked for some time.
As we got up to leave, Dr. Kennedy hugged me and told me how much he appreciated my preaching. It reminded me of what a great encourager he was. I can’t remember a time when he was in the congregation and I was preaching that he did not make a special point of telling me how much he appreciated it.
Dr. Kennedy always told me how much he liked my children’s sermons. He made a point of telling the congregation that he had one of the only churches in the world where a Greek professor could do wonderful children’s sermons.
You see the truth is that my preaching and my children’s sermons are hardly above average, certainly not meriting the mention of a world class communicator. Dr. Kennedy though, was far above average. His encouragement meant so much to me that it was like my own father telling me that I had done a good job. I suppose we never get past that desire for our parent’s approval, and mine may be worse than ever because my father died when I was relatively young. Dr. Kennedy’s encouragement to me was like water to a thirsty traveler. His hugs like balm on a sore place.
Now we must go on without that encouragement; without those hugs. But not without the God that Dr. Kennedy so clearly preached to all of us. His life was an example for me. I was reminded this morning of a line from the movie “As Good as It Gets.” Jack Nicholson says to Helen Hunt, “You make me want to be a better man.” Remembering Dr. Kennedy makes me want to be a better man.
Look unto Jesus who makes us all a better person,
SamLam
Posted on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
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My pastor died today. I have worked with Dr. D. James Kennedy since 1997 and have known him (in the sense of having entertained at his church and attended his seminary) since 1990. His passing is a great loss in the evangelical church and in Christianity. He was a very kind and gracious man who taught me a lot about being a pastor and being a person. I would like to share a few of the things that I learned from Dr. Kennedy with you today.
Kings and Pawns go back in the bag
First, I just yesterday read an old Italian proverb that says: Kings and Pawns all go back into the bag at the end of the game. All of our lives will come to an end and we should be spending our time doing the things that are valuable and lasting. Dr. Kennedy’s legacy will live on because his work was not based on making money or gaining power. It was based on enlarging the Kingdom of God.
You will no doubt read, at some point about the “mansion” that Dr. Kennedy lived in. That is a lie. He lived in a modest house near the church. He drove a modest car and insisted that all his ministers do the same. He was a man who simply was not interested in money, but was interested in the more important things in life. That which lasts.
When we come to the end of our lives, and we all will, we will need to take stock what we have done. There are thousands of people who have heard the gospel because of Dr. Kennedy. That lasts, that matters, that makes a real difference.
Never be too tired to speak to someone about Christ
Second, I learned that I should never be too tired to speak to someone about Christ. Dr. Kennedy was always out on Thursday nights with an Evangelism Explosion team. There were many (including myself) who sometimes stayed at home because we were too tired or our schedules were so full. I don’t know of anyone who had a schedule like Dr. Kennedy, yet every Thursday night he was out sharing the Gospel with a visitor to the church. Even at seventy-five years old he was not to busy or too tired to go out with the rest of the faithful and share the good news.
Make your enemy your friend
Third, I learned to make my enemy my friend. You will read some who will speak of the hate of my pastor. This is simply not true. It seems that anyone who is willing to draw a line between wrong and right is called hateful. Dr. Kennedy was willing to draw the line, but was always willing to step across it to share the gospel.
A few years ago, there was a young man who was picketing on the sidewalk out in front of the church. He held up a sign that said “Dr. Kennedy is Hitler” and on the other side “Matthew Sheperd (sic) Died Because of Dr. Kennedy.” I remember being so amazed when I saw Dr. K out speaking to the young man. I was even more amazed to see that the conversation lasted more than two hours in the hot Florida sun. After that conversation Dr. Kennedy took the young man to lunch.
That is the way that one deals with an enemy. You look deep inside and see a soul that so desperately needs Christ; a soul that without Christ is in slavery to sin. Dr. Kennedy did all that he could to turn that young man to the gospel. Whether or not the young man ever became a Christian is unknown to me, but it is not for lack of effort on Dr. Kennedy’s part.
Trust God to do great things
Fourth, I learned to trust God to do great things. I saw in Dr. Kennedy a man who knew that God could do things that were so great that we could not even imagine them. He stood up with his vision and told the small group of people that his church could reach the world. They did. He told them that his church could make a difference in the history of Christianity. They did. He told that small group that if they believed God the things that God would do thorough them would be so great that they could not even imagine them. They were.
Dr. Kennedy, like all of us was not without his faults; though as I saw him they were far, far, fewer than mine. Yet he trusted not in himself, but in Christ almighty. May all of us learn a lesson from this man who only wanted to glorify the Lord. If we be able to do only a small part of what he was able to do, the Kingdom will be much better for it.
Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Sam
Posted on Saturday, September 1st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
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This is taken from http://www.dalitnetwork.org Please click on this address and have a look around at the work that the Dalit Network is doing for Christ in the nation of India.
The Story of the Clay Cup™
Dalit Oppression and the Clay Cup™
‘Dalit’ is an ancient Marathi (Western Indian language) word that may be defined as “ground” or “broken in pieces”. It refers to people who have been broken or ground down by those above them in a deliberate and active way. This word perfectly describes the 250 million Indians who exist outside of India’s caste society: those who are traditionally known as the “outcastes” or “untouchables.”
Clay cups were historically used by restaurants, tea shops and train stations in India to serve Dalits separately. Dalits had to destroy the cup after each use so that no upper caste customer would ever use it and risk ‘contamination’ by a Dalit’s ‘uncleanness.’ Today, clay cups are commonly used and are no longer exclusively limited to Dalits. Dalits, however, are still rarely served in glass or metal vessels/cups which could carry their ‘uncleanness.’
The Dalit Freedom Network has chosen the clay cup as a visual representation of the Dalits’ brokenness and oppression. We offer these cups to friends of DFN to act as a daily reminder in your home or office of the Dalit plight. Clay cups available through DFN are handmade by the Dalit community outside of Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh in central India.
We can send you a cup for any size donation that you choose to give. We leave the amount that you would like to donate up to you. We use your donation to help fund our work with the Dalits.
If you would like to order a large volume of cups (25+) to give to your class or to raise money for DFN at your event, etc., call us at 866-921-1333 or email us at Bulk Clay Cup Orders
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