The Reformation of First Baptist Church
Andy Davis talks to Mark Dever for IX Marks about bringing reformation to an established church.
cf. The Reform of First Baptist Church of Durham
Below are a few quotes from the IX Marks eJournal article:
I remember one particular meeting where a woman prayed, “God, help us to learn that we are a modern people and we don’t need to do everything it says in the Bible!”
At another time, a woman said to another godly man, “I don’t give a flip what Paul taught about women!”
My opponents fully expected that I would resign the pastorate that morning, but that thought was the furthest thing from my mind. This was Christ’s church; I was called to be an undershepherd; and I was fully convinced he still intended great things for FBC.
The vote was roughly a mirror-image of the failed attempt the previous year, but with the opposite result. It was something like 170-120 in favor of following biblical authority. Soon after that, many people left the church, knowing that they had lost political control and that the church was going in a direction they could not accept.
LESSONS FROM THE REFORM
- Never Forget that Christ Alone Owns the Church
- Rely On God, Not On Yourself
- Rely on the Word Alone
- Saturate the Church in Prayer
- Avoid Pride Toward Opponents; Reject Gossip and Slander
- Be Courageous
- Fight for Essentials, Not Non-Essentials
- Be Patient
- Watch Out for Discouragement
- Identify and Develop Men as Leaders in the Reformation
It breaks my heart to think of how many churches desperately need reformation.
Notes
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jxd1689 reblogged this from beggarsalll and added:
A good listen. Praise God for faithful, persevering pastors!
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