Be the Church – PaulThompsonBlog

How Did the Para-Church Become the Expert?

Posted on July 8, 20192 Comments

Last week I met with local pastors in the Magic Valley from Burley to Hagerman, Jackpot to Twin Falls to prepare ourselves for a strategic plan to speak to the Twin Falls, City Council and prepare to engage God’s people to interact with state legislators concerning the abolishing of abortion in the state of Idaho.

As I Read Scripture and pray over this day with desire to remain focused on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as described by the Bible only I’m finding myself shocked at how little many expect from the church anymore.

Does anyone turn to the church to know about reaching children and youth? Maybe, but be sure of this, the church will turn to the para-church publishing house to train and program the methodology. What happened to a day when God’s people would turn to their Bible and seek God for the best way to reach the children?

Does anyone expect a leading voice from the church when it comes to feeding the poor? Likely the church is going to turn to the para-church food kitchen or food bank to regulate how to do this for them.

There was a day when the community would turn to the church to care for the orphan, sadly, today, the church has largely given this God ordained duty to the government.

If you want to influence city, county, state, or national issues with a moral base you will be hard pressed to find a church anywhere willing to engage. There was a day when all would look to the moral buttress, the church, the pillar of truth. The danger today is that the church has abdicated this off to the para-church lobbyist. We’ve been encouraging God’s people to contribute to the para-church so that the para-church can represent our values. The problem today is that many of the para-church lobbyist are not held accountable to the church and the church assumes they are the experts. It is time for the church to not only continue pressing the government to defund Planned Parenthood, it may as well be time to defund the para-church.

It is time, church, we must not leave our post as an abandoned post.

We are told (we even tell ourselves) “you can’t legislate morality.” We seem to have forgotten that that is part of the work of the government, to legislate moral and just laws. We also must know that a government does not have the capacity to be moral or remain moral if an imputed righteous people remain silent.

It is a more true statement that you can’t legislate righteousness. Righteousness is something that only God deposits upon an unrighteous person because of his depravity, inability to be righteous.

But, because the church has largely stepped out of the conversation on the topic of humanity and decided to hire the “experts” to speak for us we are now in communities that are not that interested in what we have to say about morality, or righteousness on any matter. Our communities look at the “right to life” groups and pregnancy centers as the “experts” on matters of life and they view the church more as the “experts” on summer daycare extravaganzas and free cotton candy.

This is for sure, if morality is not legislated, and that from a position of absolute truth, it will not be long before the immoral community begins to legislate immorality.

Welcome to today.

Church, return to your post in the community as a pillar and buttress of truth. From this place don’t forget your need to proclaim the gospel and call all people, everywhere, to believe and repent.

It’s a good day to be the church.

Stand Firm

Posted on February 22, 2018Leave a comment

The Christian discipline of standing firm is of interest in this week’s column.

Have you ever been walking along, sure footed, and then all of the sudden, found yourself on the ground?

The risk of falling is increased when conditions are slippery, like they are in the winter. Then the danger of falling is at the highest degree with age.

Is it better to reduce the risk of falling or reduce the severity of the injury?

In Ephesians 6, I would argue that for the Christian, spiritually speaking, we should devote ourselves primarily to reducing the risk of falling. This is why the apostle Paul emphasises Christians to “stand firm”.

Multiple times in Ephesians 6:10-20 the Christian is commanded to “stand firm”, “be strong”, “take up”, “put on”, “be alert”, “pray”. These are all instructions on how to best avoid falling.

In this “evil day” the Christian must learn to walk a disciplined life.

Our duty is not to be “cool” so others will want Christ.
Our duty is not to somehow make God look more attractive than He already is so others will be attracted to Him.
Our duty is not to show how graceful God is by living ungodly lives.
Our duty is not to impress others with our liberty to do as we want.

No, Christian, our duty is to stand firm. Why? So that in this evil day we will not be found on the ground, if you will, because of an unexpected fall. Devote yourself to walking a disciplined life so as not to fall.

Put on your gospel shoes so that when you advance into this slippery day you have done all that you can to stand firm.

Be sure to gather this weekend, in faith, with a fellowship of faithful followers of Christ, saved by the grace of God, who are as interested in standing firm as you are. This is a day for standing firm in the faith.

Our speaking boldly, as we ought to speak, is best heard while we are standing firm.

Decay of Nations

Posted on October 4, 2017Leave a comment

I began preaching through Isaiah several weeks ago and am very thankful to God for these strong warnings. As one looks and listens to Isaiah warn the nation of Israel it is not missed why they were judged by God so harshly as they ignored God and His preacher.

I began preaching chapter three last Lord’s Day. Here, Isaiah informs the nation of what it will look like as the decay of the nation is in full effect. There are many things along the way that lead to this but Isaiah makes it very clear what the last days of the nation that rebels against God looks like. All nations should look closely at this. All Churches should pay close attention to this. Every family should stop and look into these words. Every professing believer should examine his life closely against the plumb line of holy Scripture.

Here is a general look at the entire chapter three. (Based on Isaiah 3:1-12)

There will be a removal of the great and mighty men. One of the first marks of decay is not a falling away of great men, but a removal of them. There will be a noticeable shortage in the land of wise, prudent, disciplined, discerning, honorable, skilled men of honor and valor.
The shortage of men of honor and valor will be replaced with incompetent, undisciplined, dishonorable, and childish desires will seize them to attract selfish attention upon themselves and prolong childhood by delaying manhood.
There will be a rise of weak willed, moody, rude, arrogant, disrespectful, children who will demand from and oppress the elders. Many cities will notice a shortage of reliable and discerning leaders. Churches will water down the criteria for biblical leadership in light of this great shortage. Children will rule their homes with demanding behaviors that parents will give in to for fear of tyrannical tantrum raging children.
A generation or two of this without widespread correction of course will only intensify selfishness among society at large.
Disrespect for elders becomes the norm of the day. Where there is a lack of biblical social order in the home, in the church, and in the society, anarchy becomes a path most desired and appears appealing to the majority. This kind of chaos replaces peace with widespread unrest.

It is necessary for this progression to happen for a total collapse of a nation. If foolishness attempted to overthrow a nation ruled by men of valor and godly honor it would be thwarted with ease and a corrective course would happen quickly.

The family must recover. Husbands must pray that God would grant them courage and pray that God would give mercy to their wives. Fathers must instruct the children and mothers must gather and nurture the children. Parents must co-labor in this God ordained duty.

Where are you family?

The church must come out of her slumber. Pastors must lead, deacons must serve, congregations must secure the preaching post with heralders of truth. She must advance this gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ without any mixture of the philosophies of men or fallen angels.

Where are you church?

Where the family and church was once the birthplace and training ground that society looked to for principles of justice and good will, the majority are now petri-dishes of undisciplined selfish little boys and girls who demand others give them what they want while redefining and rebuilding a society that more impoverishes and distresses with the markings or the Judges of what it’s like when everyone does what is right in their own eyes and hates that which is true and just.

Arise Church! to your duty! The day demands it! Our Lord commands us!

Go into this day and advance this Gospel, now!

The Evangel

Posted on September 26, 2017Leave a comment

Anyone who claimed September 23, 2017 as the end of the world and used the bible to prove their position should be viewed as a false prophet.

Church, discipline yourself to put our primary work in front of us and be faithful to the work of the evangel (the gospel). Date setting is no new thing and we should expect that as dates come and go that a more predictable pattern is that date setters will be required to adjust and reinterpret their claims.

Yes, we should give ourselves to reading Scripture and noticing that the time must be near, but be sure not to get distracted with that which will distract from the Gospel. Give yourself rather to living a life devoted to the Lordship of Christ in your life and speaking the grace of God in His gospel to all.

Date setting the unknown things of God is irresponsible evangelism.

Give yourself to responsible evangelism. Proclaiming the truth of God, the nature of humanity, the redeeming work of Christ, and the required response to this truth; this is our great duty.

Here are a few things I see that normally happens when the date setters gain popularity and their dates pass by…

They will claim they overlooked a particular calculation.
They will say “I didn’t actually say…”
They will bring other verses into the conversation that they didn’t use or see previously.
They will call planets stars or give vague dogmatic comments such as “this kind of connection gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.”
They will eventually re-date to another date without any consideration to what God says about those who presumptuously speak on His behalf in Deuteronomy 18:22

“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22)

Give yourself to the advancing of the evangel (the Gospel).

“The Deliberate Church” Book Discussion

Posted on September 5, 2017Leave a comment

Last week I began meeting with a group of men to read and discuss a book by Mark Dever, “The Deliberate Church”.

I first read this book in 2005. I had read a few books by Mark Dever and found this book of interest. At the time I read this I found myself in a surprising moment as a pastor. The church I was pastoring (and still pastoring) was in the midst of unprecedented growth. We were looking for options to accommodate to fast growing needs, addressing the expected wants of new attenders, hungry for innovation, and then I read this book and felt like I have just been flipped out of the boat.

I liken that day to rafting down the Colorado River as a kid. It was like other times; the water was right for a fun ride, we knew were all the rapids were, we knew how to get there, we wanted the full experience, and then right there in the middle of a rapid our raft was upside down. (At that time – about all I could do was think about where my hat was, we didn’t wear helmets then.)

Mark Dever and Paul Alexander put together a helpful book. A church growth book not at all patterned like trendy church growth fads that come and go. This is more of a call to open your bible and see what God has to say about His church and how he has ordained its order, structure, and purpose.

I’m reading it again with a cross section of men; pastors/elders, laymen, church planter, young, middle, and old.

Here is a summary of the content of the book.

The book addresses four main sections; 1) Gathering the Church, 2) When the Church Gathers, 3) Gathering Elders, and 4) When the Elders Gather.

I will give occasional updates on our reading progress. Today, my prayer is four fold…

For myself: I pray that God will help me not be typically cynical and overly critical of others and look closely at my heart – examining with the lamp of Scripture exposing any wrong motive, intent, or dysfunction in me or my shepherding ways.
For my pastor friends: I pray that we will more quickly get serious about dealing with our hunger for fame and selfish ambitions in how we handle the eternal work of pastoring/shepherding God’s people. There is need for us to be deliberate, not responsive to the latest fad or wave, but deliberate and careful to give attention to our Lord’s instructions concerning the care of His bride. Be that kind of pastor. (Purchase your copy HERE)
For my denominational partners: If we say that the local church is the top of our organizational order, with Christ the head of the local church, then may I challenge you to reconsider our practical relationship. The local church does not need someone to come and introduce a new concept or program, the best thing you can do is help a local church stay faithful to her ordered work as given by the Lord to his church. Don’t feed our romance hunger for creative, innovative, flashy days. Most of us want to be prepared for the day when the boat is capsized to be a pillar and buttress of truth in our communities. Be that kind of partner to the church. (Purchase bulk copies HERE)
For my church family: know that I’m reading a book that one day “threw me out of the boat”. Today, I want what will cause me to look to God. I want to have discussion with others on how we “do” church. I want attention given to the bible about why we do what we do… when I come up from being thrown from the boat I want the only thing I think about to be; “give me my bible!”, “what does God have to say about this?”, “Is there anything I need to repent of?”, “What do I need God’s courage for to faithfully keep doing?”. That which is urgent, yet not filled with anxiety. Let’s be that kind of church!

What if the House of Prayer was Empty?

Posted on August 16, 2017Leave a comment

There are unmistakable biblical markers of what a New Testament church should be doing when they gather together. There are sure things that ought to cause a New Testament church to gather together. (1) Preaching, (2) Singing, (3) Caring for each other (especially for widows and orphans in distress), (4) Baptizing converts, (5) Eating, (6) Proclaiming the Lord’s death, and (7) Praying.

The faithful church is sure to want to keep true in all of her duties. But, as warned by the Apostles, certain individuals have crept in and have been successful at times to redirect the efforts of the church in other ways.

It makes since when you think about it.

The enemy of God knows the power of preaching Scripture. Because of the power of the word of God, the enemy of God wants preachers to preach anything and everything but truth.
The enemy of God knows that God has created men to sing. Singing is ordained of God for corporate proclamations and declarations of God and to God. If the enemy of God can get men to love songs more than they love God then the corporate proclamations and declarations are at risk of being of another god altogether and men won’t care because they love the music.
The enemy of God knows what true religion looks like. The bible is clear on this matter. Because the enemy of God hates true religion he will want to divert the resources of God’s people away from the care of orphans and widows in distress. He’ll put attractive and popular ministries in front of them and persuade us to direct most of our resources upon ourselves, satisfying that selfish craving of the old man.
The enemy of God loves to confuse people about their salvation. Salvation is a work of the grace of God not the works of men. But take the ordinances of God and make them something that looks like conversion and makes many think the church is growing and men will brag about how many are being baptized and have access to the Lord’s table and forget altogether about the spiritual birth of a new man and we no longer know what or how salvation is even given to the sons of men.
The enemy of God knows that God calls His peculiar people to gather at the house of prayer for prayer. Because he knows this, it makes sense that he would be pleased to make God’s people more in love with activities that make us too busy to pray together. It’s been said by many before, that if the enemy can’t reclaim you from the power of the blood of Christ then he’ll be pleased to make you busy. It appears that many professing believers in the land are either false professors or are very busy.

If any church in any given community were to announce this coming Lord’s Day that it will no longer hold corporate prayer meetings many professing Christians could care less. They may even wish the church would do so so they don’t have to feel guilt about not attending and praying together. But that’s not really the point of my observation here; many churches have practically closed the prayer gathering by filling up the church calendar with so much activity that many churches have practically no corporate prayer times anymore.

What would any community look like if there was not a praying people praying on behalf of the community at large? Why would a professing follower of God not want to obey His Lord and gather for prayer? If professing followers of God are either too busy or just generally not interested in this commanded duty of our Lord, what has their attention that they are willing to set this command aside and disobey God willfully. What god are many churches following if they are willing to willfully disobey their professed Lord?

Here’s what happens to many across the land…

Your favorite T.V. program will be moved to Wednesday night.
Your boss will reschedule you to work on Sunday’s and prayer meeting night.
Your school will schedule important events on these nights.
Your children will complain about the prayer time as boring. (because you agree you will concede.)
More people will come to an active program if you provide an option. Look at most churches that offer multiple things at the same time as the prayer meeting, the other activities will outpace the attendance of the prayer meeting and will eventually need everyone in the prayer meeting to help with crowd control for the “attractive” activities.

The community God has planted His church in should be (1) Preaching, (2) Singing, (3) Caring for each other (especially for widows and orphans in distress), (4) Baptizing converts, (5) Eating, (6) Proclaiming the Lord’s death, and (7) Praying. Yet, in many communities across the land, churches are going another way. A way that transplants a powerful church in a community with a powerless not-a-church.

What then should we do?

Repent of our willful distractions and gather with the Lord’s people to pray. Church, this church gathers every Wednesday night for prayer at 6:30 p.m. we don’t provide any other distractions or attractions to capture our attention. It is a quite simple gathering. We read Scripture and we pray. The church described to us by the the work of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts met at specific places and specific times on specific days to pray.

Prayer isn’t just something we start and close a meeting with, it’s something we should gather to do!

Church, arise! To you post! To your duty! To your God! Don’t let your community have a prayer-less church filled with prayer-less professors of Christ’s Lordship.

This Age of Religious Complexity

Posted on April 28, 2017Leave a comment

The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found in the modern church of the western culture. In the place of this simplicity are complex program, methodologies, organization and a basket full of nervous activities that require time, attention, and a lot of money that cannot be seriously considered as honoring to God. Rather, much of what the western church has invented complicates our ability to loyally honor and obey our master because we have another god we’ve created that is always demanding our time, attention, and money.

The shallow, hollow and imitation of the world that marks our methods all testify against us that we, today, are more “this-worldly” minded rather than being, as A.W. Tozer put it, “other-worldly”, meaning heavenly minded. No wonder there is so little peace in God, so little rejoicing in Him. Many don’t even know God, much less are at peace or rejoice in and with God.

It was A.W. Tozer in his book, “The Pursuit of God”, where I was first introduced to the idea of how much of this world I had employed to do things I thought was pleasing to God. He was not the first to say it, just the first time I paid attention, that Scripture is sufficient, meaning all that is needed. If Scripture is inerrant and reliable, which it is, why employ so much of this worlds methods and simply behave like it is sufficient?

The voice of God, the word of God, is not merely the most powerful, most important component in nature, it is what sustains everything in nature, making God altogether different.

We’ve heard people accusing some Christians as “being so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good”? I say it’s important the church be “other-worldly” heavenly minded so that we are of earthly good (salt and light).

It is the bible that puts the importance on words to advance the gospel, not entertainment, musicians, movies, games, or general silliness. The Bible even says that this duty of speaking words (preaching) is considered foolish by the unconverted. Yet the Bible calls out those who “have ears to hear, to hear what the Spirit says to the church”.

This may not be the day when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen.

Listening today is not part of the popular means because it implies another is speaking and we are of a worldview that celebrates the individual and even elevates his emotions and personality above truth, thus leaving him in a worse state than before.

Church, this coming Lord’s Day, come to hear a preached word from the word of God. Come prepared to listen. Then go and obey.

Preacher, this coming Lord’s Day, God’s people are expecting to hear what the Spirit says to the church, go to preach a word from the word of God. Away with your silly enticements and this-worldly mindedness. Be other-worldly minded so we may be of good to the sons of men.

Preacher – preach. Church – listen. All, go with authority from upon high into the byways of life advancing a gospel of a heavenly kingdom releasing the sons of men from the bondage of this world.

Prayer for the Next Generation

Posted on January 2, 2017Leave a comment

In the Lord’s way and in the Lord’s timing, He has blessed and is blessing Eastside Baptist Church with a generation of Children.

Never in the history of Eastside Baptist Church has there been a season quite like this one.

Five years ago Eastside asked God Almighty to forgive her of trusting in the methodologies of men and began a renewed path to trust in the Lord by trusting the sufficiency of Scripture as our primary instruction for training our children; meaning we stopped all age graded segregation of our children, we stopped providing ongoing systematic separation of children from parents when families gathered together on the Lord’s Day.

It felt strange at first, many were confused about what we were doing (and still are), some thought we don’t care about children and youth.

Today, God has has given us more children than we’ve ever had and more children than we could ever build facility for if we still segregated the children.

I want to share with you a short moment in yesterday’s (1/1/2017) gathering. We committed and recommitted ourselves to the duty God has given us, the church, and the family.

Here is a short clip from that gathering yesterday when we committed ourselves unto the Lord in our duty to obey Him.

Today, Eastside Baptist is committed to the Lord to obey him with respect to every child given to her duty both here and abroad. Locally, thirty-eight children belong to families of Eastside Baptist and forty-five children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Over eighty children under direct order of God to teach and instruct.

We can do it our way or God’s way. We are slaves of God, so we choose to do it God’s way regardless of the outcome.

May God help us to obey Him.

Lost in the Conversation

Posted on June 23, 2016Leave a comment

For more than a week the conversation of the local community is about some refugee children who have been charged with sexual assault. At this point, it is an open investigation and we must trust the law enforcement and prosecution process to do its duty.

In the mean time; there are many things lost in the conversation.

the depravity of humanity is active in the corrupt heart of all citizens. This is not a condition that is owned exclusively by men or women. Obviously it’s not something that U.S. Citizens are immune to.
any sexual assault acted out on a child is of serious weight in any community. This happens more in our neighborhoods than most know about and is not a new problem just because of the refugee center. Listen, you don’t even have to be an active church goer to be sickened by the sexual perversion.
this is first a sin issue – first and before it being a psychological issue, long before this being a refugee issue, or an Islam issue, this is a sin issue.
It’s even possible that your sons and daughters are exposed to sexually deviant behavior this summer at any given church camp.

Church, where are you in the conversation? Parents, Hopefully you’re not lost in the weeds of this being the kind of thing that other people’s children do.

Sin did not come to the city gates because of refugees. Press the law enforcement to do her duty, expect the city council to not be naive, but hold your church accountable to preach the word and your pastor to be the pillar and buttress of truth.

Sexual deviancy will not flee because you’ve signed a petition to shut a federally funded agency down (and I support the shutting down of federally funded agencies that don’t allow the citizens the privilege of accountability.) Sexual assault isn’t snuffed out because law enforcement and judicial prosecution exist (and I’m in favor of both.) But do not expect any change in the heart condition of humanity without the faithful proclamation of the gospel by biblically faithful preachers in God glorifying churches filled with forgiven sinners seeking the face of God.

Preacher, to your pulpit! Church, to your duty! Christian, be an ambassador of Christ’s reconciliation. All men, everywhere, repent!

They Forsook the LORD!

Posted on March 1, 2016Leave a comment

There is a history.

In history we read of people who begin strong and then forsake God. And we read of people who begin life as a wreck and finish strong. I would rather be included among those who finish strong.

To be a strong and faithful finisher it appears I will have a life long pattern of repenting, being corrected and disciplined to stay the course.

In the political world, today is “Super Tuesday.” If the day finishes as it appears, it will still have been Tuesday and anything but super.

There is good news in the midst though… it is a good day to be the church of the LORD Jesus Christ.

It is a strange thing to continue hearing word of how many evangelicals are promoting and wanting Donald J. Trump to be president. I like that that I’m not required to vote for a Christian to be president, even though biblical character is a fruit I look for and pray for in a leader of my homeland.

If the polls are correct and the majority of (so called) “evangelicals” are favorable of Trump for president, then please either stop calling them evangelicals or stop referring to me as an “evangelical.” Rather, call me a “follower of the LORD Jesus the Christ as described by the Bible.”

I just finished reading Judges chapter two and three.

There is a history.

Look at this from Judges 2:11-21 and Judges 3:7-8 [emphasis mine]. The context is the nation of Israel, before they had men like other nations (kings) to rule them. The pronouns I have in [brackets] are in the context of the nation of Israel. I’m not superimposing this text upon America, I’m simply comparing the situation. Could this text be spoken to other nations and other peoples? Likely, yes. Consider this text in our day to this land.

Then [they] did evil in the sight of the Lordand forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger.So they forsook the Lord.The anger of the Lord burned against [them], and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, they were severely distressed.

Then the Lord raised up [godly men] who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to [these men], for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers.When the Lord raised up [godly men] for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the [these men]; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them.But it came about when [these godly men] died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways.So the anger of the Lord burned against [them].

[They] did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God. Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against [them], so that He sold them into the hands of [His enemies].

(17:6) In those days there was no [honorable leaders]; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

O, may the Lord raise up godly men in our day. May He find His church prepared and ready to boldly speak His gospel into the nation. May He find His church fit and prepared for this day.

It is a good day to be the church! Look unto, Jesus! His hand is as active in this day as He has been in any day in history. There is a history of God actively working all things for His glory among a people who love Him.

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