Tag Archives: church

God Meant it For Good!

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Well, it seems we’ve “been around the block and back again” and for some, it seems as if we’re headed off again. Here in the State of Wisconsin, there has been some discussion, agreement and disagreement over what kind of “religious gatherings” are allowed, how they are carried out, who can attend in what way and even whether they are “essential” at all. I have and still contend that regular church services are absolutely essential.

My focus now is the potentially unintended consequences of the government-mandated shutdown of all “religious services” back in March of 2020. In order to continue to do my best to “equip the saints (of Bible Baptist Church) for the work of the ministry,” I began utilizing the Facebook Live platform to deliver sermons in place of regular “normal” attendence. Whether you can tell or not if you watch the Facebook live feature we host at 1:30 PM Central time on Sundays, this preacher is NOT technologically savvy. (Believe me, I’m trying, but an old dog learning new tricks takes more time.

Believe it or not, I feel, in a way as if I were forced into the Facebook Live sermons because the congregation needed spiritual nourishment and I had to do my best to get it to them. The first couple of opportunities were difficult for me, especially in remembering exactly how I managed to get started on the Facebook Live video feed. Since the time is long past, I’ll admit that there were a few old rebels who, after the first two weeks came to church to sit quietly, listening while I shared over this medium because, in their words, they “just needed to be in church!” Their rebel ways in coming to quietly support their pastor, enjoying the sermon in person, in defiance of the government mandate, was incredibly encouraging to me.

Now that some things have changed and we’re back to meeting at our regular time and place, the Facebook Live sermons continue. Standing and teaching for Sunday School, leading music, preaching the morning sermon, Facebook Live, then the afternoon sermon can get quite tiresome, physically. Honestly, it is such a joy to fulfill what I truly believe is my calling from the Lord Jesus Christ, that the physical tiredness is inconsequential.

I have to think of what the Old Testament patriarch, Joseph had to say to his brothers as he revealed himself in Egypt. Allow me to paraphrase Genesis 50:20; “while you meant it (the ban on in-person services) for evil, God meant it for good.” Just as the “defiant” (my terminology) attendees during the shutdown were incredibly encouraging to me, there have been a great variety of people who regularly watch, perhaps not live, but watch and appreciate the teaching. The “likes,” comments and “shares” are just as encouraging.

The greatest blessing of beginning and continuing the Facebook Live are that there have been people who “found” the online sermons and enjoyed them who would not typically attend. In some cases, these dear friends live far enough away, and many even live out of state. Not only have some “found” the online sermons, but there have even been some who have visited in person and even continue to attend. Had it not been for the
Governor’s mandated shutdown of in-person church services, there likely would have been no Facebook Live and the current results.

Where perhaps the government had intended to silence, or at least minimize the impact of the churches, many, many churches, like ours have found a way to go online in addition to currently continue in-person services. By using the internet and other similar resources, our little bitty church in little Neillsville, Wisconsin now has a national and in a few cases an international impact.

Indeed, God can and certainly HAS turned around what even I intially saw as a terrible situation, into something incredibly GOOD. To God be the glory!

~ Pastor Joe

The Essential Church

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Here in the state of Wisconsin, as in most other states in America, we are on the down side of government-mandated closing of what were deemed “non-essential” businesses, meetings and more. At the beginning of what appeared to be a potentially devastating global pandemic, (indeed, that’s what so many politicians, media and academia elitists were calling it) we suspended our normal services. Looking at what actually happened, I’m not fully convinced that I made the right decision as a pastor. Without scrutinizing the differences between “essential” and “non-essential” entities, the direction, not guidance for churches was that in-person gatherings of ten or more people were “prohibited.” For Bible Baptist Church this restriction means that only my wife, seven children and I would be able to gather for worship. Only ONE additional person from the congregation joining us would have been a violation.

In Matthew 18:20, Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” This is absolutely true in any case, but in most cases in our country and certainly for our church there are more than two or three people who gather for worship. It is clear from many places in Scripture that the church is not a building, but the people who have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Where these people gather for mutual learning, encouragement, spiritual growth, support and more, it makes up the local church. “Church,” as I will use the term is the building, the congregation and the activities, all-encompassing.

Wisconsin’s Governor Evers and the state and local governments almost everywhere in America designated “essential” and “non-essential” entities as I mentioned already. I will assert that churches and their primary activities are indeed essential, even if they mostly were designated otherwise. Genesis 1:27 declares that God “created man in his own image,” which includes man’s body, soul and spirit. The spirit of man is the part which communes with God, the Creator of the universe. We were created for fellowship with God.

Sadly, there are some “christians” who attend church at their convenience and at least give lip-service to the essential services provided by their church. For many of these, the ban on religious gatherings over nine people really didn’t affect them. On the other hand, there are Christians (not in name only) for whom church and their essential services are not only a regular, but a vital part of their life. In short, church is absolutely essential for them.

I believe that there are several scriptures which absolutely validates the point that churches and their primary activities are essential, especially to Bible-believing, Bible- living Christians. The Old Testament Patriarch, Job declared when speaking of God, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” ~ Job 23:12. Jesus Christ, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, declared, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” ~ Matthew 4:4. The writer of Hebrews also declares, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” ~ Hebrews 10:23-25

It is clear, from the Bible, from personal experience, from the experience of others, and certainly from the necessity of fellowship with our Creator that churches and their essential services, the preaching, teaching and corporate practice of faith is essential. Because we have been created with a spirit, the part o f man that is designed to interact on a personal level with our Creator, to deny the ability to do this is detrimental to our health and well-being.

An entirely different discussion is the First Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees us the freedom of religion. All of a sudden, the supposed “separation of Church and State,” which is not to be found in the US Constitution, is important. Could this be because it restricts the Church and not the State, turning the intended purpose of the document on its head?

Of course, there is much more that has been or could be said, and I certainly welcome discussion, but let me leave you with this: this is my “bottom line,” as a Christian and as a pastor. As a Christian, I understand that meeting with other Christians is just as essential or even more essential than going to the grocery store. (Think Job 23:12 and Matthew 4:4.) I will also highly encourage and participate in gatherings to learn, encourage and fellowship with other believers as I know I should.

My role as a pastor, the societal figurehead and biblical leader of my local congregation may be a bit more tenuous in some eyes, but after much prayer, Bible study, contemplation and godly counsel, when the government tells us that I cannot continue with regular services, I MUST “obey God rather than men,” (Acts 5:29). As a pastor, I will absolutely, to the best of my ability, continue to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry,” (Ephesians 4:12).

Those saints, the members and attenders have the ability, and I believe the authority, granted by Almighty God and the US Constitution to make the decision to attend or not attend any service or function of our church. If, for some reason, there are negative consequences for those decisions, as a Christian and a pastor, I will echo the Apostles Peter and John, “rejoicing” to be “counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”

A Few Things

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Unfortunately, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to post here. Recently through a dear friend and my wife, along with some serious soul-searching (as many call it) and some intensive Bible Study, the Lord, Jesus Christ impressed upon me that I was getting off track and needed to get back to where He wanted me to be. I have to confess that I allowed some (perhaps many) of my priorities to overtake and even replace the Lord’s plan for my life, my family and even my ministry. As I would simply put it, I had to hit the ‘reset’ button and return control of my priorities to the Lord.

There have been a lot of things happening, certainly not only with me, but with everything around us. Not only my immediate family, community and church, but our nation and the world as a whole. In addition to an increased diet of God’s word, the Bible, I’ve decided that in place of electronic sources of information I needed to get back to reading some good, old-fashioned books. Some books that I’ve had for some time, but never seemed to have the time to read. Between reading the scriptures, good books, more time to reflect and refocus on my family and other things, I’ve been wondering, where do I start after the ‘reset’?

I do my best to heed the admonition in Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye ought to know how ye ought to answer every man.” With that thought in mind, I believe the most loving thing we can do as Christians is to loudly and boldy proclaim the truth. Whether that is the truth about the family, church, government (the three main institutions of society established by God) or the truth about ‘social’ or ‘political’ issues of our day. Abortion, homosexuality, now transgenderism, divorce, debt, euthanasia, the list goes on and on.

Unfortunately, the ‘church’ is silent or intimidated by these very real issues clearly addressed in scripture. I’ve had one person write to me anonymously telling me, “Let’s not mix religion and politics!” I won’t dive into some of these issues today, but rather, I really wanted to address the ‘Church’ in America as a whole and especially those who claim the name of Christ, calling themselves ‘Christians.’ I have two questions and/or challenges for you. 1. Who are you following? and 2. What is your foundation?

In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Church, he adressed this idea of dedication to who we follow. In 1 Corinthians 1:12, even though some claimed to follow Christ, the problem even of these is their apparent attitude of superiority and divisions based on who they followed. “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, ‘I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas (Peter); and I of Christ’. He emphasizes his point in chapter 3 and verse 4 again. “For while one saith, ‘I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos;’ are ye not yet carnal?”

The point I am trying to make is that there are too many ‘Christians’ today who have set up speakers, whether pastors, evangelists, radio, television or You Tube personalities who they blindly follow regardless of any errors in doctrine or moral failures. Listening to them or watching them while they properly expound the Word of God is great and to be commended, but even the greatest of these are subject to failure. The question is, when they say or do something contrary to God’s Word, are they corrected? Do you know they have erred? What is their response when another Christian Brother or Sister gently and lovingly attempts to point out the biblical error, especially using clear scripture and scriptural principles? We ought to revere people who diligently preach and teach the Word of God, but understand that they are merely human and subject to failure. Everything they say ought to be filtered through the pages of scripture.

The Apostle Paul addressed this concept in the book of Acts, chapter 17, verses 10-11. To paraphrase, he praised the church at Berea as being more dedicated than the church in Thessalonica because the Bereans, “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Here’s what I’m trying to say in both questions, ‘What’s your bottom line?’ In asking, ‘what is your foundation,’ I’m trying to emphasise that the Word of God ought to be our foundation in all that we hear, read, say, think and do. Whether we listen to a speaker and think, “I’m not sure that’s biblical,” then go to look up their scripture references, compare our notes on what was said, and if necessary, dismiss their teaching as unbiblical. Along those same lines, when ‘social issues’ come up in the news, in discussion at work or school, potential laws or judicial rulings, it is not hateful, unloving, judgemental or discriminitory to declare what God’s word has to say about these things. God’s word MUST be our foundation in all things, whether we are at church, at home, at school, at work, the library, grocery store, or anywhere.

Let me conclude by sharing just a couple of things. I began studying the Bible in earnest LONG before I became a pastor, as I should have. I truly believe the Lord was preparing me for where I am today. In the course of time when He was preparing me, I developed my theology and understanding of scripture. In some cases, I was challenged by things I had heard growing up, some books or articles I had read or people I had listened to. In other cases, I was challenged in my theology by people who had studied more intently or longer than I and had a better understanding. As a pastor, even today, I am adamant that people who know me, whether they attend Bible Baptist Church or not check me out against scripture. Challenge me (in love, I would hope) to defend or clarify, and when necessary correct what I’ve said or written.

What you think of and do with God’s word, the Bible and Jesus Christ is far more important than following anyone teaching or being socially or politically correct.