I must admit that I had never heard of Willard W. Boyd until his portrait caught my eye in the 1883 Cathcart Baptist Encyclopedia. This guy starts preaching by simply reading Spurgeon’s sermons aloud to the congregation. When folks begin coming to Christ and requesting believers baptism he has to study the matter. He becomes convinced that he needed to follow in believers baptism himself. He gets baptized along with the new converts.
Boyd, Willard W., D.D., was born Nov. 22, 1843, in Chemung Co., N. Y. His parents moved to Saco, Me., when he was two years old. He was prepared for college at fourteen years of age. He was converted at the age of twelve years. His father died when he was eighteen years of age, and Willard succeeded him in superintending a factory at Springville, Me. In this place there was but one church, a Baptist, whose members were few in number. Dr. Boyd read Spurgeon’s sermons to them, and soon began to speak in his own language; a revival followed, and the converts asked for baptism. He being a Congregationalist, studied the question of baptism, and soon, with those who had lately found Jesus, he was baptized. In 1866 his mother died, and the following year he entered Harvard University, where he graduated with honor in 1871. After spending a year at a German university he was appointed tutor in Harvard College, and held the position till, in 1873, he accepted the pastorate of the First Baptist church in Charlestown, a part of Boston, Mass. With this church he remained four years, and received about 400 members into its fellowship. In June, 1877, he was installed as pastor of the Second Baptist church of St. Louis, Mo. In June, 1878, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Shurtleff College, Ill. In Dr. Boyd are combined scholarship, executive ability, and pulpit eloquence. He possesses great energy and piety. Many have been added to his church in St. Louis since his settlement, and the house of worship has been twice built, owing to fire. He occupies one of the most responsible positions in the Baptist denomination in the Mississippi Valley, and preaches to very large congregations.
* The Baptist Encyclopedia: Edited by William Cathcart. (1883) p 122-3
Christianity Today published a six part series on church discipline.
The Protestant reformers named three “marks by which the true church is known”: the preaching of the pure doctrine of the gospel, the pure administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline to correct faults. Today, church discipline is feared as the mark of a false church, bringing to mind images of witch trials, scarlet letters, public humiliations, and damning excommunications. Does discipline itself need correction and redemption in order to be readmitted into the body of Christ? We have asked several experts from different (and sometimes contrasting) professional and theological backgrounds to explain how church discipline fell into disrepair and how it can be revived, so that the true church can fully embody the pure doctrine of the gospel once again.
- How Discipline Died by Marlin Jeschke
- Shaping Holy Disciples Mark Galli interview’s Mark Dever
- Spheres of Accountability by John Ortberg
- Keeping the Lawyers at Bay by Attorney Ken Sande
- Healing the Body of Christ by David Neff
- Our Uniquely Undisciplined Moment by Thomas Oden
Al Mohler posted a helpful four part series on “The Disappearance of Church Discipline.”
- The Disappearance of Church Discipline (part 1)
- The Disappearance of Church Discipline (part 2)
- The Disappearance of Church Discipline (part 3)
- The Disappearance of Church Discipline (part 4)
John MacArthur preached an excellent sermon series on Matthew 18:15-20.
- The Discipline of God’s Children Part 1
- The Discipline of God’s Children Part 2
- The Discipline of God’s Children Part 3
Also see Phil Newton’s great sermon on the same passage, The Church as a Self-Disciplining Body (text or mp3).
A few weeks ago I responded to some statements Johnny Hunt made at the 2005 SBC Pastor’s Conference. See my post Johnny Hunt on Election. I received several comments agreeing with my assessment. A few comments veered off the subject at hand and into criticism of Johnny Hunt’s ministry at FBC Woodstock. I stepped in and tried to keep people on topic. In no way did I want to allow my blog to become a platform to call into question Johnny Hunt’s integrity or denigrate his ministry. As I said, I admire and love Johnny Hunt. I have nothing personal against him or his church. In my original article I spoke of “his contagious enthusiasm, pastor’s heart, and compelling testimony.” I have been encouraged by several of his sermons. I said, “I want to make it clear - I love Johnny Hunt. I think he is an excellent man, an engaging preacher, a wonderful pastor, a motivating leader, a dedicated Christian, and a righteous zealot for souls.” I spent a great deal of time in the article acknowledging the points of agreement I had with a particular thrust of his statements under consideration; namely our mandate to indiscriminantly proclaim the good news of the gospel to everyone. I echoed his charge to “invite everyone to come to Christ! Just preach it! Invite everybody! Tell everyone!”
Johnny Hunt responded to my article with the following:
If your intent is to know what I meant, I would be delighted to respond to your Biblical understanding of Matt 18. I was courious as to why you played only 54 seconds of your 40 minute message and never once ask the deliverer one question but passed such judgement as ” damage to the cause of Christ” to name only one. I deeply love Christ and His word and attempt to preach and live it under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I made no statement that I am ashamed of and would have welcomed any personal call or confrontation,however this site has allowed Nathan White that ought to be ashamed for what he said in light of the way I have loved him even when he was in his sin and others to “post” their statements when the Bible that you wish to honor calls for Matt.18 approach.Their is hope for everyone. It is my desire to love Jesus and to lift Him up as the Lord of salvation till I die and to encourage the Brethren. With that said I love you Brothers!
I do desire to know what he meant and so I will attempt to address each of his statements and questions directly. At the risk of sounding impersonal I’ll focus on them one at a time.
First, I played a 54 second clip of the sermon because it contained the point I wanted to address. I transcribed Hunt’s statements on election in the sermon, but felt that hearing them in his own voice would prevent someone from reading their own inflection and tone into the naked printed words. I pointed to the entire sermon, which can be heard on the SBC Pastor’s Conference web site. Let me encourage everyone to go and listen to the full sermon.
Second, Hunt asked me about my biblical understanding of Matthew 18. He believes that I should have gone to him privately with these concerns before publicly addressing them. I disagree for several reasons.
Interestingly, or perhaps I should say providentially, I will preach Mathew 18:15-20 this Sunday. I have been preaching through Galatians for the past 10 months and this Sunday we will look at Galatians 6:1. “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Paul’s admonition ties directly to Jesus’ words in Mathew 18:15-18.
15 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
In this passage Jesus sets forth the pattern for church discipline /restoration. We see 1. the person, 2. the purpose, and 3. the procedure. Jesus tells us three things about the type of person he has in mind here. First, we know the person confesses to be a believer, i.e. a fellow Christian. Jesus calls him a “brother.” Second, the person has “sinned against you.” Jesus does not describe the particulars of the sin, but he notes its personal nature. Third, the person belongs to your church. While Jesus does not mention church membership explicitly, in the event that the situation reaches the third stage, the offended party consults the church body. An unsuccessful restoration results in the church removing the person from covenant membership participation. This implies the importance of meaningful church membership.
Jesus makes the purpose of these actions clear. The restoration of the erring brother, not a desire to be vindicated, ought to drive us to practice redemptive church discipline. He says, “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”
Jesus also sets forth a clear procedure for carrying out church discipline. Step One: You should go to the person who has sinned against you privately. The sin should not be broadcast to the world, or spread around like gossip, but should be a private matter with the goal of restoring the fellowship between the two believers. Step Two: If the one on one confrontation proves unfruitful, then bring in one or two others for arbitration. Prayerfully the unbiased third party mediation will foster reconciliation and restored fellowship between the two involved. Step Three: If the small group effort does not produce reconciliation then Jesus instructs us to bring the matter before the church. The goal of restoration should drive every step along the way. Step Four: If the person stubbornly still clings to their sin, and refuses to even listen to the loving chastisement of the church then the church regrettably must disfellowship the person. Jesus said to treat the person as a “Gentile and a tax collector.” In other words view them as being outside the community of faith and a candidate for evangelism.
Mathew 18:15-18 instructs me on how to treat a fellow church member who sins against me personally. Johnny Hunt is not a member of my local church, he does not fall under our churches authority, and most of all he did not sin against me personally. The steps of church discipline do not apply. A more applicable passage might be the example that Paul gives when he rebuked Peter publicly in Galatians 2:11-14. Peter’s subtle (yet public) actions served to undermine the gospel he proclaimed. Paul realized that Peter’s public actions required a public response. Paul rebuked Peter “before them all.” Johnny Hunt spoke his words in a very public forum. Thousands of people heard him misrepresent the biblical doctrine of God’s sovereign electing grace. I believe his public words begged for a public response.
If Hunt would have offended me on a personal level, cheated me out of some money, kicked my dog, or hustled me in a game of pool, then I would have been obligated to follow the steps Jesus set forth in Matthew 18. Johnny Hunt did not do any of those things, nor do I think for a second he ever would. Hunt spoke as a public figure, in a public forum, and his words deserve public scrutiny in the light of God’s word.
Third, Hunt chastised me for allowing Nathan White, one of his former church members, to post negative criticism against FBC Woodstock. I admit the conversation in the comment section of my blog did begin to go in a direction that I did not want to see it go. I posted a statement asking people to refrain from dealing with subjects other than the particular issue at hand. Several other people posted ugly comments and I did not approve them for public display. After Nathan said what he did, and after I requested that he refrain from deviating off the topic, he sent me a private apology. I did not know Nathan before this encounter, but after emailing him privately back and forth a few times he seems like a godly young man with a legitimate concern for the glory of Christ.
I do not know the details of Nathen’s past “sin” that Hunt publicly accused him of; nor do I want to know. It seems to me that whatever the issue might have been, Matthew 18 would apply much more directly to that situation.
Fourth, Bro. Johnny said, “I deeply love Christ and His word and attempt to preach and live it under the Lordship of Jesus Christ” and “It is my desire to love Jesus and to lift Him up as the Lord of salvation till I die and to encourage the Brethren.” I have no doubt as to the veracity of those statements. I pray that nothing I said even gave a single hint at calling those assertions into dispute. I did not question Hunts love for Jesus, his commitment to Christ, or his heart of encouragement. I focused on his misrepresentation of the doctrine of election and its supposed hindrance to evangelism.
As I said before, the doctrine of election does not negate evangelism, it ensures its success. Let’s not undermine the very foundation on which our evangelism stands. Let’s boldly proclaim the gospel to everyone. Lets savor the supremacy of Christ over all things as He uses our collective evangelistic voices to call people to Himself for His glory.
Early Southern Baptist C. D. Mallary gives a timeless warning against what he called “denominational idolatry.” In 1859 he delivered a sermon on the topic before the Georgia Baptist Convention. I found a little dusty book containing the text tucked away in the NOBTS library. The circulation clerk almost did not let me check out the book. She said that a book of this age ought to be locked up in the rare books room. I know that material has a habit of disappearing in there, never to be seen again; so I’m glad she finally relented and allowed me to use the copy to create an electronic edition.
Mallary introduced his treatment of 1 John 5:21 “Little children keep yourselves from idols.”
OUR text consists of three parts - a precious epithet, an important command, and an emphatic prayer. We have the precious epithet in two words Little children; the important command in four words Keep yourselves from idols; and what we may regard as substantially an emphatic prayer in one word - Amen. Let us dwell somewhat on these three particulars.
He then takes each of these phrases and applies them to the danger of denominational idolatry. For example he exhorts his hearers to follow Christ’s admonition to be like little children:
The Saviour would have us learn from these instructions, that the humble, teachable, guileless, confiding spirit, which we naturally expect to see in little children, should ever characterize his disciples. Pride, and arrogance, and vaulting ambition, may find favor with the foolish aspirants for earthly glory; but the special nobility of Christ’s kingdom are the meek and lowly in heart. As little children should we receive the doctrines and laws of Christ; as little children should we bow to the corrections of Divine Providence; as little children should we meekly seek the gracious guidance, and confide in the faithful promises, of our Heavenly Father. With a gentle, guileless spirit, should we reprove the errors of our brethren. Nothing would do more to heal our present disorders, as a denomination, than a deep, experimental appreciation of the doctrine couched in these two precious words LITTLE CHILDREN.
You can read the full text I’ve placed online here: Denominational Idolatry Reproved.
A couple of months ago I posted the Cathcart Baptist Encyclopedia biographical entry for Charles Dutton Mallary. You can also read C. D. Mallary’s Sermon on the Doctrine of Election from 1843.
I mentioned our Vacation Bible School last week. We had a wonderful time. I love the way Lifeway integrates the fun themes, Bible Study, games, music, crafts, missions videos, and even refreshments all together. We do our commencement exercises on Sunday morning. Its a wonderful opportunity for the kids to invite their families to hear what they learned over the course of the week. They sing their songs, display their crafts, and recite their scripture memory verses. I incorporate the lessons of the week into my sermon and deliver a clear gospel presentation. Our attendance slipped a little this year, but we still had a packed house on Sunday morning.
In the comments of my earlier post, Mingo asked,
So, what did you think of the material? Personally, I thought that having the lesson on “choosing” Jesus as our Lord and Savior before the lesson on “choosing” to believe that God is real did not only wreak of Arminianism, but also went out of logical order.
Well, now that you mention it, I did have some concerns with the material. I debated whether or not I should voice them and almost let them just pass. If I’m not careful, people might start labeling me a trouble maker. Since you brought it up, I’ll go ahead and address the issue.
Mingo, I didn’t have a problem with dealing with “Destination Salvation” before “Destination Belief.” After all, if we equate salvation with regeneration, then the Ramblin” Road Trip’s Ordo Salutis put regeneration before faith - the classic (and correct) reformed position.
I did have to tweak the material a bit for our needs. I did not like the “I can choose… “I can choose… I can choose” stuff. For those who did not see, the material each day had a sub-text that went:
- Monday: I can choose to worship Jesus.
- Tuesday: I can choose to thank Jesus
- Wednesday: I can choose to accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord.
- Thursday: I can choose to believe Jesus is real.
- Friday: I can choose to obey Jesus.
A few weeks before our VBS I mentioned to a friend that I had some reservations about the material this year. He didn’t see the problem, so I explained my main concern in the following email.
The problem I have with this years VBS is that it focuses on human ability to choose rather than focusing on Christ. It focuses on our human ability to choose to worship instead of focusing on the glorious object of our worship, which is Christ. It focuses on our human ability to thank God, instead of focusing on the God who stands worthy to be thanked. It focuses on our human ability to choose to believe, instead of the all sufficient trustworthiness of Christ. It focuses on our human ability to accept Christ rather than focusing on the mercy and grace of Christ who chooses to save unworthy sinners. It focuses on our human ability to obey, rather than focusing on the God who graciously works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure. See the difference? Its a difference in being man-centered and praising human ability, and being God-centered and praising the boundless glorious supremacy of Christ. Do we want kids to come to our VBS to have their spiritual self-esteem boosted, or do we want them to meet and marvel at the magnificence of Christ? I’d rather have them focus on Christ.
Now, with all that said, I’m still using the material. It will only take a few tweaks here and there to change the focus from a man centered “I can choose…” “I can choose…” “I can choose…” “I can choose…” “I can choose…” to a more God centered, Christ exalting focus in the lessons scheduled for each day. It grieves me though that thousands and thousands of Vacation Bible Schools will be held without the shift in focus. Worse yet, just a slight shift in the other direction will lead kids into the heresy of decisional regeneration. Praising human ability to choose and crediting that choice with saving power will only be a small step to take. I pray that God will protect his people from such heresy.
I wrote that a few weeks before our VBS. After doing the Ramblin’ Road Trip last week, I can say that editing the “I can choose” business out of the material proved even easier than I thought. I still stressed the importance of making right choices. The real problem came in on Route 4: “I can choose to believe.” That plainly goes against both scripture and experience. A human can not choose to believe something. They can choose to act on their belief, but they can not and do not choose to believe. No one chooses to believe in Christ. We choose to follow Christ only after he convinces us that he rightly deserves to be followed. Once he gives us a heart to believe, then that heart chooses to obey him.
Despite the one conspicuously problematic phrase, the material actually lent itself to Christ demonstrating his overcoming grace as Jesus took the initiative in showing himself to doubting Thomas. The Ramblin’ Road Trip stopped in Yellowstone National Park on Thursday night and we discussed several hard to believe things, like 400 degree hot springs, Bison weighing up to 2,500 pounds, and geysers that shoot up out of the ground higher than a tall building. Someone said that its hard to believe those things, unless you see them with your own eyes. I told kids that if they had trouble believing in Jesus that God could overcome that unbelief by showing us Jesus, not with our physical eyes (like he did for Thomas), but with freshly opened spiritual eyes of faith. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (John 20:24-28)
Another, much smaller, concern I had when I first saw the material, dealt with focusing so heavily on a commercial venture in the curriculum. On Route 5 we made our way to Knott’s Berry Farm Amusement Park. That seemed a little inappropriate to me. I wonder if Jimmy Draper received a kick-back for all that free advertising. (just kidding Dr. Draper! 
)
Other than a few potholes here and there, the Ramblin’ Road Trip material proved to be very useful and enjoyable. Vacation Bible School highlights our church year. The folks at Lifeway ought to be commended for continuing to produce excellent products that equip churches to carry out the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
With our Ramblin’ Road Trip VBS 2005 just last week, Lifeway unveiled their two new Vacation Bible School themes for 2006 today. The featured material looks exciting as usual.
Trek north to LifeWay’s VBS 2006, Arctic Edge, where daily excursions from Big Bear Lodge will have kids hiking across the tundra, exploring the seascape by kayak, and skimming the backcountry in a float plane. As kids test their limits in the challenges of the vast Arctic wilderness, they will learn that God is always with them and find the courage required to follow Jesus in the everyday challenges of their lives.
The secondary alternative takes a space theme with Club VBS: Space Quest. Didn’t we have a “Space Quest” just a few years ago? I’m going to look into this material. I’m thinking a one night a week for 5 or six weeks thing might work. We do not have a week night children’s program now and no one seems interested in starting a permanent thing, but everyone loves VBS! Perhaps doing something like this during the winter would be fun and a step toward wider involvement. I may wait a few weeks before I spring this idea on my workers. After last week, they need a little time to recuperate.
