John Douglas Drysdale was such a unique figure in the history of the modern church and something of a maverick. As a young Scottish Preacher, he settled in Birkenhead in the North West of England in 1916. He began to attract the interest of those seeking a more vital Christianity, with his strong views on holiness (he taught the doctrine of Entire Sanctification) and uncompromising approach to Evangelism, it wasn't long before he founded Emmanuel Church in Cloughton Rd and later Emmanuel Bible School, of which he was Principal.
In his book "The Price of Revival," Drysdale wrote, "Don't let us pander to worldlings...Save us from soft sentimental preaching!" His rejection of worldliness was unrelenting and almost an obsession. He condemned "those men who are hunting for all sorts of entertainments... to bring people into the church." His solution? "Tell them their sins until they loathe them, and turn to our adorable Saviour who is able to heal them, and fill them with His own joy and peace."
Yet for all the radical language, there was an incredible gentleness and tender love with Drysdale. He was a lifelong Pacifist, at a time when it was not popular, even for a Christian to be so. His compassion for souls meant that he would often spend hours in prayer, sometimes rolling on the floor as if in agony, crying out to God, "just one soul Lord, just give me one soul!"
In his most famous book, "J.D. Drysdale - Prophet of Holiness," he explained his distaste for what has been called cheap grace: "One lesson impressed upon me in my study of the Gospels, is the fact that Jesus never made converts on the cheap...He always challenged them to count the cost."
Drysdale operated a system in his own church, partly based on John Wesley's "Rules for Societies-Bands," that worked on the basis of church membership.
"It is required of all who desire to unite with us and thus walk in fellowship with us, that they shall show evidence of salvation from their sins by a godly walk and a vital piety; that they shall earnestly desire to be cleansed from all indwelling sin and that they shall evidence this..."
He always valued cleanliness of heart and life, over the size of his congregation.
Drysdale was author and Co-author of a number of publications, such as;
The mention of Drysdale in Christian circles today (unless they are Wesleyan/Holiness circles) is, I imagine, almost none existent. He was not a Wesley, a Spurgeon, or a Lloyd-Jones, and yet in his own time and place, he was the epitome of the faithful shepherd; and in his own small way, he left a legacy of faith and practice that was radical, brave and God honouring.
"And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." 1 Corinthians 12:21 (KJV)
As a Pastor it is sometimes a little embarrassing plugging one's church service and reminding the congregation that "we would really like it if everyone could show their support for..." that special meeting you have been praying over and burning the midnight oil in preparation for. However, being part of a local congregation and finding your role in that gathering of Believers, is an important part of what it means to be a Christian.
The word "church" is the English translation of the Greek word "Ekklesia," meaning "called out ones" or "congregation." It is clear, from this word, that the church is not a building but a body of people - Christ's body.
"So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." Romans 12:5 (KJV)
Some may say that they are part of Christ's body, but they are fine on their own. They have their Bible, prayer-life and are actively serving the Lord and sharing the Gospel. They don't need their congregation! But what if the congregation need you?
Here are 14 reasons by Kenneth Kuykendall why you might not want to miss that next meeting:
•The body of the congregation is incomplete. •Your voice is not heard in the worship and singing of the
saints. •You cannot actively serve others who may need your gifts. •You cannot contribute in the offering. •You do not receive the Word of God in a preaching format. •You miss out on corporate prayer. •You forfeit fellowship with other believers. •You send a message to the youth that missing church is
acceptable. •You make it easier to miss the next week, and then the next. •You become susceptible to apathy and indifference. •You make it harder for others to bear the weight and
burdens of ministry. •You miss opportunities to share your own struggles with the
saints of God. •You cause unnecessary worry for your pastor, teacher,
staff, and leaders. •You miss out on altar invitations, life-changing decisions,
and spiritual experiences.
"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 10:25 (KJV)
So there I was, discussing the judgement of
God with three teenage girls in the centre of Stockport. It was one of those
moments that will stay with me forever. There was nothing overly dramatic, or
unusual about the encounter; God’s judgement of the wicked is something that
comes up again and again with those who seek to justify their sins. The girls
were not excessively hostile, or anti-Christian, in fact their lack of
conviction about anything, was perhaps one of the most disturbing elements of
the whole scenario! It was simply the way in which their response to the matter
was articulated. After I had explained the guilt of sin, the holiness of God and the
righteous justice of the Judge of all mankind, one of the girls responded with, “but judging
people is like not nice. It’s like not fair!”
Peter Hitchens, brother of
the late Christopher, once quipped, “Hell was abolished around the same time
that abortion was legalized and the death penalty done away with!” The idea of
eternal punishment was so beyond the mind-set of this teenage trio, who were the
products of systematic secularization and Humanistic grooming, that all they
could do was cry, “That’s not fair!"
We live in a largely secular society; a society that seems to worship the intellectual elite. Why then is it, that so many cannot express their thoughts intelligently, or apply any kind of robust argumentation, or engagement with the Christian faith, other than “it’s not fair!”
When it comes to fairness, it is significant how this society, and particularly the present government, have redefined that word.Many of those who are calling for fairness and tolerance have actually become the least tolerant members of our society. They have in fact become the heralds of a new politically-correct dawn; one that author Jonah Goldberg rightly defined as “Liberal Fascism.”
Liberal Fascism
National Secular Society
In 2011 a legal challenge
from the National Secular Society was brought against Bideford Town Council for
saying prayers in meetings.
After conducting an
investigation, the Mail on Sunday found that more than a fifth of councils
still have a Bible reading or a prayer at the start of meetings. Communities
Secretary Eric Pickles has also reaffirmed the freedom for town hall officials
to say formal prayers.
The newspaper’s Freedom of
Information Act request found that 59 out of 271 councils, 22 per cent, have a
prayer or reading in their meetings.
Mr Pickles warned: “It’s
clear that some politically correct town hall officials are still trying to
marginalise faith and impose an illiberal and intolerant secularism.”
Scottish Secular Society
A secularist pressure group
has targeted every school in Scotland demanding to know about their chaplaincy
services.
The Scottish Secular
Society (SSS) wrote a letter in September asking 24 questions, including
whether material disagreeing with homosexuality had been distributed in the
school.
But The Christian Institute
urged schools not to be intimidated by the ‘hostile’ Freedom of Information
(FOI) request, and reminded schools that it IS lawful for them to invite in
religious groups.
Colin Hart, the charity’s
director, said, “we want to reassure you that schools are fully within their
rights to invite chaplains and representatives of faith groups or religious
organisations to conduct activities on their premises."
Mr Hart also said: “The FOI
request is wide in scope and shows the SSS’s hostility towards any lawful
manifestation of religious and moral belief within Scottish schools.”
Girl Guides
In September 2013, Girl guiding UK officially introduced a new Humanist oath, replacing “to love my God” with “to be true to myself and develop my beliefs”. In Northern Ireland the new politically correct ousting of God has come in for some criticism.
The vast majority of Girl guide groups in Northern Ireland meet in Church buildings.
The Methodist, Presbyterian and Church of Ireland denominations have joined together to voice their “deep concern” about the move.
An online petition urging Girl guiding Ulster to reinstate the old promise, and make an atheist pledge optional, has already been signed by more than 1000 people.
Dr Alan Clifford
Homophobia
Dr Alan Clifford, the
Pastor of a Reformed Christian church in Norwich, sent two gospel tracts by
email, one entitled ‘Christ Can Cure – Good News for Gays’; and the other
‘Jesus Christ – the Saviour we all need’ to his local LGBT Project, Norwich
Pride. Instead of responding via email, or simply deleting the tracts, they
phoned the police.
The police arrived and
graciously offered Pastor Clifford the option of an on-the-spot fine of £90,
which he politely refused.
The officers asked if he
was aware that he’d actually committed a homophobic offence as defined by the
official police leaflet which the officer then produced. The leaflet defined
such an offence as ‘any incident which is perceived to be homophobic by the
victim or any other person’.
As
Adrian Hilton of the Daily Mail put it, “Dr Clifford patiently refuted the
accusation, by explaining pedantically (as a doctor of theology might) that the
meaning of ‘homophobia’ stems from the Greek ‘phobia’, meaning ‘fear’, and does
not embrace hatred. Whilst acknowledging the changing vernacular usage, he
explained: ‘I certainly fear the influence of homosexuality on society, but
this should not be regarded as “hatred” unless criticism is taken to mean
“hatred”.
The subtitle of the tract
was ‘A Compassionate call to Christian Conversion.’ Dr Clifford asked: ‘Is that
hatred? We don’t hate these people. We love them and want to help them. So,
even though the gay-pride people are upset, we are guilty of no crime.’”
In a society that is as
wide and diverse as the United Kingdom, one wonders, why there is no room for
those who hold to traditional religious beliefs? Nick Clegg recently became
embroiled in a row over a pro-gay marriage speech, after aides had to remove
comments in the draft version calling opponents "bigots". Why is tolerance extended only to those who
hold secular, atheistic, humanistic, pro-Homosexual and irreligious worldviews?
Why are convictions, which we might describe as “liberal,” NOT open to intelligent
debate and critique? Christian beliefs are not only criticized, but openly
lambasted, parodied and blasphemed; and that with very little fear of
prosecution; is that “fair?”
The word of God delivers
the following warning:
”Woe unto them that call
evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)
We can rest in this, that whilst men often act
biasedly, politically, manipulatively and indeed wickedly; at least“God is no respecter of persons.” Now that’s
fair!
For more information on the influence of hostile Secularism, please watch the following video.
It was a real blessing for me this month to ordain our brother Matthew
Purves as an Elder of Stockport Evangelical Church. Matthew has worked
faithfully “behind the scenes” as it were in encouraging and ministering to
others and is well known for his grasp of the word, Apologetics and Biblical Theology.
Matthew already has a successful internet presence, through his YouTube channel “Truth4JWs” and is himself an Ex-JW Elder, spending six years at Bethel, the Watchtower’s UK Headquarters. After serious concerns, leading to disillusionment with the organisation, he began to earnestly seek God for an answer and found truth, grace and liberty in Jesus Christ.
In most Protestant churches, ordination to Eldership is the rite by
which churches:
recognise and confirm that an individual has been called by to a
Leadership position,
acknowledges that the individual has gone through a period of
discernment, prayer and preparation related to this call, and
authorizes that individual to take on the role of Elder.
In this church, whilst we are an autonomous, independent fellowship, we
recognize the need for spiritual, practical and effective leadership based on
Biblical principles. Elders should able to teach, refute error, be of good
reputation and lead their households well. This necessarily involves gifting,
spiritual maturity, an understanding of God’s word and an adherence to sound
doctrine. The use of the word “Elder,” can be seen in the two following
verses:
“ The
elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ...” 1 Peter 5:1 (KJV) Peter here applying the word "elder"
to Apostles.
“… ordain
elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:” Titus 1:5 (KJV) The Apostle
Paul commanding the ordination of elders.
Matthew’s role as Elder will be to assist me in teaching, serving and
generally caring for the spiritual needs of the congregation. The position of
Elder is a position of authority within the church and is exceeded only by that
of the Minister, who is in effect the senior Elder. (See Acts 12:17, Acts
15:13-19)
“But what think ye? A certain man had two
sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.He
answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.And
he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir:
and went not.” (Matthew 21:28-30)
As I was handing out gospel leaflets in the town centre, a
young couple came toward me. The young man, whose girlfriend was pushing a
small child in a buggy, was in his late teens, or early twenties. He said he
had a question. The couple recently started attending a local church, a plant
by the Church of England, which had presented itself as highly contemporary,
emergent in style and anything but traditional. I asked the young man what the
question was. He looked up at me with a pained expression and said, “I just
want to know how to get rid of my sins.” Flabbergasted, I asked if he had not
enquired of other members of the congregation, not least the Minister! He
replied that he had and they “didn’t seem to know.”
About a year or so later I met another young man who
attended the same church. The church had grown and was very active in the
community, running a local drop-in centre, parenting courses, toddler group,
free-cycle, gardening, litter picking, garage sorting and car washing. The
young man said it was a fantastic, growing church and I really ought to join
them! So I asked if they preached the gospel. He thought for a moment and said
that they hadn’t got round to that yet. When I asked why not, his reply was
priceless, “we’ve been a bit busy!”
We live in an age where churches are doing their best to at
least appear busy. In the summer months it’s face painting and Fun Days and as
the cold weather draws in, churches are ploughing their funds into suave and cosmopolitan
style cafes. Now I enjoy a Decaf Mocha and a cherry scone as much as the next
man, so I saw no harm in checking them out. It was a nice enough experience and
I guess church hospitality has moved on a bit from stewed tea and stale
Battenberg,
yet there was something that left an unpleasant taste in my mouth;
where was the gospel? The staff were
polite, fairly friendly, efficient and yet nobody had talked to me about Jesus,
no one. I scoured the walls for Scriptures: There were none. There were also no
tracts on the tables, no free Bibles to peruse. The customers were eating and
drinking; they were coming and going; and yet not a whiff of the gospel. What
was the reason? Perhaps they also were “a bit busy?
As the waitress approached me, I recognised her as someone who used to go to the same church as me. As we reminisced, I asked her the question, “do you get
much of an opportunity to witness to people here?” She leaned in and looked
cautiously around her, “actually,” she whispered, “we are not allowed to
witness, in case it puts the customers off!”
One wonders how many churches are too busy to preach the gospel.
How many are fearful that it might put their “customers” off? How many could
even tell a lost sinner how to get rid of his/her sins? Is the Evangelical
church really in such a lamentable state as this?
As a Pastor I don’t get much of an opportunity to hear
preaching in the flesh (no pun intended!) but the last time I heard it, I got a
double whammy! Two evangelical Pastors delivered messages that I would describe
as a string of jokes wrapped around a couple of Bible verses. I was not
expecting a lot, I just didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was; and it was
truly awful! The laziness of the preparation was surpassed only by the
inappropriateness of the illustrations, one of which bordered on suggestiveness.
I could not even say that the jokes were funny! Neither Pastor mentioned the
Gospel nor do I remember hearing the name Jesus more than once or twice. Why
has the gospel been so forgotten? Jesus said:
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15-16)
As Christians should we not be giving precedence to the
commandment of Christ? Is the great commission not something that we should
make room for, however busy we find ourselves? Jesus said:
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not
pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
The evangelical church is in danger of letting Christ’s
words pass them by, not because they are denied access to them, but because “doing
church” has been transformed into cracking jokes and cleaning coffee filters!
When every car has been washed and every garden has been
tidied; when congregations have been regaled with enough amusing anecdotes to
tickle their “uncircumcised… heart and ears;” when the last coffee cup has been
put away and the floor swept clean, what a needless tragedy it will be, if the
cry goes up:
“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not
saved. “ (Jeremiah 8:20)
As the Watchtower (JWs) Bible and Tract Society produced
their revised edition of the New World Translation of the Scriptures, many
Christian cult-watchers were horrified to discover that the first eleven
verses of John 8 had been completely removed. There have been cries of “who
do they think they are!” and “Haven’t they read Revelation 22:19?” However,
after some research, I have found that modern translations like the NIV, the
NLT use a footnote comment which also suggests that these verses are in doubt!
The footnotes claim that “the earliest manuscripts do not have these verses.”
The Watchtower translators, who praise Wescott and Hort in
their Bible’s preface, have long worshipped at the shrine of Higher Criticism
disguised as Theological Academia. Their deliberate rejection of the King James
Bible for a translation that deliberately undermines the Deity of Christ, has
caused many NT scholars like to pour scorn on them; and yet…
What objection can Christians who extol the virtues of
modern Bibles really have? How often we are condescendingly lectured on the
value of early manuscripts and textual criticism. Haven’t the Watchtower just
been more honest in their translation? Haven’t they just sided more fully with
the “experts” who tell us that these verses might not be the word of God? Whilst
it is a very disturbing to see verses that you and I have believed, prayed
about and trusted in, suddenly erased from the Bible. This is nothing new. Dr Jack Moorman, author, Pastor and KJV
defender said the following:
“Would it make
a difference if you knew that the New Testament of your Modern Bible did
not have First and Second Peter? Yet if the total number of missing words
were added up this is how much shorter the modern translations are than
the King James Version. Is it a cause for concern if in over 175 instances
the names of Christ are missing, or if the word “hell” is not found in the
Old Testament, or if key doctrinal passages have been diminished? And, the
biggest shock of all! Is it possible that the most basic and blatant of
all early heresies concerning the Person of Christ has been given a new
lease on life in the modern Bibles? …”
“Many have gone over to the new Bibles without realising that much more
is involved than the question of modern English. The entire fabric has
been affected! The underlying text is substantially different. The
philosophy and methodology of the translators is in marked contrast to that of
the Authorised Version. The English of the new versions is assumed at first
to be easier, but whether it is actually more readable, authoritative, and
conducive to meditation, study, and memorization is another matter.” (The
Old Heresy Revived-
Dr Jack Moorman.)
As you read your “Study” Bible notes that tell you 1 John
5:7 is “a later addition,” and “we must be cautious about building doctrine on
the last twelve verses of Mark,” as they may not be inspired. Ask yourself, who
is writing the notes? What does he or she believe? Are they even born again?
How much do you actually know about them, and yet you are prepared to ditch
twelve verses from God’s word on their say so!
As Christians we must rightly condemn the removal of
passages from the Bible, yet we must be careful that we do not become hypocrites
by endorsing translations that do exactly that!
