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Blogging from CCDA 3
By Jeremy | October 11, 2007
Dr. A.R. Bernard
Partial notes from his plenary and a reception afterwards with Alliance Theological Seminary students “Take up your cross†was a message to Christ’s staff We must deny our own personal ambitions so that people can live. Too many want the crown (the power of resurrection) without the cross (fellowship of suffering) Matthew 5:44-46v. 45: "He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."UNJUST............................ JUST Common grace.................. Saving grace Social Institutions............... Church People.............................. People Taxes (30%-90%)............... Tithes (10%) Social institutions dispense common grace to the people Church dispense saving grace to people Both cases: it’s about the people When there’s corruption in either place, people get robbed But the dichotomy is a false one. The house of God needs to also dispense common grace and uphold God’s standards within social institutions. Without the church involved as salt and light in the social institutions people are robbed of common grace … so why would they accept saving grace? Church’s role is to challenge social institutions and hold them accountable. What we establish needs to become a model for the social institutions. It’s a relationship God established. Church is responsible. Those of us with saving grace need to engage social institutions to insure that common grace is being dispensed there. “The devil is in the details. If you won’t reveal the details then I know whom you’re hiding.†ARB was offered a bribe. For the first time, someone put a dollar amount next to his influence. Turned it down. Moved from endorsement to partnership because integrity isn’t for sale. Jesus didn’t call us to transform individuals. He calls us to transform communities. Taxes are designed to support social institutions just as tithes are designed to support churches. Taxes have been convoluted from 30%-90%, but God’s kept it the same 10% forever. And he doesn’t take it before you get your paycheck. He allows voluntary obedience. Don't be guilty of tithe evasion.
Nyack/ATS reception Q&A
What shall it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his soul – directed to disciples, not the unsaved. Followed the rebuke of Peter for saying JC wasn’t going to die. Satan works hard trying to get us to bypass suffering and experience greatness (tempted Jesus with the same thing in the wilderness, along with the temptation to use the kingdom for personal gain and the temptation to act recklessly). Q: What principles can help us build an effective ministry? A: + Know why you exist. + Craft a statement that communicates clearly to your staff. Tells you what you should be doing, and protects you from what you shouldn’t be doing. + Beyond the grace of God, one key to ARB’s success is: persistence. Don’t give up. + Jesus’ staff wasn’t knowledgeable or influential. But they had tenacity. Persistence is omnipotent. Too many brilliant people quit. Q: How can a lay person exert influence in their community? A: Increase your value. We aren’t paid for our time. We’re paid for our value. ARB went from $1.65/hr in the garment district to $15,000/hr training corporations by being a life long learner. As you learn and grow and are stretched, you increase your value. Q: So many pastors are losing integrity. A: Integrity is a powerful thing. In the political world, it’s not who you know. It’s what you know about whom you know. If there’s nothing to know about you, you have lots of power. There are o many sellouts and negative contracts. If you have integrity, you are predictable; so be extra careful that you don’t get used. Everything Jesus said and did, he was being watched. Q: How do you keep yourself personally accountable? A: Hamilton in Federalist Papers: we are establishing government with people in power. Because people are in power, no matter how great we think democracy is, people are prone to failure. So we cannot build a society on the ideals of men, but on human nature. Christians live in a tension between ideals and realities of humanity. Understanding that, we must build safeguards that protect me from me. I will not meet with a woman alone unless there is a security guard and an open door. Will not go in a public bathroom if a little boy is alone in there. If you do not fear your power, you will abuse it. Satan doesn’t tempt us in our weakness as much as in our strengths. In our strengths, we are most vulnerable. We are assertive and confident and can be tricked. Manage weaknesses and safeguard strengths. Q: How can non-senior staff at small ministries impact communities? A: Walk in humility, and never put yourself on the same plane as those you are serving. Make suggestions, not criticisms or judgments. Ask God to open doors and spaces of influence where you can bring ideas and submit them. Otherwise, consider if that’s where you should be. Q: How can A: Differentiate between structural evils and God-given social institutions. Welfare was designed to trap people in poverty (e.g., if you’re on welfare, you can’t keep a bank account). 40 years post civil rights and the Moynihan Report, ARB participated in a study for Bush administration. His report diagnosed a problem within the black family being matriarchy and men with low self-esteem. The response was social welfare programs that guaranteed equal access, equal opportunity, and self-esteem. This gave rise to affirmative action, even if for those who lack qualifications, which leads to disqualification later.Topics: ar bernard, ccda, grace | 1 Comment »
October 12th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Excellent capture, Jeremy. Thanks. We’re featuring your comments this morning at http://IndyChristian.com .
And we’re tagging all the CCDA liveblogging we can find, at…
http://del.icio.us/indychristian/ccda .