How to Prepare the Church to Deal with Future Crisis
Do not allow them to build a following that exalts the odd.
Every institution will go through difficulties sooner or later. Building structures for handling these problems is helpful at this stage, and they would not be limited to but at least must include:
a) Forming strong bonds among leaders. Invest in them with encouragement and lots of good food and drink. Most institutions are not broken from the bottom but from the top.
b) Emphasize unity with fervency. Make it central to the church’s life, but don’t water down unity to a bare minimum. Build unity on the essentials primarily and the distinctives of the flock secondarily.
c) Locate the strong men in the church and give them assignments that will equip them for future diaconal or eldership calling. Preparing future officers is an absolute necessity for bringing coherence to the life of the body.
d) Meet with those wishing to make tertiary issues into primary, even if you find those issues appealing. Do not allow them to build a following that exalts the odd. Warn them of the social and ecclesial consequences of fracturing the body. These individuals need to be shepherded into catholicity, not away from it.
e) Sing together a lot. At church. At home. At gatherings. A church that sings together stays together. Every institution needs its songs of lament in times of trial. We sing them now in times of peace to be tuned for times of grief and division.
Brief California Reflections
It’s been a full week for me in Santa Clarita and in the stunning Ojai Mountains. Seeing the CREC expressed all over the country and in various parts of the world is an experience I will never forget.
While I traveled quite a bit before my election as PMoC in 2023, I have undoubtedly doubled my traveling since then. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience for me and my family who joined me for most of those journeys. While you accumulate some flying perks along the way, the trips have become more and more difficult as I get older. Nonetheless, it has been an honor to form new friendships everywhere and teach and preach the Word of God and emphasize the importance of our disticntives as a denomination.
My week in California was splendid. Early-morning walks in the 60s gave me a taste of glory. Long conversations and witnessing the Gospel being passed down to future generations were also an enthusiastic part of being a participant and an observer.The saints here, led by Andrew Richardson and his associate Aaron Fudge, are hospitable and embody the kind of CREC ethos that leaves you full in body and soul.
The last time I was here was in 2021, and the climate and culture of Los Angeles were much more oppressive then. It was COVID-hysteria x 100 in the Newsom reign. While some things don’t change and the political channels continue to be polluted by an endless perversion, no place on earth matches the splendor of California's weather. It’s mid-July, and there was dancing, eating, and playing—all of it outside with the delicious breeze. It felt repetitive to note the pleasantness of the weather, but I did so several times, with “thanks be to God” ringing on each occasion.
I have uttered on numerous occasions how I wished I had something like a Summer Sanctus in my early teens. While God preserved me during my teen years, I know that I could have benefited much more from the joyful psalmnody of the church. I could have gained much from the solid Reformational heritage, and so on. Yet, I recognize that the story written for me was one where I prepared the way for my offspring to absorb these things deep in their souls. As for me, I had to undergo theological maturation through reading, writing, and deep reflection on a host of issues. I had to be undone so that my children could be beneficiaries of all these things. I don’t look back with regret. God was writing the perfect story.