The Weekly Epistle 4/13/22

Here are some actual written absence excuses from parents:
  “Please excuse my daughter from gym class.  Yesterday she fell out of a tree and misplaced her hip.” 
  “Please excuse Sara for being absent.  She was sick and I had her shot.”
  “Please excuse Ray from school.  He has very loose vowels.”  
  “Jennifer missed school yesterday for a good reason.  We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch and when we found it on Monday, we thought it was Sunday.”
  
Probably my favorite one is “Chris will not be in school today because he has an acre in his side.”  Wow!  You talk about growing pains.  
 
Speaking of growing pains, my mind goes to the early church as recorded for us in the Book of Acts.  In Acts 2:41 it says, “So those who received his word (Peter’s message at Pentecost) were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand people.”  Talk about sudden church growth.  In Acts 4:4 it says, “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of men (in addition to women) came to about five thousand.”  
 
This feels overwhelming to me when I think about pastoral care, feeding the flock, remembering people’s names, coordinating the calendar of events, and the administration needed to manage this growth.  But of course, I am thinking of that from a 21^st century American mindset.  And before we get too carried away wishing to be just like the early church, remember Acts 6, where it is obvious that meeting the needs of thousands of people got a little messy.  
 
I mention this because of what is conspicuously absent in this description of the early church in the Book of Acts.  We are not given detailed instructions on how to organize the local church.  Other than some leadership structure of elders and deacons and the priorities of maturing the saints and reaching the lost, there are very few particulars.  
 
This is one reason for various denominations, different styles of worship, many options for programs and varieties of strategies that direct the church towards its mission.  There is much flexibility in the New Testament for how a church organizes and carries out the work of maturing the saints and reaching the lost. 
 
I have been preaching through the essentials of the faith.  These are must-haves.  There is to be no compromising in our beliefs.  Neither are we to compromise the clear directives on how we are to conduct ourselves in the church and in living out the gospel day-to-day.  We are not to, in any way, conform to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:1-2).  
 
Church, as the world changes around us, causing us to groan, rest assured that my commitment, along with the team of elders, is to submit to the authority of God’s Word and to Jesus Christ, who is the chief shepherd.  I am excited about what is to come for EBC.  I am thrilled about the many new faces attending our services each Sunday.  My heart rejoices in hearing of growing pains taking place in your lives.  
 
I hope to see you tonight for prayer from 7:00-7:30 in the sanctuary and at this Friday night’s Seder Service as we remember Jesus’ last Passover with His disciples.  
 
Blessings to you, Pastor Brian