One Pastor's Perspective

Yesterday in worship I shared the membership covenant written by early members of Ebenezer Baptist Church and adopted by the church on January 4, 1823.  Thought I would share it a and a rough modernization of it this morning:

ARTICLE IV – Church Covenant – Adopted by Ebenezer Baptist Church, January 4, 1823.

“…we do solemnly covenant and agree:”

“First, that we will take the only living and true God in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – to be our God.

In MODERN ENGLISH:  When we refer to God … and the Trinity … We are talking about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  And we worship Him and Him ALONE.

“Secondly, we unreservedly and solemnly give up ourselves, both soul and body, and all we possess, to Almighty God to be ordered, directed, and disposed of by him, according to the counsel of his holy will.  And this we do in an humble dependence on the grace of the Holy Spirit, to aid and support us in these sacred engagements.

We will give up OURSELVES … EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE AND HAVE … TO BE COMPLETELY CONTROLLED AND DIRECTED BY GOD.  AND WE DEPEND ON THE HOLY SPIRIT TO GUIDE US AND SHOW US.

“Thirdly, we take the scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be our rule of faith and practice, both in the great concerns of religion and the general affairs of life; and particularly for transacting the business of the church.

We believe God’s Word to be our standard of living, both in spiritual matters AND in LIFE and especially when doing the business of the church.

“Fourthly, we promise to maintain communion and fellowship with each other in the public worship of God, according to the various ordinances of the gospel; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but embracing all regular, convenient seasons for this purpose, as the providence of God shall permit.  And that we will exercise Christian forbearance and love, one toward another: praying for, and sympathizing with each order, in the various circumstances of life, and using every laudable endeavor to provoke to love and good works.

We PROMISE that we will WORSHIP TOGETHER as much as God permits us. We will have communion with God and fellowship with each other.  And we will love each other, pray for each other, sympathize with each other, and everything we do will promote LOVE and GOOD WORKS.

“Fifthly, we promise individually, to pay a respectful regard to the advice and admonitions of the church, and to be subject to its discipline as directed by the word of God, and conducted in the Spirit of the gospel.

We will pay respect to the advice and guidance of the church, and will be subject to BIBLICAL DISCIPLINE as the church sees fit.

“Sixthly, we promise to contribute in a reasonable manner, according to our ability, for the support of public worship and the relief of the poor in the church and to use our influence to forward and promote the interest of the Redeemer’s kingdom in the world; that we will be careful to conduct ourselves with uprightness and integrity and in a peaceful and friendly manner toward mankind in general and toward serious Christians of all descriptions, in particular; that we will also pay a conscientious regard to civil government, and give it our support, as an ordinance of God.

We promise to TITHE, to GIVE to efforts of the church, to be people of INTEGRITY, and we will be INVOLVED and SUPPORT civil government, an establishment of God.  And we will work to use our influence to advance the Kingdom of God in this world! 

And this covenant we make, with the free and full consent of our souls, hoping through rich, free and boundless grace we shall therein be accepted of God, unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and majesty, power and dominion, everlasting.  Amen.”

A lot of folks have asked what our next few steps will be at EBC.  What do we do now??  Today, we are a church without a student minister…  Where do we go from here?

The process is already at work.  We are receiving resumes from several different sources in the next few weeks.  Personnel will soon begin to review these and pray.  This is the process through which we found Justin (and every youth minister we’ve had) and it is very much a trust and pray process!  I’ve told several folks, “We need to be asking God now who He wants for this position.  NOT telling Him who we want!!”  So IMMEDIATELY you can begin to pray!!

As for day-to-day operations of our Student Ministry, we are thankful that Paige Self will be available to help us for a few months, continuing in her role as Student Ministry Intern.  Between her, Hunter Gregg, Ed Self, Pam Gaddy, me, and our Youth Council and Youth SS Teachers, Student Ministry at EBC WILL CONTINUE!!  Our plan is that we will not miss a beat!!

What does the Crash need from YOU??  PRAY.  Please pray and STAY PLUGGED IN!!  I’ve been asked on a couple of occasions “What if the Crash falls apart??”  The answer to that is this:  “It WON’T as long as YOU don’t allow it to!!!”

Yes, today will be a day like none we’ve seen at Ebenezer in quite a while.  Today is the last day of J. Frank McAlpin’s employment at Ebenezer Baptist Church.  (J Frank is his evangelist name … We know him as Justin)

Today will be a sad day at EBC and a happy day.  There are many reasons for sadness and tears, and there are many reasons to be happy about this.  I personally am sad because I love Justin like he is my little brother and have spent every week with him for the past seven and a half years.  For me, it’s not that he has done an EXCELLENT JOB as student minister and as a support for me … And you guys will never know what a support he has been for me … But, it’s more the fact that he IS family.  Period.  We on staff have had an unbelievable run of good relationships and working together, and that is a testament to our staff.  Justin has been a big part of that.  We all consider him as family, and we will all be a little sad.

We KNOW God has a plan in this, a plan to prosper ALL OF US and NOT TO HARM US.  He has a plan for Justin, He has a plan for Westmeade, and yes, He has a plan for Ebenezer.  That is a reason TO BE HAPPY!!  We’ve been blessed at Ebenezer when you consider we have long tenures in ALL of our ministerial positions.  The average tenure of a full-time Southern Baptist minister is 18 MONTHS.  ANOTHER REASON TO BE HAPPY!!  If Justin refused to answer a call of God in His life, it would negate everything for which he stands.  I am thankful he is willing to be obedient, even if it is tough.  ANOTHER REASON TO BE HAPPY!!

I could go on and on, but you get the picture.  And the good things FAR OUTWEIGH the bad.  So, there will be tears.  But there is also great reason to praise God!  And, He inhabits the praise of His people!!  THAT IS WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO TODAY!!

JMac … I love you, bud!!  And I refuse to accept the fact that you are anything less than a missionary, sent by Ebenezer to Alabama!!!!!

Yes, it has started.  Justin resigned last Wednesday because God is calling him to a church in Alabama.  The mourning process has begun.  And so have the rumors!!

I’ve already heard too many rumors.  NONE of them even come close to the truth!!  The truth is what he shared with our youth:  God is calling him, and he must obey!!  END OF STORY!!  No controversy.  No anger or disappointment with our youth OR with our church. But that hasn’t stopped those who are watching from the outside from starting rumors.  (I even heard a detailed rumor of how I am planning to leave EBC when my son graduates WFHS in May!!  Again, NOTHING COULD BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH!)

It is human nature to make up answers when we do not have them and are too lazy to seek the truth.  A very dangerous part of human nature.  A part of human nature that Satan LOVES to exploit.  If he can use anything in this to cause division at Ebenezer Baptist Church, he will do it and do it with glee!!

Ironically, no one realizes this is hard for Justin, too.  He is mourning as much as we are, because we have been a loving family to him for over 7 1/2 years.  He will miss us as much as we miss him.  But God is calling him.  And we WANT him to be the kind of man that would answer that call.

So, if questions still remain, do yourself and our church a favor and ask Justin!!  He will tell you the truth!!

The call of God is an awesome call, and one to be obeyed.  If we’ve really accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit, we never really know when and/or where the call will come.  And we do not know where the call will take us.  We just know we will never be happy and at peace with God until we obey!!  If you don’t believe that, take a couple of minutes and read the Old Testament book of Jonah!!

This morning, we Ebenezerites strike into somewhat unfamiliar territory.  We mourn because Justin and Amanda and their family, whom we DEARLY LOVE, feel called to another church, where Justin will serve in a similar capacity as a Minister to Students.  Where many of our Baptist brothers and sisters have walked this territory, we have never seen a Student Minister called away to another church.  The first full-time youth minister was a guy named Ed Self.  I think he still works here.  The next one was me.  It is rumored that I still work at Ebenezer, too!  Sidney Rainwater helped out for a while and left to become a secret agent for the SC DNR.  Wes Andrews left us to pour himself full-time into his coffee shop, so he was still here and still around.  And then we called Justin.  Seven and a half years ago.

When Justin told me about this, I tried everything I could to talk him out of it.  But he convinced me this is a God-thing, and I know when God calls I CANNOT get in His way.  But I still mourned.  And we as a church will do mourn.  But that is okay!!  Our mourning will soon turn to blessings for Justin and Amanda and their kids, and then into praying for the next person God has to lead this awesome ministry!!

As for now, pray for our church.  Pray specifically for our youth and youth leaders.  Pray for Justin and his new ministry.  And pray for that one God has already chosen for us!!  And don’t worry … God is in control.  He has got this!!  Let Him do His job!