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Family Integration Explained
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Heartland Confession (Doctrinal Statement)
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Article One — Scripture is Sufficient
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Article Two — God Created Church and Family
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Article Three — Satan is a Deceiver
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Article Four — Church’s Head is Christ
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Article Five — Church’s Leadership and Ministry
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Article Six — The Church is a Family of Believers that Includes Families
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Article Seven — Family is a Building Block
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Article Eight — Church and Family Mission is Generational
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Article Nine — Church and Family Method is Relationships
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Article Ten — Church and Family Ministry Occurs in Everyday Life
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Article Eleven — The Church Reflects Age and Family Integration
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Article Twelve — Families May be Divided by the Gospel
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Article Thirteen — Church is Eternal While the Family is Temporal
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Article Fourteen — Church/Family are Complementary in Role and Function
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Article Fifteen — God Requires Examination
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Article Sixteen — Judgment Begins With the Church
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Article Seventeen — God
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Article Eighteen — Jesus Christ
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Article Nineteen — Holy Spirit
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Article Twenty — Word of God
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Article Twenty One — Man
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Article Twenty Two — Salvation
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Article Twenty Three — Resurrection
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Article Twenty Four — Heaven, Hell, and Return of Christ
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Article Twenty Five — Church
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Article Twenty Six — Missions
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Article Twenty Seven — Para-Church Organizations
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Article Twenty Eight — Women in Leadership
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Thirteen Conclusive Proclamations
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Biblical Eldership
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Feeding the Flock
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Hard Work and Sacrifice
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About The Pastor
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Directions and Contact
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What is a family integrated church and why is it such a popular idea today? If you have read the Heartland Confession, you have learned most of what we believe about the importance of not separating the family at the front door of the local church. The bottom line is our fellowship involves the entire family in all levels of worship and activities sponsored by the Body of Christ. When it comes to the importance of family education, one of our favorite Bible teachers says it as clear as one probably can: "If Psalm 1 is to be believed, we must not allow our children to stand, sit or walk with those who deny biblical truth and morality. Instead, we must place them in situations that will aid them in meditating on the law of the Lord 'day and night.' Surely this involves how and where they are to be educated." — Voddie T. Baucham Jr.
Very few local churches would be able to sign on to a Family Integrated Confession of Faith, let alone keep
the family together during the time of worship. Our goal and vision is not to be viewed as a church that includes the entire family, we would rather be known for preaching the Truth and nothing but the Truth - to the complete family unite. It is our passion to integrate knowing Jesus Christ, loving & preaching His Word, being devoted to Biblical doctrines, fellowship with the full Body of Christ and prayer. We desire to be known for loving people, with a special emphasis on widows, orphans and the lowly. We are intent on reaching the hearts and minds of individuals who have been rejected by society - the lowly. We also want to grow individual families, with a special equipping emphasis on patriarchs and heads of home. Our women train other women and our children are released to minister as God decides to use them. Our singles are taught to embrace contentment & competence in Christ, while preparing for a possible marriage here on earth. Every single person is counted as an individual family unit and is never separated for "specialize" training or support. We do not make use of traditional church type programs but we will offer training and equipping classes, which children 10 years of age and older are strongly encouraged to attend. Our fellowship places the full responsibility on the parents to teach and discipline their children for meaningful and valued worship. Children learn to respect God, patriarchs, heads of home, mothers, siblings and others by partaking in the worship service with the full body of Christ. We believe the next generation of church leaders are birthed through the present age of worship and without having a family integrated experience, the next generation will define their own version of church
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Introduction In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe that the church and the family are holy institutions, ordained and established by the Sovereign Triune God Who created the heavens and the earth. God’s infallible revelation, the Bible, reveals that the family is an integral part of the unfolding of His eternal purpose for the redemption of sinners. This great and gracious salvation—purposed by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit—is in great measure passed on to succeeding generations as parents faithfully disciple the children God gives them. Therefore, the biblical order and unity of the family are crucial to the stability and health of the Church of Jesus Christ. In light of this, we recognize that the family—and especially fathers—are the focus of a fierce and unrelenting attack by the world, the flesh, and the Devil. This has escalated to the point that Indwelt must rise up in defense of the church and family in uncompromising biblical defense. Rather than helping in this battle, church leadership has sometimes unwittingly contributed to the problem. Despite the good intentions of many of these leaders, they bear a level of responsibility for the vulnerability of the family in the face of its enemies. Lack of understanding and even unfaithfulness to God’s Word in our pulpits have contributed to the decline of biblical Christianity and the dissolution of the family in our churches. The minimizing of scriptural authority in the church leads to unbiblical practices. This in turn leads to the perversion of the biblical roles of men and women, the destruction of our children, and the collapse of our society. Traditions, which have originated in the minds of devils and fallen men, are counterfeits to God’s authority. False doctrines derived from Darwinism, Marxism, Feminism, Secular Humanism, Psychology, and countless other unbiblical sources, have emerged from a society that has discarded Divine Revelation and have contaminated or replaced God’s standards in many professing churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the bitter fruits of this is the fragmentation of the family. We believe that the only resolution to this problem is repentance and reformation. We must confess our failures, reject the traditions of men, and wholeheartedly return to God’s revelation for the establishment and nurture of the family in loving obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. Our fervent prayer is that our God will raise up Spirit-filled, Christ-centered, family-integrated assemblies from the ashes of our man-centered, family fragmenting churches.
Article One — Scripture is Sufficient We affirm that our all-wise God has revealed Himself and His will in a completed revelation—the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments—which is fully adequate in both content and clarity for “everything pertaining to life (salvation) and godliness (sanctification)” including the ordering of the church and the family (2 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 Tim 3:15; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). We deny that God’s people should treat His Word as inadequate for church and family life by supplementing His completed revelation with principles from humanistic psychology, corporate business models, and modern
marketing techniques.
Article Two — God Created Church and Family We affirm that Almighty God is the sovereign Creator and Preserver of His people and all the institutions that bring blessing to mankind—including the church and the family—and is thus deserving of our highest honor and humble obedience (Col. 1:16-17). We deny that we, being mere creatures, have a right to refashion the church and family according to our vain imaginations by altering God’s prescribed government, worship, gender-based roles, or any other normative patterns revealed in Scripture.
Article Three — Satan is a Deceiver We affirm the warning of Holy Scripture that Satan, the father of lies and deceiver of the brethren, has used his subtle trickery from the beginning to question God’s Word: “Yea, Hath God said...?” (Gen. 3:1). We deny that the children of God should embrace and employ the philosophies, goals, and methods of this fallen world in our churches and families, and thus succumb to the Adversary’s deception.
Article Four — Church’s Head is Christ We affirm our Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of His church, having purchased it with His own blood and having instructed it through His Word in order to make known the manifold wisdom of God and bring glory to Himself (Col. 1:18). We deny/reject the self-importance and pride of man to usurp Christ’s headship of His church by introducing man made programs and rules that disregard the Law of Christ.
Article Five — Church’s Leadership and Ministry We affirm God’s revealed pattern in Scripture that the church be led and fed by a plurality of biblically qualified elders whom the Holy Spirit raises up from within the local church, who equip all the saints to do the work of ministry, and who may or may not be remunerated (Acts 14:23; 20:28; Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Tim. 5:17-18). We deny/reject the two unbiblical extremes of our day: authoritarian, one-man leadership/one-man ministry that impedes the biblical functioning of the body, and leaderless house churches that disregard the biblical necessity of elders.
Article Six — The Church is a Family of Believers that Includes Families We affirm that local churches are spiritual households that include individual family units which are separate and distinct jurisdictions that should be cared for and strengthened to fulfill their God ordained roles, not only as individuals but also as families (1 Tim. 3:15, Ephesians 5:22-33, Ephesians 6:1-4). We deny/reject the current trend in churches that ignores the family unit, is blind to strengthening it, systematically fragments it and does not actively work to equip her members to be faithful family members.
Article Seven — Family is a Building Block We affirm that the biblical family is a scripturally ordered household of parents, children, and sometimes others (such as singles, widows, divorcees, or grandparents), forming the God-ordained building blocks of the 8
church (2 Tim. 4:19). We deny/reject the modern trend embraced by many churches to undermine the purpose and government of both family and church, by substituting family-fragmenting, age-segregated, peer-oriented, youth driven, and special-interest programs, which may prevent rather than promote family unity, church unity and intergenerational relationships.
Article Eight — Church and Family Mission is Generational We affirm that God intends both church and family to carry out evangelism and discipleship through multiple generations, “so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God to keep all His statutes and His commandments” (Deut. 6:2; Lk.1:50). We deny/reject those contemporary “seeker-sensitive,” individualistic philosophies which ignore the transgenerational mission of church and family and therefore fail to “equip the saints” for the next generations.
Article Nine — Church and Family Method is Relationships We affirm that all the saints of God are to be equipped for spiritual ministry and maturity through the preaching of the Word of God by qualified shepherds and the body building itself up in love and that children are also equipped primarily through family-based, one-on-one, father-directed, heart-level discipleship relationships (Ephesians 4:16;1Tim. 3:4-5). We deny/reject the popular church system that has replaced heart-level relationships with activity-based programs which often have supplanted father involvement with clergy usurpation.
Article Ten — Church and Family Ministry Occurs in Everyday Life We affirm that the church’s relationships are nurtured primarily through daily discipleship in everyday life, especially fathers and mothers training their families to fulfill the great commission, living out the gospel in ministry to the saints and witness to the lost (Matt.. 28:19-20; Eph. 5:21-6:4). We deny/reject the emphasis on familyfragmenting, facility-based programs which disregard the Church as a people in community and which displace family outreach.
Article Eleven — The Church Reflects Age and Family Integration We affirm that there is no scriptural pattern for comprehensive age segregated discipleship, and that age segregated practices are based on unbiblical, evolutionary and secular thinking which have invaded the church (Deut. 16:9-14; Josh. 8:34-35; Ezra 10:1; 2 Chr.20:13; Nehemiah 12:43; Joel 2:15-16; Luke 12:42-47; Col 4:14; Acts 20:7; Eph. 6:1-4).
We deny/reject that corporate worship, discipleship and evangelism should be systematically segregated by age, and that it has been an effective method for making disciples.
Article Twelve — Families May be Divided by the Gospel We affirm that the gospel may divide families because the gospel can “set a man at variance against his father” and that “He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” and that our duty is to obey God rather than man (Matt. 10:35-37; Acts 4:19-21). We deny/reject that loyalty to the family should ever supersede obedience to God which makes the family an idol.
Article Thirteen — Church is Eternal While the Family is Temporal We affirm that the church is the eternal “bride” of Christ, and the “family of God” and in heaven “they neither marry or are given in marriage” and that the purpose of the family is temporal for the glory of God which includes the demonstration of the gospel and raising children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Matthew 22:29-32, Ephesians 6:1-4, Ephesians 5:22-33). We deny/reject that the earthly family is the ultimate purpose of God or that the family has no responsibility to be faithful to obey and glorify God in the ways He has commanded in Scripture.
Article Fourteen — Church and Family are Complementary in Role and Function We affirm that the church and family were designed to be complementary because the family is commanded to raise “godly seed,” which the church needs for the next generation, and is the proving ground for church leaders, while the church gives the family her instruction, discipline, protection, fellowship and worship (Malachi 2:15; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Acts 2:42). We deny/reject the idea that the church and the family have competing purposes, and that divine commands for family life should be typically disregarded in church and missionary activity.
Article Fifteen — God Requires Examination We affirm that God enjoins us to “examine everything carefully, and hold fast to that which is good”— moreover, to “let each one examine his own work”—particularly when the people of God are not thriving according to the New Testament pattern (1 Thes. 5:21; Gal. 6:4). We who shepherd the flock of Christ—whether as fathers or as pastors—have adequately and vigilantly scrutinized the beliefs and practices of the modern church as well as our own role in it.
Article Sixteen — Judgment Begins With the Church We affirm that God has declared “judgment begins with the household of God” and thus, we Indwelt are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, looking to judge ourselves lest we be chastened all the more (1 Pet. 4:17; 5:6). We deny that the church should continue as she has and delay dramatic reformations, or that she will escape the wrath of God for the disintegration and destruction of the family by ignoring or taking lightly biblical roles and responsibilities. 10
Article Seventeen — God We believe in the only true God (John 17:3), the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20). He created all things (Revelation 4:11) and upholds all things by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). He is a God of truth and without iniquity (sin). He is just and right in all that He does (Deuteronomy 32:4), and He shall judge the world (Psalm 9:8). We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same honor, confidence, and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 4:3-4).
Article Eighteen — Jesus Christ We believe in the total deity (God position) of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe He is the manifestation of God in the flesh. I believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit by the direct orders of God, and born of the virgin Mary. We believe Him to be both true God and true man (John 1:1, 1:14, 1:18; John 14:8-9; 1 Timothy 3:16).
Article Nineteen — Holy Spirit We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner upon belief & confession in Christ, baptizing the believer into one body, of which Christ is the head. The Holy Spirit indwells, guides, instructs, fills, comforts, and empowers the believer for godly & righteous living (Mark 13:11; John 14:26; John 16:13; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:16).
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of God's righteousness and of coming judgment (John 16:8-11). While I believe that the Scriptures do not teach that certain gifts have ceased, they indicate that use of the gifts vary according to the need and movement of the Holy Spirit within each believer. We do NOT encourage the Body of Christ to focus upon the gifts, or their “manifestations,” but rather the Giver. Instead we teach and focus on the transformational life-principles of the indwelling life of Christ – which emphasizes the more excellent way of love as well as zeal (John 16:8; 13:15; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 1:22; 4:11-12; Romans 8:9-17; 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:4-5, 12:11-13, 12:19; Galatians 5:25; Hebrews 4:1-4; 2 Corinthians 12:12).
Article Twenty — Word of God We believe the Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are verbally inspired by God and inerrant (without error) in their original writings. We believe the 66 books of the Old Testament and the New Testament are God's complete and sufficient revelation and therefore carry God's authority for the total well-being spiritually, psychologically and physically of mankind. We also believe that the scriptures are to be used as
the primary text of ALL teachings, guidance and corrections. (Psalm 119:97-104; Psalm 119:160; Matthew 5:18; John 5:46-47; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-16).
Article Twenty One — Man We believe man was created in innocence (without sin) under the law of his Maker, but by voluntarily transgressing (willful disobedience), fell from his sinless and perfect state. Consequently, all mankind is sinful due to his seed being infected by sin. All humans born from that day forward were born “into sin” – by way of sin being in the seed of man (Gen. 3:5; I Cor.15:22). Not only does mankind inherit a sinful nature by way of birth, but also by their inability to live righteously without a Savior (I Peter 1:23). Therefore, we believe all of mankind will go to Hell without accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior – thus embracing, without exception, every man and every woman is totally depraved and needs a Savior (Genesis 3:1-6; I John 3:9; Romans 3:10-19; Romans 1:18, Romans 1:32).
Article Twenty Two — Salvation We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice. We believe that each person who by faith receives Him as personal Savior is justified (cleared of consequences) on the basis of Jesus Christ literally paying for our sins by shedding His blood (death) on the cross. Each person who receives Christ as personal Savior is born again of the Holy Spirit (indwelling the believer) and thereby becomes eternally secure as a child of God. We believe all humans are required to go through THREE baptisms – spirit (salvation), water (testimony) and fire (trials & persecutions). Due to this, we believe the Holy Spirit baptizes each believing person into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation and that there is no “second baptism” of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:37-39; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 12:13).
Article Twenty Three — Resurrection I believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord Jesus Christ, His ascension into heaven and His present life for us as High Priest and Advocate through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 1:3; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 7:25-26).
Article Twenty Four — Heaven, Hell, and Return of Christ We believe in the blessed hope: the personal, *dispensational premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ. His return has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We believe in “life 12
after death” of both the saved and the lost. The saved are raised to eternal, conscious bliss in heaven (Matthew 25:34; John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 2:7). The lost are raised to eternal torment in hell in conscious separation from God (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 13:49-50; Mark 9:47-48; Luke 12:5; Revelation 21:8).
Article Twenty Five — Church Upon accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, a believer becomes part of His body and thus becoming the literal Bride of Christ, which is the church. There is only ONE church and this eternal covenant marriage is composed of all those throughout the world who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scriptures command & support believers to gather in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances (baptism and communion), fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world in fulfillment of the command of Christ to disciple all believers. There are NO scriptures commanding believers to form sects and denominations to group the body of Christ. Since the fears of man has resulted itself in forming over 3,000 different Christian governed sects and denominations world-wide, I believe true Indwelt need to respect and honor those existing authorities, and if a member of a particular local group, submit to their rules of engagement - as long as it does not provoke immoral, illegal or broken ordinances of God (Ephesians 5:23; Romans 12:1; Romans 13:17; Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Matthew 28:18-20).
Wherever God's people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church ¬under the oversight of elders and other supportive leadership. The church's members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ (Ephesians 4:16).
Article Twenty Six — Missions Realizing that the cause of Christ extends beyond any one local fellowship, I commit myself, and my family, to an ongoing ministry of extending the call of Christ to make disciples around the world. We believe this starts with one’s own family. Once completing the mandate of caring for the family, move to community/neighbor, then to your employment, the state, nation and ultimately to the world (Matthew 28:19-20; I Timothy 5:8).
Article Twenty Seven — Para-Church Organizations We believe that all non-profit ministries are to be considered an extension of the local church. We believe each Para Ministry should function as an outreach to the church as a whole, not as a replacement. *Dispensational premillennialism is the belief that the Second Coming of Christ will precede the millennium and that God will still give the nation of Israel the land described in Genesis 15:18. This belief also treats the millennium as a literal, future event – which includes pre-tribulationalism (the Rapture – Christ suddenly removing the Bride of Christ).
Article Twenty Eight — Women in Leadership We support God’s role for women as defined by the Holy Scriptures. The Word clearly states that women are not to exercise authority over a man. We understand this view is not “popular” or “culturally” accepted but we hold to the scriptural guidelines stated for the role of men and women (1 Timothy 2:12; 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus
1:6-9). God created men and women equal but we accept the fact that He has clearly established a difference in the roles they are to carry out. We believe the primary role of women are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossip0s nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, sensible, pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the Word of God will not be dishonored (Titus 2:3-56).
THIRTEEN CONCLUSIVE PROCLAMATIONS: 1. Wherefore, in light of this our faith, we do hereby resolve to... Rely upon the Scriptures alone for “everything pertaining to life and godliness,” treating the Bible as fully sufficient for the ordering of the church and the family; 2. Restore the practice of teaching “the whole counsel of God” through exegetical preaching of Scripture in the church and daily instruction in homes by fathers and mothers; 3. Honor Almighty God as Creator and Preserver of the church and the family, and humbly submit to His prescribed order for each of these fundamental institutions; 4. Resist Satan’s deception designed to supplant God’s goals and methods with the world’s felt needs and opinion polls, but instead depend on God’s Word, just as our Lord did in the wilderness; 5. Submit to the Headship of Christ over His church, embracing His manifold wisdom, not our own, for its structure and operation; 6.
Reject the errors of both authoritarian one-man ministry and leaderless house churches, and return to plural leadership by godly elders who equip the saints for ministry;
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Recognize the church to be a spiritual family who value intimacy and interaction and grow by the multiplication of family-integrated churches;
8. Acknowledge families (which include singles, widows, divorcees, grandparents, etc.) as God’s building blocks for the church, and maintain family-integrated rather than family-segregated meetings; 9. Develop a multi-generational vision for both the church and the family which stimulates personal sacrifice and maturity and preserves our spiritual posterity; 10. Equip whole households for ministry through heart-level relationships rather than activity-based programs, preparing and utilizing fathers as servant-leaders in family and church; 11. Pursue outreach through whole families “living out the gospel” in ministry to the saints and witness to the lost, rather than age-segregated programs; 12. Scrutinize the beliefs and practices of modern families and churches as well as our own role in both—whether as fathers or as church leaders—and make whatever changes are necessary to conform to God’s revealed patterns from the Word for family and church; 13. Seek God while there is yet time so that, seeing our true repentance, He will withhold His hand of judgment upon our worldly families and churches.
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Despite what all the New Testament communicates, the doctrine of biblical eldership has been sorely misunderstood. Even churches that claim to be governed by a plurality of elders have redefined eldership so that its original purpose and noble standing have, in practice, been eclipsed by the ordained pastor and his staff. To clarify biblical eldership in light of contemporary church practices, I present the following five, distinguishing features of a New Testament, Christian eldership: pastoral leadership, shared leadership, male leadership, qualified leadership, and servant leadership.
Pastoral Leadership When most Indwelt hear about church elders, they think of an official church board, lay officials, influential people within the local church, or advisers to the pastor. They think of elders as being policymakers, financial officers, fund-raisers, or administrators. I call these types of elders "board elders." People don’t expect "board elders" to teach the Word or be involved pastorally in people’s lives. Victor A. Constien, a Lutheran official and author of The Caring Elder, illustrated this popular view of the elders’ role when he wrote, "Members of a congregation’s board of elders are not assistant pastors. They assist their pastor. . . elders help facilitate and strengthen the working relationship of the church staff." Such a view, however, not only lacks scriptural support but flatly contradicts New Testament Scriptures. A person doesn’t need to read Greek or be professionally trained in theology to understand that the contemporary, church-board concept of eldership is irreconcilably at odds with the New Testament definition of eldership. According to the New Testament, elders lead the church, teach and preach the Word, protect the church from false teachers, exhort and admonish the saints in sound doctrine, visit the sick and pray, and judge doctrinal issues. In biblical terminology, elders shepherd, oversee, lead, and care for the local church. Therefore, when Paul and Peter directly exhort the elders to do their duty, they both employ shepherding imagery. It should be observed that these two giant apostles assign the task of shepherding the local church to no other group or single person but the elders. Paul reminds the Asian elders that God the Holy Spirit placed them in the flock as overseers for the purpose of shepherding the church of God (Acts 20:28). Peter exhorts the elders to be all that shepherds should be to the flock (1 Peter 5:2). We, then, must also view apostolic, Christianized elders to be primarily pastors of a flock, not corporate executives, CEOs, or advisers to a pastor. If we want to understand Christian elders and their work, we must understand the biblical imagery of shepherding. As keepers of sheep, biblical elders are to protect, feed, and lead the flock and to help meet the flock’s many practical needs. Using these four, broad, pastoral categories, let us briefly consider the examples, exhortations, and teachings of the New Testament regarding shepherd elders. Protecting the Flock: A major part of the New Testament elders’ work is to protect the local church from false teachers. As Paul was leaving Asia Minor, he summons the elders of the church in Ephesus for a farewell
exhortation. The essence of Paul’s charge is this: guard the flock--wolves are coming: And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church . . . . "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert." (Acts 20:17,28-31a; italics added). According to Paul’s required qualifications for eldership, a prospective elder must have enough knowledge of the Bible to be able to refute false teachers: For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, namely, if any man be above reproach . . . holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able . . . to refute those who contradict [sound doctrine] (Titus 1:5,6a,9; italics added).The Jerusalem elders, for example, met with the apostles to judge doctrinal error: "And the apostles and the elders came together to look into this [doctrinal] matter" (Acts 15:6). Like the apostles, the Jerusalem elders had to know the Word so that they could protect the flock from false teachers. Feeding the Flock: Unlike modern, church-board elders, all New Testament elders were required to be "able to teach" (1 Tim. 3:2). Listing elder qualifications in his letter to Titus, Paul states, "[The elder must hold] fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict" (Titus 1:9). In an extremely significant passage on elders, Paul writes about some elders who labor at preaching and teaching and thus deserve financial support from the local church: Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages" (1 Tim. 5:17,18; italics added). Paul reminds the Ephesian elders that he has taught them and the church the full plan and purpose of God: "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God" (Acts 20:27). Now it was time for the elders to do the same. Since elders are commanded to shepherd the flock of God (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), part of their shepherding task is to see that the flock is fed God’s Word. Leading the Flock: In biblical language, to shepherd a nation or any group of people means to lead or govern (2 Sam. 5:2; Ps. 78:71, 72). According to Acts 20 and 1 Peter 5, elders are to shepherd the church of God. So, to shepherd a local church means, among other things, to lead the church. To the church in Ephesus, Paul writes, "Let the elders who rule [lead, direct, manage] well be considered worthy of double honor" (1 Tim. 5:17a). Elders, then, are to lead, direct, govern, manage, and otherwise care for the flock of God. In Titus 1:7, Paul insists that a prospective elder be morally and spiritually above reproach because he will be "God’s steward." A steward is a "household manager," someone with official responsibility over the master’s servants, property, and even finances. Elders are stewards of God’s household, the local church. Elders are also called "overseers," which signifies that they supervise and manage the church. Peter uses the verb form of overseer when he exhorts the elders: "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you . . . shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight" (1 Peter 5:1a,2a). In this instance, Peter combines the concepts of shepherding and overseeing when he exhorts the elders to do their duty. Hence we can speak of the 16
elders’ overall function as being the pastoral oversight of the local church. Helping to Meet the Flock’s Many Practical Needs: In addition to the familiar, broad categories of protecting, feeding, and leading the flock, elders are also to bear responsibility for meeting the practical, diverse needs of the flock. For example, James instructs sick members of the flock to call for the elders of the church: "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" (James. 5:14). Paul exhorts the Ephesian elders to care for the weak and needy of the flock: "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ " (Acts 20:35; italics added). As shepherds of the flock, the elders must be available to meet the sheep’s needs. This responsibility includes: visiting the sick and comforting the bereaved; strengthening the weak; praying for all the sheep; visiting new members; providing counsel for couples who are engaged, married, and/or divorcing; and managing the many, day-to-day details related to the inner life of the congregation. Hard Work and Sacrifice: When the church eldership is viewed as a status or board position in the church, there will be plenty of volunteers. When it is viewed as a demanding, pastoral work, few people will rush to volunteer. One reason there are so few shepherd elders or good church elderships is that, generally speaking, men are spiritually lazy. That is a major reason why most churches never establish a biblical eldership. Men are more than willing to let someone else fulfill their spiritual responsibilities, whether it be their wives, the clergy, or church professionals. Biblical eldership, however, can’t exist in an atmosphere of nominal Christianity. There can be no biblical eldership in a church where there is no biblical Christianity. If a biblical eldership is to function effectively, it requires men who are firmly committed to living out our Lord’s principles of discipleship. Biblical eldership is dependent on men who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33), men who have presented themselves as living and holy sacrifices to God and view themselves as slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:1,2), men who love Jesus Christ above all else, men who willingly sacrifice self for the sake of others, men who seek to love as Christ loved, men who are self-disciplined and self-sacrificing, and men who have taken up the cross and are willing to suffer for Christ. Some people say, "You can’t expect laymen to rear their families, work all day, and shepherd a local church." That statement is simply not true. Many people rear families, work, and give substantial hours of time to community service, clubs, athletic activities, and/or religious institutions. The cults have built up large lay movements that survive primarily because of the volunteer time and efforts of their members. We Bible--believing Indwelt are becoming a lazy, soft, pay-for-it-to-be-done group of Indwelt. It is positively amazing how much people can accomplish when they are motivated to work toward a goal they love. I’ve seen people build and remodel houses in their spare time, for example. I’ve also seen men discipline themselves to gain a phenomenal knowledge of the Scriptures.
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OBJECTIVE: Dr. Phinney, his wife (Jane) and family are dedicated to the objective of equipping individuals for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ, and assist in empowering men, women, children and family units to have a multi-generational impact on the communities they serve. This is accomplished by providing training, mentorship and counseling.
FAMILY: Steve & Jane have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children, Abigail (husband, Quintin Eason), Elizabeth (husband, Nathan Ford) and Jessica. Jane & Steve have also been blessed with six grandchildren. They are dedicated to the institution of marriage, multi-generational family development and local multi-generational family church development. They are conference speakers on topics relating to core marriage, multi-generational family & leadership values.
EXPERIENCE: Pastor Steve has been serving as Founder & leader of the Institute Of Ministry (IOM America) and the IOM E -Community for the past 11 years. Steve is also the co-founder of the Men Mapping Outreach Ministries. A small outreach ministry dedicated to equipping men to be protectors of women, children, community and nation. Steve has authored multiple books/teaching series and has published over 250 on-line articles assisting others in spiritual growth. Even though Steve does NOT put much stock in these degrees, he holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology, Masters in Counseling Psychology and a Doctorate in Ministry and holds the status of Doctorial Candidate at Oxford Graduate School in Doctor of Philosophy. Steve is a professional counselor and conference speaker who has been in the professional people-helping field for over 35 years. His experience includes social work, care & guidance for the handicapped, family/ child specialist, mentorship, small group leadership, in-patient care, leadership development, politics, eschatological (end-times) researcher, on-line commentating, author and pastoring. Steve realized that God was NOT calling him to "fix the fix God had fixed on people who try to fix themselves," but rather deliver the Truth that will set individuals free by helping them understand who they are in Christ. God used mentoring relationships such as; Carl VerSteeg (father in-law), Loren Sanny (Navigators), Dr.
Robert McGee (Author – Search for Significance), David Ritzenthaler (Victorious Christian Living Int.), John Lind (Presidential Prayer Team), Dr. Charles Solomon (Grace Fellowship Int.) his spiritual father of 35 years, whom he calls "Dad," and others devoted to the message of Truth." He actively supports teachers & friends of Truth such as Henry Blackaby, David Jeremiah, J. Mark Fox, Emily Edwards, John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham Jr., Beth Moore, CJ Mahaney, Randy Alcorn, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Charles Solomon, Joel Rosenberg, David Nobel, Brannon Howse, and James MacDonald. Steve’s ministry is grounded in and influenced by the life and overflow of the Holy Spirit. His joy and excitement in the New Covenant Life of Christ is contagious; his overwhelming love for his husband, Jesus, is obvious; his style of speaking and writing in direct, to the point and highly motivational. His dedication to restoring the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers is unmoving (see Malachi 4:6). His life is filled with the love of his wife, children and now grandchildren. Steve’s passion is His promise. Due to a life-long passion of desiring to start a Family Integrated fellowship, he, his wife and several supervising mentors, are beginning the processes of a church plant.
Directions/Contact SUNDAY SERVICE 9:45 - Noon Broadway Market 105 S BROADWAY AVE (Come Through Back Alley) Sterling, KS 67579
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