Guidelines for Inter-Church Cooperation, Part 1

Driving home: it appears to us that this whole system involves an abandonment of the great principle that it is the duty of the church as such in her ecclesiastical capacity to conduct every department of the work which the Savior has…

Martin quotes James Henry Thornwell, a Presbyterian, who argued that the church in its ecclesiastical capacity is the only authorized agent to conduct all work committed to it by the Savior, including missions, critiquing the system of mission boards.

isolated three of the many other quotes that I had hoped to read to you last week, and in our review I will simply read them without comment. Thornwell writes on page 158 and 159 of volume four, in which ecclesiastical matters are discussed, it appears to us that this whole system, and he's talking about the system of having boards to accomplish the work of missions made up of men who are not designated by biblical titles or under biblical guidelines for their functioning, it appears to us that this whole system involves an abandonment of the great

6:58 - 7:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The duties of the church are duties which rest upon her by authority of God. He has given her the organization which she possesses for the purpose of discharging these duties. She can throw them off upon others than a ma…

Martin quotes the 1837 Presbyterian Assembly's circular letter, which affirmed the church's obligation to train ministers, send the gospel, and plant churches, rebuking voluntary associations that usurped these roles.

We believe, said the assembly of 1837 in her circular letter to all sister churches, that if there be any departments of Christian effort to which the church of Christ is bound in her appropriate character to direct her attention and her unwearied labors, they are those which relate to the training of her sons for the holy ministry and sending the gospel to those who have it not and planting churches in the dark and destitute portions of the earth. End quote. Here the obligation of the church in her appropriate character is distinctly admitted

8:50 - 9:34 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The duties of the church are duties which rest upon her by authority of God. He has given her the organization which she possesses for the purpose of discharging these duties. She can throw them off upon others than a ma…

Martin quotes Thornwell again, emphasizing that the church cannot delegate its God-given duties any more than a man can delegate the care of his family, underscoring the church's direct responsibility for missions.

The duties of the church are duties which rest upon her by authority of God. He has given her the organization which she possesses for the purpose of discharging these duties. She can throw them off upon others than a man can delegate to his neighbor the care of his own family and abandon himself to idleness and ease. And then Thornwell goes on in seven, six or seven other places to make similar strong statements. And some months ago there was a statement of the

10:12 - 10:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The duties of the church are duties which rest upon her by authority of God. He has given her the organization which she possesses for the purpose of discharging these duties. She can throw them off upon others than a ma…

Martin quotes Reverend Ronald Christie, who states that foreign missions are to be conducted 'as a church for the church,' with all policy directed toward establishing churches, reinforcing the church-centric view of missions.

biblical directives for foreign mission policy from a Reverend Ronald Christie. And I made this available to the men in the academy. And this is from the monthly record, the denominational magazine of the denomination with which Mr. Roberts is connected. And in this second article, he summarizes the whole thrust of

10:50 - 11:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the third pillar of their missions policy: inter-church cooperation, posing three questions: the extent of cooperation in the apostolic age, the extent now…

Martin uses the analogy of wearing special glasses to filter out all but one specific aspect (inter-church cooperation) when reading passages, ensuring a focused interpretation of the biblical data.

consider seven different categories of biblical data, seeking to extract the abiding principle in each category, just as we did last week. And remember, we are concerned in our precise focus of interest with inter-church cooperation in the work of missions. So all of these groupings of texts say something about the question of cooperation among the churches in the work of missions. So put on that set of glasses that will filter out everything else in these passages, because they say many things about missions. And put on the

15:12 - 15:52 Read in full sermon

The point: As an eldership, continually seek counsel from missionary bulletins, magazines, and articles from other churches and denominations, recognizing the wisdom of those with more experience.

Martin explains that the eldership at Trinity Baptist Church does not operate in isolation but continually seeks counsel from missionary bulletins, magazines, and articles from other denominations and churches, recognizing the wisdom of those with more experience.

Now you see the implications that has for our missions policy that as we wrestle with things that we have not faced before we do not simply as an eldership hold up with God in our Bibles as though we're the first ones who ever wrestled with that particular problem. Why do I continually read missionary bulletins and magazines from faith missions denominational missions articles on missions that occur in the church.

33:58 - 34:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Commit to looking for proven men in our own ranks or sister churches and gaining in-depth personal knowledge and interaction with them, rather than supporting missionaries with whom there is no meaningful relationship.

Martin critiques the modern evangelical practice of having a map with 50 lights representing $50/month sent to 50 different missions, where the church lacks meaningful personal knowledge and interaction with the missionaries, contrasting it with biblical principles of intimate, personal knowledge and accountability.

the modern evangelical notion of missions? You have a big map up on the board with 50 lights where $50 a month is sent to 50 different missions whose accountability is to the faith mission board with whom the church has no meaningful personal knowledge and interaction. And they said, we have a large worldwide missionary vision. Now, do you see why we have committed ourselves to looking for men in our own ranks or those from our sister churches who are proven men and getting some in-depth knowledge? Why we had Pastor Vader and his family back

46:43 - 47:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Commit to looking for proven men in our own ranks or sister churches and gaining in-depth personal knowledge and interaction with them, rather than supporting missionaries with whom there is no meaningful relationship.

Martin uses the example of Pastor Vader and his family spending five weeks at Trinity Baptist Church to illustrate the church's commitment to in-depth personal knowledge and interaction with missionaries, forming a real relationship before sending them forth.

the modern evangelical notion of missions? You have a big map up on the board with 50 lights where $50 a month is sent to 50 different missions whose accountability is to the faith mission board with whom the church has no meaningful personal knowledge and interaction. And they said, we have a large worldwide missionary vision. Now, do you see why we have committed ourselves to looking for men in our own ranks or those from our sister churches who are proven men and getting some in-depth knowledge? Why we had Pastor Vader and his family back

46:43 - 47:21 Read in full sermon