Drew Boswell

a place for us to share ideas, talk about life, and learn together.

Background Check and Security in the Church; Part One

I sat down with my father some time ago, and over coffee we entered into a heated discussion about the education of my children.  We “discussed” public verses private schools, and homeschooling. As we waded into the sticky waters of the topic it became very clear to me that the school he was talking about and that he attended, was not the school that I attended.

We make decisions and values based on our life’s experience. His outlook was simply different even though we went through the same county educational system. His experience of education experience was radically different than my school experience. It was separated by over twenty years of radical change in a small rural Alabama town.

In those more than twenty years, segregation had been enacted, computers were introduced into classrooms, and the world had rushed into this small town. Now my children have dry erase boards that are controlled by the teacher’s computer, and internet is a daily part of my children’s lives. The world is no longer rushing into the classroom; today’s students can be anywhere and see anything that their heart’s and imaginations can take them.

But ever present with innovation, change, and advancement is man’s depraved heart to corrupt the most amazing and fascinating developments. The internet is a place of enlightenment and learning, but it is also a place of the worst of man’s corruption. Either are only a few key strokes away. As a boy, if I desired pornography I would have to convince my friend to steal it from his father, sell the magazine to me, and I would have to sneak it home in my backback from school. Today, my sons can simply type in “porn” and behold millions of web sites ready to give them man’s depravity for free.

I say all this to say, we live in a world that is exciting and innovative, and we are making huge strides toward making our world a better place – but as the innovation increases so does the danger. Those in church leadership have to realize that the church today has to be different than it was when they were growing up.

To focus on one of these major changes has to be in the area of security in the life of the church. Matthew 18:10 says, “Take heed that you do not harm one of these little ones, for I say to you their angels always behold the face of my Father.” If we do not change, and take steps to protect them, then we are negligent and responsible for harm that may come upon them.

Bill Hybels said “Today I believe the single remaining common interest or entrance point for non-churched people into the church is children.”[1] Children’s ministry is leading many churches to growth and God is using Children’s Ministry to bring people into the church so we should protect this door into our churches. Parents want their children to have a moral foundation even if they themselves do not follow God.

So as the spirituality of Americans continues to be open to discussions of Christ, we have to know that we have a very real and ever present enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy. 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be self controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

Some Dreadful Statistics

  • There are between 250,000-500,000 pedophiles reside in the United States.[2]
  • Convicted child molesters who abused girls had an average of 52 victims each.
  • Men who molested boys had an astonishing average of 150 victims.[3]
  • The typical child sex offender molests an average of 117 children, most of who do not report the offense.[4]
  • It is estimated that approximately 71% of child sex offenders are under 35 and knew the victim at least casually.
  • About 80% of these individuals fall within normal intelligence ranges;
  • 59% gain sexual access to their victims through, seduction or enticement.[5]

As much as these statistics make us sick to our stomachs they can not with good conscience be ignored. We live in a world where there are people who seek out our children to do them harm. The church also tries to foster an atmosphere of acceptance and trust.  We want to think the best of our church family; no one wants to create an atmosphere of distrust.

We would like for the church to the hub of community activity therefore often times doors are left unlocked, hallways and restrooms are easily assessable and rarely monitored.  We want the community to know that in the church all are welcome.  But there are also monsters that appear in sheep’s clothing.  We must therefore be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” Matt. 10:16.

How can we then be open and accepting while at the same time protecting our most valuable asset, our children?  In most church-related sex abuse cases, the molester was a longtime member of the church, active in his/her community and liked by many. [6]

*this is part one of a three part article series.

[1] David Staal, Take The Challenge: Lead Up, Children’s Ministry Magazine, January/February 2003, p. 49.

[2] U.S. Department of Justice

[3] In a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health Dr. Gene G. Abel, Emory University

[4]The National Institute of Mental Health, 1988

[5]Burgess & Groth, 1984

[6] www.priority2.org/church.htm p. 10

Supernatural: Ghosts

So, is there life after death? The Bible is clear in that the soul is eternal, and that it will spend eternity in one of two places. One is to have eternal life, or heaven. The other is to be eternally separated from God in hell. What does the Bible say about ghosts, angels, demons, witches, and spirits? Listen and find out.

Bobble Head Cub Scouts

Cub Scouts from Pack 277 were treated to a “round robin” of safety information tonight at their pack meeting. Cub Scout leaders, and older Boy Scouts lead in training segments focused on teaching the young boys about hiking safety, some basic first aid (including a free first aid kit), fire safety, and drinking water safety.

Afterwards the boys received the awards they have been working on over the past month.

Joshua and Caleb earned the Emergency Preparedness Award, and the bicycle belt loop.

Fun was had by all (even though it was a learning experience.)

I thought it was funny how all the boys wanted to wear the “Deputy Chief” fire helmet. When they put it on all of their heads instantly tilted to the side (it was heavy). It is so true that many people want to be the leader. They want to stand out “with the shiny white helmet” not understanding that the load is heavy.

To lead men into fire and ask them to risk their lives is truly a heavy responsibility. It is assigned only after years of specialized training and experience. I am excited about about being apart of training my boys to one day be leaders. Perhaps tonight they got  a glimpse of the “heaviness” of this privilege and responsibility.

Staying Healthy in Ministry – Dealing With Negativity

At a Minister’s Family getaway the lead speaker[1] Tom Rodgerson used the metaphor of a virus and how it can sometimes be like church life. The over all big idea was that you can’t control the issues that other people have (the virus), but you can control how you respond to them (the immune system). He suggested that pastors/leaders should focus on the immune system and making sure it is healthy instead of trying to track down and get rid of all the viruses.

So just by way of continuing the discussion and how leaders can stay healthy, let’s push the metaphor of the virus a little further.  In nature in order for a virus to attach itself to the body, it has to have a host cell. And the connection between the host cell and the virus has to be “a perfect fit.” So the body’s condition must be in such a “shape” so that the virus perfectly matches the virus. If it is healthy, it is less likely to connect to the virus. If it is unhealthy it far more likely to “match up” with a virus. So the following are some ways the leader can stay healthy and deal with “viruses.”

1.         Focus On What You Can Control.

Leaders only have so much time, energy, and emotional fortitude, so focus on what you can control – the immune system. There are ways to control exposure to viruses. One could live in a bubble, never go around “viruses” and focus on avoiding “sickness.” But Christ has called those who call on His name to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. . .”[2] The world is a very messy and sick place.  Viruses are all around us, every moment of every day. To try and avoid them is not practical.

In church life, “viruses” (i.e. people who don’t know how to have a biblical healthy relationship, and default to unhealthy behavior when anxiety arises) can not be avoided. But the leader who is “healthy” will be far less likely to be affected by the illness. Remember, there has to be a perfect match between the two in order for the virus to spread.

2.         Constantly Reinforce the Mission of the Organization.

Know the Mission. One of the main tasks of the leader is to keep people focused on the mission and values of the organization. If the body as a whole knows the mission, vision, and values of the organization, when viruses attack, the healthy body will be able to fend off attacks that try and get it off task and engaged in ungodly behavior (infighting, gossiping, jumping to false assumptions, etc.).

3.         Recognize Unhealthy Patterns (and Change Them).

It won’t be very long in leadership before the leader will encounter an issue that causes anxiety in the “body.” There are different ways that people deal with this anxiety; some people emotionally distance themselves from the leader, they may pull new people into a two person disagreement, they may pull up old issues that have already been dealt with, or just leave the organization all together.

But when the anxiety comes to the surface and the tension begins to build, leaders will have a default pattern that they conform to in order to deal with the issue. Remember you only have so much time and energy; focus on developing the immune system, not fighting the virus. Part of developing the immune system is to recognize patterns in your own life that are unhealthy.  How do you typically handle stress and anxiety? Is this pattern healthy?

In default mode, in reaction to anxiety, we tend to be reactive. We have a certain way we react to the stimulus (or virus). One may retreat, attack back, get quiet, lash out, loss one’s temper, etc… but instead of reacting the way one typically has always defaulted to (assuming it is unhealthy), one should become curious as to why they react this way.

It is as if one is in pain from an injury – do you ignore the problem, cover it up, or explore getting medical attention?  Be curious about why you are injured.  Why does the virus so easily become attached? What is it about the immune system that keeps letting this virus in and perfectly attaching to it?

When a person learns something new, or even does something new, the brain creates new thinking pathways. Remember we react to certain stimulus in a default way. If we change how we react enough, our brain will actually change in order to adapt to this new behavior. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The most significant part of dealing with unhealthy patterns in our lives is to change them, then our brains will change, and this will become a new default way of dealing with anxiety and stress.

4.         Prayer and Bible Study.

So how do I change how I react? – through prayer and Bible study. It always amazes me at people who want to lose weight some other way than exercise and eating healthy. This is the tried and true way of having a healthy body (eat right and exercise). But every year there are constant “new discoveries” that always prove to be worthless because they don’t involve exercise or eating healthy.

The same is true for followers of Christ. If we are to be healthy (and fighting off “viruses”) we have to study the Bible and pray. It’s as easy or as hard as that. There are no shortcuts or easy methods for changing our own sin nature and depravity – other than taking in God’s Word and praying to our Creator.

There is a way to think about this process. Imagine you sit down for dinner and putting the food in your mouth (reading), then you chew on the food (reflecting/meditating). Next, you swallow it and it becomes apart of your body because it is absorbed and the nutrients are taken in (responding to the Word, it becomes apart of who you are). Then one has a sense of satisfaction and can rest in the fullness of God’s Word. It does satisfy (and change) the soul like nothing else can.[3]

[1] Tom Rodgerson can be found at http://bcmd.org/staff-directory

 

[2] Matthew 28:19ff.

[3] see Lectio Divina.

A Discussion of Baptism (part two)

Modes of Baptism

Does it really matter if one is immersed, sprinkled, washed, effusion (pouring), etc.? These are referred to as the modes of baptism.  The word given in the Bible for baptism is the Greek baptizo, which means “to dip under repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge.”[1] To immerse is the primary meaning of the Greek word baptizo.  Also, the other referenced modes of baptism mentioned had Greek words to reference them (sprinkling; rantidzo, pouring; epicheo and prochusis) but they were never used in discussion of baptism (only baptizo).

Immersion best pictures the significance of baptism, which is death to the old life and resurrection to the new (Romans 6:1-4). Immersion was the universal practice of the early church and every instance in the New Testament either demands or permits it.

There are also extra-biblical references to baptism that are helpful in determining the proper mode of baptism. In the Didache (an early form of catechism around AD 100) it says,

“And concerning baptism, baptize this way: having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have no living water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father, and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whoever else can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.”[2]

From this text one can gather that early believers expected baptism, and it was preferably by immersion. However, we can also see how the early church began to add to the canon of Scripture (i.e. fasting before baptism as a requirement, baptism in living water, cold water, etc.).

There are secondary modes, referenced by other early extra-biblical sources, used (such as pouring) but were used only when immersion was not possible. In such cases, such as sick people, pouring was called “clinical baptism.” Baptism in not part of a believer obtaining salvation or the forgiveness of sin, that only comes through faith in Christ and His death on the cross.

Baptism follows one’s acceptance of Christ’s gift of salvation as an outward act of obedience to what has transpired inside his soul. So the order of importance to the subject of baptism is (1) saving genuine faith in Christ alone for salvation (2) a proper understanding of the symbolic meaning of baptism and a profession of Christ (3) baptism (4) mode of baptism – preferably by immersion (5) membership into a local church.

When is a Child Ready for Baptism?

In the eleventh chapter of second Samuel is the story of David and how he has fathered a child with Bathsheba, and killed her husband. Because of this sin, God tells David through the prophet Samuel that He is going to take the child.

David then begins to pray and fast in hopes of changing the Lord’s mind, but eventually the child dies, and he responds to the servants concern about his drastic change in behavior from mourning to normalcy by saying in verse twenty-three, “But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” David is stating here that small children who are too young to make professions of faith or have the cognitive ability to understand their depravity and receive the gospel go to heaven. He says that he will one day “go to him.”

The child was too young to make a decision of faith in God, and yet as a son of Adam he was “born in sin.”[3] So he has the inherited sin nature from Adam, and did not express his faith in a coming Messiah. Yet, David says that he will see his son again. So Baptists have explained this passage as there is an “age of accountability,” where children develop cognitively, emotionally, and physically to such a point that they are able to understand their own sin, their lostness, and the gospel. David’s son was shown grace from God that we are not fully able to explain this side of heaven. So a child is ready for baptism once they understand these things, have genuinely received Christ as their Savior, and then follow of their own volition the teaching of Christ to be baptized.

[1] Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan, 1999), 377.

[2] The Didache, Early Christians, The Twelve Apostles, Chapter 7.

[3] Romans 5:12ff.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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