The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence

(Second Paragraph)

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness -…

The Ministers Declaration of Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Ministers are created by God, that they are endowed by the Holy Spirit with certain duties, that among these are to preach, teach and pastor their own church, of which God has made them the overseer.

Truths are not self-evident if they have to be stated, defended, and upheld. They should be self-evident, but they are not. -GB

Prepared for the Minister’s Meeting held at Shoal Creek Primitive Baptist Church, Canton, Georgia, November 2013.

By Elder Glenn Blanchard, Pastor of Winter Garden Primitive Baptist Church, Winter Garden, Florida.

771 Bending Oak Trail, Winter Garden, FL 34787 321-917-1723

My Background

I have been among the Primitive Baptists for over 40 years. My wife is a life-long Primitive Baptist as was her family. Her grandfather was a PB minister.

I have been a deacon, and an ordained minister for over 20 years; pastoring a PB church for 19 years, the last 16 to the exclusion of all else; blessed to baptize over 150 into the church including eight members of my family. I have been blessed to preach in almost every state where we have a Primitive Baptist church.

The Primitive Baptist church is my life. I love it and am willing to give my life for it. Now that I have turned 65 I have a great desire to see the true church of Jesus Christ strong and ready to minister into the 21st century. As my life draws to a close I realize that I may be overly blunt in my zeal to make my point. Please forgive me – but I don’t want to go to glory, leaving the church in America worse off than when I found it. Please forgive me if I offend needlessly. I don’t mean to.

The Problem

· Smaller congregations

· Fewer congregations

· Looking “old-fashioned”

· Splits that cause ministers/congregations to take sides

· Ministers that attempt to regulate other ministers

· Lack of understanding of the terms, “Un-scriptural” and “Anti-Scriptural”

My goal in this presentation is to address some of the subjects listed above and provide solutions, or at the very least, begin a conversation among our people concerning these matters.

Looking Old-Fashioned

Jesus Christ was not old-fashioned in His day. He was up-to-date, relevant and helpful. While America spins out of control, there is a temptation for our church to “hold the line” against modern moral decline. How we do that is most important. While we do that we represent God. New believers may not be interested in traditions.

Jesus wasn’t when He was here.

Matthew 15:1-3, 6

Mark 7:5-7. 13

Colossians 2:8

Galatians 1:13-15

1 Peter 1:18,19

All Negative!

2 Thessalonians 2:6 Positive, but notice the difference.

Example

Prolonged meetings – Annual Meetings, Union Meetings, Association Meetings.

First-time members don’t get it.

In the old days churches met once-a-month. Members were in church 12 times if they attended all meetings. My members are in church 104 times if they attend all meetings.

Preaching then was rhythmic and sometimes not clear.

Preaching now is plain, clear.

Also expository preaching is more prevalent.

Members now are usually employed in the public work force and cannot take off for a long series of meetings.

Back then people may have felt isolated and had a need to see more preachers in one place. Now, through the internet, members don’t feel that sense of isolation.

This is just one poorly organized example but should be sufficient to get the point across. If our traditions are making us, and worse yet, our God, look old-fashioned, we need to examine what we are doing.

The word of God is perfectly sufficient to stop the downward spiral that America is experiencing without dressing it up in horse and buggy attire. This truth should be self-evident to men of God.

Splits That Cause Ministers/Congregations to Take Sides

The most notable was in the 1830’s. In the last century there were many splits over adultery, hollow log doctrine, absolutism, and other doctrinal points. More recently we have suffered greatly over the split concerning Calvinism. As if that wasn’t bad enough we now have some ministers that are trying to further dissect the Primitive Baptist to see who is orthodox enough to fellowship and who isn’t. These men are very active. They seem to have boundless energy in making their pond smaller and smaller. Gossip is their number one tool. They almost never call the one they are gossiping about to have an open discussion. If they showed as much enthusiasm over spreading the gospel as they do over spreading division they would be a lot more beneficial to the cause of Christ.

While we may not have a Pope in the Primitive Baptist faith, we have enough Cardinals to cover the land with them.

Please see Isaiah 8:9a. God expects us to rely on Him, not each other. When a minister fellowships with the Father over the direction of his church and is fearless in leading his flock, we will see a healthy picture of what the church should look like.

Now look at Acts 20:17. “Elders” plural.

V. 20, emphasis on teaching.

V. 28, “flock” singular.

V. 29,30, our problem defined by the Apostle Paul.

We are a small denomination in the ever decreasing Christian pie in America. We seem to have a natural inclination to band together. This is understandable. We seem to seek validation from other ministers, perhaps more than we should. Many times this is fueled by a desire to be invited to fill appointments. The more appointments we fill the higher we rise in the Primitive Baptist hierarchy.

The most freeing thing for me was when I decided that pastoring my church was more important than filling large numbers of appointments, when I started caring more about what God thought about my ministry than how I was judged by ministers that I could never make happy anyway; men whose fellowship was based upon

how closely I agreed with them. What a disgrace I have been. I have

now shed that baggage and am free to soar in the calling I received from God, not man.

Yes, I value the friends I have in the ministry. The men that communicate with me over how to be a better preacher and pastor; the men that I can trust with my ideas and desires for my congregation; men that trust me to pastor my flock while I trust them to do the same.

The bottom line: when your ministry is over, one question remains; have you furthered your own career or have you advanced the cause of Christ? Have you been a PB butterfly or a PB bee?

This truth should be self-evident, but it’s not – it must be proclaimed.

Miss-applied Bible Verses

In this section I want to give you some Bible verses that I have heard and twisted to say things they don’t really say. Remember, we are to be sanctified, or set apart by the truth.

First, an easy one: Psalm 127:1. This verse is regularly used to keep zealous believers from trying to spread the gospel. More so in the past than now, but still used. It was quoted to me on numerous occasions when I started to preach on evangelism. The antidote: Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church…,”. Ephesians 2:19-22 gives the proper view of what we should be trying to do - to add bricks (believers) to the church of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, and along the same lines: Matthew 18:20. This verse has nothing to do with the size of a church! It addresses those that are trying to heal a breach in the house of God. It has more to do with, “Blessed are the peacemakers…”. It is not to be used as an excuse for a church that is not reaching out and growing. If we are not living up to our potential we should seek God’s counsel and be active in doing what we need to do to build a New Testament Church. Instead we use this verse as if God was perfectly happy with our cavalier attitude toward diminishing church attendance.

Thirdly, 2 Peter 3:8. This verse has to do with the second coming of Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with evolution. We cannot use this

to make ourselves look more “modern” and adopt a “scientific” view of creation. God created time, and then He told us how long it took Him to create the world we live in. God created all we see in six 24 hour days. Bless Him for it and stick to it.

Fourthly, 2 Corinthians 11:7, 8. Much is made of Paul being a tentmaker. However, look at 2 Corinthians 12:13. How many of us, desiring not to look like we are in this for the money, have failed to teach Biblical giving? Paul had to shun the appearance of desiring a living because of the large number of “clergy” around him that were doing just that. But, it wasn’t his desire. No man, by his example, was more active in the full-time ministry than the Apostle Paul. That is what we should remember. I am aware that some churches cannot afford a full-time pastor. However, don’t try to pass that off as doctrine. Hopefully, every Primitive Baptist church should have as its goal the ability to free up a minister in their community to shepherd the flock without being hired away by the world.

Fifthly, it’s wrong for one church to support efforts of another congregation. See Acts 12:28-30. When a need arises it is Biblical for one body to assist another, voluntarily.

Finally, Every new minister must have a “Father in the Ministry”. Certainly that sounds like a good idea. But if your “Father in the Ministry” is your guarantee against making mistakes, you are relying on the wrong father. Never substitute the leading of the Holy Spirit for advice or counsel that God can provide. Sometimes “fathers” are too conservative. God may have called you for your zeal.

I did not have a “Father in the Ministry”. Yes, I made some mistakes. But they were my mistakes. I learned and God has blessed me and my ministry to a degree that I never could have imagined.

These truths should be self-evident. They are to me.

Un-Scriptural versus Anti-Scriptural

Un-scriptural means things that are not in the Bible. Anti-scriptural means things that are against the Bible. We do not seem to have a problem with things that are anti-scriptural. We do have a controversy when using things that are un-scriptural. Everyone seems to have their favorite exception.

Let’s look at some examples:

Conference/congregational government. I don’t find this in the New Testament. However, if that is the way a local congregation chooses to regulate itself, that is their business. Many church troubles surface in conference because we have no scriptural basis for the process.

Voting in new members. Can’t find it in the New Testament. Do it if you want, but you don’t have scripture for it.

Church papers are un-scriptural. Yet I have seen them used to castigate other un-scriptural practices. I have an example with me. This is the height of hypocrisy! You will have a much easier time finding scripture for Bible Study than you ever will for a church paper. I maintain that both are allowable if done properly.

That brings us to Bible Studies. I can find no Sunday School that ever started from a Bible Study, although that is the claim I’ve heard. I spent 12 years in Sunday School and have the prefect attendance pins to prove it. Bible Study at my church is nothing like Sunday School. In fact, we had a Bible Study on why we don’t believe in Sunday Schools! Insert short verbal history on how Sunday Schools got started.

Associations, Union Meetings, Fellowship Meetings, and yes even Annual Meetings. I like some better than others – but I have no scripture for my preference. Each congregation is free to choose its own course. But you are not free to condemn others. Plainly put, it’s none of your business.

Short list: air-conditioning, insurance, chairs instead of pews, pews instead of benches. All song books, clocks in the sanctuary, cry rooms, “This do in remembrance of me” tables, collection plates and the title “Brother Moderator”.

These things, and many others, can be good or bad, depending upon how they are used. Our churches will grow and prosper when we knock the barnacles off the ship and return the Church of Jesus Christ into the sleek, unencumbered vessel it was when the Apostles were in charge. When ministers stop trying to run every other church and teach their congregations to bear down on the task at hand – to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Look how far we have come in the last 50 years in some instances. Our buildings are looking better, our ministers are studying more, our members are getting more involved in spreading the word.

My hope for my church is that instead of people asking if the Primitive Baptist church is still meeting, or “where is the Primitive Baptist church”, I hope my community will say, “Thank God for the Primitive Baptist church in our community, we wouldn’t know what to do without them.”