Monarchy and Democracy

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Monarchy and Democracy"

Archibald Gibbs
6 years ago
Views:

Volume 75, No. 7 Monarchy and Democracy It has been said that New England town hall meetings are the world s purest form of democracy. What about Baptist church business meetings?

Christ as Lord and Savior, they ought to be able to vote on a church budget!), and the majority carries the day.

Providence, Rhode Island, AKA the First Baptist Church of America. Their pastor, Rev.

1 Volume 75, No. 7 Monarchy and Democracy It has been said that New England town hall meetings are the world s purest form of democracy. What about Baptist church business meetings? The floor is open, every baptized believer has voice and vote (well, there usually are certain age restrictions, but theoretically, you might maintain that if someone is old enough to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they ought to be able to vote on a church budget!), and the majority carries the day. Earlier this summer at the Mission Summit of American Baptist Churches, USA, in Overland Park, Kansas, Carol and I witnessed the 375th anniversary celebration of the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, AKA the First Baptist Church of America. Their pastor, Rev. Dan Ivins, previously senior pastor of this congregation, is the successor to an unbroken line of pastoral leaders since Roger Williams in 1638! But of course Baptist pastors and lay leaders serve at the will of the congregation. Baptist churches practice a democratic, congregational form of government. History teaches us that the first modern Baptist churches arose a generation before Roger Williams in England and The Netherlands, when believers came together in covenant with one another and the Lord to constitute local congregations. This was in intentional contrast to the common practice of both medieval Catholics and early modern Protestants, for whom those born into and resident within parishes (geographical units) were presumed to be part of the parish. Technically, these early Baptist congregations were functioning democracies: selfconstituting, self-governing, one person-one vote. Or were they? One can make a powerful argument that the Church of Jesus Christ is more properly understood as a monarchy. Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords Continued on page 2 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH SW 12th and Taylor, Portland, Oregon

The Trumpeter Continued from page 1 (Philippians 2:9 11), he is the visible and tangible presence of the eternal Creator (Hebrews 1:1 3) and we owe him absolute, unquestioning allegiance (Luke 9:57

Many of us as modern Americans recoil from the idea of monarchy; it smacks of arbitrary tyranny and extreme class prejudice.

2 The Trumpeter Continued from page 1 (Philippians 2:9 11), he is the visible and tangible presence of the eternal Creator (Hebrews 1:1 3) and we owe him absolute, unquestioning allegiance (Luke 9:57 62). And the central theme of Jesus original preaching was the dawning of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark 1:14, Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 6:33). Many of us as modern Americans recoil from the idea of monarchy; it smacks of arbitrary tyranny and extreme class prejudice. But it is interesting for me to recall that many thinkers throughout history have felt the same revulsion for democracy. Aristotle, for example, felt that some men (yes, men, not people ) were suited by nature to rule, others to follow, and still others were, by nature, slaves. Democracy, for Aristotle, was mob rule, the worst form of government. In the pages of the New Testament, we see hints and fragments of many forms of church government, and sometimes the reflection of our own social location. Local congregations select and send out missionaries (but at the command of the Holy Spirit!) (Acts 13:1 3). Respected, Godly leaders seem to exercise authority over clusters of congregations and geographical territories (1 Peter 1:1ff). And leadership terms such as elder, bishop, deacon and pastor are used with a fluidity that defies our modern definitions and applications. Still, we can know some things with certainty. Jesus Christ is the one Lord to whom we owe absolute loyalty, indeed, to whom we owe our very lives (Galatians 2:19 20). And in Christ, we enjoy a fundamental equality in our diversity (Galatians 3:28), and a supernatural unity through the Holy Spirit who brings us together and distributes gifts among us (1 Corinthians 12:4 13). This spiritual truth has lots of practical implications in the life of the Church. Among them is our privilege and obligation, in the Baptist tradition, to be present and accountable when our congregation makes decisions about leadership, programming and the use of our resources, and carries out those decisions in mission and ministry. Soon the dog days of summer will be over and our congregational life will be regaining momentum. Can we count on you? Dr. David L. Wheeler ABW Retreat, Sept This is just a reminder that the American Baptist Women s Retreat in Medford, OR, is not far away. The event runs from September 13 16, Friday through Sunday. Friday night you ll hear from ministry leaders who have created a very unique and effective outreach. The weekend will feature our keynote speaker Rev. Lisa Harris, who cares deeply about the increasing number of families and individuals effected by poverty in our country. She ll share from her heart and from scripture; you don t want to miss this! On Saturday we will be making sack lunches at Medford s Eastwood Baptist Church. We ll have a lunch for ourselves, and deliver the rest to homeless and needy folks near the Hawthorne Park in Medford. Please bring books to share, books that you ve read and are willing to trade for other books. In exchange, you can shop all the books others have brought and take home a few treasures for yourself! You can pick up a registration form at the Welcome Center, or by contacting Trudi Bils at Dear FBC family, A special thank you to so many who responded to us in the death of our daughter Barbara. Thanks be to God for the years we were priviledged to have her. Evelyn and Merle McNeel Dear FBC family, Thank you so much for the very nice way in which you honored Sharon and her teaching ministry at FBC. She was speical in so many ways. Bruce Rich Page 2

3 The Trumpeter What a wonderful day for a picnic! You can see more of Paul Newman s wonderful picnic pictures at our website at Page 3

The Trumpeter A great turn-out at our annual camping retreat! July 19 22 was our sixth annual camping retreat and three years in a row that we were at Fort Stevens State Park.

About 180 people joined this event, including Emerald Bible Fellowship of Eugene, churches from Khmer Pacific Northwest, families and friends of those churches members, including Nuon and Somaly s

4 The Trumpeter A great turn-out at our annual camping retreat! July was our sixth annual camping retreat and three years in a row that we were at Fort Stevens State Park. This year our theme was Following Jesus. About 180 people joined this event, including Emerald Bible Fellowship of Eugene, churches from Khmer Pacific Northwest, families and friends of those churches members, including Nuon and Somaly s relatives from out of state. Beside great food and fellowship as always, there were inspired devotions and messages preached by Pastor Rick and me during a two-hour worship service on Sunday. This is the first year that we had our youth pastor join us and had youth programs during camping. I was encouraged by the presence of Pastor David taking time to be with us as well. It seems that we are getting bigger and bigger group from year to year at this place! So we made a decision to be there again next year, from August 8 11, Please plan to join us! Special thanks to Somaly and Nuon Soun for making this great event possible. There is no monthly potluck in August. ដ ណ ងព ករងរ ព នព កជ ន ខ រ ករ ប ជ រ ) បច ឆ./ របស ព កជ ន យ ងក :ង ខ៨កន ងមក ន មនបងប &ន យ ងមកព ព កជ ន ផ#$ងៗជ ច នព រដ វ1ស ង ត ន ន ងញត ម តរបស ព កជ ន យ ងជ តឆ67យជ ច ន ទ តបន ច លរ មផង ដរ ដលមនគ'( ប ហល១៨០នក យ ងទទ លបនន វករ បកបគ23កន ត ជ តស ត គ ស$%ល គ)%កន តច%/ស រ ន ព បន *លជម យគ12 ជម យន ងម #បអហរល ៗ យ"#ងឆ&#ញ ព សរ ជម យគ&' នឆ&' ន យ ងមន លក គ5គង7'លយ វជនបនមកច លរ ម ជ យកម វ(ធ ប ជ រ 1 ន ផង ដរ យ ងមនអ ណរយ"#ងខ&# ងរ"ករយក 'ង ព អម./ស ទ ជធត អកស តជក បន តក ដ យ ដយ យ ងដ ងថ អ ណរ ន ងកររ&កច រ&នរបស យ ងបនមក ដយករអត ធ ត ន ង ទ ទរ ដ ចជ ព អម*+ស មន នច ព យ ង ដរ នឆ$% កយ យ ងបនស រចថ ន ងយកក ន ងដ ដល ន ន ថ ទ ៨ដល ១១ ខ៨ ឆ"# ២០១៤ ស មព កជ ន យ ងកត ថ ន ទ ក ដ ម%& ច លរ មក ប ខន ខ # ន ងព កជ ន ទ ង អស ស មអរ ព គ ណដល ព ន យ ងន វករចត ចងយ<=ងល ន ង សចក សប+,-រស របស លក ន ន ន ង លក ស ស ម"#ល ស ន ន វច ព កម វ-ធ ប ជ រ 4 ន ជម យគ&' ខ # ស មអរគ ណដល ព កជ ន ទ ងអស ដលបនខ តខ អ + ញញត ម តច លរ មផង ដរ ស មជ យអធ ស+,នស រប ករសងសង បន ប ទ ក បស ងទ ក ទ ងមន ផ អ ក ក ក #ង រដ វ ភ (ង ន ផង ដរ នមណ%លក ន ក ង ស ក ខ រ យ ង ស មអរគ ណ! Cambodian Children Ministry Construction has slowed during the rainy season. The bathroom, water tower and chicken projects are being finished at the same time that children and youth meet during the weekends. It is not too late to join our Mission Trip, November 1 15, Please contact me as soon as you can for more info. Thank you all for your prayers and financial support. I know that you always keep these dear children in your prayers. May You Have a Great Summer! Pastor Peter Im Page 4 Stay up-to-date with the Cambodian Ministry at

5 The Trumpeter MISSION: CHINATOWN in pictures Page 5

6 The Trumpeter AUGUST 2013 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Organist Search Committee Meeting 7:00 pm 4 5 CAMP ARRAH WANNA: HIGH SCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY CAMP CE Committee Meeting 6:30 pm Worship Committee Meeting 7:00 pm Cambodian PNW picnic in Olympia, WA Trumpeter Deadline Next Trumpeter Mailing Page 6

7 The Trumpeter SERMON SCHEDULE August 4 The New Life in Christ Ecclesiastes 2: Colossians 3: 1 11 Communion Sunday August 11 Faith Genesis 15: 1 6 Hebrews 11: 1 3, 8 16 August 18 Hard Words Jeremiah 23: Luke 12: August 25 Crippled Psalm 103: 1 8 Luke 13: Member Birthdays Sim Rath... 8/1 Dr. Moir Budden... 8/15 Link Pittinger... 8/3 Janice Chellis... 8/16 Ratharos Ren... 8/3 Jami Bagley... 8/16 Julie Wray... 8/3 Nissa Wheelock... 8/17 Margaret Billeter... 8/4 Dee Wright... 8/18 Qiu Liang... 8/4 Becky Mosley... 8/18 Claribel Dick... 8/4 Clarissa Benfield... 8/20 Irene Noyes... 8/5 Ruhama Organ... 8/20 Sarah Gordon... 8/6 Lucille Luchs... 8/20 John Hartup... 8/7 Ron Fergerson... 8/21 Sovathara Yin... 8/7 Jan Lawson... 8/21 Jon Bennett... 8/11 Irismae Pettit... 8/23 Rick Miller... 8/11 Rosaline Hudnut... 8/25 Marie Minderhout... 8/11 Dr. Glenn Camper... 8/26 Monterey Drake... 8/12 Hobart Bird... 8/27 Janetta Jonsson... 8/14 Brian Lessler... 8/27 Bruce Dransfeldt... 8/14 Mabbeskal Man... 8/31 SUNDAY 9:00 Contemporary Service 10:00 Sunday School for all ages 11:00 Worship Service, Sanctuary Cambodian language, Rose Chapel Children s Church for ages 3 through 2nd Grade, follows the Time for Children at 11:00 6:00 & 8:00 pm: Solid Rock Weekly Schedule and Activities MONDAY SATURDAY 6:00 8:30 am: Eye Opener (AA meeting) MONDAY & THURSDAY 2:00 4:00 pm: Drop-In Center TUESDAY 10:00 11:00 am: library open (note: 2nd and 4th Tuesday only) 5:30 pm: Dinner And A Movie WEDNESDAY All Wednesday activities on break until September 5:45 pm: Wednesday Night Dinner 6:30 pm: Kids Choir (K 8) 6:30 pm: Adult Bible Study 6:30 pm: High School Bible Study 7:35 pm: Choir Rehearsal FRIDAY Office closed 6:00 pm: FOCUS SATURDAY 8:30 10:30 am: Cambodian Men s Fellowship Bible Study Page 7

(USPS 642-900) is published monthly at First Baptist Church, Portland OR Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Oregon.

8 (USPS ) is published monthly at First Baptist Church, Portland OR Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Trumpeter 909 SW 11th Avenue Portland, OR (USPS ) is published monthly Find us on the worldwide web: and cambodianministries.org The next Trumpeter deadline is August 19, Please send articles to Dr. David L. Wheeler Senior Pastor Ed Stelle Senior Adult Ministries Peter Im Cambodian Ministries Rick Francis Interim Minister of C.E. and Discipleship Travis Hatton Music Director Keith Ponce Facilities and Events Manager Cathy Francis Business Administrator Downtown Fellowship presents We are excited to announce that FBC has a unique opportunity to visit the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit on Thursday, September 12, The bus leaves 8:30 am and returns by 5:00 pm. Advanced tickets are $10 per person. You must bring a photo identification card and your own lunch. Water will be provided. Space is limited to 26 people. Signup forms are at the Welcome Center, the reception desk in the office, and on our website (

Cycles of Life. A Publication of First Baptist Church. August 2015 Volume 77, No. 07

Cycles of Life. A Publication of First Baptist Church. August 2015 Volume 77, No. 07 Volume 77, No. 07 A Publication of First Baptist Church Portland, Oregon Cycles of Life Even in an increasingly secular world, the church is still called upon to validate major events in our life cycle,