Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

Book Review: The Great Exchange

Book by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington

Review by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Books on the atonement of Jesus Christ are many, with titles such as The Cross of Christ by John Stott, and more recently with much fanfare, Pierced for Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach. The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington recently came out with hardly a peep from among evangelicals. The issue of the imputed righteousness of Christ for our sins does not seem like a fitting topic to gain popularity or monetary gain, but these authors deemed it worthy of spending time to give the church a gift that glorifies our Great God who has redeemed us by the sending of His Son to die in place of sinners.

This book is fitting for us to delve deep into and look back at the source of our coming to Christ. There are many today who are unwilling to discuss, or are completely oblivious to the fact that Christ died as a substitute for sinners, and that his death truly brings dead men to life. Seen as a stark doctrine, many deride or even sneer at the concept that God the Father would punish His own Son, calling it a form of child abuse. God has blessed these men of God to write with passion the glory of this exchange that reconciles wicked sinners who were enemies of God to be able to dwell in His presence, voluntarily acted upon by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Following the same outline as Scottish author/theologian George Smeaton’s The Apostles’ Doctrine of the Atonement, both authors give a somewhat biblical-theological study of this great exchange through the majority of the New Testament. From Acts on to Revelation this subject is given treatment in how the apostles Paul, John, Peter, and the writer of Hebrews explain the importance of this transfer of Christ’s righteousness for the sins of those who believe and place their trust in Him. Insight after insight is sweetly interspersed throughout, as these authors give glory to God in how they present this loving act of crucifixion throughout Scripture. Bridges and Bevington do give introductory material for the reader to chew on before jumping in to explain the testimony of God’s Word upon this glorious act of divine mercy. My favorite verse, 2 Corinthians 5:21, is given as what summarizes and crystallizes this exchange: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (ESV).

The doctrine of sin is treated for us to consider the wicked nature of our sin and our deserving punishment of eternal damnation, in order that we may understand and cherish the grandness of God’s grace in overcoming this separation to bring reconciliation to the most broken of relationships: between us and God. Reading of the lengths with which the Israelites in Old Testament times had to go through to in terms of rituals performed by the priest on that Day of Atonement seemed staggering in that their sacrifice was inadequate to completely remove sin, knowing that it was a picture of the once-for-all sacrifice so beautifully explored in Hebrews. At the same time, you catch a glimpse of God the Trinity planning this act of demonstrated love that satisfies His wrath, upholds his holiness, and ultimately, gives Himself glory. Having Adam as our head and representative, he sinned, bringing death into the world (Romans 5:12), while we continue to sin personally, bringing more condemnation upon our own head. Yet Christ, the new Adam, represents a new group of humanity in living a sinless life and dying in our place as a substitute and sacrifice that gives a pleasing aroma to God, resurrecting Him from the dead to show the approval of the work of Christ.

Reading the apostles who witnessed Christ here on earth and then preaching to sinners with boldness gives me pause to consider whether I have truly treasured the atonement of Christ, the sin-bearing substitute of my own sins, being imputed to Him while I’m credited with His perfect righteousness, that I may give glory to God. I strongly recommend this book to those who are ever searching for a deeper picture into what the cross of Christ truly displays, and ever increase to have a high view of this God who loves us beyond comprehension. May God be glorified.

College Life Searchlight

by Moon Choi

College Life Searchlight began in January 2001 as an on-campus, student run organization. Pastor Patrick Cho headed, and still heads, the ministry. He started off the ministry with a study of the book of Philippians, a study which he titled “the Joy of Our Salvation.” A typical night at Searchlight is meeting on-campus at 7 o’clock with the night starting off with praise, followed by a sermon usually delivered by Pastor Patrick. Occasionally, the pastoral interns preach and challenge the collegians through their messages. Pastor Patrick also plans to have guest speakers come in to preach this year.

The goal of Searchlight is to fulfill the MVP of Lighthouse by reaching out to the campus and to foster a growth in faith in young believers. Searchlight does outreach is to hold campus evangelism, which is currently held twice a week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 2 o’clock. There are also various events throughout the year, like the yearly luau and car rally. There are still many ministry opportunities available, which are not limited to only collegians but also to singles and married (especially ladies!).

The church leadership thought it a good idea to make Lighthouse’s presence known on campus as an on-campus ministry that is intimately tied to a local church. As Searchlight is a direct ministry of Lighthouse, the importance of the local church is emphasized and all who attend Searchlight can be assured that the doctrine being preached on Friday nights will be aligned with Lighthouse’s doctrinal statement. Searchlight also has Lighthouse as an awesome resource, something that parachurch ministries usually do not have available to them. Though College Life Searchlight is only on the UCSD campus right now, Pastor Patrick hopes to expand to other campuses soon.

This year, Searchlight will begin its study of Mark as PastorPatrick hopes to exposit the narrative in order to go through the life of Jesus. Pastor Patrick calls this task “incredibly weight” but is still excited to go through it. And what’s the reason for going through Mark, specifically? “Since I chose to preach through one of the gospels, it made sense to start with the shortest one in case I realized halfway through that I am way in over my head!” He also plans to go through Mark because, previously, he had exposited the rich theology that was found in Paul’s epistles but since an epistle and a narrative are exposited differently, Pastor Patrick wants to exposit Mark, as it is a narrative, so that it may also serve as an example to the collegians.

Though it was sad to let flocks go, College Life Searchlight brings very exciting opportunities to serve, to learn, and to become better acquainted with the collegians. The collegians, too, are thrilled. Garrett Glende, a third year, said that he was excited about “getting to know collegians better” and having “more intimate fellowship with [fellow collegians] outside of Sundays.” Anthony Kwon, a second year, said that something that he really appreciates about Searchlight is the small groups, with “an actual older person leading it,” rather than an older peer.

When asked about what he would like to challenge the collegians with, Pastor Patrick said, “I know it sounds unfair, but I often challenge collegians to not act like collegians…Unfortunately, many of these collegians use the fact that they are in college as their excuse…Many collegians, as a result, will stay up really late at night, waste hours and hours of time, irresponsibly procrastinate in their studies, and make stupid decisions that manifest their immaturity…Scripture does not segregate collegians and normal adults. Collegians should be expected to act as responsible adults and so this is how I challenge them.”

Praise Team

by Kevin Au

Every Sunday, after Scripture is read, we look up from the opening prayer and are greeted by the familiar faces of the praise team. Within moments, the entire congregation is engaged in praise through song, lifting their voices and clapping their hands, guided by a steady snare, bellowing bass, vibrant voices, gleaming guitars, and crisp keys. It’s a beautiful picture of the body of Christ responding in unison to their God, but behind this scene lays much unseen preparation and prayer. Leading the church in worship is a serious matter for those involved with the team, and it shows on Sundays, as well as throughout the week.

“I’ve been most encouraged by the standard of excellence on the team,” says Tim Yu, guitarist, “God demands our best because He is supreme and worthy of only the best.” The excellence we have come to expect during Sunday praise time comes from a common appreciation and love of music, as well as a lot of effort to improve technically, both individually and together as a team though two practices a week, on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. “This is where we iron out the nuts and bolts of the songs: how we start the song, when we decide when different instruments enter, what progressions we play, how many times we repeat the chorus, dynamics of the song, how the drum beat changes throughout the song, how we end the song or how we flow right into the next song,” says praise leader, Eugene Park.

In addition to the technical and practical aspects of playing music, preparation for Sunday worship is both a personal and continual matter; one that isn’t just limited to formal practice times and familiarity with the music set. “[There is] a lot of praying to make sure that my heart and mind are focused on truly worshiping God and remembering what worship is all about,” says Helen Wong, vocalist. An understanding of the nature of worship is essential both for cultivating a heart of worship and for leading on Sundays, which is why the team devotes half their Thursday practice times to discussing readings from Singing and Making Music: Issues in Church Music Today by Paul S. Jones. “The reason we take such a large time doing this is because it’s important that we’re not just a group of people who play music. Really, anyone can do that, and do that excellently at least in the world’s eyes,” explains Eugene. “But it’s also important for us to have a good understanding of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

Despite all this preparation, the team does still face struggles on Sundays, mostly stemming from the conflict between the responsibilities of personal worship and responsibilities leading corporate worship. “Perfection …doesn’t stop with the absence of personal mistakes; it’s so much greater than that when other people are involved,” says Brian Chan, keyboardist. “Finding the balance between musical creativity and helping other people worship God has proven to be one of the greatest challenges in my experience.” Drummer David Ahn adds, “Another big struggle is making sure that I’m worshiping [God] myself while I’m playing. Whether it’s in trying to sing along (which is hard!) or just dwelling on the words of the song, it requires a deliberate effort.”

Though it does require much effort and heart checking, everyone on the team enjoys what they do. They all share music as a passion and joy in their lives and the ability to fellowship with each other in service to the body is one encouragement that everyone on the team shares. “Just being around fellow brothers and sisters who genuinely and seriously desire to worship God and serve His Church in a biblical and excellent manner has been a great inspiration and accountability to me,” shares Abram Kim, bassist. It is also a unique encouragement to the team to be in a position to see the rest of the body worshipping God. “One of my most favorite things about being a part of the praise team is being able to stand up on stage every Sunday morning and look down at a congregation worshiping God. It is such an encouragement, especially when I see people who seem so joyful to be singing praises to God. It’s definitely one of the highlights of every Sunday service,” says Christine Cho, vocalist.

Many have expressed their appreciation for the work of the praise team and their commitment to excellence, both musically and spiritually. It is not often that the praise team gets to express appreciation to the congregation. But they really do wish to emphasize that praise and worship on Sundays is a corporate thing, not something that they do alone on stage. Though we are not all personally on the praise team, it is something that the body was meant to do together. They encourage the church to worship our God in spirit and in truth every Sunday. We must remember that our praise on Sundays, as with worship at any other time of the week is directed to God. Our attention therefore, should be on God not on the praise team. Their ministry is done excellently when the congregation sees past them and God, for whom all the songs are written and played, receives the glory.

My Testimony

by Pastor Patrick Cho

A few Fridays ago at College Life Searchlight, I took some time to share my testimony with the group. Seeing as it was the beginning of the school year, I thought perhaps the collegians would want to get to know their pastor a little better. It’s amazing to me that figuring out my personal testimony was at one point actually the most humbling and difficult things for me because it is now something I am most excited to share about with others. It was humbling because, having grown up in the church, I thought I had accomplished so much for Christ even before I became a true believer, and I didn’t want to admit that it was all for the wrong reasons. I didn’t want to accept the fact that I wasn’t a Christian for as long as I had thought because I was always proud of the fact that I became a Christian at a young age. When God leveled me with the truth that I had all this Bible knowledge and yet wasn’t saved, it was very difficult to accept.

My testimony has become really exciting to share with people because I’ve come to realize that there are many people who relate to my life experience. Peter Lim shared a message this past Sunday that described well much of my Christian experience. The message title says it all: “The Dangers of Growing Up in a Christianized Environment.” That was my life, a whole lot of Bible intake and no real relationship with Jesus Christ. I did so much that I thought was spiritual, and for the most part, I think I did a pretty good job of putting on a Christian façade. But in the end, I came to realize that all the understanding I had never really hit home. I think the biggest indicator of my counterfeit faith was my divided heart. Although there was a side of me that wanted to live for God, there was still a good part of me that only desired the things of the world and saw God as an unfortunate roadblock to my truest heart desires. My outward faithfulness was in large part an attempt to look holy before my Christian peers.

It wasn’t until college that I came face to face with the emptiness of this deception. By the grace of God, He convinced me that I could not serve two masters. I came to realize that I needed to recognize Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life. I could not continue living for myself even though I did so under the guise of spiritual maturity. All my church experience, though it would prove ultimately profitable in my spiritual growth, would not benefit me at all if I did not first entirely surrender my life to Christ. I could not hold anything back, not even a small hidden compartment of my life for my own selfish desires. It had to all be His.

Growing up in a Christian environment with godly parents and Bible teaching churches at least proved to be beneficial for me. Even though I was saved at a much later age than I originally had thought, I began my true Christian walk with a lot of knowledge about God and His will for my life. I used to want to have a Christian testimony that was exciting. I thought it would have been cool to be converted from a life as a gang banger or a drug dealer or something. I no longer have those thoughts because I realize the great benefit there is in having been raised in a Christian home. I don’t think I would trade that. John Piper once said in a sermon, “You do not choose where you are born. If there ever was an act of grace, it is to be born into a Christian home.” I wholeheartedly concur. I am thankful that my parents are believers and that they raised me with an understanding of the truthfulness of God’s Word. I understand that not everyone has the same privilege and so I praise God for it.

My wrestling with my testimony has affected my ministry significantly. I no longer assume anything upon the people I preach to and teach. Someone may have grown up in the church and heard the gospel for years, but like with me, it may not have sunken deep into their hearts. Although they might be able to point to many spiritual experiences, those experiences might have come from an unregenerate life and heart. I preach the gospel as if it is the first time people are hearing it because there is the very real possibility that for some it may be the first time they actually heed it. This is one of the reasons why each year in the college group I make it a point to preach at least a few messages just on the simple gospel message. Praise God for His amazing grace to me. Though I thought I could see, I was indeed blind. He opened my eyes to see in truth, and it wasn’t until then that I realized exactly how blind I truly was.

Editor's Note: November 2007

by Steven Hong

Happy Thanksgiving! The holiday season is officially upon us. What a great time to reflect on the amazing grace of God in each of our lives. From a loving community of believers, the preaching of God’s Word, ample opportunity for ministry, and leaders that care, there are abundant reasons to praise God here at Lighthouse. But above all, let’s each thank God for the greatest gift of all: the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. As the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:19, without the resurrection of His Son, Christians are to be the most pitied of all people. This holiday season, let’s avoid the self-centered tendencies of the world and fix our eyes on Christ alone.

The Kindness of God Demonstrated

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Christine and I just celebrated our second anniversary this past Monday up in Seattle. It was a really low key event. We just went out for dessert and coffee and spent a little time talking and evaluating our marriage. It was a great weekend because we were also with family and had a lot of time with Mom and Dad and my brother David.

During our conversation on Monday, one of the topics that came up was about all the experiences we had with the people we previously had liked romantically and/or had been rejected by. We had some good laughs talking about junior high and high school crushes and shared some amusing stories. It dawned on me, though, that I always talk about the sovereignty of God in directing us in our relationships, and surely we could see now how God had been orchestrating our lives through these different experiences. But really it is the kindness of God that keeps us from the ones who were never intended to be our “significant other.” God was kind to not answer my prayers favorably all those years in elementary school, junior high, high school, and college. It is not to say that these girls were not good girls (some of them were and still are remarkable girls). It is that He knew what was best for me, that it would be better to save me for Christine. And it was His kindness demonstrated.

I think this mentality helps because it can sound cold to remind people that God is sovereign when they just get rejected by someone else in the pursuit of a relationship. (Certainly the sovereignty of God should be a comforting and wonderful doctrine, but it can be received wrongly.) What a great reminder that His sovereignty works together with His kindness for our good and His glory. So, Christine and I toasted our coffees on Monday night to the kindness of God in not granting us what we had prayed for in the past and causing us to wait until we had met each other.

Happy 2nd anniversary, Christine! I praise God for His kindness to me.

In the Line of Fire

by Pastor John Kim

It was four years ago almost to the week that we faced the fires that hit San Diego pretty hard. I remember driving through the 15 freeway heading south to the church office (off of Convoy at the time) on my way to teach a baptism class when I drove right through a firewall, which had to be one of the more scary moments of my life as everything turned pitch black and the heat was pretty intense. After what seemed like forever, I saw daylight and drove through and it was an eerie feeling. We had to move our church service that day to someone’s home and looking off into the distance, it was pretty strange to think that fires could do so much to change the course of how we look at life.

This morning I was awakened to find that we had to evacuate our home and after packing some things, we moved over to Scripps Ranch, only to find that we had to evacuate from there as well. Moving to the coast in La Jolla, the day has been pretty much filled with trying to coordinate the church members in finding homes for all the people who have had to evacuate.

Though it is pretty hectic considering all that is going on, I can’t help but thank God for His grace and goodness in how the church family is responding with every effort being made to help provide shelter and care for one another. It really is great, even those who are new to the church are jumping in and offering their homes.

Dropping by the church, I couldn’t help but look at all my books and realize that they would go up pretty fast in a fire. I took a few to prepare for the next coming weeks so that I would at least have a few resources but it was a bit sad looking at everything, realizing that a lifetime of collecting books could go away in a moment. But having studied Ecclesiastes these past few months, it has been sobering to understand that everything in this life is really passing in nature and without God, there would be no point to it. A life filled with plenty would be an empty life without God but a life filled with God though with little would make me a pretty rich man. These are thoughts that are not so easy to consider when one realizes that there is a very good chance you could lose your home and all your possessions, but when you realize that you’re going to leave it all behind one day anyway, it doesn’t seem so important after all.

What is all the more important is seeing that the love of God moves us to care for one another in time of need and I really am so thankful to have a church family that will stand in the line of fire (literally) and apply the kind of family love that we have talked about in Romans 12:10 and has been generous and hospitable and considerate in considering the needs of others.

Who knows what the next few days will bring but one thing for sure, I know that they will bring the grace of God through the love and care of our church family.

DTR2: Waiting for Magic?

by Pastor John Kim

Marriage is a scary proposition for many to consider. But what is amazing to me is how many Christians do not really seek God’s truth regarding marriage but look to their own feelings and emotions to guide them in making decisions. Many will place intuition and things like compatibility and personality issues as the primary factors in making a decision and wait for lightning to strike. This is the so-called “magic” that people look for and while I will not deny that there is some element of subjectivity, it seems a bit odd that many will dismiss seeking God’s Word for guidance regarding marriage and instead look for the “magic.”

This is seen in the whole world of dating where both men and women use worldly wisdom, if you could even call it wisdom, to make their decisions on what makes for a good partner. There are those who would entertain having a dating relationship with a non-believer. Scripture is clear on this point and while I sort of addressed it in passing, I realized that for some, they might have though it was just my opinion. It is not.

2 Corinthians 6:14-15
Do not be bound with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer with an unbeliever?

If you are thinking of entering into a relationship with an unbeliever just because you feel there is some “magic”, you are truly deceived by the illusion that there could be a genuine and intimate love relationship that would be to the glory of God. How could you engage in a relationship with thoughts of marriage when marriage is to reflect the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church? If you do not agree on the most important issue of your standing with God, how will you have anything else in common that is of significance? You might enjoy the same music, have the same hobbies, and feel like you “click” but if the foundations are not built on the same Rock, I don’t care how compatible you feel, e-harmony tests notwithstanding.

For the Christian man or woman who is seriously contemplating a dating relationship, you cannot consider it without seeing it as a trajectory toward marriage. That’s why you can’t afford on some subjective “magic” to be your primary guide. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!! (Proverbs 3:5). In ALL YOUR WAYS acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5). I would take it that God intended this to be true even to this day and that it would include all things, including dating.

I find it a bit strange that those who would say they are Christians are less inclined to trust God and more inclined to trust human wisdom, when there has been more than enough evidence as to its failures. Just go to your local bookstore and check out the section on relationships and it is chock full of nonsense.

This is not to say that Christians automatically have everything work out perfectly, even though they might try their best to follow the right path. We live in a sinful world and even the most sincere Christians are not able to see everthing clearly. Yet we find hope in the sovereignty of God that He causes all things to work together for good. This is not an excuse to justify willful disobedience to God’s Word – that is simply unacceptable. You should never presume on the grace of God to get away with sin. But it is to say that as you do trust in the Lord with all your heart, He will never give you something that you can’t handle (1 Cor. 10:13) and He will provide all you need to make it through.

So instead of looking to illusions and deceptions, look to the God of truth who not only created the institution of marriage, but has the means by which to get there in a way that is consistent with His will.

Commitment to the Local Church

by Pastor John Kim

If you have been at Lighthouse for any amount of time, you will have heard at least a few messages on the importance of the local church as well as the topic of membership. It is always a bit puzzling to me why people question the importance of membership in the local church. likening it to being in a cult or legalism at best. I suppose that for many people they have not had positive church experiences so it makes sense that joining themselves to a church as a formal member is not something that sounds so enticing. But for others I think it is more an issue of not having considered the point of application in regards to all that the Scriptures call us to be and do as the body of Christ.

The argument that many will bring up is that being part of the universal body of Christ is what is significant and that the New Testament does not explicitly call for membership in a local assembly. Now it is true that the Scriptures do talk about the universal church and when we see that, we can understand that what is meant by the universal church is that all true believers in Christ throughout history make up this true body of Christ. This would encompass all believers from every part of the world at any given time. Yet the problem with limiting all references to the universal church would ignore the practical application of those passages that refer to the church, not to mention that there are many practical exhortations given as to how the church is to conduct itself.

1 Timothy 3:15
But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

The whole point of Paul’s letter to Timothy was to provide practical instruction on how the church was to be organized and how ministry was to take place. That’s why there are guidelines given in determining what roles were appropriate for women (chapter 2), the character qualifications for leadership (chapter 3), practical disciplines for the pastor (chapter 4), how to take care of widows (chapter 5), how to deal with elders (chapter 5), and dealing with false teachers (chapter 6). These are all very practical issues that must be applied somewhere and this is what distinguishes the local church from other institutions, particularly parachurch ministries.

I want to give some clarification regarding some statements that I made on Sunday so that there is no confusion. I wanted to communicate that if we are the body of Christ, we would recognize that we are to be the bride of Christ and as such, we practically carry out the call to be the bride of Christ through how we conduct ourselves as a local church. While I understand that the bride of Christ is referring to the universal church made up of all true believers, I would argue for the believer who takes the call to be a member of the body of Christ seriously would then be faithful to actively be involved in a local assembly so as to practice what the Scriptures call believers to be and do in a practical way. I do not see any way that someone can justify that just because they are part of the universal body of Christ that they are not responsible to be part of a local assembly that upholds the description of what the Scriptures call a church to be, namely that there are elders who shepherd the flock, practice the ordinances, and carry out genuine fellowship in accordance with the guidelines that are clearly presented in the Word of God.

The reason why I believe parachurches often create difficulty for some is that instead of supporting the priority of the local church, it will often compete in a way that I believe is inappropriate with that priority. College students will often give the lion’s share of their time and energy to campus ministries that are independent of the local church, given that it is more convenient and often more relevant to them since it consists of their peers. The problem with many parachurch ministries is that there is often a lack of qualified leaders who provide accountability and shepherding that keeps students’ lives in check. This is not to say that all parachurch ministries are like this. But there are too many students who upon graduation find themselves with a huge void in their life and even though they went to church, it was not a priority such that it carried strongly through the transition from college. There are so many students who have fallen away from the faith that they claimed to have in college that one wonders what contributed to that direction. I can’t help but see that the lack of being vitally involved in a local church has contributed significantly to this end and that is why I feel very strongly about it when I address the issue.

I am sure that this is bound to upset some people as many take it as an attack on the parachurch ministry. I don’t hate the parachurch. I am thankful for the role that they play. That’s why I said that the parachurch ministry should be like a good friend in terms of its role in the life of a Christian. But it should not compete with the local church. It might have been a bit of a stretch for some to hear me say that being in the local church is akin to being married and that the parachurch could become kind of a mistress if it infringes on the priority of the local church. If that was offensive to some, I do apologize but at the same time the reason I stated it in such terms is because I see it having that kind of affect on some people.

I just have a few simple questions to ask those who are involved in a parachurch ministry – do you value the priority of the local church? Can you honestly say that it’s not important according to Scripture? Is it justifiable to hide behind the excuse of being a part of the universal church?

I remember talking to one college student who said that he felt it was God’s special calling for this particular time to be involved in the parachurch ministry and that he felt that praying for the local church was his way to be involved and since he really didn’t have that much time to spare, that was all he did in relation to the local church. I was very disappointed to hear this as this was someone that I had thought had a lot of potential for ministry.

I have talked to the regional director of one of the more significant parachurch ministries in the area and when we were discussing the priority of the local church, he thought it was curious that I would frame it that way, that the local church had priority. He disagreed and again I just couldn’t help but feel like it is this misguided influence, though it might be well-intentioned, simply erodes the importance of the local church’s role in the life of the believer.

Now I know that not every local church is doing its part to fulfill the call that Scriptures have given and to this I can only say that we must pray for pastors and elders and church leaders to humbly confess these failures and work toward fulfilling the Biblical mandate instead of catering to the latest worldly fads that so often outright contradict the Word of God.

But at Lighthouse, I hope that you know that as a leadership, we are committed to doing everything we possible can to have this local body fulfill what the Scriptures call us to be and do.

But we can’t do it without every member of the church actively participating and contributing to this end. And as far as I can see, I don’t see any real viable reason why a true believer would choose NOT to be a member at a local church that is committed to a high view of God and His Word. It would seem to me that it should be the most natural decision to make, to join and commit yourself to being held accountable by the loving care of shepherds and fellow saints so that we would work together as a body with each member playing out his or her role so that the head of the church, Jesus Christ, would be glorified.

Please know my heart in this – it’s not simply to make you feel guilty. It is to call you to be who you are called to be – a member of the body of Christ.

If you have questions about this issue, please feel free to talk with me as I would be more than happy to discuss it with you.

Defining the Relationship

by Pastor Patrick Cho

I have to admit, I was expecting a good turn out Sunday evening for the first night of the “DTR Series II” by Pastor John on dating and relationships, but I wasn’t expecting THAT good of a turn out! It was encouraging to see people from other churches come out to visit us to hear about how to develop a biblical worldview in dating. It was even more encouraging to see a number of married people in the audience. It’s so important for married people to establish a right understanding of dating and relationships. If we are going to uphold the Titus 2 principle of older men and women instructing younger men and women, we are going to need the older ones to have a proper understanding of the biblical principles that apply to dating.

Pastor John came right out of the gate explaining the importance of laying a solid foundation of theology if you want to understand the basics about dating and relationships. This might seem like a novel approach to some. Maybe it’s because they don’t see the relationship between theology and something as practical and tangible as dating. But seriously, if you are not rooted in the fundamentals of theology that means you do not have an adequate understanding of the sovereignty of God. I don’t know how anyone survives “the dating game” without a good understanding of God’s control. It also means that you may not be living entirely with the correct focus and motivation when seeking a relationship. It also means that you might not know what it takes to find comfort when things don’t go your way… and in the pursuit of a dating relationship, things often don’t go your way!

I’m really looking forward to this series because it will be interesting to see how different people seek to apply its principles. Regardless of whether it leads to more budding relationships or even some couples realizing they aren’t adequately prepared to continue their relationship, hopefully people will walk away with a greater sense of God’s will in dating. Hopefully people will seek to honor God in their pursuit of a relationship and in the relationship itself rather than simply striving to satisfy personal desires.