Calvin Synod Herald, 2005 (106. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2005-05-01 / 5-6. szám
8 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Forbid not the assembling of yourselves together says the Bible. The creation of such sects alone speaks to their yet being carnal as opposed to the pureness of life before God such various vows are supposed to accomplish. The author rightly notes there are no such persons or sects within the true church of Christ. Yet, duly called ministers must have the time for study and prayer so they can properly present the Word of God to the congregation. Often in the Bible Christ turned aside into the wilderness to find a place of peace and quiet before the Lord. The church needs to insure such times of solitude and peace are provided for the minister. To permanently withdraw as during the monastic period is not what God wants. 8. Ministers Are To Be Called and Elected. Furthermore, no man ought to usurp the honor of the ecclesiastical ministry; that is, to seize it for himself by bribery or any deceits, or by his own free choice. But let the ministers of the Church be called and chosen by lawful and ecclesiastical election; that is to say, let them be carefully chosen by the Church or by those delegated from the Church for that purpose in a proper order without any uproar, dissension and rivalry. Not any one may be elected, but capable men distinguished by sufficient consecrated learning, pious eloquence, simple wisdom, lastly, by moderation and an honorable reputation, according to that apostolic rule which is compiled by the apostle in I Tim., ch. 3, and Titus, ch. 1. It would be possible to enter into much comment and debate here. However the Reformed church has always held to a three point calling to help insure that only those men called of God were ordained into the office of minister. These men are to have been identified prior to their service and prepared to minister to God’s people. This calling process begins with the inward sense of calling in the individual. The next step is the recognition of God’s calling by the brothers and sisters in Christ of the person called. Such persons with an inner calling and the recognition of his peers in Christ is recognized and accepted by the courts of the church as being called of God enter into a time of preparation for service. Last, such a person having received a call to a particular place, church, or ministry, the elders set aside and so assigned the title and duties of Minister of Word and sacrament. This is recognized by the ordaining body and before God by the laying on of hands. The Reformed church has never ordained men to service without a specific call to serve in a particular place/area by an Assembly of God’s people. The Reformed church does not ordain men who do not have a call. This is the final fleece before bestowing upon a mere man the highest title among men and setting them to labor in the Lord’s vineyard. Definitions Minister: In the civil realm this denotes a person appointed by an authority to administer duties of state such as minister of commerce. In the church it is a man called by God, accepted by the church and ordained to administer the gospel and sacraments of Christ in a particular place. Such are always ordained to service as a minister of word and sacrament, the sacraments not being able to be divided from the word of God that established them. Gospel: gospel >noun 1 the teachings of Christ. 2 (Gospel) the record of Christ’s life and teaching in the first four books of the New Testament. 3 (Gospel) each of these books. 4 (also gospel truth) something absolutely true. -ORIGIN Old English, ‘good news’. Preacher: See minister above, but even more specifically a minister of the good news of Jesus Christ teaching all to observe whatsoever things that Christ commanded. Dr. Chuck Baynard Clover EPC - Clover, SC www. clo verepc. org Felor Christian Church and School On the northern edge of the Mezőség is a small town by the name of Felor. Historically, the inhabitants of this village guarded the Ciceu fortress; but today the number of Hungarians still living there is greatly diminished. Still they have their neat, well-kept church building, which is home to a Reformed congregation with a vision. Felor stands in the middle of a community of twelve different villages, located on both banks of the Somes River, and together constituting a sizeable Hungarian Reformed community. They, however, have a problem. Because of the dominance of the Romanians who now rule their land and the effects of Communism, their children are being taught in state schools, with their Romanian bent of culture and morality. The result is that their sense of Hungarian Reformed identity and faith is being eroded away. They, therefore, decided that if they could build again a Hungarian Reformed School along the lines of those they had before Communism, they could again instruct their children in a Reformed way with Christian principles underlying every aspect of their lives. In this way, their faith could once again be passed on to future generations and the Reformed faith maintained in this land. This intention was reinforced when the Hungarian government, in an effort to help the Hungarian minorities in neighboring lands, agreed to support them financially in the building of such a school. Working together, they decided to tear down the old parsonage in Felor and drew up plans for a new building, which would contain room for a parsonage, classrooms, and a dormitory for children who could not return home during the week. It was an ambitious program, but with the support of the Hungarian government, they saw no reason not to proceed; and by the summer of 2003, they had dug the foundation and were beginning to build. Soon the foundation was completed and the walls beginning to rise, with everyone doing what he could to help along. Much of the equipment used was old and of the most primitive sort. Some were volunteer workers, and others received a minimal recompense. By fall, the walls both external and internal were nearly completed when disaster struck. Hungary had elected a
