Q&A With PJ

From time-to-time, we'll use our blog and newsletter article space to answer questions that come in at our services. This week, i have four which I'll handle briefly. If you want/need more detail on any of these subjects, please call (860) 436-9216 or email office@millpondchurch.org. Thanks!

1. Q. Does it matter whether or not you are creamated or buried after death?

A. Biblically, the short answer is "No." I 1Corinthians 15:35-45, Paul makes it clear that what comes up in the resurrection at Christ's return, is a spiritual body--a new body, not a reworked version of the old (see also all of 1 Cor. 15 and 1Thess. 4:13-18). Thus, whether the old flesh was buried, burned, or blown-up--we still get the new and DRASTICALLY improved, spiritual version when Jesus comes again.

2. Q. How Do you submit to a spouse who is not saved?

A. In brief, the same way you submit to one who IS saved. I'm not being trite or cute here, but it's true. Submission to one another is always done "out of reverence to Christ (Eph. 5:21, etc.)." Thus, you treat your spouse as you would treat Jesus even though your spouse can and will NEVER deserve that kind of treatment. You sacrifice your wants at times for his/her needs. Now, this doesn't include abuse since to sacrifice by allowing yourself or your children to be abused would never be God's will nor does it really help your spouse. In fact, allowing abuse under the guise of "submission," is to encourage/enable it and lead the spouse further away from God by helping them sin! Still, to surrender my desires in order to care for and sacrifice for my spouse's needs is Biblical no matter whether or not he/she is a Christian. No matter what the spiritual state of your mate, the key is to know the difference between needs, wants, and sinful requests. For example, my spouse needs love and respect always. She may want $1,000,000 in spending money, but I can't (and probably shouldn't) give her that. Furthermore, she may make a sinful request that I not attend church so I can be with her 24/7, but God is clear that I shouldn't forsake assembling with other Christians (Heb. 10:25), so that's something "nonnegotiable." I submit by laying down my wants for her needs---whether she's a pagan or a devoted follower of Christ. Hope this helps....

3. Q. In Genesis, we're told that Noah put all the animals in the Ark. How could he do that since the Ark would be smaller than some aircraft carriers today?

A. A couple of thoughts. First, was it every species or every single type of animal? Read it carefully, Genesis 7 makes it clear that this was done, "after (their) kind." So rather than have every breed of dog, there may have just been two small dogs. The same with birds, cats, various reptiles, etc. Also, it's entirely impossible that these were baby animals, not fully grown, such that space wasn't an issue. Having said this, remember that the ark WAS huge. Thus, it was clearly capable of holding hundreds if not thousands of species and thus, accomplish the task.

4. Q. In Genesis 6, it says, "the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose." Later, it says that there were "Nephilim" on earth who were "heros." Were these giants? Who were the "sons of men" and the "daughters of men?" Were these angels marrying humans?

A. There have been many speculations about this over time and I'd be lying if I didn't say that my answer is just a "good guess." Still, there are a couple of things we know. First, angels apparently don't have sex and thus don't marry. Jesus said so (see Matt. 22:30). Second, the text doesn't actually say that the "Nephilim" had super powers or that they were giants per se. They were probably bigger and stronger than most, but not the size of a house or "able to leap tall buildings with a single bound." Personally, I think that the point of Genesis 6 is that people were simply marrying without considering faith and family. We know it displeased God (Genesis 6:3) and, from other passages of scripture, this usually meant that people of faith were marrying people who worshiped false gods and were thus led astray. The "sons of God" would be people of faith and the "daughters of men" would represent people who weren't believers in the one true God. This was always a concern...and still is to this day (See 2Cor. 6:14).


If you'd like a question answered in our "Q&A With PJ" portion of the newsletter, just email us or stick a written question in the box at one of our worship services. Thank you!

PRAYER PARTNERS--A KEY TO SPIRITUAL SUCCESS

Find more videos like this on Pond Place

How do we grow? We grow best one-on-one versus in larger groups. This video looks at Proverbs 27:17 as an indicator of the best means of spiritual growth and discipleship.

 In our recent church survey, we learned some things. Actually, the survey confirmed some hunches the elders and I have had for some time. About 25% of our average Sunday Morning attendees responded to the survey--a good representative sample. Interestingly, most of those who responded have been at Mill Pond for over a year and attend small groups, etc. So, they are involved, committed, and probably most are members of the church as well.

Yet, even though many of the respondents are core members, 88% read their Bible only 5 minutes or less a day, 83% pray less than 5 minutes a day, and 88% reach out to only 3 or fewer unchurched friends/family. What that means to your pastor-dude is, "I'm not getting it done!" In other words, attending a church we like with messages we learn from and music we say is inspiring, going to small group, having lots of friends in church, and/or believing that most of our friends would like the church and its people--all of this--isn't enough to generate spiritual growth.

That's exactly what we've been hearing from God over the last few months...

You see we know we've been missing something. Just having good meetings and classes and sermons and worship isn't producing spiritual growth and transformation. So what would produce it? I think part of the answer is individual attention. The pieces of the proverbial puzzle we need to consider all center around 1-on-1 discipleship. This could be mentoring, coaching, prayer partnering, accountability partnering, role modeling, etc. In our context, (and the context of most evangelical churches by the way), this rarely happens. But I believe we've got to change that or we'll ultimately suffer the same fate of 80+% of all American Churches which are now in decline.

In my humble opinion, our first step should be prayer partnering. That is, we each find someone we can connect with once a week to pray, encourage each other, and just share our burdens/experiences. This may involve something as simple as a 5 minute phone call mid-week to say, "Hi...how are you? How can I pray for you this week?" Is that hard? Nope! But it could be life-changing. Our prayer time would increase at the very least. And perhaps God would rend heaven and pour out his Spirit in a way that brings revival and renewal--not just to us--but to our communities as well.!

And what if, after a season, this relationship blossomed into an accountability covenant where each of you would lovingly challenge the other to pray, study God's Word, etc. more often? What if, this partnership turned into an opportunity for the two of you to learn how to mentor and be mentored so that you can also coach and assist new believers who cross your paths? What if it led to an "iron sharpens iron" experience (Prov. 27:17) where you studied scripture together at a deeper level than in most small groups or worship services? And what if, you both got so good at this that you felt comfortable "paying it forward?" In other words, what if you began to intentionally pass on what you've learned to one or two others who did the same as did those they shared with...etc....? You see where this goes?

The possibilities and potential results are endless and amazing.

So what about it? Are you willing to take the risk of asking someone to partner with you for growth? Could you take the step of calling someone once a week starting this week? If you do, please let us know so we can make note of the various partnerships being generated. This way, we can provide support material and encouragement to you and your prayer partner over time. I truly believe that the Paul-Timothy, Paul-Titus, Barnabas-Mark-like relationships we create will bless our church and cause tremendous growth!

For God's Glory,

Pastor Joel

Millpond_Church: Do you have a prayer partner? http://bit.ly/9QdvRr