Church & Ministry

One of the differences between dispensationalists and covenant theologians is their understanding of the category people of God. To be fair, this difference also exists among varieties of dispensationalism, and it is one of the reasons that some traditional dispensationalists suspect that progressive dispensationalists are not really dispensationalists at all. Traditional dispensationalists affirm that Israel and the church are distinct peoples of God. Covenant theologians believe that this distinction necessarily disrupts the unity of the covenant of grace, and they insist that the church has taken the place of Israel within the one people of God. For covenant theologians, Israel is the church of the Old Testament while the church is God’s new Israel. Progressive dispensationalists argue that the church has joined Israel within the one people of God, leaving temporal distinctions between the two groups but collapsing the distinction in eternity.

Before one can decide whether Israel and the church constitute one people of God or two, however, it might be useful to understand just what a people of God is. And before one can define the expression people of God, one must define the word people. In fact, much of the debate revolves around unclear understandings of the biblical concept of people.

No wonder. In modern thought—especially in American thought—the word people functions simply as an alternative plural for person. We count one person, but two, three, or four people. Consequently the people of God must simply comprise the aggregate of persons or individuals who belong to God. What could be simpler?

Republished with permission from Voice magazine, July/August 2012.

After the initial shock of hearing the words, “and my resignation is effective…” confusion is bound to reign for a while. What do we do after our pastor resigns? Generally, a pastoral search committee is formed to go about the task of finding another shepherd for the flock. But the congregation needs to do more than just seek another pastor. While it’s not as easy as A B C, the information that follows will help address other needs of the congregation.

A—ASSESSMENT

Assessment comes in the form of asking questions, even the hard ones. Where are we as a congregation? Did the pastor leave under difficult circumstances? Were there moral, ethical or other problems that damaged testimonies? Is the congregation and/or board divided? What are the vital signs of the fellowship? What are the strengths and weaknesses? Does the church need outside help to be objective and put things back into perspective? Are there problems within the congregation that need to be handled? What will be the process? Are there relationships to be reconciled outside the church?