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Specific Goals of the Association
The primary goal of
the ACRC is to be a catalyst where Charismatic/Reformed Churches
and Pastors may find mutual support and encouragement. We hope to
facilitate this through:
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Regular
contact, whether by telephone, written correspondence, or
personal visits as time would permit.
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The
establishment of annual or semi-annual meetings for the purpose
of encouragement, planning, or just simply being together. We
envision this on both the Pastoral and Congregational level.
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Having other
meetings throughout the year with a special emphasis on Youth,
Worship, Marriage, etc.
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Spiritual
Covering and/or Help for troubled churches - only as it is
desired. (We believe strongly in the autonomy of each local
church and would never intrude on the internal affairs of any
local body.)
Our
History, Purpose and Vision for the Future
Pastor Kirk Wetsell,
Jacksonville Christian Fellowship
Jacksonville, Arkansas
The Association of Charismatic/Reformed Churches, or ACRC, began
with a desire in our congregation and leadership to find people of
like-mind in the Body of Christ with whom we could fellowship. We
have also had a desire for more input into our local body from
other like-minded pastors and ministers. The problem was that
there just didn't seem to be any! At least not in our area, and
not with the particular "doctrinal distinctive" that we have come
to embrace. I do not mean to say that we believe in any sense
that we are the only true church. For many years we have been a
part of a wonderful fellowship of churches located on the East
Coast. (The leaders of which are absolutely true men of God
and have contributed greatly to the Kingdom.)
The difficulty of continuing with this particular group is that
over the last ten years or so, we have become increasingly
Reformed in our theology. Also, we have always been very
conservative Charismatics, shying away from the extremism found in
the doctrine and practice of so many Charismatic churches. As a
whole, this fellowship of churches seemed to be neither as
Reformed in doctrine, nor as conservative in its approach to the
Charismatic experience as we are. The bottom line is that this
situation left us longing for a place that we could call home.
In early 2001, there began to be this growing idea that perhaps,
by God's Grace, we could be instrumental in beginning a fellowship
of like-minded churches and pastors. Through this association, we
could also have a greater voice with which to speak to the issues
that we believe threaten the church today.
To better understand where we are coming from, I thought it would
be useful to share a little bit of my personal theological
journey. It is one, I believe, on which many have traveled - back
to the roots of the Reformation. I pray that it does not bore
you!
My own walk with Christ began in early 1974. I was eighteen
years of age and had participated heavily in drug and alcohol
use. At this point my life had pretty much fallen apart. It was
then that the Holy Spirit began to sovereignly touch my heart and
convict me of my sin.
A young girl shared the Gospel with me on New Years Eve 1973,
instructing me to read the first five chapters of Romans. Four
days later, as I did this, I was born again. My life was totally
turned upside down! I knew nothing about theology, but this girl
did explain one thing to me that I clearly, by God's Grace, got
hold of. This was that we are saved absolutely by the Grace of
God alone, apart from our own works. I share this because it
later became crucial to the Holy Spirit's work in unraveling the
Arminian thought that I was about to embrace.
Soon after my conversion, I began to have a real hunger to
serve the Lord with my whole heart. I began to think seriously
that the Lord was calling me to begin seminary. As I was
considering this, I met some people from a local ministry who
really loved the Lord. They were heavily involved in street
ministry and performed work akin to the average rescue mission. I
began to fellowship with them and before long was invited to join
them. Later I became a part of the staff.
The place was an absolute joy! The leadership was well
grounded in the fundamentals of the faith, and there was great
emphasis on having correct doctrine. This laid a foundation that
served to keep me from many of the aforementioned extremes of the
Charismatic movement.
I also learned a great deal theologically from the street
ministry. Frequently, I encountered members of various cults,
(i.e., Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, New Age, etc.). This forced
me to study hard to give an answer, rooting me in the central
truths of the Faith. (The Trinity, Salvation by Grace, The
Trustworthiness of the Scriptures, etc.)
The one thing, however, that has taken years to get washed out
of me was the Arminianism that this group accepted. The senior
pastor had come from a Pentecostal background, and while many of
the excesses of that movement he had jettisoned, the Arminianism
he had not. There was strong emphasis that a true believer could
ultimately lose his Salvation. There was also the ever-prevalent
belief in the Arminian view of Free Will and Universal Atonement.
While they did believe and teach Justification by Grace through
Faith alone, they failed somehow to see their theological
inconsistencies! I am very sorry to say that I did too.
After a few years, my wife and I (we met while on staff
together) married and settled down in a more traditional Assembly
of God church. The A/G's seemed to fit us perfectly. We were
there for several years, and I continued to study, still feeling
that God had a call on our family to serve Him full time.
Eventually, we became members of a local Charismatic fellowship.
It was there that I began to do a lot of teaching and
preaching, and reading in earnest the works of some of the great
Reformation thinkers of our day. My favorites were J.I. Packer
and R.C. Sproul. My understanding of the Five Points of Calvinism
grew stronger, and I began to see more and more my theological
inconsistencies. During this time, we felt increasingly the call
of God to the pastorate. I had grown up around the Jacksonville
area, and believed that God wanted us there. I was ordained in
February of 1984, and in September, with the blessing of our then
pastor, we formed Jacksonville Christian Fellowship. (It's been
23 years, and God has truly blessed us as a church, giving us many
precious families throughout the years.)
I
continued to teach and preach, and to mature in my understanding
of Reformation Theology. I still, however, was resistant on some
points, particularly Limited Atonement. Then, somewhere in the
early 90's, I read a book that absolutely turned my theology
upside down! (It has almost been like getting saved all over
again!) The book was entitled The Quest for Godliness,
by J.I. Packer, which introduced me to the Puritans. Nothing has
been the same since! The chapter, "Saved by His Precious Blood",
was especially instrumental to my theological growth. It is
actually an introduction that Packer wrote for a re-release of
what I believe is one of the most important works ever written,
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, by Puritan
John Owen.
These works by Packer and Owen were the straws that truly broke
the camel's back. It was the last bit of weight that crushed any
resistance I had to a full embracing of Reformation Theology.
From them I learned that the Arminian way of thinking truly
"limits" the Atonement! It limits it and makes it subservient to
the supposed free will of man, which is thought to be able to
actually trump the Sovereign will of an Omnipotent God! I also
learned that while we do have a will, and we do make real
decisions in our lives that have real consequences, our will is
anything but free! It is in absolute bondage and slavery to sin -
that apart from Grace, it has no chance of either understanding or
desiring spiritual Truth!
I
have further come to understand that this Limited or Effective
Atonement is really "the Truth" that brings assurance and security
to our hearts as Christians! We have security because the Blood
of Christ was totally effective in securing all those that the
Father intended it to secure. The Father, before the foundation
of the world gave these "Elect" to the Son, and at that time their
destiny was set. Therefore, it is Reformation Theology alone that
can impart true faith through its teaching that God is Sovereign
in every detail of our lives!
Another book that has been influential is No Place for
Sovereignty, by R.K. McGregor Wright. In it he chronicles
the history of the "Free Will" debate. I began to see that this
struggle, bottom line, is simply a manifestation of the idolatry
that exists in the human heart. We simply cannot bear the thought
that our destiny may be in someone else's hands! Mr. Wright
exposes this as the root of the current shift in evangelicalism
towards the "Openness of God" theories.
As I was reading it, however, it dawned on me that this idolatry
is also at the root of the "Word of Faith" heresy. In this
movement there is great emphasis on our "taking of authority" and
being able to control our own life and destiny. If this theology
is true, my contention is, that, it actually produces fear and
doubt, not faith! If I am in control of my own destiny, I'm in
serious trouble! The only way this theology can produce something
that even resembles faith is if we really believe we are capable
of making decisions of eternal value, and that they are dependent
on our will. This attitude is not however, real faith. It feeds
on, and is, arrogance and pride. Again, I repeat, at the bottom
line this is simply a manifestation of the idolatry that exists in
the human heart!
As a pastor and as a church, we have a great burden for our
Charismatic brethren that labor under the delusion of Arminian
thought. We've been there and recognize that apart from Grace we
would still be there. We do not feel superior, but we do believe
that great damage has been done throughout history because of this
heresy. Luther, in his letter to Erasmus said that this question
of Man's ability (free will) was the hinge on which the door of
the Reformation was hung. It was and is the central question. Do
we or do we not ultimately chart our own destiny? Do we even have
the capacity to do so? Scripture gives the answer, and it is a
resounding "No"!
As I said at the beginning, it is our hope that the formation of
the ACRC will provide fellowship for isolated Charismatic/Reformed
pastors and churches, and that it will be a voice to help
facilitate change, particularly in the Charismatic element of the
Church.
In closing, I should say something about the Charismatic aspect of
the fellowship. We do embrace the view that the gifts of the Holy
Spirit are still operational today, being sovereignly distributed
as He wills. We understand that many of our reformed brethren are
Cessationist in their views on this point. While we understand
the reasoning, we simply and very respectfully disagree. We do
wholeheartedly agree that there are many excesses and dangers in
the movement (just as there were at Corinth!). Our main concern
with "charismania", of course, is doctrinal - particularly with
the Arminianism that controls so much of the movement. However,
we also absolutely abhor the showmanship and pride that is
exhibited in many of these churches and ministries. Also,
particularly offensive, is the constant begging for and emphasis
on money. (A Reformation understanding even corrects this! Why
beg, if God is Sovereign?)
At any rate, we do want to state the great respect we have for all
of our Reformation brethren, whether Cessationist or not! We
would love to fellowship with anyone whose central concern is the
issue of Reformation theology. We extend an open invitation to
contact us regardless of your view on this point of cessation of
the gifts. If this article has resonated within you, and you are
so inclined, please feel free to respond.
Respectfully,
Pastor Kirk Wetsell, Jacksonville Christian Fellowship
Association of Charismatic/Reformed Churches
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