Moderator’s Challenge (2022-23) By Bill McKay


2020, Dr. McGregor challenged us with his theme of “Preparing the Church for the Return of Jesus Christ.” Last year in 2021, our brother Patrick Malphrus challenged us with, “No one who puts his  Kingdom of God.” In light of the previous themes for synod, a logical question to consider is, “What exactly is the work ahead for the church?” To answer that question, I want to consider the text from Philippi- ans 1:12, where the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Philippi from his Ro- man prison: “I want you to know, broth- ers, that what has happened to me has re- ally served to advance the gospel.” Let us consider vs. 12 and, in partic- ular the last three words, “advance the gospel.” They are used to describe the result of what Paul has undergone in his imprisonment. But I want to look at those three words more closely at that phrase in the context of the Great Com- mission of Christ, as the disciples were directed to go out and share the gospel with the world. As well, throughout the Book of Acts, Paul is constantly work- ing to advance the gospel in whichever locale and situation he felt God was leading him to. In that context, “Ad- vance the Gospel” becomes an impera-


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he synod theme and empha- sis for the decade of 2020-29 is “One God, One Mediator.” In


tive and serves as the “marching order” of the church. This is the theme for the next year and my challenge to the ARP General Synod.


History has a distinct propensity to


repeat itself, and throughout the past years, the world (as always) has contin- ually moved from one crisis to another.  era may differ, but in the end, the ba- sic essence driving these crises are the same - we live in a world that is cor- rupted by sin. We have seen the world occupied with the ravage of disease, as we are now into the third year of Co- vid. We have seen nations perpetrate war on other sovereign nations, with the unprovoked attack and invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting ref- ugee crisis. We see great confusion cre- ated by a godless world in discussions about sexual identity and transgender-  of our language and the concepts of society by which we live our lives. We live in a world that quickly embraces “Cancel Culture” instead of using criti- cal and analytical thinking to engage in an intelligent and legitimate discourse and discussion. We observe the world embracing a condition that involves a long-term breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behav- ior. This breakdown further leads to a faulty perception, inappropriate actions


and feelings, along with withdrawal from reality and personal relationships. It moves into a realm of fantasy and delusion, and assumes a sense of men- tal fragmentation. The Oxford English Dictionary describes this behavior as “schizophrenia.” We know it more ac-        schizophrenic world that refuses to ac- cept a truly biblical understanding of sin and salvation – a world consumed with the obsession of self before all else. False teachers cry out that “Black Lives Matter” and “Every Life Matters” and then challenges for the “right” to murder the unborn. The world at large condemns the rise of suicide rates (es- pecially among young people) but then demands medically assisted death for elderly or ill people in their desire to take their own lives or others when they feel life has become inconvenient and/or untenable. Past historical and biblical positions on many social issues, which were widely accepted, have now become fodder for division, attack, and recrimination by the world. Each of those issues will eventually affect some part of our lives, either directly or indi- rectly. None of us in the world are im- mune to this. Neither is the church safe from these same sins as confusion, divi- sion, and anger have manifested them- selves there. Our proximity to any issue or sin is not a measure as to how any of


The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


Moderator’s Challenge


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