Christ’s elders must develop the skill of identifying, prioritizing, and confronting threats grounded in the solid rock of God’s Word, our confessional standards, and fidelity to our constitution. The cost for failing to gain this skill has eternal consequences.

One of the biggest challenges a young fighter pilot faces is properly prioritizing tasks. Specifically, this question is always top of mind: “Can you identify the threat?” To put a finer point to it, “Can you identify what’s going to kill you…right now!?” The inability to properly prioritize threats is an all-too-common culprit in the end of many men’s dreams of being a fighter pilot. For some young pilots who struggle in this area, more than just dreams are dashed.

What do I mean? Consider a combat scenario, such as dogfighting (Basic Fighter Maneuvers or BFM). At medium altitude the ground is not a threat, but if an adversary fighter is within shooting range, and is pointing at you, he is a threat! If you focus your attention on the ground instead of on the direct threat, you are ‘mis-prioritizing’ (fighter pilot word). You will almost assuredly die.

Proper prioritization requires alertness of mind because the threat is constantly changing. In another example, my dad flew the F-4 around at 50 feet and 600 knots (~700mph), back in his day. At that altitude, two degrees nose low (barely noticeable) results in impacting the ground in 1.42 seconds. I lost a little league baseball coach (and my dad’s squadron mate) that way. For this reason, the United States Air Force (USAF) low altitude training is now set at 500 feet. The threat was too great–and the cost was too high–to continue training at lower altitudes.

Fighter pilots and PCA elders may not have much in common, but both are tasked with the tremendous responsibility of identifying and prioritizing threats. And we are failing in this obligation.

Recently, a scandalous incident occurred within our ranks where a PCA teaching elder announced his departure to the Roman Catholic faith, to the sound of apparent celebration. This incident highlights and encapsulates three threats facing us in the PCA. These threats are worldly worship, worldly wisdom, and worldly character among our elders.

Worldly Worship

One of our priorities must be guarding against the threat of unbiblical worship. One of the greatest gifts of the Reformation was the recovery of biblical worship. As a result of the Reformation, extraneous and profane elements of worship were stripped away. Unfortunately, the devolution into profane worship practices in our fallen world must be like the second law of thermodynamics in physics. Like physical entropy, the corruption of worship seems to be inevitable.

Instead of recognizing Lord’s Day worship as a set-apart (i.e., holy) moment during our week, we bejewel our worship with the “expressions of our gifts.” For many, Lord’s Day worship is like a weekly talent show for people to feel included and to make their offerings of sacrifice by sharing their “gifts” in public. I have witnessed many cases where the experience even includes special mood lighting and clips from Hollywood movies. But is it not better to obey God rather than to offer the sacrifices of men?

With these worldly additives, it is no wonder there is a growing trend of younger evangelicals departing various forms of Protestantism for seemingly more historic expressions of Christianity. Many young people desire worship characterized by reverence and awe. Yet, consider the options churches offer them today. On one hand, you can choose a modern production, emulating but failing to match the offerings of the entertainment world, while also demanding young men conform themselves in various effeminate and unnatural ways. On the other hand, you can choose something appearing ancient and historic, where the buildings convey beauty and strength. Yes, these ancient churches add things with no Biblical basis, but at least the awkward additives are accompanied with history. It is a sad irony when those in our circles responsible for beclowning the Lord’s worship depart for more “historic” forms of worship.

Reformed churches should offer true biblical worship characterized by both reverence and awe while drawing from an historic apostolic tradition without the compromise of elevating tradition to the authority of Scripture. Yet many of our churches in the PCA compromise on the worship of God.

Threat assessment: One of the greatest threats an elder (or any believer!) faces is allowing anything to steal the smallest measure of glory from our great God when He calls us into His presence for worship. If God is truly immutable, as we confess in our Standards, why would we assume God would be pleased with the bejeweling of His worship? If he has never been pleased with additives to His worship, why should we assume He is pleased now? Therefore, let us be on our guard against anything that makes our worship more worldly. If man’s chief end is truly to glorify God (and it is!), then we must protect God’s worship from being profaned.

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