Yesterday, France was brutalized by Islamic terrorists.

This is a time for praying against what God is against, and for what God is for. God is against murder, and he is against the false gods that demand the slaughter of the innocent. He is for the putting down of injustice, and he is for the knowledge of his glory filling the earth, even through the salvation of former worshipers of Allah.

There are many things to pray on a weekend like this. Denny Burke recommends we pray the words of Psalm 10, and that’s a good suggestion:

Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.

The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

Here are some helpful reflections, suggestions, and articles from around the web on this and related tragedies.

• John Piper helps us with his article, “France: A Fabric Torn.”
• Scotty Smith offers “A Prayer of Lament in Response to the Terror Attack in Paris.”
• If you’re up for some sermon listening, this might be a weekend for reviewing Ryan’s sermon on several imprecatory psalms, “Praying against what is against God.”
• Joe Carter offers his always timely, “9 Things You Should Know About Islamic State.”
• A year ago, Joe Carter published “Three Ways to Pray for our Enemies.”
• Back in February, Tom Schreiner offered “A Biblical Meditation on the Execution of 21 Christians.”
• Also in February, Caleb Greggsen answers the question, “Does Islam Inevitably Lead to Violence?“
• Finally, from the Atlantic March, here’s a careful and important piece on the origin and aims and ISIS: “What ISIS Really Wants.”

On October 11 we had the joy of witnessing the baptism of twelve brothers and sisters between our two Sunday services. In case you missed one or both of the services, here are the video testimonies from our brothers and sisters who were baptized.

As we listen to these testimonies, remember what baptism represents: the death and resurrection of a person in union with Jesus Christ, who died and was raised for their sake. That’s what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote in Romans 6:3-4: “. . . all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

9:00 AM Service

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

10:45 AM Service

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For more videos like these, click here for DSC’s YouTube Baptism playlist.

On September 30 we hosted this year’s Elders Q&A. Families have weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms to keep them close. From meals to reunions, families have more and less structured ways of staying a family well.

The Elders Q&A is one of our annual rhythms as a church to stay a healthy family. This helps us stay a healthy church in a number of ways: it allows us to get feedback from you;  it promotes an atmosphere of honesty and vulnerability; and it opens the lines of communication in a way that is symbolic of how it always really is. We’re available to you.

Trent opened the evening with an explanation of why we do this each year. Then, the evening was divided into two parts. In Part 1, Trent moderated pre-submitted questions among the elders. For Part 2, Nathan fielded questions from the floor.

Here’s a list of questions we addressed with time stamps for the audio, which is available here.

Eldership

• 8:23  How does someone become an elder at Desert Springs Church?
• 9:46  How can we, as a congregation, better practically encourage and love the Staff and Elders?

Update to the Doctrinal Statement on Gender, Marriage, and Sexuality

• 11:16  Explanation and reading of the update to the DSC Doctrinal Statement.
• 14:54  If someone is a member and they disagree with us, what should they do?
• 15:40  This sounds like we’re hiding from conflict and unwilling to suffer consequences for our convictions. Is this a sign of doctrinal sheepishness or courage?
• 17:12  Can what I believe as a Christian on these matters effect how I operate my business?
• 17:51  People have different kinds of jobs where they may have different kinds of relationships with same-sex ceremonies. Does it matter what kind of a job a person has and how can they discern how to faithfully be a Christian?
• 20:39  What resources would you point a family to who has children interacting with other kids and families who embrace a genderless vision of marriage?
• 23:10  What is the change in the wedding policy, and what might it mean for some people who find themselves outside of what that policy would provide for?

Ministry Related Questions

• 28:33  Why don’t we have a college ministry, and why don’t we have a single’s ministry?
• 31:10  Community Groups are dormant during the summer months, which is 25% of the year. That seems to signal that Community Groups, for as much as we talk about their importance, are programmatically not emphasized like some other ministries that run year-round. Why is this so?
• 32:40  Do all Elders do counseling? Each man has a somewhat narrow area of oversight and one is assigned to Biblical Counseling. Is counseling something that all elders are responsible for?
• 34:04  What happens to the finances when the year is over if there’s a surplus in the budget?

DSC’s Next Church Plant

• 38:16  Update on Redemption Church.
• 39:44  I’ve heard rumors that DSC will be planting another church. Is there any substance whatsoever to that rumor?
• 39:56  Why would a church like ours plant more than one church? Isn’t one enough?
• 41:03  Who’s going to lead us in planting this church?
• 42:31  Not every pastor sets out to plant a church. Why would you, Nathan Sherman, want to plant a church?
• 45:25  What is the timeline for this church plant?
• 45:42  Where will this church plant be established?
• 46:43  How will this church plant be funded?
• 48:04  With whom will this new church plant be affiliated?
• 51:28  Some people have different experiences with denominationalism, and different experiences with the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) in particular. What would be some misconceptions that you would address for us?
• 55:26  What are we going to do about Nathan leaving? What happens from here? What will the transition look like?
• 57:33  How can someone learn more about this church plant?

Questions from the Floor

• 59:39  What is the church’s policy now on usage of the facility? Is there a policy about members only, who can use the church for “other” events (other than weddings)?
• 1:02:49  Are there events that cannot be held at the church in the youth department specifically? Are we able to use the church for youth functions? Is there a policy that says that we don’t use the facility for youth functions?
• 1:05:00  Has there been any discussion about growing in our work with Native American communities?
• 1:08:05  Ryan, you recently completed your PhD. Why did you pick John Owen, and how has that helped you personally? How do you think that has helped the church? How does that help the larger church?
• 1:11:07  You said if we had issues with the statement before November 1st, to come and talk with you and we could leave the church without any discipline. Then we talked about employment and career decisions. To me, the implication was if you made that decision to “bake the cake, take the picture etc.” After November 1st, you could be subject to church discipline. I just want to make sure I understand what exactly the policy is on that?
• 1:16:19  If New Mexico legalizes marijuana, should a Christian be able to do that?

For audio from past Elders Q&A gatherings, click here.

Hopefully you were able to join us last Friday for the album release concert for, This Is Our Song. The album is now available at the Book Nook on Sundays or for download here.

You’ll recognize some or all of the songs on this album, as these songs have filled our life as a church across the years. Many were written or arranged by members at DSC, and some were written in reflection on the message of a book of Scripture we heard preached together. Here are the songs that you you picked for this album:

1. Blessed Assurance
2. My Father Planned It All
3. Christ Is All 
4. God Moves In a Mysterious Way 
5. We Give Thanks 
6. Great Things 
7. Cornerstone 
8. Lord, We Come to Hear Your Word
9. Be Strong
10. Raise Your Voice
11. Clap Your Hands
12. Come and Dine

Click here to buy the album, here for lyrics, chord charts, and mp3s to help you sing or play these at home, and here to subscribe to the Music Blog with weekly Sunday Recaps.

Questions are crucial for understanding, unity, and fruitfulness in almost any relationship. This is obvious in marriage, parenting, and at work.

Good questions and thoughtful answers are important in the context of the church as well, perhaps especially between shepherds and the flock. Together we share all of the benefits of salvation as God’s new covenant people: forgiveness, adoption, the Spirit, and on and on. There are shepherds here. But we’re all bothers and sisters. We’re a family. And so DSC’s elders are available in the halls around church, by email, and once each year we set aside an evening to take questions in the context of a corporate gathering. We call it, an “Elders Q&A.”

Our next Elders Q&A will take place on the last Wednesday of this month, September 30, at 6:30 PM with dinner together at 5:30 PM.

If you have a question, submit it. If you don’t, think of one and then submit it. Here are four ways to ask your questions:

• Submit your question using your bulletin Comment Card on Sunday and drop that in an offering box.
• Email your question to info@desertspringschurch.org.
• Communicate your question for the Q&A to an elder in person or through email. Click here for faces and emails.
• Show up with your question on the 30th. The elders will take some questions from a mic in the course of the evening.

Of course, we appreciate your questions early. This helps us notice recurring themes and spend our time in a way that best serves the congregation. Any questions that are not addressed at the Q&A will be answered through the DSC Blog or by email.

Get acquainted with DSC’s elders by reading their biographies on the Leadership Page. Also, audio from previous Elder Q&A evenings is available at our Messages Page under the topic “Elder Q&A.” For a few recaps from previous years, click here, here, and here.