The Academy of Arts

GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD, the story of Joseph

2011-07-09T01:32:00.002-04:00

Four opportunities lay just ahead of you—opportunities to see the true story of Joseph and his brothers in Ancient Egypt — God Meant It For Good.

Do not confuse this with the blasphemous stage presentation, Joseph and His Technicolor Dream Coat, which uses this unforgettable Bible story as a sad excuse to entertain an ignorant and fleshly public.

This is the real story of family conflict, jealousy, hatred, betrayal, and deceit. And twenty-two years after the brothers sold Joseph as a slave into Egypt—twenty-two years after they deceived their father with a bloody coat, God brought their secret sin to light, and in his great wisdom, turned their evil into good.

Pastors, Sunday School teachers, Bible teachers, and families should see this play. It is historically accurate in every detail—Hebrew and Egyptian costume, Egyptian culture, architecture, and religious customs have all been thoroughly researched and fully integrated into the story.

God Meant It for Good is true, direct, hard-hitting, colorful and relevant. It has something for everyone, and it will touch every heart! The performance dates are July 21, 22, 23 and 25. Saturday, July 23 is a matinee and begins at 2 pm. All the other performances begin at 7 pm.

God put this story in his Holy Word for your admonition. We put it on stage for the same reason. It is one of the most beloved stories in all the Bible.

So, click on the link and purchase your tickets. You don’t want to miss this!

Your fellow servant,

Nicky Chavers

President

At Last -- It's Done!

2011-05-20T14:03:00.000-04:00

It is done at last! Our new Air Conditioner/Heater is installed! Your help with this is very much appreciated.

As you will remember, we asked your help, since our old AC unit “bit the dust” in the fall, and it would not cool. But God is good, because it would still heat, so we did not replace the unit right away, but we used the heating aspect during the fall and winter months. This enabled us continued use of the Logos Theatre all during that time.

Then Spring break came upon us, and we had almost no activity in the auditorium, so just before warm weather hit, we were able to go ahead and install the brand new 15 ton Trane heat pump/AC unit. The engineering work was donated to us.

This is just in time for our two-week training camp June 3-18, when we will have about 45 students and staff here training for our summer tour.

Then in July we will have another 30 students here for a three-week camp, which culminates in a performance of God Meant it for Good at the Logos Theatre. This is the classic story of Joseph and his brothers in Ancient Egypt, and we will give at least three performances. We expect a good crowd for each performance.

I cannot tell you how much cooler the auditorium is. Even when the old unit was going full blast, it did not put out this kind of cool.

Please follow the link to a brochure about the Joseph play in July. You are encouraged to attend at least one of the three performances. Also, we still have some room for those who want to be a part of the cast and crew for this fantastic three-week camp. Please pass this brochure along to a high school and college-age young person. We can still make dorm reservations.

Thank you again for your continued, generous support of The Academy of Arts Ministry. I have included some pictures of the AC installation, so that you can rejoice with us. May God bless you for caring!

New AC Unit in Place

Believe Ye? by Dr. Nicky Chavers

2011-04-04T14:23:00.003-04:00

Matt. 9:28 “…and Jesus said unto them, “Believe ye that I am able to do this? And they said unto him, Yea, Lord.”

They were blind—both of them. But they had found their way to the edge of the crowd that surrounded Jesus of Nazareth, the great prophet. He was going about “all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

They could see nothing, but their sense of hearing had been heightened, and even from a distance, they figured out that a ruler had come to worship Jesus, and the ruler, through tears had told the Master that his daughter was dead. But he told Jesus that if he would come and lay his hands on her, she would live.

They strained to hear Jesus’ answer, but there was none. Instead, the blind men felt the multitude begin to move—all in one direction, and they knew that Jesus, without a word was now going with the ruler to his house. So, holding each other, they jostled along with the crowd, tasting the dust in their mouths.

After moving along with the crowd for some time, everything came to an abrupt halt, and they heard the Master say, “Who touched me?” There was a long pause. Then one of the disciples answered, “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee and sayest thou, who touched me?”

They heard a strange mixture of authority and compassion in the Lord’s voice. “Somebody touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”

Virtue--that’s what it was. Moral excellence—a power to resist and overcome evil—that’s what Jesus possessed that no other teacher or rabbi had!

The blind men heard a woman weeping. They heard, “Be not afraid. He calleth for thee.” They strained to hear the poor woman’s confession. She had had an issue of blood for twelve years and had spent her living going to physicians to find a cure. In desperation, she had said to herself, “If I can but touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, I shall be made whole.” She had touched, virtue had gone out of him, and she had been healed of her disease.

Now Jesus voice was all compassion: “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” There was a murmur of wonder that passed through the crowd, and the murmur became louder as they moved on, evidently toward the ruler’s house. The two blind men knew they were there, when they heard the minstrels playing their doleful music and when they heard the loud wailing of the paid mourners. They wished they could see the house. It must have been magnificent, but they contented themselves with being a distance away, as the ruler, Jesus and the disciples proceeded to enter the house.

Jesus had said, “Give place, for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.” The blind men heard the relatives, the musicians and the mourners laugh Jesus to scorn. They felt sorry for Him who had such compassion as to come all this way only to dash the expectations of a sorrowing father, for who had power over death?

The crowd, expecting a considerable delay began to sit down under the shade trees that were growing along the wall that surrounded the ruler’s house. Only the mourners and musicians mumbled, for their noisy services had been dismissed by a wave of the ruler’s hand.

Soon, they too became quiet, and there was a feeling in the air that could not be explained. Then the feeling and the holy quiet were replaced by a father’s weeping from inside the house. But the blind men perceived that it was not the weeping of someone who was sorrowful, but of someone who was experiencing unbelievable joy.

Then the crowd stood and began to weep and express praise to God. “What is it?” One of the blind men asked. “The ruler is standing on the portico with Jesus at his right and with his arm around his daughter on the left.” “The one who was dead?” the blind man said. “The very one! Everyone knows her. Everyone was shocked at her untimely death.”

The two blind men spoke quietly to each other. “Who is he who hath power over death? Could he not restore sight to the blind?” The crowd began moving again. The blind men remained still. “He is about to walk past you,” a woman said. Then the blind men both cried out, “Thou son of David, have mercy on us.” But Jesus and the disciples walked swiftly by them.

The woman answered, “Why did you cry for mercy and not for healing?” The blind men answered,   “We know not.” Then they followed Jesus to another house. After Jesus and his disciples had disappeared into the courtyard, leaving the multitudes outside, the blind men were approached by a well-dressed man. “He calleth for you.” He said. “For us?” they queried. “Yes. Here, hold my arm and I will lead you to him.”

With every step, their hearts beat faster. Then they felt his presence. He was seated on some steps that led to the roof.   They sensed that other people were present—not many—just a handful perhaps. The well-dressed man transferred the hands of the blind men to the arm of Jesus.

They sensed the power that emanated from Him. They were keenly aware of their own sinfulness, and were glad they had not asked for healing but had asked for mercy, for the salvation of their souls was now more important to them than physical sight. Then the Master spoke. “Believe ye that I am able to do this?”

The blind men thought within themselves: “The only thing we have asked Him for is mercy.” But they had forgotten that they had asked for that mercy based on who they said he was—“the son of David.”   This was an explicit belief in him as the Messiah.

Now, His question took on more meaning than the question of healing. He was asking, “Recognizing that I am God’s Messiah—God’s anointed messenger and his only begotten son, do you believe I can do anything?” Do you believe I can heal you just as easily as I can grant you mercy?” They both fell to their knees with “Yea, Lord.” And their sin burden was lifted immediately.

Then, Jesus reached over with both hands and touched the eyes of them both and said, “According to your faith be it unto you.”

His hands pulled away, and as the shadow of his hands left their tightly shut eyelids, light fell across them. Even with their eyes shut, it was almost too much to experience. Was this light? They had never experienced it before. It was so bright, they were almost afraid to let more of it in. So, they opened their eyes, squinting at whatever lay before them.

At last, they opened their eyes wide, and the first sight they saw was the face of the Master. They would soon see the faces of their mothers, their fathers, their relatives and friends—all for the first time, but this face was the most beautiful they would ever gaze upon. They clasped their hands in gratitude and fell at his feet, weeping. Wait. What were these drops of water falling from their newly opened eyes? Were these tears? They had heard about tears, and now they felt them and saw them falling from their own eyes for the first time..

Oh, is this the way it is going to be? Is everything they see going to be new and beautiful? But there is something even more wonderful—something that caused these tears--they have been forgiven. They have received mercy. For with the Son of God, the granting of mercy is on the same plane as the giving of sight—they are both the prerogatives of deity. And one is as precious as the other.

Christian, He asks you, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” “Do what?” you say. Are you being selective as to what you think He is able to do? Which one of your many needs can He not supply? Which one is too much for Him? Which of your sins is too terrible for Him to forgive? Which one of them does He not know about? Do you think He is shocked when you confess it to Him?

Is there any limitation you can place on Him that would prevent Him from doing what you need to have done? Is there a time limitation on the one who inhabits eternity? Is there a resource limitation on him who owns everything? Is there a power limitation on him who created the universe by the word of His power?   Is there a limitation of knowledge on him who knows all things and can read your thoughts?

Is there any tangled web in your relationships about which you can say, “Lord, you just don’t understand. It is too complicated. I will try and explain it to you, Lord, but…” Does He need your explanation? He simply asks you, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” That is the only question to be settled. In fact, you could eliminate the “this” and the question would become: “Believe ye that I am able?”

The application of his power and His ability is universal. The “this” only makes it personal to you. What is the “this” in your life? Is there more than one “this?” Do you believe He is able to do “this?” You say, “Yes, I believe He is able to do all things.” Then take your hands off and let him do what he wants—grant mercy or grant sight or grant both. He doeth all things well.

Celtic Sounds: Songs of Love

2011-02-17T23:04:00.000-05:00

TWO MORE PERFORMANCES!

Gideons 300 Letter Response

2011-02-02T14:29:00.003-05:00

Thank you for your response to my appeal for the support of THE ACADEMY OF ARTS Ministry. It will encourage you to know that many have responded to the letter that went out before Christmas. In fact the first week after my letter went out, we received a little over $3,000 through the mail. By the second week of January, over $7,000.00 came in.

Please pray with us that many more will respond in the days ahead. If you happen to be in contact with people who have been blessed by THE ACADEMY OF ARTS, I would be grateful if you would tell them we are trying to raise 300 Gideons to support the new leadership of Noah and Nicole (Chavers) Stratton, as they begin taking over the ministry in 2011.

After our recent program, Elijah and the Famine, a home school mom came to me and thanked me for our ministry. Her two children were in the program. With tears in her eyes, she told me that when she first brought her children to drop them off for rehearsals, she was hesitant to leave them. She had never left them anywhere with anybody.

Her friend, who also had children in the program, told her everything would be all right.

She told me, “There is no other organization in Greenville that I would trust my children to all day, but here I know they are completely safe. And the effect your staff, the directors and the program itself have on my children is too much to express. They are constantly singing the songs and telling me about what they did or what the Director said in rehearsals. I just want to thank you for the spiritual influence you are having on my children.”

About a month ago my wife and I joined the Seminar Team in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. They were doing my play about Joseph, God Meant It for Good, and the students and parents had specifically asked me to come and direct it.

This was Nancy Villinova’s 11^th year to have us there for a Home School Drama Camp, and some of these kids had been there from the beginning, starting in one of our elementary programs. They were terrific! Every line was memorized, and they understood their characters and the parts were well cast by Stephanie Quirk.

After every rehearsal, most of them would come up to me, shake my hand and thank me for all I had taught them.

I spent the week pouring out knowledge of Egyptian religion, customs and history, as well helping them understand Joseph, Jacob, Rachel, Benjamin and all the sons of Israel and the important they all played in God’s great plan of salvation. I did Gospel magic in chapel for both high school and elementary. We saw 5 people trust Christ as Savior and there were a good dozen decisions of dedication.

The church was filled for the performances, and I was overwhelmed with expressions of appreciation for THE ACADEMY OF ARTS from audience members. Three ladies spent about 30 minutes with Sheri and me, telling us what the seminar had meant to their children over the years. One of the ladies had come all the way from Maryland to have her daughter take part for the fourth year in a row. One came from Pittsburgh and brought her three children to take part for their sixth year. She and her children stayed with friends who were also a part of the seminar.

All three of them were so kind in their expressions of thanks. One of them said, “THE ACADEMY OF ARTS Drama Camp is the highlight of our children’s year. It is the one time of the year they experience real Christian fellowship. The kids in our church youth group are not the right kind of kids, and they have little in common with them. And there is not a better church in our area. But these kids in the seminar, your staff, the chapels, the rehearsals, and the message of the play itself all make this a “must” week for them."

One lady, who is a wonderful artist and did a lot of work during the week on our Joseph set, told me: “My two kids are sold on Christian drama as a ministry. I tried to get them involved at a local theatre, and they told me they not want to do that. They felt like God wanted them to use their talents for him and not in a worldly theatre." My friend, I am not exaggerating this experience. In fact, it was much more gratifying than I have told you. There is not enough room in this letter to tell you everything that was said.

Twenty years ago, Frank Hamrick, the founder of ProTeens youth ministry in Rocky Mount, NC made this statement: “THE ACADEMY OF ARTS Drama Seminar is the most effective youth ministry in the country.” I was grateful that such a great youth man as Frank Hamrick would make such a statement, but I thought somewhat exaggerated at the time. But as the years have piled up and church everywhere are dipping their colors, allowing their youth groups to go the way of the world, I am beginning to believe that what Frank said is true.

I just wanted you to know that your money has been well invested in THE ACADEMY OF ARTS, and the new leadership of Noah and Nicole will take us into the next forty years with the same biblical integrity that has marked this ministry from our beginning in 1971.

May God bless you for caring!

Nicky Chavers, Founder

To see more pictures of our dramas, click here!

Merry Christmas From our Home to Yours!

2010-12-25T02:10:00.005-05:00

As you gather to celebrate Christ's birth with family and friends, may God bless you with joy and peace. May the miracle of Christmas be a reality in your lives.

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Thank you for helping us to spread the good news.

The ACADEMY OF ARTS Staff and Interns

A Singing Style

2010-11-30T11:17:00.004-05:00

To a Christian singer who wants to change his music, eliminate a singing "style", and begin to glorify God with his music.

First, analyze what a "style" is and how you developed it.

A "style" in clothing is a certain look that identifies the wearer with a group that has similar tastes, values and morals. People who want to be accepted by that group will wear the same style of clothes to indicate that they share the same tastes, values, and morals, or they may be adopting a style out of ignorance. Either way the result if the same -- identification with a group.

A "style" in music is a certain sound that identifies the performer with a group that has similar musical tastes, values and morals. Even the world recognizes some of these musical styles and has named them -- Rock, Country/Western, Jazz, Gospel, Classical. Whenever our music becomes identifiable with one of these styles, the negative or positive aspects of the tastes, values and morals of the group that uses that "style" of music are "transferred" to us. This "transfer" is done by the listener, and can hinder the communication of our message.

"Style" is man-centered. A person can develop a "style" by listening to other musicians or singers. Style communicates the tastes, values and morals of a group to other men. Our music should have as its goal -- not the identification with a group, but the glorification of God and the communication of his message to a lost world. To glorify God is to say or do something that will enhance His reputation. Singing is sustained speech, and what we say in our singing and how we say it should enhance God's reputation. It should not identify us with a group whose tastes, values and morals do not enhance God's reputation.

A "Rock" style is not an acceptable style for the Christian to use in ministry, because Rock music is part of a culture that promotes immorality, rebellion and a degenerate lifestyle. In fact, it is the music itself that is an expression and a cause of these things. Its vocal style consists of everything from sexually suggestive intimate whisperings into the microphone to unrestrained screaming, seemingly designed to rip out the vocal chords.

Rock music originated in the demonic cultures of Africa and South America, and it is an accurate expression of those cultures. A singer or musician who uses a "Rock" style is not enhancing God's reputation. On the contrary, he is harming God's reputation. It is not that "Rock" music is guilty by association with a "bad crowd". "Rock" music is guilty, because, by its very nature, it helps to produce a "bad crowd".

"Country/Western" style, for similar reasons, is also unacceptable as a style for the Christian to use in ministry. Its themes deal with unfaithfulness in marriage, drinking, gambling, dancing, jail, and seduction. And the nature of the music is an accurate expression of these things. If the music and the "style" are an accurate expression of these things, then it certainly could not be used to glorify the God, who is the high and holy One that inhabits eternity. Nor could it be used to communicate God's message.

It's vocal style includes the following: singing just under the pitch, slipping and sliding on tones, making the voice break to depict sadness and despair, singing on the last part of the diphthong, vocal strain, etc.

A "Jazz" style is not an acceptable style for the Christian to use in ministry for many reasons. It is the musical expression of hedonism, relativism, humanism and the throwing off of all restraints. Each of these philosophies is opposed to God's clearly stated principles. Hedonism is living for pleasure. Relativism denies absolutes. Humanism denies the existence of God and makes Man the measure of all things. And Christianity advocates restraint, moderation and self-denial.

A "Gospel" style is not an acceptable style for the Christian to use in ministry, since it has taken religious words and has couched them in a Jazz style, a Country style or a Rock style. In other words, Gospel music has borrowed from the world's styles, giving false impressions of God's nature, God's Son, God's Word and God's purpose. In each case, the music of these styles and the appeal to the flesh that these styles possess is so strong that they virtually negate the effectiveness of the lyrics used. Gospel music has become just another form of entertainment--one that makes us feel good, because it entertains us, it talks about God, and it feeds our flesh with the rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and vocal styles that spring from the world's music. Its real purpose is not ministry but rather to "make merchandise of the Gospel."

A "Classical style" is actually a misnomer. There is not really one "style" in "Classical Music." The music of Palestrina, which was written in 500 AD and which falls into the category of Ancient and Medieval Music, is classified as Classical music. So is the music of Vivaldi, which was written in the 1400' s. The music of Hayden, the music of Bach, the music of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff was all written in different centuries. The music of Bach does not sound like the music of Beethoven. The music of Palestrina does not sound like Vivaldi's or Hayden's music, and yet it is all classified as Classical Music. Why?

Because there are certain principles that are common to all these "styles" of music, which have allowed it to stand the test of time. Some of these principles are: order, form, balance, variety, climax, movement, unity, discipline, beauty, cohesion, melodic integrity, harmonic progression, and lyrics with universal appeal. All of these spring from Biblical principles, or they agree with Christian principles. Many of the composers from various periods of "classical" music were Christians. Some were not. However, there is no denying that their music is the result of the "westward movement of Christianity" and the influence of God's word on the thinking and the culture of Europe. Over the centuries, the Word of God illuminated the minds of scientists, explorers, theologians, artists and musicians, and whether they acknowledged or not, they were the benefactors of the creative powers granted to all who live in the light of God's Word.

When we, in our modern day, acknowledge these principles and base our music on these same principles, we are not honoring men, but we are honoring God and His principles, which these men were blessed to be able to use to a high degree. Nor are we copying a "style". These principles span 16 centuries and were used by literally hundreds of composers, many with completely different "styles", yet all referred to as "Classical". The music was written for a myriad of purposes -- coronations, funerals, weddings, church services, concerts, fun, special occasions, instrument practice, mental exercise, and a thousand other reasons.

These some principles are still being used today in operas, musicals, sacred music, movie scores, mood music for TV shows, etc. None of these sounds like the others. Each has its purpose, and you cannot say that anyone of them has an identifiable style, unless, of course, the composer deliberately utilized a particular style for effect.

So the Christian Musician or Singer is wise to analyze his musical and vocal style to see if he has patterned himself after some "style" that, by its very nature, identifies with Rock, Country/Western, Jazz or Gospel. He needs to train himself to minister through music, using principles that are consistent with the Word of God and that enhance the reputation of God and give out His message without musical reference to a worldly style. He needs to avoid listening to music that uses the styles mentioned above, whether that music is classified as Gospel or secular. He needs to immerse himself in music whose music and vocal style is consistent with the principles that make all music good.

When the Christian sings, the audience should not even be aware of vocal or musical style, especially a style that smacks of the world or the flesh. They should only be aware of the beauty of the voice, the communication of the face and the power of the message -- all to the glory of God!

An Encouraging Word

2010-06-08T14:45:00.001-04:00

Dear Dr. and Mrs. Chavers and The Academy of Arts staff,

My wife and I wanted to extend our gratitude for the warm reception we received upon arriving with our daughter. We have spent years in prayer with regards to the direction God had for her when she arrived at this cross road in her life. She has a tremendous heart for encouraging people to connect with God as I am sure you will soon discover. She has known for several years that she is called to ministry and that she was to use her musical and drama skills for that purpose only.

After spending just a few hours with you and your staff, we left Saturday night completely at peace with the decision to participate in the summer program with the Academy of Arts. We believe our daughter will blossom into the person God wants her to become as well as confirm the calling and purpose that He has intended for her during these next few weeks. Thank you so much for your sacrifices and for your commitment to discipling young people in advancing the Kingdom of God. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can help you in anyway fulfill the mission.

You will all be in our prayers. We look forward to what God has in store for all the kids.

A Mom and Dad

Lightning Strikes—God Provides!

2010-06-03T14:42:00.003-04:00

Dear Praying Friend:

Lightning Strikes—God Provides!

“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

Two years ago we completed the Air Conditioning installations on the roof of THE ACADEMY OF ARTS Building. This included 6 brand new AC units and a brand new Transformer, which, by itself, cost us $7,000. This week lightning struck the transformer on the roof, which shut down all the Air Conditioners.

Drama Team training camp was to begin in 6 days, and the upstairs, which included the dormitories, had no air conditioning. What could we do? We prayed, but God had answered us before we called and He had heard us while we were yet speaking. How?

Three years before all this, Bob Jones University had given us a transformer, but the electricians told us it was not big enough to handle the AC units on the roof, so we kept it for future expansion of our electrical needs backstage. We could not afford $7,000 to replace the transformer, so we took a second look at the “spare” we had backstage.

David Brown, an electrician on staff at BJ came by and looked at the whole situation. “This transformer is plenty big to handle these AC units,” he told us. Now, we needed an electrician to help us install the “spare” transformer, and we needed a crane to lift one transformer up 30 feet and lift the “zapped” one down. They each weighed over 600 pounds, and there was no other access to the roof.

Ken Hines had a friend who was in town from Maryland. He was supposed to leave two days earlier, but for some strange reason he had not left yet. He told us He would give us the benefit of his 40 years experience as a licensed electrician. Another friend, Terry Snow arranged to get us a crane.

So, quicker than you can say, “God cares about THE ACADEMY OF ARTS ministry,” Ken Hines and company had replaced the “zapped” transformer with the “spare” transformer and had it hooked up to power. Then, they turned on the AC units, and everything was cool again!

The only cost in the whole operation was $200 for the crane. Isn’t God good? I can’t wait to see how He is going to give us AC in Van #2. The shop just told us $1,500. We said, “No thanks.” God will provide some other way!

Please join us in prayer. “And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer…”

Believing God,

Nicky Chavers

Pictures on Facebook

Our First "Update" at the Logos

2010-03-01T23:00:00.004-05:00

THE ACADEMY OF ARTS
OUR FIRST "UPDATE"
Tuesday, March 2, 7:00 p.m.

We have decided it best to have UPDATES only once each week, and it seems Tuesday is the best night. So our UPDATES for March will be March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th.

LENGTH OF UPDATE: 45 minutes

PURPOSE OF UPDATE:Information, Inspiration, Solicitation.

PROGRAM OF UPDATE:
Fellowship and Introductions.
Video Presentation: Visions and Dreams.
Explanation of Gideon's 300 Plan.
Refreshments in the Green Room.
Dismissal.

WHO SHOULD COME:
Friends who are not acquainted with us.
Friends who have been out of touch.
Friends who are bringing others.

If you want to call and tell us you are bringing someone, that would be helpful, but do not hesitate to come at the last minute. We will be ready for you!

Your fellow servant,

Nicky Chavers, D.Lt.

Notes From Nicky: 090968

2010-02-26T20:41:00.002-05:00

Mark 15:34 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.”

Did ever escape the lips of man a more pitiful, helpless, a more heart-rendering cy than this? Can the human mind conceive any idea which would carry the meaning of pathos and hopelessness carried by these words? Could there be found nine words in any language for literature of the world that would touch the reader or hearer more than these?

What man could there be whose heart would not be sliced and laid open by this piteous cry? To hear brokenhearted innocency thus plead with up-turned palms, asking white-throned Justice a reason for its desertion in the hour of need — to hear this, I say, would melt the coldest heart and evoke the deepest sympathy. Dead the man who would not respond.

And what is your response, sinful man? The question, though not addressed to thee, must be answered by thee; why did the Father thus forsake the Son in His darkest hour? Why did the Father desert Him thus and leave Him in the lurch? Why did the Almighty turn His back and refuse to vindicate Christ before the waiting world? What is thine answer to Christ’s pitiful question, sinful man?

Thine answer falls on thine own head. It was because of thee the Father thus forsook His Son in His darkest hour! It was because of thy sins the Father deserted Him and left Him in the lurch! It was thy sins that caused the Almighty to turn His back and refuse to vindicate Christ before the waiting world!

As the Blessed One hung that hour on the cross, the Father could not look on Him, for “He became sin for us, Who knew no sin …” The Almighty saw not Christ but sin — thy sin. The Innocent had willingly and lovingly taken the place of the guilty, and now He was experiencing the punishment of the guilty — separation from the Father. No wonder His heart bursts with this piteous question!

Oh, Sinner — wilt thou also forsake Him? He was forsaken of God for love of thee. Wilt thou not own Him as thy Saviour? Go to Him now — prostrate thyself before His rugged cross — denounce the sins that nailed Him there — claim His payment as for thee — swear thine allegiance to His cause — arise to keep thine oath, and let it never be said that thou forsook Him!

© Dr. Nicky Chavers, 1968

Under Construction

2009-09-01T23:53:00.002-04:00

Please bear with us as we make changes and update the blog for The Academy of Arts.

A Lesson In Authority, Part 11

2009-05-26T14:16:00.002-04:00

Divine Example

Jesus Himself was under authority. As a 12 year-old boy, he “went down with them (Mary and Joseph) to Nazareth, and was subject unto them…”. Here is the Creator in submission to the creature! Here is the Wise subject to the simple! Here is the Omnipotent subject to the impotent! Here is the Omniscient subject to those of limited knowledge! Here is the Eternal subject to time-bound humans! Here is the Infinite subject to the finite. Here is the Sinless subject to the sinner!

And why was Jesus subject to these imperfect earthly parents? Because His heavenly father had chosen these parents to be over Him until “the time appointed.” As an infant and young child, He was absolutely dependent on them for life and sustenance. Was there ever a time during infancy and childhood that Jesus was not fully aware of Who He was? No, there was not.

And yet, even though He knew exactly who He was, and from His birth possessed all the attributes of deity, there was never a time, even during his teen and young adult years, when He threw off His parents authority or failed to honor them. Because, in being subject to their authority, He was not saying that Mary and Joseph were never wrong or never sinned, because they were wrong and did sin. He was saying that He was in submission to His heavenly Father, Who had placed Him in their care.

The result of His submission to these God-given earthly parents was that “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.” Jesus said, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” He said, “Verily, verily I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do…”

If you study the life of Jesus carefully, you will see that His most striking characteristic was His submission to His Father. His casting out of demons was done by the authority given to Him by the Father. The healing of the sick, the working of miracles, His prayer life, His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, His “obedience unto death” was all accomplished with an attitude of submission to His Father. “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done” was not a new attitude just then being expressed.

These words were not spoken just because of the gravity of the situation He was in. They were the expression of a life-long attitude of submission, which took Him to a cross of shame and agony. The sincerity of His submission was tested by nails, by a crown of thorns, by ridicule, by mocking, nakedness and a Roman spear.

Philippians chapter 2 is known as the “knosis” passage, taken from the Greek Word, which means “emptying.” It describes how Jesus, Who was the very essence of deity, gave up the prerogatives of deity and gave up His position of glory and honor, which He had shared with the Father since eternity past, and “emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam’s helpless race.”

We read “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God has also highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and thing under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2)

Because of Jesus’ submission, His obedience, His humility, God highly exalted Him. If Jesus had not been submissive to His father’s authority, He could not have accomplished our salvation. Young people need to follow Jesus’ example and be “subject” to the parents God gave them.

To close, I share one of the most fascinating stories I have ever read in the Bible. It is found in Jeremiah 35. Judah is in disobedience to God. God is about to send judgment in the form of conquering armies and captivity.

So he tells Jeremiah to go outside Jerusalem to the large tent village of the Rechabites. God said to bring them to Jerusalem and then into the temple. He said to set jars of wine and drinking cups before all the Rechabites and to tell the Rechabites to drink the wine. God also told Jeremiah to bring witnesses into the Temple to view what was about to happen.

Jeremiah did what God told him to do. The Rechabites entered Jerusalem, came into one of the temple chambers, and then Jeremiah, with witnesses all watching, set wine before them. And he said, “Drink ye wine.”

And they said, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father commanded us saying, “ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons forever. Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab, our father in all that he hath charged us.” (Jeremiah 35:7)

A condensed paraphrase presents God as saying to Jeremiah: “Go, tell Judah that the sons of Jonadab obeyed their grandfather and father and would not drink wine forever, and yet Judah will not obey me—their true father. Therefore Judah shall be judged, but there shall not fail one of the house of Jonadab to stand before me.”

We all know “the rest of the story.” Judah was taken into captivity. Why? Because they had failed to obey their true father—God. And I guarantee you that the Rechabites not only obeyed their earthly father, but also obeyed their heavenly father and were not a part of the crowd that God was about to judge, else God would not have used them as an example. Honoring a father’s authority is honoring God, because God is the one who gave the father his authority.

This is not an “extreme case.” It is a biblical case, and God tells us plainly in the Book of I Corinthians: “All these things were done for our example and for our learning, upon whom the ends of the earth are come.”

Let us not dismiss them, because they do not agree with our view of the situation. Let us do as the Word of God says—take them as examples and learn from them.

In conclusion, all authority comes from God; everyone is under some authority. In fact, everyone on the earth is probably under more than one authority, because each child on the earth is at least under some kind of “parental” authority. In addition, they are also under some kind of governmental authority. Hopefully, if they are converted, they are under some kind of “spiritual authority.” If a person is an orphan and destitute of father or mother, then God becomes his father to him and will care for him.

Conflicts, misunderstandings and sorrow result from a “confusion of authorities”— a situation that results from an authority’s misunderstanding of his subject jurisdiction. As a result, the ones who are under the authorities become “confused” about which authority they should obey. When this happens, the authority who has counseled outside his subject jurisdiction should recognize his error, apologize, and re-direct the one he has wrongly counseled back to the authority who can truly help him.

May we recognize these truths and abide by them, so God may be glorified in our exercise of His authority.

A Lesson In Authority part, part 10

2009-05-18T10:05:00.002-04:00

Apples to Apples

The issue, in either case, is not how old the girl is or whether or not she has a job. The issue is God ordained authority in the home, and if the father says she should not leave and after marriage, the husband says she must obey, then she should obey by faith and trust God through her authorities. If she does, she will see God’s blessing. If she does not, she will experience God’s displeasure, because it was not just the husband or the father she dishonored—it was God, who gave them their authority.

Let’s suppose that a pastor has a daughter who is eighteen years old. She signs up to go on The Academy of Arts Drama Team. Sometime in the course of the summer, she “siddles” up to me, as her authority while in The Academy of Arts ministry, and she tells me that she has met a guy on the Internet, and she is in love with him. However, her father does not approve. She says further that the young man does not believe what her father’s church believes, and she has become convinced that the young man is right.

She tells me she had a job before she came on the summer tour and that that job is waiting for her when the summer ends. She asks me if it would be wrong if she left the church, left home and pursued marriage with the young man.

Then I tell her, “Well, you are 18, so you are of age.” Legally, you are an adult. You are also making your own money, and you have a right to marry whomever you choose. Then she goes home and executes a plan for leaving the church, leaving home and pursuing marriage with the young man. Would I have done right by the pastor? Absolutely not, but not because the daughter was 18, and not because she had a job, but because I did not respect the authority granted by God to the head of one of God’s divine institutions — the home. Plus, I did not have subject jurisdiction in the matter. It was not within my scope of authority to offer a judgment or an opinion in the matter. I should have directed the pastor’s daughter back to the one who had jurisdiction—the pastor.

Getting Ridiculous

Someone says, “What about a woman who is 50 years old, and her father is 75? Does she still have to obey her father?” This argument is made on the side of rebellion. I have never seen a rebellious young person yet who did not exaggerate the facts in a case to make the authority in the case look unreasonable. Besides, this example is extreme, unusual, unbiblical and hypothetical.

We would have to know the whole story in order to have an opinion. Probably the 50 year-old daughter and 75 year old father have a wonderful relationship; she has probably been living outside of his home for years with his full approval and blessing, having finished her education and having taken a job. She also has other authorities and counsel to advise her—her boss, her pastor, etc.

However, if you want to discuss just “hard-nosed” obedience, I have biblical examples, which are not hypothetical but actual—Jacob and his sons; Abraham in obtaining a bride for his grown son, Isaac; and other examples. And based on those examples, I say, if her 75 year-old father is adamant about an important issue (as Jacob was), she should obey her father. In other, less important issues, I seriously doubt that a 75 year-old father would have much to say to his daughter about her decision-making, trusting her judgment in almost everything.

A Lesson In Authority, Part 9

2009-05-15T10:03:00.003-04:00

Specific Examples

Someone may say, well, I believe when you become a young adult, and you are making your own money, you don’t have to obey your father and mother. I challenge you to find that teaching in the Bible. And I would like to know what the “magic age” is when one becomes a young adult and no longer has to obey his parents. Again, Galatians 4:1-2 gives us the answer: “Now I say, that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed by the father.”

In other words, the father decides when the child is ready to be on his own. The pastor cannot decide that. He is out his realm of authority. It is not his subject jurisdiction. Besides that, he has not lived with the child for years, as the father has, to know his mental, emotional, and spiritual condition.

The State cannot make that decision either for the same reason. The child cannot decide, or else that would make him the father. So, when the child decides against his parents’ wishes, there is always confusion, heartbreak, distrust, misunderstanding, harsh words, guilt, lack of discernment, shame and wrong decision-making.

You show me a person who broke his parents hearts by rejecting parental authority and walked out of the home against his parents’ wishes, thus dishonoring them, and I will show you a person headed for misery, if he is not already experiencing it. And sadly, that person will always have trouble with authority.

He may be a son, who in anger joins the Army to get away from his father’s authority, and he discovers that the authority of the Army is even harder on him.

It may be a daughter, who abruptly leaves home to marry a young man of whom her father does not approve. She leaves her father’s authority and finds herself under a husband’s authority, and she will eventually have trouble with her husband’s authority. It does not matter how submissive she seems at first. There will come a moment when her rebellion comes out.

Rebels do not always carry guns and wear a scowl on their faces. Gothard’s definition of rebellion is a scriptural one: “Reserving for myself the right to make the final decision.” Samuel told Saul, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

Do not excuse someone’s negative attitude toward a parent by saying, “Well, he’s just stubborn. He’ll get over it.” God says that stubbornness has the same root as idolatry and rebellion has the same root as witchcraft.

Saul did not “get over it.” He had the kingdom rent from him. He murdered all the priests of Nob. He ended his life consorting with the demon-possessed witch of Endor. It is no “light” thing to stubbornly disobey.

One may work with a rebel and even have a rebel work for him, and things may go along just fine for a time, until a decision, with which the rebel does not agree, is made by the one in charge. Then his rebellion shows itself, because he “reserves for himself the right to make that final decision.” A rebel will work with you, but he does not work for you without eventual conflict.

Here is a young lady who is 24 years old. She thinks that because she is a young adult and she is making her own money, she does not have to obey her parents. She leaves home abruptly, without discussing anything with her parents. She goes into “hiding” and her parents do not know where she is. Her mother’s heart is broken. Six months later she finds herself married. She did not consult with her parents about whether or not she should get married or to whom. And because she has taken herself out from under her father’s authority, he does not give her away. Nevertheless, she “ties the knot.”

Please keep in mind that she is still a young adult, and she still has the same job. Does that mean she does not have to obey her husband? Someone says, “Yes, she will obey because she loves the new husband.” She claimed to love her parents too and she disobeyed them. But I am not asking that. I am asking is she required to obey her husband? What if she disagrees with her husband about this “obedience” thing, just as she disagreed with her parents? Does she have to submit to what he says?

Someone may say, well she was of age. She had a right to disobey her parents. Well, after marriage, she is still “of age,” and still has the right to make her own decisions. Using the criteria that has been laid down, she is a young adult and she has her own job and does not even need her husband’s income. Therefore, she has the right to disobey him. Right? After all, who is this young husband to tell her what to do? Why he is not even as wise or as experienced as her Dad was, and she walked out on him, didn’t she?

A Lesson In Authority part 8

2009-05-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

Scriptural Attitudes

The Bible commands us: “Honor thy father and mother, and He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.” Jesus quotes this Old Testament command to the Pharisees in Matthew 15:3-4. There is no question of age here. One cannot read this command in this context and say, “Well, I am old enough now, I don’t have to honor my father and mother.” Yes, you do. Jesus was here talking to the Pharisees—grown men—and he rebuked them for not obeying this command.

And what does it mean to “honor?” According to Albert Barnes, It means “to obey, to reverence, to speak kindly to, to speak and think well of.” To “curse” means: “to disobey, to treat with irreverence, to swear at, to speak ill of, to think evil of in the heart, to meditate or do any evil to a parent.” All this is included in the original word”. And what does it mean to “let him die the death”? “This is a Hebrew phrase, the same as saying, let him surely die. The Jewish law punished this crime with death. This duty of honoring and obeying a parent was what Christ said they had violated by their traditions.”(Barnes Notes on the New Testament, Matthew volume, page 159.)

Ephesians 6:1 talks about children obeying, but this passage, pressed home by Jesus Himself, is addressed to adults, and it lines up with the rest of the Bible on this subject of obeying parents. The sons of Jacob—Judah, Simeon, Levi, Reuben, and all the rest were grown men with families, and some of them were grandparents, when they urged their father, Jacob, to let them take Benjamin and go down into Egypt a second time to buy grain. Jacob told them “no,” and they all obeyed.

Not one of them made the excuse that they were grown men and had every right to go down to buy grain for the famine of their houses. But they obeyed their father. Jacob eventually relented and said they could go, but until he said they could go, they did not move one step over the desert path of Horus to go down into Egypt. In short, you never get old enough to dishonor your parents.

A Lesson In Authority part 7

2009-05-13T10:22:00.000-04:00

Specific Applications

The authority of God is manifest in the home through the father, and in the case of a daughter, she is under the authority of the father until he transfers his authority over to another man—her husband. That is what the marriage vow means when it asks, “Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?” The father, in that moment, transfers his God-given authority over his daughter to a new authority — her husband.

When the marriage is complete, God recognizes the establishment of a new home, and a new authority—the husband. The daughter, who is now a wife, is to be submissive to her husband’s authority, because it comes from God. The father, who gave her away, now takes on the position of adviser to this new home; however, he does not exercise the same kind of authority over this new home that he exercised over his own home. He may advise, but not dictate.

A wise son-in-law and daughter will honor their parents on both sides and always give them respect. They will even listen to advice from their parents, but ultimately the responsibility for decision-making rests in the head of this new home, through whom God is now manifesting His authority—the husband and father.

Just as the fathers, whose children are now married, do not have any real authority over this new home, just so, the married children may not reach back into the homes from which they came and exercise any authority over younger siblings who may still be in the home. It does not matter how wise the new married couple may think themselves to be now that they are grown and have children. They have no jurisdiction over the homes from which they came—only over their own home. If they try to influence younger siblings to make decisions of which parents would not approve, they have usurped the present authority of the sibling’s parents. In effect they have become mother and father to someone over whom God has given them no authority. Only confusion and heartbreak can be the result.

If a younger sibling complains to the older brother or sister, who is now married, about something their parents did or said or required, the young married couple should remind the sibling that they cannot help, because God has given them no authority over the younger sibling. They should urge the younger sibling to do what the parents require, remembering that God is the one who gave them their parents. They may comfort and pray for the younger sibling, but they should urge them to honor the father and mother with obedience. They should not venture to offer any advice, unless they communicate with the parents to know what their mind is in the matter.

At no time should the married brother or sister receive or give an evil report about the parents. They should not say or do anything that will cause the younger sibling to have less respect for the parents. They should remind the sibling that the parents love them and that the younger sibling may, at any time, make a respectful appeal to the parents about the matter that has become a problem.

Unfortunately, a younger brother or sister, who is still in the home, would often times rather talk with married brothers and sisters about their problems than talk to their parents, and the reason is simple. They instinctively know that the older brother or sister has no real authority over them, and therefore they feel more free to talk with them than they do to talk with Mom or Dad. It bolsters them in their negative attitude because they have talked to someone who is some kind of authority, but down deep they know what the older brother or sisters say is not authoritative or binding.

Nonetheless, such talks with older married brothers or sisters are an exercise in futility, since the authority to decide anything of importance rests with the parents and specifically with the father. And this authority comes from God.

Neither does this new home have jurisdiction over other homes to try and govern the children of other parents. This is also the usurpation of authority. “In- laws” become “out-laws” when they start meddling in the affairs of another home.

A Lesson In Authority part 6

2009-05-11T20:49:00.000-04:00

Premature Conclusions

Scripture presents strong warnings about drawing conclusions before hearing both sides of any controversy. “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” (Prov. 18:13) Whoever first gets our ear is capable of prejudicing our hearts and distorting our objectivity. “He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour

cometh and searcheth him.” (Prov. 18:17.)

Spiritual leaders, particularly those who have the gift of mercy, can very easily fall into the error of ex parte, as described above. They can also find themselves trying to be a judge in such family matters, using their spiritual authority where they have no subject jurisdiction.

Mr. Williams continues:

“It is a clear violation of His mandated lines of authority to undermine a parent by siding with that child against his parents. To take up the cause of a child in rebellion against parental authority is to implicitly say that God has made a mistake in giving those specific parents to that child. What pride and audacity to suppose I can improve on the family circle God has established.”

May I re-iterate: Any spiritual authority who usurps the father’s authority over his child and seeks to counsel a child against his father’s counsel is sinning. He is subverting God’s line of authority.

Mr. Williams concludes:

“Only a parent who has personally experienced the exquisite pain involved in having their authority as parent undermined by a friend, family member or Pastor can tell you of the anguish, trauma and torture involved in not only seeing a child turned away from them, but also in the betrayal of that intimate personality in whom they trusted.”

Pastors, counselors and relatives can do irreparable damage to a parent/child relationship by listening to the complaints of a child against the parents without the parents being present to hear the “charges.” Extended “counseling” sessions with the child without the parents’ knowledge are a terrible betrayal of the parents. It is clearly an usurpation of their position in God’s line of authority.

The pastor, counselor or relative who does this is, as Ron Williams says, exhibiting “pride.” They think they could have “done better.” When such “counselors” finally come to the parents with negative information about them supplied by the child in several private conversations, the parents are blind-sided, caught off guard and cannot respond with decisiveness, not having been party to all the on-going “counseling” that has already been done in private.

These “counselors” are guilty of ex parte’, plus they have no subject jurisdiction in this matter relating to one of God’s divine institutions — the home. And because the child now feels secure, having other authorities who agree with them and who are taking up their cause, they wax bolder in their rebellion against duly given authority.

Thus confusion reigns. Solutions are not forthcoming. Hurts abound. Trust is undermined. Relationships are harmed, if not destroyed. Fellowship is shattered. Prayers are hindered. A false piety is born. Self-sufficiency is asserted in word and actions. Contradictions abound.

The frightening thing about all this is that the pastor, the counselor, or the relative and child all feel “spiritual” about it. They all condemn the “tyrannical” parents, disregarding years of love, sacrifice and care that prove them worthy parents, and pray only that they will “get right.” This is condemnation in the clothes of concern. This is subversion parading as protector. This is destruction preaching restoration. It is sin.

These are not imagined sorrows, strife and confusion. They are real, and they are satanic in origin. He is the original rebel. He said, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will become like the Most High.”

Satan is also the destroyer, the liar, the murderer and the devourer. He despises God’s order of things. He hates the home, because it illustrates God’s relationship to His children as Father. The husband/wife relationship demonstrates to a lost world the relationship of Christ to the church. And when a pastor or counselor does anything to undermine the home or to damage parent/child or husband/wife relationships, he is the unwitting tool of Satan to destroy God’s picture — God’s Fatherhood and Christ’s relationship to the church.

All these terrible results come about because of someone’s failure to follow God’s established order of things — a failure to recognize God’s authority in the home and insist that the child stay under that authority until the appointed time by the parent for that particular child.

Someone says, “Well, that is all well and good, but how long should a child be under the father’s authority? Shouldn’t a young adult be able to make their own decisions.”

Obviously, it is the goal of any good Christian parent to rear a child to a state of maturity in decision-making. It is not the goal of a wise parent to make the child dependent on him, but to help him gain true wisdom and eventually achieve independence of thought, actions, and provision. But none of these answer the real question of when a father no longer exercises authority over the child. The Bible gives us the answer.

Children are to be under the father’s rule “until the time appointed by the father.” In Galatians 4:1-2, the Word of God tells us: “the heir differeth nothing from a servant, though he be Lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.”

In other words, God put the child in that particular home, under that particular father and gave that father specific authority over that child. And the father is the one who decides when the child is ready to be “on his own.” (Galatians 4)

A Lesson In Authority part 5

2009-05-08T12:28:00.000-04:00

Violations of God’s Principles

Any spiritual authority who usurps the father’s authority over his child and seeks to counsel a child against his father’s counsel is sinning. He is subverting God’s line of authority.

If he listens to a child’s complaints or accusations against his parents, without the parents being present to answer the complaints or accusations, the pastor will find himself guilty of what the law refers to as ex parte. This is a legal term used to indicate a situation in which a judge listens to one side of a dispute without the other side being present to answer the complaints or accusations. The law says that such a judge has been prejudiced in the case and must disqualify himself.

At this point, the author would like to recommend a tract entitled ¹“Subverting God’s Line of Authority” by Ron E. Williams, Director of Hephzibah House.

Since 1971, Mr. Williams has been working with rebellious young people, many of whom have run away from home. It is the stated purpose of Hephzibah House to counsel and guide rebellious youth back to the authority of their parents.

In his insightful tract, Mr. Williams refers to a situation that involves, what the law calls ex parte’.

Be Careful What you Hear

“Rebellious sons and daughters are capable of giving slanted news to whomever they can find who would have a sympathetic ear. A fallen nature in rebellion toward God-given parents will have great creativity in describing the weaknesses and failures of their parents, but will be strangely silent about their own failures. Anyone listening to a youngster describe the faults of his parents needs the sagacity and perspicacity of Solomon!

Our fallen nature is quick to “choose sides” and be offended at supposed injustices suffered by a son or daughter at the hands of “tyrannical parents.” In our pride, we believe we could have done better with this child, and find ourselves unwittingly playing the part of Talmai (Absaloms’ grandparents) rather than follow ing Scriptural principle.

Meet an AofA Student: Rachel Bomar

2009-05-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

The following is a testimony by a first year student at the Academy, Rachel Bomar.

"The first play I was involved in was April Morning at my high school (Greenville Christian Academy) in 2004. I was not able to have a part in the play because I was too young, but I had the privilege of helping with costumes and make-up. They had such an impact on my life in just that one week that I was already looking forward to the next seminar we would do! In 2005 we did Man Without a Country, and I was able to play a smaller speaking part. In 2006 I played a reader in No Place to Flee. Carol Dagg asked me to travel with the Academy of Arts during the summer, but I could not because my sister was getting married. However, I knew that I wanted to travel so I started making plans for the next summer to travel. I was so excited about traveling that I turned in my application six months in advance. That year (my junior year) we did "A Christmas Carol" in which I played the Ghost of Christmas past. This was one of my favorite plays we did at my school. Nicole Chavers asked me to travel and I told her I had already turned in the application and was thrilled! So, the summer of 2007 was my first summer traveling with the Academy of Arts and I traveled on the Eastern team with Howie Schlichting and Carol Dagg as my team leaders. What an amazing summer! Traveling in the summer with the Academy is an experience that is unforgettable! My original plans for college were to go to Campbell University with a volleyball scholarship and study sports medicine. However, over the summer I knew the Lord was calling me into the ministry. He led my heart to come to the Academy for college. I enrolled in the college in the fall of 2008 and it has been amazing. I am so thankful for the Academy and the knowledge I have gained since I have been with them. I praise the Lord for this ministry and the work it has done in my life. It has equipped me for ministry, counseling, drama, and so much more! There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord has His hand on this ministry, and that the ministry is growing. Praise the Lord!"

A Lesson In Authority, part 4

2009-05-04T13:08:00.000-04:00

Human Government

The Government may not invade the sanctity of the home, unless someone within that home has broken the law. The father of the home, who has a son or daughter who has broken the law, should be the first to turn the offender over to the Government. If the father himself breaks the law by incest, child abuse, murder or some other crime punishable by civil authority, the government must invade the home to arrest the criminal. In this case, the father cannot claim that the government has no jurisdiction over his home, because, when the father broke the law, that gave government jurisdiction.

In law, there is a term called subject jurisdiction and it means that a given dispute must be handled by a court to which that dispute is subject. If a particular dispute is not subject to that particular court, that court has no jurisdiction over the matter.. For example, a family court may not consider a business dispute between business partners. It is out of their subject jurisdiction.

Therefore, in the normal operations, decisions and governing of the home, the State has no say, and the church has no say, but these things rest in the father’s hands, and this authority is granted to him by God. Neither the state nor the church has any subject jurisdiction over the home. Therefore, any dispute in a family should find the pastor of a church redirecting the complaining children back to the ones who have subject jurisdiction over the home — the parents. Children do not belong to the State, and they do not belong to the church. Neither of these institutions gave birth to them.

In reality, the State belongs to the children. The State does not give the home the right to exist. God does. The home, which populates the nation with citizens, gives the government its right to exist. Whenever the State invades the home to “remove” a child, because of the parents’ belief system (aside from beliefs that break just and established laws) the State has violated God’s authority in the home and will be judged by God for doing so. In spite of what the State may think about the spanking of children, God approves of such chastening and gives that responsibility to the parents, and any government official who dares to violate the God-given authority of the home will answer to the Almighty.

A Lesson In Authority part 3

2009-04-24T13:23:00.000-04:00

Spiritual Authority

The ministry of the church should be to help the home, and the ministry of the home should be to help the church. It should be a co-operative relationship. Neither is over the other. They each retain their authority, as they carry out their God-given responsibilities. No pastor has the time or the authority to make decisions that must be made on an almost daily basis in the homes of 50, 75, or 100 families.

Good scriptural preaching will help those in the home with their interpersonal relationships and help them understand and respond to the God-given authority of the father. Scriptural teaching will also help the father to properly carry out his responsibilities to his family. The pastor, in turn, must exercise authority over his own home and serve as an example to other families.

A church or spiritual institution may not interfere with the policies and decision-making of another church or spiritual institution. The pastor of one church does not have the right to communicate with the leadership of another church for the purpose of undermining the pastor of that church or the head of that ministry.

When authority is being exercised properly, the authorities of these God-appointed institutions should not conflict with each other, and if there is a possible conflict, the two authorities involved should get together and resolve the matter, lest the ones over whom they exercise their authority become confused. The guide for resolving the conflicts should be the Bible.

A Lesson In Authority part 2

2009-04-23T08:38:00.000-04:00

The Home

Of the three institutions God has set up, the first in order and in importance is the home. If it were not for the home, the other two would not exist. It is the only one of the three into which one is born. Each of us is placed under one of the other two institutions in some way. For example, in a local church setting we “join” the church voluntarily, and place ourselves under the pastor,as it relates to the ministry and operation of the church. In an American/republican setting, we “elect” our officials and give them our “consent” to govern.

If something happens in the church, which we judge to be unscriptural or wrong, we can withdraw our membership. If an elected official fails in his responsibility, we can “vote” him out and vote others in. But in the case of the home, we are born into it, and since children are an heritage from the Lord, that means that God did the placing. We did not join the family. We were not elected to it. We were placed into it by Almighty God—this God, Who manifests His glory through the scriptural exercise of His authority. And in this divine institution called the home, God’s authority rests upon the father.

The church may not usurp the authority of the father. The pastor may admonish and advise, but the authority still rests with the father. A wise father will consider the advice or admonition, but ultimately, he must give an account to God, because the authority in that home was granted by God, just as the authority of the church was granted by God. There should be no conflict.

A Lesson In Authority part 1

2009-04-21T09:35:00.000-04:00

A Lesson in Authority

Nicky Chavers

The Source of Authority

All authority comes from God. Jesus stood before Pilate and said, “ You would have no authority over me at all, except it were given you from above.” God’s authority is manifest in the world through three divine institutions: the family (Adam and Eve); human government (beginning with Noah after the flood,) and spiritual authority (The patriarchs, Moses and the prophets, and in the New Testament, Jesus Christ and the church). It is also clear that “God gave some Apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry.” These God-given offices bring with them God-given authority — spiritual authority.

The limits and scope of these authorities—the home, the government and spiritual authority is outlined for us in God’s Word, the Bible. Anyone who finds himself in a position of authority, whether a father, a government official, a pastor or the spiritual head of some Christian organization or ministry must understand and obey what God says about his position, because every authority will answer to God. And the God, who gave these “heads” their authority, can rescind it just as surely as He gave it.

Over and over again in the Bible, God refers to Himself as a “father,” as a “judge,” as a “king,” as a “shepherd,” and as such, shows his authority in all things. Thus, He expects mere humans, who take on these positions of authority to exercise them with a sense of responsibility to the One Who gave the authority.

The exercise of authority by any one of these three institutions, in obedience to God’s word, is a glory to God. It illustrates to the world His good, just and benevolent authority over all mankind, and anyone who resists such properly constituted authority is resisting God. The improper exercise of authority (that is, not in compliance with what God has outlined) is tyrannical. It brings reproach to the name of God and results in sorrow, confusion, strife and every evil work.

Each of these institutions that manifest God’s authority on the earth, should have a benevolent and co-operative attitude toward each other. None of them is over any of the other two. Each has its important and ordained place. The home is not over the church and church is not over the home. The home is not over the government and the government is not over the home. The church is not over the government and the government is not over the church. When any one of these institutions usurps authority over any of the other two, there is always confusion. Each of them bears a vertical relationship to God and a horizontal relationship to each other, and the way these three interrelate is given to us in the Bible. This is why God speaks to fathers, to kings, to judges, prophets and pastors in warning tones. Their actions, right or wrong, will affect many others. It is a serious thing to have been granted a small piece of God’s great power and authority on the earth.

The Value of Portrayal, part 13

2009-04-17T14:42:00.000-04:00

A Conclusion Concerning the Message

When Jesus sat back down, He capitalized on the effectiveness of His portrayal by making a direct application to the Disciples. He wanted them to give up their pride. Each of them had some reason that they considered to be valid as to why they should have a favored place in His kingdom. His example showed them that their reasoning was wrong.

He also wanted them to literally become servants to each other. “He who would be great among you, let him be the servant of all.” They were not to do this to become great. There were to do it with no ulterior motive and leave the “great” part to the One who alone recognizes greatness.

He wanted them to relinquish their rights. We do have rights, but He wants us to give them over to Him. As long as we hold onto them ours and fight to maintain them, there will be conflict because everyone else is fighting for his rights as well, and many times what they consider to be their rights interferes with what we consider to be our rights.

However, in Jesus’ kingdom this attitude does not work because He has all knowledge and sees hearts and advances those whom He knows deserve advancement, and His other true servants who were not advanced “esteem others better than themselves.” Therefore, there is no jealousy, but only rejoicing as they, “in honor, prefer one another.”

He wanted them to forsake materialism. Why should we heap to ourselves riches when He has promised to supply all our needs “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”? Why should we “take thought” for lives, “what ye shall eat, what ye shall drink, nor yet for the body, what ye shall put on?” For our lives are “more than meat and the body more than raiment.” Instead, we are to seek “first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things” will be added to us.

He wanted them to submit to what He had submitted to and was about to experience—betrayal, denial, false accusation, physical abuse, shame, reproach, pain, and death. He told them, “The servant is not greater than His Lord. If they have hated me, they will hate you.” Jesus knew that the true humility of a slave was the only attitude that could prepare them for such experiences. He had already “made Himself of no reputation and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a m an, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

He wanted them to experience the triumph He was about to experience. He knew He was going to die, be resurrected, make bodily appearances among His disciples for a month and ten days and then ascend into heaven and again sit down “at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

With a full knowledge of all that was going to happen, He would fall on His face in the Garden of Gethsemane and saw, “Father, glorify thou me with the glory, which I had with thee before the world was.” He would also say, “Father, I would that those be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.” He would continue, “O Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me out of the world, that they may be one as we are one.”

And now, all this comes down to you and me. Jesus, as He prays in the Garden, says in the most earnest tones and with full knowledge of the future, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for all those also which shall believe on me through their word.” There I am and there you are in the great scheme of things. The things Jesus said and did and portrayed and prayed were not just for His own day, but also for our day—not just for the disciples that had seen Him, but for those who “have not seen and yet have believed.”

The servant’s heart is to be ours, the suffering is to be ours, and the glory is to be ours. We will be a part of the many who “shall come from the north, the south, the east, and the west and shall sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus’ question after His portrayal is for us. “Know ye what I have done unto you?” May we fully understand what He has done, and may we remove the garments of pride, gird ourselves with the towel of humility, take in our hands the basin of service, and wash each others’ feet until we all gather at His feet who sits on the throne.

The Value of Portrayal, part 12

2009-04-09T14:23:00.000-04:00

Conclusion

There are many conclusions we can draw from what is recorded in John 13 and from what Jesus did and said in this passage.

A Conclusion Concerning Methodology

We see that Jesus used almost every method of communication one can think of. The criteria for Jesus’ and our use of a methodology are found in its moral nature, its effectiveness in conveying a particular truth, and its value for a particular situation or a specific person.

It appears from Jesus’ life that every method has its use, and none is superior to others, as long as each sincerely has God’s truth as its central motivation, as long as it is true to the Word of the living God, and as long as the method itself does not become the important thing, overshadowing the message.

It is also clear that the method most used by Jesus was teaching. It lends itself to almost every situation and rests on little but the knowledge, character, and burden of the teacher. However, even the greatest teacher who ever lived used portrayal at a very crucial time, when power and effectiveness were needed that would reach beyond the power and effectiveness of mere teaching.

Therefore, drama has a legitimate place in the communication of spiritual ideas, and while it does not take the place of teaching or preaching, it is very effective at crucial times and in certain situations in its illumination and its setting forth of truth. At these times and in these situations it can actually be more effective than teaching and preaching, but only for the short term. Is effectiveness is also to be followed up with direct application of the truth it conveyed, so that the observer is not carried away with the portrayal or the emotion it evoked, but with the truth it taught.

The Value of Portrayal, part 11

2009-04-08T14:04:00.000-04:00

The Completion of the Portrayal

I think it is significant that Jesus washed the feet of every disciple. If this had been just a demonstration, Jesus could have washed the feet of only one of the disciples and then made His point. But this was not a demonstration. It was a true portrayal because a real slave would not have passed over anyone. He would have served everyone.

Jesus was showing that every individual is important. He was a servant giving personal attention to the needs of each guest. He bore the relationship of a bond slave to each of them. Jesus was also carrying out the wishes of His Father, the Master of the great house.

When Jesus had finished washing the last disciple’s feet, He returned to the basin, took off the towel, put His garments back on, and then sat down again. In other words, He finished portraying a servant, re-assumed His dress as Lord, and re-assumed His position as their Master by sitting in His place at the table.

The Explanation of the Portrayal

Once He had sat back down, and every eye was on Him, Jesus asked a probing question. “Know ye what I have done unto you?” (v. 12) His portrayal had made them think certain thoughts. At first, they wondered what He was doing. Then they realized what He was doing, but they wondered why He was doing it. I’m sure they also wondered why He had said nothing the whole time.

His portrayal had also aroused in them certain feelings. They felt confused about His assumption of such a role. They felt embarrassed that their Lord would do to them the office of a slave. They felt guilty that they had had thoughts of personal advancement in the Kingdom of Heaven. They wondered how all this related to His solemn words during supper.

Knowing their thoughts and feelings, Jesus’ question now probed deeper. It explored the very essence of what He had done. “Know ye what I have done unto you?” There was a deafening silence. The disciples did not answer His question, because the answer to it touched deeply on many of their failures and problems.

Jesus began His explanation of His portrayal by using the familiar. “Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well…” He shows agreement with them. After all, He was Lord over heaven and earth, nature, sickness, death, and demons. “…for so I am…” He affirms that they are correct. Then Jesus uses a syllogism—a formula used by logicians to prove a point of logic. This syllogism says, “If this is true, then this has to be true.” He says, “If I, then, your Lord and Master have washed your feet…” (v. 14) In other words, if it is true that I am your lord and Master (and it is true) and if it is true that I have washed your feet (and I have), “then you ought to wash one another’s feet” (logical conclusion).

And now, we see the power of example. Jesus says, “For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done unto you.” Action begets action. He did not just tell them to humble themselves, He demonstrated real humility. He did not just tell them to serve each other, He served. Action demonstrated attitude. Laying aside His garments and dressing as a slave demonstrated His attitude. His bodily movements and facial expression demonstrated His attitude. His response to Peter demonstrated His attitude.

Action also reveals status. Jesus’ actions toward the disciples were truly those of a household servant. During His portrayal, His status was below theirs, and His actions showed that plainly. He kneeled at their feet. He removed their sandals. He gently washed and dried their feet.

This is why the portrayal had such an effect on them. If Jesus’ attitude had not been truly that of a servant, and if His action sand bodily movements did not match up with those of the slaves they had seen, the disciples would not have looked on in silence. They would almost surely have said something. But Jesus was a slave in those moments, and the disciples knew it. There was no question about it. They were therefore afraid to question was He was doing.

Peter was the only one who did not fully accept the character Jesus was portraying. His mind would not allow him to think of His Lord and Master as a servant, even though Christ’s actions, posture, and attitude all proved that that was what He had become. Peter still called Him Lord and refused to allow his Lord to do to him the office of a servant. And for that reason, Jesus had to break His servant character momentarily and speak as Lord in order to correct Peter. Once Peter had been corrected by Jesus, the Lord, the Savior then returned to His servant character to complete His portrayal.

The Value of Portrayal, part 10

2009-04-07T10:52:00.001-04:00

The Nature of the Portrayal

It is a portrayal by action. In the midst of the somber yet wondering disciples, under the oppressive influence of Satan, with the full knowledge of his relationship with the Father and a complete understanding of His origin and destiny, He rises from summer and begins taking off His garments.

He does not speak a word to the disciples, as He lays His garments aside and stands before them clad only in a loincloth. (v. 4) The disciples look at one another, but no one questions the Master. They watch in silence. He then takes a large towel and girds Himself with it. (v. 4b) The disciples wonder what He is doing.

Jesus slowly pours water into a basin without speaking. A picture begins to form in the minds of these natives of Palestine, but they are afraid to acknowledge the accuracy of the picture that is taking shape. Then without a word, and with a demeanor of genuine humility, their Lord picks up the basin and turns to them, framed by one of the huge arches of the upper room. The picture is complete! A servant! A household slave! The Master had become a servant, wearing the costume, using the props, and projecting the very demeanor of a slave before the very eyes!

They had seen it scores of times before in wealthy Jewish households. Many times they had accompanied Jesus when He was invited to dine with a wealthy ruler, a merchant, or a Pharisee. And as they entered the front door of the great man’s house, and before they went beyond the foyer, a slave appeared before them, clad only in a loincloth and gift about the waist with a towel. He held a basin of water in his hands, and as the great man of the house conversed with his guests, the servant kneeled down before each one of them in turn and washed the dust from their feet. As they looked at Jesus, they understood what He had now become.

It was also a portrayal by attitude. It was not just the towel or the basin of water. It was His attitude of complete humility. It was His eyes brimming with sincerity. It was the expression of submission on His face. This was no “act.” He had become a servant.

He moves toward them now and kneels with an attitude of respect—genuine respect—at the feet of the first astonished disciple. Putting the basin on the floor, Jesus the Messiah, the Lord of heaven and earth begins to untie the latchet of the first disciple’s sandal, while the disciple’s face turns red with embarrassment at the thought of the Son of God performing for him the task reserved for a slave. His fellow disciples likewise are embarrassed for him, but none of them tries to stop the Master, for they have too much respect to say anything, and they are struck dumb by His genuineness.

Then, with strong but gentle hands, Jesus dips the first disciple’s feet into the basin and washes them, drying them with the towel. In silence, He moves slowly from disciple to disciple, washing the feet of each one and drying them with the towel. Some of the disciples remember the argument they had had just days ago about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and they quietly bury their faces in their hands in shame, yet submitting to the actions of the One who was sincerely presenting Himself as their slave.

Pictures are important to God! He has given many in the Old Testament, and He insists on their accuracy and completeness. As an example, Moses kept out of the Promised Land because he spoiled one of God’s pictures. God told Moses to speak to the rock and it would give forth water. The Bible tells us plainly that “the rock was Christ.”

Jesus told the woman at the well, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it was that said unto thee, ‘Give me to drink,’ thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” But Moses, in anger, struck the rock, not once, but twice, and because of that he was not allowed to enter the land.

You see, we simply have to ask, and Jesus will give us living water. Moses spoiled God’s picture of His Son by striking the rock. He spoiled it again by striking the rock twice, because Jesus would not be smitten twice but only once for the sins of mankind.

And now, Jesus comes to the feet of Simon Peter. The picture Jesus is painting is that of a servant, but feelings of unworthiness well up as a knot in Peter’s throat, and through tears, he voices what all the disciples are thinking. “Lord…dost thou…wash my feet?” Without looking up, Jesus starts to loosen the latchet of his sandals. “What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.”

The soft-hearted fisherman pulls his bare feet away, humbly insisting, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” The picture is almost spoiled, but Jesus momentarily speaking as Himself says, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” Then Peter, the rock, turns and gestures strongly to show his allegiance to Christ and says, “Then, Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head.”

Again, well-meaning Simon almost spoils the picture. A servant in a great household never washed the hands of heads of the guests that entered the master’s house. He was their feet only. Jesus would not have the picture ruined. The disciples must get the point of the portrayal. So Jesus begins washing Peter’s feet, saying quietly but firmly, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet and he is clean every whit, and ye are clean…” At that moment, he comes to Judas. “…but not all.” “For Jesus knew who it was that should betray him…”

Now, portraying a servant, Jesus even washes the feet of the traitor—the feet that would walk out of the upper room and into the darkness—the feet that would find their way to house of the High Priest, offering to betray the Master for 30 pieces of silver—the feet that would lead a mob to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Judas would plan the traitors kiss on the cheek of the very one, who was now washing his feet tin genuine humility and love.

The Value of Portrayal, part 9

2009-04-02T16:13:00.000-04:00

The Motivation for the Portrayal

Verse 3 tells us, "...Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God and went to God..." He was motivated by His relationship to His Father. He was about to portray a slave—someone who had neither father nor mother, as far as the general populace knew. He was motivated by His possession of all things for the Father, “…had given all things into His hands…” Life, death, angels, demons, heaven, hell, earth, time and eternity were all in his hands. He possessed all things, and he was about to portray a slave—someone who possessed nothing.

He was motivated by His origin—“…that He had come from God…” He knew He was deity. He was “the Word” and “the Word was God.” And yet He was about to portray a slave—someone whose origins were generally unknown. He had come from a place where He had known nothing but the continual praise of celestial creatures. (Is. 5:1-5) And He was about to portray a slave—someone who seldom received a kind word from anyone.

He was motivated by His destiny, “…and went to God…” He would pray, “But these are in the world and I come to thee.” He had said, “But now I go my way to Him that sent me.” He assured men with, “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” He knew His destiny, and no man could stop His steady movement toward it, and yet He was about to portray a slave—someone whose destiny was tied to the destiny of others.

“He riseth from supper…” The portrayal has begun.

The Value of Portrayal, part 8

2009-03-23T11:14:00.000-04:00

The Scene of the Portrayal

Now, let’s look at the scene of the portrayal. After all, if Christ truly portrayed a character in John 13, and I believe He did, then there had to have been a scene, a setting, a situation that existed that had bearing on what He did.

It was a scene of spiritual fellowship. “And supper being ended…” This was His last passover with His disciples, and He knew it. He had said, “With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you.” The fellowship He enjoyed with them for three years was about to end. He was about to be cruelly ripped away from them in the dark of the garden and be dragged by chains over the Brook Kidron to a mock trial before evil men. But now, for the moment, he had the disciples with Him at one last supper.

It was also a scene of a New Covenant. As He tore the unleavened bread and passed it to them, He gave this ancient Jewish tradition a new meaning. “Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This, do in remembrance of me.” With a mixture of wonder and sadness, they took the bread and ate it, thinking seriously about what He had said but not fully understanding.

Not a word was spoken as Jesus then picked up the pitcher and the chalice and began pouring the wine, the light from the oil lamps dancing on the purple liquid and reflecting in His deep, brown eyes.

When He had finished filling the goblet, He slowly looked round the table into each man’s eyes and spoke in somber tones, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for many. Drink ye all of it. This, do in remembrance of me.” They slowly passed the cup round the table, and each man drank from it, looking over the rim of the cup at the Master’s face, wondering about the meaning of His words—“New Testament,” “my blood,” “shed for many.” The scene of the portrayal was indeed somber, mysterious, and saturated with a love that was trying to speak through a heavy cloud of oppression.

It was also a scene clouded by the coming betrayal. In verse two we read, “…the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him…” Ah! Here is the source of the oppression—the influence of Satan in their midst! He was always there. He had dogged the steps of the Savior from the time He was a baby, endeavoring to thwart, to discredit, to sow the seeds of self-doubt, to bring discord, and even to kill Him.

No. Jesus’ life was not in danger just in Bethlehem when He was two years old. His life was always in danger with him who was “a murderer from the beginning.” The Savior was not tempted just in the wilderness. When Satan left Him in the wilderness, it was only “for a season.”

Nearly every day of His life Jesus was faced with temptation, and even here in the upper room, in His final moments of love and fellowship with His disciples, Satan’s influence was felt through Judas Iscariot. In spite of the Satanic influence in their midst, Jesus prepared Himself for the teaching of a great truth through portrayal.

The Value of Portrayal, part 7

2009-03-19T14:26:00.000-04:00

The Character of One Portraying

Let us look first at the character of the One portraying. Those of you who would be actors or who would use acting in your ministry, would do well to examine Jesus’ portrayal in this chapter. It will change your acting methodology. It will eliminate all that is fake, “put on,” or “worked up.” It will obliterate all that is mechanical. It will reveal to you what I say all the time: “I wouldn’t give you two cents for acting, but I would give you a great deal for “temporary becoming.” The most important thing about anyone who would use portrayal is his own character. You must be what you ought to be in order to teach what you ought to teach. I have noticed that a person who is not balanced in his life and who has personality quirks is not a good actor. He cannot even effectively play a character who has similar quirks to his own. One must be normal and balanced in his life in order to recognize what is not normal and balanced. The first aspect of Jesus’ character was His knowledge—specifically, His knowledge of the hour. “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come…” John 13:1 says. Are you aware of the hour in which you live? Do you realize that we live in a media-controlled society? Radio, television, movies, publishing, and computers—they are all around us. We cannot escape the media’s influence and power. Someone has said, “The next great prophet of our time will be a playwright.” And I submit to you that that great prophet has already arisen. There is no one in America with greater influence of people’s thoughts about culture, morals, history, politics, family, or truth than the playwrights who write the scripts for the movies of Hollywood. They reach more people in one weekend with their views on vital issues than most preachers will reach in a lifetime. So, the playwrights have become the great prophets of our time. A few are true prophets. Most of them are false prophets, leading men to set up idols and to destroy themselves with their love of evil. They are nevertheless “great prophets,” because their words and the medium they use to convey their message wield great power. It is unfortunate that the Christian leadership of our day cling to one or two methods of communication, when the world is wired for sound and image that can be readily sent out to millions of lost souls. “…when Jesus knew that His hour was come…” What hour? The hour for which He had been born! He said, “For this hour came I into the world.” The hour, which was to be the fulfillment of all prophecy and the culmination of all of history! The hour toward which He had ministered. The hour of Judas’ betrayal, the hour of the disciples’ scattering, the hour of Peter’s denial, the Jewish and Gentile condemnation, His suffering and death—the hour of His becoming sin and being separated from the Father. Knowing His hour had come, and being fully aware of every teaching method available to Him, Jesus chose portrayal. Bus Jesus also saw His hour as His hour of departure out of this world and His return to the Father. Verse one says, “…knowing…that he should depart out of this world unto the father…” He knew that His suffering and death would lead to a glorious resurrection and a triumphal return to the splendors of heaven. Hebrews chapter one tells us, “Who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, when he had by himself purged our sins with his own blood, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” He had not come into the world to fall into the hands of short-sighted men. He knew the end from the beginning. And knowing that His hour was come, Jesus, the greatest teacher who ever lived, chose portrayal as His method of communicating a vital truth. Another aspect of His character was His love for His own. Our text says, “…having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” They were “His own,” for He said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” He said, “Father, keep through Thine own name those whom thou hast given me.” He talked about the disciples as being His sheep and adds, “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” He tells the Father, “Thine, they were, and thou gavest them me, and none of them is lost, save the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” They were His own and He loved them. They were “in the world.” They were earthbound. They were tied to their own nature as sons of Adam. They lived on earth, the mother planet of sin, and planet through which sin had entered the universe. They were a part of a fallen race, seduced by Lucifer, who had lifted the clenched fist of rebellion against “the most High”—Lucifer, who had tried to “exalt his throne above the stars of God” and “become like the most High.” This “shining one” had rebelled against the “high and lofty One, the One that inhabiteth eternity,” and He had been “cast down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” These disciples had once been a part of Satan’s world system, but Jesus who was not earthbound, sin-laden, or world-influenced had, by His great love, called them out, and they had followed. He had told them, “…but ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world, for I have called you out of the world.” They were the “ecclesia,” a “called out” assembly, and He loved them. And having loved His own, He loved them to the end. He loved Judas even while he was betraying Him with a kiss. He loved the other disciples, even as they ran for their lives, while He was being arrested. The scripture had accurately predicted this: “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” He loved Peter as he was lashing out in anger with the sword, and as he was following afar off. And when Peter denied him with an oath for the third time, and the cock crew outside the palace of the High Priest, Jesus turned and looked on Peter, and it was a look of love. These disciples were His own, and He loved them to the end—through the trial before the Jews, before Pilate, before Herod. He endured the false accusations, the beatings, the scourging, the mocking, the humiliation, and the crucifixion because He loved them, and He loved them to the end—to His last word, “It is finished!”—to His last heartbeat, and His last breath, as He gave up the ghost… So knowing all that lay ahead of Him and feeling this great love for His own welling up in His soul, Jesus chose portrayal to communicate an essential message to them.

The Value of Portrayal, part 6

2009-03-11T13:48:00.000-04:00

He Lived What He Taught

The last reason Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived is that He lived what He taught. He taught the disciples to love one another, and He proved His love for them many times. He said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John records, "Jesus, having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end." Referring to a rich young man, the Bible notes: "And He (Jesus) beholding him, loved him." Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, and the Jews responded, "Behold, how He loved him!" "We love Him because He first loved us."

He taught the disciples to pray, and He prayed. The word of God tells us, "And He tarried all night in prayer." He went out into a desert place "to pray." In Gethsemane, "...He went a little farther and fell on His face and prayed." On an earlier occasion, the disciples heard Him praying, and when He was done they said, "Lord, teach us to pray..." "And He lifted up His eyes to heaven and prayed..."

He taught them to take the Gospel, and He himself had come from heaven to bring them the good news. He said, "As the Father hath sent me into the world, even so now I send you into the world." He added, "Those who receive you receive me, and those who reject you reject me." He gave the great commission and ended it with, "And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." As they took the gospel, He went with them!

He taught them to trust God to supply their needs when He said, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, nor yet for the body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment?" But He backed up His teachings by saying, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." Some spiritual inquirers asked Jesus, "Master, where dwellest thou? And He said, come and see." I am certain they were shocked to see where He was dwelling-- in a cave, in a garden, in a borrowed house, on a fishing boat, none of which He owned!

Those of us in this modern day, who live in comfortable homes and drive beautiful cars and are spoiled with every modern convenience technology can afford, might well be ashamed if we had gone with those inquirers to see where Jesus was living. There was nothing that Jesus taught that He Himself was not living. He did not live by the philosophy that says: "Don't do as I do; do as I say." That is why His teaching was so powerful. He was living what He was teaching. In the final analysis, there is really only one way to teach, and that is by example. All our methods, while they may be valid and partially effective, without example to back them up will ultimately fail.

Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived, and if we examine His life closely, we will see that He did more than "preach." In fact, in the Gospel narrative, we almost never see Jesus behind a pulpit. His pulpit was a boulder or the prow of a ship. He preached to the multitudes under the open sky, along the dusty roads of Palestine and by the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

He used numerous methods of communication, including preaching or proclaiming. Paul tells Timothy, "Be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." And in so speaking, Paul sums up the essence of preaching. Jesus reproved the disciples for their unbelief. He rebuked Peter and He rebuked the Pharisees. He exhorted the disciples to good works, and He did it with all longsuffering and doctrine. What a preacher Jesus was!

But Jesus also used teaching. A teacher is one who takes complex subject matter and breaks it down into smaller parts so that the pupil can understand it. He was always called Rabbi because He was such a good teacher. He taught the disciples. He taught Nicodemus-- a teacher of the law. He taught the woman at the well about the nature of God and what God wanted--those to worship Him.

Jesus used storytelling. The intriguing thing about a story is the suspense. What is going to happen? How will the story end?

Have you ever stayed up late at night watching a long movie on TV, and when the whole thing was over you said to yourself, "That was dumb! Why did I stay up all night watching that reel of worthless celluloid? What a waste of time!" Then, holding your eyelids open, you staggered to your bedroom and fell into bed.

Did you ever wonder what made you keep watching that movie? As bad as it was, it had one good storytelling quality--suspense. You had to see how it was going to end. So when Jesus told a story, He had everyone's attention until the very end, and then He made His application while their minds were wide open.

He told true stories and He told parables. In fact, the Bible shows how much Jesus used parables by saying, "...without a parable spake He not unto them." Through parables, He taught about sowing the word, prayer, the second coming, loving your neighbor, forgiveness, justice, mercy, hell, heaven--all of these great subjects were taught through parables.

He also used current events. He referred to the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifice. These were people who had rebelled against Pilate's authority, and while they were making a blood sacrifice on the altar, Roman soldiers burst in upon them and slew the rebels with the sword, mixing their own blood with the blood of their sacrifice. Everyone had heard about this incident and everyone concluded that this terrible death came upon the Galileans because they were such sinners.

There was another current even Jesus used in his preaching. He referred to the 18 people on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed. And His point in referring to both these current events was, "Think ye that these were greater sinners than you because they suffered these things. I tell you, Nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." In other words, the calamities we see happen around us and about which "everyone is talking" should be used to remind people of the nature and purpose of God--in these two cases, the impending judgment of God on those who do not repent.

Jesus used Old Testament types. He said that Jonah in the belly of the fish was a sign of his coming resurrection. He said that Noah and the flood was a foreshadowing of His second coming.

He used God's creation--the fig trees, lilies, birds of the air, mustard seed, mountains.

He used object lessons. They asked Him about the lawfulness of paying taxes. Jesus asked for a denarius, and as He held it He asked them, "Whose image and superscription is on this coin?" They answered, "Caesar's." They He taught the lesson: "Render...unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." He told the disciples to launch out into the deep and let down their net for a draught. They did so and encompassed a great multitude of fish. Then He said, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."

Some of the hardest work I ever did as a teenager was to work at a fish house for the summer. When the fishing boats came into the dock at the fish house, it was my job to help unload them. Basket after basket of fish was raised up onto the dock by use of a small crane. Many times we unloaded 8,000 pounds of fish. Then we would roll them into the fish house, pack the fish in boxes of ice and stack them head high in a large walk-in cooler. It was hard work.

I often thought about the fishermen who brought in the catch. They had been out for several days in good weather and bad, dragging their nets, pulling them back in full of fish, and then packing the fish in ice down in the hold of the boat. That was hard work too.

Why did Jesus have the disciples go to all the trouble of raising their sails, launching out, letting down the net with all that entails, and then pulling in a catch of fish that nearly sank their boat? Why did He have them do all that? He already knew what He was going to say to them. Why did He not just say it? Because He knew they would be more open to His message if they experienced the miracle He would work in filling their nets with fish.

Thus, with their hearts and minds awed by the miracle and their attention set on the One who wrought it, they were wide open to the simple lesson Jesus wanted to teach--that He would make them fishers of men, if they would follow Him. The grand object lesson was worth it for the single truth Jesus wanted to convey.

Without my giving examples of each teaching method Jesus used, suffice it to say He used analogy, comparison and contrast, His own miracles, singing, writing, and lastly portrayal. Yes, Jesus portrayed something to teach something. Let us examine John 13 and see what Jesus portrayed, how He portrayed it, why He chose this method of communicating, what He was teaching, and why it was effective.

The Value of Portrayal, part 5

2009-03-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

He Knew His Pupils

Jesus was the greatest teacher for a second reason. He knew His pupils. His pupils were anyone He encountered in His ministry. Jesus did not confine His teaching to a classroom, and there was no one He ever met that He did not teach in some way. And He knew them all because He had made them all. He was a full-time teacher—teaching at all times, in all circumstances, to all people whatsoever and using the method that would best suit the pupil to fit the situation.

He knew his disciples. He saw Nathaniel coming and said, “Behold an Israelite in whom is no guild.” Nathaniel answered, “How knowest thou me?” Jesus said, “Before Philip called thee, when thou wert under the fig tree I saw thee.” On another occasion the Bible says of Jesus, “And He, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why reason ye among yourselves?’” He told Peter, “Verily, verily I say unto you that before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” He told the other disciples, “All of you shall be offended this night because of me.” He knew His disciples.

He looked with compassion on Peter, the natural leader of the other disciples and told him, “Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have thee that he may sift thee as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” He knew him intimately and prayed for him accordingly.

He knew the lost. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and said, “Rabbi, we know thou art a teacher come from God, for no man could do the miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” Jesus did not eve comment. He knew Nicodemus’ problem. He said, completely off the subject, “Verily, verily I say unto you, ye must be born again.”

The woman at the well was astonished at his insights, when he said, “Thou hast well said ‘I have no husband,’ for thou hast had five husbands, and he who thou now hast is not thy husband.” He knew the rich, young ruler and cut right to the heart of his problem—money. He told him, “Go. Sell that thou hast and give to the poor and come and follow me, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.” And the Bible records that the young man, “went away sorrowing, for he had great possessions.”

He knew His enemies. The Scribes and Pharisees were forever challenging Christ, and more than once the Bible says, “And He, knowing their hearts…” He opposed them with, “Ye Serpents! Ye generation of vipers! How shall ye escape the damnation of hell!” He stung them with His estimation of them: “Ye are of your father, the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.” Yes, Jesus knew His subject, and He knew His pupils.

April Morning @ The Acadmey of Arts

2009-03-04T09:43:00.000-05:00

Despite the Greenville snow, preparations for April Morning have continued. This week, the Academy is busy with High-school students from the area preparing to put on a production of April Morning this Friday and Saturday.

The High School students are learning various aspects of dramatic production including acting, blocking, makeup, costumes, and set design-- all the while learning a Christian world-view of drama & ministering to one another.

We invite you to come & see the fruits of their hard work this weekend!

The Value of Portrayal, part 4

2009-02-25T15:01:00.000-05:00

He Knew His Subject

What was His subject? One of his subjects was the nature of God.

The general populace does not understand the true nature of God. As I stated before, just as God made man in His own image, now man, presuming himself to be a god, has made God into his image. Man’s concocted image of God resembles himself. However, Jesus knew the true nature of God, and He taught it.

He knew that God was holy, omnipotent, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, all loving, merciful, and just. And Jesus knew that He Himself was one with the Father. Everything Jesus did or said while He was one earth revealed the fact that He was “the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” –that He possessed the very nature of the Almighty.

Another of His subjects was the will of God. He taught that “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” He said, “I am not come to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” He taught, “…it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Jesus not only knew the will of God and taught the will of God, He submitted to it. In Gethsemane He prayed, “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.” He said, “I do always those things which please my father.” He said, “I can of mine own self do nothing.”

He also revealed the word of God as one of His great subjects. “Thy word is forever settled in heaven,” the Psalmist states. Again, “Thou has exalted thy word even above all thy name.” And Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” He declared. He plainly stated, “I speak nothing of myself. What I have heard of the Father, that do I speak.”

In His prayer, He told the Father, “I have given them (the disciples) the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them.” In reality, Jesus was saying that before he left the glories of heaven for the midnight of earth, the Father had given Him the very words He was to say to the disciples while He was on His earthly sojourn. He faithfully delivered the very words the Father had given Him.

Another time Jesus thundered, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” It is no wonder that the soldiers who were sent to capture Jesus came back empty handed and visibly shaken. And when the Jewish leaders upbraided them with, “Why did ye not bring Him unto us?” they stammered and said, “Never man spake like this man.”

Jesus, the greatest teacher who ever lived also well knew the purpose of God. The purpose of the Father was that Jesus, His only begotten Son, “should be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, and that they should mock Him, and spit upon Him, and scourge Him and crucify Him, and the third day He should rise again.” On the basis of this accomplished work, He would give eternal life to as many as believed on Him. “And this is life eternal,” Jesus proclaimed, “that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” That theme runs throughout the words and prayers of Jesus: “That they may know that Thou has sent me.”

This truth was important to Jesus. In fact, the denial of this truth is said to be the mark of a demon spirit. “Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.” You see, if any spirit confesses (says the same thing as God says) that Jesus (Savior) Christ (Messiah) has come (down from heaven in the way God predicted He would) in the flesh (He was not a spirit, but was God incarnate), he automatically admits everything else God says about Christ and automatically accepts everything Jesus said and did while He was on the earth. Having “confessed” all this to be true, he is then obligated to respond to it.

John identifies Jesus as the Word, which was “in the beginning” with God and “was God,” and then tells us, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus knew His own origin and rebuked the Jews with, “Ye are from beneath, I am from above. Ye are of this world. I am not of this world.”

The purpose of God was to reveal Himself to the world through the incarnate Son and to save the world through Jesus’ vicarious death and bodily resurrection. As Jesus saw the hour approaching which would reveal His ultimate purpose for coming into the world He made something very clear: “No man takes my life from me. I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received of my father.” Jesus understood and completely fulfilled the purpose of God. It was one of His great subjects, and He knew it well.

Heaven's Embrace Premiere!

2009-02-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

The Value of Portrayal, part 3

2009-02-12T09:27:00.000-05:00

Drama Preaches

Drama also preaches, or at least it should. It should not be relegated to the area of entertainment. In many Christian camps, colleges, and schools, drama is used as entertainment—skits and comedies seem to be standard fare. However, just as music is a God-given art, drama is a God-given art to be used in communicating his message. Does anyone have the audacity to say that music was not given to us by God? Does anyone think these gifts actually originated with Satan? Satan cannot create anything. He can only imitate God’s creative power. He does not give gifts, he only perverts them.

It does not take a great deal of discernment to see that Satan has used both of these God-given arts—music and drama—to sweep hoards into his dark kingdom. It is as insult to the creative God to call His gifts evil, just because the second most intelligent creature in the universe has used them for evil purposes. However, speaking behind a podium has also been used for wicked purposes. Hitler was one of the most effective speakers of this century, and because of his fiery oratory, the German nation marched to a single drumbeat, and under the Nazi banner conquered most of Europe and even threatened the peace and safety of the United States.

God has given these gifts, and every time He is excluded in the expression of these gifts, they tend toward perversion. Drama is a classic example. Check out the Broadway, local little theatres, community theatres, educational theatre, and you will find them dominated by homosexuals. Homosexuals love the theatre. They love costumes, make-up, acting, dance, because secular theatre represents self-expression with God left out. The human mind, body, and emotions become the emphasis. Human conflicts, human relationships, human love, and human answers become the focus. God, God’s Word, God’s purpose, God’s Son have not relevance in modern secular theatre.

I say that every God-given communicative art should be marshaled into the service of the Giver, whether it is public speaking, music, art, or drama. And every one of them must draw their inspiration and content from the Word of God and their power from the Holy Spirit, in order to be spiritually effective.

Using Drama to Preach

The Academy of Arts has been using drama to “make the Bible come alive” since 1971, the year Sheri and I founded the ministry. But I was using drama for the ministry long before that. I wrote my first play when I was 15 years old, and before that, when I was 13, I was using drama, religious poetry, and religious readings as ministry tools. It has always been effective when used by someone who has the talent to use it, and who has the power of the Holy Spirit on him.

Since 1971, the Academy of Arts has sent out over 75 Drama Teams, which have used portrayal to communicate God’s message. They have been well-received in more than 3,000 Bible-believing churches and in more than 900 Christian schools. We see people saved each year and many Christians make decisions of dedication. And I believe the number of salvation decisions would be even higher if God’s people would simply bring the unsaved to the services. You can’t get them saved if they are not there!

The Validity of the Methodology

Most everyone has now accepted the validity of using the dramatic method to communicate the Gospel, although fundamentalist churches are still way behind in their understanding of how and when to use it. Bob Jones University, the leading fundamentalist institution of higher education in America has been the leader in the arts, and has set the standard for excellence for others to follow. Pensacola Christian College has also made remarkable contributions, and other colleges are doing a good job.

But as we look at what the churches are doing in this regard, the Charismatics and the Southern Baptists are way ahead of the Fundamental churches. That is, they have made the commitment of time and money it takes to utilize drama on a large scale; however, their purpose, methods, and content, like other aspects of their ministries tends to be sensational and entertaining in nature and rests on little or no doctrine and draws from very little dramatic “know-how.” They focus more on effects than on biblical content.

However, just because people accept something as being valid, and just because the Academy of Arts has been successful in using portrayal as a method of communicating God’s truth does not mean that such a method has the approbation of God. There must be something more authoritative than experience to establish a methodology, especially when you are dealing with the eternal message of God to the world.

To be blunt, we need a scriptural basis for such a methodology, and we have it. The whole Bible is dramatic. It is the most dramatic book in the world. Every basic plot you have ever seen in a play or a movie can bet raced back to the Bible. The Pentateuch is filled with dramatic scenes. Joshua and Judges overflow with drama. Ruth is a beautiful love story filled with suspense and a great ending.

First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, and First and Second Chronicles all present the history of Israel’s kings in a powerful, dramatic style. Many of the prophets personally portrayed coming events to reveal to Israel and Judah their sin and God’s coming judgment.

The Bible is also filled with poetry that praises and exalts God—poetry that expresses the vanity of men—poetry that weeps out repentance and begs forgiveness from a loving and personal God. In fact, most of the Old Testament prophecies were actually written in poetry! In other words, when we read the prophets, we are reading the works of poets, who wrote their poetry under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. David was a poet, a singer, a songwriter, and an excellent harpist. He also excelled as warrior, captain, King, administrator, and organizer of government and religion.

The Gospels are the exciting narratives of the life and ministry of our Lord. The Book of Acts is the dramatic history of the workings of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. Revelation is a mystical view of the future and everything that God, Satan, the angels, and Saints will do. And as we read it, we actually see the dramatic things unfold before our eyes.

The Bible is replete with dramatic scenes, vivid characters, strange twists, hateful villains, nail-biting suspense, and powerful, credible dialogue. It records great orations, awesome battles, political intrigue, assassination plots, and the rise and fall of empires. In the Bible, heroes are made from “nobodies,” the dead are raised to life, the righteous are delivered from the flames, the ancients miraculously conceive children, and prophets defy the power of kings and turn nations back to God. Would to God our preaching today was as dramatic as the Bible is.

All these things “were done for our admonition and for our learning, upon whom the ends of the earth are come.” Think of it! At one time, all these deeds, attitudes, personalities, and spoken words were not black marks on a page. They were alive! The characters who are delineated for us in the Bible were once living, breathing, acting, speaking human beings. And now they and their words, deeds, attitudes, personalities, and relationships lie as black marks on a page.

It is our job as preachers, teachers, musicians, actors, playwrights, and directors to read and understand the black marks and to faithfully transform them back into what they once were—living things that prove the power, glory, love, and grace of the Living God. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. It is our calling to connect the “example” of the Old and New Testament saints and sinners to the people of our day for their “admonition” and “learning.”

But now, we come to the most authoritative approbation of all—the approbation of portrayal by Jesus Christ Himself. I am not talking about His dramatic life—a life, which has been the subject of plays, poetry, oration, and films. I am talking about His methodology in the communication of ideas.

Someone has said that Jesus Christ was the greatest teacher who ever lived, because He knew His subject, He knew His pupils, and He lived what He taught. As we look at Jesus as the master teacher—the master communicator, let us consider 3 aspects of His teaching that made Him great: He knew His subject, His pupils, and He lived what He taught.

The Value of Portrayal, part 2

2009-02-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

Music Preaches
Music preaches. I get a little weary of the attitude that music in a church service is “preliminary” to the preaching. No. Music is preaching, or at least it should be. If it is not—if it is only entertainment to draw a crowd, then we need to eliminate it from the church service, because there is no room for “entertainment” behind the sacred desk.
Most of the great hymns of the faith were written by preachers. The hymnbook is the greatest single source of excellent sacred poetry we have available to us. It is a shame that some churches have replaced the hymnbook with a projector, and they have replaced the solid hymns with shallow ditties that say nothing. There is a reason for this.

Many modern churches have become man-centered rather than God-centered. They do not want the focus of the congregation to be on the Bible. They want the focus to be on the man or men (or women) on the platform. They do not want the focus to be on a hymnbook being held in the hands of the people. They want the focus to be on them.

There is something authoritative about the printed page. The Bible is authoritative, because it is God’s Word, but the fact that it is in print—in a book—lends authority to it as well. Words written with chalk on a chalkboard do not bear the same authority that the printed page bears. Even words that have been typed and put onto a slide and then projected onto a screen do not bear the same authority as the printed page. God did not write His message in the sky. He wrote it on a parchment with ink. It was permanent. There was no mistake as to what it said. You could pick it up, unroll it, and read it to be sure of its exact wording.
Besides the Bible, the next most authoritative book in the church is the hymnbook. It is authoritative because its hymns are filled with direct quotes from the Bible, references to incidents and stories in the Bible and beautiful poetry based on sacred text. It is a link with the past, a connection to history. It is the creative and spiritual work of great preachers and spiritual laymen of past eras. These modern churches want to break with the past, because it disagrees with where they are headed in their ministries.

For this and many other reasons, these churches want to get rid of the hymnbook, and if they thought that they could, they would get rid of the Bible as well. And the proliferation of Bible versions has helped to sow doubts about the reliability of the Bible. Again, each person chooses the version that “speaks to them.”
And why is it important to get rid of these two books? Because both these books are authoritative. Both these books are historical in nature, and they reveal a God with characteristics the church leadership does not like and does not preach. The God they preach resembles themselves. Just as God made man in His own image, modern man, thinking himself to be god, has made God into his image.

And since they have a man-centered religion rather than a Bible-centered, God-centered religion, they try to get rid of the Bible by not preaching it and they replace the hymnbook with “ditties” being sung by a guy sitting on a bar stool, strumming a guitar, while the words of the “dittie” are projected onto a screen, so that the audience can sing along.” This is done under the guise of “unity of worship.”

In reality, the leadership of these churches wants to get rid of the hymnbook altogether, because it embarrasses them. When the poetry and thought of the “ditties” they are singing is compared to the poetry and thought revealed in the hymns, the “ditties” look pretty bad. Some of the worst poetry being written today can be found in contemporary Christian music.

Read the hymns. You will find great doctrines taught, clear analogies made, dramatic scenes created and sermon outlines revealed through the hymns. Those who reject the hymns as being “outdated” or “stiff” only reveal their own spiritual shallowness and their lack of appreciation for excellent literature. When one says, “I don’t like the hymns; they are not relevant,” he appears to be sitting in judgment on the hymns, when in reality, the hymns are sitting in judgment on him.

Truth is always relevant. It is our task to find its relevance. It is not truth’s task to make itself relevant. Whether we think truth is relevant or not is immaterial. It stands. We must deal with it as it is.
Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Good hymns and songs are drawn from the richness that is produced in the soul by the Word Christ dwelling in us.

I would hasten to say that the church has been remiss in its approach to music in general. It has not illuminated the message of the hymns by helping the congregation understand what the hymns are saying. Often, the leadership of the church does not even understand the hymns. They never ask themselves what scripture the thoughts in the hymns are based on. They do not help the congregation understand the hymn writers, with stories of their lives and how they wrote the hymns. They do not make direct application of the truths of the hymns to the lives of the ones who are singing them. They do not insist that the congregation sing the hymns from their hearts and with the emotion the hymn demands.

They have not hired good music directors, who are first and foremost “ministers of music.” They have used volunteers as music directors, and because they are not trained and do not know what they want or how to get it, they become a laughing stock to the young people in the church. Some churches hire someone who is basically an entertainer—talented, but ignorant of the Scripture, with no real relationship with the God of the Bible, and then they wonder why they do not see spiritual results. Most churches have no organized plan for teaching people how to sing or how to play an instrument.

It is no wonder that the “younger generation” has turned to rock and contemporary music. They are looking for life, and have not seen it in the music of the church. They are too shallow spiritually to discern the difference between the depth of the hymns and the scriptural weakness of the songs they have been drawn to. They have exchanged rhythm for melody, doctrine for feeling, and a popular musical wave for the glories of Jesus Christ. They have relied on “canned” accompaniments, mikes, and sound systems that give them reverb, equalization, and volume that they do not have naturally.

Because of this move to the world’s music, church music has become the usher of error. Theological error that a congregation would never tolerate in a preacher, they will tolerate in a song. And as the error is being sung, rather than objecting to it, they smile, nod their heads and pat their feet, while the error is affecting their church. The singers and song writers are spiritual “novices,” who have been placed by the pulpits as “ministers” of the Gospel, and as such, they have “fallen into the snare of the devil.”
Every song sung in a church service should be scriptural, God focused, Christ-centered, and if the song speaks about a personal experience, it should be a scriptural experience—a testimony which gives praise to God. Unless we tie singing to the Bible and to God and to Christ, it tends to become man-centered, experience-oriented, and emotionally deviant. “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18).

Plato said, “Let me make the songs of a nation and I care not who makes its laws.” We could modify that statement by saying, “Let the world make the songs of the church and they care not what it preaches.” In the case of that nation, the songs would eventually determine the laws that the nation makes. In the case of the church, the songs would eventually alter the message that is preached from the pulpit.

According to Dr. Charles Woodbridge, when a church or spiritual organization goes into apostasy, there is a discernible pattern. First, there is a change of mood, then a change of method, after that there is a change of message, and last, there is a change of morals. The change from the use of good music to the use of contemporary Christian music (a misnomer) constitutes the change of mood and methodology that leads to complete apostasy.

The Value of Portrayal, part 1

2009-01-26T13:47:00.000-05:00

Over the next several weeks, we will be posting segments from an article entitled, "The Value of Portrayal," by Dr. Chavers.

Part 1: Proclaiming the Gospel

People who know me and the know the ministry of The Academy of Arts have tried to put me in a a “drama cubby hole,” but my approach to ministry is broader than one “cubby hole.” It is human nature to want to categorize people. Humans feel secure whenever they have a person “pegged.” For example, they want to classify people in ministry as being pastors, evangelists, or teachers. In a very real sense, everything we do in ministry falls into one of those three broad categories; however, when someone like me carves out a ministry that is not a church, a school, or a camp, people don't know exactly how to classify him.

I believe God has directed me to use preaching, drama, and music to reach people with God's message. To me, these three methods are all one, and I use whichever one of them is most effective in a given situation. Sometimes I will use all three as I am preaching. I may sing a verse from a hymn or I may sing one of my family songs to make a point in the message. I may launch into a sacred poem that sums up a point in the message. But all of it is part of the proclamation of the Gospel.

Preaching is Proclaiming

People read the verse that says that “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe,” and they take it to mean that there is only one method that God has given to reach men with the Gospel, “the foolishness of preaching.” And speaking of the “foolishness of preaching” I have heard some preaching that was little more than foolishness—preaching that was unscriptural and illogical, and yet I have seen people nodding their heads and saying “amen.” And why? Because they thought the one behind the pulpit was “preaching,” because of the way he was speaking or because he was behind a pulpit. Preaching is not a way of speaking, and it is not a place from which one speaks, but rather, preaching is what is being spoken.

Preaching is “proclaiming” God's truth, and if one is proclaiming his own ideas, opinions, and feelings, then he is not preaching, even though he may be standing behind a pulpit. Please do not misunderstand. I am for preaching—that is proclaiming God's Word in a sermon. Would to God the pulpits of America would again catch fire with spirit-filled preaching, instead of the Sunday School lessons we are getting today.

I got saved at 15 years old in a Hyman Appleman crusade, and I preached my first week-long revival when I was only 16. I have been preaching ever since. I love preaching—good preaching, scriptural preaching that is well-prepared, prayed over, and anointed by the Spirit of God! But there is more than one way to “preach,” and any method used to “proclaim” God's truth is better than the ravings of a pulpiteer, who takes a text and then departs from it. We should preach what the Bible says—not impose our own ideas on it and try to make it say what we want it to say.

Check back next Monday for the following installment!

A New Semester Has Begun!

2009-01-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

The Spring semester is well under way at the Academy. Students are not only into their first week of classes, but they are diligently preparing for the February performance of "Our Town," which is now only 2 weeks away!

Classes this semester include Philosophy of Sacred Drama & Philosophy of Music classes taught by Dr. Nicky Chavers, Acting & Directing with Nicole Stratton, Set Design & Construction with Mr. Hines, Costuming & Make-Up classes with Mrs. Chavers & Rachel Robertson, Grammar & Writing with Noah Stratton, and Old Testament & Christian Classics classes taught by Rich Sevilla. Erin Griffith & Mr. Hines will be preparing the students for their Bostonian accents in "Our Town" in their Voice, Diction, & Dialects class.

Students not only learn in the traditional classroom setting at the Academy, but also in a very practical way during the Dramatic Seminars which take place in Christian schools & Home-school groups across the Eastern United States. These week-long seminars teach elementary and high-school age students the principles of Christian drama as well as acting, stage make-up, set-design, and costuming. Students learn the value of serving one another & seeking to glorify the Lord with their talents. Weeks are still available for seminars during the Spring semester, so please call the Academy of Arts at 1-800-620-9997 if you are interested in "making the Bible come alive" in your school or home-school group!

Check back soon for more updates on upcoming events, as well as introductions to our students & staff here at the Academy!

Our Town

2009-01-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

We are pleased to announce that the students and staff of THE ACADEMY OF ARTS will be presenting an adaption of Thornton Wilder's classic drama, Our Town, a story that challenges the observer to realize the brevity of our time here on earth and take every opportunity to enjoy the gift of life with which the Lord has blessed us. Received with mixed reviews at its premiere in 1938, but awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Our Town has become one of the most popularly produced plays of the twentieth century. It is quite possible that on almost any given day of the year, somewhere in the world, Our Town is being performed by either a professional company or an amateur troupe of actors.

The students and staff of THE ACADEMY OF ARTS have been working hard to prepare for this production, and would love to see you in attendance! Please make your plans to come and see this inspiring and thought-provoking classic! Please call 864.268.9342 to reserve your tickets TODAY!

"Our Town" will be performed on: February 6th (Friday) at 7:30pm and February 7th (Saturday) at 7:30pm
Please note that there will be a free Matinee on Friday afternoon, February 6th, for homeschool students and students at Christian Schools at 1:00 pm A CONCESSION STAND will be available for all the performances.

The new Academy of Arts blog!

2009-01-07T15:22:00.000-05:00

Welcome to The Academy of Arts official blog!

It is our goal to keep friends of The Academy of Arts up to date with the latest news about the happenings here at the Academy. We will be posting information on plays at the Logos, home school drama seminars, summer drama teams, and anything else pertinent to those who follow life at the Academy.

Watch for updated albums with pictures from the Academy college program, summer drama teams, seminars, Logos performances, and other special events.

Remember, you can always access information on The Academy of Arts website .