Making and Maturing

Disciples of Jesus

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Ryan serves as the Lead Pastor of Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway, New Jersey. He is married with four children.
  • Tyndale on Not Just Reading the Bible

    Tyndale on Not Just Reading the Bible

    It is not enough therefore to read and talk of it only, but we must also desire God day and night instantly to open our eyes, and to make us understand and feel wherefore the scripture was given, that we may apply the medicine of the scripture, every man to his own sores, unless that we intend to be idle disputers, and brawlers about vain words, ever gnawing upon the bitter bark without and never attaining unto the sweet pith within, and persecuting one another for defending of lewd imaginations and fantasies of our own invention.

    William Tyndale, A Prologue Showing the Use of the Scripture, c. 1530

  • T4G 2016 Reflections

    T4G 2016 Reflections

    Last week our pastoral staff attended the “Together for the Gospel,” pastor’s conference in Louisville, Kentucky. We had great times of worship, fellowship, encouragement, and instruction from God’s Word. The theme was “We Are Protestant,” and the conference asked the question is the reformation still relevant today.

    The spirit of T4G is one of unity for the sake of the gospel. The leaders and participants don’t agree on everything (worship service styles, baptism, eschatology, etc.), but they agree on the centrality of the gospel in ministry. We were blessed by attending, so in the spirit of sharing here are a few highlights:

    10,000 People

    Seriously. The vast majority of whom are active pastors. I thought of the council of Nicea in AD 325, the first public meeting of “worldwide” church leadership since the days of the Apostles. Approximately 300 attended that meeting. Seeing 10,000 people gathered who are committed to the proclamation of the gospel was a vivid confirmation that God will build his kingdom. The singing alone was worth it.

    Filled with Bible

    Ligon Duncan made the observation that the Reformers were convinced that the corporate worship of the church should be ordered by the Bible and filled with Bible. This conviction wasn’t limited to sermons, but also included songs, and prayers. I was encouraged as I thought about our corporate worship: it is definitely filled with Bible!

    The Who Question

    C.J. Mahaney’s message from Job on pastoral care in light of suffering really hit home. He acknowledged that everyone struggles with the “Why Question” in suffering, and we assume that answering that question will someone take the pain away. He pointed out that in chapters 38-42 the why question for Job was overwhelmed by the who question. In the end “Job doesn’t see all, he sees God and that is enough.”

    Good Works, Good News, and Assurance

    Kevin DeYoung’s message on the relationship of good works to assurance for the believer was probably my favorite of the whole conference. He surveyed 1 John and asked the question “must we be sanctified in order to be glorified?” The short answer is yes. He said “is the authentic Christian life full of weakness? Yes. Capitulation? No.” He did a great job balancing the fact that our salvation is accomplished by the sheer grace of God, and yet we are called to evaluate our lives for confirmation that we love Jesus, his commands, and his people.

    Don’t Preach a Flat God

    Matt Chandler’s message from Romans 11:33-36 on preparing our churches to endure suffering was timely and powerful. The main idea was, if we don’t see God as great (and preach him as such), then we won’t be motivated to endure suffering for his sake. He recounted the martyrdom of some of the English reformers. Their example was sobering and encouraging. Jesus is worth the greatest sacrifice.

    Seeing Old Friends

    There were so many people, and yet it seemed like everywhere we went we ran into someone that we knew. I saw many friends ministering all over the country. It was great to see some GPBC extended family there- Mitar Rudanovic and Tom Oostdyk.

    All the messages will be available online soon. I would encouraged you to check them out.

  • Grace Is Greater

    Grace Is Greater

    In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

    -Judges 21:25

    So the author of Judges concludes one of the most sobering sections of the Bible. When Judges began, the sky was the limit. If Israel would trust God and risk their lives going in to battle by faith they would complete possession of the land. Instead, we read about the increased “Canaanization” of Israelite leaders and Israelite culture. Trusting God by faith becomes a thing of the past. Everyone just does whatever they want, and that’s not a good thing.

    The last few episodes in Judges are painfully tragic. Israel is morally wandering in the dark, fumbling faith, integrity, and justice. The nature of the degenerative state of Israel’s culture in Judges 17-21 is meant to be a shocking warning to all who read it. Refusal to worship God will lead people to rape, murder and genocide.

    But we can’t leave Judges without asking what it does for the overall Biblical narrative. It begs the question- why didn’t God destroy Israel? Why didn’t he let the Canaanites devour them? Why keep saving them?

    After reading Judges, we must conclude that if God will remain faithful to Israel even after chapters 17-21, then there’s nothing Israel can do to escape God’s love and covenant faithfulness. His grace is greater.

    What if you substituted your own worst failures for Israel’s failures in Judges 17-21? Too often we are running so hard that we don’t stop to look seriously at our motivations, our decisions, and our sin. When we do, we will see our own failure to believe, our own struggle with Americanizing Christianity, our own false gods. With a crystal clear view of the darkness of our own sin, we need to know that there’s nothing we can do to escape God’s love and covenant faithfulness. After all, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

    So what? So believe God! Destroy those idols! Insist on living by faith! Reject Satan’s lies! You belong to God, isn’t it time you started thinking like it? Talking like it? Acting like it? Faith motivates us to live in light of the amazing truth that God’s grace is greater than our sin. He is worthy of our worship in every way. He is trustworthy even in our most vulnerable moments. His grace is greater.

  • Being Christian in a World That Isn’t

    Being Christian in a World That Isn’t

    There’s no undoing the secular; there’s just the task of learning how (not) to live—and perhaps even believe—in a secular age.

    -James K.A. Smith

    We live in a secular age—an age where belief in God is no longer the default setting. Our world isn’t Christian, and it hasn’t been for some time. It’s time for believers in Jesus to come face to face with that reality.

    Not coincidentally, we find that in the Bible God has much to say to Christians who are the minority in their culture. Every Christian in the New Testament was a minority. When Jesus taught his followers, he taught them assuming their lives would need to be lived swimming upstream against society (read: friends, family, co-workers).

    How does a Christian go about living for Christ in a world that rejects him? What does it look like? What hope do we have? What does it mean practically? The letter of 1 Peter directly addresses these very issues. Peter wrote to believers in Jesus scattered across Asia Minor who faced varying degrees of persecution- from dirty looks to prison time. His letter contains key truths about Jesus and salvation that serves as an anchor for Christians in the stormy waters of culture.

    Join us at Green Pond Bible Chapel and Highlands Bible Church on Easter Sunday as we launch our new preaching series on 1 Peter: Being Christian in a World That Isn’t. We will learn together how to follow Jesus in even the most difficult of environments. God not only intends for our faith to survive as minorities, he intends for our faith to thrive.

  • We Are Go for Launch

    We Are Go for Launch

    While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

    -Acts 13:2-3

    Since the first days of the church, the work of making and maturing disciples of Jesus has resulted in churches duplicating themselves in new communities. The church in Antioch sent out Paul and Barnabas, now it’s our turn.

    Go for Launch

    On Easter Sunday, March 27th, we will launch Highlands Bible Church, our campus in Vernon, NJ. Our purpose hasn’t changed: the Highlands Campus exists to glorify God by making and maturing disciples of Jesus in the Vernon area.

    Our Highlands Campus launch team is composed of a core group of families and key leaders who already live in Vernon. Led by Pastor Mike Ruel, this group is ready to open the doors and start a new phase of gospel ministry in Vernon.

    Live Preaching

    Our Highlands Campus will have worship services designed to make and mature disciples of Jesus in Vernon. On most Sundays, the same passages will be preached at both the Green Pond and Highlands campuses. As the Campus Pastor, Pastor Mike will bear the primary responsibility for preaching at and leading the Highlands Campus.

    Local Shepherding

    Our Highlands Campus will function as an extension of our ministry at the Green Pond campus. It will remain under the leadership of GPBC, with elders and under-shepherding from Vernon serving the Highlands Campus. This local shepherding is key as care for the church body is central to the making and maturing of disciples.

    Beyond worship services, the Highlands Campus will offer Bible studies, Care Groups, and other ministries designed to meet the spiritual needs of the people in and around Vernon.

    What’s the Big Deal?

    All throughout church history, God has been pleased to use the faithful service of the saints to do his kingdom work. Sometimes we can see God’s hand clearly at work advancing the gospel, and we believe this is one of those times. God has put Green Pond Bible Chapel in a position to radically impact the community of Vernon with the message of forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.

    We know God will change lives through the gospel. The only question is how many. We can’t wait to see what God will do for his glory through the Highlands Campus. Please pray with us for God to be glorified through Highlands Bible Church.