This month sees the publication of a biography of John MacArthur by Iain Murray. The following extract refers to the beginning of the preacher’s ministry at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California.
There had been blessing and growth in the church under its first pastors. A missionary concern was established, and there was some support for prayer meetings on Sundays and Wednesday evenings; the mid-week meeting also included a Bible study. Yet, as in all churches, the composition of the congregation was mixed, and the early days at Grace Church were not without their difficulties. At the outset there were some who did not like his first Sunday morning sermon on ‘How to Play Church’. ‘As a result of that confrontational sermon several couples left the church, and we discovered that at least one elder was not a Christian.’ That was not what the preacher wanted or intended: ‘When I first arrived at Grace Church, my goal was to keep the people already there from leaving’.
Some things clearly needed changing. MacArthur made a start with proposals for the Sunday School: ‘When I first came to Grace Church, I had a new idea about how to run the Sunday School. I wrote out my idea and presented it to the Education Committee. They unanimously turned it down. They said, “Who are you, kid? We’ve been here longer than you”’.
