Jesus View On Church (Pt. 5)

Paul does give a charge to both men as to what they are to focus on. This gives us the role of the lead pastor of a church. This is where we see leadership and authority in the Body. Paul outlines a lot of directives in 1 Timothy 4:1-16; 6:11-21 about what Timothy (and in my mind all lead pastors) should be about. Once such directive is for Timothy to: “Until I come, devote yourself to public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching…” (1 Timothy 4:11).


The Christian and Missionary Alliance fits more of the Presbyterian mode of governance, which is from what I can find the most Biblical way to govern the church of our Lord. Authority within the church body is given to the Senior (Lead) Pastor to preach the Word, teach the Word and lead the church with the Vision God has given him. He is the leader seeking out what God has for the congregation in which he leads. He is the upfront leader. Also, within the church the congregation brings forth names for the election of elder, deacon and overseer who have all the qualities laid down by 1 Timothy 3.


Within the C&MA, there is also higher oversight than simply within the church alone. This keeps the entire church body in check. The constituted authority laid down by the C&MA is thus: The National Office, District Office, and Local Church. The local church is overseen by the District Office in which it finds itself, the National Office then oversees the District Office. These are amazing checks and balances that allow the church as a whole to function better than if it were a single standing church. This ensures a flow of healthy living for all churches, pastors and leaders within the C&MA. Are there still issues? Yes! However, this system of governance allows for less.


In 1 Corinthians, Paul describes how the church is the Body of Christ and how just as in a normal human body, there are many parts that do different things, so it is with the Church.
Some have different gifts than others and it is this that allows the church to function best.


Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:27-31)

This to me is the relationship among the members of the church. We are all one Body, given to different gifts, but we all operate under the same Spirit, which is the Spirit of God. Even the Pastor is under this Spirit, so his leadership is headed by Christ, just as ours is. Christ is the head of our churches, not man. We have a governance to check and balance the men in control, but ultimately we are the Bride of Christ and his to lead, we as pastors are simply stewards. This is how members interact as a singular body, we recognize the headship of Jesus, realize we all have different parts to play, and then seek out what it is Christ has for us to play out. The leader gives the call to a vision, the elders, deacons and overseers lead the vision and the members seek out from Christ where their giftings fit into making the vision that has been set before them come alive!

Members are the engines to the car, while Christ is the driver. We are what God uses to get His will done on earth. The pastor is the head lights that God turns on to show the vision (which is the road), because Christ knows the road, we just need Him to turn on the headlights so we can see where God is taking us. We all have a part to play in this grand Body constructed by God, we just need to seek out what part we are to play.


The way the C&MA is governed is one of the main reasons I chose to work in the Alliance. We as a denomination have skillfully set up governance that allows Christ to be the Head, whilst others can find their place in the narrative of this life. Running the denomination with a missional focus and giving each individual district and church the freedom to do that best where they are is amazing! Most denominations make standards not only on what the mission is, but how to get it done, which causes problems for different areas of the country because modes are different everywhere. This I believe the C&MA has taken from Paul’s motto: “be all things to all people”, all the while continuing to maintain the great call of Matthew 28:18-19!

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Jesus View On Church (Pt.4)

With the purpose and mission clearly stated as well as the relationship of the church to Christ, how then shall we govern ourselves?


Looking at the early church in the book of Acts, we see a group of people, dedicated to certain things. Acts 2:42-47 describes the early church succinctly: “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”.

They were concerned with what Christ was concerned with. They seemed to govern themselves as such: The apostles/disciples were the leaders of the church; they preached and taught the other believers. The rest of the early church pitched in where needed and as directed by the disciples. Soon the church grew very large and the disciples put in place deacons to serve the people, so they could continue preaching and teaching (Acts 6:1-17).

They not only were the teachers of the church, but they were also evangelists, telling the Gospel to all who would listen.

Soon the church was scattered and spread throughout different provinces and areas. Paul, once converted began preaching the Gospel all around Rome and Greece as well as Israel. This is where church governance changed, because there was no longer a small group of local church members, but this God ordained “Church” was all over, spread across countries. Each pocket needed to develop order and leadership.


Throughout church history, there have been numerous governing outlines. Erickson in Biblical Doctrine calls the forms: Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregational and Nongovernmental. He goes on to describe each one in turn, but all are soundly rooted from the Scriptures. Some of the best Scriptures on church leadership and authority are found in Paul’s letters to his young pastors: Timothy and Titus. Before we delve into the different forms and describe which one best fits the Christian and Missionary Alliance, I think it would be right to see what Paul laid down for his young pastors in way of church governance.


In all three letters (2 to Timothy and 1 to Titus), Paul describes them as the leader and shepherd of the particular churches they are in. In today’s governance terms, Paul was calling these men the Senior Pastors of the church. He then instructed these men on how to choose among the congregation leaders who could help them lead their church. He lays down specific attributes these men must have in order to fill this type of church office. Paul however, never in these two books gives a description of what they would be doing within this area of leadership (the "what they do" is found within the books of Acts, which we will explore in a different post).

They are called by Paul overseers (also known as Bishops) and deacons; we’ve seen some roles filled out by the early church in Acts with those who would be considered overseers or deacons.

One role, which was laid down BY the Elders was the distribution of food to the widows, in which the Apostles elected members to handle this important work. Again, even the election of these men was a mystery. How were these men chosen or by whom? We know they had to have these qualities, so one would assume they were recommended from within the body. We in the American church have taken to this in a democratic fashion and have elections of officials; all who have been proven to have the qualities laid down in 1 Timothy and Titus.

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Jesus View On Church (Pt.3)

As stated before, Christ is the head of the Church, as a husband is the head of his household. Ephesians 5:22-23 says: “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior” (emphasis mine).

So then, what is the church’s relationship to Christ with Him as the head? The same as the wives is to the husband, for Ephesians 5:24 says: “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” This means that the church is constantly looking to Christ to guide them, lead them and transform them. Christ is the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)!

Two great things mentioned already can assist in this: following the example of Christ while he was on earth and listening to the Spirit of God. The Church is the Bride of Christ! He has wooed us, called us and wed us as his own.

Revelation 9 speaks of the wedding of Christ to His bride and that bride is the church. We are to be in constant relationship with Him, hearing his voice, following His leading and going to the ends of the earth to proclaim Him among the nations. Christ has the authority of all Heaven and Earth, and in that authority gave the church a command: “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:18-19 emphasis mine).


In Millard J. Erickson’s Christian Doctrine, he gives 5 implications of the church. They are in my opinion great descriptors of the Church; it’s mission and purpose. I will summarize Erickson’s 5 implications.

“1. The church is not to be conceived of primarily as a sociological phenomenon, but as a divinely established institution; 2. The church exists because of its relationship to the Triune God; 3. The church is the continuation of the Lord’s presence and ministry in the world; 4. The church is to be a fellowship of regenerate believers who display the spiritual qualities of their Lord; 5. While the church is a divine creation, it is made up of imperfect humans”.

Erickson’s third implication is the one I continue to come back to again and again. We, the church are God’s continuing presence to this dark world, set on a Holy mission to bring others into the fold of God’s garment!


TO BE CONTINUED...

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Jesus View On Church (Pt. 2)

What does this boil the churches mission and purpose down to? I believe that through the Scriptures that record the life of Jesus, as well as his instruction through Himself and the other authors of the Bible we can boil our mission and purpose down to this: Through the Power of the Holy Spirit; Be a unified Body of Believers Under one Head, Christ (1 Cor. 1:10-17; 3:1-9; 11:17-19; 12:12-13; 12:26 Ephesians 4:1-6; 11-16; Colossians 1:16-18; 2:9-10) who seek out and save the lost (Matthew 9:12; Luke 19:10), develop them into disciples who make disciples (Evangelize, Baptize and Teach) (Matthew 28:18-19), heal the sick and broken (James 5:13-20), aid the poor, feed the hungry (James 2:14-26), take care of widows and orphans (James 1), desire to serve rather than to be served (Mark 10:45 & Philippians 2:5-10), Love God with all your: Heart; Soul and Mind and Love your neighbor as Yourself (Luke 10:27).

These are all admonitions from Scripture and Christ Himself. They are NOT at all easy to carry out, that is why Christ sent us the Promised Holy Spirit! In and of ourselves, we would absolutely fail at this job.

We are imperfect people trying to lead imperfect people to Holiness.

For this very reason, Christ sent the Holy Spirit into our midst, so we could as he did live by the Spirit. It is my firm belief that Christ came as fully man and fully God, but did his miracles using the Holy Spirit, so we as His Body could use Him as an example as to how we can tap into the power that the Holy Spirit has for our lives. We, however don’t always choose to live through the power we have, we tend to live like the woman who only used her electricity so she could see to light her candles. She has the power, yet she doesn’t use it. This is good picture of the church. We have the Power of the Holy Spirit we just don’t use it.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Jesus View On Church

Being a Pastor, the Church as a whole has been heavy upon my heart.

Being a man studying for Ordination, the Church has been a piece of Doctrine I've been wrapping my heart around.

I must confess, I've never asked (before these past two years) these two questions "What is Jesus view on the Church?" "What should His Body be doing on this earth?"

This may surprise everyone who reads this, but I was stuck in my "micro" thinking of Youth Ministry rather than my "macro" thinking on the Church. I asked myself: "What would Christ have me do as a Youth Pastor?" and "What's Christ mission/vision/core values of my specific micro group?" BUT, I never connected this to: "What is Jesus' view of the Church?", nor "What should His body be doing on this earth?"

This reality makes me sad.

It makes me sad, because I am not alone. I'm not the only "micro thinking" Youth Pastor, nor am I the only "micro thinking" Christian.

Writing a paper on the Church helped me to solidify my "doctrine of the Church". I am going to release bits here and there of the paper, so we can wrestle through together. Here is the beginning.

The church, both the local and the universal are called to be the Body of Christ, of which He is the head (Eph. 1:22-23 & 1 Cor. 12:27). This would suggest then, that the mission and purpose of the church would be the same as that of Christ Jesus. The Church then is called to walk the earth as Jesus did, to teach the way Christ did and seek that which Christ sought. Christ’s time on earth was full of mission and purpose; he made it clear what his mission and purpose were. Here is a list: He “came to seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10); “came to serve, rather than be served” (Mark 10:45 & Philippians 2:1-18 ); “be the doctor for the sick” (Matt. 9:12); came to make disciples (Matthew 28:18); “humble himself to death on a cross” (Philippians 2:1-18 ).

These are only SOME of the purpose and mission that Christ came to fulfill. When He was leaving this earth to await his Second Coming, he gave the church a specific mission, which was:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-19).

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Lone Warrior

Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated, but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead. (2 Samuel 23:9-10)

This is an incredible story that is just plugged right into the Bible. Picture the scene: The battle lines are drawn at Pas Dammim (which means "the Border of Blood"), which is the border between Israel's land and the land of the Philistines. These are two nasty rivals, peoples who've hated each other for centuries. This very border is the scene of massacre after massacre. There has never been a winning battle for either side decided on this border. It is home to many a death for Israeli and Philistine alike.

The Israelites are taunting the Philistines from across the border. The three mighty men and David taunting the loudest. As hardened warriors, the Philistines are not about to let the Israelites insult them, nor their woman and definitely not their mothers. So they taunt back, and begin the war cry. The Israelites being their war cry, banging their shields with their swords all while screaming across the line at the Philistines. The Philistines of course answer back with their own shouts and sword banging. The noise is deafening, the battle coming is almost palpable. You can sense the tension rising. Eleazar especially feels his adrenaline pumping. He is ready to kill many man in the name of the Lord. No one will taunt his God, the God of Israel, his righteous anger begins to boil over. The hot red flashes of blood lust over take his senses. He can only see red.

King David shouts the call to rush the field, Eleazar leading the pack, in a Holy rage against the Philistine army. The Spirit of the Living God descends upon Eleazar and consumes the man whole.

The Israelite army begins to cower before the Philistine army. Sudden dread overtakes them. The ranks become confused, the men begin to fall back even King David retreats, but not Eleazar. The Spirit has taken him into the middle of the Philistine ranks alone. He pushes toward the center, men falling dead by his swords mighty blows. No foe can stand against him. One after another men die at Eleazar's bloody sandals. The Lord has overtaken him and his sword arm no longer is his own, it is the judgement of God which he is now dishing out. Not a single Philistine can stand his ground against such a foe. They begin to cower back, soon they are running away from this blood-thirsty sword which never seems to slake its thirst.

Shortly after they begin to run, they all seem to retreat. The horn sounds and all of them run away. The run in fear from Eleazar, one man with a bloody sword. Soon Eleazar comes to his senses and realizes all are gone. He looks down at his feet and there is a pile of dead bodies surrounding him. He looks at his bloody sword and puts it into its sheath. He attempts to loose his hand from the hilt but finds he can't. This soldier of the Most High finds that he's been at battle so long and so hard that his hand is now frozen to the hilt of his bloody sword.

Eleazar points the tip of his sword heavenward and praises God for this victory : "The Lord has brought about a great victory this day" he says.

The rest of the Israelite army is stunned at the power of God, that was wielded by this one man. They stay staring at the border of blood, dumbstruck. They see their mighty friend go to his knees and they rush the field to strip the dead bodies of their possessions.

This story blows my mind! I pray for the courage to be like Eleazar, I want it said of me that I went into battle and fought so hard and so long that my sword froze to my hand. You know, the Word is also called the Sword and I spoke this over a young man today, but I also own it as a word for me. The sword in this story represents the Word of God (for this young man and for me), and God is asking me to be so tenacious with the Word of God that it sticks to my hand after battle. That I will use God's Word to SLAY the enemy, taking the battle to the BORDER of His strong hold and making it a Pas-Dammim ( a border of BLOOD). God's word can slay Satan. It will slay him up, down, left right and center. The Word of God cuts the throat of the enemy. I've been like the other Israelites: tough enough to taunt him, but too cowardly to get into battle. I want the blood lust of the Spirit to come on me so I can be used by God to bring about a great victory. I don't want this for the glory of Marvin, just like Eleazar didn't want it for the Glory of Eleazar (nor do I believe this other young man wants the glory for himself), but I (we) want the Glory to go to God!

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Cultural Christianity Vs. Authentic Christianity

Definitions:
Cultural Christianity: a moralistic, behavioral set of ethics that are put upon "followers of Christ" to determine whether or not they are good people that are going to heaven. More emphasis on how you look, and act than anything else

Authentic Christianity: a relational, heart-drawn call to God, His Son Jesus Christ and a willingness to be lead by the Holy Spirit. A competent understanding of your own sinfulness and a desire to change your heart above all else.

For years I have struggled with these two types of Christianity. When I was growing up, most of the people in my churches were cultural Christians, worrying themselves about how they appeared to be following Christ, rather than actually working on their hearts before the Almighty God Himself. This then trained me to do the very same thing. Not only did I succeed at doing so but I was a champion at pointing out others short-comings when it came to their appearance of following Christ. Cultural Christianity is simply a play with good characters and bad characters. A Ruse to get people to think that they are following the right path. You end up believing certain lies like: You can only be Republican if you're a Christian; Christians never get mad; Christians never fail and if you fail, keep it quiet so no one finds out; and most importantly is make sure you are "on your best behavior" at church.
When I got to college, my whole sphere of my beliefs came CRASHING down upon my head. I saw the utter flaws within my relationship to Christ, my own sin that I thought was ambition but was pride. I saw my black heart even though I thought it was as white as snow. I saw how often my finger was raised in accusation rather than admittance of my own wrong-doing. God used my college days to utterly transform how I perceived, loved and knew God. This is by no means a blog to say "how far I've come", yet a simple confession of my own personal past and present misconceptions of my Faith.
What I began to grapple with, was that to really wrestle with God was not to see all the sin in the world, but all the sin within myself. It meant that I needed to go to the mattresses with the Lord, baring my sins open to Him and trying to feebly keep some sins I enjoyed for myself. God has since been calling my junk to the forefront and will continue to do so. This has humbled me when it came to my finger pointing...mind you, I still pridefully do this but I trust I am getting better. I realized that I am just as rotten and disgusting as everyone else, I simply have a Savior that decided to graciously cover my sins because I asked Him. Without the covering of Jesus I am no better than the worst sinner whoever lived. I have within me the capacity to sin with limitless sinfulness. This understanding and the understanding that Christ has graciously given Himself for me has been a HUGE transforming truth for me.
This understanding is what I have called Authentic Christianity. No longer and I working on myself for a crowd, but giving myself over to the Lord for Him to point out the junk in me and asking Him to graciously help me pluck it out of my heart and life.
I'll be the first to admit that I live a culturally Christian life more and less of an authentic Christian life than I should. Yet I believe that if we all would grab onto this heart-changing, rather than outside changing Christian Faith, allowing Christ to purge us from within...the World will soon stand and take notice. It has nothing to do with being "culturally relevant" and all to do with how the God wants a relationship with us!

(For other post about this, check these out: Cleaning your Cups, Galatians Sermon, Authenticity)

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Cleaning Your Cups

Today, I was listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll. In this sermon, he was dialoguing about Matthew 23. When he got to verse 25, I needed to soak this in. Here's what it says:

"Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside o the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean" (Matthew 23:25-26)

When I first looked at this, I was like: "Yea Jesus, tell em'! This is a message the church as a whole needs to hear! Tell em'! Then I felt the Spirit of God ask me: "How often do YOU try to get away with cleaning the OUTSIDE of YOUR cup?" It was then I looked at this verse as a verse for me. How often do I pretend to have it all together, how often to I make my outside look nice, all the while my insides are screaming with pain, or sin. I talk a lot bout authenticity because it's important, but have I been listening to my own sermons, or simply "looking like it"?

This is a verse I think we each need to wrestle with, because let's face the reality...we all try to get away with washing the outside of our cup and sometimes we get so stuck on the cleaning the outside, that we completely forget the inside. We become so preoccupied with the outside, that the inside of our cups (being our hearts) get neglected for days, years and decades! I know the inside of my cup isn't pristine...in fact it's pretty dirty. I am encouraged that Christ was so bold about these issues. I challenge all of us to check our cups!


How's YOUR cup?

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