Some observations about structure
Here are some thoughts about structure:
- Healthy organisms have structure.
- Unhealthy organisms have structure.
- Dead organisms have structure.
- Things that are not organisms at all have structure.
- Structure is not a sign of life.
- Structure can aid organisms.
- Structure can hinder organisms.
- Structure can kill organisms.
- The type of structure can be an important issue.
- When an organism is living, the structure adapts to the needs of the organism.
- When an organism dies, the structure remains fixed.
- Structure is not the most important thing.
- Structure can be a very important thing.
While the above observations do not only apply to the church, I think they do apply to the church.
Learning from the Joker
Last weekend, I went to see Dark Knight with my son, Jeremy, and some friends. (There are no spoilers in this blog post.) I enjoyed the movie. Believe it or not, I enjoyed the character of the Joker most of all.
I realize that this has been said before, but I believe the Joker in Dark Knight is one of the best representations of a “satanic” character ever portrayed in the movies. First, the Joker enjoys evil for the sake of evil. Death, violence, and chaos are his reward – he does not desire anything more. However, beyond this, the Joker lives to corrupt others. He desires to do evil and to entice others to do evil. He lives to corrupt.
And… I learned from watching the Joker in Dark Knight. What’s even more interesting is that I did not primary learn about Satan or evil from watching the Joker. Instead, I saw the exact opposite of how followers of Jesus Christ are supposed to live.
Those of us who follow Jesus Christ should love and desire good – not just anything called “good”, but the good that only comes from God. We desire to see life and healing and reconciliation and hope and promise.
Beyond seeing God’s good in our own lives, we also desire to see others impacted by God. We desire to see the un-corruption of people and society. We love to see people reconciled to God, relationships mended, and families strengthened. In fact, the more our hearts are turned toward God, the more our actions and motives are turned away from ourselves and toward the benefit of other people.
Unfortunately, this is not the way we always live. You see, watching the Joker also taught me something about the corruption in my own heart. There are times when I turn my heart away from God and others and toward myself. During those times, I can demonstrate as much evil and animosity towards people as I saw in the Joker. I thank God that someone greater than Batman exists to cleanse my wayward heart and point me back to God and others.
When you look at your life, and your influence on the lives of other people, what do you see? Are you impacting people for your own gains and for evil? Or are you impacting people for God and for their own benefit?
This seems like a good test to me
Bob at “the planter” has come up with what I think is a good test in his post called “BETTER YET! Let’s prove it.”
Better yet, let’s put this to the test.
Is your Church controlling you when it comes to the ministries you can create or serve in? Will they allow you to serve where the Holy Spirit is leading you to serve.
Can you decide what ministries your church is involved in?
Would your church leadership bless you to take 20+ quality leaders and start a new disciple-making church?Better yet – Let’s prove it.
Tell your pastor that God’s Holy Spirit is leading you to leave the church to start a Disciple-making Church and tell him that 20-30 “very important” (name them) leaders are joining with you. Then ask Him if you have His blessing. Try to keep a straight face here. (Mike and John) You should try this. You are both ornery enough to pull this off.
If your pastor will bless you and release you & the people to do this you are in a God honoring -God releasing ministry. If your pastor does not give you his blessing than you are in a system of control. Jesus and His plan to reach the world is one of releasing to walk in Holy Spirit obedience.
God owns the people -the Church does not. The problem is that most churches do not know this.
I don’t know who “Mike and John” are, but I can tell you that I would be very excited if someone who was part of our church would try this. Of course, I would be very disappointed to find out it was “just a test”.
What about you? What about your pastor?
Wait for one another
To me, one of the most interesting passages of Scripture is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. In that passage, Paul deals with issues surrounding the “Lord’s Supper” at Corinth. In fact, the problems are so great that Paul says that the believers are coming together for the worse, not for the better.
But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another – if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home- so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. (1 Corinthians 11:17-34 ESV)
Most of the time, when people teach from this passage, they grab the verses out of the middle which deal with Jesus’ words during his last supper with his disciples. Usually, the teachers will also talk about “examining himself” and also the possibility of becoming sick or dying because of improper eating and drinking. Thus, we are encouraged to search our hearts for sin and to ensure that we have asked God for forgiveness before we partake of the Lord’s Supper.
That would be a nice and tidy sermon if it wasn’t for the surrounding context. You see, Paul was not writing to the Corinthians because of personal, spiritual sin issues. He was writing to them because of corporate, social sin issues.
There are a few items in particular that we should notice. First, the Corinthians were eating and drinking. Paul does not attempt to correct their meal activities. However, Paul tells them that the act of eating and drinking does not constitute the “Lord’s Supper”. The believers in Corinth were not partaking of the Lord’s Supper because of their attitudes toward one another. They could eat bread and drink wine all they wanted, but it would not be the Lord’s Supper as long as they were not relating properly to their brothers and sisters – even those who could not afford to provide their own food.
(This is somewhat off the subject, but I believe that Christians today should consider this passage very carefully. Even if we are participating in certain activities – singing, reading Scripture, praying, baptizing, taking the Lord’s Supper, etc. – our activities in and of themselves does not indicate that we are obeying God and meeting together in the way that he wants us to meet.)
For Paul, the bread and the cup represented the new covenant in Christ – a covenant that included all of the believers in Corinth. As fellow partakers in the new covenant, the believers in Corinth should relate to one another differently – not in the social, cultural, political, racial, ethnic, and class structures of their day – but as equal fellow citizens of the kingdom of God. This new covenant relationship affects every part of a believer’s life – including, but not limited to, eating and drinking. Because of this new covenant relationship, the people no longer simply looked out for themselves and their own interest, they cared for one another, even to the point of sharing their food with those who did not have food.
Paul’s call for examination and judgment in this context deals primarily with our relationships with other believers – not simply our own personal sin struggles – which we all have. But, if our sin is manifesting itself in our relationships with other believers, then we need to take steps to reconcile those relationships. And, as fellow family members, we need to “judge” others in a way that helps them reconcile broken relationships as well.
When we come together as new covenant family members – under what James calls the royal law – we will love one another. And, that love will demonstrate itself in the way that we act toward one another. Specifically, we will “wait” for one another. “Wait” in 1 Cor 11:34 is not simply biding our time, but a sense of expectation. We will look forward to our time eating together, recognizing that God is working through our relationships to mature us in Christ.
We can eat a piece of bread and drink from a cup all we want. But, if our eating and drinking is not tied to a new covenant relationship with other brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are not eating the Lord’s Supper. If our thoughts are not on our family – how to help each other mature in Christ and in our relationships with one another – then we are not partaking of the Lord’s Supper. If our meditation on God does not lead us toward caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are not taking the Lord’s Supper. If we are sitting with a group of people that we don’t know – that we don’t care about – that we don’t want to spend more time with – then we are not eating the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus invites us to gather around his table with his family, and he serves us a common loaf and a common cup. He does not serve us alone. If we attempt to dine alone – even in a crowd – then we can be certain that the host of our dinner is not Jesus Christ.
Gigachurch?
Have you seen this article yet – “What makes a gigachurch go?” (HT: Bill) I’d like to comment on a couple of excerpts from this article.
At Eagle Brook, the drill is plan, plan, plan, then rehearse, rehearse, rehearse — with the ultimate goal of making it all look spontaneous.
If you have to plan and rehearse to make something “look spontaneous”, then it is not spontaneous. Why not just let things be spontaneous?
“We do all this so we can get out of the way and let people focus on connecting with God,” Anderson said.
If the people in the article actually got “out of the way”, then everything would fall apart. By the way, this group may be taking it to the extreme, but this is the result of a desire for “excellence” in the church meeting.
What would happen if we actually got “out of the way” and were “spontaneous”?
Is God red, blue, or purple?
This post is part of a monthly synchroblog. The topic for this month’s synchroblog is “The Politics of God“.
Is God red, blue, or purple? Is he a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian, or a Constitutionalist? Is God for big government or small government? More spending or less spending? More social programs or less social programs? Big military or small military? Federal control or states rights? Conservative, liberal, or moderate?
These terms seem strange and somehow out of place when used to describe God. Why? Because God is none of these things. These terms are used to describe human efforts to govern themselves, and assigning them to God immediately begins to recreate a god in our own image.
I grew up in the deep south of the United States where most people voted Democrat in local and state elections and Republican in the national elections. Why? Four main reasons: carpet baggers, abortion, military, and taxes – not necessarily in that order. Abortion was the only issue that could be considered a moral issue, and I’m not sure how people would have voted if “pro-choice” had been pushed by the “pro-tax” party. In other words, I think that “fiscal” concerns would have easily outweighed “moral” concerns.
What does this have to do with God? What does politics in general have to do with God? Besides throwing around God’s name to garner a few votes, is God’s agenda even considered among the various political agendas? (Can you tell that I’m cynical? Yes, I know that there are good, honest, authentic Christians in politics – at least, I’ve been told they are there.)
From what I’ve seen, when Christians get involved in politics, they rarely do so in a Christ-like manner. Oh, they may pick a few moral issues on which to base their campaign, but the methods, techniques, and goals of their campaigns are rarely different from nonChristians politicians. The problem, of course, is that Jesus did not call his followers into politics. Don’t misunderstand me – I’m not saying that being a politician is mutually exclusive with being a follower of Jesus Christ. Instead, I’m saying that a follower of Jesus Christ recognizes that human politics will not solve the world’s problems.
God’s politics works differently than human politics. God reveals needs and opportunities to his people. God gives his people the means to meet those needs. God gives them his Spirit to empower them and lead them as they meet those needs. Then, God expects his people to obediently follow where the Spirit leads – in meeting the needs of the people around them – as God as revealed those needs.
God’s politics works if our government is conservative or liberal, democratic or totalitarian, pro-Christianity or against Christianity. God doesn’t change the land through protests, but through a demonstration of his love. God doesn’t change people through voting, but through the service of his people. God doesn’t honor patriotism, but obedience.
Is God red, blue, or purple? That’s the wrong question. The correct question is this: Are God’s people demonstrating God’s love by serving others in obedience to the work of God’s Spirit in their lives. That’s the kind of “political agenda” that I can support 100%!
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Here is a list of other bloggers who are tackling this month’s synchroblog topic of “The Politics of God”. Enjoy as you read!
Phil Wyman rants about The Talking Points of Presumption
Lainie Petersen considers Questioning the Citizen Diety
Jonathan Brink enters The Political Fray
Adam Gonnerman explains The Living Christ’s Present Reign
Sonja Andrews Won’t Get Fooled Again
Mike Bursell at Mike’s Musings
Sally Coleman at Eternal Echoes
Steve Hayes on God’s Politics
Matthew Stone at Matt Stone Journeys in Between
Steve Hollinghurst at On Earth as in Heaven
KW Leslie tells us about God’s Politics
Julie Clawson at One Hand Clapping
Dan Stone at The Tense Before
Alan Knox asks Is God Red, Blue, or Purple?
Beth Patterson writes about Learners inheriting the earth: the politics of God
Erin Word discusses Hanging Chad Theology
My sister spoke during the church meeting
Each Sunday, for our church meeting, someone is scheduled to teach from a certain passage of Scripture. Last Sunday was no exception, as I taught from Matthew 8:1-17. After the scheduled teaching, we encourage others to teach from what they had studied during the week, or to share what God has been doing in their lives. Why? Because we want to give all present the opportunity to build up one another toward maturity in Christ as a way of glorifying God.
Last Sunday, after I taught, my sister in Christ spoke during the church meeting. She had made comments before, but I think this is the first time she has spoken in this manner. She told us about her neighbor. She has been building a relationship with this neighbor. She told us that she is concerned because her neighbor is not a follower of Jesus.
My sister has been demonstrating the life changing message of the Good News of Jesus Christ to her neighbor, both in word and in deed. She said that she is concerned about her neighbor because we never know when the end will come, and her neighbor doesn’t know Christ.
This sister in Christ challenged us with her testimony of evangelism and care for someone who is not a believer. This sister encouraged us with her request for prayer for her neighbor, trusting God to transform her neighbor and to reconcile her to himself.
My sister in Christ – the one who spoke in the church meeting Sunday morning – the one who is so concerned about her neighbor – the one who wanted to share this with us in order to build us up toward maturity in Christ – the one who asked for prayer that God would save her neighbor – my sister in Christ is ten years old.
Some would say she’s not qualified or trained enough to speak during the meeting of the church. I thank God that we gave her the opportunity to speak, and that He chose to teach us so much through her obedience.
Beyond Charity – Our Gospel
As I mentioned in my posts called “Beyond Charity – Introduction” and “Beyond Charity – Our Vision“, I’m reading John Perkins’ book Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development. Part Two of the book is called “Our Gospel”, and it is divided into eight chapters: “The Living Gospel”, “The Burden of Proof”, “Filling the Leadership Vacuum”, “Evangelism”, “Wholesome Care”, “Providing Services”, “Economic Development”, and “Pursuing Justice”. I cannot discuss all of these chapters, so I’m going to focus on Chapter 4 (The Living Gospel), then hit some of the high points in the remaining chapters which flow from Perkins’ understanding of the gospel.
Chapter 4 – The Living Gospel – is probably my favorite chapter in Perkins’ book. The gospel, as Perkins describes it, is not a gospel of mental ascent, nor is it a gospel of works. The gospel flows from God’s love and transforms us into agents of God’s love.
As I understood more of God’s love for me, and the extremity of the sacrifice he made for me, I began to be transformed, little by little. I was overpowered by God’s love that morning, and I wanted to share it with those whom I was coming in contact with. As as the love of God worked in my life, it was changing me so that God could use my life to demonstrate his love for others – and he is still at work in me today… So God calls us to be transformed by his love in order to make us instruments of his love to the whole world.
If you miss this very important point when reading this book, you may think that Perkins is pushing a “social gospel” without a spiritual foundation. Perkins’ gospel is social, but it begins with the spiritual – the love of God that transforms individuals. When God transforms a person – that is, God CHANGES a person – that person begins to demonstrate their new character – a character that starts with love.
Social action is not a means to earn salvation, nor is it a means to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. Instead, social action is the (super)natural outcropping of a life that has been transformed by God’s love. Just has James could not imagine a life of faith without works – that faith is dead, James says – Perkins cannot imagine a gospel that does not result in active care and concern for other people – demonstrated in social action.
It seems that for Perkins there are two motivations for social action: 1) a desire to see others reconciled to God, and 2) a desire to demonstrate the love of God. Therefore, social action is valid and necessary even toward those who reject the gospel. God’s love is unconditional; Jesus even loved the rich, young ruler who turned away from him. In the same manner, our active love for others should not stop if they reject the gospel.
The next seven chapters in Perkins’ book flow from his understanding of the gospel. For example, he says that the “burden of proof” lies with followers of Jesus to demonstrate that our love – the love that flows from God through us – is authentic by connecting our words and deeds. Furthermore, as we love others, we trust them with leadership, not thinking of ourselves as better. Similarly, our evangelism will “take place inside the community of faith” and “is most effective when it calls people into a relationship with a holy God and into a fellowship of believers”. In case some may misunderstand his purpose, Perkins clearly states, “Christian community development cannot happen without the work of evangelism”. Furthermore, Perkins gives practical suggestions and examples for creating an environment of hope through dignity, power, education, employment, health, security, recreation and beauty. Finally, Perkins exhorts Christians to use their energy and resources to pursue justice for the poor, the needy, the fatherless, the widows, and the foreigners.
I think that Perkins has described a very biblical gospel – the Good News that Jesus Christ reconciles people to God and then gives them the ministry of reconciliation. This gospel expects a faith that works.
Scripture… As We Live It #11
And now for the eleventh passage in “Scripture… As We Live It“:
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but through your preachers and teachers who told you about my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church XYZ Community Church into a great organization with many buildings and an abundance of programs with staff to run them, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it remain far from it.” (Matthew 16:15-18 re-mix)
Are you a New Testament Scholar?
Thanks to Dave Black (Friday, July 18, 2008 at 2:25 pm) for this description of a “New Testament Scholar”. I don’t know about you, but this is the type of “scholar” that I want to be:
Good afternoon, bloggers and bloggerettes. Today I want you to meet a really great New Testament scholar. You’ve probably never heard of him before. But trust me, he’s an outstanding expert in the New Testament. His name? Nathan Black. You say, “Wait a minute! How can you consider Nathan a New Testament scholar? He doesn’t even have a post high school education!” Now hold on there. Nathan is VERY well educated, and I’m not talking only about the certificate in carpentry he received from our local community college. You see, it all depends on your definition of “educated” and “scholar.” (In Anabaptism, by the way, appeal was made to the plain man’s judgment, unspoiled by the university. Those who toiled with their hands [craftsmen] or who worked in the soil [peasants] were presumed to be more receptive and teachable than those who had been corrupted by the folly of worldly wisdom.) My translation of “New Testament scholar” is one who knows the New Testament backwards and forwards AND who follows radically the Jesus it talks about AND who lives according to its hard teachings. So just by having a doctorate in New Testament, just by holding a chair in New Testament, just because everyone reads your famous books about the New Testament, doesn’t automatically make you a “New Testament scholar.” Not in my book. Just go to some New Testament blogs. Do they ever talk about sharing their faith in Jesus with others? Do they ever talk about pledging allegiance to Jesus and His Church — the ONLY Christian nation that has ever existed? Do they ever talk about getting their hands dirty in the name of Jesus? Why are you staring blankly at me? Truth be told, you can be a full professor of New Testament in a prestigious university and still not walk or talk with Jesus! I recall being at a scholarly meeting a couple of years and listening to a newly-minted Ph.D. in New Testament refer to himself in his paper as “a New Testament scholar.” “As a New Testament scholar, it is my opinion that….” He did this consistently and quite un-self-consciously. I’m sorry, but I actually chuckled OUT LOUD.
Now let’s contrast Nathan. He and Jessie started attending a small church called Hebron after their wedding. Hebron was founded in 1880. (If you ever want to visit Hebron, here are the directions: just drive to Podunk and turn right.) The first Sunday there the people asked Nate to teach. He said, “Why not?” and he’s been teaching ever since. The meeting starts at 10:00 and goes to 11:00, or else to 11:30, or else to 12:00 — well, you get the picture. (Ain’t nobody in no hurry.) They don’t really have “church” or a “worship service.” Just Bible study, prayer, maybe a hymn or two (Nate also plays the piano for them), and lots of talking. They wanted to pay Nathan but he just said, “Keep it.” He teaches only from the Bible — no notes, and no published curriculum. Deep stuff, yet simple. Right now he’s teaching through Hebrews. Or should I say leading the flock (all 13 or 14 of them, mostly farmer-types) in a discussion from the Bible about our Great High Priest, how we’re all priests in the kingdom of Jesus, how salvation is FREE (seems some folk think you need to get wet to get saved), how the Spirit lives in us so that we do not have to depend on the experts to explain what the Bible means, how the Church is more important than the church, how “believers” are a dime a dozen but “lovers” are few, and how people and not a building are the “temple” of God. They love it! Speaking of a building, the church meets in an old clapboard meeting hall off of a long gravel road. No restroom facilities, but there is a cemetery. I believe our world is in desperate need of such churches. And of such New Testament scholars. What an example that 25 year-old is to me!
Sat plene biberunt. That’s Latin for “shut up and sit down.” So I’ll keep my peroration short. Say you’re a New Testament “scholar” and you’re reading this right now and you are just furious. You’ve been taught to think, “Scholars don’t talk about their private lives. We need to keep Jesus out of the academic guild!” Honest to goodness, I once thought that way myself. But listen, it all comes down to the cross. As a much greater New Testament scholar than you or I will ever be once said, “We go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless…. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world” (1 Cor. 4:11-13). If that isn’t clear, then maybe some of us have been educated beyond our intelligence. The great French theologian Jacque Ellul put it this way: “Christians should be troublemakers,…agents of a dimension incompatible with society.” A DIMENSION INCOMPATIBLE WITH SOCIETY. Man, I like that. So, my dear scholar friends, keep on earning your doctorates (I have one myself), keep on writing your books (many of which I own), keep on lecturing at your conferences (I may attend one myself). But for Christ’s sake (I am NOT swearing), get radical for the Jesus of the New Testament or quit the moniker “New Testament scholar”!
How about you? What kind of “scholar” are you?