Viola on Worship
No, this is not about a musical arrangement for the viola, but about an interview that Modern Reformation Magazine did with Frank Viola.
Frank tells us about it in his post (appropriately titled) “Interview with Modern Reformation Magazine.”
There are several good questions and answers in this interview. One question about “the future of the emerging/emergent church movement” shows that the interviewer may not have known that much about Frank.
I really appreciated one question/answer in particular:
MR [Modern Reformation]: What does it mean to live a life of worship? How has worship shaped your understanding of God?
Frank: Worship doesn’t lead to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ leads to worship. Worship hasn’t shaped my understanding of God. The Lord Jesus Christ has. Knowing Christ intimately and exploring His riches leads to love, adoration, worship, awe, and sheer amazement. Living by Christ is a life of love and awe. He’s the most incredible person in the universe. When we get a sighting of Him, we are forced to fall on our knees in adoration. This is more exciting and more real than what Christians typically mean when they use the word “worship.†So it’s been my experience anyway.
What do you think of Frank’s statement about worship and the relationship between God, Jesus Christ, worship, and life?
“Mutual Edification” as a label
I found an interesting article in “The Christian Chronicle” called “Who are we?” The article was by Bobby Ross, Jr. and was published in the March 2007 issue. The topic of the short article is non-institutional churches in the Churches of Christ denomination.
The article lists three different types of non-institutional churches in this denomination: 1) Non-class churches, 2) One cup churches, and 3) Mutual edification churches.
This is the description of the “mutual edification churches”:
Mutual edification churches comprise the smallest segment of non-mainstream congregations. The directory lists 124 of these congregations, mostly in the Midwest. Like many one-cup and non-class churches, mutual edification churches believe in allowing the men of the congregation to preach and lead singing, rather than hiring exclusive “preachers.”
But unlike the non-class and one-cup brethren, the mutual edification churches believe in Sunday school and multiple cups.
“Mutual edification or ministry to us means involving the members in an active ministry,” said Barry Poyner, an elder at the Kirksville, Mo., church and author of the book One Another Christianity: Mutual Edification. “I’m persuaded we are happier when active.”
He added: “I find that many churches cannot afford a full-time preacher even if they wanted one. The book is designed to get people to think about different models. … Mutual edification is a Bible-centered practice that could free up our ‘full-time’ ministers to do the work of evangelizing – reaching lost souls.”
Just for the record, the description above is NOT what I mean when I say “mutual edification.” Although, there are certainly some good things said in the description.
It is interesting what happens when people select certain labels to describe themselves. The label takes on the description of the group, instead of the group looking like the phrase used in the label.
What do you think?
Fitch: “Leadership” is not biblical
Yes, the title is provocative, but the content is very good. I’m talking about David Fitch’s article “Is ‘Leadership’ Biblical? A Few Reasons to Say ‘No’” at “Reclaiming the Mission.”
By the way, David begins by saying that he is talking about “leadership” in “the way the term has become adopted into the vernacular of evangelical leadership conferences and books.”
He gives five reasons that this type of “leadership” is not biblical:
1. THE WORD “LEADER†ITSELF IS GENERALLY AVOIDED IN THE NT within the context of the church.
2. WHENEVER THE WORD “LEADER†IS USED IN THE NT – IT IS SUBVERTED BY THE CHURCH so that “leadership†takes on the element of leading by character not coercion, by submission not hierarchy in reverence for the Lordship of Christ.
3. JESUS HIMSELF SUBVERTED THE TERM “LEADERSHIP.â€
4. CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP IS DEFINED BY THE POSTURE OF SUBMISSION – TO THE WORLD THIS IS NOT LEADERSHIP.
5. THE BUSINESS MODELS OF LEADERSHIP WILL HANDICAP US FROM LEADING INTO MISSION. (emphasis in original)
Of course, David says that there is a “biblical” form of leadership. You can see that in his “reasons” above. Read his post; there is much more information there.
By the way, it is interesting to see several commenters “agreeing” with David with a “yes, but…” approach.
Don’t start meeting as an organic church
Jason at “Messy Spirituality” (great blog name, don’t you think?) has a written a very good article called “Five Great Reasons to Plant Organic Churches (and five really bad ones).”
His five reasons to “plant” organic churches is good… although I’d probably say it like this: Five great reasons to start meeting with other believers in a more organic fashion.
But, the beauty of Jason’s post lies in his five “really bad” reasons:
1. You left your last church bitter…
2. You think you can “do church” better than anyone else…
3. You think all the other churches in town have the wrong priorities, bad doctrine, and/or (insert your favorite pet peeve here)…
4. Your last church wouldn’t let you be “in chargeâ” of anything…
5. You’re more of a “lone ranger” type church leader and want to do things your own way…
Jason’s right. These are “really bad” reasons, but I’ve heard them before. How about you?
Why I’m glad not to be that kind of pastor
I wrote the post “Why I’m glad not to be that kind of pastor” in response to another blog post. But, this post explains much about my understanding of edlers/pastors. I think it is a good post to closer out the week of my “Dangerous Sunday” series.
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Why I’m glad not to be that kind of pastor
A few days ago, John Smulo at “smulospace” wrote a post called “Why I’m Glad Not To Be A Pastor Anymore“. John says that he is disillusioned with the “predominant models of ‘pastor'” and that he’s glad that he’s not in that position anymore because:
- I get to spend so much more time with my family.
- I get to spend more time with friends.
- It’s great to just be a married guy with kids, who owns a website and blog design business.
- I have time to be involved in my community through our local Rotary Club.
- I needed to recover from church burnout.
I understand what John is talking about, but not from experience, only from observing other “pastors”. Actually, I don’t think the problem is with being a “pastor” per se, but with the unscriptural expectations that many Christians place on those they recognize as leaders (especially elders or “pastors”). For example, a few months ago in a post called “Responsibilities and Expectations of Elders“, I published a standard job description that is published by a denominational agency:
- Plan and conduct the worship services; prepare and deliver sermons; lead in observance of ordinances.
- Lead the church in an effective program of witnessing and in a caring ministry for persons in the church and community.
- Visit members and prospects.
- Conduct counseling sessions; perform wedding ceremonies; conduct funerals.
- Serve as chairman of the Church Council to lead in planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and evaluating the total church program.
- Work with deacons, church officers, and committees as they perform their assigned responsibilities; train and lead the deacons in a program of family ministries.
- Act as moderator of church business meetings.
- Cooperate with associational, state, and denominational leaders in matters of mutual interest and concern; keep the church informed of denominational development; represent the church in civic matters.
- Serve as chief administrator of the paid church staff; supervise the work of assigned paid staff workers.
In that post, I stated that these (for the most part) are expectations placed on “pastors” by church organizations and many believers, but they are not scriptural expectations or requirements.
Here’s the thing… I’m an elder… I pastor… but I’m not “that kind of pastor”. And, I’m glad not to be that kind of pastor. Why?
1. No one expects me to be obedient for them, and I’m not paid to be obedient for others. Everyone who is part of the church recognizes that it is their responsibility to serve, teach, care, evangelize, etc.
2. When I talk about the difficulties of working, having a family, and serving other people in the church and outside the church, I’m not talking from theory. No. I actually do all of those things. I work. I have a family. I serve other people in the church and outside the church. By the way, my example also removes excuses when someone would want to say, “But I don’t have time.”
3. No one wonders if I serve them only because I’m paid. They don’t wonder what would happen if another church offered me more money. They don’t wonder if I’m part of them only because they hired me.
4. I’m free to do whatever God leads me to do. My time is not taken up with meetings and planning and other “duties and responsibilities” that may take time away from serving or loving people that God brings across my path.
5. I’m part of the church. I’m not the main guy or some outside expert or professional. I’m just another brother who is struggling in his walk with Christ just like everyone else. Hopefully, since I’ve been recognized by the church, my walk is at least a little more mature and is a good example for others to follow. This also means that I’m free to say, “No”, if someone asks me to do something.
6. The church are my friends. I don’t have to keep people at arm’s distance. I don’t have to worry about job security if people find out that I’m not perfect or I don’t have all the answers.
7. Since I’m not the only one responsible for teaching – all of us are responsible to teach – then I’m also able to learn and be encouraged by the church. I can exercise my spiritual gifts in serving others and others can exercise their spiritual gifts as well. I don’t have to try to be (or pretend to be) a “jack-of-all-trades”.
There are so many other reasons why I’m glad not to be “that kind of pastor”. But, primarily, I’m glad that I’m actually able to pastor (that is, care for people), without being required to handle administrative, organizational, and structural requirements that other “pastors” are required to deal with.
Continuing Discussion on Leaders Among the Church
Art from “The Itinerants” is continuing the discussion about leaders among the church in his post “Leadership by Position or Loving Servants?” Art discusses the difference between leading from a position (or because someone holds a particular position) and leading from service in order to serve as an example.
He begins with the common phrase “respect the office, even if you don’t respect the person.” (Can any believer lead if they are not respected as a person?)
Art writes (among many other things):
Leadership being service to others and not decision making for others is really a profound distinction. It highlights the qualitative difference between leadership within the church and leadership in the world.
Fundamentally, among the saints there is no authoritarian power over others based on position. There is only a resultant, voluntary influence based on a historical relationship through service and sacrificial example through maturity. No one can “command†respect and obedience because they ARE an elder (etc.). Instead, they may appeal to their acts of past and ongoing love and sacrifice for you–which we see Paul doing on occasion.
Like Art says, the difference between leading from position and leading from service is a huge distinction and a very important one. If we are not leading “based on a historical relationship through service and sacrificial example through maturity” then I would say that we are not leading the way that Scripture describes.
How are you leading? What about the ones you follow?
Two Posts on Leadership
Recently, I’ve read two very good posts on leadership among the church:
Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” wrote a post called “‘Leader’ or ‘Leaders’.” In the post, Eric recalls a conversation with another believer about leadership. Eric determined that while they were both talking about “leadership,” they were actually talking about completely different things:
After a few minutes, I realized that we were saying two very different things. While my friend repeatedly used the term “leader,” I kept saying “leaders.” This may at first seem like a small difference, but in reality it is a large one.
I know that my friend believes in strong pastoral leadership. In particular, the “senior pastor” must lead the church as it strives to follow Christ. Therefore, when he says “leader,” he is referring to the senior pastor. I, on the other hand, was saying “leaders” because I was envisioning people within the church (both elders and non-elders) who lead through servanthood and holiness of living. They lead by example.
Scot from “Jesus Creed” wrote another post about leadership called “A Leadership Rant” for “Slant33.” The author (like me) does not like leadership books. Why? He says most of them begin with cultural forms of leadership and then justify it from Scripture. What type of “leadership” does Scot prefer? He explains:
So I want to put my idea on the line and see where it leads us. We have one leader, and his name is Jesus… Instead of seeing myself as a leader, I see myself as a follower. Instead of plotting how to lead, I plot how to follow Jesus with others. Instead of seeing myself at the helm of some boat—and mine is small compared to many others—I see myself in the boat, with Jesus at the helm.
These views of leadership are certainly different than what we usually see in today’s culture or even in today’s church.
What do you think?
When persecution comes home
Last Summer, my friend Danny and I spend a couple of weeks in Alaba, Ethiopia with Dave Black. We met many of the evangelists while we were there. We worked with them and ate with them. They took us around the city and villages and even introduced us to Ethiopian macchiato.
This morning, I read the following on Dave’s blog (Sunday, December 5, 2010 at 8:50 a.m.):
Special time of prayer this morning for the persecuted church in Alaba. Things have deteriorated. Our vehicle’s windows have been smashed, and three of our evangelists have been injured. One has a serious head wound, the result of being stoned. Thankfully, God’s amazing grace multiplies in times of trouble. To think how minor my trials are compared to the sufferings of these saints!
I’ve read about persecution before, but this is first time that persecution as hit so close to home. I don’t know specifically who has been injured, but chances are we spent time with them last summer. And, we used the vehicle (the one with the smashed windows now) as we drove around the city and into the villages.
Here is a link to some videos that I made while in Ethiopia. Some of the people in these videos may be the ones who have been beaten. I’m praying especially for my brother and friend Nigussie, who is in the video below:
Nigussie teaching Danny a song in Amharic from Alan Knox on Vimeo.
Knowing the people who are being persecuted has changed my praying. I wonder how much more my prayers would change if persecution really came home…
Why would he thank God for that?
I was very exciting and grateful to read Eric’s (from “A Pilgrim’s Progress“) post called “Thankful for a Little Work.” You see, Eric has been out of work for a few weeks since he resigned from his position as a professional pastor.
(I was glad to hear from Eric personally that he continues to pastor/shepherd people even though he is not employed in the office of a pastor. Perhaps he will write about this eventually… hint hint.)
So, Eric has been looking for work for a few weeks. As everyone knows, this is a difficult economy to be looking for work. But, Eric found work! He says:
I’m happy to say that I now have a little work to do. The Lord has provided some janitorial work for me in the evenings at a local daycare facility. Basically I sweep and mop a cafeteria, kitchen, hallway, and bathrooms for 3.5 hours per night. It is nothing special by the world’s standards, but it is real work. The pay is not much (certainly not enough to support a family), but it is something that will help.
Wait… Eric is HAPPY for a part-time job as a janitor? And, he thanks God for PROVIDING this job for him?
Yes. And, I thank God for Eric and his example. You may not agree with Eric’s conclusion that paid, professional pastors are not scriptural, but you have to admire the fact that he is living according to his convictions, and not just talking about them.
Community and Trials
My friend Dan (from “The Ekklesia in Southern Maine“) and his wife Stephanie are going through some very difficult circumstances. They have both written about this, and the posts are extremely honest, open, and encouraging.
For example, Dan wrote a post called “Thank You” explaining how this struggle helped him understand his own desire and need for community. Dan honestly writes:
As time passed and things started to work out I was really convicted about the way I had shutdown from everyone outside of our home during this time. I thought a lot about how in reality, despite all my big talk and big theology the truth is that when it mattered I didn’t want community, I wanted to be left alone. Those thoughts and struggles got me feeling pretty hypocritical about everything I had been writing so I stopped writing and haven’t even looked at my blog in over a month.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we can all join Dan in admitting that we are hypocritical at times. It is difficult to allow people into our lives when our lives are in a mess.
Meanwhile, Stephanie has also written two very powerful posts on Dan’s blog: “October 20th: a guest post” and “The Aftermath: a guest post.” Stephanie is also very open and honest about her struggles and about the particular incident that is the basis of the current trial.
I’m not going to quote from either of Stephanie’s posts, but I encourage you to read them both (and share them with people who may have similar struggles).