Systematic or Casual
My friend Dan at “The Ekklesia in Southern Maine” has written an excellent post called “Official.” In the post, Dan is asking about (or actually offering examples of) both the systematic study of Scripture and more casual usage of Scripture.
A systematic study of Scripture would be a planned study (like most Bible studies). It could be study through a book of the Bible or it could be topical. But, the plan for study would be decided before-hand.
A more casual use of Scripture would depend on what is happening in people’s lives. Scripture would not be studied as much as used as examples or to encourage, convict, admonish, etc. But, which Scripture to use would not depend on a predetermined plan, but on what is happening the lives of the people involved.
In his post, Dan talks about how conversation about life situations (using Scripture along the way) has proved more beneficial to him recently than more systematic studies of Scripture. In response to Dan’s post, I said the following:
I find that improptu teaching/encouraging based on what’s going on in each person’s lives can be very beneficial. These times can include scriptural teaching and study as well.
I think there is also a benefit to systematic study, because that study will round out our understanding. It will fill in gaps and prepare us for struggles that we will eventually go through, or that others are going through.
So, I say, do both!
Yes, do both. Have planned systematic studies of Scripture, but don’t stop there. Have conversations with people about what’s going on in their lives, but don’t stop there either. We need both.
What do you think?
Service as a Spiritual Discipline
While I was writing and thinking about service this week, James (from “Idle musings of a bookseller”) pointed me to an article by Scot McKnight called “Spiritual Disciplines… for a Church 3.”
Scot tells the following story about a church:
We began to ask people in our community one simple question: “How can we help?†He admitted they were doing things they never expected to do, but that one question — call it the single-most important missional question — can change a church if the church will listen, and will do.
You should read his post. It’s about the difference between focusing on growing a church and focusing on serving others.
Following Your Convictions
My friend Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” has made a very brave decision to following some of his convictions. He writes about it in a post called “I’ve Resigned from Professional Pastoring.” Eric begins his post with this:
After much study of scripture, prayer, discussions with some of my friends, and reading good books, I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer in good conscience remain a salaried pastor. I cannot find it anywhere in the bible, so I’m not going to do it.
Last Wednesday evening I informed the sweet people of Chevis Oaks Baptist Church that I will be resigning as pastor.
I know that this was a difficult decision for Eric. He was concerned about his family and with the people who are part of Chevis Oaks.
Whether you agree with Eric’s conclusion about “professional pastors” or not, I think everyone can appreciate his desire to follow his convictions, even (and especially) when they are difficult.
I knew Eric before he was a professional pastor… because he was one of my pastors then. I know that Eric will continue to pastor and that God will continue to use him and his family.
A Few Good Books
My friend Dan at “The Ekklesia in Southern Maine” asked “What to Read?” I offered the following list of books about the church that I enjoyed reading over the last few years. Obviously – as with any book – I didn’t agree with everything in all of the books. But in each book, I found something interesting and exciting about the church as described in Scripture.
(These are in no particular order)
Paul’s Idea of Community by Robert Banks
Engaging with God by David Peterson
Church Without Walls by Jim Peterson
When the Church was a Family by Joseph Hellerman
Reimagining Church by Frank Viola
The Rabbit and the Elephant by Tony and Felicity Dale
What books about the church would you add to this list?
Jesus is Sharper than any Two-Edged Sword
Andy at “aBowden Blog” is translating through the Book of Hebrews – an admirable task. He recently published “Translation: Hebrews 4:1-14.” In a comment, I asked if he had determined what the referent was for the phrase “Word of God” in Hebrews 4:12. (Often, teachers use this phrase to refer to Scripture, which they say is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”)
This was Andy’s reply:
Glad you asked! I think that the Word refers to Christ. Several contextual clues lead me to that conclusion:
-Heb 1:2, the book’s introduction, informs us “In these last days God has spoken to us by one who is by very nature son.â€
-Heb 2:1 continues the tought, expaining that since Christ is far superior to the angels, we should pay much closer attention to what we’ve heard. In other words, Christ is the content of what we’ve heard.
-The current verse under consideration (Heb 4:12) is part of a broad discourse which can be traced all the way back to ch. 3. In 3:6 the author exhorts that since Christ is our head, “Let us hold firmly with boldness onto our hope.†Then begins the references to Ps 95.
-In 4:12, the “aliveness†of the Word is emphasized. Elsewhere in Hebrews, the same emphasis is made regarding God. So in 3:12 we read, “See to it that there is not in any of you a wicked heart which turns from the living God,’ and in 10:31, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.â€
-The descriptions of the Word, particularly in 4:13, seem to fit the descriptions of Christ in Scripture. 4:12-13 tells us that nothing is hidden before the Word, everything becomes exposed, the Word has eyes, we give a final word before the Word; in Scripture we are told that it is God who knows the secrets of men’s hearts and we stand before him in judgment.
-4:14 provides an important indication for me. After speaking about the revealing, penetrating nature of the Word, the author immediatly states, “Having a great high priest who has gone into the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.†I hope I’m not pressing the point to far in concluding that the penetrating Word which reveals our sinful hearts is the very same one who intercedes for us as High Priest. Jesus: the revealing Word and the interceding priest.
I agree. The “Word of God” in Hebrews 4:12 refers to Jesus Christ (not Scripture) who is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
The Painting Pastor
Dave Black mentioned one of his pastors (Jason) on his blog last weekend (Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 8:15 p.m.). He mentioned Jason in connection to a discussion that he had with a seminary student during a recent conference. I think this discussion reveals one problem with the way we view leaders (especially pastors/elders) in the church:
For some strange reason tonight I was reminded of a conversation I had last week with a student during the 9Marks conference on campus. I mentioned to him that when Becky and I take people with us to Ethiopia we allow them to chose their own ministries. We don’t say, “We’re doing VBS and you are to do such-and-such.” No, they pray, seek the Lord, and then tell us what they sense God is leading them to do. For example, one of my elders (Jason Evans) has been to Ethiopia with us 4 times. On his first few trips he taught church leaders. But on this last trip he told us he wanted to work with the construction team. He ended up being the “paint master” at the Galana clinic and did a marvelous job. When I told the student this he was dumbfounded. How, he wondered, could a preacher waste his time doing something as menial as painting? “That’s like seeing my pastor on a Sunday morning operating the sound system instead of preaching!” he told me. “Yeah,” I thought to myself, “sort of like Jesus washing His disciples’ feet.”
I’m not surprised at the student’s reaction. We don’t expect our leaders to serve. But, according to Scripture, we should.
By the way, I know Jason, and I’m not surprised that he chose to serve in this way at all.
A Family Affair
Elroy at “A Change Room” wrote a great post called “A (not-so-secret) Secret to Great Church Life.” In his post, Elroy reminds us that the church is a family. Here are some “family values” that he says applies to the church:
Families Genuinely Take Care of One Another.
Families Spend Time Together.
Families Grow.
Families Share Responsibility.
This is his conclusion:
The language of the New Testament treats us to the imagery of the church as a family, not a business. Don’t think the writers of the New Testament were not privy to corporation-like information. Their previous religious experiences alone would’ve been enough to arm them with business-like thinking. The state-political environment of their day was another great example of man-made super corporate structures. But instead we find locked up in their pursuit for spiritual family the value system that motivated the Triune God to create humans in the first place. According to Their eternal purpose They created a community similar to Themselves. Because we are made in the likeness and image of God, we are only truly human when we are living in community. Surely this must be significant?
Elroy is right. Those first Christians knew all about hierarchy and organization and even corporate structures. But, instead of employing that type of language, they referred to the church as family. And, yes, Elroy, I think this is very significant.
Good Things to Learn
My friend Dan at “The Ekklesia in Southern Maine” has written a great post called “Summer School.” In this post, he writes about things that he’s learned about the church and community and the gospel over the summer.
Here is his list:
The issue is the heart, not the model.
The goal is Christ-centered community, not a gathering.
My family CAN be part of my church family.
The Resurrection of Jesus is very important.
You should read his post. He includes a great explanation of each point. And, if you don’t follow Dan’s blog, you should.
More on serving people
As I’ve said before, one of my favorite bloggers (and storytellers) is “Strider” from “Tales from Middle Earth.” His latest post, “On Finding Water,” goes along well with my previous post “They don’t want cake.” In fact, I was excited to read Strider’s post while I was working on my post a few days ago.
Here’s an excerpt from Strider’s post:
Of course, we love doing humanitarian work. Jesus has called us to love people and in loving them we find that they need two things: a relationship with Him and a standard of living that will enable them to survive. We live in a very poor Country that needs multitudes of things. I hope we choose the things we do by listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit.
In order to hear His voice we pay attention to several things. One, we help people with some of their deepest felt needs. People may need sanitation but if they don’t know this then there is no sense in providing it. We go to a community and asked them what they need rather than provide for them what is convenient for us to do. In following this line we have been asked repeatedly for fresh drinking water. Many people- possibly several hundred villages- need clean drinking water and are suffering greatly with water borne illnesses as a result of not having access to any. Two, we need a project that gives us sustained access. Many teams have come in and dropped off a load of much needed aid, prayed a quick prayer, and then moved on. This is somewhat helpful… sometimes, but a viable church is not likely to result from this. Too often people do aid work which makes them feel better and successful and humanitarian and even spiritual but if we measure success by lives impacted then these kinds of fly by night projects don’t add up to much. We need relationship. So, digging multiple wells in villages has been very good for us. We have spent all summer in a remote village in the south, going down, spending the night, serving and being served. It has provided good ground for great conversation and the opportunity to share much love.
I’ve learned that people know whether or not you truly love them and want to serve them, or if you are just doing something to make yourself feel better.
What keeps us from having a kingdom mindset?
Great points to ponder from Dave Black this morning (Monday, September 13, 2010 at 7:57 a.m.):
Last night Ronnie asked me a very important question. “What is it that keeps us from having a kingdom mindset?” We talked about the distractions of TV, football season, pleasure, comfort. I added into the mix: the church. As long as we continue to tithe to ourselves, as long as we overlook the fact that the gathering must always lead to the going, as long as we prioritize our programs and our successful ministries over making a tangible difference in the world for Christ we will never have a kingdom mindset. The greatest problem that most churches face today is not that they aren’t doing anything. They do plenty. The problem is that they’re not doing the right thing (Phil. 1:27), preferring soft cushions over Bibles in India. And the greatest danger most pastors face is not that they aren’t doing anything. They’re far too busy! It’s that they don’t do the essential things. Their purpose is to equip God’s people for works of service. The clear command of our Lord is to go to the world.
I think it’s vitally important that we stop playing the “Look how great my church is” game. I know, because I often play it myself. Oh, what a high view of the church we must have! But we must never view church as an end in itself: she is a means to an end!
The church is a means to an end. What end? The mission of God. And, as long as we focus on ourselves, we will not be accomplishing God’s mission.