Another brief word about sermons
This time from Dave Black (today, May30, 2010 at 1:38 p.m.):
As a culture, the Western church is enslaved by a worship of preachers and preaching. This anthropocentricity is one of the greatest stumbling blocks to the Gospel. Know something? There were no “sermons” in the churches of the New Testament. The concept of a well-crafted 30-minute homily carefully alliterated with three points simply did not exist. Now, I am not denying that there were “messages” or, if you will, “words.”
Yes, I’m sure some of my readers will react negatively to the charge that “the Western church is enslaved by a worship of preachers and preaching.” But, I think we would find that most churches would cease to function if the “preacher” did not show up with a “sermon”… that is, until they eventually found another “preacher” who would bring a “sermon.”
As long as the church things that it is only one or two people’s responsibility to study and prepare and bring a “sermon” each week, I do not think we will see much spiritual growth. Yes, there can be some spiritual growth from sermons. But, the people will grow more when they all accept responsibility to bring a word or message to one another when they meet together.
The Pastor as Prophet, Priest, and King?
My friend Adam from “adamic” has posted a very interesting question in his post “Church Leader as Jesus?” He points to a “missional” class that he says sounds like it is teaching that a pastor should “fill Christ’s role in the local body.” He says:
On further digging, my fears appear confirmed. Each course’s description ends, “This course will focus on the pastor as prophet . . . pastor as priest . . . pastor as king.” I’m not sure where in Scripture you get the idea that the pastor is to fill all the offices of Christ in the local body. Do you know?
Like I commented to Adam, this sounds more like Ignatius than Paul. I’m hoping someone answers his concerns.
Be Prepared: It’s Not Just for Scouts
My friend Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” recently asked the question, “What Are You Bringing?” Eric explains his question:
Assuming that you gather with your church family on Sundays, what are you planning to bring? The above verse from I Corinthians indicates that the folks in that church (despite its myriad problems) actively brought something with them to the church gathering. In many cases, this seems to have been directly related to the exercise of their spiritual gifts. Paul wanted to be sure that this was all done for the purpose of mutual edification.
Eric’s post is good. You should read it. In response, this was my comment:
I was not “scheduled” to teach/preach yesterday. However, I knew that another brother would be teaching on the subject of the Sabbath. I also knew that the church would have an opportunity to take part in the teaching, through asking questions, sharing experiences, or even offering a teaching of their own. So, I prepared for studying the passages in Scripture related to the Sabbath. I also talked with other brothers and sisters about the topic – both my own family and others in person as well as online.
However, besides this preparation, I also spend time with other brothers and sisters throughout the week. I know what’s going on in their lives and they know what’s going on in my life. Specifically through a conversation I had last week, I knew I need to confess something to the church, to ask for prayer in that area, and to exhort the church (as well as myself) toward faithfulness in that area.
So, my preparation included both the study of Scripture and the work that God was doing in my life and the lives of others through our interaction with one another. I’m sure there were others ways that I (and others) prepared, but these are two ways that I try to prepare every day.
As the church, we meet with one another weekly, but we also meet more regularly, sometimes daily. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should always be prepared (yes, even on Sundays) to encourage one another toward maturity in Christ.
So… to echo Eric’s question… the next time you meet with brothers and sisters in Christ, what are you bringing? Will you be prepared?
The show must go on?
Linda at “kingdom grace” asks an interesting question in her post “Ecclesial Imagination“:
If the people of your church were to show up on Sunday morning, and “the show†were canceled for the morning, would they know what to do?
The question is difficult to answer for me, because we don’t really have a “show.” While there are certain things that we do when we meet together, those things and the order of them can change from week to week. Similarly, the people who take part changes from week to week.
But, still, I wonder… what would happen if everyone who had planned to take part was not able to meet with the church that day… It is an intriguing question.
Think about the next time you plan to meet with the church. If you showed up and none of the normal leaders were there to get things started, no one started playing music, no one stood up to teach/preach, nobody was there to read from Scripture… what would the people do? What would you do?
Leading with Vulnerability
I like the post from Jason at “Deep Church” called “Vulnerability: the most attractive leadership attribute.” He says “vulnerable leaders” are known for doubts, apologizing, and brokenness. I like what he says about doubts:
Doubts: Leaders don’t have all the answers, and don’t act like they do. Leaders are learners, and learning takes questions and doubts.
The part about brokenness is really good too:
Brokenness: How on earth did we equate leadership with success?
I think the church needs more “vulnerable leaders”… what do you think?
Can she be a man of God?
Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” brings up an interesting question in his post “A Man of God.” Well, actually, Eric doesn’t specifically bring up the question, but his post brought the question to my mind. Eric didn’t like that the phrase “man of God” applied to him because he is an elder/pastor. Instead, he suggests that it is proper to apply the phrase “man of God” to any Christian.
This is where the phrase appears in the New Testament:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)
(You can see the same phrase in 1 Timothy 6:11.) Now, the Greek term translated “man” in this passage (ἄνθÏωπος) is not that word that is specifically male (ἀνήÏ). Instead, it could mean “person.” So, here’s my question:
Who is the “man of God” in this passage? Elders/pastors/other leaders only? Men (males) only? Any Christian (male or female)? Or, is there another option?
Traditional Church Community
Is it possible to build community if you are part of a traditional church? Well, Arthur at “the voice of one crying out in suburbia” says, “Yes,” in his post “Community in the traditional church.” Actually, Arthur says, “Yes, if…” If what? Well, if the people are willing to make a conscious, intentional effort at building community. This is how Arthur starts:
While recognizing that the traditional model of the gathering of the church is far and away the most common, I also recognize that this very common cultural icon makes it difficult to enjoy real, intimate, dare I say Biblical community. I count where we gather as a family in this camp even though we don’t have some of the traditional barriers to community. Creating community is more than eliminating some of the trappings of traditional Christianity but instead involves a conscious and intentional decision to cultivate the reality of what God has created among us.
By the way, community takes conscious, intentional effort outside of the traditional church as well.
We are Afraid of the Bible
If you don’t read anything else today – and, yes, I’m including what I write – then read Energion Publication’s post “The Problem with the Jesus Paradigm.” There is too much good stuff in that post to quote everything, but I’ll leave you with this teaser:
You see, I’m convinced that we, in the church, are afraid of the Bible. We’re scripture-phobic. How can that be? We use the word “Bible†in our church names. Even secular stores have many shelves of Bibles in dozens of translations which have sold many millions of copies. There are pew Bibles, Bibles on the shelves of Sunday School rooms. I might as well confess it—I have a whole book case dedicated to Bibles, and not all of my Bibles will fit in it.
Then there are all our Bible classes, our Bible readings in our church services, and our Bible study small groups. It’s hard to find a Christian who won’t say “yes†when asked if he or she “believes the Bible.†You can even find quite a number who, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, will loudly announce that they do everything commanded in Scripture.
So how can I say that we’re afraid of the Bible?
Are we afraid of the Bible? Read the post and let me know what you think.
Lots o’ Links
Read this stuff cuz it’s good:
Adam from “adamic” with “On the Viability of Worship Services”
Eric from “A Pilgrim’s Progress” with “The Pastor and ‘God’s Vision for the Church’”
Arthur from “the voice of one crying out in suburbia” with “An obstacle to the Gospel”
Andy from “aBowden Blog” with “Scripture as we live it”
Enjoy, comment, and spread the love.
Steve Timmis interview about gospel word and gospel community
A friend on facebook sent me a link to this interview with Steve Timmis, one of the authors of Total Church, a book that I’ve recommended before. Here is part of the interview:
“We take seriously the Gospel word — we are confessional evangelicals. We have a number of values and a statement of faith that reflects that,†said Timmis, who also serves as Western Europe Director for the Acts 29 church planting network. “We believe the Gospel word is a word to be spoken: we try and argue that very clearly in church (life). So, you can’t talk about living a life without speaking the Word. If you do, then whatever you are doing, you are not evangelizing; you are selling the Gospel short. So, the Gospel word is very important to us and it is a word that focuses upon what God has done in Christ in redeeming a people for Himself who will enjoy Him for eternity.
“We also take seriously Gospel community in a way that, traditionally, confessional evangelicals haven’t. Gospel community is a group of people who are being rescued by King Jesus and who live as His subjects together to demonstrate to the world what a great King He is. So, Gospel community is a demonstrating community: it demonstrates the nature of the Kingdom of God, the nature of Jesus’s rule.â€
This parallel emphasis on the gospel proclaimed and the gospel lived out in community is one of the reasons that I appreciated Total Church and that I recommend it often.
By the way, later in the interview Timmis discusses their use of the term “church,” which he defines as “gospel community.” They use the term “church” to describe both a larger gathering and smaller gatherings, which others would call “small groups” or “Bible studies” or “Sunday School classes” but not “church.”