People are vulnerable to love
The following excellent post comes from Dave Black’s blog (Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 9:04 pm):
People are vulnerable to love. That’s one of the points Becky emphasized with the middle schoolers today. She told the story of a Muslim man in a small village in southern Ethiopia whom she had outfitted with a pair of non-prescription reading glasses. When he left the church compound he told the leaders, “Never have I seen such love as in this place.”
As I’ve reflected over that experience, I’ve become more convinced than ever that the confrontational approach to evangelism is lacking. No, I’m not against passing out a Gospel tract or placing bumper stickers on your car. I’m not against going door to door. In confrontational evangelism, the encounter is unique. It’s usually brief, often intense, and frequently scary. Then it’s over. Many have used that approach successfully. Thank God for them! But nothing is more powerful, in my opinion, than a Spirit-filled individual targeting his or her gifts to meet the needs of others. In southern Ethiopia you couldn’t buy a pair of reading glasses if you had a million dollars. They are not to be had. But when Becky gave that man a free pair of glasses, and when she told them where they had come from — not from the U.S. government, not from the Ethiopian government, but from people in America who love Jesus — and when she told him, “Every time you wear these glasses you will be reminded that Jesus knows you and loves you,” she threw a redemptive switch in that man’s mind.
I can’t overemphasize this point. Evangelism is essentially a lifestyle — a lifestyle of sharing what we have with others with a view to them realizing that there is a Savior, a Lord, a Redeemer named Jesus who loves them. I encourage all of us to develop this capacity to draw others to Christ. Do it however the Spirit leads you. But do it with a gentle, loving spirit. After all, as Becky emphasized in her talk, people of all stripes need to see and feel love. If we don’t have a genuine love for other people, we have probably forfeited our right to evangelize them!
Meditate on that last line for a few minutes: “If we don’t have a genuine love for other people, we have probably forfeited our right to evangelize them.
I think this is especially true for those times when we use a more “confrontational approach.” What do you think?
Who is my neighbor?
We still like to ask that question, don’t we? We don’t want “that guy” to be our neighbor, do we?
One weekend, my friend Adam at darnellia taught from Matthew 22:34-40 about loving God and loving neighbor. When he returned home, he found out that “that guy” was his neighbor physically. (You know what I mean by “that guy”… the person who really rubs you the wrong way.) You can read about it in his post “A stunning (though elementary, really) revelation.”
Lately, I’m beginning to understand that anyone who God brings into my life is my neighbor. Even “that guy” or “that girl”… yes, even them… perhaps especially them.
Everyday meal or Lord’s Supper?
Arthur at “the voice of one crying out in suburbia” asks a great question in his post “Which one is the Lord’s Supper?” He says:
We were running really late this morning and arrived just in time for the passing of the loaf and the little cups of grape juice. I was kind of relieved that we made it for the Lord’s Supper. Then after the morning gathering, we hung around as the church and had lunch, breaking bread together and being in joyous fellowship.
Which one was the Lord’s Supper as we see it in the Bible?
His short post and question reminded me of something that I had read recently in Witness to the Gospel: The Theology of Acts (edited by I. Howard Marshall and David Peterson) in David Peterson’s chapter called “The Worship of the New Community.” He writes:
It might be argued that the reference to the meeting of the Christians in Troas ‘on the first day of the week’ in order to break bread is a pointer to a formal Sunday gathering for the purposes of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7). But Paul’s discussion with them occupied their attention until after midnight and again after the meal, suggesting that it was a very unstructured and informal meeting. When Luke mentions that Paul finally broke bread (perhaps on behalf of everyone present), he adds ‘and when he had eaten, he engaged in much further conversation until dawn’ (v. 11). It is really quite artificial to suggest that the meal by which Paul satisfied himself after such a long time was somehow distinct from ‘the breaking of bread’. Since Christian meetings were largely held in the context of private homes, it is natural that they expressed their fellowship in terms of eating together.
In my judgement, therefore, ‘the breaking of bread’ in Acts cannot be taken to refer to a liturgical celebration distinct from the everyday meals that believers shared together. Such meals were doubtless ‘full of religious content because of the recollection of the table fellowship which Jesus had with his followers during his earthly ministry.’ (Behm, TDNT, III:730) The reality of Christian fellowship was expressed from the earliest times in the ordinary activity of eating together…
Eating together was a way of expressing the special relationship which believers had with one another in Christ and the special responsibility to one another involved in that relationship. These meals may well have been informal expressions of what was later more structured and organized. (pg 392-393)
So, to answer Arthur’s question (Which one was the Lord’s Supper as we see it in the Bible?), I would have to say, “I don’t know.”
In fact, I was talking with a brother about this last Sunday. He asked about celebrating the Lord’s Supper weekly – and I’m definitely in favor of this. But, I then asked him a follow-up question, “Why not celebrate the Lord’s Supper daily? Or at every meal?” This seems to be what Peterson is alluding to. Every meal was considered the “Lord’s Supper” because of their fellowship and their focus on Jesus, his earthly ministry, and his continued ministry among them.
Spurgeon recognized something similar. In a sermon on Acts 2:42-47, he said, “[T]heir own meals were so mixed and mingled with the Lord’s Supper that to this day the most cautious student of the Bible cannot tell when they stopped eating their common meals, and when they began eating the Supper of the Lord.”
I’ll be honest, my “common meals” are not at that point yet. But, I think that is the direction we should be heading. Wouldn’t it be great (perhaps even reminiscent of what we find in Scripture) if we ate every meal as the Lord’s Meal? Why don’t we?
Reminder: 21st Century Church Blogging/Essay Contest
If you haven’t started writing your entry for Energion Publication’s Blogging/Essay Contest, why not start today? The topic of the essay/blog post should be “What should a congregation following Jesus Christ in ministry look like?.” The deadline is November 2.
I’m one of the judges, and each entry will be judged in these 5 areas:
- Biblically rooted
- Historically aware
- Complete
- Clear and Concise
- Overall impression, including appearance, discussion generated, and anything one of the judges wants to include
Winners will receive free books and gift cards.
So, again, if you haven’t started writing your essay/post yet, why not start today? And, hop over to the publisher’s book site to let them know that you’ll be taking part.
More about “obeying” leaders
Rick at “Dry Creek Chronicles” begins to discuss Hebrews 13:17 in his post “Word study: peithÅ.” Concerning the usage of the verb occasionally translated “obey”, Rick says:
There’s a lot in there about persuasion, trust, confidence, and good will, and even the one mention of obey comes wrapped in “listen to, obey, yield to, comply with.†It’s far afield from the understanding of obey I have in its usual English usage, e.g. obedience to a commander or a parent.
Rick is coming to the same conclusion that I’ve reached. (See my post “Obey and Submit – Hebrews 13:17.”)
Rick also lists every verse in the New Testament which includes this verb. Its a very interesting list, to say the least.
No Senior Pastor? Can it work?
My friend Maël from “The Adventures of Maël & Cindy” has (finally!) completed his series examining various view of the “senior pastor”. His final post is called “The Senior Pastor – Fourth View: final comments.”
So what are the four views of “the senior pastor”? Maël describes them in his first post in the series:
- The senior pastor is the leader and has more authority (decision-making responsibility) than other elders/pastors.
- The senior pastor is the leader but has the same authority has other elders/pastors.
- “First among equals” – the natural leader comes to the top because of function and gifting, not title.
- There is no human senior pastor.
In his last post, Maël makes some final comments about this fourth view – no human senior pastor. By the way, Maël knows from experience that this can and does “work,” because he was one of our elders… and we do not have a human senior pastor, nor do we have a “first among equals.”
Blogging/Essay Contest – 21st Century Church
This information is copied from The Jesus Paradigm site:
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Energion Publications will host a blogging/essay contest. Entries are open immediately and will close November 2, 2009 when Dr. David Alan Black’s new book Christian Archy is released. Judging will take place during the first week of November, and winners will be announced by November 16.
To enter, simply write an essay in answer to the question: What should a congregation following Jesus Christ in ministry look like?
If you are a blogger, post the essay on your blog and link back to this post, then also e-mail pubs@energion.com just to make sure. We will add your post to the list of those participating. If you are not a blogger, e-mail your essay in either Word document or Open Document Text (OpenOffice) format to pubs@energion.com and indicate in the e-mail that you are entering the 21st century church contest.
Entries will be judged in the following areas, with each area receiving a score of from one to ten:
- Biblically rooted
- Historically aware
- Complete
- Clear and Concise
- Overall impression, including appearance, discussion generated, and anything one of the judges wants to include
Note that 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 may conflict in the approach of some people. That is why there will be three judges, who come from different theological traditions:
Alan Knox (The Assembling of the Church), a doctoral candidate at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Geoffrey Lentz (GeoffreyLentz.com), associate pastor of First United Methodist Church in Pensacola, FL, doctoral student at Drew University, and author of The Gospel According to Saint Luke: A Participatory Study Guide.
Elgin Hushbeck, Jr., author of Evidence for the Bible, Christianity and Secularism, and Preserving Democracy, (all from Energion Publications), and owner of Aletheia Consulting, Inc. Elgin is a member of a Christian Reformed congregation.
Each judge will rate the entries independently. One of our copy editors will also rate the essays, but that rating will only be used to break a tie. Judges will not consider whether or not you use or quote from Energion Publications products or web sites in your post.
The prizes are:
First prize – Free copy of The Jesus Paradigm + two other Energion Publications books, with a $25 gift card for Barnes & Noble
Second prize – Free copy of The Jesus Paradigm + one other Energion Publications book, with a $15 gift card for Barnes & Noble
Third prize – Free copy of The Jesus Paradigm with a $10 gift card for Barnes & Noble
(If you have previously received and reviewed a copy of The Jesus Paradigm you may choose any other book in our catalog as an alternative.)
All other participants get the joy of participating in the discussion, and hopefully a fair amount of link love. All posts regarding this contest will be cross-posted to JesusParadigm.com, and you can comment/link there to enter as well. Feel free to participate in the discussion even if you don’t want to enter the contest.
Note: All prizes will be awarded. Prize winners have no obligation to Energion Publications other than the necessary steps to enter the contest. Judges will be instructed to disregard use or non-use of Energion Publications books and web sites in judging the entries.
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I will not be participating in this contest, since I’ll be judging. However, I encourage all of my readers and fellow bloggers to participate!
(NOTE: When you post your essay, make sure to link back to The Jesus Paradigm post and send an email to pubs@energion.com.)
More than outreach
I love the name of Stephen’s blog: “Beyond Outreach.” Also, he hit a home run with his post “We ministered to them.” Here is an excerpt:
“I ministered to you” is condescending. I’m up here and you’re down here, lucky to receive whatever I am giving you. It creates an invisible social barrier that tells the person that they can not relate on the same level. It is also focused on what you are doing, and not on knowing the person. Many times this is just exactly what both parties really want. Both afraid of what kind of involvement really knowing the other person might require. It’s scary because the deeper you go, the dirtier you can get. But only in the fleshing out of a relationship, however awkward it may be, can real discipleship begin.
Consider the way of of the Savior.
Jesus went to the homes of people with bad reputations and spent time eating and drinking with them. He also went to the homes of proper religious leaders and shared meals there. He sometimes spent the night at the home of friends in Bethany and Capernaum. He even slept in a boat of fishermen. He sat and talked with a man that was considered a monster. When he travelled through Samaria he drank their water and slept in their villages when they let him. He slept outside many, many times…
So what does this mean for us? It means taking the risk and taking the initiative to begin a new relationship with someone we don’t know. It means humbling ourselves enough to make a sacrifice of our time and our privacy. It means placing everyone, even unseemly people on the same level as ourselves. It means going beyond being inconvenienced to changing the direction of our week, or month, or year… or lifetime.
There’s more to the post. Jump over to Stephen’s blog and read the whole thing. Then, join me in considering how often I attempt to “minister to them” and how often I’m actually willing to sacrifice of my time and privacy, among other things, to actually get to know people.
A contrite heart and a life of good works
The title of this post comes from a quote by John Sailhamer concerning Isaiah 58. I found the quote in the very good post by Mark from “unlikely christians” called “Talk is Cheap.” This is the full quote from Sailhamer:
The kind of repentance God required of his people is a contrite heart and a life of good works. There was little value in fasting if one’s life did not reflect compassion and obedience to the will of God.
Then, Mark replied with this:
What good is singing a song (hymn? chorus? psalm?), attending church, praying, fasting, or (even) reading my Bible if my actions and attitudes do not legitimate these practices. Thank God for grace to try again, for a holy dissatisfaction regarding my unholy life, and disdain at my hypocrisy.
I can remember recognizing my own hypocrisy. I remember clearly recognizing that I could sing a great song, attend church meetings regularly, pray for hours, fast, and read my Bible consistently… but my life was not filled with good works. Why? Because I had been taught (and I had bought into the teaching) that these things were the good works that God wants. These things are good, but they are only the beginning of living a life demonstrating the love of God. (By the way, I’m not saying that I’ve arrived. God continues to show me my own hypocrisy.)
We gotta get outta this place
My friend Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” has written a very thought-provoking article called “Gotta Get Out of the House“. In one part, he says:
Most church plants begin in homes. The reason is simple: most church plants are small and therefore need little space. Over time, the hope is that as the church shares the gospel, people will come to Christ as Lord and Savior. This will in most cases cause the church to grow in number.
This is where the strange thing happens. There is an almost automatic and unquestioned assumption that the church must leave the home and get some sort of larger facility. What is implied in this assumption is that the house is not sufficient. The strange part in all this is that the house was sufficient for the church in the New Testament.
Read the entire article. Eric makes some good points. He is not saying that all churches should meet in homes, but that homes should be considered a valid and perhaps beneficial option.
In our little group of believers, we will soon be dealing with this question. If more people continue to meet with us, then our new meeting place will be too small. There are at least two ways we could approach this problem:
1) Find a bigger meeting place.
2) Have more than one meeting.
If we choose to have more than one meeting, keeping the meetings small, we will then have another issue to consider: how do we maintain fellowship (church) between the different meetings (church)? Can we?