More ready to submit than to impose
About 1 1/2 years ago, I wrote a post called “More ready to submit than to impose.” The post was in response to a book by Lesslie Newbigin. It seems that in our current “church order,” leader impose on the freedoms of others. Meanwhile, Newbigin says it should be just the opposite. Anyway, I thought this would be a fitting end to our week-long discussion on spiritual gifts and serving others.
—————————————-
More ready to submit than to impose
I recently read Lesslie Newbigin’s book The Household of God (Friendship Press, 1954). Kärkkäinen describes Newbigin’s ecclesiology as a “missionary ecclesiology” – “The new conciliar understanding of mission is based on the idea that the essential nature of the church is missionary, rather than mission being a task given to the church. (Velli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Introduction to Ecclesiology, Downers Grove: IVP, 2002, pg. 151).
However, Newbigin does not begin his book with mission. Instead, he begins with the essence or nature of the church:
We are to be speaking about the Church, and it is necessary at the outset to say that this means a society of human beings, which—so far as those still living in the flesh are concerned—is a visible community among the other human communities. The question, ‘What are its boundaries?,’ is part of the question we have to discuss, but just for that reason it is important to make clear that we are speaking of a society which has discernible boundaries. We are not speaking of an abstract noun, or of an invisible platonic idea… We are called to recognize and join ourselves to God’s visible congregation here on earth. This congregation is truly known only to faith, because it is constituted in and by the Holy Spirit. (19-20)
According to Newbigin, the Spirit plays an essential role in the constitution, nature, and task of the church. The Spirit primarily functions through his abiding presence:
The Holy Spirit is now [in contrast with what was described in the OT] no more an occasional visitant to a favored individual, but the abiding and indwelling principle of life in a fellowship. The supreme gift of the Spirit is not the spectacular power by which an individual may gain preeminence, but the humble and self-effacing love by which the body is built up and knit together. (115)
Finally, the Spirit also functions during the meeting of the church, not only through the gifts that he gives to those he indwells, but also – and primarily – through the manner of life of the believers who are meeting together:
In the building up of the common life of the body there will be need for the due operation of the principles both of order and of freedom. Where these clash with one another there will be room for honest difference of opinion, and there will need for a common seeking of the Spirit’s guidance. But the mark of the man in Christ will be that he is more eager to claim freedom for his brother than for himself, and more ready to submit himself to good order than to impose it on his brother. In any case the fundamental principle will always be the love which seeks not its own good, but the common good of the body. (116)
I believe this is one of the most best explanations of the work of the Spirit among the body of Christ while the church meets! When the church meets, if each individual – or any one particular individual – is seeking to exercise his or her own spiritual gifts without first considering and giving preference to other present, then this is a clear indication that there is a lack of “a common seeking of the Spirit’s guidance.”
It seems that the mark of the church today is that some people have freedom to exercise their gifts – and are even required to by the church – while others do not have that freedom. It also seems that very little “submission” is done when it comes to spiritual gifts. Certain people exercise their gifts and impose those gifts on others every time the church meets. Thus, some claim and even demand freedom for themselves, while imposing “order” on others at the same time. This is backwards!
In fact, I believe that the common, traditional way the church meets – one or a few people exercising their gifts week after week while the others watch or listen – is detrimental to the spiritual health of the church. In order for us to seek the “common good of the body” we (especially leaders – who are supposed to be mature) must submit to others and allow the Spirit to work through them – even if their “offering” is less than “excellent”.
Read and ponder this sentence from Newbigin one more time: “But the mark of the man in Christ will be that he is more eager to claim freedom for his brother than for himself, and more ready to submit himself to good order than to impose it on his brother.” May God change us – especially us leaders – so that we are more ready to submit to others than to impose ourselves on others!
The Jesus Paradigm is on sale at Energion Direct
According to the Energion Publications website, Dave Black’s book The Jesus Paradigm will be on sale beginning sometime tonight (at least by midnight) through Friday at midnight for $10.00. You can go to the Energion Direct site for The Jesus Paradigm to order the book. And, if you haven’t read it, then order it, wait eagerly for it, and read it.
Range and Diversity of Contributions in Church Meetings
For Paul what happens at church gatherings originates in the Spirit and flows through the whole membership for the benefit of all. Everyone is caught up in this divine operations (1 Cor. 12:7). The process itself is described through the use of active verbs to stress its dynamic character: contributions to the meetings are “energized,” “manifested” and “distributed” by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7, 11). He uses a variety of nouns to capture the diversity of what takes place. It is an exercise of “gifts” or “presents,” a variety of “services” or “ministries,” a range of “activities” or “operations” (1 Cor. 12:4-6). The concrete speech events and activities that result from this are listed, with differences, three times in Paul’s letters (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-11; Eph. 4:11-13). These lists highlight the versatility and diversity of the Spirit’s working. Since, for Paul, everyone in church is under an obligation to discern the validity of contributions to the meeting, “liturgy” is fundamentally the people’s work. It is not in the hands of one person, a leadership team or a worship committee, even if certain people play a more prominent role in shaping what takes place, for example, those with greater prophetic or spiritual discernment (1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Cor. 14:30). (R. Banks, “Church Order and Government,” in Dictionary of Paul and his Letters (Edited by G. Hawthorne, R. Martin, and D. Reid; Downers Grove: IVP, 1993), p. 133)
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.”
The ancient synagogue was open to all
The congregation was directly involved in all aspects of synagogue ritual, whether scriptural readings or prayer service. This stands in sharp contrast to the Jerusalem Temple setting, where people entering the sacred precincts might never witness the sacrificial proceedings unless they themselves were offering a sacrifice. In many cases, visitors to the Temple remained in the outer Women’s Court without partaking in or viewing what transpired in the inner Israelite or Priestly Courts. Moreover, non-Jews were explicitly banned from the Temple precincts under penalty of death (inscriptions giving due warning were set up around the sacred precincts), whereas the synagogue was open to all; in many places, particularly in the Diaspora, non-Jews attended the synagogue regularly and in significant numbers. (Lee I. Levine, The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000, page 2)
More Gospel, Community, and Sermons
Last week, I quoted Tim Chester and Steve Timmis’ book Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community (see my post “Another Word About the Sermon“). When I found that quote, I also found that I had marked these two passages from the same book:
James says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). We must not only listen to the word – we must put it into practice. Churches are full of people who love listening to sermons. But sermons count for nothing in God’s sight. We rate churches by whether they have good teaching or not. But James says great teaching counts for nothing. What counts is the practice of the word. What counts is teaching that leads to changed lives. We must never make good teaching an end in itself. Our aim must be good learning and good practice. And that is a radically different way of evaluating how word-centered we are. (pg. 116)
Let us make a bold statement: truth cannot be taught effectively outside of close relationships. The reason is that truth is not primarily formal; it is dynamic. The truth of the gospel becomes compelling as we see it transforming lives in the rub of daily, messy relationships. (pg. 188)
Think about it this way: our teaching by mouth (whether lecture, dialogue, discussion, or other method) is ineffective if it is not accompanied by teaching by example and practice. I can teach by mouth, “Love one another,” and I can even get everyone to memorize the command, “Love one another.” But, neither of these indicate that I have truly taught “Love one another” or that anyone has truly learned “Love one another.”
My words “Love one another” must be accompanied by real actions demonstrating “Love one another”. Note that when I said “teaching by example and practice” above, I did NOT mean giving verbal illustrations. Verbal illustrations are simply another way to teaching by mouth. Instead, I must teach people with my life. So, it is imperative that my teaching be done in the context of real, life-sharing relationships.
I’ve offered several examples from Paul in the past, particularly from 1 Thessalonians 2:8-10 and 2 Timothy 3:10-11. However, there is also a very powerful example from Jesus in the Gospel of John:
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him… When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. (John 13:3-5, 12-15 ESV)
Jesus taught with his words and with his actions. We need to do likewise.
Remember that Chester and Timmis said, “Our aim must be good learning and good practice. And that is a radically different way of evaluating how word-centered we are.” How would we measure “good learning and good practice”?
Another Word About the Sermon
I was talking with someone recently about the book Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008). By the way, if you haven’t read this book, you should. Seriously.
My friend mentioned that the authors seem to have a view of teaching and the sermon that is similar to mine. I had forgotten what Chester and Timmis said about the sermon, so I looked it up. This is what they wrote:
All too often people equate being word-centered with being sermon-centered. People argue for sermons by arguing for the centrality of God’s word, assuming that the word and the sermon are synonymous in Christian practice. It assumes God’s word can only be taught through sermons. Or people assume that the alternative to sermons is anarchy or relativism with no place for the Spirit-gifted teacher of God’s word, as if Spirit-gifted teachers can only exercise their gift through forty-five-minute monologues.
But our concern is not to reject the sermon. Monologue continues to have its place as one of the ways in which the Bible can and should be taught. It stands alongside other complementary methods such as dialogue and discussion. Being word-centered is not less than being sermon-centered. Our contention is that being word-centered is so much more than being sermon-centered. (pg 114)
And, after reading this passage, I agreed with my friend. This is very close to my own view of the sermon and teaching. I would only add that monologue only teaching (especially where the same person always gives the monologue) can tend to make people teacher-centered.
I would also add that teaching must be more than teaching people what the Bible says. Whether our teaching is monologue, dialogue, or discussion, it must move beyond these methodologies to include all of life. As another friend of mine taught me, “Our teaching needs a context.” That context is the way that we live our lives.
If we hear someone give a monologue week after week, but we do not know how the person lives his life, then our understanding will be limited. I think this can also be said of dialogue or discussion based teaching.
Of course, we see this in Scripture, especially when Paul encourages his readers to remember his life and conduct as well as his words. (For example, see Philippians 4:9, 1 Thessalonians 2:8-12, 2 Timothy 3:10-11.)
So, whatever method of teaching we use (teaching by speaking, that is), that teaching should also include shared life experiences… and many shared life experiences. We should know one another and live with one another. Otherwise, our words will be much less effective – perhaps even ineffective.
First century synagogues in their Greco-Roman context
By the time of Jesus there were synagogues wherever there were communities of Jews in the [Roman] empire, both in Palestine and abroad. In many respects these were not unlike the gathering places of like-minded individuals among non-Jews, where certain religious activities occurred and prayers were said. Greco-Roman “associations” were commonly organized, for example, for workers of the same trade in a locale, who might share a range of common interests. And it was not unusual to find other associations organized for the purpose of periodic social gatherings, where members would pool their funds to provide ample food and drink and, perhaps strangely to the modern observer, provide, through a reserve, a proper burial for their deceased members.
Rarely, though, would such organizations, whether trade associations or funeral clubs, include men, women, and children; rarely would they meet together every week; and rarely would they devote themselves principally to the purpose of prayer and discussion of sacred traditions. To this extent, Jewish synagogues were distinctive. (Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 , 37-38)
Toward a Bigger Church Contest Reminder
Last week, in my post “New Contest: Toward a Bigger Church,” I introduced a new contest that I’m running on my blog.
The purpose of this contest is to answer the following question: How do we reach across the man-made boundaries that are currently keeping the church “small�
If you would like to take part in this contest, send me an email at aknox@sebts.edu explaining how you would reach across man-made boundaries in order demonstrate and maintain relational unity with other brothers and sisters in Christ. You can write about actual experiences that you’ve had, or you can write about suggestions to help the church move toward relational unity.
I will accept email contest entries through Monday, April 18, 2010. That gives you three weeks to write and send in your entry. The person who writes the winning entry will receive a free copy of Armstrong’s book Your Church is Too Small.
New Contest: Toward a Bigger Church
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed John H. Armstrong’s book Your Church is Too Small. Later that week, I wrote a post called “Taking steps toward relational unity.” For the last few years, I’ve been learning that the church is bigger than the “local church.” And, that “bigger church” should be noticeable and recognizable to the world. Our unity and our love for each other is our best apologetic.
So, how do we see the church as “bigger.” By a “bigger church,” I’m not talking about building a larger building or increasing the number of people that are meeting together. Instead, I’m talking about real, relational unity with brothers and sisters from different local churches and different denominations, showing the world that we truly are one in Christ.
How do we do that? How do we reach across the man-made boundaries that are currently keeping the church “small”? The purpose of this contest is to answer that question.
If you would like to take part in this contest, send me an email at aknox@sebts.edu explaining how you would reach across man-made boundaries in order demonstrate and maintain relational unity with other brothers and sisters in Christ. You can write about actual experiences that you’ve had, or you can write about suggestions to help the church move toward relational unity.
I will accept email contest entries through Monday, April 18, 2010. That gives you three weeks to write and send in your entry. The person who writes the winning entry will receive a free copy of Armstrong’s book Your Church is Too Small.
I will also publish contest entries on my blog. If you want your entry to be anonymous, please let me know. If you want me to link back to your blog or website, let me know that also.
Unity is too important to remain a concept. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we must maintain (and not hinder) the unity that we have in Jesus Christ. I hope this contest will be a way that we can encourage one another in that unity.