Labels, Adjectives, and Division
Assemblies of God church… Lutheran church… Baptist church… Presbyterian church… Methodist church… Anglican church… Catholic church…
Denominational church… nondenominational church…
Evangelical church… Liberal church… Orthodox church… Conservative church… Emerging church… Missional church…
Mega-church… house church… seeker church… simple church… cell church…
Traditional church… Progressive church… Cutting-edge church… Alternative worship church…
I have read that these labels are very important. The labels and adjectives tell people something about the people that form that particular church. But, to whom are these labels and adjectives meaningful?
Are the labels meaningful for nonbelievers? For the most part, no. There are some people who do not follow Jesus Christ, but who nevertheless know the difference between the various flavors of the many Christian denominations. Some unbelievers probably even know the slight differences between the various types of Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, etc.
But, primarily, these labels and adjectives are used to distinguish one type of Christian from another type of Christian using terms and descriptions that are only meaningful to other Christians. Thus, these labels and adjectives tend to divide God’s family into various groups.
When people use these labels (Please, notice that I said “when”) to exclude brothers and sisters because they do not fit the “label”, then those people are being divisive and are not maintaining the unity of the family of God. Usually, this occurs because people want to congregate with those who are like them. This is not scriptural. We are part of the body of Christ with everyone who has been indwelled with the Spirit of God, whether or not they look like us, talk like us, smell like us, think like us, do like us, etc.
Excluding people because of labels also removes the responsibility and privilege of discipleship from believers. Instead of accepting others who are different from us (like Jesus accepted us) and teaching them how to walk with our Master, we exclude them from fellowship. Yes, discipleship can be difficult and messy this way. But, is anything else really discipleship?
Look at the variety of people that Jesus called disciples: fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, a friend of the high priest, a thief, even women… unclean women… prostitutes. Jesus welcomed them and encouraged them to follow him. What would have happened if Jesus had excluded people based on labels? He would have ended up with a group of Pharisees following him… and the Pharisees would have been very pleased with this.
The next time you hear a follower of Christ referred to by a label, remember that the person is your brother or sister. You are part of the family of God with them. You need that person and that person needs you. Yes, teach them… but also, listen to them. You may find that God wants to use that person – the person that you might intend to exclude – in order to help you grow closer to him.
It is dangerous to ask "Why?"
It is interesting, and sometimes dangerous, to ask why believers traditionally do certain things:
Why do we say that the church is people and people are important, but spend so much money on buildings?
Why is the place where the church meets called a “sanctuary”, “house of God”, or “church”?
When believers meet together, why is it called a “worship service”?
Why is a piece of bread and a thimble of juice and fifteen minutes at the end of a “service” called “the Lord’s Supper”?
Why do men wear suits and women wear dresses when believers meet together on Sunday mornings with other believers?
Why do believers typically bow their heads and close their eyes when they pray?
Why do we use a phrase like “pastoral authority”?
Why do we put all of our “offering” in a joint account, then decide later what to do with it?
Why is the “preacher” or “pastor” allowed to speak when the church meets but no one else is allowed?
Why are some people called “Reverend”?
Why do we need a special “family life center” for sports activities when there are perfectly good community centers?
Why do we call each other “brother” and “sister” when we barely know one another?
Why do we spend one minute shaking hands and call it “fellowship”?
Why do we spend so much time arguing about things that are not in Scripture when we are not obeying what is in Scripture?
Why do we think that God speaks clearest through a sermon?
When we meet with other believers, why do we spend most of our time looking at one person and the back of everyone else’s heads?
Why are only certain believers called “ministers”?
Why do we emphasize, teach, and demand obedience to these things (and others) which are not found in Scripture – and some are even contrary to Scripture – while we de-emphasize, ignore, or explain away other things such as discipleship, fellowship, community, or the “one anothers” which are emphasized in Scripture?
Why do we care about the church?
A couple of days ago, I asked you, my readers, to introduce yourselves to me and to the other readers. I also asked you to answer this question: “Why are you interested in the church?” (By the way, it is not too late to introduce yourself and respond to this question. See “Please allow me to introduce myself“.) Several responded. Since the responses about the church encouraged and challenged me, I thought I would take this opportunity to compile an edited version here. I am not attempting to put words into anyone’s mouth with this post. Instead, I’m using the responses of my readers to help express my own thoughts. Feel free to continue adding your own thoughts as well.
So… why do we care about the church?
God has adopted us into his family. He adopted us completely by his grace and not because of anything that we have done or think or will do or will think. He demonstrated his love for his children by coming to earth as a human, teaching us how to relate to the Father and to one another, living a sinless life, dieing on behalf of our sins, rising from the dead, and continuing to make intercession for us.
We are now children of God, part of God’s family – a present family, as well as an eternal family. God has confirmed our relationship with him by indwelling us with his Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit we relate to God, to other members of God’s family, and with the world around us. The Spirit prompts us to move toward God in faith and obedience, and to move toward one another in love and unity.
Jesus gathers his followers (the Father’s children) together into an assembly of God’s family through the work of the Spirit. This Spirit-assembled group is the church. As the church lives and works and loves and cares and laughs and cries and learns and grows, it becomes a community – a people that share a common existence in God through Jesus Christ enabled by the Spirit.
The church sometimes operates within organizations and structures and models and methods and programs, but these are not the church. God’s children continually follow the Spirit so that organizations and structures and models and methods and programs do not displace the church.
We recognize differences in one another, but work to maintain the unity of the one body, one faith because their is only one Spirit, one Lord, and one Father. We do not criticize one another, but we do teach one another. We do not ridicule one another, but we do attempt to understand one another. We do not exclude one another, but we do accept one another. We are family.
The children of God do not simply meet together, but much more importantly, they live together as family. They spend time with one another and encourage one another to grow in maturity in Christ (since none of them are perfect) through their words and their deeds. They recognize that the Spirit is working in their midst and desire to see one another exhibiting the fruit of his presence through demonstrations of love and good works.
These demonstrations of love and good works are directed toward brothers and sisters in Christ, but also toward those outside of God’s family. The Spirit of God works through the Father’s children in order to carry out God’s mission on earth. This mission is the Spirit-led and Spirit-enabled responsibility of every child of God – individually and corporately.
Individually or together, in small groups or in large, we recognize only one Lord, one Master, one Shepherd. We belong to our Lord and submit as his servants and servants of one another. We do not promote ourselves, but humble ourselves. We accept that when we work and when we serve and when we teach and when we give and when we make disciples and when we get our hands dirty – when we are following our Master, we are simply servants doing the work of servants, and we desire and deserve nothing.
We go when our Master says, “Go.” We speak when our Master gives us the words. We serve when our Master provides the strength. At other times, we wait for our Master, recognizing that we are nothing and can do nothing apart from him. But, we also know that He loves us – not because of anything in us, but because of who he is.
Why do we care about the church? Because the people who gather together are our family. Because God loves them and cares about them. Because Jesus died for them. Because the Spirit indwells them. Because we need them.
Wherever He Leads…
Neil at “Christ in Y’all” has written an excellent piece called “Following Jesus“. He recounts how the disciples who lived with Jesus followed him all around the area of Palestine. Then he says:
But is it really any different for us? We don’t wander Palestine on foot, following an itinerant preacher up and down dusty roads. But as I really try to know the Lord Jesus well, I find that He never stagnates because He never sits still. The way I knew Him in the past remains precious to me, but I know in my heart that there’s always more. There are more places He wants to take me. There are more sides to Him that I can know. But I should expect a journey into the unfamiliar.
I know that there’s something in human nature that craves the familiar. The controlled. The predictable. I’ve got that in me, too. But imagine living in a vast and beautiful territory for years without ever leaving a one square mile plot. What a waste that would be. That’s what God is like. He means for us to discover those valleys and mountains, rivers, and deserts.
Do you find yourself craving the safe, the familiar, the stagnant, the controlled? Is this a desire birthed by the Spirit of God or by your own spirit?
This is a very challenging post. Are you following Jesus? Where is he leading you today?
What position do you play?
A few days ago, our son started playing football. He has wanted to play football for several years now. This has been difficult because we homeschool, and the local schools do not allow homeschool students to take part in school sponsored athletic activities. Last Spring, we heard about a local Pop Warner league, so we registered our son to play.
On the first or second day of practice, the coach called all the boys together and started talking to them about positions. He asked the boys which position is the most important position on the team. Several of the boys said, “Quarterback”, but the coach corrected them. He said, “There is not ‘most important’ position on a football team. Every position is just as important as another position. If we have the most talented quarterback of any team in our league, but our other positions are not played well, then our team will not succeed.”
Wow… if only the church could understand this philosophy. We place so much emphasis on those “special positions” – those “up front positions” – like “ministers” and “staff” and “pastors” and “elders” – that we forget that every believer is just as important as any other for the proper functioning and growth of the body of Christ.
By the way, this is not just good teamwork philosophy; this is scriptural. For example, consider this passage from Ephesians:
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV)
Notice that, according to Paul, the church builds itself up in love when the whole body (that would be every follower of Christ) works together as they are equipped. In fact, Paul stresses the necessity for every believer to work together four times in verse 16: 1) whole body, 2) joined and held together, 3) every joint with which it is equipped, and 4) each part is working properly.
But, what about those unimportant believers – you know, those who never seem to “get with the program”, who never seem to “carry their fair share of the load”, who never seem to “get involved and get committed”. Does the growth of the body of Christ depend on “those people”? Yes! When we discount certain believers – when we give up on them – then we are hobbling the body of Christ – we are shackling the church.
Every believer is important. And, those believers who we consider less important – less gifted – less able – less anything – God gives greater honor:
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. (1 Corinthians 12:22-25 ESV)
It’s time for the church to stop honoring “Christian celebrities”, and recognize that each believer is important and necessary to the proper working of the church of God. God has placed the members in the church according to his will (1 Cor. 12:18). When we decide that one member is not as important or not necessary, then we are working against God. When we place one member above other in importance or necessity, then we are working against God.
For many, many years, the church has trained the quarterback and allowed him to run all the plays, while, for the most part, ignoring other members of the team. Meanwhile, the quarterbacks have basked in the accolades of the crowd, accepting the superior position offered by the church, hoping to be traded to the next Super Bowl team. A football team cannot succeed if every position is not played well. A church – the body of Christ – will not grow as God intends if every member is not recognized as important and necessary and if every member is not functioning as God has gifted him or her.
Perhaps it is time for a few quarterbacks to find their place on the line, helping the linemen in their responsibilities. Or perhaps they can split out wide and help the receivers run their routes. Or perhaps… just perhaps… they should sit out a few plays, and allow God to use others as he has equipped. Those people are part of the church for a reason.
What position do you play?
Acting upon our beliefs
I’ve watched the movie The Patriot several times. I wouldn’t consider this my favorite movie, but I do enjoy it. And, before you comment, yes, I know about the historical inaccuracies. I guess it is good that I enjoy watching it, since it seems to be showing every time I turn on the television. My most memorable viewing happened in Nicaragua, where we watched part of The Patriot in Spanish.
This weekend my son and I watched The Patriot again. This time, there was a certain speech that caught my attention. Gabriel walked into a church building and asked for volunteers for the South Carolina militia. Everyone complained about the danger involved in signing up with the militia. Then, Anne reminded them that they had been talking highly about liberty and freedom. This is part of what she said:
Anne: Mr. Hardwick, how many times have I heard you speak of freedom at my father’s table? Half the men in this church, including you, Father, and you, Reverend, are as ardent patriots as I. Will you now, when you are needed most, stop at only words? Is that the sort of men you are? I ask only that you act upon the beliefs of which you have so strongly spoken and in which you so strongly believe.
Now, I don’t want to discuss liberty or freedom, nor do I wish to discuss the ethics of war. However, I think that all believers should think very carefully about what Anne says in this speech.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we talk a good talk. We talk about God – his person and his attributes, etc. We talk about Jesus Christ – his divinity, his work, etc. We talk about the Holy Spirit – his work in soteriology, sanctification, gifting, etc. We talk about the church and eschatology. We talk about loving God and loving other people. We talk about justice and mercy and forgiveness and compassion.
But, do we do more than talk? When you ask the world outside of “Christianity”, we get a very different picture of believers than if you ask the church. Perhaps we can learn to talk less, and do more.
How many times recently have you had a discussion about loving the unlovable? How many times have you actually done something to demonstrate that you love the unlovable?
How many times recently have you talked about showing mercy and kindness to someone who is in need? How many times have you actually helped someone that was in need?
How many times recently have you professed the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ? How many times have you proclaimed that to your neighbors and friends?
How many times recently have you discussed the importance of making disciples? How much time have you actually spent discipling someone?
As Anne says in The Patriot, “I ask only that you act upon the beliefs of which you have so strongly spoken and in which you so strongly believe.”
The Bourne Christianity
Yesterday, my son and I watched The Bourne Ultimatum with a friend. (There are no spoilers in this post.) We had previously watched the other two movies in the trilogy: The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy. Throughout this trilogy, Jason Bourne suffers from amnesia and is trying to remember his identity while evading those who want him dead.
It seems that many Christians suffer from this same problem. They have forgotten who they are. They do not remember their true identity in Christ. Instead of living an abundant life connected to God through Christ, indwelled and empowered by the Spirit, they live a life of ritual and tradition. Instead of growing in grace, they learn religion.
While there are some who prefer the chains of ritual, I have seen more and more followers of Christ remember who they. It is a beautiful transformation out of the bonds of religion and into the freedom of Christ.
Twenty-somethings and discipleship…
Margaret (my wife) and I have been very encouraged that several younger men and women have decided to become part of our children’s lives. All of these young people are in their twenties, and they have each given up time to spend with our children on their own. These people are not part of a youth program. They are not church staff. They are not youth pastors or youth ministers. Yet, they believe that God wants them to become involved in the lives of younger believers and non-believers in order to disciple them toward maturity in Jesus Christ.
I want to take this opportunity to share some of the ways that these young men and women are taking part in the lives of our children. Hopefully, this will spur others own toward making disciples of Jesus Christ.
Last Friday, my daughter turned 10. She had a spend-the-night birthday party with several girls her age. She also invited a “twenty-something” young lady. We were pleasantly surprised and thankful when this young lady appeared at the door to watch a movie and share cake and ice cream with these girls! Also, to top things off, she has invited our daughter and another young girl to spend the night with her. Our daughter is very excited, and we are excited that our daughter is able to spend time with a godly young woman.
Last Sunday, we went to lunch with some friends. Unfortunately, the restaurant could not seat us all together, so we would have to sit at different tables. The restaurant had tables ready for part of our group, but the remainder would have to wait for a later table. Our family and another family agreed to wait for a later table. However, two “twenty-somethings” young men asked if they could wait for a later table and sit with my son and the other family’s son who is about the same age as my son. We were so excited that these two men would give up their table for a chance to spend more time with our sons!
Monday afternoon, these “twenty-something” young people invited all of the children to a “slip-and-slide” afternoon. They broke out the slip-and-slide, made hot dogs, had a Bible study, and made pizzas. They did this because they wanted to be part of the lives of these children. They planned everything themselves and provided everything that was necessary. (This is not the first time that these “twenty-somethings” have planned something in order to spend time with those who are even younger than them. And, I don’t think this will be the last time they do something like this.)
These young people are serious about serving others. They recognize that God has called them to make disciples, and they are trying to live as disciple-makers by spending time with others. They all have jobs. They all take college or seminary classes. Yet, they believe this type of interactions is so important that they are willing to give up their free time. They do not have to be urged to do this. They do not have to be reminded. They recognize that they are servants of their Master, and they take their service seriously. They are an inspiration to me!
Learning without doing?
This probably deserves an entire post, and it may come to that soon. But, for now, I want to point you again to Aussie John’s blog and his post called “The responsibility is ALWAYS Mine“. First, he discusses how some believers gave verbal and mental assent to the “one anothers” of Scripture:
The congregation were folk who agreed, with loud “amens”, to all of the principles of the Scriptural “one anothers”. They would discuss how these principles could be practically put in practice, and had good suggestions for their fellows to exercise love, support, encourage, etc.
But, what happened when a sister in Christ was struggling with health problems? This is what their sister said:
One day I received a phone call from Hazel. She said, “John, I’m confused. I’ve been a member of this congregation for a long time. Whenever help was needed I was always glad to do what I could. In these past four months I have been desperately in need of help, and I’ve received it abundantly, but only from my unbelieving neighbors, whom my brethren at church despise. Not one member of the church, other than you and your wife, have even offered help or visited me”.
I would suggest that these people said that they agreed with the scriptural characteristics of a follower of Christ (i.e., the “one anothers”), but they did not agree in reality because they did not demonstrate these same characteristics. I believe we have associated teaching and learning with agreement and knowledge. Instead, teaching and learning should be associated with following and doing.
Another Alan from Alabama…
How is that for alliteration? I’ve recently run across a new blog by a new Southeastern student, Alan Reynolds. I like him already because 1) his name is Alan, 2) he is from Alabama, and 3) he added my blog to his blogroll!
Seriously, I really appreciated the frankness with which he wrote about his experiences working in a restaurant in a post called “Alan the Self-Centered“. After describing the difficulty he has in loving some of the people at the restaurant, and after explaining how he washed dishes when the dishwasher didn’t show up for work, he says:
The temptation? I was almost angry when I only got a passing, “Oh yeah, thanks.†That was it. As I left, I was offered that. For all I know, it might not have even been for washing dishes. It might have just been a normal “thanks.†I thought I should have gotten out of my closing duties–cleaning and rolling silverware–for all the work I did and the staying late to do so. On the way home, it hit me. In Matthew 6, Jesus said that hypocrites give to the poor to be seen by men, therefore receiving their reward in full. I know some “expositors” would hang me for making the application, but I think it’s completely appropriate. Tonight, I worked and expected to be seen by men. I worked unto man and not unto the Lord. And the ironic part–I didn’t even receive a reward from men. I’m glad for that.
Yes, Alan, I think this is definitely applicable. When we work to be noticed by men, then we are working for me. When we do our work for God, then we don’t care if others notice. Thank you for the challenge! I hope I get to meet Alan in the near future.