Unity and Fellowship: Where do you draw the line?
Thanks to Arthur at “The Voice of One Crying Out in Suburbia,” I’ve been involved in a few conversations on Google+ concerning fellowship, unity, interpretations, etc. (Yes, there are occasionally good discussions on Google+.) Arthur wrote about this in his post “Leaving our preferences at the cross.”
I have enjoyed this conversations very much, primarily because they have forced me to consider what I believe about various teachings as their relate to being a follower of Jesus Christ.
For example, when he was thinking about these discussions, Arthur wrote:
Taking our preferences to the cross and letting them die there. That sounds great but man is that hard! One of the hardest things about seeking a deeper sense of community is the inherent danger that when you let people in to your little world they are likely to make a mess and you might find that you don’t like them or agree with them very much. On the other hand in our natural state we were enemies of God, sinners in open rebellion against Him and yet He still sent His Son to die for the sins of His elect and adopted us into His family. If He did that for us I guess we can learn to get along in spite of our differences and quirks and annoying habits!
I agree completely with Arthur. We should be willing to give up our preferences and opinions for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This does raise some tough questions though, and these are the questions that kept circling around our discussion on Google+.
Where do we decide to draw the line between our preferences and beliefs that are necessary for someone who is following Jesus? I’m not asking WHAT those beliefs are. Instead, I’m asking a slightly different question: How do you know that a certain teaching is necessary but another teaching is a preference?
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
In chapter 11 of his Gospel, Luke records an instance in which some of Jesus’ followers witness him praying. We don’t know if they actually see and/or hear him pray, or if they only know that he was praying. Either way, Jesus’ praying caused them to ask him a question: “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1)
Jesus answered their request with what is usually called “The Lord’s Prayer.” (Luke 11:2-4) This sample prayer followed by a couple of stories to show them that if they know how to give gifts to people who ask from them, how much more with God our Father give good gifts to his children. (Luke 11:5-13)
Lately, I’ve been thinking about prayer. There are several reasons for this contemplation, but I’m not going into those reasons now. But, suffice it to say that several things have happened recently that have caused to me to wonder about prayer, and specifically to wonder about prayer with a group.
There are only a few examples of prayer in a group in Scripture. One of those instances is found in Acts 4:23-31. In Acts 20:36, we see Paul praying with a group of elders from Ephesus. Later, just before Paul and his traveling companions left Tyre to continue their journey to Jerusalem, they prayed together.
Certainly, there are other instances of the church praying together in Scripture. The passages above are not to be complete. They are simply examples of believers praying together.
So, as I was thinking about this, I realized that many of the activities and concepts related to praying with the church today are absent in Scripture.
For example, I cannot find any indication that people closed their eyes and bowed their heads when they prayed (either alone or in a group). I can’t find any suggestion of the “prayer list.”
The practice that boggles me the most – not because I disagree with it, but because I think there is something to it – is the practice of asking as many people as possible to pray about a situation. I’ve done this (from both sides – both praying for someone along with a large group of people around the world as well as asking many, many people to pray for a situation).
But, as I think about this practice, it seems to go against what Scripture tells us about God and about how he responds to our prayer. Is God more likely to answer a prayer because more people are praying it? I just don’t know. I want to say that the number of people praying does not persuade or convince God to act. I know that my reformed friends will have a field day with that last statement, but please bear with me. Some things are difficult to state.
But, then, if God is not persuaded or convinced to respond based on the number of people praying, then why do Christians do this so often? Why do I do it so often? Why do I want to know that people all around the world are praying for a young boy who was recently diagnosed with cancer? I don’t know.
However, if I’m completely honest, it is somewhat comforting to know that all of those people are praying for that boy.
What do you think?
Teaching Workshop: The Motivations for Teaching
Over the next few weeks, I’m planning to lead a “Teaching Workshop” for the church on Sunday mornings. We’ll work through a few passages of Scripture and discuss together what those passages say about teaching and teachers.
This is not a workshop about how to put together a teaching outline or how to study commentaries or other reference materials. Instead, we will discuss a broad and general view of teaching through Scripture. I hope that this workshop will be helpful for people teaching in any context.
This is the general outline that I plan to use for this workshop (I’ve updated the outline since the last post):
Part 1: Who Teaches?
Part 2: The Motivations for Teaching
Part 3: The Essence of Teaching
Part 4: Teaching When the Church Gathers
For each week’s workshop, I plan to put together a short worksheet to guide our discussion. This is the worksheet for the first week’s session. This lesson will be called “Part 2: The Motivations for Teaching.” Many of these motivations are not related specifically to teaching, but are related to our relationship with response to God as well as other people.
Feel free to discuss or ask questions in the comments.
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Teaching Workshop
Part 2: The Motivations for Teaching
Note: To begin this workshop, I need to specify that I believe that all Scripture is in agreement when it comes to teaching. I will approach all passages as if they agree with one another.
I recommend reading the following passages so that you will know the context and background of the specific parts that we will discuss together. As you read, pay attention to the context as well as what the author says about motivations: Matthew 22:34-40; Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:15-18; John 21:15-19; Acts 5:29-32; Acts 20:17-21; Romans 1:7-12; 1 Corinthians 10:31-33; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5, 26-32; Galatians 5:13-14; Ephesians 4:7-16; Colossians 3:12-17; Hebrews 10:19-25; 1 Peter 4:7-11; 1 John 4:16-21; 1 John 5:1-5.
I. Love for God
The first and greatest commandment can and should be one of the motivations for everything that we do (and perhaps the foundation for everything that we do). (Matthew 22:37 – and parallel passages; John 21:15-17)
II. Submission/Obedience to God
We are commanded to teach. Is it enough to simply do something (such as teach) because we desire to submit to God and obey him? (John 14:15; Acts 5:29-32; 1 John 5:2)
III. Honor/Glorify/Worship God
When we speak to others in various ways (including teaching), we can glorify God. Of course, this is true of serving as well as speaking. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 4:10-11)
IV. Love for Others
The second commandment is like the first commandment. In fact, if we do not love others, then we do not love God. (Galatians 5:13-14; 1 John 4:20-21)
V. Desire to Benefit Others
All spiritual gifts (including teaching) are given for the benefit of others, not for the benefit of the one exercising that gift. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Acts 20:20)
VI. Desire to Disciple Others
Teaching is part of helping people following Jesus Christ (that is, to be his disciples). If we want to disciple people, then we will also want to teach people. (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:11-13, 16)
VII. Desire to Build Up Others
Everything that we do when we gather together should be for the purpose of building each other up toward maturity, faith, unity, and love. (Romans 1:11-12; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Hebrews 10:24-25)
Reflections on Teaching Workshop Part 1: Who Teaches?
Last week, in my post “Teaching Workshop: Who Teaches?“, I explained that last Sunday I began leading the church through a discussion of the concept of teaching in Scripture. The “workshop” will continue over the next few weeks, but that first week’s topic was “Who Teaches?”
In this post, I’m going to offer a few reflections from our time discussing that topic. I was not trying to stuff information into people’s heads. Instead, I was simply leading people through passages of Scripture and asking questions. So, these reflections are not based on things that I taught. Instead, what I’m sharing here came from other people. (In most cases, I’m summarizing and paraphrasing, since I did not record our discussion.)
I’ll share these reflections within the outline that I used to guide our workshop:
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I. The Ultimate Teacher
Scripture: Matthew 23:8, 1 John 2:27
While God is certainly our ultimate teaching, this does not give us license to be individualistic or isolationist. God often teaches us through other people.
II. There is a Spiritual Gift of Teaching
Scripture: Romans 12:4-8, Ephesians 4:7-11
Like the other spiritual gifts, the purpose of the gift of teaching is to benefit the church, not to benefit or exalt the one teaching.
III. Everyone Does Not Have the Spiritual Gift of Teaching
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:29-30
The focus of 1 Corinthians 12 is that we all need one another. We cannot rely on one person or the gifts of one person.
IV. However, Everyone is Instructed to Teach and is Able to Teach
Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 15:14, Colossians 3:16
While this is definitely true from Scripture, it’s not possible because of the way that teaching is usually practiced and modeled in the church. This causes us to ask the question: What is teaching? (Of course, this will be the topic of our third session.)
V. Those Gifted in Teaching Have the Added Responsibility of Helping Others Teach
Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13
If we keep reading in Ephesians (Ephesians 4:11-16), we see that the church grows in maturity when the teachers are helping others to teach, the shepherds are helping others to care, the apostles are helping others to go, etc.
VI. What about Elders and Teaching?
Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:9
The word translated “able to teach” in 1 Timothy 3:2 can also be translated “teachable.” The idea of elders being both teachable and able to teach is also in Titus 1:9. This is a different kind of characteristic that what is usually expected of elders or pastors, which is being able to present a good sermon.
VII. Consider Seemingly Contradictory Passages about Teachers
Scripture: Hebrews 5:12, James 3:1
We can’t just look at those verses. We have to consider the context. Each context helps us understand what the author is talking about and helps us see that they are not contradictory.
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Obviously, these are simply summations and snippets of conversations. But, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these points and passages of Scripture related to the question, “Who teaches?”
When an object lesson goes wrong, but turns out better
As I said in my post “Teaching Workshop: Who Teaches,” I began a “workshop” of sorts yesterday morning with the church. This is a workshop like I’ve never done and, to be honest, like I’ve never really seen done. The topic is “Teaching,” but I’m not trying to share everything that I know or think about teaching, and I’m not suggesting that I’m giving a comprehensive overview of teaching.
Instead, my goal is to pick a few topics related to teaching and lead the church through several points based on each topic. (If you want to see the kind of things that we discussed yesterday, I shared the “outline” in the post that I linked to above.) For the discussion topic yesterday, “Who Teaches,” I wanted to church to think about several aspects of who is responsible for teaching. (In fact, there are several different answers to the question, “Who Teaches?”)
To begin this session of the “Teaching Workshop,” I wanted to present an object lesson to help people understand that anyone can teach. I knew that Mark, a 7 year old friend of ours, had visited a horse farm recently. So, before we started discussing teaching, I talked with him privately about his experience. He told me several things that he had learned about horses and caring for horses. I thought to myself, “This is a PERFECT object lesson for this workshop!”
Later, as I was beginning our time of discussion, I asked the children among us to name something that they enjoyed doing recently. Several of them offered different examples, like playing soccer. My young friend Mark spoke up, and I was looking forward to him sharing with everyone about the horse farm.
Mark looked at me and said, “I like playing Webkinz.”
“What?!?” I thought to myself. “Webkinz?!? What happened to the horse farm?”
Then, Mark spent the next 3-5 minutes telling everyone about Webkinz… about buying a Webkinz animal at the store… about creating an account… about logging in… about setting up a profile… about playing games. Mark taught us all about Webkinz.
It turned out to be the PERFECT object lesson, even though it was NOT the object lesson that I had planned. Even though everything went wrong (at first), it actually went better than planned. It’s amazing how many times this happens. I have something planned, but things don’t go as planned. And, of course, it works out even better.
My friend Mark (only 7 years old) showed everyone that it is possible for any of us to teach others.
Oh, by the way, I asked Mark what kind of Webkinz stuffed animal he had. He said, “A horse.” So, THERE’S the horse…
What’s wrong with those young people?
Everybody is worried about the teenagers and twenty-somethings, especially those who are growing up “in the church.” Why are they worried? Because they are not staying “in the church.”
Survey after survey, poll after poll, count after count returns the same result and asks the same question: Young people are “leaving the church” and “Why?”
The latest article that I’ve read about this phenomenon is at “Out of Ur” and is called “The Religious Views of 20-Somethings, Part 1.” (Since this article is called “Part 1,” I would assume there will be a “Part 2” eventually.)
This study is slightly different in that it was written by World Religions professor and is based on essay questions written by his students. This is how he describes the exercises:
Last semester I assigned the students in the community college World Religions course I teach a series of writing exercises that (I hoped) would help them personalize and internalize the subject matter we were reading about and discussing in class. There were four assignments total, one every four weeks or so. And each was a little more probing. My goal was simply to get these students from diverse religious backgrounds thinking about their experience with religion, assumptions about religious claims, how they understand the role religion plays in their lives.
The author (professor) admits that this is not a scientific study, but I think the answers that his students left on the essay questions are extremely enlightening. There is one point that I think is especially interesting:
In the first assignment, the students wrote about their experience with religion from their earliest memories to the present. Interestingly, most of them had overwhelmingly positive experiences with religion as young children. Some of them expressed being bored or confused during services—temple, mosque, synagogue, or church. But none of them reported leaving the faith of their youth because they had a traumatic experience or because they ultimately disagreed with the community’s teaching. Rather, most of them just stopped going. One week they went; the next week they didn’t. Services didn’t make any real difference in their life.
Think about this last statement for a minute: “Services didn’t make any real difference in their life.”
Guess what? Religious services will never make any real difference in anyone’s life. Yes, for previous generations, there was importance attached to these religious services, whatever religion or tradition or background we may be talking about (Christian and nonChristian alike). However, it was not necessarily the “religion” of the service that caused it to be important. Instead, it was the community aspect.
The religious services of the previous generations were important because they were shared experiences of a local community, typically people who lived in the same vicinity as one another.
Not anymore. Today, people drive for 10, 20, 30 minutes… even longer… to attend religious services with people that they only see during those events. Now, people sit beside strangers to observe religious services. There is nothing special about them because the shared community aspect is gone.
So, what’s the answer? Well, according to most studies, the answer is to make the services “relevant.” In fact, the title of the paragraph that I quoted above is “Religion irrelevant.”
However, if you read the information closely, you’ll see that “religion” (or, spiritual beliefs, at least) is not irrelevant to these young people. They all have spiritual beliefs. In fact, for the most part, they did not report feeling hurt by religion or disagreeing with their religion.
Instead, according to this professor’s limited study, these young people “left the church” for one simple reason: “Services didn’t make any real difference in their life.”
Do you want to see young people (or older people for that matter) hang around and actually grow in their faith and spiritual beliefs? Then, start making a difference in their life. You can’t do that from a platform. You can’t do that from a lectern. You can’t do that from an office or from behind a desk.
If you want to make a difference in someone’s life, then you have to share your life with them and encourage them to share their lives with you. It takes real, intimate relationships. This is what previous generations had with the people who lived nearby (community). It’s what young people are not finding among the church today.
God actually cares about THOSE people: lessons from Jonah and Mark
As I’ve mentioned a few times, we ready the books of Jonah and Mark together as a church last Saturday, New Year’s Eve. Then, the next day, Sunday, New Year’s Day, we discussed these two books together.
When we read Jonah then immediately read the first few chapters of the Gospel of Mark (before taking a short break), I noticed something. When we discussed these two books, other people said that they noticed the same thing.
What did we notice? God actually cares about THOSE people!
What people am I talking about? You know what people I’m talking about. THOSE people. People who set themselves against God and his people. People who do not live the right way. People who follows the ways of the world instead of living for God.
God actually cares about THOSE people.
In Jonah, it’s the people of Nineveh. THOSE people were the enemies of Israel. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire, the very people who would invade Israel in only a few decades. They were pagans, setting themselves against God. And Jonah, the great prophet of God – a man of God – called by God – knew what kind of people these were. They deserved to be destroyed by God because of their wickedness.
But, God had mercy on THOSE people. He gave them the opportunity to repent, they did, and he spared them.
Then, in Mark, the Jewish leaders also recognized the difference between themselves – the holy men of God – and THOSE people. THOSE people were Gentiles, tax collectors, prostitutes, demon possessed, etc. They were stricken by God while the Pharisees and Sadducees and other religious leaders were blessed by God.
But, Jesus took care of THOSE people. He loved them. He touched them. He healed them. He talked with them.
Jesus even ate with THOSE people!
In fact, Jesus put THOSE people above keeping the Sabbath! He put the needs of THOSE people above the rules about devoting your resources to God, for heaven’s sake! What can be better than setting aside your money for God and the temple and the religious leaders (even if it might mean neglecting someone’s parents)?
At least Jonah and Mark were all stories from “back then.” Today, we know the kind of people that Jesus wants us to hang out with. And, he certainly doesn’t want us to spend time with THOSE people. (You know what kind of people I’m talking about.)
Today, God wants us to only hang around his people, people who belong to him, and who live for him (in the way that we think they should live for him).
Yes, I’m sure that God still cares about THOSE people, but he doesn’t expect me to care about them too… right?
Teaching Workshop: Who Teaches?
Over the next few weeks, I’m planning to lead a “Teaching Workshop” for the church on Sunday mornings. We’ll work through a few passages of Scripture and discuss together what those passages say about teaching and teachers.
This is not a workshop about how to put together a teaching outline or how to study commentaries or other reference materials. Instead, we will discuss a broad and general view of teaching through Scripture. I hope that this workshop will be helpful for people teaching in any context.
This is the general outline that I plan to use for this workshop:
Part 1: Who Teaches?
Part 2: The Motivations of Teaching
Part 3: The Purpose and Methods of Teaching
Part 4: Teaching When the Church Gathers
For each week’s workshop, I plan to put together a short worksheet to guide our discussion. This is the worksheet for the first week’s session. This lesson will be called “Part 1: Who Teaches?”
Feel free to discuss or ask questions in the comments.
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Teaching Workshop
Part 1: Who Teaches?
Note: To begin this workshop, I need to specify that I believe that all Scripture is in agreement when it comes to teaching. I will approach all passages as if they agree with one another.
I recommend reading the following passages so that you will know the context and background of the specific parts that we will discuss together. As you read, pay attention to the context as well as what the author says about teaching: Matthew 23:1-12, Matthew 28:16-20, Romans 12:1-8, Romans 15:14-21, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Ephesians 4:7-16, Colossians 3:12-17, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, Hebrews 5:11-6:3, James 3:1-18, 1 John 2:18-29.
I. The Ultimate Teacher
According to Scripture, there is one teacher for those who follow Jesus Christ. All of his disciples learn from him through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 23:8, 1 John 2:27)
II. There is a Spiritual Gift of Teaching
Teaching is one of the ways that the Holy Spirit manifests himself in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ for the purpose of building up the church. (Romans 12:4-8, Ephesians 4:7-11)
III. Everyone Does Not Have the Spiritual Gift of Teaching
While the Holy Spirit gifts some with a special ability to teach, he does not give everyone this spiritual gift. (1 Corinthians 12:29-30)
IV. However, Everyone is Instructed to Teach and is Able to Teach
While only some have the spiritual gift of teaching, Scripture indicates that all who follow Jesus Christ should teach, and that teaching is an important aspect of the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 15:14, Colossians 3:16)
V. Those Gifted in Teaching Have the Added Responsibility of Helping Others Teach
When considering the passage below, think especially about how the “evangelist” equips the church for “works of service.” Then apply that to the other gifted individuals, including teachers. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
VI. What about Elders and Teaching?
Those recognized as elders should be able to teach, demonstrating previously that they are doing what all believers should be doing (i.e., teaching, in this case). (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:9)
VII. Consider Seemingly Contradictory Passages about Teachers
How can these passages be in agreement? (Hebrews 5:12, James 3:1)
Some thought-provoking posts on the church to kick off the new year
Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” has written some very interesting posts over the last few days. I think these are all good posts to help us kick off the new year. These three posts focus on the gospel, on the church, and on salvation.
For example, just before New Year’s Day, Eric wrote a post called “What Matters Most.” This is the post that focuses on the gospel.
He writes:
We all, myself certainly included, must remember that the gospel is a divider. It separates those who are Christ’s from those who are not. However, the wonderful thing is that this gospel is powerful enough to save any and all who repent and believe. And stunningly, our Savior has decided to use sinful us to be the heralds of this wonderful news.
In another post called “The Church Imprisoned,” Eric compares some Christian organizations to prisons. I think this is an important and useful discussion, because these types of organizational structures often bind believers from living as God desires (even if it happens inadvertently).
Like Eric says in the quote below, I also believe that many aspects of the church in the West needs to be reformed:
The church in the West is imprisoned by the above forms and structures. They stifle what the church is trying to accomplish. Let us pray that God will bring about a new reformation in his church in the West. Let’s hope that more and more of our brothers and sisters in Christ will throw off these fetters to live as the church we see in scripture.
Finally, in his post called “I’m Not Saved Because…,” which he published on New Year’s Eve, Eric reminds us that we are not saved because of what we do. Even having the “right” kind of ecclesiology does not save you.
Eric concludes:
I’m not saved because of anything I’ve done.
I’m not saved because of me.
I am saved because of the grace of God alone through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross alone.
Thank you for these reminders, Eric! I look forward to many more thought-provoking posts in 2012!
What do you think about Eric’s posts?
I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. But if I did…
Some of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions include things like losing weight, exercising, quitting smoking/drinking/etc., spending more time with family and friends, getting out of debt, getting organized, and enjoying life more. I wonder how people measure that last one…
I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. There are enough things that I don’t do; why add to the list? I really don’t need the guilt…
But, if I did make New Year’s Resolutions this year, I think these two would be at the top of the list:
1) Focus on and meditate on God more.
I don’t want to be unaware or desensitized to what God is doing in my life and in the lives of the people around me. Sometimes God can be so familiar, that I barely recognize or appreciate the many things that he does daily. I want to be more appreciative, more trusting, more malleable…
2) Focus on and serve others more.
In the same way that I’m often unaware of what God is doing, I’m also often so focused on myself that I miss the needs in the lives of people around me. This could be needs among people that I know well, or even complete strangers.
Now that I think about it, these two non-resolutions remind me a lot of Jesus’ two greatest commandments…
It would be easy to come up with different activities that might help me with these two desires: prayer, fasting, Scripture reading, giving, etc. But, I’ve found that when I set out to complete certain activities, I do just that. The activities become an end in themselves. I become very good at completing those activities, but I don’t love God or others more.
Now, for other people, this may not be the case. So, I’m not saying that you should not seek pray more or to fast or to give a certain amount to those in need. I just know that for me these kinds of goals tend to work against my ultimate desires and purpose.
So, I want to love more – love God more and love other people more. I know that I can’t create this love on my own. I could probably produce something that looks like love for a short time, but that’s not what I want. So, in reality, I’m asking God to help me love him and love others more.
Of course, I must be willing to submit to whatever work he does in my life. And, I’ve found in the past that God doesn’t always work the way that I expect him too. Will I submit anyway? I guess only time will tell…
Did you make New Year’s Resolutions this year? If so, what were they?