As simple as knowing, hearing, and responding
Felicity at “Simple Church” wrote a very succinct, but thought-provoking post called “The One Key Skill in Simple Church.” She begins with this:
One of the main paradigm shifts within this movement of simple churches is the belief that ordinary men and women hear God. They can be entrusted with the affairs of the Kingdom. It does not need specially trained people to manage the church. The Holy Spirit is able to run the church by speaking directly to His people.  He will do a far better job of it than our organizations and denominations ever can.
Within simple church, we like to say that church is as simple as knowing God, hearing His voice and responding to what He tells us. Jesus is head of His church, and if we believe that we are to take this literally, it means that both at an individual and at a corporate level, He desires to communicate with us. It also presupposes that we have the ability to recognize His voice when He is speaking to us.
What Felicity is saying here is very similar to what I said in my post “Justification and the Church Meeting.” Those who have been saved, justified, indwelled, born again, etc. have everything necessary to be a functioning part of the church and even to take part (speaking and serving) in a church meeting.
In fact, most Christians would agree with what Felicity said… in theory. But, when it comes to practice, many feel that they must protect the church from themselves. That someone may say or do something wrong… unhelpful… selfish… heretical… etc. Therefore, only certain people are allowed to speak / serve when the church meets.
When I read Felicity’s post, I began asking myself these questions: Do I really trust God with his people and his church and his kingdom? Do I really believe that Jesus can build his church better than I can? Do I really believe that the Spirit can use any of God’s children to speak to or serve me and others in a way that helps me grow in maturity?
And finally this question: Is my life with my brothers and sisters in Christ demonstrating that I REALLY believe these things?
No greater promotion
For those following Jesus Christ, there is not greater promotion above brother/sister and servant. (see Hebrews 2:11, Matthew 12:48-50, Matthew 20:26, Matthew 23:11)
Another view of community discipleship
David Nelson has written positively about community discipleship in a post called “I Was Never ‘Mentored’: A Report from the Field, Part 3.” Here is one part of the article:
Put another way, the one-on-one model often highlights the strengths of the discipler, but may also unduly reproduce the weaknesses. I became acutely aware of this some years ago when I saw a person who had met one of my “disciples†(a young man I “mentored†for about two years) and our mutual friend commented, “Oh, I wasn’t with him ten minutes before I knew he was your disciple.†As I listened to him explain why I realized that the young man had not only been positively shaped by me, but had also picked up some quirks and peculiarities from me that I could only hope he would outgrow.
Nelson also suggests that the “Paul/Timothy” model is not THE model of discipleship in Scripture, and perhaps there were more people involved in their relationship besides just Paul and Timothy.
What do you think? One on one discipleship? Community discipleship? Best of both worlds? How, when, where, why, who?
Sanctification and the Church Meeting
In my previous post “Justification and the Church Meeting,” I discussed how the doctrine of justification should intersect our ecclesiology (the study of the church) and even influence how we act when the church gathers together. Today, I want to think about a similar doctrine: sanctification.
There are two ways to understand sanctification which are somewhat related. “Sanctification” refers to the idea that some things have been set apart for God. “Sanctify” is the verbal form of the nouns “holy” and “saints.” Thus, in a very real way, we are sanctified (i.e. set apart) when we are justified.
This is not a unique concept for Christianity. Almost all religions include the concept of some things being “set apart” for their god or gods.
Most of the New Testament passages that include the language of “sanctification” refer to it in this sense – that is, as something that has already been set apart:
You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred [i.e., sanctified]? (Matthew 23:17 ESV)
And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32 ESV)
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:15-16 ESV)
Both the one who makes men holy [i.e., sanctifies] and those who are made holy [i.e., sanctified] are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. (Hebrews 2:11 ESV)
In these instances, the term “sanctification” is very similar to the term “justification.”
However, the term “sanctification” is typically used today to refer to the process of discipleship, growth, or maturity. In this sense, the term refers less to our identity, that to the process of living according to that identity. There are a few places in Scripture that use the term in this sense:
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy [i.e., sanctified], useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21 ESV)
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12-14 ESV)
Since I have already discussed the relationship of justification to the church meeting, in this post I want to consider the relationship of the process of sanctification (discipleship, growth, or maturity) to the church meeting.
First, as I said in the previous post, a certain level of sanctification is not necessary for someone to take part in the church meeting. The person who is justified is also indwelled and gifted by the Spirit and thus has everything necessary to take part in a church meeting.
Second, we should recognize that sanctification is the goal of the church meeting. We meet together in order to help one another grow in maturity in Christ Jesus. This is a community activity (many believers speaking and serving together) with community growth as the goal (many believers being “sanctified” in the sense of being discipled).
Obviously, we can grow in maturity on our own when we are not meeting with the church. Thus, we can be sanctified in this sense without anyone else around. But, when the church gathers together, we are no longer only concerned about our own personal growth; we are concerned about the growth (sanctification) of the entire church. We recognize that we grow in maturity as the church grows in maturity.
This type of community sanctification is what the author of Hebrews had in mind when he wrote:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)
In Hebrews, the concept of “encouragement” is very similar to (if not synonymous with) “sanctification.” For the author of Hebrews, “encouragement” includes moving away from undesirable actions and thoughts (see Hebrew 3:13 for an example) and moving toward desirable actions and thoughts (such as “love and good works” in Hebrews 10:24). Thus, the act of “encouragement” leads to our sanctification, that is, our mutual growth in maturity towards Christ as our goal.
Thus, when we meet together, we don’t rely solely on the “most sanctified” or “most discipled”. Instead, any who are justified can help the church. However, our goal is mutual sanctification… seeing the church as a whole growing toward living the life that Christ modeled for us.
Mutual Shepherding Required
Dave Black posted this on his blog this afternoon (Monday, February 15, 2010 at 3:10 pm – emphasis in original):
Pastor friend: You can’t care for the flock yourself. The demands are too many. The needs are too diverse.
Pastor friends (note the plural; I am referring to a church that has multiple elders/pastors): You can’t care for the flock yourselves. The demands are too many. The needs are too diverse.
Whether your church has a single pastor or several, the message is the same: Every-member ministry will begin when you start to accept the limitations of your love, energy, and giftedness.
AMEN! Jesus shepherds the church through the whole church! Should elders shepherd? Yes, of course. But then, all believers are called to shepherd (care for) one another.
Justification and the Church Meeting
As I’ve been studying ecclesiology (the study of the church), especially the church meeting in Scripture, I’ve found that our understanding of the church touches – and often demonstrates – our understanding of other scriptural teachings (doctrine).
For example, our understanding of God as Father, Son, and Spirit will affect the way we think about the church. In other words, it is impossible to separate the various teachings of Scripture from one another.
In this post, I would like to consider the doctrine of justification and how it affects our understanding of the church and especially the church meeting.
The doctrine of justification is a way to express the scriptural teaching that some are made right (justified) with God. Here are a few passages that deal with this concept:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:21-25 ESV)
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV)
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7 ESV)
Now, there is much talk in the church about justification. Who is justified? How are they justified? How are faith and works related in justification? And many other questions. But, in this post, I’d like us to consider the concept of justification and it’s relationship to the church.
Those who are justified – who are made right with God – are also filled with the Holy Spirit. They are recognized by God as part of his family… children of God and brothers and sisters of one another. Those who are justified gather together with others who are justified, not because they are ordered or commanded to do so, but because their recognize their dependence on God and their relationship to one another. Just as a physical family desires to be together, God’s family wants to gather together as well.
The church meeting then – by definition – is primarily for those who are justified, who are children of God. This does not mean that others are excluded from the church meeting, but that the church meeting is not specifically for them. The church meeting is for the church – for those who are God’s children, who are justified.
Similarly, as the Scripture passages above indicate, we are made right with God by the work of the Holy Spirit. We are not only justified, we are also indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Again, the Scriptures indicate that all who have been baptized (indwelled by) the Holy Spirit are members of one another. They are also given gifts by the Spirit. Thus, the Spirit works through those who are justified.
As we gather together with brothers and sisters in Christ – i.e., those who are justified and are part of God’s family – we also recognize that each one of us have been gifted by the Spirit. In the context of the church meeting, the Spirit gifts people so that they can benefit others. This is not true of only some who are justified, but of all who are justified.
Notice that we have not discussed the idea of sanctification at all (that will be my next post). Neither growth nor maturity are a requirement for someone to be indwelled by the Spirit and gifted by the Spirit.
So, as we meet together, drawn together by our common relationship to one another through God and drawn together by the Spirit who indwells each of us, we recognize each other as brothers and sisters based on our common justification by God through Jesus Christ, not based on what any one of us has said or done or failed to say or do in the past. Similarly, we come together recognizing that just as the Spirit has indwelled each of us, he also desires to use each of us for the benefit of the entire group.
So, our understanding of justification greatly affects how we treat one another when the church meets. Similarly, how we treat one another when the church meets demonstrates what we truly believe about justification.
Among you and for your sakes
This is from Dave Black’s blog this morning (Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 6:45 am):
In Greek 4 we’re going through 1 Thessalonians. The last line on this page of my Greek New Testament is 1 Thess. 1:5, where Paul says “You know what kind of people we were among you for your sakes.”
These two brief prepositional phrases pack a wallop: “Among you,” “for your sakes.” What a vast area of thought that opens up! This was Paul’s missionary method and motivation. He did everything “among the people,” not from the outside (or from above). He did everything on their behalf, not for his own benefit. I must learn from Paul. I must live among the people when I am in Ethiopia — not above them or beyond them. And I must make sure that they know I am there to serve them, not myself.
Yes, yes. “Among you” and “for your sakes”… but not just for the people in Ethiopia, or other people “over there.”
What about the people you work with everyday? What about your neighbors? What about the people that you meet with every week? Do they know what kind of person (i.e., a child of God) you are because they way you act when you are “among them” is “for their sakes” – i.e., to serve them and for their benefit?
For better or for worse (but not about marriage)
Individual believers and churches demonstrate their love or lack of love by the way that they treat (for better or for worse) people who are different from them.
Individual believers and churches demonstrate their sevant’s heart or lack thereof by the way that they serve (for better or for worse) others when they are at their neediest.
Individual believers and churches demonstrate their fellowship or lack of fellowship by the way they share with one another (for better or for worse) when people are hurting and their lives are messy.
Individual believers and churches demonstrate their hospitality or lack of hospitality by how they share their possessions and time (for better or for worse) when they have very little to share.
Individual believers and churches demonstrate their unity or lack of unity by how they accept others (for better or for worse) when they are not accepted themselves.
A couple of things to think about
The church is not a place for people to hear the gospel, but a people who have been changed by the gospel.
If a pastor (or other leader) is “doing the work of 2-3 people,” then others are not doing their part, and the church will not grow as it should (regardless of how great the pastor or leader may be at doing stuff). The growth of the church is not dependent on pastors doing everything (or even most things) great, but on all believers doing their part.
If you are not spending time (intimately) with people taking care of their needs and helping them grow in maturity, then you are not a pastor, regardless of what your title may be. If you are spending time (intimately) with people taking care of their needs and helping them grow in maturity, then you are a pastor, regardless of what your title may not be.
More on the Seminary
Scot McKnight started a great discussion on the role of the seminary in his post called “Seminary Re:mixed.”
One of the main questions is this: Should the seminary primarily train academically or should it train pastors?
The problem with the first option is that academic exercises and studies are not always beneficial to the individual believer or to the church. The problem with the second option is that pastors/elders cannot be trained outside of the church. Perhaps they can be given information, but information does not an elder make.
I think it is beneficial to learn Greek, Hebrew, New and Old Testament background, Church History, Theology (from different perspectives, etc. But, here’s the thing, ALL believers need to learn these things, not just pastors/elders.
I would love to see more seminaries adjust their missions to the education of the whole church, and not just the education of pastors/elders or missionaries.
Also, I would love to see more seminaries acknowledge that they cannot train pastors/elders. Pastors/elders are trained as they live in community with other believers, both those who are more mature than they are and those who are less mature. This takes time and experience, not reading and writing.