21st Century Church Contest Entries
Energion’s blogging/essay contest is finished. All the submissions are in, and the judging has begun. I know, because I’m one of the judges. Without giving away my preferences or rankings, I thought I would share some thoughts from each essay (in the order listed by Energion):
From A. Amos Love’s submission:
This congregation of “Disciples of Christ,†“the ekklesia of God,†“ sons of God,†will;
Forsake all…
Love not the world…
Love not their own life…
Just want to know Him…
Count all things but dung…
Always take the lower place…
Make themselves of no reputation…
From Arthur Sido’s submission:
Scripture does not lay out a specific, liturgical schedule of events to govern the lives of believers nor is one desirable. All too often we have tried to push Scripture aside when it comes to the gathering of the New Covenant people as the church and replaced it with our own pragmatic solutions, rituals and traditions which may bring us comfort and a sense of being religious but bring little glory to God. Isn’t bringing glory to God what the gathering of the church is supposed to be about?
From Lew Ayotte’s submission:
When the Assembly of Christ is about building one another up, not dividing over leaders or denominations, focused on recognizing their own leaders, they will inherently be about fulfilling the Great Commission. In fact, I believe following Jesus’ command here may be like second nature to them. They will see the world through His eyes instead of their own. As the Assembly of Christ, reaching our neighbors will not be based on a program, chant, or weekly exercise… it will be according to Christ’s example. Each member in the assembly will recognize their responsibilities, although different, each one has an extremely important role.
From David Blanton’s submission:
Finally, a Jesus Christ ministry cannot help but look like Christ Jesus, the only mirror that is worth measuring itself against. What did the Good Samaritan look like? The parable never gave the listener a physical description because it wasn’t important. The only radical ministry is the one that has Christ Jesus as its center, who said to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. If a ministry does that, then it cannot help but look like a Jesus Christ ministry. Does the ministry look forward or backward or does it abstain from the obtuseness of looking anywhere but its center?
From Lionel Woods’ submission:
When the disciples met with Christ, He was modeling community before them. They asked “where are you staying†and He answered “come and seeâ€. From that day forward they lived in a community, sharing, eating, living amongst, and knowing one another. They would have looked at what we giggle at today as a cult. We think that type of life on life is appalling, idiotic, unnecessary, we believe that type of life is too radical, ridiculous, we cling on to our autonomy like it is a right, my friends it is not. We belong to a King. A King who has created us for this community a community to reflect who He is.
From James Lee’s submission:
This aptly demonstrates the need for our ministry to each other and provides a point of commonality that will equip us to be true salt and light in the world while loving each other. We cannot accomplish the tasks of discipleship and proclamation of the Gospel through political agendas, legislated morality, bully pulpits, and sectarian distinctions that scream we are right and you are wrong. We can only accomplish true ministry in this century through the power of Christ, His Holy Spirit, and a love for one another that strengthens us to face the enemy head on, and storm the gates of hell with the victory that was wrought in the spotless Lamb’s blood.
From Christopher Larson’s submission:
Such ministry will seek to avoid the two pitfalls of pragmatism on the one hand and self important hyper-spiritual perfection on the other. it will celebrate the freedom to do many things so that one thing might in the end be done, and it will celebrate all who share that calling as brothers and sisters in the ministry that takes many external forms, but in the end is one, (Pslam 119:63). Our goal will be to always ‘remember Jesus Christ’ in whatever form our work may take, and to know however difficult the path may seem He is Lord and He is not in chains, but freely working in and through us to bring forth a people for Himself, (2 Timothy 2:1-9).
I enjoyed all of the submissions. They all caused me to think about the church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century in different ways. I encourage you to read each of the essays.
I knew that you wouldn’t let me help you
“I knew that you wouldn’t let me help you.” When a friend of mine said that to me recently, her words stopped me in my tracks. Let me explain.
I like helping people. I’m not saying that to boast. Instead, I recognize how God has changed me from a very selfish and self-centered person to someone who at least occasionally notices the needs of others and enjoys meeting those needs. God has done so much for me and has given so much to and for me that I enjoy giving back by helping and serving others.
A few days ago, our family returned from a vacation to Florida. The day after we returned, Margaret started getting sick. A couple of days later, I started getting sick. One afternoon, when we were both sick, the phone rang. A friend of ours had called to see how we were feeling. I told her that we were both feeling bad, but that Margaret was worse than me.
She said, “Can I make you a pot of soup? I always like soup when I’m sick.”
I turned down her offer of help, and told her that we could manage to make something for dinner.
Then, she replied, “Well, I knew that you wouldn’t let me help you, but I wanted to offer.” She didn’t say it in a condemning way, but I was certainly convicted by her words.
In that instant, God revealed to me more about my own pride. I loved helping people when they needed it, but when I was in need, I was not willing to admit that need and allow someone else to help me. That’s pride, and it’s sin.
Looking back on my life, I can see this pattern. I even written about it before on this blog. Of course, recognize a failure to submit to God in a certain area of my life is not that same as actually submitting to God in that area of my life. I recognize that I often let my pride get in the way of allowing others to serve. As you can see, my pride is not simply a sin that affects my relationship with Christ, it affects my relationship with others – it affects the community.
Sin is like that. We think sin is private and personal, but it never is. Sin affects our brothers and sisters in Christ. Even a sin that appears to only affect us as individuals also affects the community since we are part of the community.
So, when my friend said, “I knew that you wouldn’t let me help you,” I knew that she was right, and I recognized my sin. I apologized to her and told her that I would love for her to bring us a pot of soup.
While her soup was very delicious, I think her words were more beneficial and needed.
A Chinese Proverb
Today, while on vacation in the World Showcase at EPCOT Center in Disney World, I saw this Chinese proverb:
Hearing something 100 times is not as good as seeing it once.
What do you think? True? Not true? Does this apply to the church? If so, how?
I need squiggly lines
I realize now that I need squiggly lines in my life. In fact, looking back, I think my life would have been much better if I had had squiggly lines from the beginning.
You know what I mean by squiggly lines, right?
Have you ever been typing along and suddenly the word that you just finished typing is underlined with a red squiggly line? (Yes, I know some software now uses dotted lines.) When you right click on the word, the software gives you a few choices of correctly spelled words. You click on your choice, and instantly your typo has been corrected.
Or, have you ever been typing a sentence when suddenly the entire sentence is underlined by a green squiggly line? Again, when you right click on the sentence, the software tells you what grammatical error you’ve made. You can then click its suggested changes or you can make the changes yourself.
I need those squiggly lines in my life.
It’s true. Looking back, I can see that I made some terrible mistakes in my life. I wish that my life had been underlined by squiggly lines then so that I would know that something was wrong.
Just imagine… you make a decision, or you’re about to do something, or you choose not to do something, and suddenly a squiggly line appears in your life. You check out the squiggly line and you find out that you’ve made a mistake which can then be corrected before there is any more damage.
That’s what I need. I need those squiggly lines. There are too many times when I’ve gone in the wrong direction, or I’ve done the wrong thing, or I haven’t done something that I should have done. Yes, I know that God still loves me and that God still uses me and that I’m not a failure. That’s not the point. The point is that my life would have been more full, more abundant, more Christ-like, if I had squiggly lines to warn me about the upcoming mistakes.
Of course, I have something better than squiggly lines. I’m indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes those squiggly lines are wrong, but the Spirit is never wrong. God has promised to guide me into all truth by his Spirit. He has promised to empower me and serve other through me by his Spirit. He has promised to show me the way out of temptation by his Spirit. He has even promised to tell me what to say by his Spirit.
Now that I think about it, the Spirit is much better than squiggly lines… assuming that I pay attention to him.
Our daily bread
I wrote the post “Our daily bread” two years ago after a water main break in our county. This event help me realize that we don’t know what it means to ask for “our daily bread” nor do we know what it means to help someone who is in need out of our own necessities. I’m still convicted, because I don’t think I’ve learned this lesson yet.
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As part of Jesus’ model prayer, he prayed, “Give us this day our daily bread”. (Matthew 6:11 ESV) Literally, the word translated “daily” means something like “what is necessary for today”. Thus, Jesus was teaching us to ask God to provide us with what we need to exist today. In the following sections of Matthew 6, Jesus continually reminded his followers to trust God to provide what we need for today.
Similarly, James taught us:
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (James 2:15-16 ESV)
Again, if someone is lacking in the necessities needed that day, and we have the means to meet that need, then are to provide for them. Apparently, we have more than is needed for today; someone else has less than is needed for today; so we take from our excess (that is more than is needed, not more than is wanted) and give to our brother or sister.
Something happened this week that helped me see that we don’t know what it means to ask for or to share based on “necessities”. We still think luxuries are necessities.
There was a major water main break in a town just north of us. This water main was part of our county’s water system. The county lost 1.5 million gallons of water and had to replace the water main. This is a devastating loss in the middle of a drought – at least, they’re calling it a drought.
Because of the drought and possible contamination due to the water main break, the citizens of our county have been instructed to boil their water. Also, citizens have been instructed not to use water unnecessarily: i.e. do not water lawns, do not wash cars, etc. Many restaurants have been closed for the last few days because of the water restrictions and because they cannot boil all of the water that they use.
The news has been constantly covering this story. They have interviewed almost every person in the county, except us. Everyone who wants to complain about the water restrictions and the closed restaurants and the dry lawns and the dirty cars has been given a microphone and 15 seconds of air time on the 6 o’clock news. We need our water…
But, we still have water. This is not a problem of necessity. We have water. This is a problem of luxury and convenience. Instead of being grateful for having water just by turning on the faucet, we are complaining because we have to boil it. Instead of grateful that we are not dying of thirst, we are grumbling because our yards (I mean, our lawns) are brown. Instead of being grateful that we do not have to walk miles to find water, we are angry because we can’t wash our cars.
We are pathetic. We do not know what it means to be in need. We do not know what it means to be grateful for having our needs met. Therefore, I do not think we know what it means to meet someone else’s needs.
Good news! The water restrictions have been lifted. Now, we do not have to boil our water. People can return to their favorite restaurants. Lawns will be green and cars sparkling clean by tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps, now, we will find it in our hearts to give a glass of water to a person who is truly in need. But, probably not.
God have mercy on us.
Running and Camping
This morning, our family is volunteering to help the Franklin County Humane Society. Normally, we are a foster family for orphaned puppies. Today, we’re also helping them with their 5k run/walk. Some of Jeremy and Miranda’s friends are also helping us.
I’m looking forward to the free Starbucks coffee and free lunch. But, I’m even more interested in continuing to build relationships with some of the humane society volunteers. Actually, Margaret is farther along is developing those relationships than I am, but hopefully I’ll be able to help (and not hinder) her today.
After we help the humane society, we’re heading to the lake to meet up with the church. We’re camping together this weekend. The church has camped together five or six times, but this is only the third time for our family. We’ve either had other plans or have been out of town during the camping trips.
The camping trips have always been incredible. We get to fellowship with one another for almost 48 hours straight – except for sleeping times.
So, today will include two of my favorite activities: service and fellowship. In fact, the service will include time of fellowship, and the fellowship will include times of service. And, God willing, we’ll be making disciples all the time.
A contrite heart and a life of good works
The title of this post comes from a quote by John Sailhamer concerning Isaiah 58. I found the quote in the very good post by Mark from “unlikely christians” called “Talk is Cheap.” This is the full quote from Sailhamer:
The kind of repentance God required of his people is a contrite heart and a life of good works. There was little value in fasting if one’s life did not reflect compassion and obedience to the will of God.
Then, Mark replied with this:
What good is singing a song (hymn? chorus? psalm?), attending church, praying, fasting, or (even) reading my Bible if my actions and attitudes do not legitimate these practices. Thank God for grace to try again, for a holy dissatisfaction regarding my unholy life, and disdain at my hypocrisy.
I can remember recognizing my own hypocrisy. I remember clearly recognizing that I could sing a great song, attend church meetings regularly, pray for hours, fast, and read my Bible consistently… but my life was not filled with good works. Why? Because I had been taught (and I had bought into the teaching) that these things were the good works that God wants. These things are good, but they are only the beginning of living a life demonstrating the love of God. (By the way, I’m not saying that I’ve arrived. God continues to show me my own hypocrisy.)
What about children?
In my previous post, I asked “What about teenagers?” In that post, I said that it is more important for teenagers to have deep relationships with several more mature believers than for them to have a youth program (regardless of how great the youth program may be).
But, what about children? In general, when someone asks this question, they have one of two questions in mind: 1) How can children be included in the life of the church? 2) How can we make sure that children are not a distraction when the church meets? I’m going to consider these two question separately.
How can children be included in the life of the church?
First, we must realize that children ARE part of the life of the church. Children are not and should not be treated as second class citizens. Even the youngest child has fears and struggles and concerns. Those of us who are older and more mature (including more mature children) have two choices: we can ignore children or we can treat them as important parts of the church.
Just like the teenagers that I talked about yesterday, children need to have relationships with more mature believers. We need to talk with them, get to know them, sit in the floor and draw pictures with them. I would be concerned about any Christian who refuses to relate to children on their own level.
Also, we need to realize that children hear and learn more than we think they do. Sure, perhaps they are coloring pictures or playing or even talking to the person beside them, but they doesn’t mean that they don’t know what is being said or done.
Children (like adults) do not need Bible stories. Children (like adults) need to learn how the stories in the Bible relate to their own lives, and how those stories encourage them to trust God. By the way, when I’m teaching, I try to teach in a way that (at least) older children can understand the main points. There is no reason to use words that children cannot understand – unless, of course, we define those words very carefully. Having a expansive theological vocabulary is neither helpful nor a sign of maturity.
So, how do we include children? By recognizing they are part of the community and treating them as part of the community.
How can we make sure that children are not a distraction when the church meets?
This is one of the questions that I’m asked the most concerning children. The question itself demonstrates a misunderstanding of the church meeting.
We do not attend church meetings primarily in order to be built up ourselves, but instead we meet with the church in order to build up others. When people ask about children causing distractions, they are pointing out the fact that at times it becomes difficult to hear someone speak because the children are being noisy. This assumes that our main goal is to hear that person speak.
What if your reason for being at that meeting is to sit in the floor and play with that child? What if your reason for being at the meeting is to give a tired mother a break for a few minutes? What if your reason for being at that meeting is to love on a young boy or girl by coloring a picture with them? Listening to the person speaking is not always the most important thing to do while the church is meeting.
So, what should we do when children are a distracting us? What should we do when a child is talking or crying such that we can’t hear the person or people speaking? Recognize that we may be focusing on the wrong thing or wrong person. Instead of worrying about missing something that is said, realize that you may be missing an opportunity of service. Consider how God may want you to respond, then act on that.
Traditions that bring glory to God
I was recently talking with someone who made the following statement, “Traditions are okay if those traditions bring glory to God.”
On the surface, that sounds like a valid statement. But, something occurred to me.
I asked him, “Do all of your traditions bring glory to God?”
He responded, “Yes, of course! Otherwise we wouldn’t have those traditions.”
I replied, “Doesn’t everyone think their traditions bring glory to God?”
So, how do we decided which traditions bring glory to God and which traditions do not bring glory to God?
Or, removing the idea of traditions, how do we decide what actions and attitudes bring glory to God? Who gets to decide? Is it enough that we desire to bring glory to God?
What about teenagers?
There is a very provocative article at “LeadershipJournal.net” called “Is the Era of Age Segmentation Over?” The article is based on research that shows that the most important factor in the life of a teenager who remains “in church” through and after college is the number of mature believers with whom that teenager has a real relationship.
Hmmm… imagine that. Its not the programs offered, or the skill of the teacher, or the videos and dramas. Its relationships. And, not just any kind of relationship. Well, here, listen to the researcher (the article is in interview format):
What can churches do to increase the likelihood that our kids stay in church after they graduate?
I think the future of youth ministry is intergenerational youth ministry.
At this point in our research, we’ve found that one thing churches can do that really makes a difference is getting kids actively involved in the life of the church before they graduate.
There is a strong link between kids staying in church after they graduate and their involvement in intergenerational relationships and worship. It’s important, we’re finding, to get beyond a token youth Sunday and start thinking about how to involve kids as ushers and greeters and readers and musicians in our services.
We’re also finding a relationship between teenagers serving younger kids and their faith maturity when they graduate from high school. Teens should not only be the objects of ministry; they need to be the subjects of ministry as well. It’s the 16 year old that has relationships with 66 year olds and 6 year olds who is more likely to stay involved in a faith community after she graduates…
It sounds like you have high expectations of what youth can and will do.
Teenagers are up to the challenge. In our college transition project, we asked high school seniors what they want more of in youth group. Time for deep conversation ranked highest. Games ranked last. That’s one example of how we’re currently undershooting. Tenth graders study Shakespeare. What are we offering them at church? Nothing comparable to Shakespeare.
How else can churches foster intergenerational relationships?
There’s a standard ratio in youth ministry: one adult for every five kids. My colleague here at Fuller, Chap Clark, says we need to reverse the ratio and strive for having five adults build into one kid.
When I say that to youth workers or pastors, they tense up. I’m not talking about five Bible study leaders or five small group leaders per teenager. I’m talking about five adults who care enough about a kid that they learn her name, ask her on Sunday how they can be praying for her, and then the following Sunday ask her, “How did it go with that science test?” Our study shows that even these baby step connections can make a real difference.
So relationships are as important as worship styles?
More important. And I think one of the real advantages of being a smaller church is that there is a lot more potential for intergenerational relationships and longer lasting faith. It’s a general rule that the bigger the church the more segmented the age groups and generations are from each other. So I look at a church of a hundred and think, Man, what potential there is to have meaningful relationships.
By the way, I’m not interested in whether or not teenagers stay “in church.” I am interested in whether or not they are maturing in their faith and remaining faithful to God.
Also, if you read the entire article, you’ll see that the researcher offers examples and suggestions of how to add “intergenerational relationships” into the standard youth programs. I’m not concerned about the youth programs. I’m not convinced they are beneficial, but that’s not the point.
The point is that we cannot “program” relationships. For example, the author discusses a six week class where teenagers are brought together with 70 year olds. That’s great. But, what happens after that class. Strong, life-changing relationships are not built in six one-hour classes.
So, what are parents and churches to do? Foster relationships between teenagers and more mature believers. Invite teenagers to spend time with you and your family. Invite them to serve with you. Get to know them. Find out where their struggles are and help them with those struggles.
If your teenager is more introverted, or if you know a teenager that keeps to himself or herself, then it may take more intentionality on the part of the parents and other believers to get to know that person. (Of course, that would be true of any person who is more of an introvert.)
We must recognize that fellowship and discipleship are everyone’s responsibility. The same is true when it relates to teenagers. The teenagers, their parents, and others in the church must take an active role in one another’s lives. If teenagers want deep relationships, then they should initiate the contact. If the parents want their teenagers to have discipling relationships, then they should offer the opportunities for their teenagers to get to know other people. If others want relationships with teenagers, then they should approach the teenagers. It is all of our responsibility.
As I think about this, and as I think about the teenagers that I’ve interacted with, I recognize that teenagers are much like all other believers. They have struggles and doubts and sins and uncertainties and strengths and weaknesses. For many that I’ve talked to, they don’t need another apologetics series, they need to someone to encourage them when they’re having times of doubt. They don’t need another True Love Waits campaign, they need several mature friends who can encourage and challenge them daily when they are facing those temptations.
Again, I’m not talking about adding a time of “intergenerational ministry” to a youth program. I’m talking about including teenagers in our lives. Parents, we should certainly include teenagers in our own lives, but they need relationships with other mature believers, too.
As we are attempting to live in community with one another, we must not forget the teenagers. They are also brothers and sisters in Christ. We can disciple them and we can be discipled by them.