The Conditional Church
In my previous post – “Jesus, you forgot the conditional statements again” – I pointed out (in my sarcastic manner) that many (perhaps most?) of Jesus’ commands are offered with no conditional statements. So, for instance, when Jesus says, “Give to those who beg of you,” he did not tell his listeners to consider how they would use the gift before it is given. Although, of course, we often add our own conditional statements…
But, we don’t just add our own conditional statements to Jesus’ commands. We add conditional statements to commands concerning the church and descriptions of the church also. Interestingly, the conditional statements help form what we read in Scripture to what we already do or believe today. (Quite convenient, actually.)
For example, read through the following commands and/or descriptions and ask yourself this question: What “conditional statements” do I assume that author meant even though he didn’t include the condition when he wrote?
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16 ESV)
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (1 Thessalonians 5:14 ESV)
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)
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. (1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV)
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4 ESV)
Surely there are many other passages that I could list. These passages above deal with gathering together and interacting with one another. How many conditional statements to we place on these commands and descriptions?
What kinds of conditional statements? Well, statements such ask these: “… if the leaders/elders/pastors permit it…”, “… if the size of the group gathering is not too large…”, “… if the person understand enough orthodox theology…”, “… if… if… if”.
We are good at adding conditions, especially when it comes to the church.
Replay: Edification as Worship
“The church gathers for worship.” That seems to be a given these days. And, by the term “worship,” people typically mean singing, listening to singing, praying, listening to praying, preaching, listening to preaching, and perhaps giving.
I examined some of these ideas three years ago in a post called “Edification as Worship.” The post is actually as response to a lecture given by one of my favorite authors, David Peterson. The primary point in the lecture/post is that, to quote Peterson, “It’s silly to make artificial distinctions between the vertical and the horizontal,” and “Edification is the lost factor in alot of our discussions about worship.”
When we are building up others, we are worship God. If we are not building up others when we come together, we are not worshiping God, regardless of what activities are going on around us.
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Edification as Worship
JT at “Between Two Worlds” points us to several lectures concerning worship in his post “Lectures on Worship“.
I was delighted to see that the first few lectures were given by David Peterson, author of one of my favorite books Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (IVP 2002). (If you haven’t read this book, you should.) I was also delighted to see the title of Peterson’s fourth lecture: “Meeting God in the Gathering of His People“.
Then, as I started listening to this lecture – hoping to hear what I had read in his book – I was thrilled when Peterson says at the very beginning, “Edification is the lost factor in alot of our discussions about worship”. Yes!
Later in the lecture (around the 34 minute mark), Peterson begins defining “edification”:
And in Christian terms, “building” means founding, maintaining, and advancing the church in God’s way. Now that definition needs to be set aside of what I think are some fairly common misapprehensions.
First of all, a lot of people think that edification purely has to do with education – that it’s a purely intellectual activity. And so you say, “Was that an edifying sermon today?” “Yes, I learned alot”. hmmm… well, that’s not exactly what the Bible means by edification as we will see.
Or, I’ve heard people come out of a symphony concert, “That Beethoven was very edifying tonight”. And what they mean is, “I felt good about that Beethoven. My that was exciting!” I feel good. That’s not edification either.
Edification is a corporate concept. It has to do with founding, maintaining, and advancing the church in Gods way.
Peterson goes on to exegete several passages of Scripture to demonstrate that edification means both adding to the church in number, and also increasing the maturity of the church corporately. Edification of a process of growth and development for the whole church. He says, “Edification is a corporate motion. It occurs when Christians minister God’s truth to one another in love, seeking to express and encourage a Christ-centered faith, hope, and love.”
At one point in the lecture, Peterson talks about the blurring of distinctions between the vertical aspect of worship (between God and us) and the horizontal aspect of worship (between us and other people). He says (around the 21 minute mark):
So the three things can be happening together: 1) God can be speaking to us. 2) We are ministering to one another. 3) And we are responding to God. It’s silly to make artificial distinctions between the vertical and the horizontal…. Is not worship also listening to God, ministering to one another, declaring his greatness, preaching, testimony, singing. The whole thing needs to be thought of as intricately interconnected – the vertical and the horizontal… That’s really at the heart of what I’m trying to say to you this afternoon.
As John told his readers (1 John 1:3), our fellowship with one another is truly fellowship with God the Father and the Son. Its time for us to recognize that we usually demonstrate our love for God by loving others, and we serve God by serving others – especially in a corporate context.
As we build up one another – as we exercise our gifts to serve one another and as we speak to encourage, instruct, and admonish one another – we are worshiping God. The horizontal aspects of worship and the vertical aspects of worship become blurred. However, if we fail to edify one another, then we have neither the horizontal nor the vertical aspects of worship – regardless of what we do or say.
As Paul told the church in Corinth, whenever we come together as brothers and sisters in Christ, everything we do should be for the purpose of building up one another – that is, seeking to express and encourage a Christ-centered faith, hope, and love. If we are not edifying one another as the church, then we are not worshiping.
Different forms of participation
Michael at “2nd man united” is writing a series of posts called “What it means to be organic.” His third post in the series is “Moving Participation From Positions to People.”
In this series, Michael is comparing “mechanical order” to “organic order.” I think this is a helpful comparison, although certainly some will disagree with it. However, it is helpful when we see the differences in the topic being discussed.
For example, all believers think that participation is a good thing. But, often, we are talking about different things when we talk about “participation.” Michael writes:
In mechanical order, people are invited to participate by filling in positions in a master plan. For example, setting up ministry programs and asking for volunteers to serve in the ministries. In this case, leaders invite people to participate in ways that serve the plan. They are then inserted into the manufacturing process (program) with the intention that they are a piece that can help bring about the predetermined desired outcome…
In organic order, individuals are invited to participate as themselves for the good of the group as a whole. The mission (or ministry) emerges from how the individual participants grow together as a community and interact with the world around them given their competencies (spiritual gifts, natural talents, etc.). To be truly organic, community must take precedence above mission. This is the only way that the priority of the health of the individuals is kept front and center. If mission comes first, you sacrifice the health of the individuals for what they can do for the mission. Instead, the mission comes out of the improved health of the individuals. Plus, God’s eternal purpose is wrapped up in community. Community is the prime product. Mission is a by-product. (emphasis in original)
The difference, as Michael points out, is the form of participation. Are people required to participate with one another in set forms or methods that have been already set up as part of a plan? Or, are they free to participate as they are – that is, as God has gifted and prepared them?
Yes, in the “organic” form of participation, there is an increased likelihood of messiness. In the “mechanical” form of participation, things flow more smoothly.
Of course, I’m not convinced that “more smoothly” is better than “messier,” but that would probably be a good topic for another day.
Don’t misunderstand me… God can and does work through both mechanical participation and organic participation. However, I believe that organic participation is healthier for the church.
How have you seen God work through both mechanical and organic participation? Which form do you think is healthier for the church? Why?
When the church gathering is not dependent on a robust spiritual life operating in all its members
Like many others, I encourage “every member ministry.” Of course, this looks different to different people, and it should look different in different contexts. But, there are similarities, such as the opportunity for everyone to talk part (speaking and serving) when the church gathers together.
Josh at “Called to Rebuild” is talking about this in his latest post “Are our gatherings truly an expression of the church which is His Body?”
I think that Josh expresses this view of “every member ministry” very well, and better than I have in the past. For example, at one point he says:
Most of the gatherings you’ll ever walk into would be entirely unaffected should you continue to show up week after week and never participate in the meetings or community life. Ironically, though it is designed for you (and for the other people present) the show would go on with or without you just the same. It is not dependent on a robust spiritual life operating in all its members resulting in a healthy, moment-by-moment functioning of the Body as a whole. Rather, it is carried on mostly by a select number of staff members aided by the volunteer labor of a few eager laymen.
Think about it… if “the show would go on” exactly the same whether you were there or not, then are you truly part of that church gathering? Not really. You’re more like a person watching a movie at the theater than someone taking part in the gathering of the church.
But, what a difference it makes when every follower of Jesus Christ is given the opportunity to let the life of Christ flow through them and into the others gathered together!
Mutual Participation: Dip your toes into the waters or dive into the deep end?
For the last two days, I’ve been trying to decide what to do with Art’s latest comment on my post “Replay: How do we edify others?”
First, I think the comment is a well-articulated comment and a necessary component of our discussion of edifying one another when we gather with the church.
Second, Art’s comment is another indicator that he should be writing this stuff for his own blog… but then I need to keep my mouth shut so that he continues to leave the comments here.
I thought about copying Art’s entire comment, but I decided to continue the discussion by asking a question… which I’ll get to by the end of this post.
In the comment, Art is talking about participatory meetings. Now, for most Christians, church gatherings are not a time of real participation. They primarily gather to hear from others, and usually they hear from the same person week in and week out.
Some churches move toward more participatory meetings by having different people speak from week to week, or by encouraging comments or questions after the speaker is finished.
Other groups of believers move along the spectrum toward mutual participation by having a discussion about a specific topic or passage of Scripture.
Finally, some groups come together without a preplanned topic or passage.
Now, if a group of believers recognizes that mutual participation is beneficial for the church, and if that same group of believers recognizes that they do not all participate when they gather together, what should they do? Should they take steps toward mutual participation (perhaps along the spectrum that I described above), or should they jump in with both feet directly into all participating without a preplanned topic or passage?
This is the question that Art poses in his comment:
Doesn’t our best attempts to move past the pastor controlled meeting space still deny committing one another to the care and capability of the Spirit in contributing to one another when assembled? Wasn’t this something Paul was very quick to do with pagans only recently converted, leaving them on their own after a few weeks or months without “leadership?” Do the saints, in fact, need us and not the Spirit, to help them begin to “participate” so narrowly? I suppose I’m advocating “throwing the meeting in the deep end of the pool to learn to swim together,” but this seems to be the biblical pattern.
As you can see, I borrowed Art’s swimming analogy for this post.
So, what do you say? If a group desires mutual participation for the sake of helping one another grow in Christ, is it better to take small, incremental steps by adding more and more participation? Or is it better to scrap all facilitators and plans in order to provide opportunities for mutual participation immediately? Why?
When every part of the body of Christ functions together
Josh at “Called to Rebuild” has written another excellent post. This one is called “Missing the church.”
He begins by explaining that many close friends have been transitioning out of his life lately. Josh feels the loss… and that along is an amazing thought. In a time when “church” has become just another activity, it is a real family for Josh.
Next, he describes a time when God began to show him what could happen when the whole body of Christ worked together. He writes:
Anyway, as I sat there listening something just came over me. Tears welled up in my eyes. Nothing being said was at all specific to my trial at the time, but that didn’t matter. In a way I can’t adequately explain with words, I saw Christ being revealed as I listened to the brothers and sisters sharing. It was powerful. All the pressure from the burden in my heart was like a great big logjam, but as I beheld Christ through the functioning of His Body it was like a mighty river came bursting through the channels of my heart, forcing it all to the surface and clearing it away.
Josh refers to 1 Corinthians 14:24-25. While Paul writes about an unbeliever recognizing the presence of God among the church because everyone is prophesying, I can see how it would apply to Josh’s situation too.
As I read Josh’s post, I love this statement: “[A]s I beheld Christ through the functioning of His Body it was like a mighty river came bursting through the channels of my heart, forcing it all to the surface and clearing it away.”
Reading that, it’s easy to understand why Josh would say that he misses his brothers and sisters in Christ.
Replay: How do we edify others?
Two year ago, in January 2010, I started a series on the subject of mutual edification by looking at a passage in 1 Thessalonians. The series continued with posts about passages in Romans and 1 Corinthians. Finally, it ended with posts that asked a couple of questions: 1) who edifies whom? and 2) how do we edify others?
The post below was the conclusion of that series: “How do we edify others?” I do not offer specific steps towards edification, because I think the “steps” will changed based on the people involved. However, I do offer a few guidelines that I’ve noticed about edification. If you’re interested, links to the other posts in the series can be found at the bottom of the post.
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This is my last planned post on edification for this week (see “Salvation as the motivation for mutual edification,” “Acceptance and edification,” “What is Edification?” and “Who edifies whom?“). In this post, I would like us to consider some of the methods we can use to edify others.
Once again, let’s with begin the definition from a previous post: Edification is using words and deeds in the context of familial relationships and fellowship to help one or more followers of Jesus Christ grow in their understanding of Christ, their love for and unity with their brothers and sisters in Christ, and their faithfulness in living like Christ.
There are a few things to consider at the beginning. We are gifted differently. We have different opportunities. We spend time with different people who need to mature in different ways. We are all at different levels of spiritual maturity in different parts of our lives. We cannot make specific statements about methods of edification that will cover all instances.
However, there are some general guidelines that can help us think through how we are (or are not) edifying others. For instance, I think we can all agree that Scripture teaches that we can use our words to either edify (build up) or destroy (tear down). But, it’s not just our words. Our actions (deeds or lack of deeds done for the purpose of serving others) can work to either edify or destroy. If we desire for people to grow both in their understanding and in their way of life, then both our words and our way of life must be used to edify.
Second, we must understand that in different contexts, different methods of edification are appropriate. Paul makes this very clear in 1 Corinthians 14. For example, while uninterpreted tongues is an appropriate means of edifying the one speaking, it is an inappropriate means of edifying a group of believers.
Third, in spite of the second principle, we should still recognize that ANY time we spend with another person or other people is an opportunity for edification. We see this in Scripture often as people make disciples and encourage one another when the church is meeting together, or when they are working together, or when they are sharing meals together, or when they are traveling together.
Fourth, edification is a mutual process. If I only view myself as the “edifier” in a certain relationships, then I have misunderstood the way that God’s Spirit works through his children. Even if I am the more mature believer, I can still learn from and be encouraged by and be discipled by (i.e., edified by) a less mature brother or sister. I can be wrong… I am wrong in many of my beliefs, my relationships with others, and my way of life. Humility is very important in our relationships with other believers such that we are willing accept the teaching, correction, example, etc. of others.
Fifth, and finally for now, in order for the church to grow in maturity, every believers must take advantage of the opportunities, giftings, talents, abilities, relationships, etc. that God has given them. Excellent leadership does not produce growth in the church. A phenomenal teacher/preacher does not produce growth in the church. Instead, it is when all believers are working together to edify one another that Paul says the church (together) will grow in maturity toward Jesus Christ.
I know that I still have much to learn about edification. I’m looking forward to the times that God uses the people in my life to edify me, just as I’m looking forward to times when God chooses to use me to edify others. We need one another.
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Some Thoughts on Mutual Edification:
Replay: Learning to share our lives with others
Four years ago, I wrote a post called “Learning to live together.” (While I normally keep the titles of my previous posts in “replays,” I decided to change this one slightly to better reflect the content.) In this post, I was thinking about some of the opportunities that God had given us to share our lives with others. These opportunities are not always pleasant; sometimes they are very painful. But, it’s necessary for us to learn to share our lives in the good times and the bad, and to share in the struggles and successes of other people as well.
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A few months ago, I wrote an article for “Life in the Journey” called “Walking through difficulty… together“. In that post, I primarily was thanking God for the many brothers and sisters that he has placed in our lives, and acknowledging that I need these people in my life to help me walk with God. God places us together to live together, in both the good times and the bad times, to rejoice with one another and to mourn with one another, to encourage and to comfort.
Over the last few weeks especially, we’ve seen more and more friends struggling through life. It seems, in fact, that the number of struggles has increased exponentially over the last few months and years. As I think about these struggles and the seeming increase of struggles, I wonder if the increase is real, or if I simply know about more of the struggles because there are more people who have chosen to share their lives with us.
In reality, I realize that over the last couple of years especially, my family has begun to learn what it means to live together with other people. This means that we are learning not only to bear the other person’s burden, but also to share our own burdens. I think, sometimes, sharing my burdens is more difficult than helping someone else bear their burden. But, both – give and take – is important and necessary as we learn to live in community with one another – with Jesus Christ as the one who creates and maintains our fellowship, with him alone being our common identity.
I said, “My family has begun to learn what it means to live together with other people”. I want to say that we HAVE learned, but that would not be true. This process is ongoing, and since we are not complete yet, we have a long way to go and much more to learn. We are still learning to trust and to be trustworthy, to care and to allow others to care, to speak and to listen, to accept and to be real/authentic, to give grace and to accept grace, and most of all, to hope and to offer hope to others.
Since we are still learning, we are also still making mistakes. And, since our brothers and sisters are not perfect yet either – sorry to burst your bubble – they make mistakes as well. Besides being hurt by life, we hurt one another. Thus, forgiveness must be a huge part of learning to live together. Of course, this includes asking for forgiveness and offering forgiveness. We who have been given much, who have been forgiven greatly, and who have been loved unconditionally give, forgive, and love others in response… imperfectly though.
So, as our friends struggle with sickness, death, relationship problems, financial problems, job issues, emotional stresses, etc. and as our family struggles with the same issues, we learn to live together, in spite of these struggles and through these struggles. We learn to depend upon God as we depend upon one another. We learn that God cares as we see others care. As we give and receive, offer and accept, in strength and in weakness, we learn to live together… living the life of a traveler, yearning for our true home, rejoicing in the fellow travelers that God places in our path.
Decompartmentalizing the Misson: Strengthening Believers
In the introduction to this series, I explained how I thought that people today tend to compartmentalize their lives. Because of this, we often compartmentalize what we consider the mission of God as well. In the previous post, I considered proclamation of the gospel as part of the mission of God as demonstrated and taught by Jesus and Paul. In this post, I look at their example of strengthening believers as part of their mission.
(As an aside, I recognize the irony of working through a series on “decompartmentalizing the mission of God” by separately consider various aspects of that mission. Please stick with me until the last post where I intend to bring it all together.)
I need to make one point before I jump into evidence. When I say, “Strengthening believers,” I’m talking about helping people who are already following Jesus to follow him better. This kind of “help” is called by many names in Scripture: discipling, strengthening, edification, etc.
While Jesus spent much time speaking with people who were not currently following him, he also spent significant time helping people who were already following him. For example, he often spoke in parables to the crowds and then explained his parables to those who were following him:
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable… Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered… (Matthew 13:34-37 ESV)
In the previous post, I mentioned the “commission” passages as examples of Jesus instructing his followers of proclaim the gospel. The “commission” passage from Matthew also includes the command to help others follow him:
…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you… (Matthew 28:28 ESV)
Paul also spent time helping those who had already received the gospel and were already following Jesus. It is significant that (what we call) Paul’s second missionary journey was begun with a desire to return and help those who received the message during the first missionary journey:
And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” (Acts 15:36 ESV)
There are many passages in Paul’s writings where he instructs his readers to strengthen others as part of their mission. Here is one example:
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)
For both Jesus and Paul, helping those who were already following Jesus was clearly a part of what they considered to be their mission. In the same way, in both of their cases, they instructed others to follow their example in helping others follow Jesus. Remember that the type of help that I’m talking about goes beyond proclaiming the gospel. This is the kind of help that is offered to those who have already received the gospel, are already following Jesus, and are already indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
Whether we call this by the terms strengthening, edification, building up, discipling, or something else, it was part of the mission of both Jesus and Paul, and should be considered part of the mission of God today.
What would you like to add to my discussion of strengthening believers as part of the mission of God?
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Decompartmentalizing the Mission of God Series:
How Big is Too Big for the Church?
My good friend Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” is asking a very good question in his post “What Size Should a Church Family Be?”
(If you haven’t met Eric yet, he and I have known each other for about 9 years. Recently, he resigned from his job as a vocational pastor because of some convictions based on his study of Scripture.)
Eric begins where my previous post stopped: the purpose of the church gathering is mutual edification. If, then, we are to gather to edify one another, is there an upper limit on the number that can gather together? That’s the question that Eric asks.
He says:
What about the upper end? In our country right now the answer tends to be “bigger is better.” Another common way of thinking is that size doesn’t matter at all. I disagree with both these conclusions…
What about 30? I believe this is roughly the upper end. I freely admit that this conclusion is based partly on my own experience. I’ve read others who come to both higher and lower conclusions than 30. However, in my experience 30 is roughly the upper end that can fully participate in a gathering to bring about edification.
Like I told Eric in the comments, I’m not smart enough or brave enough to suggest a number. But I agree that mutual edification should be the principle that drives our gathering. If there are too many people gathered together to work together to help one another grow in spiritual maturity, then there’s a problem.
After I left my comment on Eric’s post, I began to wonder something… Is one of the causes (of desiring larger and larger church sizes) the fact that we are more interested in gathering together than we are in going out?