Serving through Relationship
Last summer, our family began spending time in a government assisted housing development in our area. This service began after a conversation with a friend who lives in that neighborhood. She had often asked us to pray for and help her neighbors. After talking with her, I asked if she thought it would be a good idea for us to start spending time in her neighborhood. She thought it was a good idea, and she said she would introduce us to her neighbors.
We had a simple plan when we started. We wanted to help the people physically, but we also wanted to begin building relationships with them. So, that first Saturday, we stopped by a local farmer’s market and bought $25 worth of vegetables and fruit and placed the produce in five small bags. As our friend introduced us to some of her neighbors that morning, we would give them a bag of produce, and ask them about themselves.
From the beginning, some of the people were very open to us. Others were suspicious. They are accustomed to nameless and faceless Christian groups and agencies coming in and giving stuff to nameless and faceless “poor people”. Often they are given “stuff” that they do not need – stuff like old bread, rotting produce, or cakes, cookies, and pies. Instead, we brought in fresh produce (only a little) and sat or stood with the people, talked with them, and got to know them.
Again, we did not have any other agenda. We had no plans going forward. Why? Because we did not know the people yet. We did not know what they needed. We did not know what God was going to do.
Over the last few months, other friends and families have started spending time in this neighborhood with us. By the time the farmer’s market closed in November, we were taking produce to 8 families every week. Also, we often took fresh baked (baked that morning) bread (made from freshly ground wheat) to the families.
But, more importantly, we’ve gotten to know many of the people who live in that neighborhood, and they have gotten to know us. They call us to check on us, and we call them to check on them. Even the people who were once suspicious because of past experiences with Christian groups have become good friends. We love each other… we say that we love each other… and we show that we love each other.
Besides visiting with them on Saturdays, we’ve had other opportunities to serve the people in the neighborhood. We sang Christmas carols in the neighborhood a few weeks ago. We had the opportunity to help one lady pay her utility bill. We’ve taken several elderly neighbors to doctor’s appointments, or visited them in the hospital, or even brought them home from the hospital. We tutored a single mother who is finishing her degree from a community college. We’ve provided furniture. We’ve taken meals to people who were sick. We bought toys for the neighborhood children for Christmas. We raked leaves.
We did all of these things because we love the people and we want to demonstrate the love of Christ to them. In fact, the reason that we were able to do these things is because we took the time to get to know them in the first place.
Let me repeat that: THE REASON THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SHOW THIS NEIGHBORHOOD THE LOVE OF CHRIST IS THAT WE TOOK THE TIME TO GET TO KNOW THEM FIRST. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to shout. But, statements like this are often overlooked.
As I finish this post, I encourage you to start spending time with people – both with people you already “know” and people you do not know. You will find that God gives you opportunities to serve and demonstrate his love through those relationships. It won’t be easy. It will often be messy. But, it will be real.
Learning to live together
A year ago, I published a post called “Learning to live together“. Reading over this post now, I realize that we’re actually still learning. But, the good thing is, we ARE still learning. The more we learn to have true fellowship with one another, the more we learn to have true fellowship with God. The more we learn to have true fellowship with God, the more we learn to have true fellowship with one another.
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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 traveller, yearning for our true home, rejoicing in the fellow travellers that God places in our path.
Newbigin on Church and Mission
A few weeks ago, I quoted Lesslie Newbigin from his book The Household of God (Friendship Press, 1954) in a post called “More ready to submit than to impose“. As I said in that post, I thought Newbigin description of the work of the Spirit in the meeting of the church is one of the best that I’ve read.
However, Newbigin’s book does not focus on the community aspect of the church alone. In fact, his ecclesiology is often called a “Missionary Ecclesiology”. Newbigin does not believe that the community aspect of the church can be separated from the missional aspect of the church. He says, however, that the church often treats this as dichotomies:
The most obvious evidence is the fact that, in the thinking of the vast majority of Christians, the words “Church” and “Mission” connote two different kinds of society. The one is conceived to be a society devoted to worship, and the spiritual care and nurture of its members. It is typically represented by a large and ancient building. The other is conceived to be a society devoted to the propagation of the Gospel, passing on its converts to the safe keeping of “the Church”… The two cannot become one until a very deep and widespread change has taken place in the thinking of the Churches about their own nature, until they have come to see, and to express in the ordinary life of the Church, the truth that the Church has all its treasure entrusted to it for the sake of the world, and that therefore mission belongs to the very substance of the Church’s life.
Although Newbigin wrote this over fifty years ago, I think it still describes the predominant thought among Christians: church and mission are separate. However, as Newbigin explains, this false dichotomy demonstrate that most Christians do not understand the nature or purpose of the church.
I’ve written about this before is a post called “The Gathered and the Sent“. We must recognize that we are gathered by God out of the world. This “gathering together” must include more than meeting for the sake of meeting. Instead, as the gathered people of God, we must seek unity and community and fellowship that is deep and life-altering because it is created and nurtured by the Spirit of God.
However, our community life has a purpose – to express the Gospel, the love, the mercy, and hope of Jesus Christ to the world. The community cannot exist for its own benefit alone. Instead, the community (the church) exists to demonstrate God (to exegete Him, if you will) to the world that is not part of the community.
Thus, community and mission go hand-in-hand. If we attempt to separate them, then we will not have community or mission, regardless of what we call them. We must recognized that we (all of us!) are both a gathered people and a sent people.
What Church Structures Hide
Our church has structure, but it is a very flexible – almost invisible – structure. In fact, some suggest that we have no structure and no organization. In fact, this is impossible for a group of people. However, we try to make sure that our structure does not dominate or dictate how we meet or how we interact with one another. We try to have a structure and an organization that encourages relationships – almost forces relationships.
Because of this, we’ve noticed a problem. People do not know how to live and serve in relationships with one another. While almost everyone agrees that believers are to live in community – relationship – with one another, it is becoming obvious that very few actually do this.
In fact, it is becoming clear that many church structures allow people to think that they are living and serving in community, while in reality there is no relationship, or at best very shallow relationships.
Let me give you an example. A few years ago, Margaret and I were part of a children’s ministry. I was director of this ministry, while Margaret was one of the teachers. We had several other teachers and leaders and helpers that served within this ministry. In the eyes of the church leadership, this ministry was “successful” because we involved large numbers of adults and served large numbers of children.
But, in reality, looking back, we did not have strong relationships with either the adults involved in the ministry or with the children that we served. (We did have a strong relationship with one family, but that relationship existed before we served together in this ministry.) Why were we able to serve “successfully” without relationships? Because the structures propped it up. We each had a position and a job description. We did what we were supposed to do. It was fun and rewarding for the kids, so they came.
A few years later we are not involved with that ministry and we are not involved in the lives of any of the people involved. We did our thing, now its over. So what? Was the body of Christ built up? I’m sure God did many good things through this ministry, just as he often does. But, honestly, we did not experience the fellowship of the Spirit with one another. We did serve because we knew one another and knew how to encourage one another toward maturity in Christ. We served because that was our ministry responsibility.
Church structures hide the fact that believers – for the most part – do not know how to live and serve in relationship with one another. We know how to do our duty, but we don’t know how to accept, listen, love, and serve one another. We know how to run our programs, but we don’t know how to get to know one another so that we can meet one another’s needs. We know how to hold Bible studies, but we don’t know one another well enough to know what we need to teach or to learn.
So, what happens when those church structures are removed? What happens when there are no programs or ministries or Bible studies? For the most part, people do not know what to do, because the do not know how to have relationships with one another, and serve through those relationships. We know how to live with our structures, but not with one another.
Our church structures are hiding our lack of fellowship with one another, which is indeed a lack of fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
Learning from strangers
As followers of Jesus Christ, we should be ready to learn from anyone – especially other brothers and sisters – even if we do not know them. However, when reading through Scripture, it seems that the authors thought most learning would happen within relationships.
These relationships as described in Scripture are “full life” relationships, meaning that we primarily learn from people that we actually know. We know what they say. We know how that treat their family. We know about their work ethic. We know how they treat other people. Thus, we learn from people that we really, truly, actually know.
But, today, things have changed. Strangers (or acquaintances at best) are the primary source of “information” and learning for most Christians. We read books written by people that we do not know. We watch and listen to sermons given by people that we do not know. We attend conferences where the speakers are people that we do not know. We often listen week after week to teaching from people that we do not know – even if they are part of our church.
Thus, when our favorite author, or a powerful speaker, or a gifted musician “fails” we feel betrayed. But, in reality, we are failing ourselves by putting our trust so heavily in people that we actually do not know.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. Books, and tapes, and CD’s, and lectures, and conferences can be very helpful. But, these things should complement the really, true, actual learning and discipleship that takes place through really, true, actual relationships. These things (books, tapes, cd’s, lectures, conferences) should not take the place of relationships.
In fact, we’re now part of a “Christianity” in which relationships are not only secondary, but they are rare. When talking to others, we would prefer to quote our favorite author than to listen to someone we know, perhaps because we don’t really know them.
Jesus not only spoke the gospel of the kingdom, but he also demonstrated it. Paul told people to consider his words and his manner of living. John said that our fellowship with one another is actually fellowship with the Father and the Son. We’ve replaced learning through relationship (knowing someone and their manner of life) with learning from strangers (people we do not know – including their manner of life).
Your favorite author may be able to wax eloquently concerning the theological implications of the love of God. But, you will learn more about the love of God from the person that you actually know – the person who is struggling with his boss, but continues to love her – the person who gives to others while going without himself – the person who would walk into a low income neighborhood because of her concern for the neighbors there.
Relationships are more than pastimes or good ideas. God worked in Scripture primarily through relationships. Discipleship occurs primarily through relationships. Spiritual growth occurs through relationships. Its time to spend less time with our favorite authors and more time with the people that God has placed in our lives.
Wondering…
A few days ago, my friend Eric, from “Hammer and Nail“, linked to a video in a post called “Watch this Desiring God Video about James 3“. The video, if you haven’t seen it, or didn’t go to the link to watch it, shows a family getting ready to “go to church”. They are yelling at one another all morning, then they walk through the front doors of the church building and begin smiling. The video even shows the father raising his hand while singing a song.
I realize that the purpose of this video (given the reference to James 3) is to show how we praise God with our mouth and curse others with our mouth, too. In fact, from the comments on Eric’s blog, it seems that yelling at one another on Sunday morning seems to be fairly typical.
But, for me, the video raised different questions. In fact, I looked at this from a different perspective.
I expect people to sin, and I’m surprised when they do not sin. I expect for there to be conflict in relationships (even close families). I expect for parents to yell at their children sometimes, and I expect children to yell at their parents sometimes. Notice, I’m not saying that this type of behavior is godly or right, but I’m saying that it is part of our human nature. Since we don’t always live according to the Spirit, our human nature will often rise to the surface.
So, if we sin – and we do – then why do we feel that we have to pretend – put on a fake smile – when we get together with the church? Shouldn’t the church be people who accept us as we are, because that’s the way that God accepts us in Christ? Shouldn’t the church be the people who love us in spite of our sin and problems? Shouldn’t the church know us better than anyone else, and even know about our faults, our weaknesses, and our sins, and yet love us anyway?
So, these are the questions I’ve been wondering about: 1) Why do we find it so easy to pretend when we are among the church? 2) Why do we find it necessary to pretend when we are among the church?
I think something is wrong with this picture. What is wrong? Are we willing to do something about it?
Dropping the "H" Bomb
About a year ago, I wrote a post called “Dropping the ‘H’ Bomb“. The purpose of that post was to show that we throw around the words “heresy” and “heretic” without considering their scriptural foundations. Often, when we call another brother or sister a “heretic”, we are the ones who are practicing “heresy” according to Scripture. Why? Read this post and find out.
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Dropping the “H” Bomb
I recently read a story about one follower of Christ calling another follower of Christ a heretic because they disagreed over certain aspects of teaching. I’m sure that many of us have heard similar stories, and perhaps some of us have even been called “heretics”.
The “H” bomb is dropped to separate the speaker from the “heretic” or “heresy”. It is used as stronger language than “disagree” or “different”. It is used to question the person’s devotion to and possibly position with God. To the person dropping the “H” bomb, the “heretic” may be sincere, but certainly sincerely wrong when compared with the bombardier.
Looking through various definitions of the word “heretic”, you’ll find that a “heretic” (in English) is a person who holds a position that is different from standard or accepted church beliefs. Thus, in English, “heresy” can only be defined from the perspective of a certain set of beliefs. So, someone can be a “heretic” from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church, but that same person may not be a “heretic” from the point of view of the Anglican Church.
Similarly, looking through various definitions of the word “heresy”, you’ll find that a “heresy” (again, in English) is any teaching, belief, or opinion that is different from standard or accepted church beliefs. Once again, “heresy” is a valid term on from the perspective of a certain set of beliefs.
From these modern definitions, every Baptist is a heretic to every Presbyterian. Every Anglican teaches heresy from the perspective of every Charismatic. From the point of view of Methodists, everyone in the Vineyard church is a heretic. These terms have lost any meaning, but they continue to be used with force and vehemence.
Perhaps, instead of looking at the modern definitions of “heresy” and “heretic” it would be helpful to consider the source of these words, and to consider how Scripture uses these words. Also, instead of comparing someone’s opinions and beliefs to the standard beliefs of a given church, perhaps it would be better to compare that person’s opinions and beliefs to Scripture.
Of course, even before we think about the source of the words “heresy” and “heretic”, we are immediately faced with the reality that different people interpret Scripture in different ways. Does this mean that our terms “heretic” and “heresy” are completely useless? No. It means that we must humbly admit that brothers and sisters in Christ disagree concerning the meaning of Scripture. We must also humbly admit that disagreement, in and of itself, does not constitute heresy. I may disagree with someone, and neither one of us may be heretics. However, according to the modern definitions of the words “heresy” and “heretic”, if two people disagree, one of them must be a heretic.
The terms “heresy” and “heretic” are scriptural words. The noun form αἱÏεσις (hairesis) is used five times in the New Testament, and is usually translated “sect”, “division”, “opinion”, or “schism”. The Pharisees and Sadducees are called “sects” (“heresies”) of Judaism (Acts 5:17; 15:5; 26:5). Christians are called a “sect” (“heresy”) of Judaism (Acts 24:5; 24:14; 28:22). Finally, there are said to be “divisions” or “dissensions” (“heresies”) among groups of Christians (1 Cor 11:19; Gal 5:20; 2 Pet 2:1). It is this last category that should interest us.
Scripture warns us about “heresies” among believers. But, in context, what are these passages telling us? In 1 Corinthians 11:19, Paul mentions “factions”. These are probably similar to the divisions mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1-4. The danger is not found in disagreements between believers, but in separation. The groups were separating from one another and treating one another differently based on their affiliations.
In Galatians 5:20, “heresies” or “divisions” or “factions” are mentioned again along with “disputes”, “dissensions”, and “envy”. All of these are listed as “works of the flesh” (Gal 5:19-21), practiced by those who “will not inherit the kingdom of God”. This is contrasted against the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22-23) which will be evident in the lives of God’s children. Since the fruit of the Spirit includes characteristics such as patience, gentleness, and self-control, we can assume that these are demonstrated in the context of disagreements, not in the absence of them. Again, this says nothing about disagreement being “heresy”.
In 2 Peter 2:1, Peter warns that false prophets and false teachers will bring “destructive heresies” with them. These false prophets and false teachers will not be known for disagreeing with other believers, but instead they will be known for “denying the Lord” (2 Pet 2:1), “sensuality” (2 Pet 2:2), “covetousness” (2 Pet 2:3). Thus, these false prophets and false teachers are not ones who simply disagree with other Christians, but those who deny that Christ is Lord, and live a life that demonstrates that they are not children of God.
Perhaps, from this connection of “heresy” with false prophets and false teachers in 2 Peter 2:1, we should also recognize why these people are called “false prophets” and “false teachers”. Perhaps one of the most important passages to help us understand what it means to be a “false teacher” is 1 Timothy 1:3-11. Here, those who teach “other doctrines” are those who teach contrary to the gospel (1 Tim 1:11). In many other passages, the authors of Scripture encourage their readers to teach and live in accordance to the gospel of Jesus Christ – that is, the good news that God has provided a way for all people to accepted as his children.
So, according to Scripture, who are the true “heretics”? Heretics are those who deny the gospel of Jesus Christ. Heretics are also those who live in a manner contrary to the gospel – that is, according to the flesh, not according to the Spirit. Similarly, heretics are those who cause and encourage divisions and dissensions among the followers of Jesus Christ.
When Person A calls Person B a “heretic” for a teaching that Person A disagrees with, but which is not contrary to the gospel, and when Person A refuses to fellowship with Person B because of that teaching, then, according to Scripture, Person A is actually the “heretic”. Person A is the one causing division among the followers of Christ and is thus promoting true heresy.
So, let’s be careful, thoughtful, and prayerful before we drop the “H” Bomb. It could be that we are the true “heretics”, not necessarily because our opinion is “wrong”, but because our words and actions are divisive – and this is the type of heresy that Scripture warns us about.
Am I against church programs?
About a year ago, I wrote a post called “Am I against church programs?” in which I tried to explain my thoughts about programs in the church. Since my previous post concerned program and organization and institutionalization, I thought this would be a good time to review this older post. I hope you enjoy…
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Am I against church programs?
Many times, I am asked, “Are you against church programs?” Some people, knowing that I do not stress church programs, also make a jump in logic and ask, “Why are you against church programs?”
My simple answer is, “I am neutral toward church programs.” In general, I am neither for church programs nor against church programs. Of course, in a time when churches define themselves by their programs (check out most church web sites), stating that I am not for church programs usually causes those who are for church programs to view me as the enemy – somehow against the work of God in their programs. But, this is not the case at all. I recognize that God works in many different ways, including through many programs. So, my neutral stance should not be recognized as being antagonistic toward church programs.
This then, usually brings up another question: “Why are you neutral toward church programs?”
The best way for me to answer this question is to turn to Scripture, specifically Mark 7:1-13:
Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God) – then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mark 7:1-13 ESV)
In this passage, Jesus deals specifically with traditions that had been handed down to and taught by the Pharisees. Notice that Jesus did not condemn these traditions, but neither did he promote them. However, Jesus did condemn any tradition that causes the individual or group to leave or reject the command of God.
Just to pick on a particular church program (tradition), let’s consider Sunday School. Sunday School is not a command of God. It is not required of believers to attend Sunday School. So, if we are not responsible for attending Sunday School, what are we responsible for? We are responsible to make disciples, to teach one another, to have fellowship with one another, to serve one another, etc. Many would say that these are the purposes of Sunday School. I agree that these are usually the purposes of Sunday School. But, when we teach “attending Sunday School” as a requirement for believers, then we are teaching our traditions instead of the commands of God, even though we may have held to our traditions as a means to keeping the commands of God.
Unfortunately, many times we teach people to hold to our traditions and to participate in our programs because the programs are easier to measure and control. For example, many times church organizations will use Sunday School attendance as a measure of discipleship. In the same way, the church organizations will control who can teach in their programs in order to protect from any instructions that would disagree with the stance of the organization. These programs and traditions, while probably started in order to help believers keep the commands of God, tend to replace the commands of God – either consciously or unconsciously – in the minds of the believers.
Thus, when asked if they are making disciples, believers can point to their attendance in Sunday School. When asked if they are evangelistic, they can point to the organization’s evangelism program. When asked if they are teaching their children to walk in the ways of God, they can point to their children’s ministry. When asked if they praise God, they can point to their participation in choir. When asked if they give to others who are in need, they can point to their tithes and offerings. When asked if they fellowship with other believers, they can point to their covered dish dinners. When asked if they worship God, they can point to their attendance at a Sunday morning meeting (“worship service”). However, while each of these programs may be means to helping believers obey God, attendance or participation are not the goal in and of themselves; and, furthermore, attendance or participation neither equates with obedience nor do they preclude the individual’s responsibility toward God and toward his fellow believers.
This does not mean that I think programs are inherently evil. Jesus did not condemn the traditions of the Pharisees in general, and I do not condemn programs in general. In fact, I have seen programs work very well. Usually, this happens when the program is organized for a specific and short-term purpose.
For example, if a family’s house is destroyed by fire, an organized program to help them with money, food, accommodations, etc. would be very beneficial. In this case, the “benevolence” program has a specific purpose: to help the church show kindness and to serve this family who is in need. When the need is met, then the program would stop. What usually happens, though, is that this “benevolence” program is continued after the need is met. Thus, we feel a need to continue to staff and maintain a “benevolence” committee or program which has no specific goal, other than show benevolence, which is the requirement of all believers, not just those in this program. The program becomes the goal, instead of the means to meeting a goal.
My friend Eric, from “Hammer and Nail“, described my position on church programs in a comment to his post called “Let Them See the Gospel“. He said:
I think one reason people outside the church may not see a living faith within the church is that we often rely on church programs to accomplish the work the individuals should be doing. I know that opens up a big “can of worms” about church programs. However, I think the connection is real. Programs, whether good or not so good, often lead people into shirking their personal responsibility to serve others by thinking that the church program will take care of it. Within the church, we need to talk much of personal responsibility to serve one another within the body and outside the body.
Thus, our goal should not be creating, promoting, staffing, and running church programs. Our goal should be discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, hospitality, service, etc. These things can happen within church programs. But, they can also be hindered when church programs become the focus and goal of our organizations. The church should focus on loving God and loving others through discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, hospitality, service, etc. instead of focusing on creating and maintaining programs.
Sacred Meals in the Synagogue
This is my last post about synagogues – for now. Actually, I had not planned to write this post, but after discussing the topic with Dave Black and after his encouragement, I decided to write it. In Stephen Catto’s book Reconstructing the First-Century Synagogue: A Critical Analysis of Current Research (New York: T&T Clark, 2007), Catto describes four “worship practices” that he says were common to first century synagogues. He says that those synagogues practiced 1) sanctity (cleansing or purity), 2) Scripture reading and teaching, 3) Prayer (including hymns), and 4) Sacred meals.
Yes, you read that correctly. Catto suggests that first century synagogue meetings included meals as a form of “worship”. In fact, he points out that many synagogue buildings included dining rooms for the meal.
In the book of Jubilees (written around the middle of the second century BCE), the author states:
And thus he created therein a sign by which they migh keep the sabbath with us on the seventh day, to eat and drink and bless the one who created all things just as he blessed and sanctified for himself a people who appeared from all the nations so that they might keep the sabbath together with us. (Jub. 2.21)
Catto says, “The picture is of the heavenly and earthly realms uniting, both in worship and in the sharing of a meal. Such a description would suggest a communal activity, and probably reflects the Sabbath practices of the author’s community. Further, the eating and drinking that goes on appears to be linked with the worship of the community.”
As further evidence that synagogues shared a meal together, Catto quotes a passage from the Tosefta, a written compilation of the oral law of Judaism from sometime around 200 CE. The passage describes exactly how those assembled share the meal together. Commenting on the passage, he quotes another author as follows: “The form of the meal represented here clearly corresponds to that of the Greco-Roman banquet. Such features as reclining, three courses, washing the hands, mixing wine with water, and saying a blessing over the wine are some of the more obvious elements.”
If Catto is correct, and I have much more studying to do before I form an opinion, then eating and drinking together were considered a form of worship to some Jews around the time of the New Testament. Thus, the concept “breaking bread” together would not be a foreign concept to the new church. Certainly, there would be difference between the communal meals of the synagogue and the communal meals of the church. Primarily, for the church, Jesus Christ is both the host and the benefactor of the meal, and the meal provides an outward demonstration of the fellowship that the church possesses because of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Do you think it is important to know whether or not synagogues regularly shared meals together as part of the worship?
Peace – A Chain Blog
Last week, I mentioned that I was planning to start a chain blog today on the topic of “peace” (see, “Chain Blog on the Topic of Peace“). This is the first “link” in that chain blog. If you would like to take part in this “chain blog”, please see the rules at the end of this post.
According to Jesus, peacemakers are blessed and will be called children of God (Matt. 5:9). Similarly, he told his disciples that he was leaving his peace with them (John 14:27). James recognized that wisdom from above results in peace (James 3:17). Paul says that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:14-17), and that the Holy Spirit produces peace in our lives (Gal. 5:22). The author of Hebrews says that discipline results in peace, and that we should all strive for peace with everyone else (Heb. 12:11,14). Likewise, Peter exhorts his readers to look for and pursue peace (1 Pet. 3:11). Finally, throughout the New Testament, the standard Greco-Roman greeting was replaced with “Grace and peace” (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4; Phil. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Pet. 1:2; 2 John 1:3; Rev. 1:4).
But, what does “peace” mean to a follower of Jesus Christ? There are certainly many aspects to this question. We could talk about peace with God, or peace with another individual. Similarly, we could discuss peace among a group of believers, or peace between believers and unbelievers. We could also talk about political peace.
To kick off this chain blog, and in keeping with the primary themes of this blog, I’m going to discuss the implications of peace among a group of believers. Primarily, I want to answer the following question: What does it mean for the church to live together in peace?
As mentioned earlier, several passages of Scripture indicate that peace primarily comes through our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Peace is a product of the Spirit’s work in a person’s life. However, we are also exhorted to seek and strive for peace. Thus, there is a work that must be done in order to maintain the peace that we have with one another through the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps the passage of Scripture that speaks the most clearly about maintaining peace among a community of believers in found in Philippians:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4 ESV)
In this passage, we see that we maintain peace among our brothers and sisters by being of the same mind, having the same love, and being in full accord – thinking, caring, and deciding in like manner. Obviously, this would yield a peaceful situation. But, what about those times when we are not of the same mind, heart, and accord?
Paul covers that as well. In those instances – and they will occur – we are to do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but instead we are to humble ourselves and consider others to be more significant or important than ourselves. We are to consider one another’s interests as much as – if not more than – our own.
Thus, when we are not thinking or loving or deciding in the same way, then we maintain peace by allowing others to have their way. We humbly submit our wills to the will of others – allowing others to make decisions that may be different from the decisions that we would make.
And, of course, this is where things get sticky. Who should be leading the community in maintaining peace – that is, leading the way in humbly giving up their own opinions and desires for the good of the community? The leaders of the community should be first to consider others as more important, because, supposedly, the leaders are among the more mature – more Christ-like – of the community.
Unfortunately, we usually see just the opposite. (Yes, this is a generality. There are exceptions.) Usually, leaders are the ones who work the hardest to make sure that their opinions carry the day. Leaders are the ones who refuse to humble themselves and submit to the desires of others. This leads to a lack of example in maintaining peace and a lack of peace itself.
The world cannot find peace apart from Jesus Christ. The church has Christ and should have peace – if they are humbly submitting to the work of the Spirit in their lives, which would include humbly submitting to one another when their are differences of opinion. Instead, the church often seems to have as much stress – and perhaps less peace – than the world. Why? Because we care more about ourselves than others – because we consider ourselves more important than others. Because we are not submitting to the work of the Spirit in maintaining peace.
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Chain blog rules:
1) If you would like to write the next blog post (link) in this chain, leave a comment stating that you would like to do so. If someone else has already requested to write the next link, then please wait for that blog post and leave a comment there requesting to write the following link.
2) Feel free to leave comments here and discuss items in this blog post without taking part in the actual “chain”. Your comments and discussion are very important in this chain blog.
3) When you write a link in this chain, please reply in the comments of all previous links to let everyone know that your link is ready. Also, please try to keep an updated list of links in the chain at the bottom of your post, and please include these rules at the bottom of your post.
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“Peace” Chain
Link 1: “Peace – A Chain Blog” by Alan Knox
Link 2: “Peace – A Chain Blog” by Joe (J.R.) Miller
Link 3: “For Peace Sake” by Chris Dryden
Link 4: “A Restoration of Peace in the Eschatological Work of Jesus Christ” by Lionel Woods
Link 5: ?