What questions?
A few days ago, my friend Ed suggested that I create an FAQ page to explain some of my “ideas and heresies”. (Thanks, Ed! I think…) Actually, I think it is a good idea. What I want to do is create a page that points people to some of my posts that explain my views on certain topics dealing with the church. I’ll put a link to this page on my sidebar. But, what questions should I include? Here are some that I’ve thought of:
What is the church?
What is disicpleship?
What should believers do when the church gathers together?
What is worship?
What is edification?
What are elders?
Why is unity about believers so important?
For what reasons should believers separate from one another?
What about spiritual gifts?
What is fellowship and community?
What does it mean to love other people?
What are baptism and the Lord’s Supper?
What do I think about church programs?
Can you think of other questions that I should ask/answer in an FAQ?
Church exactly the way you want it…
In my previous post called “A Weekend with Friends“, I mentioned two very special friends of ours: Eric and Alice. Eric has written an exceptional blog post called “If I had church exactly the way I wanted it“. In this post, Eric lists his convictions about many aspects of doctrine and practice. He lists exactly how he would like to see a church operate. Then, he makes this very wise and thoughtful observation:
The problem with this particular church, which is exactly the way I would want it, is that it doesn’t exist. In fact, if I tried to plant a church like this, I would probably end up the only member (I do hope my family would join, so I guess that would make five of us).
Because people make up the church, we will have differences of opinion, different comfort levels, and different preferences. If you even put ten people together, you will get hundreds of different combinations of desires about the issues raised above.
So what are we to do? What did Christ want for His church? In John 17:20-21, Jesus prayed, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
How do we do this? How can we all be “one” when we have different desires about how things should go in the church?
The only conclusion I can come to is that we be dogmatic about the heart of the gospel. In all other issues, let’s be humble about what we teach, let’s strive for unity whenever possible, and let’s be willing to sacrifice our own desires for the good of the body.
This kind of thinking is a breath of fresh air for me. Eric recognizes that the church will never be exactly the way that we want it. However, as long as we are connected to brothers and sisters in Christ through the Holy Spirit – and none of us are living in unrepentant sin – then we should give up our own preferences and opinions in deference to those we love.
I have many convictions when it comes to the church. And, when I gather with brothers and sisters in Christ on Sunday morning or at other times, things are not always that way that I would prefer. But, those “things” are not what draws me to gather with these people. Instead, my focus should be on loving God through loving and serving those people who he has placed around me.
This is difficult. In fact, it is completely impossible for me, on my own, to give up my preferences and yield to another. I thank God that he does not leave me to do the impossible by myself. Instead, he indwells me, convicts me, empowers me to do the impossible – even giving up my preferences and opinions in the interest of prefering others above myself – even when the church is not exactly the way I want it.
A Weekend with Friends
Eric (“Hammer and Nail“) and Alice (“Thinking as a Woman“) drove up from Savannah to spend the weekend with us. God is teaching us how to share our home as well as our lives with those he puts in our life. It was a joy to spend time with Eric and Alice and their children.
Eric and Alice and their family once lived near us. Eric was one of our elders. Over the last year, they have moved out of the country, then moved back to Savannah so that their son could undergo cancer treatment. We saw Eric a few months ago, but we had not seen Alice or the rest of the family in almost a year.
We learned something very important this weekend – something more important than sharing our house. When they arrived Friday night, it was almost as if they were just coming to visit like they would before they ever moved. We continued our relationship, discussing our children, our jobs, and our common walk with the Lord. We have talked on the phone and Skype in the last year, but this is the first face-to-face talk. But, God has kept our hearts bound together in him.
I’m beginning to think that this is what fellowship in the Spirit is all about. Even with Eric and Alice we have differences of opinion about certain things. We don’t agree all the time. But, we are one in Christ. We are family – brothers and sisters. We love one another and care for one another. Our love and care and concern doesn’t surface because we agree with one another. Instead, our love and care and concern demonstrate themselves in spite of any disagreements that we may have.
Now, I don’t want you to get the idea that we fought all weekend, but we still love each other. That’s not what I’m talking about. In fact, there were no fights at all. We listened to one another. We cared about what was going on in each other’s lives. And we remembered that in many cases, our personal opinions are not as important as encouraging our brother and sister toward maturity in Christ and comforting and supporting them in times of hurt and need. We did not find it necessary to hammer out all of our differences, because they become very insignificant when we focus on our unity in Christ – our fellowship in the Spirit – our common relationship as children of the Father.
How can we argue about the crumbs that fall to the floor, when the Father has spread a gourmet meal before us? How can we fight about the different nuances of our beliefs, when we share a common inheritance that will never fade and never fail? The Spirit testified to each of our spirits that we are children of God, and we spent our time enjoying our common fellowship with the Father in Christ through the Spirit.
What a joy! What an abundant life! And, now, we wait expectantly for the times when the Father decides to allow our paths to cross again… when we can once again share our struggles and pains and joys and heartaches and victories and trials and hopes face-to-face. We will continue to talk on the phone, and send emails, and comment on blogs. But, as I’ve learned, there is nothing more dear than sharing a few moments, and a few words, and a hug with brothers and sisters who are far away, but who still impact our lives.
Now you’re meddling…
Growing up “in church”, I remember on occasion hearing a statement such as this: “Pastor, you stopped preaching and started meddling.” The statement was always followed by laughs and chuckles and exclamations about stepping on toes. But, that was usually the end of it. It was forgotten, left behind somewhere amid the neat rows of pews as the chandeliers were dimmed and the doors were locked.
But, what is meddling and is there a place for it among the church? This question came to my mind a few days ago when Kat (elder’s wife) mentioned it in this comment to my post called “Chrysostom on learning and doing“. (By the way, this post is not a response to Kat’s comment. Instead, Kat’s comment reminded me of our use of the word “meddle”.) According to one online dictionary, “meddle” means to “intrude in other people’s affairs or business; interfere unwantedly”.
I have a problem with this definition as it pertains to followers of Jesus Christ. “Interference” into one’s life by another believer should never be “unwanted”. We should not only desire other believers to “interfere” in our life, we should expect it.
If our brothers and sisters are not “interfering” in our lives we should be concerned. Are we closing ourselves off to the consideration and impact that others should have in our lives? Or, are our brothers and sisters passively allowing us to live our lives in isolation? Neither of these options are healthy for believers attempting to follow Christ together.
So, I would suggest, that “meddling” is not a valid concept between brothers and sisters in Christ. As we mature in Christ we need interaction with others through the Spirit. This interaction can come through exhortation and teaching, but also through admonition and rebuke. This is not meddling; this should be expected and welcomed.
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.
The unhypocritical church – Part 2
When I wrote the post “The unhypocritical church“, I did not plan for it to continue into a second part. However, as I have been meditating on Romans 12 for the last few days, there are a few more thoughts that I want to share.
Sunday morning, we gathered with the church like we do every week. After the formal part of our meeting concluded, people hung around talking for about an hour. At one point, my daughter and another girl her age stood by the door and, like good stewardesses, greeted those who left by saying, “Buh-bye. See you next week.” This was funny at first. Then I realized exactly what they were saying. They recognized that we would not see many of these people for seven days.
Sunday afternoon, as I published the post called “The unhypocritical church” and thought about the episode with my daughter and her friend, I realized that it would be impossible to carry out the teachings of Romans 12:9-21 if we only see one another once a week in a formal setting. Look at this list again:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy
- believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
Sure, some of these we could probably do once a week, and pretend to have carried out Paul’s intention. But, can we have patience with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Can we live in harmony with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Similarly, we are to help one another live according to these descriptions. Can we help one another be hospitable toward strangers if we only see one another on Sunday?
This passage (Romans 12:9-21) is about community. Paul does not state, “Live as a community with your brothers and sisters in Christ”. However, he describes believers living together in such a way that they must recognize themselves as a Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led community in order to see these descriptions carried out in their lives. There is no way to understand “church” as a once or twice a week event and have these characteristics. No, Paul is not describing an event, or a location, or an organization. Paul is describing a way-of-life for people who are following their Master together.
Among the church where God has placed me, I recognize these characteristics in many of my brothers and sisters. On Sunday, I heard that several people are spending their Labor Day Monday helping some friends work on their houses. I heard about other friends who are donating furniture and delivering it to someone that they do not know, but who is in need of furniture. Other friends are spending their day off by working on cars for their brothers and sisters. In activities such as these (and probably many others that I do not know about), the love of Christ is manifest and proclaimed both to believers and to unbelievers alike.
A community… a kingdom community, ruled by the King, looking out for one another, serving one another and the world, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, and warmly welcoming those who accept his grace and mercy. This is the kind of church that Paul is describing. This is the church of unypocritical love. This is how I want to live my life.
A 21st Century Church
Dave Black has painted a beautiful picture of what a twenty-first century church could look like. Notice that in this image of the church, the biblical descriptions and prescriptions are taking into account and implemented. Here is his description:
What, then, might the renewed church of the twenty-first century look like? It will be a serving church. Its organizational structure will be simple, unencumbered by bureaucrats and bureaucracies. Its financial priorities will reflect a commitment to missions, local and global. Capital expenditures will be reduced and the savings earmarked for discipleship. Jobs that are currently salaried positions will be filled by volunteer help or eliminated. Denominations will make drastic reductions in funds spent on publications that are a waste of the church’s money (bulletins, Sunday School quarterlies – the Bible will be used instead – and glossy magazines). Church buildings will be used for primary and secondary Christian education. Believers will gladly work transdenominationally and cooperatively, especially at the local level. The church will proclaim the Good News of the Gospel as its first priority while not neglecting the cultural mandate. A full-fledged lay ministry will replace clericalism. Individual believers will be expected to assume specialized ministries according to their giftedness. Churches will provide regular lay training (with the seminaries assisting them) and build voluntary programs of education into their structures. Worship will no longer be confined to a single time or place. Preoccupation with church buildings will be seen for what it is – idolatry. The church will no longer cling to its prerogatives but take the form of a servant. It will refuse any longer to shun the secular. Trained pastors will become humble assistants to the “ministers†– every member. In this renewed church we will encounter disciples who take the going forth as seriously as they do the gathering. New members will be asked to specify a regular community involvement (neighborhood council, PTA, volunteer library staff, nursing home visitation, etc.) in addition to their commitment to a ministry in the church.
What do you think?
Another serving of the Lord’s Supper
I’ve discussed the Lord’s Supper (Communion, Eucharist, the Lord’s Table) previously (see the posts “The Lord’s Supper as a Meal“,”The Lord’s Supper (One Example)“, “When the Lord’s Supper divides“, “One Bread“, “The Lord’s Supper“, and just for fun “What did I learn in church about the Lord’s Supper?“). A comment and a post have caused me to think about this subject again.
Recently, Jeff posted a comment on an old post of mine called “The Lord’s Supper as a Meal“. He said:
What Jesus and His disciples were observing in that guest room appears to be the Passover. The slaughtered lamb used to observe the Passover was a symbol of Christ, the Lamb of God. They, like us, were spared by the blood of the lamb…
The Jews were to do this [Passover] in remembrance: Exodus 12:14 – Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it {as} a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it {as} a permanent ordinance.
The disciples were to do this in remembrance: Luke 22:19 – And when He had taken {some} bread {and} given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
So my questions are: Was Jesus telling His disciples to continue the Passover after He was gone? Wouldn’t this be considered old wine? It doesn’t fit the character of Jesus to fulfill all rituals and then immediately set up another one. But He was telling them to do something in remembrance of Him. Could it be that Jesus knew humans needed to do two things to survive?(other than breathe) Eat and drink. The two things we must do often…
So could the, “do this in remembrance of meâ€, be referring to every time we personally eat or drink anything? Basically remembering Him every day often till we die. We know the members of the body got together frequently to fellowship and eat. Did they practice a ritual or for that matter set aside a specific meal to remember the sacrifice Jesus made? Where does 1 Corinthians 11 fit? Is Paul even talking about a literal bread and cup?
The question of the relative importance of the elements (bread and cup) to the entire meal is an important question, but one that will probably not be answered. There are several times in Scripture where the elements are mentioned, but this mention is always in the concept of an entire meal. Were the elements separate from the meal, or representative of the entire meal?
We may never answer this question. However, Jeff brings out something else that we should consider carefully. Eating a meal was at least part of the Lord’s Supper. And, eating a meal is a natural, everyday occurrence in the life of every person. Remembering Jesus’ body and blood should affect every meal that we eat, and thus, should affect our natural, everyday life.
Similarly, Jim from “BaldJim” (he named his blog, I didn’t) talked about the Lord’s Supper in a post called “This is the Body of Christ“. I’m going to quote his short post in its entirety here:
A few weeks ago, when our church took communion, I was struck with wonder by the fact that we, God’s people, are the Body of Christ.
Typically when taking communion people close their eyes and put their heads down, meditating on the love and sacrifice of Jesus, searching their hearts for sin that needs to be purged. While I do meditate on and rejoice in the great love of Christ displayed in His sacrifice, I also spend some time looking around at others in the congregation. I want to rejoice with them. I want us to share in the joy we have.
As I looked around at others in the congregation I got a glimpse of the strange beauty of the Body of Christ, the Church. All of us weak in faith, broken, hurting. Each of us having our own faults and failures and sins. It doesn’t look like what you might expect to be called the Body of Christ… which is what makes it so wonderful.
Broken but bought by Christ’s blood. Sinners saved by His grace. Failures who have been set free. Unclean souls who have been covered by and clothed in Christ’s righteousness. This is the Body of Christ.
Take notice of this the next time you join others for the Lord’s Supper.
Have you looked around recently and gotten a “glimpse of the strange beauty of the Body of Christ, the Church”? The Lord’s Supper is the perfect time for taking others into account. In fact, it is during the Lord’s Supper more than at any other time that the Body of Christ should display its unity and its consideration of others.
Remember, when Paul wrote the the church in Corinth, he admonished them about the way they treated one another during the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:17-34). They were eating and drinking – apparently eating and drinking the elements as well – buy they were not truly taking the Lord’s Supper because they were not treating one another properly. They were not considering others as more important. They were not sharing with others who were in need.
An interesting note – at least to me – is that Paul does not mention their Christology in this passage. Paul had nothing to chastise them about in what they said about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. He doesn’t bring up their baptism or their church membership. He never mentions whether or not they had attended their catechism classes. But, the way they treating other believers revealed that they did not understand Christ and his completed work on our behalf.
Perhaps this is why Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24 ESV) Apparently, the type of gift, the reason for the gift, etc. were less important to Jesus than the relationship between brothers.
This was Paul’s emphasis as well. We cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper – either the elements or the meal – if our relationship with our brother or sister is broken. Sure, we can eat, but if we cannot eat in unity with our brothers, then it is not the Lord’s Supper that we are eating.
Pray without ceasing (synchroblog)
(This post is part of a “synchroblog” on the topic “How do you pray?” I will post links to the other posts in this synchroblog at the end of this post as they are published.)
I have been taught many things about prayer. I’ve learned that some of these things have more to do with tradition than with communicating with God (i.e., bowing your head, closing your eyes). Other things that I have been taught or have learned have proven very beneficial. For example, a long fast once taught me how to rely on God instead of material things that I thought I needed to be happy or to survive. I’ve learned how to spend long times of quiet solitude talking and listening to God. I’ve learned how to rest in his presence.
I have gone through many seasons of prayer in my life. Some seasons were marked by times of long prayers in the mornings. In other seasons, I mostly prayed at night. There have been times when songs and psalms dominated my prayer. There have been times of lament, and other times of praise. In each of these seasons, I’ve learned more about prayer, more about myself, and more about God. More importantly, in each season, I have found that God is speaking and communicating whether or not I am listening.
A few years ago, a new friend (at that time – now a dear friend) began to remind me often of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing”. This is a verse that has scared me in the past. I never understood how I could pray without ceasing. I wanted to pray longer. I wanted to pray more often. But, there was always something that would interrupt my times of prayer – and that something was usually life. Life happens. And, when life happens, life interrupts prayer. Right?
At first, it was easier to simply mark up 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as an example of hyperbole – exaggeration. Paul did not really mean that we should pray without ceasing; he simply meant that we should pray as much and as often as we possibly could. This was a nice, clean, doable answer for me. And, there is the problem. It was doable. This means that I could pray more and longer and feel good about myself. Thus, in this vein, prayer becomes an effort to reach God instead of the grace of God communicating with me.
But, if “pray without ceasing” is not hyperbole, then how should I understand it? Not too long ago, I was reminded about a little book by Brother Lawrence (1610-1691) called The Practice of the Presence of God. In the “Fourth Conversation”, Brother Lawrence says:
[W]e might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity… [W]e need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done.
In this short passage, I think Brother Lawrence hits on a key to prayer: recognizing God as intimately present. God’s intimate presence is not dependent upon my activity or lack of activity. God’s intimate presence is not dependent upon silence or lack of silence. God’s intimate presence is not dependent upon solitude or lack of solitude. God is intimately present with his children through his Spirit at all times, in all places, in all circumstances and situations. Thus, prayer as communication and communion with God is possible at all times, in all places, in all circumstances and situations.
Through the short passage from Brother Lawrence, I learned about a misconception that I had about prayer. Prayer is not simply a two-way conversation between God and myself that can be interrupted by life. Instead, prayer is a two-way conversation between God and myself that, when life happens, turns into a three-way conversation between God, myself, and life. Thus, life does not interrupt God’s conversation with me; instead, life enters into God’s conversation with me as a third conversation partner. God does not stop communicating with me when life happens. It is possible that I stop listening to God when life happens, but that does not mean that God has stopped communicating with me or that I must stop communicating with God.
I love to sit in a group of friends as we talk with one another and listen to one another. I love the interaction and the symphony of many voices reaching understanding. I do not consider it an interruption when there is more than one other person present. In the same way, God is always a conversation partner – a constant, dependable, trustworthy, and true conversation partner. In fact, God is the only constant, dependable, trustworthy, and true conversation partner. The only difficulty in praying without ceasing is choosing to listen to God’s voice over the roar and den of the world as life happens. God is speaking. But we must listen.
Do I pray without ceasing? In some ways, yes, because God is always a part of my life and conversation whether I recognize it or not. But, in another way, I do not pray without ceasing because I do not always recognize and respond to God’s constant and intimate presence. Do you prayer without ceasing?
Those participating in the synchroblog today are:
Cindy Bryan at Run With It – Teach Me to Pray…Again?
Lyn Hallewell at Beyond the 4 Walls – God, Prayer and Me
Erin Word at Decompressing Faith – Prayer=Sex with God
Rick Meigs at The Blind Beggar – Prayer Helps that Get Me Deeper
Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church – Pray without Ceasing
Julie Clawson at One Hand Clapping – Prayer Synchroblog
Heather at Deconstructed Christian – Synchroblog Prayer
Alex at Deconstructed Christian – Prayer Synchroblog II
Lydia at The Nunnery – How Do You Pray
Che Vachon at ThisStream – My Thoughts…
Paul Mayers at One for the Road – Praying and Learning to Pray Again
Sonja Andrews at Calacirian – The Appearance of Holiness
Jon Peres at Something Else – How Do I Pray?
Paul Walker at OUt of the Cocoon – One Congregation Experiments with Emerging Prayer
Susan Barnes at A Booklook – Synchroblog: How Do You Pray?
Brother Maynard at Subversive Influence – Fear Not the Silence
Nate Peres at Defined – How Do I Pray?
Barry Taylor at Honest Faith – Synchroblog:How Do You Pray?
Grace at Emerging Grace – Clearance Sale on Intercession Books
Jim Lehmer at Lord I Believe, Please Help My Unbelief – Synchroblog – How Do You Pray?
Lew A at The Pursuit – How Do You Pray? – Synchroblog
Jon Hallewell at Life-Shaped Faith – When I’m Spoken To
Deb at Another Unfinished Symphony – Prayer Synchroblog
Barb at A Former Leader’s Journey – Prayer Without Throwing Things
Patti Blount at Here Comes the Groom – How Do I Pray
Doug Jones at Perigrinatio – How I Pray
Glenn Hagar at Re-Dreaming the Dream – Prayer Phases
Pam Hogeweide at How God Messed up my Religion – The Art of Blue Tape Spirituality
Mary at One Thing is Needed – How Do I Pray?
Rhonda Mitchell at Rhonda’s Blog – Prayer SynchroBlog
John Smulo at SmuloSpace – Praying Naturally
Rachel Warwick at Not Where Next but Where Now – How Do You Pray?
Barbara Legere at Prodigal Daughter – How to Not Pray
Jonathan Brink at Missio Dei – Posture – Sitting With My Daddy
Andy at A Mile From the Beach – How Do I Pray
Cynthia Clack at A Life Profound – How Do I Pray
Makeesha Fisher at Swinging from the Vine – The Mystery of Prayer
Joy at My Emerging Faith – Synchroblog:Prayer
Rick Stilwell at Mmm…That’s Good Coffee – Push
Larry at Last Exit Before Oblivion – Prayer is Weird
Rob McAlpine at RobbyMac – Synchro-Prayer
Look also to the interests of others…
In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul wrote:
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. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus… (Philippians 2:1-5 ESV)
Many of us know what follows this passage. We’ve memorized it and studied it because of its Christological implications (pertaining to Christ and his divinity). Christology is very important. We should study Scripture to help us understand who Christ is – in our limited, human ability to understand Christ.
But, what do we do with these first five verses of the second chapter of Philippians? What does it mean to be “of the same mind”, to have “the same love”, or to be “in full accord and of one mind”? What kind of things should we not do out of “rivalry or conceit”? To what extent do we consider others as “more significant than” ourselves? How do we look out for “the interests of others” as we also look out for our own interests?
At first glance, these questions deal with the concepts of fellowship, community, and unity – very important concepts, but not as important as Christology. Right? Actually, I suggest that these concepts are directly related to our understanding of who Christ is, what Christ has done for us, what Christ is doing for us, and how Christ empowers us to interact with one another. In fact, I would suggest that when we get these things wrong – when we fail to live a life that demonstrates our love for one another – then all the facts that we know about Christ mean very little. Our Christology must be built on Philippians 2:1-5 as much as it is built on the verses that follow.
But, how do we apply Philippians 2:1-5 today?
Without trying to unwrap everything that Paul means in these sentences, we can begin with one thing that should be very obvious, but that we often overlook: we will not always agree with one another. If we always agreed, there would be no reason to consider the interests of others. If we always had the same opinions about things, then Paul would not have exhorted us to consider the other person’s opinion as more significant than our own. If we all had the same priorities and the same desires and the same attitudes, then Paul would not have to warn us about rivalries and conceit. If we always treated one another as Christ treated us, then Paul would not exhort us toward love and like-mindedness.
Yet, Paul expects us to act like Christ in spite of our differences with one another. In fact, the way the we deal with our differences toward one another demonstrates whether or not we are walking in the Spirit or not.
If we deal with believers who differ with us in attitudes of anger, jealousy, stubbornness, conceit, or pride, then this is an indicator that we are not living the abundant life of Christ. If we force people to agree with us, or if we refuse to fellowship with those who disagree with us, then again we are demonstrating that we are walking in our own understanding instead of walking in the Spirit.
If, however, we can give up our rights and give in to the opinion of others and welcome differences with love and acceptance, then we demonstrate that we are living in the unity and love that only the Spirit of God can produce within us.
When the Spirit controls our life, then the Spirit demonstrates himself by producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our lives – especially toward those who are different from us and who disagree with us.