Guest Blogger: Humanistic Discipleship
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Ross Rohde. You can connect with Ross via his Facebook profile, Twitter (@rossrohde), or his blog “Viral Jesus.” Also, check out the microsite for his book Viral Jesus.
——————————————-
Humanistic Discipleship
In my book Viral Jesus in Chapter Eight: Viral Discipleship I note:
Today much of Christian activity seems to originate with human plans, and it is then carried out in human strength, with human results. It has nothing to do with the kingdom of God. The world does not need any more religion! It needs Jesus Christ. Religion is people’s attempts to do God’s work in their own strength. Jesus wants us to live and walk in God’s strength. God is only interested in His work, not our work. He oversees and empowers those things that originate in His heart. On judgment day, only that which was birthed and sustained by the Holy Spirit will survive.[1]
Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines humanism as “a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; especially: a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual’s dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason.”[2]
Most Western Bible-believing Christians are behaving as humanists. Yet most, if they are aware of humanism as a philosophy, would be offended by the idea that they are humanists. However, if we disdain the words, yet still behave like a humanist, we are a humanist.
The basic issue of humanism is that humans make the decisions and cause things to happen by their own will and ability, using their own rational intellect. We may do this for the best of intentions, but since we started from the wrong place and are functioning with the wrong operating system, we end up in a very desperate situation. We are lost in the woods thinking we know where we are going. All the time we are moving farther and farther away from home, away from God.
We have brought this same humanism into discipleship. Hence we focus on such things as witnessing techniques, small group dynamics, and biblical doctrine. None of these things are wrong, in and of themselves. The problem is the source of our accomplishment. We aren’t asking some prior questions. Rather than asking what is a good technique of sharing the gospel, perhaps we should ask: Did God set up this witnessing situation? How is He leading us to share the gospel? Instead of asking how can I utilize good small group dynamics to lead this group, perhaps we should ask how is God leading in the small group? Through whom does He want to minister? Instead of asking what doctrine is this Bible passage teaching, perhaps we should ask how is God ministering to us through the Bible? How is the Holy Spirit activating the truth of the Bible into our lives though His power?
For more on this subject read Chapter 8 of Viral Jesus.
- Is it possible to do good things with the best of intentions and still end up “lost in the woods thinking we know where we are going?”
- Do you believe God can actually lead the discipleship process, or is that our job?
- Can we do God a favor?
- If God leads discipleship, does that mean we have any involvement beyond being automatons? Is there any room for our creativity and thoughts?
[1] Brother Yun, Living Water, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 54.
[2] Merriam-Webster Online, s.v. “humanism,” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humanism (accessed July 20, 2009).
Guest Blogger: Man-made aspects of religion were coming back to haunt me
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Surit Dasgupta. I think Surit is the first person from India to write a guest post for me. You can connect with Surit via his blog “Christ Our Lord.”
——————————————-
When I was twelve years old my dad brought me a very special gift on my birthday. It was a book called “Stories from the Bible – The New Testament”. I was fond of heroes, heroes who would triumph over evil against all odds, heroes who would protect the weak and the oppressed. I saw so many of these mythological characters in Hindu scriptures, there were warriors, lovers, and damsels in distresses. But when I finished reading about Jesus Christ I knew I had found the greatest Hero among all. I wanted to become a follower of Christ and there was nothing that was going to stop me from doing it.
As a Hindu, I was accustomed to rituals and clergy. The priest, better known as ‘pundit’ in Hinduism, would never allow a common man like me to touch the ‘deity’. I laughed at the pundit in my mind. I had a special secret – Jesus Christ. He was my guru and no one else. The rest were all man-made. Little did I know that these man-made aspects of religion were coming back to haunt me in my Christian life. I tried to find out what they were but I realized that they were all around me.
On Sunday meetings, the system in our local church was mechanized and very institutional. There was a ‘presider’ and he alone would determine who participate in the ‘service’. There was a preacher who would bring the ‘sermon’ which usually lasted 40-50 minutes. There was a strict almost classroom-like discipline which bounded the entire congregation. But there was something lacking and I knew it. The freedom to express Christ at will was non-existent. There were a couple of elderly members who were virtually sitting through the entire service (except that they had to ‘stand-up’ for the communion). These members had no-one to speak for them. There were disguised threats thrown by pulpit-armed preacher (I was a part of it) at members he didn’t like. No one dared say anything when the sermon was being delivered. And the most horrifying thing was that Christ was choke-holded into being a Spectator as well. It was Hinduism all over again!
It was at this point that someone gave me Frank Viola’s “Pagan Christianity?” to read. You can probably guess what happened afterward. I and a couple of other Christians protested against this mechanical institutionalism practiced by the local church leaders. We were ordered to ‘hush up’ and refrain from teaching our ‘false doctrine’. All we wanted was that everyone have the freedom to speak at will in the assembly.
One congregation considered our plea. There was an American missionary in that congregation and he wanted to hear us out. We moved to that congregation and were allowed to have an open-participatory meeting on Sunday. Everyone, except the missionary, was puzzled at what we were trying to achieve. Once that meeting began it all looked so very similar except that all of a sudden everyone had the freedom to choose their songs. There were people who said nothing in the usual Sunday ‘services’. These people were suddenly starting to ‘open’ their lips and say words of encouragement. People started to pray at random for one another. There was laughter… laughter at a Sunday meeting! It was surreal! It was so unlike an institutional church. It was like… like a family.
My mind now traces back to those first traces of Jesus in my childhood memory. He was the ultimate Hero – One who is the Protector of the weak and oppressed. Now He has a family – the church.
Guest Blogger: E-phesians 4:11, E-ministry for E-quipping The Church Through Social Media?
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Miguel Labrador. You can connect with Miguel via his Facebook profile, his Facebook page “Making Disciples,” Twitter (@Missionaries), or his blog “God Directed Deviations.”
——————————————-
E-phesians 4:11, E-ministry for E-quipping The Church Through Social Media?
~
And He gave some as E-postles, E-prophets,
E-vangelists, E-pastors, and E-teachers
for the E-quipping of the saints for the work of
service,to the building up of the body of Christ.
~
Ephesians 4:11,12
E-Ministry to an E-generation?
~
“If Facebook were a physical nation, it would now be the third-most populous on earth.“[1] If we included all other social platforms in addition to facebook, the E-nation of the E-lectronic social realm, might in fact, be the largest nation on earth. The way we E-xecute the Great Commission may necessitate a closer E-xamination. We should not so easily dismiss the idea that Jesus would also want us to Make E-sciples.
Certainly, there can never be a complete disconnect from brick & mortar ministry, the one to one personal E-xtending of our hands in fellowship, but the E-world is a reality. How we minister to one another and those outside of the church, must include E-vangleism.
If we are all gifted, and all have individual predominant ministry characteristics, then for those of us who are active on the internet, socially speaking, doesn’t it make sense to carry that ministry into our E-spheres of influence?
Doesn’t the vast opportunity of ministry to those E-thnicities and cultures demand our attention? I am not suggesting that our E-ministries replace serving others or incarnating ourselves and being a physical Christ presence within a community, but that doesn’t mean completely ignoring the Mission E-field either.
For me, as a Missionary in the Cloud Forest Region of Ecuador, we have an abundance of face-time with the people of the region. Our “real-word” activities include, but are not limited to: weeping with those who weep, providing clean drinking water to those without, being witnesses to Jesus, encouraging and equipping the saints, and making disciples. Also, and quite naturally, as an adjunct to those activities, our social network (on-line community) has grown significantly. While some may have issue with spending time on the internet while I’m “supposed to be” out doing “real” things with “real people,” I can assure you that the latter would be impossible without the former. My E-xperiences out in the real world feed my somewhat E-ccentric online ministry. This could, and sometimes does, get out of balance, but thankfully I have E-xhorters to keep me on track.
Ephesians 4:11 is certainly multi-purpose in scope, but it’s principle components are service to others, equipping the saints, and the unity of the church. Certainly these components are not relegated to the physical world. They must, in our culture, be applied to our E-lives as well.
If you are gifted for ministry in E-vangelism, then you should be heralding the good news online as well. And if you do have the gift of E-vangelism, then, like in “real-life,” you should be helping others by E-quipping them and E-ncouraging them in their E-lives to E-vangelize others.
Likewise if your predominate Ephesians 4 gifting or characteristic is in the Prophetic, Teaching, Pastoral, or Apostolic, then those gifts should quite naturally E-xtend into your E-world where you can E-ncourage and E-quip them for the service of E-ministry.
[1] From “The Economist.”
[2] ”Escipleship” some sources for further consideration
—
Miguel Labrador
Guest Blogger: What is wrong with the word “Church”?
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Marc Winter. You can connect with Marc via his Facebook page.
——————————————-
What is wrong with the Word “Church”?
When we use the word “church” in our everyday conversations, we say things like: “Where do you go to church?” or “I will meet you at the church.” Most people understand that Jesus did not mean He would build a building; “And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” But we continue to use this word; a word that in our current and historical usage means: a building where religious services are held. The King James Version translates the Greek word “ekklesia” as “church” 80 times in the New Testament. No wonder we have this word “church” stuck in our heads and in our vocabulary.
Language is the fundamental method we use for conveying information and understanding. When translating the Scriptures, the changing of one word can literally change the world, and in this case it has.
Jesus did not say in Matthew chapter 16, “I will build my church”. He did say, “I will build my ekklesia (ek-klay-see-ah).” The ekklesia is correctly translated: “called out assembly or community”. The word “church” is taken from the Greek word “kuriakon”(koo-ree-ak-on’), not “ekklesia”. Kuriakon, means: belonging to the Lord. Specifically, in the first century it was commonly understood to be a temple or house in which pagans worshiped their gods. We should ask why the word ekklesia was incorrectly translated “church” meaning a building, when the correct meaning was clear. When King James and Arch Bishop Bancroft set up 14 rules to be followed in translating the scriptures into English, the third rule required “the old ecclesiastical words to be kept, such as “church” instead of “congregation.” They also wanted the old offices of bishop, deacon, and pastor to relate to their “most common use by the most eminent fathers” (rule four). There was a deliberate focus on translating words favorably to the Anglican Church (of which King James was the head) to maintain control over the people. Without a building to gather the people around, the clergy, the pope, and to some degree, the king, would have lost control over the people. Even today without the use of buildings, the clergy and all denominations would lose control over the people.
When my wife and I read our English Bibles we insert the word “ekklesia” when we read or discuss what was incorrectly translated as “church”. The use of the word “church” has contaminated our hearts and minds to the Lord’s true purpose for His called out assembly or community. We get building focused, and we get clergy focused, which is exactly what King James, Bancroft and the spiritual forces behind them intended.
Remember the movie The Matrix? Church is just a prison built for your mind. When you know the truth, the truth will set you free.
All Comments Welcomed.
Guest Blogger: Stumbling Behind Jesus
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Scott Eaton. You can follow Scott on Facebook or on Twitter (@scottweaton).
————————————
Stumbling Behind Jesus
When setting up my Facebook page a few years ago it asked me to identify my religion. I sat there for a moment contemplating this question. You’d think it would be easy for me, but it wasn’t. I mean, really, what’s the hang up? I’m the pastor of a Christian church and a Baptist one to boot! But for some reason the question bothered me.
I suppose there were many reasons for this. First, I don’t really like “religion” at all. I’m not very good at it. Rules and rituals stifle and bore me. I can get into it for a little while, but after a bit I begin to just fall into a lifeless and legalistic…religion. I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t call us to a religion but instead called us to Him. There’s a very big difference.
Secondly, I thought about putting down Christian. That does make sense, doesn’t it? After all, I am a Christian. If asked to check a box on one of those forms (like at the hospital) describing your religion I wouldn’t check Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or other. I’d in good conscience and with great conviction check Christian! Of course I would. So why not describe myself as Christian on Facebook? I’m not sure except it seems to me that most of the people in the USA who believe in God would describe themselves as Christian whether or not they genuinely are. I know that before truly coming to Christ I would have described myself as a Christian just because I grew up in a so-called “Christian” church. I suppose this is why Christian would not do.
Thirdly, I seriously considered placing some adjectives in front of the word Christian. Something like: evangelical, Baptist, Bible-believing, somewhat Reformed, conservative-moderate, free-thinking Christian. But this seemed kind of ostentatious, which is not a flattering characteristic of a Christian. So I figured I’d better keep thinking about it.
Fourthly, I thought about calling myself a Follower of Christ under the religion section on Facebook. Ah, yes, this would work! This is the goal of my life – to follow Jesus Christ! This gives more clarity to those who wonder. It makes more sense than just Christian (even though I unashamedly refer to myself as a Christian too). Christ-follower, that works. But something seems too confident in that assertion. It makes me appear as more than what I really am and makes my following of Jesus to be better than it really is. So I had to think of something else.
Finally, I got it. Under my religion I simply put: Stumbling behind Jesus. Why? Because this is what I do. I am a Christian who does follow Jesus. But follow Him perfectly – no way. My following of Jesus is more like stumbling. Stumbling is the right word. If Jesus were a trail guide leading me up a mountain path I would at times be there right beside Him, enjoying the conversation and scenic views. But more often than I care to admit I would trip over a rock on the path and stumble. Sometimes falling and sometimes falling hard. Instead of scenic views I lie bloodied in the dirt. At other times I feel like I can’t keep up with Jesus and never will. I have to stop and sit for a while in order to rest. Fortunately in those moments I hear Jesus say, “Scott, come to me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And He does. He picks me up and carries me along, helping me to follow Him again. It is His grace and strength that are sufficient in my weakness.
I’m very grateful that God says in His Word, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). This is a great comfort to one who stumbles like me. But sometimes I’m afraid that I’m the only one who stumbles behind Jesus, even though I suspect it isn’t true. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one who loves Jesus and earnestly wants to follow Him, but finds it hard to read the Bible, hard to pray, hard to love, hard to serve, hard to sacrifice and hard to tell others about Jesus. I love Jesus but my flesh screams against these things. I know there are many followers of Christ out there who really love Jesus, but are there any other stumblers like me?
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “Yes! Stumbling behind Jesus describes me too!” You love Jesus, you follow Jesus, but you stumble. Maybe there are more of us than I think. Perhaps this is where Jesus wants us to be. Perhaps admitting our stumbling is the beginning of humility, contrition, and dependence that I believe God desires in us (cp. Isaiah 66:2; Isaiah 57:15).
Is it possible that we who stumble behind Jesus should just admit it and then we can all stumble together? When one stumbles another can help him up! When one falls, another can tend to his wounds. When a brother or sister is spiritually weak maybe we who are at that moment “spiritual” could help them in their weakness (Galatians 6:1). Is it possible that by stumbling together we might stumble less and actually become stronger, more faithful followers of Jesus? Is it possible that in this way we are the hands and feet of Jesus to one another? Wow.
Maybe it’s just me, but it almost sounds like this is what the church is supposed to be. “Let him who has an ear, let him hear.” Amen.
Guest Blogger: The Parable of the Bar Owner
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Andrew Brims. It is an excerpt from his FREE ebook Unintended Consequences. You can follow Andrew at his blog “Brimming Over.”
————————————
The Parable of the Bar Owner
There once was a man who owned a large chain of bars – he was a demanding man, aggressive, ambitious and successful in all he did. One day a new land was discovered – full of people who had never even heard of alcohol, let alone tasted it. Sensing opportunity, the bar owner travelled to the new land with his team.
After some time of surveying the land, the bar owner knew that here was the biggest opportunity of his life, but having business to tend to at home, he gathered his team and charged them, “This is the biggest opportunity of our lives, I am leaving you with my resources and my instruction and I say to you – when I return to this land – may everyone be an alcoholic! And everyone drinking at our bars! I leave it with you.”
The team cheered, and as they waved the boss goodbye they began to plot amongst themselves how they would succeed. “I will open a wine bar,” piped up one, “it will be trendy, with sharp white wines and good music.” “I will offer only vintage wine,” said another, “vintage years in traditional settings.” “I too will do something different,” struck up a third “I will offer the cheapest plonk I can, in cardboard cartons – that will draw the masses.” The others chimed in one after the other, each with their distinct style of wine to bring to the crowds.
As the time passed, many of the natives indeed succumbed to the new intoxication that was on offer. Each of the team’s chains pulled in their own clientele, natives moved from style to style but never strayed too far from their favourite – usually the kind they were first introduced to. However, much of the population remained frustratingly indifferent to the wine craze.
Indeed, after some time, it was obvious to anyone who was brave enough to see, that the wine business had hit something of a saturation point. Occasionally one of the team would celebrate a new customer, or even a new franchise opening, but more often than not this was simply attracting customers from one of the other members of the team.
The years went by and the average age of the clientele rose. The team obviously made a big push for the children – everybody knew they were the future of the business, but all too often they grew out of love with the wine that had been watered down for them by the end of their teenage years.
A couple of times one of the team members came out with what they claimed was a brand new type of wine, and indeed it did win a few clients, but the march of the other businesses in the land was aggressive and it was a struggle for the master’s chain to simply hold its ground in the market place. Not many of the team seemed unduly concerned – they were busy running their chains, they had done their best, and the owner seemed something of a distant memory.
Just when they least expected, the owner returned. His business at home had been successful and he was looking forward to hearing news of his business triumph in another land. When he surveyed the scene, and saw the figures, he was bitterly disappointed by the news. He called a team meeting, “What have you done? Not even half the natives are alcoholics!? What went wrong?”
The team members explained their various strategies, how they had indeed done their best, and how distinctive their particular approach to wine was.
Struggling to control his temper, the boss responded, “The mission was to make the land alcoholics, not wine connoisseurs. Wine is great, but what about beer? How the men of this land would have lapped that up! What about spirits – the thousands of kinds of spirits? How many chains could we have opened with those? What about the Alco-pops? No wonder we’re missing a generation here! Few new clients to speak of, an ageing customer base, and increasingly fussy consumers. What have we done? This land was to have been ours.
“Wine is great,” he exclaimed, “but alcohol is so much bigger than just wine!”
Guest Blogger: Identifying with the Shunammite
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Greg Gamble. You can follow Greg on Twitter (@ChurchExodus).
————————————
It’s been close to 40 yrs since the Lord Jesus captured my heart and I’ve been reflecting on the parallels between my life, our life together and our story as God’s family. It also took 40 yrs in the wilderness for Gods people to be transformed from slaves building someone else’s kingdom to sons building their own. That refining pattern appears to be repeated in the church throughout history.
King David and his men, in the wilderness, knew the times, had a sense of destiny, understood their place in the trajectory of God’s eternal plan and fell in line with what He was doing through David. Happily, many of us are likeminded as we follow our David, the Lord Jesus, as we journey thru this church wilderness.
But there is a neglected narrative in scripture, hiding in the open, which is the framework for changing from desert dwelling slaves to sons of the Heavenly Jerusalem. It’s not explicit but God purposefully wove it into the shadows of the life experiences and relationships of those that love Him. God shrouds Himself in mystery, and allows confusion and misrepresentation of His nature without setting the record straight. And though it’s us doing the misrepresenting, He ignores it, and like a true lover, focuses on us, making us chase Him, so we appreciate Him and how He has chased us.
What corrects the misrepresentation is our changed lives, as we also ignore the wrong understandings we have of Him and each other, and simply love one another as He commands us.
The hidden narrative is knowing Him, in deep, intimate marriage like love, and in a similar shadow way, knowing one another, no longer after the flesh, but in Him.
Titles, architecture, family ties and all earthly structures don’t factor into this knowing. There’s no prescription or 12 step programs in scripture for getting from the wilderness to Jerusalem above. The scriptures themselves don’t say the scriptures are Life, though Jesus said they point to Him. He alone is Life, and we should stop trying to squeeze life from ink and draw from Him, and Him in one another.
I was saved at 17 from a wicked life, didn’t understand church and spent my time alone. I knew I was defective, sought to be rid of my residual guilt and brokenness, and stumbled upon the Song of Solomon in the O.T.
May I suggest you spend a few hours reading and contemplating this love poem if you haven’t?
I identified with the Shunammite as she fell in love with her beloved, intuitively sensing my own longing for eternal love, affection and meaningful life.
I was transfixed from the start, and in spite of the many wonderful, and challenging attributes of this life, and my life together with others who love Him, He’s kept me falling in love with Him in response to His endless love for me.
Through the years I’ve been reduced to loving and being loved by God and people, over and over again. Life has been convoluted and exciting, and some might say unorthodox.
The themes in Scripture, the wisdom of biblical church structure, the certainty of faith, many miracles, the joy and the losses have not compared to my Beloved, as He has drawn close, hidden Himself, chased me and waited for me. Everything and everyone in this life feeds into the grand narrative of knowing Him, like the Shunammite, in chaste and intimate love. God’s love is marriage love, and until we lose our fear, and surrender to Him as He woos us into a marriage relationship with His Son in our daily walk, we will struggle with things we need not, and argue about trifles. Especially the important trifles like church structure, leadership, kingdom principles et al.
Through the craziness and conflicts of this life He is bonding us together with a shadow of that same marriage relationship, drawing us from the slavery of working to please Him and one another to the liberty of family and lovers, walking together with Him in His garden. We are being enlarged from individuality to a family by being reduced to love, the starting place of Life in Him.
I haven’t been part of the big church scene, but I still identify with the bondage and frailty that has marred the testimony of Christ amongst us as a people, because we are all in the wilderness.
I’ve quit trying to get out of this wilderness of uncertainty, vast differences in life experiences, conflicting visions and pain from broken relationships. The only escape from the wilderness is the Jordan River ie death to self.
I’m resting in Him, as if I am in a garden, and as if I’m happily married and content.
We can choose to get past trying to fix what we have broken, and not try to figure out how He is fixing it either.
The Hebrew Christians were told there is a Rest, where we have ceased from our own works, entering into His Rest, where we discover that which we were furiously searching for all along.
We find Jesus, as our lover, and soon to be husband.
He’s not anxious about the state of the church, our families, the environment, world government et al. This is part of the process of our Shunamite journey.
He owns this wilderness we are in, and we would be wise to change our discourse to speak less of our own journey and more of our Beloved, and His attributes, His features and His love for us, as the Shunammite did.
It’s the language of love, which includes church building.
Her journey started with how much He loved her, moved to how much she loved Him and finally returned to how much He loved her, and that process turned her wilderness into a garden.
That’s the vision Jesus has for His church, His bride, His wife.
Don’t let lesser visions, no matter how legitimate, rob us from Knowing Him together.
Guest Blogger: You are not well… come here!
I’ve invited several people to write “guest blog posts” for this blog. There are several reasons for this: 1) To offer different perspectives. 2) To generate even more discussion and conversation between blogs. 3) To introduce other bloggers to my readers.
(If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, please contact me at aknox[at]sebts[dot]com.)
Today’s post was written by Dayna Bickham. You can follow Dayna at her blog “A Year in the Spiritual Life” or on Twitter (@Dayawren).
————————————
You are not Well… come Here!
What is the church’s response to someone that has been so offended by something that they blame the church and now lump the love of God with the failings of us as a body together? Whenever I talk to someone that is this hurt, (and I was there for years) I am moved with such compassion.
Pain, no matter the reason, has one source: the enemy. (John 10:10) Emotional pain is like a bruise that never quite heals and it is possibly the hardest to get free from. So when we, the body of Christ, His church, see someone who is so hurt they lash out at us, what should our response be?
I believe it is this: You are not well… come here..
We must be transparent (1 Thessalonians 5:9) before the world and this means sharing our failings and our triumphs. The body is made up of broken people that are being made whole by the love of Christ. Notice the verb “being made”. It is present tense and we are in a constant state of change, renewal, growth, and transformation. (Romans 12:1-3, Galatians 6:15, Acts 20:32)
When people realize we are “real” and not pretentious self-possessed and self-righteous snobs, they begin to pay attention to what is going on in our lives. This is our witness: that though it rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), we have a place to run that is our refuge. A spiritual triage, if you will. The church is that place. Here the body acts like the nurses, attentively caring for the hurting, while the Great Physician heals the source of their pain.
Bruises, iniquities, the old wounds that we almost forget about until someone knocks into them, are the hardest to get over. They are the ones we hold onto and caress like a little child. The ones we bring out at holidays and birthdays and special occasions to nurse until no one around can ignore the pain they cause. When we do this we pay more attention to the bruise than to the Healer. (Matthew 9:35) Our job as the body is to remember why Jesus came, and to share that reason with the hurting. (John18:37, Romans 9:16-17) He came to heal the broken hearted, to bind up their wounds, and to set them free!
So, when we encounter that individual that is actively holding on to hurt and blaming the Church body and God for their pain, what should we say? What should we show? I believe it is the transparent and transforming love of Christ active in our lives we should show and we should say, “No matter your pain, no matter your hurts, I know the Great Physician and you need His attention. You are not well… come here. Come to get loved on, come to get taught, come to get your wounds bound up and come here to get well!”
What say you?
Guest Blogger: (Part 2) Working with people who are already in a community for the sake of the gospel
Yesterday, I published the first part of this guest post about working with people who are already in a community without making them dependent on outsiders. The post was written by Jonathan who is currently living in a community and is watching what is happening among the people of that community when outsiders come in. Even the best of intentions can lead to problems of dependence. (See Part 1 at the link above for Jonathan’s description of his work in this community.)
Here is part 2 of our interaction:
————————————
Question (from Alan): Your situation does sound similar to many situations related to “foreign missionaries.” You said that the short termers “pay into the ministry.” What is this money used for? Why do you think “not very much local ministry is being raised up”? What do you think is causing that?
Answer (from Jonathan)
The local church plant cannot afford salaries for church positions. The summer programs and short terms pay for salaries, along with additional fundraising to keep things going. The pastor is pretty clear about what the money is for – no subterfuge at all. I’ve argued, are we ‘creating’ work for short termers to do – just for the money? The last time I brought this up, I was told we need to have a ‘long term’ conversation about that. Originally the church was NOT dependent on short termers, but was not told what changed.
A few non white leaders coordinate the short termers, but all the interns and the majority of short termers are white. The church is half white, poor, and the neighborhood is very poor. At first I didn’t think so, but now I believe there’s a dependence on the outside money; from leaders AND neighborhood members. The financial piece is troubling. Even if all the money and personel were non white, I still feel that 1 Theassalonains 4:11-12 should be followed.
Disturbingly in our city, New Orleans, I know of three other miniseries in poor neighborhoods all run by different organizations and denominations; this is the model. Outsiders come in, lead, fundraising activities, bring short termers in then… Show me how the people of the culture lead, and you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who grew up in that neighborhood or city; leading. Lack of Discipleship. My theory is the material needs in urban areas are so great that the educated folks began the programs and fundraising, but those become the idol.
Question: Do you have any suggestions as to how discipleship would help locals get involved in ministering to their >own neighbors without depending on outside help?
Answer
I think this is a tough one that takes time. IN the spiritual realm it’s a matter of showing someone that Christ is all sufficient but our tendency is to do program based things, which are needed (literacy, food, etc).
Currently my wife and I talk often about this as she’s away on sabbatical. When she returns, we plan reach out hospitality-wise. We’ve invited people to our home, but our perception is this may be a class hurdle (we got the nice house and they’re on subsidies attitude). So we’re trying to find ways to go to their home (i.e., playing with the kids, hanging out on their porch).
Clearly things have to be Holy Spirit led. It’s so hard to wait and hear from God when you see so many physical needs. We do address physical needs: food, (we have to be careful with) money, helping with errands, and medical emergencies.
We see things more relationally then programmatically. I don’t come from a simple gathering background but it seems applicable here. Follow the Holy Spirit, Build Small via relationships. I think it’s key to let myself and new disicples see that it’s God doing it and not a human person, ministry, or aid group.
Guest Blogger: (Part 1) Working with people who are already in a community for the sake of the gospel
A few weeks ago, in response to my post “Why can’t we work together for the gospel?” Jonathan left a very intriguing comment. In the comment, he said that he is currently “living this out” in his neighborhood and has seen how easy it is to “drop money and personnel” into a context. But, it is much harder to live among the people in a community and trust God to work through them.
In response to that comment, I emailed Jonathan asking for more information about his situation. That email started a thread that was very helpful for me. I asked him if I could publish this as a “guest post,” and he agreed. I’ll publish our interaction as two posts, with the second part being published tomorrow…
————————————
Question (from Alan): I’d love to hear more about how you’re working with “locals”…
Answer (from Jonathan)
My wife and I joined a neighborhood church that’s been around for 10 years, but is a plant of an para church organization. We’ve been there five years and since 2009 have chosen, with a few others, to live in a neighborhood that is plagued with crime, drugs, poverty, and some prostitution. BUT we see God at work.
My frustration comes from the short termers. They help run a day camp, provide games to the neighborhood kids in the evening, as well as pay into the ministry. Two issues immediately arose. I’ve asked, “What would happen if these teams didn’t come?” Clearly, there’s the financial aspect, because the Church (sigh) is dependent on the outsider. Second, in my opinion, not very much local ministry is being raised up, as things are coordinated by a few locals, but all the money and personel leave after a time. Honestly, I look at it a little differently now that I LIVE with my neighbors. I’m not driving in or stopping by. Dealing with my neighbors is on the job training in ‘Loving my neighbor’.
Without complaining here’s the challenge: How do you give believers not from our community the cross cultural experience, without all the voyeurism or vertical relationship. I’m seeing these last few years that it’s one thing to organize a program for the poor than to live with and friend the poor. All the isms are very real when the person you’re serving is your friend.
I think to minister in some of these urban environments (ok all) we need more discipleship. One Sun morning I didn’t go to my local service, but walked around and prayed about 10:30AM. I saw what I saw everyday-Life. I counted five church services in session, but I still saw drunks staggering, people loitering, not sure if I saw the dealing that morning, but for everyone not going to a service-life as usual. It tells me, “We need a different approach to engage people physically where they are.” My wife has a vision of living water flowing out of our neighborhood. My vision is that someone will call 911 not because a crime is committed, but because there are too many people assembling praising God.
Question: Your situation does sound similar to many situations related to “foreign missionaries.” You said that the short termers “pay into the ministry.” What is this money used for? Why do you think “not very much local ministry is being raised up”? What do you think is causing that?
Answer: Coming tomorrow…