Would you drop everything?
What would you do if someone you barely knew called you from jail? What if a police officer called you to say that “so-and-so” asked them to call you so that you would come pick her up? What if you had to drive several hours to pick her up at the jail?
Would you do it? Would you drop everything?
Even if you knew this girl struggled with drugs? Even if you knew she had made some bad decisions in her life and was headed in the wrong direction?
Well, this has never happened to me. But, it happened to Frankie (from “The Gathering Lakeside“). He tells us about this in his post “Today.”
Here’s an excerpt:
Officer blah blah, “pastor frankie can you help, if not i have to arrest her for prowling and loitering?
“uh, i guess†i answered looking at my wife in the car with me..who said whatever and smiled
I told officer blah blah i would guarantee i would personaly come get miss no where to go..
Read the rest of Frankie’s article. This was an awesome opportunity that God gave him, if he and his wife were willing to give up their own plans and agenda (die to themselves?) and give themselves completely to this young girl. They took God up on his offer and had an opportunity to serve this girl.
What would you do? What would I do? Would we be willing to drop everything in order to serve like this?
Their religious activity was deeply offensive to God
“Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Micah all leveled the charge that, while the people attended worship, observed all religious regulations, and took pride in their Biblical knowledge, nevertheless they took advantage of the weak and vulnerable. The prophets concluded that, therefore, their religious activity was not just insufficient, but deeply offensive to God.â€â€” Generous Justice, pages 49-50
Think about the quote above. No, I mean, really think about it.
Not only did the prophets warn the Israelites about taking advantage of the weak and vulnerable, they also warned them about NOT taking an active role in helping the weak and the vulnerable.
Because they failed to care for those in need, the prophets said that God did not accept their worship. He did not accept their sacrifices, or prayers, or fasting, or feasts, or many other things that he had commanded them to do.
Why? As Jesus said, “God desires mercy and not sacrifice.”
So, does God accept my worship? Does he accept your worship? Something to think about, huh?
(HT: James)
Where’s my super suit?
You know that scene from the animated “The Incredibles” right? It’s one of my favorite scenes of all time.
Lucius (a friend of Bob Parr a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) is preparing to come out of retirement as Frozone to battle the evil Syndrome.
But, there’s one problem. He has a date with his wife Honey. Here’s the dialog from the scene:
Lucius: Honey?
Honey: What?
Lucius: Where’s my super suit?
Honey: What?
Lucius: Where – is – my – super – suit?
Honey: I, uh, put it away.
[helicopter explodes outside]
Lucius: *Where*?
Honey: *Why* do you *need* to know?
Lucius: I need it!
Lucius had been living as a normal person. But, now that there was trouble and he felt needed, he was ready to jump into action as the superhero Frozone. (Of course, Honey had other plans.)
But, I think many Christians live life like Frozone. No, not as superheros in hiding… although, it is something like that.
Instead, they think that God cannot and will not use them unless everything is just right: they’ve had their “daily quite time” or they’ve been reading Scripture regularly or they’ve attended the right kind and right number of church meetings or they’ve had a certain amount of education and training or they hold a certain position in the church.
Nothing could be further from the truth. For those of us who are God’s children (that is, we’re saved and indwelled by the Holy Spirit), then God is ready, willing, and able to work in and through us in a variety of ways.
God is not waiting for us to find our “super suit.” Instead, he’s waiting for us to begin working to serve others so that he can then work through us.
What? God is waiting for us to work? Yes. God works through the efforts of his children. While studying Colossians, I saw this clearly in the following statement that Paul made about his own work for the gospel and for the church:
For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:29 ESV)
Paul is working hard, but as he works he finds that God is providing the energy he needs to get the work done. I think the same concept can be found in other parts of Scripture as well.
There are no “super” Christians. There are followers of Christ who are working for others, and there are those who are not working for others. There are Christians who are love God by loving others, and there are those who are not loving God or others. There are believers who are serving through the gifts that the Spirit has given, and there are those who choose not to use their gifts to serve others.
Stop looking for or waiting for your super suit. As I’ve told many people: God is able to more through you than you think (regardless of what you think).
So, start serving others (working hard or toiling at serving others) and give God a chance to empower you as well.
They’re doing WHAT on Sunday?
This has to be one of the most encouraging and exciting posts that I’ve read in a long time!
Chris at “The Amplified Life” (I still love that blog name) wrote the post called “Coming Soon: ‘5th Sunday’.”
The post is about some churches (including Chris’ church) who have decided to do something different on Sundays four times per year:
After an encouraging meeting with other church leaders last night we are going to attempt to do something about this. We want our love of God to be made known for all in how we love upon those in our local community. To help others realize that this a part of His church’s “DNA” (cf. Matthew 28:19-20) we are going to begin going outside of our walls together. We are going to serve our community as a local body on the months that have a 5th Sunday. Those days our worship service will actually be service–ministering to the needs of others outside of our own four walls.
What a great idea! Chris said that he got the idea from a friend who lives near Philadelphia.
You might say, “Well, sure, but that’s only four times per year.” Yes, but it’s more than 95+% of churches are doing.
Have you ever heard of churches doing this or something similar? Have you ever been part of something like this?
Ministers in Scripture
I specifically used the word “ministers” in the title of this post. I could have just as easily used the word “deacon” or the word “servant.”
So, which one am I planning to write about? Am I planning to write about “ministers,” “deacons,” or “servants”? Yes.
You see, all of these terms are used as glosses and translations for the same Greek term. Why do we have three different English terms? “Deacon” is a transliteration of the Greek term. “Minister” is a transliteration of the equivalent Latin term. And “Servant” is the English term.
In English, the three words have completely different meanings. But, we must understand that these different meanings have grown out of traditions and practices, not from the Greek text of the New Testament. All three words should be synonymous with the meaning of “servant,” but unfortunately, in modern English, they are not synonymous. This leads to many misinterpretations of Scripture.
So, why am I writing about ministers, deacons, and servants? Well, this all stems from a few questions that people asked me last week in the comments of my post “Q&A Session.” For example, Bobby asked, “Is there a biblical distinction between deacons and elders?” Hutch asked, “Do the NT scriptures contain examples of female apostles, deacons, elders and pastors/shepherds?”
Before I can answer those questions, I must first try to find out who are called “servants” in Scripture.
Jesus said that he was a servant (Matthew 20:28). He also told the Twelve (and other Christian “leaders”) to be servants (Matthew 20:26). Paul introduces Phoebe as a servant (Romans 16:1). Furthermore, Paul says that he and Apollos (and by extension all those listed earlier including Peter/Cephas) are servants (1 Corinthians 3:5). Paul says that Tychicus (Ephesians 6:1) and Epaphras (Colossians 1:7) are servants. Finally, Paul exhorts Timothy to be a good servant (1 Timothy 4:6).
When you include the noun for “service” and the verb form “to serve,” you see others listed as servants. Interestingly, both the apostles and the seven are said to be servants in Acts 6.
I think this kind of review is important before we try to understand a passage such as 1 Timothy 3:8-12. The connection becomes more clear when we understand that Paul encourages Timothy to be a “good servant” (1 Timothy 4:6) immediately after that passage (which is usually attached to “deacons” but not “servants” or “ministers”).
Furthermore, with the many exhortations to serve one another (Galatians 5:12 and 1 Peter 4:10 for example), it seems that the authors of Scripture want all followers of Jesus Christ to be “servants.” Are they? Obviously not, otherwise the exhortations would not be necessary.
So, to conclude, we see many examples of “servants.” It is misleading to describe some of them as “minsters,” some of them as “deacons,” and some of them as “servants.” Why? Because while these English terms have different meanings, in Scripture, they are all servants.
Empathizing together
According to one definition, “empathy” means “understanding and entering into another’s feelings.”
When trying to empathize with hundreds of needy and hurting people in the same place at the same time, it can become overwhelming. I’ve felt that sense of being overwhelmed many times, especially when working with the food pantry where 300-400 families come every other week for help. As I talk to the different people and hear their stories, it can become very overwhelming.
But, I’ve learned that empathy (even empathizing with many people at once) can be less overwhelming when there are others there empathizing with them as well. Last week at the food pantry, several friends joined together to talk with the people who needed the extra groceries. We all talked to people, heard their stories, prayed with them. Sometimes I talked to people alone; sometimes others were with me. But, either way, it was a great encouragement knowing that we were serving people together.
The stories we heard were difficult – heart-breaking. But, we were able to help one another bear these burdens.
Yes, sometimes empathizing with others can be overwhelming. But, when serving with a group, you can encourage one another even when you are overwhelmed.
He said, “Pray that I understand the word of God better.”
I usually struggle with what to write about the time that I spend at the food pantry every other Thursday evening. First, I talk to so many people that it’s always difficult to choose which conversation(s) to write about.
Also, I’m not always the only person talking to these people. When we first started serving people who came to the food pantry, I was the only one who roamed through the big room where they were waiting, talking with them, listening to them, and praying for them. But, lately, several of my friends have been joining in the service. Last night, for instance, at one point there were five of us. (Of course, we still didn’t talk to all of the 300+ families who came to the food pantry.)
But, there is one conversation from last night that stood out. I was talking with two older ladies and a man who was about my age. While talking to them, I learned that they lived in a small town about 15-20 miles north of us. When I asked how I could pray for them, the ladies said things that I usually hear: health, family, or employment.
But, the man looked at me and asked, “Pray that I understand the word of God better.”
I prayed for them all, then I sat beside the man and talked to him further. He said that he was interested in getting together to read and study Scripture together. He told me that his father sometimes helps him understand Scripture, but he still struggles with it.
I asked him what version he reads. He told me. I’m not going to mention it here, because I don’t want to get inundated with search hits from well-meaning brothers and sisters telling me that that particular English translation is the only one we should be using. Suffice it to say that this version was translated into English 400 years ago (this year).
I suggested a couple of English translations that are more recent, and more easily understood. We really had a great conversation, and he even gave me his telephone number – which is rare. I often give people my number, but they don’t usually give me their number. (I’m sure there is still an issue of trust there.)
I’m looking forward to talking with this man again soon. I’m praying about how to approach this. I know that he does not gather with a group of believers regularly. I will probably ask one or two other mature brothers and one or two other new brothers to begin meeting with us to study Scripture and encourage one another. There are a couple of fast food restaurants situated in the middle of all of us that might make a good meeting place – at least at the beginning.
So, last night was a really good night. And, the conversation above is just the tip of the iceberg.
Bearing fruit in every good work
By the time this post is published, I should be in the “sanctuary” of a local megachurch talking with people who have come to a food pantry that they host every other week. Some other friends should be in there with me this week. More friends will be carrying bags of groceries to the people’s cars and trucks.
We’re not “members” of this megachurch, but we’re all working together to serve some people in our community who are hurting and in need.
Since I’ve been studying through Colossians, I’ve been captivated by Paul’s prayers for them. For the past two weeks, I’ve been praying (along with Paul) for my brothers and sisters who will be serving others at the food pantry:
…That you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)
I’ve also been praying that God would give us opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ and his kingdom with these hurting people as we serve them and listen to them and pray with them.
Would you join me in praying for us?
Pastor / Church Codependency
Chris at “The Amplified Life” (Isn’t that a great blog title?) has written a very good article called “Neil Cole on Dysfunctional Leadership.”
He quotes from Cole’s book Organic Leadership, and the quote is very good.
But, I also appreciate Chris’ comments on the quote. Chris writes:
According to Cole leaders have enabled this and now we wonder how we got here. We can blame the culture, and many leaders often do because that’s the easy thing to do, but according to this assessment the fault lies with how church leaders have been leading the church. We have fostered a codependent relationship and we struggle to break free from what we have fostered. I think this may account for what I brought up in another post about the role of the pastor today. Pastors have essentially taken on roles that were meant for other Christians but our codependent leadership dynamic has allowed this to happen, then we wonder why thousands of pastors leave the ministry each year.
I agree. There is a codependence problem between many churches and church leaders today. Interestingly, believers do need one another, and they should be able to rely on one another, but this is not what Chris (and Neil Cole) are talking about.
I think it will take both church leaders and churches working together to break this cycle of codependence. The problem is, I’m not sure many want to break their codependent relationship, because they think it’s perfectly fine and even scriptural.
What do you think? What will it take for churches and pastors/leaders to break the codependency that Chris wrote about? Should they?
Paul worked hard for those he had never met
When I meet people, and when God brings our lives together such that we spend alot of time together, it is easy for me to work hard on their behalf. It is easy for me to think about praying for them, encouraging them to trust God and live for him, or even serving them through needs that I learn about in their life.
But, what about people that I don’t know that well? What about people that I’ve never met but only heard about through other friends?
Do I work hard for them? Paul did:
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you [the Colossians] and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:1-3 ESV)
Certainly, part of this “hard work” or “concern” (translated “struggle” above) included prayer. Paul tells us that he prayed for the Colossians even though he had never met them. (Colossians 1:3-8 and Colossians 1:9-12)
But, this particular passage (Colossians 2:1-3) is in the middle of a section in which Paul is talking about his own service for God on behalf of the gospel and the church. In fact, in the sentence just before this passage, Paul wrote, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” (Colossians 1:29 ESV)
I’m not there yet. I’m still learning to work hard for, toil for, be concerned about those who are in my life day in and day out. But, I want a heart that cares deeply even for those I have never met. I want to understand how the way I live my life affects even those people who I have never met.
How about you? Have you learned to care deeply for and to work hard for those whom you have never met?