stories: Some things are more important than your plans
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
My blogging friend Joe (JR) from “More than Cake” gave me permission to publish his blog post “Some things are more important than your plans” as part of this series. Here is Joe’s post:
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Ready to give my final sales pitch of the day, I walked up to the long driveway hoping I could pull the day out of the dumpster and set one good lead. The door was open, so I knocked on the old brown screen door.
An older man come to the door asking, “who are you?â€
“My name is Joe, how are you today sir?â€
“Not so good.†he said with a surprising honesty. “My wife of 70 years just died on August 8th. We celebrated our 70th anniversary on July 8th.â€
The man suddenly seemed older and more tired then when he first appeared at the door.
“I am sorry to hear of your loss.†I said.
The man asked, “What are you selling?â€
I had a sudden and keen awareness that what I was selling had no meaning compared to the loss and grief this man was experiencing. “Nothing of importance, sir.†I paused for a moment and added, “May I pray for you instead?â€
“Yes, please come in.â€
The old man seemed glad for the company and walked with a bit more energy as he led me into his living room. We sat and talked for quite some time as my partner waited outside wondering where I had gone.
Gene was a kindly gentleman. He talked about his wife, his kids and how his life had changed since the death of his beloved wife. More than once, Gene’s eyes filled with tears as he looked off into the distance at nothing and contemplated moving on without Helen.
“I need to go, but can I pray with you now?†I asked.
Gene gladly accepted. I walked to his chair and took his cold hand in mine. I uttered what few words would come to mind… words of healing… words of hope… words of Jesus’ love for Gene and his departed wife Helen.
My conversation with Gene reminded me that there are many things more important than setting one more lead and earning a few more dollars.
What are the most valuable things in your life?
Do your daily choices reflect your values?
Gifts, Services, and Workings
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the beginning of Paul’s teaching about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7 ESV)
In this passage, Paul says that there are different kinds of gifts, different kinds of services (the word is plural), and different kinds of workings (activities). My gifting may be different from yours. Even if we have the same gifting, the way God desires for us to serve may be different. Even if we have the same gifting and even if we should serve in the same way, God may work differently through each of us.
If we keep reading, we find that each of us is important – even necessary – for the church. No one is more important and no one is less important. (Except, of course, for those who seem less important. God actually considers them more important, probably because humans tend to ignore or de-emphasize them.)
Thus, it is important and necessary for the church (according to Ephesians, for the growth and maturity of the church) for each of us to work according to the way that God has gifted us, according to the opportunities and abilities he has given us to serve, and according to the way that he works through us. Our differences are important and necessary.
As an elder (and this is true for other leaders and mature believers in the church as well), I must be very careful not to expect others to have the same giftings, services, or workings as me. When someone seeks my advice about how they should serve others, it is easy for me to point them in the direction that God is pointing me. Why? Because that is natural for me (or super-natural, depending on how you look at it). But, natural (super-natural) for me is not necessarily (and probably isn’t) natural (super-natural) for them.
I think that as I help people serve others within the opportunities that God has given them, they will find that they are serving in their gifting, service, and working. If, instead, I try to find a “job” for them, they may (and will probably) end up doing something for which they are not gifted, in a way in which they are not supposed to serve, and in a manner that God is not working through them.
As we recognize the differences in giftings, services, and workings, we can also recognize the commonality involved. While we are different, our differences come from a common source – God. And while we are different, our differences are given for a common purpose – the benefit of one another. (While our giftings can benefit us individually – see 1 Cor 14:4,28 – the main purpose of our giftings is building up others – see 1 Cor 14:26.) In a way, carrying out the purpose reveals the source. Our serving one another (and the world) demonstrates our connection to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (In fact, Peter says that our serving one another brings glory to God – see 1 Peter 4:10-11.)
Putting this all together, as we serve in different ways through our different gifts in the different ways that God works through us but for the common good, we demonstrate our connection to God through his Son empowered by the Holy Spirit, and we bring glory to him.
Differences in giftings, services, and workings should be welcome, expected, and encouraged in the church.
stories: Helping someone turn himself in to jail
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
A reader named John sent me this story:
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I intern at a church here in Oregon and was recently sitting inside the church when a young man came up to the door. He asked if we had a phone he could use and I pointed him towards it. The young man proceeded to make several calls to different people, telling them how he would not be seeing them for awhile, and asking them if they would take care of his things while he was gone, and if he could stay with them after awhile. Overhearing all of this I began to realize what the young man was going through. He had recently been kicked out of his house arrest from his mother’s house, and was on his way to turn himself at the county jail for a warrant he knew he had on him. He
I texted one of the pastors of the church who lived near by, and asked them to come over. I figured if this guy was going to turn himself in we might as well drive him over together, and truthfully I did not want to do this by myself. The pastor came to the church quickly and we talked to the young man. He was apprehensive about going to the jail because it was the weekend, which meant he would probably end up in the drunk-tank (a large collection room for people arrested over the weekend and waiting for the court to open on Monday). He talked to us about his situation, how he had been kicked out of his house arrest at home for getting drunk, had been living on the streets for several days at this point, and wanted to just get to the jail and relieve the stress he was in. We told him the smart thing to do was just get it over with before he is caught out on the street or gets into worse trouble. He was still apprehensive though, if he went in tonight he wouldn’t eat till the morning, and wouldn’t sleep at all.
Realizing he was hungry we offered to stop by any fast-food place of his choice on the way. This was the ticket. We all piled in my pastor friend’s car and were off for burgers, some sweet tea, and then the jail. The young man was less anxious as he ate, and was intaked finally at the jail for a warrant he had as a juvenile. The pastor friend and I have vowed to get reconnected with him, take a book or two to him (he learned to lvoe reading the last time he was in jail), and just try and be there for him as he gets out.
If you could ask your readers to be praying for the young man that would be great. His name is Josh and after he is released he will hopefully be going to live with his father in a different and better environment.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
stories: Getting to See Community Transformation
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
Alan Cross (from “DownshoreDrift“) gave me permission to publish his post “Getting to See Community Transformation” as part of my stories series. This is his story:
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I got a call last night from the president of the Brighton Homeowner’s Association, the neighborhood of over 800 homes right behind our church. She asked me to come speak at their night out against crime event tonight. She told me that since we got involved in their neighborhood last year, crime has gone down and the neighbors are very happy. She said that she was speaking with a young man who was considering joining a gang last year. He said that after he started coming to the church and playing basketball and being around positive people, he didn’t want to do that anymore. He wanted to join the military now and make something out of his life. I don’t even know who the boy is. We might never know. He might just be one of the guys that comes and plays and prays with us when we get a chance. We have no idea what God is doing in answer to prayer and with just a little sacrifice on our part.
Several guys have gotten saved and others are growing in the Lord. I talked with one on Sunday who had been away for a few weeks. He said he had to get back to church and that he missed me. He said he missed all of us. I told him that I missed him too. Last week, two guys that we have been ministering to and that have come to Christ were leaving town for a couple of months. I didn’t realize that they were going to be gone that long. We had been playing basketball and there were a lot of people around, but I told them that I was going to miss them. They said that they were going to miss us too. I then told them that we loved them and that if they needed anything while they were gone to let us know. They said that they loved us too. We then prayed with one another before they left.
Each Monday and Thursday night, about 60-70 guys show up to play basketball. These are mostly all black teenagers. Many of them come from difficult backgrounds. Last week, when we went to pray before the games, there was a real since of sincerity about it. They keep coming back again and again. Something is changing.
I got a call a few weeks ago from a guy who needed help. We helped him. We are still helping him and I have been bringing him to church each week. God is working in his life little by little.
This afternoon, I got a call from a lady who was passing through town. The brakes went out on their car and they need brake pads. It costs $15. I’m leaving the church to bring her the brake pads that I’m about to go buy from Carquest. She called some other churches, even one who had a community ministry center, and they said they couldn’t help her. How do you tell someone who needs $15 brake pads to get home that you can’t help them?
I am not trying to say, “Look at what we are doing.” Not at all. I am just trying to say that seeing people’s lives change and ministering to people is no great mystery. You just do it. The hard part is in the deciding that you aren’t going to go do something else instead of help someone. That’s where surrender comes in and where we have to lay down our lives. That is where we believe Christ.
It seems that God presents us with a lot of opportunities to trust Him and serve others. We are often too busy or distracted to notice, however. Maybe that is why we aren’t impacting our communities.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
Running and Maturity in the Church
Last Summer, my wife Margaret and I decided to walk together in the mornings. I learned alot about community during our walks together (see my post “Walking Together“).
This Summer, we tried to walk together again. For some reason, we were having a difficult time remaining motivated. Some friends decided that they were going to start training for a marathon in February. I’m not ready to commit to a marathon, but I decided to start training for a 5k in October. (You probably know this already if you follow me on Twitter or read my Facebook status updates.)
So, last week, Margaret and I began training for the 5k. The difference between our 5k training and our walking last summer is that we have to run some for our 5k training. Eventually, we will only run. But, of course, we’re not ready for that yet.
When I was in middle school (we called it junior high school) and high school, I could run long distances. But, years and years of sitting behind a computer screen has taken a toll on my body. I need this exercise and I need to get back in shape, so I’m excited about the prospects. Plus, I’m more motivated now that I have a specific goal: the 5k in only a few weeks, and perhaps a 1/2 marathon in February if everything goes well.
But, I’ve learned something about the body over the last few days that I think is applicable to the church as the body of Christ. When I started running, I realized that my body is not in shape to do what it needs to do. However, it wasn’t every part of my body that was holding me back.
My arms were working just fine, and if I left it up to my arms, I could run for long distances. Similarly, my eyes and ears and nose were very happy to keep running long after I had to stop.
Surprisingly, even my legs and feet were able to carry be farther than I expected. Yes, my legs – especially my calves – would be tired after running. However, if I left everything up to my legs, I could have kept running longer.
But, my lungs would not allow me to run any longer. My breathing is not where it needs to be to be able to run long distances. Therefore, right now, I’m training my lungs and breathing as much as – and perhaps more than – I’m training my legs.
It is very interesting to me that my lungs are hidden from sight. I can’t see them, and they don’t appear to be very important from an outward perspective. But, unless my breathing capacity increases, I won’t be able to run for long distances.
I could spend hours exercising my legs and arms, my chest and abs, but unless I exercise my lungs, I will not be able to do what I need to do.
This reminded me to two specific passages in Scripture dealing with the church. First, consider this passage from 1 Corinthians:
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Corinthians 12:18-27 ESV)
It is obvious that every part of the body of Christ is important – even those parts that may be less noticeable and may seem less important. In fact, according to Paul, these parts are even more important than we think because God has given those parts greater honor.
Second, consider this passage from Ephesians 4:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)
According to this passage, the body grows (matures) when every part of the body is allowed to do its own work – when every part of the body is allowed to do what it is designed to do. We are not the same, but we need each other. From the negative perspective, if one part of the body is not “working properly”, then the body will not mature.
In my illustration from running, if I exercise my legs, arms, chest, etc. then those parts of my body will get stronger, but my body as a whole will not. The church is to be concerned with the maturity of the whole body, not just with their own maturity.
There are times when I need to stop exercising before my legs or arms are completely tired in order to allow my lungs to grow in capacity. There are times when those “more presentable” parts of the church should allow the “less presentable” to work, even if the “more presentable” could “do a better job”. Why? Because by allowing the “less presentable” parts to work, then the whole body is allowed to grow in maturity.
By the way, I’ve also found that when I allow my lungs to dictate how much I can run, my legs actually get a good workout. Those of us in the church who are more “noticeable” may (ummm… will) find that even we grow and learn when we allow the “less noticeable” to do the work. In fact, it is worth it to our own growth and the growth of the body for us to shut up occasionally and to encourage others to speak or serve instead – as long as we’re willing to listen and learn from them.
Body life
Two and a half years ago, I wrote a post called “Body life.” I thought about this post recently when I was talking about and thinking about living discipleship. What do I mean by “living discipleship”? I mean discipling in “everyday” life, instead of viewing discipleship (or community or worship etc.) as taking place in specific times at specific places on specific days.
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In The Community of the King (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977), Howard Snyder describes what he calls “body life” of the church. Consider the following quotes:
God does not use the Church as a lifeless object, for this would be contrary to all he wants to do within the Church. God’s will is that the Church and each member within it attain “the full measure of perfection found in Christ†(Eph. 4:13). God wants spiritual growth-to-maturity in the Church. As the Church thus grows, it will accomplish God’s plan to make known “through the church, the manifold wisdom of God… to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms†(Eph. 3:10). (pg 69)
Too often the Church has been seen more as a mere collection of saved souls than as a community of interacting personalities. Christian growth has been a matter of individual soul culture rather than the building of the community of the Spirit. (pg 74)
Spiritual growth occurs best in a caring community… The Holy Spirit ministers to us, in large measure, through each other. This is what Paul is talking about when he says “we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work†(Eph. 4:15-16). This interaction of the many members in one body is body life. (pg 75)
Interestingly, science tells us that a living organism grows, while a dead organism does not grow. This is what God is telling us through Paul in Ephesians 4:11-16. That growth is measured according to the person of Jesus Christ.
But, that does not mean that “body life” and growth are always measured in giant steps or even in public demonstrations. Consider what Dave Black said on his blog yesterday (Wednesday, February 7, 7:08 pm):
The church is not the extravagant structure on main street. It is Mary serving breakfast to her family, John taking the 7:30 train to work, April in her chemistry class, and Josh in his suburban business office. The church is a living, pulsating organism. This is a crucial issue, though it is frequently brushed under the carpet.
Too often, when we think of and speak of “body life” and “body growth” we either think of numbers or we think of grand expressions of “ministry” as a vocation. Sometimes we think of “body life” as our “church job”, whether we are paid or not. Our ideas of a living body are usually centered around positions such as Bible study teachers, ushers, deacons, preachers, greeters, or nursery workers. While many with these “positions” are laboring to serve people and the Lord, others rest on their title or position, with little, if any, thought to their cooperation in the life of the body of Christ.
But have you thought about how “serving breakfast” can demonstrate “body life”? How about riding the train to work, taking a class, or working in an office? Our location does not negate our presence in the body of Christ. Could you imagine changing a diaper causing the growth of the body? Yet, that is just what happens when these activities are seen as service to others and to the Lord.
Can you demonstrate the “manifold wisdom of God” while shopping? Can you help others “grow up into Him” while walking around your neighborhood? Can you “build the community” while driving your children to their activities? Or, is your idea of “body life” centered around a specific location at a specific time?
How has “body life” and growth been demonstrated to you? How has God used you to demonstrate “body life” to others and to grow others? In what areas of life do you think God may want to use you to grow his church – perhaps in areas you have never considered before?
stories: Helping others serve
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
As most of my regular readers know, my family spends time with some people in “The Neighborhood” – a government assisted housing project. Not only has this given us the opportunity to get to know and to serve some wonderful people, it has also given us the opportunity to help others serve.
For example, on most Saturdays when we go to the Neighborhood, one or two people go with us. Sometimes, these friends will end up spending alot of time in the Neighborhood. Sometimes, they’ll only go with us once or twice. Either way, we are able to help them learn to serve others and to help them learn how God wants them to serve.
Also, recently, several families that we know have started giving us vegetables to take to our friends in the Neighborhood. When we started going last Summer, we would buy fresh produce from a roadside produce stand. We divided the produce into small bags and gave a bag to each family that we talk to in the Neighborhood.
Starting last month, three different families have started giving us produce from their own gardens to take to our friends on Saturday. They’ve given us cucumbers, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and peppers. Plus another family has offered to give us more vegetables, but our schedules haven’t worked out yet.
We’re grateful not only for the free vegetables to give to our friends, but we’re grateful that others are learning to think about how to serve others. Giving away part of the blessings that God has given to us is a great way to serve!
Finally, we have been completely surprised the last couple of weeks. When we went to our local produce stand, the lady that runs the stand offered us some baskets to deliver our produce in! This was great! The baskets are much better than the plastic grocery bags we’ve been using. Plus, she gave us some banana peppers to give away.
The next week, once again, she gave us some baskets, plus several cantaloupes and watermelons. In fact, we think she gave us more produce than we bought last Saturday.
We do not know the people who run the produce stand very well – not yet anyway – but we’re excited that they are also serving others through us. Plus, our friends in the Neighborhood have been very excited about the baskets. We also have the joy of telling them that our friends and the people who run the produce stand helped provide the fruit and vegetables.
So, when you are serving others, think about ways that you can include friends in your service. Allow your service to be a time for discipleship as well as service.
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
stories: Serving the Servants
This post is part of my “stories” series. In this series, I share stories of how people live their lives in response to the gospel and as a demonstration of God’s love in order to teach us and to provide an example to provoke us to love and good works. (See “stories: A New Series” for more information about this series.)
Last week, I wrote about my friend Maël (pronounced like Ishmael without the Ish) from “The Adventures of Maël and Cindy.” Maël and Cindy are great servants and great examples to the church. Our family has learned alot from them over the last several years.
Three years ago, they bought a foreclosure house. To say it needed alot of work would be an understatement. So, they began to work on it slowly while Maël was in school and worked. Not long ago, they made the decision to move to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Now, they need to finish their house in a very short period of time.
Several times, people gathered together at their house on Saturdays to help them work on the house. Others brought meals so the workers would not have to stop to prepare food.
On one of the days that friends were helping Maël and Cindy work on their house, one of their neighbors moved. The realtor came over to see what was going on. He was surprised that a church would spend so much time and effort on a Saturday to help out someone like that.
As I wrote last week, in a post called “stories: Maël’s grandmother,” Maël and Cindy had to go to Europe unexpectedly for two weeks because of the death of his grandfather and grandmother. Now that they’ve returned, they are even more pressed for time to finish their house.
Several people have volunteered to take them meals every day until the work is finished or until they move. Other people are coming over almost every day to help them work on their house. One of the groups that meets on Wednesdays for fellowship and Bible study have canceled their get togethers in order to go to Maël and Cindy’s house to help.
Now, this may sound strange. We are not excited that Maël and Cindy are moving. But, we are very excited about the way people are serving them. And, they are not just serving a little – this is hard, sweaty, tiring work. But, we love Maël and Cindy.
Do you know someone who is a servant? What better way to show your appreciation for their service and example than to serve them or to serve others?
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If you would like for me to include your story in this series, please send me an email at aknox [at] sebts [dot] edu.
Ruling or Leading?
Two years ago on this blog, I was stepping through several passages and phrases that are used in Scripture to describe elders and other Christian leaders. I wrote one post called “Ruling or Leading?” as part of that series. I think the distinction between ruling and leading is a very important distinction. I hope you enjoy this post:
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Back in March, I began studying “Leadership, Obedience, and Authority” in the context of the church. I’ve posted a few blogs as I’ve continued this study. This is another post in this extended series.
In the last post of this series, called “Exercising Authority…“, I examined several Greek terms that mean “exercise authority”, or “rule over”, or “be the master of” – in other words, terms that mean “to tell someone else what to do”. These terms are not used in a positive sense in the New Testament. This was my conclusion in that post:
So far, in these passages, there is no indication that one person should exercise authority over another person in a spiritual sense. In fact, it seems like just the opposite is indicated. But, if the apostles were not to exercise authority, and Paul did not exercise authority, and Peter told elders not to exercise authority, then I’m not sure where the command for leaders to exercise authority over other people is coming from. However, I’m still searching Scripture. It is possible that I’ve missed something, or that there are other passages of Scripture where leaders are instructed to exercise authority.
In this post, I want to examine two more Greek verbs that are occasionally translated “rule” in various translations. The verbs are:
Ï€Ïοίστημι (proistÄ“mi) – (translated “rule/lead” in 1 Tim 5:17; Rom 12:8) According to the standard Greek lexicon (BDAG) this verb can mean 1) to exercise a position of leadership, rule, direct, be at the head of, or 2) to have an interest in, show concern for, care for, give aid.
ηγέομαι (hÄ“geomai) – (translated “ruler/leader” in Luke 22:26; Heb 13:7, 17, 24) Again, according to BDAG, this verb can mean 1) to be in a supervisory capacity, lead, guide, or 2) to engage in an intellectual process, think, consider, regard.
Most importantly, in some cases, ηγέομαι (hÄ“geomai) is used in a sense to mean the opposite of a servant: “But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves” (Luke 22:26 ESV). From the context of Luke 22:26, it is clear that Jesus is telling his followers to be “leaders” who act as “servants”. Thus, the extreme range of ηγέομαι (hÄ“geomai) that means the opposite of “servant” cannot be in view here. Would Paul or the author of Hebrews or another believer promote a type of leadership that was condemned by Jesus?
Thus, in English, the word “rule” carries the connotation of making a decision for someone else, exercising authority over someone else, displaying dominance through the exercise of power. Meanwhile, the word “lead” can have similar connotations, but it can also carry a different meaning: “travel in front of”, “go in advance of others”, “guide”.
So, while both “rule” and “lead” are possible glosses for the two Greek verbs, and since the idea of “ruling” or “exercising authority” is always cast in a negative in the context of the relationship between one believer and another believer, it would seem that “lead” in the since of “walking ahead of” or “guiding” would be a better English translation. This would also explain Peter’s insistence that elders “shepherd” by being “examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3).
There are a few other passages that can help us understand how the New Testament authors used this verbs in the context of the church. For example, in 1 Timothy 3:5, the Greek verb Ï€Ïοίστημι (proistÄ“mi) is paralleled with another verb, επιμελέομαι (epimeleomai):
“For if someone does not know how to manage (Ï€Ïοίστημι) his own household, how will he care for (επιμελέομαι) God’s church?” (ESV)
In this verse, Paul uses the verb Ï€Ïοίστημι (proistÄ“mi) to describe someone’s relationship to their family, while he uses the verb επιμελέομαι (epimeleomai) to describe that person’s relationship to the church. While Ï€Ïοίστημι (proistÄ“mi) can carry a range of meanings from “rule” to “lead” (as has already been described), the verb επιμελέομαι (epimeleomai) does not have the same range of meanings. In this case, it seems that Ï€Ïοίστημι (proistÄ“mi) is used with the secondary meaning of “care for” not “rule”.
Thus, when the New Testament is looked at as a whole, and when relationships between believers are examined, it seems that believers are never instructed to “rule” one another, but that one believer may be called on to “lead” another believer or a group of believers. The concept of a Christian “ruler” who makes decisions for other believers, or who directs the lives of other believers, or who tells other believers what to do is not found in the pages of the New Testament. Instead, the New Testament authors call mature believers to lead by being examples to and serving other believers. Followers of Jesus Christ have only one ruler. He is the living, breathing, ready, able, wise, knowing, powerful, present, and authoritative chief shepherd. And, no one can serve two masters.
Love one another
Three years ago, our family moved out of on-campus seminary housing and into a house. Around that same time, five families who were part of our church moved. Our church became very adept at packing and unpacking, loading and unloading. During one move a little later, we helped some of our friends move. When we finished, we noticed one of the neighbors was packing a moving truck. The husband and wife were trying to pack up by themselves. We all went over – more than twenty of us – and packed their moving truck for them.
Anyway, back to the story… as I said, we moved three years. The church helped us, and it was an incredible demonstration of love for our family. I wrote a quick blog post about it then called “Love one another“. Today, I am even more convinced that the love we are commanded to share with one another and with our neighbors is a real, demonstrable, working, sweating kind of love.
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There have been a couple of blog entries concerning the life of our church over the last week and love for another (for example, see Theron Stancil’s entry and Alice C.’s entry, and a related article by Isabel here). Last Saturday, we were the recipients of Christian love. We moved from seminary housing to a real house in a nearby city. Our brothers and sisters began arriving at our duplex by 9:00 a.m. to help us move. Many worked tirelessly moving boxes and furniture. Others provided meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for our family and those helping (with enough leftovers to feed our family for a couple of days). Since we could only rent a small moving truck (apparently last weekend was the busiest moving weekend of the year), we had to make two trips. Our friends not only helped us load and unload the truck twice, but they also stayed to help us set up the new house. (Yes, we still have boxes to unpack, but we can live in the house as it is.) Some stayed until after 9:00 p.m. helping us. But that’s not all… we also had help cleaning our duplex on Monday!
So, why did I go into all of that? Well, let me start with a few passages of Scripture…
Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12, 17)
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another… (1 John 3:11)
Sure… we’ve heard these commands to “love one another” since we were children. But how often have you (or I) been the recipients of true love… love that is patient, kind… love that demonstrates itself in unselfish ways… love that gives and gives and gives… love that lifts and carries and sweats and aches… love that sacrifices time and effort… Over the last few days, as I’ve contemplated this demonstration of love, several other Scripture passages have come to mind:
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18)
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:15-17)
Certainly, we were not naked nor destitute of daily food, but we were in real, physical need, and the love of Christ was demonstrated to us in real, physical ways. Isn’t it amazing that James uses this (a physical demonstration of love) as one of the visible manifestations of true faith? So, our family has been the recipients of real, biblical, Christ-honoring love.
So what? Do we thank God for His goodness and go on with our lives? Well, that brings me to the last passage of Scripture:
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
You see, as our church gathered on Saturday (yes, I did mean Saturday) in order to move us, we were encouraged (exhorted). We were stirred up and provoked to provide the same type of love to others. It is our prayer that God provides opportunities for us to love our neighbors in similar ways. Through our loving deeds and words (not just loving deeds and not just words!), perhaps some of them will come to recognize that it is not the Knox family alone that loves them, but it is God who loves them through us.