Uninvolved and following…
Mary at “One Thing is Needed” has written one of the most exciting and encouraging posts that I’ve in a long time. The post is called “New Territory“. Mary describes how she now has time to actually live her life as a follower of Jesus – even within her own neighborhood – now that she has stopped finding her identity in her “involvement” in a local church organization. Here is part of what she says:
What’s so amazing about this? I’m quite certain that we would be writing a different family story if we were still so heavily involved in institutional church as we used to be. First of all, if we were still involved in IC, we would hardly be home. What, with staff meetings, worship practices, prayer meetings, weekend seminars, conferences, retreats, VBS, and the regular Sunday meeting, we wouldn’t really be home at all to meet our new neighbors anyway.
Honey, there are people living next door to us? Really? Huh, I had no idea. I always wondered who mowed their lawn.
We would be too busy sacrificially giving our time, energy, finances, gifts, and love to the Great IC to meet our neighbors or even be interested in their lives. When we were home, our curtains would be closed and every minute would be used for praying (ie: pretending we’re not home) or visiting with our believing friends. Who has time for anything else?
But now, we’re in new territory as a family. Our time, energy, finances, gifts, and love are available for those around us like they never were before. It’s exciting and a bit scary at the same time. Before, I would have already known the kids that my kids were playing with. Now, I have to actually get to know a family outside the four walls of a church building. That’s a bit of a stretch for an introverted, coming-out-of-the-church-bubble, paranoid mama such as myself.
Our family is making these same kinds of adjustments. What a joy to use “our time, energy, finances, gifts, and love” to impact people that God brings into our lives on a day-to-day basis! There is a huge difference between being committed to the programs and organization of an institution and following a living, breathing, working, loving God.
Following God individually and corporately
One of the passages of Scripture that I find very interesting and revealing is found in Acts 13:
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping [serving] the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. (Acts 13:1-4 ESV)
There are many things that we can learn about the church in Antioch from this passage. We see a great ethnic diversity among the people mentioned. We see their desire to serve God and one another. But, in this post, I would like to see what this passage teaches us about the individual and corporate aspects of following God.
The church in Jerusalem had sent Barnabas to Antioch because they had heard that Hellenists were now part of the church in Antioch (Acts 11:22). Barnabas recognized the grace of God at work in Antioch, and began to encourage the church there (11:23). Barnabas next went to Tarsus to find Saul (Paul) and bring him back to Antioch where they remained for a year (11:25-26). When we hear from Barnabas and Saul (Paul) again, they are returning to Antioch from a trip to Jerusalem, and they are bringing John Mark with them (12:25). This brings us up to Acts 13.
Saul (Paul), Barnabas, and others were serving God and other by prophesying and preaching among the believers in Antioch. At some point, God reveals that his desire for Saul (Paul) and Barnabas was for them to leave Antioch in order to take the Gospel into other areas of the Roman empire. After praying and fasting, the church in Antioch sent Barnabas and Saul (Paul) on their way as God had directed.
Notice that God’s directions for Barnabas and Saul (Paul) was personal to them. At this time, he did not send off Simeon, Lucius, Manean, or others, although they were all faithfully serving God and his people in Antioch. There was an individual aspect to God’s direction to Barnabas and Saul (Paul).
But, there was also a corporate aspect to God’s sending of Saul (Paul) and Barnabas. Notice that the church in Antioch – not just Barnabas and Saul (Paul) – prayed and fasted concerning this decision. The church in Antioch also laid hands on them and sent them off as God had directed. In fact, at least in this passage, Scripture says more about this corporate aspect than it says about the individual aspect.
In response to God’s love and indwelling Spirit, each of us should respond to God by listening to him as he communicates with us. When he directs us one way or another, we walk in the directions that he points, trusting him for each step. If no one walks with us, we still follow God wherever he directs us. However, many times, God does not appoint us to walk alone. Instead, he both provides others to walk with us, and he also provides a corporate response to our faithfulness and obedience.
As God directs us individually, and as we share that direction with our brothers and sisters in Christ, the church responds by coming along side, praying, sending, providing, supporting, encouraging, equipping, sending. Sometimes, God may direct others within the church to walk with us as well. He may use our obedience as a catalyst to encourage others to listen to him and follow him as well.
Working together – individually and corporately – the way we find Barnabas and Saul (Paul) and the church in Antioch working together – we find that we are not sending ourselves, and the church is not sending us, but it is actually God through his Holy Spirit who is sending us.
Living "out there"
Yesterday, in my post called “And day by day“, I recalled how were are learning to share our lives with brothers and sisters in Christ “day by day”. In other words, “church” is not a location or a weekly event to us. “Church” is a family. God has adopted us into his family, and we are now brothers and sisters with all of his children – “brother” and “sister” are not just titles, they point to actual relationship.
But, as I ended my post yesterday, I explained that lately I have recognized that something is missing from our lives. What is missing? We are missing the “in the world” part. Jesus said that we are to be “in the world” but not “of the world”. We need to live “out there” among the people who have not been reconciled to God yet. We need to live among the least and the lost. We need to learn how to love and serve and practice hospitality toward those who are not brothers and sisters in Christ.
Don’t get me wrong… this is not a new realization in my life. This realization happens regularly to remind us not to get too comfortable living among the saints – as important as that is. Just as Jesus came for the “lost sheep”, he sends us “out there” as well.
A couple of years ago, when we moved from seminary housing to a real, live house, we tried to build relationships with some of our neighbors. We’re continuing to try to build those relationships, but it has been very slow. We’re learning to be patient and trust God to work in their lives. We are waiting on God to give us opportunities (which he has) to love and serve our neighbors.
We’ve also recently served our community through the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. It was a great way to offer hope and help to hurting people. We met alot of people and plan to continue supporting this cause.
But, lately I’ve been thinking that God has another way for us to be “out there”. I don’t want to share details at this point. We have an acquaintance (not a friend yet) who has access to a group of people that may need to see a real, tangible demonstration of God’s love. In the next few days, I’m hoping to talk to our friend and see if God may be leading us both in the same direction. I’ll keep you posted.
If God is doing what I think he may be doing, then this will probably require some changes for us. And, it will be costly. It won’t cost us much financially, but it may cost us time and energy. We may have to change our schedule… give up a few comforts. But, God is worth any cost, as are the people involved.
Interdependence
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are both dependent upon God, and interdependent upon one another. Unfortunately, society teaches us to be independent – neither dependent nor interdependent. We’re taught to learn for ourselves, fend for ourselves, care for ourselves, earn for ourselves, and do for ourselves. We’re taught not to admit that we need help from anyone nor to accept help from anyone. This is the nature of American society, but it is not the nature of the follower of Jesus Christ – he or she has a new nature.
This point was driven home for me last Friday. Our family arrived at the event location for the North Raleigh / Wake Forest Relay for Life around 5:15 p.m. We were supposed to drop off our canopy, chairs, tables, etc. – which we did. The committee was supposed to pick up our stuff and take it to our site – which they did. I was supposed to park my vehicle – which I did – while my family walked to our site – which they did. Everything was going according to plan.
Except… as soon as I parked our van, it started to rain. It wasn’t a slow sprinkle, it was a gully-washer – at least, that’s what we called it in Alabama. The entire time that I was walking – running – to our event site, I could picture my family standing in the middle of a muddy field getting drenched by the rain. Imagine my surprise when I reached our site to find that two teenagers from a nearby site had come to their rescue! The two young men were helping my wife set up the canopy, and they had pulled all of our equipment under the canopy. Those two teenagers were my heroes that night! After I arrived, I helped them finish setting up the canopy, and we stayed as dry as we could while the rain continued.
Not long after our canopy was set up, another team arrived at the site next to ours. The team – at this time – consisted of a mother, her teenage daughter, and two or three more teenage girls. My family helped them spread their canopy over their stuff. We offered to help them raise their canopy, but they said they didn’t want to raise it yet. Instead, they stood under some umbrellas and waited for the husband to arrive.
When the husband arrived, I again went over and offered assistance. I told him that some boys from a neighboring site had helped us, and that we would love to help them set up their canopies – they actually had two. He said no. He didn’t need the help, but thank you anyway.
We watched and listened as he struggled to raise the canopy in the wind and rain. He was obviously getting frustrated because his family was not doing things the way he thought they should be done. They often spoke loudly – shouted – at one another as they tried to raise the two canopies and keep their stuff dry at the same time.
When the shouting had subsided for a moment, and when tempers seems to settle a little, I again walked over and asked if I could help. He said… and I quote… “No, we like to fight while we do this.” I told him that I would be glad to help, if he decided he needed anything. Then, I walked back to my canopy.
As I think back over this encounter, I recognize the church acting in this stubborn, independent manner many times. It seems that even believers have the attitude that they can do everything by themselves and they don’t need any one’s help. It often appears that many feel that asking for help or accepting help from others is a sign of weakness or spiritual immaturity.
This is such a travesty and a misunderstanding of what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ. God provides us with relationships with one another so that we can love one another, accept one another, help one another, give to one another, and serve one another. We cannot make it through this life alone – at least, we cannot live the way God wants us to live alone. We need God, and we also need one another. Independence may be an American virtue, but it is a Christian vice.
The next day, Saturday, my family was helping one our young, single, female friends move. (I mentioned this briefly in my post called “Weekend of Service“.) A few weeks before, this young lady began telling people that she needed help finding a place to live. Another family asked if she would like to live with them. They shuffled their boys’ bedrooms so that our friend could have a room to herself, and Saturday afternoon, a bunch of us got together, packed up her belongings, and moved her into their house.
After unloading all of the boxes, another friend brought dinner for everyone. While I was sitting there enjoying a homemade meatball sub, I remembered the encounter with the man who refused to acknowledge that he needed help, and refused to accept help when it was offered. What a stark contrast to my friends, one of whom acknowledged that she needed help and accepted the help that was offered, and a family who was willing to put their own comforts aside and offer help.
This is a beautiful picture of God’s family. Brothers and sisters recognizing their complete dependence upon God and willing to live interdependent upon one another. That evening, I couldn’t help but thank them and praise God for the example of community that he had shown be that day.
Weekend of Service
This has been a very busy weekend. I’ve been trying to decide how to describe everything that happened this weekend, but I’ve come to the conclusion that its impossible. I’ll simply touch on a few highlights.
Friday night and Saturday morning, our family and some friends took part in the North Raleigh / Wake Forest Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. We were able to raise more money than we had expected thanks to the generous donations of our families and friends. More importantly, Friday night, Margaret and another friends had the chance to serve dinner and dessert to almost 100 cancer survivors. They worked for a total of four hours while other people were enjoying the Relay for Life event. What a blessing and an example they are for us!
Saturday afternoon and evening, we helped a single friend of ours move. She moved in with another family who are also friends of ours. We are so encouraged that she asked for help, and that the family offered to help her in her living situation. Many people are too proud to ask for help, and many are too concerned about themselves and their family to open up their homes to others. God has surrounded us with some very special people.
Sunday, after our weekly church meeting, we had lunch with many of our friends. We were able to visit with some friends from Chicago that we have not seen in almost a year. As we were cleaning up, a man walked up and asked me about a deli near our meeting location. I told him the deli was closed. I asked if he needed something to eat, and he said yes. So, I invited him in to join us. Although everything had been packed up, several ladies grabbed their left-overs and fixed him a huge plate of food. As he ate, several people came over to introduce themselves and to ask him about himself. It was such a blessing to see my brothers and sisters demonstrating God’s love to someone they did not know.
Scripture… As We Live It #2
Here is the second installment of “Scripture… As We Live It“:
If a brother or sister member of your particular church organization is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body referring them to the Benevolence Committee, what good is that? (James 2:15-16 remix)
My charade is the event of the season
This post is part of the May Synchroblog on the topic of “Human Rights” and part of a global blogging event known as Bloggers Unite for Human Rights. While many bloggers will be writing about specific human rights abuses, my post will be a little different. I think it is important to point out human rights abuses, and I think it is important to think about solutions to those problems. But, that’s not the way that I’m going with this post.
“Carry On My Wayward Son” – one of the biggest hits for the band Kansas – includes the following lyrics:
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
I recently heard this song while I was driving to work, and these two lines stuck in my head. I repeated them over and over again to myself over the next few days. In fact, it got to the point that I could remember those two lines, but I couldn’t remember exactly which song they were from. God used these words to point out something about my own life…
And, I have a confession – I don’t love people. Oh, I love some people – especially those people who love me back. But when it comes to people in general, I don’t love them. How do I know? Because I don’t demonstrate that love. The test of love is not what I say about people but what I do about people.
In the same way, the test of whether or not I care about human rights – the rights that all people have because they are children of God – is not in what I say or teach or write, but in what I do. And, I don’t do much. Even what I do something, I usually simply throw a little money at a problem, hoping that “human rights issues” and other problems will simply take the money and go away like a stray dog with a bit of food.
Yes, I’m sure I’m being tough on myself, and I should probably just forget about this for a while and hope the convictions go away. Or, I can accept these convictions of proof that I am part of the “human rights” problem. And, as I’ve written before, God is changing my heart in this area. At least now I recognize that the love that I have been demonstrating remains a selfish love. That old “love” was not based on a person’s worth as given by God, but it was instead based on my association with the person.
Recently, God has been teaching me to care about other people through many different means… even modern rock songs. For instance, God has pricked my heart with this lyric from “Hands Held High” by Linkin Park:
In my living room watching but I am not laughing
Cause when it gets tense I know what might happenThe world is cold the bold men take action
Have to react or get blown into fractionsTen years old is something to see
Another kid my age drug under the jeepTaken and bound and found later under the tree
I wonder if he thought the next one could be meDo you see the soldiers that are out today
To brush the dust from bullet proof vests awayIt’s ironic, at times like this you pray
But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterdayThere’s bombs in the buses, bikes, roads
Inside your market, your shops, your clothesMy dad he’s got a lot of fear I know
But enough pride inside not to let that showMy brother had a book he would hold with pride
A little red cover with a broken spineOn the back, he hand wrote a quote inside
“When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die”Meanwhile, the leader just talks away
Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replayAnd the rest of the world watching at the end of the day
Both scared and angry like “what did he say?”
While the song may condemn leaders and talking heads who are more concerned with sound bites than dealing with problems, I have to include myself in the condemnation. Failure to take notice of “human rights issues” and failure to respond to “human rights issues” is just as bad, if not worse, than leaders who use “human rights issues” for sound bites and political gain.
People are important to God, and they should be important to me. If they’re not, then there is a problem between God and me, and I am somehow hindering his work in my life.
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Click the link below to read the posts by other synchrobloggers who are taking part in “Bloggers Unite for Human Rights“:
Sonja Andrews on Human Wrongs
Adam Gonnerman on Guantanamo Bay in the eyes of God
Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort
Steve Hayes on Human rights and Christian faith
Steve Hayes (again!) on Human Rights and Amnesty International
Sally Coleman on “If”
Alan Knox on My Charade is the event of the Season
Bryan Riley on Bloggers Unite for Human Rights
Janice Fowler on Voiceovers Needed (Or Wake-Up Speak-Up)
Cobus van Wyngaard on Christianization and Humanization and our task in Zimbabwe
Mike Bursell on Human rights (and Christian responsibilities)
Prof Carlos Z on A new examination of human rights
KW Leslie on For those who say Christians have no rights
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Here some other bloggers whose blogs I read who are not part of the synchroblog, but are taking part in “Bloggers Unite for Human Rights“:
Heather on What can we do?
Michael on Uniting for Human Rights: Blog!!!
Glenn on Confessions
When you come together…
So, today is Mother’s Day and Pentecost Day. We started the day by celebrating my wife – actually, we started celebrating yesterday, but Jeremy and Miranda gave her some gifts and cards this morning.
Then, we met with the church. Today, we were not able to meet in our normal location. We usually meet together in a rented reception room, but there was another event scheduled there today. So, a family offered to let us meet in their home. Actually, the plan was to meet in their backyard under the huge trees there. But, God had other plans – it rained.
So, we went to their house around 9:30 this morning and helped them set up chairs around their house – mainly in the living room and kitchen which are open to each other. We also through some pillows on the floor for the children to use.
Once everything was set up, and while we were waiting for other to arrive, we sang songs that the children chose. As others arrived, they suggested other songs, and we had a great group sing for several minutes.
When most people had arrived, I read Psalm 16 (we’re reading through Book 1 of the Psalms to start our Sunday morning meetings). One of our brothers led us in singing several songs – even one that he wrote. We also read Acts 1:1-11 and all of Acts 2 to remind us of the Day of Pentecost. I taught from Matthew 6:19-24, focusing on three questions: 1) What do you treasure? 2) What controls your perception of the things around you? 3) What is your master?
When I finished teaching, several brothers and sisters shared what God has been doing in their lives lately. It was encouraging to hear how God was teaching people to trust him in truth, not just in theory. I ended our teaching time by reading from 1 Corinthians 10:14-33. This passage was a great way to prepare for the Lord’s Supper, reminding us that we were planning to eat from the Lord’s Table, not from our table or the hosts’ table.
Next, we planned to baptize four people outside. But, since there was a chance of thunderstorms, we decided to baptize in our hosts’ garden tube. The families and a few others would join those being baptized in the bathroom, since everyone wouldn’t fit.
We ended our meeting with the Lord’s Supper. But, don’t think of this as a short ending. We broke a loaf of bread and shared it between us as we remembered the broken body of our Lord. Next, we poured from a common cup and remembered the blood of our Lord which brought us into the New Covenant. Finally, we shared a meal together, sharing the fellowship that we have through the Spirit.
After eating, we talked for a while. One couple asked us to pray for the wife and their newborn son, because they had both been sick. I talked to a few people about what God has been doing in their lives. A couple of people asked if they could talk to me further in the next few weeks. After talking and helping our hosts clean up, we left around 3:30. So, if someone were to ask me, “How long does your ‘church service’ last?” I would have to answer, “Somewhere between 2 and 6 hours…”
What a blast we had “coming together” with the church today!
Am I a servant?
I read this quote a few days ago on amateur’s blog, and I can’t get it out of my head:
A test of how much a servant you are is how you act when you’re treated like one.
When institutions get in the way
A couple of days ago, as part of a synchroblog, I published a post called “Give a little bit?” In response to that post, an anonymous commenter left the following comment:
Considering your concerns with “how we do church,” do you think this has an affect on how much we do for the poor, downtrodden, needy, etc?
For example, it is a well known fact that for most churches the offerings they receive are spent mostly upon staff and buildings. In my church approximately 85% of our annual giving goes to these things. This leaves only 15% for ministry in our church and for missions efforts. We do almost nothing for the poor.
And of course most people feel very obligated to support their church first, before anything else. I’d like to give to some other organizations that do work with those in need, but I feel bad about neglecting the “budget of the church.” And since I give about $600.00 a month of my income already (I know this isn’t really a great amount and would really like to do more eventually), it is hard at the time to find other money in my own budget to support other ministries besides the church.
Additionally, because the ministries of the church must run smoothly, most people are encouraged to give their time to the programs (aka ministries) of the church. Although these programs are not in and of themselves bad, in fact many of them are really good, they are mainly geared to those in the church. This leaves people very little time in an already busy life to show concern to the “outside” world.
Alot of the time it seems our resources are all used up (time, talent, and treasure) to “build” the church. But I sometimes wonder what we are really building and if it is really what Jesus had in mind for us to build.
So by the way we “do church,” it seems we have diminished people’s ability to share their time or their money with those in need outside of the church.
Does this make sense? There seems to be a corrolation to me. Maybe not always, but at least often. What do you think?
To answer the questions raised by the anonymous commenter: Yes, this does make sense, and yes, you are making the connection between “doing church” and believers’ abilities to model their life after Scripture.
Let me put it this way… I’m often asked if I’m against church programs or structures or organization. I’ve written about this before, but its worth another visit. I am not against church programs or structure or organization. I am concerned when programs, structures, organizations, and other institutional elements become equated with being the church or obeying God’s will for his children.
Let me explain… As the anonymous commenter described above, church organizations often encourage (or stronger) their members to give in order to maintain the organization. They are asked to give toward building more buildings, buying more literature, purchasing more equipment and supplies… and the giving is associate with giving in Scripture. But, in the New Testament, giving is always associated with people, especially people in need. Giving is not associated with church structures and organizations in Scripture. Thus, a person who gives to a church institution is not following the scriptural commands or the scriptural model of giving. Plus, if giving to a church organization means that the person does not have any money to give to people in need, then giving to the church organization is actually causing people to disobey.
But, this goes much farther than the realm of giving. Think about spending time with neighbors, coworkers, friends, family members, and others who need to see and hear a good news witness. If almost every moment is spent on “church activities”, then when do people have time for others? If we meet on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night… then Tuesday night for “evangelism training”, then Friday night for “youth activities”, then Saturday for “children’s activities”… do we actually ever get around to spending time with the world – the ones who need a child of God in their lives the most?
When do we have time for fellowship? – not sharing a meal with 1000 other people, but sharing your life (and a meal) with a few. When do we have time for discipleship? – not listening to a professional teach for 30 – 45 minutes, but actually impacting the lives of other believers by spending time with them. When do we have time to teach and train our children? – not dropping them off in the nursery or children’s church or Sunday school, but actually taking the time to demonstrate a life of faith for them.
I am not against church institutions. However, institutions tend to become an end to themselves. When this happens – when the structures, organizations, meetings, and programs of the “church” become more important than edifying, discipling, fellowshiping… living a life of faith… then the institutions become dangerous and damaging to believers. The child of God thinks that he or she is obeying God and growing in maturity because he or she is taking part in the institutional programs. Instead, he or she may simply be growing closer to the institution. Being involved in the institutions replaces living a life of faith – trusting God for everything.
I am not against church institutions. But, I am much more in favor of believers living their lives in a manner that demonstrates their faith in God in everything that they do. Sometimes, church institutions hinder that kind of life.