Apprentice to a Follower of Jesus Christ
For two days last week, I attended an intensive seminar on the topic of teaching in higher education. This seminar covered many topics including preparing for academia, teaching and research, administration, teaching methods, and teaching philosophy and psychology.
One comment that the professor made was (paraphrasing), “Lecture is one of the least effective methods of teaching.” Even those who support and defend lecture usually include other teaching methods such as class participation, discussion, case studies, etc.
I think that an emphasis on lecture in preaching and teaching is one of the reasons that the church is filled with immature believers who have never grown beyond the “birth” stage in the life of Christ. I have found that people learn, understand, apply, and grow in maturity toward Christ much more when the “teaching” is more hands-on – living and learning together instead of lecturing someone.
In the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Philippians in The Message, Eugene Peterson says:
This is Paul’s happiest letter. And the happiness is infectious. Before we’ve read a dozen lines, we begin to feel the joy ourselves – the dance of words and the exclamations of delight have a way of getting inside us.
But happiness is not a word we can understand by looking it up in a dictionary. In fact, none of the qualities of the Christian life can be learned out of a book. Something more like apprenticeship is required, being around someone who out of years of devoted discipline shows us, by his or her entire behavior, what it is. Moments of verbal instruction will certainly occur, but mostly an apprentice acquires skill by daily and intimate association with a “master,” picking up subtle but absolutely essential things, such as timing and rhythm and “touch.”
I like the way that Peterson describes learning and discipleship in these two paragraphs. Following Christ does not come about through the sharing of information, but through the sharing of lives, much like a mentor shares his life with an apprentice. We cannot disciple through a series of lectures alone, whether those lectures last 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 4 hours.
I desire to live as an apprentice and a mentor. I desire to live with, learn from, and follow those who are more mature in Christ, just as I live with, teach, and lead those who are less mature in Christ. Of course, this works both ways. Mentors learn from apprentices. Certainly lecture can be part of this type of lifestyle, but it should not and cannot be the primary aspect of discipleship.
As we live with one another and learn from one another, our goal is not simply to make each other more knowledgeable about Scripture and about God. Instead, our goal is to see one another transformed through the work of the Spirit of God. If this is our goal, then our life and our methods should work toward that goal.
Unworthy servants…
I have always been challenged by Luke 17:5-10 –
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'” (Luke 17:5-10 ESV)
I don’t like to think of myself as an “unworthy servant” (or “unprofitable”).
The phrase “unworthy servant” reminds me that I am a servant. Regardless of my vocation, education, or affiliation, I am a servant. I never have the option of responding, “I am no man’s servant” (as Aussie John recently recounted in this comment). There is no place for pride nor for demanding my own desires. I am a servant.
The phrase “unworthy servant” also reminds me that I am unworthy in the sense that I am not worthy to be a servant. I deserve rejection, exclusion, and death, but I do not deserve to be a servant.
The phrase “unworthy servant” reminds me that I am unworthy in the sense that I do not add worth to my Master’s household. Nothing that I do increases his wealth or ability. Nothing that I say increases his honor. If I were removed from my Master’s household, his worth would not diminish.
The phrase “unworthy servant” reminds me most of all that I have a Master. My Master deserves my allegiance, my respect, and my obedience. My Master owes me nothing, yet offers me everything. My Master does not need me, but loves me completely. My Master can do everything, yet he chooses to work through me.
I am an “unworthy servant”. But, for some reason known only to my Master, he places his ring on my finger and his cloak on my shoulders. He calls me brother.
I am an “unworthy servant”. The more I recognize this and accept this, the more I will grow in faith… and the more I will understand grace.
Why do we care about the church?
A couple of days ago, I asked you, my readers, to introduce yourselves to me and to the other readers. I also asked you to answer this question: “Why are you interested in the church?” (By the way, it is not too late to introduce yourself and respond to this question. See “Please allow me to introduce myself“.) Several responded. Since the responses about the church encouraged and challenged me, I thought I would take this opportunity to compile an edited version here. I am not attempting to put words into anyone’s mouth with this post. Instead, I’m using the responses of my readers to help express my own thoughts. Feel free to continue adding your own thoughts as well.
So… why do we care about the church?
God has adopted us into his family. He adopted us completely by his grace and not because of anything that we have done or think or will do or will think. He demonstrated his love for his children by coming to earth as a human, teaching us how to relate to the Father and to one another, living a sinless life, dieing on behalf of our sins, rising from the dead, and continuing to make intercession for us.
We are now children of God, part of God’s family – a present family, as well as an eternal family. God has confirmed our relationship with him by indwelling us with his Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit we relate to God, to other members of God’s family, and with the world around us. The Spirit prompts us to move toward God in faith and obedience, and to move toward one another in love and unity.
Jesus gathers his followers (the Father’s children) together into an assembly of God’s family through the work of the Spirit. This Spirit-assembled group is the church. As the church lives and works and loves and cares and laughs and cries and learns and grows, it becomes a community – a people that share a common existence in God through Jesus Christ enabled by the Spirit.
The church sometimes operates within organizations and structures and models and methods and programs, but these are not the church. God’s children continually follow the Spirit so that organizations and structures and models and methods and programs do not displace the church.
We recognize differences in one another, but work to maintain the unity of the one body, one faith because their is only one Spirit, one Lord, and one Father. We do not criticize one another, but we do teach one another. We do not ridicule one another, but we do attempt to understand one another. We do not exclude one another, but we do accept one another. We are family.
The children of God do not simply meet together, but much more importantly, they live together as family. They spend time with one another and encourage one another to grow in maturity in Christ (since none of them are perfect) through their words and their deeds. They recognize that the Spirit is working in their midst and desire to see one another exhibiting the fruit of his presence through demonstrations of love and good works.
These demonstrations of love and good works are directed toward brothers and sisters in Christ, but also toward those outside of God’s family. The Spirit of God works through the Father’s children in order to carry out God’s mission on earth. This mission is the Spirit-led and Spirit-enabled responsibility of every child of God – individually and corporately.
Individually or together, in small groups or in large, we recognize only one Lord, one Master, one Shepherd. We belong to our Lord and submit as his servants and servants of one another. We do not promote ourselves, but humble ourselves. We accept that when we work and when we serve and when we teach and when we give and when we make disciples and when we get our hands dirty – when we are following our Master, we are simply servants doing the work of servants, and we desire and deserve nothing.
We go when our Master says, “Go.” We speak when our Master gives us the words. We serve when our Master provides the strength. At other times, we wait for our Master, recognizing that we are nothing and can do nothing apart from him. But, we also know that He loves us – not because of anything in us, but because of who he is.
Why do we care about the church? Because the people who gather together are our family. Because God loves them and cares about them. Because Jesus died for them. Because the Spirit indwells them. Because we need them.
What position do you play?
A few days ago, our son started playing football. He has wanted to play football for several years now. This has been difficult because we homeschool, and the local schools do not allow homeschool students to take part in school sponsored athletic activities. Last Spring, we heard about a local Pop Warner league, so we registered our son to play.
On the first or second day of practice, the coach called all the boys together and started talking to them about positions. He asked the boys which position is the most important position on the team. Several of the boys said, “Quarterback”, but the coach corrected them. He said, “There is not ‘most important’ position on a football team. Every position is just as important as another position. If we have the most talented quarterback of any team in our league, but our other positions are not played well, then our team will not succeed.”
Wow… if only the church could understand this philosophy. We place so much emphasis on those “special positions” – those “up front positions” – like “ministers” and “staff” and “pastors” and “elders” – that we forget that every believer is just as important as any other for the proper functioning and growth of the body of Christ.
By the way, this is not just good teamwork philosophy; this is scriptural. For example, consider this passage from Ephesians:
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 4:15-16 ESV)
Notice that, according to Paul, the church builds itself up in love when the whole body (that would be every follower of Christ) works together as they are equipped. In fact, Paul stresses the necessity for every believer to work together four times in verse 16: 1) whole body, 2) joined and held together, 3) every joint with which it is equipped, and 4) each part is working properly.
But, what about those unimportant believers – you know, those who never seem to “get with the program”, who never seem to “carry their fair share of the load”, who never seem to “get involved and get committed”. Does the growth of the body of Christ depend on “those people”? Yes! When we discount certain believers – when we give up on them – then we are hobbling the body of Christ – we are shackling the church.
Every believer is important. And, those believers who we consider less important – less gifted – less able – less anything – God gives greater honor:
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. (1 Corinthians 12:22-25 ESV)
It’s time for the church to stop honoring “Christian celebrities”, and recognize that each believer is important and necessary to the proper working of the church of God. God has placed the members in the church according to his will (1 Cor. 12:18). When we decide that one member is not as important or not necessary, then we are working against God. When we place one member above other in importance or necessity, then we are working against God.
For many, many years, the church has trained the quarterback and allowed him to run all the plays, while, for the most part, ignoring other members of the team. Meanwhile, the quarterbacks have basked in the accolades of the crowd, accepting the superior position offered by the church, hoping to be traded to the next Super Bowl team. A football team cannot succeed if every position is not played well. A church – the body of Christ – will not grow as God intends if every member is not recognized as important and necessary and if every member is not functioning as God has gifted him or her.
Perhaps it is time for a few quarterbacks to find their place on the line, helping the linemen in their responsibilities. Or perhaps they can split out wide and help the receivers run their routes. Or perhaps… just perhaps… they should sit out a few plays, and allow God to use others as he has equipped. Those people are part of the church for a reason.
What position do you play?
Acting upon our beliefs
I’ve watched the movie The Patriot several times. I wouldn’t consider this my favorite movie, but I do enjoy it. And, before you comment, yes, I know about the historical inaccuracies. I guess it is good that I enjoy watching it, since it seems to be showing every time I turn on the television. My most memorable viewing happened in Nicaragua, where we watched part of The Patriot in Spanish.
This weekend my son and I watched The Patriot again. This time, there was a certain speech that caught my attention. Gabriel walked into a church building and asked for volunteers for the South Carolina militia. Everyone complained about the danger involved in signing up with the militia. Then, Anne reminded them that they had been talking highly about liberty and freedom. This is part of what she said:
Anne: Mr. Hardwick, how many times have I heard you speak of freedom at my father’s table? Half the men in this church, including you, Father, and you, Reverend, are as ardent patriots as I. Will you now, when you are needed most, stop at only words? Is that the sort of men you are? I ask only that you act upon the beliefs of which you have so strongly spoken and in which you so strongly believe.
Now, I don’t want to discuss liberty or freedom, nor do I wish to discuss the ethics of war. However, I think that all believers should think very carefully about what Anne says in this speech.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we talk a good talk. We talk about God – his person and his attributes, etc. We talk about Jesus Christ – his divinity, his work, etc. We talk about the Holy Spirit – his work in soteriology, sanctification, gifting, etc. We talk about the church and eschatology. We talk about loving God and loving other people. We talk about justice and mercy and forgiveness and compassion.
But, do we do more than talk? When you ask the world outside of “Christianity”, we get a very different picture of believers than if you ask the church. Perhaps we can learn to talk less, and do more.
How many times recently have you had a discussion about loving the unlovable? How many times have you actually done something to demonstrate that you love the unlovable?
How many times recently have you talked about showing mercy and kindness to someone who is in need? How many times have you actually helped someone that was in need?
How many times recently have you professed the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ? How many times have you proclaimed that to your neighbors and friends?
How many times recently have you discussed the importance of making disciples? How much time have you actually spent discipling someone?
As Anne says in The Patriot, “I ask only that you act upon the beliefs of which you have so strongly spoken and in which you so strongly believe.”
A worship service
A couple of months ago, in a post called “The church meets here“, I asked what would happen if the church – that is, the people of God – began meeting in places where they could focus on serving people. For example, I suggested:
Taking it one step further, we know that God intends for his children to love and serve others. What if the church met in the most dilapidated house in the community? No, not the most dilapidated house owned by a member of the church, but the most dilapidated house in the community. What would happen if the church met in that run-down house and renovated it as they met together? After remodelling that house, the church could begin meeting in another house in need of repairs.
I offered other examples as well. We have been able to take part in several service opportunities due to some discussions and conversations that resulted from this post. Other opportunities are in the works now.
This weekend, I read Andrew Hamilton’s (Backyard Missionary) post called “Sunday service“. He relates some of the ways that they have chosen to meet together as the church:
We are committed to spending the first Sunday of each month in serving someone locally who could use a hand.
Part of the beauty of this project is that our kids get to be involved in ministry and service and they enjoy it. Ellie asked what we were doing today… I told her… ‘Oh cool! I love backyard blitzes!!’
I hope this type of gathering for the purpose of service becomes more common place among the people of God. Do you have other suggestions of how the church can meet together in order to serve other people?
Seven Chosen to Serve
The title for this post comes from the ESV section heading for Acts 6:1-7 which reads:
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:1-7)
This passage is usually recognized as the installment of the first “deacons”. However, before we decide what is actually being described here, let’s recognize that most of what is taught from this passage is based on assumption and speculation.
For example, the title “deacon” is not used of the seven men chosen here. Instead, the noun διακονία (diakonia) is used to describe the “daily distribution” or “daily service” (Acts 6:1) and the “service of the word” (Acts 6:4), and the verb διακονέω (diakoneo) is used in the phrase “to serve tables” (or “to serve food”).
Also, we are not told how the Hebrew widows received their daily food, nor are we told why the Hellenist widows were not getting their daily food. In fact, we are told very little about the details or organization involved in this distribution of food. We can assume or speculate as to how this was being done, but apparently this was not important enough for Luke to include. Perhaps, that means that what Luke was trying to communicate is not related to these details.
Neither does Luke tell us how “the full number of the disciples” chose the seven men who were going to take care of this problem. Again, we can make various assumptions and speculations, but it appears that Luke is more concerned with the character of the men chosen than the method used to choose them.
Finally, and this is one of the most interesting parts of this story to me, Luke does not tell us how, when, or even if these seven men actually supplied food to the Hellenist widows. Instead, the only subsequent times that any of these men are mentioned, they are mentioned in the context of evangelism. In fact, if it is the same Phillip, one of the men is called “Phillip the Evangelist” in Acts 21:8. Apparently, these men did not find their identity or their “job” in being a “deacon”.
So, what does Luke tell us in this episode from the early life of the church? First, Luke tells us that there was a problem. The Hellenist widows were not receiving their daily amount of food. This problem reached the ears of the apostles.
Second, we see that the apostles told “the full number of the congregation” to take care of the problem themselves. The apostles told the people to choose spiritually wise men with a good reputation. Again, the apostles did not tell the people who to pick or even how to pick these men.
Finally, we see that “the full number of the congregation” picked the men and presented them to the apostles. In Acts 6:6, Luke does not specify exactly who “laid their hands own” these seven men. It could have been the apostles – which is usually assumed – but it also could have been the people who chose them, presented them to the apostles, and also laid hands on them.
What is Luke communicating in this passage? It looks to me as if Luke is showing that the apostles expected all believers to take part in service. The apostles did not run things or control how problems were met. Instead, when a problem presented itself, the apostles expected the people who knew about the problem to take care of it.
Anabaptist politics and pastoral authority…
Dave Black has published his fourth aritcle about the Anabaptists: “What I Have Learned from the Anabaptists (Part 4)” In this article, Dave discusses the Anabaptists response to politics and governments. He says:
They [the Anabaptists] taught that the church is not only apolitical but antipolitical in the sense that it regards political power as inevitably idolatrous. The church is to seek the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. It therefore refuses to confer any value on political power but instead radically questions it. With Constantine’s victory at the Milvian Bridge, however, the church became invested with political power, and it has sought political power ever since. It acquiesced where Jesus resisted: the church accepts all the kingdoms of the earth from Satan. It forges an alliance with the state, which it now seeks to Christianize.
On a different topic, Emily Hunter McGowan has written a guest article for SBCOutpost called “Who Should ‘Have Authority Over a Man’?” She begins by discussing 1 Timothy 2:12, but concludes the article by discussing authority in general. She says:
“Pastoral authority” is invoked in support of all kinds of actions, events, and propositions. In more mundane uses, “pastoral authority” becomes a catchphrase signaling the need to acquire permission from the pastor to take action or make a public statement. Along these lines, you might hear someone say, “I disagree with Pastor Tom about this issue, but I don’t want to undermine his pastoral authority.” More extreme applications, of course, include the forceful silencing of dissent and the legitimization of unfortunate personality worship. In this vein, something like this is more likely: “Don’t you know our pastor has authority over you?”
To be clear, in my criticism I do not take away from the responsibility of our local church pastors to shepherd our congregations. The apostles left us careful instructions regarding the need for us to recognize, honor, imitate, and submit to our leaders (1 Thess 5:12-13; 1 Tim 5:17; Heb 13:7, 17), as well as details regarding the characteristics that qualify and disqualify leaders from service (1 Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).
Yet, if you survey the teaching of the NT epistles on the matter of elders, overseers, leaders, or shepherds, you will find no mention of “authority” or “exercising authority over” anyone. In fact, 1 Peter 5:3 contains explicit instruction for shepherds to oversee the people “not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
These are the same conclusions that I’ve reached, as discussed in my posts “Exercising Authority“, “Ruling or Leading?“, and “Obey and Submit? (Hebrews 13:17)“.
Guest Blogger: Why I Said Church Hurts
A few days ago, someone left a very poignant anonymous comment on my blog. In response, I asked this person to email me. After reading her story, I’ve asked if I can share it here, and she has graciously allowed me to do that.
As you read this story, I hope you will listen carefully to what is being said. People are hurting all around us, and God has put us in their lives to help and encourage them. We are here to bring glory to God by caring for his people. Perhaps someone that you are acquainted with is hurting just like this sister.
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Why I Said Church Hurts
by Mrs. Anonymous
In a recent anonymous post, I summarized my family’s experiences with church by saying that ‘church hurts’. That’s a strong statement, and maybe one that needs explanation. So I will attempt to briefly describe some of the circumstances that have led up to my comments. My intent is not to unload a ‘laundry list’ of gripes with my church. My hope is that in reading our story, some may find comfort that they are not alone in their own pain, and also, that perhaps leaders in churches will be reminded that their true calling is to tenderly nurture the believers in their midst, not to build programs, structures, attendance, or budgets.
First of all, let me say that I dearly love Christ, and I love His children. I believe in His design for the church– individual, uniquely gifted members ministering to one another with the goal of seeing one another grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. And I praise God for those few precious people He has brought into my life, who love Christ, and encourage me in the ‘fight of faith’. I can’t imagine life without their love. And so yes, I do have some interaction with the body of Christ that is very positive and loving and healing. But most of that occurs with friends who are outside of what we call our ‘church’.
In our church, there is a lot of ‘moving and shaking’ going on. Attendance is increasing. Additions are being built. New staff is being hired. Our image is one of ‘excellence’ (and image is very important). All this is exciting, and there is lots of enthusiasm for all that God is doing. But I look around each Sunday and wonder how many people are just pasting on a smile, hiding their hurts, believing they don’t really matter. Like my family does……
In our church, even though we have verbalized our financial situation more than once, there is no understanding of why my husband works so many Sundays and often misses church. Though the leaders are aware that he works upwards of eighty hours a week, at three different jobs, to meet the most basic needs of our family, their focus has not been on encouraging him, but rather on ‘reminding’ him of the importance of church attendance. It has been implied, subtly, and more overtly, that if we have financial problems, it must, at root, be ‘our fault’. I see the weariness in my husband, the disrespect he feels because he isn’t ‘white collar’, and I fear I see a wounding in my husband disguised as a growing indifference toward church.
Our oldest son is in his twenties, and since he moved out of our home a year ago, he hasn’t attended church. Nobody seemed to notice, even though for six years he was ‘faithful’, and even a leader in the youth program. Recently an elder called asking for his mailing address so he could be sent a letter ‘warning’ him that if he didn’t start attending church, he would be removed from the membership list. That letter will be the first attempt leadership has made to ‘reach out’ to him since he left. So, my son finds more caring and acceptance from his unbelieving friends than he does from the church where he was once held up as a ‘model teen’.
My sixteen year old daughter almost died last December. A very rare, life-threatening infection landed her in Intensive Care for over a week. The infection attacked all her organs. An athlete, she faced the possibility of having one or both feet amputated. Our church did respond with prayer, meals brought to us, and a visit from the pastor, for which I was, and remain, grateful. But once our daughter was home, she began processing what she had gone through: the reality of her own mortality, the fear that her weakened body would not return to its pre-illness state, and that she would have to let go of her athletic goals– her dreams. I shared her struggles with a couple leaders, one of which declared that this was probably God’s way of ‘shaking her tree’, and trying to get her attention, as though she had some sin issue that had brought on her illness. So my daughter and I spent a lot of long nights talking and crying together, as she came to terms with what she’d gone through. It was a faith-building time for her, and the church leaders missed their opportunity to be part of it. (By the way, she recovered fully, by God’s mercy, and went on to compete, athletically, at the state level.)
The latest wounds have been directed toward me. Because I gently cautioned against a controversial idea put forth by the women’s leadership board, I was labeled as ‘negative’ and told repeatedly, that I have a ‘heart issue’. I have been warned not to talk through, with my friends, any problems I have with the church, as this is ‘gossip’, even when it’s done in a genuine spirit of seeking clarity and balanced advice from trusted believers. The church leadership has proceeded with a concerted effort to marginalize and minimize my ‘influence’. Disparaging, suspicion-inducing comments about our family have been shared with others, including one of our best friends. If this weren’t all so hurtful, I could almost laugh at the Junior High-esque tactics of those who claim to be the leaders of God’s people. Maybe some day I will laugh. But I won’t laugh for the next family that ‘dares’ to not ‘support’ leadership, and suddenly finds themselves targeted.
So, I know, everyone has anecdotal evidence of failures in their church. We have all been hurt or disappointed at times. These are just a few of my stories. I can accept that imperfect people will behave imperfectly. We have had our share of minor church conflicts and issues that we have worked through, or chosen to simply forgive or ignore. In over two decades of being in Christ, we have only belonged to two churches, so we aren’t ‘quitters’. But what do you do when ‘going to church’ hurts more than staying away does? When faith in God’s acceptance, and nurturing, cherishing love for me is easier to maintain at home, than ‘at church’. What do I tell my kids? How do I help them avoid equating the failures of people with an ‘unloving’ God?
We are at a point of leaving the church we now attend. It’s sad. I love the people there. But the leadership seems to have put together a model for growth that doesn’t have room for ‘people like us’. I’m scared to look for a new assembly. I don’t want to get hurt again. And I fear that my fear is going to turn into a self-protective distancing of myself from the God-designed relationships He has in store for me. And by the strength that He supplies, I will resist that tendency. But fear of rejection is a powerful force in alienating people. I often wish we could be a wealthier, ‘stronger’ more ‘put together’ family. That seems to be what a lot of churches are looking for. Oddly different criteria than the weary, burdened, and heavy-laden folks Jesus called to Himself. But I also know that a lot of the struggles God has allowed in our lives have been used by Him to make us more compassionate, sympathetic, God-dependent people. We are in process. We are his workmanship. And praise Him, it’s a work He won’t abandon. He is growing my faith, even while I struggle with my hurts and disappointments. I know that God has not abandoned His church to His children’s foolish ideas of how to ‘manage’ or ‘improve’ or ‘grow’ it. I just struggle with the ‘how’ of living in a time and place where the ‘church’ seems to have moved so far of course. Which I guess, in part, is what Alan’s blog is all about. I am encouraged, strengthened, and provoked to Christlike love through Alan’s writings and the comments of others. Thanks for listening to mine.
Serving in the strength that God provides…
After a busy week and a busy Saturday, we were able to spend a couple of hours at the home of some of our friends. As we ate, read Scripture, and prayed, we were renewed and refreshed by the Spirit.
One of our friends was praying for another family. This family is dealing with a loved one with cancer. Soon, the wife will be travelling to take care of him. As another friend was praying for them, he asked God to help them to serve in God’s strength and not in their own strength.
This simple prayer led to a wonderful discussion of relying completely on God and not trying to rely on ourselves and our own abilities. I admit that many times when I see something that should be done, I am tempted to jump in and do it, even though I know that God has not provided me with the opportunities nor the resources to do it. What happens then? I end up doing something in my own strength, getting tired and angry, and failing to obey God in what he wanted me to do in the first place. Why? Because I am attempting to serve God and others our of my own strength instead of the strength that God provides.
In 1 Peter 4:11, Peter says that those who serve should do so “as one who serves by the strength that God supplies” (ESV). This is difficult. This means that I must trust God. When I see something that is not being done, and God has not provided me with the opportunities nor the strength to do it, then I must trust God that he has provided someone else to take care of that need.
We had several other very uplifting and challenging discussions, both as a group and one-on-one with other believers. It is amazing how the Spirit uses other believers to stir us up to love and good works.