Watching the church change from barren to fruitful
Roger at “SimpleChurch Journey” has shared a very interesting list in his post “Choudhrie’s Challenges Re-Visited.” The post is a summary of an essay written by Victor Choudhrie titled “Mega Church to Meta (Beyond) Church” and subtitled “21 Steps to transit from being a barren church to a millionaire of souls.”
Here are some of the interesting “steps” (interesting to me):
3. Phase out programmed Sunday ‘services’ while implementing informal, small
gatherings. The Bride of Christ must have intimacy with her Lord every day, not only for a
couple of hours a week, lest she become unfaithful.4. Replace Mosaic tithing with Christian sharing, thereby harnessing the enormous,
financial resources, hospitality and goodwill available in Christian homes.5. Dispense with wafer-and-sip Holy Communion and promote breaking of bread with
simple Agape meals (love feasts) from house to house, that believers take with glad
hearts, ‘and the Lord added to His numbers daily’.7. Shift from being a spectator-oriented church to a ‘metastasizing’, interactive,
participatory, prophetic church. Empower men, women and youth, to get the dragon off the driver’s seat.10. Know your identity in Christ: You are a royal-priest, made so by the blood of the Lamb.
Dismantle the ‘Reverend’ culture that divides clergy from layman.14. Empower every Sunday school, bible school, prayer cell, women’s fellowship, and
cottage meeting, by calling them full-fledged, authentic churches.18. Reorient your personal paradigm. Your business, workplace or home, wherever you
spend most of your time, is your ‘primary nuclear church’. It matters little whether you
are the CEO, or the janitor or the kitchen queen; you are a full-time minister there and
accountable.
Obviously, there are other “steps” in Choudhrie’s essay besides the ones listed above (14 other steps, to be exact).
I love that the focus of these “steps” is to empower, equip, and send all believers as priests in God’s kingdom, wherever they live, work, etc. These steps recognize that the Spirit indwells all of God’s children, and, therefore, he can and does work through all of them. He does not only work through a few of them.
Given the many exhortations in Scripture toward mutual service, mutual discipleship, mutual edification, mutual teaching, etc., I agree with Choudhrie that taking these steps would help the church grow toward maturity and fruitfulness.
What do you think?
Paul asks for prayer for himself in Ephesians 6:19-20
At the end of his letter to the believers in Ephesus, while encouraging them to stand firm by trusting in God for their truth, righteousness, etc., Paul reminds them to pray. He doesn’t tell them to pray every morning or every evening. He tells them that they will be able to stand against spiritual attacks by “praying at all times in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 6:18 ESV)
Also, he doesn’t want them to only pray for themselves, but instead they are to pray for all believers – “keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18 ESV) In fact, Paul then asks the Ephesians to pray for him.
Ephesians 6:19-20 has (for a long time now) been a very encouraging passage for me. Why? Because Paul – who is still known as a great apostles, missionary, and evangelist – makes the following request of the Ephesian church:
…and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:19-20 ESV)
Now, the term “boldly” used above (once as an adjective in Ephesians 6:19 and then as a verb in Ephesians 6:20) is not about yelling, shouting, spitting, pounding, etc. Instead, it’s about courage, openness, and assurance. So, Paul is asking the Ephesians to pray that he would proclaim the gospel with courage – i.e., to not be afraid of proclaiming the gospel.
It was always amazing – and wonderful and encouraging – to me that Paul – who was known for proclaiming the gospel courageously, was asking the Ephesians to pray that he would proclaim the gospel courageously. In other words, Paul knew that he could only proclaim the gospel boldly if God enabled him to do it.
Now, interestingly, I had always interpreted that “prayer request” to indicate that Paul struggled in this area – that he was occasionally NOT bold in proclaiming the gospel. But, Sunday, as we were discussing this passage together, one of my brothers or sisters (unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly who), suggested something different. Perhaps Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him specifically because he WAS normally bold in proclaiming the gospel.
Maybe that doesn’t make sense at first, but think about it… Almost everyone who is in Christ has a certain area of service (or perhaps several areas of service) which seem to come naturally to them (or supernaturally, as the case may be). When God works through us in this way, it is easy to forget that we still rely on God for this service. It’s easy to think that we can do it on our own. So, if this was the case, Paul was asking for prayer so that he didn’t forget that he must rely on God in order to proclaim the gospel boldly.
You know what? I don’t think it matters which option above (or perhaps another option) caused Paul to ask for prayer that he would proclaim the gospel boldly. In either case, the result is the same: recognition by Paul that he was completely dependent on God in order to proclaim the gospel boldly.
The metaphors in Ephesians 6 – losing focus
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which the subject is related (in some way) to another object. The focus is on the subject, and the object exists only as a point of comparison and/or description.
There is a very famous set of metaphors (probably just one big metaphor) toward the middle of Ephesians 6. I’ll get to that soon.
Sunday morning, we talked a little about metaphors (and similes, since they are related to one another). And, I asked for examples of metaphors. (Everyone gave similes, but that works…) These are some of the examples offered: “cold as ice,” “fast as a cheetah,” “eyes like diamonds.”
In those metaphors, the focus is on “cold,” “fast,” and “eyes,” with the objects “ice,” “cheetah,” and “diamonds” offering points of comparison and/or description.
This brings me to the metaphor(s) of Ephesians 6:
Therefore take up the whole armor of God… Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God… (Ephesians 6:13-16 ESV)
What are the subjects of focus in this list, and what are the objects of comparison/description? If you make that decision based on the “Armor of God” playset that we bought our son several years ago, then the important parts of that list would be the belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword. (By the way, my son – who will be 19 in a few days – informed me that it was not a playset; it was real armor.)
In fact, if you check various pieces of artwork, books, and even sermons (along with various toys like the aforementioned playset), you might think that Paul was making that list so that we would know how a Roman soldier was decked out for battle. But, I don’t think Paul’s focus is on the armor at all, except as a point of comparison/description.
Instead, I believe that Paul is focusing on his readers “putting on” truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, and the Spirit (which is the word of God). It’s in this way that they are about to stand… or withstand… spiritual attacks.
These are not items that we can put on or take off, per se. Instead, they are ours in Jesus Christ. Always. All of them. Our “putting on,” then, is not about making sure we walk out the door with our “righteousness” strapped in place. Instead, “putting on” is about recognizing who we are in Jesus Christ and living in that reality. (Paul talked alot about that reality in Ephesians 1-3, and discussed alot about “putting on” that reality in various forms in Ephesians 4-6.)
So, when you think about the “armor of God,” where is your focus? Is it on the various pieces of armor? Or, do you focus on the realities of our life in Christ – a life which is filled through Jesus Christ with truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, and Spirit.
Bookends: The opening and closing of Ephesians
Yesterday, when we gathered together with the church, we studied the last part of the book of Ephesians together. We spent about an hour discussing Ephesians 6:10-24.
As we’ve worked our way through this book together, different people have led our discussion – we usually call it “leading” or “facilitating.” This time, it was my turn to facilitate our discussion. Because of that, I probably had more to say than I normally do. I thought I would write a few posts about some of my observations on Ephesians 6:10-24, and even a few observations made by my brothers and sisters in Christ.
To begin with, Paul begins this section with an exhortation to “Be strong” (or, literally, “be strengthened” or “be made strong”) in the Lord. (Ephesians 6:10) Why did Paul want the Ephesians to be strengthened in (or by) the Lord? Because he knew that their battles was against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) With spiritual opponents like these, the Ephesians needed the power that can only be given by God.
But, then, that’s exactly how Paul started this letter. He started by praying that the Ephesians would understand the power that was available to them. What kind of power was that?
[I pray that you may know] what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:19-21 ESV)
So, at the beginning and end of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminded his readers of God’s power that was available to them, the power that subdued (and subdues) all spiritual enemies.
In literary terms, this is called an “inclusio.” Authors use the same or similar words, phrase, or themes at the beginning and ending of a section as a way to bracket or envelope that section of writing. The inclusio works to unify that section or writing.
In this case, then, the inclusio of Ephesians 1:19-21 and Ephesians 6:10-12 bracket almost the entire letter of Ephesians. And, the focus of the inclusio sections is on the power of God to overcome spiritual enemies.
I think the connection between those two passages in Ephesians is pretty straightforward. But, that connection leads to a more important question…
Does the fact that Paul focuses on the power of God having overcome (or to overcome) spiritual enemies at the beginning (Ephesians 1:19-21) and closing (Ephesians 6:10-12) of his letter to the Ephesians indicate Paul’s overall purpose in this letter?
Scripture… As We Live It #239
This is the 239th passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath… except Christmas. It is valid to pass judgment on those who do not regard Christmas correctly. (Colossians 2:16 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)
Replay: A Christmas Story from a Random Convenience Store
Three years ago, we spent Christmas in Alabama spending time with family. We don’t get to do that very often, so we were very excited to be back in our “hometown” – although, it’s hard to not view North Carolina as “home” after being here for over 10 years now.
On that Christmas Eve, while running an errand to a nearby convenience store, I overheard a conversation that was an encouragement and challenge for me. I wrote about that event in a post called “A Random Convenience Store.” I hope you enjoy this story, and I hope it challenges you to serve other… just as it challenged me.
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A Random Convenience Store
Yesterday, Christmas Eve, we spent the day with my family. We had lunch with my Mom and Dad, and with my brother and his family. We needed some ice, so Margaret and I went down the road to a local convenience store to buy a bag. This was a normal convenience store combined with a chain gas station. (I honestly don’t remember which gas station.)
There were two employees in the store, both of them men. The oldest of the two men was wearing a “Santa” hat, and was helping an elderly lady pick out a bottle of wine at a wine display. When the lady had picked out her bottle of wine – the bottle that was recommended by the employee – they walked up to the counter together. She asked how much the wine cost, and also handed the man two bottles of coke (in glass bottles!).
The man, “We talked about this already. This is our Christmas gift to you. There’s no charge for the wine or for the cokes.”
The lady protested slightly, as you must do in the South, and then began proclaiming, “I love y’all! I just love y’all so much!”
Meanwhile, I was standing in line at the cash register where the other employee was working. The lady in front of me wanted to by a car wash. She said that she had not bought gas because she had a full tank, but she was traveling through town and wanted to get a car wash. The man rang up the lower price for her (as if she had bought gas), and then he reached beneath the counter to get her car wash code.
“Oh, no!” he said, “It says the car wash needs maintenance.”
The other employee said, “I guess I need to fill up the soap.”
The employee at the cash register asked the lady if she could come back in a few minutes. She said she needed to buy a few things, so she would go to a local store and come back for the car wash. He handed her the car wash code and said, “I’m not going to charge you for this. That way, if he doesn’t get the soap filled before you come back, then you’re not out anything, and if he does get it filled, then you can just consider it a Christmas gift.”
I bought the bag of ice, thinking about the great example these two employees demonstrated. I don’t know if these two men are Christians are not, but they showed that they cared more about people than about their business. They were more concerned with being good neighbors than making a buck. We need to see – and be – more examples like this.
As I walked out of the store, the elderly lady was still saying, “I just love y’all so much!”
Answering all questions about discipleship
A few days ago, Guy from “The M Blog” wrote a new post called “Discipleship questions worth pondering.” I decided that I would give Guy some definitive answers to his questions and to all questions ever asked about discipleship. Ok. Not really. But, I did ponder his questions and thought I would offer a few “ponderings” in print.
For those of us who are following Jesus Christ, I think discipling is (or should be) very important. If Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are correct, the some of the last words spoken by Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension related to discipling others in some form or fashion.
A couple of Guy’s questions seem to be related to me:
1. Can a person be a disciple and not yet a believer in Jesus, a “Christian.”
2. Can you disciple an unbeliever?
Of course, answering these questions depends on defining the word “disciple.” The Greek term translated “disciple” has a range of meanings (as does almost every word in every language). The word translated “disciple” could simply mean “pupil” or “learner.” In that sense, anyone learning anything about Jesus becomes a “disciple” of Jesus. John occasionally uses this meaning of the word “disciple” in his Gospel. (For example, see John 6:66, in which John says, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”) This use of the term “disciple” could include an unbeliever.
However, there are other meanings of the term translated “disciple.” Primarily in the New Testament I think the term translated “disciple” refers to someone who is more than a pupil or learner and is instead someone who follows the life and teachings of a leader. In this case, the “leader” would be Jesus. So, only a believer could be a disciple. In fact, faith in Christ (salvation, if you prefer) is the first step in “following Jesus” or the first step as a disciple.
Here’s another good question that Guy asked:
3. When someone becomes a believer or Christian, can we consider them as a “disciple made?”
In one sense, a “disciple” is made at the point the person trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. However, as I said earlier, a disciple is someone who actually follows the life and teaching of Jesus. So, a disciple is never completely made until the person’s life is complete. Thus, the life of a disciple in following Jesus includes always learning more about what it means to follow Jesus.
I’m going to skip a few questions:
9. Are we to obey the teaching component of the Great Commission, or are we to step out of the way and let Jesus (or the Spirit) teach others directly?
Yes. Teaching others to obey everything that Jesus commanded, includes just that – teaching. So, yes, that is part of both being a disciple of Jesus and helping others in their lives as disciples of Jesus. Of course, we know that the ultimate and final teacher is Jesus (through the Holy Spirit). So, while we teach others (and learn from others), we also help them (and learn to) listen to Jesus on our own. The two are not distinct, but complimentary forms of teaching.
And, the last questions that I’m going to “ponder” in this post:
11. If the making of disciples, or discipleship requires that we teach others to observe/obey ALL that Jesus commanded, then wouldn’t that take a considerable amount of time? Are we relieved of our responsibility to teach when we have taught all of those commandments?
Even if we DID teaching all of Jesus’ commands, we would not have done what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20 (the great commission). Why? Because, as Guy said in the question, Jesus said to teach people to observe/obey. That cannot be completed by teaching a list of commands. It takes time. How much time? Well, as much time as necessary… but more than we usually assume. I think it’s easier to assume that it takes a lifetime.
So, there you go. All you need to know about discipleship.
Actually, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these questions (or any of the other questions that Guy asked in his post).
Waiting for the last days?
Perhaps it’s the approaching end of time (according to modern interpretations of a certain Mayan calendar) or perhaps I’m missing my friend Geth who loves to discuss these kinds of things, but lately I’ve been thinking about the phrase “last days” as found in the New Testament. (Ok, before you tell me not to worry about that Mayan calendar thing, I’m not. Seriously.) (knock on wood)
You know that phrase “last days,” right? It’s the phrase that points us ahead to that time just before the culmination of time and the end of all things and the final judgment and other stuff like that. Right? Right.
But, when we really look at the phrase “last days” in the New Testament, we find something interesting:
And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams… (Acts 2:17 ESV)
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. (2 Timothy 3:1 ESV)
…but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:2 ESV)
Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. (James 5:3 ESV)
…knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. (2 Peter 3:3 ESV)
While it’s possible that the passages in 2 Timothy, James, and 2 Peter could point to future times (from the point of view of the authors), the passages in Acts and Hebrews do not seem to be able to point to the future. Instead, in those passages, the authors seem to be referring to the times they are living in.
And, on top of that, the other passages also work with the authors referring to their own times as “the last days.”
In other words, the phrase “the last days” does not necessarily (and may not every) point to a time to come in the future. Instead, in some cases (and perhaps all), the phrase “the last days” actually refers to the time the authors were living in and, therefore, also the time we are currently living in. (By the way, did you notice that there were several different authors who used that phrase “the last days”?)
Interestingly, here is a passage with a phrase similar to “the last days”… does this refer to future time events?
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you… (1 Peter 1:20 ESV)
So, what if “the last days” and “the last times” are not really about the end of the world, but what if those phrases refer to the times we are living in now?
(By the way, my friend Geth – who I mentioned earlier, and still miss after his family moved across the country – always reminds me that there’s another phrase – or word – which does always point to the end of the world as we know it: “the last day” – singular.)
And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
As I’ve mentioned several times, we’ve been discussing Paul’s letter to the Ephesians when we gather with the church on Sunday mornings. (We often discuss this book at other times also, but we’ve decided as a group to study Ephesians together at that time.) We’ll probably finish Ephesians this Sunday by discussing the last part of chapter 6.
Of course, one famous section of Ephesians 6 deals with “the armor of God.” In that passage (Ephesians 6:14-17), Paul exhorts his readers to “take up the whole armor of God,” and then he lists several pieces of armor: belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword. Of course, each of those is associated to an aspect of our lives in Jesus Christ. For example, the belt is associated with truth and the breastplate is associated with righteousness.
But, in this post, I’d like us to consider the list item of “armor” in that list: “The sword of the Spirit.” It, along with the helmet of salvation, is mentioned in Ephesians 6:17 –
…and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God… (Ephesians 6:17 ESV)
The last part of that verse – “which is the word of God” – is a relative clause. All relative clauses begin with a relative pronoun. This relative clause begins with the relative pronoun “which.” The relative pronoun points back to a noun in the previous sentence and connects the relative clause back to that noun. In other words, “the word of God” describes one of the nouns in the previous sentence.
But, which noun?
There are two primary options:
1) The clause “the word of God” refers back to “sword.” Of course, “sword” has already been described as being “of the Spirit.” So, in this case, the “sword” which is “of the Spirit” is also “the word of God.” This is the way that I usually hear this phrase interpreted.
2) The clause “the word of God” refers back to “Spirit.” In the case, the “sword” is still “of the Spirit,” but it is the Spirit which is then described as “the word of God.”
In English, there is ambiguity regarding the relationship between the words “sword” and “Spirit” and the relative clause “the word of God.” In other words, either options #1 or #2 above are valid in English.
In Greek, however, some of this ambiguity is removed. Why? Because relative pronouns (like other kinds of pronouns) must match their antecedent (the word they point to) in gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number (singular, plural). “Sword” is a feminine singular noun, while “Spirit” is a neuter singular noun.
The relative pronoun which is translated “which” above is a neuter singular pronoun, indicating that the relative clause “which is the word of God” refers back to the noun “Spirit” not the noun “sword.”
Of course, recognizing this distinction is only the first part of the issue. Now, we can finally get to the real question: What is the difference between “the sword of the Spirit” being described as “the word of God” and “the Spirit” being described as “the word of God”? Or, to ask my question a different way: Does it matter that “the word of God” only refers to “the Spirit” and not to “the sword of the Spirit”?
Love is patient… especially when it comes to change among the church
Kathleen at “Church in a Circle” has finished her 12 post series called “Tomorrow’s Church.” The last post in the series is called “Tomorrow’s church – Part 12: It’s time to shift your mindset.” (There are links to all 12 posts in Kathleen’s series at the bottom of that last post.)
Kathleen’s last post in the series is all about change. Change. I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but change is not easy… it’s not comfortable… it’s not always pleasant. And, that’s just change in the life of one person. What happens when you multiply change over many people?
This is what Kathleen says about change among the church:
Change is happening in the church as we speak. You may or may not be aware of the simple church movement, the organic church movement, the missional movement. In the past month, I’ve attended two meetings in my city where entire denominations are exploring new, discipleship-centred models of church. There is a steady movement among God’s people worldwide towards a fresh expression of church, towards participation, engagement, involvement and empowerment. There is a rumbling discontent amongst pastors and churches, and a Godly longing to make disciples instead of filling pews. The majority of God’s people in every denomination are uncomfortably aware that the system is no longer working.
I agree with Kathleen. Change is happening. People recognize that there are problem, and many are addressing the problems. Certainly different people are addressing different problems, and they are addressing them in different ways. But, the thing is, change is happening.
Her post made be think about what happens when different churches (i.e., different groups of brothers/sisters in Christ) began to change. I’ve been part of a group that has been changing (continues to change) for several years. I’ve also observed others churches who have been changing also… and many of them (most?) have been changing differently than us.
So, what happens when a group of brothers and sisters in Christ are changing, but they are not changing in the way or in the speed that we think they should change? Or what happens when someone thinks that you should change in a different way or at a different speed than you are changing? (And, you are changing, right?)
Is that the time for strong proclamations, denouncements, taking sides, separating, shouts of heresy… Well, if you read some blogs or books or articles, you might think that’s the right response.
But, I think that’s the wrong response… completely wrong.
Instead, change… and change is always occurring, right?… change is a time for patience.
So, I definitely agree with Kathleen that churches are changing. As we see that change (whether it’s happening like we think it should or not), we must have patience… patience with God… patience with others… and patience with ourselves.