Have you signed my “Guest Book”?
Do you remember “guest books”? I’m not talking wedding guest books or funeral guest books. I’m talking about online guest books.
Back in the early days of the internet, during the heyday of AOL and do-it-yourself websites on various community type pages (such as angelfire or homepages) and before the growth and domination of blogs and social media, every site had a “guest book.”
There would be a huge icon someone on the site with the words “Sign my Guest Book.” The best sites, of course, had an animated GIF icon that would flash various colors or show a book opening and closing or a pen writing in the book. It was awesome…. if you like that kind of thing.
I never had guest books on any of my sites.
But, I’ve always enjoyed getting to know the people how spend time reading and interacting with what I write. In fact, several times over the last few years, I’ve written posts like that with one goal in mind: to allow you and other readers to introduce yourself.
So, this is your opportunity to “sign my guest book.” Please take a moment to tell us about yourself – whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
Also, on this blog, I primarily write about issues related to the church. So, if you are so inclined, I’d love to know a little about your own journey into church-related issues.
I look forward to “meeting” you!
Brant asks, “Is Jesus Enough?”
I’ve followed Brant Hansen through a couple of blogs and a couple of radio jobs. He currently blogs at “Air 1 Radio,” and in his latest post he asks, “Is Jesus Enough?”
Now, before you read his post, you should know two things: 1) The post is very long, but still worth reading, and 2) the post is about Brant’s struggle with emotional issues and the fact that he takes “mind-altering drugs.”
That last part is what I would like to highlight. Primarily, how does the church respond to people with emotional issues (anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, etc.) and with people who choose to take medication for those conditions.
To be honest, I’ve observed a huge range of responses, and many of them are not pretty.
So, I’ll simply ask the question that Brant asks: Is Jesus enough? Should people not take medicines for emotional issues? What about medicine or aids for physical ailments? Finally, how should we respond to people who disagree with our decisions?
(By the way, don’t miss Brant’s video for “I Am Second.” It is one of my favorites… probably because I’ve interacted with him online.)
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
In chapter 11 of his Gospel, Luke records an instance in which some of Jesus’ followers witness him praying. We don’t know if they actually see and/or hear him pray, or if they only know that he was praying. Either way, Jesus’ praying caused them to ask him a question: “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1)
Jesus answered their request with what is usually called “The Lord’s Prayer.” (Luke 11:2-4) This sample prayer followed by a couple of stories to show them that if they know how to give gifts to people who ask from them, how much more with God our Father give good gifts to his children. (Luke 11:5-13)
Lately, I’ve been thinking about prayer. There are several reasons for this contemplation, but I’m not going into those reasons now. But, suffice it to say that several things have happened recently that have caused to me to wonder about prayer, and specifically to wonder about prayer with a group.
There are only a few examples of prayer in a group in Scripture. One of those instances is found in Acts 4:23-31. In Acts 20:36, we see Paul praying with a group of elders from Ephesus. Later, just before Paul and his traveling companions left Tyre to continue their journey to Jerusalem, they prayed together.
Certainly, there are other instances of the church praying together in Scripture. The passages above are not to be complete. They are simply examples of believers praying together.
So, as I was thinking about this, I realized that many of the activities and concepts related to praying with the church today are absent in Scripture.
For example, I cannot find any indication that people closed their eyes and bowed their heads when they prayed (either alone or in a group). I can’t find any suggestion of the “prayer list.”
The practice that boggles me the most – not because I disagree with it, but because I think there is something to it – is the practice of asking as many people as possible to pray about a situation. I’ve done this (from both sides – both praying for someone along with a large group of people around the world as well as asking many, many people to pray for a situation).
But, as I think about this practice, it seems to go against what Scripture tells us about God and about how he responds to our prayer. Is God more likely to answer a prayer because more people are praying it? I just don’t know. I want to say that the number of people praying does not persuade or convince God to act. I know that my reformed friends will have a field day with that last statement, but please bear with me. Some things are difficult to state.
But, then, if God is not persuaded or convinced to respond based on the number of people praying, then why do Christians do this so often? Why do I do it so often? Why do I want to know that people all around the world are praying for a young boy who was recently diagnosed with cancer? I don’t know.
However, if I’m completely honest, it is somewhat comforting to know that all of those people are praying for that boy.
What do you think?
More skinny on new Asian churches
Last week, I linked to a post by the Andrew Jones (the “Tall Skinny Kiwi“) called “9 reasons NOT to plant a church in 2012.” It turns out that he had problems with his post after I wrote my link. So, some of you may not have actually seen his “9 reasons,” but only saw his introduction. If you did not see the 9 reasons, I would definitely encourage you to follow the link above.
Now, he has published a follow-up called “Practices of a new Jesus movement.” In this post, Jones describes some of the common practices that he found among new churches in Asia during his 2011 travels.
His main point from the previous post – and a point that is continued here – is that these churches were not started or maintained by a solo church planter with a worship service. He asks:
So if they didn’t start worship services, how did they start a replicating movement of Christian communities and how do they maintain such a high level of spiritual growth?
In the rest of the post, Jones recounts 9 different practices that these groups of Christians had in common (in no particular order):
- Bible study
- Open houses
- Fringe focus
- Simple habits
- Good business products
- System for rehabilitation
- Native flavor
- Daily rhythms
- Not outreach TO but outreach WITH others
- Something for the whole family
- Prayer
Jones describes what he means by each of those “practices.” I found several of them to be familiar, while others were challenging and thought-provoking.
Which practices listed above do you see most often among the Christians in your area? Which ones do you think would be the most challenging or difficult for the Christians that you know? Why?
Teaching Workshop: The Motivations for Teaching
Over the next few weeks, I’m planning to lead a “Teaching Workshop” for the church on Sunday mornings. We’ll work through a few passages of Scripture and discuss together what those passages say about teaching and teachers.
This is not a workshop about how to put together a teaching outline or how to study commentaries or other reference materials. Instead, we will discuss a broad and general view of teaching through Scripture. I hope that this workshop will be helpful for people teaching in any context.
This is the general outline that I plan to use for this workshop (I’ve updated the outline since the last post):
Part 1: Who Teaches?
Part 2: The Motivations for Teaching
Part 3: The Essence of Teaching
Part 4: Teaching When the Church Gathers
For each week’s workshop, I plan to put together a short worksheet to guide our discussion. This is the worksheet for the first week’s session. This lesson will be called “Part 2: The Motivations for Teaching.” Many of these motivations are not related specifically to teaching, but are related to our relationship with response to God as well as other people.
Feel free to discuss or ask questions in the comments.
———————————————-
Teaching Workshop
Part 2: The Motivations for Teaching
Note: To begin this workshop, I need to specify that I believe that all Scripture is in agreement when it comes to teaching. I will approach all passages as if they agree with one another.
I recommend reading the following passages so that you will know the context and background of the specific parts that we will discuss together. As you read, pay attention to the context as well as what the author says about motivations: Matthew 22:34-40; Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:15-18; John 21:15-19; Acts 5:29-32; Acts 20:17-21; Romans 1:7-12; 1 Corinthians 10:31-33; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5, 26-32; Galatians 5:13-14; Ephesians 4:7-16; Colossians 3:12-17; Hebrews 10:19-25; 1 Peter 4:7-11; 1 John 4:16-21; 1 John 5:1-5.
I. Love for God
The first and greatest commandment can and should be one of the motivations for everything that we do (and perhaps the foundation for everything that we do). (Matthew 22:37 – and parallel passages; John 21:15-17)
II. Submission/Obedience to God
We are commanded to teach. Is it enough to simply do something (such as teach) because we desire to submit to God and obey him? (John 14:15; Acts 5:29-32; 1 John 5:2)
III. Honor/Glorify/Worship God
When we speak to others in various ways (including teaching), we can glorify God. Of course, this is true of serving as well as speaking. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 4:10-11)
IV. Love for Others
The second commandment is like the first commandment. In fact, if we do not love others, then we do not love God. (Galatians 5:13-14; 1 John 4:20-21)
V. Desire to Benefit Others
All spiritual gifts (including teaching) are given for the benefit of others, not for the benefit of the one exercising that gift. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Acts 20:20)
VI. Desire to Disciple Others
Teaching is part of helping people following Jesus Christ (that is, to be his disciples). If we want to disciple people, then we will also want to teach people. (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:11-13, 16)
VII. Desire to Build Up Others
Everything that we do when we gather together should be for the purpose of building each other up toward maturity, faith, unity, and love. (Romans 1:11-12; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Hebrews 10:24-25)
I can’t deal with your problems right now…
Joe (JR) at “More Than Cake” has done us all a great service by sharing a personal story in his post “Some Things Are More Important.” His story is short and challenging. Read it.
In the story, Joe writes about a time when he was a door-to-door salesman. He had not made a single sale all day long, and he needed money desperately.
But, he was faced with a situation in which a person needed his presence more than Joe needed money. What did Joe do? He gave of himself and his time… because that was more important.
Here is Joe’s conclusion:
I walked to his chair and took his cold hand in mine. I uttered what few words would come to mind… words of healing… words of hope… words of Jesus’ love for Gene and his departed wife Helen.
My conversation with Gene reminded me that there are many things more important than setting one more lead and earning a few more dollars.
Earning money is important. But, there are things that are more important than earning money… people, especially.
I realize that there are times when I put myself, my needs (wants), and my problems ahead of other people who should be more important.
Thanks for the reminder and the challenge, Joe!
Reflections on Teaching Workshop Part 1: Who Teaches?
Last week, in my post “Teaching Workshop: Who Teaches?“, I explained that last Sunday I began leading the church through a discussion of the concept of teaching in Scripture. The “workshop” will continue over the next few weeks, but that first week’s topic was “Who Teaches?”
In this post, I’m going to offer a few reflections from our time discussing that topic. I was not trying to stuff information into people’s heads. Instead, I was simply leading people through passages of Scripture and asking questions. So, these reflections are not based on things that I taught. Instead, what I’m sharing here came from other people. (In most cases, I’m summarizing and paraphrasing, since I did not record our discussion.)
I’ll share these reflections within the outline that I used to guide our workshop:
————————————
I. The Ultimate Teacher
Scripture: Matthew 23:8, 1 John 2:27
While God is certainly our ultimate teaching, this does not give us license to be individualistic or isolationist. God often teaches us through other people.
II. There is a Spiritual Gift of Teaching
Scripture: Romans 12:4-8, Ephesians 4:7-11
Like the other spiritual gifts, the purpose of the gift of teaching is to benefit the church, not to benefit or exalt the one teaching.
III. Everyone Does Not Have the Spiritual Gift of Teaching
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:29-30
The focus of 1 Corinthians 12 is that we all need one another. We cannot rely on one person or the gifts of one person.
IV. However, Everyone is Instructed to Teach and is Able to Teach
Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 15:14, Colossians 3:16
While this is definitely true from Scripture, it’s not possible because of the way that teaching is usually practiced and modeled in the church. This causes us to ask the question: What is teaching? (Of course, this will be the topic of our third session.)
V. Those Gifted in Teaching Have the Added Responsibility of Helping Others Teach
Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13
If we keep reading in Ephesians (Ephesians 4:11-16), we see that the church grows in maturity when the teachers are helping others to teach, the shepherds are helping others to care, the apostles are helping others to go, etc.
VI. What about Elders and Teaching?
Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:9
The word translated “able to teach” in 1 Timothy 3:2 can also be translated “teachable.” The idea of elders being both teachable and able to teach is also in Titus 1:9. This is a different kind of characteristic that what is usually expected of elders or pastors, which is being able to present a good sermon.
VII. Consider Seemingly Contradictory Passages about Teachers
Scripture: Hebrews 5:12, James 3:1
We can’t just look at those verses. We have to consider the context. Each context helps us understand what the author is talking about and helps us see that they are not contradictory.
————————————
Obviously, these are simply summations and snippets of conversations. But, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these points and passages of Scripture related to the question, “Who teaches?”
The Assembling of the Church blog and Facebook
If you follow me on Facebook, then you know that my new posts on this blog are automatically published on my Facebook profile as well. I’ve also scheduled several older posts to publish to my Facebook profile each day as well. While I’ve wanted to link to new and older posts on Facebook, I’ve never really been happy about the “clutter” on my Facebook profile.
Now, I’ve created a Facebook page specifically to parallel my blog. Like the blog, the Facebook page is called “The Assembling of the Church.” I will probably still publish new blog posts to my Facebook profile (at least for a while).
If you like to follow my blog on Facebook, then please jump over to my new Facebook page and “like” that page. That way, anything posted on that page will show up on your Facebook news feed. Also, feel free to comment on and share posts from that page as well. If you follow my blog through a blog reader or Twitter or some other method, then this won’t affect you.
(By the way, I don’t know why I waited so long to do this. I’ve helped other people set up Facebook pages, but I’m only just now setting up one for myself and my blog. Oh well.)
When an object lesson goes wrong, but turns out better
As I said in my post “Teaching Workshop: Who Teaches,” I began a “workshop” of sorts yesterday morning with the church. This is a workshop like I’ve never done and, to be honest, like I’ve never really seen done. The topic is “Teaching,” but I’m not trying to share everything that I know or think about teaching, and I’m not suggesting that I’m giving a comprehensive overview of teaching.
Instead, my goal is to pick a few topics related to teaching and lead the church through several points based on each topic. (If you want to see the kind of things that we discussed yesterday, I shared the “outline” in the post that I linked to above.) For the discussion topic yesterday, “Who Teaches,” I wanted to church to think about several aspects of who is responsible for teaching. (In fact, there are several different answers to the question, “Who Teaches?”)
To begin this session of the “Teaching Workshop,” I wanted to present an object lesson to help people understand that anyone can teach. I knew that Mark, a 7 year old friend of ours, had visited a horse farm recently. So, before we started discussing teaching, I talked with him privately about his experience. He told me several things that he had learned about horses and caring for horses. I thought to myself, “This is a PERFECT object lesson for this workshop!”
Later, as I was beginning our time of discussion, I asked the children among us to name something that they enjoyed doing recently. Several of them offered different examples, like playing soccer. My young friend Mark spoke up, and I was looking forward to him sharing with everyone about the horse farm.
Mark looked at me and said, “I like playing Webkinz.”
“What?!?” I thought to myself. “Webkinz?!? What happened to the horse farm?”
Then, Mark spent the next 3-5 minutes telling everyone about Webkinz… about buying a Webkinz animal at the store… about creating an account… about logging in… about setting up a profile… about playing games. Mark taught us all about Webkinz.
It turned out to be the PERFECT object lesson, even though it was NOT the object lesson that I had planned. Even though everything went wrong (at first), it actually went better than planned. It’s amazing how many times this happens. I have something planned, but things don’t go as planned. And, of course, it works out even better.
My friend Mark (only 7 years old) showed everyone that it is possible for any of us to teach others.
Oh, by the way, I asked Mark what kind of Webkinz stuffed animal he had. He said, “A horse.” So, THERE’S the horse…
Scripture… As We Live It #190
This is the 190th passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
Whatever you ask in my name followed by the words “in Jesus’ name”, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name and close your prayer with “in Jesus’ name”, I will do it. (John 14:13-14 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)