Tag Archives: church

bible, church, community, relationships, theology

Church and Community

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Here are two of the most helpful exegetical exercises that have informed me about the church and its purposes.  I would suggest you take the time to engage in these activities.

1.  Look up every instance of the word ἐκκλησία (ekklesia, church, gathering, assembly, congregation, etc.) in the New Testament.  Read the context of each use.  The result will be a more healthy understanding of the Bible’s use of church.  To understand what a church must do you must understand what a church is.  In my mind being  precedes doing.

2.  In regard to the “community of faith,” each Christian should look up, read, and meditate on the “one another” passages of the New Testament.

Some of the more important preliminary conclusions at which I arrived when I first did this activity?

1.  The overwhelming emphasis in the New Testament is on the physical, visible, local church.  To say it another way, every Christian is a member of the “body of Christ,” but that body is manifested in a particular place and time.

2.  Christians need each other to become more like Christ.  There is no place in the Bible for “Lone-Ranger” Christianity.  The community of believers is essential for sanctification and edification.

3.  The church is the place not only to proclaim the gospel, but (more importantly), to demonstrate the effects of a gospel-changed life.  In today’s culture, especially, an authentic demonstration of the gospel is often more important than a precise articulation of the gospel.

church, community, culture, resources, review

“Why We Love the Church” by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

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Overall Impression

I just finished reading the most recent DeYoung/Kluck collaboration (they previously teamed up on Why We’re Not Emergent).  My only previous experience with either writer was through DeYoung’s blog and hilarious book on finding the will of God (“without dreams, visions, fleeces, open doors, random Bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc.).  I was excited by the subject matter (as evidenced in the title) and the praise from theological heavyweights such as J. I. Packer, Al Mohler, and Mark Dever.  This book is well-informed, balanced, readable, funny, and God-glorifying.

Positive

The basic premise of this book is that there is no such thing as a “churchless Christianity.”  The authors are clear that they are trying to correct the common notion that Christians do not need “organized churches.”  In fact, the Scriptures indicate that organization (i.e., structure in corporate worship, leadership, etc.) is essential to the health of a church.

“Community” is a buzzword among modern evangelicals, but many “emergent” (whatever that means) types are unwilling to be shaped by a community of believers that does not mimic their particular hipster style.  It is essential that each believer be a part of a church that is full of imperfect Christians.  The result of old and young coming together to worship despite differences of opinion regarding musical style and church architecture is mutual edification and personal sanctification.

DeYoung and Kluck are particularly critical of modern Christian “revolutionaries.”  Christianity, they argue, needs more “plodding visionaries,” that is, people who are concerned with obedience to the gospel and faithfulness to the commands of Christ.  Giving up on local church because it does nothing for you or because you can find a deeper spirituality somewhere else is, frankly, narcissistic and contrary to the commands of Scripture.

I was thankful for the historical perspective the authors provided in two areas:  (1)  They clarified the oft repeated maxim that “Christians have done terrible things throughout there history.”  While this statement, they say, is true it is not absolutely true without qualification.  For example, while race-based slavery was condoned by some Christians it was also abolished largely because of Christian abolitionists.  (2)  The authors also busted the myth of the early Christian utopia.  You and I have both heard the call to be a “New Testament church.”  There are few problems with this statement.  On the one hand the Bible is full of terrible churches rife with division, heresy, and immorality.  On the other hand, just because something is not mentioned in the Bible does not mean that is impure (e.g., buildings, pews, etc.).

The authors argue that the most important reasons to love the church are because it is the God-ordained means for the proclamation of the gospel and the sanctification of believers.  Good reasons that stand in stark contrast to the modern Christian’s “what’s-in-it-for-me” mentality.

Negative

This book is an admirable attempt to correct many problems in modern evangelicalism.  Despite claiming a robust ecclesiology, this book is far from comprehensive.  It has barely a mention of issues such as covenant membership and ordinances.

The authors demonstrate a great balance in their personal understanding of the church’s relationship to God and culture.  However, they set up a false dichotomy between “emergent-types” and “traditional-types.”  The authors unfortunately caricature “emergents” as a modern incarnation of the liberal social gospel.  This dichotomy is unnecessary.  One can be concerned with a true gospel and a culturally appropriate presentation of that gospel.

Though I understand the intention to defend the “traditional” church, I am still uncomfortable with the language of church as “institution” and the authors consistently assume that particular incarnations of modern church are Biblical and healthy.

Concluding Remarks

On the whole this book provides balance to contemporary tendency to “church-hate.”  While neither comprehensive or without fault, the authors are clearly attempting to glorify God and obey the Scriptures.  Love Jesus and love his bride.

church, community, culture, gospel, ministry

Cake or Icing?

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Many of our North American churches seem to have everything — culturally relevant outreach, attractive facilities, and a broad range of programs to match any and every lifestyle.  Add to this the experience of dynamic speakers, professional-quality music, and inviting small groups.  How could those who are most active in these churches be stagnant and dissatisfied?

There’s nothing wrong with top-quality facilities, creative programs, and a genuine sense of community.  But the fundamental question is, “What message are we sharing in our community and within our walls through our programs?”  I believe its our substance, not our structure, that is leaving so many stagnant and dissatisfied.  A church may have polished programs, well-trained staff, and dynamic speakers.

But content is what people walk away with.

(Andrew Farley, The Naked Gospel)

As you may or may not know, my wife loves weddings.  She loves making someone’s wedding day beautiful and memorable.  Recently she told me about a trick some people use to save money on the wedding cake.  For those particularly concerned with a beautiful and ornate cake sometimes decorate Styrofoam or cardboard with fondant and decorative sugar flowers.  This is all well and good because during the serving of the cake the wait staff takes the cake in the kitchen and swaps it with a pre-cut bargain priced cake.  No one ever has to know.

Not a big deal when it comes to wedding cake but a very big deal when it comes to a church!  My concern is that many Christians and churches have become more concerned with the look of the church rather than the substance. When someone goes to cut into our proverbial cake, all they find is a piece of cardboard.

books, christian life, community

Without Vision the Community Flourishes?

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I have been reading through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s short treatise on the subject of Christan community entitled “Life Together.”  His words are clear and convicting.  I often hear pastors talking about the necessity of “vision” in leading a church.  This passage from Bonhoeffer may cause some to question the idolatry of their own “vision.”

God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious.  The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself.  He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly.  He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren.  He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together.  When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure.  When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash.  So he becomes,  first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

church, family, ministry

To My Dad: Thanks

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This will be my turn to brag a little about my dad.  He is the most talented musician I have ever met.  However, I have watched him sacrifice personal acclaim for the service of Jesus.  This past Sunday night he taught from Psalm 118 at his church.  If you are familiar with SBC churches you might understand how rare it is to find a “Music Minister” who is genuinely qualified and gifted to be a pastor.

When I was in high school I was tired of “church.”  I was sick of people who called themselves Christians and demonstrated the opposite in their living.  It was only the consistent example of my parents at home and in public that reassured me that Christianity was for more than just “show.”  My dad has always modeled a servant’s heart, a scholar’s mind, and genuine commitment to the Lordship of Christ in all things.

The Bible is clear that the home is an essential component in the discipleship of children.  I once heard a youth pastor say about the role of the church, “we can’t fix in four hours what you screw up in seven days.”  Maybe not the most sensitive statement, but definitely true.  Parents provide the framework for Christianity and the way they live and parent will either affirm or deny the legitimacy of the gospel in the life of their children.

church, discipleship, gospel

The Gospel for All of Life

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October 23-25 Nansemond River Baptist Church (Suffolk, VA) hosted a D*Now weekend for young adults  (“Disciple Now” for those unfamiliar).  I wanted to bring in a few good teachers so I convened the “unlikely disciples” triumvirate.  All of the Bible Study materials and worship services were directly focused on Paul’s letter to the Galatians.  The result was a chance to hear, explain, and apply the gospel while modeling how to read a meaningful unit from the text of Scripture.

Below are the four main teaching times from Bryan and Andy (apologies that Bryan’s second message was truncated due to technical difficulties on the recording end).

01 The Gospel Matters (Galatians 1_1-10) 1

02 Gospel Confrontation (Galatians 2_11-16) 1

03 Do I Have a Story to Tell_ (Galatians 4_8-11) 1

04 The Gospel for All of Life (Galations 5_1-6) 1

bible, church, conferences, ministry

Reflections on "God Exposed." (Part 2)

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How do I describe the impact of C. J. Mahaney’s message this weekend?  I have yet to hear a teacher of the Bible who so accurately understands his own shortcomings yet so clearly magnifies God.  Mahaney taught from 2 Timothy 4:1-5 and encouraged faithfulness to the gospel through the content and character of the preacher.

Mahaney made clear that the Word of God is essential to the church.  Before being overwhelmed by the obvious he traced out the implications of such a thought.  For example, the primacy of the Word of God should be reflected in the schedule of the preacher (i.e., I should set aside adequate time to unhurriedly exegete, applicate, and illustrate the text of Scripture).  I cannot let lesser duties overwhelm this primary concern nor can I allow sinful procrastination to cripple my Bible Study.

I was also reminded during this time that a pastor/elder is most adequately equipped to teach the Bible at a particular church because preaching requires pastoral skill and discernment to teach and apply the Bible.  A pastor should know the struggles and victories of his congregation and, therefore, know the appropriate use of admonition and exhortation.  I would not want to admonish the weak and encourage the unruly!  This requires an atmosphere of community that is conducive to openly sharing life.

Mahaney pierced my heart with his encouragement to preach “with all patience” (2 Tim. 4:2).  It is sometimes easier to give a weekly monologue than be patient with people.  I must always keep in the front of my mind God’s patience with me.  Further, I cannot expect my listeners to immediately understand and apply everything I preach.  God has been slowly working on my heart and I have been “living in the text” for weeks.  How foolish of me to think that what took me weeks and years to understand will immediately be fully grasped by my audience.  Further, it is the height of arrogance to think that I am such a good communicator as to condense years worth of Biblical study and personal sanctification into a single hour-long sermon.

All-in-all I must persevere in the careful and consistent teaching of the Word of God and “be grateful and surprised” that anyone shows up to hear me speak at all!

bible, church, ministry

Light Christianity — Great Taste, Less Filling

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In evaluating my ministry with high school and middle school students I am continually depressed by their understanding of the Bible.  Many of these young adults have been going to church for years.  Most of them are self-professed Christians.  However, if I ask them to quote 5 verses from the Bible, I suspect few of them could.  Most of them could not give even a basic description of entire books of the Old Testament such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Judges (just to name a few).  I have come to the realization that the deficiency is more in the teaching of the church than the ability of the students.  Here are some reasons I think our young adults are largely Biblically illiterate.

1.  Emphasizing character traits more than Christ. In the desire to teach young adults morality we often miss Christ.  We treat the Bible like a playbook (sorry Joe Gibbs and Tony Dungy) and look for principles of successful living.  As a result we have considerate students who do not know Jesus.  We get to a passage such as Luke 4 (the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness) and teach students how they can use magical Bible bullets to defeat Satan while neglecting to mention how Jesus (the second Adam) passes the test where Adam failed.  We forget to show how Jesus’ time in the wilderness is a reversal of the Israelites’ failures in the wilderness (that is probably why all of Jesus’ quotations to the devil are from Deuteronomy 6 and 8).  The result of character overemphasis is the creation of virtuous pagans.

2.  Relying on literature about the Bible more than the Bible. My new goal in equipping gospel ministers is to free them from shiny Sunday School quarterlies.  If I am unable to explain “the gospel according to the Scriptures” then I cannot teach it.  I want to understand and articulate the gospel according to the Scriptures and use Bible helps only as a secondary study tool.  If we imply that the Bible is not sufficient and perspicuous (+3 points for a seminary word) then those we teach will feel ill-equipped to study it on their own.

3.  Not modeling good Bible-study. When teaching I must not only communicate the truth of a meaningful passage of Scripture I must demonstrate good tools of Bible Study that can be reproduced in the lives of those I am teaching.  While I might not walk them through my hermeneutical method explicitly they should absorb a method of faithful exegesis.

4.  Unnecessarily low expectations. Each Christian is a fully capable minister of Christ.  Further, many of the adults in my church are more intelligent and educated than I.  The young adults in my student ministry spend their days studying Trigonometry, Latin, and Physics.  The people I teach are more than capable to grasp the things of God.  It is arrogant and incorrect to treat them as if they cannot understand the “deep” truths of Scripture.

I am still trying to work out the implications of these suggestions but my basic goals are to trust that the Bible is sufficient, clearly articulate the gospel, and focus on discipleship rather than entertainment in my model of ministry.  Jesus is compelling and relevant.  I must give students every opportunity to know, follow, and obey Jesus.