The ministry of a church can be likened to a gift from the elders to the congregation. The wrapping paper and bows on the outside are the cultural trappings such as music style and sanctuary decor and what type of clothes the pastor wears. The box and packaging are the organizational structures and programs of the church. The actual gift on the inside is the Word of God. It is what really matters. The packaging can help in delivering the gift but is not the gift itself. The wrapping paper is just decoration, but can make the gift look more enticing.
A problem often seen is similar to when you give a gift to your children on Christmas morning. They become more enamored and interested in the packaging and wrapping paper, and the gift of value is forgotten.
23 April 2010
A new heart
I just read Ezekiel 36 this morning for my devotions. I was reminded how clear this passage is in support of God's sovereign initiative in salvation. He acts, we respond, and it is all for the sake of His holy name. He gathers His own. He cleanses us. He gives us a new heart and a new spirit. And then, we will remember our evil ways and loathe ourselves for our iniquities. It looks to me that regeneration comes before repentance.
21 April 2010
The Gospel...
...is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. If we really believe that we will act like it and the gospel will fairly ooze out our pores. If we don't really believe it we will think we need to help the gospel in evangelism by attracting people with glitz and action or by helping the gospel in our own lives by adopting a legalistic attitude toward rules. Check out another good post on this by Jared Wilson.
18 April 2010
Chuch leadership 3
OK, so I let even more time elapse since last post. It has been a mix of the first rush of blogging energy being over and a week of busy days so that I am very tired in the evenings with not much brain power left for writing. I would promise to try to do better but I can’t guarantee. I am sure there will continue to be up weeks and down weeks.
In this post I will look at what direct instructions are given in God’s Word to church leaders and to the congregation in relation to church leaders. If you read my first posts on this topic you will remember that I said that I would be making the point that Scripture shows church leaders being more authoritarian, i.e. wielding a great deal of authority, than we would be comfortable in modern evangelical churches. They do this, however, as servant leaders, doing what is best for those they lead, not what is best for themselves. Besides Jesus, Paul is the clearest example of this. He obviously wields significant authority, such that he can command certain things be done, but he does so with humility for the good of the people under his charge. In II Corinthians 10:8 he says he will not be ashamed of boasting of his authority, which the Lord gave for building the Corinthians up.
So, a snapshot of passages giving instruction to leaders and followers:
I Thessalonians 5:12-13: Paul asks the Thessalonians to “respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love”.
I Timothy 5:17: Paul says the elders who “rule well” should be considered worthy of double honor. So it expected that the elders would exercise authority.
I Timothy 5:19: Charges against an elder should only be admitted on the testimony of 2-3 witnesses where the standard for regular people was only 2 witnesses. This seems to show that there is a special trust given to elders and it recognizes they may be a potential target for slanderous charges.
Titus 2:15: Paul tells Titus to “exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Wow. That’s pretty strong. I suppose some elders/pastors may take that instruction wrong and act like a dictator; but it seems that most don’t recognize the authority they are supposed to be vested with.
And it is not just Paul. Hebrews 13:17: The author tells the readers to “Obey your leaders (speaking of church leaders not political leaders) and submit to them.” I am sure there are a lot of elders/pastors out there who would love to have their congregations read that one and take it to heart.
Finally, Peter gives concise instructions to elders. I Peter 5:1-5: They are to exercise oversight as under-shepherds, but with three positive and three negative injunctions:
- willingly, eagerly and being examples
- not under compulsion, not for shameful gain, and not domineering
So, the overall view of elders seems to me to be one of great authority as subordinate leaders under Christ (like in the military context we might see company commanders under a battalion commander). They are to execute His intent and His specific instructions. However, they are to do so as servant leaders who seek the good of those under their charge, not their own comfort, prestige or other sort of gain.
In this post I will look at what direct instructions are given in God’s Word to church leaders and to the congregation in relation to church leaders. If you read my first posts on this topic you will remember that I said that I would be making the point that Scripture shows church leaders being more authoritarian, i.e. wielding a great deal of authority, than we would be comfortable in modern evangelical churches. They do this, however, as servant leaders, doing what is best for those they lead, not what is best for themselves. Besides Jesus, Paul is the clearest example of this. He obviously wields significant authority, such that he can command certain things be done, but he does so with humility for the good of the people under his charge. In II Corinthians 10:8 he says he will not be ashamed of boasting of his authority, which the Lord gave for building the Corinthians up.
So, a snapshot of passages giving instruction to leaders and followers:
I Thessalonians 5:12-13: Paul asks the Thessalonians to “respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love”.
I Timothy 5:17: Paul says the elders who “rule well” should be considered worthy of double honor. So it expected that the elders would exercise authority.
I Timothy 5:19: Charges against an elder should only be admitted on the testimony of 2-3 witnesses where the standard for regular people was only 2 witnesses. This seems to show that there is a special trust given to elders and it recognizes they may be a potential target for slanderous charges.
Titus 2:15: Paul tells Titus to “exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Wow. That’s pretty strong. I suppose some elders/pastors may take that instruction wrong and act like a dictator; but it seems that most don’t recognize the authority they are supposed to be vested with.
And it is not just Paul. Hebrews 13:17: The author tells the readers to “Obey your leaders (speaking of church leaders not political leaders) and submit to them.” I am sure there are a lot of elders/pastors out there who would love to have their congregations read that one and take it to heart.
Finally, Peter gives concise instructions to elders. I Peter 5:1-5: They are to exercise oversight as under-shepherds, but with three positive and three negative injunctions:
- willingly, eagerly and being examples
- not under compulsion, not for shameful gain, and not domineering
So, the overall view of elders seems to me to be one of great authority as subordinate leaders under Christ (like in the military context we might see company commanders under a battalion commander). They are to execute His intent and His specific instructions. However, they are to do so as servant leaders who seek the good of those under their charge, not their own comfort, prestige or other sort of gain.
10 April 2010
Church Leadership 2
What approaches to leadership do we see in the New Testament? What leadership environment and style is modeled by the leaders of the church at the beginning? I will look at what is in evidence from narrative accounts in the book of Acts and what the writers say about how they approached leadership situations. Right up front I will say that the view I get of these leaders is that they had a much more authoritarian approach to leadership than we would be comfortable with in the modern American church. The view is a bit narrow in that the only leaders in view are apostles who, by definition, have a higher degree of authority than a church elder. But, since these are the only leaders described in action, this will have to do for now.
- In Acts 4-5 we see the members of the Jerusalem congregation bringing money for the church and laying it at the apostles’ feet. I recognize that this may be a cultural idiom, but it sure gives me the picture of high authority. Laying something at another’s feet is something you would expect of a subject doing to a king.
- Paul talks in his letters as one with a great deal of authority. I am not talking about his laying down of doctrine, we would expect that from an apostle. I am talking of his direction with regard to specific issues for churches or individuals. Examples that come to mind are the Corinthian church (I Cor 5) and when he tells Philemon that he could command him to do what he wishes with regard to Onesimus (Philemon 8).
- In III John, the Apostle John speaks negatively of Diotrephes who does not acknowledge his authority.
This is a limited view because we don’t see much in the way of leadership in action other than Apostolic preaching and exercising of doctrinal authority. Next entry I will look at what directives are given to church leaders about how they are to lead. And, I will try not to let as much time elapse between posts as I did with this one.
- In Acts 4-5 we see the members of the Jerusalem congregation bringing money for the church and laying it at the apostles’ feet. I recognize that this may be a cultural idiom, but it sure gives me the picture of high authority. Laying something at another’s feet is something you would expect of a subject doing to a king.
- Paul talks in his letters as one with a great deal of authority. I am not talking about his laying down of doctrine, we would expect that from an apostle. I am talking of his direction with regard to specific issues for churches or individuals. Examples that come to mind are the Corinthian church (I Cor 5) and when he tells Philemon that he could command him to do what he wishes with regard to Onesimus (Philemon 8).
- In III John, the Apostle John speaks negatively of Diotrephes who does not acknowledge his authority.
This is a limited view because we don’t see much in the way of leadership in action other than Apostolic preaching and exercising of doctrinal authority. Next entry I will look at what directives are given to church leaders about how they are to lead. And, I will try not to let as much time elapse between posts as I did with this one.
05 April 2010
Church Leadership 1
OK, finally, here is the long promised (I am not sure I could say long awaited) look at church leadership in the New Testament. I say “look” because this will not be a very in-depth study. It will really only be a surface look at a few Scripture passages and what they suggest about church leadership style.
I was motivated to look at this as I considered that someday in the future I may want to (be led to?) step from my current role in military leadership to a more extensive role in church leadership. I wondered what, if anything, may have to change in my leadership mode and style.
The military is obviously a fairly authoritarian leadership environment. The rank and hierarchy sets it up so that one can order something done and those subordinate must obey. Within that environment one can have different styles. I have a fairly cooperative style: I invite input for decisions from my staff and subordinate commanders. However, once I make a decision that is the end of discussion and my decision must be carried out. My concept for church leadership (how it generally is, not necessarily how it should be) is much more egalitarian. In other words, the leadership (specifically elders/pastors) do not hold much, if any, inherent leadership over members of the congregation. They must lead by persuasion and encouraging cooperation.
So, this line of thought led to wanting to see what the church leadership environment looked like in the New Testament. Now that this post has turned into a background/context post, I will save the first actual look for next post. In that next post I intend to look at leadership environment and style as modeled by actual leaders. Then, in the next post, I will look at any commands given to leaders as to their behavior/style.
I was motivated to look at this as I considered that someday in the future I may want to (be led to?) step from my current role in military leadership to a more extensive role in church leadership. I wondered what, if anything, may have to change in my leadership mode and style.
The military is obviously a fairly authoritarian leadership environment. The rank and hierarchy sets it up so that one can order something done and those subordinate must obey. Within that environment one can have different styles. I have a fairly cooperative style: I invite input for decisions from my staff and subordinate commanders. However, once I make a decision that is the end of discussion and my decision must be carried out. My concept for church leadership (how it generally is, not necessarily how it should be) is much more egalitarian. In other words, the leadership (specifically elders/pastors) do not hold much, if any, inherent leadership over members of the congregation. They must lead by persuasion and encouraging cooperation.
So, this line of thought led to wanting to see what the church leadership environment looked like in the New Testament. Now that this post has turned into a background/context post, I will save the first actual look for next post. In that next post I intend to look at leadership environment and style as modeled by actual leaders. Then, in the next post, I will look at any commands given to leaders as to their behavior/style.
04 April 2010
Mercy and justice
It was appropriate for Resurrection Sunday that my devotional Bible reading brought me to Lamentations 3. What a bright light of hope and restoration! It is all the brighter because it comes in the midst of such darkness and suffering. The same with Jesus' resurrection. At the moment that things seemed the bleakest and the most hopeless, He arose! New life began for us who are His. God did the the most amazing thing. In which, I disagree with those who say mercy triumphed over justice. No. The amazing thing is that mercy and justice were both perfectly accomplished in the same act. That was the trick. God could remain true to both aspects of His nature.
And the other incredible thing is that He saved me. Me, who was such a despicable rebellious sinner and, but for His grace would still be. Some complain that God did not save all. But as it says in Lamentations 3, "Why should a living man complain about the punishment of his sins?" We deserve God's judgment. The writer of Lamentations 3 recognizes this after having been a witness to the destruction of Jerusalem. So, instead of complaining about the punishment of our sins, "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven". We can do this in confidence because we know that "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him".
And the other incredible thing is that He saved me. Me, who was such a despicable rebellious sinner and, but for His grace would still be. Some complain that God did not save all. But as it says in Lamentations 3, "Why should a living man complain about the punishment of his sins?" We deserve God's judgment. The writer of Lamentations 3 recognizes this after having been a witness to the destruction of Jerusalem. So, instead of complaining about the punishment of our sins, "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven". We can do this in confidence because we know that "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him".
I'm back
from vacation and content will continue. I thought I would blog while on vacation but I didn't. I am sure that disappointed all 1 or 2 of my readers. But, now life can go on. Which, incidentally, is a good theme for Resurrection Morning. Because He rose, our lives can go on - forever, with Him.
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