I’ve been exploring the idea of church lately. What is it? What is it not? There are some things that I am sure the church is not. I am tired of seeing the purposes of God being hindered because the church is being used by men to be what God never intended it to be.
- The Church is not a building so quit putting most of your resources in it.
- The Church is not a corporation and the Pastor is not the CEO.
- The Church is not an institution. Church traditions don’t mean anything unless they are solidly founded in the scriptures.
- The Church is not the Pastor’s vehicle to get people involved in “his vision.” You mega church pastors who think this, repent. You house church pastors who think this and want to use the people in your church to become a bigger church…repent.
- The Church is not an arm of the State and should not be engaged in promoting nationalistic agendas
- The Church is not an arm of any political party and should not be endorsing, openly or under the table any political candidate.
- The Church isn’t the property of the leadership. Leadership does not own God’s people.
- The Church is not a shopping mall for Spiritual services.
I know some who read this will think I’m being hard on Pastors and leadership. It’s true, I am. I don’t think they necessarily started thinking about the church they lead in these ways, but it appears in the Western Church that’s where they end up.
They will stand before God and answer for good or ill about how they shepherd the people that God has brought into the congregation.
What do you think?
Saturday night I visited the Refuge, a simple church that my friend Bill Benninghoff is part of. The group started off with a meal, went to announcements then did something that really surprised me. Instead of worship and teaching, they had a member share his story, his giftings, and his struggles. Then the whole group ministered to him. There were words of knowledge, some prophetic words. There was a prophetic song, and scriptures shared and the Brother was encouraged and built up.
Kevin, one of the leaders explained that they believed they should really get to know one another. So for the moment, each week one or two people are sharing their lives with the group. I think this is an extraordinary idea. Kevin explained that they are still struggling to navigate away from traditional ways of doing church into a more organic or simple model.
What I really appreciate is taht this group is really trying to get to know one another and love one another. I am convinced that this can only result in a stronger community of faith.
The Refuge is also being very missional. One lady, Anita, has been ministering to a family in the apartment complex, with others coming along side to help. Two other gentlement are ministering to the homeless. Some are ministering at a local nursing home and others are helping people by cutting lawns. They are serving people in ways that will allow them to connect with the people they are serving. Hopefully, it will open up the opportunity for people to share the gospel.
I was really encouraged to see this group of Christ followers dedicated to following Jesus and reaching out to people.
Boy and Dad
I’ve been in a funk recently. I am going between bouts of frustration and mild depression where all I want to do is crawl into bed and go to sleep. Nothing in my life seems to be working or going my way right now.
(Image:KellyB/creative commons/attributions)
In my work life, there has been a number of changes, none of which including my new shift makes me happy at all.
In ministry, I don’t seem to fit anywhere and am not bearing any fruit.
I was supposed to teach at out Lake Como simple church yesterday- No one showed up. I felt it was a waste of prep time and effort, not to mention a thirty mile one way drive for nothng.
I drove to Lancaster for an outreach this weekend, but got delayed and lost and more delay. I arrived an hour late unfortunately and everyone had already headed out to their posts. I didn’t know where to do, so I headed back home. That was another bunch of time about three hours and gas wasted.
I’ve been working on some projects which I hope will lead to some business opportunities. Nothing I am doing there is working either.
I’m in one of those places in my life that I just don’t like very much right now. But the thing that really has me bothered is I don’t seem to know what I was created to do. Everyone else seems to have and be secure in their “callings. and their purposes. When I’ve taken it to the Lord (Read that as Complained to the Lord- whined to the Lord-etc), the only response I would get back was a simple affirmation, “I love you, son.”
I had dinner with friends of mine last night and we had some good discussions. Larry laughed at my predicament which wasn’t all that re-assuring. After dinner on my drive home, I felt like the Lord was speaking to me (no not an audible voice, but yet audible to my mind.)
He said, “Son, you have one purpose and one purpose only. You are my son and I am your Father. Your purpose is that you are my son.” I of course objected. “Well, I know that. But I’m talking about wha I’m supposed to do.”
I felt like the Lord said that our purpose is in our being not in our doing. Our purpose is to be “in Christ.” Our purpose is to be children of the Most High to be in a relationship with him. That is our highest purposes. We will “do” things but it is always out of our relationship with him not out of our desire to be doing something. I am not a teacher. I am a child of God who God may ask to teach. I am not an entrepenuer. I am a child of God that God may ask to start a business. My identity and purpose however is wrapped up in my identity in and relationship with God not in what I do.
I remembered the scripture saying :
15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” Luke 18:15-17
The Lord reminded me that children are not wrapped up in their purposes or their plans. They are children. They enjoy the “now.” They are far more interested in being with the ones they love than about what they will be doing or what their career (or calling), or purpose is. They just enjoy being and enjoy the moment. Little boys would much rather spend time with dad, than going out to do something to feel “productive” or “useful.”
I believe that this is a place the Lord is calling me to spend time re-discovering. I’ve somehow lost my first love and now is the time to re-kindle it. My prayer is “Capture my heart, Lord. Capture my heart.”
So, I am laying the stuff I am doing at the alter and asking the Lord what he wants me to continue doing and what he wants me to lay down. I believe I am entering a time of just being Father’s little boy again.
Join us in Lancaster
Saturday, May 30, Christians from the Dallas-Fort Worth area will show up in Lancaster Texas to help the elderly with their yard work.
I talk alot about missional living. I believe that every Christian is supposed to live in a missional context whether it is on the job, in the neigborhood or in the store.
Most people however, aren’t engaged. This is a a great opportunity for those in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to get involved in reaching out to help others in the name of Jesus Christ.
This is the first outreach scheduled in Lancaster. Another one is scheduled for June, which will be an outreach to help the poor with food, clothing and toys for children.
A follow up outreach is planned for sometime in October as well.
Alan Knox who is heavily involved in the missional conversation as an actual practioner has written an excellent Post entiteld Missional Idol. It follows a brand new reality TV show, as contestants try to win the title “Missional Idol.” It’s a funny piece – and it is also very sobering as it serves to demonstrate what is happening in the “missional” conversation today. I believe all believers are called to be missional and that it should be the heartbeat of every church. Unfortunately, it is on the verge of being talked to death with very little real transformation and action.
Check out the story MISSIONAL IDOL here.
“Make Disciples.” That was what Jesus essentially told his Disciples to do. In Matthew 28, Jesus last command to his followers was “19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” So there it is. Jesus did not tell his followers to go plant churches. He told them to go “make disciples.”
In many ways we are putting the cart before the horse. There is not one new testament command to plant churches. But Jesus himself gave the command to make disciples. I bring this up because I had heard many years ago that the most effective means of reaching the lost was planting new churches. Indeed, it may be true, but do those new churches actually make disciples or do they make converts? There is a difference and it is a critical difference. We count as converts those who pray a prayer and “accept Jesus into their hearts.” Disciples are ones who actually become followers of Jesus Christ. If we follow Christs Command to make disciples, often new churches will form out of that. The church forms out of the harvest of disciples.
I started one church and have been involved lately in working to start another church. We have had to force ourselves to re-oritent back towards making disiciples because we got so caught up in the whole “church planting” idea. So we’ve scaled back on the “church gathering” side and have put more effort into the discipleship side of the process.
I know there are lots of people who believe that getting someone into “church” the Sunday morning thing with the preacher is key to discipleship. I will argue that has very little to do with discipleship. Jesus did preach, but more importantly he demonstrated the Kingdom of God by living it out among those that he was making disciples. A Sunday morning preacher can’t do. At best the Sunday morning message supplements a vibrant discipleship learning relationship, but cannot replace it.
Teaching as Jesus said here is by his example. He did preach or teach through the word, but he lived it out in front of them. He brought validity to the message he preached by the life he lived. New beleivers need those kinds of connections and relationships. They don’t have to be perfect, as a matter of fact they won’t be perfect. Peter wasn’t perfect, John wasn’t perfect, and much to the disappointment of many, Paul wasn’t perfect. Jesus was and only he was. But if you are a Christ follower you shoud be learning from others more mature in Christ than you and you should be pouring out what you have learned into other disciples less mature in Christ than yourself.
Another point I would make, the ’church” as in the institution we call the church does a lousy job making disciples and I am convinced that real discipleship costs something. I believe it costs the time and the effort to develop real relationships with people. It’s possible it can happen without those relationships, but not likely. In our western context the message of the church is “we’ll help you be a good christian, just follow the rules we tell you, come to Sunday morning service, listen to the message, and join a small group and everything will be fine.” I’ve seen far too many who follow that path that are still biblically illiterate years on. In addition, they aren’t putting the Word of God in practice in their own lives and even more devestating is that they didn’t learn to hear God themselves.”
We must begin to spend the time and effort to really disciple young believers and not-yet believers so that they can truly have Christ formed in them. I am convinced if we are faithful in this, we will have followers of Christ who will be fruitful and true laborers in the harvest. And if we do our jobs right, new church expressions will flow out of this process.
In the video (see link above) from the Leadership Network program, THE SHOW, Pastor Matt Carter of the Austin Stone Community Church in Austin Texas discusses their failure at developing community through small groups…and what they did about it. He discusses how they had very little mission and very little community when their groups were focused on fellowship (eating) and bible study. But after a lot of sou searching, they changed the focus to being missional, and things began to change
Key point: When we focused on community, we got neither community or mission. When we focused on mission we got both community and mission.
I love Cross Timbers Community Church. I always have. I was there for the very first public service, the second Sunday of 2000. I was at Cross Timbers for five years when I was forced to leave to begin another part of my faith walk by the Lord. I still pray for Cross Timbers, I pass the church everyday on the way home and love it very much. I was really pleased when I heard what was going on at the church. They are giving money away.
First of all Cross Timbers is a mega church. It wasn’t by design, it just drew people. The church serves about 5000 people or so in three campuses.
The Lord started working on the heart of Pastor Toby Slough that the church’s role is to help hurting people, including those that are hurting financially.
The videos below tell the story. As of this date, Cross Timbers has given away about half a million dollars. But God has been faithful and giving has gone up accordingly. It’s an amazing Kingdom principle that everyone should note. The church let people take money from the offering baskets. They gave away money to local charitable organizations. They paid utility bills and took care of other needs for members of the church and the community in financial need. They gave away $50 to each family in the church to bless people and help with needs that they found. They gave $100 to single moms on Mothers Day. This is exciting stuff. This is the Kingdom of God in action.
The church also has seen many people make decisions to follow Christ. This past Sunday they baptised 294 people.
If you give it away, it keeps coming back. There is no lack of finances or any other needed resource in the Kingdom of God if we walk by faith, God will handle our needs.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.” As of 2006, the average church member gave approximately 2.58 percent of their income. In the old testament the standard for the Jewish people was a tenth or ten percent of their income called a tithe. Many believers don’t believe tithing is for today. I agree with this perception, but I don’t think that God’s requirement of the church is less than it was of the Jewish people. It appears that most people who call themselves believers really don’t have a heart for the Kingdom of God
(photo at right by creative common license Noah Wesley)
First of all we are to be conformed to the image of Christ and he gave everything. The early church in Jerusalem had all things in common. There is no valid biblical argument for people giving less than ten percent. However, there is substantial biblical support for more than ten percent.
Empty Tomb Inc. shows what could be done if church members gave an average of ten percent above and beyond current church spending.
First of all, if church members gave ten percent there would be an additional 168 billion dollars given to the church. If sixty percent were made available to expand overseas missions activity that would mean there would be an additional 100.6 billion available for overseas missions.
According to one source:
- $70-80 billion would impact the worst of world poverty
- $5 billion could end most of the 11 million under-5 annual deaths
- $7 billion would be sufficient for lobal primary education for all children
- $1 billion more could be used for global evangelization
In addition there would still be another 33.5 billion available for domestic outreach above what churches are currently doing.
For those believers specifically concerned about global poverty issues within the church, there should be no excuse for not being able to give at least ten percent. If you don’t believe that your church would use it effectively for helping the poor, you could give specifically to missions agencies and others that will.
This should be a motivation for simplifying our lives with regards to possessions, and finances. Every believer should be in a position to give at least ten percent of their income for the Kingdom of God.
Churches meanwhile need to take a serious look at the way they spend money. Many people have been turned off of giving to the church because they don’t like the way it’s being spent. Money spent on big buildings, programs and staffs is turning off an increasing number of younger members. They are not interested in church that is self-indulgent.
As believers, it’s time for all of us to examine our financial affairs. If we say the the Kingdom of God is a priority. Does our budget reflect that? Are we making significant contributions to the Kingdom of God or is our giving simply a token.
Scripture clearly tells us where our treasure is, there your heart is also. Where are our hearts. For the American church at large, it obviously is not the Kingdom of God. But if we repent, and turn, I believe we will see God greatly multiply the Kingdom and I also believe he will increase blessings to us as well. So let’s work to be faithful to Jesus and his Kingdom.
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