churchy churches

I share another blog with some close girlfriends of mine where we can catch-up, vent, tell what good and bad things are going on in our lives and what prayer we need. its really refreshing and been such a blessing to still get to be a part of their lives even though we are all far away from each other.

Recently one of the gals posted on a church that her and her husband have been visiting and she was quite upset and saddened at the direction this pastor is taking his church. This pastor was really focused on "creating an environment"to bring people in and make them comfortable. I completely agree with her when she says that church is for believers and were christians go to be filled and gather together and grow, then we go out to make disciples. Please don't misunderstand, i am not in any way opposed to bringing the lost to church, but the service and programs don't need to be centered around making them happy, not hurting their feelings, or offending them. Services need to be centered around the gospel.

This pastor also talked about how he didn't like that christians have a "feed me" mentality and impersonated someone in a whiny voice, walking around all droopy and pathetic. What is pastors role if he isn't feeding his flock? I understand how some pastors get tired of people just coming to listen and be fed, but then don' t do anything which is a bad thing. But a pastor needs to be able to teach and feed the church members. there were a few other things that were bothersome, but it makes me realize that i dont' need to take my church and the teaching there for granted. and also that not every church is preaching the gospel. some churches are really just social justice projects cloaked with the "gospel" others fall under the all too common prosperity gospel and dont even mention sin and our need for the cross.

If you belong to a church that gives the whole gospel, be grateful and thank your pastor. If your searching for a church, be picky and find one that does give the whole gospel.

grace and peace
sarah

Computer Church

With so much technology around us its difficult at times to tell the difference between reality and virtual reality. It would be really easy for me to say that I’m good friends with someone like Abraham piper or Frank Turk (two guys that are bloggers with lots of readers) simply because I have had a few “conversations” with them on twitter where I spoke and they responded. Now simply by using my phone I can see what my good friends in Texas are saying while I’m having lunch in the park in Arkansas.

With these thoughts in mind I can also get online at home (in Little Rock Arkansas) to listen to Matt Chandler (lead preaching pastor at the Village Church in Texas) preach to his church, tweet Michael Bleecker the worship pastor on the wonderful song choice, and encourage Josh Patterson (an elder at the Village Church) because he wrote a great blog post this week. This can all be done from home and give me the impression that I am just as much of a member as anyone at the Village Church as many of the covenanting members. The unfortunate part of this is that I’m the only one under this dilution. The members at the Village have no knowledge of me, I have not covenanted with the church, and I’m not having fellowship with any of them.

Ed Stetzer posted on twitter a blog post that quoted him when the writer was talking about the resent fad of internet churches and social media. There are some out there that try to bring church to those who won’t go (this is not referring to those who are unable to go for health or physical reasons other than the early morning weekend blues). These have made it so that all the things you would want in a church are supplied from worship and preaching to the message boards allowing for conversation.

Ed said this in the blog post “there is no such thing as an internet church.” Those who regard the church in this manner and participate only by the live streaming of the worship service and “conversing on message boards are short circuiting the fellowship of the saints and their own spiritual growth.”
The writer of the blog states that Stetzer used “classic text” of Hebrews 10:25. http://baptistmessenger.com/the-rise-of-social-media/

So for myself and all of you I pray that we never fall into the trap of watching a monitor instead of communing with our brothers and sisters. I have seen a few friends fall victim to this mentality. I at times have even lingered far to long on the thought of how much easier things would be if I watched the sermon at home and then led a devotion and worship with my family instead of attending. Gas may not be cheap and humans may be hard to get along with. But the sacrifice of covenanting with a local church could be devastating to our walk in Christ.

The Purpose and Centrality of the Local Church Part 6

This is the final part of a series on the centrality of the local church in God's redemptive purposes in the world. It has not been attempt to bring us back to a Rome-like view of the church or salvation but, rather, an attempt to do away with our Western individualism and help you to get a vision of and passion for the local assembly that God has given you. I hope it has been helpful.

The centrality of the church can be seen in that the responsibility for missions is given to the church.

This point is very relevant for me because I have seen first-hand both the lack of passion for missions in the local church and the lack of passion for the church in missions organizations. That is all besides the fact that most churches misapply their mission, turning church services into productions that are meant to draw in lost people with everything but the biblical gospel.

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

This is the probably the main text that comes to most Christian minds when thinking about missions. Often called "the great commission" this text makes it clear that the gospel was meant to be effectively preached in all nations.

There is, however, much debate over what Jesus intended to be the eternal result of his words. Was this only a commission for the original disciples to fulfill? Does this obligate every person to serve a term of some length as a missionary?

Without going into a long exegetical study of the passage I will tell you my own conclusions. Just by knowing the rest of the New Testament we can know that this commission is meant to drive Christians during the entire church-age; that is, until Jesus comes back. The grammar of the commission tells us that the emphasis is not on "go" but on "make disciples." Therefore, every Christian is called to be a part of the fulfillment of this commission, but not every Christian is called to go on a "missions term." However, this commission clearly has global aspirations. Therefore, global missions is necessary to obey Jesus' commission.

So what we should really be asking is how Jesus intended this commission to be fulfilled and how the early church obeyed him. So let's see what we can learn from the book of Acts about these two things.

1. How did Jesus intend for this to be done?

In Acts 1 Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and then gives a statement similar to the great commission cited above (Acts 1:8). He wasn't urgent for the disciples to start on a missionary journey as soon as he ascended. Instead, it seems that Jesus wanted the church to officially be started. He wanted things to go in their proper order and the Holy Spirit to empower their evangelism, which would happen in an incredible way in Acts 2.

2. How did the apostles work to fulfill the great commission?

The reason I use the "apostles" rather than "the church" in the title for this point is simply to avoid circular reasoning. The fact is 1st century Christian missions was church-centered to the core. The best example I can give for this is Acts 13-14 where we see how Paul and Barnabas went about their missionary journey.

In Acts 13:1-3 we see Paul (Saul) and Barnabas being set apart as missionaries in the context of the local church at Antioch. The congregation fasted and prayed about it and then layed hands on them and sent them.

The rest of Acts 13 and into 14 describes the missionary journey. To summarize, the fruit of the journey was church plants (Acts 14:21-25). They made many disciples of Christ and encouraged them, appointing elders for the new local churches.

After all this what did they do? Return to Antioch to let their sending church share in the joy of their labors (Acts 14:26-27). They then did something that we don't see much nowadays with missionaries, "And they stayed there a long time with the disciples." (Acts 14:28).

So we see three things: (1) the local church sent the missionaries, (2) the missionaries planted local churches, and (3) the missionaries returned to the local church to report and commit themselves to their own congregation once again.

We could look at a lot more but I think this gets the point across. Love your church, love the gospel, and love the lost enough to preach the gospel to them. I don't think para-church organizations are the God-ordained means for this task, they are only helpful inasmuch as they seek to work alongside God's church. Sending a para-church orginization to fulfill the great commission without the church is like sending the Boy Scouts to war...they may be entheusiastic about it but they lack the power and authority to win.

Grace, Peace, and much love,
Stephen

The Purpose and Centrality of the Local Church Part 5

The centrality of the church can be seen in that the biblical description of discipleship is centered in the church.

This is perhaps the most important function of the church. It is where we see biblical discipleship carried out. There are two things I want to focus on in this post to show the Bible's picture of church-centered discipleship.

1. The preaching of the Word in the church.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Does this mean that all a person needs is his Bible and he is all set in the Christian life? That might be the impression we would get if we didn't continue reading the passage.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word...^AM)"> reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:1-2)

The Word is not only meant to be meditated on in one's personal life but it is also meant to be preached in the church community. We see this happening in the book of Acts' description of the early church, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (Acts 2:42)

2. The living of the Word in the church.

Local churches are not meant to be clubs for people who really like to talk about Jesus. They are about applying the teaching of Scripture to our lives. This is very well described by the author of Hebrews:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

This is why Paul describes the local church as a body in 1 Corinthians 12. We work together for a common goal and we each have certain gifts and functions that add to that common mission.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

The Purpose and Centrality of the Church Part 4

The Centrality of the Church can be seen in that the Bible gives instructions as to how the church should function.

In systematic theology the doctrine of the church is called "Ecclesiology." Though this seems unimportant to most Christians, the fact that a doctrine of the church exists is extremely relevant to the Christian life. Consider that when the most precise students of theology seek to break down the contents of the bible into branches of theology they spell out doctrines such as:

Theology Proper (the doctrine of God)

Pneumatology (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit)

Anthropology (the doctrine of man)

Christology (the doctrine of God the Son)

Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation)

and many others...

But we never find a doctrine of the lonely saved individual or a doctrine of parachurch ministry (though there are biblical principles that can apply to such subjects).

My point? The Bible invests a lot of its space prescribing the church's role in the world. This isn't only relevant to the pastor who wants to know how to lead his flock, but also to the Christian who wants to see what God's priorities are in His revelation to man.

Paul described his reason for writing 1 Timothy as "so that... you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth" (3:14-15).

You might say, "isn't the Scripture the pillar and buttress?" And that is a good question to ask. Scripture is the very Word of God by which He sustains His church.

The church is where one goes to hear the Word preach, see the Word lived out in a community, and worship God in a way that is informed by the Word. So the Bible and the church are not at odds as pillars of truth; rather, they work together. The Word creates and sustains the church and the church proclaims the Word. This is the way we find God working in Scripture.

Praise God that He has sustained His church and is purifying her even this day.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

Goats eat anything

As a kid I loved picking out books on killer animals such as snakes, tigers, mountain lions, and killer bee's. One book that I remember checking out at the library was a book on sharks which told how they could pierce through a small boat, or that they can leap several feet into the air when catching seals. But I remember one story (whether true or not) about some scientists who found a tin can in a shark one time, and it was apparently not the type of thing that typically ends up in water. The shark had eaten a goat that ate a tin can... the odd thing was I never question the goat eating the can as much as I did the shark eating a goat. How could that have happened? But the mystery now is how can a goat just keep munching on a tin can?


Whether the story is true or not I think most would agree that goats will eat just about anything. While sheep on the other hand are much more selective about their meals. All to true with the gospel today. We seem to live in a society that will swallow anything and if you don't care for the taste your supposed to smile and be polite saying “its not for me but I'm sure its great for you”. All the while never saying “Hey that tin can is bad for you and the sharp edges could actually harm you!”


We know false teachings have been a problem for a long time, Paul didn't waste any time in 1 Timothy before he started reminding Timothy that he was there to guard against false doctrine. Knowing this, and through a few conversations in the last few months it just appears to me that our society, even among believers, is so much more concerned with being tolerant than we are concerned with the gospel. We have people who though they try very hard to break down the old walls of religion with music and hipness, they keep simply stirring up more trouble and hardly breaking past the point that they are trying to make (usually trying to breakdown legalism). Or preachers who love to teach on sex, and money but they try to avoid to much discussion on the gospel implications on life (Luke 9:23), the wrath or justice of God. Which leaves the goats unknowingly chewing on unsweeted tin cans that seems like the less painful thing to do. Rather than keep searching for the flock that is at the meadow instead of the junk yard picking through the left over worldly junk.


There is no shame in the true gospel of Christ. Romans 1:14-17

The Purpose and Centrality of the Local Church Part 3

The centrality of the church can be seen in that the authority of Christ resides in it.

"...the gates of hell shall not prevail against [the church]. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)

"Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 18:19)

It would be easy to dismiss these passages as being about the universal church and say that any couple of Christians contain this authority from Christ. What we see in Matthew 18 is that this authority rests in the local church as they make important decisions. This doesn't mean that the church has the right to make decisions that are unbiblical in nature but that is because a true church is defined by true biblical doctrine (Matthew 16:16-18).

When God’s church assembles it is through them that He speaks His will. The example Matthew 18 provides is that after the long process of calling a member of the church to repent of his sin the church finally has to pronounce that this person is not one of God’s people and they ought to then move to treating them as they would a lost person and pleading them to repent and believe the gospel.

This is one of the great truths found in the Bible. God is using the body of his people in this world to accomplish His purposes. I want to encourage you to love your church. If you aren't a member of a church stop missing out. If you are a member of a church but haven't given yourself to it like you should there is no better time than now.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

The Purpose and Centrality of the Local Church Part 2

This is part 2 of a series on the centrality of the local church in God's redemptive purpose. Click here for part 1 of the series.

The centrality of the church can be seen in that Christ died for her and adds to her number.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

"Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

As evangelical Christians we like to emphasize, with good reason, the individual nature of the atonement of Christ (Colossians 2:13-14). But we must not overlook the fact that the New Testament often speaks of Christ dying on behalf of the church.

Functionally this should be one of the greatest comforts in our Christian lives. If Christ died for a particular people, namely, the universal/invisible church, we find our identity as part of this group while participating in the local/visible expression of this people.

Not only did Christ die for the church, he is also the one adding to her number. Acts 2:41-47.

First we see about three thousand souls being saved (Acts 2:41), the next thing they do is commit themselves to the church (Acts 2:42-47) and finally we read that the Lord adds more to their number daily (Acts 2:47).

There is a cycle of salvation and the church is right in the middle. In the coming weeks we will see with a little more clarity why that is the case.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

The Purpose and Centrality of the Local Church

To me…this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Eph. 3:8-10)

In this world of self-help it is difficult to imagine that the Creator might have intended something greater. Though I believe that it is a great thing that so many Christians want to emphasize that Jesus is the savior of individuals, it seems that some wonderful truths have been lost in the process. Perhaps we have tried so hard to avoid the ditch of Roman Catholicism’s errors that we have swerved into the ditch on the other side, individualism.

In this series of posts I want to argue that the local church is God’s primary means of working in the world. This may sound terrible to some and strange to others but let me assure you that when you stop reading Scripture through the lens of tradition it becomes much clearer.

What is the church?

In this post I want to begin with some simple definitions. The church is not an easy biblical term to define; in fact I will need to use two definitions here.

1. The entirety of redeemed people throughout history. This is known as the universal church or the invisible church.

2. The local assembly of a specific group of believers for the purpose of worship, edification, fellowship, and ministry to the lost. This is what I am calling the local church.

One interesting thing that needs to be understood is the reason I use the word “assembly” in the second definition. This is because the word used for church in the New Testament is ekklesia which can be most simply defined as a “gathering of persons for a purpose” (Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains).

What this seems to indicate is that the word is being used mostly to talk about local congregations of believers rather than the entirety of Christian individuals. But what about statements like that of Ephesians 3:10 (see above)? I don’t think Paul is only talking about the church at Ephesus. But I do think that he expected the original audience to think of the church at Ephesus when he said, “through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known.”

God is working in the world through His people, of that I don’t think there is much question. But what we will see in coming weeks is that those people find their identity, calling, and growth within the context of the local church.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen