Church Issues

The Divided Dozen

The heart of Jesus for his church is clearly expressed in his recorded prayer in John 17. In John 17:21 Jesus prays that his followers would be unified. Specifically, he prays, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Is unity amongst the children of God, the family of believers, possible? Can we really think that the denominationalism and sectarianism in which the church of today is entrenched could be overcome? Is it possible for genuine believers to become united in purpose under the singular headship of Jesus through the unifying power of the Spirit?

The twelve men who were hand-picked by Jesus as his closest disciples provide great hope for our day. That hope does not come because they were extraordinary or supernatural men. No, our hope comes because they were just like us, and in so many ways divided. They argued about who was greatest. They maneuvered for positions of distinction. They complained often. They were normal, everyday sinful men.

Consider Simon the Zealot, sitting at the table with Matthew the tax collector. Simon was part of an extremist subversive group that hated the Romans. Matthew is a Jew that collects taxes for Rome. These two guys did not meet regularly for lunch.

And what about the arrogant, loud fisherman, Peter, who continuously affirms his superior performance to the rest of the men. For example, Matthew 26:33 records, “Peter answered him, ‘Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.’” He even assumed a position of overbearing rebuke to Jesus, “And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’” Matt. 16:22.

James and John were nicknamed the “Sons of Thunder”, by Jesus himself.

That would have been because of scenes like Luke records in 9:53-54, “But the people did not receive [Jesus], because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” Isn’t that a hoot! Turn any who rejects the gospel into crispy critters.

Through the power of the cross, the reconciling power of the resurrection, Jesus, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, transformed this group of selfish, temperamental, complaining, manipulative men into a unified army who served with powerful humility. These same men bowed together in an upper room, waiting for the promised Spirit. They together felt the ground shack under their bent knees. They labored together to proclaim the resurrection, baptize converts, disciple repentant sinners, organize a ministering body of believers.

What about Our Day

Is it possible to think that the church of Jesus Christ in the 21^st century could be unified? Are we any more arrogant, any more opinionated, any more self-serving than these foundational men? I believe that it is the intention of the Spirit of the living Christ to break down the barriers that have been erected by centuries of sectarianism. It is his purposed effort to reestablish the foundation of brotherly compassion and unconditional love upon which all believing relationships are to be established.

Do not be mistaken, he is not moving us toward the wholesale abandonment of truth. It is not the pluralistic philosophy that declares no right and no wrong.

However, our doctrinal statements and systems of theology do not provide the foundation for brotherly fellowship. Jesus did not pray that we would be able to recite catechisms, nor possess the resources to purchase volumes of theologies. He prayed that we might ALL be one, just as he and the Father are one. The result would be that the world would know who he is, the son of the living God.

Would you join me (and Jesus) in praying for his church to be unified? Would you take a step today to build a relationship with someone with whom you disagree? Would you give thanks for the things that you have learned from people outside of your circle? Would you humble yourself to honor every person that you meet simply because they bear the image of their gracious Creator? Would you ask the God who is magnificent to be magnified in your own eyes? Our Dear Father, please help us all.

Not at War

by mholden

The year was 1914. Just 100 years ago. The Central Powers, led by Germany, were launching a major global offensive against the Allied forces of Russia, France, and Great Britain. The United States took a position of neutrality in an attempt to stay clear of the conflict.
On May 7, 1915, however, a German U-boat attacked and sank the Lusitania, a non-military British liner. 128 US citizens lost their lives, but Woodrow Wilson declared, “America is too proud to fight.”
During 1915-16 the American Congress worked to cut the military budget and in fact, defeated a “big navy” plan and scuttled the battleships.
January 31, 1917, German Ambassador to the United States presented U.S. Secretary of State a note declaring Germany’s intention to restart unrestricted submarine warfare. In February-March of 1917, German submarines targeted and sank several US merchant ships. On February 24, the British forwarded an intercepted German telegram to Mexico that promised war favors for attacking the US. Throughout this period the US maintained its position of neutrality. On February 26, Wilson asked Congress for the authority to arm U.S. merchant ships with U.S. naval personnel and equipment. While the measure would probably have passed in a vote, several anti-war Senators led a successful filibuster that consumed the remainder of the congressional session.
Finally, on April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. Congress declared war on April 6, 1917.

War is not fun. The threats in it, the costs of it, the death produced by it; everything about it causes us to shrink back from it. Even when significantly impacted by it, we avoid it, and resist acknowledging it. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, “…and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

An aversion to war has been woven somewhere into the fabric of American culture. We can hear the rumble of cannons, feel the ground reverberating under our feet, hear of casualties laying by the wayside, even smell the stench of decaying flesh. But we still get up in the morning, have our coffee, continue our routine, eat out at our favorite restaurant, go on vacation, and life continues with no sense of impending struggle or loss.

Sunday, December 7, 1941 started quietly, as many days before it had. Although all of Europe and most Asia and Russia were deeply embroiled in destructive warfare, men in Pearl Harbor had been out the Saturday evening before relaxing, partying… ignoring. War was raging, but all of life was quiet and routine as a country awoke on that quiet Sunday morning. The rest is history, as they say.

The family, as we know it, as God designed it, is under heavy attack. The sound of artillery can be heard in the distance. Casualties lie all around. The evidence of the conflict is abundant. But dads headed off to work this morning, moms did their morning chores, put their children on the bus for the day, then headed off to their jobs. I believe that it is time to sound the alarm. It is time to unveil the enemy. It is time to develop wartime strategy. It is time to declare war.

The Delegating Character of God

by mholden

The Lord God is above his creation. He is wholly separate from it, although still actively involved in it. The fancy theological term attached to this truth is transcendence.

“To transcend means “to exist above and independent from; to rise above, surpass, succeed.” By this definition, God is the only truly transcendent Being. The “LORD God Almighty” (in Hebrew, El Shaddai) created all things on the earth, beneath the earth and in the heavens above, yet He exists above and independent from them. All things are upheld by His mighty power (Hebrews 1:3), yet He is upheld by Himself alone. The whole universe exists in Him and for Him that He may receive glory, honor and praise.” www.gotquestions.org “What does it mean that God is transcendent?”

“Our Creator’s transcendence is affirmed throughout Scripture and is reflected in today’s passage. When we say God is transcendent, we mean that He is separate from His creation and not dependent on the created order in any way. The Almighty made the universe and He is therefore its sovereign ruler (Gen. 1:1). A biblical view of transcendence does not mean that God is unable to enter into His creation or communicate with it. He is also immanent, present within the universe that He has made (Ps. 139:7). Nevertheless, creation is not God (pantheism), nor does God depend upon it. Creation, instead, depends upon our Creator for its continual existence (Eph. 4:4–6).” RC Sproule Denying God’s Transcendence Ligonier Ministries Blog

In his transcendence, God has designed to delegate responsibility and authority to mankind for the oversight of the created order.

Delegation was part of the first creative act of God

The very first thing that God said about man included the giving of authority and responsibility to him.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26

Who’s in Charge Here?

by mholden

You and I live in a culture that is in complete confusion about roles. Who is responsible for what? Who has authority and from where does the authority come? How far does that authority reach? How are authority and responsibility related? And what about accountability, that must come into play somewhere as well? What recourse exists when someone or something is over-reaching their authority? Where does the authority of the government begin, and where does it end? What about the church, or family, what authority do they have and how can that authority be defined and defended?

We are about to embark on one of the most needful studies of our day. The answers to these questions and more can be answered with the kind of confidence that will enable you to stand in boldly in your role, and also fulfill your ordained purpose on the earth.

The Local Church: A Community of Individuals or Families?

by mholden

As was my Sunday morning custom, I stood just inside the church building door as the faithful were gathering for worship. I was saying my “hellos” as usual when a new family stepped through the door. My pastoral heart thumped a little faster as I took mental note of a sharply dressed dad with Bible in hand, a neatly, modestly dressed mom followed, with four well-trained and respectful children ranging in age from about fifteen down to two. Boy, oh boy, I thought, a dad who looks like potential leadership material, a mom who can contribute to the teaching force, or maybe participate in the choir, or work in the nursery. Fine young people to fill out the roster in the youth group, junior class, and nursery.

In my ignorance, I had just dissected a family in my mind. I had split them up and harnessed them for the purpose of furthering the programs in my little domain. I had been trained by my culture and by my church leadership mentors to respond in such a way.

I have come to recognize that the cultural approach to church life does not identify nor honor families as a unit, but rather, views those who walk through its doors as a group of individuals. Because we minister to individuals, and not to families, we continually move family members away from each other (as does our culture). Because we need workers to staff the programs that minister to individuals, we exploit the strength of the family unit by continually pulling the family leaders away from those whom they are charged to nurture.

In the Scriptures, the family is upheld as the foundational building block of all of culture. In the very beginning God proclaimed that it was not good, the man being alone. Wives became part of their husband’s family. Children found their identity in their fathers. Inheritance of land was divided according to family. Religious holidays were celebrated in homes.

The responsibility to nurture children was not delegated to the church; it was given to fathers. In the Bible, wives and mothers were not pulled away from their family to administrate the programs of the church, but rather were charged with the blessing of walking under their own husbands and keeping their own homes.

The destructive influences of our culture, and the church’s cultural approach to the family, are clearly evident. Divorce in the church exceeds divorce in mainstream society. Teen pregnancy, abortion, drug and alcohol abuse, spiritual fall out, all provide ample evidence of a dysfunctional and unbiblical view of the family.

My dear church leading brother, please consider your view of the folks that walk into your fellowship. Psalm 68:6says, “God setteth the solitary in families”. He does not take families and turn them into separated individuals. Instead of administering programs that divide families, consider discipling parents and nurturing families.

I have asked myself many times, “What does faithfulness in ministry actually look like?” I believe that the scriptures paint a clear picture. A man who is “equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry” will be training men to “love their wives as Christ loved the church”. Men will be learning how to lead with the spirit of servanthood. Ladies will be taught to walk under the leadership of their husbands, flourishing under his protective care. Moms will be flourishing in the care of their children, investing themselves in the next generation, teaching them how to minister from the home (1 Timothy 5). Children will be encouraged and trained to learn and to grow under the leadership of their parents, instead of taking on the identity of their peers or youth leader.

The world is starving for examples of fathers and mothers that walk together with vitality. They are eager to see children who have been taught to honor father and mother. They need to know that there can be peace inside the walls of home. They need to know that the gospel has enough power to make difference in their family.

Please show them.

Surrogate Parents

by mholden

Pastor John Gordon lay restlessly starring at a dark ceiling. The clock reads 2:43am. An encounter with Brent, a seventeen year old member of his youth group, was playing over and over in his mind. Brent has been struggling with his unbelieving parents and in a matter-of-fact comment declared that he would be much better off if he could move in with his youth leader.

John’s heart grieves as he recalls a youth sponsor workshop that he had attended with that same youth leader. The instructor of the workshop had challenged the workers to “win the hearts of their youths away from their parents”. The exhortation was specifically directed toward youths with unbelieving parents.

Now Brent was reflecting the successful implementation of that training. He was dishonoring his parents under the influence of the church training program. Pastor Gordon felt a tear trickle down the side of his face as he contemplated the reality that under his own care a young person had been led to violate the fifth commandment.

Outlandish? “That wouldn’t happen!” you say? “They don’t really teach youth workers to do that,” you rebut. I am sorry, but they do. Although it may not always be that blatant, it is true.

Pastor, ask yourself this question: “Are the activities of the church body for which I am responsible putting families together or pulling them apart?” The family is in enough trouble in our culture today without the church contributing to its demise. It is time to distinguish between that which is Scriptural and that which is cultural. It is time to rise up as a man of the Scriptures. Families are being led away as sheep to the slaughter and the Lord has placed shepherds in their role to protect and defend.

A Call to Evaluate

by mholden

I believe that a call must go out to the people of God to become a thinking people. Much of Jesus’ earthly ministry was aimed at getting people, and especially religious people, his people, to think. He wanted them to consider why they did what they did, and what was the real fruit of it.

Consider the incident with the man at the pool of Bethesda, as recorded in John 5. Jesus walked into a scene that had remained unchanged for many years. People were lying around waiting and hoping for some mysterious moving of the water that would allow them to beat everyone else to a healing plunge. Interestingly, Jesus happens into that scene on the one day, the Sabbath day, which would prevent him from doing anything about it, if he walks according to the teaching and tradition of men. Jesus walks into the middle of that crowd, picks out a guy who has obviously been waiting there for a while, instructs him to get up and walk out of there (carrying his mat of course), and then disappears into the crowd to watch what would happen.

Now, for what purpose did Jesus do the healing work? The man certainly benefited, but the lesson was not for him. The lesson was for those who were responsible to maintain the religious order for the day. Jesus wanted them to think. Their value system was being challenged by a divine act. The One who has ordered everything was defying “the way things are supposed to be”. Jesus could have chosen any other day of the week to do his work. This man had been there for years, couldn’t this act of kindness waited until tomorrow? Or, why hadn’t he come to heal yesterday. Why did he have to go upsetting everyone? He wanted them to evaluate.

Today the church must evaluate. When we look at what we have produced, we must ask some serious questions. We have produced a divorce rate that equals that of the unbelieving world. We have produced a generation of youth who are equally immoral to the unbelievers around them. The record shows us to be nearly as sick, nearly as indebted, nearly as emotionally disturbed, nearly as sinful as the people who make no allegiance to our King. So what’s the scoop?

Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Paul says that our Father “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians1:13). I believe that God intends us to keep our marriages. I believe that he would have us to keep our young people. I believe that he has designed peace for his children. I believe that he has designed health for his body, the church. And I also believe that these things and many more can be received in our day, if we will evaluate and come back to that which he has said.

So, why do you do what you do? How much of what we do is actually based upon our expectation of the way things should be instead of the Bible? Why are our church gatherings structured the way they are? Would the early church even recognize us as being part of them? Are the scriptures our reference point for defining our earthly relationships? Why do we treat families as individuals by an age-segregated approach to training? Why don’t we actually practice church discipline as instructed directly by our Lord in Matt 18 and elsewhere? Why aren’t the “one another’s” or “hospitality commands” of Scripture emphasized or practiced as central to body life? Who is really responsible for the care of our elderly? What does the Bible say about the place of the church in family life? And, what does it say about the place of the family in church life?

My dear brother and sister, there is hope for the church. There is hope for the family. There is hope for our children. There is hope for you. It is found in allowing the Scriptures, the revealed truth of God, to speak into our experience and to become the standard by which all that we do is gauged.