Category: Exploring Church Ministry Blog

Love, Not Hate

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            Jesus will build his church (Matthew 16:18).  The church has been designed from its inception to be the hope of the world.  God the Father sent God the Son to this earth to live a holy life, to teach us how to live, to die on a cruel cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, to rise from death, to ascend to heaven, to send God the Holy Spirit for us as we engage in the mission of proclaiming in words and actions that there is new life in Jesus. 
 
            So, the church is being the church when:  lives are changed; hatreds are overcome; failures are forgiven; grace overwhelms and melts hard hearts; selfishness is diminished; compassion grows into an immense hope that Christ is doing just as he said he would do – build his church.  When the church is working right it is the hope of the world because it is:  experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit to rejoice with those who rejoice and cry with those who cry; lifting holy hands in prayer and praise to the God who loves us; and, reaching-out with heartfelt mercy to those who desperately need this good news that Jesus has graciously forgiven all our sin through his once for all death on a cross.
 
The church is meant to love, not hate (1 John 3:14).
 
            “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers and sisters.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.”  I need to ask this question because the Word of God demands it:  Do you hate anyone?  The Scripture tells us that hate means we are still dead, not alive.  Love is the distinguishing mark of the believer in Jesus Christ.  The person with hate has so many barnacles built up on their underside that they cannot move at all through the water of life with any joy or fulfillment.  What is more, they are dragging down the rest of the fleet that seeks to move in concert together in the love of Jesus.
 
            Jesus Christ did not die on the cross so that we could hate someone, or a group of people.  Christ died so that you could love.  If love does not characterize your life, you are dead.  That means you are separated from God.  That sounds serious, and it is.  Hate has absolutely no place in the church whatsoever.  “Anyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him” (1 John 3:15).
 
            As followers of Jesus, we not only should love, but we should not put up with hate in the fellowship of believers.  You are under no obligation whatsoever to listen to hateful speech and allow hateful actions because the church is meant to be a reflection of God’s loving and healing acceptance of people.  It is not the loving thing to do to let others spew hate in front of you, no matter who they are.  Maybe you could respond to hateful words by saying, “Sounds to me like you need to let God pressure-wash some barnacles off your heart.”
 
            If you keep having the same conversation with someone over and over again; if every time you raise a new idea, the same person lists three reasons why it will never work; if fondness for the past exceeds passion for the future; if small things always become big things; if someone chronically complains to you; and, if there is never any love behind what someone says to you; then, there is hate behind it all and it just might be that such a person needs to hear the gospel of grace and be delivered from their life of sin.
 

 

            Every church on God’s good earth must have a zero-tolerance policy toward hate, and a 100% commitment to love.  God has not called us to hate anyone, but to love.  The church is only the hope of the world when it loves others.  The world will know that there is a God in heaven, and a Christ in the church, when people within local congregations love one another, when particular Christian denominations go out of their way to bless others, and when the love of Jesus compels us to drip grace on the most unlovely of people. Indeed, they will know we are Christians by our love.

Internal vs. External Motivation

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
  
            It isn’t unusual for me to ask someone in the church to do a particular job or ministry.  I almost always ask them to not give me an answer right away but to think and pray about it.  Most of the time, I get a pretty straightforward answer, either yes or no.  Every once in a while I get a “yes” only to discover down the road into the project or ministry that nothing is really being done.  It is at such times that I begin to question the motivation behind the initial “yes” to my request to serve.  This gets at what the real motivation is behind what we do or don’t do.
 
            We all have times of not feeling like doing something.  That is completely normal.  But if we have a habit of never saying “no” and always saying “yes” then resenting that we are not getting enough appreciation or acknowledgment for our service, we have a real problem.  This gets at the heart of what really motivates us.  It was Jesus who said, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37).  If we say “yes” knowing in the back of our minds that we don’t really want to do it, then this does not come from a place of spiritual health. 
 
            If we simply comply with what others expect of us, fearing what they will think of us, or too afraid to say “no” we are being externally motivated and it will not last.  What is more, someone might ask with a manipulative tone and try and guilt us into serving and/or doing what they want us to do.  If we acquiesce to this, we are being pressed into an external motivation which will also not stand up both in this life and in the life to come.
 
            Saying “yes” really ought to come from an internal place.  Plenty of people do things because of external controls – the possibility of some reward if they succeed or some punishment if they do not.  Either we do things to please ourselves and God, or we do things to please another person.  It doesn’t take a genius to discern which approach is going to produce the better results.  The Pharisees are the biblical Exhibit A of externally motivated people.  “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them,” exhorted Jesus.  “If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1).  Instead, we simply ask and seek, love and serve, and find that God notices and responds (Matthew 7:7-8).
 
            Holy Scripture, common sense, and contemporary research all agree:  external motivation is more likely to create conditions of compliance and/or defiance, whereas internal motivation will keep a person working and serving even if there is no immediate outside reward.  Externally motivated people only serve when the rewards and punishments are in place – once they are taken away, there is no service.  This is the very opposite of a life centered in and motivated by grace, which is why it is so heinous in the view of Jesus.
 
            Gracious and exemplary church servants and leaders have a passion for something other than their own recognition and fame.  They care about making a difference for God.  They deeply desire to give back something for the gracious and costly gift of salvation and new life given to them through Jesus Christ.  They really don’t care who gets the credit as long as God is glorified, the church is edified, and people come to know Jesus. 
 

 

            So, what motivates us is quite important because it demonstrates the true state of our hearts and makes all the difference in how things get done in the church.  This is why the Apostle Peter said, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, be because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3).  May Peter’s tribe increase!

Eastertide

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            It could very well be that you have never heard of the word “Eastertide,” and maybe not even in your church.  In my judgment, that is quite unfortunate because Eastertide is a significant season in the Christian Year.  It spans fifty days until Pentecost.  Yep, that is seven weeks of bringing the new life we enjoy to the forefront.  Eastertide’s intentional focus is to recognize and celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and, thus, exulting in our own new life in him.
 
            Now, you might be saying to yourself something like this: “Why do we need to have some liturgical season about Christ’s resurrection?  Shouldn’t we be living like we recognize this every day?”  Yes, of course we should.  But consider this:  If you only sing songs of resurrection on Easter Sunday in your church; only occasionally, at best, think of Christ’s resurrection outside of Easter Sunday; then, perhaps it is wise to bring a highlighted focus to the resurrection in a special season.  Just as we would likely not think of taking only one vacation day in the year for renewal, so it is necessary to take more than one day to enjoy Easter.  If nothing else, Eastertide gives believers an opportunity to let Christ’s resurrection percolate in our hearts so that we end up becoming people in real life who exhibit an alive-spirit.  And God knows we could use much more of that in our congregations!
 
            If life, eternal life, and the necessity of being alive are all needs we have within particular congregations, then it only makes sense that we would want to take advantage of what Eastertide has to offer us:  a deliberate look at Christ’s resurrection, exploring its implications and impact for us and our churches.  Simply assuming that we all know about the resurrection will not do, any more than my wife simply assuming I love her without looking her straight in the eye and telling her so.  
 
            If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17) and we can only expect a sin-as-usual kind of approach to life with a sort of shoulder shrug that says, “Meh, what’s a guy to do?”  But, instead, we have the hope of life everlasting because Christ has risen from death.  We have the hope of individual renewal and corporate revitalization since we serve a risen Savior.
 
            Therefore this is the perfect time of year to engage in some renewal practices or even make a few simple changes that show signs of life within the congregation.  Here are just a few ideas for lifting Christ’s resurrection into the next few months:
 
Pray for revival.  Wherever there is deadness there is no Jesus.  Christ brings life, so praying to God for revival is a deliberate way of connecting with the Lord.
 
Squarely address things in the church which are death-dealing.  Gossip, back-biting, slander, and an entire host of sins of the tongue kill and murder people.  It brings death.  Simply sluffing-off someone’s acerbic speech as “that’s just the way they are” will not do in the church, unless you want Jesus at arms-length.
 
Promote things which are life-giving.  If sins of the tongue bring death, using our speech for encouragement, love, mercy, forgiveness, and building up one another in the church promotes growth, health, and life.
 
Preach a sermon series on new life.  The church is the hope of the world because Christ is the risen Lord.  Boldly proclaim the truth of the resurrected Christ and how it works in reaching the world.
 
Start that new ministry that you always believed would make a difference.  It is the season to take a risk.  After all, if you have eternal life can you really fail?  Host a new small group in your home.  Transform that unused space in the church building.  If you are a layperson, blow away your pastor by asking him/her in what ways you can bring life to your church (believe me, your pastor will have ideas for you!).
 
Focus on daily habits of spiritual health and life.  If you would not think of skipping meals for days at a time, then think about the erosion to your church that occurs when many individual parishioners do not read their Bibles on a regular basis or pray with any kind of consistency.  Make a plan and stick to it.  It will not only bring growth to your own life, but will impact those around you.
 

 

            Just keeping the word “Eastertide” in front of you for the next few months can be a simple yet powerful way of reminding us that God has called us to new life.  Let the reality of Christ’s resurrection take root in your heart to such an extent that Jesus becomes the greatest influence to all your thinking, speaking, and acting.

Interpreting Easter

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
Perspective and interpretation are everything.  We do not just recognize and know certain facts about things; we have a perspective on those facts and interpret them into some kind of coherent story. 
 
            Nearly eleven years ago my wife and two of my daughters were in a car accident.  We were returning home from my parents’ house in rural Iowa.  A car came from the east on a gravel road and did not slow down but blew through the stop sign, right in front of us.  There was nothing I could do.  I hit his rear quarter panel and his car literally spun like a top and came to a stop.  He and the girl in the passenger seat immediately hopped out of their car without a scratch or bruise on them.  My girls were in the very back seat and were fine.  My wife, however, tore her rotator cuff from the seat belt and the impact.  For me, ever since that day, my back has never been the same.  There are occasionally days when the pain and limitation are so bad that I can barely walk across the room.
 
            In the ten years since that accident I have replayed it over a thousand times in my head.  Maybe if only we had left a few minutes earlier or later from my parents’ house things would be different.  Maybe if I had only driven slower or faster.  But there really was nothing I could have done about it.  I have been downright angry more than once, blaming that stupid kid who changed my life.  In those thousand times of replaying the event, I have looked at it from my perspective, my wife’s perspective, the girls’ perspective, and even the dog’s perspective.  But in all those years of replaying the accident in my mind, just in the past two weeks God has given me a different view of that event.
 
            You see, in these past ten years I have been so deep into interpreting the accident from my perspective and my family’s perspective that I never even considered to look at it from the perspective of the driver of the other car.  It was as if God finally tapped me on the shoulder and invited me to see it all in a different way.  When I look at that accident from the other driver’s view, he was driving down a gravel road and was coming to a t-intersection.  There was no road on the other side of that stop sign.  What is there to this day is a large grain elevator.  He was driving at highway speeds when he went through the stop sign.  Had he blew through that sign and not been struck by my car, he and the passenger with him would have been certainly killed because they would have slammed into the elevator.  But, instead, I “happened” to come along and hit him in such a way that his car spun and literally stopped just feet from the grain elevator.
 
            That car accident actually saved two people’s lives.  All of a sudden my chronic low-level back pain and limitation seems a very small price to pay for the lives of two people.  I am now interpreting that event as God sending his servants, Tim and Mary, to a highway where two other people were on a collision course with death.  And he used us to literally stop it from happening.
 
            Perspective and interpretation are everything.  For many of the people in the first-century, the crucifixion of Jesus was just another death.  It all seemed like some tragic accident that Jesus did not deserve.  But it was no tragic accident.  God sent Jesus to the right place at the right time among people who were on a collision course with death.  And he took their place.  It was us who were behind the wheel and driving our lives recklessly, not knowing that we were facing imminent tragedy.  But Jesus came along and took our place.  He absorbed the punishment that we deserved so that we could live.
 
            My car accident was unique to me and to the others involved.  But the death of Christ is universal in its scope, having affected every single person on planet earth.  And God showed no favoritism.  The cross of Christ is for all kinds of people from every nation, every race, and every ethnic group.  We are invited by Holy Scripture to have a perspective on the cross as being able to affect deliverance from all wrongdoing and all misguided lives.  We are encouraged to interpret the resurrection of Jesus as bringing a new lease on life to millions of people.  We are to take those events of Jesus and see them as our redemption.
 

 

            So, then, our part in the whole affair is this:  Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name.  That is the perspective and the interpretation of the death and resurrection of Jesus that we need.  Our only hope of life beyond the grave is Christ’s victory over death.  Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed.