Category: Exploring Church Ministry Blog

Shared Values

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
I am the youngest of four kids, and because of that reality I had to follow my siblings in school and have the same teachers they had.  I can tell you that I heard this statement more than once:  “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” and “Why aren’t you like your brother?”  I often had this icky feeling in school that I somehow fell short because I wasn’t like them.
 
            Our task as Christians is to imitate Christ – not try and impersonateothers by being someone we are not.  God has created each of us uniquely and has gathered us together in his church.  So, we need to strive to be the best particular person we are in imitating Jesus by means of who God designed us to be, and learn to work together in the church appreciating one another as we seek to follow Christ.
 
            We are to imitate Christ through embracing a biblical set of relational values (Philippians 2:1-2).  It is shared values, not smooth sailing, which keep a group of people together.  If we have experienced encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, and compassion then we need to remember and recognize this and pass those collective values on.  None of these ideals occur in isolation; they happen because God mediates his blessings to us through other people.  In other words, we owe to others what God has done through others for us. 
 
            These common relational experiences occur as we participate in the life of our triune God.  The values that undergird our relational dynamic in the church come from the perfect relationship that occurs within God himself as Father, Son, and Spirit.  As we spend time with God and are filled-up with him, the love and grace of God spills-over in our dealings with others.  This is not a matter of will-power; rather, it is a matter of spending time with God because we as people tend to imitate those we hang around. 
 
            If we hang out with people who are always complaining, we are going to continually be grumps who never get anything done.  But if we hang out with people who are always praying, we are going to have a value of constantly connecting with God and interceding for others.  If we hang out with people who are never happy, we are going to have a pessimistic outlook on church ministry.  But if we make it a regular practice to hang out with Jesus, we will imitate Christ’s values of humble service and a gentle attitude.  If we hang out with people who are encouraging, loving, tender, and compassionate, we are going to emulate those same biblical mores.
 
            My sister was the valedictorian of her class; I didn’t follow in her steps.  My brother was the kind of compliant kid that teachers envied to have in their classes; I think my teachers wondered if we were from the same family.  My other sister was friends with her teachers and they all enjoyed her; I remember getting a lot of sighs and eye-rolling from my teachers.  Eventually, I gave my life completely to Jesus Christ my senior year of high school.  I found my identity in Jesus.  I discovered I didn’t have to be like anyone else because God used me for who I was, right where I was, learning to imitate Jesus. 
 

 

We are not to be worried or discouraged about how far short we fall before our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith.  Instead, we are to be concerned about how God wants to fulfill all his good promises and purposes in us and through our shared values because at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God.  We are to pass on to others every good value we have in Jesus Christ.  May it be so.

Grace and Anger

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            I once dealt with a woman who was so upset with her husband that she was literally shaking with anger.  There had been a time when her husband had been abusive, but he came to know Christ and became a loving person.  What was so upsetting to this woman is that God saved her husband instead of punishing him for all the abuse he had dished out.  She wanted some divine payback!  She was actually furious about God showing grace and compassion.
 
            This is not a novel or new experience.  In the ancient world, the Assyrians were notorious for their brutality toward conquered peoples.  They thought up forms of torture as a creative past-time. It was a violent culture full of inhumane practices and soldiers who were the scourge of the Middle East.
 
            We know from the little Old Testament book of Jonah that the ways of the Assyrians caught the notice of God, who was ready to pronounce judgment on the heart of the Assyrian Empire, Nineveh.  So, as God typically did in the Old Testament, he tells one of his prophets to go and give a message.  And the message was simple:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). 
 
            For whatever reasons, when Jonah did not immediately obey God, God stuck with him.  God did not call another prophet to take his place, but insisted that Jonah be the one to preach.  If God calls us to something and we neglect to do it, we cannot simply think that someone else will do it.  Sometimes God insists that we do it, not someone else.
 
            Jonah eventually does go to Nineveh (after the infamous being in the belly of a great fish for three days and nights) and there is a great repentance of sin.  The entire city turns from their evil ways.  God saw this mass repentance and relented from sending disaster.  Instead of destroying the city with all its inhabitants and animals, he was gracious and compassionate, abounding in love.  If there is a response God delights in more than anything it is humility and the courage to admit personal evil and turn from it.
 
            But Jonah has a problem with what is going on.  He is not just a little ticked-off; he is greatly displeased.  He is angry enough about this whole affair to want to die.  Jonah was actually annoyed and angry by God’s goodness.  He wanted justice and judgment, not grace!  The grace of God is so massive that it even extends to some of the most evil people in history, and Jonah wanted no part of that theology.
 
            God asked Jonah twice:  “Do you have a right to be angry?”  It is the same question that God is asking his people today.  Jonah wanted destruction and pay-back for all the sin of the Assyrians.  But God searches our hearts and to expose our expectations.  Often, when those expectations do not happen we are disappointed.  But more than that, when the very opposite happens of what we want and expect, we can become very angry and upset.
 
            A lot of people are angry about radical Muslim groups killing and torturing Christians.  It is evil and it is upsetting.  In fact, many of the killings have taken place in the same geographical area as the ancient city of Nineveh.  Yet, perhaps God is asking us Western Christians who are looking for judgment the same question the little book of Jonah ends on:  “But there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world; should I not be concerned about that great number?”
 

 

            God wanted Jonah to share the same heart he has, and God desires to see us have a heart that beats for lost people to know Jesus – a heart that has grace and compassion even in the face of flat-out evil.  Sometimes God calls us to do what we least want to do in order to reveal what is really in our heart.  Hating people to the point of wanting nothing but destruction upon them does nothing to bring about the righteous life that God desires.  But the blood of Jesus Christ has the power to bring healing and hope, even to the worst of sinners.  Thank you, Jesus, may it be so.

God’s Provision for Daily Life

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
God has provided everything we need today for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-9).  
 
Don’t just pass over that important biblical statement; let it sink in.  If that is really true (and it is!) then it is imperative that we learn how to utilize this divine provision in our daily lives.
 
The Apostle Paul said he was not ashamed of Christianity because it worked (Romans 1:16).  
 
There is nothing more practical, beneficial, and enjoyable than the application of biblical truth to our lives each and every day.  
 
Again, let that statement soak into the soul.  If we do not believe this, and think other things will bring greater joy, then it is no wonder that our lives would be characterized by cranky behavior and general anxiety about everything.  Rather, the application of biblical truth is an experience of getting to know Jesus Christ better, and becoming more involved with God.  This involvement, characterized by faith, hope, and love, increasingly transforms every area of the Christian’s character and life.  
 
It is not God’s will that we fail in living the Christian life.  
 
It is not his will that a church have ineffective ministry and milquetoast believers mumbling songs through a worship service; avoiding significant fellowship with other believers; and, unable to witness to their faith.  No, instead, we have all we need to love God, love one another, and love the world.
 
             If we are experiencing inner transformation; enjoyable fellowship; progressive deliverance from the power of sin; and, continual enablement to live a holy life and be an effective witness to the person and work of Jesus; then we know the grace of God in our current experience.  Living this kind of life will keep us from yielding to temptation.  It will motivate us to read the Bible and pray.  It will help us live above criticism and pretense.  It will cause others to understand we are genuine Christians.  And the most important benefit of all is that this kind of life will glorify God, enable us to enjoy him and serve Christ’s church with gladness.
 
            So, why don’t more Christians experience this kind of life-giving knowledge and joy?  It is possible, even with the best of intentions, to be mistaken in some important area of belief.  Such mistakes and errors almost always produce incorrect actions.  And these mistakes end up becoming barriers to living an enjoyable and productive Christian life.  Here are just a few erroneous statements I have heard as a pastor:
 
1.      It’s the pastor’s job to do all that stuff (as if parishioners can live vicariously through their pastor).
2.      I’m not obligated to be part of a church (as if we don’t really need other believers).
3.      I don’t like reading (as if this gets us off the hook to personally read the Bible).
4.      I feel _____ (as if feelings are the final authority concerning what I should do or not do).
5.      That’s nice advice (as if what is heard in the sermon does not really need to be followed).
6.      God will lead people to Jesus (as if I have no responsibility to witness).
7.      I sincerely believe ______ (as if sincerity makes something true).
8.      If I can’t do it 100% I won’t do it at all (as if service depends on my effort, not God’s power).
9.      I might fail (as if the word “grace” doesn’t exist in Christianity).
10.  That might work for you, but it doesn’t work for me (as if certain people are exceptions to being used of God).
 
      What would you add to this list? 
      What are some of the hindrances which keep you from enjoying the Lord?  
 
      Living in error will ultimately lead to broken relationships, unhappiness, or futility because it disconnects us from the God of grace.  Instead, let’s continually drink from the deep fount of Scripture and let the Holy Spirit be our divine mentor in leading us to Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.

How to Handle Opposing Views

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
There are as many opinions, convictions, and beliefs as there are people.  Whether it is at the workplace, in the family, or in the family of God, the church, the differences among us are legion.  In New Testament times, Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus were very different from one another, and did not understand each other.  
 
Even though the Jewish Christians had come to embrace Jesus, they did not abandon their two-thousand year history of being with God.  They still held to their food laws and special days.  The Jewish believers thought the Gentiles should be like them, and they wanted the Gentiles to begin holding to the same ritualistic behavior that they had done for centuries.  The Gentiles did not comply.  So, the Jewish believers passed judgment on them and condemned them for the lack of sensitivity to the things of God (Romans 14:1-12).
 
On the other hand, the Gentile believers felt no reason to have such rules and regulations concerning their Christian lives, and they ate what they pleased and saw no need to hold to special Jewish days.  They could not understand why the Jewish Christians were so stuck in their traditions, and so the Gentiles looked down on the Jews as hopelessly misguided.  It was a potentially explosive situation.
 
It may not be the first-century, but the church has struggled with this teaching for its long two-thousand year history.  In fact, every church I have served has had their particular issues of “disputable matters” that they felt so strongly about that it crowded Jesus out of the center.  In my first pastorate, education was the big issue.  Some believed in Christian schools as the only real way to educate their kids.  Some felt that home-schooling was the only way to go because of the rottenness of the culture.  Others thought that public education needed the light of Christians participating and sent their kids to the local schools.  The problem was that each group sincerely believed they were right and everyone else was wrong.  It was a potentially explosive situation.
 
            In another church I served, there were hard feelings about the place of men and women in the church who had been divorced and remarried.  In yet another church, the issue was about whether church members could drink alcohol or not.  And yet another church’s issue dealt with how we dress and what our attire is at church.  I still remember vividly one lady in that church talking with a woman who had just two weeks before given her life to Christ out of a life of prostitution.  The woman was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  The church lady was giving her a lecture about how she should be dressing up for Jesus.  And the whole time I am thinking to myself:  “Lady, I’m not sure you are going to like the woman’s idea of dressing up for Jesus….”
 
Whenever we want to place “disputable matters” on people’s must-do list, then there will be trouble. 
 
What is more, we will judge others who do not do as we do because we have the mistaken notion that our way of doing things is equal to the death and resurrection of Christ, as if not doing it our way will destroy the church.
 
 Is being right so important that we judge and condemn others who disagree with us?  
 
Here’s the deal:  we do not need to necessarily change our views on disputable matters; but we do need to change our attitude and our behavior toward those we disagree with.   
 
            For the Apostle Paul, the issues that divide Christians are very important, not because he championed one over the other, but because the church’s identitywas at stake.  For Paul, the really important question was this: 
 
Will the church be, at its center and core, a community of redeemed persons by the grace of God who center all their lives in the person and work of Jesus, or will the church be a community of opinionated individuals and groups all jockeying for power to have their way on how they think things should go?
 
            We need to use our freedom responsibly through basic human civility.  In a nation where we feel free to say whatever we want, we do.  In doing so, we elevate self-expression and our opinions over self-control and the mission of the church.  The need we have is for a “generous spaciousness” which allows room for us to discuss issues and disputable matters in an atmosphere of generosity, hospitality, and acceptance – seeking to first listen and understand before responding.  Our goal as Christians and followers of Jesus is not to win an argument or have our way; our goal is to uphold Jesus as Lord of everything and maintain our center in him, and him alone.  It is on this basis that we will be held accountable by God.  So, let us live wisely and well, knowing and pursuing Jesus with all heart, soul, mind, and strength.
 

 

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7).