Category: Exploring Church Ministry Blog

Christian Unity

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
The rallying cry of the church is the gospel, living and proclaiming the message of Christ’s cross instead of grouping ourselves around voices that cater to our personal preferences.  That is the message the Apostle Paul made clear to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 1:10-18).
 
            There are two pledges we need to make to God and to each other in the church of Jesus Christ:  1) I will be a unifying church member; and, 2) I will not let my church be about my preferences and desires.
 
            God desires for Christians to get along and to work together, and that cannot happen if all we want is what we want.  Jesus himself said to his disciples and to us as his followers:  “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).  Unity in the church and communicating the message of forgiveness and love through the cross can only happen when people seek to be gracious to each other so that a watching world can see the validity of Christ within us.
 
            Christians all have a responsibility as followers of Jesus to be a source of unity and not division.  Paul said to the church at Ephesus that all believers are to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).  Unity does not just happen; it must be pursued and be a common value of everyone in the church.  Paul said to the church of the Colossians that the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are to be tied together with love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:14).  To the church of the Philippians, Paul was equally straightforward by saying that we are to be like-minded, having the same love for each other that we have for Jesus, being united in spirit and purpose.  We are to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility we are to consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:1-4).  Unity is common theme in all of Paul’s letters, and he considered it as a top priority that all the churches uphold the cross of Christ and sacrifice anything less in order to communicate God’s love in Christ to others.
 
            The specific problem in the Corinthian church was their allegiance to different individuals, that is, playing the game of favorite preacher and pastor and grouping around how that particular pastor teaches and does ministry.  It is a classic case of church members saying to each other:  “That’s not how so and so did it!”  Following our pet preachers ends up in division because people then focus on the methodsof ministry rather than the substanceof the ministry itself:  the wondrous cross of Christ that saves us from our pettiness and transforms us into forgiven people who spread forgiveness and healing through cauterizing wounds and being peacemakers.  In other words, our primary loyalty is to be Christ and the message of the cross, and not to particular personalities or programs.
 
            The sin of the Corinthians was misguided loyalties, and the answer to wrong priorities is to have Jesus and the cross our central and guiding allegiance.  The Corinthian believers were emotionally tied to the pastor who baptized them and who was a significant force for good in their lives.  It is more than understandable to have a special relationship with the pastor who baptized your children, or taught you, or was there for you when you needed it most.  What is not okay, however, is following that pastor as if he/she is Jesus, and insisting that church be done the way my favorite preacher does it.  Christian unity means to agree with one another about the good news of Christ, and let everything else be a matter of lesser importance.  Can you live with that?
 
            Here is a sobering reality that has been true throughout church history and is no different today:  not everyone in every church is there to follow Jesus – and as long as that is a reality, there will be schisms, factions, cliques, divisions and disunity because the visible church always has a mix of righteous and unrighteous people within it concerned more about power politics than humbly following Jesus and spreading his message of forgiveness. 
 
Yet, also a reality is that sin in the church has been taken seriously throughout history as something that destroys its unity and purity.  It has only been in the last three-hundred years that sin has been viewed as something that is only personal, and a matter between the individual and God.  In the early churches believers desiring to repent of their sins would typically spend a period of time fasting and praying and then appear before the entire church to make a public confession.  I am not necessarily endorsing that method for us, but the message remains essential:  to agree with one another and make peace by stopping the bleeding and bringing healing to the community of the redeemed.  The power of Christianity is in the blood of Jesus to forgive sins, and not in trying to ensure things get done the way we think they ought to get done in the way our favorite people do them.
 
            Thom Rainer is a nationally recognized church researcher.  In a survey of churches in membership decline, he found several common dominant behavior patterns that emerged.  Here are a few of them, and they all bring some form of disunity:
  1. Worship wars.  One or more factions in the church want the music just the way they like it.  Any deviation is met with anger and complaining.
  2. Viewing the preservation and protection of the church building as one of the highest priorities, above the church members’ spiritual growth and maturity.
  3. Particular programs are held in such high regard that, even if they are not effective, the church keeps doing them.
  4. Attitudes of entitlement.  A sense of deserving special treatment and attention.
  5. Greater concern about change than the gospel.  Rainer says, “Almost any noticeable changes in the church evoke the ire of many; but those same passions are not evident about participating in the work of the gospel to change lives.”
  6. Evangelistic apathy.  Very few members share their faith on a regular basis; they are more concerned for their own needs, and not so much of those outside the church.
One of the jobs of church leadership is to make sure that there is unity around the things that are most important to God.  Christian unity is not built on trying to keep everyone happy; it is built on the good news of Jesus Christ.  Paul said that the cross of Christ is more important than anything else, no matter how important we think that “something” may be.  Christians must unite around the gospel.  All the practical and important stuff of human life must be shaped and governed by the cross of Jesus, because that is where God’s power saved the world and where true hope lies for everyone. 
 

 

            Paul did not demand that all Christians be identical.  Instead, he invited us to identify with Jesus Christ first and last.  We all need God’s will done in our lives more than we need our preferences realized.  If that seems foolish, then let’s embrace foolishness because the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but the power of God for those who believe.  Even so, come Lord Jesus.

The Power of Testimony

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            My favorite football player of all time was not a Green Bay Packer (sorry Wisconsin peeps!); it is Kurt Warner.  There is much in his testimony that I relate to.  He grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the same place my wife grew up.  He played football at Northern Iowa, which is also my alma mater.  Here is what Kurt Warner has to say about his life in a nutshell:
            “I was raised in the church, so faith and God were part of my life, but for me it was just kind of there only on Sundays. I always had God as a background, but I never truly accepted Jesus until I was about 25 years old. My arena league teammates (before being in the NFL), a pastor friend and my future wife were constantly asking questions about my beliefs, and I began to question where I was and whether I had really put my complete faith in God. Their questions led me to the Truth – that faith is about a relationship, and it’s about Jesus. Up to that point, I had never really considered that. I struggled for so long and so many things went against me. I was swimming upstream. When I finally gave my life over to God, it was then the joy and happiness came into my life. I realized my role here on Earth was not to throw touchdown passes and win football games, although that is the position and the platform I was given. I realize my goal is to win as many people to Jesus as possible. I have an open-door policy, where I’m able to talk about what is most important to me, and, for me, God is #1.”
 
            Like Kurt Warner, I grew up with God only in the background of my life.  I remember going to church as a kid and having agonizing boredom be my experience.  When I became a teenager I dropped out of church and of really believing in God because I did not see any relevance to my life.  My family and my school could give testimony that I was a weird, stubborn kid who did what he wanted to do.  And it put me into a slimy pit, lost and far from God. 
 
            In all my years of church-going growing-up, I had never read my Bible.  But God was gracious to me.  I remembered all those sermons I heard about Jesus, and I gained a newfound sense of my own sinfulness and desire to read God’s Word.  God saved me.  My circumstances did not much change, but I did.  My loneliness turned to joy; my aimlessness turned into purpose; and, my selfishness became a deep concern for others.  My heart had been black, and what God did to change it was nothing less than miraculous.
 
            As a young woman, Frances Havergal, author of the hymns, “Take My Life and Let It Be” and “Like a River Glorious,” had a very quick temper – the kind that would explode. Afterward she would be mortified and confess it to the Lord. But then she would lose her temper, again and again.  One day after a particularly bad explosion, she threw herself down by her bed and wept. She prayed, “Lord, must it always be so? Will I always have this temper to keep me humble before you?”  While she was on her knees, the Lord brought a verse of Scripture in her mind: “The Egyptians whom you have seen today you will see no more forever.” God spoke those words to Moses when the Egyptians pursued the Israelites to take them back into bondage. Frances Havergal related the verse to her temper and the way in which Satan wanted to use it to pull her into bondage. She saw that God could take her temper away.  She asked, “Lord, could it be forever?”  It seemed to her that the words came back from the Lord, “Yes. No more, forever.”  Her sister said that from that day Frances Havergal never again lost her temper. She trusted God, and God did a miracle.
 
            We not only practice a personal faith, but we also have an equal responsibility to bless the church with our personal testimony of what God has done in our lives.  The telling of stories in which we declare what God has done is a necessary part of building up the Body of Christ and helping the congregation move forward.
 
            Let’s not shelve this idea of giving testimony to others as if it were only for pastors, missionaries, or other very religious people.  When a person decides to play hockey in twenty-degree below-zero weather, we might think that person is a little crazy; but if they love hockey that much, more power to them.  We must not think about Christianity in the same way, that if a person is passionate about Jesus and desires to tell others about what God has done for them, more power to them; just don’t expect me to go out in the cold and do that because it isn’t my thing!  Take this to heart:  Christianity is not a sport or a hobby; it is not a means to looking respectable; it cannot be reduced to church attendance and putting money in the offering plate.  Christianity is a life, a relationship with God through Jesus.  Try looking at marriage as simply showing up for supper and paying the bills and see how far that gets you!
 
            What if you feel like you have no testimony to give?  In the fall of 2000, doctors diagnosed Pastor Ed Dobson with Lou Gehrig’s disease, an incurable and fatal disease. The doctors gave him two to five years to live and predicted that he would spend most of that time in a disabled condition.  Shortly after he was diagnosed, Ed wanted someone to anoint him with oil and pray for healing. And he wanted someone to pray who really believed in healing. So Ed invited a friend, a Pentecostal pastor who had regular healing services, to come over and pray for him. Here’s how Ed described what happened:  “It was one of the most moving evenings of my entire life. He began by telling stories of people he had prayed for who were miraculously healed. He also told stories about people he had prayed for who were not healed and had passed away, receiving that ultimate and final healing. Before he prayed for me he gave me some advice:  ‘”Don’t become obsessed with getting healed, Ed,” he said. “If you get obsessed [with getting healed], you will lose your focus. Instead, get lost in the wonder of God; who knows what he will do for you!?”  This is some of the best advice I have ever received …. Since that night, I’ve been trying to get—and stay—lost in the wonder of God.”
 
            Sometimes, like in the case of Frances Havergal, God completely delivers.  Sometimes, like in the case of Ed Dobson, physical healing does not happen.  But in both cases, they each have a personal testimony of deliverance because either we can be delivered from our problem or situation, or we can have just as much the miracle of being delivered from the need to be delivered.
 

 

            New life comes not from a change of circumstances, but a change of heart.  When we have a firm reliance on God; when we have a glad obedience to God; and, when we have a readiness to give testimony to God’s actions, then we are living into God’s continuing narrative of changed lives.  Soli Deo Gloria.  

The Christian and Self-Worth

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
  
 
            One of the things that we must be clear about when it comes to living the Christian life is that God has made provision for the believer’s daily life to glorify him so that we may be successful in doing his will.  Toothless and ineffective Christians are persons whom do not know the truth about themselves.  Both truth and error are powerful.  If we think wrongly about who we are as Christians, we are like empty wells with no water to draw from.  Many of our problems, failures, and sins are largely due to our misunderstanding of the kind of person we are.  A profound result of this misunderstanding is a lack of self-worth.  When we are in error about who we really are, there is much limitation to what we can do in our lives.  We can neither solve the problem by comparing ourselves with others nor by trying to generate good feelings about ourselves.  Only through accepting what the Holy Scriptures say about us, and responding in faith, can we be truly helped.
 
            An important bedrock truth that we must understand about ourselves as believers in Jesus is that the Christian has been created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:16-17).  We can only begin to understand ourselves if we begin with creation.  Since God is a Person of infinite perfection and goodness, to be created in his image means we are persons of great potential and value.
 
            To be a person means that we are self-conscious and can make decisions. We also have inherent rights to know, to be heard, to feel, to have an opinion, to be honored, to develop potential, to assume responsibility, and to enjoy life and all creation.  In other words, God himself treats us as persons; therefore, we may not treat ourselves any less than that.
 
            God created us to know him, to understand spiritual truth and perform spiritual functions.  Because we are created by God, we are sacred individuals.  We commit a profound sin when we do not develop our potential and live as though life and fulfillment were graciously given by God for our good.  When we accept erroneous thoughts about ourselves (and we all have) then we almost always use that error to misinterpret our circumstances, relationships and opportunities.  Without even realizing it we bring confusion and failure into many if not all areas of our life.
 
            One of the clearest evidences that we do not know, accept, and practice the biblical truth of our self-worth is seen in our response to God’s Word.  Too often we read the Bible’s promises and say, “I can’t be like that!”  Or we read the Scripture’s commands and say, “I can’t do that!”  When we live that kind of unbelief and error in our lives the result is too often discouragement and/or criticism of others who seem to be successful in their Christian lives.
 
            Let’s get some genuine spiritual truth down deep in our bones:  the Christian has been and is loved by God(John 15:9; 17:23).  To be loved by God means that God recognizes us as persons, gives us our rightful place in his life, and will do what is right by us.  In other words, God has our back.  We must accept this truth.
 
            The Christian has been called to live in fellowship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9).  No greater honor could be bestowed on us than to be invited to interact with the Living God.  As we do, the door is open so God can minister to us and lead us into the knowledge and practice of his will.
 
            The Christian has been given divine revelation (Hebrews 1:1-3).  Having the Holy Scriptures available to us is the greatest possession we could ever receive.  There is nothing more powerful than the truth about God and his desires for our daily life.  Therefore, we commit a profound sin when we neglect and disobey what God has so graciously given us.
 
            The Christian has been made the object of divine redemption (Romans 5:8-9).  The great evidence of our human worth is the reality that Jesus Christ has secured our redemption from sin to himself.  Jesus, the Son of God, has loved us and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:20).
 
            The Christian has been made the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  The actual physical temple of the Old Testament was filled with the glory of God.  Today, through Christ’s redeeming love on the cross, every believer in Jesus is God’s temple.  Therefore, God wants to work in us and through us for his glory and honor.
 

 

            The conclusion to the matter is that the only way we will know true self-worth is to accept what the Bible says about us and respond by faith and love to its loving and redeeming message.  You are a person of infinite worth to God, so live into this wonderful truth.  May it be so.

Take Charge

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
  
 
           It would be wrongheaded if a coach relied only on drawing X’s and O’s on a whiteboard for his team without ever running plays and scrimmages in practices that hone the players’ ability to be successful in an actual game situation.  When it comes to the Christian life, it isn’t enough to listen to hundreds of sermons and amass only knowledge.  Jesus said that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free (John 8:32).  The Lord Christ was not simply referring to being familiar with the X’s and O’s of life, but practicing the freedom we have through taking charge of our thoughts, emotions, and body.
 
            We are to take the promises of God given to us as believers in Jesus and purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit (2 Corinthians 7:1).  Christians have an entire array of spiritual weapons to use in the goal of personal and corporate holiness.  Those weapons have divine power to demolish the strongholds of needless arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.  We have the ability as Christ’s followers to take captive every single thought and make it obedient to Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).  We are to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable (Philippians 4:8).  We must bring our bodies into subjection to what is most important to God so that our lives are not disqualified by bad behavior (1 Corinthians 9:27).
 
            The believer in Jesus has the ability to take charge of his/her thinking, emotional state, bodily desires, and daily life; therefore, we must do so.  It is important to recognize that we are not always responsible for the presence of a thought, emotion, or desire that pops up; but we certainly do have an obligation to reject all that is wrong in those areas.  In other words, to accept and act on a wrong thought or behavior is sinful.
 
            We are to take charge of our thinking.  The sinful nature of a person, the sinful world system, and demonic suggestions or accusations must be identified and rejected.  Our hearts are desperately wicked apart from God, and it is from the heart that evil thoughts proceed (Mark 7:21-22).  Everything that is in the world – our sinful cravings, lustful thoughts, and arrogant boasting – does not come from God but from a world under the dominion of the devil (1 John 2:16).  In the same way, temptation to evil thoughts and actions does not come from God but from the tempter of our souls (Genesis 3:1-5; Matthew 4:3; Revelation 12:9-11).
 
            We take charge of our thinking by refusing those thoughts that are wrong and aggressively choosing to think on correct thoughts.  We do this by putting off the old ways of speaking and acting, like lying or stealing, and putting on faith and love (Ephesians 4:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:8).  It is a good thing to actually speak out loud and say:  “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I take charge of my thinking.  I refuse to accept the thought of __________.  In full dependence on the true and living God I bring all my thinking into subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
 
            We are to take charge of our emotions.  It is just as wrong to accept a wrong emotion (such as hopelessness) and to act on it as it would be to accept a wrong bodily desire and act on it.  The believer has no reason to be hopeless and ought not accept and practice error.  We must reject all emotions that come from the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Instead, we are to accept the truth of having hope overflow in our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).  Then, we are to carefully practice it, over and over again, by faith.
 
            We are to take charge of our bodies.  We are to have spiritual control of how we handle our bodies.  Because Jesus died to sin once for all, we are to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ.  So, we are not to let sin call the shots in our mortal bodies so that we obey our sinful desires.  Instead, we are to offer the parts of our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:10-13).
 

 

            Here’s the deal:  Christ has delivered us from sin through his death on a cross; we are, therefore, to live into this deliverance through our practice of the truth.  We must be aggressive, choose to deny ourselves, and take charge of our lives so that we may glorify him.  It is time to avail ourselves of the grace that has been given us.  Victory comes through practice using the spiritual tools available to us in the context of community.  Therefore, the church is not optional equipment but absolutely vital to living a successful Christian life.  So, let’s get into the game because we have submitted ourselves to the continual practice of taking charge of our minds, emotions, and desires.  Soli Deo Gloria.