A church's personality

Detail from a church in Elora ON (V.Nesdoly)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation :1-17

TO CHEW ON: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Revelation 2:7, 11, 17


Those of us who have attended a variety of churches know that they have personalities as defined as any person’s. These church personalities come about because of various forces. The three letters to the churches in Revelation 2:1-17 and beyond illustrate what some of these forces are:

Location: The church at Pergamos was known to dwell “… where Satan’s throne is.” - Revelation 2:13.

Leadership: John scolded the weak leadership of Thyatira for allowing an evil Jezebel prophetess to teach and influence the congregation - Revelation 2:20.

History: The church at Smyrna had a history of tribulation, poverty, and persecution - Revelation 2:9.

Culture: The church at Ephesus had a culture of untiring work, patience, and holiness - Revelation 2:2,3.

Doctrine: The church of Pergamos tolerated bad doctrine - Revelation 2:14,15.

Let’s look at these aspects of our own churches as we seek to understand them, join ourselves to them, and represent them to the world.

• Where a church is located physically—town, city, country, near a university, in the middle of a factory town etc.—and the spiritual climate of that place will have a huge effect on what kind of a church it is. (Imagine belonging to a church like Pergamos, known to be situated in a hotbed of satanic activity!)

• A church with strong leaders that guard the congregation against false teachers will differ from one where leadership is easily persuaded and permissive. For Thyatira John prophesied sickness and death as God’s discipline for tolerating this false teacher - John 2:22,23

• A church’s history—the stories of its founding, growth, even its building, do much to determine its outlook. It sounds like the persecution Smyrna had gone through in the past had left a residue of fear in the congregation - Revelation 2:10.

• The culture of a church is often more caught than taught. It can easily become automatic and emotionless, as we follow along to fit in. It seems that may have been the case in Ephesus where the church had a reputation for good but the love had been squeezed out of its good actions - Revelation 2:4.

• The doctrine of a church—what it teaches as truth about God, the Bible etc.— may well be what draws us to a particular denomination and its neighborhood representative. I believe that must remain a foundation for us. We must not let a church’s other good qualities—its closeness to our home, its friendliness, its history, its beautiful building, overshadow our desire to be part of a congregation where truth is taught.

Let’s evaluate our churches objectively and compassionately with a view to understanding them, and helping to make them bodies that a modern John would praise and encourage.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for my church. Help me to understand it, pray for it, and take my place in it. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What's your mission statement?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 1:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God...To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints." Romans 1:1, 7a

Paul sure knew how to economize with words. Here using just a few, he spells out what his whole life is about. It's a lot like a modern mission statement.

Mission statements—formal short written statements of purpose—are normally connected to companies or organizations. According to Wikipedia, they often include:
1. The purpose and aim of the organization.
2. The organization's primary stakeholders.
3. Responsibility of the organization to those stakeholders.
4. Products and services offered.

If we substitute the word "person" for "organization" we have the framework for a personal mission statement. Paul's declaration about himself plugs in comfortably. We can learn a lot about determining our own priorities by studying his.

1. The purpose and aim of the person: "Paul a bondservant of Jesus Christ..."

My Bible's study notes explain:

"Bondservant — also translated 'servant' or 'slave' refers to an employee who was paid wages, often had considerable skills and responsibilities...But a bondservant could not resign and work for another employer. Highly educated and skilled people, as well as ordinary labourers were bondservants" Wayne Grudem, footnotes on Romans, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1548.

Paul's purpose was to serve Jesus in this lifelong bondservant way.

2. The person's primary stakeholders: "To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints..."

In his letters to the Romans Paul is addressing Roman Christians. Of course we know his "stakeholders" were far more numerous than that; his mission field included much of the then-known world. But I'm sure he never imagined that his words would reverberate through centuries, crossing continents and oceans, reaching us here in 2016!

3. Responsibility of the person to those stakeholders: "...called to be an apostle."

"Apostle here refers to the unique officers in the early church who had the power to govern the churches with absolute authority and to speak and write the very words of God without error..." Ibid).

Paul was clear about his job title and what responsibilities his position gave him toward the Christians who were his contemporaries.

4. Products and services offered: "...separated to the gospel of God."

Paul elaborates on the magnificence of his product of "good news" often through his writings, several times even within Romans 1:1-17. He reminds the Roman Christians that this gospel:

• was promised by the Old Testament prophets (Romans 1:2).

• is about Jesus—who was born physically as a son of David (Romans 1:3).

• and who was shown to be the son of God because He rose from the dead (Romans 1:4).

• is part and parcel of his (Paul's) service to God (Romans 1:9).

• is news he is proud, not ashamed of (Romans 1:16).

• is powerful to the extent of providing salvation to everyone who believes, both Jew and Gentile (Romans 1:16).

Paul's impact was no doubt due, somewhat at least, to his focus. He knew who he was, whom he served, the role he was to play in their lives, and the supernatural "product" he offered. I ask myself, would my life benefit from some of Paul's focus? Would yours?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Paul's purposeful, passionate life. Help me to sharpen my own life by studying his example. Amen.

MORE: Your mission statement
Have you ever written a statement of mission for your life? Try writing one. If you like, use the sentences below as a guide.

1. The purpose or aim of my life is to _____ .
2. My "stakeholders" are ______ .
3. I will fulfill my purpose to my stakeholders by _____ .
4. The product I offer is _____ .

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Administrator Titus

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Titus 1:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I appointed you." Titus 1:5

The book of Titus is a letter from Paul to the young Greek Christian Titus. He had traveled with Paul to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-3) and had represented him to the church in Corinth during Paul's third missionary journey (2 Corinthians 7:6,7).

Though Luke doesn't tell us the story of Paul's church plant in Crete, Titus 1:5 implies that Paul had been there with Titus and left him behind to oversee the churches. He was, among other things, an administrator.

Chances are that when we read about spiritual gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4), administration isn't the one that grabs our attention. We're much more likely to focus on evangelism, preaching, teaching, service, giving, or helps. However, gifts of administrations  (kubernesis -  #2941: governing; government) is on the list (1 Corinthians 12:28). Leading committees, planning the setup and cleanup of an event, organizing the food, advertising, ticket sales, and enlisting the ushers can be a Holy Spirit-inspired and -driven ability.

Some gifted Bible administrators were Joseph, Daniel and Nehemiah.

• Joseph found himself in charge wherever he was, from Potiphar's estate, to prison, to all of Egypt. 

• Daniel was part of the administrative bureaucracy of Babylon, selected and trained as a youth because of his wisdom, knowledge, and physical good looks. 

• Nehemiah went from being a cup-bearer for King Artaxerxes to overseeing the Jerusalem wall rebuild.

In the New Testament Paul entrusts both Timothy and Titus with administration in first century churches that grappled with challenging and difficult issues. In Titus's case, he and Paul embarked on a mission to Crete probably around A.D. 63-65. When Paul left Crete to care for other churches, he left Titus in charge to organize the young churches. His first job was to appoint bishops or leaders. Much of the book of Titus is instruction about church organization and how to select good leaders.

Do you know who the administrator is in your church? If things are going smoothly you probably haven't given it much thought. Because administration done well leads to a church's seamless and smooth operation. It's when things aren't organized that we notice.

Two challenges:
1. Let's pray more for the administration of our church and their chief administrator(s) which may or may not be the senior pastor.

2. If administration is lacking in our assemblies and it's bothering us, we could do more than criticize and complain. We could consider getting involved.

PRAYER: Dear God thank You for the variety of gifts in the church, including administration. I pray for the administrator of my church. Please show me what my part is to help the church run smoothly. Amen

MORE: Why spiritual gifts?

In the article "The Gifts of the Spirit," Dr. Kenneth Boa gives three reasons for Christians to discover and develop their spiritual gifts (of which administration is one):

A. You Will Be Satisfied

Knowing and using your gifts will give you an understanding of the unique and indispensable ministry you have been called to accomplish in the body of Christ. You will discover a significant part of your purpose for being on this planet and realize that God has made you competent to produce something that will last for eternity. You will have a sense of fulfillment and joy in the service of others as you become an available instrument through which the Holy Spirit can work.

In addition, knowledge of your spiritual gifts will greatly assist you in discerning and affirming the will of God at various points in your life. God will not call you to accomplish anything without giving you the power and enablement to do it. You will be able to make more intelligent decisions about possible involvement in specific opportunities and training in light of your God-given function in the body (Rom. 12:4). You will also use your time more effectively by focusing on the things you have been equipped to do well rather than expending your energy in areas of minimum potential.

B. Others Will Be Edified

Knowing and using your gifts will lead to the edification of other members of the body of Christ. As you exercise your spiritual gifts, you will play a substantial role in building up other Christians and leading them into maturity (Eph. 4:12-16). If you fail to develop your gifts or let them decline through disuse, your brothers and sisters in Christ will actually be hurt because they will be deprived of the unique ministry that only you could perform in their lives.

C. God Will Be Glorified

According to 1 Peter 4:10-11, your spiritual gifts are ultimately designed to bring glory to God. This is your highest calling, and it relates to all three Persons of the Godhead. As you use your spiritual gifts in conjunction with the power and fruit (especially love) of the Holy Spirit and in the name and Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Father receives the glory. 

Read entire...

Unlikely and despised

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 16:1-24

TO CHEW ON: “And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. Therefore let no one despise him.” 1 Corinthians 16:10-11

On January 10th this year, a young and relatively unknown women’s curling team won the right to represent Alberta in the Scott Tournament of Hearts. They did this by beating the veteran Shannon Kleibrink rink. After 22-year-old skip Valerie Sweeting’s final shot, there was stunned silence in the Calgary curling venue. Onlookers could scarcely believe their Goliath champions had fallen to a rink of unlikely and formerly ‘despised’ 21 to 23-year-olds.

We have the same tendency to despise – especially unlikely leaders – in the church. In our reading today, Paul tells the Corinthians not to despise (exoutheneo) Timothy. Why might they have done that?
- His youth.
- His less-than-ideal pedigree – he was part Hebrew, part Greek.
- His sickly, generally timid manner.

These same factors come into play as we evaluate our leaders. Their youth and inexperience, combined with things like trendy (weird, to us) clothes and hairstyles may, in our eyes, disqualify them from teaching us anything. They may be foreigners with hard-to-understand accents who sometimes use odd words making them sound less intelligent than they are. Or they may have personalities that don’t display well in the limelight – wooden speaking styles and a general lack of public polish.

Despite unlikely outward appearances, Paul instructs us to honor the leaders God gives us and treat them with respect. He speaks of how fractious preferring one minister over another is worldly. He talks of how, though God’s choices for leaders may seem unlikely to us, their success brings glory to Him because no way could they have achieved it by themselves.

Are there Timothys in your life? How do you treat them?

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to value and respect the leaders You have placed in my church. May I honor You with my attitude toward them. Amen.

MORE: A modern pastor's power

 The topic of pastoral power and church government is huge and fraught with minefields. Old Testament leaders (like Moses) had almost dictatorial powers – under God, of course. In the New Testament, elders and deacons helped govern the church. Through the years, churches have adjusted their government models to the cultures in which they exist. For those interested, here are a couple of articles that address church government and a pastor’s authority. I post them as jumping-off points for your thought – not because I completely endorse the position of the authors.

“The Pastor’s Authority” by Ray C. Stedman - This article talks about general principles of church organization and a pastor's power.

“The Elusive Biblical Model of Leadership” – This article explains how various models of church government evolved and how the Mennonite Brethren organize their churches.