The Interdependence of the Body

Another Jim Peterson quote:

Among the most basic truths concerning the Church is the fact that it is a Body, an organism. This means God never intended for individual members to function in isolation from one another. True, we are individually accountable to God, but the Christian life and ministry is not to be individualistic. We can’t do it by ourselves.

I find it interesting that God has refrained from giving all His gifts to a single individual. Of course He could have done so. At first glance, it might appear that He would get a lot more work done today if He would simply give each individual all he needs to carry on a ministry by himself. But instead God has made us all specialists. He has given us gifts in some areas and withheld them in others. We need our limitations as much as we need our strengths. Without our limitations, we could go it alone. With them, we become interdependent (Living Proof, p. 140).

The Myth of Omni-Competence

This is the way that many of us approach life: We have to have it all together, we can’t show any weakness, we have to be good at everything we do. And that mentality filters into the church and how we do ministry. But as Jim Peterson notes:

No one is good at everything, and we shouldn’t try to be. What God wants is for us to be good at what we’re good at, and let others in His body do the rest. We all have natural abilities, and all of us have been given spiritual gifts. Both of these are from God and we need to be good stewards of them.... When we see ourselves as a body, working in community with one another, we will find that what one person lacks, another person compensates for with his strengths (Lifestyle Discipleship, pp. 164-165).

On Offering Hope

Winston Smith warns about offering hope that does more harm than good:

Proverbs 25:20 warns potential hope-givers, “Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.” Imagine you’ve been listening to a couple share their story of heartbreak and desperation for nearly an hour and suddenly, realizing that you’ve got to wrap up your time with them in five minutes, you shift gears - time to give them some hope. You share a verse and a few words of assurance about God’s love and care for them. You can see that your efforts fall flat. In fact, they seem a little irritated. The comfort that they received through the entire session from just being heard, from knowing that you understand, from hearing your compassion and concern has been snatched away like a garment removed on a cold day. Suddenly they don’t feel very understood at all. In fact, it seems like you’re not taking their problems seriously. It’s not that they don’t believe God loves them, but it just came across as a pat answer, tagged onto the end of the session – and it was. You made it sound too simple. It felt like they just shared how their lives are falling apart and your response was to hum a few bars of The sun will come out tomorrow.

Preaching and Application

In the midst of a Review of Michael Horton, Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church (a book that I have not read), John Frame talks about Scripture and application:

Showing how the teachings of Scripture are related to us is what I call “application.” In this sense, preaching, teaching, and theology are all kinds of application. The application of Scripture shows us how Scripture ought to change our beliefs, actions, feelings, indeed every aspect of human life (1 Cor. 10:31). As I mentioned earlier, preaching cannot possibly have the precise emphasis that Scripture has, for its work is not to replicate Scripture but to apply Scripture to its readers.

In this sense, it is wrong to distinguish “interpretation” from “application” in preaching. Often people think that interpretation shows the original thrust of the biblical words to its original audience, while application relates the passage to us today. But a closer look reveals that even in expounding the “original thrust of the biblical words” we are putting those words into categories that are meaningful to modern hearers and readers. There is no point in the preparation of sermons and lessons at which we can ignore the contemporary audience.

A New Church in Essex County

Northshore Community Church is a church being planted in the Belle River, Ontario area. They are planning to "launch" in November 2009. Dan Valade is the church planter.

Their website is a Clover design (I love the concept and the look of the sites).

The Key Character Quality of a Pastor/Elder

According to 1 Timothy 3:6, a pastor/elder "must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.” It's been said that some people have twenty years of experience while others have one year of experience repeated twenty times. The point is, just because you’ve been a Christian a long time doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a mature Christian.

That being said, it does take time and experience and growth to become spiritually mature. New believers lack the maturity to handle the responsibility of being a pastor. In particular, Paul says they face the danger of becoming puffed up with pride, and consequently falling like Satan. And it’s not just the pride of being in a position of leadership. There’s also the danger of pride in how a person reacts to people and situations. Pride keeps us from being vulnerable and teachable. And it makes us defensive and dishonest and hurtful.

I take from this that a major concern in our spiritual development is learning to put pride to death and to clothe ourselves with humility. I think this character quality is so important that I would consider it the primary character issue in the life of a pastor. The key way for us to measure the spiritual maturity of a pastor is the humility he exhibits.

Guidelines for Corporate Prayer

Daniel Henderson shares these practical guidelines for corporate prayer:

1. Use the Scriptures – Learn to talk to God based on his word.
2. Rely on the Spirit – Submit to the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit as you pray.
3. Be specific – Keep your prayers targeted to the focus of particular themes for maximum agreement and continuity.
4. Keep your prayers short – You will have many opportunities to verbalize your prayers so be careful not to pray too long at a time.
5. Be sensitive as you pray – Listen to the Lord as he directs you in prayer. Listen to others that you might agree and complement their prayers.
6. Don’t sermonize for those present – Pray to God.

The Lord's Supper

Some foundational thoughts on the Lord's Supper or Communion, in a question and answer format (drawing from 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 and other scriptures):

1. Who takes part in the Lord’s Supper? The Lord’s Supper is for the church – for disciples of Jesus.

2. When is the Lord’s Supper to be eaten? It appears that in the early church the Lord’s Supper took place whenever the church gathered (v. 20; cf. Acts 20:7). Although this does not demand that we must do the same thing, it is a pattern we would do well to emulate. Also, we are to continue to regularly observe the Lord’s Supper until Jesus Christ returns (1 Corinthians 11:26).

3. What does the Lord’s Supper show? The Lord’s Supper confronts us with the work of Christ; it points to Jesus’ death (vv. 24-25). The bread represents the body of Jesus, which was sacrificed for our sins. Likewise, the cup represents the new covenant, which was secured or purchased by the blood of Jesus.

4. Why is the Lord’s Supper observed? Jesus commands us to observe the Lord’s Supper “in remembrance” of him. This is not merely an intellectual recalling of historical facts, but a response of faith to the death of Christ for our sins. It is the God-ordained means for reminding us of the cross and the gospel. At the same time it serves as a proclamation of the gospel (v. 26).

5. How is the Lord’s Supper to be observed? Paul warned the Corinthians to take part in the Lord’s Supper after they had first examined themselves. Specifically, they were to repent of their lack of concern for other members of the body. In the same way, we are to come to the Lord’s Supper in repentance, being reminded by the bread and the cup that Christ died us.

The Gospel and Social Action

Andy Naselli has some helpful notes from a talk by Carson on the Gospel and Social Action. A few of the key takeaways for me:

"If you become so consumed with genuine physical needs that you don't have time for gospel proclamation, then you're losing the gospel."

"If you merely assume the gospel while being excited about implications of the gospel, then the next generation may not even assume the gospel. Keep central what is central."

"It is wise and important to address the relief of suffering, but put it on an entire scale, namely, relief of suffering both in this life and the life to come."

Strategic Missions Support

Kevin DeYoung has some Questions for Your Missions Budget. Here are his four questions plus a few thoughts from each:

1. Are we supporting 1 Timothy 4:16 kind of people?

... We certainly don’t want to create an adversarial relationship with our missionaries by constantly checking their life and doctrine, but by some mechanism (e.g., through an annual report, through personal contact, through denominational oversight) we want to make sure we are sending out the sort of people we would be happy to have serving in our own churches.

2. Are we supporting ministry in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth?

... It would be pressing Acts 1:8 too far to think that we need to have our missions budget divided up exactly 25% into four different areas. But it makes sense that the priorities Jesus gave the disciples would be our priorities. We should be engaged in all four areas of missions. Jerusalem: ministry to those like us nearby. Judea: ministry to those like us away from us. Samaria: cross-cultural ministry that may be close to home. Ends of the earth: cross-cultural ministry that is far away.

3. Are we striking the right balance of word and deed in the ministries we support?

... So make sure that “word” missionaries know how to love people. Make sure your “deed” missionaries are looking for ways to tell others about Jesus Christ. And make sure you have room for both in your missions budget.

4. Are we giving priority to long-term missionaries?

... The church needs more people committed to cross-cultural missions for 5, 10, 25, or 50 years, especially in the places where the church is smallest or non-existent. Make sure your budget reflects this priority. It's not always as sexy as the youth trip to Kentucky, but it is the only way to win the world for Christ.