During the past couple of weeks, I have been considering how many opportunities to connect spiritually with God have been missed. Over the years, I have played many pageants and Christmas programs for various churches and been part of an offering to those who sat in the audience. Most of the time, I was focused on trying to perfect my part in the whole orchestration and I never really considered every aspect of what was taking place during the offering (specifically of a spiritual nature).
This past Friday and Saturday I was playing with the Clear Lake Symphony and while I always enjoy the music, I looked up on the screen and took in the words of the selections we were playing. The setting of words to so many of the songs really spoke to me and when talking to those in the audience, I discovered how edified they were from the musical performance offered. I also realized those in the churches of Christ have never edified or lifted those who have souls called to life through music.
The rules and regulations fabricated by men in my heritage held all of those things important to my spritual health as sinful and deviant to honest Christianity. The saddest aspect of this realization comes from having played so much music written to glorify and honor God and those people not capable of seeing the value of the selections written. These musicans spend their lives with a single purpose of reaching the core of our spiritual needs with music to honor God and lift us to a position in our lives where we can be used to the glory of God.
I would guess I find myself in a position of needing prayers because my heart wants to respond in hate to those who do not have the ability to recognize the working of God in these musicians and allow them to meet the needs of so many brothers and sisters needing edification. Effectively, those who have taken the leadership away from Christ have made decisions for Christ and negatively impacted the health of our Lord's body.
I am glad to have passed the point of condemnation for those glorifying God with their gift of music and look forward to every opportunity I have to share the opportunities I know of in my life with others. Those looking for an opportunity only have to look to those churches in your area this week who are offering every sort of Christmas celebration to the community. I will be playing at Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston this weekend but I notice signs on nearly every church I pass acknowledging special plans to help those in the community celebrate the gift of salvation given so many years ago in the form of a baby.
I mentioned one thing causing saddness but I think the greatest spear thrown at our Christianity almost daily by those claiming to have everything right and do everything right, is the spear telling others that Satan is responsible all of the music bringing Glory to God and obviously taking us all to hell.
Enjoy your Christmas season because I have missed too many!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Partnered With God?
who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 2 Timothy 1:9 NIV
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10 NIV
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? James 4:12 NIV
Over the past week or two, the idea of salvation has been churning in my thoughts and having spent time thinking about who is saved and who is not saved, I decided to share my current belief concerning our “mission” in God’s plan for the lost. As always, my thinking is heavily influenced by those I read and in a recent Reflection by Al Maxey, Quid Pro Quo Theology, I was able to better define my thoughts concerning “our part” in the plan of salvation. In Al’s Reflection, he also mentions and article by Dr. Garrett.
I really appreciate the work of Al Maxey and it looks like I need to begin reading more of Dr. Garrett. I mention this because both of these men have spent their lives in the study of scripture and their preparation comes from being in this field of study. My writing is usually off the top of my head and is basically the result of something I have been considering for some time. I find it important to place my thoughts in print as I make conclusions and come to my current position of belief. Hopefully, my beliefs will never get to the point of some I have been around over the years because some have not considered anything new in their belief for many years.
The title of this offering is “Partnered With God” and this past week when considering this thought, I even told people when it comes to saving the lost, we do not have anything to do with the salvation of another person. While I have heard the concept of God’s part and man’s part preached within my fellowship, I currently believe salvation to be something God has given and was planned, as mentioned in the quote above, before time began. I also believe Jesus came to save the lost and He is the one and only one responsible for the salvation offered to mankind.
I have mentioned in other comments how I believe every man, woman and child having lived and those who are still to come will have sufficient knowledge of God and Christ to be capable of responding to God with their heart in a way acceptable to receive the gift of salvation. Most of my years in the church have been spent defining the parameters of who is and who is not a member of God’s family and this was necessary because I/we felt a need or even a commandment of God to go out and SAVE the lost. The idea of all sin being forgiven on the cross was known and at the same time, foreign to us in our thinking. My mind accepted sin being forgiven, if and only if, I recognized the fact and responded in the appropriate manner to cover my sins with the blood of Christ.
Even as I type these words, I am still shackled by the official creed of the Churches of Christ and I am reminded of the writer asking how they shall know if no one preaches to them (my words). My training from childhood has been in the doctrine of each person being responsible for the salvation of another and it has been hard to accept God being responsible and me being nothing more than a tool of God in whatever He has planned.
I can hear the comments running through my mind expressing the sentiment of how many are lost because we have never reached them with the message of Christ. I can hear the burden of those in my past telling me how justified God is for condemning those who have not heard the message because they are sinners and the wages of sin is death. Ultimately, the reasoning results in millions of people having lived with no hope of salvation because MAN was a failure.
While I do not deny this is a possibility, I simply can’t accept God placing the success of His plan in the hand of a failure and in reality, His plan given to us in the bible says Jesus became man to take this burden upon Himself.
How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? 1 Corinthians 7:16 NIV
“Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.” John 5:34 NIV
He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.' Acts 11:14 NIV
After considering all just discussed, I think it is important to address so many of the scriptures, a few of which are quoted above, from which the idea of being burdened with this responsibility might have come. The quote from 1 Corinthians seems confusing and yet it reminds us of our inability to understand the saved or lost condition of those even in the close relationship of marriage. Over the years, I have been blinded by the idea of being responsible for salvation and failed to even notice how strongly the idea of not being able to know was being presented.
The message given to Cornelius wants to push us even deeper into the corner of responsibility because we see a comment made concerning the “message through which you and all your household will be saved.” Have I not mentioned in previous writing the belief of mine in Cornelius being saved before Peter ever got to him with this message?
One expression heard often in my past concerned the idea of scripture being twisted by those who were not “real Christians” or members of the Churches of Christ. Since many may not consider me a “real Christian,” I might as well admit the explanation is going to look pretty TWISTED. It might even look the same to those who do accept the validity of Christ working within my life and yet it is how I see what is being said!
I hope I have stated enough times the belief of Jesus completing His mission on the cross and being the only way for us to be saved. I have also stated before how I believe this gives God the ability to use the blood of His son to forgive any and all according to His plan whether it meets the definition of man or not.
The official doctrine of the Churches of Christ would claim, relative to Cornelius, the message brought by Peter would be heard and the response of him and his family to the message in belief, followed by confession and baptism would save him and all his household. Not being a bible scholar, like those mentioned above, I am looking at the words I have to consider and with the help and I believe guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life would ask a simple question. Could this passage not be saying he would simply be hearing of the one who came for him and would be responsible for his salvation on the day of judgment? In other words, When Peter comes to you, you will hear of the one who gave his life and through His blood you will be welcomed by the Father on that day. Read it again and possibly you will see it does not say man brought the opportunity of salvation but rather the knowledge of what is contained in the message. Notice also how Peter tells Cornelius he already knows the message. The only thing missing was knowledge of it including him on judgment day.
You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Acts 10:36 NIV
All of this can easily come across as downplaying the role of missionaries in our society and some have even suggested it might be wrong to take the message of Jesus to other nations if they are already considered to be part of the family by God and covered by the blood of Jesus. The official Church of Christ doctrine tells me we are actually taking the message of condemnation to those who reject the message of Jesus if the message we take is not the vehicle by which they are saved.
While I constantly am reminded of how wrong I can be, I believe those becoming missionaries are taking something extremely valuable to those who never have known the name Jesus. In fact, just like Cornelius, we may be taking the message to just the right people. We may be taking the message to the family of God. I know this can sound strange but Romans 3:1-2 would have me believe the only advantage the Jews had over the Gentiles under the Law of Moses was in knowing the oracles of God. It did not make them more or less acceptable to God but only gave them the joy of knowing the promise.
Those of us who know our future with God, those who know there is now no condemnation for those in Christ, have the joy and peace capable of sustaining us through any trial. We have no fear of what will be since we know the end. Those without this message live their lives not knowing what will come next, if anything.
Even while accepting the decision God might have to use us as the “primary” source of responding to him appropriately, I believe we take JOY and we take PEACE!
Salvation is entirely the gift of God and not a burden placed on us where our failure might keep others from being saved.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Fear of What?
I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, (Isaiah 51:12)
There have been great things happening on Wednesday night with my congregation as we have begun a study titled "Who Turned Out the Lights." It has been encouraging and exciting to hear my brothers and sisters speak honestly as we consider the letters addressed to the churches in Revelation. Needless to say, this has not been a tradition of my fellowship and instead of honesty of thought, others like myself, often consider their thoughts carefully so they will speak only the things appropriately representing the consensus of our fellowship.
One of the greatest conflicts coming to my mind when I consider the fellowship of my heritage is the idea of making sure we FEAR God and keep His commandments. In reality, this idea can be found in the bible but I "fear" we take it too far in the demonstration of our faith. This concept has long ceased to be the fear of God and taken on a new life of its own. In our previous desire to make sure we keep the commandments of God, we have given birth to the idea of fearing men who apparently SPEAK for God.
I fully believe each of us is either standing with or against God as we live out our lives. Unfortunately, we have taken on the responsibility of defining who is and is not standing with God as we use our own understanding of what it means to be part of His family. We grow up through a process of learning causing us to accept an idea of what is right and wrong in service to our God and when we discover the freedom of Christ, it is difficult to break free of the bonds holding us hostage.
Not called such last Wednesday, the idea of being held hostage by fear was clearly demonstrated in our discussion. The fear being discussed was not the fear of God, but rather the fear of men and if we allow this to continue, Satan will have won a great battle against the forces of righteousness.
Many fears were mentioned but it was common to hear fears relating to what others think when we do something not commonly thought of as acceptable in our fellowship assembly. When my heart is moved in response to God, I often feared what will be said if I say or in some cases sing according to the response perceived in my heart. There have been men (elders) tell me not to sing during the time communion trays are being passed through the auditorium and yes, I am fully aware some people are uncomfortable with this happening. From what I can tell, this is probably tied to the traditions of our fellowship and no real understanding of the bible or God. At times, my heart begs to sing and even be joyful during the time of communion and my fear of what others will say or do has caused me to "respect" their position.
Oddly, my response should have nothing to do with their response and we should each honor God without fear of the reprisal from someone not capable of enjoying the freedom found in Christ. I was raised to believe one person doing something during our worship time was effectively forcing all to participate. If someone sings then all are singing and yet you only have to lead singing a few times before you realize a great many people do not sing on any given song. I used to criticize them for not raising their voices to God and now realize there is no reason for them to participate in some facet of the service not speaking to them. The argument has also been taken to ridiculous extremes when preachers have preached all are using instruments in a service if even one is using an instrument.
I believe my grandfather had it right when he told me to follow along when a prayer was offered and add my own thoughts to the prayer offering as they were guided by the person leading prayer. The usual response relative to singing during communion is born from the idea forbidding the mixing of the various acts of worship and will state singing during communion interferes with the prayers being offered up to God. Turn the statement around and we have the prayers interfering with the singing of a song.
The statement is actually a valid argument and those wishing to sing have, in the past, been refused the opportunity to sing because the official "creed" of the Churches of Christ only allowed prayer during communion.
I look forward to the day when none of this will matter to anyone in the congregation and each person will lift their hearts to God according to the gift given to them by the Holy Spirit. After all, personal expression to God is not something God instructs me to control in the lives of others. It is a difficult thing when we attempt to quit running the Christian lives of others but hopefully it will allow us to focus on our own lives and offer ourselves more fully to God.
I started out with fear and so I will end with fear. The greatest fear I believe having bondage over my fellowship for the majority of my life is the fear of LOSING OUR SALVATION. In the words of Joe Beam, "Forgiven Forever," I can still hear him say this is most likely not as easy as we have accepted in the past. He does not deny the possibility but we have lived under the concept of our salvation being lost as a PROBABILITY! He goes on to say, "if Satan can't take our salvation from us, then his next best job will be to make us as ineffective as possible!"
My current fear is the accuracy of his statement with respect to our church fellowship today and recognizing Satan may be winning the battle to make us all ineffective as we "pretend" to live a life with hearts devoted to God.
I believe my grandfather had it right when he told me to follow along when a prayer was offered and add my own thoughts to the prayer offering as they were guided by the person leading prayer. The usual response relative to singing during communion is born from the idea forbidding the mixing of the various acts of worship and will state singing during communion interferes with the prayers being offered up to God. Turn the statement around and we have the prayers interfering with the singing of a song.
The statement is actually a valid argument and those wishing to sing have, in the past, been refused the opportunity to sing because the official "creed" of the Churches of Christ only allowed prayer during communion.
I look forward to the day when none of this will matter to anyone in the congregation and each person will lift their hearts to God according to the gift given to them by the Holy Spirit. After all, personal expression to God is not something God instructs me to control in the lives of others. It is a difficult thing when we attempt to quit running the Christian lives of others but hopefully it will allow us to focus on our own lives and offer ourselves more fully to God.
I started out with fear and so I will end with fear. The greatest fear I believe having bondage over my fellowship for the majority of my life is the fear of LOSING OUR SALVATION. In the words of Joe Beam, "Forgiven Forever," I can still hear him say this is most likely not as easy as we have accepted in the past. He does not deny the possibility but we have lived under the concept of our salvation being lost as a PROBABILITY! He goes on to say, "if Satan can't take our salvation from us, then his next best job will be to make us as ineffective as possible!"
My current fear is the accuracy of his statement with respect to our church fellowship today and recognizing Satan may be winning the battle to make us all ineffective as we "pretend" to live a life with hearts devoted to God.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Law of Moses and Worship
October went by and I am sure that some may be pleased to see me disappear from blogging. For some reason, I felt a need to make sure my focus was on my preparation for class and the students I would be addressing. 7th grade bible class continues to be a source of joy and I love to hear what comes from the mind of those kids when they are allowed to express their thoughts in a hostile free environment. We focus on a different bible character each week and yet we still have plenty of time for "what do you think" in class. From one of our lessons, we have begun using the phrase biblical or non-biblical to preface points of our discussion. Not obvious to many I have grown up around and yet extremely obvious to 7th graders is the concept that a direct statement from God in the bible is biblical and a statement from me or the student concerning the meaning of something in the bible is usually non-biblical and only our own ability of reasoning.
I have enjoyed the first two lessons of our Wednesday night focus on the churches addressed at the beginning of Revelation called "Who Turned Out The Lights" and tonight as we discussed the church at Smyrna, I wandered off topic just long enough to consider something I am bringing up with very little thought. Indeed, you might just have to check for yourself because it is completely off the top of my head with no preparation spent going back to the Law of Moses for a refresher of what is written.
I came up with a simple question. What has the Law of Moses to do with worship in the Old Testament? As I briefly considered the topic and even asked a few people to make comments on the subject, I quickly got the answer I am currently thinking. NOTHING!
Possibly, a refresher is needed and I am definitely open to the reader who might post and give me an example I was to lazy to consider for myself. However, I believe the Law of Moses was given as instruction to the way God wanted His people to live. Some things required under the law might be considered worshipful and yet I don't see the Law of Moses as instructing the people of God in worship.
If the premise of my thought can be verified (which I currently think is the case), then the Law of Moses has nothing to do with worship and the instruction of worship in the Old Testament has nothing to do with the Law of Moses. I know I have mentioned before how I believe a person might currently find the Law of Moses of no value to our salvation and would also state how if the Law was "nailed to the cross" as was taught by my heritage then eliminating it from the bible for the purpose of our use today would still leave us with much information concerning God and His will for mankind.
Looking at this question, I simply believe the Law of Moses was the way of God given to His people requiring them to actually be 100% obedient and the New Testament gives us a new way of life where our perfection is given in Christ and our obedience is wrapped up in living a "failed" life as we attempt to transform ourselves into the likeness of Christ.
In closing, I believe the physical act of worship has never had anything to do with our salvation under the Old Law or the New Law. In the very words of Jesus, we are told the worship will not be on the mountain or in the temple but rather something new. Worship in spirit and truth will be the kind of worship fragrant and fully acceptable to God.
The "acts of worship" as we often describe them today are simply artificial and of no real value to God. The value of these acts is found in what they do for us in the form of encouragement to be Christ-like. The acts of worship possibly can't be described any better than in the Psalms and yet we argue over those things which our human reasoning can accept as acceptable.
I am reminded of how my grandfather carried a small New Testament and Psalms with him in his pocket. I have never seen it stated but believe the Psalms were thought to be important even though the rest of the Old Testament was "not needed" for our daily walk with Christ. Maybe someone will correct me with the true reasoning for the Psalms to be added to the New Testament but I currently believe it is because it instructs in all we need to consider as we daily walk with Christ.
The heart of David, a man after God's own heart, is modeled in Psalms for us so we can transform our heart to be one after God's, as well.
I have enjoyed the first two lessons of our Wednesday night focus on the churches addressed at the beginning of Revelation called "Who Turned Out The Lights" and tonight as we discussed the church at Smyrna, I wandered off topic just long enough to consider something I am bringing up with very little thought. Indeed, you might just have to check for yourself because it is completely off the top of my head with no preparation spent going back to the Law of Moses for a refresher of what is written.
I came up with a simple question. What has the Law of Moses to do with worship in the Old Testament? As I briefly considered the topic and even asked a few people to make comments on the subject, I quickly got the answer I am currently thinking. NOTHING!
Possibly, a refresher is needed and I am definitely open to the reader who might post and give me an example I was to lazy to consider for myself. However, I believe the Law of Moses was given as instruction to the way God wanted His people to live. Some things required under the law might be considered worshipful and yet I don't see the Law of Moses as instructing the people of God in worship.
If the premise of my thought can be verified (which I currently think is the case), then the Law of Moses has nothing to do with worship and the instruction of worship in the Old Testament has nothing to do with the Law of Moses. I know I have mentioned before how I believe a person might currently find the Law of Moses of no value to our salvation and would also state how if the Law was "nailed to the cross" as was taught by my heritage then eliminating it from the bible for the purpose of our use today would still leave us with much information concerning God and His will for mankind.
Looking at this question, I simply believe the Law of Moses was the way of God given to His people requiring them to actually be 100% obedient and the New Testament gives us a new way of life where our perfection is given in Christ and our obedience is wrapped up in living a "failed" life as we attempt to transform ourselves into the likeness of Christ.
In closing, I believe the physical act of worship has never had anything to do with our salvation under the Old Law or the New Law. In the very words of Jesus, we are told the worship will not be on the mountain or in the temple but rather something new. Worship in spirit and truth will be the kind of worship fragrant and fully acceptable to God.
The "acts of worship" as we often describe them today are simply artificial and of no real value to God. The value of these acts is found in what they do for us in the form of encouragement to be Christ-like. The acts of worship possibly can't be described any better than in the Psalms and yet we argue over those things which our human reasoning can accept as acceptable.
I am reminded of how my grandfather carried a small New Testament and Psalms with him in his pocket. I have never seen it stated but believe the Psalms were thought to be important even though the rest of the Old Testament was "not needed" for our daily walk with Christ. Maybe someone will correct me with the true reasoning for the Psalms to be added to the New Testament but I currently believe it is because it instructs in all we need to consider as we daily walk with Christ.
The heart of David, a man after God's own heart, is modeled in Psalms for us so we can transform our heart to be one after God's, as well.
Monday, September 21, 2009
New Wine Does Fit An Old Skin
On Sunday, September 20, 2009, I was in Abilene and was excited to be able to visit with my youngest daughter, Lindsay and worship with her at the Minter Lane Church of Christ in Abilene. She spent some time looking for a congregation in Abilene when she got to town and knowing how frustrated she was with the concept of tradition trumping Christ, I was not sure if she would even end up within our fellowship. When I heard her talk of this congregation of saints, I was not sure what to expect when I visited but was thrilled after the worship service this past Sunday.
When I approached the building, it reminded me of several buildings I have entered in the past and everything is actually where it is supposed to be according to our denominational heritage. When I entered the auditorium, I stepped back in time with the wooden pews on each side holding the appropriate cards for visitors and membership. The building did have a great center aisle for those wishing a great place to walk for a wedding (had to put that in since my oldest is looking for a place to be married).
Being a song leader, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the song books placed neatly in the racks and I tried to think of a time when I had been in a building with song books this old but without looking at the date, it may have just been the wear of the books giving me this impression. I did notice the Minter Lane publication of a song book in the rack with the other book. It was not the usual words typed up so they could sing some other songs but rather a professional publication put together and stapled in the middle.
When we entered the building, we were given a worship guide reminding me of the worship guides I usually get when I visit a Baptist, Methodist or Lutheran service. I noticed a number of songs to be sung (few of which I knew) and several items listed for the day. One quick break in tradition was the use of more than one scripture reading and a reading done by the entire congregation. This was awesome!
Another break from the official Church of Christ traditional doctrine was one of the scripture readings being done by a woman. Yes, Christianity is not a “for men only club” found in most of our heritage. While one visit is not enough to see how much women are integrated into the worship experience, I would hope they also lead prayer, help with communion and teach from time to time. All of these things would most likely be offensive to several of the people I know but none of them is forbidden by anything other than the tradition of man speaking for God.
The singing was incredible, the lesson was awesome and I came away feeling edified and strengthened to walk the walk of a Christian this week. I know every group has their own hang-ups and I am sure this congregation is no exception to the rule. What pleases me greatly is the thought that our fellowship of Christians is coming out of the traditions of our past and knowing this group is probably one of the more conservative churches of Christ in the city of Abilene brought great excitement to the realization of Christ winning the battle over tradition.
Before closing this blog, I would have everyone know of one thing impressing me most in the handout this past Sunday. Everyone was being encouraged to attend and participate in the Great Communion planned for October 4, 2009. If you are in Abilene on October 4th of this year, you would be able to meet together with our brothers and sisters from the churches of Christ, the Christian Churches and the Disciples of Christ and share the communion of our Lord. What a great day this will be for Christians in this world to acknowledge we are all one in the Lord though we have a variety of traditions for our weekly observance.
My hat is off to the body of Christ at Minter Lane and pray God continues to bless them with an even greater blessing than was offered up for the children and students of all ages on Sunday so they can continue to be a great edification of Christians in Abilene.
Yes, the skin is an old skin but the wine of life flowing in this congregation is fresh and edifying to those who get a “taste.”
Friday, September 18, 2009
"The Way We Do Things"
I often find myself aggravated when I discover an organization of my affiliation making political statements of support for a candidate in the political forum. The National Education Association and Texas State Teachers Association are often on the opposite side of my belief system and yet I see them come out in support of candidates I would never support. I have often objected to this because the membership was never polled to determine if even a percentage of the active group believed in the statement of support. The honesty and integrity of various organizations is often found lacking in this area when communication with the membership and a statement reflecting a percentage of support from the membership given in representation of the complete organization would be an easy task.
In our church congregations, we often find ourselves in the same hierarchy of decision making because we have created something for the church of our Lord replacing Jesus as the head of the church. In our attempt to copy things from the first century congregations, with very little, if any, guidance from God in the bible, it is easy to recognize how we have appointed people as the decisions makers for the local church. It is so odd how I was part of those who condemned the Catholic Church and the other denominations for having this hierarchy of decision makers and yet I was guilty of the same thinking. I was even taught to use this characteristic of having a hierarchy to define those who were denominations and later it became the basis for me being able to understand how my own heritage of the churches of Christ was actually a denomination. Basically, all of us who have been part of church groups have been part of denominational structure after coming out of individual homes.
Moving back around to the point of this blog, referenced in the title, I have considered who is supposed to be the decision maker for the church body. In my thinking, the bible only indicates one head of the church and this is Christ! The Church (body of Christ) does not have a main part of the body, separate from the head called upon to make decisions for the body but rather a condition where all parts work together under the direction of the head.
My understanding of the bible has me believe each part of the body works to support each other but no part of the body gets to tell the other part NO! There is no one in the body of our Lord given the authority to tell another Christian "you can't do that" or "this is the way we do things." If this exists, I would sure like for someone to show me where it is. I often hear other Christians communicate a directive to other Christians describing how we are to obey the instruction of our elders and I still don't see anything in the bible replacing Jesus as the head. Elders are not called or appointed in the bible to be the decision makers for the body but rather the spiritual leaders. The very qualifications we are asked to consider in men who would be elders is a life without reproach and life they are living as an example of how we are to live.
The simple explanation for the conflict which exists within the body of Christ is found in those who first, believe there is a need to be right and second find a need in their own lives to tell another Christian what to and not to do. It is not enough in our lives to live the life Christ lived as an example and nothing more. We have to make others into ourselves.
I am encouraged to hear of so many congregations who are giving up on the concept of elder directed congregations in favor of elder led congregations. Many have examined the false doctrines of their past and realized the error of placing Christ (as the sign says) in a co-pilot seat.
My dad used a phrase I believe might have been used by many adults in the past of telling me not to do what he did but do what I was told. I must say that I have used this phrase many times and I don't believe it was the true philosophy of my dad (particularly in his last years) but it has been a policy very close to the one we have traditionally held in our churches of "do what I do or else you are not welcome as a brother."
Christ said "follow me" and even the apostle Paul said "follow me." The focus of what to follow is not found in rules but rather a life. Just my opinion, but the body needs to focus on following and, in reality, becoming Christ to the world.
I look forward to a time when someone told "you can't do that" or "we don't do that here," to simply say, in a loving manner, "who placed you at the head of the church?" The local church body may want to do something or not want to do something but it is not the position of man to say no or yes, but rather the body to say yes or no. The body is ready for the task if only each part will do what it is called upon to do and not try to instruct the other part of the body.
In our church congregations, we often find ourselves in the same hierarchy of decision making because we have created something for the church of our Lord replacing Jesus as the head of the church. In our attempt to copy things from the first century congregations, with very little, if any, guidance from God in the bible, it is easy to recognize how we have appointed people as the decisions makers for the local church. It is so odd how I was part of those who condemned the Catholic Church and the other denominations for having this hierarchy of decision makers and yet I was guilty of the same thinking. I was even taught to use this characteristic of having a hierarchy to define those who were denominations and later it became the basis for me being able to understand how my own heritage of the churches of Christ was actually a denomination. Basically, all of us who have been part of church groups have been part of denominational structure after coming out of individual homes.
Moving back around to the point of this blog, referenced in the title, I have considered who is supposed to be the decision maker for the church body. In my thinking, the bible only indicates one head of the church and this is Christ! The Church (body of Christ) does not have a main part of the body, separate from the head called upon to make decisions for the body but rather a condition where all parts work together under the direction of the head.
My understanding of the bible has me believe each part of the body works to support each other but no part of the body gets to tell the other part NO! There is no one in the body of our Lord given the authority to tell another Christian "you can't do that" or "this is the way we do things." If this exists, I would sure like for someone to show me where it is. I often hear other Christians communicate a directive to other Christians describing how we are to obey the instruction of our elders and I still don't see anything in the bible replacing Jesus as the head. Elders are not called or appointed in the bible to be the decision makers for the body but rather the spiritual leaders. The very qualifications we are asked to consider in men who would be elders is a life without reproach and life they are living as an example of how we are to live.
The simple explanation for the conflict which exists within the body of Christ is found in those who first, believe there is a need to be right and second find a need in their own lives to tell another Christian what to and not to do. It is not enough in our lives to live the life Christ lived as an example and nothing more. We have to make others into ourselves.
I am encouraged to hear of so many congregations who are giving up on the concept of elder directed congregations in favor of elder led congregations. Many have examined the false doctrines of their past and realized the error of placing Christ (as the sign says) in a co-pilot seat.
My dad used a phrase I believe might have been used by many adults in the past of telling me not to do what he did but do what I was told. I must say that I have used this phrase many times and I don't believe it was the true philosophy of my dad (particularly in his last years) but it has been a policy very close to the one we have traditionally held in our churches of "do what I do or else you are not welcome as a brother."
Christ said "follow me" and even the apostle Paul said "follow me." The focus of what to follow is not found in rules but rather a life. Just my opinion, but the body needs to focus on following and, in reality, becoming Christ to the world.
I look forward to a time when someone told "you can't do that" or "we don't do that here," to simply say, in a loving manner, "who placed you at the head of the church?" The local church body may want to do something or not want to do something but it is not the position of man to say no or yes, but rather the body to say yes or no. The body is ready for the task if only each part will do what it is called upon to do and not try to instruct the other part of the body.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Tracking "Our" Success
It has been a great afternoon and as I sat considering so many things, I came to consider how I have been raised in a fellowship of men and women who regularly track our success for God. I have had several ideas swimming through my mind lately but they all eventually came around to this concept and while I have not spent several days contemplating the idea of the effects this might have on our relationship with Christ, I currently believe, at least partly, it is responsible for the belief held in my fellowship of being able to accurately fulfill the will of God.
A primary goal of my fellowship has always been wrapped up in the number of baptisms we have within a year. In fact, just prior to sitting down to write, I found time to catch up on the Reflection writings of my great mentor in the faith Al Maxey and found myself impressed to discover how John Allen Gano had baptized over 10,000 persons in his lifetime and his son some 6,800 persons. http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx411.htm While this blog is not intended to downplay the awesome job of this preacher and his son, I have not been so impressed as to ignore the outcome we have often fostered in our own acts of taking Christ to others.
Our practice for so long following the baptism of a person was to hand them a book along the lines of “Now That I’m A Christian” and insure the education of the person into the dogma of our heritage. We may have had a “side goal” of helping them to develop a relationship with God but the primary focus of what I grew to know as “scriptural based teaching” was to place the burden of our legalism strongly on their conscience so they might know the “truth” of the true church; The Church of Christ! If the reader chooses to read the referenced Reflection above, he will soon discover how this man was not impressed with bringing someone into a relationship with the “local church” but rather a permanent relationship with God.
The beginning of this thought process focused around the joy I receive daily as I get to teach two 7th grade bible classes in school. These young minds are just getting to a point in their lives when the balance of always being told what to do and believe is being replaced with learning how to make decisions for themselves. As they learn from the myriad of mistakes they make on a daily basis (the same ones all of us made), they still find adults ready to tell them just “how things are.” Not being fond of pressing my dogma of education on the students, I am in the perfect place to inform them of the differences between what God has stated and man teaches. The questions they bring forth in class will often describe the same struggles being dealt with daily in our various church families and it is not uncommon for me to answer them with the realization of past “truth” being founded not in the bible but rather the will of man.
I once read a comment concerning the practice of some in public education to eliminate the family belief system and replace with the belief system of our society and I know this is the case having spent the majority of my teaching career in public education. What is now odd in my thinking is how I now seem to have a goal encouraging my students to think and make choices for themselves and not be restrained by the shackles their parents and church family wish to place on them.
I still find myself about to tell students the “truth” of the matter when questioned on some topic and yet, for the most part, I quickly make reference to the reality of men in my denomination forming a belief in one direction and those of other various denominations forming beliefs in another direction. Even this early in the year, I have been able to make reference to the reality of scripture not speaking to both point of views and how in their maturity they will be called upon to make decisions based on the faith they mature with Christ in their own lives. I hope they enjoy the honesty of the discussion because I know from email messages of the discussion content getting home.
Returning to the opening thoughts of this blog and hopefully bringing everything together, this idea formed by men relative to tracking our success indicates a mission we have come to believe exists for the church of our Lord. Stated simply, we believe we have the power to bring salvation to others and while this is currently the goal of many in the church, I do not believe our mission, the GREAT COMMISSION as some might call it from Jesus was ever intended to imply we have the power of salvation to give to anyone.
In truth, I was taught how some might not have the opportunity of being saved if I failed to do my part and effectively, I was responsible for some being lost and some being saved. We even refer to others as great warriors for the Lord based upon the number of baptisms happening in response to their efforts and yet salvation is not a gift of our labor but rather the gift of our savior.
In reality, when it comes to the “plan of salvation,” we have no part in success or failure and if the facts are told, there is NO FAILURE in the plan of salvation. Christ did everything needed and completely forgave all sin. With no part of salvation being part of our decision, we are either of the group thankful and devoted in our hearts to sharing the good news of God’s success or we choose to place our hearts far away from God in our lives and effectively spit in the face of Jesus.
I pray for the time when this realization becomes the norm and we begin to live a life thankful for all Christ has done. Unfortunately, those who must check off items from their list of legal requirements can only find support for their belief when totaling the number of successful conversions each year.
A primary goal of my fellowship has always been wrapped up in the number of baptisms we have within a year. In fact, just prior to sitting down to write, I found time to catch up on the Reflection writings of my great mentor in the faith Al Maxey and found myself impressed to discover how John Allen Gano had baptized over 10,000 persons in his lifetime and his son some 6,800 persons. http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx411.htm While this blog is not intended to downplay the awesome job of this preacher and his son, I have not been so impressed as to ignore the outcome we have often fostered in our own acts of taking Christ to others.
Our practice for so long following the baptism of a person was to hand them a book along the lines of “Now That I’m A Christian” and insure the education of the person into the dogma of our heritage. We may have had a “side goal” of helping them to develop a relationship with God but the primary focus of what I grew to know as “scriptural based teaching” was to place the burden of our legalism strongly on their conscience so they might know the “truth” of the true church; The Church of Christ! If the reader chooses to read the referenced Reflection above, he will soon discover how this man was not impressed with bringing someone into a relationship with the “local church” but rather a permanent relationship with God.
The beginning of this thought process focused around the joy I receive daily as I get to teach two 7th grade bible classes in school. These young minds are just getting to a point in their lives when the balance of always being told what to do and believe is being replaced with learning how to make decisions for themselves. As they learn from the myriad of mistakes they make on a daily basis (the same ones all of us made), they still find adults ready to tell them just “how things are.” Not being fond of pressing my dogma of education on the students, I am in the perfect place to inform them of the differences between what God has stated and man teaches. The questions they bring forth in class will often describe the same struggles being dealt with daily in our various church families and it is not uncommon for me to answer them with the realization of past “truth” being founded not in the bible but rather the will of man.
I once read a comment concerning the practice of some in public education to eliminate the family belief system and replace with the belief system of our society and I know this is the case having spent the majority of my teaching career in public education. What is now odd in my thinking is how I now seem to have a goal encouraging my students to think and make choices for themselves and not be restrained by the shackles their parents and church family wish to place on them.
I still find myself about to tell students the “truth” of the matter when questioned on some topic and yet, for the most part, I quickly make reference to the reality of men in my denomination forming a belief in one direction and those of other various denominations forming beliefs in another direction. Even this early in the year, I have been able to make reference to the reality of scripture not speaking to both point of views and how in their maturity they will be called upon to make decisions based on the faith they mature with Christ in their own lives. I hope they enjoy the honesty of the discussion because I know from email messages of the discussion content getting home.
Returning to the opening thoughts of this blog and hopefully bringing everything together, this idea formed by men relative to tracking our success indicates a mission we have come to believe exists for the church of our Lord. Stated simply, we believe we have the power to bring salvation to others and while this is currently the goal of many in the church, I do not believe our mission, the GREAT COMMISSION as some might call it from Jesus was ever intended to imply we have the power of salvation to give to anyone.
In truth, I was taught how some might not have the opportunity of being saved if I failed to do my part and effectively, I was responsible for some being lost and some being saved. We even refer to others as great warriors for the Lord based upon the number of baptisms happening in response to their efforts and yet salvation is not a gift of our labor but rather the gift of our savior.
In reality, when it comes to the “plan of salvation,” we have no part in success or failure and if the facts are told, there is NO FAILURE in the plan of salvation. Christ did everything needed and completely forgave all sin. With no part of salvation being part of our decision, we are either of the group thankful and devoted in our hearts to sharing the good news of God’s success or we choose to place our hearts far away from God in our lives and effectively spit in the face of Jesus.
I pray for the time when this realization becomes the norm and we begin to live a life thankful for all Christ has done. Unfortunately, those who must check off items from their list of legal requirements can only find support for their belief when totaling the number of successful conversions each year.
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