Finding God Apart From Church

Charlie Brown was shooting arrows and then drawing a circle around the arrow. Lucy asked him what he was doing. Charlie said this way I never miss. We do the same thing when we are attempting to prove a point. We claim a prayer has been answered when there is no Bible support for the prayer we had prayed. We find a few things a person said we agree with and ignore what he says we do not agree with.

Many young adults are not intentionally avoiding the "church" they are unable to find it. Jesus said the world will know we are his disciples by our love. Over the years Christians have become blind to the reality that many congregations of the Church of Christ are unloving, non-evangelistic, elitist and cold to outsiders.

Like our friends in those many denominations we have formalized our assemblies. We are known for what we are against. Relative to everything but religion we say "united we stand divided we fall." The church of Christ very much refuses to unite with anyone even itself. If another congregation does the slightest thing with which they disagree they cross them off our list of the saved.

If congregations of the Church of Christ expect to attract we must be attractive. Groups attract people like themselves. Gray heads are not going to attract many under 30. Congregations with a majority under 40 are not going to attract many over 60. Unloving and uncaring congregations are not going to attract people who love and care.

While the world goes into eternity without hope the church of Christ prefers to argue if women should make announcements, or pass communion trays etc. If not for our format of sit and listen they argument would be moot. In an assembly in a house a woman standing up and handing a man a communion tray would go unnoticed. A woman telling the group about a sick friend would not be considered making announcements.

The church of Christ of the past 100 or so years is in serious trouble.

The Loving Approach to Evangelism

When Paul was evangelizing Jews he preached from the Jewish Scriptures (Acts 17:2).  When he was evangelizing Gentiles he did not make his case on what he as a Jew believed he made his case on the basis of what his Gentile audience believed.

In Acts 17 while discussing Christ "in the marketplace" Paul encountered some Stoic  and Epicurean philosophers who took him to the Areopagus to share his views with fellow philosophers (19). Paul began his speech not by "confronting their sin"  but by commending them for being "extremely religious." He based his commendation on the fact that these people had so many idolatrous objects of worship (22-23). If he had been talking with Jewish philosophers  his approach may have differed because Jews were expected to know and honor the Old Testament's prohibition on idols. But these were Gentiles so holding them accountable for things they didn't themselves believe would have been unwise, arrogant and rude. Though their idols offended Paul as a Jew (16) he complimented them for their sincerity.

Paul then noted that one of their "objects of … worship" contained the inscription, "To an unknown God." This acknowledged ignorance on their part provided Paul with an opening to present the Gospel. "What … you worship as unknown" Paul said "this I proclaim to you."  Rather than shooting at what one believes is wrong in another's life or way of thinking love looks for the best, looks for truth and then builds on it.  The loving approach to evangelism finds an area of expressed need, uncertainty, or longing and then seeks to meet it as Christ would.

When Paul presents the gospel to these people he doesn't do so on the basis of Scripture as he did earlier with Jews (1-2). Rather he quotes pagan philosophers (28) for these are the sources that have credibility to these folks, not Scripture. Paul builds his case on truths he finds in what the Epicureans and Stoics already believe. He presents Christ as the fulfillment of their own beliefs and the goal of the innate longing God has placed in all people at all times (26-27). While some "scoffed" at his claims others were intrigued enough to want to consider it further (32).

When evangelizing people who do not share one's own presuppositions this is the wise approach to take. Unfortunately Christians who take the "one nation under God" mindset too seriously are lulled into thinking that Americans generally share their presuppositions.  Being duped by the quasi-Christian civil religion, they treat average American citizens almost as if they were Christians who simply weren't living up to their calling. They think they are doing the people a favor by holding them accountable to things that are foreign to them.

Instead of respecting the integrity of people's beliefs, building on what is true about them we simply point out what we think is wrong. Rather than looking for the best, believing the best, and hoping for the best, we zero in on what we believe is the worst. Rather than serving people by taking the time to understand their worldview from the inside and looking for an opening within this worldview we assume they think like us and speak to them from within our own worldview. We unwittingly undermine the credibility of the gospel and do not communicate the central thing we are called to communicate God's love.

People who are shaped by the civil religion of America are no closer to the kingdom of God than people shaped by the civil religion of Buddhism, Islam, or Hinduism, It's nothing more that the civil religious veneer of the culture.  Our job is to serve our fellow Americans by building bridges that connect us with them and entering into their unique worldview jut as Paul did with his Gentile audience.

 

 

 

Re: Reference May 2010 Gospel Advocate “Defining Spirituality in the 1st Century.”

Reference May 2010 Gospel Advocate "Defining Spirituality in the 1^st Century."

 

Nice article. I have a question/comment. When discussing the Old Law I never hear this discussion. My question is am I missing something?

 

Paul wrote: Romans 2:12-16 "For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law; for it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus."

 

In the beginning, God had a special relationship with His creation where He spoke directly to heads of households. Eventually he selected Abraham through his son Isaac to begin the people through which Messiah would come. At that time there were two lines. Abraham through Isaac was one line (Jews) everyone else were the other (Gentiles).  

 

The Law of Moses was intended specifically for the Jews; to guide them to the point in time, the fullness of time, when Messiah would come. Everyone else (Gentiles) did not have the law but when by nature they did what the law required (moral aspects) became a law unto themselves allowing them to be acceptable to God and saved as were obedient Jews. When Paul talks about the Old Law being a schoolmaster he was referring to himself and other Jews not Gentiles.

 

On Pentecost, Peter announced the Good News of Jesus to the Jews, requiring the Jews to come to Jesus. The Law of Moses was intended to provide a way for Messiah to be born. Messiah being born removed any necessity for the Jews to be treated special by God. But the Law was not fulfilled until Jesus died, arose, and ascended. Stopping at any time prior to Jesus' return to the Father would have meant no Messiah and mankind would have been left in their sin. Meanwhile the Gentiles continued as they were being acceptable to God when they did by nature things of the Law. Cornelius as well as others were among that number. In Acts chapter 10 we have the accounting how God opened the kingdom of God to Gentiles. "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God." At this point the two lines, the descendants of Abraham through Isaac as well as the Gentiles were together in Jesus. Acts 10:1,2

 

May 2010, Gospel Advocate “Spiritual but not Religious.”

Justin Rogers:

 

Reference May 2010, Gospel Advocate "Spiritual but not Religious."

 

Interesting article. I try to look behind the response. An example is when you ask a child a question and they say "don't know." They know the answer but they have found that if they answer the question another question will follow. If they don't know the questions stop.  So the answer "don't know" does not mean they lack the knowledge they just are not interested in continuing this discussion.

 

I believe when the answer is Spiritual but Not Religious it means the assembly where you mostly sit and listen is not acceptable. Young people want to do something. They want to experience what it feels like to help someone, to teach someone.

 

Worship is serving others. Worship is not singing to each other, not praying for ourselves, not contributing for our own comfort but serving others. As Jesus did, as Jesus would do today.

 

My experience has been that the only reason one is removed from the "prayer list" is when they die. Why do our denominational friends believe God heals and answers prayers while my experience is he does not? For 45 years I have never seen anyone come off a prayer list because a serious illness was cured. Apparently God can handle a slight fever but has problems curing cancers.

 

Charlie Brown was shooting his bow and arrow. When he shot an arrow he would go up and draw a circle around it. Lucy asked him why he was doing that. Charlie said, "This way I never miss." We do that with prayer and Gods' response to prayer. Young adults don't want to settle for that. The Bible says the prayer of a righteous man avails much. My experience apparently has been to never know a righteous man because I have never seen where prayer does much good. But we continue to draw our circles.

 

Worship is not singing to each other, praying for ourselves, contributing for our own comfort, listening to an entertaining speech. We have memorial services all the time for friends who have died so calling the Lord's Supper worship is a stretch.

 

Young people do not want to settle for what we have settled for. Sit and listen is not acceptable to them. Spiritual but not religious does not necessarily mean separation but change. Change means inactivity to activity.

 

But as before, interesting article.

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

You are getting old when you just can't stand people who are intolerant.

Children and Sex

On the subject of children and sex this is a one discussion I never hear.

Throughout most of the 19th century, the minimum age of consent for sexual intercourse in many of the states was 10 years old. In Delaware it was seven; as late as 1930 twelve states allowed boys as young as 14 and girls as young as 12 to marry with parental consent.

Our laws say a girl under the age of 16 cannot consent to sex but if she becomes pregnant she can consent to aborting her parents' grandchild.

The transition between childhood and adulthood is much longer today than it was less than one hundred years ago. By the time a boy was a seasoned seventeen or eighteen, he was ready to start his own family. A girl became a woman by the time she reached childbearing age; twelve, thirteen, fourteen or fifteen and was often considered old enough to marry. The transition from childhood to adulthood was so short that adolescence---at least as the distinct stage of life we now consider it---hardly existed.

Today the traditional determinations of adulthood---the establishment of occupation and family---are routinely postponed until after college. With the period of childhood innocence seeming shorter and shorter, we've created a new ten-or-twelve-or-more-years-long designation, a no-man's land (or no-woman's land) we term adolescence.

We have stretched adolescence further than any time in history. We are fighting, nature and hormones. We are not going to win so what are we going to do?

Sunday school

Growing an adult Bible study class is not easy, but there are some simple steps to help grow class attendance:

• Make your lesson active not passive, focus on one or two questions per lesson. Make it a question that really doesn't have wrong answers.
• Find people to take care of the needs of each class member. Care group leaders take care of five or six people. The care group leader will call each person each week to encourage them to come to class or to find out why they haven't been coming to class.
• Grow from within. Class members invite others to our class.

Use of the Church Treasury

The example for what we do concerning giving (what we call worship) was for the poor saints in Jerusalem. We have changed that to using the funds mostly for our own benefit. Helping the poor appears to not be an option whether they be in or out of the called out. Preachers, buildings, secretaries, church supplies, pews etc are not addressed in the bible making them non biblical. Not wrong, just not biblical. Being not biblical means we can do whatever we like. Our (worship) contribution should go to helping the poor.That's what the purpose was for the collection we use as an example. The purpose for a Sunday collection then was for convenience which has been made law. Does someone see Pharisee?

All members of an organization should be willing to support the activities of that organization. When the leadership decides on an activity it is a reasonable expectation the members of that group will support the activities. That is reason enough to keep the membership informed and involved. Of course the organization has or at least most organizations have a limit to their funds and that limits what the organization can do.

How Much?

I've suggested before that the Bible appears to promote a communal style of living more than a capitalism life style. If I remember correctly you disagreed.  When we look at examples in Acts of how the early church functioned,  see verses below, you cannot say we operate as they did. Being willing to help is not the same level  of sharing as we read about in Acts. How much can we hold back and still have all things in common?

Acts 2:44-45   

    And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 

Acts 4:32   

    Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

You are getting old when you just can't stand people who are intolerant.

How Do We Know

Matthew tells a story of a man coming to Jesus and asking what he had to do to have eternal life. Jesus' response was to keep the Law. When the man said he did that Jesus told him he should sell what he had, give the money to the poor and come follow Jesus. In the story of the prodigal son the youngest son asked for his share of the inheritance. His father gave him the share which was 2/3rds of the value of the estate. Must have not put the father into the poor house because he continued to have servants etc. So when Jesus told the man to sell what he had and give to the poor I think it reasonable to understand it did not mean a totality of his possessions.

Luke tells the story of the farmer who had so much harvest he built bigger barns instead of sharing. How do those compare with us today investing our money instead of sharing it?

Jesus told his disciples, which today are us, to not be anxious about their life, what they will eat, nor about their  body, what they would put on.  We discount that and say that Jesus does not want us to be poor. Who would pay the preacher or pay for the building if no one had any money?

Jesus also said whomever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

How do we know when Jesus means what he says and does not mean what he says?

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

You are getting old when you just can't stand people who are intolerant.

When we use common English in place of church words some concepts are easier to comprehend.

• Saved by Grace turns out to be saved by the kindness of God. 
• Saved by Faith is saved by the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 
• Preach the Gospel is preach the Good News. 
• Baptism of the Holy Spirit is immersed by or in the Holy Spirit. 
• Confessing Jesus before man is acknowledging Jesus before man.  

Maybe we do not understand the Bible because we prefer to speak a different language than that of the Bible.

Church Growth Should Be Outside In

While there are nearly 100 million unchurched people in the U.S, more than 80% of the current growth registered by Protestant churches is biological or transfer growth. If the gospel really is good news, then why do most Christians avoid evangelism? 

Christ Like

When I hear the United States is or was a Christian nation I wonder which of our actions mimicked Christ. Was it our invasion of Iraq to save Kuwait from being conquered by their neighbor or was it our doing nothing while genocide occurred in Rwanda and Sudan? Could it have been our practice of slavery or possibly segration of the races?

Worship is Serving

John tells us:

 

John 13:3

    Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 

 

What did Jesus do with this divine authority? Again, John tells us,

 

John 13:4-5

    (Jesus) rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

 

Possessing all power in heaven and earth and knowing he is about to be betrayed and die a horrible death---and what does Jesus do? He assumes the position of a common household servant and washes the disciples' dirty, smelly feet---the very people he knows will betray and forsake him before morning!

 

This is what it means to follow Jesus. If you have all power in heaven and earth, use it to wash the feet of someone you know will betray you!  

 

Several hours later the same power was manifested in the Garden of Gethsemane. As temple guards were about to arrest Jesus, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, the slave of the high priest (John 18:10).

 

The world perpetuates violence but Jesus did not come to continue that. So, again, far from using his divine authority to fight back, calling legions of angels and forcefully controlling his enemy's behavior, Jesus used his divine authority to heal the ear of a man who came to arrest him. Jesus example is one of unconditional love by serving him, by healing him. Jesus was saying, "though you seek to do me harm I will serve you and heal you." Insofar as we trust this kind of power and think and act accordingly, we are bearers of the kingdom of God. Insofar as we do not we are simply participants in the kingdom of the world.

 

Paul wrote to the church in Rome,

 

Romans 12:1  

    I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (service). 

 

If we want to show homage to Jesus, to God, we practice servant leadership. We follow Jesus' example

John 14:9  

    Jesus said to him, "… Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. …? 

 

and obey his commands.

 

Worship is serving others. Worship is not singing to each other, not praying for ourselves, not contributing for our own comfort but serving others. As Jesus did, as Jesus would do today.

 

 

 

 

 

Re: Shock on NBC this morning

People who believe America is "one nation under God" may be inclined to view government as the handmaiden of God and inclined to rely on it to carry out the work God has called the church to carry out. More specifically, as with most other Americans, many Christians assume it's the church's job to take care of people's spiritual needs and the government's job to take care of people's physical needs. We preach the gospel while government is supposed to care for the poor, the homeless, the oppressed, the disabled, or the sick. Many deny they believe this but based on how the church acts which is always a better indication of true belief than profession the point is undeniable. With some exceptions, the Church of Christ as a whole is not known for its willingness to assume responsibility for these areas. I believe it fair to suggest this is due to the fact that we trust government to carry out these duties.

It is good for government to take care of people's physical needs but it is not a good thing for Christians to rely on government to carry out this function and thus limit themselves to ministering to people's spiritual needs.

Many Americans turn to the Old Testament more than the New Testament in their understanding of America and of the role of the church within America. They turn to models of Old Testament "watchmen" as in Ezekiel and of John the Baptist to understand what they are supposed to be doing in the culture instead of to the model of Jesus. Instead of living to sacrifice for others, we become the official "sin-pointer-outers." Instead of gaining a reputation of being humble servants who manifest Jesus-quality love, we gain a reputation for being moralistic and self-righteous. Thus as the Pharisees did,we drive off the prostitutes and tax-collectors rather than attracting them, as Jesus did.

There is no biblical basis for separating a person's physical needs from their spiritual ones.

Since Jesus did not fight to maintain Israel's place as God's people we cannot presume he has switched his favoritism to the United States.

Intellectually understanding versus Application

Recently in several classes we have discussed "not judging others."  We are told we will be judged with the same mercy we judge others. Since we will be judged with the same mercy we judge our judging must have some affect on the judged.

 

When Jesus had John write to those seven churches, he did not instruct or even encourage the "obedient" to leave the "disobedient?" In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote: "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand." James wrote: "There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" In each case the intended audience was people who had been immersed for the remission of their sins.

 

The non-instrumental division of the Church of Christ has many divisions that refuse to associate with each other. By refusing to assemble with other divisions isn't one division showing they think the other(s) are wrong and therefore "lost." When one group of people immersed for the forgiveness of their sins refuses to assemble with another group or people immersed for the forgiveness of their sins aren't they judging them?

 

What is the judging we are not to do?

 

Thanks, John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

"Telling shoeless people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps is not only cruel, it's also pointless."
Martin Luther King