I understand the bible has many examples of individuals and congregations helping missionaries whom God had told to go leaving them without option if they were to obey. I believe some of those churches in the NT sent Paul and others after God told them he wanted Paul et al to go.
Folks say the "great commission" was meant for us but then say we can send. Did Jesus give the apostles the option to go or to send? Surely anyone can help anyone anytime to do something they want to do even though God has not instructed them to do it.
We already use the collection for the "poor saints in Jerusalem" as motivation to contribute to our own comforts and rummage sales are sinful. Others agree the bible says to baptize but it really means pour or sprinkle or whatever is convenient. If we keep the bible in context our responsibilities as well as our options remain clear.
During the interview the father said he had discussed possibility and probability with his son to no avail and when asked said he would not try that again.
Following the interview with the father, the interviewer spoke with a mother of different children. Unknown to the interviewer the mother had majored in statistics in college in China, her home country.
Since the shooting she says she has been focused on a rule of statistics she learned in college, which she calls the "large number certainty theorem" and explained how it applies. "We know that many people have guns, and we know that a certain number of people have disordered minds or bad intentions, and we also know that this is a huge country. In other words, the base is big. So, you know, mathematically, something somewhere will happen with certainty."
Fortunately the father of the 10-year-old did not discuss that theorem with his son.
The "helping us" is where I get off track. We are doing God's bidding why shouldn't he help us, if he can, without being asked? Why wouldn't he?
Jesus said he healed some people to show other folks he had the power to forgive sin. He did one thing that was easily verified to support folks believing another that could not be verified. That was then but today nothing? Are we sure we are not missing something? Are we sure we are as "correct" as we say we are? I doubt it and I wonder and I think of Paul's letter to the church in Thessalonica and his comments about folks not loving truth and God sending a delusion.
John Jenkins
865-803-8179 cell
Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
http://alumcave.blogspot.com/
Barney Fife: "Now here at the Rock we have two rules. Memorize them until you can say them in your sleep. Rule number one: obey all rules. Rule number two: no writing on the walls."
People have mental assent but without action there is no real belief. The situation with the father and son illustrates the deep desire of a parent to accomplish something
positive by using a process that undermines the very purpose of the action. I deal with trauma, acute stress and anxiety, and PTSD almost every day. His intent was good
and would have worked with some children, but without knowing a lot of background information about the father and the son and their previous revlationship, it is hard to say
what effect his approach will have long-term, or whether he should have used an entirely different approach. I would have suggested that all the children as a group, along with
their parents and teachers meet at a neutral place first for an activity, followed by the entire group arriving at their "new school" with parents, teachers, and security officers
present when they went inside to their "new" classroom". It will be hard for the children to ever go back to their old school. I know the point of your comment was about
trust, and not a therapeutic approach...just rambling thoughts of mine.
Some commands are specific and some have generic applications. I believe God never intended to say that everyone was to leave their homes and travel the world to
preach. Plenty of Scriptures in Acts and the Epistles speak of churches sending Paul and contributing to his ministry. I believe that satisfies the generic meaning of
the passage for those who will do better to stay home and support others. To my knowledge, though, I can't remember a time when the churches of Christ have ever
had more than 500 foreign missionaries in the field. That doesn't mean no one was "going" as Christians seem to exist in many countries where we have never sent
and 'American" missionary. We are not the only Christians charged with the mission of sharing Christ witht he world.
What do I believe God will do when we pray for spiritual growth? I believe when Christians pray for spiritual growth and they stay in the word the Holy Spirit does what
he came to do...He "helps us".
Al
-----Original Message-----
From: John Jenkins
Sent: Dec 30, 2012 9:10 PM
To: abehel@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Newsline Article - Church Growth
When Jesus told the disciples to "go in to all the world" did they have the option to go or to send?
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
I do not understand they had a choice. Jesus was not speaking to anyone other than those eleven and he was telling them to go. They had no option if they were to obey. If we accept that he was speaking to us we also would have no option but to go.
Recently I heard an interview of a father of two children who had survived the school shooting in Connecticut one of the children, a boy I believe 10 or so, cries lot and refuses to go to school. The father and boy have worked up to going to the school the boy should be attending and walking the halls, holding hands. The boy keeps the keys to the car in his pocket so his father cannot leave without him. When the father attempts to get the boy to "trust" him the boy says, "Last Friday if you had told me I would be safe you would have been wrong." That statement along with the fact the boy keeps the car keys in his pocket while he and his father are walking the halls of the school indicates he does not believe his father and worse does not trust his father. My guess is their relationship is changed forever.
Church growth may be hampered by the fact most members 1) do not believe what they are told by preachers/teachers; 2) to not believe one has to be a member of the Church of Christ to be saved; and 3) do not believe assembling with others is necessary nor is reading/studying the bible necessary. As I mentioned before when in one of your classes you said we want to go to Heaven because that is where our favorite people are and I said no, your favorite people are there each individual has to answer that question for themselves. It appears most people claiming to be Christian do not believe the "company position" on a number of subjects.
In your Newsline article when you say church growth depends on prayer what specifically do you expect God to do?
John Jenkins
865-803-8179 cell
Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
http://alumcave.blogspot.com/
[shouting to several prisoners]
Barney Fife: "Now here at the Rock we have two rules. Memorize them until you can say them in your sleep. Rule number one: obey all rules. Rule number two: no writing on the walls."
No comments:
Post a Comment