To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain

"For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better.  Yet if I live, that means fruitful service for Christ.  I really don't know which is better.  I'm torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ.  That would be far better for me, but it is better for you that I live." Philippians 1:21-24 NLT

 

To make the best use of our life, we must remember two truths:

 

1.      Compared with eternity, life is extremely brief.

 

2.      Earth is only a temporary residence. We will not be here long, so we should not become too attached.

 

We should ask God to help us see life on earth as He sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more."

 

In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life-longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.

 

In God's eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity.

 

Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner.

 

When life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won't leave home-you'll go home.

 

The Great Commission is the marching orders for every Christian. alum

 

Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

 

Every congregation must plan ahead with faith and vision. Jesus has taught us the power of setting goals. I am still unable to understand the prejudice of people who do not set goals. Jesus, with a handful of men, not one of them with a college degree, set the greatest goal the world has ever known. He said, "I want you to go to all the world." … You cannot set a bigger goal than that.

 

There is no room for boredom. There is no room for stagnation. There is no room for deadness. Jesus gave us a goal that will always keep us reaching and growing and stretching until the Gospel is taken into all the world, every creature confesses the name of Jesus, ever knee bows, and every tongue confesses. The great tragedy of the local church is that sometimes we spend all of our time only keeping house, taking care of current business. But by the grace of God, we must plan ahead and vision.…

 

The truth of it is the church cannot coast. When a church lives in the past, instead of thanking God for the blessings today and planning ahead, it is an old dead church. There isn't any such thing as coasting in the work of the Lord.

 

The tragedy of coasting is that it is never up. It is always down. It is never for the better. It is always for the worse.

 

Coasting is always down hill. It takes no effort. It is a mockery. It promises such ease. Nobody gets upset coasting. We struggle uphill. We struggle swimming against the tide. But it is the only way to growth.

Strengthen My Hands

Nehemiah 6:1-9

 

    Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it ( although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),[2] Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono." But they intended to do me harm. [3] And I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" [4] And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.[5] In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.[6] In it was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. [7] And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, 'There is a king in Judah.' And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together." [8] Then I sent to him, saying, "No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind." [9] For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done." But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

 

 

Nehemiah did not ask God to wipe out his enemies, as we might have done. He did not ask God to give his daunting responsibility to someone else, which we almost surely would have. He did not even ask for the walls to be miraculously built by legions of angels overnight, which we may have at least tried. Instead, he prayed, "Strengthen my hands."

 

 

Sometimes God prefers to do the miracle in us or thorough us.

 

 

"Strengthen my hands." And God responded, as is revealed in the first five words of

 

 

Nehemiah 6:15

 

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days

No one would have believed it possible. Engineers are still marveling at the accomplishment. Mission Impossible became Mission Accomplished. Prayer guided, fueled, forced, and completed the impossible. Nehemiah refused to quit, and God did not fail to bless Nehemiah and the work. When God gave Nehemiah strength to complete the project, his enemies became so discouraged that they acknowledged that the rebuilding of the walls was the work of God!

 

Nehemiah 6:16

 

    And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 

 

 

The Concept of Holiness Baffles Most Americans

The concept of holiness is woven throughout the Bible and is one of the foundational teachings of many Protestant churches. From Old Testament passages such as

 

Leviticus 19:2

 

    "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 

 

through the more than two-dozen times in the New Testament where God's people are described as holy, there is little doubt that holiness is a central tenet of the Christian faith. However, most adults remain confused, if not daunted, by the concept.

 

Holiness Is Possible

 

Overall, 73% of adults believe that it is possible for someone to become holy, regardless of their past. 50%, however, say that they know someone they consider to be holy and 21% consider themselves to be holy.

 

The adults most likely to say they know someone they consider to be holy are those who describe holiness primarily as possessing a positive attitude toward God and life. Adults who think of holiness as a spiritual condition are among the least likely to identify anyone they know as holy.

 

The Meaning of Holiness

 

When pressed to describe what it means to be holy, adults gave a wide range of answers. The most common reply was "I don't know," offered by one out of every five adults (21%). Other responses fell into categories such as "being Christ-like" (19%), making faith your top priority in life (18%), living a pure or sinless lifestyle (12%), and having a good attitude about people and life (10%). Other response categories included focusing completely on God (9%), being guided by the Holy Spirit (9%), being born again (8%), reflecting the character of God (7%), exhibiting a moral lifestyle (5%), and accepting and practicing biblical truth (5%). Once again, the responses of born again and non-born again adults were virtually identical.

 

Not Obsessed With Holiness

 

Holiness is a matter embraced by the Christian Church, but it is not one that many Americans adopt as a focal point of their faith development. This is partially because barely one-third of Americans (35%) contend that "God expects you to become holy." A larger share of the born again public believes God has called them to holiness (46%) but that portion remains a minority of the born again population.

 

The types of people most likely to say that God expects them to become holy are evangelicals, Revolutionaries, people with a biblical worldview, and ethnic born again adults. In each of these segments, a majority stated that they firmly believe God expects them to be holy. The survey results also indicated that young adults (39 or younger) are less likely than middle-aged and older adults to believe that God expects holiness of His people.

 

Reflections on Holiness

 

The new survey findings, when combined with existing knowledge about the state of faith in America, caused the survey's director, George Barna, to suggest that churches need to take this body of information seriously.

 

"Realize that the results portray a body of Christians who attend church and read the Bible, but do not understand the concept or significance of holiness, do not personally desire to be holy, and therefore do little, if anything to pursue it. However, the data identify a remnant that understands holiness, wants to live a holy life, and is engaged in its pursuit. The challenge to the nation's Christian ministries is to foster a genuine hunger for holiness among the masses who claim they love God but who are ignorant about biblical teachings regarding holiness."

 

Pointing to data from several of his recent surveys on spiritual maturity in the U.S., Barna noted, "To initiate the education of people regarding holiness, we must arrest their attention and teach its importance. To align their hearts with the notion of being holy, we must move them away from a 'cheap grace' theology and replace people's self-absorption with focus on God and His ways. To help them pursue holiness, we must help them comprehend and accept biblical theology regarding God, Satan, the purposes of life on earth, the nature of spiritual transformation and maturity, and the necessity of bearing spiritual fruit."

 

Bible Reading in the Early Church

Many centuries have passed since the Gospel was first preached, and in times of oppression, persecution and spiritual darkness, when Bibles were scarce, some who could not read would listen carefully when the Scriptures were read and commit the precious words to memory. Learning by heart played a great part in the ancient world -- a fact which has to be remembered when we consider the educational work of the first Christian missionaries. Ordinary Christians carried a good deal in their minds...and there were some whose memories were prodigious. In the fourth century Eusebius met in Palestine a blind Egyptian, who had been exiled from his country, of whom he wrote, that "he possessed whole books of the Holy Scriptures, not on tables of stone, as the divine Apostle says, nor on skins of beasts or on papyrus, which moth and time can devour, but in his heart, so that, as from a rich literary treasure, he could, ever as he wished, repeat now passages from the Law and the Prophets, now from the historical books, now from the Gospels and the Apostolic Epistles."

--- Adolph Harnack

Bible Reading in the Early Church, 1912

Worship

Worship

In the Bible public worship is found in four stages of development. The first is the somewhat primitive mode practiced until the building of the temple. During this time no sharp line was drawn between private and public worship. In the second stage, it became highly organize in the Temple ritual which indeed had its origin in the tabernacle setup in the wilderness. It was led by priests assisted by the Levites, and included a complex ritual and system of sacrifices. The third state was that of the synagogue, which began during the Exile. This greatly differed from worship in the Temple. Whereas the latter was centralized in Jerusalem, the former was found wherever there were Jews. In the synagogues, however, the emphasis was more upon instruction than upon worship, although the latter was not neglected. The fourth stage was that of the early Christian churches. Jewish Christians continued, as long as they were permitted, to worship in the Temple and in the synagogue, although for them the whole ceremonial and sacrificial system ended with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Public Christian worship developed along the lines of the synagogue. It appears that from the first, Christians met in homes for private brotherhood meetings, and the time was the Lord’s Day.

The Hedgehog Concept

In his essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”

The essence of a Hedgehog Concept is to attain piercing clarity about how to produce the best long-term results, and then exercising the relentless discipline to say “No thank you” to opportunities that fail the hedgehog test.

The Hedgehog Concept in Social Sectors

• Passion: Understanding what your organization stands for (its core values) and why it exists (its mission or core purpose).
• Best at: Understanding what your organization can uniquely contribute to the people it touches, better than any other organization on the planet.
• Resource Engine: Understanding what best drives your resource engine, broken into three parts: time, money and brand. Time refers to how well you attract people to contribute their efforts. Money refers to sustained cash flow. Brand refers to our well you cultivate a deep well of emotional good will among supporters.

In 1995, officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) found an anonymous note posted on the bulletin board. “We’re not report takers,” the note proclaimed. “We’re the police.” The note testified to the psychological shift when then Police Commissioner William J Bratton inverted the focus from inputs to outputs.

Prior to Bratton, the NYPD assessed itself primarily on input variables such as arrests made, reports taken, cases closed, budgets met rather than on the output variable of reducing crime.

The difference between inputs and outputs is fundamental, yet frequently missed. The comparison of charities often includes ratings based in part on the percentage of budget spent on management, overhead and fundraising. It’s a well intentioned idea, but reflects profound confusion between inputs and outputs. What is the purpose of that charity? Think about it this way: If you rank collegiate athletic departments based on coaching salaries, you’d find that Stanford University has a higher coaching cost structure as a percentage of total expenses than some other Division I schools. Actually Stanford won the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletic Cup for best over all performance for 10 consecutive years, beating out all other major schools, while delivering athlete graduation rates above 80%. To rate Stanford low because it has a higher salary structure than some other schools would miss the main point that Stanford Athletics delivered exceptional performance, defined by the bottom-line outputs of athletic and academic achievement.

OK, but collegiate sports programs and police departments have one giant advantage: you can measure win records and crime rates. But what if your outputs are inherently not measurable? The basic idea is the same: separate inputs from outputs and hold yourself accountable for progress in outputs, even if those outputs defy measurement.

In Case We Forgot, Sin is Sin

The October 2008 edition of The Christian Chronicle has an article "Presidential race engages students."

 

The article reports that young evangelical Christians are less likely than their parents to vote based on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. An evangelical coordinator for Obama says the basket of moral issues that their generation is concerned about may be broader than their parents' or grandparents' generations. An evangelical coordinator for McCain does not challenge the perception that many younger voters are less passionate than their parents about overturning Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Parents and church leaders have taken for granted that younger Christians would share their views and failed to educate them on issues such as abortion and "the homosexual agenda."

 

Considering all of the issues it amazes me that anyone would vote for or against a candidate based on the candidate's views on such limited topics as abortion or homosexual rights neither of which either candidate can control.

 

Roe v Wade isn't what allowed abortion; abortions were already being done in 1960s against the law. The courts conformed to the social and moral changes that were taking place in society. Law reflects the morality of the people; without morals there can be no law. It is up us as parents and citizens in the way we raise our children, how we interact and talk with our friends and the good example we give to bring about changes to our culture toward greater respect for life.

 

Christians lost the battle Gay Rights long ago due to their acceptance of adultery, fornication, co-habitation, and intolerance of birth-control measure. Heterosexual sins heterosexuals understand, tolerate, and as the church in Corinth are proud of our tolerance.

 

When Christians watch 'R' and 'X' movies they are endorsing the activities in the movie. If it is permissible for Christians to observe heterosexuals engaged in sexual activities of all types, real or simulated, why not let homosexuals enjoy the same privileges? Heterosexuals recognize Common Law marriages so why not homosexual commitments and the associated legal privileges?

 

In case we forgot, sin is sin.

 

 

Soldiers at the Cross

Hi Rick,

 

Last night in your class I believe you asked how the soldiers could be no cruel etc.

 

Many years ago Adolph Eichmann, a Nazi soldier with great influence in what eventually was considered the Holocaust, was tracked down, kidnapped, taken to Israel, tried, convicted and executed. One of the witnesses, collapsed when Eichmann was brought into the court. Later the witness was asked what had caused him to collapse. He said through out the years he pictured Eichmann as a monster but when he saw him he realized Eichmann was not a monster but just a regular human being and that meant any of us could do what Eichmann had done. I believe that is correct.

 

We are the only country to use nuclear weapons. Add to that against civilians and additionally against women and children. We carpet bombed women and children in Germany. Unless you think of our pilots as monsters, normal men did those horrible acts and most probably did not miss much sleep. I believe some did but not many.

 

Negroes were considered less than human. I will leave the genocide of Native Americans to another day. A Native American, I believe of a Cheyenne tribe, in 1913 went to court and had himself declared a human being. Again, unless you think of our ancestors as monsters normal people did that.

 

Being a crossroads of major trade routes, Judea was important to Rome. Whoever ruled Judea had the primary responsibility of keeping everyone quiet i.e. no complaints to Rome

 

The commanders of the military had the primary responsibility of keeping Herod happy or at least quiet, again no complaints to Rome. To them Jesus was a Jew and not very important one, just a rabble rouser that could get everyone into trouble with Rome. That alone could be enough motivation to get down and dirty. While maybe not the best there were much worse assignments for the military. Jesus was also an example to the rest of the Jews to not push Herod or the military too far…

 

Sometime we can discuss how easy it would have been for Jesus to talk his way out of being executed and, knowing that, how he was very careful what he said and did. Then we would have all been up the creek with out the ole paddle.

 

 

Regards,
John Jenkins

865-803-8179 cell

Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@yahoo.com 

Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com 
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

Fibonacci: It's as easy as 1,2,3.

Mission of the GSMCOC

Considering the “mission” of Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ, the Catholic Church has a prayer :

“Look not on my (or our) sins, but on the faith of the church.”

I don’t believe bible support for such a concept can be found.

On the day of Pentecost did the 3,000 who were immersed and … the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved, assume a responsibility as that group (the called out)? As individuals?

The “Great Commission” was given to individuals and not to a group. Associating with other Christians does not relieve us individually of our personal responsibilities.

Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
And Jesus came and said to them, "… Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

While as a group “the called out” can take on a mission, no mission is automatically assigned to the group. No matter what the group collectively does, individually we will answer for ourselves.

Does the Bible support the concept we often hear that, an individual who cuts the grass or cleans the building (as a volunteer) or prints bulletins or takes out the trash and on and on, fulfills their individual Great Commission responsibilities? How much does our personal salvation depend upon what the group does?

Whatever we determine the mission of Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ to be, individually we are not relieved of any responsibilities.

What “mission, do we as a group want to take on that will help us fulfill our individual responsibilities?

When Songs Disappear

When Songs Disappear

 

One music historian estimated that 500,000 Christian songs have been written over the centuries of time.  Most singers today have a repertory of Christian songs that are far less than 1,000 songs.  This means that most songs that have been written are unknown in our age.

 

Most songwriters begin their creative career with a favorite style of song that they want to emulate as they compose their new songs.  If they are able to create quality songs, then those songs will be popular as long as the chosen style of those songs is popular.  If people lose interest in a specific style of singing, then most of the songs composed in that style will fade away.

 

There was a time in the past when people sang songs in the minor mode.  That style of music has vanished in the Western church, so the artists who wrote in that mode are forgotten.

 

For more than 200 years the gospel song was a popular song style.  Most of songwriters among churches of Christ in the 20th century wrote gospel songs.  I can remember attending song-writing classes where the universal assumption was that the gospel song was the normative model for any new song.  Today most people have little interest in learning new gospel songs, so many of those song writers are fading into the background.

 

Austin Taylor was a songwriter in the first half of the 20th century.  He wrote songs for evangelistic meetings and for congregational singing schools.  He was successful in promoting his songs, so several of them became popular for a time.  In recent years his fame has faded because his songs are no longer popular.

 

In the last 35 years the most popular song style has come to be known as the "praise song".  People who are successful in composing songs in that style are today's popular composers.  People who are still writing songs in the gospel song style are finding themselves ignored as people rush by in their quest for the newest praise song.

 

Some day history will repeat itself.  A new style of singing will become popular.  People will lose interest in singing praise songs.  Praise song composers will fade into the background as singers search out the newest songs in the newest style.

 

There are always exceptions to the historical model we have described to you.  Every style of Christian song that has been popular has had a few composers who have composed some fantastic masterpieces.  Those rare gems are still sung in most modern churches.  When you survey a major hymnal you will generally find a few songs in every style that survive on the pages of hymnals.  Most hymnals will present a balance of diverse styles.  But the more ancient the style the greater the demand for high quality.

 

Public Worship or ?

Society is too busy to reflect and think. Benjamin Franklin often spoke of discussion groups he participated in on various topics of the time. You might be surprised how many of the authors I have read write about regularly scheduled discussion groups they participate in to discuss subjects of interest both professional and personal. Such groups expose one to new ideas and possibly cause the participants to consider other ideas than only those they come up with.

On the subject of elders, preachers, and worship what we practice cannot be found in the Bible and when challenged, we claim expediency or tradition without really exploring the subject. Examples are: the church is experiencing a dearth of preachers but suggesting men may want assistance to go and preach to the lost instead of being a hired hand to preach to the already comfortably saved and to run the local congregation, by proxy if elders are involved, is not tolerated. There is a similar lacking of men seeking to be elders, but suggesting that men do not find it appealing to be saddled with total responsibility of running a local congregation and all of the accompanying stresses is possibly even less tolerated. People do not want to consider anything other than what they already "know" to be "the truth."

"Public Worship" (on Sunday) is not a Biblical theme. John 4:23-24

" … But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

does not command us to worship God. That text assumes that people will choose to worship God. The commandments in that text deal with how to worship God (in Spirit and truth). The woman at the well is obsessed with an ancient issue about where to worship --- at the ruins of a temple on Mount Gerizim or at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus said the time is coming when the issue of where to worship will be irrelevant. Where will not be an issue, rather how to worship.

Most of our people have never explored worshiping God in spirit and truth. The phrase "in spirit" in John's gospel means the emotional dimension of worship:

John 11:33

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

John 13:21

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me."

while the phrase "in truth" means the rational / intellectual / factual dimension of worship (John 14:6)

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Most members of the church of Christ are opposed to emotionality in worship (no clapping, no lifting of 'holy hands', no "Amens", etc.). We favor a rational-only approach to worship. So, we need to explore John 4 in greater detail and let Jesus guide us into a balanced approach to worship.

Nowhere does the Bible say "Go to church to worship God." But 1 Corinthians 14:26

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

(in its context of verses 23-25)

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

we are told that everything that happens in the assembly must contribute to the goal of building up the local congregation. Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

tells us the assembly serves the purpose of mutual encouragement and motivating one another toward love and good deeds.

Community worship is one of the ways we encourage one another. But in an assembly context we do have five acts of worship. Preaching is not worship. 50% of most assembly time is preaching. Singing is not always worship (examine songs like Soldiers of Christ, Arise / Send the Light / Angry Words, etc.) Most prayers are not worship (70% of most public prayers is seeking God's help for sick people).

Too Many Church Words

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.

 

Many of the terms we use are church words that we have via the King James Version, have no meaning to us other than being special church words. They go along with the idea that religion is the heart; life is of the brain and the two don't mix. Like Latin in the Catholic services for all those years. The ludicrousness of it all. People liked the Latin because although they did not understand what was being said it made them feel like they were in the presence of a special person, the local priest.

 

The gospel is good news for those who believe God exists that he loves us and we have access to him through Jesus. Jesus is not the goal, as many think; Jesus is The Way to the Father. The cache22 is no one can come to Jesus except the Father calls them. Try to explain that one sometime.

 

Holy is the translation of a word that means separateness and withdrawal. It, as applied to God, is associated with His pure loving nature and with people who have a personal relationship with Him.

 

Hope is a translation of words that mean confidence, trust, safety etc. The dictionary definition --- a feeling that what is wanted is likely to happen; desire accompanies by expectation.

 

Confess is to acknowledge.

 

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  We talk about increasing our faith and losing our faith. Nothing magical we increase or decrease our assurance of things hoped for our conviction of things not seen. Most people explain faith as belief which is the mental acceptance that something is true, even though absolute certainty may be absent. We are told that Satan believes. Satan has no faith in God, he knows and has seen God so faith is not necessary nor is it possible. Satan believes that what God has told him God will do but he, Satan, will not change. What an ego.

 

Baptism is immersion. Nothing magical just immersion. Peter wrote that immersion saves us, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we discuss the term do we require the people on Pentecost understand more than they did?  When they were convinced they had killed the Son of God they asked what should they do. A word  discussed last night is repent which means nothing to us today other than just another church word. We change our minds and change our direction all the time, we are repenting.

 

Grace, by analogy, signifies the kindness of God to man; again, nothing magical. When asked what the word means we usually hear unmerited favor. How about if it is just the kindness of God towards man? As with the word church, grace has, overtime, been changed to mean many things that it does not mean. We say grace before we eat?

 

Sanctify is to make holy, to set apart as holy; to consecrate (another word we do not understood used to define a term we do not understand); to make pure from sin; purify.

 

Elders: Lead and Respected

Quality of Leadership

One of the most important factors in the growth of any organization is the quality of its leadership. The same is true in the church. The elders of the church occupy a crucially important position. By their knowledge of God’s word, their vision, their zeal, and their consecration to the Lord, they will largely determine the future growth and development of the church. The work of being an elder is one of the most important and most difficult of all works known to man. The responsibilities and the obligations are heavy; the opportunities are great. To be qualified to be an elder and to be appointed to that work is the greatest honor within the church---and the greatest honor which Christians can receive.

Respect for Elders

Congregations also have responsibilities. They are to love and respect their elders. They are to follow the instructions and examples of their elders. Paul wrote to Timothy, “rebuke not an elder, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brethren”. Later in the same chapter Paul said: 1 Timothy 5:17-20 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer deserves his wages." Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

When Paul told Timothy that elders are worthy of double honor, he was indicating that in addition to honor and respect they also may be paid, as they have need for such pay. The context of the passage indicates that it is speaking of financial help.

Concerning the matter or respect for elders the apostle Peter wrote 1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.“ This statement is found in the passage in which he mentions the qualifications and work of elders. In a passage previously mentioned, the writer of the Hebrew letter wrote of respect that Christians are to have for their elders: Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”

Batsell Barrett Baxter
Family of God
A Study of the New Testament Church

Minority Rule Will Seal Your Doom

I want to mention one evil and vice in church work that can cause so much heartache and sorrow. I believe the policy is so inherently evil and wrong that it will guarantee the demise of any congregation and will make sure that growth is absolutely impossible. 

I am speaking of the Hitler and Stalin attitude of minority rule. Now, in the New Testament church every congregation had its own elders who had the oversight, and its own deacons who served under the elders, as did the evangelistic teachers. However, some congregations have adopted the policy that if one person objects to anything, any matter of expediency, the congregation will not do it. Can you imagine in your wildest dreams any successful American Corporation saying that anytime one stock holder disagreed on matters of judgment and expediency they would not go with the idea? This gives the brother who is born in the objective case and kickative mood a Stalin veto over every suggestion that is made.

I mention this point because I am convinced that such a policy error in the local congregation is so serious that it seals the doom of that church insofar as it ever being a growing and dynamic congregation.

Of course, if any elder or deacon or teacher or member wants to object, let them be heard. Let everybody have his say and nobody have his way all the time.  In other words, when the dust settles, in matters of expediency the minority must give in to the majority, or else we have minority rule, and the Biblical principle of "let every man esteem the other better than himself" is completely destroyed.

I love the story told by the late A. C. Dunkleberger, who was an elder here at the Madison church for years, and edited the daily afternoon paper. He said that many years ago a man on the square here in Davidson County in Nashville traded for a horse and buggy.

He was careful to ask if the horse was well broken, etc. He was assured that the horse was broken and that he was a fine buggy horse; just exactly what he needed.  After such assurance, he paid for the horse and buggy, sat in the buggy, and started home across the river to Madison. Just as soon as he was in the buggy, the horse started running away, and for many miles he ran as hard as he could before the new owner was finally able to stop him. The next day he took the horse back to the seller and explained what happened, and told him that he was given the assurance that the horse was broken. The seller just gave a brush of his hand and said, "Oh well, think nothing of it. Running away is just his natural gait."

Finding fault and criticizing, killing good ideas, and shooting down worthy programs is just a normal gait for some brethren. They are born in the objective case and kickative mood and are just naturally against everything.

Now, one of these good brethren can be tolerated without complete despair when you know that he is not likely to carry the day. After more level-headed and sensible brethren have spoken up, then everything may be all right. However, to place a Stalin veto in the hands of such a brother is absolutely unthinkable.

I would recommend to every young preacher in America to be sure and check this policy out before you accept work as a minister of the local church. If the brethren have the minority rule policy, you can know that the doom of that congregation is sealed and your work cannot be either pleasant, happy, or successful.

I have seen hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands of decisions made here at the Madison church over the last 31 years. I have seen every person in leadership graciously give in when it was evident that he was standing practically alone. The Bible teaches us in honor to prefer one another. We must learn to have our say without becoming upset and mad and pouty because we are unable to rule with an iron hand. It is so beautiful to see men in leadership positions able to make hundreds of decisions and move a great work ahead. It is frustrating and intolerable to see a great work scuttled and killed because of an unconscionable policy of minority rule.

Ira North

Balance

Purpose of the Church

If you ask typical church members why their church exists, you'll get a wide variety of answers. Most churches do not have a clear consensus on this issue. Win Arn, a consultant to churches, once told me about a survey he took. He surveyed members of nearly a thousand churches asking the question "Why does the church exist?" the results? Of the church members surveyed, 89 percent said "The church's purpose is to take care of my family's and my needs." For many, the role of the (preacher) is simply to keep the sheep who are already in the "pen" happy and not lose too many of them. Only 11 percent said, "The purpose of the church is to win the world for Jesus Christ."

Then, the (preachers) of the same churches were asked why the church exists. Amazingly the results were exactly opposite. Of the (preachers) surveyed, 90 percent said the purpose of the church was to win the world and 10 percent said it was to care for the needs of the members. Is it any wonder why we have conflict, confusion, and stagnation in many churches today? If the (preacher) and congregation can't even agree on why the church exists, conflict and disagreement on everything else is inevitable.

Unless the driving force behind a church is biblical, the health and growth of the church will never be what God intended.

Rick Warren

The Purpose Driven Church

Elders as Shepherds

The church universal's approach to church organization is intriguing.  Lacking elders we believe it is permissible for a segment of the male contingent of the congregation to run things, while we find it unacceptable for that same contingent to select 2 or 3 or more men to run things. Either way we are organized in a non-biblical order. What is our reasoning? Could it be we each want to be in on the running of things? That being correct deferring to a body of elders will be difficult.

 

One of the issues muddying the waters as to how elders relate to a congregation is the non-biblical use of preachers. For a group big on commands, examples, and necessary inferences we somehow come up with a preacher for the saved with responsibilities including but not limited to: producing a weekly publication, visiting the sick and shut-ins, marrying and burying the members, teaching at least one class each week and entertaining the congregation twice on Sunday. He must be "sound", think like the congregation and be on-call with perfect hair 24x7.

 

Within the last year Max Lucado stepped "down" (his word) from the pulpit and became a member of the congregation. He likened it to a university president resigning and becoming a member of the faculty. If nothing else good old Max has an ego. It is safe to say the elders at that congregation are a board of directors deferring to the president.

 

I am fascinated with the shepherd analogy. Shepherds do not "reason" with the sheep. If one goes off on a tangent the "rod and staff" come into play. That hook is not just for looks. Do you suppose the belligerent and obstinate become shepherd stew? Shepherds have been known to put a bell on their favorite or the smartest sheep and let the group follow the bell. All the shepherd has to do is make sure the bell sheep is going where the he likes. Dealing with one sheep is much easier than dealing with a whole flock. And then there is the sheepdog that nips and barks to get the flock to go where the shepherd wants.

 

On the other side, sheep are stupid and cowardly. Instead of fighting or running they will on occasion just lie down and await their fate. Some faint when challenged. They stink and some pee in their beard and if you turn your back on some they will butt you on the butt. 

 

I have long suggested the following:

 

• Preachers will stop running the local congregation and being the main source for congregational news and go off and preach the Gospel to those who are without hope and maybe take some of the congregation with them to learn how;
• Elders will pastor the individuals and do what they must be apt to do and that is to teach and guard;
• Deacons, since they have similar qualifications as the Elders, will assist the Elders in all of their responsibilities under the direct guidance of said Elders;
• The congregants (everyone, elder, deacon, preacher, evangelist, maintenance workers) will take care of the physical property, budget, study, attend, follow the leadership and encourage each other to love and good works and do the work they have been encouraged to perform.

Regards,
John Jenkins

865-803-8179 cell

Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@yahoo.com 

Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com 
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/

Hyperbole is the Best Thing Ever.