Tag: Church

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Getting the Church on Track

Why do we do church? For some, church is a habit. For others, it makes them feel good. For many, it is a refuge from the world. For still others, the word “church” brings bad memories of hurt.

But what is God’s design? What did He make it for? In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul lays out the basic message of Christianity. Human beings are created by God but forgiven freely by grace through faith. Those who believe are being transformed into the likeness of the truest human, Jesus. The letter to Romans is a marvelous explanation of these truths. Martin Luther said, “It is the chief part of the New Testament and the perfect gospel . . . the absolute epitome of the gospel.” And John Calvin said, “When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture.”

Near the end of the book of Romans, the Apostle gives two benedictions or declarations of blessing that indicate his desired result in the life of the Roman church. I believe that they encapsulate the purpose of the church. These benedictions are: “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:5-6, 13).

In this passage and the surrounding verses, I believe that Paul sets forth four key purposes for the church: to connect people to God, to help them grow in character, to connect people to one another, and to equip people to make an impact in the world.

First, he wants it to be a place that helps people connect with God. This may seem obvious, but it’s probably so obvious we can miss it. Everything the church does exists to make sure that people are living daily and moment by moment in a relationship of faith and love with the Triune God. The call of the church is always, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him” (Psalm 117:1).

How are we doing on that? Good questions to ask on this goal are: are we helping people who are not connected to God connect with God? Do we see people living more of their lives in the presence of God? Can we and do we share stories of people connecting with God better because of the work of our church?

Second, he wants it to be a place where people are growing in their character. He wants Christians to become more and more a people who are trusting in God and expecting Him to do good things (hope). He wants us to be filled joy and peace. Romans 15:13 describes beautifully what the results of the Gospel should be for human beings: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

In a series of talks John Ortberg did with Dallas Willard just before Willard’s death, he recounted a conversation that he had with Dallas about churches.

During one of the first times Dallas and I talked, I asked about the churches. Some churches are great at music and worship. Some churches are effective at evangelism or reaching folks outside of them. Other churches are teaching factories. Others are great at assimilating people. And still others are good at acts of justice and compassion. But, I asked Dallas, where are the churches that are producing abnormally loving and joyful, patient, courageous people in inexplicably high percentages?

It’s a great question. Are we seeing people grow in their character? Are we seeing people develop these virtues? Do we see transformation over time in the people who attend? Can we tell stories about it? This is one of the great purposes of the church, to aid in that process.

Third, Paul wants the church to be a place where people can build relationships that will help them connect with God and grow spiritually. He wants it to be a place where people connect with each other, accept each other, help each other grow, and build community.

One thing about churches is that they are in fact built on community. There are strong relationships, or the church probably wouldn’t exist. But there are a couple of ways we need to challenge the church on this point. How easy is it for newcomers to connect (hint: probably not as easy as you think)? Are people building new relationships and connecting across generations? Are the relationships that are built helping people grow in their character and relationship with God or are they merely social?

Fourth, the goal of the church is to send people out to make an impact in the world. The goal of the church is not the church. It is that the people in the church would take what they receive and bring it into their homes, schools, neighborhoods, and workplace and make an impact that will further God’s purposes in creation and redemption.

So, we should ask, is our church making a difference in the world? Are people interacting differently in their homes, schools, and workplace because of what they are receiving in the church? Can we share stories about what God is doing outside the church as a result of the work in the church?

If we cannot answer a lot of these questions in the affirmative, we need to get the church back on track. And once we get on track, we will need to immediately get it back on track. The law of entropy applies to organizations and individuals just as much as to the physical world. Renewal needs to be a way of life, as the theologian Richard Lovelace put it.

What this means is that we need to not only do the activities of the church. We need to do them with purpose. We need to be deliberately looking for results. Now, these results are only partly the result of our work. God is the one who gives the increase. But that means that we need to pray for these results as well as laboring for them.

Once we start looking for these results, we will realize that they are already happening to some degree. This reminds us that it is first and foremost God who builds the church. He has been working at it a long time, and He invites us to be a part of what He is doing. But we certainly should not rest with what has been done in the past. As the Apostle Paul said elsewhere, I want your love to abound more and more! (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10).

It is a mistake to think that simply because God is the primary builder of His Church that we have no part to play. We are co-workers, workers under Him. We have our part to play, and we have our responsibility. Our part is to discern what God is doing with the church and lean into it. Our part is to align our activities, hearts, and minds with what God is doing. When we do so, we can expect that we will see Him do great things through us and in us. He is the God of hope!

My encouragement to you is to think clearly about what the church is for. Don’t just let it be something that is vague. Think through it clearly and put all your labor and prayers into moving it in His direction. That is how we align ourselves with God and His work. That is how we bring renewal. That is how we get and keep the church on track.

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Where Heaven and Earth Meet

More than 3,000 years ago, God instructed His people to build a tent where His presence would dwell and heaven and earth would meet together.

Eventually, King Solomon replaced the tent with a permanent temple. Then, the temple was replaced with a non-geographic, portable worship in the Great Commission (Mt. 28:18 20). Nonetheless, reflection on this tent and its contents is a very pleasant thing. It teaches us about God, the world, human beings, Christ, worship, and the church. It’s not always easy to discern the exact meaning of every detail in it, but it is pleasant to think about. As the 17th century Dutch theologian Wilhelmus à Brakel said speaking of the high priest but equally applicable to the tent and the temple:

The entire priesthood, and particularly the high priest, was a glorious type of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the apostle subsequently shows us in his letter to the Hebrews. Furthermore, each particular matter had its specific meaning. However, we do not presume to be an expositor of each particular. We do indeed have our thoughts concerning this subject, and find meditation thereon a sweet work, but as we cannot speak about it with certainty, we shall remain silent, leaving everyone free in his thoughts concerning this. I wish to neither concur nor contradict, since we would not be able to agree with others in all things.

I think Brakel’s caution is helpful, but I believe we can share with each other our ideas that will help each other reflect on the meaning of the tent of God for us today.

To begin with, here is an overview of the structure of the tent with its furniture:

Here are a few suggestions for thinking about this structure:

  1. The tent is constructed as a picture of the universe. Earth is the outer court. The holy place is the heavens. The holy of holies is the highest heaven, the throne room of God (see the helpful discussion of this in Mitchell Kim and G.K. Beale’s excellent book on the temple, God Dwells Among Us).
  2. The ark represents God’s throne and law that is over the world. Note that the tablets of the Ten Commandments were in the ark.
  3. The altar of incense represents the prayers of the people by which they commune with God.
  4. The bronze altar and basin in the outer court represent the cleansing that sinners need and that God provides in order for them to come into His presence.
  5. The seven lights on the candlestick represent the seven visible lights in the sky and the light that God gives to the world through His Word.

As you think about the tent of God or the temple, one can conceive of a variety of ways in which the tent points to other realities in God’s revelation beyond the tent itself.

  1. The tent points to Jesus who is the One in whom heaven and earth meet (John 1:1, 14).
  2. The tent points to the work of Christ who is our great High Priest (Heb. 2:14 18), where earth and heaven meet in His atoning sacrifice.
  3. The tent points to the worship of the church because in it heaven and earth meet together (Heb. 12:22 24).
  4. The tent points to us, for with God’s Spirit dwelling in us, we become a place where heaven and earth meet together.
  5. The tent points to the new heavens and new earth when heaven and earth are finally and fully united together (Rev. 21:23).

There are innumerable other connections that one can draw. I find that these images help me see aspects of God and His work with us that I would not see as clearly otherwise. The Old Testament represents jewels just below the surface; the New has them on the surface. Both provide riches for our growth in grace and knowledge.

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Why We Don’t Get All We Could from Jesus

Where do we go when we are discouraged, confused, anxious, struggling with guilt, or lonely? The Christian answer to that is Jesus. In Jesus, God has made Himself available to us for our healing and restoration.

But how do we connect with Jesus?

When Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church (1 Cor. 12:3).

However, the Spirit does not give everyone the same gifts. He gives a variety of gifts to a variety of people (see 1 Cor. 12:4–6).

In Ephesians 4, we read that to “each one us grace has been give as Christ apportioned it” (4:7) He gives different gifts to different people. He gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers “to equip his people for works of service” (4:12). So the pastors and teachers equip, but the equipping is so that the people can serve one another.

Consequently, our connection with people is crucial to our healing and growth. As people speak the truth in love, “we will grow to become in every respect the mature body.” The body “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (4:16).

The point here is that there are a variety of gifts given to a variety of people to meet the needs of God’s people.

Now, why don’t we experience all that Christ has for us? The answer is that Jesus wants to give us His grace and His gifts, but He wants to do it through His people.

Oftentimes, when we are struggling with discouragement or anxiety, we think, “I need to go to Jesus for help.” That is true. I don’t want to downplay the importance of private communion with God.

However, we also can and should connect with Jesus through His people because He wants us to experience His grace through His people!

In other words, when we are feeling confused, discouraged, guilty, or hopeless, we need to seek out the people who have been gifted by Jesus to help us with such things. We can often isolate ourselves, but Jesus has the solution for us–waiting for us in connection with His people.

I have seen this over and over again in my life. I know that from time to time I can get in moments where I’m just stuck worrying or struggling with something. I can try to work through it on my own, but oftentimes I’m still stuck. Then, I can call a trusted friend to share it with. It’s amazing how often something that has gone round and round in my head can dissipate after connecting with a friend. I see it in a whole new light.

So, are you struggling with something today? Let me encourage you to connect with Jesus–through His church, His people. When you go to church this Sunday, look around at the congregation. These people represent the many gifts that Jesus has for you for your restoration and healing and growth in mutual service.

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The Advantages of Being Part of a Church

It’s easy to take people for granted. When people are present in our lives, it’s easy for us to miss the contribution they make, the support they give, and the comfort they provide.

The church is like that, too. It’s easy to miss its significant contribution to our lives.

An outside perspective can help us appreciate the things we take for granted. Dr. Roberta Gilbert is a psychiatrist and family therapist who has written a number of books on family relationships. She sought to apply these insights to the clergy in a series of seminars done at the request of several church leaders. You can read the substance of what she taught in her book Extraordinary Leadership.

In one of the chapters, she explains the benefits of being part of a congregation, and I found it very helpful and encouraging to me as a pastor.

Here’s what she says.

First, the congregation provides a unique support system. Family is probably our most important support system, but it has its limits. A congregation can provide an additional support system through the ups and downs of life. It can be a life line for anyone who is in times of great distress.

Second, in times of high stress and key turning points in our lives (she calls them “nodal events”) such as births, weddings, sickness, and funerals, the congregation and pastor provide a crucial calming influence and moral, social, spiritual, and even financial support. Continue reading “The Advantages of Being Part of a Church”

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The Goal of the Church Is Not the Church

Why did God establish the church? To glorify God and bless the world.

The interesting thing is that the particular individuals who make up the church don’t need to be very good at all at doing that to be part of the church.

First, the church is designed to be a place where anyone, believer or unbeliever, can come, make connections, and learn about God at their own pace (see a fuller explanation of this point here).

Second, anyone who professes faith in Jesus and promises by God’s grace to seek to follow Him is accepted as a brother and sister in Jesus Christ (see “Theses on Church Membership” for more on this here).

This means the door to the church and the kingdom of God is wide open. “Whosoever will may come.”

It is important for us to see, however, that we don’t want to leave people there. We want to help people become what they were made to be. “Therefore, let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Rom. 14:19). Edification–we keep building one another up.

Ultimately, our goal is to raise up leaders who will glorify God in the church in the world and bless themselves and others.

This doesn’t mean that everyone has to become a Pastor. We can and should be leaders where we are. This may mean that you seek to become a better parent (Eph. 6:1–4). It may mean that you find those who are in need and make clothes for them like Tabitha (Acts 9:36–39). It may mean that you reach out to someone and encourage them like Barnabas (Acts 9:26–27). It may mean you come alongside someone like Philip (Acts 8:26–40). It may mean you take a step across the aisle to love those you consider to be your enemies (Mt. 5:43–45). It may mean you start a business that will give people employment and honest labor, which in itself is glorifying to God (cf. Col. 3:22–4:1).

When you go to church this Sunday, think: everything we do in here is designed to be taken out there. We build one another up so we are better equipped to live in the world. We worship God together to be reminded that all things are for His glory. We build community in the church to make us better prepared to be a part of the larger world community.

That is the goal of the church, to glorify God and bless the world. Freely you have received. Freely give, not only to those in the church but to all (Gal. 6:9–10).

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