Corporate Worship, Personal Growth, Simple Church, Small Groups, Theology

Simple Church, Complex Reasoning Pt. I

For almost three years, I attended Sunday church in a local coffee shop with a group of friends.

The paradigm shift began for me in 2004. I was tasked with organizing and training leaders for a new small group ministry in the Bay Area Church of Christ’s 75 member campus ministry in Tampa, FL. To prepare, I’d gotten my hands on Buddy Bell’s small group training video series (which is excellent – here’s a good article by Buddy on small groups for your reading pleasure), popped the first DVD lesson in, and sat back to watch.

“You know what happened in 313 A.D.,” Buddy asked. “In 313 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity making it the state religion. A few years later the first church building (a cathedral) was built. For the first time in history, 300 years after the ascension of Jesus, people were staring at the back of each other’s heads listening to one man talk to them from a stage as their chief form of spiritual nourishment. The church went from being people centered to being preacher centered, and from being relationally focused to materially (building) focused. The advent of the church building has been one of the most successful, and most disastrous, things that has ever been introduced into church culture” (that’s nowhere near an exact quote, but what I remember taking from his lesson).

It was like this light went off in my head. Woah.

“The way most ‘do church,'” I thought, “doesn’t meet many people’s needs. It doesn’t develop leaders. It doesn’t give people an opportunity to exercise or discover their gifts in the assembly. It doesn’t allow all the teachers to teach, it doesn’t allow all the encouragers to encourage, and it doesn’t allow all the servants to serve. If someone has something God has laid on their heart to share, most of the time they’re forced to share it privately if at all. If someone has been led to write a spiritual song, what chance do they have of singing it? Who in the world said ministry should be a one way street? What if the preacher – the centerpiece of everything spiritual in that type of assembly – has had a terrible week and needs to be ministered to himself? What if he’s struggling with some secret sin – like an addiction to pornography – that no one else knows about? Should we really rely on one person to feed so many? Where did the idea for a ‘worship leader’ come from? And what in the world is up with quietly passing those plates around? I certainly don’t read about that in the Bible.”

These thoughts ran through my head every time I attended a Sunday gathering somewhere. “Something is missing,” I thought.

And I was right – in many churches, something is missing.

Restoration Movement?

As most readers here know, I’m a proud member of the fellowship known as the Churches of Christ. Since I was but a wee lad, I’ve attended churches with CoC roots. I did take a hiatus for quite a few years when my belief wavered and I saw no point to Christianity at all, but when God helped me overcome doubts, gave me the gift of my now unwavering faith, and I truly made Christ my Lord at the age of 23, I came back to the CoC.

The Churches of Christ represent one of the three main branches of something that started in the 1800s known as the Restoration Movement. The RM started as a unity movement. The plea of the leaders centered around encouraging those from Catholic, Orthodox, and denominational (Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc.) circles to return to New Testament forms of worship and doctrinal teaching. They believed that mainstream churches had veered away from the doctrines and traditions of the early church fathers mainly because they’d added to (or largely ignored) what’s to be learned about the first-century church through studying the Bible. They believed that, at it’s core, the idea of having a “denomination” was divisive and wrong. They didn’t believe the world should be full of Catholic Christians, Baptist Christians, or Methodist Christians – rather, the world should be full of Christians – no more, and no less. Thus, later came the mantra, “We are Christians only, but not the only Christians” (that last bit seems to have been forgotten by some).

I’m amazed at how many members of Restoration Movement Churches of Christ remain ignorant of the history surrounding our heritage. Many have accepted the traditions passed down from their fathers and mothers having never taken the time to examine where those traditions came from, why we are where we are today in our views, or why we practice the things we practice.

If you have a bit of time, I highly recommend reading over Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address– the remarkable document that eventually led to the modern Restoration Movement. If you have less time, Wikipedia has a good synopsis of it as well as some background info on Thomas Campbell. Here’s a quote:

“… division among the Christians is a horrid evil, fraught with many evils. It is antichristian, as it destroys the visible unity of the body of Christ; as if he were divided against himself, excluding and excommunicating a part of himself. It is antiscriptural, as being strictly prohibited by his sovereign authority; a direct violation of his express command. It is antinatural, as it excites Christians to contemn, to hate, and oppose one another, who are bound by the highest and most endearing obligations to love each other as brethren, even as Christ has loved them….”

The Wikipedia article correctly points out that there’s always existed a tension in the RM between unity and restoration. In Churches of Christ, the ideal of restoration won out over the ideal of unity long ago. We are a fellowship that prides ourselves on doing things the way they were done in the first century, and on teaching things the way they were taught in the first century … but can we really make that claim?

Sure, we can make the claim, but I’m in Texas right now and know of a cult up the highway in Waco that made the claim too. I guess a better question is this: is the claim really true?

Similar, but different.

While there are many similarities between what mainstream Churches of Christ teach and practice and what the first century Christians taught and practiced, there are some striking differences as well, and, as far as church practice goes (or “doing church”), the differences greatly outweigh the similarities. I’m not going to go into great detail about those differences in this article, but I will say that a group of believers meeting in coffee shop looks more like New Testament Christianity than a run-of-the-mill CoC gathering on a Sunday morning in a building that’s been financed by the congregants.

As far as church doctrine goes, Churches of Christ nail baptism in my opinion. I believe as the Bible teaches, that something supernatural happens when a person decides to make a public declaration of their faith in Jesus through being baptized in water. If I’m studying with someone and they decide they want to become a Christian, I don’t advocate they say the sinner’s prayer or ask Jesus to come into their heart so they can be saved – I teach that they should turn away from the sin in their life, make a commitment to live with Jesus as their Lord and master, then take them to water and immerse (baptize) them in the name of Jesus. While there are instances of the Holy Spirit working separately from baptism throughout the New Testament (especially in the book of Acts), Peter’s words to the crowd written down by Doctor Luke in Acts 2:38 have always stuck with me:

Acts 2:38
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
(NIV)

In this Scripture, Peter not only points out a person’s sins will be forgiven at baptism (Paul believed this as well – see Acts 22:16), but that they’ll also “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The importance of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is articulated by Paul in Romans 8:9:

Romans 8:9
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
(NIV)

“If you don’t have the Spirit, you’re not a Christian.” Paul’s teaching is painfully clear here, and most Churches of Christ echo this. I personally find that to be very attractive, and have found that the vast majority of denominations and other faith groups do not hold a biblical view of baptism. For those that do baptize, most teach that a person is saved before and the baptism is simply an “outward expression of an inward change.” How one can honestly teach that they are 100% sure a person is saved before their sins are washed away and before they have the Spirit is confusing to me.

I’m not so legalistic in my thinking on this issue to think that God is beyond making exceptions – He is God, after all, and there were hundreds of thousands of God-fearers before Jesus came that were never baptized who will be in heaven, and no doubt many who were converted in Roman prisons by their Christian cell-mates who never had access to enough water with which to be immersed. But I can’t tell someone I’m studying with today that they’re saved without being baptized while being intellectually honest about it. I’d be lying if I told them I thought with 100% clarity that they were saved apart from true repentance and baptism, and question marks are no good when you’re speaking in terms of where you’ll spend eternity.

I share all that to say that I really do appreciate what Churches of Christ teach regarding baptism. I believe it’s biblical and lines up with what the first-century church taught. What I believe is very unbiblical and will forever remain a stumbling block for some is this: making baptism an idol – that is, making baptism an obsession that trumps one’s relationship with Christ. In my limited experience, I’ve encountered some who’ve left me with the impression that baptism is more important to them than Jesus, and I find that to be very sad. I’ve also encountered some who’ve left me with the impression that Restoration Movement Churches of Christ are more important to them than Jesus, and that’s equally as sad.

Sunday morning worship is another hot-button issue that has the potential to be an idol – and indeed is an idol – for many. The emphasis people today put on singing is another key difference I’ve noticed between Churches of Christ and the first century church. The New Testament says surprisingly little about Sunday morning worship and singing when compared to what it says about the Lordship of Jesus and holy living, yet sometimes it seems that Sunday mornings – particularly the style of singing and whether or not instruments are used – gets more attention from “New Testament Christians” than what the New Testament talks most about – JESUS!

So what’s missing?

Earlier in this post I stated that I believe something is missing from many church fellowships today. In part II of this post, I’ll share what I believe that is as well as solutions to the problem, but before that I’d like to hear what you think.

What key differences do you believe exist between today’s Churches of Christ and the church of the first century? If you could change one thing your church does on a Sunday morning, what would it be? Do you believe the phrase, “We are Christians only, but not the only Christians?” Is there anything in this post your strongly agree with? Anything you strongly disagree with?

Please share your thoughts in a comment.

Tagged Restoration Movement History, Underground Church

Sep 09 2008

2 Comments

Leadership

Kenny Luck on Picking a Fight With Evil

I haven’t forgotten that I promised you a post on what it’s like meeting with a church in a coffeeshop for three years. That’s still coming soon to a blog near you (very near you if you’re reading this right now). I still don’t have the net connected at my house, and am making this post from the Austin Avenue church office – my new diggs for the next few months.

In my daily reading this morning, I ran across an excellent article over at SermonCentral.com I’d like to share with my other church/ministry leader readers. Check it out:

Article Highlights

1) Leaders are getting massacred because they are sheep among wolves, but act like sheep among hamsters.

2) For many, sin does not initially bring about their fall; it was their lack of discernment and understanding of their foe.

3) Satan is legendary for his ability to take down leaders of God’s people who began their journey with Christ fully equipped with all the resources of God and the best of intentions.

The Anatomy of a Pastor Takedown

Kenny Luck

Why is it that we always talk about evil only after evil has had its way with another leader in the church?

Just recently, another pastor in a prominent evangelical church was arrested for soliciting a thirteen-year-old girl for sex. She was an undercover policewoman, and he will be going to jail. In response to the arrest, the senior pastor of his church gave a three-minute address to the congregation. Amidst other comments was the following statement: “We’ve taken a hit from the enemy this week, but we will rise above and respond to the challenge,” as church members applauded. He summed it up by saying, “We want to put this in our rear-view mirror.”

In this situation, I feel a “rear-view mirror” is an oxymoron. I want to put it on a twenty-by-twenty foot plasma screen in high definition for every set of eyes reading the words of this article. I am sick of evil having its way with our best leaders. It’s time to pick a fight.

Less Painful Hindsight

There was a time before September 11, 2001, when counter-terrorist agencies possessed good intelligence about a group called Al-Qaeda. We knew who their leader was, where their leader was, and where their training facilities were. We knew how to “touch” them, and we knew the United States was the object of their brand of hatred. And yet, with so many other higher-priority issues, so many other international and domestic crises demanding time and attention, and not enough “actionable intelligence,” we didn’t assign the right amount of attention to this character Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist network. The world knows the rest of the story.

Granted, foresight is always 20/40. You can see some things clearly, but not all things. You can discern a good portion of the picture, but the small details and facts are a little fuzzy. Hindsight, on the other hand, is always 20/20. The pain or trauma acts like window cleaner. We learn from our mistakes, and we evaluate and assess what went wrong. Between foresight and hindsight is a crucial period in the battle with an evil opponent: when all you have is foresight, focus more resources, energy, and attention on those who unashamedly want you dead. If you do, hindsight will be much less painful.

That episode with our pastor-brother hit me like a sledge hammer. It should pain every one of us, sober us all up, and renew our own vigilance against the schemes of evil against the men of God.

Face it: Satan has been watching film on you. He’s relentless. Get that one firmly planted in your brain. Even after getting taken to the shed by the Son of God, the Bible says that Satan “left him until the next opportunity came…” (Luke 4:13 NLT my italics for emphasis). Satan is not just relentless, but a relentless opportunist. He never rests.

This is the big pink elephant in the room of the church today, and there are only two options in dealing with it: live in reality or live in fantasy. One attitude is very comfortable, and the other is uncomfortable. Hitler said, “What luck for rulers that men do not think.” Where do you think that thought came from? The Bible labels Satan “the ruler of this present world.” What luck for him that leaders in ministry, and consequently the people they lead, do not account for him rightly. But what horrible luck for those who are intimately connected to his leadership and influence. It’s time to snap out of it and recapture reality.

Anatomy of a Takedown

An old European proverb worth heeding reads: “Age and treachery will always defeat youth and zeal.” Eugene Peterson might retranslate this to read: “Crafty veterans will take down the energetic and distracted kids every time.”

Satan is legendary for his ability to take down leaders of God’s people who began their journey with Christ fully equipped with all the resources of God and the best of intentions. Get that. We have to see just how good he is at this game of leader- destruction in order to raise our respect and awareness to where it needs to be. While ownership of the spiritual resources for our dogfight with evil is guaranteed, this does not promise possession or mastery or victory in our fight on earth. Zeal and equipment are not enough. Because of my work with leaders, every week I hear of another leader or fellow pastor in God’s army that has been shot down after what seemed to be an awesome beginning. We need to see and analyze the patterns in order to avoid them in our lives and ministries.

Here are the common denominators I have mapped out, the anatomy of a takedown:

A highly visible conversion
Accelerated spiritual growth and training
Visionary aspirations
Strong spiritual gifting and willingness to risk
Clear calls to service and ministry for Christ
Growing responsibilities of leadership in the Body of Christ
Success and recognition

Sound familiar? Now add:

Growing pressures connected to their responsibilities
Character issues magnified by stress and exploited by evil
Increasing isolation and openness to small spiritual compromises
Establishment of spiritual footholds in private sin
Satanic assault on relationships with God and people (i.e., wife, children, elders, members)
Loss of openness and accountability with respect to personal battles
Private struggles continuing despite public “success”
Sin-induced cynicism; callousness with respect to beliefs.
Fierce satanic resistance to efforts by the leader toward prayer, confession, accountability, and possible healing.
Confusion and disillusionment, creating more clouding of the mind and isolation from God and people.

Then the kill-shots:

Failure to recognize the satanic campaign against him.
Extreme vulnerability to satanic assault.
Discontentment and loss of vision in service for the Lord
Acceptance of a form of habitual sin to medicate spiritual despair.
A fireball trailing thick black smoke plummeting toward earth.

For these men (maybe you right now) and many others like them, their sin did not initially bring about their fall; it was their lack of discernment and understanding of their foe. Somewhere along the way, the leader:

Compartmentalizes the Devil away
Makes him a theological construct vs. a daily reality
Expects Satan to stay in some box

Early in the leaders’ spiritual quest, Satan and evil was a huge threat. But now, with victory over major sins, some spiritual growth and success, and a little knowledge to flex about God with others, the threat level was lowered to Condition Green (i.e., low risk of terrorist attacks). The leader stops learning, repenting, and reflecting and starts coasting. Pride begets stupidity.

Sheep Among Hamsters?

Jesus sent out his leaders with a warning: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves…” (Matthew 10:16). Leaders are to be the ones who feel the battle against evil, not dismiss it. We are the ones who are supposed to be talking about it and taking great pains to fortify ourselves against the evil one and his terrorist help. One of the reasons we leaders are getting massacred publicly and privately is that we are sheep among wolves, but we act like sheep among hamsters. That kind of ignorance is the definition of spiritual dysfunction. Satan convinces leaders he is no threat to them: sheep among hamsters. Don’t swallow that. Listen to Christ my brother and sister: it’s wolves!

The solution: shrewdness and innocence. We are called to be perceptive to evil, not naïve. Good awareness and good intel, combined with a personal commitment to spiritual integrity, will give us the ability we need to see evil, call it out, expose it, and put it to flight early in the attack. Leaders fail because they naively underestimate Satan, put him in a mental box of their own making, and he eats them alive when he takes them by surprise.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Pastor, don’t get eaten. Train up yourself. Train up your people. Train up your church. Fight!

Tagged Anatomy of a Pastor Takedown, Kenny Luck

Aug 28 2008

3 Comments

Uncategorized, Update

Last Night With OutReach America and a Spoonful of Cinnamon

I had a good time speaking with the members Harding’s student organization OutReach America tonight.

They say ‘hi.’

I talked with them a little bit about the all or nothing relationship God desires to have with us, and the call of Jesus to true discipleship.

OutReach America is a group that challenges students to structure their goals after college around spreading the kingdom through team based, Harding graduate led church planting efforts. Tonight was the first meeting for OA to kick off the new school year, and it was fun helping them get things started. Marvin Crowson, founder of OutReach America and Harding University’s domestic missionary in residence, has played a vital role in seeing the work in San Francisco get off the ground. I’m proud call to he and his wife Judith friends, and look forward to hearing of many other plants occuring as a result of their motivation,guidance, and continued work with OA.

I also recieved a couple of really thoughtful gifts tonight. Marvin presented me with the Maxwell Leadership Bible (since he heard my other Bible flew off the top of my car in St. Louis – grrr) and he had everyone at the OA meeting sign it.

In addition to that, Rob Halbe got me something totally unexpected. He knows of my love for old comic books (particularly G.I. Joe and the X-Men), and he knows my favorite character of all time is Wolverine. That’s why I was very happy to get this:

Yes, that would be issue #1! This is a collector’s item, and will no doubt shoot up in value after next summer’s new Wolverine movie (the first in a trilogy) gets kicked off in theaters. I can’t wait!

One last thing. Ever watched someone try to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon? Well, I did tonight, and I got it on video. Watch this: