Harmony in the Church At All Costs (Tozer)

[Taken from Tozer Daily Devotional by Literature Ministries International.]

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. --1 Peter 5:8

Some misguided Christian leaders feel that they must preserve harmony at any cost, so they do everything possible to reduce friction. They should remember that there is no friction in a machine that has been shut down for the night. Turn off the power, and you will have no problem with moving parts. Also remember that there is a human society where there are no problems--the cemetery. The dead have no differences of opinion. They generate no heat, because they have no energy and no motion. But their penalty is sterility and complete lack of achievement.

What then is the conclusion of the matter? That problems are the price of progress, that friction is the concomitant of motion, that a live and expanding church will have a certain quota of difficulties as a result of its life and activity.

A Spirit-filled church will invite the anger of the enemy. This World: Playground or Battleground?, 112-113.

"Lord, thank You for the many signs that we are alive! Satan must see real life, and I guess that's a good sign. Give us victory though, that we might not succomb to his attacks. Amen."

Churches Need Servants, Not Celebrities

When Jesus told His disciples, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), he told them this in a specific context. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, had followed Jesus for three years. Yet, they approached Jesus and asked him for positions of importance. When Jesus established his kingdom, they desired to sit on his right and left hand. They wanted a choice spot when Jesus set up his political rule. Jesus made it clear that being a part of his kingdom would regard service and sacrifice, as Jesus himself would endure the baptism of suffering and death in service to His Father and His people.

Paul wrote to Titus a distillation of what he wrote in his first letter to young pastor Timothy. Titus had been a disciple of Paul, assisting him on his missionary journeys. In 2 Corinthians, Titus played a crucial role in relaying how the Corinthians church was in their walk with Christ. He was refreshed by their obedience (2 Cor 7:13), and also demonstrated great pastoral care among the church so dear to Paul (2 Cor 8:16). Paul saw great value in Titus, calling him “my partner and fellow worker for your benefit” (8:23). We see in his opening to his letter to Titus that he was “my true child in the common faith” (Titus 1:4).

Paul planted a number of churches on the isle of Crete and, seeing Titus’ pastoral heart and care to the churches of Macedonia, placed him as pastor and overseer of these churches. He invested in Titus due to the prevalence of false teachers and the need for qualified, Spirit-led, God-ordained servants in the church who would willingly sacrifice their all for the truth—truth taught, truth taught, and truth lived out.

In their book The Trellis and the Vine, Colin Marshall and Tony Payne have a wonderful insight regarding church membership.

In our society, when you join as a ‘member’ of something, it can have connotations of passivity and consumerism. I join a club, and expect certain benefits. The ‘partnership’ language, on the other hand, communicates immediately that we are signing up for active involvement—for being partners together in a great enterprise: the gospel mission of Jesus Christ.”[i]

Paul wanted to instill in Titus, who would instill in other faithful men (2 Tim 2:1-2) this stewardship of the gospel. Paul did this by example. Rather than Paul starting off with the church being a smorgasbord of therapeutic, self-help, five-step understandings, he began his letter, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” Paul demonstrated the correct perspective of a Christian specifically, and of a person in general: who we are before God is all that matters, and what God demands of us is all that should matter to us.

How Paul Could Have Described Himself!

You see, in his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul gave an example of how he could have described himself:

³For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— ⁴ though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless (Phil 3:3-6).

This is an impressive resume! And we are impressed with those types of resumes. We look at the resumes of University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, the singer Beyonce, the acting of Sir Laurence Olivier (considered the greatest actor of the past 100 years), the director Steven Spielberg—when we see the list of their work and accomplishments, we are impressed! In the circles of first-century Judaism, Paul was that impressive!

He came from great pedigree (“circumcised on the eighth day”—after all, Paul was in no position to do that himself!); from a great heritage, even from the tribe that brought about Saul, Israel’s first king (“of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews”); and an enthusiastic, obedient, and intelligent Pharisee (“as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless”). Paul could have used all of these descriptions at the beginning of his letter to Titus—and young Titus certainly would have been impressed and even intimidated.

How do we describe ourselves? Husband? Wife? Parent? Do we brag on our denomination? Flaunt our job title? Identify with our sports teams? Let slip in conversation how much we tithe? Too often, we allow temporary items to define us in ultimate, eternal terms. Sadly, even Christians find themselves

Paul had been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whereas once he was a “persecutor of the church,” he is now a servant of God and His church. Here, he is keeping with the custom of the times in how he crafts his greeting. In our time, we would begin our letter by addressing the one to whom we are writing, then our name would be in the closing. Yet, an epistle began with the name of the one writing it. Since scrolls were in use, the sender needed to have his name right at the beginning of the letter so the reader(s) could easily identify the author as well as the author’s credentials.

How Paul Ultimately Described Himself

A servant of God. Paul stated his credentials as a “servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” This is the ‘what’ of Paul. By the world’s standards, this designation was minimal and menial. He uses the word doulos which many translations render as ‘servant.’[ii] This translation, while technically correct, does not go far enough to paint the most accurate picture. The New Living Translation and the Message (translations not known for a strict word-for-word translation) are one of the few translations to translate this in the truest form: a slave. Strong’s defines doulos as “a slave, bondman, man of servile condition.”[iii] We must not miss this distinction.

As Westerners, when we think of a servant, we may think of a man or woman who waits on those with considerable means with dignity and distinction, even with a tuxedo and tails. The notion of slavery in the manner in which Paul described himself is disturbing. The 200+ years of slavery in this country from colonial times until the end of the Civil War is a big hypocritical blight on a country whose theme from the beginning was to be the land of the free. The fact that slaves were taken from their homeland in chains to serve at the beckoned call of a master, thus surrendering all that they were and all that they had for they had against their will is reprehensible by our current sensibilities—as it was in Roman times as well!

And yet, Paul used this very moniker to describe his work before the true and living God. He was sought and bought by God himself. God told Ananias moments after Paul’s encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road, “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15-16).

An apostle of Jesus Christ. He was also an “apostle of Jesus Christ.” What is an apostle?  In general terms, an apostle is one who is sent by another to give a message. In the case of God’s economy, an apostle is also a foundational office that a select few held. In the terms of the New Testament, an apostle was one called by Christ Himself who personally witnessed Jesus’ earthly ministry.

By Paul being called an apostle at all was all of grace. Paul did not seek out Christ—but Christ sought him on the Damascus Road. Paul’s servanthood before God and his apostleship were given by Christ Himself.

¹Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ²and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.

³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.⁹For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (1 Cor 15:1-8, emphasis added).

Paul did not chase after God, but God had to manifest himself to Paul. “Paul commends his ministry by rehearsing the evidence of God’s work in him as he recounts the many difficulties he experienced in the course of his ministry. His ministry is due to God’s grace, and that grace provides the impetus for his work.”[iv] He knew what being a servant of God entailed.

Consider that Stephen was stoned to death (with the apostle Paul holding the cloaks of those who stoned him). The apostle Philip suffered martyrdom in Phrygia, being scourged, thrown into prison, and crucified in A.D. 54. The apostle Matthew was slain with a halberd in his ministry in Ethiopia in A.D. 60. James, the writer of the epistle, had his brains bashed out at the age of 94. Andrew was crucified. Mark was dragged to pieces in Alexandria, Egypt, in sacrifice to their god. Peter was crucified upside down, because he could not bear to be crucified as Christ was. Jude was crucified. Thomas was run through with a spear. The apostle John was put in a cauldron of boiling oil, but escaped without injury—after which, he was banished to Patmos.[v]

Paul understood that his ministry entailed service and sacrifice—and Titus needed to understand this as well.

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[i]Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything(Kingsford, Australia: Matthias Media, 2009), 66-7.

[ii]Translations of doulos : ‘servant’ (CEV, ESV, KJV, NCV, NIV, NJB), ‘bondservant’ (NAS, NKJV).

[iii]Strong’s Dictionary. From BibleWorks

[iv]Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2001), 43.

[v]John Fox, Fox’s Book of Martyrs, ed. William Byron Forbush, accessed 2 Jan 2010, available athttp://www.ccel.org/f/foxe/martyrs/fox101.htm [on-line]; Internet.

Gospel-Gripped Leadership: Three Ways to Deal with a Complaint

I am preaching through Acts at my church (Boone’s Creek Baptist Church, Lexington, KY) and have come to Acts 6:1-7, which I will preach this coming Sunday (July 31, 2011).  In verse 1, we read that, in the midst of the blossoming of the church, “a complaint arose from the Hellenists.”  What was the complaint?  You’ll have to read up on that—and come on Sunday!

Yet, there are three ways to deal with a complaint!  To be clear, I don’t have any particular episode in mind, just some general reflections from 20 years of ministry and 40 years (come October) of living.

Ignore it.  Just don’t address it at all.  Say to yourself that any complainer must be carnal and move on to those who don’t complain because non-complainers are Spirit-filled and love Jesus.  That’s not only bad leadership, that just plain silly.  (Of course, one has to take into consideration if this is coming from a Son-of-Diotrephes effect, of which Joe McKeever deals with beautifully.)

Internalize it.  Here is the polar opposite of ignoring it.  Take every complaint to heart, because regardless of what happens at a church or any business, if you’re the leader, it’s always a reflection on you and therefore your fault.  Another way to internalize it is personally:  every complaint you hear is equally valid.  One complaint about a program or a direction in the church grinds everything to a halt.  This is especially true if the aim of the church is to make everyone happy, forgetting that the aim of the church is to glorify God and produce Christ-like, Spirit-filled disciples. 

Investigate it.  Yes!  This one!  No blanket categorizing need apply here!  See the nature of the complaint—it may teach you something!  I shudder at times when I have not listened to a complaint when I should have!  Sort through the complaint and see if it’s just a personal preference or if it’s a significant issue that could effect the spiritual direction of the body of Christ.  This is what the apostles did—and what we as leaders must do!

Ultimately, we serve Jesus Christ!  And the role of a God-called leader in the church is to meet folks where they are and take them where Christ is, and there are may ways this can be (see Jude 21-24).  If complaints arise because some expect leaders to serve their personal preferences, then one can go from serving Jesus to serving people very quickly.  Pray for God-called leaders to serve Jesus first, having in mind the things of God rather than the things of men (Matthew 16:20-28). 

What think ye?

A Deadly Example of Cultural Christianity: Lessons From Ananias and Sapphira

Everyone at some point in their lives wants to fit in and contribute—or at least having others think just as much.  When baseball players take steroids, they do so so they will heal more quickly to return to the field or court to contribute to the team’s success (and not lose their jobs in the process).  Those in business may risk stealing ideas from a co-worker and taking credit for something that brings them many accolades.

The same temptation happens in church world—especially in the South.  For the longest time, the culture in the South was, “If it’s Sunday, you should be in church.”  It was the thing to do!  In other parts of the country, it is not culturally acceptable to be in church.  So many respond to what is culturally acceptable, depending on the region of the country.

Ananias and Sapphira fell into this trap.  In Acts 4:32-37, we see that the majority of those in the early church did not consider what they had as something that belonged to them.  This was not a precursor to Communism, because Communism is mandated by the government and therefore involuntary.  This giving was fueled by all that Christ had given them as outlined in His Word.  Great power and grace was on the church. 

Ananias and Sapphira, however, felt they needed to give a pretense of this same type of self-sacrifice, but secretly they plotted to keep some of it back.

5:1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things (ESV).

Peter makes the point that they did not have to give everything, but they had said they would, and thus they lied to God and to the church.  This reminds one of the story of Achan in Joshua 7 when he stole some of the devoted things and hid them in his tent.  His theft caused sin to come into the camp and it affected everything, even as they went into battle against an inferior enemy.  Achan, Ananias, and Sapphira were dealt with strongly—executed even—to keep sin out of the community and causing great fear to come upon those inside and outside the church!

Take inventory of your lives!  Are you associating with those whom you are because you just want to fit it, or because it’s the right and true thing to do?  No one is immune to this temptation!  Otherwise, we’re not just lying to God or to our group of people we fellowship with, but we are lying to ourselves as well.