The Puzzle, April 29-May 11, 2009
House to House
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:18-21
“And teaching you in public and from house to house,” ...
When people in America think of the Church, they usually think of an institution. Rather than the Church being the Body of Christ—Jesus Christ living in His people—the word “church” for many Americans produces immediate images of a building. When pressed further, they come up with the organization which decides what happens in the building. The Church is people walking around with Jesus living in them? What kind of Church is that? Um. The one in the Bible.
One reason for the confusion regarding what constitutes the Church is the lack of emphasis on anything happening outside the church building or outside the control of church overseers. If everything which happens takes place at the building and everything that takes place is controlled by the church organization, what else are people going to think? To them, the Church will be a building and the institution that owns the building. How would they ever come up with “the Church is Jesus living in His people” if they don’t see Him living in His people off church property, or doing things for others in the name of Jesus that aren’t part of a planned church program?
Public Ministry
When it comes to public ministry, the Church in America has it down. As long as you define “ministry” as “trying to meet the felt needs of people,” we bend over backwards to comply. We have trained several generations of people to consider the Church a public institution, organized to meet the religious needs of the public, instead of a living organism solely under the control of Jesus Christ, only existing to serve Him. The consumer mentality making church all about “us” has not been helpful. If it’s not all about “Him,” we ought to call it something else.Back to public ministry. What we do for Jesus, consumer-driven or not, is generally very public. The theme is “Please come”—to the service, to the seminar, the Sunday School. Come where? To the church property. Who will be in charge? Someone authorized by the church, probably a professional minister or someone who answers to him. The goal will be to please the participants with a worthwhile experience, making them desire to return for something else the church will offer, next week. Care is taken to try to meet needs, including handicap accessibility to the public building, required by law. In the Church, we work hard at public ministry. We put out bulletins and brochures to let people know what’s happening, we build enormous facilities to house those who will come to hear the Gospel. We need big parking lots and good sound and lighting. “Everyone is welcome. Please come.”
The Shortcoming of “Please come”
“Please come” is fine, as long as people are coming. If we can get them in the door and they hear the Gospel and find Jesus, that’s great! If we’re appealing to a consumer-driven culture with a great product to which they’re responding, we’ll have success, at least in “consumer” terms. But there are two potential drawbacks to this model, one of them huge: What if Jesus doesn’t want His Church to be consumer-driven? The other drawback is lesser, but still important: Even if the “Please come” model is O.K. with Jesus, what about those who still aren’t coming?I think it’s possible to have a “Please come” ministry without being consumer-driven, or at least, consumer-controlled. Much of Paul’s ministry in Asia was on a “come” basis, when he reasoned with the people in the hall of Tyrannus day after day for years. The point was, they came. There were enough people interested in what Paul was saying (the miracles of healing sure didn’t hurt!) that a constant stream of visitors kept Paul busy discipling people in one place. Even then, he still did ministry “house to house.”
What was that about? I’m not enough of a Bible scholar to know the details of what “house to house” exactly meant; the reason I bring it up is because whatever it was, it was supplementary to the “public” ministry of Paul, and it obviously referred to something more individualized, and outside the public ministry venue.
Two-pronged Approach
“And teaching you in public and from house to house,” ... indicates a two-pronged approach. There was the public ministry in the hall, which apparently drew thousands over the course of three years. In addition, there was the teaching Paul did “from house to house.” Even when his public ministry was effective, Paul still felt compelled to teach, house to house. He wanted to reach those who weren’t coming to him, but who would be receptive if someone went to them in their homes. He taught people not only in larger groups, but as individuals or in small groups. He recognized the importance of being with people in their homes, on their turf, rather than expecting everyone to always meet him on his. Not everyone in Asia became a convert to Christianity, but thousands did. It all started with the public and personal ministry of one man.Now, to America
As I’ve already said, we do pretty well on the public aspect of ministry, if providing “Come and see” opportunities are what sets the standard. Anyone just looking for a group of Christians with whom to worship won’t require much effort in finding a church. Finding one where they are loved and ministered to on a personal basis will prove harder. Finding one where ministers are making house calls and discipling on an individual basis? Good luck! The public ministry consumes so much of the time of those deliberately trying to minister that there is very little left over for personal relationships, even with their own families. Add to this the cultural cocooning which characterizes busy younger generations, which leaves them hiding behind the curtains if someone from the church does actually show up on their doorstep, and it’s not hard to figure out that the “house to house” ministry is just not happening in America, even while we’ve got tons of opportunities for people, as long as they come to us, first.Lost in the Crowd
The emphasis on public ministry to the exclusion of personal ministry has resulted in an imbalance in America, I think. Not only does the average American think of the Church as a place and an institution; the average American Christian doesn’t have a clue of what discipleship might be like—as in: Discipline, the expectation of growth and maturity over time, total commitment to Jesus Christ, stuff like that. The reliance on public ministry as the only ministry has created a culture of Christianity where some go to large churches so they can remain anonymous, taking in the nice music and the inspirational preaching, never committing to anything and never feeling a need to. The lack of discipling on any level leads to Christians who trudge along for years, satisfied that they are good Christians, unchanged and without expecting or being expected to change.There will always be students who need tutors. When it comes to discipleship, public ministry alone doesn’t cut it; pretty much everybody needs a tutor. Most of us need more than one! How is discipleship going to happen if we count on public worship services or church programs to disciple people, when so few can get what they need that way, without individual attention? We need to take Paul’s approach, and add “house to house” to our public ministry, even if we need to reallocate some time and resources in order to do it.
Just One More Thing?
Some who read this will think, “Great! That’s all I needed—one more thing to add to my guilt-inducing “to-do” list. I’m not even keeping up with the demands of the church as it is, and now I’m supposed to go house to house!”I agree! The reason “house to house” doesn’t take place is because public ministry demands all of our time, already. The reason public ministry takes so much of the time is because we’re expecting a few paid professionals to take care of it for us—and while they’re at it, they ought to visit us in our homes, too! Paul did both—why can’t our minister?
First of all, Paul was Paul. Even before he was saved, there wasn’t anyone like him. Paul was a regular minister in about the same way Tiger Woods is a regular golf player. Certain people are just in a class by themselves.
Second, I don’t read about Paul overseeing dozens of boards and committees or being responsible for the administration of a large church facility. Paul was able to devote five hours a day to just ministering to those who came to him in the public place, without being tied up in administration. In addition, he ministered house to house. And in his spare time, he wrote the Bible!
What Can We Do?
What can we do? I would encourage us to move in the direction of a more biblical ministry structure, every chance we get. I understand that our current system in the organized church is resistant to change; that’s why it’s prudent to wait for times when something has to change, anyway, then try to move it toward something more biblical and workable, when the opportunity arises.A change which fits that description is the biblical attitude of the Church being a team where everyone who loves Jesus is on the same side. Can anyone tell me why that’s not the case in so many church congregations?! Some congregations can’t even get along with each other or with members of their own denomination, much less Christians from other groups. The competition between churches is a deterrent to evangelism within a community. Like sports teams who spend more energy competing against their own teammates than against opposing teams, self-centered churches just spin their wheels when it comes to seeing a community truly changed.
Does Everyone Do Both?
Is it everyone’s job to do “house to house,” in addition to having a public ministry? The main thing is that it gets done. If we had the grace to allow other groups to do what they do best while we functioned according to our own strengths and gifting, I think it would all get done. There are churches which excel in public ministry, to the point where personalized ministry is almost non-existent. The more people who enjoy the public ministry, the more attenders. The more attenders, the harder it is to have any kind of meaningful personal ministry, particularly if the ministry is largely limited to professional staff. Effective small group structures can make up much of the gap, so people feel they have the “big” church and the “small” church, the small church being the one meeting in someone’s home, the big one being the large group meeting on the weekend.Some congregations excel in house to house ministry. Everyone knows one another. There is true love and commitment, not only to God, but to each other. It’s impossible to hide and remain incognito in a church like this; it’s also pretty difficult to avoid picking up a ministry or at least a job, if you’re there any length of time. Meanwhile, public ministry is rarely a highlight of the smaller church. The preaching, programs and music hardly ever compare to what may be found in bigger churches. Since the small church isn’t going to “compete” anyway, when it comes to public ministry, why not just focus on getting even better at house to house?
So, does everyone do both public ministry and house to house? Ideally, yes. Practically, I think what the Lord wants us to do is to minister in whatever way we can most effectively reach people. If we have the personnel, resources and structure which allow us to maintain an excellent ministry, both publicly and individually, I would say that’s the best approach. However, if we’re strong in one ministry and struggle in the other, I would pursue as much excellence as possible in the strong one, relying on the rest of God’s team in the community to carry the other, instead of focusing a lot of resources in trying to bolster the weaker part of our ministry at the cost of the stronger part, an approach usually resulting in mediocrity and frustration.
The Neglected Part
The goal of most churches in America seems to be the public ministry. This is the one which is measurable, in terms of membership and attendance and finances. When a pastor is asked about his church, he’s generally being asked about the measurable, public ministry. This is where the emphasis is. Individual discipling is usually a side note, at best. Unfortunately, this is true not only in the mega-church with thousands of attenders, but the church with dozens. The goal still seems focused on being a church of at least “hundreds,” and having a good facility in which to minister to them. It’s pretty rare to find a church aiming at depth of discipleship, not attendance size. It’s also uncommon to find a church of any size actively engaged in house to house type ministry. The expectations and requirements of such a ministry just go too deep for most. As a result, it’s not happening in America. We spend literally billions of dollars on public ministry; we have the finest buildings anywhere, complete with the latest technology. Somewhere in almost any community is a beautiful, comfortable church building where “everyone is welcome, please come” fills the cushioned seats every week. They hear top-notch music, enjoyable preaching and teaching, in pleasant surroundings. There are programs for all ages, and a spotless nursery. In terms of public ministry, it’s all delivered with excellence.There are thousands upon thousands of churches like this across America, and there is not one single community which has experienced spiritual transformation! Why? There are a number of reasons, but one of them is this: Where is the house to house ministry? Who is focusing on the personal aspect of teaching/discipling in the homes until they get it? Who is ministering to those who won’t “please come” to anything? The problem with “Please come” ministries is, they only minister to those who come. Like a community which has an excellent hospital but no ambulance service, the only ones helped are those who can make it to the hospital on their own. Everyone else is out of luck.
The Lost Sheep
In Jesus’ “lost sheep” parable of Luke 15, He tells of a shepherd with 100 sheep who discovers one missing, leaves the 99 in the fold and searches for the lost sheep until it is found, then rejoices over the rescue. The Church in my country is content with trying to do whatever we can do to minister to the 99 and keep it from becoming 90 or 30. Hardly a thought goes out to the lost sheep; after all, we’d be gracious enough to welcome him back, should he find his way home. We’d probably even forgive him for getting lost in the first place, even after we’d warned him of the dangers outside the church walls. Sometimes we think about the lost sheep, which might even get all the way to a committee discussion about what we could possibly do about him, or figuring out whose responsibility it should be if we chose to do something. Reality is, the 65 sheep in our particular fold are demanding (we’re getting over a church split), and our main focus these days is on getting ourselves healed and finding another 35 or so sheep somewhere to make up the loss. (There’s another church in town which also went through a split, and some of them look interested in our place. And since we scored that first-round draft pick in the music department, we might have a shot at them. We might be able to break the 100 barrier this year.)The problem with putting all of our attention on public ministry is that we only minister to those who can or will come. If there are no rescue efforts to find those who have gotten themselves into trouble, they stay lost; they’re not coming home unless someone finds them and brings them home. For the millions who never had any connection with the flock in the first place and who could care less about our fancy advertising, are there any teams of rescuers going out to minister to them where they are? Or, through some miracle, will they have to show up at our building before we would ever show them the least attention? Once at our place, if they received Christ, would they be on their own, to dine at the self-feeder of public worship services and public classes on Christianity, or would there be someone around to bottle feed baby Christians, helpless to feed themselves the whole Gospel, even if it’s laid out before them in a sermon?
Jesus’ Answer
I feel like I’m whining, and I hate that. Guilt-driven evangelism doesn’t seem to be very effective, partly because it’s so half-hearted. Sometimes, God’s grace breaks through and saves them, anyway, even over our reluctance to go (Jonah and the Ninevites); the best evangelism takes place when the rescuer actually wants the object of the search to end up home, safe and sound, because he cares.Who are the rescuers, in America? We already have a Savior, and don’t need another, but what did that Savior instruct His disciples to do?
“Go.”
“Go” was Jesus’ answer. He instructed His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, but He never told them to build onto the Upper Room and hold services there, trying to break the “200" barrier. He told them (and us) to “Go!” Go where? The whole world, starting at home and branching out from there. The first two letters of the Gospel are “Go.” I’ll spare us the rest of the sermon on the Great Commission.
What Worked in Asia
Paul was breaking new ground in a place unfamiliar with the Gospel. He had a very effective public ministry, sitting in one hall for the better part of three years, teaching and listening to whomever came to hear him. But he didn’t stop there. He taught them from house to house. He knew that the kind of instruction which can be given in a lecture hall only goes so far; it’s often a different story when you try to take the teaching home. Having a coach like Paul come and pray with your family in your own house must have been life-changing for a bunch of people. I believe it was a vital part of not only Paul’s ministry, but that of the entire Early Church.Where does that leave us? Who is going house to house? Even within the Body of committed believers, who is teaching from house to house, these days? Usually, the people I see walking down the street are either on bicycles or carrying briefcases full of the Watchtower. If Christians stop by, it’s never teaching, but some sort of flash-in-the-pan evangelism thing that takes a few minutes and ends with an invitation to accept Christ and to attend their church. Either way, there’s little instruction going on, from what I’ve observed. I know there must be people who are doing very effective door-to-door ministry, maybe even including teaching in homes; I’ve just never seen it.
The Rescue of America
I have a good friend who emphasizes that “God is a rescuer.” He’s right. The entire story of the Bible is the story of God rescuing man from himself. It’s the story of a Savior who came to earth to rescue us from our sins, granting eternal life in place of eternal death. As followers of Jesus Christ, our mission is one of rescue, too. The Great Commission isn’t about keeping the flock happy. It’s about reaching out to lost people in the name of Jesus. That both includes those who come to us, wanting to know more about Him, and those who don’t know Him or don’t think they like Him. In an emergency, the public airwaves are used to broadcast instructions to people of what to do to escape the danger. It doesn’t stop at that, though. When it’s done right, rescuers will also go from house to house, making sure people have received the message. Rescuers will assist people, pleading with them, helping them, on occasion even dragging a stubborn one to safety, preferring to offend them over seeing them die.The Church in America needs to get back in the rescue business. Jesus Christ already did the work of salvation, but it does no good for those who have never heard that news and who have no inclination to “please come” to a church building to find out about it. We’d better go house to house and find those God loves so much. We need to introduce them to the Rescuer while they’re sitting in their favorite living room chair. If we wait for them to attend our Easter extravaganza, it may be too late. Somebody needs to go house to house. Some need to start in their own house. Some need to start across the street. Some need to contact relatives or co-workers, because they’d listen if it came from you; they wouldn’t if it was some preacher.
Public ministry? Keep at it! The Church still has enough of an identity that for a whole lot of people, if they’re looking for spiritual answers, the first place they’ll head is a church building. What a shame it would be if they found it empty. When you do public ministry, do it with as much excellence as possible. The Lord deserves our best, especially if we’re tacking His name onto it. But for the sake of our nation, please do some ministry house to house, too. Don’t spend a lot of time cooking up grandiose witnessing plans; don’t make the focus inviting people to church. Just take the love of Jesus house to house. Do whatever good works you can think of in His name. When you get the chance, teach about the love of Jesus by demonstrating that love. Share your own story about what Jesus has done for you. Let people know how much you love Jesus. They’ll get the idea. Pray for them and love them without condemnation, and you’ll really be taking the Gospel house to house. Multiply that by millions of people doing the same thing, just focusing on one house at a time. Would it make a difference in our country?
This nation needs Jesus. We all know that, but they don’t. We’ve already done about all we can do through public ministry. We’ll keep it up, because it’s important, but I think it’s time we ministered house to house, too. Even if it’s just two houses apiece, one of them ours.
The Puzzle, May 12-13, 2009
Picky Fishermen
...testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.Acts 20:21
In seminary, I learned that the hot new principle of church growth was something called “the homogeneous unit.” It meant that in order to grow a church, a pastor should focus on people who were already alike, who would naturally be friends with each other. Since they would already get along because of their commonalities, they would also reach out to their other like-minded friends, continuing the cycle of growth and acceptance until, pretty soon, another mega-church would loom over the competition and your name would be on the sign. Something like that. Once in a while, it even seemed to work that way, although always for someone else, not me.
Meanwhile, I searched the scriptures for the homogeneous unit principle, and saw that, yes, Jesus chose four commercial fishermen for disciples. Then He placed them in the same boat with a tax collector and a zealot! (Can you say, “polar opposites”)? For not only the twelve disciples but the entire Early Church, the remarkable thing was not how alike they were, but how different. The only thing some of them had in common was Jesus! Somehow, the Church grew—exponentially. I haven’t heard too much about the homogeneous principle of church growth, lately, which is, I think, a good thing. Jesus seemed to ignore it, and so did His disciples. The big breakthrough was when God moved Christianity from being a Jewish religion to a religion for all people. Paul was one of the frontrunners in this direction.
Paul’s practice was always to approach the Jews, first, with the Gospel. He would preach and plead with them as long as they would let him, then, after being rejected by those who spurned his message, he would withdraw from the synagogue and minister to the Gentiles in that city. There would always be a certain number of Jews who would respond positively to Paul’s message, too. In this way, Paul would systematically reach whomever was receptive to the Gospel in that city. Had he chosen to forget about the Jews, he would have missed converts to Christianity; if he had concentrated only on people of his own race or limited himself to ministry in the synagogue, he would also have missed many people. Because he was open to both, Paul’s ministry had maximum impact. Paul used the opposite of the homogeneous unit approach. Instead of disregarding certain groups of people and focusing on the folks like him, he reached out to all. Some groups were more receptive than others, but all the groups got a chance.
Unreached Groups
There are many unreached people groups in America. I think the main reason some groups are unreached is because they are also unwanted. This is not because of some legislative prohibition against accepting people who are not of the “preferred” type; it’s much more subtle than that. It’s more a matter of who is really welcome, and, even more, who is sought after.I’ve been around the Church my whole life, including over twenty years in pastoral ministry. While “everyone is welcome” is what it says in church bulletins, the reality is, there are certain groups which are nearly always particularly sought after by churches. One in particular comes up, again and again: Families with young children. When pastoring a small covey of seniors in poor health, it’s not hard to see why the pastor would get more excited about a young couple with a troop of kids coming to visit than another single senior who is there to ask you to pray about her upcoming surgery this week. If the family stays, it’s instant “church growth,” maybe for a long time to come; if the new senior stays, it may just mean more demands on your time, for an increase of one. Philosophically, in ministry, we sometimes have to go back to the ministry statement and ask ourselves, “Is everyone really welcome? Or is it just the people who can do something for us?”
Taking a Hint
Everybody needs Jesus, not just families with young children. If we’re not too interested in immigrants or singles or seniors, we probably won’t have many of them who endure our indifference in order to commit to worshiping with us, either. They’ll quickly figure out this is not really for them, and take the hint. The end result will be an increasing number of Americans who despise the Church, because the Church seemed to despise them. They tried the Church and felt unwanted; now they’re returning the favor. They may or may not transfer their disdain to God, too, but they definitely have a problem with organized Christianity. Once they decide the Christian Church is a bad thing, it’s really tough to change their minds.Picky Fishermen
Jesus called His followers to be “fishers of men,” not picky fishermen. I worked as a commercial fisherman for seven seasons. While some fish were preferred over others, we kept whatever God sent us! If it would sell, we kept it.In the Church, we need to be welcoming whomever God sends us. They may be the exact opposite of nearly everything we like or are attracted to, but if God sent them to us, He wants us to welcome them in His name. Fishers of men, not picky fishermen.
That philosophy means we’ll sometimes have to ignore the well-meaning advice of church growth books or fellow pastors, like I chose to do years ago, when I was struggling to begin a new church in the fishing village of Cordova, Alaska. I was told by an experienced fellow pastor that there were certain groups of people not worthy of my time, since, in his opinion, I’d never get anything out of them. One such group was the annual collection of fishermen who gathered in the harbor each year, awaiting the opening of herring season. None of them were local, the season was measured in terms of hours, so the only reason they were hanging around was because the season opening was unpredictable. They might be in Cordova for weeks, awaiting the announcement, which would only be given hours in advance.
These poor guys had nothing to do except wait. They sat on their boats, bored, with nothing to do. When some of the Christian herring fishermen showed up at our church, I spent time with them, let them use my washer and dryer, and made several good friends. I started planning special services for the time they would be showing up for herring season, each year. They brought their non-Christian friends with them to the services, some of whom got saved. They left generous contributions in the offering. They came back, year after year, and blessed me far beyond anything I did for them. I’m really glad I rejected the advice of those who counseled me to ignore the herring fishermen! It was one of the best ministries I had in that town.
The Call
The Call of God is a call for all the world, every kind of people. Those who are most receptive are often those with apparently the least to offer in return, which is pretty much the whole idea of the Gospel, anyway. “While we were yet sinners....” It’s up to us to throw the nets out, and thank God for whatever and whomever He sends our way. God is not willing that any should perish. We’re called to be fishers of men, not picky fishermen.The Puzzle, May 14, 2009
Going and Letting Go
And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Acts 20:22-25
Some people are willing to go at Jesus’ command, but they aren’t willing to leave. There’s a difference between going and letting go. “Going” is what Paul did in the first place, when he departed once again from his home base to venture out into new territory, arriving at Ephesus, where he spent three years loving people into the Kingdom of God. “Letting go” is what he did on a sad beach in Asia, as he addressed friends he knew he would never see again. “Letting go” was boarding a ship bound for Jerusalem, even though he had been warned repeatedly that things would not go well for him on this trip. Both “going” and “letting go” are vital for effective ministry. One takes great courage; the other takes great grace.
When it comes to “going,” the list of responders is always pretty short. Launching into the “unknown” separates those who talk from those who act, by the time the gangplank goes up. It takes tremendous courage to go. However, there is always along with it an element of excitement and even danger which accompanies “going.” It’s usually both scary and fun.
“Letting go” is the backside of “going.” There is a lot of letting go which has to be done before “going” in the first place: Leaving home, leaving behind security, etc., but along with it is that afore stated sense of adventure. The “letting go” I’m talking about requires a different sort of grace, and lots of it. I’m talking about letting go of what you found by going. Still with me? I hope so.
Letting Go of What You Found by Going
Paul didn’t know what he would find in Ephesus. He wasn’t sure he would survive his ministry there, and, like usual, almost didn’t. His ministry in Asia turned out to be tremendously successful, and, I think, enjoyable. Not only that; he stayed longer in Ephesus than practically anywhere else. Relationships ran deep. Had Paul never gone to Ephesus in the first place, he wouldn’t have made all these friends, wouldn’t have seen the miracles, wouldn’t have established the Gospel like this in the province of Asia. But now the Spirit was once again calling, and it was time to let go, for good. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22-23) Such a deal! Paul knows perfectly well that he’ll wind up in prison, again, or worse; he knows this is a final goodbye to his Ephesian brothers, but he is still willing to let go. Why? Because he is “constrained by the Spirit.” Once again, it’s the Spirit who is doing the leading in the Church, not the “leaders.”Willing to Let Go
Which one is harder, to launch out in scary, new ministry to parts unknown, or to let go of the friends and success that ministry brought, in order to be shelved somewhere for the rest of your life? I think that’s an easy question. Many of us have a hard time following the Spirit into risky territory, but even more of us have a hard time disengaging from the fruit of that risk and leaving it at the Spirit’s leading. Like I said, one takes great courage; the other takes great grace. God supplies both, as we have need of it. Are we willing to go or let go, as the Spirit leads? Or do we limit the Holy Spirit to adding things to our lives, but we balk when it comes to taking away?The Big Plan
The Big Plan here is God’s plan, not ours. In God’s plan, Paul first has to walk across Asia without preaching, then come back to it, then stay three years, then leave. It’s all the Spirit’s plan, not man’s. I doubt if any part of it felt like it made sense, at the time. Here’s the deal, though. The Church belongs to Jesus. He is the Head of the Church. When a body does what the head tells it to do, a lot of good things happen. When a body doesn’t do what the head tells it to do, that’s a body with something wrong with it! If the Body of Christ in America seems ineffective and paralyzed, maybe it’s because we take so few orders from the Head. When the Body of Christ “has a mind of its own,” that’s not a good thing.The Puzzle, May 15-16, 2009
Anything for Jesus
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God...”Acts 20:18-17
The commitment level of the Early Church is astounding. Paul is giving a farewell speech to the Ephesian elders. He casually mentions that he is certain he will be facing imprisonment and afflictions, but he’s going ahead, anyway. He talks about how disposable he considers his life, if he can only finish the task he knows God has given him. He assures the elders that they will never see him again, but that he has held nothing back that might have been profitable to them. All the loose ends are tied up, as Paul prepares for the final goodbye’s. He courageously faces trials and death, and calmly walks into the dangerous future with Jesus.
A Future with God
Except that the future with Jesus is not dangerous, only exciting. It is sometimes difficult, and even disappointing, but there is a safety in being with Jesus that goes beyond every other kind of safety. Think back to the disciples going across the Sea of Galilee, years before, with Jesus in the boat. Midway, a horrific storm made even the seasoned fishermen think this was it, and they were going to all drown. Jesus was asleep in the stern. When they woke Him, He rebuked the wind and waves, producing flat calm with nothing but His voice. Question. Were they really in danger in the storm?In retrospect, the answer is “No. They were in no danger at all.” But they didn’t know that, at the time! It was more than just exciting, for the disciples; they were terrified.
How about us? Are we in some pretty rough waters, about now? Taking a few waves over the side? Check the back of the boat. If Jesus is there, how is this going to turn out? If the Lord is in the boat, and He’s the One who told us to get in the thing in the first place, we KNOW this is going to be all right!! (One more exclamation mark): !
The great thing is, we don’t have to have calm water and smooth sailing to know it’s going to be all right. Sometimes, what will happen is that our boat will sink, with us in it! We’re still all right, if Jesus is with us. Paul’s prediction about imprisonment and trials came true. Speaking of being in a boat, the return trip West for Paul would find him as a prisoner in a ship at sea, in a storm so fierce they would go a couple weeks without seeing the sun. The calmest person on board? Paul the prisoner. God sent an angel to let him know how it would all turn out. The presence of Jesus eliminates danger. All that’s left is the excitement! And, sometimes, the suffering.
Willing to Suffer
Paul was willing to face imprisonment, afflictions and death, in order to finish his course and the ministry received from the Lord Jesus. He marched ahead, in the full knowledge that this was going to hurt, in the assurance that one day he would probably become a martyr for Jesus. What can you do to stop someone who will do anything for Jesus, regardless of the pain or the cost? The answer is, “Nothing,” and Satan knows it full well.If you don’t have those on your team who are willing to suffer for the cause, you can’t even win a sports championship, much less a nation! There is a cost to spiritual transformation. That cost is “everything,” “anything.” The Early Church knew that cost very well, and willingly paid it. To us in the heretofore sheltered portions of the world in the twenty-first century, the cost has often been presented as optional. It wasn’t optional in the New Testament! Jesus told would-be disciples to pick up their cross, deny themselves, lose their life for Him, give up everything they have, and most of all, again and again, to follow Him.
What’s our approach? “How much would you like to give over to Jesus? After you’ve been a Christian for a while, you might want to up your commitment level a little bit, but right now, just repeat this prayer and you’ll be a Christian. And come to church as often as you can make it.”
Dead Man Walking
The reason Paul could head for Jerusalem, knowing he was signing up for prison and pain, was because he had already given his body and his future to Jesus Christ, long before. Saul of Tarsus had died on the road to Damascus; the new Saul Jesus inhabited was now Paul the messenger (apostle) of Jesus, a living sacrifice in a beat-up body filled with God’s Spirit. Heading for prison or death was not that big of a deal to Paul; he was already “dead” to himself, and you can no longer scare dead people.Dying out to self is actually a safety device! Once the old man has died out, he’s no longer afraid of dying. Once we’ve experienced “death,” suffering isn’t much of a deterrent. When we’ve gotten to the point of commitment where it’s “anything for Jesus,” we’ve become safe! There’s nothing left to be taken away from us. We have nothing left to lose, because it’s all safe with Jesus. And since our Savior promised to never leave us or forsake us, we are never without His presence. When we are in His presence, there is no danger, only excitement.
The Place of Safety
Where is the place of safety? In the presence of God is absolute safety. If we are following Jesus, we are safe. Whatever we commit to Him is safe. Whatever we hold back from Him, we stand to lose, anyway. Total commitment feels like a risk: “How can I trust God with something that means so much to me?” The reality is, the safest place we will ever find is the loving heart of God. In God’s presence, there is no danger; only absolute safety, peace, joy—Oh, yes, and plenty of excitement!The Puzzle, May 18-21, 2009
The Whole Counsel of God
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Acts 20:26-27
There are certain portions of God’s Word I have seldom heard mentioned in a church building. While some Bible passages are found in everything from sermons to graduation addresses to coffee cups, and some verses are emblazoned on road signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts and even people’s bodies, other passages, even in the same book of the Bible, may remain silently hidden away for a lifetime, unless a person decides to actually read the whole book, instead of munching on the tidbits thrown out to folks on Sundays. It’s always amused me how there are stopping points in scripture reading—a famous passage may butt up against an unpopular one, so people merely stop reading before they get to the difficult verses. They’ll even skip over the offending or confusing verses, and keep reading the “good” stuff as if the uncomfortable passages didn’t exist, bouncing from rock to rock across the Bible rapids.
Let’s face it. Most of us like to stay in the Bible shallows, anyway. Who wants to be swept away by torrents of conviction, or stuff about God’s wrath that might swamp our self-esteem or convince us that perhaps we’ve taken the wrong course?
The Whole Thing
What our country needs is a dose of God’s Word, as in, the whole thing. There are denominations which make it a point to teach all the way through the Bible on a continuing basis—not a bad idea! Meanwhile, some denominations rarely even mention the Bible; a good number of them embrace only the portions which meet with the approval of their group. When God delivered the Bible to mankind, it wasn’t for a book review; obedience was what He had in mind.But, as one of the writers put it (Paul, in fact): “And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Rom 10:14-15) How are American pagans whose Bible knowledge stops at John 3:16 and “Thou shalt not judge” supposed to be interested in obeying words they’ve never heard? And why is it that even among those whose church attendance has been better than sporadic, Biblical illiteracy is such a problem?
We’ve been cheating people. Not on purpose; we thought we were doing them a favor. We’ve pulled back on the “hellfire and brimstone” because we didn’t want to scare people; the result? A lot of people don’t even believe in hell, anymore, including those claiming to be Christians. Meanwhile, Jesus seemed pretty concerned over it! He didn’t want anyone to be lost, which is why He came in the first place. Nowadays, “lost” is lost—even the concept. How many of the non-Christian American public think of themselves as “lost”? No wonder the idea of “Jesus died for your sins” means so little to them. “What sins?” “I’m as good as anyone else.” “I don’t think God judges us.” And so forth.
Shielded from the Cure
We’ve wanted people to become Christians so badly (that, and wanting our churches to grow), that we have shielded people from the truths of God’s Word they needed to hear in order for this to even make sense. We have been so anxious about them partaking of the cure that we’ve avoided breaking the news to them that they have a disease. Consequently, they wave off help from God, since they don’t believe they need it. Why mess around with a cure if you’re not sick? For some, all it takes is an invitation from a loving God and they’re ready to respond, but for those who need more incentive, we’re not doing them any favors to never let them know about the consequences of sin and the reality of the Judgment. In trying to shield them from truths they may not want to hear, we may also be helping them to avoid heaven. That’s not a good thing!Needed: The Whole Thing
In the days of Josiah, king of Judah, the nation of Israel desperately needed revival (like our day). The high priest found the Book of the Law in the temple, where it had evidently been hidden for years during the evil reign of Josiah’s predecessor. As the words of the Bible were read to the young king, he tore his clothes in penitence. It was all news, to him! Upon hearing God’s Word, Josiah began to enact tremendous reform, from the top down, and the nation experienced revival. It was the last great revival, prior to the overthrow of Judah, and it was a revival grounded in God’s Word. That’s the sort of revival I think we need in America. We need something beyond some big crowds and big emotions. We need something where people at all levels of society are broken in repentance for their sins and their attitudes, and the repentance is sincere enough to bring about enormous change, at the heart level and at the action level. When America has a revival based on obedience to the whole Word of God, no one will have to ask if this is really revival or not!What changed Israel during Josiah’s time were not the Hallmark variety of nice verses and nice sayings, lifted out of context to be put on wall hangings to make people feel better. What got them were the passages which had literally been forgotten, stark prophecies warning of the consequences of sin, God’s expectations in black and white. It wasn’t the coffee cup verses which made Josiah tear his robes in horror at the sin of his country. When he heard the whole counsel of God, it all made sense, including what he needed to do to avoid national disaster in the form of God’s judgment. The Word of God, the whole Word, spared their society for another generation. It could do the same for us.
Why Would We Shrink Back?
For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.Why would someone like Paul be tempted to shrink back from proclaiming the whole counsel of God? Well, let’s see. If your hearers who know nothing about Jesus don’t like what they hear, are they going to throw away their whole life to follow after something they don’t like? How about just giving them the “good” parts, first, and maybe they’ll get the rest, later? First Century “seeker friendly.” When Jesus was doing His earthly ministry, there were some sermons He gave that resulted in thousands no longer following Him! Wouldn’t want that to happen, again!
Another incentive to not proclaiming quite all the counsel of God is that when people find that your preaching is hurting their business or their self-esteem, sometimes they beat you up or throw you in jail. Sometimes they go further than that. It’s a pretty easy rationalization to reason that it’s better to give them some of the Gospel than all of it, especially if “all of it” is going to get you killed. If you back off a little, at least maybe you’ll still be around to preach to them! Isn’t giving them just the non-offensive part of the Gospel better than giving them the whole thing and having them upset at you? Or is it?
In this culture, we’d better lead with love, if we expect to get past the first few sentences and still have an audience. But if we’re looking for spiritual transformation, not just big crowds, we’re going to have to get to the whole counsel of God, somewhere along the line. If we’re in need of surgery, at some point, somebody has to do some cutting; making the hospital food better isn’t going to do the trick. We need all of God’s instructions and treatment for us, not just the parts we think will go over well.
Choices to Make
We have some choices to make. Are we going to try to limp through life, trying to survive on the frosting we licked off God’s Word? Or are we going to choose to take in the whole thing, including the parts we don’t like or don’t understand? The whole thing will change us, even to the point of affecting society all around us.For those of us entrusted with the privilege of preaching, will we limit our teaching to the portions of the Bible people love to hear—the promises, the comfort verses? Or, for the good of all, will we be careful not to leave out anything of God’s Word which would benefit our hearers, even if it makes us all uncomfortable in the process? As I write, the stakes may be going higher for American pastors, when it comes to preaching all of the Bible. There is the very real possibility that someday soon it may be against the law even to read some of the Bible passages dealing with homosexuality. The Bible is not silent on the subject, but we may be required to be, in order to avoid the wrath of the “tolerant.” We have a choice to make. We can lovingly declare the whole counsel of God, or we can cower under the intimidation of those who might choose to be offended by His Word or even His existence. This shouldn’t be a difficult choice, but it will be one requiring courage, if we make the right one.
I’m glad the apostle Paul chose to give the Asians the whole counsel of God. It cost him! Later in Acts, the people who start the riot in Jerusalem are the people Paul upset in Asia, just preaching the Gospel. The “whole counsel of God” earned Paul more enemies than he would have had with Gospel Lite. It also earned him more true converts. Because he gave them the whole deal, believers in Asia understood what it was to be a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ. Shrinking back is not part of it. They all understood that. Now, it’s our turn.
The Puzzle, May 22-29, 2009
Sentry Duty
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. Acts 20:28-31
Joe the wanna-be shepherd buys a flock of sheep. Thinking his job is done, he deposits the flock in a nice pasture, leaving them unsupervised (Joe had to get back to his “real” job in the city). Two years later, Joe returns to the pasture, anticipating tremendous growth in his flock. After all, he had purchased fine, pedigreed animals and paid a premium price, and the seller had told him he could expect a good return on his investment within two years.
The pasture is empty. The gate hangs open. A breeze is blowing across the field. Not one sheep in sight. Joe’s investment is entirely gone. From a neighbor, he pieces together what happened in the past two years.
Without a shepherd, the losses started mounting right away. Sheep being sheep, every so often one would get lost or get sick, and there would be a few less in the pasture each time the neighbor drove by. The local coyote club noticed an abundance of mutton and an absence of humans, and took things into their own jaws–often. Then, one night, a big truck backed up to the pasture and some strangers rounded up every sheep they could find and loaded them into the truck. The neighbor thought it was weird that they came at night, but since he didn’t know who the owner was, he was oblivious to the fact that the men were thieves. Even had he realized it, he had no way of contacting the rightful owner. Since the thieves left the gate open when they departed, the few remaining sheep in the pasture found their way into the flocks of others, or wandered off and got lost, soon to succumb to predators or the elements. Joe’s flock was all gone.
Coyote Theory
This story was fictitious; even a greenhorn rancher would know better. Sadly, the scenario has been played out in real life far too often within the Church. And to what animal are we frequently compared, in scripture?Somewhere along the line, a thought has taken root which contends that sheep don’t really need a shepherd, that they’ll do fine on their own. This is a theory generated by coyotes!
Sheep need a shepherd. They need some form of protection. Churches are like that, too. Paul understood that so well that he pleaded with the Ephesian elders to watch over the flock entrusted to their care, because trials were coming. Although Paul had a gift of prophecy, he didn’t need it to assure the Church in Ephesus that attacks would come, from within and without. This is just standard fare. It happens! The apostle who founded the church in Ephesus was only giving his converts a heads-up about what was coming. He didn’t want them to be caught off-guard.
Who’s Watching the Sheep?
I have a question: Who’s watching the sheep, in America? Pastors have been led to believe they are “ranchers,” “shepherd” being too diminutive a title or role for someone of their vaunted education and skill. They’ve been taught that sheep need real “leaders,” willing to guide them into a visionary future, in an aggressive, innovative church which runs like a well-oiled machine.Realistically, sheep aren’t interested in much except good food, calm water, security and each other. New pastors eager to lead a church through the rapids of change almost always take a bleating. (Sorry). I’ve heard it over and over, from pastor friends: “They hired me to be their spiritual leader, but now they don’t want to follow my authority!” News break: Sheep are not brave creatures. When things get scary, they get going—in the opposite direction. We’re talking sheep here, not Navy Seals. And while the Seals don’t require a babysitter, sheep pretty much do. That usually seems demeaning to the staff person who growls his disgust at having to “babysit” a bunch of teens, but if you’ve got babies, you need babysitters until they can handle life on their own. Olympic trainers come in later, if at all.
Other news flash for the new pastor: You don’t have any authority. They just told you that to get you to take the job. Any authority you pick up along the way will be earned by serving and loving the people, who will follow you anywhere if they know you love them and if you prove yourself to be a really good babysitter they can trust.
Needed: Shepherds Who Serve, As Well As Lead
The Church does not take care of itself. It requires overseers, “shepherds” who will serve, as well as lead. Watchfulness is required, if we expect to survive! Listen to the pleas from the one who planted the Church in Ephesus: “Pay careful attention,” “care for the church of God,” “fierce wolves will come in,” “from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things,” “be alert.” That’s just in four verses!Churches without anyone staying alert and willing to take on the wolves, rather than running in retreat, are easy prey for the enemy. Disease, internal strife, complaining and stupidity get the rest. The survivors, if any, are wild and so skittish about trusting authority that they shy away from even the gentlest hands. Another church, disappeared! That’s the story, when no one is standing watch.
Shepherding requires commitment. That commitment can’t be conditional, just as a marriage commitment doesn’t work if it’s one of these “50-50" arrangements, where the relationship only endures as long as each party comes up with its fifty. One week into the marriage, and the couple is already short, and rapidly falling behind. If it takes “100" for a marriage to thrive, then marriage needs to be “100-100,” not “50-50.” If each partner is putting in enough for both person’s parts, you have a marriage which only needs “100" to survive well, supplied with resources of “200.” There is plenty of grace left over to make up for the inevitable shortfall.
Back to the Church. In order to protect helpless (and witless) sheep, shepherds are needed who have made a commitment not only to Christ, but to the people entrusted to them by Christ. Although this may be a temporary situation, such as Paul’s shepherding of the Ephesians for three years, then having to say goodbye to them, the commitment needs to be thorough for the duration of the assignment. Even then, the love doesn’t stop—it just becomes long-distance. Also, we need to understand something, here: The people Paul was addressing were not “senior pastors,” the role which might come to mind when we mention “shepherds.” They were elders, those who had proven themselves to be faithful, solid followers of Jesus Christ, even though there was little power or authority associated with the position. These were not hired “shepherds;” they were people who had the gift and responsibility of shepherding, who helped in leading the Church, without it being a paid position. I say that so we don’t whip through this passage and come up with more things for our “pastor” to do! The following things are responsibilities for all mature believers, as well as professional clergy.
1. “Pay attention to yourselves and to the flock”
It’s easy for a shepherd to become abusive in some way, unless he pays attention to his attitude and his actions. This is where a plurality of eldership comes in handy; other shepherds can see things we ourselves have a hard time discerning, particularly when it comes to our own attitude. Willingness to submit to the scrutiny of others goes a long way toward maintaining a steady course.What are distractions in these areas?
There are many. Ambition is one. If we are looking toward another (bigger and better) flock somewhere, it makes it difficult to pay adequate attention to the one under our care. If we have begun to take our flock for granted, the quality of care will suffer. If we are more interested in our own ministry than we are in serving those under our care, people will probably feel used.
2. “The Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God”
“The Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” Why? “To care for the church of God.” So that’s why He made us overseers! To listen to some people talk, “overseers” are “leaders” and “leaders” are always telling people what to do, which is what makes them “leaders.” Paul used the term “overseers” right next to “care for the church of God.” Could that be the main job of an overseer? To care for the Church of God? To “lead” them, not by casting egotistical “vision” and cramming it down their throats, but by selfless example? To care for the stubborn and the stupid, spending hours trying to aid the healing of people who are just reaping the results of their own foolish choices? Or is leadership about skimming off the all-stars and forming a dream team to do exploits in God’s name? Big head, big vision, big budgets and buildings. In a lot of minds, that’s an “overseer.” In God’s mind, it seems that an overseer is “someone you can trust to take care of the people you love.” I know it’s breaking up the original sentence to say it this way, but the truth is so important: “The Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God.” Simple, but profound!3. Be willing to take on the wolves, to defend those entrusted to you.
Paul warned of the wolves who would come in after he left. He also warned that some from among their own number would rise up and twist things, in the process siphoning off disciples to follow them. The implication is not just that this would be a prediction of what was inevitable, but a warning to stand guard. A shepherd who is unwilling to fight to defend the flock is not a good shepherd. He may say he loves the flock, but if he leaves them to the wolves, his “love” is pretty flimsy. He’s the “hireling” Jesus describes in John 10, who runs off when the going gets tough. The good shepherd is the one willing to defend the sheep or die trying!We give up way, way too easily! We give up on people, we give up on churches. The reminder of the cost of the Church in the first place (which he obtained with his own blood) should be a not-so-subtle clue as to how quickly we should let people slide off into the water to fend for themselves. It cost Jesus His own blood to save them! And we’re going to just let them go, because we had a little disagreement with them, or they don’t like our style?! We see them marching back in the wrong direction, right into the jaws of the enemy, and we don’t say or do anything, because we don’t want to offend them? What’s wrong with this picture?! We just give up too easily. A good shepherd would hang in there. David was just a youth, with a collection of hides, taken from beasts which tried to mess with his flock. Courage kicks in when we’re committed to either defend or die trying! When we get beyond self-preservation and we lock in to the same fate as the flock, where we either live or die together, caring for the flock becomes self-preservation! That’s a good thing. It wouldn’t take very many “overseers” with that sort of disposition to effectively defend a whole lot of people.
The kicker is that we’re generally not talking about needing to resort to physical violence. We get caught up in the same way Simon Peter did. He wasn’t kidding when he told Jesus he was willing to go to prison or die with him, as long as that meant picking up a sword he didn’t really know how to use and taking on an army by himself. Where he stumbled badly was in the identification with Jesus when he couldn’t swing a sword and do something physical in Jesus’ defense. It’s the helpless “laying down your life” part which is actually harder than fighting, and which takes more courage. Once again, to marriage: There are few of us who would not take a bullet for our family members, especially if we knew it would save them. The list starts to shrink, though, when it comes to simple, daily things. Are there more men who would take a bullet for their family than there are who would cheerfully take out the garbage for their family every week? I’m guessing there are. When Jesus spoke of laying our lives down for one another, it included willing martyrdom, but it was a lot more about willing, daily service. In a way, the latter takes more courage. It definitely takes more discipline.
More True Shepherds, less Self-serving “Professionals”
In America, we’re in need of more true shepherds, and less self-serving “professionals” who think that “leading” a church means building some kind of kingdom around their own ambitious agenda. I am not saying that all professionals are self-serving! Some are. And some are very much professional, and very much a true shepherd, at the same time.Also needed: More disciples who are committed to Christ and to one another. We aren’t needing brand-name loyalty to denominations or creeds as much as we are needing “marriages” which say, “I choose to be committed to you, for better or worse.” There are so many solo climbers out there! A few of them do really well; most of them don’t make it very far before something takes them out.
We are supposed to be walking together with others, not slogging through the wilderness alone. We make an easy target for the devil. Imagine a single covered wagon with one brave man and his family, trying to cross the continent alone, during the days of the Oregon Trail. His chances aren’t very good! He presents too easy a target. Sure, he has his own little kingdom and he doesn’t have to answer to anyone else or put up with other people, but the lack of those inconveniences also means the lack of protection. Everything has to go right, the whole way, in order for the journey to be successful, when your only resource is yourself. When you have others around you, you’re pretty much guaranteed more hassles and trouble, but you also have more resources to respond to that trouble. We’re not supposed to go it alone, in the Christian life!
What do we do?
Pastors, we made a really bad trade when we started encouraging pastors to abandon the role of pastor-shepherd for CEO-rancher. I thought it was God who owned “the cattle on a thousand hills.” I understand the need to delegate, etc., and go bigger, in terms of organizational structure: One person can only shepherd so many people. What I disagree with is the shift in mentality which is also encouraged—the shift from thinking the responsibility of a pastor is to protect and nurture and love the people, to a mentality which focuses on some exciting mission, where the people become rather expendable.To other disciples: I think another mistake we have made is in relegating the defense of the Church to a few paid professionals. Sometimes, we have let a wolf take over the flock, just because the wolf seemed to know a lot about sheep and even had a degree! At other times we have put someone in charge of the church, then determined that our main responsibility was to keep an eye on him, rather than keeping an eye out for Satan. Flocks and churches left on their own don’t do well! We need leaders, but if everything banks on one leader, it’s not that tough to just take him out of the picture or distract him or discourage him, then the flock is yours. We ought to remember that. I have a feeling Satan loves seeing churches where there is only one person on guard, and that person is vulnerable.
The Sense of a Goose
Even animals know to keep alert. In a flock of wild geese, rather than the whole flock chowing down at the same time, one goose serves as a sentry, so the others can eat in safety. If it were always the same goose, it would probably starve. I think they take turns. In a church, if the only one who is vigilant against the enemy is the pastor, he has to sleep and eat, sometime. Then, what? We ought to have the sense of a goose, and take turns being sentries. We would all be better off. As surely as Paul was able to tell the Ephesian elders that the flock would come under attack and they needed to stand guard, we can know that the enemy of our soul is constantly on the prowl, looking for unsuspecting people who see no need for vigilance—or figure they can hire it done. Part of the overall strategy of spiritual transformation in a region is conserving the results. That means protecting the flock. That means we stay alert. It’s how smart flocks deal with wolves.September Puzzle Archives
October Puzzle Archives
November Puzzle Archives
December Puzzle Archives
January Puzzle Archives
February Puzzle Archives
March Puzzle Archives
April Puzzle Archives
Servant Connection
Journal