And Jesus said:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Above is a no fail vision plan. If you follow this plan, it is promised to reap a 100 fold blessing! If you follow this plan, you are promised success, unheard of growth, and the greatest thing this plan is backed by the God of the universe.
The problem is many today we think we have a better plan. We adopt the latest marketing trend. We have conferences on how to grow our “churches”. “Leadership” conferences that says this 2000 year fail proof plan is not contemporary enough. You see we have to outsmart Jesus. We have ideas that will take the “church” to the “next level”. We hire Harvard marketing grads, some talk about a vision they received from God (I guess). I get emails and literature for all types of “schemes” that will grow your church. Even from those whom I would respect. They have conference after conference telling you what you need to do to have a successful church. And each of those are measured by quantity. I have heard some solid guys say “if you aren’t growing you are dying”.
I think Jesus says “go and make disciples” not church members. We think the two are synonymous. To be part of the church is to be part of the body of Christ. I have buddies like DTG and his family who are part of the church but believe that being part of a “church” stunts their growth. You see today, not sitting under some man or woman with a vision is unbiblical. This brother happens to be more mature than most I see who have been in church all their lives.
You see today our shepherds wear the right clothes but the smell the wrong way. In other words they have the shepherds staff, they talk like shepherds, they look like shepherds, they even sometimes hang out with other shepherds, but get close enough and they smell like a board room and not sheep. Their hands smell like ink and paper and not feet, they kwno more superstars than they do sheep and they hang our with more business man they they do sheep! Sounds more like a CEO than a shepherd. And all of this is validated by their “vision”. But the Master’s visions seems to have a different focus. He envisions hands that smell like feet, shepherds who serve (not from the pulpit), shepherds who know their sheep, shepherds who would rather spend time tending sheep than going to shepherd conferences (not the Shepherd Conference). Shepherds whose high position is in a low position. A servant position, a tough debased position! Shepherds who don’t have “under” shepherds carrying their staff, but who is not only willing to carry their own staff but sheep also if necessary. Shepherds who will fight off wolves, not invite them to dinner!
You see that type of Shepherd will risk his life for the sheep in his care. He is more concerned about the sheep than the land they graze and the wool they produce. There has to come a day when we will begin to measure the shepherd by the quality of his sheep not the quantity of the sheep, the amount of land the sheep graze upon, and the business of the Shepherd. When we sheep who genuinely love one another, know one another and care so deeply for one another that when one is in pain the other is, when one is rejoicing the other is, when one has a need the other meets it. The reason why is because the vision and the ONLY vision has been casted aside and others have been manufactured in the name of relevance or some other unbiblical reason.
In closing if you are a shepherd or are becoming a shepherd. Please love the sheep more than your vision. Please have the mentality that if I am to assume the role of the shepherd I will lay my life down for them. If we want to follow the chief shepherd this has to be our desire. We have to be well pleased to ensure all sheep are carefully and strategically provided for and if you can’t do that, then maybe you need to downsize your flock or stop calling yourself a shepherd. There are other biblical words we can use, but the Holy Spirit chose the word Shepherd for a reason. The readers would have immediately understood the word picture. They would have had nothing more to do than look up to the mountains to understand the analogy.
A pre-post coming from deacon and usher:
Usher: Question for you: How can a Constantinian church keep sending out “church planters” expecting them to be different? Aren’t they just building “mini-constantine’s”? How does one who wishes to truly be missional unlearn their constantinian ways and truly become a light in their community? And if you reply as we think you will, how does one support the church planter in such a way that they don’t revert back to the old power model and their old ways which they have been steeped in? The traditional church cannot and will not give up it’s powerbase and allow decentralization no matter what! Aren’t the two forces totally opposing? Is it not the “napster” effect to the music industry or the “skype” effect to long-distance telecommunications?
Deacon: Our argument is that this is virtually impossible using today’s theology and students of Constantinian ways. Entire denominations are founded on this, how in the world can they attempt such an undertaking, though many have programs in place? Shouldn’t we be sending people into non-Constantinian environments for them to truly become missional? We westerners have a tendency to simply “term it”, “claim it” and “preach it” without any foundation other than someone else’s book, teachings or opinions.
Summary: The Constantinian cannot play missional without dismembering itself, can it? We want to change the church, but to do this would mean to destroy livelihoods of pastors and church staff and fight about who is to receive the monies from the sale of the real estate (though this would be a great problem to have as it would mean the group had made the right decision). But really, the diaper-wearing christians will defend their institutional church and pastor and never give up their “binkys”, their custom-fitting “huggies”, their 1-hour-and-run services and their ability to write a check to free their guilt and not have to be bothered with getting their hands dirty or being weaned off their grace-laced formula.
The Constantinian model MUST be supported by demanding tithe, it must grow in membership to support the programs the diaper wearers demand of it. It must continue to build bigger buildings to keep up with the cost of programs, adding youth pastors and the cost of living for the staff. It must be a central top-down power model and in order to function, it must be headed up by those with college degrees from seminary. We are the ones who have demanded it (or gotten hooked on it and swallowed it and simply come back for more and more of the milk).
Lionel,
As we see in Acts, the vision of our Lord is clearly laid out. His Apostles after hanging out for a while in Jerusalem went to other regions and cities. There is a great pattern that the Holy Spirit has recorded for us and to learn from their example. Philip evanglized; Peter and John came behind him, ministered to the new disciples by picking up the baton (Acts 8). What happened to Philip? Well we keep reading and the Holy Spirit led him to other areas.
What about some other examples? Paul and Barnabas were all over the place and a pattern evolved (Acts 13-14) They proclaimed the Gospel, gathered disciples, were persecuted and moved on to other cities. Then they came back through again, identifying elders and then they left. That is carrying out the vision of our Lord of building His church; not COGIC, not Baptist(whatever type); not Presbyterian (whatever type), etc., etc. As these disciples mature, then we should pray, ask the Lord to separate others to evangelize and be apostles(missionaries) to care for disciples and elders are raised and the process continues.
Deacon and Usher hit on good points, concerning that our view of planting churches must change. I have read several of the church planting books, while good, they do not mesh with the planting found in Acts and the vision of Christ in Mt 28. Is there good info in them? Yes. But they are reproducing themselves. We are not to plant “clones,” but biblical fellowships who are exalting Christ, building one another to maturity, making and baptizing disciples.
Keep them coming.
Hey Phillip,
You know what else is funny. The elders they apponited had been Christian for less than a year some maybe less than 6 months. How is that for appointing elders. Some probably couln’t read past a 3rd or 4th grade level if that. Says a lot about our common practice.
Lionel,
Again you have hit the nail on the head. I praise God again for this site. The very issues you keep bringing up is what I am living right now. I have brought up issues in my fellowship and in a nonchalant way am being accused of swaying people to my way of thinking.
My question is what’s wrong with the Biblical way of church?
Anyway dittos to Deacon and Usher also. It is wonderful to have brothers in Christ you’ve never met bringing forth the truth in love. I praise God for all of the brethren and sisters of faith. Steven
SOwen,
I usually work out stuff here. Our church is doing some really good stuff. I think our weakness would be the Lord’s Supper and maybe our leadership. Need to see how that would be flushed out though. We have this thing called FIT time in which we spend the first 30 minutes or so of the gathering at tables and it is open discussion over the text that we should have prepared to engage during the week. It is quite revolutionary. It gives everyone a chance to speak and edify one another, while a leader of the table can intervene if stuff goes too far into left field.
In hearing the scripture Matthew 28:18-20, all authority is given to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is true, the question comes, do pastor-teacher, elders have any authority over their so-called members? Is it that they have ‘rule’(Hebrews 13:7,17) and not authority? These questions come after reading this post and my searching of a church. The church we are at is sound according their doctrine. I understand that no local church is perfect of course. In talking with the pastor, he stressed the importance of becoming a member to me one day and my guards went up. Why membership? Do the scriptures teach I have to be a member of a church? I start thinking what is church in America really all about. The pastors, it’s members, etc etc? Then this authority thing seems to come up as the pastor is elavated to the chief in command. I have been reading your articles recently, deal with some of these issues. I am just feeling like are we on the right path or what? I search the scriptures to see what the churches are supposed to look like. In comparison, it seems we in America have missed the mark. We seem to be pastor-teacher focused, and not focused on edification, and obeying the Lord Jesus Christ.
Good eye opening post again Lionel. I see football season is starting, you a fan? Your in Dallas and I am Cowboy fan, if you’re not then I’m sure you’ll be forgiven bro (lol). May His grace be with you
Karsten Miller
Hey KM,
Sorry if I have caused any of the confusion. I have been wrestling through this stuff as I approach which seminary to go to and for what reason. I want to go in with a solid foundation on my ecclisiology, because most come out without servant hearts but authoratarian hearts. Just my opinion but as Deacon and Usher wrote we are perpetuating a Constantian type ecclisology.
So let me answer your questions as you have written them.
1. My problem is that the authority that most pastors have come from either some vision they have received or someone appointing them. In our circles that is a theological education, in the other circles it is more of some mystical vision. However serveant-leaders are not produced in either instance.
2. I am not against a formal membership process. I actually was responsible in my current church for getting together the curriculum for membership. My problem would be for what reason and what exactly does “membership” entail. So I wouldn’t shy away from a church but I would want to know what they mean and what is their motive. If the first sentence isn’t something about serving you on a personal level and the first thing you encounter is something about church discipline or submitting I would probably have some problems with that.
3. You are a member of a church. The only church. LOL!!!
4. I am currently at a church where I sit under a senior pastor/teaching pastor/vision pastor. He was responsible for my maturity (earthly anway) in the faith. He is an older gentleman whom I love, respect, and cherish greatly. And he is a man of prayer and integrity and is not a Lord it over type guy. We may not agree on some things but I willfully submit to our current church structure because I love the people. So find some people you love and forget about the other stuff unless you try to find a home fellowship that would be more like http://www.ntrf.org or someone they would recommend. It would be rare to find what I am arguing for in any traditional church. Too much money invested and way too much to lose.
5. I would read a few books. Check out some articles at http://www.ntrf.org and http://www.ccwtoday.org some of Frank Viola’s stuff and other affilates that have an organic ecclisilogy.
6. Finally I am a Pistons, Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, U of M (Go Blue) fan. I like the Cowboys as about as much as the Tar Heels like the Blue Devlis. As a matter of fact I can’t stand the Mavericks either! I do like the Rangers however because they always are horrible LOL!!!