Archives for 2021

Learning from our mistakes

Posted on June 6, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

Earlier this week in the Scripture Union daily devotional, the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, was the scripture reading for the day. In the commentary section of the devotional, the author wrote the following:

“This passage, then, shows us the role of wisdom and discernment in protecting the church. Christians can find it hard to challenge others because we do not want to appear negative or judgmental, and it is always difficult to go against the crowd. How can we make it easier, then, for people to express hard truths in our churches? Do we know who among us has gifts of discernment and wisdom (1 Cor 12:8,10) – and are they given a voice? As we are in a spiritual battle, can we really afford to be lacking such a vital part of our defense?”

Wisdom and discernment.

These gifts should be operational in every church. Discernment is needed to determine if what is being thought and taught in the church is in accordance with Scripture. Wisdom is needed to take the principles of Scripture and apply them to the church in a particular culture at a particular time.

But, sadly, I have been in churches where these gifts are not allowed to be exercised. I have experienced sitting under pastors who felt that they were the final authority and were, by nature of their position, entitled to “cast a vision” for the church.

The story of Ananias and Sapphira illustrates the need for correction to take place in the church. If we believe what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4 concerning church leaders, we understand that God will arrange for elders to function as shepherds and teachers to keep the body of Christ on track.

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Ephesians 4:11–16, ESV

So, I suggest some questions for my readers can ask when evaluating a church.

How does the elder board respond where there is disagreement on an issue?
Do they allow wisdom and discernment to be practiced?
Do they let the one with the concern voice it and then search the Scriptures to speak to the issue?
Is the elder board seeking God together in prayer over the issue?
Are they waiting on God to bring unity over the issue?

Or, does the pastor or some minority group of elders browbeat and harass the one with the concern until he either resigns from office or simply acquiesces? For a church to be healthy, the pastor must (this is not optional) allow all the gifts to be operational. Even the ones that challenge him.

If we believe Jeremiah when he writes, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV), we then understand that we are all in need of correction at times. Because we have the tendency to go wrong, we have a seemingly infinite capacity to misinterpret Scripture to fit what we want it to say. Pastors and elders are not an exception and those of us in leadership need to allow our fellow elders to regularly challenge us to examine our opinions in light of Scripture.

Unfortunately, a seminary education can make us better at convincing ourselves and others that we are right, even when we’re wrong.

On the importance of fellowship

Posted on May 30, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Lately, I have run into a number of Christians who have dropped out of the habit of regular church attendance. Most of them have done so as a result of COVID-19 and churches being closed for “in-person” worship. It is so easy to do a live-stream service from the recliner with a cup of coffee nearby.

If your only motivation for attending church is to hear a good sermon, then a sermon video or a sermon Podcast are likely to satisfy that desire. But our experience of the church should be so much more.

But, some have dropped out as a result of ill-treatment at the hands of church leaders. This is frustrating, but with the pressure to grow large churches, I’m seeing instances where church leaders are too focused on numerical growth to actually care for individual members well.

I am embarrassed to admit that I have attended churches that catered to the church-consumer mentality in the past. That mentality causes people to shop around for the type of worship they like combined with a stimulating and entertaining sermon. It got so bad at one megachurch that I attended in Southern California years ago that I could tell when the regular pastor was not preaching by seeing half the amount of cars in the parking lot on a Sunday. I’m not sure if those who were not there were at a different church or if they just stayed home.

I’m not saying that it is wrong to seek a church that has a worship style that you enjoy. I’m not saying that it is wrong to want to hear preaching that is dynamic and informative.

I am saying that to have the mentality that makes it OK to constantly be shopping for a church experience that better suits one’s preferences is counterproductive to real spiritual growth.

Real fellowship cannot be obtained without commitment. We need other believers around us. We need to be committed to them and them to us. The author of Hebrews put it this way:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:23–25, ESV

We are to stir one another up to love and good works.

How?

By meeting together.

Zoom was OK when it was the only option during COVID. But it takes face-to-face meeting for us to be challenged and encouraged in our pursuit of obedience to the word of God.

Just look at the difference between real life and Facebook. Everyone looks like they have it together on Facebook. But in real life, those with whom we have regular contact know the stuff that takes place between the selfies at fun locations. There is a lot of messiness that needs to be grown out of and that is better done with the help of other believers who come alongside us.

One other thought, find a church whose leadership is modeling that commitment to fellowship. Find out if the pastor actually attends a small group or merely encourages members to do so. Find out if there is mutual accountability between the pastor and the elders or if the pastor views the elders as worker bees to implement his vision. A few questions along these lines, even if they are a bit awkward, may help you avoid a toxic church culture.

This is important because an organization takes on traits of the person at the top. If the pastor isn’t in fellowship to learn and grow, then it is unlikely that the culture of that church will be one that will help you learn and grow.

Paul told the Ephesians that they needed to be “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, ESV). Church leaders are not exempt from this command.

In America, it seems as though our culture is moving from ambivalence toward Christianity to open hostility, especially in media outlets. As it does so, our need for fellowship will be even greater.

Eyes fixed on Jesus

Posted on May 15, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

I’ve seen an increased level of frustration with churches as I talk to people. This is partly due to COVID and the disruption as a result of the pandemic. But it seems that the pandemic cannot account for all of it.

I know of families that plan on continuing to stay home to watch live-streamed sermons because of their dissatisfaction with church leadership and the resulting distrust. As a result of their church experience, they are wondering if there are any healthy churches.

So how do we keep from being overwhelmed by our frustrations with the church? How can we move on, knowing that there are mutton-eating shepherds in too many organized churches?

Thinking about this today, I came to the conclusion that most, if not all, of the answer can be found in Hebrews where the author says,

“Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
Hebrews 12:1b – 2a, CSB

We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

We cannot look to our shepherds to provide what only Jesus can provide. We cannot look to our shepherds for complete and unwavering unconditional love. We cannot expect our shepherds to always get it right.

We know this because those shepherds are just like us. Other than Jesus, no one who has held a position of leadership in the church, has fulfilled his office perfectly. We understand the frailty of human leaders and this knowledge does not usually overwhelm us.

But then we find that some of those in church leadership are not looking out for the best interest of the people they lead. We see decisions made that do not advance the cause of Christ or build up Christ’s people. We see prominent pastors who are using their power and influence for their own benefit. We see pastors succumbing to cultural mandates that counter to the truth of Scripture. We see pastors who feel themselves to be above their people and as a result, treat their people badly.

But, by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, we can look past the problems in the church and look forward to the day when Jesus will return to set everything right. We can walk in the confidence that Jesus will eventually fix the things we know to be wrong.

We can be encouraged as we look at church history. Despite mismanagement at the hands of unrighteous shepherds, the church survives and the gospel of Jesus Christ still goes forth.

We can also be encouraged by Scripture where we see revealed to us that God has worked throughout history to accomplish his purpose. The Apostle Paul illustrates this in Galatians:

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Galatians 4:4-5, ESV

God knew the right time then, and he knows how he is working things out now. The fact that there are abusive shepherds in the church does not take God by surprise and he will work it out (more on this idea in an upcoming blog post).

I am confident that as we look to Jesus, as the author of Hebrews encourages us to do, we will be able to rest in the knowledge that he will lead us into the fellowship we long to have. At the right time, he will also deal with abusive shepherds according to the warnings given in Scripture.

When I look to Jesus, I can rest in the knowledge that he will provide what I need. Period. Those mutton-breath shepherds can’t take away what only Christ can give.

No wax fruit

Posted on April 12, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

I have a pear tree, an apple tree, and a cherry tree in my yard. If they were not producing fruit, I could go out and buy a bunch of wax apples, cherries and pears and hang them on the trees. This would make the trees look productive to those passing by, but wouldn’t fool anyone who took the time to take a closer look.

In the same way, I have seen churches that manufacture a frenzy of activity that seems to indicate that there is spiritual growth taking place, but upon closer examination, I find only the appearance of fruitfulness.

Jesus said to the Church in Sardis,

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”
Revelation 3:1, ESV

The problem lies in a faulty understanding of what it means to build the church. When Jesus builds the church, he uses the preaching of the gospel to transform individual hearers into children of God. The church’s responsibility ends with the proclamation of the gospel and the “equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12). Real growth can only take place when the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bring about new life in the hearers.

But it seems that in 2021, the “experts” seem reluctant to wait upon God to bring growth so they invent methods to bring people in and make it appear that spiritual growth is taking place. The problem is that the fruit we produce by human methods is wax fruit and not real fruit.

The experts say you need professional musicians, concert-style lighting, slick branding, and polished speakers who won’t offend the hearers, to draw people in and, hopefully, capture their attention. Keep it fun and keep it light.

But when a church spends more effort on its style and branding than it does on teaching its members what it means to live in the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5), then little, if anything, of substance, is taking place.

I suppose it would be prudent to remind us what else Jesus wrote to Sardis:

“Remember then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”
Revelation 3:3, ESV

When the tree no longer produces real fruit, it may be time to cut down the tree.

When the church no longer produces spiritual fruit, it’s time to find a different church.

Because if they are not producing spiritual fruit, it is evidence that Jesus has already left the building. And, if Jesus isn’t there, there’s not much point in staying.

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