You shall know them by their . . . excess?

Posted on August 24, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

I am reminded of something I read about John Stott a while ago. He said that he wanted to live a lifestyle that would not cause the richest person in his congregation to feel sorry for him. Nor did he want the poorest person in his congregation to be put off by ostentation. He wanted to have a home where everyone would feel welcomed and comfortable. He wanted his home and lifestyle to be a platform for ministry.

The Apostle Paul was a good example to us in living in such a way as to make clear that his reason for ministry was only to bring the Gospel to those who desperately needed it. In 1 Corinthians 9:12, Paul tells his readers that while he had the right to expect the Corinthians to support him in his ministry, he worked to support himself lest his motive for ministry be questioned.

I have no idea what motivates the church leaders mentioned in the article. That is the problem, we don’t know. Their life style gives reason for some to question their motives, or assume that they are in ministry only for the money.

Of course, the church leaders who get it right and who work outside the church or who make do on small salaries for the privilege of sharing the Gospel do not make splashy headlines. For every church leader who participates in the abuse mentioned in the article, there are thousands or perhaps millions of men and women who serve their Lord in the church with no expectation of financial reward.

So, if you are one who is outside the church, I ask forgiveness for these abuses. I also ask you to look beyond what a few knuckleheads have done and judge the Church by her body of work through the ages. The abuse of a few does not nullify the fruitful sacrifice of the many.

They don’t even know how to blush – responding to a lack of shame

Posted on August 17, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Hiding Face A recent ruling in Indiana held that sexually graphic pictures posted by school girls on Facebook are considered constitutionally protected speech. As a result, their school could not submit them to discipline for the photos.

The case was decided in court because the ACLU represented the girls to appeal the discipline that he school implemented in 2009. I assume that the parents of the two plaintiffs were in support of the ACLU bringing the case to court.

This morning I read Jeremiah 8:12, where God says through the prophet,

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, Nor did they know how to blush.” The Israelites had lost their sense of shame when they committed indecencies.

Rather than teach the girls that the pictures posted were inappropriate and allowing the girls to face the consequences of a poor choice, seemingly the parents supported the poor choice by electing to go to court. Rather than blushing over their daughters’ indecent behavior, they endorsed it.

The point of this post is not to participate in hang-wringing and finger pointing. The church has done enough of that through the years with little good effect.

The point is that we as Christians need to stop and think about how we contribute to the moral decline in our country. We contribute to the moral decline by not living as if we are created in the image of God and every human life is sacred.

The fact that human life is sacred should play itself out in every aspect of our behavior, not just with regard to procreation and sexuality.

When we think that anyone is beyond God’s redemption we devalue human life. When we ignore injustice we devalue human life. When we support film, television and the arts that depict indecencies and gratuitous violence, we devalue human life. When we think more about our own comfort than the mission God has given us to make disciples, we devalue human life.

What these girls did was wrong and their parents are wrong for supporting them in that behavior. But before we get too exercised about what they have done, we, as the Church, had better make sure that our own house is in order.

I am reminded of a proverb that I first heard from Chuck Colson, “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Shine on!

Herod was conflicted about John the Baptist

Posted on August 14, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 3 Comments

Mark 6:20 is an interesting verse. The best manuscripts of this verse tell us that Herod was conflicted about what to do with John the Baptist. Herod’s wife, Herodias, wanted John dead, but Herod feared John and was at the same time intrigued and confused by John. (Note that the KJV and NKJV tell us that Herod “did many things” rather than “he was perplexed,” There is strong manuscript evidence for the latter reading and this reading makes more sense in the context.)

To fulfill the mission of the church to make disciples, the church will interact with those who know nothing about God, the Bible or Jesus Christ. When we do, there will be times when, like Herod, they will be perplexed by the message, but hopefully drawn to it at the same time.

There is quote that has been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi which says, “preach the gospel always, when necessary, use words.” There is something to this, we are called to live in such a way as to make the gospel attractive to those who have not yet heard it. Yet we also know that living out the gospel is only the means to earning the credibility to share the gospel in words.There was something about John the Baptist the Herod feared and liked at the same time. John earned the right to be heard by Herod by the integrity by which he lived.

That being said, John the Baptist did in fact use words. He preached an unequivocal message. He did not compromise his message for anyone, not even King Herod. We should do the same despite the pressure from outside, and sadly, inside the church to tailor the message to our post-Christian, post-modern society. The world needs to hear the straight truth about their need for a savior and that there is “one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5)

At the same time, we should not be dismayed if the world, like Herod, is perplexed by our message. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that those who are not in relationship with Jesus cannot understand spiritual truth. So we should not be dismayed.

On the other hand, Paul also tells us in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Therefore, we need to preach knowing that some will be perplexed by the message, yet hopeful that God will use the preaching to bring salvation and enlightenment to those who hear the message.

If we are faithful in accurately conveying the message of the gospel, God is able to break through whatever perplexity the hearer has. It is not our prerogative to make it more palatable. Dilution of the medicine renders it ineffective in curing the disease.

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Freeze Warning: When visitors complain that your church is cold

Posted on August 11, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

When the Apostle Paul said farewell to the Ephesian elders, he quotes Jesus as saying, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Paul pointed to his own work to support himself while among the Ephesians as an example of this. Along these same lines, Matthew 20:28 tells us that Jesus did not come to be served but to serve others.

Based on these verses and similar statements, churches rightly develop a culture of service where people come to contribute to the life of the church. It is good to come to church with the priority of serving over being served.

The question is, what is the goal of service? What are we trying to accomplish? How are we nurturing the ones who are serving?

In many churches, the primary goal of service is to bring more people into the church. This is a worthy goal (see Matthew 9:38) but it cannot be the only goal. Jesus himself said his ministry is “to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) Yet, based on Paul’s analogy of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, I conclude that growing the church cannot be the only goal.

Under stressful circumstances a human can ignore the needs of his own body for a while in order to remove himself from a dangerous situation. The body can be pushed beyond what is considered normal when the need arises.However, this cannot be a prolonged situation. There is a point where the person begins to break down physically or mentally if its own needs are neglected. In order for the body to function correctly, it must be maintained.

Therefore, service cannot be the only goal, there must be nurturing that happens along with the service. If that nurturing doesn’t take place, people will feel used and will eventually move on when they are burned out. Also, if the nurturing isn’t taking place, people will feel pressured to appear that everything is OK, even when it is not. If this is the case, they will go through the motions and those who are perceptive enough to see it will know that there is something wrong with the body.

In our physical bodies, a low temperature is a sign that something is wrong. In the same way a low temperature in the Body of Christ is an indication of problems. If visitors regularly complain that your church is cold, this is an indication that people are not getting nurtured in the body. This should be taken very seriously. Sure, there will be some who visit who have unrealistic expectations, and sure, we cannot please everyone. But, if the complaint of the church being cold and unfriendly continues to come up, leadership needs to be open to believing that it is true and take steps to begin the thaw.

We are the body of Christ, if any part of the body gives indication that it is not healthy, the whole body suffers as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:26. Therefore we need to resist the temptation to identify some in our congregation as whiners and complainers who will never be happy. They are part of the body and perhaps God wants to use those who complain to highlight areas in the church (and in the leaders) that need growth and repentance.

The street on which I lived in Allentown had a hill in the next block. A neighborhood kid who was a football player was walking with his 3 year old little sister. She started running on the hill and quickly got out of control and fell, scraping her knee and causing it to bleed. In response to her screams, the football player picked her up and said, “walk it off, you’re not hurt that badly.”

Let’s not do the same with those that come through our doors who are hurting.

You shall know them by their . . . excess?

They don’t even know how to blush – responding to a lack of shame

Herod was conflicted about John the Baptist

Freeze Warning: When visitors complain that your church is cold

Categories

Archives