I probably sound a bit like a scratched record that skips and gets stuck in the middle of a song. But I keep running across passages in Scripture that challenge the way that I have experienced church in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.

The woke church, socially acceptable church, seeker-sensitive church, and just about every other church growth model may have produced larger attendance figures, but I have not seen that they produced better disciples.

The most recent example of such a passage is in 2 Corinthians 2:15-17 where Paul writes:

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”

2 Corinthians 2:15–17, ESV

Two things jump out at me from this passage.

The first is that if we are faithful to Jesus Christ and proclaim His gospel, not everyone will respond positively. Paul clearly says that the aroma of Christ will smell like death to some and life to others. Some will reject, and some will accept the message that we are called to proclaim.

From this, I infer that the drive to proclaim a message that all will accept is misguided and will do more harm than good. It is one thing to use care in presenting the Gospel in terms that newcomers can understand. It is another thing entirely to banish any speech that would cause people to be troubled.

Jesus didn’t have any issues with getting to the heart of the matter and forcing people to make a choice. Once when addressed as Good Teacher, Jesus asked the man, “why do you call me good?” When Nicodemus came to Jesus, Jesus was candid and basically told Nicodemus that he was missing the point entirely. Jesus showed little care about whether people were offended by the message.

But, Jesus did love with supernatural love, and that love was a draw even to those who struggled to believe what Jesus was saying. Perhaps we, as church leaders, should put more emphasis on loving those in our care and burn fewer calories over how well accepted we are. We should speak the truth in love, no matter what the outcome might be.

The second thing that jumps out at me from this passage is that some are in ministry for the wrong reasons. Paul clearly states that some are “peddlers of God’s word.” In other words, they are providing God’s word to the people, but doing so to make money; they have an impure motive for their ministry.

The word that Paul uses to speak of peddlers, is a curious one and it is found only here in the New Testament. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says this of this word:

“This word means “to engage in retail trade” and carries a nuance of trickery and avarice. In philosophy, it denotes the selling of teaching for money.”

My question to every pastor is, what is driving the desire to have a large church? Is it really because you are concerned about the spiritual well-being of the members?

My experience is that as churches see numerical growth in attendance and giving, the emphasis shifts from growing people deeper in their relationship with Jesus to growing the numbers and the budget. This shift occurs because the leadership gets distracted by the perceived need to overcome the increased costs associated with a bigger staff and a larger campus.

We are all in danger of believing better of ourselves than in warranted. A healthy amount of self distrust and having an elder board empowered to keep things in check are crucial to staying the course to hear “well done good and faithful servant.”

I don’t think that in the day of judgment the attendance figures, church budget or staff headcount will cause any impression on a judge who only cares about the quality of the disciples we produced. After all, that is the mission he gave us in what is commonly known as the Great Commission.

We should seek to be the aroma of Christ to a world that desperately needs Him but in many cases doesn’t yet know it.

As I am writing this, the most acrimonious presidential election season in my lifetime is about to come to a close. To hear the supporters of each candidate, life as we know it will end if the other candidate gets elected.

Yet, when we survey Scripture and understand the environment which Jesus experienced, and in which the early church was formed, we can be in a better position to understand that we need not fall for the doomsday rhetoric.

I was encouraged when I read this paragraph written by H. Richard Niebuhr about Jesus’ faith in God and his skepticism about men.

“Now when we look at Jesus from the point of view of his faith in men, he seems a great skeptic who believes that he is dealing with an evil and adulterous generation, with a people that stones its prophets and then erects monuments to them. He puts no trust in the enduring institutions and traditions of his society. He shows little confidence in his disciples; he is convinced that they will be offended in him, and that the sturdiest of them will be unable to stand by him in the time of testing. Only romantic fictionizing can interpret the Jesus of the New Testament as one who believed in the goodness of men, and sought by trusting it to bring out what was good in them. Yet despite his skepticism, he is remarkably free from anxiety. He is heroic in his faith in God, calling the Lord of heaven and earth Father. He relies in his poverty-stricken existence, without family, food, or lodging, on the one who gives the bread needful for the day; and in the end he commends his spirit to Him whom he knows to be responsible for his ignominious and shameful death. To Him also he entrusts his nation, believing that everything needful will be granted to folk who, turning away from self-defense, seek only the Kingdom of God. Such faith will always seem radical to human beings with their deep suspicion of the power which brought them forth, maintains them, and decrees their death. It is the faith of a Son of God, too extreme for those who conceive themselves as sons of nature, or of men, or of blind chance.”

H. Richard Niebuhr – Christ and Culture

As Christians, we may have a preference for who wins the election, but we should not be dismayed if our preferred candidate does not win. Paul tells us in Romans 13:1 that it is God who oversees the world governments and no result is beyond his sovereignty and control.

Many dictators, emperors, kings, and supreme leaders have sought to eradicate belief in Jesus. As one commentator has said, “the church has always outlived her pallbearers.”

So, my fellow Christians, before you post some gloomy outlook for our country on November 4, please keep in mind that when Paul wrote about submitting to the governing authorities, Nero was the Emperor of Rome.

Let that sink in for a minute. Nero, remember him? The crazy one?

We can, if we exercise the faith of Jesus, become as anxiety-free as Jesus was. We can, if we exercise faith in Jesus like Paul, be as anxiety-free as Paul.

This is so whether there is an “R” or “D” behind the president elect’s name on November 4.

The very nature of parenting demands that parents strive to prepare their children for life on their own. The same is true of leaders in general and spiritual leaders in particular.

Spiritual leaders are called to train those they lead in developing skills to read and understand the Bible, developing good spiritual habits, and having sufficient Biblical knowledge to be forewarned and forearmed against heretical teaching. In other words, the leader is to attempt to lessen the dependence upon the leader, just like a good parent wants his child to be capable of independent living.

Also, as a church leader, not only should the members be developed, but the elders in the congregation should also be trained so that when it comes time for the pastor to depart, the church remains healthy and stays the established course.

Unfortunately, I have seen too many times when Church leaders have not done this. I have seen too many shepherds that have not taught their sheep how to identify and be wary of the wolves in the midst. I have seen pastors who have not nurtured the elders that God provided to help care for the congregation.

I’ve been thinking about these issues recently which is why this passage from 1 Corinthians 3 struck a cord within me:

“According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss . . .”

1 Co 3:10–15 (CSB)

How many congregations have gone into a tailspin after their senior pastor leaves? How many times have we seen the large mega-church shrink in attendance after the well-known, popular preacher moves on for one reason or another?

To me, if a church goes into a tail spin after a pastor leaves, in most cases, this speaks volumes about the work that pastor had done there.

As Paul indicates above, the quality of each person’s work “will become obvious” when the day of testing comes.

If the church soldiers on and the people remain strong as the replacement is sought, then it is probably a good indication that the pastor was indeed building with “gold, silver, and costly stones.”

On the other hand, when the church falters when the pastor leaves, it is likely that he built with “wood, hay, and stubble.”

What is the difference between the two?

To me, the difference lies in a fundamental desire to teach and live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ without adding to it or subtracting from it. You might think this an oversimplification, but hear me out.

The Gospel does not need any sense of cultural “wokeness.” The Gospel, by its very nature, speaks to the core issue of every man and every woman. That core issue is our broken relationship with God and what Jesus accomplished on our behalf to heal the breach. We don’t need to add any of the cultural hot issues of the day to make the gospel relevant. The Gospel is ultimately relevant on its own with no enhancement necessary.

Neither does the Gospel need to be trimmed to fit the liking of the current culture. The Gospel is brutally honest about our condition apart from Christ. Words like lost and separated, condemned and broken, while uncomfortable, are maybe the very words we need to hear to get to the real core of our issues.

I have known several pastors that were great examples of teaching and living out the gospel. Two, in particular, come to mind. When those men retired, both of their churches stayed the course and continued the good work that was already established. They left a legacy of strong believers who provided care for the congregation.

On the other hand, I have personally witnessed the destruction which resulted from pastors pushing their own agenda that added to or subtracted from the Gospel. In this category, two also come to mind. In both cases, each pastor grew irritable and his interaction with elders and members became less and less an example of the positive impact of the Gospel. In both cases, many of God’s children were abused and disillusioned as a result of how they were treated by the pastor.

So pastors, I challenge you to teach and live out the gospel. Like a good spiritual parent, you are to demonstrate what a deepening relationship with Jesus looks like. Your life should make people hunger and thirst for a relationship with Christ and your teaching should show them the way to step into that relationship.

On top of this, you should be preparing those you lead to continue on the path after your departure.

Don’t let your life’s work be burned up when the day of trial comes.

Yesterday’s post was a prayer from the Psalms asking God for revival or renewal. That prayer begs the question, “what does that look like?”

The very next Psalm provides at least part of the answer. The Psalmist writes:

“Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.”

Psalm 86:11, CSB

A knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ affords us the safety to admit that we do not have undivided minds. Our minds are very divided as the Apostle Paul laments in the bulk of Romans 7.

But Paul also does not leave us wallowing in our problems. He provides the glorious response in Romans 8:1 which tells us that there is no condemnation for those in Christ.

So, we can admit that everything we do is from mixed motivation. We cannot, in this life, fully and completely fulfill the first great command to love God with our entire being. Our attempts to do so are feeble at best.

But, we still pray the prayer asking for an undivided mind because that is what we want. We want to be an undivided whole, not being pulled in different directions. We want to be free of the internal conflict that causes so much anxiety.

While we cannot have a completely undivided mind, the prayer is still valid for two reasons.

First, we can see progress in our walk with Christ. As we grow in our relationship with Him, we find that the things that tripped us up in the past have less influence now. We can see progress in the healing of our divided selves.

This first outcome is hinted at in the verse quoted above. An undivided mind allows for a proper respect for God and his Word. The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us that Scripture is provide to us to teach us, “what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. (WSC, Q. 3)” As the division in our minds is healed, there is an increasing desire to fulfill the duty to which we are called.

Secondly, we pray for this because it is the predicted (and guaranteed) outcome of our relationship with Christ. When we are finally and fully United with Christ, the division will be healed and the conflict will have ended.

When you go to most ice cream shops, you can ask for a taste of the flavor that you are considering. They give you a small spoon and you get a sense of what the full cup will be like.

I think this prayer is a little bit like that. We get a taste of what it will be like to be completely undivided in our thinking.