Who builds the church?

Posted on January 2, 2018 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Through the years, the church has had to endure persecution, neglect, corruption and apathy, but yet she endures.

The church has displayed the best and the worst of humanity. She has both stunning victories and miserable failures on her record. Yet, she endures.

When I am tempted to be overwhelmed by the problems in the church, I need to remind myself that it is not up to men to build the church. Jesus told us that he, himself, is the one who builds his church (Matthew 16:18). (Tweet This)

We can be co-laborers with him, but he is the architect and builder.

This is good news! It is good news because it takes the pressure off of us as church leaders.

Certainly we need to be diligent in presenting the truth of Scripture to those who come under our care. We need to be diligent in reaching out to those in our community who don’t yet have a relationship with Christ. We need to be diligent in equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians. 4:12).

But we must always keep in mind that it is only God who change change hearts and bring people into relationship with himself. It is only God who can cause spiritual growth. God is the only one who builds his church.

One analogy that Jesus used is that of a laborer in a harvest which can be seen in John 4:35. The farmer can plant, water and remove weeds, but he cannot cause the crop to grow. The farmer cannot cause the growth.

In the same way, church leaders cannot cause anyone to grow spiritually. We cannot save anyone. We can only be faithful in promoting conditions that are beneficial to spiritual growth.

We will be judged on how diligently we worked to promote the conditions under which growth happens. We will be judged on how faithfully we worked at the tasks that God calls us to perform.

We will not be judged on the results. The results are in God’s hands.

Ultimately, we can’t mess it up. God will build his church with or without us.

Benedict on church leaders

Posted on April 11, 2017 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

In his book Turning Points, Mark Noll quotes from St. Benedict’s instructions on selecting an abbot. As I read it, I thought that it is very applicable to church leaders in any generation so I thought I would share it here.

“In choosing an abbot, the guiding principle should always be that the man placed in office be the one selected either by the whole community acting unanimously in the fear of God, or by some part of the community, no matter how small, which possesses sounder judgment. Goodness of life and wisdom in teaching must be the criteria for choosing the one to be made abbot, even if he is the last in community rank. . . . Once in office, the abbot must keep constantly in mind the nature of the burden he has received, and remember to whom he will have to give an account of his stewardship [Luke 16:2]. Let him recognize that his goal must be profit for the monks, not preeminence for himself. He ought, therefore, to be learned in divine law, so that he has a treasury of knowledge from which he can bring out what is new and what is old [Matthew 13:52]. He must be chaste, temperate and merciful. He should always let mercy triumph over judgment [James 2: 13] so that he too may win mercy. He must hate faults but love the brothers. When he must punish them, he should use prudence and avoid extremes; otherwise, by rubbing too hard to remove the rust, he may break the vessel. He is to distrust his own frailty and remember not to crush the bruised reed [Isaiah 42:3]. . . . Let him strive to be loved rather than feared.
Excitable, anxious, extreme, obstinate, jealous or oversuspicious he must not be. . . . Instead, he must show forethought and consideration in his orders, and whether the task he assigns concerns God or the world, he should be discerning and moderate. . . . Therefore . . . he must so arrange everything that the strong have something to yearn for and the weak nothing to run from.”

This is good advice for anyone who feels called to exercise leadership in the church.

Church wounds run deep

Posted on September 19, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

Recently I received an invitation from a missionary friend to a meeting to share the results from a recent trip. The event will be hosted by a church we previously attended. While I would like to support my friend, I am not welcome to attend any event at that church. I had to decline the invitation because of where it is to be held.

My emotional reaction to the invitation surprised me a little. It has been four years since we left that church. I have forgiven those that hurt me and I thought that my experience there was safely in the past. What I learned from the invitation is that while the pain is no longer acute, it is still there. I find that like the wound Frodo received on Weathertop, the pain never completely goes away. Church wounds run deep.

My experience with this leader is not unique to me. I had a conversation last week with a friend who relayed a painful church experience to me. Many people have been wounded deeply as a result of participation in a church. If you don’t believe me, try a Google search on “bad church experiences.”

My point is not to lash out at the former church. My purpose in sharing this is three-fold.

I want to encourage leaders to examine the reasons why people leave their churches. If there is a pattern of people feeling wounded when they leave, then something is wrong and it needs to be addressed. It is your responsibility as a leader to figure it out and allow God to bring correction. You, as leaders, will be judged by how well you have nurtured those under your influence. Here is a quick test: do those who leave your church feel welcome to come back?
I want to encourage those that have been wounded in churches, that the wounds they received also grieve the heart of God. Note that it was religious leaders who initiated the crucifixion of Jesus, so he fully understands the implications of leaders abusing their positions. The Old Testament prophets had a lot to say about the religious leaders of Israel who failed in their commission to shepherd the people of Israel (Ezekiel 34 comes to mind).
I want to encourage those that have been wounded in churches, that while the wounds run deep, finding a good church does a lot toward relieving the pain of the bad experience. There are pastors who take seriously their calling to minister to their congregations and who lovingly care for God’s people. Find one.

On the bright side, much of what I now believe about what the church should be was shaped by that horrible experience. The pain caused me to seek understanding from Scripture about how the church should function and how spiritual leaders should act. An overwhelmingly negative example forced me to look for a positive one.

If you have been wounded by a church, please do not stop trying to find a church with leaders who are serving both God and his people. They are out there and they will one day be greatly rewarded for their service.

Feel free to share your experience in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Leaders – How well are you getting people grounded in the faith?

Posted on September 19, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 6 Comments

It should come as no surprise to anyone who is at all paying attention to the culture around us that we can no longer assume that the people we interact with subscribe to a Judeo/Christian worldview. In fact, an increasing percentage of the populace is hostile to such a view.

This begs the question of church leaders, “what are you doing to get your people grounded in the Christian faith?”

I believe that good preaching does part of the job, but assuming that the average sermon is 30 minutes and the average parishioner attends 50 service per year (I like easy math), that is 25 hours per year of instruction that may or may not address the issues that the parishioner struggles with.

Highly motivated people will find web sites, podcasts or other materials that will address the questions and concerns they have. They may even take classes or pursue a degree to become better trained to understand what they believe and why they believe it. But what about the ones that are not so self motivated or who don’t know where to turn?

I know that some denominations have formalized catechetical training. I have never been part of a group that had such training but I wonder if the nature of the catechism is such that it addresses or helps people understand and respond to the challenges to the Christian worldview that are on the rise.

There is not a one-size-fits-all approach that will work in every church context, but I thought I would catalog some ideas on how to go about getting people grounded in the faith. Here are some ideas in no particular order:

Develop and teach a “Bible 101” or foundations class. When you do this, I would encourage you to distinguish between the essential doctrines of Christianity and the non-essential issues. There is nothing wrong with having denominational distinctiveness as long as it is understood that not all true believers agree on non-essentials. To give an exchatological interpretation the same importance as the deity of Christ does damage to the Church Universal.
Along the same lines, avoid drawing unnecessary lines in the sand on non-essential issues. For example, while I believe in a literal six day creation, I refuse to argue with those who believe in a longer time frame. If we can agree on God as the agent of creation, that is good enough for me.
Provide a means of getting questions answered. This could be through a Sunday School class geared toward answering world view questions, occasional Q & A sessions with the pastoral staff or an email address where questions can be sent in and answered. Help people find the answers they need.
Train small group leaders and Sunday school teachers in how to handle Biblical and world view questions. While “I have to ask the Pastor” may be an appropriate response if the leader does not know the answer, it would be so much better if the question could be handled effectively (and correctly) on the spot.
Bring in seminar speakers who are trained to address the issues of the day. There are several seminaries that are training Christian apologists who would be able to help you find a suitable speaker.
Model grace to those who have questions or struggle in understanding and belief. Look at how Jesus handled those who raised questions and respond in a similar fashion.
Don’t ignore the young people in your church. They have the same questions and are often more honest about their struggles. Perhaps if we did a better job of answering their questions at a young age, fewer of them would leave the church in their college years.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-12 that it is the job of church leaders to equip those in their charge to minister to the people around them. Part of this equipping is to get them grounded in their understanding of the Christian faith and how it speaks to the issues of the day.

Leaders need to periodically gauge how well they are doing with regard to equipping their people. If you find that improvement can be made, try something new. Use one of the ideas above or listen to the ideas of your people. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

If you have other ideas, I would appreciate if you would share them in the comment section below.

Who builds the church?

Benedict on church leaders

Church wounds run deep

Leaders – How well are you getting people grounded in the faith?

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