Introduction and Objectives

I am currently on a writing hiatus, but the circumstances necessitating my hiatus have actually prompted this writing. I hope that this will be the first of several posts that I will make on the very broad subject ‘theology of church leadership.’ Of course I don’t mean in any way to suggest that I will be writing a comprehensive theological treatise on the church or church leadership, but that the things I do write will necessarily be a theological position in the tradition of ‘working it out in public.’

These posts will be written against the backdrop of my own denominational history. I am, and have been since the Methodist church rejected me because I wanted to wear blue jeans to worship, an active member (and preacher) in the so-called Restoration churches, and in particular, the not-a Capella Church of Christ. I fully recognize that there are other traditions within the greater scope of the church and I am not arguing that one is preferable to another. I also fully recognize that other traditions do things (having interpreted Scripture in a different way) differently. My objectives here are modest, to be sure, and do not include the uplifting of one tradition at the expense of others.

The major goal in this series of posts is to be a student. I want to learn from those of you who may have gone through similar situations that I am going through and grow in my understanding of what Biblical leadership looks like and how it acts. My current congregation has been without elders for around 6 years (in my opinion, this is a dangerous and unbiblical position). I have not been without accountability tools, but this has been a very trying time for me personally, and I think it has also been detrimental to the congregation as a whole. I am currently studying and preparing some sermons that are designed to explore the biblical pattern of church leadership in the anticipation that such leadership will be soon implemented. The minor goal is to encourage conversation that will hopefully cause all of us to see the local church and local church leadership as necessary and vital and, to a certain degree, all that is necessary to govern (shepherd, guard, raise, feed) the church.

In this installment, I will explore the risk of local church autonomy and extrapolate the idea to demonstrate the absolute meaninglessness of online discernment.

The Apostles and Elders: Perpetuated Leadership

Alexander Strauch wrote in his book Biblical Eldership,

“Church elders hear and judge doctrinal issues. They help resolve conflict. They protect the church from false teachers. They bear responsibility for the doctrines taught by the members of their flock. Elders, therefore, must be men who know God’s Word. In a hostile world filled with satanic lies and false teachings, churches desperately need shepherd elders who are sound in judgment and possess the knowledge of the truth” (130).

This is profoundly true—perhaps more than we can imagine.

I considered the book of Acts, chapter 15, where we learn that there was a great controversy in the church over the matter of circumcision. It seems that some folks from Jerusalem had gone to Antioch and were teaching ‘unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This caused a fight in the church. So what did Paul and Barnabas do? They went to Jerusalem to see, catch this, ‘the apostles and elders about this question.’ I struck me as rather odd that with apostles still on the earth (that is, those who fit the Acts 1:21-22 standard) and with Paul himself alive (and involved!) that they had to go up and talk with the apostles and elders. What more could these elders add to the equation, to the conversation, that the apostles could not provide on their own? If nothing else, this elevates the importance of elders in the church.

What is interesting also is that as the apostles died, the elders would remain. In most traditions of the church (I don’t think that is too broad a statement), apostolic succession is non-existent and Scripture seems to make no provision for it because no one meets that Acts 1:21-22 standard. On the other hand, the Scripture makes plenty of provisions for the gift of elders to be perpetuated (see Titus and Timothy among others). Thus it falls to the local church elders to be the guardians of truth for each local church. The manual for this guardianship is the Scripture. I grant that this is a rather quick leap, and might need further explanation later, but as I see it in Scripture, no other provisions have been made as no one else is given such specific lists of qualifications and responsibilities in Scripture as are elders and deacons.

The Ephesian Elders: Guard the Flock

This is, to be sure, a dangerous proposition. This necessarily means that there might be, and folks might see, different traditions found from church to church, from town to town (or congregation to congregation within the same community) even while concluding that each local congregation is still very much a congregation within the church. It was wisdom, it seems to me, that took the authority of interpretation out of Rome and put it back into the hands of the local pastorate (by this I mean, eldership which is necessarily plural). The apostles (and I think Jesus Christ too) entrusted the flock to the local shepherds and no one else. I think this is significant and risky (for reasons I’ll not later.)

When Paul was on his way to Jerusalem (for the last time?), he called for the elders of the church in Ephesus. He met with them on a beach, gave them instructions, prayed with them, and wept. Among the teachings he entrusted to them are these words, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit is has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from among your own number some will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them” (20:28-30).

What is profound about this is that the apostle gave these instructions to the elders of the local church. He didn’t call in the other apostles, the general congregation, popes, bishops (in the modern sense), cardinals, archbishops, or, interestingly enough, members of other congregations. He told the Ephesian elders to guard the Ephesian flock. He called in the elders of the local church he was concerned about and he entrusted the local church to their care and protection. He told the Ephesian elders to guard their own flock. He didn’t tell them to go around and guard other flocks or to pry into their business. Isn’t it enough to be concerned for one flock? “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and given you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Jesus among the Church: The Chief Shepherd

In one of the letters that Peter the apostle wrote he noted, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them…And when the Chief Shepherd appears…” (1 Peter 5:2, 4). Peter seems to be saying that Jesus, too, is a Shepherd who guards his flock and he is, then, the model shepherd for those under-shepherds who are responsible for each local congregation. I think John gives us another picture of this in the book of the Revelation when he writes, “And when I turned I saw the seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man…” (1:12-13).

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Tags: Alexander Strauch, church, church elders, church leadership, elders, local church autonomy, online discernment, shepherds

Friends,

I have spent the last three days mulling over what transpired here over the weekend. I have had to do a lot of soul-searching, so to speak, and even now I am hesitant about writing here–for some reason I am still not a little concerned that I have given .info a bad image or failed to live up to a certain standard of ‘expertise’; nevertheless, here I am. (I have developed a set of rules that will govern my future posts and writing here at CRN.info and I think I might actually publish it for you.) For now, I have decided to write again–because I must.

While lurking, I read this: “This place is supposed to be the “Christian” blog…er…right?” Well, I can say: “Yes! It is.” We don’t always agree (sometimes we don’t really even like each other very much); we certainly do not all share the same ideas about theology or politics!, but at the end of the day, we still have enough nerve to love each other, correct each other, demonstrate grace to each other, and help one another carry the burdens of this life. This is why I cannot, even though I said I would, stay away for a week. Not only is writing my passion, but I love those I write with here and those who read. This place, as a microcosm of the church, is where I meet grace daily–no matter how badly a post is written or how many people take umbrage with it. Grace. Ahh…how did Annie Dillard write it? “One catches grace as a man fills a cup under a waterfall.”

___________________________

My friend and brother Joe Martino wrote a great post about this very subject: Why I Stay in Church: What if it’s about Becoming Holy? What I appreciate about Joe’s post is that he is not afraid to be honest about the church: cuts, nicks, scars, bruises, blood, stink, tears, and sweat. It’s all there. I think it is only people who are not Christians who really expect the church to be perfect, an expectation that the Head of the church, Jesus of Nazareth, doesn’t even have (or else there would be no need for grace). Those of us who are Christians–whatever that means–have no such illusions. We, the baptized, are those who understand only too well that the church is a place for the misfits and losers of the world; those uninitiated in the ways of world domination; those unfazed by exploits of power, rebellion, and ‘wisdom’; those who demonstrate by their faith that they belong to a different time, and place, and person. The church is a place for people who are hungry for grace and forgiveness and mercy because they are tired of the manner in which the world conducts its business.

In short, the church is a terrible place at times; ugly; malformed; malnourished; distorted; unlovely; unkempt; and yet, strangely enough, among the church (es) is the place John tells us he saw Jesus: “And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest” (Rev 1:12b-13, TNIV).

Oh, he’s in the church? Oh, He’s in the Church! Here’s how Joe ended his thoughts:

I mean He didn’t have to create church this way. He could have done it another way.  How many people in church annoy you? How many people in church are just irrelevant to your life? How many people are lying to you? How many are cheating on their spouse? How many could care less if you can’t pay your bills this month?

So why did God design it this way and why should we stay. What are some common problems in the church and how might we wrestle through them?…What would happen if we looked at church more as a means to make us holy than we looked at it as a means to make us happy?

I couldn’t agree more. That holiness is shaped in us not because of the righteous things we do or the right things we believe or the holy places we go. No. It is shaped in us, we are formed for holiness, by the ever present help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us despite all those nicks, cuts, scratches, wounds, sins, etc. Strange that we are loved because of, despite our weakness and not despised for it. Strange that Jesus should walk among us. Strange the Holy Spirit should live in us. Strange that the Father would choose us. Strange that we are such a peculiar people and yet so fondly adored by the Creator of the Universe.

_________________________

I learn a little bit more each day about the magnificence of God. What sort of God chooses to align himself with the weak, the underdogs, the unwise–in fact goes out of his way to accept us? What sort of a God is it who loves people like us, people lacking in perspicacity and overflowing with indignation? I hear he is fond of us, his people. I’m glad. He has made me glad. There’s something to be said about ’sticking it out’ when we find ourselves in a place that makes us uncomfortable or unhappy or discourages us or abuses us or unhinges us. After all, God sticks around. In fact, Jesus promised never to leave, nor forsake us. Never. That’s a mighty long time. I guess I can tolerate a few years here on earth. What of you?

Semper Deo Gloria!

Tags: Christianity, church, discipleship, Jesus, Joe Martino

Friends,

Some recent comments on one of the threads got me to thinking about…oh…life…faith…what Christ thinks of us…and why His opinion matters far more than, perhaps to the exclusion of, anyone else. This morning I heard this song again for the first time and the lyrics really spoke to me. Enjoy.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Tags: church, faith, Switchfoot

I’ve been having a lot of trouble sleeping the past few weeks and I’ve gotten in the bad habit of staying up late (this comes naturally to me anyway).  The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson comes on during the 11th hour and one of his guests tonight was author/singer/musician/producer Tom Sullivan.  Tom was on the show promoting a new book and as usual much of the interview ends up being more about the person than the product (which I think is good attribute of the late show genre). 

Immediately we find out that Tom is blind and soon discover that he was born that way.  During the course of the interview, Craig asked Tom if he thinks about what it would be like to see, or about the possibility of him to have his sight restored.  Tom paused for a moment and then he told a story about his morning run on the beach.  Tom gave one of the most extensive, concise, and beautiful descriptions of one of the more mundane routines of life that I have ever heard.  The way he was talking I thought he might be a Christian.  His appreciation for creation, life, and others expressed in words is befitting of a Psalmist.

You see, Tom is not defined by his lack of eyesight.  That is not who he is and that is not how he lives his life.  He has a vision for life that pervades every aspect of his life, from recreation (golf & skiing) to work (see above) to his personality.  When we Christians allow ourselves to be defined or to define others by anything other than who we are in Christ, we wind up treating eachother in an unChristian manner.  We lose the vision for life that God has given us in Christ.  Our world becomes negative, full of complaining, grumbling, anger, pride, and even malice.  We revert back to the kind of people we were before the Spirit of God took up residence in our lives.  There is much to say about this, but I want to share with you this passage from 2 Corinthians which really resonated with me:

Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.  Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.  He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,  will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?  If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!  For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.  And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.  We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.  But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.  Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.  But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:4-4:6

I once was lost in the decrepidness of my evil desires, but I was found by Christ and given a new heart, a new identity, a new vision.  I am being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Who am I?  I am Christian.

*Added material in this post is italicized.

Tags: christian, christians, church, creation, life, nature, Tom Sullivan

Tags: Christianity, church, grace, Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconelli, Spiritual desperation

There have been a number of comments lately that show the uncompassionate, unloving, unkind, harsh, hard hearts of those writing them.  I suppose we all have our moments, but as new creations in Christ, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Not only that, but we are to love each other as Christ loved us.  Those recent comments, my current situation, and Rambo have all come together to open up my heart.

Being in the middle of a high impact natural disaster (I live in a small town on the Mississippi river that will flood most of the buildins on Main St. by next week), I’ve been thinking a lot about questions like the above.  After the second day of sandbagging, I finally had to quit early and so I got some time to finally watch Rambo (the new one) which we’ve had from Netflix for days.  I was surprised at how intensely the film dealt with similar issues and questions I have been thinking on. 

I was surprised to very quickly learn that this Rambo wasn’t really about John Rambo, is about the suffering of the people of Burma.  Stalone often likes to say something meaningful in his films, and for this one he found out about the awful situation (pre-natural disaster, so you can imagine how much worse it is now) of the Burmese under the rule of the military.  Of course, there’s lots of gory action, but I’d still recommend any adult to see it, partly because the gore is not out of place.  In fact, you’ll find some tame pictures on the sites listed below that provide the evidence for the brutatlity visualized for you in Rambo. 

The most convicting part of the film was the dedication to action of the Christians in the film.  One thing that gets me, both locally for our flood, and globally for situations like Burma, is how churches and christians can sit around and do nothing yet people who do not know the grace of God through Jesus Christ do everything from helping to fill sandbags to save a few homes to struggling for the lives of people half a world away.

If we don’t do what we are taught in scripture, does it have any value for our lives?  What does it take for us to love our neighbors?

Father, forgive us for walking on the other side of the street pretending not to see the need of our neighbor.  Create in us a heart of compassion.  Use us in your work to transform us into little Christs.

Watch the movie if you haven’t seen it yet.  In the mean time, check out these websites:

www.uscampaignforburma.org

www.freeburmarangers.org

Tags: burma, christian, church, justice, love, mercy, myanmar, neighbor, rambo