Christian Unity

I’ve finally obtained a domain name for this blog:

http://atomic-temporary-11885566.wpcomstaging.com/

The old URL should still work:

http://rouses.net/blog/

but I’m sure all of you will want to use the super-cool shiny new one! 😉

Please let me know if you notice anything that is broken as a result of this change!

A lot of words are being written these days claiming that the resurrection of Jesus was not merely to save men from their sins, but also to redeem the whole creation from decay. The idea is that Jesus came to “reverse the curse” that began at the fall from Eden. Part of the story these writers weave is that the new heaven and the new earth described in Rev 21-22 is the present creation in a redeemed state. For them, the resurrection from the dead is a physical resurrection occurring in this present physical world. And the redeeming work of Jesus was intended not only to save men from their sins but to return all of creation to the original state of Eden.

I am not very fond of this point of view, nor of all the attention it is gathering. It certainly is at variance with the traditional view held for nearly 2000 years. Regardless, in my opinion all the attention on these things distracts from the core gospel message of repentance and forgiveness of sins. Focusing on theories about the redemption of the physical world leads to conclusions about environmentalism, conservation, and politics, all heavily influenced by the philosophies of our modern world. These theories are at best questionable inferences from scripture. I believe they distract from the core gospel message. Time spent talking about those things is time not spent dealing with our own sin and repentance and our own relationships with God.

Why did Jesus come into the world? In His own words:

Luk 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Joh 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The apostle Paul said the same thing:

1Ti 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.

What was the message Jesus called the twelve to preach?

Luk 24:46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
Luk 24:47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

And what is the message the apostles preached?

1Co 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
1Co 15:2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
1Co 15:6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
1Co 15:8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
1Co 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
1Co 15:11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

We don’t see the apostles preaching a gospel of environmentalism, nor of conservation, nor of popular political agendas. Their message was to call individual people to be reconciled to God.

There are many things we just don’t know about the second coming, the new heaven, the new earth, and the destruction (or not) of this present world. God has given us only a metaphorical picture of these things. I don’t object to people having theories about the specifics, but we need to admit that we really don’t know. Whatever form that takes, I’m going to go along with it! In the meantime, our focus needs to be on getting ourselves, and those around us, reconciled to God, and growing in the Christian virtues. God has revealed clearly that those are the primary matters we should be concerned about in this life.

Apparently the Gospel Advocate is advocating against Christians coming to Nashville this summer to talk about unity.

I do not subscribe to the GA and I am not aware of a place to read the alleged article online. But I’m concerned enough about the need for unity that I have devoted my blog to the subject. So I am naturally concerned about published efforts to keep people from meeting to make progress toward unity.

I cannot comment directly on the article since I have not seen it. But I will comment on the following quote from Jay’s blog:

[T]he Gospel Advocate does not support or endorse the ecumenical meeting featuring both men and women speakers, instrumental worship, and other forms of apostasy.

It’s well known by long time readers of my blog that I do not believe the opposition to instrumental music is justifiable from scripture. Yet I do believe that the scriptures place limits on the role of women, including that women are prohibited from addressing the church in the general assembly. So someone might wonder what I think of the Nashville assembly, where proceedings will not necessarily always conform to my convictions.

I’ve blogged on this topic before. I believe there are some core issues on which Chrisitans must agree. Those issues involve the basic gospel facts about Jesus, including repentance, forgiveness of sins, and submission to Jesus as Lord. Things like the role of women, instrumental music, and the like are not core gospel issues. We obviously do have different views on those subjects, but those issues must not separate Christians. We should accept one another based on the core gospel.

Although I have strong convictions against women preaching to a mixed audience, I do not believe I would be sinning if I attended an assembly where that occurred. Similarly, I don’t believe someone with convictions against instrumental music would be in sin if they attended an instrumental service. The woman who preaches, or the one playing the instrument, would be the one in sin, if anyone. But for me, attending such a service, I would be obligated by Romans 14:22 to keep my objections to myself. Unity among Christians is a higher principle.

Perhaps the GA is concerned that people sharing their convictions on such subjects might be exposed to an alternate point of view, and might be influenced to change their convictions. Perhaps therefore they seek to prevent that influence by urging people not to meet to talk about unity. Perhaps instead, they should listen to Jesus’ prayer for unity, and to Paul’s admonition to make every effort. Perhaps they need to return to what is most important.

Everyone whom God has adopted as a son is my brother. No man can change that. May God bless every effort to remove the walls that men have built to divide His children.

Sixteen tons, and what do you get?
Another day older, and deeper in debt!
St. Peter, don’t you call me, ’cause I can’t go–
I owe my soul to the company store!

I may be the first person ever to use Joe Versus the Volcano to teach a spiritual principle to the church. Or maybe not.

Recently our congregation held a “family meeting” on a Saturday morning to discuss a laundry list of topics about how the church is doing and what each of us can do to help us improve. My part in that presentation was to talk about the financial health of the church. Since the church is comprised of all the individual members combined together, a discussion of our financial health necessarily involved a discussion of the financial health of our members.

We live in a nation that is addicted to debt. And our members are representative of that community. We are a congregation of a couple hundred members, still renting facilities for Sunday and midweek services. And we are not close to being able to buy or build a facility of our own — in large part because of our personal indebtedness. I just can’t see borrowing $30,000 per household to buy a building. Many of our members already have more debt than is healthy. As the Proverb says,

Which brings me to the introduction to Joe Versus the Volcano, and the “16 Tons” song. Like the singer, many Americans are over their heads in debt. Like Joe (Tom Hanks), they work day in and day out without hope of escaping from the prison they have built for themselves. They feel like victims and they feel helpless.

In truth, they are neither. It is within each family’s power to make a decision to change their lifestyles so they can get out of debt.

Our congregation is working to encourage and to enable our members to break the addiction to debt. Until our members are free from their servitude to their multiple lenders, that will be a weight that pulls down the church from its full potential. It is a spiritual problem and it must be addressed.  (We are looking into using Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University program to help our members get out of debt.)

Sure, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and he can provide us whatever we need whenever he pleases. But if we are not being good managers of what he has already given us, why would he give us more?

The movie clip was a light-hearted way of getting across a point: There is no joy in being enslaved by debt. Even the smallest joys that spring up (like the little white flower in the movie) get crushed by the relentlessness of the debt. While the congregation laughed at the song and the comic visual image of the movie, they got the point. A lot of them could relate to Joe.

Using movie clips like that can be an effective way of drawing people into the message and helping them to connect. To do so legally, a church has to buy a license. Prices are quite reasonable. Our congregation has purchased such a license, and we intend to make good use of it over the next year. If your church is using videos such as this, or plans to do so, please take the time to get legal first!

The Texas Supreme Court has sided with the appellate court, refusing to overturn the decision that removal of over 400 children from their homes was not justified under Texas law.

I am glad to hear that a child’s rights, and parents’ rights, are protected in Texas even if the parents practice a highly unpopular religion. I previously posted my concerns at the lack of due process in the original abduction of these children by the state.

It seems to me that the driving force in this action was religious prejudice. I strongly disagree with the religious beliefs of this group on many levels. But if the government could get away with seizing children without due process, because the parents’ religion is unpopular, our first amendment rights are not safe. It is good for us all that the Texas courts have ruled against the seizure of these children.

Mat 9:14-15 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Fasting is supposed to be a part of Christian life. Jesus said in the above passage that after he would be taken away, his disciples would fast. There is no indication that the purpose, nor the manner, nor the frequency of fasting would change from what Jews had practiced for centuries. Yet fasting seems to be largely a forgotten practice in today’s church.

We read of the Christians fasting in Acts 13:2-3 and Acts 14:23. Beyond that, there is little or no mention in the scriptures of fasting after Jesus departed (depending in part on which Greek texts you prefer). But it is still evident from Jesus’ statement that he expected the practice of fasting to continue into the Christian era. And it is doubtful that the two instances we read about in Acts are all he was talking about.

The Hebrew word translated “fast” in the Old Testament literally meant “cover the mouth” and was used to refer to abstaining from food (and sometimes also water). The Greek word used in the New Testament, according to Thayer’s lexicon, meant

1) to abstain as a religious exercise from food and drink: either entirely, if the fast lasted but a single day, or from customary and choice nourishment, if it continued several days.

Sometimes, people today speak of fasting from television, or from some other recreational activity. But it appears that fasting in the scriptures was always abstaining from food. If for a single day, it seems to also have included abstaining from drink.

Much more could be said about the examples of fasting we have from the scriptures. We could talk about the kind of fasting that God desires and the kind that he does not. We could talk about the situations in which people fasted in scriptures, or about how God responded to their various fasts. But the larger question is, will we fast? Are we too addicted to comfort to do such a thing? Do we have enough faith to fast?

Fasting makes absolutely no sense unless one has faith in God — that is, that he believes that God exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. Fasting is an act of faith. In fasting, we diligently seek God’s blessing and favor.

Maybe we should turn to God in prayer and fasting in order to obtain his guidance. Maybe that is the answer to many problems in the church, and in our lives.

Here is a sermon that may rock your world.

The speaker is Paul Washer, a Southern Baptist missionary. The topic is Matt 7:13-29, as applied to the modern American Christian. Paul did not hesitate to say some things about the worldly condition of American churches that are quite shocking, but unmistakably true. He presents a dramatically compelling call for repentance. This is the kind of call that we need as much as anyone does. The message is absolutely worth the time to watch the video!

From time to time, one of my daughters sends me a priceless link. A recent example is this lecture on the changing economy of the American middle-class family. You’ll need about an hour to hear the whole lecture. Believe me, it is worth every minute. The lecturer is not a polished speaker. She is not an extremist nor an alarmist. But her message is alarming. (The main speaker begins about five minutes into the video)

She compares the typical middle class American family (Mom, Dad, two kids) in 1970 to the same type of family in 2005. In 1970, the typical family had one income (Mom stayed home with the kids). If someone had told us in 1970 that by 2005, most families would have two incomes, that women would have made huge advances in education, job opportunities, and salary, we would have expected these families to be affluent, well adjusted, and well prepared for retirement. Boy, would we have been wrong.

In 1970, our typical one-income family saved almost 11% of their gross income, and had very little debt other than home mortage and payments on the single family car. By 2005, our study family had two incomes, a negative savings rate (spending more than they were earning), and $7000 in credit card debt. Not only were they spending the entire second income, but also all the money their parents had been saving, and all the money they had borrowed. And they were continuing to borrow more.

So what were they spending all that money on? Not primarily on essentials like food and clothes. Instead, they were buying a second car (since Mom has to drive to work!) They were paying for child care (their parents never dreamed of that). They were paying for preschool (again, something their parents did not do). They made great effort, at a premium price, to buy a nice house in a “good” school district (not so much of an issue with their parents). The two-income lifestyle was leaving them more financially strapped than their parents’ one-income lifestyle.

Today, the typical family cannot pay their bills without two incomes. That means they have twice the risk of not being able to pay the bills compared to their parents (since there are two workers at risk rather than just one). Sickness, downsizing, injury from a car wreck, a divorce… and suddenly the family is at risk of bankruptcy. In America today, believe it or not, bankruptcy happens even more frequently than divorce. In contrast, the one-income family has a safety net in the form of a second potential worker in the case of an emergency.

Our American churches are no different from our neighbors in these matters. So, for the two-income families among us, are you as debt-free as your parents were? How is that retirement nest egg? Are you always on time with all your bill payments? Do you have some money left over that you can use to help others? How is the two income thing working out for you?

It is very tough to get out of the two-income addiction cycle once you are in it. Dave Ramsey has helped many couples get out of debt, and I recommend his program. For those who are not yet married, or who are early enough in a marriage to still have a chance, I strongly suggest making a commitment to budget to live on a single income. Churches should be teaching these things in premarital counseling. And church leaders should be setting the example by living that way themselves.

Jay Guin has a recent post touching on another aspect of this problem. The busy lives of people in our churches are stifling the work of the church. Two careers, household management, kids booked in every conceivable after-school activity… The fruit is being choked out by thorns. This is a spiritual issue that threatens the future of the church. Will we have the conviction to address it?

A couple of my favorite blogs have been talking about church growth recently. I’ve joined the discussion in a couple of my recent posts.

To talk about church growth, you have to talk about church membership.

Shepherds have a unique perspective on membership. Ezekiel 34 charges shepherds with going after strays — they still belong to the flock. Those whose membership some people question are the very ones at the forefront of the shepherd’s mind. Those are the sheep most needing his care. So the “membership” of the church might vary depending on whom you ask!

In our congregation, counting membership is harder than it should be. I wonder whether other congregations have the same difficulty. We have people moving in, moving out, and moving around. When people move in, we help them find one of our family groups to join. We try to keep track of the membership roll through our family groups. There are two difficulties with that. First, we have people who have been attending for awhile but have not actually joined a family group. Second, people move around between family groups–sometimes resulting in them being counted in two different family groups, and sometimes resulting in people not being counted in either group. And occasionally, we don’t learn about someone leaving the congregation until after the fact, making it impossible to be as thorough as we would like to be as shepherds. We have recently assigned one of our deacons to help with making sure people are connected to one of our family groups, and that we provide a proper welcome and orientation for new arrivals. And we are working to better equip our family group leaders to maintain effective connection with the members of their groups.

From time to time, a few folks leave for one of the other area congregations. Our congregation is racially diverse, but has a higher percentage of African Americans (a little over 50%) than the community. Most often, those who have moved from our congregation to others in the area have been white. We have seen other congregations lose their diversity as a result of people moving around to find a place where they feel more comfortable. We do not want that to happen in our case, but it could happen. The best defense against that, as far as I can tell, is to build family, to make sure people’s spiritual needs are met, to teach about the need for diversity, and to reach out to all segments of the surrounding community. At least we are trying to do those things.

From the old Atlanta Church of Christ, there are at least four groups now meeting in Gwinnett County on Sundays. Members are still moving from group to group. Some of that movement is cultural. Sometimes there is more to it than that. The cause can be something good or something bad. But whatever the cause, the Body of Christ does not lose a member when someone leaves our congregation for another congregation of Christians. It does make it more difficult to care for the sheep due to a lack of continuity.

A dozen or so members of our congregation have moved to one of the other area congregation over the past few months. Obviously I would prefer that these people had been satisfied to stay in our congregation. I can’t speak for the underlying motives of these folks, but some of them have been looking for something and not finding it for several years now. As a shepherd, I’m interested in making sure people who leave our congregation are immediately connected to another congregation where their spiritual needs will be met. I’m also interested to make sure that any problems or issues motivating their move are addressed. The leaders of their new congregation have those same interests.

The Body of Christ neither grows nor shrinks when a Christian moves from one congregation to another. For meaningful numerical growth, we need to be reaching the lost in the community. That is happening once again in our congregation.

Jay Guin has just posted an interesting article discussing the membership decline in Southern Baptists churches. His article prompted me to do a little research. What I’ve learned is not all that surprising, but should concern anyone who seeks the spread of the gospel.

Mainline churches of all types in America are in decline. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly half of American adults [leave] the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.

On the other hand, non-denominational churches are growing.

From the USA Today:

The 2008 Yearbook of Canadian and American Churches, produced by the New York-based National Council of Churches, recorded growth trends in 224 churches, with a combined membership of 147 million Americans…

Only the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Catholic Church, Southern Baptists, Mormons, the Assemblies of God (2.8 million) and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (1.4 million) reported increases; all others either posted declines or flat membership from 2005.

Looking beyond the membership and attendance numbers, baptisms are also down. From Yahoo News:

The number of people baptized in Southern Baptist churches fell for the third straight year in 2007 to the denomination’s lowest level since 1987, and membership dipped slightly as well.

Baptists in 2007 baptized 5.6 people per 100 in attendance (based on 345,941 baptisms, 6.15 million attendance).

Closer to home for us in the Restoration Movement, the independent Christian churches have experienced a reduced growth rate in 2007. The Christian Standard publishes an annual issue with commentary on the state of their largest churches, including all congregations averaging more than 1000 in attendance for the year. The report indicates that in 2007, the megachurches baptized 6.4 per 100 in attendance, down from 7.2 per 100 in 2006.

Churches of Christ have been in decline since the 1990’s, according to statistics gathered by KairosChurchPlanting.org.

These studies provide some troubling facts for church leaders to ponder. And clearly they are pondering. Article after article seeks to identify why the churches are declining, and to propose a solution. Many of the proposals, in one form or another, advocate adopting more of the modern culture in order to relate to more people, especially to the young. Some churches are experimenting with different kinds of music, different worship styles, different kinds of programs. 

Those things can be helpful if done with discretion. But the scriptures call the church to be different from the world (Rom 12:1-2). And history tells us that churches that become like the world decline into irrelevance. If you haven’t read The Churching of America (1776-2005) by Roger Fink and Rodney Stark, now would be a good time to do so. In that book, they present an important lesson of history:

The churching of America was accomplished by aggressive churches committed to vivid otherworldliness.

We need to stop being distracted by the pleasures of this world, and by doctrinal disputes on the fringes of the gospel. Jesus taught that a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached to the world. Maybe he was on to something.