Another's Job

But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."   1 Sam 8:19-20

In my reading through 1 Samuel I recently went through the time when the people of Israel cried out for a king that he might judge them and fight their battles for them. God gave them what they wanted, though it meant they were rejecting Him as their king and, it seems to me, trusting in man to do for them what God would have done for and through them.

I wonder how many times we seek another to do what we should be doing? I think that this is a real danger in Christian circles—especially organized "church." That may sound funny coming from a pastor, but I think that one of the greatest dangers of organized "church" is that it can, if not handled well, encourage the body of Christ (the true church) to pass its responsibilities on to a few instead of being the body of Christ in fullness.

I do not go so far as to reject organized religion—I believe that Acts and the epistles makes it clear the early church met both in large groups, and regularly from house to house. I believe that it is clear they joined their resources to meet local needs within the body, and to support needs out of their area within the body. I believe it is clear God appointed some within the local parts of the body to be elders and teachers and pastors within it. But . . . if leaders aren't careful they can consolidate things around themselves out of ignorance, or insecurity, or love of power, or ???

Ephesians makes it clear that leaders are given to equip the body for the work of ministry—to equip all the believers to do the work of God, not to do the work of God for them. Granted, if they are paid and full time, they have more time to do some things that someone working at another full time job might not have, but it is far too easy for the body to just say, regarding visiting others, or praying for others, or doing the stuff that holds a body together, "Well, that's the pastor's job. That's what he's paid for," or other similar things regarding church staff, or the organized church itself. But, the New Testament makes it clear, the body is only fully functioning when each person does its part and uses their unique gifts to knit the body together.

One change I have made recently in our services is that I've stopped asking who has a prayer request and started asking who wants to be prayed for (there's often a big difference). In the past I've found that we might get 10–15 prayer requests, and very few would be writing them down. Then I, as the pastor, would pray and we'd move on. I am sure some got prayed for during the week, but I don't know how many.

Now I am asking, "Who wants to be prayed for?" The Bible says the gates of hell won't prevail against the church, and we are all, as believers, the church, so we are starting to bang on the gates of hell on behalf of one another. I must admit, since I started this we are getting a lot fewer prayer requests, but I feel we are probably a lot closer to what we are supposed to be doing.

After people who want to be prayed for express their need, or the need of someone they want to be prayed for, we go in to a time of prayer, usually about five minutes. I re-read the requests and then ask that each person desiring to be prayed for has at least a couple people join with them—maybe someone who the Spirit nudged toward them, or someone who has faced a similar issue. Everyone is free to get up and join someone or stay in their seats, or come up to the cross, it is all up to them. Then, start praying in small groups, with and for the person or persons asking for it. When I feel it is time I'll go and close that, but not without saying, "If you are still in a group and you feel you need to keep praying keep doing so, even if it means you are praying through all of the worship time and through my teaching."

This is just one small step, but it seems to be a good one from my eyes. I, as the pastor, don't have any more access to God than another believer does. The body must be the body, each part doing its part, each part realizing that church leaders are simply their brothers and sisters, called to different positions and parts in the body, but not any more special, any more loved by God, or with any more access to God than them. We have to be so careful to equip ourselves and to not ask others to do what God has asked us to do. Only when the body is fully functioning as the body will the world truly see Jesus expressed through us.

God bless you all. As always, I'd love your thoughts.   —Erick

"Real Life" or the Bible?

When teaching, be it adults, children, or youth, there seems to often be this false dichotomy that we either teach Scripture, or we teach "real life." (I use the expression "real life" the way some people talk about it, as if God and the Bible are something for Sunday and funerals and hard times, but that aren't relevant in the "real and immediate" day to day "real" stuff that presses in on us.)

The separation of Scripture and "real life" by teachers teaching any age group is a tragic error which perpetuates this trend toward doing our "church stuff," and then doing our other "life" stuff. To reference my last post, I think that this, also, has to do with a false understanding of the Gospel, and an emphasis on salvation and heaven at the expense of the Kingdom calling and war we are in.

It strikes me that in life too many people have God and church things as one of many spokes on the wheel of their life—with themselves being the hub about which all the spokes revolve. Intentionally or unintentionally, when we draw distinctions, or unBiblical separations, between Scripture and "real life" we only fuel this—and for youth determining where they will build the foundations of their life it cripples the Bible's chances of being that foundation because they don't see its relevance, and hence have no choice but to trust science, doctors, psychologists, teachers, etc., more than God and the Bible for non-religious things.

Rather, I believe that all Scripture study should end at "real life," and that all "real life" discussions should end at Scripture. We need a radical shift in which God moves to the hub of the wheel of our life, and all of our spokes revolve around Him.

There is no part of our life which Scripture should not give us insight in to, and which God should not be our source for dealing with. Be it depression, financial issues, job decisions, voting, etc., God provides our insight, our world view, our strength, and our answer. If we look at Scripture in the right way, we are hard pressed to find parts of it that don't have solid application in to our life—from practical instructions, to deeper insight about the character and nature of God that strengthen our faith we walk by. Likewise, if we look at "real life" properly, there is no part of it that God and the Bible shouldn't be our ultimate answer and perspective on, and strength we rely on and draw from going through.

There is no greater evidence of God's activity and relevance in our life than Jesus walking among us. He made us, He understands us, He faced the same temptations as us, He ate the same food as us, He got tired like us, He needed money like us—on and on and on. God is very interested in every part of our life, and every part of our life we try and "solve" apart from Him is a part we make a grave, and very costly error in.

It is no wonder that we have generations falling away from the church when we teach, and live, like there is the "God stuff" and then there is "real life." How can we wonder why generations are rising up that see scientists and teachers and doctors as the be all, end all of wisdom for anything not directly and overtly "religious" and "spiritual"? How can we truly find solutions that are eternal apart from the One who made eternity? It is truly a very grave, serious, even deadly error to allow ourselves to separate God and "real life"—and an even more serious error if we teach or model that to others. All Scripture study should end at "real life," and all "real life" discussions should end at Scripture.