Ordinary Christians in the Hands of the Extra-Ordinary God. Part 3

I Corinthians 1:12-13 and 3:4-11 New Living Translation.

12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter, [d]” or “I follow only Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! …… 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? 5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. 10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.11 for no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ

Today when we walk in the places we live, we see buildings that are used for various purposes, some buildings are where we live, other buildings are where we work, shop, rest and relax, there are specialist buildings such as Train Stations, Churches and Hospitals, each building has a specific function and role to fulfil that more often is unique to that building, sometimes buildings can be adapted and changed to serve a different purpose than their original purpose, some buildings have been left desolate and have become ruins and monuments, some buildings are empty because no one can find a use for them anymore.  Each building we see regardless of its use and purpose needs a foundation.

The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:24 NLT, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock” see Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 47- 49 for the context. Luke 6:47-48  NLT says , “47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house that digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.

Today in 2013, we see various versions of the Bible, that are available for us to read and study, I do use the New American Standard Bible, and when I write I use Bible Gateway which has dozens of Bible Versions. I’ve used various versions of the Bible since I was saved at 11 but at the end of day as The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3: 15-17 NLT, “15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

To develop and progress in our Christian walk and witness, to be more effective disciples of our Lord and Saviour we must read and study God’s Written Word daily.  When I was in Sunday school, I remember singing this song “Read your Bible, Pray every day, if you want to Grow “If that was important for me as a child how much more important is for me as a more mature Christian today?

When someone builds a foundation for a building, if they decide to use cheap or substandard building materials wouldn’t that building look strange or be dangerous and likely to collapse, yet if we don’t as Christians build using the correct building materials wouldn’t our lives and our Christian Witness look equally strange, look dangerous or likely to collapse see 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 NLT.

We build our Christian Life and Witness not on the latest fads or fashions, the opinions or perspectives of others however appealing or relevant they seem, we don’t build on what the non-Christian or anti-Christian demands of our Society are.  We build on God’s Word the Bible that has been and still is God’s Inspired Word; there is nothing more relevant to us today than God’s Word

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:20 NLT, “20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.”

To lead His Church into the fullness and completeness that He always intended it to be, Our Lord Jesus set apart Leadership Gifts, that this He has called in the past and is calling today specific individuals to positions of Leadership in His Church, today we have various names, titles and badges and descriptions of Leadership that vary from Church to Church!.

 We have built man-made structures and systems from the early days of the Church to co-ordinate what happens in the Church, I’m not against co-ordination or structure and systems but the organization of Church isn’t the central purpose of the Church, in many cases we have made a god of organization.  The Church is a living and breathing organism, the organization is the servant of the organism but more often or not the organism has become the servant of the organization.

I’m not saying that the Church and our Church Meetings become a free for all, the place of gossip and chat, good ideas and the downright weird and wacky, although it can happen, however, there is a divinely inspired framework for the correct method of Church Structure.

In the New Testament especially Paul’s epistles, we see God’s structure for the Church and how the Church should be organized and lead.  Today we have Vicars, Priests, Bishops, Archbishops, Reverends etc. etc., we give people titles and badges and recognition, but are they God given titles, badges and recognition or are they man given?

  We see both in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, part of God’s structure and framework for the church,  1 Corinthians 12:28 ESVA, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. For the context see 1 Corinthians 12:27-30, and Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT, “11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. For the context see Ephesians 4:11-16.

The first part of God’s structure for the Church are The Apostles, The Prophets, The Evangelists, The Pastors or Shepherds and The Teachers which are five distinct ministry areas given to certain individuals in the Church, these Men and their ministries are gifts given by our Lord and Saviour as gifts to His Church, the second part of God’s structure are the Elders and Deacons, I believe that all the other ministry areas here are given to Men, and although I respect and honour the role/s of the Ladies in the Church, the biblical example of Leadership in the Church is uniquely for Men.  The descriptions of the roles of The Elders and Deacons in the Church are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-13.  Firstly Elders In 1 Timothy 3:1-2 NLT, “This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, [a] he desires an honourable position.” 2 So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. [b] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. Then Secondly Deacons in I Timothy 3:8 NLT, “In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity.”

I believe that the correct indeed the only way for His Church to move forward in the 21st Century and face all the challenges and opportunities that it brings is firstly live as disciples, be in relational covenant with each other and follow Our Saviour’s leadership and direction in our lives, and follow the example and influence of those God has called to lead us, I would describe this a restoration or renewal of Apostolic Christianity. For my American readers, I mean New Testament Christianity, not Apostolic in the context of the Oneness Gospel.

Yours in His Grace

Blair Humphreys

Southport, Merseyside

How to Guard Your Flock, Even From Other Christians

How to Guard Your Flock, Even From Other Christians

MATTHEW BARRETT|12:01 AM CT Dear Pastor, Bring Your Bible to Church

I enjoy using an iPad. It is, in my opinion, one of the most impressive devices yet invented. In one light-weight, travel-sized tablet the user has everything at his fingertips. That includes not only the typical social media apps that every user has on his smartphone, but also countless tools that have characterized the laptop or even the home television.

And yet I am finding that cutting-edge, 21st-century technology is subtly but quickly changing important, even indispensable aspects of Christianity. Consider just one example: the ever-growing tendency to substitute a physical, visible Bible (remember . . . the ones where you lick your finger and turn the pages) with a tablet in the pulpit.

To clarify, I am not against pastors using a tablet in the pulpit for, say, sermon notes. Rather, I'm concerned about replacing the physical Bible with a tablet in the pulpit. As the pastor enters the pulpit to bring the Word of God to the people of God, no hard copy of the Bible is to be found in his hand, gracing the top of the podium, visible to the entire congregation as the book at the center of attention. Instead, the congregation sees a tablet. While this may seem harmless enough, I believe there are several potential dangers this subtle shift generates.

Different Message

First, the tablet as a replacement for a hardcopy of the Bible sends an entirely different message to the congregation. Yes, this tablet contains the digital text of the Bible, but visually that tablet represents so much more. It is an icon of social media and a buffet of endless entertainment. Ask my children. The sight of an iPad screams instant access to Sesame Street on Netflix. For the adult, the tablet is an immediate window into his or her social life. As advertised, the iPad is ESPN Magazine, a Visa card statement, decorating ideas on Pinterest, hotel reservations in Hawaii, the latest college football scores, Adele on iTunes, directions to the nearest Starbucks, instant tracking of the stock market, and, oh yes, the Bible, alongside thousands of your favorite e-books.

In contrast, how simple, and yet profound, is a hardcopy of the Bible, perhaps leather-bound and worn from constant use. Carried by Pastor Steve into the pulpit, this large, even cumbersome book, reveals he is ready to bring to the people a message from God himself. In short, a print copy of the Scriptures in the pulpit represents something far more focused and narrow: a visible symbol of God speaking to his people, the master Shepherd feeding his flock.

Biblical Illiteracy in the Pew

Second, the tablet may, oddly enough, unintentionally and indirectly encourage biblical illiteracy in the pew. This no doubt sounds shocking. After all, how could a tablet that provides us with gobs of biblical research tools, a digital manuscript of the Scriptures, and countless other resources create a culture of biblical illiteracy? One of the severe limitations of a digital text, as you sit there with your iPhone or smartphone, is the unnecessary task of passing by books of the Bible as you find the sermon text. When the preacher says, "Turn in your Bibles to . . . ," the layperson simply clicks on a link or enters the text into a search box. As a result, I am increasingly discovering as a professor at a Christian university that students do not know where books in the Bible are located, let alone how the storyline of redemptive history develops. Many laypeople do not possess the ability to see the text in its context. Consequently, these old-fashioned, basic, Bible-learning skills are being lost.

Even secular scholars, such as Nicholas Carr (The Shallows) and Mark Bauerlein (The Dumbest Generation), get this when it comes to reading a book digitally. As John Bombaro explains, these authors, and many others, conclude that we have adopted a "truncated approach to texts, with no peripheral vision of what the next page holds or orientation to the linear progression of the entire text," which only "trains the mind's learning plasticity to think in pragmatic, detached, fragmented ways." Therefore, when it comes to Scripture, we have lost by abandoning the printed text a "linear progression to the total story," since "digital texts militate against a big-picture perspective and comprehension of the whole story of the Bible."

Flesh and Blood

Third, the tablet may undermine the spatio-temporal nature of church. When a member stands before the congregation, reading the sermon text from a tablet, there is something missing, something lifeless at play. Again, John Bombaro observes, "Digital texts are ephemeral; they are ontologically diminished." There's no "there" there, Bombaro laments.

Surely this should rub us wrong, as physical beings who gather together as an assembly in a tangible place. We see with our own eyes a standing, breathing minister preach about a God who is, yes, invisible, but is really with us as Lord of space and time. This God has made himself known by sending his own Son in flesh and blood.

Visual Reminder

Fourth, when the spatio-temporal nature of Scripture is replaced with a digital, even ephemeral, cyberspace text, there is an awkward inconsistency at play given the physicality of baptism and the Lord's Supper. In the lineage of the Reformation, evangelicals have long affirmed at least three marks of the church and means of grace: the proclamation of God's Word, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. Why not perform a baptism in private or take the Lord's Supper alone? There is an essential corporate dimension to these somatic means of grace, as the church witnesses the gospel in the waters of baptism and together partakes of the flesh and blood of Christ represented in the elements. The materiality of these means visually remind us that we are accountable to this gospel and to one another.

Likewise with God's Word. The Scriptures, preached and read, teach us, reprove us, and train us in righteousness so that we are equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If baptism and the Lord's table become lifeless when we disintegrate their materiality, do we not risk a similar danger when we remove the spatio-temporal presence of the Word of God for the people of God? And should an unbeliever walk in for the first time, would he know that we are a people of the book?

Nonverbal Communication

Fifth, when the smartphone or iPad (or name your mobile device) replaces a hardcopy of Scripture, something is missing in our nonverbal communication to unbelieving onlookers. When you walk to church, sit down on a bus, or discipline one another at a coffee shop, a hard copy of the Bible sends a loud and bold message to the nearest passersby about your identity as a Christ follower. It says, "Yes, I am a Christian and I believe this book is the Word of God telling us who we are and how we should live."

If you don't believe me, take a physical copy of the Bible with you on your next plane flight, and when you sit down next to your neighbors place the Bible on your lap for all to see. Notice the reactions; you might as well have shared your social security number with the whole plane. Typically, for the person on your left just the sight of the text makes them uncomfortable, defensive, and reclusive. But for the person on your right, it may instantaneously create a conversation that leads to the gospel. My point is simple: if we, as Christians, abandon the physical text in our own assembly, what is lost when this text does not warm our hands in front of a lost and dying world?

No doubt, my warning touches an uncomfortable and irritable nerve. To insult our use of technology is one of the seven deadly sins in the 21st century. Technology infiltrates and saturates everything we do, and therefore defines everything we are, for better or worse. But is this subtle shift changing the way we read the Scriptures? Is it ever-so-quietly removing the visual centerpiece of the local assembly? I think so. And while I never imagined I would have to say this, I close with the following admonition: Dear pastor, bring your Bible to church.

Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is assistant professor of Christian studies at California Baptist University (OPS), as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. He is the author of Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration (forthcoming, P&R) and co-editor of Four Views on the Historical Adam (forthcoming, Zondervan). He also edited Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy.

Dear Pastor, Bring Your Bible to Church

Dear Pastor, Bring Your Bible to Church