"Body Building: Single Spirit, Common Concern, God's Gifting"
LWCF Annual Meeting -- Jan.18/04
1Cor.12:4-11,24-30
Hints for Jesus
Anybody who has attended church at least once in their life probably has ideas on how it could be improved. A humorous skit by Richard Wallarab once appeared in Christianity Today and imagines some of the "helpful suggestions" the Twelve disciples might have had for the Lord Jesus.
PETE: This meeting has been called at the request of Matt, John, Tom, and Little Jim. Bart, will you please open with prayer?
BART: Almighty God, we ask Your blessing on all we do and say and earnestly pray that You will see our side as Your side. Amen.
PETE: Jesus, we have been following you around for some time, and we are getting concerned about the attendance figures. Tom, how many were on the hill yesterday?
TOM: 37.
PETE: It's getting to be ridiculous. You're going to have to pep things up. We expect things to happen.
JOHN: I'd like to suggest you pull off more miracles. That walking on water bit was the most exciting thing I have ever seen, but only a few of us saw it. If a thousand or so had a chance to witness it, we would have more than we could handle on the hill.
LITTLE JIM: I agree. The healing miracles are terrific, but only a limited number really get to see what has happened. Let's have more water to wine, more fish and chips (it never hurts to fill their stomachs), still more storms, give more signs. This is what the people need.
PETE: Right. And another thing, publicity is essential, and you tell half the people you cure to keep it quiet. Let the word get around.
MATT: I'm for miracles, but I want to hear a few stories I can understand. This 'those who have ears to hear, let them hear' business just clouds the issue.You have to make it clear or most of us aren't going to be able to take anything home.
BIG JIM: I'd like to offer an order of service. First a story, then a big miracle followed by an offering, then maybe a saying or something, followed by a small miracle to bring them back next time. Oh yes, and a prayer if you'd like.
TOM: We have to do something.
LITTLE JIM: That's for sure. Attendance has been awful.
JUDAS: I'd like to say if we are going to continue to meet in this upper room we ought to do something about the carpet...
Can't you just picture it? Hints even for the Master. We suppose there are always better ways to conduct ourselves as Christ's church. Today as our Annual Meeting appoints an official Council and Elders, we want to follow God's blueprint in scripture as much as possible rather than just using our own ideas and requiring endless corrections and suggestions. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul offers an overview of how the church is to perceive itself, not as so many separate individuals but a connected whole, Jesus' body parts working together as one. Then we'll survey other Biblical principles for setting up church leadership.
Single Spirit
Back in the first century, congregations didn't have 2000 years of church history to guide their structure in organization or in worship. It was pretty much wide open, especially in Gentile churches which hadn't had much synagogue influence. Consequently, worship services in places like Corinth were quite free in format - some would say, disorganized. Paul wrote a letter to the fledgling congregation to give them some direction in how to live as Christians and how to be the church. Spiritual gifts in all their diversity can still be a hot topic today. Through the apostle, God allowed for a great diversity of spiritual manifestations yet provided an orderly framework in which they could be expressed.
First, Paul points out there is a unity to the gifts in that they all come from one Spirit. 12:4 says, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit." VV 8-9,11 acknowledge the various abilities are given "through the Spirit...by the same Spirit...by that one Spirit...All these are the work of one and the same Spirit..." V13 adds, "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body...and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." The functions and abilities the Lord blesses us with are quite different, but they all have a shared single source in Him.
But not all spiritual activity is from God. In v.3, right at the beginning of the discussion about spiritual gifts in general, Paul offers a test by which to distinguish the source of a particular manifestation: "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." The point of reference is whether the general direction of this particular phenomenon is to glorify Jesus, to honour and magnify Him, or if it instead somehow upstages or minimizes or scorns Him. The Holy Spirit's thrust is always not to draw attention to Himself but to witness to Christ, to shine the spotlight on the Crucified One.
The upshot of this emphasis on a single Spirit being the source of genuine church activity is that the church is never just another human organization like some service club or business association. No, the church is fundamentally SUPERNATURAL; the earthly extension of a heavenly reality, what's happening at the throne-room of God. Consequently, prayer is very important in discerning our direction, tuning in to the promptings of God's Spirit within, laying God's desires in our hearts.
Common Concern
Second, regardless how many or different the gifts may be, individual believers share a COMMON CONCERN for one another. V7, "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." My gift is not just for me, but to benefit the whole group. VV15-16 reject a hypothetical conflict between one's foot and hand, or one's ear and eye; v21, the eye can't say to the hand, or the head to the feet, "I don't need you." Every member has a vital function to play for the good of all. VV12&20, there are "many parts" but they form "one body". It's ridiculous to imagine at night, lying in bed, and overhearing your arms and eyelashes arguing about who'd most important! There's no room for divisiveness or jealousy among our own body parts, nor ought we to be comparing amongst the body the church that God has assembled. VV24b-26, "God has combined the members of the body...so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." Common concern, equal caring, sharing the pains or joys, the victories and the setbacks.
Bottom line in the church is caring for each other as Christ cares for us. What we DO as a church member - our particular function - is secondary to our heart attitude toward our fellow members. The last night with His disciples before His death, what was Jesus' object lesson? He took a bowl of water and washed His disciples' feet - even though this must have seemed very backwards for the Twelve. Then He said in John 13(35), "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." That's to be our distinguishing factor, what sets us apart - whether we're genuinely loving. I hear good things about people commenting on the friendliness of this congregation -- keep it up! Don't just stick with your usual clique - branch out. In John 15(17) Jesus emphasized, "This is my command: Love each other." Common concern.
God's Gifting
God must be the greatest lover of variety and diversity in the universe. No two snowflakes are exactly alike, we're told. Now that's an accomplishment! Photo radar relies on something as boring and uniform as license plates to tell cars apart. That's more like our usual level of creativity. But the latest high-tech security methods use scans of people's irises, customized for each person by our Creator! Or I understand now that security machines digitize and compare people's fingerprints. No two alike.
Paul explains that it is God Himself who is behind the amazing diversity of gifts that can be exercised in the church. Vv5-6 different kinds of service/working are worked by the same God. V11, "All these [different gifts] are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." V18, "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." 24, "God has combined the members of the body..."; 28, "in the church God has appointed" various abilities. So there is no reason to feel jealous or bitter about the gifts we have or to be comparing ourselves with others. It was God's sovereign pleasure to bless us with whatever particular gift we have. Rather than feeling sorry for ourself, we can rejoice in the Body's richness.
Paul lists nine different gifts early in chapter 12. The Wagner-Modified Houts Questionnaire lists 25 with Biblical references: prophecy pastor teaching wisdom knowledge, exhortation discerning of spirits giving helps mercy, missionary evangelist hospitality faith leadership, administration miracles healing tongues interpretation, voluntary poverty celibacy intercession exorcism and service. What a variety! Lots to go around!
My responsibility, then, as a church member is not to be comparing myself to those with different gifting, but to focus on allowing the Lord to develop my own unique gifts to the max for God's glory. As 1Peter 4(11) says, "If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.Amen."
Body Ministry
What then is the role of church leadership, given this great diversity of gifting amongst individual Christians? Is it to try to keep holding onto all the strings like a behind-the-scenes overwhelmed puppeteer? Even the best church leaders in the world could be expected to mess up with that scenario!
Vv12-13 make it clear that it's not church leaders that are supposed to hold the strings. "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.So it is with Christ.For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free— and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." The body of believers is Christ, connected and ennerved by the Holy Spirit.
Let's work with the body imagery Paul suggests for a moment. LWCFers are various body parts, say fingers, hand, arm, shoulder, eye, and brain tissue. To work together to lift anything, say a mug, they need to know what they are and be connected. Then they need to know what the task is, and work together in unison. Four tasks of church leadership then would be to IDENTIFY spiritual gifts of individuals; CONNECT the groups of like-gifted people; TRAIN them for the task; and CO-ORDINATE the overall project.
A hand and arm aren't meant to just lay around, let's give them something useful to accomplish for the Kingdom. Suppose this broken mug represents our life apart from Christ, before we come to the cross. Actually our lives were in much worse shape than just having a handle broken off; we were thoroughly cracked, deformed relative to the sinless glory for which God created us. First step in ministry to a broken world is to put the pieces together with a divine glue - Jesus. He is our healer, our bonder, the One who makes us whole. Colossian 1(17) says that "in Him all things hold together". Isaiah 53(5) says that "by His wounds we are healed"; 61:1 (last week's passage which Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth) says the Messiah will "bind up the brokenhearted". Our initial ministry as a Body is to bring people to Jesus to receive His healing and restoration in their broken, marred inner being.
But that's not all. An empty mug isn't yet doing anything. The church through its ministry of fellowship, teaching, worship, and prayer brings people (the "mugs") to the Source that can fulfill them, the "tap". 1Cor.12:13 says believers were "all given the one Spirit to drink". Our congregation's theme verses in John 7(37f) recall Jesus saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." Once the mug is filled, it can overflow to bless others with the love and grace and real help we experience from God.
Biblical Principles for Church Leadership
In this next section, I'd like to review some Scriptural guidance informing our proposed model of church government. What we want is a minimum of bureaucracy and control, a maximum of serve-ability that can adapt to various shapes required to get "mugs" to the "tap"; to allow all the different gifts (fingers, shoulders etc.) to be operational. What are fundamental principles that would make church government any different from, say, a profit-oriented business model?
1) Christian leadership (in the church or home) is not about lording-it-over, but laying-down-life
It's not about superiority but service; not rights and control, but responsibility and caring. Psalm 72(4,12-14) describes the Messianic King as defending the afflicted, saving the children of the needy, taking pity on the weak and needy "FOR precious is their blood in His sight". Not like Gollum's "precious", one ring over all the others! In Mk.10(42-45), when James & John seek promotion to the best places, Jesus painstakingly points out that His followers are not to "lord it over" or "exercise authority" like pagan rulers, but that greatness has to do with being a servant or slave. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The parallel passage in Luke 22(27) quotes Jesus as saying, "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." In John 13(13f) He acknowledges they call Him "Lord" and "Teacher" yet He has washed their feet, so "you also should wash one another's feet". 1Peter 5 says overseers should not be greedy for money but "eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."
2) Structure both spiritual oversight AND temporal administration
The leadership of the early Christian church was careful to take a form which provided separate bodies for spiritual and temporal matters. In Acts 6(2-4) the 12 Apostles insist that it would not be right to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables, so a separate group of 7 deacons is created to look after the daily food distribution so they can devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. 1Cor.12(28) observes that in the church God has appointed "first of all" apostles, second prophets, third teachers, "THEN" workers of miracles, healers, helpers, etc. There seems to be a prioritizing here. When we come to the pastoral epistles, 1Tim.1(1,8) differentiates between "overseers" (the spiritual responsibility) and "deacons" (administrators, servers).
3) Elders are prayerfully APPOINTED, Deacons can be ELECTED (if qualified)
When the 12 apostles were chosen, it was not by a popular ballot. It was certainly not a democratic process (nor did it require $100,000 entry fee!). Lk.6(12f) records that Jesus spent the night praying, then chose the apostles; and the designation stuck. This "appointment" method continued in the early church. Acts 14(23) says Paul and Barnabas "appointed elders for them in each church". Paul tells Titus (1:5), "I left you on Crete...to appoint elders in every town." Along with this comes the caution in 1Tim.5(22), "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands" - that is, the ordaining or appointing of leaders. Unfortunately haste and lack of a prayerful approach can leave a church with inferior spiritual leadership if a simply democratic approach is taken.
On the other hand, when it came to choosing deacons, in Acts 6(3) Peter told the Hellenistic believers to "choose 7 men from among you known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom". This seems to be more like an election. 1Tim.3:8-13 does have qualifications required in order to be a deacon, and advises that they must first be "tested".
4) In the church as in the home, mature manhood involves bearing the brunt of the responsibility and final accountability
Here's where God's word leads us to be somewhat counter-cultural in order to avoid gender confusion and shame at the final judgment. 1Cor.11(3) teaches that "the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." There is an order of accountability and responsibility. Paul goes into more detail in Ephesians 5(22-33), saying husbands are to sacrificially love and care for (cherish) their wife; while wives are to "submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior." Be sure to note that this is not "headship" as the world understands it in a "lording it over", "calling the shots", heavy-handed approach. The apostle Peter (1Pet.3:1,7) tells wives to "be submissive" to their husbands; while husbands are to "be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you [literally, co-heirs] of the gracious gift of life..." The relationship is to reflect God's free, undeserved grace to us sinners. When the Day of Judgment comes, as a husband and father I understand from the Bible that it is ME not my wife God's going to hold responsible for what went on in our house. That responsibility can't be delegated. It's part of the divine design for complementarity in manhood and womanhood; "God made us different that He might make us one," as Adrian Rogers puts it.
When these individual family units come to church, the meaning of manhood and womanhood doesn't fly out the window. Paul said in 1Tim.2:12, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man." It's not a question of ability - Anne Graham Lotz and Kay Arthur could put many men to shame - but suitability, preserving gender association so things don't get short-circuited. In a former denomination, the inclusive language of the 70s paved the way for radical revamping of sexual standards by the end of the century. We don't want to go there. So in our constitution we've restricted the role (and responsibility) of elder to those who are men.
5) Yet in Christ, women have a voice and place, too (e.g. "deaconesses")
This is no excuse for chauvinism or wife abuse or in any way respecting women less. Paul also made it clear in Galatians 3(28) that in the church "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." As regards our status before our Heavenly Father as His sons and daughters, those born of faith in Christ, women and men are just the same; equally loved, equally inheritors. Women like men receive spiritual gifts of all kinds. Acts 21(9) records that Philip (one of the 7 deacons) "had 4 unmarried daughters who prophesied". Prophecy is pretty well up in Paul's list! In Romans 16(1) Paul commends a woman named Phoebe who is "a servant [or deaconess] of the church in Cenchrea". We know from documents of the church in the first century such as the Apostolic Constitutions that there were deaconesses. In the east, where women were so much secluded culturally, deaconesses were a necessity for visiting and baptism. This inclusion of women in church ministries reflects Jesus' own respectful attitude toward women, which surprised those of his day (John 4:27). Right after the resurrection, the risen Lord gave Mary Magdalene an important job to do, saying, "Go to my brothers and tell them..." (Jn.20:17) So our constitution does not preclude women from holding non-elder council positions.
So there are 5 principles that inform us as we prepare to appoint and elect our first elders and Council. If we want to be true to our claim to be "Christ-centred, Bible-believing" we need to be very conscious of the Lord's guidance on how to manage groups in the church in a supportive and God-fearing manner, as those entrusted with responsibility.
Being the Body regardless of Credit
Shively Christian Church is found in Louisville Kentucky. Chuck Colson writes that the youth group there was fiercely competitive with their neighbour, Shively Baptist. They were also serious about their Christianity, faithfully attending the summer Bible camp led by their youth pastor, Dave Stone. One week the Bible lesson was about Jesus washing His disciples' feet, from John 13. To make the servanthood lesson stick, Pastor Stone divided the kids into groups and told them to go out and find a practical way to be servants. He said, "I want you to be Jesus in the city for the next 2 hours; if Jesus were here, what would He do? Figure out how He would help people."
Two hours later the kids reconvened in Pastor Stone's living room to report what they had done. One group had done two hours of yard work for an elderly man. Another group bought ice cream treats and delivered them to several widows in the church. A third group visited a church member in the hospital and gave him a card. Another group went to a nursing home and sang Christmas carols -- yes, Christmas carols in the middle of August. One elderly resident remarked that it was the warmest Christmas she could remember!
But when the fifth group stood up and reported what they had done, everyone groaned. This group had made its way to none other than their arch-rival, Shively Baptist, where they had asked the pastor if he knew someone who needed help. The pastor sent them to the home of an elderly woman who needed yard work done. There, for two hours, they mowed grass, raked the yard, and trimmed hedges. When they were getting ready to leave, the woman called the group together and thanked them for their hard work. "I don't know how I could get along without you," she told them. "You kids at Shively Baptist are always coming to my rescue."
Pastor Stone interrupted, "Shively Baptist! I sure hope you set her straight and told her you were from Shively Christian Church." The kids replied, "Why, no, we didn't; we really didn't think it mattered." And, of course, it didn't. They were just being the Body. Let's pray.