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Knowing
Church
Following
Someday
watch a stream of ants stretching between their anthill and a food source. Some
will be going to pick up their load; others will be returning to deposit their
prize in the recesses of the anthill. The whole process will be very organized
very precise. Then ask yourself
“Why are these ants so organized in their
task?” The reason is that ants are good followers
each dependent on the ant in
front of him to lead him to the food supply. Because each ant follows the
other
there is a straight line between the anthill and the food—no wasted
energy
no unnecessary detours. There is a lesson in that for would-be
disciples.
Church
Love in
There is a story about a
man who was walking down the street. He passed a used-book store
and in the
window he saw a book with the title “How to Hug”. He was taken by the title
and
being of a somewhat romantic nature
went in to buy the book. To his
chagrin
he discovered that it was the seventh volume of an encyclopedia and
covered the subjects “How” to “Hug”.
Everyone knows that the
church is a place where love ought to be manifested
and many people have come
to church hoping to find a demonstration of love—only to discover an
encyclopedia on theology. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Mission of
Frederick the Great
King
of Prussia
won a strategic battle with comparative ease and little loss of
men. /when asked for the explanation of his victory over the enemy
he said
“The enemy had seven cooks and one spy
but I had seven spies and on cook.”
Perhaps the church lacks
power because it majors on the minors and minors on the majors. ── Michael P.
Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Church
Mission of
A generation ago
Dr. F.B.
Meyer said this about the local church. “It is urgently needful that the
Christian people of our charge should come to understand that they are not a
company of invalids
to be wheeled bout
or fed by hand
cosseted
nursed
and
comforted
the minister being the Head Physician and Nurse
but a garrison in
an enemy’s country
every soldier of which should have some post or duty
at
which he should be prepared to make any sacrifice rather than quitting.” ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Church
Mission of
The hero of Mark Twain’s
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court was wise enough to install dynamite
under the foundation of all the munitions plants and factories he had built. He
realized that should there be an uprising against his “new” nineteenth-century
ideas
these factories (once so helpful) might be taken over and used against
him.
There is wisdom to this
approach for the church. Every new building
and every new program ought to
have ample dynamite poured into its foundation so that if in the future these
things become obstacles to the mission of he church
they can be removed to
clear the ground for greater works. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Yet membership in a
confessing body is fundamental to the faithful Christian life. Failure to do so
defies the explicit warning not to forsake "our assembling together."
His understanding of this prompted Martin Luther to say
"Apart from the
church
salvation is impossible." Not that the church provides salvation;
God does. But because the "saved" one can't fulfill what it means to
be a Christian apart from the church
membership becomes the indispensable mark
of salvation.
"So highly does the
Lord esteem the communion of His church
" Calvin wrote
" that He
considers everyone a traitor and apostate from religion who perversely
withdraws himself from any Christian society which preserves the true ministry
of the word and sacraments."
Charles W. Colson
The
Body
1992
Word Publishing
p. 70.
The church is the only
cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its
non-members. \
William Temple.
Growing up on the Atlantic
Coast
I spent long hours working on intricate sand castles; whole cities would
appear beneath my hands. One year
for several days in a row
I was accosted by
bullies who smashed my creations. Finally I tried an experiment: I placed
cinder blocks
rocks
and chunks of concrete in the base of my castles. Then I
built the sand kingdoms on top of the rocks. When the local toughs appeared
(and I disappeared)
their bare feet suddenly met their match. Many people see
the church in grave peril from a variety of dangers: secularism
politics
heresies
or plain old sin. They forget that the church is built upon a Rock
(Mt. 16:16)
over which the gates of hell itself shall not prevail.
Gregory P. Elder.
In a museum at Greenfield
Village
Detroit
Michigan
there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this
complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure
size and
number of wheels
horsepower
lengths
weight and more. The bottom line
indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive and
only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that.
Source Unknown.
When it was built for an
international exposition in the last century
the structure was called
monstrous by the citizens of the city
who demanded it be torn down as soon as
the exposition was over. Yet from the moment its architect first conceived it
he took pride in it and loyally defended it from those who wished to destroy
it. He knew it was destined for greatness. Today it is one of the architectural
wonders of the modern world and stands as the primary landmark of Paris
France. The architect
of course
was Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. His famous
tower was built in in 1889. In the same way we are struck by Jesus' loyalty to
another structure--the church--which he entrusted to an unlikely band of
disciples
whom he defended
prayed for
and prepared to spread the gospel. To
outsiders they (and we) must seem like incapable blunderers. But Jesus
the
architect of the church
knows this structure is destined for greatness when he
returns.
John Berstecher.
In the Greek Islands
one
can seek out the home of Hippocrates
the father of modern medicine. In the
area
one can also find an olive tree
supposedly dating from his time. If this
is so
this tree would then be some 2400 years old. The trunk of this tree is
very large but completely hollow. The tree is little more than thick bark.
There are a few long
straggling branches
but they are supported by sturdy
wooden poles every few feet. It has an occasional leaf here and there and might
produce a few olives each year. In the fields around
however
are olive groves
in many directions. The strong
healthy
young trees with narrow trunks are
covered with a thick canopy of leaves
under which masses of olives can be
found each year. The tree of Hippocrates can still be called an olive by
nature
in that it still shows the essential unique characteristics
but it has
long since ceased to fulfill an olive's function. Tourists file up to inspect
this ancient relic
having some link to a dim history
but the job of the olive
tree passed long ago to many successions of replanted trees. Do you know any
churches (or even people) like the tree of Hippocrates? The form is there
but
the function is not. They have stopped reproducing and are satisfied just being
big
or having a noble history.
Keith Copley.
Remember putting your face
above a headless frame painted to represent a muscle man
a clown
or even a
bathing beauty? Many of us have had our pictures taken this way
and the photos
are humorous because the head doesn't fit the body. If we could picture Christ
as the head of our local body of believers
would the world laugh at the
misfit? Or would they stand in awe of a human body so closely related to a
divine head?
Dan Bernard.
Imagine that we are TV
sportscasters standing on the sidelines of a football game to give the
play-by-play.
Scene #1: The team nearest
us is standing together
heads bowed in prayer
with the coach in the center.
Suddenly they give a great cheer
and the coach trots out onto the field by
himself. The players go sit on the bench. "What's going on?" we ask
as we stick a microphone in front of a 250 pound guard. "What's the coach
doing out there?" "Oh
he's going to play today." "All by
himself?" "Sure
why not? He's had a lot more experience and training
than the rest of us. We've got a lot of rookies on this team
and we might make
mistakes. Anyway
they pay the coach well. We're all here to cheer and support
him--and look at the huge crowd that's come to watch him play!" Bewildered
we watch as the opposing team kicks off. The coach catches the ball. He
valiantly charges upfield
but is buried under eleven opposing tacklers. He's
carried off half- conscious... You think that's ridiculous? But isn't it
the picture many of us have of the church? The members expect the minister to
do the preaching
praying
witnessing
and visiting because he's paid to do the
Lord's work and he's better trained. But listen to God's Game Plan. According
to Ephesians 4:11
12
Christ has given the church apostles
prophets
evangelists
pastors
and teachers "to prepare God's people for works of
service." God gives leaders to the church
not to do all the work
but to
help all of God's people to do it! Lay people are not there simply to pay
pastors and evangelists to do the Lord's work. Rather
pastors
evangelists
and teachers are to equip the so-called lay people to be ministers! Your pastor
is meant to be a kind of playing coach. His main function is to help you as a
Christian discover your spiritual gifts
develop them
and use them to build up
the Body of Christ.
Now look at Scene #2: The
team realizes they've all got to play
so they're on the field in a huddle.
They huddle...and huddle...and huddle. The referee calls a penalty for delaying
the game and moves the ball back five yards. Still the team huddles
huddles
and huddles. The referee calls penalty after penalty
until finally the ball is
moved all the way back to their own goal line. "Hey coach!" shouts
the quarterback to the sidelines. "This is the greatest huddle I've ever
been in. What a group of guys! We have the best fellowship...and some of these
guys are amazing students of the play book. Some have memorized over a hundred
plays and can analyze them precisely. We learn so much in this huddle!"
"But why don't you get up on the line and play?" "Why should we?
What we want are bigger and better huddles! Besides
we might get hurt. No one
ever got hurt in a huddle!" Your church and mine are in big trouble if
they become a "holy huddle" a band of saints gathered Sunday after
Sunday
singing
praising
enjoying each other--but never setting out on the
line to apply what they learn. The church is supposed to be Christ's body--his
hands
his feet
his voice--by which he carries out his plans in the world. God
intends that "through the church
the manifold wisdom of God should be
made known" (Eph 3:10). The church is to be God's light in a dark
corrupt
society. The Christian life was never meant to be lived only in church for 83 a
couple of hours on Sunday. It's meant to be lived in the public arena--on the
firing line at school
the office
and in the neighborhood
seven days a week.
Of course
we need worship and training and fellowship with other Christians--a
football team needs the huddle. But it's what happens after the huddle that the
game is all about.
Here's scene #3: the team
breaks out of the huddle. But instead of lining up against the opposing squad
they break into groups of two or three
arguing with each other. Soon they
start shoving
and two of them actually get into a fight. "What's wrong
now?" we ask as one of them walks off the field in disgust. "That
bunch of malcontents can't agree on anything
" he says. "Those two
over there are arguing over the color of the uniforms. A couple of others are
quarreling over the right way to kneel in the huddle. Those two guys are
arguing because one believes in what he calls 'personal' football
and the
other believes in 'social' football. They can't agree whether the individual or
the team is more important. Some of the white players say the blacks should go
play on their own field
and some of the black guys don't like the band music.
A couple are fighting over whether women should be allowed to play. And I'm
quitting because I can pass a lot better than that other guy
and they won't
let me be the quarterback." The Game Plan says that Christ "is our
peace...His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two [Jew
and Gentile]
thus making peace...to reconcile both of them to God through the
cross
by which he put to death their hostility" (Ephesians 2:14-16).
Christians talk a lot about the peace of Christ. Can the world see that peace
in our church relationships? Within the Body of Christ there is plenty of room
for diversity of gifts
but underlying that diversity is unity. "Be
completely humble and gentle
" writes Paul
"Be patient
bearing with
one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through
the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit...one Lord
one faith
one
baptism; one God and Father of all..." (Ephesians 4:2-6). Isn't it time to
show our oneness in truth and love to a watching world?
So the first half ends.
The team drags off to the locker room defeated
demoralized
beaten. But when
the second half begins
we see a different team. Suddenly they're playing
together with a new spirit. They huddle
slap each other on the back
and take
the line. They're off the ball with split-second timing
there is no
hesitation
they know where they're going. Each player carries out his
assignment
and soon they score a touchdown
then another
and another. When
the game ends
they've won! Afterwards in the locker room the players are
exhausted
cut and bruised
but happy. "What happened at halftime to change
this team?" we ask
the coach. "We were sitting here beaten
" he
says
"and suddenly a kind of presence seemed to come over us. I started
talking to the players
pointing out my mistakes
and theirs
and they started
talking. Everyone was honest. Nobody blamed the others. We took a good look at
ourselves. Then someone recalled that the Great Coach
the one who invented the
game
also wrote the Master Game Plan. Wouldn't it make sense to see what he
said? "We remembered how he literally gave himself to get the game started
and to teach that first team everything he knew. So we got out the original
Game Plan and read about basics such as each player knowing his place and
dedicating himself to it
about pulling together
being willing to sacrifice
knowing the aim of the game
and using the proper equipment he designed.
"Well
we were quiet. It felt as if the Great Coach was with us
as if
somehow his Spirit got inside us. Suddenly
we were up! Motivated! Ready to go!
We can't take the credit. It goes to Him!"
Source Unknown.
A survey of hundreds of
pastors has allowed us to compile a preliminary list of measurable quality
factors in the life of a congregation in ranking order. The twelve factors are:
1. Bible knowledge. Church
members are increasing in their grasp of the teachings of the Bible. They can
integrate this with a theological system that enables them to apply the Bible's
teachings to their life situation.
2. Personal devotions. Members spend time daily in prayer
Bible reading
meditation
and other personal spiritual exercises.
3. Worship. Members regularly participate in the worship services scheduled by
the church.
4. Witnessing. Members regularly attempt to share their faith in Jesus Christ
with unbelievers.
5. Lay ministry. The lay people of the church are engaged in such ministries as
teaching and discipling. In some cases this happens through consciously
discovering
developing
and using their spiritual gifts.
6. Missions. The church actively supports missions
organizing and sustaining a
strong program for recruiting
sending
and financing home and foreign
missionaries.
7. Giving. Members give an appropriate portion of their income to the local
church and/or to other Christian causes.
8. Fellowship. Members are growing in their personal relationships with each
other through regular participation in church fellowship groups of one kind or
another.
9. Distinctive life-style. Members generally manifest their faith in Christ by
living a life-style clearly and noticeable distinct from that of non-Christians
in the same community.
10. Attitude toward religion. Church members regard their involvement in the
church primarily as a service to God rather than a means to fulfill personal
needs.
11. Social service. Members are serving others outside the congregation. This
includes direct personal involvement with the poor and needy
or in programs
designed to help the needy.
12. Social justice. Either through the congregation as a whole or through
specialized Christian agencies
members are striving to make changes in
sociopolitical structures that will contribute to a more moral and just
society.
C. Peter Wagner
Leading
Your Church to Growth
Regal Books
1984
pp. 25-27.
There are four main bones
in every organization. The wish-bones: Wishing somebody would do something
about the problem. The jaw-bones: Doing all the talking but very little else.
The knuckle-bones: Those who knock everything. The back-bones: Those who carry
the brunt of the load and do most of the work.
Bits & Pieces
October 15
1992
pp. 16-17.
The U.S. Department of
Commerce has recently released statistics on American churches
clergy and
church schools. Church Law & Tax Report give some interesting
figures:
- Number of U.S.
congregations: 294
271
- Churches with fewer than 100 members: 60
300
- Churches with fewer than 500 members: 205
556
- Churches with 1
000-1
999 members: 21
691
- Churches with 2
000 or more members: 13
958
Last year churches
received $49 billion in revenues
of which $40 billion came from contributions
$1.4 billion from wills and estates
and $2.5 billion from fees or charges for
services. There are a total of 348
000 clergy employed in the United States
and they have served an average of 15.8 years in each position.
Of special interest are
the statistics on who is supporting these churches. Persons 65-74 years of age
donated the largest percentage of their income (3.1 percent) and those 18-24
the least (0.6 percent). Increasingly
those with lower incomes gave a higher
proportion of their income to charity than higher income individuals. Persons
with household incomes of under $10
000 gave 2.8 percent of their total
incomes
while those with incomes over $100
000 gave only 2.1 percent. The
average annual contribution to the church was $715 per household.
Pulpit Helps
August
1992
p. 8.
Definition of a local
church:
1)purpose is the public
worship of God
edification of the saints
and spread of the gospel.
2)organization: planned meetings (Acts 20:7)
corporate discipline (I Cor. 5)
money raising projects (II Cor. 8-9)
recognized leaders such as pastor
elders
deacons (Heb. 13:7
17).
3)ordinances practiced.
R. Lightner in Truth
for the Good Life
p. 115-6.
Three pastors got together
for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems.
"I got so mad
" said one
"I took a shotgun and fired at them.
It made holes in the ceiling
but did nothing to the bats." "I tried
trapping them alive
" said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before
releasing them
but they beat me back to the church." "I haven't had
any more problems
" said the third. "What did you do?" asked the
others
amazed. "I simply baptized and confirmed them
" he replied.
"I haven't seen them since."
Reader's Digest
July
1994
p. 64.
A man was answering
questions for a national poll. When asked for his church preference
he
responded
"Red brick."
Source Unknown.
When you were born
your
mother brought you to church...When you were married
your wife brought you to church...When
you die
your friends will bring you to church...Why not try coming to church
on your own sometime?
Source Unknown.
Backward Christian
Soldiers - Anonymous
Backward Christian
soldiers
Fleeing from the fight
With the cross of Jesus
Nearly out of sight.
Christ our rightful master Stands against the foe
Onward into battle
we seem afraid to go.
Chorus
Backward Christian soldiers
Fleeing from the fight
With the cross of Jesus
Nearly out of sight.
Like a might tortoise
Moves the church of God.
Brothers we are treading
Where we've often trod.
We are much divided
Many bodies we
Having different doctrines
but Not much charity.
Crowns and thrones may
perish
Kingdoms rise and wane
But the cross of Jesus Hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never 'gainst the Church prevail
We have Christ's own promise
but we think it might fail.
Sit here then ye people
Join our sleeping throng.
Blend with ours
your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings
ease and comfort Ask from Christ the King
But with our modern thinking
We won't do a thing.
Source Unknown.