Church Fellowship & Normality: 5 Reasons to Get Plugged In

       Summer is fun, but sometimes it's hard on churches. Members are deservedly here-and-there... vacationing, working, and spending every moment possible with their families before the "grind" resumes in full-force. Early June to late August in churches is usually characterized by spotty attendance, low giving, and less organized activity across the board. It is a great couple of months for family time. But a difficult couple of months for church-family time. That being said, at the end of May each year, most church members are ready to embrace a less structured and less demanding church environment while they invest every free moment they can find in their personal families. But for this church minister, late August always breeds a similar level of anticipation for regularity in church functions. Summer break is good. But toward the end of it, I really start missing my church family.

       This past Monday, school started again. This year, I put my youngest son in Kindergarten. I don't care how old you actually are... that makes you feel a good 5-10 years older. With school starting back, church activities reverted to their normal schedule again last night. Women's Bible study, Men's Bible study, Children and Youth activities, and Music Ministry rehearsals... they all resumed their normal school-year schedule yesterday, and as far as I'm concerned, it could not have come soon enough. Last night was like a Red Bull to our church's adrenaline levels. I'm so glad to be back into regular fellowship with my church family, and to have some level of normality in our schedule again.

That being said, I would like to offer you:

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 FIVE reasons you should get plugged in to a local Bible-believing church.

1. Ephesians 3:10-11. The local church is God's instituted design both to display His wisdom in the heavenly realm, and to accomplish His purposes on Earth. When we function as a part of a church family, we are (1) showing God wise and (2) following His plan for world gospel-saturation. The world needs to know that Jesus saves. And the local church is God's agent for that mission.

2. Galatians 6:1-10. Mutual accountability and encouragement. (1) You need someone to hold you spiritually accountable. I do too. Together, we function as symbiotic organisms, coming together as one for mutual benefit. Lone-Ranger Christians, flying solo in their faith, are at an incredible disadvantage here. Yes, the Holy Spirit testifies within us when we sin against God. But if we are quenching the Holy Spirit, then His proddings will not always be felt. Sometimes, a verbal word of accountability is necessary. I alone am responsible for my sin, but it is your job to help restore me (through admonishment and encouragement) when I fall. (2) You need someone to lift you up. Life is hard. We should do it together, as a team. The burdens you have - death of a loved one, familial difficulties, financial strain, health problems - are too much for you to carry alone. Let your brothers and sisters help you bear that load.

3. Hebrews 10:23-25. Spiritual depression brought on by the recognition of spiritual oppression can be softened through spiritual fellowship. Look around. The world is decaying. Degrading. Dying. It is getting more and more difficult to live out the Christian faith. More and more, believers around the globe are being spiritually oppressed. If you're trying to stand alone, you'll be more apt to spiritual depression. It manifests itself in thoughts like, "What's the use in evangelizing? - Jesus is coming back soon anyway." Or, "There's just no hope for these godless individuals." Or even more seriously, "Why should I worry so much about living a holy lifestyle if I'm covered by the blood of Jesus anyway?" Spiritual depression. But if you're part of an active body of believers, encouragement finds you. Just as the Holy Spirit speaks to you about you, He also speaks to your brothers and sisters about you. I often find the encouragement I need from a church member who knows absolutely nothing of the situation I'm facing or the thoughts I'm entertaining. God's SSRI prescribed for spiritual depression is encouragement from other believers in the church body.

4. Psalm 68:24-26, 35. There is just something about corporate worship. When believers gather together to praise and worship God, His power and strength is imparted to them. God is "awe-inspiring" in His sanctuaries. In the fellowship of His children and in the corporate worship of His majesty, God "gives power and strength" to His people. A pep rally, of sorts. It reminds us of our position in Christ. It reminds us that because of our adopted sonship or daughtership, we have the exclusive privilege of capitalizing on the victory that belongs to us as children of the King. Sunday mornings are good. For a top-off, come on Sunday nights! And for a mid-week fill-up, come on Wednesday evenings.

5. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Being active in the local church is vital to its success; not only do you need the church, the church needs you. Upon receiving Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit imparted to you spiritual gift(s). When all the members of the church body are using their spiritual giftedness for the edification of the church and the advancement of the gospel message, the local church is a well-maintained, fitly healthy organism. Each part of its body is vitally important to its mission. If one part of the body becomes dead weight, the rest of the body feels it. If one part of the body thinks of itself more highly than it aught, the rest of the body feels that too. Don't just go to church. Be the church.


       I pray you'll capitalize on the newness of this season by taking advantage of the opportunity to join in regular fellowship with a local church body, and by allowing its schedule to become a normal part of your family's routine. Don't fly solo. Don't be a Lone-Ranger. Plug in.


Grace and Peace,
Tony

Five Reasons I Attend A Southern Baptist Church

Reason #1. The Cooperative Program.
       When I give my tithe to our local Southern Baptist Church, a percentage of it goes through the State Southern Baptist Convention (SBTC) to the National Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), where it is combined with that of members from over 37,000 other churches in the United States. Through the combination of these funds, in cooperation with other Southern Baptist Churches, I help fund close to 10,000 missionaries world-wide who are daily proclaiming the Word of God and the good news of the Gospel message to billions of people across the globe. Acts 1:8 fleshed out.

Reason #2. Congregational Polity.
       Throughout Church history, congregations ruled by a presbyterian form of government or some other form of regional administration have been oppressed... their effectiveness minimized... their focus and vision overshadowed by the needs of bureaucratic authority. Because Southern Baptist churches are ruled autonomously by their own members, each church decides for itself how to best use its funds, resources, and time. They call their own pastors in their own time frame. They program and direct activities and ministries which directly fit the needs of their communities. But most importantly, this is the kind of church polity set forth in the New Testament: Acts 6:1-6, 14:21-28, Titus 1:5-9, Matthew 18:15-20. Every member of a Southern Baptist church has an equal voice in church polity.

Reason #3. Centricity of the Word.
       Other Christian denominations hold the Bible up next to church history, leadership, or emotional hype, ascribing equal value to those things and the Scriptures. This is often the cause of great confusion, and always results in depreciation of the authority of God's Word. Southern Baptists regard as paramount the truth found in the sixty-six books of the Bible - canonized and widely accepted as the supreme authority for the Christian's life in matters of both faith and practice. Since its inception, the Southern Baptist Convention has suffered innumerable blows because of this strong stand. Even when unpopular, and regardless of the consequences, the Southern Baptist Convention stands on the authority, inerrancy, infallibility, and inspiration of the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 is nonnegotiable. It is not difficult to understand. And it does not change with the seasons or the centuries.
       In keeping with this high view of scripture, Southern Baptists are not a creedal people. They are a confessional people. Some Christian denominations adopt, memorize, recite, and canonize a creedal statement of belief. This statement becomes central to their faith and practice. While the Southern Baptists adopt a statement of beliefs, it is not canonized, is not recited, and is always up for amendment as Southern Baptist constituents grow in understanding of the Scriptures and as new cultural difficulties present themselves. You may view the most recent version of the Baptist Faith and Message here: http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp. In the Southern Baptist denomination, no man-written document will ever be held to the same standard as scripture. The Bible holds its place as the sole authority for Baptist faith and practice.

Reason #4. Focus on Evangelism AND Discipleship.
       Historically, as the Free Church grew it divided into those churches which emphasized either evangelism OR discipleship. Although many Southern Baptists would heartifully claim that our denomination has arisen uniquely from the Sandy Creek (evangelistic) tradition, it is apparent to me - and I believe will also be to all who will non-discriminately seek the truth - that Southern Baptists have historically placed equal emphasis on both evangelism AND discipleship. Without a doubt, waves of Southern Baptist life have arisen which accentuated one or the other more predominantly, but the tides have changed periodically as the pendulum has swung more toward the center, and then the opposite end of the spectrum, and then toward the center again... where I believe it to be at our present day. The Great Commission given to us by our Lord, as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 among other places in Scripture, places equal emphasis on both evangelism and discipleship. I am honored to be a member of a denomination which, in spite of our many variances regarding techniques and methods, adheres to the instruction of our Lord by both evangelizing the lost and discipling believers.

Reason #5. Not A Competition.
       For whatever reason, many believers in Christ find themselves drawn to one particular evangelical congregation moreso than another. Southern Baptists do not consider themselves in competition with other Bible-believing, truth-proclaiming, gospel-preaching fellowships of the Christian faith. Instead, we partner with various other churches, denominations, and groups when our values are not compromised and our integrity is not minimized - working together with anyone and everyone who would heed the call to reach a lost and dying world with the life-changing truth of the gospel. You will not usually find a Southern Baptist congregation whose aim is to steal believers from other churches or to have a bigger building, a greater number of bodies, or a wider selection of ministries than the church down the road. Southern Baptists believe that we can, and should, work together for kingdom purposes. In keeping with the truth of Ephesians 4:1-5, we seek the glory of only One - that whether by our life or death, our construction or decay, our success or our failure... that Christ would be highly honored (cf. Philippians 1:20).



Grace and Peace,
Tony

Narcissistic Christianity: An American Epidemic

       A couple of weeks ago, a high school junior came to our guys' Monday night Bible study. He and his entire immediate family are self-proclaimed agnostics, and have absolutely zero Christian influence in their lives. He had so many questions. Good questions! And it took some time to answer them all... but at the end of the Bible study, I had a very encouraging conversation with him.
       He said that his past experiences with Christians was one of great disappointment. He asked honest questions, and instead of taking the time to answer them, they (the Christians) would just tell him he had to "have faith." In his mind, it created a dichotomy of sorts - this pitted faith against reason. It was either have blind faith in God and be saved or ask questions and stay lost.
       He went on to describe his experience at several churches in our area over the past few years. I paraphrase here, having asked his permission:

       "I would go in to church and it was like the youth weren't really allowed with the adults. We had to stay separate. That was okay with me, but as the evenings progressed at these different churches, I noticed some trends... I was expected to hang out with my friends that were there, play some crazy games, listen to a band play some Christian music I had never heard before, and listen to a motivational speech that was ambiguous at best. I didn't feel like I learned anything. I had the same questions when I left as I had when I went in. And I certainly didn't feel like I had experienced the God that I came to church looking for. I was looking for something to change my life. Something big and meaningful. I stopped going to all of them because I knew of plenty of places I could hear a motivational speech, or hang out with my friends, and listen to music that I actually knew and liked."

       You know why he came to our Bible study? Because of personal interaction and invitation from friends. He has not attended a church service of ours. He has not come to our youth group. He wants to study the claims of scripture and evaluate for himself the message of the gospel.

       "Isolated case," you say. I beg to differ. In fact, I believe whole heartedly that people in our culture today are desperately seeking for a truth they can hold onto when their lives are broken and everything else in their world is shaken beyond recognition. I believe they ask difficult questions because they really want answers. I believe they try a church because they recognize a need for something they're lacking. I believe that the only thing which will satisfy their longings is the unadulterated truth of the gospel message.

       I might take some heat for this one - but it seems to me that our churches (yes, our Southern Baptist ones) have spent much time, energy, and resources into developing the "come-and-see" model of ecclesiology. Catch-phrases like, "We have something for everyone," "Come and experience the love of Jesus," and "The best children and youth programs around" saturate our advertisements and dialogue. We have completely revamped our sanctuaries and musical styles/instrumentation to attract and "draw in" all that will come. After all, we want them to feel comfortable when they enter our doors.
       Not that there's anything wrong with being comfortable. Or with dynamic music programs, technical savviness, or well-planned children and youth departments. But I fear we are creating a subculture of narcissistic Christians in our American churches. Allow me to explain.

       First of all, there's the biblical problem with this ecclesiology: Namely, that the church was never meant to function as a "come-and-see" attraction. The church is a "go-and-tell" organism (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, etc.). In the biblical model, believers were made OUTSIDE of the church walls and then assimilated into the body. We, however, have adopted the opposite as "ordinary" and "normal" - namely, that we invite the lost to church, and hope they accept Christ during the invitation time. Are invitations bad? No. Should we refrain from inviting the lost to our churches? No. But the primary methodology for evangelizing the lost and defending the faith should be done outside of the church walls. Every believer should be mission-minded. Every church member should be spreading the gospel message during the week. This is the primary method of cultural gospel saturation as prescribed in the New Testament scriptures.
       In the 19th century, Charles Finney and later, D.L. Moody, pioneered the concept and practice of an "altar call" or "invitation" at the end of every service. I know that the idea of giving the listener an opportunity to respond is present in scripture. But the actual invitation as we know it (at the end of a sermon in a worship service) was not widely used until Finney. Was the invitation/altar call an incredible innovation? Absolutely. Is it still a good idea to utilize this methodology in our churches today? You bet. But I believe that to some extent, our church members have subconsciously taken advantage of this innovation, and because of this, have become less and less likely to share the plan of salvation with their family, friends, and coworkers.
        I know many church members (and lets, be honest, you do too) who did not share the plan of salvation with even one person last year. I've encountered many church members who don't even know how to present the plan of salvation. BUT - - - they invite their friends to church and that's where they hear the gospel and are offered an opportunity to accept Christ. That's good enough, isn't it? No. God has given every Christian a circle of influence - a specific group of people, however small or large, and each are more likely to listen to and trust him or her than anyone else on the planet. A thousand sermons and invitations don't measure up to one sincere presentation of the gospel message from someone you know intimately cares about you. We must reclaim the responsibility of personal evangelism.

       Secondly, there's a psychological problem with our American ecclesiology. Again, we spend innumerable amounts of time, money, and resources developing an attraction model of church. The old phrase rings in my head right now, "The method changes, but the message remains the same." As true as that may be, at what point can we determine if we are message-centered or method-centered? What kind of church members... what kind of Christianity are we creating?
       Those who come to church and accept Christ because the music is awesome, the people there are fun, or the pyrotechnics are "dynamite" - are they really accepting a Matthew 16:25 Christianity? Are they really being set up for a Romans 6 lifestyle? Will they be able to separate a preference-grounded faith from a faith-grounded worldview?
       The psychological difficulty with attractional ecclesiology is that it connects secular pleasure and unwavering preference with Christianity. It is almost as if to say that Christianity can be "cool" by the world's standards. That I don't have to change to become Christian. That my church can feel just like the culture - accepting, tolerant, and contemporary. But if someone has made this psychological connection and has been grounded in it, what will come of his faith when the popular culture changes? The answer - Narcissistic Christianity. And it is spreading like wildfire. It's an epidemic.
       "Worship Wars." That three syllable phrase makes me cringe every time I hear it. Why in the world would CHRISTIANS be "war-ing" over Worship???!!! I'll tell you why. Because our "worship" has become more preference-centered than God-centered. Our preaching has become more method-centered than message-centered. Our churches have become more culture-centered than Bible-centered.
       The difficulty here is that preferences change with every generation. What we did to "draw people in" in the 50's is different from what we did to "draw people in" in the 70's. And neither of those approaches look like what will "draw people in" now. The solution?: Stop being so focused on drawing people in, and concentrate our energy on sending Christians out. Will this stop all controversy over preference? Nope. Will it fix every problem with the method of worship or gospel delivery? Probably not. But will it reach people at their place of personal need? Yes.


       My friend whom I paraphrased at the beginning of this post was visiting churches looking for something real. I am embarrassed for my sister churches (knowing that for some in our community, it has been our church that has failed in the same capacity) to say that he did not find what he was looking for. Tonight, I had the privilege of visiting with another young man who recently accepted Christ. He echoed the same sentiments. He had been in several churches over the past few years, but never found anything of substance.
       What won this young man over? Do you think it was the awesome music? No, that wasn't it. The fancy lighting? Still not it. The dynamic programs and excursions in the youth group? No. You know what won him over? Truth. The need of a Savior, and the gift of a loving God. That is the gospel message. That is what will effectively change lives. That is what will transform our culture and our world. The good news. Maybe we should stop focussing so much on how we can draw people in, and start focussing a little more on how we can send our church members out to saturate their circle of influence with the truth of the gospel.



Grace and Peace,
Tony