Up Orthodoxy Wordly Influence Wordly Influence Part2 Wordly Influence Part 3

In the World's Image part 3 Page: | 1 | 2 | 3 | But if we move back to include verse 11 we see that what this passage actually says is, "It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [emphasis mine]." In other words, Christ didn't provide the church to prepare God's people he provided individuals. The responsibility for accomplishing the preparing of God's people then doesn't rest with the church but with Christ himself as he provides individuals with particular gifts to impact the lives of other individuals. And of course, we--as individuals whom God wants to use--need to be faithful to do what Christ calls us to do. I recognize that in my own life God was the one superintending my training and preparation. Certainly, I gained a great deal from the churches that I attended. But as I look back I can see God's hand weaving together a number of influences to prepare me to be the pastor that I am today. And God is using me in that same process in the lives of other individuals. But I am only one of a number of people that God will use as he prepares them for ministry. Consequently, I can minister with a great deal of freedom because I recognize that I am not responsible for the whole process but only for doing my part. I believe that this is what Paul had in mind when a few verses later in Ephesians 4 he explains that Christ is the head of the body and "from him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work [v. 16 emphasis mine]." So, even though this is just a beginning we can see that it does make a difference whether we believe that a task remains an individual responsibility or whether it is automatically shouldered by the corporate church. In this scripture retaining the individual responsibility allowed us to better see Christ's role in the preparation of his people. When we roll the individual responsibilities of the apostles, evangelists, pastors, etc. into an institutional responsibility for the church then that lessens our ability to see Christ as the instigator and primary participant in the training of his people because the church assumes that role. "Okay, so if the church isn't supposed to do something then what is it supposed to be?" Again, there are a number of scriptures we could examine to attempt to answer this question. But one area that would be fruitful is to look at some of the instructions given to the leadership. In First Timothy chapter 3 Paul describes the traits that make a good elder. After listing a number of character qualities he says, "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)(1 Timothy 3:4-5)." These instructions emphasize that the tasks of an elder are similar to the tasks of a parent. Parents are to discipline, guide and teach their children--and this is exactly what Paul, later in the letter, encourages the leadership to do for the church. This indicates that the church is to be a family and that fits well with the fact that the collection of believers is often called "God's household" (See Ephesians 2:19 and 1 Timothy 3:15) and the family of God (1 Peter 4:16). It is interesting to note that in First Timothy 3 Paul does not say that the elder should have been successful in business or in the military or at getting things done. Families are not designed to do things and accomplish tasks. (This is true even though some people write mission statements for their families.) Families do work on some tasks together from time to time like cleaning out the garage or washing the cars. But these tasks aren't what make a family. In the same way the church does work together to get some things done but those tasks aren't what make a church either. (One example from the Bible of the church working together to accomplish a task is the feeding of the widows (Acts 6:1 and 1 Timothy 5:3). But even this is a "family task"--making sure that everyone in the family has enough food!) If what we are considering is true--that the church has not been created to do a bunch of tasks but instead to be a family--then my church is going in the wrong direction. My guess is that yours is too! We have bought a lie and that lie is damaging people and keeping our churches from being what God wants them to be. I earnestly believe that things can be different. I dream of a time when people will be valued because they are God's children and not because they can somehow advance a church's agenda. I dream that churches will no longer discard people like my friend Don. I dream about a time when the success of a church is not defined by the size of the congregation or the number of programs that it offers. I dream about a time when youth and children's pastors are not judged solely on the number of conversions or the size of the weekly meetings they can produce. In essence, I dream of a time when our eyes will no longer be blinded by the values and assumptions of this world's culture so that we can truly see what God desires for His Church in the new millennium. What amazing things we might see! Rob Devens is the associate pastor at First Evangelical Free Church in Onalaska, Wisconsin and a freelance writer who has been published in Discipleship Journal and Leadership Journal. You can contact Rob via email at rob@newsanctuary.org. 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