Yeshua Explored
25th July 2022
The Way of the Gospel
What is our primary ministry?
(This series of articles was written a year after the first lockdown in March/April 2021)
Previous articles are still available on the Premier Christian radio website – https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Blogs2/Yeshua-Explored – (until they finally pull the plug!)
Does God not work best as that still, small voice, away from the noise and the clamour, in the privacy of your own space, with fellow Christian sojourners, in your home or in small groups? This is the Hebraic way and I believe this is still the best way for the Church to move forwards. It may take longer, but then look at revivals from the past to see how swiftly and effectively whole nations were turned round just by small groups of people powerfully used by God, with no more than individual voices, carried from place to place by foot or horseback.
We have seen how the first Christians met in homes, shared everything, exercised their gifts and had a very loose organisational structure. And that brings us nicely to that thorny subject of leadership. How did that all work out for them? Surely the words of Jesus echoed in the ears of those who had heard these words first hand:
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant …” (Matthew 20:25-26)
How many of our Christian leaders are true servants? Some may say they are, some may even give the appearance they are at certain times, but how many really have a heart of servanthood? The problem is that in society at large, leaders tend to float to the top through sheer force of personality and often with ruthlessness. That’s how the Gentiles did it in Jesus’ day. That’s how our captains of industry, our directors of corporations, our CEOs and managing directors tend to get there. Certainly not through servanthood.
And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth … (2 Timothy 2:24-25)
The way of the Gospel is not the way of the world. Christian leadership is a quality best detected in a person by those who surround him or her, by those who have worshipped and studied with them, preferably in the context of a small group, the best environment for true relationships to develop. As a rule, the best Christian leaders are the last people to see the quality in themselves. But not all of them. Some of our Christian leaders, alas, have personality types more in common with Rupert Murdoch than Mother Theresa.
So, then, what is Church? We have meandered around the subject and we have also drilled down to what it is not. It is not the building in which we meet. It is not the denomination that owns the building, it is not necessarily the local group that meets in that building. I will repeat what I said in an earlier article:
Always remember, you are the Church, the Ekklesia, one of the ‘called out ones’. God will lead you to others, who will teach you, help you, minister to you, feed you and love you. This is reciprocal and your role is to do the same to others. This is true discipleship in action and living as a member of God’s kingdom. It is pure and it is lovely. This is the original model of God’s Church from the very beginning. Don’t let others deflect you from this, though there are many good churches who follow this Biblical model and should be commended for doing do.
Flockdown has, I hope, helped to show the difference between “church as building/organisation” and “church as called out believers”. The former group seem to have ignored anything significant that God may have been saying over the last year. Yes, God, in His mercy, provided the virtual tools to work with, but what He really wanted was a change of heart, a re-evaluation. This is my view of God’s Plan A. It is clear that this is not a popular view and not one being generally contemplated. Is it that they have heard and ignored, or don’t have ears to hear, perhaps because their hearts have become calloused? The Church will proudly read from a litany of (admirable) good works performed during Flockdown; the food banks, the social care, the listening ears, the gentle platitudes. This is good stuff and it is the fruit of a regenerated heart, but it is not the actual primary ministry of the Church. Let’s remind ourselves.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
This is an extract from the book, Flockdown Church: Back to the drawing board?, available for £5 at https://www.sppublishing.com/flockdown-church-278-p.asp
