Do You Smell That?

In modern culture, intolerance is seen as the one forbidden sin, and tolerance has been redefined to mean acceptance and approval of any and every lifestyle except for biblical Christianity. The church has sometimes capitulated to this “doctrine.” The seeker sensitive movement was one way that churches tried to open their doors to entice in the wider culture, but often this led to a neglect of the truth that every person is a sinner in need of a Savior. I read two passages this morning that speak to these issues. The first comes from the Apostle Paul:

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life” (2 Cor. 2:14-16a).

Paul is clear that the church is never going to attract everyone. Those who are predestined for salvation (Rom. 8:29-30) will find a pleasing aroma that draws them to life. But for the rest, it will be as repugnant as a rotting deer beside the road. The gospel is good news for those who will accept it and find salvation in Jesus Christ, but it is bad news for everyone else.

The church was never intended to accept or approve of sin for the sake of drawing people in. That doesn’t mean we should confront an individual’s sin the instant they set foot in the door, but it does mean we can’t let them remain in sin, believing it doesn’t really matter. As Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (3:5). The gospel is meant to bring death to the flesh, but life to the Spirit (Rom. 8:10).

The second passage I read is from Jesus’ words to the church in Thyatira:

“I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing My servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Rev. 2:19-20).

This sounds all too familiar today as we see yet another denomination fracturing over the endorsement by some leaders of sinful lifestyles. There are false prophets who have brought sin right into the church. To the world they may appear loving and faithful, but in God’s judgment they are spreading the stench of death. Jesus went on to announce His judgment against Jezebel and all who refused to repent of her teachings (vv. 21-23). This is no lighthearted tolerance of a different lifestyle. It’s a matter of eternal life or death.

The question for us is this—is the aroma we are spreading one that is pleasing to God or one that is pleasing to the world? If we please the world we are in danger of God’s judgment, but if we are pleasing to God we will condemned by the world’s standards. In the end, there is only one Judge whose opinion matters.

“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court… It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Cor. 4:2-4).

© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Mental Health and the Church

I recently Not Quite Fine: Mental Health, Faith, and Showing Up for One Another, by Carlene Hill Byron, and following are several quotes worth considering:

22- Our conversation in the United states today suggests that we are living through a growing mental health crisis. But what if the crisis is less about our health and more about how we think about it? What if we’ve so dramatically changed our expectations about mental health that most of us can’t meet the new norm?

26- We understand that to be “mentally ill” is to vary from some standard of mental health. Easy enough. But what is an appropriate standard of mental health? …Ordinary is always whatever is expected or allowable in a given time or place. That means that changing cultural norms can redefine what was once normal as mental illness.

54- People with mental health problems seek help among the faithful for several reasons:

We hope someone can convince us that our suffering has meaning.

We want assurance that our difficult lives have purpose.

We want to experience ourselves as persons who have value—persons who have been assigned an importance that often feels intangible by a God we cannot see, and who desperately crave recognition as valued individuals within the physically present body of Christ.

We are looking for a place where we can belong, even when our mental health problems make us prickly and painful to be with.

We are, with all the faithful, looking for “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

89- Mental health problems also tend to isolate people. Many of us, including those with mental health diagnoses, are more likely to draw inward than reach out in our most difficult moments. Stanley Hauerwas writes, “The dangerous thing about mental illness is how it tempts those so afflicted to think they are completely on their own, isolated in their distress.” But we are also likely to be, in fact, more alone than many others.

98- People who can suffer silently and invisibly are welcome in any congregation… We’re even more happy to honor pain once it has been healed. Those of us whose long-lasting suffering limits our lives often have a different experience, in church as elsewhere. This is unfortunate, because when the body behaves as it is designed and called to function, our mental health problems can diminish to some degree. When people feel loved, cared for, and safe, our mental health symptoms may become less challenging. Sometimes the symptoms diminish. Sometimes they are just less overwhelming when we live in a warm community of people who care.

99- When we select as “high potential” members only those who could help quickly multiply the congregation, we risk filling the community with what pediatric epidemiologist W. Thomas Boyce describes as “dandelions”—the kind of people who, like the bright summer flower, do all right under almost any conditions. But we’re likely to miss what he calls “orchid” people—those whose lives are marked by extremely high potential for both outstanding contributions and catastrophic failure because of their extreme reactivity to their surroundings.

100- William Nash said that the people who are most likely to overcome mental health challenges are those who found relationships where “somebody listened to them, really listened… without becoming disgusted, without judging,” and still loved them. For the sufferer to experience that love as genuine, Nash said, “it can’t really be a helping professional like me who’s paid to come in and give you 50 minutes of an hour.” The love that heals is not for sale.

108- When we let ourselves define others by their difficulties, as if these are immutable, we excise God and ourselves from the transforming work God empowers people to do.

123- The quietness and rest that people with mental health problems need is also something we all need… Most of us require more stillness than our cultures are generally willing to give. For us to live according to the pace and drive of contemporary Western culture is for us to burn through our neural circuitry in ways that lead to disruptive and disorderly crises. For us to honor God with our lives, we need to live in ways that may seem out of step with many around us.

129- Successfully managing feelings requires knowing that feelings aren’t less than thoughts; they’re simply different from thoughts. Without feelings, we would miss some of the information God has encoded into our systems of gathering and responding to God’s world… Many feelings are at the core of what allows us to connect and bond in human community.

144-145- For an individual with mental health problems, the special challenge is to discern the useful feelings—those that come in response to a situation and give clues to personal values and purpose—from the feelings that simply come like storm surges. There is rarely any meaning to be found in the latter. All that can be done is to set the feeling aside and do the next thing. But without good discernment, a person risks either ignoring big feelings that have useful information or attending excessively to feelings whose only meaning is to show that one’s body is out of whack right now.

181- What people with mental health problems generally need from churches is not mental health treatment but Christian friendship and the kinds of caring that can emerge only among those committed to each other. Faith communities are designed by God as places where people can belong, find meaning and purpose in life, be recognized as valued persons in the sight of God and other people, and find hope for the days to come. These kinds of caring don’t require professional support. In fact, they happen most effectively when they are provided long term by nonprofessionals.

***

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV. Image courtesy of Amazon.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Theology of Special Music

The subject of special music in church services is one that I’ve given quite a bit of thought. I won’t give all my opinions, but wanted to outline some areas to consider on the question of whether should churches use soloists or small group performances in worship. There are two contrasting assumptions debated among theologians.

Regulative Principle of Worship: God commands certain elements of worship in Scripture and prohibits all other practices.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (21.1) states:

“But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.”

In some Christian traditions this has been strictly interpreted to mean only singing the scriptural psalms and singing without musical accompaniment. Other traditions have used a broader definition to allow a variety of instruments and styles of congregational singing, but prohibiting special music by individuals or groups. One of the Scriptures used in support of this principle is Deuteronomy 12:32:

“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”

Normative Principle of Worship: If Scripture does not specifically prohibit something, then it is permissible.

This too has been interpreted in a variety of ways—from churches with a fairly set order of service that includes solos and choirs, to churches that include full bands, interpretive dance, and special effects. Advocates here might point to verses like Psalm 33:3:

“Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to Him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.”

Other Considerations

Music has been an important element in the worship of God since at least Exodus if not before. Scripture makes frequent reference to music and singing. The Bible includes a whole book of psalms to be sung. Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn together following the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Paul and Silas sang hymns in jail, and Paul instructed the Corinthian church:

“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up” (1 Cor. 14:26).

This verse would seem to allow for one to sing a solo in the church gathering, but we can’t ignore the end of that verse— “for building up.” All the contributions to the service are meant for building others up in the faith. Earlier in the letter Paul wrote:

“All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor” (1 Cor. 10:23-24).

Just because something is permissible doesn’t mean it is the best choice at any given time or place. In the book of Amos, woes were pronounced upon those who sang “idle songs” and invented musical instruments but “are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:1-6). There are times to sing and times to be silent.

Music used in worship should consider both the glory of God and the good of the gathered body. Paul told the Colossians:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:16-17, see also Eph. 5:18-21).

The modern Western church has at times tended to adopt our culture’s focus on the individual—what do I prefer, how do I benefit, and how can I get recognition? We may be less conscientious about considering what is best for the local church body. Our culture is also increasingly focused on entertainment, which has impacted the church as well. Far too many people look at worship as a spectator sport. Some church-hop to find the best show and some people seek the recognition of being featured.

There are several questions that I would encourage church leaders to consider:

• Is the use of soloists and special music contributing to worshiping God and proclaiming His Word, or is it promoting entertainment and glorifying people?
• What is the motivation of those who are asking for special music or those who are asking to present such music?
• Who in the church has jurisdiction over the choice of music and musicians?
• Are there ways to use gifted people in leading music without featuring them as performance artists?
• How might church leaders guide the congregation to focus on God and the truths of Scripture more than on the musicians?

I believe that different churches can make different decisions on these questions, but all churches should consider why they do what they do. We’ve probably all adopted certain traditions without thinking through them biblically. “We’ve always done it that way” is not good justification for anything. I’ve heard of churches where non-members are not allowed to sing in the choir, and I’ve heard of large churches that hire non-Christians to play in the band. Either extreme raises concerns. To those inclined to legalism the caution is, “In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). To those inclined to indulgence, “All things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40).

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name” (Psalm 30:4).

© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

The Ministry of Presence

The industrial age began around 1760 and brought with it increasingly faster modes of transportation. The steam engine was patented in 1769. The Wright brothers took flight in 1903. Cars became increasingly common through the twentieth century. Now you can be anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. As speed has increased and the population has become more mobile, the connectedness of communities has waned. Front porches have been replaced by fenced back yards. Now with the information age, physical presence has been replaced by screens. Community dances and picnics have been replaced by home entertainment systems and Netflix. Sharing a meal with friends has been replaced by Facebook pictures of your meal (a trend that I will never understand!).

Through COVID shutdowns many workers found they can do their work remotely, but even tech businesses have discovered that being in the same building matters. “Management by walking around” is a necessary part of working together as a team for a common purpose.

Although church livestreaming was helpful during the pandemic, many Christians (but not all) have discovered that physical presence matters to the Body of Christ. We need real eye contact, handshakes, and hugs. We need to hear others singing in worship with us and to hear the pages of Bibles turning. We need to join together in communion and bow together in prayer at the altar.

But even with all the regularly scheduled gatherings of the church, I’m not sure that is enough for deep discipleship and spiritual intimacy between members of the Body. Jesus spent three years with His disciples doing nearly everything together 24-7. Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke went on a variety of long trips in pairs or trios. Acts 2:46 says the early believers were “day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.” Does that kind of time investment only apply to people who have nowhere else to go and no way to get there? Can a phone call or Zoom meeting take the place of walking with one another and observing one another in action day by day? Can a couple hours per week at church suffice? We need extended, unstructured times to converse and find out what is happening behind the scenes of our carefully cultivated appearances.

In the midst of writing this, I paused and read a few pages of the closest book on my desk, which happened to be Erik Reynold’s book Discover: Ancient Truths for Today. He wrote:

“How great and gracious is our God? He gives us one another to spur us on in the faith. He knows that the life to which He has called us is difficult… What’s God’s plan when we start acting sideways? He’s given us brothers in Christ to tenderly reveal our sin and lovingly point us to the Gospel. What’s God’s plan when we are discouraged because of a tragic life circumstance? He’s given us sisters in Christ to pray with and point us to the hope we have in Christ Jesus. What’s God’s plan when we realize how weak we are? He’s given us brothers in Christ to remind us that our weakness is a gift so that we will be more apt to rely upon the Holy Spirit who indwells us” (39).

God has given us one another for a purpose, and yet our relationships within the church are often one of the most neglected blessings He’s given. I can’t count how many times my spirits have been lifted by a brief conversation with a brother in Christ when we cross paths at the end of my daily run, or when a coworker pauses at my office door to talk. I’ve been pondering—if I worked in a secular job and didn’t live across the road from my church, where would I find those regular tastes of the ministry of presence? I would be on a starvation diet of Christian relationships from Monday through Saturday every week. Would professional Christian counselors have any clients if the church were living up to all the “one anothers” of Scripture? We were made to live in community, but it seems like we’ve gotten about as far from that as we can and still call ourselves one Body.

May God reunite us so that we might better “encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thess. 5:11).

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (1 Pet. 3:8).

***

© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

One Eternal Family

Sometimes you run across theological assertions that are just plain bizarre. In James A. Nichols, Jr.’s book Christian Doctrines, the last chapter states:

“Death will be abolished, and all children will grow up to know the Lord from infancy free from Satan’s temptations. This means that saved people of flesh and blood will always exist on this earth begetting children and adding forever to the increase of the eternal kingdom… [Ezekiel 37 predicts His] subjects will dwell in this land, ‘they, and their children, and their children’s children, for ever’ —a clear implication that this is to be a continually growing kingdom with God’s ‘sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.’” (302, 304).

Nichols may have been highly influential among Berkshire College students while he was a professor, but not all of his theology was biblically sound. (He also had a comment that when the earth gets full, there’s a whole universe of planets to fill!) His statement bothered me for several reasons.

1) He seems to confuse temporal and eternal fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. A much more logical interpretation of this Scripture is that the children of the nation of Israel (and subsequently Christians), born prior to the final Judgment Day, will enjoy the new heavens and new earth for eternity (2 Pet. 3:13). It’s not the childbearing that is eternal, but the dwelling in the land. This would actually be more consistent with Nichols’ view on annihilation of the wicked as well: it’s not the punishing that is eternal, but the resulting death.

2) He ignores Jesus’ own words in Matthew 22:30, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” If there is no marriage, how can there be legitimate childbearing?

3) He downplays the relationship between Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride of Christ (Matt. 9:15, Rev. 19:7). There will only be one marriage in the end. That final marriage is the one to which all earthly marriages now point (Eph. 5:23-32).

4) He puts too much emphasis on human marriage and childbirth as a primary way in which God receives glory. The Apostle Paul had a different view: “For the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife” (1 Cor. 7:31b-33). Those who are unmarried or childless are no less valuable to the kingdom and no less able to give God glory through their lives of trusting obedience.

I have written before about some of the misconceptions of marriage and singleness that Christians hold, and I’m indebted to Sam Allberry’s books and articles. “Is Celibacy Cruel?” posted on TGC today was a refreshing reminder to me of a more biblical view than Nichols held. If Nichols were correct, then those of us who remain single and childless would forever be a different class of believers. (Not entirely unlike the Mormons!) But if marriage and childbirth will come to an end, then we all need to consider how we can be building eternal relationships within the Church that supersede biological families. We need to focus more on what we have in common in Christ now than in life-stage commonalities that will end.

“Now you are the Body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27 emphasis added).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Welcome

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).

Sam Allberry and Ray Ortlund have started a podcast called “You’re Not Crazy.” In a recent episode Allberry said, “We’ve turned the gospel into the cancellation of debt. We’re preaching mercy more than we’re preaching grace. So I actually went many years in my Christian life not really hearing about the welcome of Jesus. I heard about the debt-cancelling death of Jesus: you’re now not a problem to Jesus. I didn’t hear much about what we’ve been saved into…”

I’d say that my experience was similar. For many years I heard about God’s forgiveness, though not in a way that gave me much assurance that God wouldn’t get tired of hearing my confession. I always felt like I had to keep up with a performance to please God. It still strikes me that when I told my Resident Director in college that I thought God was disappointed with me, she didn’t have any good or biblical response, though I realize now that she wasn’t much further along in her faith that I was. It was a long time before I really understood that God loved me while I was still dead in my sins (Eph. 2:4-5), that He chose me and adopted me into His family not reluctantly but willingly (Eph. 1:4-5), and that He welcomed me wholeheartedly. I’m still growing in that understanding.

The Gospel Coalition podcast had an episode this week with Dane Ortlund (Ray’s son) that covered some of the themes in his book Gentle and Lowly. He made the comment:

“The way a ministry leader approaches others is how he believes or she believes God approaches them. When you see a harsh leader… you are seeing what he believes God is most deeply like toward him, and when you see a gentle pastor, you are seeing what he believes God is most deeply like toward him… We are not only preaching and teaching what God is with what we say, but also how God is with how we say it… Your person is more powerful than your words.”

That makes me wonder, did my lack of understanding of God’s loving and gentle welcome come more from the words that I heard (or didn’t hear) or from what I saw in those who were trying to teach me? Probably it was a combination of both. How well do most churches demonstrate God’s welcome by welcoming others? We all probably need to work on communicating God’s welcoming love more effectively and frequently. It’s not just up to the pastor or the Sunday school teacher or the youth leader. It’s really up to all of us. As the new person or the child growing up in church begins to feel known and loved by the people there, it becomes easier for them to believe that God also knows and loves them just as they are.

Jesus pointed out in Matthew 25:31-46 that if we welcome strangers we are welcoming Him. And in Paul’s words in Romans 15:7, that contributes to the glory of God. Why? Because we get a glimpse into the character of God and come to know Him a little better.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

 

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

A Reluctant Complementarian

I’ve been reading with interest the exchange of posts on complementarianism and egalitarianism on the Advent Christian Voices site. I had written on the subject a few years ago (here), but feel I need to update my blog as my own beliefs have shifted somewhat in recent years, although my prior post is still good.

When I was in college I considered myself an egalitarian, particularly after taking a class at Bethel College (now University) on “Male and Female in Biblical Perspective” in which we had to read a variety of authors including John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and Gilbert Bilezikian. After that class, it was many years before I would read anything by Piper because I thought he was so off-base and biased. As I’ve continued my research over the past two decades, I have come to believe my own conclusions were misguided, and I now consider myself a “reluctant complementarian.” Most recently I read Kevin DeYoung’s new book Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction, and I agree with much of what he has written there in support of a complementarian view.

As the contributors to A.C. Voices have illustrated, there are highly educated people who come to vastly different conclusions on what Scripture actually says about women in the church. Readers can find any number of authors to “prove” their position, and I will not specifically address the theology here. So why have I landed in the complementarian camp?

• Most of the complementarian authors I have read seem to provide more solid biblical evidence for their interpretation of Scripture than do egalitarian authors. I’m not an expert on Hebrew and Greek language and culture. Since Scripture is not crystal clear on the subject, the vast majority of us have to rely on the research others have done and sort it out as best we can. Complementarianism appears to me to make the most sense of the hard passages, particularly in the epistles.
• Much of my original egalitarianism was shaped more by experience and by my peers than by Scripture. We live in a fallen world and we’ve all seen abuses of power by men in the church, home, and society, but that doesn’t mean that all men are abusive or domineering. Unfortunately, women can be corrupted by power just as easily as men, and I’ve seen that happen in church settings as well. My change of mind has been influenced by seeing people I love and respect who have modeled their complementarian theology in their homes and churches with grace and compassion. They have shown me that they are not out to “keep me in my place,” but to listen, consider, and find common ground on difficult issues. Where I would naturally distrust men, I am growing in trust.

Why do I call myself a “reluctant” complementarian?

• I know there are churches and mission fields even in my own denomination that have been sustained by women when men have been unavailable, unwilling, or unable to do so. I affirm their faithfulness, but I question whether that was the biblical ideal.
• As with many aspects of gender, I try to imagine what the world was like before the fall and what it will be like after the resurrection. How will we all interact when there is no marriage or reproduction, no need for preaching and teaching, and in the presence of our Creator and Redeemer? What aspects of gender will be real or necessary at that point? How might that then impact how we interact with one another in this life? Perhaps complementarian questions will become moot because all authority will belong to Jesus rather than delegated to other leaders in the church and home.
• I grew up in a generation that said “you can be anything you want,” and it feels a bit like a betrayal of friends and family members to accept or acknowledge limitations of any kind. However, I have to bow to Jesus’ words, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25). I’ve had to wrestle with God over issues where I thought His way was unfair or undesirable, and I keep coming to the same conclusion— “He must increase but I must decrease” (John 3:30). It’s not about me doing something because I have the ability or desire, but trusting God to use me wherever and however He sees fit.

What does all this mean for me?

• I would not join a church where women regularly fill the pulpit for the purpose of proclaiming the Word. I would not be comfortable there and I would have trouble submitting to them as my spiritual leaders. I’m on the fence about women in other teaching positions, and it depends a lot on the particular women and circumstances involved.
• I also wouldn't join a church where women have no representation or voice on important decisions. We are equally members of the body and we may have unique insights on issues that need to be heard through both official and unofficial channels. If men hold all the power and refuse to listen to other perspectives, they are not loving the church well.
• I am cautious in reading the works of either the ultra-complementarian or the ultra-egalitarian, as both extremes seem likely to introduce extrabiblical standards of faith and practice.
• There is room in the Body of Christ for differences of opinion on the grey areas of Scripture. Others may come to an egalitarian point of view and lead their local churches in that manner, and that is okay.

I never would have imagined it twenty-five years ago, but this is where I believe God has led me through a wide variety of books, videos, and personal interactions. Some parts of Christian theology are not nearly as black and white as I once believed.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another… And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:12-13, 17).

***

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Thoughts on Luke 2-4

I had written the following devotions for publication elsewhere, but they didn’t end up being printed due to a complication.

Looking for Jesus - Luke 2

This chapter of Scripture is probably quite familiar because we hear parts of it every Christmas. What more is there to learn from it? Consider what the main characters have in common. When the shepherds saw the angels, they immediately went in search of the baby who was proclaimed to be the Savior. In Jerusalem, Simeon was waiting at the Temple because “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (v. 26 ESV). Anna too “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (v. 27). We also learn of Joseph and Mary that they “went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover” (v. 41). And finally, Jesus Himself said, “Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (v. 49). Each of them sensed an urgent need to pursue their faith and to go where they knew they would meet with God.

Church buildings today are not the house of God in the same way that the Temple was, but they are places set aside for the people of God to meet together. Do we have that same sense of urgency about gathering together for worship and fellowship? In many churches, the pandemic revealed that the faithful remained faithful while the marginal dropped away. Many of us grew up going to church every time the doors were open, and we have kept that habit because we see the need for it. It’s easy to make excuses not to do things if we don’t think they’re necessary. The question is, have we discipled the next generation to see the need for regular gathering with the Body of Christ?

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God” (Acts 2:42, 46-47a).

Moving On - Luke 3

John the Baptist apparently raised a lot of curiosity. Crowds came out to be baptized by him, and at least some who were present were rebuked for hypocrisy. He told the people to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (v. 8 ESV), and he gave them examples of generosity, honesty, and compassion. He baptized with water, but proclaimed the coming Messiah who would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (v. 16). There was a definite limit to John’s ministry. He could only point people to the coming Savior. He could not save them.

Likewise today, pastors and church members cannot save anyone, they can only direct people to the Savior. They can point out sin, commend good works, and baptize with water, but only Jesus Christ can save with the power of the Holy Spirit. There are many people who have been baptized without ever really believing in Jesus as Savior and following Him as Lord.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instructions about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:1-2). In essence, John the Baptist’s job was to lay the foundation, to “prepare the way of the Lord” so that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Now that Jesus has provided the way of salvation, we need to press on toward maturity in Christ for ourselves and our churches, building on the foundation that has already been laid.

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me” (Col. 1:28-29).

Priorities - Luke 4

Jesus inaugurated His ministry by reading from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (vv. 18-19 ESV). The people of Nazareth evidently thought this was good news for their town and they marveled at His words. But they changed their minds when He refused to heal the people there, and they ran Him out of town.

He did heal many people in many places, and that was one proof of His identity. John later reported the Pharisees’ words, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32). Physical healing was never Jesus’ primary purpose. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (v. 43). For Jesus, eternal life is far more important than health in this life.

There has long been a misconception that missions must meet the physical needs of people before they will be willing to listen to anything spiritual. That is belied when people in third world countries quickly accept the gospel while those in prosperous countries see no need for any form of religion. If we lose our focus, we can spend a lot of time and money and never get around to pointing people to Jesus. That’s not to say that hunger and illness don’t matter. Christian nonprofits provide all kinds of services that government agencies simply can’t do. We just need to be clear about what God has called us to as individuals, churches, and denominations. How can we best love God and love our neighbors with the resources we have?

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst’” (John 6:35).

 

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Not Your Church

I’ve noticed two unhealthy extremes when it comes to church membership. On one end are those who won’t join a church, and when anything happens that they don’t agree with, they quickly find a new church. On the other end of the spectrum are members who claim ownership of everything related to the church and won’t relinquish control to anyone, even the pastor. This seems particularly true if the church is part of a denomination where pastors are assigned by an outside body and rotated frequently.

For the first person the mindset is “I don’t need to tie myself down to any church. I can go wherever I’m most comfortable.” For the second person it is “This is my church and I will outlast anyone who wants to change it.” I believe God’s response to both people would be “Remember whose church it really is—Mine.” Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). God “put all things under [Christ’s] feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

If we are committed first to Jesus’ lordship, we will endeavor to obey His commands, including all the commands that require us to commit to one another in love and fellowship, “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Corinthians 12:24). Those who are inclined to church-hop are a bit like adopted children who only want to be in relationship with their Father and won’t connect with anyone else in the family. While all Bible-believing churches are part of the universal Church, God has given us localized bodies so we can relate to one another on an individual level.

If we are committed to His lordship, we will also obey His command to submit to those in authority over us, including pastors we may not agree with on everything. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17). That’s not to say that pastors and other leaders never make mistakes, but unless it is a doctrinal issue or a legal issue, there should be abundant grace extended. The wise pastor will seek counsel and weigh it carefully to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Christ is still the head of the universal Church and, whether we acknowledge it or not, the head of the local church. It’s not the pastor, not the elder board, not the bishop, not the denomination. Each of those may have some measure of delegated authority, but they are ultimately accountable to Jesus Christ. Much has been said about the increasingly rapid decline of church membership in the West. I believe that is largely due to a faulty understanding of the church. If it is merely a club to which we belong, then we can come and go as we please. But if it is a Body under the headship of Christ, we need to take seriously all the commands from our Head as to how we are to commit to and submit to one another out of love for our Lord.

“And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Under Construction

I came across this quote in The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas:

“This faith is not like a deed to a house in which one may live with full rights of possession. It is more like a kit of tools with which a man may build him a house. The tools will be worth just what he does with them. When he lays them down, they will have no value until he takes them up again.”

There are a lot of people associated with the Church who have never picked up those tools. They may have come to faith at a revival or camp, but have not taken any real steps after that. Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock… And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:24, 26). There are those who’ve sat down on the Rock but have never gotten around to building anything. In Douglas’s words, they think they’ve been handed the deed to a completed house and can now settle in and do nothing.

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church:

“I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it… Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done” (1 Cor. 3:10-13).

Though Paul was writing to the church as a group, the same is true of individuals, and the church is not built up if the individual members are not growing. I picture a house with a wall here and a window there, but nothing holding it together.

I was talking this week with a publisher of Christian education materials, and we were wondering what church programs are going to look like after the pandemic, because even before COVID many churches only had older adults in Sunday school and small groups. It’s a struggle to get young adults and kids involved in the church. Many of them attend so sporadically that they are never getting the big picture of the Bible and redemption. The tools are there, but they have not chosen to pick them up and use them.

The Church always has and always will struggle to compete for the time and attention of people, even those who say they are Christians. The world, the flesh, and the devil will provide abundant distractions from spiritual growth. Church leaders all want to do everything possible to engage people with their faith, and we must start with prayer for the hearts and minds of our friends, family members, and church members. Apart from the Spirit’s work, we can accomplish nothing through human ingenuity.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

The Gift of a Pastor

After the Israelites left Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness, God gave instructions for the construction and use of the Tabernacle. Aaron’s family were put in charge of the sanctuary and its activities. God told Aaron, “And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting” (Numbers 18:5).

Although pastors aren’t exactly analogous to the priests and Levites of the Old Testament, they are still God’s gift to His Church.

“And I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15).

“And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

“Every good gift and perfect and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

The question is, do we recognize that pastors are a gift from a gracious God, and do we treat them as such? They aren’t perfect, but neither are we. Like any good gift, we ought to take care of them to the best of our ability. I know of pastors who’ve been worn down by petty bickering in their churches. Others struggle to make ends meet because church members don’t give regularly, much less tithe. Many pastors feel like they are alone in ministry and have no one they can talk to.

But many churches love their pastors well. They pray for them, encourage them, support them through their regular attendance and financial giving, and make sure they have the people and tools they need to lead the church well.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17). We all have days of groaning, but I don’t think any of us want to be the cause of groaning for the people we love. If we contribute to the joy of our pastors, they multiply our joy as well.

As I was writing this I did a quick internet search and stumbled across an article that said “Your pastor is not your friend.” I understand that there are limits to what a pastor can share with an individual church member, but my gut reaction was “How sad!” I would not want to attend a church where I knew the pastor would never be a friend, and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to be a pastor if he had to keep himself distant from everyone. Jesus told His disciples, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). God-incarnate called men His friends!

The modern world has an anemic view of friendship anyway. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Tim. 5:1). We in the church should be closer than friends, because we are siblings in the family of God.

The pastor is not the CEO of a corporation, nor a hired servant, but a brother in Christ. “And this commandment we have from [God]: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21). All the “one another” commands of Scripture apply just as much to our spiritual siblings who are pastors as to anyone else. We are to love them, honor them, pray for them, encourage them, live in harmony with them, be kind to them, forgive them, serve them, show hospitality to them, and spur them on to love and good deeds.

Let’s not wait for Pastor Appreciation month to do so!

“For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you” (Philemon 1:7).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Follow Me

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the church—both our local church and Church universal—and wondering whether the church is accomplishing what it is supposed to be doing. Even before the pandemic, nationwide church attendance and influence on culture has been on the decline. It’s easy to get discouraged and think perhaps we’ve failed. Or we get so hung up on traditions that we lose sight of our purpose.

If we remember that we are the Church, the question becomes more personal. Are we being the church as God intended? Are we fulfilling the “one anothers” of Scripture? Are we increasingly exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit? Sometimes I find myself thinking, “I wish church members would do ____,” but I’m not doing those things myself. I can’t judge others without passing judgment on myself. 

Dan DeWitt comments on Peter’s conversation with Jesus in John 21 following the resurrection:

“Peter turns toward the guy who is constantly referring to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, likely points his finger at him, looks at Jesus with eyebrows raised, and says in a huff, ‘What about that guy?’

“Jesus’ response to Peter is short: ‘What is that to you?’ In other words, that’s none of your business. Then Jesus repeats those two life-changing words: ‘Follow me’” (Sunny Side Up, 77).

“Not only does Jesus prevent us from comparing ourselves with others; he also doesn’t give us a ton of details about where he is going to lead us. That’s hard for all of us because we want to know what’s next. What comes after this first step of obedience? I can do it today, but what about tomorrow? But Jesus gives us a directive (follow me), not directions (this is precisely where I will lead you)” (79).

My path is not going to look exactly like someone else’s path. My gifts and ministry will take a different shape than yours. So the question is, am I doing the specific things that God has called me to do? Are you?

“Following Jesus isn’t easy or cheap. It will look different for all of us. Don’t be mistaken—it will cost us all something. But so will disobedience. Which will you choose?” (80).

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me… For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24, 26).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

We the Church

As often happens, multiple books that I am reading have converged on similar ideas. This time it came from two books I received for Christmas and one I bought for the church library. See if you can spot the theme:

Sunny Side Up: The Breakfast Conversation that Could Change Your Life, by Dan DeWitt:

“[In John 21] Every time that Peter says, ‘I love you,’ Jesus tells him to feed the sheep. His question about Peter’s love is directly tied to his command to care for the sheep. But why can’t Peter just love Jesus and leave the sheep out of it? …Look back at Jesus’ conversation with Peter. Jesus didn’t tell Peter to love the sheep. He told him to feed the sheep: to take care of them. The love should follow. But even if it doesn’t follow right away, the command still remains… We can’t commit to loving God but refuse to love his people. These two great commands are forever wed together. And what God has joined together, let no one separate” (53-55).

Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community, by Brett McCracken:

“Many Christians today have no problem disengaging from local church life and instead opting for a largely ‘me and Jesus’ faith that only occasionally overlaps with the complex requirements of community… One of the ways Western individualism informs how we think about church is that we conceive of ‘fit’ in terms of how a church fits us…What if the biblical approach is actually that we should fit ourselves into the life and mission of the local church, adapting ourselves to the family and filling gaps where needed, even if that means we are the ones who have to change? We shouldn’t look for a church that will change to fit us. We should look for one where we will be changed to better represent Christ” (126-128).

Deep Discipleship: How the Church Can Make Whole Disciples of Jesus, by J. T. English:

“People are leaving the church not because we have asked too much of them but because we have not asked enough of them. We are giving people a shallow and generic spirituality when we need to give them distinctive Christianity. We have tried to treat our discipleship disease by appealing to the lowest common denominator, oversimplifying discipleship, and taking the edges off what it means to follow Christ” (8).

“According to Jesus [in Matthew 16:24-25], discipleship is not about self-actualization or self-preservation: it is about self-denial. You will know yourself the most when you are carrying your cross. All of our self-actualized visions of discipleship and our own little kingdoms need to crumble and be crucified if the kingdom of God is going to reign in our lives” (27).

Anyone who has been around church for very long has seen the national attendance trends and the apparent apathy of many who “love Jesus but not the church.” While we don’t want to embrace a legalism that says you have to attend every church service in order to be saved, the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme so that many people think that all that is necessary for salvation is a vague assent to the existence of God and perhaps the birth of Jesus Christ.

I won’t go into all the topics covered by these three authors, but I will ask some of the questions they raise: How can we claim to love God if we don’t love His Body, the Church? How can we love one another in the Church if we are only looking for a church to serve us and make us comfortable? How can we make disciples who truly love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and love their neighbors as themselves (Mark 12:30-31)?

“If we have a great philosophy of ministry that does not lead us to the great God, then we are wasting our time” (English, 212).

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Sing!

Keith and Kristyn Getty’ book, Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church, is a good one for pastors, song leaders, church members, and parents alike. The following are a few quotes that caught my attention:

“Repeatedly and throughout Scripture, we are commanded to be a singing people. There are more than four hundred references to singing in the Bible and at least fifty direct commands. We are not to disregard the command because we don't like the music or the personnel or are not in the mood... Colossians 3:16 also speaks into how we sing… “with thankfulness in your hearts to God” … Thankfulness is more than saying the words with your lips. In fact, you are not singing Christianly if you are singing only with your lips… How we sing does reveal how we think and feel about something” (14, 18).

“If our songs are not giving us a balanced, rich, nutritious diet, we will not be spiritually healthy people… Could it be that many of our services today turn people off who are suffering and seeking Christ? Do our songs present a veneer of happiness rather than a robust joy in the midst of pain? Are the fountains we point to as we sing deep enough to meet the thirst that the trials of life give us? If not, then our diet is impoverished—our words are too small” (46).

“Songs help us train children in the ‘language’ of the Christian faith. What we want to teach our kids travels deeper inside them when we sing it rather than only speak it to them… Singing together in the home is an excellent way to prompt questions and give answers and aim for depth of spiritual understanding in our children in a memorable way” (57-58).

“Our singing (even when it joyfully falls off pitch) should always, unapologetically, contribute to our sense of family and community and never be rushed through, mumbled through, or handed over to the ‘professionals’” (76).

“Biblically rich content in song, sung by people who look like they mean what they are saying, helps teach the gospel as something that is credible and powerful rather than cultural and optional” (78).

“We must actually believe and live the truths we sing, otherwise what we sing can make us hypocritical, and not only doesn’t attract non-believers—it turns them off. It is easy to sing about the Lordship of Christ; far harder to live under it” (92).

“The songs we sing together are lifelines that draw each of us back to the heart of the King we serve and to the priorities of the kingdom we are members of. The songs we sing to ourselves are what tether us to our Lord day by day. The songs we sing to others are what proclaim His kingdom manifesto in a way that reaches deep into their heads and their hearts” (98).

In the end, the question is “Will you sing?”

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name” (Psalm 30:4 ESV).

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Not Good

In his novel Deadline, Randy Alcorn imagines hell as complete isolation, being left alone with just your own thoughts. Quarantine may be a small taste of hell for many of us. Drew Hunter writes in Made for Friendship:

“[We] find that friendlessness isn’t just depressing; it’s actually quite dangerous. When we come unglued from others socially, we come unraveled emotionally, psychologically, and even physically. This is because we’re embodied beings… So when we experience loneliness, it affects every part of us… relationships put us back together. Friendship is the missing medicine for many of our afflictions” (40-41).

God’s statement in creation, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), was not a result of the Fall but before it. It also did not just refer to the marriage relationship. In His triune nature God is relational, and He made us for relationships as well. Hunter quotes Tim Keller,

“Adam was not lonely because he was imperfect, but because he was perfect. The ache for friends is the one ache that is not the result of sin… This is one ache that is part of his perfection… God made us in such a way that we cannot enjoy paradise without friends.”

Adam had daily access to God walking with him, and yet that was not sufficient.

“Wonderful as are both the presence of the Lord Jesus every day and the prospect of his coming on the last day, they are not intended to be a substitute for human friendships… When our spirit is lonely, we need friends… To admit this is not unspiritual; it is human” (John Stott as quoted by Hunter).

Matthew Stanford writes in Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness:

“An active and supportive faith community cultivates life, while isolation beings frustration and fatigue… A strong faith community offers comfort and support, gains wisdom as it learns from one another, shares and upholds common values, strengthens one another, takes risks together, and always looks to encourage one another… The key is staying connected to a few trusted and supportive people, not trying to keep up with the gathering or community events that are wearing them down. Living in community is more about being connected to life-giving relationships than trying to attend events with people a person doesn’t know well” (ch. 15).

The author of Hebrews warns us, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin… And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 3:13, 10:24-25).

“We can’t experience this everyday encouragement with every person in our church. This command gets traction as we carry it out in smaller networks of relationships—in friendships. In other words, perseverance in the faith requires the practice of friendship. This means that we should view discipleship as a form of friendship. Real discipleship—helping others follow Jesus—happens in the rhythms of everyday life. Discipleship works best when we pursue it in life-on-life relationships” (Hunter 93).

As we’ve all been experiencing varying degrees of isolation during this pandemic, I hope we’re all realizing the value and need of our relationships within the Body of Christ. Like me, you may be discovering which relationships mean the most to you, or perhaps seeing a lack of true friendships that you hadn’t noticed till now. I would challenge all in church leadership to reassess all the programs of their churches and see whether they are contributing to the relational discipleship we all need. How much connection is there between members outside of Sunday morning?

Those who think that online services are just as good if not better than in person services have a very limited view of what the church is or should be. If teaching is all you’re looking for, then there are thousands of good options out there. But teaching is only one part of the biblical prescription for the Body of Christ. “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16). We can’t grow up in Christ unless we grow together.

“In [Christ] the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22).

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Skinny Cows

Last fall Christianity Today published an article called “Here Come the Skinny Cows.” The authors present several cautions as well as valuable reminders as they look at trends in the church and culture. However, I admit I struggle with their concluding assessment, “To position our churches for long-term sustainability we must avoid unnecessary fears and the intrinsic limitations of a scarcity mindset.” The question for me is: what are unnecessary fears and what are realistic concerns?

I agree we can’t just hunker down and only do the bare minimum of ministry to try to make funds last. We always need to exercise faith in the One who gives us all things. But at the same time, we need to be good stewards of what He has already given us. Just as Joseph helped Egypt conserve grain for seven years before the seven years of famine came, we need to plan carefully for what seems likely to come. God put Joseph in that position for that very reason (Genesis 50:20).

Jesus, in His parable, commended the steward “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much” (Matthew 25:21 ESV). The servant who was chastised was the one who buried his talent in the ground so it couldn’t be lost or used for anything. He wasn’t willing to try something and risk failing.

At another time, Jesus said, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28). While it is tempting to claim this as a divine mandate for strategic planning, that is to ignore the greater context of counting the cost of discipleship. “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple… So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that He has cannot be My disciple” (27, 33). Perhaps then our planning needs to take the form of reminding church members that what they have is not their own.

The early church was fully invested in following their Savior as a united body. “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). The “rugged individualism” of America today makes this seem like an impossibility. In many cases our churches are funded by what’s left, not what’s first. We are reluctant to surrender any of our comforts or advantages in order to follow Christ wholeheartedly and contribute freely to the ministry He has given us. It’s hard to even get church members to give of their time to assist in the functions of the church, much less contribute sacrificially.

If the “skinny cows” are indeed coming in the near future, we as leaders need to begin preparing now by clearly teaching the cost of discipleship and all that means for our tithes and offerings, our time and talents, and our daily priorities. If members aren’t willing to commit to their church body while things are easy, what will they do as our culture continues to turn away from Christian values? In some countries around the world the decision to be a Christian is a choice of life or death, not a choice of whether to go to church or to the kid’s ballgame. We’ve had it easy for a very long time when compared to the majority of church history.

I believe the other tangible step that we as churches and denominations can take is to assess the true needs for ministry in our communities. Do we need to have church buildings, land, and parsonages that require maintenance? Do we need to purchase Sunday school materials and bulletins? Do we need as many paid staff members? Are there things we should be doing that we aren’t? Are there less expensive ways to do what we believe God has called us to do? We should count the cost, not just in dollars and cents, but in obedience to the One we claim as our Savior and Lord. If we are not following His lead both individually and collectively, we are not being faithful stewards.

Even as we see the trends and evaluate where we are, we can find hope and peace in the fact that God will build His church “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Our favor with culture may disappear entirely, but God’s purposes will prevail. We may lose everything else, but no one can take us out of the Father’s hand (John 10:29). If we continue to plant and water by faith, God will give the growth as He has determined (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Worship Reflections

I’ve been reading on the subject of worship lately. The books I’ve read have all agreed that the Bible does not give much specific guidance on how Christian worship should look and sound. Each author has their own emphases and preferences, some of which I agree with and some I don’t. But rather than state my own opinions, I’ll simply offer a few quotes that caught my attention:

D.A. Carson, Worship by the Book:

“[You] cannot find excellent corporate worship until you stop trying to find excellent corporate worship and pursue God himself… one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God” (31).

Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters:

“Our great privilege as worship leaders is to help people see through the eyes of faith how great God has actually revealed himself to be… We’re called to clearly and specifically remind them what God has shown us about himself” (62).

“Biblically speaking, no worship leader, pastor, band, or song will ever bring us close to God. We can’t shout, dance, or prophesy our way into God’s presence. Worship itself cannot lead us into God’s presence. Only Jesus himself can bring us into God’s presence, and he has done it through a single sacrifice that will never be repeated—only joyfully recounted and trusted in” (73-74).

“Eagerly expecting the Spirit’s power in our meetings goes hand in hand with a radical commitment to the authority and sufficiency of God’s Word… A church that’s dependent on the Spirit’s power in worship will be committed to the study, proclamation, and application of God’s Word in its personal and congregational worship. The Word and the Spirit were never meant to be separated. In fact, God’s Spirit is the one who inspired God’s Word” (89).

Robert Webber, Worship Old & New:

“[The] overriding concern of worship is… a personal meeting with God. On one side, the emphasis is on God who has acted; on the other side, the emphasis is on humans responding. In this way something happens in worship: God and his people meet. Worship is not simply going through the motions of ceremony. It becomes the visible and tangible meeting of God through the signs and symbols of his presence” (ch. 7).

“The external and internal elements of worship must be assembled properly to give worship a sense of movement and a dynamic quality. Because the entire congregation constitutes the players in the drama of worship, it is important that all of the members know their parts, understand the meaning of what is being done, and participate purposefully. For this reason it is important to remember that worship is a group activity and that the meaning of worship must be learned” (ch. 7).

“Music must be seen in its pastoral context as fundamentally an enabler of fuller congregational participation. Music must serve the text of worship rather than function as an interruption or an interlude” (ch. 11).

Many articles and books have been written about “worship wars,” usually referring to musical styles. Here in the suburban Bible belt there are churches every couple miles, so it is easy for someone to bounce around until they find a church that fits their preferences. But I do think most Christians are pretty tolerant of variations from week to week. No single church or person has the final word. God created us with great diversity and calls all of us to worship Him both individually and collectively. Every facet of our lives can be worship if we remember that it is all by God’s grace and for His glory (Romans 12:1-2).

“Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:4 ESV).

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.