From outsider to power broker, it is sad really

 The church in transition

The church had gone from being a persecuted group on the edge of society to a legal faith to the official faith of the state.  One might assume that these changes would have been a great blessing.  But that assumption would be mistaken.  

A century before Constantine embraced Christianity Tertullian wrote: It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to label us. “See," they say, "How they love one another!" For they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. "How they are ready even to die for one another!" For they themselves will sooner be put to death. ... The family possessions, which generally destroy brotherhood among you, create fraternal bonds among us. One in mind and soul, we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us but our wives.

But with Constantine’s conversion, being in the church became necessary for advancement in society and the heart of the church was captured by the state.  The means of advancement in society became the means of advancement in the church.  Those in the church began to play power politics at a deadly level.  In Constantinople, the Emperor Constantius (one of Constantine's three sons) removed a Bishop.  Notice how in one generation the authority of the state invaded the church.  While Constantius' action aroused much of the conflict, the "Christians" went to war over the choice of bishop. Socrates Scholasticus wrote: “By this internal war among the Christians, continuous seditions arose in that city, and many lives were sacrificed in consequence of these occurrences.”  People calling themselves Christians began killing other people called Christians over who would be their “spiritual” leader.

Similar conflicts occurred in other cities.  One has to ask, “Was the legalization of Christianity good for the church?”  There was an end of persecution and oppression.  But at what price? Christians responded to their new found security and comfort that resulted from having the favor of the emperor by fighting like cats for power.  It also gave rise to nominal faith.  You could be a “Christian” without a commitment to Christ that might upset your preferred behaviors. It was a major transition for the church, from outcast to dominant power.  But it did not last.  The fall of Rome to the barbarians ended the cozy relationship and left formerly influential power brokers with little power to broker.

Political power and a facade of nominal faith, sound like anything we might see?  The decline of Christian faith in our nation is both a cause of and a result of the church’s effort to be a power broker at the political level.  On both sides of the political spectrum “Christians” have delivered the voting block of the church in exchange for access to power.  It was hoped that this would allow the church to make the changes needed in society.  And let me add, “without the hard and messy work of evangelism and disciple making.”  

What do we do to face the ugly truth that we, having not been making disciples, are not relevant  in our own society.  At this transition we can long for the “glory days of yore" when America was, at least in our delusion, a “Christian” nation.  We could continue down the path of trying to attract crowds with grander and more extravagant shows on Sunday morning. But the church can never and shouldn’t even try to be the political power.  The church must stop trying to “out-Disney, Disney” to attract a crowd.  What we could try is returning to the practice of making disciples, like Jesus commanded.  

It happens so consistently there must be a universal law.

This last week I was in Ohio on a series of speaking engagements.  At each venue something happened that happens in almost every church gathering.  It is not especially evil, but it may result in an unknown loss.   At these gatherings, folks from 3 to 5 congregations gathered for the program.  On each occasion this past week and with great consistency over the years, I have noticed that at such gatherings, folks from the various congregations would sit together.  In fact, with only a few exceptions the social, personal interaction of the attendees was with people from their own congregations.  The folks they see every weekend were the only folks they talked to at a mid-week event.  

It wasn’t evil, rude, prideful or elitist, but I can’t help but wonder what opportunities were lost.  There might have been an opportunity to begin a deep and lasting friendship, learn life-changing lessons, hear a great joke or discover an already existing and precious connection.  Opportunity that is lost because no one took the initiative to sit at a table with new people.  Maybe it is common shyness, lack of self-confidence, fear of interrupting, or the desire not to try to break into a new group.  There are some good and real reasons to not be the one to break the ice.

But my experience is that making the effort to begin a new friendship is almost always rewarded.  The reason I bring this up is that this Wednesday night the Crossroads family has been invited to a social function with the Green Hill Presbyterian family.  I want to encourage everyone involved to make the effort to be the first to introduce yourself.  Who knows, the best thing to come out of the evening, may be a friendship that will last for eternity. Certainly it will last longer than the ice cream dessert we will enjoy.  

Speaking of ice cream, we are asking each family to bring the topping of your choice to share with your new friends.

Charlie's Challenge 7.16.23

 Charlie’s Challenges: Extras from the sermon: Simply Church

Memory verse:  And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to breaking of bread and to prayer.  Acts 2:42

Text of the day Acts 2:42-47

• What does this passage teach about man?

The new church in Acts 2 was deeply committed.  If you were to describe what our church is deeply committed to, what would your answer be?

Of the four things described in Acts 2:42 which of these do you think we do best?  Why do you say that?  Which of these four do you believe we are weak in doing?  Why do you think that is the case?  What can we do to strengthen our commitment in these four areas?

The Acts 2 church had the favor of all the people.  What do you think our reputation is like in our town?  Good reputation, Bad reputation, No reputation.  Why do you think this is the case?

• What does this passage teach us about God?

God is deeply invested in the church.  What does that mean for us practically?  Since God is so deeply invested in the church, why do so many churches try to grow the church themselves?

What is the difference between a sense of awe and a really exciting church program?

• What are we going to do with this knowledge?

Of the four “tools” listed in verse 42 which one do you feel you need to work on in your life as a disciple?  What are you going to do to improve in that area?

Attitude is everything

 The attitude I have determines if I am grateful or an ingrate.  It really has a lot to do with the way I choose to look at it.  A lesson I am learning and was reinforced this week.

I knew this week would be busy.  Along with everything on a regular week I had a couple of extras planned into the schedule.  No problem, just adjust a few things and it will all fit together nicely.  One of the extra’s this week is a long anticipated out-of-state trip.  That actually comes into play in this little story.  Then there were the extras.

First, I had to take my pickup in for some overdue service.  That leaves us with one car and one bike.  Then the car begins some shenanigans.  So, it has to go off to the shop.  Truck in Monday car on Tuesday, and the bike shows a growing fork seal leak.  The car has a problem that can’t be diagnosed.  Love it when the mechanic says, “This will take a while.”  Okay, so I will take the truck out-of-state; it will take more gas, but okay.  Then the words, “Your truck won’t be done till Monday.”  I’ll take the bike. No, not that far with a seal leak.  I spent much of one day trying to determine what was going to be available early Monday.  Answer: nothing I own.  Oh joy, I get to rent a car.  

It is at this moment I suffer from an attack of self pity.  Why, oh why, do I have such bad luck with all things mechanical?  But then I remembered the missionaries we support in India.  They do their work on foot for the most part, some have bicycles and a few are blessed with tiny little motor bikes.  None of these guys have AC, automatic transmission, or power windows.  They may not have the money to repair them if they break.  They work in a nation where they could be sent to prison, beaten or killed by a mob if they are found preaching the gospel.  

Somehow self-pity melts in the face of real servants who heroically serve the Lord and His bride.  My week is still a little chaotic, but I am attempting to approach it with gratitude.  I’m still learning, but I have a gracious and gentle teacher.

Charlie's Challenge 7/9/23

  Charlie’s Challenges: Extras from the sermon and links for additional information

The Beginning of Us!

Memory verse:  They continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2:12

Text of the day Acts 2:1-42

The sermon was built around three questions for studying the Bible

• What does this passage teach about man?

In this passage some of the lessons we learned about man were:

We sometimes don’t understand what God is doing?

It is sometimes hard to shift our paradigm. V. 14

People need an outside authority. (Peter’s appeal to scripture) v 16

Can you identify with any of these?  Which ones and why?

• What does this passage teach us about God?

God is not acting in secret.  When does it feel like God is acting in secret?

God sometimes works great things in what appear to be mundane events.  When is a time in your life where something that seemed mundane had great spiritual impact?

God adds people to the church.  How does this help us understand what it means to be part of a church?

• What are we going to do with this knowledge?

Speaking out is a great application of this passage.  How, where, and when can you speak out?

Being different should be obvious.  What is the opposite of being different?  In what ways does the world pressure us into being spineless?

Being open to God’s Spirit is another great application.  When was the last time you felt a strong conviction for something you said, did or thought?  What did you do about it?

Naked Preacher

 Paradigm Shift

A paradigm shift is defined as “a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions”.  The church has had to face a paradigm shift on more than one occasion.  Sometimes we have labeled things as “paradigm shifts” which were in reality only minor adjustments in taste or style. I was once approached by a lady after morning service who told me, “You should always dress like a preacher.”  At the time I had a rotation of three styles of dress for Sunday morning. On the first Sunday I wore a suit and tie, on the second I wore a button down and dress slacks, and on the third I wore a golf shirt and casual slacks or nice jeans.  No matter what I said I was only a preacher in her eyes when I wore a suit and tie.

I responded by saying something to the effect of, “What I wear doesn’t really make a difference in what I say.”  I wanted to say, “Should I wear a tux-like outfit from the 1800’s or robes like Luther?  Maybe I should wear a simple robe like Jesus or a camel-fur, short tunic like John the Baptist?  Bet you would like it if I was naked for three years like Isaiah.”  But I held my peace and let it go.  When we talk about a paradigm shift we are not talking about minor, stylistic changes.

The seeker sensitive, church movement was not so much a paradigm shift as a redirecting or attention to taste and style.  Both traditional and contemporary churches based their worship format and musical style on the wants and wishes of those they wanted in the pews.  One proponent of contemporary worship said, “If the music your audience listens to Monday to Saturday is different from the music they have on Sunday morning, you need to change your music.”  Advocates of traditional music and worship styles used the same argument except in the opposite direction, “We like the old hymns.”   The worship wars that were fought in the American church were essentially fights for artistic preferences.  How Satan rejoiced at our fighting.

An example of a paradigm shift happened in Acts 2.  Until that time, the Spirit of God was held to be in the Holy of Holies.  Before the Ark of the Covenant was lost, His Spirit resided on the mercy seat between the cherubim.   On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit’s residence becomes the people of God.  In Acts 2:38 we read, Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  This was “a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions”.  This changed everything.  

Over the last 2000 years of church history there have been some events that have resulted in a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions over the way we do church.  Certainly nothing so dramatic as what we see in Acts 2.  But from time to time there are major changes that require the church to look carefully at how it does ministry and ask, “Have we built something that is extra-Biblical and may need to be reexamined and possibly removed?”  Ironically, this has happened on a schedule of every 400 to 500 years.  Guess what the last one was; the Protestant Reformation circa 1517.

Next week:  The guy from Hippo and the big fall.

Charlie's Challenge 7/2/23

  Charlie’s Challenges: Extras from the sermon and links for additional information

The Ultimate Mission Statement

Memory verse:  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, Matthew 28:19

When was the last time you were really excited about what the church was doing?

If a mission statement is about our heartbeat for the church what does your EKG look like?

Why do you think the church got off course and stopped being about making disciples?

If being close to Jesus is critical for our being a part of the Great Commission, how do we stay close to Jesus?  How can we pray for what is on Jesus’ heart concerning the lost?

Why is “all authority” in both Heaven and Earth important for the great commission’s success?

We have four imperatives, Go, Make Disciples, Baptise, Teach? As a church, which of these four do we do best?  What is our weak spot?  Why is this the case?

Who is the person you can begin to reach with the Gospel this week?

Links to outside resources that might be of interest.

The Commission by Cain

https://youtu.be/APATH3ea-D0

The Faster Growing church in the world

https://youtu.be/q9UDlbBs0ZU

https://youtu.be/V5ERFAOw9z0

https://youtu.be/Ju1p_JiI3vM