Engaging Scripture

Should women be pastors? – Q & A, Part 2

This week we take a break from our Relationships in the Church series. At Faith Church this past week I gave a Q & A sermon. I asked the congregation for questions ahead of time, and then I attempted to bring biblical theology to bear on their questions.

What do you think about the role of women in ministry?

The debate about the role of women in ministry has come up numerous times on the blog when I’ve written about passages such as 1st Corinthians 11, Titus 1, and others. Because of that, I’m hoping my response below isn’t a surprise to long-time readers. In fact, some of what I write below is just a copy and paste from those other posts. I also include some new thoughts and resources.

There are two major perspectives on the role of women in ministry. The complementarian view and the egalitarian view.

Here’s a brief description of those two points of view:

Complementarianism – Women are to complement men. God ordained this. Both are equally loved in his eyes. In marriage and in the church, though, men are to lead. We might not understand why God would want one gender to complement another, but we can trust that God’s ways are best. This view stems from reading certain New Testament passages as universally binding. Thus, if this view is held, it should be held humbly and lovingly by the men and women who hold to it.

Egalitarianism – Men and women are equal in every way. God created both equally in his image, and he loves both equally. In heaven this expression will be the norm, and so now on earth we can and should work toward gender equality, in society, marriage and in the church. This view stems from seeing certain New Testament teachings as only pertaining to certain first-century churches. This view should also be held humbly and lovingly.

Many denominations are complementarian in the sense that they will only license and ordain men to pastoral ministry. Why? In 1^st Corinthians 11, Paul writes in verse 3: “I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”

Even more clearly, in 1 Timothy 2:11-15, Paul writes, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.”

Seems like an open and shut case. Except there’s numerous New Testament teaching from the other perspective. Jesus had numerous women disciples, including Mary and her sister Martha. When Martha scolded her sister Mary for not doing the women’s work, but instead sitting at Jesus’ feet to receive teaching, which was men’s work, Jesus stopped Martha and said, “Mary has chosen rightly.” In the Gospel accounts it is the women disciples who are there with Jesus at the cross, with one exception, John. All the other men ran away. It is the women who discover Jesus arisen, and it is the women who first proclaim the good news that “He’s alive.”

The Old Testament prophet Joel prophesied that when the Holy Spirit arrived, men and women would prophesy. The Holy Spirit arrived in Acts chapter 2, and Peter quoted that very passage from the prophet Joel, and Peter said that passage was fulfilled right before their eyes. Both men and women ministering. In Romans 16:3 Paul greets Priscilla, a woman whom he calls his co-worker. In Romans 16:7 he greets Junia, a woman who was in prison with Paul, who he says is outstanding among the apostles. I could list more.

So then, why did Paul tell the women to be quiet, submissive, such as in 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2? There is much scholarly debate about exactly what was going on in the Christian communities of Corinth and Ephesus (Timothy was in Ephesus). Women might have been taking their freedom in Christ too far. Women might have been influenced by pagan worship. It seems that Paul is suggesting that the churches in those towns pursue something that I call missional expediency. Missional expediency is the principle of submitting one’s freedoms to the mission of the Kingdom. What is best for the mission? Do that.

Paul uses the principle of missional expediency, for example, when he writes that the Christians should not be circumcised (see Galatians and Romans), but then he requires Timothy to be circumcised (see Acts 16:3). Is Paul a hypocrite, self-contradictory? No. He is using the principle of missional expediency. The mission of the Kingdom is the goal, and to preserve the mission, he does one thing in one cultural setting, and he does the opposite in another cultural setting. This is not inconsistent in Paul’s thinking because he is consistently applying the principle of missional expediency in both situations.

When applied to women in ministry, it seems Paul is saying that in Corinth and Ephesus, it was most missionally expedient for the women to abide by the patriarchal culture. Paul didn’t want the mission, the church to be compromised. So the women in those towns should practice a complementarian approach. Paul clearly does not use that approach in Rome or in the churches in Galatia. Furthermore, there are legitimate ways to interpret even the seemingly guaranteed complementarian passages as not so guaranteed. See, for example, the work of Nijay Gupta in his book Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught and Ministered in the Early Church.

Perhaps complementarians will not agree with Gupta’s interpretation. Granted. The principle of missional expediency remains. Notice also that when writing to the Christian community in Corinth, Paul embeds egalitarian teaching in his statements. He says in 1^st Corinthians 11:11-12, “Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.”

That’s egalitarian teaching right in the middle of complementarian teaching. Right in the center of the passage, verses 11-12, he clearly explains that men and women are equal in God’s eyes, which would have been a radical notion for the men of that culture. What is Paul doing? If I could summarize what Paul says about the role of women in the church it seems that he is teaching egalitarianism in complementarian clothing.

Once again, notice how Paul is using the principle of missional expediency. Though asking the women to maintain a complementarian approach to the role of women in ministry in their immediate cultural situation, Paul includes the deeper teaching of egalitarianism for the future! It is a move of genius that lays a foundation for a very different approach to the role of women in a future egalitarian society. In Galatians 3:26, he does the same when he says that in Christ there is neither male nor female, but all are one.

Imagine with me, therefore, a different culture, one that doesn’t have patriarchal approach, a culture where men and women are equal? Can you think of any cultures trying to be like that? Any cultures where men and women have equal access and opportunity?

I think I know a place like that. American Christians, we live in a culture like that. As do many other Christians around the world. I’m not saying that contemporary egalitarian cultures are perfectly egalitarian. I suspect that all cultures need to work on becoming more equal. But if he had lived and ministered in an egalitarian culture, I believe that Paul would have taught equality in gender roles in the church. Because we live in one of those cultures where men and women are equal, I believe it is most faithful have gender equality in the American church.

As a result, I believe we should be concerned about marginalizing women from full participation in mission while we live in a culture that is egalitarian. While I respect the complementarian position as having biblical grounding, I believe the complementarian position is counter-missional in an egalitarian culture. In other words, I believe the complementarian position is detrimental to the mission of the Kingdom in an egalitarian culture. We American Christians, as with any Christians who live in egalitarian cultures, should utilize the principle of missional expediency and promote egalitarianism in our churches. I believe egalitarianism not only has a strong biblical foundation, but is also missionally expedient in our culture. We should ordain and license women to pastoral ministry, to full access in our churches.

The debate about the role of women in ministry made a big splash in recent years in the Southern Baptist Church, when the SBC removed famous megachurch Saddleback from its membership after Saddleback hired a female pastor. Check out this interview with Saddleback pastor Rick Warren in which he explains how he changed from his long-held complementarian view to become egalitarian.

Photo by Rosie Sun on Unsplash

Is “He Gets Us” advertising worth the expense? – Q & A Week, Part 1

He Gets Us spent almost $15 million (estimated) on Super Bowl commercials last Sunday. According to an article on MSNBC, they have committed 100 million dollars for advertising since 2022. Could this money be put to better use by this organization? Helping the needy?

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials. My opinion is that artistically and thematically, the He Gets Us commercials present a compelling portrait of Jesus. The commercials and website describe Jesus in a way that invites and welcomes. Jesus cares. Jesus identifies with. Jesus is for all. Jesus is hope for new life. Given that millions of people watch the Super Bowl and other programs during which He Gets Us shows these commercials, there were millions of people who viewed images of and heard messages about Jesus. I’m glad for that.

What is unsettling, in my opinion, is the expense involved. It’s not just the cost of air time. It’s also the cost of developing the short films/commercials. Is it worth it to spend $100 million on television commercials? I’m going to try to bring biblical theology to bear on this question.

Spending money to advance the mission of the Kingdom of Jesus is not wrong. In the pages of Acts and the Epistles, we read about the early church raising and spending money for the mission of the Kingdom. But what were their spending priorities, and can we learn anything from their example and apply it to today?

Their spending priorities were on two main areas. First, they spent money on social concerns, making sure those with physical need were cared for. Second, they spent money on in-person ministry, sending missionaries and stationing ministerial leaders. They did not spend money on church buildings. But what about advertising? While we don’t read about advertising, in time, the early Christians would start to utilize advertising.

In the Roman Empire print media was primarily via scrolls and letter-writing, which were quite expensive. Consider how many animal skins were needed for one scroll. The printing press, newspapers, and other mass-produced literature were centuries away in the future. All print media in the First Century CE was inscribed by hand, one word at a time, piece by piece. There is, however, plenty of archaeological evidence of other means of advertising, such as mosaics, inscriptions, and graffiti. This advertising is extremely similar to murals, billboards and spray paint graffiti.

While we don’t read about Christians using advertising in the Bible, we do read about them utilizing letter-writing. So we should be very cautious to say “The Apostle Paul would never have agreed with spending $100 million on television commercials.” We simply don’t know.

What we do know is that the early church demonstrated and taught that those with financial means should live simply so they could give generously to people in need. That kind of in-person generosity to reach people in their real-life needs was and is a powerful message in and of itself. That principle we can and should apply to our day.

I believe the He Gets Us ads can and do spark curiosity and conversation. That’s a good thing. I don’t know what it’s like to have $100 million extra dollars to spend. Perhaps the people financing He Gets Us have been led by God’s Spirit to spend their money by producing excellent, compelling advertising. Given that so many people have watched the He Gets Us commercials, perhaps we Christians can talk with people about them, and see what they think. Maybe it will lead to a discussion through which we can introduce someone to Jesus.

At Faith Church this past Sunday, we had our sermon discussion class after I had given the Q & A sermon, including the question above. We had a very lively discussion, with many differences of opinion.

After the class one person texted me the following:

“1. We feel the demographics of those who watches the Super Bowl fell into 2 main groups – those who ignored the commercials, and those who thought “those Christians. . .”

We really don’t believe a commercial is a witnessing tool, especially if you think someone who saw them would walk into a church to ask questions.
Actions DO speak louder than words. Many who saw those commercials know someone who claims Christianity but doesn’t act like Jesus, so they fell on deaf ears.
The word in Hebrew for righteousness and justice are the same, so being like Jesus, being righteous, ALWAYS involves social justice; again action; not words.
Words come later.”

I found their thoughts very helpful. Another person mentioned Mark chapter 14 where Mary uses a very expensive jar of perfume on Jesus and the disciples think it is a waste of money. The disciples rebuke Mary for wasting the perfume when it could have been sold and monies given to the poor. Jesus tells them to leave her alone and that she has done a beautiful thing. So maybe He Gets Us is like that?

I preached about that during the Gospel of John series last year. Here’s the blog post that has the part of the sermon that relates:

It’s so hard to know how to preach about money. It seems to me that our American culture is extremely possessive and guarded when it comes to money. We generally have a strong dislike of people even making hints about what they think we should do with our money.

My personal opinion is that if I had a $100 million, I hope I would spend it on actual people in need. The act of generously caring for their needs, in my view, is a far more meaningful and impactful declaration of Jesus’ love than TV commercials. As we look at the commercials, and think “If I had a $100 million, I would not spend it on TV commercials,” we should also reflect on how we are using the finances that God has given us. You might not have $100 million, but you are a steward of his money. Are you using it in line with the mission of his Kingdom?

The power of “with” – Caring for one another, Part 5

I recently had lunch with a friend who has been going through a deeply difficult season of life for the past two years. It all started when his wife shocked him by separating from him, and likely turning his two teenaged sons against him. She cut off communication, and they eventually moved out. She refused to talk with anyone from his family or from their church family. His oldest son only responded to text messages when the son needed some kind of financial or legal matter cared for. My friend hasn’t heard a peep from his younger son, now 18 yrs old, since the day his wife separated from him.

I asked my friend how his church family has responded to him. He said they have so thoroughly and loving cared for him. They are with him. For the entire two-year process, which included not only separation but ultimately divorce, his church family has stuck by him.

We need each other in our church families to care for one another. This is what Paul writes about in his famous passage about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12. He writes this,

“As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

Caring involves the word “with.” Suffering with. Rejoicing with. Being with.

I hope you have experienced that kind of selfless, gracious care in your church family. I also hope you have generously given that selfless, gracious care. My family and I are feeling the care as our granddaughter goes through her heart journey. Our son and daughter-in-law are feeling the care as young parents journeying with their baby girl. It has been wonderful to see friends, family and church family stand with them, support them, caring for them.

Continue to look around you church family and open your heart, mind and lives to care for one another selflessly, to be with them. Most times being with someone does not require that we need to solve their problems or have any answers for them. Instead, being with them means be present with them, available to listen, expressing care and concern, praying with them.

Years ago I caused a terrible vehicle accident that led to a person in the other vehicle passing away. On the night of the accident, numerous people visited me, to be with me. First my family. Then school friends and church friends, as I was 17 years old at the time. A few days later I received a phone call from my aunt. I picked up the phone, said “Hello,” and she burst into tears. That might sound odd, given that I was the one in an awful situation. Why was she crying? She composed herself and said that she wanted to call sooner, but wasn’t sure what to say. She was expressing her sorrow for waiting, feeling like she should have called immediately. But I didn’t see it that way. I didn’t then and still now don’t think she needed to apologize, because she did call, she shared her presence with me over the phone. She was with me, and it was deeply meaningful and encouraging.

Who do you need to care for by being with them?

Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash

Delegation is discipleship that builds up the church – Caring for one another, Part 4

Though I’m a leader, I sometimes struggle with delegation, as there are times when I think it will be so much easier and faster if I just handle whatever matter is before me. Getting others involved takes time, and they might not do the work like I think it should be done. Maybe you know the feeling.

In this post, we continue our study of how to care for one another in church families, and we need to talk about delegation.

To begin, the apostle Paul describes caring in 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

Hear that selfless posture? We were delighted to share our lives as well.

This kind of caring life involves time, building relationship. It involves persistent, consistent, intentional care. It avoids being overbearing or micromanaging. Call, Text, Email. Meet in person. Meet one on one. But know this: Genuine Christian caring for one another cannot be sustained in large groups. This is a reminder to us that smaller groups are necessary. It is not possible to be caring this way for everyone in the church, unless the church is 10-15 people. This is why most churches have small groups.

Caring for one another in the church family must go beyond the professional ministers. Caring for one another in the church family necessitates delegation.

Delegation reminds me of the story of Jethro and Moses in Exodus 18. In Exodus 18, Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, observes Moses arbitrating disputes brought to him by the people of Israel, a grueling task that lasted from morning till evening. The account in Exodus tells us that the nation numbers 600,000+ men, at this point, and that does not include the women and children. We have no way to verify those numbers, but even if the actual total is far less, it is astounding to think that Moses took on that role by himself. Moses is trying to care for his people alone. Jethro is concerned.

In 2021, Philadelphia had 1.56 million people. If the Exodus account is correct, Israel was about that size. But there are 439 judges in the Philly Court of Common Pleas! Even comparatively tinier Lancaster County has 19 Magisterial District Judges and 15 judges on our Lancaster Court of Common Pleas. Can you imagine Moses trying to handle the caseload of a 1.5-million-person population alone? Jethro is right to be very concerned.

Jethro suggests that Moses create a system of delegation, appointing officials over groups of 1,000, 100, 50 and 10. The officials will judge matters for their groups, freeing Moses so he only needs to address the most difficult cases.

The text reports that Moses followed Jethro’s advice. Moses delegated. I propose that a similar system of delegation is vital for care in church families as well. The paid professionals simply do not have the ability to care for everyone in the church.

In Exodus 18, delegation spreads out the ministry of caring, and it places the leadership responsibilities squarely back on Moses. He can lead the people to the Promised Land, while his appointed judges handle most matters. Delegation fuels mission. Delegation is the way to care for one another in the church.

What Jethro reminds us is that our investment in others’ lives through delegation is not only missionally effective, delegation is also missional discipleship. We are raising others up to do the work, which is what Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-13,

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Delegation is discipleship that builds up the church.

A powerful question for church families – Caring for one another, Part 3

My wife and I recently watched the television series, New Amsterdam. It’s about a public hospital in New York City. The main character Max Goodwin is the medical director, and he asks a question repeatedly in nearly every episode of the series. (He might ask it in every episode! I didn’t keep track.). His question, which I’ll reveal below, is something that I believe could be quite powerful in a church family that is caring for one another.

In the previous posts here and here, I’ve quoted Bonhoeffer at length because his point is so foundational to being a church that truly cares for one another. Bonhoeffer’s point is this: If we are to care for one another in a church family, we need to see each other as we really are, and be thankful for who we really are. Christian brotherly love begins with an honest, grateful perspective on ourselves and our church family. Christian care says, “I know my church family is not perfect, I know I am not perfect, and I imperfectly give myself to love those in my church family though they are not perfect and they will love imperfectly too.”

Being thankful for our real church family does not mean we ignore ways to improve, and it does not mean we avoid holding one another accountable. A significant part of caring for one another is caring enough to speak the truth in love to one another. But that caring accountability must first be based in thankful realism.

This posture of thankful realism about each other in the church family will therefore be soaked in grace. Just as we have received God’s bountiful grace in Jesus’s birth, life, death and resurrection to make new life possible, we in turn share that grace with others. Caring for one another in the church is awash with grace.

I really appreciate Christian author Jerry Bridges’ quote, “Our worsts days are never beyond the reach of God’s grace, and our best days are never beyond the need of God’s grace.” We are grace-receivers and grace-givers. When others in your church family tick you off, annoy you, bother you, or when they behave poorly, irresponsibly, sinfully, they need us to have a posture of thankful realism toward them, awash with grace. A gracious posture will enable us to care for them, to minister to them in their need.

Just think of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. The Jews and Samaritans deeply hated one another. It would have been unsettling and awkward, then, for those Jews listening to Jesus tell the story, when he put the dreaded Samaritan in the role of the one who cared for the beaten down Jew, while the Jew’s fellow countrymen walked by ignoring the hurting man. That’s grace. Overcoming our prejudices, overcoming our disgust, overcoming our misgivings, to care for one another. Some people are easy to care for. Some are not. Some will test just how gracious we really are.

Thus, a gracious thankful realism requires a selfless posture, as Paul writes in Philippians 2:3-5, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

When we nurture that selfless posture toward others, then we can care for them. They are the focus. Not us. We consider them. We listen to them. We act an important question, just like Doctor Max on the TV show New Amsterdam.

“How can I help?” It’s a wonderful question. You might not be able to help in every situation. That’s okay. We do well to know our limitations, and say “No” when we can’t help. But the question, “How can I help?” has that selfless posture to it. “How can I help?” directs our heart and mind outward, toward the other person. That outward gaze is essential to care for one another in the church family.

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Be thankful for your messy church family – Caring for one another, Part 2

Are there awkward people in your church family? Perhaps people who talk your ear off, over-sharing, while you’re struggling to find a way to get out of the conversation in which they have done 95% of the talking, and it’s going on 30 minutes with no end in sight. Perhaps there are the people who have RBF (definition of RBF here), and you seem to be near them every Sunday, unable to break through their gruff exterior. They seem totally unconcerned about how they come across, and you can’t imagine living like that. Or maybe there are other difficult people in your church family. They people who ask for help. People who talk too loud. People who are always sharing prayer requests for a plethora of medical issues. People who complain. You get the picture. Church families can be messy.

This week in our relationships in the church series, we’re talking about how church families are to care for one another. In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s shocking statement: “God hates visionary dreamers.” What Bonhoeffer meant is that the ideal church family doesn’t exist. Only the real church exists, and the real church is filled with people like you and I who are not ideal.

Bonhoeffer continues with this crucial statement: “He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.”

If you’re wondering where I’m going with this, I know it may sound bleak. But I find Bonhoeffer’s point about church family wish dreams to be important. Over the years I have seen people and families pass through my church family on their way to an ideal. They hang out with my church family maybe for a few weeks, months, or even years, watching to see how close our church family is to their vision of the ideal. Eventually, upon not finding their ideal, they move on.

This is why Bonhoeffer writes “God hates visionary dreaming.” What Bonhoeffer is saying, maybe a bit too harshly, is important, because, as he goes on to say, “visionary dreaming, the wish dream of an ideal church, makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. That person who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the church family and God himself accordingly. … He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds the church family together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to pieces. So he becomes, first an accuser of his church family, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.”

We should stop bowing down to our wish dream versions of an ideal church family. In fact, Bonhoeffer writes, “only that church family which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God’s sight. The sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a church family the better for both.”

Embracing realism in our church families is essential for building caring relationships. We need to see each other in our church family as we really are so we can love that real church family, so we can love those real people.

This is not to say that we ignore the ideal altogether. Just a few weeks ago on the blog, I wrote about the importance of holding one another accountable in the church, and one of my major points was that we can evaluate one another. When we see that our church family is hurting, messy, failing, we can and should evaluate and encourage them to change direction live more like Jesus lived.

So as we talk about caring for one another in our church families, we start by casting off from our hearts and minds the ideal wish dream church that does not exist, and we warmly embrace the messy, deficient, human, real church that we actually are.

One way to embrace the real church is to be thankful for it. Thankful for the people you think are difficult. Thankful for the people you think are awkward. Thankful for the people you think you’d rather not hang out with, or even walk past in the hallway.

Bonhoeffer makes this point when he writes, “If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is not a great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.”

Photo by Katie Treadway on Unsplash

God hates visionary dreamers? – Caring for one another, Part 1

I want to begin with a shocking quote. At least I think it is shocking. See if you think it is shocking. Here is the quote:

“God hates visionary dreamers.”

How do you feel about that statement? “God hates visionary dreamers.”

Thumbs up or Thumbs down?

Thumbs down, right? The concept of visionary dreamers seems like a good thing. Why would God hate them?

It is a caustic statement, for sure. It was made, I suspect, to shock people into thinking about something very important.

The person who wrote this statement is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And he has a reason for the statement.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor living in Germany during World War II, and he vocally critiqued the Nazi regime. Oh, so the statement of “God hates visionary dreamers” was about Nazis. That would make sense. Maybe. Except that God doesn’t hate anyone. Even Nazis.

But this is where it gets even more surprising. In making his statement that God hates visionary dreamers, Bonhoeffer wasn’t referring to Adolf Hitler or any other Nazis. Are you ready for this? Bonhoeffer was referring about Christians, people like you and I in church families, who are visionary dreamers.

Okay, I need to explain. Let me assure you that Bonhoeffer was not crazy when he made that statement.

For speaking out against the Nazis, Bonhoeffer was arrested, thrown into a concentration camp, and ultimately killed by the Nazis. Over the years of the Nazi’s rise to power, he had watched as many German Christians capitulated to the Nazis. So Bonhoeffer brings a very interesting perspective on church families. What should a church family look like when the world around you, including Christians, seems to be led astray?

Bonhoeffer makes a critical point in his book Life Together, a book about how Christians should interact with one another. He writes that we Christians can have a false starting point in our view of our church family. This gets to the heart of why he said “God hates visionary dreamers.”

Bonhoeffer calls that false starting point the “wish dream”. A wish dream, he says, “is a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be.”[1] When a Christian believes in their church family wish dream, when they desire it, when that try to make it happen, Bonhoeffer said, it will lead to pain, suffering and sometimes the Christian community will collapse under the weight of unmet expectations and bitter disappointment.

Why? Because those Christians have become enamored with their vision of the ideal church family. But isn’t it good to strive for the ideal?

We’ll learn what Bonhoeffer has to say about that in the post.

Photo by dlxmedia.hu on Unsplash

[1] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1954. Life Together: A Discussion of Christian Fellowship. San Francisco: Harper. 26.

Overcoming “I don’t care” – Caring for one another, Preview

Ever been involved in a conversation like this in your home?

Person #1: “What would you like for dinner tonight?”

Person #2: “I don’t care. I’m okay with whatever.”

Person #1: “But I need you to give me something to go on. What are you hungry for?”

Person #2: “Seriously. Anything. I don’t care. Whatever you choose.”

Person #1: “I’m always making the decision. Why don’t you choose this time?”

Person #2: “What do you want me to say? Pizza. Burgers. Mac-n-cheese. Whatever’s easy. I really don’t care.”

Sound familiar? Notice the phrase: “I don’t care.”

Think about how the phrase is quite revealing. The person saying, “I don’t care,” is probably attempting to be deferential, suggesting that they don’t want to be picky or demanding. They would truly be fine with just about any meal selection. But there’s also a deeper truth hiding behind their veneer of humility. That deeper truth just might be apathy, as seen in their use of the phrase, “I don’t care,” which describes apathy to a T. Apathy is a lack care.

The word “apathy” derives from the Greek “pathos” which is defined as “to feel passion.” Put that letter “a” in front of the word, and it negates the word it is attached to. ”A-pathos” is “to not feel passion” or “absence of passion.” Thus we can see how our English word “apathy” means “to not care, to lack care.”

Therefore, apathy in relationships is far more consequential than choosing what to eat for dinner. Apathy is a relationship killer. This coming week, I continue our relationships series focusing on what it means to care for another. A familiar biblical word relates to overcoming apathy, philadelphia. Brotherly love. How do we nurture brotherly love in our lives so that we care for one another in the church?

Join me on the blog next week as I talk about it further.

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How can you spend more time praying with others? – Praying together, Part 5

The enduring practice of the earliest Christians was gathering for prayer. It was essential to their meeting together. They didn’t just demonstrate praying together, they also taught it.

Consider a few passages that provide a foundation for churches to gather for prayer.

Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

2 Corinthians 1:11, “You help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”

Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray continually”

1 Timothy 2:8, “Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.”

These verses show us that gathering for prayer wasn’t just something the early church did. These verses show us their theological foundation for prayer. The teaching of the New Testament is that gathering for communal, church family prayer is vital. Yes, we are to be people who pray individually, but there is a greater vitality, I would argue, in church families gathering for prayer.

Why? Why is gathering for prayer so important?

Consider what James writes in James 5:13-16, “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

When we pray, together we demonstrate that we are dependent on the power of God, that we need him. When we pray, we show that we have a healthy self-awareness, that in and of ourselves, we are crying out to God to work precisely because we know we can’t accomplish the mission of his Kingdom without him.

I’m not saying that prayer twists God arms, somehow forcing him to do what we want. I’m not saying that if enough people pray, we’ll get what we want. I’m not saying that if not enough people pray, we won’t get what we want.

My son and daughter-in-law estimated that there are over 2,000 people praying for my granddaughter Lily, who was born with an underdeveloped heart. Is there some mystical magical number that will guarantee her healing? For example, does God say that if only 1,999 people pray for her, then she won’t be healed? But if we can get that two thousandth person, Lily will be healed? No, God never promised anything like that.

There are no magic formulas. What I am saying is that the New Testament clearly demonstrates and teaches that we Christians are to be people who are committed to praying together. So let’s consider how we can pray more.

Does your church have a prayer meeting you can attend? You don’t have to. But can you?

Can you add more prayer with others in your gatherings?

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The effect of church families gathering for prayer – Praying together, Part 4

The first Christians spent the better part of three years observing Jesus’ practice of prayer. They heard him teach about prayer. Years later when they instinctively gather for prayer over and over and over, they demonstrate for us their commitment to do what Jesus did and taught.

In Acts 4, as we saw in the previous post, two leaders of the apostles, Peter and John, were imprisoned by the religious leaders in Jerusalem for preached the story of Jesus. After being freed, the apostles gathered with the other Christians and had a prayer meeting. In Acts 4, verse 29, here is the amazing conclusion of their prayer meeting:

“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

It’s the same series of events we saw in Acts chapters 1 and 2 in this post. Gathering for prayer leads to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Is a pattern emerging? We’ve seen it twice now. The first Christians gathered for prayer, they demonstrate they are committed to prayer, and then they are filled with the Holy Spirit. Let’s keep observing.

Now jump ahead to Acts 12:5. Likely years have passed. Peter is imprisoned in Jerusalem again, and in verse 5 we read, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Even though years have passed the church is still a group of people who meet together for prayer.

Notice the timing of this. In verse 6 we learn it is nighttime, and Peter is asleep. Maybe he’s like me, falling asleep on the sofa every night by 9:30. We don’t know, of course, what time it is. It could be early in the night, it could be middle of the night. Do you see what this means? The Christians have gathered for prayer at night. They are committed to prayer.

What happens as they pray? Another outpouring. This time the outpouring is an angel who miraculously frees Peter. In verse 12, we learn that “[Peter] went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.” There was rejoicing at how God answered prayer.

Now scan ahead to Acts 13. The scene has changed. We’re not in Israel anymore. We’re 300 miles north of Jerusalem, in the ancient Syrian city of Antioch. Enough time has gone by that the church is growing to non-Jewish areas. The Christians have the caught the vision to carry the message of the Kingdom of Jesus, and now they are commissioning Barnabas and Saul to go on their first missionary journey. Notice how this commissioning happens, in Acts 13, verses 2-3,

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

The Christians met together for fasting and prayer, and through that the Spirit directed them, and they launched missionaries into ministry.

Jump ahead to Acts 14:23, where we learn that prayer and fasting happens again in the church, this time for the selection of elders, leaders. (The apostles in Jerusalem had prayed and commissioned leaders previously in Acts 6.) Prayer was essential to selection of leaders and launching of ministries.

There were many other reasons the earliest Christians gathered for prayer. Consider how the following passages give us a sense of how much those Christians valued gathering for prayer together.

In jail in Philippi after having been beaten, what do Paul and Silas do? In Acts 16:25, we read they are praying and singing.

A few chapters later in Acts 20:36, when Paul has his final meeting with the Ephesians elders, he kneels down with them and together they pray.

In Acts 21:5 Paul says goodbye to the Christians in Tyre; on the beach they all kneel down and pray.

The enduring practice of the earliest Christians was gathering for prayer. It was essential to their meeting together. They didn’t just demonstrate praying together, they also taught it. We’ll look at what they taught about prayer in the next post.

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