Tag: body

  • Letter #53 (The Body of Christ)

    Dear Small Church Congregation,

         I have one of those “duh” questions for you—Who makes up the body of Christ?  Your first inclination might be to say—the church.  And you would be correct.  But who or what constitutes the church?  Who or what is identifiable as belonging to the church?  (Keep in mind that I am not referring to a building.)

         If Jesus is building His church, then the who or what makes up His church would be someone/something He brings into existence.  That means people are not the ones who create the church.  My science teacher long ago showed me that people can manipulate matter, but people cannot create matter out of nothing.  Since we cannot create something out of nothing, like God can do, then we cannot claim to be the ones who create or own the church.  (Letter #52)

         We are told in scriptures that the body of Christ has many members and that each member has its place and usefulness in the body, just like our physical bodies are made up of many parts that are all quite important to the overall function of the physical body.  But these members are not brought into existence by people.  They are created and placed into His body by Jesus as He puts His body together, as He builds it.

         If Jesus is putting His body, His church, together and placing the individual members where He wants them to be and giving them their functions inside His body, it would be Jesus who is empowering those members to perform their functions in His body.  He would be the one who decides what their functions would be and how they would operate within His church.

    (Bear with me.  I’m going somewhere with this basic stuff.)

         People generally consider anyone who places his/her eternal future into the hands of Jesus by believing He is Messiah and Redeemer of mankind, asks for forgiveness for sins and strives to live according to Jesus’s teachings to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  These individuals have been born again spiritually through their faith in Jesus and have publicly declared their allegiance to Jesus.  They would then be considered a member of Christ’s church, His body.    

         This whole process of believing, having faith, being born again spiritually, etc. is something Jesus accomplishes in individuals so they can become part of His body.  If you are a disciple of Christ, this process has occurred in your life.  You are now a member of the church Jesus is building.

         When a person says he/she is a member of a particular church that belongs to a particular denomination or fellowship, the membership is a concept we mortals have developed to indicate where the people attend worship services and the organizational structure with which the people identify.  That kind of church membership is man-made.  It is created by people to group or classify people according to doctrines and traditions developed since the creation of the original group of disciples, a group which was chosen by Jesus Himself.

         Humans, being what we are with all our preferences and fallacies, have a tendency to identify ourselves as belonging to that man-made church system, rather than to the church Jesus is building, to the body of Christ.  When this happens, when we say, “I belong to __________ Church,” we put our membership focus on the man-made church system, and not on the universal spiritual church (ekklesia = assembly; called out ones) Jesus owns.  We have an inclination to become faithful to and promoters of that physical group in which we call ourselves members instead of the spiritual body into which we are placed when we were born again spiritually.

         There is absolutely nothing amiss in belonging to a particular group of disciples.  I encourage anyone who has faith in Jesus to seek out and connect with a local group of Jesus’s followers who regularly worship together.  I also recommend you read a little book by Thom Rainer entitled I Am a Church Member.  It speaks to belonging to a local body of believers.

         However, please, please do not become so wrapped up in your local church that you forget that it is a small part of the very large church Jesus is building.  His church is made up of many millions of disciples who gather in homes, in small and large buildings, under trees, along meadows and sitting on rocks around the world.  His church, His body, is His creation.  Remember where your church membership really lies.  Please remember you are a part of the body of Christ.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #52 (It’s Jesus’s Church)

    Dear Small Church Congregation,

         In the last letter I proposed that there are people who have forgotten who owns Christ’s church (assembly, disciples, body, bride).  That forgetting has prompted them to think they own the church—not just the building, but the whole thing—the people included.  They act as if they should be able to determine everything that goes on inside a church house, who should be able to be involved in those activities and who should get the recognition for anything the congregation achieves “in the name of Jesus.”  They essentially believe they have earned the right through their work, finances and faithful attendance over the years to be the ones making decisions about what, how, when, why and where things happen in “the church.”

         However, this is not the case with those who constantly remind themselves of who they are (the church) and whose they are (the owner, Jesus).  These disciples remember that what Jesus accomplished on Calvary as he died in their places is the payment that redeemed them, that bought them out of slavery to sin, that purchased their souls, that arranged their salvation from the wrath of God against evil and placed them into the family of God as heirs and joint-heirs with Jesus.  They remember they are no longer their own.  They remember who they are as born-again disciples and whose they are as members of the church Jesus said He would build.

         The disciples of Christ who remember whose they are act differently from those who have forgotten.  They are willing to submit their entire lives to Christ as their owner.  They don’t just show up on Sundays to be in God’s presence.  They worship and pray at home and show up at prayer meetings and worship services because they want to constantly be in contact with their owner.  They don’t just tithe regularly.  They give generously, many times sacrificially, to the needs of those less fortunate than themselves, to missionaries and to special projects designed to reach out to the sinners in their communities.  They volunteer to help anywhere there is a need that they feel they can help meet.  Essentially, they remember who redeemed them and will do whatever it takes to demonstrate that they remember who Jesus is to them.

         The spiritual atmosphere in a congregation in which the attenders fully understand who they are and whose they are is different from other churches.  There is an openness to the moving of the Holy Spirit.  There is a unity, not just in worship, but in action, also.  There are shared goals and dreams and agree-upon plans to achieve those goals and dreams.  There is a feeling that “we need to do as much as we can for Jesus as soon as we can so we can take as many people as we can to heaven with us.”

         When the people remember who they are (the church, the disciples, the body, the bride) and whose they are (they belong to Jesus), there will be fruit produced in the form of new disciples brought into the kingdom of God.  That fruit will appear, grow and become mature because the people understand that their job now is to help other people be redeemed from slavery to sin, to be bought back from the curse of death and judgment, to be born again through faith in Jesus and what He accomplished through His death, burial and resurrection.

         I learned something years ago that stunned me.  I learned that there were several congregations in our geographic area that had not had a new salvation reported from the ministry of those churches in ten years.  I realized, after looking at their situations, that they had forgotten who they were and whose they were.  They had turned inward in their ministry, were trying to control the ministry and had stopped lifting up Jesus to new people.

         Every time I saw lasting growth in the congregations I was privileged to pastor, that growth came because Jesus was being lifted up to new people.  The congregations were focusing on whose they were and were introducing new people to their Owner, their Lord, their Redeemer—Jesus.

         Remember this—It’s Jesus’s Church.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #21–Rest

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Rest, ah, rest.  What an elusive term for the small church pastor.  As the one person who is tasked with making sure the congregation moves forward, you are often placed in the position of never getting any rest.  Or at least that seems to be the case.  However, I assure you that rest is possible, and I also assure you that it is necessary if you want to maintain your health—physically, mentally, emotionally and especially, spiritually.

         I know the temptation to not stop.  I completely understand the pressures that come from all sides.  I have already been down that street and have long ago used that t-shirt for a grease rag.

         Your personal rest is probably more important to the health of your congregation than you realize.  If the shepherd is exhausted, the sheep will not be cared for as much as they should be.  The best pasture or safest watering hole may be overlooked.  The wolves might even begin to draw near to the sheepfold because the shepherd is not as alert as possible and may not be completely aware of what’s happening in the surroundings of the flock.

         You know about and have probably taught your people the need for the Sabbath’s rest in their lives.  I admonish you to walk your own talk in this matter.  You must—YOU MUST—get regular rest.  You need it just as much as they do.  Just like your congregants, if you are tired all the time, you will not be at the top of your game as their pastor.  Again–You must get regular rest.

         Now, how can you accomplish that?  First, go back and re-read Letter #1.  Next, make up your mind that you are going to get some regular rest.  (You won’t take action unless you decide to take action.)  Then, with all the love and grace you can muster, tell your congregation which day of the week you have chosen for your day of rest.  Finally, take it!

         Arrange for one or two of your leaders to handle necessary items on your day of rest.  Let the people know who they should call on your day of rest, and place your trust in them to be leaders that day.  I promise you, the church will not disintegrate if you take a day off.  If an emergency arises, deal with it if you absolutely have to, and then go back to your rest.  (Even an ox that had fallen into a ditch was rescued on the Sabbath.) 

         Let your day of rest be a special day when you relax, refresh your own relationship with God and enjoy the simple pleasures of family and friends.  Take a nap or two.  Turn off the screens—all of them—and sit in the yard or on your porch with a glass of tea or a cup of coffee and let the ice melt and the cup get cold as you take in all the majesty of the world God has created. 

         Open your mind to listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you in the silence.  Pick up that book you’ve been meaning to start and start it.  If you’re a fast reader, you might even finish it in one day.  Listen to some good music without answering the phone.  Make some homemade ice cream and gather your family to enjoy your creation. 

         As you enjoy this day of rest, focus on doing things you know will calm your mental, emotional and spiritual self.  Avoid things that make you feel more physically tired at the end of the day than they are worth.  Remember, this is a day to rejuvenate yourself in every area of your life.

         You may be saying to yourself that you don’t see how it is possible you could take a Sabbath’s rest during the week.  You’re wrong in that thought.  My friend, you are not the one who is in ultimate control of this universe.  If your church falls apart because you are not present for one day a week, then the place you call “church” is not being built by Jesus.  I don’t mean to sound hard here, but no one person is completely indispensable to a congregation every day of the week. 

         You can set aside a day, and you need to do so, because you won’t last in ministry if you don’t get the rest you need.  You’ll burn out.  You’ll be consumed by the responsibilities and pressures.  You’ll find yourself resenting the phone calls and texts.  You’ll begin to wonder if you really were called into ministry as you become more and more exhausted from all the activities and questions and crises and problems and meetings—all that everything stuff.

         This letter is a little longer than most, but you need to understand just how important getting a day of rest is to your ministry.  Your enthusiasm will be re-energized.  Your clarity in thought will become focused again.  Your commitment to God’s work will be renewed.  Your emotions will come under control.  Your spirit will be built up by God’s spirit.  Your body will not feel as worn out.  Your whole self will be a better person for the people who follow your guidance as their shepherd.

         “Remember the Sabbath day.”  Rest.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor