Who’s giving what to whom?

Courtesy of Justin Taylor

Small towns and small churches are good for the kingdom.

I’ve often said that church planting is sexy, is popular, but not just church planting in general. The particular type of church planting that is most trendy seems to be starting new churches in big cities and in the heart of those particular cities; very urban settings.  While there is more than enough support for the call to start churches in urban areas that will, Lord willing, grow into very large churches which shape the culture of the city that will permeate to outlying areas, the outlying, more rural areas often go untouched.

Having planted a church in a small city, definitely a more rural context, small towns/cities are particularly dear to my heart and vision for church planting.  Because of that, I was surprised and encouraged to read two post this week which I would like to pass along.  The first post is by Tim Keller.  It’s advice to young seminarians on where to learn the most, grow, and get the most experience as they enter into ministry.  The second post is by Tim Chester and is simply a story by Neil Cole, author of Organic Church, on why Satan fears small churches more than mega churches.

I don’t tend to imply here that churches in small towns are healthier or more desirable than small churches in more urban context or that small churches are more correct somehow than large churches.  I only want to highlight some benefits to both small churches and churches in small towns that often go unnoticed.

Cheers!

Good stuff from the ESV Literary Study Bible

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 ESV

1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity. 7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools. 10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it. 13 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

ESV Literary Study Bible:

This unit is not starkly negative, and in fact the case can be made that it has a positive undertow. The passage begins (vv. 1-8) with eight comparative proverbs asserting that a feature of life that we would ordinarily think to be negative is “better” than its counterpart. Verse 3 can perhaps be taken as a summary: “Sorrow is better than laughter.” The author is protesting against any frivolous affirmation of life, and this opens the way toward seeing the passage as less negative than it would otherwise appear, since it leaves open the possibility of a more realistic affirmation of life. This positive tinge becomes even more evident in the follow-up passage (vv. 9-14), where the author tells us how to assimilate the truths that he has just uttered. Even though life is inherently tragic, we should not rage against that fact (v. 9) nor indulge in a fit of nostalgia (v. 10), but rather allow wisdom to protect us (vv. 11-12) with a balanced view of life (vv. 13-14).

Man, that’s good.

Community for the sake of what?

Many churches nowadays are emphasizing the need for Christians to be in community with each others; to walk in community and to experience community. Why is “community” such a big deal and where is it in the Bible.   Well, it’s a big deal because it appears that it’s all over the Bible (and the New Testament commands in particular).   Jesus said,

John 13:34

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (ESV)

Well, how can we love people if we’re not spending time around them.  Paul said,

Romans 12:10

10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (ESV)

How do I show brotherly affection and honor without being with people?  Paul also said,

Romans 12:15

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (ESV)

How can I celebrate the joyous events of people’s lives and their dark and hurtful experiences if I’m not deeply involved in their lives?  This is what the New Testament “community” looks like.  One of the best examples of this is a snapshot from Acts 2:

Acts 2:42-47

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (ESV)

While there are obvious benefits to living in community like this, if we’re not careful to ask why we’re doing it, it can morph into a really inwardly focused deal, a holy huddle, and miss the point altogether.

Jeff Vanderstelt, an Acts 29 Network member, said people try to make their churches “Acts 2 [vs. 42-47] churches, but they don’t have an Acts 1 [vs. 8] mission.” The purpose of community is mission!  Just think about that verse from John 13:34 where Jesus talks about loving each other.  One verse later he says,

John 13:35

35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (ESV)

Because Jesus loved us, we love one another.  As we love one another, the world sees it.  There’s a goal, a mission:  be a light to the world, show the world, tell the world!

Matthew 28:19-20

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

So the question we need to ask ourselves about the small groups at our churches (if you’re part of one) is, “What’s the purpose of our group?” If it’s not a shared mission -Our group exists to grow as disciples and make disciples in this place and our lives are being arranged around that mission- then perhaps it’s falling far short of what it should be.

A Powerful Reminder from Proverbs 11

Proverbs 11:24-25

24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

and one who waters will himself be watered. (ESV)

What an insane thought! This defies everything we inherently believe in the flesh. Our line of thought is, “If I give it away, then I’ll have less. That’s less for me and what I want.” God’s plan, however, is “If you hoard it, you’ll lose it.” It’s the one who gives freely that is blessed by the Lord, so he can continue to be a blessing.

While we should never give as a means to get what we want or to get more stuff, God’s Word promises His blessing to those with a giver’s heart so they can continue to grow as givers and honor Him as faithful managers of what already belongs to Him.

A stewardship of our loved ones

Last night my wife and I had a date night and went to see a movie.  I generally prefer action flicks, my wife generally prefers chick flicks, but we usually settle for a comedy.  In the absence of a good comedy, and to demonstrate to my wife that I care about her and her enjoyment, we chose what would classify as a chick flick.  The movie was called Love Happens (click here to watch the trailer) and starred Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart.  Without giving away too much of the movie, Aaron Eckhart’s character is basically a self-help guru who helps people overcome the grief of losing a loved one to get on with living life.  Supposedly, his character is an expert at this because his wife died in a car accident which led him to becoming an author, speaker, etc…  It’s a pretty decent movie that I’d probably recommend.

Now, I don’t think a lot about death.  I’d probably be pretty morbid if I did.  But I particularly choose not to think about the death of my wife or sons (or being separated from them).  However, movies like the one I watched last night force me to consider losing one of my family members and to admit to myself that someday they, like the rest of us, will indeed die.  And as I was watching the movie and thinking about it, I gotta be honest,  I started to cry.

This morning I was  getting ready for work and the movie last night was a distant memory.  While in the shower I began to thank God for everything he’d blessed me with and just to acknowledge that everything I had belonged to him; he’s the real owner and I’m just a steward (manager).  Then it clicked:

if everything I have belongs to God, if everything I enjoy is actually God’s and he simply allows me to enjoy it for a season; if everything that exists, including myself, belongs to God, then my family members belong to God as well.  My family members, my wife and my sons, are not mine, they’re God’s.  I’m simply enjoying them for a season and have the responsibility to be a good steward, a good manager of them, during that time.

I don’t fear the loss of other things in my life that God’s made me a steward of, or at least I shouldn’t, because they’re not mine.  God gave it, God can take it away, and it never really belonged to me to begin with.  So why do I hold on to my wife and sons in such a way that I fear God taking them from me?  Perhaps it’s because I’ve become confused about who’s the owner and who’s the steward?

Upon the death of her husband, one of the greatest theologians in American history, Sarah Edwards wrote the following to her daugher:

O my very Dear Child, What shall I say. A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may all kiss the rod and lay our hands on our mouths. The Lord has done it. He has made me adore his goodness that we had him so long. But my God lives and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband and your father has left us. We are all given to God and there I am and love to be.

(In Burr, Journal, 301. as quoted by Moore in Good Christians, Good Husbands?, p.126)

May we love our loved ones, truly enjoying them, and not taking them for granted.  Let us thank God for them!  But may we never hold them so tightly as to think that they are ours, that they belong to us, and therefore blame God when he takes them.  May we echo the words from the Bible in Job 1:21,

“…The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”