Preaching from envy and strife or goodwill and love
In last week's post, I explained the two kinds of pastors Paul mentioned in his letter to the Philippians. The first kind proclaimed Christ from goodwill, out of love, and in support of Paul. The second kind of preaching was from envy and strife and out of selfish ambition, trying to cause Paul to hurt in his imprisonment. Paul rejoiced in either case because the Gospel was proclaimed; however, he would have rejected and not rejoiced over false prophets.
Furthermore, I said we would return and think more about the believer who understands the truth to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil or pretends to live godly. It is one thing to rejoice at the preaching of the Gospel that God can use to save souls and another when it is done out of envy and strife. A pastor can say many correct things about the Gospel and, at the same time, cripple church growth when it comes from envy, strife, and selfish ambition.
Teaching the basics well but losing because of a technical foul
I attended a church where preaching was reformed (Correct according to those who broke ties with Roman Catholicism), biblical, and applicable. During one sermon, the pastor said, "We do not dialogue with people; we proclaim the truth." This method he explained in the context of teaching in the Church. It was that way in a sermon or teaching in class. Questions were allowed at the end but no conversational interactions. Here's the problem! In Acts 20:7, we read, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them..." The word for "talk" in Greek "dialégomai means "getting a conclusion across," and it occurs 13 times in the NT, usually of believers exercising "dialectical reasoning." This is the process of giving and receiving information with someone to reach a deeper understanding – a "going back-and-forth" of thoughts and ideas so people can better know the Lord (His word and will). Doing this is perhaps the most telling characteristic of the growing Christian!"
It can never be healthy to deviate from the prescribed way to obediently worship God in Church as outlined in the New Testament. What the leaders do at this Church exemplifies getting the Gospel correct but not taking all the scripture seriously. This kind of error could be a misunderstanding of scripture, but in error or intentionally, it will have the same effect - corruption. However, more than likely, the root of abusing authority is selfish ambition resulting in pretentious preaching. Fellowship around the word of God among members is crucial for spiritual growth.
Train good leaders or carry the load yourself.
I hear some saying, "The only way to ensure sound doctrine in the churches is to avoid the blind leading the blind; therefore, a sound teacher should always be present. I agree. Here's the problem! The process of moving church members from unlearned and immature to qualified and humble is either nonexistent or insufficient. They either attend the seminary of a particular denomination where they are taught the Bible and where denominational lies are caught.
The early Church did not have seminaries, and yes, there are far more sects conceived in lies today, but how to train leaders must still be done by thee book, nothing added and nothing taken away. How were early disciples trained for ministry?
The responsibility of leadership falls to many, not few.
We begin with the letter to Ephesians 4:11-13, "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith." They were taught in the church, where there were no illusions of grandeur, seminary degrees not optional, a passion for Christ to the death, and a forsaking of the world's ways.
Why Ephesians 4? The word some is not there; it's "the" as in a definite article. What difference does it make" "The" does not give the illusion of a few? There is no number or percentage attached to these ministries or gifts. Only the Apostle has the number twelve represented by 12 foundational cornerstones of the New Jerusalem in Revelation. Jesus trained eleven close up and personnel. It was not textbooks, lesson plans, and twenty-dollar words. It was real life lessons under the most stressful conditions.
We can be sure the Apostles followed their Lord's example and set small family groups of house churches in motion where they placed responsibility on many. The Book of Acts and the epistles are filled with references to such Churches.
Comentarios