Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

John Piper has written a challenge to all of those that care about the ministry of the church entitled, "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals."  You can order the book here.  I felt the need to share a few quotes from the opening chapter (which shares the title of the book):

"We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry.  The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet.  It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ."

"I think God has exhibited us preachers as last of all in the world.  We are fools for Christ's sake, but professionals are wise.  We are weak, but professionals are strong.  Professionals are held in honor; we are in disrepute.  We do not ry to secure a professional lifestyle, but we are ready to hunger and thirst and be ill-clad and homeless."

"The aims of our ministry are eternal and spiritual.  They are not shared by any of the professions.  It is precisely by failure to see this that we are dying."

"The world sets the agenda of the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man.  The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism."

Quoting E.M. Bounds, "The preacher... is not a professional man; his ministry is not a profession; it is a divine institution,  a divine devotion."

Dear God, please save our churches from professionalism.  Return a heart for raw, rugged pursuit of your Kingdom.  Help us to move past the business of running churches and get to the heart of being the church.  Plant your seed among us so that you might grow.  Forgive us when we are not about God glorification and sin mortification.  Save us from the professionalism of your Church!  In Christ's most holy, unprofessional name I pray, Amen.

Bible Studies and American Consumerism

What a mess we have made.  Under the pretense of Bible Studies we have perpetuated a system that Paul warned about in scripture.  We should not be surprised at the direction we have gone, as we all tend towards slavery.  But there is a serious problem plaguing many of our churches.  Formal Bible Studies.

I know, you're thinking "what could possibly be wrong with studying the Bible?"  Trust me, there is nothing I love more than a good discussion over the meaning of God's word and how it should be lived out in my life.  But we have moved away from truly seeking God and His word.  We now seek the opinions of professional teachers, looking for answers to all the questions that escape our grasp.

The question must be asked, "why do we do these formal Bible studies?"  Are they beneficial or just another form of American Church consumerism where I get my fix on knowledge from a pusher?  I'm afraid the tendency is for the students to find the best teacher to sit under.  This inevitably leads to impossible expectations for the teacher and disappointments for the students.  Does scripture have anything to say about a better way?  I believe Paul does.

Ephesians 4:11-16 tells exactly what the goal of teachers and leaders within the body should be.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Notice that the only usage of knowledge in this text refers to "knowledge of the Son of God."  This is not mere intellectual knowledge, it can't be based on the rest of this text.  It must have something to do with an existential knowledge of Jesus that produces maturity, unity, work, and love.  The goal of teaching in Christ is not that we might have all the right answers, but that we might know Jesus more as a result.

This has led me to examine our method for passing on doctrine and Christian living.  I believe we have relegated all of what Paul says to Timothy to the intellectual realm, (II Timothy 2:2-"and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.")  But Paul's instructions to Timothy in both letters deal with how doctrine is lived, not just its content.  In fact, teaching without the above mentioned goals will always reveal itself for what it is:

II Timothy 3:5-7-"having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." 

The church needs Jesus above all else and Jesus has sent one teacher, namely His Spirit.  He has gifted some to be teachers, but these individuals should be leading the heads, hearts, and hands of people into total service of Jesus.

Teachers, if we are engaging people's heads only, then we are producing a consumeristic people hungry for knowledge, not necessarily a knowledge of the Lord.  To all of us, if we are more hungry for a class than to study the word on our own, then we are consumeristic addicts.  If we are full of knowledge but unable to do anything about it, then James says we are actually deceived.  If we continually hear the word of God but never repent, then John says we are liars.  God forgive us of our wanderings and may we feast on You and You alone.

Godly Exiles Seek The Welfare of the City

There is an idea in many of our American churches that goes something like this, "this world is difficult and I can't wait to go and be with Jesus."  Maybe you've felt that way before.  Maybe you feel like that today.  I'm tired of all the mess going on around me in this life, all the drama, all the problem.  I'm tired of hearing about the fighting over there, the government over here, and everything that is on the news.

But as God's people in this world, we need to have a better grasp on what we are doing here.  Paul did say in Philippians 1:21-22, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell."

On one hand Paul wanted to go and be with Jesus (especially being in prison, being older, and having been through multiple hardships.)  But there was fruitful labor still to accomplish and he knew that this labor would bring about joy, "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith," (Philippians 1:25).  So what possesses a man to talk like this?  Because Paul understood that we are exiles in this world seeking to bring about Godly joy to as many as possible for God's glory.

When the Israelite people were in exile in Babylon, which was a horrific time in their lives, Jeremiah the prophet wrote them a letter from God.  This is what God had to say to the exiles in Jeremiah 29:4-7:

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

What God wanted His people who were in exile to know is this, "yes, you are there in a distant land that isn't home.  But I want you to live in that city in such a way as to shine my light there.  If you seek the benefit of the city where you live, you will become a light for me.  So remember that you have another home that I will bring you to one day, but for now live like that city is your home."  We could look at this passage and hope that the Jewish believers did what God said.  Or we could listen carefully and see that God is talking to us.

In the New Testament, Peter addresses his first letter to "those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."  Now why does He call them exiles?  Isn't that a designation for people who had been captured or were in slavery?

But here is the truth.  We belong to a heavenly kingdom, especially because our King Jesus has said "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."  Jesus' kingdom is not of this world and yet those who serve Him as King do so IN this world.  What do you call members of one kingdom who are "stuck" in another kingdom?  Exiles.

So what are Peter's instructions to the exiles of Jesus' kingdom who find themselves living in a "foreign" land?  Here are just a few of the instructions:

• I Peter 2:1, "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander."
  
  
• I Peter 2:11-12, "Beloved, I urge you as SOJOURNERS and EXILES to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."
  
  
• I Peter 2:15-16, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."
  
  
• I Peter 3:8-9, "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing."
  
  
• I Peter 4:8, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."
  
  
  
  
• I Peter 4:19, "Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."
  
  

Look at the focus on blessing others, doing good to our oppressors, and living as people who are free.  The church as an exiled people should seek the welfare of the cities we live in, because this is for our welfare and joy.  So my fellow exiles... what are you doing to seek the welfare of the city you live in?