Clurch?

definition: A Church stresses the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, personal conversion experiences, Scripture as the sole basis for faith, and active evangelism.

definition: A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity.

I found myself asking this question recently. What is the real difference between a well run club, and an evangelical church? In a sense there is little difference. Each have a group of people who are interested in being together, united in a common subject or belief. Members, for the most part, will get along nicely with each other and will even meet up outwith the confines of the weekly gathering.

But note the BIG difference that the church has, and no other club can have and that’s the importance of preaching, teaching, telling the way of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Some clubs are indeed good organisations, eg slimming clubs, keep fit clubs, camera clubs, lunch clubs, drama clubs, book clubs, and even glee clubs. However there is no way that a club will try to become a church. It wouldn’t fit or work, and clubs know this, because they’re savvy.

Why then, should a church want to become, or act like a club? I know some of the arguments for being inclusive in the community, and that we (the church) must try to be more relevant to get interest aroused, and increase attendance. Yes, numbers. I suppose that’s what it is mostly about. Which begs the question: What do you think is the church’s purpose? It’s a very good question, and one that brings different answers. The following verses are true at a personal, as well as a corporate church level.

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out. Luke14:34,35NIV

Doomsday

The problems of climate change, its causes and effects as understood by scientists has been accepted by the majority of citizens across the world, with the exception of a few very vocal and politically prominent dissenters. If we do nothing, and go on living and behaving as we have been these recent decades, the outlook is dire. It’s dire for the planet we live on, and the populations both rich and poor who inhabit it. Some have called it the ‘Doomsday Scenario’.

There are groups of campaigners and scientists leading the charge against fossil fuels, plastics, greenhouse gasses, air and sea pollution, melting icecaps, CO2 emissions, etc etc.. These are not cranks, but good people who want to do something to halt or reverse the current trends which take us down the slippery slope to doomsday. The people at the vanguard of these groups of campaigners are passionate about their cause, and rightly so.

I will be having knee surgery soon. Imagine my horror when I am wheeled into the theatre, ready for the anaesthesia when I recognise the man holding the scalpel as my friend the supermarket customer services manager. Don’t worry about this David, I am passionate about surgery and have read up on the intricacies of this operation, so you are safe and in good hands. Google is an amazing source of information he assures me before I drop off to sleep. Would I be happy? You bet your life I’m not happy. He is a really nice guy, but he is not qualified or trained for medical surgery. His training is in customer satisfaction.

The point is this. There are many well qualified scientists leading the fight against climate change. If anyone wants to trust them and follow, that’s great, but please don’t lead anyone to believe your passion makes you qualified to speak with authority on any subject other than the area of expertise you hold that certificate or qualification you studied hard for. Otherwise you dilute the significance and importance of your real area of knowledge and wisdom. Instead of shouting from the touchline, or behaving like a armchair critic, please stick to your own subject. In the case of Paul’s advice to Timothy, if you are a minister of the Gospel, then ‘Preach the Word...with careful instruction’. That’s your strength, no other! Each to their own!

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2Timothy4:2NIV

One Size Fits All

….for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:27-29 NIV

This covers race, prisoners, and gender, and note there are only two genders mentioned, so I take it there is no third or fourth gender or anything between. The good news is that when you become part of God’s family (clothed with Christ) you are right where you need to be.

These verses are an encouragement to those who work with race hatred, and in the prison ministries, but we still have some way to go before we all recognise and honour the place of our women in the church. We are told that all these groups of people are ‘heirs according to the promise’ but there are some churches and people who prefer to use other Scriptures against this one to make another point.

In secular terms if we are mentioned in a ‘Last Will and Testament’, we have full rights as an heir whether male or female. To suggest that women heirs can only get the crumbs of their inheritance after the menfolk get theirs, goes against the laws of God and country. As we are told in Luke 11:12 by Jesus: If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’ That’s anyone and everyone who asks, including the women. Who are we to limit God in what men and women can do? Oh, I am well aware of the verse that’s used to curtail the role women can play in the church as expressed in 1 Corinthians 14:34: Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. Also Ephesians 5:22 says: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord, but context is everything.

Paul passed on his experiences to young Timothy of the difficulties he encountered in the young church at Corinth. He found many practices there which he felt needed some leadership, and Paul stepped up to the mark and pulled no punches in correcting the sinful and wrong practices. One of the disruptive things going on was some women who would talk over the teachers, or speak loudly among themselves thus disturbing the Spirit in the meetings. He writes in 1st Timothy 2:12 (Phillips) “Personally, I don’t allow women to teach, nor do I ever put them into positions of authority over men—I believe their role is to be receptive. My reasons are that man was created before woman. Further, it was Eve and not Adam who was first deceived and fell into sin.” In other translations it says “I do not permit”, and that is something we cannot ignore or ride roughshod over. Paul, very rightly in the circumstances, expressed his opinion to the young preacher, and it seemed to work in Corinth. He makes it clear that it is Paul who is speaking, and not a command from God. So why do some make it such a directive where it is not an issue?

As we know, where there is no context, there can be no text. When a man or a woman, boy or a girl, comes to Christ in prayer in any church that proclaims the salvation of a living God, will that loving God treat the man and boy any differently from the woman and girl? While you think about that, ask yourself why Paul wrote these words of caution to the churches he chose? Not every church. Let’s be careful how we treat God’s Word because there is a warning we need to heed in Revelation 22:18 addressed to the churches (which are types of our churches today) which says: “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.”

Nearly

Having been around churches of various denominations throughout my life, I can usually recognise the differences, and even appreciate the things that separate us in theology and practice. I’m not going to argue that we have more in common, than that which separates us, but make another observation which has been growing in my mind over the recent past.

The one thing we all share, is the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ. Or it should be a
common thread running through all evangelicals to some degree.

It concerns me that we are becoming ever better at talking about what the gospel is,
than we are at preaching it. We have become clever and intelligent as we learn more
about Bible times, and how the early disciples changed the world. Armed with this great
knowledge, why do we not preach the gospel instead of talking about it? I see a real
and fundamental difference, and in this case ‘nearly’ is not good enough for all and
any of the mainstream church denomination family.

I well remember the induction service of a new pastor, and an old saintly pastor,
close to retirement after many good years in the pulpit say to the new minister, “The
pulpit is not here to have a conversation with your congregation, it is here to preach
the Gospel”. The words were spoken many years ago, are true today, and nearly
is still not good enough.