Ministry Within the Home

Hello to all my PBC Voice friends and family. Ready for another week of sharing? Let's get started!

Over the past few weeks, I have been reading Wolfgang Simson's book entitled "Houses that Change the World." You can check some of the most recent blogs to find out how this book has impacted me already. Here is Simson's "Fifteen Theses Towards a Re-Incarnation of Church":

1) "Christianity is a way of life, not a series of religious meetings."
2) "Time to change the 'cathegogue system.'"
3) "The third Reformation"
4) "From church houses to house churches."
5) "The church has to become small in order to grow large."
6) "No church is led by a pastor alone."
7) "The right pieces - fitted together in the wrong way."
8) "Out of the hands of bureaucratic clergy and on towards the priesthood of all believers."
9) "Return from organized to organic forms of Christianity."
10) "From worshiping our worship to worshiping God."
11) "Stop bringing people to church, and start bringing the church to the people."
12) "Rediscovering the Lord's Supper as a real supper with real food."
13) "From denominations to city-wide celebrations."
14) "Developing a persecution-proof spirit."
15) "The church comes home."

The reason for Wolfgang's theses is to provide vision, purpose, and clear direction to what he believes is a return to an Acts type of Christianity. In other words...a New Testament church. Thus far the book has been an incredible and interesting read. Much of what he shares is challenging to the current structure of the church. However, he doesn't in any way "condemn" although he may sound critical.

Why am I sharing this today? Well...in all honesty, I came across a quote that stirred me up again. This quote came from James Richards in a book entitled "Supernatural Ministry." Here's what Dr. Richards said: "When your home becomes a refuge of ministry, it affects your entire family. Your children and mate become involved in ministry. It is no longer something you do that takes you away from your family; it becomes something you do that involves your family. They get to see the results of personal ministry." How timely that this particular quote came across my reading path. As I have been thinking about having an expression of the body of Christ in my own house, I hear of the benefits that one man saw in the life of his wife and children. His children were growing up seeing people get saved, healed and delivered in their dining room! The prayed with mom and dad as they were praying for individuals. Ministry became a way of life.

This is important! In our current system we see families separated. Children go to their "place" for ministry. Parents go to theirs. We have artificially separated the family. In essence, church has become a place for me to "get mine" and for them to "get theirs." As a pastor, I understand the need to minister to particular age and affinity groups; but if we are not careful there may come a time when we will not be able to minister to both groups at the same time. Church in the home will break through the age barrier. I'm not saying that we have to stop having Sunday morning celebrations, etc. However, I want you to consider who you could reach in your own community while affecting the way of life for your family.

One other aspect of "doing church" at a smaller level is the type of true and genuine community that will come out of these local fellowships. Who knows? We might even be able to intervene in some troubled marriages long before critical stages since they will be sharing with a smaller group and thus feel comfortable enough to be real. Trust me when I say that there are a lot of churches that are looking for methods to reach out in tangible ways. Most pastors have come to understand that the larger the congregation - the harder it is to really minister to the whole. That is why you hear of small groups, Sunday School fellowships, etc. When we choose to go smaller, we will actually grow larger. Smaller groups multiply quickly. True community comes out of the smaller fellowships. Rather than building bigger to house this large group maybe we should consider taking smaller groups to a suitable house.

Here's my challenge to you: Think about it!

Think about the affects (long term) on the health and condition of church life. Think about communities being affected by the presence of the Body of Christ where they live. Think about the strength of your own family as you meet with other believers (many of whom have children) - growing together, praying together, worshiping together, and fellowshipping together. Things would be different wouldn't they?

Thermometer or Thermostat?

"Are you a thermostat, or a thermometer? Do you merely reflect the environment, or do you change it?" ~ Unknown

Although I'm not sure of the original source of this quote, it's worth using. I know that many great men and women down through the ages have used it to illustrate some of the choices that we have in life.

Before we go any further, let's consider these two items. A thermometer is used to measure the temperature while a thermostat is used to regulate it. A thermometer reflects what is happening around it while a thermostat moves the temperature one way or another. One follows - One leads.

Too often in life we choose to just reflect our environment rather than change it. The path of least resistance is always to go along. I don't have to exert any energy, adjust my life in any way, I simply exist. That's all a thermometer does. But if I choose to live a thermostat life then I'm going to have to work, make adjustments, and do all that I can do to affect what I can affect.

When you and I read the book of Acts we find that the followers of Christ were thermostats (at least after the "Upper Room" experience). Once the Holy Spirit came upon the believers in power they began to change their environment. Immediately they began to preach the Gospel and people were being saved. Immediately they went from hiding out to standing out in the streets.

Believer, don't think that God has called you to merely exist. You should not conform to this world (thermometer life). NO...instead God has called us to make a difference in the lives around us. It may mean standing up for what we believe in, sharing Jesus with a friend or stranger, giving of our time or finances to make a difference; whatever it is, a thermostat life is one that changes the environment.

This is not only true in regards to spiritual matters. This is true in every day life! Here's some thoughts to consider:
Am I going to reflect what is going on in my marriage or change it?
Am I going to simply go along with all that my child wants or am I going to make a difference in their life?
Am I going just going to be a reflection of what happens in the church or am I going to be involved?

Whatever the circumstance...whatever the cost...I want to be an agent of change in the Kingdom of God. What about you? If you are a believer then your family is just as much a part of the Kingdom of God as your church. Your marriage is all about the Kingdom of God. Your children are the Kingdom of God in your home. When we become followers of Christ then everything we involve ourselves in are an opportunity to affect what God wants done in the world.

Once again, we have a choice. Much like the other blogs of this week - we need to make a decision. Am I going to build my life upon the foundation of God's Word or the shifting sands of man's wisdom? Am I going to be constructive or destructive in the things that I do? Am I going to reflect my environment or am I going to change it? God is leading us to a place of decision. I truly believe there is a line being drawn in the church and in the lives of the followers of Christ. Who will we be? What will we do?

I choose Jesus!

Construction or Destruction: The Choice

Yesterday's blog dealt with building our lives upon a solid foundation. In particular, building our lives upon the words and teachings of Jesus Christ. This is the one time-tested model for building a life that will survive the storms of life.

My work as a pastor allows me to minister in various ways. I preach, teach, evangelize, help comfort, equip the believers, and counsel those in need. The toughest job of any pastor is that of counseling. Why do I say that? Because it's hard to teach people the concept of personal responsibility. I would like to say that this is a new concept. However, if we go all the way back to Genesis (beginnings) we will find Adam & Eve placing the blame on someone else.

When we survey the problems within families, marriages, personal lives, and other relationships - we will quickly find that the majority of problems are there through our own choices/decisions. Sure...there are some problems that have been caused by someone or something else. There may have been a traumatic experience in my life that has caused me to live in fear, shut people down, or live in distrust. There are times that I become a product of what I have been through. But that isn't the reason for all the problems we face. Most of the problems in marriage are there because we have failed to live lives of mutual submission. Instead of the husband "loving his wife as Christ loved the church" and the wife "submitting unto her husband as unto the Lord", I have found that couples have been quick to establish their own identities and routines in marriage. Many of the problems in the home can be resolved if children would "honor their father and mother" and if dads would stop "provoking their children to anger." And these are just some of the issues.

Please read the lyrics from "The Problem" by Downhere. The speak so clearly as to what I want to say to you today.

"There's got to be some reason for all this misery
A secret evil corporation somewhere overseas
They're pulling strings, arranging things
It's a conspiracy

"Or what about the ones who shape the course of history
What if we petitioned for one grand apology?
I'll write to my prime minister
You, write your president

Chorus:
"Everybody's wondering how the world could get this way
If God is good, and how it could be filled with so much pain
It's not the age-old mystery we made it out to be
Yeah, there's a problem with the world
And the problem with the world is me

"Some will say the devil and his legions
They put us in a headlock of submission
But they lost all power over me
A long, long time ago

"And since I was a kid you know I've caused a lot of hurt
And no one ever taught me how to put myself first
It came so very naturally
But I'm not a prodigy

Chorus

Bridge:
"So I will look no further than a mirror
That's where the offender hides
So great is my need for a redeemer
That I cannot trust myself
No, I cannot trust my self
I dare not trust myself
So I trust in someone else

Chorus

"The sooner you can sing along
The sooner you can sing this song
The happier we'll be
The problem with the world is me."

One of my favorite lines is: "No one ever taught me how to put myself first..." How TRUE!

When I read the word of God, the greatest exhortation to the followers of Jesus Christ is to "love one another." Therefore, the church should learn to live in love. Families should learn to live in love. Husbands and wives need to learn to live in love. And when you and I walk in love, we don't have a problem blaming ourselves for our problems. We're not as quick to point to the other individual and say "It's their fault!"

Folks, if I go through the drive-thru at McDonald's and spill a cup of coffee on my lap - it's not their fault. I shouldn't be surprised when the hot coffee burns my flesh because that is what happens when hot coffee hits my legs. In the same way, if I fail to build my life on the principles of God's Word then I can't stand with my fist in the air blaming God for the results. I cannot question God over my marriage when I haven't put anything into my relationship with my wife. We need to be willing to say that we are the problem.

Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Even in salvation we must recognize that we have been the problem - it's our sin that has driven a wedge between us and God - and be willing to confess our sin so that we may be forgiven. Once we begin to "own" our problems then we can work on fixing them.

I hope that this thought process will help each of us to be willing to examine our own lives. I'm not trying to be critical for the sake of criticism. I want this topic to be constructive in your life. Use it to build upon and I believe that God will bless you. The choice is clear: Construction or Destruction.

A House on the Rock

"Whoever hears these saying of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." (Matthew 7:24-27)

Today's blog comes from "A Life God Rewards" by Bruce Wilkinson.

"Not far from where I used to live in Oregon is an island that hides a secret - a town that fell into the sea.

"The island is all that remains of a peninsula that looked like prime real estate in the early part of the 20th Century. Developers laid out the streets for a town and named it Bayocean. Families built homes. A three-story hotel went up on the top of a bluff 140 feet above the ocean. Picnickers from Portland crowded the beaches.

"But the town was built on sand, and winter storms started taking their toll. One house at a time, Bayocean tumbled into he waves. By 1952, the town - including the hotel, the bluff, and most of the peninsula - had washed away.

"Stories like this one leave us with a hollow feeling, don't they? All that effort for nothing. All those hopes vanishing without a trace.

"...How do you build a "house" that will survive? Jesus put it in very direct terms. The person whose house rests on rock is "whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them."

...Amazing isn't it? God's blueprint for a life that endures is simple enough for anyone to understand: Listen to the truth and do it.

"Today, I invite you to do a building inspection of your life. Ask yourself, What did Jesus tell His followers to do? What comes to mind?

"I'll get you started:
Give...
Forgive...
Resist temptation...
Turn the other cheek...
Deny yourself...
Love God and love your neighbor as yourself...
Go and preach the gospel...

"...How wonderful that you and I don't have to guess what it will take to please God with the building of your life! Today we have the teachings of Jesus, and of the whole Bible, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And today we have many more opportunities to obey - and impact eternity.

"Within sight of the deserted sand of Bayocean stands a small lighthouse. It's been there through fog, sleet, wind, and darkness for a hundred years, shining a beacon out to sea. Why has the lighthouse endured when the town didn't? Because the lighthouse was build two hundred feet above the waves...and its foundation rests on solid rock."

*Day 12 of the devotional. (pp. 35-67)*

Vicarious Intercession by Oswald Chambers

"...having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus..." (Hebrews 10:19)

"Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have 'boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.'

"Spiritual stubbornness is the most effective hindrance to intercession, because it is based on a sympathetic 'understanding' of things we see in ourselves and others that we think needs no atonement. We have the idea that there are certain good and virtuous things in each of us that do not need to be based on the atonement by the Cross of Christ. Just the sluggishness and lack of interest produced by this kind of thinking makes us unable to intercede. We do not identify ourselves with God's interests and concerns for others, and we get irritated with Him. Yet we are always ready with our own ideas, and our intercession becomes the only glorification of our own natural sympathies. We have to realize that the identification of Jesus with sin means a radical change of all our sympathies and interests. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God's interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.

"Am I stubborn or substituted? Am I spoiled or complete in my relationship to God? Am I irritable or spiritual? Am I determined to have my own way or determined to be identified with Him?"

(My Utmost for His Highest - Updated Edition - Oswald Chambers - May 4)