Is This Discipling?

I saw a thought-provoking video today about discipleship and what it means for the church. 

I was curious who produced the video.  It was produced by Foursquare Church, which seems solid on several key doctrinal points, but believes all spiritual gifts are still active today (non-cessationist) and presumably would have no issue with female pastors (egalitarian).  Still, their work might be helpful, so let's consider what was said.

The video primarily criticized the emphasis of programs over people and questioned the value of the church gathered in one building vs. the church scattered to build relationships and evangelize.

True, American churches tend to have many programs, for kids and adults alike.  These programs can easily become the focus rather than the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).   True, it is sometimes easier to hang out in a Christian bubble than to get involved in the complicated and tiring process of meeting lost people and communicating the gospel by both words and actions.

But the Great Commission is not the sole command given to the church, nor is it the entirety of her purpose.  For example, Hebrews 10:24-25 has much to say about assembling together regularly for mutual encouragement.  Based on how this concept is used in the New Testament, it is probably, though not always, more substantial than a couple of believers gathering for coffee. 

My point is simply this: The church has several purposes, of which evangelism and discipleship/ministry are only two or three.  So let's not ignore the other purposes of the church, such as fellowship and worship, some aspects of which can only be fully practiced when the church is assembled.  Jesus said "Go" (make disciples), but he also said "Gather" (once disciples are made).  The church is not complete without both.


I had a few other concerns about the video, like whether soup kitchens and 'liberation' are to be the primary or even any of the activities of a local church, since that seems to confuse what I may/should do as a Christian individually with the church's main focus in how it relates to the world.  But that's a discussion for another time.

Neither 1984 Nor Brave New World, But Aspects of Both

Recently, officials in Massachusetts have been considering a plan to cache information gathered by police car license plate scanning technology.

If this plan or something similar is instituted, people may legitimately fear the strong parallels to the totalitarian society described in George Orwell's well-known book, 1984.  But, if such a plan succeeds, it will largely be due to the fact that most of us will be too busy pursuing other more interesting things, a la Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, to be bothered to stop it.

HT: Slashdot

The Role of a Pastor's Wife

Recently, I was considering the biblical role of a pastor's wife.  Because of long-established traditions, it is easy to have strong feelings derived primarily from observation and opinion, rather than biblical principle.

The main role of a pastor's wife is to be the wife of the pastor.  As a result, her focus is to be on the home (1 Timothy 5:14; Titus 2:4-5).  As she fulfills those responsibilities, she should also serve in her church, like any other believer, using the spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 18-20). 

The pastor's wife is not the pastor for the women.  She is not the de facto supervisor of day to day church activities.  When she tries to take on too many ministry roles, her husband's ministry will suffer, along with her children.  The pastor must be careful to guard his wife's time, as he is the best judge of her strengths and weaknesses.  The church must also be careful to benefit from her spiritual gifts, without exhausting them by unreasonable expectations.  In this way, the pastor will have the support at home which he desperately needs, and the church will follow the biblical pattern of being led by godly men.

For further help on this topic, see a helpful series of articles which can be referenced here. 

Like a Little Child

During the 4th of July weekend, our family was able to go camping up near Port Austin, MI for a few days.  About halfway through that trip, my one year old son, Braeden, was really tired.  Worn out from lack of naps and playing outside, I was rocking him in the hammock and he fell sound asleep.

I was struck by this, as I have been before in similar circumstances.  My son fell asleep, trusting me completely to hold him safely and take care of him while he rested.  In the Bible, God describes Himself as our Father, and tells us to cast our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7/Psalm 55:22).  Even as my son can fall asleep without fear and without worry when I hold him securely, so too we as Christians should rest in the power and goodness of God.  He is our good and loving Father.