Small Groups???

Small groups are one of the biggest church fads of the past ten years. Here are 5 Potential problems with church small groups:

1. They become a gossip group.

2. They become a one-man show.

3. They become a place to complain about the church.

4. They become a place for crazy people to take over.

5. They become an end in themselves.

I stole this list from a recent post at TheResurgence; however, I definitely concur. I think most small groups struggle with one or most of these sins. I have always wondered why the craziest people in a room are the most vocal, why the most sain are quietest, and why I always talk so much.

Personally, I think #5 is the greatest sin when it comes to small groups.

Also, this list got me thinking about problems I have seen in small groups and church community in general. Nonetheless, I think the biggest problem is that while thinking, the phrase church community even entered (or exited) my brain. Church community is redundant; the church is by its establishment and nature a community. Without community, you do not have a local church. And I don’t mean “community” as North American culture defines community; rather, I am referring to the definition of community that is assumed throughout the New Testament.

I think we could all use a little more time reading and rereading the book of Acts. How would Luke have defined community? Or church? Furthermore, are small groups primarily an attempt to recreate one of the defining characteristics of “church” that we have spent decades removing? I’m currently searching for answers to all of these questions

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Book Review - TOTAL CHURCH

TOTAL CHURCH by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

I began reading this book having already heard Steve Timmis speak (via podcast) and already having an idea of what the authors were proposing. However, I had no idea that within a week I would be recommending this book to everyone I know. I may not agree with every single claim or proposition, but the thesis of this book is so strong and needed, that even if I disagreed with many of the particulars, I would still recommend this book. However, since I concur with the vast majority of the details, I truly cannot help but herald the need for this book in our local churches. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK, THEN STOP READING MY REVIEW AND GO READ THIS BOOK.

The thesis can be found on the cover of the book as the subtitle: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community. They propose that "church" should be focused on the Gospel and should be done in the context of community. As they state:

This book argues that two key principles should shape the way we "do church": gospel and community. Christians are called to a dual fidelity: fidelity to the core content of the gospel and fidelity to the primary context of a believing community. Whether we are thinking about evangelism, social involvement, pastoral care, apologetics, discipleship, or teaching, the content is consistently the Christian gospel, and the context is consistently the Christian community. What we do is always defined by the gospel, and the context is always our belonging in the church. Our identity as Christians is defined by the gospel and community.

This idea seems commonsensical as you read the New Testament, but the Western Church has lost this shape and reshaped itself primarily around the mold of programs, meetings, and buildings. The wake up call of these authors needs to be heeded by the American church.

Another theme that runs throughout this book is missional living in our communities. They challenge all Christians to live as missionaries in their communities, because God has sovereignly placed each one of us in our exact location. This missional living means doing the same cultural exegesis, lifestyle sacrifice, and community invasion that a foreign missionary undertakes. Many stories from members of their church are included to support their claims and lend credibility to this model (although, they would hate that I just called it a model). These stories not only prove that this way of "doing church" is more than simply an idealistic model, but also put flesh on the principles espoused throughout the book.

I could find a few minor details that I disagree with or find concerning, but those instances were few, far between, and ultimately overshadowed the grand message of this book.  Timmis and Chester are calling the church to reconsider the definition and purpose of the church, and they have done much of the work for us. I cannot think of a church leader, pastor, or member who would not benefit from reading this book. Every pastor should be promoting this book to his flock. If I were a pastor, I would make this book mandatory reading for the leaders of the church.

The primary complaint I have heard concerning this book, is that their model is idealistic and "won't work in my situation or church." The people that make this comment probably also find the Bible too idealistic and, in their minds, Scripture probably won't work in their situation. This pervading mindset explains why the American church has strayed so far from the New Testament picture of the organized church. It seems that most pastors believe that being biblical won't work, but being entertaining, materialistic, and timid will work. This explains what we see whenever we walk through the doors of most church buildings. The disturbing part is that no one has told these pastors and leaders that what they are doing in the name of pragmatism isn't actually working. They aren't building the church, they are building buildings and community programs. They aren't even what the Bible defines as pastors/elders, they are country club directors. I am begging everyone to read this book and compare it with the New Testament picture of the church. Don't trust these two men anymore than you trust your local megachurch pastor; trust Scripture.

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Missional Living: Ask Yourself These Questions

As I am reading “Total Church” (which I can already recommend to everyone), Steve Timmis and Tim Chester encourage people to imagine that they are a part of a church planting team in a cross-cultural situation in some other part of the world and answer the following questions:

What criteria would you use to decide where to live?

How would you approach secular employment?

What standard of living would you expect as pioneer missionaries?

What would you spend your time doing?

What opportunities to share the gospel would you be looking for?

What would your prayers be like?

What would you be trying to do with your new friends?

What kind of team would you want around you?

How would you conduct your meetings together?

They make the point that most Christians expect missionaries in a foreign country to ask these questions, but we seldom, if ever, ask these questions of ourselves, in our own context. We are all on the same mission for God. Just because some of us do not need a passport, doesn't change our mission. We need to ask ourselves these question regardless of our location or vocation. This whole mindset that causes us to think radically about overseas missionary activity while remaining complacent in our own city and neighborhood is not biblical.

Missional living is not just something missionaries engage in or something for us to do once a month; missional living should be our lifestyle. Ask yourself these questions, and then in another month, ask them again. We need to start asking these questions and never stop.

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What is Total Church?

I have begun reading Total Church and will hopefully have a review of this book by the end of the week. This book has been highly recommended by many pastors and leaders, including Mark Driscoll and the other guys at Resurgence and Acts 29. However, since this book has such a vague title that could easily be confused with one of the other  ______ Church  books that have been published over the past few years, I am posting a quote from the Introduction to inform potential readers of the premise and purpose of this book:

This book argues that two key principles should shape the way we "do church": gospel and community. Christians are called to a dual fidelity: fidelity to the core content of the gospel and fidelity to the primary context of a believing community. Whether we are thinking about evangelism, social involvement, pastoral care, apologetics, discipleship, or teaching, the content is consistently the Christian gospel, and the context is consistently the Christian community. What we do is always defined by the gospel, and the context is always our belonging in the church. Our identity as Christians is defined by the gospel and community.

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Galatians 5:1-15 - Two Admonitions Regarding Faith

Remedy Church - 05/10/09

Crucified Christ: week 14

Sermon Notes:

INTRO

- Remember, the freedom Paul is speaking of in this section is indeed a freedom from guild and sin; however, it is also a freedom to live for Christ

TWO MAIN POINTS

(1) If salvation is by works and not the Gospel, then you have been severed from Christ and have fallen away from grace (Gal 5:2-4; Gal 5:7-12)

- This if/then statement is true, despite the fact that a person cannot lose his salvation

- According to Paul, if you are going to be a legalist and choose certain rules/laws that everyone must obey for salvation, then you must obey every single one of them perfectly if it is going to be any benefit for you

- Paul makes this previous point abundantly clear by using the strong language of proclaiming that these men should follow their own system to its logical conclusion and castrate themselves

- Two doctrines are being communicated: (1) Justification by faith, not law or obedience; (2) REAL faith really saves

• If your actions/life appear to prove that you are not a believer, then you were never actually regenerated
• A Christian cannot lose his justification or return the gift of salvation: (Phil 1:6; Jn 6:39; 1 Pet 1:36; Rom 8:29-30; Eph 1:13-14; 2 Cor 1:21-22; 1 Jn 2:19)
• The point of contact between eternal security by God's sovereignty and our responsibility as Christians is fuzzy; the place where these two truths meet is a mysterious place from our point of view (1 Jn 2:24-25; Gal 5:4)
• We can know that God is sovereign, and Christ will not lose a single one of the elect (Jn 10:27-29); however, we are also supposed to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12)

(2)So, real faith shows itself by showing outward demonstrations of love for your neighbor (Gal 5:13-15)

- Faith ALWAYS gives birth to love (this cannot be overstated)

- 1 Jn 4:7-8; Matt 22:37-39; James 1:22; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 2:10; Matt 7:17-20; 1 Cor 13:1-3

- Don't be the podcast/blog guy who knows what everybody believes and hears every sermon or conference, but doesn't get out there to love and serve his neighbors

- We need to pull ourselves away from ourselves for long enough to serve others - this should be convicting for all of us

QUESTIONS

Are you recognized by your fruit/love?

Does your love for others make you stand out at work, at school, or in your neighborhood?

What should our lives look like according to Gal 5:5-6, 13?

What would it look like if you really loved your neighbor?

MY THOUGHTS

It seems that most Christians love claiming their justification. We love to proclaim that we are no longer under the consequences of sin. We are excited about our pardon (our get out of Hell free card). We all cling to the fact that we have been saved from something; however, we usually forget, or have completely missed, that we have been saved to something.

Phud began his sermon by making the point that we are not just free from our sin, but we are free to live for Christ. We have to understand and embrace this from/to duality of our salvation. We are saved not only "from", but also "to". God does not simply pardon us and send us on our way. Rather, he pardons us for a purpose. He saved us from sin and self, so that we can live for his glory and our mission.

As I am writing this, I am deeply convicted by my utter failure to live according to this principle that I know to be true. Christians are called to be MISSIONAL PEOPLE. He calls us out of darkness and into light. Being MISSIONAL means being about God's mission of making worshippers of his name. This means taking the gospel to the ends of the earth and to the end of my street. Being missional PEOPLE means that we carry out this mission in the context of community, primarily that of the local church. Both of these characteristics, "missional" and "people", are directly relevant to loving my neighbor. 

I am to love my unbelieving neighbor in Singapore, my unbelieving neighbor a few houses down from me in my subdivision, and my believing neighbor in my church small group. David Fairchild made this point wonderfully in a recent sermon; he said, "God does not save us for the purpose of sitting at the end of a cul-de-sac." It really does all come back to love. Remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

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Mark Lauterbach's Article on Christans and Culture

The May issue of NEXT Magazine is viewable. There are articles by D. A. Carson, Bob Kauflin, and Justin Taylor in this issue, but the article that I am recommending today is by a lesser known pastor; Mark Lauterbach has written a great article on interacting with culture.  Here is an excerpt:

But I want to suggest that this question–“How should a Christian relate to culture?”–may be the wrong question. This may be the wrong place for us, as Christians in the middle of culture, to start. Here’s why: I am not sure how I am to relate to the culture, but I am sure I am to relate to people outside of Christ for the sake of their salvation. Before we ask how we as Christians should relate to our culture we must ask how and why Christ came into culture. Christ and his mission should define the questions we ask about culture ... 

Knowing people is different than going to movies. I think the whole discussion of being culturally aware dodges the real work of knowing lost people deeply.  I am called to love and serve them for Christ.  I am called to help them when they have marital problems, children problems, and are living with effects of their sin. I am called to relate to them in what we have in common. And we have a lot in common. They are made in Godʼs image. They know love and hate, sadness and joy, and the beauty of music and creation. I do not need to focus on the unique culture of our times, so much as on the real people around me. 

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Get Out There

The weather has changed, the flowers are blooming, and most people are starting to go outside a lot more than the previous six months. This means that Christians have a great opportunity to get out there and begin living missionally. Several recent posts have given some great advice or strategies in this area:

Simplified Missional Living

Get Off the Couch this Summer

Gospel-Driven Garage Sale

Being Missional Everyday

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Church Planting and Missional Living

Resurgence has recently put up a lot of great media from last year's Dwell Conference and the two most recent Acts 29 boot camps. Also, I found this interview to be very useful. Jeff Vanderstelt is an Acts 29 church planter in Tacoma. Some of his comments are very provoking and insightful.  I would love to have some feedback on this interview:

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