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Philosophy of Ministry
Revised: 7/13/04
CONTENTS
A Philosophy of Ministry is an organized statement of purpose for why the church exists and how it is to serve the Lord. It is a document that can serve the church in developing a particular vision statement for the church as a whole, as well as for individual ministries. The Philosophy of Ministry helps streamline the activities of the church by presenting a guide which helps determine if a ministry or method appropriately fits into how the Lord is working in His church.
Having said this, we hear talk of the importance of developing “a philosophy of ministry” and certainly every church and every pastor should have an idea of working action plan. A more probing question, however, should be asked and that is: “What is God’s philosophy of ministry?” How does God want His church to run? Since scripture does not command us to write down a philosophy of ministry or to establish a vision or purpose statement, nor are we commanded to pray and find out our specific “vision” for “our church”, the primary goal is to obey what God wants us to do. It would seem then, that any philosophy of ministry should really just distill what God has said to do and how it should be done.
Specific details and their timing will differ from ministry to ministry and setting to setting, but although the environment and circumstances vary, God’s overall purposes and intentions for the church will encompass every ministry situation. Thus any philosophy of ministry, any purpose statement, and any vision statement should simply distill and reflect the teaching of scripture and then flesh out how that works in the lives of the church or individual.
The following document consists of five parts. Part I introduces the purpose of the church, the means of church government, and the purpose of preaching. Part II is called “My Philosophy of Ministry” but more specifically seeks to identify what kind of church God blesses. Part II answers three core questions: 1) What does a church need to be in order to please God? 2) What does a church need to do in order to receive God's blessing? 3) What should a church avoid in order to prevent God's judgment? Part III provides a practical outwork of Parts I and II. Part III follows a question-and-answer format based upon questions asked in Part V. It does not seek to persuade, but instead states principles and how they might manifest in a church. Part IV is a standard doctrinal statement. Often doctrinal statements are clumsy and difficult to use—this one is no exception, but has the marginal benefit of including full Bible references in the footnotes to facilitate understanding where the doctrine comes from in the Bible. Part V is a list of questions I and a friend have developed to aid in finding a church that is a solid match. A church might find the questions helpful and if a church was interested in me, at some point in the discussion I would like their own answers to them. I have deliberately written them so that they can be answered quickly and in a yes/no format.
Warmest Regards,
Russ Brewer
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A few short words need to be stated about what the church is and its purpose. The church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:23). It consists of people who have been born-again and regenerated (John 3:3), who have confessed their sins (1 John 1:9), who have called out to the Lord (Romans 10:13), and who have submitted to Him as Lord (Romans 10:9). Members of Christ’s body meet locally in assemblies to commit to fulfilling God’s purposes for His people. The Bible indicates that believers assemble for the purpose of worship (John 4:24), glorifying God (1 Corinthians 10:31), instruction (1 Thessalonians 4:7), fellowship (Hebrews 20:25), evangelism (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8), and service (Hebrews 10:24).
When believers commit with one another to regularly meet so as to fulfill these functions, they have become an organized local church. An organized church brings together many members of Christ’s body. Each member of the church has been distinctly gifted by the Lord. Christ gives them gifts based upon the present need so that each person might serve His people and fulfill His purposes both for their individual lives as well as the universal church. By being committed together, an organized local church provides the structure necessary to truly work out the will of the Lord in that community. Due to rare circumstances, a believer might be uncommitted from a local assembly for a time, one’s ultimate spiritual efficiency and productivity is linked to one’s involvement in the body of Christ.
Several facets must be present in order to be classified as an organized church. 1) It consists of biblically qualified elders/bishops (Titus 1:5; 1 Tim 3:1-7) (the Bible uses the terms interchangeably: elders who shepherd in 1st Peter 5:1-4; bishops who shepherd in Acts 20:28). The actual number of elders may vary, except that virtually every reference to the leadership of the church is plural (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:7, 17) thus indicating there should probably be a plurality. Elders are to submit to the leadership of Christ and administer His will in the spiritual lives of the congregation (1 Peter 5:2). 2) Its members submit their spiritual lives to the leadership of the elders (Hebrews 13:17). 3) The church meets for the purposes noted above, namely worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service. 3) It honors the ordinances set down by Christ to administer believer’s baptism and communion (communion Matthew 26:26-29, 1st Corinthians 11:23-26; baptism Matthew 28:19). 4) The church honors the Lord by adhering to the doctrine and teaching of the scripture (1st Timothy 4:13); including all orthodox theology (Titus 2:1) as well as purifying doctrines such as church discipline (Titus 3:9-11). All of this should be performed in a manner that worships and glorifies the Lord.
Worship is giving God adoration and praise. It is recognizing who He is and what He has done and offering to Him our lives as worship (Romans 12:1). All parts of the service (and all of our lives) must be a continuous offering of the sacrifice of praise to God from our lips (Hebrews 13:15) and from our hearts with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28). Rather than being man-centered, it should be God centered, specifically as the elders lead those in attendance to give God the glory, honor, and praise due Him (1 Timothy 2:7-8).
Jesus declared that God’s people would worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)—they would worship God in their spirits according to His truths. Worship must captivate our hearts, it must feed our souls, and it is true worship when it is in accordance with His truth. There is continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament regarding the primacy of God’s people focusing upon the Lord and His word. In both the Old and New Testament, God’s people assembled before the Lord to learn His statues (e.g. Deuteronomy 1:6; Nehemiah 8:1-8). In the very first recorded worship assembly of the Jews, Moses and Aaron gathered the Hebrews before the Lord. Exodus 4:30 says, “And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses.” The next verse shows the people’s response, “So the people believed…then they bowed low and worshipped (Exodus 4:31).” A similar event occurred in Exodus 24 where Moses recounted the words of the Lord (Exodus 24:3) and the people committed themselves to obedience (Exodus 25:7). Deuteronomy 4:10 repeats this same idea, God tells Moses: “Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children (Deuteronomy 4:10).” Throughout scripture the people assemble before Him to accomplish two primary objectives: 1) to learn of His word and 2) to sincerely obey it with their whole lives. Note the following examples: Exodus 19:7-8, 24:1-7; Leviticus 8:5, Leviticus 9:6; Deuteronomy 5:27; Joshua 1:16; 2 Chronicles 34:14-33.
The idea of God’s people gathering together before Him is carried through to the New Testament. Paul urges Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching (1 Timothy 4:13).” Repeatedly Paul exhorts Timothy to pay attention to his teaching and doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6, 11, 16, 5:20; 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:14, 4:2). God’s people often went astray in the Old Testament when they failed to know the scriptures. For example, in Hosea 4:6 God rejected the leadership for not accurately teaching God’s Word, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being my priest.” God promised His supplicant people, “I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15, emphasis added).” Jesus, when speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well disassociated the entire Samaritan nation from God when He said their worship was invalid for their lack of knowledge of God (John 4:22).
Why such an emphasis upon teaching the scriptures? So that we might be obedient to Jesus’ final command to teach the world “to observe all that I commanded you (Matthew 28:20).” Jesus’ commands are given to us in the Word of God. Paul said that he was a steward, literally a galley-slave, of the Word of God (mysteries of God) (1 Corinthians 4:1). In the next verse, Paul declares that he must be found faithful to this calling (1 Corinthians 4:2). Paul is simply a servant of Christ, obeying the Lord, like Christ the Lord spoke about in Luke 17:10, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.”
Not all activities of mankind that calls itself “worship” is true worship. There are accounts in the Old Testament where people gather together for “worship” in a manner that does not please God. In Exodus 32, the people assembled before Aaron and said, “Come, make us a god who will go before us”—the people, dissatisfied with the time-table of the true Lord, demanded a God who met their desires. Then Aaron began working on a golden calf. When it was finished, they had a remarkable event, “So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play (Exodus 32:6).” What did the Lord think of this behavior? Exodus 32:9 says, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.” What was the Lord going to do about this? Exodus 32:10 says, “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them.”
God spared the people of Israel, but apparently Aaron’s sons didn’t get the message because Leviticus 10 records their sinful demise. Nadab and Abihu decided to modify the manner in which God was worshipped yet the Lord had already spent considerable time giving Moses clear, step-by-step directives regarding the modes and methods of acceptable worship. Ignoring the prescriptions of the Lord, Nadab and Abihu took it upon themselves to offer “strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded (Leviticus 10:1).” Though this was apparently an attempt at “worship”, their cavalier attitude towards doing the things which pleased God resulted in their death. Leviticus 10:2 says, “And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” Korah and his family perpetrated the same kind of rebellion in Numbers 16 which records their uprising to lead the Jews in worship and then their literal downfall as the ground broke open and consumed them alive. Clearly from these examples, not all that activities that are proclaimed as “worship” are pleasing to the Lord. Worship must align with what the Lord has given in His scripture.
The point that “not all worship is true worship” is further underscored in John 6:14 when the people are wildly praising Christ to the point that they wanted to make Him king. Yet the next day Jesus tells them their motives were muddied (John 6:26) and that they actually didn’t even believe in Him (John 6:36). Clearly, their enthusiasm in John 6:14 was motivated by something other than worship and exaltation of Him or God. Simon the Magician in Acts chapter 8 was a man who was amazed at the power of God and even became baptized as a follower of Christ, but sadly he is another example of an outward follower who didn’t truly worship the Lord. Simon ultimately heard Peter’s rebuke, “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart in not right before God (Acts 8:21).”
Teaching is the foundation of true worship. Why? Because we cannot worship what we do not know. For the same reason, knowing God's truths will lead us to experience love and gratitude towards the Lord. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that the Samaritan way of worship was invalid. It was invalid because the Samaritans rejected all the books of the Bible except for Genesis through Deuteronomy. Since they had set aside the Word of God, their worship amounted to an ignorant, man-made attempt to worship God according to their wisdom, but not according to the truth of God. This underscores the point that the worship service needs to be founded upon solid teaching because not all “worship” is true worship (John 4:22).
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In the New Testament God’s shepherds are called by Him (Galatians 1:15-16) and entrusted with the Gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:4) whereby the shepherd is gifted by God to teach people His Word (1 Peter 4:11) and be ministers who reconcile people to God (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). The job of the pastor is to feed the people with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15). Paul exhorts Timothy to teach the word of God accurately because only God’s Word can bring a person to become adequate and equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). Paul even gives the evidence of accurate teaching: a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5). Those who are faithful to God are put into service (1 Timothy 1:12) and will have to give an account of their ministry to Him, not to the men they serve (1 Thessalonians 2:4). However, not all shepherds are faithful with this task and some teach a doctrine contrary to the sound teachings of God (1 Timothy 1:6-7). If the pastor is unfaithful to the pure teaching of scripture, he undergoes a harsher penalty for failing to teach and obey the scriptures (James 3:1).
The Bible describes the men who are appointed by God to manage (1 Timothy 3:5) the church with such terms as “undershepherds” (1 Peter 5:4) and “elders” (Titus 1:5). As mentioned, all elders are men (1 Timothy 2:13, c.f. 3:1) spiritually appointed by God (Acts 20:28). Elders who have received this spiritual appointing of God are recognized only when they manifest certain characteristics as given in 1st Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Only those who have this spiritual equipping and the desire (rather than having to be persuaded) should be elders (1 Timothy 3:1). When such men have been identified, and examined, they are to be ordained by the other elders (1 Timothy 4:14, 5:22).
The elders serve as a team of co-laborers in the cause of Christ who carry on the shepherding (1 Peter 5:2) and managing (1 Timothy 3:5) the congregation with oversight according to the will of God (1 Peter 5:2). These men teach (1 Timothy 2:2) sound doctrine (Titus 2:1) and exhort and reprove as necessary (Titus 2:15). Thus all elders are God’s servants who function as pastors.
Often, though not necessary, a specific elder carries a larger portion of the ministry. The church usually calls this person “the pastor.” Typically the “pastor” is a man who has set aside his means of income and is supported by the rest of the body of believers (Galatians 6:6) so that he may focus his efforts and energies to equip the church for ministry (Ephesians 4:12, 16). His ministry is not a job, nor is it a career, but rather it is a life-task of serving God and the church throughout each day, week, month, and year.
Yet the point should be noted that this man is not the sole leader church and the church is not his. Off-hand comments such as “my church is such-and-such” or “where is your church?” are indicators of the underlying incorrect assumption that the church is ours. It is not. The church is Christ’s body and He is its head (Colossians 1:18). It is God’s household (Ephesians 2:19; 1 Timothy 3:15). The Lord is the one who builds it (Matthew 17:18; Hebrews 3:3—Christ builds it; Hebrews 3:4—God builds it), causes it to grow (1 Corinthians 3:6—God), prunes it (John 15:2—the Father), strengthens it (Colossians 1:11), and brings it to perfection (Philippians 1:6). None of these things can be truly orchestrated through the will or actions of man. The Bible clearly teaches that unless the Lord builds the house the laborers work in vain (Psalm 127:1).
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What is the purpose of preaching? Preaching is a form of worship. Worship is the exaltation of God through faith in Him, in the power of His Word, and in the sufficiency of Christ. Preaching declares the Word of God so that He might use it to increase the faith (Romans 10:14-17) and obedience of the church (1 Thessalonians 2:12) as well as to bring about the salvation of God’s people (1 Corinthians 1:21). The Word of God must be taught, imparted, and given to every true believer in Jesus Christ so that they know how to walk as a believer and how to please God (1 Thessalonians 4:1).
The power in preaching is not in superiority of speech (1 Corinthians 2:1) or in persuasive words (1 Corinthians 2:4) but rather the power lies in the faithful explanation of the Word of God (Nehemiah 8:8). Notice that Paul, an inspired prophet of God, when recalling the message he delivered to the Thessalonians said that his message only so far as it was the Word of God is what worked in the lives of the believers (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The power lies in the Word of God not in persuasive words of men.
Why does the power lie in the explanation of the scriptures? Two reasons: First, because the Word of God is powerful for salvation (Romans 1:16) because through it God brings about the spiritual rebirth of His children (1 Peter 1:23). Secondly, because when a passage is explained so that people understand it, understand the difficult ideas within it (as in Nehemiah 8:4-8) then the Holy Spirit can use it in the hearts and lives of the believers (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
The sermon preparation exegetically mines out the doctrines and implications of the teachings of a passage. Sermon preparation follows these basic steps: 1) find out what the text means 2) determine the eternal principles from that meaning 3) determine how those principles specifically relate to the lives of the people in the church. The pastor must study and know the passage and its contemporary application so as to bring the meaning to bear upon the hearer’s lives in the same manner as the original audience’s lives. In addition, the sermon must always teach the flow and meaning of the passage so that the hearers learn sound interpretation methods so that later they can return to the passage and know what it really means and how it applies.
Since effective Christian preaching brings out the truths in the text which God has revealed about Himself, the world, mankind, the way of salvation etc. and since effective sermons take the truths found in the text, derives principles from them, and brings them to bear upon the lives of the hearers, and since the truths of the sermon flow from a text and are expressed in the same manner as given in the text, then effective preaching usually will result in encouragement to the listeners often giving hope and inspiration and even occasionally causing them to chuckle or be amused. However, preaching should not modify the message of the text in such a way as to specifically amuse or falsely encourage the hearers. Preaching is a declaration of the Word of God, it is not a vehicle for entertainment. The Bible is God’s medicine for life, but at times it may not necessarily taste syrupy sweet. To use the holy scriptures of God as a spring board for inspirational-motivational-entertainment does violence to the sacred words of the Lord.
The only eternal impact a sermon may have occurs when the Holy Spirit works in the lives of the people. How does the Holy Spirit work in the life a person? Through His Word. When a person understands what a given passage means, at a later point in time the Holy Spirit can bring that passage to mind in the life of the person, convict them of their disobedience to it, enable them to submit to it, and enable them to have victory in regards to it. When the Holy Spirit works in such a fashion, lives are permanently changed and hope and joy abounds.
On the other hand, when people hear man-made sermons that seek to inspire based upon outlines, great illustrations, or with some thundering “voice from God” the hearers may (and even usually do) walk away motivated and enthralled, but they will almost immediately become discouraged when they have no spiritual strength to walk according to the sermon. Why? Because the Holy Spirit does not strengthen people to obey “points” that do not come from His Word. Even when the “points” are true in a general sense, if they are not tied to the text they lack authority and power. Again, the power lies in the text so that the Holy Spirit has something to work with in the life of the hearer. Consequently, the text must accurately and clearly be presented so that the hearers know what it says.
Often preachers don’t find what God intends the passage to mean but rather they find points in the text that “work” for the sermon. When a sermon preaches points that are removed from the reason why God wrote the text—even when those points seem homiletically or devotionally valid—if the points of the sermon are not specifically what God intended that text to teach, then that sermon is not based upon textual truth and thus it lacks spiritual power. The preacher becomes like the false prophets in the Old Testament who uttered words that God did not say. Ezekiel 13:2-2 says, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord!’ Thus says the Lord God, ‘Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing (emphasis added).’” Men who stand up to preach thinking that the Holy Spirit will speak through them even though they are not expositing a text are far more likely to be “following their own spirit” rather than being faithful to the words the real Spirit of God delivered millennia ago.
Several criteria could be used to decide if a sermon is successful: a successful sermon preserves and teaches sound doctrine. A successful sermon causes people to know the Father better. A successful sermon teaches the people about the mind, means, and manner of God so that He becomes more vivid to their lives. A successful sermon helps the hearers to know how they are to live the passage. A successful sermon mulls over the Word of God so that any hearer who is unable to read may know the flow, thought, and truths within a given text with clarity and accuracy. Finally, a successful sermon is so scripturally based, and explains the scripture so clearly that as the hearer returns to everyday life, since they know the passage which has been expounded they can return to it and find the “points” from the sermon. Under those conditions the Holy Spirit takes the truths of the passage and supernaturally bring them to bear upon the hearer’s life, further adding the supernaturally ability to obey the passage.
One final word about Bible translations: the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Many fine translations have been produced for the English language. In reality, all translations are interpretations. Yet the closer the translation matches the original wording of the Greek text the better. Since no one translation has the best handling of every text of scripture, students of the Bible should own, study and compare the New American Standard, the New King James Version, and the New International Version. The King James Version is outstanding and beautiful, but often is difficult to understand. The New Living Translation is very good (and it is a translation although its predecessor, The Living Bible, was not) but for the sake of readability often its translators make interpretative leaps that usually are accurate but are not part of the original text. Recently another excellent translation has been produced, the English Standard Version. I personally prefer to preach from the New American Standard but often flex depending upon what translation the congregation might be using.
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In recent years Christians have become tremendously energized to bring the message of salvation to the world. Modern Christian leaders have been able to distill the message of the gospel into a succinct package that can be understood by anyone. In many senses, it seems that there has been a Christian re-awkening over the past 10 or 15 years as droves of people are coming to Christ all across America and the world. This is an exciting time to be a child of God.
Because of this tremendous emphasis on evangelism, some churches have begun to re-orientate themselves to be better positioned in this worthy endeavor of evangelism. The most common adaptations are either to become seeker-sensitive churches or seeker-driven churches. These churches enthusiastically scrutinize themselves from the perspective of the non-churched and make specific changes to the worship service so to avoid confusing, boring, or insulting the non-churched person. Other efforts of evangelism take place in outreach events such as golf-ministries, softball leagues, concerts, etc. These churches have the best intentions and truly believe that evangelism is the purpose of the church. Their message is often “Your life has pain, misery and confusion—come to Jesus and you’ll find peace, joy, and significance.”
However, that message, although comforting, is not the gospel message of scripture. While none of these churches would ever admit to “watering down the gospel” the result is that they have exchanged the true problem (i.e. man’s rebellion against God) with another problem that seems more palatable in the ears of the hearers (e.g. life apart from Christ has less meaning). Not only has the problem changed in today’s gospel messages, the solution has also changed. The solution to man’s problem is no longer “repent of your sin and commit your life to the Lord” instead it is “say this Sinner’s Prayer and your problem (e.g. meaningless, sadness, loneliness) will go away.” The ultimate focus has shifted away from the truth about God’s wrath towards humanity and His efforts to reconcile us back to Him. The focus of many churches is now to help men and woman have better lives morally, ethically, etc. Essentially, Christianity has become a modern means for one segment of the population to self-actualize. While the gospel does often improve the lives of people, and certainly my own life, mind, habits have become far better and more enjoyable now that I’m born-again, these things are not the gospel’s ultimate purpose. Do we have to preach the ultimate purpose of the gospel? Yes, God’s ultimate purposes should be our ultimate purposes.
The Bible tells us that all men have sinned against God (Romans 3:23). Certainly, every Christian will agree with this and the Bible lists of many sins that man has committed (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21). Sinners are enemies of God (Romans 5:10) who live independently from Him (Psalm 14:3). Yet the message of scripture is that while we were sinners and enemies, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8-10). Christ took our sins upon Him (Isaiah 53:6) and gave us His righteousness (1 Corinthians 5:21). God was no longer angry with us (1 John 2:2). Therefore the world must recognize their sins (1 John 1:8), confess them (1 John 1:9), repent of them (Acts 2:38), call out to God (Romans 10:13) and be reconciled to Him (Romans 5:10).
How will people hear and understand this gospel? Should we make it easier for them to become a child of God? The answer lies in the doctrine of regeneration, how one becomes “born again.” Each person is born into this world spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and in their natural state they cannot understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). A dead person cannot be convinced they need life. Therefore God steps into their life and makes them alive (i.e. regenerates them) (1 Peter 1:3) and they become born again (John 3:6). The person responds in faith to the hearing of the word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). This is seen in the scriptures in the account of how God opened Lydia’s heart to might respond to the things spoken by Paul (Acts 16:14) and also when God gave the believers in Achaia the ability to believe (Acts 18:27). Unless God gives a person the ability to believe in Him and His Word, they cannot make themselves believe or be convinced to believe.
Thus, salvation is solely up to the will of God. No amount of cajoling or persuasion will raise a dead person to life. Many passages show that God chooses whom He will save: 1st Thessalonians 4:4 “knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you”; Romans 8:29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined…”; Ephesians 1:4 “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”
Not only is the predestination up to God, but so is the drawing up to God. John 6:29 says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him who He has sent.” A few verse later Jesus says “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Someone might say that God draws all people. But this is not the case because only a few verses earlier Jesus says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” Thus all who are drawn by God come to God—none are lost. God causes the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7). Since the choice of salvation is up to God, the goal of evangelism shifts from going into the world to persuade people to be saved and instead the goal becomes going into the world calling God’s elect back to their Savior with the anticipation that those who are chosen will hear and receive the word of God.
How does one know if they are chosen or if they are truly born-again? The answer to this question is long and challenging and beyond the scope of this paper. However, we can know that we are not saved just on the merits of saying a sinner’s prayer. Certainly the new life does begin with a prayer of faith to God (Romans 10:9) and new believers can be encouraged to say a sinner’s prayer to start their relationship with the Lord. But saying a sinner’s prayer does not buy us a ticket into heaven. The best answer to knowing if a believer is saved is to have them diligently read 1st John and compare their life against scripture. The purpose of 1st John is found in 5:13 which says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Many people incorrectly use this verse as a blanket promise to people to encourage them that indeed they do have eternal life. But the verse in context is really saying that if a person reads all the factors that “these things” refers to, and satisfies the criterion given, then the person can safely know that they have eternal life. Assurance of salvation based upon 1 John 5:13 without the rest of 1 John is false assurance and because this is dealing with the eternal state of someone’s soul, false assurance is very, very dangerous.
Here are some basic proofs of regeneration included in 1st John: honesty about sins (1:8); keeping God’s commandments (2:3); loving one’s brothers (2:10); hatred of the ways of the world (2:15); practicing righteousness (2:29-3:10); caring for the needy (3:15-18); confessing Jesus (4:3-6); love towards others (4:7-16); love towards God (5:2-3); belief in Jesus (5:11). These are some of the proofs of salvation as given in the scripture. They do not make a person regenerated; rather they indicate a person’s status before God. They are the “these things” from 5:13 that John wants his readers to read and meditate upon so they might know that they have eternal life.
Because salvation is in the mind and hand of God, the believer’s primary task in this world is not to evangelize the lost but rather to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) and bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:11; Colossians 1:10, Ephesians 4:1). Making disciples involves teaching people about God, exhorting them towards holiness, comforting them, and guiding them in the ways of godliness. Glorifying God involves living a life worthy of Him (Philippians 1:27); speaking words which glorify Him (Colossians 3:17); doing deeds which glorify Him (Colossians 3:17); having hearts that glorify Him (Ephesians 5:19; and having minds that glorify Him (Colossians 3:2-4). As detailed in the section about the purpose of the church, the church service is to focus on worshiping God and making disciples who glorify Him. When this is done, truly the unbeliever will walk into the church, sees the vast difference between his condition and those around him, will fall down and worship God (1 Corinthians 14:25). But note this: the vehicle for effective church evangelism is worship of God, not transforming ourselves to look like the world.
So what role does evangelism hold in the church? Certainly the church is to be the salt and light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Certainly the church is to tell the world the message of Christ. Certainly some are gifted with the ability to evangelize (2 Timothy 4:5; Ephesians 4:11). Certainly, the gospel should be explained in every church service where there might be unbelievers present. Certainly evangelism is one of the primary purposes of the church (Matthew 28:20-21). Yet evangelism must be kept in balance with the rest of God’s purposes for His people (Worship, Instruction, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Service).
God’s people go into the world as God’s ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20) proclaiming the word of God. There will be some converts like Lydia (Acts 16:14) who hear the Word and the Lord opens the eyes of their heart to believe (Ephesians 1:18). There will be others who need help beginning their new life with God such as the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8). And there will be some who are like Nicodemus, who first need to hear the truth (as in John 3:1-21), followed by a period of time where they process what they have heard (as evidenced by Nicodemus’ half-hearted defense of Christ in John 7:50-51), followed by a final commitment to Christ (as evidenced in John 19:38-39 when Nicodemus places his own life and reputation on the line for helping bury Christ). Thus the church is to go to the sheep without a shepherd and call them to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20). They must be firm, clear, patient, and following the will and ways of Christ.
Finally, the church that primarily seeks to turn its worship services into evangelistic crusades runs up against the two risks. The first is that “evangelistic crusade” churches necessarily avoid certain doctrines and thus ignore the whole counsel of what God calls the church to be. God calls the church to love (Matthew 22:37), worship Him (John 4:23-24), live holy lives (Philippians 1:27), preach the word (1 Thessalonians 4:2), serve the needs of those in distress (James 1:27), and teach sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). All of these actions, to be performed rightly, require knowledge of Him (Hosea 6:6; 1 Chronicles 28:9). When the church incorrectly focuses on evangelism to the point of minimizing these things, then that church runs the risk of becoming imbalanced according to God’s design.
Another serious risk for churches that overly focus upon evangelism is that they might provide false assurance to people about their salvation. The Bible indicates that people should make sure that they are to make certain of God’s calling of them (2 Peter 2:10). The Bible also indicates that many will stand before the Lord and He will say that He did not know them (Matthew 7:22). The Lord Himself said that the gates to hell are wide (Matthew 7:13). Because of these serious warnings, why would the church be so quick to dangerously assure a person that they are saved when indeed if they are unsure and feeling guilty? Perhaps the person’s heart may be under true conviction from God! These are not the days to give people false hope based upon man-made rituals concocted to guarantee one’s salvation.
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This profound question is of tremendous importance for the church today. The church that matches God’s intentions as given in scripture will please God. Churches that please God reflect certain traits. Of course, the terms of blessing need to be considered as well as the condition for blessing. We cannot just look at attendance figures to see if God is blessing a church. We can all think of non-Christian religions that are clearly not developing God’s purposes but still are growing numerically. We cannot just look at tithes as an indication that God is blessing a church because certainly there are non-Christian organizations that have tremendous success raising finances. The following items are given in scripture as indications of churches that are being blessed by God. In Part III, these items of God’s blessing are fleshed out and shown how they often are manifest in the life of a local church today. Part V includes a list of questions for a church so that they might be able to honestly evaluate how they stand and operate in light of scripture.
A church that pleases God has:
1) Godly leadership who are wise and walk with Christ (Numbers 18:6-7; 1 Peter 5:2-3).
2) People who long for the solid teaching of the Word (Hebrews 5:14).
3) People who can discern between good and evil (1 Peter 3:11).
4) People who are faithful to God with their time, money, and influence (Ephesians 5:16; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Colossians 3:16).
5) People who are serving Christ (Ephesians 6:7; Colossians 3:23).
6) People who are being converted to Christ (Matthew 16:18, 28:19-20; Acts 9:31).
7) People who have solid convictions of the truths of God (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
8) People who strive to imitate Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
9) People who have joy in the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
10) People who are renown for their faith in God (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
11) People who have peace between the members of the church (Acts 9:31).
12) People who fear the Lord (Acts 9:31).
13) People who receive comfort from God (Acts 9:31).
Question #2: What are the common denominators which must be present in a church that God blesses? (Click here to return to Contents)
God has explained in His word what He is like and how we are to interpret our world (1 Timothy 3:15). God has established the church to be the pillar of support of God’s Truth (1 Timothy 3:15). These truths, as God has given them, must permeate the minds of each member of the church and be the sole basis for what the church and the people believe (Romans 12:2). Adam and Eve first rejected God's thoughts and thus the tradition of rebellion against God has been carried through to every person who has ever lived (Romans 5:12). Thankfully, this tradition of rebellion has been destroyed by the Spirit of God who has set us free from the skewed enslavement of thinking that we can be the sole judge of what is true (Romans 8:15). We cannot be the standard by which truth is determined. Instead it must come from God's thoughts as expressed in His word.
The church that understands that God wants churches to be theologically pure (Titus 2:1) will cease with man-centered theology and polity (Romans 12:2; 1 John 2:15). They will no longer try to please man but will strive to please God (1 Thessalonians 2:3-12). Theology is the organization of God's word around various topics. Most issues that we encounter in life will be addressed in scripture. Thus it is up to the church to teach and practice God's truth so that the members and the world will know what it is that God has said. Only when the church holds God's thoughts about a matter and puts them into practice in a manner that conforms to His will, does the Lord step in and begin to bless a church (Matthew 24:46; Luke 11:28).
The goal of theology is not to come to a conclusion that makes sense to me, nor that fits within what I feel comfortable believing (2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 3:3-4). Rather the goal of theology must be to find out what God says about a matter and then to conform my thinking by faith to trust in the teaching of God's word (2 Corinthians 4:2,12:6). When the church refuses to let God dictate the terms of His church and its belief, it will languish (Jeremiah 4:31, 9:5; Revelation 2:5). These churches approach God’s Word like a salad bar only to pick and choose what they want to teach and obey. Controversial issues such as role of women, church government, homosexuality, church discipline, election/free-will etcetera are clearly addressed by scripture and must reflect God’s Word. Those churches that are experiencing the power of God today believe and teach rightly about Him (1 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:17; Titus 1:9).
God is pleased with and blesses churches that worship God in spirit and truth.
Worship can be very powerful in the lives of church people. Worshipping God takes us beyond ourselves and sets us at the feet of the creator, extolling Him (Psalm 100:4). Worship reminds us who God is and realigns our allegiance to Him (Psalm 100:5). Worship refocuses our lives on who is most important (Psalm 96:4). Worship gives us a sense of what it means to be in the pleasure of God (Psalm 149:4).
The church that God blesses worships Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). That means that the believers are to worship in their spirits according to His Truth. Yet not all words and songs of reverence produce worship that is based on truth and spirit. The Old Testament is filled with references to the Jewish people who made the mistake of filling their "worship" with empty ritual rather than heart felt worship (Isaiah 29:13). God is never pleased with ritual. Ritual mocks God and smears Him—it says that He doesn't matter, that He is not worth the "all" of a person (Malachi 1:6-8). Empty ritual was chastised in the Old Testament, condemned in the New Testament, and is powerless in our lives today.
Yet this is not to condemn theological depth and accuracy in worship. God is magnificent and complex beyond our grasp—surely there are countless qualities we could meditate upon every week. We don't need to resort to singing or thinking things about God that simply are not true or are so spiritually bland that they don't move the mind as well as the heart.
Today, however, there are churches that are theologically pure but have members who no longer worship from their hearts. Empty worship fails as badly as inaccurate worship (Isaiah 29:13). The Jews had the correct methods of sacrificial offering, but they were chastised by God because their labors were not from the heart. In the same manner today some churches still insist upon singing complex hymns that are hard to understand for younger attendees who struggle to appreciate what is being sung about. On the other hand, other churches sing choruses that are so theologically thin that the emotions they feel are based upon very little truth—if worship is not based upon truth then God is not honored (Psalm 145:18).
A balance can be achieved. Each song must be theologically evaluated for its content and depth. “Shallow” songs can be combined in a worship service with “robust” songs to emphasize a theological truth. Older hymns can be sung, but explained or updated as necessary. Musical instruments can be selected that reflect the worship habits of the church community. In order to honor God, worship must captivate the soul of the worshippers—not with mere emotionalism but with spirit and truth.
God is pleased with and blessed churches that are boldly teaching God's truth to the world.
If you look at the strong believers in the Bible they all proclaimed God's Word without hesitation or apology (1st Timothy 2:7). The bold church does the same today. This is God we're talking about! He has created us! As our creator, He can certainly do and say whatever He wants. Like humble subjects before their king, we must listen to what God wants and accept Him on His terms. Worship and church is not about us, it's all about Him. The church is not about making us feel better; it's about declaring His word and showing how we've strayed from it. It's about declaring that God has clear ideas about how He wants us to live and those who follow God’s ideas will be blessed because they have come into conformity with what He wants.
God is pleased with and blesses churches that exalt Christ.
The whole Bible exalts Christ. In the Old Testament, everything leads up to Jesus. He is throughout the pages of scripture evidenced as God worked in the lives of Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets. Obviously the New Testament solely focuses upon Christ and living under His Lordship. He is the eternal king over the universe and all that we do should exalt Him and glorify Him. Every sermon, every song, every Bible Study should exalt Christ in the hearts, minds, and lives of the believers (John 5:23; 1Corinthians 1:23). The church should exalt Christ to the world in its presence in the community (Luke 12:8-9). If the church is not exalting Christ, then there is no reason for God to bless it.
Just as all of
God's word focuses upon Christ, so should the church. Thus sermons, songs, and
studies should not be focused upon "me". While it may make “church
growth sense” to focus on the needs of the world, what the world needs first
and foremost is to put Christ in His proper place. When Christ is worshiped and
adored as King of our lives then He can begin to bless the church and the
individual. This is key. Without the exaltation of Christ the ministry becomes focused
on the person and becomes a Christian version of a self-help group or a
Christian version of a motivational seminar. This is not what the church is
meant to be and this kind of church won't be blessed by God either (Galatians
1:6-9).
God is pleased with and blesses churches that seek Him in all that they do through prayer, meditation upon His word, fasting, and wisdom of multitude of counselors that allow the Holy Spirit to speak.
The churches must be connected to the Lord in prayer (Psalm 145:18). He is doing great things across the country. Yet those churches that are connected to Him actually are blessed with His energy to do what He wants (Hebrews 4:16). So many churches slug along because they have in mind things that they want to do (even though they may be good things) but they are not particularly things that Christ wants them to do (Colossians 1:9-12). The church must be all about Him and doing what He wants (1 John 5:14). The church is His body—it is His presence here on Earth (Ephesians 1:22-23). Any church that wants to have that divine energy, spirit, and passion amongst its member must be continually before Him, meeting with Him. When Christ has guided a church to do a particular thing He will provide the necessary resources, staff, and "political will" of the people to do whatever it takes, no matter what. Yet when the church seeks to do something that is not of Him, even the simplest, easiest tasks will sap the people of their joy, strength, and peace.
God is pleased with and will bless churches that are morally pure.
Christians still are in their sin flesh (Romans 7:13), though they also have the Holy Spirit and have been gifted with the ability to actually deny the lusts of the flesh, the influence of the power, and the power of the adversary (Romans 8:13). Yet all people in this life will sin and only when we stand before the Lord will we truly understand how much of our life was tainted with pride, evil intentions, selfishness, and ways and means that were not of the Lord. Yet even within these aspects of sin, the church cannot allow manifest sin to exist within its membership (2 Corinthians 6:14). When Paul went to Thessalonica he not only preached evangelistically, but he also implored the hearers to walk in a manner worthy of God, His kingdom, and His glory (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
When a Christian allows sin in his own life or if a church allows sin, their relationship with God becomes stunted. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Sin in the church impacts the whole body of believers. Just as the sin of Achan defeated the Israelites in Joshua 7, sin in the church saps it of its spiritual power and holy influence in the community. Thus, sin must be dealt with and constantly cut off from the community of believers (1 Peter 1:15-16).
This can be done in several ways. First, those who commit manifest, outright sins must not be allowed into membership of the church in the first place (1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 Corinthians 6:14). Therefore, for example, the church cannot allow into its membership active homosexuals, unrepentant adulterers, people living together, unrepentant alcoholics and drug users, those who are known to lie, swindle, cheat etc (1 John 3:10; 2 Peter 2:9-19; Romans 1:28-2:2). These areas of sin, and more, can be seen by the world and it would defame the name of Christ to call them members of a particular church. They can, however, come to the worship services—especially if they are unsaved (1 Corinthians 5:10).
The next manner of dealing with sin is through the faithful preaching of God's word on difficult topics that relate to sin (Galatians 4:6). Churches that demand a pastor not preach on certain topics that are dealt with in scripture have automatically set themselves out of the way of Christ's blessings (2 Timothy 4:3-4). How could He bless a church that won't teach His commandments—especially since that was His final word to the disciples was to teach the world all that He commanded (2 Timothy 4:2)?
Another level of rooting out sin is to cultivate intimate fellowship groups where there is a time when the men and women separate and meet together for openness and accountability (James 5:16). These are wonderful environments to openly discuss sins that one might be struggling with and seek to bear one another's burdens. We can, as the body of Christ, seek to encourage and edify each other along the way towards becoming like Christ (Hebrews 10:24).
Another means towards dealing with sin is to encourage, develop, and train men and women to engage in one-on-one discipleship. Scripture shows how the older believers (spiritually) should meet with the younger to teach them how to live godly lives. These occasions are precious in the body of Christ and can be a wonderful time for a mature, loving brother or sister in the Lord to pull their young believer aside and point out a sin that perhaps was otherwise unnoticed. This can be a wonderful time not only point out the error, but offer much counsel on how to overcome it. And not only counsel, but also the encouragement and accountability necessary to ultimately overcome the sin.
The Holy Spirit is active amongst the fellowship of the saints, seeking to sharpen one's thoughts, transform one's mind, renew one's heart, and inspire one's faith. So often the Holy Spirit specifically uses the fellowship of believers who are open and transparent before one another to grow one's Christlikeness. Thus these times of intimacy and transparency must be established, cultivated and trusted to bring about the holiness that God calls us to.
Having said all this, those who refuse to open themselves up to their fellow believers, and those who refuse to surrender their whole lives—mind, action, desires—to the submission of Christ ultimately, after a lengthy period of time, must be removed from the church. For, as Matthew 18:15-20 indicates, if a person refuses to listen to counsel then they ought to be treated as an unbeliever. If they are to be treated as an unbeliever, they can only be welcome to certain church events. If they are particularly factious, or are particularly open in their sin, they must be disassociated with the body of Christ so as not to bring ridicule to the Lord (1st Timothy 2:20; Titus 3:10-11).
Christ came to those who needed a physician, and we are all in desperate need of His transforming work in our lives and we will never be rid of this body of sin until we step into the presence of the Lord. Having said this however, Christ also never accepted those who rejected Him. Christ never endorsed those who remained in their open sins. When speaking to the paralytic who was healed, Christ said, “Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” True, Christ rejected the pharisaical legalism of His day yet He never embraced and condoned the sin either. Jesus called the people to repent and repenting means to recognize and give up the sins that have separated us from God (Luke 5:32, 13:3, 24:47). In our desire to be Christ's body on the Earth, we need to have His balance. There are times when a particularly new believer needs to be given a measure of grace. However, over time they will need to be called upon to surrender their lifestyles to that which the Lord would have them live.
God is pleased with and blesses churches that use the giftedness that He gives to His people in a manner that He intends.
The local church is the Lord’s church. It is not the elder’s church, nor the pastor’s church. It is the Lord’s. He is working His will through the lives of the believers to bring about glory to Himself (Philippians 2:13). Certainly He is working on behalf of His people and one of the greatest ways that a believer can honor God is by using the life God has given to him or her for His glory. God is working out all things for His glory (Ephesians 1:12, 14). If He worked for anything else then He would have placed something above Himself—and this is impossible because nothing is greater that God.
Having said this, the church is working out God’s will here on Earth. Since God knows what’s going on, He also knows the tools and circumstances that need to be in place to accomplish His will. Therefore He gives to the church spiritual gifts, abilities that enable His people to serve Him (1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 4:11-16). The church that actively recognizes how God has gifted them and seeks to use those gifts in the manner which He desires will be blessed by God as they are used by God (1 Timothy 4:14).
God is pleased with and blesses churches that are set up in a manner that He intends, are run as He desires, and operate in His strength.
To be blessed, one must live as God would have them to live. The same is true for the church. Each community of believers must put into faith and practice those things that God has spoken in His Word. Often in the past, churches have been afraid to let God’s Word stand and have Him lead the church. Thus they have devised various man-made regulations to help fix a problem in case the situation gets out of God’s control. Certainly these well-meaning saints in the past had good reasons for their skepticism for what good was in mankind. However, all this extra baggage ended up limiting the influence of Christ in a church. The old adage “It’s not how much of the Holy Spirit you have, but rather how much of you the Holy Spirit has” works just as true in the church. When a church is wholly given over the Lord doing things only as He will, including church government and structure, then the Lord is truly able to bless the community as He sees fit. Churches that see a tremendous outpouring of God’s blessing are not entangled in man-centered rules and regulations that seek to legislate every detail of church government to the point that Christ is no longer necessary.
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Finally, in light of all that has been said this final question must be asked. The following serve as several possible reasons why God would become displeased with a church. A valuable exercise for any church is to carefully study the factors that led to God’s displeasure of the seven churches listed in the first three chapters of Revelation. Essentially, a church that displeases God reverses some or all that has been stated so far. That being the case, God will become displeased with and stop blessing any church that:
1) Acts like a legitimate church even though their heretical doctrine and sinful ways show that they are really a synagogue of Satan (Revelation 2:9).
2) Stops following His will and is spiritually dead and asleep (Revelation 3:1-3).
3) Allows sinful doctrines into the church (Revelation 2:14).
4) Allows sin to enter into the church and fall from the love of God (Revelation 2:5).
5) Allows false teaching and false prophecy in the church (Revelation 2:20).
6) Is lukewarm (Revelation 3:16).
7) Is caught up in the love of the world (Revelation 3:17-18).
8) Brings shame to His name.
9) Stops being connected to Him through prayer.
10) Ruins its theology by emphasizing things about Him that are not true (Ezekiel 13:1-8).
11) Is based upon theological error, moral impurity, or deceit (1 Thessalonians 2:3).
12) Has leadership more concerned about pleasing men than pleasing God (1 Thessalonians 2:6).
13) Quenches the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
14) Approve of sin (Romans 1:32).
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The church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23) made of believers chosen by God. The church is to be “the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).” It is Christ who guides and leads His church. This is more than just a fact to be believed and then set aside. Rather, it has important ramifications for what Christ is doing in the world today. He blesses the work which He does, thus it is imperative that the leadership understand that they are not leading the church rather Christ leads it and that they are under-shepherds who must submit to His direction (1 Peter 5:1-4).
a. Worship: Our primary purpose in life is to worship (John 4:24) and glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
b. Edification: We are to lead Christ’s disciples to obey the commandments of God (Matt 28:19-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:7). This is done through teaching God's word.
c. Fellowship: There is much joy in being around other believers (Heb 10:25). Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another, therefore the church should regularly meet for fellowship and encouragement (Proverbs 27:17).
d. Evangelism: God has chosen to use His people to spread the Word to the lost world (Matt 28:19-20; Romans 10:14-16).
e. Service: We are to spurn each other to love and good deeds in service to the body of Christ (Heb 10:24).
All worship is for God Himself. Every worship service must be designed to give honor and praise to an audience of One (Romans 12:1, Psalm 50:23, Malachi 2:5, 1 Corinthians 6:13). Worship of God ascribes to Him all praises. God is honored when His Word is faithfully taught (in word, song, and deed) and His glories are lifted in the hearts of the congregation (either by word, song, or deed) (1 Corinthians 14:26). Having said this, all things in the worship service should be done in a manner that honors God and doesn’t distract His people from worshipping Him (1 Corinthians 14:40). Therefore, excellence must guide the music, the transitions from one part to the next, the preaching, the offering, etc. When done with excellence, God will be honored and God’s people will be edified.
The Sunday worship service is a time for believers to meet together, worship God, and refocus their hearts/minds to obey Him. Believers are exhorted to be people who are “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord (Eph 5:10).” Since none of this can truly be done by an unbeliever, the worship service is not specifically intended to be an evangelistic outreach service.
This having been said, however, the Lord often brings unsaved people to Sunday worship services and often the faithful proclamation of the Word will be used by the Holy Spirit to convict sinners and bring them to repentance. Since every service will probably have unbelievers, the gospel should always be explained and churchy anomalies (for example, asking visitors to stand and introduce themselves) should be avoided and if possible they should be removed.
Worship music is rated as the number one reason why church members choose a church,[1] and since worship is one of the believer’s highest callings and is sought by God (John 4:23-24), it should be central to the worship service. However, the worship music should not be mere repetition without the head, nor should it be mere tradition without the heart (Isaiah 27:13). Music selections need to be chosen based upon the criteria of what will lead the congregation to worship the Lord in a more meaningful manner.
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The scriptures indicate that Christ is the head over the church mediating His rule through the service of elders (Titus 1:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:12). Their lifestyles should be specifically evaluated in light of Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (for elders) and 1 Timothy 3:8-13 (for deacons) prior to installation as elders.
Elders are to be men of prayer and students of the scriptures who are qualified to protect the doctrine of the church, able to teach (Sunday school, Adult Bible Studies, etc.), shepherd and visit the people, occasionally preach from the pulpit, oversee (although not necessarily administer) church finances, and oversee (although not actually administer) the physical needs of the church structure.
Church leaders (including elders and deacons) should be reviewed at least annually for the biblical qualification.
Scripture indicates that any man cannot simply become an elder. Rather elders are men who are supernaturally gifted to lead God's church (Acts 20:28). Since this calling is from God, God is the one who determines when an elder’s role in the office begins and ends. Thus, churches are not to have term-limits. Additionally, although the men serving as elders are initially qualified for their service, it may take years of faithful service for some men to gain a breadth of godly insight and wisdom. Likewise, a board that serves together for an extended period of time melds into one heart and direction. Since it takes years for both man and board to mature to this position, the church must not cycle on and off elders. Term limits for elders stymies the growth spiritually, growth in awareness of their responsibility before God, and growth in the unity amongst the elders. This is not to say that the elder board should not take on additional members—new members bring life and vitality to the board. God may specifically bring additional elders to enhance and expand the ministry of the church. But the size of the elder board must be manageable and correspond to the size of the body of believers.
Just as the scriptures do not mandate an elder to cycle-off every few years, the scriptures do not also require that elders maintain their positions for their entire lives. If they feel that the Lord has called them to step down, they may do so. However, once an elder steps down, he is no longer in a position of authority over the church and should conscientiously join the rest of the church in faithful submission to the current elders (Hebrews 13:17).
Often churches have men who at one point served as elders. These men are to be respected and allowed to serve the church just as any other member of the church. However these men should not specifically influence or leverage the present elders or the church congregation in regards events or church direction/vision in a manner that undermines the current elders' authority. Church governance matters must be handled by the active elders men who are biblically accountable to Christ for their obedience (Hebrews 13:17). Since the inactive members are not a part of the elder discussions and they are not specifically accountable to Christ to mediate His will, the inactive elders must comply and submit along with the rest of the congregation (2 Thessalonians 3:14).
Deacons do not have the same role as elders and may maintain their positions as long as there is the tangible need.
Elders are not elected by men, but rather appointed by God. Since no election takes place (Acts 6 is not an election, it is not referring to elders at all, and because of the prophetic/miraculous nature of their works, Acts 6 is not referring to deacons either), elders are selected and installed by other elders (Titus 1:5). They are not to be begged to be elders (1 Pet 5:2), nor are they to be elected or nominated by the congregation. However, prior to being installed, each elder’s name should be repeatedly presented to the congregation specifically to request if further information about that man would prevent him from being an elder.
All elders attempt to follow and obey the leadership of Christ. Scripture often calls the church to unity (Hebrews 6:12; Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 1:10, II Corinthians 13:11, Philippians 2:2), and the leadership of the church must model the values of scripture (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:6; Philippians 3:17, 4:9). It stands to reason that if every elder has the mind of Christ, there would be absolute unanimity between the elders. Nowhere in scripture is a vote performed by the leadership to make decisions.[2] The elders, then, should not “vote” but rather they should proceed only when there is 100% agreement amongst them. This does not mean that every elder has to be 100% enthusiastically supportive about every issue. Instead, 100% unanimity means that no one is opposed to an issue, or has significant misgivings, or has deep rooted reservations over the particular issue that would keep them from publicly supporting an elder decision.
Along these same lines, unity should also be between the church members and themselves and between the church members and the leadership. Unity cannot just spring up out of thin air—people cannot truly just force themselves to somehow changes their minds conform to the leadership. The leadership should work towards the same goal of unity with the congregation. Decisions should not be forced upon the flock. Consensus should be built. Although the church body should trust the leadership and follow their leaders’ wisdom, the leaders need to make a concerted effort to “go house to house” (Acts 20:20) in order to assure that people are of one mind. Unity can be attained, but it must be worked at and labored towards.
On a final note, unity among the leadership is mandatory however unity between the leadership and the flock is not. The elders are accountable to Christ to legislate His will in the life of the church. Thus, those whom Christ has placed in leadership must act in obedience to Him. For this reason there may be times that Christ leads the elders towards a goal/direction that the rest of the congregation may not fully support. In these times the moral integrity, spiritual strength, and biblical qualifications for leadership come to bear. The leaders must follow Christ and lead their congregation towards God’s highest purposes.
In a word: yes. Elders are to maintain and defend sound doctrine (Titus 1:9). Thus they need to be thoroughly trained in scripture and in theology prior to being installed as elders (2 Tim 2:15). Many men don't feel that they have the time to study scripture, and realistically, if that is the case then it would seem that God has not arranged the circumstances in their lives to be such that they can be qualified elders (1 Tim 5:22). They can still serve as deacons or use their gifts elsewhere, but biblically qualified elders must know scripture and theology well enough to protect against heresy.
The elders are the shepherds of the church (Acts 20:28). While there may be a “teaching pastor” who has been particularly trained in the scriptures for pulpit proclamation, the rest of the board of elders comprises the pastorship for the church. Therefore, elders can be trained in all the pastoral duties such as baptism, communion, sermon delivery, weddings, funerals, etc. In certain instances an elder may even seek formal ordination.
Since Christ holds the elders accountable to Him to enact His will, spiritual matters should be determined by the elders (1 Peter 5:2). The elders can certainly probe the church body for public opinion (e.g. by way of a non-decisive vote of confirmation) but the role of the elders is not to carry out the will of the people, but rather the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:12). In addition to the unique accountability to Christ that elders have (Heb 13:17), a public vote opens the possibility that one carnal Christian’s vote can essentially cancel out the vote of a godly member. The reality must be recognized that spiritual maturity takes years of righteous obedience to Christ. Consequently, discerning His will for a church through a vote of the will of the people may actually result in a vote against the will of Christ. Thus the congregation often will not vote on spiritual matters or other matters the elder board deems too important to present for a church vote.
The church is not expressly commanded in scripture to develop a vision/purpose statement. However, the church is commanded to conform its activities to the teachings of Christ (Matthew 29:19). Thus, often churches find that it is best to write out specifically what and how the church is to obey Christ. A common belief in America is that churches that have vision statements tend to grow faster than churches that do not have vision statements. While this may appear to be the case, Christ driven growth ultimately comes by total obedience of the whole church body to Christ’s leading. When people obey Christ, the church will increase with lasting growth.
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New ministry ideas are the fresh wind of the Lord meeting the needs of His people. Yet often churches leave programs in place far beyond their usefulness. One practical way to guard against antiquated, ineffective programs is to have each ministry report to an elder who can provide leadership and counsel, as well as terminate the ministry when it becomes necessary. This could easily be performed in an annual elders’ meeting specifically designed to evaluate the present and future direction of the church.
The goal of all biblical teaching is to develop Christlikeness in each individual so that they can best serve the Lord (Ephesians 4:12-16). Specifically, Christians are to be exhorted to live by the fruit of the Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control) and be able to discern between good and evil (Immorality, Impurity, Sensuality, Idolatry, Sorcery, Enmity, Strife, Jealousy, Outbursts of Anger, Disputes, Dissentions, Factions, Envying, Drunkenness, Carousing, Selfish Ambition, Quarreling, and Gossip).
Discipleship trains people in spiritual matters. It can occur in both formal and informal contexts and the church should have many avenues for discipleship. These may include: small groups, one-on-one discipleship, weekly prayer meetings, counseling, etc. One practical way to introduce biblical knowledge, fellowship, accountability, and service into the life of believer is through fellowship groups. These weekly groups usually meet in the evenings to discuss scripture and then break into all men/women prayer times where the groups ask each other pointed accountability questions. The evening concludes with food and fellowship. Once a month the group exchanges a Bible study time for pure-socialization and then routinely members are encouraged to help each other out—e.g. move furniture, paint, hang Christmas lights, etc.
A gauge of effectiveness of the teaching can be seen by the degree of which the church longs for scripturally based Bible teaching, how many bring and open their own Bibles at church, and how many engage in daily devotions. The degree of love in the church can also indicate the effectiveness of the teaching. For instance, does the church love one another? Give preference to one another? Resist judging one another? Admonish one another? Resist provoking one another? Not covet one another's things? Encourage one another?
Conversely, failure in effective teaching is evidenced by sin in the body, members holding semi-private home meetings specifically or primarily to discuss problems with the pastor or church leadership, churches dismissing (or strongly implied the need for his resignation) a pastor for a reason other than moral failure (specifically sexual promiscuity, financial impropriety, theological heresy).
Yes. The membership class should interview each person to ensure and record their salvation testimony (2 Peter 1:10). At the time of membership, each prospective member should be given an opportunity to give their testimony before the entire church. This will help facilitate the “get to know you” time, quickly foster new relationships, and help the church at large know the spiritual needs of the new members.
As mentioned with the preceding question, a membership class should be in place to teach the essentials of doctrines, the church distinctives, the importance of praying for the body and leadership, the importance of edification rather than gossip and slander, accountability, etc (Colossians 1:28). At the end, the prospective member should be required to sign agreement with the doctrinal statement of the church.
All people seeking membership should be taught
their role in the church body to serve however Christ has enabled them (1 Pet
4:10). The person needs to prayerfully see how Christ wants them to serve in
the body. However, often churches have a tendency to place people in positions
of willingness, rather than giftedness. This should be avoided so not to burn
out church members. Every person is to have a ministry to the body of Christ.
This should be taught to each person in the New Members Class. Does each person
have a specific gift their whole life? Likely many people will have a few gifts
that last throughout their lives, however God will give us whatever spiritual
abilities we need to be faithful to serve Him. Our own obedience to what God
calls us to do is a significant factor in our usefulness to the church.
Those who lead small groups (or are involved in ministry leadership) should be trained for their role. They are essentially the pastors of a small group of people. Therefore they need training, qualification, and review. They should be spiritually qualified lead a group (1 Timothy 3:7-12) and specifically should not be a new covert (1 Timothy 3:6).
If someone ceases to attend the church for a significant period of time without a reasonable cause they ought to be removed from the membership roles. This helps the elders maintain accurate records of the people God has called them to watch over. In terms of reasonable causes for not attending church, grace must be extended because there are many valid reasons for absence. Attendance can take other forms of church involvement besides being in the worship service. Likewise, special attention should be given to those blessed believers who have ailments which prevent them from attending church—this pertains to the elderly as well as children or parents of children who follow Christ but cannot attend due to health reasons.
Sometimes people stop attending a church because they are "shopping" other churches or they may be upset with someone in leadership at the present church. The church must still go to all lengths to restore a disenfranchised member back to fellowship just as Christ illustrated by the shepherd who leaves all ninety-nine sheep to find the one lost (Luke 15:4). But if against the persistent urgings of the elders, these people continue to refuse to attend the church, not for physical ailments, but because of unhappiness with the existing leadership, or because they are looking for another church, then the elders should gently, carefully, lovingly, and wisely complete the process by removing them from membership (Titus 3:10). The risk of maintaining them as church members is that they are living without accountability and perhaps may damage the flock with gossip, slander, factiousness, etc. or they may bring reproach upon the name of Christ because of moral decisions. The shepherds of the church, entrusted to protect and guard the flock, must ensure that there are no wolves threatening the spiritual health of the sheep.
Usually, but not always. The church is the body of Christ which He is building and the gates of Hell will not overcome it (Matthew 16:18). Yet there may be times when the church numerically dips for a short while as the church realigns its plans to the will of God. Some members may disagree with the new direction of the elders, yet it is the elders who are responsible to God to mediate His will in the church life. Thus these members may leave. A smaller church has some benefits. It can use the decline in attendance as an opportunity to refocus the body, re-evaluate their obedience to God, minister to one another in new ways, increase unity, increase intimacy, etc.
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Yes. Over time, many church people no longer have significant relationships with non-believers. Because of this difficulty in evangelism, when churches are following Christ’s command to reach the lost they have frequent events specifically for non-Christian adults, teens, and children. The leadership must diligently contact the visitors several times afterwards with friendly calls and invitations to more events. If visitors are leery of being called by a stranger, perhaps a well-worded note could suffice.
Paul speaks of equality between the churches (2 Corinthians 8:13). As a church grows in its maturity (both in spiritual maturity as well as in age) it will find ways to contribute to the needs of poorer churches. This may include actual monetary gifts, but also gifts in staffing, materials, etc. Certainly Christ commands the individual members to be particularly generous with one another and those who are less fortunate.
The point should be made that although some churches may be financially less gifted, they should not necessarily be viewed as less spiritually gifted. God can be worshipped just as easily in a poor church as He can in a rich church. In fact, an over-emphasis upon the beauty and possessions of a church may indicate a lack of true spiritual relationship between the church and the Lord. All material items are just shells for the heart and life of a person. It does not matter what a person wears or drives or has—he or she may walk or not walk with the Lord in either circumstance. Nicer amenities sometimes enable more ministry, but they should not be understood to increase the spiritual effectiveness of the ministry. Thus the richer churches should help the poorer churches, not necessarily because of their spiritual poverty, but because of their financial poverty.
The key purpose of the church is to make disciples. This includes numerical growth at home, but also abroad. Thus the church mu