Pastor John’s Blog

A basic missional principle is that the life and vibrancy of every church is directly tied to its ministerial context. A church that missionally engages its community is going to be healthy. But any engagement with the community will require the church to reshape itself from within, its ministries and worship service/s, and from without, how outreach will be organized and executed. This is so because by sending God’s people into the community a cultural exchange takes place that affects the inner and outward life of any church reaching out to multiple cultures. How the Gospel gets translated into the various cultures and how the target-groups are received into the inner life of the congregation requires adaptability.

This is where a church’s organizational model factors in. An organic organizational model tends to adapt quicker to change than a hierarchical model. In essence, an organic organization is one that replicates life and has the ability to respond to external changes by adapting itself to the change. An organic organization can be viewed as a living system “possessing the same capacity to adapt and grow that is common to all life.” [1] To better understand an organic system it is important to have a basic understanding of living systems:

1. A living system is “a network of processes in which every process contributes to all other processes. The entire network is engaged together in producing itself.” [2]
2. Just as a living system produces itself it will also adapt and change as a way of preserving itself in response to external change.
3. As the system is disturbed by its external environment it has the ability to let go of its present form and reorganize itself into a new shape that allows it to better deal with its environment. [3]
4. This disturbance within the living system, referred to as disequilibrium, is the necessary key for the system to grow and transform itself.
5. These adaptive systems are known as dissipative structures because when disturbed they are able to dissipate, or take on a new form, making them self-organizing systems. [4]

Like living systems, churches depend on their context to thrive. This is why it is so important that churches organize themselves in ways that allow them to interact with the community and reshape themselves in response to the needs and changes taking place therein.

Making room for new people of different cultural backgrounds within the church you lead requires humility. This is so because making room for others in the area of culture, ministry and leadership requires that leaders withdraw some of their power and influence to allow others to share and contribute. I am not referring to leaders abdicating their power and influence but of applying a self-limitation that empowers others in these three areas.

Jürgen Moltmann presents a theological argument that can provide a model for this.  He argues that creation takes place within God. To make his case he asks this question: “Can the omnipotent and omnipresent God have an ‘outward’ aspect at all?” He continues: “Is there, in fact, an extra Deum [meaning anything outside of God] for these opera ad extra [meaning outward or external works of God such as creation]? If we start from the assumption that there is, then we must assume, not only God’s self-constitution in eternity, but an equally eternal non-divine or counter-divine entity, which would be ‘outside’. But would this not be to contradict God’s divinity, which means his omnipresence?” [1]

Moltmann makes a valid point. If God is omnipresent it does become difficult to conceive that something can exist outside of him. There cannot be an outside to the one that fills everything. Therefore, Moltmann argues, “In order to create something ‘outside’ himself the infinite God must have made room for this finitude beforehand, ‘in himself.” [2]

This is a compelling argument: If nothing can exist outside of God because of his omnipresence then he must make room within himself to create the universe. Moltmann views this self-limitation of God in creation as an act of self-humiliation.  He explains that “Creation in chaos and out of nothing, which is an act of power, is also a self-humiliation on God’s part, a lowering of himself into his own impotence. Creation is a work of God’s humility and his withdrawal into himself.” [3]

The analogy that can be drawn from this is if God imposed a self-limitation on himself that required a self-humiliation to make room within himself for creation we leaders must do the same to make room within the churches we serve for people of different cultural backgrounds. Self-limitation and self-humiliation are an act of power and not of weakness.

Here are some things we can do:

• Welcome the new ideas and the different perspectives they bring to our church
• Keep an open mind and be willing to try new things
• Incorporate the different cultures into the worship service where possible
• Start a new worship service for the different cultures if needed
• Allow them to easily connect to ministry and leadership at all levels
• Allow the church to be shaped by the different cultures.

If you are expecting new people from different cultural backgrounds to attend the church you lead you will need to prepare by making room for them. I am not referring to physical space, as important as this is, but to making room for them in these three areas: Culture, ministry and leadership.

The Jerusalem church of Acts 6 provides a good example of this: “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1, NLT).

Some things that fueled the tension:

• Rapid church growth took place (people were trying to figure out their place in church)
• Preexisting tension between the Greek-Speaking and Hebrew-speaking believers existed
• The Greek-speaking believers born abroad found themselves in a different cultural milieu
• The Greek-speaking believers did not sense that they had been fully embraced
• The perceived discrimination against the Greek-speaking widows confirmed their belief
• The Hebrew-speaking believers led and carried out all of the ministry

The Apostles’ response was brilliant: “And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility” (Acts 6:3, NLT).

They made room in these three areas:

• Culture: They selected Greek-speaking believers to distribute the food
• Ministry: They shared this ministry with the Greek-speaking believers
• Leadership: They shared their influence and leadership with the Greek-speaking believers

So if you are expecting to receive new people from different cultural backgrounds into the church you lead start making room for them now by planning ways to incorporate the new culture/s into your congregation. If needed, incorporate an organizational structure that allows new people to quickly connect with ministry and leadership at different levels within the congregation you serve.

I belong to a team of three called the Harvesters Mission Team at Spirit Life Community Church (SLCC). One way that we are connecting with the community is by using a third space—Starbucks. A third space is any place where people gather for some leisure time. For five weeks now we have been meeting at the same Starbucks on the same day and at the same time to play dominoes, drink good coffee and invite others to join us in a round of dominoes. Our goal is to become regulars at this Starbucks in order to form relationships with other regular customers. We are hoping that as these new relationships develop that the three of us will be asked how we know each other, which will give us the opportunity to mention our church and hopefully answer some questions concerning Jesus.

In these past five weeks a man has joined us once to play dominoes and a few others have engaged us in conversation. However, last week two men replied to our invitation to play dominoes in a way that let us know that we are on the right track. One said that he has noticed us playing every week and says that we add culture to Starbucks. He mentioned that he is a barista at a different Starbucks but told us that no one plays checkers over there anymore. He commented that the purpose of Starbucks is to draw the community together and likes the fact that we are playing dominoes there. He said that he would probably join us next week. Another man told us that he too has noticed us playing and said that he would also join us next week. We are glad to be noticed and look forward to having both of them play dominoes with us.

Since our team’s mission is to lead others to harvest the lost we are going to invite the members of SLCC to meet in third spaces of their choice to do what we are doing. Over time we anticipate results from this. Paul, after all, saw great results from using a third space. Acts 19:9-10 tells us that “he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.¹⁰ This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord” (NLT). What stands out to our team is that Paul consistently met in the lecture hall of Tyrannus—a place where people gathered to hear philosophical debates. Paul became a regular at that place. This allowed him to embed himself within the culture of Ephesus, form relationships and share the Gospel message. This is a good model to follow and one that we are trying to put into practice.

Watching the images of the devastation caused by the earthquake in Japan and the force of the tsunami caused by the quake stir my heart. The earthquake that has been upgraded from an 8.9 to a 9.0 has left over 10,000 dead. The possible radiation leak from the nuclear reactor has the potential of killing many more. We know that this earthquake is one more sign that Jesus’ return is near. Jesus said in Matthew 24:7-8 that “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.⁸ But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come” (NLT). The wars taking place in the Middle East and in other parts of the world and the large earthquakes that have struck during the last few years confirm that we are living in the end times. What should our response be to the quake? The first thing we should do is pray for the people of Japan. Let’s ask God to help the rescue workers find everyone that is trapped. Pray that God will help the Japanese people get through this very trying time. Ask God to cause all aid relief projects to be successful. Pray that any possible radiation leaks in the nuclear reactor will be stopped. The second thing we should do is get involved in any way possible with the relief efforts. Lastly, we should prepare ourselves for Christ’s return. We must examine ourselves to see if we are living as we should. With Christ’s return being so imminent we must set our affairs in order.

We all have gifts and talents that we are not aware of, but God sees them. When God called Gideon to rescue Israel from the hands of the Midianites he said to Gideon, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” (Judges 6:14, NLT). The reference to Gideon’s strength is a reference to his natural gifts and abilities. God told this fearful man that he would use his natural abilities to deliver Israel. Gideon couldn’t see his gifts. Instead, he said, “How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” (6:15). But after God assured Gideon that he would be with him Gideon accepted, but with trepidation. To give Gideon a glimpse of his natural abilities, God sent him to tear down his father’s altar to Baal. “So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town” (6:27). Gideon’s first act was to lead ten men. And with great risk they tore down the altar of the false god Baal. It was at this point Gideon witnessed his natural strengths in action. He had the ability to get people to follow him. God has also given us strengths. Included in these strengths is the ability to lead. It is up to us to discover our leadership abilities and put them to use, even if on a small scale. We must see what God sees in us. Never shy away from leadership.

We hear politicians argue over a sky-rocketing national debt that our children will have to pay for. We also hear them argue over the state of our educational system and how American children will not be able to compete in the market place of tomorrow. There is a lot of truth in what they are saying. As a nation we can’t continue to accumulate out-of-control debt with no regard to the future of our children and we have to do something about our educational system. As Christians, however, we also need to be concerned about the moral condition that our children will find our nation in. What kind of spiritually legacy are we leaving the next generation? King Hezekiah was a man that lived for the moment. He was not concerned with what happened to the next generation. In Isaiah 39 the king of Babylon sent Hezekiah envoys to see how he was doing. “Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them” (39:2). After these men left, Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah, “The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.⁷ ‘Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king” (39:6-7). You would think that Hezekiah would display remorse for having been so imprudent in showing his wealth to envoys of a foreign nation.  You would think that he would be concerned over all that would happen to the next generation. But instead, he said, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.’ For the king was thinking, ‘At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime” (39:8). This was a man that only cared about his generation. We, on the other hand, must think of the next generation for three reasons. First, because these are our children we are talking about. Their success, prosperity and spiritual wellbeing must be a priority to us. Second, because as the God of every generation, God wants to reach the next generation. And last, because Christianity is always one generation away from extinction. We must get involved and vote because the decisions politicians make today will impact our children tomorrow. And we must impact the moral climate of our nation and leave a spiritual legacy for our children so that they may know God and inherit a nation that still holds to the Judeo-Christian values. Pray for the next generation.  

In Bible times, kings that were victorious in battle would return from war in a triumphal procession to cheering crowds, as they displayed in chains the kings and generals that they had conquered. Paul uses this image when he states in 2 Corinthians 2:14, “But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.” (NLT). Now, being described as a conquered captive that is paraded around doesn’t sound appealing at first. It also doesn’t seem to present Jesus Christ in the best light. He appears to be an enslaving, gloating king. But a closer look at the passage reveals something completely different. To understand how we are conquered by Christ and the type of chains that we wear we need to look at 2 Corinthians 5:14: It reads, “Either way, Christ’s love controls us” (NLT). The CEV says, “We are ruled by Christ’s love for us.” Both words, “controlled” and “ruled”, are English translations of the Greek word synechei that means to hold, press, restrict and control. The argument could be made that this word is describing the function of handcuffs. They help police officers hold, press, restrict and control those that they have arrested. The imagery that this conjures up is that of Christ’s love arresting and controlling us as with a pair of handcuffs. Or as the Message Bible states it, “Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.” So, with this background we can revisit 2 Corinthians 2:14 and understand it as follows:  “But thank God! He has made us his captives [having arrested us with his love that moves us] and continues to lead us [display us as those that he has conquered with his love] along in Christ’s triumphal procession.” Jesus displays us to the world as those conquered by his love and transformed by his mighty power so that everyone may know that he wants to do the same in them. Christ wants to pour his love on people to the point that they will obediently surrender to Him because of His goodness. Therefore, as Christ’s trophies let’s show the world how good, how awesome and how amazing it is to live under the control of Christ’s love for us.

In John 9 Jesus heals a man that had been born blind. Jesus spit on the ground, made mud, placed it on the man’s eyes and told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. When the man washed himself he regained his sight. From the narrative we are able to infer that this man did not know Jesus prior to his healing and that he did not get to see what Jesus looked like after he was healed because he regained his sight at the pool of Siloam. From this passage we also learn that this man’s physical healing was symbolic of Jesus’ power to heal spiritual blindness. In the case of this man, his spiritual eyes open up a little at a time when he is questioned by others concerning Jesus. The first round of questions went like this: “They asked, ‘Who healed you? What happened?’¹¹ He told them, ‘The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!’” (John 9:10-11, NLT). The second round came from the Pharisees: “The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, ‘He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!’” (9:15). Again, they questioned him: “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?’ The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet’” (9:17). Frustrated at the fact that they might  had a genuine miracle on their hands they told the man, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.’²⁵ ‘I don’t know whether he is a sinner,’ the man replied. ‘But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!’” (9:24-25). The questioned him a fourth time: “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”²⁷ “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” (9:26-27). And when the Pharisees question Jesus’ origin, the man replies, “If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” (9:33). Through these questions the man reflected on the man that had healed him and went from referring to Him as “the man they call Jesus” to realizing that Jesus was from God. Therefore, From this passage we can conclude that by asking questions we can help the spiritually blind to begin to open their eyes. It starts by asking them what God has done for them. Most people will recognize that God has done things for them. As they reflect on what God has done for them we can ask them questions that will help them understand who God is and what he wants to do for them. So take time to pray today and to ask God to prepare you to speak to others about Him.

If you have ever talked to your non-believing friends about Christ and felt that they did not understand a word of what you were saying it is because they are spiritually blind. In order to reach them for Christ you will need to gain a better understanding of what spiritual blindness is. In Acts 26:17-18 Paul gives us a glimpse of what spiritual blindness is as he recounts what Jesus said to him when he appeared to him on the road to Damascus: “Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles¹⁸ to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me” (NLT). From these verses we can ascertain that spiritual blindness is a condition that sinful, unrepentant people experience. This spiritual malady does not permit them to know that they are sinners held captive under Satan’s power.  Since the spiritually blind cannot see the light of God’s truth they cannot understand the gravity of their sinfulness or God’s plan of salvation. But there is good news. Spiritual eyes can be opened. In fact, Jesus Christ sent Paul to the Gentiles “to open their eyes.” Like Paul, you and I have a role in opening the eyes of the spiritually blind. But we are to do this in partnership with God, for He plays a major role in this, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:6: “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ” (NLT). So how do we assist in opening the eyes of the spiritually blind? It starts by realizing that many of the people that we interact with every day are spiritually blind. It starts with awareness. This awareness should then lead us to pray that God would fill us with compassion for the spiritually blind. So today pray that God would give you a burden to pray for the spiritually blind. Ask God to use you to open their eyes so that they too may know God.