Leaning Forward

Silence by the lambs

It's an odd phenomenon, the silencing of the church these days. Not that the world has always welcomed a Word from God through His prophets or preachers. No, the silencing of the lambs, pardon the pun, is nothing new. What is surprising now is that the duct tape is being applied by the lambs. A godless society doesn't have to gag the church now. No, the church is being silenced by the church. Sad.

Picture Noah, a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) declaring the judgment of God to a condemned culture that refused to listen. Further, trace the prophetic mission of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the rest of the prophets as they labored with God's Word to Israel and their opponents. The world always winced under their blistering messages. They were opposed and persecuted for their boldness. God's Word of judgement was offensive in every respect. So, the people persecuted the Prophets and rejected their words. Jesus spoke to His disciples about it in these words, "You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:11-12). Clearly, the world turns a deaf ear to the message, and often marginalizes the messenger in the process. As I've said before, the truth always hurts because it's always the truth.

Enter John the Baptist, "...a voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:3). By now we all know his message, how it was received, and the story of his death. He spoke boldly to the socio/economic/religious/political conditions of the first century world and was beheaded for standing strongly against the many injustices of the times. Still, it was basically a worldly opposition that silenced him. His confession, however, is a profound foundational link to his clear voice and willingness to speak for the Lord regardless of the consequences: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). He was listening to the applause of heaven, not the applause of men.

Then, Jesus came to Jerusalem. "Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.'" (Luke 19:30). You know what He said, "I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out" (19:40). You can translate and interpret this passage any way you wish, shift the emphasis in whatever direction you wish to justify your own position. But, most of the Bible version scholars give us a uniform take-away: Christ's disciples cannot help but glorify and honor Him. It is a central tenet of our faith, to be His spokespersons to an unbelieving world. Yet, there is a noticeable shift on the day of the Triumphal entry. Suddenly, it was the religious people silencing His disciples. Exit the voice in the public square.   

To presume the Christian voice is restricted to the preaching of the Gospel is to limit the intention of God in influencing history. Abraham and Lot cried out against Sodom. Moses spoke God's demand to the Egyptian Pharaoh. Jeremiah said, "I will go to the powerful and speak to them" (Jeremiah 5:5). Haggai was commanded to speak to the governor Zerubbabel.  When Peter and John were dragged before the rulers of Jerusalem (Acts 4:5 ff), they replied to the command that they cease speaking to the people with, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4: 19-20). Challenged even more, they replied, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). Then again, Paul wrote, "Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but rather God, who examines our hearts" (1 Thessalonians 2:4). The lesson is clear. As God has entrusted us with the Gospel, so are we copmmisioned by Him to speak truth to the world around us.

So, the church has been silenced today, not by government sanction, legal fiat, or official regulation, though we're close in the tax exempt status thing. Instead, the lambs are being silenced by the lambs, the muzzle applied by fellow church people, the duct tape by people in the next pew.

It's not the silence of the lambs, but the silence by the lambs. And, that is just hard to fathom.

Pay attention to the applause meter

Playing loose with Scripture isn't new. Cults, sects, and many other start-ups on the edges of orthodoxy do the "now you see it, now you don't" thing with the Bible. Back in the day when moderates ruled the world going lite with the Word was a norm. To marginalize the Bible was the fast-track to weak theology and impotent churches. Oddly, playing tiptoe with Scripture assured a hearing in the public square. Limp Christians are welcome in public discourse.

Pop culture prefers slippery positions anyway. It's not rocket science either. Pollsters say a majority of Americans reject moral absolutes and, therefore, strict, narrow interpretations of Scripture. While claiming biblical authority, a good many high profile churches and spiritual leaders take soft stances on key moral issues and do a slick rope-a-dope around the many troubling, timely ethical demographics hidden on the back pages of the media. Evidently there's less fear of offending God these days than being labeled hard core by the generational cohorts in the cross-hairs of the contemporary church. Go figure!

Several spiritual anomalies converge here, the efficacy of Scripture being just one. Well, yes, there are portions of the Holy Writ I'd just as soon rip out of my Bible. The parts about discipline, gluttony, my short fuse, and dozens of texts that touch my exposed nerves makes me want to skip over verses, pages, even chapters, at times. So, let me be the first to admit miserable success at applying the tenets of my faith, the authority, inerrancy, and infallibity of the Bible. Still, with that said, I readily confess a strong belief in the total reliability and authority of Scripture, my dark heart notwithstanding.

Yet, to say Christian congregations, pastors, and affiliated ministers should not speak to the issues of the day involves one of several spiritual dilemmas. Take the matter of being a voice in the spiritual aspects of modern politics, for example. This is a no-no in many church circles these days. Even more than the government threats of losing tax exempt status is the internal pressure to put a gag on church people. Members of the Black Robe Regiment of the American revolution are probably turning over in their graves every time a modern spokesman for God ducks his responsibility to rightly handle the Word of Truth. By the way, if you don't know what the Black Robe Regiment is, go here.

To be silent in a world like this one is either denial of the truth of Scripture, a decision to overlook or marginalize certain portions of the Bible, or a desire to please men that outweighs the command to please God. Of course, if we've given the Word a subsidiary position in our spiritual hierarchy, any one of the three may seem reasonable. Word-smith it any way you want. Any one of the three is a serious breach of His claim over us. Show me the passage that warrants us looking the other way or tempering our speech!

So, we know King David served his own generation (Acts 13:36), and the men of  Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do (1 Chronicles 12:32). Yes, Moses challenged the Pharaoh, Daniel spoke to the King, and the prophets warned the nation about political and military alliances. While we're tearing those pages from the Bible, let's excise Romans 13 and anything Jesus had to say about giving to Caesar, among many others. In the process, let's decide if interpreting the Bible is the real problem, or if the real issue might be interpreting the applause. 

OK, I battle approval addiction too. Words of affirmation are my over-riding love language, all the time, 24/7. The applause of men is something all of us desire to some degree, with me standing first in line. Loving and sharing the life of a congregation is a precious stewardship that cannot be taken lightly or abused. At the same time, integrity as His man requires loving the applause of heaven more than the accolades of the people around us.

So, the test of our influence on the world around us, at this strategic time and in all others, may simply be a matter of listening and interpreting the applause meter in our heart. And, at my age, there's a growing desire to hear the applause of heaven more and more.

And, not blaming God or His word when I don't.      

It's an annual meeting

We're not stockholders and so there will be no market reports. No, we're members. Paul wrote, "Now you are the Body of Christ, and individual members of it" (1 Corinthians 12:27).

So, our annual meeting is a celebration of His church and the ways Jesus Christ as Head (see Ephesians 4:15, 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:10) moves and directs the working of His various parts, His body. The revision of our Constitution and By-laws in November, 2012, included a provision for an annual meeting. Declining attendance at quarterly meetings, once the mandate of our governing documents, occasioned a review of our Body life. So, this will be our first annual meeting.

Of course, we'll meet on the Lord's Day to celebrate His resurrection. We've cancelled our Life Connection Group ministry and will have a fellowship breakfast at 9:15 a.m., then gather for one service in the Worship Center @ 10:30 a.m. This service will include inspiring worship, incredible videos from our ministry leaders, and times to handle some church family matters.  I wept as I watched the videos last Thursday, so powerful were their messages. We'll all see evidence of His touch on human lives as new believers are baptized. It will be a day to rejoice and honor Him in the life and mission of our church.  

We're learning still. My prayer is that His grace will cover us and give us a spirit of unity and purpose as we serve His mission and His church.

"If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of live, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. Do nothing our of rivalry or conceit, but in humilty consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make you attitude that of Christ Jesus..." (Phil. 2:1-5).

This is my prayer for our annual meeting.

Ego-nomics and the mastery of self

It's on my list of the top ten books for two reasons. One, it's the only book, with the exception of the Bible, that I read every year. Two, it's the book I most often recommend and give to colleagues in ministry. Pictured at left, it's Embracing Brokenness by Alan E.  Nelson (NavPress, Colorado Springs, 2002). The value of Nelson's work and what has made it so useful over the past few years is the honest way Nelson has helped me deal with the challenges of ministry, the most problematic being me, myself, and I.  

Nelson, an Arizona pastor, first came to my attention when I served as Director of Pastoral Ministries at the South Carolina Baptist Convention. The nature of my work assignment as to be pastor to the 5000 pastors and church staff members serving in the 2000+ churches in our state convention. It was very fulfilling, though challenging work. There were day by day thrills and heart-aches as I was invited into the inner circle of so many ministry friends. Even on my first day in the Baptist Building there were tears of disappointment and brokenness as brothers and sisters in Christ shared their burdens, experiences, and joys of serving His churches. On that first day I knew there would need to be a thoughtful, compassionate, yet frank resource to help God's men and women through the crucibles of service. That's when I discovered John Eldridge's Wild at Heart (a book I will review in a couple of weeks), and Alan E. Nelson's Broken in the Right Place. They become companion guides in dealing with the hardness of ministry , and the ways God shapes our hardest experiences into the valuable lessons that prepare us for the next chapters.

Trouble has a lot of names. There are also some blood brothers that travel with trouble, regardless of the name under which it strikes your life. It's kind of like the insurance commercials on TV these days, you know, mayhem---thunder and lightning, floods, falling trees, animals on the road, mud slides, and hundreds of other road hazards. Trouble hits hard and brings anger, disappointment, sadness, grief, deep emotion, bitterness, and every other response known to man. 

Nelson gently describes the untamed human soul, explains brokenness in a most compassionate way, and introduces child-likeness as a prime example of the spirit of brokenness, before establishing Jesus Christ as the most vivid model of a totally broken spirit. The final pivotal chapters explain how to develop an attitude of brokenness, the possibility of voluntary brokenness, and the results of a yielded spirit before God. Learning the servant life and being the person God designed us to be are victorious endings to Nelson's book.

Jesus promised, "You will have suffering in this world" (John 16:33). So, when you hear people say "if" this or so happens, our corrective must always be "not if, but when". "Baby, the rain must fall" is more than an old song lyric. It's coming to our lives sooner or later. So, we must be prepared in some way for the emotional crash and physical stretching of life's tests. Hardened, fixed, prideful people crash harder than the spirit that is voluntarily, constantly broken.

Our son Brian was murdered in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, on July 18, 2011. Already we had been softened by my bout with stage four transitional cell carcinoma back in 2004, and the agonies of major surgery and months of chemo therapy. But, our son's death was a level of pain and grief that we could not have known, so intense was our suffering. We had lots of people around us---family, four congregations, the entire South Carolina Baptist Convention, of which I served as President that year, and many, many more.

But, Alan E. Nelson came along side too. Now, I've never met him. But, the Bible, and his book, Embracing Brokenness, were our instructors in a time when we were totally teachable, a moment of agonizing brokenness.  Nelson wrote, "Some lessons can only be learned by loss...the seasoning process requires us to get a little salt in our wounds...Pain could be transformed, even redeemed" (page 62). God teaches us even today, two years later, through the sadness of his death.

Embracing Brokenness is a winner. It will introduce you to yourself and help you understand ego-nomics and the mastery of self.

 

Affirming the church covenant: value

Connect the dots.

[1] Christ died to save sinners.
     1 Corinthians 15:3
[2] Redeemed humans are the Body of Christ.
     1 Corinthians 12:27
[3] The Body of Christ is the church.
      1 Corinthians 12:27
[4] Christ died for the church.
     Ephesians 5:25
[5] Church membership matters.

Proof texting the existence and value of Christ's church isn't difficult. It is HIs church, by the way, and He promises to build and grow it (Matthew 16:18). Of course, a culture with few absolutes will argue the centrality of the church to Christ's mission, or, just as easily, re-invent the church to elastic human standards. Even more, the miserable state of church membership accounting has de-valued church membership to the point that church influence in the public square is marginalized substantially.

What's the deal with this? Certainly Scripture affirms the place of the local church in the mission of Christ. Paul's letters to so many individual congregations leave little doubt that membership in the Body was an expected aspect of mission. The tone of the epistles make it even clearer that humans brought trouble to the Body and that Divine guidance was needed to direct its internal and external movements. So, the Holy Spirit dedicated a good many verses of the Holy Writ to instructions about church life. The promise of Christ, that even the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, registers another value of His local people in the economy of heaven. The church is important.

Yet, history will remember this epoch as one with little appreciation for the church of Christ. Millions of de-churched believers, if such an anomaly can exist, check the appropriate boxes on census information to register identification with Christ, but with no membership or participation in a local congregation. Demographers indicate a new sub-category of spiritual affiliation, believers who have opted out of church. The statistics of this grouping are not insubstantial either. They distort the spiritual caricature of a nation with such strong spiritual foundations.

Peter wrote, "You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials, so that genuineness of your faith---more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire---may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6-7). Clearly, our personal faith in Jesus is more valuable than gold. So, Peter continued, "Coming to Him, a living stone---rejected by men by chosen and valuable to God---you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 2:4-5). Surely there is the image of the church in the background of Peter's thought. Even more, the New Testament gives us firm and certain direction about His church and our attachment to Him in it. There is the church of Jesus, front and center in the thrilling redemptive history of Christ.

Affirming the church covenant has placed before our congregation the value of faith, more valuable than gold, and the meaning of church membership. To be His is the greatest honor and blessing of this life. That He would live in us is a miracle beyond human comprehension. What is more, our mis-application of the truth about the church has a domino affect trickles into the very foundations of our faith. You see, when we de-value church membership we lower Christ. When we make less of Jesus, we cheapen His atoning sacrifice for our sins. And, there we are again, with the cheap grace defined by Bonhoeffer. Then, as a result, we've birthed a twentieth century universalism that requires no atonement, no obedience, no accountability, no discipline, all because there is no church. 

Will affirming the church covenant cure all the church drama? Of course not. We're redeemed sinners with the dark shadow of our own nature following us every step of the way. His grace, and the work of the Body under His headship, however, is the plan, His plan from the foundations of the world. We're discovering the joys of being His Body, and the cost He paid to claim us as His own.

Then, of course, there's the casserole dish.    

Affirming the church covenant: clarity

The spiritual dynamics of a nation on the move are hard to predict and at times, just as hard to explain. So, modern sophisticates shopping for faith have a shopping list that is different than at any previous time over the last two millennia.
A by-product of McChurch, as defined by author Chuck Colson a few years back, is that the lines that distinguished one group from another have been blurred. Who we are and what we believe is about as clear as mud.

This is evidenced in the generic dis-affiliation of many congregations, the labels that do not specify denominational attachments, partnerships, or connections. Political talk is out in most younger groups, inclusiveness is another cultural the buzz word, and a certain amount of spiritual ambiguity is preferred in making church selections. It's an odd thing, but some people regularly attend two or three churches, getting an item or two on their shopping list in several different markets---children's stuff here, worship over there, small groups down the road, and meals across the street. It's funny. When my mom and dad joined the church I pastored in Greenville, SC, my dad told the church, "The preaching here is mediocre, but the food is always good". OK, so no one is the entire package these days. 

But, somewhere in the mix, an identity has to bubble up. Sooner or later questions of importance will flash across the screen, matters that touch the special places in all of us. As students turn into graduates turn into professional singles turn into couples turn into parents, the wants and desires of life change, as do the spiritual needs. What wasn't so important back there is suddenly a down-loadable app up here in this new world. Then it wasn't significant. Now, it is. 

So, the documents of the church hold special value, especially to people plugged into the world around them. They should, and usually do, want to know more than the good music or the clever sermon packaging or the frequency of what a friend of our refers to as "cook and carry" events. If they're in the Word, growing in their faith, and can talk mission, they'll want to know the stuff under the surface---where does this church stand on church discipline, personal accountability, the meaning of church membership, worldview issues---and, in this environment, how the church views marriage, the sanctity of life, use and abuse of alcohol and drugs, and a long list of other important life topics.  

That's where the church covenant provides some clarity. Historian Charles W. DeWeese writes, “A church covenant is a series of written pledges based on the Bible which church members voluntarily make to God and to one another regarding their basic moral and spiritual commitments and the practice of their faith” (Baptist Church Covenants, p.viii).   One theologian calls church covenants the “ethical counterpart to confessions of faith.” The covenant is an agreement between each church member to the others and to God. It provides clarity in unifying the faith and works of the congregation by defining ethical and lifestyle standards of the community of faith.

Fifty shades of gray is more definitive of church distinctives today than ever before. Ecumenism and Kingdom partnerships established to reach across lines of diversity have instead blurred them. The mission of Christ in a dark world is graced when the basic doctrinal fellowship honors Him. These alliances, however, must not mistake Christ's church for the other honorable civic and community organizations that link hands in addressing social ills. The mission of Christ stands apart from community renewal, racial justice, homelessness, education, poverty, and a long list of cultural problems. Often the desired outcomes are close. Still, Kingdom mission glorifies Christ and extends His Kingdom, whereas local civic and community groups just like to help. A church covenant establishes the spiritual orientation of the addresed morals and ethics, and clarifies their Kingdom merits.

Life is foggy at times. Many churches are too. When we affirm our church covenant, we're bringing some clarity to the mission and insuring that the tie that binds is a spiritual one---Him. 

Focus.

Affirming the church covenant: faith and works

Most of the church covenants we reviewed in the process of formulating one peculiar to us include two essential elements. One part is confessional, a broad theological statement as a basis of fellowship. The remainder is a working document, Kingdom bullets we will seek to achieve together.

In a manner of speaking, the covenant is the intersection of faith and works for the congregation. While it's not a governing document, mission statement, list of core values, or exhaustive doctrinal treatise, it does reflect spiritual principles that activate the essentials of our faith in practical ways. The "We will" bullets that comprise our particular covenant (there are nine of them in our document), are promises we make to each other to insure some direction in the way we live and serve together. They're lifestyle oriented, but in a wide application. They help us grasp the dynamic tension of faith and works, always a trouble spot for humans.

This tension is another sink hole for church people. By now we should understand freedom from works of the law and the truth of salvation by grace through faith. Most evangelical confessions strongly advocate the work of Christ as the only basis for redemption of mankind. Still, there's a scale of justice in the human heart that weighs many of us in one of two directions. One, our heavy unworthiness inclines us to complement His work with our own, shifting the balance to a works based system of righteousness. Or, two, grace is misunderstood and misapplied, creating a bulk in the other direction, what Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace". So, today we have spiritual workaholics who can't do enough, and spiritual sluggards who do nothing.

Our church covenant establishes a solid theological foundation in it's opening statement. "Having, as we trust, been brought by divine grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to Him, and having been baptized upon our confession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully covenant with each other".  It's not the BF&M or Chicago Confession. It does, however, identify us with several key theological ideals: repentance, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, His divine grace, believer's baptism, and the concept of covenant.  

Then, there are the nine "We will" works we pursue together. Once again, they are general in nature and not all that peculiar to our context, though we have expressed them in modern language, and smoothed out some wording that has created confusion for people in the past. Nevertheless, they are "We will" actions. They indicate more than intellectual or confessional union, but more a listing of work ideals around which we form the partnership, or fellowship, of the church.

One section declares, "We will endeavor to engage our culture for the betterment of our society by: taking a pro-life stand for the unborn, the elderly of our society, and those too physically ill or handicapped to defend themselves; promoting the biblical model of marriage between one man and one woman; combating the abuse of drugs and the spread of pornography; abstaining from the abuse of alcohol." These "works" element of our covenant express the conviction that our faith must intersect the culture in several specific ways regarding a couple of key societal abuse areas. They're not intended to be political statements. Instead, they represent strong biblical ideals regarding contemporary cultural ills. For the most part, the church family has embraced these statements.

The statistical profile of our church is most likely consistent with that which is reported by SBC churches nation-wide, and therefore, in the denomination as whole. If we see half of the people officially listed on our roll during a year, it would be a good year. Somewhere in the mix of our mission in years past we have failed to teach the biblical foundation of life-changing faith, and the works that such a encounter with Christ produce in believers. One of those works is to be a functioning part of His body, the church. My prayer is that affirming the church covenant annually will remind us that faith and works are definitive marks of a person genuinely redeemed by Christ. 

For, faith without works is dead.

Affirming the church covenant: symphonics

sym·phon·ic  (sm-fnk)  adj. 

 

1. Relating to or having the character or form of a symphony.

2. Harmonious in sound.

So, you can see, symphonic is a musical term. To use it in reference to affirming our church covenant may seem, at first glance, somewhat out of place. Of course, I'm using it in a broad biblical sense, and not in a context about worship. People who prefer traditional and contemporary styles pray for symphonic sound, a harmonious blending of instruments and voices. But, there's a good bit more to the idea of symphonic than a well orchestrated musical score. And, it's an issue with great significance for the contemporary church.

 

Go biblical with me. Jesus said, "Again, I assure you: If two or three of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven" (Matthew 18:19). Ok, go into the text and check out the word "agree". You'll find that Jesus chose a very particular Greek construction in this instance. It is a compound word, (1) the word "sum", meaning with, or one in union, and (2) the word "phoneo", meaning voice or sound. Together they are the word "sumphoneo", symphony. The prayer foundation of every local congregation is hinged on this great concept, agreement, that is, symphonics.

So, let's gather a group of people whose diversity defies definition and bring them into a spiritual body that is going to change the world. Sure, the common thread in His redemptive plan is Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, the unifying heart and mind of His church. As they say, the ground around the cross is level and the dividing lines that sinful humans like to draw are erased. Or, at least, they should be. In this way, we truly can be "one" in Christ. 

Just the same, sinful humans learn the concept of "mine" early in life and cling to it the entire journey. As a result, even redeemed people take opposing angles on things at times, church matters even more. The only sound some congregations make is the cacophonous dissonance of clashing voices, far from the harmony of biblical unity. Being on the same page and humming the same tune, what we should expect from a family with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, seems distant in so many situations. This is, perhaps, the single most significant issue facing a church that is more and more disonnected from the world around us. It's exactly what Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theologial Seminary, described in his sermon at the SBC annual meeting in Houston. To paraphrase, he said that soldiers should be on the battlefield fighting the enemy instead of in the barracks fighting each other. In another visible reference, he indicated we should be marching shoulder to shoulder and not standing face to face. Sadly, his imagery is accurate. The noise the world often hears is often loud and annoying, not symphonic.

So, consider the church covenant. Ours was written in 2008. It contains some of the language you would expect in an agreement of this type, but has been particularized for our setting. It is not a doctrinal statement, though it is correct doctrinally. It is not a governing document, though it defines some parameters around which we are goverened. It is not our mission statement, nor our core values, nor our strengths. The covenant is, broadly, "...a commitment to church fellowship, an acceptance of the authority of the church's discipline, a pledge to support the worship of the church and personal devotion, and a commitment to mutual care for one another" (See page 117, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches by John S. Hamment, Grand Rapids, Kregel, 2005).

Our unity should be grounded in Christ. If sola Christi is among the foundations of our theology, harmony should rightly emit from the One who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). Still, the human heart is capable of immense autonomy and self- absorption that is divisive. Even well-intentioned people can debate theological and ecclesiastical positions. We can agree on confessions and by-laws in broad senses. The church covenant touches behavioral and practical applications peculiar to our context in the same broad sense. Affirming it annually gives us of us the opportunity to evaluate our paticular understanding of faith, and align ourselves with what the body has choses as the watermarks of our fellowship. It can be a source of harmony, even symphonics, in a local body of believers.

It may provide a same page and same tune scenario that produces the sweet sound of biblical unity to the Father.

Mmmmmm!

Affirming the church covenant: a standard

So, bloated church numbers provide a faulty view of the state of faith these days. The fact that 8,000,000 Southern Baptists are missing every Sunday nation-wide simply means that the inflation rate at the local church level is astounding. Evidently, church membership just doesn't mean much these days. It's no wonder moral and ethical demographic stats are so dismal. Church influence is down!

So, in 2012, our church approved new by-laws requiring annual affirmation of the church covenant we adopted back in 2008. Response has been mixed although a large majority of our regular participants have submitted the signed documents. A few have been vocally opposed, perhaps because it's just new to them. One of our leaders said you'd have thought we asked the men to be circumcised, the occasional negative has been so loud.

So, change is something we usually do well. We did a Congregational Strength and Values Assessment a few years ago and it indicated that change for the sake of mission is a strength and value of this church. So, we moved into contemporary worship with a good spirit, changed schedules a couple of times, implemented three Life Connection Group hours each Sunday (that is Sunday School here), and tackled some local mission opportunities that many local congregations may have ignored. Still, the new church covenant provision has been challenging.

So, what's the deal with it? Of course, there are many angles, and as the one tasked with the responsibility of communicating them to the church, there's always some breakdown in what is said and what is heard. But, at heart is this one simple prayer: that the annual affirmation of the church covenant will confront each and every one of us with what it means to be a Christian and part of the Body of Christ.

To the church at Corinth Paul wrote, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?---unless you fail the test" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

If there's a trip wire for believers in this culture it may be the examination thing. How in the world do you hold autonomous, fallen humans to a standard?  What is the standard, by the way? How do you balance accountability, church discipline, the speck in the eye thing, against our tendency to find fault in others? Surely the inquisition is not what Paul had in mind for the local body. At the same time, In all of his epistles he could not have meant that there be no accountability or discipline. In the end, there must be a standard.

Yes, of course, Jesus Christ is Lord. He is our standard, the model by which we live, the aspiration that under His grace we will be transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory. He has set the example and we are to follow it. But, being aware of our depravity and fallen nature, most of us will soft-peddle this expectation because we know it is impossible in this body. One day, he will bring us perfect, mature, ripe to stand before Him. We are flawed and broken till then.

Amen, brethren, the Bible is our standard. Certainly it is God's perfect Word, and we'll apply the words inerrant and infallible to underscore it's authority over us. So, every year we play advanced Bible trivia to ascertain fitness to the standard. Or, we'll ask all new believers to memorize the entire Bible as an indication of their aility to pass whatever test we can devise. Once again, any standard we adopt must be Scripturally and doctrinely sound. Still, we humans may be pretty selective in deciding which interpretation to use, or which version for that matter. We'll decide how to use the Bible more definitively when we're gathered that the city gates for the weekly stoning of disobedient children.

The list of potential standards is endless. The BF & M (2000, or previous versions), the creeds of the church, historic confessions of faith, The Royal Ambassador Pledge, a secret handshake, contribution levels, a version of the Bible, gospel tracts, dress codes, team colors, and just about any other hoop creative zealots can imagine to lend some credbility to a process.

But, the church covenant, one reflecting the values, doctrine, and mission of a local congregation can be an objective guide to help me measure what it means to be a Christian and church member right now. Affirming the church covenant every year places the heart of this congregation right in front of me, and confronts me with how faithfully I am pursuing the mission that is specified. 

Self examination is tough. My reflection in the mirror is skewed by pipe dreams of a nice six-pack, bulging biceps, and a thirty four inch waist. When I think about college the accomplishments are inflated by faulty memory and my own tendency to glorify the good old days. Us preachers like the license for hyperbole anyway.

So, there's the covenant we adopted in 2008. Affirming it every year in writing will remind me what being a Christian and church members means right now, and give me an opportunity to reflect on my commitments.

One dear old church friend put it this way: "Jesus died for the church. Being a part of His body must matter. What believer would not be eager to touch base with that every year, and just as eager to affirm what should mean so much to us?"

Mmmmmmm. What believer indeed?  

Sunday text preview

Jesus surprised the religious people by sharing a meal with Matthew's cohorts, the much maligned "sinners and tax collectors" of the New Testament period, low-life's of the first century. It doesn't take a Greek scholar to discipher the meaning of this text.  The final piercing statement is clear.
“Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick ⌊do need one⌋. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Read the entire text.

Mark 2:15-17 (HCSB)
While He was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also guests with Jesus and His disciples, because there were many who were following Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick ⌊do need one⌋. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Today I will explain how the leadership of Northwood Baptist Church applies this text to our assignment of making disciples of all nations. The Table is a presentation to illustrate how the various groups of people attending the feast would have been served and how that arrangement informs mission in the local church.

Today many factors influence the mission of the church---tradition, preferences, the way we've always done things, cultural trends, and more. The prime influence should be, however, the model of Jesus as revealed in Scripture. This text demonstrates the heart and teaching and serves as a clear model of mission for the church today.

You can catch the pod-cast at www.yournorthwood.com.