Church: Not Just for Sunday Any More

Billy Graham, in The Journey, writes,

“Nowhere in the New Testament does “church” refer to a church building, since there were none in the first century (Christians mostly met in homes)” p. 127. 

He goes on to point out that, in the Bible,

“church” meant “a local group of Christians, or all the Christians in a particular city or area.” The word “church” in the Bible “refers to the company of all believers, who are spiritually united by their relationship with Christ. The church isn’t just a local congregation, it includes all believers everywhere...”

So this begs the question: how did we get to where we are today where one hour on Sunday morning spent in a corporate church building has come to define us as believers and take precedence in our walk?

What would happen if we stood back and stopped looking at church as having an address and a program and saw it as all believers in our community: many of whom we haven’t even gotten to know because we all go into our own little church bubbles each Sunday, thinking we can’t ever show up in the living rooms of other churches?

And what would happen if we saw church as the body of believers who work, eat, play, pray, travel and go to school every day of the week, and with whom we interact on a daily basis (maybe not even knowing they are Christians too?) 

Would we act in our daily behavior with the reverence, chivalry and good will that we do on Sunday mornings? Would we live as though we are in church all the time, because, as a body of believers called the church, that is exactly where we are all the time: in church.

Our limited contemporary definition of church has constrained us and at the same time let us off the hook.

It constrains us by keeping us from interacting with other believers who “don’t attend my church,” and it lets us off the hook by leading us into the false assumption that “church”—the building and Sunday morning congregation—is where we live our faith. 

So, the thinking goes, if we can pull off the living of our faith for one hour, then we can go home, and go to work and school on Monday, and never have to think about living our faith again until we head, once more, into the church building.

Year, after year, after year, after year; that is often what we do.

But if that’s the case, we’ve got it all wrong.

Copyright Barb Harwood

"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:9-11

"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?" 1 Corinthians 6:15a

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:13

"Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:27

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22

Billy Graham, 1918-2018

Two tributes to Billy Graham appear in the March 5, 2018 issue of The Weekly Standard. 

One, written by Matt Labash, zeros in on the inspiring credibility of Mr. Billy Graham--a man who accomplished the rare feat of finishing strong. 

Labash writes,

"After a day or so of marinating in his obituaries, it occurred to me that the thing I appreciated most about Billy Graham was that he didn't require you to think about Billy Graham. Unlike so many self-aggrandizing televangelists, Moral Majority grifters, and preachers-cum-ward-heelers, he left no hookers or no-tell-motel church secretaries or embezzled funds in his wake."

"He was as reliable as the sunrise, as steady as a metronome."

The other tribute, written by Barton Swaim, goes on to say,

"His whole persona projected sincerity. For six decades, Graham lay under the scrutiny of a skeptical media--as early as 1957 the liberal Christian Century magazine hired an investigative reporter to find evidence of financial or other improprieties--but he was never credibly accused of either personal or financial misconduct."

Ecclesiastes 7:8 states,

"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." 

This epitomizes the life of Billy Graham: not that his death is better than his birth, but that his life, from beginning to end, was a life of humble patience in spirit that, while not perfect, maintained the steadfast priority of a clear conscience before God and thus, before men. 

In that, he bore the fruit of his convictions, not counting his life of any value nor as precious to himself, but only that he would finish his course and the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus "to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

And that he did. As Barton Swaim says in his article on Graham, 

"American society has often been shaped and bettered by men who knew just one truth and who expressed it well. Billy Graham was such a man."

And the thing that gets my respect is that he lived it well, to the very end. 



"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12

God's Quickening Spirit

The previous blog ended with the conclusion that humility overcomes the pride of a too high regard for one's self.

But from where does humility come?

I’ve found that humility, if it is something I attempt to instill in myself, is not really humility. The reason being because I will want it to be noticed. I will want it to be affirmed. At minimum, I will give myself credit for being humble and in that, I will have a very high regard for myself, which is pride. I will be exhibiting what 2 Timothy 3:5 describes as a form of godliness that denies God’s power.

Which brings us back to where we started: having a very high regard for ourselves because we’re so humble—more humble, even, than anyone else!

“Thus says the LORD,

‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind

And makes flesh his strength,

And whose heart turns away from the LORD.’” Jeremiah 17:5

Very rarely is anything gained by self-implementation. And, I would argue, anything self-imposed cannot be consistently maintained over time.

That's because, when the going gets tough, or doesn’t meet our expectations, or becomes boring or tedious, or we realize how many hours we must dedicate to actually honing a talent or vocation, we fade in our pursuit. And should we somehow manage to succeed on sheer willpower or competitiveness, we are often never satisfied.

So how then do we obtain humility?

 It is the work of the Spirit of God.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD

And whose trust is the LORD.

‘For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

God works through His process of quickening:

Dictionary.com defines quickening as

“to begin to manifest signs of life”

to “stir up, rouse, stimulate”

“to revive, restore life to”

“to become alive; receive life”

“to become more active; sensitive”

Scripture explains it this way:

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” John 6:63

“...even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.” Romans 4:17b

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11

God can make us alive to humility: to desire it and, over time, not even be conscious of it in ourselves.

The benefit of His humility, His way, is that we don’t become prideful in it. We are obeying a command of His to be humble: it is not something we would have willingly opted for on our own. The self fights it:

“For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit...” Galatians 5:17a

For those who have heeded His quickening unto salvation in Christ, it often can take years to even begin to understand God’s humility.

But when God is the purveyor and curator of humility through His Spirit in us, and we walk by that Spirit, then we will "not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

But we must respond to God’s quickening when it happens. 

This is where the rubber hits the road when it comes to taking any new direction. God’s quickening comes to us all. But what do we do with His quickening? Perhaps His quickening in us would benefit from the same principles laid out in the February 17 post: Listen, hear, respond. Do not let ego harden us against God’s call to us.

“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”  Hebrews 3:12

But when we cross Christ's threshold into His light, we are, finally, able to leave the darkness of pride behind.

 “‘THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT,

AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH,

UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.’

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:16-17

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humbe in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

People are weary, heavy-laden and burdened, often because of their pride which demands things the world, and even their own egos, cannot give them: affirmation, a sense of importance, identity, contentment, joy and peace.

Jesus says He can take our yoke and burden in exchange for His.

I mean, listen, if we are going to go around tired and burdened in life, doesn’t it seem better to go with the lighter version?

The way of Jesus is indeed lighter because “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

God’s unequivocal, non-negotiable call is to humility in the equipping and empowering of Christ. It is the humility that first broke us when we allowed Christ’s salvation to walk us through the door to new life in Him. It is the humility He desires to grow in us through prayer and the reading and applying of His Word.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16

With all of this going for us, why would we continue to lust after our own high regard, which does nothing for us and even sets us back?

Instead,

“And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—for he says, 

‘AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,

AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.’

Behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,’ behold now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION’—giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,” 2 Corinthians 6:1-3

copyright Barb Harwood

Step Away From the Ego

Yesterday I wrote about one’s having a too high of a regard for one's self. 

One might contend that, however off-putting this trait, it is not a sin. Let’s go to Scripture to test that theory:

“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 (I encourage the reading of the entire chapter).

The Bible is our personal accountability in which we find the expectations and warnings of God on how we are to live and how we are not to live; how we are to be and not to be; in short, how we are to abide in Christ at all times.

Certainly nobody pulls this off perfectly. But in order to be able to even begin, we must go to the beginning, Jesus Christ and His Word. And the more we find ourselves there, the less we will live in, and from, in here.

Okay, so we know we ought not to have a high self-regard. But what actually is it and what is its cause? 

In yesterday’s post I gave examples of how it might manifest in daily life.

Today, we’ll get into the backstory of how and why it occurs.

The website, GotQuestions.org provides some excellent insight when it ties a high self-regard to the ego:

"Egotism is an excessive focus or occupation with oneself driven by an inflated sense of self-importance. Egoism is a preoccupation with oneself yet may be without the inflated self-importance. Egoism also refers to the belief that self-interest is the motivation for and/or the valid end of all action. The human tendency toward being an egotist/egoist is no surprise from a biblical perspective. It is also something the Bible speaks against, and God soundly dealt with egotists such as King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4).

At the root of egotism is self. Egotism is ultimately driven by pride and thinking oneself worthy of the utmost attention or capable of complete self-sufficiency. At times, an egoist may be motivated by past hurt. Betrayal, abuse, or abandonment may cause a person to believe he must always look out for himself—because no one else will. Rather than trust others, someone who has been hurt may isolate herself and believe she can only trust herself. Though not pride as we would generally conceive of it, this is still an unbiblical stance that raises self to the status of a god.

Philippians 2:1–11 is one passage that speaks to egotism. Verses 3–4 say, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” We are to look to the interests of others based on the example of Jesus Christ, who, though He is God, humbled Himself to live a human life and die a humiliating death in our stead. In both the Old and New Testaments, followers of God are called to humility; we are not to have an over-inflated sense of self-importance. Humility is not self-debasement or a lack of confidence. Being humble does not mean that we neglect our own needs or uphold no boundaries. Rather, humility is having an accurate estimation of oneself wherein we think of ourselves less often. We are not preoccupied with ourselves; rather, we see and care about the needs of others. We are willing to sacrifice our own preferences for the benefit of others.

Christians understand that serving self is not the highest goal." GotQuestions.org

Some examples of how to put this kind of humility into practice in day-to-day interactions could be:

Listen and do not interrupt

Ever notice the tendency for one person in a conversation to begin speaking before the other person has completely stopped talking?

Listening is not an end in itself

We also must hear what is said. And to hear what is said, we have to want to hear what is said. And to want to hear what is said, we have to value the speaker. We have to respect the speaker whether we respect what they are saying or not.

Respond

Then we must respond, what? Not to our self, but to the other person!

When someone has finished talking, what often happens is that we react from a position and mindset of self. So if the person just divulged a plan for how to approach a project at work, we jump in and, ignoring their plan altogether, launch into our plan.

Or, because we have our own plan waiting in the wings, we verbally negate their plan in lieu of ours. 

Instead, it is better to take time to play back what was said, highlight the potential positives and negatives of the plan, and then weave some ideas we may have into that. We work with the other person in cooperation, versus commandeering the project.

Listening, hearing and responding are the first steps in subordinating the ego to the leadership of a humble spirit. These three actions can be applied in every relationship, and are just as valuable with children as with adults.

Dismantling the ego as defined above will test our patience and our ability to let go of a critical spirit. It will pain us to share our importance with others. It will feel as though we are being diminished. But we are not. 

Our importance, along with other people’s importance, is actually enhanced (and even that can sometimes be difficult to swallow, because it is humanly counterintuitive: we have been trained to be the important one, from self-esteem movements, to Facebook bragging rights, to one-upping with material possessions).

The world sends a mixed message: “Let’s all be kind to and tolerant of one another” but “you and your individual rights are the most important in the world.”

Humility can overcome these rather intimidating barriers. But how?

More on that in a future post...

Copyright Barb Harwood