And apply that to my recent blogpost about structuring for maximum edification.  Every person has a story to tell, indeed.  If Chick-fil-a is willing to read them for the asking of a chicken sandwich, are not willing to take the time to read them for the sake of their souls?

A church unwilling to read and address the stories of people will be satisfied with skimming the surface with conversations that probe no deeper than a “Hey, how are you doing?” which almost always is met with a disingenuous response.  No gifts of the Spirit are exercised because no one is listening.

Now, imagine if we took just one of those stories, one of those individuals and placed them in a context where every member listened, understood the story, and felt personally responsible to play a redemptive part in contributing through the spiritual gift entrusted to them by the Holy Spirit? What role would an exhorter play? A giver? An agent of mercy? A leader? Someone with wisdom? Someone with great faith? And so on?

Paul Tripp nailed it when he said that we are all called to be instruments in the Redeemer’s hands because we are helping others change while at the same time we ourselves are in need of change.  Every person you meet is a mess needing someone willing to get messy.  Every person is a sinner needing someone to help them walk in repentance and faith, growing in the gospel, extending mercy and forgiveness to other sinners.  And the Holy Spirit animates the life of the church by His work in and through Christians sovereignly gifted to do good to one another and so edify the church.

Next time you see people, consider why their lives (the subtext) might be really saying. Everything in us militates against listening and engaging–our comfort zones, our busy schedules, fear of man, selfishness, etc.  Yet, we have in us the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead giving life to our mortal bodies. He intends to do in us what no strength of the flesh can accomplish. I pray the stories of people we encounter will be rewritten by the gospel of Jesus as it is applied to their hearts and transforms their lives.

“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” – 1 Timothy 4:16

Pastor friends, there is nothing more important to you or your the congregation entrusted to your care than your own personal holiness and passionate pursuit of God. There is never a time when keeping your heart with all diligence is not most urgent and most important.  With all the needs, challenges, opportunities, and demands upon your time, money, and energy, be militant with your spiritual life. Persist in this. It will be good for you and those who benefit from your usefulness.

In all your task management and getting things done, keep these at the top. Assumption is not an option. Careful attention, close watching, diligent persistence is the order of the day. Every day. For Jesus’ sake, and His church.

May we be known not merely by the skillfulness of our hands or the swiftness of our feet or the eloquence of our words, but let it be our nearness to Jesus and the sweetness we’ve tasted in His gospel. Let it be known that we can be found at the banqueting table of our Lord–remembering–renewing–reviving with all joy and delight in His presence. And above all else, command our lives to the cause of our hearts, confessing “Jesus is Lord” in the power of the Spirit. Amen.

One of the practical benefits of examining our ecclesiology is being more deliberate and intentional in what we do as a body of believers. What is the nature of the church? How should a preacher handle a text? What should covenantal membership entail? These are questions reflecting a pursuit of a healthy, robust ecclesiology.

Being intentional not only means that we consider the practices or marks of a healthy church, but we also need to examine structures and systems to best accomplish the purposes as well as honor the marks of a healthy church.  In this post, I want to consider the need for structure for maximum edification.  Let me explain.

When Paul addressed the church in Corinth, there apparently was confusion and selfishness when it came to the exercise of spiritual gifts.  Some were given special recognition while others were devalued. The improper exercise led to further division instead of unity. Some were used for self-promotion instead of building up the church.  So what Paul does is lay out five overarching principles for the church to understand and implement:

1.  Spiritual gifts are given. We don’t pick and choose the gifts. They are sovereignly assigned by the Holy Spirit as He desires (1 Cor. 12:11, 18).

2.  God designed a variety of spiritual gifts but for one singular purpose–”for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:4-10).

3.  Every single member of the body matters, no matter how big or small (1 Cor. 12.12-26).

4. God so designed the body with many various parts so that (a) there would be no division in the body (b) all the members would have the same care for one another (1 Cor. 12:25).

5.  The generous, regular exercise of the spiritual gifts among all members of the body should have as its goal the building up (edification) of the church (explicitly mentioned eight times in 1 Cor. 14).

With that as a grid, the question I want to pitch is this:

“How are we structuring for maximum edification and building up of the church?”

If we believe the Holy Spirit has sovereignly gifted each member of the body as He so chooses, then our church commitment should reflect that divine desire.  Does our church structures or programs functionally communicate that the Holy Spirit has sovereignty gifted only a few people?

If we believe the Holy Spirit divinely designed the diversity of gifts, then our church should structure for the full expression of all the gifts of the Spirit operative in the body. Are we structuring body life so that only certain gifts are exercised (such as the gift of teaching) but other gifts are ignored (such as exhortation or mercy)?

If we believe the Holy Spirit is so intentional with the distribution of the gifts so that the end goal would be (a) no division in the body, (b) same care for every member, and (c) overall edification of the church, then how are we intentionally pursuing those goals if the means is the universal exercise of every members’ gift, whether big or small?  Could it be that a lack of unity in the body is through the spiritual atrophy or dysfunction of members?  Could it be that the absence of care and growth among members is not due to lack of preaching or teaching but the lack of other, “unpresentable” members’ gifts?

Here’s my point. If we are going to be intentional about preaching, membership, worship, disciplines, and other such marks of a healthy church, then we must also be intentional about our commitment to the priesthood of all believers and their ministry to the body.  God dedicated two chapters with great detail and design to explain his desire for the church.  We should not only recover the commitment and practice, but we should facilitate the full exercise and ongoing demonstration of each member’s gift through systems and structures toward the goal of maximum edification.

Don’t think that a church can grow simply through the exercise of teaching and preaching. God didn’t design it that way. He wants every member involved. That’s why the Holy Spirit gifted them. The danger for churches is to specialize in certain gifts because of certain passions so that certain members gifted for those passions are used while others are neglected (I don’t need to create the stereotypes for you to imagine what churches might emphasize certain gifts over others).  If your right index finger was no longer useful, would it not affect how you function? Moreover, if it was cut off, would the rest of the body feel it? And yet, do we not have members in the body who aren’t useful, and yet we become content to function without them? Do they not detach from the body, and we aren’t aware of it?

I don’t believe we have a comprehensive listing of spiritual gifts in the Bible, but I do believe we have a clear directive for comprehensive commitment to the exercise of the gifts sovereignly distributed by the Spirit for the building of the church.  And where we have adopted structures, systems, or programs preventing the generous demonstration of spiritual gifts among all members, then we need revisit them.  The greatest catalysts for the health and growth of our churches are the people God has already given us and already gifted for the common good, the mutual care of all members, and the unity of the body.  Our challenge is to be good stewards of what the Spirit has given the church so that He would magnify Jesus through each member as they are robustly used, reflexively edified, and regularly employed in the mission of the church.

In his book, Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way, J.I. Packer has a chapter entitled “The Gospel as of First Importance.”  In that chapter, Packer discusses the pastoral and formational applications of the Gospel.  Many are familiar with the quote from Tim Keller that “the Gospel is not the ABC’s of the Christian life; it is the A through Z of the Christian life.”  Packer writes,

“In that spirit we offer the following ‘Gospel Alphabet’–twenty-six pastoral and formative reasons why the Gospel must retain primacy as the content of Christian education” (108).

This week, we come to the letter “R”.

R is for Righteousness

In the Gospel “a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” (Rom. 1:17). Paul’s argument in the letter to the Romans is deep and complex, but we submit that the Gospel reveals God’s righteousness in at least these two ways. First, it is a declaration that God himself is just and righteous, for the Gospel teaches that in Christ our sins have been fully propitiated as a basis for his forgiving of us (Rom. 3:24-26; 1 John 1:9, 2:2). Then, second, through the Gospel God declares us righteous as we put our faith in Christ Jesus. Thus in the Gospel God demonstrates “his own justice at the present time, so as to be just and the ones who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). It is truly vital beyond words that we faithfully preach and teach this Gospel.

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
John 6:37

We all know that promises are only as good as the ability of the person making them is in keeping them.   In Jesus, we have come to know that all the promises of God find their “yes” and “amen” (2 Cor. 1:20).  I don’t know about you, but I want my days to be infiltrated with divine confirmation of all that Jesus is for me in every aspect of my life.  I want my identity, purpose, and treasure to be shaped by promises kept and fulfilled in Jesus.

Jesus says, “I will never cast out.”  Never. To whom? Whoever comes. That’s not a coming once, but a coming again and again and again. And with each coming, we are promised never to be rejected.  Jesus is more ready to welcome than we are willing to come.  Should not the promise of never being turned away motivate us to come all the more?! The promise should melt our hearts and move our faith to flee to Jesus! Pity the Christian who believes not this promise and never avails himself to the beckoning call and welcoming embrace of Jesus. Not the righteous, not the righteous, but sinners Jesus came to call.  And lest we forget, the only thing that He requires is that we feel our need of Him.

Believe the promise of Jesus today.  Make haste with swift feet to the strong embrace of our Savior whose promises never fail.

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and pow’r.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.

View Him prostrate in the garden;
On the ground your Maker lies;
On the bloody tree behold Him;
Sinner, will this not suffice?

Lo! th’ incarnate God ascended,
Pleads the merit of His blood:
Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude.

Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.

I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

In his book, The Heart of Christ in Heaven Toward Sinners on Earth (first published 1651), Goodwin writes about the heart of Christ being communicated to us through the comforting work of the Spirit indwelling us.  Of the Spirit, Goodwin writes, “he is the greatest token and pledge of Christ’s love that ever was” (18).  Consider the following words from the pen of Goodwin on the heart of Christ opened to us through His Spirit.

“Him I (Jesus) shall send on purpose to be in my room, and to execute my place to you, my bride, spouse, and he shall tell you, if you will listen to him, and not grieve him, nothing but stories of my love.

[ . . .] All his speech in your hearts will be to advance me, and to greaten my worth an love unto you, and it will be his delight to do it.  And he can come from heaven in an instant where he will, and bring you fresh tidings of my mind, and tell you the thoughts I last had of you, even at the very minute when I am thinking of them, what they are at the very time wherein he tells you them.

[. . .] He dwelleth in Christ’s heart, and also ours, and lifts up from one hand to the other what Christ’s thoughts are to us, and what our prayers and faith are to Christ. So that you shall have my heart as surely and as speedily as if I were with you; and he will continually be breaking your hearts, either way with my love to you, or yours to me, or both; and if either, you may be sure of my love thereby.

[ . . .] He will tell you, where I am in heaven, that there is as true conjunction between me and you, and as true a dearness of affection in me towards you, as is between my Father and me, and that it is as impossible to break this knot, and to take off my heart from you, as my Father’s from me, or mine from the Father” (18-20).

I know this sounds a little sappy, but that’s the point. I believe Goodwin knows something of the succor of Christ’s love that I have not tasted, and instead of getting embarrassed by his writings, I should be overwhelmed by Christ’s love and embarrassed of how little I have truly known and experienced it.

Goodwin is right to elaborate on the communicative nature of the Spirit’s comforting work, so as to daily assure us of Christ’s love and our status as no longer orphans but adopted sons and daughters of the greatest lover the world has ever known.  I want to be known as the greatest recipient of the greatest love the world has ever known.  And Goodwin is, especially for that aspiration, a worthy guide.

1.  Make It a Priority

It is important for mission ally minded followers of Jesus to think strategically about their conversations throughout the week. If you don’t plan it or make room for it, the likelihood is that it is not going to get done. . . . If leaders are going to be serious about connecting with people, they need to uncover at least 5 new contacts a day, equaling about 35 a week, which will lead to 3 “sit-downs” for a meaningful conversation.

2.  Pray for Opportunities

Include in your praying . . .
* that God draws them to Himself (John 6:44)
* that they seek to know God (Acts 17:27)
* that they believe the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 1:4-7)
* that Satan is bound from blinding them to the truth (Matthew 13:19)
* that the Holy Spirit works in them (John 16:8-13)
* that God sends someone to lead them to Christ (Matthew 9:37-38)
* that they believe in Christ as Savior (John 5:24)
* that they turn from sin (Acts 17:30-31; Acts 3:19)
* that they confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10)
* that they yield all to follow Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15)
* that they take root and grow in Christ (Colossians 2:6-7

3.  Get Out and Into Your Community

Look at your calendar and see what fills your week. I encourage spiritual leaders to think about tithing their time to community service and interaction (about six hours a week). . . . Networking is more about join in than it is about just hanging out in coffee shops, bookstores, and restaurants.

4.  Establish Routines and Cultivate Relationships

Beyond the tithe of your time in your community I encourage leaders to establish routines and patterns so that you build a relational presence with business owners and servers. Think strategically about all your interactions and pray that you can be a redemptive influence within that social network. A couple of telltale signs of this are, “Do people know your name?” or “Do you know people’s names?”

5. Be Available to Those Around You

As pastors and leaders we need to be spiritually sensitive to those Divine opportunities where God can use us in His redemptive plan. . . . There are times when we need to push beyond weariness and busyness and allow God to interrupt our agendas and schedules.

Questions to consider:

* How many contacts does it take for you to get a meaningful sit-down with a person?
* When is the last time you asked God to open new doors of opportunity for you?
* If you were to tithe to community service and interaction what would your work week look like?
* What relational commitments are you making in your community?
* What places do you frequent in your community?
* How do you overcome spiritual insensitivity created by your weariness and busyness?

If you think of it, I appreciate your prayers for the ventures I am undertaking at this point, including leading our church in a time of transition, launching PLNTD, expanding mission in Haiti, and hosting band of bloggers in April. Thanks!

1.  In a gospel-centered church, preaching the message of the gospel is the priority.

Greear: “The gospel is an announcement that Jesus is Lord and that He has won the battle for your salvation. We are to respond in repentance and faith (Mark 1:15). The gospel is not good advice about how to live; it is good news about what God has done. Jesus told His disciples to be ‘His witnesses,’ which meant they were to tell everyone, faithfully, the story of what He had done for the world. Their lives would certainly demonstrate the changes His power brought in their lives, but they were to constantly point to what He had done that made those changes possible (222).

2.  In a gospel-centered church, the emphasis of the message is more on what Christ has done than what we are to do.

Greear: “… the only thing that brings true spiritual growth is abiding in–dwelling in, thinking about, standing in awe of–what Christ has done for us” (223).

3.  In a gospel-centered church, the members demonstrate the beauty of the gospel in community.

Greear: “… by doing what healthy local churches do (praying, sharing, constantly preaching the word, etc.), [the early church] were evangelizing the community. The presence of a healthy local church in a community is the greatest catalyst for the evangelization of that community. In a healthy church the local community should see the glory of God on display” (229).