God Knows Best

Posted on August 18, 2023 by russellmckinney

A farm boy went off to college to get some big-city learning. By the time he returned home at the end of his first semester, he had some new ways of looking at things. No longer was he content to emulate his father’s simplistic trust in God. Much to the contrary, the son’s college courses had caused him to begin leaning toward atheist.

Even though the son’s confidence in his father’s beliefs was crumbling, he still loved his dad very much. So, one day he made his way out to the fields where his father was working and said, “Dad, let’s take a walk and do some talking.” The boy had in mind to ease the two into a conversation about the existence of God, during which he would confess to his new-found interest in atheism.

As the two walked along through the fields, they came to a pumpkin patch that featured a large oak tree. There, the young man saw his opening. He said, “Dad, if I was God, I wouldn’t have put the pumpkins at the end of weak vines and the acorns on strong branches. I would have put the pumpkins on the oak branches and the acorns at the end of the pumpkin vines. Wouldn’t that make more sense?” Then the son smiled, sensing that his father would have to see the logic of the observation. Before the father could answer, though, an acorn fell and hit the son in the top of the head. At that point, his father said, “Well, son, I guess you’re glad that wasn’t a pumpkin that just fell on you.”

What’s the lesson of this story? BELIEVE IN GOD AND TRUST IN HIS WISDOM. Even when His ways seem illogical, He always knows best and has a wise plan.

Posted in Atheism, Creation, Faith, God's Omniscience, God's Will, Humor, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How to Defeat Your Amalekites

Posted on August 16, 2023 by russellmckinney

In Exodus 17:8-16, we find the wonderful story of Israel’s defeat of the Amalekites, a nomadic tribe who were descendants of Esau. The trouble began when the Amalekites launched a sneak attack against the Israelites. 1 Samuel 15:2 calls it an ambush, and Deuteronomy 25:17-19 elaborates by saying the Amalekites attacked the stragglers at the rear of Israel’s ranks. Apparently, it was a get-in-and-get-out attack in which the Amalekites killed some of the stragglers at the end of Israel’s long processional line and then quickly retreated to safety.

That night, Moses, in order to create a defense against further attacks by the Amalekites, instructed Joshua to put together an army literally overnight. It’s the first time that Joshua is mentioned in the Bible. Exodus 17:8-9 says:

Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek…” (N.K.J.V.)

This battle was Israel’s first military endeavor following their exodus from Egypt. (No, I’m not giving them credit for defeating Pharaoh and the Egyptian army at the Red Sea because God handled that one Himself). Therefore, logically speaking, the Israelites shouldn’t have been able to defeat the Amalekites. The people of Israel had spent the last four centuries as slaves in Egypt, which meant that no living Israelite had ever had one second’s worth of military training. Even going all the way back to the beginning of Israel’s history, its patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) certainly hadn’t been great men of war who had built, trained, and maintained armies. Genesis 14:1-24 does record the story of how Abraham had once led a group of his servants in the defeat of an alliance army from the East, but that was just a singular story from Israel’s lengthy history.

Since Exodus 17:13 says that Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword, obviously the Israelites did have some swords. Where did they get them? Our best answer is, they were part of the plunder the Israelites took from the Egyptians on their way out of Egypt (Exodus 3:21-22; 11:2-3; 12:35-36). Nevertheless, even if the Israelites did have swords, it’s not like they were experts in using them. Again, we’re talking about people who had been menial servants all their lives.

And so how do we account for Israel defeating the Amalekites in this battle? Well, the passage itself couldn’t be clearer. Even more than what Joshua and his fellow soldiers were doing down on the battlefield, the key to the victory was what Moses was doing up on the hill. He was standing up there with “the rod of God” in his hand. As long as Moses kept that rod held up, Israel prevailed in the battle. But whenever his hand became heavy and he was forced to lower the rod for a while, Amalek prevailed. As we read in Exodus 17:10-11:

…And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (N.K.J.V.)

Finally, things got to a point where Moses was so physically exhausted that measures had to be taken to help him. Aaron and Hur placed a large stone under him, which allowed him to sit down. Then, as he sat there on that rock, they literally held his hand up for him. They did this until the sun set that evening and the battle was over.

For good reason, this story serves to symbolize the power of intercessory prayer. Just as Moses was on the hill interceding with God for Joshua and his soldiers, Aaron and Hur were up there interceding for Moses. Both parts of the equation are beautiful. The story also teaches us the importance of going into battle with God as opposed to going into battle without him. As David wrote in Psalm 20:7:

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. (N.K.J.V.)

Still, the thing I really want to point out about the story is the physical toll that Moses’ ministering took upon him. Putting it bluntly, the man got tired, even to the point of exhaustion. Sure, he was eighty years old at the time, but that doesn’t fully explain why he got tired. After all, he would live another forty years before dying. No, there was another element at work here, one that Charles Spurgeon described in this way:

The more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it.

Tell me, Christian, have you ever sat down to have a really good time of prayer only to have your mind start wandering just a few minutes into the prayer? Or, have you ever felt a wave of fatigue come over you shortly after you began a work for the Lord? I know that I have certainly had what I’ll call my “Moses moments.”

All this reminds me of the night of Christ’s arrest. As He entered into the garden of Gethsemane for a time of intense prayer, He left eight of the remaining eleven disciples (after Judas’ betrayal) at the garden’s entrance. Then He took Peter, James, and John further on into the garden with Him. Just before He left them at a certain point and went even further into the garden to pray, He gave them the instructions, “Stay here and watch.” But what did He find when He returned to them after a while? All three had fallen asleep. That’s when He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40-41, emphasis mine).

You see, Jesus knew that the intentions of Peter, James, and John were good, but He also knew how weak and frail the human body can be. And so my advice to you, Christian, is to enlist the aid of your fellow Christians to help you in your spiritual endeavors and battles. Every Joshua needs a Moses and every Moses needs an Aaron and Hur. You say you aren’t seeing the Amalekites defeated in your life? Well, maybe it’s time for a new battle plan. Perhaps the key to your victory lies not in yourself but in the aid and intercession that others can give you.

Posted in Adversity, Depression, Disappointment, Encouragement, Friendship, God's Work, Intercessory Prayer, Loneliness, Ministry, Needs, Perseverance, Problems, Service, Spiritual Warfare, Trials, War | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Empty Bottle Membership

Posted on August 14, 2023 by russellmckinney

The story is told of a man who hopped from church to church, never remaining long in any one place as a member. One day he asked his current pastor, “What would you think if I joined another church?” The pastor answered, “I think it would be alright in your case. It doesn’t do any harm to change the label on an empty bottle.”

Have you ever met a professing Christian who couldn’t settle down in any one church? I have. Have you ever met one whose church letter never seemed to translate into much holy living? I have. Have you ever met one who seemed to think that church membership was some kind of get-out-of-jail-free card in regards to sin? I have.

While I’m not trying to devalue having your name on a church roll, I would like to point out that it’s not exactly the end-all-be-all of living the Christian life. As a famous preacher once said, “The Lord has some the church doesn’t have, and the church has some the Lord doesn’t have.” That sums up the situation pretty well, doesn’t it? Along the same lines, another preacher once said concerning the “dead wood” on our church rolls, “We’ve got some members even the C.I.A. couldn’t find.”

Unfortunately, the church growth movement has taught our churches to equate God’s blessing with how many names we have on our membership rolls. That’s why it’s good that we remind ourselves regularly that the great commission calls for the making of disciples, not just church members (Matthew 28:18-20). Speaking as a pastor, if I’m given a choice between a disciple and an “empty bottle” church member, I’ll take the disciple every time. Why? It’s because bloated membership rolls really don’t help much when it is time to do the Lord’s work, but disciples definitely do.

Posted in Church, Church Attendance, Discipleship | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Be Wary of Hay

Posted on August 11, 2023 by russellmckinney

One Sunday morning a pastor noticed that a certain farmer wasn’t in church. Because the farmer never missed a service, the pastor figured that something must be wrong. So, after church he drove out to visit the man and found him working in a hay field. The pastor walked up to him and said, “We missed you in church this morning, brother. I hope nothing is wrong.” The farmer replied, “No, nothing is wrong, preacher. But I had this hay cut and lying on the ground and it looked like rain, and I figured it’d be better to be here and thinking about God than sitting in church worried about my hay.”

I’ll reserve judgment on where God would have had that farmer be that Sunday morning, but any pastor will tell you that a lot of people sit in church services and think about some kind of “hay.” Their “hay” keeps their minds off worship. It causes them to zone out during the Sunday School lesson or the sermon. It keeps them from vibrantly participating in the congregational singing. We might say that these peoples’ bodies are at their posts, but their minds are somewhere else.

Is such a thing pleasing to God? Of course not. He wants more than mere zombies who dutifully report for roll call. Certainly this goes for church attendance, but it also goes for Bible study, prayer, witnessing, and giving. Any time we are engaged in doing these things, our minds should be fixated on the task at hand. No “hay” should divide our thoughts and focus. Remember this whenever you find your mind drifting as you try to do something for the Lord.

Posted in Bible Study, Church, Church Attendance, Faithfulness, Giving, God's Work, Prayer, Preaching, Sunday School, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Wonder of Being Childlike

Posted on August 9, 2023 by russellmckinney

My oldest son, Ryan, was a freshman on his high school’s j.v. baseball team, and the team had an away game against a school that was located an hour and a half away. So, I made the drive to watch him play a game that ended in a 2-2 tie. The conference rule for j.v. games was that teams played six innings and then got one extra inning to decide a tie. If the score was still deadlocked after that seventh inning, it was time for the varsity teams to hit the field for warm ups.

Because it was a school night and the varsity team would be getting back home quite late, the j.v. players were allowed to ride home early with their parents. That meant that Ryan would be riding home with me and I would be responsible for getting him some supper. This is where Burger King comes into the story. After I had I ordered my usual Whopper with cheese and Ryan had ordered his usual chicken tenders, we sat down at a table. I had to get back up, though, because it was one of those “fill your own drink” places and I hadn’t filled mine yet.

When I returned from getting my drink, I saw that Ryan was praying. I figured he was offering his typical fast prayer over his fast food, but I soon noticed that the prayer seemed a touch more lengthy and intense than usual. Once he was finished praying, I took my seat across from him and just had to ask, “What were you praying?” Yes, that was nosy of me, but, hey, that’s how parents roll. Before Ryan answered, he gave a little grin as if he had been caught doing something off limits. Then he said, “I thanked God for the game. I thanked Him for the food. And I asked Him to have you let me get some dessert.”

You’d understand that request perfectly if you knew how passionate the boy was about his desserts. It was an ongoing issue that he always had to have dessert at a restaurant. While the extra expense was one thing, the extra time required to deal with dessert was another. Nevertheless, I almost always gave in and let him have dessert.  And, yes, that night he got his ice cream/brownie thing at Burger King. How could I possibly have refused him after he had melted my heart with such a sweet, simple, childlike request, one that he wasn’t even going to let me in on if I hadn’t asked?

Okay, so where am I going with this story? Well, as I sat there eating my Whopper that night, I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if we Christians could master the childlike faith of a boy asking God to lead his daddy to let him buy a dessert. What was it Jesus said?

Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4, N.K.J.V.)

Tell me, Christian, how much of the pure, innocent, guileless faith of a child do you have left about you? I must confess that my level at this stage of my life isn’t as high as it once was. Unfortunately, as you get older, and as life runs you through some painful experiences, your childlike faith can take a real hit.

Then again, maybe I’m just not quite old enough yet. What I mean is, if I keep living, and if the aging process continues to systematically make me less and less self-sufficient, perhaps more of my childlike faith will return to me. That’s what I suspect will happen, anyway. Let’s face it, when you just can’t do for yourself, the Lord has to do for you, right?

This concept of having to be taken care of is one that we instinctively understand as children, but we unlearn it when we become adults. And that unlearning hurts us in regards to looking to God to meet our needs and believing that He is going to grant our requests that are in His will for our lives. Thinking about Ryan’s little prayer that night reminds me of all this. Now we’ll see if I can reclaim some of the childlike characteristics I have lost along the way.

Posted in Aging, Belief, Children, Desires, Faith, Fatherhood, God's Love, God's Provision, God's Will, Grace, Needs, Parenting, Personal, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Sports, Trusting In God, Worry, Youth | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Just Do Your Best TODAY

Posted on August 7, 2023 by russellmckinney

I’d like to use this post to offer some good thoughts from a couple of well-known Independent Baptist preachers who have gone on to be with the Lord. The first one comes from Tom Malone. After quoting Deuteronomy 33:25, which reads: “As thy days, so shall thy strength be”, Malone said, “I’m glad He didn’t say, ‘As thy strength, so shall thy days be.’”

The second one comes from Curtis Hutson. He wrote:

Most people live either in the past or in the future. They talk about how it used to be or how it’s going to be someday. In so doing, they miss life altogether. Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” In other words, don’t borrow from tomorrow. Someone suggested that worrying is using today’s strength on tomorrow’s problems.

You’ve heard this little adage: “Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have, so spend it wisely.” A friend once asked, “Do you know how to eat an elephant?” “No,” I replied. “One bite at a time,” he smiled and said. Years ago I saw a church sign which read, “Yard by yard is mighty hard, but inch by inch is a cinch.”

I have to admit that I spend too much time looking back longingly on the past. I also have to admit, though, that I spend even more time looking ahead to how it’s going to be someday. You see, I’ve been trying to get “there” for a good many years now. As for where “there” is, it’s just some idealized place I’ve got conjured up in my mind. Actually, it changes every so often. That’s why I can never say for sure where it is, let alone when I might arrive at it.

But what makes me think that everything will be wonderful “there” anyway? As far as this earthly life goes, is there any place that doesn’t offer some sort of struggle and travail? Not really. Therefore, as Christians, the best we can do is have a good attitude about today and do our best for Christ where we are at this very second. Looking back to where we once were, or looking ahead to where we plan to be, just isn’t the way the Lord wants us to live.

Posted in Adversity, Aging, Attitude, Commitment, Contentment, Depression, Desires, Doing Good, Encouragement, Faithfulness, Perseverance, Personal, Problems, Service, Trials, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

How to Handle a Bad Inning

Posted on August 4, 2023 by russellmckinney

At a Little League game, the visiting team had already scored 21 runs and was still batting in the top of the first inning. The mother of the boy playing the position of right fielder began to worry that such a staggeringly lopsided loss would demoralize him and destroy his confidence. So, she left her seat in the stands and made her way out to the fence located beside right field. She stood there and yelled out to the boy, “Son, this has to be an awful experience for you, and I just want you to know that you don’t have to keep playing if you don’t want to. I’ll take you home right now and explain things to your coach.” The boy, however, seemed shocked by the suggestion. He simply smiled back and said, “But mom, we can still win this game. We haven’t come to bat yet!”

You have a choice to make as to how you approach life. You can operate with an optimistic attitude or a defeatist one. You can believe that God is up to something good in your life or that He is leading you off a cliff. The choice is yours.

As for the optimistic approach, I’m not talking about some pie-in-the-sky, “hope so” kind of thing. I’m talking about you putting your faith in Jesus, a Savior who loves you enough to die on the cross for your sins and stands ready to give your life ideal meaning and purpose. I’m talking about you heeding Him when He says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). I’m talking about you relating to the apostle Paul when he says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Does following Jesus mean that you will never experience any blowout defeats? Hardly. But it does mean at least two things. First, if you stay submitted to Christ’s will for your life, He will keep you out of a lot of those situations that would end badly for you. Second, even when those difficult times do come along, Jesus will not only give you what you need to get through them but also use them to increase your strength and wisdom.

Christian, I don’t know where this post finds you, but perhaps you are right now guilty of bringing a defeatist attitude to the playing field. While this might be understandable for a person who doesn’t know Christ as Savior, it should be different for the Christian. Our Savior wasn’t a quitter, even as battered, bloodied, and bruised He carried His cross up Calvary’s hill. None of us will ever have a worse day than that one, and yet the eternal good He accomplished through it is far too deep for our human minds to grasp. That should teach us that the hardest things we have to endure in life can produce the greatest good. And that’s why we shouldn’t quit playing even in the midst of a bad inning.

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Belief, Christ's Birth, Disappointment, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, God's Love, God's Provision, God's Will, Perseverance, Problems, Trials, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Little Too Much Separating

Posted on August 2, 2023 by russellmckinney

My buddy Malcolm Woody once forwarded something to me that someone had forwarded to him. It’s a word about religious groups and denominations. I have no idea who wrote it, but it hits a little too close to home. See what you think.

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!”

He said, “Nobody loves me.”

I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”

He said, “A Christian.”

I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”

He said, “Protestant.”

I said, “Me, too! What franchise?”

He said, “Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”

I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.

Does the Bible teach there are times when I, as a Christian, should separate myself from those who either preach wrong doctrine or practice wrong conduct? Yes, it does. For your homework, read: Romans 16:17-18; Titus 3:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15; Jude v.3; Galatians 1:6-9; 1 John 4:1; 2 John v.9-11; and Ephesians 5:11. Obviously, there really is a time for what is known as “biblical separation.”

But as we Christians tend to do with so many things, we can go overboard with this separation. For example, if the very gospel itself is being compromised by some erroneous reinterpretation of it, that’s grounds for separation. If, however, the divisive argument in question is over how the financial contributions should be spent, that’s not such sacred ground. Can you see the difference? I hope so. And if you can’t, well, die heretic!

Posted in Balance, Doctrine, Humor, Separation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Problem of Copper Nails

Posted on July 31, 2023 by russellmckinney

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10, N.K.J.V.)

The noted preacher Dr. F.E. Marsh once preached a sermon on the importance of confession of sin and (wherever possible) the restitution for wrong done to others. At the close of the service one of his church members came to him with a troubled conscience. “Pastor,” he said, “you have put me in a sad fix. I have wronged someone and am ashamed to confess it or try to put it right. You see, I am a boat builder and the man I work for is an infidel. I have talked to him often about his need of Christ and urged him to come and hear you preach, but he scoffs and ridicules it all. Lately, though, I’ve become guilty of something that, if I should acknowledge it to him, will ruin my testimony forever.”

The church member then went on to explain that sometime ago he had started building a boat for himself in his own yard. He had needed to use copper nails for the job because such nails don’t rust in water, but copper nails were expensive. Consequently, he had been carrying home large quantities of them from work. He had rationalized the stealing by telling himself that his employer wasn’t paying him a large enough salary and that the employer had so many nails that he wouldn’t miss them anyway. That reasoning had kept the fellow’s conscience reasonably appeased until Dr. Marsh’s sermon.

Dr. Marsh counseled the church member to go to the employer, confess the stealing, and make the theft right, something the man just couldn’t bring himself to do. In his mind, such a thing would simply be too embarrassing. So, weeks passed, and with each new week the fellow’s guilt only increased. Finally, it got to be too much for him and he broke. He went and confessed all to the employer and offered to pay for the nails.

And how did the employer respond to the confession and the offer? He said, “George, I always did think you were just a hypocrite, but now I begin to feel there’s something to this Christianity after all. Any religion that would make a dishonest workman come back and confess that he had been stealing copper nails and offer to settle for them must be worth having.”

And now, Christian, I’ve got just one question for you: Have you got any “copper nails” in your life that call for some confession and restitution on your part? If you do, you’d be well advised to confront the issue head on because, until you do, any sense of inner peace you have will be a false one. Remember, you can’t be wrong with people and right with God.

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Confession, Conscience, Conviction, Guilt, Honesty, Inner Peace, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Sin, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Doing Church Differently

Posted on July 29, 2023 by russellmckinney

The churches of Asia greet you, Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19, N.K.J.V.)

Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house. (Colossians 4:15, N.K.J.V.)

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Apphia, Archipus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: (Philemon 1:1-2, N.K.J.V.)

Elbert Hubbard was a prominent American writer, publisher, and philosopher before his untimely death aboard the Lusitania, the ship that was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland in 1915. Hubbard was known as a man of profound quotes. One of those, in particular, strikes a chord with me. He called tradition “a clock that tells us what time it was.”

As we study the gospels, we find that Jesus was frequently in conflict with the man-made traditions of the Jewish religious elite. In particular, many incidents involved Him purposely breaking the time-honored but erroneous rules that had been established for keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest (Matthew 12:1-13; Luke 13:10-17; Luke 14:1-6; John 5:1-16). What caused all that conflict regarding the keeping of the Sabbath? Let me explain.

In the Old Testament Hebrew, the Sabbath commandment consists of 39 words. In accordance with those 39 words, the Jewish rabbis devised their own list of 39 ways in which a person could break the commandment. Then the rabbis took the whole process one step further by dividing those 39 ways into 39 divisions. This produced a grand total of 1,521 ways by which one could break the Sabbath. For example, getting a tack in your sandal was considered carrying a burden on the Sabbath. Killing a flea was considered hunting on the Sabbath. Even eating an egg that was laid on Saturday was considered a violation because the hen had worked on the Sabbath. It’s no wonder that Jesus railed against such traditions.

While I certainly wouldn’t say that the traditions of the American way of “doing church” are as bad as those the Jews used to keep their Sabbath, our traditions do sometimes seem about as entrenched. Try changing something in the typical local church and see what you get! But what’s surprising is that so many of our traditions have little or no scriptural basis.

Consider that for the first 300 years or so churches were simple “house churches” (Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon v.1-2; James 2:1-3; Acts 2:1-2; 2 John v.10). That means no: committees, deacon boards (even though the churches did have deacons), business meetings, Sunday Schools, Bible Schools, Bible conferences, revivals, church budgets, choirs, Christmas plays, Christmas cantatas, Easter dramas, Easter cantatas, Fall Festival parties, missions boards, youth missions trips, senior-citizen outings, or Christian schools. The congregations didn’t have pew-filled sanctuaries, baptisteries, education buildings, fellowship halls, gymnasiums, or life-activity centers, either.

So, how did those early churches “do church”? Consider the following:

  1. There were multiple house churches in a city. Since cities such as Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Smyrna, Colossae, and Laodicea boasted populations in the multiplied thousands, no one house could possibly have been large enough to host all of the Christians in a city.
  2. Evidently, when a congregation grew too big for the confines of a home, that was seen as an opportunity to begin a new offshoot house church. This was a version of what we might call “church planting” in the early decades of the church age.
  3. All of the house churches in a given city made up the one “church” of that city (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 2:1; Romans 1:7). When the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the “church” of a city, he meant for that letter to be passed along to each of the house congregations in that city and read aloud in each one.
  4. Each city had multiple pastors. These men were typically called “elders,” “overseers,” or “bishops” (Acts 14:23; 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; Philippians 1:1; Ephesians 4:11). It seems likely that each house congregation had one pastor as its overseer. The fact that Acts 14:23 says that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders (plural) in every church (singular) and Acts 20:17 speaks of the elders (plural) of the church (singular) of Ephesus is explained by the fact that all of the house congregations in a given city made up the one “church” of that city. In that sense, each “church” did have multiple pastors.
  5. There were deacons, men who performed necessary menial acts of service in the congregations (Acts 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:8-13).
  6. The congregations met each Sunday to commemorate the fact that Christ arose on a Sunday (Acts 20:7-8; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10). Since many of the early Christians were slaves, and since the Roman empire did not consider Sunday to be a special day during this time (this was before Constantine became the Emperor of Rome and changed that), it is likely that services were typically held on Sunday night.
  7. The services were free-flowing ones wherein each Christian was encouraged to contribute by somehow using or exhibiting his or her spiritual gift (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 14:26; Ephesians 4:7-11). However, everything was to be done in an orderly manner (1 Corinthians 14:40).
  8. There was praying (James 5:13).
  9. There was singing (Ephesians 5:18-19; Colossians 3:16; James 5:13; 1 Corinthians 14:15). Since the headings of many of the Psalms tell us those Psalms were written to be played on specific instruments, perhaps instruments were sometimes used in the services. Obviously, though, there wasn’t a piano or an organ sitting in the corner.
  10. There were no pulpits, but there was certainly teaching and what we now call “preaching” (1 Timothy 1:3; 4:6,13,16; 5:17; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Titus 1:9; 2:1).
  11. It seems that the Lord’s Supper was observed each service. This was called “the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42-47).
  12. In the earliest days of the church age, a “love feast” (a meal designed to help the poorer Christians) was served in conjuncture with the Lord’s Supper (Jude v. 12).
  13. Real wine was used during the Lord’s Supper and the love feast (1 Corinthians 11:21). How else could some of the Christians of Corinth have gotten drunk during the observance of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)?
  14. The house churches were expected to practice church discipline (1 Corinthians 5:1-13). Perhaps they did this by using the guideline laid out by Jesus (Matthew 18:15-17).
  15. As for the collection of monetary offerings, the Old Testament law’s elaborate system of tithing (Leviticus 27:30-34; Deuteronomy 12:5-7,17-19; 14:22-29; Numbers 18:21-32; Malachi 3:8-12) was not taught. Why would it have been since Christians were no longer under the law (Romans 6:14; 7:4; 10:4; Galatians 5:18)? For that matter, a Christian couldn’t bring a tenth of his harvests and livestock to a house church, and there was no longer a need to support the Levitical priests who ministered at the temple. So, what many now call “grace giving” replaced the commands concerning tithing. Under “grace giving” cheerful and generous giving was expected as each Christian gave in accordance with his or her prosperity (2 Corinthians 9:6-15; 1 Timothy 6:17-19).
  16. The collected offerings went to aid the needy (Acts 20:35; Ephesians 4:28; James 1:27), help fellow Christians who were struggling (Acts 11:29; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Galatians 6:10; Hebrews 6:10), support the apostles in their missionary work (Philippians 4:10-20; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14; 2 Corinthians 11:5-9), and meet the basic needs of the pastors (Galatians 6:6,10; 1 Corinthians 9:7,11; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
  17. Each and every Christian was to be actively involved in hands-on service to Christ outside the confines of the church congregation. The primary role of the pastors was to equip all Christians with the doctrine and knowledge necessary for those Christians to carry out the work of ministry themselves (Ephesians 4:11-12).
  18. The pastors did have authority to lead the congregations (Acts 20:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 3:5; Hebrews 13:7,17,24).
  19. Pastoral leadership was to be the kind of servant leadership that Jesus exemplified (1 Peter 5:1-4).
  20. The ultimate authority in all the churches rested with the apostles (1 Corinthians 5:1-3). They were the ones who ordained the pastors (Acts 14:23).

Okay, so why am I telling you all this? First, let me assure you that it’s not because I’m trying to take us all back to those early days of the church age. Even if we wanted to go back to that time, we couldn’t because we no longer have genuine apostles the likes of Peter and Paul. Second, I’m also not saying that there is anything patently wrong with: church buildings, committees, Sunday Schools, Bible Schools, revivals, missions boards, youth missions trips, senior-citizen outings, Christian schools, etc. I mean, the fact that you are reading this via a very modern tool called the internet isn’t lost on me!

No, my purpose in this post is to help promote a little more tolerance among Christians when a church comes along and says, “We’re going to try something different.” Since what we consider to be the “traditional” way of “doing church” is as different from the churches of the New Testament as apples are from oranges, who are we to say, “Oh, that’s wrong, you can’t do that”? C’mon, we’re already so far off the New Testament blueprint that Peter and Paul would hardly recognize us. Therefore, surely we can use a lot less of the attitude, “Our way is the only way.”

Actually, the more I study the church, the more I realize that it is akin to a living, breathing thing, and as such is constantly growing and evolving. That’s why the Lord doesn’t want congregations who are trapped in the year 100, 1600, 1900, or 2000. Instead, He wants us out there on the cutting edge of society, relating to people where they are, and keeping up with the times. Think about it, isn’t that exactly how Jesus ministered to the people of His day?

So, even though there is certainly a basic, Bible-based template for what constitutes a local church and how that church should function and be led, there is a lot of God-allowed play in the particulars of how a specific congregation goes about its mission. And just because a church operates differently from your personal preferences or your tradition, don’t automatically assume that the church is in the wrong and you are in the right. Each church is unique because each of the individuals who make up each church is unique, and once we all realize that, maybe we’ll stop trying to mass produce “cookie cutter” congregations.

Posted in Alcohol, Balance, Change, Church, Church Discipline, Giving, God's Work, Ministry, Money, Music, Prayer, Preaching, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Stewardship, Sunday School, Teaching, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments