When Church Makes You Sick

Ephesus was a tough assignment. The church was broken. False teaching poisoned the atmosphere. There was an intimidation factor among the leadership. Young widows were being manipulated, creating havoc in benevolent efforts and overall church affairs. They dressed scandalously and spent their time gossiping while on the church dime. The church treasury was being plundered by greedy preachers who also served as elders. In fact it was they who were stirring up the women and poisoning the church- guys like Alexander and Hymenaeus.

Into this mess Paul sent young Timothy.

In reading the two letters that bear his name, you get the impression that he was not quite ready for it. Repeatedly Paul had to prop him up. Paul knew of the fire-pit Timothy had been thrust into and knew the tremendous task that awaited him- as well as the great need for Timothy to succeed in leading this church back to good health. (Just read 1 Timothy 1). But Timothy seemed to struggle.

So Paul urged him to “fight the good fight.”  He reminded him to live up to the anointing he had received. He counseled him not to be intimidated because he was younger than the treacherous Ephesian church leadership. He encouraged him to overcome his shyness and fear to speak boldly and fearlessly for God. He repeatedly used words like “command” to nudge Timothy to be more forceful in carrying out his work as an evangelist- while at the same time providing him meticulous instructions on how to proper handle himself to best guard his reputation in the volatile climate of that church.  Paul even continually reminded Timothy of the kind of healthy teaching he was to share in order to counter the popular but unwholesome fables which were wrecking that church- almost as if Timothy was himself in danger of being sucked into these controversies.

Among all of this advice, instruction, reminders, warnings, and encouragement is this:

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and frequent illnesses- 1 Timothy 5:23

So Timothy had stomach problems. Really? It should come as no surprise considering the pressure he was under. The church had made him sick!

Outrageous? I don’t think so. If you have ever been involved in anything like what he was dealing with- you can relate. Could it be that Paul’s teaching to men about “raising holy hands” in prayer was meant not only just to teach a prayer posture, but to prevent them from using their hands to harass and hurt each other?

Yes, the church can make you sick,  Not the beautiful bride of Christ in all of her splendor and glory, but the weak, misguided, flesh-bound folks who, by grace, make up this church. We can make that much of a mess- and when we do it ain’t pretty. Timothy lived it in Ephesus.

So what did he do?

He hung in there. He endured hardship. He did the work of an evangelist. He continued to emphasize healthy teaching. He avoided being sucked into foolish and empty discussions. He demonstrated a better leadership model than previously seen in Ephesus. He worked to squash quarrels. He unashamedly testified about Christ. He knew Jesus was the answer to make that church whole again. He leaned on what he had known since his infancy- God’s Word. He never gave up, quit, ran away, or considered a job change. He guarded what Paul had entrusted to him. He gave it all he had- for the kingdom’s sake. Ephesus was, after all, still God’s church.

It wasn’t easy for him. Who likes to be sick? But he endured and by the time we read about Ephesus again- it was a healthier church.

So remember Timothy if the church ever makes you sick. Don’t give up. Rather work to bring healing. It may be why you are there.

“The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”

Honor the King?

Band of Brothers is a television series depicting the true-to-life WWII story of the Easy Company of the 101st Airborne division of the U.S. Army. This unit was one among many who parachuted into France before the historic D-Day landing on June 6, 1944.  In the series, we see Easy Company from their basic training days all the way to the war’s end.

The main character of the show is Dick Winters (real guy who lived what the show depicted).  His commanding officer in basic training is overbearing, incompetent, sycophantic, and universally disliked. Winters and the other men of Easy Company have to put up with him- he outranks them.

Later, after Winters has distinguished himself in combat and as a leader of men, he receives a series of promotions.  Eventually his rank rises above that of the basic training CO (who BTW lost his command to Winters, never went into combat,  and became a supply officer). At one point they encounter each other as Easy Company is in transit. The old CO– now outranked and bitter– fails to salute Winters. In a truly great scene, Winters stops the guy and says, “Captain Sobel… we do not salute the man, we salute the rank,” and makes him snap the salute.

I thought about this scene during a recent discussion about how Christians in America should view the presidency. (John Dobbs blogs about this here.) Take a few minutes to read 1 Peter 2:13-25 and Romans 13:1-7. Should we be engaged in publicly slamming and disrespecting our elected officials? (Not speaking about civil and constructive dialogue here- just the mean spiritedness that seems so prevalent in almost any discussion about politics and presidents.)

Can you imagine how the idea of “Honor the king” sounded to first century Christians? The Roman Emperor and the cult of Emperor worship sanctioned by the Roman state represented everything they opposed and at times severely oppressed them. Yet Peter says give him honor? Could it have been a salute the rank, not the man type thing?

In fact, honoring the king is a reflection of our submission to God. Our willingness to do this- even if it goes against our grain– is another way for God to be glorified to community in us. Why else would we do this except out of our relationship with God? Only in Christianity is this kind of ethic found. Many other religions would seek to rebel and overthrow (Jewish zealots in Palestine then- radical Muslims now) a government they dislike. This is not God’s call for us. Rather we challenge governments and culture through transformed lives- as peacemakers, through meekness, purity, and living out the values of the kingdom as Christ did. God will- through his justice  eventually make right all of the injustices that exist (where is the Roman empire now?). Like the Revelation martyrs- we may be asking, “how long” until this happens (Revelation 6:9-11). But until then God asks us to love our enemies, honor and pray for government officials and forms of governments (even those we do not like), turn the other cheek, think more highly of others than we do ourselves, take care of the most vulnerable among us, etc.

It is a difficult, humbling, totally against-our-human-nature call, but God is not asking us to do anything he has not already done himself.

I may disagree with and oppose the policies, politics, and even the lifestyle of a president. I certainly can engage in civil discussion about all of this and vote for or against him (something the first century Christians could not do, BTW). But while I may not necessarily salute the man, God has called me to honor the position. When I do I reflect that my true citizenship is in the kingdom of heaven.

Churches of Christ in Decline?

Recently Bobby Ross, Jr. shared some alarming stats on his Christian Chronicle blog which indicate that Churches of Christ are in decline. Based upon data compiled by 21st Century Christian (the publisher of the Churches of Christ in the United States directory) there are now 102,000 fewer people worshiping in our churches then there were in 2003. Further, the data reveals that over these last nine years 708 of our congregations have shut their doors.

This information puts hard numbers on what many among us have suspected. I know that the majority of the congregations of which I am familiar are smaller than they were just a few years ago.

Based on this information here are a few personal observations:

• Of this 102,000- my guess is that many of  them are in the 20 something age group. I have no hard evidence for this except what I see in churches where I minister and hear from other people.  A huge discussion can be undertaken about why this group is leaving us (post-modern thinking; not grounded enough; natural rebellion of the age, etc.), but there is no denying it. Recently a friend of mine who has a 20 something child (who grew up in a vibrant Church of Christ; involved in youth group activities; summer camp; foreign mission trips; and graduated from one of our universities) told me that she is now worshiping in a community church. She calls Churches of Christ, “old school.”  Whether we like to hear this or not- we must listen and prayerfully address why this group is leaving us. We are having this ongoing discussion at Levy. It remains a challenge.
• Some among us have (in perhaps trying to address this challenge) left behind some of our traditional core values like A cappella singing and restrictions placed on women in public assemblies. These moves have not been without controversy, of course. What some see as simply an evolution of our restoration heritage, others view as an affront to clear biblical teaching. My mention of this is not to enter into a debate about this- just to recognize what has happened. And to ask these questions- have these congregations seen real, significant growth from among the truly unchurched? Has their move to a more ecumenical, contemporary approach to worship and beliefs attracted people- including the 20 somethings? It would be interesting to see if these churches among us are having any greater success.
• Isn’t Jesus still the answer? The first church in Acts had very little of what we recognize as church- buildings, programs, staff, Sunday  morning worship emphasis, etc. yet they penetrated deeply into their culture with the message of Christ to the point of transforming entire cities. Their secret? They lived, breathed and taught Christ, him crucified and resurrected. The more our American culture moves into a post-Christian era, the more it resembles the culture of the first century in which the church then flourished.  Is Christ the center of our message in Churches of Christ? As disciples are we genuinely living out his values in our life in a way that stands in contrast to the world around us? Are we losing our life to find it? Are we proclaiming the Good News of Jesus outside of our church walls? The church grows in the marketplace- not in church buildings. The darker our culture becomes the more brightly the light of Jesus will shine. Our challenge is not to hide this light under a bushel that we keep inside our church buildings.

I love Churches of Christ. I am alarmed at these numbers. I am praying for wisdom and guidance from God on how to be more faithful in proclaiming Jesus as a member of the Church of Christ.

It just  hurts to see us in decline.