The Past is Future:

Benefits of our Apostolic Heritage

Stunned and saddened, my wife and I sat through the Memorial Service at General Conference and heard of the many ministers who departed this life, taking their stories with them. My mother, brother-in-law and aunt were among the names remembered, but beyond the sense of loss, a profound understanding of spiritual wealth slowly dawned on me.  They left us far more than they took away. 

Heritage is that vast body of knowledge, traditions, stories, practices and values that has been handed down to us from the past.  Like a luxuriant tapestry, it is interwoven with meaningful experiences, symbolic events and deeply significant relationships, all of which exert a profound influence upon our present identity.  While obsolescence may push many aspects of the past into irrelevance, the underlying spirit, principles and values remain timeless.   Capturing the essence of these qualities makes reflection on the founders of the modern Apostolic movement richly rewarding.

The exponential pace of change in our present world often distracts us from the importance of the past.  Technological advances, for instance, make daily life today so different from that of a generation ago that many of us feel a huge disconnect from former eras.  New methodologies, new philosophies and new widely-held values drive us even further from the way our parents and grandparents did things.  Many not only want to distance themselves from them, they actually harbor disdain and ridicule for them.  We make a huge mistake to dismiss our heritage as irrelevant to the twenty-first century.  Such a response violates scriptural principles, depletes our moral resources and skews our judgment about our own era.  The past has much to teach about our future. 

In our day when some are intent on “rocking the boat,” we need to take a fresh look at our Apostolic beginnings.  Embracing the benefits of our heritage doesn’t mean studying history, although historical experiences may prove extremely helpful to our understanding.  History concerns itself primarily with an intellectual knowledge of who, when, where, what and how of major events and developments.  Curiosity alone may be enough to study and enjoy history.  A full appreciation of our heritage, however, involves a genuine gratitude for the struggles of our forbears and a re-commitment to the core values and convictions that provided their motivation. 

Our heritage revolves around the personalities of leaders in the early Apostolic movement.  Howard Goss, E. N. Bell, Frank Ewart, R. E. McAlister, G. T. Haywood, Andrew Urshan and many others were colorful and dynamic personalities of our past.  Their fervor and passion were key to the early successes of the Jesus’ Name cause, and the accounts of their ventures, often at great expense and against unbelievable odds, drove the movement forward.  Their stories provide a vital source of inspiration to us today.

But the personalities were only part of the story.  The way Apostolic beliefs developed from scant beginnings to full and comprehensive tenets of faith inspire us as well.  Doctrines central to our message followed a path from initial revelation to increasing enlightenment, and people today are edified and instructed as they understand these developments.  Each challenge had its breakthrough moments, and the evidence of divine blessing in the way it worked out serve to enhance our appreciation for them. 

Pentecostal pioneers accomplished much as they established organizations, built congregations, started Bible colleges, opened up mission fields and experienced tremendous revivals.  Added to these are reports of miracles, healings and great moves of the Spirit still thrill people today.  It is highly informative to outline the specifics about our pioneers that deserve our undying gratitude.

They believed: They possessed a passion they had for doctrinal truth that became an insatiable hunger.  They read, studied, debated and researched the Bible into the wee hours of the night, never seeming to get enough.

They pursued:  They insisted on pursuing truth and getting to core doctrines, regardless of where the path led them.  The “San Antonio Experiment” in which tongues was observed to be the evidence of the Holy Ghost baptism illustrated how they put the scriptures to the test. 

They left:  Like Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, our forefathers left careers, positions and associations for the sake of truth.  For some who were accomplished and already recognized as leaders in their respective churches, this represented a significant loss of livelihood.  They walked by faith in a very literal sense.

They sacrificed:  Many of the pioneers held a bedrock conviction that worldly possessions and financial concerns were unimportant.  They often embarked on cross-continent missions with nothing but change in their pockets and an apple or a cracker to eat. 

They confronted:  They demonstrated an exemplary boldness in opposing powerful forces that they believed were wrong.  Many, like Goss and Haywood, withstood even the Pentecostal titans of the day in order to show their devotion to scriptural truths.

They separated:  Their consecration to God pervaded every fiber of their lives: their speech, their clothing, their intake of food and drink, the way they spent their leisure time and the amount of time they dedicated to God.  They possessed a desire for singular purity in living lives totally given to holiness and separation.

They worked:  They gave themselves tirelessly to building the kingdom of God, above and beyond the call of duty.  It was not unusual for them to have two or three services a day for weeks at a time. 

They loved:  They loved God with a consuming love, often to their own physical suffering and hurt.  Every waking moment was filled with conversation about God, prayer, witnessing, worshipping and anything that would benefit the kingdom of God. 

Our heritage must be given prominence in this modern era.  It is a formidable standard by which we must judge our own devotion, but it is also a fabulous resource of inspiration and challenge.  The sobering question for us is this:  If they did so much with so little, can we be satisfied accomplishing so little with so much? 

Unrecognizable Language of Political Propagandists

Want to totally twist the language of the day to an unrecognizable form?  There are lots of new ways to do it, admittedly creative although Hitleresque in their evil overtones.  Take a moral value—or even a neutral term—and couple it with a pejorative modifier.  Competition, for example.  Simply pair the word up with something like wasteful.  Voila!  Wasteful competition!  Of course!  Everybody knows that competition is wasteful, right?  Suddenly, you have transformed something of value into a hideous negative.  This works wonders!  I’m so impressed.  Let’s try some more. 

• Stupid generosity.
• Manipulative honesty.
• Calculated truth-telling.
• Abnormal chastity.
• Questionable goodness.
• Frightening freedom.
• Lop-sided liberty.
• Unfair security.
• Childish morality.
• Problematic stability.
• Restrictive constitutionality.
• Oppressive patriotism.
• Spinning facts. 

The genius of this technique is that an inept speaker or writer can’t just utilize these terms as though everyone understands plain English.  These days, using a word out of grade school vocabulary lists makes one seem unschooled in popular usage.  “Hey, dunce!  How stupid are you anyway?  Don’t you know that he was just telling the truth in a very calculated way?”  Language is not what it used to be.  Naïve communicators will get steam-rollered. 

There are other variations of  this same methodology.  Take a bad term and soften it up with an innocent adjective or adverb, or even an antonym modifier.  It eliminates the sting.  In fact, many people will register a noticeably altered emotional impact by seeing or hearing these phrases. Try saying the second word by itself.  Then, add the modifier.  They will make you feel differently about the word! 

• Understandable lie.
• Forced cover-up.
• Fair redistribution.
• Moral amnesty.
• Justifiable  loss.
• Legal abortion.
• Contrived scandal.
• Appropriate taxation.
• Reasonable compromise. 

Amazing, isn’t it?  In addition, we have become used to politically correct terminology as a part of our everyday speech.  Formerly called euphemisms, they are simply innocuous substitutes for offensive words.  We have also accepted words and phrases that take the edge off of threatening terms that have been considered negatives in the past.  Examples: 

• Revenue enhancements, not taxes.
• Legislatively directed expenditures, not pork.
• Affirmative action, not preferences.
• Diversity guidelines, not quotas.
• Planned parenthood, not abortion.
• Sexual orientation, not perversion.
• Special needs persons, not handicapped—certainly not crippled.
• Small people, not midgets.
• Ethnic cleansing, not genocide.
• Negative patient care outcome, not death.
• Undocumented workers, not illegal aliens. 

Let’s analyze this.  While there are a finite number of actions in the realm of human activity, there are an infinite number of euphemisms that can be generated to describe or label these actions.  These substitute words can mitigate the impact of the actions temporarily, but people soon catch on and the substitute term loses its value.  Retarded used to be the word of choice to describe a mentally slow person.  Yeah.  Try calling someone retarded today!  Same is true for idiot, imbecile or insane.  Now, we say that a person has mental health issues.  

Political propaganda will eventually be exposed as mere euphemisms.  But, guess what?  A brand new list of substitute words will find their way into the vocabulary to muddy the waters again.  The best solution for these developments is to keep asking, “What does this really mean?  What are they trying to say, and what are they trying to hide?”  You can never rest.  The truth may hurt, but the truth is also the only thing that will heal.  Regardless of whether it hurts or heals, truth is the ultimate goal anyway.  Why?  Because only the truth will make you free!  The people who tell you that you can’t handle the truth are usually those who have a vested interest in falsehoods.  Let the buyer beware!

The Ambivalence of the Laity

By definition, ambivalence means simultaneously holding two opposite feelings towards someone or something.  Laity refers to the people as opposed to the clergy.  Combining these two terms describes the state of people in the church who feel both loyalty and skepticism, both acceptance and rejection towards their leaders.  On the one hand, they may wish to be loyal and submissive to authority, but on the other hand, they want the right to think independently and insist on making their own decisions.  Even though they want leadership rather than dictatorship, sometimes they cannot discern the difference between the two.  This ambivalence often leads to paralysis in the functioning of the church body, and can result in breakdown and dissolution. 

This dilemma has some basis in the scriptures.  Paul wrote to the Corinthians “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 11:1)  In terms of the ambivalence of the laity, this is an intriguing statement.  Paul indirectly concedes that his leadership was a function of his faithfulness to Christ’s example.    He stated this in the positive sense, of course, implying that he was indeed following Christ.  But the corollary is equally valid.  Anyone who judged him to have strayed from that baseline was warranted in rejecting his leadership.  This conclusion calls for a close examination because it calls the authority of the leader into question.

But, is it proper to call spiritual authority into question, given the strong scriptural pronouncement against such an action?  “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”  (Hebrews 13:7)  Also, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls.”  (Hebrews 13:17)  The Old Testament condemns sins of disobedience and rebellion from Adam and Eve to Korah’s rebellion, and finally brands the entire nation of Israel as disobedient.  “But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.”  (Romans 10:21). 

One could argue from these and similar scriptures that the slightest hint of dissemblance from the congregation is proof enough of rebelliousness.  The leader of the church at any level should expect to receive unquestioning loyalty from the people and prompt compliance with his wishes.  Anyone who behaves otherwise would sabotage the spirit of unity and cause division to the body.  Paul thus admonished the Romans, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”  (Romans 16:17)  Thus, there seems to be no room for ambivalence among the laity.

The cultural traditions of Western Civilization further complicate the issue of unquestioning allegiance and blind loyalty.  This culture promotes rugged individualism; independent thinking and even rewards the “maverick” mindset.  “Going rogue,” assertiveness and non-conformity are often seen as positive traits.  Educators train students to resist the opinions of others and seek out their own version of the truth.  Put in more common (and crudely stated) terms, “Nobody is going to tell me what to do!”  It’s the democratic way.  We do concede to certain kinds of authority like those we find in civil, academic, military and even organizational jurisdictions.  They must be clearly spelled out and placed under strict limitations, however, for us to submit.  Yet, when we become part of the body of Christ, we are suddenly introduced to those who have God-given authority over our lives.  The apparent dichotomy can often seem extremely frustrating.  God created us with a will and then we are admonished to do the will of God.  We are urged to study the Word of God for ourselves, and then we are commanded to listen and be taught.  We are encouraged to pray about upcoming decisions and then are asked to abide by the decisions of our elders.  On the surface, it would seem that all of this is confusing and conflicted.  We must dive deeper than surface appearances to arrive at the answer.

No less a personage than Jesus Christ encountered resistance among His disciples.  Judas comes immediately to mind, and we know about his demise.  But Simon Peter also remonstrated with Jesus over Jesus’ prophecy of His execution.  Jesus strongly rebuked him and Peter seemed to have received it, but in the hour of Christ’s deepest agony, Peter defected and flatly denied that he knew Jesus.  It was a stormy relationship, but Jesus healed the wounds at the last when He prodded Peter about his love and then instructed him to “Feed my sheep.”  (John 21:16). 

This incident opens the gateway to spiritual conflict resolution.  Jesus, who had already been betrayed by Judas, felt the added sting of Simon Peter’s rejection.  In neither instance, however, did Jesus react to the negativity.  Judas became the arbiter of his own fate without giving Jesus a further chance to intervene.  Peter, however, became the beneficiary of the agápē love of the Savior who willingly forgave His disciple’s egregious defection and brought him back into the fold. 

Two aspects of the solution to the ambivalence of the laity present themselves.  First, if the leader is to assume the role of the authority figure, he must also operate under the equally weighty responsibility of loving and caring for his followers.  Authority without responsibility is tyranny.  No leader is called to be a tyrant.  He must do everything possible to lead people to success and well-being, and he must feel a sense of failure (as opposed to a sense of exoneration, revenge or relief) when people fail.  Second, every lay person must subordinate egoism and selfishness to the proper authority built into the body of Christ.  He must not contend for his own view, opinion or way to the disruption of the church.  No goal must supersede that of the triumph of the body.  If the leader is concerned with the welfare of the individual, the individual must reciprocate with an equal concern for the welfare of the body. 

Unresolved ambivalence first leads to paralysis and then to death.  No leader and no follower must elevate their personal ambitions over and above the life and spiritual prosperity of the body of Christ!

Three Things the New Pastor Wants Most

 

by Joe McKeever

I was scheduled to bring the final sermon at a church that was one week away from welcoming its new pastor. My first thought was to pull out a message I had used before with other congregations that would be apt for this occasion. Then, an idea occurred to me.

Why not ask the incoming pastor what he’d like me to say to the church?

In reply to my e-mail, an hour later I had his answer. One would have thought he had been waiting for someone to ask him that very question since he was so prompt in responding.

He said, “I would love to come into a church that was unified, where everyone loved each other, and they all prayed for the pastor.” He even gave a text for each point from Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians.

The more I reflected on it all week, the more I realized any pastor coming into a new church would give a month’s salary for these three gifts.

UNITY: Ephesians 4:11-16
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God….”

The passage ends, “…Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Kent Hughes says anyone preaching on Christian unity starts with this passage, and, we add, for good reason. The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul covers the subject as well as we can find it anywhere.

In surfing the net on the subject of “Christian unity” and “disharmony in the church,” I ran across a sermon from a fellow of another denomination—one of those convinced they alone are going to Heaven—who said that Christian unity is all of us speaking the same thing, doing the same thing, believing the same way, and such. My main reaction to that is: baloney.

The kind of unity pictured in Ephesians 4 is not the lifeless unity of a brick or a stone, but that of a living body. Our bodies have hundreds of different parts, none of them resembling the others, but each doing its own work and all working together. The result is not sameness, but harmony. When a body functions as it was intended, the result is a beautiful unity.

Think of a congregation singing a hymn in unison. Everyone sings the same notes. There’s a certain beauty about it, but by the third verse, it’s boring. How much better for some to sing the melody, and others to find harmony lines of bass, tenor, alto, and variations of each. We end up with a full-bodied chorus of voices, some coming in from left field, some booming up from the dugouts, some hovering above in the atmosphere, and others flowing in from the grandstands—all joining in to produce a magnificent blend.

That is not uniformity—which is what the internet preacher was calling for—but unity.

It’s the unity of a great football team. Only two or three fellows play quarterback and they alternate with each other. The rest hold down positions with names like end, guard, center, tackle, running back, cornerback, and linebacker. We have punters and kickers and head coaches and offensive coaches and quarterback coaches, trainers and gofers and cheerleaders and front office people. When everyone does his job well, you have unity, even though no two are doing the same thing in the same way.

That’s how God has set up His church. It’s just fine to have disagreements and we even welcome them, because no one person on a team or in the church has a monopoly on all wisdom. Disagreements helps the leaders to hear all sides of issues and force them to think matters through.

What this means, of course, is that a key ingredient in unity is maturity, one aspect of which is the ability to appreciate all views on a subject and to find the appropriate action for a situation. Immaturity fears dissent and panics at the first sign of a disagreement.

Christian unity finds its strength in each member of the body being true to his assignment.

LOVE: Ephesians 4:25-32
“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer…. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth…. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption… Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Interestingly, the word “love” is not found in that passage. And yet all the actions Paul commands of the Ephesians comprise the very definition of love. In the Scriptures, we recall, love is never an emotion but always an action.

Love is something we do.

So, what does love in a congregation do? Love tells the truth, controls its anger, works instead of steals, speaks kindly, is kind, sweet-spirited, and forgiving.

Turn it around, then, and ask, “When love is missing, what do we find?” The answer is here, to Lies, rage, stealing, harshness, ugliness, mean-spiritedness, and lack of forgiveness. All of these grieve the Holy Spirit and bring our effectiveness to a grinding halt.

In his commentary on Ephesians, Kent Hughes tells of a rancorous church fight which drove both sides to lawsuits in a public court. The judge threw out the suits and urged them to take the matter to a church court of their denomination. There, the panel decided in favor of one side and ordered the other group out of the facilities altogether. That group went across town and started a church of their own.

Hughes reports that the church court was able to go back and find the very beginnings of the dispute: at a church dinner, one of the elders was upset because a child sitting next to him received a larger slice of ham.

Just so are churches split, the cause of Christ slandered, the mission fields neglected, and God’s people diverted from service.

If a key element in unity is maturity, we suggest a key ingredient in love is humility. To love is to put people at least on an equal level with ourselves, if not above.

Actually, love is the glue that bonds the church in unity. Love for Christ and love for each other. There’s a tiny line in Colossians 2:2 that reads: “their hearts having been knit together in love.” It’s the same verb Paul uses in Ephesians 4:16 and means “joined together” the way the ligaments and tendons hold the joints of the body together.

That’s what love does, knit us together and hold us there. There will be a lot of movement in this body, so the ties have to be strong.

PRAYER: Ephesians 6:18-20
“With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

We note in the context for this passage that it follows the full layout of the armor Christians wear for the spiritual warfare they conduct in this world. After being adequately alerted and suitably armored, we are ready to pray.

You know the old jokes about the old maid English teachers. Well, I used to be an English teacher and I can tell you, any such instructor would have handed verse 18 back to Paul and said, “Simplify this. It’s too complicated. I’m not sure what you’re saying.” But, we have it the way he said it, and will have to try to negotiate our way through it.

John Bunyan called this “all prayer,” meaning that prayer is the first, the best, the most, the greatest, and we do well to infuse everything we do with this spiritual discipline.

“Pray at all times in the Spirit.” Spiritual warfare demands that the believer stay close to the Lord and abide in Him for strength and direction.

“For all the saints.” Be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, Paul says. That instruction reminds us we’re not praying just for the members of our group or our congregation. You drive past a church, pray for its members. You read something about a congregation, pray for its people. You meet a pastor of another church or hear one on the radio, pray for him and his people.

“And pray for me.” And what shall we pray for you, Paul? Bear in mind that most likely, he is in prison in Rome (he calls himself “a prisoner in chains”). So, he wants out, right? Wants better treatment? A good lawyer? Leniency from the judge? Decent food. Protection from some bully? Nope. None of those things.

“Pray that I’ll be able to preach the Word boldly with effectiveness.” That’s all he wanted.

The new pastor of our church could produce quite a list of prayer needs, no doubt, including the Lord’s protection as he relocates his family to our city, provision in selling his old house and purchasing one here, and wisdom in the many decisions he will make as he begins his ministry. But pre-eminently, I believe he would say with Paul that his first prayer request is for his preaching, that every time he stands he will have God’s message and declare it faithfully and forcefully.

Unity, love, prayer. We recall what great concerns these were with the Lord for His disciples in all His teachings, but, never more than in His final hours with them in the upper room. While there was a finality about His words that night, a new and exciting chapter for the disciples was about to begin. Therefore, nothing would be more important than that they stay together, love one another, and be faithful in praying.

“The Upper Room Discourse” covers chapters 13-17 of John’s Gospel. In His final words with the disciples before He goes to the cross, we find Jesus emphasizing these concerns again and again throughout….

Chapter 13. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Verses 34-35) Love, Unity.

Chapter 14. “If you love me, keep my commandments…. He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved my my Father…. He who does not love me does not keep my words….” (V.15, 21, 24) Love.

Chapter 15. “Just as the Father loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love.” “This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” “This I command you, that you love one another.” (V. 9, 12, 13, 17) Love, Unity.

Chapter 16. “Truly, truly, I say to you, that if you ask the Father for anything in my name, He will give it to you….ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (V. 23, 24) Prayer.

Chapter 17 is not part of the discourse proper, but appears to have been prayed in the Upper Room with the disciples that evening. Scholars call it “the great high priestly prayer” of Jesus. Notice the direction of His requests in this prayer. After asking repeatedly that the Father would “keep them in your name,” Jesus said, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you Father are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.” (vs.20-21.) Unity.

“…that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent me, and loved them, even as you have loved me.” (vs. 23) Unity, love.

“…I have made your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (vs. 26) Love, unity.

Stick together. Love each other. Look to Jesus in prayer.

Interesting that He emphasized unity and love far more than prayer. Maybe because those are harder to achieve? Contrary to their independent natures? Require more effort?

In the early part of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the disciples were “all together in one place” and praying (Acts 2:1), “were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44), “and the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32).

They had learned their lesson well, it seems, from the Lord Himself.

On the internet, I ran across an excellent devotional from the First Baptist Church of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, dated October 4, 2003. A church member by the name of Dan Burns shared on the subject of protecting the unity of the church. He writes:

“Unity in the church is so important that the New Testament gives more attention to it than to either heaven or hell. God deeply desires that we experience oneness and harmony with each other. Unity is the soul of fellowship. Destroy it, and you rip the heart out of Christ’s body.”

“Nothing on earth is more valuable to God than His church. He paid the highest price for it, and he wants it protected, especially from the devastating damage that is caused by division, conflict, and disharmony. If you are a part of God’s family, it is your responsibility to protect the unity of where you fellowship. Ephesians 4:3 says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Mr. Burns had six suggestions on how to protect the unity of the church.

1. Focus on what we have in common, not on our differences.
2. Be realistic in your expectations.
3. Choose to encourage rather than to criticize.
4. Refuse to listen to gossip.
5. Practice God’s method of conflict resolution. (Referring to the three step process of Matthew 18:15-17)
6. Support your pastors and leaders.

Burns ends with this: “We challenge you to accept your responsibility to protect and promote the unity of this church. Put your full effort into it, and God will be pleased. It will not always be easy. Sometimes you will have to do what is best for the body and not yourself, showing preference to others. That’s one reason God puts us in a church family, to learn unselfishness. It is your responsibility to protect the unity of this church.”

Dr. Joe McKeever is a Preacher, Cartoonist, and the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Visit him at joemckeever.com/mt. Used with permission.

Page Source (url): http://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/three-things-the-new-pastor-wants-most-11579445.html

Does the Church Have Any Business Teaching Holiness?

Let’s cut to the chase.  Holiness directly impacts the way we live—and that’s the problem for many of its detractors.  Holiness is a personal change agent that modifies our behavior, informs the way we present ourselves to the world and provides us with a pattern of living to which we must conform.  How invasive it is depends upon how it is perceived and taught by the particular pastor, teacher, preacher, leader or denomination.  Even if holiness is virtually ignored by the leader, it must still have some effect on a believer.  After all, the Bible does plainly say that God is holy.  Nobody with a scintilla of credibility can deny that.

But the next step is intrinsically tied to the first.  If we acknowledge that God is holy, then we must accept the programmer’s Boolean condition that we must be holy.  Conveniently, the Bible does not leave it to us to figure out, but goes ahead and spells it out in 1 Peter 1:16 (KJV). “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”  The Old Testament reference is Leviticus 20:7.  The sobering basis for this command is the perverse worship of Molech, a pagan god.  And, in case Israelites justified their behavior by saying that their worship was not connected to Molech, the passage then expands the condemnation to anything else that resembles this wicked behavior.  “And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people”  Leviticus 20:6 (KJV).

Today, some stiff-arm this holiness idea by claiming that any holiness we have is because God is holy.  They believe, therefore, that if God indwells us, we are holy because He is holy.  Others claim that teaching holiness in any tacit or practical application is an attempt at perfection, and, since no one is perfect, then the entire school of thought is futile.  Still others believe that it is impossible for any flawed human being to be holy; therefore holiness can only be imparted or reckoned.  God, so they say, simply counts us as holy, even though He knows we are not.

These ideas are tantamount to telling students that matriculation guarantees graduation, or informing workers that training for a job is accomplished immediately by getting hired.  Specious claims like these represent an invalid interpretation of Scripture.  If living a holy life was essentially out of reach for born again Christians, or if the very idea of personal holiness was a pipe dream, then the Bible is a bloated, pretentious book of allegories.  The goal of discipleship presupposes a learning curve.  “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9.  This learning refers to aspects of following God, not just how to do ministry, as the Apostle points out in Ephesians 4:24.  “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Back to the question of whether or not the church has any business teaching holiness.  The inescapable fact is that it IS our business!  This task lies at the very heart of the ministry’s work.  Our mission transcends the go of the gospel; it also mandates teaching.  Moreover, we are given the curriculum to teach, so the content of our message cannot be left to our imagination, our fickle preferences or our personal agenda.  “Preach the word,” Paul said.  He also wrote to Timothy, “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” 1Timothy 6:3-5 (NIV). 

In terms of visible and tangible application of holiness principles to believers, the Bible contains emphatic teaching on the holiness of the body, mind and spirit.  Many references could be used here, but let’s just look at two.  2 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV) says “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”  Also, the first two verses of Romans 12 nearly cover the entire spectrum.  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2 (KJV).  The words holiness and holy draw strict parameters around the implication of these Scriptures.  However we define them, their substance may not be summarily dismissed.  They mean something.  And, the meaning we assign to them must conform to the remainder of Scriptures if we are to avoid private interpretation

Indexing holiness to cultural norms or customs alone, as some teach, without any tempering from the Scriptures, leads to unfeasible outcomes for serious believers.  For example, cultural norms of today would put us at complete odds with Paul’s teaching on hair in 1 Corinthians 11:1-15.  Swimwear at almost any beach in the world in our era guts scriptural references to modesty or chastity.  Norms of sexual behavior, body decoration and mutilation, intake of alcoholic beverages and other defilements of the human body are mired in incongruence with the Scriptures.  To use an Old Testament analogy, the response of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego provide believers with the proper response to cultural customs; otherwise, their experiences have little or no value to us in our generation.

It’s demonstrably true that the evolving state of contemporary Christianity closely follows the trends of secular society.  As goes the world, so goes the modern church.  What is the driving force behind this?  Just this:  people today do what is easiest, most convenient or personally preferable.  Biblical holiness, however, never has been nor is it now predicated on ease, convenience or personal preference.  The ancient Hebrews, the early Christians and even the believers of the Ante Nicene age were notorious for conspicuous differences in dress and behavior; even though they suffered and were ridiculed for their stand.  As to the church age, Peter wrote “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.” 1 Peter 4:3-4 (KJV) Much later, Tertullian wrote: “You must know that in the eye of perfect, that is Christian modesty, carnal desire of one’s self on the part of others, is not only not to be desired or even expected of you: first, because the study of personal grace as a means of pleasing does not spring from a sound conscience. Why therefore excite towards yourself that evil passion? Why invite that to which you profess yourself a stranger? Second, because we ought not to open a way to temptation, which by their instancy sometimes achieves wickedness which God expels from those who are His. We ought indeed to walk so holily, and with so entire substantiality of faith to be confident and secure in regard to our conscience.”  (Tertullian, Book Two, Chapter Two). 

Attempting to practice Christianity absent the teaching of holiness leads to a false representation of the very nature of God.  His holy nature is juxtaposed against the lewdness, the sexual promiscuity and the carnality of paganism in every venue of Scripture.  To disregard this teaching is to compromise and corrupt our knowledge of God.  Yes, it is true that His holiness is imparted to us, not to relieve us of any obligation to live in holiness, but to incentivize us to do so!  How can we represent a Holy God by living in an unholy fashion?  As absurd as this sounds, that is exactly what some were trying to foist onto the early church.  Paul responded to this error with this passage:  “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  Romans 6:1-4 (KJV)

Holiness teaching serves two primary purposes.  First, as I explained above, we live holy because holiness is the nature of God.  Second, it functions as a guard rail on a road that borders a steep cliff.  Living in a holy manner shields us from the slippery slope of human nature.  If the leadership of the church fails to teach holy living, the sinful, human nature will continue in or revert back to behaviors that contradict the Bible teachings.  Both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter were concerned with this possibility.  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”  Galatians 5:1 (KJV).  Peter expands on this in a much more graphic manner.  “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:20-22 (KJV).

For the reasons given here, and many more, it is incumbent upon called and anointed Bible teachers to teach the holiness practices that conform to the Scriptures.  We can and should draw lines.  We can and should define gray areas as much as possible.  We can and should confront evil and compromise every place we find it.  The courage to preach holiness must not wither in the face of ridicule, adversity or argument.  I have observed that the same reasons used to justify abandoning the holiness lifestyle is usually employed to depart from sound biblical doctrine as well.  If the whole house may collapse by unraveling holiness teaching, then we must never let it even begin.

50 Websites on Teaching and Preaching Holiness

 

1. http://soundteaching.org/category/subjects/holiness/
2. http://www.bibleviews.com/holiness.html
3. http://www.raptureready.com/resource/vess/vess0200.html
4. http://www.yoyomaster.com/ministry.file/Holiness.pdf
5. http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/holiness.htm
6. http://www.navpress.com/images/pdfs/9781576839324.pdf
7. http://wesley.nnu.edu/other-theologians/westlake-taylor-purkiser/interpreting-christian-holiness-w-t-purkiser/interpreting-christian-holiness-chapter-i/
8. http://bible.org/seriespage/call-holiness-1-peter-114-16
9. http://www.apttoteach.org/Theology/Salvation/pdf/711_Salvation_Holiness.pdf
10. http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=1501
11. http://holinesstoday.org/nphweb/html/ht/article.jsp?sid=10005109&id=10009781
12. http://www.shema.com/articles/articles-005.php
13. http://www.lcoggt.org/history/conservative_holiness_movement.htm
14. http://www.pipersnotes.com/piper84/120484.htm
15. http://www.christianteaching.org.uk/holinessofgod.html
16. http://nnedaog.org/sermons/SEROUT4.HTM
17. http://www.newlifeapostolic-pentecostal.com/pentecostal-holiness-teaching-on-hair.html
18. http://brooklynlindsey.blogspot.com/2010/03/holiness-more-than-long-hair-and-long.html
19. http://www.heavensfamily.org/ss/family_devotions/day_35
20. http://didache.nazarene.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=669&Itemid=
21. http://www.apostoliclive.com/play.php?vid=4011
22. http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/holiness.html
23. http://www.enterhisrest.org/testimonies/church_fathers.pdf
24. http://www.nevereverthesame.com/resources_holiness.html
25. http://eowyns-heir.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-teaching-children-about-gods.html
26. http://www.bibleclassbooks.com/teaching-values/chastity.html
27. http://www.openbible.info/topics/holiness
28. http://bethelbooks.com/wayoflife/14/
29. http://www.americanphilosophy.net/19thcenturyholinesstheology.htm
30. http://www.calvary-center.com/whatisholiness/chapters/moreorless.htm
31. http://holiness.nazarene.ac.uk/articles.php?n=8
32. http://joshmiller.org/the-responsibility-of-the-preacher-to-preach-holiness/
33. http://www.eternallifeministries.org/lrs_gospel2.htm
34. http://christian-quotes.ochristian.com/Holiness-Quotes/
35. http://www.revempete.us/research/holiness/williamseymour.html
36. http://www.preachtheword.com/sermon/misc0022-consecration.shtml
37. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpKCzvNQYxM&feature=related
38. http://www.enterhisrest.org/testimonies/church_fathers.pdf
39. http://www.truthablaze.com/legal.html
40. http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ht/article.jsp?id=10007756
41. http://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol6/F1/f1_you.html
42. http://renewaldynamics.com/2012/08/06/god-requires-that-the-church-be-holy/
43. http://www.itib.org/articles/dividing_line/dividing_line_10-1.html
44. http://www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/holiness-fringe.pdf
45. http://studiesinscripture.com/holiness-standards/
46. http://hcachurch.com/bible_class/standards%20of%20holiness1.pdf
47. http://oldlandmark.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/we-will-not-bow-lessons-learned-from-the-assemblies-of-god/
48. http://thejewishjesus.blogspot.com/2011/09/holiness.html
49. http://rageyouthministries.blogspot.com/2007/09/blurb-about-holiness-standards-part-one.html
50. http://www.onenesspentecostal.com/standards.htm

The Consecration Key

^“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:1-10 (KJV)

The Apostle Peter nearly exhausts the Greek language in celebrating the church.  He declares it to be a spiritual house, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and a peculiar people, all adjectives designed to magnify its significance and expand its role in this world.  Do not take these scriptures lightly. 

Peter intended to elevate the church to the highest degree possible and to separate the church the farthest distance possible from the world.  As a spiritual house, we are neither defined nor confined by our flesh; as a chosen generation, we enjoy the special favor of God; as a royal priesthood, we have been branded as kingly servants of God; as a holy nation, we have been consecrated to separation from the world; as a peculiar people, we have a special position, calling and mission.

How special is the church?  It is superior in comparison to others of the same kind.  It is regarded with particular esteem or affection.  It is unique to or reserved for a specific person or thing.  It is made or used for a specific purpose.  It is planned for a specific occasion or purpose, according to the dictionary.  Since the church is this special, it must be consecrated.  We are not a run-of-the-mill, ordinary, also-ran kind of people.  We have been consecrated by God to occupy a special place in his plan and serve a special purpose in His kingdom.  An illustration might help.

If you live in a home like mine, you probably have a set of dishes you use for everyday meals or snacks.  If I am frying eggs, slicing tomatoes or reheating a slice of pizza, (like I cook a lot!) I know to grab one of the plates from this set.  On special days, however, like Thanksgiving, we bring out the Minton china, Eloise pattern, made in England on August 3, 1926.  It was a gift to my wife from her childhood neighbors.  I don’t know how much it is worth, but if I broke one of those pieces, my retirement would come much sooner than I anticipated! 

What’s the difference?  The fine china has been reserved for use at special occasions and by special people.  These aren’t paper plates for picnics.  You eat sliced turkey or leg of lamb on fine china—not hamburgers, hot dogs or baloney sandwiches.  You might even say that this china is consecrated, set aside to be used for occasions that demand the very best we have to offer.

Our new birth thrusts us into a special dimension.  We have a new father, a new name, a new Spirit living within us.  We have a new purpose, a new reason to live.  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (KJV).  Even though we have been born again, however, the old flesh with its sinful nature is still within arm’s reach.  We now have a dilemma.  A dilemma (Greek: δί-λημμα “double proposition”) is a problem offering two possibilities.  This has been described as “finding oneself impaled upon the horns of a dilemma,” as on the sharp points of a bull’s horns, both equally uncomfortable.

Living according to the old man is uncomfortable to the new man; living according to the new man is uncomfortable to the old man.  What now? This is precisely what the Apostle Paul was saying to the Galatians: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” in Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV)

In the fine china illustration, when that special occasion comes and you have guests coming to your house, are you going to set the table with the English Minton or the everyday fare?  The old dishes are still in the cupboard; they’re handy and they still work.  You might say, “I’m not going to all that trouble to put out this fancy stuff.  I’m just going to be me, my old self.  My special guests can just eat off of my plastic dishes like I do.”  In fact, you might even get on eBay and find out how much you can get for the fine china.  You might as well sell it since you never use it. 

But what if the special guest coming to your house is the very one who gave you the fine china as a gift?  How are you going to explain that you sold it and used the money to go on vacation?  Suddenly, you have a dilemma.   Spiritually speaking, the options are the same.  “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)

Here is the key:  Consecration precedes holiness!  Consecration creates the context, establishes the mindset and provides the impetus to live a holy life before God and before the world.  Once you understand and accept the fact that God has set you apart for His honor and glory, then purpose floods into your life.  You want to be God-pleasing, not self-pleasing.  Without consecration, holiness is an imposition; with consecration, it becomes a privilege.  Without consecration, laying aside worldliness looks like an unfair deprivation; with consecration it becomes a badge of honor.  Without consecration, serving God seems meaningless, silly and unnecessary.  With consecration, it becomes full of meaning, beauty and importance.

Consecration changes your allegiance from yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ.  “But ye have not so learned Christ; ²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Ephesians 4:20-32 (KJV)
                Israel was clueless about consecration when the people then asked Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship.  Aaron collected gold from the people, fashioned a golden calf, built an altar to it and began to worship it, saying, “These be the gods, O Israel, that brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”  These are the same people who saw the ten plagues, saw the death angel pass over them because of the blood of the lamb and saw the Red Sea part before them.  No golden calf delivered them!  This was idolatry at its worst.  God told Moses what was happening and Moses came running down the mountain and saw this sacrilege being committed.

Terrible judgment came on the people because of the sin of idolatry.  Three thousand who worshipped the golden calf lost their lives that day.  “ For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.”   Exodus 32: 29 (KJV).  Israel had consecrated the tabernacle and all of its furniture.  They consecrated all the vessels and instruments that were used in the worship of God.  They consecrated the priests and all the garments that they wore.  They consecrated the sacrifices that they brought to be offered to God.  But, these two words —consecrate yourselves—were never found together until this incident with the golden calf!

It is possible for us to fall into the same trap that engulfed Israel.  We have a consecrated Word.  We have a consecrated doctrine of the oneness of God, baptism in Jesus’ name, the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues.  We have consecrated our worship, our music, our organization.  We have consecrated our buildings, our instruments, our giving.

But it is the consecration of ourselves that matters most to God!  As consecrated vessels, we submit to a new way of living.  We have been fashioned for the King’s house!

 ^“ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2 (KJV). 

They Probably Told Me…But, I Wasn’t Listening (Part 2)

Mentor young people.  You must place the highest value possible on the youth of your church.  Pour yourself into them. Try to be the most influential person who speaks into their lives.  The dividends produced will keep coming for the remainder of your ministry, and that’s only the personal benefit.  Your investment will enrich the youth and will ensure the spiritual prosperity of the church at large.  Make sure they go to camps and youth conferences, involve them in ministry, support their projects and attend their functions.  Do these things even if it costs you substantial sums of money.  You have a much greater chance to affect your youth than your own generation or your peers.  

Make major innovations only after getting a consensus.  Before you launch into a big program, make sure the majority of your people is on board with you.  It is a huge mistake to start off doing something on your own that your church is ambivalent about at best.  If people don’t understand it, if they think it will cost too much money, or if they see it as impinging too much on their family or personal time, you will only garner tepid support.  They may not say much, but they will conveniently find other things to do and they will not respond well to solicitations for finance.  Tip:  Influence the influencers if you want to get something done.  (A John Maxwell maxim).  

Love the kids.  Let the kids run up to you and hug you.  Let them climb up on your lap and jabber about their puppy, their new toy or something that you can’t quite translate.  One little tot came up to me and proudly announced “I got panties!”  (The mortified mom explained that they were going through potty-training).  It’s better to have them running to you than running away from you.  Why is this important?  Jesus said so, that’s why!  Besides, the easiest path to the parent’s heart is their child.  Make sure the kids have a prime place in the spotlight of your church. 

Preach out loud but live quietly.  I suspect that the reason some preachers constantly talk about themselves, dress extravagantly and live largely is because they seek affirmation and love that they were deprived of as a child.  Pour excellence into your ministry and be demure about your personal life.  Your attraction as a minister must be the Christ you preach, not the totally awesome person that you are.  (Forgive my sarcasm).  A personality cult disguised as a church will only endure as long as the personality that drives it does.  

Play no favorites in the congregation.  A pastor cannot answer the call to minister to everyone if he bestows special attention on some select people in the congregation.  If you go to a person’s home for dinner, make sure you have a particular spiritual motive and not just for fellowship.   Nothing stirs up jealousy quicker than to hobnob with a few elite and deny the same camaraderie to others.  Go to an event if all are invited.  Decline if it’s not for everyone (special occasions being an exception).  Turn to your peers in the ministry for your close fellowship. 

Love lavishly, discipline sparingly.  When you walk down the aisle, your people need to see warmth, friendliness and love in your eyes.  Be down-to-earth; engage in small talk and just “hang out” with your people (at least for a little while).  Approaching a group of people should evoke responses like “Hi, Pastor!” not “Oh-oh.  Here comes the pastor!”  Avoid the temptation to scold people for every little thing, especially in front of others.  When rebuke is necessary, it ought to be for a truly offensive or sinful act, not for a pet peeve.  Disciplinary action should be baptized in love and a genuine attempt at lifting and helping instead of a knee-jerk reaction to a problem. 

Consistency is king.  Psychologists tell us that operant conditioning that successfully changes behavior is based on consistent rewards or consistent denial of rewards.  Whenever you begin a program or project, do everything in your power to keep it up.  Phase it out only if it has fulfilled its objective, or if is an obvious failure and must be shut down.  Neglect, inattentiveness or sporadic participation should not cause the demise of the activity.  Besides being a disappointment to those who were invested in the program, it casts a negative reflection on the pastor.  The security of consistent follow-through redounds to your positive reputation. 

Do not be afraid of any person in your congregation.  This is a big one.  Depending on the clout of the person in question, bucking him or her could mean war.  Nevertheless, the pastor who submits to a dominating personality in the congregation becomes a hireling or a lackey to power.  In the end, the only things that will get done will have to be cleared with this person.  If the pastor is clever, this situation can be handled in a positive way (i.e. “Claude” in Maxwell’s books).  The pastor who values integrity and righteousness over personal welfare will lead the church in right ways, even at the cost of angering any particular member.  This paragraph is included only to point out the problem.  Resolving it may require much thought, study and backbone. 

Invest in a sufficient number of projects that have immediate and visible benefits.  You may be involved in many noble projects, but if the benefits do not register on the congregation, unhappiness may set in.  Some may think you are wasting your time in matters that do not pertain to the church.  Make sure that you focus the bulk of your time and energy on endeavors that pertain directly to your job description as pastor.  Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr. called this “stick to the knitting” in their classic book, “In Search of Excellence.”  The more people see what they expect to see in the leadership of the church, the more they will respond positively to that leadership.