by RobertCummins | Dec 18, 2013 | 51. Involved In Ministry
John 20:19-23
At the encouragement of Jim Branch, the Blue Book’s author, I changed my spiritual diet. Instead of consuming large volumes of the Word daily, I started eating smaller and more frequent meals, trying to chew each bite more thoroughly. I have grown to love this new approach and I believe I am healthier as a result. The only time I don’t like it is when I come to passages laden with mystery; passages I have typically skimmed over because of the impasse between my understand and its hard content. No matter how much chewing I do, I am not sure what to do with words like these….
“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
I am surprised Peter did not stand up here and say to Jesus, “Far be it from me Lord. Never under any circumstance would I presume to have this level of authority. Only You, the the Son of God forgives sins.” Yet, I could also imagine Jesus just giving Peter that look he gave him when He said, “Get behind me Satan. Your interests are misplaced.” That familiar gaze, coming from a freshly resurrected Man, may have been just enough to restrain Peter from expressing his opinion again.
As I tried to read over this, the thought crossed my mind that this complicated verse should be deferred to scholars so they can chew on it in our behalf, and then return it to us in a more digestible form. Yet these are Jesus’ words to his predominantly working-class, un-scholarly friends. (The Holy Spirit has progressively been editing this line of us, lay-class and them, professional class type of thinking out my vision.) I am more inclined to just stop and ask the Lord, “What this is supposed to mean?” I do not have a pat answer as to what this sentence definitely means but I do have a piece of my story to share and some thoughts that I think tie in. It will be helpful to keep in mind that Jesus also told his disciples…..
“as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
On Monday I asked if you were involved in ministry. Another way of asking this would be, “Has, Jesus commissioned or sent you? Or, did He just send out those original 11? It does seem like discipleship is an optional track, especially in western Christianity, and that being sent is a special call reserved for a zealous few. It seems many, if not most of these called ones, have it in their hearts to go abroad as if foreign fields are the only ones ripe for harvest. (Does ripe mean that people are on the verge of salvation or that they are bound as all men are without Christ and need the gospel?) While this narrow perception of a call may be good for the nations, it does seem to leave the west with a disciple-deficit. (Oh yes, the other remaining called ones go to bible school or seminary and qualify themselves to become professional Christians.)
There are a couple of applications I believe I have seen of this verse. They both took place in the span of one week with a spiritual father. This particular father happened to be functioning as a counselor. He served me by listening to years of the accumulated pain and chaos in my heart. This was difficult because I was a disciple – one who had given Christ permission to send me anywhere He wished and to do anything in my life that He desired; one who, I would have thought, would, by this time, be living above such trauma of soul.
This saint created a safe space for me where I felt comfortable enough to be honest with him and myself. In this place of transparency he helped me see where, by way of unforgiveness, I had retained the sins of many at tremendous cost to myself, my family and His kingdom. In this uniquely secure place, light was piercing the dark places in my heart. The truth was I had not watched over my heart very well and in spite of my active religious service, Life had ceased to flow from it. At the end of my week of counseling, this spiritual father seemed to function as one of the original 11 who had heard this unique command from the Lord. After helping me to see and take ownership of my bitterness and resentment, which are the inevitable consequence of retaining the sins others, and leading me in repentance, he surprised me when he said, “You’re sins have been forgiven.” I think I understand now by what authority this man spoke.
I regularly pray that I will not miss whatever lesson God is trying to affect in my heart when I go through trials. I do not want to waste any sorrows. I do not want to have to retake any tests. I do want to be like Him. My time with the counselor exposed the nature of the battle for my heart in new ways. Among other things, it revealed how essential and fundamental it is to discipleship to live without offense toward others. The months (now years) following this event have been very enlightening. With my writing I have attempted to capture some of these lessons and give an account of the new hope I am living in. I am also attempting to comfort others with these comforts with which I have been comforted.
Since that time, I have had a renewed sense of the call He has on all our lives as His disciples. Because of the example of my spiritual fathers and my own recent expereinces I cannot help but see that it is within our grasp to create safe spaces for others; places within friendships and groups of friends where we too can become authentic; where light can pierce our darkness and help us discover, reclaim and build communities where the Life of Christ can flow among us, healing us and bonding us together in unity. I believe that each of us can hasten the coming of our Lord’s kingdom as we adopt this fundamental aspect of discipleship. I believe this is what it means to walk in the light and consequently enjoy fellowship with Him.
Father, may Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, not just in foreign nations, but right here in the midst of our more sophisticated, busy, secular and religious darkness. Teach a new generation of us disciples how to go free once and for all from the offenses we have retained so that we can collectively become a conduit for Life from heaven to earth. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Dec 17, 2013 | 51. Involved In Ministry
Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. Colossians 4:2-6 (MSG)
If prayer is conversation with God, as those who pray have discovered it to be, then a paraphrase of this passage might read;
Enjoy your conversations with God. Be sure to listen to Him; being gratefully aware of His goodness. When you do speak to Him, ask Him, in our behalf, to give us access into men’s hearts so that we may plant the eternal seed of His Word there. Here is fair warning; it is for doing this very thing I have been jailed. Wisdom informs us that there are no “chance” encounters. Seize the opportunity to connect with those the Lord brings you into contact with. Speak with them and treat them as graciously as the Lord Himself has treated you.
What follows is the is how the listening part of this conversation with God is evolving for me…..
When I paraphrase a verse or a passage, I try and honor the text and the context. When I expand on an idea, I do it because I hear other truths from scripture amplifying a word or a phrase. It may no longer be holy writ but is a way for me to carefully chew each morsel of spiritual food; enjoying its flavor and hopefully benefitting from the nourishing life within it.
I used to fret that I did not hear God’s voice like others seemed to. Looking back, I think that was a subtle (yet reasonable sounding) lie flavoring my inner conversation with doubt, fear and condemnation. I finally came to a place, not too long ago, where I decided that whatever “hearing God’s voice” involved, it was not going to be helped by entertaining this track of mournful, hopeless thinking however reasonable it sounded. This lie stuck because it seemed reasonable and natural that a depraved man’s receptors would be in a fallen condition and thus impaired for the task of listening to and hearing God’s voice. But, I had failed to fully realize that the temple veil was torn in two, signifying new access to the Father. We were created in the likeness of the God. We have been re-joined and reunited with the One who sits upon the throne by the One who hung upon the cross. In Christ, we share, at the core of our being, the same DNA as the Father. Oh the glory this world will see when the redeemed grasp that our new natures in Christ trump all things fallen and natural and that the channels have been re-opened between us and God and that they are 100% free of condemnation!
A young businessman man in China, who I don’t think would have known my phobia regarding hearing God’s voice, was praying for a team of three of us who were going to do some ministry in South Africa. As he prayed for me, he heard God say, “Rob does not hear my voice the same way others do. I have given him language.” For those unfamiliar with this sort of thing, this would be dubbed, “a prophetic word”. It is was not issued forth with the force of an old testament prophecy. (therefor no stones will be cast if this does not prove to be true. OK?) It was just a simple word received by one who is learning the art of listening as they pray and simply sharing it as a word of encouragement. I treat prophetic words as holy clues. God knows His children love to discover things and this is just one of the ways He chooses to encourage us to press on. Prophetic words are not directives to be robotically obeyed by slaves; They are invitations from Father to draw near and listen for possibilities on this wave length because there are presents to be unwrapped!
I love to read and I have always loved the language that God has given others. When I read I am typically savoring the thought as well as the art of its presentation. There is life in words. When the right idea is delivered in the right spirit at the right time, they have incredible power. When I picked up the Blue Book a few years ago, I was encouraged to experiment with reading the scriptures with a listening heart, not just an inquiring mind. I was also encouraged to start journalling. It was in this simple act I began unwrapping a surprise from the Lord. Indeed, he had given me language.
Consequently, the pen (now the keyboard) have become the rope and the bucket for me that I use to dip into a deep well of Living Water. Here is how this frequently plays out; After reading a passage several times (often starting the evening before) I listen for something that is vibrating at a bit higher frequency. In other words, what word, phrase or idea seems to be emboldened or highlighted? I will usually reread the passage and permit it to amplify and modify that original morsel. As a backdrop, I am just presuming that God is desiring to reveal Himself and make Himself known. I lower the bucket by writing out an initial observation and draw it up by meditating on it and typing out my reflections; seeing how they connect with the rest of the passage or the author’s intentions and especially to life right where it is today. I have discovered that in the process of writing in this style that I am also listening.
I know. There is a frightening amount of subjectivity in this. You may be asking how Rob, with his fallen nature and independent stiff will, will keep from drifting in his subjectivity from modest error today into gross heresy tomorrow. Good question. I have at least three things going for me that should serve as a hedge against this possibility.
1) The deepest truth about me is not that I have an independent and rebellious nature. The deepest truth about me is that I have a brand new nature and identity in Christ. Christ Himself and His Spirit reside in me. My new DNA (which is also God’s) is formatted in Truth. This new nature instinctively recognizes the Father’s voice – the Spirit of Truth. That’s the first thing.
2) God does not give a serpent to his children when they ask for a fish; nor does He give them a stone when they ask for a loaf. God is a really a good Father! If I go ape with subjectivity, He has the ability to correct me. He isn’t going to let me drive the train off the track.
3) I also have you and others who I deliberately expose my heart to. If you are my true brother or sister, you will ask me, when something seems off, if I may not need to reconsider my thinking in light of the whole counsel of scripture. If you have that level of courage then iron will have sharpened iron and we will both grow as a result. If not, our apathy and cowardice will likely perpetuate our errors and consequently our lukewarm condition.
Father, as we move through our lives, help us to see the beloved people all around us. Help us to boldly, lovingly and wisely draw near to those who You have sovereignly appointed us to connect with. Grant us open doors into their lost and wounded hearts. Grant them open doors into ours. May Your Holy Spirit in us decode our inarticulate pleas for living water. Pleas re-pray them in our behalf. Grant that, from the water we draw from You, we can offer each other the refreshment of heaven that resides within us. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Dec 9, 2013 | 51. Involved In Ministry
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Are you involved in ministry? Is the nature of your ministry full-time or are you just part-time? I have had people for years telling me that they could see me in full-time ministry someday. Since that had been an ambition of mine since Christ took up residence within me at 23, I was always pleased to hear this prediction. After all, I didn’t want to just give Jesus a part-time commitment. But, I have also been frustrated because my attempts at moving in that direction always felt like I was kicking against the goads.
It has only been in recent years that I discovered that I was already in full-time ministry and had been for years. Here is something that might cause you some surprise; if Christ is in you, you too are in full-time ministry. If you are not drawing a paycheck for your ministerial contribution, this passage drives home some of the advantages of the type of full-time ministry you and I share. You and I have much more in common with Paul than we probably thought!
Here are some observations from this passage about Paul’s ministry. *His conscience was so clear before God and man that he could defend his whole-hearted effort and motives without blushing and also without pride. * Paul clearly understood that in regard to his ministry, it was ultimately God, with whom he had to do. This was simply the orientation of his heart since he had become the tabernacle of the living Christ. This relieved Paul of the burden of trying to impress anyone or even assert the apostolic authority that was rightfully his. * He preferred to win their hearts and draw their choices from them as opposed to laying down a law and driving them with guilt and fear toward obedience. A key to Paul’s success comes to light in verse 2:8;
“Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.”
Paul knew something about different types of authority. He knew that the kind of authority that is earned by sharing life’s burdens was superior to the kind that came with his apostolic title. Paul was using the authority of a true spiritual father. He knew from experience that, from this place of close relational proximity, he was more effective in the exhorting, encouraging and imploring necessary to equip men to become sons and ultimately spiritual fathers.
Paul owed nothing to anyone other than God. He was not obligated to meet the expectation of a congregation whose tithes would be the basis of his economic stability. In the Christian culture most of us have grown up in, there is a pastor who receives a paycheck and he is accountable to his employer which is typically some kind of board or committee. And, if you have had the experience of being either the writer or the recipient of these checks, you know there is the always present dynamics of politics which Paul was fortunately unhindered by in Thessalonica.
I have had the opportunity to enter into the dynamic tensions between the writer and recipient of these checks. Consequently, today I thank the Lord for sparing me from “that type” of full-time ministry and permit me to see that we are all in full-time ministry with the same advantages that Paul knew. We have the privilege, just as Paul did;
…to walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls us into His own kingdom and glory. And for this reason we can thank God that when those (in relational proximity to us) received (and observed) the word of God’s message, they accepted it not as (just) the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in those of us who believe. (emphasis mine)
For the record, Paul did issue commands by the authority of the Lord Jesus but he didn’t just preach them, he demonstrated them. When he exhorted the Thessalonians that each of them must learn to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, as a member of their community, he was able to actually demonstrate how to abstain from sexual immorality and to live and to work free from lust and greed. Most of us learn best by example.
As much as a pastor might like to imitate Paul and personally exhort and encourage the flock, his organizational and managerial responsibilities usually require so much of his time that relational proximity to others is nearly impossible. There is another complicating feature for “pastors” in experiencing true relational proximity (and intimacy) to others in our current church culture; that is “compliance”.
I hate this word because our construction business contracts with government entities who are really heavy into “compliance”. If we do not comply with their specifications and regulations which are numerous, and sometimes onerous, we do not get our paycheck. I believe I sometimes see this same dynamic in-play within church as we have learned to do it. It may in fact be worse in churches than in government. At least in our business we have written contracts, specification and prescribed means of resolving disputes.
Within church cultures their are some written codes but there are also myriad unwritten ones spelling out the righteous standards that must be complied with. It is very complicated because over time these standards become embedded into the group’s culture and are considered sacred. If one wishes to remain employed or in good standing, it would serve you well to understand the culture and live in compliance with it. And unfortunately, failing to adhere to unspoken yet well established codes within faith communities does not easily lend itself to correction or resolution.
Non-compliance does however often lead to gossip. There is typically a whole undercurrent of discussion within the local assembly as to how the “pastor’ (and others) are doing in their compliance. Sheep may look innocent but they bite like crazy. Just ask all the pastors who have distanced themselves (for safety and sanity’s sake) from all the self-appointed code-enforcers.
I have drifted. My point is that those of us who do not draw a paycheck for our service of worship have a unprecedented opportunity and responsibility. The pastor does not have the same congregation as we do. Only you and I have our particular network of friends, co-workers and family. It’s not the pastor’s job to reach them. Only we, who are unencumbered with title and have been uniquely gifted, equipped and strategically located must serve those nearest us. Only in our unique relational proximity to these people can we impart our lives.
1 Thessalonians has much to say about life together but here is one of Paul’s most precious pearls…..
“Encourage one another and build-up one another…..and always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.”
Father, may the light come on within us and help us see and take ownership of those you have placed near to us. Help us to love them with the gifts you placed uniquely in us for this purpose. Deliver us from the idea that the kingdom was left to be built by salaried professionals. Give us new strategies that will equip and commission the saints to impart our lives and the gospel to those You have placed near to us. Amen.
WELCOME TO THE MINISTRY
