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I find myself thinking about the concept of church all the time. The church as it exists in a universal verses a local sense for instance.
What is the work of the church (local)? Is it different from the work of an individual Christian?
Is the local church working outside the assembly? That is if I do some spiritual work is it I as an individual working? Is it an extension of the local work? Or is it both?
I was reading Acts 8 the other day and ran across this… “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.”
Paul didn’t go to the assembly to “destroy the church” he went into the homes of the members of the church. They were the church even in their homes.
Here are some questions…
- Can you destroy the church by putting members in prison?
- If we are the church in our homes are we also the church in prison?
- What was being destroyed the church local or the church universal?
- How can the church be destroyed if “the gates of Hell shall not prevail… “?
- If we are the church away from the assembly them am I not working the work of the church away from the assembly?
Anyway… I think about the concept of church all the time and I hope you do as well.
In Acts 9 the holy record states that Saul was persecuting the Christians. On the road to Damascus Jesus got his attention and said “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?”
That’s an important point… persecution (and anything else we do to Christians) is the same as doing it to Jesus Christ!
If we slander, malign, ignore, ridicule (all negatives) our brethren we are actually doing those things to Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at the other side of that coin. If we show compassion, love, patience (anything positive) then we must also be doing these things to Jesus Christ… right?
How can that be? Maybe it’s because Christians are the “Bride of Christ” and the two have become “one flesh” and whatever one does to the bride they also do it to the bride groom.
Don’t mess with Christ’s bride or talk bad about her. He loves her with all his heart and won’t stand for it.
We always have to remember that the Bible was written by and for a very archaic people that had no inkling of human physiology.
When an animal or human lost all of its blood it lost its life. So a natural conclusion would be that there was life in the blood. There was also a distinction in the value of blood… animal blood, human blood and the blood of deity (Jesus Christ).
So when humans tried to appease pagan Gods they might start with animal blood and if that didn’t seem to be working they might offer the blood of those who were most precious to them… their sons and daughters. All to appease Gods who might be withholding rain or any other necessary thing. Pagan God’s apparently would not give something unless they received something.
The other thing that archaic people associated with life was their breath. When an animal or human was no longer breathing they were dead. They might have all their blood but if they weren’t moving air they were dead.
In the New Testament the word “Pneuma” can either be translated as breath, wind or spirit and how it is translated depends on the context. You might see how archaic people would note the similarities between the movement of air when a person breathed and when the wind blew.
Enter the Pneuma (wind/breath/spirit) of God. If human Pneuma (wind/breath/spirit) could give and sustain life imagine what the promised Pneuma (wind/breath/spirit) of God could do!
God’s blood could not only give us life but eternal life and his Spirit could make us like God in the sense of being able to do and understand things no other human could do (miracles, wisdom, divine insight, etc.)
Of course today we understand how blood and how breath (Pneuma) give life from a physiologic standpoint. That understanding does not invalidate what God has supplied for us.
For the Bible student I think it helps viewing the elements of life (blood and breath) and God’s use of those elements from the standpoint of the people who it was originally written to.
I got a question last week from a church leader about what I thought about cancelling Sunday night services and meeting for three hours on Sunday mornings. Never one to mince words I said… I don’t like it. It’s a question I’ve fielded several times in the 23 years I’ve been an Elder at Parkway and I’ve had plenty of time to think about it.
Usually the reason given for making a move like that is to make it easier for the members who live further out to cut down on their driving time. Keep in mind I live about 25 minutes out depending on how I hit those stoplights. If Julie’s driving it’s about 21 minutes.
The first reason I don’t like it is I don’t want to meet for three hours on a Sunday morning.
It’s hard for me to do anything (that’s not very active) for three hours. I know Paul preached until midnight but a young man did fall to sleep and fell out of a window and died. I’m just saying.
Secondly, I like Sunday night services and never ever even think about the drive. Sunday nights are less formal and more relaxed. We get to go to Bible class and I have to stay on my toes in case Marc asks me a question. I rely on Bible classes to stimulate my thinking so I can write blog articles. I like watching the young kids play in the courtyard and I like getting together with other Christians Sunday night after church.
I like Sunday nights because we get to use people… like song leaders, teachers and others who aren’t quite ready for prime time on Sunday mornings. If you did away with Sunday night services you lose those opportunities for growth.
I told this church leader that if Parkway (for instance) cancelled Sunday night services that some of our members would look to attend somewhere else on Sunday nights and count me among that number.
I can imagine if I started attending somewhere else on Sunday nights and they said things like brother Perkins do you mind leading a prayer or if they asked me to help them out leading songs or teaching classes or preaching or you name it, that before long I might start thinking… I really like these people and they like me… maybe I ought to be a member here.
I happen to know of specific congregations who have discontinued Sunday night services and lost members all because they didn’t want to inconvenience their members who might have to drive a little farther.
In case you haven’t noticed I consider Parkway my life’s work and I am extremely proud of her… extremely. I will do everything and anything to protect the congregation and stimulate her to be better. If I miss any services you can be sure there is a solid reason. Where the sheep are is where you’re going to find me.
When folks say bad things about the congregation it’s like they are saying bad things about me. When they reject the congregation and go somewhere else I take it personally… I pretend not to but I do.
So, would I ever be in favor of doing something like dismissing Sunday night services and potentially harm the congregation? You know the answer.
Tonight during Bible class Marc asked us if anyone thought they had grown spiritually today and I raised my hand.
This morning there was about 10 minutes left in Bible class and our security guy tapped me on the shoulder and said someone was in the foyer who wanted to talk to me. I didn’t figure it was an emergency so I told him I would talk to the fellow after class.
When I went back to the foyer I saw about what I expected to see… a young man who was about 30 years old, tatted up pretty good and who looked homeless. When I sat next to him he didn’t smell very pleasant either. As I talked to him I discovered he was a little different than most… he started sobbing and telling me what a bad life he had lived and how he didn’t know what to do. He had spent some time in jail and had been living on the streets for about 8 months.
He lived by walking up and down streets asking if people needed any help and made a few dollars. He also said some would hire him for a whole day and then at the end of the day laugh at him and refuse to pay him.
I talked a while with him and then Larry talked to him for a while. When services started he came and sat on the back pew with us and started sobbing. Larry brought a box of tissues to him. Then Noe got up from his seat and sat next to him and consoled him. I made closing announcements and mentioned a few things about the young man and the congregation showed an outpouring of love towards him.
I had been wondering what to do with him after services and thought about taking him to lunch with our family but was uncomfortable with him being in our car sitting behind us. So I decided to offer him some money. I looked in my wallet and there were five one dollar bills and a fifty dollar bill. I really didn’t want to give him the fifty but the ones were not enough so I crumpled the 50 in my hand and told him I wanted to help him. Guess what… he refused to take any money. He said he couldn’t take any money he hadn’t earned. Dude… that is really different… like unheard of. So I asked him if him if he would like to go eat lunch with us. He gladly accepted.
We went to a hamburger place and he only took about two bites out of his hamburger and said his stomach was upset. Later I found out he hadn’t eaten in two days.
So… I had been thinking about what to do with him after lunch. I didn’t really want to invite him into our home because I still had a notion in the back of my head that this might be some kind of set up. I asked him what he was going to do? He said, walk around and try to make some money and figure out where he was going to sleep tonight.
My conscience whipped up on me again and I said… would you like to spend the day with me? … yes, he would.
He talked to us about his mom who lives in Fairfield, Texas and I asked him if he would like to use my phone to call her. I heard him tell her that he had been to church and how nice everyone had been to him. She told him that maybe if he came home they both could go to church.
During the day he told me he had never been in a church building… that when he was in jail some inmates had shared a Bible with him and he read the Book of Job. He said he was walking down Weber road and something told him to turn down a side street and he saw our building and he walked in. He said everyone in the congregation was so friendly to him and as he sat on the pew and thought about the horrible life he lived and the unexpected friendliness the congregation had for him that he just started crying.
He said Marc’s lesson had a lot of meaning for him. As we were out driving he had mentioned that he would like to go back home to his mother. I told him that I could find him some odd jobs and if he demonstrated responsibility I could probably find him a better job or… if he wanted I would loan him the money to get a bus ticket back to Fairfield. Note… I said loan him because he had previously rejected free money.
He thought for a minute and said… I would like to go home. Julie got on line and bought him a bus ticket for Fairfield, Texas. He leaves at 11:45 tomorrow morning and has a 14 hour bus trip ahead of him. He said with the ticket the bus company would let him spend the night in the station. Julie, bless her righteous heart, wanted to get him a hotel room but I told her he was plenty happy with what we had done already.
We went to services with him Sunday night and I was talking to Noe about him and Noe said… we need to talk to him about being baptized! So we did.
We baptized Juan right then and right there. When he came out I was the first one to hug him. He was shaking and sobbing and held me for a long time and I cried too. We exchanged contact information and he said he would like to come to Corpus Christi to visit and talk every once in a while.
So when Marc asked during class if anyone had grown spiritually… yes… definitely me. The Lord took away all my second thoughts and doubts and a soul was saved today.
We have a lot of members with a lot of talents but thank you Lord for sending Noe to us… he has a great heart!
There’s a video of the baptism that I’ll put up on our public FB page.
Uncle Rob
I used to raise Rio Grande Turkeys and my goal was to raise them up and set them free on the land surrounding our home so I could watch them live free in nature. I started by ordering eggs online and incubating them.
When that first batch of eggs started hatching I figured I would help them out of their shells and all the ones I helped ended up dying. You see… sometimes its good and necessary to let nature takes its course. Turns out God knew more about hatching Turkeys than I did.
Sometimes the same thing is true with people.
When I was in the Big Brother program my young charge showed me a scratch on his hand and I looked at it and said… I wouldn’t worry about that. He went inside and Ms. Julie cleaned it up for him and bandaged it along with some very soothing words.
People get hurt on the Volleyball court. Usually a turned ankle but sometimes a dislocated finger. A young woman turned her ankle and laid on the floor for a while crying and I helped her off the court, etc. One of the older Volleyball players later counseled me not to show too much sympathy… they need to get off the court and can cry on the bench. One of the players dislocated a finger and without a tear or a whimper asked me if I could stretch it out and put it back in and I did.
Or the parent who thinks their little genius can do no wrong and it must be the teachers fault.
Or the wife who makes excuses for a lazy husband.
Or the person who is caught up in sin and claims… that’s just who they are and can’t change.
Successful Christians are those who take responsibility and ownership for their sins and work to live sin free lives. Their friends help them by telling them the truth and by holding them accountable. Ultimately they have to hatch out of that old sinful shell themselves.
You know I finally learned how to successful incubate Turkey eggs and released 30 Rio Grande Turkeys into the wild but within a couple of days they were back at my house looking for a hand out of corn. Turns out you can tame anything with corn (and pampering).
I first started playing Volleyball about thirty years ago and found out I loved the sport. The only problem was I was the worst player on the court and the other players let me know it… not by overt words but things like body language and other expressions of contempt. Often times the better players will hit hard balls at inferior players to run them off, etc.
I experienced all those things but… I loved Volleyball and I told myself and reassured myself that all I needed was time and repetition to develop the needed skill set. To be successful at anything you have to develop mental toughness.
You have to be mentally tough to be a good Christian too. You may take a long look at your life and compare it to someone else’s and decide you need Christ and Christianity. You may even love the Christian life but find that there are those who criticize you… maybe even people you love the most in the world. They may say things like… Christians are hypocrites or… that church is a cult. They may look at the things you’re trying to correct and control in your life and tempt you with those same things.
I knew a young man who wanted to go to church on Sunday mornings but his wife would offer to be intimate with him if he stayed home… so he stayed home.
If you’re going to be a Christian you have to be mentally tough and have faith in God’s plan to turn you into who you need to be. You have to build new habits and you may have to lose a few old friends… but let me tell you this… whatever you have to give up will pale in comparison to what you will be blessed with.
I turned 65 last year and this month I’m going to a Volleyball tournament in San Antonio to qualify for the U.S. Nationals in Florida. I gave myself time to develop the skills I needed, I ignored all the naysayers and I never gave up on the sport I love or myself.
Study your Bibles, grow in faith, congregate with your fellow Christians and get rid of all those friends who want you to fail and we’ll march into Heaven together.
