Robert E Rasmussen.com

Consider the value of engaging current issues as they relate to Scripture, as purported in this excerpt from THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF ONE SURRENDERED CHURCH (p. 55-56).

The scene at Antioch uncovers another hidden quality which helps explain the health and impact they eventually had: they embraced their faith with intensity. Their craving to know Christ deeply, their joy at learning how to live for Him together as Jews and Gentiles, their increased appetite to understand more of the mysteries of the Body of Christ—all of these hungerings made their Savior and their church the dominant pursuits of their lives. Their priorities changed, and their schedules shifted, in order to make room for learning God’s Word.

It would be easy for believers today to think that there is not that much left to learn. But many who have pursued deeper levels of God’s Word for themselves have found that the wealth of Biblical truth only gets richer the deeper they go. Not only that, many of us have let others do our thinking for us, especially when it comes to relating God’s timeless truth to current issues. Rather than merely listening to the conclusions of others, Christians should study for themselves contemporary, thorny issues that touch the Church and society—issues such as abortion, war, justice, terrorism, world religions, immigration, creationism, politics, stem cell research, and debatable lifestyle practices.

Why do we not wrestle amongst ourselves to gain greater Biblical understanding on these difficult issues? If we read Paul’s epistles through the eyes of first century Jews and Gentiles, we would soon see that he tackled very pragmatic and controversial issues, the likes of which many believers today would consider off-limits, unspiritual, or irrelevant. Most important, every believer needs to be grounded in the basics of their faith, preparing them for the temptations and testings that will come.

FOR DISCUSSION

1. Using your imagination, what do you think it would have been like to belong to the Antioch church during that year of teaching?
2. How much Biblical teaching is the average attendee getting through your church ministries? Is it sufficient? Is it transformational?

This excerpt from THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF ONE SURRENDERED CHURCH (p.63) helps us gain the right reputation in our city.

If a group of people blends in with those around them, there is no need to give them a name. Only distinct or peculiar behavior calls for some handy way to identify a group. This is especially true when society gives the name, as opposed to the group naming itself.

So it was with the Antioch church. Something about their group behavior necessitated a new name. The citizens felt the need for an easier handle than, say, The-new-group-that-meets-in-Flavian-Hall, or Those-folks-who-sing-and-pray-every-evening.

Onlookers pondered the matter and arrived at the best nick-name possible, “Christians.” The Antioch believers could not have chosen a better name if they had hired a consultant. Though the name may have been given as an insult, it was in fact the highest compliment possible, for it revealed the fact that the behavior of the band of believers reflected the Person whose life, death and resurrection motivated all of their activities. They talked and sang about Christ, they rehearsed and lived out the teachings of Christ. In Christ they were new creatures, and it is evident they told the local townspeople all about Him.

No matter what identity we grant ourselves in our church documents and mission statements, our townsfolk will give our churches nicknames that work best for them. They might call us “The hand-raisers” or “The country-club church” or “The senior center.” We would not expect the world to seek a complimentary name for the church, but it should be our goal to so reflect Christ and His love (not only among ourselves but to the world) that they would concede us nicknames like “Good folks” or “Truth seekers” or even “Followers of Christ.” What a compliment to be called “The group that tutors kids” or “That church that includes any culture.”

All of this assumes that the world knows we exist, not just because we may have a church building but because they encounter us and the Jesus-life within. Jesus didn’t pray that the Church would be extracted from the world to live in cloisters of faith. Instead, He sent us into the world in the same way He had been sent (John 17:15-18). We are to live out His truth and love in full view of a watching world, so that some might see it and desire Christ too.

But this is hazardous duty. Knowing this, Jesus prayed, “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). He prayed against the Church being swallowed up by the world, which is always the propensity when the Church wanes in its intensity for the Christ-life within, and when the Church forgets to clearly define the world so as to remain distinct.

When it becomes unfashionable to preach and teach so as to draw distinctions between the Church and the world—something that seems to happen at regular intervals—the Church will not resonate with Jesus’ words, “they are not of the world” (John 17:16). Once the Church begins to ask, “What world?” the world will soon ask “What Church?”

The Antioch brethren point the way. We must live with such a focus on the person of Christ, that the community around us will ascribe us the correct identity. Jesus will be the culprit behind our irrepressible love

Try this exercise: Contact people who know of your church or fellowship, but do not belong to it. Ask them what reputation your group has in the community. Ask them to tell you honestly if people give your church any nicknames. Discuss why you are perceived that way.

Here is another excerpt from THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF ONE SURRENDERED CHURCH (p. 76) that elevates the potential of even the smallest congregation.

The apparent simplicity and leanness of the financial aspect of Antioch should dissolve the notion prevalent in many churches which says, “We can’t do it because we don’t have enough money.” Where we still conclude that our ministries need significant sums of money in order to advance, we should at least be honest enough to admit that the necessity comes more from our adapting to the expectations of our surrounding culture than from what is required Biblically to plant and grow churches.

The Antioch church grew rich in commodities that are priceless yet free. They studied God’s Word diligently. They gave liberally according to what God had already given them. And they obeyed God in whatever He asked of them. Any church that pursues these assets with their whole heart will find their emphasis on financial needs diminishing by comparison to these spiritual riches.

FOR DISCUSSION

1. How do you know you have the mind of God when you make financial decisions? What are the indicators that you are applying funds because of Biblical norms rather than cultural considerations alone?

2. You would find it profitable to spend time in praise to God for His abundant provision for the financial needs of your church. You could also ask Him to reveal ways in which you could unleash the spontaneous giving of the believers.

This excerpt from THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF ONE SURRENDERED CHURCH (p. 86-87) considers the leadership dynamic that led to the sending out of two key leaders as missionaries.

In “ministering to the Lord,” the Antioch leaders offered to God those things that please Him. What did that likely involve? Surely, they worshiped Him in prayer and song (Colossians 3:16), and confessed their sins to God and one another (James 5:16). They read and discussed the Word of God (1 Timothy 3:16). They expressed their gratitude to God for His grace in granting them salvation, and interceded for their relatives who had not yet come to faith. They prayed for their church to be in line with God’s desires, and they prayed for personal holiness and strength as fathers and husbands. They offered these ministries to God, not in a single meeting, but repeatedly over an extended time.

Often church leaders today view other members of the local Body of believers with impatience, wishing they would show greater commitment and sacrifice. The life of the Antioch elders reminds us of the need to begin the transformation within the circle of leaders, knowing that when leaders draw near to the Lord the people will not fail to see the effect.

You can imagine the response of most congregations if their leaders came to them and said, “We have been in an extended time of prayer and fasting. We have met for many hours, often on our knees before the Lord. We’ve studied His Word, and it has convicted us of sin in our lives, which we’ve confessed to God and to each other. We have sought God’s direction for our church, and after much soul-searching, this is what we believe God would have us do next as a church. . . .”

What would such spirituality in our leadership do for our churches? The vast majority of our congregations want nothing more than to be led by people who are listening to God. They will sacrifice their time and finances for that which God has clearly led their church to do.

FOR DISCUSSION

1. If your leadership team was to spend a season in seeking God’s direction, what would such a time look like for you? How would you initiate such a process?

Here is an excerpt from THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF ONE SURRENDERED CHURCH, p.14, that talks about how a few individuals can shape the cultural make-up of their local congregation:

A church today might be surprised if they spent a day discussing, “Who are the people we usually speak to?” Every church has its habits, including certain conversations it has and certain ones it does not. It would help to then ask, “Who are the people we don’t usually speak to?” with the follow-up, “Why don’t we?” Precedent blindfolds us.

Our churches are in towns or cities in which diverse kinds of people intermingle with each other but don’t really see each other because they move around in different layers of interaction. For example, I (a Caucasian living in North America) can walk by a nearby school and pass a man from India who wears a turban, but I don’t think of befriending him or even greeting him because he lives in a different layer than I do. I figure he wants to be left alone. He and his family speak, eat, and worship near me, maybe even next door, but they are hidden by my precedent of getting to know people who are similar to me.

But the Antioch story would not have been told if everyone stuck with precedent, if all had continued doing ministry the familiar way, speaking only to people similar to themselves. There would only have been a Jewish congregation or two, rather than the Gentile church that had such amazing impact. What were needed were a few ground-breaking innovators who envisioned a church where everyone else saw people-we-don’t-often-talk-to.

FOR DISCUSSION

1. What are the cultural and economic “layers” (i.e. groups of people) in your town or region, and what kind of people are in them?
2. What layer(s) currently feel comfortable in your church?