Thoughts From Chris

Here is a picture of my dinner tonight.  Actually, this is also what I ate for my lunch today.  Actually, this is what I ate for breakfast today as well. 

This weekend many of our teens, from the challenge of Brian Smeltzer, will be eating beans and rice throughout the weekend.   He invited anyone from our church to take the challenge with them also.  I know of many families and adults who will be participating this weekend. 

My family will be in Colorado this weekend at my sister’s wedding (a wedding I have been praying for during the last 15 years by the way). All six of us will be in the wedding.  Should be a great time.

Because we will be gone this weekend, we decided that we would participate in this exercise early (yesterday and today).  It has been very interesting.  Our two oldest kids participated with Kathy and myself.  Our second grade child lasted one day and our third grade child last both days.  I am very proud of them both.

It is estimated that nearly 16,000 children die of starvation every day (click here for hunger facts).  What a concept in the 21st Century.  Nearly half of the world has a regular diet of beans and rice.  It is considered a luxury to simply have food.  The point of our exercise is to place ourselves in the shoes of many in our world (at least in the arena of food).

These last two days have been a little more challenging than I first anticipated.  God has shown me many things, however.  I will not share them at this point becuase many will be taking the challenge this weekend.  It has been very good.

Here are a couple of websites Brian passed to me that are related to this topic.  I encourage you to check them out.

Beans and Rice Link (click here)

Advent Conspiracy Link (click here) (several very compelling short videos regarding Christmas – particularly the one called “Enter the Story”)

I made a statement this past Sunday that living the Christian life is easy to understand but hard to do.  We made our way through I Corinthians, chapter 13 (the famous Love chapter).  It is a straightforward chapter describing the superiority and importance of love as we relate to God and one another.  True, authentic, biblical love is to be our motivation in life.  This isn’t hard to understand – just hard to live.

I think this idea rings true in many ways as we think about living for Christ in this life.  The biblical message of how we are to live for Christ is not difficult to comprehend.  It really is rather simple.  We are to put God first in our lives, love our enemies, feed the poor, share the gospel, be humble, give God the first part of our income, love our neighbor, submit to our authorities, be compassionate, serve others, not keep a record of wrongs, seek godly counsel, be devoted to prayer, be full of integrity, be sexually pure, bear others’ burdens – just to mention a few.

Any of these things hard to understand?  To me, it doesn’t seem that complicated – pretty straightforward.  The hard part is living it. 

This past Sunday we addressed the three most controversial spiritual gifts in the church at large today: divine healing, speaking in tongues, and prophecy.  It was not the easiest message to give, I was more nervous than usual, but it was a message that became very personal for me. 

I think there was a divine collision between very personal things God has been teaching me and the reality that I have come to the passage in the book of Corinthians that is the most controversial and potentially divisive passage in the letter:  three full chapters on the role of spiritual gifts in the church. 

That divine collision came out this past Sunday as I shared some personal ways God has been stretching me in the area of living by his Spirit.   It was a humbling experience as I shared, but it was extremely encouraging. 

I have also made it known publicly on a few occasions that God has given me a vision for my family in the arena of living by the Spirit that I have never had before (it is a major part of what God is doing in me personally).  I did share a personal story of something we did as a family this past Saturday.  Many people since then have asked me very practical questions about that experience, so I have decided to give the details here so that others who wondered can here some of the answers as well.

Our family has spent the last couple months seeking God in prayer like never before.  Two or three times a week we come together in our living room, talk about how God has been prompting us and teaching us by his Spirit, and then getting prostrate on the ground we spend time praising God and praying to him.   It has been catalytic in many ways. 

As we have read and talked about Scripture together, we have noticed that Jesus and his disciples often laid hands on people and prayed for them.  From those observations I decided that we would begin doing this as a family for other people, and last Saturday was our first tangible experience. 

I talked to our kids ahead of time (their ages are 5, 7, and 8), and coached them on how to pray for people when they give a specific prayer request.  On Saturday afternoon, we went to downtown Fort Wayne and hung out at the bus station on the corner of Clinton and Superior (by Frieman Square and Headwaters Park). 

We had a big cooler of bottled waters.  We handed out the waters to people for free and often we would ask people as we gave it to them if they would like prayer for anything (probably about half said yes and half said no).   For those who said, yes, we asked what we could pray for, and then we laid hands on them and prayed for them.  Sometimes I would ask one of my kids to pray and sometimes I would ask two or three of them to pray. 

After we hung out at the bus station for a while, we then went to Headwaters Park and gave away the water there and prayed for people.  Toward the end my kids were starting to feel a little more comfortable, and they were able to walk up to people on their own.  At one point my oldest went to a group of 8-10 adults who were having a picnic and ended up leading a prayer with all of them. 

Before we started we all spent time as family praying silently and asking God to give us impressions of situations or people we might encounter while we were downtown, and all three of my kids shared impressions they had.  We did not see any of them specifically come to pass, but we will continue to develop that potentially prophetic gift.

It was an amazing experience both for myself and our family.  We were all nervous, we had never done anything like this before, we did not really know what to expect, but it was incredible.   We plan on doing this kind of thing on a more regular basis as we try to step out in faith and learn what it means to be led by God’s Spirit and be a blessing to others.

The last practical thing I will say is that my kids really didn’t want to go at first, but we went anyway.  In fact, I had to break up an argument on the way there (after all they are kids).  As we were leaving at the end, however, all three of them were chiming in that they really liked helping people and they were glad we went.  I think the ice cream treat on the way home was the icing on the cake as well!

I would love to hear from you regarding this idea, something pertaining to that difficult sermon from Sunday, or an idea you and your family have experienced along these lines.  Most of you receive this letter via e-mail, but if you click on my blog itself at www.thoughtsfromchris.com  you can post a response or thought yourself that everyone else can read to any individual post I send.  Just click the word “comment” at the end of the post.  I would appreciate hearing from you.

Lastly, Scott Jester will bring the message this Sunday, and then the following two Sundays will be completely lead by our teens.  We will then move back into chapter 13 and look at what is commonly called the love chapter of the Bible.

May God teach us to live by his Spirit and express the gifts of his Spirit with all humility and love!

On Sunday we hit chapters 12, 13, and 14 of I Corinthians head on. As we read these three chapters and then as we look at the contemporary church today, there seems to be a stark disparity. I mentioned on Sunday that I have never been a part of a church that lives out all the spiritual gifts in a healthy and balanced way. I know there are many churches out there that do practice them in a biblical way, but I have never experienced it.

Why does this seem to be true for most of us as well? Why does the expression and fulfillment of what these three chapters teach seem to be so hard to find? I gave a very in-depth answer on Sunday: “I don’t know why.”

This is something I have wondered my entire Christian life. I have heard and studied all the supposed “biblical” arguments as to why we don’t see all the gifts of the Spirit manifested today, but the arguments have never seemed biblically convincing to me.

When Scott Jester and I were in England 7 weeks ago, we witnessed the expression of the gifts in the most balanced way I had ever seen. It was a powerful expression of the church.

This Sunday I am going to address the three most controversial gifts: healing, speaking in tongues, and prophecy. Should be scary - I mean interesting.

I presented a lot of information this past Sunday to lay a foundation for the issues. There are four views within the Christian church that people have with regard to the spiritual gifts. This is taken from Wayne Grudem’s book called, “Are Miraculous Gifts for Today.” Grace Gathering does not have an official position on any of the four views but allows people to believe any of the four.

Our predominant desire is that people base their beliefs and practices based on their study of Scripture. Therefore, we put the onus of responsibility on the people to form their view; rather, than simply telling them what view they should have. We do this with most secondary doctrines of Scripture (issues of which solid believers differ).

As promised, I am including the PowerPoint slides used during the message here as I went through this material too quickly for everyone to write their own notes.

Hope this is helpful as you study Scripture and seek God’s will for your life. 

Scott and I are in the thick of it right now in Sheffield, England.  We are meeting leaders all over the world.  Every time we meet someone new it seems like we are meeting someone from another country.   We are so encouraged that many of the things we are trying to do at Grace are some of the same things leaders all over the world are trying to pursue. 

The church here in Sheffield, made up of three locations, has been living out house churches and teams (groups of 2-4 house churches) for about 15 years.  They use different names than house churches or teams but many of the concepts and structures are very similar.  On Sunday night we experienced the celebration of what many of these communities have been doing.

Some examples of their names and missional focuses were:  Lighthouse (ministry to college students), Ambassadors for Christ (to Slovaks), Grace (senior citizens), Reproductive Life (young families), M and M (focusing on a specific street), Just Life (young adults), Same Difference (intergenerational), Simplicity (living simple lives) , Phoenix (starting evangelistic Bible studies) , Xtend (taking risks for God), Roots (social justice and homeless), Carmel (building mountains of prayer), 3PM (meeting in a café/bar), Go Global (multicultural).  All of them are attempting to grow, outreach, and have an intentional UP, IN, and OUT focus.  We were told that 95% of their church grows through these venues rather than due to simply inviting people to the Sunday morning service. 

Yesterday Scott and I went out with a group that desires to bring blessing and care to the city.  We went out as a group of about 18 and went around and simply prayed for people and looked for ways to encourage them.   Our leader asked us to pray before we went out and to ask God to speak to us about what he might show us (specific and tangible things).  As we prayed, I began to think about a lady who has a child with problems.  I had no idea what this meant, or if it was from God, but I prayed God might show me.   

We went into the city (see above), and then two by two, began to pray and bless people. I was with an English guy and we went up to women with children.  We told them we were walking around the city praying for children and asked if we could pray for their child.  Some said no, but most said yes.  We had opportunity to pray for many children and even Muslim children as well, in “Jesus name” of course.  It was awesome.

Just as we were finishing we came in contact with a girl who looked about 20.  We started talking to her and she was extremely receptive to spiritual issues.  At the end I asked if we could pray for her right there in the middle of the sidewalk as people were walking by us.  She then said that she broke up with her boyfriend and that their three year old son was living with him because she did not have a stable home (I had no idea she was a mom).  She was desperate to get her child back.  It was then that I realized this might be the girl and child I thought about as I prayed beforehand. 

The experience was incredibly encouraging and faith stretching.  We didn’t have any extra Bibles with us, and so the guy with me gave her his.  We pray that God would lead this girl to seek Jesus, experience salvation, and be re-united with her son.

Many more stories to tell, but enough for now.

First Corinthians seven addresses a subject that unfortunately is not very common in the church: the benefits of being unmarried. The Apostle Paul made some pretty radical statements regarding his encouragement for people to remain single as he was.

Often society, and even the church at times, makes the importance of family almost a god. Family, as we know it today (parents, spouses, children, etc.) are unique relationships that are tied to this earthly life only (Luke 20:27-36). We will retain these relationships on the New Earth, but they will not be based on spouses, parents, children, etc.

People are encouraged in Scripture to remain single so that they are not distracted by the needs of a spouse or family, and can therefore, have a more undivided focus on Christ (I Cor. 7:25-40). How often do we hear this message in the church?

Even Jesus made some radical statements that did not seem too family-friendly (Matt. 10:34-39, Matt. 12:46-49, Luke 14:25-27). In fact, most of these passages are down right disturbing.

I absolutely love my family with all my heart, but I need to make sure that my love for family never overtakes my love for God. How do we flesh this out? I think we need to wrestle with this question whether we are single or married. I am not sure the answers are as simple as they might first appear.

Does God call some people to full-time ministry and not others?  This is another question I wrestle with and have wrestled with for many years.  My recent study in the first half of I Cor. 9 has caused me to ponder this question. Biblically I am not sure.  I believe God calls all believers to ministry.  That I know.   

Depending on the needs of the local church, there may be occasions where it would be beneficial for a few to devote more time to the ministry and forsake other vocations.  In these instances, the Bible does communicate that there should be compensation for these workers. 

I am not sure that God has a special calling on a person’s life for full-time ministry, however.  Maybe he does or maybe there are simply several factors that are all working at the same time that provide the opportunity for full-time ministry for some.  What are those factors?  How about the following: 

1)    The church has a need for someone to devote more hours to a certain area of ministry that could not be sustained if someone was working full-time elsewhere.

2)    The church has the financial resources to create that position.

3)    There is a gifted, faithful, and available individual who is willing to devote his/her time to this area of ministry while the need and resources are both there. 

Only when all three of these elements are there, should anyone ever be compensated in the church.  The fact is these elements will be applicable to less than 1% of all believers. This is why I am not so sure God “calls” certain people to vocational ministry but perhaps he simply provides the circumstances for full-time ministry in a few unique settings.  Again, I know he calls all of us to ministry in a general sense.

There is a middle of the road circumstance that seems to be common both in Scripture and in the world – if you look at the church worldwide. It is the circumstance typically called “tent-making.”  The Apostle Paul was a tent-maker, which meant he worked part-time utilizing that skill and then received compensation from the ministry to devote the other half of his time to ministry.  He had a unique role of apostle and church planter and devoted his time there. This circumstance is called bi-vocational ministry.

Some people feel strongly that they have been “called” to full-time, vocational ministry.  Maybe God has called them. I don’t know.  I know that I love what I do, and God has provided the circumstances for me to do it vocationally at this time in my life.  Is there a difference between God providing the right circumstances at a particular time and a specific “calling?”  ….  Good question …   Are there implications depending on the answer? …  I think there are …

This past Sunday I taught a message from the first half of I Corinthians 9.  In this section of the letter Paul makes a case as to why pastors should be paid but then explains why he gave up that right while ministering to the church in Corinth.  

I don’t think I would ever specifically choose this passage to teach on if I was randomly selecting passages.  However, when going through a book study, you cannot just skip an entire section because it seems awkward.   This is both the beauty and the difficulty of teaching through a book of the Bible. 

I have to admit I was very inspired by Paul’s willingness to relinquish his rights to compensation for a greater good at the church in Corinth.   I spent some time really thinking and pondering this thought.  What if the church didn’t pay anyone for the purpose of some greater good? 

I probably should not be asking these kinds of questions because it is somewhat self-incriminating.  Throughout Scripture, and certainly within this particular passage, pastors who devote their time to minsitry should be paid by the ministry. 

Has the church today become too professional, however?  What if as an experiment I didn’t get paid for a year?  I would certainly have to seek income elsewhere, probably work a different job on the side, and I would spend far less time in ministry.  Would this hurt or help the church?  Hmmm …

This line of discussion is getting a little uncomfortable for me.  I better get back to my senses.  After all, isn’t the Christian life about comfort and conventional wisdom?