The Assembling of the Church

The next instance of “gathering language” in Acts is found in Acts 19:9. Here is the verse in context:

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:8-10 ESV)

The “gathering” language in this passage is actually found in the language of separation. Paul and “the disciples” withdrew from the synagogue and those who “became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way”. The next passage indicates that those who “withdrew” continued meeting together daily in the hall of Tyrannus.

I find a few things interesting in this passage. First, Luke says that Paul was speaking boldly (or openly) in the synagogue about the kingdom of God, and presumably Jesus’ place in the kingdom. There are two participles used to describe our Paul spoke openly. The ESV translates them as “reasoning and persuading”. This two verbs are contrasted by the response of the “some” who “became stubborn and continued in unbelief.”

As Paul and the disciples left the synagogue and continued meeting together in the hall of Tyrannus, the “reasoning” continued – the same type of communication with one another that took place when they were meeting in the synagogue. However, the “persuading” type of conversation did not continue. Apparently, even though the disciples no longer needed “persuading” about the kingdom of God (because they already “trusted” – same root word). But, the “reasoning” (discussion, dialog) continued. Paul viewed this as an appropriate form of communication among believers.

Next, as in Corinth, we see that Paul stayed in Ephesus for an extended period (Acts 19:10), unlike his stays in other cities. It seems that Paul used Ephesus as a central location from which to spread the good news of the kingdom of God.

Luke makes the extraordinary statement that “all the residents of Asia” heard the gospel due to Paul efforts in Ephesus. At this time, Asia referred to the eastern part of modern-day Turkey. Apparently, whatever discussion took place in the hall of Tyrannus did not remain there. Paul, his traveling companions, and probably other disciples from Ephesus took the good news of Jesus Christ from Ephesus to cities in the surrounding region.

While Luke does not tell us exactly how the gospel spread from Ephesus, he does tell us that it spread. So, once again, we have a combination of believers gathering together and going out for the purpose of proclaiming the good news to those who were not believers.

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Today, I had lunch with a good friend. We were talking about discipleship (in the midst of discipling one another).

Since discipleship is always between people, it is necessarily relational. Since people and relationships change, discipleship necessarily changes as well. Thus, discipleship is dynamic. As the people grow, discipleship changes. As life situations change, discipleship changes. As people enter/leave the relationship, discipleship changes.

But, if discipleship is dynamic, we can see how difficult it would be to program discipleship. The best way to teach discipleship, then, is not by teaching a program, but by modeling discipleship by example.

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I loved the question that Jack (from “Flight Level Musings“) asked: “Where are the Equippers?” He gives a couple of good examples about what he means:

So, what is the best way to equip someone? An example would be my grandfather. He was a farmer. His father was a farmer. My great-grandfather equipped my grandfather to be a farmer. How did he do that? It happened as they went about their daily lives of planting crops, putting meat in the smokehouse, and vegetables in the cellar. My grandfather did not sit in the living room of his farm house and listen to three-point lectures on raising cotton, castrating calves, and smoking bacon. His father equipped him to be a farmer by providing him the practical skills and knowledge to be a farmer. It was one on one mentoring. I believe that was Jesus’ technique with his disciples.

Another example is when I was flight instructing. When I took on a new student I would spend hours with them. This included discussions or “ground” school on techniques, regulations, and navigation. This was followed by a flight lesson and then a debriefing of the flight. What’s amazing; is that on each flight, I actually let the student fly the airplane. Now you may say, “Of course, how would you learn to fly an airplane unless you were allowed to touch the controls?” Sure, that is self-evident, but apply that to your typical church life and the typical layperson sitting in a pew listening to a sermon every Sunday morning. Ask yourself, “When does he or she get to touch the controls?”

I think the equippers are there… part of the church… probably sitting in pews. Some of them are probably frustrated and don’t understand their role in the body. They can’t preach sermons and they can’t lead “worship”. So, what are they supposed to do? Aren’t those things most important?

What would happen if we told people that the most important thing for the church to do is to make disciples? What would happen if we admitted that preaching sermons and leading “worship” does very little to make disciples? What if we told them that they were responsible for helping one another and others live lives in a way that demonstrates their trust in God? What if we started equipping by example instead of by sermon only? Then, what would happen if we did allow other equippers to take part in the church gathering?

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The next verse in Acts that includes “gathering language” is Acts 15:30. Here is the verse in context:

So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. (Acts 15:30-33 ESV)

The “gathering language” in Acts 15:30 is found in the Greek verb συνάγω (sunagō) which generally means “I gather” or “I bring together.” The ESV translated the verb (in participle form this time) as “having gathered… together” in this verse. Again, the verb is passive. However, the context indicates that Judas and Silas (the “they” in 15:30) were the ones who did the “gathering.”

Once the believers in Jerusalem had composed their letter, they sent Judas and Silas back to Antioch with the letter. (Acts 15:27) Paul and Barnabas also traveled with them. (Acts 15:25) The letter (Acts 15:23-29) told the Gentile believers that those who had caused trouble by saying that the Gentiles had to be circumcised were not sent by the church in Jerusalem and that they did not represent their understanding of God’s grace extended to the Gentiles. In fact, they specifically send Judas and Silas because they will report in person what the letter says. Finally, the letter requests that the Gentiles live in a certain way among the Jews so that the Jews are not offended.

This passage, then, records what happens when this group (Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas) gathers together the believers in Antioch and delivers the letter. When the church reads the letter, they rejoice. But what in the letter caused the believers to rejoice? It’s hard to tell. Luke doesn’t tell us exactly why the letter encourages the believers in Antioch. But, he does tell us that they rejoice because they find the letter encouraging.

Interestingly, in the very next sentence (Acts 15:32), we find out that Judas and Silas (who were prophets) also encouraged and strengthened the church. The repetition of “encouragement” language in these two sentences is important. The church rejoices before the letter encourages them, and then Judas and Silas encourages the church. This language is similar to what we read in Hebrews 10:24-25.

Judas and Silas end up staying in Antioch for a while before they return. Again, Luke writes about their return in a way that seems strange to our ears. We are familiar with the Jerusalem church “sending” Judas and Silas (Acts 15:27), but now we read that the Antioch church is “sending” them (Acts 15:33) back to the ones who “sent” them. Apparently, the idea of the “sending” church in Acts is not as strong as it is often made out to be today. Who “sent” Judas and Silas? Both Jerusalem and Antioch.

Finally, don’t miss the point that when Judas and Silas arrived at Antioch, both they and the believers in Antioch expected them to act as members of the church in Antioch. The two had the gift of prophecy so they were expected to prophesy in order to encourage the church. The were welcomed, accepted, and served because they were brothers and sisters… members of one another. Judas and Silas did not consider themselves “members” of the Jerusalem church and not “members” of the Antioch church.

Similarly, the believers in Antioch did not treat Judas and Silas as outsiders, but welcomed them as brothers. Remember, there were already prophets and teachers in the Antioch church (Acts 13:1). So, why were Judas and Silas given opportunity to prophesy? Because they were brothers in Christ. All believers were expected to serve one another using the gifts and opportunities that God provided.

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This is the 96th passage in “Scripture… As We Live It“:

Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house (Let’s keep this between you and me since this is a personal, private issue and some of these things could be troubling or embarrassing.): (Romans 1:1-2 re-mix)

(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)

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My presentation of “A Theology of Mutuality” at SECSOR 2010 went pretty well. I started having allergy problems yesterday. (Welcome back to Georgia!) I had a little trouble breathing, watery eyes, and a scratchy throat while delivering my paper. But, I made it through, and even had a few good questions. One person suggested I turn the presentation into a book.

A new friend, Neil Carter, from the blog “Christ in Y’all” and author of the book Christ in Y’all, sat through my presentation. Neil gave me a copy of his book, and we were able to talk together for a while. Meeting Neil was a great bonus to this conference, because I’ve been following his blog since before I started my own blog.

So, today went very well overall. Tonight we’ll have dinner with my family, and tomorrow after our drive home, our friends have invited us to have dinner with them. Opportunities for more “mutuality”… or “Y’all”.

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My translation:

So make sure that you all live together as citizens in a manner that is worthy of the good news of Jesus Christ. That way, whether I come and see you or whether I stay away, I will hear these things about you: that you all are standing in one spirit while working together with one mind for the faith of the good news, while also not being frightened by your opponents about anything. Your lack of fear is a clear sign of their destruction, a sign of your salvation, and a sign that this is from God. This has been given to you on behalf of Christ so that you not only live for him, but that you also suffer on his account. You are having the same kind of struggle that you saw in me, and now you hear that I still have this kind of struggle. (Philippians 1:27-30)

Greek Text:

Μόνον ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθε, ἵνα εἴτε ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ὑμᾶς εἴτε ἀπὼν ἀκούω τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν, ὅτι στήκετε ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι, μιᾷ ψυχῇ συναθλοῦντες τῇ πίστει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, καὶ μὴ πτυρόμενοι ἐν μηδενὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων, ἥτις ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς ἔνδειξις ἀπωλείας, ὑμῶν δὲ σωτηρίας, καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ θεοῦ: ὅτι ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, οὐ μόνον τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύειν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πάσχειν, τὸν αὐτὸν ἀγῶνα ἔχοντες οἷον εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ νῦν ἀκούετε ἐν ἐμοί.

Here is another translation for comparison:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1:27-30 ESV)

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Today, we’re traveling to Atlanta. Tomorrow, I’m planning to present a paper at the Southeastern Conference on the Study of Religion. The topic of paper is “A Theology of Mutuality.”

I’m hoping to meet some people at the conference, too. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to spend at the conference, but hopefully I’ll have time to spend with a few people there.

I’m also looking forward to spending the weekend with my family.

So, if you think about it, I’d appreciate prayer for our travels and for my presentation on Saturday.

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I was recently reminded of a couple of posts that I wrote called “How do you find the time?” and “How do you find the time to pastor?” I thought I wrote these last year, but apparently it’s been two years since I wrote them! So, I thought I would republish the posts together.

It looks like a few things have changed in those the past two years. I’m not teaching adjunctively for Southeastern College at Wake Forest (now the College at Wake Forest). I am not working with FullThrottle Development and teaching Latin for high school level homeschoolers. Finally, I’m not longer taking seminars in the PhD program at Southeastern Seminary. Now I’m working on my dissertation.

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How do you find the time?

I’m often asked how I find the time to do the things that I do. For example, a couple of days ago, Bert asked the following in a comment:

How do you find time to pastor, work full time, work on your PhD, and blog meaningful posts regularly? I have often said that there is no such thing as a part-time pastor so where did you find the extra hours in the day?

In this blog post, I’m going to discuss everything except pastoring. I’ll discuss pastoring in another post later.

To start with, like everyone else, I am only given 24 hours each day. And, while I try to be a good steward of my time, I will admit that I often waste time doing unproductive things. Also, you should know that I read and write quickly. I am not trying to brag, its just a fact of life. My wife would be the first to tell you. I also try to plan ahead, especially for school work. If I know that I have a paper due, I start it very early to give myself plenty of time to do the research and to write the paper.

First, I work full time as a web developer for the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I’ve been working in this capacity for just over 5 years, and I love it! Not only do I get to work with awesome people, they are also very flexible with my work hours which allows me to take classes. One thing that helps with my time management on the job is that I take a very short lunch break. I almost always bring my lunch from home, and I have found that it does not take me an hour to eat my lunch. So, that saves me alot of time each week.

Second, I teach adjunctively for Southeastern College at Wake Forest, which is associated with the seminary. In fact, my class is located about 100 yards from my office – very convenient. I only teach one class – New Testament Greek – for 3 hours per week. I have also set aside one day per week when I meet with students for a coffee break for about 30 minutes. Besides this time, my students know that I’m always available outside of class, and I have even given them my home and cell phone numbers.

Third, I am a Ph.D. student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I’m currently taking two seminars – one in the Gospel of John and the other in Old Testament Theology. These seminars meet for a total of 5 hours each week. We also have a heavy reading and writing load to go along with these seminars. This semester, my writing load is shifted to the second half of the semester, so I have not started writing yet. Most of my reading will be finished by the time I start writing. Like I said, I read and write fast. This takes me less time that most people think, but it still takes alot of time.

Fourth, I am a husband and a father. I probably should have put this first – it would have been more spiritual. I always try to set aside time for my family, and Margaret, my wife, helps me with this. We usually eat dinner together at night, and occasionally, Margaret and I will have lunch together during the day. I try to do very little school work on the weekends in order to set that time aside for family. (Although, sometimes I have to read and write at night.) Also, I choose to read and write at home instead of at the library. I realize that there are probably more distractions at home, but those distractions are my life. The distractions are more important than my studies. I can fail at school and remain obedient to God, but I cannot fail in my marriage and as a father and remain obedient to God.

Finally, I blog. I have been blogging here at The Assembling of the Church for almost two years. I’ve talked to several people in person about the way that I blog, and it seems to be unique. I rarely, if ever, write a blog post in one sitting. I always keep a long list of “draft” blogs that I’m working on. (Currently, I have 15 blog posts in “draft” mode that are in various stages of completion.) I work on these “draft” posts 10 or 15 minutes at a time whenever I have time. For example, I will often work on blog posts when I’m taking a break from reading or writing. When I publish a blog post, I probably started writing it several days – sometimes several months – before I finally publish it. Sometimes, as with this post, I write on specific posts in order to finish them, but usually I don’t care when I finish a post. (Even this post, which I wanted to finish quickly, took me several days of writing in small increments of time.) The exception would be when I’m writing a series. I’m usually 75-100% finished writing a series before I publish the first post. So, blogging takes a very small amount of time for me.

There are several aspects of my life that allow me to do the things that I do, the most important being the grace of God. The graciousness and concern of my family also plays a huge role in allowing me to work, go to school, and publish this blog (which I consider to be part of my studies and discipleship). Also, the fact that I work, teach, and attend classes on the same campus saves me alot of commuting time. Finally, my ability to read and write fast makes it look as if I spend much more time reading and blogging than most people realize. This routine works for me and my family for now. Things may change, and if they do, I can promise you that my family will not be left out of my schedule.

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How do you find the time to pastor?

A few days ago, Bert asked a question that I’m often asked:

How do you find time to pastor, work full time, work on your PhD, and blog meaningful posts regularly? I have often said that there is no such thing as a part-time pastor so where did you find the extra hours in the day?

I answered most of his question in a blog post called “How do you find the time?” (above) But, in this post, I hope to answer his question about pastoring. How do I find the time to pastor while working a full time job, working on my Ph.D., being a husband and father, and maintaining a blog?

One of the reasons that I wanted to answer the question about pastoring separately is that my understanding of what it means to be a pastor is not the traditional understanding. So, I want to take the time to explain what I think it means to be a pastor. A few years ago I was asked to be an elder/pastor for Messiah Baptist Church. I would be one of four pastors. This was a very serious decision for me, so I spent a long time reading Scripture and books about what it means to be a pastor.

At first, I did not want to accept the responsibilities and duties that come along with being a pastor. I did not think that I would have the time to pastor as well as be a husband and father, a full time employee, and a student. As I studied what it means to be a pastor and as I considered this decision, I noticed something: the scriptural description of an elder/pastor is not what we usually mean when we call someone “pastor” or “elder”.

Elders/pastors spend much of their time with administrative duties: maintaining buildings, planning, organizing, recruiting, and financing. These types of activities are not the scriptural responsibilities of pastors. It is not wrong for elders/pastors to do these things, but the activities should not be seen as “pastoring”. Also, elders/pastors are often considered to be the only or primary teachers, preachers, visitors, counselors, ministers, and leaders. While Scripture certainly indicates that pastors/elders should do these things, these are also the responsibilities of all believers.

While pastors/elders are very busy people, many times the “busyness” is related more the expectations of other people instead of the responsibilities that God gives to elders through Scripture. In fact, a few years ago, a good friend of mine who is a pastor at a mega-church told me that he has to schedule one hour a week to spend with a discipleship group, otherwise he would have not time to actually disciple people. Why? Because his time was spent doing other things – things that were required of him by his job description, the people on his staff, and the people in the church, but things that were not required by Scripture.

So, how do I find time to pastor? I find time to pastor by recognizing that discipleship is my primary responsibility as a pastor, just as discipleship is every believer’s primary responsibility. I spend time with people, caring for people, listening to people, teaching people – sometimes one on one, sometimes in small groups, sometimes in large groups – through email, instant messaging, phone, and face-to-face meetings. I do not set office hours, but instead I spend as much time as possible with people.

However, I recognize that I am not the extent of the discipling that goes on around me. Therefore, I encourage others to spend time with people, and I encourage people to seek help through already existing relationships. If someone has a problem, they can call me or another pastor, but they do not have to call a pastor. Instead, they can call a friend or a neighbor. Many times when people are helped, I know nothing about it until later. Praise God! I do not have to have my hand in everything. God is perfectly capable of taking care of his children without me.

What about organizing, planning, recruiting, etc.? Again, God is perfectly capable of taking care of these things through his people – not just through the pastors/elders. I do not spend time thinking up programs, planning how to carry them out, asking people to take part, and making sure the programs run well. Instead, I encourage people to serve as God gifts them and as he gives them a passion for that service. Then, I – along with the church – help them in whatever ways they need help. We do not have set programs as a church, but it is amazing the amount of ministry that is going on through the members of the church, because they have been freed to serve as God has gifted them.

What about teaching and preaching? In this case, the pastors do take on more of a responsibility. While I would love for people to show up at a church meeting having prepared a teaching, our church is not ready for this yet. (THIS HAS CHANGED IN TWO YEARS!!!) Therefore, the pastors have taken on the responsibility of providing someone to teach each Sunday. That does not mean that we teach every Sunday, but we teach more often. We also ask other people to teach, and we help them as they study Scripture and prepare to teach. I’ve also decided to study along with whoever is teaching that week. So, even though I am not teaching next Sunday, I am continuing to study as if I were going to teach next Sunday. It may be that God wants me to say something, even though I am not scheduled to preach.

By the way, except for helping to make the preaching schedule, there is very little that I do now that I would stop doing if I were no longer an elder/pastor. Why? Because I do not serve because of an office or position. I serve because God has gifted me and provided me opportunities to serve. I was doing all of these things before I was a pastor, and I will continue doing them if at some point I am no longer recognized as a pastor.

It takes much less time to focus on people than to focus on the organization. God’s heart is with people, and that’s where my heart should be as well. When I find myself started to yield to the expectations that other people or that the system places on me, then I may no longer be doing the things that God wants me to do. That’s when I must check my focus, and return to loving and caring and teaching and leading people, which I think is the responsibility of the pastor as well as all followers of Jesus Christ. (See my series on elders that starts with “Elders (Part 1) – Introduction“.)

So, how do I find the time to pastor? Because I am a pastor, but not that kind of pastor.

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[A] few basic convictions have generally characterized Old Testament theology. First, it must have a historical base. Second, it must explain what the Old Testament itself claims, not what preconceived historical or theological systems impose upon the biblical material. Third, when part of Christians theology, as this book attempts to be, Old Testament theology must in some way address its relationship to the New Testament. Fourth, by joining with the New Testament to form biblical theology, Old Testament theology offers material that systematic theologians can divide into categories and topics for discussion. Fifth, by stating what the Old Testament says about God’s nature and will, Old Testament theology moves beyond description of truth into prescription for action. After all, if interpreters agree that the Old Testament teaches that God commands certain behavior, it seems evident that a description has discovered a norm. One may obey the normative command or not, but the fact that a norm has been uncovered remains unchanged. (Paul R. House, Old Testament Theology (Downers Grove: IVP, 1998), p. 53)

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