Deepening Your Christian Life VIII

I Timothy 3 (A Word on Church Structure)

One of the latest movements to hit the church is what is called "The Organic Church" movement. It's main critique of the post-Constanine era of the Church (4th century CE and afterwards) is that it takes its structure of ministry from pagan sources (George Barna and Frank Viola are major proponents). Let's be honest - the church has always used pagan means to spread the gospel. Paul spread the gospel throughout the Gentile world on Roman roads that were built for military and commercial purposes. The Doxology we sing on Sunday morning comes from French folk music tht was not sacred. Many of the tunes we sing in our hymnal were melodies in public domain. Many of the great songs in Handel's Messiah were taken from his failed secular operas. The different translations of the Bible are reflective of the sacred and secular trends in communication at the time. Christianity is a divine movement working through human beings who communicate in human ways. The United Methodist Church leadership is structured with bishops (executive), conferences (legislative)and a judicial council to take care of doctrinal and procedural disputes. Wonder where they came up with such a structure? It is reflective of the way leadership was structured in the birthing of our nation.

To even proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord was to state allegiance to Jesus when Roman society was already calling Caesar "king of kings and lord of lords." To proclaim the kingdom of God was to present an alternative form to the secular kingdom already in existence. Last but not least, the term "church" was a Roman term for a voluntary gathering of people who met in homes and other places to share common concerns, raise money for causes, and in many cases, partipate in the worship of Caesar. Now hear with new ears the words of Jesus to Peter, "Upon this rock, I will build MY church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it." I submit that there is no such thing as a sacred structure for leadership in the Bible. The sacredness is in the mission and in the Lord we serve. I believe the Lord will use mightily the home church movement (organic or otherwise) and where it seeks to correct the excesses of the organized church (of which there are many) may it be also used greatly. I pray that many come to know Jesus Christ as Lord through that movement. But I believe that its desire for a church free of pagan structure is an argument that ends up being an argument with Paul("to the Jew I become a Jew, to the Greek as a Greek...") and with Christ himself.

The second thing in behind the home church movement is one that formed many of our denominations, the attempt to regain the vibrancy and Spirit of the New Testament Church, particularly as described in the book of Acts. The Church of Christ is just one example of a church that calls itself "a New Testament Church". That's why they find no justification for instrumental music (not part of the worship in the early church) and even see instrumental music as part of secular society (The Romans used orchestral instruments for pagan ceremony and political and military parades as well as for the persecution of Christians). My argument here is the same as the above paragraphs. Yes, let us return and rediscover our first love for Christ and our passion to reach people with the life-changing, world-changing love of Jesus Christ. Let us return and reclaim shared life in community that does more than pay lip service to "love one another" and "bear each other's burdens." Let us return to a ministry in which the ministers are not those who are paid to lead, but include every person in the body of Christ. But the New Testament leadership structure and worship/music is reflective of who they were (fledgling small communities often in very large towns). To speak of the church in Corinth is to speak of "the Church in Lubbock" with less than 50 people in it. The growth of the gospel pushed the church into new structures, not paganism. The New Testament Church was a movement of the Holy Spirit among God's people to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. That is what we are called to rediscover, not some New Testament version of structure or method of worship.

In fact, I will be even more daring. What has been known as United Methodist is passing away before our eyes - the Methodist way of doing things. What was the Methodist movement? It was a move of the Holy Spirit that caught fire during the Industrial Revolution. It has served us well for more than 250 years. The distinctives of the United Methodist movement can and must be kept: salvation as both a gift and growth process in love, grace as the primary way God operates with us, preaching the gospel in the highways, marketplaces and workplaces (including the digital ones), and the placement of the kingdom way of life in every part of society. But those distinctives must be reclaimed and recast in a way that makes sense to 21st century people. Behold the death of the United Methodist Church as it presently is! Do not despair. It is our opportunity. For Good Friday/Easter has already taught us that following death is resurrection - a whole new chapter of life and witness among the people called United Methodists. Pray for that and be part of it.

What does this have to do with our scripture lesson? The above soapbox oratory was prompted by the structure of elders (overseers in some translations) and deacons in I Timothy 3. While it is not entirely clear how these leaders were used, it is clear that in the church by the time of Timothy that leadership structure was emerging. Notice the qualifactions of elders: above reproach both inside and outside the church, in a healthy and godly marriage and family situation, self-controlled in habits, emotions and passions, gentle and not quarrelsome, not money-driven and not a recent convert. I find it interesting that talents and spiritual gifts are not even mentioned here (as is the case in I Corinthians and Ephesians). The clear emphasis here in church leadership is on character and a growing and authentic relationship with God and with others around them. What if that were our first priority in selecting church leaders? Would it change how we do things? The priorities of a deacon are not much different. Most people see elders as performing administrative and spiritual leadership in the church while deacons offer leadership primarily in service both in the church and community. In the United Methodist Church we have made these two leadership positions clergy positions. When I was a Presbterian, these positions were served by groups of lay people. We know that at first these positions had to be lay people, but there is some evidence that they were specially selected and had hands laid on them (a lay ordination of sorts). So which is the proper New Testament structure for deacons and elders? See the first three paragraphs of the tirade above! lol.

I like the way Paul finishes the chapter. Godly leadership is a holy mystery, demonstrated to us in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Following Jesus in his teachings and in his love is the best way to true Christian leadership both in the Church and in the world.

I Timothy 4

Paul returns to the problem of "false teachers." The problem here added is tendency to add to the requirements of the gospel. John Wesley taught that we should only require of people what is necessary for salvation. Beyond that there was lots of room for differences. In his words, "If your heart is as my heart, take my hand." The rumor is that as a United Methodist you can believe just about anything. That is not true. But once you get past faith in Christ, love of neighbor, and holiness both personally and in society, there is lots of room for diversity and varieties of gifts among us!

Chapter 4, verses 11-16 are Paul's words of strong encouragement (more like a kick in the seat of the pants to "get after it"). Timothy is not to underrate his power or right to lead because he is young. True Christian leadership is not based on age, whether young, middle-aged or old. In fact, leadership from all three is optimum and should be nurtured. The last four verses could easily sum up our strategy for deepening our Christian lives - Scripture (public reading, preaching and teaching), sharing your gifts (we do seem to have special gifts that are set loose in our lives because of the move of God's Spirit in us), holiness of life and doctrine, and, from other parts even of this letter, prayer. Notice the language of discipline in these words: set the example, be diligent,and persevere (stay at it). In the end, Paul says that will be saving for Timothy and those who hear him. There's salvation as gift and growth process again. There is so much more I could say, but this entry is already a tome. I look forward to your responses.