In this and the next several blogs, I want to cover these seven essential principles every church must adopt, particularly as the foundation for new church plants. They also must be at the core of any church that is missions minded, which every church should be. Here is the list:
Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture: While there are many references in God’s Word to this truth, I will only point to a few. This subject is covered in more detail in Lesson 47, pages 188-190 in God’s Plan for His Church. “You have exalted above all things your name and your word” (Psalm 138:2). “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4). “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” (Ephesians 6:17). “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). You can see both of these elements of the Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture in each reference above. Without this principle governing every thought and action, personally and in the church, there cannot be spiritual growth or ministry that glorifies God.
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We have reviewed many aspects of Paul’s method and approach to ministry. Here we summarize what we learned, into four basic stages that are progressive but can take place simultaneously. As you see in the diagram below, there is a natural flow in the Book of Acts so that these stages build on each other.
One of the attitudes that deeply saddens my heart is to hear pastors speak of (and talk about) their position in the church as a “job” or “career”. This ignores the “call of God” by the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28) and seriously weakens their role designed by God. Paul shows us a much more serious commitment in caring for the flock of God.
As Paul nurtured a new church in Thessalonica, he refers to how he cared for them; “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.” (1 Thessalonians 2:7). Think with me for a moment how a good mother cares for her children. What are the key elements that she makes sure are part of her care:
You will never find one complaint in all thirteen of Paul’s letters about the load of ministry work God gave him to carry or his trials and hardships. At the end of the list of what he endured in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29, Paul says, “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (11:28).
What a beautiful example of a servant/shepherd! It was a “daily” responsibility that he carried because he saw the church as “one body” wherever it was gathered, anywhere in the world. Realistically, I realize that is an impossibility in our day, but we must not miss this principle in Paul’s life and ministry. But, are we too “program minded” rather than “Christ’s body minded”? The more God gives me the privilege to serve His church, the more He gives me a glimpse of His view of the church and His plan for it. It is universal and crosses cultural differences, languages, denominations and social-economic distinctions. My concerns are growing with “anxiety for all the churches” because I see so many elements that work against unity in the Spirit in the body (Ephesians 4:3). God wants to develop in us an eternal perspective regarding the church. He planned it in past eternity and purposed that it reflect His glory now and for eternity to come. Where do we start if we want to follow Paul’s example and model? I do not think if happens by a sudden leap of heart and mind. We must continually ask the Holy Spirit to open and enlarge our hearts by seeing God’s purpose and plan for HIS WHOLE CHURCH, THE WHOLE BODY OF CHRIST! There is one thing certain, God has never changed His purpose and plan for His church because of our weaknesses or changing world conditions. We need to get on board with His plan! It is the hardest thing for me to confront anyone! But looking at the necessity of this through the words of a man like Paul helps us see it in the larger context. In Paul’s first letter, he faces the most serious issue the church has ever faced; the “truth of the gospel” was at stake (Galatians 2:5). “Because of false brothers secretly brought in – who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so they might bring us into slavery,” Paul “did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be persevered for you” (2:4-5). While these “false brothers” are not named, Cephas (Simon Peter) and Barnabas are specifically mentioned for their conduct that weakened the message of the gospel and in turn would mean that person’s faith would be built on a wrong foundation. One thing we learn from Paul in this is that he used “grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:3) in addressing such a difficult issue. If we come to difficult issues like this from the resources of God’s grace and are “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), confronting will not be a tearing experience, but rather one of building up. Paul also knew when issues were not those that required his insistence so as not to “stumble a brother” but “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:13-23). Be prepared to confront issues that affect the pure gospel. The glory of God in Christ is at stake! Though Paul was not present when Jesus issued the command in Matthew 28:19, it was passed down to him; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” This title “disciple” is used throughout the Book of Acts to refer to those who believed in Jesus and were “devoted to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers” (Acts 2:42). Even after Paul’s conversion, believers in new church plants were referred to as “disciples”. As we saw yesterday, Paul’s ministry was designed to “strengthen all the disciples” (18:23).
More specifically, Paul found a disciple named Timothy at Lystra who “was well spoken of…and wanted Timothy to accompany him” (Acts 16:1-3). This was Paul’s way of training him in the ministry as opposed to sending him to some ‘Bible School’ which did not even exist. This method was so effective that later Paul calls Timothy his “true child in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). This mentoring relationship was also developed with Titus such that Paul used him in the church at Corinth (2 Cor. 8:16, 23; Galatians 2:1, 3; Titus 1:4). It is evident from the language Luke uses in writing Acts that he was with Paul through most of his travels and ministry. At the close of Paul’s life, he says “Luke alone is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11). A true disciple is one who is faithful to the teaching as well as the relationship to the end. Do you have a “Paul” in your life who is discipling you to be faithful? Are you discipling a “Timothy” who continues in the faith no matter what the cost? We must be thinking about perpetuating God’s work in the next generations by multiplication, not addition. In the very next verse after we read that Paul was “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith”, Luke says “they…appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” (Acts 14:22-23).
What was the purpose of appointing elders and why was this done “with prayer and fasting”? There are several reasons that the right kind of leaders must be placed in the local church for it to continue to grow and expand the gospel. Consider these key principles that make qualified elders in the church so important:
It was not long into Paul’s ministry with Barnabas that God gave him a unique way of planting churches that were strong, self-sustaining, self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating. Even after suffering stoning at Lystra, he is surrounded by the disciples and continues his journey to Derbe to preach the gospel. Then Paul returns to Lystra, the place of persecution, and to Iconium and Antioch, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith” (Acts 14:22).
This key principle is followed by Paul throughout his ministry. Without quoting them all, I will refer to one more and then list the others. “And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.” (Acts 15:41; See also 16:5, 40; 18:23; 20:1-2). Paul never stayed in one place very long so that the new believers and churches would not depend on him, but would become mature and stand strong in the faith without outside support. One of the most damaging influences we have today is the “western habit” of constantly sending support (money) to church plants or ministries overseas so they do not learn to grow into the maturity of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). Paul never offered to send money to the churches in Acts. It was vital they be self-sustaining, self-supporting and indigenous – without foreign interference. We have grown to think that money answers problems and promotes growth, when in reality it weakens and stagnates natural growth by the Holy Spirit. Faith in Christ and making HIM the center is what stimulates spontaneous growth and addresses every problem. Take a serious look at these issues. From our own ministry experience, we are seeing rapid growth where these key principles are being applied by indigenous leaders in their own culture without our presence or direction. Tomorrow we will look at how churches became self-governing. From the day Paul was converted, he experienced receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17), a vital ingredient that was necessary for preaching the pure gospel and building the church. From that day forward, the Holy Spirit was central to all Paul did. Notice these key events in Paul’s life:
We have clearly established that Paul preached Christ wherever he went as the means of eternal salvation by grace alone, through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Though he preached the riches of this grace immediately after his conversion at Damascus, he was formally sent out to preach by the Holy Spirit and the church at Antioch. As he and Barnabas went from city to city preaching the gospel, they gathered those who believed into local companies of the church. But Paul knew these new believers needed more attention if they were to become strong in their faith and multiply. From Acts 14 onward, Paul used an effective method by returning to these new believers and churches to “strengthen the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith” (14:22). This key principle remained throughout the remainder of his ministry (see Acts 15:32, 41; 16:5, 40; 18:23; 20:11). We must make certain that this principle is a key building tool, not just for planting new churches, but for establishing existing churches so they become effective planters, building strong, self-governed, self-sustaining and self-propagating. If we follow Paul’s method, we will see the last people group reached with the gospel through God’s wisdom in the church. |
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