June 10, 2013
Specializing
While attending a recent Christian Writer’s Conference we were reminded
that the publishing industry is changing rapidly because of eBooks, blogs and
Twitter. Where authors once had publishing houses and editors to help them
through the maze of getting published, today’s writers must take on more responsibility
for marketing, promotion and selling their own books. The angst between authors
and publishers is at a heightened level with authors saying, “What am I paying you for if I have to do all
the work myself?” and publishers saying, “We can no longer afford to take a risk on an unproven author or books
that may not sell.” I see something similar happening in the church. Years
ago the preacher seemed to do everything with help from a few leaders, but then
the focus moved to having a paid staff who specialized in youth, seniors and
singles. Many of us then abdicated our serving to staff because after all, aren’t
we paying them to serve?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Gail;
-----Your observation is true, but yet, not quite fundamental. I have also noted the same general ambition of the people to leave everything of the workings of the church to the leaders. But for many years there was something bothersome to me about those workings. I could never find them clearly propounded in the New Testament as to what makes church of them. Certainly many elements of church are generally presented there. Paul shows us a little about the communion services ongoing in his day. By his efforts to efficiently collect and safeguard the contributions for the care of the Jerusalem saints, some good principles regarding offerings are demonstrated. The handling of the quarrels between the Hellenist and traditional Jews over supply distributions even led to the institution of a new office within the church, an office which Paul later acknowledged and described by character trait. A discussion of spiritual gifts and their use and importance even occasioned a brief glimpse at the general order of worship service, at least as they were being experienced in Corinth. The elders’ authority was acknowledged but was not thoroughly defined, except for a specific limitation (I Peter 5:3) and a general limitation (Romans 14.) Pretty much everything else we have regarding the activity of the church comes to us through analogies of events portrayed in the New Testament and metaphors of actual social institutions the Old Testament did define quite specifically for God’s nation of Israel.
-----These things we see as church. The different parts of the worship service, the singing, the meditations, the sermons, and the educational function of Sunday School, and the evangelical function of revivals (dying with the times,) and the various outreach ministries of prison fellowships, hospital and rest home visitations, and even community service programs like “adopt-a-school” (although schools have already been lavished with massive government wealth) and Share-Fest have been instituted for some reason. I’ve not figured out yet whether that reason is to effect benefit where benefit is needed, demonstrate the love of Christ, or to promote the bigness of whatever church is doing them. I sense a mix of the three. But the fundamental issue here is that most of these programs are organized by church leaders. So let them run them.
-----What strikes me more fundamentally are the Scriptures’ clearer and more specific directions regarding behavior towards one another and character traits of the new life. These are often put forth clearly and specifically as what we should put on and walk in. These are the elements of church life of which all church programs and functions should be made. If the church leaders historically had preached and taught and modeled the importance of these sincere behaviors, character traits, gifts, fruit of the Spirit, then those traits and behaviors, rather than programs and ministries, would systemically comprise the idea of “church and service” today. Moreover, from that idea of “church and service”, this new being of the people, would naturally flow all the activities that are our programs and ministries and services.
-----I think the church leaders have gotten a load they’ve made for themselves and deserve to carry themselves for not having taught and demonstrated the more important inner realities of belonging to Christ‘s body.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Historically I think the same thing was going on in the early Roman church as the monasteries began to develop so the truly "spiritual" could be spiritual without bothering the rest of society.
Grace and peace.
And without being bothered by the rest of society.
Post a Comment