In Word and Deed
I spent an hour and a half this morning interviewing a pastor/church planter in Manchester, NH. It was extremely beneficial & I clearly identified with his theology and methodology. He even took the time to pray with me over the phone.
One of the things that particularly struck me about his church and vision was that he sought to show the community Christ through word and deed. The reason this struck me so heavily is that it is rarely done. His is a PCA church plant, so reformed in theology. Usually, if your theology is solid, you lack in practical love, evangelism, and mercy and justice to the "have nots" of society. However, if you reach out to the "have nots," & do as the Bible commands in provision, love, and nurture, those churches typically end up being weak in doctrine & theology, high on man and low on God. I've never understood why the two had to be divorced, particularly since it seems so logical that the 2 would go together. We are flawed beyond depravity and I think our sin nature takes us pridefully to whichever side we're more bent towards, and we have to put ourself in a camp or a "side" and look down on those not on our "team."
Thus, a bunch of like-minded people get together and form a local church - of a particular breed. Now, to me, one of the most beautiful, glorious things about the church, is the fact that as a singular body, it is made up of many, many different parts and functions. I also think, in more proof of man's sinfulness, we tend to despise those within our own body who are not like us. All the fingers look at the elbows and say "why don't the grab more stuff like we do, what's wrong with those people." For example, you may have a heart for the hispanic population in your town, and even though another woman may be discipling 10 young ladies that you don't know about, you may despise the discipling woman & begin to feel like you are the lone ranger in your church, the only who is actually godly and cares about hispanics, and before long, you alienate yourself and become bitter. It should be a beautiful thing that different people, with totally different backgrounds and personalities can be united, and yet still be distinctly made, under the blood of Christ.
I even find myself swinging the pendulum to both extremes. When I am on short term mission trips, I find that love, cross-culturally, speaks much louder than truth, in part, because we cannot speak the same langauge. So I could babble on and on about the Trinity in english and they'd be at a total lost. However, if I come and clean their well out and give them fresh water, and hug them, they know that I'm communicating love. However, when I am talking with those of my same language here in the states, I am much quicker to go to a verbal presentation of Christ and the Gospel, though if they are hostile, it could quickly be void of love. I firmly believe that the man who's well I cleaned out, even though he know my love, is still in dire straights because my love cannot give him repentance and faith in Christ, and to the hostile guy on the street who I'm giving the Gospel to, if he feels like a project, a case study, and doesn't feel or see the love of Christ for His soul through me, then I may very well be turning him off.
So back to the local church, we tend to act in either word or deed, but not both. But the church itself is supposed to be a body, meaning many diverse parts with different functions working under one Head, Jesus. That doesn't mean we're going in a million different directions. It means that the arms are pumping, the legs are moving, the feet are landing, the muscles contracting, as we jog down the straight and narrow to the way that leads to the everlasting.
I'm saying that Jesus did things in Word and deed, and we also as individuals and as local congregations should too. Look at Matthew 5-7: Jesus going at in in Word. Look at chapters 8-10: Jesus going at it in deed.
MATTHEW 9:35-38
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; [38] therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Here you see Jesus at work in Word, then follows it up in deed. I'm saying to do BOTH.
If you have not love, or for that matter, mercy, compassion, or justice, then you are just a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And - if you don't do things in word, what makes you any different from a philanthropic Muslim or Hindu or atheist?
One of the things that particularly struck me about his church and vision was that he sought to show the community Christ through word and deed. The reason this struck me so heavily is that it is rarely done. His is a PCA church plant, so reformed in theology. Usually, if your theology is solid, you lack in practical love, evangelism, and mercy and justice to the "have nots" of society. However, if you reach out to the "have nots," & do as the Bible commands in provision, love, and nurture, those churches typically end up being weak in doctrine & theology, high on man and low on God. I've never understood why the two had to be divorced, particularly since it seems so logical that the 2 would go together. We are flawed beyond depravity and I think our sin nature takes us pridefully to whichever side we're more bent towards, and we have to put ourself in a camp or a "side" and look down on those not on our "team."
Thus, a bunch of like-minded people get together and form a local church - of a particular breed. Now, to me, one of the most beautiful, glorious things about the church, is the fact that as a singular body, it is made up of many, many different parts and functions. I also think, in more proof of man's sinfulness, we tend to despise those within our own body who are not like us. All the fingers look at the elbows and say "why don't the grab more stuff like we do, what's wrong with those people." For example, you may have a heart for the hispanic population in your town, and even though another woman may be discipling 10 young ladies that you don't know about, you may despise the discipling woman & begin to feel like you are the lone ranger in your church, the only who is actually godly and cares about hispanics, and before long, you alienate yourself and become bitter. It should be a beautiful thing that different people, with totally different backgrounds and personalities can be united, and yet still be distinctly made, under the blood of Christ.
I even find myself swinging the pendulum to both extremes. When I am on short term mission trips, I find that love, cross-culturally, speaks much louder than truth, in part, because we cannot speak the same langauge. So I could babble on and on about the Trinity in english and they'd be at a total lost. However, if I come and clean their well out and give them fresh water, and hug them, they know that I'm communicating love. However, when I am talking with those of my same language here in the states, I am much quicker to go to a verbal presentation of Christ and the Gospel, though if they are hostile, it could quickly be void of love. I firmly believe that the man who's well I cleaned out, even though he know my love, is still in dire straights because my love cannot give him repentance and faith in Christ, and to the hostile guy on the street who I'm giving the Gospel to, if he feels like a project, a case study, and doesn't feel or see the love of Christ for His soul through me, then I may very well be turning him off.
So back to the local church, we tend to act in either word or deed, but not both. But the church itself is supposed to be a body, meaning many diverse parts with different functions working under one Head, Jesus. That doesn't mean we're going in a million different directions. It means that the arms are pumping, the legs are moving, the feet are landing, the muscles contracting, as we jog down the straight and narrow to the way that leads to the everlasting.
I'm saying that Jesus did things in Word and deed, and we also as individuals and as local congregations should too. Look at Matthew 5-7: Jesus going at in in Word. Look at chapters 8-10: Jesus going at it in deed.
MATTHEW 9:35-38
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; [38] therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Here you see Jesus at work in Word, then follows it up in deed. I'm saying to do BOTH.
If you have not love, or for that matter, mercy, compassion, or justice, then you are just a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And - if you don't do things in word, what makes you any different from a philanthropic Muslim or Hindu or atheist?
