What the Church can learn from a beer commercial

if you visited a church that looked like this, would you stay or leave?

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is upon us!  The holiday, that is.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and encourage everyone to remember in your prayers all our servicemen & women overseas as well as any missionaries you may know.  If you’d like to know more about the history of this holiday, click HERE.  I’ve included just some of the many scripture verses relating to the subject of giving thanks.  May God bless you with a thankful heart this holiday season.  --rb 

• “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.” (1 Chronicles 16:8-9)
• “I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.” (Psalm 7:17)
• “I will give thanks to him in song.” (Psalm 28:7)
• “These things I remember as I pour out my soul how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.” (Psalm 42:4)
• “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 69:30)
• “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” (Psalm 95:2)
• “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4)
• “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good…” (Psalm 107:1)
• “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.” (Isaiah 12:4)
• “Nor should there be any obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5:4)
• “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
• “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes. 5:18)
• “I urge you then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for all kings and those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Truthseekers Bible Study–October

Our ministry to the Malayalam-speaking Indians continues, and this past week we studied Matthew chapter 3.

We took a look at the very interesting John the Baptizer and his likely connection to the Essene community, the nature and forms of baptism and its roots in the Jewish rite of miqveh, and the meaning of repentance, which was his basic message.

We also spent time discussing the Kingdom of Heaven, and what that means in its Jewish context, and why that’s vitally important to us as Christians.  Also, I shared about who the Pharisees and Sadducees were, and how we’re not that different (doctrinally) from Pharisaism. 

Here are our study questions for your consideration:

1. Locate Desert of Judea, Galilee, Jerusalem, and the Jordan River on a map.

2. Terms to define: kingdom of heaven, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, baptize.

3. When did John the Baptist preach? What does “in those days” mean?

4. What was John the Baptist’s message, and what does it teach us about the kingdom? Why does he say kingdom of heaven rather than kingdom of God?

5. Why would Matthew specifically mention the type of clothing that John wore and the food that he ate?

6. What did the people do when they got baptized?

7. John’s message to the Pharisees and Sadducees was a stunning rebuke. Why would he say such things? Is it ever appropriate to speak to someone like that today?

8. Who was John referring to as the “one who who is more powerful than I?”

9. How does the image of Messiah (the One) of verse 11-12 fit with your image of Jesus?

10. Why would Jesus need to be baptized? Did he need to repent of anything? What does it mean “to fulfill all righteousness?”

11. Compare verse 17 with its parallel passages at Mark 1, Luke 3, and John 1. Are there any differences or insights you notice? Does it matter?

Truthseekers is the name of the Bible study group we lead for Malayalam-speaking Indians from various church backgrounds. 

Halloween Already?

Time sure flies when you’re having fun, or as a friend used to say, “Unless you’re a frog, then time is fun when you’re having flies.”  The calendar just keeps moving on, with or without our approval, and before you know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us then Christmas and 2012.

Since Halloween is coming up this Monday night, I thought I’d share an article I wrote that has received a lot of comments in the past and has been published in various places. 

Where did Halloween come from?  Should I participate?  How can I use this holiday for God’s Kingdom?  These are just some of the many questions people ask this time of year.  Click here or below to learn more.

http://rubenbarrett.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween.html

Pastor Steps Down Over Discipleship Failure

This one will have you scratching your head.

Shaun King, notable Christian leader in Atlanta, GA, has stepped down from his church which he pioneered just two years ago.  Why?

Discipleship, the most important thing that Jesus commanded, simply wasn’t happening with the type of structure and methodology that they were using.  The solution?  Try to change the structure and methodology, of course.  However, the people just wouldn’t have it.  In a church only two years old, the people were firmly planted in their tradition.

Wow, this really tells us how important tradition is.  The trajectory you start with is very difficult to change.  This is why we are trying to be very careful about the pattern we’re establishing with our church plant.

Here’s an excerpt from the Lk10 Revolution blog:

Called "Courageous Church", it was, in Shaun's words, a "super cool Sunday worship-service-centered church with 700 people". A mixed race congregation, it was seen as one of the cutting edge churches in the city. Highly "successful"!   Leonard Sweet, scholar and author, called Shaun, "One of the most dynamic, entrepreneurial, creative and passionate leaders on the American scene today." How could this guy possibly fail? What would cause him to throw up his hands and give up?
 
Shaun stepped down not because of any scandal but because he was disillusioned and burned out. He had followed the advice of church planting experts on how to develop an exciting, growing church by focusing on a dynamic Sunday morning "experience". He writes, "I sold my soul for church attendance in our first week and I could never quite get it back."

Over time Shaun came to understand that "the overwhelming percentage of our time, energy, skills, budget and creativity were spent preparing for Sunday morning services, getting people to our Sunday services and getting them to volunteer for our Sunday morning services." Then, Shaun made a big "mistake". He tried to change all of this. He tried to create a discipleship oriented church where the "time, energy, skills, budget and creativity" went primarily into caring for people and meeting needs in the city. And, since he was the senior leader, he could make this work. Right?
Shaun planned to move the whole congregation into small missional groups with one large meeting each month. He worked with his leaders to develop the new structure.

He preached a whole sermon series on the new vision. http://www.shauninthecity.com/2011/03/its-true-preaching-my-last-sermon-series-courageous-church.html (Preaching changes people. Right?) He reports that, as long as he was preaching about it, the people loved it.

But, once the "shift" took place, in his words, "all hell broke loose". Three months later, 85% of the congregation wanted to go back to the "super cool worship-service-centered church". Four months later, Shaun stepped down as the lead pastor. Here's his evaluation...

"What I am saying is that church attendance, Sunday morning services, sermon-listening (or even sermon preaching), song-singing, hand-clapping, amen-saying and all the other things that "Christ-ians" have lifted up so high look so little like Christ himself that I am utterly convinced that we are completely off base with what discipleship means. Considering all of this, I think I have given up on church as I knew it. Big buildings. Hugh crowds. Few disciples. I'm not with it. It's inefficient and just doesn't feel right with my soul. This is not a rejection of big buildings or huge crowds, but an indictment on how few disciples are being made in the process of it all. A better way has to exist."

Well, Shaun, welcome to the growing number of traditional church leaders (perhaps 1500 a month by some estimates) who are coming to the same conclusion. That is, that the building-centered, Sunday big worship-service-centered "experience" (one mega church here in Denver calls this "the big magic") is a great way to entertain people but an inefficient way to make disciples. Not only that, but it takes a terrible toll on the pastors and on their families.

I for one have mixed feelings about this.  I’m not convinced that the right structure will magicly make discipleship happen.  I’ve seen what his church was doing and it all seemed pretty awesome.  What I can do, however, is sympathize with what he felt as a pastor, and the hunger he has for something more.

What do you think?

Welcome Back, Mr. Kot-taaare…!

After a long summer hiatus, I have officially returned.  Summer is winding up (or is it down?), and school is getting ready to start. Change is in the air…

So here’s a few updates in lieu of a summer newsletter:

(1) I took a new job working security for the summer that looks like it will be long-term, and it will allow me to continue with the teaching, church ministry, and community involvement that I have been committed to.

(2) The www.HaDavar.net website has been stripped of most of its content and transferred to the new domain www.RubenBarrett.net.  This change is in preparation for the coming publication of some of my many projects.  The HaDavar site will be remodeled into an outreach and apologetics site focused around the themes of Bible answers to various issues.  Be sure to check out the all-new blogsite at www.RubenBarrett.net.

(3) The house church continues to meet regularly.  We currently are studying the Minor Prophets, and just finished going through Jude, 1st and 2nd Peter.  The kids are studying the parables of Christ and are making skits/videos of their adventures.  We are looking forward to some missionaries to Cambodia coming to speak to us this month.

(4) I’ve been asked to teach a Bible study group of Malayalam-speaking Indians which should start this month hopefully.  Please pray that the scheduling can be worked out to involve as many of them as possible.  We’ll be studying the book of Matthew.

(5) I’m continuing my involvement once a month with the Civil Air Patrol, training for search and rescue operations, and have also spent the last 6 months teaching an aerospace education class to cadets.  Currently I’m also in the process of enlisting in the Tennessee State Guard, which is the reserve force for the TN National Guard but can’t be called up outside of the state.  Both groups are tied in with the military, FEMA and the American Red Cross and are part of my goal of getting Disaster Relief training.

(6.) The kids are tired of summertime and can’t wait to start back to school.
                                                          NOT !

(7) Brenda and I will continue teaching part-time with VCS, where she’ll teach math and I’ll teach Latin and Greek.  For the kids we’re exploring all the extra-curriculars as well: Ballet, piano, soccer or other sports, etc. 

Well, that’s a wrap for now.  I encourage you to take a look at the new website and let me know what you think.  Feel free to pass this on to anybody who may be interested.  For those new to the mailing list, thanks for joining!

God’s Peace,

Ruben & family

The Body of Christ

INTRO

In the early to mid 1980’s, I was probably a typical suburban teenage boy.  My hair was fairly long.  I liked heavy metal music.  Posters of Bruce Lee and others were on my wall.  I longed for an identity, a purpose, and the meaning of life.   Through my fascination and involvement with the martial arts, I began reading and believing in the writings of Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and ultimately the Occult.  However, I was also heavily involved in the Boy Scouts, which promoted morality, ethics, character, and faith.  As my exposure to darkness increased, I became more and more aware of a struggle within me, as if I had to make a life choice about which direction to go.  I still remember the day I saw this Gregory Hines movie in which his character said to Chevy Chase, “I’m getting out of the  [black market] business.  I’ve decided to give my life to Jesus Christ.”  Then it hit me.  I understood then that complete surrender was what was important.  My days of dabbling were over.  I sought out a church and within that community committed my life to Christ.  I put behind me the sin of self-styled religion, and joined myself to a local Body of Believers.    I learned there that we are all on a journey, yet none of us were called to walk alone.  

Today I'd like to speak to you about THE BODY OF CHRIST.   

DEFINITION

To begin, I first ask, “What is the Body of Christ?” Loosely interpreted, we use this phrase to mean Christ’s representatives.  Anyone who has submitted to and committed himself to Jesus Christ is part of His body.  In a sense, you as an individual are His body, as would be your household.  In fact, we can even say that Christians everywhere around the world are the universal Body of Christ.  But most often we use this term to describe the local body of believers in what is called the church. 
But let us consider these two terms a little further.

BODY: The body is a fusion of muscles, bones, blood and various organs.  Every one of us has a body, which houses our spirit, but we are different from one another, especially in the face.  In the same way, every local church may look a little different, yet all are still a local body, filled with God’s Holy Spirit. 

CHRIST:  The Christ, or Messiah, was the Anointed One.  That means the Old Testament prophets foresaw one who was to come who was set apart, or anointed, for a particular purpose as part of God’s plan of redemption.  In the same way, every individual Christian and every local body of believers has a purpose to fulfill.

  

PURPOSE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST

Now, let us consider the purpose of the Christ, for in doing so, we will understand the purpose of the Church. There were three major offices in ancient Israel: The prophet, the priest, and the King.  Within the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah, we find this imagery.  So the Messiah would be an anointed prophet (like Moses), priest (like Malchizedech), and king (like David).  A fourth prophetic image is that He would be an anointed Servant (like Joseph).  Let us consider these four images: 

1.  The Prophet: The prophet was to speak to men on behalf of God.  Jesus did this, and this is one of our purposes too.  We have been entrusted with the Words of Life [hold up Bible], and we are called to encourage one another with these words, proclaim these words to the world, and teach these words diligently to our children.  In a world of darkness, we as Christ’s representatives, are the Light.  We need not dress in camel hair and eat locusts like John the Baptizer, but each of us has a prophetic responsibility to speak the Truth in a world of lies.  How about yourself?  How are you doing in this area? 

2. The Priest:  The priest’s job was to speak to God on behalf of men.  Jesus did this, and this too is one of our purposes as His Body.  He pleaded with the Father that the Church would be in unity, and He is descried by the apostle John as our advocate before the Father even now.  Likewise we are called and anointed to intercede, to pray, for the needs of people everywhere, even our enemies.  We may not wear special clothes, or have special titles like the priests of old, yet the New Covenant makes every believer a priest.  As such, we each have a priestly duty as the Body of Christ should be a house of prayer.  How about you?  When was the last time you prayed for someone else’s need?  Do you pray for your enemies?  How about those you don’t get along with? 

3. The King:  The Kings of Israel reigned as God’s representative ruler, as did the Judges before them.  Jesus reigns as the King of Kings, and as His disciples, the New Testament says that the Body of Christ will one day reign and rule with Him.  One New Testament writer asks, “Do you not know that one day we will judge angels?”  In other words, the Body of Christ is called to social action, to stand against injustice in the world, and to promote righteousness in society to the best of our ability.  We should remember though that our purpose is to be a just people in the present age, not to conquer. How about yourself?  Do you take advantage of our liberties and vote?  Do you shirk opportunities to help people reconcile, or do you just leave it alone, since its “their problem”?  Sometimes, their problem is our opportunity to see God work in our midst.  Let’s not leave our culture and society to itself, but represent Christ as we are salt and light in this world. 

4.  The Servant:  Bad things happened to Joseph, yet God used those things bring about good.  Jesus suffered for us, and He told us that if we follow Him we would suffer too.  Still we are called to serve with the heart of Jesus and his ancestor Joseph.  The Body of Christ is not a warehouse for the saints, but a training institute for servants.  The goal of going to a worship “service” is to learn how to serve.  How about yourself? Have you seen a need and ignored it?  A lifelong list of opportunities is out there of endless needs you yourself can meet.  As Jesus is the Suffering Servant, the Body of Christ is also called to serve.         

PARTICIPATION IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

Each of us has a part to play in putting into action the purpose of our calling.  Consider the words of the Apostle Paul, 

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have all the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.(Romans 12:4-5) 

Paul then goes on to describe potential gifts that you may be entrusted with: Exhorting or prophesying, teaching, serving, giving, leading, and showing mercy.   This is not a complete list of everything physically possible that you can do.  For example, in my 20+ years as a Christian I have served in numerous ways in churches, but each role I was in was never independent from the rest of God’s people.  I’ve been involved in churches as few as 6 and as large as 2000, but regardless of size, there are always opportunities for your participation.  You too can find somewhere to serve.  Even when it is not your area of giftedness, it will still produce fruit if done unto the Lord.  Rather than being a cynic, endeavor to be a servant in your local church and in your community.  Together we can make a difference for the cause of Christ. 

CONCLUSION

As the old saying goes, “No man is an island unto himself”.  Self-styled religion, Lone Ranger Christianity, and rejection of organized religion are all pitfalls to experiencing the benefits of being part of a local body of people committed to Jesus Christ.  Sending your money off to the guy on TV may be a nice thing to do, but don’t expect a visit from him while you’re in the hospital.   I mentioned that I had served in various ways over the years within the church, but what I didn’t mention is how many times I myself have been served by the Body of Christ.  Let me close with just one of many stories I could tell. 

In 2003 I began to experience strange neurological problems: My left side going numb, inability to speak or stuttering, falling down uncontrollably, and extreme fatigue.  I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that was related to migraines.  The end result was that I was unable to work, lost my job, ended up in bankruptcy, was useless around the house, fell into deep depression, and felt worthless as a man.  Most of all, I was frustrated with God.   In the Spring of 2004 I was invited to go on the Walk to Emmaus by dear friends.  I had begun to experience improvement but was still unable to work.  I wondered what I was doing there, but at one point it all became clear.  I realized that I was mad at God for what He had put me through.  I was focused on DOING the work of God, but had taken my eyes off BEING His handiwork. 

I repented from my anger as I experienced an outpouring of love and support from the Body of Christ, both in my local congregation and in the Emmaus community.  Through this process I eventually regained my health enough that I was able to soon return to full-time work.  I could have not made it through the fire alone, for it was the Body of Christ, in action, that held me up and walked through the fire with me.  Through this and numerous other ways, it was the Body of Christ that made all the difference.  I pray that you too will experience His hands and Feet as well. God bless you !