Earlier this month I gave a speech at my church. For anyone who wasn’t able to be there but still wanted see what I had to say, here is a transcript. I’ll be speaking again in October. Details to come. Enjoy the speech, let me know what you think.
In the March 1991 issue of Christianity Today Robert W. Patterson, the associate to the executive director of the National Association of Evangelicals stated:
When President Dwight Eisenhower became a Christian, he made a public profession of faith in Christ, was baptized, and was extended the right hand of fellowship at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., the second Sunday after his inauguration in 1953. Had the former President expressed interest in becoming a Christian a generation later under more consciously evangelical auspices, he might never have been challenged to identify with the body of Christ through baptism and church membership. A personal relationship with Jesus, he would have been told, is all that really matters.
It is true that without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, all is lost. Our relationship with Christ should in no way minimize the importance of our relationship to the church, and yet that is precisely what multitudes of professing Christians believe and act upon. R. Kent Hughes, senior pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois likens the malaise of church attendees to ecclesiastical hitchhikers:
The hitchhiker’s thumb says, “You buy the car, pay for repairs and upkeep and insurance, fill the car with gas—and I’ll ride with you. But if you have an accident, you are on your own! And I’ll probably sue.†So it is with the credo of so many of today’s church attendees: “You go to the meetings and serve on the boards and committees, you grapple with the issues and do the work of the church and pay the bills—and I’ll come along for the ride. But if things do not suit me, I’ll criticize and complain and probably bail out—my thumb is always out for a better ride.â€
The fruit of this thinking has led to a generation of Christians without a church. Statistics indicate that men are far less committed to the Church than women—inevitably producing a leadership vacuum. The results of this are displayed no clearer than within the ranks of the PCUSA, starved for leadership & Biblical guidance, when they decided in June to “receive†a policy paper on gender-inclusive language for the Trinity. According to a USA Today article The divine Trinity — “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” — could also be known as “Mother, Child and Womb” or “Rock, Redeemer, Friend” at some PCUSA services under an action Monday by the church’s national assembly. That means church officials can propose experimental liturgies with alternative phrasings for the Trinity, but congregations won’t be required to use them. Pastor Marc Driscoll of Mars Hill Church quipped that they should just go with Rock, Paper, Scissors and get over it.
The Church is in need of men who practice the discipline of Church: Says Hughes… “…on the most elementary level, you do not have to go to church to be a Christian. You do not have to go home to be married either. But in both cases if you do not, you will have a very poor relationship. Commitment to the church results in the blessing of experiences the corporate worship of the Lord, Hearing the Word, Attending the Lord’s Table, learning what it means to be a disciple, and being provided with a vision and mission for you ministry through Christ. Discipline through regular attendance, membership, giving, participation, and prayer are the keys to achieving these blessings.
When I was in High School I was quick to stress the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus. I had stopped going to church because of obligations to my employer. But Jesus understood. When my work schedule changed and I was given Sundays off, or only had to work in the evenings, I still didn’t go to church. I used that time to go to parks or partake in some outdoor activity—everyone knew that you felt more akin to God outdoors than inside a stuffy old church. Jesus understood. And when I gave up going outdoors for sleeping in until eleven, waking up in order to go to the mall and otherwise ignoring the Sabbath in its entirety—Jesus understood that as well. You can imagine my surprise when by the Grace of God made manifest by a sudden desire to study the Word and the love of a godly girlfriend turned wife I discovered that what Jesus understood about our relationship, and what I understood were two radically different things. You see I thought that I was a member of the invisible Church of Christ. Jesus saw me for what I was, like a member of the Church of Sardis from Revelations 3—I had convinced myself I was alive, but I was close to dead.
The Bible is clear that we as Christians are called to be at church. Hebrews 10:25 says so: “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.†Luther stated, “Outside this Christian Church there is no salvation or forgiveness of sins, but everlasting death and damnation; even though there may be a magnificent appearance of holiness…†John Calvin, along with early church father Cyprian felt that just as God is our Father, the Church is our mother. In his commentary on Ephesians Calvin writes “The Church is the common mother of all the godly, which bears, nourishes, and governs in the Lord both kings and commoners; and this is done by the ministry. Those who neglect or despise this order want to be wiser than Christ. Woe to their pride!†We are to be raised by a mother and a father. How many of us men are living in broken spiritual homes!
It is one thing to know what the scriptures and church fathers say regarding regular attendance. But knowing such doesn’t translate into the blessings the God has in store for us. There are a good number of devils who know all to well the things of God but do not act on them out of pride. We must be resolved to always attend worship. Our schedule needs to bow to our commitment to God. When we travel, we need make plans to return in time for worship, or barring that make plans to worship elsewhere while on the road. By giving ourselves over to the TRUE worship of God, we will be walking in a manner pleasing to Christ.
Our duty to the church does not end with attendance. Once in the pews we are to give – both of our money and of our time (which is still money, they say) and of our talents (which can also bring in varied amounts of money – my talent for singing is such that I’m often paid to stop).
Paul, when writing to the Corinthians, speaks of the Church of Macedonia’s giving:
3For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, 4begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints– 5and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7But as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you–see that you excel in this act of grace also.
This grace of giving is not forced – Paul says that “this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuineâ€. Allusion to Annanais if space required. We sing our reasons for giving succinctly each Lord’s Day:
We give Thee but Thine own,
What-e’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord from Thee.
May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our first fruits give.
C.S. Lewis remarks:
If our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.
The Lord Jesus Christ, though rich, became poor for our sake. Brothers, we all know the sacrifice that Christ made for us. It is unfitting for us to go to his bride empty-handed.
Putting the reasons for giving aside (and they are very big reasons) – there are some practical aspects and blessings we can expect. These are the dividends that come with investing our time & talents into the church.
My brother, friends, and I began playing fantasy baseball several years ago. For those unfamiliar, fantasy baseball involves grown men pretending that they own a baseball team. A draft is held and the owners select a team from every available major league player. They control trades, and who is signed as a free agent, who is cut, who plays, and who sits on the bench. Each week your team plays that someone else’s. The player’s real-life statistics are tallied and the team that leads the most categories wins.
As exciting as that sounds, the real fun comes not from the games themselves, but from the fruit of the time you put into your team. The success of your team is that much sweeter when it’s built upon your incisive looks into box scores and out of town newspapers. And despite the time and put into researching this game, I hold it of very small esteem (though my wife may tell you otherwise if you speak to her shortly after I’ve gone on about what a steal Francisco Liriano was).
If something that I readily acknowledge is of no value can illicit a satisfaction simply because of the investment of my time, how much greater is our joy when we put forth our efforts into Christ’s kingdom – namely the Church? The Lord has blessed us all with various talents. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 starting with verse seven:
7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
Those with the gift wisdom or knowledge can teach Sunday school or lead Bible studies. Those with the gifts of faith are often the visionaries who lead projects and prayers unfettered by the various doubts that afflict many of us. Those with the gift of healing and miracles should probably talk with the Elders and then sign a nice contract with TBN— all kidding aside there are those who truly are healers and miracle workers. They heal the wounds of sin and addiction. While we may not be able to cause the lame to arise and walk as John and Peter did in Acts 3, by the same source of power, Jesus Christ, we can take part in a far greater miracle: The changing of hearts and lives through the proclaiming of the Gospel! There are many more areas to serve. Do you like to talk? Be a greeter! Do you like to work with your hands? The deacons have a whole list of things to be done. Do you like the sound of your own voice? Ask about speaking at the Men’s Breakfast. Find what God has given you a gift to do and do it for His glory.
The Bible likens the Church as a body, which aches together and rejoices together. But how can this be if you have separated yourself from the church just as the paralyzed man is separated from feeling in his limbs. The paralyzed man may feel sullen when he sees his battered and bruised legs, but he feels nothing – he safely avoids feeling pain while at the same time depriving him of the joy that comes with seeing are feeling those members restored to joy by God.
Lastly, it is our duty as men to pray for our Church. Not just passing disinterested prayers but focused, dedicated prayers. We must pray for our Church in the manner that we would pray for our wives, children, and family. We must pray for our Pastor, Elders, and Deacons. We must pray for our congregation, pray for those visiting the church, and pray for ourselves. And we must pray for these things continually. George Muller states “It is not enough for the believer to begin to pray, nor to pray correctly; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray. We must patiently, believingly continue in prayer until we obtain an answer.â€
The Lord has provided the ingredients for a revival in our church. A gifted Pastor who preaches Christ crucified & the Sovereignty of God. A congregation filled with the wisdom of age and the eagerness to work and promote God’s kingdom that comes with a growing youth. The kindling is in place and a spark smolders, we need now fan that flame with wave upon wave of earnest prayer for the growth of Christ’s church and revival here at 5 S. G st.
Andrew Murray reminds us: “Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, ‘above all that we ask or think’. Each time, before you Intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!”
May it be so, brothers. May each man exhort his brother to continue steadfast in his duty to the Church, and may God bless our work and bless our Church. Let this very day be the dawn of a new day for our Church, and let us pray for that end….
