One of the more influential churches in the New Testament  period was that of Antioch. Now I don’t have any idea how many folks they had coming on Sundays, how many services or how big their building was, how many youth they had in youth group, how many programs, etc…I’m of course being a little facetious because I’m not sure they had a building other than someone’s house.

But if you want to consider the health of a church, look at the fruit of the church. Is it loving, patient, kind, gentle, pursuing godliness, resting in Christ, reaching out to neighbors, concerned for missions, etc….? When it comes to being outward focused, or what I often call “missional” (people use that term differently, I’m aware), no church seems to match that of Antioch.

Two of the more “famous” missionaries to be sent out were Barnabas and Paul. You probably have heard of the latter.

Our last core group meeting centered on the need for pastor and church folk to recognize our functions. In Ephesians 4:10-16, we see Paul reminding us that pastors “equip” church folk for the “works of ministry.” Instead of simply “doing” the “works of ministry,” pastors “equip” the “saints” for the “work of ministry.” When the parts of the body are equipped and working properly, the body then builds itself up in love. That’s not a novel concept, since it’s found in the bible, but it is probably novel to many. Christians have the responsibility to seek to be equipped so that they can build up the body. Having a rock-star pastor will not build up the body toward maturity; that is the job of equipped saints investing in each others lives.

So in other words, pastors, in the words of Hans and Franz, aren’t here to “pump you up.” We’re here to equip you to “pump each other up.”

We reasoned that if a church can’t build itself up (pump each other up) in love unless the saints are equipped and doing the work of ministry, neither could a church be birthed without saints doing the work of ministry.

One such example is the church in Antioch. In Acts 11, you can see that “those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far Phonecia, Cyprus, and Antioch…..men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also preaching the Lord Jesus.”

These aren’t the 12 disciples; these are regular guys and gals with Jewish backgrounds who came to Jerusalem as Jews, and left as Christians. They had to leave, but they left and preached the gospel wherever they went. After the church in Jerusalem got word, they sent Barnabas and then more wore added. Barnabas then grabbed Paul and they taught and equipped the saints.

But the church was born because church folk (aka “saints”) simply did the early work of ministry, sharing the gospel and gathering people together. Then the pastors/teachers came to teach/preach to more of their friends, see them come to faith, and equip them. Before too long, Paul and Barnabas were sent out to church plant.

Of course Paul and Barnabas no doubt networked, evangelized, and gathered folks. But they were doing what the church was already doing before they arrived. They were co-laboring and the result was “more were added.”

One of the most influential early churches was started by laity evangelizing, gathering, and inviting their friends. It might be a good idea follow the same m.o. to plant a healthy influential church today.

Every now and then I’ll come across and article that is far better than I ever anticipated. This is one.

It has a little to do about baseball, since the 1946 World Series pit the Cardinals and Red Sox against each other. And I recognize this blog post would have been more apropos if constructed a week or so ago. But this is just flat out thought provoking and heart moving, heavy and hopeful, encouraging and challenging.

For the last 11 months, they had served as the chaplains at Nuremberg prison in Germany, offering spiritual counsel to the first Nazis to be tried for war crimes in the rubbed-raw wake of World War II. Among their flock were architects of genocide, responsible for the murder of many millions, most of them Jews.

Can you imagine being a chaplain for such criminals? I’m a fairly avid reader of WWII history, and its hard for me to have any compassion on such people this far removed from it all. I can’t imagine being there.

Here are a few takeaways from the article. Read it. You’ll be glad you did.

1.) The very fact that such folks were even offered chaplains reveals to us that someone held to a core belief that no one is beyond redemption.  If you have a hard time believing that-which I really do-this article will reaffirm that truth.

2.) Love moves toward the unlovely. Jesus always moved towards those deemed unworthy of love: cheaters, liars, sexually immoral, unclean, ugly, disabled, marginal.

3.) Love is costly. A woman once told me that she brought in a needy little girl into her house and then became infected with lice. Obviously this wasn’t the way it was supposed to work, according to her property gospel thinking. But such couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you love well, you will will enter into into others mess and you will get messy. The chaplains heard confessions of the deepest atrocities. This took a toll. It hurt. It weighed heavy. It cost them much to love such folks.

Bonds developed, as did a fear among the inmates that Gerecke was planning to go home. This meant that a woman in St. Louis received a letter one day from 21 accused war criminals in Nuremberg, explaining how vital her husband’s presence and counsel were to them.
“Therefore, please leave him with us,” the Nazis wrote to Gerecke’s wife, Alma. “We shall be deeply indebted to you.”
The letter closed with: “God be with you.”
Alma Gerecke quickly sent a message to her husband: “They need you.”

4.) Loving some people means that you have to make the conscious choice to delay loving others. We all do this, I just don’t think we realize it. But in this story, it is pronounced. One of the chaplains was to be sent home, but the inmates begged her to let him stay. She obliged. Can you imagine being put in that spot? What would you do? He had to make a choice. The beauty is that his wife gave her blessing. But the cost was that he had to delay seeing his beloved wife. We cannot love some well without choosing to delay loving others. Spouses and families take priority, but they cannot take all of our attention. Unlovely needy neighbors (or in some cases bitter enemies) need Jesus and someone to love them. Yet if the spouse and family members are all on board with God’s mission, we can “loan” our loved ones out, and delay the love we receive for a little while. This fellowship from a distance is what Paul often refers to as “koinonia.” Sometimes we really can fellowship from a distance. Across the pond or across the town.

 5.) Loving others in a costly way will lead them to love you back. While there is a cost, there is also a blessing. Such war criminals, well, some of them, really loved him back. As a result of his labor, we’ll probably see some of these same folks again some day.

While cleaning out the pastor’s office shortly afterward, his eldest son, Hank, came across an envelope jammed with hate letters that his father had received but never mentioned.
“They were the worst things I ever read, directed at my father because of his duty at Nuremberg, calling him a Nazi,” Hank Gerecke, 92, said.

6.) Loving others who are unlovely and “unworthy” will lead others to not love you. It will lead them to hate you. If people have never tasted the grace of the gospel, we cannot expect them to understand why anyone would love such “unworthy” people. Jesus love drunkards and therefore was called a drunk. He was actually called much worse. If people question you for loving others, then listen. But remember, if people think you’re nuts or a Nazi, for loving nuts or Nazi’s, then there’s a good chance you’re doing something right.

The other day I had the chance to speak for chapel at Bradenton Christian School. My audience was Kindergarteners-5th grade and those little jokers paid better attention than many adults I’ve tried to teach before (not saying its always the listeners fault though!).

Before I got up to speak, we spent a little time singing. I was in the back so I couldn’t tell how much my Kindergartener was “participating.” I was holding my 3 year old boy Cade, as I swung my hips to the music. Just kidding. No swinging or swaying, that I can remember.

Yet I do try to have my kids participate in what they can. Since they haven’t mastered the whole reading thing, I’ll often softly speak the next lines when they are simple enough. I did that for a song with which Cade has some familiarity, I believe it was 10,000 Reasons.

No dice. Cade just didn’t have any “song” in him that day. So I simply held him as I sang. He rested in the arms of his father, knowing he didn’t have to sing. I would hold him regardless. And it was I who sang for him. Who sang over him, even when he didn’t feel like singing. And strangely, or maybe not so strangely-the gospel flips everything on its head-that was enough. Just being there.

I think its always a good thing to sing, even when you don’t feel like it. Bless the Lord O my soul. Sometimes you have to sing to tell yourself what is ultimately true. And often what you sing has the power to shape what you see.

Yet there are times when there is simply nothing in the tank. And it is at such times that we don’t want to show up to a church, much less sing.

Still, the church is the best place for us. Still, even when we don’t want to sing. I think sometimes, when all you’ve got in you is to stand, or sit, among brothers and sisters in the faith, that’s enough. When there is no gas in the tank, picture your Heavenly Father holding you. Singing over you. Even dancing, as crazy as that may sound (Zeph 3:17).

His voice is enough for the both of you.

In my college days, one of my-and many of my classmates-favorite bands was Vertical Horizon. They were the quintessential college band. College kids like to think they are different, somewhat free-thinkers, not sucked into the mainstream. Two guys with acoustic guitars and deeper lyrics were all that were needed to satisfy the college fan. It was simple. It was cheap. They toured in bars, and even played at Furman once during our orientation.

But they probably didn’t make a bunch of money.

They added an electric guitar to their formerly acoustic songs and began to become a bit more famous. They had found a way to become relevant to a wider audience, slightly altering their form, without changing their content. Vertical Horizon reached more people this way: the “older” crowd who had already listened to them, but they also seemed to gain more traction with new fans.

But that wasn’t enough. In order to become more popular and make more money, they had to be more like what the pop culture expected them to be.

Soon the acoustic guitars were totally replaced with electric guitars. The guitar solos, which had become a staple, were turned into a paper clip. Shorter or non-existent. The sound was more “produced” and polished. Of the two lead singers, the one more “folk-ish” was left out and the more “pop-ish” vocalist took front stage. Lyrics were as shallow as a sandbar on low tide. The dudes began wearing leather pants and growing flavor savers.

They crossed over into the dark world of “pop” music. I’m guessing they made some fans. I’m guessing they made some money. But they pretty much lost all that they had before.

I recently downloaded some of their music on noisetrade.com. It comprised a compilation of old and new stuff and so runs the gamut of their material. What a contrast.

Vertical Horizon gives the church a good picture of contextualization, both good and bad. When they were young, they had content. Good content. And it was probably their preference to stick with the acoustic guitars. But they decided to add an electric guitar, yet keep the same over-all style of music. The lyrics didn’t change, nor did the guitar solos. The content was there, but the form was slightly different.

I believe a church has the freedom to adapt its form to different settings. That is why a church with the same content may look quite different than a “sister” (same denomination) church in a different location. The core message is the same, but they may have chosen to add an “electric guitar” to it. Or an “organ,” or “strings,” “brass.” Of course this could be a literal addition as in worship. Or it could be taken figuratively, as in a type of leadership style, how a church does mercy or outreach or community groups or Christian Education. Keeping the message the same, how will a church choose to best reach its specific area with its specific strengths, weakness and idols.

When I was out fishing the other day, my buddy asked me, “Well what is your church’s stance on _______?” I had to give the unpopular answer. Because I believe it..

Vertical Horizon departed from their original content to simply reach more people. They crossed over the line and never looked back.

That is called over-contextualization, compromising and changing the message to what is most palatable to the wider culture. Form is one thing, content is another.

Vertical Horizon pretty much lost all of their earlier fans. I don’t know exactly what they gained to sacrifice the message. It might have worked out for them.

But when a church or denomination over-contextualizes, it will always lose. If it tries to become more popular by answering the hard cultural questions with popular answers, it will die a slow death. Or fast.

The churches which answer the question my friend posed me with the popular answer are all dying off. When a church loses its distinctiveness, when it departs from loving, ministering to, but challenging its local culture to simply affirming everything in it, it is simply just another club. That is why most main-line denominations who’ve simply answered culturally sensitive questions by capitulating to what is popular are in massive decline.

Contextualizing is good. Going “pop” is another animal altogether-an endangered species without much hope.