THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

The apostle Peter reminds us that everything we need to understand the will of God has been revealed in scripture (2 Peter 1:3). This suggests that to understand the pattern of the New Testament church we only need to see what is revealed in scripture. The pattern of leadership is an important template that establishes the authority of how we model leadership today. In many churches leadership is seen in the pastoral system of one man management or rule. What does the Holy Spirit reveal about the New Testament pattern of leadership?

Paul writes, “And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). The purpose of this organization is explained in verses 12-14 for the perfecting, working and building up of the body of Christ. We can see the different roles of leadership within the early church. Apostles were ordained of Christ and served a unique role in the infancy of the church. Prophets proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ as did evangelists like Philip (Acts 21:8). Included in the work of the church are those men called pastors.

The term “pastor” is from the Greek use of “shepherd” (poimen). It suggests the agricultural aspect of the work of tending sheep and caring for their needs (John 10). Never is it used for what we find so prevalent in the religious organizations today. The term pastor has come to refer to a minister or preacher who oversees a church in a position of oversight. The scriptures never suggest this use and the New Testament pattern of oversight is clearly defined under a different heading.

Peter exhorted his “fellow elders” in 1 Peter 5:1-4 and reminded them “when the chief shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:4). The word for “chief shepherd” is not two words but one and shows the relationship Jesus has with those men called “elders” (1 Peter 5:1). Peter explains the work of elders or shepherds (pastors) as tending the flock and exercising the oversight. A pastor is a shepherd that is also referred to as an elder.

The historian Luke writes of Paul’s meeting with the “elders of the church” from Ephesus in Acts 20:17-35. Again Paul uses language describing the work of elders as that of taking heed to “ yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). The pastor is the same as the shepherd, the elder and the bishop. Each term defines the work of the man who has been entrusted with the leadership of the local congregation. This can be likened to a man who is a son, a husband, a father and a grandfather; the same man yet different terms.

The New Testament pattern of leadership never suggested a “one man rule.” Throughout scripture the term elder is used more often. Call for them when sick (James 5:14); Paul left Titus in Crete to “appoint elders in every city” (Titus 1:5); let elders rule well (1 Timothy 5:17); be careful about bring accusations against an elder (1 Timothy 5:19); all of the “elders were present” (Acts 21:18); Paul “appointed elders in every city” (Acts 14:23); the question of circumcision was discussed with the “apostles and elders” in Acts 15.

It is important to see that God established certain qualities for men who would lead His people and these are given in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. These are not suggestions but requirements! No man can be a pastor, bishop, overseer, shepherd or elder who does not meet these commands. Paul reinforced this directive to Titus when he said that he should “set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge” (Titus 1:5) and gives the qualities of the man who would be an elder or bishop.

Every church that has one man (or women) as an overseer or “pastor” is not following the New Testament pattern of leadership. With all that is said about elders in the New Testament, where do you find elders in your church?

Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain, was recently featured in an ad with the image of “NO H8” on her face with tape covering her mouth. The photo is a project by the “No H8 Campaign” protesting the passage of Proposition 8 which took away the “rights” of gay couples in California last year. The photo caused a great stir in the political world as Senator McCain ran on a platform in 2008 that was opposed to gay marriage. However, the true impact of the campaign is the effort to teach that opposition to homosexuality is a hate crime. The tactics of the so called “gay-rights” movement is imposing their fear campaign against any who would condemn their lifestyle.

Hatred is a strong weapon to use against an enemy. It has been used since time began when man “changed the truth of God into a lie, and they worshiped and served the created thing more than the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25). Hatred is the cause of many kinds of evil including murder, rape, envy, strife, deceit, covetousness, disobedient to parents and haters of God (Romans 1:28-32). However, hatred is not the reason that homosexuality is immoral. What the homosexual campaign amounts to is to convince the world that objection to homosexuality is hatred. Not so. Never has been nor should it be.

John reminds us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son” (John 3:16) and this love is based upon the desire by God “who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). The “knowledge of truth” is that homosexuality, adultery, fornication and sexuality outside the bonds of marriage is immoral because God determines what truth is. When the Lord condemns murder does he do so because of hate (1 John 4:8)? The Bible does not teach that we are to hate homosexuals because God does not (2 Peter 3:9). Suggesting that opposition to homosexuality is hatred is only creating an atmosphere of fear that suggests allowance of what has been condemned since man was formed in the Garden of Eden.

The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men … shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Does this suggest that God hates these people? Absolutely not! However the sin is what condemns the person and the unrepentant will not inherit eternal life. Suggesting that opposition to homosexual is hatred makes as much sense as suggesting that opposition to a pedophile or a murderer is hatred. Homosexuality is a perversion of what the Creator has established from the beginning of time.

The nature of homosexuality is the unrighteous act in rebellion to the love of God. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Refusing to recognize homosexuality as immoral is hatred toward God. The laws of man may change to accept any perversion of the moral nature of God’s law but the law of God will never change. The nature of man will satisfy his needs as long as he lives; but when death brings that one before a loving and righteous judge – the needs of the Creator will be met. Jesus Christ loved the world to die for it because of his love. Eternal life can only be found in obedience to the Son of God.

He could not imagine how different his life would be. Growing up as a Jew in Tarsus in Cilicia, and in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the exactness of the Law of the fathers (Acts 22:3), Paul was as zealous for God as anyone could be. He was “circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. As regards the Law, I was a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness in the Law, blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6). Yet now he found himself in the dark of night being let down through a window in a basket. A warrant for his arrest had been issued by Aretas the king (2 Corinthians 11:32). The order had a death warrant attached as the Jews of Damascus intended to kill Paul (Acts 9:23-24).

As Paul bumped along the wall enclosed in the basket, his mind turned to where he had been not many days before. He was a man of position and power with letters from the high priest to take bound any who followed Jesus of Nazareth. He had become a lightning rod for threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1). Now he was leaving the city in a basket. His life was in the hands of those he had sought to destroy. As he came to rest on the ground, friends quickly helped him up and they hurriedly ran away.

His escape from the Damascus would become a prelude to the sufferings he would endure for the cause of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:22-33). His life turned out so different than what he thought it would be. The only constant in his life was the devotion to Jehovah God and that devotion would lead him to die for Jesus Christ.

Often we find ourselves in a basket in the middle of the night being let down over a wall. Life takes many different turns. We have dreams and aspirations that are overshadowed by events beyond our control. Plans are disrupted, hope dashed, joys lost and in a moment of time life is never the same. Adam and Eve had a life in paradise that turned tragic in the blink of the eye (Genesis 3). Abraham was 75 years old when he found himself in a “basket” (Genesis 12). At the age of 17 the life of Joseph would never be the same (Genesis 37). David, because of sin, would see his world fall apart (2 Samuel 11-12).

Paul did not let the events of Damascus stop him nor deter his course. He went on to become one of the greatest examples of faith and courage in the Bible. His ride in a basket was not a defeat but a opportunity to learn how to serve the Lord more fully. Peter wrote, “So that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than that of gold that perishes, but being proven through fire) might be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). Baskets can be used to carry bread for life (Mark 8:19-20) and sometimes they carry men who learn humility, dependence and devotion to the cause of Christ.

Some baskets are larger than others. At times the baskets are let down over walls of great height. We have to trust those who hold our lives in their hands like Paul did. But in the dark of the night as he felt the wall press against him, Paul knew his life was in the hands of God. “For this cause I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard My deposit unto that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

God’s word is not given to us for the purpose of idle speculation, but for the purpose of obedience. We misappropriate the truth God has revealed when we make it merely the grist for intellectual debate. The greater design of the Scriptures — requiring more effort and promising a richer reward — is to provide the practical materials for building a better, more obedient life. When we study, we ought to be looking for this “obeyable” information. To study for any other reason is actually dangerous.

In the matter of obedience, one problem is that we delay obeying what we’ve learned from the Scriptures because we can’t see as far down the theoretical road ahead as we’d like. Perhaps we don’t fully understand why God would require such a thing as the Scriptures have indicated. Or it may not be clear to us what the consequences would be if we took God at His word. Or we may not see how this or that act of obedience fits into the overall scheme of God’s will. There is no shortage of obstacles, more or less theoretical in nature, that can stymie the serious student who wants not only to obey, but to understand what is being done. The irony of growth, however, is that understanding comes from moving ahead with our obedience, rather than holding back. In any case, “understanding can wait, but obedience cannot.”

But another problem related to obedience is that we often delay doing our duty until we feel that we can get it exactly right. We may think we need to make more progress in the realm of spiritual theory before we can do very well in the realm of spiritual practice. And so we linger in our many abstractions, seeking the strength we need for obedient living. Yet solid spiritual progress lies down the clear road of honest obedience to what we presently know is right, not the winding path of theoretical curiosities. We can’t seek God without using our minds to the best of our ability, it’s true. But neither can we find God without carrying out what our minds have learned already.

“The really important thing in life is not the avoidance of mistakes, but the obedience of faith. By obedience, the man is led step by step to correct his errors, whereas nothing will ever happen to him if he doesn’t get going” (Paul Tournier).