What does the Church exist for?

Here's another way to think about the whole 'give yourself away' idea:

I believe that churches exist for the sake of others. Churches that exist for their own sake take on a survival mentality and lose sight of their calling and purpose. But if churches exist for the sake of others, the obvious question remains: who are the 'others' they exist for? Here's what I think:

Church exists for the sake of God
Worship is our highest priority. As the Westminster Catechism puts it, 'The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.' If that building block is not in place, the rest of the building will collapse. However, if it is in place, out of the overflow of this worshipping relationship will follow my next point.

Church exists for the sake of the world
As Bishop William Temple once said, 'the Church is the only institution on earth that exists for its non-members.' The mission of the church is to proclaim and demonstrate God's love to a hurting world. This involves not just meeting people in their place of spiritual need (and offering only a salvation that deals with their spiritual state), but also meeting them in their place of physical need and emotional need. For this to happen, churches must be fully engaged in their local communities to the point where the well-being of their own local community is intrinsically linked to their own personal well being. Only when that is the case are we engaged in incarnational mission. Without such an incarnation there can be no long-term transformation of a community.

So worship leads to mission. But mission has to lead back to worship. As John Piper states: “Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship therefore is the fuel and goal in missions. It’s the goal of mission because in mission we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory.”

Trust

Give Yourself Away

What a beautiful summary of the Christian calling: give yourself away. Not only is it short and sweet, it's also deeply biblical. Consider the well-known verse John 3:16 - for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son...' In other words, God so loved the world that he quite literally gave himself away. And what is true of the Father is also true of the Son. Consider the christological hymn of Philippians 2. Paul says that Jesus, 'who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing.' The Greek word for this (kenosis) speaks of emptying oneself. So Jesus gives himself away (or pours himself out) for the sake of others. In the context of Paul's letter to the Philippians, he has previously urged his readers to follow this model of Jesus, so it's hardly surprising that Paul goes on to talk about how he himself is following Christ's example. Paul, who has given his all for the sake of the gospel and writes this letter from prison as a result, says that he has 'poured himself out like a drink offering'. The comparison between Jesus and Paul is striking, and it therefore enables Paul to say elsewhere 'follow me as I follow Christ' (1 Cor 11).

But an obvious question remains: who or what do we give ourselves away to? Biblically speaking, the answer is threefold:

1. We give ourselves away to God in the context of worship
As Philippians 2 points out, the greatest example of 'giving yourself away' is seen at the cross, and before anything else, the cross is about worship. Many of the sayings of Jesus at the cross are lifted straight out of Israel's worship book, and specifically Psalm 22. The sacrificial offering of Jesus accomplishes many things, but at its heart it is an act of worship.

Consider also the story of the woman that pours out her expensive perfume over Jesus' feet. The perfume was worth a years salary, and the guests Jesus was dining with could not help but see this as an absolute waste. But Jesus celebrates this extravagant waste and says that wherever the gospel is proclaimed, this story will be remembered. Of all the great stories in the gospels, why does Jesus pick out this one for special mention? Perhaps because nothing in the Christian life is more important than giving yourself away in the context of worship. As Paul reminds us in Romans 12, true (or spiritual) worship always involves offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God.

2. We give ourselves away to each other in the context of community
Jesus states: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." The key phrase here is 'as I have loved you'. How did Jesus love his disciples? By giving himself away to them in the context of friendship. So Jesus says, 'Go and do likewise'.

3. We give ourselves away to others in the context of mission
The language of Paul 'pouring himself out as a drink offering' is the language of worship, but interestingly it is used in the context of mission. Paul is describing how he has given himself (his very life) to the cause of preaching the good news to the gentiles. And in doing so he reminds us that it is impossible to separate worship and mission. This idea leads us back to the cross: this perfect act of worship not only demonstrates the love within God, it also demonstrates God's love for the world. The cross speaks of what God was willing to give to reconcile humanity back to himself: he gave himself away for our sake. As Jesus himself stated: 'Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends'. This is the love that Jesus asks us to display to the world, and specifically to those found on the margins in our society.

By way of conclusion, this ministry of giving ourselves away in the context of worship, community and mission has been described in numerous ways. Some churches talk about having an upward, inward and outward focus. Others talk about communion, community and commission as the core values of their church. But I think the language of giving ourselves away adds a richness that perhaps the others lack. It reminds us of the ministry of Jesus, and in doing so it speaks of the cost involved. And let's face it, there isn't much glamour in the type of worship that involves identifying with the most broken and bruised in our world. That type of ministry demands something from us: it demands that we give ourselves away!

To the Streets

Here's another video we made for use within the small groups:

Words that bring life

As I've already discussed on this blog, I believe one of the greatest mysteries to comprehend is the fact that we have been created in the image and likeness of God. Much has been written throughout history as to what the language of 'image and likeness' points to (and there isn't time for that here), but the fact that the same language is used of Adam and his son Seth in Genesis 5:3 (When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.) means that we can at least say that family resemblance is part of the equation.

Such a profound thought can be taken in all sorts of directions, but consider for a moment the fact that we are made in the image of a God who creates the heavens and the earth simply with the words 'Let there be...' It is an understatement to say that the words of God carry enormous weight. His words contain within themselves the very power of life and death.

Not only is this evident at creation, it is also evident in the life of Jesus (and in his ministry of re-creation). Jesus, the 'word made flesh', arrives on the scene speaking the very words of God (Jn 14:24). With a word storms are stilled, people are healed, the oppressed are set free and the dead come to life. As Jesus himself said, 'The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life'. Yet with the same mouth Jesus can curse the fig tree causing it to wither and die. Jesus is never careless with his speech because he knows the weight of his words. As a good Jew he would have known Proverbs 18:21 - The tongue has the power of life and death.

But as the true 'image of God', Jesus doesn't just show us what God is like. He also reveals what true humanity is meant to look like. Our words too carry weight: they can bring life and they can bring death. It's a very scary thought.

Aware of the reality of the power of the tongue, James takes some time out to remind his readers of the desperate need to 'tame the tongue'. He states: 'With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness' (James 3:9). The logic of this statement reminds me of Genesis 9:6 in which killing someone made in the image of God is considered like killing God himself (deicide). Similarly, James seems to suggest that cursing (or bad-mouthing) those made in God's likeness is the same as bad-mouthing God. With the same tongue, we both praise God and we curse him. As people created to reflect God to the world, we therefore either magnify him (and by making him big, enable others to see him more clearly) or we shrink him and make him harder for the world to see.

So words bring life or death. With our words we either bless or curse. I have experienced both. I've had people take me aside to encourage me, and their words have fed my soul. They have enabled to grow in confidence and courage. They have literally brought life. However, I have also experienced people speak words over me that have crushed me in a way that felt like life was taken from me. Even more sadly, I have spoken those words over others.

It's therefore a valid question to ask why God would allow our words to have such power. But I consider that part of the mystery of being made in his image. Though that image has been corrupted and distorted by our sin and independence, we still somehow reflect our maker (though in a significantly diminished way). The world's great need (and hope) is for people to rediscover their true identities as God's image bearers in the world and to start living (and speaking) in such a way that brings life: something that can only happen through dependence on Christ - the one who restores in us God's image.

So as someone in the process of restoration, I've felt challenged to take seriously the pursuit of taming my tongue. I'd rather lay aside bad habits of putting others down to make myself feel temporarily great. I want to start bigging others up. Instead of cursing, I want to start blessing and speaking words of life, because whenever I've encountered God, that's what he's done to me. And after all, I am at least a bit like him!

The Pursuit of Love

Here's a video we made for use within small groups at our church - thought you might be interested!

Love: the means and the end

‘Love is the fulfilment of the law’ states Paul in Romans 13. In order to fully understand what an incredible statement this is, you have to understand a little bit about the place of the law (or the Torah) within the Jewish worldview. The law was a gift from God to his chosen people that enabled them to live within a covenant relationship with him. Obedience to the law was never a means of earning a right to that relationship (which was purely a gift). Instead it was an expression of love to the God who had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and pledged himself to them in a covenant relationship. Obedience and worship has and will always be a response to God’s extravagant mercy and grace. As the Apostle John puts it: ‘we love because he first loved us.’

The law was therefore a little bit like a wedding ring – a precious gift that not only speaks of commitment and love, but also sets the person apart as belonging to someone else. The law was what set Israel apart as a people belonging to God. And within the context of the Old Testament, honouring this covenant relationship was the means to living within the circle of God’s blessing. It was also one of the means by which Israel could be a light to the nations: showing the world the generosity and kindness of their God.

The problem was, that for many, the law ceased to be an expression of their love for God. Instead it became a duty they felt obliged to live by. And when the hard work of loving one another is replaced by a simple set of rules, things begin to go wrong. But here Paul reminds us that at its very core, the law is about loving God and loving one another. And in the same way that the law set the people of Israel apart from other nations, so Paul suggests that it is our love for one another that sets us apart as children of the light (or children of the age to come). And with this idea we can hear the echoes of Jesus: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

So why is this idea of being set apart so important? The bible tells us that holiness (literally meaning ‘set apart’) is never about withdrawing from society in holy huddles. Such holy huddles can never be the means of demonstrating God’s love and light to the world around us. Instead, holiness is about being set apart for a purpose. Rather than encouraging withdrawal from society, it demands meaningful engagement with society. But instead of engaging on the world’s terms, it involves engaging on God’s terms. Such holy engagement never asks what can the world offer me. Rather, the key questions become what can I give to the world, and how can I demonstrate God’s love to these people.

So how do we live as people of the light in a dark world? Or using another Pauline image, how do we live as citizens of heaven here on earth? The answer is simple: we love our neighbours as ourselves. And in doing so the law is fulfilled: for love is both the means and the end in the Christian life.