SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #168 ---- 3/26/01
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
As We fight The Good Fight In This New Millennium
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #168 ---- 3/26/01
Title: "A Heart As Big As A City"
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Dear Partner and Friend in Ministry:
I'm writing again late in the evening on Sunday because of such a hectic
week which concluded with a sleep over for our next team trip to the
Balkans. It's quite an experience to have your home invaded by eleven
university students who have no intention of going to bed at a decent
hour. But, it was a very special time as Jo Ann and I watched the team
come together emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.
As we sat to eat supper Saturday evening after all were gone, we began to
examine our past schedule and realized it had been over two years since
we'd had a Sunday that was completely free of responsibilities and
commitments.
Uppermost in my mind, however, is not how we've fared, but how you're
doing. Are you doing alright? I truly hope so.
COMMENTS FROM LAST WEEK:
I was flooded this past week with comments regarding the issue of either
pastoring a church or loving a city. It was a tough subject simply
because I fully recognize the sacred duty of pastoring a congregation on
the one hand and yet understanding that God put me there to reach a city.
That balancing act was clearly illustrated in many of those remarks,
such as the following:
1. "I have been receiving your weekly letters for at least two years. My
personal favorite was the Vision Series. This week's Shoulder to Shoulder
did something that no other letter had done. - touched and challenged me
to the degree to write an E-mail to you. God is able to do exceedingly
above and beyond that which we can ever hope for.
"I wrestle with the tension between the "vision" and the "circumstances";
I know that I have not only been charged and empowered to go forward, but
my clients still want the old products and services. It's hard to step
forward while looking back. (...and since salt can be hazardous to one's
health) I thank you for challenging me to truly step out."
2. "I greatly appreciated your thoughts on loving and pastoring your
city. Since I arrived in Paris in August 1993, God has been giving me a
broader vision for Paris, as well as for cities in general.
"[My wife and I] are pleased to be working out of a church . . . that has
a citywide and nationwide vision, while at the same time being focused on
its particular section in Paris. One reason why I believe that God is
blessing [church] with personnel from all around the world is because of
its desire to be a church for all the nations and its desire 'to bless
other Christians and churches of all stripes, . . .
"We're part of a project called "Paris Vision." PV seeks to develop a
citywide network for Paris and its inner suburbs in the following 6 types
of ministries: (1) church-planting and church-development, (2) youth
ministry, (3) ministry to poor and homeless people, including refugees,
(4) ministry to homosexuals, (5) ministry to internationals, including
Muslims, and (6) ministry through the creative arts.
"We're trying to broaden the vision of individuals and churches to see
Paris on a citywide basis so that personnel, building, and financial
resources and expertise can be shared to more effectively build the
kingdom of God and His righteousness."
3. This same brother wrote again in the week: "Yesterday I started
reading George Otis Jr.'s 'Informed Intercession: Transforming Your
Community . . . '. In describing a recent move of God in Hemet,
California, Otis quotes Pastor Gordon Houston, who says, 'It's a
cooperative vision. We are trying to get pastors to understand that
there is no church big enough, gifted enough, talented enough, anointed
enough, financially secure enough, equipped enough, to take a city all by
itself. Yes, God will hold me accountable for how I treated my church.
But I am also going to be held accountable for how I pastored my city.'
(p. 36). Pastor Bob Beckett says,
'It's about building people, not building a church. It's about seeing
our
communities transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.' (p. 37)."
4. Here's a very enthusiastic writer from Colorado: "I was so excited
after reading your letter and thanked God for raising up brave and true
men of God. . . . Our vision absolutely must go beyond the doors of our
church. The word Global comes to me. If only all Pastors took this same
vision and ran with it the great commission probably would have been
completed long ago.
"Your letter pumped me up to pray for our men,our pastors. I pray God
would
give a burning in pastors to reach their cities for Christ! We do think
too
small. . . ."
5. This note is from one of my dearest friends with whom I went to
college several decades ago. Few of us have friends close enough that
they will be totally honest and yet know even disagreement will not
damage that friendship. This guy has a shepherd's heart through and
through ---- and you can sense it in his comments:
"I appreciate your burden for reaching the lost and all of us should have
such a burden. I would not discourage you and hope you know how much I
love you and how you continuously minster to me. I look forward to
Monday morning and getting to hear from you.
"But I think your article this past week was off base. God calls men to
be shepherds and to equip the saints for their ministry. We suffer
tremendously over the underdeveloped saints. We can not turn our
churches into evangelistic center and be faithful to the scriptures.
Certainly a healthy sheep will give birth to a lot of lambs in a life
time.
"It is both and, and not either or. I love you and lift you up
continually to the Lord as he has placed you in a special place that is
filling the gap for all of us. Have a burden for the lost but do what
God is leading you in developing the saints all of us to serve Him."
Here's part of what I wrote back to my friend: ". . . . in writing the
letter I knew I was dealing with an issue that could be interpreted as if
I were degrading the role of the pastor. Nothing is further from the
truth.
"When the question 'Did God call you to pastor a church or reach a
city?', the real point was I believe many pastors have failed to realize
that perhaps the main reason they were called to pastor that church was
in order to reach their city.
"The problem is that too many pastors have become content to let their
vision become too short sighted ---- i.e., simply pastor the church,
shepherd the flock, preach the Bible, do the visitation, and never
develop a longer range goal of doing all that for the ultimate purpose of
declaring the whole Gospel to the city in which they reside.
"Frankly, if the church and its pastor don't have the city at the heart
of all they do, then why are they there?
"I don't have the answer to all I feel right now. All I know is that
when God gave me a heart for my city up in Wisconsin, I became a better
pastor. And, as a result, my church became a more mature, stable, and
evangelistic church.
"You're absolutely right ---- it's not an 'either/or' situation, but a
'both/and'."
To that I might also add that having one without the other is like having
a coin with only one side ---- not real, incomplete, imitation, not
spendable, but often collectible.
ROOT OF THE ISSUE:
Gene Getz, author of many books, wrote one of the best I've read on the
Church entitled, "Sharpening The Focus Of The Church". In it, he
suggests that people tend to look at the church through a variety of
lenses, theological, historical, traditional, cultural, etc. To do so,
he purports, causes us to sometimes see the same thing, but see it
differently.
His proposal is that we look through all the lenses.
I agree ---- up to a point, and that is that no other lens should be more
powerful than the lens of God's Word. That's the lens which gives us our
initial perspective on anything that has to do with the Christian life.
We must always interpret life and its issues from Scripture rather than
interpreting scripture based on life's experiences.
I believe this is one of the reasons we frequently come to differing
conclusions about the role of the church, the role of the pastor, etc.
Depending on the lenses through which we look, and the lens we accept as
being the strongest one to give us primary focus, we will "see" things in
such a way as to significantly guide us toward certain conclusions.
I believe that is what has happened to us in our generation.
You and I have been raised in a culture more distantly removed from the
First Century than any other generation. Therefore, we have inherited a
system with nearly twenty centuries of slow but steady (and often
unintentional) distortion of Biblical reality.
To study this concept in more detail, I'd recommend you read "Dynamics of
Spiritual Growth" by Richard Lovelace, "Revival" by Richard Owen Roberts,
and "The Open Church" by James Rutz.
You've read my words before ---- I am convinced that the system of church
life in which we live today is a gross caricaturization and distortion of
the real thing. We are far from being what Scripture tells us we are to
be.
The infiltration of a "Romanized" world philosophy during the
Constantinian era and following, and the infiltration of "seems right"
thinking emanating from the failure of the Protestant Reformation to
reach its intended conclusion, have together led us to some clearly
recognized preconceived assumptions that cannot be Biblically supported.
I believe the concept of the "territorial" role of the church and the
related role of the pastor have been so distorted that you and I in this
Twenty First Century have a real hard time coming to grips with our
inherited paradigms and the contrast we see between them and those that
we find in Scripture.
Add to that our members, most of whom have become far too comfortable to
consider seriously changing anything, and it's almost like we have been
given a job that we can never do.
THE MODEL OF THE CHURCH AND THE ROLE OF THE PASTOR:
Such is the case with the church and the pastor models ---- what we see
in Scripture is very different from what we experience here in 2001.
Let me illustrate from my own personal experience.
1. I tended to see the church as an organization whereas the New
Testament described it as an organism. Both had structure, but only one
had life.
2. I was prone to treat the church as an institution whereas the New
Testament characterized it as a spiritual family.
3. I used to identify churches by the denominational labels on their
signs and stationary, where the New Testament identified each local
church by the city in which it was situated.
4. I tried to build the church through the use of ideas, programs, and
gimmicks, whereas the New Testament identified the primary means of
building the church as being the proclamation of the full gospel through
the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.
5. I wanted to judge churches on the basis of what they did and how big
they got, where the New Testament judged the church based on its love and
compassion.
I could go on at length telling you some of the foolish assumptions I
once cherished and treated as if they were "gospel truth". However, I
think you get the picture. I was a man with a highly distorted view of
the church. So, let me turn my thoughts to what the Bible reveals about
the church.
THE BIBLICAL PATTERN:
1. The Church was to glorify God as its primary purpose, rather than
bring recognition and honor to itself. That purpose was carried out
through a variety of Christian conduct about which I wrote on March 11th.
The absolute focus of the New Testament Church is to be on Jesus Christ
and nothing else.
2. The Church was to clearly fulfill the task of carrying out the Great
Commission as its fundamental activity. If the Church is not carrying
out the Great Commission, then it does not need to exist. Everything
else the Church enjoys ---- love, fellowship, worship, communion, etc.
---- can all be done better and in total purity in heaven. So, the very
fact that the Church still exists on earth tells us there is something
more to be done that is keeping the Church here on this planet. It's
called "preach the Gospel to every creature".
3. The first instance in which the Church first began to neglect that
duty, God sent persecution that scattered it to His intended locations.
He had told the Church to go into all the world, and the people decided
to settle down in Jerusalem, apparently with their own little "holy club"
to enjoy all the blessings of God, exercise spiritual gifts on each
other, take care of each other, and have a grand old time ---- all
contrary to what their Head and Saviour had instructed.
4. When the apostles were sent out from the Church in Jerusalem, they
always ended up in a specific city, located some seekers, shared the
Gospel, brought them together into a local band of believers called the
church, and then began equipping them to reach their respective city for
Christ. "Lone Ranger" Christians didn't exist, and neither did
purposeless churches.
5. The Church was always identified in the New Testament by the city in
which it was placed, not by any doctrinal or functional stance. I find
it fascinating that in virtually every situation, the New Testament
writers address their letters to the church "in Rome", "in Philippi", "in
Ephesus", etc. Could it be that this was one of God's ways of reminding
them they were responsible for taking that city? Could it be a reminder
today that some of us may be trying to build the wrong kingdom, and
thereby failing to fulfill the fundamental mandate of reaching our
cities?
6. In every Church God raised up elders to equip and train the members
to do the work of ministry. But, what was the "work of ministry"? Quite
simply, carrying out the Great Commission within the city where it was
placed. I wonder what it would be like if the elders of that day were
like some pastors in our day ---- they spent all their time promoting
harmony, unity, and introverted growth instead of toughening up the
members to get out in the world and reach their cities?
7. It is clear from the Epistles and the Gospels that those early church
leaders knew, as my good friend so clearly reminded me last week in his
letter, that it's not an "either/or" issue ---- it's a "both/and" issue.
Those apostles knew there was a direct connection between making
disciples and maturing disciples. They understood that it requires
healthy sheep to bear lambs that live. They knew, however, that their
cities would never be reached if the believers didn't catch the vision
for them.
FINALLY:
Well, dear friend ---- here I sit again, ranting and raving, still with a
sense that I've been unable to adequately articulate that which consumes
my heart and burns so hot in my bones.
I must say it again. A church exists for one purpose ---- to glorify
God. It has but one task ---- carry out the Great Commission. It will
do that proportionate to its vision and the degree to which it has been
motivated and equipped. Its motivation and equipping will come primarily
from its pastor.
A pastor exists for one purpose ---- to glorify God. He has but one task
---- equip the saints to do the work of ministry in fulfilling the Great
Commission. His own vision of his city will determine the degree and
thoroughness to which he equips the church. His church will catch no
more than what burns in his own heart.
If the pastor doesn't love his city, his church won't either. If his
primary focus is only on the spiritual internal development of the church
with no outward expression, then the church will develop that same
attitude. Then, he'll either burn himself out trying to do all the work
himself that the church isn't doing, or he'll become so upset with his
church that he'll strike out at them in anger.
If the pastor sees his role only as shepherding the flock, with a
maintenance mentality, the church will never become a church of outreach.
If the pastor does not practice soul winning, the church won't. If he
does not have a heart for his city, the church won't. If he does not
believe in and promote missions, the church won't, and there will be few
preachers, missionaries, and evangelists ever come out of that
congregation.
The key is the pastor.
Dear friend! I'm not trying to be belligerent in any way; I don't mean
to sound harsh. But the fact remains that no church's spiritual vitality
rises above that of its pastor. It is going to run, right or wrong, on
the vision and motivation that resides in the heart of its pastor. If
you don't care about your city, your church won't either. If you see
your work as being that of only caring for existing sheep, then they
won't give birth to lambs.
I look back at my own life and ask myself a hard question ---- "Why was
it I didn't love most of the cities where I pastored churches?" Was it
plain ignorance? Was it short sightedness? Was it self-centeredness
about my ministry? Was it a protective device to hide my own weaknesses
and lack of courage?
Frankly, I'm not sure; it might be all of those things. All I know is
that much of the time spent in my four pastorates, I often paid more
attention to my people inside the walls than I did the people outside.
In giving little attention to the lost, I gave over attention to the
believers and, in doing so, caused many of them to become lethargic,
spiritually obese, under exercised self-serving spectators watching their
cities disintegrate as if they were viewing it all on a television
screen.
I did a great disservice to the church, the community, and the Lord. I
wish I could undo some of that.
If you and I are to ever be the pastors God intended us to be, we must
learn to both pastor our churches AND reach our cities. Pastoring
without reaching is nothing but fruitless and wasteful exercise.
Reaching without pastoring is to give birth to some life, but with no
means to keep it alive, nurture it, and help it grow.
If we really love our cities, we'll pastor our churches with fervor and
raise up disciplers. If we really love our churches, we'll motivate
them, challenge them, equip them, and boot them out the door onto the
streets.
To reach a city, it takes a heart as big as the city.
Let's get on with it.
RESOURCES:
1. Some Books to Consider. Several have asked about possible resources
that deal with the idea of reaching your city. Here are some that I know
of; I'm sure there are many others. In referencing these books for you,
I do not necessarily endorse all the comments and positions held within
their pages. I've listed them alphabetically by authors.
"The Urban Christian" by Ray Bakke
"Storming Hell's Brazen Gates" by Dick Bernall
"Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" by Jim Cymbala
"Taking Our Cities for God" by John Dawson
"City Reaching" by Jack Dennison
"The House of the Lord" by Francis Frangipane
"Loving Your City Into the Kingdom" by Ted Haggard
"The Life Giving Church" by Ted Haggard
(A newer book which I can't remember) by Ted Haggard
"Living on the Devil's Doorstep" by Floyd McClung
"The Peacemaking Power of Prayer" by John Robb & James Hill
(Focuses specifically on prayer and prayer walking in Bosnia)
"That None Should Perish" by Ed Silvoso
"The God Chasers" by Tommy Tenney
2. A Speaker from South Africa. In My letter of March 12 I recommended
a newsletter on revival to you, Since then I have corresponded several
times with its editor, Rev. Francois Carr, discovering that he is coming
to the United States in October of this year. If you would like to
contact him about possibly speaking in your church, you can write to him
at [email protected]. Their website is http://www.revivalcsa.co.za if you
would like more information.
Have a good week, my friend.
But do me a favor ---- take some time to be alone with the Lord and ask
Him to show you His heart for your city, whatever its size. Then ask Him
to show you yours.
In His Bond of Compassion,
Bob Tolliver ---- (Rom 1:11-12)
Copyright March, 2001. All rights reserved.
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Hang in there! I'm with you!
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