How Church Can Change Your life by Josh Moody

 

 

How Church Can Change your Life

By Josh Moody

‘Why should I go to church at all?’ This question is addressed in this book and the book is divided into 10 questions.

John Stott said in his book Basic Christianity “people love Jesus but are not sure about the church.”

Why go to church?  Or rather what does this thing called the local chuch have to do with Christianity (or spirituality)?  Can’t I just be spiritual but not be religious? (which seems at least in part to mean not wanting to have an affiliation with a religious institution)  More and more people are asking this question today and not just ‘How do you do church?’

It would be easy to oversimplify or shove down people’s throats an answer - simply make the church more contemporary.  The writer is not opposed to ‘bringing the church up-to-date’ (though what that means depends on who is proposing it) as long as that does not also mean abandoning what Jesus said, in his word, the church should be.  His instinct (and experience) is that people are not asking the qustion ‘why do I need to go to church?’ because they are looking for more rock drums.  Smoke machines, dry ice, skinny jeans and laser shows are not wrong.  But they are not the answer either!

Josh attended many events when he was exposed to all sorts of ideas from consultants and denominational leaders about how to draw people (back) to church.  He realised that there was no point putting in place a really cool rock band (much as he was in favour of that sort of thing) or building a better car park (again, as much as that can be a good thing to do).  But there was no point doing that when people were not coming to chuch because they thought church in itself as pointless.  The prior questions with relation to church are simply ‘is it necessary?’ ‘do I have to go?’ So we need then to cast a vision for what the church is, so that the questions ‘do I have to go to church?’ is replaced with ‘what can I do to serve the church?’  The trouble of course is that people’s ideas of church are so miscued that if church – biblical church – were really like they think it is, then I don’t much blame them staying away.

Christ came to die for the church – and it needs saving.

There is another point though – pride.  It is very hard for us to believe that the secret of the universe, the centre of the infinite majesty of all reality, the revelation of God in Christ, the word eternal, is all being discussed in one rather small building on the corner of our street – or even in one very large building in the centre of our town.

To help us we start off with humility.  Going to church gets us out of our self-oriented prison.  We are forced to put up with music that is not our taste.  We are made to listen to truths that we wish were rather not true.  All this is good for us.  It is more than that – it is essential if we are to find joy. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5 verse 3)

QUESTION 1 – Is church only for Christians

There are quite a lot of people who think that going to church is something that you should only do if you are a Christian.  Some people who are not Christians believe that if they turned up one Sunday morning at a church service they would be intruding.  Really many people who are regular church-goers are absolutely thrilled when new people decide to show up and check out church for the first time.  They want new people to have the freedom to find things out and wish to see if they encounter the God that they believe is real.  Why this feeling then that someone who is not yet a Christian perhaps should not be allowed to come to a church? Of if they do turn up, why do they sometimes feel uncomfortable?  Some of this comes down to the sheer awkwardness of many church services.

William Temple “Church is the one society that exists for the benefit of its non-members.” 

The whole point of the church to be a living testimony to who God is for those who are looking to discover him.  The church is a “means of grace”.  It is a zone which God has designed where, if you come with an open heart and if the Spirit is at work in your life, you will encounter God himself.  It’s not our place; it’s his place.  It’s not a sanctuary in the sense of a special religious area which is separate from normal human reality.  This ‘temple’ is really Jesus himself and church is simply a means to that encounter with Jesus.

QUESTION 2 – Do I need to go to church if I am a Christian?

Augustine “There is no salvation outside the church.”  Certain groups of Christians might instead say today “There’s not much of any salvation in the church.”  Today the mantra is “Love Jesus ... not quite so sure about the church.”  Strange historically but even stranger biblically.

Biblically the church is the body of Christ – 1 Corinthians 12 verse 27.  That means that a Christian is a part of that body.  Paul was talking about the ‘universal church’ (that is church everywhere and at all times).  He meant that actual church in Corinth.  “You” he said, writing to the Corinthians, “you are the body of Christ.”

To be a member of Christ – that is, to be real, true Christian – is to be a member of the church.  There is no distinction because the church is the body of Christ; therefore, you cannot be a member of Christ without being a member of a church.

Paul is talking about the organic church, but he also does mean an actual church – an actual local church.  To be a Christian is to be a member of one of these churches.  The New Testament has no example, not a single one of a Christian who is not a member of a church.

The early chapters of Acts also provide evidence for this.  There, when many people became Christians, not only did they put their faith in Jesus, but they were joined to the church.  The two go together – Acts 2 verse 41 and 47.

Going to church does not save you all on its own.  Mere institutional allegiance, mere actual physical presence in a church building at a church service, however regular, however devoted in being there every time the church meets, is not what will save anyone.  We are saved by faith in Jesus, not by church attendance.

What does it mean?  It means that if you say you follow Jesus but you are not a member of a local church that is biblically founded and gospel-preaching, there is no reason to know for sure whether you are actually following Jesus.  Church is the natural expression of someone who follows Jesus in the same way that the natural expression of a hand is to be attached to its body.  Going to church means going to a local church that calls itself a church.

QUESTION 3 – Which church is the true church?

Jesus only talks about the church, using that specific term, twice.  That’s it, no more than this.  That’s not to say that the people of God more generally are not at the background to just about everything he is doing (of course they are).  In fact Jesus’ disciples are the church in miniature; 12 disciples for the 12 tribes of Israel (as has been pointed out many times).  But Jesus only uses the actual word ‘church’ 2 times.

The first occasion is related to Jesus’ famous declaration to Peter.  Peter has confessed that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16 verses 15 and 16).  Then Jesus calls him ‘Peter’ (a kind of nickname; previously he had been Simon, now he was Peter, that is, Rock).  Then after that name-calling (in a positive sense), Jesus says that ‘on this rock I will build my church’ (Matthew 16 verse 18).

Jesus means what Peter has said (Jesus is the Christ), not who said it (Peter).  The reason I think this is because, right after this moment, Peter then goofs up big time.  After having confessed Jesus as the Messiah, he then goes on to tell Jesus not to die on a cross.  Jesus then looks at Peter and says, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ (Matthew 16 verses 22 and 23).

Jesus means the same as he means in the first instance – in both instances Jesus is talking about what Peter said.  When Peter said Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus is saying that that confession of Jesus is the rock on which he will build his church.  And when Peter says to Jesus not to die on a cross, what Peter said then is devilish.  This means that the foundation, the rock of the church is the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The apostle Paul said exactly the same thing a little later. He resolved to preach nothing but Christ and him crucified – 1 Corinthians 2 verse 2 - the power of the gospel – and that is the foundation of the church.

The true church is the one that has at its foundation the proclamation from the bible of Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Jesus mentions the word ‘church’ one other time.  In this instance it is when Jesus is asking how on earth his followers are going to get along and live together in community.  The answer is that they have to forgive each other.  How are they going to do that if someone sins against them?  Jesus gives a 3 step plan.

First go and tell the person his fault, just between the 2 of you.  Keep it private, don’t let egos enter in, have a nice friendly chat and most likely the other person will apologise and you will then say ‘I forgive you’ and all will be ok again.  However, sometimes the person who hurt you won’t listen.  Well then, the second you go with one or two others to the person.  The 2 witnesses are there to help discern whether the person making the accusation is really the bad apple.

But if it is not (here comes the word ‘church’) then, third, Jesus says ‘tell it to the church’ (Matthew 18 verse 17).  So the other mark of a real church is that it takes seriously its responsibility to act in a way that represents what it means to follow Jesus.  The church as a community is intended to be able to showcase what it means to follow Jesus authentically.

So the other sign of a true church is that it is a church that is serious about discipleship (and discipline).

There’s one other sign of the true church and that is the way it deals with baptism and communion.

If you want to find a true church you are looking for 3 things – for the true preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified.  You are looking for healthy discipleship and discipline.  Also you are looking for the way that the church does baptism and communion to be biblical.

QUESTION 4 – Why are there so many different kinds of churches?

Behind this question is usually the thought that it shows that the church is disunited, and therefore somehow witnesses against the truth of the church as an expression of God today.

But really, this is all a fairly massive misunderstanding: both of the value of having lots of different kinds of churches and of Jesus’ prayer.  Jesus prays that his disciples would be one as he and the father are one.  He does not pray that they would all be able to fit into the same box, like having the same music or architecture, wearing the same clothes and being part of the same institution.  He never prays any of that, which is probably a good thing, because to achieve that would take a miracle almost as big as walking on water every day.

No the point of Jesus’ prayer is relational, not institutional.  To be one as Jesus and the Father are one is a relational oneness. Jesus is part of the trinity – he is fully God and fully man in one person.  Christians believe that God is one in 3 person: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, what Jesus means is that we are to be ne like that.  It is a relational oneness, a oneness like the way really good friends are one even though they are different people, or like the way husband and wife are one even though sometimes they annoy each other.

Why are there so many different kinds of churches? Probably because there are quite a number of different kinds of people.

QUESTION 5 – What is the point of baptism and communion?

A – these are church things.  They are designed to be the entrance to the church (baptism) and the expression of ongoing involvement within the church (communion). 

B – these things have a particular meaning.  Baptism is an expression of being born into the Christian family by the Spirit of God.  When you are born of the Spirit you die to your old way of life and you rise to a new life in Jesus.  Baptism is an outward expression of this inward reality.  Communion is a sign of what Jesus has done on the cross.  It was designed by Jesus to help us remember that what he did on the cross was enough to take away all our sins.  Communion is intended to say that Jesus’ death was enough.

C – a lot of the other distinctions – and there are many – about these 2 matters are fine and worth considering and getting straight in your own head, but are not to be divisive between Christians.

The challenge with both of these things – baptism and communion – is actually a more basic level still.  They are both ‘signs’ that is, they are designed to point somewhere, but signs if they are not interpreted can easily become misunderstood.

People love signs. The signs feel significant (sort of mystical and mysterious) but because signs by themselves don’t say much of anything, if they are not interpreted when you actually ask people what is going on, or what they mean, they usually do not have a clue.  No idea at all.  They could not explain it – but ‘wow, it is like deep, man, oh yeah, so deeeep.’

This is why the best way to think of baptism and communion is as ‘visible words’.  That helps explain how they function in relation to the bible and to the preaching and teaching of the bible.  They are designed to be visible signs pointing to the same reality that has just been explained.  Without that they become signs pointing all over the place rather than pointing in one particular direction.  Baptism says: the way to be saved is to humble yourself, put your trust in Jesus, and then you will come to experience new life now and forever.  But it needs to be explained first.  Then, when you see the sign it becomes doubly meaningful.  You get the ‘visible word’ as well as the word.  Communion says: Jesus has died for your sins, once for all; don’t forget it, don’t ever forget that his death was sufficient and has covered everything.  But it also needs to be explained first.  Then, when you see the sign of communion, it too becomes doubly meaningful.  You get the ‘visible word’ as well as the word taught.

QUESTiON 6 – Why is preaching important?

Preaching is important because it is how God speaks today to his people through the bible.  “Preaching is the God-ordained means by which he meets with his people through his word and by his Spirit in such a way that his people’s eyes are opened to see Jesus and be captivated by him.”

·       Preaching is not a bunch of funny jokes stuck together for maximum humorous impact

·       Preaching is not a whole mass of theological content downloaded to educate everyone, willing or not.

·       Preaching is God’s way of meeting with people to show them Jesus, so that they are thrilled by him.

The reason why preaching is important is that Jesus is important.  Jesus has set up preaching to show us himself and help us see how great he is.  The more you love Jesus, the more you will love preaching.

Preaching therefore is not only an information download.  Preaching is teaching but it is more than teaching.  Preaching is motivation, but it is more than motivation, it is, when genuine, God addressing us through his word, the bible, to show us the beauty of Jesus.

Biblical preaching is important because it is Jesus’ way to meet with his people and show us his glory, his beauty, his love and to help us be captivated by who he is.

1.     We should come to hear preaching not merely with a desire to learn more stuff, but with a desire to encounter Jesus.  You are listening as if you were discerning what it is that Jesus wants to say to you.  This will forever change your attitude to preaching.

2.    We should leave from having heard biblical preaching with a desire to do something about what we have just heard.  Jesus makes this point at the end of the most famous sermon ever given, the Sermon on the Mount “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7 verse 24  There’s no point being shown Jesus in all his beauty and being moved to embrace him anew as the Lord of your life, and then doing absolutely zilch about it.  You might as well have not listened at all. 

3.    We should pray for and support our preacher.  Do it before he preaches as he preaches and after he preaches.  You want to gather around the preacher, not to idolize him but to keep the channel of preaching as clean and as open to the work of the Spirit as possible.

4.    We should advocate for and ensure that there is enough time, space and resources for the continued development of excellence in preaching.

QUESTION 7 – Why is there so much politics in church life?

If you read the New Testament, you will find that most of the letters in the New Testament are written in response to some problem in the church to which it is written.  This should not surprise us but at the same time it should also not satisfy us.  We should be aiming for our churches to grow in godliness, in Christlikeness, in love for each other, in simple humble appreciation of each other, in the ability to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, for that is love.  Love for God.  Love for his Word.  Love for each other.  Love for the people around us.  In the same way that we should not be satisfied that we are not (yet) who we are meant to be as Christians individually, so we should not be satisfied that churches are not (yet) who they are meant to be as Christian communities.  We should aim to be presented without spot or blemish, holy and pure, without stain or wrinkle, that is, full of Christ and full of his love.

If it should not satisfy us, how should we go about improving? 

First, we all need to chill a little.  A lot of stress and strain in church life results from people being too intense. 

Second, it is important that the Word is not only theoretically central to church life but functionally central.  We have to leave time for the explanation of the bible and to have that at the heart of what happens when we meet in big gatherings, as well as in small ones.

Third, love, love, love.  The bible says that love covers a multitude of sins.  It means to love somehow: to seek what is his or her best.  Love does not mean avoiding tough conversations or not doing any life-on-life accountability, but it does mean that all those sorts of things are not from an arrogant position, but from a loving, humble, gracious, self-giving position.  That changes everything; it changes ow we speak and it changes how we listen.  Jesus said you could tell his disciples by how they love one another – John 13 verse 35 – and so we who are loved by him love each other in turn.

Fourth, true Christians join the membership of the church.

Fifth, leadership, it really matters who churches have in leadership as elders and pastors.

QUESTION 8 – Should I go back if I have been hurt by church?

The wounds that this creates are not susceptible to glib answers or easy solutions.  ‘There is an authority structure that churches represent – and to some extent still today possess – that gives them unique opportunities to bless people, and unique opportunities to not be a blessing as well.’

Unlike other relationships, you can’t just avoid church forever.  If church is the local representation of the body of Christ, and if you are a member of Christ, you will be longing to be actually and practically reunited with that body of which you are truly and spiritually a part. You will not want to stay away forever.  If at some point you are going to want to re-enter church life, the next question is when and how? Here are some suggestions:

1.     Don’t just join any church.  Some churches hurt people because they are not healthy churches.  You want to join a church that not only says they follow Jesus but actually does follow him.  That means the bible should be taught from the pulpit.  That means that the gospel of Jesus Christ should be central to the church’s life.  That means that the church should not only be well ordered and structured, with a healthy eldership or leadership but a place of committed love, authentic discipleship and disciplined Christian living.

2.    Guard your heart against cynicism.  No-one in church claims to be perfect.  In fact, the whole structure of a biblical church is proclaiming the message that only in Christ can we be saved.  We know full well we are not perfect.  There are plenty of sinners around here.

3.    Practice a biblical authenticity.  Being authentic does not mean being who you are without processing what you should be or trying to be who you should be. We need to aim to live up to our authentic self, not downgrade ourselves to an inauthentic, unfocused, lowest-common-denominator self.  The author of the authentic self is you as God has designed you to be.  To be truly and genuinely authentic is to be who you are as designed by God.

4.    Understand the difference between friendship and fellowship.  To be in a church with other Christians means that you are called to love them.  That does not mean that you are called to like them.  A lot of people get hurt in church life because they misunderstand this distinction. They think that being in church means you have to like everyone around you and everyone has to like you.  Not at all.  There may well be some people in the church who you like, who can actually be your friends but there is no reason to think that includes everyone.  Church is family: you love your family, but sometimes you’d rather watch a baseball game with your friends.  Some of your family are also your best friends.  The two don’t always go together.  That’s okay.

5.    Don’t import into your next church the baggage from your last church.  That means not projecting onto people around you the stuff you have from the people at the last church.  There may well be someone you need to say sorry to from your last church.  You want a fresh start.  You want a sense of starting over.

6.    Take commitment slowly but steadily.  When you’ve been hurt, you’re a little gun-shy of commitment.  This is understandable and completely normal.  Perhaps you’re someone who in the past tended to jump right in with both feet with hardly a second thought.  Now you are not so sure.  Don’t run to extremes.  Don’t get into the habit of never committing.  Take it slowly.  Keep progressing steadily.  Start with attending.  Then find a small group.  Then get involved with serving.  Give of your time, your talents, and your treasure.  Bit by bit, slow but steady wins the race.

7.    Guard your ultimate centre of loyalty for no-one else but Jesus.  John said of Jesus that he did not entrust himself to people for he knew what was in them – John 2 verse 24.  You are called to love and serve people and to be in fellowship with Christians.  All this requires a degree of trust, commitment, loyalty and involvement.  But it does not require the ultimate degree of trust.  Only God is worthy of that sort of worship.  Some people get hurt because they are really exposing the inner person to another human person, when the only person who can handle that level of vulnerability and tenderness is Jesus.

 

QUESTION 9 – What should I look for in a healthy church?

By God’s grace and mercy, there is in our church culture a commitment to core convictions that tend historically to maintain gospel health in a church, here are 5 that matter:

First, a thorough commitment to the prevalence and prominence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Second, a thorough commitment to the actual teaching of the bible and its functional and genuine authority over all matters.

Third, a biblical involvement in each other’s lives through life and fellowship and community.

Fourth, a thorough commitment to reach out with that gospel to those around us, locally and globally, to be part of God’s mission for the whole world.

Fifth, a biblical commitment to authentic, Word-driven, Spirit-filled worship around the biblical trajectory of the gospel.

Gospel FLOW = the gospel driving forward Fellowship (F), Learning (L), Outreach (O) and Worship (W).  It’s all about the gospel.  The gospel is not just the ABC of the Christian life; it is the A-Z, as Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end – Revelation 22 verse 13.  Each of the 4 core values is driven forward by that gospel and expresses that gospel in various ways. 

There is another side to this question, which is not so much “What am I looking for in a healthy church?” But more “How can I contribute to make this church more healthy?” To do that:

1.     Support your leaders

2.    Be committed in your attendance at worship services

3.    Give regularly, consistently and joyfully with generosity of your money, your time, and your commitment to the work of the gospel in the church

4.    Find ways to serve in the church

5.    Find ways to tell others about the church and live a life whereby you are inviting people to Jesus and to church

6.    Forgive others quickly, do not bear grudges, love and have mercy

7.    Live a life of gospel holiness, that is pursuing Christ with all you have, loving him above all else and loving your neighbour as yourself.  Be devoted to regular bible reading and prayer, take care of your family spiritually if you have one and turn your household into a place of godliness and Christlikeness so that church is not just one day in 7, but a 7-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year living experience.

      With a healthy church and increasingly healthy people involved – the church, under God’s grace and only by his favour, as it remains committed to Christ and his word, will organically, gradually become more like Christ and more effective at his mission to the world.  That’s not just health, it’s life, vitality and dynamism.

      QUESTION 10 – How can I serve in a church?

       It is much better to actually speak the truth in love and tell each other what we perceive are each other’s gifts.  There needs to be a level of community discernment that rubs against the grain of our individualism.  The ‘niceness’ culture of some churches can prevent striving for excellence in all things.

SERVE

S – Start small –

E - Every Endeavour

R – Real Relationships

V – Virtual Virtue

E – Exceptionally Excellent