It's Not Because of Bad Church Experiences

I've both read and heard it said that the main reason people switch to the simple church model is because of bad church experiences they have had.

I obviously cannot speak for all those who have departed from the traditional church for a simpler, organic model of church life.  However, I can tell you that our family most emphatically did not leave because of "bad church experiences."  In our lives Alice and I have been a part of several solid, evangelical, traditional churches.  We've had a few negative church experiences here and there, but who hasn't?  Overall, we were pleased with and didn't give much thought to the traditional model until a few years ago.

I've written at length about why we made the decision to leave the traditional church; I won't bring all that back up again here.  Let me simply say that we did not leave because of bad experiences.  Rather, we left because of the bible.

A Few Important Conclusions

Most of my writing on this blog is based on a few important conclusions that are directly related to the bible. After reading the scriptures, I've concluded (as have many of you) that the bible is inspired by God, truthful, authoritative, and inerrant. I believe these conclusions are a gift from the Holy Spirit as opposed to any brilliance on my part.

Keeping the above in mind, I've come to a few other related conclusions:

1) The bible is sufficient.

The issue of sufficiency is one that has become a battleground over the past 15 years or so. Among those who believe the bible is true and authoritative, there remains a debate about the sufficiency of the scriptures. In a broad sense, this issue comes down to whether or not the bible gives us all we need to know. I believe it does.

This obviously does not apply to all details of life. For example, the bible does not tell us that we should root for the Georgia Bulldogs instead of the Auburn Tigers (although this would be a good idea). Instead, the bible gives us all the information we need about areas of importance.

2) The bible is sufficient for all of the Christian life.

Closely related to the first conclusion (but a little more specific) is the idea that the bible is sufficient for all aspects of the Christian life. The idea is that the scriptures provide for us all we need to know to be right with God and live lives that please Him. We don't need anything else than the scriptures to understand both salvation and sanctification.

3) The bible is sufficient for all of church life.

This conclusion is again a little more specific than the one that comes before it. When we are saved, we immediately become part of the church. For the remainder of our lives, we walk the path of sanctification as part of the church. In doing so, we grow in Christ and help others to grow in Christ.

I've come to the conclusion over the past year or so that the bible is fully sufficient for all of church life. In other words, the scriptures tell us all we need to know to function as the church in a manner that pleases God.

This particular assumption is based on a few things: God's consistency, God's clarity, and God's love. First, God told Israel in the OT exactly what He expected of them and how they were to function. He does the same with His church in the NT. Second, God is clear in His word in what He expects of us. In reading the bible, we don't get the sense that He has left out anything important. Third, God is loving. He tells His covenant people His expectations so that we can please Him and not fall under His wrath.

Since the bible is sufficient for the life of the church, this means that all we have to do is look in its pages to see how we are to function. It tells us all we need to know. This is exciting. As we read in particular through the Gospels, Acts, and the epistles we see the church in action. We see what they did correctly and what they needed to change. Acts, I Corinthians, and Ephesians are absolute goldmines of information about what the church is and what it should look like.

If we have questions about church life, we can simply look to the bible to answer them. I've been amazed to see that the scriptures tell us everything we need to know. We don't need to add to the bible or take away from it. If we find ourselves asking significant questions that the bible doesn't answer, then we should probably step back and see if we have failed to ask more fundamental questions in the first place.

If we come to the conclusion that the bible is in fact sufficient for church life, this will automatically lead to some revolutionary thoughts about Christ's church. You may see different things than I do, but one thing is for sure: what we see will all actually be contained in the bible.

If we submit to this sufficiency, it will probably cause us to ask some very hard questions about how we live our lives individually and as part of the church. It may make us ask questions as to why we do what we do. We will most likely see some practices within our local church body that are blatantly absent from the bible.

If the bible is sufficient, then we all have some decisions to make.

A Change in Emphasis

When I began blogging in early 2007, we had just returned from South Asia. Our son Bobby was in the midst of chemotherapy treatments, and blogging seemed like a good way to talk about issues such as missions and suffering. These two topics were my two primary areas of interest for quite a while.

Over time, my emphasis gradually changed to where I was writing quite a bit about the sovereignty of God as it relates to not only salvation but also to all areas of life. I dealt quite a bit with Calvinism, Reformed Theology, The Doctrines of Grace, and the 5 solas. In part because I was raised in a Wesleyan-Arminian background, I now deeply cherish the truths of God's absolute sovereignty. These topics remain an interest for me, but they are no longer the primary focus of my blogging.

As is probably clear to all seven-or-so of you who regularly read this blog, I've changed my emphasis to a discussion of the church. While the above topics all relate in one way or another to the church, there is also much more to church life than those specific areas. In particular, I'm now frequently asking questions about why the church gathers, what we should do as we gather, what attitudes we should display when we gather, and what the purpose is of the gathering. Questions of this nature can seem annoying at times because they may cause us to squirm a bit, but in the end this is healthy.

What's the reason for the change in emphasis?

I suppose it stems from a combination of three things: A) attending a seminary where difficult questions related to the church are not generally asked or invited, B) being trained in international church planting and then living in South Asia for four months, and C) serving as pastor of a traditional SBC church for the past 2.5 years.

I enjoyed my time in seminary, but I remain a bit disappointed to this day in the assumptions the seminary makes about church life. The most cherished evangelical traditions (such as the big building, the salaried pastor, the worship service, the sermon, etc.) were almost never questioned.

After seminary, our family temporarily moved to Richmond, VA to attend missions training. We were instructed in international church planting methods. As we did this, we simply looked through the scriptures to see how churches were started and how they functioned. It was very refreshing. Tradition was discarded and scripture was allowed to speak.

This caused Alice and me to begin asking questions about why such a disconnect exists between churches here in the USA and churches being planted overseas. They almost looked like two totally different organisms.

After we returned from South Asia and survived chemotherapy, we believe God called me to serve as pastor of Chevis Oaks Baptist Church. I'm very grateful for the past 2.5 years. I have learned a great deal from my friends there, and I hope I have been a positive influence upon them. I have been a close-up witness to the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the exciting, and the hum-drum of church life. Overall, it has been a good experience.

These three factors (seminary, international missions, and traditional church life) have caused me to ask many questions and strive for biblical answers as they relate to the bride of Christ: His church.

I now desperately want to be a part of church life as is described in the bible. I'm not suggesting a return to first century culture, but I strongly believe that the scriptures have given us all we need for church life. This is what I desire to live out on a daily basis.

Alice and I are excited to be planting a church in our home within the next couple of months. We are not exactly sure what this will look like. We have had many people express interest in being a part of it. In fact, if everyone visits who says they would like to, we will immediately be at capacity (our house is average size - not big).

We desire to gather according to the biblical model: in homes, enjoying the Lord's Supper as a full meal, holding participatory meetings, with everyone of all ages being together. I want to be part of a thriving, growing, edifying church family that strives to be the church according to what the bible tells us.

What's the purpose in all this? The simple answer: God's glorification through mutual edification.

Embracing the Sufficiency of Scripture

As was growing up in the evangelical world, I was taught that the bible was inspired, authoritative, infallible, and inerrant. I'm sure those exact words weren't always used, but the concepts behind them were ingrained in me. There was never any doubt that the bible was a different kind of book. It was very special. It was given by God to us to instruct us in what He has done for us and how we should live in light of this. These truths were drilled into me. I'm glad they were.

There is another truth about the bible that I was never taught about as a child or teen. In fact, I never really thought about it until the last decade or so. The truth I'm talking about is the sufficiency of scripture. Frankly, I only began thinking seriously about this issue when I went to seminary. I suppose that's because our chapel speakers preached about it a lot.

What we are talking about is whether or not the bible tells us all we need to know about what we as Christians should believe and how we should live this out. In other words, is the bible enough or do we need other things?

This got me asking what the bible has to say about itself in this area. Does the bible tell us that it is sufficient?

Below are a few verses that I believe do tell us that scripture is sufficient for us:

Acts 17:25, "...nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." (emphasis mine)

II Timothy 3:14-17, "But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (emphasis mine)

II Peter 1:3, "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue." (emphasis mine)

These passages seem to tell us that the bible is, in fact, sufficient for us in knowing what we must believe and how we must live.

As I have mentioned before, Protestant churches in this country have been terribly inconsistent in their view of the sufficiency of scripture. These churches typically hold to sufficiency when it comes to issues of salvation, but reject sufficiency when it comes to the practice of the church. They may not admit this, but any quick look at the modern, institutional church will show that it doesn't look much like what we see in the bible. (I've written previously about sufficiency as it relates specifically to the church).

As I look at my own life, I realize that I've been inconsistent, too. My beliefs (virgin birth, deity of Christ, Jesus' literal bodily resurrection, second coming, heaven and hell, etc.) line up nicely with scripture. As far as I know, what I believe suggests that the bible is sufficient.

Like the church in general, where I fall short of sufficiency is in how I live my life. In other words, I live in a way that is not consistent with the teachings of scripture. Let me list for you some verses just from the Sermon on the Mount that I quite simply have not been living out:

Matthew 5:38-44, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

Matthew 6:31-33, "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Matthew 7:12, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

These above verses are very convicting to me because I haven't been living them out. I need to do so.

There is a direct connection between the sufficiency of scripture and obedience.

If we say we believe that scripture is sufficient, but we don't live according to this, then we either haven't thought things through or we are just disobeying (or both).

What then should we do?

I'm determined to embrace the sufficiency of the bible. I won't have to alter much of what I believe about the great doctrines of the faith. However, I do need to make some changes in how I treat other people. I know that I need to love others much more than I do now - and that with sacrificial, self-giving love.

As for church practice, I'm determined to look to the scriptures alone as well. These changes aren't so easy to make because they involve more people than just me. It will undoubtedly lead to some interesting conversations.

To sum up, I'm tired of substituting man's ideas into my life in place of God's truths. This applies to how I live individually and as part of the church.

I'm determined to embrace the sufficiency of scripture in a real way. What about you?

Sufficiency and the Church

I have been thinking a lot lately about sufficiency. In particular, I've been pondering the sufficiency of scripture as it relates to the church.

One of the primary verses that speaks to sufficiency is II Peter 1:3. This verse says:

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." (ESV)

"as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue." (NJKV)

Peter tells us that God has given us everything we need to live lives of godliness. Where do we find what we need? I believe we find it in the pages of scripture as the Holy Spirit testifies to the truth presented there.

If we look other places than scripture, such as nature, reason, or experience, we run the danger of falling into complete subjectivity. Additionally, God has not inspired our reason or experience. Nature tells us enough to know that there is a Creator God, but not enough to know how to be right with Him.

Back to II Peter 1:3. God has provided for us what we need to live godly lives. He has done so through the pages of scripture. How, then, does this relate to the life of the church?

God intends for the church to be, among other things, a body of believers who exhort and encourage one another to live godly lives and perform good works. We do this not to earn anything from God, but rather to live in joyful obedience to Him.

Based on the the numerous "one anothers" in scripture that refer to the workings of the church, it should be obvious that God intends for His church to encourage the godliness that we see Peter write about in II Peter 1:3.

If scripture is sufficient for godliness and God intends the church to help bring about godliness, then this means the bible has told us all we need to know about the church's role in this. To put it another way, God has told us all we need to know about the church in the pages of the bible.

Here is the ironic aspect of all this: as Christians we often act as if the bible is NOT sufficient in its description of how the church is to encourage godliness. We show this when we engage in practices that do not exist in scripture.

I hear much talk about how we have a great deal of freedom in the life of the church to do things that are not seen in the bible. I understand the arguments for these. However, when we engage in these activities, we are in effect saying that we need to add to what the scriptures show us in order to accomplish what the church is trying to accomplish.

Let's take a concrete example (literally and figuratively): the church building as we see it in the modern West. The building is almost assumed today. We see them all over the place. However, we do not see these in scripture. As we get outside of Jerusalem in the book of Acts and then into the epistles, we see churches gathering in homes.

If we meet in buildings today we must assume that this is a good thing. Why do we assume this? It cannot be because we see it in scripture when in fact we do not. It must be that we believe we are free to add a significant change in practice to what we see modeled in the bible. This addition shows that we do not believe scripture is sufficient in what it shows us about the life of the church.

If scripture is sufficient then it will tell us all we need to know about both the belief and practice of the church. If it is sufficient, then we won't need to add anything to what we see there in the life of the church.

We should ask ourselves some tough questions about our church lives (if we dare). For example, what church practices have we added/take part in that are no where in scripture? How is our church structured differently that those in the bible? How does our church spend money differently than those in the bible? How does our church encourage the body to use its spiritual gifts like those in the bible? How does it differ in this? What are we missing as a church that we do see in scripture?

Where we differ because we have added to what is seen in the bible, we need to ask ourselves "Why?" Do our additions really lead to increased godliness? Or, has God already given us all we need in the pages of scripture to bring about the godliness of His church that He desires?