Tag: Pastor

Mining the Archives: 1 Thessalonians and the Church’s Greatest Need

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

From time to time, I’ll be mining the archives around here. I’m digging up Bob’s best posts from the past. I’m hoping these reruns will still serve my readers.

Today’s post was originally published January 13, 2006.

Clergy over the laity mindset, excessive pastoral authority, a cultural lack of community, an emphasis on individualism, market-driven church ministry philosophies, a modern consumer mindset to Christianity–all of these and more contribute to what I believe is the greatest need in churches today: the “one another” ministry.

What is the “one another” ministry? It is the mutual encouraging and exhorting, indeed even admonishing, which is to be woven throughout the life of a church. It is the pattern we see over and over in the NT (Acts 2:44-47; 4:32; 18:27; Jn. 13:34-35; Rom. 1:12; 12:10, 16; 13:8; 15:1-7, 14; 1 Cor. 12:25; 14:26, 31; 2 Cor. 13:11; Gal. 5:13; 6:1-2, 6; Eph. 4:2-3, 32; 5:19; Phil. 1:27; 2:2; Col. 3:13, 16; 2 Thess. 1:3; Heb. 3:12-14; 10:24-25; James 5:16; 1 Pet. 1:22; 4:8-11; 1 Jn. 1:7; 3:11). The above list is not exhaustive, either!

I believe this is a great need in most churches. Our church has small groups in part to fulfill the instruction to daily exhort one another in Heb. 3:12-14. Yet even in small groups, intentional encouraging and exhortation can be neglected. It is one thing to believe and another to practice that belief. Our small group is in the process of trying to become more intentional in this regard. (By the way, this still must happen in church-wide contexts too. But small groups definitely can help us fulfill this important feature of church life.) In preparing for a small group meeting, I looked at 1 Thessalonians a little further concerning this “one another” ministry, and want to share my findings with you, briefly.

1) This “one another” ministry is a way God’s word is intended to work in us.

1 Thess. 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

I believe that God’s Word presently working in the believers, in part, was their living it out through love, encouragement, and exhortation as we will see.

2) This “one another” ministry is needed lest our faith die.

1 Thess. 3:5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

Heb. 3:12-14 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Paul in 3:5 clearly indicates that he feels their faith could have died. This would have made his labor vain. What made him confident this was not the case was their faith and love and mutual love for Paul, which Timothy testified to. Heb. 3:12-14 also indicates that without mutual love, expressed through loving exhortation, our faith might die. This means that this “one another” ministry is vital in helping us persevere.

[Note: I am not claiming that we must produce works to save ourselves. Rather all truly saved people will work good works (Eph. 2:8-10, Titus 2:14), and it is by these works that their faith’s genuineness will be known (Matt. 7:16, James 2:20-26, Rom. 8:13, and especially 1 Jn. 2:19). Since we are admonished that our faith might be in vain (1 Cor. 15:2) and directed to examine ourselves whether we be in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5), and further instructed to make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10), we must not take our faith for granted. Rather we must with Paul recognize that some have made shipwreck of their faith (1 Tim. 1:19), realize that we ourselves could potentially make shipwreck of our faith (1 Cor. 9:27, Phil. 3:8-14), and so resolve to hold on to faith, and fight that good fight of faith, and thereby take hold of eternal life (1 Tim. 1:19; 3:8; 6:11-12).]

3) We must depend upon God to energize this “one another” ministry in our personal lives.

1 Thess. 3:11-13 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

As I said before, we can believe in this, but when the rubber meets the road it is difficult to practice. Thus we must depend on God to “make” us increase in this “one another” ministry. (See also 1 Thess. 5:23-24, set at the end of a series of what I believe are coorporate exhortations .)

4) We need to always abound in this regard and grow, doing “one another” ministry “more and more”.

1 Thess. 4:9-10 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, [See also 3:12; 4:1; and Heb. 10:25b]

We have never “arrived” when it comes to this or any other ministry. We need to be growing and abounding more and more.

5) This “one another” ministry has many facets.

We are to…

a) love each other [1 Thess. 3:12 and 4:9-10]
b) encourage one another [1 Thess. 4:18 and 5:11]
c) “be at peace” with one another [1 Thess. 5:13b]
d) “admonish the idle” [1 Thess. 5:14a]
e) “encourage the fainthearted” [1 Thess. 5:14b]
f) “help the weak” [1 Thess. 5:14c]
g) “be patient with them all” [1 Thess. 5:14d]
h) not seek vengeance (not repay wrong for wrong) [1 Thess. 5:15a]
i) “seek to do good to one another and to everyone” [1 Thess. 5:15b]
j) “rejoice always” (In context, this is a coorporate command) [1 Thess. 5:16]
k) “pray without ceasing” (again, while this certainly applies personally, it is a coorporate command) [1 Thess. 5:17]
l) “give thanks in all circumstances” [1 Thess. 5:18]
m) let the Spirit move (do not quench the Spirit)[1 Thess. 5:19]
n) do not despise the preaching and teaching of the word [1 Thess. 5:20]
o) test everything (including sermons and teaching from the context), holding only to what is good [1 Thess. 5:21]
p) abstain from all forms of evil (church discipline could be in view with the coorporate context, too) [1 Thess. 5:22]

6) This “one another” ministry is clearly a duty of every believer, not merely the church leaders, elders, deacons, or pastors.

1 Thess. 5:12-14 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[c] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all….

From the above verses it is clear that each brother (and the word can refer to men or women) in the church is responsible to follow the commands of vs. 13b (be at peace) and following. Notice that 1 Thess. was addressed to the whole church. If the pastoral staff, elders, and deacons are the only ones needed to minister to us in this encouraging, exhorting, admonishing sense, why is it that most of the NT epistles are addressed to churches (ie the people) rather than just the elders? Phil. 1:1 mentions the saints in Philippi as the primary audience, with the elders and deacons also–not the other way around.

7) This “one another” ministry is indispensable.

1 Thess. 4:18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. [See also 1 Thess. 5:11]

Notice, Paul’s having written the words to each person in the church was not enough. They were to pick up the book/letter and use its teaching to encourage each other. Just reading the Bible and studying it alone does not cut it. We need the mutual ministry of the Word to be working in us through the mutual encouraging and exhorting, even admonishing, of our fellow believers (along with a weekly sermon from our preacher).

As You Leave Your Church this Sunday Morning…

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Most of us here in America take for granted the religious freedom we have. We can choose to go to the church of our choice, drive or walk there, and come back after the service to our homes. We will not face ridicule or brave threats to do so. And many times we don’t attend church as faithfully as we should.

In many places around the world, this is not true. Even attending church is a huge step of faith. And for some, they pay the ultimate price for being identified as a Christian.

Artur Suleimanov, pastor of the several-hundred member Hosanna church in Makhachkala, Dagestan (a republic of Russia bordering Chechnya and Azerbaijan), was returning to his car to go home after a church function Thursday night, just three days ago. When he got into his car, a masked gunman shot him in the head and fled the scene. Just like that, having left the “House of Prayer” as their church building was named, he was ushered into the presence of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Artur had pastored this largest and first evangelical Christian church of mixed ethnicities (with many formerly-Muslim believers) since the late 1990s. Death threats and intimidation were the norm for him. He must have known he was a marked man, yet he faithfully shepherded his flock all the same.

By way of prayer requests, Barnabas Fund lists the following:

  • That God will comfort and uphold Pastor Suleimanov’s family, and their large church family, in their distress and grief.
  • That the murderer and all those behind this horrendous incident will be brought to justice, and that they will come to faith in the Lord Jesus.
  • For protection over those attending Pastor Suleimanov’s funeral as well as the wider Church in Dagestan.
  • That Christians will not be intimidated by this act of violence.

I would add that we pray for the few churches in Dagestan to be able to use this latest outbreak of persecution as a means for spreading the name of Christ throughout the region (cf. Acts 8:1-4). Pray also for their unity, protection for the remaining leadership, and wisdom.

Most of all, as you return home from your churches this morning, and other days throughout the next few weeks, please remember the persecuted church. Some are too afraid to even go to a church. Others risk their lives for doing so.

For more on the martyrdom of Artur Suleimanov see this article by Barnabus Fund.

Apparent Danger: The Pastor of America’s First MegaChurch and the Texas Murder Trial of the Decade in the 1920s

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

I recently received a copy of Apparent Danger: The Pastor of America’s First MegaChurch and the Texas Murder Trial of the Decade in the 1920s a new book on J. Frank Norris by David Stokes. Being familiar with the history and big figures of American fundamentalism, I knew something of J. Frank Norris’ infamous legacy.

Norris is the embodiment of a brash, fightin’ fundamentalist, and he packed a gun to prove it. I never realized that he actually was on trial for murder soon after the nation was riveted on the Scopes Trial!

Stokes has done his research and brings J. Frank Norris and his era to life. I’ve started reading through this book, but was just made aware of some fantastic news. The book has been grabbed up by a major publisher and will be re-released under a different title next year.

This is good news for those interested in the tale. The books are still available for another 2 weeks, and they are at a fantastic discount.

I encourage you to pick up a copy at this incredible steal of a deal. The book is a high quality, hardback. Take a look around the book’s website: apparentdanger.com for more on the story and the book. Congratulations to David Stokes, this book looks to be a page turner, and a wider distribution will shed light on a fascinating corner of American and church history.

David Stokes writes a weekly column for Townhall.com and is also a busy pastor, and you can learn more about him here or on his blog.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher for review. I am under no obligation to provide a favorable assessment of the book.

Deacons: Shock-Absorber Servants

~ Bob Hayton

Nine Marks Ministries, has a new e-journal up. The topic is deacons. I read through the articles and thought everything was very helpful.

Here’s an interesting quote. But you’ll want to go read the whole thing. The articles are fairly short but cover a lot of ground.

According to the New Testament, a deacon is two things: a shock-absorber and a servant.

Deacons are shock-absorbers: the seven men chosen by the church in Jerusalem to care for widows, who seem to be precursors to deacons, were chosen to preserve unity at a time when botched administration was creating fissures in the church (see Acts 6:1-7).

And deacons are servants: their very name means servant, and their precursors in Acts 6 were chosen to handle the practical needs of the church. That way, the apostles could devote themselves to leading the church through prayer and the ministry of the Word….

Elders lead ministry, deacons facilitate ministry, the congregation does ministry. That, I believe, is the New Testament model, and that biblical clarity in deacons’ role and function is invaluable for promoting peace and unity in our congregations. [from the article by Jamie Dunlop, associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist]

Together Again… for the Gospel

~ fundyreformed ~ 6 Comments

It’s hard to believe that it has been 2 years since the first Together For the Gospel conference. I remember the excitement I had as I blogged about the event (which I couldn’t attend). Then and now, I consider the conference a wonderful display of, and needed encouragement towards, Christian unity. And not just unity, but unity coupled with doctrinal commitment to the true Gospel. We don’t have to sacrifice doctrine to gain unity. Both are important, and T4G demonstrates this well.

This year, I also could not attend, but I suspected the messages would be available online for free, as they were in 2006. I’m not sure if the speaker panel sessions will be available, like last year, but the seven messages are available for free online.

And while you are there, you should check out Together For the Gospel’s updated website. The messages from last year are available as well as their doctrinal statement.

To encourage you to listen to the messages (I plan on eating them up on an upcoming road trip), let me direct you to Tim Challies’ liveblogging of the entire conference. Thanks to Tim, you can get a taste of the event and each message.

Let me conclude by quoting from T4G’s “about us” page.

Together for the Gospel (T4G) began as a friendship between four pastors. These friends differed on a number of theological issues, like baptism and the charismatic gifts. But they were committed to standing together for the main thing””the gospel of Jesus Christ..

So they began a conference which occurs every two years and aims principally at encouraging other pastors to do the same””to stand together for the gospel. And now this conference is evolving, as God pleases, into an informal network of church leaders who all share this ambition and who intend to encourage one another to do the same…..

Update: Josh Gelatt has collected some quotes and personal reflections on the conference which you may enjoy: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.