"The plea is the unity of God's people, the plan is restoration, the purpose to be accomplished is the redemption of the world." --P.H. Welshimer

"The movement's mission, of course, is the Great Commission." --Robert Rea

"The Great Commission is God's mandate to the church to call mankind out of spiritual bondage and into fellowship with God Himself through Jesus Christ." --Chris DeWelt

"We don't feed hungry people because of the Great Commission; we preach the gospel because of the Great Commission. The only excuse we need to feed hungry people is that we are Christian." --C. Raymond Buck

"Some give by going to the Missions. Some go by giving to the Missions. Without both, there are no Missions." --St. Therese

"Missionary work involves two groups of people, the goers and the senders." --Paul Smith

"The Great Commission in not an option, it is an order! It is not a maybe, it is a mandate." --Oswald Smith

"God had one Son and He made that Son a missionary." --David Livingstone.

"They do not love, that do not show their love." --Shakespeare

"The main purpose of the Christian Church and its individual members is to see the whole world- its spiritual and physical needs- with the eyes of Jesus, full of compassion." --John Huk, Sr.

"The Church of the living God is the means which Jesus has placed in the world for the evangelization of humanity." --C.C. Crawford

"The primary task of the church is- and always will be- the preaching of the gospel to every creature." --Victor Knowles.

"The mission of the church, then, is the mission of Christ. It is not merely to perpetuate itself or to build up itself; it exists for no less reason than to redeem the world. Like Jesus, it is to seek and to save the lost….The church exists as God's emissary to take the good news everywhere." --Calvin Phillips

"The church, the body of Christ on earth, has one primary responsibility as summarized by Christ when He told the Apostles, 'Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8b)'." --Gene Dulin

"No church can boast that it takes Christ's commission seriously while giving a token ten percent or so to reaching their world's neighbors." --Leroy Lawson

"Missions is church people releasing all possible resources to reach the unreached of the world." --Richard Hostetter
 

   COMMISSIONED OR CONDITIONED?    A question and a challenge for the Church

      In recalling his encounter with Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, responded to Jesus’ words with, “What shall I do, Lord?”  (Acts 22:10)  No doubt, the mind of every human ponders this question when confronted with the reality of the Lord Jesus.  How do we respond; what shall we do? What does the Lord want from me?
    The conversion of Saul and his appointment as the emissary of Christ to the Gentile world is a landmark event in recorded history.  It serves as a proof of the power of the resurrected Jesus in changing the chief persecutor of Christians into the great ambassador of the gospel.  It marks the real beginning of the “Gentile era,” the expansion of the message of salvation beyond the boundaries of Judea and Galilee with the first
mission trips.
    For this reason, the story is truly a significant guideline for us today in our response to the claims of Jesus Christ.  Paul was humbled, as evidenced by his praying, he was obedient, as evidenced by his baptism, and he was willing, as evidenced by his acceptance of the charge to take the gospel to the non-Jewish world.
   The parallels are clear--- we must humble ourselves, obey Christ in repentance and baptism, and accept the task he has called for us to do.  That task is very simply--world evangelism, the same for us, as for Paul.
     When Paul repeated the story of his Damascus road experience in Acts 26—he said he was told by the Lord—“I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and I will show you.  I am sending you to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
    Paul was commissioned for Christ’s purpose, just as Christ has commissioned his disciples to “Go into all the world. ”  We must see our goal as-- winning the world, turning those in darkness to light.  Is the great commission still the hope of the world, or have we made it a hopeless cause?
   Are we obeying that commission or have we been conditioned to put the task of world evangelism in the background?   What we see today, unfortunately, is a lack of real investment by Christians in the areas of the world not reached for Christ.  Is the life and soul of the middle-class American more valuable than the Mayan in the jungles of Guatemala, the Asian on the plains of Mongolia, the African in the deserts of the Sudan?   If your answer, most assuredly, is No….then why do we spend 95% of all of our church resources here in the United States?
    Are you appalled at the statistics that show CEO’s of major corporations earn 300 times more in a year than the average worker of their company?  Does it shock you that the wealthiest 225 people in the world earn more than 3 billon of the world’s poorest families combined?  We may see these statistics as cruelly unjust.  But shouldn’t we be equally distraught with the imbalance of our investment, as Christians, in the rest of the world?  Studies show that actually around only 1% of total giving by churches goes to the unevangelized in foreign lands.
      Some of our concerned congregations are doing wonderful work in other countries, but many ignore the foreign field.  According to most reports, the average church gives 8-12% to what it calls missions, but that usually includes domestic and benevolent programs.  Some research indicates we now have 1 paid clergy in the United States for every 180 people, while approximately 2 billion people are totally unreached, without a minister, a Bible in their language, or knowledge of Jesus Christ.
      The efforts of the independent Christian churches shows stagnation in terms of personnel dedicated to overseas evangelism.  According to figures from the Missionary Directory of Mission Services  there has actually been a decrease in the number of missionaries listed as “on the field” in the past ten years.  We know in that period there has been increased support of national ministers and evangelists in other lands and more short-term mission workers, but overall we are not producing the full-time mission leaders needed.
     There are simply not many people looking to become missionaries or workers abroad who will train national evangelists.  Examine your graduating classes from Bible colleges and you find few going into the mission field.
     Some problems are evident. Many of our brightest students, who may have a passion for cross-cultural work, find themselves graduating with large school debts, and decide to take that church job in the nice city in the U.S. with salary and benefits, enough to support their family and pay off bills.
      Compare this to the mission recruit’s plight of also wanting debt relief but at the same time needing to invest large amounts of time and money, without pay, to travel around the country seeking supporting churches, often giving up in despair for lack of finances.
      Perhaps our numbers of interested young people are reduced because of a general lack of exposure to the message of missionaries by our leaders and churches.  As a youth, I looked forward to having a visiting guest speaker from a foreign country display artifacts and show pictures.  Today, it is rare to see a church invite a mission speaker to take up a morning service with their reports.  They are usually asked to just send in material or come and speak to a committee.
      Have we been so conditioned to thinking of our own community and convenience first, that we have forgotten the purpose of the church?  A recent national survey indicated that a majority of people felt the purpose of their congregation was ..”to meet the needs of my family.”  Do we see this self-centered attitude being played out with our expenditures?  It is pretty easy to get a family to pledge that $1,000 toward a new building for their youth, but what about that plea for a simple sanctuary to be built on a foreign field?  Congregations routinely vote to borrow millions for local buildings.  Would a church go in debt to help build an overseas complex, I wonder?
     It is sad that some missionaries and recruits speak of feeling a bit like Lazarus, the beggar, hoping for some crumbs from the table.
    What is really being preached about missions in our pulpits?  I recently examined a popular sermon book outlining an entire year of preaching and found only a couple of sermons that related to Great Commission themes.  Look at the sermon websites, the magazine articles, the popular published books, and most deal with issues of Christian living.  The evangelism topics are usually promoting church growth or planting here in the United States. Check the websites, creedal statements, and brochures in most churches and you see scarce mention of world evangelism.
     It is sickening to turn on the television in our nation and look at the extravagance of the religious programs.  One is reminded of Paul’s observation in his day of those who were in the gospel for their own gain.  Most of the content is dealing with end-time predictions and healing our miseries.
     A regional newspaper recently carried a large story about a denominational church gathering in large numbers to dedicate and bless a $250,000 steeple for their building.   Surely the millions of dollars we waste here in the name of religion could feed the hungry of the world.
     The contemporary music in churches speaks little about going, witnessing, and other mission themes.  Most of what we talk about, sing about, and do in church is praise and inward spiritual development, which is needed, of course, but is not the actual work we have been commissioned to accomplish.
       If the total job of the church is to convert the sinner and preserve the saint, is it not logical to think half of all money, personnel, and resources should be spent on each?  And if the souls of the world are equally as important as those at home, that would mean a very minimum of 25% of all funds to our church treasuries ought to be dedicated to foreign evangelistic work.  When we consider the saturation we have accomplished here compared to the vacuum in the rest of the world, it should be more like 40-50%.
       It seems the thinking of Paul, and Jesus as well, (Mt 10:14) was that no one really had the right to hear the gospel twice until everyone had heard it once.  It is obvious that they did not spend an inordinate amount of time on unresponsive people, preferring instead to move on to the next town.  And yet, we pour most of our energy, time and money into what is already the most evangelized and Christian nation on earth.  Everyone here has numerous opportunities to respond to the message and even if unresponsive, we continue to preach and prod, while ignoring billions who have never heard the gospel.
     Are we commissioned to take the “good news”  to the “uttermost parts of the earth” or conditioned to see only those people who are around us, as our field?
     We are a wealthy nation with the capacity and, I believe, the compassion to fulfill the Great Commission, if we would just break out of our condition of narrow vision and see the world as God sees it-- waiting to hear.
      We live in a global age and Americans should be keenly aware that injustice, ignorance, and poverty anywhere in the world impacts everyone.  Helping to alleviate despair in the dark corners of our globe will open many doors to the light of the hope in Jesus.
      We must be willing to look beyond ourselves and sacrifice luxuries at home and at church.  It’s imperative that we begin to give more than 3.5% of our personal income in the Sunday offering.  Leaders must revolutionize those church budgets, settling for fewer local staff, programs and buildings, in order to give the poor, desperate, and lost of other nations a glimpse of the love of  God in Christ.
      What would happen if giving to churches were suddenly doubled, then the output from churches for foreign missions tripled?  What would happen if the next staff position at the megachurch was not for another associate, but a missionary to Africa, Latin America, or China, with full salary and benefits paid?  What would happen if ministers, even if it meant less help for them at home, began promoting and encouraging members to see that our true mission is-- the gospel to all nations?  What would happen if one of our Bible colleges stepped up and said-- all school bills will be paid for anyone willing to commit five years to foreign Christian service?   Secular colleges do it, when they need doctors and teachers in disadvantaged areas.
      What would happen if some influential people in our brotherhood would speak out and say--it is time to realize that foreign mission work is seriously underfunded and we are never going to reach the world this way; to say that--- our priorities have been mostly about us in our own land and not about our Lord, nor about His world?
      Who is ready to be commissioned to make the change?  Or will we remain conditioned to accept the status quo?
 

   SEND YOUR LEADERS ON A MISSION TRIP!

    It is not uncommon to hear of a congregation sending the minister on a trip to the Holy Land, or on one of those special-theme cruises.  Many Christians spend large amounts of money on special leadership retreats and rallies.  These are all well and good, but why not consider a trip to a mission field and see how it can combine sight-seeing, spiritual retreat, cultural education, hard work and the leading theme of the Scripture rolled into one?
   With the booming economy and a willingness to travel, the past decade has witnessed a tremendous increase in short-term mission work.  It is estimated that over 200,000 individuals each year from the U. S. and Canada will be involved in a trip of some kind.   Has your congregation been involved?
   With such a trend has also come questions about the phenomena and its value to world evangelism.  Several national articles have focused on the stewardship issue?  Wouldn’t it be better, they ask, to send the financial support to the field instead.  Is that really the right question, though?  A more appropriate one might be-- Wouldn’t it be better to send ministers or members to the mission field instead of the spiritual retreats, rallies, seminars, and sight-seeing trips?
    We believe everyone will acknowledge a need to use common sense in judging the practicality of any mission journey based on the goals and the money that will be spent.  Some trips may be questionable in value.  The biggest danger is, of course, allowing these trips to be a substitute for regular financing of full-time work.  Naturally, it is best to send the financial support, but that doesn’t preclude money also being spent for short-term missions.  Such criticism assumes there is only so much of the mission financial pie to slice.  In reality, mission trip funding usually is extra money, often raised by individuals and their families that would not have been given to church or mission work.
   Critics speak of mission teams taking away work from the nationals who are poor and in need of pay. Yet in most construction-oriented trips that actually is incorporated in the plans, with local workers being compensated for advance work and assisting on site.
   Some comment that mission trips become self-serving with people paying to get a “good feeling” and the benefactors are not the missionaries or the native people, but the team itself.  Well, isn’t that also true of all retreats, seminars, rallies and conventions, as we seek to receive a good spiritual “experience?”  A mission trip can pay dividends well beyond the blessing received by the team and the spiritual growth involved.
    We should not discount the benefit a good team brings to the mission field and the work of the missionary or native evangelists.   A group of skilled and dedicated workers, who raise the necessary full funding and erect a home or building in a week or two, fill a need that might not be met for many years, otherwise.
   While personal evangelism may be hampered by language barriers, groups can demonstrate the gospel through other forms of expression. Teams have been organized to conduct feeding programs for children, health screenings with American professionals;  literature, clothing, toy distribution and even sports camps where equipment is brought for the youth to learn and play.  With a couple of locals and a few bi-lingual folks on the mission team, large Bible Schools and various training sessions can be conducted, as others assist.  Even a quick fact-finding trip may help a church discover ways to become more involved in expanding the outreach of that mission. Nothing beats first-hand experience and observation. Certainly the wishes and plans of the host should be honored above all, as the visitors are there simply to serve and learn.
   The impact of these efforts can be seen in the appreciative faces of those helped and the realization that it is being done in love. They see God through the willing hands and smiling faces.  The enthusiasm of those involved from another country is often contagious, leading the local folks to become more aware of the church, its mission and message, and pitching in to help, also.  When the people realize that mission team members often sacrifice vacation time and work hard to raise money for the trip to come and help, they are amazed that foreigners, they didn’t even know, would care that deeply.   Work teams can truly make a difference in our world.
   But one of the most important by-products of the mission trip is realized upon the return home.  The majority of those who go, do not come back the same people.  Their attitudes are changed as they examine their own lifestyle and personal finances and begin to put a face and name to the poverty of the earth.  Their vision becomes widened beyond the borders of the affluent community where they may live, to see the multitudes of the world in need, without opportunity and without a Savior.
   A dramatic shift in emphasis in the local congregation can take place as the enthusiasm of the team spreads, resulting in greater mission giving.  Suddenly those folks and missionaries they met on the trip begin to receive more monthly support. Those new stained-glassed windows in the budget become simple pews for the foreign church or the money for that extra staff person is now directed to increasing personnel, vehicles, or resources for the mission efforts.
   A trip allows a person to see God work in many ways.  Team members learn to accept other people, cultures, and forms of worship and learn to understand and appreciate the long-term missionary.  It can inspire folks to a deeper commitment and a closer walk with the Lord.  It may even lead some to consider full-time mission work.
   A mission trip is an exciting undertaking and maybe is not for everyone. Any venture is a financial, emotional, spiritual and physical challenge, but one most people will not regret accepting.
   If, as Christians, we still believe the great commission is the duty and responsibility of the church, we must begin to take it seriously with the stewardship of our time and money.  Jesus said our field is the entire world, and we can’t continue to spend our entire church budgets or ninety percent of them at home and expect to make progress for the cause of Christ.  A congregation will not get excited about missions until its ministers and leaders get on fire with a passion for world evangelism and benevolence.
   Maybe a short-term mission trip will ignite the flame?

  BAPTISM-People have asked, "Why do you mention baptism when talking about salvation, hardly anyone else does?"   While you may not hear it spoken of in the televangelism circles, the Bible has plenty to say about it and we talk about it, to restore baptism to its rightful place in the life of the Church.
    Baptism is only for believers, as the New Testament reveals.  It is for those who have believed in Jesus and repented of their sins.  It is the last act of the new birth or regeneration process. As in natural birth, this process begins with the planting of the seed, which is the hearing of the word of God, and climaxes in a new person. Baptism is part of the response to God's grace that we refer to as Faith. Faith is believing in Jesus and then trusting completely in Him. Baptism is not a human work, but a working of God on us, to transfer us, as a new creation, into His kingdom, to cleanse us of our sins, and place us in Christ.  *Mk 16:15,16, Mt 28:18-20, Gal. 3:27, I Pet. 3:21, Acts 22:16, Titus 3:5, Col. 2:11-13.   Baptism is an expression of the Christian hope of the resurrection and a reenactment, in symbolic fashion, of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior.
*Rom 6:1-9..
    In baptism, we follow the example of Jesus, who came to the Jordan River to submit to John and fulfill all righteousness.  We obey His command to be baptized.  We follow the precedent set by those who received the gospel invitation of salvation through Christ as recorded in the book of Acts. After the initial presentation of the gospel by Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, he stated very clearly what the response to the message must be-  "Repent and be baptized, every one of you for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  Acts 2:38   The account of that day shows us that as many as received the message were baptized and added to the number of disciples.
    Baptism is the ultimate demonstration of unity for Christians.  It unites us with Christ and with one another.  Paul mentions "one baptism" is his great unity passage- Eph 4, because while we may come from different social and economic backgrounds and have different abilities, everyone is the same in the baptisimal pool, humbly submitting to God.  It is the common act that binds us together in Christ's spirit and makes us a " Christian."

WHY WINNERS WIN !
  During a recent business seminar, I heard a leader give six reasons why winners win. I thought that these could certainly be applicable to life for each of us and for the church in regard to our spiritual success and our work for the kingdom.

Winners win because of  (1) Persistence…. they keep on going and when they stumble, they don't remain seated, but get back up and go at it again;  (2) Attitude…nothing can stop a man or woman with the right mental attitude from reaching the goal and nothing on earth can help a person with a wrong mental attitude.  (3)  Effort… going the extra mile and doing the best or more than is expected are the kinds of actions that will bring victories and equal success.  (4) Courage… to be courageous requires no magic formula. It is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it; we must just launch out in faith and do
it many times.  (5) Competition…it is the heat of a battle that brings out the best of the best. It is far better to dare mighty things even though checkered with failure than to take rank with those who never get into the fray.  (6) Adversity… a failure is not always a mistake; it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances.  Character is honed by adversity. The real mistake is to stop trying.

I think we all like to win… my wife says I am a "sore loser", but I say I am just "competitive."  But it is a burden to me that when it comes to " reaching the world with the gospel of  Jesus Christ" as we are called as the church to do, we are falling further behind. We are adding daily, but the world is multiplying.  There are fewer Christians in terms of percentage of world population than 50 years ago.  I want to win and achieve the goal set by the Lord, but we are losing.  The direction we are taking now simply won't work.

I would add one more thing to the admonitions above, when it comes to a team effort…We have to Listen to the Coach!   That, my friends, is our problem, we have not followed the game plan of the Coach, Jesus Christ.   We are too involved with ourselves, withholding our tithes and offerings, and living with a small vision of the world.  When we spend 90 percent of all our human and financial resources on 10 percent of the world's population here in the U.S., it is not going to work, it is as simple as that.  We are doomed to failure.

We are called to be ..witnesses unto the uttermost part of the earth… but we have to move away from the comfort of the locker room and get into the game, and then dedicate ourselves to giving our all to accomplish the task.  Only then do we have the hope of the Victory.

What is a Disciple of Jesus Christ?
Mt 28:18
Disciple means---follower or learner.

It is  a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves,  a voice
through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ helps.

Jesus describes a Disciple---

I.  A Disciple is a  Cross-Bearer     Lk 14:27  “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”  A disciple is one who takes up the purpose of Jesus (cross) and is walking in agreement with him daily.  To carry the cross means we have submitted our life to him. His life’s work becomes ours.

II  A Disciple is a  Manager not an Owner.   Lk 14:33  “So likewise, whosoever does not forsake all he has, cannot be my disciple.”    A disciple has decided to make all his possessions secondary to Christ, acknowledging that the Lord owns it all.  We manage our time, resources, influence and money based on good stewardship for the kingdom and find our security in Christ Jesus.

III. A Disciple is a Learner.   Jn 8:31  “If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples.”   A disciple is one who has chosen to make his home in mind and spirit in the Word of God.  It becomes his food for the soul, as he recognizes that Jesus is the source of all truth, and the place for spiritual growth is the Word.  As a student, he is always searching for knowledge.

IV. A Disciple is Lover.  Jn 13:35  “By this shall men know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”   Love becomes the identification mark of the disciple of Jesus.  He said we are to love and He has loved us.  Jesus’ love was unconditional, universal, forgiving, nurturing.  He summed up all commands with the words…Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself.

V.  A Disciple is a Fruit-Bearer  Jn 15:8  “Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be my disciples.”   A disciple becomes like a fruit---reproducing by seed-making other disciples throughout the world…and by being a blessing to others.   Discipleship involves evangelism and benevolent work .  We must work to produce a harvest for the Lord, through our unselfish life of service.

A Disciples strives for a Learner’s mind, a Servant’s heart, a Laborer’s body, and a Humble spirit.

What Kind are you, anyway?
  It has happened several times through the years.  People discover you minister a church and ask--- what kind?  Saying a Christian church, does not satisfy, as you must surely further denominate yourself by adding some other name to it, in their opinion.
   If they insist, I guess I really could feel association with most every other named group,
even though we may disagree on some of the doctrines they promote.
    For instance-- I could say, I am a catholic, for catholic means universal and I am a part of the universal church, the body of Christ.  I am orthodox, for I subscribe to orthodox and traditional principles and methods.  I am reformed, for our church works at constant reformation of deviations from the Word of God.  I am methodist, for truly I believe in tried and true methods in fulfilling the Lord's purpose.  I am presbyterian, because  presbyters or elders have full authority in our church.  I am a congregationalist, as our congregation is autonomous and rules itself in accordance with Scripture.  I am unitarian because our plea is certainly the same as Jesus, that the followers be united, one.  I am pentecostal because I see the church as it was started on Pentecost and follow that pattern.  I am a baptist, because that means baptizer, and we certainly believe in baptism and that each follower be obedient to Chirst  in immersion.  I am holiness, because the Bible teaches that without holiness we cannot see God.  I am apostolic, because the teaching and example of the apostles forms the foundation of our church doctrine.  I am church of God, since from the beginning, God planned to send his Son to die for our sins and establish the church.
   I cannot really say I am Lutheran or Wesleyan because while I admire some of the work of these men, they did not advocate their name being attached to a church nor would I take the name of a human for a divine organization. I am not really Nazarene, for I am not from Nazareth, and while Jesus grew up there, his citizenship was beyond being identified with any city.
    So I could give folks a long list that would identify me with a lot of terms used for Christian groups, but the fact is-- first, foremost we are Christians.  The name we are called to wear (Acts 11:26) and should be joyful to wear exclusively, without any sectarian additions or subtractions.
   It might pay us to study closely I Cor 1:10-17 and see that taking other names simply because you might see them as leaders was not pleasing.  Paul reminded folks that it was Christ who died for them, and it was into Christ they were baptized.
     Such denominationalism has become a stumbling block to the gospel message being carried in to all the world.  The name Christian is accepted by all.
    And if we all use "Christian" in universal agreement, why not drop the others, for while most are descriptive terms of the church that we might subscribe to, there is only one name that honors the one who gave his life for us.  It would be a giant first step to ending confusion and a beginning toward fostering unity.

WHAT IS STANDARD--    for the CHURCH?
    A look at the church world today in Christianity finds a wide variety of governance, practices, and principles in place at congregations.  Is there a standard or norm that could be and should be followed?  Can we find such standards in early Christianity?   A careful study of the church in the book of Acts and in the epistles as well as examination of ancient writings shows that there were common grounds of orthodoxy in first-century Christian church life.  What were these standards or norms?

(1) The Church was made up of congregations of believers or disciples, who were called  Christians. They recognized Jesus as Savior and as the founder of the Church. (2) These congregations met together in a special place and a special way the first day of each week, for simple worship and fellowship. (3) There were church officials: Elders or Bishops, who had spiritual leadership responsibility over the local body, and Deacons, who had responsibility for the community of the church in the area of material needs. (4) There were specific qualities needed in these leaders who were designated and set apart by the local church.  (5) The ordinances of the Church were centered in Christ and were  (a). Baptism, the immersion of the penitent believer in water. This act climaxed their faith in Jesus for salvation and made them a part of the body, the church.  (b.) The Lord's Supper, the weekly observance of the memorial meal as established by Jesus.  (6) The membership of the churches remained steadfast in the teaching of Jesus and the apostles, and used their various spiritual gifts to edify and mentor others.  (7) The churches participated in their primary mission- world evangelism, through the preaching of the gospel locally and the sending forth of ambassadors to other lands, as commanded by Christ.  (8) The Church was active in benevolence as an integral part of their duty, looking after the needs of others, especially those of the faith.  (9) The members of the churches brought regular offerings to the leaders to support the evangelism and benevolent outreach. (10) Prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit comforted and supported the church in all areas. (11) The membership was expected to live moral lives.  Admonishment, teaching and discipline, when necessary, kept them on the right road. (12) There was a unity of purpose among all, and instances of cooperation and consultation with other congregations.

     We see cultural background brought about different observances and practices among churches then, as certainly they may now.  But there is no reason all churches seeking to follow Christ, can't be true to the precedents set by the early followers of Jesus.  A return to the New Testament and historical norms would provide a basis for unity and growth and an end to the maze of denominational confusion today.
 
 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BEAR FRUIT?

  In John 15, Jesus uses the illustration of the vine and the branches to explain that each of His disciples is expected to bear fruit.  Those who bear fruit will be pruned to bear even more, and those branches that bear no fruit will be thrown away into the fire to burn.
  Jesus says if we remain in Him, the vine, we will be able to bear fruit.  The message is a clear warning to Christians that discipleship is more than just an acknowledgement of a belief in Christ--there must be a concentrated effort to remain in Christ as a fruit-bearing disciple.
  But what does it mean to ‘bear fruit’ anyway? Perhaps many have never fully comprehended the full implications of Jesus’command.  We should think for a moment
what the fruit of a vine or tree really represents, and apply that spiritually to our own lives.
  The fruit is the part of the plant that is beneficial to others.  A tree or vine that bears no fruit is really useless and has never fulfilled its purpose for existence.  The fruit is a source of nourishment, pleasure and life to all those who partake. Thus, a disciple bears fruit when he becomes a blessing, something beneficial to others.   This means we
should render service to others, sharing, caring and supplying their needs.  This is what Christ did and what He expects of His followers.
   As we examine the fruit, we also realize it is that part of the plant that enables it to reproduce.  It contains the seeds to create additional plants.  Thus, a fruit-bearing disciple is one who reproduces.  We do this by preaching, teaching, making other disciples, calling the lost to the Lord.  We plant the seeds around the world that will produce a bountiful harvest of souls, for this was Jesus’ mission for coming to the earth.
   The Christian’s duty then as a bearer of fruit is two-fold. He is to serve- being a blessing to others, and to reproduce- winning other souls to Christ.
   Our job as the church, the body of Christ, is to bless others and to save lives.  We can accomplish this only by dedicating ourselves to remaining attached to our source of strength and life-. the vine, Jesus, and following His example.
   This teaching of our Lord presents us, then, with a trinity of concerns—we must remain in Him, bless others, and reproduce.  The early church certainly seemed to follow this pattern as they participated in worship, study and prayer to focus on Jesus, then reached out to assist those in need and went everywhere preaching the gospel.
   What about our lives today, though, and the lives of our congregations?  Are we devoting time, money and energy to all three?
   It seems only a small percentage of our church budgets go to the fruit-bearing activities of benevolence and world evangelism, while the majority of our human and financial resources are concentrated on worship, study and activities designed to keep us close to Christ.  While these are necessary, as we have seen, a continual focus on these areas at the expense of the other two, creates a religion that becomes purely self-indulgent.
   While the average Christian has heard sermons, sang songs and offered prayers that would number in the thousands, how many have ever lead a person to Christ, gone on a mission trip, helped a needy family or sponsored a child overseas?   Is our devotion to Jesus really translating into fruit-bearing?

    For the Christian, our field of service is the world and we must look beyond the horizons of our community to the millions who have never heard the gospel at all and who may be in need of the basic necessities of life.   Let us do more than plan programs and activities for the local church, but create opportunities for evangelism and benevolence and begin to put our energy, time and money into true  “fruit-bearing.”
   As Jesus states, “This is my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”   It is only through demonstrating our love for the world that others can truly see the glory of the Father.

COMMERCE WITHOUT MORALITY

Jesus called Christians to be salt and light in the world.  We have often said that the body of Christ should act as the conscience of the community.  We are here to bring hope for eternity and help for the present.  If you surveyed the general public about on what issues Christians take public stands, they would probably list- abortion, stem-cell research, pornography and homosexual marriage, as these are often in the news.

While there are Scriptural references that would lead us to speak out on these social problems, Jesus never actually mentioned any of them, specifically.  But Jesus did speak about our treatment of others and the poor and neglected in society.  He  associated with those of the lower socio-economic scale and the outcasts.  His mission statement recorded by Luke as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy said he had come to the poor, the blind, the imprisoned and oppressed. Jesus is declared as the chosen one in Matthew 12 as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. He is the one who will “proclaim justice to the nations.”  Christ taught often about materialism and a person’s relationship to money. In fact about one of every six verses in the synoptic gospels relates to that subject.

In this country, statistics show a growing gap between the rich and the poor. Corporate executives in most cases make hundreds of time their employees here in the States and thousand of times greater salary than their company’s overseas employees. Corporate profits rise to record leesl,   while median family income remains stagnant adjusted for inflation.   The 225 wealthiest people in the world earn more than 3 Billion of the world’s poorest folks combined.  Companies establish off-shore storefront corporations to avoid taxes and regulations here. They fatten their executive’s wallets by exploiting the desperate in other lands, paying pennies per hour for labor.  At home, many workers of major profitable companies struggle with low wages and no health insurance or benefits.  The rash of corporate scandals is alarming to all fair-minded people.

We live in a wonderful free society where capitalism allows us to reach our potential.  Naturally there will be differences in earnings based on supply and demand, education, opportunity and skill. Profit is not a dirty word, of course. Companies must have the money to expand and reward investors. But the issue here is how people are treated by others who have control. It is about maintaining peace and comfort for as many as possible and giving everyone opportunity to pursue goals in life. When the gaps between rich and poor grow wider and the treatment of workers by corporations becomes unjust, we have commerce without morality and Christians should be upset.  It is an issue that we must publicly address to a stronger degree.

When Israel was a theocracy, God made provisions to provide for the poor, the strangers and years of Jubilee to cancel debts. Laws provided for grain to be left for foreigners, orphans, and widows.  Other laws provided for sharing with the immigrants and lending to those in need without interest.  The intent of the laws was to prevent the concentration of wealth in a few.

The principle of== he that gathered much did not have too much and he that gathered little did not have too little== is seen in the distribution of the manna in the wilderness and emphasized again by the apostle Paul in his philosophy of giving and equality in
II Corinthians, chapters  8-9.  The Old Testament prophets are filled with warnings to not abuse the workers, the poor and the disenfranchised of society in order to gain wealth.  Social injustice and idolatry are the two most popular themes of the prophets. Yet social injustice is often overlooked by evangelical Christians today, for fear they may somehow be labeled promoters of the “social gospel” or “liberation theology.”  Others accuse those of engaging in such talk as being guilty of “class envy” or advocating “communism.”

Isaiah writes- “What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor”…. “How terrible it will be for those who make unfair laws and those who make life hard on people.”  He condemned those who exploited workers, widows and were oblivious to the suffering around them, while living in self-centered wantonness.
Malachi condemns those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless and turn aside the stranger.

The Psalmist writes-  “God judges in favor of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. Happy are those who are concerned for the poor.”   Advocacy for the poor and vulnerable of the land permeates Hebrew literature.  It flows from the revelation of God through the rescue of his own enslaved people, Israel.  God’s people knew what is was like to live in oppression, and they were to rise above that in their treatment of others in their life and in commerce.  The Proverb writer calls on God’s people to defend the rights of the poor.

There is real virtue in neither poverty nor wealth.  The issue here, goes to the very foundation of Christian ethics… Do unto others as you would have them do unto you…and a person should not think only of himself, but others.  It is about fairness in our dealings and opportunity for everyone.  We will be judged on how we treat the less fortunate and the suffering.  (Mt. 25)  Jesus’ anger is seen when commerce in the temple was exploiting the poor even in the name of religion.  He redefined the meaning of neighbor as anyone who is in need in the parable of the Good Samaritan. He taught us in that story that our religion is more than right doctrine, it is right actions toward others who need assistance.  He talked much about accountability when we are blessed. To whom much is given, much is expected.

Jesus even challenged the Sabbath laws that denied helping people or providing their needs.  He condemned the Pharisees for exploiting the widowsand forgetting the important matters of justice,love and mercy.   He himself, of course, set the example of living simply. The early church sold possessions so that all might be cared for and appointed the first deacons to remedy the unfair treatment of widows in food distribution. While Paul didn’t advocate changing the economic system of the first century that involved servants and slaves, he strongly urged the masters to treat their workers with principled fairness.  James told the church that it is the rich who exploit you.  About the rich he said, “you hoarded your wealth in the last days, look, the wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you.”

Are we responding to the inequities in our society, taking a stand against maltreatment of workers in the world by corporations? Do we work to relieve the oppressed? Are we preaching about materialism?  Why are churches not addressing this issue more?

It could be that, sadly, the church is part of the problem, often operating in an environment of comfort and wealth. We have big-time evangelists preaching the “prosperity gospel,”  living in grandiose fashion themselves, telling us that if we don’t have riches, God isn’t blessing us. The prevailing message in this movement is that it is all about me.  I deserve to be happy, to feel good and have healing and money. With their philosophy, all it takes is believing and giving them a little “seed money” and poverty and disease will disappear. We know many of these preachers have themselves been guilty of exploiting the poor and aged while using that income to embellish their own fortunes.  Jesus said his true followers would “deny themselves and take up the cross and follow.”  He told us to seek first the kingdom’s purpose, and the needs of life will be provided. He told the rich young ruler that he had to sell what he had to come and follow.
It is hard, Jesus said, for the rich to enter heaven, because of the love of money and material goods.  Pure religion, James says, is to take care of the widows and orphans in their distress.

We have churches functioning with a self-centered philosophy that keeps money invested in their own property, staff and programs rather than missions and benevolence to relieve suffering and preach the gospel to the unreached.  With such emphasis in Scripture on the widows and orphans, you would think, churches would be busy daily constructing homes and shelters, directing programs by the thousands throughout the world.  Instead, it seems our concern is more about new buildings for ourselves.  Yes, Christians do have many organized efforts of aid everywhere, but the fact is we still spend less than $3 overseas for every $100 of church offerings.  Hopelessness, poverty, despair and bitterness anywhere in the world affects us all.  The church needs to be the bastion of charity and compassion.

With regard to a contemporary issue prominent in our nation, many conservative columnists and Christian groups have joined the chorus calling for immediate jailing or deportation of illegal immigrants working here. Most of these people have actually violated no commandment in coming here, only crossing a man-made boundary in order to feed their families that are destitute.  Shouldn’t Christians be asking instead “what can we do to help these neighbors either here or in the context of their country and culture?”

In our nations’s past, Christians have led great campaigns to alleviate injustice including the abolition of slavery, the establishment of child-labor and workplace safety laws, the civil rights movement. The duty is not to change the free-enterprise system, but to show that Christian morality means a more even-handed treatment of people, using riches to share and not for pure self-indulgent excess.

The widening gap between the wealthy and poor in the world, the exploitation of the worker, corporate greed, white collar crime, the lack of concern for the sick, needy and homeless; all these should touch our heartstrings and motivate us to preach about it, pray about it and then do something about it.

We, as Christians, must live temperate lives ourselves, as an example. The committed wealthy person can certainly be a great blessing to the church.  But we must refuse to get involved in the race of always bigger, better and more. Don’t buy into the doctrine that only if I have riches is God truly blessing me.  Support companies that seem to have a Christian philosophy in treatment of workers.

Churches should examine their budgets for what percentages are being spent on missions and benevolence throughout the world. Congregations should generously provide for the work of saving and serving others in all the nations and seek to increase it yearly.

We can strive for change in our culture through publicity, voting, participating in non-violent organized efforts.  We can also call on the government to enact laws to reform corporate abuses and injustice in many areas.  We can amplify the call for more spending for aid to those in need everywhere and less government waste.

Three key Biblical principles are evident for all of us to keep in mind----
Work Hard- The Bible is clear that sloth is sin. Use whatever talent you have fully and if wealth comes to you, that is wonderful. Give your best at what you do as if working unto the Lord.  Live Right- Realize that the important matters in life are character, your soul, and how you treat others, not your material possessions. Share Much- Our responsibility is to be generous so that the Lord’s work is accomplished and those who suffer are lifted up. Only by understanding the principles of humility and sacrifice can we grasp the true message of Christianity.

In reality, we know that the real cure for all the social sins we deal with daily is the change within the heart of each individual.  We have that medicine with the message of salvation in Jesus Christ and then the simple question-  “what would our Leader do?”

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Francis M. Nash
 
 
 
 
 

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