A Holistic Approach to The Call of Missions
On August 9th, Lion of Judah will be hosting its 4th Annual Pastoral Conference. Guest speakers for this event will be Bishop Dr Lester Bradford, Pastor Dr Gary Thomas, Pastor Hildred Reid, Pastor Dr Michael Deer and Pastor Dr Dalton Jenkins.
The theme for this years conference is “Taking Territory through Leadership.” This will surely be a dynamic, life changing event that you don’t want to miss.
A few years ago a historic meeting between the New Testament Church Of God and the Church Of God Of Prophecies was held. Recently, the Assemblies of God hosted the leadership of the Church Of God In Church in another historic meeting. Pope Francis symbolic outreach to the Orthodox Church is another in these historic meetings of splinted relationships.
I wonder if there is a greater move back to the unified Church that crosses all denominational labels. Could it be that we all are searching to understand and live out the principles of the Kingdom of God in our lives? In this search we sometimes fall short but we should keep pushing forward. I think we have to be careful as we enter this period in church history. Unlike other periods it seems that we are more segregated than ever. There are more denominations, loose affiliations, independent groups with a range of theological opinions.
I wonder if there is a true desire to unite what would happen:
I pray that whenever traditions, cultures or rituals hinder the Gospel message, that we leave tradition, culture or ritual at home.
There is a shaking and re-shaping, where it ends and what it would look like is yet to be known. It will remain the same and it will change. There will be a change, are we ready for it? I pray that the mission of the Kingdom of God will take center stage.
Happy New Year to you. Thanks for your support! http://www.KingdomPeopleBook.com
Addressing pastoral care has greatly impacted me. It has provided the other two legs of the holistic approach to mission. The first leg was the emphasis on evangelism, ministering to the soul with the intention of preparing individuals for everlasting life. The other two legs are ministering to the body and spirit, and helping people live in the current physical world.
This delicate balance will allow the Church and our own local church to be better missionaries. Fulfilling the call of mission requires that the Church approach this call from a holistic point of view. The Church has done an excellent job of preparing people for the afterlife, but in my opinion has fallen short in preparing people for end of life experiences and traumatic life experiences. Many are questioning God and are concerned as to why such a good, supreme all-knowing, ever-present and all-powerful God allows evil and suffering to continue in this world. According to Lee Stobel in his book, The Case For Faith, this is the most concerning aspect of Christian faith. Many are struggling to find answers and do not know where to turn for answers.[1] Some of these same issues are what drove Charles Templeton, a once pulpit partner of Billy Graham, into complete denial of his faith. Pastoral care has provided a framework from which to address this issue from a holistic point of view. In order to adequately address these issues there has to be a deliberate effort taken to look at the religious structures and spiritual practices at work in the context of the Church.
Issues dealing with death and dying, illnesses like dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive and intellectual deterioration (memory loss to some degree), DNR, euthanasia, and living wills should be addressed if the Church is going to be a holistic ministry. Pain and suffering were the issues that began Charles Templeton’s questioning of his faith that led to his complete denial of the Christian faith. This was evident in his book, Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith.[2] The problem was not that he had doubts about the reality of pain and suffering and death and dying, Templeton stated that he “lacks the intellectual skills and the theological training needed to buttress my beliefs when—as inevitable—questions and doubts began to plague… My reason had begun to challenge and sometimes rebut the central beliefs of the Christian Faith.”[3] Billy Graham, on the other hand, faced similar questions but was able to maintain his faith in God. Graham stated, “Not all my questions were answered, but a major bridge had been crossed.”[4] He went on to say, “In my heart and mind, I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been won.”[5] This position was attainable because, as Graham said, the Holy Spirit allowed him to say, “Father, I am going to accept this as thy Word by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.”[6]
These two men interestingly were affected by two of the diseases that impact the end of life process, Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases. What is even more ironic is that Alzheimer’s was one of those diseases that Templeton considered as too evil, and he failed to intellectually reason why God would allow this disease to affect His people. He did not seem to understand the depth of this illness and reasoned that it was all God’s fault. In the end both men made a logical choice. That choice had an impact—Charles Templeton declared that he missed God on the other hand Billy Graham is relaxing in his relationship with God. Pastors have a tremendous task to minister effectively to persons at various stages of their lives especially at the end. Most of the time these persons’ decisions that were made while they were healthy are lived out when they are dying.
[1] Lee Strobel gave a real compelling journalistic account in his book, The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity (Grand Rapids
, Michigan: Zondervan, 2000). In this book he approached the hard questions and sought to answer them without any b
iases.
[2] Charles Templeton in his book, Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999) made a passionate appeal for his position. Templeton provided a contrast for my reference since he is on the opposite side of my worldview.
[3] Strobel, The Case for Faith, 9.
[4] Graham, Billy, Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham (SanFrancisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2007), 139.
[5] Graham, Just as I Am, 139.
[6] Graham, Just as I Am, 139.
I was in my first year of college when I was invited to a seminar. The first night the speaker, in general terms, made references to parts of the Bible in support of his theological belief. On the other hand, he gave a general indictment against the Bible. The more he would speak, the more I got defensive. At the time set for Q&A, I challenged his premise, but his response made it seemed as if we agreed. I was yelling loudly inside, NO!!! All I could verbalized was quickly rebutted and made to look as if we were in agreement.
I left that first meeting bewildered. “Lord”, I said, “you know we were not saying the same thing give me wisdom to deal with this issue tomorrow.”
I heard the Holy Spirit said to me, “don’t defend, listen and I will do the rest.” I have learned many of lessons since that time.
So, next evening I did just that, I listened and not defended.
During the Q&A I started by saying…If one part of the Bible contains errors, then the same % of error applies to all or any part of the Bible. To what level of accuracy can I defend one part over the other. Therefore, your theological stand is now supported by a certain level of error which makes your theology faulty. I continued, how can you selectively choose what parts are not correct and what parts are correct on the basis that it agrees or disagrees with your point of view. You either have to trust the entire thing or none at all. That was the only question/statement I was allowed to make that night.
I have been reading of late, and this same attitude seems to be more pervasive–Let’s disregard the parts of scriptures that I do not agree with and the other parts, I will keep. The Bible is outdated, some even say. If there is no moral foundation and theological absolute, then we will fall for everything. Without the absoluteness of God, in whom all exist truths, all truths then are relative. If we start parsing the Bible into outdated and current portions, who will determine which parts will be outdated in the next generations. What is morally repulsive today could be morally acceptable tomorrow and visa versa. You cannot pick and choose what to accept and what to reject based on your own knowledge. There has to be a point of moral absolutes. Do not try to force me to dilute the scripture because it contradicts your lifestyle. I will not!!
Well, here is my stance. I believe the entire counsel of the Bible not only when it agrees with my viewpoint, but also when it does not agree with my viewpoint.
We believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God; that it contains the only true way to our salvation; that every true Christian is bound to acknowledge and receive it with the influence of the Spirit of God as the only rule and guide; and that without faith in Jesus Christ, true repentance, forgiveness of sins, and following after Christ, no one can be a true Christian. [1]
How will missions and being missional in the twenty-first century be different from the first century to the twentieth century? How could one truly and radically live out the mission of the Church? Every person must begin on his or her own doorstep.
Book Trailer
Getting out of one’s comfort zone is not easy. For most Christians it is just enough to say “hi” to their neighbors or just to pray for them. Developing a relationship with them is out of the question. This is rationalized by saying these are private individuals and that you do not want to disturb them. I have lived in New York City for a long time, and it is here that I have come to realize that you can live next door to others and never know their names, and that was acceptable. If we are going to impact our communities, we have to begin with one neighbor at a time. Jesus was accused of being friendly with sinners. As a matter of fact, He went out of His way to come into contact with them. Paul also typifies this attitude; he desired to go to the Gentiles. He considered himself an apostle to the Gentiles. His missionary plan was to travel throughout the Roman Empire and to eventually end up in Rome. He believed that from Rome he could have a greater impact.
We should relish every opportunity we get to be in contact with those around us. Wherever we are we should look for opportunities to reach out to those around us. When we personally grasp the magnitude of the gift that God has given to all mankind, we will have no other reason not to become deliberate in our missionary activities. After all, Jesus is the single greatest gift to mankind. Bill Hybels said: “Let me say it again: the single greatest gift you can give someone is an introduction to the God who asked his Son to go the unthinkable distance to redeem them.”[1] We should live our lives being conscious about those around us. We will begin to notice that God is working around us in the lives of those He has connected us to. Jesus was a storyteller. We can imitate this characteristic of Jesus. We should develop, first of all, our stories of our God encounters. Do not hesitate to share your God encounters with others. It is through these stories we will get the opportunities to share the love of God.
Some of the greatest stories in the Bible are about the deliberate efforts of those who were willing to cross the barriers and reach out to others. In so doing, they were able to share the love of God and lead those individuals into a personal relationship. This often resulted in the entire family accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We should utilize every opportunity. As a matter of fact, we should seek to create opportunities that will provide opportunities to share our stories with others. Considering that we are living in a time that is not so friendly to the Church, we have to create these opportunities outside of the Church community. We should begin at the place we work, our next-door neighbor, the supermarket where we shop, the gas station we use regularly, our barber or hair stylist, the taxi driver we frequently use, and any place we come in contact with people. We have to get comfortable walking across the room and into the lives of others. That is what God wants from us.
As we engage people, we will begin to discover their stories. Those who have been attending church for a long time will have fewer friends that are non-Christians. According to Bill Hybels, “The longer a person attends church, the fewer evangelistic discussions they engage in with family members and friends.”[2] Therefore, there has to be a deliberate effort to find and interact with people outside of the church. This will create opportunities to minister into the lives of others. Hybels continues to make the point that as we look for the next steps it becomes more risky. But since it is the Holy Spirit that is guiding this process, it is a calculated next step. The position I hold in this engagement is that of a resource provider. I might not have all the resources, but I can point people to where the resources are.
It is clear that people often send direct and indirect signals of their intentions. As Christ’s followers, we have to be conscious of those signals and be ready to act. This is possible if we are with people. We cannot be isolated from the public and expect to have any significant impact on their lives. The power of a story is invaluable. It is here that people will be able to grasp the “magnificent truth that the gospel has direct implications for the meaning of their stories, all sorts of light bulbs flicker to life.”[3] As we develop our stories we should avoid some pitfalls. Hybels calls them four criticisms: “Criticism #1: long-windedness, Criticism #2: fuzziness, Criticism #3: religionese, Criticism #4: superiority.”[4] Religionese is the use of religious terms foreign to the non-Christian. The story should elevate the grace of God, not one’s ego. Telling our stories of redemption and restoration is a powerful tool in advancing the Gospel Message. Make sure that your stories are not hindered by superficial additions, just simple and based on the Gospel.
Kingdom People Living By Kingdom Principles 