Revolution of Ordinaries

Much of what you believe about church is a symptom of what you believe about God.

15 seconds ago | [YT] | 0

Revolution of Ordinaries

Church leaders often like to be helpful...that's often why they got into ministry. So when someone comes to you, appeals to your leadership and appeals to your ability to influence people in order to solve their problem with another person in the church...it is 1000% tempting to solve this for them.

But don't!

First, Jesus told us how to solve these issues in Matthew 18 and this is not how He said to do it.

Second, this is called "triangulation" - bringing in a third party in order to bring about a certain outcome. This third party is often someone with the authority and influence to help you get what you want from the other person.

Third, when leaders jump in (because, it feels good to help, right?) you short-circuit the complainer's ability to solve problems, reconcile relationships and grow in their emotional and spiritual maturity and well being.

What do you do instead?

Direct them back to that person to do what Jesus said to to in Matthew 18,

"15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” - Matt 18:15-20

This is part of why we have congregations full of emotionally and relationally immature people who have no idea how to solve their own problems and who blow up at the drop of a hat because they were able to pawn off their outrage on others for years and get others to get them what they want without them lifting a finger or paying any sort of price for resolution.

Ever been there or done that?

3 days ago | [YT] | 7

Revolution of Ordinaries

She was hard to be around.

Her house was a mess. She smelled like smoke. She would cuss to see how I would react. Always pushing buttons.

To be honest, I didn't want to be around her. But I was a minister, and I knew I needed to be kind to her. She didn't make it easy!

I don't know her whole story, but I am pretty sure that somewhere back there, she got hurt. She had learned that letting new people get close can get you hurt. So she did things to test you...to see if you were serious.

Why?

This is important to our ongoing conversations, so hang with me here...

Why does someone hold people at arm's length?

On one level, it's to keep from getting hurt. But I think there's something deeper here. Whatever she believed about herself, there was something in her she was trying to protect. Something worth guarding from being hurt again.

And there it is...

Deep down inside, those people you don't like on the other side might not just be annoying you for the sake of annoying you. They might be protecting something they believe is worth protecting.

Once you realize this, you can see that attacking them isn't going to do any good. But when you recognize what they recognize—that they too are valuable and deserving of love, even from their enemies, as Jesus told us—then you can engage them in a way that is actually productive. Now you're a little more on the same page, and no one is having their value threatened.

When someone annoys you, or when you assume the worst about them, you might consider that something deeper could be going on. And it would be good not only to recognize but to acknowledge this: They are valuable and worthy of love, even when you disagree.

These conversations become far too threatening because they can come at a high cost. So we put up walls, comment with an insult, or just shut down because we don't want to go through what we know might happen if we were honest.

We can disagree in a way that allows them to protect what is most important to them and preserve some dignity in the process. I don't think there is a productive path forward in the conversations until we understand and practice this together.

4 days ago | [YT] | 16

Revolution of Ordinaries

We have it easy compared the how hard unity was in the first century.

A first century Jewish person had a specific view of Gentiles and Samaritans.

Gentiles, because they were often sexually immoral, pagan idolators.

Samaritans, because their family history went back to the exile and those Jewish people who stayed in the land who intermarried with Gentiles who were imported in Israel from other nations by the Babylonians. They were seen as traitors and that is why in John 4 there is so much disdain demonstrated by the disciples for them...and just how stunning that the Samaritan woman becomes the first "missionary" of the gospel - going to the city to tell everyone about who she met!

Remember Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10?

"27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” - 10:27-29

There was an idea that association and contact could lead to being unclean or bringing shame on yourself.

There was a prayer Jewish men would pray that went like this,

"Blessed are you, Hashem, our God and king of the world, who did not make me a Gentile. Blessed are you Hashem, our God and king of the world, who did not make me a slave. Blessed are you, Hashem, our God and king of the world, who did not make me a woman."

Hashem means "the name" and is a euphamism to keep them from blasphemy.

This is why Paul wrote the following in Galatians 3:26-29,

"26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Remember Acts 15...after Peter and Cornelius and how Peter had baptized uncircumcised Gentiles because the Holy Spirit had shown no favoritism with them?

They had a big meeting of the leaders as to what to do about this and they determined to not force circumcision on Gentile converts but that they were to abide by some specific rules,

"You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things." - 15:29

Why these rules?

Two reasons: 1) because if you look these up in the Torah you will see all of these rules applied to the "alien and stranger living among you" - that these already applied to the Gentiles...and 2) because these things were associated with pagan idolatry.

Pagan idolatry was a deal breaker because people were unclean and not to be associated with.

This kept a separation between Jew and Gentile and in the OT, the only way to bridge the gap was for a Gentile to take on the identifying markers of Judaism (Kosher, Sabbath, circumcision and holy days). And that was quite the ask, especially for the men!

So what you had was a HUGE chasm dividing Jew and Gentile and no one really had a good way of bridging that gap until Jesus came and the Holy Spirit came.

You see the problem in Romans where the Jews had been expelled from Rome via the edit of Claudius in 49AD (mentioned in Acts 18:2). That meant the young church in Rome lost their founders/leaders and that meant the ex-pagan Gentile converts were left to lead the church. This went on for 5 years when in 54AD Claudius died, the edicts expired and the Jews were allowed to return to Rome. Guess what the Christian Jews found when they got home? Ex-pagan Gentiles running the churches! And they didn't like it.

Stop for a minute and go read Romans 1-3 with this in mind and all kinds of lightbulbs will come on - chapter 1 = the Gentiles are messed up...chapter 2 = the Jewish Christians are messed up, leading up to 3:23 - for all have sinned and fallen short! Now that all makes sense...he was leveling the field, removing the pride and bringing them together in his opening chapters!

Here is my point.

We get divided over if we have one cup or many cups...kitchens or no kitchens...Sunday school or no Sunday school.

It looks absurd compared to what I just described above...and here is the amazing thing! God united the ununitable in the first century!

And He can do it again today!

They struggled to love each other...and I believe we are still struggling with that today.

What can we do?

Pray! Pray for unity and ask God to use us to make it happen.

Fast - beg God for direction, beg God for help, beg God in repentance for whatever role we have played in fanning the flames of division.

Spend time with each other...get to know each other...listen and learn and love!

This will not be easy but God has done harder things than help a Baptist get along with a church of Christ person! We are not that far apart...certainly not like what they lived out in the New Testament!

5 days ago | [YT] | 14

Revolution of Ordinaries

Our Home Church Resources minisry is putting out weekly live training webinars. You can catch the first two trainings on prayer and bible study on that channel. We just kicked off a training series on discipleship last night...catch lesson 1 of that series here as well - youtube.com/@homechurchresources

6 days ago | [YT] | 4

Revolution of Ordinaries

Finding others in home churches can be difficult. There are online directories but they go out of date and most home church people prefer to not advertise their home address online.

So what do you do?

I want to help connect you to other home church people, if you are part of a home church or lead a home church.

I have created an online community that will put you in a group with others who live in your state and are involved in home churches. This will help you find each other, collab, encourage and pray together.

This is brand new so it is going to take a minute for things to hit critical mass and conversations and the praying to get traction.

Here is the link - discord.gg/nzpca4PaA

6 days ago | [YT] | 5

Revolution of Ordinaries

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they haven't studied.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they disagree with God - I know, I know...easy to get those confused, right?

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean you need to end the relationship. Do all your relationships hinge on perfect alignment?

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they hate God.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't automatically mean you are right and they are wrong.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they have left Jesus behind.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean you need to take it personally.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't give you the right to be mean spirited or hateful toward them. Sure, you might feel threatened but your reaction might be worse than the issue disagreed upon.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they are compromising the truth.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they haven't prayed about it.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they are less committed to Scripture.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean their motives are bad.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they are trying to deceive people.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they are your enemy.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean you have nothing to learn from them.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean you have to convince them today. Our views take time to develop.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they deserve a label instead of a conversation.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean the Holy Spirit isn't at work in their life.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean you are seeing every passage or every issue correctly.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean humility is no longer required of you.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean love becomes optional.

What would you add?

1 week ago | [YT] | 16

Revolution of Ordinaries

This may be the biggest mistake most traditional churches and families who attend them have made over the last 50 years. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Also...if you do disciple your own kids, what advice would you give everyone else?

https://youtu.be/lMjNlwE6xPM

1 week ago | [YT] | 1