sunday's music - november 1, 2009

It's been quite some time since I participated in Fred McKinnon's Sunday Setlists Blog Carnival. It's good to be back!

I'd laid out the music for today's service a while back, long before I got the sermon topic and outline from our senior pastor. It was extra cool that he happened to be speaking on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and the focus of the music was the return of Christ and the beauty and awe of His holiness. Here's our list of music:

• Sing to the King (Charles Horne/Billy Foote) - key of E - It was Jan Owen who introduced me to this song several years ago. It's based on a hymn that was written in 1910, though the melody is completely different.
• Before the Throne of God Above (Charitie Bancroft) - key of D - I'd never known it, but this one was written 'way back in 1865, and apparently was first sung with the tune to "Sweet Hour of Prayer". The modern musical rendition is quite different, and in my opinion, delivers a far, far more accurate "feeling" than the older tune. You've really got to listen to this clip of the SPIN 360 version of this song from volume 45. Unbelievably powerful.
• Holy, Holy, Holy (traditional) - key of D - All about God. What better to sing about? This song paints fantastic visual imagery of God's holiness.
• Sanctuary (John Thompson/Randy Scruggs) - key of D/E - Continuing with the theme of God's throne, this song was a reminder that we are the body of Christ, and until the new Heaven and new Earth, we are His living place. (I didn't want to say "dwelling place")
• Glory to God Forever (Steve Fee/Vicky Beeching) - key of G - Not sure why I've waited so long for us to introduce this song. Sinple and with a slightly repetitive chorus, it doesn't bother me to repeat the words "Glory to God forever!" a bunch of times. (We should have played this one in the key of A, by the way. B, the original key, is slightly too high for large group singing and G was too low.) The link for this song goes to Amazom.com's $0.99 MP3 download. I encourage you to begin using this song as a vehicle for corporate worship.

The choir closed with a song with a Southern Gospel feel: "God Says You're Gonna Make It". Similar underlying theme to the congregational songs, with a tighter focus on standing firm because of the hope that we have.

It's an amazing privilege to be able to sing in worship to our Creator with those who know Him. It's always a huge prayer that those people who don't know Him but still attend services would respond as the Spirit draws them.

participating in life

If we view our entire lives -- day by day -- as an opportunity to participate in what God has planned for the earth on that particular day, our spiritual ears are more open to what the Holy Spirit says moment by moment.

If, however, we view our personal goals and comfort as being primary (and this is much easier to do than it sounds), we're far less likely to even be able to hear what the Spirit says.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

Galatians 5:13-17, NLT

save me from myself?

This morning I set my coffee cup on top of a three-ring binder that was on a table in the den (or whatever the proper word is for that room). It wasn't one of those with the huge 2" or 3" spine, but there was an incline to it, so my coffee cup was sitting there at an angle. As I stood next to it and put my houseshoes on, I said a short, silent prayer: "Lord, please don't allow that coffee cup to fall." I knew that if it fell it would wake my daughter, who'd slept on the pull-out bed in the den thingy room.

It struck me pretty much instantly that if I do something that intentionally invokes the results of the law of gravity in a bad way, it's a little silly to ask God to adjust the laws of nature for a few minutes while I put my shoes on.

To be sure, I thought there was a pretty good chance that the coffee cup wouldn't slide off and crash to the floor. Otherwise I wouldn't have put it there. But I thought it was a pretty good insurance policy to ask God to take up the slack.

Here's where I think that we Christians are prone to take verses out of context. "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." (1 John 5:14, NASB) Could I have confidence that God would hear my prayer and respond the way I asked Him to?

Maybe you've offered such prayers as, "Lord, I'm so late because I had to change clothes because I didn't like that other shirt. Please help me get there on time," or "Please don't let the computer lock up on me before I send this e-mail, even though I don't run antivirus software and haven't defragged in three years." Things like this and my goofy coffee-cup prayer are instances in which we ask God to take up the slack of our own stupidity or lack of planning and preparation.

I'm talking about the things that are obviously nuts, but it goes even deeper than this. Very often we will do things a certain way, out of the will of God or without so much as a thought about Christ, and then ask God to make the results turn out in an unlikely way.

If we've spent the whole day living outside of God's will, it's a misconception to think that He will wrap all of the day's events up in a way that glosses over our intentional wrong actions and say to us, "No problem. Well done, my good and faithful servant!"

Many times, praise God, He is merciful and gracious in these situations. But remember the resounding words of the psalmists and prophets like Jeremiah (I paraphrase from many different passages): I have been faithful to walk in Your ways, Lord. Please remember your servant and protect me from calamity and those who would harm me. (have a look at Psalm 58 and Psalm 91, for instance.) Looking at Scripture, I don't believe we can hope for the latter without having done the former.

day one in the "secular" world...

Today began my move back into the workforce outside of the office at Wall Highway Baptist Church. Yesterday I made the announcement in both of our AM services that I would be moving back into bi-vocational ministry and church leadership. I went into this at length in a previous post, but I thought I'd share my announcement here, since it varied a little bit from my long post.

I wanted to touch on some of the reasons I believe that "tent-making" is critical in the ministry, without alienating people to the point of tuning me out (old habits die hard). From the feedback I received, my point was understood.

I think that this will mark the last post about what's been up here lately. I still haven't gotten to a post that commenter Robby asked about -- what do I believe a church meeting should look like? So without further ado, here's the announcement I made yesterday:


About two years ago I began an investigation, almost unintentionally. I wanted to know if what we consider “church” today is actually what God laid out for His people when He founded His Church on Jesus Christ.

I want to share a couple of things that I’ve looked at over that time, and how Callie and I are following God as a result, and I’d love to talk to you about it over lunch over the coming weeks if you have any questions. Find me after the service and we will plan it.
 When you hear Pastor Lee mention that he talked with someone in Starbucks about Jesus, there’s a note of encouragement that says we need to be doing that. That’s the point! But underlying everything, I’ve seen that there’s usually an expectation that says, “Hey, he’d better be doing that! We pay him to be a preacher and talk about Jesus all the time and wear his hair like that.” When we hear about a pastor or a preacher who’s caught in some sin, especially a famous person, not only do we shoot our wounded, but we are amazed at how a man of God would be able to fall so far.

 One of the things I have seen from observing the modern Church is that in our minds we have so separated “pastors” from “laypeople” – in an unbiblical way – that from my observation, we fully expect that paid professional Christians should be the better Christians.

But I’ve noticed that my Bible doesn’t differentiate in its standards of following Christ, and I’ll bet yours doesn’t, either. Every single person in this room who calls himself or herself a follower of Christ has been given a spiritual gift, or gifts, that God requires us to use for His glory in the community of believers, and each of us is held to this standard by God Almighty: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. This command is not for a small subset of Christians.

And then I’ve considered how I serve God and how I serve you. I’m not rich, but I’m paid well. And I’ve looked at the salary I make and contrasted it with how much we as a congregation at Wall Highway get up, get out, and give to those who are truly in need. The church in America has become a very comfortable group of people.

 If you look at how we spend our time and our finances, it’s very stark how inwardly-focused we are, and I have a hard time seeing Biblical actions or Biblical intent in that.

I am now moving forward in the spirit of what Paul said in Acts 20 when he spoke to the elders in the Church at Ephesus: “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:32-35, NLT)

This is exciting and will present its own set of challenges, but having been at Wall Highway for 18 years, many of those in bi-vocational service, this is not new to me. There may not be a change on the surface, if the only time you ever see me is on Sunday morning. But I do want to see change – change that sees the Church growing spiritually, and the community of believers working and serving together with a new perspective on what it really means to “Be the Church."

Come and talk with me after the service if I can clarify anything or if I can share more about what God has been doing. I love you guys.

Thank you!

when coffee grounds attack

For some time now, I've been looking for the perfect analogy for that deal when coffee grounds get into your coffee. If you're a coffee drinker, this has surely happened to you. What's the thing you remember about that cup of coffee? How good it was? Probably not. Even if it was otherwise perfect, the process of picking/spitting grounds out of one's mouth seems to supersede any thoughts of how the coffee itself actually tasted.

Finally, the wife of staunch friend and commenter Leroy presented the perfect analogical material: don't try to ruin a great movement of God by getting legalistic, because that's bound to leave residue.

For background, Leroy is one of those hardcore Christ-following friends who gets all kinds of brain matter from me. He's good about being wise and telling me that I'm nuts, that I might just be onto something, or that I should stop talking and do something, a la the People's Front of Judaea (Python fans will understand this). One of a handful of great thermostat kinds of friends. Apparently his wife is at least that wise.

If you've been following this blog, you'll have seen some ideas that run counter to typical modern church cultural thinking. I have pointed out several ideas, activities, and philosophies in the Church that I hope I've shown (by using Scripture) are not in line with Scripture. I intend to be vocal about those things and active where action is required.

However, I've found that in the process of trying to make the coffee just right (which usually means "strong enough"), it's very easy to put so much raw coffee in there that it winds up tainting the end product.

My goal is the centrality, glory, and fame of Jesus Christ, and for every person alive, more than head knowledge of a god, but a relationship (a corporate relationship as well as an individual one) with the singular God of creation.

I think I pollute that sometimes by helping God along (just in case He needs it, you know).

stem cell research - an ethical dispute

This is a guest post, and an unusual one, at that. I'll be right back to the more "normal" topics (there's at least one coming up that will tackle some heavy issues concerning the Church and worship) very soon.

The following is a research paper written by friend and commenter Ted. I read it a couple of weeks ago and was so intrigued that I could have been so woefully off-base on the facts of this issue that even though it's a far cry from typical EGBDF fare, I asked him if I could post it. He readily agreed. I'm a musician, not a scientist, and I'm interested in your thoughts.

Just to annoy you, I removed the footnotes for the sake of formatting. He did provide them and I'll be happy to post them or e-mail them to you if you'd like. Just to annoy Ted, I put some key phrases in bold.


Stem Cell research is a tinderbox waiting for the slightest spark to ignite another ethical divide across America, conservatives versus liberals, Republicans versus Democrats, ‘intelligent design’ versus evolution, and Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice. What is it about Stem Cell research that has everyone up in arms? The ethical dispute concerning stem cell research centers on the definition of life; if we are a product of ‘intelligent design’ then all life is sacred, but if we evolved, should we not use every means available to improve our lives? To understand this ethical dilemma we must define what stems cells are. In an article by stemcellresearchfacts.com entitled “Adult versus Embryonic Stem Cells”, we find this definition:

A stem cell is essentially a “blank” cell, capable of becoming another more differentiated cell type in the body, such as a skin cell, a muscle cell, or a nerve cell. Microscopic in size, stem cells are big news in medical and science circles because they can be used to replace or even heal damaged tissues and cells in the body. They can serve as a built-in repair system for the human body, replenishing other cells as long as a person is still alive.

There are two major classifications of stem cells, embryonic and adult. PhD Kane, a veterinarian, explains, “Adult -- stem cells are obtained from a variety of tissues, including bone marrow, adipose tissue, muscle, cartilage, trabecular bone and tendon”. PhD Kane has used stem cell therapy to treat soft tissue and tendon injuries on horses for several years with encouraging results. What makes this treatment promising is the capacity of stem cells to differentiate into specialized cell types. “Adult stem cell treatments have been successfully used for many years” to treat leukemia and related bone/blood cancers through bone marrow transplants. Additionally, this kind of treatment has about a zero percent chance of rejection because the donor and recipient are one in the same. “Embryonic stem cells are obtained by harvesting living embryos which are generally 5-7 days old. The removal of embryonic stem cells invariably results in the destruction of the embryo”; which is the main cause for the controversy. Steven Ertelt states, “Embryonic stem cell research has never cured or helped any patients to this point. Only the use of adult stem cells and treatments derived from them have cured or reduced the effects of any diseases or conditions afflicting patients”. Another major disadvantage with embryonic stem cells is that have a tendency to cause tumors and have a high rejection rate.

The use of embryonic stem cells results in the destruction of the embryo, a potential human life, which fuels this ethical debate. Additionally, embryonic stem cell research is commonly associated with abortion and many of the issues tied to it. Since the Roe versus Wade case of 1973, there is a great ethical divide across America – Pro Life versus Pro Choice. Creationism and Darwinism are also associated with embryonic stem cell research, because one’s belief in either Intelligent Design or evolution determines his understanding of life. Political ideologies and agendas add more dissention to this debate; topics such as separation of church and state, liberalism versus conservatism, gay rights, and health care are often referred to when stem cell research is mentioned. Time Magazine correspondent Karen Tumulty wrote the following:

The politics of stem-cell research, just like the science of it, is turning out to be far more complicated than either side would like you to think. From the press releases, fund-raising appeals and victory cries that were going up in the hours after President George W. Bush used his veto for the first time, it may have looked as though the Democrats had finally found their golden issue--and a social one at that. "With one stroke of his pen," declared Democratic chairman Howard Dean, "President Bush has once again denied hope to millions of Americans and their families who suffer from diabetes, spinal-cord injuries and Alzheimer's."

In actuality President Bush’s veto only “banned the use of federal funding to support research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 2001, it is not illegal”. There is no law or regulation against destroying human embryos for research purposes. Anyone using private funds is free to conduct embryonic stem cell research. According to Howard Dean, any attempt to deny funding for embryonic stem cell research is denying hope to millions of Americans. The following statement from the National Review is a perfect example of how political agendas are more important than finding a possible cure:

On Nov. 20, scientists announced that they had discovered a way to create stem cells with the same potential as embryonic stem cells--but instead of destroying embryos, they had done it by "reprogramming" adult cells. Supporters of the embryo-destructive research, especially Democrats, started to carp. The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said that it would take years for scientists to figure out how to keep the new methods from causing tumors. Instead, it took less than two weeks. Eventually, the naysayers are going to have to face the fact that we have had some good news.

The exploitation of women to donate their eggs is big business on many campuses nationwide. Political pressures to develop a viable embryonic stem cell treatment are endangering women. A recent headline in USA Today, “Egg Donor Business Booms on Campus”, depicts how research facilities target women to donate their eggs. Jim Hopkins states, “potential risks, including nausea and diarrhea, from a condition known as "ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome”, and there is a ‘remote’ chance of death”.

Public confusion, political ideologies and agendas, along with media sensationalism continue to distort the issues over stem cell research. Politicians and the media rarely disseminate between embryonic and adult stem cell research during any discussion or debate; this technique adds confusion and distorts the truth. “Most types of stem cell research are morally acceptable and laudable. Only research using embryonic stem cells raises insuperable moral objections”.

The only way to eliminate the confusion is to eliminate the double-talk. Stem cell research is not, and should not be used as a platform to promote anyone’s ideologies. Research and examine the facts; ask medical professionals and doctors for information; then and only then can one develop an informed and conscientious opinion.

changes

Yes, I have finally arrived. I am earning my proverbial salt as a blogger by using "changes" as the title of a post. You may not know it, but this is a requirement for all bloggers. I think it's in the Super-Secret 13th Level Blogging Handbook somewhere, anyway.

This is life-altering stuff, and since it is in motion and I've told a couple of groups, I wanted to outline it in as much detail as possible so there would be no chance for hearsay, rumor, or speculation of motives. Some of that has started, and mercifully, it's been all good (a rarity!). I will be presenting the high points at Wall Highway on October 11, in case there are those who haven't heard it from the horse's mouth.

Updated note: this post gives personal background and observation which I believe is based fully in fact, and it's highly likely to contain something that will make you mad. If that happens, remember that I didn't write it with you personally in mind. Read what I say, see if it aligns with Scripture, and if it does, you have no reason to get mad. If you don't fit the mold, you have no reason to get mad. If you believe I'm twisting Scripture, you may get mad, and you need to jump in to correct me.

I sometimes wonder if it’s as glaring to anyone besides me that money has become such an important part of the functionality of the Church today that the lack of it throws our servanthood and our ministries into chaos. This is a symptom of the march of “progress” over the past 1,800 years, which has led the Church from being a family of believers with Christ as its head to being a well-structured business defined by people with similar theologies. While the Church hasn’t adapted to our culture in every way, we have adapted to it with alarming excellence in many ways.

With this in mind, about two years ago I began to study the Word more deeply and specifically than I had before, fully expecting God to reveal Himself to me more profoundly than I’d allowed Him to do in the past. I began to pray more fervently, expecting to see God work in mighty ways. In both cases God amazed me.

It seems to me that by and large, our churches have become slaves to their systems of operation rather than bondservants of Christ. As culture has marched forward, the Church has marched forward with it, and all too often the two are linked arm in arm. “…the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” These words of Paul have been taken to an extreme in the business of church. Isn’t it striking how much of a typical church’s budget doesn’t go toward assisting other struggling church fellowships, caring for widows and orphans, or supporting itinerate ministers and those who carry the Gospel to remote places? To add insult to injury, isn't it also striking that the main thing that goes from our churches toward these areas is money, not people?

Lately this has become all the more stark to me as I’ve learned of church fellowships that have let go of administrative and pastoral staff members due to financial strain, while others not far away are investing money in things like advertising campaigns, property improvements, new buildings, and ministries designed to bring people in for “growth” (as opposed to the Church going out). Unfortunately, this doesn’t even raise an eyebrow among the people of God. While I am not suggesting that one fellowship is more or less Godly than another, on the whole, churches continually prove through their actions that they’re primarily concerned with their own territories to the exclusion and detriment of others that labor for the sake of the Gospel.

(This is typically done with the idea that each church fellowship is called to minister to its specific area in its specific way -- that God has tasked each fellowship with sticking to its own area. While the sheer size of Christianity has necessitated multiple churches in neighboring areas, I maintain that the “territorial” idea isn’t Scriptural either in practice or in concept.)

In Acts 20, Paul talks to the elders of the church at Ephesus: “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:34-35, NLT, emphasis mine) While he admonishes the Church to care for its elders financially and he accepted one-time monetary gifts on at least two occasions, several times in his letters Paul flatly states that he will not avail himself of this right on an ongoing basis.

In the spirit of Paul’s words, about a year ago it struck me that God had blessed me with a unique possibility: the potential to pastor and lead His people at Wall Highway Baptist Church while financially supporting my family independently. This would also have the benefit of allowing me to live and work daily among people who may not know Christ while still serving the Church in the leadership role to which I’ve been called. My wife and I began to pray about it, but although the idea surfaced a few more times over the year, we never received any word from the Lord or indication that this was a viable option or a step of obedience to Him… until a few weeks ago.

In one specific moment I began to feel a very real sense of urgency that I should move back into the “secular” workforce; that now was the time. That evening I presented the idea to my wife and she was in complete agreement.

Over the next two days I was amazed at the “coincidences” that appeared before me. If I’d had any doubt that this was God’s idea, it would have been completely washed away over those days. The company I spoke with happened to have a position open. Amazingly – and unbeknownst to me at the time – I apparently had a window of opportunity that was open for one single day. It just happened to be the day I followed what I believed the Holy Spirit was telling me to do and talked with them.

In addition to two years of Scripture, prayer, and the uncanny situation surrounding the job, there were two independent confirmations of this direction to me and my wife over the next two or three days from Christ-followers who knew nothing about what was going on.

My family and I do not move forward lightly or with little consideration, but instead we move forward with full confidence in God and in the leading of the Holy Spirit. For many of the 18 years that we have been at Wall Highway, I served the body of Christ bi-vocationally, and I’m excited that I have the opportunity to return to this, beginning in October. I do so with a fresh vision of what the Church should look like and with the amazing opportunity to give my gifts for the building up of the body of Christ without expecting any financial compensation in return.

You may be thinking, “Bi-vocational?? In a church that size [we’re only around 500-600, so it’s not huge], you’re nuts to do this, Dean!” Not if the body of Christ begins to love, fellowship, and live in a Biblical way. Over the course of hundreds and hundreds of years, we have unintentionally moved toward atrophy in the body of Christ by anticipating that a small core of people, either paid staff or "super Christians" among us, will do what God has called all of His people to do (Acts 4:31, Romans 12:6-21, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 1 Corinthians 14:26). Ephesians 4:11-16 summarizes how the Church is to work as a body in which everyone functions, and church leaders are called to equip the saints to do God's work - not do it all for them!

It is absolutely critical for me to communicate plainly and directly that in no way am I moving away from the calling God placed on me to serve Him with my particular gifts, and to do so at Wall Highway Baptist Church. This is not a decision to stop serving God in a full-time capacity. “All believers are called into full-time ministry” is a valid phrase that is sometimes heard in Church meetings, but is one that is rarely reinforced by action or example. With a desperate desire to serve my Creator in the most Christ-centered way that I can, and with the full support of my family, this very statement is what I am pleased to continue to fulfill.

Finally, understand that I am not condemning those who earn their living in vocational ministry. (For real. I should probably elaborate more on this, but the post is already miles long...)

I welcome your comments!

quotable quote

I'm working on a couple of posts that I'm trying to take from "rant" level down to "sensible Scriptural exposition" level. Hopefully you'll be seeing a couple of new things soon.

In the meantime, to keep something going here (though I've already messed that up), I'll post a favorite quote of Frank Viola's that I love:

"Calling a structure a 'church' is like calling your wife a skyscraper."

didn't you get the memo?

I have some new propaganda... er, material that I've been working on. Upcoming posts are going to be exciting!

I think that it's a rite of passage for a blogger to make a post entitled "Changes," so I'm looking forward to that one. Timing will be somewhat of an issue, as will the organization of my thoughts. I want to give plenty of information, but not so much that you'll think I'm nuts. This happened at a meeting I had with my team last week, and I regret it. My talk should have been highly focused but I thought some brainstorming would be good. It really wasn't.

For today's post, I was reading an account of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, threatening Judah in Isaiah 37. God's message to Sennacherib says, "Yes, look at you... You've conquered surrounding kingdoms." He injects a stinging humorous comment at the end of the passage below.

Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?
Against whom did you raise your voice?
At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?
It was the Holy One of Israel!

By your messengers you have defied the Lord.
You have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have conquered the highest mountains—
yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its finest cypress trees.
I have reached its farthest heights
and explored its deepest forests.

I have dug wells in many foreign lands
and refreshed myself with their water.
With the sole of my foot,
I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’

But have you not heard?
I decided this long ago.
Long ago I planned it,
and now I am making it happen.
I planned for you to crush fortified cities
into heaps of rubble.
- Isaiah 37:23-26 (NLT)

I love the question in bold type above. I think a great modern paraphrase would be, "Didn't you get the memo?"

bring them in?

I wrote this post a couple of months ago, and I finally decided that it was time to share it. It is long. I ask in advance that you don't put words in my mouth. Stick with what I do say; not what I'm not saying. Above all, don't take my word for all of this. Instead, see if what I'm saying matches what the Bible says.

It’s been said before, by many people, that we regard "church" as a social club. For that reason, it may sound odd when I say that the Church is to be a group of believers and should not (and in fact, cannot) be made up of non-believers or half-hearted followers of Christ.

Do I want to ban non-believers from meeting with the Church? No. But I can’t find in the Word where we have the mandate to encourage non-believers to attend meetings of prayer and worship. Quite the opposite, in fact!

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
- Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT) (emphases mine)

Can a teacher equip a non-believer to fulfill God's purpose? Can we reach unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son if we're attempting to equip people who don't have faith or don't care much about God's Son?

The fact that most churches play host to so many people who don't actually follow Christ is at the root of so many problems that can be found in nearly every church fellowship: bickering and complaining, a lack of volunteers (though many church fellowships get themselves into this problem by generating busy-work with no Scriptural purpose), people who fill a seat on Sunday morning and aren't seen again until the following week (or less frequently), church-wide goals that aren't Biblical, and more.

Are we acting in accordance with Scripture when we set up our places of worship to draw in non-believers? The natural reaction is to say, "Of course we need to be bringing non-believers to 'church'!" but that instruction is not in my Bible (and probably can't be found in yours, either).

Do we expect that our churches will be able to worship, daily engaging their circle of friends and acquaintances for the sake of the Gospel, and be filled with the Holy Spirit if...

• many of our people have never put their hand to the plow and begun following Christ
• we never tell them that God expects everything of a believer
• we have no system of accountability in discipleship because we don't want to offend people
• we staff our teams, committees, and programs with people who don't know Christ
• we consider "growth" to be a strictly numeric thing

 As I’ve written before, we have quite literally changed the definition of "church" in order to meet our desires and personal goals, and this isn't just alarming -- it's unscriptural and we should expect the judgment of God rather than His blessing.

The passages below are just a scratch on the surface of the Biblical picture of the Church:

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place...

And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
- Acts 2:1, 4-6 (NLT) (emphases mine)

Is anything about the character of the Church that’s apparent in these verses? If so, what? How about the meeting they were having? What made it unique? Here's more...

As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God...

"And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
- Acts 4:23-24, 29-31 (NLT) (emphases mine)

A few interesting points:

• the believers were meeting together
• all of the believers in this meeting lifted their voices to God
• the request for boldness to preach was for God's servants -- plural
• they were filled with the Holy Spirit -- an impossibility for someone who doesn't know Christ
• the resulting preaching after they were filled with the Holy Spirit was not left to one person. They all preached the Word of God with boldness.

 It seems very intuitive to say that we need to be bringing non-believers into a place where the Gospel is preached. Paul even takes it for granted that non-believers will occasionally be in our meetings: "Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy." - 1 Corinthians 14:23 (NLT) (you guessed it -- emphasis mine)

Non-believers may indeed come to our meetings, but the instruction to preach to the non-converted at a meeting of the Church is conspicuously absent from the New Testament.

I’m not suggesting, nor do I believe, that we should discourage non-believers from being present while we worship God. If you got that message from what I’ve written, you’ve read between the lines and found something that wasn’t there.

Invite non-believers to "church"? How should we interact with them the rest of the week?