Studying love is exciting, being taught the doctrines of love is enlightening, praying about love is heart moving, and seeing love modeled is motivating, but in the end, we must lovingly obey God and sacrificially serve people. We must be practitioners of love, not theorists. We must be doers of love, not talkers. We must forge a connection between words and actions.
~ Alexander Strauch, from Love or Die
If, as most Christians profess, Jesus is indeed the only Head of the Church, it seems reasonable that Christ’s Church should reflect His personality in it’s ministries and structure.
One way that Jesus is reflected in the ministry of faithful churches has been the recovery of a balanced Word & Deed holistic ministry. By balanced I am in no way suggesting a compromise. Instead I am referring to churches that are uncompromising BOTH in their pursuit of sound Biblical and theological instruction AND in thier practice of meeting the real – spiritual and tangible – needs of their neighbors.
This only makes sense, since Jesus is himself the Word Incarnated and the one who “came to serve, not to be served”. (See Mark 10.45) Jesus’ service was expressed through miraculous practical, provision and help. And Jesus is the one who said to his disciples: “Just as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (See John 20.21) Traditionally churches have structured their leadership into the offices of Elder and Deacon, in accord with Biblical directive, to reflect Word & Deed. (Elders = Word; Deacons = Deed)
But I am increasingly becoming convinced that there is another, an additional, way that the personality of Jesus should be expressed in the Church. This additional way, often referrred to as Tri-Perspectivalism or Multi-Perspectivalism, should be expressed in the Leadership Structure and in the ministry of the church. In fact, I am convinced that it needs to be the guage by which we evaluate the faithfulness of our congregations.
The Bible teaches that Jesus exercised three distinct offices:
Each of these offices carry a significance. In exercising these three offices Jesus also reveals aspects of his personality.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes for us how Jesus exercised each of these offices:
Q. 24. As a Prophet, Christ reveals the Will of God to us for our salvation by His Word and Spirit.
Q. 25. As a Priest, Christ offered himself up once as a sacrifice for us to satisfy divine justice and to reconcile us to God; and He continually intercedes for us.
Q. 26. As a King, Christ brings us under His power, rules and defends us, and restrains and conquers all his and our enemies.
Another way of looking at these distinct roles is:
Prophet is concerned with understanding and communicating God’s Truth, and applying it to every aspect of life.
Priest is concerned with the Spiritual Renewal and Transformation of all Christ’s People. The Priest is concerned not only for the conversion and intial reconcilation of the Believer to God, but also that all our lives be increasingly lived out in the joy and freedom that the Gospel secures and applies to us.
King is concerned with the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom, with both the Future fulfillment and Present Realities in mind. In that sense, the King is concerned about both the mission and the structures of his Church.
What I have discovered is that each of these offices offers a unique perspective for leadership and ministry. Each is equally important. Each must be equally considered. If all three are not equally considered the ministry of the church is unbalanced. In fact, if all three aspects, or perspectives, are not equally considered the ministry is not only unbalanced it is unfaithful. It is not faithful to reflect the whole person of Christ, who is not only the Head but also the Model. Continue reading
OK. I know. A lot of people don’t like Tony Campolo. A lot of my friends don’t like Tony Campolo. I know he’s “too liberal”. I know John MacArthur flatly states that Campolo “misses the central teaching of the Bible“. I know he was once tried in ecclesaistical court for heresy.
But still, you must admit, he can tell a great story! And sometimes he makes a great point.
Watch the video above. Then tell me:
For the past couple of days I’ve been involved in a discussion on Justin Taylor’s blog, Between Two Worlds. The discussion was prompted when Justin posted a Tweeted quote from J.D. Greear:
“Preach the Gospel; if necessary, use words” is like saying: “Tell me your phone number, if necessary use digits.”
Greear’s clever and pithy defense of the importance of preaching and substantive evangelism is set up as opposite of the quote famously attributed to Francis of Assisi:
“Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.”
The original quote, whether by Francis or not, is intended to express the importance of Gospel-driven actions. However, it is also a quote that has often been associated with those who promote a Social Gospel – an attempt to meet tangible needs, often with little or no concern for regeneration, conversion, or spiritual transformation.
The conversation includes people who both agree and disagree with Greear. As one who wants to see both Word & Deed – who believes both Word & Deed are necessary to properly reflect the ministry of Christ and the Kingdom of God – I have really appreciated comments from all sides.
I will not restate my comments in this discussion in this post. If you are interested, you can check them out for yourself. But I will say, for those who choose to check it out, my comments are slanted toward one side of this discussion in a way that does not completely reflect my more holistic view. But, when I first commented, one side far out-numbered the other.
To check out or join the discussion, click: A Wordless Gospel.
GRACE & PEACE 