Word and Spirit?

In my blog entitled ‘Pinky and the Brain’ I spoke of the three main purposes of the Church; to worship God, to bless the believer and to serve this lost and broken world. I’ve been stirred to ask myself ‘how am I fulfilling the purposes to which I have been called to?’ Today I want to look at how I’m blessing the believer:

I fully believe that the Church should be a place where we worship God in Word and Spirit (John 4:23) but the question is what does that look like?  What did Jesus mean when He said Word and Spirit?

My passion is for Churches that hold and honour BOTH the word and the Spirit in equal importance.  One without the other doesn’t work.  Just think, a Church where the Word of God is central but is without the Spirit of God to bring it alive you’ll find dry Christians, thirsty for a touch and filling of the Spirit.  Or a Church without a foundation built on the Word you’ll find immature Christians open to every wind of teaching (Ephesians 4:14).

Worshipping through Word and Spirit is not about activity but a way of living.  So often we think that the musical worship time is our ‘Spirit’ worship and that the preach is our ‘word’ worship!  Although there is some truth this view is fundamentally wrong! 

When we gather on a Sunday morning to worship together through music it should be worship full of both Word and Spirit.  The songs we choose should be based on scriptural truth, the Bible should be publically read and contributions should be based on theological truths.  The way we lead should be done in a God honouring way. Likewise, when we preach the Word of God should be honoured but so to should the Spirit.  Preachers we need to make room for the Spirit in what we preach and teach. 

A worship time without the Word is like a like a Plane without a Pilot and a Preach without the Spirit is like a car without the fuel.

I love to preach.  It’s one of my main passions.  Why?  Because I love building up and blessing the Church.  Like I’ve said several times already in previous blogs, the local Church is the hope of the world.  I have a desire to teach the Church biblical truths that help them in their everyday lives to honour and exalt God; Biblical truths that will help our musical worship be grounded on scripture; and Biblical truths that will stir them to love and honour the Word and Spirit of God.

Smoking, gambling and homosexuality

Everyone loves a controversial Blog title don’t
they?! 

I love the Church.  It’s what I live for, it’s what I’ve given my working life too and I believe 100% that it is the hope of the world.  The best laws, policy and governance will never be the solution to this world’s problem’s because they can never change the heart of a man...I believe only the Church can do this.

If the Church is functioning correctly Jesus should be at the very centre of it all, changing hearts, impacting lives and bringing freedom quite simply because that is what He does.

However, in my experience that’s not always the case.  Whether it is through my own personal experience of through shared experiences of others I have spoken to, the Church fails to do this on a regular basis.  Now this is not to criticise Churches, leaders or even members of Churches.  It’s simply to acknowledge the truth. 

The single biggest cause of atheism today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny them with their lives (DC Talk).  I have many friends who like the idea of Jesus but are hung up on the judgemental nature of the Church.  I have friends who have been rejected by the church because of their lifestyle.  Friends who openly critiscise the Church for double standards.  Friends who think the Church is outdated and irrelevant.

Why is this the case?  I believe  it is because as Christians we're sometimes too quick to judge...too quick to see the sin and not the person.  Too quick to want to keep our Churches neat and tidy and without drama.

Something that has really bugged me in the last two years (since I started to work full time for the Church) is how the Church perceives those who aren’t in the church? 

I often think to myself on a Sunday morning, how would my friends feel in this place?  Friends who smoke, gamble and who are in gay relationships.  Friends who I care about, respect, honour and want to bless.

Now this isn’t a theological blog about what I think about these subjects…although I do think there is a lot to be said about these things from a Biblical perspective (especially on smoking and gambling!).  It is simply posing the question to church goers:  ARE OUR CHURCHES INCLUSIVE?

The one subject that has really got me thinking of late is homosexuality.  Now again, I’m not going to go into details of my beliefs on the subject (although I do love debating it), but it breaks my heart that the Church community and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community are so far apart in terms of accepting one another.

This is not what Jesus would want for His Church. 

Jesus is an all-inclusive Saviour and God.  This blog could be about any contentious issue.  It could be about alcoholics, covicted criminals or abortion. The Bible clearly states that He wants every single person to be accepted and welcomed into His family (1 Timothy 2:4) and as a Church we have a responsibility to serve with this mentality in mind.  That doesn't mean I agree with everything that all our guests believe, in fact there are many christians that I disagree with!  But it does mean that we should love everyone who comes through our doors...in the way we think about them, view them and engage with them.  Gay or straight.

So Church, think…would you dwell in an environment where you’re made to feel unwelcome and uncomfortable whether passively or actively?  I know I wouldn’t.

I would love to see Churches all over this nation that love and embrace everyone regardless of their background, faith or lifestyles.  Straight or gay.  Addicted or not.  I love the vision of the Church that Jesus painted for us in Revelation 21 and my prayer and hope is that we see this sooner rather than later.

The most selfish person I know!

In my blog entitled ‘Pinky and the Brain’ I spoke of the three main purposes of the Church; to worship God, to bless the believer and to serve this lost and broken world.  I’ve been stirred to ask myself ‘how am I fulfilling the purposes to which I have been called to?’  Today I want to look at my Worship life:

Worship is everywhere and everyone worships.  When I became a Christian in  2002, I made a commitment to God that I would choose to worship Him before all other things, for this is simply what worship is.  To lift someone or something up, to adore and honour them and to put the person or object before yourself in full devotion.  People worship money, career, sex, drink, sport, their families or a mixture of them all!  In fact anything can become an object of worship; even cows!

 In November 2011 my son Joash Lines was born, a moment that has and is changing my life.  Not just in terms of what I do and how I spend my time but he’s also taught me a lot about myself.  Since he’s been born I’ve realised that I actually worship myself much more than I thought.  I’ve realised just how selfish I am.  It’s been incredible to see my response (albeit internally) when he needs a nappy change at three in the morning, or when the house needs tidying, or when there’s something I have to give up for the benefit of my family.

It’s hard work being a dad, husband, employee, brother, friend and son.  A lot of my time is no longer my own and when the time that is my own gets infringed upon, how do I respond?  I often get grumpy, bitter and annoyed at those doing the infringing!  I think that I should be number one, that I'm the most important person in the world and that my time should reflect this!  I get frustrated that I have to do something I don't want to do!  I lift myself up and evelate my own feelings and opinions to a point of honour and praise!  'I know best...' I tell myself.  I think 'I deserve to be selfish.'

So how’s my worship life?  How am I doing when fulfilling the first and greatest command given to the church (Matthew 26:36-40)?  Not very well!  Of course we’re all on a journey and Joash has nudged me a bit further along on that journey, but what I’ve come to realise is that the god of self is rife in our society. 

In my opinion this is the main reason abortions are on the increase and marriage is on the decrease; because both require a self-sacrifice.  Both require us to give something up and our culture teaches us that this is wrong and a sign of weakness.

My prayer daily is that God would give me the grace, energy and strength to worship Him and not myself and my worship is fueled by the truth that Jesus didn't worship Himself but chose to humble Himself and exalt and honour the Fathers (Luke 22:42).  There are so many good things in this world and I want to make sure that I get them in the right context.  I want to make sure that I put God first and everything else second.