Thoughts on Faith and the Existence of God

I started physical therapy for my new hip the other day and began a dialogue with the PT about spirituality.  One portion of out talk reminded me of one of my long-time favorite authors and articles...The late Christian author and philosopher Francis Schaeffer wrote a book entitled, He Is There and He Is Not Silent. There is an appendix in the book that addresses the issue of faith and whether or not we have the capacity to interact with God.  I thought I'd pass it on...

Schaeffer would say that the Christian faith is not a blind faith at all – but an invitation to interact with a loving and compassionate God - who is alive and more available than we could ever imagine.

He says, “One must analyze the word faith and see that it can mean two completely opposite things.
Suppose we are climbing in the Alps and are very high on the bare rock, and suddenly the fog shuts down. The guide turns to us and says that the ice is forming and that there is no hope; before morning we will all freeze to death here on the shoulder of the mountain. Simply to keep warm the guide keeps us moving in the dense fog further out on the shoulder until none of us have any idea where we are. After an hour or so, someone says to the guide, ‘Suppose I dropped and hit a ledge ten feet down in the fog. What would happen then?’ The guide would say that you might make it until morning and thus live. So, with absolutely no knowledge or any reason to support his action, one of the group hangs and drops into the fog. This would be one kind of faith, a leap of faith [or what has been called “blind faith”].

Suppose however, after we have worked out on the shoulder in the midst of the fog and the growing ice on the rock, we had stopped and heard a voice which said, ‘You cannot see me, but I know exactly where you are from your voices. I am on another ridge. I have lived in these mountains, man and boy, for over sixty years and I know every foot of them. I assure you that ten feet below you there is a ledge. If you hang and drop, you can make it through the night and I will get you in the morning.’

I would not hang and drop at once, but I would ask questions to try and ascertain if the man knew what he was talking about and if he was not my enemy. In the Alps, for example, I would ask him his name. If the name he gave me was the name of a family from that part of the mountains, it would count a great deal to me. In the Swiss Alps there are certain family names that indicate mountain families of that area. In my desperate situation, even though time was running out, I would ask him what to me would be adequate and sufficient questions, and when I became convinced by his answers, then I would hang and drop.

This is faith, but obviously it has no relationship to the other use of the word. As a matter of fact, if one of these is called faith, the other should not be designated by the same word. The historic Christian faith is not a leap of faith [or blind faith] …because He is not silent, and I am invited to ask the adequate and sufficient questions, not only in regard to details, but also in regard to the existence of the universe and its complexity and in regard to the existence of man. I am invited to ask adequate questions and sufficient questions and then believe Him and bow before Him metaphysically in knowing that I exist because He made man, and bow before Him morally as needing His provision for me in the substitutionary, propitiatory death of Christ.

So, how do we hear from God?  If you've been around MPVCC this year, no doubt you've heard me (and others) teach on this a lot!  I've also blogged fairly regularly on the subject.  Here is a link to one of those blogs - you can also type "listen" into the blog's search engine...

HappyAdvent Season!

Declining vs Thriving Churches

Good food for thought...

Declining Congregational Members are:	Thriving Congregational Participants are:
Committed to the church	Committed to Christ
Managing committees	Deploying mission
Holding offices	Doing hands-on ministries
Making decisions	Making disciples
Trained for membership	On a life long development track
Serving at the church	Serving in the world
Preoccupied with raising money	Preoccupied with rescuing people
Retiring from church work	Finding personal fulfillment
Surveying internal needs	Pursuing constant personal growth
Eager to know everyone	Sensitized to community
Loyal to each other	Eager for everyone to know God
Building faith on information	Building faith on transformation
Perpetuating a heritage	Building faith on experience w/ Christ
Hanging on	Visioning a future

Acts 9: The Conversion of a Terrorist

This Sunday we will be looking at Acts 9. The graphic below is a "word cloud" compilation of Acts 9. (Check out Wordle.)

Read up and I will see you Sunday.

MPVCC Values, Mission, & Vision Statements

1. Core Values

A. The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God
“And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23

B. Experiencing God
“…That I may know him and the power of his resurrection…” Philippians 3:10

C. Reconciling Community
“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18

D. Compassionate Ministry
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

E. Culturally Relevant Mission
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

“In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15

2. Mission Statement (the what) -- Bringing heaven to earth (Matthew 6:10)

3. Vision Statement (the how) -- Learning how to love – “So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these." Mark 12:29 (MSG)

• God
• Others
• Ourselves

One village of a hundred people

Couldn't pass this up...

World evangelism statistics: What would our world look like?

Raw population statistics overwhelm you. Here's one way of visualizing the world and its economic, housing, health, religious and educational needs: Shrink the earth's population to one village of exactly 100 people. Apply the earth's racial, economic and other ratios to these 100 people. Here's how this village would look:

Origins:

• 60 would be from Asia
• 12 would be European in origin
• 15 would have come from the Western Hemisphere (9 Latin Americans, 5 North Americans, and 1 from Oceania)
• 13 would be from Africa

Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, "World Population Prospects: The 2000 Revision."

Sex / Gender:

• 50 would be female
• 50 would be male

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census International Data Base, Table 094 : Midyear Population by Age and Sex 2001.

Skin color:

• 80 would be non-white
• 20 would be white

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census International Data Base, Table 001 : Total Midyear Population 2001, assuming the populations of South America, Asia, and Africa are "non-white" and those of North America, Europe, and Oceania are "white."

Religion:

• 67 would be non-Christian
• 33 would label themselves as "Christian"

Source: Britannica Book of the Year 1999, "Religious Population of the World, 1998," reprinted at infoplease.com , using numbers from the "Christians" heading only for the Christian percentage.

Economics:

• 20 people would be receiving almost 90% of the village's total income

Source: The International Herald Tribune, February 5, 1999, cited in the World Income Inequality table.

Housing:

• 25 would live in substandard housing

Source: Habitat for Humanity International, "Why Habitat is Needed."

Literacy:

• 17 would not be able to read at all

Source: UNICEF, "The State of the World's Children 1999."

Nutrition:

• 13 would be malnourished

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization report, cited at OBGYN.net.

Life and death:

• 1 would die within the year
• 2 would give birth within the year

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, World Vital Events Per Time Unit 2001.

Education:

• 2 would have a college education

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, World Education Indicators, Gross Enrollment Ratio by Sex.

Technology:

• 4 would own a computer

Source: UN Human Development Indicators, "Access to Information and Communications 1995."

Research by Rekha Balu, Christine Engelken, and Jennifer Grosso (http://ow.ly/xGuL).

This list is not presented to cause guilt; it is simply the picture of reality.

A Look at Church Government, or Polity

MPVCC is in a place of needing to make some decisions regarding how to develop the leadership structure.  I prefer to call it a chain, or architecture, of care.  We have granted our board the authority to develop some initial policies with input from the Transition Team, Leadership Community, and church as a whole.  Following are some basic definitions and descriptions of function...

Greek Words for Deacon, Bishop, Elder, and Pastor

1. Deacon: Gk. DIAKONOS. Used 57 times in the New Testament. Translated various times (K.J.) as serving, ministry, administrations, service, and servant. Strongs Concordance defines DIAKONOS as, "an attendant; or one who runs errands." The function of a deacon is to serve (Acts 6:2). Bishops, elders, and pastors (see below) are directive in ministry function while deacons are directed. The office of a deacon may or may not be a "stepping stone" to eldership. 1 Timothy 3:13 states, "for those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

The next three words seem to be used interchangeably in Scripture...

2. Bishop: Gk. EPISKOPE. Used 11 times in the New Testament. The function of a bishop is thought by most scholars to be administrative in nature. The word EPISKOPE is translated in Hebrews 12:15 (K.J.) as “looking diligently.” Two additional synonyms for bishop are overseer and superintendent.

3. Elder: Gk. PRESBUTEROS. Used 70 times in the New Testament. The function of an elder is to impart counsel, unity, and doctrine as one who expresses the character of the message of reconciliation. In the Greek, PRESBUTEROS literally means older or senior.

4. Pastor: Gk. POIMEEN. Used 18 times in the New Testament and usually translated in many versions as shepherd. The Greek word POIMAINO is used 11 times; 7 times translated (K.J.) as feed and 4 times translated (K.J.) as tend. The function of a pastor, then, would primarily be to feed and to tend the flock of God (Pro. 27:23). One author states that, "The pastoral ministry is not so much an 'instructing-in-the-principles-and- precepts-of-God' ministry as it is a personal 'guiding-in-the-way' ministry. ” 43

Historical Perspectives of Church Government (or Polity)

There are basically three forms of church government, with variations on each.

1. Congregational: Congregationalism can be traced back to the Pilgrim societies of the United States in the early 1600s. Congregational polity strictly forbids pastors from ruling their local churches by themselves. Not only does the pastor serve by the approval of the congregation, but also committees further constrain the pastor from exercising power without consent by either a particular committee, or the entire congregation.

2. Presbyterian: With the emergence of John Calvin’s ministry around 1530AD, came the form of government in which elders had the authority and governed the church. The word Presbyterian is adapted from the Greek word PRESBUTEROS (see above). Each Presbyterian church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called a session or consistory.

3. Episcopal: Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local church resting in a bishop – or lead pastor. The word Episcopal is adapted from the Greek word EPISKOPE (see above).

Historic Vineyard Polity
Historically the Association of Vineyard Churches has functioned with an episcopal model of church government. The prevailing belief is that it is most in keeping with the model of the early church. The pastor of the church functions as a bishop. S/he is called of God and
functions with multiple elders, deacons, and staff. (Additionally, it is thought that Martin Luther, who is credited with initiating the Reformation around 1521AD, functioned episcopally, but the Lutheran church became far more congregational when it came to America -- which it remains.)

Upsides and Downsides
Congregational polity is not seen as a viable option, primarily because it is thought to be a reaction to the abuses of the church government in England from which pilgrims and Puritans were escaping. Congregationalism places the power into the hands of the voting members and the pastor can be reduced to functioning as an employee and spiritual leadership can be reduced to personal preferences and political pressures from various members.

Episcopalian and Presbyterian polities have opposing upsides and downsides. With Presbyterian polity there is strong accountability yet it can take a long time to get things done. This is reversed with Episcopal polity – there can be insufficient accountability for the
“bishop,” yet decisions can usually be made quickly.

As Acts 6 seems to indicate, there needs to be some form of “team,” pragmatic fluidity, those who direct, and those who are directed, prayer and the ministry of the word, and some process/es wherein the congregation can have input to signify approval. Each church should thoroughly study the Scriptures as well as seek the input of whatever network, or denomination, they are a part of.

Aiming at Sunday

I really enjoyed Ken Fish's message last weekend. I believe he spoke some very important words to us as a church. This Sunday I will attempt to connect some dots for us as a church. See also my interpretation of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. I see them as stepping stones - one is a kind of prerequisite for the next...

The Cycle of Revival

• Outpouring/renewal/infilling (Acts 2:1-13; 4:23-31)
• Fellowship/prayer (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 5:1-11)
• Healing/Signs & Wonders (Acts 3:1-11; 4:31; 5:12-16
• Preaching/proclamation (Acts 2:14-40; 3:11-26; 5:14, 19-25, 26-32)
• Persecution (Acts 4:11-23; 5:17-18, 33-42)

Five Key Takeaways

• Our greatest strengths must be cleansed/purged just like your greatest weaknesses. Submit to it. Offer it.
• Don’t hold back
• God is committed to having a church living in transparency and purity. He will expose hypocrisy and shouldn’t be surprised (or offended or stumbled) by this.
• A pure church can be an empowered church, but an empowered church must be pure. No purity = no power.
• Persecution follows power.

Here's a question to consider:  What's the connection/s between The Cycle of Revival, The 5 Key Takeaways and the Beatitudes???? 

THE BEATITUDES: A LIFELINE TO SPIRITUAL FORMATION
As we move toward a Sacred Assembly, let’s make good use of the Beatitudes as we prepare our hearts to be honest, humble, and yielding to God’s plans. The Beatitudes (Mat. 5:3-12) describe eight qualities that characterize the life of Jesus Christ, and therefore our life in Jesus Christ. Following is an overview of how one unfolds into the next…

• Blessed are the poor in spirit… To enter into God’s kingdom, we are invited to admit that we have come to the end of ourselves and are in need of God’s help and care.
  

• Blessed are those who mourn… As we are honest about our own sinful tendencies there will be a transforming grief, or repentance, that surfaces – not only for our own lives, but also for the injustice, greed, and suffering that grips our world.
  

• Blessed are the meek…Grieving over sin and suffering places us in a humble learning posture (disciple means learner).
  

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…Spiritual hunger and thirst is the desire to be empty of those things that don’t reflect God, and initiates a deep longing for wholeness in our lives.
  

• Blessed are the merciful…As we receive God’s mercy we begin to give mercy – to ourselves and to others.
  

• Blessed are the pure in heart… Mercy cleanses our heart and restores purity to our lives.
  

• Blessed are the peacemakers… Purity gives way to a personal serenity and peacefulness. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the absence of anxiety in the midst of inevitable conflict – and when others encounter it, they want it too.
  

• Blessed are the persecuted… Living life from a kingdom of God perspective will place us in conflict with those that oppose it (often times it’s “religious” people!).