MULTIPLY by BC Yukon Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada

MULTIPLY

How a Gospel-Shaped Imagination Informs the Mission

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“A gospel-shaped imagination is necessary for the church to become a faithful and joyful cast of players and to effectively participate in God’s drama of redemption. Paul indicates that this is his purpose in his prayer in Ephesians 1:18-19. He prays that the ‘eyes of your heart’ may be enlightened so that ‘you may know what is the hope to wich he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.’ This prayer for a transformed imagination - a renewed and gospel-oriented vision. Such a renewed vision will allow us to imagine creative and life-giving ways to perform our roles as God’s people in the world - the world that God is pursuing in love.”1

Gombis, Timothy G., The Drama of Ephesians: Participating in the Triumph of God, Downers Grove, IL.: Intervarsity Press, 2010, pp. 60,61. 1

FORWARD

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “I will build my church.” What did He have on His mind? Is this a building program that involves brick and mortar? No, Jesus came to gather people and to establish His Work and His Will through these people. Christian leaders must continually return to the design table in order to identify and clearly articulate what it means to see the building and gathering of what Jesus had on His Mind. As we unite around our BCYD missional priority of Multiplication, I can’t help but to continually ask, “What are we trying to multiply?” I recommend the reading of this booklet. The careful study of our writing team and the material shared will stir our imagination to see how glorious the building of the Church really is.

David Solmes

Assistant District Superintendant BC/Yukon District of the PAOC

INTRODUCTION Multiplication in Biblical Perspective The Bible says a lot about the church. It records its history. It describes its activity. It celebrates its unity. It encourages its ministry. And the Bible addresses its irregularities. But where does the Bible lay out instructions for multiplying churches? Christ’s command calls us to multiply disciples (Matt. 28:1820). Wherever there are disciples, integrally related to Jesus Christ and to each other, there is the church. Wherever this Christ-centred and Christ-connected community is redemptively engaged with their cities, towns, and neighbourhoods, there is the church. Reading through the book of Acts, it is evident that it is Christ who is building his church just as he promised he would in the Gospels. The disciples are seen following, going, obeying, serving, proclaiming, but it is Christ through the Holy Spirit who is doing the multiplying. Whatever we do by way of extending the church’s influence in our day and our society, we must do it in submission to and in harmony with what Christ is doing. This is essential. It’s not our church. It is always and ever his church. The church is something that Christ gathers and assembles to carry out his mission. That mission is its very reason for being – to go into the entire world and make disciples who will model and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. All of these elements are aspects of ecclesiology, the discipline that gathers together all that the Bible has to say about the church. David Fisher notes, “Ecclesiology is obviously more than disembodied theology. It is the guarantee that real churches like yours and 10

mine have a supernatural center. The essence of the church, the fact on which all else depends, is the presence of the transcendent Lord. All descriptions of the church must flow from that reality.”1

The biblical witness strongly implies that the first order questions in any discussion of church multiplication are theological, not technical. Many books on church multiplication give cursory salute to theology on their way to getting to the real business of technology – the nuts and bolts of getting the church up and running. Without a strong biblical ecclesiology, our functional ecclesiology becomes whatever we are doing now. That is something like the elbow taking over the whole body and calling the shots from its point of view. Millard Erikson suggests that ecclesiology must begin with the essence of the church, for what the church is precedes all others discussions.2 We need to be clear on what the Bible teaches about what the church is called to be and called to do before we begin to develop strategies for multiplying churches. Fisher continues, “Biblical ecclesiology features the distinguishing character of the people of God. . . . The recovery of ecclesiology must include a powerful functional side, the life and ministry of the church in theological-biblical reflection.”3 Theology must find its feet in the everyday life of God’s gathered people. Eugene Peterson says it this way, “Maybe the church as we have it provides the very conditions and proper company congenial for growing up in Christ, for becoming mature, for arriving at the measure of the stature of Christ. Maybe God knows what he is doing, giving us the church, this church.”4

1 Fisher, David, The 21st Century Pastor: A Vision Based on the Ministry of Paul, Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1996, p. 85. 2 Erikson, Millard, Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker, 1985. 3 Op. cit., pp. 76-77. 4 Peterson, Eugene, Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ, Grand Rapids, MI.: W. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2010, p. 14.

When we talk about church multiplication, there are questions we need to ask and think through. Disciples do not go to church; they are church. The church is a called and assembled people. But what kind of people are they? How are they related? What do they do? When we talk about church multiplication, what is it that we are trying to multiply? Personality, program, method, worship style, technical genius? What? The church is not a franchise or a big box store. It is more than a place to receive goods and services. It’s ministry and shape must be contextualized to engage its particular community or neighbourhood. But it must also be theologically informed. Whatever it looks like in any context, there are certain things that are elemental if each church is going to be God’s people doing God’s work in the arena to which God has called it. There are no encyclopedic descriptions of the church and how it is to function in the Bible. The blueprint for church ‘being’ and church building seems to be more described and implied than stated. What the Bible does do is unpack what the church is all about by way of metaphor. In our visually saturated culture, a picture continues to speak a thousand words. Metaphors capture our imagination and give us new ways to understand who we are and how we are to live in the world. These biblical images help us perceive what the church is and should be and delineate between what is essential and what is peripheral. This handful of essays draws our attention to Biblical metaphors of the church that help us envision what it is we are attempting to multiply and think about how that will take shape in the life and ministry of the local church as it engages its community. Admittedly, this is a representative, and not comprehensive list, but the metaphors unpacked in this collection point us in the direction of considering how a solidly biblical ecclesiology can breathe life and energy into all of our efforts to multiply Spirit-filled congregations and ministries that make a difference in their neighbourhoods. 12

Jeff Beck introduces us to the concept of biblical metaphor and goes on to unpack the picture of the church as a spiritual temple built of living stones to be a ‘building’ in which God dwells. Using Paul’s metaphor of the church as a body, David Demchuk gives us a window into the unity and diversity of God’s people as they work together to accomplish Christ’s redemptive mission. Darrell Peregrym takes up Peter’s vision of the church as a “chosen people, holy nation, a royal priesthood “ with all of its rich connection to the Old Testament and the ongoing purposes of God for his new covenant people. The church as a healing community in a broken world is the subject of Melody Deeley’s essay. Joseph Dutko unpacks the metaphor of the Church as ‘bread” to draw attention to the central place of the Lord’s Supper in the church’s worship. Charles Coats shows how the church’s call to service is an extension of Jesus ministry as the ‘suffering servant” with all that implies for how the church lives in the world. Michael Wilkinson responds to this collection with a discussion about how metaphor shapes culture and what this implies for church multiplication in the present Canadian context. The intent of the writers is to assist district leaders, pastors, church planters, mission innovators, local church leaders and congregants in thinking theologically about the church and its mission and to creatively consider how a biblical ecclesiology, unfolded by metaphor, can provoke our imaginations and inform how we set about multiplying spiritually dynamic churches in the 21st century.

Forward David Solmes

CONTENTS

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Introduction Mick Nelson

7 9

The Church as Living Stones Jeff Beck

A Chosen People, A Royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation Darrell Peregrym

The Church as the One Bread Joseph Dutko

Metaphor and Ministry: The Culture of a Multiplying Congregation Michael Wilkinson

A Gifted and Empowered Community Dave Demchuk

The Church as a Healing Community Melody Deeley

The Fellowship of the Suffering Servant Charles Coats

List of Contributors

THE CHURCH AS LIVING STONES

Chapter One

The Church as Living Stones

Leonard Sweet once tweeted, “Jesus was a maestro at making the strange familiar, and the familiar strange—the essence of metaphor, the secret of great preaching.” For a number of years I have been interested in communication and how language works. I took a preaching class, which included a textbook with the very “dry” title (“dry” being a metaphor), Metaphors We Live By. The argument of the book was illuminating because it focused on how language develops and how humans use language and metaphors to communicate. According to Lakoff and Johnson, we communicate effectively through “pictures” or “metaphors.” Yet we often don’t even notice the every day metaphors we use. For instance, have you noticed that in the English language “happy” is “up” and “sad” is “down.” Some examples from the book are, “I’m feeling up. That boosted my spirits. My spirits rose. You’re in high spirits. Thinking about her always gives me a lift. I’m feeling down. I’m depressed. He’s really low these days. I fell into a depression. My spirits sank. Physical basis: Drooping posture typically goes along with sadness and depression, erect posture with a positive emotional state.”1 The Bible is also full of pictures that help us to understand

1 Lakoff, George and Johnson, Mark. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980: pg. 15

spiritual truths. Another tweet by Leonard Sweet gives a possible reason why Jesus used pictures as ways of depicting spiritual truths. “Metaphors stick to the soul like burrs.” As an example, in John 3:8, Jesus used a picture to describe to Nicodemus spiritual truths. John records Jesus as telling him, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” This saying isn’t a parable2, but an analogy of the way the Holy Spirit brings about new life in people’s lives. Even the term “born again” that Jesus used in this conversation is a metaphor.

The Apostle Paul also used pictures to convey spiritual truths to the congregations he was writing to. Often they were allusions from Old Testament stories that he used as morality tales to warn and encourage the disciples in the churches he founded. An example of his use of a metaphor is found in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” There are many such examples in the Bible of how the Holy Spirit inspired the Biblical writers to use language in the most effective way to reveal to us the spiritual truths that are necessary for our growth individually and as the Church.

One of the pictures that the Holy Spirit inspired the early Church to use has a long history. It’s a picture that Jesus used to describe himself and was used as an illustration from the earliest sermons preached by the Apostles. The genesis of the metaphor is shrouded in history. As Allen writes of Psalm 118:22 (the Biblical genesis of the metaphor), “To aid their praise they cite a proverb which expresses the transition from humiliation to honor, and discern in it the supernatural work of Yahweh.”2 The proverb that Allen refers to is, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cor2 Allen, Leslie C., Psalms 10-150, Word Biblical Commentary, Waco, Texas,1983: pg. 125.

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ner stone.”3 Jesus used this metaphor of Himself (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17) as an indictment to the Jewish leadership of His day at the end of the Parable of the Tenants. His use of the metaphor was also prophetic, referring to His rejection, trial, humiliation, torture, and death at the hands of the Jewish leadership and Roman government (“the stone the builders rejected.”) It also referred to His resurrection through the power of the Father and for His glory. If you read the New Testament carefully, you will notice that the New Testament writers point back to this picture a number of times. It is used metaphorically to describe the “ecclesia,” the gathering of the Church. It seems that this metaphor was used in the Church quite early. The first mention of it is the picture of Jesus being the “cornerstone.” Acts 3 records a miraculous incident where Peter and John are used to heal a crippled beggar sitting at the gate where people entered the temple. The man was healed in Jesus’ name. The commotion of the healing gave Peter an opportunity to preach the good news about Jesus in the temple precincts. For this, the disciples were arrested and incarcerated. When they were brought before the Jewish leadership council for questioning and judgment, in Acts 4:10-12, it is recorded that Peter said, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Peter must have been impressed with Jesus’ use of the metaphor in the last week of his earthly life and was quick to use the same picture in the same way that Jesus used it. Peter’s use of the metaphor was an indictment of the Jewish leader3 Psalm 118:22, New American Standard Version - NASB

ship for rejecting and crucifying the Messiah. As we have already noticed, the picture is derived, at the very least, from Psalm 118:22. But the use of this metaphor was not isolated to Jesus or Peter in the time of the birth of the Church. Kelly writes that the use of this picture has been discovered among the documents from Qumran and suggests that it was a wellknown proverb in Jesus’ time. He writes, “… both the rabbis and Qumran sectaries gave them a messianic/eschatological exegesis, and so in interpreting them Christologically the Church was simply adapting a ready-made tradition. Whatever may be said of the hypothesis of ‘testimony-books’, there is little doubt that Christians in the apostolic age had recognized catenae of Old Testament texts which they regarded as significant …”4

The second way that the New Testament writers use the metaphor of the building of the Temple is by referring to Jesus as a “stone of stumbling.” Romans 9:33, “As it is written: ‘See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’” The quote in Romans 9:33 is from Isaiah 28:16. This is along the same lines as the picture of the stone the builders rejected becoming the chief cornerstone. Contextually, what Paul wrote here must have been a shock to any practicing Jews who were steeped in rituals and law. Because of Jesus, the only way to obtain the righteousness that the law prescribes is by faith in Him and not by works. The Gentile disciples who did not follow after righteousness or seek salvation and relationship with God found it through faith in Jesus by believing the gospel message they heard. They believed in Him and God imputed His righteousness to them. This only happens through faith. In the same way, the Jews who sought God through what they did and did not do, never obtained it

4 Kelly, J.N.D. A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and Jude, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1969, pg. 95.

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because they never trusted in God to justify them. They only looked to themselves and their self righteousness to fulfill the law. Paul said they stumbled over the stumbling stone. Jesus is their stumbling stone because what He advocated and accomplished went against everything they had lived in order to please God and obtain salvation.

The third way New Testament writers used the stone picture was to see all of us together, the Church, being made into a “spiritual temple.” 1 Peter 2:4-5, “As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This picture that Peter uses has implications for every disciple of Jesus and for those of us as Jesus’ called and equipped under-shepherds. These are two implications that are simply reminders for us: First, we are all part of the universal, worldwide, small “c” catholic church. We are all “living stones” being formed and placed into something that is greater than ourselves. Second, we are all part of a smaller “chapter” of the universal, worldwide church. Any person who has been “born of water and the Spirit” is adopted into the family of God and becomes a member of the universal, worldwide ecclesia. Biblically, there is no notion of a Christian/disciple not belonging to the Church. To be “born again,” means that we have become a “living stone.” There is a place for us in the building God is in the process of assembling. I am sure we have all heard words said like, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not into church.” We know that as a misunderstanding, because all Christians/ disciples are part of the Church. This implication is profound for those who have this misunderstanding, because what they are talking about “not being into” is the smaller “chapter” or local group, or “local church.” 22

Yet this picture of “living stones” and “a spiritual house” that Peter uses speaks against this idea that some mistakenly have. The basic question is, how does one become a “living stone?” According to Peter, we do it by “coming” to the “living stone.” The result of our coming to him is that we are shaped into living stones for use in a spiritual building. The key is Jesus, because he is the Living Cornerstone which is the foundation of this house, and His life is imparted to all of the little stones – every disciple – who are built into a spiritual temple that throbs with life. This is spiritual life that flows from the infilling and abiding of the Holy Spirit. It is God and God alone who gives us life, who makes us salt and light5, who produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives6, who gives us gifts of the Spirit7 to encourage the Church and help it to mature in each locality and generation. These are not things that we produce by ourselves, but each of these is a work of God’s grace in our lives. This means that each of us is extremely important in the work of God in the universal church, as well as the smaller chapters – the local churches. If I were to build a house made of stones and decided that certain stones in the walls of that house were unimportant and so rejected them, then that house would not be nearly as strong as it could or should be. So it is with the “spiritual houses” made up of like-minded and like-experienced disciples of Jesus. I am not naïve – whenever people get together, there is going to be some friction. Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Many of the letters in the New Testament that Paul, James, Peter and John wrote have been described as “problem letters.” Every group of people, every congregation, will have issues they deal with unique to their history and locale. What is important is forMatthew 5:12-16 Galations 5:22-23 7 1 Corinthians 12-14; Romans 12; Ephesians 5 5 6

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giveness, mercy and grace being extended to one other. The metaphor of the “spiritual house” speaks of how we need each other, and we bless each other and our community by working through our “friction” and getting to the place of supporting one another. Jesus said to the twelve, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”8.

The picture of “living stones” and “a spiritual house” is also rich with practical application. We are living stones being fit together, not “living bricks.” The constructing of Solomon’s Temple9 was done through using dressed stone prepared at a quarry offsite. Each stone was formed for a unique and specific place in the construction of the Temple and transported to the construction site to be put into the exact place it was cut for. If you observe stone that has been uniquely formed to build, each is different and made for the place that it has been set. In Jesus, all of us stones are being fit together by the master stonecutter and builder. We are stones, not bricks. The thing about bricks is that they are all uniform and are formed by molds. The stones that made up Solomon’s Temple were formed by stone masons and even though to the naked eye, many looked the same, they were all different. You can build a wall that’s the same size with bricks or stones and the walls they make are both strong. But a brick wall is a brick wall. It is uniform and the same. A stone wall is unique and beautiful. There are other practical outcomes of the metaphor that we are living stones being built up into a spiritual house. First, we need each other for support and encouragement. A single stone doesn’t make a wall or a house. We are not alone in this building, but rely on each other for support and strength. Everyone has their place and their unique role. This is analogous John 13:35 some have suggested that the building of Solomon’s Temple is the source of all the “stone” metaphors in the Bilble, but the author was unable to verify this 8 9

to another picture of all of us together in the writings of Paul, the Church as the body of Christ. Romans 12:4-5, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”10

Second, a stone structure is not as strong as it could be if the stones are placed in the wrong place or if they are not cut to be fitted properly. It is also not as strong if certain stones are disregarded for some reason. It is biblical truth that God has created each one unique for the place in the structure He has in mind. As a master stone cutter, God will cut some things in our lives that need cutting. But because He is good and does everything well, this chipping and forming is so that you can benefit from whom He wants you to be in the structure. It really is true that everyone is important, and without every other “living stone” in its place, any church will not stand as strong. This has implications for the leader whose role is to equip “the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”11 As leaders, we need to be careful to avoid falling prey to the temptation to write people off who may, in fact, be living stones essential to the building God is constructing. A strong building has all the potential to grow larger as other stones are added. The metaphor that the Church is the temple of God, built with living stones, with Christ as the foundation and cornerstone, and the Holy Spirit indwelling it has provided a rich source of understanding of what the Church is and how it functions. It provides a check for some who wrestle with pride. Jesus is the 10 11

NASB Ephesians 4:12-13 NASB

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foundation of the Church. Jesus is the cornerstone that caps the Church. We are all living stones and each of us has a Holy Spirit determined role in the building that Christ has been making since the coming of the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost so many years ago. The metaphor is also an encouragement to any who might think of themselves as less than they are. Each cut stone that is placed into this spiritual house has importance. Without them, the structure is less than it can and ought to be. And finally, this temple of living stones, this worshipping community, is a building where Christ Himself dwells by His Spirit as He makes himself known through His church.

GIFTED AND EMPOWERED COMMUNITY

Chapter Two

Gifted and Empowered Community - The Body of Christ

The New Testament contains a number of word-pictures to describe the nature, and the function of the church. It is at once the temple of God, the Bride of Christ, the New Israel, the People of God, and a community empowered by the Spirit. One of the predominant motifs in the letters of Paul is the church as the body of Christ. This metaphor emphasizes the close relationship between the church and its risen Lord, and as well it underscores the vital inter-relatedness of the Christian community. The term expresses the reality of the believer’s existence “in Christ”. Paul typically refers to each local church as “the body of Christ” – with the exception of his use of the term in Ephesians 4, which pictures the universal nature of the church. The Origin of Paul’s Understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ.

It is possible that Paul’s understanding of the church as a body could well have found its origin in the culture of his day. In some of the literature of the Greco-Roman world, the state was likened to a body, and individual citizens members of that body. Within the Old Testament, we discover the idea of corporate personality, where every individual was a part of 28

the whole body, and their actions impacted that body1. In the writings of rabbinic Judaism we note with interest the idea that all of humanity was contained within the body of Adam – and he represented the unity of all of humanity.

While these areas could represent possible sources for Paul’s understanding of the church as the body of Christ, it was his experience of the risen Christ on the Damascus Road that served to centralize this motif in Paul’s thinking.

In the account of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9, we learn that Paul’s mission to Damascus was conducted under the authority of the High Priest in Jerusalem. His mandate was to bring Christians in Damascus to Jerusalem to face trial for their faith. As he was making his way to Damascus, he experienced the very presence of the risen Christ – a light from heaven and a voice questioning him2. At that time, Paul saw the risen body of Christ – something he would later refer to as a “spiritual body”3 and a “glorious body”4

Along with the vision came the question “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”5. As Paul sought clarification as to who was speaking, (as if any were needed!), the voice identified himself as “Jesus whom you are persecuting”6. Clearly, the risen Savior was identifying himself with those Paul was actively persecuting – believers who had identified themselves with Jesus Christ as Messiah. Paul was here forced to realize the unity between Jesus and his followers. To persecute them was to persecute Jesus himself. Subsequent to his Damascus Road experience, Paul was healed of blindness, filled with the such as the sin of Achan in Joshua 7, or the fact that the spiritual condition of Israel in the time of the monarchy often mirrored that of the reigning king. 2 Acts 9:3-4 3 1 Cor. 15:43ff. 4 lit. “a body of glory” Phil 3:21 5 Acts 9:4 6 Acts 9:5 1

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Spirit, and commissioned as an Apostle. After a short duration with the disciples in Damascus, he immediately began to preach Jesus in the synagogues.7 The Body of Christ – Key Motifs in the Thought of Paul (Romans 12)

In Romans 12, Paul begins to apply the implications of the gospel articulated in the previous chapters to the lives of his hearers.8 In 12:1-2 his call is to an all encompassing worship in light of the great mercy of God revealed through Jesus Christ. Believers are to present themselves as living sacrifices – with all the implications this language reflected in the experience of these early Christians. They are also to allow their minds to be transformed by God’s renewing power. Paul says that it is out of this commitment that they will then be able to see clearly what God’s good, perfect and acceptable will is for their lives. This is nothing less than living in the sphere of the Spirit – having experienced what is God’s ultimate purpose for mankind, reconciliation to Himself through Christ. It is precisely these individuals, who will in turn comprise a redeemed community – the Body of Christ.9 As Paul begins to flesh out what it means to be such a Christian community, he immediately addresses self-centered thinking on the part of his audience. This perhaps is the balancing side of 12:1-2 (which called for a more individual response). His challenge is that Jews and Gentiles in this fledgling Roman church are not to have an unrealistic view of themselves and their role within the church. They are rather to think with sober judgment, a phrase which denotes a realistic perspective of themselves – one that is neither overly self-inflating, nor self-deprecating. Paul goes on to explain the reason for this 7 Acts 9:20ff 8 both individually, and as a community of faith 9 Romans 12:3-8

exhortation10 – the church is just like our physical body. Its existence is dependent on many different parts fulfilling their God-given function.

He notes that all believers are one body in Christ11—that is to say, there is an overarching unity within the church, based upon their common experience of salvation. They are incorporated into that body then, by simply placing their faith in Christ. While their placement within the body of Christ is a common experience that unites them, it is their individual gifting that brings great diversity to the body, enabling it to function optimally. As individuals, Paul notes, they belong to one another. This doesn’t mean that believers are absorbed into the church with a loss of identity or distinctiveness; that they belong to one another points to the important fact that they are to exercise their roles accountable to God and to others within the Body.

Paul defines the various functions within the body as “gifts” – spiritual gifts – which have their source in the grace of God that each believer has received. This is further reinforced by the term Paul employs to describe these gifts. They are charismata , tangible expressions of that great grace (charis). While these gifts range from the spectacular (prophecy) to the more practical (acts of mercy), the central idea in the exercise of each one is that it be done to the fullest extent that God intended. They typify his lavish grace in each example of their outworking.12 In the verses which follow (9-21), Paul describes something of the culture or ethos of this redeemed community – the Body of Christ. I believe these exhortations reflect the preferred reality of what the church should look like. The sum-

10 Romans 12:4 11 Romans 12: 5 12 “... the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness” vv. 5b, 6

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mary quality is found at the beginning of the section; love is to be sincere, without hypocrisy.13 As well, the community is to be known for their exemplary commitment to that which is good. Their relationships with one another are to be warm and caring, and they are to outdo one another in the level of honor they hold fellow believers.14 In terms of their relationship with the Lord, Paul envisions a body that has a passionate spirituality. He encourages them not to be hesitant in their devotion to God. They are to be empowered or “set on fire” by the Spirit – an experience which has dedicated service to the Lord as its outcome.15 Their lives are to be anchored in hope, which is a joy-filled anticipation of God’s complete fulfillment of our redemption. The church will have to endure seasons of tribulation, and above all, must persistently attend to the task of prayer.16

Paul’s concluding exhortations in this section17 represent a further “fleshing out” of life together in the Body of Christ. These are not simply a series of random commands. The fact that believers are members of one another18 will impact their relationships. This will be reflected in their care for one another and the showing of hospitality. Their response to persecution is blessing – a counter-cultural response to say the least! As they live life together, through good and bad situations, the prevailing response is one of empathy.19 He notes that behaviors that can be summarized as humble, self-effacing, forgiving (as an alternative to vengeance), and mutually honoring lend themselves to creating a harmonious mindset 13 Romans 12:9 14 Romans 12:10 15 Romans 12:11 16 Romans 12:12 17 Romans 12:13-21 18 Romans 12:5 19 Roman’s 12:15

within the community.20

In summary, this brief section of the book of Romans provides some significant motifs as we consider the church as the body of Christ: • The body is made up of redeemed individuals called to sacrificial dedication to Christ. • These individuals are to realistically reflect on their roles within the body, recognizing a stewardship of life with one another and a degree of accountability to God.

• There is at once a great unity, and a complimentary diversity within the Body of Christ.

• The body functions best as individuals exercise their gifts with a dedication that parallels

The Body of Christ – Application for a Challenging Church Context (1 Corinthians 12)

Even the briefest of overviews of 1 Corinthians causes the reader to conclude that this was one sorry church! Divisiveness, leader worship, immorality, lawsuits among believers, conflicts over meat offered to idols and the abuse of the Lord’s Supper were hardly things they could be proud of. In fact, if these were made public they would hardly make their church attractive to passers-by. A key section of the letter that illustrates the wrong-headedness of the church in terms of their understanding of what it means to be the Body of Christ is 1 Corinthians 12-14. 20 Romans 12:16

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As we read 1 Corinthians 12, we encounter similar themes to those seen in Romans 12 concerning the Body of Christ. It is clear from the way Paul begins his discussion on the subject (“Now concerning spiritual gifts…”) that the launching point is either a misunderstanding or abuse of spiritual gifts—or both! His goal in engaging their thinking in verses 1 – 3 is to move them away from practices that mirrored the pagan culture they encountered to rooting them in the Trinitarian character of God.21

The evidences of the presence of the Spirit are not marks of a higher spirituality, or symbols of status (pneumatika), which reflected the aberrant thinking of the Corinthians. Rather, they are meant for the benefit of all believers.22 They are at once rooted in God’s grace (charismata); they are to be exercised with an ethic of servanthood (diakonia) and will have a tangible effect upon others (energēmata). These gifts are not the product of human effort or selection, but are equally empowered by the Spirit, and granted to individuals according to His sovereign purposes.23 In the verses that follow24, Paul sets the exercise of the charismata in their proper context – the Body of Christ. He is concerned, first of all, that this fragmented church grasp the reality that they are all members of the same body, by virtue of their common salvation experience.25 He elaborates the call for sober thinking seen in Romans 12:3 in the ensuing two paragraphs. In vv. 14-20, he corrects the thinking of the inferior member, noting that God has placed individual members (and by extension their gifting) as he determined. The body would cease to exist without the diversity of functions 21 Romans 12:4-7 22 Romans 12:7 23 Romans 12:11 24 Romans 12:12-26 25 Romans 12:12-13

(members) – there are many parts (diversity) yet one body (unity). In vv. 21-26 Paul turns his focus to those individuals who carry a sense of superiority, with no need for those they deem to be inferior.26 Paul makes the point to them that all should receive the same honor (or considered equally valuable). God’s plan for the Body of Christ is that the body not be divided, but that each member receives the same care.27 He concludes chapter 12 reminding his hearers that together they comprise the Body of Christ, and that as individuals they are the various members of this same community. With that realization should come an accountability – both to maintain that intrinsic unity, and as well to commit to exercise their individual gifts. As he did in Romans, Paul follows his description of the Body of Christ, articulating the ethos of the redeemed community as agape in 1 Corinthians 13. The Body of Christ – the Universal Church

In the book of Ephesians, Paul unfolds the universal impact of the work of Christ. He celebrates the wonderful work of redemption, reminding believers that they have been chosen, predestined, and adopted.28 They have received all these blessings according to the “riches of his grace”.29 Paul goes on to pray for them,30 asking God to reveal to them the “riches of his glorious inheritance”. This is centered in the work of Christ who is now exalted at the right hand of God. His authority is universal, for the benefit of his people, the church, which is his body, whom he graciously fills with his presence.31 26 Romans 12: 21 27 Romans 12:25 28 Ephesians 1:3-6 29 Ephesians 1:8 30 Ephesians 1:15-23 31 Ephesians 1:22-23

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Through his death on the cross, Jesus has brought both Jews and Gentiles together in this one body,32 bringing peace and hope to those who were once strangers. Jews and Gentiles are fellow citizens, all recipients of his Spirit.33 As members of this one body, Paul calls the Ephesian believers to live exemplary lives, as a unified, redeemed community.34 He recognizes that God has gifted this body with leadership gifts, whose role it is to facilitate the process of maturity within the Body of Christ. As they live together, they are to grow in their relationship with Christ the head, building themselves up in love.

rior than another. In upholding this vital unity, they are to celebrate the great diversity that God has placed within His church. As Christ’s universal body, this church embodies and stewards both the message and lifestyle of the Gospel to the world.

This “church universal” – as it exists today and has existed since its inception is much more than a community of faith that is just inwardly focused. This Body of Christ is a living model in the world of a new humanity, a truly hope-filled community, reconciled to Christ, united in their faith, living out the implications of their new life in Him. Concluding Thoughts

The metaphor of the church as the Body of Christ serves to illustrate the intimate relationship of Christ and His church. It also pictures the vital interrelatedness of believers within the church. Paul’s experience of the risen Jesus on the Damascus Road was pivotal to his understanding of this description of the church. In both Romans 12-13 and 1 Corinthians 12-13, Paul fleshes out this reality in a practical way for his hearers. Believers are to recognize that their placement within this body hinges upon their salvation experience, and God’s subsequent sovereign bestowal of spiritual gifts. They are in turn, to steward these gifts, which are given for the good of the entire body. They are to honor one another, recognizing that no member is intrinsically more superior, or more infe32 Ephesians 2:16 33 Ephesians 2:18 34 Ephesians 4:1-6

A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION

Chapter Three

A Chosen People, A Royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation

From the moment our Lord Jesus Christ declared to Peter, “… on this rock I will build my church”1 many have attempted to effectively define and explain “His” Church; especially in their desire to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.2 The obvious definition is that the Church consists of all those who believe the salvation message of Christ, and thereby receive forgiveness from and reconciliation with God. The Church is not the building or the programs; rather it is the body of Christ’s followers worldwide all through the ages. Christ is the Head of the Church; the believers are the body of the Church.3

The Bible uses several metaphors to describe the church and its functions. As Christ taught with parables, metaphors also help us to understand the different aspects of the Church. However, it appears that one metaphor alone does not tell the whole story. Avery Dulles described the Church as a “mystery”. He wrote, “Mysteries are realities of which we cannot speak di-

Matthew 16;18 (NIV) 2 Matthew 28:19 (NIV) 3 Ephesians 4:15, 5:23 1

rectly… In order to do justice to the various aspects of the Church, as a complex reality, we must work simultaneously with different models… The manifold images given to us by Scripture and Tradition are mutually complementary.4

In other words, each metaphor supports and expands on the others. It has been said that the Church has three major functions upwards toward God, inward toward ourselves, and outward toward the world. Michael Morrison believes this three-fold focus is a useful framework to ensure the major functions of the church are developed and lived out in balance. He uses three key metaphors to support those functions:5 1. The “Bride of Christ” conveys our relationship with God. He chose to rescue us, and we should respond to Him with loyal obedience and worship. 2. The “Family of God” conveys our responsibility as God’s children, to interact with one another in love. 3. The “Royal Priesthood” metaphor illustrates our role in pointing people toward God with humility and empathy

Morrison’s three chosen metaphors resonate very nicely with the three metaphors for the Church, provided by the Apostle Peter in his first Epistle; “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His

Avery Dulles, Models of the Church, expaneded edition (New York: Doubleday, 1987), pp 9-10, 28,32 5 Morrison, Michael, Biblical Metaphors for the Church, (essay hosted on www.angelfire.com) (accessed Dec 2014) 4

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wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are a people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”6

A Chosen People

God loves us so much that He chose to send His Son and provide a way unto salvation and reconciliation.7 Christ loves us so much that He chose to take on human form, live amongst us, and die for us.8 God the Holy Spirit is the third part of the Triune God choosing us. Jesus promised the Heavenly Father would send His Holy Spirit and instructed the disciples to wait for the fulfillment of that promise after His Ascension into Heaven.9 The Apostle Paul said that we believers are “marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit; a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance in Christ”.10 We are indeed a chosen people who make up the Bride of Christ, and we belong to God. A Holy Nation

As believers and followers of Christ, we have been set apart for the Gospel of Christ, just as Paul described himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, set apart for God”.11 In the Book of Acts, Luke also writes of the Holy Spirit instructing that Barnabas and Saul should be “set apart” for the work to which he had called them.12

The call began with the Israelites of the Old Testament who were called to be a Holy Nation, separate from other nations; 1 Peter 2:9,10 (NIV) John 3:16 8 Romans 5:8 9 John 14:15-21, 25-27 10 Ephesians 1:13,14 (IV) 11 Romans 1:1 12 Acts 13:1-3 6 7

sanctified and set apart by God the Father that they would be his people and he would be their God.13 Through Jesus Christ, we too experience that Call. Paul writes that by faith in Christ we have become the children of God; “all one in Christ Jesus…. heirs according to the promise”14 The Apostle Paul also declared that those “led by the Spirit of God, are the children of God”.15 As children of God we are the family of God, and as the Israelites were set apart, the Church has also been set apart from the world, and called to be holy just as God is holy.16 Additionally, Paul challenges the Church that God saved us and called us to a holy life17, and to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.18 As the Family of God, we are a “Holy Nation”. A Royal Priesthood

In his first Epistle, Peter called the church a “royal priesthood” and called us to be a “holy priesthood”.19 Peter speaks of the Church as a “royal priesthood” as a reference to our standing “in Christ”.20 As our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords21, it follows that those who are in Christ are also royal. The priesthood metaphor takes us back to the Old Testament where under the Old Covenant all priestly functions were conducted by the Levites and all high priest functions by Aaron and his lineage. Their job was to mediate God’s relationship Exodus 19:5,6 Galatians 3:26,29 15 Romans 8:14 16 1 Peter 1:15,16 17 2 Timothy 1:9 18 Romans 12:1,2 19 1 Peter 2:5,9 20 1 Peter 5:14 21 Timothy 6:14-16 13 14

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with his people by “bringing God to the people, and the people to God.” The Levitical priesthood had a high priest that was appointed by God to be an intermediary between God and the nation of Israel. In the New Testament we see that God establishes a New Covenant; making His final appointment for the role of High Priest when he chooses Jesus. The Book of Hebrews refers to Melchizedek of the Old Testament, and God appointing Jesus a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek, and then appointing Him to be our High Priest.22 Jesus remains our High Priest permanently and forever. He sits at the right hand of the Father on our behalf, representing us perfectly.23 With Christ as our ultimate and perfect High Priest, what does the Church as a part of the royal priesthood then do? Peter wrote that we are called to be “a holy priesthood, declaring the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” This context challenges Christian conduct that will lead people to “glorify” God. When the royal priesthood declares the praises of God, they have both a message and a lifestyle, with both words and deeds that give praise and glory to God. When people are drawn to God through our lifestyle of praise, God is glorified. Peter was alluding to a passage in Exodus: “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”24 What God started with Israel, He fulfills with His Church. The Church is a royal priesthood set aside for God’s use. Richard Averbeck concluded that “we are responsible to carry out the ministry of proclaiming to the world the praises of him who called you.’”25 Hebrews 7:1-17 Hebrews 5:14-16 24 Exodus 19:6 25 Richard E Averbeck, Priest, Preisthood, Grand Rabids, MI: Baker Books, 1996 22 23

The Apostle Paul clearly stated what his duty as a priest was to be when he wrote that God had called him “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”26 This clearly indicates the church’s roles as a priest in relationship to the unbelieving world. Priests serve as intermediaries between God and humanity. Hebrews 5:1 tells us that they represent humans in matters related to God by making offerings to atone for sins.

Since our Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled all such offerings by offering Himself, the church does not need to make new offerings for sin. However, the Church serves the same function by telling people that the ultimate offering has been made and that forgiveness is available through the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on our behalf. God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and then gave us the message and ministry of reconciliation to share with others. This is a role of the Church as the “priesthood of all believers.” Multiplication

This is where multiplication comes into the picture for the Church. Multiplication is fulfilling the Great Commission given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of His Church. Not only does Jesus Christ become our Ultimate High Priest; He also sets the ultimate example of what it means to function in the Royal Priesthood, as a Chosen People, a Holy Nation. How? Jesus modeled Servant Leadership when He “considered himself nothing, and took on the very nature of a servant, being 26

Romans 15:16

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made in human likeness”27 In order to save us, He chose to live among us. His example and His Word instruct His Church to do and be the same; to live out our Christian lives among the people in such a manner that our lifestyle extends both the message and the evidence of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. The New Testament provides some very unique terms to define what being a follower of Christ (The Church) should look like. Jesus describes us as Salt of the Earth and Light of the World.28 The Apostle Paul’s call for the Church is to serve as a Living Sacrifice, which is our only “reasonable service”,29 and to serve as Ambassadors for Christ with a message of reconciliation.30 Paul also refers to the Church as “jars of clay”, having within us the treasure; the light of Christ to open the eyes of the blinded”.31 The Church is not perfect, but we are called to represent a perfect God, with a perfect love for all mankind.

In order to lead like Christ, to look like Christ, to love like Christ, and to serve like Christ, it requires His follower to be filled with Christ. Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola say it this way in their book, Jesus Manifesto, “You and I are meant to be living epistles – that is, Jesus Manifestos – in our world.”32 The Christian life is to manifest Christ, period. Sweet and Viola argue that, “Christianity is Christ - nothing more, nothing less.”33 Everything else is a distraction if it does not originate from and point to Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:1-11 Matthew 5:13-16 29 Romans 12:1,2 30 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 31 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 32 Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the supreacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Chirst (Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson Inc.,2010), xxi 33 Ibid, 23. 27 28

Conclusion

The Church is, indeed, a Chosen People and a Holy Nation, redeemed and set apart by God himself, to serve as His Royal Priesthood. Our role as intermediaries and ambassadors for Christ is to represent Him and His message of reconciliation and hope through our lifestyle of attitudes, actions and words in keeping with the servant leader heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter concluded his thoughts concerning these metaphors by stating, “I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world (a holy nation set apart) to abstain from sinful desires and live such good lives that even though they may accuse you of wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God”34

Therein lies the secret to effective multiplication for the Church. It is not through buildings, nor programs, not music, nor creativity and innovation, as good as they may all be. Rather, it is through an imperfect “jar of clay”, a God-filled life lived out moment-by-moment. Be it the good or not-so-good times, this lifestyle declares the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. And what is it that we multiply? We multiply the love of Christ, the example of Christ, the message of Christ, the freedom of Christ, the promise of Christ, and the power of Christ. This results in the multiplication of new believers in Christ, added daily, ultimately multiplying the Kingdom of God.35

Such a realization should lead us, the Church, to consider Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and make it our own daily. As a Chosen People, a Holy Nation, and a Royal Priesthood, “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that 34 35

1 Peter 2:11,12 (NIV) Acts 2:41, Acts 4:4, Acts 5:12-16

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Christ may dwell in your hearts… that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”36 Amen and Amen!

36 Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)

THE CHURCH AS A HEALING COMMUNITY

Chapter Four

The Church as a Healing Community

As we seek to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to engage in the fact that the world we are proclaiming Jesus to is full of suffering and grief. The church is to be a community and place where those who suffer and grieve can find comfort. Scripture states, “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep”.1 “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted”.2 Proverbs 25:20 observes, “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda”.

As we look at Pentecostal history within Luke-Acts we find that the early church community banded together and sold all that they had and dispensed it to individuals as each had need3. The early church was known as the people who loved and cared for others. Jesus speaks of the imperative need of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, coming to bring comfort to those who would suffer. John reports Jesus’ saying that He must leave so that the comforter, the Holy Spirit could come.4 Romans 12:15, cf. 1 Corinthians 12:18, ff Matthew 5:4 3 Acts 2:43-45, 4:34-35 4 John 16:7 1 2

Further in Luke-Acts, we find that the Spirit came to help the disciples with the suffering they would incur as they preached the gospel. The disciples embarked on a journey of Jesus’ suffering in Jerusalem5. This indicates that dedication to Jesus’ mission could require similar suffering and renunciation for Jesus’ later witnesses6.

Throughout scripture there are many references to suffering. Words of mourning and sorrow appear 174 times in the New International Version of the Bible. The more one knows about life, the more one will be familiar with the need for the church to be a healing community. The writer of Ecclesiastes observed, “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief”7. John 16:33 states, “In this world you will have trouble.” Psalm 90:10 “The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief”8 These verses point to the fact that the church must give direction regarding how to effect healing and work through suffering; it must not ignore suffering and grief.

Mittelstadt (2004) in his book, The Spirit and Suffering in Luke-Acts, states that our current cultural milieu is experiencing a mega shift from objectivity to subjectivity, from reason to feeling, from conviction to opinion, which promotes an inherent right to happiness9. He believes that the Lukan story provides direction regarding suffering and that it will speak to contemporary Pentecostals prone to embrace triumphaActs 19:21 and Luke 9:51, Acts 21:11 and Luke 9:44, 18:32 Mittelstadt, M. (2004) The Spirit and Suffering in Luke-Acts, Sheffiels: Sheffield Academic Press, p.69 7 Ecclesiastes 1:18 8 Proverbs 14:13 9 Ibid, p.8 5 6

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lism by providing a model for Christians, who are called to continue the task of proclamation. Luke, in his writing, gives examples of how the pneumatic community overcomes difficult circumstances in the midst of persistent opposition. In the same way, contemporary Pentecostals must adopt a rigorous pneumatic discipleship that perseveres in the midst of suffering and persecution.8

In Luke-Acts, the Spirit came to assist those who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus during their times of suffering. The Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost to fill and empower believers to do the work of the Kingdom. This signifies our need for God’s power to do the work. It cannot be done in human strength.10 As we endeavor to be healing communities, the churches will need to deal with the tension that arises when we emphasize that mourning or suffering is a lack of faith. It is true that faith can inspire joy, that there is a Christian hope that elevates believers beyond the tragic twists and turns of life, and that Christ said “your grief will turn to joy”11. However, one can be in the house of mourning and still be full of faith. In fact, it can be argued that the most basic, substantive faith is found in the midst of mourning. Lawrenz and Green (1995) state, “mourning can be a ‘Holy ground’ so to speak. The very act of communicating with God in times of distress is a demonstration of faith”.12 A biblical world view that a healing community needs to be reminded of is that bad things happen simply because the world is in a state of decay. No matter how many equations we think we have figured out as to what causes suffering and inActs 1:8;2:4 John 16:20 12 Lawrenz M., & Green, D. (1995) Overcoming Grief and Trama, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, pg.47 10 11

jury, there is still the possibility that loss can occur at any time to anyone simply because he or she lives in a fallen world.

Paul’s discussion about suffering in Romans 8:17 is central to an understanding of our place as healing communities. Paul gives an honest assessment that believers are a part of the creation which groans to be removed from the curse of sin that is on it. It reminds us of why bad things happen and speaks of the bondage, decay and frustration of creation. This passage brings our perspective back to the whole of creation and pictures it in a state of pain and grief. Verse 23 puts our sufferings in the broader context of the pain and distress of the whole of creation. Thus, if we experience heart-wrenching losses in our lives, it can be because the whole world has become a place where losses occur in the everyday progression of life.

It is important that if we are going to have a ready answer for those who need healing in our communities that we turn away from the mindset that relegates the Spirit to a personal self-empowering experience which gives further impetus to “the blessing” of God measured in terms of secular power and success. Positivity is important, however a presumptuous triumphalism, when God does not act according to our will, inevitably causes great confusion and further wounds in the life of the individual who is suffering. A healing community will create opportunities for candid conversations regarding what is going on physically, emotionally and spiritually inside of people. The church will seek to provide support that allows people to authentically share their inner reality; a type of sharing that when we walk away from it we do not feel judged. Many people struggle to have this type of support base, especially if immediate family members are not available for support. 53

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There is not one of us who goes untouched by the cares of this world. That is why the Lord stated, “in this world you will have trouble, but I have overcome the world”.13 Not that we would then have license to deny trouble exists, but we would know we are not alone because He is a very present help in times of trouble. When we are in physical trouble, we go to a hospital; when we are in spiritual, emotional, and physical trouble we need to be able to go to the church, who then will direct us to God, our source of help and comfort. Healing increases when we think that the one who is helping us is good. When we have a positive perspective on God we are more open to His healing power. Jesus came as the suffering servant14, and God is pictured as the good shepherd, the one who will always journey with us and bring us home safely15. A healing community will need to promote these perspectives. Finally, there is no indication that the possession of the Spirit means the disciples will triumph and their persecutors will be converted, which is often what is proposed in Pentecostal theology. Such thoughts as, “we will always win the battle”, “we are more than conquerors” or “if you work hard enough and give your all then what you want will happen”, will lead to a stance that potentially moves us away from the ability to have patience with those who suffer. When negative results occur in our churches, often people feel, due to their theology, that they have no recourse but to leave the church and sometimes their faith. This response must be addressed and options given.

An approach to pain and suffering that attempts to diminish the pain of trauma and loss is profoundly dishonest. Robert Wise (1977) in his book, When There is No Miracle, states 13 14

John 16:33 Matthew 26

Religious charades result when we clothe our fears in the dress of faith. Intuitively we sense that it is easier to disguise what we dread than it is to expose it. But by this disguise we make religious promises our allies in the inner struggle to ignore our anxieties. So when we don’t receive a miracle we may try even more frantically to insist on what we do not want to face.15

In the here and now, Pentecostal theology is based on promoting the concept of patience and hope, conquering through the Spirit, who gives us the power for immediate works and service16. Left there, however, Pentecostal theology promotes denial of our basic human condition within the context of creation. It denies the grief and suffering, and that we are a part of creation that groans to be removed from the curse of sin that is upon it. Lawrenz and Green (1995) state that viewing our lives in the larger context of human existence before suffering occurs is the best preventative measure that can be taken to protect us from total spiritual confusion when suffering comes.17 The Apostle Paul said his tribulations brought out his weakness, and at the point of weakness and need, his faith was proven. Robert P. Menzies, states: When Christians believe that the only response faith can have to loss is to be unfazed and uncaring, that the last thing to do is to go whimpering to other people or to God, they put themselves in a position that cannot be sustained and that contradicts every picture of loss, trauma, and grief we find in the Bible. Scripture shows us that it is bet-

Robert Wise (1977) When There is No Miracle, pg.33 Kydd, Ronald. (1998) Healing through the Centuries, Massachusetts: Hedrickson 17 Lawrenz M., & Green, D. (1995) Overcoming Grief and Trama, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, pg.62 15 16

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ter to go into the house of mourning and learn what must be learned there, we will come out stronger for it.18

The same New Testament passage that gives the sobering perspective of a cosmos that groans and will groan until the restoration, also gives a word of comfort. Pentecostal believers, due to their orientation of action and works, will often minimize the portion of scripture that speaks of a creation that is groaning to be removed from the curse of sin and cling to the more triumphal words of the latter part of Romans 8. As healing communities we need to be conscious of this propensity and put emphasis on the complete message of this verse.

Human pain is one reason why God hates sin. Pain and suffering are experienced by all at some level. Loss and mourning are all around us. The church, if it is to be a healing community, is to have a solid, helpful response for those who are grieving.19 As healing communities, the church must propagate the fact that God is the author of help and mercy during times of grief, not the author of pain and evil.20

Passionate pursuit of the Spirit will lead to further success, but will also lead to difficulty on account of Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; name. If we are to be healing communities within this troubled and broken world, we cannot minimize the portion of scripture that speaks of a creation that groans and only emphasize the triumphant. We need to recognize that this world needs our care, compassion and hope and we must stand with them as they are a part of creation groaning to be removed from the curse of sin. Positioning ourselves as communities that will come along side in times of sorrow, illness and trouble will assist us in fulfilling our mandate as the church. Mittelstadt, M. (2004) The Spirit and Suffering in Luke-Acts, Sheffiels: Sheffield Academic Press, pg.68 19 Romans 8:34, 35 20 Psalms 46:1 18

Chapter Five

The Church as One Bread

“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” - 1 Corinthians 10:17 The use of food and agricultural metaphors is a familiar and favorite way for biblical writers to communicate truths about the church. We are branches on a vine1, an olive tree2, a field of crops3, seeds and fields4, and a harvest.5 But an often overlooked metaphor for the church is that of the one bread—and by extension the one cup—of the Lord’s Supper. The one loaf is an enacted metaphor for what the church is all about, namely, communion with Christ and with one another. Because the one bread is a metaphor we regularly act out (rather than just thinking about), it has the potential to be the most powerful metaphor of the church and greatly impact the life of our congregations. As Gordon Smith says, “The Lord’s Supper marks the church as the church more than any other single activity or event.”6 How and why is this so? What makes a simple loaf of bread such a powerful representation and reminder of John 15:5 Romans 11:17-24 3 1 Cor 3:6-9 4 Matthew 13:1-32 5 Luke 10:2; John 4:35-38 6 Gordon T. Smith, Conclusion, in The Lord’s Supper: Five Views, ed. Gordon T. Smith (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), pg.146. 1 2

who and what the church is called to be? This chapter will explore how the one bread of the Communion meal represents our union with Christ and unity with each other and how our churches can bring this metaphor to life in our regular sharing in the one bread of Communion. One Bread, One Body: Union with Christ and Unity with Each Other

The one bread is the essential symbol of church unity and of the common faith that we all share in Christ, the Bread of Life. There is an intimate link between the church and Christ in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. The one bread represents the one body which represents the one church, but that body/church is one only as it together partakes and participates in that one bread which is Christ. It is communion with Christ that first and foremost binds us together in communion with one another; life is found in the community only when life is first found in Christ. This union between Christ’s body and the ecclesial body as represented in the one bread is what causes many churches to consider the Lord’s Supper “the central act of the Church’s worship” and the very heart of ecclesial life.7

The one loaf and one cup represent not only the deep and mysterious union between the church and Christ but also our unity with one another. Just as the many grains are collected and mixed together to form one bread and as the many grapes are pressed together to make the wine, so the many believers are united together as one church.8 This unity is powerfully communicated in the idea that the Lord’s Supper is above all a spiritual meal that we share together at the Table of the Lord. World Council of Churches, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, Faith and Order Paper No. 111 (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982), 10. 8 This insight comes from Cyprian in his third century Letters (1-81), trans. Rose Bernard Donna, CSJ, Fathers of the Church 51 (Washington: Catholic University, 1964), 211, 247-48 (Letter 63.13, 69.2). 7

The context and meaning of the meal is of vital importance for what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 10-12. In the first century and still today, to eat at a table with someone declares friendship and spiritual unity with them. This insight explains Paul’s strong words before and after 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. The fact that their meal was highlighting differences—mainly socioeconomic distinctions—rather than unity, is why Paul is so angry in 1 Corinthians 11 and why he tells them that they are eating and drinking in an “unworthy manner” and without “discerning the body of Christ” (11:27, 29). He feels so strongly about this that he informs them that what they are doing should not even be called the Lord’s Supper for it despises the church of God! (11:20-22). Gathering together around the Table of the one bread and cup for this holy meal is a reminder of the spiritual communion we share with one another and an encouragement to nurture that unity together.

Thus, this metaphor still presents our churches today with a consistent opportunity to teach, practice, and embody these great truths as we also partake of the one bread together. With this in mind, let’s briefly look at a few pastoral implications of the one bread metaphor.

Practical Suggestions

2. You Are What You Eat

So how might we communicate this rich meaning of our union with Christ and unity with each other as we partake in the one bread together? What can we as the church do to keep this metaphor in the minds and hearts of the people in our churches? The power of Paul’s metaphor in 1 Corinthians 10:17 is that he is using a familiar practice of the church to communicate gospel truths into the messy situation at Corinth. When Paul says “because there is one bread, we who are many are one body,” he knows that they will be regularly reminded of this truth as they “partake of the one bread” when they gather together at the Table. As they see, smell, touch, and taste the bread, and as they hear the words of institution (1 Cor 11:2326), they will be reminded of the radical unity they are called to, a unity rooted and grounded in their union with Christ. 60

1. Bring the Bread!

This may seem obvious, but I am constantly amazed at how many churches practice Communion without a visible loaf of bread. The single loaf of bread is what declares that we are one, and a tremendous visual aid to our worship is lost without it. When I started overseeing Communion at our church, one of the first things I changed was to prominently feature the one bread and cup on the centre table. I was amazed at how many people immediately commented on what an impact it made on them and how the sight of the bread and cup drew them into the Communion experience. Although it may be necessary for various reasons to use individual cups and wafers in our Communion services, there is no reason not to include the visual reminder of what those individual pieces represent. Partaking of the one bread is not primarily a cognitive exercise. Yes, we may reflect on the meaning of the bread and wine, but the Lord’s Supper is a practice of the church—something we do with our bodies that engages all of our senses and the depths of our hearts. It is important (and humbling for us talking-head pastors) to realize the transformative power of practice, the communal rituals and routines that form and shape the deep desires of our hearts and ultimately our behavior.9 Therefore, create an environment in your church that 9

For more on this see James K. A. Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and

invites people into the deep mystery of this experience that is “too deep for words,” realizing that as we eat from the one bread, the Spirit is at work in (trans)forming us into one body. Rather than emphasizing that the one bread is “just a symbol” to help us “remember” (i.e., an intellectual exercise), make it an experience where people engage their senses and use their imaginations to see and feel what the Spirit is communicating and creating among us through the one bread. 3. Supper of the Spirit

Because it is the Spirit that ultimately brings the one bread metaphor to life in the congregation, we should treat the partaking of the bread as an opportunity to encounter the Spirit in our worship. As Jean-Marie-Roger Tillard comments, for centuries Christians have been convinced “that if the church is the body of Christ, it owes this to the table of the Lord, where the Spirit is at work.”10 There is a very rich pneumatological tradition in the church with regard to the Lord’s Supper. However, strangely absent from most Pentecostal celebrations of the Lord’s Supper is any mention of the Spirit. One way to communicate our dependence on the Spirit in bringing the truth of the one bread metaphor to life is to include the epiclesis (epiklēsis), the moment of the invocation of the Holy Spirit in connection with the consecration of the bread and wine. When I lead Communion my final words before inviting people to receive the elements are always “Come Holy Spirit, meet us here, and make Christ present to us in the bread and in the wine.” 4. Private Dining Not Allowed

Cultural Formation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009). 10 J.-M.-R. Tillard, Flesh of the Church, Flesh of Christ: At the Source of the Ecclesiology of Communion, trans. Madeleine Beaumont (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2001), 63.

Our encounter with the Spirit in Communion is not a private experience; that would contradict the meaning of the one bread and the goal of Communion. Rather, partaking of the one bread and the invitation for the Spirit to come and make us one is a communal encounter. Therefore, we should be careful when leading Communion not to make it an individualized, isolated experience. Our temptation to make Communion a private event has some roots in the misinterpretation of the oft-used instruction from 1 Corinthians 11:28 to “examine oneself” before Communion. But, as stated above, the instructions in this section revolve around community issues and are not meant to encourage individual introspection in order to determine our worthiness. In fact, those participating “unworthily” are those who are failing to consider those around them.11 Thus, the one bread reminds us that this is the communal meal of the church and partaking of it should be a regular opportunity to strengthen and deepen our ecclesial life and counterbalance the often individualized experience of the Spirit in Pentecostal churches. We can do this by encouraging people to keep their eyes open and look around (rather than just looking inward with eyes closed), praying for each other during or after Communion, and any other activity that fosters ministry toward one another during the Communion time. 5. A Feast of Foretaste

When we celebrate Communion, we should emphasize that the one bread declares our unity not only with those present but also with the church universal. And even though we will

For these reasons, I recommend not using 1 Cor 11 as the one-and-only “default” text when leading Communion. Paul is responding to a specific problem and an aberration in the church, and the text cannot be properly understood without a full explanation of this problem. It is not a passage about the Lord’s Supper but about abuses of the Lord’s Supper. Why would we use as our main Communion text a passage that deals with the mismanagement of the Lord’s Supper? Therefore, I prefer to mainly read from the Gospel texts when celebrating Communion in order to avoid confusion or misinterpretation. 11

never share the meal with everyone in person on this side of heaven, partaking of the one bread together is always a foretaste of that great meal that is to come when all believers will gather around the table with the Host, who is Christ. The one bread is both representation of what is and anticipation of what the world is to become.12 It represents the deep longing of our hearts to eat and drink at Christ’s table in the kingdom that is to come and to be fully united as one church gathered from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Thus, that simple loaf of bread on the table Sunday morning has incredible eschatological significance as “we become partakers of the world to come,”13 and we as pastors are responsible for helping people understand this larger story that is unfolding as we share in the one bread.

These suggestions for bringing the one bread metaphor to life in our congregations are not meant to be an exhaustive discussion or guide on the role of the Lord’s Supper in the church. The one bread of the Communion meal is certainly much more than a metaphor, but in keeping with the focus of this book and chapter, we have mainly discussed the implications of Paul’s metaphorical use of the one bread in 1 Corinthians10:17. Unpacking the meanings of biblical metaphors of the church matters only to the extent that we engage with the Spirit of God in bringing these truths to life in our congregations. So as we explain to our congregations the rich truth of how the one bread represents our union with Christ and with each other, let us also encourage them to experience the one bread as “a means by which we see, feel, and taste that we are in this together.”14 See Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, 10-11. Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, rev. ed. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1973), 42. Many early Pentecostals saw the Lord’s Supper as an event that anticipated the marriage supper of Revelation 19 (see Chris E. W. Green, Toward a Pentecostal Theology of the Lord’s Supper: Foretasting the Kingdom [Cleveland, TN: CPT Press, 2012], 102, 113-14, 141, 162). 14 Gordon T. Smith, A Holy Meal: The Lord’s Supper in the Life of the Church (Grand Rapids: 12 13

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SUFFERING SERVANT

tion if you will, is as well.

The raison d’etre of that academic deliberation is the perplexing identity of the servant. This aspect of the songs (and their intertwining context) is not only puzzling, it is intentionally so—and that for multiple reasons. Further, not just the identity of the servant is veiled, but his very nature, or composi-

As for his identity, a haphazard reading of song two might elicit the quick and forthright declaration, “The servant is the nation of Israel. It says so very specifically in verse three.” However, before Isaiah’s ink was dry on that verse, he penned in verse five that the servant would be sent to Israel, restoring the tribes of Jacob. Moreover, other facets of the extended context cannot be made to equate the servant with national Israel. The servant is without any sin, the very opposite of why the nation is to be in exile. Israel as a whole was a blind and deaf servant (42:19), whereas the Lord’s servant does not judge by what he does see with his eyes, and he opens his ears day by day to the Lord for instruction (11:3,4 50:4). The national servant is stiff of neck (48:4), but the Lord’s servant turns his ear to God and willingly submits his back to tormentors (50:5, 6). The national servant is plundered and looted on account of their sin (42:22), but the Lord’s servant distributes gifts and wealth on account of his righteousness (53:12). What ultimately is at play is an antiphonal contrast between a national Israel who falls short at every juncture, and a personalized Israel, as H.H. Rowley declared decades ago,5 who always gets it right. But further, neither can the servant be a merely idealized Israel. He is able to provide substitutionary atonement. He is born of the Davidic line.6 He is described in terms that surpass “personal” and express actual “personhood.” But be sure, in spite of all the foregoing, to well observe that this person is very purposefully paralleled in Isaiah with the people of God. Note also that in the New Testament, Paul blurs the Isaianic servant with Barnabas and himself as they advance Kingdom light in Acts 13:47, “For this is what the

Chapter Six

The Fellowship of the Suffering Servant

The esteemed Old Testament title, “the servant of the Lord” and its cognates is primarily reserved for a select few individuals, among them being Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, and Isaiah.1 It is none of these, however, that leave the greatest mark on the pages of holy writ. Another servant, enigmatic and even undesired, holds that post. Since Bernhard Duhm’s 1892 German commentary on the book of Isaiah, four passages that centre on this bondsman have been called, “The Servant Songs.” With provision for some variation in precise verses to include, they are 42:1-7, 49:1-13, 50:4-11, and 52:13-53:12.2 They have perhaps elicited the greatest amount of scholarly enterprise of all the text of the prophet, per se.3

Genesis 26:24, Deuteronomy 34:5, Joshua 24:29, II Samuel 7:5, and Isaiah 20:3, respectively. 2 Some would include a fifth passage, 61:1-3. 3 The modern question of Isaianic unity is ubiquitous of course, but I am here speaking of the actual textual content itself. 1

4 Though beyond the scope of this paper, linguistic and thematic ties merge the servant of the songs with the son of Jesse/David of chapters 7, 9, and 11. 5 Rowley, H.H., The Servant of the Lord and Other Essays (London: Lutterworth), 1952, pp.157. 6 See note 4.

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Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’.” Significantly, the word “you” (σε) is singular in the Greek text. As confusing as this seems, one thing in it all is not confusing. Isaiah’s pure and princely servant does something on behalf of Isaiah’s foul and filthy servant. He dies for him.

This servant—actually Servant—is, after all, the Suffering Servant. But simply because careful exegesis clarifies that the Servant is not Israel per se, let it never be lost that He is so intimately identified with His people that it takes careful analysis to distinguish them. He is Israel, and sets out to establish a [re]new[ed] “nation” of Israel, namely all those of the faith of Abraham regardless of their DNA. His station in Isaiah is one of headship; He is separate from the people, and yet the people are woven into His place both theologically and rhetorically.7 Again, there is such a shared identity, only careful exegesis can delineate the two.

This “oneness” with the people of God extends across a significant amount of Scripture. For example, after suffering for a period of “40” days in the wilderness and being tempted in like ways as the failing “12” tribes of national Israel during their “40,” Jesus returns and chooses a “12” to finalize His mission—the procurement of a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a special people that are called by His Name—the Israel of God.8 This leads to Paul’s favourite phrase, particularly in Ephesians, of being “in” the Beloved.9 This is nothing of the “little gods” drivel of, say, a Kenneth Copeland, but rather a salvific indentifying of the Servant with His redeemed; His people are called by His Name much in the same way the nation was identified with the younger son of Isaac, “Israel.” 8 Galatians 6:16. 9 C.F.D. Moule cogently contended this was Paul’s axiomatic relational tenet upon which all else hung. The Origin of Christology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 1979. 7

But this poses what is for us a very real problem. It is represented by Paul in what is, at first blush, a very confusing verse. He, a mere fallen mortal, states in Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions….” Obviously, he is not, as many first-time readers consider, saying that Christ’s atonement was lacking anything, nor that he could somehow finish or perfect it. He is stating that whatever is now suffered on behalf of Christ by any of His people is because the world takes its hatred of Him out on them. On us. You and I are sharers in the Suffering Servant. The Church itself is one with that Sufferer. By our theological identification with Him, we are now the suffering servant of this earth.

And we don’t like it. We don’t want it. We would defer it and even reject it.

But we are, let it be known, to own it. Even to embrace it. It is as much ours as is anything else by being “in Christ.” Our identification with Him is not to stop at the supper in the upper room while we lay on His breast, but is to consist of Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha as well. We easily say, “I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection.” But there is so much more. “…and the κοινωία — the ‘fellowship’ of His sufferings….” (Philippians 3:10). The fellowship of it. That Pentecostals can hardly conceive of fellowship without food and fun is testimony to the shallow knowledge we have of God’s Word, and the even shallower desire to be in every way one with Him Whom we call Lord. May we recall that this Lord is the Servant Who suffered. Is the Church Christ’s Body? Of course! Read that chapter in this work; we are to function as a unified entity, horizontally with others and vertically in worshipful service to God. Is the 69

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Church Christ’s temple? Absolutely! Read that chapter; no room or building is a sanctuary—such is heretical. You’re a sanctuary! Is the Church other things? Unquestionably! Read the rest of the book. But is the Church also something we are sadly tempted to eschew? Categorically. We are to be a servant. We are to be a suffering servant. And we are to revel in that fellowship with Him Who was abased.

Phillip Yancey entitled his work on suffering, Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants.10 Oh, we all want to share in Christ’s resurrection! We all want to be changed in an instant— ἄτομος — “an indivisible amount of time”! We all are overjoyed that we are συνηγέρθμεν — “with-raised” in Him through faith. But we certainly have not formed a line to be συσταυρώμεθα — “with-crucified” or συνετάφημεν — “with-buried” in Him, except of course by spiritual imputation. It all points out that we, being weak in flesh, clamour for the crown but loathe the cross. We love the loaf and the chalice, but despise the basin and the towel. More plainly, we thrive on men’s ministry golf outings and women’s group fashion shows. But we do not want to fellowship with the whole Christ—that One Who gave His beard to the rippers, His back to the floggers, and His life for the many. But just as the Servant in Isaiah is both the people of God and the God of the people, so must we be willing to fellowship with Him in the whole of Who He is to be true sharers in Him. I have direct knowledge that our churches have those in them who are more concerned with their own stomachs than they are with the advance of the Kingdom among the needy. Church, for them, is about their preference in music. About their preference in dress. About their preference in all things. It is not about dying to self that Christ may reign and others may have life through Him. Such is pure idolatry. Nothing more, nothing less. The Christian, 10

With Dr. Paul Brand (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 1993.

however, the servant of the Servant, is otherwise. The servant of the Servant is selfless. Not only in death, but right now in life. Our everyday living is to be in keeping with the terminal call of which Bonheoffer so poignantly reminded us: “When Christ calls a man, He bids him, ‘Come and die’.”11

Clearly we are not to masochistically cause ourselves pain, nor are we to seek out persecution’s suffering. But in a world that is far different for Christians than it was just a decade ago, and in a North America that could well start seeing in our streets what we watch by satellite in Iran or Syria or Sudan, neither let us deny our share in that majestic fellowship. There is a sense in which Pastor Saeed Abedini and his συναιχμάλωτοις — “with-prisoners,” know a fellowship with Jesus that none of us does. A fellowship in which we ought to consider ourselves blessed to share (Acts 5:41), and one that will consummate in the sweet embrace of the Servant Himself saying, “Well done.” Should, under the sovereignty of God, the persecution of our ancient forebears and contemporary brethren come to our great nation, may we embrace the lofty fellowship. It is a profound honour, a towering privilege; that we are what remain of the Suffering Servant.

Deitrich Bonheoffer, The Cost of Discipleship (London: MacMillan), 1963, first published in Germany as Discipleship, 1937. 11

METAPHOR AND MINISTRY: THE CULTURE OF A MULTIPLYING CONGREGATION

Chapter Seven

Metaphor and Ministry: The Culture of a Multiplying Congregation

Metaphors, and the stories they tell, are central for understanding congregational ministry. Metaphors are figures of speech. Powerful figures of speech, however, because they are not literal, but as forms of speech that point to possibilities. In that sense, metaphorical language is central to our human capacity to imagine. In this volume the authors attempt to capture our theological imagination. And in many ways, the metaphors employed here are successful. The Church as bread. The Church as wine. The Church as living stone. The church as a suffering servant. The Church as a healing community. The Church as a body. Each of these metaphors illustrates the analogous way in which local congregations enact the biblical through worship, outreach, teaching, administration, programs, finances, and the many other activities congregations perform. The key to congregational vitality recognizes that these metaphors have the ability to motivate and sustain ministry. But what happens when a metaphor ceases to speak?

Dead metaphors are those that cease to have the ability to communicate. The reasons vary. Perhaps it is because congregations have forgotten them. To forget means to neglect paying attention. In other cases it may be that the metaphor is overused and becomes a clichĂŠ so that people do not hear them anymore. Metaphors may lose power and cease to offer 74

meaning over time as societies and cultures change. Effective metaphors have the capacity to transcend time and space and in that sense be universal. But they still have to be remembered and enacted for every generation in each and every local congregation.

Keeping metaphors alive requires congregations to revisit the source and in the case of biblical metaphors, it means deep reflection on the text, which includes application within the congregation. For Pentecostals, engaging the text also includes a robust belief that the Holy Spirit is active in our reading and can prophetically speak, inviting us to act. Congregations that â&#x20AC;&#x153;liveâ&#x20AC;? by these metaphors move from imagination and reflection to action. Metaphors empower, motivate, and support the mission and vision of congregations, its structures, and the people who gather together for worship.

Metaphors are also central to the culture of congregations. Congregations are unique places where Christians gather to worship. Congregational worship orients those who come together to another way of living; a shared way of living as reflected in the general patterns of human interaction with one another and with God. The general pattern of gathering is not just cultural, it is also structural, and by that I mean the organization and administration of congregations reflects these metaphors. Congregations are therefore animated by the stories they tell and the metaphors they live by. This is what is meant when the New Testament says we are living stones, building material used by God for a greater purpose. In Canada there are over 30,000 Christian congregations; about one third of which are evangelical. In a recent national study of evangelical congregations, Sam Reimer and I wanted to know what these congregations are doing and how 75

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METAPHOR AND MINISTRY: THE CULTURE OF A MULTIPLYING CONGREGATION

this related to their general vitality, especially as many congregations in Canada are declining.1 What we found in our research is that the local congregation is central for understanding the overall evangelical subculture. It is in the local congregation where these metaphors are lived through all its activities. Evangelical congregations are characterized by a culture of faith as expressed through clear mission and vision statements that articulate purpose and priority. Evangelical congregations are also sustained by a culture of faith that is shared around orthodoxy and orthopraxy. This common faith is enacted in the organization as well, which includes regular gathering for worship, teaching, service, outreach, staffing, and shared resources. In other words, vital congregations are those that have a shared culture (informed by biblical metaphors), a compelling vision, societal engagement, and resources to support the mission of the congregation.

On the question of multiplying, which includes notions of service and outreach, local congregations that were experiencing growth in our study, were those congregations that were attempting to adapt to the changing cultural milieu of Canada. This requires two important components: understanding social change and contextualizing congregational ministry. Not only does the local congregation have to make sense of social change, it has to also navigate those changes while ensuring its supporters that it is doing so in an orthodox manner. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how some were doing so.

we are, how we live, and who God is? Are there other biblical metaphors we have neglected or forgotten that could be employed to help congregations navigate these societal changes? And if so, how can we, along with God, imagine our local congregation in Canada? Second, pastors are using the language of mission and the missional church to indicate that congregations in Canada need to rethink how and why they engage culture. What does it mean to say Canada is a mission field and our congregations are mission outposts? How do we find new ways of engaging Canadians who do not think that Christianity is relevant? How can congregations not only flourish but also contribute to flourishing in local communities? What are the implications for the language we use to communicate who we are, how we live, and who God is? Congregations have many resources including people, finances, staff, and faith that support what they do. They also have spiritual resources to draw upon including biblical metaphors that can ignite imaginations and new dreams of living faithfully in a land that no longer has the capacity for a common spiritual language. And if congregations are going to multiply, it may require new metaphors that make sense of who they are, what they do, who God is, and the communities they are rooted in.

First, the metaphor of Canada as a Christian country is no longer working. Many evangelical pastors and congregations are asking what it means to be a worshipping community in a post Christian society? What biblical metaphors capture our imagination? How can these metaphors communicate who Sam Reimer and Michael Wilkinson. 2015. A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University Press. 1

CONTRIBUTORS

Jeff Beck is the Lead Pastor of Delta Pentecostal Tabernacle in Delta, BC and has served BCYD churches in Cache Creek, Port Alberni, and Burnaby. He is a graduate of Northwest Bible College (Dip. Theo.), Regent College (M.C.S.) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (D.Min).

Charles ‘Doc’ Coats (B.A., D.Min) has served churches in the BC/Yukon District of the PAOC as Lead Pastor and is currently an adjunct professor of Systematic Theology at Summit Pacific College. He also teaches apologetics and theology at L’Viv Theological Seminary in the Ukraine.

Melody Deeley is the Registrar and Counselling Foundations Director at Summit Pacific College in Abbotsford, BC. She is a graduate of Western Pentecostal Bible College (BTh.), and Providence Theological Seminary (M.A. in Counselling, and D.Min).

Dave Demchuk is serving as the President of Summit Pacific College in Abbotsford BC. David is a graduate of Western Pentecostal Bible College, Simon Fraser University, (B. Bus. Admin.), MCS, Regent College (MCS), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (D. Min). He has also pastored in the BC/Yukon District for the past 32 years. Joseph Dutko is the Lead Pastor for Oceanside Community Church in Parksville, BC. He served as Christian Education Pastor at Richmond Pentecostal Church. He is a graduate of Evangel University (B.A.), Missouri State University (M.A.), and Regent College (M.A.T.S.).

Mick Nelson is the Director of Discipleship at Broadway Church in Vancouver, BC and has also served in the BC/Yukon District at Glad Tidings Church in Victoria, BC. He is a graduate 80

CONTRIBUTORS cont.

of the University of Manitoba (B.A), Central Pentecostal College (Dip.Theo), the Lutheran Theological Seminary (M.Div), and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (D.Min).

Darrell Peregrym is the President of Heart of the Nation Ministries and the Lead Pastor of Hearts in Fellowship Assembly. Darrell is also President/Owner of Integrity Leadership Development, an Adjunct Professor at Trinity Western University and George Fox University, and President of ICCL Seminary in Kiev, Ukraine. He is a graduate of Central Pentecostal College (Dip.Theo), Trinity Western University (MA in Leadership), and Bakke Graduate University (D.Min). Michael Wilkinson is a Professor of Sociology at Trinity Western University and the Academic Dean at Canadian Pentecostal Seminary. He is a graduate of Eastern Pentecostal Bible College (B.Th.), Carleton University (B.A.), Wilfrid Laurier University (M.A.), and the University of Ottawa (Ph.D.).