Comments on: Jesus' model for ministry

By: tim bulkeley

tim bulkeley — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:20:05 +0000

My natural, knee-jerk, reaction would be to agree with you, especially since you use emotive terms like “meetings” (as a teacher I have a deep rooted aversion to more “meetings On the other hand I have both received myself and seen such support given to others in church – by which I mean a local gathering of Jesus’ followers. I am from the tradition stemming from the radical end of the reformation, so I do not see an institution when I hear “church” I think of such a gathering of people.

Admittedly these gatherings are often (as with all human activities) less Christlike than we would wish, but they are also on the other hand despite that one of the main places which nourish my faith.

Perhaps our discussion is as simple as when we hear “church” you think of an institutional structure, I think of a bunch of people ! ?

By: Bill Lollar

Bill Lollar — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 13:58:37 +0000

Tim: By “effective” I simply meant that Jesus would probably rather spend his time with people, rather than sitting through the various “institutional church” meetings that we, at least in the Western world, feel are so important to our concept of church. I don’t mean to dispute the presence of needy people in those meetings, but I do question whether Jesus would heartily endorse our often-ritualistic concept of “going to church” as a legitimate vehicle to meet those needs and extend his kingdom throughout the earth.

Can God speak to people and minister his grace to them in the midst of such gatherings? Certainly! But when your colleagues give testimony of gaining strength from their local church, I would hope they’re referring to the love and support showered upon them by the collective members of that local body, not the meetings per se.

By: tim bulkeley

tim bulkeley — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:37:22 +0000

And we thought we’d done well getting so many different accents, from Europe, Asia, the Pacific Islands and even the USA as well as the basic Kiwi ones

On Jesus, I’d be pretty sure that (a) wouldn’t enter the equation, he just didn’t seem too concerned with efficiency, on (b) I guess it depends on the church, and I’ll admit I’ve never been part of a perfect one, but most have had their fair share of sick, needy and marginalised – though some of those have had “nice” middle class white skins to disguise the reality.

One thing I’m sure of though is that I’ve met him more in the places and people that have most awareness of their needs. In Congo people really knew how to give thanks – even for a glass of water or a piece of bread, while most Westerners don’t even know how to be thankful for a feast – we seem to think we earned it! And my colleague and his wife with their two handicapped kids really shine with Jesus presence… but they say they got the strength to carry on through their church (to an outsider like me it seems an ordinary sort of place though).

By: Bill Lollar

Bill Lollar — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:44:42 +0000

Ben: I suspect you may be right. At least in my former SBC upbringing, most preaching focuses more on Paul and his epistles (plus what he did in Acts) rather than Jesus. Why not read Paul in light of Jesus’ model for ministry?

John: I would consider donating, but only if you put in a Starbucks and name a coffee beverage after me.

Tim: You’re welcome. I love the podBible. The amazing accent alone is worth listening to!

Obviously, it’s just speculation on our part, but I don’t think Jesus would be “in church” because (a) he wouldn’t consider it an effective use of his time, and (b) he wouldn’t be welcomed after he told most church leaders what he thinks of their Sunday morning religious clubs and programs. No, I think he would be hanging out with the marginalized and the sick and the needy.

By: tim bulkeley

tim bulkeley — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:03:00 +0000

Hi, thanks for mentioning PodBible in your links, as a project run from a small church we rely on people doing this to get the readings found and used.

I suspect Jesus would be in church on Sunday, after all he attended synagogue often enough, but usually he ended up shocking people by doing the “wrong thing” like healing someone. So, for me the question your post raises is what sort of “wrong thing” would Jesus do if he visited my church!?

By: John A. Jenkins

John A. Jenkins — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:19:27 +0000

Bill,
You are writing some timely and insightful articles that are touching a pleasant nerve. How did we ever get away from the simplicity of the New Testament and the example of Christ and the book of Acts?

I noticed that you are not providing funding to ministries. I suppose I can forget your sending me a love offering for the new church gymnasium, health equpment and McDonalds restaurant we are building? We’ll name a treadmill after you if you donate!

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:58:17 +0000

Could it be that most people don’t really care?

BTW, I’d be very interested to know how many people are subscribing to your blog. It’s gotta be in the hundreds by now.